The offer from the company, which belongs to the Latsis Group, was not received well by main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA). In fact SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras downright slammed the idea and expressed his party's opposition to hand over the Hellinikon area to private interests. Just like many opposition leaders before him (such as George Papandreou -who had pledged to reverse privatisation plans at the port of Piraeus, the OTE company, etc.), Tsipras pledged to review the legality of all concession contracts for public assets when -and if- his party comes to power.
"Let everyone keep this firmly in mind," he said at a SYRIZA event, "wherever the new Parliament finds that the public interest is not protected, we will not hesitate to cancel or review contracts and decisions taken. And one more thing: Nothing and no one will be forgotten. All those whose actions or omissions have harmed the public interest will face justice's verdict for their actions and omissions."Tsipras also criticised the role of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), Greece's privatisation agency, accusing it of being "a clique deciding on the future of public wealth without transparency, without Parliamentary supervision and control, as if it were property they inherited from their grandfathers."
He even noted that SYRIZA viewed Hellinikon -which successive Greek governments had for years promised and failed to transform into a metropolitan park and green space- as a landmark of the struggles of city movements to defend public spaces and he pointed to a plan drawn up by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) as a "well-supported and budgeted proposal" that would avert the destruction of the Attic landscape.
All this in the wake of an HRADF announcement that a single binding offer had been submitted for the Hellenikon site, by the Greek firm Lamda Development, whose validity is going to be assessed in an evaluation process over the next two weeks, at which time the offer is expected to be unsealed.
Commenting on Tsipras' statements, government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said that once again, the leader of the opposition party is attempting to undermine Greece's exit from the crisis, threatening investors and showing no interest in the creation of thousands of jobs. He then pledged that the government will not allow the area to become SYRIZA's landfill.
(Combined Reports)
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