Special Examining Magistrate Takes On Case Of George Karatzaferis

A special examining magistrate is going to be assigned on the case of the inaccurate source of wealth ("pothen esches") statement that was submitted by LAOS leader George Karatzaferis. It should be reminded that Karatzaferis is accused of receiving the amount of 1.6 million euros in two installments in 2007 and 2008, via the offshore company Catalina Ltd which he allegedly owned jointly with his son. The remittances, claim the same press reports, were allegedly sent by entrepreneur Alexandros Tsatsos who together with entrepreneur Stavros Komnopoulos, who appear as the middlemen for the purchase by the state of four Super Puma helicopters in late 2000 that cost roughly 64 million euros. Both businessmen as well as three retired military officers are expected to also be summonsed to testify (after January 12th). All five face charges of active and passive bribery as well as money laundering.

(The French company reportedly acted as a middleman in the purchase of four AS 332 CI Super Puma helicopters from the Eurocopter firm in 2000, which cost a whopping 61,741,925 million euros, with a juicy 5.5 million euro commission.)

If one goes back a few years, then everything becomes perfectly clear. It is a well known fact that when LAOS was in Parliament, Karatzaferis, and the members of his party (who today defected over to the ND party), often expressed a special interest in the supplies of the armed forces. The interest was so pressing that on April 28th, 2011 the Minister of National Defense who at the time was Evangelos Venizelos, was forced to publicly admit that Karatzaferis often visited him to ask when Greece would receive two submarines. Later on in Parliament he would skillfully encourage his MPs to ask questions on the matter. Also, the leader of LAOS more or less defended Akis Tsohatzopoulos (in Parliament) and even his off shore companies. (Tsochatzopoulos is serving time for accepting kickbacks and bribes in the sale of defence systems as well).

Some readers of HellasFrappe have criticized our blog for being very critical with Karatzaferis. Indeed we have been on more than one occasion, but we did not do this out of menace or prejudice. We also did not do this because he was a rival to former PM Costas Karamanlis, whom we still support. The reason we were highly critical over Karatzaferis in the past is because we constantly questioned the origin of his vast wealth. We were never convinced -and through our countless articles- often hinted that he was "selling" something else other than a few political lines to his voters. From what we see, we were spot on. He was indeed buying and selling everything from people to defence systems.

In the mid 1980s Karatzaferis was supposedly combating the state television monopoly and had joined a so-called anti-propaganda machine against PASOK. He wandered through the streets with a camera and would make his own news bulletins, the tapes of which he would later “sell” (make your own conclusions on what exactly it was he was selling and to whom -and at what price-).

His efforts may have been quite amateur at the time, and downright silly, but he always gave the impression to (a large percentage of his audience that is) that he was fighting for free information and freedom of speech. His theatrical and charismatic skills paid off and in no time he established his own television channel which in all honesty was hardly noticed by the general public.

Most people would agree that he has audacity, and always comes across as being very blunt. This is probably why he created a school of nationalists who were infused with neoliberal and neodemocratic ideologies through his channel.

This all developed even further when Christodoulos was elected as the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece. At the time, Karatzaferis -being the opportunist that he was/is-, decided to put on his best Christian suit. The moralistic, religious and nationalistic turn of Greek society, with its congregations, banners and protests over ID cards that occurred at the height of Christodoulos' reign as Archbishop, and it was manipulated (100 percent) by Karatzaferis. He actually was portrayed as the defender against the New World Order -especially during the period 1996-2004 or during Costas Simitis’ rule, and later on as the protector of the Orthodox faith (since at least 95 percent of the Greek population is Orthodox).

In the same period, Karatzaferis also purposely collided with his own party leader Costas Karamanlis, and after literally insulting him with obnoxious and sexual innuendos he was luckily expelled from the conservative party and never allowed to return.

So Karatzaferis did what he does best, he decided to bank on the opportunity and following the elections in 2000 he established the LAOS party. He went door to door and spoke to many people preaching about what is honorable and at the time quite a few people bought in on his play, especially in Northern Greece. So much so that during the municipal elections in 2002, his forces strengthened further. At some point the Golden Dawn party began to become active as well and it is a well known fact that some members from GD found their way on his ballots.

After receiving 14% of the vote, Karatzaferis the puritan and defender of all that is good and just -and who today is ready to be charged with money-laundering- transformed again and this time became a preacher of morals, nationalism, sensationalism and the defender of the status quo. Who can forget the summer of 2002 when he wandered from television station to television station indicating possible terrorist hideouts? Just 12 years later the man who manipulated the slogan "country, religion, family" (patris, thriskeia, oikogeneia), is set to be charged for taking millions of Euros (or Greek payers tax money) in kickbacks and bribes!

It is almost too comical. In the day he would promote the cross that decorated his emblem, swear allegiance to the country, the church and the nation and at night he would discuss what types of defence systems were better for Greece, given that he received a kickback or two.

Frappers, the case of Karatzaferis is just another example of the fading credibility of Greece's political system. This grand (lying) moralist was fooling society in the worst possible way, and we cannot say that we are upset that his true face has finally been revealed.

Opportunists such as Karatzaferis are too obvious to us and we knew from day one that he was dipping into the honey jar while pretending to preach the truth. Again, this was not because we were more inclined to Costas Karamanlis -who was and forever will be a big rival of Karatzaferis- but because we knew in our gut that it was all fake.

Over the last few weeks many startling facts about his wealth have surfaced and one would think that he would have the decency to explain himself, or to at least offer to give back this money to the state. Unfortunately he hasn't and the few words that he has muttered are only to defend his own likelihood. We are not convinced, on the contrary we believe that all he is doing is buying some time in order to prepare for the storm ahead. All this from the man who defended George Papandreou with a menace in 2008 against Karamanlis, who a few years later signed the First Memorandum and endorsed it on all levels, and the man who always placed the Mitsotakis family -and especially Dora Bakoyianni- above Costas Karamanlis.

Let us hope that the investigation continues and may it reveal the responsibilities of those who are implicated. This bribery scourge, which obviously flourished for many years in this sector, has to finally come to an end.

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PROVOCATION - Greek-Turkish Dogfight Over Aegean

A challenging dogfight accompanied by a dozen or so of violations over the Aegean were performed today by the Turkish Air Force. Specifically six Turkish F-16, two of which were fully loaded, illegally entered Greek air space and challenged the Hellenic Air Force by attempting to cause a virtual showdown (but at the same time also check their readiness).

The dogfight occurred North-West of Lesvos. According to the military news site defencenet, two Greek Mirage 2000-5 that had taken off from the island of Skyros came face to face with two fully armed Turkish F-16s that had taken off from Bali Kesir.

The dogfight began at 20,000 feet and then reached 10,000 feet, lasting only five minutes but our skillful pilots did us proud and the pushed back the Turkish planes towards the Turkish coast, or to the limits of Greece's FIR.

Senior officers of the Hellenic Air Force who monitored the dogfight said that the men who were flying the Mirage 2000-5s from the 331st Squadron had "an easy day today."

