By
The Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece - The government minister in charge of preparations for the Athens Olympics was fired yesterday in yet another disruption leading to the 2004 Games.
The dismissal of Culture Minister Theodoros Pangalos by Greece's premier comes three days before senior IOC officials are to visit Athens for an inspection.
Pangalos was removed after criticizing contentious government labor reforms and Cabinet members.
"A minister cannot hold a public dispute with the government, and cannot use reprehensible language against his colleagues" Premier Costas Simitis said.
Pangalos will be replaced by Evangelos Venizelos, who has held several Cabinet positions. The culture minister is in charge of organizing sports events and oversees Olympic preparations.
Athens organizers repeatedly have been criticized for delays, prompting IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch in April to warn that the games were in danger. But IOC leaders have praised recent progress and predicted Athens could hold an excellent Olympics.
"I think many people will be sacrificed because of the lack of preparation for the Olympics," opposition lawmaker Dora Bakoyanni, a former culture minister, told private Antenna radio. "Greece is not properly prepared and there are problems ... but this action will not change that."
The 62-year-old Pangalos served as culture minister for seven months. He has been reprimanded in the past by the premier for his outbursts, drawing a mixture or scorn and admiration from the public.
He was dismissed as foreign minister last year following Greece's failure to protect a Kurdish rebel leader captured by Turkey.
Yesterday, Pangalos criticized the way in which the current foreign minister, George Papandreou, was working to ease relations with neighboring Turkey.
"To exercise foreign policy, one must have an elementary knowledge of history," Pangalos told the Athens newspaper Ethnos.
