Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 05-06-23

Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Karamanlis addresses Parliament on unemployment among women

[02] Molyviatis attends int'l conference focusing on Iraq

[03] DM briefs Parliament comm't on Mirage, TOR-M1 defense contracts

[04] Cyprus lodges protest at UN over increase and modernization of Turkish occupation forces

[05] EU aware of inheritance right problems faced by Greeks in Turkey, Commission official says

[06] Turkey's army chief on official visit to Athens

[07] Turkish warplanes infringe Athens FIR, violate national air space

[08] Memorial service marks ninth anniversary of PASOK founder's death

[09] Gov't plan on banks' pension issue will not burden IKA, FinMin says

[10] Tourism minister inaugurates new GNTO office in Beijing

[11] Gov't says power hikes in line with inflation rate

[12] British Travel Agents to meet in Athens in November

[13] Contract staff at Aegean University occupy admin offices and classrooms in protest

[14] Greek SMEs react to new shopping hours plan

[15] Greek stocks remain under pressure, end 1.82 pct down

[16] New detox centre for Athens and survey on drug-use among young presented at Zappeion

[17] Young man injured in strong explosion at jewelry store in Patras

[18] High Court justices fire embattled first instance court judge

[19] Alexandroupoli court finds two drivers responsible for school bus disaster at Tempi

[20] IHT holds annual meeting in Athens, hosts public debate

[21] Pierre Cardin designs to be showcased in Athens

[22] Weak earthquake off Zakynthos

[23] HOC President elected secretary general of Mediterranean Games int'l committee

[24] New process on Cyprus inadvisable, says UN USG

[01] PM Karamanlis addresses Parliament on unemployment among women

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The government's efforts drew criticism, however, from KKE General Secretary Aleka Papariga, who said that they only benefited a very small percentage of women.

"We need programs to boost women's employment and not women entrepreneurs," she said, while criticizing the government for failing to take measures to protect women workers from abuse and exploitation by employers.

During the debate, the prime minister also referred to the government's plans to change shop opening hours, underlining that there was no question of shops opening on Sun-day.

"We are not talking about liberalization but of regulation of shop opening hours, so that these are harmonized on a nationwide basis," he said.

Karamanlis also defended the government's planned reforms, stressing that these were inspired by common sense rather than ideology and sought to change those things that "do society an injustice and keep the country in a rut."

Government's reform plan reflects 'common logic' of wider society, PM says: Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis told Parliament on Wednesday that the government's reform plan reflects the "common logic" of wider society and accused the main opposition PASOK party of "confusion, contradiction and unreliability."

The prime minister was speaking during an off-the-agenda debate on unemployment among women, requested by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), which developed into an argument on the prospects of the government's reforms.

Karamanlis further accused PASOK of conscientiously dragging its feet on the question of dialogue to promote structural changes, while PASOK leader George Papandreou stressed repeatedly that the government is ignoring both its campaign and policy statements.

Papandreou added that the failure of the government's options is shown by the reactions of working people and by comments from members of the ruling party.

On the question of unemployment among women, both the government and PASOK claimed credit for measures taken to boost employment, drawing criticism from the parties of the Left.

KKE Secretary General Aleka Papariga, invoking the example set by Europe, insisted that unemployment cannot be tackled without the reversal of the economic policy being implemented.

Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology party leader Alekos Alavanos questioned the effectiveness of the managing of European funds by PASOK governments and discerned a current policy of "aggression against the achievements of working women", with a characteristic example being the measures taken in the bank sector.

Karamanlis defended the government's reformist initiatives, saying "they are not directed by doctrines and obsessions or by a conflict of ideologies" and noted that changes and reforms are for the benefit of society and are determined by common sense.

"We committed ourselves to promoting the measures and policies which are necessary for the transition to a state of increased potential, to implement a new economic and development policy," the prime minister said.

"You are showing a new authoritarianism which is not compatible with the culture and democracy that we have consolidated in this country," Papandreou replied.

"Dialogue, understanding and consensus constitute basic principles of ours, but they cannot be used in order to delay and obstruct necessary reforms," Karamanlis said in return.

The prime minister further said that the citizens are demanding changes and not the preservation of the establishment and called on Papandreou to clarify his position regarding his warnings on the outbreak of a wave of strikes.

