Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-01-04

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] GREECE: REVIEW 2001

[02] ANKARA NOTAM ON TWO GREEK AIR CORRIDORS

[03] TURKISH DEMAND DOES NOT THREATEN US

[04] MAGRIOTIS CONTACTS IN ISTANBUL

[05] GREEK AID TO THE BELGRADE STOCK EXCHANGE

[06] ORDEAL OF 230 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OVER

[01] GREECE: REVIEW 2001

by Nana Hatzi, Michael Webber

December 2000

2/12: The first party congress of the Democratic Social Movement ended with the re-election of Dimitris Tsovolas to its presidency.

Yugoslav President Vojslav Kostunica went to Mount Athos for a private visit.

4/12: Petros Sinadinos resigned from the "Athens 2004" managing director post citing personal reasons.

Yugoslav President Vojslav Kostunica visited Thessaloniki and met with Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis. Mr. Kostunica referred to the traditional friendly relations shared by the peoples of Serbia and Greece.

5/12: The EU Agriculture Ministers decided to abolish the use of meat-and-bone meals for cattle for a period of six months in the effort to stop the spread of the mad-cow disease.

7/12: The Greek General Confederation of Labour Unions organized a 24hour general strike in the private and the wider public sector. The workers protest against the government's draft law on work relations and demand the adoption of a 35hour working week.

7-11/12: The EU Summit meeting was held in Nice to decide on the reform of the EU institutions. An agreement was reached on the EU-Turkey partnership relation and Ankara was called to present to the European Commission its adjustment plan to the European standards.

15/12: The alarming developments at the administrative borders of Serbia with Kosovo were discussed in the meeting Defence Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos had with his Yugoslav counterpart Slobodan Krapovic in Belgrade.

Mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos announced the creation of a new political formation in a statement made from the City Hall.

A Thessaloniki court imposed a 5year prison term on the Macedonia Airport air traffic controllers accused of being responsible for the passenger plane accident in December 1997 at Pieria Mountains in which 74 people were killed.

18/12: National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou presented a new stability program for the period 2001-2004.

29/12: The findings on the freak accident on board the prime minister's plane that killed 7 people among them, deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis, were given to publicity. According to the findings, the accident was the result of pilot error due to inadequate training.

January 2001

4/1: The "Balkan Syndrome" was discussed at a meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and by the governmental committee, although it was not included in that day's agenda. The government asked to be informed by NATO, while Greek officers in Kossovo underwent meticulous medical examinations after orders from the Ministry of Defence, following suspicious incidents of cancer and leukaemia, detected in soldiers who served in Bosnia and Kossovo. These were attributed to the depleted Uranium in the shells used during the NATO bombings of Yugoslavia. It was also decided that a radiation measurement party was to go to Urosevac, where the Greek detachment, participating in the international peace-keeping force in Kossovo -KFOR- was stationed, in order to make new measurements.

An event to celebrate Greece's accession to the Euro zone took place at the "Zappion Megaro". President of the Republic Kostis Stefanopoulos and Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, along with other government staff members, were present.

8/1: Soldiers and university students who were in the region of Former Yugoslavia during the bombings, underwent precautionary medical examinations.

9/1: A party of the Greek Atomic Power Committee went to Kossovo, where they installed a telemetric system to measure radiation in the camps of the Greek force on a 24-hour basis. The Greek party then went to Bosnia to take measurements there. Minister of Development Nikos Christodoulakis stated that until then, the measurements showed no worrying signs.

11/1: The government decided to stop the use of depleted uranium ammunition in war games until measurements were complete. After the meeting of the governmental committee on the issue of the "Balkan Syndrome", Prime Minister Kostas Simitis stressed that there was no damage to the Greek atmosphere based on the continual measurements being made in 25 stations all over the country. However, the government decided that the Greek forces should remain in Kossovo since, as the Prime Minister stressed, their presence there was necessary to guards Greek interests and keep peace in the region.

12/1: Minister of National Defence Akis Tsohatzopoulos visited the Greek forces in Kossovo and informed the Greek soldiers of the measures being taken by the Greek government for the protection of their health and their security. The Minister ordered all requests for return to Greece submitted by Greek soldiers after the rumours of bombs with depleted uranium being used, to be granted. He stressed that light must be shed on the case. 20 MPs of New Democracy submitted a question on the Balkan Syndrome, and requested the Defense Minister's resignation.

