A Greek extremist group claimed responsibility on Thursday for bomb attacks in the run-up to the Olympic Games and issued a veiled threat against visitors to the summer sporting extravaganza.
The warning from the Revolutionary Struggle came after makeshift bombs exploded at a Greek bank in an Athens surburb early on Thursday, and another explosive device was found at a nearby British bank.
The blasts, which caused some damage but no injuries, came eight days after dynamite explosions at a police station in Athens, an incident blamed on local extremists rather than international terror groups such as al-Qaeda.
Revolutionary Struggle, which reportedly could have about 20 members and has indirect links to Greece’s oldest extremist group, ETA, claimed responsibility for the May 5 bombings and issued a warning saying visitors to the Olympics are unwelcome.
”All senior members of the international capitalist system, from multinationals to businessmen, mercenaries from across the world and state officials as well as wealthy western Olympic tourists who plan to attend the Games are undesirables,” said the letter published in a weekly newspaper.
It said the massive security operation and Nato’s involvement have turned Greece into a fortress, which means the Olympics are not a celebration but a ”war”.
Greek government spokesperson Theodoros Roussopoulos said Athens is ”not worried” by the warning, but that it is treating security for the August 13 to 29 event with ”seriousness and responsibility”.
Athens has announced that 70 000 security personnel will watch over the Games — outnumbering athletes by almost seven to one — with Olympic officials saying on Wednesday that preparations for the event are on track.
Athens called in Nato to boost security after the March 11 bombings in Madrid that left nearly 200 people dead.
In Thursday’s incidents in Athens, explosive devices made up of gas canisters blew up at 2am local time on Wednesday at the Alpha bank in the suburb of Voula.
Another unidentified explosive device was found outside the nearby office of the British-owned HSBC bank and defused, police said.
Alpha, Greece’s second-largest bank, is one of the sponsors of the Olympic Games. HSBC was targeted in a series of deadly bombings in the Turkish city of Istanbul in November.
Gas canisters have been used in several minor attacks in Athens over the past years, which have largely been blamed on anarchists or far-left extremists.
Responsibility for these attacks, which are believed to have been carried out by individuals rather than structured groups, has rarely been claimed.
Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis has said that last week’s attacks damaged Greece’s image overseas in the run-up to the Games.
Organisers have also reacted with fury to an Australian travel advisory warning Australians to ”exercise caution” and beware of terrorists, pickpockets and rapists when travelling to Greece.
Athens has also faced months of concern worldwide that preparations for the Games were lagging behind and that the four-yearly sporting extravaganza could turn into an embarrassing fiasco.
But International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials gave the preparations a clean bill of health on Wednesday after their final official visit.
”We know everything will be ready on time … no single project is at risk,” IOC chief inspector Denis Oswald said. ”In the past we had doubts. I am very happy to report all these doubts have disappeared.”
The Greek capital expects to host about 16 000 athletes and officials, 45 000 volunteers, 21 500 journalists and millions of spectators for the Olympics.
The latest blasts came as about 300 officials from Greece and the seven countries advising it on Olympics security were set to take part in Olympic Guardian 2, a joint Greek-United States four-day exercise in Athens on Thursday. — Sapa-AFP