Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 98-02-21

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

ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 1422), February 21, 1998

Greek Press & Information Office
Ottawa, Canada
E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca

CONTENTS

[01] Demirel reiterates claims of Aegean 'gray zones'

[02] ... New Democracy

[03] Turkish warplanes repeat violations of Greek airspace

[04] Simitis meets with presidium of Women's Socialist Int'l

[05] Greece supports invitation of Turkish Cypriots to EU accession talks

[06] British ambassador on pace of Cyprus' EU accession talks

[07] Press ministry delegation on US tour

[08] Athens appeals to Baghdad to allow UN weapons inspections

[09] Romeos chairs meeting on anti-terrorism protection

[10] Three-day conference on public health in the Balkans

[11] Embattled PASOK youth organization begins conference

[12] Major arms haul in northern Greece

[13] Medical aid for Cameroon

[14] Chemicals manufacturer drops charges against Greenpeace activists

[15] OA to cancel several flights next week

[16] Commissioner Monti praises Greek economy's performance

[17] GSEE: Unions determined to prevent change in labor relations

[18] Local gov't employees call 48-strike

[19] Greek stocks in the doldrums for seventh day

[20] Greece sees no sign of money laundering

[21] Greece to build power plant after consultant's report

[22] Greek economy has higher growth rate than EU average

[23] Economic News in Brief

[24] EOT seminar tour of US concluded

[25] Meeting of several Balkan banks in Thessaloniki

[26] Seed in Athens: Close to starting experiments on human cloning

[01] Demirel reiterates claims of Aegean 'gray zones'

Paris, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

"There are still gray zones in the Aegean, as since we first spoke about them, nothing has been done in the direction of eliminating them," he said in the course of a press conference at the end of a two-day visit to Paris.

Athens has repeatedly invited Ankara to refer all its claims in the Aegean to the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

On his part, Mr. Demirel denied that Turkey refuses to seek recourse to the International Court over differences with Greece.

"Turkey does not refuse to seek recourse at the International Court at The Hague regarding its problems, but wants all differences to be referred to this Court, or any other form of arbitration which may be agreed. We want to solve our differences with Greece through peaceful means, and I believe that the governments of the two neighboring countries are fully conscious of their responsibilities for maintaining peace in the region," he said.

"I hope that Prime Minister (Costas) Simitis will continue to respect the spirit of last July's Madrid communiqui, which seems to be in force for the time being. We hope to be able to continue on the basis of this spirit," Mr. Demirel added.

He explained that Greek-Turkish relations was one of the issues he discussed with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac.

"Our friend, France, has shown concern for the tension between Greece and Turkey and is advising us to solve our differences through an open and peaceful dialogue. We are fully in agreement with this view, and besides, this is what we are trying to do," he said.

[02] ... New Democracy

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

He called on the government to react immediately and make it clear to European Union partners, in view of Monday's EU General Affairs Council, that Turkish positions of this kind are dismissed as totally unacceptable.

[03] Turkish warplanes repeat violations of Greek airspace

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

The infringements and violations took place over the eastern Aegean near the Greek islands of Psara, Hios, Lesvos and Limnos.

In all instances, the Turkish warplanes were identified and intercepted by Hellenic Air Force fighters.

[04] Simitis meets with presidium of Women's Socialist Int'l

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

He promised WSI deputy president and PASOK party Euro-MP Anna Karamanou that at the party's congress a more favorable system will be established for the promotion and eligibility of women both in party committees and in the wider decision-making centers.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Women's Regional Conference from socialist parties of southeastern Europe on the issue of "Women for a New Policy", taking place at the Zappeio Hall today. It is being organized by WSI and the secretariat of PASOK's women's sector.

Ms Karamanou said the conference, taking place with the participation of representatives from nine Balkan countries, constitutes a continuation of the inter-Balkan summit in Crete.

[05] Greece supports invitation of Turkish Cypriots to EU accession talks

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

Athens also wants to ensure that a solution of the Cyprus problem will not be set as a pre-condition for Cypriot membership into the EU.

Regarding the EU-Turkey financial protocol, Mr. Papandreou stated that Greece was not willing to lift its veto if there were no specific moves on Turkey's part.

"There are preconditions, but Turkey continues to not satisfy them, and to the degree that it continues to do so we shall not release the protocol," he said.

The minister noted that the British presidency will brief the EU General Affairs Coundil on Monday on the results of its contacts with Turkey with a view to persuading it to participate in the European Conference in London, March 12.

Finally, he said Greece was expecting to see the three finalized texts on the common position of the 15 EU members regarding commencement of negotiations for enlargement before giving its endorsement. These texts include a general position, a particular position for the five candidate-countries, and a separate position on Cyprus.

