Greece seeks more East German files
Athens accused the German government yesterday of foot-dragging in response to a Greek request for access to former East German state files that could help with the investigation of terrorist groups in Greece. In the 1990s, Greece sought and was given copies of former East German secret service files regarding Greek leftist terrorist organizations, which are believed to have helped authorities in their investigations of the November 17 and Revolutionary Popular Army groups. But, according to government spokesman Christos Protopappas, since then Berlin has been less forthcoming. «We asked in writing in September 2000 for whatever supplementary data the German authorities might possess,» he said. «This demand has not been satisfied, and we have received no answer from the German authorities.» This followed Tuesday’s comments by the new German ambassador to Athens, Albert Spiegel, who said the files concerning former East Germany «are basically accessible.» «We don’t hesitate to give Greece copies,» he said. «We don’t have a concrete request now (for the files).» «The ambassador’s observation was not correct,» Protopappas commented.
