[01] ATHENS TO ASK THAT ALBANIAN OPPOSITION LEADER FATOS NANO BE FREED The Greek government is to formally request from the Albanian government that socialist leader Fatos Nano be released from jail. The issue was discussed today during a conference chaired by Prime Minister Kostas Simtis where the leadership of the Foreign Ministry participated. Government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas reiterated that the problem in Albania is a social one, as well as institutional, political and economic, and is not merely a minority issue. A.F.

[02] GREECE WANTS A POLITICAL SOLUTION TO BE REACHED IN ALBANIA The situation in Albania and current developments in this country were discussed in a meeting today that was presided over by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and was held with the participation of Foreign Ministry officials. In the meeting were also determined the basic axes of the government's policy in the Balkans in general. After the meeting Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos stated that Greece wants democratic procedures to get underway in Albania for the forming of a widely acceptable government, while Athens continues to have reservations concerning the situation of the Greek minority and its rights. The Greek government is in constant contact with the Italian government over the initiatives about to be undertaken and according to mr.Pangalos the Greek Ambassador to Tirana will request the release of Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano who is being held in prison. In the meeting was also discussed the necessity to send economic and humanitarian aid to the neighbouring country. Earlier, mr.Pangalos had met in the Pentagon with Minister of Defence Akis Tsochatzopoulos and examined the likelihood of Greece's participation in a NATO multi-national force that could be deployed in Albania with the task to oversee the peace process and guarantee the protection of the Greek minority. Mr.Pangalos clarified that for the moment such a necessity is not likely and categorically denied information on alleged objections that were raised by the Italian government to Greece's participation in this force. He also reiterated that the cooperation of the two governments on the issue of the developments in Albania is close and continuous.

[03] STATEMENTS BY THE GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON ALBANIA Greek government Dimitris Reppas reiterated that Athens wants a political solution to be reached in Albania and clarified that the Greek government's position is that the problem in the neighbouring country is not one concerning minorities. To the question if the Greek government intends to undertake a mediation initiative between President Berisha and the armed civilians in south Albania, mr.Reppas responded that an initiative or assistance will be decided by the Greek side if conditions are right. He also pointed out that the Greek government neither raises to power nor overturns governments in neighbouring countries, while he also stated that Sali Berisha is an elected President and the Greek government, as well as all the EU governments, have to talk with him taking under consideration his authority.

[04] GREEK PREMIER AND FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS DISCUSS ALBANIAN CRISIS Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is chairing a conference attended by Foreign Ministry officials in order to draw Greece's imminent diplomatic initiatives concerning the crisis in Albania. According to reports, the conference participants are also dealing with the issue of the Greek minority living in Albania and are said to be searching for ways to convince the fearful minority to stay at home. This morning another conference concerning Albania was held at the Pentagon by the ministerial committees of foreign affairs and defense, headed by Minister of Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos and Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos. A.F.

[05] UNDERSECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMENTS ON ALBANIAN CRISIS Greece would be willing to financially support Albania, if Albanian President Sali Berisha and the opposition parties draw up an agreement, according to the Undersecretary of Foreign Afairs Yiannos Kranidiotis who recently visited Tirana and met with Mr. Berisha. According to Mr. Kranidiotis, he emphasized to the Albanian leaders that the protection of the Greek minority living in Albania is quite significant and the crisis must in no way create problems for them. A.F.

[06] GREECE'S HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS MAY CONTINUE STRIKE FOR NINTH WEEK The Greek high school teachers' national union OLME is to decide whether or not to extend their strike for a ninth consecutive week. Four parents of students who are not able to keep up with their studies because of the strike, have sought recourse at an Athens court where they ask that the strike be declared illegal. Their claim will be heard tomorrow and OLME's officials have said that they'll wait for the court's ruling before deciding whether or not they'll continue their strike. The President of the Parents Association in Athens emphasized that this lawsuit is indicative of the parents' ire. A.F.

