According to Real News, a high-profile Minister of the Karamanlis government testified in January 2013 to special magistrate Dimitris Fucas and the things revealed only confirmed what the prosecution already feared, that the wiretapping case against the former PM as well as the assassination attempt are linked. (And in the Paraskinio report further down, the prosecution is also linking more cases to this mega investigation as well).
(Please click here to read more on a related article that was posted by HellasFrappe two months ago).
Real News says that in his testimony, the former Minister apparently spoke about the pressure that was exerted on him, in March 2008, by the then US Ambassador to Athens Daniel Speckhard shortly before the signing of the intergovernmental agreement between Greece and Russia on the construction of the South Stream pipeline. (HellasFrappe had featured in an article on this several months ago, which was first published on defencenet, please click here for that story).
It was not a direct threat, says the article in Real News (the defencenet article said otherwise) but it was more of a profound suggestion to ponder over in regards to Russia's energy penetration into Europe.
(No surprises that Real News would say this because Nikos Hatzinikolaou who is the editor at Real News is not really a Karamanlis supporter, quite the opposite actually).
The article continues by saying that showing his discontent, Speckhard, stated that it would be wise not to strengthen the energy role of Russia in Greece because specific interests would be affected.
(Greek interests no, what he was probably saying, if proven, is that US interests were being affected. What Mr. Speckhard should of realized is that Greece has to look after her own interests, just like the US obviously looks after her own.)
Statements such as the above -or warnings- were also sent to other members of the Karamanlis government. In simple words, the Americans openly promoted the Nabucco pipeline against the South Stream pipeline.
(Of course at the time -and even today- anyone who dared -dares- to claim this, or even have this opinion was -and still is- quickly labelled a conspirator, anti-American and pro-Russian as well as too progressive. And just for the record, HellasFrappe is not progressive, we are conservatives, we are certainly not anti-American, and we are truth-seekers and not conspirators.)
According to the report in Real News, US Assistant Secretary Mathew Bryza who apparently met a top Minister during that period had wondered what Greek officials were trying to do. The article claims that he said that the "South Stream pipeline cannot happen since there was the Nabucco."
(Read about Bryza's "darker role" and what joins him to Turkish foreign policy -and a provocateur female journalist there- by clicking here)
The harassment was not only limited in Greece. In fact Real News claims that every time a Greek Minister visited the United States, and specifically Washington, they were apparently harassed.
Karamanlis Beings To Alter His Routes For His Own Safety
The report in Real News claims that when Greek authorities confirmed that Karamanlis' life was being threatened, the team protecting the former PM began to alter the routes it used in order to transport the premier from his home, to the center of Athens and vice-versa. The report adds that this began in February 2009 when the then Head of (EYP), or Greece's Intelligence Agency, Mr. Ioannis Korantis, handed Minister of Public Order Prokopis Pavlopoulos a top secret document revealing a plan of attack against Karamanlis.
EYP was apparently warned by leading Russian agents who had been in Greece during that period on a mission to investigate the case of wiretapping (between Karamanlis and Putin).
The then leader of the Greek Police force (ELAS) Vassilis Tsiatouras -as well as the former prime minister- were immediately briefed about the threat. Nonetheless, the report notes, they did not know if the information was reliable.
"We do not know, but the Russian officer who briefed us is trustworthy. The Russian agents refused to give us any additional information."As such, Karamanlis allowed his security officials to do "as they pleased" in regards to beefing up security measures. That is when the force protecting the former PM increased dramatically. So much so, that police officials were immediately armed with heavy weaponry, the officers were altered constantly, and the automobiles used to transfer him around the city were also being changed as were the routes he used in his commute from his home in Rafina, to the center of the city.
Everything was conducted in the utmost secrecy and the former Premier refused to talk about it with anyone. The only thing he did was to send his wife and children to another location for their own security.
(Some reports at the time, on various blogs, claimed that his family was kidnapped, but this has never been confirmed.)
The Mysterious Consultancy Firm
A consulting firm, with almost zero turnover, was reportedly the vehicle used by suspicious interests that intercepted and listened in on the telephone conversations of then prime minister as well as other politicians and state officials even after 2005. (As reported in our previous article last week on HellasFrappe, this lasted until 2007. Click here for that story).
The front man for the espionage operation, according to Real News, was a young man who has apparently been identified. Witnesses who testified against this suspicious firm claim that behind the front man there was a huge network of very shady individuals who wanted -or rather had an aim- to destabilize Greece.
