Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-02-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] Tourism Minister at Fitur 2008

[02] Detained protestors released

[03] KKE analyses political scene

[04] Opinion polls on Church election

[01] Tourism Minister at Fitur 2008

"This particular exhibition is very important because it is being constantly improved and addresses a dynamic quality public, which is also our own target," he said.

He said the Greek pavilion had been upgraded as part of the ministry's plan for an "attack on all fronts" to raise tourist inflows in terms of both arrivals and foreign exchange entering the country.

The Greek pavilion was also visited by Spain's Queen Sofia. The minister had earlier requested Queen Sofia's aid in attracting tourists to Greece from around the world, during an official visit to the Palace. He also asked her to use her international contacts but chiefly her influence on public opinion in Spain in order to encourage more of the Spanish to visit Greece this year.

Spain is the minister's second stop after Paris, in a bid to build an alliance between Greece, France, Spain and Portugal in order to decide common ISO quality standards. This is a way for the countries in question to give a joint reply to the quality standards soon to be established by the World Trade Organisation.

Greece is seeking to avert possible unfavourable developments that would disqualify the country's hotel units from meeting the international quality standards and make them less competitive on the international tourism market.

Referring to cooperation with Spain on this issue, Spiliotopoulos said that they had decided to cooperate closely regarding the ISO standards for tourism "since we have many shared needs and many common interests to protect".

Spiliotopoulos' visit will be returned some time in May by Spanish official Amparo Fernandez Gonzalez and cooperation between the two countries will initially focus on tourism education but also the exchange of knowhow.

[02] Detained protestors released

They said that 66 men and 34 women had been detained but that no evidence of their involvement in the violence had been found.

During the clashes in the city centre, there was damage to six banks, one shop and four surveillance cameras on the street, while seven people in total were injured. These included three members of the public (two hit by stones in the head and one knifed in the belly) and four police officers hit by stones.

The young men and women had been brought into the police station after clashes broke out between demonstrators, police but also supporters of extreme right-wing and Leftists groups that had organised rival rallies and came to blows in the centre of Athens during the day.

The police operation was still underway at 19:35 on Saturday evening, as they tried to disperse a group of anti-establishment youths that succeeded in entering the university campus and were later picked up by police waiting for them in surrounding side streets.

At least three people were injured and taken to hospital during clashes that occurred in central Athens on Saturday and tear gas was used to disperse warring far-right supporters and Leftist youths that came to blows on Stadiou Street.

At around 14:00, meanwhile, police clashed with left-wing, anti-establishment youths that had set up road blocks and cut off traffic on Panepistimiou Street. The youths responded by attacking police with stones and bits of wood and were finally forced to scatter into surrounding side-streets when police again used tear gas against them.

According to a police announcement, the later incidents were triggered when a group of a Leftist supporters that had gathered at Klathmonos Square started to move toward the Propylaia of Athens University, where they joined with another group carrying out a pre-rally over genetically modified foods at Syntagma Square.

The protestors then blocked off Panepistimiou street and a detachment of riot police attempted to drive them away, resulting in a clash and attacks with stones. Police said that some of the protestors took refuge within the university campus.

The earlier clashes between ultra-right-wing supporters and extreme Left and anti-establishment groups had occurred on Stadiou Street at around 11:00 in the morning.

Police said the far-right groups had gathered at Kolokotroni Square, while the opposing Leftists groups had gathered at nearby Klathmonos Square. At one point, both groups were making their way down Stadiou Street and started attacking each other with stones, lengths of wood and other objects.

The far-right supporters had originally planned a rally at Kolokotroni Square at 19:00 on Saturday to mark the "anniversary of Imia".

At the same time, the Leftist and anti-establishment groups had planned an anti-racism rally in the same place at 14:00 in the afternoon, possibly in order to prevent the later rally by the far-right groups.

CAPTION: Police were forced to use tear gas on Saturday to disperse anti-establishment youths that had set up road blocks in central Athens. ANA-MPA/ Pantelis Saitas.

[03] KKE analyses political scene

KKE's announcement said that recent events have vindicated its own positions that "machinations of the ruling class to reform the political system are underway".

Based on a discussion held by the central committee on January 26, the announcement said that the situation after the elections confirmed the predictions and warnings made by KKE before the elections took place, adding that worse measures targeting working classes would come whether New Democracy or PASOK were in power.

