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Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-10-16

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr>

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 16/10/1997 (ANA)


MAIN HEADLINES

  • Turkish planes buzz defence minister's plane again
  • Greece to brief US, EU on Turkish violations - FM
  • Peace prizewinners urge reconciliation
  • PM, FM call for more cooperation in SE Europe
  • SE European Parliaments wind up summit
  • New report out on Greek tax system
  • Weather
  • Foreign Exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Turkish planes buzz defence minister's plane again

Two Turkish F-16 fighter planes again buzzed a military C-130 bringing National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos back to Greece today from Cyprus, defence ministry sources said.

Greek F-16s accompanying Tsohatzopoulos' military transport plane, which was headed for Souda airbase on Crete, immediately intercepted the Turkish fighters, which approached the C-130 at a distance of one mile, the sources said.

They said two other Turkish F-16s infringed the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) this morning and were also intercepted by Greek jetfighters.

Turkish jetfighters had on October 13 buzzed the C-130 taking Tsohatzopoulos to Cyprus to observe the final phase of the Cypriot national guard's "Nikiforos" exercise in which Greek units were also taking part.

Tsohatzopoulos himself had shrugged off the October 13 incident, saying: "It appears that the Turkish pilots need training. We have no objection to training them."

Arriving in Souda, Tsohatzopoulos condemned Turkey as "an international troublemaker which uses Cold War methods".

He called on Ankara to wake up to the fact that such methods were not compatible with its efforts to come closer to Europe.

In addition to the first pair of Turkish aircraft which approached the plane carrying Tsohatzopoulos, which were immediately intercepted by the Greek fighters escorting the C-130, another pair of Turkish F-16 jets infringed the Athens FIR.

This second pair was also intercepted by Greek aircraft flying in the greater region.

Asked to comment on statements yesterday by Turkey's military chief, General Ismail Hakki Karadayi, Tsohatzopoulos said they confirmed that the neighbouring country faced no threat from Greece or Cyprus.

Karadayi said Ankara's numerical military superiority made the result of any conflict with Greece a foregone conclusion.

Tsohatzopoulos added that in the case of Greece and Turkey, history had shown how numerical superiority had been confronted.

Greece to brief US, EU on Turkish violations - FM

Asked to comment on the harassment by Turkish warplanes of the aircraft carrying Tsohatzopoulos for the second time, Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said that the second incident occurred "for reasons which we can trace".

"Quantity creates quality," he added ironically.

Pangalos reiterated that Greece would brief the ambassadors of the European Union and the United States in Athens concerning the recent increase in the number of violations of Greece airspace and infringements of the Athens FIR by Turkish warplanes.

"We have long since diagnosed the problem. It is a problem which Turkey has with the civilised world, which cannot continue for much longer without consequences," Pangalos said.

Replying to other questions, Pangalos said discussion at the Balkan Summit on Crete would focus on the economic situation in the Balkan countries, their infrastructure and the development of good neighbourly relations.

Concerning the forthcoming Simitis-Yilmaz meeting on Crete, Pangalos said the Greek premier would meet with his Turkish counterpart just as he would be doing with the other Balkan leaders.

"Keep cool, guys" he told the reporters present.

Peace prizewinners urge reconciliation

Meanwhile, distinguished personalities from Greece who have received special "Ipekci" awards have sent a letter to the prime ministers of Greece and Turkey, Costas Simitis and Mesut Yilmaz, in view of their meeting in Crete in early November on the sidelines of the Balkan summit.

The bi-annual Ipekci Awards, alternately hosted in Athens and Istanbul, were established following a Greek initiative in February 1979, shortly after the assassination of Abdi Ipekci, an editor who worked for the Turkish daily "Milliyet".

The awards are given to Greeks and Turks in recognition of efforts to promote Greek-Turkish friendship and co-operation.

In the letter, the award recipients express their concern over the exacerbation of the climate of Greek-Turkish relations and urge the two premiers to "revitalise, with a sincere approach, the agreement of principles signed in Madrid" and to restore conditions which will allow progress in relations between the two states and peoples.

The nine signatories stress that they have for many years supported Turkey's European course and efforts to join the European Union, noting that this course is now favoured by the biggest political parties in Greece.

PM, FM call for more cooperation in SE Europe

Prime Minister Costas Simitis today called for long-term efforts on the part of the European Union and the U.S. for confrontation of the problems faced by the countries of southeastern Europe, and also avoidance of a return to the past antagonism among states.

Addressing the final session of a two-day meeting of parliament presidents from the countries of southeastern Europe hosted in Athens at Greek initiative, Simitis also praised the role national parliaments could play in promoting cooperation and cementing peace through dialogue among them and in their contacts with the European Parliament.

He said the challenges faced by the countries of SE Europe in the new era were globalisation of the economy and the political system, the "transitionality" in the region and in world developments, with the lack of certainty over the proposed policies, and the prospect of destabilisation of the situation.

In that framework, Simitis said, constant seeking with respect to the role of the state, the economy and institutions, education, developmental and social policy were necessary because "stagnation means defeat, and we cannot return to the past".

Regarding the "fragility" of the balances in the region, he stressed the role of international organisations and treaties, which "must be an inalienable component in solving differences".

Simitis said the decisions taken in the framework of the EU and NATO, with the countries of the region desiring membership in them, and linking the Europe of the "centre" with that of the "periphery", which was being effected through road, communications and other networks in addition to the political corridors, were the two parametres that completed the picture.

