Electronics transactions system for bourse approved
NEWS IN DETAIL
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos yesterday categorically ruled out the
possibility of Greece accepting to enter into a dialogue with Turkey on
issues pertaining to the Aegean together with the Cyprus problem as a
"package".
Mr. Pangalos said Athens also ruled out any simultaneous recourse to the
International Court of Justice at the Hague over the issue of the Imia
islets and the Aegean continental shelf.
Greece and Turkey came to the brink of war in late January after Ankara
openly disputed Greek sovereignty of the uninhabited Aegean islets of
Imia.
Mr. Pangalos was speaking at a press conference exclusively on the issue of
Greek-Turkish relations, in order, as he put it, "to clear up any confusion
about Greece's foreign policy".
The Greek government, he said, remains unswerving in its position that it
is not possible to discuss the Cyprus problem and the issues pertaining to
the Aegean simultaneously and together "as a single set of negotiations".
Greece expected to veto EU-Turkey Association Council
Mr. Pangalos, who later hosted a working lunch for the ambassadors of the
European Union member-states in Athens, also spoke about EU-Turkish
relations, in effect announcing a Greek veto at the next General Affairs
Council on Nov. 25. Greece, he said, had already made numerous concessions
and gestures of good will towards Turkey but was not willing to consent to
the convening of the EU-Turkey Association Council, which has been
persistently requested by many EU member-states, nor to a lunch invitation
to the Turkish premier from Irish premier John Bruton on the sidelines of
the forthcoming EU summit meeting in Dublin.
Opposition
Main opposition party New Democracy spokesman Prokopis Pavlopoulos said he
believes Greece's foreign policy is plagued by "confusion and uncoordination,
" in comments concerning Mr. Pangalos' press conference
The ND spokesman described the government as being dangerous for the
country, and called on Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Mr. Pangalos to
clarify what the national foreign policy is, particularly regarding Greek-
Turkish relations. "They must realise that there will be no more withdrawals
and backing down in our national issues," he said.
On its part, the Political Spring party issued an announcement saying that
Mr. Pangalos' statements, with which he condemned the idea of "package
discussions" with Turkey on the Aegean and Cyprus "are moving in the right
direction."
Prime Minister Costas Simitis and leader of the Italian Party of the
Democratic Left, Massimo d'Alema, yesterday discussed ways of increasing
cooperation and initiatives on the part of European socialist parties to
face social problems and challenges in Europe.
"At the beginning of my discussion with comrade d'Alema, I said I sensed
that European countries are all in a 'bus' heading in a direction which is
not clear, and is driven in a way that has not been agreed upon by those
participating...
"European socialist parties should undertake initiatives so that it becomes
most clear that we are heading in a direction of fighting umemployment, of
social justice and other arrengements which will make Europe more endeared
and acceptable to European peoples...,Mr. Simitis said.
The two men also discussed a wide array of other issues, particularly
concerning the European Union.
"We also referred to the issue of the European Union`s external policy, the
need for the EU to have its own views and play a role, that European
unification, which we consider necessary, implies as a condition the
gradual delineation of a European iden tity through a joint handling of
external policy problems...
On his part, Mr. d'Alema said the two countries "are committed at a
government level to seek ways of approaching the targets of fiscal and
economic rationalisation set by the Treaty of Maastricht."
"This target of European convergence, which we see as a necessary prospect,
must, in my opinion, be accompanied by a turning of European policy in the
direction of balancing employment between the geographically stronger and
weaker countries, of social rights, harmonising tax policies and recreating
a popular consensus," he added.
The leader of the largest party in the Italian government coalition then
expressed his full support for Greece's stand that differences with Turkey
in the Aegean must be settled on the basis of international law and
treaties.
"I expressed our understanding and solidarity with the need for a stronger
European ommitment, so that we may arrive at a peaceful settlement of
tensions in the Aegean...
"And most certainly, the Greek stand calling for settlement of these
problems in the light of international law and not through unilateral
initiatives and unjustifiable tensions is correct," he said.
Nine Turkish F-16 and F-4 "Phantom" jetfighter formations yesterday
violated air traffic regulations in the Athens Flight Information Region
(FIR) on 12 occasions and Greek national airspace 19 times in the central
Aegean.
In all cases, the Turkish fighters were intercepted by Hellenic Air Force
planes and escorted out of Greek national airspace, sources said.
Amnesty International's report revealing the existence of the systematic
torture of children in Turkey provokes feeling of outrage, acting
government spokesman Nikos Athanassakis said.
"Turkey's problems with human rights are well-known and are one of the
problems in its relations with the international community," Mr. Athanassakis
said.
Amnesty's report said children as young as 12 had been "subjected to
appalling cruelty in police custody", including beatings and electric
shock.
Orthodox Archbishop of America Spyridon yesterday stressed the need for
unity among all Greeks for the effective handling of all national problems,
following a meeting with Macedonia-Thrace Minister Philippos Petsalnikos,
who arrived in New York from Canada on Wednesday.
Regarding national issues, the Archbishop stressed that "all round efforts
were being made for their promotion," adding that "in the United States,
there is a need for coordinating efforts and systematic cultivation of the
campaign in favour of these issues among the representatives of the
American government".
