[03] Eminent German scholar says Germany must pay war reparations to Greece

BERLIN, 27/04/2000 (ANA-P. Stangos)

Professor Norman Paech, who teaches International Law at Hamburg University, said in an interview in the German weekly periodical "Stern" that the German government was liable for compensation to the victims of the Nazi atrocities in Greece.

In the interview, appearing in the issue of Stern that hits the newsstands Thursday, Prof. Paech said that Germany must "reconcile itself with the idea" that a recent Greek supreme court ruling recognizing the competence of Greek courts to rule on demands for compensation over the Nazi atrocities "will have substantial consequences" as some 10,000 such lawsuits were outstanding, and the total compensation involved was tens of billions of deutschemarks.

The Areios Paghos (Greek Supreme Court) ruled on April 13 that Germany must pay compensation to Greek victims of Nazi oppression, upholding a 1997 decision by a court in the city of Livadia to award 9.45 billion drachmas (about 35 million dollars) compensation to relatives of persons killed in the Distomo massacre by German troops in World War II.

The ruling, which recognizes the competence of Greek courts to order Germany to pay compensation to victims of Nazi oppression, will allow individuals to file claims against Germany.

But Germany has refused to entertain the possibility of more compensation payments, saying that no private citizen can sue a state and that Germany has already paid blanket compensation under postwar reparations to Greece.

In 1960, Germany paid a total of 115 million German marks to Greek victims of Nazi racial discrimination. The relevant treaty signed between Germany and Greece did not, however, exclude other Greek citizens with claims from coming forward and seek compensation.

In a historical first visit by a German president, Johannes Rau visited the northern Peloponnese town of Kalavryta last month to commemorate the mass execution of 1,300 boys and men there by Nazi troops in 1943 in retaliation for the Greek Communist resistance groups' execution of 81 German prisoners.

Paech, a respected lawyer who served as an advisor to the survivors and relatives of the Distomo massacre and is also well-known for his studies on the Kurdish issue -- championing the Kurdish people's right to self-determination and even secession from Turkey -- stressed the moral dimension of the German war reparations to Greece.

He criticized the "arrogant stance" of all the German governments to date, regardless of political party composition, that have repeatedly refused to discuss the reparations issue with Greece.

"It is not only the money that the victims are concerned about, but also the German side's acknowledgement of its responsibility for the crimes committed. The SS executioners, who executed 218 villagers (of Distomo) in retaliation against an attack by Greek guerrillas, still celebrate each year in Marktheinfeld (a town in Bavaria) their adventures in Greece and have still not given account for their deeds..." Paech said.

The time has come, he said, for the German government to "declare its willingness to discuss, with the Greek government, the victims and their relatives, what can be done to make amends for the deeds of this dark chapter in Germany's history".

The Helmut Kohl-Klaus Kinkel government in 1995 rejected a Greek diplomatic "note verbale" calling for the commencement of dialogue on the matter of the reparations, beginning with the repayment of a forced war "loan" exacted by the Nazi occupation forces during WWII. The same policy line was followed by the Gerhard Schroeder-Joskua Fischer government, which rejected a similar request, by Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis.

On April 14, the day after the Supreme Court ruling, German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told the German parliament that the issue of the war reparations--which, under the German government's rationale, includes the indemnities to the victims of the Nazi atrocities in Greece--was definitively closed.

But the German President, Johannes Rau, presented a different stance during his visit to Greece in early April, when he expressed "deep grief and shame" as he laid a wreath at the monument for the victims of the Kalavryta massacre. And in Thessaloniki, during a visit to the German School, Rau had said that, "as an ordinary citizen", he believed that Germany should make a "symbolic gesture", although he did not know whether the German government would make such a move.

[04] Parliament president receives Canadian counterpart Parent

Athens, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

Parent referred to what he called the progress he has noted in Greece over the years and also praised ethnic Greeks' contributions in Canada, at one point citing the presence of three-time Greek premier Andreas Papandreou in the large North American country.

On his part, Kaklamanis thanked Parent for the Canadian parliament's positive stance vis-a-vis the Cyprus issue as well as Ottawa's contribution to the UN peacekeeping force on the island republic.

[05] Athens mayor and PASOK Central Committee secretary discuss administrative restructuring

Athens, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

Avramopoulos said issues concerning the administrative restructuring impending all over the country, and the Attica basin in particular, were discussed, as well as his proposal for the creation of a metropolitan agency in light of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"I was briefed on all problems and requested to see all the district councils officially as of next week. In other words, I will go to their meetings for a briefing on the district's problems and discussions will follow until the summer in all districts with the districts' agencies," Skandalidis said.

