Albanian prisoners escape
NEWS IN DETAIL
EU meeting to discuss situation in Albania to be held in Athens
Foreign Undersecretary Yannos Kranidiotis commenting today on the crisis in
Albania, advised Albania's ethnic Greeks to keep calm, noting that there
had not been any attacks on Albania's Greeks, nor had there been any
increased movement towards the Greek border.
Speaking at a press conference on the Albanian crisis this morning,
Kranidiotis said the Greek government was in contact with the Albanian
government and other political groups. With regard to an invitation
extended some time ago to President Sali Berisha to visit Greece in May or
June this year, the Undersecretary said the visit would depend on
developments in the neighbouring country.
He said Greek police officers had mounted guard on the Greek Consulate in
Gjirokaster following the withdrawal of the Albanian guard, while a
demarche had been lodged by the Greek Embassy in Tirana. The consulate was
open for business as usual.
Kranidiotis also said the European Union had accepted Greece's proposal for
an ad hoc meeting of the committee on the Balkans in order to discuss the
crisis and propose measures to defuse the tension. Within the next few days
there is to be an emergency meeting of the EU's political committee to
discuss the situation, he said, adding that Greece had also proposed a
special report be compiled by the Ambassadors of the EU's 15 member states
as a basis for a political summit in Brussels.
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas later confirmed that Gjirokaster's
Greek consulate was being guarded by Greek police and echoed Kranidiotis'
statements that Greece wanted a meeting of the EU's political committee in
order to offer financial and humanitarian aid to Albania.
Meanwhile, he announced that the Albanian crisis would be on the agenda at
a meeting of Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence tomorrow at
noon, to be chaired by Prime Minister Costas Simitis.
Greece to promote action plan for Albania
Greece yesterday put in motion a proposal to convene a meeting of the
foreign ministers of southeastern Europe aimed at adopting an action plan
for Albania, according to a statement by Alternate Foreign Minister George
Papandreou today.
A proposal by Greece to the European Union's General Affairs Council last
week for a meeting in Athens of the foreign ministers of the EU, the US,
the Balkan nations and Russia had been received with some reservations,
noted the Minister.
"However, I believe that now, following developments in Albania, they will
review their position," he said.
Papandreou added that Greece and Italy had requested that the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) provide a loan for Albania and Bulgaria. However, the
approval of that loan required certain procedures on Albania's part.
The Minister said that no extra precautions would be taken at Greece's
borders, since those already being taken were considered sufficient to
contain illegal immigration.
Simitis says Greece's territory not negotiable
Prime Minister Costas Simitis today called on Ankara to respect international
law and treaties, saying Greece was not prepared to negotiate away "even an
inch" of its territory.
Speaking in Trikala, on the last day of a tour of the Thessaly region, the
prime minister reiterated that Greece "does not claim anything and does not
intend to give away even an inch of land, air or sea".
Greece needs, he added, a strong deterrent force which will, unfortunately,
be costly.
"We are the only country in the European Union which has need of arms," he
said, adding that Greece did not desire weapons but is forced to by
circumstances.
Over the weekend, Simitis warned Ankara to abandon visions of "a revival of
the Ottoman empire", saying the cost of any aggressive action against
Greece would be severe.
Turkey, he said, has turned into the "the greatest destabilising factor in
the Aegean, the Balkans, the eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus and the
Middle East".
Greece and Turkey came close to the brink of war a year ago over the
deserted islet of Imia. Athens has frequently complained about repeated
violations and infringements of Greek air space by Turkish warplanes.
Albanian students suspend hunger strike in view of fresh chaos in the country
Protesting students at Gjirokaster University decided early this morning to
break a hunger strike, due to the crisis situation in the country,
according to a report from the ANA's correspondent in the southern Albanian
town.
Public buildings as well as shops owned by ethnic Greeks were damaged last
night during widespread rioting. Despite the Albanian Parliament's
announcement of a state of emergency, no police or military forces have yet
arrived in Gjirokaster. There are widespread fears of attacks by gangs of
masked robbers on villages with mainly ethnic Greek populations.
A students' committee announcement said that under such circumstances, the
hunger strike served no purpose.
Romeos: situation on Greek-Albanian border 'normal'
Public Order Minister George Romeos yesterday commented on the situation
along the Greek-Albanian border, saying that "until this moment there are
no tensions."
He made the comments at the Alexandroupolis airport, where he landed to
begin a tour of the Evros prefecture.