21/1: A terrorist bombing took place, against ND MP, Vas. Michaloniakos. The powerful explosive device had been placed on a stolen motorcycle and was detonated by remote control. The MP of New Democracy was injured and taken to the Tzanio Hospital. Greece's entire political world expressed its horror at the attack. The head of the Opposition, Kostas Karamanlis, visited Mr. Michaloniakos at the hospital in the morning. The police were looking into the possibility of "November 17" being behind the attack, however no terrorist organization took responsibility.

23/1: Radiation in Kossovo was within acceptable levels, according to the first measurements of the Greek Atomic Power Committee.

24/1: President of the Republic Kostis Stefanopoulos visited Italy. Mr. Stefanopoulos met with Italian President Carlo Ciampi Italian Prime Minister Juliano Amatto. He also had a private meeting with Pope John Paul II and extended an invitation to him, to visit Greece.

26/1: The President of the Republic toured the Greek-speaking villages of Southern Italy, where he was greeted with great enthusiasm.

February 2001

4/2: Greek composer Ianis Xenakis died in Paris at the age of 78. Xenakis was born in 1922 in the city of Vraila in Romania, he studied Math, Architecture, and also Music.

5/2: Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Grigoris Niotis, Secretary General of Greeks Living Abroad Dimitris Dollis and members of other services met, and announced that procedures for the founding and functioning of a National Museum and Historical Archive of Greeks Living Abroad, in Thessaloniki, had begun.

9/2: Prime Minister Kostas Simitis ruled out the possibility of a reshuffling of the government in statements made while returning to Athens from Bombay.

13/2: The issue of charting the gene code of humans was the main topic of discussions at the meeting of the Prime Minister with the Greek Bioethics Committee.

16-17/2: Vice-President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, Head of a delegation of the IOC, visited Athens in order to check on the progress of the 2004 Olympic works. Mr. Rogge expressed his satisfaction with the basic strategy for the Olympics, which was delivered to him by "Athens 2004". Mr. Rogge observed delays in certain works and in administrative issues, and he stressed that the progress must be rapid. However, he made it clear that the 2004 Olympics will take place in Athens.

16/2: A bloody shooting at the General State Hospital of Athens ended with the escape of the infamous Kostas Passaris, who was being taken to the 1st floor for tests. Passaris and his accomplice managed to escape after shooting the two policemen guarding them, who later died.

22-23/2: Prime Minister of Kostas Simitis went to Skopje, where he participated in the Interbalkan Summit Meeting. The Prime Minister met with the President of FYROM, Boris Trajkovski, and Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski. The three of them agreed to continue the efforts for the naming of FYROM.

23/2: Prime Minister Kostas Simitis met with Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat in Athens. Mr. Simitis stressed the need for peace in the Middle East. Mr. Arafat thanked the Prime Minister for the effort he is making for peace and for the help offered by Greece and the EU to the Palestinian people.

27/2: The Cyprus issue, Greek-Turkish relations and European Defence were the main points of the meeting Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Papandreou had in Brussels with his US counterpart, Colin Powell. Mr. Papandreou characterized their meeting, in the margin of the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of NATO member-countries, as useful.

March 2001

1/3: President of the Parliament Nikos Kaklamanis met with SAE President Andrew Athens. Mr. Kaklamanis made it known that the medical program for the healthcare of the 800,000 Greeks of the former Soviet Union and Albania, would be increased by $100,000.

2/3: Answering a question of the President of the Coalition, Nikos Konstantopoulos, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis stated that in no case would the government accept the double naming of FYROM. Mr. Simitis pointed out that political deliberations were in progress. Although there had been no result up until that point, the Prime Minister expressed his hopes for a positive one.

6/3: Prime Minister Kostas Simitis met with Associations of Greeks living abroad and repatriated Greeks, and was informed of the problems they faced in social accession.

Mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos presented the name, emblem, foundation declaration and goals of his new party, giving life to the announcement he made on December 14, 2000, of creating a party. The name of his party is the Movement of Free Citizens (KEP), and its emblem is two intersecting revolving yellow rings. The party itself is in the Center, while its symbol expresses the composition and solidarity of the people.

