GREECE: Greek government says will not be intimidated and bomb culprits will be caught

Record ID: 356220

  • Title: GREECE: Greek government says will not be intimidated and bomb culprits will be caught
  • Date: 10th January 2010
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JANUARY 9 2010) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SCENES) SITE IN FRONT OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING WHERE BOMBING TOOK PLACE WITH PARLIAMENT IN BACKGROUND, POLICE CIRCLING AREA POLICE GUARDING SITE BRANCHES BLOWN FROM BUSHES WHERE BOMB HAD BEEN PLACED MAIN STREET IN FRONT OF PARLIAMENT SHUT DOWN BY POLICE COUNTER TERRORISM UNIT (WEARING WHITE UNIFORMS) ARRIVING ON SCENE AN
  • Embargoed: 25th January 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVAE0W88GC1XV5BN7ULDBNL1XSJ7
  • Story Text: Counter terrorism squads search for and tag clues in bombing outside Greek parliament as the government says it will not be intimidated by the symbolic attack.
    The Greek government said on Saturday (January 9) it would not be intimidated by the perpetrators of a bomb attack outside the country's parliament, as the counter terrorism squad arrived on the scene to search for evidence and tag clues.
    Greek Citizens Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said the site was symbolically chosen, but he would not fill the city's popular thoroughfares with police forces out of fear of the attackers.
    "We will not turn Athens into a police and military fortress as these culprits would wish. Athens is a safe and free city and I assure you of one thing, these culprits will be arrested and will be brought to justice, just as they deserve," said Chrysochoidis.
    Chrysochoidis, who took the minister's post in October following national elections, has vowed to crack down on extremist urban guerrilla groups that have been carrying out a series of domestic terror attacks in the last year against government, police and private targets. Arrests were made in September of a group of people suspected of carrying out bombings, while the minister has made several changes to the operation of the police force.
    Domestic terror groups against government policies or the police have been responsible for the shooting of police officers and bomb attacks on the stock exchange, banks and politicians offices since December 2008, when the shooting of a teenager by a police officer sparked weeks of riots in the streets. The minister has called these groups common criminals.
    The explosive device that went off outside Greece's parliament on Saturday evening did not cause injuries and only minor damage, police said, with some initial reports of broken glass inside the parliament building. Members of Parliament were inside during the time of the blast.
    Parliament is in a central, well policed area where some of the capital's best hotels and government ministries are located. It is also a popular pedestrian zone.
    The device, placed next to a garbage bin in bushes at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the parliament building, was heard kilometres away. The last bomb attack took place on December 27 outside the headquarters of Greece's biggest insurer, National Insurance. No one has been killed in the bombings although a police officer has been killed in one shooting.
    Police suspect leftist guerrilla group Fire Conspiracy Cells, which claimed responsibility for the attack against the insurance company, may be behind the latest blast, a police official said.
    "Fragments of the explosive device are being gathered and taken to the police lab for investigation," the official said.
    Last years riots, which began as a reaction to police violence, ballooned into anger over government corruption and economic policies. The then ruling conservative party was ousted in elections in October and replaced by the socialists.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register