Another interesting piece of information that was revealed from Real News -and which in the author's opinion is the reason that led judicial authorities that are investigating the case to merge the wiretapping and the assassination attempt- stems from the testimonies from various intelligence officials who apparently pointed out a string of events -during that time- aimed at destabilizing Greece's political system.
In their testimonies, which wrapped up a few days ago, they point to various cases that they feel are directly related to this chaotic plot. Real News then mentions the "Dekemvriana" or the riots of December 2008 which began after the shooting of Alexis Grigoropoulos. Another fabricated "scandal" also concerned the Vatopedi case, and quite shocking the 2007 fires in the Peloponnese are also suspected of being part of the overall plan.
(Of course more incidents were mentioned. In other words the so-called "scandals" of the Karamanlis era, were designed in such a way so as to discredit the then prime minister as well as cause political instability. And sure enough, the public bought in on it and they did.)
Two Attacks Generate Even More Suspicion
Another interesting factor, that was brought to light by Real News, and unknown until today, is that the organization suspected of being behind this destabilization plot -which we here at HellasFrappe revealed last week in our previous article- and is called "People's Will", was the force that played a key role in breeding a new and younger generation of terrorists in Greece. In fact Real News says that the controversial "Pythia 1" plan (which aimed to destabilize Greece economically, politically and socially) is directly -and without a doubt- linked to this new band of criminals.
The focus, adds the same article, is in an explosion that occurred at a State building on Alexandras Avenue, in March 2009. The building is only a short distance from Costas Karamanlis' city apartment (located at Amartolon and Klefton) and the bomb was set off while Karamanlis was headed in that direction. Apparently, the article continues, there is a strong testimony linked to this particular incident.
(But you can also read about it in detail in the Epikaira magazine article which first exposed this story two years ago and which was exclusively and solely translated into English by HellasFrappe- by clicking here.)
The second bomb attack, which we did not know about here at HellasFrappe, concerns a failed bomb explosion on May 19, 2004 at the judicial courts in Larissa in view of the transfer of the notorious members of the "November 17" terrorist organization. Interestingly, Real News claims that this was the first time that a mobile telephone was used in such an attack in Greek history.
This is quite funny, but according to Real News, the reason the explosion failed because of a wrong phone call from an elderly woman in Crete. As crazy as this sounds, an elderly woman in Crete saved the day when she was reportedly trying to come into contact with a long lost relative. He had cancelled his phone line, but the telephone company decided to reactivate the line at some point or another and believe it or not it landed in a prepaid-phone used by one of the terrorists from this new "People's Will" organization who at that moment was attempting to set off an explosion! (Lol, silly, but what a great story!)
In a separate report in the weekend edition of "Paraskinio" it was noted that when Greek citizens first found out about the wiretapping scandal against the former PM in 2006, they immediately sympathized with him, but most importantly they were left flabbergasted and horrified. The author says that Karamanlis, who insisted on taking Greece into a specific direction even though his path was paved with thorns, did so and discovered that he was abandoned by all.
When Prokopis Pavlopoulos approached him and warned him about the threats against his life, Karamanlis was unmoved. The threats did not intimidate the former PM to step back on his decisions. The author believes Karamanlis did this not because he was stubborn, but because he truly had a vision for Greece, and because he really wanted to give this country the wings it needed so that it can finally become a financially sound and highly challenging economy. The future and security of this nation was first on his agenda, not his safety, adds the article, and certainly not his own personal glory.
But the pressure on the government intensified nonetheless. In fact Karamanlis knew that it was all downhill in March 2007, when he proudly, patriotically and courageously said NO against FYROM's entrance to NATO at the historic summit in Bucharest upsetting -or rather enraging- George Bush Jr.
(And when you get right down to it, what did they expect? Karamanlis is a proud Macedonian, and would never agree to something that went 1000 percent against the will and desire of the Greek people. He would never betray Greece's history and certainly he would never compromise this country's integrity.)
Right after his stance at the Summit and while exiting the People's Palace in Bucharest as the guarantor of Greek national interests, the "Pythia 1" plot took on an intensive and negative twist.
Paraskinio claims that the movement from Karamanlis during that period was severely limited. He only received, or spoke with, specific people that complied to all safety measures. He himself has admitted to close friends that during this time officials forbid him to take morning walks in Athens, as well as ride his bicycle for security reasons.
His only outing was dinner at two specific tavernas in Rafina, always with increased security and with a specific amount of police officers there to guard him.
"I felt extremely uncomfortable" he told various close friends at the time, "but I recognized that the situation was critical.""They Want To Assassinate You"
When mysterious automobiles began blocking off the prime minister's car at specific locations and junctions (such as a high-traffic area in Nea Makri, etc.) Karamanlis realized that the assassins meant business.
