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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
Europe: Global Terrorism
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
Patterns Of Global Terrorism: 1991
European Overview: Eastern and Western Europe
</hdr>
<body>
<p>Eastern Europe
</p>
<p> Cooperation between the countries of Eastern Europe and the
West on counterterrorist issues began in earnest with the fall
of Communist regimes in 1989 and continued unabated in 1991.
This cooperation was strengthened during the Persian Gulf
crisis, as East European governments closed borders to suspected
terrorists, monitored or expelled suspect alien residents, and
took steps to protect US and other coalition government
interests on their territories. Official procoalition stances
by East European governments during the war increased the risk
in several of these countries, as evidenced by numerous
terrorist threats. However, only in Yugoslavia was there a
war-related attack: a failed firebombing in February of a US
Information Service office in Sarajevo by unknown assailants.
</p>
<p> Incidents of international terrorism remained relatively few
in Eastern Europe for the rest of the year as well. In Hungary,
a caller claiming to represent "The Movement for the Protection
of Jerusalem" said that the group set off a bomb in December
near a bus containing Jews emigrating from the former Soviet
Union to Israel. Two Hungarian policemen in an escort vehicle
were severely injured in the blast. Several days before, a
terrorist failed in his attempt to assassinate the Turkish
Ambassador in Budapest. An anonymous caller claiming to
represent the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
(ASALA) claimed responsibility for that attack. In August, Sikh
militants in Bucharest attempted to assassinate the Indian
Ambassador to Romania, who had previously served as
Director-General of Police in Punjab. Sikh extremists later
kidnapped a Romanian diplomat in India, demanding the release
of both the two assailants held by the Romanian authorities in
the attack on the Indian Ambassador and three Sikh militants
held by Indian authorities for other crimes. Although none of
these demands was met, the Romanian diplomat was released seven
weeks later. A Soviet commercial airliner was hijacked in
January to Bulgaria, where the lone Soviet hijacker was
arrested.
</p>
<p> Soviet Consulates in Poland were the targets of firebombs
after the Soviet crackdown in Lithuania and Latvia in January
1991. In Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania more than a dozen
bombings were aimed at political party offices and security
installations, especially during the first quarter of 1991. In
July, seven Lithuanian border guards were shot dead execution
style. Reactionary elements were probably responsible for the
incidents in the Baltics.
</p>
<p> The civil war that consumed Yugoslavia in 1991, however,
generated serious concern that combatants or their sympathizers
abroad would resort to international terrorism to continue the
fight on other fronts. To discourage diplomatic recognition of
Croatia, for example, Serbian extremist groups made threats
against German and Austrian officials and interests abroad.
Actual terrorist incidents were few, however, and included the
firebombing, probably by Serb nationalists, of a Croation church
near Munich and the attempted firebombing, most likely by Croat
nationalists, in November of Yugoslav diplomatic missions in
Canada and Germany.
</p>
<p> For political and budgetary reasons, police presence in the
East European countries continued to decline in 1991, possibly
reducing the control authorities wielded over the activities of
potential terrorists. The United States and others sponsored
training programs in antiterrorist techniques for law
enforcement and other officials of several countries in the
region. Police cooperation was the subject of several bilateral
agreements between Eastern and Western European countries. All
states in the region except Albania are members of Interpol.
Czechoslovakia, which joined Interpol in 1991, also ratified the
International Civil Aviation Organization Convention on the
Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection.
(Semtex, a plastic explosive used in several terrorist
incidents, including the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, is a
product of Czechoslovakia.)
</p>
<p> There were no prosecutions in Eastern Europe of suspects of
international terrorism in 1991. Hungary did, however,
extradite to Greece a suspected Greek terrorist in August.
</p>
<p> Bulgaria cooperated with Western countries in investigating
the alleged involvement of its former Communist government in
the assassination in London in 1978 of dissident writer Georgi
Markov and the attempted assassination of the Pope in 1981.
</p>
<p>Western Europe
</p>
<p> 1991 saw a marked resurgence of European leftwing terrorist
groups, especially through attacks during the Persian Gulf war.
Four Americans were killed in terrorist attacks in Europe this
year--three were victims of indigenous leftist groups--as
compared with none in 1990.
</p>
<p> A particular concern was a surge in terrorist attacks
against US, Western, and other interests in Greece and Turkey
in 1991 by indigenous groups. The deadly 17 November
organization carried out several bombing attacks in Greece and
assassinated a US serviceman during the first quarter of 1991.
In Turkey, the Turkish Revolutionary Left (Dev Sol) and the
Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) were both involved in terrorist
activities such as assassinations, bombings and kidnappings. Two
Americans died in such attacks. A third American was killed in
a fundamentalist-related murder.
</p>
<p> Looking to the future, Western Europe may experience a
growth in rightwing terrorism as European integration progresses
and international migration into Europe increases.
</p>
<p>Source: United States Department of State, April 1992.
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>