Ivan Serov

Ivan Alexandrovich Serov (; 13 August 1905 – 1 July 1990) was a Russian intelligence officer who served as the head of the KGB between March 1954 and December 1958, as well as head of the GRU between 1958 and 1963. He was Deputy Commissar of the NKVD under Lavrentiy Beria, and played a major role in the political intrigues after Joseph Stalin's death. Serov helped establish a variety of secret police forces in Central and Eastern Europe after the construction of the Iron Curtain, and played an important role in crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
Serov headed both the political intelligence agency (KGB) and the military intelligence agency (GRU), making him unique in Soviet/Russian history. Inside the Soviet security forces, Serov was widely known for boasting to his colleagues that he could "break every bone in a man's body without killing him".
Early life and military career.
Serov was born on 13 August 1905, in Afimskoe, a village in the Vologda Governorate of the Russian Empire, in a Russian family. Major changes in Russia occurred during his childhood, culminating in the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917. In 1923, when he was 18, he joined the Red Army shortly after the end of the Russian Civil War; in 1926, he became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and graduated from the Artillery Officers' School of Leningrad in 1928. A major step in his career as a Red Army officer was the attendance in the mid-1930s of Higher Academic Courses in the prestigious Frunze Military Academy. In 1939, Serov entered the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), in a major capacity.
Actions in World War II.
Serov became the Ukrainian Commissar of the NKVD in 1939, and from this point onwards he played a major role in many of the actions of the Soviet secret police in World War II, helping to organize the deportation of the Chechens and people from the Baltic States, becoming Beria's primary lieutenant in 1941.
Ukrainian Commissar.
Serov was the Ukrainian commissar of the NKVD from 1939 to 1941. Time magazine has accused him of being responsible for the death of "hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian peasants" during this period. Serov was also a colleague in Ukraine of Nikita Khrushchev, the local Head of State, who himself was nicknamed the "Butcher of the Ukraine".
As well as performing his duties in this post, Serov was also responsible for the co-ordination of deportation from the Baltic States and Poland. He was one of the top ranked officials responsible for the Katyn massacre of Polish officer POWs.
Deputy Commissar of the NKVD.
In 1941, Serov was promoted to become Deputy Commissar of the NKVD as a whole, serving under Beria as one of his primary lieutenants; in this function, Serov was responsible for the deportation of a variety of Caucasian peoples. He issued the so-called Serov Instructions, which detailed procedures for mass deportations from the Baltic States (For some time confused with the NKVD Order No. 001223 by historians.). He also coordinated the mass expulsion of Crimean Tatars from the Crimean ASSR at the end of World War II.
Viktor Suvorov claims that in 1946, Serov personally took part in the execution of Andrey Vlasov, along with the rest of the command of the Russian Liberation Army, an organization that had co-operated with the Nazis in World War II.
Serov was one of the senior figures in SMERSH, the wartime counterintelligence department of the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops, a deputy to Viktor Abakumov. It was in this function that Serov established the Polish Ministry of Public Security, the Polish secret police until 1956, acting as its main Soviet adviser and organizer.
Serov organized the persecution of the Armia Krajowa as Deputy Commissar, helping to bring about the Stalinist era of Polish history.
Postwar.
In 1945, Serov was transferred to the 2nd Belorussian Front and went to Berlin in May that year. He stayed there until 1947 and helped to organise the building of the Stasi, the
East German secret police. Serov was also there to monitor and spy on Marshall Zhukov, while acting as his political advisor.
Chairman of KGB.
After the death of Stalin, Serov, who had Beria's trust, betrayed him. He conspired with the officers of GRU against Beria to avoid his own downfall. Serov was one of the few senior members of the political police to survive the incident.
In 1954, Serov became Chairman of the KGB and so was the head of the greater part of the Soviet secret police. Serov organized security for the tours of Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev in Britain and he was decried by the British media as "Ivan the Terrible" and "the Butcher".
Hungary.
Serov played a key role in the Hungarian crisis, sending reports to the Kremlin from Budapest, and escorting visiting Soviet Presidium leaders Anastas Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov via an armoured personnel carrier into Budapest on 24 October, as there was too much shooting in the streets.
In 1956, the Hungarian Revolution overthrew the incumbent communist Hungarian government, and in response, János Kádár formed a new government that was more loyal to Moscow, which received little popular support. Serov was responsible for arresting the supporters of Imre Nagy who were trying to negotiate with Soviet military officials.
Serov organized deportations of Hungarians, one being Nagy. Serov also tried stopping The Workers' Council of Budapest from negotiating for the return of deportees and political rights, using Soviet troops to prevent the council from meeting in the city's Sports Hall. Serov co-ordinated the abduction of Pál Maléter, the Hungarian general, and the disruption of peace talks between the Red Army and the Hungarian forces.
Removal.
Serov was removed from his post as head of the KGB in 1958 after hints by Nikita Khrushchev, who had said that Western visitors could expect that they "wouldn't see so many policemen around the place" and that the Soviet police force would undergo a restructuring. Serov became the director of the GRU.
GRU director.
In the GRU, he was a player in the Cuban Missile Crisis, helping the Soviet leadership with American intelligence.
Downfall.
After the failure of the Soviet Union to gain the upper hand in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Serov was dismissed. In 1965, he was stripped of his party membership, which brought his career to an end. Serov's downfall from power has been linked to Oleg Penkovsky, his protégé, being an officer who became a double agent.
Serov died in 1990.
Personality.
In MI5 files about Serov, British agents who had met him called him "something of a ladies' man," good mannered, carefully dressed and a moderate drinker. He displayed a considerable familiarity with detective fiction such as Sherlock Holmes. His sense of humour was somewhat heavy, and his jokes were broadly sarcastic and, on occasion, strongly anti-Semitic.
According to the MI5 reports, Serov was "a capable organiser with a cunning mind".
Significance.
Serov, although generally considered less significant than Beria in modern literature, helped to bring Stalinism to Europe and to Stalinise the Soviet Union. Serov's consolidation of Soviet power in Eastern Europe was helped by his organization of both the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa (Polish Intelligence Service) in Poland and the Stasi in East Germany.
Cultural references.
Serov makes a brief appearance at the beginning of Ian Fleming's 1957 James Bond novel "From Russia, With Love." Fleming writes that he "was in every respect a bigger man than Beria" and that "he, with Bulganin and Khrushchev, now ruled Russia. One day, he might even stand on the peak, alone."
Serov also briefly features in the 1950s novel "Berlin" by the German anti-Nazi writer Theodor Plievier, who lived in the USSR throughout the Hitler years. Plievier says Serov was nicknamed "chramoi" (which he translates as "Old Cripple Foot"), a reference to a supposed deformity (presumably a club foot).


Patiala Necklace

The Patiala Necklace was a necklace created by the House of Cartier in 1928. It was made for Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who was the Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala.
The necklace had five chains (ladi) and included a neck collar.
The necklace contained 2,930 diamonds, including as its centrepiece the world's seventh-largest diamond at the time, the "De Beers". That diamond had a 428 carat pre-cut weigh, and it weighed 234.65 carats in its final setting. It is the largest cushion-cut yellow diamond and the 2nd largest yellow faceted diamond in the world.The necklace also contained seven other large diamonds ranging from 18 to 73 carats, and a number of Burmese rubies.
The necklace disappeared from the Royal Treasury of Patiala around 1948.
In 1982, at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva, the "De Beers" diamond reappeared. There, the bidding went up to $3.16 million, but it is unclear whether it met its reserve price.
In 1998, part of the necklace was found at a second-hand jewellery shop in London by Eric Nussbaum, a Cartier associate. The remaining large jewels were missing, including the Burmese rubies and the 18 to 73 carat diamonds that were mounted on a pendant. Cartier purchased the incomplete necklace and, after four years, restored it to resemble the original. They replaced the lost diamonds with cubic zirconia and synthetic diamonds, and mounted a replica of the original "De Beers" diamond.
The necklace is the subject of a documentary by Doc & Film International.
A granddaughter of Bhupinder Singh of Patiala is now a jeweller in California. She was involved in an exhibit "Maharaja: The Splendor of India's Royal Courts" at the Asian Art Museum, where the recreated necklace was displayed.


Electoral history of Richard M. Daley

The following is the electoral history of Richard M. Daley, an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago, Cook County State's Attorney, and Illinois state senator.
Daley was the longest-serving mayor of Chicago, serving 22 years with five full terms, plus a partial term.
Daley began his electoral political career being elected to serve as a delegate to the
1969–1970 Illinois constitutional convention.


