2.6. Era of Hardships: Kennedy's Victory
Martin Jacques, 2010 in How the Red Tide nearly won.
Jonathan Fenby, 2014 in How the Pacific becomes an American Lake
Andrew Narawangsa, 2033 in The Rise of the Second Majapahit Empire
Nearing 1959’s end, something unexpected happened in Egypt. Selwyn Lloyd, after winning the 1959 election, rose up as Prime Minister. After entering 10 Downing Street. His first action was to try and retake the Suez Canal. After the humiliating Treaty of Jerusalem resulted in Britain must reroute all supply lines to the Cape. So, every war activity in Indonesia especially was considerably impeded. He does not want Indonesia to have more time, so he was eager to secure the Canal once more. And by Christmas Day, it seems God had given him the answer.
On 25th December 1959, a naval accident happened just offshore of Cyprus. The footling Egyptian Navy fortuitously attack a British Submarine. Casualties were nil, only damages were done to the submarine itself. However, the British government opted to milk this opportunity with a declaration of war. By the new year, both nations once again were at war. In three months, the Suez Canal had been retaken. With combined Israeli and French forces, the Second Anglo-Egyptian War ended up similarly to the first. When Egypt’s status had returned as a British colony, more reinforcements arrived in Malaya, and their arrival is not what they had expected.
Conditions in Malaya had not been at their finest. The British decolonization since the war had acutely halted. Indeed, even the Federation of Malaya was rumoured to not being granted independence at all.
Ismail al-Khalidi, a Johor Sultan, started to reign in May 1959. He was a staunch pro-Indonesia, especially after the recent intensity of British discrimination towards the Malays. Born indigenous in his homeland, he was a charismatic Sultan. He was often told to wander across his citizens, hearing aspirations from his own people. Interestingly, his people were all chanted in one voice, “Join Indonesia, please!!”.
When he firmly decided to join Indonesia, he would not want to join alone. He needed other kingdoms in Malaya to accompany him as well. Unfortunately, nearly all kingdoms rejected his offer, except Perak. Fortunately, British Colonies in Penang and Malacca, and also British Borneo and Sarawak agreed to him. The coalition formed the Malayan Liberation Front and immediately allied with Indonesia. So, the war that once only fires in Indonesian soil, had extensively expanded to a British control protectorate.
In 1960, Indonesia’s northern engaged friend, Vietnam, had wonderful news. The three local factions: Republicans, Monarchists, and Communist have decided to coalesce each other, and form the Democratic Kingdom of Vietnam. The Kingdom was a parliamentary monarchy, with parties consists of the Democratic Party and the Communist Party. This fragile coalition happened to succeed only in war moments, as immediately after, the nation turmoil heavily enough until civil war occurred.
Kingdom of Vietnam Flag (1960-1967)
On the other side of the globe, a new era was starting. John Fitzgerald Kennedy had become 35th President of the United States after an undisputed Eisenhower’s two terms. Narrowing defeated Nixon, Kennedy had become the youngest president to be elected in office. His views in recent years have become rather anti-establishment, and seek to find a new ally rather than the old kingdoms of Europe. Especially since Britain and France had become more apartheid in recent years.
'Jack' Kennedy Portrait
Remastered 1960 Presidential Election Results
In February 1961, just a few days after his inauguration, he would give his famous speech with the beginning of this:
The speech mainly conversed about the increasing rise of 'neo-nationalism on European soil, especially in France and Britain. For years and years, this nation that we once protected them from fascism, had become one. Not a surprise, South Africa’s discrimination towards Black-Africans had reached the stage of concern, Ulster’s Irishmen had been discriminated against from British pubs and clubs. In France, Arabs in Algeria and Tunisia had lost their homes and relocated to the vastly dry Saharan Regions. In addition to it, the Korean War had never ended, even after five years of fighting, and another five years of tense armistice, no peace deal had ever been negotiated. Kennedy showed this anxiety of peace in Korea, and by peace, he meant a unified Republic of Korea. In the end, he bombed the whole nation with one sentence, that literally shocked the world.
