Greek security forces have warned of a wave of violence reminiscent of the terror that stalked Italy in the 1970s, after urban guerrillas threatened last week to turn the country into a war zone.
“Greece has entered a new phase of political violence by anarchist-oriented organizations that are more murderous, dangerous, capable and nihilistic than ever before,” said Athanasios Drougos, a defense and counter-terrorism analyst in Athens.
“For the first time we are seeing a nexus of terrorist and criminal activity,” he said. “These groups don’t care about collateral damage, innocent bystanders being killed in the process. They are very extreme.”
The threats came from a guerrilla group called the Sect of Revolutionaries, as it claimed credit for the murder of Sokratis Giolas, an investigative journalist. Giolas was shot dead outside his Athenian home on July 19, in front of his pregnant wife.
The gang promised to step up attacks on police, businessmen, prison guards and “corrupt” media — and, for the first time, threatened holidaymakers.
“Tourists should learn that Greece is no longer a safe haven of capitalism,” its declaration said.
“We intend to turn it into a war zone of revolutionary activity with arson, sabotage, violent demonstrations, bombings and assassinations, and not a country that is a destination for holidays and pleasure.”
In an accompanying picture, the group displayed an arsenal that included AK-47 assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols and brass knuckles.
“Our guns are full and they are ready to speak,” it said. “We are at war with your democracy.”
The terror threat comes as Greek authorities endure a summer of strikes and escalating upheaval. Military trucks and petrol company vehicles were employed on Saturday to alleviate a fuel shortage as more than 30,000 truck and tanker truck operators ignored a government order to return to work on pain of prosecution. Shortages were reported on many holiday islands and destinations in northern Greece where thousands of tourists are stranded.
The far more serious scourge of domestic terrorism was thought to have been eradicated in 2004, with the disbandment of the November 17 group.
Born out of the turmoil that followed the collapse of US-backed military rule, November 17 murdered the CIA station chief, Richard Welch, in 1975.
For the following 27 years it targeted Turkish envoys, junta members, US military personnel, industrialists and Western diplomats.
Unlike November 17, Greece’s new generation of urban guerrillas has not tried to garner popular support.
The Sect of Revolutionaries emerged from the rioting after a teenager, Alexis Grigoropoulos, was shot dead by a policeman in December 2008. The men and women thought to comprise its closely guarded ranks are in their late 20s and 30s and appear to espouse violence almost for the sake of it.
“We don’t do politics, we do guerrilla warfare,” its members announced in the proclamation placed on the boy’s grave within hours of their first attack, on a police station, in February last year.
Two weeks later they sprayed the offices of a television station with bullets. Three months after that, they claimed their first victim, Nectarios Savvas, a police officer protecting a state witness. Six people have died in attacks this year.
Last month another group, yet to be named, sent a parcel bomb wrapped as a gift to the office of Michalis Chrysohoidis, the minister in charge of public security. It killed his chief aide.
The surge in violence comes amid rising social tensions over the austerity measures enforced by the government in exchange for 110 billion euros (US$143.5 billion) in emergency aid, the biggest bailout in history.
Mounting social unrest, waning support for political parties and record levels of unemployment among an increasingly radicalized youth are believed to have augmented the ranks of anti-establishment groups.
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring belts at a print factory in Kyoto, two creators watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form — part of an effort to win new audiences in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publication and handmade “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the nation’s enduring love of paper in the digital era. While speaking to Agence France-Presse at the plant, his hands black with ink, one of the creators, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think [paper] is a medium that engages all five
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the 1990s shooter game Doom and said they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It is the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain’s networking system. Each so-called “biological computer” contains about 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. Having mastered the simple computer game Pong, where a paddle is moved up and down to send a ball
France experienced its hottest spring on record, the French weather service said on Tuesday, after an exceptional early heat wave that also broke highs for the season in England and Wales. Meteo-France said the average nationwide temperature over March to May was 13.8°C — about 1.7°C above the norm, and surpassing records set in 2011 and 2020. “The warmest spring since records began in 1900,” it said in a bulletin. All three months were warmer than average, but the onset of an “unprecedented heatwave” late last month pushed the mercury to highs typically seen at the height of the summer. “Our country had never
RSS