By Costas Pitas

Anti-establishment protesters occupied several public buildings in Greece and briefly entered the grounds of parliament in Athens on Wednesday, calling for the release of jailed members of a Marxist group.

Around 20 people entered the courtyard of the parliament building in central Syntagma square.

“They managed to pass the police in the entrance and they approached one of the main gates of the building, the one that lawmakers and the ministers use to enter the parliament,” a parliamentary official told Reuters, saying they left after about five minutes.

They scattered flyers and chanted slogans including for the immediate release of “Xiros”.

Savas Xiros is serving multiple life terms for his role in the November 17 group, which killed Greek, US and British diplomats before being dismantled in 2002.

Self-proclaimed anarchists are calling for the release of detainees including the seriously ill Savas. His brother, Christodoulos, was recaptured in January after absconding while on leave from prison where he was serving time for being part of the same now defunct guerrilla group.

Protesters also called for the end to high security prisons, which the new Syriza government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has vowed to scrap.

Small groups took over Syriza offices in the southern town of Patras, the office of a governing lawmaker in the Cretan capital Heraklion as well as the town hall in a suburb of Athens, a police official said.

Protesters also occupied part of a university in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, and have been occupying the offices of one of Athens’ main universities since Monday.

Greece has a history of anti-establishment leftist politics with frequent skirmishes between police and youths, often throwing rocks.

Protesters are also planning to gather in Athens later for a motorcycle rally to the Justice Ministry to press for the release of prisoners including some from November 17.

By Brian Love

Doubts over Nicolas Sarkozy’s political funding returned to haunt the French ex-president on Wednesday when the prosecutor said investigators had questioned him in an affair that could cloud his chance of a re-election bid in 2017.

The interrogation came days after his centre-right UMP party beat the ruling Socialists in local elections, a victory seen as boosting Sarkozy’s prospects of running again for president.

At issue is whether it was legal for the UMP to pay the over 500,000 euros of fines he incurred for over-spending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign. In France, it is the candidate who should personally pay these fines.

Sarkozy spent about five hours at the Paris offices of the financial crimes unit, French TV channels reported.

The prosecutor’s office then announced Sarkozy had been named an “assisted witness” in the overspending case – a special status short of being placed under formal investigation but which means there is some evidence of possible implication.

Sarkozy said back in December that the repayment arranged by his UMP party had the approval of the finance ministry. He has since reimbursed the money.

After five years as president, Sarkozy ran for re-election in 2012 but lost to Socialist Francois Hollande. He bowed out of politics before engineering a comeback last year and winning the UMP leadership.

Sarkozy obtained 153,000 euros ($165,000) of state subsidies for his 2012 bid and incurred penalties of 363,615 euros for campaign overspending. Both were repaid with the help of a UMP fundraising operation that is now under scrutiny.

As part of an inquiry into the fundraising efforts started last October, the former head of the UMP, Jean-Francois Cope, and a former UMP party treasury officer, Catherine Vautrin, have been formally placed under investigation on suspicion of an illicit funding scam.

Investigators are also looking into the affairs of an events organisation company called Bygmalion that they suspect of over-billing in order to raise covert money for election campaigning and have placed three UMP officials under official judicial inquiry in that case.

By Constantinos Psillides

A 36-year-old man from Paphos was arrested on Tuesday night, after attacking and threatening to shoot his estranged wife, 35, police said.

According to the police report, the 35-year-old woman was visiting a friend in Chlorakas, Paphos, along with her two daughters. At around 10pm, the suspect came up to the house and threatened to kill both women. According to the report, the man struck his wife before leaving.

While the woman visited the Paphos police to report the incident, her estranged husband returned to the house this time armed with a hunting shotgun. The man entered the house by breaking through the porch door glass but left after realising that his wife had left.

Police officers arrived at the scene and started searching for the husband. He was arrested at around 1am in his car, in a state of intoxication, according to the report. The man initially resisted arrest but in the end was taken into custody. He is expected to appear before court on Thursday.

