Antenna: News in English (PM), 98-03-12

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

Last Updated: Thursday, 12-Mar-98 17:30:31

CONTENTS

[01] Kosovo-Rugova

[02] E.U-Turkey

[03] New Democracy

[04] Holy Synod

[05] Demography

[06] Palestini-Gaza

[07] ̀alaui-AIDS

[08] Sports

[01] Kosovo-Rugova

Ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova has accepted the call.

But the outlawed Kosovo Liberation Army issued an appeal to the Albanians to join the struggle against the Serbs.

What many ethnic Albanians are asking themselves is why did their leader Ibrahim Rugova and Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevich reach an agreement to talk things out now, after the death of 53 people at the hands of the Serb police?

The Albanians buried the bodies - among them 16 women - in a field outside the village of Prekaz Wednesday, after removing them from the mass grave the Serbs had put them in Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, the Serbs had interred 45 bodies themselves, after the families of the dead refused to claim them before foreign coroners examined them.

Rugova claims Albanian coroners who wanted to examine the bodies of the dead men, women and children were prohibited from entering the area where the corpses were. He says the dead weren't allowed a dignified burial.

Suzanna Manxouka was at the spot where the Serbs had laid out the dead bodies. She talked to Antenna.

"I'm a doctor and we came here to protest against the violence...killing...medical school".

Ethnic-Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova has responded positively to the Serbian dialogue offer - but he insists on the region's independence, something Belgrade will not countenance.

Rugova and Milosevich have agreed to dialogue, and the situation in Kosovo appears to be returning to normal. Belgrade says it's killed the terrorists it was targetting. On Wednesday, public transport was running again, even in areas the Serbs had sealed off during their policing operations. And the schools reopened.

But the crisis isn't necessarily over. In Pristina, women protested against the Serbs yet again.

And while the moderate Rugova has accepted talks, the militants don't want the mere autonomy the West is calling for - they want complete independence.

[02] E.U-Turkey

Turkey was angered in December, when the EU refused to allow it take part in the European Conference between EU members and prospective members in London .

The current EU chair, Britain, will restate the EU's conditions for Turkey to be put on membership track: Ankara must improve its relations with Greece and its human rights record, and work to solve the Cyprus problem.

On the eve of the Conference Ankara has asked the Greek foreign minister to meet his Turkish counterpart to discuss points raised by Panalos in a recent letter.

Ankara also wants what it calls organised high-level dialogue between the countries on all issues separating them.

Greece refuses bilateral dialogue on all issues, because among those Turkey places its claims on Greek sovereignty in the Aegean.

[03] New Democracy

Kostas Karamanlis accused Pasok Wednesday of showing favouritism in police department promotions and appointments.

Karamanlis was helped in his effort to move away from the conflict within his party by the absence of one of his main opponents, former prime minister Constantinos Mitsotakis, who's gone to Paris.

Their feud reached a new high in recent days, with Mitsotakis saying Karamanlis is leading the party to disaster, and suggesting the country may need a new political party. All that came after he was effectively barred from party organs by Karamanlis who is determined to assert his undisputed authority over New Democracy.

While the tension of recent days has abated, the conflict and confusion are still there, and it has many MPs thinking.

Christos Markoyiannakis says he honestly cannot say whether or not he would run for reelection if he had to decide today.

Criticizing Mitsotakis, Giorgos Kalantzis says, "This issue has to be decided one way or the other". Some, like Spyros Spyrou, believe there's room for both Karamanlis and Mitsotakis in the party.

In an obvious move to avoid discussing intra-party developments, Kostas Karamanlis said he'll make the government start hiring and promoting policemen on the basis of merit, and give those he says have been unfairly removed from their posts their jobs back.

Karamanlis was helped in his effort to move away from the conflict within his party by the absence of one of his main opponents, former prime minister Constantinos Mitsotakis, who's gone to Paris.

Their feud has reached a new high in recent days, with Mitsotakis saying Karamanlis is leading the party to disaster, and suggesting the country may need a new poitical party to lead it. All that came after he was effectively barred from party organs by a Karamanlis determined to assert his undisputed authority over New Democracy.

While the tension of recent days has abated, the conflict and confusion is still there, and it has many MPs thinking.

Christos Markoyiannakis says he honestly cannot say whether or not he would run for reelection if he had to decide today.

Criticizing Mitsotakis, Giorgos Kalantzis says, "This can't go on any longer. This issue has to be decided one way or the other".

Some, like Spyros Spyrou, believe there's room for both Karamanlis and Mitsotakis. "Nobody said Mitsotakis should leave the party", he say. "I think he's useful. But New Democracy already has a leader".

[04] Holy Synod

Serafim, who suffers from kidney failure, has been in the hospital for over two weeks with a serious viral infection. He is presently undergoing daily dialysis treatments.

During their meeting Wednesday, Synod members expressed differing points of view. Those who propose that the 84 year old archbishop be replaced met strong opposition from some bishops, who feel no decision on Serafeim's successor should be made until the Synod's next meeting in April.

Sources say no decision on what to do about Serafeim's absence was reached Wednesday.

[05] Demography

Psychologist Dimitris Boukouras of the University of Paris, chalks the falling birth rate up to two things: financial insecurity and a fear that raising kids will cramp a more fun-filled lifestyle.

