From: than...@athena.mit.edu (Thanos Tsekouras) Subject: Bulletin of News from the Athens News Agency for May 28, 1993 Date: 28 May 1993 18:16:39 GMT To: Boston, USA From: Geniki Grammateia Typoy 5-28-93 11:59 am Bulletin Athens 28/5/1993 (ANA) Greece yesterday rejected the plan put forward by UN mediators Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen to settle the issue of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia but said that it was prepared to hold direct talks with Skopje. Speaking to reporters after an inner cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis said that Greece's rejection would be officially delivered today by Ambassador George Papoulias. "Greece cannot accept the proposal of the two arbitrators", Mr. Mitsotakis said, "despite the fact that substantial progress was made regarding the confidence-building measures, agreement was not reached on the name". Mr. Mitsotakis said that the negative Greek reply would be accompanied by a proposal for the continuation under UN auspices of consultations for "a rapprochement of views". He added that Athens was willing to enter into direct talks with Skopje. Describing the Greek proposal as "reasonable", Mr. Mitsotakis expressed the hope that a similar proposal would be put forward by Skopje "so that efforts may continue". Asked whether the UN might disregard the Greek proposal and proceed, Mr. Mitsotakis said that "nothing can be rules out". But expressed the hope that the Security Council would make further efforts. Replying to other questions, Mr. Mitsotakis said that the confidence-building measures and the name to be used by the neighbouring republic constituted "a single package" and that any agreement would cover both issues. "Consequently", he said, "we are rejecting the entire package". Asked if Greece was willing to afford certain facilities to Skopje through the northern port of Thessaloniki, Mr. Mitsotakis replied that "talks must be on the substance of the problem with Skopje". "The basis of the issue must be resolved", he said, rejecting what he termed "temporary patchwork" solutions. "We want to co-exist with Skopje and we want that state to exist, on the condition that it abandons practices and dreams of the past", Mr. Mitsotakis said. The premier declined to specify the level at which Greek-Skopjan talks would be held and would not give any details about the content of the UN-sponsored talks under Mr. Vance and Lord Owen, citing the agreement by both sides not to disclose such information. Replying to other questions, Mr. Mitsotakis said that the government had a comprehensive plan to overcome problems in the export of products, mainly fruit from northern Greece, which have been caused by the embargo against Serbia. He expressed the hope that Greece would receive assistance from the European Community. --Foreign Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou briefed the ambassadors of Britain, France, Spain, Russia and the United States - all UN Security Council members - on Greece's position in regard to the Skopje issue at separate meetings yesterday. Istanbul, 28/5/1993 (ANA - A. Kourkoulas / Reuter) The improvement of Turkey's relations with the European Community is dependent on a resolution of the Cyprus issue, European Commisioner for external relations Hans van der Broek, currently on a visit to Ankara, said yesterday. "The 20-year-old deadlock over Cyprus must be broken. This would ... boost relations between Turkey and the Community", he said, emphasizing on the gap between Europe and Turkey. Washington, 28/5/1993 (ANA d. Dimas) A US congressional committee yesterday recommended a 10 per cent across-the-board cut in foreign military assistance for fiscal 1994 but said it would uphold the seven-to-ten ratio in US military assistance to Greece and Turkey. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on foreign operations, recommended a 10 per cent cut in the administration's foreign aid requests during mark-up of the foreign aid appropriations bill. The recommendation, however, would not alter the aid balance between foreign military assistance to Greece and Turkey, which congress has maintained at a seven-to-ten ratio. Under the bill, which contains specific language upholding the aid ratio, Greece would receive 283.5 million dollars in US military aid next year and Turkey would receive 405 million dollars. The administration's aid request for fiscal 1994 called for Greece and Turkey to receive 315 and 450 million dollars respectively. Strasbourg, 28/5/1993 (ANA P. Stangos) The European Parliament yesterday votes against the involvement of Balkan countries in military operations in Bosnia and, in the same resolution, stressed the need to counteract the negative consequences on the Greek economy of the embargo against Serbia and Montenegro. The adoption of the two amendments, proposed by Greek Eurodeputies Christos Papoutsis (PASOK) and Alekos Alavanos (Coalition), partly satisfies Greek positions but within the context of a resolution that rejects the plan of the "five" and indirectly but clearly requests that military measures be imposed. Athens, 28/5/1993 (ANA) President Constantine Karamanlis was admitted to the Ygeia