ANTI-AMERICANISM PREVAILS AT 2006 CULTURAL

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SUBJECT: ANTI-AMERICANISM PREVAILS AT 2006 CULTURAL
CONFERENCE IN DELPHI

REF: ATHENS 03190

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1. (U) Summary: The European Cultural Center in the ancient
religious site of Delphi commenced its "Cultural Amphictyony
2006" on June 30. The following day marked the beginning of
a two-day international conference entitled "The Role of the
United Nations in the 21st Century." Greek Minister of
Defense Evangelos Meimarakis and former Cyprus Foreign
Minister George Iacovou opened the session, and renowned
Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis delivered the keynote
speech. Theodorakis culminated his speech by characterizing
the U.S. as a "demon of war" that has eclipsed the Nazi war
machine in terms of atrocities. His speech effectively set
the tone for the remainder of the conference, with the
conference theme on UN reform becoming lost in a sea of
anti-American diatribe. End Summary.


2. (U) The European Cultural Center's "Cultural Amphictyony"
is a month-long event consisting of international
conferences, academic round tables and discussions, and
cultural events. (The term amphictyony is an association of
neighboring states or tribes in ancient Greece established
originally to defend a common religious center.) The
Delphi-based event commenced on June 30 and was organized
with the support of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
in cooperation with the Office of the European Parliament in
Greece, under the auspices of the President of Greece. The
international conference entitled "The Role of the United
Nations in the 21st Century" convened July 1-2 and was
sponsored by a series of Greek and international
organizations, represented by prominent participants, and was
attended by politicians, academics, diplomats, and artists
alike.


3. (U) A significant portion of conference participants used
their platforms to advance anti-American rhetoric,
accompanied by a favorable response from the audience. For
example, Cyprus former Foreign Minister George Iacovou opined
that the U.S. would like to settle the Cyprus issue "based on
Turkish principles;" former UN Assistant Secretary General
Sotiris Mousouris declared that the U.S. uses its hegemonic
power to control the "undemocratic" WTO, IMF, and World Bank
institutions, reducing them to U.S. tools designed to oppress
the poorest countries; and a Greek "Ta Nea" newspaper
journalist lambasted the U.S. and UK for the Iraq invasion,
claiming that our countries remain in Iraq for the purpose of
"killing freedom fighters." The most egregious comments
emanated from renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, as
he labeled the U.S. a "demon of war," claimed the U.S. has
surpassed Nazi Germany in terms of atrocities, and that "Bush
and his allies will be led unavoidably one day to the use of
the absolute pain, the atomic bomb." (This is not the first
time Theodorakis has made outrageous statements: the 2005
International Religious Freedom Report cites a November 2003
Theodorakis statement where he said Jews are "the root of
evil" (although he later qualified his statement by saying he
had meant to criticize the government of Israel (reftel)).


4. (U) The premise of Mikis Theodorakis' address was that
humankind is inherently bad, and as humankind advances and
becomes more civilized, we are inevitably becoming
exponentially more violent. As evidence, he cited Nazi
Germany and concluded his presentation by proclaiming the
United States has eclipsed the Nazi war machine in terms of
its brutality and atrocities. Theodorakis further
characterized the United States as a miserly country steeped
in riches that turns a blind eye to the world's poverty,
adding that "one decision could change this suffering." He
also referred to Abu Ghraib and the U.S. invasion of Iraq to
support his claim that the United States is a "demon of war."
Theodorakis' anti-American tirade was followed by
resounding audience applause and praise from fellow
participants.


5. (U) For those who remained focused on the topic of UN
reform, the consensus was that the UN is in need of drastic
reform and must transform itself into an effective
organization to retain its relevance. Several participants
felt this would be an impossible task and predicted its
eventual lapse into obscurity. However, the participants
that felt the UN could survive into the 21st century echoed
the need for significant UN Security Council reform,
including the elimination of the veto power. In their
opinion, such reform would render the institution more
democratic and thereby increase its legitimacy. Others
criticized the appointment of elite representatives that are
constrained by demands from their home countries and by their

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home political ambitions, and called for reform to the
appointment process.


6. (SBU) Comment: It is a sad fact of life here that
anti-Americanism, on the political level, continues to
permeate and distort public discourse The hijacking of this
conference on UN reform is a good example of this phenomenon.
As we have stated before, the good news is that Greek
governments no longer pander to this feeling, even if they do
little to try and combat it directly.
COUNTRYMAN