"We have taken additional measures since yesterday (Saturday)Ibut we
haven't seen, so far, a heavier than usual wave of illegal immigrants," he
said, when asked a question concerning the situation at the border.
ND ends pre-congress conference
Main opposition New Democracy party organising committee president George
Rallis wrapped up ND's two-day pre-congress conference in Thessaloniki
yesterday, expressing satisfaction and optimism over the outcome of the
party's three-day congress, due to take place on March 21-23.
Mr. Rallis said proposals by speakers on the programme and the party's
charter will be gathered and discussed on the second day of the conference.
The conference was addressed by many party cadres and by the four
candidates for the party's top leadership: incumbent president Miltiades
Evert, Costas Karamanlis, George Souflias and Vyron Polydoras.
Vessel runs aground in island off Evia
A dry bulk carrier ran aground in the shallows of the Passadasi island off
Evia early this morning.
The "Ayios Minas" was headed to the northern Aegean island of Icaria when
it ran aground.
None of the seven crew were hurt in the accident and the Ayios Minas's
captain said there had been no pollution or fuel leak from the grounded
vessel.
The Halkida Coastguard has launched an inquiry into the circumstances of
the incident.
Share prices take severe plunge at Athens Bourse
Today has been a "Black Monday" for the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), as
share prices took their biggest dive ever in the ASE's history.
The general price index fell 7.45%, closing at 1,206.54 points, with
turnover totalling just 16.7 billion drachams.
ASE sources attribute the drop, which they say was exaggerated, to
statements by the president of the capital market commission last Wednesday,
which they say had a negative effect on the mood of the market.
During a three-day boom early last week, the general index broke the 1,400
mark barrier and recorded record turnover of over 40 billion drachmas
before the dive on Thursday.
Greek humanitarian aid to Bulgaria
A joint programme by government and local government bodies to send
humanitarian aid to Bulgaria was announced at a joint press conference
today by Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou, Athens Mayor
Dimitris Avramopoulos and Prefectural Union (ENAE) President Evangelos
Kouloumbis.
Papandreou said that 1700 tonnes of grain had already been sent, while more
aid was expected to be sent from 30 Greek municipalities to sister cities
in the neighbouring country. Avramopoulos announced a campaign to brief the
Greek public on the programme which he said was aimed at sending a message
of "social solidarity" with neighbouring states.
Kouloumbis explained that the plan would be coordinated in each prefecture
and the aid collected by each municipality. Food aid would be subject to
quality control and then sent by train to Bulgaria.
Albanian prisoners escape
A group of eight or nine foreign prisoners, mainly Albanians, awaiting
deportation escaped from Patras security police headquarters early this
morning, by removing a safety screen from a rear window of their cell.
Meanwhile, two Romanians escaped early this morning from a prison in Hania,
on the island of Crete. Ursates Costel and Conturas Corce, both 25, escaped
by cutting the bars on their windows and climbing down a wall. The two had
been serving time for convictions of theft and robbery respectively.
WEATHER
Fair weather with local cloudiness is forecast for most parts of Greece
with few local showers and snowfall in the mountainous regions. Strong
northerly to gale force winds in the Cretan sea the Dodecanese islands and
the northern Aegean Sea, expected to subside in the afternoon. Athens will
be mostly sunny with some local clouds and temperatures between 7-14C.
Mostly fine weather also in Thesaloniki with temperatures between 0-
13C.
SPORTS
Results of Greek first division soccer matches Olympiakos - Athinaikos 4-0
Panathinaikos - Aris 1-0 Apollon - AEK 1-2 OFI - Kastoria 1-0 PAOK -
Panahaiki 2-0 Veria - Edessa 0-0 Heraklis - Kavala 2-3 Kalamata - Xanthi
2-2 Pyrgos - Ionikos match today.
Standings: Olympiakos 55 points Panathinaikos 51 AEK 49 OFI 43 Kavala 40
PAOK 38 Pyrgos 34 Veria 33 Panahaiki 29
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Friday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 263.376
Pound sterling 428.802 Cyprus pd 519.213
French franc 46.142 Swiss franc 178.262
German mark 155.585 Italian lira (100) 15.624
Yen (100) 218.597 Canadian dlr. 192.329
Australian dlr. 204.154 Irish Punt 416.045
Belgian franc 7.545 Finnish mark 52.314
Dutch guilder 138.429 Danish kr. 40.823
Swedish kr. 35.103 Norwegian kr. 39.025
Austrian sch. 22.107 Spanish peseta 1.845
Portuguese escudo 1.550
(M.S.)
