Operational inadequacy

Serious mistakes were clearly made in the police's handling of the rally in downtown Athens on Sunday in protest at the Prespes name deal, which descended into violence and resulted in dozens of injuries.

Clearly the force's strategy for the event was faulty and the riot police failed to rein in the extremist elements that sought to hijack the demonstration.

Most importantly, the police used excessive amounts of chemicals as they clashed with what was a small group of rioters, creating serious problems for everyone else who had gathered in Syntagma Square.

For some months now, the leadership of the Greek Police (ELAS) has shown that it suffers from operational inadequacies in a number of different areas, while also trying to pander to the political leadership.