From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Thu, 10 Nov 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, November 10, 1994 ---------------------------------------------- * Papoulias begins week-long European trip with Rome, ends with Minsk, Kiev * Spata issue on the way to resolution, Romaios says * Premier meets with Niles * Juppe-Kinkel visit to Athens postponed * Niotis announces Thessaloniki base for overseas Greek bodies * Evert insists on Foreign Policy Council * Georgian FM conveys Shevardnadze invitation to Kaklamanis * Greece, Georgia sign investment protection agreement * Tsohatzopoulos meets with Gaddafi in Tripoli * Bulgarian socialist leader visits PASOK offices * Joint manoeuvres planned in Aegean * Kranidiotis meets Finnish Gov't officials * Vance meets with Zaharakis on FYROM issue * Greece, Bulgaria work together on fire-fighting methods * Eurodeputies succeed in including Greek comments on Albanian in CoE report * Agriculture Ministry searches for toxic dumping ground * Hijacker charged with air piracy * Gov't supports Papantoniou on postponement of OTE float Papoulias begins week-long European trip with Rome, ends with Minsk, Kiev ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias begins a week of diplomatic contacts that will take in visits to former Soviet Union states Belarus and Ukraine when he departs today for Rome on a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Antonio Martino. According to diplomatic sources, Mr. Papoulias' talks will focus on the further improvement of relations between the two countries and the situation in former Yugoslavia and the Balkans in general. The visit comes a week after Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro paid an official visit to Greece, meeting with President Constantine Karamanlis and Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. Mr. Papoulias will also take the opportunity to put forward the government's positions on Greece's national issues. The two foreign ministers will also exchange views on co-operation in the Mediterranean, the Middle East peace process, Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) and security issues as well as EU matters. Tomorrow morning, Mr. Papoulias will be received by Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. On November 14, Mr. Papoulias will fly to the Hague to attend the meeting of Western European Union (WEU) foreign ministers which will examine European security issues and the situation in former Yugoslavia. Diplomatic sources did not rule out the possibility of Mr. Papoulias meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mumtaz Soysal on the sidelines of the WEU meeting. On November 15 and 16, Mr. Papoulias will visit Minsk and Kiev respectively for talks with the foreign ministers of Belarus and Ukraine, both members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Mr. Papoulias is taking up an invitation from his Belarus counterpart, extended during a meeting on the sidelines of the September UN General Assembly in New York. It will be the first visit ever by a Greek foreign minister to Belarus. His visit is expected to lay the groundwork for the establishment of mutual diplomatic missions and for the commencement of bilateral relations. There have been preparatory talks on the signing of a road transport agreement. Bilateral relations between Greece and Ukraine -- which is home to some 120,000 ethnic Greeks -- have already begun with a proposal for the establishment of a inter-governmental committee to examine economic and industrial co-operation and scientific an d technological exchange. An investment protection agreement between the two has already been signed. As a member of the European Union and other European bodies, Greece believes it can contribute concretely to the upgrading of Belarus and Ukraine's relations with Europe. Spata issue on the way to resolution, Romaios says -------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 10/11/1994 (ANA/C. Verros, V. Demiris): Alternate National Economy Under-Secretary Giorgos Romaios yesterday said the issue of stalled procedures for the selection of the successful bidder for the Spata airport project were on the way to being resolved. Mr. Romaios met with European Union Budgets and Cohesion Transfers Commissioner Peter Schmidhuber (Germany), and had discussions centring on the initial approval of Cohesion Fund advance contributions to the projects which have been planned for 1994, amounting to 175 million ECU, and the earmarking in the Community budget of 70 per cent of their cost. At the meeting, it was agreed that all projects in the sectors of transport and the environment which the Greek government has opted for will be approved, and, in this way, the proportion of Cohesion Fund credits allocated to Greece in 1994, amounting t o 350 million ECU (18 per cent of the sum total of 1,750 million) has been covered. This corresponds to 67 per cent of the budgeted cost of the projects and it was agreed that advance payments envisaged by the relevant regulation, amounting to 175 million ECU, will be disbursed by the end of the year. Greek officials continued discussions with the European Commission yesterday, centring on the proposed extension of negotiations for the Spata airport to the two candidate bidders. The Greek side claims that such an extension may create complications. Mr. Romaios stated that "if we judge where we started from and where we are now, we can say that there