"President, they want to assassinate you. The information is sound, it is from a source that has been tried and tested" one of his closest associates apparently said.A little later on, when the details of the wiretapping scandal began to unfold, Karamanlis was convinced that he was finally "trapped".
Threatening Mysterious Phone Calls
Almost immediately after this, a set of mysterious phone calls began from various decision making centers claiming that in the upcoming national elections, Karamanlis will be trailing behind George Papandreou.
"We will destroy the bridges with Russia", "we will force him (Karamanlis) to abandon Greece if he wants to remain alive," and other such warnings were apparently heard.The thing is that Karamanlis refused to retreat, unlike some want to believe, and he certainly did not stick his tail between his legs and run away. Instead, he continued steadfast with his work by making the political choices needed in order to materialize on his vision for Greece. That's why when Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a Greek-Russian approach and strengthening of relations, he had no difficulty and said of course.
The report in Paraskinio also reveals something else, that was unknown until today. The author claims that Karamanlis had announced to some of his close associates and colleagues that he could not ever sign over the destruction of the country, because he truly believed that by being open to Russia it would have strengthened Greece's position in the region and allowed her to play a pivotal role.
(The author did not elaborate on this, but we suppose that Karamanlis wanted to secure Greece against neighboring Turkey, something which the US has never done since it always and historically has sided with Ankara.)
Karamanlis, continues the same article, also knew what kind of an uphill battle the late Tassos Papadopoulos was giving in the framework of securing Cyprus' interests against the destructive Annan Plan, (which incidentally was fully supported by the US, George Papandreou and today's Cyprus President Mr. Anastasiadis). The decision to go against Western interests had a cost, and Karamanlis knew this, but nonetheless he pushed ahead.
When his adversaries realized that he was not going to back down on any of his decisions, or run away like a frightened puppy as they hoped he would, the Greek media suddenly began broadcasting a plethora of alleged scandals. In most cases people saw right through this propaganda, but there were a few scandals that literally discredited the government and especially Mr. Karamanlis.
When George Papandreou rose to government he apparently moved heaven and earth to investigate these alleged scandals, and his administration and efforts fell flat to the floor since they could not surface anything discrediting, or were at least not able to implicate any wrongdoing on the part of Karamanlis. But let us not kid ourselves, Mr. Karamanlis did have a few drawbacks. For one, he trusted the wrong people and indeed the actions of some of the ministers in his government raise far too many questions. He has a political responsibility for that, but let us not kid ourselves he was never, and could never, be implicated for breaking the law (unlike some other wannabe political leaders, especially of the "green" sort).
Zoom to the present day, judicial authorities are now convinced that all these cases (and many more) are linked together.
Paraskinio also claims that the former PM is anxiously waiting for the outcome of the investigation and according to some of his close associates he is also willing to help authorities in seeking the truth.
The Apology, And Political History
A month before the national elections in 2009, and specifically at the major press conference at the Velidio Conference Hall in Thessaloniki on the sidelines of the International Trade Fair, Karamanlis indeed looked troubled. At the end of that event, and just before exiting the building he was in a shambles and some say that he was also almost in tears. It was almost as if he was desperately searching for more voices that would not look at the situation for what it showed, but for what it really was.
But there was no luck. All the friendships he had while he was premier, revealed themselves for what they really were, superficial. The only voices supporting him were the people but unfortunately we were not enough.
Oh he knew that foreign interests would do everything in their power to make sure that George Papandreou won the elections, but Karamanlis did not really care, he was willing to take all the blows and put up a fight. Contrary to what some people, the only thing this man cared about -and which is profoundly noted by Paraskinio- was and has always been Greece! Yes, our country and its future is what all of us should only think about because we can bear less food, but we cannot bear to lose one centimeter of this God forsaken country. Karamanlis knew that once George Papandreou rose to power, it would be all downhill for Greece. And he was right, it was.
(Karamanlis did everything in his power to secure Greece against the global economic crisis, which was heading Greece's way like a crazed tsunami. And he did, by promising 25 billion to the Greek banks, protecting citizen's deposits, but domestic, and obviously foreign interests wanted more. Zoom to the bailout deals and how much money Papandreou gave to the banks, and you will understand what we mean immediately.)
In short, Karamanlis did not want Greece to fall into the hands of those who were offering "land and water" in all directions just to reach the realms of power.
These were the concerns that were written all over his face as he was exiting the Velidio Conference hall that day, and the most upsetting part of all this is that there wasn't one living soul that followed him (metaphorically speaking of course) or at least saw the truth for what it was.
