NORTHERN NOTES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 THESSALONIKI 000031

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SUBJECT: NORTHERN NOTES

REF: A) 08 THESSALONIKI 078, B) THESSALONIKI 030

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Following is a summary of last month's major developments in
Northern Greece:

EU ELECTIONS: GOVERNING ND LOSES GROUND TO FAR RIGHT IN NORTH


1. (SBU)In the June Euro-parliament elections, the governing
center-right New Democracy party suffered its biggest losses
ever in the traditional stronghold of northern Greece, declining
by more than 10% since the last Euro-elections of 2004.
Commentators attributed the result to rising popularity of far
right LAOS and nationalist "Pan-Hellenic Macedonian Front",
especially among disenchanted conservative voters. These parties
enjoyed their highest percentages of the vote in Thessaloniki,
with 9.82% and 4.5% respectively. ND scored poorly in Thrace as
well, apparently paying the price for the direct linkage of the
Vatopedi monastery scandal to the area (Vistonida lake, central
to the affair, is in Thrace) (Ref A).

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN NORTHERN GREECE INCREASES, LOCALS REACT
TO PLANS FOR SHELTERS IN THE REGION


2. (U)On June 21, local media reported that according to
Thessaloniki police, there are around 5,000 illegal immigrants,
including "bogus asylum seekers" living in Thessaloniki, mostly
from Albania, former Republics of the USSR and Africa. Police
report an increase of illegal immigrants' arrests of 30% for the
first half of 2009. Also, Thessaloniki police arrested 99
smugglers over the same period. During June, in different
incidents across Macedonia and Thrace, police arrested a total
of 114 illegal immigrants, including 10 minors from Iraq, and 15
smugglers, including a former police officer from Greece. GoG
announced last month it was planning to establish shelters for
illegal immigrants in Northern Greece. Among the locations the
local press mentioned, are the former facilities of the Voice of
America in the towns of Kavala and Xanthi. The news provoked
strong reactions from local media and citizens, some of whom
criticized the government for allegedly dumping problems on
northern Greece and destabilizing Thrace by increasing the
number of Muslims in the area.

NORTHERN GREEK BUSINESSES SERIOUSLY HURT BY FINANCIAL CRISIS



3. (U) On June 24, the Federation of Industries of Northern
Greece announced the results of a poll among 197 of its members,
concluding that 83% of those asked, feel that the operations and
results of their businesses have been affected negatively by the
current climate. Businesses complained of reduced sales and
profits, and serious liquidity problems. More than 50% of the
respondents have had to lay off personnel. Endangered
industries include textiles, fishing and fruit processing.


TRAFFICKING: GREECE-ALBANIA CONFERENCE ON FIGHTING CHILD
TRAFFICKING


4. (U) On June 15-16, the Greek MFA and Ministry of Health, the
local NGO "Arsis" and the OSCE Presence in Albania organized a
conference against child trafficking in the city of
Thessaloniki. The initiative followed the ratification by both
Parliaments of a bilateral agreement on the issue between the
two countries and was attended by government authorities and
NGOs from Greece and Albania. The organizers told post of their
intention to follow up with a conference in the fall in Albania.
Also, on June 19, local media reported that the Bulgarian
authorities arrested three Bulgarians for operating an infant
trafficking ring, whereby they sold newborns to couples from
Northern Greece. In another incident, on June 24, police
arrested two Bulgarians in Thessaloniki for apparently
trafficking a Bulgarian mother and her two minor children.

ARSON ATTACKS IN NORTHERN GREECE


5. (SBU) On June 1, unknown culprits torched two vans belonging
to the national TV station "ALPHA". On June 03, an improvised
incendiary device exploded at the entrance of the municipal TV
station. Minor damages caused and no arrests made. The
organization "Illegals' Convention/Ambassadors of Erebus"
claimed responsibility for the attack. On June 03, an
inflammable liquid set on fire two vehicles of the Hellenic
Telecommunications Organization. Material damages were caused.
The organization "Arsonists' Solidarity" claimed responsibility
for the attack. On June 09, an improvised incendiary device
exploded at the entrance of the Commercial Bank, causing minor
damage. On June 10, a similar explosion occurred at the
entrance of the Millenium Bank, causing minor damage. On June
25, unidentified people planted and set on fire four gas
canisters at the entrance of a Citibank branch in the town of
Kavala. The explosion and fire caused damage to the bank's

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equipment and furniture. On June 29, in the town of Xanthi,
three containers of hydrochloric acid were thrown at a balcony,
one floor below the local offices of New Democracy. Minor damage
was caused. On June 30, two explosive devices exploded under
two parked cars belonging to personnel of the Albanian Consulate
General. The cars were partly damaged, but no injuries occurred.

