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

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM: Collective interest lies in changes, reforms

[02] Karamanlis, Papandreou cross swords in Parliament

[03] Gov't again cites 'name issue'

[04] Traditional builders eco-friendly

[01] PM: Collective interest lies in changes, reforms

Referring to reactions against privatisations, Karamanlis said everyone was free to choose his own path:

"It is the inalienable right of working people to demand, to strike, to conduct mobilisations; but violence is no one's right, extremes and extreme actions are in on one's interest, and no one can employ undemocratic practices. It is a matter of social responsibility and, ultimately, a matter of democracy," he said.

Karamanlis also accused Alavanos and SYRIZA of "barren rejection to everything, without presenting a proposal and without contributing to the achievement of solutions".

He said privatisations aimed at boosting healthy competition, tackling deficits that burden taxpayers, and taking advantage of Greece's geographical position.

The premier reiterated the government's commitment to "fully ensure, in every instance, the rights of all the working people" at the Thessaloniki and Piraeus port authorities and in Olympic Airways.

"We will not overlook the workers' interests. We will not aid monopolistic situations. But neither will we stop the reforms that are necessary for the country to move forward. We will not forget the taxpayers who are paying. This is our commitment," he said.

Alavanos accused the government of undermining the public sector, and called on the people to back his leftist party's new governmental proposal, "which believes in the development of the public sector", something and was outlined on Thursday at the opening session of his party's 5th congress.

He asked the prime minister whether he would advise a small-scale businessman to sell his profitable enterprise and, if not, then why was he selling all the prime companies of the public sector. He also asked whether the prime minister would advise a businessman to sell his business in the event that he found out that its manager was stealing, referring to the Siemens kickbacks case.

Alavanos further spoke of a "schizophrenic" situation when, on the one hand, increases in the retirement ages are planned in the framework of social security reforms, and on the other, procedures regarding the ports, the rail utility and the stock exchange provided for "voluntary exodus" (voluntary early retirements).

Replying to Alavanos, Karamanlis said SYRIZA could not on the one hand make charges of "morbid phenomena" while on the other oppose every reform that aimed at tackling such instances.

He said that populism did not help the situation, nor did a reactionary behaviour, adding also that there was no validity to claims that privatisations meant a deterioration of services and increase in prices.

Quite the contrary, he added, citing as an example the effects of liberalisation in the telecoms sectors, where prices fell and the quality of services increased, along with the creation of new jobs that ensued.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of Greek PM Costas Karamanlis.

[02] Karamanlis, Papandreou cross swords in Parliament

Replying to the tabled questions, Karamanlis reassured that "nothing will be covered up" and "nothing will remain in the dark", while he also criticised Papandreou of exploiting the question tabled regarding the PPC in order to "generate commotion" and to aggravate and polarise the political climate.

Regarding the Siemens case and PASOK's proposal that a parliamentary fact-finding commission be set up to investigate it, Karamanlis said independent justice's investigation into the affair was progressing "and will be completed".

"We will not allow anything to delay it. Let justice carry on with its task without diversion. Parliament will still be here ... Parliament is here and ready to deal with this issue when the investigation is completed," Karamanlis said.

The premier expressed doubt over PASOK's intentions regarding the fact-finding commission, accusing the main opposition party of following a tactic of "the best defence is offence".

"Can't you see that your cadres have already started accusing each other and that they have accused the government of which you were a member?" Karamanlis asked.

As for the PASOK demand that he himself appear before a Parliamentary committee on cultural affairs, as a former Culture Minister, to answer questions regarding the ongoing �achopoulos affair, Karamanlis said "I am here for you, the plenary, to ask me whatever you want to ask", although he added, "I will not take part in games of impression".

On the PPC's developmental initiatives, Karamanlis stressed that the prospect was being examined of cooperation with RWE, but "there is no agreement".

Karamanlis also referred in detail to the government's actions aimed at reducing the country's oil dependence and utilisation of mild and alternative energy sources, stressing that the prospect of hard coal (anthracite) being added to Greece's energy balance was being examined. However, "such units will arise after an appraisal".

He said that PPC's business decisions were taken exclusively by the company's board of directors and "not in dark rooms", adding that the PPC management "decides by itself on its business collaborations", and stressing that interventions in its choices would be "suspicious and condemnable".

Papandreou, in turn, charged a "cover-up of the cover-up" in the cases of the Vodafone phone-tappings, the structured bonds scandal, price cartels and the culture ministry-Zachopoulos affair, and accused the prime minister of refusing to appear before the parliamentary committee on cultural affairs to "give account" to the Greek people "out of fear".

He reiterated the PASOK demand for a fact-finding commission on the Siemens case, referring to "lies, lack of transparency and cynicism" on the part of the government.

