A.N.A. Bulletin, 24/07/96

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

Athens News Agency Directory

ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 945), July 24, 1996

Greek Press & Information Office

Ottawa, Canada

E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca

CONTENTS

[1] Ban on meat exports remains until month's end

A temporary ban on meat and livestock exports from Greece imposed by the European Union following several outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease earlier this month has been automatically extended to at least August 1 .

The outbreaks were recorded in the Evros Delta region bordering on Turkey.

Specifically, discussion on the situation in Greece's border region by the EU's Standing Veterinary Committee was postponed yesterday before any decision could be reached. Thus, the previous eight-day ban continues to apply until the committee next convenes, possibly on August 1.

Two EU veterinarians who visited the Evros broader region last week to assess the situation reportedly recommended an extension of the ban.

Commenting yesterday on the ban's extension, Agriculture Minister Stephanos Tzoumakas said relevant deadlines should be observed, as a new decision could be adopted only 21 days after the first incidents of foot-and-mouth disease were recorded.

He also expressed a view that in its next session, the Standing Veterinary Committee would adopt measures of a regional nature, "shielding" Evros prefecture against transmission of the disease from Turkey.

He added that he had a personal discussion with EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler, who said the Commission should undertake a specific initiative to protect Greece's borders from the disease, which is currently afflicting most of the rest of the Balkans. Mr. Tzoumakas said the Commission had already co-operated with Albania and FYROM on the issue, but encountered a series of problems with Turkey.

He also announced to the Agriculture Ministers' Council the establishment of an Inter-Balkan Foot-and-Mouth Disease Center in Thessaloniki, asking for EU support. In addition, he said an agriculture ministry delegation would visit Tirana, Skopje and Sofia for that purpose.

Meanwhile, Political Spring party spokesman Notis Martakis accused the government of adopting inadequate preventive measures to combat the disease.

He expressed hope that compensation to stockbreeders will be adequate, "otherwise the government's effectiveness and Community solidarity should also be put into quarantine."

[2] Greece marks anniversary of democracy's restoration in '74

President Kostis Stephanopoulos yesterday marked today's anniversary of Greece's return to democratic rule following a seven-year military junta, saying that "now more than ever before, national unity is needed."

In a message released yesterday, a day ahead of the celebrations, Mr. Stephanopoulos said "democracy has worked undisturbed in the 22 years which have passed and this fact is a solid guarantee for the future".

As part of celebrations marking the anniversary, Mr. Stephanopoulos will host a reception today at the presidential mansion where surviving members of the first post-dictatorship Parliament have been invited for the first time.

The 1967-1974 military dictatorship fell in July 1974 following an abortive coup on the island of Cyprus and the subsequent Turkish invasion. Turkey continues to occupy approximately a third of Cyprus' territory.

"Since the fall of the dictatorship, a new period of the nation's political life has begun with the defining characteristics being political stability, the change of governments in power and the normal functioning of our parliamentary institutions," the president's message read.

"The Greek people since then (the fall of the junta) enjoy all the freedoms accorded by the democratic state to the fullest, and it is pleasing to ascertain that the proper evaluation of the facts leads the nation to rally. The carving out of a unified national policy to deal with our national issues and the better functioning of important sectors such as our social life will contribute to the creative course of the nation.

"Democracy is the politics of moderation. It demands respect of all towards institutions and conscientious adherence to the laws. It demands acknowledgment of our mistakes and omissions and the sincere attempt to avoid them in the future. In this way, we can appropriately deal with the problems of the economy, the weaknesses in public administration, gaps in the functioning of the education system and the strengthening of our national defense. These are duties which weigh on us all equally, and which we are obliged together to discharge, in the effort to march safely towards progress and prosperity," the message ended.

In his message marking the 22nd anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Greece, Prime Minister Costas Simitis said the country was faced with a new beginning, adding that Greece was being asphyxiated by entrenched mentalities and structures favor ring an old order.

"The 22nd anniversary of the fall of the dictatorship does not constitute a usual anniversary. It does not only symbolize the end of the seven-year dictatorship which, being the final and extreme twitch of an irregular post-civil war regime, accumulated a series of national, social, cultural and moral woes," he said.

