The main opposition New Democracy (ND) party on Monday said it was ready to submit a draft law envisioning that "source of wealth" statements filed by government ministers, alternate ministers and deputy ministers who served after 1974 be cross-checked.
ND spokesman Yiannis Mihelakis (photo) said his party will undertake the initiative in case no such move is made by the government, stressing that all political parties in Parliament should agree on the immediate implementation of the proposal which was first made by ND leader Antonis Samaras long ago.
ND suggested setting up an inspection committee to cross-check the aforementioned "source of wealth" statements, as well as, the financial situation statements submitted by the spouses and children of ministers.
The main opposition also suggested that competent state authorities be given the legal right to seize any unjustifiable or illegally acquired property.
In an unrelated statement, he sharply criticised an alleged quip by a Turkish government vice-president, namely, that Greece is deeply indebted and will soon be "begging". Mihelakis underlined that "no difficulty will make us sell out our national rights", while calling on the government to take a stance in response to this "shameless provocation".
As regards the continuing protests in the Keratea district, extreme southeast Attica prefecture, where local residents are opposed to the construction of a garbage processing centre in their area, Mihelakis stated that the situation is "out of control" and called on the government to adopt specific initiatives to ease the tension.
Finally, in reference to ANA-MPA coverage of a recent Parliamentary debate prompted by a tabled question submitted by the main opposition party, the ND spokesman sharply criticised the way in which the debate was presented, alleging that "the news report in question ignored basic points of the ND query", while he accused the national news agency of "supporting the government propaganda".
ANA-MPA statement
In a later development, the ANA-MPA management on Monday responded to the sharp criticism by Mihelakis.
"It is sad, to say the least, the fact that ND spokesman Yiannis Mihelakis - a journalist himself until recently - chose to launch an attack against the national news agency by criticising the way a fellow journalist covered the parliamentary debate in question," the statement reads.
According to the news agency, the issues that were allegedly ignored in the news report - namely, the ND positions of the National Strategic Reference Framework (ESPA) - were adequately covered, and in detail, in another ANA-MPA news report from the Parliament that concerned the statements made by ND leader Antonis Samaras.
Furthermore, ANA-MPA features a special page where announcements by political party officials are continually posted.
"The national news agency journalists do their job in a conscientious manner and the only directions they receive from the ANA-MPA management is to continue in this way and not give in to any kind of pressure or critical comments that may have as a possible goal to turn them into 'propagandists'," the statement stressed.
source: ANA-MPA
