Quake hits Argolida
NEWS IN DETAIL
Athens yesteday lodged a demarche with the 13 members of the U.N.
Security Council which are diplomatically represented in Athens over the
cold-blooded murder of 58-year-old Greek Cypriot Petros Kakoullis by
Turkish armed forces in the occupied parts of Cyprus on Sunday.
The demarche was lodged with the ambassadors of the 13 Security Council
member-states to Athens.
Head of the Greek-Turkish relations department at the foreign ministry,
Ilias Klis, lodged the demarche to the ambassadors.
Reffering to the conditions surrounding Kakoullis's murder, the demarche
points to a policy of murder and violence by the Turkish occupation forces
which aims at showing that the two communities cannot live together and
eliminate hope for a just and via ble solution to the problem.
In the demarche Athens is calling on all Security Council member-states to
condemn this latest killing.
Murdered Greek Cypriot laid to rest
Cypriot and Greek government officials, party leaders and representatives,
as well as hundreds of people, attended the funeral of 58-year-old Greek
Cypriot refugee Petros Kakoullis, murdered in cold blood by Turkish
occupation forces last Sunday.
In an obituary at the funeral, Finance Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou
said "the message Ankara and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash wish to
send the world, by brutally murdering Kakoullis and Tassos Isaac and
Solomos Solomou last August, is that there is tension in Cyprus and that
Greek and Turkish Cypriots cannot live together."
Regret over the murder was also expressed in a message sent by the mayor of
the Polish town of Auschwitz, who, noting the recent signing of the
Acropolis Charter in the hope of peace, democracy and freedom for all
peoples, expressed the hope its provisi ons will be respected.
Greek Minister to the Aegean Elizabeth Papazoi said that Greece and Cyprus
should react together with the international community in handling the
situation prevailing on the island.
Ms. Papazoi arrived in Cyprus yesterday to attend the funeral of Petros
Kakoullis, who was brutally murdered by Turkish occupation forces on Sunday
morning.
She said that with fascist groups organised by the occupation regime, as
well as with armed settlers, the Turkish side is trying to prove that there
is no future for unified Cyprus.
President of the Social Democratic Movement (DHKKI),Dimitris Tsovolas, who
arrived in Cyprus yesterday to attend the funeral of Petros Kakoullis, told
reporters that the situation in Cyprus constituted an offence to the
international legal order and the human rights of the Greek citizens on the
island.
The UN Security Council convened in camera last night following a
proposal by the UN Secretary-General's senior adviser for political affairs
Sinmagia Carecan and in the light of the latest cold-blooded murder of an
unarmed Greek Cypriot by Turkish occupation forces in Cyprus.
Before receiving a letter of protest from Cyprus' representative Nicos
Agathocleous, the Council's presiding official made the following
statement:
The Security Council expresses its profound sorrow over the serious
incident in Cyprus, which resulted in the death of an unarmed Cypriot
citizen. The Council denounces this unwarranted act in the strongest way,
which only contributes to an increase in tension on the island.
US urges 'all the sides in Cyprus' to avoid force
The US yesterday condemned the murder of unarmed Greek Cypriot Petros
Kakoullis by Turkish Cypriot forces.
State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns termed the murder "unjustified
and unnecessary use of deadly force" and expressed the sorrow of the US
over the incident.
"A Greek Cypriot was killed by Turkish Cypriot soldiers in the region
controlled by the Turkish Cypriots when he passed the 1974 ceasefire line.
The US expresses its profound sorrow and condemns the use of deadly force
in this incident," Mr. Burns said.
Mr. Burns reiterated the US position over the need for a peaceful solution
to differences, saying that "the US urges all the sides in Cyprus to avoid
force and work closely with the UN forces on the island to create
mechanisms for a peaceful handling of events along the buffer zone."
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos is starting a tour of capitals in the
former Yugoslavia today. He is due in Sarajevo today, Belgrade on Thursday,
and Zagreb on Friday.
