Apostolos Vavilis and his connections with state services
Vavilis’s connections with Greek state services remain a large, unexplored issue. It is an issue in which, strangely, few seem very interested. Discussion on the issue could become useful if there were statements from former Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis, former head of Greek state intelligence Pavlos Apostolidis, and Alex Rondos, who bore responsibility for handling Middle East issues at the Greek Foreign Ministry. Deputy Stelios Papathemelis, a former socialist now elected with New Democracy, must also have some idea about Vavilis’s connections in Greece. As public order minister in a PASOK government, Papathemelis came into contact with one issue in which Vavilis eventually surfaced. Papathemelis rejected a recommendation to radically upgrade and modernize weapons, through Israel, for the Greek police force. Instead, Papathemelis recommended that the weapons come from various western countries. The rejected recommendation had better luck under Papathemelis’s successor, when the Israeli proposal was presented at the Public Order Ministry with slides by none other than Vavilis. Later, at a reception for politicians, Papathemelis was astounded to hear from a leading, non-PASOK politician that his refusal to accept the proposal in question is what had cost him his ministry.
