Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 03-12-20

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM makes overture to ND voters for next elections

[02] Opposition parties reactions

[03] PASOK Central Committee approves candidate lists for elections

[04] PASOK secretary calls for 'grand reformist alliance' against the political Right

[05] FM Papandreou reiterates support for Turkey's EU course

[06] Security beefed up at Athens Metro following Istanbul bomb attacks

[07] Archbishop Christodoulos cable to Ecumenical Patriarch on Istanbul attacks

[08] Karamanlis' condolences to Blair over Istanbul attacks

[09] Israel reaffirms excellent relations with Greece

[10] Deputy FM Magriotis arrives in Cyprus

[11] Armed Forces Day events heighten with reception attended by president, PM

[12] DM lauds military's contribution in light of Armed Forces day

[13] Greek weekly economic review

[14] Greek govt seeks efficient real estate management by DEKO

[15] ND slams new round of hiring, says gov't has transgressed all bounds

[16] Greek wine makers in promotion campaign in US market

[17] Greek stocks end week 2.13 percent down

[18] Vancouver a 'ready source' of volunteers for 2004 Games, Greek consul says

[19] Not all N17 in the dock, Giotopoulos' defense claims

[20] Border guards arrest trucker for carrying 51 illegal immigrants

[21] Group claims early morning attack on bank branch

[22] Gov't backs move designating Jan. 27 as day of remembrance for Greek Jews

[23] Weston: Annan plan the only realistic for Cyprus settlement

[24] Bayraktar Mosque in Nicosia to reopen

[01] PM makes overture to ND voters for next elections

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

Speaking at a PASOK central committee meeting called to approve the party's candidate lists for next spring's general elections, Simitis for the first time directly addressed himself to the ND voters ''who are with that party without the party expressing them''.

Simitis called on those voters to ''come with us in 2004, rallying together for genuine progress, for completion of the modernization and European orientation of the country''.

Saying that PASOK expressed the overwhelming majority of the Greek people and was the "big" party of the centre and the Left, Simitis called on all progressive citizens, regardless of their political leanings, to rally together behind the ruling party in 2004.

PASOK, he said, had a comprehensive national strategy which had resulted in the country's accession to EMU and Cyprus' accession to the EU at a time when the main opposition party doubted the achievement of those targets ''only to be belied later''.

Simitis further criticized ND's policy on the economy and other issues, which he warned could lead to regression at a great cost for the country.

On his government's accomplishments, Simitis said the past four-year period had been one of the most productive in the post-junta period, citing the social insurance and tax reforms introduced by his government, which the premier said had led to a substantial redistribution of revenues to the benefit of the financially weaker strata.

Those and other accomplishments of his government's policies were the work of a contemporary political party with vision and capabilities, strength and prospects for victory, he said, adding that it was this work accomplished that guaranteed that PASOK could materialize all that still remained to be done.

Simitis further said that there would be two important landmarks in 2004: the first concerned the resolution of the major national issues and the second was the successful organization of the Olympic Games in Athens.

The Greece that will achieve those two major goals will be the strongest Greece in contemporary and modern history, he said.

Turning to his Convergence Charter and the targets it contained, Simitis reassured that there would be no cutbacks in the measures announced and that all would be implemented.

On next year's draft budget recently tabled in parliament, the premier said it contained the largest public investments program in Greece's history, and included the funds earmarked for the 2004 Olympics, which he said would afterwards be funneled for the development of the entire country ''given that a successful Olympiad will bring a new wind of growth and new opportunities for all of Greece''.

Simitis expressed optimism that PASOK would win next year's general elections and, referring to the MPs of his party who have chosen not to run for re-election, said that withdrawal from parliamentary activity did not mean withdrawal from active politics and social activity, and thanked them for having supported PASOK and its policies in parliament throughout their tenure.

[02] Opposition parties reactions

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

''Greeks envision a political leadership for Greece that will concern itself and solve the day-to-day, real problems of the country. A Greece that will not concern itself with the divisor excesses of the past, will not suffocate in these but breathe freely,'' the spokesman said.

According to the leader of the non-Parliamentary Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI) party, Dimitris Tsovolas, PASOK had evolved into a neo-liberal, neo-classist and anti-working-class party that had marginalized one third of Greeks and could no longer convince any of the contemporary unprivileged members of society.

He called on progressive, social and political forces to join together to create a third progressive pole of power that would counter the neoliberal policies espoused by both PASOK and ND.

