Athens (AFP) - The heavy prison sentence handed to a founding member of Greece's socialist party is a welcome step in tackling a blight on its political culture, but some remain unconvinced the prosecution signals the sea change many Greeks wish to see.
On Monday, 73-year-old former defence minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of laundering more than six million euros ($8.1 million) in bribes relating to purchases of armoured vehicles, submarines and Russian anti-aircraft missiles between 1996 and 2001.
An editorial in the liberal daily Kathimerini described the ruling as a landmark decision, hailing the conviction of Akis Tsochatzopoulos as "a milestone in the country's post-dictatorship era (post-1974).
"The trial demonstrates... that Greek society will no longer tolerate the corruption and impunity that has prevailed for so long in the political system," the editorial added.
Many ordinary Greeks agree, including 83-year-old pensioner Yannis Papageorgiou, who told AFP: "For once, justice did its job."
But Michalis Spourdalakis, professor of political science at the University of Athens, was not so sure. "This is a broader message that some cases of corruption will not be tolerated," he told AFP.
"But I wish it was a more systematic move regarding all cases of corruption and that there was no political expediency behind it," he said.
The public outcry over previous government excesses in the wake of bruising austerity measures imposed on Greece since 2010 in return for EU and IMF bailouts has galvanised the conservative government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras into action, with the sentencing of Tsochatzopoulos and a recent crackdown on wayward groups such as Golden Dawn.
But Tsochatzopoulos, a founding member of socialist party Pasok, dominant in Greece's political scene for the last three decades, could be released after serving just two years because of his age.
"The mastermind behind one of the biggest scandals of political corruption may have been sentenced to 20 years... but he could be released in less than four years, much sooner than his wife and daughter," criticised left-leaning daily Eleftherotypia.
The court convicted another 16 people for complicity, including the ex-minister's wife, daughter and former wife, who were given sentences ranging from six to 16 years.
Sales assistant Nadia Ioannidou believes more must be done to alter the perception of politicians as opportunistic chancers. "We need to have more sentencings before we can say that something has changed," she told AFP.
The former minister's jail term coincides with the indictment of six of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn's lawmakers last week on suspicion of taking part in a criminal organisation, accompanied by strong words from Samaras about the "shame" of such groups.
Three have been placed in pre-trial detention, including Golden Dawn chief Nikos Michaloliakos, the first party leader to be put behind bars since the fall of the military junta in 1974.
Professor Spourdalakis described the moves as "welcome", but believes they are "selective" rather than the far-reaching reforms wanted by a public hit by cumulative salary decreases and mass unemployment.
"We cannot talk of a clear and strategic initiative towards transparency and implementing the laws," he said.
At any rate, Greece has only just begun exorcising the demons of decades of graft, with the next target likely to be the powerful Orthodox Church.
Fourteen people will stand trial in connection with a scandal involving questionable land swaps between the state and the influential Orthodox monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, northern Greece, one of Orthodox Christianity's holiest sites, a court announced Monday.
Those indicted include Vatopedi's former abbot Ephraim, who is accused of money laundering and embezzlement, and the scandal has already helped bring down one government, namely the conservative administration of Costas Karamanlis in 2009.
So while Tsochatzopoulos may be the latest Greek political figure to fall from grace, he is unlikely to be the last.
What remains to be seen is how many of his former colleagues will go with him.
http://news.yahoo.com/greece-wrestles-corrupt-past-ex-minister-sentenced-144516474.html
0 komentar
Posting Komentar