Greek solidarity — the people who blocked NATO convoys

Of all the NATO members, none showed greater resistance to the bombing of Serbia than Greece. While the governments of the other members supported the intervention, the Greek people stood by the Serbs en masse — through protests, blockades, humanitarian aid and unwavering moral support. It was the most massive demonstration of solidarity of one people with another in modern European history.

95% against the war

Polls conducted during the bombing showed astonishing figures: over 95% of Greeks were against the NATO intervention in Yugoslavia. This was not a marginal opposition — it was an almost unanimous stance of an entire people, regardless of political affiliation, age or social status.

The reasons were deep and multi-layered. Greeks and Serbs share the Orthodox faith, centuries of common history under the Ottoman Empire, an alliance in the Balkan Wars and both World Wars. For the Greeks, to bomb Serbia was unthinkable — like bombing a brother.

Blockades in Thessaloniki

The most dramatic manifestation of Greek solidarity were the blockades of NATO convoys in Thessaloniki. The port of Thessaloniki was one of the key logistical points for NATO operations in the Balkans — through it passed convoys with equipment and munitions intended for the forces in Macedonia and Kosovo.

Greek citizens, trade unions and anti-war organisations blocked access to the port and the road routes along which the NATO vehicles moved. Living barricades were organised — thousands of people blocked the roads, preventing the passage of military trucks. The police intervened, but were faced with such a mass of people that they often had to give up.

Protests in Athens and across Greece

Athens was the epicentre of the protests. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets, marching from Syntagma to the American embassy. Banners carried messages in Greek, Serbian and English: „NATO murderers!", „Serbs, you are not alone!", „Down with the American empire!"

The protests were not limited to Athens. Demonstrations were organised in:

• Thessaloniki — tens of thousands in front of the NATO base and the port
• On Crete — the Souda Bay military airfield was the target of protests
• On Rhodes, Corfu, Lesbos — even small islands had protest gatherings
• In Patras, Larissa, Volos — every larger city had anti-war demonstrations

Humanitarian aid

Besides the protests, the Greeks organised the mass sending of humanitarian aid to Serbia. Convoys with food, medicine, clothing and medical equipment set out from Greece towards Serbia — ironically, using the same roads along which the NATO convoys were supposed to pass.

The Greek Orthodox Church organised the collection of aid in every parish in the country. Hospitals sent surplus medical supplies. Schools collected school supplies for Serbian children. It was a spontaneous, unorganised but enormous action that showed the true face of the Greek people.

The position of the Greek government

The Greek government of Prime Minister Kostas Simitis was in an unenviable position. As a NATO member, Greece formally supported the alliance, but under the pressure of public opinion it refused to actively participate in the combat operations. Greek aircraft did not fly over Yugoslavia, and the Greek army did not directly participate in the bombing.

This policy of „quiet disobedience" was a unique case in the history of NATO — a member of the alliance that formally supports the operation, but in fact sabotages the logistics and refuses active participation.

The legacy of solidarity

Greek solidarity with Serbia in 1999 remained deeply engraved in Serbian memory. For the Serbs, the Greeks showed in the hardest moment what it means to be a friend. They could not stop the bombs — but they showed that someone in that world was standing by Serbia, that someone saw the injustice and that someone opposed it.

Even today, the relations between Serbia and Greece carry a special warmth that stems from that period. On the streets of Belgrade you can still see Greek flags today, and in Athens Serbian ones. Two peoples who recognised each other in the darkness of the war and said to one another: „We are here." Lest it be forgotten.