Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-11-10
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 10/11/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Five arrested at protests over new gold mine
- Greece optimistic about moves for a Cyprus resolution
- Gov't continues budget consultations
- Drys says gov't firm in its intent to back the drachma
- Tourism employees hold meeting on 2004 Olympics
- Karamanlis speaks on unemployment at Toulouse congress
- Parliament President on five-day visit to Germany
- Rhodes court awards compensation to family of AIDS victim
- European study shows baby walkers unsafe
- Greek First Division soccer results
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Five arrested at protests over new gold mine
Five community leaders were arrested today following clashes between police
and demonstrators from four Halkidiki villages, protesting the imminent
opening of a Canadian-operated gold mine at Olympiada, in which several
persons were injured.
Police said the community leaders of Varvara, Olympiada, Ano Stavros and
Kato Stavros were arrested for inciting and organising the protest outside
the TVX Hellas gold processing plant at Olympiada.
The demonstrators, who claim that the mining activities would have serious
reprecussions on the environment and tourism to the region, broke into the
plant and set fire to two drilling rigs.
Tension mounted today as a strong police contingent cordoned off the
vicinity.
TVX Hellas, a subsidiary of the Canadian TVX Gold company, received the
concession for exploitation of the Kassandra gold mines in March 1995 after
international tendering. Under the privatisation agreement, signed in
December 1995, the 67 billion dr. investment is expected to create 617
jobs.
"The incidents have created a serious problem regarding the investment,"
said Maria Tsoucatou, spokeswoman for TVX Hellas.
She said the company would "wait to see what measures will be taken by the
authorities before deciding on its next step".
Later, the five were charged by the Polygyros public prosecutor with
rioting, resisting arrest, bodily harm, property damage and disturbing the
peace.
They told the press afterwards that the accusations were false and urged
the government as well as TVX Hellas to sit down at the negotiating table
to resolve the dispute.
Halkidiki Prefect Vasilis Vasilakis said that both the company and the
demonstrators were responsible for yesterday's incidents. The company had
been warned at the end of October to stop drilling, he said, adding that
the demonstrators had also gone too far yesterday.
The five municipal leaders have returned to their villages to brief
residents and to consider their options. Meanwhile the Thessaloniki-Kavala
national highway remained closed today at the Stavros intersection.
Greece optimistic about moves for a Cyprus resolution
The Greek government believes current moves towards resolving the Cyprus
solution will continue in an effective, just, feasible and final way, its
spokesman Dimitris Reppas said today.
Commenting on a visit by US presidential envoy Richard Holbrooke to Nicosia,
Reppas said that recent statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
showed Turkey was moving in the wrong direction, since the so-called
Turkish republic of northern Cyprus was not recognised by any state expect
Turkey.
Reppas said that Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides had repeatedly stated
his agreement to discuss the manner in which Turkish Cypriots could
participate in the Cypriot Republic's delegation that will negotiate the
island republic's accession to the European Union. Unfortunately, he added,
reactions to this proposal had been negative to date, leading to the
isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community.
He also said that depending on developments in Cyprus, US State Department
special coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Miller might visit Athens within the
next few days.
A week of intense activity around the protracted Cyprus problem begins
today with US presidential Emissary Richard Holbrooke's talks in Nicosia
with Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf
Denktash.
Mr. Holbrooke, who according to reports was due for talks in Moscow before
arriving in Cyprus today, will fly to Brussels on Thursday for consultations
with EU External Affairs Commissioner Hans Van den Broek on the issue. US
State Department Coordina tor for Cyprus, Thomas Miller, already arrived in
Cyprus yesterday ahead of Mr. Holbrooke, while Turkey's Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem and Minister of State responsible for Cyprus affairs Sukru Gurel
also arrived yesterday in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus for
talks with Turkish Cypriot leaders.
In Brussels, EU foreign ministers are expected today to debate Turkey's
relations with the Union and particularly a French proposal for the
establishment of a European Conference including all EU aspirant countries
and Turkey, aimed at preventing new di viding lines in Europe as the bloc
opens membership talks with a number of eastern European states and Cyprus
next year. Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos will participate in
the meeting.
Gov't continues budget consultations
The final decisions on the drafting of the budget for 1998 will be taken at
Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas
reaffirmed today.
Reppas said the budget would be the focus of discussions at the meeting of
the inner cabinet and the ruling PASOK party's Executive Bureau tomorrow.
However, Reppas said, the general directions of the budget have been based
on unanimous decisions already taken by government bodies.
Reppas said that government representatives would meet today with union and
employer representatives, on the occasion of the completion of the six-
month process of social dialogue.
He added that it was the government's goal that social dialogue become a
permanent institution.
Drys says gov't firm in its intent to back the drachma
Finance Undersecretary George Drys said yesterday that he was satisfied
over the course of the economy, but said it was necessary to take
additional measures, especially introducing special incentives, for the
sensitive area of the Aegean.
Speaking at a press conference on Samos where he represented the government
at celebrations marking the 85th aniversary of the island's incorporation
into Greece, Mr. Drys also said the government was firm in its intent to
back the drachma.
He said that it was floating a new bond issue in order to contain the
drachma.
The Finance Ministry has announced a new eurobond issue that will be
floated today.
The one- and three- year ECU/EURO-indexed bonds carry a fixed interest of
4.6 percent and 5.2 percent respectively, rates lower than drachma-
denominated issues.
Bankers see the eurobond issue as a strategic move by the government to
improve the climate in the domestic markets and underline its determination
to continue its hard-drachma policy.
The announcement on Friday of the new eurobond issue substantially improved
sentiment in the domestic money market, leading to a firmer drachma and
lower interbank rates.
