Peter Pišťanek - The End of Freddy

But this explosives expert is not the only man on the base to complain of lack of work. “Higher authority” denies there are problems. “Cooperation with the Slovaks is excellent,” claims Vodička.

“We’re glad we have the Czechs here. They’re true professionals; they know what it’s all about,” says Colonel Anton-Molnár-Gajdoš-Krátký of the Slovak National Front for Liberation, the political wing of the Slovak Liberation Army.

“I’d be very surprised if the Slovaks sidelined our soldiers in any way,” says the Royal Czech Army commander in Junja, General Tvrdý. “After all, we fought on their side, doing the hardest tasks, and in fact helped them win. For the whole war, we trained their soldiers and sent them humanitarian and — today I can reveal — military aid.”

“Well, over there is a military airport that was mined. The Slovaks are clearing the mines, but we’re not allowed to even look in that direction,” claims one Czech soldier on the way to Ćmirçăpoļ. “The only aircraft that managed to land there, they say, was an old Ilyushin piloted by two Russian chancers. They were both blown up unloading their cargo. The whole airport was strewn with cigarette cartons they brought.”

Going Home?

Radek complains that his girlfriend found his going to Junja hard. “She didn’t agree to my going anywhere. I hope she’s finally got used to it.” I ask him if he knows how long he would stay in Horná Náprava. “I don’t know, nobody does. They said until February, perhaps.” Marek’s wife said nothing when he was leaving. But she still wanted to know when he was coming back. “So I told her, ‘The commander’s over there, go and ask him.’” “And did she?” “She did.” “And what did he tell her?” “He said half a year and a bit.” “And how long is that bit?” “Nobody’s told us.”

The soldiers believe that the contracts they signed before flying beyond the Arctic circle made no mention of how long they might spend here. Although they admit that they’re afraid and have families at home, they don’t want to go back. For some it’s the money, for others the adventure. “I want to make enough money to buy a flat. Yes. If I stay here six months, I’ll have enough for a flat in Prostějov,” says Josef. “You can’t do this work for money,” says an agitated skinhead giant. “A man has to like it.” Then he goes outside his tent to show us how he gave himself a special injection against pain. “If you step on a mine and it rips off a piece of your foot, it’s great. You can crawl for another hour without feeling any pain.” This Goliath explains that there are all kinds of ampoules for injections available, that he doesn’t know them all. His friend on the next bunk, in a tent that sleeps 17, keeps stressing that he can survive in the taiga with just an emergency box containing matches, hooks, and a fishing line that can be used to trap animals. He had something else as well, but we didn’t get to see it because of the superb camouflage scarf known as a barracuda.

Attention!

No, these people don’t want to go home, whether they’re in Junja for money, or for fun. And many of them certainly like soldiering. So far, they’ve only been playing soldiers under the ægis of a future Czechoslovakia. But boys have always liked playing soldiers. And nobody gets paid for playing, do they? This play, paid for as if it was serious, has one basic drawback: loss of personal freedom. When I ask one of them if he doesn’t mind having to stand to attention whenever someone orders him, he replies: ”I don’t mind standing to attention at all. You see, I know why I’m doing it!”

ONDŘEJ TARÁBEK, Lidové noviny (The People’s News)

* * *

For a man, nothing is certain.

Junjan Slovak proverb

As soon as the sound of champagne corks popping and of gunpowder celebrating New Year subsides, the country has to be put into some sort of an order. As early as January, Telgarth resumes the export of lichen: its price on the world market has now reached dizzy heights. The world’s perfume industry breathes a sigh of sweet relief. Ethnic Junjans are used to gather lichen. Telgarth doesn’t want them in the cities anyway. It’s best if they’re overseen and centred in concentration camps. Telgarth recalls the months he spent in such a camp. So he orders three more to be set up on Ommdru island. His experience as an inmate and escapee now helps him improve these camps’ security system. When the lichen puts money in the state treasury, Telgarth will implement further steps.

For example, he’ll transfer the seat of government and all state organs to New Bystrica, the former Űŕģüllpoļ. Its location in the south of the country is better suited for international sea and air links.

* * *

Junja — the End of the Idyll?

Ćmirçăpoļ (New City), Prague. Just a few weeks ago the Junjan Slovaks were welcoming Czech soldiers as liberators and brothers in arms, bearing them on their shoulders and throwing them flowers. Today, they often curse them, throw rocks at them and sometimes even shoot at them. One patrolling soldier was even wounded by an angry mob of Slovaks in the former Ćmirçăpoļ, today’s New City. Trust between representatives of both sides has been harmed. Serious incidents are reported almost daily when the Royal Czech Army and Marines forces (brought, of course, to the Junjan archipelago on planes, rather than ships) have to deal with armed attacks. The main reason for enmity is that the soldiers are trying to implement in Junja a multiethnic environment and protect the remnants of the ethnic Junjan community from attacks by vengeful Slovaks.

Those who know local conditions are not very surprised. “It’s understandable; the euphoria is gone and suddenly there’s a mutual recognition of people’s expectations,” says intelligence expert Petr Kopečný. “The Slovaks understood their victory side by side with Czech soldiers as liberation and expected the Czechs to go on helping them; the Junjan Slovaks did not quite understand that the Czech presence would also mean the first steps being taken for a civil society and tolerance.”

This causes the Czech command anxiety. The situation in Junja has changed rapidly since spring. If this state of affairs continues, there is a threat that Junja could become hostile territory for Czech forces. This would not just make their activities unacceptably risky, it could, at worst, prematurely scuttle the mission, some foreign observers note. This would also put an end to hopes of creating a common democratic state. The joint command of the Royal Czech Army and Navy so far officially ascribes tension to post-war chaos and apparently fights shy of open conflict with the Slovaks. They say that the Slovak National Front of Liberation (SNFL), the most powerful Slovak organization, may have lost control over some of its members.

But privately, some western diplomats express the opinion that the situation is quite the opposite: the political leadership of the country headed by the legendary and controversial Telgarth, is working against the Czechs, while the position of open support for Czechoslovakia is now held only by a group around Geľo Todor-Lačný-Dolniak, another respected fighter for freedom. Some Czech commanders are unofficially extremely displeased and have no confidence in the leadership of the military wing of the SNFL.

“We have problems with some isolated extremist elements. But we’ll deal with that,” General Evžen Tvrdý, commander of Czech forces tried to make light of the situation.