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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 03-11-05

Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

November 5, 2003

CONTENTS

  • [01] Greece to redirect EU funds to the regions
  • [02] Defense minister briefs PM on future structure of armed forces
  • [03] Turkish warplanes infringe Athens FIR, violate national airspace
  • [04] Parliamentary cooperation between Greece and Kirghystan discussed in Athens
  • [05] Greek Church opens special session to focus on relations with Phanar
  • [06] Greece to be first in EU to implement investor info directive
  • [07] Gov't repeats that EU in error over Greek fiscal deficit total
  • [08] Finmin lashes out at opposition over criticism of economy
  • [09] Funds saved in Armed Forces procurements, gov't says
  • [10] Gov’t begins payment of compensations to farmers
  • [11] Diekat signs 13-mln-euro contract in Romania
  • [12] New pay scale for civil servants to parliament for vote
  • [13] ADEX says business down in October
  • [14] Nation-wide public sector strike continues
  • [15] EBO-PYRKAL merger bill ratified in principle
  • [16] Aspis Bank, Marfin Bank, SG to proceed with General Bank's equity sale
  • [17] Profit taking halts Monday's rally in ASE
  • [18] Organizers cite robust interest by homeowners for 2004 lodgings program
  • [19] Greece welcomes UN vote on Olympic Truce during 2004 Games in Athens
  • [20] Smithsonian Institution organizes conference on Olympic Games
  • [21] Head of Athens marathon committee offers resignation following negative press
  • [22] PM inaugurates renovated Kallithea urban railway station
  • [23] Rare incident of racially motivated violence follows traffic fatality
  • [24] Suicide official Roubini Stathea had acted illegally, report shows
  • [25] Police arrest three for importing large quantities of drugs
  • [26] Police arrest two smugglers, 23 Palestinian illegal immigrants
  • [27] Nationwide speleologists' meeting in northern Greece
  • [28] Papadopoulos: 'We will gladly pay a price for rapprochement'
  • [29] MacShane: Britain urges all concerned to resolve missing persons issue
  • [30] Cyprus Foreign Minister meets Commonwealth

  • [01] Greece to redirect EU funds to the regions

    BRUSSELS, 5/11/2003 (ANA/V.Demiris)

    Greece is to devote additional funding to growth in the regions under the European Union's Third Community Support Framework package of funds, Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said on Tuesday.

    Under a new funding allocation, the government will give an extra two billion euros in coming months to sector and regional development programs with the process due for completion early in 2004, Christodoulakis told reporters in the Belgian capital.

    He was speaking after a meeting with the EU commissioner for regional policy, Michel Barnier.

    The funds for reallocation to the regions will be used especially for infrastructure, education, technology, and small and medium sized enterprises, the minister said.

    ''The new allocation will allow greater equilibrium between the centre and the regions; and 1.6 billion euros of a total 4.6 billion euros for Athens 2004 Olympics infrastructure projects have been directed to the regions," he added.

    [02] Defense minister briefs PM on future structure of armed forces

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Defense Minister Yiannos Papantoniou on Tuesday briefed Prime Minister Costas Simitis on the future structure and organization of the armed forces, in view of a meeting of the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) to take place on Thursday.

    KYSEA will be called on to approve the planned changes.

    These will include a transfer of forces to Evros and the abolition of units in the north where there is no longer any threat, reducing personnel ceilings and creating flexible, powerful and less expensive units.

    Papantoniou said the changes would help save significant sums that will then be available for exercising social policy.

    [03] Turkish warplanes infringe Athens FIR, violate national airspace

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Five formations of Turkish warplanes infringed on Athens' Flight Information Region (FIR) eight times on Tuesday and in three occasions they violated Greek national airspace in the Northern and Central Aegean, press reports said.

    In all cases, the 19 Turkish aircraft were recognized and intercepted by Greek jets.

    [04] Parliamentary cooperation between Greece and Kirghystan discussed in Athens

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis and his counterpart from the Lower House of Kirghystan Erkebaev Abdygany, who is visiting Athens at the head of a Parliamentary delegation from his country, discussed the mutual effort to develop constructive and beneficial cooperation between the Parliaments of Greece and the newly-established Republic of Kirghystan on Tuesday.

    The two men also discussed developments in the Middle East, and in Afghanistan in particular, where the situation continues to be unstable and unfavorable, according to Abdygany.

