By Bob Van Leer

  (ATHENS, June 2, 1987) - The outstanding event of today was the rally of the New Democratic Party (ND) held in Constitution Square in front of our hotel this evening. The stated time of the rally was 8:30 p.m., but preparations have been underway all week and the crowd began to gather this afternoon.

  This was the largest crowd we have ever seen. Early estimates were to expect 200,000 to 500,000 and someone will give an estimated figure tomorrow. There were just an awful lot of people out there. We watched the crowd assemble from our hotel and then Betty and I went out and mixed with the crowd. The crowd was extremely well-behaved. It was just solid people, all happy and enjoying themselves. 

  We both had ND hats which pleased many in the crowd, as we are obvious tourists. They insisted we had to have flags, as did the rest of the crowd, and we joined the fun. There was a sudden thundershower which thoroughly soaked everyone but the evening was warm and no one seemed to mind much. We weren't dressed for the rain so we worked our way through two blocks of wall-to-wall people back to the hotel. 

  The ND is the opposition party, rather conservative, and the comparison would be the Democrats putting on a rally in front of the White House in Washington.

  In the morning it was back to the Greek government building to hear two speakers. The first was Margaret Defingos, special advisor to the Minister of Culture and head of the National Youth Foundation. She said that after World War II the economic infrastructure was destroyed. And this was followed by a civil war. It was not until the 1950's that Greece was on its way to recovery. There was very high unemployment and this solution was emigration.

  In the 1960's and early 70's, 1.3 million Greeks emigrated, and this is from a nation that has less than 10 million population now. This has turned and there is now a net immigration of 30,000 annually. Some of the émigrés are coming back and there are some second generation émigrés coming to Greece for the first time.

  She said the high priority areas of the government are: freedom of expression and respect for the individual, changes for equality of sexes (women voted for the first time in 1962) including abolition of the dowry and no discrimination in hiring. Education (9 years of schooling is compulsory), establishment of a free medicare system, equal development for peripheral areas.

  Economic programs include an unemployment program and one month's vacation every year for every worker. These programs are financed by taxes. A high priority is given by the government to social programs. The normal workday is 8 hours, she said, 7-3 and the work week for public officials and most businesses is 40 hours per week. The minimum wage is $350.00 per month, or about $2.00 per hour, which is approximately the same as the minimum payment to the elderly.

  Workers pay into a social security fund and the minimum payment is 85 percent of the minimum wage, but most payments are larger. No Greek goes without payment. Payments start at age 60. She said that Greece is an aging country and is just barely growing. There are an estimated 300,000 abortions per year and as of three months ago abortions are free.

  Our second speaker was Professor Thanos Veremis, historian at the University of Athens. He traced the importance of the Mediterranean in early history with the decline beginning with the invention of the compass which allowed open sea navigation as opposed to the coastal navigation in the Mediterranean.

  Greece won independence from the Ottoman Turkish Empire beginning in 1821 in a tradition that included the U.S. independence war and the French revolution. As in all discussions here, the problem of Cyprus and the Turks was raised. Prof. Veremis said that the dictatorship of the Greek colonels deposed the ruler of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, feeling they had the green light from the U.S. Instead, the Turks invaded to restore order. Greece, Turkey and Britain are guarantors of the independence of Cyprus. But after order was restored the Turks, instead of pulling out, took more territory and are still there.

  In the afternoon we went to the other side of Athens to meet with a political pollster. By chance, we got off on the wrong floor and found a school run by the pollster's retired father that tutors the children of refugees to Greece. It is sort of a way station. The refugees usually wind up in the U.S., Canada or Australia. At the school they are taught English.

  Presently the children are mostly Polish and Ethiopian. Other nationalities often there are Iranian and Czechoslovakian. In the winter and spring the number is up to 90 children. The school is supported by members and donations from churches.

  We finally found the right floor and were briefed on Greek Politics by Panayote E. Dimitras, political pollster, who is a Harvard Ph.D. He acknowledged a bias in that he has done work for Athens Mayor Miltiavis Evert, a rising political star. Dimitras describes Green politics as "Byzantine". It is more important to read between the lines than to listen to what is said.

  The ruling party, PASOK, has been forced to abandon many of its goals and has no clear strategy now. He said a referendum on whether U.S. bases should stay in Greece would go whatever way PASOK wants it to go. Greeks don't want the bases but there are worse things than having them.

  As always, Turkey came up. He said that 90 percent of Greeks believe there is a Turkish threat. Yet, Greece can't have a war with Turkey, both being NATO members. Dimitras was the first speaker we have had who commented on the Turkish side of the controversy. He said that we Greeks believe that Turkey is out to grab some islands and the Turks feel we are cutting them off from the west.

  Tomorrow we leave Athens for a four-day trip around the Peleponnesos, the southern peninsula of Greece.