Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 00-04-03

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Simitis tells Agrinio rally ‘we have made Greece strong’

[02] Simitis aims for strong PASOK majority in parliament

[03] Karamanlis says ND expresses 'liberalism and social solidarity'

[04] Communist Party of Greece (KKE) leader wonders who benefits from the country's alliances

[05] Cem hopes improved Greek-Turkish relations will continue after Greek elections

[06] Clinton, Cohen, hail improved climate in Greek-Turkish relations

[07] German President Johannes Rau to start official three-day visit to Greece on Monday

[08] Balkan center of informatics and agricultural research will be established in Thessaloniki

[09] Africa-Europe summit to examine regional unification issues in Cairo

[10] President inaugurates new premises of Patra Bar Association

[11] President Clerides in New York for Metropolitan Museum Cypriot Galleries inauguration

[12] Cyprus commemorates liberation struggle

[01] Simitis tells Agrinio rally ‘we have made Greece strong’

Athens, 03/04/2000 (ANA)

He said that over the past four years his government had achieved its ambitious objectives and had undertaken major projects.

Simitis underlined that his government had achieved the country's economic growth and would continue to do so. "The growth rate in Greece is 3.5 per cent and in the coming years it will be around 4 per cent. We are among the first in Europe. That is what we achieved through our policy," Simitis said, expressing certainty that PASOK would win the April 9 general elections.

He said that it was essential to wipe out unemployment and pledged that PASOK would create 300,000 new jobs and improve the people's standard of living, particularly that of the farmers.

The prime minister went on to refer to the projects taking place in western Greece and said that the region will become Greece's gateway towards the European Union.

In reference to the main opposition New Democracy party, Simitis said "Greece cannot go to the future with yesterday's ticket. No one will return us to the past."

[02] Simitis aims for strong PASOK majority in parliament

Athens, 03/04/2000 (ANA)

The Prime Minister said he does not share the view that a drop in the Athens Stock Exchange could bring about defeat for PASOK. He stressed that "on April 9 the Greeks will punish all those who are pleased when the general index falls and are disappointed when it rises. The New Democracy's political opportunism at the Stock Exchange has an April 9 expiry date."

Simitis said the ND failed as a main opposition party in that all that it did was to adopt a negative stance on all matters. He noted that leading ND cadres were expelled from the party because "they had asked for a creative and responsible main opposition and not for continuous maneuvering, without principles and positions."

The Prime Minister said that there would be a dialogue on insurance matters and that mature insurance rights would not be affected, noting that the solutions, which will be achieved, will have as a criterion viability and social justice.

On education, Simitis said that now that educational reform is being calmly implemented, PASOK will draw conclusions on whatever improvements and changes are deemed necessary.

He said that he did not share the assessment that PASOK fell short in its agricultural policy, stating that on the contrary, his party's positions were a guarantee for the development of the countryside and for the farmer's income.

Simitis also said that he would clash strongly with private interests in the health sector and that he would achieve a functional upgrading of the National Health System (ESY).

In reply to a question, the Prime Minister said that the electoral law was not an issue for discussion on the eve of the general elections, noting that his aim was to create a better Greece.

Asked whether he would remain as PASOK leader in the event his party loses the elections, Simitis said: "I am certain of victory."

Simitis says his government's new four-year term will focus on the social state: Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Sunday his government's new four-year term in office will focus on the social state, adding that his ruling PASOK party has an open front with corruption.

Simitis, who was speaking in an interview with the MEGA private television channel, denied that he is distant from the people, saying that he needs no mediator to learn reality and that he follows a course benefiting the country.

He said that when he pursues a specific target, he is not interested in the political cost.

"Political cost is something that plays a role sometimes with regard to the way with which you handle an issue," he said.

Simitis said none of the ministers in his present cabinet is certain of the post in which he will be used adding that "I want to win people who are capable and worthy, regardless of their (party) color."

Simitis visits election center set up for voters voting away from home: Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Sunday night visited his ruling PASOK party's election center at Klafthmonos Square in central Athens for citizens voting away from their place of residence and urged voters to go to their respective voting places to vote because, as he said, their vote is important.