[03] PASOK Central Committee approves candidate lists for elections

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

Only two members of the committee voted against the Executive Bureau's unanimous proposal.

Central Committee Secretary Mihalis Chrysohoidis noted that this was the first time that the party's candidate lists had been prepared so far in advance and said that the 52 slots on party tickets that remained empty will have been filled by Christmas.

The candidates approved on Friday represent 86 per cent of the total, while 46 per cent of them are new. There are 50 women included in the lists in total, though this number might raise when the empty places are covered and the list of state deputies completed.

In his rejoinder, Chrysohoidis referred to the decision to exclude Mihalis Neonakis, Yiannis Sbokos and Sofia Sakorafa from the lists of candidates.

For the first two, he said their exclusion was not a form of censure but imposed by practical considerations and what could best serve the party's goal of electoral victory.

Excluding a member that had made a great contribution to the party was difficult but sometimes absolutely necessary, he added.

''A different approach could drag the Movement into a vortex of pointless conflicts,'' he said.

Regarding Sakorafa, the party secretary said her exclusion was decided based on her behavior in the municipal elections in 2002, when she decided to run for the Maroussi municipality in spite of PASOK's decision that she should support current mayor Panagiotis Tzanikos.

Neonakis rejected the explanations given by Chrysohoidis and said that his exclusion from the list of candidates for Rethymno on Crete was ''completely unfair, morally reprehensible and politically unjustified'' and a ''monument of political cynicism''.

A former member of PASOK's executive bureau, Neonakis resigned in June for ''reasons of sensitivity'' following the disclosure in parliament that he had carried out stock transactions valued at approximately 64 million euro on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) (about half in stock sales and half in stock purchases) during the period 1998-2000, most of which also involved listed stock of the ALTEC Group.

The disclosures followed allegations in the press that Neonakis and former minister of state Stephanos Manikas were involved in insider trading, though the Capital Markets Commission said in June that there were no ''systematic indications of violations or participation in an effort to abuse the market, based on the existing legislation and regulatory framework''.

Sbokos, a former head of the defense ministry's general arms procurements department, also expressed bitterness at his exclusion in statements before the Central Committee earlier in the day, saying he had been the target of ''directed press articles''. Sbokos, who has come under fire for his handling of arms procurements, stressed that there was absolute transparency in all decisions and that these were taken by the ministers and the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense, not him alone.

According to New Democracy's defense sector coordinator Spilios Spiliotopoulos, however, Sbokos' exclusion from PASOK tickets did not relieve the government and prime minister of their responsibility for the lack of transparency and the choices made in the two arms procurements programs, worth 27 billion euros.

[04] PASOK secretary calls for 'grand reformist alliance' against the political Right

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

In his address to the Central Committee, Chrysohoidis also attacked main opposition New Democracy, saying it identified with the past.

He asserted that ND had failed to make even one clear, specific and binding proposal for the future of the country and had opposed all major reforms in the past 20 years, describing it as the party of ''fear and universal pessimism''.

Ranged against the main opposition was PASOK, he added, which should not be afraid to change with a changing society and to align itself with modern socialists.

''We will win the elections of 2004 if we prove to society that we are able to change ourselves, just as we changed the country,'' he said.

He stressed that voters were well aware of the achievements of past PASOK governments, such as Greece's entry into the euro-zone or Cyprus' accession to the EU, and that the agenda for the next four-year term was state reform, establishing a new social state, boosting economic growth and enhancing social justice.

''This is the formula of the modern socialists. What do the conservative forces reply?'' he added.

Lastly, he referred to PASOK election tickets, saying that these had undergone an unprecedented renewal, with up to 46 per cent new candidates.

In an earlier address to the Central Committee, meanwhile, prime minister and ruling PASOK party leader Costas Simitis made an unprecedented overture to ND voters, saying that the main opposition had failed to express them and urging them to put their trust in PASOK in the 2004 elections for "genuine progress, for completion of the modernization and European orientation of the country".

Simitis added that PASOK expressed the overwhelming majority of Greeks and was the "major party of the centre and the Left".

[05] FM Papandreou reiterates support for Turkey's EU course

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

Speaking from the northwestern town of Kastoria in the aftermath of the latest twin bomb attacks in Istanbul this week, blamed on “Al-Qaida” and Turkish extremists, Papandreou said Turkey’s European orientation and the ongoing positive steps that country has made towards this direction may have been among the targets of the terrorist attacks.

