#rbnews weekly bulletin 13-19 July 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews international show 20 July 2013 - Health in the time of the crisis

This week on #rbnews international, radiobubble contributor @Jaquoutopie and I discussed the Greek health system in the time of the crisis: the chronic issues, the cutbacks, and their impact on the population. Deep down, we wondered if the Greek health system is still serving its purpose of providing care but also protection for patients.

You can listen to the podcast after the jump.

Greek Health Minister says he will not repeal health provision that led to forced HIV tests, says he welcomes proposals

The debate over a controversial health provision, which led to forced HIV tests on vulnerable social groups in Athens in 2012 continued this week in the Greek Parliament.

Health Provision 39a which was reinstated last week by newly-appointed Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, one month after its repeal by former Deputy Minister Foteini Skopouli, has caused a fierce reaction from Greek and international human rights organizations, medical groups and prominent individuals in HIV/AIDS policy; among them Public Service Europe, Human Rights Watch and most recently The Lancet medical journal, which accused the Greek leadership of “repeating past mistakes” in an editorial.

Boletim informativo da Grécia #16 - 06.07.2013

Preparado pela equipe #rbnews, traduzido por @KHatzinikolaou

No noticiário internacional #rbnews esta semana:

• Depois de dois anos e sete meses de detenção sem julgamento, Kostas Sakkas se encontra no 33º dia de greve de fome
• Com ERT ainda fechada, o governo grego está promovendo um projeto de lei para criar uma nova, encolhida, emissora nacional
• Com o número de incidentes racistas subindo na Grécia, a Rede de Registro de Incidentes de Violência Racista apresentou uma série de propostas para o novo Ministro da Justiça
• O novo ministro da Saúde, Adonis Georgiadis, imediatamente depois de assumir seu cargo, re-ativou a inaceitável portaria que ordena que depois de adução de prostitutas o teste de AIDS seja obrigatório, criminalizando assim a doença; sua decisão provocou protestos internacionais.

#rbnews weekly show 06 July 2013 - The failure(s) of democracy in Greece

This week on the #rbnews international show, we asked lawyer Crystali Bourcha from the Movement for the Liberties and Democratic Rights of our Times (Greek acronym KEDDE) and journalist Mariniki Alevizopoulou from Unfollow Magazine to comment on the items that we included in our news bulletin of the week, which all seem to point towards the failure of democracy in Greece.

You can listen to the podcast and read the news bulletin after the jump.
The interviews were taken by phone. We apologize for the poor quality of the sound, especially in the case of our interview with Crystali Bourcha. For some unexplainable reason, the recording device was particularly intent to add parasites to her speech. 

Reinstatement of controversial Health Provision slammed by HIV and Human Rights Groups

A legal provision that led to mass arrests of HIV-positive women in Greece in 2012 has been reinstated, causing widespread condemnation by local and international organizations and human rights advocates.

Provision No 39A was voted by former socialist Health Minister Andreas Loverdos in April 2012 and led to an unprecedented case of HIV criminalization a few weeks later when the Greek police in cooperation with the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, KEELPNO, rounded up hundreds of women from the center of Athens and force-tested them for HIV inside police stations. 

Amnesty International: the situation of human rights in Greece is deteriorating

Posted by @IrateGreek

The Greek chapter of Amnesty International organized a press conference to present the organization's annual report in front of the Aliens' Department in Athens today. This symbolic choice reflects Amnesty's key findings about the situation of human rights in Greece in 2013:

"Allegations of human rights abuses by police, including torture and excessive use of force continued throughout the year. Migrants and asylum seekers faced impediments in registering their asylum applications and were often detained in substandard conditions. Hate crime on the basis of race and ethnicity escalated dramatically."

Wekelijks bulletin uit Griekenland 18 mai 2013 #14

Opgesteld door het # rbnews international team en vertaald door @DimitraTheodori

Deze week in het nieuws bij rbnews international: 

• Staking van leerkrachten in het middelbaar onderwijs krijgt soapachtige trekjes na het besluit van de regering om de staking te verbieden, nog voordat die door de vakbond was uitgeroepen. 
• Uitermate provocerend gedrag van kamerleden van de Gouden Dageraad in het parlement leiden tot de schorsing van een van hen. Ondertussen duren de moorddadige aanslagen van de nazi-organisatie voort. 
• Aanhoudende protesten in Skouries: nog drie arrestaties. 
• Beëindiging van de financiering voor gratis HIV testen bij de HIV centra: “ het land is onbeschermd” zegt de Artsenvereniging van Athene 
• Nieuwe nationale CAO afgesloten zonder de handtekening van de SEV (Griekse Federatie van Industriële Ondernemers). 
• Griekse LGBT-gemeenschap opnieuw geconfronteerd met discriminatie, dit maal naar aanleiding van een tv-spot voor het Gay Pride festival in Athene. 

