Greeces opposition fury over sackings military chiefs

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Greeces opposition fury over sackings military chiefs

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Greeces opposition reacted with outrage on Wednesday to the sacking of its military chiefs.

02 November,2011 10:07 pm

The socialist government late on Tuesday replaced the heads of the army, navy and air force and the chief of joint chiefs of staff in what officials described as a long-planned move largely unrelated to political turmoil.“We won’t accept this decision,” the main opposition conservative New Democracy party said. Greek governments have exerted tight control over the countrys armed forces since the collapse of a seven-year military junta in 1974.Army chiefs are often selected on the basis of party loyalty as part of a deeply-entrenched system of political patronage. The outgoing military leadership was appointed in August 2009 by the previous conservative administration, just before national elections were called.