One of Greece's most sensational trials came to an end yesterday when an Athens criminal court sentenced two self-styled satanists to life imprisonment for the ritual rape and murder of two women. Assimakis Katsoulas, 22, also known as 'Amon' and the ringleader of the cult, received two life sentences for the two murders and a further 20 years and one month for other crimes, including arson and kidnapping.
His deputy, Emmanuel Dimitrokallis, 21, was also sentenced twice to life plus 13 years and one month for other charges. A third defendant, Dimitra Marieti, 20, was sentenced to 18 years and four months for being an accessory to murder. Charges relating to the murder of a third woman were dismissed for lack of evidence.
The three young ringleaders of the 20-strong cult were arrested in December 1993, telling police they had conducted animal and human sacrifices at deserted buildings on the outskirts of Athens over a period of three years.
The breakthrough in the arrests came when Dimitrokallis confessed to police after Katsoulas asked him to sacrifice his sister. Katsoulas denied killing 14-year-old Dora Syropoulou, the cult's first victim, at an initiation ceremony in August 1992 but Dimitrokallis, or "Enigma", said they took the girl to an abandoned winery where she was stripped, handcuffed and raped and then strangled and her body set on fire. Marieti, 20, Katsoulas' former girlfriend and "high priestess", was used to lure the girl and waited in a car during the murder. She said she kept quiet about the crimes because she feared for her family.
Seven months after Syropoulou's murder, Katsoulas and Dimitrokallis kidnapped 30-year-old hotel maid Garyfalia Yiourga, raping and torturing her in their car before crushing her skull. All defendants have denied involvement in the killing of the third victim, 35-year-old Sultana Kriskian, whose body was found in the same area as the other two victims.
Three other members of the cult - Varvara Angelopoulou and Maria and Katerina Rigaki - charged with withholding evidence and harbouring a criminal, were given sentences of 17, seven and 16 months respectively. All are expected to appeal their sentences.
The court acquitted two others of all charges: Haralambos Zavras, charged with being an accessory after the fact, and Angeliki Anagnostou, charged with attempted blackmail.
The second summit of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation Council (BSEC) ended with a reiteration of the aims and prospects set out in Istanbul three years ago.
In a non-binding joint communiqui, dubbed the Bucharest Declaration, the presidents and prime ministers of the 11 BSEC member states - Albania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine - expressed satisfaction at the achievements attained to date, but also stressed "the importance of settling existing problems which have a negative impact on the climate of economic co-operation".
Much of the document referred to the need to deal with problems such as uranium smuggling, drug trafficking, road transport and energy supplies.
Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos stressed in his speech that the multitude of political problems could not prevent co-operation, but warned that it could not attain the desirable level if an attempt was not made to solve them on the basis of international law, and without threats to other countries' territorial integrity.
Speaking to reporters later, the Greek president addressed a call to Turkey to adopt lower tones in its relations with Greece, and said Greece desired the resolution of differences precisely on the basis of international law.
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, who congratulated Mr. Stephanopoulos on his speech, said the political problems in the region needed solution, but ought to be kept away from BSEC. During the press conference later, he said his country was not following a hostile policy towards any country, and problems could be solved through dialogue.
Mr. Stephanopoulos stated that Greece would provide its share required for the setting up of the BSEC bank in Thessaloniki by October, and asked for the support of other countries in the establishment of the Research Centre for Economic Co-operation in Greece.
Mr. Stephanopoulos held separate meetings yesterday with Romanian President Ion Iliescu, Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev, Ukraine Prime Minister Evgeni Machouk and Azerbaijan President Alieyef.
Following his meeting with Mr. Zhelev, which he described as "very pleasant and constructive," Mr. Stephanopoulos reminded reporters of the "good relations between the two countries," adding that he had agreed to visit Sofia in October. His visit will be followed by Mr. Zhelev's visit to Athens.
Mr. Stephanopoulos is accompanied to the summit by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias.
