RMP & Cyprus Emergency (1 Viewer)

[jomartvr]

I purchased an R4a 1:32 Royal Military Policeman and decided to scratch build a base for this figure. The graffiti and posters are from the Cyprus Emergency. Here a RMP is conducting a weapons search in a Greek Cypriot village. E.O.K.A. is the abbreviation for the Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla/terrorist organization that fought a campaign to end British rule in Cyprus.

Enjoy.
Benjamin

 

[thanasis67]

Well, E.O.K.A. was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign to end British rule in Cyprus and very well they did, but they were not terrorists.
Anyway, nice figure. There are not to many MP figures out there and R4A makes a few nice ones. I noticed a TV series named "Last Post" with MPs in Aden.

 

[Horus]

Well, E.O.K.A. was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign to end British rule in Cyprus and very well they did, but they were not terrorists.
Anyway, nice figure. There are not to many MP figures out there and R4A makes a few nice ones. I noticed a TV series named "Last Post" with MPs in Aden.

As the saying goes, One mans freedom fighter is another mans terrorist !
Just different perspectives and families that grieve on both sides.
I think a discussion on this era would quickly flare up into anger and name calling, so a subject not suitable for a TS hobby forum I would say.

Steve

 

[King & Country]

Well, E.O.K.A. was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign to end British rule in Cyprus and very well they did, but they were not terrorists.
Anyway, nice figure. There are not to many MP figures out there and R4A makes a few nice ones. I noticed a TV series named "Last Post" with MPs in Aden.

Hi Guys,
I'm old enough to remember the EOKA campaign of the late 1950's...Although just a young kid at the time one of my uncles was doing his National Service in the Royal Engineers and was stationed in Cyprus during part of the 'emergency' there.

From the stories he told EOKA was not only fighting for independence from Britain...What they really wanted was 'Enosis'...Union with Greece...Much to the dismay of the minority Turkish Cypriots...So the majority of EOKA's victims were either British troops and civilians but also Turkish Cypriots plus any fellow Greek Cypriots who remained loyal to the Crown.

Many years later, after Cyprus became independent, EOKA and Enosis briefly raised its head once more...which in turn led to a Turkish military invasion in 1974...But that's another story...

Best Christmas wishes to one and all!
Andy.

 

[thanasis67]

The British troops in Cyprus and everywhere in the then decaying British Empire were obliged to do their duty since their home country sent them there, but I suppose the natives had the right to free themselves from a foreign rule.

 

[King & Country]

The British troops in Cyprus and everywhere in the then decaying British Empire were obliged to do their duty since their home country sent them there, but I suppose the natives had the right to free themselves from a foreign rule.

You certainly raise some interesting points my friend...

However, I reckon there are more than a few places in the world where the 'natives' had a better, fairer deal under the British than their so-called liberators who took over after we left!

Let's start with Zimbabwe...
We British might not always be good at running our own country...But we're pretty good at running other people's.

By the by...You failed to mention 'Enosis' and EOKA's attachment to it...
Best wishes,
Andy.

 

[thanasis67]

Dear Andy

I do not failed to mention Enosis and EOKA B' but it is more complicated matter and definitely outside the scope of this forum. My last comments, and I stop here, is that the people of Zimbabwe have the right to decide for their fate as the people of India etc. They bare the onus of their choices. The term "liberators", as you used it, may very well apply to the Soviets who "liberated" with their own unique way Checkoslovakia, Hungary etc and kept them "liberated" for the next 45 years.

Merry Christmas

 

[jomartvr]

Gentlemen,

My intent was merely to display the RMP in a different setting than the usual WWII context. Nothing more.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Benjamin

 

[thanasis67]

Dear Benjamin

I suppose you are quite right. Merry Christmas too.

Thanasis

 

[johnnybach]

The British troops in Cyprus and everywhere in the then decaying British Empire were obliged to do their duty since their home country sent them there, but I suppose the natives had the right to free themselves from a foreign rule.

I'm British - and I was sent there wearing a Blue Beret - to act as a Peacekeeper after the Island was "liberated" and then partitioned- to help keep the peace. I remember being thanked on several occasions by local people - for coming back to help.

Happy Xmas to everyone. jb

 

[Alexander the Great]

Folks this issue is very complicated (I know it very well, I am Greek Cypriot).

EOKA's goal was unification with Greece and unfortunately the enemy in this case was the British Empire. Interestingly enough thousands of Cypriots volunteered and fought with the British against the axis powers in Europe and the middle east during WWII. A lot of Cypriots to this day have strong ties with the UK and everything British, did I mention the thousands of British tourists that come to Cyprus every year? The fight was all about freedom, not different than the American Revolution if you think about it (common people that really had nothing against the British other than the thirst for freedom!).

Both sides were in the right one fighting for freedom and the other to uphold the rights of the British Empire to its colony. The fact that a Turkish minority lived/lives on the island complicated the matter. One side calling for Enosis (unification) with Greece and the other for Taxim (separation). The only solution left was independence and of course that caused issues between the Greeks and the Turks leading to the Turkish invasion of 1974, the 200,00 Cypriot refugees etc....

Happy to provide more info if any is needed, but the short of it is that the British could not keep the people that gave democracy to the world from it!!

 

[BattlewagonBruce]

This is illuminating. Surely in the model soldier collecting hobby we must have a certain distance from the morality or otherwise of a given subject. History is littered with bloodshed, just and unjust, and our hobby is about depicting it as a reflection of our interest.

I think the fact that most manufacturers make Waffen SS figures illustrates this. You cant really cherry pick what should be represented and should not be, as we would get into a real mess.

I understand there are sensitivities, but surely we can be aware of these in our hobby without censuring what is an acceptable subject.

I grew up in Belfast through the 70's, but I fully intend to release soldiers from that conflict.

We have already released figures from the 47 Arab Israeli War, and the Easter Rising. Both important historical events. We have figures in range with Nazi emblems, but I am not condoning any historical behaviour, just depicting it.

 

[jules118]

As has already been stated, One mans freedom fighter is another mans terrorist.
Terrorism is defined as the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.
Regardless of their motivation, or where each of our sympathies lay, whether the EOKA could be deemed a terrorist organisation or not would depend on how they conducted their operations and who the targets of their attacks were. The systematic and deliberate targeting of civilians as part of an organisation's strategy to force political change constitutes an act of terrorism regardless of the justification or how much we may agree with the perpetrator's cause. We're deceiving ourselves when we refuse to accept that reality regardless of the cause or which side we're on.

 

[The Military Workshop]

My Dad was in Intelligence Corps in Cyprus. I remember one evening going out for food and we heard a rumbling on the road which turned out to be Turkish tanks. Dad sent me outside to count them and was pleased to find the next day mine was an accurate count compared to another Army counter.

Great place to be posted and we were there twice. Still a major RAF base at Akrotiri.