Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-10-03
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 03/10/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- September yr/yr inflation down to 0.7% to 4.9
- New bond issue announced
- Athens sits on 'Observer' claims until 'right time'
- Cabinet works on reforming television
- Neolithic treasures to go on display
- Sunken Mirage to be raised today
- Minor arrested in drug haul
- Tug sinks off Samos
- Another 24 illegal immigrants arrested
- US official hopeful on Simitis-Yilmaz meeting on Crete
- Turkish allegations aim at instability, defence minister says
- Greece, U.S. working closely on fighting terrorism
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
September yr/yr inflation down to 0.7% to 4.9
Greek year-on-year consumer price inflation dropped sharply to 4.9 per cent
in September from 5.6 per cent in August, the National Statistics Service
(NSS) announced today.
In September 1996, annual inflation was running at 8 per cent.
According to the NSS, the general consumer price index rose 1.7 per cent in
September, compared to an increase of 2.3 per cent in the same month of
1996.
The CPI increase in September was shaped as a result of a 0.5 per cent drop
in foodstuffs, a 9.6 per cent increase in clothing and footwear and a 4.3
per cent increase in durable consumer goods.
On the outlook for inlfation in October, NSS General Secretary Nikos
Karavitis said it appeared from observations that the downward trend would
continue.
New bond issue announced
Greece's finance ministry is to meet state borrowing needs of 1.2 trillion
drachmas for October by issuing four series of government securities,
Deputy Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said.
The issues are as follows:
Fixed-rate bonds on October 10
Floating rate notes on October 20 and again on October 29
Treasury bills on October 31
Christodoulakis also told reporters the socialist government would keep to
its policy of cautiously lowering interest rates.
Athens sits on 'Observer' claims until 'right time'
The Greek government said today it would choose "the right place, method
and time" of responding to an article which appeared in the British
newspaper "Observer" claiming that Athens was supporting Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK) separatists.
The statement was made by both Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos as he
arrived for a Cabinet meeting, as well as government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas.
The article, which appeared in last Sunday's edition of the newspaper, was
based on the claims of Kurd Seydo Hazar and immediately rejected by the
Greek government as being totally unfounded.
Reppas said the government was examining "all possibilities" including
legal action over the "libellous" article.
Commenting on recent statements on terrorism by US State Department
representatives, Reppas said "there is a coincidence of views" while noting
that Greece required clarifications "because US officials, after meetings
with international officials, cannot express unacceptable views".
"These opinions or accusations are unacceptable and are rejected by the
Greek government," the spokesman added.
Cabinet works on reforming television
The Cabinet today took decisions aimed at putting in order the operating
framework of television stations in Greece in order to ensure "legality,
transparency and quality".
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said the decisions were based on the
law and presidential decrees.
Announcing the decisions, he said the government would grant operating
licences to 111 regional stations of the 250 currently broadcasting, apart
from the local stations in Attica.
Six stations will have the right to broadcast nationwide, while eight
frequencies would be allotted to stations in Attica other than those
six.
Reppas said both the local and national stations would be obliged to cover
the entire area for which they have been granted a licence.
He added that the National Radio and Television Council (ERS) would be
upgraded and particular emphasis placed on respect for and protection of
the personality of citizens, minors and private life.
Quality, he said, would not be imposed by laws and censorship, but by means
of self-regulation.
Neolithic treasures to go on display
A unique, priceless collection of Neolithic gold artefacts seized by police
in a swoop operation as it was about to be sold overseas by smugglers, was
turned over to the State today in a ceremony at the Culture Ministry.
The priceless collection will be put on permanent display at the National
Archaeological Museum in early December.
The collection of 54 gold rings, beads and pendants, dating back to the 5th
millennium B.C., was about to be sold to a 'customer' abroad for an
estimated 2 billion dr.
Undercover police officers, posing as buyers, confiscated the collection
and arrested a private security guard and a Greek-Canadian four days ago,
after a six-month surveillance.
"The (objects) are of unique value, which fell victim to the most extreme
form of crime against our cultural heritage," said Culture Minister
Evangelos at the ceremony, adding that they were of "immense archaeological
signifance".
This is the largest quantity of gold jewellery of the Neolithic era ever
found, according to Dr. Ekaterini Dimakopoulou, director of the National
Archaeological Museum in Athens, an expert on the prehistoric period.
The treasures weigh a mere 232 grams in total, but their value to
researchers of the Neolithic age is immeasurable.
Sunken Mirage to be raised today
The Hellenic Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter plane which crashed late on
Tuesday is expected this afternoon to be raised from the sea 1.5 miles
north of Skyros, provided weather conditions allow.
Navy frogmen this morning completed preparations for the raising of the
aircraft which crashed during a night-time exercise.
The pilot of the aircraft drowned after his life jacket opened, trapping
him in the cockpit.
After being raised, the aircraft will be taken to Tanagra airforce base
outside Athens, from where it had taken off.
Meanwhile, according to informed sources, initial data taken from the
aircraft's black box indicates that the crash was not due to any mechanical
malfunction.
The box has been sent for examination to France in order to ascertain the
precise cause of the crash.
Minor arrested in drug haul
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Kastoria, northern Greece, while
smuggling 34 kilos of hashish into Greece, police said today.
A group of five Albanians, including the boy, were spotted by police last
night in the rural region of Stavropotamos. After a chase, the boy was
arrested while the other four escaped, leaving behind a sack containing
12.8 kilos of hashish, which they confiscated.
Another 11.8 kilos carried by the boy in a sack were also confiscated.
The Kastoria police drug unit is conducting an investigation.
