From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Tue, 8 Nov 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, November 8, 1994 --------------------------------------------- * Albanians reject draft constitution, Berisha says * Gov't, ND no comment * Niotis * OTE bill gets thumbs up from Parliament * Juppe, Kinkel due in Athens next week for EU talks with Papoulias * Six hours with Gligorov at UN leads to no progress * Gligorov adamant name not negotiable * Kranidiotis: reservations on EU-Turkey relations on three levels * Second renegade ND deputy heeds Evert's call * Mideast water talks in Athens complement peace process * Kranidiotis to visit EU member-states this week for talks * Gov't OA rescue bill due early next week * Foreign exchange reserves break the bank, total record 12.6 billion dollars * ECOFIN works against the clock on financing transport projects Albanians reject draft constitution, Berisha says ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): Albanian voters rejected a controversial draft constitution in a referendum on Sunday, Albanian President Sali Berisha indicated yesterday, reinforcing reports from all the main Albanian parties. No official result for the ballot on constitutional reform has been released and Mr. Berisha, at a press conference in Tirana, refused to give a direct answer to reporters who asked what the outcome had been. The referendum was held amidst immense criticism by a number of opposition parties which said the draft constitution gave the president too much power. The 300,000-strong ethnic Greek minority, based mainly in southern Albania, voted against the constitution primarily on the basis of opposition to article 7 which threatens the position of Archbishop Anastasios, head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania. Anastasios, a Greek national appointed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, faces being forced out of his diocese under the article, which stipulates that heads of religious communities should be Albanian citizens and have lived in the country for at least 20 years. Anastasios would be forced out if the referendum ended in a "yes" vote, Albanian officials told the French news agency AFP Sunday. Such an eventuality would further sour already tense relations between Greece and Albania over the rights of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania. Athens has repeatedly called on Tirana to allow ethnic Greeks living in the south to carry out their religious activities without hindrance. Asked to comment on the referendum result, Archbishop Anastasios said simply that it should be understood "it is now a time for silence and prayer." Gov't, ND no comment -------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): In Athens, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos declined to comment on the result, saying the situation concerning the result of the referendum was still confused. The spokesman stressed however that it would be a mistake for the Albanian leadership to sacrifice good relations with Greece for the sake of "any expediencies". He added that if the threat to remove Anastasios was carried out "it would be an extreme action which would stir not only the Greek government but all international organisations and bodies and all Churches." Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert also declined to comment on the result, saying it was Albania's internal affair. But, he added, "Mr. Berisha should understand that the policy he has followed till now leads to nowhere and should change." Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras has asked for immediate recourse to the UN Security Council, after the rejection of the draft constitution. "Now we have the Berisha 'document', proving that specific provisions on human rights and freedoms are violated in Albania," he said. Meanwhile, while opening a conference on the Church in modern times at the Pendeli Monastery yesterday, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Serapheim said "the enemies of the Church fight it because the Church is the light and they are darkness". "The church will overcome any obstacles and continue to do its work," he said. Niotis ------ Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): Meanwhile, Foreign Under-Secretary Grigoris Niotis said yesterday that Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America had assured him the US would undertake an initiative aimed at resolving the issue of the head of the Orthodox Church of Albania. Speaking to reporters after returning from a tour of Latin America and the US, Mr. Niotis said Archbishop Iakovos had told him that President Bill Clinton would appoint a special envoy to resolve the issue. OTE bill gets thumbs up from Parliament --------------------------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): The Greek Parliament yesterday told the government to go ahead with its plans to float 25 per cent of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation on the stock market. Parliament voted article by article and then held a final vote on the full bill, which passed with ease in the socialist-controlled house. The government expects to receive 80 billion drachmas from the share sale and plans to use the money for development of the organisation. Part of the shares will be sold on the Athens stock market and part internationally. The government will retain management of the organisation. OTE's 27,000 employees have protested the sale, saying the government was focused only on raising revenue and not on ploughing capital into efforts to modernise the company. The National Bank of Greece, together with Schroeders and Credit Suisse/First Boston will act as financial consultants on the share float. Juppe, Kinkel due in Athens next week for EU talks with Papoulias ---------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): The foreign ministers of France and Germany, Alain Juppe and Klaus Kinkel, will meet in Athens with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias on November 15 "barring last minute changes", the government announced yesterday. Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis said that the meeting between the foreign ministers of the previous, present and next rotating European Union presidencies would take place immediately after the Western European Union (WEU) meeting at the Hague. The agenda will include EU issues in general and the EU's relations with Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Turkey and Cyprus. Discussion of relations between the EU and Cyprus was added to the agenda at the request of Greece. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said that Greece was expecting a display of EU solidarity on issues connected with the country's relations with Albania, FYROM and Turkey. "Greece will have much to say to its EU partners," he added. Replying to questions, Mr. Venizelos said that the normalisation of relations between Greece and FYROM depended on the neighbouring country's stance concerning its name, constitution and its use of ancient Greek symbols. He said that Greece's trade embargo against FYROM could be lifted if Skopje took concrete steps with respect to the constitution and symbols. Six hours with Gligorov at UN leads to no progress -------------------------------------------------- Geneva, 08/11/1994 (ANA/Reuter): UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali yesterday met with Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) President Kiro Gligorov and UN mediator Cyrus Vance to discuss a solution to the dispute between FYROM and Greece. Mr. Boutros-Ghali said afterwards that the six-hour talks had resulted in "no progress". He said he would wait for the meeting with the Greek side in New York "when we will be in a position to see what the development of the situation will be." Greece says Skopje's use of the name 'Macedonia' implies territorial ambitions over Greece's northern province of the same name and has imposed a trade embargo on the republic. Other points of contention are FYROM's use of an ancient Greek symbol for its flag and the preamble in its constitution. Gligorov's re-election in elections recently -- the reason for the intermission in UN-sponsored talks with Athens -- led to hopes that FYROM would adopt a more flexible negotiating position. Mr. Boutros-Ghali said Mr. Vance would report to the Greeks in the next few days about negotiations and he himself would report to the Security Council. He refused to go into detail about the negotiations or comment on whether any new proposals had been made. Meanwhile, diplomatic sources in Geneva confirmed the sighting of FYROM documents in New York with a new symbol composed of two suns, one inside the other. Both have rays but have nothing to do with the Greek symbol of the Star of Vergina. Belgrade's Tanjug news agency quoted "well-informed sources in Geneva" saying President Gligorov and his Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski virtually abandoned the talks at the UN, visibly dissatisfied with the course of the talks, the ANA reported. Gligorov adamant name not negotiable ------------------------------------ Skopje, 08/11/1994 (ANA/M. Vichou): On his return from Geneva, President Kiro Gligorov said everything was subject to negotiations except the name of his country. In a statement to state television, Mr. Gligorov said he had expressed to Messrs. Vance and Boutros-Ghali his country's desire "to have its constitutional name established internationally". Kranidiotis: reservations on EU-Turkey relations on three levels ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): Greece said yesterday that it had reservations on three different levels about any upgrading of relations between the European Union and Turkey. Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis said the first level was purely "commercial and technical" in nature. Greece, he said, believes that many privileges were being conferred upon Turkey at the expense of certain sectors of the Greek economy, such as the textile industry. If the loss to the Greek economy is not compensated for, Mr. Kranidiotis added, Greece will not be able to give its consent to the concessions to Turkey. The second level of reservations, he went on, concerned political issues. Citing the functioning of democracy and the abuse of human rights in Turkey, Mr. Kranidiotis said: "We believe that there should not be double standards with regard to human rights in Turkey. It is not possible for Europe to treat Turkey differently from other countries." The third level, Mr. Kranidiotis said, concerned Turkish threats against Greece. Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and her foreign minister have threatened Greece with war in recent statements if Greece invokes an international sea convention and extends its territorial waters from six to twelve miles in the Aegean on November 16, the day the convention comes into effect. Replying to press questions, Mr. Kranidiotis stressed that if an attempt was made to change the legal basis of the customs association agreement between the EU and Turkey, Greece would "exercise its rights provided by Community legislation and have recourse to the European Court." The EU-Turkey Association Council is due to meet on December 19. Second renegade ND deputy heeds Evert's call -------------------------------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): A New Democracy party statement yesterday announced that former New Democracy government industry minister Vasilis Mantzoris, who had left the party to join Political Spring, has returned to the fold. Mr. Mantzoris, who was expelled from the Political Spring party last summer, met New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert yesterday, and expressed his desire to return. His request was granted, the statement said. Mr. Mantzoris is the second renegade former New Democracy party member to return within a week, hot on the heels of former deputy Dimitris Stamatis' re-admittance. Meanwhile, two Political Spring party deputies and former ND members Costas Hatzidimitriou and Nikos Oikonomopoulos yesterday alleged that attempts had been made to bribe them to return to New Democracy. Mr. Hatzidimitriou charged that New Democracy party deputies Dimitris Sioufas and Achilleas Karamanlis approached him and attempted to bribe him in order to join New Democracy. "I know from experience Mr. Evert's price list for deputies, and ... I urge him to release the price list for political activists and party cadres," he said. Mr. Oikonomopoulos supported Mr. Hatzidimitriou's allegations, but declined to mention any names, adding that he and his family have received threats. The New Democracy party reacted strongly to the charges, calling on the two deputies to name names and explain why they did not do so earlier. Mr. Sioufas, ND parliamentary spokesman, denied the allegations. Meanwhile, the sessions of the conference of European Democrats, the European Parliament group to which the Political Spring party belongs, opened yesterday evening. Party leader Antonis Samaras is due to speak at the conference this morning. Mideast water talks in Athens complement peace process ------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): The management and conservation of water in the Middle East will be discussed by some 160 officials from 45 delegations, including 13 Middle East countries, in Athens today and tomorrow. The talks, which began yesterday, emerged from the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference and aim to complement bilateral talks to promote co-operation in the