7/3: The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece discussed the position to be held in the case of a visit by Pope John Paul II, after the Pope expressed such a wish. An announcement made by the Holy Synod, mentioned that it had no problem with the visit of the Pope.

8/3: A special event for the celebration of the World Day for Women and the Greek Woman Living Abroad took place in the Parliament. The Prime Minister announced a legislature regulation, which stated that the number of women participating in municipal and prefectural elections must be at least one third of the total candidates. In a letter he sent to the President of the Parliament, the President of New Democracy, Kostas Karamanlis, asked for specific legislature measures to be taken for Greeks living abroad and Greek women everywhere in the world.

11-13/3: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Papandreou took a three day trip to Cyprus. Mr. Papandreou met with Cypriot President Glafkos Kliridis, with whom he discussed the progress in Cyprus' accession to the EU. He also met and had discussions with the Presidents of the political parties of Cyprus, as well as the Archbishop of Cyprus, Mr. Chrysostomos.

14/3: The Director of the Bank of Greece, Lucas Papadimas, submitted the annual report on Greek economy to the Parliament. Mr. Papdimas pointed out that the Monetary Policy during the 2000-2001 period, contributed to the maintaining of steady prices and the accession of Greece to the Eurozone.

20/3: Prime Minister Kostas Simitis took a trip to London in the framework of which he met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr. Blair recognized the Prime Minister's efforts, as well as the essential role of Greece in the Balkan region. Mr. Simitis stressed the crisis in FYROM should be politically resolved as soon as possible.

Greek athletes who distinguished themselves in the Winter Special Olympics that took place in Alaska, met with the President of the Republic, Kostis Stefnopoulos. Mr. Stefanopoulos praised the athletes who, in total, won 49 medals, 16 of which were gold.

21/3: The State Council decided that the optional recording of religion on ID cards is unconstitutional, because it is in violation of religious freedom. At the same time, it was decided that nationality should be recorded, because they are used as travel documents.

25/3: Parades and other events took place all over Greece, and in Greek communities abroad, in celebration of the 180th anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821, and paid tribute to the fathers of Greece's national liberation.

26/3: The National Statistics Service announced the first official data of the census. According to the temporary results of the March 18th census, the population of Greece was 10,939,771. 5,426,660 men and 5,513,111 women. The increase in population in relation to 1991 was 6,6%, and is mainly due to immigrants.

27/3: Prime Minister Kostas Simitis inaugurated the Spata Airport in an event in the presence of the President of the Republic, many ministers, President of New Democracy Kostas Karamanlis, and delegations from all the other parties. Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Christodoulos performed the Holy Water rites. In his speech Mr. Simitis stressed that with its new airport, Greece confirmed its geopolitical importance and underlined the new growth opportunities.

29/3: Prime Minister Simitis described the general directions which will be followed by the government's fiscal policy for the next three years, in statements made after the meeting of the Governmental Committee, where those decisions were made. As Mr. Simitis said, the basic priorities of the government are the promotion of the country's developmental policy and the successful organization of the Olympic Games. The necessary funds for the confrontation of social exclusion will reach 4 trillion drs. and will be raised through carefully expending funds and by shifting the schedule of the armament program, concerning the acquisition of the Euro-fighter aircraft.

31/3: A celebration took place in Thessaloniki in the presence of the European Committee's President, Romano Prodi, for the 20th anniversary of Greece's accession to the Community. "Greece is better in the European Union, and the European Union is better with Greece as part of it. That is what these past 20 years have shown", underlined Mr. Prodi.

April 2001

4/4: A summit meeting took place between Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Simon Peres, and the Palestinian Minister of International Cooperation, Nabil Saath, in the margin of the Economist Conference. Previously they had met with the Head of Common Foreign Policy and Defence Policy of the European Union, Javier Solana.

5/4: Measures against poverty, reaching 550-600 billion drs, for the 2002-2004 period, were approved during a Cabinet meeting. During the meeting, Prime Minister Simitis stressed that there was no crisis in the party and that there would be no reshuffling.

6/4: The plenary session of the Parliament on the review of the Constitution was conducted with confrontations. Concerning the nominative vote for a new constitution, Mr. Karamanlis asked the MPs to vote according to their consciences, while the MPs of KKE and the Coalition of the Left, exited the parliament in a show of protest.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Papandreou visited Ankara. Mr. Papandreou met with Turkish Minister of Finances Kemal Dervis, his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem, and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. Mr. Papandreou and Mr. Cem signed an agreement on the destruction of land mines along the borders.

