Today, after spending a day in Friuli, my thoughts drifted back to an event that took place 43 years ago.
On this day in 1983, a friend of a friend attempted to overthrow the military junta. Heavy fighting erupted in the capital, with mortars being used against the very man whom he had helped return to power for a second time.
The news came as a shock, though not entirely without warning. Some weeks earlier, a corporal in the military, whom I will identify only by the initials H.G., told me during a luncheon hosted by our mutual friend T.B.S., a well-known businessman: ' I will not live for long. '
I replied, rather naively: "Don't say that—you don't mean it."
As it turned out, H.G. knew exactly what he was talking about.
During the uprising, he drove an armored six-wheeled vehicle to the main prison and blasted open the gate to free imprisoned comrades. Upon seeing the Armored vehicles charging, the security personnel fled into the surrounding bush, amid prison gates open. H.G. then returned to the capital, where he positioned himself beneath a bridge and used a 20 mm Oerlikon against an attacking Aeromacchi jet flown by an Air force officer loyal to the Head of State, identified here only by the initials K.L.
The city remained in turmoil throughout the day.
Within a few days it became clear that the coup attempt had failed and that H.G. and several of his associates had escaped across the border into neighbouring Ivory Coast.
That might have been the end of the story. However, some time later, H.G. attempted a second time. This time, the plan was betrayed. He and his group were arrested by the military before they could act.
He was subsequently executed.
History can be both fascinating and tragic. For those who lived through such days, the memories never quite fade.
In honour of George I will show one of the interviews given by him, where he narrates a story when he arrived in Africa 1956 during the Suez Canal conflict.
His legacy will live on.
George narrating his experiences whilst on a flight over Suez in 1956 :
