PERT World

[Pelasgia]

ΠΕΡT | Pelasgian Broadcasting Corporation - World Service

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PERT World, officially Pelasgian Broadcasting Corporation - World Service is a division of PERT, the Pelasgian Broadcasting Corporation S.A. (Πελασγική Εταιρεία Ραδιοτηλεόρασης Α.Ε.), the Pelasgian Union's public broadcaster. It transmits Pelasgian and foreign news in Pelasgian and six other languages on radio, television and on the internet. Formerly known as Radio Propontis - World Service, PERT World acts Pelasgia's window to the world. Wholly owned and operated by the Pelasgian Government, it broadcasts the official perspective on Pelasgian news, culture and other issues, and is noted for its high quality documentary and educational content. PERT World operates multiple services, including the sports channel PERT Sport International, and the PERT Prisma network of news services for individuals with special needs, such as the visually impaired.​

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[Pelasgia]

ΠΕΡT | Pelasgian Broadcasting Corporation - World Service​

News · Pelasgia · Himyar · Sports · Business · Culture · Projects · Other​

Government to proceed with controversial labour law reform, airs immigration reform​

Propontis, 12 January 2020 | Athanasios Stavropoulos​

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​

(Photo from Archive): The Main Building of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Insurance in downtown Propontis, Optimatoi Region​

The Minister of Health, Labour and Social Insurance of the Pelasgian Union, Mr. Petros Gounaris, tabled his highly controversial labour reform bill before the Boule of Representatives yesterday morning. The Bill, which would become Act no. 12/2021 of the Common Parliament of Pelasgia upon passage, has attracted much controversy over its proposed reforms, which would radically alter Pelasgia's labour law against the interests of the powerful unions, particularly those in the public sector. More concretely, the Bill, entitled "An Act reforming the right to form unions in the public sector, the right to strike, and other provisions" would prohibit public service union confederations, effectively dissolving the mighty General Confederation of Civil Servants' Labour Unions (GESESDYL). It would further ban general strikes in the public sector, and limit strikes and unions to individual services, on penalty of immediate termination with monetary penalties equivalent to costs incurred by taxpayers imposed upon offenders. Moreover, the Bill would reform strike rules, such that a strike would only be mandatory for all employees in a public service or private enterprise if 50%+1 of the absolute number of employees approved it; otherwise, those opposing the strike would be entitled to continue working. Attempts to intimidate them would incur stiff penalties, including fines and potentially even prison sentences. Finally, union leaders in the private and public sector would no longer be entitled to early pensions or reduced work hours, while their union fees would be paid by their colleagues and not by the employer.​

Evidently, this omnibus Bill of profound and substantive reforms to Pelasgian labour law has caused considerable debate. On the side of the unions themselves, the proposed Act has drawn the ire of both GESESDYL, as well as its private-sector counterpart, the National Confederation of Workers' and Employees' Unions (ESEYS), which have lambasted what they see as a return to pre-1970 anti-union provisions, terming the Government's proposal "a return to the professional dark ages". Both unions have already announced strikes and marches to oppose the Bill, though the Government has made it clear that any public service strike will be faced with back-to-work legislation. On the other end of the spectrum, the Pelasgian Association of Entrepeuners and Industrialists (PELSEV), the Pelasgian Shipping Magnates' Association (EPE) and the Pelasgian Taxpayer's Federation (OPF) have endorsed the Bill as a "necessary step to promote sane and fiscally sound governance, and to free the Pelasgian economy from the shackles of outdated regulatory burdens". The OPF went further, organizing counter-protests and characterizing the union leaders relationship with labour as "feudal". More significantly, PELSEV and the EPE control much of the country's private media, and are expected to offer the government considerable support both through the Bill's passage and up until the coming election.​

On the political front, the governing National Democratic Party (EDK) and its junior coalition partner, the National Orthodox Rally (ETHNOS), have defended the measure, calling labour law reform a "well-known electoral promise of the present administration". Mr. Nikolaos Angelopoulos, the Prime Minister, soon faced stern opposition backlash for this statement from all parties but the Liberal Union (EF), itself hesitantly supporting the Government's proposal in principle while reserving judgment on certain details. The centre-left Socialist Labour Party (SEK), the EDK and EF's onetime major rival, called the measure "regressive" and ascribed to it a neoliberal obsession with rolling back workers' protections and shrinking government, which, coupled with the EDK's free trade policy, has led Pelasgian labour to a race to the bottom with foreign competition. The left to far-left Progressive Coalition (PS), the official opposition, had an even harsher message. Its leader, Mr. Alexandros Gavriilides stated that "the Government is using labour law reform as a bribe to the major capitalists owning Pelasgia's media in exchange for support in the coming election, in the vain hope that the Pelasgian people will forget Mr. Angelopoulos's broken promises". Mr. Gavriilides clarified that he was referring to immigration reform and electoral reform, two major EDK platform points that have yet to be fulfilled, while conveniently ignoring remilitarization, a foundational block of the EDK-ETHNOS alliance that PS would rather the Government not make good on.​

