tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74732065669013276362024-03-13T17:45:02.415+00:00Britain and the Greek ColonelsA blog on British foreign policy towards the Greek junta, 1967-1974Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-18385577728320088212014-08-21T09:23:00.000+01:002014-08-21T09:23:53.234+01:00Book reviewed in 'Diplomacy & Statecraft'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBdXTthtykM/U_WsPcfyZAI/AAAAAAAAAb8/JEPs1zZJQg0/s1600/2014-08-21%2B11_21_25-Taylor%2B%26%2BFrancis%2BOnline%2B__%2BNafpliotis%2C%2BA.%2B(2013).%2BBritain%2Band%2Bthe%2BGreek%2BColonels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBdXTthtykM/U_WsPcfyZAI/AAAAAAAAAb8/JEPs1zZJQg0/s1600/2014-08-21%2B11_21_25-Taylor%2B%26%2BFrancis%2BOnline%2B__%2BNafpliotis%2C%2BA.%2B(2013).%2BBritain%2Band%2Bthe%2BGreek%2BColonels.jpg" height="400" width="280" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The latest review of '<a href="http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Humanities/History/History%20earliest%20times%20to%20present%20day/20th%20century%20history%20c%201900%20%20to%20c%202000/Postwar%2020th%20century%20history%20from%20c%201945%20to%20c%202000/Britain%20and%20the%20Greek%20Colonels%20Accommodating%20the%20Junta%20in%20the%20Cold%20War.aspx" target="_blank">Britain and the Greek Colonels</a>' appeared recently in <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fdps20#.U_WrB9JQCxo" target="_blank">Diplomacy & Statecraft</a> (Volume 25, Issue 2, 2014)</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The review is written by <a href="http://www.gbip.gr/author/14958" target="_blank">Dr Sotiris Rizas</a> (Academy of Athens Modern Greek History Research Centre), author of some of the most well-researched Greek history books on the 1960s and 1970s.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Click <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592296.2014.907079#.U_Wq1dJQCxp" target="_blank">here </a>to read the review.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-41141206059034832182014-04-22T18:09:00.000+01:002014-08-21T09:15:13.829+01:0047 years after the Colonels' coup d'etat<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Here are two links (from skai.gr and BBC Radio 4) on the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Greek Military Coup and the resistance to the regime:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0415j5d" target="_blank">BBC Radio 4 Witness</a>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">'In April 1967, seven years of military dictatorship began in Greece. During the rule of the colonels, thousands of people were arrested and tortured. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Sociologist Gerasimos Nortaras was part of the armed resistance to the military. He was captured, but refused to give away his fellow fighters, even under brutal torture."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">2) <a href="http://www.skai.gr/news/greece/article/256336/47-hronia-apo-to-praxikopima-ton-sudagmatarhon/" target="_blank">Skai.gr article</a> (in Greek)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-11444841032347448692014-04-01T20:58:00.002+01:002014-04-01T21:00:34.696+01:00Book reviewed in 'The Cyprus Review'<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Another review of 'Britain and the Greek Colonels' appeared recently.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">This time <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Andreas-Constandinos/e/B003OMLRZI" target="_blank">Dr Andreas Constandinos</a> (author of '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cyprus-Crisis-Examining-American-Governments/dp/1841023124/ref=la_B003OMLRZI_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396382051&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Cyprus Crisis: Examining the Role of the British and American Government's During 1974'</a>) wrote his opinion on the book for <a href="http://www.unic.ac.cy/files/vol_25_no_2_fall_2013.pdf" target="_blank">The Cyprus Review (Vol. 25 n. 2, Fall 2013)</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1UBpwWNn04/UzsZ6uNbHoI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/OsITBFDCHYU/s1600/Constandinos+review+excerpt-.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1UBpwWNn04/UzsZ6uNbHoI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/OsITBFDCHYU/s1600/Constandinos+review+excerpt-.JPG" height="473" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">You can find more info on the journal </span><a href="http://www.unic.ac.cy/research-publications/publications/the-cyprus-review" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-42939685633945157662014-02-04T12:59:00.001+00:002014-04-01T21:01:11.500+01:00Book reviewed in the Anglo-Hellenic Review<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">'Britain and the Greek Colonels' reviewed by Dr William Mallinson for </span><a href="http://www.anglohellenicleague.org/review.html" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;" target="_blank">the Anglo-Hellenic Review (No 48, Autumn 2013)</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Here's an excerpt:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Dr Mallinson is</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> Lecturer in British History, Literature and Culture at <a href="http://www.dflti.ionio.gr/en/user/35" target="_blank">the Ionian University, Corfu</a> and has written extensively on Cyprus and British foreign policy towards the island.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">You can find his blog </span><a href="http://williammallinson.blogspot.gr/" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-19349343413407328422014-01-02T14:26:00.000+00:002014-01-02T14:26:42.862+00:00'Britain and the Greek Colonels' reviewed in 'Southeast European and Black Sea Studies'<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">A review of the book by Dr. Konstantina E. Botsiou was recently published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2013.861281" target="_blank">Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Vol. 13, No. 4, 2013</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Dr. Konstantina E. Botsiou is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e3264; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">an Associate Professor of Modern History and International Politics and Vice Rector for Financial Planning at the University of Peloponnese.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e3264; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Here's an excerpt:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">'In the mid-1970s, the European Community emerged as a hub organization for the promotion of democracy and the protection of human rights. It was widely considered suitable for the role by virtue of its successful democratization and integration since the Second World War. Contemporary events only reinforced that political image. The Helsinki Final Act of August 1975 reflected a mutual East–West intention of rapprochement based on the respect of territorial integrity and human rights. At the same time, Western Europe was celebrating the restoration of democracy in three Mediterranean countries, Greece (1974), Portugal (1974–1975) and Spain (1975–1976). All three of them hastened to apply for EC-membership right after the collapse of dictatorial rule, clearly linking the stabilization of democratic governance with participation in ‘democratic Europe’. Accordingly, the fulfilment of their integration hopes until the mid-1980s underlined the EC’s willingness to accept the linkage, as was to be verified again a few years later in the European Union’s post-Cold War ‘Eastern enlargement’.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The evolution of Europe to the status of a global player in issues of democracy and human rights renders all the more interesting the investigation of defining moments as well as occasions when either the EC/EU or single European states were confronted with critical dilemmas as to the prioritization of ‘democracy’ in the shaping of foreign policy. Both characteristics apply to the period right before the democratization wave in the South of the 1970s. For quite a few years, historians and political scientists have been chiefly examining the transition to democracy as a manifestation of the expanding influence of pro-European forces. More light needs to be shed, however, on the opposite direction, too; namely on the impact of dictatorial rule upon the democratization agenda of various West European countries and, ultimately, the European Community itself. Such research questions are crucial in Alexandros Nafpliotis’ book titled Accommodating the Junta in the Cold War: Britain and the Colonels.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The title is telling of the author’s aim to analyse the rationale behind Britain’s search of a modus vivendi with the Greek military regime between 1967 and 1974. To achieve this goal, he explores a broad spectrum of London’s international objectives and commitments. According to a central theme of the book – originally a doctoral dissertation concluded at the London School of Economics and Political Science – the military dictatorship in Greece unfolded while Britain was rapidly losing economic strength and political leverage both in Europe as well as in the Eastern Mediterranean. Not surprisingly, national security interests and the centrality of NATO are considered to have far outweighed concerns over the political ‘anachronism’ of the junta. The stability of Greece as a NATO-partner was deemed more necessary than interference in Greek affairs for the sake of democratization. [...]'</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://socialistresistance.org/5749/britains-smashing-of-greek-democracy">http://socialistresistance.org/5749/britains-smashing-of-greek-democracy</a><br />
