Subject: News I (Greek Press Office BBS in Ottawa).
To: macedonia@husc.harvard.edu (macedonia list.)
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 12:03:53 EDT

  bulletin, 10/07/1993 ( )
  ------------------------

  A.N.A. Istanbul,10/7/93 (ANA).--Ecumenical Patriarch
Vartholomeos begins an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate
today, his first to the Russian Church since he was elected to
the Ecumenical Throne in November 1991.
      The nine-day visit is the continuation of ``the course of
love, peace and unity`` the Ecumenical Patriarch began with his
visits to the patriarchates of Alexandria and Antioch.
        The Ecumenical Patriarch`s visit to the Moscow
Patriarchate is a follow-up of the visit his Beatitude Alexios
II, patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, paid to the Phanar when
he also participated in the meeting of Orthodox Church leaders
held on Orthodoxy Sunday in 1992.
        The Patriarch of Constantinople will be welcomed by
Alexios in Moscow at noon today and they will travel together to
St Petersburg.
        A religious ceremony will be held at St Petersburg`s
Cathedral tomorrow where Alexios was formerly Metropolitan.
        The Ecumenical Patriarch`s visit to Russia is taking
place at a crucial time for Orthodoxy`s position in a unified
Europe.
        His visit is expected to give a new impetus to Orthodox
unity and the joint handling of problems such as the issue of
Uniates.
        The Uniates, often called ``the thorniest problem facing
Orthodoxy today``, are Eastern-rite Catholics who use Orthodox
ceremonies and robes but recognise the supremacy of the Pope.
They number some six million in Ukraine and have been accused of
collaboration with the Nazis during World War Two.
        Political changes following the collapse of communist
regimes have created new problems of Orthodox Churches in eastern
Europe and have led primarily to the resurgence of proselytism by
the Catholic Church which is using Uniates to this end, namely
the subjugation of Orthodox Churches to the Vatican`s
jurisdiction.
        The Ecumenical Patriarchate is making every effort to
help the Russian Church, which is caing great internal problems
after the collapse of the communist regime, according to sources
at the Phanar. ANA


 --------- Athens, 10-7-93 (ANA).- Professor of international 
law Christos Rozakis was elected vice-president of the Council of
Europe`s European Committee for Human Rights yesterday.
        Professor Rozakis has been a member of the Council`s
European Committee since 1987. ANA


  ---  ---- Athens, 10-7-93 (ANA).- The New Democracy government
is the first in many years to deliver completed projects to the
Greek people and not ``foundation stones of unfulfilled
promises``, Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis said yesterday
at the inauguration of the new Halkis bridge which links Evia, an
island, to mainland Greece.
        ``Today, upon completion of this project, Evia will come
closer to the rest of Greece and the phenomenon of traffic
congestion outside Halkis will finally come to an end``, he said.
        Mr Mitsotakis said the Evia  prefecture had been treated
``unfairly`` in the distribution of EC Regional Development Plan
funds --during the previous government, in received only 14 per
cent of the total, whereas today is share is closer to 20 per
cent. The New Democracy government`s resolve is that Evia should
have its share of the Delors II package, the premier said.
        He acknowledged the grave economic problems Evia was
facing, noting that approximately half the financially-troubled
companies the government inherited are in the region. The
government, he said, is making serious efforts to secure the
region`s economic recovery, adding that he had chaired a
ministerial-level meeting on Thursday on the matter.
        He mentioned plans to create 1,000 new jobs with the help
of the Organisation for the Employment of Human Resources (OAED)
and to institute a subsidiew programme granting 500,000 dr. per
person for the establishment of small and medium-sized
enterprises.
  --   At the opening ceremony, Public Works Minister Achilleaw
Karamanlis termed the new Halkis bridge ``one of the biggest
bridgew in Europe and the greatest in width and height to have
ever been constructed in Greece.``
        The bridge, built by the T.E.B. construction company in
cooperation with ``Elliniki Technodomiki S.A.``, is 694.5 metres
in lingth, 35.5 metres high and cost 3.250 billion dr.
Construction was begun in 1985. ANA

 ------  Athens,10-7-93 (ANA).- Austrian Foreign Minister Alois
Mock said yesterday that a strong European Community could avert
crises such as the war in Bosnia and expressed his satisfaction
at Greece`s efforts on behalf of regional peace and stability.
        ``Greece is trying through dialogue to normalise its
relations with Albania``, Mr Mock told reporters and expressed
the hope that Albanian would also contribute in this direction.
        Mr Mock, in Athens for talks on Austria`s application to
join the EC, held separate meetings with Prime Minister
Constantine Mitsotakis, Foreign Minister Michalis
Papaconstantinou and National Defence Minister Ioannis
Varvitsiotis, to discuss bilateral relations and developments in
former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. ANA