    ''We are against terrorism and against those who are creating the causes of terrorism to serve selfish interests. And these causes are the exploitation of the wealth of a country by external factors, poverty, oppression, starvation and the misery of peoples,'' Kaklamanis said.

    Abdygany said on his part love for peace and freedom are common characteristics of the people of Greece and Kirghystan and conveyed warm greetings from his country's president, who will be visiting Athens in spring.

    [05] Greek Church opens special session to focus on relations with Phanar

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos on Tuesday opened an extraordinary session of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, which will last until Thursday and will deal with the Greek Church's relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

    According to sources, the agenda includes four main issues: the continuation of the dialogue with the Ecumenical Patriarchate; the commitment that the Patriarch's name will be noted in the bishoprics of Northern Greece; the recognition of the Patriarchate's spiritual jurisdiction over the bishoprics of Northern Greece; and the possibility of sending a list of candidate prelates for vacated seats of bishoprics in Northern Greece.

    The relations between mother and daughter churches became strained over the past few months as the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate demanded from the Church of Greece the submittal of a list of candidates for approval to fill the vacant Metropolitan of Thessaloniki ecclesiastical throne. This is the first time the venerable Patriarchate has made such a request since it “temporarily” shifted administrative control of the so-called “New Territories” to the Greek Church with a Canonical Act in 1928. “New Territories” refer to bishoprics in northern Greece and the eastern Aegean islands liberated by Greece from 1912 to 1918.

    Speaking to the bishops comprising the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Christodoulos said that ''we did not cause the current crisis. It was forced on us. One thing is for certain, that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is not threatened by our Church''. ''To the contrary, our Church supports the Phanar and stands by the ecclesiastical needs of its Holy Metropolitan Seats and mainly it understands the agony for the future ... we do not want to change a thing from the status quo that exists in our Church. Nor do we believe that the All Holy Father (Patriarch) wants to do so either,'' he added.

    ''Of course in the texts and the speeches there is a different understanding over the nature of the existing status quo. In my opinion the All Holy Father (Patriarch) is referring to the Act of 1928, as if this was concluded yesterday and after an agreement between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece, an agreement that we are allegedly breaking for the first time. We humbly believe that the status quo is the one that has been formulated,'' Christodoulos stressed.

    ''If we send a list for approval to the Patriarchate we would be breaking the law and the elections for new bishops will not be valid in the Northern regions of the Greek state and the islands of the Eastern Aegean,'' the Greek prelate underlined.

    ''It is not possible to violate the Holy canons of our Church ... we will be breaking the law, by ignoring the existing law 590 of 1977, which will result in the invalidity of the election of a new bishop in the so called New Territories,'' the Archbishop added.

    To add to tension of this first day of the session, Metropolitan of Messinia Chrysostomos took the floor and questioned the status of the Church of Crete, which has had, since 1912, a special semi-autonomous status being directly under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate, making Greece the only Christian Orthodox country with two Holy Synods operating on its soil.

    [06] Greece to be first in EU to implement investor info directive

    BRUSSELS, 5/11/2003 (ANA/G.Zitouniati)

    Greece is to become the first member state of the European Union to implement a draft directive on transparency of information released by quoted companies, Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said on Tuesday.

    The directive aims to improve the quality of information given to investors by firms whose stocks are quoted on regulated markets in the bloc, Christodoulakis told reporters after a meeting of EU finance ministers in the Belgian capital.

    ''In this manner, the confidence of investors will be reinforced concerning the financial position of listed companies, aiding the efficiency of markets,'' he said.

    The terms of the draft directive are due to be incorporated into Greek law within a month, the minister added.

    [07] Gov't repeats that EU in error over Greek fiscal deficit total

    BRUSSELS, 5/11/2003 (ANA/M.Spinthourakis)

    Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis repeated on Tuesday that European Union authorities were in error in their estimate of Greece's fiscal deficit for 2004.

    ''Community authorities have made a mistake, and they will receive all the necessary data from the finance ministry in the near future that will lead them to revise their assessment,'' Christodoulakis said in the Belgian capital, replying to a reporter's question.

    ''This mistake stems from an underestimate of Greek state revenue, which is incompatible with the estimate by Community authorities for Greek economic rates of growth,'' the minister added.

    [08] Finmin lashes out at opposition over criticism of economy

    BRUSSELS, 5/11/2003 (ANA/G.Zitouniati)

    Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis on Tuesday rejected criticism by the main opposition New Democracy party of the government's handling of the economy.

