VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTH #0792/01 1581407
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 061407Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1936
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ATHENS 000792 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S, D, EUR/SE AND S/WE (GERDA LANE) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SOCI KWMN KPAO GR
SUBJECT: SENIOR ADVISOR TAHIR-KHELI ATTENDS WOMEN 
LEADERS' MEETING ON THE MIDDLE EAST 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Senior Advisor for WomenQs Empowerment 
Ambassador Tahir-Kheli visited Greece on behalf of the 
Secretary to attend the Women LeadersQ Working Group 
Conference hosted by Greek Foreign Minister Dora 
Bakoyannis.  The June 3 QLagonissi Declaration 
summarized the Working GroupQs initiative to establish 
a fund for local and regional women entrepreneurs in 
the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and called for 
public and private sector cooperation to foster 
regional economic empowerment.  (Note:  The QLagonissi 
DeclarationQ and other PD materials will be provided 
to PA-EI for posting on the S/WE website.  End Note.) 
Following the conference, Ambassador Tahir-Kheli met 
with women in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), 
members of parliament, and women entrepreneurs to 
discuss the challenges and conditions faced by these 
leaders in Greece. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Women LeadersQ Working Group Conference 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Greek Foreign Minister Bakoyannis hosted the 
fifth meeting of the Women LeadersQ Working Group at 
the Lagonissi resort in Greece.  The Conference 
identified several areas to create economic 
empowerment in the MENA region, specifically the 
establishment of a fund to promote local and regional 
women entrepreneurship.  The Working Group will 
appoint a committee to prepare a report for the 
establishment of the fund and ensure the participation 
of women representatives from the MENA region.  In an 
informal pull-aside, Bakoyannis told Ambassador Tahir- 
Kheli that she understands the USG has just recently 
launched a similar fund -- the One-Woman Initiative -- 
and that although she does not expect financial 
support, she would appreciate moral support from the 
USG towards this initiative.  At the concluding press 
conference, Bakoyannis expressed the hope that the 
fund would be ready for Secretary RiceQs endorsement 
by this SeptemberQs UN General Assembly meetings.  She 
also announced that Greece would initiate (and pay 
for) two other agreed steps: a biennial awards 
program; and internships for young MENA women outside 
the region, starting with two positions in Athens. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Ambassador Tahir-Kheli also had several 
informal bilateral meetings with Austrian Foreign 
Minister Ursula Plassnik, Icelandic Foreign Minister 
Ingebjorg Gisladottir, the First Lady of Iraq Hero 
Ibrahim Ahmed, and former Palestinian Legislative 
Council (PLC) Member Hanan Al-Ashrawi.  All the 
members of the Women LeadersQ Working Group were 
supportive of Secretary RiceQs initiative to 
strengthen United Nations Security Council Resolution 
1325 on Women, Peace and Security. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Meetings with Greek Women in NGOs, Parliament, and 
Business 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Ambassador Tahir-Kheli met with women 
actively engaged in NGOs and on issues involving 
womenQs justice over coffee hosted by Dr. Anne 
Speckhard at the AmbassadorQs residence.  The 
interlocutors stated that a political will exists in 
the Greek Government as well as a nascent awareness by 
civil society that the situation for women in Greece 
needed to change.  Despite this consciousness, the 
participants in the morning roundtable said that more 
needed to be done to address the changes impacting the 
structure of Greek society as well as issues of 
trafficking of women.  Moreover, they reported that 
many new immigrant women are victims of violence and 
abuse due to a lack of awareness or a refusal to 
recognize their rights, which include access to 
healthcare and protection facilities. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ambassador Tahir-Kheli highlighted several 
recent initiatives that the USG had launched, 
including a Women in Justice program and the One Woman 
Fund Initiative as examples of public-private sector 
cooperation.  She also summarized key points from the 
Lagonissi Conference and stressed the importance of 
working towards womenQs economic empowerment and 
 
security. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) A luncheon was held in honor of Ambassador 
Tahir-Kheli with over seventy prominent women from 
business, civil society, and government.  The event 
was co-hosted by the WomenQs Entrepreneur Association 
and the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO.  Many 
of the participants shared their interest in the 
recent Women LeadersQ Working Group Conference and 
expressed their appreciation for the momentum 
generated by the SecretaryQs initiative.  Ambassador 
Tahir-Kheli said that she was delighted and hoped that 
these public and private sector fora would further 
constructive dialogue between the USG and Greece. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In a dinner meeting, Ambassador Tahir-Kheli 
met with several women parliamentarians to discuss the 
challenges that they were facing in government.  They 
said that women did not support the nomination of 
other women when the party lists were constructed.  In 
addition, women who did get elected to office 
continued to face criticism on both a personal level 
and a professional level.  Despite GreeceQs accession 
to the European Union in 1981, these women leaders 
said that despite appearances, the Greek mentality had 
not changed and that the underlying nature of the 
society remains conservative. 
 
------------------------- 
Public Diplomacy Outcomes 
------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U)  Hellenic Public Television (ERT) broadcast 
Ambassador Tahir-KheliQs short interview and excerpts 
from her speech at the Greek women entrepreneurs 
luncheon on the afternoon of June 4.  Top-circulation 
Ta Nea and leading financial newspaper Express also 
interviewed her and other senior women leaders for 
stories to be published this weekend; expatriate- 
oriented Athens News and English-language Kathimerini 
may also cover the event.  Separately, Ambassador 
Tahir-KheliQs private meeting with Yianna 
Angelopoulou, a former member of parliament who 
organized the 2004 Olympics and is now the publisher 
of up-and-coming Eleftheros Tipos newspaper, generated 
much goodwill.  As noted earlier, post will also 
supply audio/visual material and transcripts to PA-EI 
for use on www.state.gov and publications designed to 
promote womenQs empowerment. 
 
SPECKHARD