is serious hope for a solution". Premier meets with Niles ------------------------ Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou yesterday met with US Ambassador to Athens Thomas Niles at the Maximos Mansion. During their meeting, the two discussed issues concerning the Balkans and Greece's foreign policy in light of the official visit to Athens by French and German foreign ministers (now postponed) and the visit of a senior US State Department official to Athens and Ankara, and the forthcoming resumption of talks on the FYROM issue under the auspices of UN mediator Cyrus Vance. Later in the night, reliable sources revealed that Mr. Niles handed a letter from President Clinton to Mr. Papandreou. Close aids to the premier said Mr. Clinton's letter was particularly positive and friendly. They added that, in his letter, the US President refers to matters of security in the region, and to all open issues of Greek foreign policy. Juppe-Kinkel visit to Athens postponed -------------------------------------- Paris, 10/11/1994 (ANA/G. Zarkadis): French and German Foreign Ministers Alain Juppe and Klaus Kinkel's Athens visit, scheduled for November 15, has been postponed, a German embassy spokesman said yesterday. The spokesman said that the reason for the postponement was the election of chancellor next Tuesday in the Bundestag for which Mr. Kinkel's presence was considered necessary. He added that a new date for the visit would be set through diplomatic channels. In addition to EU issues, Mr. Kinkel and Mr. Juppe were to have discussed Greek-Albanian relations and the Skopje issue during their talks in Athens with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias. Niotis announces Thessaloniki base for overseas Greek bodies ------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): Foreign Under-Secretary for overseas Greeks Grigoris Niotis said yesterday the government's aim was to unify Hellenism world-wide and announced plans for two major overseas Greeks institutions for Thessaloniki. Mr. Niotis returned from a 10-day tour of Greek communities in Latin American countries on November 2. Mr. Niotis said that Thessaloniki would be the base for a World Council of Expatriate Hellenism and a Parliament of Hellenism, work on which is to begin early next year. He said 16,000 square metres of land have already been found in the centre of the city, in co-operation with the National Bank, for the necessary buildings. Mr. Niotis will head a delegation November 22 of various ministry officials and both public and private economic agencies to visit Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine where about 500,000 Greeks live. Evert insists on Foreign Policy Council --------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert yesterday told reporters his party would insist on the establishment of a Foreign Policy Council, which will be discussed in Parliament in the following days. "We will insist on the establishment" of the Council, Mr. Evert said, adding that he would soon make public his party's detailed proposals on Greece's foreign policy issues. Meanwhile, ND Vice President Ioannis Varvitsiotis departed yesterday for Brussels. In his capacity as vice president of the European Peoples' Party (EPP), Mr. Varvitsiotis will take part in a conference held by the EPP's Political Bureau. Georgian FM conveys Shevardnadze invitation to Kaklamanis --------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): Georgian Foreign Minister Alexandre Shikvaidze yesterday delivered a message to Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis from Georgian President and Parliament President Eduard Shevardnadze, inviting him to officially visit Tbilisi. Mr. Kaklamanis and Mr. Shikvaidze discussed the development of relations between the two parliaments and their respective countries and Mr. Kaklamanis briefed Mr. Shikvaidze at length on the way the Greek Parliament functions. It was agreed that friendship groups should be created in both parliaments and Greek Parliament cadres be sent to Tbilisi to convey expertise contributing to the new Georgian Parliament's better organisation and operation. Greece, Georgia sign investment protection agreement ---------------------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): National Economy Under-Secretary Ioannis Anthopoulos and visiting Georgian Foreign Minister Alexandre Shikvaidze yesterday signed an agreement for the mutual protection and promotion of investments, considered the first substantial step towards the creation of a stable and secure framework for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations. The Georgian side requested the provision of technical and economic aid from Greece, which met with a favourable response. Mr. Anthopoulos stressed that Greece intended to fully support Georgia's overtures towards the European Union. Greek economic presence in the Caucasus is growing rapidly. Exports to Georgia increased by 200 per cent in the 1992-93 period. Tsohatzopoulos meets with Gaddafi in Tripoli -------------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): Ruling PASOK Secretary Akis Tsohatzopoulos yesterday met with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli. Talks focused on developments and recent peace efforts in the Middle East. Bulgarian socialist leader visits PASOK offices ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): President of the Bulgarian Socialist party Z. Videnov, tipped to be the next Bulgarian