Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 98-05-11

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] WEU ministerial summit begins today on Rhodes

[02] Christodoulos enthroned as new Archbishop of Athens and All Greece

[03] Kranidiotis: Athens will in no way accept any recornition for pseudo- state

[04] Balkan military medicine,sessions begin in Athens

[05] Tsohatzopoulos dismisses Ankara's claims of Greek support for PKK

[06] Christodoulakis cites restructuring of public debt through long-term state bonds

[07] Stephanopoulos attends events honouring Rigas Feraios

[08] Karamanlis cites ND support for private non-profit universities

[09] Gov't,PASOK officials speak at first-ever Greek-Panamerican conference

[10] Yiannopoulos speaks at event commemorating the end of WWII

[11] Anarchist group claims responsibility for firebombing of minister's office

[12] Nano, Romeos focus on better bilateral law enforcement cooperation

[13] Russian ambassador says Moscow will honour S-300 contract with Cyprus

[01] WEU ministerial summit begins today on Rhodes

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

WEU Secretary-General Jose Cutilheiro, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana as well as EU Commissioner responsible for foreign affairs Hans van den Broek will be among the participants at the meeting, the first hosted by Greece as the holder of the cur rent rotating six-month presidency. Greece became a full WEU member in March 1995.

Issues to be discussed by 56 foreign and defence ministers from WEU member- states, associate members and observer states include the organisation's role and prospects after the Amsterdam and Madrid summits, the WEU's role in the management of crises and upgrading its operational capabilities.

During a dinner today hosted by Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, informal talks are expected to focus on the Kosovo issue and the WEU's contribution in defusing the crisis.

The WEU comprises 10 European Union and NATO as full members as well as 18 associate members and observer nations from the wider region.

On Saturday, Mr. Akis Tsohatzopoulos said that after the Amsterdam summit, the WEU will gradually consolidate its own military infrastructure, creating its own staff and attempting to better utilise resources, evolving into a more effective instrument to ensure peace and stability in Europe than in the past.

Today, he said, there is a tripartite relationship between the European Union, the WEU and NATO.

The WEU will gradually, on the basis of that defined by the Amsterdam Treaty, become the defence arm of the European Union while at the same time it constitutes the European pillar of the North Atlantic alliance.

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said the way European defence structures would evolve would be influenced by the development of relations between Europeans and Americans within NATO, and what was significant was whether the Europeans had considered whether they could undertake a greater responsibility in the issue of their defence.

He added that the issue of Kosovo, "a hotbed of crisis which concerns us all", would definitely be on the agenda of the meeting.

Yesterday, FM Pangalos said that the Greek WEU presidency would propose to its WEU partners a discussion on the Kosovo crisis during the two-day meeting.

Mr. Pangalos told reporters after he arrived on Rhodes with Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou that there were "certain thoughts on the WEU playing some role" in defusing the situation, focusing on the parametres that threatened "to lead to a spreading of the problem, such as arms trafficking and the activity of armed bands".

"We will have to see what the intentions of our other colleagues are and, chiefly, what the general disposition is towards giving the WEU a role comparable to that (played) in Albania, for example," Mr. Pangalos said.

Cyprus : The WEU has already begun contacts with the Republic of Cyprus ahead of the island's future accession to the European Union, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos told reporters on Saturday.

He was speaking after a meeting of the European Socialist Party ministers and members.

Asked whether Cyprus had a place in the new security structure being formed in Europe, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said that the Cypriot defence minister had also taken part in Saturday's meeting and that he had briefed European socialists on the latest developm ents over the Cyprus issue.

The Greek minister noted that WEU secretary-general Cutilheiro had recently visited Nicosia as part of WEU procedures also being undertaken with other candidate EU countries. Cyprus recently officially applied to be made an associate member of the WEU.

Athens News Agency

[02] Christodoulos enthroned as new Archbishop of Athens and All Greece

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

Christodoulos, who replaced the late Archbishop Serapheim as head of the Autocephalus Orthodox Church of Greece, was greeted by the Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis,Education and Religious Affairs Minister Gerasimos Arsenis and Orthodox Church representatives, while earlier, Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos presented him with the Key to the City.

The new prelate of the Greek Orthodox Church, in his enthronement address, spoke of "the urgent need of our people to see their expectations of the Church fully met." He also referred to a need for new ways of expression, with vigour and perspective, th at will make the presence of the Church more active in the modern world.

"What we need more than anything else is to bring the Church closer to the world, the people, the young who experience more tragically than anyone else the existential void, living in a secularised and nihilistic society without meaning and content",he said.