    ''Once again, New Democracy is danger-mongering about the performance of the Greek economy in order to support its own dead-end political line,'' Christodoulakis told reporters in the Belgian capital.

    ''Data released by the General State Accounting Office shows that implementation of the budget falls totally within revised targets for 2003,'' he said.

    The minister was in Brussels to attend a meeting of European Union finance ministers.

    [09] Funds saved in Armed Forces procurements, gov't says

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    The procurements for the Armed Forces were made in accordance with the existing regulations, which provide for specific procedures which were rigidly adhered to, government spokesman Christos Protopapas said Tuesday during a press briefing.

    Replying to press questions, Protopapas noted that immense funds were saved with the procurements, approximately 2.5 billion euro annually, which monies, he added, were absorbed by funds financing the country's social policy.

    "There has been correct management and a correct utilization of the funds concerning national defense," Protopapas said, adding that there had been a parallel "prudent" re-planning of the defense equipment.

    [10] Gov’t begins payment of compensations to farmers

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Greece's Agricultural Insurance Organization on Tuesday announced the immediate payment of a sum totalling 1,619,950 euros in compensation to 2,960 producers in 28 prefects around the country for damages in their crop from extreme weather conditions in the period November-December 2002.

    The Organization also announced it would pay a total of 13,787,958 euros on Wednesday and Friday, 5 and 7 November respectively, to 8,331 farmers in 43 prefects in the Greece for damages in their crop from severe weather conditions in the period March-June 2003.

    [11] Diekat signs 13-mln-euro contract in Romania

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Diekat, a listed Greek contractors' firm, on Tuesday announced the signing of a contract, worth 13 million euros, with Romania's finance ministry for the designing and construction of a waste management project in Piatra Neamt in Romania.

    The project, signed in cooperation with German group Dywindag, aims to improve environmental infrastructure in the region and to minimize environmental hazards.

    The Diekat-Dywindag consortium won an international tender which also included two companies from Austria and Spain. The project is expected to begin this month and will have a duration of 24 months.

    [12] New pay scale for civil servants to parliament for vote

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    The government on Tuesday sent to parliament a bill allowing a new pay scale for civil servants that will take effect on January 1, 2004.

    Under the new scale, civil servants and other public sector workers will receive rises of ranging from an average 5.4 percent to 10 percent.

    The bill also includes wages for university staff, school teachers, doctors, clergy, court officials and the military.

    [13] ADEX says business down in October

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Trading in the Athens Derivatives Exchange eased by 42.65 percent in October with the number of contracts traded in the market totalling 745,530 from 1,299,870 contracts in the previous month.

    ADEX, in its monthly report, said that the average daily transaction of contracts also eased to 16,946 contracts in October from 29,543 in September, while turnover fell by 40.31 percent over the same period.

    During the same period, turnover in the Athens Stock Exchange fell by 25.04 percent, with the value of transactions in stock shares included in the FTSE/ASE 20 and FTSE/ASE MID 40 indices dropping by 20.86 percent in October.

    ADEX also reported an increase in the number of investor codes to 20,610 in October from 20,107 in September, while the number of active codes eased to 13.52 percent of total from 15.58 percent over the same period, respectively).

    [14] Nation-wide public sector strike continues

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Strikes by public sector employees, including hospital physicians and teachers, continued on Tuesday around the country, as inclement weather mostly dampened scheduled rallies in downtown Athens.

    The strike was called by the largest civil servants union in the country (ADEDY), with pay raises dominating a list of demands.

    Among others, the vital Rio-Antirrio ferryboat route connecting the Peloponnese with western Greece remained closed to due a strike by workers on the vessels. A long-awaited span bridge is expected to connect the two sides of the country late next year. Additionally, certain flights to domestic destinations were affected by the industrial action of civil aviation employees, sans air traffic controllers.

    [15] EBO-PYRKAL merger bill ratified in principle

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    The bill on the merger between the Hellenic Weapons Industry (EBO) and the PYRKAL ammunition company was ratified in principle in Parliament on Tuesday.

    Attending Deputy Defense Minister Theodoros Kotsonis promised that the new company to result from the merger between the two previous companies will remain in the wider public sector and the majority of jobs will be retained.

    He added that the rest of the employees will not be dismissed from their jobs, but incentives will be given for voluntary withdrawal from the company and pensions will be given to those employees who can be pensioned off.

