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Athens News Agency: News in English, 97-01-21

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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


NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 21/01/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

  • Premier calls on EU to pressure Ankara for Cyprus solution
  • Seamen's strike again extended for 48 hours
  • Dutch EU presidency places Cyprus among priorities
  • Stephanopoulos confident of Clinton's commitment to Cyprus
  • Cyprus Development Bank looks to expand to Crete
  • Record-time settlement for Black Sea Greeks

    NEWS IN DETAIL

    Premier calls on EU to pressure Ankara for Cyprus solution

    The European Union must exert pressure on Turkey to move towards a solution of the Cyprus issue, Prime Minister Costas Simitis reiterated yesterday.

    "We want the EU to exert pressure on Turkey, so that, at last, it will make a move regarding the Cyprus problem. There has been no development for the last 20 years because Turkey does not wish its resolution," he told Italian television after arriving in Rome to attend sessions of the Socialist International council, which begin today.

    "The EU must try to find a solution, because this is only possible if Turkey realises that cooperation with the EU presupposes peace and cooperation in the Mediterranean," he added.

    "If Turkey wants cooperation with the EU, if it wants the Association Agreement to really work, and have friendly relations with the EU members, then there must be no tension or aggressive policy and actions in the eastern Mediterranean. And one necessary condition is that UN resolutions regarding the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the island are respected.

    "Cyprus must at last become a state with two communities, and one government that decides for the whole," Mr. Simitis said.

    He noted that progress has been made towards recognition of the borders of EU member-states as external borders of the 15-member Union.

    Seamen's strike again extended for 48 hours

    Seamen and dockworkers yesterday decided to extend an eight-day strike for a further 48 hours, until 6 a.m. Thursday.

    The strike was originally scheduled to end early this morning.

    Dozens of port police officers have been put on duty in Piraeus to prevent incidents between the strikers and stranded lorry drivers.

    In a related development, an ANA dispatch from Rome reported that some 600 Greek trucks were stranded at Italian ports on the Adriatic, waiting for an end to the strike so they could reach Greece.

    Gov't

    "The seamen's labour action has taken on a political dimension, because certain forces are opposing the government," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said in referring to the strike.

    Ruling out the possibility of conscripting the striking seamen and dockworkers, Mr. Reppas nevertheless called on protesters to respect a decision by a Piraeus court, which on Friday ruled that the extension of the strike was "illegal and abusive".

    "They must consider the responsibilities for the social and political cost of the strike," Mr. Reppas added.

    Dutch EU presidency places Cyprus among priorities

    The Dutch European Union presidency has listed the Cyprus issue among its top priorities and will work in two directions, namely, for a solution to the Cyprus issue and for preparation of the island republic's accession nego tiations.

    This is the main conclusion drawn from a discussion held on Cyprus at the Council of Foreign Ministers, the first during the Dutch presidency, which included the Cyprus issue in its policy statements.

    Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou said the discussion was positive and referred to positions of the Dutch Council President and Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo, who raised the issue of Cyprus at the luncheon given for ministers at noon.

    Mr. van Mierlo stressed the need for the EU to activate itself for a solution to the Cyprus issue and for Cypriot accession, adding that the Dutch presidency will raise the issue of Cyprus at one of the upcoming Council of Ministers meetings for an exte nsive discussion.

    Cavanaugh says idea for overflights moratorium 'still valid'

    US State Department official Carey Cavanaugh continues to consider the idea of a moratorium of military overflights of Cyprus as still valid, despite its rejection by Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides, after his consultations in Athens last week.

    In his first reaction, Mr. Cavanaugh, who is in Brussels to discuss coordination of US and EU efforts for a solution of the Cyprus issue, said yesterday that an agreement on a moratorium would be "a positive alternative solution to the missile system, which the Cypriot government wants to install, as its aim is to protect the population from the possibility of an air attack."

    He added that Washington would guarantee implementation of the moratorium, emphasising that the decision to install the Russian S-300 missiles sets back its initiative to resolve the problem.

    Naval exercises in central Aegean

    The Hellenic Navy yesterday began two small-scale military exercises, code- named Astrapi (Lightning) and Ormi (Impetus), in the Cyclades area of the central Aegean, with the participation of destroyers, frigates, torpedo boats and submarines.

    The exercises will be completed on Jan. 24.

    Stephanopoulos confident of Clinton's commitment to Cyprus

    Former US presidential adviser George Stephanopoulos stressed yesterday that US President Bill Clinton was committed to finding a solution to the Cyprus problem and would give his full concentration to problems in the Aegean.

    "President Clinton will give the fullest possible attention to the crisis in the Aegean and the division of Cyprus. We have seen from the developments in recent years that tension is not about to abate, that we need a good and just solution and I believe that the president is determined about this," Mr. Stephanopoulos said during an event organised in his honour by the American Greek community.