[06] British ambassador on pace of Cyprus' EU accession talks

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

Speaking in Thessaloniki during a British embassy luncheon, Sir Michael Llewellyn Smith also expressed Britain's wish that the accession negotiations will be held with a united Cyprus, including a Turkish Cypriot representation.

However, Sir Michael also associated the end of the island's division with the accession talks.

"Cyprus, which we and our partners wish to become a member of the Union, is a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation that we hope it will succeed in putting an end to its division through negotiations," he said.

[07] Press ministry delegation on US tour

New York, 21/2/1998 (ANA - M. Georgiadou)

During his stay, Mr. Nikolaou will visit Columbia University's "New Media Technology Center" and attend a dinner organized in his honor by the Queens College's Center of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies.

[08] Athens appeals to Baghdad to allow UN weapons inspections

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

As a peace-loving country, Mr. Papandreou told a press conference, Greece would like to see every effort made at a diplomatic level for a settlement.

He stressed that the Greek people nurtured friendly sentiments towards the people of Iraq, while noting that the basic principle of respect for UN resolutions must be adhered to.

Mr. Papandreou said the European Union was in effect awaiting the result of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's visit to Iraq before taking any decisions at a Community level.

[09] Romeos chairs meeting on anti-terrorism protection

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

According to sources, it was decided at the meeting to allocate 150 specially trained police officers to guard buildings housing US and British interests and individuals. Speaking on Thursday, shortly after a bomb attack against a General Motors car dealership, Police Chief Athanasios Vassilopoulos said that authorities had in recent days received information indicating the increased possibility of terrorist attacks.

[10] Three-day conference on public health in the Balkans

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

During a press conference, professor of public health Jenny Kremastinou said that "the divide between the Balkans and western Europe continues to grow in the public health sector as well. In most Balkan countries many people live under the poverty line. "

Scientists concluded that an effort among Balkan countries could become a powerful factor for the promotion of public health in the region.

They also said that "poverty precludes the ability of a full and balanced diet, especially for the unemployed, small children and the elderly."

[11] Embattled PASOK youth organization begins conference

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

At the last minute, senior PASOK cadre and National Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos decided not to attend the conference, as he had earlier announced, in a move aimed at avoiding a likely aggravation of internal party frictions.

In her opening address, Ms Antoniou placed herself in favor of the youth organization's autonomy and political profile, stressing that the group could not leave aside all of its traditions in the name of modernization.

She said the youth movement should throw away misery and "protection syndromes", while she called on supporters of the "modernizing wing" to return to the group's procedures.

Giving her personal account and admitting her mistakes after 15 years in the party and in the top post of the youth organization, Ms Antoniou thanked her colleagues, as well as PASOK's leadership and long-time cadres, before referring to the late founder of the movement Andreas Papandreou.

Proceedings momentarily flared up at the conference, held at the coastal Peace and Friendship indoor stadium, when the floor was taken by Pantelis Economou and Manolis Daskalakis, as both members praised the organization's decision to hold the congress in defiance of instructions by the PASOK party.

The two also accused party leader Costas Simitis and the PASOK executive bureau of mistaken choices.

Mr. Economou underlined the necessity for PASOK to be "open to various trends and closed to political adventurers.

"We don't want a PASOK of one or two-thirds but a united and strong PASOK", said Mr. Daskalakis, who argued that the solution to current problems was connected to the conference.

The event was also attended by 27 PASOK deputies, as well as EU Commissioner Christos Papoutsis and Eurodeputy Irini Lambraki.

Most of the deputies rejected the likelihood of the crisis in the youth organization being transferred to PASOK, while some criticized party leadership for its handling of the issue.

On his part, government spokesman Demetris Reppas said there was no evidence to imply that deputies attending the congress had withdrawn their support from the government. A message by Education Minister Gerassimos Arsenis was also read out.

Mr. Arsenis called on members of the organization to avoid falling into the trap of a clash between apparatuses, and to design a course of unity with its new leadership.

Commenting on the absence of some leading PASOK members from the event, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said that this was not creating problems for the government.

Speaking yesterday afternoon from Ioannina, where he is attending celebrations for the city's 85th anniversary of its liberation, the defense minister said no political or ideological differences existed within PASOK.

He stressed the party's unity will be reaffirmed at the youth conference.

[12] Major arms haul in northern Greece

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

The weapons were found in the truck's secret compartment, shortly after it crossed the Greek-Albanian border to load furniture from the northwestern town of Florina.

The lorry's Albanian driver was arrested. Police told the ANA that it was the biggest arms haul made since the 1996 uprising in neighboring Albania when rebels broke into army barracks and stole thousands of weapons, most of which fell into the hands of local mafia bands and were smuggled abroad for sale.

The driver of the lorry was later identified as Florian Arapi, 19 from Elbasan, Albania, who told police that he had no knowledge of the arms.

