Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-12-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] ND to participate in Parliamentary investigations

[01] ND to participate in Parliamentary investigations

"ND wants transparency everywhere, we need not fear the truth and reality, we want the truth to come out in all cases," the spokesman said.

Panagiotopoulos also made it clear, however, that the main opposition would also do its best to frustrate "the apparent intention of the prime minister to use the whole process of investigation committees to divert the public's attention from the government's blatant inability to govern and produce any meaningful work."

Regarding the Vatopedi monastery land swaps affair, the spokesman said that ND's general position in favour of investigating everything still applied but that there was an "asterisk" concerning this particular case because a Parliamentary investigation into the affair had already been conducted in the past with the participation of all parties.

According to Panagiotopoulos, this committee had reached its conclusion in a legal fashion and this had been accepted by the majority of the Greek Parliament. If PASOK had new evidence concerning the case, then ND would attend in order to contribute to an investigation of the issue and the discovery of the truth, he added.

At the end of the Parliamentary investigation into the Vatopedi case conducted in 2008, each of the parties participating had submitted separate reports listing their own conclusions, with the reports of the opposition parties included as annexes to that of the majority ruling party New Democracy. While the ND report had absolved ministers of criminal liability, though finding the "politically accountable", those of the opposition parties had called for further investigation into the affair to rule out criminal liability. This report was supported only by the ruling majority.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of main opposition New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras

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