Christodoulos outlined some of the new Church administration's priorities, such as upgrading the role of the clergy, retaining the special relationship between Chruch and state and promoting Orthodoxy in Europe.

"Europe is the child mainly of Hellenism and Christianity, in name and culture. The heart of Europe is in Greece, and without Greece Europe is inconceivable," he said.

"As Church, we support the efforts of our people, the government and leadership for full EU membership. This does not mean a negation of our identity or our Greek Orthodox faith. Our union with Europe does not annul diversity. On the contrary, the prote ction of the identity of all European peoples constitutes the main characteristic of the European world. It is for this reason that we are staying in Europe, not as poor relatives or distant orientals foreign to the European spirit, but familiar with our large European home," he said.

Regarding Church-state relations, Christodoulos stressed that the Church never sought to repace the role of the state and that cooperation between the two institutions had proved to be in the interest of the nation and reflected the people's will.

"We are unwaveringly adhering to the ideal of a close cooperation between Church and state, because we see that is to the interrst of the nation and this what the people want. We are, therefore, not in dispute with anyone, we accept the leadership of the country in its entirety, and pray that its struggles for the good of the nation be blessed," he said.

Finally, the new Archbishop, in an emotional plea, took responsibility, as he stressed, for his generation of clergymen and the growing alienation between the nation's youth and the Church. He vowed to turn the Church into a haven for disillusioned yout hs who had sought solace in things like drugs and violence.

"There is a place that will never betray you...You will find all the things that you have longed for all these years...True freedom, true justice, the real truth," he said, inviting the young back to the Church.

Mr. Arsenis, who also addressed the ceremony, stressed that the Greek Orthodox Church had never relied on intransigent positions for its spiritual dominance.

"Orthodoxy has always constituted the ark of values, identity and traditions of the Greek nation. It is within this nucleus of values that the new Archbishop is being called upon to officiate from his new position, " said Mr. Arsenis.

On his part, Mr. Kaklamanis said in his address that "perhaps for the first time in the history of post-war Greece there was no state involvement in the election of an Archbishop," but stressed that the state had always respected the importance of Ortho doxy to the Greek people".

Among the ecclesiastical leaders attending the ceremony were Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Petros, representatives of the Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem, Moscow and Finland, as well as Dorotheos of Prague, Bulgaria's Maximos, Romania's Theoktistos, Serbia's Pavle and Albania's Anastasios.

Stephanopoulos comments : In a related development, President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos denied in statements that his absence from the new Archbishop's enthonement ceremony was an indication of coolness in his relations with the prelate.

"On the contrary, the warmth of feelings, the esteem, love and respect towards him are given," he said while on tour in central Greece, stressing that he had attended the ceremony for the presentation of the Archbishop's credentials and had a cordial co nversation with him.

Athens News Agency

[03] Kranidiotis: Athens will in no way accept any recornition for pseudo- state

UNITED NATIONS 11/05/1998 (ANA- M. Georgiadou)

"The basis of talks must be the bizonal, bicommunal federation, and in no case shall we accept separatist or partition schemes that lead to any direct or indirect recognition of the pseudo-state," he said after Friday's meeting with special UN represent ative for Cyprus Diego Cordovez.

Asked what Mr. Cordovez's next plans were after the latest fruitless round of US mediation, he said they had not yet taken any concrete form.

"Yesterday he briefed the five permanent members of the UN Security Council on developments and I imagine they will soon formulate a view on further moves," he said.

"Our view is that it must be reiterated to all sides that the search for a solution to the Cyprus problem is an urgent issue. The status quo in Cyprus is unacceptable, a solution must be found based on UN principles and resolutions so that stability and peace in the region may be restored," Mr. Kranidiotis added.

He added that he did not know whether there would be a follow-up to the recent US initiative.

"This phase has been completed," he said.

Athens News Agency

[04] Balkan military medicine,sessions begin in Athens

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

Participating in the sessions are delegates from Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Greece.

The mission of the Balkan Committee, Mr. Apostolakis said, was to bring together the military medical communities of these countries, which necessitates the harmonious cooperation of all sides.

"The task of military doctors is to respect and save human lives...Let us open our eyes to a new era of peace, friendship and cooperation between Balkan nations," Mr. Apostolakis said.

Athens News Agency

[05] Tsohatzopoulos dismisses Ankara's claims of Greek support for PKK

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos was responding to comments on Saturday by his Turkish counterpart Ismet Sezgin, namely, that he would bring up the issue of Greece's alleged support for the PKK when he visits Rhodes for a Western European Union's (WEU) summit of defence and foreign ministers, which opens today.

