Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-03-29

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Samaras: ND prepared for snap elections

[02] Skopje TV station: Vergina Sun used on fYRoM university's diplomas (RESEND)

[03] 'Heracles to Alexander the Great' exhibition at Oxford 

[01] Samaras: ND prepared for snap elections

He also stressed that he will not accept "co-governance with a PASOK that cannot find agreement even with itself, nor collaborations with those who backed the Memorandum", in a reference to the Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.O.S) party and to independent MP and former ND minister Dora Bakoyannis, who now heads her own fledgling Democratic Alliance party.

Samaras further warned that he will not consent to "God-sent, non-institutional solutions". (ANA-MPA).

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[02] Skopje TV station: Vergina Sun used on fYRoM university's diplomas (RESEND)

The symbol appears on the fours corners of the diploma issued by a university, which was established in 2007, according to the Skopje broadcaster "A1".

The eyebrow-raising news comes a week after the International Court of Justice at The Hague (ICJ) opened proceedings in a lawsuit filed by fYRoM against Greece.

The former alleges that Greece violated a provision in a bilateral 1995 "interim agreement" not to block fYRoM's membership in international organisations under its provisional name, i.e. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Greece has vigorously countered that it did not veto fYRoM's entry into NATO (April 2008), rather a unanimous Alliance decision blocked the accession, while at the same time charging that the Skopje government has violated the interim agreement via a series of provocations, namely, by using Hellenic symbols and historical figures as part of a thinly veiled policy of irredentism vis-?-vis Greece.

The Vergina Sun, now prominently associated with the ancient kingdom of Macedon after excavations in northern Greece turned up significant artifacts emblazoned with the symbol, was brazenly featured on fYRoM's flag between 1992 and 1995.

One of the most significant provisions in the "interim agreement", in fact, was that the symbol be removed from the neophyte country's flag.

Asked about the issue, fYRoM Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said he was not aware of the matter, while in any case, the depiction of the Vergina Sun on university-issued degrees is not a government decision, but a university decision.

Finally, a spokesman for the university said the school's administration decided to use the symbol -- named Vergina in honor of the northern Greek village adjacent to where it was discovered in the late 1970s -- on the degrees, while also claiming that the ancient symbol is found together with a depiction of the Virgin Mary in a local church. (ANA-MPA)

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[03] 'Heracles to Alexander the Great' exhibition at Oxford

This major exhibition will showcase the treasures of Aegae, the royal capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedon. (ANA-MPA)

More than 500 extraordinary new discoveries from the royal tombs of Aegae will go on display for the very first time at the Ashmolean. These magnificent objects trace the rise of power of the governing Temenids, descendants of mythical Heracles (Hercules) and the ruling dynasty of Alexander the Great, and focus on the roles of the kings and queens, and their immediate court, according to the museum. (ANA-MPA)

Aegae was unknown before its discovery at the modern village of Vergina, in northern Greece, 30 years ago. Since then, excavations have revealed a startling wealth of objects, from intricately crafted gold jewellery to glass perfume bottles and clay busts. This exhibition will feature the reconstruction of four burial tombs, displaying the recent finds of gold and silver treasure for the first time anywhere in the world, the Ashmolean added.

The main goal of the exhibition is to promote the evolution of the Macedonian kingdom and the era of Alexander the Great.

The exhibition is co-organised with the ministry of culture and tourism and the 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.

The exhibition opens on April 7, and will run through Aug. 29.

(Photo by ANA-MPA/STR)

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