    "I have the feeling that there will be relatively soon a very high-level initiative, in the course of the second Clinton administration, which will pressure for a solution. Secretary of State-designate Ms Albright last year made an important visit to the Aegean and Cyprus," he said.

    Athens-Skopje talks postponed

    Talks scheduled between Athens and Skopje on the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's name have been postponed, the office of the Greek permanent representative at the United Nations announced yesterday.

    Well-informed sources said that the meeting, to have been held under the auspices of UN mediator Cyrus Vance, may have been postponed because of President Bill Clinton's inauguration or because it coincided with the Martin Luther King national holiday in the US.

    Anna Karamanou to succeed Kranidiotis at Europarliament

    Anna Karamanou, a well-known ruling PASOK party cadre, will succeed PASOK Eurodeputy Yiannos Kranidiotis, who will be sworn in as foreign undersecretary at the end of the month. Mr. Kranidiotis replaces Christos Rozakis, who resigned his post earlier this month.

    Symposium to focus on Greek-language education in United States

    Archbishop of America Spyridon will inaugurate a symposium concerning the problems and the future of Greek-language education in the United States, which is organised by the Federation of Hellenic Associations of New York.

    Issues to be covered will be books used in Greek-American schools, further training of teachers in Greece, the role of the Greek state and the Archdiocese in the operation of Greek-language schools, and finally, the possibility of establishing a Greek-A merican university in the city.

    AMUE blames past gov't policies for current economic situation

    The Association for European Monetary Union (AMUE) - an independent union comprising banks, corporations and other EU fora - stated in its latest memorandum that low rate of growth, increased unemployment and the need to bring down constantly increasing debt in Greece are the result of past government policies and do not stem from current government actions setting the economy in line with the Maastricht Treaty criteria.

    Greece is represented in AMUE by Eurobank.

    Cyprus Development Bank looks to expand to Crete

    A delegation from the Cyprus Development Bank is in Crete this week as part of efforts to expand activity by the bank.

    The delegation has visited the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Hania, the Development Organisation of Western Crete and the island's Polytechnic.

    Members of the delegation said they were trying to bolster competitiveness and that their visit had left them with the impression that the island had developed significantly in the fields of technology and research and that it could support the presence of more banks.

    Xenia '97 begins tomorrow

    The 28th international tourism exhibition "Xenia '97" gets underway at the Piraeus Port Authority's (OLP) exhibition centre tomorrow with an address by Development Minister Vasso Papandreou.

    Xenia '97 is sponsored by the development ministry and the Greek Tourist Organisation (EOT).

    It is expected to be attended by 1,300 enterprises in the tourism sector, and with 229 pavilions.

    Record-time settlement for Black Sea Greeks

    The four-month period in which the settlement of Black Sea Greeks in the village of Pagouria in the Rodopi prefecture was completed is considered record-time.

    The project is part of the Programme for the Permanent Housing of the National Foundation for the Welcoming and Rehabilitation of Returning Expatriate Greeks (EIYAPOE) and was planned by the Foundation's Technical Service.

    The settlement is composed of 80 homes (60 ground-floor homes and 20 two- storey homes), whose building was carried out by four companies specialising in the sector of industrialised building.

    The location chosen for the new settlement constitutes the natural extension of the existing Pagouria community, it is directly served by the village's community infrastructure (market, school, church, etc) and will give a boost to the region's diminishing population.

    WEATHER

    Partly cloudy with sunny spells and local fog in the morning in most parts of Greece. Athens will be mostly sunny with temperatures between 6-16C. Thessaloniki will be more cloudy with temperatures between 1-13C.

    SPORTS

    Olympiakos striker

    Olympiakos' Serb striker, Ilia Ivic, will probably miss the rest of the season after aggravating an old injury in a first division soccer match in Kavala at the weekend.

    The Yugoslav international, formerly with Red Star Belgrade, had been out of action for 40 days after injuring his knee in a match between his Piraeus team and arch-rivals Panathinaikos of Athens.

    Both teams currently head the first division with the same number of points.

    IAAF delegation

    A delegation of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) is arriving in Athens today to iron out details concerning the programme of the World Athletics Championship, scheduled to be held here in early August.

    The delegation includes IAAF technical directors Sandro Giovannelli and Alberto Baronet, and three technical representatives.

    FOREIGN EXCHANGE

    (closing rates - buying) US dlr. 250.212 Pound sterling 416.759 Cyprus pd 517.070 French franc 45.711 Swiss franc 176.913 German mark 154.157 Italian lira (100) 15.932 Yen (100) 212.476 Canadian dlr. 187.309 Australian dlr. 194.968 Irish Punt 407.236 Belgian franc 7.480 Finnish mark 53.062 Dutch guilder 137.238 Danish kr. 40.468 Swedish kr. 35.639 Norwegian kr. 39.424 Austrian sh. 21.903 Spanish peseta 1.850 Portuguese escudo 1.551

    (C.E.)


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