Reference in Greek - defencenet

Fighter Jet Crashes Off of Crete, Pilots Rescued

Two pilots who successfully ejected from their fighter jet just before it crashed off the coast of Crete, were rescued by the Hellenic Air Force and then transferred to Athens for medical examinations. According to reports their health is not in danger.

The same reports claim that the F16 had taken off early on Thursday morning for a training mission and during the flight, the trainer-pilot noticed a problem with the plane's engine and attempted to restore it. Unfortunately he was not successful so he decided to eject from the aircraft 22 nautical miles off the island of Gavdos (the southernmost part of Greece).

The same reports say that the pilots alerted the air force of their accident and location, and a helicopter was dispatched to scene at 14:40 local time on Thursday.

OPINION - Are Plans By Greek Officials To Purchase Israeli Drones A Moral Dilemma?

The Greek police is apparently eager to acquire unmanned aircraft from Israel in the framework of monitoring its borders as well as enhancing its policing efforts throughout the country says reporter Apostolis Fotiadis at PressProject, but there is a moral question involved as the technology under consideration has, most likely, been tested in combat situations in Gaza and elsewhere.

By Apostolis Fotiadis - The acquisition of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, by the Greek police will top the agenda during Wednesday’s visit to Israel by Public Order Minister Vassilis Kikilias.

According to a report in the Sunday To Vima newspaper, the government is mulling over the details of the ‘Kikilia's plan’ to create a network of drones, without however clarifying the details and how far the plan has developed. The new equipment will be employed to monitor the borders and to keep an eye on targets - either related to terrorism or high-level crime - within the country.

However, the antiquated way which anti-terrorism decrees are interpreted - in Greece and in many other European countries - raises questions as to who and how many targets will be monitored by these aircraft once they are deployed. Almost certainly they will delivered within 2015.

The purchase of the drones has been dubbed the ‘Kikilia's plan’ because he happens to be the minister now. But the idea for the purchase of drones by the Greek police predates his arrival at the ministry and was hatched many years before at a demonstration of drones organised by Frontex in Aktio on October 17- 21, 2011.

Indeed there was a fuss when it was later revealed in the press that the European organisation had paid for the expenses of the companies that took part in the presentation (Israel Aerospace Industries, Lockheed Martin, FAST Protect AG, L-3 Communications, FLIR Systems, SCOTTY Group Austria, Diamond Airborne Sensing, Inmarsat, Thales, AeroVision, AeroVironment, Altus, BlueBird) to transport and present their equipment to Greek as well as officials of other European police forces, meaning potential buyers.

Frontex had said at the time that the companies had received between  €10,000 to €198,000 to participate in the demonstration. Senior Frontex officials saw no wrongdoing in the promotion of these products since it is covered under the push to promote research and development in the domain of security. The European Commission held a similar position on the matter .

Two Israeli companies participated at Aktio with their own aircraft. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) with the Heron model and a partnership between Israeli ‘BlueBird’ and Greek ‘Altus LSA’ presenting  ‘Spylite’.

This appeared to be the first time that Greek authorities expressed interest in the supply of drones, according to Kathimerini newspaper . The paper’s report said the presentation took place in February 2012 (instead of October which is the actual date). This was possibly because IAI delayed to upload the press release referring to its participation at the presentation. The paper said ‘the idea to purchase unmanned aircraft was hatched in the period when ‘The Indignados’ were gathering at Syntagma Square’ - in other words, a few months before the demonstration.

While in this report by Kathimerini last July, it appeared that the Greek police was interested in IAI’s  Heron model - a large aircraft that takes off and lands on a runway, the  model (not named) reported in To Vima ‘has a length of 1 to 4 metres, a flight radius  ranging from 30 to 300 km, a velocity of more than 40 km/hour and a surveillance capacity of over 1klm’ which can be transported with station bases and special launchers for taking off.

These specifications are very similar (though not identical) to those of Spylite model of Bluebird and with another two mini-UAV Bluebird models.

The To Vima report also came with a photo of an ‘airborne target’ model that takes off from a launcher - which Altus LSA participates in its production.

The airborne target-several photos of which are posted on the company’s site - is used in tests for terrestrial and airborne anti-aircraft systems but it is not an ‘unmanned aircraft’.

According to EU documents, the ALTUS LSA also appears as a partner of Greek police in a plan to deploy unmanned aircraft. On April 28 and 29 this year, a meeting was held in Athens, during Greece’s presidency, of the European Network of Law Enforcement Technology Services (ENLETS). The minutes at the  meeting stated clearly that “members of ENLETS were presented with the ‘pilot programme of unmanned aircraft for the monitoring of borders’ by the Greek police and Altus-LSA”.

Until now, there has been no official briefing or media reports about the existence of this programme  which has been described as  classified. The purchase of drones from an Israeli company by the Greek government carries with it the risk of acquiring equipment which uses technology that has been tested in repeated operations in Gaza.

The two versions presented to Greek police officials present this risk. It has been proven that an upgraded Heron model, Heron TP - Eitan  which has been designed as a bomber, took part in operations in the region. Similarly, all the mini-UAV of Bluebird are equipped with ‘combat proven’ technology,  according to the company. According to  the researcher David Cronin , this is the term used by companies to indicate that their equipment has been used by the Israeli army in monitoring and bombing operations.

The UN, Amnesty International and a host of other organisations have either accused or warned Israel that operations in Gaza could constitute war crimes. The moral issue does not concern just the Greek government but European authorities as well.

The completion of the project, which will cost dozens of millions of euros, will be co-funded by the new European Security Fund which has earmarked €1.4 bln for similar programmes. The monitoring of the EU’s borders is a strategic target of the Union and it is  being promoted in cooperation with member states.

The author, Apostolis Fotiadis, is a journalist and an independent researcher. His first book on the Militarization of European Immigration policy will be published soon.

PressProject

Greek Chief of Staff Elected President of EU Military Committee

The Greek Chief of Staff General Michael Kostarakos was recently appointed as the new president of the European Union Military Committee. Kostarakos was a clear favorite in the election and secured his election against a Spanish Admiral and Finnish Lieutenant General with ease in the first round.

The European Union Military Committee is the EU’s highest tier military body and directs all EU military activities and provides the Political and Security Committee (PSC) with advice and recommendations on military matters. The Committee is composed of the Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) of EU Member States, who are regularly represented by their permanent Military Representatives (MilReps). The European Union Military Committee has a permanent Chairman, selected by the Chiefs of Defense of the Member States and appointed by the Council.

Turkish-Greek dogfight Over Aegean - Turkish Sub. Sails Round Cyprus EEZ

Turkish fighter jets chased a Greek civil aviation aircraft over the island of Samos in the eastern Aegean, Real FM reported on Wednesday.  National Defence Minister Nikos Dendias, who at the time was flying from the nearby island of Chios to Psara, told reporters that two Turkish F16 harassed a Greek civil aviation aircraft.

The chase apparently transformed into a dogfight with Greek fighter jets following Turkish planes over the island of Mykonos.

The report on Real Fm said that Tactical Airforce Headquarters chief Christos Vaitsi spoke with his Turkish counterpart on the "red line" and Turkey explained that the Turkish pilot acted on his own initiative.

