Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 98-05-28

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 28/05/1998 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Strikers protest privatisations around Greece
• Gov't set on privatising port authorities, shrugs off strike
• Athens court rules Ionian Bank strike is illegal
• US analysts say Greek privatisation plan on right track
• Greek stocks nosedive in gov't, union clash over Ionian Bank
• Macedonia Thrace Bank posts 11 pct profit rise
• Gov't says Ankara's plans for military exercises 'provocative'
• King Juan Carlos backs 'Olympic Truce' headquarters proposal
• Pangalos on official visit to Slovenia
• Search resumes in Veria over location of Alexander's tomb
• Simitis says framework for access to digital TV in the works
• Medical conference on aspirin continues on Kos
• Initial agreement Mamidakis purchase by Ellinika Petrelea
• Piraeus Investment posts Jan-Apr profit jump to Dr 1.5 bln
• Pyramid scheme broken up in Glyfada
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Workers staging a 24-hour nationwide strike yesterday clashed with police in Athens and the port city of Piraeus during rallies to protest against the government's sweeping privatisation plans.

"No one can terrorise the workers. Riot police cannot stop us. The government cannot stop workers' marches by using the police," George Mavrikos, deputy president of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), told a rally.

The strike was called by GSEE, an umbrella trade union group representing nearly a million workers in the private and public sectors; and ADEDY, the civil servants union.

Dockworkers also launched a 48-hour strike, disrupting services at the key commercial ports in Piraeus and Thessaloniki, which, like Athens, were also hit by transport strikes and traffic congestion.

The government stepped up its privatisation programme in mid-March when the drachma joined the European Union's exchange rate mechanism as a stepping stone to economic and monetary union (EMU).

The International Monetary Fund has urged the government to sell majority stakes in state firms, and privatise banks more aggressively.

In Athens yesterday, riot police used teargas to disperse strikers who tried to break through a cordon and enter the parliament building. In Piraeus, scuffles broke out between strikers and riot police.

Gov't set on privatising port authorities, shrugs off strike

The government again vowed to privatise the port authorities of Piraeus and Thessaloniki, brushing off a wave of protest strikes by dockworkers.

"The ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki must have their legal framework changed to enable them to survive and become competitive against other ports in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea," Merchant Marine Minister Stavros Soumakis told a news confer ence yesterday.

The dockworkers launched a 48-hour strike, with two others planned for the first half of June when a ban on weekend work will also be called.

Athens court rules Ionian Bank strike is illegal

An Athens court yesterday ruled that a strike by Ionian Bank employees against the bank's privatisation was illegal.

The Athens court of first instance ordered an end to the strike, which began on May 11. It also banned any further strikes carrying the same demands.

Under the ruling, the president and board of Ionian's union will be fined 400,000 drachmas a day if they fail to call off the strike.

The strike included the occupation of Ionian's computer centre in Piraeus, which ended when riot police moved in on Sunday, removing the strikers.

US analysts say Greek privatisation plan on right track

Market analysts in the United States are confident that Greece's privatisation programme is on the right track following a show of strength by the government in its clash with employees at Ionian Bank.

A report in the Wall Street Journal on international markets yesterday quoted the analysts as saying that euphoria on the Athens Stock Exchange over the privatisation plan had taken the bourse to successive record closes.

Greece likely to decide on railway restructuring in June Greek National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou yesterday met officials from the transport ministry and Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) to discuss a restructuring plan for the state-owned firm. The government is expected to take its final decisions on the plan in June.

Greek stocks nosedive in gov't, union clash over Ionian Bank

A war of nerves over a government plan to privatise Ionian Bank badly hit sentiment on the Athens Stock Exchange yesterday, driving share prices sharply lower.

The general index ended 3.75 percent down at 2,523.03 points in the aftermath of an announcement by Moody's Investor Service on Tuesday that it was considering downgrading its ratings for Ionian Bank and state Commercial Bank of Greece, Ionian's main sh areholder.

Traders said the Greek market may also have been hit by a decline in international markets.

Sector indices lost ground across the board. Banks plunged 3.61 percent, Insurance dropped 3.33 percent, Investment fell 2.77 percent, Leasing eased 0.09 percent, Industrials ended 4.50 percent off, Construction fell 4.35 percent, Miscellaneous dropped 2.60 percent and Holding ended 0.78 percent down.