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The review is entitled 'Britain’s smashing of Greek democracy' and was published on 30 December 2013.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-31476027521499285732013-11-18T15:10:00.001+00:002013-11-18T15:10:32.662+00:00Blog entry on victims of the Athens Polytechnic uprising, 1973I recently came across <a href="http://damomac.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">the very interesting blog</a> of Damian Mac Con Uladh, staff journalist at EnetEnglish, the international online edition of the Eleftherotypia daily.<div>
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Based on the research of <a href="http://www.eie.gr/nhrf/institutes/inr/cvs/cv-kallivretakis-en.html" target="_blank">Dr Leonidas Kallivretakis</a>, he <a href="http://damomac.wordpress.com/2012/11/17/polytechnic/" target="_blank">compiled a list of the 24 people who were killed in and around the Polytechnic campus on November 16-18 1973</a>.</div>
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Excellent work by Damian Mac Con Uladh, who has also created<a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=212310518784086630961.0004cea1e260e355825de&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=37.988046,23.726349&spn=0.064941,0.109863&z=13&source=embed" target="_blank"> a Google Map</a> showing the location of each fatality.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-12266862315726752032013-07-29T17:52:00.000+01:002013-07-29T17:52:03.799+01:00The British and the 1973 Greek republic referendum Today marks the 40th anniversary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_republic_referendum,_1973" target="_blank">1973 Greek republic referendum</a>.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; line-height: 20px;">In this excerpt from <b><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Britain-Greek-Colonels-Accommodating-International/dp/184885952X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354026849&sr=1-1" style="color: #38761d; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">my book</a> on Britain and the Colonels</b>, you can see how journalist Mario <i>Modiano</i>, talking to British officials well before the referendum, predicted, with uncanny precision, the exact percentage of the people who would vote 'Yes' to the constitutional changes. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; line-height: 20px;">The fact that both foreign journalists and the British Embassy could so easily provide a accurate estimate of the result well in advance speaks volumes about the genuineness of the referendum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The last important event of [1973's] ‘pretty gruelling summer’, as far as the domestic scene of Greece was concerned, was the referendum on the amended Greek constitution.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The junta had warned the British that they should not judge the referendum by British standards and members of the international press had expressed the certainty that it would be ‘a farce’. <strong>Mario Modiano </strong>[...] thought that the decision to abolish the monarchy had been taken a long time ago, told the British that the Colonels would not permit a repeat of the results of the 1968 plebiscite, in order to make them appear genuine: ‘If as seems likely they fudged the figures, they were likely to choose a more plausible percentage (<i>like for example 78%</i>)’ (emphasis added).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was also the opinion of some FCO officials who had realized, as early as in June 1973, that there was ‘little doubt as to the outcome of the referendum, although the government, who were believed to be embarrassed by the very high yes-votes in 1968, might prefer a rather smaller percentage in their favour this time’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The British conceded that it was ‘very easy’ to predict the outcome of the referendum, with the Colonels still controlling the levers of power and not being able to afford to lose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">[...] As [British official J F R] Martin admitted shortly before the referendum, ‘few observers doubt that the figure has been decided in advance to within a few per cent’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polling took place on<b> 29 July</b> to approve the new republican constitution and the appointment of Papadopoulos as president (reserving for him exclusive powers over defence, foreign affairs and internal security) and Angelis as vice-president.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The final results showed that ‘yes’ got the <em>78.4% of the vote</em>, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">which was considered ‘a respectable </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">looking </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">percentage’ in London.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The British embassy’s own estimate had been <em>78% </em>(emphasis added)<em>.</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The British, however, were in no doubt that there had been ‘a good deal of malpractice’, as they were aware that before the referendum the junta had ‘used all its very considerable influence to ensure the desired result’.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> They also did not fail to notice that ‘something perhaps ha[d] changed’, as the regime had been taken by surprise by the strength of feeling against it, and that could result in the toughening of its attitude to palliate the hardliners.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The British representative concluded his report on the events by writing that ‘one [could] not have much confidence that Greece [was] yet firmly on the road leading back to anything that Western Europe would recognise as democracy’ [pp. 185-186].</span></blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-15005801901369174862013-07-22T09:59:00.000+01:002013-07-22T09:59:02.514+01:00Britain and Karamanlis: British reaction to the restoration of democracy in Greece in 1974It has now been thirty-nine years since the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_military_junta#The_fall_of_the_Junta_and_the_restoration_of_democracy" target="_blank">fall of the Junta</a> and the restoration of democracy in Greece (triggered by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus" target="_blank">Turkish invasion of Cyprus</a>). <div>
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In an effort to help shed some more light on the events that transpired during the transition period, I present here a small excerpt from my research on the British reaction to the return of <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312125/Konstantinos-Karamanlis" target="_blank">Konstantinos Karmanlis</a> and his swearing-in as prime minister (as it appears on my latest book, <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BritainandtheGreekColonels" target="_blank">Britain and the Greek Colonels</a></i>).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jTVuFDlLgHo/UezzdDbSVgI/AAAAAAAAAXc/ZTu0hvc5jZA/s1600/callaghan-karamanlis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jTVuFDlLgHo/UezzdDbSVgI/AAAAAAAAAXc/ZTu0hvc5jZA/s200/callaghan-karamanlis.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #17365d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; line-height: 18px;">Ίδρυμα Kωνσταντίνος Γ. Kαραμανλής © Copyright 2013</strong></td></tr>
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"[British foreign secretary, James] <a href="http://www.britannia.com/gov/primes/prime55.html" target="_blank">Callaghan</a> thought that with the arrival of a democratic government in Greece, ‘British policy acquired a new element’, as ‘it was important for the Greek people and for international relations that Greek democracy should be strengthened’. The British thought they should ‘certainly welcome’ the return of Karamanlis (‘a politician of real status with popular following in the country’), but not become ‘over committed’ at that stage to his government, as it was considered able to stay in power only if it could ‘deliver the goods’. The British were content to see that the new government had ‘a strong pro-NATO pro-Western Europe bias’ and had been greeted with relief by supporters of the two major parties.</blockquote>
