Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-03-05

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr>

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 05/03/1998 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• No intervention in Kosovo, Athens says
• Greek position on Skopje unchanged
• Scuffles greet Simitis on university visit
• Kastoria police confused over what to do with mules
• Defence Minister to visit Georgia
• Seamen protest unemployment in sector
• Greek aid for Bosnia
• Mild correction on stock exchange
• Private casinos report turnover of 343 billion
• Weather
• Foreign Exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

The province of Kosovo belongs to Yugoslavia and any intervention motivated by the domestic affairs of another country should not be conceivable, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said today.

The spokesman made the statement when asked by reporters about the possibility of US military intervention in the strife-torn province of Kosovo.

Greek position on Skopje unchanged

The government said today that its position on the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) remained the same.

"Greece will not discuss a solution which in any way includes the word 'Macedonia' in the name of the neighbouring country," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said.

Stressing that Athens wanted the interim agreement signed by the two countries to be adhered to, he called on Skopje to contribute to efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution.

To date, Reppas added, Skopje had not done this, being firmly entrenched in their position.

Scuffles greet Simitis on university visit

Scuffles broke out between groups of students and the police today at the Panteio University in Athens shortly before the inauguration of a new library where Prime Minister Costas Simitis was scheduled to speak.

Simitis later officially inaugurated the new library as groups of students shouted and jeered.

Addressing the event, the prime minister underlined the special importance which both he and the government attached to libraries.

"The library is the nucleus of research and educational activity at a university," Simitis said, adding that funds totalling 25 billion drachmas had been allocated for the upgrading of libraries in a special programme under the Community Support Framework II.

Panteio Dean Aimilios Metaxopoulos stressed that Simitis was a member of the university community, having lectured there for a number of years. He noted that the premier had donated 4,000 books to the Panteio from his father's collection.

Today, the 8,000-square-metre library has 70,000 titles, while a further 40, 000 will soon be added. It also offers the very latest services, including Internet access.

The library employs a full-time staff of 24 and remains open 24 hours a day.

Kastoria police confused over what to do with mules

Fourteen trained mules that ran into a police ambush yesterday while transporting two tonnes of hashish over the Albanian border are posing a problem for Kastoria police, who have impounded the mules as "vehicles" used in a crime.

According to the law, the mules will be auctioned off after due legal process, but until then there is the problem of their care, since the Greek army no longer has either a cavalry or stables, while mules are now rare on Greek farms, where luxury jeeps are now more common.

One suggestion, to let them find their own way home again, has been rejected as irregular from the legal viewpoint and because of the likelihood they would soon be back bearing more drugs.

Until a decision is made, the mules are being kept under guard on a football field in the village of Dipotamia.

Defence Minister to visit Georgia

National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos leaves tonight for Georgia to officially hand over the search and rescue vessel "Lindos" to the Georgian navy.

The vessel is a gift from Greece within the framework of a bilateral military accord signed last year in Tbilisi.

The ceremony will take place in the port of Poti tomorrow, where the Lindos is arrive accompanied by the tank landing craft "Samos" with a cargo of humanitarian aid.

Seamen protest unemployment in sector

About 500 seamen held a demonstration in Piraeus today to protest widespread unemployment among merchant navy engineers.

Trade union leaders who addressed the protest rally charged that the government, instead of solving the problems was making them worse, resulting in an increase in unemployment.

After the rally, the protesters marched through Piraeus to the Merchant Marine Ministry building, where a committee asked to meet with Minister Stavros Soumakis who was however elsewhere.

The protesters said they would wait outside the building until Soumakis returns.

Greek aid for Bosnia

A Greek humanitarian aid mission left today for Bosina-Herzegovina to help war widows with children on the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8.

The Greek Solidarity Caravan will be handing over financial assistance from 5,500 Greek donors who have each "adopted" an orphan, and will meet with the president of the Republika Srpska, the Serb entity within Bosnia- Herzegovina, and the minister for health and war victims.

Mild correction on stock exchange

Greek equities came under mild profit-taking pressure at today's session on the Athens Stock Exchange, ending a two-day rally.

Traders said news of a small rise in interbank rates and outflows totalling 60 million US dollars at the drachma's fixing discouraged sentiment and led investors to early liquidation of recent gains.

The general index closed 0.23 percent down at 1,463.16 points. Sector indices were mixed. Banks fell 0.75 percent, Insurance was 0.73 percent down, Leasing rose 0.19 percent, Investment increased 0.23 percent, Construction ended 0.37 percent up, Industrials fell 0.57 percent, Miscellaneous was 0.10 percent higher and Holding fell 0.79 percent.

The parallel market index for small cap companies eased 0.51 percent, while the FTSE/ASE index ended at 817.10 points, down 0.29 percent.

Trading was heavy with turnover at 20.4 billion drachmas. Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation's shares rose another 145 drachmas to end at 6,085 in heavy volume of 1,074,120 issues.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 133 to 83 with another 21 issues unchanged.

European Credit, Tria Alpha and Ridenco scored the biggest percentage gains at the daily 8.0 percent upper volatility limit, while Viosol, Agrinio Metalplastic, Desmos and Ekter suffered the heaviest losses.

National Bank of Greece ended at 20,990 drachmas, Ergobank at 15,005, Alpha Credit Bank at 15,980, Delta Dairy at 2,930, Titan Cement at 14,140 and Intracom at 15,000.

Private casinos report turnover of 343 billion

Greece's private casinos' 1997 turnover totalled 343 billion drachmas, while state-owned casinos revenue totalled 50 billion in the last year, a development ministry official said.

He said that an average of 2,500 people were visiting the country's six private casinos on a daily basis, while another 850 were visiting the state's three casinos in Mount Parnes, Corfu and Rhodes.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(M.P.)

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