Ri Sol-ju

Ri Sol-ju (; Hanja: 李雪主; born 1985–89) is the wife of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, and First Lady of North Korea.
Little is known about her from official North Korean sources, but outside sources have speculated more about her background. At times, she has made many public appearances with her husband, but at other times she has spent long period out of the public eye. In April 2018, her title was elevated in state media from merely "comrade" to "respected first lady", considered a significant honor and the first time the title has been used since 1974. At the same time, she began to take on a diplomatic role.
Biography.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his family have been characterized as "secretive". Very little information about Ri Sol-ju has appeared in official North Korean sources, but more speculative information has been reported in foreign media.
Early life.
Very little is known for certain about Ri's origin; some analysts have even said her name "almost certainly is a pseudonym". Her reported year of birth has ranged between 1985 and 1989. Ri's family is reportedly from the political elite; her mother is the head of a gynecology ward and her father is a professor. She is said to have graduated from Geumsung 2 Middle School in Pyongyang and studied abroad in China majoring in vocal music. She is said to be related to Ri Pyong-chol, a former air force general and close advisor of Kim Jong-un. "JoongAng Ilbo" and some commentators have identified Ri as a singer in the Unhasu Orchestra that has made several overseas performances. Reportedly, North Korean officials are "trying to erase her past as a singer and entertainer by confiscating popular bootleg CDs of her performances", such as her singing the song "Sobaeksu". She is reportedly a graduate student at Kim Il-sung University, pursuing a PhD in science.
Ri reportedly visited South Korea in 2005, as a member of the North Korean cheerleading team during the Asian Athletics Championships. She was said to be among 90 cheerleaders who chanted "We are one!" Ri reportedly told a South Korean teacher while on the trip: "We want to take classes from the South's teachers after being reunited as soon as possible."
Marriage and children.
The BBC, quoting an analyst who spoke to "The Korea Times" of South Korea, reported that Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, had hastily arranged his son's marriage after suffering a stroke in 2008. The two were reportedly married in 2009.
Ri possibly gave birth to a child in 2010; sources have reported it is a boy.
In December 2012, it was reported that Ri was visibly pregnant, although North Korean officials did not comment. In March 2013, former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman visited Kim Jong-un in North Korea and on his return told the British tabloid newspaper "The Sun" that Ri had given birth to a healthy daughter. Rodman told "The Guardian" in September 2013 that the couple's child, a girl, is named (). He said that Jong-un had "a beautiful family" and was a "good dad."
South Korean intelligence officials reported that Ri gave birth to a third child of unknown gender in February 2017.
First Lady of North Korea.
In 2012, Ri made several public appearances standing next to Kim Jong-un, causing speculation about who she might be. South Korean intelligence officials wrongly identified her as Hyon Song-wol, a former singer for the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble, a musical group popular in North Korea. However, on 25 July 2012, North Korean state media announced that she was actually Kim's wife, saying she was "his wife, Comrade Ri Sol-ju". The announcement of the marriage marked a change from Kim's father Kim Jong-il, who had never introduced his wives to the public.
In July 2012, at an elite gala concert in North Korea, Ri was stylishly "dressed in a trim black suit in the Chanel tradition", considered unusual for North Korean women. Along with other recent changes, such as the firing of a hard-line top general, Kim Jong-un's marriage is seen by analysts as "a continuation of what is either a policy change, or a propaganda offensive, or both".
In September 2012, Kenji Fujimoto, the former personal sushi chef of Kim Jong-il, said he met Ri on a recent trip to North Korea. He described her as "just so charming... I cannot describe her voice, it's so soft..." As a parting gift, Ri gave Fujimoto a Christian Dior handbag, which Ri was earlier reported to have been carrying.
From 2012 to 2014, Ri appeared occasionally in the North Korean media, accompanying her husband to events, but subsequently, she was rarely seen. She had long periods out of the public view in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
In 2018, Ri took on a diplomatic role. In March 2018, she visited China with her husband, meeting China's paramount leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. In April 2018, ahead of the April 2018 inter-Korean summit, Ri's title was elevated to "respected First Lady" (instead of just "comrade"), the first time since 1974 the title had been used in North Korea when it was used about Kim Il-sung's second wife, Kim Song-ae. The change in title was inaugurated in a news report read by star anchorwoman Ri Chun-hee, who often makes major announcements. Ri attended the summit, the first wife of a North Korean leader to do so, and met the First Lady of South Korea, Kim Jung-sook, for the first time. The two first ladies were observed as being close to each other during their meetings that year. In May, she met with US diplomats and helped ease tensions. She also helped host the visit of China's paramount leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan in June 2019.


Zaragoza barracks bombing

The Zaragoza barracks bombing was a car bomb attack by the Basque separatist organisation ETA, which occurred on 11 December 1987. A vehicle containing 250 kilograms of ammonal was parked beside the main Guardia Civil barracks in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain; its subsequent explosion killed 11 people, including 5 children. Another 88 people were injured, the majority of them civilians.
The attack came almost six months after ETA had killed 21 people in a car bomb attack on a Hipercor shopping centre in Barcelona.
Responsibility for the attack was placed on the Argala Commando Unit, an itinerant unit composed of French citizens who returned to France after committing attacks. Those involved in the attacks and those responsible for their planning were detained in a number of police operations during 1989 and 1992.
Attack.
Context.
The attack occurred nearly six months after the Hipercor bombing in Barcelona had killed 21 people. Following the Barcelona bombing, ETA's call for talks with the government of Felipe Gonzalez was rejected and, on 5 November 1987, the Pact of Madrid resulted in an agreement between the main Spanish political parties to release a joint statement rejecting the legitimacy of ETA to speak on behalf of the Basque people and ruling out negotiations until the group had formally disarmed. The Zaragoza attack was accordingly interpreted as ETA's response to the Pact of Madrid and occurred while ETA was under the leadership of the Artapalo group. This leadership continued until 1992 and the era was marked by some of ETA's deadliest attacks.
Target.
The Guardia Civil barracks, situated on Avenida de Cataluña, was a four-storey building without special protection. It housed 40 families of Guardia Civil members for a total of 180 people.
The attack.
At 06:10 on 11 December, a Guardia Civil officer stationed at the entrance to the barracks noticed 2 men parking a Renault 18 in front of the building. When he approached them to inform them that they were not allowed to park vehicles in front of the building, they fled. Suspecting an imminent attack, the officer rushed back to the barracks to raise the alarm. The ETA militants escaped from the scene in another vehicle which they had parked nearby. Before the officer had had time to wake those sleeping, the of ammonal exploded, making a huge hole in the wall and instantly demolishing all four floors. The blast also hit neighboring houses. Members of the Red Cross, security forces, and medical personnel quickly arrived at the scene. The building's collapse forced them to clear debris in search of those trapped beneath. The large number of emergency vehicles at the scene led to the accidental death of a motorcyclist, who was hit by a military vehicle.
Firefighters eventually removed the debris and began removing the bodies of those killed in the attack, which included 3-year-old twins and girls of 6 and 7 years old. In addition, there were 88 injured, some of whom needed to have limbs amputated. The rescue effort continued through the night and, at 13:45 the following day, the last bodies, those of Angel Alcaraz and Maria Dolores Franco, wife of a policeman, were pulled from the rubble.
Government spokesman Javier Solana was the first minister to speak to the press following the attack:
Funerals.
The funerals of the 11 victims took place on 12 December 1987 in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza. The funerals were attended by the President of Aragon, Hipólito Gómez de las Roces, and the Ministers for Defense and the Interior, Narcís Serra and José Barrionuevo, respectively. Subsequently, the dead were returned to their places of origin.
During the funeral, there were scenes of tension in the congregation, with some fainting. Although no journalists entered the Basilica, photos of the coffins of the three-year-old twins appeared on the front pages of most national newspapers the following day, leading to strong anti-ETA sentiment.
On 13 December, the largest demonstration in the history of Zaragoza took place, with 250,000 people protesting in the streets, proceeded by a large banner with the words "Zaragoza for peace and against terrorism" ()
Responsibility.
Responsibility was placed on the "Comando Argala", who were also blamed for another 21 attacks which had killed a total of 38 people. The Commando Unit was believed to be an itinerant unit composed of French citizens who committed attacks in Spain before fleeing across the border to France where the Spanish police force were unable to operate. The Unit had been formed in 1978 and was disbanded by police in 1990.
Organisation of the attack.
ETA, at that time, was led by a collective called "Artapalo" composed of Francisco Mujika Garmendia ("Pakito"), José María Arregi Erostarbe ("Fitipaldi") and José Antonio Urruticoechea Bengoechea ("Josu Ternera").
At the subsequent trial, it was revealed that the direct order to execute the Zaragoza attack had come from the leadership and had been communicated by Josu Ternera. The explosives expert named Fitipaldi was responsible for assembling the device and delivering it to the bombers. Pakito monitored and produced a sketch of the barracks, giving the direct order to attack it. Four French nationals were responsible for executing the attack: Henri Parot, his brother Jean Parot, Jacques Esnal, and Frédéric Haramboure.
The four traveled from the French Basque country to Zaragoza, where two vehicles were moved to the vicinity of the barracks. The first, a Renault 18 had been stolen in Toulouse. A bomb consisting of about 250 kg of amonal divided into three steel cylinders was placed in this vehicle. Henri Parot parked the vehicle beside the entrance to the barracks while Esnal activated the mechanism that triggered the explosion in one minute and fifteen seconds, just long enough to enter and escape in the Peugeot 205 in which his two accomplices were waiting nearby.
Arrests.
Josu Ternera was arrested in Bayonne, France, in January 1989 and Henri Parot was arrested in Seville, Spain, on 2 April 1990 in a car packed with explosives for a planned attack on Seville's police headquarters. The arrests revealed the location of Jean Parot, Haramboure, and Esnal, who were immediately arrested by French police in Bayonne.
Cooperation between the French and Spanish police resulted in the capture, on 29 March 1992, of the Artapalo leadership of ETA in Bidart in the French Basque country. Those arrested included Francisco Múgica Garmendia, "Pakito"; José Luis Álvarez Santacristina, "Txelis"; and José María Arregi Erostarbe, "Fitipaldi".
Trials and sentences.
After the arrest of those who masterminded and executed the attack on Zaragoza, the following sentences were imposed:
In January 2000, after he had spent three years in prison awaiting trial, the Spanish Supreme Court ordered his release after finding that his crimes had already been tried in France. The prosecutor and the Association of Victims of Terrorism appealed the decision and Ternera was charged again with planning and organising the attack; however, he failed to appear in court and an international arrest warrant was issued and his current whereabouts are still unknown.
Memorials.
Since 1987, a memorial ceremony has been held every year in Zaragoza. A memorial garden, the "Park of Hope" () was built at the location of the former barracks. It contains the sculptures of children playing, representing the younger victims of the bombing.
On 11 December 2007, to mark the 20th anniversary of the attack, a wreath-laying ceremony took place at the park, which was attended by Pascual Grasa, who was on guard at the entrance during the bombing, and seriously injured in it. Grasa delivered a speech to the audience in memory of the deceased.
During the 2009 commemoration, Juan Alberto Belloch, Mayor of Zaragoza, unveiled a memorial stone containing the names of the 11 victims. The ceremony was also attended by witnesses and victims of the event.


