Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-08-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] Wildfires subside, battle turns to 'day after'

[02] PM Karamanlis: 'Reconstruction the nat'l goal'

[03] Leftist leader bashes 2-party system

[04] Silent protest held over devastating wildfires

[01] Wildfires subside, battle turns to 'day after'

Of the four, the worst wildfire was in the verdant Karytaina district of western Arcadia prefecture, in the central Peloponnese.

The death toll, meanwhile, of all wildfire-related deaths remained at 64.

On the reconstruction and relief front, the state continued on Thursday to doll out emergency 3,000-euro stipend to fire-affected households in the Peloponnese and Evia, whereas the emphasis over the next period will be the assessment of damages.

Caption: A fire-fighting airplane in action at the Hania site of western Ilia prefecture on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007. ANA-MPA / G. KORBAKI

[02] PM Karamanlis: 'Reconstruction the nat'l goal'

The state will rebuild residences destroyed by the barrage of wildfires this summer, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis emphasised on Thursday, following his meeting with both the relevant public works and town planning minister and the head of a newly emergency relief fund.

Karamanlis' comments came amid an array of immediate measures announced this week for fire-stricken households and regions, whereas he reiterated - for the third time this week - that bureaucratic "red tape" and delays must be slashed in dealing with the aftermath of the devastation.

On his part, Minister George Souflias said an initial assessment of damage in Messinia and Laconia prefectures, has been completed, whereas this will occur by the weekend for Arcadia, Ilia and Evia prefectures assuming the last of the wildfires are extinguished there. He added that the same environmental measures instituted after the destructive Mt. Parnitha wildfire in late June are in force for the latest barrage of fires.

Earlier, Karamanlis met with the head of the newly established special emergency and relief fund, veteran diplomat and former foreign minister Petros Molyviatis, as well as with the fund's board of directors.

Molyviatis was appointed on Tuesday to the helm of the fund, set up in the wake of the recent devastating wildfires in southern Greece.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Molyviatis said the prime minister assured him that the fund had his full support in its task and mission.

The purpose of the Fund is to finance programmes for the support and reinforcement of people who suffered losses in the ravaging fires, Molyviatis explained, adding that "this is what will be done, this is what we will do, and we will do it in a substantial and efficient way, and with full transparency".

Molyviatis said that the fund's resources emanating from the state budget and from donations by private individuals, organisations, banks, and other concerns.

The priority, he added, will be an initial programme for restoration of the area around Ancient Olympia.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Karamanlis.

[03] Leftist leader bashes 2-party system

Alavanos, whose party heads the "radical left coalition (Syriza)" front in the coming elections, further accused the government of corruption and "vote-buying" through the emergency compensations it has announced for those who suffered losses in the recent wave of devastating wildfires, and PASOK of "three major environmental crimes".

"We are heading towards elections (on Sept. 16) in which, for the first time, citizens will refuse, to such a great degree, to back the system of governance adopted by the two large parties," he said, adding that "for three-and-a-half years the political life between those two parties has been tugging between who and which is the more corrupt".

He also bitterly accused PASOK of three major environmental crimes, namely, "the non-existence of forest maps, a forest registry and a land registry," the "abolition of the forestry service" and "the concession, via legislation, of 6.4 hectares (of land) to the (Mont Parnes) Parnitha casino after the massive fire in the national forest".

"We are participating in this pre-election campaign with our heads held high, because our small party with its six MPs, has always considered the environmental issues to be crucial, and we always spoke about the fires, before the fires," Alavanos said.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Alavanos.

[04] Silent protest held over devastating wildfires

Some 190,000 hectares of crops, pasture land and forests have been burned since Thursday, when an unprecedented wave of wildfires erupted around the Peloponnese, in southern Evia and even around the greater Athens area.

Caption: A view of the protest in front of the Greek Parliament in downtown Athens on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007. ANA-MPA / K. MAVRONA.

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