19/4: Prime Minister Kostas Simitis presented the basic axis along which the government reform on the social security system will run. The Prime Minister stressed that the public character of the social security system will be retained, its privatisation is rejected and trilateral insuring by employers, the State and employees is not in danger. The Opposition and union bodies reacted intensely to the promoted social security measures.

25/4: Minister of the Interior Vasso Papandreou and President of "Athens 2004" Gianna Aggelopoulou-Daskalaki, signed an action plan on their cooperation in the framework of the 2004 Olympics.

Labor Minister Tassos Giannitsis announced the "freezing" of the government's proposal on the social security system, so that all proposals may be discussed. The Minister stressed that the government's proposal was not withdrawn.

26/4: A Panhellenic strike took place in protest of the government's proposals on the social securities system. Union representatives made mention of the largest participation of employees in a general strike in the past 25 years.

May 2001

1/5: The social securities reform dominated the union rallies all over the country for the celebration of the May Day strikes.

2-4/5: The Vice-President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, visited Athens and inspected the progress of the Olympic works. Mr. Rogge expressed his satisfaction with the progress of Greece in the preparations for the 2004 Olympics. He stressed, however, that the schedules were strict and had to be kept.

President of the Cypriot Republic Glafkos Kliridis took a 3-day visit to Athens. Mr. Kliridis met with President Satefanopoulos, who called the Secretary General of the UN to take initiatives, so that the discussions on the Cyprus issue could continue. Mr. Kliridis also met with Prime Minister Simitis, who called the Turkish-Cypriot side to contribute to the resolving of the Cyprus issue, according to UN decisions.

3-7/5: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew paid a 4-day visit to E. Macedonia and Thrace, after the invitation of the Metropolites of Xanthi, Peristeri, Serres and Nigrita. During his tour of Thrace he referred to the coexistence of Christians and Muslims, and stressed that the region is proof of the peaceful cooperation between people of different religions.

4/5: Pope John Paul II made a 1-day visit to Athens. The Head of the Roman Catholic Church met with the President of the Republic at the Presidential Mansion, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, the head of the Opposition, K. Karamanlis, and the rest of the political leaders. The Pope's statement at the Athens Archbishopric, that there should be understanding for what Orthodox people suffered from the Catholic, and that we must be capable of forgiveness, made a great impression. This statement was applauded by Archbishop Chrtistodoulos and the Orthodox Hierarchs.

5/5: Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece Christodoulos went to Russia. Mr. Christodoulos met with the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia, Alexios II, who expressed his scepticism on the Pope's apology to the Orthodox Church, appreciating that it addressed the crusades and stressing that it should be interpreted according to the facts.

17/5: Mass participation of workers and employees was recorded in the 24-hour strike that took place in protest of the social security system. The GSEE and the ADEDY asked for the Prime Minister's public commitment on trilateral insurance. There were incidents during the march in Athens when police forces attacked a group of protesters, injuring three of them.

17-25/5: The Patriarch of Alexandria Petros visited Greece. The Archbishop of Alexandria was honored in a special ceremony in the Petrakis Monastery by the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, with the highest of all distinctions, the Great Cross of Paul the Disciple and was declared Honorary Doctor of the Theology Department at the AUTh.

18/5: The first Archive and Library of Hellenism of the Black Sea, in Greece, was inaugurated by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on issues concerning Greeks Living Abroad Grigoris Niotis. The new achievement of the Center for the Study and Development of Greek Culture of the Black Sea, is housed at the Cultural Center of the Prefecture of Thessaloniki.

21/5: Journalist Achilleas Chatzopoulos died at the age of 62. The deceased worked as a journalist for more than 35 years, and was the Director of the Macedonian Press Agency's Office in Athens for the past few years.

28/5: After a meeting of the Executive Office of PASOK, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis made a commitment not to lower minimum pensions. President of New Democracy, Kostas Karamanlis, accused the government of copying ND's proposals.

June 2001

1-2/6: The issue of reforming the social security system was at the center of discussions of the two-day meeting of the Central Committee of PASOK, which took place after the request of 63 of its members. In his speech, Prime Minister Simitis guaranteed the strengthening of minimum pensions and trilateral funding of the system.

