Revolutionary Struggle
Revolutionary Struggle (Greek: Επαναστατικός Αγώνας, Epanastatikos Agonas) is a far-left Greek paramilitary group known for its attacks on Greek government buildings and the American embassy in Athens. It is widely described as a terrorist group by both the Greek government[1] and the media.[2][3]
Contents
Attacks of 2003-2007
The group first emerged in 2003 with a bombing attack on an Athens courthouse complex, following that up with attacks in 2004 on the Greek labour ministry and police buses.[4] On 22 December 2005, the group published a manifesto in the Greek satirical magazine, To Pontiki, in which it expressed revolutionary, anti-globalisation and anti-American ideological aims.[2] In January 2007, an anonymous caller claiming to be from the group claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the U.S. embassy in Athens.[5] Following the January 12 2007 missile attack, Greek authorities described the group as a spinoff of Revolutionary Organization 17 November.[6]
2007 statement
In a statement published in To Pontiki on January 25, Revolutionary Struggle admitted that it had carried out the embassy attack, claiming that the "strike was our answer to the criminal war against 'terrorism' that the US has unleashed over the entire planet with the help of fellow-traveling states".[7]
Terrorist designation
The European Union added RS to its list of designated terrorist organizations on June 29, 2007.[8]
2009 implication
In January 2009, Greek police said their ballistics tests showed the weapon used in RS's 30 April 2007 attack was used again in a 5 January 2009 shooting of a police officer. A second weapon used in the 5 January attack was tied by the police to a 23 December 2008 attack on a police bus. That attack was reported to have been claimed by a group calling itself Popular Action (Λαϊκή Δράση, Laiki Drasi), as a response to the 2008 civil unrest in Greece.[9]
Revolutionary Struggle attacks
- September 5, 2003: Bomb attack on an Athens courthouse.
- May 5, 2004: Bomb attack on an Athens police station.
- October 29, 2004: Bomb attack on Greek police buses.
- June 2, 2005: Bomb attack on a labour ministry building.
- December 12, 2005: Bomb attack on a finance ministry building in Syntagma Square, Athens.
- May 30, 2006: Assassination attempt on Georgios Voulgarakis, the Culture Minister and former Public Order Minister.
- January 12, 2007: Rocket attack on the United States Embassy in Athens.
External links
References
- ↑ http://www.greekembassy.org/Embassy/content/en/Article.aspx?office=1&folder=844&article=15291 Revolutionary Struggle' terror group claims responsibility for attacks on labor ministry, police buses; Embassy of Greece to the United States, June 10, 2005
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 George Gilson, Robin Hood terrorists http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13162&m=A08&aa=1&eidos=A%7Cwork=Athens News|date=December 23, 2005}}
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/world/europe/12cnd-greece.html?em&ex=1168750800&en=6973ee656fb02618&ei=5087%0A U.S. Embassy in Athens Is Attacked, The New York Times, January 12, 2007, Anthee Carassava }}
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ http://www.cnn.com./2007/WORLD/europe/01/12/athens.blast/index.html CNN.com World. 2007-01-12
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ MKO stays on EU terrorist list Payvand
- ↑ Guns 'link several Greek attacks'. BBC News. 9 January 2009.