EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON


Lessons in Violence for 15 year-olds

Arrests, detentions and suppression by riot police

“Has your mother changed your diaper? Have you had your breakfast? All the Albanians at the police station are going to f**k you.” This is what Panagiotis, a straight-A high school student heard from riot police as he was transported in a police wagon from the Athens University gates to police general headquarters. He was one of nine minors who were arrested violently and without cause at demonstrations marking the anniversary of the killing of Alexandros Grigoropoulos. The provocations by police and the beatings of 15 year-old students were unprecedented.

 

 
   

ELEFTHEROTYPIA (Sunday edition)


“There are homeless people everywhere in the West. What’s your problem?”

– Troika cynical over home auctions

The troika is merciless in its insistence over excessive property taxes and the issue of home auctions, making the outrageous argument, “there are homeless people everywhere, why not in Greece too?” On the other side the government, totally unable to provide resistance, is searching for a way to satisfy troika demands while incurring the fewest possible losses.  

[Background – The Greek government and the troika of its lenders (the IMF, ECB and European Commission) have yet to come to an agreement over the release of the next tranche of bailout funds to the crisis-stricken country. One of the main demands of the troika is that the Greek side pass legislation lifting the ban on home foreclosures of main residences, something the government maintains would be politically impossible (as it would see many families evicted from their homes) and economically catastrophic as the flood of cheap houses would level the property market. There are however indications that a compromise may be reached soon with a partial lifting of the ban which excludes the truly poor, but the details remain unclear.]

 
 
 

ΚΑΤΗΙΜΕRΙΝΙ (Sunday edition)

 

Tomorrow marks the official start of “Elia” [Olive Branch]

Event planned in Athens – Support from Venizelos, Refusal from Kouvelis

A springboard for the official announcement of “Elia” [Olive Branch], a movement with the aim of uniting all of the parties and figures of the center-left is how the “Group of 58” have described their first open event in Athens. However, despite the support of [PASOK leader] Mr Venizelos, many current and former MPs of PASOK do not seem to have been convinced of its potential for success, while DIMAR officials are in complete disagreement with [DIMAR leader] Fotis Kouvelis’s decision to refuse to even enter into discussions with the “Group of 58.”

 
 

ETHNOS (Sunday edition)

Banks plan for unpaid mortgages and business loans:

Loans Frozen For The Unemployed and “Have-Nots”

 

– Grace period given for all who prove their inability to pay
– A fierce hunt for those with outstanding payments who have open or hidden sources of income

Whether the ban on home auctions of foreclosed main residencies is lifted or not, the banks are proceeding according to their own criteria which will be based mainly on incomes and financial holdings, will deal with the real financial situation of households and will not be related to the “objective” value of main residences.  

[The ‘objective value’ of a house is a value estimated by the government that is used to determine property tax levels. It is an estimate based on pre-crisis home values rather than today’s real property market]

 

 

REAL NEWS (Sunday paper)


Submarines Scandal: Yannos or Yann-Akis?

“Team Bribery” and the Papantoniou Contract

€ 4.5 million worth of commissions were split for the contracts of the faulty submarines when Papantoniou was minister

Who is “burnt” by Ferrostaal’s classified report in which it is revealed how the big con over defense system programs was set up.

BACKGROUND:

Yannos Papantoniou served as defense minister from 2001 to 2004. Before that, he had served as economy and finance minister from 1994 to 2001, bringing Greece into the euro. Both tenures were under socialist Pasok administrations.

The politician is already being investigated for tax evasion (as part of the investigations into the Lagarde list) and there was speculation that he would be prosecuted over allegations of corruption following the recent conviction of his predecessor in the ministry of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos on charges of money laundering. Read more here: Yet another former minister being investigated for defense contracts and Swiss bank accounts

The submarine scandal relates to the purchase of four submarines from the German companies HDW and FERROSTAAL. Then Minister of Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos has been convicted over the case and is currently imprisoned. SYRIZA is requesting that the investigation be widened to examine the culpability of subsequent ministers who handled the completion of the transaction among whom are the current Deputy Prime Minister, PASOK leader, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Evangelos Venizelos.