Greeks side with their Serbian brothers
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By Fergal Keane
Sunday 18 April 1999
Sunday Telegraph
telegraph.co.uk
AS British troops prepare to move through Greece on their way to Kosovo, anti-Nato feeling in the country is mounting with
political chiefs ruling out the use of Greek territory as a launching pad for any ground attack against the Serbs.
Demonstrations against the air war attract huge crowds and the mainstream press here routinely describes the allied campaign as
the bullying of a small nation. As for the political elite, there are few who are willing to be seen to defend Nato's air strikes.
Politicians of all hues are queuing up to criticise the alliance of which Greece is a long-standing member.
The mayor of Athens, Dimitrios Avramopoulos, is critical of the Nato campaign. When I met him in his Athens office he said that he
had met Slobodan Milosevic on numerous occasions. "You know if you met him you would realise he is not like the way he is
portrayed in the media. He is fighting a patriotic war now," he said. The mayor believed Nato was blundering around in a region
that it did not understand and told me that it was "very dangerous". Did he believe there was a chance that the war would spread
to Greece? "War is like a disease. It is contagious."
It might be tempting to believe that in criticising Nato, Mr Avramopoulos was simply trying to make mischief for the government.
But his comments reflect a mounting unease across the country. In one incident a sailor in the Greek navy has refused to take part
in a joint operation with ships from other Nato countries. Although presented by the military as the action of one individual it
is the kind of mutiny that sends shivers through the government.
It helps to explain why the minister for European affairs, Yannos Kranidiotis, was so precise on the question of Greek involvement
in the Balkan crisis. Would Greece under any circumstances allow Nato troops to use the territory as the launching pad for a
ground attack on Serbia, I wondered? The minister gave a quick "No" before launching into a long explanation of the need for
dialogue, conferences on the future of the region and the need to respect justice and human rights. They were the answers of a
politician deeply uncomfortable with the question.
The government knows that allied forces would like to be able to use the port of Thessalonika as a disembarkation point for troops
and material if a ground invasion is decided on. Already allied forces helping in the refugee camps of Macedonia are using the
port. However, internal opposition to the presence of any allied forces in Greece could be expected to rise dramatically should a
ground operation be decided on.
The Greeks face many difficulties. As members of Nato and the European Union they are being called on to meet their obligations to
other member states involved in the campaign against Milosevic. But there is the troubling matter of Greek religion, history and
geography. The country has strong historical and religious ties with the Orthodox Serbs.
The Greeks will also be worried by the attention paid to the Albanian Muslims by the government of Turkey, noting the high profile
visits to the camps by senior Turkish politicians. There is apprehension that any escalation of the war which drags in Greece's
northern neighbour, Macedonia, could result in massive destabilisation. The fear is that an independence for Kosovo would prompt
the Albanian minority living in Macedonia to rebel and seek union with their brothers across the border.
The domestic opposition to the Nato campaign is being encouraged by groups such as the Greek Serbian Friendship Society which is
organising aid for the people of Yugoslavia. The Greek members of the society see the Serbs as victims of a Western plot to
destabilise the Balkans. "I feel ashamed when I see Nato forces being used from my country," said Hatzakos Lycurgos, the general
secretary. "We as people believed that European countries should stay together and react in a different way. "As Greeks with our
ancient civilisation we have to react in a different way. Our government must push for a solution through diplomacy - our
government has to fight for this right."
I went with him to a warehouse near Piraeus where a group of Serbs and Greeks were packing supplies to be sent to Belgrade. The
organisation says Greeks have been flocking in with offers of support for their Orthodox brothers in Serbia. While I was there
several cars arrived stuffed with food supplies. Ceranic Mladin was greatly pleased. The tall Serb told me his people wanted only
freedom. "We want to be as free as the birds," he said.
He was also convinced that the people of Greece would not abandon Serbia. "Of course the people of Greece support us. They are
Orthodox like us, they are our neighbours. Of course they must be on our side," said Mr Mladin.
I think he is probably right.
© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 1999.
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