17 November Organization

LEADERS: Alexandros Giotopolous; Dimitris Koufondinas

USUAL AREA OF OPERATION: Greece

OVERVIEW

The 17 November Organization (17N or N17) was founded in 1975 as a Marxist-Leninist organization on the belief that a communist revolution in Greece was imminent. The group is called Epanastatiki Organosi 17 Noemvri in Greek, and is also known as the Revolutionary Organization 17 November. The 17N organization took its name after a student protest in 1973 that had been violently ended by the Greek government deployment of army tanks. The group professes an anti-American, anti-capitalism stance and seeks the removal of U.S. bases from Greece, Turkish withdrawal from Cyprus, and Greek withdrawal from both NATO and the EU (European Union). The elusive group evaded capture for nearly thirty years and has claimed responsibility for twenty-three assassinations and numerous bombings, mainly targeting individuals and businesses that they accuse of exploiting Greece and creating a climate of underdevelopment.

The 17N organization has been inactive since 2002 after a failed bombing attempt led to a 17N safe house. That initial raid led to the arrest of eighteen other members of the group, whom the Greek police claimed as the group's core members. In December 2003, following the longest trial in Greek history, all but four of the 17N operatives were convicted of various crimes, including murder, destruction of property, and bank robbery. Although the convictions seemingly put an end to the organization's operations, many governments still consider it an active group.

HISTORY

The history of 17N begins in post-World War II Greece, as the cold war was just beginning. In 1952, Greece joined NATO, a coalition of countries intended to deter Soviet expansion. From 1952 through 1965, Greece developed, with the assistance of the Truman doctrine, a plan that provided financial assistance for development and dissuaded Soviet influences throughout Europe. However, between 1965 and 1967, Greece encountered a series of unstable coalition governments. As a result, in 1967, career Army Colonel George Papadopoulous led a coup and assumed power. Citing the threat of communism, Papadopoulous ruled under the guise of a military junta—or dictatorship. He declared martial law, suppressed civil liberties, and disbanded political parties. Opponents and suspected communists were either imprisoned or exiled. Due to its geographic proximity to the Soviet Bloc nations, the United States chose to support the junta.

In 1973, in an attempt to legitimize his claim to power, Papadopoulous established a democracy, but assumed the presidency. However, on November 15, 1973, students at the Athens Polytechnic University declared a strike to protest the junta and the U.S. support of the military dictatorship. Initially the strike had little impact, but then the students were joined by workers and other youths and the protesters barricaded themselves into the school. Two days later, on November 17, Papadopoulous ordered the army, including tanks, to end the demonstration. As a result, twenty protesters were killed.

Public outcry against the violent action and internal strife among his cabinet led to the demise of the Papadopoulous regime by the end of November 1973. In July 1974, a constitutional government replaced the junta and Papadopoulous was tried and convicted of treason and insurrection.

The 17N group began its activities the following year, 1975. The group claimed responsibility for the assassination of CIA Station Chief, Richard Welch, on December 23, 1975. The weapon used in this killing, a .45-caliber Colt 1911 semi-automatic weapon, became the trademark and weapon of choice for 17N assassination operations. In a communiqué claiming responsibility for the assassination, 17N declared its goal to bring about the communist revolution. Its ideology, based on the revolutionary left, originated as opposing the prevailing political system. The group identified itself as anti-American due to the U.S. backing of the right-wing junta led by Papadopoulous. In its initial communiqué, the group explained that their name originated from the student protest in 1973.

Since 17N opposed the U.S. military bases in Greece, they felt justified in targeting U.S. service members. On November 15, 1983, 17N struck its next target: U.S. Navy Captain George Tsantes. Following a similar operation as the Welch assassination, the gunmen fired on Tsantes and his driver with a .45-caliber magnum while they were stopped at a traffic light. Both the driver and Tsantes were killed. The next two assassination attempts on U.S. service members were in 1984, and followed the same procedure and weapon choice. However, these attempts resulted only in injuries to the victims.

LEADERSHIP

ALEXANDROS GIOTOPOLOUS

Alexandros Giotopolous is believed by the U.S. State Department to be the founding member and leader of 17N, charges that he has denied. Giotopolous was born in France where he participated in a leftist student revolt in 1968. After moving to Greece, Giotopolous participated in the Popular Revolutionary Resistance protest of the military junta in 1971–1972. The U.S. State Department believes that Giotopolous then traveled to Cuba to be trained in urban warfare. When he returned the Greece, he adopted an alias, Mikhalis Oikonomou. During the 2003 trial, members of 17N identified Giotopolous as the founding member, leader, and gunman in the 1975 assassination of Richard Welch. Giotopolous denies these charges. Giotopolous is currently serving multiple life sentences after being convicted of his activities with 17N.

