Europe experienced fewer terrorist incidents and casualties in 1999 than in
the previous year. Strong police and intelligence efforts--particularly in France,
Belgium, Germany, Turkey, and Spain--reduced the threat from Armed Islamic Group
(GIA), Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK), and Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorists in those countries.
Nonetheless, some European governments avoided their treaty obligations by neglecting
to bring PKK terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan to justice during his three-month
stay in Italy. Greece's performance against terrorists of all stripes continued
to be feeble, and senior government officials gave Ocalan sanctuary and support.
There were signs of a possible resurgence of leftwing and anarchist terrorism
in Italy, where a group claiming to be the Red Brigades took responsibility
for the assassination of Italian labor leader Massimo D'Antono in May.
In the United Kingdom, the Good Friday accords effectively prolonged the de
facto peace while the various parties continued to seek a resolution through
negotiations. The Irish Republican Army's refusal to abandon its caches of arms
remained the principal stumbling block. Some breakaway terrorist factions--both
Loyalist and Republican--attempted to undermine the process through low-level
bombings and other terrorist activity.
Turkey moved aggressively against the deadly DHKP-C, which attempted a rocket
attack in June against the US Consulate General in Istanbul. Following Abdullah
Ocalan's conviction on capital offenses, PKK terrorist acts dropped sharply.
The decrease possibly reflected a second-tier leadership decision to heed Ocalan's
request to refrain from conducting terrorist activity.
Albania
Despite Albania's counterterrorist efforts and commitment to fight terrorism,
a lack of resources, porous borders, and high crime rates continued to provide
an environment conducive to terrorist activity. After senior US officials canceled
a visit to Albania in June because of terrorist threats, Albanian authorities
arrested and expelled two Syrians and an Iraqi suspected of terrorist activities.
The men had been arrested in February and charged with falsifying official documents
but were released after serving a prison sentence.
In October, Albanian authorities expelled two other individuals with suspected
ties to terrorists, who officially were in the region to provide humanitarian
assistance to refugees. Albanian authorities suspected the two had connections
to Usama Bin Ladin and denied them permission to return to Albania.
Austria
As with many west European countries, Austria suffered a Kurdish backlash
in the aftermath of the arrest of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya on 16
February. Kurdish demonstrators almost immediately occupied the Greek and Kenyan
Embassies in Vienna, vacating the facilities peacefully the following day. Kurds
also held largely peaceful protest rallies in front of the US chancery and at
numerous other locations across the country. PKK followers subsequently refrained
from violence, focusing instead on rebuilding strained relations with the Austrian
Government and lobbying for Ankara to spare Ocalan's life. In addition to the
PKK, the Kurdish National Liberation Front--a PKK front organization--continued
to operate an office in Vienna.
In the fight against domestic terrorism, an Austrian court in March sentenced
Styrian-born Franz Fuchs to life imprisonment for carrying out a deadly letter-bomb
campaign from 1993 to 1997 that killed four members of the Roma minority in
Burgenland Province and injured 15 persons in Austria and Germany. Jurors unanimously
found that Fuchs was the sole member of the fictitious "Bajuvarian Liberation
Army" on whose behalf Fuchs had claimed to act.
In a shootout in Vienna in mid-September, Austrian police killed suspected
German Red Army Faction (RAF) terrorist Horst Ludwig-Mayer. Authorities arrested
his accomplice, Andrea Klump, and on 23 December extradited her to Germany to
face charges in connection with membership in the outlawed RAF, possible complicity
in an attack against the chairman of the Deutsche Bank, and involvement in an
attack against a NATO installation in Spain in 1988.
Belgium
In September, Belgian police raided a safehouse in Knokke belonging to the
Turkish terrorist group DHKP/C and arrested six individuals believed to be involved
in planning and support activities. During the operation officials seized false
documents, detonators, small-caliber weapons, and ammunition. All six detainees
filed appeals, and, at yearend, Belgian authorities released two of them. The
Turkish Government requested the extradition of one group member, Fehriye Erdal,
for participating in the murder in 1996 of a Turkish industrialist.