Police in Athens later announced the arrest of Albanian Nikolaki Laska, 32,
unemployed who was found in possession of 14 kilos of marijuana.
They said Laska was the head of a narcotics ring which sold marijuana
mainly in the centre of Athens.
Also, four Albanians and a Greek woman were arrested in the Athens
districts of Pagrati and Koukaki charged with dealing in heroin and
cocaine.
The Albanians were named as Pesnik Karari, 25, Enmond Karari, 24, Petro
Gioka, 35 and Spartak Orgotsak, 20. The Greek woman was identified as
Aikaterini Venizelou, 34.
They were found in possession of 350 grams of heroin, 30 grams of cocaine
and 10 grams of hashish.
Police said the narcotics were being sold from Venizelou's coffee grinder's
shop in Koukaki.
Tug sinks off Samos
A tugboat sank off the coast of Samos early this afternoon as it was
assisting a ferry to dock at the island's harbour.
The incident occurred when the passenger ferry "Daliana" dropped anchor in
the port, but it got entangled with that of the ferry "Golden Vergina"
which was already tied up at port.
The tug "Christos 3" arrived on the spot to disentangle the two ships, but
for reasons as yet unknown it sank. The two persons on the tug jumped
overboard to safety, and were taken to Samos hospital for preventive
reasons.
The Samos harbour authority is holding a preliminary examination.
Another 24 illegal immigrants arrested
A group of 24 Iraqi and Afghan illegal immigrants, half of them children,
were disembarked at dawn on the island of Samos by a Turkish speedboat,
police said.
The seven men, nine women and 12 children were spotted by locals in the
Kokkari region, and were arrested shortly afterwards by Samos security
police.
The illegal immigrants told police they had been transported to Samos by
speedboat from Turkey.
They are in custody at the Samos police department together with another 36
Iraqi illegal immigrants arrested at the Nissi and Krounteri regions of
Samos two days ago, also transported from Turkey by Turkish speedboats.
US official hopeful on Simitis-Yilmaz meeting on Crete
Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Marc Grossman
was hopeful yesterday that next month's meeting between Greek Prime
Minister Costas Simitis and his Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz on the
sidelines of a Balkan summit in Crete would result in "progress in Greek-
Turkish relations".
Mr. Grossman arrived in Athens Wednesday night on a tour of Athens, Ankara
and Nicosia in a bid to keep channels of communication open between Greece
and Turkey after the collapse of last week's talks in New York between the
two countries' foreign minis ters.
Mr. Grossman, a former US ambassador to Turkey, had talks yesterday with
Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou which focused on NATO
enlargement and European Union (EU) relations with Turkey, Cyprus and the
United States.
According to informed sources, Mr. Grossman expressed the view that the
perspective of Cyprus' accession to the EU could act as a catalyst for
resolving the longstanding Cyprus problem.
Turkish allegations aim at instability, defence minister says
National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos yesterday placed responsibility
for tension and destabilisation in the area on Turkey and underlined that
Greece rejects terrorism in every way.
"Those who are trying to attribute responsibilities for conditions of
tension and destabilisation in the region anywhere else than to Turkey are
wasting their time. Greece rejects terrorism in every way and is fighting
steadily as a force of peace, secu rity and stability in the region for
human rights, human freedoms and international law," he said.
Mr. Tsohatzopoulos made his statement in Maastricht, Holland, when asked to
comment on reports in the international press accusing Greece of supporting
terrorist Kurdish organisations, as well as on Wednesday's reference by the
US State Department's spokesman.
He said there was a series of fabricated charges and suspicions that only
succeed in creating certainty that it is a coordinated act to create false
impressions aimed at concealing other ulterior motives.
Mr. Tsohatzopoulos warned that it is dangerous to play with fire and once
again denounced Turkey for its destabilising attitude, the questioning of
international law on its part and its effort to change the existing status
quo with the threat of the use of force or with the actual use of
force.
Greece, U.S. working closely on fighting terrorism
U.S. State Department spokesman Jim Foley yesterday reiterated the
displeasure of his country regarding the existence of offices of dissident
Kurdish organisations in Greece, when he was asked to clarify the confusion
arising from another statement he made on Wednesday.
"We have not reached the conclusion that Greece is a state which supports
terrorism. My statement yesterday concerned the existence in Athens of the
offices of two Turkish (sic) terrorist organisations. We regret their
presence there. But we are working very closely with the Greek government
to fight terrorism," he said.
"We consider Greece a close ally, a country with which we have fully
positive relations, and I would like to repeat White House spokesman Mike
McCurry, who said that there is no reference in the annual State Department
report which would confirm any hint that Greece is a country which supports
terrorism," he added.
WEATHER
The National Meteorological Service (EMY) has issued a storm warning as of
this afternoon for the areas of Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, and the islands
of the northern and eastern Aegean. An extraordinary weathern bulletin said
storms, locally intense and accompanied by very strong winds, were forecast
for the above regions. An improvement was expected beginning Saturday
morning. Today, Athens will be partly cloudy with temperatures between 17-
28C. Some showers are expected in Thessaloniki in the afternoon with
temperatures from 15-23C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Thursday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 277.373
Pound sterling 447.987 Cyprus pd 530.323
French franc 46.646 Swiss franc 190.563
German mark 156.706 Italian lira (100) 15.987
Yen (100) 229.063 Canadian dlr. 201.078
Australian dlr. 201.723 Irish Punt 403.288
Belgian franc 7.596 Finnish mark 52.348
Dutch guilder 139.118 Danish kr. 41.176
Swedish kr. 36.629 Norwegian kr. 39.005
Austrian sch. 22.255 Spanish peseta 1.856
Port. Escudo 1.538
(M.P.)
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