Greece voiced support yesterday for Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman and president of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat's Middle East peace efforts, expressing a hope that agreements stemming from talks between Israelis and Palestinians are achieved.
"Greece supports the efforts of Chairman Arafat for a favourable outcome of peace efforts on the Middle East problem," Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias told reporters after a 70-minute meeting with the Palestinian leader.
Mr. Papoulias said the PASOK government "has from the first moment stood at the side of the just struggle of the Palestinian people and for peace in the region, which is also in Greece's strategic interests."
He reiterated Greece's support for recognition of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and creation of a Palestinian state. "We have been vindicated in the political decisions we took then in favour of the Palestinians, at a time when things were difficult, and the Greek government was being accused of harbouring terrorism," Mr. Papoulias said.
"We are proud of the policy we followed at the time in maintaining that Yasser Arafat was the sole credible negotiator for the peace process in the Middle East," he added. Mr. Papoulias said the Greek government "stands by Chairman Arafat inside, as well as outside the European Union" and also the "unselfish efforts of other countries" for progress in the Middle East peace process.
The Greek foreign minister expressed the hope that "everything agreed between Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres will be achieved, culminating in elections in the self-rule Palestinian territories by the end of the year."
Addressing reporters, Mr. Arafat mentioned the historical friendship between the two peoples, expressing his gratitude for the Greek people's support and assistance to Palestinians in all sectors. "Greece's role and its assistance to the Palestinians in Europe as well as in the Middle East are important," Mr. Arafat said.
The two men announced that Palestinian self-rule territories have been invited to participate in a Mediterranean Conference held this year by the EU. "It's an important meeting both at a political and economic level," Mr. Arafat said.
The PLO leader also met with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou at his suburban home, before leaving yesterday afternoon for Cairo and then on to Gaza.
Also present at the joint Papoulias-Arafat press conference was Oussama al-Baz, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's political advisor. Mr. Papoulias and Mr. al-Baz later held a private meeting. Mr. Al-Baz arrived in Athens Thursday, shortly before Mr. Arafat, and had private talks with the Palestinian leader.
Mr. Arafat arrived in Athens Thursday on a 24-hour visit and met in the evening with President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos. During his stay, Mr. Arafat also met with Political Spring president Antonis Samaras, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary General Aleka Papariga and Coalition of the Left and Progress party leader Nikos Constantopoulos.
Main opposition New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert cancelled a scheduled meeting with Mr. Arafat due to other obligations.
Mr. Samaras said after his meeting with the Palestinian leader that Mr. Arafat's "tireless efforts will lead to a lasting peace, which the Middle East so needs." "Despite the many problems, there are people who insist on peace, which demands from both sides to display courage and unanimity," Mr. Samaras added.
Ms. Papariga called on the Greek government to "condemn the violation of the accord on the limited autonomy of the Palestinian people." She stressed the need for informing the public on difficulties faced by the Palestinian people.
Mr. Constantopoulos said after his meeting with Mr. Arafat that traditional ties of friendship existed between the Greek and Palestinian peoples, adding that peace in the Middle East "directly concerns Greece as well." He said Greece should take an initiative to support the Palestinians' efforts financially and politically, adding that the Coalition would organise a forum of leftist forces on this issue.
The President of the Council of Europe Miguel Angel Martinez yesterday said a meeting due to begin tomorrow evening on Rhodes between Israelis and Palestinians was "very important" to consolidating peace in the Middle East. The meeting, held under CoE auspices, aims to assist the Palestinians in building of their newly formed state and in holding democratic elections, he said.
Mr. Martinez also spoke of the "important" role played by Greece for the settlement of Middle East problems.
The CoE President also referred to issues related to the Kurdish issue, Cypriot problem and human rights in Turkey. Concerning the Kurdish problem, Mr. Martinez said he condemned terrorism in any form, but recognised the Kurdish people's right to live freely in their homeland.
Speaking on Turkey's human rights record, Mr. Martinez said the CoE is making every effort for their incorporation, but added: "steps taken by Ankara are slow." Mr. Martinez is heading a CoE Parliamentary Assembly delegation.
The meeting begins tomorrow, while substantial discussions will commence Monday and will be attended by alternate Foreign Minister George Alexander Mangakis, Parliament Vice-President Nikitas Venizelos and New Democracy deputy Aristotelis Pavlides.
National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou and Finance Minister Alekos Papadopoulos met yesterday with Bank of Greece Governor Lucas Papedemos to discuss the current situation and prospects for the Greek economy.