Trading was moderate to active with turnover at 67 billion drachmas. Ionian Bank's share price rebounded by 280 drachmas to 11,950 drachmas but Commercial Bank's share price fell 500 drachmas to 19,500.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 180 to 67 with another 13 issues unchanged.

National Bank of Greece ended at 43,050 drachmas, Ergobank at 27,010, Alpha Credit Bank at 31,705, Delta Dairy at 4,455, Titan Cement at 23,700, Intracom at 18,750 and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation at 8, 500.

Macedonia Thrace Bank posts 11 pct profit rise

Macedonia-Thrace Bank, which is listed on the Athens bourse, yesterday reported an 11 percent increase in its profits before depreciation and provisions for the first quarter of 1998.

The bank said in a statement that provisions in the first quarter were 110 percent higher compared with the corresponding period in 1997, reflecting the new board's plan to fully restructure its portfolio in 1998. The board now includes private Bank of Piraeus, which has acquired a roughly 30 percent stake in the state bank.

Gov't says Ankara's plans for military exercises 'provocative'

The government yesterday called Turkey's reservation of 17 sea regions in the Aegean's international waters for military exercises from June 4-20 as "provocative".

In response, National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos initially described Ankara's move as "normal", stressing however, that the location of the exercises, southeast and southwest of Crete or some 250 miles from Turkey, as a "provocative choice by the neighbouring country. He also added that it was "within the general political choices of Turkey".

The issue, he said, will be dealt with through the usual procedures. Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said the Turkish exercises in the Aegean and in two areas south of Crete "contain an element of provocation which should not leave the international community indifferent".

Replying to reporters' questions, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos rejected the use of the term "moratorium" on military exercises in the Aegean, stressing that the initiative of NATO Secretary General Javier Solana regarding confidence- building measures (CBMs) in the Aegean consisted in the implementation of an agreement to limit exercises and flights during the summer months.

King Juan Carlos backs 'Olympic Truce' headquarters proposal

Visiting Spanish King Juan Carlos yesterday backed the idea of basing an international centre to promote the concept of an Olympic Truce in ancient Olympia.

He made the statements at a luncheon given in ancient Olympia in honour of the Spanish royal couple, stressing that Madrid would fully support the proposal by Athens and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for such an endeavour in Olympia.

Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia arrived by helicopter in the early afternoon, accompanied by Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou.

Mr. Papandreou said he was certain that the Athens 2004 Games could act as a catalyst for peace in the coming century.

He added that the centre proposed for ancient Olympia would provide "neutral ground for dialogue and mediation," where all sides could have contacts in pursuit of peace and friendship among peoples.

Earlier in Athens, Juan Carlos and Sophia inaugurated an exhibition entitled "The Ancient Greeks in Spain: On Hercules' trail" at the National Archaeological Museum. The exhibition consists of 250 ancient Greek artifacts discovered on the Iberian Peninsul a and dating from the 7th century BC on through to the Venetian era.

Pangalos on official visit to Slovenia

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos yesterday met yesterday in Ljubljana with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek and his counterpart Boris Frlec.

Both FMs later signed a bilateral transit agreement.

Discussions centered around European Union and NATO enlaregment and the situation in Kosovo and Bosnia, while various bilateral issues were discussed as well.

The two ministers also discussed a double taxation avoidance agreement, as well as port connections.

Greek exports to Slovenia amount to US$15 million, while Slovenian exports to Greece reached US$24 million.

It should be noted that the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board (HEPO) and the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce signed a cooperation protocol.

HEPO recently organised seminars for Slovenian businesspeople in Athens and a visit of Greek businesspeople is expected in Slovenia.

Search resumes in Veria over location of Alexander's tomb

The dispute over where Alexander the Great is buried comes to Greece this week, when an international conference on Alexander's impact through time begins in Veria, northern Greece, near Vergina, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Macedonia.

Two distinguished Egyptian archaeologists, Professors Fawzi El Fakharani and Mahmud El Saadani, are expected to provide the main focus of the conference, putting forward their conflicting opinions on where Alexander's burial place is in Alexandria, the Egyptian port founded by Alexander the Great.

They differ on whether Alexander's tomb is located in the royal Ptolemaic necropolis or in the area of the Roman-era theatre, where the city's ancient centre had been located.

Alexander the Great was crowned in the Temple of the god Ammon in Siwa in 330 B.C., three years after conquering Egypt. After he died in Babylon his body was brought to Egypt for burial, but the tomb has never been found.

