News about Greece 8/5/95

From: Thanos Tsekouras <thanost@MIT.EDU>

Copyright 1995 Agence France Presse

Agence France Presse

May 08, 1995

SECTION: Informations Generales

LENGTH: 373 words

HEADLINE: Turquie- Grece -Tourisme

BYLINE: parer des attentats contre le

BODY:

tourisme turc

ANKARA, 8 mai (AFP) - Trois personnes qui s'appretaient a perpetrer des

attentats contre des objectifs touristiques au nom du PKK ont ete arretees lors

d'operations policieres a Izmir, sur la mer Egee (ouest), a annonce lundi le

prefet de police de cette ville, Kemal Yazicioglu.

Neuf pains de dynamite et des produits chimiques servant a la fabrication

d'explosifs ont ete saisis lors de ces operations qui etaient menees depuis une

quarantaine de jours a Izmir, a indique M. Yazicioglu, cite par l'agence turque

Anatolie, au cours d'une conference de presse.

L'une des personnes arretees, Mehmet Kavak, alias "Ciya", 28 ans, a affirme

lors de cette conference de presse "qu'il avait ete forme politiquement et

militairement" en Grece, pendant deux mois, dans un camp (du Parti des

Travailleurs du Kurdistan, PKK, separatiste) situe dans une zone forestiere, a

deux heures et demie d'Athenes.

Mehmet Kavak affirme s'etre rendu en janvier 1995 en Grece. Selon lui, "une

trentaine d'autres personnes ont egalement ete formees" dans ce camp pour la

fabrication d'explosifs et elles sont plus tard rentrees en Turquie pour

"perpetrer des attentats a la bombe" dans des zones touristiques.

L'ete dernier, la Turquie avait accuse la Grece, d'apres les "aveux" d'un

groupe de militants du PKK arretes a Istanbul, "d'avoir forme" des militants du

PKK pour des attentats contre des objectifs economiques, militaires et

touristiques en Turquie, ce qui avait ete rejete par la Grece.

En 1994, trois touristes etrangers --une Tunisienne, un Espagnol et une

Britannique-- avaient ete tues et 39 autres personnes, dont 22 etrangers,

blessees, dans quatre attentats a la bombe a Istanbul et dans les stations

balneaires de Fethiye et de Marmaris sur la Mediterranee (sud-ouest).

Copyright 1995 The British Broadcasting Corporation

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts

May 8, 1995, Monday

SECTION: Part 2 Central Europe and the Balkans; BALKANS; TURKEY; EE/2297/B

LENGTH: 285 words

HEADLINE: RELATIONS WITH GREECE;

Premier criticizes Greece over minister clash

SOURCE: Source: TRT TV, Ankara, in Turkish 1700 gmt 6 May 95

BODY:

Prime Minister Tansu Ciller has told a crowd in Edirne that the attack on

State Minister Aktuna in Greece exemplifies that country's intolerance while

Turkey is "a great fighter for democracy" . The following are excerpts from a

report by Turkish TV:

[Announcer] Prime Minister Tansu Ciller has said that Turkey is a great

country teaching the world lessons in democracy as well as human rights ...

Ciller left Ankara for Istanbul around noon today [6th May]. She then flew by

helicopter to Edirne ... During her public address in Edirne, Ciller also

referred to the attack against Aktuna in Greece.

[Ciller] We have something to say. We sent our minister there as a gesture of

friendship. There is no tolerance there. I am calling on those who hoisted the

terrorist flag - the terrorist rag - next to their own: You are tarnishing your

own flag. Let me clearly state the following: This country is great and it will

remain great. Turkey is a fighter for democracy. This is what I have to say to

our neighbours who have declared themselves the champions of democracy: Where is

your tolerance? Where is your democracy? Look at our Turkish soldiers in order

to learn a lesson. Look at the Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq who taught

everyone a lesson in human rights. They returned from war without having harmed

a single civilian or child. You cannot even respect a person who went to visit

you as a guest. Let the world be the judge of the difference between these two

attitudes.

[Announcer] Ciller said that with the north Iraq operation, the Turkish Armed

Forces taught the world lessons in human rights as well as democracy. Meanwhile,

the citizens chanted anti-Greek slogans...