Adra Prison

Adra Prison () is a prison in Syria, on the northeast outskirts of Damascus. Political prisoners are held in the prison, along with a mixture of civil prisoners such as traffic offenders, murderers, and drug dealers. In 2014, the prison held more than 7,000 inmates, a dozen of them women, in space designed for 2,500. "The Washington Post" referred to the prison as "infamous".
History.
Ghassan Najjar, an engineer who was imprisoned in 1980, reportedly went on two hunger strikes, one to protest conditions in the prison. His fellow inmates said he was beaten so badly by prison guards trying to force him to eat that he suffered spinal injuries.
Mas'ud Hamid, a Kurdish journalism student, was held in solitary confinement in the prison for one year from 2003–04 before he was allowed monthly visits, and Human Rights Watch said that interrogators reportedly tortured him and beat him with a studded whip on the bottom of his feet. His room was , largely filled by a toilet in it.
In December 2004 Kurds in the prison conducted a hunger strike, which was allegedly halted by torture.
In March 2011, 13 prisoners at the prison, including 80-year-old former judge Haitham al-Maleh and lawyer Anwar al-Bunni began a hunger strike to protest government oppression and the holding of political prisoners.
On July 1, 2013, female detainees in the prison began hunger strike in response to negligence of their cases by the public prosecution of the Counterterrorism Court, and absence of approval of their respective trials.
As of December, 2014, the jail is well beyond its 2,500 person capacity at over 7,000 prisoners of all types of accused offenders, from murderers to traffic violators.
In August and September, 2015, Jaysh al-Islam shelled and stormed the prison, taking control of two buildings.


Order of Franz Joseph

The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne.
Classes.
The order was originally awarded in three classes: "Grand Cross," "Commander's Cross," and "Knight's Cross." In 1869, the class of "Commander with Star" was added, which ranked immediately below the Grand Cross. The "Officer's Cross", which ranked between Commander and Knight, was introduced on 1 February 1901.
The order ceased to exist as a governmental award with the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. It was not re-established with the foundation of the Republic of Austria. However, it remains active as a dynastic order of the House of Habsburg.
Description.
Knights wore the decoration suspended from a triangular ribbon on the left breast. Officers wore it on the left breast without a ribbon. Commanders wore the decoration at the neck, as did Commander with Star, who also wore a breast star. The Grand Cross was worn suspended from the shoulder and also came with a breast star. The ribbon of all classes of the order was plain red.
In common with the other Austro-Hungarian awards of the period, the Franz Joseph Order was further distinguished with the addition of the War decoration and Swords which could be awarded for military merit. However, if soldiers were honoured, it was usually for distinguished service as opposed to gallantry in the face of the enemy.


Quintus Publilius Philo

Quintus Publilius Philo was a Roman politician who lived during the 4th century BC. His birth date is not provided by extant sources, however, a reasonable estimate is about 365 BC, since he first became consul in 339 BC at a time when consuls could be elected in their twenties (Livy 7.26.12). His Greek cognomen ‘Philo’ was unique to his family.
His family was plebeian, and the gens won its first attested election via Publilius Volero as tribune in 472 BC. Volero passed two important pieces of legislation which increased the power of a Tribune. Philo came from a family accustomed to promoting the rights of the plebs.
Early career.
Publilius first became consul in 339 BC. During his first term, he retaliated against the Latins who sought to reclaim territories that were previously lost to Rome. He was supported by the other consul Tiberius Aemilius Mamercinus. The most prominent event was Philo's assault on the Latin forces camped in the Fenectine Plains. Philo remained on the defensive of Latin territories while Mamercinus attempted to besiege Pedum.
During the same year, Philo was appointed dictator. Philo was the second plebeian to hold the office of dictator, the first being Marcus Rutilius in 356 BC. He made a series of popular reforms championing the rights of the plebeians. Such measures included legislation binding plebiscites on all citizens, giving the Comitia Centuriata greater involvement in voting on laws, and ensuring that one censor must always be a plebeian.
In 336 BC, Philo's reputation as a "novus homo" within the Roman senate was consolidated even further when he became the first plebeian praetor. Philo's ascension to the praetorship was opposed by the incumbent consul Sulpicius who as a patrician believed a plebeian was undeserving of the office.
Furthermore, Philo served as "magister equitum" (Master of the Horse) in 335 BC. A Master of the Horses was an emergency magistrate appointed by the Dictator, who held also imperium.
It is likely Philo had a political partnership with his family, as he shared this position with his (probable) brother Lucius
He went on to become censor in 332 BC likely because of the legislation he passed whilst dictator in 339. As censor Philo enrolled newly subjugated Latins as citizens, specifically the tribes of Maecia and Scaptia as a means of legitimately uniting the newly conquered Latins into the Roman Republic.
Later career.
In 327 BC Q. Publilius Philo was elected to the position of consul for a second time (the other consul in this year was L. Cornelius Lentulus). Philo and Lentulus were assigned commands to deal with troubles arising with the Greek colony of Palaeopolis, located near the ancient city of Nepolis. Publilius, after the Romans declared war on Palaeopolis, campaigned against them. Livy mentions that Publilius was permitted to remain in the field (he had gained a strategic position between Palaeopolis and Neapolis) despite his term as consul drawing to a close. The Senate permitted him to retain his command for the duration of the war as a proconsul, and nominated a dictator to hold elections in Rome whilst the two consuls were absent campaigning.
Publilius's command lasted through until 326 BC where Livy tells us he successfully besieged and captured Palaeopolis via assistance from inside factions. The reason for the surrender of the city is given to be due to the local Greek inhabitants being mistreated, especially by the Samnites with whom they were allied and there was a Samnite force within the city. It was with the assistance of these local elements within the city that the Romans, led by Publilius, were able to gain entrance to the city. The elements within the city (according to Livy) further deceived the Samnite garrison into leaving the city on the pretext of having them raid the Roman coast. The Samnite force was thus outside of the city when the Romans were let in and the Samnites were routed back to their own lands without their armaments.
For the feat of capturing the city and defeating the Samnites Publilius was awarded a triumph in Rome. Livy notes that the consulship of Publilius in 327 BC (and his command and triumph in 326 BC) marked two firsts for Rome; a consul having his command extended beyond his term (as proconsul) and he was the first to have been awarded a triumph after his normal command ceased (he celebrated his Triumph at the end of the war in 326 BC, in the year after his consulship of 327 BC).
The next stage of Publilius's career, that we know of, arose in the year 320 BC with his election to the position of Consul (for the third time) alongside L. Papirius Cursor, to the universal appeal of the people of Rome (according to Livy).
Publilius struck off his role as consul right away with discussions in the debate over the capitulation of the city of Caudium to the Samnites. After determining that the truce, which was forced on the Romans after the capitulation, was not valid because it was not decreed by the Roman people Publilius and Paprius took to the field with armies. Publilius stationed his forces in Samnium whilst Paprius marched on Leuceria.
Publilius's position in Samnium threatened the Samnite forces in the region and reportedly provoked them to battle. In the engagement that followed Livy reports that Publilius's forces routed the Samnites and sacked their camp. From this victory Publilius joined his colleague Paprius at his position near Leuceria and succeeded in cutting off supplies to the city.
The Samnites camped nearby Leuceria were provoked to battle by the Romans and defeated by the combined forces of the consuls Publilius and Paprius in a surprise attack following the Romans disregarding an ultimatum to cease hostilities sent by the city of Tarentum. The attack was so successful that the Romans were once again able to take and sack the Samnite camp.
For the rest of the year of 320 BC Publilius campaigned in the Apulians and Livy tells us he was successful in capturing many towns and forming treaties with others. Whilst Publilius was thus occupied Paprius, who had been left to persecute the siege of Leuceria succeeded in taking the city and inflicted the same humiliating treatment on the captured Samnites as the Romans had endured with the capitulation of Cadmium (they were forced to ‘pass under the yoke’).
The final year that we have on record for Publilius's career is 315 when he was elected to the position of consul for the fourth time. Livy omits the names of the consuls for this year, but states that they remained in Rome whilst the current war against the Samnites and the city of Saticula was run by the dictator Aemilius. We have the names of the consuls from Diodorus Siculus who notes that the Consuls for the year were Lucius Papirus and Quintus Publilius (the same pairing as had occurred in 320 BC). Diodorus states that Publilius's consulship in this year was his second consulship, however our other sources show that it was his fourth time as consul.
Evaluation.
Quintus Publilius Philo achieved a substantial amount across his career. Before anything he was a plebeian, something that despite his wealth and that of other wealthy plebeian families would have placed them at a disadvantage to the Roman patrician class. Despite this, Q. Publilius Philo was not only elected to a senatorial position in 352 BC, but was the first plebeian in Roman history to be elected to the position of consul in 339. This was enabled by the passing of the lex Genucia de feneratione in 342. The law restricted anyone from being appointed to more than one magisterial position at any one time, or within ten years of a previous appointment. Importantly, it required that at least one of the appointed Consuls every year to be a plebeian.
It could be surmised that he was not only popular amongst the public and the aristocracy but was also influential. Having held arguably the highest position in Rome, it is no surprise that he then went on to “[secure] the passage of three other laws believed to have been favourable to the plebs”; as well as to get himself elected to the position of Praetor 3 years later in 336:
“In this year also Q. Publilius Philo was elected as the first plebeian praetor against the opposition of the consul Sulpicius; the senate, after failing to keep the highest posts in their own hands, showed less interest in retaining the praetorship”.
In the following year Philo goes on to be named magister equitum by the dictator L. Aemilius Mamercinus; a powerful position (essentially the ‘lieutenant’ of the dictator and holding similar levels of imperium to a Praetor). In 332 he plays the role of censor; in the years 327-326, however a truly significant step is taken by the senate. Philo received his second consulship, and waged war against Paleopolis and Neapolis, as the Roman people vote for war. He moves forward to aid the other consul that year and maintains a strategically vital position between two enemy cities. As 327 comes to an end, it is clear that Philo was maintaining a vital position for the war, and rather than have him return home and lose it, a new practice is introduced. For the first time, a Consul's power is extended beyond his term, and as the 326 begins Q. Publilus Philo is awarded the position of Pro-Consul. The first Roman to ever be awarded such a position.
In being the first ever to attain the position of proconsul, Philo has once again made history. This demonstrates his significance as a political figure of the times and hints at his popularity among the people as well. Added to the honour of proconsulship he goes on to achieve a triumph for his victories in his term as proconsul; making him the first to gain a triumph post his year as consul, acto honore.
The military and political honours achieved by Philo continued, with a 3rd consulship less than a decade later. Due to an emergency military situation requiring a proven general, he led an army against the Samnites and won multiple battles, potentially leading him to receive another triumph in 320 BC.
Now this seems most interesting, as not only does the senate, which is full of patricians seem to ignore the "Lex Genucia de feneratione" for the 3 years prior to Philo's election to his first consulship – as the law was passed in 342 BC and he was elected in 339 BC – but once he is elected they seem to embrace him – along with his skills no doubt – with open arms, not only by honouring him numerous times and in a variety of ways, but also by seemingly ignoring the Lex Genucia yet again for his third election is 4 years sooner - as consulship was not to be awarded more than once within ten years to the same Roman - than it should have been legal. This is once again repeated five years later in 315 BC, when Philo is elected to his fourth consulship; it is debated that Philo potentially only had two consulships, as Diodorus claimed that 315 was but his second consulship, although it is not the leading theory. During the term of his final consulship in 315 he seems to have stayed in Rome, whilst the Dictator, Q. Fabius waged war abroad.
To consider the achievements of Q. Publilius Philo we must remember he is a trailblazer for the future political landscape and positions in Rome. He made history in being the first plebeian to hold the posts of both Consul and Praetor, and then the first Roman to have his imperium extended as proconsul, and the first to celebrate a triumph as a proconsul. He was honoured with the post of both dictator and being chosen as the master of horse under L. Aemilius Mamercinus. Livy tells us that he was a popular leader in both the laws he passed as dictator and in 320 BC when he was elected ‘with universal approval’ after several other candidates had been rejected. Philo was an exceptional figure and his many achievements speak for themselves when we examine his significance as a political and military figure.


