Thursday June 10 7:05 AM ET
U.S. Marines Face Anti-NATO Protest In Greece
By Karolos Grohmann EVZONI, Greece (Reuters) - A huge
banner saying ``U.S. killers go home'' greeted
U.S. marines heading for Kosovo when they landed in
Greece Thursday, but there were no other
anti-American incidents as they traveled across the
country.
Greece is a member of NATO but it is also a
traditional friend of the fellow-Christian Orthodox Serbs and
has contributed no troops or aircraft to NATO's
Yugoslav campaign, which has been highly unpopular
among the Greeks.
``The first thing we saw on the beach was a giant
banner which had 'U.S. killers go home' written on it,''
a marine told Reuters as members of the 2,200-man
force entered Macedonia at this frontier post after
travelling through Greece.
``We are a peacekeeping force. There is a
misunderstanding here,'' the marine said.
Previous protests blocked the passage of U.S. troops
heading through Greece for neighboring Macedonia
for a time.
Greece this week blocked the disembarkation of the
2,200 marines for several days, saying they could
only cross its territory when it was certain they would enter Kosovo as
peacekeepers only.
The government in Athens has been particularly wary of letting the U.S.
troops through this week, seeking to win favor with
voters before European Parliament elections Sunday.
The marines had been kept waiting since last Sunday aboard three U.S. ships
off the port of Thessaloniki.
Before they landed on Litohoro beach near Thessaloniki, the main transit
point for NATO troops and supplies into Macedonia,
hundreds of Greek riot police pushed about 500 demonstrators back from the
beach.
The protesters, mostly from the Greek Communist Party, chanted slogans like
``Yankees go home'' and ``American murderers''
as they were pushed back.
The marines traveled some 175 miles across northern Greece to the
Macedonian frontier to join the NATO-led force of some
50,000 troops preparing to enter Kosovo. There were no more protesters at
the Greek-Macedonian border and the marines'
progress through Greece appeared to have gone without a hitch.
Reporters at the border saw two convoys cross with marines in buses and at
least 12 of the amphibious assault craft they had
earlier used to land at Litohoro beach near the port city of Thessaloniki.
``These marines will be among the first to enter Kosovo,'' a NATO official
told Reuters as the first members of the 26th Marine
Expeditionary Force waded up the beach at Litohoro.
Earlier Stories
U.S. Marines Land In Greece On Way To Kosovo (June 10)
Yugoslavs Sign Kosovo Pull-Out Terms (June 9)
Bombing Set To Stop As Kosovo Peace Signed (June 9)
Yugoslavia To Start Pullout In Hours -- Minister (June 9)
Serbs To Start Kosovo Pullout Thursday-Yugo Formin (June 9)