(Of course anyone with a half a brain... doesn't buy into the Turkish Chief's excuse and knows very well that Ankara is trying to provoke the Greek side into reacting so that it can raise the tension even more in the East Mediterranean.)

Meanwhile, a Turkish submarine suspiciously escaped from the ongoing NATO military exercises that are currently being held in the Eastern Mediterranean and began sailing in the Cape Greco sea area.

A report from the military news site defencenet said that The Turkish submarine, Burakreis S 359, abandoned the NATO Exercise "Blue Whale" because the Turkish navy officials "felt" that this was the right thing to do.

The submarine did not update NATO as required and approached the Cypriot coast, or arrived in the Cape Greco area. It then began to sail around plots 3 and 13 of Cyprus' EEZ, and the greater area.

NATO officials are annoyed by the Turkish behavior but they are continuing with the naval exercises, and not necessarily slapping Turkey on the wrists for doing so.

(It is obvious that NATO is not at all concerned with Turkish aggression towards Greece and/or Cyprus and for yet another time, turns the other cheek whenever Ankara decides to throw its weight around in the Aegean.)

Secret Offshore Companies, Kickbacks & The Case of Karatzaferis

In Wednesday's editorial in the To Vima newspaper we read that the ongoing investigation into George Karatzaferis’ involvement in off-shore companies, from which significant sums were circulated by arms dealers, if confirmed, demonstrates that the commission from weapons sales are far more widespread than what one could imagine. It should be reminded that Karatzaferis heads the extreme right LAOS party.

The investigation, says the same report, also reveals that the interest in “national” issues does not just stem on patriotism, but rather on more mundane and selfish motives.

It is a fact that Karatzaferis and his party expressed a special interest in the supply of defence systems to the Hellenic Armed Forces, but as we can all see, they didn't really do this because they were patriots, because there were offshore accounts and kickbacks involved.

HellasFrappe has highly criticized the LAOS party over the past three years because we did not buy into their patriotic rhetoric. We knew that there were other interests at play when they suddenly and surprisingly made their way into the Greek parliament. Also, HellasFrappe has always felt that Karatzaferis was nothing more than an opportunist who would even sell his own siblings for the right price.

We have been vindicated because according to the article in To Vima the biggest dilemma of the LAOS party was their interest in our Greek defence systems. The article states that it was was so pressing that on April 28th, 2011, Evangelos Venizelos who at the time held the post of Defense Minister, under the Papandreou government, was forced to publicly declare how Karatzaferis visited him and asked him to receive two submarines. He later made his MPs ask questions on the matter.

During this period the armaments scandal erupted starring former PASOK Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos (who today is serving a jail-term for his involvement). While this was going on, Karatzaferis, reveals the paper, more or less defended Tsohatzopoulos in Parliament and also defended the off shore companies that were being questioned.

Let us make it more simple. Where there is smoke there is usually fire.

There are just too many coincidences in conjunction with the extensive special interest in supply programs, and all the reports over the last two days that suggest that a political figure is unfairly being targeted are groundless. Karatzaferis will finally be exposed, whether some forces of interests like it or not.

Let us hope that the investigation sheds light and finally yields results. Let us also hope that it will expose the responsibilities of all of those who throughout these years manipulated the state system in order to fatten their wallets.

This bribery scourge, which appears to have flourished for many years in the defence sector, must finally come to an end.

At the same time though, a meaningful solution must be found for the farce that is the asset declaration of politicians (otherwise known as the "pothen esches"). The data that is usually included in these declarations never reveals anything, nor is it ever inspected. It is this very lack of transparency and the comparing financial conditions that have over time rendered the asset declaration an unreliable paper chase.

It is the responsibility and duty of all politicians, for their own protection and credibility to safeguard their prestige and reputation and to establish an inspection framework that is not going to allow anyone to conceal illegally acquired assets and/or funds.

Reference: The To Vima newspaper

Greek Reply To Turkish War Threat - We Have Our Own Rules of Engagement!

The Turkish government apparently authorised the county’s navy to implement recently amended Rules of Engagement to alledgedely "deal with" the tensions over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, press reports from Ankara said on Sunday. Speaking at the Eastern Mediterranean Military Exercise (Blue Whale-2014), hosted by Turkey, Bostanoglu sent a chilling warning to Greece and Cyprus. He said that the Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmed Davutoglu handed the Rules of Engagement to the Chief of General Staff and the Chief of Staff then passed them on to the Naval Forces Command.

In simple terms, Turkey has prepared itself for war, and Bostanoglu left it to be understood that Turkey will not stop with its activities in the eastern Mediterranean, while he also had the audacity to state that Turkish forces will keep a close eye on Greek Cypriot oil research vessels in Cyprus' very own EEZ.

     "We will act in line with these Rules of Engagement in the event we face a situation over this issue” he said and added: “Our naval forces elements will continue their mission of situational awareness in the region.” 

The Vice Admiral stated that Turkey’s Rules of Engagement, which had been modified in 2012 when a Turkish fighter jet was shot down by the Syrian army, would apply to Naval forces if there was any disturbance over Cyprus.

     “The Turkish Naval Forces is providing support and close protection to the Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa Research Vessel. On the other hand, it continues to keep the drill ship hired by the Greek Cypriot administration under surveillance from nine kilometers’ distance. The order given to us for the moment is not to enter into this nine-kilometer area. That’s why no incident of harassment or disturbance has occurred,” he added.

In Athens, the Greek government attempted to downplay the comments and left it to be understood that there were made for Turkey's own domestic consumption as a response to the signing of the Cairo Declaration between Greece, Cyprus and Egypt one day earlier.

(It should be reminded that the joint communique that was issued by all three nations on Saturday urged Turkey to respect the sovereignty of the three countries as well as to cease its provocative surveys and similar future activities in Cyprus' EEZ.)

On Monday, President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias would receive Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Venizelos in order to discuss all the recent developments in our foreign policy. Undoubtedly, the recent trilateral summit in Cairo with Egypt and Cyprus will be at the top of the agenda, along with the delineation of Exclusive Economic Zones.

A short while before the meeting, a report on defencenet, citing Pentagon sources, said that Greece also released its own Rules of Engagement (answering Ankara's threats of war). The report said that the focus is now on the southeastern Aegean and especically in the area of Kastelorizo. ​​

     “Greece also has its own Rules of Engagement, approved by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, not only for the Aegean Sea but also for the South-East Mediterranean in defense of Greek national interests. It would a surprise for us if  Turks had not such rules,” the report on defencenet said.

Between Oct. 20 and Oct. 23, the Russian, Israeli and Greek Cypriot navies conducted a joint naval exercise covering air defense, underwater attacks and anti-submarine operations and developed joint operational procedures. The Russian anti-submarine vessel Kulakov, the flagship of Russia's Mediterranean fleet, and Novorcherkassk, a landing vessel of Russia's Black Sea fleet, participated in these exercises, during which live rockets were fired.

NATO and Turkey were quick to respond. The low-profile "Blue Whale" exercise by a small Turkish naval element and a US logistics ship will be repeated with much larger participation Nov. 6-14.

