The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 08-03-03

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From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <www.ert.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Athens-Nicosia Coordination

03 Mar 2008 19:43:00

By Katerina Ioannidou

Sources: ANA-MPA

The newly elected Cypriot President, Demetris Christofias, will be paying Tuesday his first official visit to Athens. The best possible coordination of the efforts by Athens and Nicosia on the upcoming developments in the Cyprus standoff is expected to run high on the agenda of his talks with President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias and Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. This is what Christofias said in his exclusive interview with ANA-MPA (Athens News Agency-Macedonian Press Agency). The Cypriot head of state appeared certain that Greece would offer Cyprus its full backing to the latters bid to have the talks on implementing the July 8 Agreement revived. He further added he wished to be briefed on the developments linked to the FYROM name dispute. Christofias also revealed that in his first visit with Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat he would ask him what the obstacles preventing the implementation of the July 8 Agreement were. "The first meeting will be exploratory," he added. He then went on to claim that direct talks between him and Talat would be a major mistake, for, as he explained, a solution should be sought after within the UN.

Christofias' Interview with ANA-MPA

Asked whether some guideline would be laid down to determine Nicosia and Athens stance, Christofias said, "I think the guidelines already exist. All it takes is briefing and coordination. His meeting with Talat will take place upon Christofias arrival from Brussels in mid-March, argued the Cypriot President. Drilled on which was the obstacle in the way of the implementation of the 2 July 2006 agreement, he stressed, "This is what I intend to ask Mr Talat. That is why I said the first meeting is going to be an exploratory one. After all, there is no other agreement adapted by the Security Council. This agreement bears the signatures of Mr Talat and Mr Papadopoulos. I honour Mr Papadopoulos signature, let him [Talat] honour his own.

Commending on whether Talats letter the UN meant to prejudice some matters, Christofias replied, "If anything said about its content is true, then it obviously prejudices some matters. There are matters I will discuss with Mr Talat."

With regard to direct talks with the Turkish-Cypriot leader, Christofias argued, "The Cyprus standoff lies within the sphere of the UN. I believe that the UN is a safety quality. There is an occupation. The General Assembly and the Security Council have adopted a string of resolutions. Furthermore, our position is that the five permanent members of the Security Council should be actively involved in a solution to the Cyprus issue. Therefore, to my mind taking the Cyprus issue outside the UN would be a major mistake."

Finally, asked whether he intends to seek direct talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he said that he did not rule it out, yet Erdogan did.

Translated by Areti Christou

[02] Trade Unions on Standby

03 Mar 2008 20:26:00

Sources: ΝΕΤ 105.8, ANA

The government is working on the final corrections to the pension bill so that it gets thumbs up from the Inner Cabinet meeting and be tabled in Parliament. The trade unions, on the other hand, are on standby, ready to coordinate their reactions. The pensioners associations have scheduled a rally for Wednesday, protesting against the forthcoming changes and the high cost of life. The rally will take place at 10.30am at Kotzia square, central Athens. Furthermore, municipal employees have called for a six-day abstention from their duties, as of coming Friday.

In the meantime, the new GSEE-employers meeting on the 2008 National Collective Work Contract has been scheduled for coming Thursday. "We hope the employers will enter the talks bearing a substantially improved economical proposal and a substantial response to our institutional grievances aimed at meeting our just demands. Otherwise, taking to the streets will be our answer yet again," said GSEE.

Translated by Areti Christou

[03] By the UN Security Council

03 Mar 2008 21:34:00

By Nasos Bratsos

Sources: ANA, AFP

Prompted by Irans refusal to suspend its nuclear programme, the UN Security Council decided to impose harsher sanctions on Iran. Issued on Monday evening, the resolution gained 14 positive ballots, while Indonesia abstained from the vote. A round of talks on a text compiled by France, Britain and Germany, had preceded the vote.

Translated by Areti Christou

[04] Fidel Castro's Memoir

Sources: AFP

Longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, 81, said on Monday he intends to write a memoir of his life "if time permits," according to an article published in state media. Castro, who stepped aside last month to allow his brother, Raul Castro to be formally elected president, had provisionally handed over power 19 months ago due to gastrointestinal surgery and has not been seen in public since. "While I write these lines on a Sunday afternoon, the idea returns to me, that if time permits me, I should write my memoir," said Castro in the official Granma daily. "If someone pays me for it, I will donate the full amount to printing medical textbooks in Cuba," he said, highlighting the shortage of such texts in the country. Castro has in the past brought up the idea of writing his memoirs, most recently in a February article in which he regretted not being able to recall certain details of a 1961 CIA plot against him. "I never took time to write down my memories, and today I understand that this was a mistake," he wrote. The communist icon led Cuba for a half-century but last month formally ceded power to his brother, after temporarily handing over the reins of power in July 2006. The convalescing former leader has written a regular column in Granma since March 2007.

[05] Condoleezza Rice on Mideast Tour

By Nasos Bratsos

Sources: ANA, AFP

Already on her way to the Middle East, the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, will tour the area. Cairo being the tours first leg, it will host her talks with Egyptians officials on Tuesday. The fresh tension between Israel and Palestine triggered by the deadly Israeli strike that claimed more than 70 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday is expected to top the talks. Rice will then depart from Ramallah and Jerusalem, where she will meet with both sides in a bid to defuse the tension. The latest incidents are posing a threat to the peace talks that commenced in late November 2007 in Annapolis, the USA. Moderate compared to Hamas, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas decided to suspend the talks with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, on the other hand, said he champions both the peace talks and the military strikes against Hamas. At the same time, Israel argued that the rockets fired against it are produced in Iran.

Translated by Areti Christou

[06] State Department's Drug Report on Greece

By Andreas Roditis

Sources: ANA

Greece is not a major transit country for drugs headed for the USA, said the US State Department report on drugs. As drug use is on the increases, illicit distribution of drugs remains a crucial issue for Greece in its battle against organised crime, underlined the reports, which drew attention to the outcome of the Greek-US cooperation in a bid to have criminal organisations broken up.

The report also stressed that Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has made the fight against corruption a centrepiece of his partys goals and that the Greek Government has taken several steps in implementing anti-corruption measures.

Greece, noted the report, encourages nor facilitates illicit production or distribution of narcotics, psychotropic drugs, or other controlled substances or the laundering of the illegal proceeds, while no top-ranking Government official is allegedly involved in such matters.

Translated by Areti Christou

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