"We must take decisions and initiatives in accordance with the principles of international law. This is why Greece takes initiatives that promote cooperation," Simitis said, citing interbalkan summit and ministerial meetings convened in Greece, and the economic and technological assistance it provides to neighbouring countries which is "removed from the old perception" of satellite countries.

Simitis stressed the need for the EU to forge a commong political confrontation of the problems faced by the European countries of the former east bloc with long-term goals. Naturally, he added, "the U.S. also has a responsibility for the development of those states, since its oil interests in the region have decisive gravity".

The Premier underscored the importance of the Parliaments of the region in "escaping from the past" and in promoting and consolidating democracy in the countries of SE Europe, considering a necessity dialogue in the framework of the parliaments for the forging of new policies, contacts among them, and the expansion of their relations with the Europarliament in order to make clear Europe's responsibility for its region.

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, addressing the same meeting, said Balkan cooperation was a new "institution" that would be ratified at next month's Balkan summit on Crete.

Pangalos said that even during the Cold War period, "enlightened leaders introduced in the Balkans tendencies of self-rule and discovery of a course of cooperaton, which in turn contributed to the disintegration of the blocs".

Today, he said, the peoples had unprecedented prospects for cooperation, and it would be a shame if those prospects were not taken advantage of.

"The new reality will survive, because the overwhelming majority of our peoples want peace and progress. Any leader who does not keep this in mind will be harshly punished by the popular verdict," Pangalos warned.

Referring to upcoming Balkan summit, pangalos spoke of the "Spirit of Crete" which was formulating a new regime of discussion "on all those things that unite us, and not those that divide us".

"This message will be taken into consideration by all the business and political circles in Europe and will comprise the best possible advertisement for our region," Pangalos said.

SE European Parliaments wind up summit

The two-day meeting decided to set up a "Parliamentary Advisory Assembly". According to the final resolution, the presidents of parliament will at their next meeting decide on the conditions and framework for setting up the assembly and assign the realisation of the plan to a working group.

During the meeting, the participants adopted almost in their entirety the proposals submitted by Greece's House Speaker, Apostolos Kaklamanis, concerning the principles, philosophy and practice of inter-parliamentary dialogue.

As a result, among the conclusions of the meeting are that respect for democratic freedoms and individual and human rights, as well as the intensification of the process of democratisation in the countries of southeastern Europe, are considered to be prerequisites for the consolidation of peace and stability in the region.

Particular importance was also attached to "internationally accepted principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, the inviolability of borders, the avoidance of the use of force, the peaceful settlement of disputes, non-intervention in other countries' domestic affairs, the development of co-operation and good-neighbour relations, the safeguarding of human rights in all sectors and respect for the rules of international law.

The resolution also underlines the European orientation of the states of the region and contains a decision to formally establish dialogue between the national assemblies by organising meetings of the presidents of the region's parliaments on a regular and rotating basis.

The two-day meeting was attended by the presidents of parliament of Albania, Shender Gjinushi, Greece, Apostolos Kaklamanis, Yugoslavia, Milomir Minic, FYROM, Tito Petkovski, Romania, Petre Roman and Bulgaria, Yordan Sokolov.

Attending as observers were the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Leni Fischer, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Dumitru Motpan and the Vice Chairman of the Assembly's Committee of the Western European Union (WEU) on Parliamentary and Public Relations, Lord Russel-Johnston.

Addressing the meeting, Lord Russel Johnson, praised the overall initiative and recommended that "small, careful steps" be taken initially in order for inter-parliamentary dialogue to be substantial "so that valuable time is not lost".

New report out on Greek tax system

A Greek government advisory committe headed by professor Yiannis Spraos presented its proposals on the overhauling of the country's tax collection mechanism, developing the state's huge assets and putting public finances in order.

The report, the third in a row by the Spraos committee, is entitled "More efficient administration of public revenue".

The committe did not propose the imposition of new taxes and stressed that the state would suffer great loss of income if a demand for a indexation of income tax scale is adopted by the government in the framework of a social dialogue underway.

Referring to an expected decision by the European Court of Justice over lower duties on imported second-hand cars, the committee said that any negative impact could be offset with the adoption of environmental protection measures.

The Spraos committee noted however that an anticipated loss of public revenue from imported cars should have to be addressed by the government by seeking other sources of income. This probably means a replacement in import taxes with a series of new taxes.

The report stressed that the government could raise revenue through a rise in tax scales, although prospects were limited due to an already high level of tax scale in Greece.

The committee urged the government to intensify efforts to combat tax evasion and informal economy, two factors contributing in maintaining the state's huge deficits and the use of special taxes which burdened inflation and harmed competitiveness.

WEATHER

Unstable weather with showers in many parts of the country will continue today with a further drop in temperatures. Winds will be northerly moderate. Athens will be partly cloudy with spells of sunshine and temperatures between 15-20C. Thessaloniki will be cloudy and rainy with temperatures from 9-15C.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Wednesday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 273.643 Pound sterling 442.809 Cyprus pd 529.153 French franc 46.564 Swiss franc 186.952 German mark 156.096 Italian lira (100) 15.960 Yen (100) 225.560 Canadian dlr. 198.063 Australian dlr. 200.721 Irish Punt 442.809 Belgian franc 7.566 Finnish mark 52.080 Dutch guilder 138.568 Danish kr. 40.982 Swedish kr. 36.135 Norwegian kr. 38.738 Austrian sch. 22.174 Spanish peseta 1.851 Port. Escudo 1.536

(M.P.)


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