Greece protests over armed US envoys
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Your support makes all the difference.THE DUTIES of a diplomat can often be rather humdrum. But not at the US embassy in Athens, it seems, where they may involve wearing wigs, carrying semi-automatic pistols and driving vehicles with fake plates, writes Tony Barber.
Greek police received an anonymous call on Tuesday night about a grey Volkswagen van that had been parked in central Athens for several days. The van had forged licence plates and contained radio transmitters and at least two weapons.
Police nabbed two men at the scene, one of whom was disguised in a red wig. They turned out to be a second secretary and another employee of the US embassy. Having diplomatic immunity, they were released the same night. However, the police appear to have tipped off Greek reporters to the arrests, since yesterday's newspapers carried pictures of the men hiding their faces like criminals.
The US ambassador was called in to receive an official complaint from the Greek government, but neither the Greek authorities nor the US embassy wanted to speculate publicly on what the men were up to. A betting man, however, would probably put his money on the theory they were planning to monitor demonstrations yesterday marking the 20th anniversary of a student uprising at Athens Polytechnic against the military dictators who ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974.
The 17 November rallies are always anti-American in tone. Yesterday 20,000 Greeks marched to the US embassy, underlining their belief that the US supported the colonels' junta.
Seventeen November is also the name of Greece's most deadly terrorist group. Its victims over the last 18 years include several US diplomats and soldiers, notably Richard Welch, the CIA station chief in Athens, who was murdered in 1975.
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