A.N.A. Bulletin, 11/01/96

From: "Greek Press & Information Office, Ottawa Canada" <[email protected]>

Athens News Agency Directory

ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 784), January 11, 1996

Greek Press & Information Office

Ottawa, Canada

E-Mail Address: [email protected]

CONTENTS

[1] Censure motion against the government defeated

A censure motion tabled by the main opposition party against the government was overwhelmingly defeated last night, with 168 votes against the motion and 118 votes in support.

Four deputies were absent from the vote - two main opposition New Democracy deputies and, apart from the ailing premier himself, another PASOK deputy.

The 11 deputies of the Political Spring party joined 107 ND deputies in supporting the motion: the nine Communist Party of Greece deputies and one independent - former ND foreign minister Mihalis Papaconstantinou - abstained.

The roll-call vote came at midnight last night after a three day-long debate following the tabling of the motion by New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert on Monday.

In the debate leading up to the vote, PASOK deputies countered suggestions from opposition speakers that the country was foundering and without leadership due to the continued hospitalization of the prime minister, Andreas Papandreou.

Interior Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, deputizing for Mr. Papandreou, called on the ruling party's deputies to vote against ND's censure motion, saying that the government had operated normally over the last two months since the premier took ill, pointing to Greece's presence at the Madrid EU summit, passage of the '96 budget, an agreement with Bulgaria concerning the Nestos River waters and approval for the go-ahead of several large infrastructure projects.

The minister, who is also the public administration and decentralization minister, said policy directions followed by the government as well as their implementation are not endangered by any event in the present situation "even a significant event such as the extended absence of the premier from his duties."

He said the issue facing Parliament was not legal but political and accused ND of not being concerned with the proper functioning of government and institutions or with respect for the constitution but of attempting to exploit the prime minister's illness for petty political gain.

"You have irresponsibly chosen even to abuse the censure motion procedure under the delusion that you will undermine and divide PASOK," he told Mr. Evert.

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said PASOK's Central Committee will, on January 20, "discuss and decide, after the executive bureau in co-operation with the president of the movement (Mr. Papandreou), who is always PASOK's leader... submits a recommendation, and will promote procedures that will provide a political answer and quickly lead to a final solution on the issue."

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said the government will complete its four-year term. "1996 is the year when the results of PASOK's policy will directly become apparent to the Greek people," he said.

Mr. Evert told Parliament the censure motion it tabled was aimed at serving the national interest and leading the country out of the political crisis and the lack of government the government's "timidity" had caused.

He conceded that his party did not table the censure motion against the government with the purpose of bringing it down, adding that ND did not function as a party but as an institution.

The present situation "constitutes anomaly, illegality and deviation which is turning more and more into a constitutional deviation," he said, adding that the prime minister would not be able to assume and exercise his duties and that "all are aware of this."

"Some dare to say this, others remain silent, others speak of irrelevant matters or conceal it to serve personal and illicit interests," he said. "Substituting for the prime minister is only legal provided there is a prospective in the visible and immediate future that the prime minister will assume and fully exercise his duties. And the deviation lies exactly here."

"The lack of government maximizes dangers for national issues, whose repercussions are also particularly harmful in the economic sector."

He said would-be successors have proved to be unworthy of the occasion, adding that "the most malignant political environment in our modern political history is emerging from around a sick man."

Mr. Evert reiterated that the final solution would only be provided by the people's verdict and, addressing ruling PASOK party deputies, said "you will experience it very soon because it constitutes common knowledge that only ND can give solutions to the country's problems."

[2] Kremastinos briefs Parliament on premier's condition

Health Minister Dimitris Kremastinos yesterday told Parliament that he was sure the 76-year-old premier "will do his duty" in the next few days.

"I am sure Andreas Papandreou will in the next few days, as always, do his duty; with the party and his colleagues he will, as always, make the right decisions, taking into account his health and primarily serving the nation's interests and democratic faction."

Earlier in his speech, the health minister, who is also the prime minister's personal physician, referred to the premier's almost two-month-long hospitalization at the Onassion Cardiology Center's intensive care unit.

He said all available medical data pointed to a slow recuperation after 52 days in intensive care without a specific timetable for recovery and barring any new complications.

