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Greece Gov. Faulted for Fire Response

HeadlineAug 28, 2007

In Greece, a devastating forest fire has now claimed the lives of at least 63 people. The government’s handling of the disaster is turning into a political showdown. On Monday, hundreds marched through Athens accusing the government of poorly responding to the crisis and failing to catch the arsonists.

Panos Garganas of the Greek social justice group Enantia: “The scale of the tragedy is huge. People are very angry. This is the third time this summer that we’ve got this outbreak of fires. Many people have died, so people want to react. That was the message coming from all around.”

Protesters say developers have committed several arsons to build on the land largely unprotected under Greek law.

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