Protests Spike in Greece as Government Weighs Support of Attack on Libya
Anthee Carassava Contributor ATHENS, Greece -- Demonstrators took to the streets of the capital today to protest international air strik...
https://to-synoro.blogspot.com/2011/03/protests-spike-in-greece-as-government.html
ATHENS, Greece -- Demonstrators took to the streets of the capital today to protest international air strikes against military assets of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi as Greece weighed its support of the allied offensive.
Toting anti-war banners and shouting slogans against the bombing raids, hundreds of leftist protesters -- mainly high school and university students -- gathered in central Athens, setting off on a protest march to the Parliament. ..... Similar protests also took place on the island of Crete, where hundreds marched to the U.S.-controlled Souda Bay naval base, which provides command and logistic support to U.S. and NATO operations.
NATO member Greece initially backed military action against Libya last week but has since wavered on the extent of its support as some members of the alliance, including Germany and Turkey, opposed participating.
At present, said a Greek Defense Ministry statement, "Greece's role is supportive ... responding to bilateral requests from friends and allies."
Military action against Gadhafi's 42-year-old hold on power mounted Saturday when a coalition led by the United States, Britain and France launched airstrikes against military targets in Libya.
But the Arab League, concerned about civilian casualties, questioned the intensity of the military assault and claimed it had only backed the United Nations' decision to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.
Envoys from 28 NATO nations were meeting in Brussels today to come up with a plan to also enforce an arms embargo, which would involve use of alliance warplanes and battleships to prevent weapons from reaching Gadhafi's forces.
On Sunday, British Defense Minister Liam Fox called for NATO to take control of the operation. That got a weak reception from France, which warned against too heavy an involvement in light of the alliance's tarnished reputation in the Arab world.
Leftists in Greece have condemned the military operation against Libya, labeling it as "another show of savage imperialism," in the words of the Greek communist party, and private analysts have begun questioning how Libya might retaliate.
"It's a double-edged dilemma for Gadhafi," said military expert Nikolas Protonotarios. "On the one hand, he doesn't have anything to lose at this point. On the other, he doesn't have any influence over sleeper terrorist cells in Europe."
Still, he added, radical Islamist groups "may use this as a pretext ... to wage terrorist attacks against member states fighting against him."
In recent months, Prime Minister George Papandreou convinced Gadhafi to invest in Greece's broken economy, reviving a family friendship that had flourished while his father, Andreas, was prime minister during the 1980s.
Sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables released recently by WikiLeaks to the Athens daily Kathimerini revealed heightened U.S. concern over the prospect of Islamist fundamentalists sneaking into Greece as part of a mass influx of undocumented immigrants. Immigration experts estimate that about 90 percent of all illegal entries to the European Union go through Greece.
Toting anti-war banners and shouting slogans against the bombing raids, hundreds of leftist protesters -- mainly high school and university students -- gathered in central Athens, setting off on a protest march to the Parliament. ..... Similar protests also took place on the island of Crete, where hundreds marched to the U.S.-controlled Souda Bay naval base, which provides command and logistic support to U.S. and NATO operations.
NATO member Greece initially backed military action against Libya last week but has since wavered on the extent of its support as some members of the alliance, including Germany and Turkey, opposed participating.
At present, said a Greek Defense Ministry statement, "Greece's role is supportive ... responding to bilateral requests from friends and allies."
Military action against Gadhafi's 42-year-old hold on power mounted Saturday when a coalition led by the United States, Britain and France launched airstrikes against military targets in Libya.
But the Arab League, concerned about civilian casualties, questioned the intensity of the military assault and claimed it had only backed the United Nations' decision to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.
Envoys from 28 NATO nations were meeting in Brussels today to come up with a plan to also enforce an arms embargo, which would involve use of alliance warplanes and battleships to prevent weapons from reaching Gadhafi's forces.
On Sunday, British Defense Minister Liam Fox called for NATO to take control of the operation. That got a weak reception from France, which warned against too heavy an involvement in light of the alliance's tarnished reputation in the Arab world.
Leftists in Greece have condemned the military operation against Libya, labeling it as "another show of savage imperialism," in the words of the Greek communist party, and private analysts have begun questioning how Libya might retaliate.
"It's a double-edged dilemma for Gadhafi," said military expert Nikolas Protonotarios. "On the one hand, he doesn't have anything to lose at this point. On the other, he doesn't have any influence over sleeper terrorist cells in Europe."
Still, he added, radical Islamist groups "may use this as a pretext ... to wage terrorist attacks against member states fighting against him."
In recent months, Prime Minister George Papandreou convinced Gadhafi to invest in Greece's broken economy, reviving a family friendship that had flourished while his father, Andreas, was prime minister during the 1980s.
Sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables released recently by WikiLeaks to the Athens daily Kathimerini revealed heightened U.S. concern over the prospect of Islamist fundamentalists sneaking into Greece as part of a mass influx of undocumented immigrants. Immigration experts estimate that about 90 percent of all illegal entries to the European Union go through Greece.
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