Tourism employees hold meeting on 2004 Olympics
The first meeting on the organisation by Greece of the Olympic Games in the
year 2004, was held yesterday in Thessaloniki, to examine the activities
required for the successful exploitation of the event.
The one-day meeting was organised by the Association of Employees of the
Greek Tourisn Organisation (EOT), on the sidelines of the international
tourism fair "Filoxenia" which winds up today at the Helexpo installations.
The meeting was attended by deputies, EOT officials and many representatives
of the sector.
A guest speaker, Ignacio de Delas, director of programming of the
Organisation for the Promotion of Tourism of Catalonia, Spain, referred to
the 'Spanish experience' from the Barcelona '92 Olympic Games. The Spanish
official stressed the long-term posit ive impact of the Games in the
region's tourism.
EOT Secretary General Nikos Skoulas expanded on the basic lines of the
government's policy on tourism, which mainly related to the development of
quality tourism and alternative forms of tourism for high income tourists.
Mr. Skoulas underlined that the country was far behind in luxury hotels and
resorts, and called on investors to take initiatives in this sector.
Karamanlis speaks on unemployment at Toulouse congress
The 12th Congress of the European Peoples' Party (EPP) opened here
yesterday, with discussion mainly focused on unemployment and policies
against it, as well as the European Union's enlargement.
At yesterday's council of EPP party leaders, attended also by New Democracy
party leader Costas Karamanlis, many officials expressed concern in
relation to decisions taken at the EU Amsterdam Summit on the policy to
tackle unemployment.
They stressed that apart from the framework of principles, there must also
be funding by the EU.
Mr. Karamanlis said "unemployment could prove an explosive affair in the
foundations of the union".
He further said that there was a need to support especially small and
medium-sized enterprises, which at EU level are regarded as a medium of
boosting economy.
The ND leader also briefed the EPP party leaders on prospects for Greece's
relations with Turkey, as well as the situation in the Balkans.
EPP officials see the 12th Congress as a historic one, since it will decide
on the merger of European Christian Democrats participating in centre-left
parties in central and eastern Europe.
Parliament President on five-day visit to Germany
Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis departed yesterday for Germany
for an official five-day visit at the invitation of his counterpart Rita
Suessmuth and the presidents of local parliaments.
Mr. Kaklamanis is scheduled to visit Munich, Bonn, Stuttgart and Berlin and
will meet with federal and local government officials.
He is also due to meet representatives of Germany's Greek communities.
Rhodes court awards compensation to family of AIDS victim
A Rhodes court awarded compensation of 100 million drachmas to the family
of an 11-year-old AIDS victim who died in 1992, for negligence in the
screening of blood supplies in the '80s, which resulted in the young girl's
contraction of the deadly virus.
Constantina, a sufferer of thalassaemia who needed frequent blood
transfusions, was diagnosed in 1986 as having contracted AIDS. The Appeals
Court of Rhodes heard that the local hospital which administered the
tranfusions, failed to immediately apply Health Ministry directives for the
compulsory AIDS screening of all blood supplies, introduced in September
1985. As a result patients in the Rhodes hospital received unchecked blood
until the end of that year, a fact which the court accepted as having cau
sed the girl's contracting the disease.
In the court's decision it is stated that Constantina's family were
subsequently isolated in the island community "in a way reminiscent of the
treatment towards lepers in the middle ages or the people with tuberculosis
before the war" and the girl was barred from attending school until the
Ministry of Education intervened.
The Ministry of Health has appealed the ruling and the case will now be
heard by the Council of State, the highest administrative court in the
country.
European study shows baby walkers unsafe
An announcement issued yesterday by the consumer organisation EKPOIZO, says
various baby walkers have been found unsafe and their use could even result
to injuries.
This was the outcome of a study in Europe carried out by 12 independent
consumer organisations on 31 models of such walkers.
The models are sold across Europe, and in Greece, too, and relate to both
cheap and expensive brands.
EKPOIZO, which participated in the study, said that the above baby walkers
do not really help toddlers to walk properly, while in some cases they
could be dangerous, since their speed can go relatively high for infants
and especially in homes with unlevel floors.
Greek First Division soccer results
Ionikos-PAOK 3 - 2 Panathinaikos-Xanthi 4 - 1
Kavala-Olympiakos 0 - 1 Athinaikos-Apollon 0 - 0
Heraklis-Proodeftiki 1 - 0 OFI-Pyrgos 3 - 2
Ethnikos-Panahaiki 0 - 0 Kalamata-Veria 1 - 0
AEK-Panionios play today Standings-points:
Ionikos, Panathinaikos 24 Olympiakos 21, AEK 19,
Apollon, Heraklis 17 Xanthi 14, PAOK 13
OFI 11, Panionios, Panahaiki 10
WEATHER
Fine weather with some cloudiness in most parts of Greece today with local
showers in the northwest in the afternoon. Light to moderate southwesterly
winds shifting to westerly in the evening. Athens will be sunny with some
clouds and temperatures from 15-22C. Overcast in Thessaloniki, with
temperatures from 11-15C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Friday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 258.891
Pound sterling 456.008 Cyprus pd 531.408
French franc 47.058 Swiss franc 192.785
German mark 156.878 Italian lira (100) 16.377
Yen (100) 221.334 Canadian dlr. 192.421
Australian dlr. 187.391 Irish Punt 405.978
Belgian franc 7.627 Finnish mark 52.342
Dutch guilder 139.670 Danish kr. 41.463
Swedish kr. 36.694 Norwegian kr. 38.947
Austrian sch. 22.602 Spanish peseta 1.993
Port. Escudo 1.655
(M.P.)
|
