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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 03-07-03Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>July 3, 2003CONTENTS
[01] PASOK executive bureau reshuffle; Laliotis resignsAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)Prime Minister and ruling PASOK president Costas Simitis on Wednesday told members of PASOK's executive bureau that also serve on the Cabinet they must choose between the two posts, in a surprise move that comes at the conclusion of the Greek EU presidency and amid rife speculation in Athens' political circles.During a closely watched press briefing, Simitis said he had asked top party cadre Costas Laliotis to resign as party secretary and to rejoin the government as a minister, although the latter declined the offer, the premier added. Laliotis is, however, expected to tender his resignation from the party secretary�s spot to PASOK�s central committee, when it convenes on Thursday in order to elect a new secretary and members of the executive bureau. ND reaction: On its part, a main opposition New Democracy spokesman later pointed directed to the option of ''early elections'', echoing recent statements by the party's leadership. ''The country can no longer stand to pay for the impasses created by the PASOK government. The only solution for the country is early elections, now,'' ND spokesman Thodoris Roussopoulos said. DHKKI leader Dimitris Tsovolas, a former top PASOK cadre and minister who left the ruling party to form his own movement in the late 1990s, simply noted that ''the things that occurred at the PASOK executive bureau meeting and what was said by its (PASOK) president caused only sorrow for me.'' Defense minister: Meanwhile, press sources from within the defense ministry said Defense Minister Yiannos Papantoniou, who held the national economy portfolio during most of PM Simitis' two terms as premier, backed the latter's move as aiding the ruling party's prospects for victory in any upcoming elections. [02] PM to propose Chrysohoidis for PASOK Secretary, sources sayAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Thursday will propose Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis for the post of Secretary of ruling PASOK's Central Committee, replacing top party cadre Costas Laliotis, reliable sources said on Wednesday.Simitis on Wednesday told members of PASOK's executive bureau that also serve on the Cabinet they must choose between the two posts. PASOK president Simitis asked Laliotis to resign as party secretary and to rejoin the government as a minister, although the latter declined the offer. Laliotis is, however, expected to tender his resignation from the party secretary�s spot to PASOK�s central committee, when it convenes on Thursday in order to elect a new secretary and members of the executive bureau. According to the same sources, the list of candidates for the executive bureau which Simitis will propose, has not yet been finalized. However, it is considered certain that some members, such as Apostolos Kaklamanis, Fofi Gennimata, Christos Polyzogopoulos, Nikos Athanasakis, Milena Apostolaki, Tonia Antoniou, Paris Koukoulopoulos and Chrysa Arapoglou will be among those who the prime minister will propose. [03] ND leading PASOK by eight points in opinion poll, but Simitis preferred as PMAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)The main opposition New Democracy party is eight points ahead of the ruling PASOK party, according to an opinion poll carried out by the Metron Analysis company and publicized on Wednesday, but Prime Minister Costas Simitis is 1.8 percent ahead of ND leader Costas Karamanlis as to who is most suitable for the premiership.ND garnered 38.4 percent against 30.4 for PASOK, while a poll publicized by the same company last March gave the two parties 38 and 31.5 percent respectively. The poll also gave 5.7 percent to the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), 3.7 to the Coalition of the Left, 2 to the Democratic Social movement (DHKKI) and 2.2 to the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), while the undecided vote stood at 17.5. On the question of who is most suitable for prime minister, Simitis received 37.5 percent and Karamanlis 35.7, while their difference last March was in the region of 2.3. Moreover, 62.5 percent of respondents said ND will win the next election and PASOK 21.9, while the percentages of last March were 59.2 and 25.1 respectively. As regards the managing of issues, PASOK is ahead of ND in foreign policy, the completion of major projects, organizing the Olympic Games next year and confronting terrorism. ND, compared to last March, is ahead of PASOK in the issues of national defense, modernizing public administration, managing the 3rd Community Support Framework and in the economy. ND also continues to be ahead in the sectors of education, unemployment, health, crime, corruption, the environment, drugs and the social security system. However, 36.9 percent of respondents said they trusted an ND government headed by Karamanlis and 33.6 a PASOK government headed by Simitis. A total of 35.1 percent want early elections compared to 57.7 who want the elections to take place at the end of the government's four-year term (in April 2004). [04] State Dep't spokesman: Close cooperation between EU, US during Greek presidencyWASHINGTON DC 