Dimitrios' World

The visit by the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, to Ankara and Istanbul on 5-6 February was remarkable for a number of reasons. There was no spectacular breakthrough announced; in fact, a recognition of the status quo was the best that could be expected. Yet, the visit was important because it reflects both the complexities of the bilateral relationship between Greece and Turkey as well as a recognition that its content is shaped by a number of factors that are not necessarily of a bilateral nature. Let us put everything into context. We find ourselves in the midst of the 20 th year of the rapprochement process between the two countries. This is a process that began after a period of heightened animosity and tensions in September 1999 on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York when George Papandreou and Ismail Cem, the respective foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey at the time, decided to stress strengthened economi...

I was proud of my country and its institutions on Saturday, 28 September when numerous arrest warrants were issued for members of the neo Nazi,  national  socialist gang that calls itself a party -- Golden Dawn. Among those arrested where its party leader as well as other standing members of parliament. I am still proud that they will be tried for their numerous hate crimes including their organized crime activities. It was about time to crush them even if if they cannot be nipped in the bud anymore.  A week has passed. So much has changed, yet much remains the same. Instead of witnessing and experiencing a mass sensation of relief, and a wider debate around the issues of hate, racism and tolerance, all we have seen is much ado about nothing....an embedded suspicion of the political system and within it where the so called 'democratic' political parties of the left and the right continue to snipe at each other in public about the objective of the arrests and the cra...

I remember the excitement I felt when Athens was awarded the 2004 Olympic Games on 5 September 1997...I felt happy, inspired and hopeful about the adventure my country was getting into...its chance to shine, and actually work on much need urban development projects such as roads, ring highways, a subway, etc. as well as build state of the art sport facilities..the Games came albeit the wastefu l public spending of our ever enlightened public officials and I had the opportunity to enjoy athletics, volleyball, basketball, and water polo in different venues and become proud of my city with its volunteers, transport system, smoke free venues....The colorful and joyous atmosphere in the Olympic stadium where we were all citizens of the world in spite of our different national affiliations is a once in a lifetime experience I am glad to have lived. it was a magical three weeks in a magical summer...'Yes, we can when we set our minds to it' was the prevailing sentiment...then the har...

The street protests in Greece are raising a big debate about their purpose, their cohesion and their effectiveness. After the initial feeling of elation that comes with a spontaneous expression of discontent with the state of the country and the ineffectiveness of the political system much ado is being made as to whether this largely heterogeneous mass of citizens with very disparate perspectives can actually express a cohesive platform of positions and possibly even evolve into some sort of political movement. Herein the danger. The street protests are meant to mobilise the political elite into taking action but as long as the governing and the main opposition parties are ineffective (or perceived to be ineffective) in leading, the street protests will quickly disintegrate into an unruly mob with an anti West, anti EU, anti IMF, anti anything that is not Greek populist movement. The presence of many Greek flags (a sign that the lines between patriotism and nationalism are...

Undeniably, the riots of December 2008 in Athens and elsewhere in Greece have made a return to normalcy extremely difficult. Yesterday, we heard that 31 shots with the intention to kill were fired against three policemen on guard duty with one in stable but critical condition after marathon surgery. The holiday season is over and trouble is about to break loose again. While I try to convince myself that the end of apathy and the audacity of hope are near, if not here, the continued downswing of my country where what seems to prevail is the violence of a tiny minority, where the authorities are at a loss as to how to (re)act, where the police do not know anymore how to act, where should the violence and destruction begin anew, fear will become all the more prevalent should the rock and Molotov throwers become the norm. A demolition derby is in place, in full swing while we, most ordinary citizens, watch stupefied, irritated, apathetic at times and at a loss to react at others. I kee...