Humanitarian aid to Bulgaria
NEWS IN DETAIL
Simitis may visit US, spokesman says
The government today hinted at the possibility of meetings between Prime
Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and US
government officials in Washington in early March.
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas was referring to Pangalos's visit to
New York at the beginning of next month for the inauguration of the
Byzantine exhibition at the city's Metropolitan Museum.
Reppas said there was an open invitation for Greek representatives to visit
the US, conveyed through US Ambassador in Athens Thomas Niles, to discuss
bilateral issues and matters relating to the region.
The spokesman clarified however that neither the level of such a meeting
nor when it might be held had been decided.
''Perhaps it will take place in early March, when Mr. Pangalos will be in
the US for the exhibition at the New York museum... The prime minister
might also visit the US at the same time,'' Reppas said.
Striking civil servants rally in city centre
Greece's civil servants kicked off their 48-hour nationwide strike this
morning with the biggest protest rally seen in Athens in recent years.
Civil servants were joined by high school teachers on the third week of
their strike, hospital staff and local government workers.
Speakers at the rally, including Civil Servants Supreme Administrative
Council (ADEDY) President Yannis Koutsoukos, stressed their objections to
the government's proposed uniform wage scale, callling for real wage
increases and the introduction of collective bargaining in the public
sector.
Protesters marched through the city streets to the finance ministry where a
delegation met with Finance Undersecretary Nikos Christodoulakis.
Koutsoukos said after the meeting that the undersecretary appeared
"unbending on the issue of the wage scale" and particularly on the matter
of cutting back on productivity bonuses, which ADEDY has called "a cause
for war".
Koutsoukos said further protests would be held in the next 20 days and up
to the day Parliament votes on the wage scale.
Montenegro House Speaker in Athens
The president of the Montenegrin parliament begins an official two-day
visit to Greece today at the invitation of the Greek Parliament, an ANA
dispatch from Belgrade reported.
An announcement in Podgorica, Montenegro's capital, said Svetozar Marovic
would meet with his Greek counterpart Apostolos Kaklamanis, Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos and other Greek officials and that talks would
focus on the current political situation in Serbia.
Marovic is one of the Montenegrin leaders who have condemend the handling
of the recent political crisis in Belgrade and called for the Serbian
opposition's win in municipal elections to be recognised by the Milosevic
government.
Kranidiotis sworn in as foreign undersecretary
Yiannos Kranidiotis was today sworn in by President Kostis Stephanopoulos
as foreign undersecretary in the place of Christos Rozakis who resigned
three weeks ago.
During a handing-over ceremony later at the foreign ministry, Rozakis tried
to dispel rumours of friction within the ministry, saying that while
undersecretary, he had continued his longstanding friendship with Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos and built up a new friendship with Alternate
Foreign Minister George Papandreou.
Kranidiotis, a former Eurodeputy with long experience in the foreign
ministry, described Rozakis' resignation as a loss and expressed the hope
that he would continue to work with the ministry, offering his experience
and knowledge.
The new undersecretary said the country had embarked on a new course, aimed
at making Greece strong and modern.
In the sector of foreign policy, he added, ''visions and inspirations'' are
not sufficient.
''What is needed is planning, consistent work and scientific substantiation
of our positions,'' Kranidiotis said.
Among the challenges of the 21st century for Greece were the defining of
the country's role in the Balkans and confronting the Turkish threat and
aggressiveness in Cyprus and the Balkans.
Police continue inquiries into killing of Russian fugitive
Police in Athens said today that the Russian fugitive found dead at the
weekend was planning to go to Italy in the next few days to carry out the
contract killing of a prominent businessman.
Citing information received from colleagues in Russia, the police added
that Alesandr Solonik was a professional hit man who performed contract
killings for enormous sums of money in various countries.
They also revealed that six Russian officers had been working with the
police here to arrest Solonik, after Interpol alerted the authorities to
the fact that the Russian fugitive was in Greece.