Papariga said on her part: "Visit any part of Greece. Because the country is considered a tourist destination shops open on Sundays at the expense of those employed by the commercial shops. Supermarkets close at six, the woman employee leaves at eight and if she needs an hour and a half to go home then that's it, she must not have children."

Alavanos said that "Greece still has a low percentage of flexible labor compared to other countries in the European Union" and made special mention to the trafficking of women which is also promoted through newspaper ads.

[02] Molyviatis attends int'l conference focusing on Iraq

BRUSSELS, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The conference was held under the auspices of the European Union and the United States.

According to Molyviatis, security is the number one priority, an issue that also necessitates support by Iraq's neighbors.

"This isn't only in Iraq's best interests, but (in the best interests) of the entire region, one of the most sensitive in the world," he said.

[03] DM briefs Parliament comm't on Mirage, TOR-M1 defense contracts

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

Specifically, the defense minister cited his recent meeting with the French ambassador in Athens, in which the Greek side reportedly requested additional guarantees.

Moreover, the minister also referred to an agreement with the Russian side on meeting contract obligations with bank guarantees.

In response to questions from committee members, the minister said various defense spending cuts will absolutely not affect the operational readiness of Greece's armed forces.

The session began with a reference to last week's EU summit in Luxembourg, with most speakers noting that recent negative developments in the Union merely create additional parameters of uncertainty and instability in the region, while also affecting Turkey's EU prospects.

[04] Cyprus lodges protest at UN over increase and modernization of Turkish occupation forces

UNITED NATIONS, 23/06/2005 (ANA-CNA/P. Panagiotou)

In a protest letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan -- which was circulated Tuesday as an official UN document -- Cyprus' Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis, points out that such moves would hamper any new initiative for a political settlement and raise serious doubts about Ankara's real intentions.

The letter, dated 14 June, said there is evidence that between January and May this year, ''under the pretext of rotation, 5,850 troops of the Turkish armed forces arrived and were deployed in the occupied area, while only 570 troops returned to Turkey during the same period.''

Similarly, during the past five months, tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery pieces were unloaded at the occupied port of Famagusta while only four tanks were withdrawn.

''Such activities bespeak a tendency to escalate tension and create a climate of instability, fear and mistrust on Cyprus. This will inevitably hamper any new initiative aimed at bringing the two communities together and finding a solution based on reunification and reconciliation,'' it said.

Such negative and provocative actions on the part of Ankara, it notes, ''raise grave concerns and serious questions about Turkey's real intentions on Cyprus, particularly at a time when there is an overall consensus on the need to reach a common ground for the resumption of negotiations that will lead to a mutually accepted settlement.''

The letter points out that on the contrary, the government of Cyprus is considerably decreasing its defense budget, consistently implementing the project of de-mining National Guard minefields, and during the past year submitted a series of military peace building measures to reduce tension.

''On behalf of my government, I strongly protest the above-cited actions and express the sincere hope that the government of Turkey will take heed both of the call of the international community and of the will of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots to build their common future on the basis of mutual trust, security and respect,'' it said.

[05] EU aware of inheritance right problems faced by Greeks in Turkey, Commission official says

BRUSSELS, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

He said the European Commission was aware of a claim that Greek citizens had been denied their legal rights of inheritance by Turkish authorities on the basis of 'secret decrees'.

He also pointed out that the Commission had raised this issue repeatedly in the framework of political dialogue between the EU and Turkey but had "received no reply up to this day".

Timans was responding to a question put by Greek MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis, from the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (Synaspismos) party, concerning an inheritance case brought before the European Court of Human Rights by two Greek brothers, Ioannis and Evangelos Fokas.

The two brothers had sought to inherit a property in Istanbul from their sister Polyxeni Pistika-Foka but this was refused by a Turkish court in April 2000, which found that Polyxeni Pistika-Foka could not inherit the property from her father because she was a Greek national. The ruling caused a stir on both sides of the Aegean, while the Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" condemned the decision as an "irregularity that is not in line with modern legal thinking".

The EU official said that he had recently been informed of the case in the ECHR and would closely monitor its development, along with any other related case that he was aware of.