Cash for fags


Evacuation of Ayvalik

The evacuation of Aivalik took place in May 1917 as part of the genocide policies of the Ottoman government. The population of the predominantly Greek-inhabited town of Ayvalik, Ottoman Empire (in modern Turkey) on the east coast of the Aegean Sea was forcibly deported to the hinterland of Anatolia by the Ottoman authorities. The deportation was organized by German General and military adviser to the Ottoman Empire, Liman von Sanders, and included death marches, looting, torture and massacre against the local civilian population.
Persecution against the population of the predominantly Greek-inhabited settlement of Aivalik on the east coast of the Aegean had begun in 1910. In 1917, during World War I although nearby Greece was still a neutral state, the ethnic Greek population of the Ottoman state was viewed as an internal threat and genocide policies continued to be implemented.
Background.
The population of the predominantly ethnic Greek town of Aivalik was subject to state-sponsored persecution already from 1910. Anti-Greek policies begun with boycott of Greek owned businesses; anti-Greek signs were placed in several public locations in the town and yelling men were mobilized on the streets of Ayvalik in order to terrorize the non-Muslim population. The local population was harassed in the countryside by irregular groups and cultivation of their fields was prohibited.
Persecution was intensified in 1914, when a total of about 154,000 ethnic Greeks living in the western part of the Ottoman Empire lost their homes. With the outbreak of World War I and the participation of the Ottoman Empire on the side of the Central Powers persecution against the local Greek element took a more violent and systematic form and affected a more extensive area, including also Pontus in northern Anatolia. These policies included confiscations of property, as well as the creation of forced labor battalions for all Greek males.
Meanwhile, Greek refugees from the regions of Bergama and Edremit poured into nearby Ayvalik, at that time a town of approximately 30,000 inhabitants and with a Greek majority of 98.5%. The Ottoman authorities sought to further weaken the Greek element of Ayvalik with the confiscation of Greek properties and attacks by Muslim irregulars in the outskirts. The first wave of deportation of some Ayvalik residents occurred in 1914 and a second one followed in July 1915.
Evacuation.
According to a report by German general and military advisor to the Ottoman Empire Otto Liman von Sanders, the immediate expulsion of the entire Greek of Ayvalik was a military necessity; otherwise he couldn't guarantee the security of the Ottoman front. As soon he visited Ayvalik, von Sanders wondered out loud to the Ottoman officials:
Though there was some evidence that specific individuals were spying for the Triple Entente it was decided that the entire community should be deported. The evacuation order was issued at March 14, 1917. According to the Ottoman military commanders, the order was given by Sanders. The entire Greek population of Ayvalik between the ages of 12 and 80 was exiled to inner Anatolia.
The operation was organized by Liman von Sanders. Though Sanders claimed that he tried to keep the operation under control, numerous atrocities were committed against the local civilian population from early on. Moreover, the deportations were accompanied by looting and destruction of Greek churches, schools, hospitals and dwellings in the region as well as in nearby Bergama and Dikili. According to contemporary reports by the Greek press, gangs of Muslim boys were also mobilized by amputating the hands of Greek children as a punishment after the latter threw stones at the Ottoman soldiers.
Inhabitants were forcibly taken out of their homes, beaten and moved to the local military depots. The women and children were forced to march on foot for c. 24 hour to the nearest railway station. During the following week they were relocated to Bursa where they were subject to attacks and lynching by the Muslim mob and irregular groups (bashibazouks). Moreover, hundreds of civilians were taken on death marches to inland parts of Anatolia. The sick were shot by Ottoman soldiers.
Aftermath.
Estimates of the number of the deportees vary: according to Ottoman-Greek representatives they were c. 23,000, while German accounts estimated that c. 12,000-20,000 were forcibly moved out of Ayvalik. The deportation of such a significant number became a major topic in the European diplomatic agenda and the Western press. The German Empire was afraid that such an operation would trigger the entry of Greece (then a neutral country) into World War I on the Allied side. Moreover, the German involvement in the anti-Greek Ayvalik operation had a negative impact on pro-German king Constantine of Greece whose future in Greece became precarious.
During 1919–1922, when the region came temporarily under Greek control as part of the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres, only half of Ayvalik's initial population returned. In September 1922 Ayvalik was occupied by troops of the Turkish national movement and its Greek population was forcibly evacuated. A total of 3,000 citizens were transported to inland Anatolia as part of the labour battalions and only 23 of them managed to survive.


Hiro Muramoto

 was a Japanese TV cameraman and journalist, who worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Tokyo in the 1990s, and who reported for Reuters television for more than 15 years. Muramoto was based in Reuters' Tokyo bureau.
Muramoto was the first reporter killed during the 2010 Thai street protests. Photojournalist Fabio Polenghi died in another demonstration on May 19, 2010.
Career.
A graduate of Temple University (Japan Campus), Muramoto worked at NBC and then ABC. He joined Reuters as a freelance cameraman in 1992 and became full-time in 1995. During his time with Reuters, he traveled to high-risk areas North Korea and the Philippines (during political instability). He also covered human-interest stories such as "Tokyo monkey-waiters" and "the man who married a character from a video game".
Also active in charity projects, Muramoto walked 100 km in two days in the areas around Mount Fuji to raise money for impoverished communities in Africa. His plan was to attend this walk for a third time starting April 22.
Death.
Muramoto was shot and killed on April 10, 2010, while covering violent clashes during the 2010 Thai political protests between Thai troops and anti-government protesters. Muramoto was filming clashes between protests and government forces on Rajdamnoen Road in Bangkok. Muramoto was shot in the chest during the clash. The bullet exited his back, though doctors could not tell what type of bullet. Muramoto was taken to Klang Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to hospital director, Dr. Pichaya Nakwatchara. He was 43 years old and survived by his wife, Emiko, and two children.
The Thai military initially claimed to be shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, and only shooting live rounds into the air. However, video footage showed soldiers firing assault rifles in fully automatic fire mode in the direction of protesters. Protest leaders claimed that a number of people were hit by army snipers from nearby buildings. The military later admitted that troops fired live rounds directly at protesters, allegedly shooting only single rounds to protect injured troops retreating from the clashes.
Reactions.
Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger reacted in response to Muramoto's death, "I am dreadfully saddened to have lost our colleague Hiro Muramoto in the Bangkok clashes...Journalism can be a terribly dangerous profession as those who try to tell the world the story thrust themselves in the center of the action. The entire Reuters family will mourn this tragedy."
A Thai Army spokesperson claimed that protesters had attacked soldiers with grenades and petrol bombs before troops responded. The 2010 clashes, which led to calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government, have been the worst political violence in Bangkok for 18 years.