A report in Al-Monitor claims that Comparing the two exercises, it's notable that while the Russia-Israel-Greek Cypriot joint exercise focused on undersea warfare, NATO’s will focus on surface and underwater reconnaissance, surveillance and anti-submarine warfare. In short, while Russia is trying to develop its military capacity to operate in the eastern Mediterranean without being detected, NATO is working to develop ways to detect Russian moves in advance

Turkish military sources who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity drew attention to several important points. They said that military activity in the eastern Mediterranean has increased to dangerous levels since October. It has become almost routine for warships of rival countries to try to force each other to alter their courses in international waters, send low-altitude flights over rival warships, instigate dog fights in the sky and lock weapons-guiding radar onto each other's vessels. All these point to heightened risks of clashes in the region.

To sum it all up, the Syrian crisis, the Israeli-Palestinian problem, the continuing division of Cyprus, disputes between Israel and Lebanon and between Turkey and Greek Cypriots on the exclusive economic zone and disagreements on resource rights in international waters are all heating up the eastern Mediterranean and jeopardizing the security of critical maritime trade routes. Regional rivalries over $1.5 trillion worth of hydrocarbon reserves is gradually militarizing the issue. The global competition between Russia, which wants to preserve its interests in the Mediterranean, and NATO, which wants to avoid a Ukraine-style fait accompli, are intensifying the conflict. States with interest in the area each appear to consider the eastern Mediterranean "their waters" and will try to impose their views through both diplomatic and military moves.

One can only hope that the pilots of rival air forces and the captains of the warships that frequently encounter each other in the eastern Mediterranean will continue to be not only skilled professionals but also astute politicians with honed diplomatic skills.

Combined reports from: enikos.gr, Hurriyet, Al-Monitor, ANA-MPA and ProtoThema.gr

BUSTED: Karatzaferis, Two Offshore Accounts, & Purchases of Military Helicopters

The Kestrel company (which is a representative of French companies such as MBDA, Eurocopter etc. and by the manufacturer of firefighting CL-415 Canadair air crafts), apparently sent remittances of well over EUR 1,650,000 during two different instances to offshore companies that (behold) belong to the leader of the extreme right LAOS party, George Karatzaferis, according to Greek judicial officials.

More exactly, and based on new evidence that surfaced following an extensive judicial investigation, the case concerns the supply of AS 332 Super Puma helicopters for the Hellenic Air Force in 2000. The relevant documents, of which have apparently been sent to the Greek Parliament, will now be examined (and determine) whether or not the President of LAOS included these two companies (as well as the shady remittances) in his "pothen esches" (or origin of wealth statement), and if he also included the two offshore accounts which were unknown until today.

It has to be noted that Karatzaferis was not an MP when this transaction apparently occurred (he was ousted by the ND party prior to this incident.) 

At least one remittance has already been identified in one of these two offshore accounts.

This is the first time that offshore companies have been identified and directly been linked to a party leader.

The payments were made ​​by the Kestrel company, which includes shareholders such as Alexander Tsatsos and Stavros Komnopoulos. Following Th. Liakounakou's AXON company, it is reported that Kestrel is the second largest company that manufacturers various weapon systems. The company is said to also be involved in other industries such as the health sector (Metropolitan hospital), as well as invests heavily in yacht companies.

It should be reminded that the former deputy director of armaments at the Ministry of National Defense, Antonis Kantas, has already testified that he was bribed by a total of 10 weapons dealers, or representatives of defence system companies, with hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Euros in kickbacks.

During Kantas’s first testimony to magistrates, in mid-December 2013 (check links below), he had implicated many names in this MEGA scandal, but he had also described how senior politicians, even from the same party, often took differing positions over defense contracts during public debates. For instance, when the purchase of new fighter planes was being discussed in the Greek Parliament, and according to Kantas' testimony, some Greek politicians would support one tender more than the other.

As mentioned above, S. Komnopoulos, who is a major shareholder at Kestrel, has been noted by Kantas and reported to be involved in this armaments scandal.

After the news about the two offshore accounts hit the press, George Karatzeferis said he did not deny the ownership of the two offshore accounts but stated, (in his own defence), that he does not know A. Tsatsos and S. Komnopoulos.

Stay tuned Frappers, the plot is thickening day by day.

Reference in Greek - Defencenet

If you want to find out more about this scandal then we propose that you also read:

BUSTED - Greece SUES German Arms Manufacturer For Faulty Submarines
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/06/busted-greece-sues-german-arms.html

Kantas faces new bribery & money laundry charges in arms scandal
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/02/kantas-faces-new-bribery-money-laundry.html

PLOT THICKENS - Head of German Industry Lobby Implicated in Greek Arms Scandal
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/01/plot-thickens-head-of-german-industry.html

ARMS SCANDAL: Did Kantas Implicate Former PM Mitsotakis?
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/02/arms-scandal-was-former-pm-mitsotakis.html

SHOCK - 24 million Euros Kickback Given To Government Minister!
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/01/shock-24-million-euros-kickback-given.html

Armaments Scandal - Shipowner Michalis Matados Charged Of Money Laundering
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/01/armaments-scandal-shipowner-michalis.html

More Arrested Over Bribery & Kickbacks Claims In Arms Deals
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/01/more-arrested-over-bribery-kickbacks.html

Russian Arms Exporter Denies Links to Greek Arms Bribe Scandal
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2014/01/russian-arms-exporter-denies-links-to.html

SPECIAL REPORT - Kantas EXPOSES Massive German-Greek Web of Corruption In Defence Contracts
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/12/special-report-kantas-exposes-massive.html

TRAGEDY - Three Greek officers killed, one injured by mortar shell blast

According to the state news agency, three Greek infantry officers, two professional sergeants, aged 33 and 34, and a 19-year-old Navy corporal doing his national service, were killed by a mortar shell blast at 13:30 on Tuesday, during planned firing of heavy infantry guns using 81-mm mortar rounds on the 'Glafyra' firing range in Magnesia, central Greece.

As such, Defence Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos declared three days of mourning in the Armed Forces and the defence ministry political and military leadership has extended its condolences to the families of the victims.

The news dispatch also said that a 30-year-old lieutenant, who was taken to Volos Hospital. Until the time of print, it was noted that the officer's life was not at risk and his injuries were confined to the outer wall of the abdomen.

Later on, a Hellenic Army General Staff (HAGS) announcement said the accident occurred due to the splitting of a mortar tube during firing.

Deputy Defence Minister Ioannis Lambropoulos and the head of HAGS Lieut. Gen. Christos Manolas rushed to the scene.

Parallel to this, Larissa Court-Martial Prosecutor was briefed on the accident and an inquiry was ordered by the military leadership into its precise causes.

Opposition Communist Party of Greece (KKE) also expressed grief and extended condolences to the families of the victims who lost their lives in such a tragic way.

Greeks Fight Alongside Ukraine's Donetsk People’s Republic

Volunteers from Greece are among the representatives of various nationalities in the ranks of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) indepedence forces, the Athens Courier newspaper reported. According to the newspaper, there is a large community of Greeks in the east of Ukraine, who have suffered as much as other residents of the region and many of them fled for Russia’s Rostov and Kuban regions.