A claim made in the name of the GIA in July threatened to create a "blood
bath" in Belgium "within 20 days" if Belgian authorities did
not release imprisoned group members. Brussels took the threat seriously but
showed resolve in not meeting any of GIA's demands, and no terrorist acts followed
the missed deadline. In addition, a Belgian court in October convicted Farid
Melouk--a French citizen of Algerian origin previously convicted in absentia
by a French court as an accessory in the Paris metro bombings in 1995--for attempted
murder, criminal association, sedition, and forgery and sentenced him to imprisonment
for nine years. In the same month, Belgium convicted a second GIA member, Ibrahim
Azaouaj, for criminal association and sentenced him to two years in prison.
France
France continued its aggressive efforts to detain and prosecute persons
suspected of supporting Algerian terrorists or terrorist networks in France.
Paris requested the extradition of several suspected Algerian terrorists from
the United Kingdom, but the requests remained outstanding at yearend. In addition,
the French Government's nationwide "Vigi-Pirate" plan--launched in
1998 to prevent a repeat of the Paris metro attacks by Algerian terrorists--remained in effect. Under the plan, military personnel reinforced police security
in Paris and other major cities, particularly at strategic sites such as metro
and train stations and during holiday periods. Vigi-Pirate also increased border
controls and expanded identity checks countrywide.
French officials in January and February arrested David Courtailler and Ahmed
Laidouni, who had received training at a camp affiliated with Usama Bin Ladin
in Afghanistan. Laidouni, who also was charged in connection with the "Roubaix"
GIA Faction, and Courtailler remained imprisoned in France, and a French magistrate
was investigating their cases, although there is no known evidence that they
were planning a terrorist act.
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin vowed to increase France's already close and successful
cooperation with Spain to track down ETA terrorists taking refuge in or launching
attacks from France. French officials arrested some of ETA's most experienced
cadre and seized several large weapons and explosives caches. Nonetheless, in
September, ETA militants stole large quantities of explosives from an armory
in Brittany, some of which were later seized from ETA terrorists in Spain. In
late October, French officials arrested ETA terrorist Belen Gonzalez-Penalva,
believed to be involved in the car-bomb attack on 9 September 1985 against Spanish
security officials that also killed a US citizen. Gonzalez's capture followed
a celebrated arrest earlier in September in southwest France of ETA members
who may have been operating with Breton separatists. At yearend several senior
ETA Basque leaders were on trial in Paris.
On the judicial front, a special court in Paris in March tried and convicted
in absentia six Libyan terrorists for their involvement in the bombing in 1989
of UTA flight 772 over Niger and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The court
assessed Libya 211 million French francs to compensate the victims' families.
By midyear, Libya had transferred the payment to the French Government. France
filed lookout notices for the six convicted terrorists with INTERPOL. A French
court also allowed an investigating magistrate to file a civil suit on behalf
of the victims' families against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi for his alleged
complicity in the UTA affair.
Germany
German officials saw no signs of renewed leftwing terrorism in 1999. The
Red Army Faction (RAF) officially disbanded in March 1998, and authorities uncovered
no renewed RAF activity. Several former RAF members still were wanted by German
authorities, who assessed that the terrorists were willing to use violence to
avoid capture. In mid-September, Austrian police in Vienna killed suspected
German RAF terrorist Horst Ludwig-Mayer and arrested his accomplice Andrea Klump.
Klump was extradited to Germany for membership in the outlawed RAF, possible
complicity in an attack on the Deutsche Bank chairman, and involvement in an
attack against a NATO installation in Spain in 1988.
Officials have no evidence of organized, politically motivated rightwing terrorist
activity in Germany, but rightwing "skinheads" continued to attack
foreigners in 1999. The government stepped up efforts to combat xenophobic violence,
including trying some skinheads at the federal level and initiating a program
called the "German Forum to Prevent Criminality" to deal with the
social causes of violence. Some German states also set up antiterrorist police
units that successfully reduced attacks by skinheads.
German police took an active stance against terrorism in 1999. On 19 October
a special German commando unit apprehended the hijacker of an Egypt Air flight
after the plane landed in Hamburg. The perpetrator, who requested political
asylum in Germany, was slated to be tried in German courts. Officials had no
reason to believe the hijacker was linked to any terrorist organizations.
