Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-11-18
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 18/11/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Athens denies reports of Ocalan in Greece
- Greece responds to Ankara charges
- Kurd on hunger strike hospitalised
- 149 students charged after Polytechnic march
- DEH signs 3.5 bln dr. contract for wind parks
- Environmentalist blasts sale of nuclear reactors to Turkey
- No word on new European Commissioner
- Cold snap to hit Greece Thursday night
- New head at Greek think-tank
- Aegean Minister in Cyprus
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Athens denies reports of Ocalan in Greece
The government on Wednesday described as "a good piece of fiction" an
Athens newspaper report which claimed that Kurdish guerilla leader Abdullah
Ocalan had stopped off at Athens international airport on Octobe 9 to sound
out the Greek government about the possibility of being granted political
asylum. "There was never any such issue," government spokesman Yiannis
Nikolaou said, adding "Greece is in no way getting involved in this issue
for any reason". Ocalan, the leader of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) was arrested at Rome's Fiumicino airport on November 12 after
arriving from Moscow on a false passport. A report in today's edition of
the Athens daily "Athinaiki" claimed Ocalan stopped off in Athens on
October 9.
Greece responds to Ankara charges
In a statement released today, the foreign ministry reacted sharply to
Ankara's statements on Tuesday that Greece was supporting the PKK. "The
Ocalan affair has once again brought to the forefront the tragic dimensions
of the problem of the complete oppression of human rights in Turkey," the
statement said. "The Greek government has condemned terrorism from wherever
it may originate and has categorically stated to the Turkish side at the
highest level that it has not provided any support whatsoever to the PKK.
Consequently, the Turkish claims are rejected as unfounded and groundless,"
the statement said. Ankara on Tuesday said Athens and Nicosia were "playing
with fire", following Cyprus's statement that Ocalan not be turned over to
Turkey due to its less than stellar performance in the human rights
field.
Kurd on hunger strike hospitalised
A young Kurd on a hunger strike in Thessaloniki demanding that political
asylum be granted to Kurdish leader Abdallah Ocalan, currently detained in
Italy, was rushed to hospital this morning with signs of fatige. Doctors at
the George Papanicolaou hospital said later that 32-year-old Mazer Dogan's
condition was not life-threatening. About 30 other Kurds entered the sixth
day of their hunger strike in the Kamaras area of Thessaloniki, and had
installed a television set to monitor developments in the Ocalan case on
the satellite Kurdish television station being broadcast from the
Netherlands.
149 students charged after Polytechnic march
The 149 people arrested during a march to the US Embassy in Athens on
Wednesday appeared before a public prosecutor and were charged with a
number of offences ranging from disturbance of the peace to being in
possession of dangerous weapons. They were arrested during scuffles which
broke out when they tried to join the annual march to the US embassy which
is the culmination of events marking the anniversary of the 1973 students'
uprising at Athens Polytechnic. Of the 149 - 125 males and 24 females
ranging in age from 14 to 30 years old - 27 are juveniles and appeared
before a prosecutor for young offenders. Minor scuffles broke out however
when some of the youths tried to attack television crews.
DEH signs 3.5 bln dr. contract for wind parks
Greece's Public Power Corporation (DEH) today signed a contract, worth 3.5
billion drachmas, with the NEG Micon-ATE Gnomon group for the construction
of two wind parks in Xerolimni, Crete. The contract, signed following an
international tender, calls for the construction of two wind parks
including 17 wind generators, of 600 KW each for a total power of 10.2 MW.
The project is expected to cover energy demand in the island of Crete,
particularly in the summer months, and at the same time improve environmental
conditions in the island through cutbacks in the use of fossil fuel power
stations. The project is expected to be completed in 13 months.
Environmentalist blasts sale of nuclear reactors to Turkey
A leading Candian environmentalist today blasted the proposed sale of two
Canadian Candu nuclear reactors to Turkey, noting that the reactors were of
outdated technology and warning of the dangers of building a nuclear plant
at Akkuyu Bay in a highly seismic area on Turkey's southern coast and
charging that Ankara's ultimate goal was to build nuclear weapons. Dave
Martin, research director of the Canadian environmental organisation
Nuclear Alert, told the ANA in an interview in Toronto that the installation
of a nuclear plant at Akkuyu, which was situated near an active seismic
fault, would disrupt the nuclear balance in the Mediterranean region and
also pose a major threat of environmental disaster. The Turkish government
is expected soon to announce the winner of an international tender
for the construction of two nuclear reactors at Akkuyu in the southern
Turkish province of Mersin, just 80 kilometres north of the eastern
Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The two top bidders are the Atomic Energy
of Canada Ltd. (AECL), which is a federally-owned corporation, and Siemens
of Germany.
No word on new European Commissioner
Prime Minister Costas Simitis has not yet decided who will succeed Greece's
European Commissioner, Christos Papoutsis, government spokesman Yiannis
Nikolaou said on Wednesday. The spokesman was replying to reporters'
questions concerning press reports claiming Alternate Foreign Minister
George Papandreou was the frontrunner for the post. "The prime minister has
time to decide," Nikolaou said, adding "for the time being, Christos
Papoutsis is commissioner".
Cold snap to hit Greece Thursday night
The Greek Meteorological Service issued a warning of a sudden drop in
temperatures around the country on Thursday evening, accompanied by storms
and gale force winds. The service said snowfall was forecast for mountainous
regions as well as in central and northern Greece. Winds of between 8 and 9
Beaufort are forecast for Greek seas. The cold snap is expected to last
from Thursday evening through to the weekend with intermittent spells of
good weather.
New head at Greek think-tank
The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) has
elected Athens University professor of international relations Theodoros
Couloumbis as the think tank's new chairman, it was announced today. He
replaces outgoing chairman, Professor Thanos Veremis.
Aegean Minister in Cyprus
Greece's Minister for the Aegean Elizabeth Papazoi arrived in Nicosia on
Wednesday for an official visit. Papazoi is scheduled to meet with Cypriot
President Glafcos Clerides, Archbishop Chryssostomos and a number of
government ministers.
WEATHER
Overcast weather with spells of sunshine will prevail throughout Greece
today with rain in the morning in the eastern Aegean Sea, Crete, the
Cycladic islands and the Dodecanese. Winds northerly moderate, turning
strong in the Aegean Sea. Few clouds in Athens with temperatures between 6-
14C. Rain in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 2-8C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Wednesday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 277.740
British pound 466.240 Japanese yen (100) 231.136
French franc 49.828 German mark 167.063
Italian lira (100) 16.881 Irish Punt 415.628
Belgian franc 8.098 Finnish mark 54.955
Dutch guilder 148.180 Danish kr. 43.944
Austrian sch. 23.746 Spanish peseta 1.965
Swedish kr. 34.645 Norwegian kr. 37.498
Swiss franc 203.132 Port. Escudo 1.629
Aus. dollar 176.011 Can. dollar 178.778
Cyprus pound 563.277
(M.P.)
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