Greek archaeologist Liana Souvaltzi's claim to have discovered the tomb caused a sensation in the academic world in early February, 1995 but her findings were later disputed by Greek experts, who said inscriptions found at the Siwa oasis dated from the Roman era.

The conference, attended by 29 archaeologists from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, will be presented with research data on the ancient conqueror's presence in the East, based on findings from Hellenistic colonies that are maintained to this day, inclu ding Ai Khanoum in central Asia and other ancient sites in Pakistan, Libya, Gaza and Israel.

Simitis says framework for access to digital TV in the works

Prime Minister Costas Simitis yesterday said access to digital television would be available to business concerns that fulfilled necessary criteria set out in an institutional framework currently under preparation, and only after approval of a new draft bill.

"We do not intend to allow experimental transmission of digital programmes before voting of the bill," he said in reply to questions in Parliament.

Describing the procedure to be followed and the conditions for licence applications, the prime minister said they would concern the prevention of concentration in the media sector, the provision of full cover to customers' interests, the commitment of all contract-holders to observe all ethical rules, guarantees regarding the economic viability of the companies involved, and the provision to the state of economic compensation and offsets in the form of services.

Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI) leader Dimitris Tsovolas, who tabled the question, referred to a "war" between major economic interests within Greece over the new television technology, and wondered whether there had been any behind-the-scenes promi ses and commitments by the government.

Mr. Simitis replied that interest was being expressed by a number of businesspeople, as in all other business fields.

Medical conference on aspirin continues on Kos

International aspirin manufacturers and researchers yesterday continued sessions on Kos marking the 100th anniversary of the "wonder drug's" discovery with seminars on the pain killer's value in combatting heart disease and discussions over evidence regar ding its cancer-preventing properties.

German medical researchers claimed they have discovered that regular use of small amounts of aspirin in laboratory tests helped prevent colon, lung, breast and esophagus cancer by up to 50 per cent.

Physicians addressing the event also noted the well-established value of the "drug of the century" for individuals with heart disease and high blood pressure.

Finally, several participants paid homage to the father of medicine and Kos native Hippocrates, who first discovered and used salicylic acid - a basic substance of aspirin - on the eastern Aegean island.

Initial agreement Mamidakis purchase by Ellinika Petrelea

An initial agreement was reached yesterday for the purchase of all shares of G. Mamidakis and Co. by the Ellinika Petrelaia group during a meeting of representatives of the two firms.

The purchase of Mamidakis, the first Greek petroleum company to be established, is aimed at further strengthening the Ellinika Petrelaia group.

With the acquisition of the trade distribution network and the storage and products trafficking installations of Mamidakis by the Ellinika Petrelaia, its trade company EKO-ELDA ABEE, should be strengthened. The process of signing a finalised agreement w ill last for about a month.

Piraeus Investment posts Jan-Apr profit jump to Dr 1.5 bln

Piraeus Investment, a portfolio investments firm in the Bank of Piraeus Group, yesterday reported net profits of 1.5 billion drachmas in January- April, sharply up from 748 million drachmas in the corresponding period last year.

Its equities-orientated portfolio on April 30 had a total value of 12.8 billion drachmas.

The portfolio's allocation was 71.3 percent domestic equities, 16.7 percent overseas equities, 8.2 percent derivatives, and 3.8 per cent money market funds.

Capital gains were 2.8 billion drachmas at the end of April, and the value of the company's share was 2,004 drachmas. Piraeus Investment's portfolio includes shares not listed on the Athens bourse that show major capital gains.

Pyramid scheme broken up in Glyfada

Police have broken up a pyramid-style scam estimated to have siphoned off at leat 100 million dr. from about 1,500 people.

In a raid at the offices of the Swiss-based "Astran Business Club Greek Ltd." located in the Athens seaside suburb of Glyfada, police arrested four people and confiscated a bulk of records showing illicit transactions.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

U.S. dollar 302.262 British pound 495.425 Japanese yen(100) 219.530 French franc 51.038 German mark 171.184 Italian lira (100) 17.357 Irish Punt 431.322 Belgian franc 8.298 Finnish mark 56.304 Dutch guilder 151.821 Danish kr. 44.934 Austrian sch. 24.324 Spanish peseta 2.014 Swedish kr. 39.095 Norwegian kr. 40.285 Swiss franc 205.741 Port. Escudo 1.671 Aus. dollar 187.290 Can. dollar 207.328 Cyprus pound 580.320

(C.E.)

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