Caption: Main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou in Parliament on Friday, 8 Feb. 2008. ANA-MPA / PANTELIS SAITAS

[03] Gov't again cites 'name issue'

"Persistence in intransigence and persistence in the outdated rationale of turning the issue into a bilateral one is ascertained; as is persistence in taking recourse in provocative statements and actions against Greece," spokesman George Koumoutsakos said in reply to press questions during a regular briefing. He also stressed that Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis has repeatedly and clearly explained why the FYROM "name issue" is not a bilateral matter.

"Within this framework and under these conditions, negotiations, which are very difficult to begin with, remain extremely difficult. Greece remains firm in its position ... a message and an invitation for substantive negotiations, aimed at achieving a mutually acceptable solution as set out in the UN Security Council resolutions," Koumoutsakos said.

Such a solution, he added, would immediately create conditions for a better future for the region, for the two countries and for FYROM's European prospect.

Furthermore, Koumoutsakos said the Skopje government must seriously assess the positive dimension that such a mutually acceptable solution would have, while at the same time it should assess any losses, particularly for FYROM, if a solution is not found.

The spokesman clarified that "Greece threatens no one".

"Greece, from the outset, aspires to a mutually acceptable solution. Our aim is the achievement of such a solution, and not the exclusion of neighboring countries from their Euro-Atlantic prospects, because Greece's strategic aspiration is the Euro-Atlantic prospect for all its neighbors. However, relations of solidarity and between allies cannot be built on top of serious outstanding issues that concern the core of respect for the principle of good-neighbor relations," Koumoutsakos explained.

Asked whether developments in the FYROM "name issue" were anticipated in the coming weeks, Koumoutsakos noted the crucial aspect of decisions with respect to a prospective invitation for FYROM to join NATO.

"This is not a negotiating condition, but it is a reality that influences the ongoing negotiation. Mr. (Matthew) Nimetz (the UN special envoy on the FYROM name issue) is continuing his efforts, and will be in Athens at the end of the month," Koumoutsakos said.

Asked whether an impasse in the negotiations was expected, the spokesman stressed that Greece's aim was that there will not be an impasse but, rather, a mutually acceptable solution.

"This is our strategic goal, not only on this specific issue, but also on all the positive effects that the solution of this matter would have on the wider region. It was and remains an exceptionally difficult negotiation," he said.

Regarding Greece's position in the negotiation process, Koumoutsakos reiterated an older statement by the foreign minister for "an international name vis-à-vis all ('erga omnes')".

Asked to comment on a press report claiming that Washington intended to put forward a "dual name" solution proposal during Bakoyannis' upcoming visit to Washington, Koumoutsakos made it clear that the Greek government has not formally received any such a proposal.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos.

[04] Traditional builders eco-friendly

"If we look at the traditional buildings of island architecture, we will see that the older builders used about 20 cm of compressed seaweed and about the same amount of earth, creating a wonderful insulation that performs much better than modern insulation methods," prof. George Daoutopoulos said in statements to the ANA-MPA.

He noted that these traditional builders, while having no knowledge of bioclimatic architecture, were nevertheless acquainted with environmentally sound techniques and methods that had now been either lost or set aside.

"These people - who were not educated - respected and protected nature. Without anyone telling them anything, they found solutions using local materials. Whereas we, with all our knowledge, unfortunately exert tremendous pressure on the environment," he said.

As an example of such environmentally sound practices in building, Daoutopoulos cited the island practice of constructing roofs that collected rain water for later use.

He made the statements on the sidelines of a two-day conference on "The repercussions of climate change on Greece" held during the Agrotica 2008 trade fair.

Daoutopoulos also stressed the need for everyone to take steps to reduce climate change, warning that the consequences would otherwise be very bad.

"If all Greeks changed common incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs we would need one less power station," he cited as an example, while reducing use of private cars in favour of public transport were another simple but important way of protecting the environment.

"Glass buildings and glass houses, also, are not suitable for our country because they absorb solar energy and heat up, so that we have to use air conditioning. We must also make sure to adopt passive cooling systems," he added.

Other speakers, such as geology professor Theodoros Karakostas, discussed models and forecasts for climate change predicting that global temperatures will rise 3 degrees Celsius by 2070-2100, with an estimated reliability of 65 percent.

"There is visible danger and the repercussions from the destruction of the environment will be painful or even nightmarish," he said.

The forecasts for Greece predict a marked reduction in rainfall by up to 20 percent, leading to a reduction in the quantity but also the quality of the water in the water table, as well as a reduction in the water volume of rivers between 20-30 percent.

Extreme weather patterns, such as heatwaves, hail and flooding will increase in frequency, intensity and duration, leading to increased economic damage, while the demand for electricity is seen increasing by 15-20 percent between May and September.

Karakostas stressed the need to cultivate environmental sensitivity in the ordinary public and to make a systematic and collective effort to protect the next generations from disaster.

Caption: A file photo dated Sunday, May 27, 2007, of a small alleyway in the Anafiotika neighborhood beneath northern face of the Acropolis in downtown Athens, an area that hosts traditional 19th century homes built mostly by masons from the Cyclades island of Anafi, which lent its name to the neighborhood. ANA-MPA / P. SAITAS.

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