Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-09-20

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

CONTENTS

[01] Avghi, a Neolithic settlement, comes alive through workshops in the Kastoria area

[02] Ministry strips Golden Dawn deputies of police protection

[03] Government Vice-President and Foreign Minister Venizelos denies 'Die Zeit' report regarding Asmussen meeting

[01] Avghi, a Neolithic settlement, comes alive through workshops in the Kastoria area

During the last weekend of September, the 29th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the excavation team of Avghi will allow visitors to practice on how food was prepared during the Neolithic Era, how ceramic vessels were made and how cereals and legumes were harvested.

The events are part of the European Days of Cultural Heritages 2013, and will be held at the main square of Avgi. Friday's programme is for secondary school students, while from Friday afternoon throughout Saturday the programme is for adults.

Events are under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and assisted by the Region of Kastoria, the city of Kastoria, the Association of Ceramics and Clay Workers of Norther Greece and the financial support of the I. F. Kostopoulos Foundation.

The Ephorate and the excavators, with the Kastoria municipality, are also offering educational activities that began on September 16 and will continue to October 31 at Avghi's former Secondary School.

[02] Ministry strips Golden Dawn deputies of police protection

Prompted by the murder on Tuesday of Pavlos Fyssas, a 34-year-old leftist, by a self-confessed follower of Golden Dawn, on Tuesday night, which has resulted in widespread reactions across the political spectrum and Greek society, the ministry also said it was waiting for a ruling by Supreme Court prosecutor Efterpi Goutzamani on a letter sent by Minister Nikos Dendias late on Thursday.

In the letter, Dendias listed prosecutable acts by members or followers of Golden Dawn and requested that she take action. His letter was based on the premise that the party is exhibiting features of a criminal organisation and uses practices of organised crime.

In terms of polie escorts, exceptions will be made by personal application by deputies who are scheduled to appear in specific places and there is actual threat to their safety.

In its announcement, the ministry said, "the assignment of particular police escort to Golden Dawn deputies is institutionally and legally incompatible with the obligations of the Greek Police and the values of protecting the state of law and the parliamentary government it serves."

Golden Dawn to file petition against minister, media for slander

Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi) party intends to file a court petition against Public Order and Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Dendias for "false accusations" and against all television stations, newspapers and political personages who "slander and threaten a legitimate political party", Golden Dawn press spokesman Ilias Kassidiaris said Friday.

Speaking to the press at the Parliament's entrace, Kassidiaris said that "parties and television channels are taking advantage of a dead fellow-Greek for the sole purpose of making propaganda against Golden Dawn and reducing our power. You are all illegal and slanderers. We have condemned the perpetrator of this criminal act from the very start."

[03] Government Vice-President and Foreign Minister Venizelos denies 'Die Zeit' report regarding Asmussen meeting

"The report in the newspaper 'Die Zeit' that refers - in the context of a multiple-page portrait on Mr. Joerg Asmussen - to the so-called content of our talks during our recent meeting (on August 22) in Athens, at the foreign ministry, is completely inaccurate.

"I await an official denial of the report on the part of Mr. Asmussen and the European Central Bank and hope that I do not need to return to this," Venizelos said, in a statement released by the foreign ministry.

According to the article, Venizelos had discussed the possibility of 'massaging' Greece's budget gap figures.

The European Central Bank on Friday denied the accuracy of a report published by the weekly magazine of the German newspaper "Die Zeit" concerning Greek government Vice-President and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

Repyling to an ANA-MPA question concerning the article, ECB spokesman William Lelieveldt said that "the description given is not correct".

According to the article, which has been strenuously denied by Venizelos as "completely inaccurate", the Greek minister had asked ECB board member Joerg Asmussen to "massage" figures in order to make Greece's funding gap appear smaller during their meeting in Athens in August.

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