     “Pontic Greeks, who live in Greece, should be concerned with the fate of the Greeks living in Mariupol, which is trapped under the shelling [and other firing] of the Kiev-Lviv punishers,” the paper reported.

It is also noted in the paper that apart from Greeks, two battalions of Serbs and even 25 US citizens are fighting for “traditional human values” alongside militia in southeast Ukraine.

According to earlier reports, within the Vostok Battalion, DPR’s most prominent defense force, are volunteers from Spain, Italy, France, Spain, Canada, Russia and Poland.

The former DPR Prime Minister Alexander Borodai stated on his Facebook webpage that volunteers are especially needed to help residents and for the restoration of infrastructure in the region.

Since mid-April the Ukrainian government has been conducting a military operation in the east of Ukraine to suppress independence supporters who refused to acknowledge the new government that came to power after a coup that took place in Ukraine on February 22.

Thousands of civilians have died as a result of the confrontation. Moscow has repeatedly condemned the operation and urged for a ceasefire to prevent further casualties, sending a humanitarian convoy to war-torn eastern Ukraine, delivering about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid.

RIA Novosti

BREAKING - Greek Fighter Jet Crashes In Area Between Rhodope and Evros - Pilot Safe

A report on SKAI television said on Tuesday morning that a Hellenic Air Force fighter jet was seen crashing to the ground during various military exercises that have been taking place in the area between Rhodope and Evros on Greece's northeastern border.

The pilot is believed to have managed to escape. Residents in the area witnessed a parachute eject from the A-7 Corsair's cockpit moments before the crash.

According to some reports in the Greek press the pilot is being transferred to a hospital in Komotini as we speak but the exact condition of his health is still unknown.

The reasons for the crash are still unknown, but HellasFrappe will be following the story and if there are any developments, we will post on update so check back every so often.

BUSTED -CNN Report Admits That Kiev Fired Ballistic Missiles into Eastern Ukraine

credit - Land Destroyer

(Tony Cartalucci - Land Destroyer) - CNN has reported that the regime in Kiev launched several short-range ballistic missiles into eastern Ukraine - each missile containing warheads of up to 1,000 lbs (450 kg). The missiles fired were OTR-21 Tochka also known by their NATO reporting name as SS-21 Scarabs and are considered far from "precision" weapons.

While smaller than the infamous "Scud" missile, SS-21s are similarly inaccurate and their use in combat against an enemy entrenched in populated areas is almost guaranteed to cause indiscriminate mass casualties. In fact, when Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi allegedly fired Scuds at NATO-backed Al Qaeda terrorists, according to the Telegraph in its article, "Col Gaddafi fires scud missile at rebel territory as Nato braces itself for final violent showdown," one Western official claimed:

    That it didn't hit anything or kill anyone is not the point. It's a weapon of mass destruction that Col Gaddafi is willing to train on his own people.

Clearly the West's conscience has shifted and now weapons of mass destruction Ukraine is willing to train on its own people appears more than acceptable.

The US Department of Defense admittedly holds information regarding Kiev's use of the ballistic missiles but is refusing to disclose it, only confirming that indeed the weapons have been used.

In the CNN report, Major General James A. "Spider" Marks claimed that the reasoning behind the Pentagon's decision was because "Ukraine has a right to defend itself," before admitting that SS-21s are used offensively ahead of an invasion or other armed incursion.

What it appears the West is doing by admitting to what is otherwise a crime against humanity by their own definition, is acclimatizing what is left of their impressionable audiences to an increasingly brutal campaign of indiscriminate violence against the whole of eastern Ukraine in an effort to not only break armed resistance, but the civilian population that has rejected Kiev's authority.

The use of such weaponry, just as the Telegraph and others noted before the fall of Libya, hints at tactical weakness and impending strategic defeat - and while the West covers for Kiev's numerous and multiplying atrocities, the fact that Kiev must resort to increasingly brutal and indiscriminate measures indicates a failure no amount of Western support can undo.

BUSTED - German Newspaper Says Ukrainian Pilot Shot Down Malaysian MH 017 - Pilot Confesses!

HellasFrappe was preparing to release this story on Tuesday morning but the Slog was a bit quicker in doing so. We trust John Ward and decided to include his article with the information that we had already began gathering. There are quite a few stories already circulating in the Greek press about it, including one that was featured on the military NEWS site defencenet (Click HERE).

The article in defencenet claims that a Ukrainian pilot, who is reportedly one of the two pilots flying Su-25s (machine gun fighters) that apparently flew next to the fatal Malaysian plane admitted that he is responsible for shooting down -in cold blood- the aircraft. The announcement, which was made through the German Wahrheit fuer Deutschland newspaper has certainly raised a few eyebrows to all concerned. This, claims the article in defencent, could just be the fighter plane that was shown -by means of satellite images- by the Russian General Staff when they presented reporters with compelling evidence over its fatal flight last week.

The news certainly brakes the (parrot -y-) line of the  mainstream media which was quick to point the finger at Russia without any solid evidence.

Reading various reports throughout the morning, HellasFrappe also checked out the photos that were presented by the authors below and although we are not experts it is clear that the cockpit was shelled with dozens of bullets (probably from some sort of machine gun). Speaking about the bullet holes, defencent, says the angle of the holes is such that it clearly indicates that they could not have been caused from fragments of a land-surface missile.

Defencent also alleges that OSCE experts, who are presently examining (or have examined) the wreckage, also unearthed their own evidence that could possibly confirm the confession that was made by the Ukrainian pilot.

One OSCE observer, Michael Bochurkiv. said that it is obvious, even for someone who is not an expert, that the holes on the plane could have only been caused by a machine gun.

After conducting our own research we also discovered the article by Peter Haisenko which the Slog based his story on. In his article this former pilot -more or less- claims that there is no doubt in his mind, that a fighter plane shelled the cockpit of Malaysian MH 017.

But first we want you to read the Slog's story and then we will provide you with the link and the transcript of Peter Haisenko's original article (translated in English) so you too can view the pictures as well as the information and judge for yourself!

This is the Slog's post today

By John Ward (The Slog) - This is what a German pilot-cum-air technology expert Peter Haisenko (Click HERE) has just published on the subject of the MH17 disaster (my emphases):

     ‘The misfortune of the Malaysian MH 017 is known to all. The flight recorder is in England and is being evaluated. What can come of this? May be more than you want to accept….if you look at the image of Cockpit-Fragments, this picture is certainly shocking.
     Entry And Exit holes from bullets in the area of the Cockpit. This is not speculation, but analysis of clear facts: the cockpit shows clear evidence of bullet holes. You can see the entry holes and some exit points. The edges of the bullet holes are bent inwards, these are much smaller and round in shape. A 30mm calibre. The exit holes are less well formed and the edges are torn outwards.
     Furthermore it is visible that the exit holes have torn the double aluminium skin and bent them outwards. That is to say, splinters from inside the cockpit blew through the outside of the cabin. The open rivets have also been bent outwards….There is only one conclusion one can make, and that is that this: the aircraft was not hit by a missile. The damage to the aircraft is exclusively in the cockpit area….

