Claim of Nov17 list is rejected
The Greek government yesterday denied a claim by a former US ambassador to Greece, Thomas Niles, that in 1995 Washington had given information to the Greek government on the suspected identity of the leadership of the November 17 terrorist group. The US State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said yesterday Niles was a private citizen and his views did not reflect the administration view. The government believes that despite Niles’s claims, made on a TV program Tuesday night, the US administration is satisfied with Greece’s attempts to fight terrorism. Government spokesman Christos Protopappas said Niles’ claims were false and added, The government cannot keep on dealing with former officials… who occasionally… make unfounded claims, he said. Justice Minister Philippos Petsalnikos said no list of suspected terrorists existed at least as long as I was public order minister (1998-99). Last year, 173,292 drivers were stopped for speeding and the goal for this year was to increase the number of checks by 50 percent. Already, 242,047 drivers have been stopped, and the expected total for the year was expected to be 322,000, almost double last year’s figure.
