Nine kilos of dynamite for the prefect
Manolis Litinas was seen as a black sheep by the village of Zoniana when, in a disagreement over property with Melidoni Mylopotamou, he, as prefect of Rethymnon, took the side of the other village. Zoniana cut off the ear of their rival (February 1997) and, in July of the same year, fired shots at the prefect at the official opening of the Sfendoni Cave in Zoniana. Luckily, there were no casualties. They followed him into the street, but he got away by not taking his official car. The following September, one morning at 4.20 a.m., a bomb made from 9 kilos of dynamite exploded at his house but he was not hurt. They managed to get at him by other means, however. The only prefect who dared to take on Zoniana did not get the support even of his own party (PASOK) in the prefectural elections of 1998. He stood as a rebel and won. «But they set obstacles in my path again. The elections were annulled and a year later in new elections I got 57 percent of the vote.»
