The Greek Parliament was expected to unanimously ratify the Law of the Sea convention early this morning, giving Greece the right to extend its territorial waters from six to 12 nautical miles.
Representatives of all political parties said they would vote to approve the convention during the marathon debate.
European Affairs Minister George Mangakis said the convention was truly of national importance, as it provided the country with a weapon "in the defence of its rights and national interests from Turkey's chauvinistic threats". The convention, he added, gives Greece the undoubted right to extend its territorial waters to 12 miles, and it will make use of the right when it so decides, not allowing it to be used superficially. When and how this take place, he said, will depend on its national strategy.
Turkey, which is not a signatory to the convention, has repeatedly threatened that any attempt by Greece to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean would be a "cause for war". Athens has described the Turkish threats as an effort to manufacture tension between the two and has said it was its sovereign right to decide where, how and when it would exercise it. Greece and Turkey have argued for years over boundaries and rights of passage in the Aegean where Greek islands lie close to the Turkish coast.
Earlier, ruling party PASOK MP Yiannis Capsis told the House, the convention was of historical, political and national importance. He said the agreement, which came into effect on November 16 last year, marked a dramatic change in the international regime on law of the sea and was significant because it was a step taken on the initiative and with the persistence of smaller nations and one which facilitated national interests to the greatest degree.
Apart from the extension of territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, and the determination of the neighbouring zone, the biggest innovation was the definition of the exclusive economic zone, he said. Another element which favours Greece, he added, is the abandonment of the geographical definition of the continental shelf. The continental shelf is now a legal term, is conceived as beginning from territorial waters, may reach up to 200 nautical miles, and may be extended even further in case of commercial exploitation.
He added that all predictions on the basis of the new convention are in favour of Greece. It enables us to seek arbitration or recourse at the International Court, he said. "It codifies and strengthens and unequivocally recognises equal rights for all coastal nations, large and small," he said.
New Democracy party deputy Aristotelis Pavlidis said the new convention settled old outstanding issues and was favourable for Greece. It granted the right for the extension of territorial waters to 12 miles, which was very significant for security and issues of commercial exploitation, both of the sea, and below the seabed, he said. New Democracy, he said, would vote in favour of ratification, but was also obliged to criticise the government for the delay in bringing the convention to the House.
Communist Party (KKE) spokesman Orestis Kolozov said his party would ratify the convention, as it was a balanced document, "irrespective of whether we are convinced that it can be applied or not".
The leader of the main opposition New Democracy party Miltiades Evert yesterday called for a "large package" settlement of Greece's differences with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia covering all issues in dispute.
Addressing a meeting of the party's Parliamentary Group, Mr. Evert said the Greek-FYROM dispute should be resolved within the framework of the United Nations. He said the ruling PASOK government, in returning to the negotiations table after the disruption of talks, was prepared to discuss the "small package" covering the FYROM flag and constitutional amendment issues, leaving the issue of the name for future talks. Mr. Evert said ND insisted on an overall package deal settlement of all problems, including the name.
His position was echoed by former prime minister and honorary ND president Constantine Mitsotakis, who said the party should be firm in its policy for an overall package settlement. He said Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, "by leaving the Skopje name issue for a future discussion one to two months after an initial ('small package') agreement, would allow (FYROM leader Kiro) Gligorov to monopolise the name of 'Macedonia'."
Turning to other issues, Mr. Evert said a long-term strategy for the coming decades was required on national issues, adding that the crux of ND's foreign policy was Greece's European orientation. "We believe in the federal unification of Europe, and the key to EU progress is the delineation, institution and implementation of a truly common foreign and security policy," Mr. Evert said. "Europe cannot be a political midget and at the same time a financial giant," he added.
Mr. Evert said the US presence in Europe was a fundamental prerequisite for ensuring peace in the region, and warned that ignoring or underestimating the significance of the US could disrupt the balances in the Balkans and the wider region.
The party leader briefed the Parliamentary Group on his Balkan-related talks during his recent visit to the US. He stressed that an improvement of Greece's relations with Turkey hinged on a just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem. "Turkey's provocation has lately exceeded all bounds, and it is apparent that the Turks are trying to divert abroad the internal problems they are facing," Mr. Evert said.