"It also symbolizes a beginning. The post-dictatorship era which started on the same night and led to the restoration, consolidation and widening of democratic institutions. The post-dictatorship era which was completed several years later with the entry onto the political and social stage of the forces which had been excluded from it for almost the entire post-war period," he added.

Mr. Simitis went on to say "the years passed and the forces of that period gave what they had to give. Today, we are faced in an entirely different way with a new era. And we will do whatever is possible to have it sealed with a propulsive resetting of the political scene and with the entry onto the stage of Greece of creation which is being asphyxiated by established mentalities and structures favoring the old, what is departing."

In his message, main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert said "the restoration of democracy on July 24, 1974, with Constantine Karamanlis as front-runner, constitutes a paramount event in modern Greek history."

Mr. Evert referred in his message to the European integration of Greece, stressing the need for a "new restoration", the duty of protecting democracy and bolstering the country's territorial integrity and transparency in public life.

He also warned of the consequences of economic recession which were unemployment and new poverty "which threaten social cohesion."

Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras said "what is necessary in the new era, which is starting, is not simply the consolidation of democracy but its qualitative upgrading."

Mr. Samaras criticized "traditional political forces" and said they "continued the management of the political 'yesterday' and perpetuated the political, economic and social crisis with their political behavior."

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) said in its message that "despite considerable struggles developing throughout this entire period and achievements made in the first years, our people are suffering from the policy being applied over the past 22 years by the two governing parties, ND and PASOK."

"These parties have been identified with the basic issues concerning social, economic and foreign policy and the only thing their change in government offers to the people and the country is the worsening of all problems," the KKE statement read.

"They governed and are governing as the recipients of the mandates and the servants of industrialists, shipowners, big merchants, the owners of the mass media and of imperialist organizations," KKE concluded.

"Anniversaries such as today's are not suitable for easy celebrations but for obtaining timely lessons," a message by the Coalition of the Left and Progress said.

"The fall of the junta and the stable restoration of democracy unfortunately did not also lead to the defeat of anachronistic structures and conceptions which have continued to dominate for decades public life, institutions and the economy," it added.

[3] Kastanidis cites high safety record at nation's airports

Transport and Communications Minister Haris Kastanidis yesterday again lashed out against what he called a campaign of defamation certain by foreign media outlets concerning alleged lax security at Athens airport, following the crash of TWA flight 800 off Long Island, New York last week.

"We return the smears, the insults and the defamation attempted by international media over the past few days to all those we reply with the high safety record of our national carrier and the country's airports," he said during the opening of a new departure terminal at Corfu international airport yesterday.

He said the new terminal, covering an area of 7,200 sq.m., will significantly boost the potential of the foreign tourist flow into the country, and that a programme of airport development was underway in other cities, including Thessaloniki, Irakleion and Rhodes.

Regarding Thessaloniki, in particular, he said that apart from current work underway, a new airport would be created, budgeted at 105 billion drachmas.

Finally, the minister referred to procurement of new terminal radars for air traffic control, which in an initial phase will be installed in all the above airports.

[4] US Congressman praises Athens airport's 'three levels' of security

Following widespread media speculation in the United States regarding security in Athens airport, after the crash of TWA flight 800 last week shortly after its take-off from JFK Airport in New York, US Congressman Bob Menendez said he has witnessed security measures employed at the airport first-hand.

Mr. Menendez, who sits on an aviation subcommittee of Congress' transportation committee, issued a written statement yesterday stating that "having traveled to Athens, Greece on a scheduled flight only a year ago, I saw first-hand the security measures being implemented there."

"Passengers departing from Athens go through three levels of security - first from ticket control, then from the Greek police and then from the airline's private security.

"I am certain that Greece worries equally for the safety of its citizens and for its international visitors. It would be wrong to condemn the Greek government for security measures taken in its country's airports before we learn exactly what happened with TWA's fatal flight 800," he said, adding:

"As soon as we have the facts and findings of the US investigation services in our hands, I promise to work for the promotion of all appropriate measures to safeguard the security of travelers."

