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]]]]]]]]]]]]]] GREECE, HAVEN FOR TERRORISTS [[[[[[[[[[[[[
by Robert H. Kupperman and Jeff Kamen (12/24/1988)
Senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
and senior correspondent with the Independent Network News, respec-
tively. (From the Op-Ed page of The New York Times, 12-16-88.)
[Kindly uploaded by Freeman 07656GAED]
WASHINGTON
Once again, the unprincipled men who run the Government of Greece
are consorting with terrorists.
This time, it is the Abu Nidal organization, the same gang that
slaughtered 11 tourists and wounded more than 70 others last July
aboard the City of Poros, a Greek island ferry. In the latest in a
long and humiliating list of capitulations to terrorism, Athens has
denied the lawful extradition to Italy of an Abu Nidal gunman who
allegedly participated in an attack in 1982 on a synagogue in Rome.
A 2-year-old child was killed and 37 other innocents were wounded in
the incident.
Instead of handing over the Palestinian terrorist for trial in
Italy, Justice [sic, BG] Minister Vassilis Rotis put the accused
killer on a plane for "the country of his choice." The country is
Libya, headquarters of Abu Nidal and safe haven for other assassins
and mass murderers of unarmed civilians.
What was Greece's rationale for freeing the terrorist? "The
actions for which he was being accused fall within the domain of the
struggle to regain the independence of his homeland and consequently
suggest action for freedom," Mr. Rotis said. In an ethical reach
that must have made Yasir Arafat wince, he cited the Palestinian Li-
beration Organization's renunciation of terrorism and declaration of
a Palestinian state as the moral authority for his release of the
accused. Mr. Rotis must have forgotten that the Abu Nidal gang has
sworn not only to destroy Israel but also to kill Mr. Arafat.
United States officials are afraid that Athens will back down on
their extradition request for another Palestinian terrorist, Mohammed
Rashid, wanted for the bombing of a Pan Am jet in 1982 that killed a
passenger. Under American pressure, Greece arrested the suspected
bomber when he entered the country illegally. Mr. Rashid is about to
finish his sentence for that immigration crime.
Last summer, when Abu Nidal attacked the City of Poros, the gang
appeared to have failed in its attempt at the biggest hostage-taking
ever, with freedom for Mr. Rashid and others a likely goal, Despite
that shedding of Greek and foreign blood, Athens clung to its long-
standing secret policy of placating and assisting terrorists.
Now, incredibly, Mr. Rotis has flashed a green light for more
terrorism so long as the deeds "suggest actions for freedom." Impli-
cit in his official statement is the fervent hope that the terrorists
will return to the good old days of transiting Greece and murdering
elsewhere.
The Papandreou Government's latest words and acts have provided
aid, comfort and encouragement to extremists at exactly the hour in
which Mr. Arafat appears to have led the mainstream of the Palestin-
ian movement toward moderation and conciliation [?]. When the
bullets and bombs of the rejectionists strike next, Athens must share
the blame.
Can the Greek Government be pressured into standing up to terror-
ists? The incident comes at a sensitive time, with difficult negoti-
ations under way over the future of American military bases in
Greece. But the negotiations cannot become an excuse for a passivity
that would, in effect, condone Mr. Rotis's odious decision.
At the very least, Washington and other responsible governments
should issue a travel advisory, warning tourists away from Greece
because of terrorism. An official warning right now, in a peak holi-
day season would send a strong message, particularly for a country in
desperate need of foreign currency.
* * *
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