Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-10-22
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 22/10/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Athens welcomes Holbrooke statements
- Defence minister hails Holbrooke
- New air space violations
- Parmenion exercise to be held Oct. 31
- BSEC countries urge more cooperation
- Yilmaz, Cem to attend Balkan summit on Crete
- Greece concerned over Turkish exercise
- Fourth Greek-Turkish business forum opens in Athens
- Delors package funds cannot be re-allocated, EU Commission says
- Greece to see tough 1998 budget
- Actress' father arrested in drug bust
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Athens welcomes Holbrooke statements
Athens today expressed satisfaction over statements on Tuesday by US
special presidential emissary for Cyprus Richard Holbrooke that Turkish
harassment of a plane carrying the Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos
to and from Cyprus last week was "a fact", blaming the US State Department
for not recognising it outright.
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas expressed satisfaction over Holbrooke's
statements, reiterating that the position expressed by State Department
spokesman James Rubin was "unacceptable and unprecedented".
Reppas in particular referred to the points in Holbrooke's statements
criticising the way in which the US State Department handled the issue.
"We have kept the positive positions expressed and recorded the negative
ones. What now remains to be seen is how Washington will proceed concerning
issues which are in progress and whether Mr. Holbrooke's observations will
have practical consequences," Reppas said.
"As far as those who remain quiet are concerned, the evidence in the hands
of Greece will convince them to take a stance on the basis of law and the
truth," the spokesman added.
In a related development, the Chief of the National Defence General Staff,
General (air) Athanasios Tzoganis today briefed the defence attaches of all
NATO member-states on the harassment by Turkish warplanes of the aircraft
carrying Tsohatzopoulos.
Turkey's provocative behaviour continued today, this time during Tzoganis'
briefing of NATO defence attaches at the National Defence Ministry.
As the attaches were requesting clarifications about the harassment
incident, the Turkish defence attache said that his country desired good
relations with Greece and Cyprus, a fact which, he continued, it had proven
in 1974 when, although it could have seized the whole of Cyprus, it seized
only half.
National Defence General Staff second-in-command, Lieutenant-General
Efthimios Petinis replied:
"We thank you for your magnanimity."
Defence minister hails Holbrooke
Asked to comment today on Holbrooke's statements, Tsohatzopoulos said the
US presidential envoy was "near to the reality", adding that "this confirms
his credibility as a mediator".
"The question is Turkey's behaviour," Tsohatzopoulos continued, noting that
this issue would be raised at the forthcoming meeting of NATO following a
request which he himself had submitted to Alliance Secretary General Javier
Solana.
In exclusive statements to the ANA, Holbrooke said:
"I have no doubt that the provocative action of the harassment of the
aircraft by Turkish fighters indeed happened and I consider it a mistake on
the State Department's part that it does not publicly accept this
reality."
Holbrooke added that there was no excuse for what happened and it was
indisputable when it had been recorded on camera.
"Even if the Greek defense minister was not in the plane, it is an
unacceptable action which does not at all help in defusing tension between
Greece and Turkey. It is a very serious incident during which human lives
were put in danger," he said, adding that he fully understood the fear and
anxiety of all those aboard the C-130 transport plane.
State Department spokesman James Rubin said on Monday that the transport
flight had violated an agreed moratorium on Cyprus overflights, Mr.
Holbrooke expressed the view that Mr. Rubin had not been adequately briefed
by the State Department's responsible officials.
Rubin's statements were described as "unprecedented and unacceptable" by
Athens.
New air space violations
Three pairs of Turkish F-16 fighter jets infringed the Athens Flight
Information Region (FIR) in the area north of Lesbos, informed sources said
today.
In all cases, the Turkish aircraft were identified and intercepted by Greek
warplanes.
Parmenion exercise to be held Oct.31
A combined large-scale military exercise codenamed "Parmenion '97" will be
held from October 31 to November 6 in the Evros region and the Aegean, the
National Defence General Staff announced today.
