Let's get something straight lest 17n is perceived as some righteous dudes going around killing bad guys (from Che - I dont care about the rest)
Some history is in order.
1974. The Junta collapses. A right wing government is installed. Balances are very thin, divisions extremely high. Courts try the juntists. Most get life sentences. However a couple of those, namely animals which tortured political opponents or trade unionists sometimes to death during the Junta, espace prison terms for some mysterious reason...
Out of nowhere this group appears and assassinates those two. Naturally noone shed a tear, except maybe some pathetic juntist supporters.
Then CIA station chief gets assassinated. Divisions were extremely high, people blaming the US for supporting the mosntreous regime, there was no faith in the independence of the judicial system, it somehow gets passed too.
Now you have developments. Namely, the democratic isntitutions of Greece, strengthen. Its economy strengthens, the judicial system becomes moreand more independnt and strong. A socialist government takes power. The vast majority of people turnaway from wanting a communist society. (very few really did anyway) Antiamericanism declines hugely.
You basically have a new Greece.
But these guys, 17n, get stuck in older mindsets and continue their "romantic" as they see it fight against capitalism, the US, NATO, western interests whatever through assassinations.
Society has moved on. Demcocracy has strengthened. They were alone and miserable they failed to see the obvious truth, Greece had progressed.
They remained entagled in dogmas that noone longer wants (as said a tiny minority ever wanted, what to be a communist country? come on... - the rest just wanted independence as they saw it from foreign interests - but not with assassinations!!!)
Plus their role is very detrimental to greek society. they kill bakoyanis, a pioneer of the reapproachment of the left and righ wing in greece. they are delusional criminals with every sense of the word.
what they do when society has moved on? they turn nationalist feed off the wary suspiciconof the left wing against imperialism, and the right wing against anyhing foreign. they write populist proclamations to justify their crimes.
the final drop in the glass was the assassination of saunders. that was completely a "public relations" stunt. the greeks opposed the bombing of serbia. but that didnt mean killing some poor guy (or anyone for that matter) because of this.
greek society had long ago lost any kind of tolerance for them but wasnt afraid of them (to push the government to do more) .
finally they were arrested. and yet another dark page of greek history can be finally turned on the road for more and more maturity and faith
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