[5] Gov't spokesman confirms premier to visit Cyprus

Prime Minister Costas Simitis will visit Cyprus in late September or early October, the government spokesman confirmed yesterday. The spokesman, Dimitris Reppas, also denied press reports that the premier would visit Cyprus to observe a military exercise.

Replying to questions, he said Greece would maintain a "wait and see" attitude on the new Turkish government's policy on Cyprus, adding, however, that "the first indications are not positive".

[6] Evert says GDP must average 3 per cent a year to combat unemployment

Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert yesterday told ND deputies participating in the first parliamentary summer recess committee that "for unemployment to be decreased the gross domestic product (GDP) should increase every year at a rate of more than 3 per cent."

Criticizing government policy, Mr. Evert said with GDP growth rates anticipated by the government's programme, unemployment will reach 15 per cent of the labor force by the year 2000, adding that "in this way an increase in unemployment is ultimately the PASOK government's conscientious choice."

Mr. Evert spoke on what he called a complete lack of a development programs and a failure to absorb EU funds, a lack of confidence by investors in the economy, a multitude of laws, state intervention and a widening public deficit.

He added: "Only development with investments resolve the problem of unemployment", proposing a change in the tax and funding system, an improvement in the competitiveness of agriculture products, strengthening the services sector, creation of a stable macroeconomic environment, implementation of special programs and relief for regions adversely affected by unemployment.

[7] FM delegation to Moscow

A six-member foreign ministry delegation, headed by Secretary-General Costas Georgiou, is starting a five-day visit to Moscow today.

The delegation is scheduled to hold talks with deputy Russian foreign minister Nikolai Afanasiefski on issues of bilateral, European, and regional interest.

[8] Europarliament committee to act on hunger strikes in Turkish jails

The external affairs committee of the European Parliament has accepted a proposal by Coalition of the Left Eurodeputy Alekos Alavanos for intervention on the issue of several political prisoners' hunger strike currently underway in Turkish jails, as a result of which two inmates have died. Specifically, the committee decided that its chairman, Fernandez Alvarez will make representations to External Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek to intervene with Ankara on the issue of living conditions of political prisoners in Turkey.

The committee is also asking Mr. van den Broek to submit in time a report on human rights in Turkey, as provided by the customs union agreement.

Indicative of the change in climate towards Turkey in the Europarliament is a change of mind expressed by several deputies during special debates on Turkey, regarding their vote in favor of a customs union last December.

[9] Controversial hospital robbery suspect found dead

Christophoros Marinos, an Athens man police believe was the gunman in the robbery and fatal shooting of a hospital cashier in June 1995, was found dead in a passenger ferry cabin yesterday evening with a gunshot wound to the head. He was discovered in the cabin of the ferry "Pegasus", which was docked at the port of Piraeus. The vessel had arrived from a Cyclades route and was due to sail back to the islands at 10 p.m.

Marinos, who was incarcerated pending trial for the June 1, 1995 murder of the Nikaia hospital employee, was later released after staging an almost two-month hunger strike. Judicial officials conditionally released him, citing health reasons. He had be en previously accused by authorities for involvement in several anarchist-related crimes around the Athens area.

[10] Vasso Papandreou meets with prefects on local Gov't issues

Development Minister Vasso Papandreou chaired a meeting of prefects from all over the country yesterday in order to examine issues belonging to the development ministry's jurisdiction and related to second degree local administration. Ms Papandreou referred specifically to consumer protection from instances of deception and profiteering, non-observance of public health protection rules and the smooth operation of the tourism sector.

She called on prefects to intensify their efforts for strict observance of all relevant rules anticipated by law and to activate local prefectural services to coordinate their work with the development ministry to enable control and consumer protection to become more effective.

[11] Goodyear workers mobilize against Thessaloniki plant's closure

Workers at the Goodyear tire plant in Thessaloniki, whose closure was announced Tuesday, are reacting against the decision with mobilizations. Specifically, workers have decided to guard the plant against any attempt to remove equipment and products, in addition to sending a delegation to Athens for talks with the government.

Meanwhile, late last night it was announced that Labor Under-secretary Lambros Kanellopoulos will visit the city to discuss the issue.

Labor Minister Evangelos Yiannopoulos stated in Parliament yesterday that the government had been taken by surprise by the decision, and that it seemed that despite the profitability of the unit, "labor hands are cheaper elsewhere."

