Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-08-27

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Fire brigade announces seven arrests

[02] Papariga blames land policy for fires

[01] Fire brigade announces seven arrests

Seven people have so far been charged with setting the blazes that have swept the country since Friday, the fire brigade announced on Monday. Meanwhile, the death toll from the inferno in the fire-ringed zones of the Peloponnese and Evia has increased to at least 63 according to updated figures from the health ministry.

The suspects caught include one in the town of Zacharo in Ileia, one person in the prefecture of Laconia, four people in Styra in Evia and one in Xanthi. From the start of June until now, a total of 33 people in Greece have been charged with starting fires according to records in the crimes of arson department.

According to the latest update, serious fires are still raging in Sekoula, Faskomilia and Matesi Andritsainas in the prefecture of Ileia. The flames have also crossed over into the prefectures of Arcadia and Messinia, where dozens of villages have been evacuated as a precaution. The fire has passed through at least two villages in Gortynia and was heading toward Kotylio.

At around 16:30, the mayor of Megalopolis reported a new major fire almost within the town limits from the direction of Gortynia, while a truck carrying humanitarian aid and food from Tripolis has just arrived in the town.

Dozens of wild fires throughout the country are still blazing unchecked, their numbers augmented by another five wild fires that started on Monday, the most serious of which are in Chania and Thesprotia.

Assisting Greek fire fighting forces are 60 Cypriot fire men on the island of Evia, 60 French firemen in Sparti and 25 Israeli firemen at Ancient Olympia. The Greek fire fighting fleet has been increased with the addition of two Spanish and one Italian aircraft fighting the fire at Mistros in Evia, two French aircraft at Isari in Arcadia and another two French aircraft at Akovo in Arcadia. Expected to arrive later tonight are three helicopters sent by Holland, four from Switzerland and three from Germany.

Earlier the fire brigade had announced that no less than new 89 wildfires were reported over a 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. Most of the fires were centred in the Peloponnese, in an arc stretching from west to east that included devastated Ileia and ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, where the flames were stopped literally at the perimeter of the ancient site on Sunday but destroyed a historic ancient forest on a hill overlooking the stadion. Other major blazes were also burning a swathe through lush pinewood in Sofiko in the northeast Peloponnese and in the prefectures of Messinia, around Megalopolis in Arcadia and Achaia.

Caption: A batch of trees burn out of control next to the museum at the archaeological site of ancient Olympia, in the western Peloponnese, on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007. ANA-MPA /ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU

[02] Papariga blames land policy for fires

During a press conference, Papariga reported the conclusion of KKE's Political Bureau that the government's attempt to present the tragedy in terms of "new order imperialist dogma of asymmetrical threats" sought to "terrorise the people so as to divert their reaction in the wrong direction, both during the electoral contest and afterward".

Regarding the cause of the fires, she said that these had not arisen suddenly but were created over many years by a series of reactionary laws and measures taken by the governments of the ruling New Democracy and main opposition PASOK parties.

According to Papariga, the road to the present inferno was opened by a policy that commercialised forests, rewarded land grabbers, undermined prevention and created huge deficits in equipment and facilities for fire-fighting and forest protection services, culminating in the revision of the Constitution and especially article 24 for the protection of forests.

"We are faced with an organised plan, whether this existed beforehand or arose on the way," Papariga claimed, adding that the profits from arson primarily benefited large economic interests whose "appetite is opened by land commercialisation".

She also turned her fire on the government for failing to put up an effective, organised response that might have mitigated the repercussions of the disaster, through prevention and forest protection measures.

Regarding PASOK, she said the main opposition of seeking only to cover up its own responsibility and to benefit from the justified popular displeasure at the polls, while she lambasted the left-wing Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) for "failing to display political autonomy" during the crisis and supporting PASOK.

Listing KKE's proposals for the aftermath of the fires, Papariga called for a full and in-depth listing of the destruction wrought and the areas burnt, without any changes in land use, full compensation to farmers for lost crops and livestock, one year's exemption from insurance contributions and taxes and a freeze on loan payments, full compensation for burnt homes and farm infrastructure, detailed and binding plans for reforestation, free housing for fire victims in nearby hotels, immediate hiring for vacant positions in the fire brigade, forestry services and national health service with permanent rather than seasonal staff and work to limit subsequent damage from erosion, flooding etc.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of KKE General Secretary Aleka Papariga.

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