Children win mobile mast battle
Kathimerini
English Edition - Greek Supplement of the International Herald Tribune
Athens, Friday, March 18, 2005
Schoolchildren on the island of Lesvos learned that playing truant for a cause can sometimes pay off after their repeated refusal to attend lessons because of the presence of a camouflaged mobile telephony mast near their schools led local authorities to revoke its operating license yesterday.
Some 500 pupils from three schools on the island, including a kindergarten, started skipping lessons on March 7 in protest at the location of the mast, which some scientists believe can cause severe health problems.
Backed by their parents, the children's action led to authorities cutting off power to the mast three days later, after discovering that it was illegally drawing electricity.
However, the pupils insisted they would not return to school until the mast -- which was disguised as a solar energy panel -- was removed completely. This led the Lesvos prefecture yesterday to revoke the right for the mast to operate. Meanwhile, the island's parents' association filed a lawsuit with the prosecutor demanding a probe into the circumstances under which a license was granted to erect the aerial.
Janet Newton, President
The EMR Policy Institute, P.O. Box 117, Marshfield VT 05658
Tel: (802) 426-3035 FAX: (802) 426-3030
Web Site: http://www.emrpolicy.org
English Edition - Greek Supplement of the International Herald Tribune
Athens, Friday, March 18, 2005
Schoolchildren on the island of Lesvos learned that playing truant for a cause can sometimes pay off after their repeated refusal to attend lessons because of the presence of a camouflaged mobile telephony mast near their schools led local authorities to revoke its operating license yesterday.
Some 500 pupils from three schools on the island, including a kindergarten, started skipping lessons on March 7 in protest at the location of the mast, which some scientists believe can cause severe health problems.
Backed by their parents, the children's action led to authorities cutting off power to the mast three days later, after discovering that it was illegally drawing electricity.
However, the pupils insisted they would not return to school until the mast -- which was disguised as a solar energy panel -- was removed completely. This led the Lesvos prefecture yesterday to revoke the right for the mast to operate. Meanwhile, the island's parents' association filed a lawsuit with the prosecutor demanding a probe into the circumstances under which a license was granted to erect the aerial.
Janet Newton, President
The EMR Policy Institute, P.O. Box 117, Marshfield VT 05658
Tel: (802) 426-3035 FAX: (802) 426-3030
Web Site: http://www.emrpolicy.org
Starmail - 15. Mai, 23:49
