Antenna: News in English (PM), 98-07-13

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

Last Updated: Monday, 13-Jul-98 22:00:32

CONTENTS

[01] S-300 deal will go ahead as scehduled

[02] Kosovo

[03] St.Clair-Elgin Marbles

[04] Dana International arrived in Greece

[05] Europe's Save the Oceans Contest

[01] S-300 deal will go ahead as scehduled

Cyprus wants the S-300 missiles to strengthen its defences against Turkey.

Turkey has threatened to stop deployment with force. And many in the international community are asking Cyprus to cancel or at least postpone its acquisition.

Meeting in Moscow Russian president Boris Yeltsin and Glavcos Clirides said that the S-300 deal will go ahead as scehduled, despite the appeals for it to be cancelled or deferred.

US pressure to bag the missile deal has been intense. Washington contends that deployment will increase tensions in Cyprus.

Secretary of state Madeleine Albright asked again last week that the purchase be postponed or a smaller missile be bought instead.

Already, Cyprus has delayed delivery until the autumn - it was originally slated for August.

Clirides argues that the only way his country can pull back on its defence commitments is if Turkey agrees to discuss full demilitarisation of the island.

In a letter to Albright, Clirides suggests a military flight ban be imposed on Cyprus. The US has responded that it would be unwilling to ensure that such a ban were implemented, meaning Washington cannot vouch for Turkey sticking to it.

Continuing his visit to the US, the Greek defence minister told Greek- Americans in New York that it is inconceivable that the democratically- elected government of Cyprus should be asked not to purchase weapons it considers essential to its defence.

In a clear reference to Turkey, Akis Tsochatzopoulos added that those who might attack Cyprus feel threatened by the S-300s.

[02] Kosovo

Ethnic-Albanian sources report that two people were killed and twelve others were wounded.

There were reports that more people fled their homes when the Serbs shelled Pecan and two other villages and Serb snipers opened fire in nearby Suva Reka.

There were also reports of fighting in other parts of Kosovo, as the dispute between the ethnic- Albanian secessionists and the Serbs remains unsettled.

Western efforts to get the two sides to the negotiating table continue.

German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel said after talking to the American secretary of state that he has some new ideas for resolving the crisis.

He says it's clear that the European Union hasn't been able to achieve the results it wants so far in Kosovo.

He believes that Western pressure on the Serbs to remove their secuirty forces from the province and move to talks has got to be maintained. At the same time, he argues, a growing mood in favour of independence among ethnic Albanians has also got to be discouraged.

[03] St. Clair-Elgin Marbles

The late Mercouri was an untiring campaigner for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece from the British Museum, where they've been for two centuries.

William St Clair's book documents severe damage done to the treasures when attempts were made to whiten them with metal scrapers and harsh cleaning agents.

Jules Dessain - who was married to Melina Mercouri - welcomed the historian to the Foundation named after his late wife.

Dessain said St clair knows more about the Acropolis than most people, making him a valuable friend of Greece.

Having discovered that the British Museum's claim that it can take better care of the marbles than Greece is unfounded, St Clair says his job is done.

No doubt, the issue will come up when Sinclair meets with Greek culture minister Evangelos Venizelos Tuesday.

Venizelos has renewed the government's calls for the marbles to be returned, and asked for the establishment of an independent international committee of experts to study the Marbles and assess the extent of the damage to them, damage that Sinclair says amounts to vandalism.

Seeing the marbles back on the Acropolis was one of Melina Mercouri's dreams, and she campaigned strongly to make that dream a reality when she served as culture minister.

Sinclair was impressed by an exhibition the theme of which was Mercouri's vision at the Mercouri Foundation.

What many people who lived and worked with Mercouri would like to see is the Marbles back in Greece.

And though Sinclair say it, Dessain suspects he'd like to see the Marbles come home too.

[04] Dana International arrived in Greece

Dana shot to international fame recently when she won the Eurovision song contest with "Viva Diva".

Arriving in Athens, Dana said she was sure she'd like Greece, because she'd heard a lot about Athens and the islands from friends in Israel.

If she intends to enjoy Greece, though, it'll have to be on another visit: this is only a one-day trip.

After leaving Athens Tuesday, Dana goes to Turkey, Holland, and Germany, where her fans await her.

[05] Europe's Save the Oceans Contest

Teacher Dimitris Papadopoulos and oceanographer Maria Papadopoulou advised the students on their

project. They studied the vegetable and animal bio-systems in the sea in Vouliagmeni, a suburb of Athens.

For the students, it's a great learning experience. Says Dimitris Skouteris: "We used to just go to the sea and look at it through simple eyes. Now we look at it more scientifically".

In their study, the school students showed that it is very difficult and sometimes impossible for sea organisms to adapt to sudden changes of water temperature and salinity.

Alexia Apostolaki, head of educational programmes at the Lambrakis Studies Foundation, said, "One of the aims of the contest is to sensitize young people to matters of protection of the sea so that they are able to share their knowledge with their peers in Lisbon."

Another goal of the contest, which is part of Expo '98, is the drawing up of a charter for the protection of the oceans.

(c) ANT1 Radio 1998

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