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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 03-07-04Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>July 4, 2003CONTENTS
[01] PM's choice for party secretary approved by PASOK central com'tAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)Prime Minister Costas Simitis' choice for the post of ruling PASOK partys secretary, Public Order Minister Mihalis Chrysohoidis, was approved by a majority of the party's central committee members on Thursday.The vote followed Simitis' unexpected move a day earlier to request the resignation of previous party secretary Costas Laliotis, one of the ruling party's top cadres. Simitis had earlier tabled Chrysohoidis' nomination while addressing the urgently called PASOK central committee meeting in downtown Athens. Chrysohoidis, who will now leave the public order portfolio, received 118 votes, while 50 ballots were blank and another nine invalid. He was the only candidate for the post. In other statements, Simitis again directly referred to elections in 2004, which comes in the face of widespread speculation amongst local political circles that early elections will be scheduled for the autumn. Additionally, he reiterated his opposition to Cabinet ministers serving on the new executive bureau and vice-versa, saying the coming election campaign necessitates a clear delineation of duties for better results. Citing the eyebrow-raising resignation of Laliotis, a former long-time public works minister, Simitis said he asked the former to rejoin the government on Wednesday, something Laliotis declined. Chrysohoidis term at the public order ministry was highlighted by the unprecedented arrests of nearly two dozen November 17 terrorist suspects as well as detailed planning for the all-important security component of next years Olympic Games in Athens. Commenting on the general political situation in the country, Simitis cited what he called a miserable ascertainment that our political life appears vulnerable on the issue of politicians ethics ... To qualify his statement, Simitis said scandal-mongering is considered by the opposition, and not only, as the only tried and true method by which to damage the government. He also stressed, however, that there was no tolerance in his government for vested interests or illegal and immoral links between politicians and business leaders. There are no our businessmen for us, he said. Additionally, Simitis referred to a need for bolstering PASOKs ranks with individuals from other political or social groupings in order to widen his partys base, as he said. He said such an initiative can be achieved through dialogue set to begin in September and revolve around PASOKs new program, as he called mentioned. As far as the position of party secretary is concerned, Simitis said an individual that will mobilize all of the partys forces and will send a message to Greek society for hard work and development is needed. Another innovation that the Greek premier announced deals with the selection of candidates for Parliament before the actual campaign period, so they will work towards bringing back dissatisfied voters back to PASOKs fold, as he said. Meanwhile, the 12 candidates for PASOK executive bureau are: Costas Geitonas; Dimitris Thanos; Antonis Kotsakas; Fofi Gennimata; G. Panayiotakopoulos; G. Daskalakis; Milena Apostolaki; Chryssa Arapoglu; Yiannis Koutsoukos; Paris Koukoulopoulos; Tonya Antoniou and Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis. Finally, Simitis criticized the main opposition New Democracy (ND) party, claiming the latter was cultivating of a myth of its rested and unblemished cadres, while saying victory in the polls next year depends on PASOK and not ND. Newly-elected PASOK secretary says 'as times change, we must also change' Newly-elected PASOK party secretary Mihalis Chrysohoidis, speaking after his election by the party's Central Committee on Thursday, said ''as times change, we must also change.'' Chrysohoidis praised the contribution of his predecessors Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Costas Skandalidis and Costas Laliotis and thanked the members of the Central Committee for their trust and promised to work hard to renew the party's visions. He referred to two risks. The one of oblivion which the Right wants, meaning that it should be forgotten that the Greeks changed their lives with PASOK, and that of PASOK failing to conceive changes. The new secretary said the party's new collective identity should preserve elements from its founding and add new elements created by developments. Chrysohoidis focused on the ''big distance'' covered by Greek society which ''bears the seal of (PASOK founder and former prime minister) Andreas Papandreou and (Prime Minister) Costas Simitis.'' He made particular reference to social shakeups such as urbanization and the taking up of manual jobs by immigrants and spoke of the new content of security and of the development of new social movements raising the problems of globalization, the environment and the single pole world. Pointing to the most important change in Greece, Chrysohoidis described the fact that the consolidation of democracy in the country contributed to social emancipation and that citizens now look forward to a state which will be a guarantor of rules of law which will be fairer and friendlier. PASOK party elects new 11-member Executive Bureau The ruling PASOK party elected its new Executive Bureau members in elections held during the party's Central Committee meeting on Thursday. A total of 