Joking while Rome burns

The massive wave of protests and riots which started in Greece last December was sparked off, in part by the widely held impression that the present ruling party, New Democracy is both incompetent and deeply corrupt. I keep on seeing the same kind of accusations levellled at the government in Iceland which has presided over the worst financial crisis in the country's modern history.

However, the popular anger felt by many people over how their own political elites have allowed the current situation to spiral out of control has also spread to other places such as Riga and probably will not stop there as unemployment and poverty starts to affect other Europeans.

The latest in-joke from Ireland:

"What’s the difference between Iceland and Ireland?

Answer: One letter and about six months.”

The latest joke from Greece

What's the difference between the present government and the boy scouts?

The boys scouts have adult leadership.

Time for change

Time for change, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Here is hoping that the presidency of Barack Obama will bring a change for the better in the world. In a time of uncertainty and crisis we need believe that there are people who can deliver on what they have promised and do not simply rely on sound bites and spin to wriggle out from their commitments.

But remember, whoever is in power, politics is too important to leave to politicians.

Greek government slammed over abuse of refugees

Photo: Chiara Tamburini, Brussels, all rights reserved

In a damning international report the Greek government was severely criticised for systematically denying refugees rights and turning a blind eye to abuse of those seeking asylum on its territory.

The German based PRO-ASYL (National Working Group for Refugees) report on the country claimed theat the situation was out of control and the the state had reneged on its international treaty obligations to treat asylum seeker humanely.

In the report published in October Karl Kopp, head of PRO - ASYL referred to a number of violations by the Greek government of refugee’s rights, including the summary deportation without hearing of thousands who had entered Greek territory from Turkey and the ill - treatment of other refugee by the police and border guards. One such example was given by A 34-year-old Iraqi Turkoman from Kirkuk who said that he made 10 attempts to cross into Greece before succeeding.

"One time I crossed the river into Greece and arrived in Komotini," he said. "They put us in jail for five days and then took us to the river and pushed us back. We were 60 persons. They put us in a small river boat with a motor in groups of 10. They did it in the middle of the night. It was raining hard, and the Greek police started beating us to make us move more quickly. I saw one man who tried to refuse to go on the boat, and they beat him and threw him in the river. They beat us with police clubs to get us to go on the boat."

Last year the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) also noted in its report considerable number of allegations of abuse by police officials of foreign nationals in custody including the case of a detainee allegedly tortured with pliers while in custody in the northern Greek city of Alexandroupoli.
It should be noted that the land crossing from Greece and its traditional rival Turkey is littered with anti-personnel mines and that between 1997 and 2006 61 people lost their lives due to land mines.

In addition the PRO - ASYL report outlined the unwillingness of Greek authorities to accept asylum seeker’s applications. In the first six months of 2008 the authorities issued 8,387 decisions concerning asylum applications of which all 8,387 were rejected. During the same period just 71 of 2,886 appeal decision resulted in the granting of refugee status under the Geneva Refugee Convention. In 2007 just eight of the 25,111 claims proved successful.

Also simply getting access to offices dealing with asylum applications can be a risky business. On 25th and 26th October 2008 one immigrant died in custody and several were hospitalised after 3000 desperate asylum seekers applying for papers at the Petrou Ralli police station in Athens clashed with police. The police station had ceased to accept applications from the 3rd October for an unspecified period of time according to the Greek ombudman so leaving those without documents with the possibility of arrest and deportation.

In addition refugees deported to Greece from other European Union countries under the Dublin II accord have also had their rights violated and sometimes face violence at the hands of the police according to human rights organisations. A joint report published in 2007 by the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and Greek Helsinki Monitor wrote of the case of Noori, an Afghan asylum seeker transferred from Austria to Greece in December 2007.

“The policemen hit my face and the back of my head until I began hitting myself to make them stop. I thought that it is the same everywhere, the police is as bad. I thought of throwing myself out of the window in order to end my life. “

The situation has gotten so bad that that the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees has recommended that no asylum seeker be deported back to Greece from within the EU. Indeed Germany and Norway have already suspended such deportations in some cases citing concerns over human rights violations.

In a recent article on immigration in Greece for Time, Greek officials argued that the small Balkan state can not handle what is a pan European problem, however, such claims have to be seen in the light of the state’s ability to suddenly find 28 billion euros to prop up the country’s banking system in the wake of the global credit crisis.

Despite all this the conservative New Democracy government is unlikely to act to ease the plight of refugees at a time of rising domestic unemployment and embroiled as it is in the latest finance and influence peddling scandal to hit the prime minister, Kostas Karamanlis’s administration since being re-elected in September 2007.

PS. I just came across this comment on the Al Jazeera video posted above.

"Giati de tous petane pisw sth 8alassa?
Arketa me tis oumanistikes malakies , de ginete o ka8e apovlitos apo th koloxora tou na erxete edw.
Gia th metanasteush yparxoun diakratikes simfonies opws px me th Voulgaria pou erxontai oi an8rwpoi kai mpainoun se doulies kanonika kai me kanonikous mis8ous.
H paranomh metanasteush prepei na timwrite me 8anato epi topou . "

Translation

"Why don't we throw them back in the sea? enough of this humanistic b#llshit. It's just not on for every scumbag from his f#cking country to come here. As far as immigration is concerned there are discreet agreements, such as the one with Bulgaria by whuch people come and get work normally at regular wages.Illegal immigration should be punished by death.. on the spot."

NowPublic

Tags: Greece | Time | World | unhcr | human rights abuse | immigration karl kopp | pro - asyl | european immigration

Greek politician faces one million euro law suit for criticising

In a move that sent shock waves through the Greek political world, Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the left-wing Synaspismos party has been sued for over 1 million euros for defamation by the Marfin Investment Group (MIG) over his criticism of the company's role in the sale of its 2.5 billion euro stake in the Greek state run telecommunication OTE to Deutsche Telekom. In addition the Greek TV channel, Star is being sued for 150 million euros over claims that MIG's funds had come via the Albanian mafia.

Tsipras, who was recently elected the president of Synapismos, has repeatedly called the controversial OTE deal a "fraud" and along with other opposition leaders has tried to block the sell of OTE to the German telecoms giant. In statement posted on the party's website Tsipras called the suit an "unprecedented attempt at penalising political life."

The other major Greek parties have been swift to condemn the action by Marfin. Government spokesman, Evangelos Antonaros, stated that the government disagreed with any attempt to sue any political leader for exercising their right to criticise. In addition PASOK party secretary, Giannis Ragousis, speaking to Alpha Radio said that the legal action was "unthinkable and unprecedented", adding that is was the duty and not just the right of political partys and leaders to engage in criticism and debate on public matters.

Andreas Vgenopoulos, vice-president of the Marfin Investment Group, claimed in a press conference that that the company had been the victim of a slur campaign organised by politicians, trade unionists and elements of the media. The lawsuit, he added, was needed to restore the honour and dignity of the MIG Group's 52,000 employees.

NowPublic

Tags: Greece | Alexis Tsipras | Andreas Vgenopoulos | Deutsche Telekom | Marfin Investment Group | OTE | Politics | Synaspismos | World

Far - right politician

Far - right politician, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Kyriakos Velopoulos - member of the far right LAOS party which has 10 members in the Greek parliament. The leader of the party, Giorgos Karatzaferis was quoted as saying in 2002;

"First of all, I am not a Jew. Can the prime minister say that of himself? Secondly, I am not a communist. Can Mr Karamanlis say that?” asked LAOS leader Giorgos Karatzaferis, speaking in Corinth on May 28, 2002. “Thirdly, I am not a homosexual. There aren’t many who can say that,”"

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=89039

He is also the author of books claiming that the Mayans are in fact descendants of the ancient Greeks. Nice to know that such fine, upstanding educated folk are representing the people of Thessaloniki in parliament.