Nevertheless, the governing coalition responded with a series of revelations later that day in a joint press conference of the Prime Minister and the head of the Pelasgian International Investment Bank on an unrelated matter. The Prime Minister announced that immigration reform founded upon a points-based system to meet labour demand and rectify Pelasgia's demographic issues was already underway. He then stated the Government was undertaking cross-partisan negotiations to institute some form of proportional representation without compromising stability or neglecting rural ridings. Mr. Angelopoulos clarified that the EDK and ETHNOS were conversing with "all forces of the constitutional-democratic spectrum", a phrase generally taken to mean all non-radical, establishment parties (i.e., all parliamentary factions but the Progressive Coalition). Mr. Angelopoulos's hardest blow, perhaps, was that of remilitarization; the Prime Minister revealed that the Ministry of Justice had recently received confidential memos on the interpretation and reform of the pacifism provisions of the 1951 Constitution from the Legal Council of the State. The Prime Minister then stated that his Cabinet was committed to submitting a constitutional amendment proposal based on these memos to the Common Parliament for review by the end of the month. The Second Angelopoulos Cabinet seems committed to an active pre-electoral year, as the Prime Minister's statements envision not one, but two, and possibly three major bills by the end of the winter. It would seem that Mr. Gavriilides got more than he was bargaining for when he challenged the Government to make good on its electoral promises in the Boule.​

Other News​

General Court of Universal Judicature to rule on radical party's suppression: Pelasgia's highest court is set to rule on the Ministry of Justice's petition to have the Revolutionary Socialist Party of Pelasgia (ESKP) banned as unconstitutional by the end of the month, according to the Court's newly released

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. The case, indexed as no. 1/2021 is to be heard by a plenary of the Court due to its heavy political implications. The Government submits that ESKP seeks to abolish the Constitution of Pelasgia in favour of a dictatorship, something which is banned both by the Constitution itself and the electoral law. In turn, the Party responds that it should be allowed to propose its programme to the electorate within the confines of a democratic election, citing popular sovereignty and freedom of speech, among other constitutional guarantees.​

 

[Pelasgia]

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PERT World proceeds with corporate reorganization, new logo
Propontis, 12 January 2020 | PERT World S.A.

Dear customers,

Please be advised that following the decision of the Board of Directors of the Pelasgian Broadcasting Corporation (PERT) S.A. of 15 January 2021, PERT World will no longer be a division of PERT S.A., but will instead be an independent corporation under the corporate name PERT World S.A. (ΠΕΡΤ Κόσμος Α.Ε.), under Law № 4548/2018, "Act respecting corporations" of the Pelasgian Union. PERT World S.A. will be completely owned by PERT S.A., which will hold 100% of the new corporation's shares, but will be independently operated by its own Board of Directors and officers.​

To signify this change, PERT World S.A. has adopted a new logo, which can be found

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. Please be aware that this will not affect any obligations, rights or services of PERT World, as the new corporation is merely a reorganized version of the preceding Pelasgian Broadcasting Corporation - World Service Ltd. PERT World will continue to provide quality services to Pelasgian and international viewers, readers and listeners, on TV, the internet and radio in Pelasgian and six other languages. PERT World will continue to operate PERT Sport International, and the PERT Prisma International network, both of which are now under its sole ownership.​

For more information on this reorganisation, please visit

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. For service in other languages, please visit

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(Pelasgian),

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(Frankish),

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(Eiffellandian),

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(Urudoah),

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(Tarusan),

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(Vistratung).​

Sincerely,​

The Board of Directors of PERT World S.A.​

© Copyright 2021 - ΠΕΡΤ Κόσμος Α.Ε.​

 

[Pelasgia]

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In the midst of disputes over rearmament, Pelasgia remembers the Meridian Sea War
Propontis, 18 January 2021 | Alexandros Papaïoannou

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(Photo from PERT World Propontis): Sailors of the Pelasgian Naval Forces form up on Hagiou Nikolaou Street, leading to the Church of Our Lady of the Seas and the Meridian Sea War Memorial, in preparation for the 70th anniversary of the War's end

