Security briefing on the wildfires in Greece (Open Source material for the wildfires in Greece)August 31st, 2007
Ioannis MichaletosGreece over the past three months and in the midst of the summer period was inflicted by a series of wildfires that have destroyed so far probably more than 1 million hectares of forests and arable land, along with thousands of buildings leaving some 77 people dead and as much as 30,000 homeless. In most respects this was the worst catastrophe that the state has witnessed over the past decades.The current available information points out towards a coordinated arson plan that aimed to destabilize the country’s social and political climate, as well as, a sort of wide range punitive measures against the incumbent Greek Administration.The first official to name arson as an instrument against Greece’s ecological system, was the deputy head of the firearm service in late June, just a few days after the destructive fire in the Parnitha natural reserve in the outskirts of Athens. Currently the statements by the Minister of Public Order -Asymmetrical warfare-, the Minister of Foreign Affairs-Likewise- and the Prime Minister’s admittance of an “Organized plan” leave no much space for a spontaneous cycle of wildfire eruption in tune of as much as 300 per day in remote regions in Greece and at night hours.Moreover the Greek TV Station ANT1, revealed late last week that EUROPOL had informed the Greek government of a plan against the country using fires as an instrument, since early last June. The weekly newspaper “To Paron” had already revealed the effort by the National Intelligence Service throughout the summer to apprehend the culprits, whilst the latest news from across the spectrum of the Greek press, note for the Interpol’s warnings over the past few months, again for the same reason.It is interesting to note the statements made by ” Sergey Makarin” a Russian pilot that assisted in the effort against the extinguish of the fires. He said to an interview in the newspaper “Eleftheros Typos”: “I feel like I participated in a war zone! I have experience with fires in Russia, Portugal, South Korea, Italy and France, but the case of Greece is totally different. These fires are man-made for certain. There is no doubt about that!”
Another element that further attests to the scenario of a well-coordinated destabilization plan, is the continuous arsons near power factories, such as the case of Aliveri, Megalopoli, Domokos, Lamia transmission network and Parnitha peripheral power center, amongst other. Mrs. Bakoyanni the Minister of FA, stated on the 30th of August in a TV appearance in the Greek station “Extra Channel” that the above could not be a coincidence and she feels there are strong probabilities for a plan against the state.
Even though it might be early to tell, the plan could only have been executed with the assistance of international criminal networks that have the ability to muster personnel, logistic support and manage their escape routes effectively. Further, it would also need the collaboration of Greek individuals in order to ensure maximum destruction and knowledge of the particularities of every locale. Thus, only an internationally networked factor could have organized the whole scheme, preferably associated with illegal industries such as narcotics, trafficking and weapons smuggling. According to off the record statements by a Greek SOF Officer with practical knowledge of the organized crime networks, “There has been a merge between crime & terrorism in Greece at least over the past decade. Long are the days where the security forces could distinguish between them, and certainly they have aid if not association with foreign mafias in Europe and beyond”.
The latest information that is being circulated within the journalist world, along with revealing data from the newspaper Aegean Times, point out to a sophisticated method of operation for the arsons. Specifically the Greek Police has already found a device used nearby the Papagos area on the 22nd of August that was ignited with a mobile phone. By calling the number on the phone the device explodes and creates the necessary conditions for a fire. This can be done from a safe distance even from abroad. It is similar to the method used in the Madrid bombing in March 2003, albeit for another purpose. Also it is vital to note that the first time globally this method was used was in the Greek city of Larissa, outside a provisional court by an obscure terrorist group of ultra-left wing direction. That evidence alone, reveals the interconnection between local “Anti-systemic” groups in Greece with international terrorism and consequently with the organized crime in and outside the Greek borders. It is safe to assume that this could well be the case in this summer’s arsons.Another device that allegedly has been used and it is already under examination by the Greek Anti-terrorist team, is one similar with darts that via remote control “fire” small quantities of material that can ignite fire. These devices could be used months after installation in any forest and could be easily be monitored by the culprits via GPS. It provides a tremendous advantage to the arsonists of controlling the space and time they want to ignite fire and confuse the fire brigades and the police. Also as far as the prefecture of Ileia is concerned that was hit most of the others in last week’s fires; it was also the target in a bombing attack against a water-bank of the river Alfeios, last spring. Up to date there are no tangible evident on who participated in this terrorist action, that failed to most extent because the dam was not destroyed saving thus the lives of many citizens and the agricultural production of the area, at least until the fires started in the same locale.In addition to the continuous attacks against Athenian police stations since late 2006 with machine guns and hand grenades and the tens of suspicious homicide attempts against police officers patrolling the city of Athens; the wildfires brought the destabilization scenario all across the country and just a few days before the general elections. If the hypothesis that it is a transnational well-organized plan is valid, then the Greek state should be prepared for more asymmetrical-nature challenges at least for the near future. As for the causes of such a hostile behavior against the Greek state, one has to take into consideration the important economic-political and geoeconomic events that took place over the past few years in Greece and in the wider Balkans-Eastern Mediterranean region. New pipeline networks, importation of Chinese, Arab, Russian, and new American capital & corporations along with the political instability that hinders an area from Bosnia to Iran and from Sudan to Caucasus. Furthermore, the all-pervading criminal networks have gained a lot of strength over the past decade due to the opportunities the globalization process provides for their communication, transfer of funds and recruitment. A combination of political aims, business ill-aimed strategies, and abundance of “executionary personnel”, is a first clue of what might have caused the current situation and what lies ahead, not just for Greece but for the whole world.The statements by the EU Commissioner Fratinni on “Territorial terrorism”, are a crystal-clear evidence that the EU has been to an extent prepared to face tough challenges for the future relating to a new form of terror aimed into subduing governments and the whole society under the realm of transnational criminal entities that have to be dealt with sooner or later.
Notes:Fires by arson inflicted also the wider Mediterranean region. In Italy the Mafia reportedly paid locals to destroy land for development and as a retaliation method against competitors. In the Balkans most of the fires are centered on the Kosovo issue (Southern Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, South-West Serbia and West-FYROM). Lastly in Turkey the Kurdish group “The hawks of Kurdistan” stated that it participated in 17 cases of arson in order to destroy the tourism industry in the country.