region. "We are in the third phase of the process where we are focusing on practical matters and addressing real needs," said Richard Lebaron, director of the Office of Regional Affairs in the Near East Bureau of the US State Department. Mr. Lebaron is the chairman of the Water Resources working group of the peace process, which is meeting for a seventh time to address issues such as the creation of a regional water data bank, desalination plants and waste water treatment facilities. "We want to show the people of the region that peace has meaning and true benefits," Mr. Lebaron said. Kranidiotis to visit EU member-states this week for talks --------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis will visit Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark this week to exchange views on European issues and matters of particular interest to Greece. He will visit Norway and Sweden today before flying on to Finland tomorrow and Denmark at the end of the week. On Thursday, Mr. Kranidiotis will travel to Strasbourg to attend a Council of Europe foreign ministers' meeting which will focus on the organisation's further enlargement and Russia's accession, probably next year. Mr. Kranidiotis told reporters that Greece was in favour of Russia joining the Council of Europe. "We believe that Russia, as a European country, should have (access to) a European forum and should participate in discussions and planning for Europe's political future," he said. On November 17 Mr. Kranidiotis will visit London for talks with Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd. Gov't OA rescue bill due early next week ---------------------------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): The government will submit a draft bill on Olympic Airways' finances early next week, Transport and Communications Minister Athanasios Tsouras said yesterday. The bill will be discussed at the House Legislative Committee before being submitted to parliament for ratification. Mr. Tsouras added the bill would also be submitted to OA staff for comments. Mr. Tsouras said the aim was to enable Olympic Airways to steer a healthy financial course without incurring any debts. He added that the Transport Ministry would confer with all other ministries concerned with a view to elaborating specific proposals on reducing staff without resorting to dismissals, in an attempt to reduce labour costs by 9.2 billion drachmas this year and annually until 1997, throughout the "shoring-up period". The European Commission approved a 545 billion drachma rescue plan submitted by the government for the state-owned Olympic Airways in July. The Commission approved with conditions OA's aid package, comprising loan guarantees, debt write-offs and conversions, and a capital injection between 1995 and 1997. Foreign exchange reserves break the bank, total record 12.6 billion dollars ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 08/11/1994 (ANA): Greece's foreign exchange reserves totalled a record 12.6 billion dollars at the end of September this year, the Bank of Greece said yesterday, citing positive developments in the balance of payments since July. The central bank attributed the positive developments to a reversal of negative effects on the foreign exchange market caused by speculation against the drachma. In July for the first time this year, the current accounts balance showed a 23 million dollar surplus, although the corresponding figure for the same month of 1993 was much higher -- 1,152 million dollars. According to figures released by the central bank, the net inflow of private capital rose sharply in July, reaching 209 million dollars compared with 17 million dollars in the same month last year. The bank said that the increase was due to the re-entry to Greece of capital which had been exported during the drachma crisis and a rise in the inflow of business capital which reached 183 million dollars as against 138 million dollars in July 1993. For the seven-month period January-July this year, the principal balance of payments magnitudes compared with the same period of 1993 were as follows: - Imports 10.681 billion dollars (up 4.7 per cent). - Exports 2.771 billion dollars (down 9.8 per cent). - Trade deficit 7.910 billion dollars (up 10.9 per cent). - Tourist exchange 1.823 billion dollars (up 9.4 per cent). - Shipping exchange 1.026 billion dollars (down 9.2 per cent). - Emigrants' remittances 1.274 billion dollars (down 7.1 per cent). - Inflows from EU 2.772 billion dollars (down 18.3 per cent). - Inflows of business capital 1.283 billion dollars (up 8 per cent). - Import of exchange by overseas Greeks for property purchases 479.1 million dollars (down 14.6 per cent). - Public debt servicing 3.689 billion dollars. Following these developments, the current accounts deficit at the end of July stood at 1.071 billion dollars, compared with 205 million dollars in the same period last year. ECOFIN works against the clock on financing transport projects -------------------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 08/11/1994 (ANA): European Union member-states and the Commission are engaged in a race against time to effect substantial progress on the issue of financing of Inter-European networks before the Essen summit on December 9 and 10. This was confirmed when yesterday's ECOFIN meeting was restricted to a simple review of the progress achieved by the Christophersen Group on the 11 priority programmes in the transport sector, without presenting a specific proposal on their financing. The list of the 11 programmes, to which the June Corfu summit gave priority, includes the Greek programmes for the Egnatia highway, which will span the length of northern Greece, and the Patra-Athens-Thessaloniki-Bulgarian border road axis (PATB). Speaking on the subject, National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said he understood from Mr. Christophersen's briefing that there will be a full picture on the structuring of financing for each project in Essen. He added that the Commission had not presented a proposal on Inter-European Networks financing, but was expected to do so in the next ECOFIN meeting on December 5, which will prepare the Essen summit. Many of the transport infrastructure projects have met difficulty in attracting private investment, attributed mainly to the low short-term rate of return and the high environmental cost. The European Commission puts the cost of the 11 transport projects until 1999 at about 35 billion ECU, and estimates the lack of funds at 4-5 billion ECU. The PATB road axis is considered the backbone of the Greek road network, measuring 860 miles, of which 200 have already been constructed or are under construction, while the Egnatia highway, which envisages one lane in each direction initially, will have a total length of 780 miles.