Nov.

17 Terrorist Group; Not One Arrest

A T H E N S, Greece, Dec. 19 It was the bloody birth of the November 17 terrorist group. He got out of the car because he thought it was a friend, said Welchs widow, Cristina. I rushed to him. But he was gone. The masked killer and two accomplices, who blocked Welchs car on the way home from a Christmas party the night of Dec. 23, 1975, sped away without a trace. And thats how it remains, a quarter of a century later. A Quiet Revolution There have been no arrests or firm leads during a generation of bombings, rocket attacks and shootings that have killed 22 people, including three American officials: Welch, Navy Capt. George Tsantes in 1983 and defense attache Capt. William Nordeen in 1988. With each strike and getaway, November 17 named for the 1973 date that Greeces military junta crushed a student uprising enhanced its reputation as Europes most slippery and cunning urban guerrilla group. I think the Greek attitude is: Lets not talk about it. Lets put it under the rug, said Cristina Welch, who lives in Arlington, Va., and has never returned to Greece. I have very little hope they will ever do anything. ... Im very pessimistic. American officials, including former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, claim Greeks are unwilling or unable to take aggressive action against November 17. Some congressional leaders have even called for sanctions on the country. The price tag for security in Athens is the highest of any U.S. diplomatic community in the world. In May, the State Department labeled Greece one of the weakest links in Europes efforts against terrorism. Five weeks later, November 17 claimed its most recent victim the British defense attache, Brig. Stephen Saunders. An unexpected statement by the group last week called the slaying its most important, claiming Saunders participated in British imperialist interventions around the world, including the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia last year. The attack brought new pressures from Britain and other European Union partners. It also stirred unprecedented public criticism of the group in Greece, which some experts believe led to its latest communique. The reward for information leading to November 17 arrests has been fattened to more than $9 million. The United States, which has pledged up to $5 million, hands out a flier describing the bounty with every visa it issues. We hear only excuses and promises from the Greeks, said E. Wayne Merry, a former State Department official and senior associate at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington. Its words but no action. Greek authorities bristle at such criticism. They acknowledge past weaknesses, but claim their security structures are now solid and growing stronger. There is no going back or falling between the cracks anymore, Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said in September. We feel the urgency. We see the dangers.
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The Secret to a Long Life So how does November 17 get away with it, time after time? Until recently, Greek authorities felt little domestic pressure to react. Unlike Italys Red Brigades and the Red Army Faction in West Germany, November 17 has never engaged in broad attacks. Its targets foreigners and prominent Greeks did not leave the general public feeling threatened. The groups early strikes were widely seen as justified payback for the 1967-74 military junta. The group said Welch was killed as revenge for U.S. backing of the dictatorship. November 17 expanded its list of grievances in the 1980s. Its attacks reflect a confluence of Marxism, ultranationalism and xenophobia. At various times it has denounced the United States, NATO, the European Union, all major Greek political parties, the nations business elite and a host of perceived social injustices. Some accuse the long-governing Socialists of shielding suspects and blocking inquiries. Others claim money and logistical support come from Libya or Kurdish and leftist rebels in Turkey. The Socialists strongly deny any connection to the group. Does it bother them so much to admit that we are simple fighters for the people, that our motives are political? November 17 asked in its latest communique, which denied ties to Mideast factions. Efficient Agitators? Most experts agree only that November 17 is small, silent and coldly efficient. Welchs widow believes her husband was under surveillance for weeks. The street lamps by their home were knocked out the night of the attack. A bogus emergency call lured their butler away from the house. But in a new book, Europes Last Red Terrorists, Greek journalist George Kassimeris remains unconvinced of the organizations efficiency. He relates the history of November 17, its foundation, ideology and its crimes. Basically he believes that the small, secretive groups early ambitions were to become a genuine communist revolutionary movement. This, its unknown founders evidently believed, would ultimately, through violence, arouse the Greek people to overthrow both conservative and socialist leaders and install the kind of extreme Leftist state once advocated by its ideological cousins of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Like them, writes Kassimeris, November 17 has utterly failed in its efforts to prove that its ideas of antiAmericanism, anti-capitalism and egalitarian communism were workable, or could prevail in a middle-class society dedicated to democratic principles like that of Greece. Police Force Efficacy Also Questioned In a recent address to journalists, Greeces socialist Prime Minister Costas Simitis appeared on the defensive over the failure of the police to cope with November 17. He repeated past statements about cooperation with the U.S. and British whose Scotland Yard investigators are still trying to probe the Saunders murder here. He avoided specifics of the stymied Saunders investigation.

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The prime minister acknowledged that draft new anti-terrorism and anti-crime legislation, giving judges extra powers to issue search, seizure and arrest warrants and other special powers for police and security forces is yet to receive parliamentary approval. But the pressure is mounting on Greek politicians. In March 1992, police chased a van with November 17 suspects inside but did not fire a shot or call for a dragnet. The stakeout officers did not even have a camera. Supercops, November 17 mocked in a communique two months later. In March 1999, it taunted authorities to come and get us. The ineptitude of the Greek state has been unparalleled, Kassimeris wrote. State authorities and political parties allowed terrorism to grow so uncontrollably that it finally became a routine element of Greek contemporary life. The Olympics at Stake Barely a week goes by without an arson or bomb attack claimed by self-proclaimed anarchists and other groups. The late-night blasts rarely cause casualties, but add to worries about security. The decision to hold the 2004 Olympics in Athens has significantly raised the stakes. Greece is under enormous pressure to show it is serious about tackling terrorism and urban violence. In November, officials gave the International Olympic Committee a security blueprint for the Summer Games that includes military patrols and 5,000 surveillance cameras. We will do what needs to be done, Greek Police Chief Yannis Georgakopoulos said. But theres a risk. November 17 has a history of retaliating against any sign of heavy-handed policies. November 17 is certainly capable of doing any sort of attack against who they feel is the enemy of the hour, said Paul Wilkinson, director of the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews in Britain. The response of the Greek state has been so weak up until now there is a feeling that November 17 can strike with impunity, he said. There is no other situation like this in Europe. ABCNEWS.coms John K. Cooley and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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