Terrorism raises its ugly head in Greece.

Since the collapse of the military junta in Greece in 1973, contemporary history has been marred with the presence of terrorist groups. The most famous or infamous was the 17th November, named after the day the junta drove tanks into the Polytechnio in Athens to quell student uprisings against the junta. The 17 November terrorist group was disbanded in 2002 with the trial and emprisonment of its key members. The group assassinated 23 people in some 103 atacks and the targets were usually Amercian, Turkish and British diplomats and rich Greek entrepreneurs. The motives of the organistaion were getting the US bases out of Greece and Cyprus, getting Greece out of NATO and the EU. It was de fact an urban Marxist organisation.

With their demise in recent years we are witnessing the growth of an offspring of the 17 November group calling themselves the Revolutionary Struggle and it is deeply anti-American and anti-globalisation. Since its inception in 2003 it has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks and assassinations in Greece. Indeed only last week, an anti-terrorist officer protecting witnesses in a case against the group was gunned down in Athens.