Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 03-03-18

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek EU presidency to press on with Iraq peace initiatives, FM Papandreou says

[02] Colin Powell briefs FM on U.S. positions on Iraq

[03] Alternate FM tells Commission of Human Rights terrorism must be confronted

[04] European Parliamentarians target new U.S. national security strategy

[05] Interior minister discusses administrative convergence with Italian counterpart

[06] Diamantopoulou: Lisbon targets need more time

[07] Greek current account balance rise to 1.284 bln euros in January

[08] Greek shipowners' new leader seeks improvement of sector image

[09] Greek consumer group urges for boycott of bank transactions

[10] Fruit & veg prices jump up to 117 pct since start of the year

[11] National Export Council meets for first time

[12] Greek tourism unveils promotion plans

[13] Greek shipping FX inflows 8.5 bln euros in 2002

[14] Measures to aid fuel supply needed if war launched on Iraq

[15] Greek stocks plunge on Monday

[16] Iraq war will not affect Olympics, culture minister says

[17] Journalism conference in Samothrace to be dedicated to 2004 Olympic Games

[18] Wild, gale-force winds cause problems throughout Greece

[19] British television producer refers to necessity of Parthenon Marbles' return

[20] Interior minister presents forest protection plan

[21] Criminal complaint filed in Athens against Henry Kissinger

[22] One of 3 Xiros brothers claims he was coerced into making confessions

[23] Cyprus briefs foreign diplomats on peace talks deadlock

[24] Christofias: Success of renewed Cyprus effort depends on UN's stance

[01] Greek EU presidency to press on with Iraq peace initiatives, FM Papandreou says

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

The two men -- who gained global renown for their work towards rapprochement between Greece and Turkey, fuelled by ''earthquake diplomacy'' when each country helped the other in the wake of severe tremblers in 1999 -- discussed developments in the Iraq crisis, Greek-Turkish relations, and the Cyprus issue.

In statements to the press after the meeting, Papandreou reiterated the Greek EU presidency's determination to continue working for a peaceful settlement of the Iraq crisis up to the last minute, and said over the past 24 hours he had had several telephone contacts with his EU counterparts and the UN chief weapons inspector in Iraq Hans Blix.

"We must take advantage of even the final days and hours to achieve a peaceful solution in the framework of the United Nations," said Papandreou, who was due to leave at noon for Brussels to chair a General Affairs meeting of the EU Council of (foreign) Ministers.

Cem, who is in Athens to address a two-day Western European Union (WEU) Assembly's Interparliamentary European Security and Defense Assembly colloquy on "Europe and the new Unites States' national security strategy - fighting terrorism together" co-hosted by the WEU Assembly and the Greek WEU/EU Presidency, warned that the war would benefit those "who want a conflict of civilizations" and would cause a "new wave of terrorism".

"We must do the best possible to achieve a diplomatic solution in the framework of the UN," Cem said.

Papandreou also recalled that his cooperation with Cem, as foreign ministers, had developed into a personal friendship, and paid tribute to Cem's past and continuing contribution to Greek-Turkish rapprochement.

Greek foreign minister pledges to keep fighting for peaceful solution in Iraq: European Union president Greece would continue to fight for a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the Iraq crisis until the last moment, Greek Foreign Minister and head of the EU foreign ministers' council George Papandreou pledged on Monday.

Papandreou made the statement as he emerged from a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Costas Simitis regarding the Olympic Torch relay.

Greece was in contact with all sides, including the United Nations, regarding the Iraq crisis, the minister said.

''Last night I had an in-depth discussion with the head of the U.N. inspectors Hans Blix. I also contacted my counterparts in the European Union, the Arab world and the Arab League. These days we are making every possible effort in order to solve the problem peacefully,'' Papandreou noted.

Asked to comment on the Azores meeting, Papandreou rejected the term 'enemies of Europe' for the premiers of Britain, Spain and Portugal who participated in the meeting and agreed with the attack on Iraq.

Europe had a joint position on Iraq but there were differences within its ranks on the best approach to take in practice, he said.

DM: As war clouds thicken, diplomatic efforts for Iraq settlement must continue: Although the war clouds were growing denser, diplomatic efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Iraq crisis should continue, Greece's national defense Minister Yannos Papantoniou urged Monday, although he added that war appeared to be the most likely prospect.

''The clouds of war may be growing denser, but so long as the window of diplomacy has not closed completely we should continue to work for a peaceful settlement of the problem. Realistically speaking, however, war remains the most likely prospect,'' Papantoniou said in reply to press questions on the sidelines of a day-seminar on ''Prevention of Substance Abuse in the Armed Forces'' organized by the ministry in cooperation with the OKANA drug rehabilitation centre.