Death of Blair Peach

Clement Blair Peach (25 March 1946 – 24 April 1979) was a New Zealand teacher who died during an anti-racism demonstration in Southall, London, England. A campaigner and activist against the far right, in April 1979 Peach took part in an Anti-Nazi League demonstration in Southall against a National Front election meeting in the town hall and was hit on the head, probably by a member of the Special Patrol Group (SPG), a specialist unit within the Metropolitan Police Service. He died in hospital that night.
An investigation by Commander John Cass of the Metropolitan Police's Complaints Investigation Bureau concluded that Peach had been killed by one of six SPG officers, and others had preserved their silence to obstruct his investigation. The report was not released to the public, but was available to John Burton, the coroner who conducted the inquest; excerpts from a leaked copy were also published in "The Leveller" and "The Sunday Times" in early 1980. In May 1980 the jury in the inquest arrived at a verdict of death by misadventure, although press and some pressure groups—notably the National Council for Civil Liberties—expressed concern that no clear answers had been provided, and at the way Burton conducted the inquest.
Celia Stubbs, Peach's partner, campaigned for the Cass report to be released and for a full public inquiry. An inquiry was rejected, but in 1989 the Metropolitan Police paid £75,000 compensation to Peach's family. In 2009 Ian Tomlinson died after he was struck from behind by a member of the Territorial Support Group, the SPG's successor organisation; the parallels in the deaths proved to be the catalyst in the release of the Cass report to the public. The Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, released the report and supporting documentation. He also offered an official apology to Peach's family.
The policing of the demonstration in Southall damaged community relations in the area. Since Peach's death the Metropolitan Police have been involved in a series of incidents and poorly conducted investigations—the 1987 Murder of Daniel Morgan, the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, the death of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, the botched 2006 Forest Gate raid and the death of Tomlinson—all of which tarnished the image of the service. Peach's death has been remembered in the music of The Pop Group, Ralph McTell and Linton Kwesi Johnson; the National Union of Teachers set up the Blair Peach Award for work for equality and diversity issues and a school in Ealing is named after him.
Background.
Blair Peach.
Clement Blair Peach was born in Napier, New Zealand, on 25 March 1946, to Clement and Janet Peach. He was one of three brothers, the others being Roy and Philip; the former was a solicitor and led the family's legal campaign after Blair's death. Blair was schooled at Colenso College, then studied education and psychology at the Victoria University of Wellington, where he co-edited the "Argot" literary magazine with his flatmate Dennis List and David Rutherford. During his studies Peach visited Britain and liked the country. After graduating he was employed in several temporary jobs, but was turned down for compulsory military training for having an "unsuitable character". He emigrated to Britain in 1969 and was soon employed as a teacher at the Phoenix special needs school in Bow, East London. In 1970 he entered a long-term relationship with Celia Stubbs; they had first met in New Zealand in 1963 when she was visiting the country. Peach helped raise Stubbs's two daughters from her previous relationship, and the couple regarded each other as husband and wife.
Peach was politically active and joined the Socialist Workers' Party (SWP), Socialist Teachers' Association and the local branch of the National Union of Teachers. He was also a committed opponent of racism and was active in the Anti-Nazi League. He had been arrested previously when campaigning on political issues, and in 1974 he was charged with threatening behaviour after challenging a local publican's refusal to serve black customers; he was acquitted.
Southall.
As a result of the population transfers after the 1947 partition of India over ten million people were impoverished. From the late 1950s a significant number of them relocated. Many Sikhs and Hindus left the subcontinent to settle in Greater London, particularly Southall, where shortages of workers at factories, and the employment prospects at nearby Heathrow Airport meant jobs were easily obtainable. Some of the early arrivals found work at the R. Woolf and Co Rubber factory; by 1965 all the lower level workers were from Poland or the Indian subcontinent. Racial discrimination in the workplace was common; 85 per cent of those Asian workers who had been given entry into the UK on the basis of their education or training, were only employed in unskilled or semi-skilled roles. Kennetta Hammond Perry, in her history of post-war immigration, identifies the reasons as being "in part because of perceptions about their level of competence and stereotypes about their ability to speak English". Indian workers also faced discrimination from the white-dominated trade unions, and so formed their own organisation, the Indian Workers' Association (IWA).
During local elections of the 1960s anti-immigration rhetoric was used by some candidates, successfully in many cases. Smaller right-wing parties used immigration as a platform on which to stand, including in Southall. In the local elections of May 1964, the anti-immigration British National Party (BNP) polled 15 per cent of the vote in Southall; in the general election that October the BNP leader, John Bean, received 9.1 per cent in the Southall constituency. Bean won 7.4 per cent of the vote at the 1966 general election. The BNP's successor, the National Front, recorded 4.4 per cent of the vote at the 1970 general election.
In June 1976 the racist murder of Gurdip Singh Chaggar in Southall—outside the offices of the IWA—led to the former chairman of the National Front, John Kingsley Read, stating "one down, a million to go". Chaggar's murder led to the formation of the Southall Youth Movement (SYM) to challenge the rise in racism and attacks from the National Front. Rioting in the area took place between police and Asian youths and members of Peoples Unite, a similar group to the SYM, but consisting of young Afro-Caribbeans.
Special Patrol Group.
The Special Patrol Group (SPG) was formed in 1961 as a specialist squad within the Metropolitan Police. It provided a mobile, centrally controlled reserve of uniformed officers which supported local areas, particularly when policing serious crime and civil disturbances. The SPG comprised police officers capable of working as disciplined teams preventing public disorder, targeting areas of serious crime, carrying out stop and searches, or providing a response to terrorist threats. In 1978 there were 1,347 SPG members in forces across the UK, 204 of them in the Metropolitan Police Service. They were divided into six units, each of which contained three sergeants and 30 constables. Each unit was commanded by an inspector.
The use of the SPG proved controversial to some. It was involved in the Red Lion Square disorders, when Kevin Gately, a student demonstrating against a National Front march, was killed from a blow to the head from a blunt instrument; the perpetrator was never identified. Accusations were made that the police were inappropriately violent towards those demonstrating. The former chief constable, Tim Brain, writes "their critics viewed them with suspicion as a force within a force"; the Metropolitan Police history observes that "their presence sometimes came to assume unwanted symbolic significance". The former chief constable Geoffrey Dear states that the SPG "might apparently solve one problem but in its wake create another of aggravated relationships between minority groups and the police in general".
The SPG was disbanded in 1986 and, replaced by District Support Units (DSU). After receiving bad press, the DSU were replaced by the Territorial Support Group in January 1987.
23 April 1979.
In the run-up to the 1979 general election, the National Front announced that it would hold a meeting at Southall Town Hall on 23 April 1979, St George's Day. Southall was to be one of 300 parliamentary seats for which the organisation put up candidates. Prior to the Southall meeting, similar events had resulted in clashes with anti-racist protesters, including in Islington, North London, on 22 April, and in Leicester the following day. At both events, police had been injured trying to keep the two sides separate.
A petition of 10,000 residents was raised to cancel the meeting, but to no effect. Ealing Council had blocked previous meetings by the National Front, but, under the Representation of the People Act 1969, they allowed the party to use the hall. The day before the meeting a march by the IWA was planned from central Southall, past the town hall, and ending at Ealing Town Hall. Approximately 1,200 police officers were on duty along the five-mile (eight-kilometre) route; 19 people were arrested. Two counter-demonstrations for the day of the meeting were planned: a picket on the pavement opposite the hall, and a seated demonstration outside it. To deal with the potential violence, 2,876 police officers were drafted in, 94 of whom were on horseback; they arrived at 11:30am and demonstrators began gathering at 1:00pm in preparation for the 7:30pm National Front meeting.
The number of demonstrators at the town hall rose, and included some whom the police considered militant elements. There were some clashes between police and protesters and a small number of arrests ensued. The police decided to establish a sterile cordon around the town hall, although they still allowed a small, contained demonstration in the High Street. Cordons were set up on Lady Margaret Road, the Broadway, High Street and South Road. Between 2:30 and 3:15pm, at the High Street cordon, missiles were thrown at the police, who used riot shields to contain the crowd.
According to the official police report, between 5:30 and 6:30pm the level of violence rose as the crowd at the High Street cordon again began to throw missiles and at about 6:20pm between 500 and 2,000 protesters tried to breach the police lines. In response, mounted officers were brought in to disperse the crowd. The author Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, who was present at the demonstration, thought the mood changed when the police tactics changed from containment to dispersement, which triggered the missile-throwing reaction from the crowd.
A house on Park View Road, the headquarters of Peoples Unite, was used as a first aid post. The official police report states that the residents were "a group of mainly Rastafarians" who were squatting at the premises, and that these occupants threw missiles from the house at police in the street. SPG officers entered the house and an altercation broke out in which two officers were stabbed. Those in the house—including those manning the first aid post and those receiving treatment—were beaten with truncheons, and an estimated £10,000 of damage was done to the contents of the house, including the equipment for the band Misty in Roots; the group's manager, Clarence Baker, went into a coma for five months after his skull was fractured by a police truncheon. All those inside were removed from the property, regardless of what they were doing, and there were subsequent complaints by the inhabitants of racist and sexist abuse by the police. Seventy people were arrested either at or near the address. At the trial of one of those arrested, one of the SPG officers involved reported "there was no overall direction of the police forces at this time" and the situation was "a free for all".
National Front members began arriving from 7:00pm. At its scheduled time their meeting took place. During the assembly, one of the organisation's speakers called for "the bulldozing of Southall and its replacement by a 'peaceful English hamlet'". Four members of the public were allowed into the hall to fulfil the requirements of the Representation of the People's Act, but the journalist from "The Daily Mirror" was stopped from entering because the newspaper was "nigger loving". When the meeting ended at about 10:00pm, some of the attendees gave Nazi salutes on the steps of the town hall before being escorted to safety by the police.
Once the meeting was underway, the police decided to clear the area of demonstrators and allowed them to pass along the Broadway towards the crossroads with Northcote Avenue and Beachcroft Avenue. At about 7:30pm Peach, with four friends, decided to return to their cars and moved towards the junction. The group had been on the Broadway since they arrived in the area at 4:45pm. At around the same time a flare or petrol bomb was thrown either at or over a police coach on the Broadway. The driver—with a policeman standing next to him—drove the coach through the crowd; no-one was injured, but eyewitnesses said that the mood of the crowd changed at that point. Two SPG vans drove westwards along the Broadway and collected two crates of bricks and bottles that the crowd left behind as they retreated. Items were thrown at the two vehicles and a police inspector on a building roof radioed to the central control unit that there was a riot in progress.
Peach and his friends turned off the Broadway down Beachcroft Avenue, thinking they were heading out of the area, but not realising the road only connected to Orchard Avenue, which led back to South Road and the heavy police cordon there. There was a group of 100 to 150 protesters on the corner of the Broadway and Beachcroft Avenue and the SPG vans of Unit 3 drove to the junction of the Broadway with Northcote Avenue and Beachcroft Avenue to face them. As the officers deployed out of the vehicles they were hit by missiles from the crowd. One officer was hit in the face by a brick which fractured his jaw in three places. The inspector leading the unit radioed "Immediate assistance required".
The official investigation into Peach's death states that the events leading up to this point, while difficult, were relatively straightforward, but that "further description of what happened" is hampered by "conflicting accounts [that] have been given by private persons and also by police". The radio call from Unit 3 was picked up by SPG Unit 1, two of whose vans drove into Beachcroft Avenue from the Broadway entrance and stopped at the corner with Orchard Avenue. They deployed while under bombardment from bricks and stones. The first person to exit the van was Inspector Alan Murray, who had charge of the first van of Unit 1 (called Unit 1-1), and he was followed by constables Bint, White, Freestone, Richardson and Scottow. He and his men were using riot shields, had their truncheons drawn and worked to disperse the crowd. During this action Peach received a blow on the head. Fourteen witnesses stated that they saw it happen and say that it was a police officer. One resident told the inquest that she:
saw blue vans coming down Beachcroft Avenue. They were coming very fast − as they came round Beachcroft Avenue, they stopped. I saw policemen with shields come out − people started running and the police tried to disperse them. I saw police hitting. I saw a white man standing there ... The police were hitting everybody. People started running, some in the alley, some in my house ... I saw Peach, I then saw the policeman with the shield attack Peach.
Peach was taken into a nearby house—71 Orchard Avenue—after one of the residents saw him being hit. He was given a glass of water, but could not hold it. His eyes were rolled up to the top of his head and he had difficulty speaking. The residents soon called an ambulance, which was logged at 8:12pm; it arrived within ten minutes, and Peach was taken to Ealing Hospital. He was promptly operated on because of a large extradural haematoma but his condition worsened through the procedure. He died at 12:10am on 24 April.
