From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Wed, 28 Sep 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, September 28, 1994 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * Tension mounts in New Democracy, Mitsotakis said to be staging comeback * Bosnian Serb army chief does not fear Moslem embargo lifting * Greece acquires latest equipment to fight terrorism * Cholera precautions aboard Greek vessels touching Albania ports * Ethnics' appeal trial offers Tirana "improve relations" chance * SYN leader's Tirana visit, meeting at Foreign Ministry * Greece rules out talks on territorial waters * Papoulias meets Soysal * Libya: seized vessel crew allowed to leave, captain held * Patriarch Vartholomeos on Benelux tour Nov. 11 Tension mounts in New Democracy Mitsotakis said to be staging comeback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athens, 28/9/1994 (ANA): Tension in the official Opposition New Democracy party soared to a new high yesterday after former President of the Parliament and deputy Athanasios Tsaldaris allegedly said that former Prime Minister and ND honorary president Constantine Mitsotakis "wants to come back as (ND) leader." Mr. Tsaldaris strongly refuted having made such a statement, attributing the allegation to what he called "phone tapping and voice editing." He referred the issue to the state prosecutor and called on the Athens Union of Journalists (ESHEA) to examine the issue based on the press code of ethics. Private radio station Flash 9.61, broadcast a statement by Mr. Tsaldaris yesterday saying "I do not rule out" the possibility of Mr. Mitsotakis' proceeding with the creation of a new party but, he went on, such a possibility would materialise in December or January. He added that "Mr. Mitsotakis wants to come back (to New Democracy) as leader." Mr. Tsaldaris' alleged statements ignited fresh tension in the strife-torn ND party. On Monday, Former ND Foreign Minister and deputy Michalis Papaconstantinou was expelled from the party, after a disciplinary council decided his recent conduct was violating party statutes. After his expulsion, Mr. Papaconstantinou informed President of the Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis of his intention to retain his parliamentary seat as independent deputy and told the press he would return to ND "after Mr. (ND leader Miltiades) Evert is gone." Earlier this month, Mr. Evert removed former Minister Andreas Andrianopoulos from the party's Political Council and referred Mr. Papaconstantinou to the Disciplinary Council on the grounds of conduct violating party statutes. Meanwhile, tension in New Democracy led to strained relations between ND and the government. In a statement to the press yesterday, Mr. Evert attributed developments in his party to "a prearranged drive stemming from an impotent and failed government with the intention of serving Mr. (Prime Minister Andreas) Papandreou's personal designs and disorienting public opinion." Commenting on the ND crisis, Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the ruling PASOK party said developments showed that "fragmentation of ND was proceeding speedily". "New Democracy is and will remain united," Mr. Mitsotakis told reporters. Referring to the alleged statement by Mr. Tsaldaris, the former Prime Minister said "I have nothing to do with every thing I read or hear." In another development yesterday, ND deputy George Karatzaferis met with the Secretary of the party's Parliamentary Group, Athanasios Kanellopoulos, to offer "explanations" on the contents of a letter he sent to Mr. Papandreou in June. The weekly newspaper "To Vima" on Sunday revealed that Mr. Karatzaferis had sent a letter to Mr. Papandreou stating his intention to vote for the Premier in the presidential election next spring. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos on Monday confirmed that Mr. Karatzaferis had sent such a letter to the prime minister. In a statement to the press, after meeting with Mr. Kanellopoulos, Mr. Karatzaferis denied rumours that he would resign from the party, and accused what he termed "publishers' interests" noting he would continue to "fight against them." Mr. Karatzaferis said he had written Mr. Evert requesting the party disciplinary council meet immediately to clear suspicions concerning him. Later yesterday, Mr. Evert announced Mr. Karatzaferis' referral to the disciplinary council "in accordance with party statutes and regulations." "Any party official claiming that Mr. Papandreou's candidacy for President of the Republic can be supported (by ND) would be considered as supporting positions differing from the party's political positions, and would be referred to the appropriate disciplinary body," Mr. Evert said. "Mr. Papandreou and his government have failed in all sectors (of the administration and foreign policy)," Mr. Evert said, adding that "For this reason, Mr. Papandreou is pursuing an escape to the Presidency of the Republic." The ND leader also accused the government of "a prearranged drive" waged "for obvious reasons just before the municipal