From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Sat, 22 Oct 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, October 22, 1994 --------------------------------------------- * Premier meets with Vartholomeos, 'steadfast aim is peace, co-operation between people' * Two die as heavy rains cause flash floods and traffic chaos in Athens * Egypt welcomes premier's contribution to M-E peace process * Final round of local elections tomorrow * Albanian human rights group calls for re-trial of five ethnic Greeks * Dutch lagging behind on ratifying Greek entry to WEU * Bad weather hampers efforts to save 32 aboard ailing tanker * EU ban on Albanian seafood extended * Golhan tones down war talk * EU-Turkey relations Premier meets with Vartholomeos, 'steadfast aim is peace, co-operation between people' ---------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 22/10/1994 (ANA): Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou said yesterday that the steadfast aim of all Greek governments and all Greeks was to work for peace and co-operation between peoples. Mr. Papandreou made the statement during talks on Kos with Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos who expressed his wish for "peaceful and harmonious neighbourly relations between Greece and Turkey". Vartholomeos, who is on a ten-day visit to the Dodecannese islands, said that "the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located on Turkish soil and aspires to serve as a bridge between the Greek and Turkish peoples". "The role of the Church can be none other than to work for peace and prosperity," said Vartholomeos, spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. "Orthodoxy today plays an important historical role," Mr. Papandreou said. "There is a tremendous turn towards the Church and religion. Now that the walls of the Cold War have fallen, Orthodoxy has enormous capabilities world-wide". Replying to press questions on the possibility of the head of the Albanian Orthodox Church, Anastasios, being forced to leave Albania because of new clauses in the Albanian draft constitution, the Ecumenical Patriarch said that such a development would be "a great loss for Orthodoxy, the Autocephalous Church of Albania, the entire Albanian people and Albania itself". Thousands of people lined Kos harbour yesterday morning to greet Vartholomeos who was welcomed by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, Education Minister George Papandreou, Merchant Marine Minister George Katsifaras, Press and Mass Media Minister Evangelos Venizelos, Foreign Under-Secretary Grigoris Niotis and Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras. Scores of boats greeted the Patriarch's arrival with sirens wailing. Vartholomeos was due to leave for Rhodes last night. Two die as heavy rains cause flash floods and traffic chaos in Athens ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 22/10/1994 (ANA): An elderly couple were found drowned in their basement apartment in Nea Ionia late last night after heavy rains in Athens caused flash flooding across the city. Police identified as Petros Petrou, 82, and his son Antonis, 35. National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis said the military was on alert to assist in rescue and mopping-up operations in the flood-stricken Attica region. He was personally supervising operations at National Defence Headquarters. Heavy rains deluged the city in the early evening, flooding hundreds of houses and shops and causing traffic chaos as drivers abandoned their cars to the elements. Police said at least five people were trapped in cars, with emergency vehicles unable to approach them. Attica Prefect Dimitris Katrivanos appealed to the public to stay home and leave the roads free for fire department vehicles, police, electricity and phone line workers to get through. There were reports of landslides along several routes linking the capital to the suburbs. The rains also affected electricity supplies, phone lines, and brief power failures sparked problems at hospitals and railway stations, leaving commuters stranded. The basements of apartment buildings, warehouses and hospitals were also reported to have flooded. In certain areas, more than one metre of rain was recorded as having fallen since the early hours of the evening. Interior Under-Secretary Kimon Koulouris told the ANA that the fire department and police were on alert, adding that the situation in the northern suburbs of Nea Ionia, Neo Iraklio, Kifissia and Halandri was particularly severe. A state of emergency was declared in those areas. The rains caused severe damage to crops in the rest of the country, and 20 villages in the Kamena Vourla region were left without electricity for hours. Olympic Airways cancelled all flights from Athens and the Igoumenitsa-Corfu and Kavala-Prinos ferry lines were also cancelled. Weather forecasts say the heavy rain will continue today and storms are predicted for the entire country. Egypt welcomes premier's contribution to M-E peace process ---------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 22/10/1994 (ANA): Egypt yesterday welcomed Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's visit to Damascus on Monday to help mediate between Syria and Israel. An Egyptian embassy announcement said that the premier's visit "is considered to be a very important and positive step towards the peace efforts in the Middle East. "Egypt always welcomes the Greek contribution to peace efforts in order to reach a final settlement for the Middle East problem which will reflect on the security of the whole Mediterranean region, due to the special relationship and understanding that exists between Greece and the Arab