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Finally, three private companies have started gathering the waste in Athens after the occupation of the landfill by the workers in the cleaning services was ended yesterday by a prosecutor in the presence of the riot control forces. 

A little while earlier, the new - brief - meeting between the Minister of the Interior, Haris Kastanidis, and unionists from the cleaning service, which was aimed at finding a solution, had ended, as expected, in failure.

Before the meeting, by decision of the governor of Attica, Yiannis Sgouros, waste collection had already begun using trucks of private companies, starting with health care facilities.

In his statement last night the Vice-Minister of the Interior, Paris Koukoulopoulos, expressed his commitment that on Monday Athens will be clean, and the mayor of the Greek capital, Giorgos Kaminis, appealed to municipal employees in the cleaning services who were at the landfill to leave their positions in order to avoid accidents.

Shortly before police forces arrived at the landfill, district prosecutor Eleni Raikou had requested through a new order issued yesterday, (the third in a row within a week), that prompt judicial proceedings be applied for those endangering public health.

Prosecutorial interference

At the same time the prosecutor asked that reports be presented from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, which confirm the danger to public health, to investigate whether there were any cases of citizens infected with a virus due to the non-collection of waste, and that charges be pressed.

Yiannis Boutaris: Cooperation

"Termination of the occupation and collection of the waste are the two conditions for the Municipality of Thessaloniki to continue supporting the workers", said the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris, yesterday.

"The Municipality of Thessaloniki has not caused the problem, for which the employees are on strike", the mayor said. "The municipal government has shown that it is striving for continuous and absolute cooperation, and is trying in every possible way to provide income to employees, indeed yesterday it had proceeded to the payment of their salaries.

The initiative for waste collection was taken over by the regional government of Attica and in the case of Thessaloniki, where the district administration did not declare a similar state of readiness for action, the municipality was selected.

Regulation of the health ministry

The ordinance issued by the Minister of Health, Andreas Loverdos, puts an end to the piles of rubbish.

An ordinance issued in respect to the ongoing strike of municipal employees of the cleaning services, by the Minister of Health, Andreas Loverdos, provides for the immediate collection and disposal of the waste in the specifically designated areas.

The ordinance gives the control over its performance to the municipalities, regional authorities and any other authority so as to impose sanctions on those who pollute or to those who in the performance of their duties do not contribute towards solving the problem.

Rapid procedure for the violators. Immediately finding those responsible for not collecting the waste and arresting them following prompt judicial procedure. In particular, the police would have to find out who are the people guilty for not collecting the waste and therefore performing criminal acts (pollution and exposure to danger).

No extortion

"No Mr. Balasopoulos can blackmail the society, nor can he make fun of anyone, or occupy and block public places", said the opposition party spokesman Yiannis Mihelakis, adding that such action could lead to trial.

Then he turned against the government, saying that, "with the persistent application of the wrong recipe and the excessive tax burden on the Greek people it has turned one public group against another , creating a serious danger in applying the law of the jungle".