From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Date: Sat, 5 Nov 94 13:44:11 EST To: macedonia@husc.harvard.edu Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Sat, 5 Nov 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin --------------------------- * Greece keeping an eye on human, religious rights situation in Albania * President meets with Italy's Scalfaro, confirm 'exceptional ties of friendship, co-operation' * Orthodox MPs agree to joint committee * Niotis to meet with Iakovos today * Boutros-Ghali, Vance to meet with Gligorov on resumption of talks Monday * Gov't reiterates 'no changes' expected on November 16 * Hytiris at Venice meeting * Papoulias to visit European capitals, may meet Soysal * Leading Political Spring official returns to ND * Arsenis meets with Egyptian Greek community * Georgian FM to visit Athens * Greek air force deny Turkish reports of violations * Greek delegation meets with Romanian premier * Greece submits proposals for inclusion in four EU programmes Greece keeping an eye on human, religious rights situation in Albania ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): Greece said yesterday that it was closely following developments in Albania related to political, religious and educational freedoms, particularly in view of the fact that the neighbouring country has a large ethnic Greek minority. Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantine Bikas said that the Greek government, along with the other European countries and the Council of Europe states, was interested in the consolidation of democratic institutions and a state ruled by law in Albania. "Respect for human rights, freedoms and the rights of minorities constitutes a important criterion for the functioning of a democratic constitution," Mr. Bikas added. Albanians will vote in a referendum tomorrow on a new constitution for the country. Mr. Bikas made the statements when asked to comment on a Turkish "Daily News" interview by Albanian President Sali Berisha, who admitted that "proper procedures were not followed" in the trial of the five ethnic Greek members of the Omonia political organisation. "I admit that Albanian procedures are not the best and must be improved," Mr. Berisha said. The five were convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to eight years on charges of spying for Greece and illegal arms possession. A Court of Appeals later reduced the sentences. Commenting on reports that the Tirana regime was preparing to replace the head of the Albanian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Anastasios, with an Albanian, Mr. Bikas made the following statement: "The Greek minority as a whole belongs, as far as religion is concerned, to the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania and it should not be forgotten that an integral part of religious freedom is the freedom to appoint the Church leadership within the framework of ecclesiastical canon." Meanwhile, Patriarch Alexios II of All Russia yesterday expressed, through his representative Archimandrite Theophanis, his "deep concern over lack of interest shown by the international community to pressure exerted on both the Orthodox Church of Albania and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. "The attitude of the international community is curious to say the least," Archimandrite Theophanis told the ANA in Thessaloniki. President meets with Italy's Scalfaro, confirm 'exceptional ties of friendship, co-operation' ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): President Constantine Karamanlis had an hour-long meeting with visiting Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro yesterday during which the two heads of state confirmed "the exceptional relations of friendship and co-operation between the two countries at both a bilateral level and within the European Union". According to a press release issued by the Office of the President of the Republic, Mr. Karamanlis and Mr. Scalfaro discussed issues of bilateral interest as well as the EU matters and the situation in the Balkans. Mr. Karamanlis briefed his Italian counterpart on Greece's national issues. Mr. Scalfaro also had a meeting with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, during which he stressed the friendship between Greek and Italian peoples "the roots of which go back to ancient times". Orthodox MPs agree to joint committee ------------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): European MPs of the Orthodox faith, currently meeting in Athens, yesterday approved the draft of the constitutional act for the creation of a committee to undertake joint action in Europe. The Athens meeting brought together MPs from 10 European countries to endorse a Greek Parliament initiative to create an inter-parliamentary committee to promote peace and understanding in Europe. Niotis to meet with Iakovos today --------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): Foreign Under-Secretary for Greeks abroad Grigoris Niotis, who is currently on a tour of Greek communities in Latin America, met with Chilean Foreign Under-Secretary Mariano Fernandez in Santiago on Monday and had fruitful discussions on Greek national issues. Mr. Niotis arrived in Chicago yesterday for meetings with the Greek community there. He is scheduled to have lunch with Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America Iakovos today, and will return to Athens on Monday. Boutros-Ghali, Vance to meet with Gligorov on resumption of talks Monday ----------------------------------------------------------------- Belgrade, 5/11/1994 (ANA/M. Mouratidis): Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) President Kiro Gligorov will meet UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in Geneva on Monday for talks on the resumption of a dialogue with Greece, discontinued due to last month's presidential and parliamentary elections in FYROM. A report by Tanjug news agency said the talks will be attended by UN special envoy Cyrus Vance and FYROM Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski. Foreign observers in FYROM doubt whether the major problem of the state's name will be resolved in the near future, but are optimistic over the continuation of dialogue aimed at a small package of