Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-11-14

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

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 14/11/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• U.S. can do more on Cyprus - Pangalos
• Reports of new proposal denied
• Athens braces for Polytechnic celebrations
• Simitis announces measures for youth
• Would-be civil servants flock for information
• Fishermen protest imports
• Concerns in Thessaloniki over quality of water
• Doctors extend strike
• Investment firms show drop in market cap in October
• Greece defends release of tax evaders' names
• OTE bids for 40 per cent of Moldtelecom
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos today criticised US presidential emissary Richard Holbrooke and his government's stance on the Cyprus issue, saying the US should use the leverage available to them to pressure Turkey into cooperating towards resolving the Cyprus problem.

Speaking after briefing President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos on recent foreign policy developments, he said that Holbrooke's intiative was "important" in as far as the US undertook to use "all the means at their disposal to pressure Turkey.

"There have been plenty of proposals in the past, with the best of intentions, and similar initiatives have been undertaken," he observed.

Holbrooke visited Nicosia and Ankara earlier this week and later briefed Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou and Undersecretary Yiannos Kranidiotis in Brussels on his talks in the two capitals.

He did not visit Athens as Prime Minister Costas Simitis was busy with the tabling of the budget and Pangalos himself was in Madrid this week.

Pangalos said that the US could exert pressure by means of the military supplies it gave Turkey and which were used in Cyprus. He suggested that the US could limit those supplies or enforce a ban on their use on the Aegean coast or in Cyprus.

He also noted that Turkey was economically dependent on the US.

Responding to criticism by the UN envoy that the European Union had not undertaken any initiatives on the Cyprus issue, Pangalos said:

"Any effort by the EU to find a solution does not require an American mediator. We can do this by ourselves."

Reports of new proposal denied

He said a plan for a trizonal solution attributed to Holbrooke and published in today's issue of Kathimerini was "unworthy of denial or comment", adding that a similar plan had been recently published in a Turkish Cypriot publication.

"I am not aware of such a proposal by Mr. Holbrooke," said the foreign minister.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas later categorically rejected "Kathimerini's" front-page report of a Holbrooke trizonal proposal, saying it was "completely wrong".

Athens braces for Polytechnic celebrations

Police have stepped up patrols in the area of the Athens Polytechnic in downtown Athens as students prepare to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising against the military junta in 1973.

Security has been tightened at all tertiary institutions around the city to avert any recurrence of vandalism or violence that has marred past anniversaries of the occasion.

The three days of celebrations have often been marked by pitched street battles between police and masked youths, many of whom are self-styled anarchists.

Polytechnic authorities have fortified the historic school buildings against possible vandalism by the youths, who take refuge from police in the school grounds, which police are barred from entering. One of the buildings burned down during the anniversary six years ago and has now been almost completely restored.

Earlier this month, a parliament session was held between Education Minister Gerasimos Arsenis, Public Order Minister George Romeos and Polytechnic authorities, with discussion focusing on ways to avert incidents during the celebration.

University officials said today they were in constant contact with the public order and education ministries during the weekend's celebrations to coordinate activity.

Students and teachers have organised their own patrols of school buildings to prevent any vandalism to property.

Events will culminate with a rally on Monday, Nov. 17.

Simitis announces measures for youth

Prime Minister Costas Simitis announced today a series of measures aimed at "freeing creative forces and at achieving social solidarity" so that young people would not fall victim to the economic crisis.

Addressing a special conference on youth held by the ruling PASOK party's Central Committee, Simitis referred at length to the problems facing today's youth, problems which included education, military service and unemployment.

Observing that the percentage of the Greek workforce who were self-employed (51%) was the highest in Europe, the prime minister stressed the importance of supporting business ventures by young people through flexible funding programmes.

He announced that from 1998-2000, all unemployed would be able to join three-year subsidisation programmes. These provided 50,000 people with daily allowances of 4,000 drachmas for 18 months. Another 20,000 would be able to register at vocational training centres and those run by the state employment organisation (OAED). A total of 200,000 unemployed youth would be able to take advantage of these programmes, said Simitis.

Meanwhile, the creation of 1,500 new day nurseries would benefit more working mothers, while the government was planning young assistance for young farmers in the form of tax breaks, funding, leasing and other facilities in order to encourage more of the country's youth to remain on the land.

He also urged all young people to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, which he said required the participation of all young people. At the same time he referred to the government's initiatives to support young athletes around the country.

The problem of drug addiction, meanwhile, although not as widespread as in other European Union member states, was on the rise and required a comprehensive solution including support for rehabilitation centres, prevention, voluntary workers and cooperation within the EU.

The country's youth, he said, was the generation that could "reconcile democracy with the market, growth with justice and politics with culture".

Would-be civil servants flock for information

Demand for information on forthcoming civil service entrance examinations is extremely high, the interior ministry said today.

So far, some 25,000 forms have been distributed around the country since the beginning of the week. The government has said it will employ only 2, 353 people.

Up to 500 people queued at the interior ministry's special kiosk in Klathmonos Square in central Athens this morning to receive the forms.

The written examinations will take place on February 21-22. The successful applicants will take up positions in the education field, the finance ministry, regional and local government, and the capital market commission and the Agricultural Bank of Greece.

The deadline for applications to participate in the examination will begin on November 20 and end on December 9.

Fishermen protest imports

Fishermen in about 30 boats blockaded the Keratsini fish-wharf today to protest imported fish being sold as those fished in Greek waters.

Also participating in the protest were fishermen from Salamina, the Saronic Gulf and Halkida.

Their representative G. Bounafatsos said the blockades would be repeated and extended to other major fish-wharves around the country if the government did not reduce, by at least half, the amount of fish imports from third countries. He also called for the sale of these imports to be held in separate venues, away from the fish wharves.

Concerns in Thessaloniki over quality of water

Concern over the appearance of nitric ions in groundwater around the country was expressed at the 4th Hydro-Geological Conference in Thessaloniki today. The ions, found in areas that have been intensively farmed, are suspected of being responsible for certain forms of cancer.

Contained in agricultural fertilisers, they are absorbed into the water table.

One of the studies mentioned at the conference referred to the area between Varybombi and Acharnes, near Athens, where high concentrations of the ions were recorded in forty wells and drill-holes. A similar problem was recorded in areas of the Peloponnese such as Argolida, Messinia, as well as in Thessaly and central Macedonia, where fertilisers are widely used.

One of the experts that carried out analyses in the Peloponnese, L. Tiniakos, said the problem was being studied by both Athens and Patras Universities.

The experts warned against the uncontrolled use of pesticides and other chemicals and proposed the use of cultivation methods that were more environmentally friendly.

Doctors extend strike

Skeleton staff will be manning hospitals, treating only emergency cases, during a six-day nationwide strike by hospital doctors that began today and will run until Thursday.

The stoppage followed a deadlock in talks between the Federation of Hospital Doctors and Finance Undersecretary Nikos Christodoulakis.

Investment firms show drop in market cap in October

Greek investment fund companies showed a drop in market capitalisation to 163.3 billion drachmas in October from 181.2 billion the previous month.

Net asset value fell to 166.2 billion drachmas from 184.9 billion in September, while the sector reported a discount of 1.8 percent in October, down from 2.0 percent the previous month.

Equities accounted for 80.6 percent of total Greek investment fund portfolios, followed by bonds with an 11.1 percent share and floating assets with 7.7 percent.

Greece defends release of tax evaders' names

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas defended the government's practice of releasing a list of names of tax evaders, saying no vested interests were involved.

Under Greek law, the presentation of a new budget is accompanied by the names of tax evaders in the previous year compiled by the finance ministry.

OTE bids for 40 per cent of Moldtelecom

The Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) has submitted a bid for 40 per cent of Moldtelecom, the national telecoms utility of Moldova.

According to an announcement by the telecommunications minister of the former Soviet republic Ion Kasian, OTE's competitors are the Franco-Danish joint venture France Telecom and GN Store Nord.

The two companies have already entered Moldova's telecoms market, since a joint venture headed by France Telecom has received a licence to render mobile telephony GSM services last May, while GN has built part of the country's optical fibre network.

According to conditions set out in the auction, the winner must pay US$18 million for a licence to render services, having a duration of seven years and make investments worth $102 million to Moldtelecom to secure the 40 per cent share.

Moldtelecom will maintain its monopoly in Moldova's international and local telephone market at least until 2005.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(M.P.)

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