"The plaintiffs' claim that, on the basis of a secret decree dating from 1960, Greek citizens have been denied their rights of inheritance is extremely important," Timans said and under-lined that he intended to further investigate the issue in the framework of monitoring the human rights situation in Turkey.

[06] Turkey's army chief on official visit to Athens

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

According to Greek Army General Staff sources, a very cordial atmosphere prevailed during the first day of meetings between Buyukanit and Douvas.

Buyukanit expressed satisfaction with the safety measures taken on the occasion of his visit.

On Wednesday evening he is to be the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by the Turkish embassy in Athens.

On Thursday, Buyukanit will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and will then meet with the political and military leadership of the Defense Ministry.

[07] Turkish warplanes infringe Athens FIR, violate national air space

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

According to Armed Forces General Staff sources, in all cases the 41 Turkish warplanes were recognized and intercepted by corresponding Greek fighter jets, while in two cases, the process of interception developed into a mock dog-fight.

It was reported that seven of the Turkish formations were armed.

On Tuesday, 25 Turkish warplanes infringed the air traffic regulations of the Athens FIR nine times and in six cases violated the national air space in the same regions. Five of the Turkish formations were armed.

[08] Memorial service marks ninth anniversary of PASOK founder's death

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

PASOK leader and son of Andreas Papandreou, George Papandreou, said it was a day of sorrow, but also of gathering and communication between the cadres, friends and associates of his father, whom he remembers for his affection, love, friendship, humor and humanity.

Papandreou said that his father "always inspires us in struggles for democracy, social justice and national independence. His ideas are opportune and light up the path of PASOK."

Dimitra Papandreou, the widow of Andreas Papandreou, also attended the event and laid a bouquet of white roses on his tomb at the end of the memorial service.

Former Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis said "the ideas of Andreas Papandreou, his struggles and the change he brought to Greece, [a country] plagued by delay and discrimination, led to the progress and the upgrading of the quality of life for all of us."

The memorial service was held at the Agioi Theodoroi church in the cemetery and was attended by many friends and associates of Andreas Papandreou. They included Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Vasso Papandreou, Nikos Athanassakis, Christos Papoutsis, Dimitris Reppas and Costas Laliotis.

Also present at the memorial service was Andreas Papandreou's son Andrikos; his other son, Nikos, is in the United States.

[09] Gov't plan on banks' pension issue will not burden IKA, FinMin says

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

Speaking to reporters, after a meeting with the presidency of the Union of Greek Banks to discuss the sector's pension issue, Alogoskoufis categorically stressed that the government was not negotiating the basic elements of the proposed legislation.

The Greek minister, however, left the door open to changes in technical issues of the plan saying that a dialogue, currently underway in parliament, "is an active procedure".

Alogoskoufis dismissed talk and reports over the impact of the government plan to resolve banks' pension problem, saying that IKA was not burdened by the plan. The minister said that Greek bankers did not have a unified view on the government plan.

[10] Tourism minister inaugurates new GNTO office in Beijing

BEIJING, 23/06/2005 (ANA - K. Halkiadakis)

During a speech, he referred to his contacts with Chinese officials and said that he expected Greece and China to sign a bilateral agreement for cooperation in tourism soon.

Among the issues to be resolved is that of air transportation, for which the head of the GNTO is currently in talks with Air China.

The minister also stressed that problems faced by Chinese nationals seeking a visa for Greece were now a thing of the past, with visas now issued within 24 hours.

During his stay in Beijing, Avramopoulos has also appeared on one of the most popular radio shows of the city and has been interviewed by its largest English-language TV channel.

In a press conference for Greek journalists, the minister criticized those making dire predictions about tourist arrivals in 2005 and stressed that the figures for tourist traffic were currently positive.

He also slammed those businessmen that were "stuck in the past" and moaned about falling tourist numbers without making efforts to upgrade their product, comparing them to businesses that had adapted to the new situation and enjoyed full capacity until October.

Earlier on Wednesday, Avramopoulos inaugurated the international tourism trade fair BITE that is taking place in Beijing, with Greece as the featured country.

[11] Gov't says power hikes in line with inflation rate

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

Deputy Development Minister George Salagoudis added that last year's rate hike of 2.74 percent (as of November 2004) was satisfactory, whereas a decision over this year's price hike for the power rates will come in the autumn.

