From: miltos@nfl2.irc.nrc.ca Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Wed, 6 Oct 1993 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, October 6, 1993 Athens, 6/10/1993 (ANA): Foreign Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou yesterday accused Albania of distorting the contents of a confidential letter from Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) High Commissioner for National Minorities Max van der Stoel to the Albanian foreign minister concerning the state of the Greek minority in Albania. He said the contents of the letter, as presented by the Albanian representative at the UN, were an "arbitrary interpretation on the part of (Albanian president) Sali Berisha and distortion of the van den Stoel report". Mr. Papaconstantinou also pointed out the fact that the van der Stoel report, "which is not in Albania's favour", had not been made public and was a "confidential document". Mr. Van der Stoel was on a fact-finding mission in Tirana last August to check whether the Albanian government was respecting the rights of the thousands of ethnic Greeks in the neighbouring country. The Albanian UN representative claimed that the van der Stoel letter concluded that the situation of the Greek minority had never been better, that there was no evidence of any discrimination against the Greek minority and that the situation of the minority would improve hand-in-hand with that of the entire Albanian population. Mr. Van der Stoel also purportedly made a 12-point recommendation in his letter for improvement of the living conditions of the Greek minority. According to the Albanian representative, the proposals were for the most part vague, while the only problems of substance touched upon in the letter were the schools and the persecution suffered by ethnic Greeks from the Albanian army. "The Albanian representative's claims (on the contents of the letter) at the UN constitute an arbitrary interpretation by Mr. Berisha and distortion of the content of the report", Mr. Papaconstantinou said. He said that an issue of an Albanian minority in Greece had not been raised by Mr. van der Stoel when the CSCE official visited Athens after Tirana, adding that the High Commissioner's report would, when completed, be first forwarded to the international organisations and then to the two interested sides. Mr. Papaconstantinou said he briefed the ambassadors of Greece's 11 EC partners earlier yesterday on Greek-Albanian relations and stressed the need for the Tirana government to respect and guarantee the Greek minority's freedom of religion and education. Athens, 6/10/1993 (ANA): Former Australian Prime Minister Edward Gough Whitlam will be inducted into the prestigious Academy of Athens on October 18, an announcement said yesterday. It said Mr. Whitlam, a professor, will deliver a lecture on "Hellenism in the Antipodes" at the ceremonies. Athens, 6/10/1993 (ANA): Greece's political parties stepped up their campaigning this week, with television interviews and mass rallies, as the lead-in to the October 10 elections entered the home stretch. "Our election victory will be, first of all, a victory of the new generation over rusted ideologies and vested interests", Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis told a rally organised by the youth wing of the ruling New Democracy party. Noting that New Democracy polled first among youth and university groups, Mr. Mitsotakis said the party had always been the choice of the younger generation. "Why do the young choose New Democracy? They chose it because the policy that New Democracy followed for three-and-a-half years was not a policy aimed at the next elections but one aimed at the next generations", he said. His appearance at the youth rally followed a similar appearance yesterday by main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) leader Andreas Papandreou at a gathering of socialist youth. Addressing the campaign's main issue, the economy, Mr. Mitsotakis said his government's policies aimed at "investing in the future" by curbing the state. "To date, the only promise that the parties made to the youth were a job in the civil service, thus making public service a symbol of mediocrity and favouritism", he said. "Our government tidied up the economy. We laid the foundations for growth. We are the first government in decades to implement large infrastructure works such as the Athens metro, the national high-ways, the natural gas pipeline and the international airport at Spata, which have all created new jobs and new prospects", Mr. Mitsotakis added. Athens, 6/10/1993 (ANA): Communist Party of Greece (KKE) leader Aleka Paparriga yesterday appealed to leftists to turn out in force for the October 10 general elections to ensure a strong KKE presence in the next parliament. "The Communist Party of Greece is the only party that can express the Greek Left", Ms Paparriga told a campaign rally at Athens' central Pedion Tou Areos park. Her speech marked the beginning of the home stretch of the election campaign, and will be followed by addresses each evening this week by the leaders of the other parties represented in parliament. The