178 voters cast ballots during the election, while candidates received the following number of votes: Paris Koukoulopoulos 111, Apostolos Kaklamanis 106, Chrysie Arapoglou 101, Costas Geitonas 97, Fofi Gennimata 96, Dimitris Thanos 93, Yiannis Koutsoukos 91, Milena Apostolaki 74, Antonis Kotsakas 66, Tonia Antoniou 65, George Panagiotakopoulos 44 and George Daskalakis 43. The first 11 candidates were elected members of the Central Committee's Executive Bureau. Laliotis resigns, justifies refusing ministerial post Costas Laliotis on Thursday resigned from his post as Secretary and member of PASOK's Central Committee, while announcing that he will not seek re-election to Parliament in the next general elections except on the 12th and last position of PASOK's ticket for state deputies - something that would more-or-less guarantee his exclusion from the next Parliament. Laliotis was asked to resign as party secretary on Wednesday by Prime Minister Costas Simitis, who invited him to rejoin the government as minister for agriculture. Explaining his reasons for declining the offer, Laliotis said he did not consider himself an obstacle to PASOK's efforts for renewal and victory and said that there were young and able party echelons to fill the agriculture minister's post and also serve the prime minister's goal of renewal in key government posts. He said he would continue to work for the party but without dependencies and official titles. In his address to the Central Committee as he tendered his resignation, Laliotis said he was against absolute leadership by one man and stressed the principles of collectiveness, democracy and freedom of thought and choice, describing the process of argument and counter-argument as ''the oxygen of the party''. He also strongly defended his decision to rally PASOK members to protest against the war in Iraq - at a time when the ruling PASOK government was maintaining a studiously neutral stance as the EU presidency - for which he was criticized by US Ambassador Thomas Miller for ''blind anti-Americanism''. Laliotis noted that the party had linked its opposition to the war inextricably with its opposition of Saddam's regime and weapons of mass destruction. He also pointed out that the war had highlighted a strong citizens' movement in favor of peace, both around the world and within Greece, saying that PASOK had aligned itself with the ''pro-peace face'' of the US. ''Could we have stayed outside this? Could we have ignored 98 per cent of the Greek people?'' he asked, saying that this would have amounted to ''submitting to a lobotomy as a people and as PASOK because others ordered it so.'' Regarding PASOK's future, Laliotis said he was against the formula of ''historically unjustified successive mutations'' - such as that tried in other countries - for PASOK, saying that it could not be converted into a ''TV-party with good guys who agree with everything''. He also opposed ''media hegemony'' and ''incestuous'' relations between big business and executive, legislative and judicial power. He also referred at length to his past work within the party, from the electoral defeat in 1989-1990 to the last victory in 2000. After his speech, several members of PASOK's Executive Bureau asked that there be a discussion and a brief presentation of views by each of the candidates for the party secretary's post but the request was denied by the presidency. G. Papandreou comments during PASOK central com't meeting Foreign Minister and top ruling PASOK cadre George Papandreou on Thursday expressed his full backing for Prime Minister Costas Simitis' latest high-profile initiatives, a day after the latter requested the resignation of PASOK secretary Costas Laliotis and hours before the premier is expected to proceed with a previously announced government reshuffle. Papandreou said any political initiative entails risks; "everyone has his own personal responsibility and is judged by the people and history," he noted on the sidelines of a PASOK central committee meeting where new members of the executive bureau and a new party secretary will be elected. Coalition party leader says PASOK facing identity and policy crisis Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology party leader Nikos Constantopoulos, addressing a party gathering in the Athens area of Kato Petralona on Thursday, said the PASOK party is facing an identity and policy crisis which cannot be handled with theatrical moves or with the display of old-style leadership. ''Mr. Simitis is PASOK's president and prime minister of the country since 1996 with absolute power and freedom of movement. He cannot convince any intelligent person that all these years he wanted to do something different from what he did and that some people held him hostage or dictated options to him,'' he said. Constantopoulos said that "the current repetition, for the second time, of the same tactic in light of elections does not convince anyone, it makes public opinion tired and creates resentment and disappointment even among the world of PASOK which gave Simitis support and time." ''The Coalition, in the framework of policy opposition it is exercising, will judge the new government of Mr. Simitis by its work. And we shall judge the new secretary of PASOK by his work and practices,'' he added. [02] Report notes PM's high 'penetration' of European mediaBRUSSELS 04/07/2003 (ANA - G. Daratos)Prime Minister Costas Simitis, enjoyed particularly high "communications penetration" in the European press during the EU summit in Halkidiki, which ended Greece's recent stint as EU