Antenna: News in English (AM), 97-07-03

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

News in English, 03/07/97

TITLES

• Albania's post-election change of mood.
• Eduard Sheverdnadze wins the 1997 Onasis Award.
• And, the international Aegean isles sailing championship gets underway.

ALBANIA/LATEST

The Socialist Party appears to have finished 20 per centage points ahead of president Sali Berisha's Democratic Party.

Seven to eight thousand people celebrated the Socialist Party victory at a rally in central Tirane Wednesday night.

With about half the votes counted, the Socialists appear to have won about 50 per cent of the vote. President Sali Berisha's Democratic Party is a distant second with 30 per cent.

Berisha has accepted the loss, and indicated he will resign. But he will stay on as head of the Democratic Party.

19 parliamentary races will be decided in a run-off election Sunday. The Socialists will be trying to win them, and gain the two-thirds parliamentary majority that will allow them to elect a new president.

The royalists have emerged from the elections as a force to be reckoned with. In a referendum on the return of the monarchy, 40 per cent of the votes went in favour of a restoration of the crown.

But Lekka, who would be king if the monarchy were brought back, says the referendum actually produced a majority in favour of the crown, but the Socialists falsified the results.

Monarchists rallied angrily outside the Socialist Party offices in Tirane Wednesday. And they shouted anti-Greek slogans, referring derisively to Socialist leader Fatos Nano as a Greek, and burning his campaign posters.

Nearby, Greek peacekeepers took up position near the National Bank of Greece. Fortunately, there was no violence.

Among the royalist demonstrators were many hard-line Berisha supporters. Some observers believe Berisha himself may be behind the royalist protests.

The elections appear to have brought to an end the anarchic situation that began in March, when thousands of citizens armed themselves in rebellion after Berisha refused to resign.

Already, the transition has started. Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano has appointed someone from his party as interim interior minister.

The Berisha-backed minister left the country after the elections. Other Berisha government members, like the public order minister, have also fled.

Nonetheless, the tug of war for control continues. Berisha issued a request Tuesday for the presidential guard to police the streets of the capital. He even signed it as head of the armed forces. Nano turned down the request, ordering the guard to limit their movements to the vicinity of the presidential residence.

If the Socialists and their allies show in coming weeks that they are capable normalising life in Albania, then the multi-national peacekeeping force led by Italy will withdraw, mission accomplished. Under the Italian plan, the multi-national force contingents would begin pulling out on July 10th, with the last peacekeepers leaving on August 6th.

Nano has asked that international security experts be sent in to help in an advisory capacity after the peacekeepers leave.

ALBANIA

From southern Albania, Antenna's Nikolas Va-fiA-des reports that a mood of optimism has replaced the angry spirit of rebellion.

The change is apparent everywhere in the city of Argyrokastro, one of the rebel strongholds in the rising that began in March.

People and cars are out on streets in number again, after months of absence. The fear of armed gangs has dissippated.

At the farmer's market, which opened for the first time in four months, there was a festive atmosphere and plenty of smiles.

It appears that the repressive president Sali Berisha is on his way out.

And law and order seem to be on their way in. At the border post of Kakavia, the police are back on duty for the first time in months, checking vehicles and confiscating weapons.

But the road ahead won't be an easy one for the new government to travel. One of the factors that turned people against Berisha was the weak economy. Anger reached the breaking point when government-authorised investment schemes collapsed in February, robbing thousands of everything. Socialist leader Fatos Nano has promised everyone they'll get their money back.

Even amid the smiles at the Argyrokastro market, the economic reality broke through.

One woman told Antenna, "Everything's expensive. People don't have any money. They took it all".

JOURNALIST

Some of those with unhappy memories are foreign journalists, like Florian Bala, a Romanian journalist.

Bala says he never wants to return to Albania after his experience. Heedless of the danger, the 25- year-old hired some drivers and left Tirane for the south.

But his escorts were far from reliable. At a desolate spot near Fieri, they forced him out of the car at gunpoint, robbing him of his money and passport, of everything, in fact, except his underwear.

Bala spent the next four days and nights wandering the countryside. At every village he approached, he heard gunshots.

Finally, he reached the ethnic-Greek village of Kato Meropi, where the residents gave him clothes, food, and shelter.

He spent the night at the police station in Del-vi-naki.

Bala is devastated by his experience. Before leaving for Romania, he told Antenna he thought the end had come for him, and that he never wanted to return to Albania.

CLIRIDES

On July 9th, ClirEEdes begins several days of UN- sponsored talks with Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in New York.

After meeting with ClirEEdes Wednesday, New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis said they had exchanged views on the Cyprus problem. He added that his party fully supports ClirEEdes's efforts to solve the island's problems.