There were 3,000 protesters in Southall on 23 April. The police arrested 345 people. 97 police were injured, as were 39 of the prisoners. 25 members of the public were also injured, of whom Peach was one. A member of the National Front was found near Southall train station, badly beaten. He spent two days in intensive care before being released.
Aftermath.
Within a day of Peach's death, Commander John Cass of the Metropolitan Police's Complaints Investigation Bureau began an investigation of the events and statements were taken from members of the SPG that day. Sir David McNee, then the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, also undertook his own eight-day review of the demonstrations, although he did not include Peach's death as part of his analysis.
The inquest opened on 26 April 1979; John Burton, the coroner for West London, oversaw the proceedings. On the opening day he allowed Peach's family to have a second post-mortem examination undertaken by an independent pathologist; the inquest was then adjourned for a month. It reconvened on 25 May 1979 and was again adjourned after Cass appeared as a witness and said that his investigation would take between two and three months more. By that time, he and his team had interviewed 400 people. Burton said that the inquiry would reconvene after Sir Tony Hetherington, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), had been given the report.
Despite statements by the police and the incumbent government that the trouble at Southall was caused by outsiders to the area, only 2 of the 342 charged were non-residents of Southall. Instead of holding the trials locally, they were held away in Barnet. Lalith de Kauwe, writing for "Bulletin"—the publication of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers—writes that while initially 90 per cent of the defendants were found guilty, this dropped to 70 per cent once the press began to publicise the matter.
On 12 June 1979 Peach's body was laid out at the Dominion Cinema in Southall; 8,000 people filed past it. The following day he was buried at East London Cemetery, where between 5,000 and 10,000 people were in attendance. Three days after the funeral, McNee defended the actions of the SPG and told a black reporter "I understand the concern of your people. But if you keep off the streets of London and behave yourselves you won't have the SPG to worry about."
Cass investigation.
One member of SPG Unit 1-1 was questioned by Cass's team in early June 1979 after the forensic report stated that Peach was probably not killed by a police truncheon, but by a lead-filled cosh or pipe. A search of the unit's lockers found 26 weapons—including police truncheons—many of which were unauthorised, including coshes and knives, as well as sets of keys and a stolen driving licence. Cass's team raided the home of PC Grenville Bint, where weapons and Nazi memorabilia were found. Bint stated he collected the memorabilia as a hobby.
During his investigation Cass held several identification parades, including for Officer F, Officer G and Officer I. These were identified by the barrister and historian David Renton from the inquest as PCs Raymond White, James Scottow and Anthony Richardson, respectively. No witness managed to identify the man they saw hitting Peach. It later transpired that one officer present at the riots shaved off the moustache which he had that day, while Inspector Murray grew a beard and refused to take part in the identity parades. Many of the uniforms that the police wore that day had been dry-cleaned before they were inspected. Cass ran up against misleading stories from the members of Unit 1-1 and in his report he stated "The attitude and untruthfulness of some of the officers involved is a contributory factor." He continued "The action of these officers clearly obstructed the police officers carrying out their duty of investigating this serious matter." Cass decided that he had identified the individual whom he considered most likely to have hit Peach, but that there was "no evidence of a conclusive nature":
The officers in that carrier after disembarking, who could have assaulted Clement Blair PEACH were Officer E, Officer H, Officer G, Officer I, Officer J and Officer F, and I give them in that order of possibility.
Renton identified these officers as Murray, Bint, Scottow, Richardson, Freestone and White, respectively. Cass's report was accepted by the police as being accurate, and in his 1983 autobiography McNee wrote "when all the evidence was assembled it showed that Blair Peach had died from a blow to his skull. The evidence pointed to the fact that the blow had been struck by a police officer."
Coroner's inquest.
Cass finished the investigation in February 1980; 30 investigators had worked for 31,000-man-hours during his enquiries. He finished his initial report on 12 July 1979, which was sent to the DPP, who, while praising the work he had done, stated that "there was insufficient evidence to justify a prosecution". The inquest reopened a week later. Both Burton and the lawyers representing the Metropolitan Police were given copies of Cass's report, but refused to provide copies to the lawyers representing the Peach family or those representing the Anti-Nazi League. Burton used Cass's report to determine which witnesses to call and which to ignore. Michael Dummett, Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford University, examining the case for the National Council for Civil Liberties, observes that as only the coroner and police lawyers had copies of the report, "it was impossible for anyone ... [else] to obtain a complete picture of the evidence". The question of whether the family were allowed to view the reports was taken to a Divisional Court, who ruled that as the report was the property of the police, they had the right to withhold it.
Legal counsel for the Peach family requested that the inquest be held in front of a jury, which Burton rejected; the inquest was again adjourned. The High Court rejected a challenge to overturn Burton's decision, which then went to the Court of Appeal where Lord Denning stated that the inquest should reconvene in front of a jury.
In early 1980, sections of the Cass report were published in "The Leveller" (January 1980) and "The Sunday Times" (March 1980). Details included in both publications were the names of Murray, White, Freestone, Richardson and Scottow. The latter publication indicated that the decision by the DPP not to prosecute the policemen "left the investigating officers in the invidious position of appearing party to a cover up, should their report ever become public". In April 1980—the one-year anniversary of Peach's death—members of the group "Friends of Blair Peach Committee" picketed outside police stations holding posters that named the six members of SPG Unit 1-1 and the words "Wanted for the murder of Blair Peach".
The inquest reconvened on 28 April 1980, and was expected to last several weeks. Both pathologists—David Bowen for the coroner and Keith Mant acting for the family—came to the same conclusions: that death was from a single blow, not a police truncheon, but a "rubber 'cosh' or hosepipe filled with lead shot, or some like weapon". Both stated that Peach had a thin skull, but not, as Mant observed, "pathologically thin". He described the action that caused the injury as "a very severe, single blow".
The inquest closed on 27 May 1980 during which time 83 witnesses were called. A verdict of death by misadventure was given. The criminologists Phil Scraton and Paul Gordon consider that, given the conclusions of the Cass report, unlawful killing would have been a more appropriate verdict. In its leader the following day, "The Times" said that "the Peach inquest failed to provide a clear and believable explanation of the events in question"; it also stated that Peach's death should continue to be investigated.
The National Council for Civil Liberties expressed concern at the way Burton conducted the inquest. The organisation felt uneasy with a theory that he put to the jury: that Peach was killed by "some political fanatic" in order to make him a martyr against the police. During the course of the inquest, Burton wrote to ministers to say that the question of whether Peach was killed by a police officer was a "political 'fabrication'". He also wrote to the home secretary, lord chancellor and attorney general, claiming that there was a conspiracy to spread false information about Peach's death; he accused several media outlets, including the BBC, of producing what he described as "biased propaganda". In 2010 "The Daily Telegraph" considered that Burton had shown a "lack of sympathy ... towards Mr Peach's death".
After the inquest Burton wrote a seven-page article entitled "The Blair Peach Inquest – the Unpublished Story", which he wanted to publish in the Coroners' Society annual report. In the article he said that some civilian witnesses lied and were "totally politically committed to the Socialist Workers Party", and he thought that some of the Sikh witnesses "did not have experience of the English system" to give reliable evidence. He was persuaded not to publish the account by civil servants, who considered that the report would "discredit the impartiality of coroners in general and Dr Burton in particular".
Subsequent events.
There were several calls for a public inquiry to examine the circumstances surrounding Peach's death and the role of the police; 79 MPs supported such a hearing, but the government refused to hold such a review. The Peach family also challenged the Metropolitan Police in court for the Cass report and supporting papers to be released. In February 1986 the Court of Appeal ruled that the police should release the statements and supporting papers, but not the report itself. The family also sought to claim damages from the Metropolitan Police and in June 1988, after eight years of trying, they were awarded £75,000. The political historian Mick Ryan observes that the Peach case is an example where "compensation is ... paid in tacit admission that a wrong had been committed". In April 1999 Paul Boateng, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, was the final minister who turned down the request for a public inquiry, saying the event had happened too long ago to be beneficial.
Following correspondence with the Peach family at the time of the twentieth anniversary of Peach's death, Commander Ian Quinn of the Metropolitan Police's complaints bureau undertook a review of investigation in 1999. The family were not told of the investigation or its outcome.
On 1 April 2009, at the 2009 G20 London summit protests, a member of the Territorial Support Group, the SPG's successor organisation, struck Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor, who collapsed and died. The parallels in the deaths of the two men proved to be the catalyst in the release of the Cass report to the public. Stephenson also officially apologised to Peach's family. That June the Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson announced that Cass's report and supporting documentation would be released.
SPG Unit 1-1.
After Stephenson's announcement that the Metropolitan police would publish the Cass report, Murray stated that he believed he was the officer referred to in the report as "Officer E", but said that "Under no circumstances was I involved in the death of Blair Peach. I was not involved in his death. I'm as certain as I can be." Murray considered Cass's report to be "pure fabrication to justify his failure to identify the perpetrator of this act". Angered at the handling of the initial investigation, Murray left the police and joined his brother's jewellery business in Scotland before becoming a lecturer in corporate responsibility at the University of Sheffield.
Two days after the Nazi memorabilia and unauthorised weapons were found in his possession, Bint was transferred out of the SPG. Richardson and Freestone were transferred out soon afterwards; Scottow and White voluntarily transferred. All the officers left the police force shortly after the investigation ended.
Undercover Policing Inquiry.
In 2021, evidence was provided to the Undercover Policing Inquiry that the Metropolitan police monitored Peach's partner, Celia Stubbs, with undercover officers for about twenty years. This included taking photographs at Peach's funeral and creating an attendee list report, and monitoring the 20th anniversary event planning which was expected by Special Branch in 1998 to be attended by "anti-police type groups".
Impact.
Following the actions of the police at Southall, the Asian community in the area felt that relations between them and the police had broken down; many saw the police as aggressors. One member of the community said "Our feeling now towards the police is one of shock. In India the police are very brutal, but none of us believed until Monday night that the police here could behave equally brutally." The journalists Mark Hughes and Cahal Milmo consider that the action of the SPG "became a symbol of police corruption".
Writing after the release of the Cass report, the leader in "The Times" opined that following Peach's death, "the Metropolitan Police entered a dark place from which they have been struggling to emerge ever since". In 2010 Andy Hayman, the former assistant commissioner for Specialist Operations at the Metropolitan Police, wrote that Peach's death brought the service and the SPG into disrepute. It led to an undermining of confidence in the police and "creat[ed] a distrust of officers that in some quarters, has proved difficult to shake off". The criminologists Chris Greer and Eugene McLaughlin considered Peach's death alongside the Metropolitan Police's actions in relation to the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, the death of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, the botched 2006 Forest Gate raid and the death of Ian Tomlinson; they described the "succession of institutional scandals, cover-ups and botched investigations" that had tarnished the image of the service. Writing in the light of Tomlinson's death, Philip Johnston, a journalist with "The Daily Telegraph", observed that Peach was one in a number of incidents where there had been unwarranted police aggression. Johnston wrote that while at the time of Peach's death many people would have sided with the police, that is no longer the case. "Many of those from the countryside who attended the Westminster rally against the ban on fox-hunting bear the scars of a brutal confrontation with the police, which changed their view of them for ever." Journalist Duncan Campbell has noted that the conduct of police, and their inefficiency in the case, was comparable to that involved with the Murder of Daniel Morgan in 1987.
Legacy.
Public reaction to Peach's death, and other underlying racial tensions including excessive police use of the sus law, ultimately led to the 1981 Brixton riot and a public inquiry by Lord Scarman.
A primary school in Southall was later named after Peach. The Blair Peach Award was set up by the National Union of Teachers in 2010 to commemorate the former union member and as recognition of exemplary work by current members in schools and Union branches for equality and diversity issues. In 1989 the poet and activist Chris Searle edited "One for Blair", an anthology of poems for the young.
The injury to Clarence Baker was commemorated in The Ruts's song "Jah War". The Two-Tone album "The 2 Tone Story" is dedicated to Peach's memory. Several songs have been written in Peach's memory, or referring to his death, including The Pop Group's 1980 song "Justice"; the 1982 song "Water of Dreams" by Ralph McTell; and "Reggae Fi Peach" by Linton Kwesi Johnson, which contains the lyrics:
<poem>Blair Peach was not an English man,
Him come from New Zealand,
Now they kill him and him dead and gone,
But his memory lingers on.</poem>