Commenting on speculations of an impending trip to Greece by Turkish former premier and leader of the Motherland Party Mesut Yilmaz, Mr. Evert said Mr. Yilmaz should be allowed here only on condition that he "retracts his incendiary statements". Mr. Yilmaz has recently threatened to press ahead with converting the Orthodox Ayia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul into a mosque.
Mr. Evert accused the government of "negligence" on the issue of the EU-Turkey customs union, saying an opportunity had been lost to resolve some of the disputes with the neighbouring country.
The meeting was conducted in an atmosphere of tension due to ongoing differences over internal issues between Mr. Evert and his predecessor Mr. Mitsotakis. Mr. Evert reminded the conference that he was in charge of party policy. "I make the decisions and I draft the policy," Mr. Evert said.
ND deputy Achilleas Karamanlis, brother of the party's founder, former president Constantine Karamanlis, accused Mr. Mitsotakis of creating problems within the party and stressed that the party could have only one leader.
Mr. Mitsotakis was supported in his views by his daughter, ND deputy and former minister Dora Bakoyianni and ND deputy and former minister Sotiris Kouvelas.
Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said here yesterday that Greece was being particularly cautious in carving out an initiative to mediate in the latest Bosnian crisis. "The government is trying to find ideas and ways to see how it can realise this initiative," Mr. Papoulias said after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers here.
The initiative initially intended to bring Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and his Serbian counterpart Slobodan Milosevic together for direct talks but Mr. Papoulias clarified that Greece "would prefer the meeting to be trilateral" and include Bosnian President Alia Izetbegovic.
"This initiative aims at results, and not at creating fuss," he said, stressing the issue needed sensitive handling. Commenting on his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Erdal Inonu, Mr. Papoulias said that "the climate is heavy in Greek-Turkish relations and progress has not been noted." Recent "actions and announcements by Turkish officials do not help," he added.
Press Minister Evangelos Venizelos yesterday described as "totally inaccurate" reports alleging that there was a secret agreement between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, including a formula for the effective lifting of the trade sanctions. "Permanent Greek positions, both on the substance and procedure on the issue are publicly known and clear," he added.
Greece's priority at next year's intergovernmental conference will be to support the social, economic and political cohesion of the European Union, while stressing the importance of legal equality between the member-states at an institutional level.
Following successive meetings of the inter-ministerial committee on the conference, the Greek positions were outlined in a Press and Information Ministry statement yesterday. The statement said that the conference must aim at a Europe which is more effective and more powerful on the international economic and political scene.
"Not only must the ties which safeguard cohesion within the EU be prevented from dissolving, they must also be strengthened," the statement said. One of Greece's main positions at the conference will be that the principle of Community solidarity must be manifested at all levels, "as legal equality among the member-states at an institutional level, as the constant target of economic and social cohesion at the level of Economic and Monetary Union, as a guarantee for the historic borders of the EU and as a principle of mutual assistance between the member-states at the level of the common foreign and defence policy".
At an institutional level, Greece will be a proponent of the equal participation of all member-states in EU institutions and will oppose the logic of a Europe of "different speeds". In this framework, the statement said, it is taken for granted that the intergovernmental conference itself will function, by definition, on the basis of unanimity among the member-states.
Greece will also support the strengthening of the common foreign and defence policy "as a prerequisite for the existence and survival of Europe". "At this level," the statement stressed, "the rule of unanimity cannot be abandoned when issues arise which concern the vital interests of the member-states."
The issue of enlargement must be linked with that of the EU's own funds, the statement said, particularly in the case of countries which will clearly place a great burden on the Community's budget and resources.
With this in mind, the statement added, the commencement of enlargement with the accession of Cyprus and Malta is "the principal target of Greek foreign policy and the declared decision of the European Council and the Council of Ministers".
Chief of National Defence General Staff Admiral Christos Lymberis had talks here yesterday with General George Joulwan, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR) on issues concerning the South Wing of the Alliance including the establishment and activation of NATO headquarters in Greece. General Joulwan also discussed the NATO headquarters issue with National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis in the United States on Tuesday.
Mr. Arsenis reiterated Greece's position that the failure to activate the NATO headquarters raised a question of credibility vis-u-vis the Alliance. According to informed sources, the headquarters issue is on track for settlement prior to the meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, June 7-9.
