A.N.A. Bulletin, 15/07/96

From: "Greek Press & Information Office, Ottawa Canada" <grnewsca@sympatico.ca>

Athens News Agency Directory

ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 937), July 15, 1996

Greek Press & Information Office

Ottawa, Canada

E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca

CONTENTS

[1] Romeos promises legislation on expatriate organization

Two bills concerning the mobilization and organization of an expatriate Greek body will be tabled in Parliament next month, according to a statement by Alternate Foreign Minister George Romeos at the World Hellenism Council (SAE) meeting in Thessaloniki on Saturday.

He addressed the second SAE conference, which concluded yesterday.

The first bill regards a World Hellenism Conference, which will meet every four years in Thessaloniki, with 400 participants - 100 of whom will be from the SAE, 200 from various sectors of expatriate Greek communities and 100 drawn from a Parliamentary inter-party committee by ballot. Mr. Romeos noted that the first conference, to be held early next year, will focus on Orthodoxy, history and education.

The second bill concerns establishment of a private law foundation to provide administrative, financial and technical support for the SAE, aimed at its gradual financial autonomy through private funding. The minister noted that a mixed funding system would be in force during 1997, as an interim phase. He added that the current SAE presidency's term would be extended for two more years in order to complete the gathering of data on expatriate Greeks' problems and to solve issues involved in the election of representatives to the council.

Mr. Romeos referred to the SAE's success in working with the government in promoting national rights.

"Coordination efforts are being made to promote Greece's national interests. For the first time, the forces of Hellenism, once dispersed, are united," he said, adding that the government was also studying the restructuring of the general secretariat for overseas Greeks.

Concluding, Mr. Romeos announced there would be an international gathering in Thessaloniki in September of all expatriate Greek members of their countries' respective parliaments.

[2] SAE president's appeal

The presidium of the Council of Overseas Greeks (SAE) ended with an appeal by council president Andrew Athens for the re-establishment of the ministry for overseas Greeks.

"This has been one of the council's long-standing goals, yet the Greek government has not yet given a clear response to the demand of the 17 million Greeks of the Diaspora," Mr. Athens said.

He also summed up the council's work in the eight months since its foundation, including its appeals to US President Bill Clinton regarding support for Greece's national interests. The council president expressed the hope that the US president would keep promises made in a recent letter to the SAE, regarding Washington's stance in Greek-Turkish relations, Imia, Gavdos and US military aid to Turkey, and that these would not prove to be empty campaign promises.

Meanwhile, Mr. Athens also stressed the importance of the SAE's efforts in promoting Greek language and culture among expatriate Greeks, which he said would be greatly assisted by broadcasts from Greece's state television network, due to begin in the United States in about four months' time.

At a press conference after the conclusion of yesterday's session, the members of the SAE presidency expressed their agreement with the general thrust of the bills to be tabled in Parliament next month, while Vice-President Costas Papas noted that the presidium could make proposals on certain specific issues.

Secretary Dimitris Konstantinidis emphasized the SAE's commitment to the establishment of a ministry for expatriate Greeks, since this was a decision taken by the SAE's plenum, and would remain as such until the next plenary session.

Returning to the issue of Greece's national interests, Mr. Athens reiterated his earlier statement regarding the importance of maintaining pressure on Mr. Clinton. He announced a decision by the presidium to implement a proposal regarding the coordination of Greeks around the world to create a "world lobby" centered in Washington, with branches in London, Brussels, Canada and Australia.

Eddie Manatos, who presented the plan, left on Saturday for Washington for meetings with members of the US Congress.

[3] Flurry of illegal immigrant arrests reported; 2 illegals drown

Dozens of illegal immigrants were detained around the country over the weekend in several incidents, with the most serious being the drowning death of two illegals thrown into the water off Mykonos on Friday by illegal immigrant smugglers, after their inflatable broke down.

The smugglers had forced 22 Pakistani illegal immigrants overboard at knife-point during the incident, injuring three in the process. They subsequently retrieved and tossed the bodies of the two drowning victims into a disused quarry shaft in order to hide them.

Rescue teams later recovered the bodies Sunday morning.

Pakistani nationals Myhmmat Afzal, 19, and Safdar Iqbal, 28, were listed as the victims.

According to authorities, the entire group of illegal immigrants had been ferried to the island from the Turkish coast by Greek nationals Panagiotis Kantartzis and Nikolaos Marangos as well as Albanian national Giovanni Komini. The remaining 20 Pakistan is were arrested shortly after swimming to the island, the merchant marine ministry announced.

The inflatable's three crew-members have been arrested and are to appear in court tomorrow, while the 20 illegal immigrants will be deported.

Police sources said the suspects planned to transport the Pakistanis to Attica, while the illegals said they had each paid $2,000 for the transport to Attica.

In an unrelated incident, a total of 34 Iraqi illegal immigrants were arrested yesterday in remote areas on the Dodecanese island of Kos. Twelve Iraqi Kurds, including two children, were detained after being left on the island by a speedboat, which was sighted approaching a rocky stretch of coast by an army look-out post. Despite warning shots being fired, the boat's crew managed to land the illegal immigrants on the shore, fleeing before authorities arrived on the scene.

