Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei

The Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei (Greek: Συνωμοσία των Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς also Conspiracy of Fire Cells; Conspiracy of Cells of Fire; Synomosia Pyrinon tis Fotias (SPF)) is a radical anarchist organization based in Greece. SPF first surfaced on January 21, 2008 with a wave of 11 firebombings against luxury car dealerships and banks in Athens and Thessaloniki.^[1] Monthly arson waves 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 (gas-canister bombs) around 1 AM local time on 21 January 2008, in solidarity with an arrested anarchist. The next attack wave in the series, on February 20, included an incendiary device at the law firm of former Minister for Justice Anastasios Papaligouras in Athens at 5:25 PM local time. A woman employee was cut by flying glass.^[2][3][4] 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.^[3][5] A similar incident occurred in Thessaloniki on March 19 when attackers set a town hall and three security vehicles on fire.^[6]

Further attacks struck Athens on April 9–10, 2008, when incendiary devices were detonated overnight at the Italian Institute of Culture, a vehicle repair shop and four automobile dealerships.^[7] On December 3, an improvised explosive device went off at the Athens offices of Agence France-Presse at 5:50 PM local time.^[8]

The group was credited with at least four further attacks in 2009. On July 7, an explosion occurred outside the house of a former Minister of Internal Affairs, Panagiotis Chinofotis. The bomb, gunpowder in a pressure cooker, was subsequently claimed by the Conspiracy of Fire Cells, asserting that Chinofotis bore some responsibility in the murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos.^[who?][9] On October 30, a similar explosive device denoted outside the Athens home of prominent conservative opposition member of the European Parliament, Marietta Giannakou, causing minor damage and no injuries.^[10] On November 14, a bomb detonated in front of the home of PASOK deputy Mimis Androulakis in the Kareas suburb of eastern Athens. Conspiracy of Fire claimed the attack, accusing Androulakis of being a traitor to the left wing.^[11] On December 28, a more powerful bomb went off in the Athens district of Neos Kosmos/ damaging the Ethniki Asfalistiki insurance building off Syngrou Avenue.^[12] The group's proclamation announced a new alliance with another group with access to real explosives.^[13] The group took credit for further attacks in 2010, including the explosion of a makeshift bomb outside the Greek parliament building causing minor damages and no injuries on January 9^[14] and three bomb attacks on March 20 relating to the immigration issue. The bombs attacked the offices of neo-nazi party Chrysi Avyi, causing significant damage, the home of a Pakistani community leader in Athens, causing slight damage and no injuries,^[15] and a bus shelter outside a police station along Petrou Ralli Street in Athens that had been implicated in several instances of police violence directed towards immigrants, including the death of two Pakistanis in custody at the station. The explosion caused minimal damage and no injuries.^[16]

2010 Parcel Bombs and Arrests

On November 1, 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 a police cordon of the affected area was established; both suspects were wearing wigs and armed with Glock nine millimeter pistols, one had a bulletproof vest and the two were in possession of two other explosive parcels addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Belgian Embassy.^[17]

The following day bombs exploded outside of the Swiss and Russian Embassies while suspicious packages that were addressed to Europol and the Bulgarian, Chilean and German Embassies were recovered and disrupted. One parcel, destined for Italian president Berlusconi, exploded while being examined by Italian authorities following a Greek police warning. Another was retrieved from the outer office of German Chancellor Merkel. No one was injured.

Greek authorities halted international airmail for 48 hours, from November 3–4, 2010, following the mail bombings, and the police were reported to be searching for members of the Conspiracy of Fire Cells in relation to the attacks.^[18] A trial date of 17 January 2011

2010 Athens courthouse bombing

On 30. December 2010 a motorcycle-bomb cause huge damage to a Athens courthouse, but caused no injuries as police had evacuated the area after a warning call. The online proclamation was signed as Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire.^[19]

2011 Police Shootout

In May 2011 a shootout occurred in an Athens suburb between police officers and an individual suspected to be linked to Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei. Two officers were wounded in the shootout as well as the suspect. The suspect's fingerprints were allegedly found in an apartment in Volos where numerous members of Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei had been previously arrested. A second suspect was allegedly involved in the shootout but it is unclear if that individual was apprehended.^[20][21]

Ideology

Two SPF proclamations published in athens.Indymedia.org on May 19, 2010 explained that SPF represented a "third pole" of anarchist thought in Greece, anarcho-individualism, contrasting it with social anarchism and insurrectionary anarchism. SPF proclamations, sent to athens.indymedia.org following each operation, quote from T.S. Eliot or Dylan Thomas to convey their authors' alienation as well as hostility to society as a web of repressive relations. SPF rejects class struggle and other collective categories—the war against the state and its institutions is a battle for individual self-actualization. One duty SPF willingly embraces is solidarity with imprisoned anarchists in Greece and other countries. SPF, uniquely among Greek armed groups, uses the word "terrorist" favorably. Some of its writers refer to themselves as nihilists.

Because these proclamations are inconsistent with traditional ideological positions found within anarchism, namely communitarianism and solidarity with the working classes, some anarchists do not believe SPF should be considered an anarchist organization. However, as written in their published text "The Sun Still Rises", they assert their redefining 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 commitment to fight it, and create "immediate freedom" through urban guerrilla tactics.

References

1. ^ http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=817948 Eleftherotypia, 22 January 2008.
2. ^ http://wits-classic.nctc.gov/ViewIncident.do?incidentId=61455 Worldwide Incidents Tracking System
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/02/22/Anarchists-claim-responsibility-for-arson/UPI-26531203730753/ United Press International
4. ^ http://news.in.gr/greece/article/?aid=874928&lngDtrID=244 in.gr
5. ^ http://wits-classic.nctc.gov/ViewIncident.do?incidentId=61456 Worldwide Incidents Tracking System
6. ^ http://wits-classic.nctc.gov/ViewIncident.do?incidentId=62050 Worldwide Incidents Tracking System
7. ^ http://wits-classic.nctc.gov/ViewIncident.do?incidentId=62917 Worldwide Incidents Tracking System
8. ^ http://wits-classic.nctc.gov/ViewIncident.do?incidentId=72698 Worldwide Incidents Tracking System
9. ^ http://www.tritiopsi.gr/?p=5625
10. ^ ekathimerini.com | Bomb targets MEP home
11. ^ ekathimerini.com | Bomb explodes at deputy’s home
12. ^ Bomb goes off at the Ethniki Asfalistiki building in Neos Kosmos | Αθήνα 9.84
13. ^ ((i)) Indymedia :: Athens :: Newswire :: Έκρηξη συγγρού-Συνωμοσία πυρήνων της φωτιάς
14. ^ "Blast outside Greek parliament, no one hurt". Reuters. January 9, 2010. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6081N920100109. 
15. ^ "Second blast hits Greek capital". BBC News. March 20, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8577614.stm. 
16. ^ Attentat à Athènes contre un centre de la police - LExpress.fr
17. ^ "Explosions outside Swiss, Russian Embassies in Greece". CNN. November 2, 2010. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/02/greece.switzerland.blast/index.html?hpt=T2. 
18. ^ "Greece suspends foreign airmail service after attacks". BBC News. November 3, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11680593. 
19. ^ "Greek anarchists claim Athens court bomb". USA today. January 5, 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-01-05-greece-anarchists_N.htm. Retrieved January 5, 2011. 
20. ^ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/122302423.html
21. ^ http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_19/05/2011_391490

External links

• Who are the Conspiracy of Fire Cells? by Brady Kiesling