Editing Gavdos (section)

==Politics==
Following years of isolation, in 1996 the island came to [[Mass media|media]] prominence. In a [[NATO]] exercise Gavdos was the focal point of a confrontation between Greece and [[Turkey]]. Following that, [[Prime Minister of Greece|Prime Minister]] [[Costas Simitis]] visited Gavdos and announced a five-year, [[euro|€]]1.5 million plan for the island's development.

In 2001, [[Costis Stephanopoulos]], the Greek President, inaugurated a [[telemedicine]] centre on Gavdos, an island which has not had a full-time [[Physician|doctor]] in recent memory. This effort, however, was marred as the island's [[infrastructure]] could not provide the necessary [[Electrical power|power]] required by the centre. For the purposes of the inauguration, [[Electricity generation|generators]] were brought in, which were then removed. However, according to a 2008 [[BBC News]] report the island now features stable electrical power, and young medical graduates can serve for six months on Gavdos in lieu of [[Conscription in Greece|compulsory military service]]. But visitors to Gavdos in June 2008 found that the power station was not functioning and that businesses were relying on gas generators operated for a few hours per night; locals stated that the power station worked initially, but no longer serves the entire island reliably.<ref name=Pickford/>

In 2002, the island was in the news again, due to the arrests of members of the extremist [[Marxist]] group [[Revolutionary Organization 17 November|17 November]]. The leader of this organization had been living openly for several years on Gavdos as a [[beekeeper]].<ref name=Pickford>[http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7205519.stm ''The Med's 'forgotten' island: It is hard to imagine a more spectacular edge of a continent''], John Pickford, [[BBC News]], January 24, 2008.</ref>

For the first time, a military outpost was established on the Island of Gavdos by the Greek defence ministry on 30 November 2020. The ministry announced plans of doing the same at the Othonoi island, the westernmost point of the country, following the establishment at the southernmost point of Greece. A total of 9 soldiers were deployed at the outpost in Gavdos at the Cape Tripiti. The decision followed the announcement made by the ministry of expanding Greek territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Ionian Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/11/30/greece-establishes-military-outposts-at-the-most-remote-edges-of-its-territory/|title=Greece Establishes Military Outposts at the Most Remote Edges of its Territory|access-date=30 November 2020|website=Greek Reporter}}</ref>