Holden Roberto's opinion of the mercenary Costas Georgio, also known by his alias Colonel Callan, a Cypriot-born British mercenary executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial for activities during the civil war phase of the Angolan War of Independence.
Mr. Roberto founded Angola's first nationalist movement, which eventually helped win the country's independence from the Portuguese in 1975.
Holden Roberto the founder of the Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola (FNLA; National Front for the Liberation of Angola.
Back in the 70’s you were not even called a contractor. It was enough to be just a soldier of fortune. Or a war dog. And you would get your chance to be contracted in a hot zone if, during your military career, you were involved in armed robberies, being a little psychotic, beat the hell out of your commander before being dishonorably dismissed from the army or have made your name in actual military action that led to some kind of bloodbath. This is how two ethnically Greek, British Cypriots made their name in Angola during the early days of the Angolan Civil War, creating a long-lasting myth in the mercenary Universe.
Costas Georgiou aka the “the Psycho Colonel Callan” and Charlie Christodoulou aka “Shotgun Charlie” or “Charlie Kebab” are some of the most infamous cold-blooded mercenaries of the 70’s that formed part of a group of mostly British mercenaries that made a one way trip to Angola. Their aim was to combat the spread of communism in the country by joining the ranks of the Western-backed FNLA (National Liberation Front of Angola) and waging war against the MPLA (People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola).
At its peak, the Angolan Civil War was a chaotic mess between the Soviet Union and the Western powers. It also saw major involvement in the form of Cuba, China, South Africa, the CIA, and other non-state actors including several private military contractors. It was a key case study of a proxy conflict in the Cold War. The war was catastrophic and left 800,000 dead, 4 million displaced, and 70,000 with amputated limbs as a result of landmines.
Both Georgiou and Christodoulou, who were not blood-related cousins as it is often written, were linked to widespread acts of atrocities in the war. Georgiou, in particular, was described by British journalist Patrick Borgan as a “psychopathic killer” for executing 14 of his fellow men. Both British-Cypriot mercenaries came to a bad end. Georgiou was sentenced to death in the infamous Luanda Trial and was executed on July 10th, 1976. Christodoulou, on the other hand, was killed in an ambush.
Georgiou moved to Britain in 1963 because his family was involved in treason against the EOKA armed struggle by collaborating with the leadership of British colonial rule in Cyprus. He then went on to sign up with the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in the British Army before being deployed to the heart of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Initially, Georgiou served in the British Army with distinction and it was noted that he quickly became one of the best marksmen in his unit. But on the 18th of February in 1972, alongside other soldiers of his unit, he was involved in an armed robbery on a Post Office and was jailed for five years as a result.
9 июл 2022
