From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Fri, 26 Aug 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, August 26, 1994 -------------------------------------------- * Greece accepts Albania dialogue, subject to prior conditions * Venizelos replies to 'Le Monde' * Papoulias to Tirana: Stop trial for dialogue to start * UN Committee blames Albania over human rights * Papoulias in Nicosia Sunday, talks on "all issues" * Premier to meet with SYN leader * Evert discusses Albania situation with Bulgarian, Romanian envoys * Russia, Greece agree on mutual employment of nationals Greece accepts Albania dialogue, subject to prior conditions ----------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 26/8/1994 (ANA): Greece said yesterday it was willing to enter into dialogue with Albania to try settle differences, provided Tirana showed respect for rights of the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania, and put an end to the trial of the five leaders of Omonia, the ethnic Greek political organisation. "The Greek government is open to dialogue with Albania provided certain fundamental conditions are first fulfilled," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos told reporters. He said such conditions referred to the protection of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania which Athens "takes for granted and (therefore) considers non-negotiable." "Consequently," the spokesman continued, "(Albanian President Sali) Berisha's dialogue proposal in the presence of an observer or arbitrator offers nothing specific." "Dialogue should be held in conditions of political credibility and genuine political will, within the framework of international law and full respect for human rights," Mr. Venizelos added. Mr. Berisha offered to have talks with Athens under international mediation after meeting Tuesday with CSCE High Commissioner for ethnic minorities Max van der Stoel. Mr. Venizelos said Athens was not "rejecting" Tirana's offer of dialogue, but said that as long as Greece was accused of being an accomplice of the five ethnic Greeks on trial, dialogue was meaningless. "When a trial is held with persons accused of being accomplices of the Greek government, this shows how Albania perceives dialogue, that is seeking dialogue with a government which it accuses of being an accomplice of defendants facing heavy sentences," he said. "It is evident that charges should be withdrawn, for dialogue can have no meaning as long as the trial continues," he added. At the same time Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantine Bikas said the Greek government was in favour of dialogue with Albania, but that Tirana showed "lack of political will" in improving relations between the two countries. He said the government endorsed improvement of Greek-Albanian relations "provided Tirana alters its provocative stance, and human and minority rights of ethnic Greeks are respected in Albania." "The Greek government has always stood in favour of dialogue between Greece and Albania," Mr. Bikas told the press. "But the Albanian side," he added, "by its parody trial, non-implementation of fundamental and internationally-accepted rules of penal justice, arbitrary arrests and torture of members of the ethnic Greek minority actively shows lack of political will for improving relations between the two countries." In unison with the government, Main Opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert said yesterday that if Mr. Berisha's offer for dialogue were sincere, then (in view of such a dialogue) the trial should be stopped. "If Mr. Berisha is sincere about dialogue with Greece, then the trial should be stopped at once, and the defendants should be released, even temporarily until dialogue is concluded," Mr. Evert told reporters yesterday. He said Albania's respect for the rights of the ethnic Greek minority should be looked upon as a basic precondition for Greece to enter into dialogue with its neighbour. Five ethnic Greeks went on trial in Tirana this month on charges of spying for Greece and illegal carrying of arms. The accused are leaders of the ethnic Greek organisation, Omonia, and were arrested in April after two Albanian soldiers were killed in an attack at a conscript camp in Albania near the Greek border. Tirana accused Greece for the fatal attack, but Athens flatly denied the charges. Venizelos replies to 'Le Monde' ------------------------------- Meanwhile, an article on Greek-Albanian relations appearing in the French daily "Le Monde" yesterday prompted strong criticism by the government spokesman who said it was "not in line with the newspaper's established reliability." Mr. Venizelos said the article made no mention of the on-going trial on trumped up charges of the five Greek leaders of Omonia, nor that Greece was rated as the leading European country to receive illegal immigrants from Albania. "At the same time, in a totally unacceptable manner, it adopts the view that 'Omonia' is responsible for the Episkopi incident, a view adopted not even by the Albanians," the spokesman said referring to the fatal attack on the border conscript centre in Albania resulting in strained relations between the two countries. Tension between the two countries soared to a new high early in the week. On Tuesday, Athens protested against the arrests in Tirana of three Greek journalists covering the trial, including a Greek-Cypriot who was later expelled. Tirana recalled its Athens Ambassador on Monday, after a pilot stole a crop-duster plane from his unit in Corfu and overflew Albania dropping propaganda leaflets. Athens said the pilot had been suspended and