Army coup d’état in Greece – Is it possible?
Posted by Arms Control Center in ARMED FORCES, tags: coup d'état, Greece, Greek Army, Greek Debt, JuntaThe foreign press and some misinformed politicians keep talking about a possible Coup D’etat in Greece due to the financial situation which tortures the people. The last army coup which took place in 1967 lasted for seven years and its memory is still vivid and clear. Today most (if not all) high-ranking army officers graduated after the collapse of the 1967-1974 junta in Greece and have solid democratic principles embedded in their personality. HACC believes that the new leadership of the Armed Forces, just like the previous one, consists of well educated officers who have learned from a very early age that juntas, although sometimes incited by politicians, always defame the military which becomes involved. Greeks are a proud nation with a history of thousands of years and a reputation for overthrowing and eliminating dictators and tyrants. These people are so liberal and democratic that they would overthrow any leader whom they consider to be oppressing or corrupt. The Hellenic Arms Control Center admits that if riots escalate then the Police might not be able to put them down especially since in every riot there are criminal mobs embedded in the demonstrations intending to loot and destroy. In such a case resorting to the Army is the first possible thought however, people outside Greece should know that the Army in Greece is not made of mercenaries and that many soldiers are conscripts who serve for a few months and then go back home. The Army in Greece is part of the community, supported by the people and suffers the same financial recession like everybody else. Greece is not Libya, or Syria. The Greek Governments are democratically elected and would not survive any massive violent wave of demonstrations let alone resort to the Army, which would probably refuse to attack civilians. Therefore HACC strongly believes that a Coup D’ Etat in Greece is currently out of the question.