Fruits of Bush's Israel-First foreign policy:
Powell cancels Greece visit amid protests
U.S. says decision unrelated to Friday’s anti-U.S. protestsThe Associated Press
Updated: 9:17 a.m. ET Aug. 28, 2004ATHENS, Greece - Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday canceled a weekend visit to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics, just hours after demonstrators staged a protest march in central Athens.
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Greece’s foreign ministry said that Powell informed his Greek counterpart, Petros Moliviatis, that “urgent responsibilities” prevented him from carrying out the visit — which was to include meetings with Premier Costas Caramanlis and U.S. Olympic athletes.
“He informed him (Moliviatis) that it will not be possible because of urgent responsibilities to carry out his visit to Athens to attend the closing ceremony,” the foreign ministry said.
Powell thanked Moliviatis in a letter “for the especially successful and secure organization of the games.”
In Washington, State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said the anti-American protests in Athens played no role in Powell’s decision.
“The secretary considered a number of factors. The press of business in Washington made him decide he could not visit at this time,” Cooper said.
“What’s going on in Iraq and Sudan require the secretary’s close attention,” he said.
The Greek foreign ministry said that Powell would instead visit Athens in October.
Anti-U.S. protest in Athens
Many Greeks had wondered why Powell planned to visit this weekend, knowing his presence would likely provoke protests. Until Powell announced his visit, there had been none of the anti-American demonstrations that were feared in the run-up to the games.
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Full coverage of the Athens Olympics
On Friday, riot police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who took part in a protest against the Powell visit. About 1,500 people who took part in the march were prevented from reaching the U.S. Embassy to protest Powell’s trip.
“It is an enormous victory of the anti-war movement that managed to cancel the visit of the arch-killer Powell,” protest organizer Yiannis Sifahakis told The Associated Press.
Just hours before Powell was to arrive, Greece’s Communist Party displayed a large banner at the site of the ancient Acropolis to protest his trip.
“Powell killer go home. Don’t forget that civilians are being slaughtered in Najaf and a wall is being built in Palestine,” read the banner, which was raised on one of the sides of the Acropolis Hill.
Communist Party member Aristotelis Gontikas said Powell’s cancellation was a “victory” for those opposed to American policies and was not targeted at Americans.
“I believe that the reaction of the Greek people still counts. It is not by chance that Greeks measure in polls as the most anti-American,” Gontikas told the AP at the Acropolis.
The party said a protest rally that was to begin in front of the old campus of Athens University and end at the U.S. Embassy would still be held.
“The protest will now be transformed into a festival,” Gontikas said.
Greeks harbor anti-American feelings primarily over U.S. support of the 1967-74 military junta, which persecuted its leftist opponents. Many Greeks also believe Washington ignores the concerns of smaller and weaker countries.
In 1999, during a visit by then-President Clinton, battles between protesters and police turned downtown Athens into a riot zone.
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