Antenna News in English 150796

Antenna Radio News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Antenna Radio <http://www.antenna.gr> - email: antenna@compulink.gr

News in English, of 15/07/1996

TITLES

• The Greek foreign minister says Turkey must respect human rights if it wants EU money***.
• Greece's main opposition leader tours the Aegean***.
• And, getting ready to help people in distress***.

PANGALOS

Theodoros Pangalos discussed EU funding of non-EU members with the chairman of the EU's council of ministers.

As Tom Alexopoulos tells us, Greece wants Turkey to start respecting the rights of others before it lifts its veto.

Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos told Irish foreign minister Dick Spring, chairman of the EU's council of foreign ministers, that Greece wants Turkey to stop provoking it, before agreeing to free up money earmarked for Turkey under the EU's MEDA programme. MEDA is an assistance package designed for Mediterranean countries not in the EU.

Pangalos said his talk with Spring had been a first meeting with the new EU council chairman.

Neither of the ministers revealed much about what was said.

But the Greek government has submitted a four-point proposal to the Irish government, which will chair the EU for the next six months.

If the four points are complied with, then Greece will lift its veto over EU funding of Turkey.

Greece wants the EU to produce a written statement calling on Turkey to respect human rights; it wants specific actions taken which will improve Greek-Turkish relations, and Turkey to drop its territorial claims on Greece; it wants the EU to deal with financing of Turkey separately from other countries included in the MEDA programme; and, finally, Greece wants Turkey to state publiclly that it has a positive attitude toward Greece.

Greece has long said it wants Turkey to move closer to the EU, but has also held that Turkey cannot get any closer to Europe while it continues to disregard human rights and Greece's rights.

Turkish air force jets frequently violate Greek air space over the Aegean, a bully-boy tactic Greece wants to stop. Greek air force officials say that Turkish air space violations have more than doubled on last year.

EVERT

On the island of Andros, he talked about national security and the national economy.

For the people of the other Aegean islands New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert is visiting,the issue of Turkish claims on the Aegean have a direct impact. In recent months, Turkey has said there are "grey areas" of dubious sovereigny in the Aegean, hoping to get Greece to re-negotiate its Aegean rights.

Visiting Andros and Tinos Friday, Evert said that the Aegean sea will remain blue, with no grey zones.

Visiting the towns of Batsi and Chora, the opposition leader also talked about the issue of econmic development of the Aegean islands. The main props of the Aegean islands' economy are tourism and shipping.

Andros is an island renowned for its contributions to Greece's mercantile navy. Evert said the fact that Greece's merchant marine is one of the top ten in the world is a source of great political power for the country.

He proposes that the merchant marine schools be transferred to the Aegean islands.

Evert was well received on Andros. The mayor of Batsi called him "the future prime minister", adding that the next New Democracy government will be a helicopter administration, since its ministers will travel all over Greece to examine people's problems first-hand.

VASSO

But the left isn't taking the bait.

The left has been cautious of Pasok offers of friendship in the past, saying the ruling party tends to dominate their relationship, and uses offers of cooperation to draw left-wing voters away.

But Papandreou says the tactics of the past should become a thing of the past, and that Pasok's relations with the left should start off with a clean slate.

Vasso Papandreou says a dialogue between Pasok and the parties to its left would ensure mobilisation of the widest possible political and social front of the centre-left and the broad left.

In her interview, Papandreou says, "I recognise the mistakes of recent years". Referring to the leadership of the late Andreas Papandreou, she adds, "The past was marked by hegemonic style, but we can't let that past dominate the future".

New prime minister Kostas Simitis says he'll substitute a collective leadership style for Pasok's old Andreas-Papandreou dominated style. Mr Simitis is popular with the Left Coalition, but, like the communist party, it is rejecting Vasso Papandreou's offer of meaningful dialogue.

The left coalition says what is needed is not a broad front that would be Pasok-dominated at the polling booths, but a new voting system, which would give the smaller parties representation according to the number of votes they receive in elections, and not give the lions share of parliamentary seats to the larger parties.

EMAK

They recently carried out a mock rescue operation in Thessaloniki, under the watchful eyes of officials from the public order ministry.

Following the mock disaster, the men of EMAK were given the task of saving a person trapped in a room on the first floor of an apartment building.

The mission was accomplished without any hitches. The members of the special unit have a rigorous daily training programme, carried out in training centres and out in the field.

© ANT1-Radio 1996

Antenna Radio News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article