From: miltos@nfl2.irc.nrc.ca
Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Mon, 1 Nov 1993 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa).

	ANA Athens, 1/11/93(ANA)--Culture Minister Melina Mercouri
yesterday mourned the death of Italian film great Federico
Fellini, who died in Rome aged 73. "We people of the cinema and
culture have lost our magician. We are mourning the loss of
Fellini, who has given so much tenderness to life and feeling to
dreams, so much humour to everyday life; the man who had
identified his life with the cinema," she said. 


	Athens, 1/11/93(ANA)--Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou said
yesterday that the United Nations-led talks on the Skopje issue
had reached an impasse but did not rule out the possibility of
the talks continuing in the future. "The talks have been led to
an impasse and there is no point in continuing them. We leave
open this possibility and if in the future there is some change
of stance, then we will be able to continue," he told reporters
at Athens airport early Sunday. Mr Papandreou ,who was returning
from a special European Community summit meeting in Brussels,
also said his government would send a detailed letter this week
to the UN secretary general outlining Greece's position on the
talks. Asked whether the letter would indicate if Greece would
break off the talks or request that they be continued on another
basis, the premier responded: "No ,this is not what we are
saying. We are saying that the talks have been led to an impasse
and there is no point in continuing them." He added that if
there was a change in Skopje's stance the talks could be
continued "on some basis that is also related to the name". 


	Gyrokastr, Albania, 1/11/93(ANA-M.Vihou)--Four leaders of the
ethnic Greek minority in Albania, arrested by the Albanian
authorities for raising a Greek flag in celebrations marking
Greece's national holiday Thursday, were released from custody
yesterday. Theodoros Bezianis, head of the Gyrokastr branch of
the "Omonia" political party, Vangelis Baroufas, president of
the Dervitsani community, Michalis Dalianis, president of the
Vouliarati community and Georgios Diamantis, a Dervitsani
resident, were released by authorities after being detained for
12 hours and paying a surety of 10,000 Lek (2,500 Dr) each. The
four said they had been detained for raising the Greek flag in
the villages of Dervitsani and Vouliarati last Thursday.
Bezianis told the Athens News Agency that he would press charges
for wrongful arrest and that he would send letters of protest to
Albanian President Sali Berisha, as well as to the various
international organisations. The Albanian parliament recently
passed a law ruling that police be informed on all gatherings of
a religious or cultural nature, a move, political observers
said, clearly aimed at striking a blow against he Greek
minority. It was on the basis of this law that Albanian police
officers disbanded gatherings both in Gyrokastr after the
expulsion of Archimandrite Chrysostomos and in the village of
Krania recently. 


	Athens, 1/11/93(ANA)--Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou said
yesterday that his government's Balkan initiatives were aimed at
resolving the crisis in former Yugoslavia rather than the
convening of an inter-Balkan conference. "We are not making an
inter-Balkan (conference) now, but (Foreign Minister Karolos
Papoulias) is merely making a tour of Balkan capitals, "he told
reporters upon return from a special European Community summit
meeting in Brussels. "Turkey is a part of the Balkans, but only
a small part of it. We do not consider Turkey a genuine
participant in this issue as it is mainly Yugoslavia that is
important", Mr Papandreou added, when asked to comment on
earlier statements that the foreign minister's Balkan tour would
not include Ankara. "If we (propose) an inter-Balkan
(conference), then Turkey will be included as it was before. We
must have Turkey", he said. 


	Athens, 1/11/93(ANA)-Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou said
yesterday that his next trip abroad would be to attend the
European Community summit meeting on December 10. He added that
he would also attend the NATO summit on January 10 but said no
date had yet been set for his visit to the United States. "The
dates for (my visit to Washington) must be adapted to the new
circumstances. January will be very full of trips", he told
reporters on return from the special EC summit in Brussels. "We
will discuss (this issue) with the new United States
ambassador", Mr Papandreou added. Greece will assume the EC's
six-month rotating presidency on January 1. 


	New York, 1/11/93(ANA-M.Georgiadou)--Archbishop Iakovos of
North and South America Saturday said he believed the new Greek
government aimed at following a new policy, one that gave him
room for optimism. Speaking to Cosmos FM, a local radio station,
Archbishop Iakovos added that he felt optimistic after Premier
Andreas Papandreou's recent policy statement speech in
parliament, and was confident he would follow a wise policy. 


	Athens, 1/11/93(ANA)-- Former World Grand Prix champion Niki
Laouda was forced to land at Thessaloniki's Macedonia airport on
Saturday after hoaxers said a bomb had been planted on a plane
he was flying. Mr Lauda, owner of the private Austrian airline
'El Lauda', was piloting a flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna when
he received a radio signal about the bomb threat. But after a
thorough three-hour search at the Thessaloniki airport, the
threat proved a hoax and the 147 passengers were allowed to
reboard. 


	Athens, 1/11/93(ANA)--Public Order Minister Stelios
Papathemelis Saturday announced that special measures would be
taken this week to cope with illegal immigration. "The issue of
illegal immigration is of major importance to us", Mr
Papathemelis said in Thessaloniki. "Of course, measures have
been taken to prevent (illegal) entry of Albanians to this
country. We are giving profound and most careful attention to
the matter, and a set of measures to cope with the situation
will be announced in the next few days". He rejected claims by
Albanian authorities of ill-treatment and mass deportations of
Albanians from Greece, describing such allegations as figments
of the imagination. Mr Papathemelis acknowledged arrests had
been made and deportations carried out, adding they consisted of
isolated cases of Albanians who not only crossed the border
illegally into Greece, but lacked identification papers as well.
Such immigrants included former convicts and others who carried
out various criminal acts including burglary and looting. This
had caused crime to increase dangerously, reaching levels that
were hitherto unknown to Greece, Mr Papathemelis said. "We are
acting in the appropriate manner, as would any other country
that is not prepared to see its territory treated as open ground
for criminal elements from abroad to carry out their
activities", he said. Other countries had adopted stricter
measures, the minister added. Meanwhile, two Albanians, Fatil
Albrodjimi and Fatmi Abrahimi, both 19, resident of Libras, were
taken into custody Saturday, after they were caught by a Florina
priest attempting to remove sacred objects. One of them had a
knife with a five-inch blade. 


	Athens, 1/11/93(ANA)--The establishment of a European Centre
for the Development of Vocational Training will enable the
capital of Macedonia to play an enhanced role in the Balkans and
continental Europe, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos
told reporters in Thessaloniki Saturday, commenting on a
decision by the twelve EC leaders to select the capital of
northern Greece as the seat of ECDVT. The Community which, as of
today, will be called the European Union, last Friday dealt with
the selection of sites for European foundations. Reviewing the
basic operation of the centre, Mr Venizelos said its basic
mission consisted of organising and co-ordinating programmes for
professional training and rehabilitation, providing consultants,
organising related training activities in Thessaloniki, and
operation of a secretariat that will co-ordinate such work not
only among Community member-countries, but also among those of
central and eastern Europe that take part in the related
programme. Thessaloniki, thus, will become the seat of a very
important European agency, relating to the Balkan mainland and
its economic role as a city, Mr Venizelos said. Funding of the
centre will be carried out from the general budget of the
European Union. The union will thus acquire legal entity and be
entitled to court admission and possession of movable as well as
real property. 


	Nicosia,1/11/93(ANA)-Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides will
hold talks with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou in Athens on
Thursday. Mr Clerides will be accompanied by Foreign Minister
Alecos Michaelides, who left yesterday for London to address the
Greek-Cypriot Brotherhood of London tomorrow, the 33rd
anniversary of the Cyprus independence. END