Upon his arrival at the airport, Mr. Stephanopoulos said the BSEC leaders were here to be updated on the activities of the Co-operation, adding that "a lot has been achieved." "But we are only at the beginning," he added. "More can be accomplished."
Mr. Papoulias held a meeting with a delegation of Greek refugees and was also due to have talks later with his Bulgarian and Russian counterparts.
Turkish provocations against Greece aims at providing a counterbalance to Greece's heightened profile in the Balkans, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis said yesterday. Mr. Kaklamanis was speaking in Xanthi at the beginning of an international conference on "The forced Islamisation and Turkification of the peoples of Asia Minor and Cyprus by the Turks". The event is organised by the Dimocrition University of Thrace and the Society of Pontians in Xanthi.
He called upon Turkey to adopt a policy geared towards European modernisation. "(Modern-day) Turkey is a continuation of the Ottoman state regarding its strategy, its foreign policy and its domestic rule," he said.
Referring to the issue of Greece extending its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, Mr. Kaklamanis said the Turkish Parliament's provocation of authorising Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller to take military measures against Greece was unacceptable, adding that Greece had notified European parliaments and denounced the threat of force, which constitutes a violation of the UN's charter.
He stressed the need for peaceful coexistence between Christians and Moslems, adding that the government was oriented in this direction.
Mr. Kaklamanis met the Commander of the Fourth Army Corps in Xanthi yesterday. On Thursday, the first day of his visit, he met the mayor, the municipal council and local officials.
Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos yesterday began an official visit to the seat of the Orthodox metropolis of Italy here, after the end of his visit to the Vatican.
Ecclesiastical sources stressed that the ceremonies in St. Peter's Basilica yesterday, involving an official reception for the Head of Orthodox Christianity for the first time, may be considered historic. The same sources said that the outcome of the Patriarch's visit secures the continuation of the dialogue between the two Churches.
Certain Catholic circles, however, considered that despite the official statements of satisfaction, the visit did not produce the specific results expected by the Catholic hierarchy, particularly regarding the issue of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Eastern Europe concerning the Uniates sect.
The United States should look to Turkey if they feared a possible "hot" incident in the Aegean, National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis said yesterday.
"If the US are concerned about a possible hot incident in the Aegean, they should turn to Turkey because the threat comes from there and it is Turkey that should change its political attitude," Mr. Arsenis said. The defence minister stressed that Turkey's stance on the 12-mile sea limit contravened a fundamental article of the United Nations Charter that prohibits the threat of use of violence.
The Turkish National Assembly recently empowered the Ankara government "to take all necessary measures, including military steps" against Greece if the latter made use of the right accorded to it under the international Law of the Sea Convention and extended its territorial waters to 12 miles from the current six. The move came after the Greek Parliament ratified the convention.
"Turkey wishes to approach Europe, but with its policy it is opposing a country which must exercise its inalienable right emanating from the international Law of the Sea... and opposing a fundamental article of the UN which prohibits the threat of use of violence," Mr. Arsenis said.
Mr. Arsenis was speaking at a ceremony at the Salamis naval port, during which 15 new vessels were received by the Hellenic Navy. The new naval fleet vessels comprise three frigates, six gunboats, four torpedo boats, a tank landing ship, and a general support vessel.
Mr. Arsenis said that the Navy was entrusted with three new missions: safeguarding the Aegean, supporting the Greece-Cyprus joint defence zone, and the role the Navy was called on to play in the stability and security of the Mediterranean in co-operation with other member countries of the Western European Union (WEU).
He announced that the modernisation process of the armed forces would be completed in the next few months and said a new modernisation programme would be set in motion, aiming at the qualitative upgrading of equipment with high-technology programmes.
Mr. Arsenis said the Greek navy, together with the navies of Italy, France and Spain, all members of the Western European Union, could contribute to the joint effort for peace and security in the broader Mediterranean region. He added that Greece's defence co-operation efforts were being made in that direction.
The Coalition of the Left and Progress party yesterday strongly protested the "unacceptable, undemocratic and barbaric behaviour of Turkish authorities" towards Stergios Pitsiorlas, a member of the party's politbureau.
