INTERVIEW of YFYPEX Mr. THEODOROS KASSIMI in the A.P.E
for the SUBJECT of VOTE of EMIGRANT GREEKS.

www.Apodimos.com

Are critical the moments for the concretization of right of our Emigrant brothers vote. We as from the start creation of portal Apodimos.com  online magazine until today wished and we wish to having the right of vote Emigrant constitutionally guaranteed right, now however to be afraid that we will hinder who have the right of vote. We believe however it will resolve to us our fears, with the Interview of YFYPEX Mr. Theodoros Kassimis in the APE for the subject of vote of emigrant Greeks and in the journalist Mr. P. Iliakopoylo, because the time does pass and does believe and was afraid that the differences elections will recycle the layout of sides of Parliament and then what you become?

Our last article that concerned the vote of our Emigrant brothers of JAN 2009 titled ΟΛΟΙ ΟΙ ΑΠΟΔΗΜΟΙ ΘΕΛΟΥΝ ΝΑ ΕΧΟΥΝ ΤΟ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑ ΨΗΦΟΥ με ΚΑΠΟΙΟ ΤΡΟΠΟ, ΟΙ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΟΙ ΘΕΛΟΥΝ; Αποτελέσματα από το Συμπόσιο «Απόδημοι και Δικαίωμα Ψήφου» make KLIK in the title in order to you study it .

THE INTERVIEW of YFYPEX Mr. THEODOROS KASSIMIS in the A.P.E
for the SUBJECT of VOTE of EMIGRANT GREEKS

Mr. Minister, last Tuesday the inner cabinet unanimously approved the draft bill for giving the vote to expatriate Greeks. What changes will this government initiative bring for Hellenism around the world?

First of all, credibility of the Greek state. I want to remind you that for many years, many political organizations made promises and a lot of noise about the vote for expatriate Greeks. This obligation entered the Constitution at a time when Pasok held a majority in Parliament. The Constitution was passed in 2002, but this article was never put into effect. Kostas Karamanlis said: “We have an obligation to give the vote to expatriate Greeks.”

And we’re reaching that point today. When political discussions had been carried out – for my part, I initially had reservations regarding what precisely we can do constitutionally and practically – the government talked it over with the political parties and, always on a realistic level, with the organizations of expatriate Greeks, with the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE), and said let’s go to the first phase of implementing this. At this point, I was surprised at the negative reaction of the main opposition party – and I say this because we need 200 votes to pass the constitutional executive law. I’ll tell you why. What does the government’s draft law provide for? It provides that every party with an election ticket must put three members of the Greek community abroad on their ticket. Where they put them on the ticket is up to the party. But each party knows more or less how many MPs it will have. If New Democracy puts an expatriate Greek 10^th on its ticket, it’s obvious that it doesn’t want them elected. If it wants them elected, it will put at least one in one of the top three spots. So the expatriate Greeks will know that New Democracy wants an expatriate Greek to be elected on its ticket. And of course, the votes of the expatriate Greeks are counted into the total of nationwide votes. At our last meeting, the Pasok representatives took the position that the votes of expatriate Greeks not be counted in the nationwide tally.

First of all, this is insulting to expatriate Greeks. The vote of an expatriate Greek cannot be weighted differently from the vote of a Greek living in Greece. It is also unconstitutional. A vote must be tallied into the final election result.

Second, they show up and go beyond what the Greek community abroad wanted: Parliamentary seats designated for expatriate Greeks. We said we would look at this in the next phase. We will look at whether it is constitutional as well as practical. As we speak, there is no one in the world who can tell us how many expatriate Greeks will register to vote in the U.S., in Australia, in Africa. Nobody knows. The number of expatriate Greeks does not tell us how many really want to vote in the elections. So what are we saying? That they vote in the first election after 2011. At that time we will have objective rolls. If we see that 100,000 vote on the American continent, 50,000 in Africa, 100,000 in Europe, then we will know how many are voting. Knowing that, we can discuss with the political parties how we will give seats to expatriate Greeks and make the relevant constitutional amendment.

If, today, we said one seat for the American continent and 200,000 voted, the constitutional court would say – based on the election law and the Constitution – that they should get 10 seats. So you can see why the SAE accepts the draft law we have for the initial phase of expatriate Greeks starting to vote.

I ask: Even if I accept Pasok’s reservations – which go beyond the provisions it didn’t make when it was in government and had a Parliamentary majority – why don’t they want the Greek’s abroad to start voting? We will have the time – after their first participation in elections – to make changes. To make them more active. But let’s see what we’re looking at. They are being given an opportunity today, and Pasok is refusing to offer it to them. With various ideological arguments – that they supposedly want what’s best. Let’s do what they did not do when they had the majority, and from there on we will see what can be done. I am afraid that – unfortunately – they made the mistake. And this mistake lies in the fact that they counted the beans and it wasn’t in their interest. But God help you if you give a right to Greek citizens base on whether it is in your party’s interests. It is set down in the Constitution that Greek’s abroad should participate in the public life of this country. The Greek’s abroad want to participate, and today we are providing a great opportunity for this to start happening. Each will take their responsibility. I would like to hope that at the last minute the opposition will think very carefully and support the bill. Because if it isn’t backed by them, as well, we unfortunately do not have the 200 seats to pass it.

 In order to pass into Greek law, the government’s initiative – the draft law – requires an 2/3 majority. Consequently, MPs in the main opposition party will also have to vote in favor of it. Do you think this is a challenge for Pasok, or not?

