From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros)
Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Sat, 9 Apr 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa).

ANA, 09/04/1994 ( ) 

Premier replies to President Clinton `on all issues` 
---------------------------------------------------
   ATHENS, 9/4/94 (ANA).-- Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's
reply to the letter received a fortnight ago from President Bill
Clinton refers to all the issues which will be on the agenda of
talks between the two leaders in Washington on April 22, the
government said yesterday.
    Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said that Mr.
Papandreou handed the letter to US Ambassador Thomas Niles Thursday
night.
    On the Skopje issue, Mr. Venizelos said that no decision had
been taken by the European Commission to refer Greece to the
European Court of Justice over the trade sanctions it has imposed
as retortion measures against the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM).
 He said that there had been a decision "in principle", suspended
until April 13.
 "The procedure under Article 225 has not been used before, and its
purpose is to examine whether or not Greece exercises its rights
abusively," Mr. Venizelos said.
    The most competent person, the spokesman said, is UN Secretary
General Boutros Boutros Ghali "who in his repor ascertains that the
problem between Greece and FYROM creates tension which jeopardizes
peace in the region."
  The procedure of referral, Mr. Venizelos said, is not regulated
by rules of the Luxembourg court " and, therefore, it is a
procedure which moves at its own pace within a time-framework of
one year".
  "The decision is taken behind closed doors precisely because
problems of a political nature are raised, but despite this, the
government has no objection to stating its positions publicly," the
spokesman said.
  Greece's legal arguments are both numerous and potent, Mr.
Venizelos stressed, clarifying that the procedure was not penal in
nature, but merely "to establish a point, " and it did not carry
legal consequences. Fines are not easily imposed, Mr. Venizelos
said, "precisely because the political nature of the issue comes
first."
  The spokesman dismissed the possibility of provisional remedies
being imposed against Greece, noting that such measures were
anticipated only in cases of an urgent nature, "while here we have
an issue which the Commission has been involved with for two
months."
  Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after meeting with President
Constantine Karamanlis, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias
described the Commission's referral decision as "untimely,
unhelpful and reminiscent of previous EU decisions on former
Yugoslavia".
  Mr. Papoulias said that the referral procedure "does not worry
us".
  Foreign Undersecretary George Papandreou yesterday had talks with
US envoys Thomas Niles focusing on the Skopje issue. The two men
also discussed matters relating to the Premier's visit to the
Unites States. ANA


 PolA calls for Skopje referendum
 --------------------------------
 ATHENS, 9/4/94 (ANA).-- The Political Spring (Pol.A) party
yesterday called for a referendum on the Skopje issue immediately
or, at the latest, simultaneously with the European Parliament
elections in June.
  The request was tabled in Parliament by the party's Parliamentary
Group in a motion addressed to all the government ministers.
 Pol.A proposed that Greek voters should be asked in the referendum
whether or not they would "accept Greece's co-signing, under any
conditions, a concession on the name Macedonia (as is, a
derivative, or in any other form) to the state of Skopje on the
grounds this constitutes a vehicle of irredentist propaganda and a
future threat to our national security".
  Political Spring is the third largest party in the 300-member
Parliament. ANA


 Greece hopes S.C. won't implement Turkish Bosnia mission
---------------------------------------------------------
   ATHENS, 9/4/94 (ANA).-- Greece yesterday expressed the hope that
the recent Security Council decision to include Turkish troops in
the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) contingent in Bosnia would not
eventually be implemented.
  "What matters to the Greek government is that the decision should
not be implemented, but if it were, then the government would be
interested in seeing that the relevant terms and conditions made
Turkish participation as least negative as possible for  peace in
the region," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said.
  Meanwhile, commenting on statements concerning the Ecumenical
Patriarchate in Phanar, Istanbul, by Turkish Foreign Ministry
spokesman Ferhat Ataman, Mr. Venizelos said that in addition to the
Treaty of Lausanne, international practice and standing rules also
governed the functioning of the Patriarchate.
  "The honours afforded the Ecumenical Patriarch on his visits
abroad are not coincidental," the spokesman said.
  Mr. Ferhat said Thursday Ankara could not "understand the liaison
between the Patriarchate and Greece". He also claimed that the
Patriarchate was a "Turkish foundation".
  Greece, added Mr Venizelos, condemns terrorism and all acts of
violence "but at the same time respects the principles of
international law and therefore asks Turkey to refrain from
systematically exporting its problems to other countries".
  The spokesman said that the Kurdish Workers' Party did not have
a representative office in Athens, as it did in other large
European countries. ANA