Antenna News in English 100796

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From: Antenna Radio <http://www.antenna.gr> - email: antenna@compulink.gr

News in English, of 10/07/1996

TITLES

• US president Bill Clinton denounces Turkish claims in the Aegean.
• The Greek foreign minister says stability in Turkey is vital.
• And, Greece adds 20 Apaches to its air force.

CLINTON/LETTER

Turkey recently did just that, asking that Nato military exercises stay away from the island because of what it calls its dubious status.

In his letter to Greek American leaders, Mr Clinton adds that a Greek-Turkish conflict would be damaging to US interests in the region.

In a letter to Greek-American leaders, US president Clinton expresses his concern over the current state of relations between Greece and Turkey.

Greece has been on its guard since January, when Turkey began what has become a series of challenges to Greece's sovereign rights in the Aegean. In January, Turkey raised questions over the Greek rocks of Imia, and staged a military landing on one of them.

There followed a hail of diplomatic attacks, questioning so-called "grey areas", sovereignty over which remained unclear, and which should form the content of a Greek-Turkish dialogue.

Several weeks ago, Turkey questioned the legal status of Gavdos, a stone's throw from Crete, the population of which is Greek.

Greece has consistently refused to enter into dialogue with Turkey over its internationally-recognised sovereign rights. It has said that Turkey should take any claims it has to the international court, and quit trying to bully Greece by flexing its military muscle.

In his letter, President Clinton says any attempt to question sovereignty over Gavdos is improper. Turkish attempts to do so were an "error", he adds, saying that the US recognises Gavdos as Greek.

Mr Clinton also repeats the US view that the Imia issue should be resolved by the international court.

And he adds that any differences in the Aegean should be resovled on the basis of existing international treaties.

Mr Clinton says that adds that a conflagration between Greece and Turkey would be damaging to US interests in the area, as well as a tragedy for the two Aegean neighbours. And he states his belief that absolute respect for the territorial integrity of Greece should be maintained, and threats of violence abandoned.

The US is keen to do whatever it can to help bring Greece and Turkey closer together. Mr Clinton says that Washington is in constant contact with Athens and Ankara about the Imia issue and the tension in Greek-Turkish relations.

PANGALOS

In an interview with the daily paper Ta Nea, Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos again stresses the importance of governmental staiblity in Turkey.

Pangalos says that a strong government in Ankara can neutralise the influence of the Turkish military and diplomatic establishment over the country's foreign policy.

A stable government in Turkey, Pangalos believes, will have the power to oppose demagogic campaigns by the country's military leaders and diplomatic mandarins, aimed at pushing Turkey into a more aggressive foreign policy mode.

Pangalos says stability in Turkey is a pre-condition for peace in the wider region. But he's less than optimistic that the new government in Ankara, led by Islamicist Netsmetin Erbakan and supported by Tansu Ciller, is a formula for stable rule.

To Pangalos's reckoning, the new coalition government in Ankara is conjunctural, and won't last.

Like the West, Pangalos would like to see Turkey move in a secular, rather than a muslim fundamentalist direction. When a third of a country's population finds the answers to its problems in religiou fanaticism, he says, that country cannot join the European fold.

SIMITIS

Mr Simitis met with party MPs, central committee secretary Kostas Skandalides, and development minister Vaso Papandreou, one of his closest supporters.

Sources say the prime minister intends to exclude one of his main party rivals, defence minister Gerasimos Arsenis, from the secretariat.

Mr Simitis, parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis, and party secretary Kostas Skandalides will all be on it because of their positions.

Mr Simitis is expected to give the other four slots to the top vote-getters in the recent central committee elections. That would be Georgos Papandreou, Kostas Laliotis, Vaso Papandreou, and Akis Tsochatzopoulos.

Arsenis, beaten by Mr Simitis in the prime ministerial election in parliament in January, questions the right of the prime minister to appoint the members of the secretariat. He says at Wednesday's executive bureau meeting, it'll be decided how the members will be chosen.

ARSENIS

Greek defence minister Gerasimos Arsenis denounced numerous violations of the Greek airspace in the Aegean Tuesday. He said they amount to Turkey violating its own commitment to refrain from military exercises in the Aegean.

Arsenis says numerous violations of Greek airspace by Turkish aircraft have been recorded over the past several days.

Many of the Turkish penetrations have been deep: in one case, says Arsenis, a Turkish air force jet flew over a Greek air base on the island of Skyros.

He briefed Nato officials on the violations and discussed the Turkish harassment at a press conference.

Turkish airspace violations have long been a problem for Greece. But Arsenis calls Turkey's behaviour at this time particularly provocative. Not only are the fly-overs coming in increased numbers; they also come just days after Turkey agreed to put a moratorium on military exercises in the Aegean. Arsenis says that many of the jets making the airspace violations are flying in battle formation.

That amounts to conducting military exercises he adds, and calls Turkey's credibility into question.

APACH„

The Greek military stands always ready to defend the country against any outside threat.

Greece recently bought 20 sophisticated American Apache helicopters, and Monday, for the first time, the combat helicopters, carried out exercises using live ammunition.

After seeing the helicopters in action, defence minister Gerasimos Arsenis said, "That's Greece's new hardware, hardware that marks the beginning of a new era for our armed forces".

Greece acquired the Apaches along with a shipment of Leopard tanks.

The helicopters have good fuel economy: they can stay in the air for 2.5 hours at a time. They also have good firepower, and are able to fire 625 rounds a minute. The Apache pilot can operate the 30 millimetre machine-gun with simple movements.

The high-tech Apaches have other advantages too: they can fly at night, and are equipped with video-recording systems.

Not only has Greece got 20 of the top-of-the-line craft in its arsenal. It's also got 30 top pilots to fly them. The 30 pilots were the top performers in Apache-handling exercises held in the US.

© ANT1-Radio 1996

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