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Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-03-13
CONTENTS
[01] Papoulias in Croatia for official visit
[02] Gov't denies 'state violence' criticism
[01] Papoulias in Croatia for official visit
President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias arrived in Zagreb on
Tuesday for an official visit to Croatia that is expected to give
renewed impetus to already cordial relations between Greece and
Croatia. Shortly after his arrival, Papoulias was received by Croatian
President Stjepan Mesic for talks. Afterwards, the Greek president
said that the two countries had a common line on how to resolve
problems in their region, using peaceful means, negotiations and
dialogue. He stressed that both Greece and Croatia stood to gain from
such an approach in solving the area's problems. During talks between
the two presidents and later between delegations of the two countries,
the two sides discussed bilateral relations, issues concerning
southeastern Europe and international developments. Papoulias
underlined Greece's support for Croatia's bid to join the European
Union, stressing that this would be a historic event for the region
that would further reinforce the nucleus of Balkan countries in the
Community and signal the commencement of the accession process for the
western Balkans. In response to questions, the Greek president later
said that Athens' support for Croatia was consistent with Athens'
foreign policy on this issue, which envisioned EU entry for both the
western and eastern Balkans, both because this would contribute to
their development and because they were historically an important part
of Europe. Regarding bilateral trade relations with Croatia, Papoulias
stressed that they did not currently reflect the warm relations between
the two countries on a political level and that there were large
margins for developing these further. Mesic also pointed to the recent
rapid development of bilateral relations and thanked Papoulias for
Greece's unwavering support of Croatia's bid to join the EU and NATO.
He confirmed that he and Papoulias had more-or-less identical views on
the region's problems and global sources of crisis. Before the
meeting, Mesic presented Papoulias with the medal of the Grand Order of
Queen Jelena, the most prestigious medal offered by the Croatian
Republic, for his services to peace in the region. He stressed that
these had extended beyond the borders of Greece and that the Greek
president's relations with the Arab world, in particular, had made him
well-known in international circles.
Caption: President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias, left, is greeted
in Zagreb by Croatian President Stjepan Mesic at the presidential
mansion on Tuesday, March 13, 2007. ANA-MPA / M. Kiaou.
[02] Gov't denies 'state violence' criticism
The government on Tuesday flatly dismissed suggestions that police
handling of protestors during last week's rallies was a display of
"state violence".
"There is no state violence, nor do I want to intrude on issues related
to police operational readiness," alternate government spokesman
Evangelos Antonaros told reporters in response to questions.
"In the midst of very difficult circumstances, police are called on to
carry out the duty of protecting law and order, security, as well as
the life and the property of Greek citizens. They do this efficiently,"
Antonaros added.
He was replying to questions about the use of tear gas on Monday by
riot police against relatives and supporters of 49 teens and young
adults arrested during violent incidents on Thursday. The incident
occurred outside the courthouse where they are on trial.
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