 ------ Athens, 10-7-93 (ANA).-  The government`s policy towards
Albania is guided by the need to safeguard the human and
religious rights of the Greek minority and to bring seasonal
workers in Greece under the law, government spokesman Vassilis
Manginas announced yesterday.
        The announcement came after a meeting of the inner
cabinet, briefed by Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis on
recent developments in Greek-Albanian relations.
        The inner cabinet meeting was also briefed on the
situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina by the premier, who pointed out
that developments indicated ``a peaceful resolution`` to the
conflict.
        Referring to a European Commission statement Thursday
that there was no evidence whatsoever that Greece was violating
the UN-imposed embargo on YHugoslavia, Mr. manginas said he hoped
that this statement would mean ``charges against our country of
violating the embargo will come to an end, once and for all``.
        -- Foreign Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou
yesterdaycautiously welcomed statements by Albanian President
Sali Berisha Thursday.
        ``I assume (Mr. Berisha`s statement are) a concession
or...clarification that (Albania is not setting) conditions, but
points of discussion``, he said.
        Mr Berisha said Thursday he wanted a fresh climate of
understanding between Tirana and Athens and pledged to protect
the rights of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania.
        He denied that a letter sent to the Greek government by
Albania`s foreign ministry was a series ofr demands to end the
current feud between the two Balkan states but merely points for
discussion.
        Greece rejected what it called Tirana`s conditions to
bring a halt to the dispute, sparked by Albania`s deportation of
a senior Greek cleric for allegedly fomenting separatism among
Albania`s Greek minority. ANA


 ------- Tirana 10-7-93 (ANA-K.Liatis).-  Albania`s main
opposition party yesterday accused the government of attacking
pluralism in Albania after Tirana accused a leading opposition
leader of defaming President Sali Berisha.
        ``The government`s attack against the leader of a
policial party in Tirana is an attack against pluralism and one
that signals the dangers of a rebirth of totalitarianism``, the
Socialist Party said in yesterday`s Zeri Populit newspaper.
        National Unity party leader Itayet Bekiri has been
acdcused by the government of defaming the character of Mr.
Berisha in an article he wrote.
        Describing the government`s ``persisent condemnation`` of
Mr Bekiri as ``unacceptable``, the socialist Party said it
signalled ``a new escalation of censorship``.
        Zeri Populit also reported yesterday that Finance
Minister Gensch Rouli had filed a complaint against the
newspaper`s correspondent in Tirana, Panayot Zoto, for defamation
of character, after Zoto reported that the minister was involved
in cigarette smuggling. ANA

 ----- Athens,107-93 (ANA).--  Foreign Minister Michalis
Papaconstantinou and his Cypriot counterpart Alecos Michaelides
held a meeting yesterday to coordinate action in light of the
upcoming meeting of the EC`s ministerial council which will
discuss the commission`s opinion on Cyprus membership
application.
        Mr Papaconstantinou and Mr Michaelides, who arrived in
Athens on Thursday, also reviewed recent developments on the
Cyprus problem
        ``We studied the positions which must be promoted during
the meeting of the General Affairs Council``, on July 19 and 20,
said Mr. Papaconstantinou.
        The Commission`s avis on Cyprus` EC bid said the island
was ``eligible`` for membership, but cited the Turkish occupation
of Cyprus` northern third as a major obstacle on the road.
        Tt proposed, moreover, the immediate commencement of
negotiations on harmonising Cyprus with Community rules and
regulations. 
        ``The (EC Commission`s) avis on Cyprus`s application,
despite the obstacles and difficulties which it includes, leaves
open the road for various handlings to promote Cyprus`s accession
to the Community``, Mr Michaelides told reporters after the
meeting.
        ``The reason we are here today is precisely because the
document opens a path and we wish to use every available
opportunity to promote our position``, he added.
        Asked about President glafcos Clerides` position on a
pan-Hellenic conference, to be attended by the political
leadership of Athens and Nicosia to decide the strategy and goals
of the Greek side on the Cyprus problem, Mr Michaelides said it
was still at the preparatory stage.
        ``We consider imperative the convening of a pan-Hellenic
conference as we consider imperative its preparation in order to
produce the results we all expect``, he said.
        Mr Michaelides also met yesterday with Prime Minister
Constantine Mitsotakis. ANA- END