Greece to crack down on violence after attack

Source: Agencies  |   2008-8-1  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

GREECE vowed to crack down on crime among tourists at its coastal resorts yesterday, after a young Australian man was left brain-dead by a beating from nightclub workers on the island of Mykonos.

Tourism Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos launched a committee to clean up the vital tourism sector after the attack in the early hours of Tuesday morning on the 20-year-old Australian, identified by police as Doujon Zammit from Sydney.

Police have detained four men after Zammit was beaten with a metal bar outside the club near the resort of Mykonos town.

"As people, as citizens, as Greeks, we mourn the loss of a life," Spiliotopoulos said. "And as we talk about Greece's image abroad, it is logical that these isolated incidents sadden us even more."

Tourism accounts for nearly a fifth of the economy in Greece, which is visited by 15 million tourists a year. Many of its coastal resorts have become notorious for the violent or indecent activities of drunken young tourists.

The minister said much of this behavior was due to profit-hungry bar owners supplying tourists with drinks fortified with industrial alcohol. Too many bars also employed security guards, he said. "We must tackle these issues and this is what this committee is here for, to handle a crisis," he said.

Greece's opposition Socialist party said the government was not giving police the resources to handle the annual deluge of tourists.

"Why isn't the government doing anything to reinforce public order and citizens' safety?" it asked in a statement.

Oliver Zammit, the father of the Australian tourist, thanked the Greek people for their cooperation and support.