Questioned on the prospect of the US proceeding unilaterally with war on Iraq, Papantoniou reiterated that any military action should have the ''seal'' of the United Nations. He added that in the event of a unilateral intervention, Greece would align itself with the EU countries vis-a-vis the stance they will take.

Gov’t: Greek presidency will 'exhaust all margins' for averting Iraq war: EU president Greece was continuing efforts for peaceful disarmament by Iraq even at the eleventh hour, government spokesman Christos Protopapas said on Monday. His responses to other questions, however, indicated that the Greek presidency did not rule out the start of war before the start of the EU spring summit on Thursday in Brussels.

Referring to the summit, he left open the possibility of changing its agenda if the war operation in Iraq had begun.

In the meantime, the spokesman said, even though the margins were narrower and despite the difficulties and differences of view within the EU, the Greek presidency was doing all in its power to make use of what margins there were.

He said that Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou had contacted his German counterpart Joschka Fischer, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio and U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix over the Iraq crisis, while the Greek presidency was also in close contact with all EU members on the U.N. Security Council.

At the same time, he appealed to Iraq to being unconditional disarmament and to comply with UNSCR 1441.

Asked to comment on the fact that Britain, Spain and Portugal had taken part in the Azores meeting and moved outside the framework of EU decisions taken at the recent Brussels summit on Iraq, Protopapas said only that the different views within the EU were known.

He also noted that the vision of a common EU foreign and defense policy would require even greater effort to come about, stressing that this effort had to be made, while he criticized but did not name countries within the EU ''whose views do not coincide with the prospects of a common foreign policy and defense policy.''

Asked if Greece planned to close down its diplomatic mission in Baghdad, Protopapas said that staff would be evacuated and would depart without closing the mission when it was judged that all margins for a peaceful resolution had been exhausted.

The spokesman also announced that Prime Minister Costas Simitis will visit President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos at 11:00 on Tuesday to inform him about the latest developments before his departure for Brussels.

He said the premier would not have another opportunity to brief the president in person in the event of war breaking out in Iraq while he was in Brussels, since he is scheduled to return on Saturday afternoon.

Simitis will depart for Brussels on Tuesday at 17:00 and while there will have successive meetings with European Commission President Romano Prodi, EU High Commissioner for Common Foreign Policy and Defense Policy Javier Solana, European Parliament President Pat Cox and representatives of European trade unions.

On Thursday, there will be a meeting of the EU Troika, while the summit will begin on Thursday afternoon and focus on the Convention for the Future of Europe. The Iraq crisis is presently due to be discussed by EU leaders over dinner.

The spokesman also noted that a visit by the prime minister to Cyprus on April 18 would go ahead as planned when asked if developments in Iraq might affect this.

[02] Colin Powell briefs FM on U.S. positions on Iraq

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

According to Greek diplomatic sources, Powell notified Papandreou that the U.S., Britain and Spain will not ultimately submit a second draft resolution for ratification permitting the use of force, underlining that diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iraq crisis have in essence been exhausted.

Powell also told his Greek counterpart that the next moves will be announced by President George W. Bush in his proclamation to the American people.

Papandreou intends to brief his EU counterparts during Tuesday's working dinner on the content of his telephone conversation with Powell.

[03] Alternate FM tells Commission of Human Rights terrorism must be confronted

GENEVA 18/03/2003 (ANA - N. Robin)

In a statement at the 59th Session of the Commission on Human Rights High-Level Segment, taking place in Geneva from March 17-20, Yiannitsis said ''the scourge of terrorism, which has taken on unprecedented proportions, must be confronted through the firm a concerted effort of all members of the international community,'' adding that ''all anti-terrorist measures adopted must be in full conformity with human rights and the principles of the rule of law and democracy.''

The Greek minister noted that the acceding countries, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia and the associated countries, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey declare that they have aligned themselves to this statement.

Yiannitsis congratulated Sergio Vieira de Mello on his appointment as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, noting that ''the EU looks forward to hearing Mr. de Mello's response to the Secretary-General's report entitled ''Strengthening of the United Nations: An agenda for further change.''

The minister went on to evoke the ''tragic loss of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic,'' stressing that the European Union ''has condemned this cowardly act, which proves, in an appalling way, the dangers to democracy and to human rights posed in this region by all forms of political extremism and organized crime.''

Yiannitsis said the European Union recognizes the Commission’s pivotal role in the promotion and protection of human rights.

''As the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Mary Robinson, pointed out, 'the Commission on Human Rights has been the central architect of the work of the United Nations in the field of human rights,''' the minister said.

Yiannitsis went on to say that ''we must not become complacent'' as ''human rights continue to be violated in many parts of the world.''

''The European Union is, moreover, convinced that protection and promotion of human rights significantly contributes to peace, security, stability and sustainable socio-economic development,'' Yiannitsis said, adding that ''the European Union welcomes the role of NGOs in the Commission's work and firmly believes in reinforcing the relationship between civil society and governments.''