Greece passes pension reform bill

Greece's parliament has narrowly passed the conservative government's controversial pension reform bill that triggered mass public protests.

The bill passed with 151 votes in favour, 13 against and 136 abstentions.

The reform is to eliminate most early retirement schemes, merge pension funds and cap auxiliary pensions.

The plans have outraged unions and civil servants. Tens of thousands of workers took to the streets on Wednesday in a series of strikes.

Athens clashes

As legislators debated the bill inside parliament, police and protesters clashed outside the building.

"The government is stealing the people's money. It's that simple," the leader of main opposition socialists, George Papandreou, said before his party's 102 deputies walked out of the vote.

"People have worked hard for their pension rights. Now, they are being taken away from them in the most arrogant way."

The conservatives have 152 MPs in the 300-seat parliament, but one did not vote due to illness.

A nationwide strike by civil servants on Wednesday paralysed transport and closed public offices.

Trade unions said millions of people took part in the 24-hour action, which was marked by clashes in Athens.

Re-elected last September, the conservative government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis wants to overhaul Greece's debt-ridden pension system.

It had warned the system faces collapse unless the sweeping reforms are implemented.

More than 130 social security and pension funds are to be merged into 13 funds, cutting administration costs.

The government also wants to raise the retirement age in some sectors, and give incentives to those who continue working after the retirement age, which currently stands at 65 for men and 60 for women.

A survey by the banking unions showed that 71% of the population opposes the pension reforms and 69% supports the strike.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

NowPublic

Tags: Greece | BBC | labor action | pension reform bill | STRIKES | World

Greek government facing perfect storm

Despite having won a re-election campaign just six months ago the conservative government of Greece is facing a political perfect storm. With the streets of major cities filling up with uncollected rubbish and the country facing rolling blackouts, both caused by striking public sector workers, the New Democracy government of Kostas Karamanlis is beset with a series of scandals and political battles both at home and abroad.

The ongoing sex and blackmail scandal which saw the minister for culture, Christos Zaxopulos attempt to take his own life last month has continued to shock and titilate the Greek public. In addition revelations over alleged corruption and bribery by the German Siemens corporation in order to win security contracts for the 2004 Olympic games in Athens have severely dented the ruling party's standing in the polls.

The next  two weeks will prove crucial to the gvernement as it has promised to push through controversial pension reforms that have stirred up a wave of strikes and protests by groups as diverse as lawyers and rubbish collectors. With a slim parliamentary majority of just two seats, Prime minister Kostas Karamanlis is faced with a plethora of problems not least of which is the thorny issue of the naming of Greece's northern neighbour. Greek foreign minister, Dora Bakoyianni has vowed that Greece will not allow the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia apply for either NATO or European Union membership with the name Macedonia.

NowPublic

Tags: Europe | Greece | Macedonia | Kostas Karamanlis | pension reforms | Politics | STRIKES | World

Sluicing the crap out of my ears

After hearing this particular member of the government's speech at the OKANA (an organisation the helps people deal with the effects of drug addiction) I just wanted to sluice out the bullshit from my ears. I'm constantly amazed by their self - love and total unwillingness to accept any responsibility for any mistakes, they or their party have made.

Instead, pol after pol droned on about how he has been trying to get more funding, but mysteriously they have all failed due to the "establishment" or "special interest groups."

I'm sick of them playing pass the buck whilst trying desperately to sell the idea of themselves as rebels fighting the system.

Gimme Shelter - The Greek 2007 elections

The general election is over here and the ruling New Democracy party was returned to power with a reduced majority (click here for details). Over the campaign I took lots of photos with the intention of showing how such elections are in Greece. Hopefully, the video I made will give a sense of what was happening here. Dramatic, but politics here tend to be so.



The music is Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones. All photos by Teacher Dude.