Germany showed far less resolve when it refused to seek extradition of PKK
terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan following his detention in Italy in November
1998 on a German INTERPOL warrant. The German Government refused to act because
it feared that a trial in Germany would cause widespread street violence, posing
an unacceptable threat to Germany's domestic security. This and other factors
eventually led the Italians to release Ocalan, whose subsequent flight to Russia
and Greece culminated in his capture in Kenya in February. News of Ocalan's
capture produced violent Kurdish protests throughout Germany, including demonstrations
against US diplomatic facilities and the storming of Greek, Kenyan, and Israeli
diplomatic missions. In Berlin, Israeli security personnel shot to death four
protesters who had stormed the Israeli Consulate General.
On the judicial front, the trial of five suspects charged in the bombing in
1986 against Labelle Discotheque in Berlin, which killed two US servicemen and
one Turkish citizen, progressed slowly in 1999. The trial may take several more
years to reach a conclusion.
On 1 September a German court convicted two members of the leftwing terrorist
group "Anti-Imperialist Cell" and sentenced them to lengthy jail terms
for their ties to a series of bombings in 1995 against several German politicians'
residences.
Greece
Greece remained one of the weakest links in Europe's efforts against terrorism.
Greece led Europe in the number of anti-US terrorist attacks in 1999 and ranked
second worldwide only to Colombia. Greek terrorists committed 20 acts of violence
against US Government and private interests in Greece and dramatically increased
their attacks against Greek and third-country targets. The absence of strong
public government leadership and initiatives to improve police capabilities
and morale contributed to the lack of breakthroughs against terrorists. Popular
opinion makers generally downplayed terrorism as a threat to public order, even
as terrorists continued to act with virtual impunity.
In attempting to help PKK terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan find safehaven,
senior government officials facilitated Ocalan's transit through Greece and
provided temporary refuge in the Greek Ambassador's residence in Nairobi. The
Foreign Minister, the Minister of Public Order, the Minister of Interior, and
the intelligence chief subsequently resigned for their roles in these actions.
After Ocalan's rendition to Turkey, the Greek Government extended political
asylum to two of Ocalan's associates. In March the terrorist group Revolutionary
Organization 17 November issued a communique blaming the Greek Government, among
others, for Ocalan's arrest and challenging the US Government to apprehend them.
NATO action against Serbia precipitated several months of violent anti-US and
anti-NATO actions in Greece. From March to May, Western interests suffered some
40 attacks. In early April a woman attempting to firebomb the US Consulate in
Thessaloniki was caught by an alert Consulate guard, but Greek authorities released
the woman after a few days' detention with a nominal fine. The incident was
the only arrest by Greek authorities for a terrorist act committed in 1999.
Later in the month, Greek police defused a bomb outside the Fulbright Foundation
in Thessaloniki. On 27 April a bomb exploded at the Intercontinental Hotel in
Athens, killing one Greek citizen and injuring another; a terrorist group known
as Revolutionary Nuclei claimed responsibility. Numerous bomb and other threats
against the US Embassy, Consulate, and the American Community School proved
to be hoaxes. In response to these incidents, the US Government issued a public
announcement in April advising US citizens and travelers of the security conditions
in Greece.
Although it never claimed responsibility, 17 November is suspected of conducting
seven rocket attacks and bombings against US, Greek, and third-country interests
from March through May. The targets included two offices of the governing PASOK
party; American, British, and French banks; and the Dutch Ambassador's residence.
A rocket attack in May on the German Ambassador's residence yielded excellent
forensic evidence, but the Greek police did not follow up aggressively and made
no arrests.
Numerous other terrorist attacks during the year involved the use of improvised
explosive or incendiary devices or drive-by shootings from motorcycles. President
Clinton's visit to Greece in November precipitated violent and widespread anti-US
demonstrations and attacks against US, Greek, and third-country targets.