In mid-1961, the US had left NATO, and decided to help Indonesia and Vietnam with an extensive intervention. The 2nd Stage of the Korean War had also begun. The world by 1961 had descended into chaos once more.
Jonathan Fenby, 2014 in How the Pacific becomes an American Lake
Andrew Narawangsa, 2033 in The Rise of the Second Majapahit Empire
Nearing 1959’s end, something unexpected happened in Egypt. Selwyn Lloyd, after winning the 1959 election, rose up as Prime Minister. After entering 10 Downing Street. His first action was to try and retake the Suez Canal. After the humiliating Treaty of Jerusalem resulted in Britain must reroute all supply lines to the Cape. So, every war activity in Indonesia especially was considerably impeded. He does not want Indonesia to have more time, so he was eager to secure the Canal once more. And by Christmas Day, it seems God had given him the answer.
On 25th December 1959, a naval accident happened just offshore of Cyprus. The footling Egyptian Navy fortuitously attack a British Submarine. Casualties were nil, only damages were done to the submarine itself. However, the British government opted to milk this opportunity with a declaration of war. By the new year, both nations once again were at war. In three months, the Suez Canal had been retaken. With combined Israeli and French forces, the Second Anglo-Egyptian War ended up similarly to the first. When Egypt’s status had returned as a British colony, more reinforcements arrived in Malaya, and their arrival is not what they had expected.
Conditions in Malaya had not been at their finest. The British decolonization since the war had acutely halted. Indeed, even the Federation of Malaya was rumoured to not being granted independence at all.
Ismail al-Khalidi, a Johor Sultan, started to reign in May 1959. He was a staunch pro-Indonesia, especially after the recent intensity of British discrimination towards the Malays. Born indigenous in his homeland, he was a charismatic Sultan. He was often told to wander across his citizens, hearing aspirations from his own people. Interestingly, his people were all chanted in one voice, “Join Indonesia, please!!”.
When he firmly decided to join Indonesia, he would not want to join alone. He needed other kingdoms in Malaya to accompany him as well. Unfortunately, nearly all kingdoms rejected his offer, except Perak. Fortunately, British Colonies in Penang and Malacca, and also British Borneo and Sarawak agreed to him. The coalition formed the Malayan Liberation Front and immediately allied with Indonesia. So, the war that once only fires in Indonesian soil, had extensively expanded to a British control protectorate.
In 1960, Indonesia’s northern engaged friend, Vietnam, had wonderful news. The three local factions: Republicans, Monarchists, and Communist have decided to coalesce each other, and form the Democratic Kingdom of Vietnam. The Kingdom was a parliamentary monarchy, with parties consists of the Democratic Party and the Communist Party. This fragile coalition happened to succeed only in war moments, as immediately after, the nation turmoil heavily enough until civil war occurred.
Kingdom of Vietnam Flag (1960-1967)
'Jack' Kennedy Portrait
Remastered 1960 Presidential Election Results
In February 1961, just a few days after his inauguration, he would give his famous speech with the beginning of this:
The speech mainly conversed about the increasing rise of 'neo-nationalism on European soil, especially in France and Britain. For years and years, this nation that we once protected them from fascism, had become one. Not a surprise, South Africa’s discrimination towards Black-Africans had reached the stage of concern, Ulster’s Irishmen had been discriminated against from British pubs and clubs. In France, Arabs in Algeria and Tunisia had lost their homes and relocated to the vastly dry Saharan Regions. In addition to it, the Korean War had never ended, even after five years of fighting, and another five years of tense armistice, no peace deal had ever been negotiated. Kennedy showed this anxiety of peace in Korea, and by peace, he meant a unified Republic of Korea. In the end, he bombed the whole nation with one sentence, that literally shocked the world.
In mid-1961, the US had left NATO, and decided to help Indonesia and Vietnam with an extensive intervention. The 2nd Stage of the Korean War had also begun. The world by 1961 had descended into chaos once more.
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