Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-06-07

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Russian President Putin to ANA-MPA: 'I'm a friend of Greece'

[02] President Pavlopoulos: 'We must build our own future and not rest on our laurels'

[03] Improved MoU signed with Lamda Development to proceed with Hellinikon investment

[01] Russian President Putin to ANA-MPA: 'I'm a friend of Greece'

The two-day forum "New Era of Journalism: Farewell to Mainstream" is hosted by Rossiya Segodnya news agency.

Speaking after his keynote speech at the forum, Putin spoke to the President of ANA-MPA who was participating in a panel on "Censorship and Freedom of the Press" and noted, among others: "I'm a friend of Greece". Psilos and Putin also discussed the latter's recent visit to Mount Athos, with the Russian president noting the good bilateral relations.

During his main speech earlier, Putin said: "Information should be objective in all respects and not subjected to any repressive actions aimed at adjusting it."

On his side, Psilos said in his speech at the forum that censorship is found everywhere in the world. "The content of censorship clashes with the idea of democracy. The media are not of course an impartial observer in their majority, but a weapon which the most powerful can use it for their own interest. But the aim cannot be their censorship but addressing those issues that may lead to the 'necessity' for censorship," he said.

He also addressed the issue of self-censorship on the side of journalists: "A phenomenon commonly observed in conditions of high unemployment in the industry, but also because of fear of possible consequences if any information published. But there is no greater lie than that based on individual and selective use of the truth. When you hold someone in the dark and suddenly you open a window, perhaps the only thing you will achieve is to blind him."

[02] President Pavlopoulos: 'We must build our own future and not rest on our laurels'

"We have no right to rest on the laurels of our ancestors, but we have to build our own future based on and with guided by their own unquestionable universal, heritage and legacy," he said.

Pavlopoulos said the museum is emblematic and apart from its big archaeological value, "it will operate of all modern Greeks and the next generations as a luminous direction indicator".

[03] Improved MoU signed with Lamda Development to proceed with Hellinikon investment

The MoU features various improvements to the original deal, including a significant increase of the overall investment to eight billion euros, the completion of the investment in a shorter period of time and a condition to complete 80 pct of that investment in 12 years.

The basic design includes the upgrading of the beach, residential developments, superregional and local commerce, hotel facilities and recreational areas, utilization of the Olympic facilities and the creation of new sports facilities, a new golf course, venues that highlight our cultural heritage, educational facilities and research centers. Moreover, the investors will create, finance and maintain the largest Greek, and one of the largest in the world, Metropolitan Green and Recreational Park, which jointly with the public use green areas of the site will cover and aggregate area of 2.600.000m2, or 42 pct of the entire site.

"With the signing of a new agreement for Hellinikon, we outline the implementation of an investment that will seal the country's new path to development," HRADF president Stergios Pitsiorlas said in a statement. "The significant improvement of the existing deal resolves the problems that formed the basis for objections in the previous period. In the coming years, the largest urban redevelopment project will be implemented that will create the largest urban park in Europe," he added.

On their side, the President and CEO of Lamda Development, Tassos Giannitsis and Odisseas Athanasiou respectively, said this was an important step towards the direction of investment, employment and exploitation of new opportunities. "The Project will have multiple positive effects on other sectors and activities, it will create new expertise and a very large area will gain immense utility value for millions of Greek and foreign citizens," they continued.

"Most importantly, this investment due to its size and qualitative characteristics, will install an important development axis in the economy of the country, and especially that of the Attica basin, which will become a reference point for many decades".

Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili told reporters during Tuesday's press briefing that the memorandum improves the initial planning, with a final agreement to be signed in the coming months.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article