In the wake of recent developments, Greece is once again being cast as a nation that habitually imports and exports troublemakers and terrorism.

The country is seen as a preferred destination among certain elements abroad who think that in this corner of the continent they can behave in ways which are not accepted in other European states.

We are now witnessing an attempt to export terror – an envelope that exploded at the European offices of the IMF in Paris Thursday carried a Greek return address and was purported to have been sent by a New Democracy official, while, earlier in the day, local guerrilla group Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire claimed responsibility for a similar package containing explosives that was intercepted by German police the previous day.

This is causing damage to the country’s image during a very delicate period. We must – as a society and as a political system – change our stand vis-a-vis phenomena of this kind before it is too late.