The official death toll from a devastating 6.1 on the Richter Scale earthquake which hit the Egion region early Thursday rose yesterday to 19 - an unofficial death toll stands at 21 - among them 10 French tourists, while eight-year-old Andreas Bogdanos was hauled to safety last night after lying under rubble for 44 hours.
Paramedics immediately gave to the boy emergency treatment to prevent shock and helped him remain calm. An ambulance was on standby to rush him to nearby Rio University Hospital. The boy's father stood by rescue workers throughout the entire period of his son's ordeal, talking to him through a narrow tunnel. Rescue workers will continue efforts to find disabled 22-year-old Elvira Frangonicopoulou, who is still buried under the rubble. The boy's grandmother died of a heart attack yesterday morning only minutes after being pulled out of the debris of the building.
Ten French tourists died at the Hotel Eliki in the village of Valamitika, east of Egion. More than 150 French tourists were staying at the complex, most of them pensioners. The discovery of the survivors yesterday raised hopes that up to 10 people missing in the rubble might be still be alive. The dead are made up of at least eight Greeks and an Italian woman in addition to the French tourists.
More than 70 people were injured, many seriously, when the quake shook the region, 170 km west of Athens on the Gulf of Corinth. Meanwhile, a new earthquake hit the quake-stricken region yesterday causing another apartment building to tilt, police said. Police immediately evacuated the building and cordoned off an entire street block.
Two more earthquakes measuring of 3.5 and 3.78 on the Richter Scale were felt just before 10.30 a.m. yesterday in Egion, while a quake registered at 4.3 on the Richter Scale was felt north of Crete. The quake's epicentre was located in the sea north of Heraklion at 1:09 a.m. yesterday. No damage or injuries were reported. Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou will visit the quake-stricken region this afternoon.
In Athens, seismologists have warned Egion's residents that there is a risk of another major earthquake in the region and advised them not to return to their homes.
Authorities estimated damages for Thursday's devastating earthquake at 150 billion drachmas. The assessment was made by dozens of mechanical engineers sent by the government to examine the extent of damage.
Mechanical engineers said about 10 to 13 buildings in the centre of Egion were badly affected by the quake and would be demolished. "The buildings will be brought down to avert further destruction that may be caused by aftershocks," an engineer said. "It is possible that these buildings may tilt and in the end fall on neighbouring buildings with solid foundations," he added.
Other buildings damaged by the quake included Greece's Arms Industry (EBO) factory, located near the northern coastal Peloponnese town. EBO officials said most of the damage was detected at the administrative quarters of the building. The factory's production centre was not affected, they said. Civil engineers examining the buildings damaged in Egion said they found 803 to be unsuitable, 810 repairable and 1.733 safe for occupancy. More than 15,000 people slept outside Thursday night.
In separate statements yesterday, Alternate National Economy Minister George Romeos and Environment, Town Planning and Public Affairs Minister Kostas Laliotis said the government endorsed the same measures it had taken for the victims of the quakes in the Kozani and Grevena regions earlier this month. The measures provide for rent subsidies of up to 60,000 drachmas per month for each family for as long as it takes to repair or rebuild badly damaged homes.
In addition, a special allowance of 100,000 drachmas will be given to all pensioners insured with principle insurance funds. Retired farmers will receive 50,000 drachmas. The amount of 100,000 drachmas will also be given to all unemployed persons not currently receiving any benefit, while those receiving unemployment benefits will get 50,000 drachmas. Grants will be given to companies whose operations have been disrupted by the quake, provided they undertake to retain the number of staff at pre-quake levels.
Mr. Laliotis also said a comprehensive programme for the reconstruction of the quake-stricken region of Egion would be enforced. He said a search would be conducted to trace those responsible for the shoddy construction of buildings which collapsed during the quake.
Mr. Laliotis and Alternate Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister, Costas Yeitonas, said the effort would also try to pinpoint those responsible for poor construction in the ministry of Town Planning.
Mr. Yeitonas said that as of July 1, new earthquake protection regulations would come into effect, adding that only minor amendments would be made to the regulations. He also said that a credit line of 120 million drachmas was established in the first stage of financial support to the victims of the quake. Mr. Yeitonas said a line of credit amounting to 1.2 billion drachmas was established for erecting 530 pre-fabricated homes for victims of the Kozani-Grevena regions.
The Greek government reiterated its condolences yesterday for the tragic death of the victims during the Egion earthquake. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos praised the work of rescue teams and expressed the government's gratitude toward the Swiss and French governments for sending special crews to assist in the on-going search operations in Egion.