presidency, a European Commission report said on Thursday.The report ranked Simitis fifth in a list of 31 EU leaders, including the 25 EU heads of state and government, European Commission President Romano Prodi, the president of the Convention for the Future of Europe Valery Giscard d'Estaing, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and the three leaders of EU candidate-countries, for the frequency with which he was quoted or referred to in the European media - an impressive performance for the leader of a 'small' EU country. Ahead of Simitis were Giscard d'Estaing, who was mentioned in 47 per cent of European publications, Prodi (37 per cent), Solana (29 per cent) and French president Jacques Chirac (28 per cent). Simitis himself was mentioned in 22 per cent of European publications in the same period, achieving the same degree of press penetration as British Prime Minister Tony Blair and striding ahead of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his successor to the EU presidency, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (16 per cent). [03] Czech President Klaus due in Athens for talks, conferenceAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)The President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, was due to arrive in Athens on Thursday for a working visit, during which he would meet with Greek counterpart Costis Stephanopoulos.Klaus was scheduled to meet with Stephanopoulos early Friday afternoon for talks on bilateral issues of Greece and the Czech Republic in the European context. The two presidents would also address a joint press conference after the talks, at 3:20 p.m. at the Athens Hilton, organized by the Czech embassy. Klaus was also due to take part in the annual International Seminar on Global Politics and Macroeconomics being held in Athens, where he would present his views on the relations between Europe and the US. [04] ND focuses on strategy for coming periodAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)Main opposition New Democracys (ND) strategy in the coming period was the subject of high-level discussions on Thursday by ND leader Costas Karamanlis and several of his closest associates, amid the backdrop of an expected government reshuffle and internal developments within ruling PASOK.According to reports, ND will not change its strategy in light of the latest PASOK restructuring, with Karamanlis expected to continue his nationwide tour of the provinces and major urban centers. Top ND cadres also stressed that the partys demand for early elections was justified by the latest developments within PASOK. [05] Karamanlis discusses expatriate Hellenism issues with council leaderAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Costas Karamanlis received Council of Hellenes Abroad President Andrew Athens at the party's head office on Thursday, according to an announcement issued by the party.Karamanlis also met with AHEPA President James Dimitriou, who was accompanied by a delegation of the organization. Talks held during the meetings focused on latest developments regarding expatriate Hellenism issues. The importance attributed by ND to expatriate organizations for promoting national issues, both in the United States and the rest of the world, was also stressed. The ND leader expressed his thanks to the Greek expatriates for continuous efforts they are making to improve the country's position all over the world. [06] Lykourezos stripped of Parliament seat due to conflict of interest clauseAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)Noted defense attorney Alexandros Lykourezos lost his Parliament seat on Thursday after a relevant court ruled by an eight to three vote that he violated a recently enacted professional conflict of interest provision.The controversial provision prevents Greek Parliament MPs from exercising their profession or actively running their businesses. Lykourezos, one of Greeces best-known lawyers, had fought the law from the onset. Veteran Greek film star Maro Kontou, who was the runner-up on the main opposition New Democracy slate of candidates in Athens first election district during the April 2000 general elections, will replace him. [07] Cyprus' EU Harmonization Coordinator stresses close cooperation with GreeceNICOSIA 04/07/2003 (ANA/G.Leonidas)Cyprus' EU Harmonization Coordinator Takis Hadjidemetriou on Thursday expressed the hope that by November Cyprus will be in the frontline of the acceding countries which will have been fully harmonized to the acquis communautaire.In an exclusive interview to the ANA, Hadjidemetriou said the harmonization is a priority of the government and of each ministry separately and has drawn favorable conclusions by the European experts who oversee the task of harmonization. He noted however that there were delays in important sectors such as in those of energy and telecommunications, but are being overcome. Hadjidemetriou said there were gaps on the issue of the abolition of visas concerning visitors from the former Soviet republics, the Gulf region and Jordan. Another problem, he said, is the inadequacy to respond to the increasing number of people seeking asylum in Cyprus, while problems also exist in the harmonization of various aspects for the protection of the environment. He stressed the close cooperation with Greece and expressed gratitude for the help it is granting. In the context of this cooperation, he said, the coordinating committee for the harmonization of the acquis communautaire will visit Greece on July 17 for talks with Alternate Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis. [08] Shipowners