Greece and the United States signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and, at
yearend, nearly had completed a police cooperation agreement. Newly appointed
Minister of Public Order Chrysochoidis met in July with US Coordinator for Counterterrorism,
Ambassador Michael Sheehan, to discuss improving counter-terrorist cooperation.
In an October visit to Washington, Chrysochoidis outlined plans to modernize
the Greek counterterrorist police. By yearend these promised reforms had not
yet yielded results. Greek counter-terrorist cooperation with the United States
and other Western nations will require substantially greater attention and commitment
if Greece is to achieve success.
On 23 December, Greek narcotics police arrested Avraam Lesperoglou, a suspect
in six murders and one attempted murder from the 1980s, after he arrived at
Athens airport under a false name. Lesperoglou was sentenced to three and one
half years on misdemeanor charges relating to his false documents and illegal
entry; a trial was pending on the more serious charges. Lesperoglou was believed
to be linked to Revolutionary People's Struggle and possibly other terrorist
groups.
Italy
The major domestic terrorist act in 1999 was the murder in May of Massimo
D'Antona, an adviser to Italy's Labor Minister, by individuals who claimed to
be from the Red Brigades, despite the leftist group's dormancy since 1988. Prime
Minister D'Alema subsequently said Italy had let down its guard on domestic
terrorism in the mistaken belief that homegrown terrorist groups no longer posed
a danger. He added that Rome was now working hard to identify and neutralize
the group that killed D'Antona.
In spite of that attack, Italy achieved some success against domestic terrorism
during the year. Italian law enforcement and judicial officials arrested and
sentenced several individuals tied to terrorist groups, while magistrates requested
that many more cases be opened in the year 2000. A notable success for Italian
security was a raid against the instigators of the demonstration on 13 May at
the US Consulate in Florence protesting NATO airstrikes in Kosovo. The instigators
included several members of the Red Brigades, Lotta Continua (The Continuous
Struggle), and the Cobas Union.
The Italian Government dealt ineptly in the matter of PKK terrorist leader
Ocalan, who arrived in Rome in November 1998 and requested political asylum.
Italian authorities detained him on an international arrest warrant Germany
had issued but declined a Turkish extradition request because Italy's Constitution
prohibits extradition to countries that permit capital punishment. The Italian
Government sought unsuccessfully to find a European trial venue while declining
to invoke the 1977 European counterterrorist convention to prosecute Ocalan
in Italy. Unable to find a third country willing to take the PKK leader, the
government simply told Ocalan he no longer was welcome in Italy.
Ocalan eventually left for Russia with the apparent assistance of Italian officials,
beginning an odyssey that culminated in his capture by Turkish security forces
in Kenya in February. Following Ocalan's arrest, PKK and other Kurdish sympathizers
held demonstrations--some violent--in several Italian cities, including the
Greek consulate in Milan. Since February, however, PKK followers were nonviolent
and focused on rebuilding strained relations with the Italian Government and
lobbying for Ankara to spare Ocalan's life.
The NATO bombing campaign against Serbia produced leftwing anger and some anti-US
violence. The leftist Anti-imperialist Territorial Nuclei, which formed in 1995
and was believed to be allied with former Red Brigades members, held several
anti-NATO, anti-US demonstrations. Militant leftists conducted some low-level
violence against US interests, such as vandalizing the US airbase at Aviano,
and issued public threats to US businesses located in Italy.
Spain
The terrorist group ETA ended its 14-month-old unilateral cease-fire on
27 November, and members of the group conducted low-level attacks in December.
Spanish security authorities intercepted two vans loaded with explosives and
reportedly headed for Madrid, detaining one driver. ETA and Spanish Government
representatives met in Switzerland in May but could not find common ground.
The ETA had hoped to use the talks to make progress toward its goal of Basque
self-determination and eventual independence, while Madrid pushed for the ETA
to declare a permanent end to terrorism and renewed its offer for relief for
the group's prisoners and exiles.