In response to press questions over the possibility of a rate hike in the special consumption tax for fuel -- a provision foreseen in a Community directive that must be implemented by 2010 -- Salagoudis that the increase will have to occur, "although now is not the most opportune time for this to happen".

He also reminded of Athens' proposal for a mechanism to decrease the fuel consumption tax during periods characterized by high international oil prices.

[12] British Travel Agents to meet in Athens in November

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The ABTA convention is expected to draw roughly 2,000 Britain-based travel agents. Other cities in the bidding included Barcelona, Dubai, Budapest and Paris, among others.

The decision to hold the event in Athens was taken by ABTA's leadership in late April, following consultations with Tourism Development Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and the board of the Athens Convention Bureau. The latter cooperated with the state-run Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) in the bid, according to a press release.

The convention will be held on Nov. 23-26.

[13] Contract staff at Aegean University occupy admin offices and classrooms in protest

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The 215 temporary staff have been unpaid for the past eight months, while it is still uncertain whether their positions will be made permanent under recent measures for public-sector contract workers.

On Thursday they intend to take over the university buildings at Karlovasi.

The five prefects of the Aegean island have sent letters to the interior and education ministers, asking them to settle the outstanding problems with the university's temporary staff, while the protestors themselves are also seeking a meeting with the education ministry's political leaders.

[14] Greek SMEs react to new shopping hours plan

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

In an announcement to the press, GSEBEE, said the draft law was essentially leading to a full liberalization of shopping hours in the country. GSEBEE said its two meetings with the political leadership of Development ministry ended in deadlock as the minister rejected its proposals.

Development ministry seeks to introduce a unified shopping hours system around the country.

[15] Greek stocks remain under pressure, end 1.82 pct down

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The index dropped 1.39 percent to end at 3,007.54 points with turnover a moderate 143 million euros.

Bank stocks were particularly with the sector index losing 2.82 percent. Investments (-2.03 pct), Metals (-2.03 pct), IT (-2.01 pct), Textiles (-1.39 pct) and Insurance (1.27 pct) were also major losers, while the IT Solution index soared 5.37 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 1.69 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index eased 1.28 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.17 percent higher.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 152 to 96 with another 83 issues unchanged.

[16] New detox centre for Athens and survey on drug-use among young presented at Zappeion

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The plans for the new detox centre were presented by Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyianni and other officials at a press conference in Zappion, which was also used to present the results of a survey on drug use among young people aged 15-29.

The survey was carried out in June by Kapa Research, using a sample of 1,370 individuals in Attica.

Over half (52 per cent) of those participating said that they had been offered marijuana at some point in their lives, while 79 per cent said that drugs were easy to find if one had enough money.

Asked whether they had used drugs during 2005, 12 per cent said that they had used marijuana, 2 per cent had used heroin and 2.6 had used crack or cocaine. The results also showed that drug use was higher among boys than girls, while 5.9 of those that had used drugs were in secondary school.

The overwhelming majority, 82 per cent, considered drugs dangerous and 16 per cent said that occasional use was not dangerous, while 64 per cent do not discriminate between 'hard' and 'soft' drugs and 34.6 per cent consider that 'soft' drugs are less dangerous than 'hard' drugs.

Asked whether 'soft' drugs should be made legal, 74 per cent were against and 25 per cent were in favor.

Questioned on whether they would try some drug if 'soft' drugs were made legal, 78 per cent answered 'no', 14 per cent answered 'maybe' and 6.6 per cent answered 'yes'.

According to the young people, reasons that might drive someone to use drugs were general problems (29 per cent), curiosity (25 per cent), and other reasons like friends, fashion or a desire to stand out from the crowd (25 per cent).

About 53 per cent were in favor of continuing to consort with peers taking drugs, 71 per cent said that they would visit the home of an acquaintance who took drugs and 74 per cent said that they would not report a friend that took drugs.

Analyzing the results, Kapa Research representative Thomas Gerakis said this indicated that young people did not discriminate against those using drugs but had a tolerant attitude-de.

