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=Greece= Home February 1964 July 1965 Methods of Torture Greece 1967 CIA Coup (Involvement in Greece)



(//Third World Traveler: Greece 1964-1967 by William Blum//. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Greece_KH.html ) //(History of Greece:George and Andreas Papandreou by Dmitri Kessel// http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/biography/index.html )
 * Summaries**
 * In July 1965 George Papandreou was thrown out of the government by King Constantine because he had plots of overthrow the king.
 * His less radical son Andreas took George's power but really could not get anything done like his father.
 * Pres. Johnson did not like Andreas and felt mistrusted by Andreas and threatened him.
 * Andreas left and later Andreas Papandreau assumed his duties in 1964 and finally realized fact of life for every techno-industrial state in the world: an intelligence service gone wild, a shadow government with powers beyond the control of the nation's nominal leaders.
 * There was a CIA report on  January 23, 1967, which stated that Papadopoulos group was planning a coup. Then in April 1967 five new officers came to power and four them were connected to the American military or to the CIA in Greece.

//(Third World Traveler: Greece 1964-1967 by William Blum//. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Greece_KH.htmlhttp://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/biography/ //) (History of Greece:George and Andreas Papandreou by Dmitri Kessel// [|http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/biography/)]
 * The CIA Coup which took place during 1964 - 1975 had taken place two days before the national elections was to begin. America wanted a stable Democracy in Greece, rather than George Papandreou who wanted the country to be Radical (Left Wing Liberal Government) George wants change.

The government, about which the good General was so ebullient, was that of the Colonels' junta which came to power in a military coup in April 1967, followed immediately by the traditional martial law, censorship, arrests, beatings, torture, and killings, the victims totaling some 8,000 in the first month. This was accompanied by the equally traditional declaration that this was all being done to save the nation from a "communist takeover". Corrupting and subversive influences in Greek life were to be removed. Among these were miniskirts, long hair, and foreign newspapers; church attendance for the young would be compulsory. "Torture as a deliberate practice is carried out by both Security Police and the Military Police." It was torture ... which most indelibly marked the seven-year Greek nightmare [under Papadopoulos]. James Becket, an American attorney sent to Greece by Amnesty International, wrote In December 1969 that "a conservative estimate would place at not less than two thousand" the number of people tortured. "People had been mercilessly tortured simply for being in possession of a leaflet criticizing the regime. Brutality and cruelty on one side, frustration and helplessness on the other. They were being tortured and there was nothing to be done. It was like listening to a friend who has cancer. What comfort, what wise reflection can someone who is comfortable give. Torture might last a short time, but the person will never be the same." Becket reported that some torturers had told prisoners that some of their equipment had come as US military aid: a special "thick white double cable" whip was one Item; another was the headscrew, known as an "iron wreath", which was progressively tightened around the head or ears. The Amnesty delegation described a number of the other torture methodscommonly employed. (Third World Traveler: Greece 1964-1967 by William Blum. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Greece_KH.html )

Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between supporters of the king and Communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. In 1981 Greece joined the EC (now the EU); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001.
 * Background:**

//total:// 5.34 deaths/1,000 live births //male:// 5.87 deaths/1,000 live births //female:// 4.78 deaths/1,000 live birth
 * __Infancy mortality rate__**

//total population:// 79.38 years //male:// 76.85 years //female:// 82.06 years
 * __Life Expectancy__**

$30,500
 * __GDP- per capita__**

NA%
 * __Population Below the Poverty Line__**


 * __Transnational Issues__**
 * __Disputes - international:__**Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia; the mass migration of unemployed Albanians still remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy.
 * __Illicit drugs:__** A gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime

Human Rights Issues: __July 24, 2007__: For women who are recognized as** 'victims of trafficking' **by the Greek authorities, available protection and assistance comes at a price: they must 'cooperate with the authorities'. Despite the physical and psychological stresses they may have experienced, these women are offered a period of only one month to decide whether to testify against suspected traffickers.

__June 18, 2007:__ Amnesty International is deeply concerned by a** video clip that has appeared on the Internet showing two migrants -- one of whom is known to be Albanian -- detained at Omonia police station in central Athens being beaten by police officers and being forced to slap each other repeatedly.


 * __June 13, 2007:__** Women and girls are being trafficked for forced prostitution in Greece** in large numbers, and the government has so far failed to provide sufficient protection and support, Amnesty International said today.

__Sources:__ (1) 'Trafficking in human beings and health implications', Seminar on Health and Migration 9-11 June 2004. http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/microsites/IDM/workshops/Health_and_Migration_09110604/related%20docs/background.pdf

(2) Letter dated 18 May 2004 from Ms Marjan Wijers, President of the Experts Group on Trafficking to the European Commission, attaching Opinion on Reflection Period and Residence Permit for Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings (adopted 16 April 2004). Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/doc_centre/crime/trafficking/doc/opinion_experts_group_2004_en.pdf