“We must also support Turkey, both Greece and the European Union. I would add that spirit of the article that we’re discussing for the new (EU) Constitution on solidarity to targeted member-states should be implemented so that the EU helps Turkey towards this direction,” he said, adding:

“For us, for Greece, Turkey’s security, its European course and democracy in the country, as much as this sounds unusual, aids our national interests,” he said.

[06] Security beefed up at Athens Metro following Istanbul bomb attacks

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

Attica Metro security and operational control director Demosthenes Yannisopoulos told ANA that the company had put in place increased security measures on Thursday immediately after learning of the bomb attacks in Istanbul, including tracing device that detects explosive and chemical substances.

Yannisopoulos a further 19 such detectors were being purchased so that one would be installed at all the stations throughout the Metro network. The cost of the detectors is estimated at 80,000 euro per unit.

The Metro's security chief also said that the number of security guards on each shift throughout the Metro network was doubled as of Thursday noon, adding that the stations were being guarded round the clock, including the 12:30a.m.-5:00a.m. shift when the Metro is not in operation.

[07] Archbishop Christodoulos cable to Ecumenical Patriarch on Istanbul attacks

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

''Joining in the worldwide mourning due to the repeated terrorist attacks in the heart of Istanbul, we express to you and to the beloved Greek community our undivided support, and pray to the Lord for the speedy healing of the wounds and restoration of tranquility and security in the neighboring country,'' the cable said.

[08] Karamanlis' condolences to Blair over Istanbul attacks

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

“I would like to express my deep condolences to you for the loss that your nation has sustained in yesterday’s abhorrent bomb attacks in Istanbul,” Karamanlis wrote.

“We consider that these terrorist acts are attacks against all that we hold dear. The images from aftermath of the blasts on the streets of Istanbul have, once again, strengthened our will to assume a historic responsibility to fight against the forces of fanaticism and hate,” he added.

[09] Israel reaffirms excellent relations with Greece

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

The Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights group "Simon Wiesenthal Center" on Thursday warned Jews to exercise "extreme" caution when traveling in Greece, claiming that the Greek government had not taken action against what it called "growing anti-Semitism.

According to an announcement issued by the Israeli Embassy in Athens, "the Israeli government has no connection with this so-called 'travel advisory' and stresses that Greece is a country with which it maintains excellent and friendly relations".

"The 'Simon Wiesenthal Center' is a private organization and does not represent the government of Israel," the embassy announcement clarified.

"The press release of the 'Simon Wiesenthal Center' and the issuing of the so-called 'travel advisory' took place with no connection or consultation with the Israeli government," the embassy announcement added.

[10] Deputy FM Magriotis arrives in Cyprus

NICOSIA 20/12/03 (ANA - G. Leonidas)

Magriotis added that Ankara must abandon its ambiguous stance and pay attention to the European Commission's latest decision.

Referring to Cyprus' accession to the European Union, Magriotis said it will open new horizons, both for Cyprus itself and the wider region since Europe will reach the geostrategically and geoeconomically important region of the eastern Mediterranean through Cyprus.

The deputy foreign minister further said Cyprus' accession to the EU has been achieved in essence ''through the effort of the Cypriots, their leaderships and the undivided assistance and support of the Greek government and the entire political world of Greece, as well of the Greek people.''

Asked whether he believes the result of the ''elections'' in the occupied part of Cyprus will affect the course towards a solution to the problem of Cyprus, Magriotis said ''regardless of the result of the 'elections' in the occupied part, the issue of Cyprus must find its solution soon'' with the Annan plan as the basis for negotiating.

[11] Armed Forces Day events heighten with reception attended by president, PM

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

According to reports, President Stephanopoulos was briefed by the armed forces leadership, on the occasion of the celebration, on their involvement in security issues concerning next year's Olympic Games.

Earlier, an event was also held at the Old Parliament building, in the presence of President Stephanopoulos, during which an

Athens University constitutional law professor referred to constitutional arrangements concerning the armed forces.

[12] DM lauds military's contribution in light of Armed Forces day

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

In his message, in light of Friday's celebrations for Hellenic Armed Forces Day, Papantoniou also spoke of the capabilities of the Armed Forces to confront foreign threats, both asymmetrical and symmetrical, their substantial contribution to conditions of peace and stability in the region and to handling the everyday needs of citizens, through the social dimension of their activities.

