Mer utfyllende informasjon om eksklusjonen av den greske avdelingen av "Leger uten grenser" følger. Nyhetene er fra avisa "Athens News", en engelskspråklig gresk avis.
Her kommer det fram at greske myndigheter fortsatt anerkjenner den greske avdelingen som "leger uten grenser" (Yiatri horis Synora), men at den internasjonale organisasjonen vil gå til sak for å tvinge den greske avdelingen til å skifte navn. Den internasjonale organisasjonen er imidlertid villig til å forhandle om å ta inn den greske avdelingen igjen. Den greske ministeren for helse og velferd, og en talsmann for utenriksministeren, beklaget begge at den greske avdelingen ble kastet ut.
Øistein Holen
---------- 30/10 -----------
http://athensnews.dolnet.gr/athnews.dat/99-10-30/grknews/grn.htm#part6
Doctors Without Borders vow to continue under same name
MEMBERS of the local branch of Doctors Without Borders yesterday renewed their commitment to continue conducting relief missions despite a recent decision by the governing body of the international medical relief group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to expel the Greek group for sending physicians to Serbia during the war in Kosovo. "The decision to expel us does not affect our work," Thanasis Papamihos, from the Greek branch, told the Athens News. "We will continue with our relief mission.
We were always an independent section of the international body so we will continue to work in the way we have always done." He stressed that MSF, which recently won the Nobel Peace prize, is not involved in the Greek branch's work. Papamihos also denied local media reports claiming that the Greek doctors had adopted a new title and he stressed that the group had not made any announcements concerning its status following its exit from MSF. Papamihos said Doctors Without Borders is officially recognised by the Greek government under its Greek title Yiatri horis Synora and that the branch would continue to work under this name.
News that MSF expelled its Greek section because it undertook a mission to assist Serbs during the 78-day Nato bombing campaign in Yugoslavia stunned the Greek public. MSF's decision prompted protests from Greek officials who said they supported the local group's work in the region. Greece was the only Nato member to oppose the alliance's bombing campaign.
---------- 28/10 ----------
http://athensnews.dolnet.gr/athnews.dat/99-10-28/grknews/grn.htm#part8
Greek Doctors will attend MSF Nobel ceremony
DIRECTORS of the former Greek branch of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) said yesterday they will send representatives to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony despite being kicked out of the volunteer medical organisation. 'We think this award was rightly given to the Doctors Without Borders and we are also recipients,' said Odysseus Voudouris, director of the former Greek branch.
Doctors Without Borders, awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize, said it cut ties with its Greek team because they violated the organisation’s guidelines for unrestricted movement and broke the group’s code of neutrality by entering Kosovo under a mission negotiated by government officials in Athens. Voudouris said the government helped 'open the humanitarian corridor' by mediating with Nato not to bomb the specific routes of the convoys. The Greek team received visas to enter Yugoslavia, even though a Belgium team from Doctors Without Borders had also applied for visas and had not received an answer. The Greek team left with 18 tonnes of medical supplies. 'We decided, as volunteers, to follow our conscience,' said Voudouris. The international group has broken all ties with their former Greek colleagues, but left open the option for negotiations for their possible return. Voudouris, who said he felt 'excommunicated', also said talks were possible. The Peace Prize will be awarded o!
n December 10 in Oslo, Norway.
---------- 23/10 ----------
http://athensnews.dolnet.gr/athnews.dat/99-10-23/grknews/grn.htm#part7
Greece supports its MSF doctors
Foreign ministry says aid and politics shouldn't mix
NEWS that the governing body of the international medical relief group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has expelled its Greek section because it undertook a mission to assist Serbs during the 78-day Nato bombing campaign in Yugoslavia has prompted protests from Greek officials. This coincides with reports that MSF is now preparing to take legal action to prohibit the Greek doctors from working under the MSF title. "We believe that it was our obligation to assist [Serbs] as well," the president of the Greek branch of MSF, Odysseas Voudouris, told reporters yesterday. "We were there for both sides."
Greece was the only Nato country which opposed the alliance's bombing of Yugoslavia. The Greek branch's medical relief was delivered directly to hospital doctors in Pristina and Belgrade, while a group of Greek doctors remained in Yugoslavia to supervise the distribution of the provisions to the victims of the war.
MSF's Brussels headquarters issued a statement yesterday in which it addressed the recent turn of events. "We regret there is no longer a Greek branch of Medecins Sans Frontieres," it stated. The statement referred to the Greek branch as the "former Greek branch of Medecins Sans Frontieres".
Voudouris strongly condemned the decision and said the branch would ignore the order to stop using the MSF name and logo, though it operates under the English title Doctors Without Borders. But he said the Greek group remained "open to dialogue" on possibly rejoining the organisation.
Austen Davis, general director of MSF's Netherlands branch, challenged accusations in the Greek media that the organisation was being hypocritical for punishing one of the few international missions that managed to provide any help in Kosovo during the bombing. "We didn't object at all to the Greeks going in," he said. "They just shouldn't have gone in as Doctors Without Borders."
Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou's spokesman Panayiotis Beglitis yesterday told reporters that the government would continue to support the Greek branch. "It is a very sad decision," Beglitis said. "International interests have no place in humanitarian matters and this humanitarian organisation cannot bow to interests of any kind. The foreign minister and the government will continue to support non-governmental organisations regardless of the sphere of their activity and they will continue to support the Greek section of Doctors Without Borders."
Health and Welfare Minister Lambros Papadimas also issued a statement expressing his displeasure over the controversial decision as he felt that the provision of humanitarian aid "without regard for borders" should not come under fire, particularly by an organisation which recently received the Nobel Peace prize. "I was stunned to learn about the 'expulsion' of the Greek section of MSF," the statement read. Papadimas also said he was confident that the organisation would reconsider its decision.
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