Frantz Fanon: The Cause Of Political Conflict In Greece

Frantz Fanon stressed that colonization and conquering of a culture or nation would result in a return of violence. This idea is exhibited in history by the brutal decolonization of nations, like Algeria. While Greece was never colonized by another country, it was under the control of many different countries within a short period of time. The powers that inhabited Greece had contrasting political views, which in turn caused political conflict and bloodshed between Greek citizens. Economic instability that was prominent during these times, still persists currently. Political tensions in Greece began during the German-Italian occupation in 1941 when an Axis collaborationist puppet government exiled and replaced the Greek government. In response …show more content…
Leftist communist groups were persecuted during the period of “White Terror” from 1945 until 1946, and fled to seek refuge in the mountains. In 1947, three detention camps were established on Greek islands and ten thousand accused communists were forced into the camps. Communists were not allowed to flee the nation during this time, because emigration from Greece was not allowed from 1950 until 1974 unless a person obtained a certificate of affirming one had “nationally correct views” (“Red Acropolis, Black Terror” ). War officially broke out in 1946 between the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), which was supported by Yugoslavia, Albania, and Bulgaria and the Hellenic Army, which received support from Great Britain and then the United States. The Greek Civil War is considered one of first proxy wars of the Cold War. The Hellenic Army defeated the DSE in 1949, but political stability was not restored for many …show more content…
The FLN Proclamation of 1954 was drafted prior to the war and stated its goal of restoring the Algerian sovereign state within the framework of Islamic principles. The Algerian War between the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) and France persisted from 1954 until 1962. As shown in the film, Battle of Algiers, the Algerian War of Independence impacted the lives of every day citizens in Algeria, because of the bombings and mass shootings executed by the FLN. While the conflict did not originally have Cold War implications, soviet bloc nations were the first to recognize the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic, and this contributed to Algeria adapting socialist policies. In 1962, French President Charles La Gaulle signed the Évian Accords and granted Algerian independence under pressure from the United Nations. However, while this treaty liberated Algeria from the French government, France continue to maintain control over the Algerian economy and possess the rights to Algerian oil (Tannoury-Karam, Lecture Notes). There was also an influx of refugees into France as a result of Algerian independence and fear of retaliation against the Pieds-noirs