HELLENIC SUPPORT TO INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM |
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Prof. Dr. Ata ATUN |
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International terrorism came into being when terrorist activities began to be directed against diplomatic personnel protected by inter-national codes, international organizations or their representatives and against the peaceful relations bet¬ween states with international agreements; in other words, when terror began to be used to threaten more than one country or the interests of more than one country.
In the decision on international terrorism taken by the Ministerial Committee of the Council of Europe on January 24, 1974, terrorism is described as “posing a general threat to human life, freedom and security; affecting the lives of inno¬cent people unaware of the aims of the terrorist activities, and making use of unacceptable and evil me-thods.”
Meanwhile, the “European Convention on the Prevention of Ter-rorism” lays down that the offences mentioned in its first article cannot be considered political crimes or offences connected with political crimes.
The offences in question are attacks on personal freedom, on dip-lomats and on persons given international protection, together with armed attacks on individual life and existing unions.
However, the fact that some states, instead of fighting interna-tional terror, adopt a different approach tantamount to official recogni-tion of terror organizations has led to an inconsistency in practice which seriously threatens interna¬tional relations. Greece and Greek Cypriot Administration, or in another words the Hellenic world, is a good example to this concept.
The whirlwind of terror Greece tried to create in Anatolia was stopped by Turkey in 1922 by the National Liberation War and the genocide attempt in Cyprus launched by Makarios and the terrorist organisations EOKA and EOKA-B and developed by the Akritas Plan was stopped, again by Turkey, in 1974 by the Peace Operation.
The leader of the notorious Kurdish terrorist organization (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, backed by the non stop support of Greece and Greek Cypriot Administration, conducted ruthless attacks to innocent civi-lians in Turkey from his bases in Syria and Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley as from Nov 1992. In October 1999, after Turkey very nearly went to war against Syria, Damascus backed down, closed PKK camps and expelled Ocalan. He went to Russia first and from there he moved to various countries, including Italy and Greece.
In 1998 the Turkish government requested the extradition of Öcalan from Italy, where he was located. Greece than was the only country which hugged him and wide opened the doors for his refuge.
What is certain is that in early February 1999, with no European country wanting to give him refuge, Turkey’s public enemy number one decided to fly to Greece.
Mr Ocalan enlisted the help of a retired Greek naval commander to get to Corfu.
When he landed in Corfu, the Greeks decided to take charge of matters. They knew Mr Ocalan’s presence in Greece would anger Tur-key, so the decision was made to fly him to Nairobi, Kenya.
He was finally captured in Kenya on February 15, 1999, whilst being transferred from the Greek embassy to the Nairobi international airport. He was holding a passport numbered CO15918, genuinely issued by the Greek Cypriot Administration to the name of Mavros Lazaros, with his picture on.
Historians of the late twentieth century and early twenty first century will no doubt pay much attention to the factor of terror, both within national boundaries and across them. Of course, terrorism has always existed, but it has never been so refined from the point of view of aims and methods as in our day.
And it should not be for¬gotten that states that support interna-tional terrorism in one way or another and seek to use it as a weapon of foreign po¬licy are themselves constantly in danger of being destroyed by the methods they support.