He said criminal penalties would be imposed for those found responsible for the collapse and destruction of several buildings in Egion. "It is clear that criminal charges may be set against responsible persons for the bad construction of buildings," Mr. Venizelos said.
In another development, Greek shipping tycoon Yannis Latsis has offered as temporary shelter one of his super-luxury yachts for hundreds of homeless victims of quake-hit Egion, Merchant Marine Ministry sources said yesterday. Sources said the vessel, "Marianna," set off for the coastal city yesterday but had problems docking because of damages at the port. The 200-metre long dock was badly damaged during Thursday's devastating quake. Experts are seeking ways to safely anchor the vessels at the dock. Merchant Marine Minister George Katsifaras has called on ship owners to send cruise or cargo vessels to Egion to help hundreds of people left homeless after the quake.
Ministry sources said Mr. Latsis has been the first to respond to the appeal. The state lottery will also offer today's receipts, amounting to approximately one billion drachmas, to the victims of the Grevena, Kozani and Egion quakes.
Meanwhile, condolences for the victims continued arriving yesterday. Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos sent a message of grief and support to the Greek people, the government and the church. In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono told the Greek government Japan was ready to provide relief goods and other emergency aid to victims of Thursday's earthquake, the Greek Foreign Ministry said yesterday. It said Mr. Kono offered the aid in a message to his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias, sent through the Japanese embassy in Athens Thursday.
Greece and Portugal agreed yesterday that smaller European Union member states should have their own voice in an integrated Europe of the future that will emerge from the 1996 Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC).
"Greece and Portugal are two small countries of the EU and we wish to have our own voice in the new reality being formulated or which will be formulated by the IGC," Mr. Papoulias told reporters after a two-hour meeting with his Portuguese counterpart Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.
Mr. Barroso, who arrived in Athens Thursday on a one-day working visit, added:
"We are pro-European. We want a stronger European Union, but we do not accept, cannot accept, an integration that will create some kind of cleavage between the member-states because of their size. All states have the same dignity in the European Union, and it should be kept like that.
"We share the same basic ideas on, and in broad lines, the same approach to the IGC, which will be very important for the future of Europe," Mr. Barroso said.
He said that enlargement of the EU "should not put in question the identity of our Union. "It is very important that this significant enlargement will not undermine the very nature of the European Union as it is today," Mr. Barroso said.
Mr. Papoulias and Mr. Barroso also agreed to persist that a diplomatic solution should be found to the Bosnian crisis, opposing any kind of military intervention. Mr. Papoulias briefed his Portuguese counterpart on Greece's relations with Turkey, the problems with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and the Cyprus issue, as well as the situation in Bosnia. Mr. Barroso briefed Mr. Papoulias on his meeting next month with his Indonesian counterpart, under United Nations auspices, on East Timor.
The two men further discussed bilateral relations, which they said were friendly and cordial at a political level but had room for growth in the economic and cultural sectors. They agreed to continue their contacts, not only at a ministry level but also at all levels of political consultations. "We decided to keep this matter under review and try to find some way to give impetus to these bilateral relations," Mr. Barroso said, adding he had invited Mr. Papoulias to visit Portugal "at the first opportunity." Mr. Barroso also met with President Kostis Stephanopoulos and Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis.
National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis leaves for Damascus tomorrow on a three-day official visit and talks with the Syrian leadership. During his stay, Mr. Arsenis will hold talks with President Hafez al-Assad and the Syrian prime minister and defence minister.
Mr. Arsenis will also pay a visit to Orthodox Patriarch Ignatios of Antioch and All East. From Damascus, Mr. Arsenis will travel to Paris to attend the June 21 Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union (WEU).
Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said the use by Macedonia-Thrace Minister Constantine Triarides of terms such as "Slavo-Albanian Republic of Macedonia" and "Slavic Republic of Macedonia" in reference to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), reflected the minister's personal views. "It is one of those ideas which are processed by members and non-members of the government," he added.
Mr. Papoulias said the government's position was known and expressed his conviction that efforts by American mediators Cyrus Vance and Matthew Nimetz would be successful, and that FYROM President Kiro Gligorov would attend the negotiating table. He expressed reserved optimism over the possibility of progress being achieved in talks between Mr. Vance and the Skopje government, adding that Mr. Gligorov "determines whether to attend negotiations according to domestic problems he faces in his country."
In an interview with the daily "Nova Makedonia," Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski appeared pessimistic about prospects for a resumption of New York-based talks on differences with Greece, at least in the near future.
