LETTER FROM JOHN PANOPOULOS PUBLISHED IN VIMA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R013900220004-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 17, 2006
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: October 13, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

tperl I Rti /IV
Obi -1462 pk-v+A
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CLASSIFICATION
COUNTRY Greece
SMECT Letter from John
Published in Vima
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE
ACQUIRE
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
CONFIDENTIAL
SECURITY INFORMATION
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT NO.
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L
BO NOT OIROO 41E
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CD NO,
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DATE DISTR. 13 October 1952
NO, OF PAGES 3
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECTIONS 793
AND 794, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSWISSION OR REVE-
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PROHIBITED BY LAW.. THE REPRODUCTION OF, THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
*SOURCE
Documentary.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
The following is a translation of an article from the 19 July 1952 issue of
VIMA quoting a letter written by John Panopoulos, until recently Director of
Police in the Ministry of the InteriorA The information is disseminated both
for its own inherent interest, and to report on Panopoulos9 activities in the
matter.
"Vima, 19 July 19529 page
"THE wau9I4 IN THE SECURITY CORPS
UNTFICATION OF THE POLICE WILL FAVOR COMMUNISM
LETTER OF MR JOHN PANOPOULCS
"From John Panopoulos, Chief of City PolicegWandurAtilashorttime
ago General Director of the Ministry of Interior, we have received
the following interesting letter on the question recently raised
regarding the Unification of the City Police with the Gendarmerie.
"Mr.. Director,
"From a detailed investigation which I conducted I have ascertained that the
public agitation on the subject of the unification of the two Security Corps
is caused exclusively and solely by interested circles, who have been seized
by :a mania for disbanding the City Police, that is, through unifying them with
the Gendarmerie. This mania has recently been aggravated by their mistaken
otion that today, thanks to the turmoil in the Corps of City Police provoked
by various administrative errors, suitable conditions have been created for
putting their plans into action.
CONFIDENTIAL
CLASSIFICATION
MORI/CDF
STATE
ARMY
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NAVY #
NSRB
DI SIR I BUT ION
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AIR
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"Regardless of the fact that the turmoil-provoked in the Corps of the .City Police
bears testimony to the presence of moral soundness among its officers, the value
of an institution is not judged by the failures of certain of its representatives
- or by the mistaken method usedby the central-serviee in coping with them, but by
other factors which I do not think it necessary to explain here.
in all branches of. the state ,is arganiiation errors are committed by 'employees,
and particularly serious were those errors which provoked the recent uproar in
the -City Police, But no one ever thought of abolishing the services to Which
these employees belong. If, paradoxically, -things had been otherwise, then many
goverment services (among them the Gendarmerie), wherein many untoward things
have .happened and continue to happen, would have to be abolished. Fortunately,
-however, things are not the way these circles think, Most important of all, not
all the officers of the Gendarmerig (that worthy Corps 0, regardless of their
theoreticalviews about the police system most ad antageous to the state, share
in these bizarre ideas.
"Neverthelese, since the public agitation which these few people have created is
exceedingly dainerous to public security, I feel it necessary to tell them the
following
Tizsia3 The institution of the City Police is the creation of the greatest of
the statesmen of modern Greece. For this institution to be abolished, it is
necessary that a statesman greater than Eleftherios Venizelos govern the country,
when he will replace the City Police with another more perfect institution, or it
is ressessary that the country be governed by a man who thinks that he surpasses
Eleftherios Venizelos in greatness. Unfortunately I have no hope that the first
is happening, and fortunately I have little fear that the second is occurring.
In any nese, the few men who are working for the abolition of the institution of
the City Police de not appear to be destined by Divine Providence to play either
of these two roles.
"i67pcondl The institution of the City Police was the conclusion to which Elef-
therios Venizeloe came approximately thirty years ago, because the Gendarmerie?
s g result of its composition and its other duties.-was not in a position to
cope with organized crime in the largeeeities. If this conclusion was correct
then, -when the Communist movement hardly existed in our country,- consider how
correct it is today when the Communist revolution AS fully developed
"Xaek The movement to unify the City Police with the Gendarmerie, meaning the
:hal abolition of the City Police, regardless of its seriousness? constitutes
(particularly at this moment)a clear .element of fell traveling with Commu-
tliAM. If it is true, as it certainly is, that our Nation is in 6. state of war
with Communism, then the threat of abolishing the City Police, already engaged.
in this war, removes from the men fighting against the enemy the most important
factor In the desired victory, namely their morale, -While we have Many exam,
plea to prove that Tony struggles have been won by morale only, we do not have -
eany examples of. a struggle won without morale Therefore let those Who are
talking about the abolitien of the City. Police, even, if they are only fooling, .
tak4 into consideration the fact that the morale of the fighters, of all fight
-
ere, and consequently of the police, is astonishingly sensitive and can be ad-
vereely affected even by nonsense, and the battle can be lest and Communism can
win. Then,- instead of the unification of the Gendarmerie and the -City Police,
merely the corpses of the men and of the two Corps will be "united" in some -
?
,CONFIDENTIAL
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wells (where they will have been thrown). This result will come with the in-
evitability of a law of physics, and those who are fooling about the unifica-
tion of the two Security Corps will not be able to prevent it.
"bgath: In that national front extending over the whole country against Com-
munism the principal battle of the many being fought was long ago undertaken
and waged by the City Police in the plain of Attica. For in the plain of Attica,
where the City Police have concentrated nine-tenths of their strength, Communism
has located its mind, heart, and soul. If we lose the principal battle in this
place, we have lost indeed--even if we win all the other secondary battles in
the rest of the country.
"Fifth: The unification of the two Security Corps is favored by men who are
very suspect from a nationalist point of view. It is precisely those men who
characterized the recent trial of the spies as a plot of the police (or, if you
prefer, of the 1Super-police'!) against the democratic innocence of the Belo-
giannises. The game of these suspect men is being played willy-nilly by all
those who strive with even the slightest effort for this unification. They
must beware--the responsibilities which they are taking on their shoulders are
tremendous.
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"Respectfully,
507 J. PANOPOULOS"
Comnent: For details of Panopoulos' discharge from office, see
CONFIDENTIAL
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