    [16] Aspis Bank, Marfin Bank, SG to proceed with General Bank's equity sale

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Two Greek banks and one French bank were given the ''green light'' to proceed with the next phase of a procedure to find a strategic partner for General Bank.

    An announcement by the Army Pension Fund, owner of a 38 percent equity stake in General Bank, the fund's board after evaluation and recommendations by Rothschild - its financial consultant in the procedure - decided that Aspis Bank, Marfin Bank and Societe Generale could participate in the next phase, which included a due diligence procedure.

    Probank, First Business Bank (FBB), Alpha Trust and a group of foreign businessmen participated in the first stage of the procedure.

    After completion of an effort to find a strategic investor for General Bank, the Army Pension Fund would have a reduced 10 percent equity stake in the bank.

    General Bank offers a comparative advantage of operating a network of more than 100 units and a strong customer base.

    [17] Profit taking halts Monday's rally in ASE

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Greek stocks eased slightly in the Athens Stock Exchange on Tuesday, succumbing to a late wave of profit taking as the market tried to find new balance levels after Monday's strong advance.

    The general index ended 0.33 percent lower at 2,155.94 points, after rising to 2,178.77 points early in the session. Trading was a heavy 163.2 million euros.

    The Insurance, Publication and IT sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (1.94 percent, 1.72 percent and 1.42 percent, respectively), while the Holding (0.94 percent), Investment (0.60 percent) and Industrial (0.13 percent) sector scored the biggest gains.

    The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks eased 0.35 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index fell 0.78 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.96 percent lower.

    Broadly, decliners led advancers by 233 to 84 with another 46 issues unchanged.

    The most heavily traded stocks in value were Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, National Bank of Greece, Public Power Corporation, Intralot and EFG Eurobank Ergasias.

    Derivatives Market Close: Turnover

    at 97.8 mln euros Tuesday

    Equity Index Futures:

  • FTSE/ASE-20 (high cap): At premium

  • Underlying Index: -0.35% percent

  • FTSE/ASE-40 (medium cap): At premium

  • Underlying Index: -0.78 percent

    Stock Futures:

  • Most Active Contract (volume): National Bank of Greece (677)

  • Total turnover in derivatives market: 97.8 mln euros

    Bond Market Close: Buyers match sellers on Tuesday

    Greek Benchmark 10-Year Bond

  • Yield: 4.47 pct

  • Spread over German bund: 14 bps

  • Most heavily traded paper: 10-yr, expiring May 2013 (1.2 bln euros)

  • Day's Total Market Turnover: 3.3 bln euros

    FOREIGN EXCHANGE

    Closing rates of November 4 2003

    Parities in euro

    Banknotes

    Foreign Exchange Buying Selling

    US Dollar 1,156 1,129

    [18] Organizers cite robust interest by homeowners for 2004 lodgings program

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Twenty-two thousand home owners in the greater Athens have expressed an interest in renting out their residences for next year’s 2004 Olympic Games, executives with the two consortia managing the ambitious home leasing program announced on Tuesday.

    Speaking at a press conference at the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee’s (ATHOC) headquarters, representatives said between 200 to 300 applications by homeowners are received on a daily basis, while evaluations of properties are proceeding at a slower rate -- about 80 per day – with 1,500 would-be accommodations checked so far.

    The final agreement between the two groups, Alpha Filoxenia (hospitality) 2004 and Elliniki Filoxenia -- both subsidiaries of listed banking groups in Greece -- was signed last month after months of delay.

    Both groups had put the number of private homes needed in and around the greater Athens area for the upcoming Summer Olympics at 10,000, although Tuesday's estimates cited a figure of 6,000.

    As expected, most of the homes offered up for leasing are close to Olympic venues and facilities, although a significant portion are also located in central Athens.

    Moreover, the two managing groups’ representatives said roughly 500 queries to lease such private residences have been fielded to accommodate some 3,500 individuals.

    Demand so far is apparently focused on smaller homes or apartments able to accommodate two to three people, instead of high-end and larger lodgings.

    Residences are divided into our categories depending on the year of construction, amenities as well as proximity to sports venues and mass transit points. Rates vary from 2,520 to 3,600 euros for two to three people over a six-night stay.

    Respective owners, meanwhile, earn between 35-40 per bed per day for third category lodgings; 70 euros for the second category and 90 euros in the first category. The rate for the luxury category is up for negotiation.