Russia has published radar data that a Ukrainian SU 25 was close to MH 017. this corresponds with Spanish air traffic control that two Ukrainian fighter aircraft were in direct contact with MH 017. Examine the weaponry of the SU 25: it is fitted out with a 30mm cannon Type GSch-302 /AO-17A, with 250 rounds of splintering exploding bullets on a belt – shrapnel rounds. The cockpit of MH 017 was hit from TWO sides, as there are entry and exit holes on the same side….’

Very compelling stuff, is it not?

Now read this (also German) article by defence expert Bernd Biederman (Click HERE), who offers equally sound reasons why the shooting down could NOT have been from a surface to air missile:

     ‘the shooting down of the Malaysian Boeing on July 17 in the Eastern Ukraine “could not have been hit by a surface to air defense missile”.

This is the assessment of retired Colonel Bernd Biedermann in an article for the daily newspaper published in Berlin “new Germany” (Thursday edition).

Had splinters from a surface to air missile hit the plane, it would have immediately caught fire, argues the NVA anti-aircraft missile specialist.

His reasoning is because of the “enormous frictional heat that the splinters generate on penetrating the fuselage.

A single splinter contains the same kinetic energy as a 40-ton freight car hitting the buffers at 60 kilometers per hour.”

In the case of the Malaysian Boeing, scattered fires had broken out after the impact with the ground, because hot debris from the aircraft had come in contact with combustible materials.

Biedermann is familiar with Soviet and Russian air defense technology, he led units in the duty officer system in East Germany and taught at the Military Academy in the field of anti-aircraft missile troops.’

Articles are beginning to appear across the Web to the effect that Angela Merkel is disturbed by (and growing tired of) the incessant US propaganda being emitted in favour of its energy agenda…. and so we must perhaps in turn view these articles in the light of her alleged new agenda concerning the creation of an alternative bloc to that of America. (More on this here in the near future).

But spin or not, these analyses make sense.

The US State Dept has now shifted its position from ‘Russian atrocity’ to ‘tragic accident’.

The above opinions suggest that neither are true: they suggest strongly that the Ukrainian air force took out MH17.

Editor's note - Now that you have read this startling information we also suggest that you read the original article that was posted by Peter Haisenko and which is causing quite a stir in media circles today. Please note that the pics, and article below were taken from Peter Haisenko's site.

It does not want a light in the darkness to the misfortune of the Malaysian MH come 017. The flight recorders are in England and are evaluated. What can come of it? Maybe more than you would assume. Especially the voice recorder will be interesting when you look at the picture of a cockpit fragment. As an expert in aviation I looked at the pictures of the wreckage made, are circulating on the Internet.
First, I was amazed at how few photos can be found from the wreckage with Google. All are in low resolution, except one: The fragment of the cockpit below the window on the master page. This image, however, is shocking. In Washington, you can hear voices now speaking regarding MH 017 from a "potentially tragic error / accident". Given that image does not surprise me that.
I recommend to click on the little picture on the right. You can download this photo as PDF in good resolution. This is necessary, because only then is to understand what I am describing here. I'm not talking about speculation, but of clear facts: The cockpit shows traces of shelling. You can see the entry and exit holes. The edge of a portion of the holes is after! inside! bent. These are the smaller holes, round and clean, about 30 millimeters caliber. The edge of the other, the larger and slightly frayed exit holes is after! outside! bent. Moreover, it is evident that at these outlet holes partially the outer layer of the double aluminum is bent or weggefetzt - outwardly! Furthermore, minor cuts can be seen, all bent outward, which indicate that splinters the outer skin from the inside of the cockpit ago by beat. The open rivets are bent outward.
In sifting through the available images of a fall on: All wreckage of the sections behind the cockpit are largely intact, except for the fact that it is a whole order fragments. Only the cockpit part is desolate destroyed. This suggests an already close: This aircraft was not hit by a rocket in the middle. The destruction is limited to the cockpit area. Now you have to know that this part is made of special reinforced material. Finally, the nose of the aircraft must be able to resist the impact of a large bird at high speed fairly harmless. You can see in the photo, that in this area significantly stronger aluminum alloys has been installed as the remainder of the outer skin. One remembers the crash of Pan Am over Lockerbie. The only largely undamaged part was a large cockpit segment. Here undoubtedly an explosion took place inside the aircraft.
So what can be happening? Russia has published radar recordings, the 25 show at least a Ukrainian SU in close proximity of MH 017. This corresponds with the statement of the lost Spanish controller that has seen two Ukrainian fighter aircraft in the immediate vicinity of the MH 017. Consider the armament of the SU 25: It is equipped with a double-barreled 30-mm gun, type GSh-302 / AO-17A, fight record: 250 rounds anti-tank fire or splinter-explosive projectiles, in a defined order a Gliederzerfallgurt are attached. The cockpit of the MH 017 has been fired from two sides: the entry and exit holes on the same page.
Now just imagine what happens when a series of armored fire and splinter-explosive projectiles hitting the cockpit, which are after all designed so that they can destroy a tank. The tanks fire shells are partially escape across the cockpit from the other side slightly deformed again. Finally, their clout is designed for a solid armor. However, the splinter-explosive projectiles will explode inside the cockpit, so they are designed. With the rapid fire sequence of GSh-302 cannon, there is therefore in a very short time a rapid succession of explosions within the cockpit area, each of which is sufficient to destroy a tank.
Because the interior of a commercial aircraft is a hermetically sealed chamber, the pressure inside the aircraft in a split second will rise to extreme levels by these explosions. But the aircraft is not equipped. It will burst like a balloon. This declaration results in a coherent picture. The largely intact fragments of the rear sections are broken at the points that are based on the construction breakup most likely under extreme pressure. The image of the widely scattered debris field and the brutally damaged cockpit segment fit to do so. Furthermore, a wing segment shows traces of a grazing shot, which directly leads to extension to the cockpit. Interestingly, I found that both the high-resolution photo of the cockpit as the segment are also now been removed from the grazing shot on the wing from Google Images. One can find virtually no more pictures of the wreckage, except smoking ruins.
If you follow the voices from Washington who speak of a "potentially tragic error / accident", all that remains is the question of what might have been "mistake" committed here. I am not now be issued in the realm of speculation, but enter the following to be considered: The MH 017 is interchangeable with that of the Russian President in her painting. Both are wearing the colors of the Russian tricolor. The machine with Putin on board was at the same time near the MH 017 when you "close" with aviator eyes considered: about 200 to 300 kilometers. To this end, we will still accept the testimony of Ms. Tymoshenko, she wanted to shoot Putin prefers a Kalashnikov. But that is pure speculation. The shelling of the cockpit of the MH not 017.

Sources

Defencent
http://www.defencenet.gr

The Slog
hat4uk.wordpress.com

Peter Haisenko
www.anderweltonline.com

INSIDE SCOOP - Malaysia Airlines Shoot Down Could Be Blamed On Ukrainian Army “Defector”

by Paul Joseph Watson (Infowars) - In an attempt to explain away the existence of evidence which shows Ukrainian troops firing the missile that brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, Washington may be preparing to fix the intelligence by pinning the blame on a “defector” in order to absolve Kiev.

