Athens 2004 shake-up not state-ordered
Government spokesman Christos Protopappas yesterday denied that changes in the internal structure of Athens 2004, the Olympic Games organizers, were the result of any direct government pressure. «The government has not placed (Athens 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki) under tutelage… a three-member committee has been set up to ensure control of expenses,» Protopappas said. The committee was set up after Angelopoulos-Daskalaki met with Prime Minister Costas Simitis last week. An internal restructuring of Athens 2004, announced yesterday, created a nine-member Games Operations Management Council to assist Executive Director Marton Simitsek, in charge of operations. The move was seen as weakening Simitsek’s position.
