[ALBSA-Info] Re: [Alb-club] Albanian boy and Greek flag divide nation

[Kreshnik Bejko]

>Albanian boy and Greek flag divide nation
>By Dina Kyriakidou
>
>ATHENS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - A 15-year-old boy has divided Greece, pitting
>nationalists against advocates of tolerance in a debate over whether an
>Albanian should have carried the Greek flag in a National Day parade.
>
>Odysseus Cenai, an honour student in the Nea Mihaniona high school in the
>northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, stayed home instead of leading his
>school in Saturday's parade after strong reaction from local people and
>politicians.
>
>Monday's newspaper headlines spoke of "Odysseus's Odyssey" and "Outrage" 
>over
>his plight. Online polls showed a Greece deeply divided -- with 52 percent 
>of
>respondents in favour of the boy and 46 percent against.
>
>Even some ruling Socialist party PASOK parliamentary deputies said Cenai 
>had
>no right to the honour.
>
>"This flag can only be held by Greeks on a national day," former socialist
>Justice Minister Evangelos Yannopoulos said.
>
>But the usually reserved Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos rushed to
>defend Cenai after the uproar.
>
>"Greek is whoever participates in Greek education," he told reporters,
>paraphrasing the ancient Athenian orator Isocrates.
>
>Although Greek law dictates that only Greek citizens should bear the 
>national
>symbol, Education Minister Petros Efthymiou waived the rule and said all
>students, regardless of nationality, should be allowed to carry the flag.
>
>The Education Ministry dictates that the student who has the best grades 
>gets
>to lead the parade on October 28, but many questioned whether an Albanian 
>was
>worthy of carrying the flag on a day commemorating Greece's resistance to 
>the
>Nazis.
>
>The Greek Orthodox bishop of Thessaloniki, Pandeleimon, told reporters
>shortly before the parade: "For God's sake. Are we going to turn Greece 
>into
>Albania?"
>
>Cenai's parents told Greek media their son decided to stay home to avoid
>creating more tension in the community.
>
>"He cried all night. He's not doing well," his mother told Ta Nea daily.
>
>On Monday, Macedonia and Thrace Minister George Paschalidis invited Cenai 
>to
>his ministry, gave him an award, promised him a scholarship and praised his
>academic achievements and maturity.
>
>11:32 10-30-00
>
>Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited.  All rights reserved.
>***Alb-Club***
>____________________________________________________
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