[07] GREEK PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT ADDRESSES WEU PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY The President of Greece's Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis advocated the need to establish a new architecture of European security, during his address at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union. Mr. Kaklamanis stated that such development is necessitated by the fact that many of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe believe that their accession to the European mechanisms will strengthen their security and independence. Commenting on NATO's new role, Mr. Kaklamanis implied that the Alliance is exhibiting a form of tolerance towards the Turkish occupying regime in Cyprus. "NATO is alligned towards bringing changes in its interior structure, as well as to its external activities," Mr. Kaklamanis stated, albeit adding that "when the real targets of these operations are questioned, especially when the Alliance tolerates chronic problems in its domestic circles, its credibility is deeply wounded in the conscience of the peoples." A.F.

[08] HELEXPO'S FURNITURE EXHIBITS "FURNIDEC" AND "FURNIMA" BEGIN TOMORROW Thousands of Greek and foreign visitors are expected to enter the gates of Thessaloniki's International Trade Fairgrounds this week as Helexpo's furniture exhibit is to begin tomorrow. "Furnidec" and "Furnima" are two related exhibits that feature the participation of 400 furniture makers from throughout Greece and ten other countries, thereby making this year's event the largest in its 19-year history. The exhibit is to be held until March 16. A.F.

[09] GREEK BUSINESS DELEGATION TO TRAVEL TO MARTINIQUE THIS MONTH A delegation of Greek businessmen is to travel to Martinique between March 23-28 in order to meet with 120 business representatives from Guadalupe, French Guinea, Brazil, Barbados, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent and St. Lucas. The meeting is taking place under the auspices of the two-day "Partenariat-Europe-Caribean-Latin America" event. This is organized jointly by Martinique's Chamber of Commerce and UNIDO (the UN's Industry Development Organization in France) as well as France's Foreign Ministry and the European Union. A.F.

[10] GREEK INVESTMENTS IN BULGARIA REACHED 110 MILLION-DOLLAR MARK IN 1996 Greek investments in Bulgaria reached the 110 million-dollar mark during 1996, aN amount that constitutes 10 percent of all foreign investment in this country. According to the Greek Embassy's trade attache in Sofia, there are about 500 Greek companies that proceeded to invest in Bulgaria during the past year, while bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to 933 million USD. A.F.

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[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

[10] HIGH-LEVEL CONSULTATIONS FOR THE FORMING OF THE NEW ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT

The consultations continue between Albanian President Sali Berisha and opposition party leaders on the forming of a new government, but until now there was no agreement reached on who will be the new Prime Minister.

Over 40 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the last 10 days since the start of the uprising in the southern part of the country.

In Berati yesterday, 16 people were killed and 25 were injured in clashes with the army, while clashes were also reported in the city of Grams, 120 kilometers south of Tirana, where armed civilians seized three army camps.

Representatives of the rioters in Vlora met last night with Italian diplomats on a warship, off the coasts of the Adriatic and during that meeting was agreed that order must be restored in the city.

Nevertheless, in 13 cities in south Albania, which are under the control of armed civilians, the handing in of weapons is being directly linked with the resignation of President Berisha.

Meanwhile, the looting of army camps and supply depots continues while a Committee has been formed to coordinate the rioters. Yesterday, an explosion rocked an amunition dump in an army camp in Argirokastro and no victims were reported.

[11] WOMEN ORGANIZATIONS WILL HOLD A MARCH IN CYPRUS Women organizations in Cyprus will hold a number of events starting on Thursday with the participation of 22 distinguished women from all over the world. Their goal is to underline the suffering of the Cypriot women who live in a divided country with refugees, missing and people trapped in the Turkish occupied territories. The foreign women participating in the events will visit the green line in Timvo and Derynia while a dinner will be given to their honour that will be attended by the wives of the political party leaders in Cyprus and the foreign Ambassadors to Nicosia. On Friday, they will participate in a march to the Lydra Palace passage where an anti-occupation demonstration will be held.

[12] THE TURKS WERE PLANNING TO SABOTAGE THE CYPRIOT NATIONAL GUARD'S WEAPONS SYSTEMS The Turks arrested by the Cypriot police in Limassol were planning to sabotage the National Guard's weapons systems. According to the Cypriot Radio and Television this is based on information at the disposal of the security forces and on documents found on Netsip Sari Tsitsekli who is being held by the police with Mustafa Omer Konor and Tza Netzip. Their target were specific weapons systems in a camp in Limassol and Russian T-80 armoured tanks. The sabotage was scheduled to take place on February 26 or 27 and its cancellation is probably due to the fact that Tsitsekli did not deliver on time the documents to his associates. The Cypriot police has begun investigation to determine how the Turks were getting information on the National Guard and on who their liaisons were in the free part of Cyprus.