During his visit to the Turkish capital and his meeting with representatives of Turkey's Human Rights Committee, Mr. Pitsiorlas was continuously harassed by Turkish security authorities. A later announcement said the Greek embassy in Ankara had made a strong protest to the Turkish government over the incident.
Greece said yesterday its relations with its European Union partners were good but that it was awaiting some concrete examples of the Union's solidarity.
"Greece pursues good relations with all states... but it is waiting to see tangible examples of European Union solidarity," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said. He made the statement at a press briefing when asked to comment on the status of Greek trade relations with France following a Paris-backed plan to bring Ankara closer to the EU in a bid to offset the influence of Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey.
At the summit in Cannes earlier this week, French President Jacques Chirac launched a double offensive at Greece when he said the EU should invite Turkey to the next EU summit - a move supported by the next EU presidency, Spain - and that Greece should lift its trade sanctions on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the interests of stability in the region. Both proposals were rejected outright by Greece.
Mr. Venizelos added yesterday that the Spanish government seemed to be taking a more moderate stand following its clarification that it had no intention of inviting Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller for a meeting with European leaders.
Mr. Chirac also came in for fire for saying that the summit had agreed to pressure the European Parliament, the EU's only directly-elected body, to ratify the pending customs union with Turkey: Implementation of the landmark deal hangs on its ratification by the parliament which has asked to see progress in Turkey's human rights and democracy record, especially concerning the Kurds.
Asked yesterday whether the Greek government would take action to prevent ratification of the customs union by the European Parliament, Mr. Venizelos reiterated that the Eurodeputies represented their constituencies and not their national governments an d vote accordingly.
The issue of solidarity also was a focal point of European Affairs Minister George Mangakis' briefing of the press yesterday. The Cannes summit, he told reporters, proved there was a "deficit in European solidarity" and that Greece should be self-reliant.
"Greece has to chart its own, self-reliant foreign policy. We must stand on our two feet without any assistance. There is no great ally, protector or great friend," Mr. Mangakis said. "At Cannes, we noted a serious deficit in European solidarity. Europe's current reality shows some significant flaws which we (Greece) must take into consideration for our future actions," he said.
Main opposition New Democracy party deputy leader Ioannis Varvitsiotis said yesterday Mr. Papandreou's handling of developments in the Cannes summit was "a tragic failure".
Mr. Varvitsiotis said Greece's national issues had not been raised at the Greek delegation's initiative adding that the final communiqui did not make reference to issues of interest to Greece's foreign affairs, such as Turkey's provocativeness against Greece and the need for respect of the integrity and independence of Cyprus.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, the De Morgen newspaper ran a story on the French attitude towards Greece during the Cannes summit, entitled "Cannes, the summit of Shame." "... Never until today, since Greece became a member of the European Union, has it been treated so badly," the De Morgen, a Flemish-language newspaper, wrote. "France, backed by Germany and Spain, proposed the tightening of relations between the EU and Turkey, and requested that Greece lifted the 'economic embargo' against the 'Macedonian Republic'.
"Athens felt that President Chirac had held a unilateral, pro-Turkish stand and deliberately did not use the official term FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia). The fact that Mr. Chirac referred to (FYROM) President (Kiro) Gligorov as his "friend has also been received as a personal affront by Mr. Papandreou."
The story also refers in detail to the official Greek reaction, mainly the fact that the French president's attitude contradicts the European Spirit and that it is evocative of the appeasement of Nazism as a counterpoise to bolshevism during the 30s.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Nurredin Nurkan yesterday called statements by Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantine Bikas "a disgrace to Greece."
Mr. Bikas said Thursday that Greece considered a dangerous oversimplification the "rationale of unconditional (EU) support" to Turkey to avoid the prevalence of Islamic fundamentalism in that country. "A similar error of oversimplification occurred in the decade of the 1930s when Nazism was tolerated so that bolshevism would not prevail, an action that humanity paid dearly for," he said.
