Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-06-08
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 08/06/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Key Balkan meeting begins in Thessaloniki tomorrow
- Dutch PM, FM in Athens tomorrow
- Russian delegation in Greece tomorrow for CFE inspections
- Constitution debate on Wednesday
- 44th Acropolis Rally begins
- Two men arrested in possession of 5.5 kilos of heroin
- Argentinian arrested with one kilo of cocaine
- Two bodies found in minefield
- Air force exercise
- Mitsotakis concludes private visit to Turkey
- Gorbachev on ten-day private visit to Greece
- Helexpo to build Athens trade fair centre
- Four bids for Bank of Crete
- Conscientious objectors unhappy with bill on alternative service
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Key Balkan meeting begins in Thessaloniki tomorrow
A key ministerial conference on stability and cooperation in the Balkans
begins in Thessaloniki tomorrow aimed at promoting security and economic
development in the region. The two-day conference will be attended by
ministers from the Balkans and representatives from the European Commission,
World Bank, Western European Union, International Monetary Fund and other
international and regional organisations. Greece will be represented by
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, Alternate Foreign Minister George
Papandreou and Foreign Undersecretary Yiannos Kranidiotis.
Dutch PM, FM in Athens tomorrow
Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo will
visit Paris and Athens next week as part of a tour of European capitals
before a European Union summit in Amsterdam on June 16-17.
The Dutch government said yesterday that the Dutch officials will travel to
Athens on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos.
They will travel to Paris on Tuesday to meet French President Jacques
Chirac and new Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, before holding separate
talks with new Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
Russian delegation in Greece tomorrow for CFE inspections
A nine-member group of Russian inspectors will be on a visit to Greece from
tomorrow until Friday to inspect military units within the framework of the
treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
According to reports, a Bulgarian delegartion will pay a similar visit.
Constitution debate on Wednesday
Parliament will on Wednesday debate proposals on the revision of the
Constitution tabled by the ruling PASOK and main opposition New Democracy
parties. The government said yesterday that the 300-member legislature
would decide which articles of the Constitution would be amended by the
next Parliament. The election of the president of the republic by the House
is considered to be the most important of the issues pertaining to the
revision of the Constitution. The issue centres on the number of deputies
required in order to elect the head of state.
44th Acropolis Rally begins
The 44th Acropolis Rally began today at the foot of Greece's most famous
landmark -- the 'Sacred Rock'.
The rally will end on Tuesday after drivers have covered a total distance
of 1,263 kilometres, which includes 20 special sections stretching 458
kilometres.
Some 30 foreign and 71 Greek crews are participating in this year's rally,
which is regarded as one of the toughest on the World Championship
circuit.
Two men arrested in possession of 5.5 kilos of heroin
Two citizens from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) were
arrested early today by Evros customs police who found 5.5 kilos of heroin
hidden in their car.
The two, who were travelling from Istanbul to Skopje, were identified as
Adem Kazimi and Naim Zekiri, both aged 21.
The men, believed by police to be members of an international narcotics
smuggling ring, will appear before the Alexandroupoli public prosecutor.
Argentinian arrested with one kilo of cocaine
Police have arrested an Argentinian man at Heraklion airport for attempting
to smuggle 1 kilo of cocaine into the country.
Nestor Aquilino Rodriguez, 55, was arrested yesterday after arriving in
Crete on a Dutch airline flight from Amsterdam. The police said the
starting point of his journey to Heraklion was Buenos Aires.
Rodriguez, who claimed to be a construction worker, reportedly told the
police that he was neither a dealer nor a user.
Two bodies found in minefield
The General Army Staff announced yesterday that the bodies of two men,
believed to be illegal immigrants, had been found inside a minefield on the
Greek-Turkish border.
It said the bodies were found on Friday in an area near the village of
Vissa, adding that the minefield was clearly marked and well fenced.
It is believed that the two unidentified men were killed on the night of
May 30, when bad weather covered up the sound of the exploding mines.
Air force exercise
The Hellenic Air Force exercise "Olympia 97" will be held at the 117th
Fighter Squadron in Andravida Airbase this week within the framework of
military exercises with the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace
programme.
The exercise anticipates operations with transport aircraft and helicopters,
the dropping of paratroopers as well as search and rescue on land and
sea.
The exercise will include the participation of forces from the Netherlands,
Italy and Bulgaria, while Romania and Georgia, which belong to the PfP
programme, will only participate with staff.
Mitsotakis concludes private visit to Turkey
Former prime minister and main opposition New Democracy party honourary
president Constantine Mitsotakis returned to Athens yesterday following a
private visit to Turkey.
In arrival statements, Mitsotakis expressed satifaction from his visit to
the neighbouring country and said he foresees that Turkey will take the
step for the signing of a non-aggression pact, stating that war is not the
way to settle differences.
He said his impression was that the Turkish side accepted the view that war,
as a means of settling differences between the two countries, should be
categorically excluded. Asked by reporters whether Turkey intended to
announce such a position, he replied:"This will be the next step."
Mitsotakis said Greece and Turkey should attempt to find solutions to their
differences through dialogue and based on his agreement with Suleyman
Demirel in Davos in 1992. It should also be based, he said, on "respect of
the territoral integrity of both sides, the treaties which have been signed,
as well as on the general princples of international law."
Acknowleding the unstable situation prevailing in Turkey, Mitsotakis said
"national Turkish policy also exists today," guaranteed by the presence of
Demirel in the presidency.
The former prime minister said that during his stay in Turkey he dealt at
length with the Cyprus problem "to which we must focus all our efforts so
as to this time achieve a result".
Asked to comment on the appointment of Richard Holbrooke as US President
Bill Clinton's special envoy on the Cyprus issue, he replied:"Deeds will
show whether his appointment is positive."
Gorbachev on ten-day private visit to Greece
The last general secretary of the former Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev,
arrived in Athens yesterday afternoon on a ten-day private visit at the
inivitation of the Apostolopoulos group of companies.
Gorbachev, accompanied by his wife Raisa, arrived in the Greek capital from
Geneva where he and former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres were guests
of the International Union of Diplomats.
Gorbachev was received at Athens Airport by his friend George Apostolopoulos,
who is president of the Athens Medical Centre.
Asked by reporters how he viewed Russia's participation in an enlarged NATO,
Gorbachev said:"I consider a very bad idea the activation of the Paris
Charter of 1990 for the enlargement of NATO with countries such as Poland,
Czechia and Hungary."
He added:"When we signed the Charter of Europe we were in favour of the
creation of a United Europe. I now believe however that instead of
concerning themselves with the construction of a new Europe, they are
instead concerning themselves with NATO and Russia - with an issue which
has no reason to exist."
Apostolopoulos said he has been friends with Gorbachev since 1989.
Helexpo to build Athens trade fair centre
Greece's Thessaloniki-based Helexpo signed a contract with Vioter SA for
construction of a 4.5 billion drachma trade fair centre in Athens, due for
completion in May 1999.
The European Union will fund 50 percent of the project through an industry
programme with state-run Helexpo, which holds trade fairs on its Thessaloniki
premises throughout the year, providing 25 percent, and the government the
remaining 25 percent from the public investments programme.
"This (project) is very important for the national economy as there is no
trade fair centre of such a scale in (the prefecture) of Attica," Helexpo's
managing director Andonis Kourtis told the signing ceremony.
The two-storey Athens centre will be housed on 11,250 square metres of land
offered by the state in the northern suburb of Maroussi.
Four bids for Bank of Crete
A total of four tenders have been submitted for the purchase of the Bank of
Crete, according to an announcement issued by the bank yesterday.
The tenders were tabled by the Nanjing Star Co. Ltd and the An Ran
Industrial Group Ltd, which are headquartered in the People's Republic of
China, the Consolidated Eurofinance Holfing S.A. and the Bank of Piraeus.
An evaluation committee for the purchase of the Bank of Crete will convene
on Tuesday to examine tenders.
Conscientious objectors unhappy with bill on alternative service
An association of conscientious objectors has expressed opposition to what
they call the philosophy underlying a new law passed by Parliament which
for the first time provides for an alternative form of mandatory military
service.
Parliament on Thursday night passed the law by a majority vote, enabling
conscientious objectors to work in state hospitals or municipal services
for 36 months, double the normal 18 months of military service.
Representatives of the Association of Conscientious Objectors told a press
conference yesterday that although the introduction of an alternative to
military service was a positive step, "albeit with a delay of 11 years
compared to other European countri es," the new law contained a number of
serious weaknesses.
Association spokesmen Yiannis Chrysovergis and Dimitris Sotiropoulos said
the law's weaknesses constituted violations of "respect for free conscience
and the equality of citizens before the law."
Weather
Local cloud on the mainland and in the northern Aegean, gradually becoming
heavier with possibility later of showers and thunderstorms in central and
northern Greece. Winds northerly light to moderate. Possibility of rain
later today in Athens, while unstable weather is forecast for Thessaloniki
where showers or thunderstorms are likely.
Foreign Exchange
Friday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 273.356
Pound sterling 444.694 Cyprus pd 530.522
French franc 46.695 Swiss franc 187.647
German mark 157.515 Italian lira (100) 16.037
Yen (100) 236.215 Canadian dlr. 198.102
Australian dlr. 208.072 Irish Punt 404.934
Belgian franc 7.634 Finnish mark 52.461
Dutch guilder 140.021 Danish kr. 41.374
Swedish kr. 35.154 Norwegian kr. 38.049
Austrian sch. 22.381 Spanish peseta 1.866
Port. Escudo 1.562
(M.S.)
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