4/6: Popular actor Dinos Iliopoulos passed away at the age of 86, in the Central Athens Clinic, where he had been undergoing treatment for respiratory problems, for 56 days.

6/6: The Ministers of Defence of South-eastern Europe expressed their full support to the government of national unity of FYROM, in an unofficial conference held in Thessaloniki. The Ministers condemned the terrorist actions of extremist elements, while they stressed the need to find more effective ways of promoting political security in the Balkans.

7/6: With the majority voting for all articles, the discussion of the bill dealing with organized crime and terrorism was completed. The amendments of the bill were agreed upon by both major parties, while the Greek Communist Party and the Coalition of the Left were absent.

13/6: Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Greece and the US, Giorgos Papandreou and Colin Powell, signed a defensive agreement between the two countries, in the margin of the NATO Conference.

15/6: The European Leaders participating in the Summit Meeting at Gottenborg in Sweden, gave the green light for NATO intervention in FYROM. The Prime Minister pointed out, that essentially, the intervention of NATO in FYROM would not be in the form of a military operation, but with the installing of troops, so that the cease-fire would be upheld, and to accommodate the surrendering of Albanian extremists' arms.

16/6: The EU Summit Meeting in Gottenborg concluded in the midst of violent confrontations between police and protesters. Issues of EU enlargement were also examined. Prime Minister Simitis mentioned that Cyprus is the first in line for accession, and expressed the opinion that negotiations would be completed by the end of 2002.

18/6: The revised budget for the preparation for the 2004 Olympics was approved during a meeting of the ministerial committee, presided over by the Prime Minister. The new budget reached 1.5 trillion drs.

19/6: The results of MRB's survey were positive for New Democracy. According to the survey, ND was ahead of PASOK in vote intention by 8.9%, while Mr. Karamanlis was ahead of Mr. Simitis for the first time in the question of who is a more appropriate Prime Minister, with 39.3% against Mr. Simitis' 37.1%.

The Royal couple of Belgium took a three-day trip to Greece.

20/6: The President and Vice-President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samarank and Jacques Rogge made a trip to Athens. Mr. Samaranch had meetings with the "Athens 2004" Organizational Committee, and declared the opening of the works of the International Olympic Academy in Pnyka.

23-24/6: The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Turkey, Giorgos Papandreou and Ismail Cem, met in Samos and Kousandasi, and agreed on 5 basic points for the strengthening of Greek-Turkish cooperation.

28/6: The Cabinet convened under the Prime Minister and decided on the strengthening of the institutional framework dealing with drugs and the promotion of specific actions in the sectors of prevention, rehabilitation and social incorporation of drug users.

July 2001

4-5/7: Cypriot Parliament President Dimitris Christofias visited Athens and had meetings with the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and political party leaders. In the meetings it was underlined that the two countries are committed to undertake joint efforts aimed at the promotion of the solution of the Cyprus problem.

6/7: The political party representatives attending the conference on the modernization of public administration in the Balkans, organized by Thessaloniki's Public Employees Organizations Union in cooperation with the respective Albanian, FYROM and Bulgarian unions, underlined that they are in favor of the preservation of the existing borders in the Balkans, and support security, independence, stability and the respect of human rights.

9-10/7: Prime Minister Kostas Simitis issued a message of union to the party members speaking in the governing Socialist Party of PASOK Central Committee meeting during which important decisions were made on the party's course toward its congress. The Central Committee decided unanimously that the party congress should be held earlier than scheduled and the date was set in October.

11/7: Elections were held in the right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy. There were 71 candidates running for a number of in-party organization positions and the party parliament deputies elected 46 of their colleagues to cover those positions.

16/7: Prime Minister Simitis met in Moscow with new IOC President Jacques Rogge within the framework of the IOC Summit. The Prime Minister congratulated Mr. Rogge for his election.

18/7: The situation in the Balkans, Europe's common defense policy, the Greek-Russian relations, and Russia's relations with the EU were the main topics discussed in the meeting of Prime Minister Simitis with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

19-20/7: The Italian authorities deported 150 Greek activists, who had arrived at the port of Ancona by boat on their way to Genoa to participate in the protests against globalisation. Athens made a verbal demarche to the Italian authorities protesting against the Italian police behaviour toward the Greek protesters in the incidents that occurred at the port of Ancona. Two protest marches were held in Athens on the occasion of the incidents in the Italian port city.