03/07/2003 (ANA - T. Ellis)There was close cooperation between the two sides of the Atlantic throughout Greece's term in the rotating EU presidency in the first half of the year, in the opinion of US state department spokesman Richard Boucher who, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, added the hope that there would be a corresponding level of cooperation between the US and EU during the Italian EU presidency in the second half of the year.Describing as ''successful'' last week's EU-US summit in Washington among US president George Bush, Greek prime minister and EU president at the time Costas Simitis, and European Commission president Romano Prodi, Boucher noted that ''we all feel that we achieved sufficient progress with the EU in the areas of cooperation against terrorism, against crime, and also against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction'', adding that there had been a ''very important'' statement on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. ''It was a substantive summit with many positive results'', Boucher said, noting that ''we worked closely with Greece during its (EU) presidency and now look forward to close cooperation with the Italians'', who formally assumed the EU presidency from Greece on July 1. Boucher said that secretary of state Colin Powell had spoken on the phone with the Italian foreign minister on Tuesday, and with Greek foreign minister George Papandreou on Monday, ''whom he thanked for the close cooperation during the Greek (EU) presidency''. [05] FYROM signs ICC exclusion deal with US under name not recognized by AthensSKOPJE 03/07/2003 (ANA � N. Frangopoulos)The government here this week appeared satisfied that a bilateral agreement with the United States � over the highly controversial issue of excluding US peacekeepers from the International Criminal Court in The Hague�s jurisdiction � uses the name �Macedonia� instead of the country�s constitutional name, �Republic of Macedonia�, or its listing by the United Nations, namely, the �Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)�.The latter, in fact, is the only name recognized by Greece -- FYROM neighbor to the south -- following the land-locked former Yugoslav republic declaration of independence in the early 1990s. Athens continues to strenuously object to the use of the name �Macedonia�, citing historical reasons and the fact that the major northern Greek province has the same name, Macedonia. Past concerns also centered on irredentist language in FYROM�s constitution. However, the �name issue� today is the only outstanding Greek-FYROM difference, as relations have reached a more-or-less excellent level since the two signed an interim agreement in September 1995 to negotiate a final settlement. Commenting on the �name issue� vis-a-vis the agreement, FYROM Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski first expressed his government�s satisfaction with the development and the name employed in the document for his recently strife-plagued country, although he cautioned that it does not solve the problem with Greece. �The difference over the issue of the name cannot be solved with one move or in one particular moment. However, any progress in this process is important, and the signing of the agreement with the United States under the name �Macedonia� comprises a very significant development, one which approaches the achievement of the goal we�ve set,� he said. Meanwhile, a main opposition New Democracy Parliament MP on Wednesday called the US-FYROM agreement �illegal�, as it refers to the country as �Macedonia�. Thessaloniki-area deputy Sotiris Kouvelas also tabled a question in Parliament calling on the prime minister to brief the legislature on the issue, in light of his recent meetings with US President George W. Bush. In terms of the actual agreement, the Bush administration continued its pressure on mostly underdeveloped countries around the world this week for a guarantee that the ICC will not have jurisdiction over US soldiers involved in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Last year, Washington threatened to block all peacekeeping missions authorized by the UN Security Council on account of the issue, while this week it threatened cutbacks in aid to countries that haven�t passed similar legislation. In justifying its stance, the Bush administration has repeatedly warned that the Court could leave American personnel subject to false and politically motivated prosecutions. [06] ND leader addresses audience at City University, LondonLONDON 03/07/2003 (ANA - L. Tsirigotakis)Main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis addressed an audience made up of business people, academics, diplomats and students at London's City University, speaking on "Greece in the new European framework".In his address late on Tuesday night, Karamanlis said his party wanted Europe to be for everyone, not just for a few powerful countries but for small and medium-sized countries as well. On Greece's European future, the ND leader stressed that Greece was the ideal base for business activity in southeastern Europe, the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean. He said the construction sector was at its peak due to the Olympic Games in 2004, as was the property market due to falling interest rates. In addition, Greece could count on more Community funds and had unparalleled