DIMITRIS KOUFONDINAS

Koufondinas was identified by 17N members as the co-leader of the group. He joined 17N in 1984 and was also identified as the group's recruiter and liaison between gunmen and organization leadership. He confessed to the 2000 assassination of Stephen Saunders. He voluntarily surrendered to police in September 2002 and is currently serving multiple life sentences in connection with his activities with 17N.

In addition to assassination attempts, 17N began to use bombings to target U.S., EU, NATO, and Greek establishment targets. The first bombing attempt occurred at the French Cultural Institute on November 24, 1984. The bomb was discovered and defused before it could detonate. However, several other bombings occurred throughout Athens that same day. The 17N organization used remote-detonated explosives throughout the 1980s to target busses carrying U.S. military personnel and in the assassination attempt of U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Agent George Carros. In addition, in 1988 the group claimed responsibility for bombs placed under vehicles intended for Turkish diplomats. Although two bombs exploded, no one was injured. On June 28, 1988, the group claimed responsibility for the assassination of U.S. military attaché, Captain William Nordeen. Moving away from their traditional assassination method, the group detonated a car packed with explosives when Nordeen drove by.

On June 10, 1990, 17N initiated its use of improvised rocket attacks. Targeting the offices of Proctor and Gamble in Athens, the group hit the office in protest of the Greek government's action to sell certain state firms to multinational corporations like Proctor and Gamble. In addition to striking the Proctor and Gamble offices, the group has targeted several other multinational firms: American Life Insurance Company (Alico), Nationalen Nederlanden, IBM, Seimens, McDonald's, General Motors, Chase Manhattan Bank, Midland Bank, and Banque National de Paris.

In 1991, the group voiced its opposition to the Persian Gulf War by hitting coalition targets within Greece. The first occurred on January 21, 1991, as a bomb exploded at the French military attaché residence in Athens. Days later, the British-based Barclays Bank was the target of an explosives attack. On the same day, two Citibank offices were also hit. Continued attacks occurred in Athens on January 28, 1991, with an anti-tank missile fired into an American Express office and a rocket grenade attack on the British Petroleum offices in the city. On March 12, 1991, 17N detonated a remote-controlled bomb that killed a U.S. Air Force sergeant. The group claimed responsibility for the assassination as retaliation for the Iraqi dead from the Persian Gulf War. In 1998 following the U.S. bombing of Iraq, 17N once again retaliated for the action by targeting U.S. interests in Greece.

By 2000, 17N claimed responsibility for twenty-three assassinations, including U.S., British, Turkish, and Greek targets, and 146 armed attacks. On June 8, 2000, British Brigadier Stephen Saunders was shot with a .45-caliber pistol. The next day, 17N claimed responsibility for the assassination and called it retaliation for the NATO, United States, and EU "bombardments" in Yugoslavia. This assassination brought international pressure on Greece to stop 17N before the coming Summer Olympics in 2004.

The last known operation by 17N was a failed bombing on June 29, 2002. A bomb prematurely detonated injuring Savvas Xiros, a member of 17N. This was the first arrest of a 17N member in the organization's twenty-seven-year history. After searching his apartment, police found 17N paraphernalia, as well as documents that led to the arrest of eighteen other 17N members and the discovery of weapons caches throughout Greece. On September 5, 2002, the police claimed that all 17N's core members were arrested after Dimitris Koufodinas surrendered to police.

In December 2003, after a year-long trial, fifteen of the nineteen members were convicted for their activities with 17N. Five of the members, including Alexandros Giotopoulos and Dimitris Koufondinas, were initially given the death penalty. However those sentences were commuted to multiple life sentences. Since the failed attack in June 2002, the 17N organization has been inactive.

PHILOSOPHY AND TACTICS

The 17N organization was founded on the Marxist-Leninist ideology of communism. According to the MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Database, the group is considered "fanatically" nationalistic and that members "believe all the groups that they target are responsible for the underdevelopment and exploitation of Greece."

The group sought to expel outside influences in Greece. Among their identified goals were the closure of U.S. bases and the withdrawal of Turkish military from Cyprus. In addition, the group claimed to be anti-Greek establishment, anti-capitalism and anti-colonialism, and sought the withdrawal of Greece from NATO and the EU.

In order to accomplish these goals, the group launched a campaign of assassinations and bombings. Assassinations were the first form of attack, starting in 1975. Targets for assassination ranged from U.S., British, French, and Turkish diplomats to U.S. military service members and Greek industrialists. Bombings, in the form of remote-detonated explosives and improvised rockets, began in the 1980s and were also, at times, used for assassination attempts. Generally, the targets were U.S. or EU multinational corporation offices. In order to pay for their activities, the group undertook bank robberies and attempted to present itself as a modern-day Robin Hood.

