From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Fri, 14 Oct 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, October 14, 1994 --------------------------------------------- * Albanian Constitution raises Orthodox Church head issue * Dialogue after ethnic ordeal ends * EU Commission president-designate in Athens * Kranidiotis to brief French, Italian governments * Greece, Cyprus "brief each other permanently" * FYROM: Greek visa policy unchanged * Greece aligns Iraq stance with EU policy * New sea convention reaffirms international law, Bikas says * Venizelos denies Armed Forces chief Turkey visit * Samaras attacks President, Premier * London community commemorates Athens liberation * Over 8.5 million Greeks to vote Sunday * Greeks, Turks hold friendly talks on shipping * Hoctief likelier choice for Spata project Albanian Constitution raises Orthodox Church head issue ------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): The Greek government has briefed European governments and delegates of all religions on the issue relating to the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Albania, Archbishop Anastasios, arising out of an article in the Albanian draft constitution, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday. According to the article, the head of any religious community in Albania should be an Albanian citizen, born in Albania, and have resided there for the past 20 years. Mr. Venizelos said both the issue of the election and office of the head of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania concerned exclusively the Church. "The Greek government," he added, "is interested in the matter to such extent as the ethnic Greek minority in Albania is Orthodox and its religious requirements served by the Orthodox Church of Albania." Mr. Venizelos challenged the validity of Article 125 of the Albanian draft Constitution which raises the issue, saying that the head of the Orthodox Church of Albania is neither "a state organ" nor "an instrument serving a term". Asked if Greece had shown the same sensitivity over the election of the Mufti of Thrace in Northern Greece, Mr. Venizelos replied that the Mufti was not merely a religious leader, but also "an institution with important administrative and jurisdictional powers, elected under Greek law with due respect for Islamic Sharieh law, which was not the case even in Turkey, or less so in Europe." Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas reiterated yesterday that the Greek government viewed the issue of the Albanian draft Constitution with special concern. The new constitution will be put before the Albanian people at a referendum on November 6. Mr. Bikas also said there was diplomatic mobility towards all countries and international organisations on repercussions the implementation of the specific Constitution in Albania might have on the ethnic Greek minority. Dialogue after ethnic ordeal ends --------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): "The Greek government wants the ordeal of the ethnic Greeks to come to an end, to make it possible to resume dialogue. It is an ordeal which arose under well-known circumstances which have been denounced repeatedly," Mr. Bikas said later on the issue of the five imprisoned ethnic Greeks in Albania. "Our views have been conveyed both to (US President) Bill Clinton's special adviser Mr. Shifter and the Greek Foreign Minister's other interlocutors," he added, replying to a questioner on efforts by US President Bill Clinton's special adviser on central and eastern Europe Richard Shifter to have the five ethnic Greeks released. The five, members of the ethnic political organisation Omonia were recently handed down jail sentences ranging between five and seven years by a Tirana court, on charges of spying and illegal arms possession. "Moreover, as Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias has already stressed in New York their expulsion is not possible since they are Albanian citizens," Mr. Bikas added. In another development, press reports said a meeting between the Greek and Albanian delegations on the Community Far-Interreg programmes would take place in Brussels on October 19. They said a regulation initiated by the European Commission on July 4 anticipated that 150 million ECU's would be granted under the Far 1994 budget for activities concerning cross-border co-operation between central and eastern European countries and European Union member-states. Countries concerned include Albania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. Eligible regions were defined in a manner ensuring agreement with the Community Interreg 2 initiative. EU Commission president-designate in Athens ------------------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): Luxembourg Prime Minister and new European Commission President Jacques Santer as of January 1995, is due in Athens today for talks with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. According to diplomatic sources, talks will focus on topics such as the 1996 intergovernmental conference on changes of the Maastricht Treaty, EU prospects, relations between the EU and Cyprus, and new commissioners' portfolios. The visit is held as part of a tour of European capitals by Mr. Santer before assuming his new post of European Commission president on January 1, 1995. Kranidiotis to brief French, Italian governments ------------------------------------------------ Athens 14/10/1994 (ANA): Foreign Under-Secretary in charge of European affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis will visit Rome and Paris next week, to brief the governments of the two countries on Greece's positions concerning its national issues, Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas announced yesterday. The spokesman said that Mr. Kranidiotis' talks in the two capitals would also cover European and institutional matters concerning European Union member states. He said that Mr. Kranidiotis was due in Rome on Monday and would fly on to Paris on Wednesday. Greece, Cyprus "brief each other permanently" ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): Greek and Cypriot foreign ministries "brief each other permanently on the national issue of Cyprus", Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas said yesterday. Mr. Bikas made the statement when asked if Athens was aware of Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides' decision to have unofficial talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash over the next two weeks at UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's request. Mr. Bikas also reiterated a statement yesterday by government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos, that Greece had no objections to President Clerides' handling of the issue or his decision to meet with Mr. Denktash. FYROM: Greek visa policy unchanged ---------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantine Bikas, commenting on press reports alleging that passports bearing the name 'Republica Macedonia' had been granted entry visas to Greece, said yesterday that the policy regarding the granting of such visas to bearers of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia passports remained unchanged. Mr Bikas explained entry visas were not granted to persons carrying new FYROM passports. If visas had to be granted in very special cases (e.g., for humanitarian reasons), this was done on an ordinary sheet of paper, Mr. Bikas noted. Greece aligns Iraq stance with EU policy ---------------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): Greece is aligned to the European Union position on the issue of Iraq, while the European Union presidency's statement fully covers Greece's position, Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantine Bikas said yesterday. Mr. Bikas made the statement in response to a request to clarify Greece's position on differences of opinion between the US and Britain on the one hand, and France on the other, over military action against Iraq. The German EU rotating presidency statement said: "The Presidency has summoned the Iraqi Charge d'Affaires in Bonn and advised him that the European Union has noted with great concern Iraqi troop movements towards the border with Kuwait, and the statement by the Revolutionary Command Council of Iraq of October 6, 1994 that it might withdraw co-operation from the United Nations Special Commission. "The European Union urges Iraq to withdraw immediately its troops from the border region and refrain from confrontation, as well as co-operate fully with the implementation of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the United Nations Special Committee. This includes the need to respect the duties and integrity of UN-personnel in Iraq. The European Union supports the statement of the Security Council of October 8, 1994 in which it reaffirmed its commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait. "The four acceding countries (Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norway) associate themselves with this." New sea convention reaffirms international law, Bikas says ---------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): The Montego Bay Law of the Sea Convention on Greece's sovereign rights to extend its territorial waters to 12 miles in the Aegean, codifies or reiterates regulations of International Law already in effect, Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas told the press yesterday. Asked why Greece had not ratified the Law of the Sea Convention as yet, Mr. Bikas explained that "the procedure of ratification of the Convention by Parliament has not been set in motion to date due to a delay resulting from reservations expressed by certain European Union member-countries." Greece, he said, "has harmonised its stance with that of the other EU member states on the issue of the convention on the Law of the Sea signed in 1982 in Montego Bay." The New York Protocol, adopted last August, has brought about substantial amendments to the Convention with respect to Chapter 11, thus eliminating problems that had been caused by the initial text, Mr. Bikas said. The initial text has been signed by the European Union as an entity, and ratification of the Convention by individual member-states was imminent, he added. Mr. Bikas said when the convention would be ratified by Greece, was a matter for the government to decide. Venizelos denies Armed Forces chief Turkey visit ------------------------------------------------ Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): The