Nikos Raptis
Can
a rather routine visit of a US President to a small country be so important to
deserve an "anatomy"? I think that an analysis of the events and the
behaviors of the participants in these events before, during, and after the
Clinton visit to Athens, on November 19, 1999, could be very instructive
(especially for the ordinary Americans). I ask the readers of this Commentary to
have the patience to read it in its entirety.
[Sysop
Note: The commentary was much too long to send and thus this is only the first
20% of it, or so. For the rest…go to http://www.zmag.org/raptisclinton.htm
]
In
the twentieth century the Greek people have experienced the
"influence" of various foreign powers. A fascist dictatorship by a
British-supported king (1936-41) was followed by Nazi occupation (1941-44). A
few weeks after the Nazis left, the British occupied the country until 1947.That
year the US snatched the baton and American "influence" in Greece
began and continues to this day. From 1967 to 1974 the American
"influence" took the form of a brutal dictatorship, carried out for
the sake of the US by a colonel’s junta. Inevitably, this long experience of
(mainly Anglo-Saxon) foreign domination enabled the Greek population (of 10
million) to understand quite well how the world operates under the US
domination. For example, the Greek population could not accept Nato’s (US’s)
"humanitarian" justification for bombing Yugoslavia. Two surveys
conducted 25 days into the air attack showed that Greeks were 96% to 98.6%
against the bombing and 1.3% in favor. In fact, the bombing of Yugoslavia pushed
to new heights the deeply rooted anti-Americanism of the Greek population. (Of
course, for the Greeks ‘Americanism’ refers to the America of the
economic-political elites not the American population.)
Only
three US Presidents have ever visited Greece; Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1959
(among cheering crowds in the streets of Athens), George Bush, in 1991 (with the
streets of Athens deserted, as no demonstrations were allowed), and Bill
Clinton, in 1999.
The
participants in the events that surrounded the Clinton visit were: Clinton (as
the titular head of the dominant world power), the Greek governing elite with
Prime Minister Costas Simitis in the lead (as the local caretakers of the US),
and the Greek population. For the US and Simitis the Greek population was (and
is) the enemy.
The
Events Before the Visit
The
announcement of the planned two days long (November 13 -15,1999) Clinton visit
to Athens brought about the first reactions by the Greek population early in
October, almost a month and a half before the visit.
On
October 4, "an obscure group named ‘Filiki Etairia’ (Friendly Society)
claimed responsibility for a fire bomb attack on a McDonald’s fast-food outlet
in the western Athenian suburb of Egaleo. Nobody was hurt and the restaurant
sustained only minor damage" (Kathimerini, English Edition, Oct. 5, ’99).
A
few days later, 32 organizations of the Left propose the creation of the LEFT
INITIATIVE AGAINST THE CLINTON VISIT. Among the organizations there are five
organizations of the Turkish (!) and Kurdish (!) Left (not quite a surprise at
this level of rationality of the radical sectors of the Greeks, the Turks, and
the Kurds). On October 11 the creation of a country-wide INITIATIVE is
announced.
The
Clinton people, sensing the coming "troublesome" reaction of the
Greeks to the Clinton visit (or better, knowing that there was going to be such
a reaction on the basis of the inevitable CIA-compiled ‘psychological profile’
of the Greeks) invited Michalis Chrisohoidis, the Greek Public Order Minister
(the civilian head of the police), to visit Washington. Chrisohoidis, a young
Greek politician with a slight JFK resemblance, met with the director of the
FBI, Louis Freeh, the director of the CIA, George Tenet (a Greek-American!),
Janet Reno, Thomas Pickering, and Michael Sheehan of the State Department. The
assessment of Chrisohoidis by the Clinton people, as expressed by Sheehan, was:
"We have faith in Mr. Chrisohoidis…" The events that followed and
the "work" of Chrisohoidis (see below) proved that the faith of the
Clinton People in him was well-founded.