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As [British ambassador in Athens, Sir Robin] Hooper reported to the Foreign Office: ‘[t]he present Government is <i>as good as we are likely to get</i> but it is far from being the “ecumenical” Government which some hoped for after the return of Karamanlis’ (emphasis added).</blockquote>
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What troubled him, though, were <u>the negative aspects of Greek political life</u>: ‘<i>The bickering and factionalism endemic in Greek politics </i>has alas begun to reappear, and it is much to be feared that even in the present critical situation the politicians inside the Government will soon start squabbling. Those outside are unlikely to refrain from destructive criticism’ (emphasis added)."</blockquote>
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For more information on how Whitehall viewed Karamanlis, visit the pages of <a href="http://www.karamanlis-foundation.gr/" target="_blank">the Karamanlis Foundation</a>, where quotes from two British PMs are given:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uc_Ew3M4LVU/UezzqOmZakI/AAAAAAAAAXk/Ak3EX8oBeW8/s1600/wilson-karamanlis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uc_Ew3M4LVU/UezzqOmZakI/AAAAAAAAAXk/Ak3EX8oBeW8/s200/wilson-karamanlis.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #17365d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; line-height: 18px;">Ίδρυμα Kωνσταντίνος Γ. Kαραμανλής © Copyright 2013</strong></td></tr>
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“The British people welcomed and with profound admiration followed the personal achievement of Mr. Karamanlis and his government in restoring democracy to Greece. If there were a Nobel Prize for Democracy, he who should receive it is Konstantinos Karamanlis.“</blockquote>
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Harold Wilson<br />
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom<br />
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"He became prime minister at a critical moment in his country’s history, and under his wise and steady leadership democracy was re-established and peace was preserved despite the considerable provocations threatening them. He rendered exceptional services to his homeland and to Europe.” </blockquote>
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James Callaghan<br />
Prime Minister of the United KingdomAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-51095541982702022602013-07-16T10:01:00.000+01:002013-07-16T10:01:07.297+01:00Op-ed article in NY Times refers to Greek junta<div class="tr_bq">
In <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/opinion/global/greece-at-the-boiling-point.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0" target="_blank">this op-ed article</a> published a few days ago, The Nation's <a href="http://www.thenation.com/authors/maria-margaronis#" target="_blank">Maria Margaronis </a>uses a couple of references to the Greek Colonels' regime to demonstrate that Greece has reached a boiling point. The author maintains that, while Europe was viewed as a 'source of hope' in the 1960s and 1970s, it is now perceived as 'turning up the heat' in Greece.</div>
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Here's the relevant extract from the article:<br />
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"The coalition government of New Democracy’s Antonis Samaras is becoming more and more authoritarian, passing laws by decree and pandering to the agenda of the far-right party, Golden Dawn. <u>References to the <b>junta of 1967-1974</b> are no longer the sole province of left-wing rhetoric.</u></blockquote>
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The sudden closure of the state TV and radio broadcaster ERT last month, without any debate or vote in Parliament, brought back <u>memories of <b>tanks </b>and <b>martial music</b></u> for many who would normally reject such crude comparisons.</blockquote>
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<u>In the seven years of <b>the colonels’ dictatorship</b>, many Greeks looked to Europe as a source of hope.</u> Some of Europe’s civil bodies have indeed come to democracy’s defense. But the European Union’s political and financial institutions and their partners in the International Monetary Fund are interested only in the bottom line, piling on pressure to plug holes in the balance sheet regardless of the cost to human life and civil liberties.</blockquote>
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[...] <u>During the <b>dictatorship</b>, Europe appeared to be a safe place</u> outside the pot.<br />Now, Europe itself is turning up the heat."</blockquote>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-38930875080130064262013-07-16T09:25:00.000+01:002013-07-16T09:43:21.808+01:001974 Cypriot coup d'état<br />
Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Cypriot_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat" target="_blank">1974 Cypriot coup d'état</a></b>.<br />
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What follow are small excerpts (taken from my recently published book on <a href="http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Humanities/History/History%20earliest%20times%20to%20present%20day/20th%20century%20history%20c%201900%20%20to%20c%202000/Postwar%2020th%20century%20history%20from%20c%201945%20to%20c%202000/Britain%20and%20the%20Greek%20Colonels%20Accommodating%20the%20Junta%20in%20the%20Cold%20War.aspx" target="_blank">Britain and the Greek Colonels</a>) which examines the British reaction to the coup and Whitehall's immediate actions on that day:<br />
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"[...] The first reports about outbreaks of fighting in Nicosia reached London on 15 July. According to information gained during the first hours, it was looking ‘increasingly like a coup organised by Greek contingent/Greek-officered elements of National Guard’. The most shocking news appeared to be the alleged death of <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makarios_III" target="_blank">Archbishop Makarios</a></b>, broadcast by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and conveyed to London by the British high commissioner, Olver.</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E1WR8MkRA8s/UeT8IRw7tzI/AAAAAAAAAXM/mybCA-B76lg/s1600/cyprus_archbishopric_palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E1WR8MkRA8s/UeT8IRw7tzI/AAAAAAAAAXM/mybCA-B76lg/s400/cyprus_archbishopric_palace.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">From <a href="http://grhomeboy.wordpress.com/">http://grhomeboy.wordpress.com</a></span> </td></tr>
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[...] <b><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/james-callaghan" target="_blank">Callaghan </a></b>admitted that the treaty gave Britain rights but <b>appeared less urgent to suggest any concrete action </b>as it was too early to judge the situation fully.</blockquote>
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[As he told the House of Commons:] We are in the very early hours of this event. It happened only this morning. A declaration has been put out by those who led the coup saying that foreign policy will not change and that Cyprus will maintain friendly relations with all nations while pursuing a policy of non-alignment as happened in the past. I do not know how much reliance at this stage we should attach to any of the declarations that are forthcoming.<br />
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[...] In order to help defuse the crisis the foreign secretary prepared a <b>telegram </b>detailing directions to British representatives in Athens, Ankara, Washington, Brussels, and New York. His message to his Greek counterpart expressed his <b>‘grave concern’</b> over the situation: ‘[. . . ] it is undoubtedly very dangerous with serious implications for the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean and for the cohesion of the Atlantic Alliance. I am sure you share my concern that the independence, territorial integrity and security of Cyprus should be maintained.<br />
I should be grateful to have urgently your comments on the situation as the Greek Government sees it’.</blockquote>
