Village settles student parade flag dispute
A small community near Thessaloniki tried to return to normality yesterday after parents and teachers decided the March 25 student parade will go ahead as planned despite threats by some children to boycott the event because an Albanian classmate would be carrying the Greek flag. The community of Kalyves in Polygyros became the focus of media attention after Greek pupils threatened to boycott the Independence Day parade. But parents and teachers decided that the Albanian pupil would carry the flag. «My personal opinion may be that only Greeks should carry the flag but this does not mean laws should not be implemented,» said Polygyros Mayor Thomas Kaplanis. The pupil with the best grades usually carries the flag for each school but in 2000 and 2003, Odhise Qena, also an Albanian, was denied this opportunity in Nea Michaniona, near Thessaloniki.
