Record-time settlement for Black Sea Greeks
NEWS IN DETAIL
Premier calls on EU to pressure Ankara for Cyprus solution
The European Union must exert pressure on Turkey to move towards a solution
of the Cyprus issue, Prime Minister Costas Simitis reiterated yesterday.
"We want the EU to exert pressure on Turkey, so that, at last, it will make
a move regarding the Cyprus problem. There has been no development for the
last 20 years because Turkey does not wish its resolution," he told Italian
television after arriving in Rome to attend sessions of the Socialist
International council, which begin today.
"The EU must try to find a solution, because this is only possible if
Turkey realises that cooperation with the EU presupposes peace and
cooperation in the Mediterranean," he added.
"If Turkey wants cooperation with the EU, if it wants the Association
Agreement to really work, and have friendly relations with the EU members,
then there must be no tension or aggressive policy and actions in the
eastern Mediterranean. And one necessary condition is that UN resolutions
regarding the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the island are respected.
"Cyprus must at last become a state with two communities, and one
government that decides for the whole," Mr. Simitis said.
He noted that progress has been made towards recognition of the borders of
EU member-states as external borders of the 15-member Union.
Seamen's strike again extended for 48 hours
Seamen and dockworkers yesterday decided to extend an eight-day strike for
a further 48 hours, until 6 a.m. Thursday.
The strike was originally scheduled to end early this morning.
Dozens of port police officers have been put on duty in Piraeus to prevent
incidents between the strikers and stranded lorry drivers.
In a related development, an ANA dispatch from Rome reported that some 600
Greek trucks were stranded at Italian ports on the Adriatic, waiting for an
end to the strike so they could reach Greece.
Gov't
"The seamen's labour action has taken on a political dimension, because
certain forces are opposing the government," government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas said in referring to the strike.
Ruling out the possibility of conscripting the striking seamen and
dockworkers, Mr. Reppas nevertheless called on protesters to respect a
decision by a Piraeus court, which on Friday ruled that the extension of
the strike was "illegal and abusive".
"They must consider the responsibilities for the social and political cost
of the strike," Mr. Reppas added.
Dutch EU presidency places Cyprus among priorities
The Dutch European Union presidency has listed the Cyprus issue among its
top priorities and will work in two directions, namely, for a solution to
the Cyprus issue and for preparation of the island republic's accession
nego tiations.
This is the main conclusion drawn from a discussion held on Cyprus at the
Council of Foreign Ministers, the first during the Dutch presidency, which
included the Cyprus issue in its policy statements.
Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou said the discussion was
positive and referred to positions of the Dutch Council President and
Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo, who raised the issue of Cyprus at the
luncheon given for ministers at noon.
Mr. van Mierlo stressed the need for the EU to activate itself for a
solution to the Cyprus issue and for Cypriot accession, adding that the
Dutch presidency will raise the issue of Cyprus at one of the upcoming
Council of Ministers meetings for an exte nsive discussion.
Cavanaugh says idea for overflights moratorium 'still valid'
US State Department official Carey Cavanaugh continues to consider the idea
of a moratorium of military overflights of Cyprus as still valid, despite
its rejection by Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides, after his consultations
in Athens last week.
In his first reaction, Mr. Cavanaugh, who is in Brussels to discuss
coordination of US and EU efforts for a solution of the Cyprus issue, said
yesterday that an agreement on a moratorium would be "a positive alternative
solution to the missile system, which the Cypriot government wants to
install, as its aim is to protect the population from the possibility of an
air attack."
He added that Washington would guarantee implementation of the moratorium,
emphasising that the decision to install the Russian S-300 missiles sets
back its initiative to resolve the problem.
Naval exercises in central Aegean
The Hellenic Navy yesterday began two small-scale military exercises, code-
named Astrapi (Lightning) and Ormi (Impetus), in the Cyclades area of the
central Aegean, with the participation of destroyers, frigates, torpedo
boats and submarines.
The exercises will be completed on Jan. 24.
Stephanopoulos confident of Clinton's commitment to Cyprus
Former US presidential adviser George Stephanopoulos stressed yesterday
that US President Bill Clinton was committed to finding a solution to the
Cyprus problem and would give his full concentration to problems in the
Aegean.
"President Clinton will give the fullest possible attention to the crisis
in the Aegean and the division of Cyprus. We have seen from the developments
in recent years that tension is not about to abate, that we need a good and
just solution and I believe that the president is determined about this,"
Mr. Stephanopoulos said during an event organised in his honour by the
American Greek community.
"I have the feeling that there will be relatively soon a very high-level
initiative, in the course of the second Clinton administration, which will
pressure for a solution. Secretary of State-designate Ms Albright last year
made an important visit to the Aegean and Cyprus," he said.