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A similar message was to be delivered to the Turkish capital as well, with the hope that the Turks would avoid ‘any kind of precipitate action or intervention’ at that stage, as it was ‘clearly essential’, if the conflict was not to spread, for the Turkish government to display <b>‘exemplary patience’ </b>in those circumstances. Washington was to be informed about the content of the two messages, and <u><b><a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/319464/Henry-A-Kissinger" target="_blank">Dr Kissinger</a></b> to be approached with an <b>oral message</b> from Callaghan asking his view, any information on action which he might contemplate, and any information on events on the island itself.</u> The British delegation to NATO was asked to invite <b><a href="http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/who_is_who_7301.htm" target="_blank">Dr Luns</a></b> himself to consider sending messages to the Turks and the Greeks, and the British mission at the UN was told to suggest to <b><a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/634429/Kurt-Waldheim" target="_blank">Dr Waldheim</a></b> the convening of an emergency meeting of the contributors to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (<a href="http://www.unficyp.org/" target="_blank">UNFICYP</a>)."</blockquote>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-6947180508873979692013-06-10T14:40:00.000+01:002013-06-10T14:40:43.398+01:00Andreas Papandreou Book review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gFCSiO2XFYA/UbXU94nmYaI/AAAAAAAAAWg/hxQUsFYgEyI/s1600/Andres-Papandreou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gFCSiO2XFYA/UbXU94nmYaI/AAAAAAAAAWg/hxQUsFYgEyI/s400/Andres-Papandreou.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UNwCXjKYodQ/UbXWNUc_n6I/AAAAAAAAAWs/sEjtKemdXL4/s1600/CWH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UNwCXjKYodQ/UbXWNUc_n6I/AAAAAAAAAWs/sEjtKemdXL4/s200/CWH.jpg" width="138" /></a><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/action/aboutThisJournal?show=aimsScope&journalCode=fcwh20#.UbXVtOdM-xo" target="_blank"><i>Cold War History</i></a> recently published my review of <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/standraenos/" target="_blank">Stan Draenos</a>'s very interesting book "<a href="http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Biography%20%20True%20Stories/Biography%20general/Biography%20historical%20political%20%20military/Andreas%20Papandreou%20The%20Making%20of%20a%20Renegade.aspx?menuitem=%7B13CD56BD-E765-4110-9D61-F310B0367CAB%7D" target="_blank">Andreas Papandreou: The Making of a Greek Democrat and Political Maverick</a>", which also deals with the Greek politician's role in the events that led to the military coup d'etat of 1967 and the imposition of the Greek Colonels' dictatorship.<br />
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<b>You can read the review <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/Y5WWj4rAFf3CGsCARDHk/full" target="_blank">here</a> (free access for 50 viewers).</b><br />
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Cold War History is based in the <a href="http://www2.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/programmes/coldWarStudiesProgramme/Home.aspx" target="_blank">Cold War Studies Programme </a>at <a href="http://www2.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/Home.aspx" target="_blank">LSE IDEAS, the London School of Economics Centre for International Affairs, Strategy and Diplomacy</a>. It aims to make available the results of recent research on the origins and development of the Cold War and its impact on nations, alliances and regions at various levels of statecraft, as well as in areas such as the military and intelligence, the economy, and social and intellectual developments.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-20542457239482361112013-04-19T09:30:00.001+01:002013-05-14T14:23:52.917+01:00Book Review: Mobilizing on the Extreme Right: Germany, Italy, and the United States<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6f43se29AeM/UXEBImyFS3I/AAAAAAAAAU8/dbGlLPXInmQ/s1600/mobilizing-on-extreme-right-germany-italy-united-states-donatella-della-porta-hardcover-cover-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6f43se29AeM/UXEBImyFS3I/AAAAAAAAAU8/dbGlLPXInmQ/s640/mobilizing-on-extreme-right-germany-italy-united-states-donatella-della-porta-hardcover-cover-art.jpg" height="640" width="423" /></a></div>
Read this blogger's review of a very interesting book on the Extreme Right at the <i>LSE Review of Books</i>, here:<br />
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<a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2013/04/19/book-review-mobilizing-on-the-extreme-right-germany-italy-and-the-united-states/">Book Review: Mobilizing on the Extreme Right: Germany, Italy, and the United States</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-25377449403008762022013-03-20T21:27:00.001+00:002013-03-20T21:27:18.904+00:00Golden Dawn leader statement reminiscent of 1960s Greek military dictatorshipThe Greek edition of the daily <a href="http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_20/03/2013_488754" target="_blank">Kathimerini reports</a> that the leader of the <a href="http://golden-dawn-international-newsroom.blogspot.co.uk/p/our-identity.html" target="_blank">far-right party Golden Dawn</a>, which since last year has 18 MPs in the Greek parliament, said that his movement was born '<b><i>as sent from God</i></b>'.<br />
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The statement was made last Friday during an event entitled 'Greek History Lessons - The truth about 1821' that took place in a central Athens hotel conference room. </div>
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According to the same source, Golden Dawn also announced the launch of its very own 'Foundation of Geopolitical and Historical Studies'.<br />
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See also a recent, relevant entry on The Economist's Charlemagne blog, <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2013/03/greek-politics" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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The statement is reminiscent of the Greek junta's proclamations in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In particular, the reference to God is strikingly similar to one the Greek ambassador in London made while talking to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brown,_Baron_George-Brown" target="_blank">British Foreign Secretary Brown</a> in late 1967 (see p. 26 of <a href="http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Humanities/History/History%20earliest%20times%20to%20present%20day/20th%20century%20history%20c%201900%20%20to%20c%202000/Postwar%2020th%20century%20history%20from%20c%201945%20to%20c%202000/Britain%20and%20the%20Greek%20Colonels%20Accommodating%20the%20Junta%20in%20the%20Cold%20War.aspx" target="_blank">my book on Britain and the Greek Colonels</a>):</div>
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'[...] as far as both countries are loyal to NATO and the western</blockquote>
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orientation of Greece is one of the basic policies, for which Britain has</blockquote>
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fought, the revolution [sic] should be considered by the British Government</blockquote>
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as<b> <i>a gift from God</i></b>’</blockquote>
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Verykios, London to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Athens, 12.09.1967.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-83503275877610695962013-02-25T10:21:00.001+00:002013-02-25T10:21:18.914+00:00Former Greek diplomat on possibility of 1967-style coup<a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2013/02/greece-promise-army-has-been-obtained-not-intervene-against-civil-uprising" target="_blank">Here's </a>a very interesting article based on an interview with a former Greek diplomat.<br />
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According to the the New Statesman, 'Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos was a career diplomat with the Greek foreign ministry. As a junior officer with the service in the 1970s, he helped assure the then freshly democratic nation's accession to the European Union (at the time the EEC). He was at different times Athens' ambassador to Poland, Albania and Canada, and finally the director general of EU Affairs in the ministry.'<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rpPtdkEA35Q/USs6f8ikNNI/AAAAAAAAAUk/cGNClqJYG4s/s1600/Chrysanthopoulos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rpPtdkEA35Q/USs6f8ikNNI/AAAAAAAAAUk/cGNClqJYG4s/s1600/Chrysanthopoulos.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chrysanthopoulos - from <span id="irc_ho" style="margin-right: -2px; padding-right: 2px;">99getsmart.com</span></td></tr>
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Chrysanthopoulos discredited the possibility of a repetition of a military coup (like the one in 1967) in Greece, for the following reason:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.65625px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.6em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