    ATHOC officials emphasized that leased residences in Atlanta and Sydney did not surpass 800.

    In other developments, ATHOC officials said 80 to 90 percent of the rooms in 220 hotels both in Attica prefecture (the greater Athens area) and surrounding prefectures have been reserved for the extended “Olympic family”, practically all of which have undergone or are undergoing renovation, “one of the Olympic Games’ lasting legacies,” they said.

    [19] Greece welcomes UN vote on Olympic Truce during 2004 Games in Athens

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Greece on Tuesday welcomed the UN General Assembly's nearly unanimous adoption of an Olympic Truce for the duration of the Athens 2004 Games, calling it a "major victory of peace".

    Government spokesman Christos Protopapas called the UN vote in favor of the Greek-introduced Olympic Truce proposal "a major victory of peace, of the spirit of the Olympic Games, and of the Greek government", reminding that the initiative had been initiated and promoted by Greece's foreign minister George Papandreou.

    A resolution submitted by Greece for an Olympic Truce for the duration of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games was ratified by the UN General Assembly on Monday with an unprecedented majority and in a warm atmosphere in the presence of International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge.

    Out of a total of 191 members (Iraq, although a UN member, is not represented at the General Assembly), the UN ratified resolution A/58/L9 with 190 votes. The resolution anticipates calls for the cessation of hostilities between August 13-29, 2004, and revives the ancient Greek idea of 'Ekecheiria' (Truce), observed during the ancient Olympics.

    [20] Smithsonian Institution organizes conference on Olympic Games

    WASHINGTON, 5/11/2003 (ANA/T. Ellis)

    The course of the Olympic Games from ancient times until today, the preparations of Athens for the 2004 summer Olympic Games and the Olympic Truce initiative were outlined by classicists, diplomats and Olympic administrators at the Smithsonian Institution, on Nov 1.

    The conference was jointly organized by the Smithsonian Institution and the Washington-based Society for the Preservation of the Greek Heritage and was moderated by Pennsylvania University Professor Emeritus John Lucas.

    Robert Fasulo, a member of the IOC’s Coordinating Committee, referred to the Coordinating Committee's work, adding that it is monitoring the course of preparations for the Olympic Games and setting strict specifications and timetables.

    He said the 2004 Athens Olympic Games provide a unique opportunity for Greece ''to shape the image the rest of the world will have of the country over the next 20-30 years and strengthen national self-confidence'' and expressed optimism that everything will be ready in time to enable successful Games to be held.

    Greek Ambassador to Washington George Savvaides, in his concluding remarks, expressed his confidence that next year Greece will host secure and successful Olympic Games, which will leave a significant legacy to the country. He also hosted a dinner in honor of the organizers and speakers, also attended by Senator Paul Sarbanes and former Congressman John Brademas.

    [21] Head of Athens marathon committee offers resignation following negative press

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    The president of the organizing committee for the 21st Athens Marathon tendered his resignation on Tuesday in the wake of particularly negative local press reports about the hosting of the event over the weekend.

    Among others, press reports cited the theft of many athletes’ gear and lax traffic measures along the route from the township of Marathon to central Athens' all-marble Panathinaiko Stadium.

    Evangelos Papapostolou tendered his resignation to SEGAS’ leadership on Tuesday.

    Greece’s oldest sports federation, SEGAS, which oversees the track and field sector in the country, organized the 21st Athens Marathon, run on the “classical route” that will be used for next 2004 Athens Olympics.

    [22] PM inaugurates renovated Kallithea urban railway station

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Tuesday officially inaugurated the recently renovated Kallithea train station, a stop along the Piraeus-Kifissia electric urban railway line run by HSAP.

    He was accompanied by a government delegation, MPs for the area and representatives of local government.

    The premier was shown around the refurbished station by Transport Minister Christos Verelis and briefed on the procedures followed in the renovation of this and other stations along the route.

    The Kallithea station first began operating in 1928 and serves an estimating 40,000 passengers daily, while the number is expected to rise to around 60,000 in the future.

    In statements at the ceremony, Verelis said the HSAP rail line would soon cease to be the ''poor relation'' of the Athens Metro, with the addition of 15 new trains, eight new stations and the renovation of older stations on the route.

    He also pointed to other public transport projects, such as the tram and suburban railway, which he said would transform the transport map in the capital and allow unprecedented travel and commute options.