The Spanish Government energetically combated the ETA even as it sought a dialogue
with the terrorist group. Spanish law enforcement officials, working closely
with counterparts in France and other countries where ETA fugitives reside,
arrested several of the group's most experienced leaders and cadre and shut
down one of its last known commando cells. Spanish and French security forces
also confiscated large amounts of explosives, weapons, logistics, and targeting
information. Moreover, in late October, French authorities arrested terrorist
Belen Gonzalez-Penalva, believed to be involved in the car-bomb attack in 1985
against Spanish security officials that also killed a US citizen. Madrid's request
for extradition of accused ETA terrorist Ramon Aldasoro from the United States
was delayed by court appeals in 1998. Aldasoro finally was extradited to Spain
in late December 1999.
Spain's other domestic terrorist group, the First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance
Group (GRAPO), remained largely inactive in 1999, mounting only a few symbolic
attacks against property. The last major case involving GRAPO, the kidnapping
of a Zaragoza businessman in July 1995, remained unsolved.
Switzerland
On 29 January, Swiss authorities arrested Red Brigades activist Marcello
Ghiringhelli and a Swiss accomplice on suspected violations of the war materiels
law. Police seized several weapons and rounds of ammunition. The trial started
in La Chaux-de-Fonds in December. Italy requested the extradition of Ghiringhelli,
who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Italy.
Switzerland also was caught in the Kurdish backlash in the aftermath of Ocalan's
apprehension in Kenya on 16 February. That day about 70 Kurds stormed the Greek
Consulate in Zurich, taking hostage a policeman and the building's owner. The
same day, 30 to 100 Kurds occupied the Greek Embassy in Bern while another 200
protesters gathered outside. The occupiers carried canisters of gasoline and
threatened to immolate themselves but did not follow through. Both incidents
ended peacefully.
On 19 February several Kurds took two persons hostage at the Free Democratic
Party Headquarters in Bern but released them unharmed a few hours later. The
Swiss Government prosecuted the hostage takers in Bern and Zurich but took no
further action against the Kurdish protesters in the Greek Embassy because the
Greek Embassy did not press charges for trespassing or property damage. On 20
February, PKK sympathizers carried out several arson attacks against Turkish-owned
businesses and torched two trucks from Turkey in Basel. At yearend, police investigations
were pending. Since February, however, PKK followers were nonviolent, focusing
instead on rebuilding strained relations with the Swiss Government and lobbying
Ankara to spare Ocalan's life.
Ocalan's arrest, as well as the conflict in Kosovo, gave rise to several demonstrations
in front of the US Embassy in Bern. The Swiss Government took no action to ban
the events because the protests were organized lawfully, although not always
conducted as the organizers had promised. Bern, however, called up approximately
500 Swiss militia from March to November to guard the US and UN missions and
other embassies considered to be potential terrorist targets.
Turkey
Turkish authorities struck a significant blow against Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) terrorism in mid-February when PKK Chairman Abdullah Ocalan was
apprehended after he left his safehaven in the Greek Ambassador's residence
in Nairobi, Kenya. The Turkish State Security Court tried Ocalan in Turkey in
late June and sentenced him to death for treason, a decision the Supreme Court
of Appeals upheld in a ruling issued on 25 November. The government took no
further action on the sentence in 1999, although Turkish law requires that all
death sentences be ratified by Parliament and endorsed by the President. Ocalan's
lawyers requested the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) review the case.
The ECHR asked Turkey to delay a decision on whether Ocalan should be executed
until the Court completed its review.
Meanwhile, Ocalan launched a "peace offensive" in early August, requesting
a dialogue with Ankara and calling on PKK militants to end the armed struggle
against Turkey and withdraw from Turkish territory. The PKK's political wing
quickly expressed support for the move, and press reports indicated that several
hundred militants had left Turkey by October. In December, Turkish General Staff
Chief Kivrikoglu said that 500 to 550 PKK militants remained in Turkey. Although
the PKK exodus to neighboring Iran, Iraq, and Syria is an annual event, it usually
starts later in the fall, suggesting that the withdrawal in 1999 was tied to
Ocalan's announcement. In addition, two groups of about eight PKK members each
turned themselves in to Turkish authorities in October and November as a gesture
of goodwill and as a means of testing a new Turkish repentance law.
