Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 02-05-20

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Skandalidis sternly criticizes ND's local gov't profile

[02] Metropolitan of Poland ends visit to Greece; Christodoulos on Orthodoxy presence

[03] Thessaloniki rally focuses on recognition of Pontian genocide

[04] Leftist figure still in spotlight over prospects of joining

[05] SEEBRIG tactical exercise this month

[06] Apparent heart attack claims US ambassador in Albania

[07] Protest against illegal land appropriations in S. Albania

[08] Attica Enterprises ferry to service Edinburgh-Belgium route

[09] Bulgarian police charge 2 in baby smuggling ring; Greece link

[10] Seminar on Sts. Cyril & Methodius organized in Thessaloniki

[11] Moderate quake rattles eastern Aegean isle; no damages

[12] Kasoulides: None of the Palestinians will continue to stay in Cyprus

[13] Kasoulides: Four messages conveyed by Annan

[01] Skandalidis sternly criticizes ND's local gov't profile

Athens, 20/05/2002 (ANA)

Speaking from the northwest city of Ioannina, Skandalidis said: �We�re talking about the future and they�re talking about rear-guard battles and (political) trench warfare. That is the difference between the progressive and conservative factions that must be made clear. And it also demonstrates the difference in exercising power by conservative mayors and prefects, in contrast with progressive mayors and prefects at successive KEDKE and ENAE conferences,� he said.

Skandalidis also commented on the recent negative poll results for PASOK while on the last day of his three-day tour of the Epirus region, with the former ruling party secretary saying such results are more often a �protest against our own worse image rather than substantive support ... of another political force�.

�That�s the ability we have to reverse everything, and we will reverse this situation. You can be sure of that,� he said during a press conference in Ioannina.

Latest poll shows hefty lead for ND candidates in Athens, Thessaloniki: The latest opinion poll to see the light of publication apparently shows main opposition New Democracy�s (ND) candidates clearly in the lead in both the Athens and Thessaloniki mayoral races.

According to results of a telephone poll carried out by the �Opinion� firm and published in the Sunday edition of �Eleftherotypia�, high-ranking ND deputy and former minister Dora Bakoyianni garnered a hefty 51.7-percent approval rating among respondents queried on their preference for the next mayor of Athens.

Former EU Commissioner and ex-merchant marine minister Christos Papoutsis, ruling PASOK�s candidate for the Greek capital, came in a distant second with 21.1 percent.

Amongst mayoral candidates of smaller parties, journalist and former deputy Yiannis Dimaras (DHKKI) earned 5.8 percent of respondents� vote, as opposed to 4.2 for Coalition of the Left (Synaspismos) candidate Fotis Kouvelis, and 3 percent for the Communist Party�s (KKE) candidate, Spyros Halvatzis.

In terms of the Thessaloniki race, incumbent mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos was preferred by a majority of respondents, according to the poll�s results, earning 57.9 percent to PASOK candidate Spyros Vougias� 27.4 percent.

Vougias, the current deputy transport minister, vied against Papageorgopoulos in the last Thessaloniki mayoral race 1998, although under Synaspismos� banner at the time.

Joint KKE-DHKKI candidate Agapios Sahinis pulled in 4.3 percent of respondents� preference to a mere 0.6 percent for current Synaspismos candidate Tassos Kourakis.

Finally, 48 percent of respondents said they were unwavering in preference during the October local government elections, whereas 27 percent said they believe results will significantly affect the country�s political developments.

The poll was conducted between May 13-16 among 800 residents of Athens and 600 residents of Thessaloniki above the age of 18.

[02] Metropolitan of Poland ends visit to Greece; Christodoulos on Orthodoxy presence

Athens, 20/05/2002 (ANA)

In addressing the visiting Metropolitan, Christodoulos stressed that Europe dearly needs the �spirituality, the presence and the prospects for life� as taught by the Orthodox Church.

�In this period of our history, we are witnessing for the first time such a generalized and intense contestation of Europe�s Christian heritage, as well as the values that Christianity teaches in order to give life meaning,� the Archbishop said from the pulpit, adding:

�Rationalism, which has imbued the western Church�s con-science, in tandem with the Roman Catholic Church�s secularization, have created a great danger for the very existence of our civilization,� he stressed.

In his reply, Metropolitan Savvas referred to the unity of Orthodoxy in a �difficult time, when the tenants of faith and are being abridged by systems and people�.

In an unrelated development, Christodoulos was quoted in an interview published by the Athens daily �Eleftherotypia� on Sunday, as saying that any future meeting with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis would have to come �without conditions or restrictions� � an indirect reference to the furor that erupted almost two years ago following the government�s decision to eliminate religious affiliation on police-issued identification cards.

Deputy FM-Christodoulos talks to focus on aid towards Mideast churches: Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos will receive Arch-bishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos on Monday, with talks expected to focus on Athens� development aid towards various Orthodox parishes in the Middle East over the next five years.

The meeting comes after an initiative by Loverdos aimed at better coordinating efforts between the government and the Autocephalus Orthodox Church of Greece on the issue.

[03] Thessaloniki rally focuses on recognition of Pontian genocide

Athens, 20/05/2002 (ANA)

Several top government officials and deputies attended the rally, where organizers called for the international recognition of the killing of 350,000 Pontians as well as the razing of 815 communities, 1,134 churches and 960 schools in the Pontus region of the Black Sea.

In his address before a crowd at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis termed the Pontian genocide an �indisputable historical fact�, noting that the crimes were systematically carried out by Turkish forces, something he said is proven by a wealth of eyewitness accounts as well as Greek, international and even Turkish sources.