KKE leader launched a vigorous attack on both the main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement and the Coalition of the Left and progress, saying there were essentially no differences between their programmes. "PASOK's danger-mongering (about a conservative win) is the best proof that PASOK's policies will ... hurt the working class. This is why it is seeking post-election accomplices for its policies through its proposal to co-operate with the Left. And this is precisely why we said no (to the proposal)", she added. In an interview with the mass circulation Athens daily Eleftherotypia last week PASOK leader Andreas Papandreou hinted at a possible post-election co-operation with the two main left parties. The idea was rejected by the KKE and the Coalition, which in 1989 had both voted with the conservative New Democracy party to indict former PASOK ministers, including Mr. Papandreou, in the Bank of Crete embezzlement scandal that brought down the socialist government. Ms Paparriga also rejected a PASOK campaign pledge of a new "social contract" with the people. Turning to the Left Coalition, with whom the KKE in 1990 had formed an electoral alliance from which the KKE subsequently withdrew, Ms Paparriga said the only elements the Left Coalition had in common with that alliance "was its name and the original source of its members". Athens, 6/10/1993 (ANA): Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras yesterday called Premier Constantine Mitsotakis and main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement leader Andreas Papandreou "dinosaurs", in a scathing attack against both New Democracy and PASOK. Speaking at an election rally in Thessaloniki, Mr. Samaras predicted both Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Papandreou would retire from political life, because one could not remain on the political stage without the other. He charged Mr. Papandreou's silence over the Skopje issue was unofficial treason, claiming the PASOK leader had tacitly agreed to his expulsion from the Foreign Ministry. Mr. Samaras was dismissed as foreign minister for the ruling New Democracy party in April 1992. The Political Spring leader justified his decision to unseat the government on the grounds that the government was no longer one by the New Democracy party but one run by Mr. Mitsotakis and his family. Athens, 6/10/1993 (ANA): Foreign Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou yesterday told EC ambassadors here that Greece's aim when it assumes the rotating presidency on January 1 is to concentrate on implementing the Maastricht treaty and providing the EC with a Balkan and Mediterranean dimension. The briefing also covered Mr. Papaconstantinou's contacts on the sidelines of the 48th UN General Assembly in New York and decisions taken by the EC Foreign Ministers' Council meeting in Luxembourg last week. As the only Balkan country a member of the Community, Mr. Papaconstantinou told the ambassadors, it was Greece's obligation, to pay special attention to the region. The meeting also covered national issues including Cyprus, Skopje, and Greece's relations with Albania. After the Palestinian-Israeli accord, Mr. Papaconstantinou said, the United Nations should now focus efforts on settling the Cyprus issue. He underscored an EC avis saying that, unless there was progress in the dialogue to settle the issue by the end of 1995, the Community would go ahead and accept Cyprus as member. He told the Community envoys that Greece had submitted proposals to various international bodies, relating to the adoption of constructive measures on the day peace is restored in former Yugoslavia. "Greece is ready to submit proposals to the EC and neighbouring countries economic aid to countries that have emerged after the dissolution of former Yugoslavia", Mr. Papaconstantinou said. "We should not be caught unawares, as was the case when peace was restored in the Middle East", he added. Greece had already elaborated a suitable plan which it will submit to the EC after the elections on Sunday, the foreign minister said. He outlined his proposal to the UN that a conference he held by the body's 184 member-countries in the year 2000 to discuss a world programme. Referring to the crisis in Russia, Mr. Papaconstantinou said Greece naturally supported President Boris Yeltsin's efforts to lead that country to elections and democracy, adding his hope that Russia would not return to the past. Democratisation is necessary in Russia, and should civil war break out or there be a regression, it will have an impact both on Europe and the rest of the world, Mr. Papaconstantinou cautioned. Athens, 6/10/1993 (ANA): Council of Europe will consider human rights and minorities issues at its summit meeting tomorrow in Vienna. Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis will not be attending the summit due to the impending parliamentary elections; he will be represented by Foreign Under-secretary Virginia Tsouderou. British Prime Minister John Major will also not attend the summit, due to the Conservative Party congress. He will be represented at the summit by a government official.