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The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 99-10-20
From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <ert.ntua.gr/>
CONTENTS
[01] GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION CLASH OVER PROPOSED LOTTERY GAME
[02] UN SECRETARY GENERAL PLANS CYPRUS TALKS BEFORE EU SUMMIT
[03] ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE DOWN 0.68% YESTERDAY
[04] RUMANIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS ATHENS
[05] BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS PARTHENON MARBLES
[06] HOMELESS STAY IN TENTS DESPITE DOWNPOUR
[07] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS EMPLOYEES AGAINST NEW OPERATIONAL PLAN
[08] HYMN OF OLYMPIC TRUCE PRESENTED YESTERDAY
[09] FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER QUESTIONS EU ENLARGEMENT
[01] GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION CLASH OVER PROPOSED LOTTERY GAME
The confrontation between PASOK and the main opposition New Democracy
party over a proposed Olympic video-lotto is expected to come to a head
today, when the relative draft bill is tabled in parliament. The New
Democracy party leader, Kostas Karamanlis, who described the
video-lotto as a major political issue, has asked for a roll-call vote
and urged deputies to veto the bill. He also accused the government of
bowing to neo-feudalism and influencing mass media. The culture
minister, Elisavet Papazoi, and the sports undersecretary, Andreas
Fouras, told a press conference yesterday that the contract for the
lottery would ensure the transparency of the project. The justice
minister, Evangelos Yannopoulos, said a similar lottery was in
operation in 72 countries and that the revenue would go to sports,
culture and the state. He called on anyone with any evidence of illegal
dealings to have recourse to justice. The government spokesman,
Dimitris Reppas, said the New Democracy party belonged to an outdated
era and that scandal-mongering was threatening the smooth progress of
the country. He also claimed Mr Karamanlis was fabricating excuses for
his party's forthcoming electoral defeat.
[02] UN SECRETARY GENERAL PLANS CYPRUS TALKS BEFORE EU SUMMIT
Speaking from Madrid yesterday, the foreign minister, Giorgos
Papandreou, said the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, planned to
invite the Cypriot president, Glafkos Kliridis, and the Turkish Cypriot
representative, Rauf Denktash, to take part in a dialogue before the
European Union summit in Helsinki in December. However, after his
meeting in the occupied part of Cyprus yesterday with the American
envoys in the Cyprus dispute, Al Moses and Thomas Weston, Mr Denktash
reiterated his refusal to participate in direct talks with President
Kliridis. Today the two American diplomats are to have further
separate meetings with the Cypriot president and Mr Denktash.
[03] ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE DOWN 0.68% YESTERDAY
Sharp fluctuations and nervousness marked yesterday's session on the
Athens Stock Exchange. There was a significant rise at the start of the
day's transactions, followed by a drop which sent the general share
price index down by 0.68% to close at 5,392.32 points. The national
economy minister, Yannos Papantoniou, said the current fluctuations are
quite normal. Prime minister Kostas Simitis, for his part, said the
Greek economy will continue on its positive course. Meanwhile an
announcement about a marginal increase of the inflation rate in the
United States yesterday sent the Dow-Jones up by 0.97% and averted the
danger of a rise in short-term interest rates. European stock markets
also went up yesterday.
[04] RUMANIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS ATHENS
The progress of the stability pact in the Balkans and the need to
proceed rapidly with its implementation - to consolidate peace and
security in the region - were the focus of yesterday's talks between
the Greek prime minister, Kostas Simitis, and his Rumanian counterpart,
Radum Vasile. Mr Simitis reiterated Greece's support for Rumania's EU
accession. He described his meeting with Mr Vasile as cordial and warm,
and said it confirmed the excellent relations between the two
countries. He also pointed out that more than 1,680 Greek companies
were operating in Rumania today. For his part, the Rumanian prime
minister described his visit to Greece and his discussions with Mr
Simitis as an important step towards further improvement in bilateral
relations and closer economic cooperation. He underlined that Greek
enterprises could be more active and invest still more in Rumania,
particularly in the sectors of infrastructure, agriculture, technology
and light industries.
[05] BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS PARTHENON MARBLES
A British parliamentary committee is meeting to discuss the poor state
of preservation of the Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum and the
issue of their return to Greece. In an article yesterday, the British
newspaper "The Guardian" said that for the first time in two centuries
the British parliament might reconsider the British Museum's right to
the Parthenon marbles. For fifty years now, British Museum officials
have been covering up the fact that the marbles, which were
appropriated by Lord Elgin during Ottoman rule in Greece and are being
exhibited at the museum since 1816, had sustained considerable damage
during restoration work.
[06] HOMELESS STAY IN TENTS DESPITE DOWNPOUR
Despite offers by the government to provide alternative accommodation
in hotels, most of the people living in tents in the earthquake-hit
districts of Attica refused to leave their tents in yesterday's
downpour. They said they were concerned about theft and losing their
place in the queue for prefabricated homes.
[07] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS EMPLOYEES AGAINST NEW OPERATIONAL PLAN
Representatives of Olympic Airways employees on the company's
administrative board are expected to vote today against the new
operational plan for Greece's national air carrier. The plan includes
proposals to sell some of its aircraft and assets, increase employees'
working hours and absorb Macedonian Airlines.
[08] HYMN OF OLYMPIC TRUCE PRESENTED YESTERDAY
The hymn of the Olympic truce was presented at the Zappeion Mansion
yesterday by the Association of Greek Olympic Champions. The music for
the hymn was written by Thanos Mikroutsikos and the lyrics by Lina
Nikolopoulou. It constitutes a call for a worldwide ceasefire during
the period of the Olympic Games, as used to happen in antiquity. The
peace hymn will be heard for the first time on 16th December at the
annual award ceremony of the Olympic Champions in the Athens Concert
Hall.
[09] FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER QUESTIONS EU ENLARGEMENT
Hungary, Poland, the Czech republic, Cyprus, Slovenia and Estonia are
on the threshold of the EU and entry negotiations began a year ago.
However, French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine said in an interview
with the German weekly magazine "Die Welt" to be published on Monday
that he was against fixing a date for EU enlargement, including the
year 2003. In the interview, part of which was released last night, Mr
Vedrine stressed that before enlargement the EU should perfect its
institutions and only then would more countries be able to join the
union. Nevertheless, at last week's EU summit in Tampere, Finland, the
EU leaders accepted the candidacies of 6 more countries and decided
that entry negotiations would begin in late 1999.
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