27-06-2008

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Milestones Footnotes + BY NIKOS KONSTANDARAS The political scene is shrouded in a cloud of suspicion as details of the Greek angle on the Siemens scandal keep surfacing, like bodies in a bog. No one knows how deep the bog is, how many bodies will emerge, nor whether the investigation will lead to the eventual lifting of the fog that has never been far from our political life. Friday, June 20 Amid the gloom, Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis, never one to miss an opportunity, offers some comic relief. British pop singer James Blunt, the “troubadour of love,” gets a lesson in Greek tough love and is forced to cancel his two Athens performances, when the municipality, declaring the stands needed a safety check, sealed the open-air theater on Lycabettus Hill on Thursday, hours before his scheduled performance. On the surface, it looks like City Hall is erring on the side of caution. But it could also be a power play in which the city wants to show who is boss. This is made amply clear on Monday when City Hall backpedals and says the theater is OK. Meanwhile, local and foreign acts are livid. They fell into our credibility gap. Saturday, June 21 The second revival of the Nemean Games is held in the ancient stadium. Grown men wearing tunics and ancient helmet replicas run barefoot, carrying shields. Women run in tunics, without the shields. The Games, held at four-year intervals since 1996, are the inspiration of Prof. Stephen G. Miller of the University of California, Berkeley, who has been excavating the site since 1974. It is a great idea. There is also something of a religious As a longtime visitor from New York, and recent resident of Athens, I know of nowhere else to express my frustration with the ugliness of the graffiti which is spreading like cancer all over the city, on its monuments, on private houses and apartment buildings, on its stores and highway walls... I am shocked and dismayed that most Athenians accept this lawless defacing of public and private property and do not realize this symbolizes a lawless mentality. In New York, this was mostly a problem of the desperate inner city, but through the years, we have been able to clean it up and largely eliminate it. 12 Graffiti Aesthetic scourge ‘I am shocked and dismayed that most Athenians accept this lawless defacing’ BY ANDREAS PETROULAKIS revival about the occasion as – judging by the photographs – some of the participants appear very serious about their role. It is the summer solstice, too. Sunday, June 22 If this country could still be shocked, it would be: A year after the Zoniana fiasco in central Crete, another police officer is seriously injured (also shot in the head) in another botched raid on a cannabis plantation. This time it was the village of Malades near Iraklion. Crete still has a long way to go before all its residents submit to the laws that govern the rest of us. Kathimerini reports that prosecutor Panayiotis Athanassiou, who is inves- I know that Greeks are not known for caring about community aesthetics, but the sheer apathy I find in the aesthetic marring and rape of this otherwise beautiful city (even Syntagma’s marble steps have not gone unmarked) is mindboggling and confusing. I am proud to be of Greek descent, and I am proud of my new city, so I cannot understand how the Athenian Greek is not proud enough of his city to be totally outraged by the image this ugly campaign of graffiti is displaying to the visitors who come here from around the world. Aliki Marie Los, New York ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008 OPINION Poking about in Bog Town tigating the Siemens bribery affair, is extending his probe to a purchase of rolling stock by the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE). Meanwhile, PASOK, still reeling from party leader George Papandreou’s sidelining of former Prime Minister Costas Simitis, is now torn by the confession of former Simitis aide Theodoros Tsoukatos that the latter accepted a million marks from Siemens in 1999. He says he gave the money to the party. Party officials disagree. Monday, June 23 In Thessaloniki, industrialist Giorgos Mylonas, who was kidnapped 13 days earlier, is released, following the LETTERS Bulldozer politics Ahearty welcome to Athens Plus. Kaspar Hofmann’s letter (Issue 1) is nearly correct. However, the Ministry of Culture and Vandalism is doing well. Last year on a tour of SE Attica I found sites fenced off and padlocked, with no notice boards, no facilities and no access. An effective deterrent! Here, on Aegina, we have a gem of a museum of Aphaia gifted by German archaeologists that opens for five minutes on the hour from 9-11 a.m. Consequently, it is undervisited. I remember walking all over the Parthenon (and Aphaia) and leaving a hat at one end to test the entasis, and marvel. Now, ropes, whistles and rudeness dominate. Acid rain is wearing away the stones as effectively as water on soap. There’s no need to bulldoze monuments. They’re slipping away