[13] A BRITISH LABOUR PARTY DEPUTY WILL TABLE A DRAFT RESOLUTION ON CYPRUS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES British Labour party deputy Alan Mill will table at the House of Representatives a draft resolution on Cyprus that will include a special referrence on the issue of those still missing since the Turkish invasion of the island. Mr.Mill and his collegues Andy O'Hara and Erik Clark as well as Conservatives Ian Twinn and John Marshall, expressed their full support yesterday to 70 Cypriot women who arrived in Britain to demonstrate against the Turkish occupation and to request the continuation of the efforts aimed at finding out what is the fate of the missing. The British Parliament deputies stated that it is an obligation of Britain and the international community to help toward ending this tragic aspect of the Cyprus problem.

[14] FYROM REQUESTED THE EXTENSION OF UNPREDEP'S TERM IN THE COUNTRY FYROM's government with a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan requested that the number of soldiers making up the peace- keeping force in the country, UNPREDEP, be maintained at today's levels due to the situation in the neighbouring Albania. A spokesman of the UN Secretary-General stated that the request is being examined by mr.Annan, who will ask for the advise of the UN Security Council members and will decide whether the UN Security Council will deal with the issue. The UNPREDEP force numbers 1.100 men, among them 500 Americans, and in April their number is about to be reduced to 300.

[15] INFLATION IN FYROM INCREASED BY 3,9% IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 1997 The statistics data on the course of the inflation rate in FYROM create concern as they show that it increases at a pace not corresponding to the government's forecasts. According to the latest formal announcement by the Statistics Agency in FYROM, inflation in February increased by 0,4% while compared to last December the overall increase was 3,9%. Nevertheless, FYROM's Minister of Development, in statements he made to the semi-official newspaper "Nova Makedonia", stressed that the inflation's increase in the first two months of 1997 was expected and was attributed mainly to the increase by 186,3% of the phone rates decided by the state-owned Telecommunications Organization.

[16] FYROM'S MOBILE PHONE SERVICE WILL BE LINKED WITH EUROPE'S IN APRIL FYROM's mobile phone service will be linked with the European countries in early April. According to the Skopje newspaper "Nova Makedonia", Switzerland will be the first country with which FYROM's state- owned Telecommunications Organization will sign a cooperation agreement on April 2.

[17] FYROM'S PARLIAMENT WILL DISCUSS THE ISSUE OF THE USE OF THE ALBANIAN LANGUAGE IN HIGHER EDUCATION In the exraordinary session of FYROM's Parliament tomorrow will be discussed the issue of the use of the Albanian language in higher education, as well as the relations among the different nationalities in the country. The session will be held in the presence of leaders of political parties not represented in Parliament as well as, representatives of the Education Department Students' Association in the University of Skopje, who react strongly to the passing of a law which will allow the use of the Albanian language in their school, and a number of them are on a hunger strike demanding its banning. At the same time, the country's Constitutional Court will discuss the law's constitutionality after an appeal submitted by the Democratic Party, the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE, the Students' Association and two private individuals. In the appeal is maintained that with the implementation of the law infringes on the use of the official language in the country.

[18] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT, OPPOSITION LEADERS SEARCH FOR SOLUTION TO CRISIS BUT THE RIOTERS ARE STILL PERSISTING Albanian President Sal Berisha and the country's opposition party representatives are continuing their efforts to reach an agreement in regards to forming a caretaker government. The Albanian Parliament is to convene this evening to address, as a sole topic, the granting of amnesty to the armed civilians. The rioters are insistant upon their demand that Sali Berisha resign and that fair and democratic elections be held. The rioters are also asking that they be represented in the negotiations held between Mr. Berisha and the opposition, as well as in government. A.F.

[19] GERMAN SOCIAL-DEMOCRATS SAY "NO" TO TURKEY'S ACCESSION TO EUROPE Following the recent negative stance adopted by the European Christian-Democrat parties, now Germany's Social-Democrats are blocking Tukey's efforts to pave the road towards accession to the European Union. The German Social-Democrats said "no" to such accession by stating that Turkey does not meet the terms set by the Europeans. A.F.