solutions. The package will concern the lifting of Greek retortion measures, the lifting of Greece's veto at the CSCE for FYROM's accession, an amendment of FYROM's constitution and the signing of an economic co-operation agreement. According to the same assessments, the issue of the name will be discussed in the second phase of negotiations. Meanwhile, in his first interview after being re-elected, President Gligorov told the "Macedonian Times" magazine the new government will be more active in resolving problems with its neighbours to facilitate a climate of security and open borders for co-operation with all. The lead item in yesterday's regular press briefing by Mr. Boutros-Ghali's spokesman Joe Sills was Monday's meeting in Geneva between the UN secretary general and FYROM President Gligorov, Mirella Georgiadou reports from the United Nations. "The Secretary-General and Mr. Cyrus Vance remain concerned that there be some early progress towards resolving the differences between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. With this in mind, the secretary -general invited President Gligorov to meet with him and Mr. Vance as soon as possible. And that meeting has been set up for Monday in Geneva," an announcement by Mr. Sills said. Diplomatic sources in New York attribute great importance to Monday's meeting in Geneva, describing it as "being of a substantive nature and decisive for the further course of negotiations." The sources foresee that at the meeting Mr. Boutros-Ghali and Mr. Vance will not merely listen "passively" to President Gligorov's positions, after they have been shaped in the wake of his election victory, but intend to intervene "actively" if they consider that FYROM continues to insist on positions which might once again lead to deadlock. More specifically, they stress that President Gligorov no longer has any justification or excuse to continue to maintain what he had maintained at the last round of separate talks before the elections, invoking objections by his parliament and insisting on a package agreement including the issue of the name. Gov't reiterates 'no changes' expected on November 16 ----------------------------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): The government reiterated yesterday that "nothing will change" on November 16, the date on which an international convention on the law of the sea comes into effect, enabling Greece to extend its territorial waters from six to twelve miles. Turkey has stated that it would consider any move by Athens to exercise its right under the convention as a casus belli. "Greek policy is not dependent on the creation by Turkey of artificial tension, as admitted recently by Turkish Foreign Minister Mumtaz Soysal, nor does it shape policy like a reflex action," Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas said. "The extension of our territorial waters to twelve miles is Greece's sovereign right. If and when it chooses to do so is a matter for the government to decide," the spokesman added. Speaking to reporters later, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos reiterated that there were no real disputes between Greece and Turkey "and consequently there is no matter which could be the subject of arbitration between the two countries". "Unilateral Turkish claims do not constitute disputes," Mr. Venizelos said, adding that the only "pending" issue was that of the Aegean continental shelf "which Greece views as a purely legal matter". Mr. Venizelos underlined, however, that the two countries could take certain steps to create "a good climate" of relations in the sectors of tourism, culture and the economy. Asked about the role of the US in Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Venizelos said that the US was linked with ties of friend ship and co-operation with both countries. Hytiris at Venice meeting ------------------------- Rome, 5/11/1994 (ANA/L. Hatzkyriakos): Press and Mass Media Under-Secretary Telemachos Hytiris is representing Greece at the ninth "Venetian Club" conference on the dissemination of information by the state. The conference will discuss state information and relations between the bureaucracy and the citizen. The conference, held on the island of Saint George in Venice, is organised by the Italian government and attended by the 12 European Union countries and another 12 European countries as observers. It will end Sunday. Papoulias to visit European capitals, may meet Soysal ----------------------------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias will visit a number of European countries this month for talks with his European counterparts and may meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Mumtaz Soysal. Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas said that on November 10-11, Mr. Papoulias will fly to Rome on a working visit and talks with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Martino, before travelling to the Hague on November 14 to attend a meeting of Western European Union (WEU) foreign ministers. According to press sources, Mr. Papoulias may meet with Mr. Soysal on the sidelines of the WEU meeting. On November 15, Mr. Papoulias will visit Minsk for talks with his Belorussian counterpart, before travelling to Kiev the following day for talks with the Ukrainian foreign minister. Meanwhile, the spokesman said that the French and German foreign ministers, Alain Juppe and Klaus Kinkel, were expected to visit Greece towards the end of November. Leading Political Spring official returns to ND ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): Renegade former New Democracy deputy Dimitris Stamatis, who left the main opposition party to join breakaway group Political Spring, has returned to the fold. Mr. Stamatis met New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert in the morning and expressed his desire to return to his former party. A New Democracy party statement released later said Mr. Stamatis belonged to its ranks again. Mr. Stamatis had been appointed alternate general director of Political Spring. In a written statement, Mr. Stamatis said that the conditions now exist for a "renaissance" of New Democracy, whereas the Political Spring party has belied the prospects it originally generated, copying old