January 18 marks the 70th anniversary of the Capitulation of Hagios Andreas, whereby the then Pelasgian Empire capitulated to the combined forces of the Coalition opposing it in the Meridian Sea War. The War marked the end of the Pelasgian Empire's pretensions and aspirations to thalassocracy, that is, rule of the seas, and would later bring about the end of the Empire itself. Pelasgia, then ruled by the Militarist Junta which had relegated the Throne and Parliament to a secondary place, had spent the better part of three decades and innumerable resources and funds to construct three massive fleets totalling 24 aircraft carriers. Embarking on a programme of regional expansion, which included denying freedom of navigation and claiming large swaths of surrounding seas as its territorial waters, as well as open colonial expansion overseas and military aggression against neighbours, the Pelasgian Empire found itself against a Coalition of several nations which demanded that it accept freedom of navigation and curb its expansionism. The refusal of Propontis to heed this call resulted in a catastrophic war that last nearly four years and cost Pelasgia between 2 and 3 million lives, military and civilian alike, as well as almost the entirety of its navy and air force, and much of its army. Defeated, Pelasgia was subjected to foreign occupation under threat of foreign invasion, its coastal areas having already faced bombardment and at least one failed landing attempt. The profoundly Orthodox nation would soon lose sovereignty over the Holy City of Hierosolyma and the Sidon region, both of which are under a League Mandate to this day. These traumatic experiences would lead Pelasgia to reform itself as a modern, liberal democratic nation, and forever renounce armed aggression and offensive military forces. They would also bring about profound social changes, many of them positive, as the occupying forces introduced Pelasgia to its first truly democratic election conducted under universal suffrage.​

Every year since, Pelasgians remember the war, since every family lost at least one relative or loved, while many elderly still live to remember the horrors of the war, and the Militarist Regime, for civilian and serviceman alike. The commemoration itself usually consists of quiet wreath layings in war memorial around the country, along with school holidays where the message of anti-militarism is highlighted. Poems of the great Pelasgian poet Theodoros Malvasitis, himself prosecuted by the Junta, are often read. The Pelasgian State participates in the ceremonies by laying wreaths alongside foreign representatives in a memorial near Hagios Andreas, where the Junta signed its surrender documents as the Coalition fleets prepared to assail Propontis. More controversially, the Pelasgian civilian and military leadership participate in commemoration ceremonies at the Church of Our Lady of the Seas, a massive Orthodox cathedral constructed in 1961 to commemorate the war dead. Controversy arises from the fact that one of the Junta's three strongmen, Adm. Laonikos Himeriadis, who was killed by Coalition bombers two months before the war's end, is mentioned in buried in the New Central Naval Graveyard near the Cathedral, having technically died in action. As the wreaths laid before the memorial outside the Cathedral honour all the war dead, including those buried at the New Central Naval Graveyard, many have pointed out that the Pelasgian authorities are technically honouring one of the War's authors. While there have been calls to remove the Admiral from the site and rebury him in his family's personal crypt, the Pelasgian Naval Forces, the Government, and even the local Orthodox authorities have refused this, as that would violate Orthodox burial protocols and State regulations about the burial of war dead. The matter was so controversial that the last Pelasgian Emperor, Andronikos VIII, refused to visit the sight until his death in 1991. His successors, the Presidents of Pelasgia, have done much the same, in keeping with their role of being "Emperors in all but name." ​

Successive Prime Ministers of the dominant National Democratic Party (EDK), including incumbent Nikolaos Angelopoulos, have continued to visit the location and offer honours to the dead. There were discussions that the current President, Alexios Antoniades, would follow suit, being a retired Admiral himself. However, he has so far not done so. While such visits have raised protests at home and abroad, this year's celebrations were much more politically charged than most. The governing National Democratic Party (EDK), itself a moderate nationalist, conservative party, has been pressured by both its electorate and its coalition partner, the National Orthodox Rally (ETHNOS) to rearm Pelasgia. The controversy arises due to Articles 2 and 45 of the Pelasgian Constitution. Article 2 obliges Pelasgia to commit itself to "keep the generally recognised rules of international law, pursue the consolidation of peace, justice, and friendly relations between peoples and states" and thereby specifies that "[a]s such, the Pelasgian State forever renounces war as a means of settling disputes disputes between nations, and will never maintain terrestrial, maritime, or aerial forces, or war potential for this end, renouncing the right of offensive military action." Article 45 states that the Prime Minister is the Head of the Pelasgian Armed Forces, as opposed to the Emperor, thereby ensuring accountability to elected officials; it also specifies that Pelasgia "may maintain armed forces sufficient for its own defence from external or internal threats, and for other emergency situations." These Articles were used by the Pelasgian Government of Themistoklis Notaras (Liberal Union) to reestablish Pelasgia's military in 1961 through Law № 19/1961, "On National Defence". The Pelasgian Armed Forces, namely the Pelasgian Land Forces, the Pelasgian Naval Forces and the Pelasgian Air Forces, are strictly geared towards national defence and internal security, as well as emergency relief, avoiding the nomenclature of the Imperial Pelasgian Army and Navy.​