There is some good news however that he hears from the contacts he maintains amongst his former colleagues and politicians. He is confident that there will be no military coup, as there was in 1967.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.65625px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.6em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“There are contacts by certain politicians with elements in the armed forces to guarantee that in the event of major social unrest, the army will not intervene.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.65625px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-top: 0.6em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“I don't want to go into too much detail here though as it is a delicate issue,” he continues. “But as a result of these contacts, I think this is going to be successful.”</div>
</blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-46083521700335771282013-02-18T10:38:00.003+00:002013-02-18T10:38:53.438+00:00Harold Wilson and Hugh GreeneToday's Daily Telegraph features an interesting opinion article on 'Harold Wilson Night' by the paper's former editor and authorised biographer of Margaret Thatcher, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/" target="_blank">Charles Moore</a>.<br />
<br />
Here's an excerpt of the article which refers to Wilson's relationship with <b>BBC </b>Director-General at the time (and head of London-based resistance organisation European Atlantic Action Committee on Greece) <b><a href="http://www.geni.com/people/Sir-Hugh-Carleton-Greene-KCMG-OBE-Director-General-of-the-BBC/6000000014156381860" target="_blank">Hugh Greene</a></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="firstPar" style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 10px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Ji-_x0aNpI/USIEnFMbbfI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/kW5_9mummrE/s1600/Hugh_Greene_b1910_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Ji-_x0aNpI/USIEnFMbbfI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/kW5_9mummrE/s1600/Hugh_Greene_b1910_medium.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.geni.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; text-align: justify;">
No one but the BBC would have dreamt up a “Harold Wilson Night”. It is hard to think of any other politician who was at the top for so long (he won four general elections) with so little to show for it. But it is fitting that the BBC should have commemorated the 50th anniversary of Wilson’s capture of the Labour leadership because, at the time, it loved him.</div>
</div>
<div class="secondPar" style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;">
<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.48em; padding: 0px 0px 0.7em; text-align: justify;">
In the general election of 1964, Wilson spotted that the BBC comedy Steptoe and Son would be broadcast on polling day. Believing that the programme (about father-and-son rag-and-bone men) was particularly popular with Labour voters, and would therefore keep them away from the polling stations, <u>Wilson went to see <b>Hugh Greene</b>, the director-general, to persuade him to reschedule. Greene, who craved a Labour victory, obliged. Since Wilson’s overall majority was only four seats, it is possible that it was the Beeb wot won it</u>.</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-24001551309972654972013-02-09T13:09:00.001+00:002013-02-09T13:18:11.232+00:00ΘΕΜΑΤΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ<span class="userContent">Αναφορά στο βιβλίο μου από το <a href="http://www.istorikathemata.com/2013/01/britain-and-greek-colonels-ccommodating.html" target="_blank">διαδικτυακό περιοδικό Θέματα Ελληνικής Ιστορίας</a>:</span><br />
<br />
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
"Britain and the Greek Colonels: Αccommodating the Junta in the Cold War" το νέο βιβλίο του κ. Αλέξανδρου Ναυπλιώτη
</h3>
<div class="post-header">
</div>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Written By φιλίστωρ Ι. Β. Δ. on 20 Ιανουαρίου 2013 | 1/20/2013 04:46:00 μ.μ.</span></h2>
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<span style="height: 24px; width: 450px;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>(Σημ Φιλίστωρος: Μια μελέτη από τον
κ. Ναυπλιώτη που μοιάζει ιδιαίτερα ενδιαφέρουσα καθώς καταπιάνεται με
ένα θέμα που μου φαίνεται πως δεν έχει αναλυθεί επαρκώς ως τώρα στην
βιβλιογραφία, ενώ αξιοποιεί μια σειρά από νέα στοιχεία από Βρετανικά και
Αμερικανικά έγγραφα που αποχαρακτηρίστηκαν πρόσφατα. Ελπίζουμε να
εκδοθεί και στα Ελληνικά το συντομότερο).</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OuVwiazlWNM/UPwAdV5vw2I/AAAAAAAAJCQ/TOiwBwc1m5E/s1600/BritainAndTheGreekColonels150x227.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OuVwiazlWNM/UPwAdV5vw2I/AAAAAAAAJCQ/TOiwBwc1m5E/s400/BritainAndTheGreekColonels150x227.jpg" height="400" width="263" /></a></div>
<div class="Style-2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%;">Δρ. Αλέξανδρος Ναυπλιώτης*</span></div>
<div class="Style-2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="Style-2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">
<span class="hps">Στο βιβλίο αυτό ο</span> <span class="hps">Αλέξανδρος</span> <span class="hps">Ναυπλιώτης</span> εξετάζει τη <span class="hps">βρετανική</span> <span class="hps">εξωτερική πολιτική</span> <span class="hps">απέναντι στην Ελλάδα</span>,
<span class="hps">αποκαλύπτοντας</span> <span class="hps">μια κυρίαρχη αρχή</span> <span class="hps">πραγματισμού</span> <span class="hps">πάνω απ'όλα</span>. <span class="hps">Αυτή είναι η</span> <span class="hps">πρώτη συστηματική</span> <span class="hps">μελέτη των σχέσεων</span> <span class="hps">της Βρετανίας</span> <span class="hps">και της χούντας</span> <span class="hps">και βασίζεται σε</span> <span class="hps">πρόσφατα αποχαρακτηρισμένα βρετανικά και αμερικανικά έγγραφα, καθώς
και σε</span> <span class="hps">επίσημες ελληνικές πηγές</span> <span class="hps">και</span>
<span class="hps">προσωπικές συνεντεύξεις</span> <span class="hps">με</span> <span class="hps">πρωταγωνιστές της εποχής</span>. <span class="hps">Το βιβλίο</span> <span class="hps">είναι μια ολοκληρωμένη</span> <span class="hps">ιστορία</span> <span class="hps">διεθνούς διπλωματίας</span> <span class="hps">και </span></span><span class="hps"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 200%;">R</span></span><span class="hps"><span style="line-height: 200%;">ealpolitik</span></span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> <span class="hps">κατά την περίοδο του Ψυχρού</span> <span class="hps">Πολέμου</span>. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36pt;">Το
παρόν βιβλίο εξετάζει την πολιτική των κυβερνήσεων Ουίλσον και Χηθ ως προς την
εγκαθίδρυση και την εδραίωση, αλλά και τις πράξεις της στρατιωτικής δικτατορίας
που κατείχε την εξουσία από το 1967 έως το 1974. Επίκεντρο της έρευνας είναι οι
διπλωματικές, οικονομικές, πολιτισμικές και αμυντικές σχέσεις των δύο
παραδοσιακών συμμάχων. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36pt;">Επιχειρεί επίσης να εξηγήσει τους παράγοντες διαμόρφωσης
του «διπλωματικού» χειρισμού της ελληνικής υπόθεσης από τη Βρετανία,
εξετάζοντας το γενικό πλαίσιο της «αποποίησης του στάτους παγκόσμιας δύναμης»
ως συνέπεια της εγκατάλειψης της «πολιτικής στα Ανατολικά του Σουέζ», και τις
σχέσεις των δύο χωρών με τις υπερδυνάμεις και τις περιφερειακές δυνάμεις της
εποχής, μέσα στο πλαίσιο του Ψυχρού Πολέμου.</span><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7473206566901327636" name="more"></a></div>
<div class="Style-2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Πιο αναλυτικά,
το βιβλίο εξετάζει το κατά πόσον γνώριζε το Λονδίνο για το πραξικόπημα της 21<sup>ης</sup>
Απριλίου, καθώς και το βαθμό τυχόν συμμετοχής του σε αυτό, και αναλύει κριτικά
τη βρετανική αντίδραση στα σημαντικότερα γεγονότα που έλαβαν χώρα κατά την επταετία· πρόκειται για σημαίνουσες εσωτερικές
εξελίξεις (όπως η πρόοδος της αποκατάστασης της δημοκρατίας), καθώς και για τις
προσπάθειες των Συνταγματαρχών για νομιμοποίηση στο εξωτερικό, με κύριο όργανο
τη δημιουργία επαφών με κομμουνιστικές βαλκανικές και αφρικανικές χώρες, αλλά
και τις συνέπειες της ένταξης της Βρετανίας στην ΕΟΚ. </span></span></div>
<div class="Style-2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="Style-2" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Αναλύεται
επίσης η επίδραση που άσκησαν στις ελληνο-βρετανικές σχέσεις τόσο γεγονότα στη
Βρετανία, όπως η οικονομική κατάσταση και οι εθνικές εκλογές του 1970 και του
1974, όσο και διεθνή συμβάντα, όπως η κυπριακή και η αραβο-ισραηλινή διένεξη
(οι επιπτώσεις των οποίων διακρίνονται ακόμη και σήμερα), η σοβιετική εισβολή
στην Τσεχοσλοβακία, και η διαδικασία της Ύφεσης και της Ευρωπαϊκής ενοποίησης.
