Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-11-02
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 02/11/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Balkan leaders begin arriving in Crete for summit
- Simitis: Aggressive Turkish foreign policy
- Pharmacists suspend strike
- Premier says battered drachma weathers storm
- Greek stocks plunge again over rate hike jitters
- Greece unhappy with new foreign investment act in Bulgaria
- Gov't condemns violent protests outside Greek-Turkish symposium
- EIB's Yennimatas comments on EU customs, Greek-Turkish relations
- Bonn rejects Greek court ruling on WWII reparations
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Balkan leaders begin arriving in Crete for summit
Prime Minister Costas Simitis arrived in Iraklion on the island of Crete
today for a summit meeting of eight Balkan leaders which Simitis stressed
would be concentrating on opening new channels of communication between
Balkan nations.
In a statement on arrival in Crete, Simitis said that Balkan cooperation
was often fragile due to political crises and competition. Therefore, he
added, a permanent foundation for cooperation should be laid and conditions
created for growth in order to make the Balkans a region of peace,
stability and creativity.
Greece, he said, would be playing a major role in this effort, which it
considered its duty to carry out.
Explaining the choice of Crete as the venue for the summit, the prime
minister said the island was one of the most hospitable places in
Greece.
Simitis was accompanied by his wife Daphne, Foreign Minister Theodoros
Pangalos, Press Minister Dimitris Reppas and other officials.
The first of the Balkan leadeers to arrive will be Serbian President
Slobodan Milosevic and Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano, who are to meet
with Simitis later this afternoon.
Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz is expected to arrive at around 16.00,
while Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) President Kiro Gligorov
arrives at around 17.30.
Simitis: Aggressive Turkish foreign policy
In an interview with German weekly "Der Spiegel" to be published on Monday
Prime Minister Costas Simitis commented on Greek-Turkish relations, the
accession of Cyprus to the European Union and other foreign policy
issues.
In the interview titled "Our neighbour is aggressive", the premier speaks
of the need to overcome the "anachronistic dispute" with Turkey, stating
that the basic position of the Greek goverment is "a desire for cooperation",
but attributing to Turkey an aggressive foreign policy that is incompatible
with European standards.
"Our position is clear: We desire cooperation. We are aware that close
cooperation between the European Union and Turkey is attainable and we do
not wish to bar Ankara from the EU. The fact is that our neighbour Turkey
has an aggressive foreign policy. Any country that wishes to cooperate with
the EU must accept the european order and the relevant principals," Simitis
said.
Simitis referred to the issues of the islet of Imia and the island of
Gavdos to underline Turkey's policy to question the status quo in the
Aegean Sea by using the so-called "grey areas" tactic. The premier stressed
that any attempt to change the borders could undermine peace in the
region.
He appeared pesimistic about a possible solution to the Cyprus problem,
saying that Ankara is not prepared to accept a change of the existing
situation that has emerged from the invasion and occupation of the northern
part of the island. He said that the only way to achieve progress is for
the international community to put pressure on Turkey. "If the United
States desire peace in the Eastern Mediterranean, they must be prepared to
put pressure on Turkey", he said, stressing the importance of the region as
a sea passage for oil exports from central Asia.
The Greek leader rejected Turkey's proposal for the whole of Greek-Turkish
differences to be addressed as a package and be referred to international
arbitration saying that there is no such package but rather new claims that
Turkey keeps bringing forward. Regarding his upcoming meeting with Turkish
counterpart Melsut Yilmaz on the sidelines of the informal Balkan summit in
Crete, Simitis refered to the need for "useful" and "honest discussions",
stressing that in Crete the focus will not be bilatteral relations.
Simitis also spoke of Greece's role as "a bridge" between the EU, NATO and
Balkan countries. Regarding relations with the EU itself, he rejected the
notion that Greece is the trouble-maker of the union, stressing that it has
made use of its right to veto less frequently than other countries.
Pharmacists suspend strike
Representatives of Greek pharmacists' unions decided to suspend their
strike last night at the end of a prolonged meeting.
After the government satisfied one of their main economic claims, namely,
an increase in their profit percentage in medicines retail prices from 21
to 24 per cent, the pharmacists decided to embark on a dialogue with
relevant bodies on their institution al claims and will reconsider their
position by Dec. 20, as they said, when they will take new decisions.
Premier says battered drachma weathers storm
Prime Minister Costas Simitis predicted that recent attacks from abroad on
the drachma had evaporated although he did not rule out fresh pressure in
the future, sources said yesterday.
Addressing a weekly Cabinet meeting, Mr. Simitis reportedly told ministers
that the economy had taken a jolt and the aftershocks were being felt. But
he warned that new pressure could not be ruled out.
The economy had shown endurance, but it needed to toughen up further in
order to win the battle against speculators, he said.
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said a previous monetary crisis in
1994 on the eve of a deadline to scrap restrictions on capital movement had
ended shortly after it erupted.
The government spokesman acknowledged that a rise in domestic interest
rates was necessary but temporary. Side-effects on the economy would be
dealt with after the turmoil was over.
The Bank of Greece intervened in interbank trade on Friday to aid the
drachma by soaking up 120 billion drachmas, pushing rates sharply
higher.The central bank absorbed the cash from commercial banks at 150 per
cent.
As a result, tensions subsided in the domestic foreign exchange market with
the drachma strengthening against the Ecu.
The US dollar was fractionally higher against the drachma, reflecting a
rebound in international markets, while the deutschmark ended moderately
lower.
