Pavlopoulos on Vatopedi

Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, addressing Parliament on Tuesday on the Vatopedi report issue, accused the main opposition PASOK party of political irresponsibility and stressed that PASOK has proved that ”it is travelling with convenience flags, seeking a governance port, but in politics ships travelling with convenience flags run aground permanently on the reefs of political irresponsibility.”
Pavlopoulos said that the main opposition PASOK party had reached its conclusions in advance, while its sole goal was the penalisation of political life, the distortion of reality, the dragging of the Vatopedi issue and then going to elections without it having to propose anything concerning the problems of the Greek people.

Referring as well to the stance of PASOK leader George Papandreou, the interior minister pointed out that if the Greek economy had more endurance than more developed countries at this time of global economic crisis it was due to the policy of the (Prime Minister Costas) Karamanlis government.

On his part ustice Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis, said that the address by main opposition PASOK party leader George Papandreou did not rise to the occasion.

The minister added that what the people want from their leaders is courage, frankness and sincerity and stressed that ”Costas Karamanlis and the New Democracy party will be in the leadership again, in power again, whenever elections will be taking place.”

Referring to the issue in question, Hatzigakis said that ”all that has been said today had been said even before the Factfinding Committee had been decided and now, just as then, the colleagues of PASOK spoke of an Investigatory Committee.”

He further said ”with what evidence are you shaping this maneating against colleagues of yours, without any support, without any specific argument, without any tangible proof and you are leading people to degradation and to a state that should sadden you and avoid.”

Opposition parties

Main opposition PASOK party leader George Papandreou, accused the prime minister of ”voiding the substantive assumption of his political responsibilities” in the case.

Papandrerou also called on the ruling New Democracy party to even request the creation of an Investigatory Committee for PASOK’s former deputy ministers Drys and Fotiadis, so that it will not abstain from the discussion on the opposition’s proposal on probing the penal responsibilities of government ministers.

”When ministers coordinate their action to poduce a scandal, then the political responsibilities are led to the level of prime minister and those who acted instead of him,” he added.

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary General Aleka Papariga said on her part that ”we do not accept what Mr. Karamanlis said that he underestimated the issue. He might be sincere, and no prime minister can know everything in detail. The case of the Vatopedi Monastery, however, is an issue of general political orientation in relation to ecclesiastical land. And for this reason, neither Mr. Karamanlis nor Mr. Papandreoui were unsuspecting.”

In this framework, Papariga proposed that all the laws that allow the Church and monasteries to possess land, which has not been given to them by private citizens voluntarily, to be abolished.

Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) President Alekos Alavanos expressed support for the creation of an Investigatory Committee to examine the possible penal responsibilities of ministers of both ND and PASOK.

Alavanos said that his party’s view is that ”two members of the PASOK government should be examined by an investigatory committee for their participation in possible penal responsibilities that have been written off, unfortunately, as well as for 5 ministers from ND, for this reason we are in favour of an Investigatory Committee.”

Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party leader George Karatzaferis said the Factfinding Committee was ineffective, stressing that the process closed in ”express” time, at the responsibility of both mainstream parties, and that ”the case is not bound,” there is no evidence pointing in one direction but only indications.