As reported on Monday, award winning former AP and Newsweek reporter Robert Parry was told by an intelligence source that the U.S. is in possession of images which show men dressed in Ukrainian Army uniforms operating the Buk missile system which shot down MH17.

If proven accurate, such information would completely eviscerate Washington and Kiev’s already shaky narrative that Russian-backed separatist rebels were responsible for the attack.

The U.S. State Department now appears to be shifting the emphasis of its narrative to discount the possibility that Kiev itself was responsible for shooting down MH17. As the L.A. Times reported on Tuesday that:

     “U.S. officials said it was possible the SA-11 [anti-aircraft missile] was launched by a defector from the Ukrainian military who was trained to use similar missile systems.”

Blaming the incident on a “defector” would allow the U.S. to explain why the culprit was wearing a Ukrainian Army uniform when he shot down the airliner.

     “That statement about a possible “defector” might explain why some analysts thought they saw soldiers in Ukrainian army uniforms tending to the missile battery in eastern Ukraine. But there is another obvious explanation that the U.S. intelligence community seems unwilling to accept: that the missile may have been launched by someone working for the Ukrainian military,” writes Parry, adding that, “We may be seeing another case of the U.S. government “fixing the intelligence” around a desired policy outcome, as occurred in the run-up to war with Iraq.”

Over the last 48 hours, the State Department’s narrative has been widely discredited because of Washington’s inability to provide hard evidence based on anything other than dubious social media posts and YouTube videos uploaded by the Ukrainian government.

During a remarkable exchangeon Tuesday between AP reporter Matt Lee and U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf, Lee backed Harf into a corner and forced her to tacitly acknowledge that the United States’ case is entirely built on little more than alleged social media posts.

The U.S. later admitted that it had uncovered no evidence whatsoever that linked Russia directly to the attack.

Gov't & Greek Uniformed Officers Arrive At Compromise

An agreement was reached between Greece's Deputy Minister of Finances Christos Staikouras and uniformed officer representatives, regarding the money which they are owed, following a State Council ruling which stated that the wage and pension cuts they suffered were illegal.

According to news reports, the uniformed officer representatives demanded that their wages and pensions be restored to what they received in 2012, prior to the illegal cuts, but appeared more conciliatory regarding what they are owed. Both sides agreed for the coalition government to pay back the estimated 550 million euros in installments, with the first one likely to be paid out in August.

While the officers were pleased with this development, the Ministry of Finance is not. In fact it is quite troubled as it must now find the funds without affecting the budget, as per the agreement with the troika.

One scenario could be that the Ministry is considering is to reduce the money owed to the officers by about 170 million euros, in an effort to avoid further exacerbating the projected fiscal gap for 2015 (which is estimated to be 911 million euros.)

GEOPOLITICS - Behind Turkey’s Roaring - MUST READ

By Marcus A. Templar - Turkey’s refusal to submit flight plans for its military airplanes is consistent with its doctrine of preemptive strike when the time is ripe. Turkey’s doctrine developed from the fact that not only it went unpunished for a number of rogue actions that it perpetrated against Greek interests especially after it joined NATO, but it was additionally rewarded for the same by consecutive Greek, Cypriot, also NATO governments.

The issue of Cyprus in the early 1950’s started as a matter between the UK and Greece. Turkey was nowhere to be seen. Somehow Greece accepted London’s pressure and Turkey was brought into the equation. For that Greek docile behavior the Hellenism of the island has suffered and keeps suffering. Turks still call the Greek Cypriots Rum instead of Greeks as if they were part of the Ottoman Rum Millet within the Turkish Empire.

The pogroms on September 1955 and 1964 not only went unanswered, but Greek governments are silent when Turkey encourages and implements further violations of the Treaty of Lausanne. In addition Turkey’s politicians demand reciprocity.

Perhaps Greece should oblige them by deporting an equal percent of Muslims of Thrace and the Dodecanese.

The invasion of Turkey on Cyprus not only went unanswered, but it was additionally rewarded by the behavior of two Greek American public relations firms whose infighting produced the Turkey 10 vs. Greece 7 ratio in the mid 1970’s.

Turkey was also rewarded for its rogue conduct by that mere fact that governments of Free Cyprus with the “assistance” of all Greek governments negotiated and negotiate the terms of Cyprus’ own occupation rendering the resolutions of the UNSC invalid. It is as if the government of General De Gaulle aiming at the legitimization of Hitler’s occupation of Vichy France, negotiated the terms of occupation that would determine the degree of a literal enslavement of the people of south France.

I wonder if all those who negotiate the de facto occupation of Cyprus by Turkey are going to live under the same conditions that they try so hard to impose on others.

Turkey has been rewarded for its immorality by the EU, which has not only allowed the occupation of its own territory, but in addition it has accepted to negotiate Turkey’s candidacy. NATO has rewarded Turkey by accepting Turkey’s attack against an independent country under the rationale that the lives and welfare of its compatriots were in danger.

At that time, although NATO was a strictly defensive organization, it accepted Turkey’s rationale of the “Peace” operation as a benevolent action.

Recently, NATO has rejected Russia’s identical rationale and hypocritically vies to punish Russia’s “illegal” annexation of Crimea, as if the northern part of Cyprus is not annexed hiding behind lexical semantics on what constitutes an annexed territory.

Moreover, Turkey is in violation of the Geneva Convention IV, Article 49, sixth paragraph, which provides: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”, and yet as far as NATO is concerned, all is well!

One more point one must consider is the difference on the casualty lists of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. During the Turkish invasion, but also later, besides the results of the conflict (killed in action, missing in action, wounded, and prisoners of war), the human rights of a good number of unfortunate Greek Cypriots were violated by being subjected to torture, extra-judicial killings, illegal arrests and detentions, arbitrary taxations, property crimes, forced labor, trafficking, forced displacement and rape. The forced labor of civilians and POWs alike along with human trafficking took place on Turkish soil after the captured individuals were transported to the mainland.

The above does not include the ineffectiveness of the Turkish military considering that Turkey lost 19 fighter planes against no air force and 2 ships against no navy. The actual personnel casualties of both sides is unknown to me. What is known is that the ratio of the invasion 1 to 4 could easily be raised to 1 to 6 if one considers that the Turkish military was heavily armed facing a lightly armed opponent, the Cypriot National Guard.

In military tactics for a successful invasion, the normal ratio of an invading force is four against one of the defenders. Rarely an attacking force would reach the point six against one of the defending opponent unless the attacker is unsure of his own military capabilities against the specific opponent.

Also, it should be noted that the Turkish invading forces were stuck in the areas of Kyrenia and Morphou for about a couple of weeks and occupied the areas they are holding at present only after the UNSC had declared ceasefire.

The above facts should have raised some eyebrows in NATO.

To those who conveniently suggest that “we are all brothers” or we should forgive and forget, they had better visit their nearest Holocaust Museum or the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.