prime minister, yesterday visited PASOK headquarters and met with party officials. After the meeting, Mr. Videnov stated that his meetings with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and other prominent members of the party were very useful, and that relations between the two countries had excellent prospects. Joint manoeuvres planned in Aegean --------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): Warships and aircraft from Greece, the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Spain will hold joint manoeuvres in the Aegean sea starting today, the Greek navy said. The exercises will last until November 21 and be held under Greek command, the navy said. The aim is to improve co-operation between forces from Greece and its allies, it added. The countries will be providing surface vessels and warplanes. In addition the United States will bring a submarine. Kranidiotis meets Finnish Gov't officials ----------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis visited Finland yesterday as part of his tour of Scandinavian countries. In Helsinki, Mr. Kranidiotis met Acting Prime Minister and Overseas Trade and European Affairs Minister P. Salolainen and Foreign Under-Secretary C. Sundback for talks on the forthcoming Essen summit, the 1996 intergovernmental conference, European Union enlargement and issues of special Greek concern such as the Balkans, Cyprus and Turkey. Mr. Kranidiotis will attend a Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg today. Vance meets with Zaharakis on FYROM issue ----------------------------------------- New York, 10/11/1994 (ANA/M. Georgiadou): A spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said yesterday that UN mediator on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) issue Cyrus Vance had met with Greece's permanent UN representative Christos Zaharakis, after returning from Geneva. He said that "Mr. Vance categorically denies rumours that he intends to resign from the post of mediator". According to diplomatic circles, Mr. Vance will continue contacts with the interested parties over the next few days, despite being disappointed with the continuing deadlock. The same sources revealed that "both Mr. Boutros-Ghali and Mr. Vance sent President Gligorov a very strong message" not to continue his intransigent stand after the formation of the new FYROM government. Greece, Bulgaria work together on fire-fighting methods ------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): A joint paper exercise on Greek-Bulgarian co-operation will take place on the border between the two countries in the Kato Nevrokopi region between November 14-16. The exercise, code-named "Synora (Borders) '94", will focus on co-operation between military and political authorities of the two countries in combating fires in a forested border region. The exercise will include officers of the Kavala headquartered XI infantry division, airforce officers and the co-ordinating prefectural agency of the Drama prefecture. Bulgarian officers will also participate and the corresponding Bulgarian fire-fighting agency. Co-ordinating meetings held between representatives of the two sides so far have been conducted in a climate of goodwill and mutual confidence in the framework of friendship and good neighbourliness between the two countries. Eurodeputies succeed in including Greek comments on Albanian in CoE report ----------------------------------------------------------------- Strasbourg, 10/11/1994 (ANA/I. Galanakis): Following successful interventions by Greek deputies at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Political Committee, Yiannis Kapsis (PASOK) and Aristotelis Pavlidis (New Democracy), the official responsible for a report on Albania, Belgian deputy Mr. Kelchtctmans, was obliged to seek the Venice Committee's opinion on the Albanian constitution and include in his report the Greek deputies' observations on the state of human rights in Albania. In his proposal to the Political Committee, Mr. Kelchtctmans had initially requested acceptance of Albania's accession, claiming that, despite the rejection of its constitution, no constitutional vacuum existed, and adopted the Albanian government's positions on the trial of five ethnic Greeks and the treatment of the Greek minority. Mr. Kapsis said it was not possible for an organisation whose mission it is to defend democracy and respect for human rights to assess that there is no democratic vacuum in a country where the majority there raises the issue of a vacuum and, indeed, rejects a proposed constitution. In southern Albania, rejection of the constitution was running at over 70 per cent, illustrating that the constitution was not only rejected by the Greek minority -- which is primarily based in the south -- but by almost all the Albanian people in the region. "Greece always supported good relations with Albania," Mr. Kapsis said, adding that from 250,000 Albanian workers in Greece alone, Albania receives exchange amounting to 400 million dollars, half of the country's GDP. Mr. Pavlidis referred to problems faced by the head of the Albanian Orthodox Autocephalous Church Anastasios who is acceptable to all Albanian Orthodox believers, who account for 20 per cent of Albania's population and half of whom are of Greek origin. After the Greek deputies' observations, Mr. Kelchtctmans committed himself to requesting the Venice Committee's opinion and including the Greek deputies' observations in his report. The