Mr. Nurkan said "the statement of the Greek spokesman is a heavy accusation," and that it did not deserve an answer. "The fact that such a statement had been made is a disgrace to Greece," he said.
Culture Minister Thanos Mikroutsikos held a meeting yesterday with his Israeli counterpart Miha Goldman on bilateral cultural co-operation.
During the meeting Mr. Mikroutsikos told his counterpart that the Culture Ministry will finance the construction of a Jewish Museum in Athens. He also disclosed that he was negotiating with the Polish government the construction of an Auschwitz Victims Monument in memory of the Greek Jews killed during the Holocaust.
Mr. Goldman said that Israel would nominate Greece to host the 2008 Olympics, through its delegation to the International Olympic Committee.
Miguel Angel Martinez, president of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, arrives in Athens tomorrow on a two-day visit for talks with the Greek leadership.
While in Athens, Mr. Martinez will be received by President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos and hold talks with Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis and main opposition New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert. He will also attend a dinner in his honour hosted by the head of the Greek delegation to the CoE Parliamentary Assembly, Vasso Papandreou.
The Egyptian defence minister is expected to make a two-day official visit to Greece this month. His visit July 16-17 follows that of Greek Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis to Egypt last year.
The Greek Army General Staff (GES) chief, Lieutenant General Constantine Voulgaris, will visit the Netherlands on Monday for talks with his counterpart on issues related to training, armaments and NATO, it was announced yesterday. He is expected to end his official visit on July 7.
Private deposits fell by 392 billion drachmas over the January-May period this year compared to a fall of 104 billion drachmas over the corresponding period last year, according to figures released by the Bank of Greece.
Sight deposits again registered the biggest decrease, while repos also dropped by 231 billion drachmas. The taxing of repos last May led to a dramatic decrease in repos investments, down to 87 billion drachmas at the end of May 1995 from 1,841 billion drachmas at the end of May 1994.
Net private capital inflows in state titles with a duration of up to one year amounted to 342 billion drachmas over the five-month period this year compared to 123 billion drachmas over the corresponding period last year and 275 billion drachmas in the January-April period this year.
The low increase in monetary expansion (M3) continued in May, while the supply of money (currency in circulation together with deposits and repos) decreased 823 billion drachmas over the five-month period this year.
The role of small and medium size enterprises must be strengthened, as they have proved to be innovative, Trade and Industry Minister Costas Simitis told the ministerial meeting of the member countries in the EUREKA programme, being held in Interlaken. EUREKA concerns industrial co-operation for the development of new products.
He said his ministry had decided to place EUREKA in the Business Research and Technology Programme-2, in recognition of its role as an important mechanism in the transfer of technology to Greek firms, whose participation in recent years had been below their capabilities due to inadequate funding. There would soon be an invitation to firms to participate and financial support given to those selected.
He welcomed the membership of Poland and the Czech Republic in the programme, and called for the participation of Balkan countries and Cyprus. EUREKA was founded 10 years ago at the initiative of then French President Francois Mitterrand.
On the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Simitis will meet with the current president of the programme, Swiss Deputy Premier and Economy Minister Jean-Pascal Delamourage. Switzerland is succeeded by Belgium in the presidency at this conference.
Olympic Airways' fares on domestic flights will increase 7 per cent as of today. One way tickets from Athens to the following destinations will be as follows: Iraklion 17,400 drachmas. Thessaloniki 17,600 drachmas. Rhodes 20,000 drachmas. Corfu 16,100 drachmas.
Greece beat Spain 66-64 in the quarter-finals of the European basketball championship in Athens last night and advanced to tonight's semi-finals. The Greeks now face Yugoslavia who beat France 104-86 in the last game of the night. Earlier in the day, Lithuania beat Russia 82-71 and will play in tonight's other semi-final against Croatia, who defeated Italy 71-61. Greece's victory means that it qualifies for next year's Olympic Games in Atlanta, along with the other three semi-finalists.