Is Athens Safe for Clinton?
Dateline: 11/09/99Update: 11/11/99
What can the average visitor expect?
I'd avoid American businesses and the U.S. embassy area until after Clinton's visit. Individual travelers aren't likely to encounter any problems. But there may be delays due to traffic problems related to protests. During the visit itself on the 19-20th, strict security measures may interrupt some plans as Clinton tours the Acropolis and other major Athenian sights. The official motorcade, if it occurs as planned, will completely close the Athens coastal road. It's hard to plan around the state visit, since many details of Clinton's travels will not be released until the last minute, if at all.
The official word from the State Department is a "public announcement", a class of document defined by the State Department as "as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas which pose significant risks to the security of American travelers". "Public Announcements" are considered far less important than the more potent "travel advisory". No "travel advisory" has been issued, and Greece is making the distinction clear. To put this Greece-related "Public Announcement" in perspective (and scare the daylights out of yourself about traveling anywhere at all), read the "Worldwide Caution" issued on November 5th.
As travelers, remember that most Greeks have relatives in the U.S., and on a personal level, are friendly to Americans. Tourists should not encounter any direct problems, though this during this period it may be a good idea to skip wearing clothing with the U.S. flag or other clothing emblazoned with the names of obviously U.S. institutions.
Will Clinton be safe whatever date he arrives? This visit is calling for more mass security than either Bush's 1991 visit or Yasser Arafat's. Both Greek and U.S. teams are scrutinizing all possible security problems, and the Greek government is proclaiming all planned protests "inhospitable"...though approving some of them. Hopefully, this visit will proceed smoothly and safely and will permanently improve official Greece-U.S. relations, making future problems less likely to occur, whatever the time of year.
