Greeks neutral over war on terror
Greeks condemn terrorist attacks such as those that occurred in London last Thursday as criminal acts but would rather stay neutral in the fight against terror, which they see as a war of the poor on the rich, a survey by Kapa Research shows. The results of the survey, conducted on Thursday for Antenna radio station, were published by newspaper To Vima on Saturday. Of the 1,220 respondents to the telephone survey, 84.6 percent condemned the attacks on London «unequivocally» as a criminal act, while 8.2 percent applauded «an act of resistance against the great powers» and 5.9 percent said that they were either neutral or not concerned. Despite the wide condemnation, only 44 percent would certainly (20 percent) or probably (24 percent) take part in a demonstration of solidarity with Londoners, while 54.2 percent would certainly (39.6 percent) or probably (14.6 percent) not. Greeks are strongly opposed to Tony Blair’s call for a tough international response against terrorism. Three out of four (74.3 percent) say Greece should stay neutral, while 20.8 percent said it should support the UK and others. Nearly two out of three (62.8 percent) believe that the attack will only have a negative effect on big powers, while 33.3 percent say it will affect Greece. As for the most effective way to counter terrorism, 84.3 percent say it is aid to poor countries, while only 10.8 support a policy of forceful response, including increased security measures at home. However, 61.5 percent said the London attacks undermined prospects of more aid for poor countries by the G8. Respondents attributed the absence of a terrorist attack during the Athens Olympics to Greece’s traditionally good relations with Arab countries (89.3 percent) and the security measures in place (61.2 percent).