Unlike their predecessors, all three services are subject to civilian oversight through the Joint National Defence General Staff under the Ministry of National Defence, itself reporting to the Prime Minister's Office. With conscription explicitly outlawed by the 1951 Constitution, the Armed Forces are relatively thin, consisting of a professional force clearly geared towards national defence. That, however, did not stop the Pelasgian left and peace activists from opposing the 1961 National Defence law, leading to nation-wide protests, two general strikes, and a 1963 decision by the General Court of Universal Judicature affirming the legality of Pelasgia's new military under the Constitution. However, successive EDK governments have stroked the fires of controversy regarding this issue with various measures. In 2012, the newly elected EDK Government of Nikolaos Angelopoulos enacted a Constitutional Amendment adding the following interpretive clause to Article 46: "For the purposes of this Article, 'defence' shall be taken to mean both the national defence of the Pelasgian Union and its interests, as well as that of the interests of its citizens, and the collective national defence of the Pelasgian Union and its allies, their interests and the interests of their citizens." This interpretation, which caused another wave of protests and another failed judicial challenge, shook Pelasgia, but was finally put into law by the Common Parliament. Soon after, Pelasgia's military took part in naval drills on the high seas with foreign allies for the first time in over six decades, showing off the warships and aircraft its growing funding by the EDK governments had allowed it to purchase. ​

Recently, however, Mr. Angelopoulos' administration has brought the issue to the forefront yet again, by proposing to further increase the Pelasgian Armed Forces' budget to acquire "novel defensive systems" suited for "collective national defence". More controversially, some members of the EDK-ETHNOS government have proposed another interpretive statement to add "preemptive national defence" and "preemptive collective national self-defence" to the meaning of Article 46's "defence". Evidently, such interpretations would allow Pelasgia to engage in active military action, including initiatives with allies, provided it had a reasonable basis to believe an attack was imminent. Many scholars have criticized this as authorizing offensive military action "in all but name", nullifying the whole purpose of Articles 2 and 46. Other, less marginal proposals, have aired the idea of reintroducing conscription or at least removing the constitutional ban thereupon. Whereas proposals for such changes remain marginal, even within the EDK-ETHNOS government, there is no doubt that Mr. Angelopoulos has both the majority in both houses of the Common Parliament and the favourable precedent and makeup of the General Court of Universal Judicature on his side, should he ever wish to adopt any of these measures. However, it is not all that clear whether the electorate, outside of the EDK and ETHNOS' core supporters, would look as favourably upon such changes. For better or for worse, the last 70 years have made Pelasgia an extremely pacifist society, where talk of military adventures overseas or conscription is all but taboo. As Pelasgia's demographic problems grow and internal pressure for electoral reform piles up, the government might find better chances of gaining votes in moving forward with its electoral commitments in either domain; then again, it might be precisely due to hesitance about doing so that the government more vocal nationalists have taken to voicing their hopes for rearmament to the Pelasgian domestic media, gradually drawing the attention of even international reporters. For now, the Pelasgians content themselves with decorating their clothes with the daisy flower, which often grows in the Pelasgian coastal and insular areas where much of the Meridian Sea War was fought.​

Other News

General Court of Universal Judicature Allows Ban of Radical Party: Pelasgia's highest court unveiled

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early this morning, whereby it upheld the decision of the Minister of Justice to declare the Revolutionary Socialist Party of Pelasgia an "illegal association" and suppress it. The Court noted that the decision was properly taken in light of the underlying statutory scheme, as the Party, which aims to violently overthrow and otherwise abolish the Constitution of Pelasgia, is exactly the sort of body targeted by the relevant law. The Court then found that the underlying statute was supported by Article 121 of the Constitution, which authorizes the State to defend the Constitution, and that it does not unduly violate the Constitution's protections of personal and political rights and freedoms, given that protecting the Constitution advances these safeguards.​

Chief Rivals of Pelasgian Football Go to Europa Cup: The historical rivals of Pelasgia's top national football league, Alpha Ethniki, have both made it to Europa cup. Both Venetos OF Propontis FC and Panthermaïkos Prasinos AS FC have made it to the largest world football league, having finished first and second in last year's Alpha Ethniki. Venetos OF Propontis is descended from the Deme of the Blues, the oldest and largest sports club in the Propontine and Tiburian Empires, while Panthermaïkos Prasinos AS is descended from the Blues' historic rivals, the Greens, which faced suppression from Imperial authorities for inciting revolts and were forced to relocate and reorganise in Pelasgia's second largest city, Thermi. Confrontations between the two teams' fans are often heated and sometimes violent, commonly requiring the intervention of the authorities.​

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