He claims that the vehicle belongs to a compatriot named Kerim Duraseri who had told him that he would pick up the lorry in Thessaloniki and load it with furniture.

[13] Medical aid for Cameroon

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

The delegation, financed by foreign ministry funds, will carry about two tons of medicines and pharmaceutical materials.

[14] Chemicals manufacturer drops charges against Greenpeace activists

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

Greenpeace local director Stelios Psomas and campaign chief Nikos Haralambidis were set to go on trial yesterday for taking part in the four-day takeover of the Chemical Industries of Northern Greece, together with 18 other activists in late November 19 94.

The environmental activists were protesting the plant's production of the ozone-depleting chemical compound chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), on which a worldwide production ban went into effect on Jan. 1, 1996 under the 1987 Montreal Protocol.

Court sources said that the issue was now closed, but Mr. Psomas told ANA that "although one could say that all's well that end's well, the fact remains that this industry is the only one in Europe which continues to produce such substances".

He said the company had produced 1,500 tons of the substance in 1997 alone, "which was exported to developing countries".

European industries, in a campaign spearheaded by the European Commission, agreed to stop CFC production as of Dec. 31, 1994.

The Montreal Protocol also introduced a worldwide ban on three other ozone-depleting substances - halons, carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethane - as of the beginning of 1996.

CFCs are commonly used in aerosols and refrigeration systems.

[15] OA to cancel several flights next week

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

A company announcement said that passengers booked to fly with OA would be placed on alternative OA flights to their destinations on the same day.

Disruptions to scheduled domestic flights of Olympic Aviation, Olympic Airways' domestic subsidiary, were also expected yesterday due to a four-hour work stoppage until 5 p.m. local time by employees at the state-run national carrier.

[16] Commissioner Monti praises Greek economy's performance

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

Mr. Monti, who is currently visiting Greece, had a meeting yesterday with National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou and Bank of Greece Governor Lucas Papademos, which he later described as very constructive.

"The Greek government is showing great determination in making the necessary structural changes to facilitate the country's integration in Europe," Mr. Monti said.

Replying to reporters' questions, Mr. Monti said there was no problem from the point of view of EU internal market legislation regarding the Greek government's plans to impose tax on mobile phone use.

He did not however rule out the possibility of there being a snag for the taxation plans arising from EU legislation on competition, adding though that this would have to be examined by the competent directorate.

Mr. Monti said also that auxiliary social security funds should have a freer rein in choosing their investment programs.

The Commissioner underlined that Greece had made substantial progress in adapting Greek legislation to EU internal market directives.

Noting that only 6.25 per cent of all such directives had not been implemented, Mr. Monti said that Greece was nevertheless ahead of Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Belgium in this respect.

[17] GSEE: Unions determined to prevent change in labor relations

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

He was speaking during the opening of a trade union seminar in Thessaloniki.

Mr. Polyzogopoulos argued that at present there was a disorganization in labor relations to the disadvantage of workers, while he warned that if attacks against workers' rights continued, GSEE would not hesitate to call a nation-wide general strike.

The GSEE leader also said he was in favor of a 35-hour work week, saying the measure will result in increasing employment by 2 per cent.

GSEE-affiliated researcher Ilias Ioakimoglou underlined in his address that Greek workers were the lowest paid in the EU.

The seminar was organized as part of preparatory sessions for GSEE's upcoming 29th nation-wide congress.

[18] Local gov't employees call 48-strike

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

The board of POE-OTA will convene again on March 6 to decide on whether or not to continue strike action.

POE-OTA President Nontas Lambrakakis told the ANA that "we embarked on this action because the government has been mocking us for some time.

[19] Greek stocks in the doldrums for seventh day

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

The general index dropped 1.24 percent to end at 1,428.28 points for a net loss of 4.34 percent on the week. The index has lost 3.47 percent of its value since the start of the year.

Traders said that market sentiment remained negative despite a gradual de-escalation of domestic interbank rates, and the bourse was unable to react to persistent pressure by finding stronger support levels. Analysts said that the Greek market was beginning to live the uncertainty surrounding possible speculative attacks on regional European currencies ahead of a fixing of currency rates for a single European currency.

Trading remained subdued throughout the week partly due to a capital flow into an initial public offering by Duty Free Shops.

On Friday, turnover was 12.8 billion drachmas. The week's turnover totaled 66.76 billion drachmas for a daily average of 13.35 billion, down from 20.9 billion the previous week.

Banks led the market down once again. The sector's index fell 1.10 percent on Friday for a net loss of 5.94 percent on the week. Insurance eased 1.52 percent, Leasing dropped 0.74 percent, Investment was 1.20 percent off, Construction fell 1.88 percent,

Industrials were 1.50 percent lower, Miscellaneous plunged 2.64 percent and Holding fell 0.69 percent.

