OPINION

On the Siemens scandal and Greece’s statute of limitations

Immunity from prosecution

The statute of limitations law has to be deleted from Greece’s legal history — otherwise Greece might end up as another Tunisia — and that’s not a joke.

If half of the current Cabinet have to be prosecuted because of their involvement in the Siemens case — then so be it. Probably Greece has to start from an anno zero.

ALEXANDROS LEANDROS

LONDON

Greek government seeks compensation from Siemens

Poor Greek taxpayers sure don’t get their money?s worth. Don’t you think the headline should be,”Greek taxpayers seek compensation from their crooked politicians.» They should be demanding that the state recover the millions from those thieves, instead of Siemens. Go after those same Greek politicians that demanded bribes in order for Siemens to overbid and therefore recover their cost of doing business in Greece. These crooked politicians received huge amounts of tax-free income — why not recover the millions from them, or at least tax their illegally gotten gains? This is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to obfuscate and confuse the public — and the really ridiculous part is when the court ultimately says: Oops, ran out of time. Exceeded the statute of limitations. You are free to go and do it again.

JIM MACEDONAS

What courage?

You ask for courage, well that can only come if the prime minister and the Greek government first demonstrate their mettle. How can you expect Greek citizens to have any courage when the government continues to lack any. The courage to hold accountable those who illegally benefited from Siemens and other scandals. The courage to make the necessary changes to Greek red tape that prohibits any reasonable foreign businessperson from investing in Greece, or for that matter any would-be entrepreneur in Greece to take that first step and open a new business. It is no coincidence that the World Bank ranks Greece last in Europe and the Balkan region in its annual report on Doing Business. The courage to take on the special interest groups that have hijacked the educational system in Greece, be it tertiary or secondary. What future does this country have with the current chaos in the educational system? The courage to take the necessary steps to ensure that everyone pays their fair share. You ask for courage, well first make certain the the government is up to that challenge.

PETER CHRESAN

CHICAGO

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