The main opposition New Democracy party said in a statement that "the prolonged economic recession, absence of a favorable investment climate and the government's incompetence in absorbing Community funds intensifies the climate of insecurity in the labor market and undermines the country's development prospects."

Commenting on the announced shutdown, the Coalition of the Left and Progress said in a statement yesterday that the decision amounted to "a provocation against working people and a blow to the economy, which would have wider negative repercussions."

It called on the government to act quickly to avert the closure and guarantee employment and the income of the 350 workers at the unit.

Thessaloniki Labor Center president Ilias Kontopoulos described as unacceptable the giant multi-national manufacturer's decision to close the plant, which he said was profitable, with profits amounting to 1.5 billion drachmas last year.

Sources said the company decided to close the plant as part of a company restructuring effort, and as part of a plan to transfer its operation to Slovenia.

[12] Workers' groups demonstrate outside Parliament

Athens workers' unions held a rally in Kannigos Square and a demonstration outside Parliament yesterday, demanding the withdrawal of the draft bill on unemployment.

Parliament discussions began on the bill yesterday.

Speakers at the rally said the labor ministry's bill reinforces employers and not the unemployed and leaves pensioners helpless.

Anti-racist organizations and illegal immigrant groups also demonstrated outside Parliament at the same time, calling for the immediate legalization of all illegal immigrants in Greece.

[13] Papantoniou asks for resignation of Mortgage Bank's governor

National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou yesterday asked the governor of the National Mortgage Bank, Anastasios Tzavellas, for his resignation, according to sources.

The same sources added that Mr. Tzavellas is also to resign as president of the Aerolimin Athinon company, overseeing management of the new Athens airport at Spata.

National Hellenic Industrial Development Bank (ETEBA) managing director Haris Stamatopoulos is considered Mr. Tzavellas' likely successor at Aerolimin Athinon, it was added.

[14] ICAP notes changes in banks' market share, rankings

Changes occurred during 1995 in market share and in the ranking of 25 Greek banks based on profitability, assets and capital, according to information released by the independent ICAP organization.

However, banks' overall results did not change significantly in relation to 1994.

ICAP evidence revealed that the 25 banks handle the majority of deposits made by individuals and entities, but no significant change from 1994 to 1995 was noted in the net profits of 19 domestic commercial banks. Total net profits rose by 1.2 per cent t o 183.5 billion drachmas, up from 180.4 billion drachmas.

The National Bank of Greece was ranked first in the total deposits among 1995, with 35.31 per cent, compared to 36.75 per cent in 1994, when it was also first.

Alpha Credit Bank was ranked first among private banks, as it was in 1994, with 8.32 per cent. A significant increase was noted in deposits in the Hellenic Industrial Development Bank (ETBA), which was ranked 11th in 1995, up from 22nd the previous year .

Agricultural Bank is ranked first in funding in 1995 with 23.97 per cent, followed by the National Bank of Greece with 19.85 per cent.

Among private banks, Alpha Credit Bank was first place in funding with 8.33 per cent in 1995, followed by the Ergobank with 3.57 per cent.

Out of the 25 banks, 21 recorded net profits, while four suffered losses. Alpha Credit Bank was ranked first in profits, increasing profits during 1995 by 33.38 per cent.

The National Bank of Greece followed, slipping from its first place in 1994, with an increase in net profits of 17.53 per cent.

The greatest increase in net profits was recorded by Agricultural Bank, with 15.8 billion drachmas profit in 1995, compared to 1.57 billion drachmas the previous year. This was followed by the Mortgage Bank with profits at 20 billion drachmas in 1995, u p from 6.64 billion drachmas the previous year, placing it in fifth position.

[15] Interbank sale agreement announced

An agreement on the sale of 95 per cent of Interbank's shares by the Banque Worms to the international bank group's Eurobank was announced at a press conference yesterday in the presence of the boards of both banks.

Eurobank board president Giorgos Gontikas said the Latsis family-controlled Eurobank and Interbank would initially operate with an independent board, adding that the two banks, being members of the same banking group, would coordinate and harmonize policies and activities.

