16 December 2004
Greek Security Shows Results of U.S. Training in Hostage Incident
U.S. anti-terrorism program provided training assistance for Olympic security
Washington -- The anti-terrorism training Greek security forces received for the 2004 summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, paid off December 16 when an 18-hour bus hijacking incident ended with no shots being fired and the peaceful surrender of the hostage takers.
The Anti-terrorism Assistance (ATA) program, operated by the U.S. Department of State, had a role in providing that training, including drills using the scenario of a hijacked bus.
In the early morning of December 15, two Albanian men armed with rifles and falsely claiming to have explosives held 23 hostages on a commuter bus and demanded $1 million and safe passage out of the country.
This marked the third time in the past five years that Albanian gunmen have hijacked buses in Greece. The first time, in 1999, Greek police, surrounded by members of the media, handed a hijacker ransom money through the window of the bus, which they then allowed to cross over into Albania. There the hijacker and a passenger were killed when Albanian security forces intervened. Several months later, Greek police killed an Albanian who hijacked another bus.
This time, everything went differently.
The bus driver, whose route is a road that was used for the Olympics, had taken part in the anti-terrorism training for civilians. When the gunmen fired shots in their takeover of the bus, he immediately activated a secret switch that stalled the bus in the middle of the highway and prevented the engine from operating. He then escaped.
Negotiators immediately arrived at the scene and convinced the hijackers to release their captives in groups of two or three throughout day, until only six hostages remained.
The authorities never agreed to the ransom demand.
The police controlled communications by keeping the media away and locating the hijackers' families. The hostage takers gave themselves up peacefully when phone calls from their relatives urging them to surrender made them realize they had been positively identified.
At the Athens games, the first summer Olympics after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, security was a top priority. ATA was invited to participate based on its record of success in assessing vulnerabilities and teaching skills to combat terrorism. Its courses are tailored to meet the needs of the country and the specific event to be secured, and include consideration of broad values involved in security work.
"In the two years prior to the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, we invested nearly $12 million in anti-terrorism training and equipment in Greece," stated John Rendeiro, director of ATA.
"The hard work of the Hellenic National Police paid off -- not only in providing a secure and well-organized Olympics, but in a vastly improved police capability overall. Their handling of this hostage situation demonstrates the ongoing benefits of that training," he said.
"We are proud of our colleagues in Greek law enforcement and gratified that we had an opportunity to help."
For more information on the ATA program see: "Comprehensive U.S. Program Aids Fight Against Terrorism Abroad" at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=October&x=20041021160101frllehctim0.5155451&t=xarchives/xarchitem.html
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=December&x=20041216182630frllehctim0.7404596&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
