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The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 99-09-14
From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <ert.ntua.gr/>
CONTENTS
[01] RENT AND HOUSING SUPPORT FOR QUAKE-STRICKEN POPULATION
[02] SECOND ROUND OF BUILDING INSPECTIONS BEGINS TODAY
[03] PRIME MINISTER MEETS OPPOSITION LEADER
[04] FURTHER RELIEF MEASURES
[05] LEGAL ACTION IN CONNECTION WITH COLLAPSED BUILDINGS
[06] POWERFUL AFTERSHOCK IN TURKEY
[07] ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE OVER 6,000 MARK
[08] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT VISITS ATHENS
[09] TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER ATTENDS EU MINISTERS' COUNCIL
[01] RENT AND HOUSING SUPPORT FOR QUAKE-STRICKEN POPULATION
Speaking after yesterday's meeting of the inter-ministerial committee,
the government spokesman, Dimitris Reppas, said that over the next few
weeks all those made homeless by last Tuesday's earthquake in Athens
would be settled in organised camps of tents and other temporary homes,
with the necessary infrastructure. He pointed out that the government
was focusing its policy primarily on the provision of rent and housing
support and he underlined that it was determined to deal firmly with
any attempts at profiteering. The national economy minister, Iannos
Papantoniou, has announced a further package of relief measures to help
those hit by the earthquake.
These include a grant of two million drachmas for the families of
victims and those whose homes were destroyed, rent support of
80,000-120,000 drachmas per month for two years, help for the
unemployed and pensioners from 1st October and economic assistance of
up to 130,000 drachmas per square metre in the rebuilding of homes that
were destroyed or the repair of buildings rendered unsafe. The
government has already earmarked the sum of 7.3 billion drachmas for
the emergency relief aid of 200,000 drachmas per family, which is now
being disbursed.
[02] SECOND ROUND OF BUILDING INSPECTIONS BEGINS TODAY
The government spokesman also announced yesterday that a preliminary
technical survey of damaged buildings would be completed within the
next few days and that a second round of inspections would get under
way today, culminating in the demolition of buildings deemed unfit for
habitation. So far a total of 5,540 damaged buildings have been
condemned as unfit, 29,431 are deemed repairable and 29,463 are
considered safe.
[03] PRIME MINISTER MEETS OPPOSITION LEADER
The prime minister, Kostas Simitis, met yesterday with the opposition
New Democracy party leader, Kostas Karamanlis, in the framework of his
meetings with party leaders to brief them on the problems arising from
the recent earthquake. Mr Karamanlis drew the prime minister's
attention to the major delays that had been observed in the provision
of relief aid to the earthquake victims. In a press conference, leader
of the Coalition of the Left Wing and Progress Nikos Konstantopoulos
has called for reorganizing seismic research and a strict legal
framework for checking building projects.
[04] FURTHER RELIEF MEASURES
The president of the Greek Banking Union, Theodoros Karatzas, yesterday
announced earthquake relief measures which include extension of the
period of loan repayments and a 2% reduction until the end of next year
of the interest rate on personal and business loans. The government has
decided to open a special relief account at the Bank of Greece for
members of the public to make contributions to help those hit by last
week's earthquake. The number of the account is 234365/5. The
parliamentary group of the opposition New Democracy party has decided
that deputies and Euro-deputies would offer to the Greek Red Cross the
sum of 56 million drachmas for relief work.
[05] LEGAL ACTION IN CONNECTION WITH COLLAPSED BUILDINGS
Meanwhile teams are still working to retrieve the bodies of those
crushed under the rubble of the collapsed Ricomex factory. The number
of missing is now 16, while the official death toll is currently set at
128. The head of the Athens Appeal Court has submitted a written
request for the charges of manslaughter through negligence to be
changed to manslaughter with intent and deliberate deceit in respect of
defective construction work on buildings that collapsed in the
earthquake.
The chairman of the Technical Chamber of Greece, Kostas Liaskas, has
said the system for the control of private construction work is in need
of radical reorganisation and proposed a package of measures aimed at
safeguarding buildings. Athens courts are to remain closed until 26th
September to enable repair of earthquake damage to the buildings to be
carried out.
[06] POWERFUL AFTERSHOCK IN TURKEY
Greek seismologists have given assurances that yesterday's powerful
aftershock in Turkey, with its epicentre again in Izmit, has no
connection with the current seismic activity in Greece. So far 7 people
are known to have died in yesterday's tremor, with at least 250 others
injured. At least 25 buildings damaged in last month's quake have now
collapsed and telephone communications in the region have been cut
off.
The Turkish prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, has announced that the
tremor was an aftershock of the main one which destroyed large areas in
the north-west of the country four weeks ago, and he urged people to
remain calm. Greek seismologists, however, have disputed the intensity
of yesterday's tremor, claiming it registered 6.8 and not 5.8 on the
Richter scale as Turkish seismologists reported, while experts in
Strasbourg say the quake measured 6.1. The tremor was also felt in
Constantinople, causing fear and panic amongst parents and children for
whom yesterday was the first day back to school after the summer
holidays. Schools are to remain close indefinitely. Another tremor
measuring 4 on the Richter scale was recorded in central Albania
yesterday, and a weaker shock of 3.9 at Perachora, near Loutraki, an
area that was badly hit in the major earthquake of 1981. The epicentre
of the quake in Albania was 125 km south of Tirana.
[07] ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE OVER 6,000 MARK
On the Athens Stock Exchange the general share price index burst
through the 6,000 mark yesterday, to close 5.09% up at 6,032.65
points.
[08] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT VISITS ATHENS
The Cypriot president, Glafkos Kliridis, has arrived in Athens for
talks with the Greek prime minister and the president of the republic,
Kostis Stefanopoulos. Mr Simitis and Mr Kliridis will discuss the
American proposal for an informal meeting with the Turkish prime
minister, Bulent Ecevit, the Turkish-Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, and
the American president, Bill Clinton, in Constantinople in November.
President Kliridis will go to the United States for a meeting with the
United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, to discuss the
long-standing Cyprus dispute. Yesterday, Mr Kliridis met Cypriot party
leaders whose parties are not represented in the house of
representatives and briefed them on the latest Cyprus developments and
the issue of their participation in the Cypriot national council.
[09] TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER ATTENDS EU MINISTERS' COUNCIL
Turkish foreign minister Ismail Cem has attended the EU foreign
ministers' council session in Brussels, although Turkey had cut off
dialogue with the EU two years ago. Mr Cem told reporters about the
spirit of mutual solidarity which developed between Greece and Turkey
in the wake of the recent quakes.
For his part, Greek foreign minister Yorgos Papandreou stressed the
importance of the recent improvement in Greek- Turkish relations,
saying it was a result of overcoming the myth that Greeks and Turks
hated each other. In the US, state department spokesman James Rubin
said the US was backing any move aimed at improving Greek-Turkish
relations.
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