General Joulwan arrived in Athens yesterday following talks in Ankara. Ankara is opposed to the activation of the NATO land and air headquarters at Larissa, central Greece and the establishment of the headquarters for an Alliance multi-national rapid deployment force in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki. To underline its opposition, Turkey has blocked the Alliance's entire military budget, in effect freezing all NATO military projects.
National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis will visit Syria from June 18-20, an announcement said yesterday. It added that Mr. Arsenis' scheduled visit to Albania would take place in early July.
In the framework of events organised by London's Greek community to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos gave a speech at the Greek Centre Tuesday night, entitled 'From Marathon to Normandy: The victories of Europe," and awarded commemorative medals to 16 British war veterans who were among the first Allied troops to enter Athens on October 12, 1944, headed by Lord Jellicoe.
In his speech, Mr. Avramopoulos drew parallels between the victories of the ancient Greeks against the Persians and the Allied victory against the Axis, which both defended the ideals of freedom and democracy against tyranny.
Speaking on behalf of the veterans, who included Chris Woodhouse, General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, Sir Derek Dodson, Patrick Leigh Fermor and others, Lord Jellicoe spoke of his memories of Greece and the warm reception given British troops on liberation day, stressing that the Greek people's sacrifices for freedom will never be forgotten.
Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis yesterday said he was satisfied with the results of his round of contacts with US Defence and State Department officials. He told a press conference that his US counterpart William Perry had "praised Greece's role in the broader Balkan region, a stabilising role which promotes peace and co-operation, and stressed the close co-operation between Greece and the United States".
Referring to his address at the official dinner Tuesday night, Mr. Arsenis said, "I stressed precisely this, that Greece is in a position today to play a catalytic role, first in defusing the crisis in the Balkans, and secondly in establishing condition s promoting co-operation and development in the region.
"As a member of the European Union, the Western European Union and NATO, and at the same time a Balkan country, Greece is capable of becoming a centre of initiatives for economic co-operation, cultural issues but also for a series of defence agreements with the other Balkan countries".
He added that the Greek initiative for co-operation with neighbouring countries in the framework of the Partnership for Peace programme, under which an exercise involving Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and US forces in the Peloponnese took place recently, was especially appreciated in Washington and NATO.
Discussion had also included an exchange of views on the Bosnian crisis, he said. "I passed on the message that there is still room for diplomatic activities and contacts with all sides, including the Serbs... "I noted that my interlocutors pay particular attention to Greece's views, they consider it a country well-grounded in the Balkan problem and capable of playing a role and undertaking initiatives," he said.
He added that Greek-Turkish relations had not been dealt with at length, but he had insisted that the issue of the activation of NATO regional headquarters in Greece, to which Turkey has objected, be included in next week's agenda of the defence ministers' meeting in Brussels.
Finally, he said that discussion had included the role which Cyprus could play in a concept of collective security in the area, especially in view of its prospects of becoming a full member of the European Union and, therefore, of the Western European Union.
US Defence Secretary William Perry's toast in honour of Mr. Arsenis at the official dinner Tuesday included the following:
"We had very productive discussions today about the continuing defence co-operation between the United States and Greece. This co-operation is especially appropriate between two countries so deeply committed to democracy...
"Greece's democratic tradition remains critical to Europe and the United States, because Greece lives in a troubled neighbourhood as the crisis in Bosnia illustrates all too vividly. These are critical moments in the future of Europe and the trans-Atlantic alliance. We look to Greece, as a free nation, to help advance the spread of democracy in your neighbourhood and as a NATO ally, to help stop the spread of turmoil in your neighbourhood.
"The United States appreciates and encourages Greece's positive efforts in the region: your reaching out to new democracies, and your participation in bilateral and multilateral exercises. Your recent multilateral exercise with Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and the United States is exactly the kind of leadership we need to build trust, confidence and co-operation in the region. This is leadership for the post Cold-War era. And this leadership can go a long way toward making the neighbourhood more stable and secure...
"An important part of our ability to face these challenges together stems from warm personal relations. The Greek poet Theogenis said 'One finds many companions for food and drink, but in serious business a man's companions are very few'. Tonight, we are indeed companions in food and drink. For nearly five decades, we were true companions in the serious business of the Cold War. And for the future, we will remain true companions as we face the serious business before us".
Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou is expected to visit the northern Greek capital of Thessaloniki next week to personally announce the comprehensive package of measures to restore monasteries on the holy sanctuary of Mount Athos, Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis said yesterday. The premier is expected to meet with representatives of the holy community during his visit.
The government announced on Monday that the prime minister had approved eight million drachmas for the repair of monasteries on the peninsula of Halkidiki, some of which are more than a thousand years old. The funds, which come from both state and European Union coffers, will also cover an exhibition of priceless treasures from the monasteries in Thessaloniki next year.
Mr. Laliotis, underlining the government and prime minister's personal interest in Mount Athos, said the government considered the holy sanctuary "a European ecological and cultural treasure" and would not hesitate in funding its preservation.
Mr. Laliotis said he, Culture Under-Secretary Nikos Sifounakis and Macedonia-Thrace Minister Constantine Triarides would monitor the progress of the exhibition to be held in Thessaloniki, on the orders of the premier. Mr. Laliotis was in Thessaloniki to oversee progress on public works by the city's Cultural Capital Organisation, ahead of Thessaloniki assuming the title in 1997.
The government revealed its plans to regulate privately-owned press and media when it tabled Press Minister Evangelos Venizelos' bill in Parliament on Tuesday. The final form of the bill, which was drafted after exhaustive consultations with other political and third parties, attempts to restrict the concentration of media ownership and development of media monopolies and the existence of vested interests.
It explicitly prohibits simultaneous participation in a mass media company and a company assuming public works or state procurements and also prohibits individuals from owning more than a 25 per cent stake in a television station. Owners will be subject to sources of income checks - as are parliamentary deputies - by a standing parliamentary committee.
The bill also includes a clause prohibiting simultaneous participation in more than two media categories, such as both television and print, as well as clauses regulating the screening of advertisements and respect of copyright laws. It also restricts scenes of gratuitous violence and pornographic content and makes special reference to the protection of child viewers.
The National Council for Radio and Television is further given the powers to guarantee plurality and the maintenance of transparency in the operations of radio and television stations.
Olympic Airways is expected to record a profit of 3-4 billion drachmas this year, the national carrier's chairman of the board Rigas Doganis said yesterday, clarifying however that this would be largely due to the infusion of 19 billion drachmas as the first instalment of a share capital increase.
Mr. Doganis was announcing OA's strategic targets and the comprehensive "programme of action" for the company's survival in the presence of Transport and Communications Minister Thanassis Tsouras.
In a brief speech, Mr. Tsouras stressed that the government, the company's management and workers must assume their responsibilities in order to enable adherence to plans for OA's streamlining.
As a first step, Mr. Tsouras said, Boeing 727s currently being used as VIP transport for government officials would be converted into passenger aircraft. The aircraft had been bought at a cost of 3.3 billion drachmas, which will be redeemed within the first six months of their new operational role.
Mr. Tsouras described 1993 as "the end of an era" and 1994 "a fresh start", referring to the government's decision to write off OA's debts of 427 billion drachmas to the Greek state as well as the 45 billion drachmas owed by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The government also serviced loans due to the state amounting to 64.5 billion drachmas and converted the loans into share capital. In addition, Mr. Tsouras noted, the government was putting up guarantees totalling 378 million dollars for the purchase of new aircraft and has paid out 11 billion drachmas for voluntary retirement schemes.
Commenting on the carrier's performance in the first quarter of 1995, Mr. Tsouras said that "positive steps" had been taken. The number of passengers was up by 6.8 per cent compared with the same period of 1994 and by 18.4 per cent compared to 1993. Worker productivity had increased by 11 per cent and the company's operating results had risen by 64 per cent.
Mr. Doganis said that OA must remain Greece's foremost air carrier both abroad and domestically. It must also provide customers with competitive and profitable services of a high quality, he added. Above all, Mr. Doganis said, OA must ensure the highest standards of safety.
Among OA's targets, he continued, is the abolition of the prices and incomes committee's right to veto fare increases on domestic routes. OA also aimed to sell a Boeing 747 and four "Shorts 300" aircraft, cease operating 12 loss-making services, open new routes to the countries of Eastern Europe and cut personnel expenses by 30 per cent.