Mr. Gontikas said co-operation between the two banks would create one of the most important private banking organizations in Greece, which would be in a position to offer a wide range of business, consumer, savings and investment banking services.

Referring to the two banks' combined total of 800 employees, Mr. Gontikas said no layoffs would take place, while new hirings were planned to meet the organization's new needs.

According to information contained in the balance sheets for 1995, the two banks' total capital amounts to 41 billion drachmas and the total amount of their assets exceeds 530 billion drachmas, while their network has 30 branch offices.

[16] European Investment Bank approves moneys for Stavros-Elefsina road

The board of the European Investment Bank yesterday ratified funding of the Stavros-Elefsina motorway amounting to 265 billion drachmas.

National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said the ratification came in the wake of two recent ratifications for funding major infrastructure works, namely the Spata airport amounting to 310 billion drachmas and the natural gas project amounting to 90 billion drachmas.

In parallel, the process for funding the fourth major infrastructure project, the Rio-Antirrio bridge, is proceeding as normal and is expected to be completed in autumn.

[17] Agriculture ministry approves 365 investment proposals

The agriculture ministry has approved 365 investment proposals with a total budget of 6.5 billion drachmas, involving the construction (61 proposals), modernization (114 proposals), or withdrawal from service (187 proposals) of fishing vessels, as well a s establishment of three joint companies with third countries.

Proposals will be implemented within the context of the Fisheries Operational Programme of the Community Support Framework II, envisioning a renewal of the country's fishing fleet between 1994-99, and budgeted at 26.3 billion drachmas.

[18] Culture minister meets with monastic community's representatives

Culture Minister Stavros Benos ended a two-day visit to Mount Athos yesterday and discussed with the monastic community the relationship between the culture ministry, the Cultural Capital Organization and Mount Athos.

The meeting was held in view of an exhibition of Byzantine artifacts from the monasteries in Thessaloniki next year, when the city will be the Cultural Capital of Europe.

During his meetings, Mr. Benos assured representatives of the monastic community that the government is dealing with the exhibition as a leading national event, which Prime Minister Costas Simitis is personally following.

According to current plans, 586 artifacts are to be taken from 17 monasteries to be displayed in Thessaloniki's Byzantine Museum.

Speaking during a press conference yesterday, Mr. Benos assured the monks of the safety of the exhibits, while they reportedly told the culture minister they consider the exhibition to be of great importance to Hellenism and to the country.

Mr. Benos said four culture ministry crews are carrying out maintenance work on Mount Athos monuments and are to be reinforced by 400 million drachmas.

The culture minister said his discussions on Mount Athos included the issue of the use of the monuments. He said the ministry has the role of protecting this heritage and for this reason "we will not allow events to be staged which will clash with the people's religious feeling."

[19] Vartholomeos to visit Thessaloniki in '97 for Cultural Capital event

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will attend events next year celebrating the Cultural Capital in Thessaloniki.

The Ecumenical Patriarch accepted an invitation extended to him by a delegation of the Cultural Capital Organization, which visited him at his Fanar headquarters in Istanbul.

Speaking at a press conference in Thessaloniki yesterday, the organization's board deputy president Dimitris Salpistis said the exact date of the visit had not been set, but it was certain that the Ecumenical Patriarch would visit Thessaloniki on the occasion of one of its important events.

[20] Patriarch Parthenios dies of heart attack

Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria Parthenios died of a heart attack yesterday while vacationing on the Cyclades island of Amorgos, at the age of 73.

Parthenios, elected to the second in importance Orthodox Patriarchate on Feb. 27, 1987, recently engaged in a successful mediation to resolve a brewing dispute between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia.

[21] Premier meets with national organization for people with special needs

The executive bureau of the National Confederation of Individuals with Special Needs met yesterday with Prime Minister Costas Simitis, handing him a memorandum regarding issues of relevance for seven ministries.

Confederation requests included the forming of a national fund for people with special needs, new laws regarding benefits as well as a clause against discrimination of individuals with special needs to be included in the Constitution.

Speaking after the meeting, the confederation's president, Yiannis Vardakasthanis, said the prime minister assured his organization that its requests will soon be met through the establishment of a new governmental coordinating body.

