91 DAYS OF GREEK ANTITRUST HUNGER STRIKE.LIVE INTERACTIVE STOPCARTEL TV 14-5-2009
Web STOPCARTEL TV has introduced LIVE interactive information broadcasts,concerning Hunger Strike and other Antitrust issues.Citizens participation using the broadcast's direct chat room.
Web
STOPCARTEL TV has introduced since last week LIVE interactive citizens
information broadcasts from its studios including LIVE transmission from the site of the
Hunger Strike in the center of Athens.Citizens from all over the world
have now the chance to participate LIVE and in English, asking questions, making
remarks and express their oppinion about the issues (political,economic
or social) ,discussed in the studio or with the Hunger Striker,using
the broadcast's CHAT ROOM for direct interactive participation.Every day,at 18:30 local Athens time, on www.stopcartel.org
-------------------------------------------------------
Theodoros Tenezos is now running the 91st Day of his Hunger Strike,in front of the Athens offices of the
Greek Antitrust Authority, the Greek Competition Commission.
The
reason for this Political Hunger Strike is the Protest against the
Cartels,controlling the entire Greek economy.This control has as result
the dramatic high cost of living in this member State of E.U.,closure
of small businesses,depts,poverty,despair for a large part of the Greek
population,that lives bellow the poverty level.
The
Hunger Striker Mr. Tenezos,is a 39 years old businesman,president and
CEO of IRON TENCO S.A,a steel retailer ,who show his company collapsing
as a direct result of a sudden and without economic reason refuse to be
supplied raw material by members of a hard core steel cartel operating
in Greece.His official Antitrust complaint,submitted 2.5 years ago was
never fully investigated by the Greek Competition Commission, whose
only care was until recently ilegally to provide protection to his
economic executioners.
Mr.Tenezos
,bringing in light undisputable data,is accusing the Greek Antitrust
Authority and the Greek government that are offering protection to a
big Greek steel cartel,a practice that also applies to all Greek
Cartels,dominating the Greek economy.It is reminded that Greek
Competition Commission, is rated as last in efficiency in the world
over the years, according to the listing of Global Competition Review
and Greece is considered as the "Black Hole"of Competition in Europe.
The
Hunger Striker demands from the Greek government.1.Full investigation
of his Antitrust complaint against the steel cartel.2.Replacement of
the present committee that has been sued by him in the criminal courts
for illegal practices of protection of the steel cartel and other
cartels.3.Protection of the people complaining against cartels who
suffer serious consequences ,after submitting their complaints.
Mr.
Tenezos,above that, is demanding from the Greek Government and the
Greek Competition Commission to terminate their protection to the
cartels which dominate the Greek economy, a practice that left this
country unprepared and unprotected to confront the present economic
crisis and the Greek people exposed to poverty and despair.
This
is the first Antitrust Hunger Strike in the world,coming during the
world economic crisis,addressing the basic structural
economic/political problem present in most of the countries.
We
making once again an urgent call to the international Media to publish this story
to the international community,so to activate people, politicians and
honest bussinesmen,to express their support and commence political and
other initiatives to confront the above basic structural problem that
concerns us all.
"STOPCARTEL Organization urgently reminds the Greek government about :
1) The existing risks of irreversible damage to the health and/or loss of life of Theodoros Tenezos
2)
The fact that this political protest is peaceful and therefore efforts
of harassment, intimidation, violent ending of the Hunger Strike is
illegal.
Both cannot be tolerated in a European Country of 21st century."
For
your full information concerning Mr.Theodoros Tenezo’s Hunger Strike
and STOPCARTEL activities,that is the only Antitrust N.G.O. in Europe,
please visit www.stopcartel.org
GREEK GOVERNMENT UNDERTAKES THE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS DEATH !
DESPITE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S STATEMENT AND REACTION, GREEK GOVERNMENT AND
GREEK MASS MEDIA CONTINUE TO IGNORE THE ON GOING ANTITRUST HUNGER
STRIKE IN THE CENTER OF ATHENS.