    [23] Rare incident of racially motivated violence follows traffic fatality

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    A rare incident of racially motivated violence was reported on Monday in the working class district of Nikaia, close to the main port city of Piraeus, following the death of a local teen in a hit-and-run accident a day earlier.

    According to police reports, a group of mostly helmeted teens ransacked a video store owned by a Pakistani man in the district.

    The incident came a day after a 17-year-old motorcyclist in the same area was killed when a vehicle carrying two Pakistanis crashed in to him. Witnesses said the vehicle was speeding down an opposite lane of traffic. Both men fled the scene with only the apparent co-driver being detained a short distance away by bystanders.

    The driver in the fatal accident is being sought, as are the assailants in the video club attack.

    [24] Suicide official Roubini Stathea had acted illegally, report shows

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    A state official that attempted to postpone demolition orders for beachfront structures in the privileged Anavyssos suburb - and later committed suicide after her actions attracted the attention of the press - had acted illegally according to a report by a finance ministry inspector submitted on Tuesday.

    The report outlined the findings of his investigation into the affair and was submitted to the finance ministry and the Athens first-instance public prosecutors' office.

    The inspector found that East Attica Real Estate Service official Roubini Stathea appeared to have contravened a 2001 law forbidding applications for temporary property settlements or the postponement of demolition orders ''before any administrative or political Court or other Authority''.

    At the same time, the report noted that there were conflicting opinions between the different state services involved, even between staff in the same service, regarding the interpretation of this article of law, as well as conflicting rulings issued by the Council of State, Greece's supreme administrative court, that created problems in interpretation.

    The report recommended a probe to assign disciplinary and other responsibilities for omissions by the East Attica Real Estate Service and its predecessors from 1961 onwards and also within the finance ministry's Administrative Support General Directorate and other services responsible for public-sector recruiting, judging the Real Estate Service's shortcomings to be directly related staff shortages.

    On the question of whether Stathea had acted of her own volition, the inspector notes that all the documents issued on October 3, 4 and 10 were issued and signed by Stathea herself and did not contain any written reservation or objection, which the law allowed employees to express when they disagreed with an order given by a superior.

    He also noted that Stathea was a legal professional and in charge of the East Attica Real Estate Services' department for beaches, as well as a member of the committee for the law on beaches and shorelines, and should thus have been well acquainted with both the letter and the spirit of this law.

    [25] Police arrest three for importing large quantities of drugs

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    A man and his son, both Bulgarian nationals, have been arrested by police for importing large quantities of drugs from their country, using traffic signposts along the Thessaloniki-Serres motorway to conceal the drugs.

    Police, who shadowed Sotir Konstadinov and his son, suspecting them as being members of an international ring importing and selling large quantities of drugs in Greece, arrested them at Nea Malgara, northern Greece, while they were selling a packet of heroin weighing 588 grams to a Greek for 7,500 euros.

    Frisking the two men, police found a packet of heroin weighing 10.9 grams on one of them. The three men were referred to a public prosecutor in Thessaloniki after legal proceedings were launched against them.

    [26] Police arrest two smugglers, 23 Palestinian illegal immigrants

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    Police arrested 23 Palestinians on Tuesday for illegally entering the country on the Alexandroupoli-Komotini highway in Northeastern Greece.

    Along with the illegal immigrants, police arrested a 26-year-old Greek who was transporting them in a truck and a 39-year-old Greek, who was apparently driving ahead of the truck to warn its driver of a possible police presence.

    According to initial results of the investigation, the two Greeks were to receive 3,000 euros for smuggling the illegals, while the 23 Palestinians had paid a total of 40,000 dollars to Turkish smugglers to help them enter Greece.

    [27] Nationwide speleologists' meeting in northern Greece

    Athens, 5/11/2003 (ANA)

    A nationwide meeting of speleologists will take place in Alistrati, Serres and Prosotsani, Drama this weekend to discuss the exploitation, exploration and tourist promotion of hundreds of caves about the country with the use of European Union and domestic funds.

    The meeting is organized by the Paleoanthropology-Speliology Service.

    [28] Papadopoulos: 'We will gladly pay a price for rapprochement'

    NICOSIA, 5/11/2003 (CNA/ANA)

    President Tassos Papadopoulos has said the government would gladly pay the cost of any unfavorable repercussions on the economy, following the partial lifting of restrictions on the freedom of movement to and from the island's Turkish occupied areas, as part of the effort for rapprochement between the two communities, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

    Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday in which he unveiled a seven-year strategic plan for tourism, the president said that one of the issues raised following the partial lifting of restrictions on the freedom of movement is the overnight stays in the occupied areas.