Referring to the 2004 Olympiad, Avramopoulos said: "From the very first moment that Athens started this effort and contested and was awarded the Olympic Games deservedly, we have every reason to try, work and be concerned. The bet should be definitely won. The Olympic Games are a golden opportunity for our country."

[06] Higher standard of living for Macedonia, Thrace region, minister says

Athens, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

During his initial meeting with the press after assuming the post, Paschalidis noted that Macedonia and Thrace will be among those regions of Greece with the highest standard of living, while the per capita income of Thessaloniki and central Macedonia residents will reach that of Athens.

He also touched on issues regarding major infrastructure projects planned for the region, such as the Egnatia highway and railroad infrastructure among others.

[07] Prosecutor files misdemeanor charges against bourse, capital market boards

Athens, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

The officials were accused in court documents of failing to properly supervise the bourse's stock transactions, while several executives of listed companies were charged with efforts to cover up alleged improprieties. Official depositions to a judicial investigator are the next step before an actual trial.

The probe began after press reports alleged price manipulation and insider trading on the Athens bourse, focusing mostly on so-called "bubble shares"--stocks of mostly obscure companies that skyrocketed in the first nine months of 1999, fuelled by rumors and speculation.

On Wednesday, a terse press release by the committee stated: "... in deference to the legal system and the need to maintain the market's stability in such a sensitive period, it (the board) will not comment at present on the issue, as the prosecutor's office has not cited specific acts and individuals it holds liable."

Meanwhile, former New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert called for the mass resignations of both the bourse's and the Capital Market Committee's boards, otherwise "the government must remove them immediately," he warned.

Evert also said government officials and the governors of banks that approved listing of certain companies on the bourse shared in the responsibility for the alleged improprieties.

Finally, Coalition of the Left (Synaspismos) cadre Yiannis Dragasakis cited what he called "gaps and deficiencies" in the capital market's institutional framework, which he blamed on the country's political leadership.

[08] Greek stocks end lower in subdued trade

Athens, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

Dealers said that the Bundesbank's member comments gave investors the excuse to sell equities again, reversing an early 1.02 percent advance in prices.

The general index ended at 4,147.23 points, losing 1.83 percent, but off the day's lows of 4,026.75 points. Turnover was a low 95.62 billion drachmas. The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 1.94 percent to 2,357.78 points and the FTSE/ASE 40 index eased 2.22 percent to 544.64 points.

Sector indices ended as follows: Banks: 8,188.58 -2.14% Leasing: 888.51 -0.30% Insurance: 2,807.63 -1.87% Investment: 1,766.98 -1.83% Construction: 2,074.66 -0.08% Industrials: 2,453.78 -1.65% Miscellaneous: 3,938.18 -2.11% Holding: 4,576.10 -1.33%

The parallel market index for smaller capitalization stocks ended at 677.50 points, down 3.78 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 277 to 63 with another three issues unchanged.

Intrasoft, Hellenic Telecoms, National Bank, ETBAbank and Alpha Credit Bank were the most heavily traded stocks.

Leading shares' closing prices (in Drs): National Bank: 22,000 Alpha Credit: 20,100 Commercial Bank: 19,200 Ergobank: 7,010 Eurobank: 9,600 Hellenic Telecoms: 8,140 Panafon: 4,300 Hellenic Petroleum: 3,920 Intracom: 12,700 Minoan Lines: 5,435 Hellenic Bottling: 5,750 Heracles Cement: 8,100 Titan Cement (c): 14,530

Derivatives prices end lower on Wednesday: Derivatives prices ended lower on the Athens Derivatives Exchange on Wednesday, following a decline in the two benchmark indices, FTSE/ASE 20 and FTSE/ASE 40.

A total of 1,749 futures contracts were traded on the FTSE/ASE 20 index, with a turnover of 7.9 billion drachmas. The May expiring contract ended at 2,315 points, the June at 2,319 and the July contract at 2,318 points.

A total of 2,132 futures contracts were traded on the FTSE/ASE 40 index, worth 4.3 billion drachmas. The May expiring contract ended at 515 points, the June at 513.50 and the July contract at 518 points.

Bonds recover after plunge on German official's euro-zone comment: Bond prices in the domestic secondary market slumped in heavy trade on Wednesday before rebounding after a German central banker said he thought Greece's euro-zone entry should be delayed for a year.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said the comments by Hans Reckers, a Bundesbank council member, were a personal view that did not contravene the Bundesbank's official position, which was that no decision had been taken on Greece's status.

