NEWS IN DETAIL

Greece welcomes US warning to Turkey

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas in particular noted the reference by US State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns about the need to respect international law and specifically, the non-use of military force.

Burns yesterday warned Ankara against using force on Cyprus, after reports surfaced that Turkey was seriously considering a military strike if Cyprus went ahead with plans to deploy advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles.

''This is no time for the Turkish government to be making wild and dramatic statements which will not be supported by any sensible member of the international community. It would be completely out of bounds for Turkey to take this action,'' Burns said.

Burns was commenting on threats by Turkish Defence Minister Turhan Tayan that Ankara would ''use all possible means to halt the missile deployment''.

''There can be no question that Turkey must respect the rules of the road here, which are no country, and specifically in the case of Turkey, should threaten the use of military force against Cyprus; no country, specifically here Turkey, should undertake military force against Cyprus,'' Burns said.

The US warning however appeared to fall on deaf ears, as Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller told a press conference in Ankara that ''these offensive missiles will definitely not be deployed'', according to an ANA despatch from Istanbul.

''If they are deployed, we will do what is needed. If this means they need to be hit, they will be hit,'' Ciller added.

''Turkey will not stand by as Cyprus is turned into a powder-keg,'' she said, noting that Ankara would today lodge a protest with Moscow about the sale of the S-300 missile system to Cyprus.

Asked meanwhile, to comment on the inflammatory statements by Turkish officials, Reppas said they were returned to those that launch them, adding that ''they expose those that make them and at the end of the day create a problem for Turkey itself''.

In a related development, Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou told reporters in Alexandroupoli, northern Greece today that Burns' statement was ''a clear message as to the need for Turkey to conform with the rules of international law and respect the other states in the region, and in particular Greece's borders''.

Papandreou described Burns' statements as ''positive'' and stressed that ''Turkey must be prepared to take the political decision and contribute substantially to the settlement of the Cyprus problem''.

Premier calls for calm in face of Turkish threats

"Our strength lies in our remaining calm, our insistence on international law and international treaties and the strengthening of our armed forces, which is continuing so that they constitute a strong deterrent force against any threat," Mr. Simitis said shortly after a government meeting on foreign policy.

"If we blow (Turkish threats) out of proportion, we shall be dragged into an atmosphere of crisis," Mr. Simitis said.

Comment on Nicosia's decision to buy the advanced Russian anti-aircraft missiles, Mr. Simitis said the Cyprus government not only had the right but also the obligation to take the measures it considers necessary for its defence.

He noted that by taking such measures, Nicosia was strengthening its negotiating position, adding that Greece fully supported Cyprus in these efforts.

Britain urging caution to Turkey

The same source confirmed that the British government was in close contact and cooperation with Washington concerning the Cyprus issue and Greek- Turkish relations. "We believe that only if the environment is rid of tension and crisis will a positive development be possible in diplomatic efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem," according to the source.

Pangalos to be in Belgrade Sunday

According to the sources, there is a possibility that Mr. Pangalos may meet with representatives of Serbian opposition parties.

Simitis welcomes farmers to first agricultural policy meeting

Addressing the council, Simitis confounded expectations that he might announce measures in favour of farmers, whose protests caused widespread disruption to road and rail traffic throughout the country last December.

''The government is implementing with steadfastness and consistency a programme with a time framework up to the year 2000 aimed at creating a strong agricultural sector,'' Simitis said.

Although the government was doing all it could through structural intervention in the sector, he added, this was not enough.

''In order to bring about the necessary changes, the active participation of all is required -- farmers, people living in the country, cooperatives and all those who are involved in the production process,'' Simitis stressed.

''The Agricultural Policy Council,'' he added, ''must formulate the policies and strategy to create an agricultural sector which will survive in the 21st century.''