Athens-Skopje talks postponed
Talks scheduled between Athens and Skopje on the issue of the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's name have been postponed, the office of
the Greek permanent representative at the United Nations announced
yesterday.
Well-informed sources said that the meeting, to have been held under the
auspices of UN mediator Cyrus Vance, may have been postponed because of
President Bill Clinton's inauguration or because it coincided with the
Martin Luther King national holiday in the US.
Anna Karamanou to succeed Kranidiotis at Europarliament
Anna Karamanou, a well-known ruling PASOK party cadre, will succeed PASOK
Eurodeputy Yiannos Kranidiotis, who will be sworn in as foreign undersecretary
at the end of the month. Mr. Kranidiotis replaces Christos Rozakis, who
resigned his post earlier this month.
Symposium to focus on Greek-language education in United States
Archbishop of America Spyridon will inaugurate a symposium concerning the
problems and the future of Greek-language education in the United States,
which is organised by the Federation of Hellenic Associations of New
York.
Issues to be covered will be books used in Greek-American schools, further
training of teachers in Greece, the role of the Greek state and the
Archdiocese in the operation of Greek-language schools, and finally, the
possibility of establishing a Greek-A merican university in the city.
AMUE blames past gov't policies for current economic situation
The Association for European Monetary Union (AMUE) - an independent union
comprising banks, corporations and other EU fora - stated in its latest
memorandum that low rate of growth, increased unemployment and the need to
bring down constantly increasing debt in Greece are the result of past
government policies and do not stem from current government actions setting
the economy in line with the Maastricht Treaty criteria.
Greece is represented in AMUE by Eurobank.
Cyprus Development Bank looks to expand to Crete
A delegation from the Cyprus Development Bank is in Crete this week as part
of efforts to expand activity by the bank.
The delegation has visited the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Hania,
the Development Organisation of Western Crete and the island's Polytechnic.
Members of the delegation said they were trying to bolster competitiveness
and that their visit had left them with the impression that the island had
developed significantly in the fields of technology and research and that
it could support the presence of more banks.
Xenia '97 begins tomorrow
The 28th international tourism exhibition "Xenia '97" gets underway at the
Piraeus Port Authority's (OLP) exhibition centre tomorrow with an address
by Development Minister Vasso Papandreou.
Xenia '97 is sponsored by the development ministry and the Greek Tourist
Organisation (EOT).
It is expected to be attended by 1,300 enterprises in the tourism sector,
and with 229 pavilions.
Record-time settlement for Black Sea Greeks
The four-month period in which the settlement of Black Sea Greeks in the
village of Pagouria in the Rodopi prefecture was completed is considered
record-time.
The project is part of the Programme for the Permanent Housing of the
National Foundation for the Welcoming and Rehabilitation of Returning
Expatriate Greeks (EIYAPOE) and was planned by the Foundation's Technical
Service.
The settlement is composed of 80 homes (60 ground-floor homes and 20 two-
storey homes), whose building was carried out by four companies specialising
in the sector of industrialised building.
The location chosen for the new settlement constitutes the natural
extension of the existing Pagouria community, it is directly served by the
village's community infrastructure (market, school, church, etc) and will
give a boost to the region's diminishing population.
WEATHER
Partly cloudy with sunny spells and local fog in the morning in most parts
of Greece. Athens will be mostly sunny with temperatures between 6-16C.
Thessaloniki will be more cloudy with temperatures between 1-13C.
SPORTS
Olympiakos striker
Olympiakos' Serb striker, Ilia Ivic, will probably miss the rest of the
season after aggravating an old injury in a first division soccer match in
Kavala at the weekend.
The Yugoslav international, formerly with Red Star Belgrade, had been out
of action for 40 days after injuring his knee in a match between his
Piraeus team and arch-rivals Panathinaikos of Athens.
Both teams currently head the first division with the same number of
points.
IAAF delegation
A delegation of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) is
arriving in Athens today to iron out details concerning the programme of
the World Athletics Championship, scheduled to be held here in early
August.
The delegation includes IAAF technical directors Sandro Giovannelli and
Alberto Baronet, and three technical representatives.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
(closing rates - buying) US dlr. 250.212
Pound sterling 416.759 Cyprus pd 517.070
French franc 45.711 Swiss franc 176.913
German mark 154.157 Italian lira (100) 15.932
Yen (100) 212.476 Canadian dlr. 187.309
Australian dlr. 194.968 Irish Punt 407.236
Belgian franc 7.480 Finnish mark 53.062
Dutch guilder 137.238 Danish kr. 40.468
Swedish kr. 35.639 Norwegian kr. 39.424
Austrian sh. 21.903 Spanish peseta 1.850
Portuguese escudo 1.551
(C.E.)