By Andria Kades

CONSUMERS were frustrated on Wednesday to find that shops and supermarkets were closed when they had been open on the previous national holiday on March 25.

“This has been the case since 2006,”was the justification given by Stephanos Koursaris, general secretary of the small business association POVEK that often opposes longer hours and Sunday shopping.

A confused Ruth Solomou, who had planned to do some shopping on Ledra street in Nicosia and then buy some groceries, was fuming upon discovering everything was closed. “Parking lots were in chaos at supermarkets while cars kept coming in and others were reversing.”

Cyprus Mail reader Martin Rodger called this a return to the dark ages in an emailed complaint. “This is obviously a great boon to those people that would have had to go to work and earn money, but will now be able to stay at home with their families, possibly permanently, unless someone drags our capital city back in to the 20th century (I know it is the 21st century now, but we hadn’t quite got there yet).”

Koursaris called the complaints unjustified and asked people to step into the shoes of staff who work 38 hours a week so shops are open every day.

Head of Cyprus Supermarkets Association Andreas Hadjiadamou was not available for comment.

According to local reports, a proposal for new shop opening hours will be submitted by 30 April after Labour minister Zeta Emilianidou was stripped of her power earlier last month to issue decrees regulating shop opening hours in designated tourist areas.

The matter was an ongoing dispute with heated complaints from AKEL saying measures benefited large retailers at the expense of small businesses which could not compete. Emilianidou was also accused of abusing the legislation by issuing decrees to businesses located in waste disposal areas in Larnaca and Nicosia.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested after a large number of fireworks, firecrackers and smoke bombs were discovered in a house in Limassol on Wednesday afternoon.

Reportedly, the man, who was seen leaving the building which was under observation by police after a tip off, admitted that he had smuggled a large number of the items  from the occupied areas through Pyla.

CyBC said that police sealed off the building off for the night and they were to decide today as to the safest way to remove the explosives.

Starting from March, police launched a campaign to clamp down on the sale of firecrackers leading up to Easter.

To prevent injuries, police are organising lectures in schools, involving community police and its bomb squad, in a bid to highlight the problem.

Earlier in the day, an 18-year-old army conscript was injured while trying to set off an improvised explosive device, and was rushed to the Famagusta General hospital in Paralimni for surgery as the explosion seriously injured his hand.

Two weeks ago, two Limassol youths, aged 21 and 19, lost their hands after a firecracker they were making blew up. The 21-year-old had his left hand amputated, while the 19-year-old suffered partial amputation of his left hand, a burn in his left eye and right hand, and nose injury.

By Angelos Anastasiou

DESPITE his unequivocal and repeated denials, investigators have found that former Laiki Bank boss Andreas Vgenopoulos was “close friends and business associates” with Greek ship-owner Michalis Zolotas, owner of the infamous Focus Maritime Corporation which was allegedly serving as a slush fund for bribing political parties and state officials, daily Politis reported on Wednesday.

Focus has thus far been implicated in the payment of €1m to former Central Bank governor Christodoulos Christodoulou in 2007 – while he was still governor – whose omission to declare the income to the taxman landed him a five-month prison term last year.

Christodoulou justified the payment as “consultancy fees for the next ten years” paid in advance.

Last April, Politis caused a political stir when it reported that Focus had contributed a total €2m to the island’s two largest parties – €500,000 to DISY and €1.5m to AKEL – in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election.

AKEL flatly denied having received any money from Focus, while DISY only acknowledged receipt of €50,000 from a “group of ship-owners”, which it returned to legacy Laiki. Both parties requested an investigation by the Attorney-general, which is ongoing.

Politis also reported that Focus had been granted a €720m loan from Laiki during Vgenopoulos’ reign, which is not being serviced.

Suggesting that the company made payments on behalf of the former Laiki strongman, the paper described Zolotas as Vgenopoulos’ “close friend and associate”, though the Greek financier has denied ties to Zolotas, personally or professionally.

Citing unnamed sources from the team of investigators looking into Focus, Politis said on Wednesday that links between the two men have been established.

