Cutting red tape, making it easier for diaspora Hellenism to register children in Greece in order to obtain a Greek passport and to deal with their military obligations, and learning Greek are top issues for diaspora Greeks, according to Victorian MP and president of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA) John Pandazopoulos.

Mr Pandazopoulos expressed his views in an interview with the web publication Panhellenic Post while in Athens, where he was chairing the annual
Convention of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association, a body which has as its members MPs of Greek origin from the entire globe.

“If Greece makes it easier for its diaspora to come and visit the country, then, world Hellenism will be visiting the motherland more often and this will make them feel more Greek and will make them better citizens in the country of their residency,” said John Pandazopoulos.

The second most important issue for world Hellenism, according to the president of WHIA, is the need to retain the Greek language. One idea is to try and have a World Day for the Greek language. The diaspora has to try and fund Greek language programs as well, said Pandazopoulos, not only programs that address the needs of students, but also programs that address the attempt to learn Greek by an ever increasing number of adults, Greek and non-Greek.

Asked about granting the right to vote to the Greek diaspora, John Pandazopoulos said that “this is not the biggest practical issue”.

However, he went on to say, this is of the utmost importance from the point of view that the granting of such a right indicates that the motherland takes into consideration and respects its diaspora.

“Whoever has a Greek identity card or a Greek passport, yes, they should have the right to vote, like in other countries,” he said. “The crucial thing is to be able to have the right,” regardless of whether you exercise it or not, he concluded.

In relation to the restructuring of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE), Mr Pandazopoulos stated that SAE is not the most important priority for Greeks abroad. He also said there is a concern in the diaspora because the new council, according to the new legislation, will be called to be self-reliant financially, even though at the same time he said, Greece is facing financial strife and in the past SAE did not manage its finances successfully.

“Both organisations and individuals need to be members of SAE,” he said, “and we should all make a concentrated effort to make as many members of the new SAE as possible.

John Pandazopoulos was elected president of the WH IA in 2009.

The World Hellenic Inter-parliamentary Association was founded on August 1996 in Greece, when an international delegation of elected members of parliament of Greek descent living in non-Greek speaking countries convened for the first time. The purpose of this meeting was to organise this unique association which created a network of top level government officials and parliamentarians from around the globe who are of Hellenic heritage. In June 2005, the body acquired its current legal status in Greece.

To date, the WHIA has a significant number of active and honorary members – including former prime ministers, presidents, ministers, members of parliament and senators of Greek descent, elected in many legislative bodies the world over.

One of the main objectives of the organisation is to encourage and support the election of Greeks around the world without any partisan criteria.

The World Hellenic Interparliamentary Association also maintains very close ties with the Hellenic Parliament.