The aim of the exercise, which is held annually, is to train staff officers
and military units in the planning and execution of joint operations in a
modern warfare environment and in general to enhance the combat efficiency
of the armed forces.
The all-service exercise, with the participation also of reservists, will
be directed by the Chief of the National Defence General Staff, General
(air) Athanasios Tzoganis, reservists will also be called up to take
part.
BSEC countries urge more cooperation
A joint statement issued at the close of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
forum underlined the will of the eleven member countries to further develop
cooperation in the sectors of the economy, commerce, transport, the
protection of the environment and the combatting of narcotics trafficking.
The statement also makes special reference to the organisation's Black Sea
Commerce and Development Bank which will be based in Thessaloniki. The
member-states underlined the important role which the bank has to play in
the development and prestige of the organisation and expressed their will
for its full operation at the earliest.
Addressing the meeting this morning, Foreign Undersecretary Yiannos
Kranidiotis stressed that Greece would do everything possible for the
development of the BSEC.
Member-states which have not yet deposited their financial contributions,
he said, should do so by the end of the year so that the bank could begin
operating as soon as possible.
Kranidiotis also referred to the Black Sea Centre for International Studies,
which will be based in Athens, underlining the important role it had to
play in the further development of the BSEC.
On relations between the BSEC and the European Union, Kranidiotis said
Greece, as the only BSEC member in the EU, could serve as a bridge between
the two institutions.
He said the government would examine ways in which the EU could strengthen
the BSEC.
Today's meeting meanwhile rejected a Turkish proposal that the BSEC be
headquartered in Turkey. It was decided that the organisation should not
have a permanently-based headquarters.
Consequently, ministerial meetings and other BSEC sessions will take place
in the country holding the presidency at the time in question.
Taking part in the Kiev meeting were Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria,
Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.
The next ministerial meeting will be held in Armenia in April next
year.
Yilmaz, Cem to attend Balkan summit on Crete
Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will
attend the Balkan summit in Crete on Nov. 2-4.
This was confirmed yesterday in a meeting Mr. Cem had in the Ukrainian
capital with Foreign Undersecretary Yiannos Kranidiotis on the sidelines of
a Black Sea Economic Cooperation Pact conference.
Speaking after the meeting, which was reportedly held in a good climate,
Mr. Kranidiotis said that bilateral contacts will take place in Crete,
while the Turkish minister pointed out to him that it will be the first
meeting between Mr. Yilmaz and his Greek counterpart Costas Simitis.
According to sources, Mr. Kranidiotis conveyed to Mr. Cem Athens' annoyance
over recent massive violations and infringements by the Turkish air force
all of last week. According to the same sources, Mr. Cem avoided taking a
stand on Mr. Kranidiotis' report.
Greece concerned over Turkish exercise
Greece today confirmed that it had expressed concern to Ankara over its
plans to hold a military exercise codenamed "Toros" at the same time as the
Balkan Summit in Crete early next month.
Govenment spokesman Dimitris Reppas said Foreign Undersecretary Yiannos
Kranidiotis had expressed Athens' concern to Turkish Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem on the sidelines of a Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
ministerial meeting in Kiev yesterday.
According to the spokesman, Kranidiotis told Cem that if he believed a
problem might arise, then Ankara had no other option but to cancel the
exercise, in order to eliminate the source of the problem.
Fourth Greek-Turkish business forum opens in Athens
The fourth Greek-Turkish forum begins in Athens today with the participation
of about 25 Greek and 30 Turkish business people.
The issues to be examined by Greek and Turkish business leaders at the two-
day forum include cooperation in the Balkans and the Black Sea region,
Turkey's customs union with the EU, creation of joint ventures between
construction companies for projects in the broader Balkan region and the
development of cooperation in the tourism sector.
Other issues to be discussed are the avoidance of double taxation and the
possibilities of utilising European Union programmes concerning the Balkans
and necessitating cooperation between Greece and third countries that are
not EU member-states.