Most worrying, Gerakis said, was the fact that one in three (32 per cent) of young people said that they did not know where to go for help or information on drug use if they needed it.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Bakoyianni said it highlighted the need for discussion on the problem of drugs and for it to stop being a taboo subject for Greek society.

Referring to the city's initiative for the new drug detox centre, the mayor said that this would operate as a farm where young people could gain skills and a new outlook that would help them get away from drugs.

The centre will be housed in a site donated by ERT, while Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis on Wednesday pledged to provide money to run the centre via funding for KETHEA.

Other speakers at the press conference include government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos, who praised the initiative by the Athens municipality and ERT as an integrated effort to combat the problems of drugs from start to finish, and ERT president Andreas Panagopoulos.

KETHEA president Nikos Paraskevopoulos outlined the municipality's plans for an integrated, multi-stage detox program operating on five levels: an advisory station in Athens that would immediately accept drug users without a waiting list, a physical detox centre with 30 beds in Avlida, a therapeutic community hostel with 50 beds, also in Avlida, where residents will be able to stay for up to nine months, a social rehabilitation centre in Athens that will accept residents for 8-10 months and a Family Support Centre for the families of drug users.

[17] Young man injured in strong explosion at jewelry store in Patras

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

He has been identified as Nikolaos Vitoratos, 21, an employee of a propane gas distributor.

The incident was tentatively attributed to the explosion of a large propane canister, believed to have occurred as the man was attempting to replace an empty canister in the basement.

The man was rushed by ambulance to the local hospital, while firefighters extinguished the ensuing blaze.

Three other people that were on the premises at the time of the explosion were not injured.

The explosion caused a panic in the area, which is one of the main commercial centers of Patras, and traffic in the surrounding area has been halted.

An inquiry into the cause of the accident is being carried out by the Patras fire department.

[18] High Court justices fire embattled first instance court judge

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

Ilia was removed from the bench for "incompetence due to a lack of ethical behavior".

The High Court's justices also ruled that Ilia cannot be employed in another public sector position.

A motion for a continuance was initially rejected by the Supreme Court's judges, after which Ilia left the courtroom.

[19] Alexandroupoli court finds two drivers responsible for school bus disaster at Tempi

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The court held the driver of the truck Dimitris Dolas to be 80 per cent responsible for the accident, while the driver of the KTEL inter-city coach Constantinos Mavromihalis was held to be 20 per cent responsible.

In addition, the court said that the Imathia KTEL Company was responsible for enhancing the severity of the accident's results, since the coach did not meet passive safety standards.

The trial began on February 9, with cases brought by the families of the victims against the insurance company Agrotiki Asfalistiki (representing the truck), Ethniki Asfalistiki (representing the coach, the Imathia KTEL coach company, the owners of the truck and the Akritas transportation firm.

[20] IHT holds annual meeting in Athens, hosts public debate

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

Journalists from all over the world will discuss religion and how it is covered by the press.

The participating journalists are: M.J. Akbar (Asian Age), Brian Murphy (Associated Press), Mirette Mabrouk (The Daily Star Egypt), Costas Iordanidis (Kathimerini) and Nikos Constantaras (Kathimerini).

The IHT's chief editor Serge Schmemmann will coordinate the discussion.

[21] Pierre Cardin designs to be showcased in Athens

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The event is being organized by the Municipality of Athens and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Olympic Airlines has agreed to provide transportation to the designer, his team of associates and the costumes, following the request of Cote d'Ivoire General Consul and UNAIDS Ambassador Mero Kessesioglou.

Among the designs to be displayed, will be the uniforms Cardin designed for Olympic Airlines stewardesses between 1969 and 1971 when the company was owned by Aristotelis Onassis.

[22] Weak earthquake off Zakynthos

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

The Athens National Observatory's Geodynamic Institute and the Thessaloniki Aristotelion University's Geophysics Laboratory said that the earthquake, measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale, was recorded at a distance of 280 kilometers southwest of Athens, with its epicenter in the sea area southwest of Zakynthos.

[23] HOC President elected secretary general of Mediterranean Games int'l committee

Athens, 23/06/2005 (ANA)

Kyriakou received 39 votes, prevailing over Jose Echevarria, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee, who received 35 votes.