26/7: The earthquake, measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale, which hit the island of Skiros in the early morning hours and was felt across the country caused material damage and about 90 houses were almost destroyed.

Public Order Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis briefed the responsible parliamentary committee on the incidents in Genoa and denied categorically the accusations according to which, the government had given a list with protesters' names to the Italian authorities.

August 2001

3/8: Major General Fotis Nasiakos was promoted to a Lieutenant General and became Chief of the Greek Police after the resignation of Ioannis Georgakopoulos as a result of the failed police operation for the arrest of the most wanted criminal in Greece, Kostas Passaris.

13/8: Metropolite Erineos of Ierapolis was elected new Patriarch of Jerusalem 8 months after the death of Patriarch Diodoros.

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos visited the island of Imvros to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his spiritual deaconry.

The Greek government expressed satisfaction for the signing of a framework-agreement in FYROM. Prime Minister Kostas Simitis pointed out that this way the blood circle in the neighbouring FYROM will end.

21/8: Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece urged the Prime Minister to review his tactic on the identity cards issue. Responding, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas reiterated that the issue of the identity cards has closed after the State Council decisions.

23/8: Greek Transportation Minister Christos Verelis and his Cypriot counterpart Averof Neofitou signed an agreement for the issuing of a license for the operation of the Hellas-Sat satellite program. The first satellite will be put into orbit on August 31, 2002 and the second on March 31, 2004.

25/8: The Foreign Ministers of Greece, FYROM, Bulgaria, and Albania met in Florina, north-western Greece, within the framework of the "Prespia 2001" events. In the talks they had they backed FYROM's territorial integrity and the strengthening of regional cooperation aimed at the easing of the tension.

A Greek-Turkish music concert by Maria Farantouri, Zulfu Livaneli, and Panagiotis Karadimitris was held in Thessaloniki within the framework of the Balkan Square events organized by the Municipality of Neapoli, Thessaloniki.

28/8: The Church of Greece collected 3.008.901 signatures calling for a referendum to be held in order to be decided if the bearer's religion will be written on the state-issued identity cards.

September 2001

7/9: Prime Minister Simitis speaking in the opening of Thessaloniki's 66th International Trade Fair presented his vision of the society of tomorrow. He referred to the Euro, the 2004 Olympic Games, the measures taken by the government for the support of the farmers, the people with very low pensions, the unemployed and the sensitive population groups. Three anti-government rallies were held while the Prime Minister was delivering his speech.

9/9: Prime Minister Simitis, speaking to journalists in the press conference given every year within the framework of Thessaloniki's ITF, stated that development, the new social state, the strengthening of Greece's international position, and the true social convergence are the main goals of the government for the new era. He reiterated that the issue of the identity cards has closed. He made it clear that he will be leading PASOK in the 2004 elections and stressed that he will ask for a new mandate in the party congress.

10/9: French Prime Minister Lionel Jospen visited Athens and met with President Stephanopoulos and Prime Minister Simitis. In the Jospen-Simitis meeting it was established that they share the same views on the course of the EU economy and the need for an extension to the presence of the international force in FYROM.

14/9: The popular Greek singer Stelios Kazantzidis died of cancer after a long battle with the disease. He died at the age of 70 at the Athens Medical Center.

Memorial service for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States was held at the Athens Cathedral in the presence of President Stephanopoulos and Prime Minister Simitis.

16/9: Strong earthquake, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, shook the region north of the city of Kalamata, in southern Greece in the early morning hours. The tremor caused damage only to old buildings.

17/9: Interior Minister Vaso Papandreou and her French counterpart, who was on a visit to Greece, signed a cooperation agreement on the sector of public administration.

18-19/9: The President of Iceland, who was on a formal visit to Athens, met with President Stephanopoulos and Prime Minister Simitis. In the meetings was expressed strong concern regarding the terrorist attacks on the United States.

Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou had separate meetings with New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis, Coalition of the Left leader Nikos Konstantopoulos and Communist Party general Secretary Aleka Papariga and briefed them on the developments after the terrorist attack on the United States.

Health Minister Alekos Papadopoulos announced that the ministry examines an action plan in case of a chemical or biological weapons terrorist attack.