oppose new EU measures on double-hull tankersAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)The Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) said on Thursday that it opposed measures adopted recently by the European Union to accelerate decommissioning of single-hull tankers and to bar the vessels from carrying certain types of heavy oil.The measures, backed by Greece's presidency of the EU in the first half of 2003, were agreed following environmental damage off Spain caused by the shipwreck of the Prestige, an oil tanker. UGS president Nikos Efthymiou told a news conference that the measure would hurt the Greek cargo fleet. He blamed the government, as the EU's former president, for promoting the measures. [09] Greek public investments program payments up 50 pct, yr/yrAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)The Greek government on Thursday reported that payments in a Public Investments Program rose to 3.383 billion euros at the end of June, from 2.736 billion euros the previous month, accounting for 38 percent of the total program this year, worth 8.918 billion euros.The government said that the June figure was around 50 percent higher from the same period last year (2.269 million euros). A government statement said that funding decisions issued by June 30, 2003, totalled five million euros, more than 56 percent of total payment limit, while June payments totalled 646.5 million euros. [10] Northern Greece's industries comment on new development lawAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)Northern Greece's Industries Union (SBEE) on Thursday said it was cautious in commenting over the recently unveiled government plan to offer tax incentives to large investments in the country, as part of a new development law.SBEE said it would present its final comments on the draft law after a formal briefing by the government's economy and finance ministry. The Union, however, said a plan to create a tax-exempt reserves or tax contracts was positive and that the new law was moving towards the right direction. [11] Group diplomas in public relations, business diplomas by HEUAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)The Hellenic-American Union (HEU), in cooperation with the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Examinations Board (LCCIEB), will again offer courses leading to group diplomas in public relations and diplomas in business studies this October.These degrees are professional qualifications, with short-term programs and lectures in English (at least advanced level). Lectures are given in three-hour afternoon courses or on weekends in order to be more convenient for working students. For more information call the HEU at (210) 36.80.006 or e-mail: [email protected] The HEU has also inaugurated a new website at www.hau.gr [12] Greek stocks end mixed to higher on ThursdayAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)Greek stocks ended mixed to higher on Thursday supported by continued buying activity in blue chip stocks, particularly banks, while smaller capitalization stocks came under profit taking pressure and eased in the Athens Stock Exchange.The general index managed to recover earlier losses to end 0.32 percent higher at 1,952.13 points, with turnover an improved 186.1 million euros. The Construction, Banks and Cement sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (2.08 percent, 1.48 percent and 1.42 percent, respectively), while the Base Metal, Textile, Food-Beverage and Telecommunications sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (3.46 percent, 1.27 percent, 1.11 percent and 1.08 percent). The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.63 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 0.29 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SMALLCAP 80 index eased 0.14 percent. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 188 to 135 with another 37 issues unchanged. Derivatives Market Close: Turnover at 129.4 mln euros Thursday Equity Index Futures: Stock Futures: Bond Market Close: Sellers outstrip buyers on Thursday Greek Benchmark 10-Year Bond FOREIGN EXCHANGE Closing rates of July 3 2003 Parities in euro Banknotes For. Exchange Buying Selling US Dollar 1,154 1,128 [13] Athens organizers brief IOC leadership on progress for GamesPRAGUE 04/07/2003 (ANA - D. Kalabakas)Athens 2004 organizers (ATHOC) on Thursday briefed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the Lausanne-based organizations 115th session here, with ATHOC chief Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki presenting plans for competitions, facilities, various ongoing construction works, security, the volunteers program, transports and even hospitality.Were nearing the final stretch with great speed and confidence. We still have a lot to do, she told the IOCs leader-ship and delegates from around the world. However, the ATHOC chief appeared confident that Athens would be able to pull off splendid Games. Both IOC President Jacques Rogge and top executive Denis Oswald, who heads the IOC commission overseeing progress for the 2004 Games, complemented organizers over their stepped up efforts to make up for past delays and to achieve the current rate of progress. However, Oswald again cited a handful of projects he said were on very tight deadlines, including the Karaiskaki stadium where the football finals will be held; a 2.5-kilometre coastal stretch of the new Athens tram network, as well as an ambitious project to build a state-of-the-art glass/metal dome over the main