A Turkish poster from the time of the invasion of Cyprus. British intervention might have prevented partition
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The British government archives, which were opened last Saturday, reveal a strange world where Idi Amin intervenes in the peace process in Northern Ireland, the Concorde plane is grounded and the British army invades Cyprus.
The documents, from 1974, were released by the British National Archives after 30 years of being confidential. At that time, the Labor man, Harold Wilson, served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. One of the documents reveals a proposal by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin to mediate in the peace process between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. "I offer my good services to the hawkish parties in Northern Ireland," wrote Idi Amin, who was responsible for the deaths of approximately 400 people during his eight years of rule. Britain decided to reject the offer.
The documents also reveal the great tensions between the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, against the background of the Watergate affair. Wilson tried at all costs to prevent Nixon's visit to London at that time, due to the heavy shadow of the affair, and ordered to take "every possible step" to prevent such a visit.
Another event that the documents reveal concerns the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, after a Greek-nationalist coup, which resulted in the division of the island to this day. At the time, Britain was considering sending thousands of soldiers to the Mediterranean island to restore to power Archbishop Macrios who had been deposed by Greek nationalists; It is possible that if she had done so, the Turkish occupation would have been avoided. However, the British military command estimated that a military intervention in Cyprus would have put the army in a situation similar to that in Northern Ireland.
Idi Amin, who is responsible for the murder of 400 thousand people in his country, offered to lead a peace mission in Northern Ireland
Regarding Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Wilson considered sending a nuclear submarine to Northern Ireland to provide electricity to the residents and prevent power outages in the northern part of the island. Only later was it explained to Wilson that the energy produced by the submarine was not suitable for private use in the citizens' homes.
Wilson's government almost abandoned the Concorde plane project, which it shares with France. The reason was the high cost. Another issue that clouded Sino-British relations was a gift that the Chinese gave to the London Zoo to celebrate Sino-British friendship: two panda bears, Ching Ching and Chia Chia. But the zoo claimed that feeding the bears is very expensive because they only feed on bamboo canes. The government decided to bear the expenses so as not to offend Beijing. "The Chinese will see the refusal to accept the gift as a deliberate insult," the documents state.
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