Moreover, he said it was Turkey�s duty vis-a-vis civilized humanity to recognize the genocide and to publicly offer an apology while at the same time condemning the crime.

In opening the event, Aristotelian University rector Mihalis Papadopoulos called for the Greek Parliament to publish its material on the genocide.

[04] Leftist figure still in spotlight over prospects of joining

Athens, 20/05/2002 (ANA)

Loule briefly spoke to reporters in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, where she unveiled a new book.

[05] SEEBRIG tactical exercise this month

Athens, 20/05/2002 (ANA)

Military personnel from the seven countries comprising the brigade � Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Italy, Romania, Turkey and Greece � will participate, with Athens supplying a 17-man delegation.

[06] Apparent heart attack claims US ambassador in Albania

TIRANA 20/05/2002 (ANA)

The veteran State Department diplomat was accredited as Washington�s envoy to Tirana since September 1999, prior to serving as deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Tashkent between 1996-99.

[07] Protest against illegal land appropriations in S. Albania

TIRANA 20/05/2002 (ANA� I. Pats)

The protest in the district, home to one of the country�s largest and most enduring ethnic Greek communities, was organized by the Union of Heimarra residents and the �Bregdeti� society, among others.

Several of the speakers charged that the central government has illegally privatized property and real estate in the coastal district from local residents that have immigrated to Greece.

[08] Attica Enterprises ferry to service Edinburgh-Belgium route

BRUSSELS 20/05/2002 (ANA)

Bourse-listed Attica Enterprises S.A. won out over 42 competitors in an international bid for the route�s concession, with its �Fast ferry 9� expected to service the route daily in approximately 17.5 hours.

Merchant Marine Minister George Anomeritis represented Athens at a ceremony in Edinburgh, an event also attended by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.

[09] Bulgarian police charge 2 in baby smuggling ring; Greece link

SOFIA 20/05/2002 (ANA - B. Borisov)

According to reports, the ring was exposed when a pregnant woman contacted police in the southern Bulgarian town of Plovdiv and charged that the two suspects kept her against her will in a local motel.

Both women, along with the two suspects, hail from gypsy communities in the Balkan country, reports state.

Bulgarian police said the ring has been active for five to six years, supplying infants to childless couples for between 10,000 to 15,000 euros each. Moreover, they claimed that 10 such infants have been illegally smuggled into Greece.

The suspects were identified only as �Yinka S.�, 31, and her unnamed cousin.

[10] Seminar on Sts. Cyril & Methodius organized in Thessaloniki

Athens, 20/05/2002 (ANA)

Several Greek and foreign scholars participated in the one-day event organized by the newly founded �Cyril and Methodius Group� in cooperation with the Macedonia-Thrace Journalists� Union.

Cyril (826-869) and Methodius (815- 884), declared saints by both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, are well known as the "Apostles to the Slavs."

Cyril was librarian of the imperial cathedral of Agia Sophia in Constantinople until 860, when he resigned to join Methodius, the abbot of an Orthodox monastery, in missions to convert the Khazars and the Bulgarians to Christianity.

In 862, Byzantine Emperor Michael III sent them to Moravia, where the two Greek missionaries and linguists taught and celebrated the liturgy in the Slavonic vernacular, now known as Old Church Slavonic. To translate the Bible into this previously unwritten language, the brothers invented an alphabet based on Greek characters. The Cyrillic alphabet used in modern Slavic languages was attributed to St. Cyril, although many scholars point to the work of his followers.

[11] Moderate quake rattles eastern Aegean isle; no damages

Athens, 20/05/2002 (ANA)

The quake�s epicenter was pinpointed east of the large Greek isle on the opposite Asia Minor coast. Several aftershocks were also felt, authorities said.

According to police on Lesvos and the nearby island of Hios, no damages were reported from the earthquake, recorded at approximately 2 p.m. local time.

[12] Kasoulides: None of the Palestinians will continue to stay in Cyprus

LARNACA 20/05/2002 (CNA/ANA)

Kasoulides also made it clear that none of the Palestinians will continue to stay on the island, noting that should no EU country accept one of the Palestinians, Cyprus will be patient until the matter is resolved.

According to Reuters the Spanish state radio said that Spain, which is currently holding the EU presidency, brokered a deal in which six

EU member states would take 12 of the 13 Palestinians and Cyprus would take the last.

Kasoulides said that the procedure for resolving the issue had entered its last stages and that by the beginning of next week there would be developments on the whole issue.

''The issue is proceeding normally, there is a continuous progress on the matters examined. I am in constant contact with the EU representatives and I hope that by Monday or Tuesday all technical problems will be resolved and there will be developments on the issue,'' he said.

The 13 Palestinians arrived in Cyprus, after the siege of the Church of the Nativity was lifted. They are staying at a local seaside hotel under police guard, for their own safety. Cyprus offered to take in the Palestinians temporarily.

[13] Kasoulides: Four messages conveyed by Annan

PAPHOS 20/05/2002 (CNA/ANA)

According to Kasoulides the messages conveyed are the need to speed up the ongoing talks, to insist on the time frame of June, to abandon unproductive discussions and focus on the fundamental principles and to take advantage of the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus Alvaro De Soto's presence to the talks.

No problem is being raised for the Greek Cypriot side by these appeals, Kasoulides said noting that it was up to the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to show whether he responds to them, at the forthcoming meetings between him and Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides.

The minister expressed the Greek Cypriot side's genuine effort to look into the possibilities of solving the Cyprus problem.

''There is a window of opportunity, that will close by autumn and even if Denktash continues to have the same positions, Cyprus will proceed at full speed to join the EU,'' he added.

Cyprus opened accession negotiations with the EU in 1998. It has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.

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