Subject: Athens News Agency Bulletin, February 7, 1995 Topic: ana --------------------------------------------- (Apo to Ellnviko Grafeio Tupou kai Plnroforiwv, Ottawa, Canada E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca) * Karamanlis urges Clinton to continue efforts to find just, viable solution to Cyprus issue * EU foreign ministers agree 'in principle' on compromise formula for Cyprus date to entry talks, Turkish customs union * 7:10 ratio to be maintained * Athens holds hopes change in climate, international pressure on * Berisha will see release of four ethnic Greeks * Talk of elections harms economy, Papantoniou says * Tsohatzopoulos: PASOK will work with care towards securing the election of a new president * Greek experts say Siwa excavation not Alexander's tomb Karamanlis urges Clinton to continue efforts to find just, viable solution to Cyprus issue ---------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 07/02/1995 (ANA) Greek President Constantine Karamanlis has sent a letter to President Bill Clinton urging the US to take a leading role in the search for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus dispute, a statement from the President's office said yesterday. "It is necessary to find a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem; a solution that will provide for a single state in Cyprus, a single sovereignty," the president's letter to President Clinton said. President Karamanlis stressed that prospects of Cyprus' admission to the European Union could contribute to significant progress in negotiations to re-unite the island. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern part. President Clinton assigned a US emissary to Cyprus earlier this year in a bid to pump new life into stalled United Nations efforts to re-unite the island under a bi-zonal, bi-communal system. EU foreign ministers agree 'in principle' on compromise formula for Cyprus date to entry talks, Turkish customs union --------------------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 07/02/1995 (ANA) European Union foreign ministers reached an "in principle" agreement on a start to Cyprus accession talks and a Turkish customs union with the 15-member bloc in Brussels last night, in the framework of a proposal set out by former Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kraniditios and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. The agreement will have to be ratified by governments of member-states within six days. The "in principle" agreement anticipates the start to Cyprus' accession negotiations "not later than six months after completion of the intergovernmental conference in 1996," Alternate Foreign Minister George Mangakis said last night. "The correlation between the start to negotiations with ratification by national parliaments of the treaty resulting from the intergovernmental conference has been avoided and it will take results of this conference into consideration," he said. The intergovernmental conference will be held to discuss changes to the Maastricht treaty, which governs relations within the union. In parallel, the taking of effect of the customs union agreement between the EU and Turkey as of January 1, 1996 is anticipated, while certain details still have to be settled for which Greece (and certain other representations) has special reservations. These are the following: - Financial co-operation between the EU and Turkey by which, according to the Greek position, specific amounts should not be mentioned because "international public opinion would not accept this for a country infringing human rights." - Political dialogue which should not be enacted. - Freedom of settlement of private persons and legal entities from which Greece expressly wishes to be excluded. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Mangakis said a start to negotiations for Cyprus' accession did not depend on finding a political solution to the Cyprus issue but "it should be to the benefit of both communities and contribute to social peace and reconciliation." Moreover, the customs union agreement will be accompanied by a statement by the Council of Ministers on the need for respect for human rights in Turkey and a commitment by the Turkish government concerning resolving bilateral differences with EU member-states based on the rules and principles of international law. In addition, following an intervention by Greece, a special clause was included in the decision on customs union excluding the possibility of products from Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus being imported by Community markets through Turkey. The proposed customs union would give Turkey closer relations with the EU than any other non-members except Norway and Iceland. Links between Turkey and the EU have been hindered for years by an Athens-Ankara row over the island of Cyprus, divided since 1974. During the consultations, Mr. Mangakis was in constant contact with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and Cyprus Foreign Minister Alecos Michaelides. "Cyprus has come out of the stagnating morass and a new prospect is opening since the country is on course towards its accession to Europe," Mr. Mangakis said. Cyprus Foreign Minister Alecos Michaelides said earlier yesterday that talks on Cyprus joining the European Union should begin now and not depend upon Turkey's bid to join a customs union. "We would like and we are asking the European Union to decide now. We don't want to wait until it (EU) decides on the customs union with Turkey", he told reporters in Nicosia. Mr. Michaelides welcomed France's proposal last Friday that the EU should promise to open accession negotiations with Cyprus within six months of concluding a conference on EU reform in 1996. 7:10 ratio to be maintained --------------------------- Washington, 07/02/1995 (ANA - D. Dimas) President Bill Clinton's 1996 budget plans are forecast to maintain the ratio of 7:10 aid to Greece and Turkey respectively. This ratio, "which helps maintain the balance in the south-eastern wing of NATO," has been determined by Congress and maintained also through the Republican governments. Athens holds hopes change in climate, international pressure on Berisha will see release of four ethnic Greeks --------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 07/02/1995 (ANA) Greece said yesterday it was optimistic that international pressure on Albania would lead to the release of four ethnic Greeks jailed on charges of espionage. "The pressure recently exerted by the international community on the government of (Albanian President) Sali Berisha and the degree of change in the political climate prevailing in Albania are two factors which make the Greek government optimistic," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said. An Albanian court is due to review the case of the four leading members of the ethnic Greek organisation Omonia tomorrow. Talk of elections harms economy, Papantoniou says ------------------------------------------------- Athens, 