methods, with arrogance and lack of clear political positions. Meanwhile, persistent rumours have it that former New Democracy government industry minister Vasilis Mantzoris, who has been expelled from Political Spring, is also ready to return to New Democracy. A Political Spring party statement yesterday spoke of "an orchestrated attack... ". The Political Spring party was created out of the ranks of disaffected New Democracy members, led by former ND foreign minister Antonis Samaras. The trickle of defections by junior members of the then-Mitsotakis government to the new party resulted in the loss of the New Democracy's government razor-thin majority and led to the general elections of October 1993, won by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement. In the October general elections, Political Spring garnered 10 seats in parliament. Arsenis meets with Egyptian Greek community ------------------------------------------- Alexandria, 5/11/1994 (ANA/G. Zarkadis): Greek National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis, currently on a visit to Egypt for talks with the country's political leadership, held a meeting yesterday with representatives of the Egyptian Greek community. Mr. Arsenis assured the representatives of the Greek government's support in finding a settlement to the problems facing the community, including the issue of Egyptian nationality which would enable children to claim their family property. Mr. Arsenis said he had discussed the issue with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during their meeting Wednesday. The community representatives briefed the minister of their intentions to establish a university named "Alexander the Great". Mr. Arsenis arrived in Egypt on Sunday on a four-day official visit centring on the promotion of his proposal for the creation of a nuclear and chemical weapons free zone and the establishment of a mechanism for the control of armaments in the greater eastern Mediterranean region. Mr. Arsenis also discussed co-operation in the military production sector, provision of facilities and joint naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean, with his Egyptian counterpart Mohammed Hussein Tantaoui. Mr. Tantaoui is expected to come to Greece in six months for the signing of the agreement. Mr. Arsenis' visit to Egypt is in the framework of planned visits to several Middle Eastern and Balkan countries in the near future, including Israel. Georgian FM to visit Athens --------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): Georgian Foreign Minister Alexander Chikvaidze will pay an official visit to Greece next week to sign a series of bilateral agreements, Foreign Ministry sources said yesterday. They said Mr. Chikvaidze's four-day visit, beginning Monday, is at the invitation of Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias. The two ministers are expected to review international issues with emphasis on developments in the Balkan, Black Sea and Caucasus regions. Mr. Chikvaidze will sign a series of political, economic and cultural agreements. He will also meet Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis, Foreign Under-Secretary Grigoris Niotis and National Economy Under-Secretary Ioannis Anthopoulos. Greek air force deny Turkish reports of violations ------------------------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): Greece's Air Force General Staff yesterday categorically denied a report by Turkey's Anatolian news agency claiming an alleged violation of Turkish airspace by Greek reconnaissance aircraft in the Karagaac region on Thursday. An Air Force General Staff spokesman said all flights by Greek aircraft on Thursday were made inside Greek airspace. The Anatolian news agency reported that a Greek aircraft made a low run in the Karagaac region. Greek delegation meets with Romanian premier -------------------------------------------- Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): Large Greek delegation headed by National Economy Under-Secretary Ioannis Anthopoulos met with Romanian Prime Minister Nikolae Vacaroiu, government officials and financial and banking officials in Bucharest, in the course of a three-day visit. Topics of discussion included the extension of $40 million of credit to Romania for a year, the expansion of an tentative list of Greek products to be imported by Romania, the transit of Greek lorries, maritime co-operation in the Danube, and the setting up of effective structures for the promotion of trade and investment. Greece submits proposals for inclusion in four EU programmes ------------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 5/11/1994 (ANA): Alternate National Economy Minister George Romaios announced yesterday that the National Economy Ministry has submitted to the European Union proposals for participation in the programmes INTERREG II (inter-regional co-operation), REGEN (energy networks), URBAN (supports to downgraded areas and neighbourhoods), and the one concerning small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). The Greek INTERREG II proposal has a 600 billion ECU budget, of which 406 million will be financed by the Community. Mr. Romaios said INTERREG II's basic aim was to contribute to the development of border areas and encourage cross-border co-operation, both inside the Community with Italy, and with third countries. Its content and orientations are complementary to the Community Support Framework, and it covers 28 Greek prefectural districts. In the context of the INTERREG II initiative, two proposals concerning the REGEN initiative were submitted. The one concerns the natural gas project, budgeted at 450 million ECU, of which Community participation is 180 million, and the other, the connection of the Greek and Italian electric grids, budgeted at 76 billion ECU, of which Community participation is 30.4 million. The total URBAN programme budget amounts to 102 million ECU, of which 69 million is Community participation. The programme aims at the improvement of infrastructure and the environment and the creation of employment opportunities in urban areas of over 100,000 people, which are facing economic crises. The SMEs programme has a 127.5 million ECU budget, of which 82.2 million is Community participation.