"There is nothing specific at the present moment," he said, adding that past obstacles remained, while conditions that would inspire confidence that positive results might be attained had not matured. The only encouraging thing, said Mr. Crvenkovski, is the idea "that a settlement is necessary" has begun to mature, and that it is now a common realisation that both countries are losing out from the prolongation of the dispute.
He stressed, however, that there are basic issues on which concessions cannot be made, and that "an inequitable dialogue cannot be accepted." Meanwhile, a FYROM Foreign Ministry announcement yesterday denied reports that Mr. Crvenkovski is going to New York next week for talks with UN mediator Cyrus Vance. FYROM President Kiro Gligorov leaves for Paris on Monday, to attend a session of the Western European Union.
Greek National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis will address the third session of the 40th annual assembly of the Western European Union (WEU) to be held June 19-22 in Paris.
A Greek parliamentary delegation will also attend the assembly. The delegation is headed by Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) deputy Vasso Papandreou and is comprised of PASOK deputies Constantine Vretos and Charalambos Kastanidis, main opposition New Democracy party leader (ND) deputies Aristotelis Pavlidis, Michael Liapis and Vassilis Manginas, Political Spring (Pol.An) party deputy Maria Machaira and Communist Party of Greece (KKE) deputy Efstratios Korakas.
Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) President Kiro Gligorov will also address the assembly.
Greece accused Turkey yesterday of violating international law saying that its stance and threats "greatly increase the distance separating it from Europe."
Replying to a statement earlier by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel concerning Greece's right to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said Mr. Demirel "adopted and repeated threats by the Turkish National Assembly," adding that this position "constitutes a flagrant violation of international law."
Mr. Venizelos said this "exposes Turkey before the international community and, of course, greatly increases the distance separating it from Europe and its institutions."
According to an ANA dispatch from Istanbul, Mr. Demirel said Turkey regarded attempts to "change the status quo in the Aegean as a cause for war." The statement followed Greece's reiteration Thursday that it reserved the right to expand its territorial waters and would exercise it when it deemed expedient to do so. "In case Greece expands its territorial waters to 12 miles, then the Aegean will become a Greek lake," Mr. Demirel said. "Turkey will not be able to communicate with the open seas. This is not only Turkey's concern but the concern of all Black Sea countries," he added.
Mr. Demirel made the statements while on-board the Turkish frigate "Yavuz" from which he observed a Turkish military exercise currently being conducted in the Aegean. "The Turkish armed forces serve peace and do not threaten our neighbours or others," Mr. Demirel said.
He said Greece was wrong to act in a way that disturbs Turkey, adding that "we are determined to safeguard peace and stability in the region. Our forces are not threatening our neighbours or others," he said.
On Thursday, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas reiterated Greece's position that it reserved its sovereign right to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles from the present six, whenever it deemed necessary. Mr. Bikas was referring to a recent Turkish National Assembly decision empowering the Ankara government to take "all necessary measures," including military steps, against Greece if the latter legally extended its territorial waters in the Aegean.
"When a country is threatened by another country with war in the event it exercises its legal rights, it's difficult for one to comprehend how that other country wishes to approach Europe and its institutions," he added.
Meanwhile, in a separate announcement, the Political Spring (Pol.An) party denounced Turkish "provocativeness," but also criticised the government for "avoiding to report Turkey to international organisations."
The Eregli (ancient Heraklia) municipality on the Black Sea will organise a discussion on friendship between Greece and Turkey as part of the "Ottoman Strawberry" festival taking place this year for the second consecutive year.
The initiative for the discussion was undertaken by Eregli Mayor Halil Pospijik, a member of the "Motherland Party" (ANAP), who told the Athens News Agency (ANA) that "despite the fact relations between Greece and Turkey are faced with problems in high-level contacts between officials of Ankara and Athens, we in the framework of this festival wish to convey from Eregli on the Black Sea to all the people in the world messages of friendship. I will be very pleased if the step toward world peace starts fro m Eregli."
ANAP party leader Mesut Yilmaz, who is also in Eregli for the festival, told the ANA that "I want to thank the Mayor of Pospijik for organising discussions on friendship between Greece and Turkey these days that relations between Greece and Turkey are being discussed intensively."
The Turkish Minister to the Prime Minister's Office and government spokesman Yildirim Aktuna is expected to speak at the discussion on relations between Greece and Turkey, while Turkish former Foreign Minister Mumtaz Soysal will also attend the meeting.
Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos yesterday announced the holding of an on-board international ecological conference in late September during a sea voyage from Istanbul to the island of Patmos to commemorate the 1, 900th anniversary of the writing of the Book of Revelations by St. John the Evangelist.
The Patriarch named an honorary conference committee, which includes the Duke of Edinburgh and president of the World Wildlife Fund, Prince Philip; American Vice-President Al Gore; UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali; European Commission Presi dent Jacques Santer; Prince Saddrudin Agha Khan; Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yevgeni Velikhon; the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Roger Etchegary; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Turkey's director of Religious Affairs, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz; the head of Turkish ecological organisations Rahmi Koc and Greek Nobel laureate poet Odysseas Elytis.
The conference is sponsored by, among others, the Union of Greek Banks and is expected to be attended by US Assistant Environment Secretary Timothy Wirth.
"The Ecumenical Patriarchate, certain that the ecological problem has deep roots and religious parameters, has shown special sensitivity as regards to the debt of the Christian Church," the Patriarch said. Vartholomeos has declared Sept. 1 as a day of prayer for the protection of the natural environment for all Orthodox Christians. The on-board conference will take place between Sept. 22-25.
Agriculture Under-Secretary Floros Constantinou told the first Interbalkan Meeting of Farmers' Organisations yesterday in Thessaloniki that Greece's experience in agricultural issues as a member of the European Union could prove useful to other Balkan countries, and that such meetings ought to acquire a more permanent character.
The conference is attended by farmers' organisations from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Yugoslavia, Slovenia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
The president of the General Association of Agricultural Associations Marinos Yiannakidis said the foreign delegations asked to be briefed on the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and the content of the GATT accord. The conference decided to establish a permanent committee, based in Thessaloniki, in which each country will have one representative.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Constantinou said the government hoped to table a bill on the drafting of a national farmers' register in Parliament before the end of the month.
Merchant Marine Minister Georgios Katsifaras yesterday had talks in Oslo with his Norwegian counterpart Grete Knudsen on issues ranging from shipping in the European Union to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) issues.
An official announcement issued by the Merchant Marine Ministry in Piraeus stated that an "identity of views was ascertained on the fundamental principles of shipping policy, which aim at further liberalisation of international seaborne transports. According to the announcement, Ms. Knudsen called for closer co-operation with Greece on shipping policy issues, mainly within the context of the European Union, but also in other international organisations.
Mr. Katsifaras assured her of close co-operation and said Norway would be kept informed of issues examined in the European Union concerning shipping policy. Mr. Katsifaras also had talks with chairman of the Union of Norwegian Shipowners, Westy Hoegh, on shipping issues. He also attended a ceremony at Trondheim marking the delivery of Minoan Lines' newest addition, the "Aretusa," from Fosen Shipyards.
In addition, he is due to visit the 1995 Nor-Shipping Exhibition and conference, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The exhibition is held every other year, alternating with the Posidonia shipping exhibition in Piraeus.
Intense competition among airlines world-wide that leads to a continuous reduction of fares dictates the need for co-operation and co-ordination between Cyprus Airways, the island republic's national airline and Greece's Olympic Airways.
This was announced yesterday at a press conference given by the chairmen of the two airlines, Vassilis Rologis and Rigas Doganis, who held discussions this week aimed at a limited collaboration between the two national carriers.
Mr. Doganis announced a series of measures for wider co-operation between the two companies, including a common price policy between Cyprus and Greece aimed at promoting tourism between the two nations and accommodation for the movement of students and overseas Greeks and Greek Cypriots. He also said that the two airlines have reached an agreement on time schedules for the summer of 1995 and the next summer.
They also agreed on co-operation within the framework of a joint venture aimed at offering travellers direct routes to and from various Greek islands. Co-operation also provides for the sharing of offices by both companies, aimed at reducing costs. Offices mentioned in the agreement are those leased by Olympic Airways in Israel and Belgium, and Cyprus Airways' offices in Moscow.
Regarding the two companies' co-operation in the purchase of charter flights, discussions in this field did not make any progress due to obstructions imposed by the European Union toward Greece. Some results are not expected before 1998.
Referring to results of the January-March trade volume as far as the Greek airline is concerned, Mr. Doganis said although traveller numbers had increased by 3 per cent, revenue did not follow suit due to "cut-throat" competition in Europe.
He also said Olympic Airways' deficit had been reduced by 64 per cent, while for the first time a significant profit is expected in 1995. In addition, the company's personnel was reduced by 13 per cent, leading to a significant rise in Olympic's productivity, he added.