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Sunday, 22 December 2024
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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-07-31Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] ND's Georgiadis to ANA: 'People should decide what constitution they want'Main opposition New Democracy Vice President Adonis Georgiadis criticised the government's proposals for revising Greece's constitution in an interview with the ANA on Sunday, calling them "rushed, fragmentary and timid." According to the former minister, ND had submitted the only realistic proposal, which was that the two parties agree on the articles that they intend to open and to vote for each other's articles."Afterward, we can submit our proposals in a public debate so that in the pre-election campaign of the next elections, the Greek people can decide with their vote what kind of Constitution they want to have," he added. While not adopting a position on how the president of Greece should be elected, he noted that this process must be separated from the possibility of disbanding Parliament and calling new elections. He criticised the government's handling of the eight Turkish military personnel that sought asylum in Greece after the attempted coup in Turkey, noting that the constant references to the issue were "harming and not helping" the case. [02] Refugee flows up but not enough to draw conclusions, Dritsas tells ANAThere has been an increase in refugee flows in recent days but not one large enough to support conclusions, Shipping and Island Policy Minister Thodoris Dritsas said in an interview with the ANA on Sunday."We are on alert and planning our policy on the basis of all possibilities," he added, while pointing out that migrants and refugees wanted to go to Europe and not to stay in Greece. He rejected opposition party criticism as "irresponsible, unfounded and unsupported," and said it was part of a strategy to "break down" the opponent. "The government is currently making efforts to support Greek society, which has collapsed due to the six-year implementation of the memorandum," Dritsas said, noting that the memorandum signed by this government will be the final one and a "necessary compromise" in order to maintain a rudimentary stability until the "growth engine" kicked in again. "We are not saying to the Greek people that everything will be solved as if by magic but that we really are on a course to revive the economy," he added. [03] Parliament must take action to clear up Siemens case, Voutsis saysParliament must take action to clear up the Siemens case and find those responsible for the problems that this clearly perennial process of intertwined interests created in Greece's political system, Parliament President Nikos Voutsis noted in an interview with the newspaper "RealNews" published on Sunday.He noted meaningfully that the trial of the colonels that organised the Greek junta in 1967-1974 had been concluded in a year, with the conditions prevailing in 1975. Voutsis also commented on the report by the International Evaluation Office (IEO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) watchdog, saying this once again proved "the extent of international and domestic political hypocrisy" that had "trapped" Greece in a succession of memorandum programmes. The IMF's original advice calling for a generous haircut of Greek debt had not been followed to spare French and German banks, he said, and this position had then been served by a succession of right-wing and PASOK governments in Greece, who had insisted on the "sustainability" of the country's debt. [04] Arrests after anti-establishment activists disrupt Sunday serviceRiot police were called in and took more than 20 individuals into custody on Sunday, after a group of anti-establishment activists barged into a church in Thessaloniki during the Sunday mass and attempted to interrupt the service. The 26 detained were later placed under arrest for disturbing a religious gathering.The activists came in and threw flyers with slogans protesting against the clearing of abandoned buildings occupied by refugees and migrants in the Thessaloniki area, including the demolition of the former 'Alexander the Great' orphanage. The Church service resumed as normal after the police intervened to remove them. "Such things have never happened in Greece," said Thessaloniki Metropolitan Anthimos in a comment on the incident later on Sunday, after he was informed of what happened. "Today it is proved that the government does not control anything. Certainly not its own party organisation, SYRIZA, which is playing dangerous games of tolerance at the expense of the protection of citizens," main opposition New Democracy spokesman George Koumoutsakos said. "Let there be an end to this. The government's extended tolerance and SYRIZA's ideological-party coverage of the lawless behaviour of self-styled anti-establishment activists has made them brazen," he added, noting that the occupation and vandalism of public and private property was now followed by a brutal offence to the religious sentiments of Greeks. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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