with every passing storm. Let’s hope the ministry does the same. Francis Oeser, Aegina payment of a ransom of 12 million euros. The chief executive of Alumil and president of the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece (SVVE) says he was treated well by his captors, adding that they were Greeks. Such crimes are extremely rare in the country. It will be interesting to see how this case develops. At Nea Makri, an upscale community on Attica’s eastern coast, Christos Malenos, 68, shoots and kills his landlord’s representative and is in turn shot dead by a policeman, when an attempt was made to serve an eviction order on him for failure to pay rent. With an average of 10 houses being sold at auction daily af- Warm welcome As a regular visitor to Greece for the last 13 years, I have developed an interest in the country beyond the sun, sea and sand holidays that I still enjoy. I read ekathimerini every day and find the site to be balanced and informative about all things Hellenic. I am particularly impressed with new online magazine, especially as this edition gave updated information on the airport metro link closure which was particularly useful for me as I arrive in Greece next Wednesday! I found all the features very well written and interesting and hope to be able to buy a hard copy of the next edition during my holiday. Thank you again for the information provided. Richard Jackson, UK ter foreclosures we can expect to see more acts of despair. Tuesday, June 24 European and Greek officials are investigating possible irregularities in a Defense Ministry contract regarding the refitting of six Dutch frigates, in which EU funding was ostensibly involved, Kathimerini reveals. Former friends Dora Bakoyannis and her US counterpart Condoleezza Rice meet in Berlin. Relations chilled over Washington’s strong support for Skopje in the Macedonia name issue, and Athens’s vetoing of its neighbor’s NATO application. Sources say the name issue will drag on for a long time. In a related development, Archbishop Ieronymos, at a meeting of the Holy Synod, condemns “isolated national outbursts... that do not serve the interests of the Church.” This is obviously directed at specific bishops who like to play the crowd. “Such phenomena endanger and undermine the viability and the serious nature of our positions,” says Ieronymos, rendering unto Caesar. If only everyone on both sides were as serious... Wednesday, June 25 The first major forest fire near Athens breaks out. Last year, the forest on Mount Parnitha was destroyed. This year it appears to be Hymettus’s turn. Fortunately, a strong firefighting force manages to contain the blaze, but not before it has destroyed 150 hectares of lush pine forest. It will be a long and scary summer. Greece is still in shock over last year’s disasters. Thursday, June 26 Prosecutor Panayiotis Athanassiou summons three stockbrokers to explain their role in an offshore company allegedly used as a channel for Siemens bribes. The number of suspects in the case is close to 40. The bog is full of surprises. In tune ILOVE your new magazine/newspaper Athens Plus! I’m an online reader of your daily paper and completely enjoy being able to get more indepth news and features from Athens Plus. Now I feel I can really be “in tune” with my relatives who live in Glyfada, while I live here in the States. I truly hope you continue to provide this weekly edition online in PDF format! Julie Smith, USA HAVE YOUR SAY Send your comments to editor@ekathimerini.com
An Italian MEP (Giusto Catania) said that the “Mediterranean is becoming a cemetery.” Greece has first-hand experience of this, as bodies of dead migrants are pulled out of the Aegean almost on a weekly basis. Will the new directive tackle this problem? The aim of the directive is first of all to establish fair and humane common procedures and standards for the return ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008 INTERVIEW Manfred Weber German MEP, rapporteur for the EU’s new immigration regime, talks to Athens Plus Guarding Europe’s gates Obligations ‘The directive provides rights – but also obligations – to people who have not been able to enjoy a life in dignity’ Vigilance ‘Only an intensive policing of the seas with air and sea patrols enables us to discover immigrants in distress and save them from death’ BY NICK MALKOUTZIS & HARRY VAN VERSENDAAL The issue of illegal immigration has come to the forefront in Greece over the last few years, so a watchful glance was cast toward the European Parliament in Strasbourg earlier this month as lawmakers ruled that migrants entering EU countries illegally could be detained for up to 18 months and banned from re-entering for up to five years. Although passed by a large majority, some critics say that the new rules jeopardize the dignity and safety of migrants who are caught and returned home. Athens Plus caught up with Manfred Weber, the German member of the European Parliament (MEP) who steered the bill through the Parliament over nearly three years of debate You have suggested that