Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 99-08-23

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 23/08/1999 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Papandreou speaks of Greek-Turkish friendship
• Government says talk of lifting veto on EU aid is premature
• EMAK team concludes search efforts in quake-stricken NW Turkey
• Papandreou denies press report of secret Greek-Turkish talks
• Parliamentary delegation to visit Turkey
• Simitis to hold talks with Albanian leadership
• Four more drownings at the weekend
• Frenchman and Spanish woman arrested for jewelry thefts
• Sprinter sets new Greek record at int'l championship
• To the "Daily Bulletin" subscribers
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Foreign Minister George Papandreou said on Monday that the conclusion drawn from the past few days following the catastrophic earthquake in Turkey was that there existed a great "stock" of friendship between the Greek and Turkish peoples.

Speaking in Rethymno, Crete, Papandreou said although the situation regarding relations between the two countries had not changed "in principle" and problems still remained, a conclusion could be drawn from the events of days in the wake of the natural disaster which has claimed over 12,000 lives.

"The conclusion is that there is a stock, a great stock of friendship between our two peoples, and this gives rise to a perspective of peaceful co-existence. Let us hope that prospects for peace, cooperation and sincere friendship indeed emerge from the tragedy," Papandreou said.

Greece was quick to send substantial humanitarian aid, medical and rescue teams to Turkey to offer assistance in the aftermath of last Tuesday's earthquake which devastated areas in the northwest of the country.

Turkish officials have publicly thanked Athens and most of the Turkish press praised Greece along with other countries which responded to a call for assistance.

Government says talk of lifting veto on EU aid is premature

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said on Monday it was too early to talk about a lifting of the Greek veto on the release of European Union funds to Turkey, stressing that Greece's positive stance in sending quake relief to the neighbouring country should not be linked to the issue.

Greece, the spokesman said, will play a leading role in the providing of EU assistance to Turkey if the issue was discussed by the "15".

Reppas said the Greek government and people had done whatever they could to relieve the suffering of the Turkish people and would continue to do so with the same vigour.

Greece has long vetoed the release of aid allocated to Turkey under an EU Financial Protocol, making it dependent on the fulfilment of conditions set by the EU itself requiring Turkey to take steps to improve its human rights record and refrain from aggression directed against Greece.

EMAK team concludes search efforts in quake-stricken NW Turkey

Greece's emergency task force unit (EMAK) yesterday concluded efforts to find and rescue victims trapped in the rubble of last Tuesday's massive earthquake in northwestern Asia Minor.

As there is practically no hope of discovering more individuals alive six days after the destructive quake, which left 200,000 people homeless and more than 12,000 confirmed dead, all foreign search and rescue teams have ceased their efforts.

EMAK moved to Istanbul following rescue efforts in Avcilar, Sinarcig and Yialova, alll on the Asia Minor coast of the Sea of Marmara, and will remain in the area to offer further assistance.

The Greek unit initially arrived in Turkey only a few hours after the earthquake.

"Many more lives would have been saved if there was an elementary coordination of rescue operations," team members, who pulled a boy from the rubble in Yialova, stated.

The Spanish and US teams departed on Saturday, while most others are expected to leave today.

"The rescue operation is over, now the medical care operation for the living and homeless begins," an EMAK doctor stressed.

Papandreou denies press report of secret Greek-Turkish talks

Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Monday denied that Athens and Ankara had been holding secret talks in Brussels about their bilateral relations, as claimed in an article in the Athens daily "To Vima".

The paper said the two countries' permanent representatives at the European Union have had a series of secret discussions on the issue, which have resulted in Ankara sending a message to Athens, where it expresses a view that there is considerable room for arrangements on issues regarding the Aegean that would fully satisfy Greece.

Replying reporters' questions, Papandreou rejected the claims contained in the article.

"First of all, Greece, as a democratic country, and I personally, are exercising foreign policy in the most transparent, open and public manner. We believe that this is the way foreign policy should be exercised and the Greek people know our every move, particularly against the background of the recently initiated Greek-Turkish dialogue. There is no such text. Courtesy calls between ambassadors will always be made and must be made, but there is no text, no memorandum," Papandreou said.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said Greek ambassador Lucas Tsilas had met in Brussels with a Turkish ambassador and discussed various issues.

"This is nothing new. There was simply an exchange of views on Greek- Turkish relations and there was no exchange of any kind of memorandum," Reppas said.

