Clinton Visit to Greece Sparks Violence

Hundreds of anti-American protesters battled baton-wielding riot police and set stores and banks ablaze Friday as President Clinton rode through Athens in a tight security cocoon and proclaimed a “profound and enduring friendship” with Greece.

The riots were the most violent in downtown Athens in several years--and the worst of any of Clinton’s overseas trips.

Clinton, at an elegant dinner at the presidential palace a few blocks from the clashes, toasted Greece as an ally in every major international conflict of this century.

The violence erupted from bands of leftists and anarchists among more than 10,000 demonstrators blocked from marching on the U.S. Embassy in central Athens. Police hurled tear gas canisters at protesters who set up fiery roadblocks and hurled paving stones.

Clinton saw none of the unrest, which was broadcast live on television. Warmly greeted at the airport, he rode into town on police-lined streets that had been cleared of all traffic hours before. Clusters of onlookers watched impassively as his entourage rode by.

“I have come here as a fili mou--a friend of Greece,” the president said. “Through this visit, I want the American people to see the changing face of Greece, the powerhouse of southeast Europe.”

Clinton’s wife, Hillary, their daughter, Chelsea, and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright all were presented with bouquets of flowers as they walked down the red carpet from Air Force One.

At the state dinner with President Costis Stephanopoulos, Clinton said Greece and the United States “have forged a profound and enduring friendship” over the last 180 years. “As in all friendships,” Clinton said, “we have not always agreed but we have never broken ranks, because of our shared devotion to democracy and freedom.”

But anti-American sentiment runs deep. Many Greeks believe the United States favors rival Turkey in territorial disputes and war-divided Cyprus. Greeks also were angered by the U.S.-led bombing against Yugoslavia, and there are bitter memories of U.S. support for the old Greek military junta that crushed a student uprising in 1973.

Clinton’s primary objective here was to promote reconciliation between Greece and Turkey, particularly on Cyprus. He raised the issue repeatedly during a five-day visit to Turkey before flying here.

At the dinner, Stephanopoulos told Clinton, “We face no problems other than those created by the aggressive policies of Turkey.” He said Cyprus “is a problem which was created by Turkey’s military invasion of the island” in 1974.

The Greek government, embarrassed by the president’s reception, described the protests as the work of a minority that doesn’t represent the views of ordinary Greeks.