Antenna: News in English (AM), 98-04-29

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

Last Updated: Wednesday, 29-Apr-98 08:39:20

CONTENTS

[01] New Archbishop

[02] Turkey-Greek islands

[03] Kosovo

[04] Athens Stock Exchange

[05] Sports

[01] New Archbishop

Elected to the post at the relatively young age of 59, Christodoulos promises to bring change to the church.

After his election, Christodoulos walked from Athens Metropolitan Cathedral to the archbishop's official residence. Along the route he was was congratulated by throngs of priests and lay people who crowded around him, shouting "Worthy, worthy". Many of them had been waiting for the election result outside the closed doors of Athens Cathedral for ten hours.

Arriving at his new residence, he went out on to the balcony to bless the crowd below.

Shortly after his election, he said a memorial service at the grave of his predecessor, the late archbishop Serafeim, who passed away two-and-a- half weeks ago at the age of 84.

The new archbishop is likely to bring a new air to the church.

Elected on the third ballot, in which he received 49 of the possible 76 votes, Christodoulos said the church will move into the new millennium rejuvenated and united.

Thanking those who had voted for him for quote entrusting the church to a younger man unquote, the progressive Christodoulos promised to bring "modernisation, renewal, and meritocracy" to the church, and to reach out to help ordinary people deal with their problems. Christodoulos added that he intends to make the church more dynamic.

Oriented toward the problems and concerns of young people, he has been worked on issues like drug abuse and aids. In a poor part of Volos, where he served as bishop of Dimitriada he once opened a cafe for young people.

Christodoulos believes the youth of Greece is reaching out to the church, and the church must respond.

The new archbishop of Athens and all Greece was born in Xanthi in northern Greece in 1939. He studied at the theological school at the University of Athens. He also has a law degree from the Pandio university, also in Athens, and a doctorate from the University of Thessaloniki.

He speaks English, French, German, Italian, and writes regularly for the daily press and church publications.

In 1965 he became a priest, and in 1974 he became metropolitan bishop of Dimitriada.

New Democracy president Kostas Karamanlis welcomed the election of Christodoulos. He said he is worthy of his new important difficult post.

Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras says the election of Christodoulos marks the beginning of a bright new period for the Greek church, Orthodoxy, and Hellenism.

[02] Turkey-Greek islands

In making its request, Ankara argues that it is questionable who the small islands belong to. That, even though Greeks live on them.

This is the first time Turkey's repeated claims on Greek islands in the Aegean include inhabited islands.

Ankara says it follows that the EU should not quote "fall into Greece's trap and fund energy, sewage, and other environnment-related projects on those islands", unquote.

Ankara is asking the EU not to include place like Agathonisi, Farmakonisi, Fourni, and Pserimos in its environmental programmes, on the ground that there is a sensitive issues of sovereignty over the islands.

In Luxembourg, Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos treated the Turkish request humourously. "Turkey once said the Aegean belongs to the fish", he said. "Now, it's asking that even EU programmes directed at protecting the marine environment not be implemented".

At the EU foreign ministers' conference in Luxembourg, Pangalos found himself up against the other 14 EU members on another issue related to Turkey.

The EU is putting pressure on Greece once again to lift its veto on EU funding of Turkey. Pangalos responded by documenting Turkey's increasingly provocative behaviour toward Greece over the past 25 years. And by reminding the EU that there is a lack of democracy in Turkey; Turkey's economy is saddled with problems; and Turkey violates human rights.

Pangalos repeated in Luxembourg that his government is happy that the EU is holding a convergence conference with Turkey on May 25th.

Greece wants Turkey to get closer to Europe, but it insists that Ankara change its undemocratic ways first.

At the conference, Pangalos also discussed the Cyprus issue. Four days before US envoy Richard Holbrooke arrives on the divided island, Pangalos told his EU counterparts that the process of making Cyprus an EU member - currently underway - is unrelated to the Cyprus problem.

Turkey and Turkish occupied northern Cyprus have objected to the EU beginning accession talks with the Cypriot government.

And some in the EU express doubts as to whether Cyprus can indeed enter the EU before the island is reunited.

[03] Kosovo

The reported attack on the village of Glodajne could not be confirmed because the southern part of Kosovo - near the Albanian border - has been sealed off by Serbian security forces determined to quash cross-border ethnic-Albanian separatist militancy.

In the past week alone, 12 ethnic Albanians have been killed by special Serbian police forces in Kosovo. The resurgent hostilities flared up amid charges from Belgrade that guns are being run to ethnic- Albanian separatists from Albania. The new round of killing is making the start of negotiations between Belgrade and Kosovo's Albanians look increasingly less plausible.

When some 80 ethnic-Albanians were killed by the Serbian police in the Drenica region in March, the US and five western European nations who make up the contact group on Yugoslavia warned Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevich to reach a compromise solution with the ethnic Albanians or face sanctions.

But the Albanian side will not negotiate unless a foreign mediator is present, something Milosevich rules out on the grounds that Kosovo is a domestic issue.

Now the United States is threatening to impose further sanctions unilaterally if the other members of the contact group cannot be persuaded to do so.

State department spokesman James Foley says Belgrade must abide by UN calls for the immediate withdrawal of its special forces from Kosovo and start unconditional dialogue with the ethnic Albanians.

But even if dialogue starts, there appears to be little common ground between the two sides. Belgrade has agreed to grant Kosovo autonomy, but refuses to grant the full independence demanded by most of the ethnic Albanians, who comprise 90 per cent of Kosovo's population.

[04] Athens Stock Exchange

The exchange was off 4 per cent in early trading Tuesday, but the market rebounded for gains of 6.3 per cent on the day.

Market analyst Giorgos Tselios believes that the stock market index will rise further after this weekend's European Union meeting on the future of exchange rates and the single European currency.

Analysts note that investors in stock markets around the globe are jumpy - that explains the nervousness that exists among Greek investors, and the tendency for the Athens index to fluctuate widely.

In his annual report on the Greek economy, the director of the Bank of Greece says he doesn't expect to see any marked fluctuations in the drachma.

The Bank report also says the dracma exchange rate will remain stable against the European currencies that have entered the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

The Bank of Greece recommends the government implement austere fiscal policies, meaning that pay raises shouldn't exceed productivity increases. The Bank is also asking businesses not fuel inflation with large price increases on their products.

[05] Sports

Paok swept its best-of-three quarterfinal series with a 72-59 triumph over Papagou Monday night.

Olympiakos got its ticket to the semis.

Olympiakos sweeps its series against Apollon, with a 77-66 victory.

In the other quarterfinal series, Aek is pitted against Panionios. Tuesday

Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Yiannis Melissanides returned from the European Gymnastics Championships in Russia with a gold and a silver medal.

Melissanides arrived in Thessaloniki Monday night with the gold medal pleased with his performance.

It was the culmination of eight months of hard work, said the Atlanta Olympiade gold medalist. These two medals are for Greece".

(c) ANT1 Radio 1998

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