Ακόμη, η μελέτη αυτή εξετάζει την πολιτική της Βρετανίας απέναντι στη Χούντα σε
συνάρτηση με το εξαιρετικά σημαντικό ζήτημα της συμμετοχής της Ελλάδας στο ΝΑΤΟ
και τον αντίκτυπο που είχε αυτό στις σχέσεις Βρετανίας και ΗΠΑ.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">*Ο
Αλέξανδρος Ναυπλιώτης είναι Διδάκτωρ διεθνούς ιστορίας του </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">London</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">School</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">of</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">Economics</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">and</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">Political</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">Science</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">. Έχει διατελέσει Επισκέπτης Ερευνητής στο Ελληνικό
Παρατηρητήριο του ίδιου πανεπιστημίου και ερευνητής στη Διεύθυνση Ιστορίας
Στρατού, ενώ έχει διδάξει επί σειρά ετών ιστορία διεθνών σχέσεων στο </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">LSE</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">. Άρθρα του έχουν δημοσιευθεί σε γνωστές ακαδημαϊκές επιθεωρήσεις
και ιστορικά περιοδικά όπως το European
Review of History – Revue européenne d’histoire, το Journal of Modern Greek Studies, το </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">European</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">History</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">Quarterly</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, το </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">Cold</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">War</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">History</span></i></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">, το "</span>Δελτίο του
Κέντρου Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών"<span style="font-size: x-small;">, τα "</span>Ιστορικά
Θέματα" και άλλα, και έχει βραβευθεί από την Ελληνική Κοινότητα Λονδίνου για
τη διατριβή του με θέμα τις σχέσεις Βρετανίας και Ελλάδας την περίοδο της
δικτατορίας των Συνταγματαρχών. </i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Σχετικοί υπερσύνδεσμοι:</b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><a href="http://britainandthecolonels.blogspot.co.uk/">http://britainandthecolonels.blogspot.co.uk/</a></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><a href="http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/publications/books/2012/BritainAndTheGreekColonels.aspx" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" target="_blank">http://www2.lse.ac.uk/<wbr></wbr>newsAndMedia/publications/<wbr></wbr>books/2012/<wbr></wbr>BritainAndTheGreekColonels.<wbr></wbr>aspx</a></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><br /></b>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>http://alexnaf.wordpress.com/about/</b></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-52408109748600072392013-02-09T13:04:00.001+00:002013-02-09T13:04:33.284+00:00Book featured on LSE websiteMy book on Britain and the Greek Colonels' regime is featured on the <a href="http://www2.lse.ac.uk/home.aspx" target="_blank">Main page </a>of the <b>London School of Economics and Political Science</b> under 'New books' by LSE academics.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QroS42A8I38/URZH_6_A1xI/AAAAAAAAATw/UFNpuqzV4wA/s1600/Book+LSE+website.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QroS42A8I38/URZH_6_A1xI/AAAAAAAAATw/UFNpuqzV4wA/s1600/Book+LSE+website.png" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
See more information (including a review by Dr Sotiris Rizas), <a href="http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/publications/books/2012/BritainAndTheGreekColonels.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
The book is also featured on the webpage of <a href="http://www2.lse.ac.uk/internationalHistory/home.aspx" target="_blank">LSE's International History Department</a>. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-58082401124056131052012-12-19T19:36:00.000+00:002012-12-19T19:36:39.344+00:00Publication of the book<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rl96EFQ9-h8/UNIWW4LBdTI/AAAAAAAAATQ/RrEJX-bnLTk/s1600/Book+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rl96EFQ9-h8/UNIWW4LBdTI/AAAAAAAAATQ/RrEJX-bnLTk/s1600/Book+cover.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover of the book</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My first book (largely based on my PhD research), on British foreign policy towards Greece in the turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s, has now been published.<br />
<br />
Here’s the description of the book:<br />
<br />
At the apex of international Cold War tension, an alliance of Greek
military leaders seized power in Athens. Seven years of violent
political repression followed in Greece, yet, as Cold War allies, the
Greek colonels had continued international support – especially from
Britain. Why did the Wilson and Heath governments choose to pursue an
alliance with these military dictators? Alexandros Nafpliotis’ book
examines British foreign policy towards Greece, exposing a guiding
principle of pragmatism above all else. This is the first systematic
study of Britain and the Junta to be based on newly-released National
Archive documents, US and Greek sources and personal interviews with
leading actors. Britain and the Greek Colonels is a comprehensive
history of international diplomacy and realpolitik in the Cold War
period.<br />
<br />
You can order the book by visiting the I.B.Tauris website: <br />
<a href="http://www.ibtauris.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ibtauris.com/</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-6766117228645401752012-11-27T13:37:00.002+00:002013-02-15T09:56:38.396+00:00Mario Modiano, former Times correspondent in Athens dies<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sad news as f</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">ormer</span> Times
correspondent in Athens, <strong>Mario Modiano</strong>, died at 86.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">According to <a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_26/11/2012_471657" target="_blank">ekathimerini.com</a>: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">'Modiano was a well-known chronicler of some of the key moments of Greek
history, such as <em>the military dictatorship</em>, the restoration of democracy and the
separation of Cyprus'.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">He was not loved by the junta because he related in great detail cases of systematic torture of jailed opponents.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can find an obituary written in The Times, <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article3688379.ece" target="_blank">here</a> - and another one, published in the Daily Telegraph, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9856318/Mario-Modiano.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">You can read a very interesting interview of his, where he recounts the story of his family's arrival to Greece, as well as his personal experience of the German occupation and the Greek Colonels' regime, <a href="http://www.centropa.org/index.php?nID=30&x=c2VhcmNoVHlwZT1CaW9EZXRhaWw7IHNlYXJjaFZhbHVlPTIzMw==" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">A more in depth account of the events immediately after the collapse of the regime can be found in <a href="http://www.athensnews.gr/old_issue/13076/11554" target="_blank">this article</a> he wrote a year ago.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-61wTJm1h8Ig/UR4EF2kKdLI/AAAAAAAAAUA/EPf-azWMpC0/s1600/Modiano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-61wTJm1h8Ig/UR4EF2kKdLI/AAAAAAAAAUA/EPf-azWMpC0/s1600/Modiano.jpg" height="249" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modiano in Greece - telegraph.co.uk</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In this excerpt from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Britain-Greek-Colonels-Accommodating-International/dp/184885952X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354026849&sr=1-1" target="_blank">my forthcoming book</a>, you can see how Modiano, talking to British officials well before the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_republic_referendum,_1973" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">1973 Greek republic referendum</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">, predicted, with uncanny precision, the exact percentage of the people who would vote 'Yes' to the constitutional changes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The fact that both foreign journalists and the British Embassy could so easily provide a accurate estimate of the result well in advance speaks volumes about the genuineness of the referendum.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The junta had warned the British </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">that they should not judge the referendum by British standards and members of the international press had expressed the certainty that it would be ‘a farce’. <strong>Mario Modiano </strong>[...] thought that the decision to abolish the monarchy had been taken a long time ago, told the British that the Colonels would not permit a repeat of the results of the 1968 plebiscite, in order to make them appear genuine: ‘<u>If as seems likely they fudged the figures, they were likely to choose a more plausible percentage (</u></span></span><u><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">like for example 78%</span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></u><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>)</u>’ (emphasis added).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This was also the opinion of some FCO officials who had realized, as early as in June 1973, that there was ‘little doubt as to the outcome of the referendum, although the government, who were believed to be embarrassed by the very high yes-votes in 1968, might prefer a rather smaller percentage in their favour this time’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The British conceded that it was ‘very easy’ to predict the outcome of the referendum, with the Colonels still controlling the levers of power and not being able to afford to lose. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">[...] As [British official J F R] Martin admitted shortly before the referendum, ‘few observers doubt that the figure has been decided in advance to within a few per cent’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Polling took place on 29 July to approve the new republican constitution and the appointment of Papadopoulos as president (reserving for him exclusive powers over defence, foreign affairs and internal security) and Angelis as vice-president. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The final results showed that ‘yes’ got the <em>78.4% of the vote</em>, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">which was considered ‘a respectable looking percentage’ in London. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The British embassy’s own estimate had been <em>78% </em>(emphasis added)<em>.</em></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: xx-small;"></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-963656584037803052012-10-18T11:53:00.003+01:002012-10-18T12:39:49.444+01:00UK and Human Rights abroad (continued)Following up on yesterday's blog post on <a href="http://britainandthecolonels.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/uk-and-human-rights-abroad.html"><span style="color: #2288bb;">UK