Stressing that the two main parties "express and serve the interests of capital" and could not change, it repeated a call for voters to back KKE's "proposal for another way of growth that served the interests of the majority of the people and not the profits of capitalists".

It claimed that an attempt was underway to "create bipolar formations, if the two-party system stopped being the most suitable means for manipulating popular forces, in order to stem radical workings developing in the working class and the masses". At another point it suggested that the smaller opposition parties like SYN-SYRIZA and LAOS formed part of these âbipolar formationsâ.

In its attack on SYN, the Communist party said that the Leftist alliances "hypocritically" promoted by SYN-SYRIZA had been proved to lead to the incorporation and submission of the popular movement, to a "cosmetic improvement" of the barbarity of capital, while it attacked SYN as unreliable.

"For some time now, SYN has bowed to the 'one-way road' of European capital and the centre-left. It is cooperating with PASOK in municipalities, in prefectures in the trade union movement. Now it is using Leftist phraeology to conceal the essence of its choices. It is cultivating illusions that the balance of power can change top-down in favour of the people," it said.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photograph of Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Aleka Papariga.

[04] Opinion polls on Church election

The profile built up by the MRB poll indicated that the majority of the public want a spiritual leader that will follow in the footsteps of the late Christodoulos, who was buried on Thursday, and actively intervened in issues concerning society. The poll was conducted over the phone on January 30-31 using a sample of 1004 people.

Of those asked, 76.1 percent said they desired the new archbishop to "continue in the direction of the late Archbishop Christodoulos" and a majority expressed a desire for the new archbishop to take an active role in a variety of matters affecting society, such as: social convergence (88.7 percent); drugs (88.6 percent); health (82 percent); education (77.4 percent), the environment (76.7 percent); unemployment (72.8 percent); economic migrants (70.3 percent); crime (70.2 percent) and transparency and corruption (60 percent).

Less than half, or 43.2 percent, desired or thought it permissible for the new archbishop to actively intervene or express his opinion on matters of foreign policy.

Some 58 percent expressed a desire for the new archbishop to be "do more charitable work" and 38 percent asked that he approach people, especially those that were less religious. Another 35.1 percent said he should "preserve the unity of the Church", 29.4 percent said that he should improve relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and 22.9 percent that he should "renew the Church".

According to MRB's poll, the Church as an institution continues to enjoy high levels of acceptance among the public with 65.1 percent in favour, ranking second only to that of the President of the Republic (88.9 percent). Ranked third as institutions are the Army and the Armed Forces (64.9 percent). Parliament and the political parties, by contrast, have levels of acceptance of 29.4 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Another 70.4 percent believe the Church has moved in the right direction over the last 10 years and 79.9 percent does not desire any government involvement in the election of the new head of the Orthodox Church of Greece.

RASS poll results

The findings of the RASS poll echo those of MRB, with the majority of those asked seeking a spiritual leader that will actively intervene in social and political issues. This nationwide survey was also carried out over the phone on January 30-31 amid a sample of 600.

An active role for the archbishop in political and social issues was supported by 61.1 percent of those asked, while 22 percent said the new archbishop should have no involvement at all in political issues. Another 13.3 percent said the new Archbishop should "move behind the scenes" in order to affect developments.

Of those asked, 37.4 percent said the new archbishop should dare to clash with political powers and 30.4 percent said that he should have an opinion but not clash with political forces. A further 31.1 percent wants him to restrict himself exclusively to his ecclesiastical duties.

Support for a new Archbishop "that believes in promoting a living and fighting Church" was given by 85 percent, while 82.2 percent said he should have good relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and 61.1 percent said that he should recognise Fanar's leading role.

The bishop's most favoured to take over from Christodoulos were, in order of popularity:

Thessaloniki Metropolitan Anthimos (24.4 percent), Dimitriada Metropolitan Ignatios (15.3 percent), Sparta Metropolitan Eustathios (11.6 percent), Syros Metropolitan Dorotheos (4.9 percent), Thiva Metropolitan Ieronymos (4.8 percent), Mesogaia Metropolitan Nikolaos (1.9 percent) and Xanthi Metropolitan Panteleimon (1.7 percent).

Another 32.9 percent of those asked did not reply to the above question while 69.9 percent said they were very and fairly interested in the election of the new archbishop.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photograph of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece in session.

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