The minister said that for its part, the European Union ''has made a great effort to implement these universal rights and improve its own human rights mechanisms,'' noting that ''it has developed programs and taken measures to combat at home scourges such as intolerance, racial discrimination and trafficking in human beings.''

[04] European Parliamentarians target new U.S. national security strategy

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

Speaking at the conference on the common combat against terrorism and the new national security strategy of the U.S., held under the auspices of the Greek Parliament, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis warned that the target of handling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction ''cannot be achieved with a fragmented international community and with European and world public opinion rising up and deploring the means which, ignoring the international community's relevant agencies, are being selected unilaterally, at the moment against Iraq, despite the repulsive picture humanity has of both the dictator Hussein and his tyrannical regime.''

Kaklamanis stressed that the task of UN weapons inspectors should be supported, provided they request a time limit to complete their work.

He added that, on the other hand, cooperation should be encouraged with the Arab world ''which does not understand the logic of double standards'', a logic also not understood by Hellenism regarding continuing Turkish military occupation in Cyprus.

Kaklamanis further noted the isolation of the Baghdad regime by the Arab world, adding that at this stage isolation will be more effective than the pressure of whatever acts of force.

Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Magriotis said ''President Bush's strategy of the pre-emptive handling of threats against the United States, before their full formation as well, risks bringing international law to it limits.''

He further said there is the danger of other countries following the example of the U.S. and, in parallel, of ''the turning of other countries to weapons of mass destruction to protect themselves from the Bush doctrine, will be encouraged.''

Magriotis proposed an international dialogue on the issue of security, with the desirable outcome being the adoption of the view that the world community's authorization should be a primary element in whatever military action, that the excellent security of communities is always of a defensive form and that just punishment also contains the element of proportion in its application.

Former WEU President Luis Maria de Puig underlined ''alarming elements in the new Bush doctrine'', determination for unilateral action, the target of the continuous preservation of military superiority over all the other countries and, above all, ''the newfangled idea that the U.S. has a special mission on the planet.''

De Puig added that ''the Europeans have the obligation to think of the consequences of such a strategy and to defend their own values and visions.''

Ivan Eland, a member of the Independent Institute, in Oakland California, said the government of the United States is using the events which took place on September 11 as an excuse for an attack against the ''axis of evil'', with Iran and North Korea being possible new targets.

He went on to say that if the U.S. wants to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction it should limit its aggressiveness, adding in parallel that ''Europe (or countries lying closer to a threat) should also undertake a bigger part of defense expenditures.''

Russian Parliamentarian Vladimir Lukin spoke of a ''peculiar doctrine'' and stressed that ''the United States does what it likes. It names those who bother it and says that it will not permit anybody to obtain its own power. What will happen if China activates itself? Will it also start a war against China?''

Former Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said in a statement on the sidelines of the conference ''the war has already started'' and that ''it is clear that the text of the three is not interested in the UN. They have decided to be indifferent.''

Pangalos also said ''the Greek presidency has gone beyond itself and as a country we can do nothing. The machines of war have already been turned on'' and that neither can the UN avert the war.

[05] Interior minister discusses administrative convergence with Italian counterpart

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

Administrative convergence will be attempted both by the EU Greek presidency and the Italian which will follow immediately afterwards.

Mazzella said issues discussed concerned electronic governance and training, which are currently of particular importance due to the EU's enlargement.

The Italian minister also underlined excellent relations existing between the two countries, which are linked with ties of friendship, not only for geographical but primarily for historical and cultural reasons.

Skandalidis assured that initiatives presented to him by his Italian counterpart will be supported by Greece to enable the steps to become reality.

[06] Diamantopoulou: Lisbon targets need more time

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

“In Lisbon we decided that our target is to make Europe the globe’s most competitive economy, while at the same time creating new job positions and developing the society of information. However, current conditions point to the need of a new deal to come closer to these targets,” Diamantopoulou said during a press conference, held at the Foreign Press Association central office in Athens on Monday.

Referring to the consequences the Iraq crisis may have on European economy, the EU Commissioner noted that the EU’s economic problem were pre-existed the September 11 attack (2001) in the U.S. and the Gulf crisis, but owing to Europe’s internal crisis because of Iraq, the situation worsened.

However, she said that “if the monetary union needed ten years of preparation, a common external policy would need more than fifty years.”

Diamantopoulou further referred to the cost a likely war in Iraq would have for Europe, saying that a serious problem would be if the war was waged without United Nations approval. “It would be very difficult to arrive at a decision on the cost of the war if we have not participated in a decision for staging a war,” she said.

With regard to employment and structural reforms policy, Diamantopoulou said that it was over-simplistic to blame unemployment for all of Europe’s economic evils, and stressed that decisions with regard to structural funds tended to be re-nationalized.