When Mr. Kremastinos stated that the shortest recovery period now projected by physicians for the prime minister is at least two months, ND leader Miltiades Evert interrupted to ask if PASOK's executive bureau was aware of that fact. The health minister said the bureau was briefed at the end of December.

In his address, Mr. Kremastinos said Mr. Papandreou, who underwent heart bypass surgery in 1988, was at this moment "fighting the greatest battle" of his life, adding that his replacement and length of time needed to decide on succession "is a serious political and institutional problem."

"...Any thought of replacement without his participation is an even more serious problem because of Andreas Papandreou's historic personality."

The health minister said physicians have told the truth concerning the premier's health, and that there is not a Greek citizen not aware of Andreas Papandreou's health problems since 1988.

Mr. Kremastinos asked for more respect toward the prime minister and said "unacceptable excesses and attacks were unheard of actions."

"These villainies must be condemned," he said, drawing a comparison to the way former French President Francois Mitterrand was treated in the press and opposition political parties when he became ill.

The premier's son and Education Minister, George Papandreou, speaking during the debate in Parliament late on Tuesday night, said that he had undertaken to inform his father of the current political situation if his health permitted.

He said he believed that when Mr. Papandreou had a full picture of the situation, he would do everything possible for the nation and for PASOK's unity and future prospects.

[3] Arsenis: PASOK has problem in hand

Procedures initiated by PASOK's Executive Bureau will provide a definitive solution to the political problem of Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's replacement, Defense Minister Gerassimos Arsenis said during last night's debate.

He charged that the opposition New Democracy party's censure motion against the government over its failure to elect a successor to Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou lacked substance.

He added that the forthcoming meetings of the ruling party's Central Committee and parliamentary group will prove that it has mustered its unity, and that the procedures initiated will lead it to a new electoral victory.

Meanwhile, PASOK deputy and former minister Vassilis Kedikoglou continued his criticism of the government and Mr. Kremastinos, during his speech in Parliament yesterday evening.

"It is not enough for ministers to say that the issue (premier's replacement) will be solved within the month; they should connect their stay in the government with Andreas Papandreou's briefing on the election of a new prime minister."

The Evia deputy criticized the health minister, saying Mr. Kremastinos should have informed the premier on his health situation before the need for election of a new prime minister arose.

[4] Opposition

Former prime minister and honorary ND president Constantine Mitsotakis called on the government to solve the political issue by January 31, saying the premier's absence is not PASOK's problem but the nation's.

"Our national vessel finds itself today without a captain in a period where difficult decisions must be found for major and unresolved issues," he said.

The former ND leader said if the impasse is prolonged, the continuation of the problem will lead to the governing party's dissolution, something he said no one in the country desires, not even New Democracy.

He said he respected Andreas Papandreou as a political opponent and called on PASOK's deputies to assist with their actions in order for the premier to end his political career.

Asked by PASOK deputy and former minister Evangelos Yiannopoulos if his statements would also apply to former prime minister and president Constantine Karamanlis, if he were in Mr. Papandreou's position, Mr. Mitsotakis said: "They would apply for Mr. Karamanlis, Mr. Papandreou and anyone in that position."

Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras charged in his speech that the censure motion bore the seal of "organized hypocrisy", and that the two main parties were engaging in dangerous acrobatics in order to maintain their balance.

He said the motion claimed a world record for novelty in that it admittedly did not aim at bringing down the government, but at supporting its work with a different prime minister.

"The premier's inability to exercise his duties has led the country to a peculiar state of permanent substitution which is not in accordance with either the general content of the constitution or the principles of our democratic political system," he said.

"We are already before a dangerous political anomaly which is speedily developing into a constitutional aberration."

He claimed the censure motion would rally PASOK deputies, and consequently give a lease of life to the current state of political anomaly. Political Spring would vote in favor of the motion, as it would be contradictory to do the opposite from what it had first asked for, namely recourse to elections.

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE), meanwhile, called for the immediate replacement of the prime minister.

"It is your problem to resolve the issue of the replacement of the prime minister," Secretary-General Aleka Papariga told PASOK deputies. "But it is not your problem and your issue to leave to stagnate."

"Your internal problems do not concern us. These have no relation to the issue of the prime minister. Your responsibility is enormous; in addition to all the troubles which you have heaped on the Greek people, do not add another."

She attacked the main opposition New Democracy party, saying she could not understand the meaning of a three-day debate in Parliament on the problem of replacing the prime minister when the issue which could have been exhausted in one afternoon session alone and that the censure motion would have been meaningful if ND proposed to question PASOK's strategic options.

"We would support such a censure motion unhesitatingly. But such a thing is not taking place because ND would be obliged to change its own programme which does not differ from PASOK's programme, since they function with the same automatic pilot for the capitalist profits and the options of the multinationals and the European Union," she said.

[5] Premier requests meeting with Stephanopoulos

PASOK Secretary Costas Skandalidis last night confirmed reports that the prime minister had expressed a wish to see the president of the republic.

Replying to reporters' questions on whether Health Minister Dimitris Kremastinos was aware of this and why he has not informed Parliament if he was, Mr. Skandalidis said the question should be put to the health minister, adding that he had been informed of Mr. Papandreou's wish by the prime minister's wife, Dimitra.

Yesterday's evening bulletin issued by the Onassion Hospital said that Mr. Papandreou's condition remained unchanged, and he had been without fever in the previous six hours.

It added that the patient had undergone dialysis, and the programme of motion therapy and physiotherapy to assist his breathing was continuing.

An earlier midday bulletin said his breathing was supported by a respirator only during the night, while his doctors were investigating the cause of "intermittent indications of a slight temperature."

Mr. Papandreou underwent a CAT scan in the morning, to ascertain precisely where a quantity of fluid has gathered on his chest, to enable his doctors to remove the fluid by the puncture method yesterday afternoon or today at the latest.

An American doctor, John Buck, who is assisting the premier's medical team, said yesterday that the premier had a slight temperature Tuesday night and yesterday morning, adding however that "generally speaking" the condition of his health Tuesday and yesterday was better than previously.

He said that Mr. Papandreou could move and walk more "which is particularly encouraging."

Mr. Buck said that it was not considered necessary for Mr. Papandreou to be transferred to a hospital in the United States, adding that the premier was in a position to talk quite well but said he did not know if he was able to engage in political discussion.

[6] Hytiris responds to Vasso Papandreou's comments

Meanwhile, government spokesman Telemahos Hytiris opposed Vasso Papandreou's view that the prime minister should not be involved in the succession process.

Ms. Papandreou, former PASOK minister and now deputy, told a television programme on Tuesday night that the prime minister should not take place in succession procedures as this would put him into a stressful situation.

"There should not be a meeting with the prime minister," she said. "This would cause great distress to him."

The government spokesman said it was "correct and imperative," to have the opinion of the prime minister.

Regarding the Central Committee meeting scheduled for January 20 to discuss the political problem, the government spokesman said that all views and developments will be discussed at the meeting.

Concerning any possible postponement of the meeting, he said this fell under the jurisdiction of the Executive Bureau.

Regarding the parliament debate of main opposition New Democracy's censure motion, Mr. Hytiris said ND's position that the country was not being governed was "hypocritical."

He said ND would be given an answer later in the evening by the majority supporting the government, adding that within the next few days the government will receive another vote of confidence.

[7] FYROM name talks set back a day

Talks scheduled to begin today between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the name issue have been postponed until tomorrow, the United Nations announced yesterday.

Reliable sources said the postponement was due to a delay in the arrival of Skopje interlocutor Ivan Tosevski.

[8] Athens, Rome favorites to host 2004 Olympics

Eleven cities submitted bids to host the 2004 Summer Games before a midnight deadline, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday.

The list was: Athens, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Istanbul, the French city of Lille, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, San Juan, Seville of Spain, Stockholm and Russia's St. Petersburg.

IOC officials said technical representatives of the bidding cities would meet IOC leaders in Lausanne on January 23 to discuss bidding procedure.

The cities have to submit full bid documents to the IOC by mid-August after which an evaluation commission chaired by German IOC member Thomas Bach will visit the candidate cities.

The commission will publish its report by the end of February 1996 and an IOC electoral collage will whittle down the candidates to a short-list of four or five by early April.

After that the IOC's 100-plus members will be invited on expenses-paid inspection visits to the remaining candidate cities before making their choice in Lausanne on September 5.

With Beijing, still smarting over its narrow defeat by Sydney in the race to host the 2000 Summer Games, not a candidate, the field appears to be wide open.

Cape Town, bidding to bring the Olympics to Africa for the first time, is seen as the sentimental favorite.

South Africa has been assiduously courted by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, although the Olympic chief warned Cape Town in November that it still had a lot of work to do.

Other leading contenders are Rome, backed by senior IOC members including world athletics boss Prime Nebiolo, and Athens which hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896 but was snubbed when it claimed the right to host the 1996 Centenary Games.

Under-secretary for Sport George Lianis said yesterday that the members of the International Olympics Committee (IOC) had expressed satisfaction at the bid dossier submitted by Athens to host the 2004 Olympic Games.

Mr. Lianis said that he had discussed with Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos the issue of setting up a special committee of technical experts to take all the necessary steps to support the Greek bid.

The fact that Athens was denied the right to host the 1996 games, to mark the 100th anniversary of the first modern Olympics in the Greek capital in 1896, is almost certain to help the city in its bid to host the 2004 games.

Mr. Lianis said that the centenary anniversary would be celebrated with great splendor in Greece in April.

[9] No hitches in Greek troop deployment in Bosnia

A spokesman for the Army General Staff said yesterday that there were "no problems with the Belgians" in response to reports of friction between the Greek and Belgian contingents participating in the NATO peace implementation force, IFOR, in Bosnia.

The Greek transport company of 250 men is deploying in the area of Vissovo, Bosnia with a Belgian detachment.

Seventy Greek troops have already arrived in the area while the remainder plus 90 vehicles left from Thessaloniki yesterday abo-ard the passenger vessel "Phaedra."

Responding to reports of "deficiencies" in the building housing the Greek advance party, the spokesman said that he did not think they were true, adding that there were "no substantial problems."

He said the fact that the Greek contingent included troops trained as electricians and other professions was because at a later stage they will carry out projects to the benefit of the areas in which they are stationed.

Meanwhile, a National Defense General Staff spokesman clarified that the operational command and control of the Greek contingent in Bosnia would belong to the Chief of National Defense General Staff, Admiral Christos Lymberis, up until it comes under NA TO command.

Once the contingent has been integrated, he added, operational control would pass to the coordinating organs of the headquarters in the rear.

The spokesman clarified, however, that the Chief of National Defense General Staff had the right to recall the contingent at any time.

A spokesman for the General Air Staff meanwhile underlined that the Greek C-130 transport planes transporting materials and personnel from Rimini in Italy to various areas of Bosnia "are the same which have successfully carried out more difficult missions."

The spokesman was commenting on reports that the transport aircraft were not armor-clad.

"The Hellenic Air Force is constantly examining the improvement or renewal of its means," he added.

[10] Commission looking at ways to fund Greece-FYROM co-operation

The European Commission cannot increase funding for inter-state co-operation between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia within the framework of the INTERREG II initiative, but is seeking alternative sources for funding, Commissioner Monika Wulf-Mathies said yesterday.

The commissioner was replying to a question by PASOK Eurodeputy Kostas Klironomou whether the Commission intended to partly fund the construction of necessary infrastructure works and other activities in northern Greece. The German commissioner, responsible for regional policy issues, argued that all funds for the period of 1994-99 have been allocated in the framework of Community Structural Funds.

"Therefore there cannot be an increase in funds allocated by the Community within the INTERREG II initiative for inter-state co-operation between Greece and its neighbors," she said.

"The Commission," she added, "intends to support the peaceful co-operation between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and therefore efforts are being made to find other alternative funding sources."

[11] President, Tsohatzopoulos and Mitsotakis to attend Mitterrand funeral today

Greece will be represented at Mitterrand's funeral by President Kostis Stephanopoulos and Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, who is standing in for Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou due to the premier's hospitalization, government spokesman Telemahos Hytiris announced yesterday.

He added that both were due to depart for Paris today.

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) will be represented at the funeral of the former French president by former premier and ND honorary president Constantine Mitsotakis, an announcement said.

It said that Mr. Mitsotakis will leave for the French capital today.

[12] National defense ministry comments on US missiles for Turkey

Greece is following the balance of regional forces carefully, the national defense ministry said yesterday in response to questions regarding the US government's intention to supply 120 ATACMS missiles to Turkey.

Within this framework, a ministry statement added, the ministry has ordered 18 multiple rocket launchers (MLRS), nine of which were received by the army last July.

The statement also said that the systems being supplied to Greece can also be used against ATAMCS missiles and that Greece put the issue of obtaining such missiles to the US government for the first time in December 1994, and reiterated the request last September.

[13] Albania lifts visas for Greeks

Albanian President Sali Berisha yesterday issued a decree lifting visa requirements for Greeks in a further effort at improving relations between the two Balkan neighbors.

"The presidential decree orders the removal of visas for Greek citizens entering the territory of the Republic of Albania," a statement from the presidential office said. The Greek embassy in Tirana said it had no immediate comment on the surprise move.

Athens had long wanted Tirana to allow Greeks to travel freely in and out of Albania without a visa, along with citizens of other European Union countries. Albanians still require visas for Greece.

Mr. Berisha slapped a visa requirements on Greeks in September 1994 after Athens closed its border with Albania.

The two Balkan states clashed after Albania convicted five ethnic Greeks on espionage and arms charges, which led to mutual recriminations and a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats.

Ties began improving following a ground-breaking visit by Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias to Tirana last March, but subsequent talks in Athens failed to resolve a disagreement over the establishment of three independent schools for ethnic Greek s in southern Albania.

The stalemate led the Greek government to refuse a deal allowing some 300,000 illegal Albanian immigrants in Greece to be able to take up seasonal jobs legally, a long-standing demand by Tirana.

[14] Taxi-driver found guilty of transporting illegal immigrants

A taxi-driver arrested whilst transporting five Albanian illegal immigrants from Kassiopi to Kanalia in Corfu last Saturday has been sentenced to 40 months imprisonment, fined 900,000 drachmas and had his taxi confiscated.

George Pigis' sentence has been suspended until the appeals process has been completed. However, his taxi will remain confiscated.

The five illegal immigrants received suspended three-month sentences and will be deported immediately.

[15] Athens to get own tourist agency, mayor says

Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos announced yesterday that a tourist agency would be created for Athens, aimed at the tourist development of the capital and bordering municipalities.

Mr. Avramopoulos was speaking after a meeting with representatives of the Union of Athens Hoteliers, the Federation of Tourist and Travel Agencies of Greece and the Union of Professional Tourist Vessel Owners at the Town Hall.

Mr. Avramopoulos said the creation of a work group was decided at the meeting to submit the new agency's charter in the next 20 days, which would be implemented before the new tourist season.

The organization will be financed with municipal funds and Community programmes for which a study has already been prepared to avoid a delay in absorbing the funds.

[16] Police net suspected drug kingpin in Thessaloniki

Police in Thessaloniki yesterday arrested a man suspected of being one of the most infamous drug smugglers in the Balkans.

Mihalis Ritsos, 43, known as "Lalakis," is the alleged leader of an international drug trafficking ring based in Bulgaria.

According to reports, the Greek national fled Bulgaria last year after disputes with local organized crime elements and later moved his headquarters to Skopje.

Authorities claim Ritsos is one of the main heroin dealers in the region. Ritsos was arrested after he arrived in Greece to visit his family.

[17] More Bosnian children arrive to holiday in Greece

Fifty children from Svornik, Bosnia, arrived in the Kalamaria municipality in Thessaloniki yesterday morning to stay with families in Kavala and Imathias for 15 days.

The children arrived from Svornik by a bus sent by the Kalamaria municipality to collect them, which took 50 other children back home after spending the Christmas and New Year's holidays in Xanthi and Kolindros Pierias.

Bidding the children farewell, Kalamaria Mayor Thrasyvoulos Lazaridis said that soon the municipality would implement the initiative it had undertaken for the creation of a new children's wing at the Svornik hospital.

[18] Search continues for Haitoglou kidnappers

Information that the alleged kidnappers of a Thessaloniki food products industrialist were hiding out near Patras proved mistaken.

Special police units combed Glaukos, a mountainous region south of Patras, yesterday in search of the Paliokostas brothers, already wanted in connection with a number of other crimes.

Makedonikos Halvas co-owner Alekos Haitoglou was abducted last month and held for a 250 million drachmas ransom. He was freed unharmed after the kidnappers were paid the amount.

End of English language section.