hospital yesterday in order to undergo pre-arranged medical examinations. He later said the tests showed that he was in good health. "Doctors found me a year younger", he bantered as he left the hospital shortly after noon. He refuse, however, to comment on other matters and especially the Skopje issue. "This is not the right time. The confusion that prevails in the world today and in our country is so intense that it does not lend itself to interpratation", he said. According to the hospital, Mr. Karamanlis underwent a series of routine medical checks to determine his general state of health. Strasbourg, 28/5/1993 (ANA P. Stangos) The issue of discrimination against certain "smaller" countries in the Community was brought up before the European parliament yesterday by New Democracy Eurodeputy and parliament vice-president George Anastasopoulos. Mr. Anastasopoulos once again raised the question of "a policy of discrimination" against Greece, Ireland and Portugal, given that no Commisioners from these countries have ever been elected to one of the six posts of vice-president to the Commission. After intense discussion, Danich Foreign Undersecretary Ostrom Muller was forced to indirectly acknowledge the existence of the problem, confirming that the issue had been raised by other parties. Mr. Anastasopoulos pointed out that in 15 years small countries had been represented exclusively by Denmark, Belgium and Holland at the head of the Commission. This, he said, "did not serve the principle of geographic balance between North and South, between the centre and the periphery", and reinforced suspicions that equality in the Community was "only ostensible not real". Mr. Muller denied there was a "secret protocol" barring Greek, Portuguese or Irish Commissioners from the post of vice-president. Nevertheless, of the six vice-presidents chosen by the "12" for 1993-94, the two alloted to smaller countries will again go to Belgium and Denmark. Istanbul, 28/5/1993 (ANA) The Churche of St. John, in the town of Ulfa in southeast Turkey, is to be converted into a mosque. The church, considered one of Christianity's most ancient monuments, was built in the 3rd century A.D. and belongs to the Syrian-Chaldean community. The issue of its conversion into a mosque dates back to 1979. The conversion was deferred following protests by the Syrian-Chaldean community. In 1988, a commission of the Secreatariat General of Waqfs that visited the church, decided against its conversion into a mosque, adding it was imperative to recondition the building so that it might serve cultural functions. But two years later, another commission authorised conversion work to begin. The chairman of the Syrian-Chaldean Association of Sweden, Mr. Sait Yildiz, wrote Turkish culture Minister Fikri Salgar protesting against the "oppressive integration policy exercised againstour people, which has led many to emigrate to European countries. Many have left in order to survive, but churches cannot leave and, therefore, everything depends on your initiative". Mr. Yildiz also wrote that "quite a few churches in the area have already been coverted into mosques. They were built by Syrian Chaldeans, one of the earliest races to settle in Asia Minor". He also referred to pledges by the Turkish minister to safeguard the heritage of the East, and concluded by quoting Turkish officials as saying that only churches that have been converted into mosques had not been destroyed. Athens, 28/5/1993 (ANA) Only 32 per cent of Greeks are in favour of military intervention in former Yugoslavia while 50 per cent are against, according to the results of a Eurobarometer opinion poll carried out on behalf of the European Commission. The figures reflecting Greek popular opinion contrast sharply with those for its EC partners. In Italy, 64 per cent of those asked were in favour of military intervention "within the framework of a common (EC) foreign and defense policy" to restore peace in former Yugoslavia. The corresponding figure for the Netherlands was 62 per cent, for Spain and Britain 60 per cent, France and Ireland 59 per cent and Denmark 39 per cent. The results of the poll, carried out throughout Greece between March 19 and April 4, were announced at a press conference yesterday by Professor Ilias Nikolakopoulos who collaborates with the Athens office of the Commission. According to the results, Greek enthusiasm for procedures leading to European unification is much higher than the Community average. Of the sample of 1,000, 71 per cent were in favour of a common EC currency (compared with a Community average of 52 per cent), 78 per cent were in favour of joint defense (Community average 77 percent) and 73 per cent in favour of a common foreign policy (community average 66 per cent). Greek public opinion is also strongly in favour (83 per cent) of Cyprus' accession to the EC, followed by Britain (65 per cent), Ireland (60 per cent), the Netherlands (59 per cent), Italy (56 per cent) and Denmark (51 per cent). Only 32 percent of the EC public opinion is in favour of Turkey's entry to the Community, whie 42 per cent are against. The figures for Greece were 11 and 80 per cent respectively. [Copied by Thanos Tsekouras]