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To: apro
"The pro-Serbian stance taken by Athens shocked many ... Greece supported Serbia from the outbreak of war in the former Yugoslavia in 1991 through the NATO bombing and occupation of Kosovo eight years later.

apro, your source is incorrect. NATO requires unanimity to act. As a NATO member, Greece had to agree to the various NATO actions in Bosnia and Kosovo or they couldn't have happened. In fact, right now, the Greeks have an infantry unit serving as part of NATO forces in Kosovo--they are organized as part of the American brigade headquartered at Camp Bondsteel.

... assumed that all members of NATO would follow the lead of the United States and the United Nations."

That is also incorrect. The United Nations did not "lead", endorse, or agree to the NATO bombing of Kosovo--a fact which is useful to throw in the face of liberals when they bring up lack of UN endorsement for our Iraq operation.

36 posted on 11/30/2005 2:46:52 PM PST by mark502inf
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To: mark502inf

"Athens: Police clashed with protesters who threw rocks and eggs at the U.S. and British embassies and lit fires and smashed store windows and cars. Some light injuries were reported. Greece, leading the dissident wing of NATO, has been calling for an immediate halt to the bombing and a return to the negotiating table. In addition, it has refused to offer its military forces to join the assault. It was the largest demonstration of its kind in at least the last 20 years."
-Associate Press

"Greece refused to participate in NATO bombings against Yugoslavia, Stephanopoulos says:"

"Greece refused to participate in the NATO bombings against Yugoslavia, Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos said on Tuesday night, addressing his Yugoslavian counterpart Vojislav Kostunica. During a dinner hosted by Stephanopoulos for Kostunica, the former said that "the mistakes of the (Yugoslav) government of that time should have not been relegated on the Serbian people, nor should military means been used against them, it should have been thought that there were other ways to enforce the democratic and humanistic ideas". Stephanopoulos made special mention of the friendship between the peoples of Greece and Serbia, which was forged during the 20th century, adding that Greece and Serbia always found themselves "on the same side of the struggle for freedom and independence".

http://www.greekembassy.org/press/newsflash/2001/January/nflash0117.html

"Asked about the accuracy of the report that the majority of the Greek people support the Serb cause, Mr. Kranidiotis answered that he would describe the situation somewhat differently. Most Greeks, he continued, oppose the bombings, the aur-raids and the war due to a sense of insecurity caused, largely, by the proximity of the conflict to their frontiers; there is a looming fear that the crisis might spread and lead to a Greek involvement, either direct or indirect. When Mr. Paxman observed that Greece provides assistance to the Serbs, Mr. Kranidiotis replied that Greece also gives aid to Albania, FYROM and Kosovo. Greece, he added, has the only existing network of non-governmental organisations that provide humanitarian assistance to Kosovo, something that requires prior consultations with Yugoslav authorities. The agreement we have with the Government of Yugoslavia, he said, stipulates that aid will be equally distributed among Albanians and Serbs. There are also Serbs in the hospitals, he remarked. Asked about Greece’s intentions as to allowing the passage of NATO land forces through its territory, if such decision were to be made by the Alliance, Mr. Kranidiotis replied that the matter would be dealt with, if and when it arose. For the time being, he said, such an eventuality remains non-existent. Finally, queried about recent anti-war demonstrations in Greece, as well as about the incident with British military vehicles at the Thessaloniki wholesale fruit-market, the Alternate Foreign Minister acknowledged the existence of popular reaction, he asserted, however, that the Greek Government is in full control of the situation."
http://www.hri.org/MFA/altminister/releaseseng/may99/newsnighteng050599.htm

That last statement regarding the British military vehicles and the fruit-market incident could have been part of a Three Stooges skit show. This incident took place in Thessaloniki. What happened was in several occasions people blocked NATO convoys from transporting military equipment that were to be used in the war with their cars and some supporters thought it would be "interesting" if they messed with the road signs of the English army and as a result, many confused English soldiers found themselves driving in the central fruit market of Thessaloniki instead of their destinations.

Another incident had British troops blocked inside the port of Thessaloniki for days. People outside the port created a human wall so the British troops took these unexpected events all in good stride and could be seen sunbathing and relaxing inside the port.




40 posted on 11/30/2005 4:57:33 PM PST by apro
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