The leftwing Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) fell victim
to numerous Turkish counter-terrorist operations in 1999. Turkish police killed
two DHKP/C members in a shootout on 4 June as the terrorists prepared unsuccessfully
to fire a light antitank weapon at the US Consulate in Istanbul from a nearby
construction site. Authorities also arrested some 160 DHKP/C members and supporters
in Turkey and confiscated numerous weapons, ammunition, bombs, and bombmaking
materials over the course of the year, dealing a harsh blow to the organization.
Turkish authorities continued to arrest and try Islamist terrorists vigorously
in 1999. Nonetheless, militants from the two major groups--Turkish Hizballah,
a Kurdish group not affiliated with Lebanese Hizballah, and the Islamic Great
Eastern Raiders-Front--managed to conduct low-level attacks.
Meanwhile, there were at least two attempted bombings against Russian interests
in Turkey during 1999. On 10 December authorities discovered a bomb outside
a building housing the offices of the Russian airline Aero-flot in Istanbul.
The bomb weighed approximately 14 kilograms, was concealed in a suitcase, and
was similar to a bomb found on the grounds of the Russian Consulate in Istanbul
in mid-November. Turkish officials suspect that Chechen sympathizers were responsible.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom continued its aggressive efforts against domestic and
international terrorism in 1999. In December the Blair Government introduced
new national antiterrorist legislation meant to replace laws that had been developed
to combat terrorism in Northern Ireland. The bill, which is expected to become
law by midsummer 2000, would extend most provisions of earlier laws to all forms
of international and domestic terrorism. The police would have authority to
arrest, detain, confiscate evidence, and seize cash suspected of being used
to fund terrorist activities and designated terrorist organizations. The legislation
includes provisions for proscribing membership in terrorist groups.
The United Kingdom continued its close cooperation with the United States to
bring terrorists to justice. In 1999 the British Government detained numerous
individuals suspected of conducting anti-US violence and whom the United States
sought to extradite. At yearend, the United Kingdom was holding three of the
15 individuals indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges connected
with the bombings in 1998 of the US Embassies in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam.
In April the Libyan Government handed over the two Libyans charged with the
bombing in 1988 of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, after a joint
US-UK initiative enabled a Scottish court to sit in the Netherlands to try the
accused. Scottish authorities intend to charge the two Libyans with murder,
breach of the UK aviation security act, and conspiracy. The trial was set to
begin in May 2000.
In the immediate aftermath of the arrest in February of PKK leader Abdullah
Ocalan in Kenya, PKK members and supporters staged violent demonstrations in
London, and militants occupied the Greek Embassy for two days. British officials
subsequently arrested 79 individuals and suspended the broadcast license for
Med-TV, a Kurdish satellite television station tied to the PKK. Following subsequent
broadcasts that were deemed inflammatory, authorities revoked Med-TV's license.
Since February, PKK followers were peaceful, focusing instead on rebuilding
strained relations with the British Government and lobbying for Ankara to spare
Ocalan's life.
Washington's ties to London and Dublin played a key role in facilitating historic
political developments in the Northern Ireland peace process that resulted in
a significant decline in terrorist activity. Following a year of intense negotiations
and a review of the entire peace process by former US Senator George Mitchell,
Britain devolved power to Ulster, Ireland, and gave up its constitutional claim
to Northern Ireland; the Catholic and Protestant parties agreed to govern Ulster
together in a joint Executive, which held its inaugural meeting on 13 December.
Much of the contention between the parties was, and remains, about how to address
the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, including the issue of decommissioning
paramilitary weapons.
Republican and Loyalist paramilitary splinter groups, including the Continuity
IRA, the Real IRA, the Red Hand Defenders, and the Orange Volunteers, continued
terrorist activities during the year. These included punishment attacks on civilians
as well as actions against police, military, and security personnel. Among the
most heinous attacks was the car-bombing murder on 15 March of Rosemary Nelson,
a prominent lawyer and human rights campaigner. Although it is widely assumed
that hardline loyalist paramilitaries were responsible, no charges were filed
in the case. The British Government said that a scaling back or normalization
of the security presence in Northern Ireland will be linked to a reduction of
the security threat there.
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