Strikers disrupt traffic in downtown Athens

Their main demands are that the employment contracts of workers hired by the municipalities on a temporary basis should be converted to contracts of indefinite duration, a doubling of the lump sum payment given on retirement from the present 1,300,000 drachmas and the lowering of the retirement age.

According to the President of the workers' labour union, Zafeiris Perro, a total of 5,000 employees need to be hired to fill vacant positions, mainly in municipal garbage collection services.

Today's march ended at outside the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation Ministry building where a delegation sought a meeting with minister Alekos Papadopoulos.

Due to the indisposition of the minister however, a meeting was not possible and the protesters marched on to Parliament, where a 10-member delegation met with representatives of the House presidium and political parties.

Meanwhile, Athens deputy mayor Angelos Moschonas told Zafeiris by phone that Papadopoulos had undertaken the commitment to resolve the issue of employment contracts in the first draft law to be tabled by the ministry in Parliament.

The march caused serious traffic problems in the centre of Athens, while garbage continued to pile up on the streets of the capital due to the ongoing strike.

The greatest problem has been posed by heaps of garbage is in downtown Athens.

Greeks' standard of living takes a dive

The complaints to INKA and the General Confederation of Consumers of Greece, the former group said in an announcement today, show that ''the standard of living of the great majority of Greek households has not only not improved, but has declined,'' since they are unable to maintain albeit the same consumer behaviour.

According to INKA's figures, the purchasing power of Greek consumers dropped by about 12 per cent in 1996.

At a municipal level, the highest number of complaints came from the relatively affluent Athens suburbs of Psychico, Kifissia and Paleo Phalero, while at a prefectural level, Rethymno, Chania and Attica.

Of the 66,920 complaints, 11,245 concerned the cost of living. Of the remainder, most related to adulterated products, electricity and phone bills, cellular phone bills and contracts, insurance, banks, tourism and the mass media.

Greece's CoE rep ratifies 11th Protocol

According to the Protocol, a single European Human Rights Court will be established and operate on a permanent basis, replacing the present judicial bodies proposed by the EU Commission and the Court.

Citizens will have direct access to the new court. In the majority of cases, it will convene with 78 judges and will have jurisdiction over individual and inter-state cases.

Police arrest drug courier as another escapes from police custody

Aleko Prifti, 22, from Avlona, Albania somehow managed to remove the bars from the cell in which he was being held and escape yesterday evening.

He had been arrested when he was about to board a coach for Athens after police, acting on a tip-off, found the hashish in two travel bags he was carrying.

Meanwhile, a 45-year-old Turkish national was arrested today with four kilos of heroin as he entered Greek territory after crossing the Evros River, marking the Greek-Turkish border, on a rubber dinghy.

Vevgi Koskontzu Osssman (spelling phonetical) was spotted and arrested by a military patrol in the town of Orestiada and turned over to the Orestiada police authorities.

Greece's Intrasoft scores European Commission contract

The four-year contract, with an option of another year, was signed with the Commission's Informatics Directorate, based in Brussels, and will involve work with the Commission's computer networks in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg.

Intrasoft - a subsidiary of Intracom - will offer services to the 20,000 users of the Commission's database on a 24-hour, year-round basis.

WEATHER

SPORTS

Samaranch on Athens' Olympic bid

"The Greek candidacy is on a very good course and the general belief is that it will be shortlisted among the five who will pass into the next phase of the contention," he told a press conference.

Mr. Fouras' optimism apparently stemmed from a meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Juan Antonio Samaranch in Lausanne on Wednesday.

Speaking during that meeting, Mr. Samaranch had told the Greek delegation that "your candidacy was weak at first. Gradually, however, it became stronger. The unity of Greece is a good element for the contention of the Olympic Games. You must know that t he organisation of the World Athletics Championships 'Athens '97' will also play a role."

The World Athletics Championships are to be held in Athens from Aug. 1- 10.

Mr. Fouras assured the IOC president that both the Spata airport and the proposed Olympic village will have been completed on time.

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(M.P.)

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