countries," the announcement said. On Thursday, Arab and Israeli diplomats in Athens welcomed Mr. Papandreou's mediation initiative. Israeli Ambassador David Sasson deemed Mr. Papandreou's visit to Syria a "very positive event," while PLO diplomatic mission attache Ismat Sabri underlined the special role Athens can play in peace efforts. Following the recent agreement between Israel and Jordan, to be signed at a special ceremony on 26 or 27 October in the presence of US President Bill Clinton, rapprochement between Israel and Syria is widely regarded as the key to an overall Middle East agreement. Syria's peace talks with Israel are stalled over withdrawal from the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since the 1967 war, and over future ties. Damascus wants Israel to fully withdraw from the Golan while Israel wants normalisation of ties with Syria before revealing the extent of its pullback. Mr. Papandreou will be accompanied on the visit, at the invitation of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias. Final round of local elections tomorrow --------------------------------------- Athens, 22/10/1994 (ANA): Run-off ballots will be held in 37 out of 50 prefectural districts and in 236 out of 434 municipal authorities tomorrow. The polls will open at 6.41 am and close at 5.38 pm. The ministries of the Interior, Justice, Public Order and Defence are in full readiness to avert any problems. The Athens First Instance court stated yesterday that the appointment of judicial officials was continuing according to schedule, and that a list of 700 substitutes has been drawn up. Coalition of the Left and Progress president Nikos Constantopoulos yesterday expressed his full support for PASOK-backed Athens mayoral runner-up Theodoros Pangalos, at a meeting at Coalition headquarters. Mr. Pangalos thanked the Coalition for its stand, and expressed his intention for a broad and substantial co-operation. The Coalition leader referred to the political significance of this electoral contest, and reiterated the party's position on the need to prevent the ascent of New Democracy party-backed candidates. Albanian human rights group calls for re-trial of five ethnic Greeks ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tirana, 22/10/1994 (Reuter/ANA): An Albanian human rights group said yesterday Albanian authorities committed irregularities in the trial of five ethnic Greeks and it urged the supreme court to order a new trial. The Albanian branch of the Helsinki Human Rights Committee said it had observed procedural irregularities both in the investigation and the trials of the five men. "The Albanian Helsinki Committee thinks both (Tirana district and appeals) courts did not perform their duty as they should," the group said in a statement. The trial and imprisonment of the five ethnic Greeks on charges of spying for Greece angered Athens and plunged the two Balkan neighbours into their worst feud in years. "We urge the Supreme Court to examine both the procedure and substantial flaws of the trial so that the case of the five Albanian citizens of Greek origin be submitted to a new objective judgement," the group added. Albanian police arrested the five leaders of the ethnic Greek organisation Omonia last April, shortly after a fatal assault waged on a border conscript centre in Albania, killed two Albanian soldiers. Albania accused Greece of instigating the attack, but Athens strongly denounced the charge. An appeals court earlier this month upheld the five's guilty verdicts but reduced jail sentences by either one or two years. The human rights group said the men had retracted confessions they said had been extorted under physical and mental torture, and defence lawyers had been called in late. The group alleged that the men had been arrested without legal warrants from prosecutors and an Omonia member's house searched without proper authorisation. It said observers from the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) and the Danish Helsinki Committee had expressed reservations over the court proceedings, arguing that the proceedings had not been conducted according to international standards. "Their criticism has cast a shadow of doubt on the trial and the image of professionalism, inefficiency and independence of Albanian justice," the statement said. Athens, which reacted to the conviction and imprisonment of the men by blocking the first part of a European Union macroeconomic assistance to Albania on the grounds of its failure to improve its human rights record, had called on Tirana to release the five men. Noting the political character of the trials, it denounced them as a "farce" and said they were aimed at intimidating the ethnic Greek minority in south Albania, estimated at 300,000. Meanwhile, Albanian daily 'Koja Yjon' yesterday criticised the Albanian government of "hindering and finally cancelling the laying of the foundation stone of a new Orthodox church by Archbishop Anastasios (of Albania) in Berati." The newspaper said that Archbishop Anastasios was prevented by the authorities of laying the foundations of a new church in the village of Posnia on the grounds of conflicting property claims. Anastasios was on a tour of the region, where he had visited the victims of the cholera outbreak in September, with the intention of offering aid to the district hospital and laying the foundations of the church. Dutch lagging behind on ratifying Greek entry to WEU ---------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 22/10/1994 (ANA/C. Verros): Greece's accession to the Western European Union (WEU) is being held up by the delayed ratification of the relevant treaty by the Dutch and Portuguese parliaments, authoritative sources in the WEU General Secretariat said. The delay by the Portuguese parliament is attributed to purely "procedural" reasons, while the "inertia" exhibited by the Dutch side, the sources said, is due to the foreign policy followed by the Hague. The same sources let it be clearly implied that the Dutch foreign ministry links ratification of the Treaty of Accession to the resolution of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) issue, and particularly to the need for Athens to exhibit "a spirit of understanding" on the "economic problems" created by the Greek stance, both as regards the FYROM and "European Union member-states". Parliamentary sources at the Hague drew attention to the fact that the issue has been presented by the Dutch government "primarily" as a problem with "negative economic consequences" for Dutch firms, and only "secondarily" as a problem directly concerning the security of a partner state in the EU. The same parliamentary sources expressed anxiety that Greece, being one of the Dutch defence industry's "best customers", it may react "strongly" by cancelling existing contracts or postponing future ones. The WEU sources commented that such a "dynamic" reaction would be to the interest of Athens, as it would bring the Dutch government to face the country's parliament, many members of which depend for re-election on the work force of defence and associated industries. Bad weather hampers efforts to save 32 aboard ailing tanker ----------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 22/10/1994 (ANA): Efforts to rescue 32 people aboard the ailing Malta-flag tanker "Thanassis A" were being hampered by bad weather conditions, it was reported yesterday. The vessel split in two yesterday while sailing in the China Sea 300 miles south of Hong Kong. The Greek-owned ship was carrying seven Greek seamen, the captain's wife and a Greek inspector. According to initial reports communicated to the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry by Hong Kong's Search and Rescue Centre, the 32 have assembled on the tanker's stern which is still afloat. The Norwegian tanker "Stavanger" is sailing close by but bad weather is preventing it from rescuing the people. Helicopters are unable to reach the area for the same reason. EU ban on Albanian seafood extended ----------------------------------- Brussels, 22/10/1994 (ANA/M. Savva): The European Union's ban on seafood imports from Albania, in force since September 20, has now been extended to other products. According to a decision by the Commission several days ago, in line with the EU's Veterinary Committee, member-states are not allowed to import sea food from Albania for fear of the cholera epidemic there spreading. The decision was dictated by the clauses of the treaty on the protection of public health in EU countries. Albania is the first country to experience such a ban due to an increase in cholera cases. The ban concerns all fish, shellfish, molluscs and related produce and was extended to include snails and frogs, which facilitate the spreading of the disease. Golhan tones down war talk -------------------------- Istanbul, 22/10/1994 (ANA): Turkish Defence Minister Mehmet Golhan yesterday toned down statements he made threatening Greece with war if it extended its territorial waters from six to 12 miles. "Turkey does not accept and neither will it accept fait accomplis ... However, we are determined to achieve reconciliation and turn the Aegean into a lake of peace," he said. He was speaking after a cabinet meeting chaired by Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller. His conciliatory statement comes after his interview with the private TV station Kanal-D on Thursday. "If Greece really envisages extending its territorial waters, peace will be destroyed and there will be a war, which we absolutely don't want," Mr. Golhan had said. Replying to a questioner, Mr. Golhan said: "Turkey is vigilant. It is on a footing. Naturally, to safeguard our integrity and our independence our army is carrying out its duty. However, it is vigilant and it has always been vigilant and not only now on the Aegean issue." "There has been no announcement by the official Greek authorities that they will extend their territorial waters to 12 miles. There has been no serious issue so far. But this does not mean we are slack. All necessary measures have been taken and they will continue to be taken," he said. Mr. Golhan's previous aggressive attitude has again raised the issue of the extension of Greek territorial waters. In this context, Turkish Foreign Minister Mumtaz Soysal replied to questions at an event organised by the newspaper 'Milliyet.' "I defend Turkey's interests. I am not obliged to be agreeable to others. What I say is what is in Turkey's interests. Does this mean we will speak of peace if (Greek) territorial waters are extended over six miles? This cannot be done. This is considered a cause for war. We have repeated this," Mr. Soysal said. EU-Turkey relations ------------------- Istanbul, 22/10/1994 (ANA): "The European Union would not wish to be united with a country governed by forces adhering to religious policy, the religious ideology and the laws of religion," EU representative in Turkey Michael Lake has told a conference on the subject of "Turkey and the European Union: Prospective relations for the Customs Union". The EU official made it clear, however, that the Union did not have a negative attitude towards Turkey on account of existing religious differences. He added that there were pressures from the private sector for extending the transition period towards the Customs Union, but there was no relevant application by the competent Turkish authorities.