This is the first ever (?) TA only deployment and is designed to relieve pressure on regular forces as well as test the mettle of the reserves. Although a benign environment, the UN buffer zone is still located between two heavily militarised areas which means that, without supervision, the current stand off could quickly escalate into something more serious. Presumably not all out war though as Turkey is, like Greece, a member of NATO and perhaps more importantly aspires to membership of the EU.
Stationed in the Ledra Palace Hotel, which was evacuated at the height of the 1974 crisis, 32 Signal Group comprises more than 20 cap badges taken from a large number of units. The lead Regiment is Scottish and based in Glasgow and is a sister Signals Regiment to 33. The hotel, in spite of having recently been kitted out by Ikea, is not in the best of states. Many rooms are in a poor condition, with toilets and showers out of operation and the extra goodies that the Army promised the boys and girls e.g. WiFi have not materialised. There are, I'm glad to say, several messes, a bar and a sizeable gym, but this a house of fun this isn't.
What of the mission itself? The Brits monitor one of three sectors, the other two being managed by the Argentinians and the Hungarians. It takes in the divided city of Nicosia and the surrounding countryside. The signs of the 1974 conflict are everywhere, not least in the city itself where streets have lain empty for nearly forty years with abandoned shops, cafeterias and even a car showroom with several delivery mileage Toyota Corollas still on display. Only one pedestrian crossing point exists and that is recent. St Sophia's Cathedral is now a mosque with minarets added. Its the first one I've ever entered - minus shoes of course.
Greek and Turkish OP's are everywhere throughout the zone in some places almost touching and are easily identifiable by the ubiquitous flags and although there is little outright aggression, there is a great deal of petty 'tit for tat' with constant minor violations of the agreed codes with the UN somewhat hamstrung in its potential responses.
Finally, some examples of the prevailing mentality, past and present.
- most spectacularly, the Turkish flag located on the hillside opposite the town which was constructed by students painting rocks in the appropriate colours over a period of days and then turning these over all at once one night. Its even illuminated! (see pictures below - Ne mutlu Türküm diyene! is a famous quote taken from Atatük's nutuk that is widely used in any nationalistic contexts. It means: "How happy is he who can say ‘I am a Turk". In other words, 'Up yours')
- ten brick wall where, originally, the UN a painted a line on a wall to prevent the Turks adding bricks. The only problem was that they kept removing the painted row and then adding others underneath! The answer? Place the line ten bricks down hence the name.
- a new housing development where the Greek builder had constructed what appear to be concrete bunkers at the corners and gun ports at the base. Various attempts to screen these with earth deposited by the UK monitors in the night were soon removed and so several ISO containers have been dropped there since.
- tea chest corner where a barricade had been built using, funnily enough tea chests which, when filled with concrete, can form quite an effective defence. The Turks had turned the chests with the bottom facing out and so there was no way of knowing if they were solid or not. As a result the UN ordered that they be turned around. Unfortunately, they didn't specify a timescale and so they were placed the correct way round at the rate of one per week!
And the asparagus? That grows freely in the buffer zone and is keenly sought by the local Greek population. During my visit we escorted quite a number of these out of the area. Surely, you might have thought, after thirty four years they might have come to acknowledge the buffer and the presence of the UN, but evidently not. And so it goes on.
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