Boletim informativo da Grécia #13 - 18.05.2013

Preparado pela equipe #rbnews, traduzido por @KHatzinikolaou

Nas notícias de # rbnews internacional esta semana:

• A greve dos professores do ensino secundário se transformou em novela; uma greve que não aconteceu, pois foi banida antes mesmo de ser anunciada
• Conduta muito provocante dos membros da Golden Dawn no Parliamento e a eliminação de um deles, enquanto os assaltos da organização nazista continuam
• Continuam os protestos em Skouries/Chalkidiki: Mais três prisões
• Pausa no financiamento público de testes para o HIV: "o país esta indefeso", diz Associação Médica de Atenas
• O SEV não assina a Convenção Coletiva Nacional de Trabalho
• Nova discriminação contra a comunidade LGBT, aquando o spot de TV para a Parada do Orgulho Gay de Atenas

#rbnews weekly bulletin 11-17 May 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

LGBT rights in Greece: one new case of State censorship and discrimination

Posted by @IrateGreek

The Athens Pride denounced on Thursday 16 May the decision by the National Council for Radio & Television to ban all Athens Pride publicity spots until the plenary session of the Council can discuss the appropriateness of their broadcast. The reason for given by the Council is the fact that the spots include a lesbian kiss.

This is the second such incident of censorship and discrimination against the LGBT community on Greek media in recent months. In October 2012, State TV channel NET had chosen to edit a kiss between two men out of a episode of Downton Abbey. After viewers reacted angrily on social media, most importantly on Twitter with the hashtag #puritaNET, the channel's director Kostas Spyropoulos had argued that the scene was cut because of the time of the broadcast and the "suitable for all" rating of the show, whereas late-night re-runs would include the scene - ignoring a 2003 ruling by the Council of State which condemned the Council's decision to censor a gay kiss scene on Mega TV channel.

A timeline of fascist activity in Greece over the past year

On the occasion of the anniversary of the May 2012 elections, in which Greece's neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn entered parliament with 7% of the vote, @galaxyarchis prepared a timeline of the most important events related to the rise of fascism in modern Greece.

Wekelijks bulletin uit Griekenland 20 april 2013 #12

Vertaald door @DimitraTheodori

Deze week in het nieuws bij rbnews international:

• Moordaanslag op migranten - landarbeiders die hun lonen opeisten in Manolada (provincie Ileia). De onmenselijke behandeling van migranten in Griekenland opnieuw in de actualiteit.
• Voorlopige in hechtenisname van de twee inwoners van Ierissos die beschuldigd worden van deelname aan de brandaanslag op de bedrijfsinstallaties van Hellas Gold in Skouries (Chalkidiki). De protesten in de regio gaan onverminderd voort.
• Na migranten en drugsverslaafden brengt de Griekse politie nu ook daklozen over naar detentiecentra.
• Seropositieve vrouw pleegt zelfmoord in Griekse gevangenis.
• Door in te stemmen met het ontslag van 15.000 ambtenaren stelt de Griekse regering de volgende tranche veilig.
• Voortduring van de protesten tegen de sluiting van Athens Indymedia en het radiostation Entasi, die plaats vond op aandringen van de overheid.

#rbnews "weekly" bulletin 6-19 April 2013

Prepared by the #rbnews international team, translated by @IrateGreek

The text companion to this week's and last week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

Notiziario dalla Grecia #4 - 16 marzo 2013

Tradotto da Massimiliano Sfregola

Nel notiziario settimanale di rbnews internazionale dalla Grecia.

-Dopo il loro arresto durante il periodo elettorale, l'umiliazione e la detenzione per mesi nelle prigioni greche, le ultime cinque donne sieropositive sono state assolte questa settimana dai giudici.

- Non accenna a diminiure la partecipazione alle proteste per la vicenda delle miniere d'oro di Calcídia e di quelle in programma nel resto della Grecia settentrionale.

-Con occupazioni e proteste, prosegue la risposta di migliaia di studenti e della comunità accademica al progetto Athena di riforma del sistema di istruzione superiore.