THE SILENCE REFLECTS GREEK GOVERNMENT s DECISION FOR DEATH PENALTY FOR THE HUNGER STRIKER!------------------------------------------------------- Solidarity to the
Antitrust hunger strike and hard pounding against Greek authorities
in the European Parliament
Solidarity expressed towards Antitrust hunger striker Theodore
Tenezos by the European Parliament Petitions Commitee. Greek
Governments silence on the hunger strike, a direct insult against
European political civilization. Greek Competition Authority called
“nonexistent”.
Theodoros Tenezos now on over 90 days of hunger strike in front of
the Greek Competition Authority!
WATCH
LIVE THE HUNGER STRIKE FROM CENTRAL ATHENS
Thursday's (April 30) session of the Petitions Commitee of the
European Parliament turned to a hard pounding against Greek
Government. Speaking about the political importance of Theodore
Tenezos' hunger strike – in the midst of an unprecedented, general
mood of support to the striker, STOPCARTEL's Chairman Dr. George
Cosmopoulos stigmatized the Government's 77-days long silence as the
most provocative, barbaric, uncivilized behavior in the last decades
in Greece, which is an insult against Europe's political
civilization.
Four small/medium businesses owners from Greece - victims of criminal
cartels and monopolies which act without any State control in the
country – together with STOPCARTEL's Chairman Dr. George
Cosmopoulos, described, with shocking evidence to the MEPs, the
practices followed by Greek Competition Authority in order to protect
the big corporations of Greece, with the cooperation of the
Government.
“Greek Competition Authority is completely controlled by cartels
and monopolies, not by the political authority” said
characteristically one of the four small-medium businessmen who
wishes to remain anonymous, as well as the other three, for fear of
retaliation.
MEPs' response was immediate and sharp. Greek MEP Mrs Maria Matsouka,
VP of the Petitions Commitee, suggested that the Commitee should
express officially its support towards the hunger striker and keep
open to further investigation the Petitions against the Competition
Authority and the Greek Government.
This
proposal was accepted by the Commitee, which expressed its solidarity
to Theodore Tenezos via its President, MEP of Poland, Mr. Marcin
Libicki. The committee also authorized its President to send
urgently a formal but strict letter to the European
Commissioner for Competition, Mrs. Neelie Kroes, in which she will be
called to express her position for the unacceptable situation in
Greece.
British MEP Sir Robert Atkins took a hard stance;
while addressing the representatives of the European Commission, he
asked twice: “with which Competition Authority do you communicate
in Greece”? Without taking an answer, he continued to note that
“there is no Competition Authority in Greece. It's not doing its
job.The extent of the problem in Greece is unacceptable.”
Completely absent from the committee were MEPs of
the Greek governing party (ND), Mr. Manolis Mavrommatis and Mrs.
Maria Panayotopoulou!
The official representative of the Greek Government
stated that he was sent as a deputy and he hadn't proper acquaintance
with the subject, thus he could not make a statement!
The European Commission's representative said that
the European Commission is not denying its responsibilities for the
situation that has occurred in Greece.
Experienced law circles in Brussels named the results
of STOPCARTEL's and the other smal/medium entrepreneurs' presence in
the European Parliament as “a major political victory”. This,
added to the complete absence of the Greek Government, once again,
allowed for international negative exposure of the country, as a
result of its internal policies.
READ MORE ABOUT THE ANTITRUST HUNGER STRIKE
FOR FURTHER DETAILS,PLEASE SEARCH "NEWS"- "VIEW ALL" IN THE ARCHIVES SEARCH
The
Hunger Striker revealed European Vise President s Geunter
Verheugen document concerning government s protection of the Greek
steel industry.
Even
European Union calls upon Greek State to stop protecting the steel
industries and warns about using the right to appeal to the European
Courts against Greece.