In the previous three forums, Greek and Turkish business people struck
deals for joint ventures in the foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals sectors. The
Athens business forum is expected to be attended by several noted Greek and
Turkish businesspeople, including industrialist Rahmi Koc, who is active in
the car manufacturing and supermarket sector in Turkey; Esref Cerrahoglu,
chairman of the Turkish Chamber of Shipping; Thanasis Lavidas, general
manager of the Lavipharm pharmaceuticals company as well as Gina Mamidakis
and M. Daskalantonakis, both active in the Greek hotel industry.
Sessions of the forum, to be held at a downtown Athens hotel, will be
closed to the public, although the press will be invited for a briefing.
Delors package funds cannot be re-allocated, EU Commission says
The European Commission will withdraw funds earmarked for the defunct
Thessaloniki metro project and the construction of the Acropolis Museum,
following Greece's proposals related to the second Comunity Support
Framework (CSF ), known as the Delors II package.
According to well-informed Commission sources, Greece proposed withdrawing
funds for the Thessaloniki metro because no progress has been made on it,
as well as the Acropolis Museum because the European Investment Bank (EIB)
will fund the project instead .
The funds can be reallocated to other projects.
The commission also accepted the proposal that the planned Attica
peripheral road linking the capital with the planned Athens airport at
Spata could be included at this date to the CSF funds. The CSF funds cover
the period from 1994 to 1999.
The Commission, however, rejected additional proposals by Greece that funds
not absorbed by their respective projects could not be reallocated.
According to the sources, the funds should not only not be withdrawn, but
the rate of construction should be intensified. These include the Egnatia
motorway spanning the breadth northern Greece, funds of which the
government wanted to revoke (100 billion drachmas); natural gas networks
for average and low pressure (selected projects, totalling close to 135
billion drachmas); the Athens-Patra-Thessaloniki road and the Athens-
Thessaloniki railway line, among others.
Greece to see tough 1998 budget
National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou reiterated
yesterday that next year's budget had to be tough, as 1998 would be a year
of evaluation of the country's progress towards European economic and
monetary union.
"Europe is waiting for us to join the single currency especially after the
European Commission's projections of a Greek budget deficit smaller than 3%
of GDP," Mr. Papantoniou said.
Containing the budget deficit was the government's priority in drafting the
1998 budget. This would be achieved by putting a lid on public spending and
implementing a policy of part-floating profitable public enterprises on the
stock market, he said.
The budget would be based on a rationalised incomes policy, a tight hiring
policy in the public sector and an equitable increase in tax revenue. It
would be presented to parliament in the middle of next month, ahead of the
November 30 deadline under the constitution, Mr. Papantoniou said.
Actress' father arrested in drug bust
The father of internationally-renowned Greek actress Vana Barba has been
arrested near his hometown in northwestern Greece with 17 kilograms of
hashish, police said today.
Haralamabos Barbas, 59, was arrested together with three Albanians in a
village near Igoumenitsa while trying to sell the hashish to a plainclothes
policeman posing as a buyer.
The hashish, stuffed in two sacks hidden in a sewer well, had been smuggled
into Greece by the Albanians.
Vana Barba has played in numerous foreign films, but is better known for
her role as a prostitute in the Italian film "Mediterraneo" which won the
Oscar for best foreign film in 1991.
WEATHER
Local cloudiness with rain is forecast for most parts of Greece today
mainly in the western, central and southern regions . Winds will be
easterly, southeasterly, light to moderate. Fine weather in Athens with
possible rain in the afternoon and temperatures from 10-20C. Same in
Thessaloniki with temperatures between 6-18C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Tuesday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 275.885
Pound sterling 451.975 Cyprus pd 529.331
French franc 46.388 Swiss franc 187.121
German mark 156.486 Italian lira (100) 15.931
Yen (100) 228.854 Canadian dlr. 199.194
Australian dlr. 201.440 Irish Punt 406.720
Belgian franc 7.540 Finnish mark 51.939
Dutch guilder 138.027 Danish kr. 40.853
Swedish kr. 36.194 Norwegian kr. 38.535
Austrian sch. 22.077 Spanish peseta 1.843
Port. Escudo 1.528
(M.P.)
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