Clean Monday marks beginning of Lent
NEWS IN DETAIL
Foreign Undersecretary's visit to Albania
Foreign Undersecretary Yannos Kranidiotis had what he called a "useful"
meeting with Albanian President Sali Berisha in Tirana yesterday afternoon,
during which he asked for an extension of the Sunday morning deadline set
by Berisha for the insurgents to lay down their arms.
"We supported a political solution to the crisis and made it clear that
this would determine relations between Albania and the European Union."
In meetings earlier with members of the Albanian opposition, the Undersecretary
noted that while Berisha was in favour of elections within 45 days with a
prime minister acceptable to all sides, he insisted on a government of his
Democratic Party. However, the opposition wanted an interim government
which would change the electoral law before holding elections.
Speaking to the press in Tirana after the meeting, Kranidiotis said he had
emphasised Greece's concern for the ethnic Greek minority in southern
Albania. According to informed sources, both Berisha and the Albania
Foreign Minister had assured him there was no question of an involvement of
ethnic Greeks in the conflict.
The Undersecretary also stressed that Greece, along with the European Union,
believed in a political solution to the crisis, with new elections. He also
observed that that political developments in Albania were linked to the
question of economic aid.
Asked what Greece's stance would be in the event of a mass influx of
illegal immigrants from its northern neighbour, Kraniditios said no
military measures were being taken, noting that Greece was prepared to deal
with any eventuality.
Activity at Albanian border post
At the Kakavia border post this morning there was increased traffic from
Albania, mostly women and children seeking refuge from the insurgency.
Problems have arisen as many of the children do not have the necessary
documents since the relevant Albanian services are out of operation.
There has been very little motor traffic, and no trucks have been crossing
over from Greece with food or other supplies. The Albanian customs post on
the other side has been abandoned by both police and customs personnel.
Only 19 Albanian illegal immigrants have been arrested in Epirus over the
last 24 hours.
Foreign Minister interviewed on CNN
The effect of the Albanian crisis on Greek interests, along with continuing
efforts to solve the Cyprus issue and Greece's dispute with the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over that country's name, were
discussed in an interview Friday with Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos
on CNN yesterday.
Pangalos expressed the view that the rebellion in the south of Albania was
not due to the fact that part of the population there was Greek.
"The rebellion is due to ... political instability in Albania and the
authoritarian behaviour of the government...(and) the big financial scandal,
" he said, referring to the collapse of pyramid investment schemes.
Greece's concerns, he went on, were to protect the ethnic Greek minority.
"Up to now we have a positive reponse from the Albanian government. ...
President Berisha...made a public declaration saying there is no ethnic
motivation in the troubles nor any distinction among the different
religious or language groups in Albania," he explained.
The Minister also stressed that Greece could not afford any more illegal
immigrants from Albania, noting that almost one in three Albanian families
lives from from incomes earned in Greece. To contain any further immigration,
specific measures, such as the mobilisation of the police force at the
border, were being taken, he added.
Turning to the Cyprus issue, Pangalos emphasised that a solution was long
overdue and that he felt there would be progress this year.
"I think that at the end of this year, Cyprus will start accession
negotiations with the European Union... Although a solution is not a
condition for the beginning of the negotiations, if there was a solution,
the negotiations would be much easier and Cyprus' place in the EU would be
much clearer," he commented, adding:
"The problem... is to oblige in some way the govenrment in Ankara, through
international pressure, to take a decision on the Cyprus issue, to
contribute positively to a solution. That is the point."
He expressed the view that proximity talks would start immediately and face-
to-face talks (between the leaders of the two communities) eventually "if
there is a positive development, before the end of the year."
Finally, with regard to the dispute over the name of FYROM, Pangalos drew
attention to Greece's currently excellent relations as FYROM's second-
largest trading partner.
"The problem is that we want a name that will distinguish this new country
from our Macedonia. Macedonia is an important part of Greece, as you know,
and Greek Macedonia is more than fifty percent of the geographical area
...(of Macedonia) ...So we want to keep this name in a clear way as the
name of Greek Macedonia. We want their name to be specified in some way and
this is what the negotiations are about," he concluded.
Clean Monday marks beginning of Lent
Despite the poor weather forecast, many Athenians are expected to head for
the city's open areas tomorrow for the traditional kite-flying and picnic
that marks the beginning of Orthodox Lent. Grocery stores and bakeries will
be open during the morning, but all other shops will be closed. The Mayor
of Athens is holding a celebration at Philoppapou Hill in Central Athens
with live music, folk dancing and traditional Lenten food.
SPORT
Katerina Koffa took a second sprint gold medal for Greece at the world
indoor athletic championships in Paris Saturday, clocking 22.76 seconds to
win the women's 200 metres final by a 100th of a second from Jamaica's 1992
Olympic silver medallist Juliet Cuthbert. Greece's third medal was won by
Lambros Papakostas, who took the silver in the men's high jump with
2.32m.
WEATHER
Gale force northerly winds over the seas along with low temperatures are
expected over much of Greece today. Rain and sleet will fall in the north,
with snow on the mountains, and scattered downpours in the south. Tomorrow
there will be early cloudy periods, intensifying later the day with more
rain and snow. Temperatures in Athens tomorrow will range from 5-12C, in
Thessaloniki from 2-8C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Friday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 267.195
Pound sterling 428.980 Cyprus pd 522.784
French franc 46.225 Swiss franc 180.648
German mark 155.858 Italian lira (100) 15.726
Yen (100) 220.274 Canadian dlr. 195.642
Australian dlr. 210.368 Irish Punt 415.053
Belgian franc 7.557 Finnish mark 52.298
Dutch guilder 138.404 Danish kr. 40.900
Swedish kr. 34.906 Norwegian kr. 38.638
Austrian sch. 22.152 Spanish peseta 1.840
Portuguese escudo 1.553
(Y.B.)
