Subject: Athens News Agency Bulletin, February 6, 1995 Topic: ana --------------------------------------------- (Apo to Ellnviko Grafeio Tupou kai Plnroforiwv, Ottawa, Canada E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca) * Arsenis: NATO examining situation in light of UN withdrawal from Croatia * Mitsotakis calls for direct election of president at ND congress * Kathimerini reveals Clinton's letter to Berisha * Evinos tunnel works completed * Venizelos: EU 'formula' on Cyprus entry negotiations 'satisfactory' * Papantoniou warns of 'catastrophe' for economy in event of early elections * Thessaloniki to host meeting on archaeological finds Arsenis: NATO examining situation in light of UN withdrawal from Croatia ---------------------------------------------------------------- Munich, 06/02/1995 (ANA) A possible conflict between Croatia and Serbia, following the withdrawal of the UNPROFOR troops from Croatia on March 31, could lead to uncontrollable consequences and NATO is looking at ways to avert the spreading of war to Kossovo, Albania and Skopje, National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis said here yesterday. Mr. Arsenis was speaking after two days of talks at the Wehrkunde conference, an annual security policy forum in Munich, focusing on the establishment of NATO headquarters in Greece, the Cyprus problem and the Balkans crisis. On Saturday, Mr. Arsenis had talks with his US counterpart William Perry and also met yesterday morning with NATO Secretary-General Willy Claes. Mr. Arsenis said NATO was considering a host of options to deal with the Balkan crisis and developments following Croatian President Franjo Tudjman's request for the withdrawal of the UNPROFOR troops from Croatia. "NATO is looking at various scenarios and the Greek position (on the issue) has been requested..." Mr. Arsenis said. "No special role is intended for Greece," he added. Regarding the establishment of NATO headquarters in the city of Larissa in north central Greece, Mr. Arsenis said the issue had been discussed in a meeting with Mr. Claes. Mr. Arsenis said he expected Mr. Claes to undertake a special initiative on the issue. He added that he expected results after Mr. Claes' visit to Athens in March. Mr. Arsenis also discussed the issue with German Defence Minister Volker Ruhe who pledged that "Germany is ready to respond to the Greek invitation to participate in military exercises which Greece will organise in the framework of Nato's 'Partnership for Peace' initiative, together with Romania and Bulgaria." Mr. Arsenis officially extended the invitation to his German counterpart during his earlier visit to Bonn focusing on defence issues. Mr. Ruhe has accepted Mr. Arsenis' invitation to visit Mount Athos before Easter; Mr. Arsenis is due to hold an official visit to Holland at the end of this month. The Greek minister also held discussions on Cyprus and Greek-Turkish relations with the US State Department's official for European Affairs, Richard Holbrooke, following which he told the press that the United States "reinforces the European rapprochement, adopted by the French Presidency, in regard to the promotion of Cyprus' accession into the European Union. Mitsotakis calls for direct election of president at ND congress ---------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 06/02/1995 (ANA) Main opposition New Democracy Honorary President Constantine Mitsotakis yesterday proposed the direct election of the President of the Republic by the electorate, instead of parliament. Speaking at a party congress in the Peloponnese city of Nafplion, Mr. Mitsotakis also called for the strengthening of the president's authorities. A similar proposal was made by his daughter Dora Bakoyianni, also a party member, who called for the return of the president's right to dissolve parliament and call elections. The president had such powers under the previous constitution, until it was revised by the PASOK government almost a decade ago. Ms Bakoyianni further proposed a six-year term of office instead of the current five and the abolition of compulsory voting in Greece. The congress grouped together the party's parliamentary caucus and the Central Committee. Ms Bakoyianni said she believed early elections would be called, saying the present parliament might fail to elect a new head of state, since many deputies of other parties might not agree to the candidates put forward by the party leaderships. According to the constitution, a new president must be elected by a two-thirds majority vote in the 300-member House to replace incumbent Constantine Karamanlis when his second five-year term expires in May. Mr. Mitsotakis also called on the party to refrain from voting for any candidate and urged the party not to hasten and propose a review of the constitution. His proposal, and that of his daughter, according to ND officials, caused a rift with ND party leader Miltiades Evert who, replying to Mr. Mitsotakis said that "the process of revising the constitution cannot be delayed." The same officials, replying to an ANA question, expressed disagreement on Mr. Mitsotakis' proposal saying that if accepted, it would require an almost complete change of the country's constitution. In a related development, Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the ruling socialist PASOK party, expressed optimism that the present parliament would be able to elect a new president. In a separate statement, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos reiterated PASOK's cohesion. "PASOK is not afraid of early elections," Mr. Venizelos said, adding that the "economic developments and the safeguarding of social cohesion call for the need to elect a president by the present parliament." He also reiterated Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's earlier statement that "we will proceed within the framework of the constitution". Meanwhile, in an interview to a weekly newspaper Ependitis on Saturday, Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras said he doubted the cohesion of PASOK's parliamentary group and said he feared defections by PASOK deputies during the vote for the