natural resources that gave it an edge for visitors. Finally, Karamanlis stressed the important role that education would play in Greece's future, saying that investment in culture and education would be among his party's priorities. "It is well known that we have not achieved a great deal in this area in Greece. State investment in research and technology is still at a very low level," he noted. [07] Athens Chamber urges more gov�t measures to support businessesAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)The Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EBEA) on Wednesday urged the government to come up with a package of measures to be introduced in parallel with an unveiled new development law in the country, presented by Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis on Tuesday.EBEA president Dr. Fountoukakos said it was important to every large investor to know in advance what its tax obligations would be in the next 10 years to calculate its operation cost and to avoid any unpleasant surprises by extra taxes or additional inspections. Mr Fountoukakos said that the government should accompany its development law with a package of measures aiming to simplifying the tax status, reduce bureaucracy, limiting social security contributions, deregulating energy, transport and labor markets and promoting structural reforms. [08] 30 million euros to be provided for telecommunications projectsAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)The transport and communications ministry will provide 30 million euros from the ''Informatics Society'' program to implement telecommunications projects concerning special groups of the population and people with special needs, Transport and Communications Minister Christos Verelis announced on Wednesday.The ministry's program is aimed at interventions without preferences and exclusions and the best possible utilization of funds. It will be developed in two parts: interventions through telecommunications services and interventions through collective agencies for people with special needs. [09] ASE jumps 4.19 pct on WednesdayAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)Greek stocks staged one of the biggest daily percentage gains in recent years on Wednesday, helped by a positive trend in other European markets and favorable domestic political and economic prospects.The general index soared a spectacular 4.19 percent to end at 1,945.97 points. Turnover jumped 90 percent from Tuesday to 190.1 million euros. All sector indices ended with gains exceeding one percent, with the Textile (8.21 percent) netting the biggest percentage gains of the day, while the wholesale, insurance, holding, bank and food-beverage sectors rose more than 5.0 percent. The cement sector netted the smallest percentage gains of the day (1.44 percent). The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks jumped 4.67 percent reflecting strong gains in several blue chip shares such as National Bank (+6.90 pct), Alpha Bank (+5.89 pct), Piraeus Bank (+5.57 pct), Hellenic Telecoms (+5.03 pct), Eurobank (+3.99 pct) and Commercial Bank (+4.94 pct). The FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 3.26 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index soared 5.81 percent. Broadly, advancers led decliners by 332 to 23 with another 10 issues unchanged. Derivatives Market Close: Turnover at 132.4 mln euros Wednesday Equity Index Futures: Stock Futures: Bond Market Close: Buyers match sellers on Wednesday Greek Benchmark 10-Year Bond FOREIGN EXCHANGE Closing rates of July 2 2003 Parities in euro For. Exchange Buying Selling US Dollar 1,162 1,136 [10] New Olympic medals unveiled at 115th IOC sessionPRAGUE 03/07/2003 (ANA � D. Kalabakas)Athens organizers unveiled the new Olympic Games medals on Wednesday during the International Olympic Committee�s (IOC) closely watched 115th session here, with the ancient Greek goddess of victory, Nike, adorning one side of the medals.Days after the IOC approved the new medals, the first changes since the 1928 Amsterdam Games, Athens 2004 Games Organizing Committee President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki briefed reporters on the new medals, which she said now featured distinctly Hellenic elements in time for the Athens Olympics. �We had a goal from the beginning of the competition for the (new) medals to change the one side and to give them Hellenic elements, ones that demonstrate the close relationship between Greece and the Olympic movement. Therefore, in the tender for the competition we asked candidates to include (the ancient sculptor) Paionios� Nike and the Panathenean Stadium (in downtown Athens) in their designs. The goddess Nike was worshipped as the personification of victory both in the stadiums as well as on the battlefield, while according to myth, Zeus would send her to earth to crown the victors,� Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said. The other side of the medals, according to the ATHOC chief, shows the �eternal flame� that will be lit at ancient Olympia; lyrics from Pindaros� �Olympic Ode� and the emblem of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Organizers said 1,130 gold, 1,130 silver and 1,150 bronze medals will be minted for the Athens Games. The medals� designer is Greek artist Eleni Votsi. The Nike of Paionios was made by Paionios of Mende in Halkidiki (425 - 421 BC). It was