The last time a radical left government was voted into power in Greece the CIA (allegedly) helped to overthrow it and install a military dictatorship: In February 1964, Papandreou was elected prime minister. Even though he had close ties with the U.S., he refused to accept President Johnsons requests to compromise with Turkey over Cyprus. He even accepted an invitation to visit Moscow and when he was promised foreign aid, the U.S. ambassador demanded an explanation. Andreas Papandreou, a member of his fathers cabinet since 1964, learned that the KYP (Greeces secret police) regularly bugged ministerial meetings and gave the records to the CIA. He replaced KYP members with reliable officers. Andreas leaned to the USSR for support and said that the U.S. had prevented democracy from materializing in Greece. In 1965, John Maury - CIA station chief in Athens - plotted with King Constantine to collapse the Greek government. CIA-Backed Coup, 1967 The next elections were scheduled for April 1967, but just two days before, George Papadopoulos seized power in a military coup. Papadopoulos had been on the CIA payroll since 1952. He was trained in the U.S. by the OSS and CIA. During World War II, he was a captain in the Nazis Security Battalion that hunted down Greek resistance fighters. Of the five junta officers, four were connected to either the CIA or the U.S. military in Greece. The military junta decreed martial law followed by censorship, arrests and beatings. In the first month, 8,000 civilians were victims of the oppressive policies. In 1968, Papadopoulos became prime minister. Testimony to the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, revealed that the junta contributed financially to Richard Nixons successful 1968 presidential campaign. Vice President Spiro Agnew, who was of Greek descent, angered many Greeks when he visited in 1971, embraced the junta leaders and called them the countrys best leaders since Pericles ruled ancient Athens. In 1969, the European Commission of Human Rights - consisting of 18 European countries - found Greece guilty abusing human rights. The commission refuted the governments claim that it had used oppressive measures because the country was on the verge of a communist takeover. Another CIA PM, 1973 In November 1973, Papadopoulos was forced out of power in a military shake-up. He was replaced by Colonel Demetrios Ioannidis, commander of the military police, who had been trained in torture and subversive techniques by the CIA. He named a new prime minister, A. Androutsopolous, who had been on the CIA payroll following World War II. The U.S. government never admitted its support for the Greek military junta until November 1999. MH
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 20:57:42 +0000
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