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos told reporters that he was unaware of Mr. Sezgin's comments, but "my colleague is deluded if he believes that something like that is the case."

If the issue is brought up, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said, "the appropriate responses will be extended".

Greece on Friday rejected US State Department criticism of Athens concerning Athens' alleged support for the PKK as "unjustified", and welcomed a statement that its position was acknowledged, "albeit belatedly".

US State Department spokesman Lee McClenny had said earlier in the week that Washington was "seeking the Greek government's views" on whether or not a PKK office was being established in Greece.

The government rejected the insinuations and on Thursday, US State Department spokesman Jim Foley expressed Washington's satisfaction over Greece's stance on the issue.

"The Greek foreign ministry briefed our embassy in Athens that there never was, there is not, nor will there ever exist a PKK office in GreeceIwe welcome this commitment, which is in line with Greece's international commitments for countering terrorism, " Mr. Foley said.

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said that Greece had been proved to be a force for peace, security, stability and cooperation in the region, while Turkey had repeatedly shown itself to be "proceeding with destabilising behaviour on a number of issues".

This behaviour, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos added, complicated the European Union's efforts for better relations with Ankara.

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said he had not ruled out a meeting with his Turkish counterpart during the WEU meeting and that if such a meeting was held, he would attempt to demonstrate to Mr. Sezgin how mistaken his position was.

Turkish minister arrives on Rhodes : Mr. Sezgin later made milder comments upon arrival with a yacht on the Greek island.

Asked if he would bring up the issue of alleged Greek support for the PKK, the Turkish minister said that relevant discussions have been made at the diplomatic level, specifically with the Greek ambassador to Ankara.

Mr. Sezgin also said that "he feels that he is at a meeting of friends and NATO allies, and that he couldn't image that a NATO member-state supports terrorism."

Athens News Agency

[06] Christodoulakis cites restructuring of public debt through long-term state bonds

NEW YORK 11/05/1998 (ANA)

Speaking before dozens of US institutional investment executives at the Harvard Club on Friday, he referred to the restructuring of Greece's public debt through the issuance of long-term state bonds, and the recent reiteration of confidence in Greece's creditworthiness by the Moody's international credit rating agency.

He stressed that investors were increasingly regarding Greece as an emerging market, but also as part of a European investment portfolio.

Athens News Agency

[07] Stephanopoulos attends events honouring Rigas Feraios

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

Feraios, also known as Rigas Velestinlis, was strangled in 1798 by Ottoman authorities in Belgrade, after Hapsburg police arrested him in Trieste.

Addressing an event in Velestino yesterday, President Stephanopoulos said Rigas' overall activity "was part of the Enlightenment and the revolutionary movements that fought authoritarianism in the civilised world, including the American and French Revol utions."

Mr. Kaklamanis said Rigas' words continued to be timely today.

"For the homeland has never ceased facing dangers and difficulties and our region is characterised by a dangerous instability, becoming again a theatre of clashes, war and hatred...The battle between freedom and barbarity continues with the ideals moving the heart of civilised humanity and clashing with the cold reason of interest and the law of the strongest."

Mr. Kaklamanis lashed out against what he called Turkish expansionism, "seeking the completion of a racist, irredentist state which has led to the slaughter of millions of Greeks, Armenians, Kurds and other peoples who insist on defending their national existence."

"We shall be on the side of the Cypriots until the hour of vindication, the hour of freedom," he concluded.

Athens News Agency

[08] Karamanlis cites ND support for private non-profit universities

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

"Education and culture constitute a unified notion and should be the first priority on a national and social level," Mr. Karamanlis told his audience, which was comprised pf university professors, trade unionists and ND cadres.

The ND leader accused the government of not having a policy on education, saying that all reforms undertaken by PASOK governments had "a disappointing result".

Mr. Karamanlis said that ND was in favour of the establishment of private non-profit universities, noting that "competition never harmed anybody."

Athens News Agency

[09] Gov't,PASOK officials speak at first-ever Greek-Panamerican conference

NEW YORK 11/05/1998 (ANA - M. Georgiadou)

"Greece has adjusted to the new realities after the end of the Cold War and formulates its foreign policy by taking into account the presence of only one superpower, the globalisation of the economy and, therefore, the primary role of the economy, as well as the fact that there are no permanent and stable alliances..." he said.

"Greece utilises its position as a member of the EU and NATO, and as the strongest (state) economically in the region, which renders it a factor of stability.

"It is a role which must project. Greece supports and relies on international legality, does not seek disputes and has managed to develop a good relation with the US on an equal basis, characterised by respect and confidence, irrespective of whether US policy options are satisfactory to us," he said.