[20] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT SALI BERISHA GIVES PREMIERSHIP TO SOCIALISTS Albanian President Sali Berisha has given the country's premiership to the socialists but he does insist on holding on to the powerful Ministry of the Interior and Public Order. However, the country's rioting civilians are insisting that Berisha resign before they turn in their guns. The cities of Premeti, Berati, Grams and Lusnia remain under the control of the rioters. The city of Kutsova, which has the country's largest air force base, is also under the control of the rioters who dragged three planes out of the hanger and hid them. Also, another ammunition storehouse of the Albanian army was blown up this afternoon. A climate of fear is apparent in the villages mostly lived by the Greek minority where masked persons are attacking individuals and looting houses. A.F.

[21] BRITISH ENVOY TO CYPRUS TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT CLERIDES TOMORROW Britain's special envoy for the Cyprus issue Sir David Hannay is to meet with Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides in Nicosia tomorrow. According to reports, Sir Hannay is to relay specific ideas for the Cyprus issue's various aspects and his aim will be to discuss all of the matter's issues. The United Nations maintain that the British Foreign Minister Malcolm Rifkind's ten points should serve as an axis for the talks. The British envoy is to meet with the Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash tomorrow evening. Meanwhile today, the alternate representative of the UN Secretary-General Gustav Feischel is to meet with President Clerides. A.F.

[22] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT SENDS LETTER TO UN CHIEF FOR THE MISSING In a letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides emphasized that his country is granting great importance to the work of the Investigative Committee for the Missing. In his address, President Clerides confirms that he will do whatever he can in order to put an end to the drama lived by the families of those missing, and emphasized that it is important that the fate of each of these missing individuals is discovered. A.F.

[23] VMRO-DPMNE ACCUSES FYROM GOVERNMENT OF ECONOMIC SCANDAL FYROM's main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE is accusing the government of involvement in a vast economic scandal that concerns the collapse of private banking insitutions. The opposition is demanding that Prime Minister Branco Cervenkovski's cabinet resign. A.F.

[24] RUSSIAN-BULGARIAN RELATIONS GET AN ADDED BOOST A cooperation agreement has been signed between Russia and Bulgaria, thereby wrapping up the two countries' governmental talks regarding the transport of Russian natural gas through Bulgaria to the rest of the Balkans. Moreover, the two sides decided to proceed as planned with the upcoming June's agreement on liberalizing bilateral trade and cooperation on the sector of nuclear energy production. Moreover, Russia will pay off half of its foreign debt to Bulgaria by undertaking the modernization of four out the six reactors of the electrical energy plant at Kozlodui. A.F.

[25] GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER: DON'T LET KOSSOVO TURN INTO A SECOND BOSNIA The German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel has issued an appeal to the Albanian leaders in Kossovo not to take advantage of the stressful situation in Serbia in order to impose its own solutions. In an article published in the German daily "Die Welt", Mr. Kinkel also advised Kossovo's Albanians to embark on a dialogue with the Serb opposition which, according to the German official, is trying to restore democracy and fairness in the country." A.F.

[26] RUSSIAN NATURAL GAS TO GET TO ISRAEL THROUGH TURKEY Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaniahu is currently on a formal visit to Moscow where, among other topics, he is to discuss Israel's potential to buy natural gas from Russia and bring it in the country through Turkey. According to Turkish press reports, the two sides are to discuss the natural gas project, whose cost has been estimated at three billion dollars. A.F.

[27] AlBANIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS IN STRASBURG THIS EVENING The leaders of the Albanian opposition parties are to arrive in Strasburg this evening where they are to meet with EU Commissioner Han Van Ben Broek, Dutch Minister of European Affairs M. Petin and Europarliamentary officials tomorrow. The Albanian opposition is represented by the President and Presidium member of the "Democracy Forum" Cola Kurt and Lubonja Fatos respectively, the Socialist Party's Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Maqo Lakrori, the President of the Democratic Alliance Neritan Ceka, the President of the Democratic Party Petrit Kallakkula and the President of the Social Democratic Party Gjinushi Skender. A.F.

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