remanded in custody pending trial before a military court. President Constantine Karamanlis and Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou held a meeting Wednesday to discuss Greek-Albanian relations. Mr. Papandreou met yesterday with main Opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert focusing on strained relations between the two countries. President Constantine Karamanlis will have a meeting with Mr. Evert Monday, on Mr. Evert's request. After the meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. Evert told the press that talks had centred on financial measures which Greece should enforce before the verdict of the trial. Mr. Evert told reporters the government should have briefed international public opinion on the issue of the rights of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania much earlier, since the sole reason for the trial was to build up charges against Greece. Mr. Evert said he would brief ambassadors of European Union countries to Greece on Greek-Albanian relations Monday. In another development, the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), in an announcement yesterday, said it had appealed to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and to all European Union confederations calling on them to take steps to end the trial of the five Omonia leaders in Tirana. On Wednesday, the trial of the five ethnic Greeks was adjourned until Monday. Papoulias to Tirana: Stop trial for dialogue to start ----------------------------------------------------- Athens, 26/8/1994 (ANA) Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said yesterday the withdrawal of charges against the five ethnic Greeks being tried in Albania for espionage would defuse tension between the two neighbouring states and pave the way for constructive dialogue. "The defendants must be allowed to return to their homes, the chapter of the trial must be closed and dialogue between the two countries should resume," Mr. Papoulias said. "But until then we will wait," he added. He was speaking after a 90-minute meeting with Max Van der Stoel, High Commissioner for Minorities at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE). Mr. Van der Stoel flew to Athens after meeting with Albanian President Sali Berisha in Tirana Tuesday. Following the meeting, Mr. Berisha called for international mediation to resolve the long-running Greek-Albanian crisis. But to Mr. Berisha's offer, Athens responded saying the time was not right. "The prevailing political climate as a result of the on-going trial does not encourage us to support the idea of dialogue. Albania must understand that it will not achieve anything positive through the trial," Mr. Papoulias said. "We want dialogue that will produce positive results. Not a dialogue of the deaf," he said, voicing hope that the European Union and the United States would give the trial in Tirana "serious consideration". Mr. Van der Stoel said he was awaiting a report by a CSCE observer on the trial, adding that the "question of torture" against members of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania would be "clarified soon". He said he would return to Albania for another round of talks with the Albanian government and tour southern Albania. He did not say when the trip was scheduled for. Earlier Mr. Van der Stoel had a meeting with main Opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert. No statement followed the meeting. UN Committee blames Albania over human rights --------------------------------------------- Athens, 26/8/1994 (ANA): The United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, based in Geneva, yesterday adopted a resolution attributing responsibility to Albania for the violation of the human rights of the ethnic Greek minority and the principles of legal procedure in the trial of the Omonia five. The resolution also calls upon the Albanian government to adopt all necessary measures ensuring a fair trial for the defendants, in accordance with established principles of jurisprudence. Papoulias in Nicosia Sunday, talks on "all issues" -------------------------------------------------- Athens, 26/8/1994 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias will discuss "all issues" at talks with Cypriot officials during his four-day visit to Nicosia beginning Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas said yesterday. The spokesman was replying to press questions on the visit which, he said, was within the framework of the close co-operation between the Greek and Cypriot governments. Premier to meet with SYN leader ------------------------------- Athens, 26/8/1994 (ANA): Premier Andreas Papandreou will meet with the President of the Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) party Nikos Constantopoulos Wednesday. The meeting was requested by Mr. Constantopoulos. Evert discusses Albania situation with Bulgarian, Romanian envoys ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 26/8/1994 (ANA): Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert yesterday met with Bulgarian Ambassador Branimir Petrov and Romanian Charge d'affaires Florian Uskianu. Discussion focused on Balkan issues, especially the situation resulting from continuous violation of human rights of the ethnic Greek minority by the Berisha regime in Albania. Russia, Greece agree on mutual employment of nationals ------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 26/8/1994 (ANA): Russia and Greece are elaborating a legal framework on mutual employment of each other's nationals. The agreement is expected to be ready for signing during the Prime Minister's visit to Moscow in the autumn.