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PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
Andrew A. Athens proposes world coordinated action by Parliamentarians union, SAE on national issues
Athens, 17/8/2004

The establishment of a group to set a common agenda and coordinated global action on national issues between the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Union (WHIU) and the World Council of Hellenes (SAE) has been proposed by Andrew A. Athens, president of SAE, at a conference and follow-up meetings attended by more than 170 Hellenes who hold major elected office in various countries.

�The Union has members in elected government bodies, usually Parliaments, worldwide and SAE is an established grassroots organization on every continent,� Mr. Athens stated at the 5th International meeting of WHIU. �We can complement each other�s potential for the benefit of helping people and governments worldwide to understand the Hellenic culture, and the human values and sense of justice that guide our concerns on ethno-religious issues,� he proposed a day after the triumphant Opening Ceremony of the 28th Olympic Games in Athens that he attended with the members of the parliamentary union.

Demetrios Giannaros, president of WHIU, stated he was �thrilled� with the proposal and said that �a combined ad hoc committee can be formed to help prioritize the issues of interest to Hellenes worldwide.� He predicted that the favorable climate created by the successful historic Olympics and other recent events, such as Greece�s winning the European championship in soccer, provide an excellent worldwide climate of to highlight Hellenic issues and accomplishments.

At a separate meeting, George Sourlas, 2nd Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament with responsibility for the Diaspora, endorsed the concept of active cooperation between the two organizations which he characterized as �natural� since one organization consists of a formal group of knowledgeable elected officials and the other consists of the body of Hellenism worldwide. Members of WHIU expressed strong interest about the proposal and some suggested that implementation should begin before the end of the year.

Mr. Sourlas said that in addition to ethnic issues, various other concerns about the Hellenic Heritage can be addressed including programs for Hellenic Youth worldwide and issues of heritage and education.

The parliamentarians� conference was also attended by many members of the Hellenic Parliament including its President Anna Benaki who inaugurated the conference, Eugenios Haitidis, chairman of the non-partisan Permanent Special Parliament Committee for Hellenes Abroad, and Grigoris Niotis, first vice president of the group. The four-day conference was held in the port city of Nafplion, Southern Greece, and was attended by elected officials from Argolis, and Hellenes and philhellenes from more than 15 countries including the U.S., Russia, Australia, Austria, Germany, Georgia, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Belgium, France, Albania and Latvia.

Mr. Athens stated, �Among the issues that are paramount at this time is the Hellenic position on Cyprus because there is a widespread misunderstanding of the negative vote by Hellene Cypriots on the Annan plan; the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the campaign to re-open the School of Halki; support for the other Orthodox Patriarchates and the leading position of Greece in Southeastern Europe, both economically and culturally.�

Strong endorsement of Mr. Athens� proposal, highlighting the emphasis on ethnic issues, was also expressed by Andrew Manatos, of Manatos and Manatos, who has performed public affairs work on Hellenic issues and has represented World SAE in Washington, D.C.

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