Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-10-28

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 28/10/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Ochi Day celebrated throughout Greece, timeliness stressed
• Defence Minister dismisses purported Karadayi letter
• Prospects for Greece-Cyprus economic cooperation
• Turkish immigrant-smuggler found
• Breathalyser tests lead to more car confiscations
• Weather
• Foreign Exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Greece today celebrated the 57th anniversary of "Ochi (No) Day" when it was dragged into World War II after rejecting Mussolini's ultimatum to surrender to the fascist forces or be invaded.

The October 28, 1940 anniversary was celebrated with church te deums and parades in Athens and other cities, and an impressive military parade inspected by President of the Republic Costis Stephanopoulos.

"The crisis in Greek-Turkish relations is not new. A sense of reponsibility, stability and faith in our own strength are necessary," Education Minister Gerasimos Arsenis said after the major students' parade held in Athens this year for the first time.

Replying to press quesitons on Prime Minister Costas Simitis' upcoming meeting with Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz on the sidelines of next month's Balkan summit on Crete, Arsenis, a former national defence minister, said: "We must not harbor any delusions. Turkey's expansionist policy is continuing, and that is why we must strengthen the country's defence with the joint defence doctrine (with Cyprus), but also with social and economic growth and educational reform".

"It is our duty to ensure that the young people are well-equipped to meet the challenges of the times, and we are doing this through educational reforms. I am certain that the youth will respond," Arsenis said.

Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos said that the Ochi of 1940 was not something of the moment, but enduring, and was put forward by the Greek people at every instance the times demanded.

"Preparedness is necssary. We have acquired the experience to know how things stand," he said.

Earlier, Archbishop Serapheim of Athens and All Greece presided over a te deum at the Athens Cathedral, attended by Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis, Arsenis, political party leaders, Avramopoulos, and representatives of the country's political and military leadership.

"We must abandon the 'ostrich tactic' (of sticking our heads into the ground to avoid reality) so that we will not once again face dificult hours, " Kaklamanis said. "But if we are obliged to live such hours again, we will once again be able to see them through," he added.

After the military parade in Thessaloniki, President Stephanopoulos sent telegrams to the National Defence, Public Order, Merchant Marine and Education ministers saying:

"The grandeur of today's parade made us feel proud, seeing the high level of organisation and training of the Armed Forces and Security Corps, but also the valour and stature of the students of Thessaloniki, which comprise a guarantee for the ensurance of our country's national independence and territorial integrity."

"With strong Armed Forces capable of confronting any designs against us, we are peacefully proceeding on the road of progress and prosperity, looking at the future with courage and hope," the President said.

He said that it was necessary for the younger generations to be fully informed on the 1940 epoch, so that they too could feel the emotion and enthusiasm with which the Greek people had hastened to fulfill their duty of defending the homeland.

National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said the immense turnout for the military parade, despite the rain, reflected the deep ties between people and army.

"The Armed Forces gave, with their presence, the message of certainty, stability and calm that the Greek people should feel. They showed that they are capable of confronting and providing what Greece and the entire region need: prosperity, peace and progress".

Main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis said that the Ochi Day anniversary was a reminder that 'when the nation has unity and determination, it can attain all its goals", noting that the reminder was particularly timely today "when Turkey has demands on our sovereign rights".

"Greece must show a more dynamic and forceful policy, and also determination that it wants, and can impose, respect of its sovereign rights and national interests," he said.

Defence Minister dismisses purported Karadayi letter

National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos today dismissed a letter reportedly sent by the Turkish chief of staff to NATO claiming a Greece- Russia axis was being developed as "revealing the guilt Turkey feels over the tension and crisis in the region".

Turkish chief of staff Ismail Hakki Karadayi purportedly sent a letter to top-level NATO officials and individual member states claiming that a Greece-Cyprus axis was being developed, which would have repercussions on the alliance's southeastern wing.

"Turkish General Karadayi's letter to NATO, if one has indeed been sent, reveals the guilt that Turkey feels over the tension and crisis in the region," Tsophatzopoulos said.

He said that Turkey's responsibility over the situation was also confirmed by its desire for the development of Confidence-Building Measures, adding that if Turkey was "attempting to place the responsibility elsewhere, then that is confirmation of its own responsibility".

Prospects for Greece-Cyprus economic cooperation

Greece and Cyprus can broaden their commercial and economic cooperation and have a say in the economic developments in the wider region, according to Prime Minister Costas Simitis' economic advisor and head of his economc office, Professor Tassos Yannitsis.

In an interview in the Cyprus newspaper "Economikos Fileleftheros", Yannitsis said that due to the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, prospects were opening up for the two countries in the Greece-Cyprus-EU geographical area, as well as between the two countries themselves.

Huge prospects also existed in the markets of the Mediterranean basin, the Balkans and Eastern Europe, he said.

The general goal of such cooperation, Yannitsis added, should be to take advantage of opportunities inside the two countries as well as abroad, such as in the European Union.

Referring to Cyprus' accession into the EU, he said achievement of that goal would create, at political level, a new dynamic that would give new impetus to the Cyprus economy.

As for the policy of harnmonisation of the Cyprus economy with the EU, Yannitsis said particular attention was necessary to avoid hasty moves. On the other hand, he added, there should be no delays, which would have adverse repercussions for the Cyprus economy.

Turkish immigrant-smuggler found

The coast guard today arrested a 35-year-old Turk who smuggled 51 Iraqi illegal immigrants to Samos island on October 24, the local port authority said.

It said Mehmet Fazil Ipekci, resident of Bodrum, was arrested after a five- day manhunt and confessed to transporting the Iraqis to the Krouderi region on Samos.

The Iraqis were brought to Samos in a speedboat which was towing an empty wooden boat. When the speedboat's captain spotted Greek coastguard vessels, he transferred the Iraqis to the wooden boat and headed back to Turkey in the speedboat. But the speedboat broke down and Ipekci returned to the island, abandoned his boat on a beach and hid among nearby reeds.

Ipekci was spotted by local residents who informed the authorities. He will be brought before the Samos prosecutor tomorrow.

Breathalyser tests lead to more car confiscations

Breathalyser tests conducted by traffic police throughout Greece between October 20-26 turned up 192 instances of drunken driving, it was announced today.

Police said 36 cars of offenders were confiscated, while charges were lodged against 122 offenders.

Weather

Cloudy weather around the country with occasional rain in the central and north of the country with light snowfalls in the central and northern border regions. Athens will be partrly cloudy gradually, increasing, with spells of sunshine. Light rain in Thessaloniki.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(L.G.)

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