I think it is. They are being challenged by Hellenism abroad. Do you really want this? You put it in the Constitution. You never implemented it. Now there is a government that wants to implement it. Your stance will prove whether you really wanted it when you put it in the Constitution, or whether it was just one of the many things this party talked about but never came through on. Whatever we do – why, we proclaimed it …

You proclaimed it! Did you do it? This is where things get a little twisted. We said it in 1998. By 2004, you hadn’t done it. So the praise goes to who does it, not to who said it. Because we have a surplus of talk in the public life of our country.

On your visits abroad, you have obviously discussed this specific issue with organizations of expatriate Greeks. How do they react to the prospect?

I was discussing this long before it was announced by the Prime Minister. Some want it, some don’t. Those who don’t want it are not indifferent. They say, for instance, that they’ve been living in Canada for fifteen years and have lost touch with day-to-day life in Greece. Why are you asking me to express an opinion? Others say: Even though I live in Australia, I keep up with what is happening in Greece every day, and I want to have an opinion.  

But you can’t measure the numbers of those who want to vote and those who don’t. What concerns me a little is that we shouldn’t divide the expatriate Greeks into political parties. That is, we have no reason to export the phenomenon of the political café beyond our borders. I would like to believe that the bill as it has been submitted, which gives each person the right to vote for the party of their choice, reduces opposition to the bill. Because it doesn’t have to do with particular individuals – it has nothing to do with any of that. Naturally, because I appreciate the seriousness with which expatriate Greeks think about the homeland, I am certain that the vote will not divide them. At least not the way it is being implemented today.

In your view, to what extent will the change of guard in the White House influence or contribute to, if you will, a change for the better in our relations with the United States, given that two politicians close to President Barack Obama will visit Greece next week?

President Obama’s first speech met the international community’s expectations and of course our own. Beyond that, we will move towards implementation. But let us never forget that policy implementation is not just a theory. It is a matter of concern for every country’s interests.

We believe that the framework set by the new U.S. President also serves our national interests and the region's interests. This is why we hope that the new manner of exercising foreign policy will be in our own interest. We should not fall into the trap of talking about pro- and anti-Greek politicians. Any politician is, first and foremost, interested in their own country. But we believe that the way in which President Obama presents U.S. interests is to the benefit of the international community and our country.

You mentioned the two officials that will be visiting Greece. First of all, it is important that President Obama, and even more so Vice-President Biden, have repeatedly signed resolutions as members of Congress in favour of Greece’s positions because they believe these positions are just, and not because they take one side or the other.

Secondly, one of the two politicians visiting Greece is Mr. Alexi Giannoulias, the State Treasurer of Illinois. Two years ago, I was there on his election and had dinner with him that same night. I said jokingly: “Alexi, your Greek is amazing.” He said that was because he came to Greece to play basketball with Panionios for two years. Alexi is very young, about thirty-two years old, and is fully aware of Greek matters, not just because he lived in Greece for two years, but because his whole family speaks Greek fluently and have close contacts with Greece. Alexi is deeply involved in politics; he is a charismatic young man who became the State Treasurer of a major State, Illinois, at just thirty-two. It was the first time he was a candidate and he was elected with a very comfortable margin. He understands us, of course, because he is 100% Greek. He knows U.S. politics very well because he is involved in it. So we will have a very good collocutor who is aware of his home country’s priorities and also of the national issues of his country of origin. I think that this will help us build bridges of communication with the U.S. government and speak the same language.

Do you think that the new President’s interest in finding a solution on Greek-Turkish issues and the Cyprus issue will intensify tensions fomented by our neighbours when, in fact, there have lately been reports in the press about a potential increase in provocations on the part of Turkey?

Let me tell you something. We have indeed seen a qualitative, rather than quantitative, upgrading of Turkish provocations. But I cannot predict Turkey’s behaviour. What I would like to stress is that lately Turkey doesn't seem particularly pro-European and peace-loving. President Obama’s policy is not contentious. Our own policy is on the same lines. Our policy is not a policy of assertion and conflict. We have a policy of good neighbourly and friendly relations, promoting and respecting international law and international treaties. We welcome U.S. foreign policy that supports this reasoning of good neighbourly relations, strengthening bilateral relations, economic development and respect for international treaties and international law for all of the world’s regions. I believe it will be of help. I cannot say what our neighbouring country intends to do, but I hope that one day they will understand that good relations with Greece are in their own interest. Both countries have a lot to gain from a calm and peaceful relationship. But this is Turkey’s choice. For a while, we thought that Turkey made a political choice in favour of Europe, but today there are some indications that require further analysis and clarification. We will see. I hope that the neighbouring country will be prudent.

 Do you think that this opening – expected soon – on the part of Washington towards Athens will influence the relationship forged between our country and Russia over the past few years?

I believe that President Obama’s position is understanding for Greece's policy. Greece's actions have not been directed against anyone. They are in favour of our national interests. Greece’s close, strategic relationship with Russia doesn’t have anti-American aspects. We have a long-standing friendship with the United States. The United States has stood by us in difficult times in our nation's history. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean that we don’t feel close to Russia, a neighbouring country. We have an obligation to cover our energy needs from any possible sources. And this is exactly what we are doing. We are a country that has been pursuing close and friendly relations around the world and, most of all, in our own neighbourhood – i.e., the Middle East, the Balkans, and Russia – always as part of the European community. I think that the current U.S. administration will have a better understanding of the reasons why Greece is pursuing nothing more than what President Barack Obama said recently: good relations without fear and cooperation with everyone, including Russia.