Athens , Greece ( CNN ) -- A bomb exploded outside Greece 's parliament building in central Athens on Saturday evening , a blast near a national landmark that unnerved the country . There were no casualties in the blast , and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told reporters that Greeks would not be intimidated by such acts . `` My message is simple : democracy can not be terrorized , '' he said when he arrived at his parliament office . Police were alerted immediately after the Eleftherotypia newspaper received a call saying a bomb was placed in an open area outside of parliament . Authorities closed off part of the boulevards in front of parliament and on the eastern side of the building before an explosive device detonated inside an installation for garbage disposal . Later , a caller phoned a police emergency line and said one bomb was placed outside of parliament and another inside the Hotel Grande Bretagne near parliament . The hotel entrance faces one of the closed boulevards . Melios Dimitris , Hotel Grande Bretagne manager , told CNN he had not heard of an immediate threat to the hotel and that the business is operating as usual . Law enforcement officers were carefully combing the area , local media reported , but police do n't think those threats are credible . Greece 's tomb of the unknown soldier , a major tourist attraction , is opposite the parliament building .
NEW : `` Democracy can not be terrorized , '' Prime Minister says . Newspaper received call that bomb was outside Greece 's parliament building . Authorities closed off area before explosive was detonated . The Greek Parliament has been evacuated after a blast in the basement of its building.