The
illegally set-up mechanisms of certification for steel products, even
those originating from EU member countries, is fundamentally a way of
protecting the steel cartel in the Greek market.
European
Commission's VP, Mr. Gunter Verheugen, sent the reasoned opinion on
the draft for the new technical regulation, which is the first step
before proceeding to nuisance and, finally, appeal to European Courts
against Greece.
The
PDF with the reasoned opinion, HERE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Hunger Striker demands from the Greek government:
1.Full
investigation of his Antitrust complaint against the steel cartel.
2.Replacement
of the present commitee that has been sued by him in the criminal
courts for illegal practices of protection of the steel cartel and
other cartels.
3.Protection
of the people complaining against cartels who suffer serious
consequenses ,after submiting their complaints.
Mr.
Tenezos,above that, is demanding from the Greek Government and the
Greek Competition Commission to terminate their protection to the
cartels which dominate the Greek economy, a practice that left
this country unprepared and unprotected to confront the present
economic crisis and the Greek people exposed to poverty and dispair.
"STOPCARTEL
Organization urgently reminds the Greek government about :
1)
The existing risks of irreversible damage to the health and/or loss
of life of Theodoros Tenezos
2)
The fact that this political protest is peaceful and therefore
efforts of harassment, intimidation, violent ending of the Hunger
Strike is illegal.
Both cannot
be tolerated in a European Country of 21st century."
The
official letter to the Greek Prime Minister delivered by the Hunger
striker
To
the Prime Minister of Greece
Mr.
Kostas Karamanlis (reg. no. K
2549/20-3-09)
Honored
mr. Prime Minister,
My
name is Theodoros Tenezos.
I
am the owner of a medium-small company in the steel business and
specifically trading, processing and installing iron in armed
concrete for buildings.
Self-developed!
I�m
in the iron business since 1989, working at first in small buildings
and later in large works throughout Greece, cooperating
with many technical companies.
In
2004 I bought an iron-trading company (in Rentis, at the industrial
area of Eleonas) which traded iron,
manufactured solely by
the steel-maker SIDENOR, processing about 250 tons
per month.
Within
18 months, as a result of hard work and labor, we reached the level
of 1100 tons per month, i.e. 11% growth per month.
My
company had 220-250 employees.
In
2006, feeling that my business was blocked from further growth by the
steel-makers and their resellers, I decided to import iron from
abroad (countries � members of the E.U.). For this move, which was
against the interests of iron resellers and steel-makers (because the
price of the imported iron was 80� to 100� cheaper), the
steel-trade cartel warned me to not continue with the import.
I
did not conform to that instruction and, within two months, with a
common embargo, they closed my business destroying myself, my partner
and our employees.
I
made an appeal to the cognitant, by law, organization of the Greek
State, the Competition Authority, filing a complaint in 2006, for
abuse of dominant
position in the market, abuse
of economical dependence and horizontal
price fixing,
i.e. Cartel.
The
Competition Authority, instead of protecting the plaintiff as it
would be their duty, with a series of illegal actions and
derelictions, offered unlimited support to the defendants, i.e. the
three steel-makers and their resellers, even though our complaint had
been confirmed officialy by
the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) at June, 2008.
Desperate,
I pledged to the cognitant ministers mr. Folias and mr. Chatzidakis,
as much as to the undersecretary mr. Vlachos, asking for the evident
action to be taken: Competition Authority to operate according to
Greek and EU laws and regulations. The only answer was a negative
silence and mr. Vlachos said to me: �I cannot move the giant called
�SIDENOR��!!
To
my great regret I unfortunately realise that big interests rule the
Greek State�s justice structures and processes and, also, that they
have complete control of the political system,
eroding the institutions and the concept of Democracy.
My
disgust and despair as a human being and a citizen of the Greek State
drove me to the last form of protest to the very end, the Political
Hunger Strike.
