MILITARY TAKEOVER IN GREECE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A001800010075-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 29, 2007
• Sequence Number: 75
• Publication Date: April 22, 1967
• Content Type: IM

r. J_ (l/M
OCI No. 0807/67
DIA review(s)
State Dept. review
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
22 April 1967
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
Military Takeover in Greece
(Situation Report Number 4--6:00 AM EST)
1. Athens remains calm. There have been only a
few incidents. Security restrictions against telephone
communications, commercial air service, and travel within
Greece have been rescinded. Most of the politicians
detained during the coup were to be released last night,
but their release has not been reported.
2. I (suspected Com-
munist agents will be arrested; 361 of 800 known dan-
gerous Communist have been rounded up, and all material
at some leftist organizations' offices is being con-
fiscated.
3. In his address to the Greek people yesterday,
Prime Minister Kolias justified the coup by claiming
that the elections--no matter who won--would have led
to "bloodshed and chaos" and that the army "intervened ,,.
to check the march toward destruction one step before
the brink was reached." Kolias urged national unity
and castigated the "bad demons, demagogs, unconscientious
opportunists, afid professional anarchists who sought to
divide us."
4. Although Kolias promised the country would
return to "parliamentarism on a wholesome basis after
the consolidation of normality," his remarks reflect a
disgust with professional politicians which will make
NOTE: This memorandum was produced solely by CIA. It
was prepared by the Office of Current Intelligence
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T? SLUKL'i'
it difficult for the coup leaders to return Greece to
its former rulers. The announced objectives of the new
government--a just distribution of national income,
strengthening the church, achievement of social justice
and hastening of economic development--indicate that
at least some of the members of the new government
regard the coup as more than a temporary expedient to
prevent a Communist takeover.
5. On Cyprus, Interior Minister Polykarpos
Georkatzis is apprehensive about a leftwing demonstra-
tion planned for Nicosia on 22 April by AKEL (the Com-
munist Party). Any such demonstrations or incidents
instigated by AKEL presumably would be in protest
against the rightwing military takeover in Greece.
Georkatzis has interceded with AKEL leaders in an at-
tempt to dissuade them from any such action, and states
that if they persist in their plans he will use police
and military to put down disturbances.
6. There are no indications that either Turkey
or the Turkish Cypriots are attempting to exploit the
situation in Greece.
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OCI No. 0808/67
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
22 April 1967
Military Takeover in Greece
(Situation Report Number 5-11:3107A M EST)
1. The situation in Athens has remained outwardly calm.
During the night, tanks and troops were removed from the
center of the city, and traffic moved normally during the
day. The US Embassy reports that people have seemed to be
going about their business as usual although the average
person appeared "stunned and puzzled" by yesterday's coup.
2. At the same time, however, indications that all
may not be well within the new regime evidently have
reached the foreign press. A somewhat guarded Reuters
piece from Athens this morning pinpointed an army
brigadier and two young colonels as the leaders of the
coup, and noted that there was "no independent confirma-
tion" and some uncertainty that the King backed the coup.
If rumors of this kind persist, the coup leaders may well
press the King to give more signs of active cooperation
with them.
3. The new government announced that it was removing
its emergency restrictions on economy activity, and that the
stock and monetary markets would operate as they did
before the coup. Traditionally, political crises lead
Greeks to convert their money into gold and to begin
hoarding household goods. If such activities began, the
government presumably would reinstate emergency measures.
4. The coup may cut back the valuable Greek tourist
trade, and may inhibit recently planned foreign investment
in Greece. The Government has emphasized that its policy
will be one of financial prudence and monetary stability,
however, and if the situation remains stable these economic
reactions are likely to be only temporary.
17O? 1s memorandum was produced solely by. CIA. It
was prepared by the Office of Current Intelligence
CONFIDENTIAL
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law yv1N r 1 iir.i' 11riL, NOW
5. On Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot press is showing
considerable caution in its treatment of the Greek
situation, reflecting the Cypriot Government's advice
that Cypriots avoid involvement. The press takes
particular notice of the new Greek government's intent
to pursue the goal of enosis of Cyprus with Greece.
The Cypriot Communist newspaper warns that the Cypriot
people must be vigilant to prevent extension of the
"American imperialist" coup to Cyprus.
CONFIDENTIAL
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No. 0810/67
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
22 April 1967
Military Takeover in Greece
(Situation Report Number 6=1630 EST)
1. Twelve new Cabinet ministers and two under-
secretaries have been sworn into office in the pres-
ence of King Constantine. They reportedly include
four Supreme Court Justices, the Deputy Prosecutor
of the Supreme Court, and a retired Vice Admiral.
Paul Gouras is Minister of Foreign Affairs--the post
which he held in the caretaker Paraskevopoulos gov-
ernment which fell on 30 March. The new Under Sec-
retary of National Defense is Lt. General Zoitakis,
previously reported as a prime mover in the coup.
2. Although a government spokesman has told
journalists that "the 1sing is with us", other re-
ports have indicated that the King was balking at
putting his signature on the decree declaring martial
law and suspending certain articles of the constitu-
tion. The Embassy has not confirmed that the King
has signed the decree, despite the fact that radio
announcements immediately after the coup asserted
that the King had signed.
3. Interior Minister Patakos has announced
that the curfew will be in effect only from 1 .M to
5 A.i: and that theaters are free to operate. Indoor
meetings and outdoor gatherings of more than five
persons, however, are still banned. A statement
issued today indicates that the government intends
to exercise strict control of the press. It noted
that freedom of the press does not mean "licentious-
ness" or "a yellow press."
4. Elements of the US Sixth Fleet have been
directed to proceed to an area off the southern tip
of Greece and to the Ionian Sea as a contingency
measure.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
22 April 1967
Military Takeover in Greece
(Situation Report Number 7--2000 EST)
1. A message from the Defense Attache in Athens
confirms other indications that behind the facade of
outward calm the situation is in fact extremely tense
and uncertain. The Attache reports that the takeover
evidently included a substantial amount of deliberate
violence and "thuggery" against potential opponents.
He also states that it has become clear that the coup
did not have the active support of the senior officers
of the Greek military, many of whom apparently were
duped into believing that the King had ordered it,
and that Lt. Gen. Spandidakis is merely a figure-head.
The coup colonels now comtemplate retiring their
seniors.
2. The King, according to the Attache, remains
unreconciled to the coup and views its perpetrators
as a bunch of thugs. Earlier in the day he was con-
sidering a variety of desperate actions, including
calling on troops in northern Greece, where he e-?
lieves commanders are loyal to '_2:m, to march south
to regain control. The fact that additional civilian
cabinet members were subsequently sworn in suggests
that the King is still biding his time while acting
under duress. It seems unlikely that these tensions
can persist unresolved for more than a few days. The
Attache himself sees the fall of the monarchy, civil
war within the Greek military, and/or the establish-
ment of a Nasir-style dictatorship as being within
the range of possibilities.
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3. There have been additional reports indi-
cating extreme nervousness among the Greek Cypriot
authorities in Cyprus, where the leftist press has
already warned against the possibility of a follow-
up coup by rightists.
5. The Communists continue to take a very
hard line toward the Greek coup, attempting to link
the King closely with it. The French Communist
Party has called upon the French Government to with-
hold recognition. Expatriate Greeks have demon-
strated against the coup at the Greek embassy in
Copenhagen, and Greek workers have put on a similar
protest in Stuttgart, West Germany. The Communists'
clandestine "Voice of Truth," broadcasting from
Rumania, also continues to denounce the "royal
fascist coup" in unmeasured terms.
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