OTHER PERSPECTIVES

Although 17N has been inactive since the 2003 arrest of nineteen of its members, some believe that the group still operates. In an October 2003 press briefing, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Richard Boucher explained that 17N would remain on the U.S. terrorist watch-list until the organization had been inactive for at least two years. Others within the U.S. government question why it took almost thirty years for anyone to be arrested for a 17N attack. In a New York Times article, Anthee Carassava writes that within Greece, "decades of sloppy work by an underfunded police force and a lack of political will" are the causes for the delay in stopping the group's activities. The writer quotes L. Paul Bremer as saying, "There may have been affinities between the radical leftist terrorists and the political elite that emerged after the military junta." In addition, other U.S. government officials believe that ties existed between 17N and PASOK (Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement), the governing socialist party in 2005. Following the arrests and convictions, the group's activities ceased. However, there is speculation, as cited in the MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Database, that the remaining members of 17N have formed a new organization.

SUMMARY

The 17N organization operated for nearly thirty years without a single arrest. Some in the U.S. government attribute this to the lack of political will by the PASOK party. However in 2003, after the 2000 assassination of Stephen Saunders and with the mounting international pressure to ensure the safety of the 2004 Olympics, nineteen members of 17N were arrested and tried for the group's decades of assassinations and bombings. The group claimed responsibility for most of its assassinations and even used a trademark weapon, making it easy for the police to tie the crimes together. Claiming Marxist-Leninist ideology, the group sought to expel European, American, and Turkish influences in Greece.

KEY EVENTS

1973:

Twenty student protesters were killed by army tanks at Athens Polytechnic University.

1975:

17N's first assassination: CIA Station Chief Richard Welch.

1984:

The French Cultural Institute serves as the organization's first bombing attempt.

1990:

The group fires first rocket attack into Proctor and Gamble offices in Athens.

1991:

In retaliation for the Persian Gulf War, 17N targets Citibank and Barclay's bank offices.

1991:

The group attacks German Lowenbrau and demands $43 billion in reparations from the German government for World War II.

1998:

U.S. interests are targeted in protest of bombing of Iraq.

2000:

Assassination of Stephen Saunders leads to international pressure on Greece to stop 17N before the 2004 Summer Olympic games.

2002:

First arrest of a 17N member leads to the arrest of eighteen more members and the discovery of weapons cache.

2004:

Fifteen members of 17N convicted of activities, rendering the group inactive.

In December 2003, fourteen members of the group were convicted and sentenced for their operations. This has, for the most part, brought an end to the 17N activities. However, within a week of the 2003 17N arrests, an anonymous communiqué from 17N claimed that the group was still active. The letter demanded the release of the 17N members, or (the letter claimed) the remaining 17N members would initiate hostage taking. The hostage taking never occurred and the U.S. State Department speculates that the remaining members of 17N have been absorbed into a new group called "Revolutionary Struggle."

PRIMARY SOURCE
17 November a.k.a. Epanastatiki Organosi 17 Noemvri

DESCRIPTION

17 November is a radical leftist group established in 1975 and named for the student uprising in Greece in November 1973 that protested the ruling military junta. 17 November is an anti-Greek establishment, anti-United States, anti-Turkey, and anti-NATO group that seeks the ouster of US bases from Greece, the removal of Turkish military forces from Cyprus, and the severing of Greece's ties to NATO and the European Union (EU).

ACTIVITIES

Initial attacks were assassinations of senior US officials and Greek public figures. They began using bombings in the 1980s. Since 1990, 17 November has expanded its targets to include EU facilities and foreign firms investing in Greece and has added improvised rocket attacks to its methods. It supported itself largely through bank robberies. A failed 17 November bombing attempt in June 2002 at the Port of Piraeus in Athens, coupled with robust detective work, led to the arrest of 19 members—the first 17 November operatives ever arrested. In December 2003, a Greek court convicted 15 members—five of whom were given multiple life terms—of hundreds of crimes. Four other alleged members were acquitted for lack of evidence. In September 2004, several jailed members serving life sentences began hunger strikes to attain better prison conditions.

STRENGTH

Unknown but presumed to be small.

LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION

Athens, Greece.

EXTERNAL AID

Unknown.

Source: U.S. Department of State. Country Reports on Terrorism. Washington, D.C., 2004.

SOURCES

Periodicals

Davenport, Coral M. "Elusive Terrorist Group Takes a Hit Finally." Christian Science Monitor. July 5, 2005.

Carassave, Anthee. "Arrest Destroys Noble Image of Guerilla Group in Greece." New York Times. July 29, 2005.

Web sites

CNN.com/World. "Last Key N17 Member Surrenders." 〈http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/05/greece..surrender/〉 (accessed September 14, 2005).

FAS Intelligence Resource Program. "Revolutionary Organization 17 November." 〈http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/17_nov.htm〉 (accessed July 29, 2005).

International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism. "Revolutionary Organization 17 November." 〈http://www.ict.org.il/organizations/orgattack.cfm?orgid=38〉 (accessed July 29, 2005).

MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Database. "Revolutionary Organization 17 November." 〈http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=101〉 (accessed September 14, 2005).