About turn on forests

[Ellinas]

Governmentt withdraws amendment to stop demolition of illegal houses

The government decided yesterday not to go ahead with a legislative amendment that would have suspended the demolition of illegally built homes in forest areas, in a bid to stop speculation that the proposal is part of a pre-election handout campaign.

Agriculture Minister Evangelos Bassiakos said the amendment was not related to the protection of forests but an attempt to settle outstanding cases involving people seeking to legalize their homes by obtaining court orders.

«Mr Basiakos submitted to Parliament a joint proposal which includes an offer to withdraw the amendment and which leaves those who have created this (current) situation exposed,» said government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros.

Environment Minister Giorgos Souflias, who did not endorse the amendment, asked that it not be passed through Parliament until the government had finished preparing its forest registry, according to government sources.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is believed to have ordered his ministers to withdraw the amendment.

Siouflas is expected to address Parliament on the issue today.

Despite passing a law to officially map Greece's forestland some 30 years ago, the charts drawn up so far cover only 6 percent of the country. Official figures made public earlier this year showed that in 1945, just over 75 percent of the country was part of a forest or valley, compared to about 61 percent today.

The withdrawal of the amendment will help the conservative government develop its environmentally friendly image, which has been proving more popular with voters.

«The (environmental) sensitivity shown by the prime minister has been demonstrated in many different ways and through specific initiatives,» Antonaros said.

Opposition parties described the government turnaround as a success which had come as the result of pressure they had exerted on the ministers directly involved.

Political commentators, however, said the opposition voiced by Socialist MPs was more of a formality and in essence did not contribute to the government's change of heart.

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