election of a new president. "PASOK's 170 deputies together with the deputies of the Political Spring might not be enough to elect a President of the Republic," Mr. Samaras said, likening the cohesion of his party's parliamentary group to "a clenched fist". Kathimerini reveals Clinton's letter to Berisha ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 06/02/1995 (ANA) US President Bill Clinton has addressed a letter to Albanian President Sali Berisha asking him to pardon the four ethnic Greeks still imprisoned on espionage charges, the Sunday edition of the Athens daily Kathimerini disclosed yesterday. The paper said that the US president had "undertaken an initiative to smoothen Greek-Albanian relations". It said the letter was sent to President Berisha following the dispatch of Richard Schifter, the White House special envoy to Athens and Tirana. In the letter, which Kathimerini said it has a copy of, President Clinton asks Mr. Berisha to pardon the members of the Greek ethnic organisation Omonia who were jailed last September by a Tirana court. Kathimerini further quotes President Clinton as saying that Mr. Berisha's "interest in an agreement with Greece confirming the Greek-Albanian borders" had been conveyed to Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias. President Clinton told Mr. Berisha that his two envoys had conveyed his (Berisha's) "ideas" to Mr. Papoulias who told them that "Greece is ready to reach such an agreement and would propose the establishment of a joint committee which will proceed in delineating the borders..." President Clinton, the paper said, also expresses his concern over the expulsion of illegal Albanian immigrants from Greece and points out that Mr. Papoulias "has agreed in principle in settling the issue on the basis of which Albanian temporary workers may enter Greece with proper documents." President Clinton also quotes Mr. Papoulias as "expressing his readiness to propose a series of bilateral agreements that will improve (Greek-Albanian) relations and put an end to a relation that you (Mr. Berisha) have described as 'a cold war situation'." President Clinton also calls on Mr. Berisha to safeguard human rights (a reference to Omonia members) and says that their case "is an inseparable part of the web of Greek-Albanian relations and should be confronted within the framework of any discussions in reducing tension (between the two countries)." President Clinton also expresses America's desire to offer "its good offices in encouraging a dialogue between Greece and Albania" and speaks of a "serious possibility for an overall Greek-Albanian agreement." "In order to play such a role," President Clinton is further quoted by Kathimerini as telling Mr. Berisha that "all issues must be raised at the negotiating table and mediation can be achieved only if there is reasonable flexibility from both sides." Evinos tunnel works completed ----------------------------- Athens, 06/02/1995 (ANA) The Evinos tunnel works linking Attica with the Evinos lake were completed on Saturday and the first phase of the Evinos project is scheduled to begin in two months time. Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis said the tunnel, which is 10 kilometres long, is of great economic, social and environmental importance, because it is linked with the lives of four million people. The tunnel will be used to transport water from the Evinos lake to the Marnos dam. Venizelos: EU 'formula' on Cyprus entry negotiations 'satisfactory' ---------------------------------------------------- Athens, 06/02/1995 (ANA) Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said Saturday the French EU presidency's positions and those of the EU external relations commission on Turkey's customs union with the European Union were "satisfactory". "A formula has been found which, if fully accepted, will allow Greece to accept EU-Turkey customs union," he said. Mr. Venizelos added that the "crucial point (in the formula) is to set a specific timetable for the commencement of negotiations for the accession of Cyprus to the EU." He said that the accession of Cyprus and Malta had already been decided at previous EU summits and pointed to the Union's keen interest on the question of human rights in Turkey, which is not only of concern to Greece. "The French presidency's stance and that of the EU external affairs commission, as outlined by Commissioner Hans van den Broek, are generally satisfactory," Mr. Venizelos said, adding that the Cyprus government "is also in favour of this formula after t he necessary clarifications had been given." Papantoniou warns of 'catastrophe' for economy in event of early elections ---------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 06/02/1995 (ANA) Early elections, if parliament fails to elect a president, would be "catastrophic for the country's economy", National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said Saturday in Xanthi, where he is on a tour of the Thrace region. Mr. Papantoniou said the government did not plan to impose new taxes and was not considering taxing interest on state securities. The expected increase in revenues, he said, was founded on broadening the tax base and arresting tax evasion. He said his trip was aimed at giving him a personal insight into the problems faced by the region so that the ministry can develop measures which will strengthen production and economic activity so that the region can play a significant role in the creation of a new economic framework in the Balkans. He said his ministry would subsidise new investments in Thrace, even if their volume exceeded the relevant funds allocated in the budget. His trip ended yesterday. Thessaloniki to host meeting on archaeological finds ---------------------------------------------------- Athens, 06/02/1995 (ANA) A three-day meeting on archaeological works in northern Greece will begin on Thursday at the University of Thessaloniki. Important findings from sites in Macedonia and Thrace will be presented by experts. A total of 64 presentations will be made covering historical developments from the prehistoric through to the post-Byzantine years.