Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-02-04

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

CONTENTS

[01] Papandreou on tax measures

[02] Farmers to retire from Strymonikos roadblock on Friday

[03] Platoni, the unique deer of the island of Rhodes

[04] Farmers remain at roadblocks

[05] Philosopher Axelos dies

[06] KKE on gov't measures

[01] Papandreou on tax measures

In that context, Papandreou stressed that low-salary and small and medium size concerns need to be protected, adding that his government is determined to make the necessary changes because "if those changes are not made, thing will get worse".

The premier noted that the government has sought the input of all sides with respect to the changes, and especially of those who have the biggest privileges and must contribute more to the effort.

"None of us are happy with the difficulties the country is facing," Papandreou explained, adding though that "we must turn the crisis into an opportunity, and today is a historic opportunity that we must make use of".

"The changes will be to the benefit of the citizens," he added.

Papandreou noted that the current situation is the outcome of the many mistakes made in the past, stressing that it is a national need that the changes are made, particularly given that "the country is at risk".

He also stressed that the inability and lack of determination of the previous years to introduce changes were what created the present-day problems "which we are paying".

Papandreou is due to meet on Friday with Indian Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi, and the discussion will also review the 1982 five-continent "Initiative of the Six" peace movement founded by his father, then prime minister of Greece Andreas Papandreou, Mexican president Miguel de la Madrid, Argentinian prime minister Raul Alfonsin, Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, and Sonia Gandhi's late mother-in-law, then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, urging the superpowers to put an immediate halt to all nuclear weapon tests.

The Initiative won the international peace award of the Beyond War Foundation in 1985.

He did not rule out the prospect of revival of the initiative, since the threat of nuclear arms still exists today.

[02] Farmers to retire from Strymonikos roadblock on Friday

The tractors will remain on Thursday on the national highway but without disrupting the traffic.

[03] Platoni, the unique deer of the island of Rhodes

Two statues, a male and a female deer, stand on two columns on both sides of Rhodes' old port welcoming visitors arriving on the island by ship.

The Platoni in comparison with other deers of Northern Europe is a lot smaller. Platoni usually reaches 75cm in height and weighs between 40-60 kilos.

According to latest research the population of the animal has increased considerably in the last years and it is estimated at 1,000-1,200 members.

The Platoni (Dama dama) is the largest mammal to live freely on the island and is the contemporary representative of the deer of the Pleistocene period. Its presence is considered very old, as testified by findings from the Neolithic settlement Kalythies

[04] Farmers remain at roadblocks

Moreover, the Ormenio and Kipi checkpoints in Evros prefecture are open, with farmers intermmittently closing the Ormenio checkpoint. Farmers on the Serres-Thessaloniki highway at the Strymonikos intersection remain at the site without however disrupting the traffic.

Roads bypassing the Doirani and Evzoni checkpoints in Kilkis prefecture are open, as are the Krystallopigi and Niki checkpoints in Florina prefecture.

Protesting farmers of Serres prefecture keep blocked the Egnatia motorway at the Kedryllia intersection.

The Exochi border post in Drama prefecture was open during the night but the Chryssoupoli interchange in Kavala was blocked.

Grevena prefecture farmers remain on the Egnatia motorway and several others have gathered at the Servia bridge in Kozani, but without obstructing the traffic.

However, Thessaly farmers remain at their roadblocks at the Nikaia and Microthebes intersections on the Athens-Thessaloniki highway.

[05] Philosopher Axelos dies

Born in Athens in 1924, he attended highschool at the French Institute and German School of Athens, and later enrolled in Law School to pursue law and economics studies, but became involved in politics with the onset of WWII and joined the Greek Resistance during the German and Italian occupation, and later in the Greek Civil War.

He was inspired by the writings of Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Empedocles, Marx, Nietzsche and Dostoyevsky, and the poets Rimbaud, Rilke and Holderlin.

An organiser and journalist affiliated with the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in 1941-1945, was arrested and condemned to death by the then government, but escaped after a fake 'execution' and incarceration in a camp, and in 1946 abandoned the communist party ranks.

At the end of 1945, with the help of then director of the French Institute in Athens Octave Merlier he boarded the legendary ship SS Mataroa to Paris. Shortly after his departure, he was sentenced to death in absentia.

In Paris, he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, and from 1950-1957 he was a researcher in the philosophy department of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CRNS), where he wrote his dissertations, before moving on to the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes.

He taught philosophy at the Sorbonne from 1962-1973, during which time he wrote his dissertation "Marx, pensure de lat technique ("Alienation, Praxis and Techne in the Thought of Karl Marx) attempting to provide an understanding of modern technology based on the thought of Heidegger and Marx, which was influential in the 1960's.

He was a collaborator, columnist and later editor of the pioneering, at the time, magazine "Arguments" (1956-1962), and founded and, since 1960, directed, in tandem with "Arguments", the philosophical series "Editions de Minuit", which also published most of his own books.

Axelos has written 24 books and a plethora of texts in French, Greek and German, which have been translated into 16 languages, with "Le Jeu du Monde" (Play of the World), being his most important book, which argues for a pre-ontological status of play.

In March 2009 he was made an honorary Doctor of Philosophy of Thessaloniki's Aristotle University (AUTH), which was his last visit to Greece.

[06] KKE on gov't measures

Papariga said in a press conference that the economic crisis is not as deep as it is being presented, adding that many problems pre-existed in various sectors but now they have become more visible and noticeable.

The KKE leader predicted that following a brief recovery Greece will be faced with a new crisis.

Papariga accused the main opposition New Democracy (ND) party of consenting to the policy followed by the ruling PASOK, adding that the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) has adopted a similar stance. Referring to the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA), Papariga stated that it is plagued by inconsistency.

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