For
36th day
today I am under the Competition Authority�s offices, 70, Patission
st. and Kotsika, accusing the structure of our socio-economic system,
which has driven us as citizens and as a country to despair, poverty,
and finally to ruin!
Mr
Prime Minister,
Feeling
the apathy and indifference of the politicians,
even on a humanitarian level, for my own life, I ask of you:
If
you are a genuine politician and care for the Greek People, issue a
calling to all Greek
politicians
and together:
Ask
for forgiveness from the Greek Citizens for the level of abjection
to which the Greek State is sunk.
Break
free of the burden of the big economic
interests which holds all
of you tied.
And,
liberated, call the Greek People to support a new start, with the
participation of delegates of the Citizens Civil
Society and the political parties
in the Parliament, in a National Conference
aimed at building together a state of justice and
equality, without class and economic discriminations.
In
order to face the coming economical and political crisis united.
For
a better tomorrow for all of us!
In
true Love,
On
hunger strike for 36th
day
Theodoros
Tenezos
Athens,
20/03/2009.
CC
to:
The
President of the Hellenic Republic (reg. no. 8/20-3-2009)
Mr.
George Papandreou, PASOK (reg. no. 127/20-3-2009)
Mr.
Alexandros Tsipras, SYRIZA (reg. no. 69966/20-3-2009)
Mr.
Giorgos Karatzaferis, LAOS (reg. no. 1318/20-3-2009)
Mrs.
Aleka Papariga, KKE (reg. no. 87/20-3-2009)
IRON
TENCO S.A.
PRESS
RELEASE 28-2-2009
IRON
TENCO SA, in order to terminate
once and for all the false and
slanderous campaign of its economic executioners , namely the big
steel industrialists and Greek Competition Commission to cause
obfuscation and adverse impressions, brings now in light the details
of the payments to its exclusive steel suppliers during the critical
reriod of refuse to supply-June 2006 , giving publicly with the
present statement its written consent to every third party to confirm
this information with the relevant Banks. (see
bellow)
�The
cartel of big steel industrialists comprised of SIDENOR, owned by
Nick Stasinopoulos, XALYVOURGIKI, owned by Konstantinos Angelopoulos,
XALYVOURGIA ELLADOS, their wholesalers, as well as of EBETAM (the
steel certification company in which the Greek state participates
together with the steel industries and big importers !), from the
first moment that the company IRON TENCO S.A. officially complained
to the Competition Commission for its illegal elimination, launched
along with the Greek Competition Commission, through their spokesmen,
a large-scale slanderous campaign against IRON TENCO SA which
denounced the cartel.
The time has come for IRON TENCO SA and Mr.
Tenezos to start revealing the truth that is based on recorded true
evidence and not false and slanderous allegations.
Analytically:
- The Steel manufacturing company SIDENOR and its wholesaler
economic executioner, as exclusive suppliers of IRON TENCO S.A.,
closed and destroyed the above company by creating to it unbearable
debts.
The
technique they employed was the following:
-
Unreasonably and suddenly they stopped on 30/5/2006 supplying
iron (row material) to IRON TENCO S.A., which was financially totally
dependent on them, although until 10/7/2006 (!) IRON TENCO
S.A. had no negative economic results, impossibility to pay debts and
there was no other reason of an economic or commercial nature.
-
From 30/5 to 30/6/2006, the above wholesaler, without
supplying iron to IRON TENCO S.A., was paid by Mr. Tenezos literally
�hot� money, namely 570,000 Euro! Not open cheques (!) as
falsely claims the Competition Commission and its outgoing President
in order to succeed the acquittal of the respective steel
manufacturing company and its wholesaler. The list of the relevant
payments to the Banks are shown here!
Analyticaly,the
payments made by Theodoros Tenezos company during June 2006
have as follows:
*In
Greece the commercial credit payment system is based in the use of
post-dated cheques between companies
1.Cheque
of ALPHA BANK no 27999624-1 , 100.000 Euros,payment date:
30/5/06.Cheque
issue date: 9/2/06
2.
