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Greek Violence is message for forum attendees

Speaking in the wake of five days of violence in the streets of Athens and other cities throughout Greece, Papandreou said he was speaking “at a time of great pain in Greece, mourning the death, the murder actually, of a 15-year-old boy.”
Expressing his “concern for my country,” Papandreou told his audience who represented 106 countries at the forum, “I would like to know that when you leave this country you don’t take the idea of an unacceptable death, a terrible deplorable situation. I want you to know there is the will of the Greek state for a democratic state. That something with all this evil is changing within our society. And we have decided that we are going to change and adopt a model of development for our citizens,”
Papandreou was speaking about the shooting to death by a Greek policeman of a 15-year-old boy during street demonstrations Saturday night. The death sparked clashes in the streets that continued through the weekend and into the week.
Papandreou said the media are captive. “There is so much money that the media are influenced and often controlled and our academic community can be controlled by the power.”
He said candles have been lit n the streets for the victim of the shooting, “a protest against violence – every form of violence.”
Papandreou said: “We are living through an economic crisis, which I consider a political crisis.” Referring to the economic woes in the United States, Papandreou said there is a “concentration of huge power – military power and media power – that creates huge inequality.”
“Our democratic institutions cannot bear this huge power of a few,” he said.
“Our institutions are eng held captive,” he said, “and the media are influenced and often controlled … through this concentration of power.”
“We have more opportunities today than in the history of mankind – there’s huge wealth, we all have huge amounts of knowledge, we have great experience, we have great technology and know-how,” Papandreou said. “But on the other hand, our citizens feel much weaker and much more unable to have influence. They feel they have less say, less power, they can’t take part they cant’ decide – decisions are taken without them being consulted.”
The great challenges are felt even more by the younger generations, he said, adding, “This one that is growing up today has to deal with the greatest problems that humanity has had to face. They have to deal with climate change – energy crisis, to overcome and go beyond the model of carbon fuels to a new model of energy; problem of broadening inequality, pandemics, illnesses which have arisen again or are new. Huge waves of immigration will increase with the international crisis – the younger generation will need to deal with ethical problems, biotechnology … communication rights.”
The challenge that lies ahead, he said, “is for a new collective responsibility for the planet and our communities.”
He warned that “we shall either go toward a society of green development, or we will go to a planet of violence and barbarity.”
He said there is “a beam of light for youth – that you represent, and not the only one, but an implicit one for them to participate, for them to change their own lives.”
The Internet and web sites open new avenues for change for the good, he said, but adding that they are not a panacea.
“There are problems – spider web, with the occupation/invasion of the web space allowing some access and others not,” he said. “I understand cyberspace as an incredible wealth of knowledge and communication.”
“Today and tomorrow, if I am elected, we want the conventional media, the state media, to be governed by the minister of education and to be independent and we are also interested in learning your thoughts concerning the new culture of cooperation through the Net which can be a substantial element for our democracy.”
He said the campaign of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will bring about a different form of government that has already had an effect on the media, a breath of fresh air so citizens can be heard, and participation beyond conventional forms of government.
Papandreou was followed by Pavlos Tsimas, a commentator for MEGA-TV and a columnist, who said the events in Athens “are so overwhelming there is nothing else to talk about.”
“A boy was shot dead … for no reason, in cold blood,” Tsimas said. But he found nothing about the shooting Saturday night on television. But on the Internet, “there already was extensive coverage.” At midnight Saturday “people were already taking to the streets, and they didn’t even know the boy’s name.”
“Thousands were taking to the streets and the established media had not yet reported about it,” he said.
The newspapers o the next day, Sunday, did not have a word about the shooting.
He said the incident revealed a set of problems: The media failed to understand the root of the inflammable environment, many, if not most, of the media instills disdain, rather than trust, especially among the young, and the news traveled and people were in the streets before radio and television even aired the story.
“You feel the need … to start discussing anew the social role of the media,” Tsimas said.

David Rosso
US Journalist