[22] Reward for information on missing British boy increased

The tragic grandparents of a young British boy who disappeared on the island of Kos five years ago broke down in tears before television cameras yesterday, as they appealed for the boy's return.

The appeal was made on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Sheffield-born Ben Needham's disappearance during a holiday on Kos with his parents - Kerry-Ann Needham and Simon Ward - when he was only 21 months old.

The blond, blue-eyed Ben, who will be seven in October, is believed to have been kidnapped.

"Ben, we want very much that you come back to us," Eddie and Christine Needham said into the Greek and British TV cameras with tears in their eyes.

"We hope that someone sitting with Ben will see us and translate this for him, or that Ben will recognize himself from the television or posters," Eddie Needham told the press conference.

The grandparents' appeal was accompanied by their announcement that a reward for information leading to Ben's recovery had been increased from 7 million drachmas to 191 million drachmas.

"We know that money is not an important factor for the ordinary Greek citizen, whose help and support over the years we have very much valued. But this huge sum of money may encourage someone who has first-hand knowledge of Ben's disappearance to come forward. All information will be treated in strict confidence," Eddie Needham said.

Thousands of posters bearing computer and hand-sketched pictures of what Ben would look like now - including a strawberry shaped birthmark on the nape of his neck and a coffee-colored mark on one of his legs - were shown to the television cameras and distributed to the Greek press with the new reward announcement.

Scores of alleged sightings over the years - including one at a gypsy camp last December - have proved to be false alarms.

The Needhams said that the benefactor who put up the reward remained anonymous, "but we have been assured 100% that the reward money is there".

[23] Weightlifter picks up Greece's second '96 Olympic medal

Greece won its second medal in the Atlanta Olympic Games yesterday with weightlifter Valerios Leonidis taking silver in the 64-kilo category.

The gold medal was won for an unprecedented third time by Turk Naim Suleymanoglu with a world combined weight record of 335 kilograms.

In one of the greatest duels in weightlifting history, the Turkish featherweight and his rival Valerios Leonidis traded world records in front of International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Leonidis, who lost to Suleymanoglu by the slimmest of margins at last year's world championship in China, was left with silver and the consolation of having raised his own world clean-and-jerk record by 2.5 kg to 187.5 kg.

Leonidas Sabanis was the first Greek athlete to win a medal in this year's games, taking the silver in the 59-kilo category on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Greece's only male gymnast and medal hopeful Yiannis Melissanidis has qualified for the finals in the floor exercises with 19.375 points.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis extended his congratulations to the Greek weightlifters who have competed in the Atlanta Games, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said yesterday.

Replying to press questions as to whether the government will provide extra financial incentives for many of the competing athletes, the government spokesman said it was not the appropriate moment to make such announcements, as have occurred in the past , but added that the state will deal with existing problems.

Congratulations were also extended by Sport Secretary General George Lyssaridis, who said the battle between Leonidis and Suleymanoglu "was an epic fight. All Greeks are touched by Leonidas' effort."

Mr. Lyssaridis extended his congratulations to all Greek athletes performing in the Olympics, and to the national basketball and water polo teams.

[24] Greece's 'national star' Aliki Vougiouklaki passes away

Tributes poured in for Aliki Vougiouklaki, Greece's most beloved movie and theater actress, who died yesterday at the age of 63 after losing a three-month battle with cancer.

On hearing of her death, hundreds of Athenians gathered outside the Aliki Theater in central Athens to pay their final respects to the woman who had been dubbed Greece's "national star".

Public homage will be paid at the Athens Cathedral's chapel, while her funeral has been scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Athens First Cemetery. The funeral will be held at public expense, following a decision by Culture Minister Stavros Benos.

Relatives, friends and fans greeted the arrival of the coffin with tears in their eyes.

"She moved us. She was there as we fell in love, as we married, as we had children, as we and our children grew older. We miss her but through her films she will always be with us," a fan said.

Vougiouklaki's family has requested that instead of wreaths, donations be made to the Children's Village SOS, an organization caring for needy children.

Theaters were closed yesterday and will be closed tomorrow in a mark of respect.