ClirEEdes also met with former prime minister Constantinos Mitsotakis, today honorary New Democracy leader.

Mitsotakis is optimistic that the Cyprus problem will have entered a new phase by next year, one which will make finding a workable solution very possible.

ONASSIS AWARDS

The awards will be presented in Athens by the Greek president on September 16th.

In the 1980s, Shevardnadze played a key role in improving US-Soviet relations. In 1987 he was party to an accord to eliminate US and Soviet medium-range nuclear missiles. He also helped negotiate an agreement to reduce Warsaw Pact and Nato forces in Europe in 1990.

The winners of the 1997 Onasis award for culture, the arts and the humanities are Byzantine historian Sir Steven Runciman, And Dolly Goulandri, the curator at an Aegean art museum.

The environmental protection award has gone to the to the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency.

This year, for the first time, the Onasis International Cultural Struggle award is being given out. The selection committee gave the award to India's Mana-zoula Paz-man-akan after reviewing 1450 plays by writers from 76 countries.

All the award winners will receive 250 thousand dollars.

STEPHANOPOULOS

Peter Stoyianov met with Greek president Kostis Stephanopoulos in Athens Wednesday.

The Bulgarian leader said Greece, which desires better relations with, is always straightforward in stating its views on Turkey.

Stoyianov, who also met with prime minister Kostas Simitis and New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis, is asking Greece for its support as it tries to become a member of the European Union and Nato.

ECONOMY

Social insurance minister Miltiades Papa-ioAnnou discussed the issue with the finance minister.

Afterwards, Papa-ioAnnou also clarified another issue that's stirred up controversy.

Reports to the contrary nothwithstanding, Papa- ioAnnou says the government is NOT considering staggering the retirement age.

His denial follows experts' recommendations that the retirement age be altered. Papa-ioAnnou says he knows nothing about it.

The meeting between the ministers rounds up the second round of the government's so-called "social dialogue", a series of discussions with various groups in society concerning economic policy.

SOUMAKIS

Soumakis's proposals detail quotas for Greek- registered ships.

Boats in the 3 to 25 registered tonne category would be required to employ at least 5 Greek officers, and 3 seamen.

Ships in the 20 to 45 thousand tons division, would have to have a minimum of 6 Greek officers and 3 seamen.

For ships between 45 and 100 thousand tons, the quotas would be 7 Greek officers and 4 seamen.

Soumakis also has proposals aimed at expanding the size of the Greek fleet. If shipowners and sailors support them, he says, the Greek fleet may go from being the world's third largest to its biggest.

TRIPLETS

28 year old REEa Kiss-an-drA-ki, who delivered back in April was allowed to check her three little boys out of the hospital last Wednesday.

Rea Kiss-an-drA-ki knew from the very onset of her pregnancy that she was carrying three foetuses. Even though the triple pregnancy placed her and her three unborn children in great danger, she and her husband refused the doctor's proposal to remove any of the foetuses.

Determined and optimistic, REEa gave birth to one of the three boys on April 26th, six months early. Catching an infection in the hospital, she had to undergo a Caesarian section four days later, and the other two babies were born.

Manolis Mav-ro-yian-nAkia, the attending obstetrician called it a unique event in Greek delivery annals.

How does the courageous mother feel now? "I'm elated to be able to take my children home", she says. "I didn't expect this day to come so soon. I've forgotten how difficult the births were.

REEa's advice to other couples dealing with similar pregnancy complications is: "Don't become discouraged, be optimistic and have faith in what you're doing. Stick with it: with a little luck and a good doctor anything can happen".

SPORTS/SAILING

The Aegan Sea Games, as they're called, are considered one of the most difficult sailing competitions. The games attract sportsmen from all over the world.

Ten sailing boats sailed from Faliro on Wednesday, beginning their 545-mile, non-stop course around the Cycladic islands. Their jounrey will take them to Agios Ef-strA-tios, As-ty-pA-lea and MEE-los. The first boats are expected to arrive back in Faliro Sunday afternoon.

The games, organised by the Athens Naval Club, are rigourous. Competitive sailing is a high adrenaline sport, that takes concentration and a lot of team work. But the beautiful Aegean sea, sun and breeze will surely compensate all the participants for their efforts.

ATHENS INFORMATION BOARDS

New electronic boards detailing traffic conditions have been installed at five key points on major roads on the outskirts of the capital.

Athens mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos was on hand, Wednesday to unveil the electronic messengers.

Avramopoulos says the boards will make a positive impact on traffic conditions in the city.

Apart from being updated on traffic conditions in the city centre, drivers will also get an estimated time of arrival in the downtown area and a temperature reading.

They'll also be provided with information on which hospitals' emergency units are open. The information system was designed by the city, the Polytechnic School, and the environment ministry.

© ANT1 Radio 1997

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