"The victory belongs exclusively to Greece, which has contributed financially and morally for ICMG to be based in Athens," Kyriakou said.

"Personally, I think it would be strange if the committee was not headquartered in Athens," he added.

On his part, HOC Secretary General Manolis Katsiadakis, said: "It truly was a great victory, although it got off to a difficult start. I always thought we would win and I can't imagine that Athens, where ICMG is headquartered, wouldn't have a Greek secretary general as has been the case in past years."

As Secretary General, Kyriakou is succeeding Ioannis Ketseas, Epaminondas Petralia and Nikos Filaretos.

The Mediterranean Games will be held in Almeria from June 24 through July 3.

[24] New process on Cyprus inadvisable, says UN USG

The launching of an intensive new process on Cyprus prematurely is inadvisable, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Sir Kieran Prendergast said here Wednesday.

Briefing the Security Council on the Secretary-General's Mission of Good Offices in Cyprus, he also underlined that nothing positive would be served by a new effort that ended in a high-profile failure, or else in a frustrating stalemate.

He also told the Security Council members in the open briefing that as things stand, the Secretary-General believes that it would be prudent to proceed very carefully and that Kofi Annan intends to reflect on the future of his mission of good offices in the period ahead.

In addition, depending on the evolution of events and attitudes on the island, it may become appropriate to consider appointing a Special Adviser, to engage the parties and explore whether the necessary common ground existed or could be built to enable full-scale negotiations to resume.

In his briefing, Sir Kieran noted that at the Secretary-General's instruction, he visited Cyprus, Greece and Turkey between 30 May and 7 June for consultations on the future of his mission of good offices in Cyprus.

The Secretary-General's purpose in asking him to travel to the region was to ''take the pulse'', to find out where the parties stand, to seek their views on what, if anything, the United Nations should be doing in current circumstances, and to report those views to him, along with options and advice regarding the priority, intensity and resources he might wish to assign to the good offices.

He said that he met Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos three times and Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, twice and also met political leaders on both sides.

On the Greek Cypriot side, he noted, ''Mr. Papadopoulos said that he was eager for negotiations to resume under the auspices of the Secretary-General.''

Sir Kieran said that on procedure, President Papadopoulos said that ''new negotiations should be carefully prepared.''

''His position was that, in any resumed negotiations, there should be no deadlines, no arbitration of substantive issues by the UN or third parties, and only a settlement plan agreed by the parties should be submitted to referendum. At the same time, he accepted that negotiations should not be open-ended,'' Sir Kieran said.

On substance, he added, President Papadopoulos ''said that he believed the plan finalized by the Secretary-General last year gave the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey, in his words, nearly everything they wanted, more than they needed, and more than was fair and in his view, that is why a large majority of Greek Cypriots had rejected the plan while a large majority of Turkish Cypriots had accepted it.''

Sir Kieran said he told Papadopoulos ''the other side would find daunting the breadth and depth of what the Greek Cypriot side had elaborated, and I encouraged them to produce a list of focused, finite, manageable, prioritized proposals.''

On the Turkish Cypriot side, Sir Kieran said Talat told him he wanted to see a settlement as soon as possible based on the UN plan, and that he would like to see intensive negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-General.

On procedure, Talat favored a process with UN arbitration and clear time limits for negotiations, adding that the Turkish Cypriots were disappointed at the failure of the Security Council to react to the Secretary-General's good offices report of 28 May 2004.

On substance, he noted, the Turkish Cypriot leader ''had said that his people had been prepared to accept the UN plan not because it was ideal, but as a compromise.''

''He stressed that certain key features - political equality, partnership, bi-zonality, bicommunal, the guarantee and alliance treaties - were the essence of the plan and should not be eroded,'' Sir Kieran said.

Sir Kieran noted that to address Greek Cypriot concerns, Talat pledged he would be prepared to entertain minor changes within the parameters of the plan, noting he wanted a clear and final list of demands from the Greek Cypriot side. When he conveyed orally the areas of concern that the Greek Cypriot side elaborated to him, Talat said that he regarded these as well outside the parameters of the UN plan and unacceptable to the Turkish Cypriots.

