From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Wed, 13 Apr 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, Tirana steps up tension, expels Greek diplomat ---------------------------------------------- Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): Greece yesterday expelled the Albanian embassy first secretary Kastriot Robo, in retaliation to Tirana's decision to declare the Greek Consul General in Gjirokastr persona non grata. The tit-for-tat expulsion is the latest development in a row over an attack on a conscript training centre in Gjirokastr near the border with Greece early Sunday. Albanian television has claimed two soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an attack Tirana has blamed on Greece. A statement released by Albanian President Sali Berisha's office "condemns with deep indignation the massacre at the recruits barracks ... which marks an extremely grave, ugly, hostile act of Greece toward Albania ... for which the Greek government bears full responsibility". Greece has flatly rejected Albania's claims. Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantine Bikas said yesterday Greece had decided on the expulsion after being informed Greek Consul General in Gjirokastr Christos Iacovou, had been given 48 hours to leave Albania. A Foreign Ministry statement yesterday said the Greek government "expresses regret over the incident for which the Albanian side bears sole responsibility." The government accused Albania, of "using the recent criminal incident by unknown elements on its soil, as a pretext to attempt creating a climate of tension on a bilateral level." "The Greek government has spared no effort in contributing to the attempt made by the Albanian people to rebuild their country, and expects the Tirana government to display appropriate responsibility in removing the current tension to ensure security and stability in the region," the statement said. Meanwhile government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said earlier yesterday, Greece would not follow Albania's example to establish a climate of artificial tension. Mr. Venizelos said Greece "felt regret in the event of victims" but was in no position to have knowledge of circumstances surrounding the attack "in order to draw the necessary conclusions". Police in both countries, the spokesman said, might collaborate to investigate the incident, "since it is clearly a police matter and the diplomatic facet is merely a side issue". Mr. Venizelos reiterated that the unfaltering aim of the Greek government was constant improvement in Greek-Albanian relations which "is clearly conditional on respect for human rights of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania". "Such types of incident however," the spokesman went on, "are dealt with only if the rule of law exists and the state functions properly". Mr. Venizelos said that the Greek government "will not be drawn into recycling this climate of tension, be cause it wishes to safeguard stability and security in the broader region (of the Balkans)". All the facts referred to in Monday's statement (by the Albanian Foreign Ministry) have been answered and denied by the Greek government, while there has been no Albanian reply, Mr. Venizelos said. Foreign Under-secretary George Papandreou said later that Greece "should not have to defend itself for an incident with which it is in no way connected". Mr. Papandreou reiterated that Greece considered the incident an act of provocation, adding that "our country has no desire to upset its relations with Albania". "There are serious issues which we must resolve such as that of the ethnic Greek minority (in Albania)," he said. Mr. Papandreou was commenting on Albania's note of protest to the United Nations. Evert ----- Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): "The government is in a state of paralysis ... It is inconceivable that there should be no Greek initiatives in the face of such developments", main opposition leader Miltiades Evert stated yesterday, commenting on the latest turn in Greek- Albanian relations. KKE, SYN -------- Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): Commenting on developments in Albania, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Politburo member Orestis Kolozov yesterday said the "KKE called on the Greek government and all sides to show self-restraint and avoid action which might aggravate further relations between the two countries." In a similar statement, Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) leader Nikos Costantopoulos denounced "the provocative moves of (Albanian President Sali) Berisha and government lack of initiative in Balkan affairs", adding that "government stalemated policy fuels destabilising developments." Greek community in Rwanda safe ------------------------------ Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): Twenty-three Greek residents in Rwanda are safe, a Foreign Ministry announcement said yesterday. Nineteen are scheduled to arrive in Athens tomorrow Thursday at 21.20, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa. Greece willing to launch Bosnia peace initiative ------------------------------------------------ Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): Greece is willing to undertake an initiative for a speedy, lasting and peaceful settlement of the Bosnian crisis, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday. The spokesman said that Greece had not been given advance notice of NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serb targets around Gorazde. "There was and is no provision for prior briefing concerning the enforcement of UN resolutions by NATO," Mr. Venizelos said. The spokesman also referred to Monday's meeting between Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and New Yugoslavia Ambassador Milan Milutinovic, at which the Bosnian crisis was discussed. Mr. Venizelos said that Mr. Milutinovic was likely to have "a similar meeting" yesterday with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, adding: "Our country is always willing to undertake an initiative and offer its good offices for a speedy, lasting and peaceful settlement of the crisis in Bosnia." Reiterating Greece's position that Balkan countries should not become involved in the Bosnian crisis, Mr. Venizelos added "the government considers extremely unpleasant the fact that tension in the region is escalating." Replying to questions concerning articles in the foreign press criticising Greece, Mr. Venizelos said that "due to its historical development and its social, political and economic structure, our country is a major force for peace, stability and security in the Balkans and enjoys a number of advantages in comparison with other countries in the region". Greece, he said, is the only country in the