Greek Government to Restructure Intelligence Service, Introduce 
Transparency  

Document Number: FBIS-WEU-2002-0921
Document Date: 21 Sep 2002
Sourceline: GMP20020921000213 Athens I Kathimerini in Greek 21 Sep 02 p 3 
Subslug: Report by K.P. Papadhiokhos: "EIP to Go Through Radical Changes Aimed 
at Transparency" 

[FBIS Translated Text]     During a meeting yesterday with Prime Minister 
Simitis at Maximos Palace [Prime Minister's Office], Public Order 
Minister Khrisokhoidhis was given the go-ahead to restructure EIP 
[National Intelligence Service] so that it can fulfill the nation's new 
security needs and the demand for democratic control of an agency that 
has been linked to a number of "dark events" of the post-junta period. 

    Despite the fact that the government officially detaches EIP's 
structure and operation from the current storm on the terrorism front, it 
is clear that Minister Khrisokhoidhis' initiative is directly connected 
to the weaknesses and corruption that have plagued the service recently.  
 It is not accidental that EIP was excluded from the most critical phase 
of the government's efforts to eradicate 17N. 

    Also discernible is the government's desire to introduce transparency 
and respect for individual rights to the organization, principles that 
were high priorities during the counter-terrorism investigation.   EIP 
will go through an annual Parliamentary check by way of a report 
submitted to Parliament by the Minister in charge.   As government 
sources report, Prime Minister Simitis' proposal is aimed at "EIP's 
rebirth and its operation on a professional foundation, combined with the 
introduction of safe guarantees for the individual and privacy rights of 
the public". 

    The Bill 

    Based on what was agreed during yesterday's meeting between Simitis 
and Khrisokhoidhis, which will be included in a bill proposed by the 
Ministry of Public Order, EIP's main task remains to collect information 
on every aspect of the nation's safety, especially on national issues 
such as the Cyprus problem and Greek-Turkish relations.   This task was 
not made sufficiently clear in the previous law, and Khrisokhoidhis' new 
proposal plan to specify these task clearly. 

    New Responsibilities 

    Meanwhile, the creation of a new special task force will signal the 
introduction of a new task to EIP's "traditional" duties: the collection 
of information about new threats to democracy and the public, including 
financial crime.   More specifically, EIP's duties now include combating 
crimes such as money laundering, illegal activities on behalf of offshore 
companies, trafficking in illegal immigrants, smuggling and drug 
trafficking.   The framework will also include expanding EIP's 
cooperation with agencies specializing in these domains. 

    The new bill will also bring radical changes to EIP's personnel.   
100 new expert scientists and analysts will be hired by competition, 
whose work will be enhanced with the introduction of modern data analysis 
computer programs.   Furthermore, the 400 Police officers who are 
currently part of the EIP will be gradually removed.   Finally, it should 
be noted that, based on the bill Khrisokhoidhis presented to the Prime 
Minister yesterday, EIP will also be accountable to the Minister of 
Public Order, who will define its objectives and will be responsible for 
its operation within the limits of the law. 

    The Clash with the Army 

    EIP's inability, proven in the field, to fulfill the information 
supply requirements of the Armed Forces, and the competition that often 
emerged between the EIP and the General Staff, "forced" the leadership of 
the YEETHA [Armed Forces General Staff] to make its information service 
independent.   Thus, in early 2000, under General Parayioudhakis, YEETHA 
established an independent information collection and processing service, 
the Information Service, by way of upgrading and modernizing the existing 
sector, which operated under the Second Branch of the General Staff. 

    The new service will also operate under the Second Branch of the 
YEETHA, and its mission will be to coordinate military information 
originating from all sources for processing, especially in times of 
crisis.   The upgrading process necessitated the procurement of the 
proper equipment and the identification and use of "alternative sources 
of information".   The tasks of the new agency will also include making 
use of the new technologies that have been, or will be, procured through 
the five-year Armed Forces armament programs, such as AWACS aircraft 
("flying radars") and UAV's.   Plans also include acquiring a ground 
station, linked via satellite, that will supply information. 

    Power Games, Abuse of Authority 

    Before the dictatorship, what was then called KIP [Central 
Intelligence Service] and its role in post-civil war affairs was the 
cause of much protest.   After the dictatorship, KIP made the transition 
to democracy with an even more damaged name.   For decades, its role was 
murky, and as a result, neither the public nor the state wanted KIP to be 
strong, and not without good reason. 

    The Power 

    Because of their purpose, intelligence agencies are very close to 
centers of power, and those in power--at least until the last 3-4 
years--often succumbed to the temptation to use them for their own 
advantage against their political opponents.   The volatility of its 
authority did not leave safety margins for restrictions to power, which 
has led EIP many times in the past to accusations of abuse of authority. 

    Furthermore, each government "planted" its own "trusted" officials in 
the intelligence agencies, who in time acquired influence and 
information, and played their own game with politicians and financial 
interest groups.   In fact, they even began implementing their own 
"policies", and "threw the net" so far they reached the point of even not 
informing their superiors about their activities and contacts. 

    A characteristic example is General Grillakis who, if he had become 
chief of KIP during Mitsotakis' term a Prime Minister, would have been 
less "omnipotent" than he would as a security advisor to the then Prime 
Minister, who ran the intelligence agencies behind the scenes. 

    Competitions 

    Furthermore, if Vaso Papandreou had not addressed the unionization of 
EIP's civilian employees by demanding elections with a unified ballot 
list, the intelligence agencies today would have been a broken-up domain, 
an endless "battlefield" with competitions and constant leaks of 
classified information. 

[Description of Source: Athens I Kathimerini in Greek -- Independent 
daily]