Greece suspends airmail packages
Source: Agencies |
November 4, 2010, Thursday
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GREECE suspended overseas shipment of mail and packages for 48 hours yesterday, hoping to stop militants sending more parcel bombs in addition to more than a dozen already sent to foreign governments and embassies.
Small bombs exploded at the Swiss and Russian embassies in Athens on Tuesday, a parcel with explosives was intercepted at the German chancellor's office and another package addressed to Italy's prime minister caught fire when it was checked.
The bombs may be intended to spur an anti-government vote in Sunday's local elections in protest against Prime Minister George Papandreou's austerity plan, agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund to deal with Greece's debt mountain.
"Such brainless and irresponsible actions aim to damage the Greek people's great effort to put the country and its economy back on its feet ... they will fail, we will not bend," said Papandreou, who has vowed to be "merciless" with militants.
Papandreou, in office for only 13 months, and acutely aware of the disruption caused by weeks of riots in December 2008 after a police officer killed a teenager, has said he will call an election if voters don't back him.
There have been a total of 14 actual or suspected bombs since Monday but only one casualty, a courier employee who was slightly injured when a bomb exploded in her hands.
"If there are more parcel bombs ,they must be abroad by now, not in Greece. Courier services have made checks and have not found anything suspect for domestic delivery," a police official said yesterday.
Police, who said their inquiry had shown no links between the bombers and al-Qaida, said members of the public had come forward with information about two Greek men who have been arrested, while investigators searched their homes.
"All evidence shows this is a clear domestic case, with no connection with international terrorism," Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas said. "The evidence so far shows we are dealing with extreme left groups."
The Greek parcel bombs follow the interception of explosive packages suspected to have been sent to Chicago by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
German officials said yesterday they want the EU to introduce new security measures against attacks via air freight to help improve a patchwork of rules around the?world.
Greek police arrested the two men, aged 22 and 24, in possession of two bombs, one addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
One of the two arrested men is suspected of being a member of the Fire Conspiracy Cells, who have staged several attacks on government targets over the past year, police said.
Small bombs exploded at the Swiss and Russian embassies in Athens on Tuesday, a parcel with explosives was intercepted at the German chancellor's office and another package addressed to Italy's prime minister caught fire when it was checked.
The bombs may be intended to spur an anti-government vote in Sunday's local elections in protest against Prime Minister George Papandreou's austerity plan, agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund to deal with Greece's debt mountain.
"Such brainless and irresponsible actions aim to damage the Greek people's great effort to put the country and its economy back on its feet ... they will fail, we will not bend," said Papandreou, who has vowed to be "merciless" with militants.
Papandreou, in office for only 13 months, and acutely aware of the disruption caused by weeks of riots in December 2008 after a police officer killed a teenager, has said he will call an election if voters don't back him.
There have been a total of 14 actual or suspected bombs since Monday but only one casualty, a courier employee who was slightly injured when a bomb exploded in her hands.
"If there are more parcel bombs ,they must be abroad by now, not in Greece. Courier services have made checks and have not found anything suspect for domestic delivery," a police official said yesterday.
Police, who said their inquiry had shown no links between the bombers and al-Qaida, said members of the public had come forward with information about two Greek men who have been arrested, while investigators searched their homes.
"All evidence shows this is a clear domestic case, with no connection with international terrorism," Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas said. "The evidence so far shows we are dealing with extreme left groups."
The Greek parcel bombs follow the interception of explosive packages suspected to have been sent to Chicago by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
German officials said yesterday they want the EU to introduce new security measures against attacks via air freight to help improve a patchwork of rules around the?world.
Greek police arrested the two men, aged 22 and 24, in possession of two bombs, one addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
One of the two arrested men is suspected of being a member of the Fire Conspiracy Cells, who have staged several attacks on government targets over the past year, police said.
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