Anarchists classified as terrorists
The activities of anti-establishment protesters, such as those who hurled petrol bombs at the Culture Ministry’s premises in central Athens on Tuesday, will henceforth be monitored by the national anti-terrorist unit, police sources confirmed yesterday. A presidential decree reclassifying the activities of self-styled anarchists within the category of terrorism was made public last week. But police officers confirmed the shift in their operations yesterday. «It has been decided that the anti-terrorist unit will assume an active role in restricting the activities of anti-establishment figures,» a top-ranking police officer told Kathimerini. It is expected that this procedure will produce valuable information related to the identity and activities of domestic terrorist groups, he said. «The nature of terrorism in Greece has changed,» according to another senior police source, who maintained that «organized groups of anarchists are a recruiting ground for terrorists, while their activities are a source of funding (for terrorism).» Senior officers from the Greek Police Force’s core operations unit and its anti-terrorism unit yesterday held an emergency summit to discuss ways of preventing attacks such as Tuesday’s firebombing of the Culture Ministry in Exarchia and Monday’s attack against the offices of Ethniki Insurance on Syngrou Avenue. Both these attacks were carried out by suspected anarchists who subsequently took refuge on nearby university grounds to avoid arrest. The attacks reportedly provoked the ire of Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras, who was quoted as telling top-ranking officers: «Find a way to deal with the attacks. Every department must draft a plan to deal with anti-establishment activists.»