With the declining birth rate comes a population that's getting older. In December 1996 only 16.4 per cent of the populace was fourteen years old or younger. The over 65s composed 26 per cent of the population.

[06] Palestini-Gaza

Antenna's Giorgos Vlavianos recently visited Gaza, where he talked to a Palestinian member of parliament about the problems of her people.

There are about a million people living in the Gaza Strip today, most of them refugees. In 1948, when the state of Israel was founded, there were 200 thousand refugees, and 80 thousand native inhabitants. And problems stemming from poverty and a lack of liberty abound.

With the agreement on Palestinian autonomy signed with Israel, came hope, here in the refugee camp of

Tzavaliliya - where the Intifada started in 1987 - as elsewhere in Gaza. When Yassir Arafat first came here in 1994, the future looked promising.

But the expectations have come to little. Today, the residents of Tzavaliliya live mainly off the United Nations.

Rouiya Asaouna, an independent MP in the Palestinian parliament, told Antenna's Giorgos Vlavianos: "After the peace agreement, the people thought this area will turn out to be a Singapore or a part of the modern life. As we'd been promised if we signed the peace treaty, then we'll have all the facilities to improve the quality of life of the Palestinians".

This building in Gaza city was constructed by the Egyptians. When they took over, the Israelis made use of it. Today, it is the Palestinian parliament.

But it is a source of little inspiration to many Palestinians. Like every poor, oppressed people, they look to an idol who is willing to take on the mighty of the earth. That explains the strong Palestinian support for Iraq's president Suddam Hussein in his conflict with the West.

Asaouna believes that the root of the Palestinians lies in the domination of Israel, and the consequent lack of democracy.

"We need it. Any nation needs democracy for progress. It needs time. It needs a system, and it needs a political system. And while we are still ocuupied by the Israelis, especially the Gaza Strip - 40 per cent of it is occupied by the Israelis still, you fight in your way for liberation. Maybe the Palestinan people lost their patience, I'm sure of it, because when we talk about politics you feel it's only a bluff like this with the Likoud government, which they are laying to make it more difficult daily life".

There are efforts underway to modernise Gaza city. This is Palestine Square. Nearby, there are hotels being built along the beach.

But the yoke of oppression is overwhelming: Israel's security closure of the West Bank and Gaza is frustrating Palestinian autonomous development. Unable to develop ports and an airport, Gaza remains fully dependent on Israel.

"There is great change, but still we're not talking about education, health, the general economy, the economic agreement".

The effects of stunted economic growth are everywhere. Here, at the Asifa hospital, women go home a few hours after giving birth - there's a lack of beds.

Most Palestinians are muslims, but there are also some two thousand Christians in Gaza, and they're prospering.

Vlavianos visited the Greek orthodox church, Agios Porfyrios, evidence that orthodoxy is no newcomer to the area.

Father Georgios explains that it was built in 450 AD by the monk Porfyrios, who was helped by the emperor Arkadios, then on the throne in Constantinople.

The church was first named Evdoxiani, but took Porfyrios's name after his death.

[07] ̀alaui-AIDS

"I'll never forget the first day Sarah came to the hospital, five months pregnant and carrying a small child in her arms. She was about 25 years old, suffering from Aids. Both she and the child she was carrying were condemned to death. What do you do?"

The words belong to a volunteer working with the Doctors Without Borders in Malaui. What he and his colleagues are trying to do is stop the spread of killer viruses, like HIV and Hepatitis B.

"So when I came here in 1997 the hygenic condition of the hospital was poor....I started to order a steriliser...and other germs".

The average age of the Malaui people is 36. Health experts believe that in 12 years it will have fallen to 29, owing in no small part to Aids, which they say will kill half of today's population.

In this video, we see Doctors Without Borders getting ready for an educational seminar outside a hospital. They represent hope.

On the same video, there's also footage from a funeral. Chances are, the victim died of Aids, says Sotiris Papaspyropoulos, chairman of Doctors Without Borders.

It is easy to fall into despair here, but Papaspyropoulos says the doctors' work is very important, not just because of what it offers on a daily basis, but also because it sets an example for others to emulate.

[08] Sports

The ball started officially rolling on March 10th, 1925.

Since then, Olympiakos has racked up 26 Greek championships, 19 Greek cupships, 2 supercups, and a Balkan cup.

The Piraeus team got its name from a sailor, one Notis Kaberos, who said he wanted an apellation that would convey a sense of strength, athletic prowess, and domination.

The oldest living veteran of the team is 89- year-old Achilleas Grammatikopoulos, Olympiakos goalie from 1926 to 1945.

He may have hung up his jersey, but he hasn't retired. To this day he scours the minor leagues, looking for young talent to add to the glories of the team.

What does the Legend mean to him?

"God", he replies.

His message to the players of today is to give their all to make Greek soccer better and better.

Petros Passalis plays for the team today. He also has the spirit. Olympiakos, he says, is a way of life.

Legends are most definitely not made by politicians who swap their suits for shorts and take to the soccer field.

New Democracy and Pasok MPs battled it out in a friendly Wednesday.

There weren't too many fans in the stands, but there was enthusiasm nonetheless.

So much so that New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis ruptured a tendon in his right leg while he was shooting.

That gets him an early trip to the showers - and a date with the surgeon, who assures everyone it's nothing serious.

(c) ANT1 Radio 1998

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