and Human Rights abroad</span></a>, the <strong>Financial Times</strong> has published an editorial on the subject today, entitled <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/70df1b54-1862-11e2-80af-00144feabdc0.html#axzz29XeJCA8G" target="_blank">'Rights in Bahrain'</a>. <br />
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The concluding paragraph shows how little things have changed since the 1970s, as Britain was also accused of double standards in its dealings with the Greek dictatorship.<br />
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According to the paper,<br />
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"The art of foreign relations for any open democracy is to balance defence of human rights with other national interests. Britain has been accused of getting the balance wrong in Bahrain, where repression is a daily presence.<br />
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The criticism, made in a <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1ec003f2-17b2-11e2-8cbe-00144feabdc0.html" title="MPs attack ministers on Bahrain stance - FT.com">parliamentary report</a>, is valid – but only in part. When Bahrain’s government brutally cracked down on anti-regime demonstrators in 2011, leaving 35 dead, the UK was one of the first to protest publicly despite important trade and security links. It is also a behind-the-scenes player in efforts to promote dialogue between the ruling Sunni elite and Shia majority. The US, perhaps with one eye on its naval base in Bahrain, appears to be less involved than in the past, so Britain’s role has become key. Mediators are often more effective if criticism stays behind closed doors. <br />
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Nonetheless, parliamentarians are right to say that the UK needs to be more assertive. The softly-softly approach has not delivered results. The difficulty is that the Al Khalifa royal family is itself divided and hardliners have managed to stymie political reform. [...]<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Britain, meanwhile, has to be more up front about the conflicts it faces in pursuing national interests. The criteria by which it judges the gravity of human rights failings in ally countries need to be more clearly explained. That is the only way to avoid being accused of double standards</span>."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-48297360452422400382012-10-17T15:46:00.000+01:002013-05-15T08:38:23.980+01:00UK and Human Rights abroadAs you can see by reading <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19971116" target="_blank">this article</a> that was published today on the BBC NEWS website, <br />
The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has accused the UK government of inconsistency in its dealings with other countries over
human rights.<br />
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According to the BBC:<br />
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The committee accepted it was "inevitable" that there would be occasional
conflicts between the UK's strategic, commercial or security-related interests
and its human rights values and a "balance" had to be struck. <br />
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The report reads: "In our view, it would be in the government's interest for it to be more
transparent in acknowledging that there will be contradictions in pursuing these
interests while promoting human rights values.<br />
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The government's role should be publicly to set out and explain its
judgements on how far to balance the two in particular cases, having taken into
account the need to adapt policy according to local circumstances and
developments."<br />
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You can find the full report (as well as FCO's response) <a href="http://fcohrdreport.readandcomment.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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The 2011 report mentioned above focuses on the UK's (apparently inconsistent) dealings with Ukraine and Bahrain. <br />
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If you're interested in some historical context, the British government's 'inconsistency' in relation to the case of the Greek Colonels' regime is highlighted in <a href="http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Humanities/History/History%20earliest%20times%20to%20present%20day/20th%20century%20history%20c%201900%20%20to%20c%202000/Postwar%2020th%20century%20history%20from%20c%201945%20to%20c%202000/Britain%20and%20the%20Greek%20Colonels%20Accommodating%20the%20Junta%20in%20the%20Cold%20War.aspx" target="_blank">my forthcoming book</a>.<br />
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To give you an idea, this is from the conclusion of the first chapter (pp. 41-42):<br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"All in all, the British stance towards the dictatorship of the Colonels, during the first two years could be characterised as one of ambiguity. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>London hesitated in almost every decision it had to take, oscillating </u></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>between the two poles of its policy: namely, (1) protecting its mainly commercial and strategic interests and its ‘special relationship’ with Washington, and (2) upholding human rights and promoting a return to democratic rule, basically through trying to influence the regime and sustaining some efforts of the opposition. </u>The initial inertia of the Labour government soon changed to a pragmatic policy of establishing relations with the junta, without, however, appearing to <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">be too close to Greece’s military dictators. The catalyst for this change were three events that took place in 1967; the Six Day War, the crisis in Cyprus, and the failed royal counter-coup. The first demonstrated Greece’s augmented significance as a NATO ally in a troubled region, the second proved to the British the value of keeping closer relations with the Greek leaders, and the third confirmed the consolidation of the regime. When 1968 came and Britain recognized the junta anew, it became clear that, despite some instances of criticism of the dictatorship -mainly for public consumption- London was willing to make use of ‘different tactics’ in order to safeguard its (chiefly commercial and strategic) interests vis-à-vis Greece. The impact of international events was once again decisive as the Prague Spring and increased Soviet naval activity in the Mediterranean were conducive to a reconsideration of British policy towards the Colonels and the adoption of a ‘business as usual’ approach, thus acting as a prelude to the new era of relations that was soon to follow."</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-83084698061096955062012-07-13T14:59:00.001+01:002012-10-18T15:34:07.586+01:00UK Arms Export Policy- Now and then<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/committee-on-arms-export-controls/" target="_blank">The Committees on Arms Export Controls</a> has published today <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/committee-on-arms-export-controls/news/por-substantial-/" target="_blank">a report</a> saying that the UK government should apply significantly more cautious judgements on the export of arms to authoritarian regimes which might be used for internal repression. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WyajYntm69k/UAAoWnVvtCI/AAAAAAAAAQA/u51i8CB36D0/s1600/stanley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WyajYntm69k/UAAoWnVvtCI/AAAAAAAAAQA/u51i8CB36D0/s1600/stanley.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from conservatives.com</td></tr>
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The Chairman of the Committees, <a href="http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_Parliament/Stanley_Sir_John.aspx" target="_blank">Sir John Stanley</a> (who firstly became an MP a few months before the junta's fall in 1974) said:<br />
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"This is a ground breaking Report in the depth and detail of the Committees on Arms Export Controls' scrutiny of the Government’s policies on arms exports. </blockquote>
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The Foreign Secretary in his Oral evidence to the Committee confirmed that the British Government's policy on arms exports and internal repression was as follows:</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The long-standing British position is clear: We will not issue licences where we judge there is a clear risk that the proposed export might provoke or prolong regional or internal conflicts, or</span> which might be used to facilitate internal repression.</span>" </blockquote>
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This reminded me of the situation vis-a-vis providing arms to the Greek dictatorship of the 1960s-1970s.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;">Recently released FCO documents reveal that during the discussions of the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee on 30 January 1969 on arms policy towards Greece, it was decided that Britain ‘should in principle permit the supply to Greece of arms which she could reasonably be expected to require in order to fulfil her NATO role’ and tha<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">t</span> only the supply of those arms intended to repress the civilian population should be prohibited.</span></span></span></div>
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But how exactly did Whitehall handle this conundrum?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Garamond3LTStd; font-size: small;">Here's how I analyse it in my forthcoming <a href="http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Humanities/History/History%20earliest%20times%20to%20present%20day/20th%20century%20history%20c%201900%20%20to%20c%202000/Postwar%2020th%20century%20history%20from%20c%201945%20to%20c%202000/Britain%20and%20the%20Greek%20Colonels%20Accommodating%20the%20Junta%20in%20the%20Cold%20War.aspx" target="_blank">book</a> (pp. 246-7):</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Arms sales to Greece was [a] highly
controversial issue-no less so due to prior complications over trade with South
Africa. <b>The Wilson government</b> drew a distinction (similar to the one employed vis-à-vis
the apartheid regime), whereby large items which could be used for NATO
purposes, such as tanks, could be exported, whereas ‘light’ items, like
grenades and small rifles, which could be used for internal repression could
not be sold to Athens. The Labour government tried to handle this delicate and
potentially explosive question in strict confidence, thus exemplifying its
twofold policy of keeping relations with the Colonels on a satisfactory level
and at the same time avoiding hostile criticism, especially within parliament.
