By Tabassum Zakaria
THESSALONIKI, Greece (Reuters) - Defense Secretary William Cohen visited NATO member Greece Tuesday to strengthen relations following its reluctance to support the alliance bombing of Yugoslavia.
Cohen, who traveled to Thessaloniki, calling it ``the port of hope'' for rebuilding the Balkans, faced anti-American protests on his visit.
Demonstrators burning an American flag and spray painted ''Cohen killer go home'' in front of the American consulate here.
NATO has used Thessaloniki to deploy peacekeeping forces into Kosovo since the bombardment of Yugoslavia ended. Greece, which has been traditionally close to Yugoslavia, was the most reluctant member of the alliance in its 11-week air war.
The European Union has said the headquarters for rebuilding the Balkans should be located in Thessaloniki.
``It is the port of hope,'' Cohen said. ``It will be the hub for the reconstruction activity that will take place for the rebuilding of Kosovo and Yugoslavia ultimately.''
Hundreds of protesters, mainly members of the Greek Communist Party, staged rallies at the American consulate in Thessaloniki.
They chanted anti-U.S. slogans -- ``murderers of the people, Americans,'' and ``Cohen go home'' -- as Cohen met Greek Defense Minister Apostolos-Athanasios Tsohatzopoulos in the white marble summer palace of the former royal family.
More than 90 percent of Greeks opposed NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, Tsohatzopoulos said.
``Our allies in fact fully accepted our position which was one that as a Balkan country, Greece would not be able to participate in any conflict operations which lasted for two months until in fact a diplomatic solution was reached,'' he said through a translator.
Greece is contributing 550 soldiers to serve in the American sector of the peacekeeping operation in Kosovo.
Cohen, nearing the end of a six-country European tour, will next visit Turkey, where the United States is keen to help ease long standing tensions with Greece over Cyprus, which has been virtually partitioned since 1974.
``The United States favors obviously a peaceful resolution to the situation on Cyprus. We support negotiation without any preconditions and indeed look forward to the time that has not already arrived that there has been an agreement,'' Cohen said.
The United States has also been talking to Greece about combating terrorism. Last month Greek officials said they were annoyed by State Department comments that they viewed as hinting at Greece being lax in fighting terrorism.
``Yes we are concerned that more needs to be done to deter terrorist activities and to then actively seek out and prosecute and convict those who indulge in acts of terrorism, be it in Greece, the United States, or any other country,'' Cohen said.
A senior U.S. defense official, who requested anonymity, said one sign that U.S. relations with Greece have ''considerable strength'' despite the public outcry over the NATO bombing was that Greece was planning to buy about $4 billion in U.S. military equipment including about 50 to 60 F-16 planes, although the contract had not yet been signed. ))))))))))
This is just a reflection on what some Balkan people think of the new imperial power. The trouble is that if the Greeks do not buy arms from the USA, everybody in Greece believes that the good old USA will either create a war between Greece and Turkey or create a "humanitarian crisis " in Greece with its Moslem, mainly Turkish, minority, or both. So, to avoid a war and the loss of territory, the government obeys the new imperial power and buys more arms than ever.
elias