By Emily Phillipson
The Cyprus Operation
Dedicated to all the soldiers that fought in Cyprus to protect their fellow countrymen. Especially my uncle, Captain Cemil Lale
Table of contents
Dedecation Picture of Cemil Lale Introduction Historical Narrative Looking back Procedure About the author Bibliography
2 4 5 6-12 13 14-16 17 18
Cemil Lale
Introduction This event took place in 1974 (42 years ago) on the island of Cyprus. Even though the UN and the EU try their best to resolve the conflict every few years, the two sides seem as far apart as ever. New talks are currently going on, but it doesn't look as if they will solve the ongoing problem of trust between the two sides (Turkish and Greek Cypriot). Cemil Lale, the subject of this story, carried on serving as a regular army Captain until he retired in 1994 after his last posting as a Colonel at the army headquarters in Ankara. A forward listening post is a temporary, camouflaged camp set up well forward of the army’s general position, as close as possible to enemy lines, to observe and report back about any movements made (in this case) by the Greek Cypriot forces.
Stopped!
It was 6:30 pm and was standing outside my tent. The sun seemed to be sad and weak, as if was setting a bit earlier. Soon it would be night... and then a new day, the big day, could begin.
Earlier I had asked my soldiers to come and meet me in front of my tent. I had stood waiting, starting to become impatient.
Then I heard footsteps. Coordinated footsteps, marching in time. That had to be my men. ‘Soldiers!’ I called out. ‘Sir, yes sir!’ They replied.
Their dark hair matched the dark night, and the dark night matched the malevolent tension in the air. Their halfvisible faces seemed like an unsolved mystery, hiding their identities and their fears.
‘Tomorrow morning. 5:30 a.m sharp, you will move forward and set up a listening post. You will observe all movement and report back to me immediately. Make sure to be well camouflaged. The land there is green, with a lot of trees, which should make staying hidden easier for you.’ I ordered. ‘Yes sir!’ They responded. ‘Sergeant’ I pointed to their leader. ‘Sir?’ he replied calmly. ‘You will be in command of the listening post, and the one to report back to me in detail.’ ‘Yes sir.’ He answered. ‘Soldiers, you may now return to your duties, and good luck tomorrow..’ I said ‘Thank you sir.’ As I walked back into my tent, I thought of all my responsibilities. I thought of all my decisions. I thought mostly about all the lives that depended on me.
The sky looked overworked, a dark shade of black and blue, fearful yet peaceful. I looked up at the stars and counted. 1….2….3…. sleep….. Then it was 6:30 a.m and an annoying noise rang in my head. The light beamed through the window: the curtains weren’t doing their job. I let my eyes adjust to the light and tried to get up. My legs ached. I guessed I was just tired. Finally, I realised that the ringing noise was my radio. It was the commander of the listening post calling. ‘Sir.’ he said. ‘Yes.’ I replied. ‘Sorry to wake you but I have a slight problem.’ he added. ‘What is it?’ ’
‘Our advance has been stopped by United Nations peacekeepers and told to turn back. Should we obey them, or just push on past them? We have more people and weapons…' At this point I didn’t know what to do. This was a very difficult decision. My orders were to move forward, but if we did so, real shooting might have started. People in my command could die, and to fight with the UN would cause a serious political incident for my army and my government. I put the handset down for a moment and closed my eyes to concentrate. Suddenly, I heard voices outside and the zipper of my tent open slightly. I picked up the handset again and told my Sergeant to wait for a moment. ‘Commander.’ an unknown voice said. ‘Yes?’ I replied, wondering who it was.
‘Can we come in?’ They asked. ‘Enter.’ I replied. It turned out to be two senior officers from headquarters, touring the front lines of the operation. ‘General?’ I asked the taller one. ‘Yes, commander?’ he replied. ‘Last night, I gave orders for my troops to set up a forward listening post. Now, I have just this minute been informed that they have been stopped by UN peacekeepers.’ ‘I understand, there was always a risk that this might happen. What is your recommendation?’ ‘I think that my troops should negotiate hard and insist on hold their position. But not push forward.’
‘I agree. Thank you for letting us know, and good luck. Provide hourly reports until this issue is resolved.’ ‘Yes sir.’ As soon as the senior officers were out of my tent I turned back to the radio to hear… ‘Hello? Commander?’ ‘Yes Sergeant?’ I replied. ‘What are your orders for us, sir?’ ‘You will negotiate and try to hold your position. Do not, under any circumstances do anything aggressive towards the UN. I don’t want to take any chances.’ ‘Understood, sir.’ The radio fell silent, and I was alone again.
Thoughts rushed through my head. Noises buzzed in my ear and my pulse quickened. What if they don’t let my troops stay there? What if they push my troops back? What would happen to my career? Just as I was about to sit down, the radio buzzed again. ‘Commander?’ yet again, it was the sergeant of the forward listening post. ‘Yes?’ I answered, tiredly. ‘The UN forces have allowed us to stay in place.’ ‘Very well Sergeant, carry on.’ I tried to hide the relief that I was feeling as I spoke. We had done our job properly, especially the Sergeant. Finally, I sat down. ‘Good job, Commander.’ I said out loud, to myself.
Looking back These tense moments repeatedly flashed in front of my eyes like a weak flashback you would see in a movie. Looking back on the incident and the lessons to be learned, I realised that I really should have been more prepared for things to go wrong. Events might not always go as expected, so there should always be a Plan B… and C… But at the same time, I felt proud of my actions, and my men: because of our decision to stand firm, we (the Turkish Army) gained ten hectares of land. And best of all my listening post is still there to this day!
Procedure
Procedure
Procedure
About the author
My name is Emily Phillipson. I am 12 years old. I go to 7th grade at IICS. I enjoy writing, reading and playing sports like football and volleyball. I enjoyed writing this piece because I thought that the idea of writing from another person's perspective was interesting.
Bibliography “BBC ON THIS DAY.” BBC News, BBC, 20 July 1974, news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/20/newsid_ 3866000/3866521.stm. “Cyprus.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Dempster , Harry. “Siege In Cyprus.” Britannica ImageQuest, quest.eb.com/search/cyprus/3/115_2729054/siegein cyprus. Planet, Lonely. “Cyprus History.” Lonely Planet, www.lonelyplanet.com/cyprus/history. Rocca, Francis X. “Cyprus Seeks to Escape a Bitter Past.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ebsco, 6 June 2003, www.chronicle.com/article/cyprusseekstoescape a/2161.
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