Vougiouklaki had recently traveled to Germany and the United States in an effort to treat her disease.

[25] A 43-year-career full of success

"Rampant publicity, no matter how painful, is the price of success and personal projection. I may not have wanted to become prey to the beasts. But there are times when I believe that what I have achieved with much hard work is not what I aimed for. The essence escaped me, and I know it. And I wish to make it up before it's too late. I do not wish, when I look back as an old, tired woman, to reach the conclusion that the Aliki Vougiouklaki phenomenon was much ado about nothing," she said in a recent interview.

Greece's "national star" of the theater and screen was a larger-than-life figure adored throughout the country. She was praised, criticized at time and definitely the subject of wide-spread publicity.

Vougiouklaki was accepted in the National Theater's School of Drama with the role of Viola in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". Still a student at the drama school, she played Luison in Moliere's "Le Malade Imaginaire" (The Imaginary Invalid) in 1953 and Olympia in Dimitirs Bogris' "Swell of the Sea" in 1954.

By special permission of the school, she replaced Anna Synodinou as Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet".

In June 1955, she received her degree from the National Theater's School and joined the Kotopouli theater, followed by Katerina's Theatrical Company, experiencing her first successes and confirming the critics' predictions of her talent and theatrical instinct.

But fame came with the Kostas Moussouris Theater, where she held the lead role of Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady", a landmark in her career that broke all theatrical records and made her name a household word among the theatergoing public.

Vougiouklaki headed her own theatrical company in 1961. With Marios Ploritis as artistic director, she held a triumphant tour in the major provincial capitals, breaking all box-office records with "My Fair Lady" and plays by Grigoris Xenopoulos, Jacques Feyder and Joseph Kirkland.

In the summer of 1962 she made four guest appearances in Manos Hadjidakis' "Dream Street", rendering songs by the composer and appearing in the sketch "The screen dream" with Rena Vlachopoulou.

With a theatrical company she headed together with her then husband Dimitris Papamichail (1964-74), she staged such plays as Jean Anouilh's "Colombe", Xenopoulos' "Temptation", and "The World of Susie Wong", which was directed by Papamichail, who later directed all the plays produced by the Vougiouklaki-Papamichail company.

Her Greek version of "The Sound of Music" was in its second year when performances were abruptly suspended four months ago due to her illness.

Aliki Vougiouklaki played in more than 40 motion pictures, and received the prize for lead woman's role at the inaugural Greek Cinema Festival in Thessaloniki in 1960 for her starring role in the movie "Mantalena". Her first film was Nikos Tsiforos' "The little Mouse", followed by scores of other popular dramatic and comic films, which made her name a household word, eliciting love and devotion from her public, who made her their "national star".

[26] Politicians pay their respects

On hearing the news of the stage and screen's actress' death, President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos said Vougiouklaki's passing "saddened me deeply".

"Aliki Vougiouklaki was a shining star and contributed much to the theater and cinema. In her long and successful artistic career she became extremely popular and her every move was accompanied by the love of the public. Her premature death grieves all Greeks."

Condolences were also sent to the family by former president of the republic Constantine Karamanlis.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis said she was "a part of the lives of all of us. With her we roamed the world of fantasy and humanity. Her vibrant smile will never fade."

Culture Minister Stavros Benos said he found it hard to believe that "she was no longer with us. It's as though she's lied to us, this woman with the enormous capacity for life and her desire for beauty. And yet. She has not lied. Aliki has gone and night has suddenly fallen on our smiles."

"She taught the country to smile, gained the love of all the world, a love she deserved," he said.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said that Aliki remained a "star in the memory of all of us", and that she had fed the dreams and emotions of Greeks for many years.

He said he hoped the love of the people and time would soothe the pain of her passing.

Messages of condolences were also sent by main opposition leader Miltiades Evert, who said "Aliki is a symbol, who in difficult times offered joy and optimism to the people."

Others expressing their condolences were ruling PASOK Secretary Costas Skandalidis, Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras, honorary president of ND Constantine Mitsotakis, the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Aleka Papariga, Coalition of the Left and Progress president Nikos Constantopoulos, Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI) president Dimitris Tsovolas and the Athens Journalist Union.

End of English language section.