Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-07-03
CONTENTS
[01] Gov't: PASOK interest in transparency 'hypocritical'
[01] Gov't: PASOK interest in transparency 'hypocritical'
A government spokesman on Friday stressed that the interest in
transparency expressed by main opposition PASOK comes "too late" and is
"hypocritical". Government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros made the
comment referring to PASOK's proposal for an extraordinary plenary
session in Parliament and the establishment of a parliamentary
investigation committee to focus on the Siemens bribery and kickback
furor.
Antonaros underlined "the actions and omissions made by the main
opposition party in the present and in the past when it was in power"
and referred to PASOK's rejection of a proposal made by the PM last
year for the establishment of a parliamentary committee on
transparency.
He reminded that PM Karamanlis -- as a follow-up to an off-the-agenda
discussion in parliament on July 7, 2008 and after a relevant proposal
tabled by the government during the Constitutional revision -- had
addressed a letter to Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas on June 7,
2008 requesting the establishment of a cross-party committee to study
transparency issues.
Antonaros stated that "PASOK is not interested in solving the cases,"
pointing out that it "merely attempts to protect its own."
The government spokesman reiterated that the government and the ruling
party of New Democracy (ND) has made specific efforts citing the
proposal tabled in the Special Permanent Committee on Institutions and
Transparency on Thursday by Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos.
"Papandreou's comments reflect his political desperation," Antonaros
stated, referring to the statements made by the leader of PASOK
addressing his party's political council meeting Thursday.
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