It said that police investigators have secured statements from individuals who received Focus money, who claimed the payment deals were made personally with Vgenopoulos, not Zolotas.

Additionally, the paper claimed, Vgenopoulos has been found registered as co-director of various companies along with the Greek ship-owner.

As well, many of Zolotas’ companies were registered by Vgenopoulos’ law firm, it reported.

“Essentially, Michalis Zolotas and Focus doubled as the money-transfer vehicle to serve the interests of Laiki’s former strongman,” the paper said.

Meanwhile, Justice minister Ionas Nicolaou on Tuesday said Vgenopoulos will “definitely” be among those called to testify as part of investigations into Laiki’s collapse.

“I realise many are eager for the investigations to conclude, and their eagerness is justified since they have seen past scandals go unpunished,” he said.

“Time will determine when the next steps will be made,” he added.

“When Legal Services deem the time is right, and have the necessary evidence that needs to be investigated through a statement or suffice to take Vgenopoulos directly to court, they will do so.”

By Evie Andreou

CYPRUS celebrated the 60th anniversary of the start of the EOKA struggle against British colonial rule on Wednesday, with liturgies and events held island wide.

In Nicosia, the main service was led by Archbishop Chrysostomos at Saint John’s Cathedral in the presence of President Nicos Anastasiades and other officials.

Later on, a prayer was delivered at the Imprisoned Graves within the central prisons and wreaths were laid on the graves of those who died during the 1955-1959 struggle. Also present were Defence minister Christophoros Fokaides and Justice minister Ionas Nicolaou, while wreaths were also laid by party officials, associations and members of the public.

In the afternoon, president Anastasiades attended the celebration of the anniversary at the Tasos Papadopoulos stadium in Nicosia.

Interior minister Socratis Hasikos represented the government at the celebrations in Limassol, where a service was held at Saint Nicolaos Church by Bishop of Amathus Nicolaos, followed by a procession at the hideout of EOKA military commander General Georgios Grivas Digenis.

A prayer was held and wreaths were laid, while torchbearers from the Limassol reservist commandos’ association carried a flame from Chlorakas, where Grivas first landed, and placed at the monument.
In Larnaca, celebrations began with peals of bells in all churches of the town and with the hoisting of the flag at the Eleftheria Statue Square in the presence of the town’s mayor Andreas Louroudjiatis and deputy district officer Odysseas Hadjistephanou.

“Our ultimate obligation toward all brave men of Cyprus who fought and were sacrificed in the name of freedom, is to safeguard the Republic of Cyprus and continue the struggle for a solution that will free Cyprus from foreign troops and the occupation,” said Health minister Philippos Patsalis after the service at the Saint Lazaros Church in Larnaca, conducted out by Bishop of Kition Chrysostomos.

He added that Cyprus wants nothing more than what every other state wants – peace.
A parade followed along the seafront Phinikoudes Avenue in the presence of Patsalis, town and military officials.

The Aradippou, Athienou and Lefkara municipalities held their own celebrations as well.
In Paphos, following the service at Saint Theodoros Cathedral, carried out by Bishop of Arsinoe Nektarios, Education minister Costas Kadis said that it is our obligation and learn from the spirit of the struggle and the ethos of the heroes as a parallel for our own struggle and to correct the ills of our society.

The town’s philharmonic played military music, while a prayer was delivered at the statue of Paphos-born Evagoras Pallikarides, where wreaths were laid.

Later in the evening, EOKA fighters lowered the flag at the October 28 Square in the presence of town officials and war veterans.

In the Famagusta District, celebrations begun with a student and scout parade and the hoisting of the flag outside the Paralimni town hall by mayor Theodoros Pyrilis of Famagusta.

The service was held at Saint Georgios church by Famagusta-Constantia Bishop Vasileios in the presence of Agriculture minister Nicos Kouyialis.

Later in the day, organisations from the whole district marched in a second parade. Wreaths were laid at the Monument of Heroes, while at 8pm, a candle procession took place organised by scouts and the Saint George Sunday school.

Services were also held in Ayia Napa, Deryneia and Sotira.