Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-04-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] Matches suspended after fan's death, 16 charged; ND takes bruising in opinion polls

[02] Papandreou gets warm welcome from PASOK youth

[03] PASOK-ND differences not substantial, Papariga claims

[04] Greek finance minister arrives in Melbourne

[01] Matches suspended after fan's death, 16 charged; ND takes bruising in opinion polls

ND just 0.5% ahead according to ALCO

According to an Alco poll appearing in the newspaper "Ethnos tis Kyriakis (Sunday Ethnos)", ND is just half a percentage point ahead in voter preference, with 33.9 % of voters backing ND against 33.4% backing PASOK.

The poll, conducted between March 13 and March 23, reports 5.5% of voters backing the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), 2.8% backing the Coalition of Left, of Movements and Ecology (SYN) and 2.2% the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis retains a commanding lead over PASOK leader George Papandreou as most suitable for premier, backed by 42.8% of voters compared with just 28.2% preferring Papandreou.

The ruling party also fares better on the question of who is most likely to win an immediate election, with 58.4% backing an ND victory against 23.5% predicting victory for PASOK.

The paper noted that ND's support among voters had slipped since the last poll, attributing this to the bonds scandal, while the smaller opposition parties had also fared worse relative to previous polls.

Kapa Research polls shows ruling party lead declining by 0.6 points

According to a poll conducted by Kapa Research on March 27-29 and published in the Sunday Vima, meanwhile, ND had a one-point lead over PASOK but its lead had declined since the last poll conducted in February, when it was 1.6 points.

Specifically, 36.9% of those answering the poll said they would vote for ND, 35.9% for PASOK, 7% backed KKE, 3.9% backed LAOS and 3.4% backed SYN, while 11.3% said they had not decided.

Karamanlis was again firmly ahead of his main rival Papandreou as most suitable premier, with 52.8 backing the current prime minister against 34.9% backing the main opposition leader.

ND was also seen as the party most likely to win immediate elections, with 64.6% predicting an ND victory against 23.2% for PASOK.

The Kapa Research poll was carried out nationwide, among men and women aged above 18.

More arrested over hooligan brawl and killing in Paiania

In addition to the 16 already charged, police on Sunday announced that another two fan association leaders had been arrested after a veritable arsenal was found in raids on their club premises. Another man who was being held under arrest in hospital may also be charged in connection with the killing. The charges against the 16 include seven crimes and seven misdemeanours, including intentional homicide and repeated counts of attempted homicide.

Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos stressed on Friday that the law does not allow suspended sentences or fines for those convicted of sports-related violence and that they would go straight to jail. He also announced a decision to ban all team matches for two weeks, following an urgent meeting between Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and the three ministers directly responsible for sports and law enforcement, Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras, Justice Minister Anastasios Papaligouras and Deputy Sports Minister George Orfanos.

The clash involving some 500 hooligans occurred on Thursday evening ahead of a women's first-division volleyball match between Greece's two largest clubs, arch-rivals Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. According to police reports, there is strong evidence that it was arranged in advance and that the match itself was just a pretext. The two groups engaged in a 20-minute battle in the eastern suburb of Paiania, during which a young man in his early 20s was killed and several others, including passers-by not directly involved in the fighting, were seriously injured. Police intervened, detaining 18 people and arresting 13, who were charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm.

While investigating the incident, police raided the offices of dozens of Panathinaikos and Olympiakos fan associations around Athens, recovering items such as clubs, crowbars, switchblades, fireworks, knives, chains, flares and drugs.

One more man - the head of a fan association in Peristeri - was also placed under arrest and led before a public prosecutor on Saturday after he turned himself in. Police had been looking for him after finding a number of suspect items at the fan association's offices during Friday's raids.

Following a meeting at police headquarters on Friday, investigating officers said they had no firm evidence that the arrival of Panathinaikos supporters on the scene had been organised in advance but it was clear that Olympiakos supporters had orchestrated their arrival in large numbers.

They were seen leaving Karaiskaki stadium, the Olympiakos home ground, on 150 motorbikes headed for Paiania, while another 50 motorbikes joined the group at the Kallimarmaron (Panathenian) stadium in central Athens.

[02] Papandreou gets warm welcome from PASOK youth

"I came here to listen to you," Papandreou said in a brief address to the party's youth, noting that the country's youth would bring about its "resurrection" and shake things up.

"We guarantee a Greece with values, a Greece that will put moral principles first and will not be corrupted, with not be carried away by corruption, by the various 'cronies' and the various gangs that currently feed off the public sector, the social security funds, your future," he added.

He also reminded those present of the words of his father, PASOK founder Andreas Papandreou: "Youth that believes in itself cannot be stopped by anyone."

Finally, Papandreou expressed satisfaction with the work achieved by the congress so far and promised to return on Sunday.

"Your choices will be free choices, democratic choices according to your conscience. You have the power, you decide, you determine the future of PASOK's youth party. I will be with you, both as the opposition today and as a government tomorrow," he concluded.

[03] PASOK-ND differences not substantial, Papariga claims

"The biggest difference between ND and PASOK is their contest for power, their struggle to get the leading role in management. Their differences are not in substance, since they neither harm nor weaken the bourgeois political system. They act as safety valves to let off pent up discontent, they give the ruling class the capability to continue exercising power by changing the parties in government," Papariga noted.

She stressed that "KKE is the only political force in Parliament that can succed in quantitatively and qualitatively weakenening the two-party system," and that the efficiency of struggle was linked to securing a popular vote in favour of KKE and against ND and PASOK.

In a reference to a recent government law for reforming tertiary education, Papariga noted that this could be withdrawn if the government found itself faced with a vibrant opposition but could not be achieved by PASOK in its present form.

She pointed out that when Constantine Karamanlis senior had withdrawn a framework law for universities back in the late 70s, this had been because the PASOK party of that day had represented a completely different policy that was sweeping it to power.

"Why should ND back down today? It is being pressured by PASOK, of course, but only on the electoral field. It is not being pressured by a different policy. Their differences lie chiefly in the way that they will handle popular discontent. In any case, ND has no margins to take back a law of strategic importance with European-wide dimensions within the EU. Nor can PASOK behave like PASOK in 1979 and 1980. And this because it has joined the strategy of European and Greek capital," Papariga said.

[04] Greek finance minister arrives in Melbourne

He will be the main speaker at a business forum that begins on Monday at Melbourne's Crown Casino, where business delegates from Greece and Greek-Australian business people that already have business ties with the country will be able to meet and further expand their cooperation in Greece and Europe.

On the sidelines of the forum, Alogoskoufis is scheduled to meet Australian Treasurer Peter Costello, Victoria State Treasurer John Brumby and Victoria State Minister for Tourism Tim Holding.

Also to address the Monday forum is Victoria's state minister for industry and state development and small businesses, Theo Theophanous. He and Alogoskoufis will later jointly inaugurate Melbourne's Greek Museum and the "Nafsika Stamouli" Gallery.

The minister's programme will include a visit to Sydney and a meeting with the Orthodox Archbishop of Australia Stylianos.

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