ARRESTS FOR SMUGGLING OF WEAPONS, EXPLOSIVES AND NARCOTICS


6. (SBU) On June 13, police arrested in Thessaloniki two Greeks
and a Bulgarian for heroin smuggling and dealing. Local media
reported the three had recently sold 10 kilos of heroin in the
area, while another 350 grams were found in their possession and
confiscated. On June 19, police arrested a Romanian national at
Thessaloniki's "Makedonia" airport, for trying to smuggle 4.5
kilos of heroin. According to the press, the culprit confessed
to having bought the drug in Turkey and planning to sell it in
the UK. On June 20, Greek police arrested four Bulgarians on the
Greek-Bulgarian border, for trying to smuggle into the country
three pistols, an AK47 and TNT. Police sources stressed there
was no indication of a terrorist connection, but it is likely
the arrested are members of a wider weapons smuggling ring. On
June 30, customs officers arrested a Lithuanian national on the
Greek-Turkish border carrying 7.5 kilos of heroin in his
luggage.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD RING DISMANTLED IN THESSALONIKI


7. (SBU) On June 10, police in the Northern Greek areas of
Thessaloniki and Halkidiki arrested 14 people (Macedonian,
Bulgarian and a Greek) on charges of credit card fraud and
confiscated hundreds of fraudulent cards in a home lab. Up to
the time of their arrest, the group had managed to make
withdrawals in excess of 500,000 by using skimming techniques.
According to police sources, since 2007, Thessaloniki police
have arrested a total of 44 people on credit card fraud charges,
making it one of the most successful European cities in fighting
credit card fraud.

ENFORCING IPR: POLICE CONFISCATE PIRATED MUSIC AND MOVIE DISCS


8. (U) In three different cases, police in northern Greece
arrested and fined six foreign nationals, four of them from
Pakistan, for possessing a total of 1,473 pirated CDs and DVDs.
The police confiscated the pirated material.

U.S CONSULATE GENERAL EVENTS AND INITIATIVES


9. (SBU) On June 01-04, the Consulate General, in co-operation
with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Commerce and the SECI
Center, organized a conference on trans-border cooperation and
Cyber Crime in the northern Greek town of Drama. Participants
included members of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary
from Albanian, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania,
Serbia and Turkey. (Ref b)

-- From June 04-08, the amphibious assault vessel USS Bataan
made the first official ship visit to the port of Thessaloniki
in three years. Post organized a series of events for the
occasion, including a well-attended reception, a media tour and
a friendly basketball game between the crew and a local police
team. Local reaction to the visit was enthusiastic. The press
reported it factually. The Communist Party of Greece issued a
statement "condemning" it.

-- On June 21, the Consulate General, in co-operation with the
American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association
(AHEPA) Greece, held a ceremony to unveil the new bust of
General James Van Fleet in the northwestern town of Kastoria.
The bust was first dedicated in Kastoria in 1955 in memory of
the General's contribution to the Greek Civil War. It was
destroyed in 1986 as was its replacement, in 1999. The
Consulate, AHEPA, local business people and the Van Fleet family
have collaborated for the past three years to erect a new bust
and build a small museum to house it, over the objections of a
small group of leftists who have, until now, successfully
intimidated Kastoria's municipal council from approving the
required permits. Local left-leaning papers have criticized the
initiative.

THRACE JOURNALIST PRAISES U.S. MULTI-ETHNIC MODEL FOLLOWING IV



10. (U) International Visitors program grantee and Thrace
journalist and municipal councilor Damon Damianos praised
America's success in creating a multi-ethnic society during an
interview with the local press following his return from the
United States, where he participated in the "Managing Diversity
in a Multi-Ethnic Society" program. In the interview, he
underlined his admiration for the advanced stage of civil

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society, the country's multicultural features and the high
levels of religious tolerance. Mr. Damianos, an outspoken
advocate of minority rights, said he would apply what he learned
in the U.S. to his efforts to promote multi-ethnicity in Thrace.
YEE