21/9: In a meeting that was held in the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications it was decided that security measures will be strengthened in all flights and in every airport in Greece.

26/9: The 2004 Olympic Games security issue was at the center of the contacts IOC President Jacques Rogge and 2004 Olympic Games Coordinating Committee President Dennis Oswald had in Athens.

27/9: Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou announced that Greece will offer humanitarian aid of US$1 million for the refugees along the borders of Afghanistan.

October 2001

1-3/10: Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou visited Russia and Germany and met with his counterparts within the framework of an initiative against terrorism. Mr. Papandreou also visited Washington and met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Mr. Papandreou stated that in the military operations prepared by the United States, Greece will participate at an information exchange level and at the refuelling process through the NATO bases.

5/10: European Commissioner, Michel Barnier, responsible for regional development issues, visited Athens and was briefed by the government on the course of the National Land Registry project.

Great Greek comedian Kostas Hatzichristos died after a long illness.

10/10: Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou met at the Fanar with Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos. The Patriarch accepted a proposal made by Mr. Papandreou for a religious leaders' summit meeting aimed at the cooperation of the peoples in response to the "holy war" that was declared by the Taleban.

11-14/10: The 6th PASOK party congress was held at the Olympic Stadium in Athens with the participation of representatives of Socialist and Social-democratic parties from 26 countries. Prime Minister Simitis requested a new mandate and he was re-elected for a third time to the party presidency with 71.16% of the votes.

Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou visited Damascus for talks with the Syrian President and the Foreign Minister within the framework of the Greek initiative for the easing of the tension in the Middle East.

16/10: Prime Minister Simitis met with new US ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller and discussed the international developments, the US-Greek relations, and bilateral cooperation against terrorism. Mr. Miller stated that he is satisfied with the security level in Greece.

23/10: The Minister of Press and Mass Media announced the members of the new government in which participate 19 new faces.

24/10: The new government was sworn-in in the presence of President Stephanopoulos and Prime Minister Simitis.

November 2001

1-2/11: The merger of the National Bank of Greece with Alpha Bank is ratified. Theodoros Karatzas is the Executive President of the new bank, while Yiannis Kostopoulos will be its governor. The new bank is named "National Bank of Greece SA".

1-3/11: Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou toured Pakistan, India and Iran.

5/11: Three people lost their lives as a result of the bad weather that hit the country. The heavy rains caused serious traffic problems in Athens and in the Athens-Lamia national road at Malakasa because of landslides.

A ship was spotted by the Coast Guard, southeast of the Ionian Sea island of Zakynthos, with more than 1.000 illegal immigrants on board. They were in great danger because fire had broken out in the ship's engine room, while the weather in the region was bad. The ship was towed to Zakynthos and its passengers received medical care.

6/11: A prosecutor is examining the conditions under which three people lost their lives by the recent floods that hit the wider region of Athens.

7/11: National Defence Minister Yiannos Papantoniou met with his Cypriot counterpart Socrates Hasikos and they reconfirmed the joint defense doctrine between Greece and Cyprus.

8/11: The Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey, Giorgos Papandreou and Ismail Cem, signed three confidence-building-measures in Athens aimed at easing the tension between the two countries, while they also signed protocols on joint efforts in case of natural disasters, the cooperation of diplomatic academies and the support of the Olympic Truce in view of the 2004 Olympic Games.

12-13/11: Prime Minister Simitis made a two-day visit to Slovakia and met with the country's political leadership.

The Church of Greece and the "Athens 2004" Olympic Games Organizing Committee signed a memorandum of cooperation.

13/11: The farmers held a protest rally in Karditsa, central Greece. They demanded the government's intervention to stop the abolition of the tobacco and cotton EU subsidies.

16/11: A protest rally was held by the farmers in the city of Farsala at the initiative of the Farmers' Unions Federation in the prefecture of Larisa, central Greece. They protested against the low cotton prices and the gradual abolition of the tobacco EU subsidies.

17/11: Small-scale incidents erupted during the march to the US embassy in Athens within the framework of the events commemorating the Athens Polytechnic uprising. Small-scale incidents were recorded in Thessaloniki as well.

19/11: A protest rally was held by the farmers in Thessaloniki and in the city of Trikala. The farmers protested against the farm policy adopted by the EU in the case of tobacco.