Sahrawi independence


Sutay

Sutay or Sutai (, ) (died 1332) was a Mongol emir and governor of Diyar Bakr. He was appointed by Öljaitü as viceroy. His descendants held Diyar Bakr in their hands following the dissolution of the Ilkhanate and made it hereditary.
Background.
His tribal affiliation is not known. Turkish historian Faruk Sümer proposed that he was of the Sunud tribe and Sutai was just an abbreviation for Sunitai (). Ishayahu Landa too believes that Sutay was a member of the Sunud. According to Mamluk historian Al-Safadi, he took part in Siege of Baghdad and was over 100 years old when he died in 1332. But Faruk Sümer doubted that and proposed that Mamluk historians mistook him for Chagatay the Younger otherwise known as Sunitai - an emir from the Sunud tribe and Hulagu's "mingghan" commander.
Career under Ghazan.
He was an "akhtachi" () and rose to prominence during Ghazan's viceroyalty in Khorasan. He served alongside Mulay, Qutlughshah and Nurin Aqa and fought in Ghazan's war against Nawruz from 1289 to 1294. He also commanded an army during Ghazan's war against Baydu in 1295. He was one of the executioners of vizier Sadr al-Din Zanjani with Qutlughshah on 30 April 1298. The next year he was sent with emir Qutlughshah to quell Sulamish's revolt in Anatolia. Sutai led a rear guard composed of 15,000 soldiers and won a victory after a decisive battle on 27 April 1299 near Akşehir (modern Suşehri). After quelling the rebellion, Sutay was continuously stationed in Anatolia as a commander of a Mongol garrison. He later took part in the Mongol raids into Palestine especially during 1300 to 1301.
Under Öljaitü.
Sutay kept his position as emir in the army during the reign of Öljaitü and joined his campaigns. He commanded a "tümen" on the right wing during Öljaitü's campaign in Gilan in 1307. He plundered Lahijan with Esen Qutlugh and later was dispatched towards Tamijan. He returned to his fiefs in Anatolia after the campaign and raided the Turcomans dwelling near Rumkale in 1308. This raiding party was intercepted by the Mamluk governor of Aleppo - Shams al-Din Qara Sonqur later. He was reported to leave his post for Baghdad on 10 January 1310 for unspecified reasons in "Tarikh-i Uljaytu".
He was appointed as viceroy of Diyar Bakr by Öljaitü in 1312 after the death of Emir Mulay; with his headquarters in Mosul. He commanded a part of the right flank during Öljaitü's campaign in Syria during 1312 and 1313, while his son Hajji Taghay was stationed in the center. He raided some of Al-Nasir's armies near Aleppo in 1313.
Under Abu Sa'id.
He was relieved of viceroyalty in Diyar Bakr in 1316, upon the succession of Abu Sa'id by his chief commander Emir Sevinch. He was replaced by the Keraite emir Irinjin in Diyar Bakr while subsequently he was granted the viceroyalty of Ahlat. Sutai did not take part in Qurumshi and Irinjin's disastrous revolt in 1319, unlike his son Barambay, and was granted the viceroyalty of Diyar Bakr for a second time. Baranbay evaded persecution and fled to his father after 1319. After Sutai's return to Diyar Bakr, he granted Ahlat to his three sons as his subordinates, thus establishing a hereditary government. He was reconfirmed in his position after the Chupanid purge in 1327 and held this position until his death in 1332. His rule in Diyar Bakr was succeeded by Ali Padshah, the uncle of Abu Sa'id.
Family.
He was married to Buyan Agha, daughter of Möngke Temür and had at least two sons with her:
Sutay's descendants, known in literature as Sutayids continued to rule Diyar Bakr, Diyar Rabia and Ahlat until the rise of the Kara Koyunlu.


Grassroots Out

Grassroots Out (GO) was an organisation that campaigned in favour of EU withdrawal in the 2016 referendum on EU membership in the United Kingdom. The organisation was formed in January 2016, as a result of infighting between Vote Leave and Leave.EU, and officially launched on 23 January 2016 in Kettering.
Despite its name, it was started by politicians from a mixture of political parties including Peter Bone, Tom Pursglove, Liam Fox of the Conservatives, Kate Hoey of Labour, Nigel Farage of UKIP and Sammy Wilson of the DUP. The left wing Respect Party later joined Grassroots Out.
Campaign.
GO came into being following a number of controversies within Vote Leave, the original cross-party movement campaigning for Brexit, and infighting between Vote Leave and Leave.EU. The current affairs magazine "Private Eye" said: Although [Grassroots Out] is little more than another Ukip front – with Farage at its launch and Ukip moneybags Arron Banks providing cash – Labour MP Kate Hoey has signed up, so disillusioned are she and other Labour Euroscptics with Kurtz [Dominic Cummings, leader of Vote Leave].
On 13 February 2016, Respect Party leader George Galloway interviewed UKIP leader Farage on "Sputnik", the show he presents for the Russian RT television network; Galloway and Farage agreed on everything that was discussed and Galloway expressed his commitment to joining GO.
On 6 February 2016, the campaign expressed interest into seeking the Electoral Commission designation for the official Leave campaign against Vote Leave and Leave.EU. Co founder of GO Tom Pursglove, said "If we are going to win this crucial referendum for the future of our country, it is imperative that the current impasse, which is serving as an enormous distraction, must come to an end and it seems that there is a growing mood that GO could well be the vehicle to achieve this – indeed, we have been approached by many people in many parties, enquiring as to whether this might be possible."
On 16 February 2016, "Go Movement Ltd" (an umbrella group made up of Eurosceptics from GO, UKIP and Leave.EU – but not Vote Leave) announced that it would apply to the Electoral Commission to be designated as the official Leave campaign for the upcoming referendum.
On 13 April 2016, rival organisation Vote Leave was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official referendum campaign in favour of leaving the EU. In response, GO said it would now work with Vote Leave to win the EU Referendum. However, the Head of Communications for Leave.EU, Andy Wigmore, said that Leave.EU would apply for a judicial review of the decision.
He suggested that the referendum could be delayed until 23 October 2016 while the review took place.
Music and merchandise.
GO has generated a great deal of debate with its brand promotions in support of the Brexit campaign. Many of these products were summarised by columnist Joel Golby for "The Guardian" Comment is Free section. UKIP Parliamentary Candidate Mandy Boylett created a parody of the "Three Lions" anthem, which went viral in February 2016.
Reviews ranged from "this anti EU music video parody is the worst song to come from UK politics yet" from Ryan Barrell in "The Huffington Post" to "It's an astonishing watch, arguably better than the original and with the potential to inspire just as many ordinary Englanders to get out and support their country. Ish" from Guy Kelly in "The Telegraph".
David Baddiel, who penned the original "Three Lions" anthem, described this version as "brilliantly naff". Marina Hyde in "The Guardian" suggested Boylett as the lead act in an anti EU music festival reportedly taking place in May. On 13 June 2016, Mandy Boylett launched a follow up Brexit song, penning new words to Pink's "Get this party started".
The new song was immediately reported across the British Press and European press including the Daily Express,City AM and Global (Denmark)


Pulok Chatterji

Pulok Chatterji (born 1952) is an Indian civil servant who served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, from 2011 to 2014. He formerly served as Executive Director to the World Bank and Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office from 2004 to 2009.
He is a 1974 batch Indian Administrative Service officer from Uttar Pradesh cadre.
Early life and education.
His late father had been Chairman of United Commercial Bank. He is an alumnus of St. Stephen's College, Delhi.
Career.
By 1981, he was aged 32 and Collector of Sultanpur in UP. He moved to the PMO as Deputy Secretary when Rajiv Gandhi took over as PM in 1985. He worked at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and as Officer on Special Duty to Sonia Gandhi.
In 2004, when United Progressive Alliance came to power, he returned to PMO serving as Joint Secretary to Government of India before being promoted as Secretary to Government of India.
In 2012, he was awarded the C.F. Andrews Distinguished Alumni Award by the St. Stephen's College, Delhi.
Controversies and allegations.
File notings available with "India Today" show that Pulok Chatterji, a senior official in the PMO in 2007-08, was fully aware of A. Raja's dubious decision-making in 2G spectrum case. In this note, Chatterji basically agrees that spectrum can be allotted on payment of normal fees -- the existing usual fee of Rs 1,658 crore -- which is what the nine licensees forked out for a pan-Indian footprint.
As Joint Secretary in the PMO, Chatterji wrote a note on 3 December 2004, favouring Kalmadi's appointment citing the host city contract and precedent of the 1982 Asian Games. Chatterji's note said Kalmadi should head the OC, but recommended caveats to address concerns raised by then sports minister Sunil Dutt.
In 2013, several reports state that he was responsible for tampering of the CBI coalgate report.