- Ai membri di Alba Dorata, non è stato consentito di presenziare alla ricorrenza in memoria degli eroi nazionali della resistenza, nei villaggio di Tsaritsani a Larissa, mentre il Parlamento greco ha negato al deputato Kasidiaris I'immunità dal giudizio sulla vicenda dell'aggressione in diretta tv alla parlamentare comunista Liana Kaneli.

Wekelijks bulletin uit Griekenland 16 maart 2013 #7

Vertaald door @DimitraTheodori

Het nieuws uit Griekenland van rbnews international in vogelvlucht 

• De laatste vijf van de HIV-positieve vrouwen die tijdens de verkiezingsperiode werden gearresteerd, zijn deze week vrijgesproken na maandenlange vernedering en opsluiting in de Griekse gevangenissen. 
• Duizenden mensen blijven zich onverminderd verzetten tegen de komst van de goudmijnen in Chalkidiki en de rest van Noord-Griekenland. 
• Met bezettingen en protesten antwoorden duizenden studenten en de academische gemeenschap op het hervormingsplan, genaamd Athena, voor het hoger onderwijs. 
• Parlementsleden van de Gouden Dageraad zijn niet welkom in Tsaritsani, Larissa tijdens de herdenking van (de gesneuvelden van) het nationale verzet in de tweede wereldoorlog. Tegelijkertijd heeft het Griekse parlement de parlementaire immuniteit van Illia Kasidiari opnieuw opgeheven, om zijn berechting mogelijk te maken, ditmaal wegens het slaan van Liana Kanelli, parlementslid van de communistische partij KKE. 

Ugentlig Nyheder d. 6 - 15. Marts

HIV positive løslades
En HIV positive kvinde blev tidligere fængslet og udstillet for offentligheden i en uhørt sag om kriminalisering af HIV og Aids. Hun er nu løsladt.

I maj måned 2012 blev 26 hiv positive stofmisbrugere anholdt under en politioperation, der involverede række sager om menneskerettigheder og medicinske fortrolige overtrædelser.  Otte kvinderne er blevet frikendt indtil videre. Kvinderne er blevet anklaget af den tidligere sundhedsminister, Andreas Loverdos, for at være bevidste om deres status som HIV-smittede og dermed true den offentlige sundhed. Det nationale center for ‘kontrol og beskyttelse mod sygdomme’ har arbejdet tæt sammen med politiet under denne operation, hvor de har udført HIV tests på de anholdte kvinder uden deres tilladelse.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 06-15 March 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

rbnews international show 16 February 2013: HIV/AIDS as an electoral argument in Greece

This week on #rbnews international, we interviewed at length radiobubble contributor Zoe Mavroudi, who is leading an effort to produce and direct a video documentary on the story of the 26 HIV positive women who were arrested shortly before the May 2012 elections, labeled as prostitutes and paraded on TV channels with claims from the Greek authorities that they were a threat to public health.
This documentary project is supported by the British union Unite as well as the organization Union Solidarity International. You can make a donation to support this project through the Greek Solidarity Campaign on the USI website. You can also read some of Zoe's writing about this topic here, here and here. Finally, if you want to support other radiobubble projects, you can make a donation here.

The podcast is available, as usual, after the jump.

Nyheder uge 3 Den 12.-18. Januar 2013

The #rbnews weekly news bulletin, kindly translated in Danish by Tora and Katja from www.rumiforandring.blogspot.com

Ryddelsen af de besatte bygninger

I den forrige uge ryddede det græske politi Villa Amalias ‘Sqaut’ og Skaramanga ‘Sqaut’. Lørdag den 12/1 var der stor demonstration i solidaritet med de besatte huse i Grækenland, men på trods det invaderede det græske politi endnu et ‘sqaut’ tirsdag d. 15. Januar. Denne gang var det Lela Karagiannis ‘squats’ det gik ud over, som ligger i centrum af Athen ved siden af et loppemarked.

Mindre end en uge efter det græske politis andet angreb på Villa Amalias ‘Sqaut’ og ryddelsen af Skaramanga ‘Sqaut’, og kun tre dage efter den store demonstration i solidaritet med de besatte huse i Grækenland, invaderede det græske politi endnu et ‘sqaut’ tirsdag d. 15. Januar. Denne gang var det Lela Karagiannis ‘squats’ det gik ud over, som ligger i centrum af Athen ved siden af loppemarkedet.