Venice Committee, sponsored by the Council of Europe and including personalities of international prestige, aims at promoting democracy through the alignment of law with principles and specifications the Council of Europe presents to its members. Agriculture Ministry searches for toxic dumping ground ------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): The Agriculture Ministry is trying to locate the dumping grounds where toxic pesticides withdrawn from circulation were buried over the years 1971-72, during the military dictatorship. Agriculture Minister Giorgos Moraitis said yesterday that pesticides withdrawn in that period were buried according to then-acceptable methods. There are, however, no records of their exact location, he added. There are estimates that about 550 tonnes of pesticides were buried during that period and another 27 were dumped in the sea. Meanwhile, in a letter to the ministers of defence, agriculture, and industry, Environment Minister Costas Laliotis has asked for documented evidence concerning the uncontrolled burying of pesticides and other toxic substances, so that his ministry may study the effects, plan and undertake the necessary action for the cleansing of the contaminated areas. He said that 12 billion drachmas has been earmarked for this purpose, for the 1994-99 period. Hijacker charged with air piracy -------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): A Greek man who hijacked an airliner with 69 passengers on Tuesday because his girlfriend had left him has been charged with air piracy, endangering the safety of passengers and illegal possession of a weapon. The weapon was a penknife, found in the man's luggage. Costas Tsenekides, 24, surrendered to police after forcing the Olympic Airways Boeing 737-400 Dusseldorf-Athens flight to land in Thessaloniki and freeing the passengers and six-member crew of the plane. The hijacker later told police he acted because of a failed love affair and that he was on a "religious mission." Gov't supports Papantoniou on postponement of OTE float -------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 10/11/1994 (ANA): The government said yesterday that there was no question of National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou being asked to resign following his announcement Tuesday that the floating of 25 per cent of Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) shares would be delayed until next year. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said that Mr. Papantoniou "enjoys the complete confidence of the prime minister," adding that the issue of a government reshuffle did not arise. Mr. Papantoniou said yesterday that the government had taken the decision to postpone the partial float of OTE shares because the outlook for a good price on world markets was bleak. He said that the partial float on the Athens and foreign stock exchanges would go ahead in early 1995. Mr. Venizelos said that the government's decision was to implement the bill on OTE's part privatisation, reiterating that the float was postponed because conditions on international money markets were not suitable. The bill authorising the share float was ratified by Parliament on Monday. "Delicate handling is necessary in order to attain the highest possible price," Mr. Venizelos said, adding that like organisations in Denmark and Germany had faced similar problems. The spokesman clarified that the postponement of the OTE float would in no way affect the government's policy of partial privatisation of other public corporations. Meanwhile, Mr. Papantoniou told reporters the OTE bill would be implemented as planned, adding that the decision to postpone the float was in the public interest. "We are not selling out. Other telecommunications organisations and governments, such as the German and Danish, have repeatedly postponed the listing of the shares of corresponding organisations because they did not get the right price. The Greek government is doing exactly the same thing... which is common in international practice," Mr. Papantoniou said. Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert yesterday criticised the government and the National Economy Minister for the delay in OTE's partial float, saying it has affected the country's credibility. Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras yesterday called for the removal of Mr. Papantoniou from the government, describing him "as the responsible minister for incorrect handling" of the OTE's partial float. Mr. Samaras also criticised the government, calling it "dangerously incompetent." Coalition of the Left and Progress leader Nikos Constantopoulos said the OTE case had become "a fiasco" for which "the whole government, not just Mr. Papantoniou, is responsible." Former New Democracy national economy minister Stephanos Manos described as "laughable" Mr. Papantoniou's argument that postponement of the OTE float was due to the bleak outlook of international markets. Mr. Manos said the fact that market pressures had pushed down the value of OTE shares was the result of such factors as the "bad choice of sale procedures, lack of a clear investment plan, lack of an audited balance sheet, unclear pricing policy and the unclear role of unions in the management of OTE." Mr. Manos said that in order to achieve a good price for OTE shares on world markets, the government should deal with such issues as the organisation's management and the factors influencing the price of OTE shares.