The Greek benchmark 10-year bond showed a yield of 6.15 percent, after jumping to 6.21 percent in early trade, from 6.12 percent a day earlier and 6.13 percent on Monday.

The paper's yield spread over German bunds was around 82 basis points from 78 basis points in the previous session and 84 basis points on Monday.

Turnover through the central bank's electronic system totalled 157 billion drachmas from 24 billion drachmas a day earlier and 6.0 billion drachmas on Monday.

Of Wednesday's total, buy orders accounted for only 35 billion drachmas of turnover.

Drachma drops against euro, dollar: The drachma on Wednesday fell against the euro and the US dollar in the domestic foreign exchange market in gloomy sentiment after a German central banker said he thought Greece's euro-zone entry should be delayed for a year.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said the comments by Hans Reckers, a Bundesbank council member, were a personal view that did not contravene the Bundesbank's official position, which was that, no decision had been taken on Greece's status.

The dollar maintained its rising trend on world markets.

The Bank of Greece intervened in the market, selling around 450 million euros.

At the central bank's daily fixing, the euro was set at 336.900 drachmas from 335.690 drachmas a day earlier and 335.600 drachmas on Monday.

Also at the fixing, the US dollar was set at 365.500 drachmas from 358.120 drachmas in the previous session and 357.070 drachmas on Monday.

[09] Bank of Piraeus officially acquires Romania's Banka de Credit Pater

Athens, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

The new bank, to be renamed Piraeus Bank Romania will focus its activity in retail banking and business credit.

The Bank of Piraeus plans to expand its activities in Romania with the aim to hold a significant share of the market in the next few years through the creation of 15 branches in the country.

The Group has already expanded in the neighboring markets of Bulgaria and Albania.

The deal for the purchase of Banka de Credit Pater was signed last November between Bank of Piraeus and Hungarian bank Budapest Bank, parent of Pater Bank.

[10] Indicative petrol prices raised

Athens, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

Specifically, super gasoline increased by a hefty 5.8 drachmas per litre, unleaded increased by 5.9 drachmas per litre, diesel rose by 3.9 drachmas and end-of-season heating oil was raised by 4.8 drachmas per litre.

For the greater Athens area and Thessaloniki prefecture indicative sale prices were set at 251.3 drachmas per litre for super and 234.4 for unleaded.

[11] Health minister to radically reform national health system

Athens, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

He added that there would be a total re-examination of the country's "health services map", hospital finances would be checked, the public character of the health services would be maintained, while presidential decrees would regulate the term and condition of operation for private clinics and health centers.

[12] Byzantinologist Ahrweiler awarded supreme French distinction

PARIS, 27/04/2000 (ANA)

Ahrweiler received the award of the Commandeur de l' Order de la Legion d' Honeur, while Athens resident Noelle Collet-Koudounis, member of the High Council of French Abroad, received the same award.

Chirac underlined that Ahrweiler was honored for distinguished services offered to France and her great contribution in promoting the country's values.

[13] Greek and Turkish Cypriot political parties to meet May 8

NICOSIA, 27/04/2000 (CNA/ANA)

Speaking after the meeting, Anastasiades praised the initiatives taken by Rozbora with a view to keeping the political parties of the two communities in close contact.

On his part Rozbora promised to attend the meeting on May 8, adding that "this will be a very important meeting and we have been talking about the timing".

He added that "timing is also very important as it takes place before the New York proximity talks on Cyprus and close to meetings and visits of coordinators and envoys of other countries to Cyprus".

The third round of UN-led talks is scheduled to begin on 23 May in New York with a view to hold substantive negotiations on the core issues of the Cyprus question.

[14] Anti-nuclear Information Center to be set up in Cyprus

NICOSIA, 27/04/2000 (CNA/ANA)

Speaking at a press conference on the completion of 14 years since the Chernobyl nuclear accident, Perdikis announced that an Anti-nuclear Information Center would be set up in Cyprus.

Yiangos Ktorides, a co-founder of the Center, said that it aims at coordinating efforts to overturn Turkey's plans to construct a nuclear plant.

He added that the Center would have a data bank about nuclear energy and radioactivity, which will be available to the public. Perdikis said the Environmentalists' Movement in cooperation with other ecological organizations of Canada and European countries try to persuade the governments of these countries not to sell nuclear technology and equipment to Turkey for the construction of the nuclear plant in Akkuyu.

Perdikis also referred to the resolutions and decisions of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Cyprus - European Union, which denounce the construction of the nuclear plan.

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