Greek stocks plunge again over rate hike jitters
Greek equities ended the week sharply lower reflecting market worries over
a sharp rise in domestic interbank interest rates. The Athens general share
index lost 4.02 percent to end at 1,488.53 points, its lowest since June 23,
showing a total loss of 12. 24 percent in the week.
The Athens Stock Exchange has fallen 14.25 percent since last Thursday when
a crisis erupted in international stock markets. The FTSE/ASE index ended
11.45 percent down after the four trading sessions of the week, ending at
871.84 points. Tuesday was a holiday.
Trading remained heavy and turnover was 36.9 billion drachmas. The week's
turnover totalled 177.277 billion drachmas, marking a daily average of 44.3
billion.
Greece unhappy with new foreign investment act in Bulgaria
Greece is not satisfied with the new amendments to the Promotion and
Protection of Foreign Investment Act, Greek Commercial Attache to Bulgaria
Georges Doudoumis told journalists Thursday.
The provision giving preferential treatment to investments of over US$ 5
million excludes 99 per cent of Greek investors, who have invested up to
US$ 1.5 million each.
The way things are, many Greek investors will opt to invest in Romania, Mr.
Doudoumis said.
Greece is the third largest investor in Bulgaria according to Greek figures,
said Mr. Doudoumis, although Bulgarian figures show that it ranks eighth.
The discrepancy is due to the fact that the bulk of Greek capital flows in
through Luxembourg and Cypr us, Mr. Doudoumis explained.
Gov't condemns violent protests outside Greek-Turkish symposium
The government yesterday strongly condemned scuffles between police and
demonstrators outside the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce on Thursday
night, where Greek and Turkish businesspeople were scheduled to participate
at a symposium on Eleftherios Ven izelos and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
"Greece does not approve of unlawful and adventurist activities by
intolerant elements," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said.
He said the Turkish participants had been briefed on the government's
stance on the incidents, adding that the government did not feel obliged to
apologise for the behaviour of the demonstrators "who shouted slogans
against Turkey and threw objects at those attempting to enter the building"
saying Athens was taking a political position.
If blame is to be attributed, then it will be done by the police, he
said.
The Commercial and Industrial Chamber of Thessaloniki issued an announcement
stressing that "no one had the right to be self-declared to a patron" of
Thessaloniki's people.
It further said "the people of Thessaloniki had their own history and
contribution to the significant matters of democracy, peace and understanding
between people".
EIB's Yennimatas comments on EU customs, Greek-Turkish relations
Turkey's customs union with the European Union unites Greece and Turkey
with common interests European Investments Bank (EIB) Vice-President
Panayiotis Yennimatas said in an interview with the Turkish newspaper
"Hurriyet."
"In any event, the customs union is the framework for a lasting and deep
cooperation, and both countries have to invest in it. The customs union is
the common interest that binds each country to the Union but, significantly,
to one another as well," he said.
The newspaper published statements made by Mr. Yennimatas to the newspaper's
correspondent Athena Nour Batour in its inside pages, saying that Mr.
Yennimatas is one of the most powerful representatives of the new spirit
evident in Greece for Turkey over the past two years.
Bonn rejects Greek court ruling on WWII reparations
The German government said yesterday it would not comply with a Greek
provincial court ruling ordering Bonn to pay a Viotia prefecture village
some US$32 million in World War II reparations.
Bonn's rejection came as the latest blow to several Greek citizens'
attempts to secure individual compensation claims for their suffering
during the Nazis' 1941-1944 occupation.
"The cases before Greek courts, in which the claims of Greek individuals
are being heard against Germany because of events during World War II do
not conform with international law," Alexander Alard, a high-ranking of the
chancellery's press secretaria t official told ANA.
"For this reason corresponding lawsuits against Germany before Greek courts
are unlawful. We have repeatedly made this legal position clear to the
Greek government," he added.
A court in the central Greek city of Livadeia ordered Germany on Thursday
to pay $32 million in reparations to the village of Distomo, where 214
residents were executed by occupying Nazi soldiers on June 10, 1944.
Yannis Stamoulis, the prefect of Viotia and a former European parliament
deputy for the ruling PASOK party who has been leading the campaign for
reparations, has vowed to take the case to the International Court at The
Hague or the Council of Europe if
Germany refused to pay.
Reacting to verdict on Thursday, Mr. Stamoulis said the ruling meant the
families of more than 130,000 Greeks executed during the war, another 300,
000 who died from hunger and the owners of 125,000 houses destroyed could
be eligible to sue for damages.
Greek cities suffered from hunger during the occupation and many villages
were razed and their residents executed for fighting the Nazis or
cooperating with the resistance movement.
Weather
Southern Greece will be overcast with rain and local thunderstoms. The rest
of the country will have local cloud with scattered showers mostly in
central regions. Winds will be easterly, strong to very strong in parts.
Athens will be overcast with the possibility of rain in northern Attica and
temperatures ranging from 12 to 16 degrees centigrade. Local cloud for
Thessaloniki with temperatures 4-14C.
Foreign Exchange
Friday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 269.149
Pound sterling 450.170 Cyprus pd 528.042
French franc 46.529 Swiss franc 191.992
German mark 155.843 Italian lira (100) 15.885
Yen (100) 224.529 Canadian dlr. 191.178
Australian dlr. 188.986 Irish Punt 403.942
Belgian franc 7.558 Finnish mark 51.892
Dutch guilder 138.260 Danish kr. 40.999
Swedish kr. 35.807 Norwegian kr. 38.321
Austrian sch. 22.157 Spanish peseta 1.846
Port. Escudo 1.528
(M.P.)
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