Balkans which is a member of the European Union and the only country in the region, with the exception of Turkey, which is also a NATO member. Parties call for Gov't initiative to end Bosnia air strikes ---------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): Political Spring (Pol.A) party leader Antonis Samaras, Coalition of the Left and Progress (Syn) Eurodeputy Alecos Alavanos and the Politburo of the Communist Party of Greece's (KKE) Central Committee yesterday called for an end to air strikes against Serbs and high risk flights over Bosnia. "High risk flights and air strikes against Serbs should stop immediately. The government should leave aside hypocrisy about not having been notified, and state clearly what it is doing or what it will do to discontinue the dangerous and inflammatory game capable of bringing a big conflagration to the Balkans," Mr. Samaras said. KKE condemned Nato's new imperialist intervention against Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the most categorical way. Unless NATO quits the Balkans, the generalised war will stay on as a specific and immediate threat, a party statement said. "The Greek government can no longer show evasiveness. It should activate immediately in launching peacekeeping initiatives, the criterion being the interests of the Balkan peoples and inter-Balkan co-operation. Any thought of Greek soldiers participating in Bosnia constitutes dangerous adventurism with unforeseen consequences for our country." In a question to European Union Foreign Ministers, Coalition of the Left and Progress Eurodeputy Alecos Alavanos asked for adoption of a Russian proposal for an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council. Greek military closely monitoring Bosnia situation -------------------------------------------------- Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): The National Defence General Staff remains on alert following latest developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina and two NATO air strikes against Serb positions in Gorazde. National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis underlined the fluidity of the situation in a statement Monday, and conferred on the issue with General Staff chiefs. The situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina is being watched closely and, as might be expected, it was raised at the General Staff chiefs meeting yesterday, he said. Meanwhile, the National Defence Ministry is considering not to assume administration of STANNAVFORMED, Permanent Mediterranean Naval Force, as of September, as was the case last year. STANNAVFORMED and West European Union ships are patrolling the Adriatic Sea to ensure enforcement of a UN embargo against New Yugoslavia. Vance, Zaharakis meeting tomorrow --------------------------------- Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): The meeting for talks between the UN special mediator on the Skopje issue Cyrus Vance and Foreign Ministry General Secretary Ambassador Christos Zaharakis will take place tomorrow, the government announced yesterday. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos added the European Commission "gave itself until April 13" so that Mr. Vance should meet with representatives of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The spokesman was referring to the Commission's recent decision to refer Greece to the European Court of Justice for its trade sanctions against FYROM. The Commission suspended implementation of the decision until April 13. "The European Commission may have displayed greater haste than actually called for by the political nature of the issue," Mr. Venizelos said. Meanwhile in New York, a UN spokesman announced meetings between Mr. Vance and representatives of Greece and FYROM would be held this week, according to a Reuter dispatch. "We anticipate that there will be talks with the FYROM delegation on Wednesday (today) and the Greek delegation on Thursday (tomorrow)," the UN spokesman said. Genscher underscores significance of PM's Washington visit ---------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): Visiting former German foreign minister Hans Dietrich Genscher yesterday described Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's forthcoming visit to the US as "an important effort for stability in Europe". Speaking to reporters after talks with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, Mr. Genscher said it was very important that the Greek government, current holder of the rotating European Union presidency, should be having direct contact with US President Bill Clinton. Mr. Papandreou is scheduled to have talks with Mr. Clinton in Washington on April 22. Mr. Genscher said Germany had shown "great understanding" for Greece's positions on the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), adding Greece might avoid being referred to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission over its trade sanctions against Skopje. The former minister added Germany held the manner in which Greece exercised the EU presidency "in high regard". Mr. Genscher said he would be leaving Greece "feeling well" about the degree of Greek-German relations. New Democracy walks out of ex-king bill debate ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 13/4/1994 (ANA): The conservative main opposition New Democracy party yesterday walked out of a Parliamentary committee debate on a bill confiscating ex-king Constantine's property. The bill also strips the former royal family of its Greek citizenship and Greek travel documents. Commenting on the walkout, Finance Minister Alecos Papadopoulos said ND deputies had withdrawn from the Committee to avoid "enlarging" the rift in the party's "internal front". ND parliamentary spokesman George Souflias said his party had walked out of the debate, because the bill was unconstitutional since it was not accompanied by reports from Parliament's legislative committee and scientific council, and was also being used to draw public attention away from major national issues. Mr. Papadopoulos said the legislative committee report existed, adding that in tabling the bill, the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) fulfilled an electoral pledge. Under the bill, the Mon Repos estate on the island of Corfu reverts to the local Municipality to be used as a cultural centre, while another summer house in the northern Athens suburb of Tatoi and an estate in Polydendri, central Greece, will go to the Agriculture Ministry. The bill was passed by the Parliamentary committee later, and will be debated on in the 300-member House plenary today. The Communist Party of Greece and Political Spring Deputies sitting on the Committee voted in favour of the bill, while expressing reservations over the procedure, as the draft law was tabled as "ur-gent".