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The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 99-11-16
From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <ert.ntua.gr/>
CONTENTS
[01] AMERICAN PRESIDENT VISITS ANKARA
[02] GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN COMMENTS ON TURKEY'S EU CANDIDACY
[03] ANTI-AMERICAN DEMONSTRATIONS IN ANKARA
[04] CYPRUS TALKS TO BEGIN IN NEW YORK ON DECEMBER 3RD
[05] CYPRIOT DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST TURKISH OCCUPATION
[06] STUDENT UPRISING ANNIVERSARY EVENTS CULMINATE TOMORROW
[07] GERMAN JUSTICE MINISTER VISITS ATHENS
[08] HOUSING LOANS FOR QUAKE-STRICKEN INHABITANTS OF ATTICA
[09] VIOLENT INCIDENTS AFTER FOOTBALL MATCH IN ATHENS
[10] DEATH OF GREEK DIRECTOR
[11] DEATH TOLL RISING IN TURKEY
[01] AMERICAN PRESIDENT VISITS ANKARA
In a joint press conference with Turkish president Suleyman Demirel in
Ankara yesterday, American president Bill Clinton manifested his warm
support for Turkey's EU candidacy and also said he was happy over the
recent progress in Greek-Turkish relations. President Clinton praised
both Greece and Turkey for the steps they made in that direction.
Furthermore addressing the Turkish national assembly, the American
president called on Turkey to undertake good will gestures in its
relations with Greece, while earlier he had expressed satisfaction at
the opening of a new round of talks on the Cyprus issue, in New York,
on December 3rd.
[02] GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN COMMENTS ON TURKEY'S EU CANDIDACY
In Athens, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said Greece would
not commit itself in advance concerning its stand at the Helsinki EU
summit on Turkey's candidacy for admission to the EU. Mr Reppas pointed
out that the talks between Cypriot president Glafkos Kliridis and the
Turkish Cypriot representative Rauf Denktash were not a sufficient
prerequisite for Greece to lift its veto and clarified that there was
no question of signing a Greek-American agreement on combatting
terrorism. Meanwhile Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis and foreign
minister Giorgos Papandreou will meet their Turkish counterparts Bulent
Ecevit and Ismail Cem in Constantinople on Thursday on the sidelines of
the conference of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe.
[03] ANTI-AMERICAN DEMONSTRATIONS IN ANKARA
In Ankara yesterday, police used force to disperse demonstrators who
staged a protest against president Clinton's visit, while according to
the Turkish news agency Anatolia, 20 members of an armed Islamic
organization who were planning assassinations of their political
adversaries have been arrested.
[04] CYPRUS TALKS TO BEGIN IN NEW YORK ON DECEMBER 3RD
In statements he made prior to the European Union general affairs
council in Brussels yesterday, Greek foreign minister Giorgos
Papandreou said that following the acceptance by Cypriot president
Glafkos Kliridis of UN secretary general Kofi Annan's invitation for
talks with Turkish Cypriot representative Rauf Denktash, the
responsibility now lay with the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot sides. The
talks are to open in New York on December 3rd. For his part, general
secretary of the Cypriot Communist party Dimitris Christofias warned
that acceptance of Mr Annan's invitation would ensnare the Greek
Cypriot side and accused president Kliridis of not acting in accordance
with the decisions of the Cypriot national council.
[05] CYPRIOT DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST TURKISH OCCUPATION
Meanwhile in Cyprus, thousands of students and pupils staged large
demonstrations at the Ledra Palace check-point in Nicosia and in other
Cypriot cities to condemn the unilateral declaration of independence by
the self-styled Turkish Cypriot state and demand the liberation of
Cyprus from Turkish occupation. Yesterday was the anniversary of the
unilateral declaration of independence in Turkish-occupied northern
Cyprus. About 400 elementary school pupils and their teachers in the
region of Astromeritis staged a march to the buffer zone. In a related
development, the Turkish armed forces will conduct two military
maneuvers on November 22nd and 24th in the region of the eastern
Mediterranean, including occupied Cyprus.
[06] STUDENT UPRISING ANNIVERSARY EVENTS CULMINATE TOMORROW
Events marking the anniversary of the Polytechnic University student
uprising against the military dictatorship in 1973 got under way
yesterday and will culminate on Wednesday with the customary march to
the US embassy in Athens. Meanwhile political youth organizations, with
the exception of the New Democracy youth organization, have decided to
stage a protest demonstration on Friday against the visit to Greece of
American president Bill Clinton, who is scheduled to arrive in Athens
that day.
[07] GERMAN JUSTICE MINISTER VISITS ATHENS
Fundamental rights in the European Union and the protection of human
rights in the wake of the Amsterdam treaty were discussed at a meeting
Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis had yesterday with visiting German
justice minister Herta Deupler-Kmelin. In a press conference, the
German minister referred to the Human Rights Charter being worked out
by the EU.
[08] HOUSING LOANS FOR QUAKE-STRICKEN INHABITANTS OF ATTICA
Interest-free housing loans to be repaid in 15 years will be granted to
people whose homes sustained damage in the recent earthquake in Attica,
by decision of the ministry for the environment, planning and public
works.
[09] VIOLENT INCIDENTS AFTER FOOTBALL MATCH IN ATHENS
Violent incidents were reported yesterday after a football match
between AEK and Olympiakos at the Nea Philadelphia stadium in Athens.
AEK fans clashed with police.
[10] DEATH OF GREEK DIRECTOR
The Greek theatre is mourning the death of eminent director Minos
Volanakis, who died of a heart attack yesterday while watching a film
in an Athenian cinema. His funeral will be held today.
[11] DEATH TOLL RISING IN TURKEY
According to the latest figures reported by the Anatolia news agency,
the official death toll from Friday's devastating quake in Turkey now
stands at 452, although the figure is expected to rise as chances are
dwindling of finding more survivors trapped under the rubble. At least
3,000 people were injured in the quake and tens of thousands left
homeless. The plight of survivors has been aggravated by the frequent
aftershocks and the bitter cold prevailing in the region.
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