Turkish Ambassador to Athens Umit Pamir held talks with the two Moslem
deputies Galip Galip and Akifoglou Birol, and representatives of the
minority in Thrace, at the Komotini consulate yesterday.
Emerging from the consulate, the two Moslem deputies were called on to
comment on Mr. Pamir's statement on Monday about the presence of "Turks" in
Thrace.
Mr. Galip said "we are Greek citizens, we have Greek nationality and we
live in Greece." Mr. Birol said "whatever problems exist should be resolved
in the Greek Parliament."
Rodopi Prefect Stergios Stavropoulos, who met Mr. Pamir on Monday, said
"the conclusion from the meeting with the Turkish ambassador is that the
minority in Thrace can become a bridge of friendship between Greece and
Turkey and not the bone of contention between the two countries."
The Union of Lesbos Municipalities and Communities has called on
corresponding local government unions in the northern Aegean for joint
action against the operation of a petrochemical factory by the Retkin
company on the coast of Asia Minor, opposite Mytilene.
The Local Union of Municipalities and Communities of Lesbos said in an
announcement "given that environmental problems know no boundaries and
expressing our strong concern through local government, as well as that of
the entire po pulation of our islands, we hope for the timely taking of
measures to restrict pollution or the relocation, in the best of cases, of
such pollutant activities." In parallel, it requests the intervention of
the government and calls on it to denounce Turkey at international
organisations.
The ecological organisation Greenpeace had recently denounced the operation
of the petrochemical factory, located in the Ali Aga region, after an
analysis was made of the unit's sewage and made ominous predictions over
the future of the wider sea environment in the Aegean.
The European Union`s environment ministers` council yesterday held a
general orientation discussion on the Commission proposals for cleaner
fuels and a new generation of cars with catalytic converters.
Environment Undersecretary Theodoros Koliopanos, who represented Greece,
stressed the application of strict standards for the control of vehicle
exhaust emmissions, but expressed reservations regarding the fast change of
quality standards for fuels, str essing the need to give refineries the
possibility of turning to the production of better fuels with more
realistic time-schedules and stable investment conditions.
He provided a reminder that Greece has already planned a $100 million
investment for the reduction of sulphur in diesel fuel, and that any
proposals for further reductions must be documented and based on a balanced
relation between cost and effectivenes s.
Finally, he asked for an extention of the proposed exemption from the use
of lead-free petrol, for the application of a realistic timetable for the
withdrawal of cars, 65 per cent of which today are still based on
conventional technology.
Greece-Schengen Agreement
Greek Foreign Ministry European Affairs Secretary General Stelios Perrakis,
who left today for Luxembourg in order to take part in the meeting of the
Schengen Agreement Executive Committee, said that Greece will "open its
borders to Europe as of 1 January 1997."
Perrakis said the Greek Parliament is expected to ratify, by the end of the
year, a law on protecting private life and individual liberties before
endorsing the Schengen Agreement.
Greece is one of the very few members of the European Union who has yet to
ratify the agreement, despite stated political will for participation.
In the event that the relevant law is not ratified in Parliament by the end
of December, Greece runs the risk of being deprived the right to membership.
In this case, Greece will be granted the status of observer.
The National Bank's interest rate for overdue debts will result from the
anticipated conventional interest rate, increased by two and a half
percentage points, plus possible special contributions for third parties,
according to an announcement issued by the bank yesterday.
The National Bank decided that the interest rate for overdue debts applied
by banks for amounts due for loans in drachmas or exchange to be concluded
or renewed as of August 1, 1996, onwards will not exceed the interest rate
anticipated by the relevant contract by more than two and a half percentage
points.
This decision will also apply to overdue debts concerning loan contracts or
credits.
An international conference entitled "Greek-Romanian economic relations,"
is due to take place in Athens on January 20-22.
The conference, organised by the International Economic Relations Institute
and the Greek-Romanian Business Association, aims at attracting more
investment activity to Romania.
The conference will take place with the participation of Romanian
government officials, scientists and businessmen.