Although no statements were made after the two-hour meeting, informed sources said the focus of discussions was an increased liquidity in the Greek economy, apparent in recent weeks by a high volume of consumer loans extended by banks.
According to the same sources, apprehension was expressed that the high level of liquidity could have an adverse effect on the consumer price index during the next few months. There has also been an increased inflow of foreign exchange into the country, mainly for the purchase of state securities, reports state.
A National Economy Ministry source even attributed the increased liquidity "to the explosion of confidence in the Greek economy." However, sources pointed out that the government is unable to intervene with regard to consumer loans, since the central bank is powerless to impose administrative measures. The only measure it can take is to "encourage" banks not to extend so many consumer loans.
Meanwhile, increased interest in the purchase of state securities may lead to a new decrease in interest rates, something not anticipated just a few weeks ago.
Greek National Tourism Organisation (EOT) Secretary-General Evangelos Giannakoulias resigned yesterday. Tourism Minister Nikos Sifounakis accepted Mr. Giannakoulias' resignation and thanked him for his contribution and services to EOT. The new EOT Secretary-General will be journalist Akis Kosonas, who until yesterday was the general manager of Greek Radio (ERA).
Senior Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) members voiced strong criticism yesterday at their own party and the government during the second day of PASOK's national conference.
Industry and Commerce Minister Costas Simitis said "there are problems because PASOK is a party dominated by a leader, and the leader cannot continue playing the role which he is playing indefinitely."
On the issue of party unity, Mr. Simitis said the term was often used "by those who distrust differing opinions." "Unity is not synonymous with uniformity, it does not result from stagnation, it presupposes different outlooks and dialogue," Mr. Simitis said.
Former minister Theodoros Pangalos called for an early commencement of the party conference slated for March 1996 "to give answers to relentless questions of the people." Mr. Pangalos criticised the government for what he said was a "lack of consistency, cohesion, imagination, co-ordination and the lack of a uniform image."
Although declaring himself to be a "fanatic supporter" of the government's economic policy, he added the policy was dictated by necessity and had nothing to do with socialism, "since it provides neither jobs nor bread."
Former European Commissioner Vasso Papandreou spoke at length about the need to reassess the government's foreign policy, saying "the United States takes us for granted and our partners in the EU look upon us as strangers."
Along with Eurodeputy Paraskevas Avgerinos; Mr. Simitis, Mr. Pangalos and Ms. Papandreou (no relation to Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou) comprise what the press terms the "Group of 4" dissidents within PASOK.
On the government's performance in other sectors, Ms. Papandreou said although much had been achieved, there was still a great deal to be done, stressing that "a large segment of the people are suffering." She praised Andreas Papandreou for uniting the democratic front but agreed with Mr. Simitis that PASOK remained a leader-dominated party.
"No one can disregard the contribution of Mr. Papandreou, who was, is and will continue to be the leader of PASOK," she said, adding, however: "the time has come for us to speak in terms of a coming of age, which is why the responsibilities are enormous."
Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis said PASOK's problem was political rather than organisational, pointing out that speakers mentioned the word socialism very few times. The party, he said, fought neo-conservatism together with other progressive politic al formations, and warned that other progressive movements which lost the initiative in Europe in the past suffered because they showed a disposition to compromise, rather than maintain faith in their roots.
EU Commissioner Christos Papoutsis agreed that PASOK's problem was clearly political, adding that what must change were political practices, political attitudes of members and relations between them.
Commenting indirectly on Mr. Simitis' speech, he called on ministers to stop regarding their offices as fiefdoms given by the prime minister. He also called on prominent party members to stop touring the country and making statements in opposition to the government, saying new political leaders are made through social struggles and not by the media. "We do not accept leaders who are made in newspaper and media offices," he said.
The chairman of PASOK's parliamentary party Dimitris Beis said issues of party unity and success of the government's work ought to hold centre stage, indirectly referring to ministers who should not confine themselves to issuing favours in order to keep their positions. He also said ministers should not consume a substantial part of their energy in only activities for their electoral districts.
Former prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis will hold a dinner tomorrow at his home in honour of UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, scheduled to arrive in Athens for the 1995 Onassis Awards. Other guests include the president of the Delphi Culture Centre and dean of the European University in Paris, Helene Glicatzi-Ahrweiler, representatives of Greece's diplomatic corps, former minister and ambassador Giorgos Papoulias, former foreign affairs minister Michalis Papaconstantinou and the Greek permanent representative to the UN, Christos Zacharakis. Mr. Boutros-Ghali and Ms. Glicatzi-Ahrweiler are both recipients of the 1995 Onassis awards.
