Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-01-01

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Wishes for the New Year to President Karolos Papoulias

[02] Left parties New Year messages

[01] Wishes for the New Year to President Karolos Papoulias

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis was the first who exchanged wishes with the President for a Happy New Year. Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas followed and afterwards came Archbishop Christodoulos' representative, Metropolitan of Krini and Kalamaria Prokopios.

Parliament member Dimitris Reppas represented main opposition PASOK party followed by former President Christos Sartzetakis, Communist party of Greece leader Aleka Papariga, Coalition of Radical Left (SYRIZA) leader Alekos Alavanos, Popular Orthodox Rally's (LAOS) president George Karatzaferis and former Prime Ministers Constantinos Mitsotakis, Tzannis Tzannetakis and Yannis Grivas.

President Papoulias in his message for the New Year called for social justice and a new environmental mentality.

"I wish to everyone peace and happiness for the New Year.

These days our thoughts are with people that need us. To those who suffer from illness, poverty and loneliness, which have lost hope and faith that better days will come. We owe them fellowship, care and struggle for social justice.

These days are not only days of consumption but also days for contemplation. Every one of us must look near and around him and focus on working children, unemployed, elderly that can't live on their pension and immigrants who are trying to find a new homeland. No society can truly prosper if there are dividing lines and contradictions. No society can progress without virtues and ideals, if the personal prospect does not identify with the whole world's dreams for tomorrow.

This past year was marked indelibly by August's devastating wildfires. The houses will be rebuilt but the lost human lives will not return and the ecological destruction will be difficult to restore. We must have passion and commitment to turn burned land into a forest again, a new environmental attitude is needed in order to avoid a new disaster in the future.

This summer changed us. We lost the illusion that climate change is a phenomenon that is far away from us, that doesn't touch us personally and directly. This awakening must be the beginning of redefinition of our social culture. The ecologic conscience of each and every citizen and his mobilisation in environment's protection is the only way to save nature. We have inherited a wonderful nature and are responsible to preserve it for future generations and history if we must hand it over the way we received it.

With these thoughts I wish to all of you a Happy New Year"

[02] Left parties New Year messages

On behalf of the Communist party of Greece (ΚΚΕ) the Central Committee's secretary general Aleka Papariga asked 2008 to be the year of counterattack against government's pending reforms and outlined that the party's enhancement and the elimination at the same time of bipartisanism must be broadened and added that the success of the general strike against government's reforms showed strength.

The Central Political Committee of SYNASPISMOS stressed in its message that this passed year we all became wiser. We realised that we can't keep on living disregarding the climate change, the fear of unemployment, the loss of our dignity and the diminishment of democracy. A radical reverse is mandatory and must be our only aim.

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