Another 22 illegal immigrants, including three children, were arrested in the Kardamena area of Kos, after arriving by a Turkish speedboat early yesterday morning, authorities said.

Meanwhile in Athens, 61 illegal immigrants, mostly of Iraqi and Pakistani origin, were discovered hiding in trucks parked in a petrol station in the Patissia district. Authorities were alerted by local residents who heard voices coming from the trucks, while police are trying to locate the owners and drivers of the trucks.

In a separate incident, Corfu coast-guard officials arrested two Albanian nationals early Saturday morning who admitted to having smuggled eight illegal immigrants from Albania to the Mon Repos area of the Ionian island.

A coast-guard vessel had earlier spotted two speedboats coming from Albania toward Corfu, one of which was headed for the Kanoni area and the other for Mon Repos. The coast-guard fired warning shots and subsequently trained their fire on the speed boats, one of which was immobilized.

According to reports, authorities arrested Hodi Emirion and Altin Memeti, who admitted to having disembarked the illegals.

The second speedboat escaped.

[4] Arsenis to observe multi-national military exercise in Albania

National Defense Minister Gerassimos Arsenis flies to Tirana today to follow the beginning of a multi-national military exercise under NATO's "Partnership for Peace Programme", code-named "Peace Eagle 96".

About 2,000 troops from nine countries - Albania, the United States, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Romania, Turkey and Slovenia - will participate in the exercise, which will be held in Bize, about 50 kilometers north of the Albanian capital, from July 15 to 20.

Mr. Arsenis will also have a meeting with his Albanian counterpart Alfred Zhulali, before returning to Athens this afternoon.

[5] AWACS plane veers off runway during aborted take-off

An "AWACS"-type military surveillance plane sustained a malfunction during a take-off yesterday at the Aktion air base in western Greece, resulting in its veering off the runway.

A Canadian officer among the aircraft's 16-member crew was slightly injured, according to reports. No Greek personnel were on the US-made plane at the time of the incident, which was recorded at 6:15 p.m.

The injured man was transported to a nearby Hellenic Air Force hospital as a precaution, while an investigation is pending.

[6] USAF general pays Kouris a visit

National Defense Under-secretary Nikos Kouris received a courtesy call Saturday from US Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston, the Vice-President of the Pentagon's council of chief of staffs.

[7] Synaspismos harshly circuses ruling PASOK

The Coalition of the Left and Progress party (Synaspismos) yesterday attacked the ruling PASOK government, saying that during the six months of Costas Simitis' premiership PASOK's "term was sealed in their basic axes, by the idea of persisting in a failed and damaging policy".

In a resolution issued after Saturday's meeting of the party's central political committee, Synaspismos accused the government of persisting in policies that have been proven "anti-developmental and socially indifferent."

Expressing suspicions over government members' propositions for a dialogue between forces of the center-left, the resolution said that references by PASOK to "center-left forces" were unclear declarations underlining that this was "a new version of part y polarization". The resolution said that PASOK persists in the "hegemony of its autonomy and the two-party functioning of the political system".

The resolution said Synaspismos, as a force of the modern democratic left, "with its distinct identity and prospects" was fighting "for the essential defeat and change of PASOK's governmental policy."

It added that it is "not concerned or disorientated by scenarios which doubt its autonomous party status and prospects."

During his address to the meeting Saturday, party president Nikos Constantopoulos called on the party to formulate its own policies, to implement the party's congress decisions and to increase its influence on society.

Mr. Constantopoulos said that the political and party system in Greece was in the midst of a deep crisis.

"A crisis chiefly expressed as a lack of confidence by citizens in politics and the political parties, as a lack of credibility and representativeness of politics and as the questioning of the effectiveness of politics," Mr. Constantopoulos said.

The crisis, he added, was "neither coincidental nor had it arisen suddenly.

"It is the result of the policies implemented for the past 20 years by the governments of (the ruling) PASOK and (main opposition) New Democracy parties," he said.

Mr. Constantopoulos said there were ways out of the "impasse" and called for the need for a new national strategy so that Greece might exit from "the vicious circle of constant threats, escalating defense spending, dependence and the weakening of the country's international position".

He also called for a new economic policy focusing on development and social cohesion "which will tackle all problems from the viewpoint of an alternative economic and social strategy..."

Lastly, Mr. Constantopoulos stressed the need for "the democratic reform of the state and a change in the political system of governing" accompanied by regional decentralization, democratic and social controls and transparent institutions.

[8] Evert winds up tour of Cyclades

Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert concluded a three-day tour of the Cyclades yesterday on the island of Naxos.

Addressing reporters, Mr. Evert spoke on what he called a "crime being committed against the country's growth," contending that while funds existed for public works, as well as opportunities for developing the islands as much as other parts of Greece, Athens' inaction prevented any growth.

