Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-09-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] PASOK rejects call for 3rd debate

[02] Papariga: Storm of measures

[03] 'SYRIZA the only guarantee'

[04] LAOS: Goal is 15 MPs

[01] PASOK rejects call for 3rd debate

ND campaign spokesman George Koumoutsakos, a member of the European Parliament, on Saturday renewed the challenge to Papandreou for a second one-on-one debate, which PASOK had rejected earlier in the week.

Commenting on the new refusal, announced by PASOK press spokesman George Papaconstantinou, Koumoutsakos noted that ND had from the outset asked for more than two televised debates (the one among the six main parties contesting next Sunday's elections and the second between Karamanlis and Papandreou took place early in the week), and criticised PASOK for its second refusal.

[02] Papariga: Storm of measures

In an interview with the weekly Proto Thema and the Sunday edition of Ethnos newspapers, Papariga called on the people to actively manifest their disproval of the two mainstream parties, ruling New Democracy (ND) and main opposition PASOK, by rejecting their disorientation efforts and 'pseudo-quandaries' and casting their vote for the KKE "for resistance and a prospect".

The KKE is not a "party of protest", but has a platform "that reaches to a change of the order in power, rather than alternation of the parties in power, which represent the exploitation of the people", she said.

Papariga said that PASOK has the "art" of introducing the anti-popular measures with the fewest popular reactions, whereas the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA parliamentary alliance) is an "obstacle to the development of a strong radical movement" and lacks credibility.

Addressing a campaign rally in Heraklion (Crete) on Saturday evening, Papariga lashed out both against the two mainstream parties (ND and PASOK), which she accused of telling "many lies", as well as the other opposition parties, and called on voters to strengthen the KKE in the October 4 general elections.

[03] 'SYRIZA the only guarantee'

Speaking in the central Athens district of Ambelokipi on Saturday in visits to an open-air market and local shops, Tsipras said that SYRIZA (the SYN-led Coalition of the Radical Left parliamentary alliance) is the only guarantee for positive developments and an exit from the current crisis.

A strong vote for SYRIZA will enable it to intensify its interventions inside and outside parliament and create a social protection and solidarity shield for the Greek society, which is going through difficult times, he said.

[04] LAOS: Goal is 15 MPs

He said that Turkey was having a "free for all" in Thrace, while Turkish overflights had reached all the way to Skyros island, and called for the European Union to assume the responsibility of guarding the borders "from the Turkish threat".

Karatzaferis further called for EU guarding of the Greek borders against illega immigrants, and recalled a LAOS proposal for the establishment of a quota.

Regarding the economy and the impact of the global financial crisis, Karatzaferis said that "money is needed for the country to exit the crisis", adding that the money necessary can be found if the black economy was curbed, while a rduction of VAT would "turn the market around".

In an interview appearing in the Sunday edition of Eleftheri Ora newspaper, Karatzaferis said his party aimed at electing 15 MPs to the 300-member parliament.

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