Olympic stadium (OAKA). "Athens faces a huge challenge. There can be no more incidents," Oswald reiterated in the Czech capital. The Swiss IOC vice-president will, in fact, return to Athens between July 15-17 to head up an inspection team some 13 months before the Games return to the place of their birth. [14] Witnesses for Yiannis Serifis, Giotopoulos testify in N17 trialAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)The ongoing trial of 19 people accused of making up the terrorist group ''November 17'' continued before the Three-Member Criminal Appeals Court on Thursday with the testimony of defense witnesses for two of the accused, Yiannis Serifis and Alexandros Giotopoulos.The witnesses for Serifis included several of his former workmates and trade unionists at ILPAP, the Athens public trolley and electric railway company, who referred to his tireless efforts within the union to improve the lot of his fellow workers and his personal qualities, while ruling out the possibility that he may have joined a terrorist group like N17. Several of the witnesses noted that Serifis had expressed opposition to armed struggle on several occasions. Also testifying on Serifis' behalf was Panteion university professor Giorgos Rousis, who said that the accused might well have been framed and said that the trial was a purely political case since the organizations goal was to wage a war of attrition and in the long-term overturn the existing system. Addressing the court, meanwhile, Serifis said he was a political prisoner facing political charges and that no one could doubt this until the state presented hard evidence of his involvement with N17. When the prosecutor on the bench at one point read fragments of a statement taken from Savvas Xiros during the preliminary investigation, Savvas protested at its use and repeated claims that he had signed the confession under the influence of special drugs. Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology secretariat member Dimitris Stratoulis also testified in defense of Serifis and said he could not have had anything to do with the terror band. ''His action was always in the light of day...I believe he is in the prisoners' dock because the mechanisms of repression are getting their revenge, because all these years he was acquitted. Thursday's court session ended with the testimony of retired lawyer Eleni Habibi for Alexandros Giotopoulos, the man accused as leader of the notorious urban guerrilla band. Habibi is the only witness who has testified so far that knew Giotopoulos under his real name in 1966, when they were both students in Paris. She said the accused had been against the use of violence at the age of 18 and considered it unlikely that he would adopt such practices later. [15] New press and media staff union federation in the wingsAthens, 04/07/2003 (ANA)Arrangements for the founding congress of the Panhellenic Federation of Press and Mass Media Staff Unions are to be discussed at the first meeting of the new union federation's elected organisational committee at a hotel in Nea Aghialos, Magnesia on Saturday night.Invited to the first meeting are the presidencies of the founding members: the Panhellenic Federation of Athens Daily Newspapers Staff Unions (EPHEA), its counterparts in Thessaloniki and Thessaly-Central Greece-Evia, EPHETh and EPHEThSE respectively, and the president and general secretary of the Panhellenic Federation of Journalists' Unions (POESY), Dimitris Glavas and Giorgos Savvidis. The meeting will work on the agenda of the founding congress and decide when it will be held. [16] Government recommends care in dealings with regimeNICOSIA 04/07/2003 (CNA/ANA)The Cyprus government has called on Maronite Cypriots to be extra vigilant with regard to contacts with Serdar Denktash, head of the Turkish Cypriot Democratic Party and son of leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Rauf Denktash in occupied Cyprus.The recommendation was communicated by government spokesman Kypros Chysostomides on Thursday after press reports that the representative of the Maronite religious group in the Cyprus parliament Antonis Hadjirousos met Serdar Denktash and has reportedly discussed the return of some 3,000 Maronites, who belong to the Greek Cypriot community, to their villages in occupied north. Hadjirousos told CNA earlier on Thursday that he asked Serdar Denktash to allow the return of 12 families, elderly people, who wanted to go back to their villages and live the rest of their lives at their ancestral homes. ''We need to be careful with this issue, we should not fall into Denktash's trap who wants to have 'good neighborly relations' between what he calls 'two sovereign states','' the spokesman said, invited to comment on the press report. He said the government has been fully informed about what happened at a meeting between Hadjirousos and Serdar Denktash and the competent authorities are looking into the matter. ''The issue of resettlement of displaced persons in Turkish occupied Cyprus is a long-standing demand of this and previous governments,'' Chrysostomides added. Hadjirousos explained that at his meeting with Serdar Denktash in mid June, he said Maronites are in line with the wishes and demands of the Greek Cypriot community to which they opted to belong, when the Republic was established in 1960. ''The solution of the Cyprus question will be the settlement that will allow our return to our villages,'' he said, adding that he asked Serdar Denktash to allow Maronites to visit their village of Ayia Marina, which is now in a military zone, and to