Read more at: macedoniahellenicland

PROVOCATION - Turkish Fleet of Warships Violate Greek Waters, Sail To Cyclades, Seen in Rafina!

Not one, not two, but five Turkish war ships violated Greek territorial waters on Monday sailing throughout the Cyclades islands and sounding an alarm with our country's armed forces. According to reports, while taking part in  the navy exercises “Beyaz Firtina 2014″ the ships apparently began to cut off from the other ships and suspiciously began to enter into Greek territorial waters.

The Greek Ministry of Defence immediately dispatched several Greek war ships to the area to monitor them while two pairs of F-16s were also called to the scene in order to accompany the Greek fleet.

Specifically, the Turkish ships consisted of the frigate Kemal Reis, and four gunboats the Meltem, the Imbat, the Ruzgar, and the Firtina. Press reports said they moved north of the island of Naxos, then south of Paros and even travelled south-east off of Santorini island.

A report on defencenet confirmed these reports noting that several ships sailed to the northern Cyclades while the other half to the central area around the Cyclades.  Specifically the Kemal Reis sailed to the areas between Andros and Evia and followed the coastline of Attica. The ship was even visible from Rafina! It then moved south east and was said to be near the islands of Mykonos and Naxos.

The other ships sailed to the island of Naxos, then it passed by the island of Paros and finally made its way to Sifnos. Following this it moved northeast towards Attica and then changed its course and headed towards the southern Cyclades area.

Turkish F-16s covered their movements, while naval cooperation aircraft CN-235 apparently were supporting them electronically.

The Defence Ministry is on alert, while defencenet said that even Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was briefed.

It is obvious that the Turkish ships are testing the Greek reaction to this obviously unprecedented provocation. This is the first time that Turkey has attempted such a move and such an escalation.

If there are any developments, HellasFrappe will update this article again.

Stay tuned Frappers!

PROVOCATION - Two Turkish Navy Vessels Violate Greek Territorial Waters

According to press reports, not one but two Turkish Navy vessels violated Greek territorial waters on Tuesday. More precisely the Turkish frigate “Turgut Reis” illegally entered Greek territorial waters at 13:43 and then made its way to the islands of Evia and Andros. The Turkish frigate then took a southerly course at 17:50 ending up near the island of Kythnos.

While this was going on, the Turkish missile boat “Bora” entered Greek territorial waters at 13:21 and ended up being spotted north of the island of  Naxos. It then moved westward at 15:24 and apparently spent two hours in Greek territorial waters before returning to the Turkish coast.

The National Defence General Staff said later in the day that the Turkish vessels were participating in the “Beyaz Firtina 2014” navy exercise.
On its part, the Greek Ministry of National Defense said that Greek Navy vessels monitored the Turkish ships throughout their navigation, but of course there was never any word as to why these vessels violated Greek waters to begin with.

It is very alarming knowing that our political leaders do not act against such provocations.

Can a ship sail to Rhode Island in the US without being blasted by some American warship? Can a Russian warship cruise around Manhattan without giving the Americans a reason for being there? Wouldn't this trigger a war? Would this or would this not be inconceivable?

The answer is obvious.

So then why are we as a society not blasting these provocations from Turkey and why is our government not using these actions against Turkey in organizations such as the United Nations and/or NATO. With what right does Turkey tread and sail into Greek territorial waters. We must learn to ask more questions Frappers, because by ignoring such provocations we are merely setting ourselves up for the revival of the Ottoman Empire.

UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE OPERATIONS - Globalization of Special Forces

Special Forces have been designed to use military means to conduct unconventional warfare operations, mainly to cause riots and murder political opponents. Washington already secretly used them in 78 countries, while denying the very existence of their missions, although their budget exceeds 10 billion dollars annually. The globalization of these forces should enable it to expand its invisible dictatorship.

An accident, sometimes, permits the discovery of a "secret war". This is what happened in Yemen, where, at Sana, a member of U.S. Special Forces and CIA shot two men and killed them. According to the official version, these were simply two Al Qaeda terrorists they wanted to remove. The incident, far from simple, sparked a wave of protests against the government, already under indictment because it allows CIA drones to operate in Yemen starting from a Saudi base.

The Pentagon ­ confirms the New York Times - has intensified the actions of its special forces in Yemen. Yemen is a country of great importance for its strategic position on the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, crossed by major oil and trade routes linking Asia and Europe. Djibouti, in front of Yemen, 30 kms away on the African coast, is where Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa is parked, consisting of approximately 4,000 men of the U.S. Special Forces. With helicopters and special aircraft, they carry out night raids, particularly in neighboring Somalia and Yemen, flanked by elite contractors and technical experts of the assassination shooter category. Special forces available to the Africa Command (AFRICOM) operate in Nigeria and many other African countries. They are part of joint operations Command (USSOCOM ), which, after being used by the Republican Bush especially in Afghanistan and Iraq, has now taken on a new importance with the Democratic Obama.

In this cult book, Admiral McRaven describes the wildest commando operations in history, up to the fake killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

The Obama administration - wrote the Washington Post - "prefers covert action rather than the use of conventional force." USSOCOM commander, Admiral William McRaven, declared a month agot to a Senate committee that U.S. special operations forces operate in 78 countries worldwide, either by direct action or by training local units.

The admiral did not specify which countries, indicating only that in Afghanistan was established a new Special Forces Command, also including those of NATO. So Washington’s war in Afghanistan has not stopped, but has become "covert".

Other official sources confirm that special forces were deployed in Jordan and Turkey to train and lead armed groups for the "secret war" in Syria (as had been done in Libya).

Special Forces are increasingly used in Eastern Europe. Especially to train the neo-Nazis used during the coup in Kiev, as confirmed by photographic documentation that shows Ukrainian neo- Nazis from Uno-Unso trained in Estonia starting in 2006. [1]

But USSOCOM looks beyond : in its "Vision 2020", it foresees "building a global network of special operations forces ," including those of allied countries, including Italy, placed under U.S. command. In this way, the decision to go to war becomes the more exclusive domain of power cliques, and parliaments lose the little decision-making power they have left. And war will disappear more and more in the eyes of public opinion, already widely accustomed to believing that what we see is all there is, or rather, what we are seeing in the mainstream media distorting and falsifying reality.

So it is with the campaign by the White House for the release of abducted young Nigerian girls while in Yemen, controlled by U.S. special forces, thousands of girl children and young girls from Africa are reduced each year to the state of sex slaves for wealthy Yemenis and Saudis, allies of Washington.

Manlio Dinucci
Voltaire Network, Translation Roger Lagassé
Source - Il Manifesto (Italy), SOF Vision 2020 (1997), (PDF - 4.9 Mb)

[1] “Maidan activists trained by NATO in 2006”, Translation Alizée Ville, Voltaire Network, 7 February 2014.

About the author Manlio Dinucci - He is a geographer and geopolitical scientist. His latest books are Geocommunity Ed. Zanichelli 2013 ; Geografia del ventunesimo secolo, Zanichelli 2010 ; Escalation. Anatomia della guerra infinita, Ed. DeriveApprodi 2005.