Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-11-18
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 18/11/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- 6.6 quake rocks Greece, strong aftershocks expected
- Monks attacked on Mount Athos
- Premier stresses state's role in development
- Mirage 2000-5 lands at Tanagra for test flights
- Kranidiotis: German positions on Greek-Turkish relations
- Tsohatzopoulos attends WEY meeting
- Multinational PfP military exercise in Macedonia
- Greek reservations on first Euro participants proposal
- Gov't sees new round of commercial bank rate hikes
- Greek bourse dumps plan to go public
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
6.6 quake rocks Greece, strong aftershocks expected
A strong earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale shook Patras and the
surrounding region ealry this afternoon. Police say no damages have been
reported, although the quake caused panic among residents of Patras and the
nearby Ionian island of Zakynthos.
Its epicentre was situated in the sea bed south of Zakynthos, 290 km south-
southwest of Athens, according to the Geodynamic Institute.
The quake was felt throughout the Peloponnese and in western Greece.
Later, press sources said the 6.6 Richter earthquake, which occurred as
15.09 this afternoon, caused minor damage to farms in the prefecture of
Ileia as well as to shops on the island of Zakynthos. They reported that
life in the town of Patras was returning to normal after the initial
panic.
Athens Geodynamic Institute director George Stavrakakis said another shock
measuring 6.0 Richter was recorded at 15.13, coming from the same area. He
said that strong aftershocks could be expected considering the strength of
the initial quake. He advised people to remain calm and called for an
examination of buildings in the area for damages.
Monks attacked on Mount Athos
Two monks have been attacked in separate incidents at the Mt. Athos
monastic community in northern Greece, police said today.
They said Brother Ioakeim was attacked and injured by two unidentified
assailants, possibly Albanians, in his cell outside the Karyes Monastery
late Monday night.
The assailants stabbed the monk three times and disappeared when he started
calling out for help, police said.
In a second incident, an unidentified man attacked Brother Alexandros in
his cell also near Karyes monastery this morning. The monk grappled with
the assailant, who was carrying an axe, police said. Brother Alexandros
suffered two axe wounds to his hands.
Police said that the assailant again fled when the monk started calling for
help.
Brother Ioakeim was being treated in hospital in Polygyros, while Brother
Alexandros was given first aid at the Karyes infirmary.
Police said the motives behind the attacks were not known, while a manhunt
has been launched for the assailants.
The two latest attacks have caused serious concern in the all-male monastic
community, as they followed a bloody incident last month between Pontic
Greeks near the Vatopediou monastery in which one person was killed.
A number of illegal aliens have been working at Mt. Athos in recent years
on monastery repairs and in the monasteries' fields.
Premier stresses state's role in development
Prime Minister Costas Simitis yesterday underlined the need of maintaining
the state's role as a "lever" of development and a guarantor of social
justice, while addressing a regional conference in Thessaloniki entitled
"Public Administration in Transition ."
"The demand of confirming the role of the state and of its modernisation is
determined more and more by increasing concern over visible dangers. The
problems of poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation and organised
crime cannot be tackled with the administration's passive stance," he told
ministers, diplomats and public officials from some 22 central, eastern
European and former Soviet Union republics.
The conference, which began yesterday, is organised by the Greek interior,
public administration and decentralisation ministry and the UN's economic
and social affairs agency, UNDESA, and aims at defining the roles and needs
of developing European count ries in their transition to new conditions,
particularly in the sector of public administration. Representatives of
international organisations such as the United Nations, World Bank, the
European Investment Bank, OECD and the European Union are also attending.
"In Greece we have implemented a wide plan to strengthen decentralisation
with the transfer of duties from the centre to the region and the upgrading
of local self-administration at all levels. In this way, the administration
will operate as close to th e citizen as possible. We are also promoting
modernisation programmes at a speedy rate for administrative infrastructure
and additional training for cadres," he added.
"The region's past teaches us that traps exist which we must avoid,
national rivalries, national antagonisms and the view of the one's
suzerainty over the other. Let us turn our glance to the future. Nothing is
more important that consolidating peace.
Mr. Simitis said that in the morning representatives of the UN discussed
the possibility of establishing an International Centre which could include
regional centres. He added that Greece, being a European Union member-state
and a founding member of the UN, would be pleased and honoured to host and
promote this creative initiative in Thessaloniki.
The conference is the second of its kind organised by the UN, which is also
creating an information centre to promote specialised knowledge and
international cooperation on government, public administration and economy.
The centre will be based at UN headquarters in New York, with regional
bureaus in each continent.
Mirage 2000-5 lands at Tanagra for test flights
A French-made Mirage 2000-5 fighter landed at Tanagra Air Base yesterday,
with Hellenic Air Force pilots ready to test-fly the plane in the next few
days.
At the same time, the chief of the general air staff, Lt. Gen. Georgios
Antonetsos, began a customary visit to France yesterday at the invitation
of his counterpart, Gen. Jean Ranoux.
Kranidiotis: German positions on Greek-Turkish relations
Foreign Undersecretary Yiannos Kranidiotis began a series of contacts with
German officials in Bonn yesterday, aimed at exploring "the German factor"
in diplomatic efforts towards progress in Greek-Turkish relations and the
Cyprus issue.
Yesterday Mr. Kranidiotis met with Foreign Undersecretary Peter Hartmann
and was to meet later with other officials.
The question for Greece is how far Bonn is in a position, or even willing,
to encourage Ankara to improve relations with Greece, giving the latter
more flexibility in considering Turkey's future in the European Union.
"If this prospect is not secured, the German side must get used to the idea
that Greece will use its right of veto regarding Turkish participation in
the European Conference," said Mr. Kranidiotis.
The political climate in Bonn with regard to both Greek-Turkish relations
and Cyprus is not considered particularly favourable.
Germany believes Greece should lift the freeze on EU funds to Turkey as a
goodwill gesture.
German diplomats stress that a prerequisite for Cyprus' accession
negotiations should be a political solution to the Cyprus problem. Germany
also believes that the participation of Turkish Cypriots in the Cypriot
Republic delegation is not feasible, implying that a way should be found to
accept, if not recognise, the "existing separate entity of northern
Cyprus".
Speaking later at a closed session of the Institute of the German Foreign
Society at noon, Mr. Kranidiotis reiterated that the Cyprus problem was not
a bilateral issue, but one of invasion and occupation, and called on the US
and the EU to exercise their influence on Turkey in the direction of a bi-
zonal, bi-communal federative solution.
He stressed that Greek and the Greek Cypriot side had accepted such a
solution, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the island's
inhabitants were Greek Cypriots.
Mr. Kranidiotis laid emphasis, on the need for Turkey to accept the
principles of international law and the mechanisms envisaged for dealing
with problems. He pointed out that Greece had recognised the compulsory
jurisdiction of the International Court at The Hague, while Turkey did not,
despite the fact that the European Commission itself has noted in a report
that the countries wishing to enter the EU must do so.
Tsohatzopoulos attends WEU meeting
National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos arrived in Germany yesterday
to attend a meeting of Western European Union (WEU) defence ministers,
which opened yesterday and continues today.
In an arrival statement, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos described the WEU meeting as
crucial, since specific decisions will be taken at organisational and
political levels to enable the Union perform its new duties as the EU's
defence wing.
The Greek minister announced he will have a meeting with his British
counterpart, as Greece is taking over the WEU presidency in January
1998.
Commending on develoments in Iraq, the defence minister expressed his
concern with regard to the latest developments, saying "he could not
imagine of any action that could lead to a new confrontation" saying he was
in favour of a peaceful settlement of the Iraqi problem, reiterating that
international principles must be respected.
Multinational PfP military exercise in Macedonia
A hypothetical natural disaster in western Macedonia in combination with a
possible theft of military equipment from units in the area comprise the
scenario for the multinational 'Prometheus 97' military exercise, being
held in the fremework of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme. The
final phase of the exercise, whose scenario partly reminds of recent events
in Albania and Somalia, will take place on November 22 in the Polykastro
and Edessa areas.
Taking part in the exercise are 38 officers and so ldiers from Albania, 27
from Armenia, 29 from Bulgaria and 47 from the Netherlands. The 33rd
Hellenic Army Brigade, participating with about 200 men, also belongs to
the NATO's "Rapid Reaction Force" in SE Europe.
The exercise will be attended by observers from Italy, Romania and
Poland.
Greek reservations on first Euro participants proposal
National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou yesterday expressed Athens'
reservations regarding a French-German proposal for an informal consultation
process prior to the 15 EU finance ministers council among countries that
will adopt the Euro currency.
He stressed that Greece, along with the other countries did not envisage to
join the euro from the beginning (Britain, Denmark and Sweden) consider
that such a process held an inherent danger of substituting for the
responsibilities of the Ecofin counci l.
He admitted that "of course, no one can prevent the ministers of the
various member-states from meeting on an informal basis," but stressed that
"it is unacceptable for such informal meetings to acquire a formal
character and derive this from from offic ial Community documents".
Mr. Papantoniou noted that a way out would be for the non-participants in
euro to take part in such meetings as observers.
Gov't sees new round of commercial bank rate hikes
Major Greek commercial banks raised deposit and loan rates yesterday in the
wake of hikes on Friday by Alpha Credit Bank and the National Bank of
Greece.
In another move National Economy Miniuster Yiannos Papantoniou urged
bankers to show restraint saying that banks could offset part of the losses
inflicted by a recent monetary crisis through their portfolios, which would
show huge gains for the year.
He urged banks not to transfer the cost to the consumer by raising interest
rates.
Commercial Bank, the second largest state bank, Ergobank, Bank of Attica
and Xiosbank announced rises on deposit and loans of 25 basis points to 1.5
percentage points.
The government and bankers are awaiting a move by mortgage banks on
interest rates. State Mortgage Bank's decision will be of particular
interest as it controls at least 60 percent of the Greek housing market.
Greek bourse dumps plan to go public
The Athens Stock Exchange yesterday approved a proposal to expand its
shareholder base through a private placement, abandoning a plan to hold a
public offering and enter the mnarket.
The Greek state, the Athens bourse's owner, will be able to transfer part
of its stake to institutional investors, bypassing the need to negotiate
new shares on the market.
The decision came as a disappointment to the market which expected that
Greece's national economy ministry would seek the flotation of the stock
market's equity capital.
Weather
Intermittent rain and storms are forecast for most parts of Greece today.
Winds will be variable moderate to strong. Athens will be partly cloudy
with spells of sunshine and temperatures between 9-16C. Thessaloniki will
be rainy with temperatures from 4-10C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Monday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 270.489
Pound sterling 456.935 Cyprus pd 530.720
French franc 46.469 Swiss franc 191.158
German mark 155.620 Italian lira (100) 15.897
Yen (100) 216.196 Canadian dlr. 191.357
Australian dlr. 189.323 Irish Punt 406.224
Belgian franc 7.545 Finnish mark 51.703
Dutch guilder 138.072 Danish kr. 40.894
Swedish kr. 35.789 Norwegian kr. 38.212
Austrian sch. 22.122 Spanish peseta 1.845
Port. Escudo 1.528
(M.P.)
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