- Local Name: Οργάνωση Αναρχική Δράση
- Transliteration: Orgánosi Anarchikí Drási
- Alternatives: N/a
- Status: 2017 – Active
- Conflicts: Greek Anarchist Militancy
The Anarchist Action Organization [OAD; Orgánosi Anarchikí Drási] is a left-wing extremist outfit active in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. It apparently plays a key role in the organization of anarchist militancy in Thessaloniki and has been an important component in the drive to unify the left-wing extremist struggle in the city. The OAD’s size and composition remain unknown.
The OAD first appeared in January 2017 when it published a statement on an anarchist website in which it claimed to have attacked the residence of a judge with an incendiary bomb. No such action was reported in the Greek press however. The OAD claimed a further three arson attacks that similarly went unnoticed over the following months. The group’s initial actions most likely failed or did not cause any damage. On Nov. 30, 2017, its members successfully detonated an incendiary bomb at the apartment building of the head of a patriotic association in the Kalamaria suburb of Thessaloniki.1 In the first months of 2018, the OAD set off other incendiary bombs at a building of the ministry of defense and the regional administrative headquarters of the Greek-Orthodox church in the city.2 On Apr. 18, the group was behind incendiary bomb attacks on the homes of an investigative judge and a retired appeals judge.3 Later that year, militants of the outfit similarly attacked the residences of two army officers and the president of a local business association.4 In 2019, the pace of OAD operations decreased. The group targeted an information center of the European Union located at the Thessaloniki city hall in May.5
The OAD likely spearheaded efforts to unite leftist militants in resisting the Greek government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, interpreting stringent mitigation policy as an assault on the working class. The group was one of the founders of the Class Solidarity Front [MTA; Métopo Taxikís Allilengýis], an ideologically diverse alliance of small militant factions that aimed to prioritize armed resistance against the perceived intensification of the “oppression” by the ruling class. The OAD carried out the Apr. 15, 2020 attack on the law practice of a member of parliament for the conservative ND party in the name of the MTA.6 In June 2020, it attacked an office of the Manpower temporary employment company in Thessaloniki.7 The OAD later stated to have struck at the American firm in support of the so-called “Black Lives Matter” campaign.8
In early 2021, the OAD again played an apparent key role in the formation of a structure to coordinate left-wing militant activity. Unlike the ideologically diverse MTA, the newly established Direct Action Cells [PAD; Pirínes Amesis Drásis] was specifically geared towards anarchist revolutionaries. The alliance aimed at forming a coherent political plan, providing mutual assistance and wage a committed and consistent campaign of attrition against the “state and the capitalist system”. The PAD was also active elsewhere in Greece.
In February 2021, the OAD attacked the offices of the Greek-American union and a government compound as part of the PAD franchise.9 The group cosigned the PAD’s official announcement of formation published on May 15, 2021. A few days later, the OAD called for class warfare in a separately released communiqué. The group subsequently attacked homes of policemen and people accused of supporting the “capitalist system”. Some of these actions were carried out in the name of the PAD. In July 2021, the OAD stepped up its campaign of intimidation by publishing the personal data of 21 police officers on the internet.10 On Sep. 17, its members set off an incendiary bomb at a tax revenue office.11 The OAD claimed the attack in the name of the MTA. In November 2021, the group was behind two arson attacks against the homes of two policemen included on its list of targets.12
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