PASOK Secretary Costas Skandalidis told the conference that Greece's active foreign policy was causing Turkey's isolation, and that negotiations for Cypriot membership of the EU amounted to a change of the balance of power in the area through political means.

Finance Undersecretary Nikos Christodoulakis said that the presence of 5, 000 Greek businesses in neighbouring Balkan countries contributed to the prosperity and stabilisation of all economies concerned.

Athens News Agency

[10] Yiannopoulos speaks at event commemorating the end of WWII

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

"Those of us who participated in that anti-fascist epic, and united our forces with the fighters of Stalingrad and El-Alamein, Tobruk, Rimini and the Ardennes...call upon the whole world to defend permanent peace, democracy, and human rights...Fascism will not win through oblivion. This tenticle will be cut off by the children and grandchildren of the victorious anti-fascists; of the people of conscience," he said. He pointed out that the Greek national resistance was first recognised by the PASOK governmen t in 1982.

Meanwhile, the Greek ambassador to Austria, Yiannis Yennimatas, yesterday attended commemorative events at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Upper Austria, where the key speaker was Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima.

Mr. Yennimatas addressed a memorial service at the monument for the 3,700 Greek victims of the camp.

Athens News Agency

[11] Anarchist group claims responsibility for firebombing of minister's office

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

An anonymous caller to a private radio station and an Athens daily claimed that the group had planted the makeshift incendiary device at Mr. Mantelis' office.

The explosion shattered windows at the sixth-floor office in downtown Athens but there were no injuries.

"Children of November" first surfaced last month when an anonymous caller claimed two bomb attacks on the offices of ministers.

Neither of those attacks, one on the office of Labour Undersecretary Christos Protopapas and the other at offices used in the past by Labour and Social Security Minister Miltiades Papaioannou, caused no injuries.

Athens News Agency

[12] Nano, Romeos focus on better bilateral law enforcement cooperation

Athens 11/05/1998 (ANA)

Mr. Romeos and Mr. Nano, who was in Thessaloniki to address a meeting of northern Greek businesspeople, discussed how to combat criminal activity by Albanian criminal gangs in Greece.

"There must be joint action to deal with criminal activity on the Greek- Albanian borders," a statement by the two men issued after the meeting noted.

Mr. Romeos said that Greece would help the Albanian side with technical support and with advice to aid in the restructuring of the Korce and Gjirokaster police forces to combat criminal activity near the border.

Greece will also provide Albanian border police with patrol cars and bulletproof vests.

Mr. Nano returned to Tirana last night after a three-day visit to northern Greece.

Athens News Agency

[13] Russian ambassador says Moscow will honour S-300 contract with Cyprus

NICOSIA 11/05/1998 (ANA - K. Venizelos)

"Our contract is specific and foresees the provision of the defence system to Cyprus. No changes have been discussed and consequently, there will be none. There is no such issue," Georgi Muratov said, in response to rumours on plans to divert the missiles to Greece.

In addition, Mr. Muratov rejected any idea of recognising the illegal regime in the Turkish-occupied part of the island republic.

"In today's world, it is not possible to recognise a state created with the use of foreign troops. It would overturn and destroy the international order of things," he said, responding to a question regarding Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash's demand that his regime be recognised.

Referring to recent statements by US officials on recognising the "realities" on Cyprus, Mr. Muratov said: "Realities in Cyprus are known. There is one permanent government, the government of the Cyprus Republic with President (Glafcos) Clerides, there are two communities. There is an impasse in the bi-communal dialogue."

"We acknowledge these facts, we acknowledge that Mr. Denktash is the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community. But nobody is about to recognise the division of Cyprus or the existence of the so-called Turkish Cypriot state, because that would be in compl ete opposition with decisions of the (UN) Security Council," Mr. Muratov added.

Commenting on a Russian proposal for a UN Security Council debate on the Cyprus issue, the ambassador said the aims of such development would be to reaffirm the bi-communal framework of the dialogue, to reaffirm the principles of a Cyprus settlement, as they derive from past UN and Security Council desicions, as well as to reinforce UN Secretary General special representative on Cyprus Diego Cordovez's mandate and the UN's good offices.

Mr. Muratov said the Russian federation welcomed efforts to break the stalemate in the Cyprus issue, such as the recent effort by US envoy Richard Holbrooke to get both sides talking again, but said more coordination was needed.

"The only thing I want to underline is that the more we coordinate our efforts and cooperate with the US, the more results we will see, compared to someone acting on their own," he said.

Finding a resolution to the Cyprus problem, he added, needed careful handling and intensive talks between the members of the UN Security Council.

Athens News Agency

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