dedicated by the Messinians and Naupactians for their victory over the Spartans in Sphacteria, in 425 BC. [11] Major sculpture exhibitions planned in Athens for 2004Athens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Wednesday announced that two of the most important sculpture exhibitions ever to take place in Greece were being organized by the Cultural Olympiad and the National Gallery for the summer months of 2004, from June until October, timed to coincide with the Athens Olympics.The first of the 'twin' exhibitions will be entitled ''Six sculptors talk to Man'' and will feature works by Rodin, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, Maillol, Constantin Brancusi, Alberto Giacometti and Henry Moore and take place at the National Gallery, while the second will be a Moore retrospective at the National Sculpture Museum at Goudi. In a press conference on Wednesday, alongside Cultural Olympiad president Evgenios Yiannakopoulos, Venizelos said the two exhibitions would be ''an organizational feat'' since they required the cooperation of several museums in different countries. According to National Gallery curator Marina Lambraki, meanwhile, both exhibitions were ''exceptionally original in their conception and their presentation''. The organizers said the National Gallery exhibition will include 120 sculptures, 60 sketches and additional material, such as items from the antiquities collections at the Rodin and Bourdelle museums that illustrate how they were influenced by ancient Greek sculpture. The works on show will travel to Athens from the Rodin, Bourdelle and Malliol museums in Paris and the Henry Moore Foundation in Britain. It will be the first time that the work of these six sculptors, who are counted among the greatest of the 19th and 20th centuries, will be displayed together. According to Lambraki, meanwhile, all six were influenced by Greek art. Regarding the Henry Moore retrospective, Lambraki said that exhibitions of his work had taken place in Athens in 1949 and in 1965. [12] Cartier-Bresson exhibition at the Benaki Museum in AthensAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)The work of renowned French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson will be on show at the Benaki Museum in Athens in an exhibition opening on July 9 and running until August 31.The Greek museum's tribute to the now 95-year-old groundbreaking artist has been organized in collaboration with the French Institute of Athens and focus on a series of 110 black-and-white photographs entitled ''The Europeans''. The photographs were taken by Cartier-Bresson during a tour of Europe in 1950-1955 and first published as a book called ''The Europeans'' by the well-known Greek publisher and critic Teriade. They capture the ravages of World War II, the hunger and misery of post-war Europe. It is the first time they are on show in Greece. A co-founder of the Magnum photo agency in the 1940s, Cartier-Bresson is best known for his book ''The Decisive Moment'' and his ability to capture the 'magic moment' in ordinary scenes that revealed their underlying essence. Using his trademark Leica camera and the sort of equipment available to any amateur photographer, he transformed taking snapshots into art form and as a photojournalist he immortalized some of the most important moments and faces in European history. [13] Awards for overseas Greek media to be given for fifth consecutive yearAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)Annual awards for overseas Greek media will be given for the fifth consecutive year as part of the initiative undertaken by the press and information ministry in 1998 to honor overseas Greek media and journalists.The initiative is also aimed at encouraging them in their work which concerns the strengthening of bonds between overseas Greeks and their country of origin. Awards are given in four categories: an award for the overseas media of the year 2002, an award for the best report of the year 2002 in overseas radio and television, an award for the best article or report of the year 2002 in the overseas press and an award for the overseas media or agency with the best website of the year 2002. The awards carry money prizes amounting to 24,000, 9,000, 5,000 and 6,000 euros respectively. A total of 75 candidacies were submitted from 19 countries. The awards will be given by President Kostis Stephanopoulos on July 10 during a special ceremony to take place at the Zappeion Mansion in Athens. [14] 12 Iraqi youngsters to be treated in GreeceAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)The Greek government on Wednesday announced that 12 Iraqi children will be treated in Greece for up to six months.A Hellenic Air Force C-130 transport plane took off from Elefsina airbase, west of Athens, for Kuwait the same day to pick up the children and their chaperones. The youngsters were chosen by a group from the NGO �Doctors of the World� for treatment in various Greek hospitals. Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos made the relevant announcement. [15] N17 trial continues with more defense witnessesAthens, 03/07/2003 (ANA)The ongoing trial over the November 17 terrorism case, where 19 people are up on charges of participating in the terror band, continued on Wednesday with more defense witnesses for the accused.Testifying on behalf of Sotiris Kondylis, the witness Evangelia Sotiropoulou said that he had been a member of the Communist party's youth group for years but had never tried to ''cash in'' on his work within the organization. She said his membership of N17 had been a political choice but only a brief 'interlude' in his political career. His sister Anastasia Kondyli said her brother had passed up chances to move upwards socially, preferring to remain a laborer, and said he had begun to look for more dynamic forms of struggle after he was thrown out of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). She said she believed her brother's confessions to police about his part in the terror group, predicting that he would stick to this version in his statements to the court. His brother-in-law Antonis Konstantoudakis described Kondylis as an 'up-front' character who stuck fast to his convictions and never changed his mind about them. Responding to questions from the bench, Kondylis repeated his belief that fellow-accused Dimitris Koufodinas - held by authorities to be the operational head of N17 - was also the writer of the group's proclamations. He repeated what he had told the examining magistrate, namely that Koufodinas had shown him handwritten drafts of N17 proclamations during discussions they had had. Kondylis said that modified excerpts of those texts expressed in a different way had later appeared in the press as N17 proclamations. The defendant noted that he had not recognized the hand-writing of the author but believed the writer to be Koufodinas, while he hazarded a guess that another person might have helped him. During the course of the proceedings, the defense counsel for Iraklis Kostaris presented the court with a copy of a bank transaction slip dated November 20, 1990, in which Kostaris was shown to be carrying out a transaction on behalf of his employers of that time, Vergetis Bros. The transaction took place on the same day as Vardis Vardinoyiannis was attacked by N17 in Nea Erythrea, a hit in which Kostaris was allegedly involved. Finally, two doctors at the Aglaia Kyriakou children�s' hospital, Alexandra Koulieri and Arsenia Papanikolaou, and a member of the hospital's administrative staff, Chrysoula Lazaridou, appeared as defense witnesses for Pavlos Serifis, who worked in the hospital's telephone exchange. All three praised Serifis' professional demeanor at the hospital and ruled out the possibility that he might be involved in N17 activities since in recent years he had developed multiple sclerosis. The defendant's wife Sofia Serifi said her husband's involvement in the case was due to his being a relative of Yiannis Serifis. [16] American Jewish Committee tells Ankara 'road to Europe runs through Nicosia'NICOSIA 03/07/2003 (CNA/ANA)The American Jewish Committee has stressed to Ankara that the road to Europe runs through Nicosia and, if Turkey wants to join the European Union, further steps will have to be taken to bring an end to 30 years of an ''unnatural situation'' on the island, Director of Strategic Studies of the American Jewish Committee Barry Jacobs said here on Wednesday.Speaking after meeting Foreign Minister George Iacovou, Jacobs also said that the committee would like to see increased relations between Cyprus and Israel. Asked if the Committee was willing to undertake any form of initiative towards a Cyprus settlement, Jacobs replied, ''I will tell you frankly what we are telling the government in Ankara and saying publicly in Turkey, as quoted, 'the road to Europe runs through Nicosia'.'' He said that from May 1, 2004, ''Cyprus becomes a member of the EU,'' adding that ''Turkey very much wants to become a member of the EU, as the US would like to see it, and they must understand that without a solution to the Cyprus problem they cannot get into Europe.'' Expressing the belief that ''the message has got through,'' Jacobs said one would have to ''wait and see that in addition to the harmonization packages that are going through the Grand National Assembly in Ankara, there would be a movement and following up'' on the positive steps that have been taken on the island and what ''further steps will take place to try to bring an end to the 30 years of what is indeed an unnatural situation.'' Jacobs expressed hope that the two communities on the island ''are on the road to a solution.'' In terms of Cyprus' relations with Israel, he said although they were good, ''we want it to be a little bit better.'' He said he was ''very pleased'' with Iacovou's announcement that he plans to visit Israel sometime in the future. He further added that ''anything the Committee can do that encourages both the governments in Jerusalem and Nicosia to improve relations and the interchange and the economic exchanges are all to the good.'' Jacobs, who served in Cyprus as an American diplomat from 1968-1971, said the American Jewish Committee is very active in Washington and referred to Ambassador Alfred Moses who was a US Presidential Emissary for Cyprus. Referring to his visit to Cyprus, he said he stopped over from the Middle East to have contacts in Nicosia, following the election of Tassos Papadopoulos to the presidency of the Republic and get a first-hand impression about the ''positive developments'' on the island with the easing of the restrictions in the freedom of movement across the divide. Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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