Copyright 1995 The British Broadcasting Corporation

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts

May 8, 1995, Monday

SECTION: Part 2 Central Europe and the Balkans; BALKANS; TURKEY; EE/2297/B

LENGTH: 270 words

HEADLINE: RELATIONS WITH GREECE;

State Minister Aktuna accuses Greeks of sympathizing with PKK

SOURCE: Source: TRT TV, Ankara, in Turkish 2010 gmt 4 May 95

BODY:

State Minister Yildirim Aktuna has returned from Western Thrace in Greece,

where he sustained slight injuries in an attack, and has reported that during

his visit a Kurdistan Workers'Party declaration was posted on the door of the

Turkish consulate by a Greek policeman. This visit, he concluded has "cut open a

boil and exposed the pus inside it" . The following is the text of a report by

Turkish TV:

State Minister Yildirim Aktuna, who was attacked by some Greek fanatics

during his tour of Western Thrace, has returned to Turkey. Aktuna arrived in

Turkey overland and then flew by helicopter to Ataturk airport in Istanbul,

where he held a news conference.

Aktuna said that the Greek police and the assailants had cooperated during

the hideous attack on him. Pointing out that no Greek government official called

him after the attack, Aktuna remarked that not only does this behaviour not

correspond with diplomacy, it is also not good manners. There were some 200-300

policemen in the square, Aktuna said, adding that he observed Greek as well as

PKK [Kurdistan Workers'Party] flags in the crowd. Noting that a PKK declaration

was posted on the door of the Turkish consulate by a Greek policeman, Aktuna

said that this visit had cut open a boil and exposed the pus inside it.

Aktuna said that it has become clear that the Greek press was controlled by

the government and that Greece was far behind Turkey with regard to democracy

and human rights. Intensive pressure is being applied on Turks in Western

Thrace, Aktuna stressed, adding that Turkey could not remain indifferent to this

situation.

Copyright 1995 Reuters, Limited

May 8, 1995, Monday, BC cycle

SECTION: Money Report. Bonds Capital Market.

LENGTH: 229 words

HEADLINE: GREEK FINMIN WANTS TO KEEP AUSTERITY, CUT SPENDING

DATELINE: ATHENS, MAY 8

BODY:

Greek Finance Minister Alexandros Papadopoulos pledged the socialist

government would stick to its tight fiscal and anti-inflation policies and

called for cuts in the country's sprawling public sector.

"First and foremost we have to rid ourselves of the sense that the tight

anti-inflationary policy is transient," Papadopoulos told a financial seminar

held by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).

"There is a belief that our anti-inflationary policy, a part of which is the

government's tough fiscal policy, is just a parenthesis in order to tidy up the

current economic crisis, and it will later sink without trace," Papadopoulos

said.

Dumping the government's austerity policies would be "a catastrophic utopia,"

he said.

"The only viable policy for development and full employment is one that

respects, at every step, persistence in curbing inflation through fiscal and

incomes policy," Papadopoulos said.

State spending should be reduced and the costly public sector cut back in

order to meet targets set in the government's plan to align with other European

economies, Papadopoulos said.

"This is a major and probably painful issue ... but we no longer have room to

move," he said.

"It is the ultimate in short-sightedness to save 400 jobs today, sacrificing

4,000 tomorrow. "

--Claire Springett, Athens Newsroom +301 3311813-4

Copyright 1995 Reuters, Limited

May 8, 1995, Monday, BC cycle

SECTION: Money Report. Bonds Capital Market.

LENGTH: 112 words

HEADLINE: GREEK C'BANK TO CUT FORCED DEPOS OVER TWO YRS-GOV

DATELINE: ATHENS, MAY 8

BODY:

Greek commercial banks' mandatory deposits at the central bank will drop to

low European Union levels in the next two years, financial newspapers quoted

Bank of Greece governor Lucas Papademos as saying.

The central bank's plan to gradually reduce the proportion of drachma

deposits, now at nine percent, would not begin in the immediate future despite a

cut in mandatory foreign exchange deposits decided last month, Papademos was

quoted as saying.

Papademos was taking part in a round-table discussion at a symposium on the

financial system held by the Institute for Economic and Industrial Research on

Friday.

-- Claire Springett, Athens Newsroom +301 3311813-4