[07] Greek current account balance rise to 1.284 bln euros in January

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

This increase resulted mainly from the widening of the trade deficit and the narrowing of the transfers surplus, while the income account deficit also grew. There was little change in the services surplus.

More analytically, the widening of the trade deficit was mainly accounted for by the considerable rise in the net oil import bill. By contrast, the non-oil trade deficit was reduced, since the decrease in export receipts was more than offset by the decline in the import bill. There was no significant change in the services surplus, as there was a small drop in net receipts from travel and other services, and a small rise in net transport receipts. The income account deficit increased because of the rise in net payments for interest, dividends and profits. Finally, the narrowing of the transfers surplus reflected the fall in net receipts of general government (mainly net receipts from the EU).

Financial account balance: Greek direct investment abroad totalled 229 million euros in January, of which 197 million euros accounted for the participation of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) in a Romtelecom's share capital increase. Indirect investments recorded a net inflow of 1.189 billion euros, mainly reflecting the inflow of non-residents' funds for the purchase of Greek bonds. "Other investments'' recorded a net outflow of 376 million euros, reflecting mainly the increase in deposits and repos holdings abroad by residents.

Greece’s reserve assets came to 8.4 billion euros in January, the central bank said.

[08] Greek shipowners' new leader seeks improvement of sector image

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

''Unfortunately, European politicians have failed to realize the role of shipping on a world level, and due to the Prestige (accident), they have worsened the image world public opinion has of shipping,'' Efthymiou told a news conference.

He also said that if the Prestige had been given the assistance it required then the shipwreck would have been averted.

''As the matter was handled, whether it had a double or a triple hull, the vessel would still have sank,'' Efthymiou added.

He welcomed the fact that Merchant Marine Minister George Anomeritis had underlined the responsibility borne by Spanish authorities in handling the incident.

[09] Greek consumer group urges for boycott of bank transactions

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

The group began circulating a protest text, urging consumers to sign it, protesting against banks' lending policies. EKPOIZO said last week that Greek households were over-debted and that several thousands assets (cars and real estate) were confiscated and auctioned because borrowers were unable to repay their debts.

These claims, however, were dismissed by ICAP's survey last week which showed that Greek households were not over-debted and that the vast majority of borrowers were regularly repaying their debt.

[10] Fruit & veg prices jump up to 117 pct since start of the year

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

In a regular statement on prices, the ministry also warned that the increase was likely to continue, acting as inflationary pressure.

Green peppers posted the sharpest rise at 117.81 percent, followed by spring onions at 104.27 percent, and spinach at 95.31 percent.

[11] National Export Council meets for first time

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

The council met for the first time on Monday, chaired by Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis.

The measures to be adopted include exports' VAT returns on the same day and drafting of a program to boost exports during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Greece's National Export Council will meet once a month. Economy and Finance ministry secretary-general, G. Zanias, told reporters that its aim was to boost exports by 100 basis points as a percentage of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) each year.

The meeting agreed to give more emphasis on promoting Greek exports to Asia and China in particular.

[12] Greek tourism unveils promotion plans

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

The eight promotion plan is linked with similar plans by the private sector and cover: promoting the Attica region, conference tourism, winter sports, spas, sports, religious tourism, gastronomy and city travel in Greece.

[13] Greek shipping FX inflows 8.5 bln euros in 2002

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

The Greek minister stressed that these figures, amid an international economic slowdown, reaffirmed the shipping sector's strong participation in the country's current account balance as it covered around 25 percent of Greece's trade deficit (totalling 22.708 billion euros last year).

Mr Anomeritis stressed that the merchant marine ministry was promoting the sector's high contribution to the Greek economy through a package of measures and incentives aimed to boost shipping competitiveness.

[14] Measures to aid fuel supply needed if war launched on Iraq

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

The war also would lead to a rise in output costs for products and services, Tsohatzopoulos said.

At the same time, the trend may reverse in the second half of the war, the minister added.

[15] Greek stocks plunge on Monday

Athens, 18/03/2003 (ANA)

The general index fell 1.68 percent to end at 1,488.49 points, with turnover a low 46.5 million euros.

The Publication, IT Solutions, Textile and Investment sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (6.46 percent, 5.29 percent, 5.16 percent and 3.69 percent, respectively), while the parallel market index for smaller capitalization stocks dropped 3.34 percent.

The Food-Beverage and Retail sectors suffered the smallest losses of the day (-1.27 percent and -0.74 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 1.96 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index dropped 2.10 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 2.61 percent lower. The wider FTSE/ASE 140 index ended 2.04 percent down.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 296 to 37 with another 26 issues unchanged.

Derivatives Market Close: Turnover at 63.4 mln euros Monday

Equity Index Futures: