From: zarros@turing.scs.carleton.ca (Theodoros Sp. Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Thu, 3 Feb 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): Tension mounted in relations between the executive and judicial powers yesterday, as Justice Minister in an almost ultimatum letter asked Supreme Court prosecutor Athanassios Sioulas to hand over to his ministry the file concerning an ongoing investigation into the sale of AGET-Haracles, Greece's largest cement factory to Calcestruzzi, a subsidiary of debt-ridden Feruzzi group. Mr. Sioulas refused earlier yesterday to withdraw the file from Supreme Court assistant prosecutor Constantine Volonasis as requested by the Justice Minister on Tuesday. Mr. Kouvelakis' decision to take over the file was prompted by accusations that Mr. Volonasis was intentionally delaying the probe. In a letter addressed to Mr. Kouvelakis, Mr. Sioulas wrote he would not send the entire file, but only certain transcripts, adding that Mr. Volonasis would continue the preliminary probe until Mr. Kouvelakis established whether or not there were sufficient grounds to order prosecution against all persons responsible. In his ultimatum letter, the Justice Minister called on Mr. Sioulas to send the complete file to the Ministry within 24 hours, warning him that his persistent refusal exposed him to all consequences under the law. The Minister's letter also invoked public interest and the danger of writing off serious offenses which might have been perpetrated by politicians. He also mentioned that the preliminary inquiry was proceeding at an excessively slow pace entailing in providing proof primarily concerning entries of bank accounts. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos earlier said the issue was being transferred to a regular investigation level, reiterating that it did not interfere in the work of justice and Mr. Kouvelakis action was in accordance with Article 30 of the Penal Procedure Code. Meanwhile, AGET former owner George Tsatsos yesterday told a private radio station he had notified Mr. Volonasis on November 17 of entries concerning a 12-million dollar account which Nikos Georgiadis, AGET vice-president at the time of the sale, has with a British bank. According to reports, developments in the AGET case were discussed at a sudden meeting between main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert and former conservative Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis, yesterday morning. ND called on Mr. Kouvelakis yesterday to provide more classifications, terming his position Tuesday as being "vague". It also said it wants the whole truth to shine through transparent procedures, and requested drawing lots to select the judicial officer who will be in charge of inquiries. Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati is due in Athens tomorrow, for talks with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis. Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): The government had no official information on the possibility UN mediator on the Skopje issue Cyrus Vance visiting Greece, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos told the press yesterday. Mr. Venizelos reiterated Greece wanted concrete examples of goodwill from Skopje, adding this would serve as a basis of Greek foreign policy on the issue. Asked if Greece was being led to a UN-sponsored dialogue with Skopje, Mr. Venizelos said Greece might reconsider the possibility of engaging in dialogue within the framework of the UN, provided the neighboring state first gave proof of good as demanded by Athens. He ruled out the possibility of Greece engaging in dialogue which would lead to establish use of 'Macedonia' by the neighboring state and lead to further Skopje intransigence and provocativeness. Belgrade, 3/2/1994 (ANA - N. Georgiades): Greek Ambassador Constantine Yerokostopoulos, head of a EU observers' mission to former Yugoslavia, had a meeting with newly-elected President of Serbian-Krajina Milan Martic in Krajina yesterday. At the meeting, the Greek Ambassador referred to the need for continuing to aim for peace procedures in the context of the Vans-Owen plan. Mr. Martic told Mr. Yerokostopoulos, that "it is an illusion to believe that Serbs could co-exist with the Croats within a single state entity". Mr. Yerokostopoulos is on a five-day tour to Krajina. Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): Robert Fromwick, representative of an American organization based in Skopje, engaged in normalizing relations among minorities there, had talks with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and Under-secretary George Papandreou, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday. The Greek side reiterated its positions, but no statement was issued after the meeting. Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said yesterday that the European Union must take "new decisions" to push forward its peace plan for Bosnia-Herzegovina in order to overcome "inactivity observed in recent days". Speaking to reporters after returning from two days of talks in Washington, as president of the EU Council of Ministers, Mr. Papoulias said "there is no other way, since everyone rejects military operations, even air strikes in Bosnia". Mr. Papoulias described his talks with US officials, which included the crisis in Bosnia, as "positive". "It appears the US has certain ideas concerning Bosnia which will be manifested in the next few weeks", Mr. Papoulias said. Mr. Papoulias said he would brief the EU Council of Ministers on his Washington talks, when it convenes on Monday and Tuesday, adding "there will be a fruitful discussion in order to take decisions on the Bosnian problem". On the Skopje issue, Mr. Papoulias said the US was more interested in normalizing relations between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia than upgrading diplomatic relations between Washington and Skopje. "We too should move in this direction", Mr. Papoulias said, adding that "normalization depends on the acceptance by (Skopje President Kiro) Gligorov of Greece's demands, so that dialogue should follow on the name issue, on which Greece's position is well known". "In the meantime", he said, "we must try to create a better climate between Athens and Skopje". Mr. Papoulias told questions he had no information concerning the possibility of UN mediator on the Skopje issue Cyrus Vance visiting Athens and Skopje. Washington, 3/2/1994 (ANA - D. Dimas): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said the State Department report on human rights "is a report which is repeated, a routine which is repeated and which has nothing to add or withdraw", after completing his round of talks with meetings with US President Bill Clinton's national security adviser George Stephanopoulos and Democrat Senator and senior Foreign Relations Committee member Paul Sarbanes, in Washington, Tuesday. Speaking to Greek reporters on results of his visit, Mr. Papoulias focused on the State Department's human rights report, confidence-building measures concerning Cyprus and the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). "It is report which is repeated, a routine which is repeated and which has nothing to add or withdraw. It is information the Americans have and formulate and one either agrees or disagrees with it. They have accustomed us to this in past years", Mr. Papoulias said about the report. Referring to confidence-building measures, Mr. Papoulias said "what they will produce is questionable, that is to say if (Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf) Denktash uses them again to perpetuate an endless dialogue without result is something which remains to be seen". He added that "if Turkey wants to go ahead with a solution to the Cyprus issue I think it has the power to do so. It has not shown willingness to do this". "I hope that the confidence-building measures will get under way in the manner they have been set out, but I not think they will solve the problem. The problem is the essence, which is not touched on by the confidence building measures and, I fear, Turkey and, by extension, Denktash avoid discussing the essence of the Cyprus issue", Mr. Papoulias added. Asked about his impression of the White House position on the FYROM issue after meeting with Mr. Stephanopoulos, Mr. Papoulias said "I think we can discern the US is trying to handle it in such a way as to result in a normalization of relations between Athens and Skopje (FYROM). Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe arrived in Athens yesterday for talks with the Greek government on its programme as presiding country of the European Union. "We will discuss the Greek programme as well as the issues of Bosnia, the Middle East and Europe's relations with Russia", Mr. Juppe said. He praised Athens, saying the course of the Greek presidency was "going very well", adding that he banked on it. Mr. Juppe was greeted at Athens airport by his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias. The two men will hold extensive talks today. Mr. Juppe will also meet with Prime Minister Andrea Papandreou and European Affairs Minister Theodore Pangalos before flying back to Paris late Thursday. Greece assumed the EU presidency on January 1 and is the first member state to head the 12-nation bloc after ratification of the Maastricht treaty on European union in November. Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): British Industry Minister Timothy Sainsbury is due in Athens today, on a four-day visit to attend the informal European Union Ministerial Foreign Trade Council, and promote UK-Greek industrial and business links. Mr. Sainsbury will address a British-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce dinner (today) on Industrial Renovation and Competitiveness in the European Union. Tomorrow, he will visit the "mini-Lavrion" power station, which is being upgraded and converted to use natural gas by Babcock Energy Ltd., a major British engineering company. He will then go on to visit the Panafon facilities at Peania. Vodafone of the UK has a 45 per cent share in Panafon. Istanbul, 3/2/1994 (ANA - A. Kourkoulas): A front-page interview with Foreign Under-secretary George Papandreou, headlined "Papandreou's son is growing insolent" and "George talks nonsense", published in the Turkish newspaper Turkeyie, yesterday, was protested by Press Attachi at the Greek Embassy in Ankara, Stavros Stathopoulos. Mr. Stathopoulos lodged a complaint with the newspaper management arguing that the headline was both unacceptable and incompatible with the report on the interview. Mr. Papandreou, was asked to comment on the Aegean crisis, the Cyprus problem and the Moslem minority in Thrace. "Turkey talks of a crisis in the Aegean in an effort to divert attention from domestic problems", Turkeyie quoted Mr. Papandreou as saying. "We are a peaceful country, we don't have expansionist designs, and the only problem in relations between Greece and Turkey is the continental shelf of the Greek islands in the Aegean", Mr. Papandreou was reported as saying. "The problem could be solved at the Hague International court", he added. On the Cyprus problem, Mr. Papandreou said "we must break away from the past and look to the future". "What will happen if Cyprus becomes a full member of the European Union? "Within the European system the rights of each community are protected. Ankara should help bring a settlement of the problem through exerting pressure on the Turkish side and the Turkish Cypriots, since after a peaceful solution is reached, they will benefit as European citizens", the newspaper reported Mr. Papandreou as saying. Replying to a question on the Muslim minority in Thrace, Mr. Papandreou said "Greece wants to become a model country concerning minorities". Mr. Papandreou reminded the interviewer that "no trace of Greek presence can be found in Istanbul anymore". Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): President Constantine Karamanlis had a meeting yesterday with Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America, currently in Athens at the invitation of the government. Iakovos and Mr. Karamanlis discussed Greece's national issues in relation to the role which can be played by the Overseas Greeks in the United States. Orthodoxy in the Balkans was also discussed. Iakovos told the press that as a result of the meeting, overseas Greeks in the United States "will help in every way possible, so that these issues should be understood by all parties concerned, not merely as foreign policy issues of the European nations in the Balkan peninsula". Iakovos had also a meeting yesterday with Education Minister Dimitris Fatouros centering on the education of Overseas youth. Following the meeting, Mr. Fatouros expressed "satisfaction" at the discussion. Iakovos, said the meeting was "detailed" and also expressed satisfaction at the "understanding" of Mr. Fatouros to his request for a closer co-operation on education matters. Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): President of the Republic Constantine Karamanlis yesterday had a meeting with main opposition New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert. No statement was issued after the meeting. Mr. Evert briefed Mr. Karamanlis on ND views on the Public Administration bill and concern for the course of the economy, sources said. The New Democracy campaign tour to brief world public opinion on Greece's national issues was also discussed, sources added. Athens, 3/2/1994 (ANA): The Panhellenic Federation of Pontian Societies yesterday sent additional aid, 20 tons of medicines and foodstuffs, to Greeks in Georgia. Aid was flown from Thessaloniki aboard a Hercules C-130 transport aircraft provided by National Defense Minister Gerassimos Arsenis. Most of the aid, nearly 200 tones, has already reached its destination. Two more airlift missions will be carried out on February 7 and 9 from Thessaloniki and Athens respectively. Consignments are landed in Tiblisi whence they are carried by truck to the Carka region, home to about 25,000 Greeks. The effort is sponsored by Greek Pontian societies, Foreign Under-secretary for overseas Greeks George Papandreou, Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Serapheim and Thessaloniki Prefect Costas Papadopoulos. Greek singer Stelios Kazantzidis has offered 10 precious objects for sale, proceed of which will be used to support children of Pontian refugees. Bonn, 3/2/1994 (ANA - P. Stangos): German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel yesterday declared his intention to brief the Greek European Union presidency in greater detail on tripartite talks he had, with his British counterpart Douglas Hurd and Turkish foreign Minister Hikmet Cetin, in Ankara on January 20. He stressed the Ankara meeting was in no way intended to ignore Greek sensitivities, and expressed confidence that Germany would maintain co-operation with Greece on a sound level in order to obtain "the best possible results", since his country will take over the 6-monthly rotating EU presidency in July.