Police arrested the alleged ringleader of a gang of Bulgarian car thieves with a penchant for "Audi" models. Acting on information from Interpol, police and customs officers in the northern Greek city Serres, arrested 28-year-old Valentin Stouanov (phonetic spelling) as he attempted to cross the Promachonas checkpoint on the Greek-Bulgarian border in a stolen Audi.
The alleged car thief ring were apparently active in Italy, reports state. Stouanov reportedly told police his gang stole the vehicles - always Audis - mainly in Milan and using false documents entered Greece via Igoumenitsa. From there they drove the stolen vehicles to Bulgaria.
Two Italian nationals were arrested yesterday by the port authorities in Crete after a large quantity of hashish was discovered on the Italian flag yacht "Embretza-3," anchored in the sea region of Agia Galini, Rethymno.
Port authorities suspicious of the yacht first discovered 300 grams of the drug during an initial search. A more extensive search later netted another 50 kilos of hashish. According to reports, 36-year-old Giussepe Croce and 49-year-old Caitano Telamonica were arrested in connection with the incident.
UN Chief Boutros Boutros-Ghali and mediator Cyrus Vance met with Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski late Thursday night in Geneva, according to press reports.
The meeting focused on ways to resume dialogue between Greece and the Skopje government. Meanwhile, FYROM President Kiro Gligorov in an interview with the "Pools" newspaper yesterday expressed reserved optimism regarding a "successful conduct of dialogue."
"It is important that goodwill steps are taken by both sides," Mr. Gligorov was quoted as saying, stressing the need for "an expressed will for mutual compromise as a framework for the conduct of negotiations on an equal basis."
He said FYROM has already taken such steps, namely changes in its constitution and a declaration, endorsed by the country's Parliament, denouncing territorial designs against neighbouring countries. Mr. Gligorov said the least he would expect from Greece is a lifting of the trade blockade. "Greece's good will should be expressed in lifting the embargo," he said.
Greece imposed trade sanctions as measures against the one-time Yugoslav republic in an effort to force the Gligorov government to stop using the name of Greece's northern province of Macedonia; remove ancient Hellenic symbols from the FYROM flag and am end the preamble of its constitution, which contains territorial designs against Greece.
Mr. Gligorov further added that both countries should "reach agreement on a number of practical issues aimed at normalising relations between them, and to their mutual benefit." He refused, however, to negotiate "issues related to the identity of the state and nation of FYROM."
Mr. Gligorov, further expressed hope that the Vance efforts will bear fruit "in developments concerning positions of Greece and the international community. "Normalisation of relations between the two countries is a priority for establishment of peace and security in the Balkans," he was quoted as saying.
The Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) yesterday criticised measures recently announced by the government to combat unemployment as "timid, with many obscurities and generalisations." GSEE's executive committee warned that the nature of the unemployment-fighting package was such that there was a risk actual implementation would be postponed indefinitely.
The government announced the measures Wednesday, saying its policy would be to concentrate on "structural" unemployment. However, GSEE said it was "not writing off the government's measures completely."
Greece's largest labour umbrella group said the measures lacked substance, as compared with those proposed by the Economic and Social Committee (OKE) and "despite (National Economy Minister Yannos) Papantoniou's commitment that the government would legislate on the basis of agreements reached by social partners within OKE."
GSEE said there was a total lack of new resources for implementing measures to combat structural unemployment, saying Greece allocated 1.17 per cent of GDP for all measures aimed at reducing unemployment, the lowest figure among the 15 European Union member-states.
GSEE President Christos Protopappas said the confederation agreed with government measures related to introduction of a "Work Card" for Greeks and foreigners in order to accurately measure the labour market.
GSEE also agreed with plans to modernise the Manpower Employment Organisation (OAED), increase unemployment benefits for young people and a closer linking of employment and training. However, Mr. Protopappas criticised what he called a "vagueness" in the government's string of measures with regard to the introduction of a "labour coupon", saying if the measure was not clarified there was danger that workers would be exploited.
He also asked where the funds would come from for early retirement of elderly unemployed, another of the measures announced by the government. GSEE's leadership will meet with Labour Minister Ioannis Skoularikis on Monday to present its views.