This ‘combination of high-minded principle and arms sales’, as one member of
the Cabinet termed it, provided an impetus for attacks on Whitehall (for the
most part from its left wing), which defended its choices by returning to the <i>Leitmotif
</i>of the dismal financial situation of Britain that was in desperate need of
exports, and the importance of the arms industry with regard to the jobs it
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FCO photo taken from <span id="rg_hr">news.bbc.co.uk</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Consequently, when <b>the Conservatives</b> came to
power, a continuation of the status quo concerning arms sales was the minimum expected.
In fact, the Heath government used its predecessor’s policy as a springboard
for the active promotion of sales in order to boost its trade with Greece.
London made its desire to sell arms to the junta more distinct, by arranging
the exchange of visits of people involved, on a variety of levels, in arms
sales. Most importantly, British ministers kept reiterating their willingness
to provide frigates and, after an initial numbness, even tanks to the military
dictatorship in Athens, in a policy that culminated in Lord Carrington’s visit
to the Greek capital. Despite Whitehall’s active policy of attracting arms
deals, sales seldom materialized. FCO documents reveal that the British
attributed that to the ‘Byzantine style of negotiations’ of the Greeks and
their unwillingness to appear to ‘go other than American’. Greek documents show
that the junta was more interested in appearing to be in negotiations with the
British (in order to enhance its international respectability) than proceed
with sales, for the additional reason that, in the most significant cases (such
as the frigates), Athens lacked the necessary funds. Therefore, while Britain
was preoccupied with supporting its arms industry and generally improving its
trade in a desperate effort to reverse its financial decline, the Greeks’ main
concern was to use any contracts secured for political exploitation.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times-Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Times-Roman; font-size: xx-small;"></span></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-25938828022316854022012-06-15T15:39:00.002+01:002012-10-18T15:35:55.264+01:00British press on Greek crisis refers to juntaAs Greece continues to make headlines because of the financial and political crisis it is facing, references to the Greek Colonels' regime keep springing up. <br />
<br />
The latest articles to mention the dictatorship appeared in the British press yesterday:<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article3445270.ece" target="_blank">this The Times article</a>, a <a href="http://www.eliamep.gr/en/about-us/the-team/thanos-dokos-director-general/" target="_blank">Greek expert</a> is asked about the possibility of a repeat of the 1967 coup:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZQ8BAITZQ0/T9tI6dmgi_I/AAAAAAAAAP0/iLrxStysFp4/s1600/dokos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZQ8BAITZQ0/T9tI6dmgi_I/AAAAAAAAAP0/iLrxStysFp4/s200/dokos.jpg" width="172" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Dokos - Photo taken from <a href="http://www.belgradeforum.org/">http://www.belgradeforum.org</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One worst-case outcome does look so remote that it is all but excluded by experts: a military coup establishing a dictatorship like the junta that ended in 1974.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mr Dokos of ELIAMEP has taught in military academies. “If you ask me if there will be any move by the military, I would tell you ‘no’,” he said. “I think they are too democratically indoctrinated for 38 years now.”</span> </blockquote>
While, in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/greek-election-blog-2012/2012/jun/13/greeks-swimming-against-the-tide?INTCMP=SRCH" target="_blank">this article that appeared in The Guardian</a>, a 29-year-old enterpreneur explains his decision to return to his native Greece to set up a consultancy:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"At the moment, we don't really see a light at the end of the tunnel," he says. "There should always be a light. Even during the [Nazi] occupation there was a light. <span style="font-size: large;">During the [colonels'] dictatorship there was a light. Now there's not.</span> That's why I'm staying here. To find a light."</blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7473206566901327636.post-79758439361890133152012-06-14T12:25:00.000+01:002012-06-14T12:28:51.085+01:00FT article on geopolitical ramifications of Greek electionIn <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/122ac7f6-b562-11e1-ad93-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1xTFmOO82" target="_blank">this article</a> the <em>Financial Times</em> Europe editor claims that the stakes in Sunday's Greek election are 'geopolitical rather than financial'. <br />
<br />
Both <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democracy_(Greece)" target="_blank">New Democracy</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syriza" target="_blank">Syriza</a>'s flirting with Russia and other non-EU, non-NATO countries, as well as the 'disarray of Greece's foreign ministry', are highlighted.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2k3IAGn7aaY/T9nI1IdpXBI/AAAAAAAAAPo/rN0lgrONJ58/s1600/Barber-Tony-241x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2k3IAGn7aaY/T9nI1IdpXBI/AAAAAAAAAPo/rN0lgrONJ58/s1600/Barber-Tony-241x300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Tony Barber</strong> - taken from <a href="http://stateoftheunion.eui.eu/">http://stateoftheunion.eui.eu/</a></td></tr>
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This proposed re-orientation (or 'diversification' if you like) of Greek foreign policy (to the extent it is put forward and to the degree it is possible) is reminiscent of an era, up until now considered long gone, when Greece was outside the EU and was facing isolation from the West.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://stateoftheunion.eui.eu/tony-barber.html" target="_blank">Tony Barber</a> points to the Greeks' disillusionment with the West by making a reference to the Greek junta:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Although younger Greeks are proud of their modern European identity, half of them today are unemployed and fearful for their future. <u>Older Greeks, meanwhile, remember Nato’s decision to stay on the sidelines when Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 – as well as what they recall as US support for the 1967-74 Greek military junta.</u></span></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386100967348994545noreply@blogger.com0