Simitis said that at the April 9 elections citizens will have to choose between PASOK, which is calling "for a clear popular mandate because it wants Greece to be strong, orderly and safe, and the New Democracy party's proposal of denial which entails the complete absence of planning, an old-party mentality, the return to a party state and the return to a party military".

Simitis was accompanied on his visit by Foreign Minister George Papandreou, PASOK Central Committee Secretary Costas Skandalidis and many party officials.

[03] Karamanlis says ND expresses 'liberalism and social solidarity'

Athens, 03/04/2000 (ANA)

The ND leader insisted that his party belonged to the "middle" political spectrum, "a genuine expression of liberalism and social solidarity."

Karamanlis noted that the most serious problem the country faced at present was the State itself, which, as he claimed, "is unable to respond to its mission."

He pledged that if the ND won the April 9 general elections, it would confront the problem of unemployment, which is of concern to the region of Epirus. He also referred to his party's program for the development of the countryside and of the rural economy.

Concluding, Karamanlis said ND would upgrade the region of Arta and deal with its problems, such as health, crime, education and narcotics.

Karamanlis says the widening of inequalities and the surge in unemployment are Greeces most serious problems: Main opposition New Democracy party leader Costas Karamanlis said on Sunday evening that the widening of inequalities and the surge in unemployment are Greek society's most serious problems and accused the government of being "complacent and arrogant before the results of its policy".

Karamanlis, who was speaking to party supporters in Mytilene on the island of Lesvos, appeared certain that ND will win the April 9 general elections and said that the main pursuit of his party's government program will be dynamic, speedy and balanced development.

He reiterated that the ruling PASOK party has given all it had to give and accused it of making propaganda based on "arrogance, an establishment mentality, danger mongering, intimidation and an imperial attitude".

Karamanlis reiterated that ND covered the political center, liberalism and social solidarity and appeared as the country's "calm political force".

[04] Communist Party of Greece (KKE) leader wonders who benefits from the country's alliances

Athens, 03/04/2000 (ANA)

Papariga called on the Greek people to go to the polls as freely as possible and with the criterion of what benefits the ordinary working person and the working class family since "the only thing they have to fear is compliance with the present world order."

She accused both PASOK and the main opposition New Democracy party of using the "magic" word "redistribution" of income, adding that "both are conscientiously saying lies because, in essence, they are promising an increase in incomes of 2 percent at a time when the people are losing more than 15-20 percent due to the policy being applied".

[05] Cem hopes improved Greek-Turkish relations will continue after Greek elections

Athens, 03/04/2000 (ANA)

"Mr. Papandreou is a person who protects very well his country's interests. He is a sincere man, positive, honest and speaks genuinely," Cem said in an interview with the private television channel STAR.

Cem, who with Papandreou are the main protagonists of Greek-Turkish rapprochement, noted that "the points of convergence between the two countries' conflicting interests must be utilized."

He expressed the wish that the improvement in Greek-Turkish relations will continue after the Greek general elections. He also thanked all of Greece's political parties because during the pre-election period, they did not "this time" resort to an anti-Turkish campaign.

[06] Clinton, Cohen, hail improved climate in Greek-Turkish relations

WASHINGTON, 03/04/2000 (ANA - A. Ellis)

In a taped message to the annual American-Turkish Council, Clinton said that his visit to Turkey last November came at a time of improved Greek-Turkish relations, stressing the benefits that would arise for both Greece and Turkey from an increase in trade and investments across the Aegean.

He also expressed pleasure that present at the meeting were also prominent members of the Greek and Greek-American business community. Greek Ambassador to Washington Alexander Philon also attended.

In a speech he gave at the American-Turkish Council, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen hailed the change of climate in Greek-Turkish relations, particularly after the catastrophic earthquakes that struck Turkey and Greece last year and the humanitarian aid which both countries offered each other. Cohen also expressed the hope that the U.S. would be able to contribute to a settlement of the Cyprus problem.