Solonik, 35, reportedly escaped from a Moscow prison in 1995. The dead man
was wanted in his home country in connection with the killings of four
police officers and the wounding of a fifth.
His body, showing signs of strangulation, was found in the Athens suburb of
Variboby on Sunday.
The police also revealed today that they had found the body after receiving
an anonymous tip-off.
Two Albanians suspected of kidnappings arrested
Police have arrested two Albanians believed to be part of an eight-member
gang responsible for two kidnappings last month.
The gang is allegedly responsible for the kidnapping of Themistocles
Charalambis on 18 January and Theodoros Paraskevopoulos the following
day.
In the case of Paraskevopoulos, a man speaking broken Greek had demanded 20
million drachmas from the victim's relatives. After negotiations by
telephone lasting days, his relatives agreed on 31 January to pay the
kidnappers 7 million drachmas.
Paraskevopoulos was released and crossed the border from Albania into
Greece. His relatives handed the money over to an Albanian in Greece after
Paraskevopoulos had phoned to say he was free.
The police later arrested Albanian Sokol Sinani, 30 who was driving towards
the border with Albania. They found the ransom money in his car.
Sinani revealed that the same gang was responsible for the kidnapping of
Charalambis who had managed to escape from a house in Pendeli in which he
was being kept. According to Charalambis' relatives, he had been forced to
give the kidnappers 2 million drachmas after they threatened to hurt him
and his family.
A second Albanian, Lanti Bourtzia, 24, was arrested shortly afterwards and
identified by Charalambis as one of his kidnappers.
The police are continuing their investigation and have requested the
assistance of the Albanian authorities in securing the arrest of Andreati
Arapi, a resident of Lusnia in Albania, who is believed to be the gang
leader.
Alexandros 97 exercise begins
A large-scale map exercise involving all branches of the armed forces got
under way today, the scenario for which assumes a possible crisis and
escalation of tension resulting in conflagration.
The exercise, codenamed ''Alexandros '97'', is being conducted also with
the participation of state services and public enterprises administered by
the Chief of the National Defence General Staff.
Emphasis is being placed on the participation of the civil sector in
supporting military operations.
The exercise, which will run through 8 February, will test the ability of
participants to effectively handle crisis situations.
A similar exercise, codenamed ''Olympus'' is currently being conducted on
Cyprus.
Police make heroin arrest
Police in Xanthi have arrested an ethnic Greek from Georgia after finding
over 2 kilos of heroin during a search of his home in Evmiro.
Costas Doxaridis, 29, has so far refused to reveal his suppliers, but the
police suspect he had contacts with Turkish traffickers. They said he often
travelled to the Evros region which borders Turkey.
Early Sunday morning, Doxaridis had forced his way into a nightclub, after
being refused entrance, and opened fire with a revolver, wounding one
customer in the hand.
Doxaridis, was disarmed and handed over to police who took him to Xanthi
hospital in a semi-conscious condition. There, doctors ascertained that he
had taken heroin before the nightclub incident.
The police found 11 grams of heroin in his jacket and decided to search his
home, where they found 2.3 kilos of the narcotic.
Canada concerned over tension in Cyprus
Canada has expressed its deep concern over the escalation of violence on
Cyprus, in a letter of reply to Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis
who had condemned the recent cold-blooded killing of three Greek Cypriots.
In the letter, Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy stressed that his
country continued to support the UN resolution on the withdrawal of Turkish
occupation forces from the divided island.
Axworthy said Canada's aim was to help reduce tension on Cyprus and
contribute to constructive negotiations for peace in the region.
The Canadian foreign minister underlined the need for a peaceful settlement
of the Cyprus problem through dialogue and the avoidance of the threat or
use of force.
Thessaloniki assumes European Cultural Capital of '97 title
Prime Minister Costas Simitis challenged the peoples of Europe and the
broader region to seek a better future based on their common cultural
elements, during a speech to mark the official opening of Thessaloniki as
Cultural Capital of Europe 1997.
