Subject: News I (Greek Press Office BBS in Ottawa). To: macedonia@husc.harvard.edu (macedonia list.) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 12:03:53 EDT bulletin, 10/07/1993 ( ) ------------------------ A.N.A. Istanbul,10/7/93 (ANA).--Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos begins an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate today, his first to the Russian Church since he was elected to the Ecumenical Throne in November 1991. The nine-day visit is the continuation of ``the course of love, peace and unity`` the Ecumenical Patriarch began with his visits to the patriarchates of Alexandria and Antioch. The Ecumenical Patriarch`s visit to the Moscow Patriarchate is a follow-up of the visit his Beatitude Alexios II, patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, paid to the Phanar when he also participated in the meeting of Orthodox Church leaders held on Orthodoxy Sunday in 1992. The Patriarch of Constantinople will be welcomed by Alexios in Moscow at noon today and they will travel together to St Petersburg. A religious ceremony will be held at St Petersburg`s Cathedral tomorrow where Alexios was formerly Metropolitan. The Ecumenical Patriarch`s visit to Russia is taking place at a crucial time for Orthodoxy`s position in a unified Europe. His visit is expected to give a new impetus to Orthodox unity and the joint handling of problems such as the issue of Uniates. The Uniates, often called ``the thorniest problem facing Orthodoxy today``, are Eastern-rite Catholics who use Orthodox ceremonies and robes but recognise the supremacy of the Pope. They number some six million in Ukraine and have been accused of collaboration with the Nazis during World War Two. Political changes following the collapse of communist regimes have created new problems of Orthodox Churches in eastern Europe and have led primarily to the resurgence of proselytism by the Catholic Church which is using Uniates to this end, namely the subjugation of Orthodox Churches to the Vatican`s jurisdiction. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is making every effort to help the Russian Church, which is caing great internal problems after the collapse of the communist regime, according to sources at the Phanar. ANA --------- Athens, 10-7-93 (ANA).- Professor of international law Christos Rozakis was elected vice-president of the Council of Europe`s European Committee for Human Rights yesterday. Professor Rozakis has been a member of the Council`s European Committee since 1987. ANA --- ---- Athens, 10-7-93 (ANA).- The New Democracy government is the first in many years to deliver completed projects to the Greek people and not ``foundation stones of unfulfilled promises``, Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis said yesterday at the inauguration of the new Halkis bridge which links Evia, an island, to mainland Greece. ``Today, upon completion of this project, Evia will come closer to the rest of Greece and the phenomenon of traffic congestion outside Halkis will finally come to an end``, he said. Mr Mitsotakis said the Evia prefecture had been treated ``unfairly`` in the distribution of EC Regional Development Plan funds --during the previous government, in received only 14 per cent of the total, whereas today is share is closer to 20 per cent. The New Democracy government`s resolve is that Evia should have its share of the Delors II package, the premier said. He acknowledged the grave economic problems Evia was facing, noting that approximately half the financially-troubled companies the government inherited are in the region. The government, he said, is making serious efforts to secure the region`s economic recovery, adding that he had chaired a ministerial-level meeting on Thursday on the matter. He mentioned plans to create 1,000 new jobs with the help of the Organisation for the Employment of Human Resources (OAED) and to institute a subsidiew programme granting 500,000 dr. per person for the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises. -- At the opening ceremony, Public Works Minister Achilleaw Karamanlis termed the new Halkis bridge ``one of the biggest bridgew in Europe and the greatest in width and height to have ever been constructed in Greece.`` The bridge, built by the T.E.B. construction company in cooperation with ``Elliniki Technodomiki S.A.``, is 694.5 metres in lingth, 35.5 metres high and cost 3.250 billion dr. Construction was begun in 1985. ANA ------ Athens,10-7-93 (ANA).- Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Mock said yesterday that a strong European Community could avert crises such as the war in Bosnia and expressed his satisfaction at Greece`s efforts on behalf of regional peace and stability. ``Greece is trying through dialogue to normalise its relations with Albania``, Mr Mock told reporters and expressed the hope that Albanian would also contribute in this direction. Mr Mock, in Athens for talks on Austria`s application to join the EC, held separate meetings with Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis, Foreign Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou and National Defence Minister Ioannis Varvitsiotis, to discuss bilateral relations and developments in former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. ANA ------ Athens, 10-7-93 (ANA).