[13] Greek weekly economic review

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

In other headline news this week:

Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister, Mrs Vasso Papandreou, launched a campaign to remove thousands of outdoor advertisement boards in Athens, other Greek cities and in the country's national road network.

Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis announced the government's intention to place up to 2.5 percent in National Bank's equity capital owned by the Greek state. The placement will be made with the country's pension funds outside the stock market. After completion of the sale, the Greek state's equity holding in National Bank would be reduced to 5.0 percent from 7.5 percent currently, while pension funds would own around 20 percent of the bank's equity capital.

Greece's current account deficit widened by 41.8 percent in September further worsening the nine-month shortfall to 5.019 billion euros from 4.544 billion euros in the same period last year. The current account deficit rose 10.4 percent in the January-September period compared with the corresponding period in 2002, the Bank of Greece said. The disappointing figures mainly reflected a 7.8 percent drop in tourist foreign exchange inflows and a 10 percent drop in community funds' inflows over the same period.

Emporiki Bank, in cooperation with Sofinco, a subsidiary of Credit Agricole, launched Emporiki Credicom, a new bank aimed to offer consumer loans through the car dealer network.

[14] Greek govt seeks efficient real estate management by DEKO

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

The economy ministry plans a new policy for DEKO's real estate assets aiming to unblock their value.

The meeting agreed to create or update an analytical real estate record with the technical support and supervision of the Public Real Estate Company (KED), the separation of real estate assets according to their value, participation in real estate investment companies, setting up a consultancy group at the economy and finance ministry to support this procedure, inclusion of real estate assets to DEKO's business plans and training DEKO's officials in real estate management issues.

[15] ND slams new round of hiring, says gov't has transgressed all bounds

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

"We call on the government, even in the final hour before it leaves, to respect the fundamental principles of democracy. We will not tolerate discrimination and separate treatment of Greeks," he said.

Karamanlis stressed that the government could not proceed to hire new staff outside the ASEP exam system after the prime minister had declared the start of the pre-election period.

Addressing a seminar on primary-level local government in Thessaloniki, Karamanlis reiterated earlier accusations of graft and untransparency by successive PASOK governments, saying they had create a state "that is synonymous with impunity, corruption, arbitrariness and bad management".

Karamanlis pledged to support the role of local government and briefly outlined his party's program for this when it became government. This was later outlined in more detail by the party's political planning director George Souflias.

[16] Greek wine makers in promotion campaign in US market

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

Steven Olson, the American guru of wine, presenting the campaign to a group of journalists from the New York Times, Newsweek, Food & Wine, Food Arts, Wines & Spirits, etc) wine experts from famous restaurants, importers, distributors and restaurant owners at the luxury restaurant Tribeca Grill (owned by actor Robert De Niro), said he was particularly satisfied with the Greek wine makers initiative. He stressed that Greek vineyards were reborn and underlined the attractive relation of price/quality offered by Greek wines.

Participants in the event said they were excited with the quality of Greek wines and many of them agreed that Greece would be the next country to be in the focus of attention in the US market.

The first presentation of the All About Greek Wine event was held at the Ali Oli restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia.

Wine expert, Mrs Sofia Perpera, is the creator of the All About Greek Wine promotion show in the US.

The Greek wine makers participating in the promotion campaign are: Vivlia Chora Estate, Gerovasiliou Estate, Kir Yiannis Estate, Katoyi & Strofilia, Efharis Estate, G.Kokotos Estate, Merkouri Estate, Skouras Estate, Spyropoulos Estate, Tselepos Estate, Panantonis, Palyvos Estate, Sigalas, Emery and Gentilini.

[17] Greek stocks end week 2.13 percent down

Athens 20/12/03(ANA)

The general index ended 0.54 percent higher at 2,117.39 points. Turnover was a moderate 102.9 million euros. The general index ended the week with a net loss of 2.13 percent.

Most sector indices ended higher, with the IT Solution, IT and Cement sectors scoring the biggest percentage gains of the day (2.89 percent, 1.01 percent and 0.82 percent, respectively), while the Textile (0.64 percent), Insurance (0.29 percent) and the Holding (0.22 percent) sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index ended 0.64 percent higher, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 0.50 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index rose 0.49 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 178 to 105 with another 73 issues unchanged.

Derivatives Market Close: Turnover

110.2 mln euros on Friday

Equity Index Futures: