Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-02-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM briefs President on Ankara visit

[02] Macedonian Struggle Museum

[01] PM briefs President on Ankara visit

The government has a "fresh and strong" popular mandate, Karamanlis said, adding that "we have much work ahead of us, and are moving forward with consistency in the materialisation of the reforms".

The purpose of his meeting with Papoulias was to brief the president on his recent visit to Turkey, Karamanlis explained, adding that Greece steadfastly supports Turkey's European course, although the neighbouring country is obliged to maneuver within the framework of (EU) principles and reforms it itself has accpted. He also stressed that the issues of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Halki School of Theology are included this framework.

On his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Karamanlis said that "we reaffirmed our volition for, and are working in the direction of, full normalisation of Greek-Turkish relations".

"For Greece, the sole criterion is respect of International Law and the international treaties," Karamanlis stressed.

With respect to the Cyprus issue, Karamanlis said "we are prepared for discussion on finding a just and viable solution", adding that "the government knows that the effort for normalising Greek-Turkish relations is a long and difficult one".

Karamanlis was also due to meet afterwards with Economy and Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis.

Caption: Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis leaving the Presidential mansion on Friday 1 February 2008 ANA-MPA/ALEXANDROS BELTES

[02] Macedonian Struggle Museum

The local authorities' plans for an outdoor museum include the creation of a miniature lake of 5.5 strema in the place of the original one, which stretched over an area of 10,000 strema while the surrounding shallow marshland was 340,000 stremma wide. The area was dried out in 1936 to stop the malaria and typhoid fever epidemic and a total of 288,750 stremma of arable land were reclaimed and distributed to refugees from Asia Minor.

The 100,000-euro project will be located in the municipality of Kria Vrisi, the heart of the Macedonian Struggle events between Greeks and Bulgarians, and apart from the miniature lake will also feature four replicas of lakeside huts like the ones used by local fishermen and later by armed Bulgarians and Macedonian fighters. Inside the huts, which will be decorated with original items dating back to the early 20th century, there will be full-scale models of Macedonian struggle fighters. Visitors will be able to reach them on board makeshift wooden boats and have the opportunity to watch re-enactions of battles.

Caption: The ecological park of the village of Kria Vrissi,northern Greece on Frid.1 Feb.2008 ANA-MPA/STR

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