Replying to questions, Spyridon said there was no need for concern, while
regarding the course of the dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM) he said the result would be proportionate to the
preparatory work done.
He said that in his personal opinion the ground for contacts of the Greek-
American community with the White House should be cultivated even more, and
that there had already been contacts by the Archdiocese with representatives
of the Clinton administration.
The Archbishop expressed satisfaction over his meeting with Mr. Petsalnikos,
during which, as he said, they discussed issues concerning the Greek-
American community, particularly that of the Greek language and education
in US.
Mr. Petsalnikos invited the Archbishop to Thessaloniki on the occasion of
an exhibition of the holy relics from Mount Athos within the framework of
events for the city's assumption of the title of Cultural Capital of Europe
1997.
Gov't opts for installation of electronic security systems in nation's prisons
Electronic security systems are expected to be installed throughout the
country's prisons, at an estimated cost of 1.5 billion drachmas.
The justice ministry has announced an international tender for the project.
Roughly 30 companies submitted proposals following an "interest invitation"
by the ministry.
The prisons are to be equipped with magnetic gates and portable metal
detectors, as well as devices for detecting drugs.
Closed-circuit television will be installed in all common-use areas in the
prisons, with the ability for footage to be viewed in the justice
ministry.
Wireless and cabled communication systems for the staff will also be
installed, as will electronic perimeters, with radars on the external wall
which will activate alarms in case of an escape attempt.
Venizelos meets with Mexican foreign undersecretary
Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos met yesterday with Mexico's Foreign
Undersecretary Javier Trevino.
The two discussed issues of bilateral cooperation, the organisation of
cultural events in Greece and Mexico, renewal of an educational agreement
between the two countries due to be signed in Athens in June 1997 as well
as Mexico's cooperation with the European Union.
No question of decriminalising hashish, Yiannopoulos says
Justice Minister Evangelos Yiannopoulos told Parliament yesterday that he
was opposed to the decriminalisation of drug use, saying he had no
intention of putting hashish on sale in kiosks and in schools.
Speaking during discussion of a question tabled by Coalition of the Left
and Progress deputy Maria Damanaki, Mr. Yiannopoulos said "we cannot be
lenient towards the scourge of narcotics".
Ms Damanaki said that decriminalisation would help combat the spread of
narcotics, to which Mr. Yiannopoulos replied that the measures to be taken
by the government will be harsher for dealers and not for users. "Newspaper
reports to the contrary are the result of vile distortion by certain
journalists," Mr. Yiannopoulos added.
The minister said special correctional institutions would be set up for
drug users in order to segregate them from imprisoned dealers.
A tender would soon be announced for the creation of the first such
institution, he added.
"Disagreements have been overcome...and we are proceeding to implementation
of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project," said Nikolai Grigorov,
Bulgaria's deputy minister for regional development and public works.
The Bulgarian official made the statements yesterday during the sidelines
of a Greek-Bulgarian meeting in Komotini.
He added that experts from Greece, Bulgaria and Russia would meet again
before the end of the year in order to discuss details of the final plans.
In addition, he said the Sofia government will soon present proposals for
establishment of a joint venture company to undertake the project.
Princess Marina Memorial Fund donation to the Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas Gallery Library
The Anglo-Hellenic League has donated a collection of books to the library
which has been set up by the Benaki Museum to commemorate renowned Greek
painter Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas.
The presentation was made by British Ambassador in Athens Sir Michael
Llewellyn Smith on Thursday.
The collection, which contains books on the painters Turner, Picasso and
Cezanne, were purchased from a fund set up in 1970 to commemorate the life
of Princess Marina, who was for 25 years the President and Chief Patron of
the League until her death in 1968.
Princess Marina was a lover of the arts and a constant friend of Greece.
The Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas Gallery library comprises some 7,000
volumes. Most of these books were in the considerable collection formed by
the painter himself, who died in 1994, and they form the backbone of what
is becoming a Fine Arts Library seco nd to none in Greece.
The Athens Stock Exchange's (ASE) board of governors yesterday approved
the purchase of a two-billion drachma integrated electronic transactions
system.
The board also approved a contract with a consortium of three auditing
firms, Ernst & Young, Delloitte & Touche, and Peat Marwick Kyriakou, which
have undertaken the task of auditing all stock brokerage firms that are
members of ASE.
Additionally, it assigned Ernst & Young with the task of recommending
specific improvements in the supervisory control of ASE transactions.
WEATHER
Sunny to partly cloudy with moderate northern winds in most parts of the
country. Temperatures will range from 14-19C in Athens and from 11-16C in
Thessaloniki.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE (Buying)
U.S. dlr 234.568 Can. dlr.175.326, Australian dlr. 190.196 Pound sterling
394.955, Irish punt 395.907, Cyprus pd 514.669, French franc 46.261, Swiss
franc 185.479 Belgian franc 7.596, German mark 156.562 Finnish mark 51.911,
Dutch guilder 139.550 Danish Kr. 40.755, Swedish Kr. 35.518, Norwegian Kr.
37.111, Austrian Sh. 22.250, Italian lira (100) 15.678 Yen (100) 210.145
Spanish Peseta 1.865, Portuguese Escudo 1.550.
(C.E.)