07/02/1995 (ANA) National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said yesterday that continued talk of early elections in the event parliament failed to elect a president was "a crime against the nation's economy". "We have not yet reached that point and I hope that all political forces will rise to the occasion and each will assume its responsibilities," he said after chairing a meeting at his ministry on the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE). The meeting was attended by Industry Minister Costas Simitis, Finance Under-Secretary Nikos Kyriazidis, OTE General Director Petros Lambrou and Athens Stock Exchange officials. Referring to OTE, Mr. Papantoniou said "no decision was taken", but confirmed that a small percentage of shares would be sold on the ASE. Tsohatzopoulos: PASOK will work with care towards securing the election of a new president -------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 07/02/1995 (ANA) PASOK Central Committee Secretary-General Akis Tsohatzopoulos yesterday reiterated that the historical, political and institutional preconditions for the present Parliament to elect a new president of the Republic were in place, adding that the ruling party would make the necessary moves to realise this aim. Speaking after the end of yesterday's meeting of PASOK's Executive Bureau, he said the party was in no hurry to nominate a candidate, and that what was of priority at the present stage was the establishment of procedures that will provide a successful outcome. The Central Committee and the parliamentary party would submit proposals with regard to both, and these would be taken into account by the party president and the Executive Bureau in the formation of the final stand, he added. Referring to the same issue, Press Minister Evangelos Venizelos concurred with the Secretary-General's views, saying that the parties which would not co-operate in the election of a president by the present parliament would shoulder a major responsibility and bear the cost of an early election. Commenting on an opinion poll in the newspaper "Ethnos" which projected a 1.3 per cent lead to New Democracy over PASOK, with a sizeable 25 per cent of those questioned stating undecided or preferring blank, Mr. Venizelos said that apart from opinion polls, one should also refer to the results of recent electoral contests. "The government is not afraid of elections. If anyone wants to try his luck, we are available," he said. Meanwhile, Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras, whose 11-vote block, added to the ruling party's 170, may prove crucial in securing the 180 votes required for the election of a president in the third round, yesterday provided indications he might be prepared to co-operate. He said his party would propose its own candidate, but if any other party had a better proposal to make, "we would have no hesitation in supporting it". He added the Political Spring would decide on its own candidate by the end of the week. Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary-General Aleka Papariga said yesterday the KKE would decide on its stance regarding a new President of the Republic when formal procedures for the new president went into effect, and probably shortly before Parliament begins voting on the issue. Ms Papariga reiterated that the KKE would not support a candidate put forward by the other parties, adding that talk about possible elections in the event a president was not elected by the present chamber was "blackmail". Ms Papariga said if elections took place they would not radically change the situation. "What could happen is their (the election's) utilisation by the people to send a message of dissatisfaction on the policy of the other parties. Nevertheless, the KKE is ready for possible elections," she said. Coalition of the Left and Progress leader Nikos Constantopoulos called on the other parties "to show their cards" on the issue of the president, claiming that, so far, there has only been a badly played game, with every participant raising procedural obstacles in order to impose its terms, or undermine the others' position. Greek experts say Siwa excavation not Alexander's tomb ------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 07/02/1995 (ANA) An official Greek archaeological delegation yesterday dismissed evidence that the long-lost tomb of Alexander the Great had been found near the desert oasis of Siwa in Egypt. "The fragments presented to the delegation in Egypt in no way prove that the tomb is that of Alexander the Great," Greek Culture Minister Thanos Mikroutsikos said yesterday, urging Greek archaeologist Liana Souvaltzi, who claimed the discovery, to "present scientific evidence as quickly as possible." The members of the Greek delegation said the ancient ruins in Egypt's western desert seemed to date from a later period. They said the monument was probably built centuries after the body of Alexander the Great was brought to Egypt for burial from Babylon. "They are monuments, compounds (not tombs)," Maria Tsimbidou, an archaeologist at Thessaloniki's Archaeological Museum said. Ms. Souvaltzi claimed that she found three stone tablets referring to Alexander and his successor, Ptolemy I, proving that Alexander was laid to rest in the western desert oasis, where he had been proclaimed a god in 323 BC. She said one tablet also stated Alexander was poisoned, and another showed that Ptolemy 1, Alexander's deputy in Egypt carried his mummified body back from Babylon to al-Maraqi, where she had been excavating for the last five years. Alexander was crowned in the Temple of the god Ammon in Siwa in 330 BC, three years after conquering Egypt. After he died in Babylon, his body was brought to Egypt for burial. Experts have always maintained the tomb was in Alexandria, the Egyptian port city which Alexander founded in 332 BC. But the Greek delegation said inscriptions they had seen dated from the Roman era, long after Alexander's death in 323 BC and made no reference to Alexander of Ptolemy 1, nor did they mention poison. Ms Souvaltzi, who maintains that she has "irrefutable proof" of her discovery, claimed the Greek delegation had not seen all the inscriptions. The discovery of the tomb of the Macedonian warrior-king was announced last Thursday in Cairo by Abdel Halim Nureddin, Secretary-General of Egypt's antiquities authority. He was quoted by international news agencies as saying, Ms Souvaltzi would present the tablets at the proper time. Despite doubts and criticism raised by the Greek delegation, Mr. Mikroutsikos said the Greeks would work closely with the Egyptian authorities at Siwa, because the Greek writing on the Roman inscriptions was an important discovery showing the spread of the Greek language and culture. He said he intended to help set up a Greek archaeology institute in Egypt. Excavations at the site will continue with a Greek-Egyptian mission after Ramadan, the Moslem month of fasting, which finishes at the end of February.