Greek Premier Calls Libya Raid Terrorist Act

Premier Andreas Papandreou today branded the U.S. bombing of Libya as a “terrorist action,” and said the Reagan Administration is trying to establish itself as the world’s police force.

In a speech to Parliament opening a debate on terrorism, the socialist Greek premier called for an international conference under U.N. auspices to define terrorism and work out effective measures to combat it.

He also said Palestinian violence should not be considered terrorism because it is part of “a national liberation struggle . . . for a homeland.”

Ties to Radical Arabs

Greece, which belongs to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has close ties with radical Arab states. Greece was the only member of the European Community to refuse to impose sanctions against Libyan diplomats.

“For us, terrorist actions include those that seek to destabilize another country’s political regime and that’s why we don’t sanction the bombing of Libya,” Papandreou said, referring to the April 15 U.S. bombing raids.

“Violence displayed in the framework of national liberation struggles doesn’t constitute terrorism,” the 67-year-old premier said as conservative deputies voiced noisy disapproval from the opposition benches.

He claimed the Reagan Administration’s efforts to set up a legal framework for making arrests in crimes committed outside the United States masked American intentions to exert pressure on other countries.

“These efforts conceal a reorganization of American power into a kind of general, worldwide police system against terrorism,” he said.

Papandreou expressed similar views during a visit to Athens by Syrian President Hafez Assad this week.