He said that following years of hostility between Greece and Turkey, the earthquakes brought the two peoples closer together. "What is happening today between Greece and Turkey is encouraging," Cohen said, noting the fact that they are engaging all the more in bilateral discussions. He congratulated the leaders of Greece and Turkey who he said are displaying willingness "to overlook old hostilities and find ways to rebuild a peace for the future."

Concluding, Cohen expressed "the hope that we (U.S.) will be able to play a constructive role for a settlement of the situation in Cyprus. It is important for the security of the region."

[07] German President Johannes Rau to start official three-day visit to Greece on Monday

BERLIN, 03/04/2000 (ANA - P. Stangos)

Rau will hold talks with President Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Costas Simitis, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis and other politicians, while he will also be visiting Thessaloniki, northern Greece, on Wednesday.

Both presidents will be visiting the town of Kalavryta, in the Peloponnese, on Tuesday and will lay a wreath at the monument of those who were killed by German occupation forces on December 13, 1943 during World War Two.

[08] Balkan center of informatics and agricultural research will be established in Thessaloniki

Athens, 03/04/2000 (ANA)

The President of the National Agricultural Research Foundation, which organized the meeting, Napoleon Maraveyias and the foundation's general director Sotiris Vyzantinopoulos announced on Sunday that, following proposals by Greece, a Center of Informatics and Agricultural Research will be created which will be headquartered in Thessaloniki, as well as a permanent committee containing representatives of the corresponding National Agricultural Research Foundations from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Romania, Turkey and Greece.

[09] Africa-Europe summit to examine regional unification issues in Cairo

Athens, 03/04/2000 (ANA)

Alternate Foreign Minister Christos Rokofyllos will attend the summit.

The summit will also focus on development issues, including poverty in Africa, investments in human resources, education, health and the environment.

Heads of state, Prime Ministers and foreign ministers from the EU and the OAU, as well as European Commission President Romano Prodi, will also attend.

[10] President inaugurates new premises of Patra Bar Association

Athens, 03/04/2000 (ANA)

On the occasion, the president was declared honorary member of the Bar Association and was offered a commemorative plaque.

Stephanopoulos was once a lawyer and member of the Patra Bar Association. He left the profession in 1974.

[11] President Clerides in New York for Metropolitan Museum Cypriot Galleries inauguration

NICOSIA, 03/04/2000 (CNA/ANA)

The 600 Cypriot exhibits, stored in the vaults of the Museum, were illegally exported from Cyprus by the then US Consul Luigi Palma de Cesnola, between 1865 and 1876, when Cyprus was under Ottoman occupation.

Two of the most prominent exhibits, are unique and rare sarcophagi from limestone, found in the ancient town of Amathus, on the southern coast of Cyprus, and in Golgi (present-day Athienou village).

The Cypriot Galleries will host some 600 of the finest works from the Museum's collection, comprising works dating to 2500 BC to about AD 300, which Cesnola removed from Cyprus and were "bought" by the Metropolitan Museum.

Cesnola served as American Consul in Cyprus from 1865 to 1876 and amassed an unrivalled collection of Cypriot antiquities both by excavation and by purchase. In 1879 he was named the Museum's first director, a position he held until his death in 1904.

The priceless collection, about 35,000 objects, was a bone of contention between first Napoleon III of France and then Russian officials. In the end, Cesnola shipped them to London where they were exhibited. It was at this time that the Metropolitan showed an interest in the collection and eventually purchased a significant part of the collection, which remains the most important and comprehensive collection of Cypriot material in the western hemisphere.

[12] Cyprus commemorates liberation struggle

NICOSIA, 03/04/2000 (CNA/ANA)

A church service was held at Saint John's Cathedral in Nicosia, officiated by the Primate of the Church of Cyprus Archbishop Chrysostomos, and attended by President Glafcos Clerides.

After the church service, Archbishop Chrysostomos led a prayer at the graves of fighters of the 1955-59 EOKA struggle.

Commemoration services were also held in other towns in the free areas of the Republic.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island.

Political parties have issued announcements commemorating the struggle, which began April 1, 1955.

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