elections" and called on all ND officials and deputies to "fend off all Mr. Papandreou's personal designs." Meanwhile, Mr. Venizelos told the press yesterday the government was closely following developments in New Democracy, adding that it had no involvement in such developments. "Political disputes are acceptable and should be manifested," Mr. Venizelos added. Bosnian Serb army chief does not fear Moslem embargo lifting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athens, 28/9/1994 (ANA): The lifting of the UN-imposed arms embargo on the Bosnian Moslems would benefit the Serbs, Bosnian Serb Army (BSA) commander General Ratko Mladic said in an interview with ANA correspondent Yerassimos Zarkadis broadcast on Greek TV channel ET-2 last nigh. "For us, the lifting of the embargo on the Moslems and Croats would be good since, in practice, it is not being implemented and, furthermore, we too would have a legitimate right to bring in whatever we need," the General said in Pale, the Bosnian Serb headquarters outside mortar-devastated Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. "In addition," he said, "we would no longer have any obligation to abide by any of the UN Security Council resolutions." "Why should we adhere to the no-fly zone and the obstruction of the use of our air force to save our soldiers while, at the same time, tolerate the arming of the Moslems and Croats with more advanced weaponry by Moslem countries and also by some Western countries? We would only gain from that (the lifting of the embargo)," General Mladic said. Asked what he believed would happen if the US lifted the arms embargo on the Moslems, Mladic replied: "Unfortunately, there is no embargo on Moslems and Croats. They import weapons with the consent of the Americans and others, particularly the Germans." "Many in the West have become rich by selling death in former Yugoslavia and former Bosnia-Herzegovina," he said. Greece acquires latest equipment to fight terrorism ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athens, 28/9/1994 (ANA): Greece will buy state-of-the-art technology from the United States, Israel and European states to boost its battle against terrorism, government sources said yesterday. They said stocks of detection and monitoring devices had been ordered, the first batch arriving in the next few days. Delivery of all the equipment will be completed by December, the same sources added. Public Order Minister Stelios Papathemelis said yesterday the government had appropriated 25 million dollars for the modernisation of the Greek police in a bid to combat terrorism. A high-ranking police officer died and 10 other people were injured last week, in a bomb explosion set off but the urban guerrilla group People's Revolutionary Struggle (ELA). Cholera precautions aboard Greek vessels touching Albania ports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athens, 28/9/1994 (ANA): Greek harbour authorities said yesterday emergency health measures were ordered aboard Greek-flag vessels ferrying to Albania, where an outbreak of cholera has caused eight deaths. Harbour authorities said captains of Greek vessels were requested to avoid having water supplies from Albanian ports. Eight persons have died of cholera in Albania since the epidemic broke out two weeks ago in Kucova, south of Tirana. Albanian officials said there were 103 confirmed cases and over 250 others in hospitals displaying symptoms. Cholera is a severe intestinal infection that causes vomiting and diarrhoea. It leads to severe dehydration and can be fatal within hours. The disease is usually spread by contaminated water and food. Ethnics' appeal trial offers Tirana "improve relations" chance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athens, 28/9/1994 (ANA): The appeal trial of five leading ethnic Greek minority members convicted on espionage charges in Tirana would give the Albanians an opportunity to change the atmosphere in Greek-Albanian relations, the Athens government said yesterday. "The appeal trial of the five convicted Omonia (ethnic Greek minority organisation) members provides the Albanian authorities the possibility of changing the climate in Greek-Albanian relations", government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said at his regular briefing in reply to press questions. He said the government's assessment so far "is that nothing has changed with respect to Albania's intentions on the fate of the five ethnic minority members". But he expressed hope that "something would change". Asked whether or not Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias would meet with Albanian counterpart Alfred Sereqi, as proposed by Albanian president Sali Berisha, on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly, Mr. Venizelos replied that the Greek government "has no official advice of a proposal by Mr. Berisha". Mr. Venizelos reiterated that Greece "always desires dialogue, and has confirmed this in practice". But resumption of such dialogue "will depend on the stance of the Albanian leadership and, in particular, that an end be