Kim Jong-suk

Kim Jong-suk (; 24 December 1917  – 22 September 1949) was a Korean anti-Japanese guerrilla, a Communist activist, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung's first wife, former leader Kim Jong-il's mother, and current leader Kim Jong-un's grandmother.
Biography.
Kim Jong-suk was born on 24 December 1917 in Hoeryong County, North Hamgyong Province, Japanese Korea. Suh Dae-sook writes that she was "the elder of two daughters of a poor farmer." However, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), states that she had a younger brother, Kim Ki-song(김기송), who was born 9 February 1921.
Kim Jong-suk followed her mother to Manchuria to look for her father, but they discovered that he had already died there. Soon after that, her mother died and she became an orphan. Most sources agree that Kim Jong-suk then joined Kim Il-sung’s guerrilla force in 1935 or 1936 as a kitchen helper. The KCNA, however, reports that Kim Jong-suk and Kim Ki-song joined the guerrilla forces after their mother and their elder brother’s wife were murdered by the Japanese.
During this time, Kim Jong-suk worked various odd jobs, was arrested by the Japanese in 1937 in an undercover attempt to secure food and supplies. After her release, she rejoined the guerrillas, where she cooked, sewed, and washed.
It was around this time that Kim Jong-suk reportedly saved Kim Il-sung’s life. Baik Bong relates the story in Kim Il-sung's official biography:
Kim Jong-suk married Kim Il Sung in the Soviet Union, most likely in 1941. On 16 February 1941 (or 1942, sources vary), in the Soviet village of Vyatskoye, Kim Jong-suk gave birth to Kim Jong-il, who was given the Russian name "Yuri Irsenovich Kim," and the nickname "Yura." In 1944, Kim Jong-suk gave birth to a second son, Kim Man-il in Korean and "Alexander" or "Shura" in Russian. In 1946, she gave birth to a daughter, Kim Kyŏng-hŭi. Augustina Vardugina, a woman from Vyatskoye, was in her teens when Kim Il-sung's guerrilla group camped there. She remembers Kim Jong-suk, and how she would come to the village to barter military rations for chicken and eggs. Her son, Kim Jong-il, would be holding her hand.
A year after the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and until her death, Kim Jong-suk was the first lady of North Korea. According to some accounts, Kim Jong-suk "was a small, quiet woman, not particularly well educated, but friendly and life-loving." Major General N.G. Lebedev, an executive Soviet officer during the Soviet occupation of North Korea, recalled Kim Jong-suk as "a vivacious and generous lady who always cooked enormous amounts of food for the hungry Soviet generals when they visited Kim’s home."
Death.
Kim Jong-suk died in Pyongyang in 1949. The official story is that she died from "the hardships she had endured during the years as a guerrilla fighter." The unofficial story is that she died in childbirth while delivering a stillborn child. Her death, however, is omitted from her official biography. Some say she died from tuberculosis, and there are other stories that she was shot and bled to death.
Legacy.
After Kim Jong-il succeeded Kim Il Sung, he began to make his mother, Kim Jong-suk, into "a revolutionary immortal." This campaign created "a holy trinity known as the ‘Three Generals.’" Instead of touting Kim Jong-suk as the quiet woman that she was, she became the heroine of the revolution. The website of the National Democratic Front of South Korea (NDFSK) says she was "a peerless heroine . . . an anti-Japanese heroine . . . a faithful retainer who faithfully carried out General Kim Il Sung’s [Kim Il-sung] will but also a lifeguard who safeguarded the General of every dangerous movement."
Kim Jong-suk was recorded to have "conducted on-the-spot guidance sessions" and was a "great strategist". In her home town of Hoeryong, "a museum, a library, a statue, a square and the house in which she was born" are "devoted to the 'Mother of Korea'". She arranged parachute training and won several shooting competitions. One story says that she would wash Kim Il-sung's socks and dry them in her bosom, or cut her hair and spread it in Kim Il-sung's shoes.
Michael Harrold, in his memoir "Comrades and Strangers", relates several stories he heard about Kim Jong-suk while in North Korea. According to him, there is a memorial near Mount Kumgang that marks where Kim Jong-suk stopped "when she realized she had forgotten to bring the great leader’s lunch, and had turned back to prepare something to eat for when he returned from the mountains." Kim Jong-suk is also credited with inspiring Kim Jong-il to build the Ryugyong Hotel. Harrold relates that Kim Jong-suk told a young Kim Jong-il that he "must build tall buildings for the people, of 30 or even 40 stories," and the son replied that he would build housing 100 stories high. This led to the construction of the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel, which is still not opened.
On 1 June 2015, the Daily NK reported that Kim Jong-suk's wedding ring had gone missing from Pyongyang's Korean Revolution Museum sometime in late May. Items belonging to key figures of the Kim family are of great importance. In 2010, state television aired a show dedicated to the story behind the ring, which was, purportedly, given to her by Kim Il-sung in 1938 for her role in the anti-Japanese guerrilla movement.
Many places in North Korea are named after her, including Kimjongsuk County, Kim Jong-suk Teacher Training College, Kim Jong-suk Rest Home, and Kim Jong-suk Pyongyang Silk Mill.
In North Korean News.
In North Korean News The KCNA regularly reports on Kim Jong-suk, either honoring her memory or describing her revolutionary activities. The following are headlines from articles relating to Kim Jong-suk from 2012:


Know-Nothing Riot

The term Know-Nothing Riot has been used to refer to a number of political uprisings of the Nativist American Know Nothing Party in the United States of America during the mid-19th century. These anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic protests culminated into riots in Philadelphia in 1844, St. Louis in 1854, Cincinnati and Louisville in 1855, Baltimore in 1856, Washington, D.C. and New York in 1857, and New Orleans in 1858.
Know-Nothing Riots (1844-1858).
Cincinnati Riot.
The Election Day Riots of 1855 occurred in Cincinnati between April 2-7, 1855. The election was between James J. Faran, the Democratic contender and editor of the "Cincinnati" "Enquirer", and James D. Taylor, rabid nativist editor of the "Cincinnati Times". Rumors of illegal voting, ballot-box stuffing, and naturalized voters preventing native-born citizens from voting sparked the events.
Baltimore Riot.
See Know-Nothing Riots of 1856
New Orleans Riot.
The New Orleans Know-Nothing group began as a local movement in 1858 to reduce what residents considered a high rate of crime and violence in the city, primarily among Irish and German immigrants, who were among the poorest classes. A secret Vigilance Committee was formed to monitor their activities, and in particular to prevent disruption of upcoming municipal elections.
On the night of June 2, 1858, armed men under the command of Capt. J.K. Duncan, an officer in the United States Army, marched to Jackson Square and occupied the court rooms in The Cabildo. For the next five days, a standoff existed between the Vigilance Committee and members of the Native American Party. On June 7, the elections were held and the Native American candidate, Gerard Stith, defeated the Democratic Party candidate, P.G.T. Beauregard. The Vigilance Committee disbanded with no further violence.


Youth for Multilateral Disarmament

Youth for Multilateral Disarmament was a campaigning organisation set up by the National Young Conservatives to counter Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) activities with young voters. The National Chairman of the Young Conservatives, Iain Picton, tasked Vice Chairman, Phil Pedley with the creation of a front organisation to highlight the perceived naivety of unilateral disarmament given the hostile nature of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. The campaign included support for the siting of cruise missiles in the UK to counter Soviet SS 20 missiles.
In the 1980s, CND enjoyed a significant revival. The deployment of SS20s in the Soviet Bloc countries led to a counter positioning of American Cruise Pershing II missiles in Western Europe, including Britain which led to a huge growth in CND membership.
Liaison with Ministry of Defence.
Pedley liaised with John Nott, Minister of Defence and Nott's PPS, David Hunt MP to agree the scope and nature of the organisation which included monitoring CND activity across the country, the training of anti-CND activists and the production of anti-CND material. Pedley informed the Young Conservative National Advisory Committee. "I have personally assured John Nott MP, that the YC's will discuss the matter fully with him, and that any YC campaign will be thoroughly thought out and he will be kept informed of our activities throughout the year".
Countering Youth CND activity in the Young Conservatives.
Picton and Pedley moved to counter Youth CND activity in Young Conservative Branches. The CND Magazine Sanity, claimed; "Meanwhile, support for CND amongst Tories has been growing. CND has been invited to dozens of Young Tory meetings in London and the South East, and at least one Young Tory branch has donated funds to CND's limited funds". Pedley arranged for the offending YC branch to be closed down. Sanity quoted Pedley as admitting some YC's supported CND but, "there are none on the National Executive".
Officers.
Pedley became the first Director/Chairman of YMD with Mark Worrall (the Young Conservative National Organiser) acting as the General Secretary. When Pedley succeeded Picton as National YC Chairman, he appointed Nick Robinson as Director/Chairman as his successor at YMD. The address was given as 1a Whitehall Place London SW1 National YC Report 1982–83.
Campaigns and material.
YMD produced a range of stickers, posters and leaflets highlighting the risk of unilateral disarmament. Materials included:
Peace and Defence – Speakers Notes.
A comprehensive range of information to assist speakers debating at public meetings or appearing on media outlets. Written by Pedley and revamped by Robinson in 1985.
Peace at what price? - Never Again.
A 1985 poster highlighting the perceived dangers of appeasement and featuring concentration camp victims.
The Soviet Union Needs You - Support Unilateral Disarmament.
A leaflet warning that unilateral disarmament would give the Soviet Union a military advantage and leave liberal democracies weakened and unable to resist encroachment.
Demise.
The re-election of a Conservative government in 1983, threw the CND on the defensive and the defeat of left-wing parties in continental Europe "made the deployment of Cruise missiles inevitable and the movement again began to lose steam".