The parallel market index ended 1.55 percent down to show a 0.04 percent loss on the week reflecting the market's appetite for second-tier issues.

The FTSE/ASE blue chip index fell 1.05 percent to end at 790.11 points, down 5.02 percent since last Friday.

Broadly decliners led advancers by 161 to 58 with another 20 issues unchanged.

Ergas, Etma, Pairis and Constantinidis scored the biggest percentage gains while Fourlis, Bank of Athens, European Credit and Hellenic Sugar suffered the heaviest losses.

National Bank of Greece ended at 21,100 drachmas, Ergobank at 14,500, Alpha Credit Bank at 15,120, Delta Dairy at 2,800, Titan Cement at 13,500, Intracom at 14,770 and Hellenic Telecommunications Organization at 5,495.

[20] Greece sees no sign of money laundering

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

Speaking in parliament, Mr. Baltas was replying to a question by a deputy of the conservative New Democracy party that 13 trillion drachmas had been laundered in 1997.

"There is no report by experts of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development or any other group that shows 13 trillion were laundered," Mr. Baltas said.

[21] Greece to build power plant after consultant's report

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

International consultants had been hired to see if the price agreed for construction was fair following protests among political parties, including deputies of the ruling PASOK socialist party.

The project to build the plant was incorporated into agreements between the Greek and Russian governments.

Mr. Reppas said that beyond purely business considerations, the project kept ties between the two countries in equilibrium.

[22] Greek economy has higher growth rate than EU average

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

The Greek economy reported a growth rate of 3.5 percent in 1997 compared with 2.6 percent in the EU.

In 1998, the country's economy was expected to grow by 3.7 percent from a projected 3.0 percent growth rate in the rest of Europe, Mr. Drys said.

The country's state deficit and the inflation rate dropped significantly in 1997. The public deficit fell to 4.2 percent of GDP last year from 13.8 percent in 1993.

Mr. Drys stressed that the government's economic targets for the year ahead were a speedier implementation of the state's restructuring, improving health care and social security, boosting employment with the creation of new jobs and ensuring growth in t he educational sector.

[23] Economic News in Brief

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

- Greece's agriculture ministry yesterday approved 191 new investment projects totaling 10.2 billion drachmas for the country's fisheries operational program. The projects cover funding for the modernization and renewal of the fishing fleet, and development of fish sales terminals and acquaculture sites. A ministry statement said the rate of European Union fund absorption was currently running at 27 percent with a target of 50 percent by the end of 1998.

- Greece's financial crime squad, a finance ministry agency, reported tax infringements or smuggling in one out of three inspections in January. Inspections focused on trade of goods, large enterprises, artists, lawyers, doctors and other self-employed professionals. The financial crime squad reported 42,623 tax law infringements or smuggling cases by 2,943 companies out of a total of 8,881 inspections.

[24] EOT seminar tour of US concluded

New York, 21/2/1998 (ANA - M. Georgiadou)

The seminars began on Jan. 13 in Boston, which has been declared the Greek cultural capital in the US for 1998, and continued in Washington, Texas, New Orleans, Florida, Atlanta, Philadelphia, ending in New York on Thursday.

Participants were briefed by EOT, Olympic Airways, Tower Air, and Royal Olympic Cruises officials on programs for 1998, as well as a video tour of the country's historical and cultural treasures.

[25] Meeting of several Balkan banks in Thessaloniki

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

Apart from the representatives of the two Greek establishments, the meeting was attended by officials from the Savings Bank of Albania (Albania), Banc Post SA (Romania), State Savings Bank of Bulgaria (Bulgaria) and Postanska Stedionica of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia).

It was agreed that the networks of these banks will co-operate on accumulating the savings of permanent residents from these countries who work in other Balkan countries and the transfer of capital to their countries.

[26] Seed in Athens: Close to starting experiments on human cloning

Athens, 21/2/1998 (ANA)

He told a press conference that human cloning will take place "if not today, if not here or somewhere else, if not by me, then by some other scientist, cloning will advance and it is impossible to stop science and human evolution, humanism and civilization." Dr. Seed said that any political group can temporarily stop cloning, but it cannot prevent it, and "if I will not be able to clone humans, I will lay down on a bed and die."

On his part, Dr. Seed doubted the success of sheep cloning by British researchers, saying that "there will always be a cloud over 'Dolly'." He said Dolly's creators did not mention that the cloned sheep's donor is dead.

"So, no one can confirm that the cloning actually took place," he added.

Finally, Dr. Seed said that the creation of a perfect human being, which will never age, is still far off, since there is not a great deal of money available for research.

In a related development, noted Russian geneticist Yuri Verlinski, who is also in Greece, on Thursday questioned Dr. Seed's knowledge of genetics, saying that the Chicago-based researcher is not a geneticist but a physicist.

End of English language section.

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