[ALBSA-Info] ''They turned us into Albania''

[Agron Alibali]

Greek government in panic as stock exchange continues
plunge 
By Patrick Quinn, Associated Press, 3/14/2000 18:46 
ATHENS, Greece (AP) Hundreds of angry investors
chanting ''We want our money back'' gathered Tuesday
outside the Athens Stock Exchange after shares took
another plunge in a crisis that is growing
increasingly political ahead of elections. 

Riot squads stood ready to protect the exchange and
stock brokers fled out the back door of the building
after the market's general index dropped 6.6 percent,
or 320.90 points, to close at 4542.65 its lowest point
since August. 

''I lost not only my money, but the money of my
clients who will one day kill me,'' said Lambros
Yannoulis, a 57-year-old investment adviser with a
major insurance company who joined about 350
protesters. 

Others in the crowd chanted ''they are robbing us''
and ''they turned us into Albania,'' a reference to
failed pyramid schemes that in 1997 led to widespread
chaos in Greece's northern neighbor. 

The plummet of the once-booming exchange came as
President Costis Stephanopoulos ordered parliament
dissolved to prepare for general elections on April 9.


Just a year ago, Athens was one of the world's hottest
markets. Premier Costas Simitis called early elections
last month to take advantage of the healthy economic
climate. Nearly 1 million Greeks about one-tenth of
the population are thought to own shares. 

The government has been at a loss to curb the slide,
which comes as other regional stock markets remain
strong. 

But opposition parties accuse the government of
harnessing the market for political gain by promoting
stocks during a boom in early and mid-1999. Thousands
of investors suffered huge losses when the exchange
suddenly began deflating late last year, a result of
the government's earlier enthusiasm for the market,
the opposition says. 
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