Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei

Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei
Συνωμοσία των Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς
Also known as Conspiracy of Cells of Fire
Dates of operation 2008–present
Motives War against the state
Active region(s) Greece
Ideology Individualist anarchism
Status Active

The Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei (SPF; Greek: Συνωμοσία των Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς, Synomosía ton Pyrínon tis Fotiás), also translated as Conspiracy of Fire Cells or Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, is a radical anarchist organization based in Greece. The SPF first surfaced on 21 January 2008, with a wave of 11 firebombings against luxury car dealerships and banks in Athens and Thessaloniki.[1] Monthly waves of arson have been followed by proclamations expressing solidarity with arrested anarchists in Greece and elsewhere. In September 2009, following an escalation to the use of crude time bombs, four suspected members of the group were arrested. In November 2010 two more suspects were arrested while attempting to mail parcel bombs to embassies and EU leaders and organizations.

History

The Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei (SPF) conducted its first wave of nearly simultaneous firebombing attacks using gas canister bombs at around 01:00 on 21 January 2008, to express solidarity with an arrested anarchist. At 17:00 on 20 February an incendiary device was detonated at the Athens law firm of Anastasios Papaligouras, former Minister for Justice. A woman employee was cut by flying glass.[2][3] The following day, assailants detonated incendiary devices as part of eight separate attacks across parts of Attica, targeting banks, an insurance company and several vehicles.[2]

The group was credited with at least four attacks in 2009. On 7 July, an explosion occurred outside the house of Panagiotis Chinofotis, a former Minister of Internal Affairs and decorated Admiral of the Hellenic Navy with a tenure as a former Head of the Armed Forces of Greece. The bomb, using gunpowder in a pressure cooker, was subsequently claimed by the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, asserting that Chinofotis bore some of the responsibility for the murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos,[4] the young student whose killing by policemen in December 2008 had led to the 2008 Greek riots. On October 30 a similar device was detonated outside the Athens home of Marietta Giannakou, a prominent conservative opposition Member of the European Parliament, causing minor damage and no injuries.[5] On 14 November a bomb detonated in front of the home of Panhellenic Socialist Movement deputy Mimis Androulakis in the Kareas suburb of eastern Athens. The SPF claimed the attack.[6] [7]On 28 December a more powerful bomb went off in the Athens district of Neos Kosmos, damaging the Ethniki Asfalistiki insurance building off Syngrou Avenue.[8] The group's proclamation announced a new alliance with a group that had access to real explosives.[9]

The SPF took credit for further attacks in 2010, including the explosion of a makeshift bomb on 9 January outside the Greek parliament building, causing minor damages and no injuries,[10] and three bomb attacks on 20 March relating to the immigration issue. The bombs attacked the offices of Greek Nationalist party Golden Dawn, causing significant damage, the home of a Pakistani community leader in Athens, causing slight damage and no injuries,[11] and a bus shelter outside a police station along Petrou Ralli Street in Athens, which had been implicated in several instances of police violence against immigrants, including the death of two Pakistanis in custody at the station. The latter explosion caused minimal damage and no injuries.[12]

2010 parcel bombs and arrests

On 1 November, a package addressed to the Mexican Embassy in Athens exploded in the office of a courier company, scorching the hands of the employee who handled it. A second package, containing a similar bomb (a small quantity of gunpowder from fireworks) addressed to offices of Eurojust in the Netherlands, was destroyed in a controlled explosion. Two suspects were arrested after police cordoned off the affected area. Both were wearing wigs and armed with Glock 9-mm pistols, and one was wearing a bulletproof vest. They were in possession of two other explosive parcels, one addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the other to the Belgian Embassy. On the following day, bombs exploded outside the Swiss and Russian embassies. No one was hurt.[13]

Greek authorities halted international airmail for 48 hours on 3–4 November 2010, following the mail bombings, and the police were reported to be searching for members of the SPF in relation to the attacks.[14]

2010 Athens courthouse bombing

On 30 December 2010, a motorcycle bomb caused major damage to an Athens courthouse, but caused no injuries, as police had evacuated the area after a warning call. The online proclamation was signed "Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire".[15]

2011 police shootout

In May 2011 a shootout occurred in an Athens suburb between police officers and an individual suspected to be linked to the SPF. Two officers were wounded, as was the suspect. The suspect's fingerprints were allegedly found in an apartment in Volos where numerous SPF members had been previously arrested. A second suspect was reported to have been involved in the shootout, but it is unclear whether that individual was apprehended.[16]

2017 parcel bombs

In March 2017, a parcel bomb meant for German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble was intercepted. Greek Anarchist group the Conspiracy of Fire Cells claimed responsibility for sending that device as the second act in "Project Nemesis".[17] They are also suspected of having sent the parcel bomb that injured an IMF employee in Paris on 16 March. The letter was sent from Greece.[18][19]

Ideology

Two SPF proclamations published in athens.indymedia.org on 19 May 2010, explained that SPF represented a "third pole" of anarchist thought in Greece, anarcho-individualism, contrasting it with social anarchism and insurrectionary anarchism.[20] In their published text "The Sun Still Rises", they put forward a redefinition of the concept of revolutionary "organization" as an entity consisting of many groups and individuals of various backgrounds, united through a common critique of capitalist society and a commitment to "immediate freedom" through urban guerrilla tactics.[21]

Foreign reaction

The organization was designated as a terrorist group on 13 October 2011, by the U.S. Department of State.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Εμπρηστικό μπαράζ-Overnight Series of Arsons (21/1/2008)". Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 Anarchists claim responsibility for arson United Press International
  3. ↑ http://news.in.gr/greece/article/?aid=874928&lngDtrID=244 in.gr
  4. ↑ "ΤΡΙΤΗ ΟΨΗt". 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Bomb targets MEP home - News - ekathimerini.com". Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Bomb explodes at deputy's home - News - ekathimerini.com". Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Communique from the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire (Greece) - UK Indymedia". www.indymedia.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  8. ↑ Bomb goes off at the Ethniki Asfalistiki building in Neos Kosmos | Αθήνα 9.84 Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ "Έκρηξη συγγρού-Συνωμοσία πυρήνων της φωτιάς". Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Blast outside Greek parliament, no one hurt". Reuters. January 9, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Second blast hits Greek capital". BBC News. March 20, 2010.
  12. ↑ "L'Express - Actualités Politique, Monde, Economie et Culture". LExpress.fr. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Explosions outside Swiss, Russian Embassies in Greece". CNN. November 2, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Greece suspends foreign airmail service after attacks". BBC News. November 3, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Greek anarchists claim Athens court bomb". USA Today. January 5, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Terror link in shooting probe - News - ekathimerini.com". Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "Greek group claims it mailed parcel bomb to German finance minister". 16 March 2017 – via Reuters.
  18. ↑ "Un colis piégé blesse une employée du FMI à Paris".
  19. ↑ Smith, Helena (16 March 2017). "Letter bomb that exploded at Paris IMF office was sent from Greece" – via The Guardian.
  20. ↑ "Συνωμοσία Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς - Ανακοίνωση σχετικα με τα γεγονότα της 5/5". Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  21. ↑ "The Sun Still Rises". Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  22. ↑ "Terrorist Designation of Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei". Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State. October 13, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-11-01.
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