Government faces the heat as Greece burns
(Updates state of fires, adds terrorism controversy)
By Karolos Grohmann
KRESTENA, Greece, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Greece's conservative government faced mounting accusations of incompetence on Tuesday over forest fires that have killed at least 63 people.
Neighbouring countries sent firefighters to help fight the blazes that have raged for five days and were still encircling villagers who feared for their lives during Tuesday.
"In the name of God and Mary, do something! We've been asking for help since Friday," said one distraught caller to a Greek TV channel from the village of Matesi on the southern Peloponnese peninsula, the area worst hit by the fires.
"We can't see anything, the smoke is so thick. We can't escape any more, there is no way out. We are 40 people and we will burn," said the unidentified man.
By nightfall, firefighters appeared to have extinguished the fire at Matesi but the flames continued in parts of the peninsula and on the island of Evia north of Athens.
Bolstered by aircraft from France, Spain and Italy, and personnel from Cyprus, France and Israel, firefighters said they were battling fires on 25 fronts.
The government, which faces a parliamentary election in three weeks, has vowed to hunt down the arsonists it blames for Greece's worst fires on record. Public Order Minister Byron Polydoras said the country was facing an "asymmetrical threat", a term that has been used to describe terrorism.
The Socialist opposition said there was no evidence to back such a claim and accused the government of trying to divert attention away from its weak response to the crisis.
GREEK TRAGEDY
"Without providing any evidence, the government has hurt the country's international image," said Yiannis Ragoussis, spokesman for the main opposition party, PASOK, referring to the apparent suggestion of terrorism.
PASOK's leader, George Papandreou, said: "The government has proven tragically incapable of dealing with fires ... it's time for Greek people to choose a strong government that can guarantee security, confidence and hope."
The government has offered rewards of up to 1 million euros ($1.4 million) for help in finding arsonists and asked a public prosecutor to see if they could be prosecuted as terrorists.
Three elderly people and two boys have been charged with starting fires. Many mayors have accused rogue land developers of setting fires to make way for construction projects.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis still intends to hold a Sept. 16. election, which he called earlier this month six months ahead of schedule, confident his record on the economy would secure victory.
But the latest opinion poll showed his lead had slipped to below 1 percentage point, due in part to the wildfire emergency.
The threat of damage to antiquities at Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games, receded but winds rekindled flames elsewhere.
Locals resorted to unconventional means when water ran out.
"I had 300 litres (80 U.S. gallons) of wine in the house. I poured it into a fertiliser pump and I started getting the house wet," said Georgios Dimopoulos, a 64-year-old farmer who spent 17 hours trying save his home in the hamlet of Makistos.
By Karolos Grohmann
KRESTENA, Greece, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Greece's conservative government faced mounting accusations of incompetence on Tuesday over forest fires that have killed at least 63 people.
Neighbouring countries sent firefighters to help fight the blazes that have raged for five days and were still encircling villagers who feared for their lives during Tuesday.
"In the name of God and Mary, do something! We've been asking for help since Friday," said one distraught caller to a Greek TV channel from the village of Matesi on the southern Peloponnese peninsula, the area worst hit by the fires.
"We can't see anything, the smoke is so thick. We can't escape any more, there is no way out. We are 40 people and we will burn," said the unidentified man.
By nightfall, firefighters appeared to have extinguished the fire at Matesi but the flames continued in parts of the peninsula and on the island of Evia north of Athens.
Bolstered by aircraft from France, Spain and Italy, and personnel from Cyprus, France and Israel, firefighters said they were battling fires on 25 fronts.
The government, which faces a parliamentary election in three weeks, has vowed to hunt down the arsonists it blames for Greece's worst fires on record. Public Order Minister Byron Polydoras said the country was facing an "asymmetrical threat", a term that has been used to describe terrorism.
The Socialist opposition said there was no evidence to back such a claim and accused the government of trying to divert attention away from its weak response to the crisis.
GREEK TRAGEDY
"Without providing any evidence, the government has hurt the country's international image," said Yiannis Ragoussis, spokesman for the main opposition party, PASOK, referring to the apparent suggestion of terrorism.
PASOK's leader, George Papandreou, said: "The government has proven tragically incapable of dealing with fires ... it's time for Greek people to choose a strong government that can guarantee security, confidence and hope."
The government has offered rewards of up to 1 million euros ($1.4 million) for help in finding arsonists and asked a public prosecutor to see if they could be prosecuted as terrorists.
Three elderly people and two boys have been charged with starting fires. Many mayors have accused rogue land developers of setting fires to make way for construction projects.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis still intends to hold a Sept. 16. election, which he called earlier this month six months ahead of schedule, confident his record on the economy would secure victory.
But the latest opinion poll showed his lead had slipped to below 1 percentage point, due in part to the wildfire emergency.
The threat of damage to antiquities at Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games, receded but winds rekindled flames elsewhere.
Locals resorted to unconventional means when water ran out.
"I had 300 litres (80 U.S. gallons) of wine in the house. I poured it into a fertiliser pump and I started getting the house wet," said Georgios Dimopoulos, a 64-year-old farmer who spent 17 hours trying save his home in the hamlet of Makistos.
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