21-23/11: Romanian President Ion Iliescu visited Greece and met with his Greek counterpart Kostis Stephanopoulos who assured him that Greece will back Romania's efforts to join the EU. Mr. Iliescu also met with the Prime Minister, the Parliament President and representatives of the Romanian community in Greece.

[02] ANKARA NOTAM ON TWO GREEK AIR CORRIDORS

Ankara published a notam, asking to be informed on all flights through air corridors G-18 and R-19 in the Aegean, which are controlled by the Civil Aviation Service.

This news, published in the Ethnos caused reactions in Athens. Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Papandreou stated that his Ministries relevant authorities would look into the matter, while the Minister of Defense referred journalists to the Civil Aviation Service.

On its behalf, the Civil Aviation Service supported that Ankara has a right to ask to be informed on the two air corridors, because the G-18 clearly runs over Turkish territory and the R-19 intersects Ankara's FIR. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense agreed with this appreciation.

However, Ankara has never raised the issue of flight control in the specific air corridors, since 1974. According to information, the Turkish side submitted the protest proclamation to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the flight of a military aircraft without Ankara's permission last December, and are threatening that any aircraft to pass through the specific areas will be intercepted.

It should be noted that 4 years ago, the Military Airforce Transport, with which former Minister of Defense Akis Tsohatzopoulos was returning from Cyprus, was harassed by Turkish aircraft while in air corridor R-19.

Deputy Minister of Defense Lucas Apostolidis stated that there have been repeated challenges from the Turkish side, while Greece is a stabilizing factor in the region, while commenting on the Ethnos article and the Turkish notam.

The Press Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Panos Beglitis, underlined that all necessary actions have been taken by the organizations relevant to the Turkish notam.

Concerning the issue of US electronic maps that presented the Aegean without sea borders, he pointed out that it was a technical issue and does not express US support to either of the countries.

[03] TURKISH DEMAND DOES NOT THREATEN US

Greece's national sovereignty is not threatened by Ankara's request to have the flight plans of all flights from and to Rhodes and Nicosia, repeated government Spokesperson Christos Protopapas today. He pointed out that the issue is a matter of the Civil Aviation Service and stressed that it must be handled delicately.

Specifically, Mr. Protopapas pointed out that the air corridors in question go through Turkish FIR and over Turkish territory. Nevertheless, since these points are very brief, the ICAO has appointed Greece responsible for serving those air corridors, because it was impossible to change frequencies for a few seconds every few seconds.

Of course, as we all understand, Turkey did not choose the time to raise the issue randomly, since it is under the pressure of the Cypriot accession and the upcoming discussions to solve the Cyprus issue, stated the government spokesperson.

Of course Turkey must understand that it is at this juncture exactly that it is called upon to positively contribute to developments, and that similar moves are not compatible to the positive climate which must be formed, he added.

[04] MAGRIOTIS CONTACTS IN ISTANBUL

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Giannis Magriotis is leaving for Istanbul tomorrow morning. He will attend lunch with big businessman Sarik Tarah Co-chairman of the Turkish-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce.

On Sunday he will meet with Ecumanical Patriarch Bartholomew in Fanari and will have lunch with him. In the afternoon of the same day he will visit the Valoukli retirement home, and will have meetings with PTA groups of Greeks living abroad, while in the evening he will hold a dinner in honor of the Patriarch and the members of the Holy Synod at the Peran hotel.

[05] GREEK AID TO THE BELGRADE STOCK EXCHANGE

The ASE will offer financial aid of 1.8 million euro to the Belgrade Stock Exchange.

According to the Glas, a Serb newspaper, the Director of the BSE, Zoran Yeremich, announced that the relevant agreement will be signed by the end of January. The amount will be used to create a substructure for the BSE, a factor that will hasten the development of interior trade, capital and will bring foreign investors to the country, stressed Mr. Yeremich.

[06] ORDEAL OF 230 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OVER

The ship found sailing south of Crete with no captain and 230 illegal immigrants aboard, was towed into the Ierapetra harbor of Crete. EKAB doctors are examining the 246 illegal immigrants, who are mostly Iraqis of Kurdish decent.

The trafficking ship docked at Ierapetra and the city's bodies and residents have all rushed to the illegal immigrants' assistance, providing them with blankets, food and medicine.

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