Diamataris on Greeks voting abroad: Gov't doing what is 'self-evident'

The government wishes to do what is "self-evident" in terms of the right of Greeks living abroad to vote at Greek national elections, Deputy Foreign Minister Antonis Diamataris said on Monday.

"Our government calls for what is self-evident: that we Greeks abroad may vote (where we reside), instead of being forced to return to Greece and to our places of origin," Diamataris said, who has served long-term as publisher and editor of the National Herald newspaper in New York.

"We don't ask for much, this is all we want: to be able to vote like everyone else from our place of residence," he noted. "We must come to understand at some point that Greeks living abroad have rights, not just obligations, and a basic right is that of voting."

Diamataris made his statements at the monastic community of Mt. Athos, where he accompanied Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to receive the recognition of "spiritual founder" by Vatopedi Monastery.