The commercial section of the US Embassy in Athens has invited Greek
businessmen and organisations from the private and public sector to take
part in a series of trade missions to major trade expositions in the United
States over the next two months designed to help boost commercial relations
between the two countries.
According to Patrick Santillo, commercial counsellor at the embassy, US
exports to Greece, including defence sales, were approximately $1.5 billion
in 1995, while Greek exports to the US were about $400 million.
"The commercial section sees its primary role as assisting in increase the
trade volume on both sides. It is devoted to the active promotion of US
companies wishing to expand their activities abroad, and also to support
Greek companies by providing information to enable them come into direct
contact with US suppliers," Mr. Santillo said Tuesday at a presentation of
the programme of group visits.
By inviting Greek companies to international trade fairs in the US in group
visits set up by the commercial section, the specialists accompanying them
will be instrumental in bringing them in touch with US companies interested
in exporting to Europe an d to Greece in particular.
Under the International Buyers Programme (IBP) the commercial section is
organising five group visits to six major trade expositions in the US in
November and December.
The first such group visit is November 4-11 to the Automotive Aftermarket
Industry Week-96 (AAIW) to be held November 5-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada and
the International Autobody Congress and exposition (NACE) running November
7-10 in Orlando, Florida.
These two major international exhibitions on the automobile sector cover
the latest achievements in American and world technology (AAIW) and the
newest in car parts and accessories as well as car repair materials
(NACE).
The second group visit is from November 12-19 to Medtrade 1996, to be held
November 13-16 in Atlanta, Georgia. Considered the biggest exhibition in
medical products in the world, Medtrade will have more than 1,200
exhibitors from all over the world representing 2,500 manufacturers and
exhibiting 250,000 products. It also includes 300 seminars covering a wide
variety of branch issues.
A group visit will take place November 16-23 to Pack Expo 96 in Chicago,
Illinois, which will take place November 17-21. Pack Expo is the largest
international trade exhibition in the packaging sector, and will have 1,500
exhibitors from all over the wo rld presenting the latest developments in
all areas of industrial packaging, as well as related international
seminars.
The next scheduled group visit will be to Comdex '96 to be held in Las
Vegas, Nevada November 18-22, which will have 3,000 exhibitors covering
computer hardware and peripherals, software, multimedia and CAD CAM
products, and the Internet. Considered the world's premiere information
technology marketplace for resellers and corporate decision makers, COMDEX
presents the most modern solutions to imformatics problems, with special
emphasis on communications, multimedia, on-line services, OEM sources, and
inf ormation highways (Internet), with more than 500 exhibitors in the
information highways field alone.
Finally, a group visit will take place December 3-8 to Power Gen. 96 in
Orlando Florida from November 4-6. The largest international exhibition and
conference on electricity production, Power Gen. will have 937 exhibitors
from all over the world present ing their achievements and the most modern
solutions that have been successfully applied in the field of electricity
generation from all sources of energy, machinery, equipment, material and
new technology systems, as well as products and services geared to
environmental protection. In addition, 350 seminars will cover a wide range
of related themes.
A sector specialist from the commercial section will accompany each group
visit to help facilitate visitor contact with the organisers and exhibitors.
Earthquake
An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale shook earlier today the
prefecture of Argolida but police reported no casualties or damages.
The epicentre of the quake was located near the city of Nafplion.
WEATHER
Fair and sunny weather in most parts of the country with temperatures
ranging in Athens from 16-23C and in Thessaloniki from 13-21C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE (Buying)
U.S. dlr 237.812 Can. dlr.175.782, Australian dlr. 188.133, Pound sterling
374.432, Irish punt 382.218, Cyprus pd 510.880, French franc 45.882, Swiss
franc 189.522 Belgian franc 7.538, German mark 155.332 Finnish mark 52.044,
Dutch guilder 138.483 Danish Kr. 40.515, Swedish Kr. 36.039, Norwegian Kr.
36.561, Austrian Sh. 22.075, Italian lira (100) 15.622 Yen (100) 212.794
Spanish Peseta 1.847, Portuguese Escudo 1.536.
(M.P.)