give them access to a small church for a special service on July 20. Replying to questions, Hadjirousos denied he asked Serdar Denktash to allow some 3,000 Maronites to return to their homes in occupied Cyprus, as the press reports had suggested. He said that at present there are only 150 Maronites in Turkish occupied Cyprus whereas in 1974, after the invasion, more than 1,000 lived there. [17] Harmonization Coordinator to visit Athens later this monthNICOSIA 04/07/2003 (CNA/ANA)Cyprus' EU Harmonization Coordinator Takis Hadjidemetriou will be in Greece on July 16 and 17 for meetings and an exchange of views with Alternate Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis and EU officials.Speaking after a meeting on Thursday with Greek Ambassador in Nicosia Christos Panagopoulos, Hadjidemetriou said he accepted an invitation from Panagopoulos to visit Athens. Hadjidemetriou said the schedule of his visit to Athens had already been set, noting that ''we have many issues of common interest to discuss.'' He added that he was looking forward to his meetings in the Greek capital, which he said would benefit Cyprus ''in tackling specific and serious problems'' related to the island's accession to the EU. Panagopoulos said the cooperation of Cyprus and Greece was continuous and noted that during his visit to Athens, Hadjidemetriou would meet with ''all those who will facilitate his work,'' which the Greek Ambassador described as ''a bridge between Cyprus and the EU.'' He reiterated the readiness of Athens to support the ''difficult task'' Hadjidemetriou has undertaken, noting that ''the Cypriot society will appreciate it at the right time.'' [18] Political maneuvers cannot interfere with Court, says spokesmanNICOSIA 04/07/2003 (CNA/ANA)The European Court of Human Rights operates as a judicial organ and no political maneuvers can interfere with its legal rulings, government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said on Thursday.His remarks came in response to claims by the self-styled attorney general in Turkish occupied Cyprus that a bill passed by the so-called Turkish Cypriot parliament on compensation for immovable property was drafted with the help of the Council of Europe and will be accepted by the Court. ''The European Convention on Human Rights is the legal framework. Its provisions are clear. The European Court functions as a judicial organ and no political maneuvers can interfere with its judgments,'' he stressed. The spokesman's statements were sparked by recent moves by the Turkish Cypriot occupation regime to prevent the Court from hearing cases of human rights violations with regard to claims by Greek Cypriot property owners. The regime is trying to set up ''courts'' as a means of domestic remedy for such cases. Turkey is faced with hundreds of cases of human rights violations relating to property claims by Greek Cypriots. ''The Convention and Court regulations define clearly the issue of exhausting domestic remedies. I do not think that means such as passing 'legislation' in occupied Cyprus can create problems to the provisions of the Convention,'' the spokesman added. He said the Convention provides for legal domestic means in impartial courts whereas the so-called courts in occupied Cyprus are tantamount to a continuation of illegality. Asked if the Court has given assurances to the government to this effect, he explained that no Court makes political statements or preempts court proceedings. ''Courts are not in the habit of either denying or confirming claims one or the other side is making,'' he concluded. [19] Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parties to meet Monday in StrasbourgNICOSIA 04/07/2003 (CNA/ANA)Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parties will meet on Monday, July 7, in Strasbourg following an invitation by Council of Europe General Secretary Walter Schwimmer.Movement of Social Democrats EDEK Vice President Sofoklis Sofokleous told CNA that he will represent his part at the meeting which will give politicians an opportunity to express their views on the Cyprus problem. He said all Greek Cypriot parties will participate in delegations of up to two persons, in a leadership level. Sofokleous expressed the conviction that Turkish Cypriot parties will act likewise. ''Our main aim will be to express our views on the great national issue,'' he added. The KS EDEK Vice President said that these meetings ''help towards a solution to the Cyprus problem within the framework of the Annan Plan, a bizonal, bicommunal federation.'' During their one-day meeting, the parties from both sides of the divide will plant a Cyprus tree at the Parc de l'Orangerie, followed by a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. There will also be a meeting with Peter Schieder, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE and Luzius Wildhaber, President of the European Court of Human Rights. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37 percent of the island's territory. [20] President Papadopoulos to travel to US for medical testsNICOSIA (CNA/ANA)Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos leaves for the US this weekend to undergo medical tests and will return to the island on July 12, said here Thursday government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides. The president had travelled to the US in March for annual medical tests and stayed there for a week. He underwent treatment to his vocal cords during his last trip. Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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