Posted on 09/05/2002 4:55:13 PM PDT by knighthawk
A key member of the Greek terrorist group, November 17, has surrendered to authorities.
Police officials say Dimitris Koufodinas gave himself up to police in Athens, Thursday. He is a suspected ring leader of the radical group and allegedly helped orchestrate the 23 killings and other attacks attributed to the group since its emergence in 1975.
Greek law enforcement officials say they believe they have successfully dismantled the notorious group. Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis said last month that most of the group's leaders have been arrested and its weapons have been seized. He said authorities have solved all the crimes for which the group has claimed responsibility. The highly secretive far-left November 17 organization embraced Greek nationalism and violently opposed Greek involvement in NATO and the European Union.
The terrorist group had eluded the Greek authorities until last June, when a premature bomb blast injured a suspected group member. Since then, police conducted several raids on the group's hideouts, seizing large weapons caches. They have also arrested 15 alleged members.
The November 17 name comes from the date of the bloody 1973 student uprising that was crushed by the former military government then in power in Greece. The group first surfaced with the 1975 assassination of Richard Welch, head of CIA office in Athens. Greece is under international pressure to fight terrorism as it prepares to host the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
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