A dispute over copyright ownership of the works of Greece’ s most renowned writer Nikos Kazantzakis erupted this week, when the Supreme Court in Greece ruled that Mr. Patroclos Stavrou, the adopted son of his late widow, Eleni, is his rightful heir. The decision means Mr. Kazantzaki’s family and relatives will be excluded from the preservation of his legacy.
The court’s ruling has set off strong emotional  reactions and distressed relatives and admirers of the author of ‘Zorba the Greek’, are considering taking further action. They fervently believe that the court’s decision does not settle the issue of publication and translation of all this great man’s works. They also maintain that Mr. Stavrou, a Cypriot philologist, has failed over the years to protect Κazantzaki’s legacy. For this reason, The International Society of the Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis began a global campaign last year, gathering some 4,008 signatures in 92 countries, to “save and promote” his artistic legacy. The Nobel prize-winning novelist Nadine Gordimer and the French politician, Ségolène Royal, are among those who have signed the petition, addressed to the Greek President.
Eleni Kazantakis, a widow of more than 40 years, met Stavrou in 1967, during a visit to the island and adopted him as her legal son fifteen years later when he was in his fifties. However, friends of Kazantzaki’s works, criticize the fact that, not only did this action result in Stavrou becoming the legal, rightful heir, but also that Stavrou has done nothing to promote the author’s legacy and give access to his publications worldwide.
Kazantzakis was indeed a passionate essayist and traveler, who wrote more than 30 books, translated Shakespeare and Dante and has an extended range of novels. When he was alive, he lived under constant persecution from the Greek Orthodox Church and critics despite his popularity. It is a shame, that even today, he has not fully gained the respect he deserves and that a great deal of his work still remains unread.
(source: guardian)

Greek authorities on Friday announced that three people have been brought in for questioning concerning the fire set at a branch of Marfin Bank on Stadiou Street on May 5th last year. The fire was set during a massive protest against austerity cuts taking place in the city centre and caused the deaths of three bank employees, including a woman that was pregnant at the time.
No arrest warrants have been issued so far, with a decision on whether their detainment should be converted to arrests are expected when an examining magistrate takes their testimony. Meanwhile, police will conduct a search of their homes to seek additional evidence.
Earlier on Friday, police had sent a hefty file of evidence gathered over a year-long investigation into the fire, which seems to point to anti-establishment activists. This includes video footage from surveillance cameras along Stadiou Avenue where the bank was set on fire and also from an attack on the nearby bookshop Ianos.
(source: ana-mpa)

A seven-year-old boy who had been injured by a marine flare the night of Holy Saturday in the yard of St. George’s church in Drosia, Chalkida, succumbed this morning to his injuries. The unlucky boy was hospitalized, seriously injured, in the Children’s Hospital “Agia Sofia”, intubated and sedated.
Doctors did their best to help him overcome his injuries.  The child lost his left eye and had suffered a serious cranio-cerebral trauma. The 25-year-old, responsible for the incident, was arrested and referred to the prosecutor of the Court of First Instance in Chalkida.
The man was remanded in custody by the prosecutor and the investigator. He is charged with corporal injury, infringement of fireworks law and touching off explosion. Now the charges may change and possibly refer to negligent homicide.
 

”Workers in Greece should not be paying for the crisis”: with this slogan Greek unions are preparing to celebrate May 1st with two large demonstrations. On one side there are the country’s two large unions: Adedy (for civil servants and employees of state-controlled enterprises) and Gsee (workers in the private sector), which have organised a large rally on Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m., at Platia Clathmonos, a large central square in Athens.
Additionally there is Pame, the union that is close to the Greek communist party, which organises its traditional gathering at 10:00 a.m. on another square in the Greek capital, Platia Omonoias. On May 11th there will be a 24-hour strike in the public and private sector. Gsee and the Labour Office in Athens stated: ”The government adopts a harsh, unjust and anti-social policy, selling off public companies and giving in to the blackmail by the markets, the Troika, the Europeans and the monetarists. The workers of our country must fight against this blackmail” to resolve the crisis.
The unions are demonstrating to ask for the end of flexible labour (which, in their eyes, lowers wages), for the protection of collective agreements, for a compensation of wage losses suffered by the workers in the past years and for the end of the changes to the welfare system.

May Day has a double meaning. On the one hand, it is International Workers Day, a holiday first popularized by the Soviet Union to honour and celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers, established in 1880’s. Despite the fact that it has lost many of its communist associations, it is still vigorously celebrated in former Soviet-bloc countries and other places in Europe. You can expect worker’s groups and unions to be active that day; major strikes are often scheduled for May Day.
Since May Day corresponds with the peak of the flower season, flower shows and festivals are common, having their roots back in ancient societies of Greece and Rome. The ancient Minoans are believed to have celebrated one of their two “New Year” celebrations around this time – the other was in October.
One very common commemoration is the making of a May wreath which is hung on doorways, balconies, in chapels, and many other places. Keep an eye out for them because most of them are really colorful and attractive, signing people’s pleasure and excitement about the new beginning of nature, life, peace and happiness. People usually enjoy small trips, listen to traditional music and dance, as well as have a break with a picnic in the countryside. In some places in Greece, daughters-in-law and girls in traditional costumes collect flowers and exchange nature’s goods.

There is a contradiction in Hellenic Railways (OSE) as approximately 2,500 employees are considered redundant, while train traffic directors report staff shortages.
A great part of OSE routes are covered by a single employee, who is responsible for both the safety of the route and for the control of the tickets, according to the internal correspondence of the traffic director of TRAINOSE.
Thus, train jumpers have been highly increased recently, while Ministry of Infrastructure tries to restrain ticket evasion in urban transport.
Opposition member Savvas Anastasiadis has submitted a question to the Minister Dimitris Reppas, referring to the lack of control in OSE’s property and the positioning of individuals in administrative positions in Athens and Thessaloniki.
Regarding transfers, they should be completed according to the law bill for the reorganization of OSE. However, less than 750 railway employees have been transferred to other public enterprises.
Meanwhile, delay of the process not only slows down the improvement of OSE financial figures, but also causes side effects, as employees in public enterprises have been “self-relieved” from their job duties, waiting for the transfer.
Unionists, who wish to remain anonymous, told Capital that a large amount of railway employees is detached to offices of Greek lawmakers with the full complicity of the latter.
(source: Capital)

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde Friday expressed confidence in the Greek government’s willingness to pull the country out of its debt crisis.
Many market observers believe the country’s debt burden will have to be restructured.
“I am confident that the Greek government is determined to apply a program that constitutes the basis of a recovery of the situation,” Lagarde told reporters.
(source: Dow Jones)

“We decided to move to rolling 48-hour strikes,” said Costas Koutsodimas, vice-president of the Genop labour union. “We want to show the government that keeping the (state’s) 51 percent stake is a matter of principle,” he told Reuters.
Greece’s cash-strapped government, which owns 51 percent of PPC, wants to sell as much as 17 percent in the company next year as part of a 50 billion euro privatisation drive to pay down debt.
Koutsodimas said the strikes would start a week before the government submits fiscal and privatisation plans to parliament. The government is expected to do so by May 15.
(source: Reuters)