"I believe that in the future the government, the politicians, should be close to the people... in order to solve their problems on the spot... and not, as happens now in Syntagma Square, to be only concerned with partisan issues," he said.

Earlier, the opposition leader visited the village of Apeiranthos, where he was welcomed by community president Manolis Glezos, a well-known former deputy and World War II resistance hero. He subsequently toured a Greek history and handcrafts exhibition .

[9] Forest fire reported near Elefsina

A large forest fire was still raging yesterday evening at Karaouli site in western Attica, along the old national highway between Elefsina and Thebes.

A state of emergency has been declared in the area, where several individual fires stretch over a two-kilometer front, threatening the settlement of Titana. Unconfirmed reports say that two farmhouses have burnt down as strong winds continued to hamper the efforts of fire-fighting planes.

Local residents report that the fire started in the forest during a change in forest rangers' shifts, as did Saturday's fire on Mount Penteli, reinforcing arson suspicious.

Other forest fires at Isioma, Achaia, Argyrochori in Ioannina and Loutses on the island of Corfu have been brought under control.

Meanwhile, the Political Spring party said yesterday that land developers are taking advantage of the government's inability over the past few years to deal with forest arsonists. The party proposed the immediate registration of all burnt-out areas, to be included in a national land register currently being processed.

[10] Another 4.5 kilometers of Egnatia project tendered

Work on the ambitious Egnatia Highway, spanning the breadth of northern Greece, is continuing, with another 4.5 kilometers being tendered in the Palio area of Kavala prefecture, government officials said.

The new highway stretch has a total budget of 6.3 billion drachmas and is being funded from Community and national sources. Installation of a contractor undertaking the project is expected within the next few days.

[11] Government says foot-and-mouth disease emanating from Turkey

Another outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was reported in the Evros border region yesterday. The outbreak was located in the prefecture's marshy delta region, where roughly 8,000 cattle, sheep and goats are bred.

During a visit to the area, Agriculture Under-secretary Apostolos Fotiadis spoke of a "tragedy" threatening to wipe out stock-breeding in the Evros Delta region.

On Friday, the EU's Permanent Veterinary Committee proposed an eight-day temporary ban on the export from Greece of live animals, fresh meat and their by-products. For the measure to be finalized, the European Commission must approve the Committee's decision, something expected this week.

Mr. Fotiadis added that 30 cattle had been revealed to have the disease, adding that this was a new outbreak unconnected with other cases that occurred two weeks ago in the Makri and Dikella communities in the same prefecture.

The agriculture under-secretary said it's certain that this new outbreak originated from Turkey, where he said the disease is rife.

Evros Prefect Giorgos Donlios said 30 cattle were destroyed yesterday immediately after the outbreak, while the whole delta region has been quarantined. At four army checkpoints located at the entrance of the delta, pits with disinfectant were set up in order to disinfect all vehicles and footwear of everyone entering and leaving the area.

Mr. Donlios said during the visit on Tuesday of the two veterinary committee inspectors, the agriculture ministry and the European Union will discuss the prospect of all livestock in the delta region being destroyed. Livestock in the area amounts to 4,5 00 cattle, 3,400 sheep and goats and 100 pigs.

The agriculture under-secretary and the Evros prefect have characterized the measures taken to combat the outbreak as being severe, while veterinary checks are continuing throughout the prefecture.

[12] Opposition parties criticize EU decision

Opposition parties on Saturday added their voices to government criticism of the ban by the EU on the export of live animals from Greece after two cases of foot-and-mouth disease were reported earlier this month in the northeastern prefecture of Evros.

On Friday, Mr. Fotiadis described the idea of a temporary ban as "harsh and unjustified".

"I am certain that the two Community experts who will visit Greece on Monday and Tuesday will ascertain that we have already taken stricter measures than those foreseen by Community regulations to protect the animal population," he said.

On Saturday, Political Spring spokesman Notis Martakis described the ban as "selective, unequal and unjust" before accusing the government of "negligence" for not taking effective measures.

Mr. Martakis drew a parallel with "mad cow" disease in Britain, stressing that although the disease probably affected humans, the EU had not placed a ban on all products.

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) called the ban "blatantly unjust," saying "other interests" were behind the ban.

"This decision is yet another heavy blow against our stockbreeders and Greek stock-breeding, which are now facing a problem of survival," the KKE said.

A KKE statement called on the government not to accept the ban and to take all measures to support Greek stockbreeders with financial and scientific means.

The Coalition of the Left and Progress considered the ban to be "excessively harsh", charging that its main objective was to hit exports of Greek cheeses and in particular "feta", which it said "faced competition from white cheeses produced in northern countries and presented as feta".

[13] ATHENS NEWS AGENCY ON THE INTERNET

You can now find the Athens News Agency's news service on the Internet with a brief review of the main news items, in Greek or English, twice a day (at 12:30pm and updated at 4:30pm).

Log in to our Internet address: http://www.forthnet.gr/ape and keep abreast with the latest news from Greece.

End of English language section.