Addressing an official dinner in Thessaloniki, Mr.Simitis said the task
facing Europe was to harmonise the demand for respect for each country's
cultural traditions with the need for solidarity and creative cooperation.
The premier urged culture ministers from 40 European, Balkan, Mediterranean
and Black Sea region countries to take advantage of all opportunities
offered by regional cooperation agreements in order to implement their
common goals.
"Culture is not a secondary aspect of international relations, but a
comprehensive and inclusive world view," he said, adding that Europe's
strength was its culture, therefore, a choice had to be made between
letting Europe's multi-cultural reality be determined by the wounds of its
past, or letting it act as a life-giving source of continual inspiration
and cooperation.
Simitis reiterates gov't position not to bow to farmers' demands
Prime Minister Costas Simitis yesterday reiterated the government's
decision not to yield to protesting farmers' demands, during a meeting with
leaders of the Panhellenic Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives
(PASEGES) in Thessaloniki.
The premier said Greek agriculture is faced with the task of adjusting to a
world market before it even has the chance to adjust to a common European
agricultural policy.
He stressed that the government will not consent to "beautifications and
cover-ups that will make things worse," adding that farmers' mobilisations
were "extreme forms of struggle" that lead nowhere except to temporary
measures.
Tsohatzopoulos: Turkey unwavering in dispute of Aegean status quo
National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, speaking during an interview
yesterday with a private Athens television channel, reiterated his position
that Turkey's steady goal remains the dispute of the status quo in the
Aegean.
During the interview, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos underlined that the Greek armed
forces are in a position to decisively deal with the disputing of the
country's sovereign rights.
The defence minister also referred to what he called "equal strike" policy,
stressing that the armed forces can defend the country against any attack,
and can return any military strike with equal force.
Mr. Tsohatzopoulos reiterated his position regarding the proposed
moratorium of military flights over Cyprus and criticised the policy
followed by the 1990-93 Mitsotakis government as regards Greek-Turkish
relations and the Cyprus issue, estimating that this policy "worsened"
Greece's positions.
Pangalos, Milutinovic meet in Thessaloniki
The foreign minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Milan
Milutinovic, met yesterday with his Greek counterpart Theodoros Pangalos
and other government officials in Thessaloniki.
Mr. Milutinovic attended the official opening of the Cultural Capital '97,
and upon departing told a private Athens television channel that he
discussed bilateral issues with Mr. Pangalos.
In statements, Mr. Milutinovic appeared optimistic for a defusion of
tension in Yugoslavia.
Humanitarian aid to Bulgaria
Greece is sending humanitarian aid to the Haskovo region during the next
few days, a Bulgarian radio station announced yesterday.
The aid consists of 700 tons of flour and 1,000 tons of maize from the
Evros prefecture. The flour is to be distributed to 16 institutions caring
for orphans, sick children and the elderly. The humanitarian aid is to
ensure the provision of free bread u ntil the end of the year, while maize
will be distributed to three large farms in the area.
The neigbouring areas of Evros and Haskovo signed an agreement for regional
cooperation last year, which provides for the creation of a free trade zone
for development of unhindered economic activities.
WEATHER
Low temperatures, local clouds and sleet in most parts of the country with
northerly winds in the Aegean. Light rain or sleet interspersed with sunny
spells in the eastern regions with snowfalls in mountainous areas. Fair
weather in the rest of the country. Athens will be sunny to partly cloudy
with temperatures between -1-6C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures
between -3-3C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Friday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 255.063
Pound sterling 408.823 Cyprus pd 519.808
French franc 46.297 Swiss franc 180.147
German mark 156.339 Italian lira (100) 15.850
Yen (100) 210.264 Canadian dlr. 189.016
Australian dlr. 194.129 Irish Punt 405.976
Belgian franc 7.575 Finnish mark 52.391
Dutch guilder 139.188 Danish kr. 40.970
Swedish kr. 35.343 Norwegian kr. 39.303
Austrian sch. 22.216 Spanish peseta 1.846
Portuguese escudo 1.559
(M.P.)