The eve of the Greek elections

The eve of the Greek elections, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Blogging hits the political mainstream in Greece

Interestingly, it seem that blogging has started to make itself felt in the Greek political system. Evangelos Venizelos , minister of culture in the previous PASOK government has set up his own blog (see here). Unfortunately for non-Greek speakers, there is no translation in English. However, I will be keeping an eye on it and will translate anything you might find of interest if necessary.

Una fatsa, una ratsa ?

It seems the more I see Panangiotis Psomiadis, (Παναγιωτης Ψωμιαδης) head of the prefecture of Thessaloniki, the more I'm reminded of another illustrious Mediterranean leader, The late, great Il Duce himself, Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini.The comparison becames even more apparent when I saw Psomiadis give a speech this morning live on TV100. Both look back to ancient glories, both evoke with fiery rhetoric the bravery of patriots, both past and present.

Apparently, the only thing stopping the government in Athens gving away the whole of Northern Greece are fine patriots like Psomiadis, who with courage, faith and devotion are single-handedly defending Thessaloniki and Macedonia.

Of course what what he is doing is playing the national chauvanist card. Stung by the scandal and facing possible criminal charges over his dodgy political connections, he is doing what every self-respecting far right candidiate in trouble does: Suddenly, (re)discover enemies abroad and traitors at home. Whether they be Reds Under The Beds or the Elders of Zion, there is always someone who can be demonised and turned into a threat to the motherland.

BTW while Googling Psomiadis I came across this interview by Dora Kitsi-Makiridou a hard hitting journalist who writes for Businesswoman.gr, not afraid to challenge those in power with tough questions such as;

"Your message to the city we love as it is our roots, our history, our home?"

or

"What do you admire in a person?"

Unfortunately, the interview which is hilariously sychophantic, is only in Greek. I will however translate the first paragraph to give you a taste. It's quite difficult to translate into comprehensible English as the original is so badly written.And boy, does she ever get her money's worth out of her Thesaurus.

"Λεβεντιά, χαμόγελο, ανθρωπιά!!Επιτυχημένος, σοβαρός, χαρακτηριστικός, χαρισματικός!! Μάχεται, μοχθεί, ακούει, μαθαίνει, συναντά, κερδίζει την εμπιστοσύνη, εργάζεται, εργάζεται!! Διοικεί!!Κάποιο Σάββατο, τον έκλεψα από υποχρεώσεις,«τον κ. Νομάρχη», τον δικό μας, αγαπητό και φιλικό, Παναγιώτη Ψωμιάδη, με σκοπό να γράψουμε μαζί, για την ζωή του, για τις προσωπικές ισορροπίες του, και τις απόψεις του, στο κάθε τι…Συναντηθήκαμε σε ένα καφέ, με θέα την θάλασσα, συζητήσαμε, περπατήσαμε, χαιρετήσαμε ανθρώπους…Την εικόνα του την γνωρίζετε, το έργο του φανερό, ποιος άραγε είναι ο επαναστάτης «άνθρωπος» που χάραξε πορεία για τον τόπο μας ;Κύριε Ψωμιάδη, ας ρίξουμε φως, στην προσωπική σας ζωή, και ας μάθουμε, τα μυστικά, τις ανησυχίες σας, την ζωή που καλά κρατάτε «κρυμμένη», μακριά από τα φώτα, μόνο για εσάς…."

Translation

Upstanding, a smile, humanity a successful, serious charasmatic, characteristic man. He battles, he toils, he listens, he learns, he meets, he wins people's trust, he works and works. He commands!!!!! One Saturday I "stole " from his duties as the mayor, our beloved Panagiotis Psomiadis in order to have him tell us about himself, the way he keeps his life in balance, and his views on.....everything.

We met in cafe overlooking the sea and we talked, walked,and greeted people. His image, you all know from his work, however, who is this "revolutionary" who has made a name for himself here in our city?

"Mr Psomiadis, lets shed some light on your personal life and lets learn your secrets, your concerns, the life you keep well "hidden", far from the limelight, just about you."