In Brief
CHURCH AND POLITICS
Clerics should enter Parliament, bishop says Clerics should join politicians in Parliament to debate issues such as cremation, human cloning and euthanasia which are of direct concern to the church, a senior cleric told the Thessaloniki daily Makedonia in an interview on Saturday. The narrowing of the gap between Church and State calls for an official voice for the Church in politics, said Bishop Stephanos of Trifylia and Olympia, who proposed the allotment of an independent seat in Parliament to which a senior cleric – nominated by the Church – can be elected. The Church has no plans to establish its own political party, said Bishop Stephanos, adding that he hoped all parties would cooperate in such an initiative. Won’t let go Following last week’s announcement that Dora Bakoyianni will contend for the Athens mayoralship on the New Democracy ticket in October, current mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos has reversed course and thrown his hat into the ring as well. Citing his wide experience in governing the city as well as his broader political profile, he insisted in a statement that, were he to remain in the post, he could perform far more effectively than his two rivals, Bakoyianni and PASOK nominee Christos Papoutsis, both of whom have no local governmental experience. Avramopoulos also indicated that he intended to stand down from his leadership of the fledgling Movement of Free Citizens party. Residents protest Hundreds of residents from the village of Stratoniki in Halkidiki, northern Greece, protested on Saturday against operations by TVX Hellas – the local subsidiary of a Canadian mining firm – claiming their homes were being damaged. The residents, who are engaged in a court battle to overturn a government permit allowing TVX to mine silver, lead and zinc under their village, say tunneling has already caused cracks in several buildings and the village school, adding that more works will only worsen the problem of subsidence. TVX, which claims to have taken all necessary safety precautions, had to abandon a gold-mining project at a nearby site following a similar protest. Venizelos donation The Cretan home of early 20th century statesman Eleftherios Venizelos was yesterday officially donated to the National Research Foundation in a ceremony on Akrotiri near Hania, western Crete, led by National Economy Minister Nikos Christodoulakis. The state-owned building, in the village of Halepa in the Hania prefecture, will be renovated and transformed into a museum. – The chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission, Denis Oswald, arrives in Athens for a series of meetings with government officials. To Friday.