In Athens, Sir Kieran said, the Greek government said it wished to see a resumption of the Secretary-General's mission of good offices and that Greece believed that on certain aspects the Annan plan reflected the fears of the past more than it did the challenges of the future with Cyprus as a member of the European Union.

In Ankara, the Turkish government said it wished to see a settlement based on the UN plan and that Turkey would welcome an intensive process under the Secretary-General's auspices. For that to happen, the Turkish government believed that it was important for the Greek Cypriot side to furnish a clear and exhaustive list of changes it would like to see to the plan, Sir Kieran noted.

Assessing the situation, Sir Kieran said, ''All parties wish to see some sort of resumption of active UN good offices. All parties accept that the UN plan should serve as the document on which negotiations would resume.''

However, ''on the negative side,'' the UN diplomat noted that ''the gap between the stated positions of the parties on substance appears to be wide, while confidence between them does not seem high; rather the contrary.''

''These two factors, especially in combination, make efforts to establish common ground extremely difficult,'' he said.

Sir Kieran said that, as he considers what course of action to take, there are a number of additional factors that the Secretary-General will bear in mind. He believes that the starting point of the United Nations must and should be full respect for the decision of the voters on each side in the referendum of 24 April 2004, and an approach that is guided by that full respect.

He noted that ''the highest priority concerns which led Greek Cypriots to vote the way they did would most certainly have to be addressed in any future process based on the UN plan - and the Greek Cypriot electorate must have confidence that this would be borne in mind in a renewed process.''

In this context, Sir Kieran added, ''a prioritized and exhaustive list of concrete proposals for negotiation would be an important advance, because it is very hard to address a long list of concerns in an ordered way if they are expressed without modulation or indication of their relative importance.''

Sir Kieran said that at the same time ''it would not help the search for a solution if Greek Cypriot concerns were met in a way that lost majority support for the UN plan on the Turkish Cypriot side - and the Turkish Cypriot electorate must have confidence that this, too, would be borne in mind in any renewed process.''

Noting that ''it is natural for each party to seek to protect its own interests on both procedure and substance,'' Sir Kieran said ''it is important to encourage both sides to focus on their over-riding common interest, namely the need to agree on revisions so that the UN plan can command majority support not only in their own community but in the other too.''

In this regard, he added, ''the Secretary-General wishes to stress the obligations of the parties themselves.''

''Outsiders can help but it is the parties who must summon the vision, courage and political will needed to make a settlement, with all that this implies by way of compromise. Leaders have to lead, not just follow their supporters. A settlement will only become possible if the parties act towards each other in a way that conveys respect, understanding for one another's concerns, and a desire for an early settlement,'' he said.

Responsibilities also fall on the governments of Greece and Turkey, the UN diplomat pointed out, adding that ''they must keep in mind that the Cyprus problem should be settled on its own merits, in the interests, first and foremost, of the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots.''

He also said the strong support of Greece and Turkey for the mission of good offices, for which the Secretary-General is grateful, ''will need to be matched by a readiness to think afresh on certain aspects of the problem, so that a solution can be achieved on the basis of a revised UN plan.''

As to the next step, Sir Kieran said ''the Secretary-General is mindful of his own responsibilities, and he remains committed to assisting the parties to achieve a settlement.''

Noting the persistence of the status quo on the island is unacceptable, the UN diplomat said that ''at the same time, launching an intensive new process prematurely would be inadvisable.''

''I hope the Council would agree that nothing positive would be served by a new effort that ended, as the previous two efforts did, in high-profile failure, or else in a frustrating stalemate,'' he added.

Sir Kieran said that ''as things stand, the Secretary-General believes that it would be prudent to proceed very carefully,'' adding that Annan ''intends to reflect on the future of his mission of good offices in the period ahead.''

''As he does so, he will take full account of the reaction of the Council to this report. He will also be observing closely developments on the ground and, in particular, any evolution in the position of the parties, in light of the assessment and observations made above,'' he added.

Furthermore, he said that, depending on the evolution of events and attitudes on the island, it may become appropriate to consider appointing a Special Adviser, on a when actually employed basis, who would engage the parties and explore whether the necessary common ground existed or could be built to enable full scale negotiations to resume. ''For, ultimately, it is only through negotiations between them on the basis of the plan that a settlement will be achieved,'' he concluded.

Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article