Parliamentary delegation to visit Turkey

A parliamentary delegation is due to leave for Turkey on Tuesday with a shipment of humanitarian aid for quake victims.

The five-member delegation, made up of deputies from the ruling PASOK party, the main opposition New Democracy party and the Communist Party of Greece, will fly to Turkey on an Hellenic Air Force transport aircraft.

The aid, comprising medical and sanitary supplies, was gathered on the initiative of Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis.

Simitis to hold talks with Albanian leadership

Prime Minister Costas Simitis is scheduled to hold talks with the Albanian leadership in Tirana and later in the week will meet with Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Premier Ljupco Georgievski, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said on Monday.

Simitis flies to Tirana on Tuesday morning for talks with President Rexhep Meidani and his Albanian counterpart Panteli Majko.

He will also meet with Orthodox Archbishop of Albania, Anastasios, before returning to Athens in the evening.

On Saturday, Simitis will travel to Florina, northern Greece to attend "Prespes '99" events, where he will meet with Georgievski.

The prime minister will return to Athens on Sunday.

Four more drownings at the weekend

Four more drownings in the sea were reported at the weekend, three Greeks and a Romanian, bringing the total number of swimmers who have died since January to 238.

The Romanian was identified as Mihai Balalau, 17, who drowned while swimming at Perama.

The Ministry of Merchant Marine said on Monday that the latest deaths brought to 238 the number of persons who have drowned in Greek waters since the beginning of the year.

Of the victims, 179 were male and 59 female.

Frenchman and Spanish woman arrested for jewelry thefts

The police on Monday announced the arrests of a Frenchman and his Spanish girlfriend for allegedly committing a series of jewelry thefts from stores in Ermione, Spetses and Hydra.

They were identified as Amatou Ourey Dialo, 29 and Veronica Tinar, 22.

The police said they had been found in possession of nine watches, nine bracelets, three necklaces, five chains and ten rings.

The value of the stolen jewelry has been estimated at 8 million drachmas.

Sprinter sets new Greek record at int'l championship

Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou yesterday won the bronze medal in the women's 100-metre dash at the World Athletics Championships in Seville, Spain. She clocked in at 10.86.

Marion Jones and Inger Miller, both of the United States, won the gold and silver medals, respectively, with 10.70 and 10.79.

Thanou twice broke the Greek national record in the qualifying rounds, with 10.86 and 10.82.

Two other Greek female athletes qualified for the triple jump final: Voula Tsiamita with 15.07 -- the best performance in the world this year that topped her Greek national record of 14.94 P and Olga Vasdeki with 14.27.

To the "Daily Bulletin" subscribers

Dear friends,

As you are aware, technological developments in the mass media sector are rapid. Today, all the news services are offered online. The "electronic newspaper" supplements, and in many cases replaces, the printed newspaper. Contact via e-mail also affords the ability for direct communication.

These developments, as many others, have also influenced our own work here at Athens News Agency (ANA), which is adapting all its services to the new technology. In the framework of these changes, the "Daily Bulletin" will P as of Jan. 2, 2000 P be conv erted from a printed to an electronic medium for our subscribers.

With this change, our subscribers will: a) receive our news items online, at the moment the news is breaking. b) receive the next day's "Daily Bulletin" on their screens at midnight, with the ability to print it out if they wish or simply view on screen. c) receive the "Bulletin" either via the paid ANA services on the Internet, or via e-mail sent to a subscriber's e-mail address. d) also have the ability, for a small surcharge, to utilise the ANA's English-language data bank, which contains all the news items appearing in the "Daily Bulletin" since 1992.

We believe that these changes, which correspond with the new function of the international and national news agencies, will satisfy subscribers' needs for immediate and credible information. In order to subscribe to this service, you must have a PC and a modem, or an e-mail address.

All who wish to continue receiving our services must prepare for these changes which, as stated, will commence on Jan. 2, 2000.

Takis Mantis, the director of ANA's informatics and telecommunications department, is at your disposal for any technical information on tel: 64.00.560 and 64.00.038.

I sincerely hope all our subscribers will adapt to these necessary technological changes.

Andreas Christodoulides ANA General Director

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Monday's rates (buying)
U.S. dollar          304.276
Pound sterling       491.873
Japanese yen (100)   272.145
French franc          49.420
German mark          165.748
Italian lira (100)    16.742
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