The article in Paraskinio says that during his last days in government, and just before the October 2009 elections, major newspapers, media outlets and many government officials were also being threatened, (in the framework of not showing support to Karamanlis, as well as to secure Papandreou's rise to government.) Maybe this is why he received the cold shoulder at the conference hall, but we highly doubt this last bit of news here at HellasFrappe because the blogshphere was SCREAMING during that era, but unfortunately not many people were listening.
Nonetheless, the article says that these telephone calls occurred between July and August of 2009 and the provocateurs were indeed out for blood since they were talking about a 'humiliating" exit of Karamanlis from political life and chaos that would erupt if this didn't happen.
Fortunately for them, Greek citizens bought in on the "money exists" man, and voted for George Papandreou. The propaganda from all these foreign and domestic forces against Karamanlis -and his vision- worked. All those who wanted to get a piece of Greece finally had their man in power.
Since then, Karamanlis has become a political punching bag, especially from the socialist party PASOK, and let us not even talk about the lies used by the Greek media (or the country's "elite", especially MEGA channel). All those opposed to his vision, and obviously in favor of their own agendas have been tossing buckets upon buckets full of mud towards his way way but the good thing is that none of it seems to stick. Karamanlis still has the respect of many politicians, from both the right and the left. He also has a wide acceptance with the Greek Diaspora, and his supporters -who never abandoned him, and never doubted him for a minute- are now stronger than ever.
He has remained silent for more than three years, and this has upset some of his supporters who till this day want to understand if given a proper explanation. We were also trapped in that ideology here at HellasFrappe -but only for a short while-, it didn't take us long to realize that Karamanlis was just the flame, we the people are the candle and unless we do not see things for what they truly are then we will always fall victim to men such as George Papandreou.
Some say that one day he might even play a pivotal role in Greek politics, and on a personal note we here at HellsFrappe hope he does, but we also understand that unless the people of Greece change he cannot and should not ever do so. Also, many ministers in his former cabinet also have to go, especially those who worked systematically behind his back to watch him fall.
The only thing that is certain is that history owes him a grand apology, (metaphorically speaking of course) and this is not because he wasn't treated fairly. After all, when you are a public figure these types of threats, diplomatic games, and what not, are the price one pays for getting into politics. No, this is not why history needs to apologize to him. History needs to be set straight, and the truth needs to be told. This is why history owes him a grand apology, because quite simply when we find out the truth, his legacy will be restored.
Unfortunately Greeks are very naive, and totally uneducated when it comes to many social, and political issues. Maybe its because they have been oppressed for a long time... Maybe its an after effect of too many Turkish drama shows on Greek TV, maybe we are being sprayed by green men. Who knows? In any case, there is no excuse. Our political ideologies can clash, but our love, our passion and our commitment to Greece should be above everything else.
Our motto here at HellasFrappe, and especially on our wall in Facebook is "Hellenes united, never again divided". We believe in this vision, we still want to believe that Hellenes will finally band together and became the glorious force we know that they can.
Just like Mr. Karamanlis, we will not back down on our vision. And we would like to thank him for inspiring us to feel so passionately about this, as well as for serving this nation with integrity and honor. One day the truth will be told, and hopefully by then our society will be ready to accept it.
Please read the stories below for more details, as well as to reference the wiretapping case, and find out who Mr. Rontos is.
PART l - Plot to assassinate Costas Karamanlis revealed (VIDEO)
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/06/plot-to-assassinate-kostas-karamanlis.html
PART II – Plot to assassinate Costas Karamanlis revealed (VIDEO)
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/06/part-ii-plot-to-assassinate-kostas.html
Authorities launch formal investigation into assassination plot against Karamanlis
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/08/authorities-launch-formal-investigation.html
Assassination Attempt Against Karamanlis Makes Int.l Headlines VIDEOS
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/03/assassination-attempt-against.html
Ambassador Threatens Greek MP Over Energy Policy - Connected To Karamanlis Assassination Plot
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2013/01/ambassador-threatens-greek-mp-over.html
Was Mossad, MI6 & CIA Behind Assassination Plot Of Karamanlis?
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/03/was-mossad-mi6-cia-behind-assassination.html
Papandreou, Rondos, Lazzard, Sorros equals to the Rothchilds
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/04/papandreou-rondos-lazzard-sorros-equals.html
Does Papandreou agree with Rondos’ views about sharing the Aegean with Turkey?
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/10/does-papandreou-agree-with-rondos-views.html
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