these new rules will bring an end to “slavery in the EU.” Could you expand on this point? Until now, irregular immigrants have been without any rights and guarantees and completely at the mercy of employers or national authorities. The Return Directive aims to end this abuse. Irregularity will not be tolerated anymore. Instead, the member states are forced to either award the illegal immigrants living in their territories a legal residence permit or, if they are not willing to grant this, they have to return the immigrants to their home countries. To guarantee, however, that the return procedure is applied in an equally humane way in every member state, the directive lays down a broad set of basic rights for those immigrants who cannot stay in the EU. Thus, the directive provides rights – but also obligations – to people who have not been able to enjoy a life in dignity. Doesn’t 18 months seem too long a time to be held in detention? This view unfortunately disregards the fact that the detention of irregular migrants is already commonplace throughout the member states. Furthermore, the argument ignores the Firm but fair: Manfred Weber says that the laws on immigration will give new arrivals in Europe more protection. Greece and other points of transit must get support from return fund of irregular migrants. Hence, it must not to be seen as an omnipotent tool tackling all aspects of irregular migration. However, the current situation is indeed very alarming and we see the urgent need for action. The doubling of the Frontex budget is a first and important move. But Frontex needs to be strengthened further. Only an intensive policing of the seas with air and sea patrols alarming current situation of irregular migrants across Europe: In nine member states (including the Netherlands, Sweden and Greece) the maximum detention period is unlimited. And it is, in fact, this very predicament that we are striving to bring to an end with the Return Directive. The directive foresees a maximum detention period of six months. Only in exceptional circumstances may this detention period be extended. Do these measures reflect public pressure to get tougher on immigration? It is true that citizens are afraid of workers coming from abroad, who can offer the same work and services for a lower salary. This is why the old member states of the EU have also imposed restrictions for workers coming from the new member states. Nonetheless, the EU citizens have to realize that in fact our labor markets are to a high degree actually reliant upon immigrant workers. Therefore, the Community approach makes it clear that ir- enables us to discover immigrants in distress and save them from death. The directive includes access to health and education systems for migrants and protection for minors. Greece has a poor record on these points. What steps will be taken to ensure that countries provide the facilities they should to immigrants? ‘Irregularity will not be tolerated anymore’ regular immigration will not be tolerated while new rules for legal immigration shall follow – under consideration of the needs of the different labor markets. German newspaper Handelsblatt said the directive sends the “wrong signal” and that “the EU has set its sights on building a wall.” Are the new rules a step along the way toward constructing “Fortress Europe”? No, we do not want to build “Fortress Europe.” Unregulated immigration simply does not work for the EU anymore. This is also true for the countries of origin of the migrants. Let me just mention the problem of “brain drain.” Of course, the EU is very much interested in attracting both highly skilled and low-skilled workers. Yet, it is not in the interest of the countries of origin to lose their human capital to Europe. Hence, in the long run, only a strong cooperation between the EU and the countries of origin can help solve migration problems on both sides. MANFRED WEBER ON... The European dream Migration flows have always followed the direction from poorer to more prosperous regions. And there is not much we can change about this. The only possibility to counterbalance this phenomenon is to support the regions of origin in reaching European standards. Surely, it would be very desirable to allow every person a dignified life at the place of his or her choice. Unfortunately, on a global scale we are still a long way from this situation. Workplace raids The Return Directive does not aim to establish the means and ways in which illegal immigration shall be uncovered. Raids in order to reveal illegal immigration are not covered by the EU law. The European Parliament is well aware of the problematic conditions in Greece due to the very elevated numbers of immigrants there. It is therefore essential and programmed that financially overburdened member states will get support from the Return Fund. Moreover, the Commission will monitor the correct implementation of the Return Directive. 13
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27-06-2008

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