For
the Clinton people and for Simitis the date and the duration of the visit was of
great importance. The journalist Tom Ellis on October 20 reported from
Washington, D.C.: Hillary Clinton’s "previous engagements did not permit
her to be in Greece on November 22-24" (hence the date November 13-15 for
the visit). "In her campaign for the New York Senate race, Mrs. Clinton has
her own political agenda for the trip to Greece. She would like to travel with
the influential Greek-Americans accompanying Clinton on his Flight from
Washington, and believes that the visit will help her campaign". (Kathim.Engl.Edi.,
Oct. 20, ’99, p.3) Also, for the Clinton people prohibitive was the date of
November 17, the date of the 1973 student uprising at the Athens Polytechnic and
the massacre that followed it during the colonel’s junta. Because of the annual
November 17 commemoration of the uprising, through a huge demonstration and a
march of tens of thousands in front of the US Embassy, Clinton could not risk to
be in Athens on that day. This march has been taking place for 26 years. The
basic slogan shouted during these marches is the "Foniades"
("Murderers") slogan.
(Note:
The colloquial Greek word "fonias"-rhymes with "ninjas",plural:
"foniades"- means "murderer", and "specifically implies
stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral
responsibility" (according to Webster’s 10th). The slogan "FONIADES
TON LAON AMERIKANOI" means "The Murderers of Peoples (are) the
Americans", the uncomfortable syntax being necessary to attain the proper
(musical) rhythm when the slogan is shouted. (Again, the Americans refers to the
American elites.) This slogan has been heard with remarkable frequency on Greek
streets since the early 60s.
As
we shall see, later on, the date of the visit had a new importance for Clinton
and for Simitis. For Bill Clinton the duration of the visit was meant to be
adequate enough to allow him to speak at the Pnyx, the site where Pericles, et
al used to orate in classical Athens. (See Commentary of November 7, ’99.)
Finally, for Simitis the longer the stay of Clinton (the ruler) in Athens, the
greater the prestige of Simitis as a Prime Minister of Greece.
Yet,
Simitis and the rest of the Greek elites found themselves in a very difficult
situation. On the one hand they had to be "agreeable" (or better, to
be obedient) to Clinton and on the other hand they had to deal with the Greek
population who in their overwhelming majority were against the Clinton visit and
were preparing to resist it by any (peaceful) means; demonstrations, e.t.c. One
should not forget that Clinton’s "humanitarian" bombing of Yugoslavia
was still fresh in the collective memory of the Greek population. Also, Simitis
had an additional burden; the national Parliamentary elections were only a few
months away (possibly in March, of 2000) and he was obliged to not ignore the
traditional anti-Americanism of the Greek population and their resistance to the
Clinton visit and keep a democratic facade by not prohibiting demonstrations,
marches, e.t.c., if he wanted to be reelected as Prime Minister.
Already,
the organizing of the resistance had spread to most of the cities and towns of
the country. Even in the mainstream press one could read headlines and text such
as: While "waiting for Clinton" (read Godot) "we invite the
Greeks to let their imagination unrestrained" to resist the Clinton visit.
(One proposal was to decorate all the lamp posts along the route of the Clinton
motorcade from the airport to his hotel with inflated condoms). Or phrases such
as: "For reasons of personal dignity give (Clinton) hell while he is in
Athens…" and "let us greet Clinton not as vassals but as humans with
self-respect".
Also,
it was announced that on November 8, ’99 a "trial" was to be held at
Syntagma Square (the historic center of Athens) to try Clinton (and his gang)
for "crimes against humanity" (Kosovo,e.t.c.) which was to be followed
by a march to the US Embassy to hand the verdict of the court. The text of the
indictment had already been composed by a team of distinguished lawyers and
jurists.
Meanwhile,
Chrisohoidis’ boys, the top dogs of the Greek Police, stayed awake for many
nights trying to plan the actions of the Police in order to contain the angry
resistance of the Greeks against the Clinton visit. The policy was to keep any
demonstrators one kilometer (0.62 miles) away from Clinton. It was estimated
that more than 10,000 (ten thousand) policemen were to be deployed to contain
the Greeks during the Clinton visit. Also, it was reported that after November
1st the US security personnel would start arriving in Greece to
"collaborate" with their Greek counterparts in this containment.