government yesterday accused Opposition politicians of spreading "groundless" rumours about an alleged supposed visit of Chief of the National Defence General Staff Admiral Christos Lymberis to Turkey shortly. Declining to name the politicians, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said that rumours were "totally unfounded and possibly damaging to the conduct of the country's foreign policy." A National Defence General Staff statement later also denied the rumours. "Spreading groundless rumours, in which friendly countries are also involved, is damaging to relations between Greece and such countries, as well as to the handling of national issues," the statement noted. Samaras attacks President, Premier ---------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): Political Spring (Pol.An) party leader Antonis Samaras yesterday launched an attack against President Constantinos Karamanlis and Premier Andreas Papandreou, describing them as "politi-cally exhausted", also charging they have become "factors of insecurity and instability, instead of ensuring stability". Speaking at his home town of Kalamata, he blamed the President of "leaving initiatives and decisions in suspense", leading to "menacing inertia and void", and the Premier of backstage dealings, keeping he country in the dark regarding his candidacy for the presidency of the republic next May. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos responded saying Mr Samaras' language regarding the president was "inelegant, rude and impudent", also challenging his right to make such statements about the Prime Minister before attaining Mr. Papandreou's historical stature and substance. London community commemorates Athens liberation ----------------------------------------------- London, 14/10/1994 (ANA/L.Tsirigotakis): A service was held Wednesday at London's St. Sofia Cathedral to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Athens from Nazi occupation on October 12, 1944. The service was attended by Greek Ambassador Ilias Gounaris, embassy officials, British World War II veterans, diplomats who had served in Greece and many others. Over 8.5 million Greeks to vote Sunday -------------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): Over eight and a half million Greek voters go to the polls Sunday to elect municipal and regional authorities in the second political confrontation in just over a year. Interior Ministry sources said a total of 203,000 new voters have registered for balloting in 21,000 polling stations. They will elect 434 mayors and, for the first time, 54 government prefects to monitor state funds and policies in their regions. Vying for election are a record total of 300,000 candidates, or one in every seven voters, Interior Ministry sources said. Campaigning has centred on Greece's three main cities, Athens, Thessaloniki and Piraeus, where almost half of the registered voters live. The battle between the Panhellenic Socialist Party (PASOK), which staged a strong come-back to power last October, and the conservative New Democracy (ND) party it ousted, will be closest fought in the capital. Pollsters say conservative candidate Dimitris Avramopoulos and the socialists' Theodore Pangalos are neck-and-neck, predicting a run-off in a second round of voting on October 23. Voting is mandatory with stiff penalties for those abstaining. Greeks, Turks hold friendly talks on shipping --------------------------------------------- Istanbul, 14/10/1994 (ANA): Talks between Greek and Turkish shipping officials and shipowners associations continued in a friendly climate yesterday, on the sidelines of 'Exposhipping '94', the international shipping exhibition, aboard founder of modern Turkey Kemal Ataturk's private yacht. President of the Greek Chamber of Shipping Constantinos Komninos stressed that Greek shipowners do not see their Turkish colleagues as competitors, noting "they have made great progress in recent years". Turkish Shipping Under-Secretary Aidogan Osman, speaking at the opening ceremony for Exposhipping '94, said that the new shipping regulation, unilaterally introduced by Turkey, has significantly reduced accidents. President of the Turkish Chamber of Shipping Gengiz Kaptanoglu made an appeal for the seas surrounding Turkey to become seas of "peace, solidarity, and equality". Hoctief likelier choice for Spata project ----------------------------------------- Athens, 14/10/1994 (ANA): The Spata airport project will most probably be awarded to Hoctief company, of Germany, press reports said. They quoted a report by the National Investment Bank for Industrial Development's (ETEBA) Evaluation Committee as opining Hoctief's offer had improved considerably over an earlier one submitted to the New Democracy in the summer of 1993. The reports said Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou was visited yesterday by Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis, Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Alternate Minister Costas Geitonas and National Economy Alternate Minister George Romaios who briefed him on the Spata airport issue, ETEBA's report and the Rio-Antirrio bridge project. An official statements may be issued today, the reports said.