Cheque of ALPHA
BANK no27999627-6,
40.000 Euros, payment
date 30/5/06 Cheque
issue date.15/3/06
3.
Cheque of ALPHA
BANK no
27999629-2
50.000 Euros payment
date 30/5/06 Cheque
issue date 31/3/06
4
Cheque of.ALPHA
BANK no
27999626-8
80.000 Euros payment
date 15/6/06 Cheque
issue date 17/2/06
5.
Cheque of Eurobank no
00032550-3 100.000
Euros payment
date 30/6/06 Cheque
issue date 22/2/06
6.
Cheque of Eurobank
no
00032552-0 100.000
Euros payment
date 30/6/06 Cheque
issue date 2/3/06
Total
of direct IRON TENCO
AE payments:
470.000 Åuros
Payments
of IRON TENCO
SA clients cheques :
110.000 Åuros
TOTAL
of IRON TENCO
SA payments:
580.000 Åuros
-
During the same period -June 2006-, in the absence of raw material
due to the deliberate boycott of the respective steel manufacturing
company and its wholesaler, sales
of IRON TENCO S.A. dropped directly and
thus IRON TENCO S.A. was unable to collect the full amount to pay the
3 cheques of a total value of 300,000 Euros dated 30/6. On that date
IRON TENCO S.A. paid only the two cheques (see
no.5 and no.6 of the above
table of a total value of 200.000 Euro)!
-
The steel manufacturing company/wholesaler -exclusive supplier of
IRON TENCO S.A.- immediately referred the third cheque (cheque
of Eurobank no. 00032554-6 100.000 Euros ,payment
date 30/6/06 ,cheque
issue date 15/3/06) to the
drawer, the company was entered in the bank information system of
Teiresias, the two Banks it collaborated immediately closed their
credit accounts of the company, which resulted in the company�s
inability to finance and eventually in its collapse.
-
Thus, after 10/07/06 the exclusive supplier caused to IRON
TENCO S.A., as a chain effect, failure to make payments and
submission for payment of cheques which could not be honored, thereby
destroying Mr. Theodoros Tenezos from a safe position.
-
Safe position, because the steel industries secure their
funding to all!
They knew that from the debts of Mr. Theodoros
Tenezos, which themselves had created, they would not lose a single
Euro!
A
collective boycott followed, with the accused refusing to supply
IRON TENCO S.A. even though payment in cash was offered by the
latter.
-
Mr. Theodoros Tenezos complained to the Competition Commission for
violation of Articles 1, 2 and 2a of Law 703/77 (81 and 82 of the
E.C.) by the above wholesaler, the steel industries, their
wholesalers, EBETAM etc. In other words, he complained for the
operation of a cartel, for the abuse of a dominant position and for
the abuse of a business relationship of economic dependency.
The
Competition Commission for 2 years did nothing!
-
In the last few months, the Competition Commission, by continuous
provocative and unlawful summary proceedings is trying to acquit
the wholesaler-economic executioner of SIDENOR and leave the
steel industries and the other members of the steel cartel intact.
The Competition Commission, by illegally refusing to examine the part
of Mr. Theodoros Tenezos complaint, which concerns the operation of
the steel cartel that has caused the aforementioned unlawful
economic behavior to the detriment of the company IRON TENCO S.A.,
is sending the innocent victim of such hard-core cartel to jail for
debts that the very members of this cartel have created from a safe
position !
All
the above are contained in the file of the case and are at the
disposal of anyone interested.
This
is true in this case. �
IRON
TENCO S.A.
24-2-2009
Athens-Greece
SEND
YOUR PROTEST and SUPPORT to the Hunger Strike by e-mail to
:
The
Greek Minister of Development Mr. Kostis Hatzidakis:
info@khatzidakis.gr
The
Greek Undersecretary of Development Mr.Giorgos Vlahos:
yfyp-anap@gge.gr