    ''We have said that overnight stays will not be permitted. Leaving aside the many problems tourism is facing, I believe it would be unproductive to allow overnight stays of foreigners in the occupied areas'', the president stressed.

    He explained that if ''the aim of rapprochement is to create a climate of understanding and friendship, you must realize that moves which cause bitter feelings to a large number of Greek Cypriots who are employed in the tourist industry would create exactly the opposite results''.

    Regarding movement to and from the occupied areas in general, the president said the government is carrying out a survey on a monthly basis and studies the statistics concerning the costs involved and the money spent and the repercussions on the economy.

    ''We have not ascertained any unfavorable repercussions on the economy but even if there were any, we should acknowledge that this is a price which we would gladly pay as part of the effort for rapprochement'', the president pointed out.

    Replying to questions, he said the government is concerned about possible repercussions from the competition the island's occupied areas would pose to the rest of the country in the event of a political settlement.

    ''This is a very serious issue which preoccupies the government, the University of Cyprus has carried out an initial study and a second one, more specialized, is underway on the fallout on tourism from a solution of the Cyprus question,'' he said.

    However President Papadopoulos noted he did not think that the repercussions on tourism would be ''dramatic or unfavorable, provided that the country is prepared to deal any problems that may emerge''.

    [29] MacShane: Britain urges all concerned to resolve missing persons issue

    NICOSIA, 5/11/2003 (CNA/ANA)

    The UK fully supports the work of the UN Committee on Missing Persons, and regularly urges all concerned to cooperate fully with its objectives, British Minister for Europe Denis MacShane said in a letter of reply to British MEP Theresa Villiers.

    He said Britain agrees with the Organization of Relatives of Missing Cypriots that this issue is a humanitarian, not a political one and that ''our High Commission staff in Nicosia keep in close

    contact with the two sides on this issue and urge them do all they can to resolve it as soon as possible.''

    ''The UK fully supports the work of the UN Committee on Missing Persons, and regularly urges all concerned to cooperate fully with its objectives. There are no good reasons for not doing so,'' MacShane added.

    Concerning Turkey's EU candidacy, he said ''the Copenhagen political criteria, which Turkey must meet in order to open accession negotiations with the EU, cover a broad range of issues related to human rights.''

    ''The UK welcomes the progress that Turkey has made in passing reforms that promote respect for human rights, while also urging the Turkish government to implement those reforms in full,'' MacShane said.

    He added the UK endorses the EU's Accession Partnership, which urges Turkey ''to strongly support efforts to find a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem through the continuation of the United Nations Secretary General's mission of good offices and of negotiations on the basis of his proposals.''

    Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37 per cent of its territory.

    Meanwhile, Villiers met October 31 in London with representatives of the UK Branch of the Organization of Relatives of Missing Cypriots.

    Villiers said ''the suffering of the relatives of the missing has gone on far too long.''

    [30] Cyprus Foreign Minister meets Commonwealth

    SG LONDON, 5/11/2003 (CNA/ANA)

    The Commonwealth is considering the best ways its position on Cyprus can be included in the conclusions of its forthcoming summit in Nigeria, said here Tuesday Secretary-General Don McKinnon after a meeting with Cyprus Foreign Minister George Iacovou.

    In his statements after the meeting, McKinnon said they had ''a very good discussion'' during which the minister gave the Secretariat ''a very clear update of the situation''.

    ''The Commonwealth always fought for the people of Cyprus and many, many, many Commonwealth communiques over the years have attested to that'', McKinnon said, stressing that ''we are now in discussions about how best this position can be presented to the leaders at the Commonwealth Conference in Abuja and how best the leaders can show their support to the people in Cyprus''.

    The Cypriot minister said the SG of the Commonwealth wanted to be informed about the latest developments, in view of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja.

    He said they discussed the possibilities of including a paragraph in the conclusions of the meeting, which will reflect the latest

    developments on Cyprus, adding, ''we have a very good cooperation with the Commonwealth Secretariat, there is willingness on its part''.

    However Iacovou pointed out that ''the UN Secretary-General maintains the key role'' in the Cyprus problem ''and we hope soon that the EU will have a similar role, since it will have a special interest in a solution to the problem before 1st May 2004'', when Cyprus joins the Union.


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