- The government`s policy towards Albania is guided by the need to safeguard the human and religious rights of the Greek minority and to bring seasonal workers in Greece under the law, government spokesman Vassilis Manginas announced yesterday. The announcement came after a meeting of the inner cabinet, briefed by Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis on recent developments in Greek-Albanian relations. The inner cabinet meeting was also briefed on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina by the premier, who pointed out that developments indicated ``a peaceful resolution`` to the conflict. Referring to a European Commission statement Thursday that there was no evidence whatsoever that Greece was violating the UN-imposed embargo on YHugoslavia, Mr. manginas said he hoped that this statement would mean ``charges against our country of violating the embargo will come to an end, once and for all``. -- Foreign Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou yesterdaycautiously welcomed statements by Albanian President Sali Berisha Thursday. ``I assume (Mr. Berisha`s statement are) a concession or...clarification that (Albania is not setting) conditions, but points of discussion``, he said. Mr Berisha said Thursday he wanted a fresh climate of understanding between Tirana and Athens and pledged to protect the rights of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania. He denied that a letter sent to the Greek government by Albania`s foreign ministry was a series ofr demands to end the current feud between the two Balkan states but merely points for discussion. Greece rejected what it called Tirana`s conditions to bring a halt to the dispute, sparked by Albania`s deportation of a senior Greek cleric for allegedly fomenting separatism among Albania`s Greek minority. ANA ------- Tirana 10-7-93 (ANA-K.Liatis).- Albania`s main opposition party yesterday accused the government of attacking pluralism in Albania after Tirana accused a leading opposition leader of defaming President Sali Berisha. ``The government`s attack against the leader of a policial party in Tirana is an attack against pluralism and one that signals the dangers of a rebirth of totalitarianism``, the Socialist Party said in yesterday`s Zeri Populit newspaper. National Unity party leader Itayet Bekiri has been acdcused by the government of defaming the character of Mr. Berisha in an article he wrote. Describing the government`s ``persisent condemnation`` of Mr Bekiri as ``unacceptable``, the socialist Party said it signalled ``a new escalation of censorship``. Zeri Populit also reported yesterday that Finance Minister Gensch Rouli had filed a complaint against the newspaper`s correspondent in Tirana, Panayot Zoto, for defamation of character, after Zoto reported that the minister was involved in cigarette smuggling. ANA ----- Athens,107-93 (ANA).-- Foreign Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou and his Cypriot counterpart Alecos Michaelides held a meeting yesterday to coordinate action in light of the upcoming meeting of the EC`s ministerial council which will discuss the commission`s opinion on Cyprus membership application. Mr Papaconstantinou and Mr Michaelides, who arrived in Athens on Thursday, also reviewed recent developments on the Cyprus problem ``We studied the positions which must be promoted during the meeting of the General Affairs Council``, on July 19 and 20, said Mr. Papaconstantinou. The Commission`s avis on Cyprus` EC bid said the island was ``eligible`` for membership, but cited the Turkish occupation of Cyprus` northern third as a major obstacle on the road. Tt proposed, moreover, the immediate commencement of negotiations on harmonising Cyprus with Community rules and regulations. ``The (EC Commission`s) avis on Cyprus`s application, despite the obstacles and difficulties which it includes, leaves open the road for various handlings to promote Cyprus`s accession to the Community``, Mr Michaelides told reporters after the meeting. ``The reason we are here today is precisely because the document opens a path and we wish to use every available opportunity to promote our position``, he added. Asked about President glafcos Clerides` position on a pan-Hellenic conference, to be attended by the political leadership of Athens and Nicosia to decide the strategy and goals of the Greek side on the Cyprus problem, Mr Michaelides said it was still at the preparatory stage. ``We consider imperative the convening of a pan-Hellenic conference as we consider imperative its preparation in order to produce the results we all expect``, he said. Mr Michaelides also met yesterday with Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis. ANA- END