put to the hardships suffered by the ethnic Greek minority". Asked whether or not Greece would change its attitude if the question of European Union macroeconomic aid to Albania were raised again, Mr. Venizelos said Athens' stance "is determined by fundamental principles and criteria relating to respect of human rights of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania". SYN leader's Tirana visit, meeting at Foreign Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athens, 28/9/1994 (ANA): A delegation of the Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) party headed by Fotis Kouvelis will meet Foreign Under-Secretary Ioannis Kranidiotis today for talks on issues concerning Coalition leader Nikos Constantopoulos' visit to Albania. Mr. Constantopoulos' agenda to date includes meetings with representatives of all Albanian political parties and the ruling Democratic Party. Albania has not yet responded on a meeting with Albanian President Sali Berisha. In principle, the Coalition's ambition is to "break the ice" in Greek-Albanian relations through dialogue so that the Coalition President's visit should also lead, in principle, to a start of dialogue between the governments of Greece and Albania. Mr. Constantopoulos, due to leave Athens tomorrow, will also meet Archbishop Anastasios and visit the city of Gyrokastr on Friday. He will return to Athens via Ioannina on Saturday. Greece rules out talks on territorial waters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athens, 28/9/1994 (ANA): The government yesterday ruled out talks with Turkey over boundaries in the Aegean, restating that it was only up to Athens to decide on whether or not to extend the county's territorial waters in the island-dotted sea. "Greece is not willing to discuss its right to expand its territorial waters. It is a sovereign right, and it is up to the government's discretion to decide on whether or not to exercise this right", government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said. His statement was prompted by reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Mumtaz Soysal had proposed neighbouring countries each maintain maritime boundaries to six nautical miles. Greece and Turkey have argued for years over boundaries and rights of passage in the Aegean, where Greek islands lie close to the Turkish coast. Ankara has warned that extension of Greece's territorial waters to 12 miles from six could be the cause for war. Papoulias meets Soysal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ United Nations, 28/9/1994 (ANA-M.Georgiadou) Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday met for the first time Turkish counterpart Mumtaz Soysal, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos described the meeting as designed to acquaint the two men with each other. Libya: seized vessel crew allowed to leave, captain held ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athens, 28/9/1994 (ANA): The captain of a Greek-owned ferry being held in the Libyan port of Tripoli since September 11 has been placed on restriction aboard the vessel until the matter is cleared up, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. The 80-member crew of the 5.000-ton passenger ferry "Vergina" - 78 of them Greek - "are free to leave", the Ministry said. The vessel, which had been classified by Arab countries as "undesirable" because it had been built in 1964 for Israeli interests, was detained for breaking the Arab black-list ban against Israel. It has since passed into Saudi Arabian ownership before being acquired by its present owner, the Piraeus-based "Stability Line Inc". A Ttipoli court ruling said that captain Christos Gidopoulos would be restricted aboard the cruise-ship, until the matter was cleared up with the Libyan authorities. Patriarch Vartholomeos on Benelux tour Nov. 11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brussels, 28/9/1994 (ANA-F.Stangos): Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will pay an official visit to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on November 11 through 18. The visit will take place to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Belgium and the Exarchate of Benelux. In Belgium, Patriarch Vartholomeos will visit Gent, Mechelen and Antwerp. On November 14, he will meet with King Albert II and attend a dinner European Commission President Jacques Delors will host in his honour. He will also have contacts with Belgian Cardinal Daneels and Belgian Justice Minister Melchior Watle. The Patriarch will arrive in Luxembourg on Novermber 15 and meet with Grand Duke John and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jacques Santer, who will assume the duties of European Union Commission President in January, 1995. Patriarch Vartholomeos will visit the European Court's seat on the same day, and briefly meet with its members. Lastly, on November 16 and 17 he will visit Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague, where he will meet with Queen Beatrice. The Orthodox Christian Church was officially recognised in Belgium in 1985.