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BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN (16/11/1995)From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@uranus.eng.auth.gr>Macedonian Press Agency DirectoryBRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, November 16, 1995NEWS IN ENGLISH[01] SITUATION AT KORIDALOS PRISON STILL UNEASY[02] PROPOSALS FOR GRECOTURKISH DIALOGUE,AN EXERCISE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS[03] GREEK POSITION ON WAR REPARATIONS LEGALLY VALID, SAYS ATHENS[04] TURKEY CAN NOT IGNORE EUROPEAN AGREEMENTS WITH CYRPUS[05] THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL ENVOY TO CYPRUS INTENDS TO RESIGN[06] NEW DEADLINE FOR PRESENTATION OF FILES OF MISSING IN CYPRUS[07] THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENT IS ON A FORMAL VISIT TO AUSTRALIANEWS IN ENGLISH[01] SITUATION AT KORIDALOS PRISON STILL UNEASYFree inmates lost their lives today due to a drug overdose which they received during the occupation of the prisons of Koridalos, near Athens which has been under the full control of the inmates since Tuesday and still today no one knows who is in charge of the prison although the inmates seem ready to give it to the guards. The prison staff in a meeting held this morning in the presence of the Justice Ministry Secretary General set a number of conditions in order to return to their posts, despite assurances they had received from prisoners that they will be helped in the disarming of all those prisoners who had hand-made weapons such as sticks, knives and iron bars. The occupation of the prison had created a great uneasiness in the greek capital and damages are estimated to amount to 500 million drachmas (2 million dollars). Last night the inmates had released the last six members of the prison staff they were holding as hostages and had gradually started to return to their cells after assurances by the Justice Ministry that their demands will be met. Police said that the prisoners, most of whom are said to be foreigners, had gone on a rampage and had raided the prison pharmacy for drugs, set fires and some of them made unsuccessful attempts to escape. According to a police spokesman, 18 inmates have been injured in clashes among greek and foreign prisoners, while no information is confirmed on rumours that that there had been numerous escapes and that tunnels have been being dug by prisoners. Yesterday, the Justice Ministry had pledged to improve the living conditions in the prison and to meet the prisoners' demands who were calling for better food, improved medical care and reduction of the number of inmates in the prison. The Koridalos Prison currently houses about 1.500 inmates inspite of the fact that it was built for not more than 500 prisoners. [02] PROPOSALS FOR GRECOTURKISH DIALOGUE,AN EXERCISE OF PUBLIC RELATIONSGreek Foreign Ministry spokesman ambassador Constantinos Bikas characterized as "public relations exercise" yesterday's statements made by his turkish counterpart over Greece's rejection of Turkey's proposal for a dialogue between the two countries. The turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman in an interview he gave yesterday accused Greece of rejecting the turkish proposal for the "solution of all existing problems between the two countries through dialogue". Mr. Bikas underlined that Greece remains firm in its proposal for discussions at Foreign Ministry directors' level in order so that all the secondary issues including the issue of illegal immigration, be examined. The greek Foreign Ministry spokesman also clarified that if Greece had accepted the proposal for a dialogue it would be the same as recognizing the turkish claims in the Aegean Sea. Ambassador Bikas reiterated that the only open issue between the two countries is the one concerning the continental shelf adding that the greek government has proposed to bring the issue to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. [03] GREEK POSITION ON WAR REPARATIONS LEGALLY VALID, SAYS ATHENSGreek Foreign Ministry spokesman ambassador Constantinos Bikas refused today to give details on the next steps the greek government intends to take concerning the issue of the german war reparations and the repayment of the obligatory occupation loan Greece was forced to give to the Nazi forces during the Second World War. Mr. Bikas stated that "Greece has studied all possible scenarios" and when asked whether Greece will bring the issue to the European Court of Justice, the greek Foreign Ministry spokesman did not make any comment but he left the issue open as he pointed out that "Greece believes that its position is legally valid". Yesterday, greek government spokesman Tilemachos Hitiris stated that the issue was very important adding that Greece will try to resolve the dispute with its friend Germany using all peaceful means. [04] TURKEY CAN NOT IGNORE EUROPEAN AGREEMENTS WITH CYRPUSThe turkish government has to respect the provisions of the agreement for the customs union between the European Union and Turkey and to comply with the obligations undertaken concerning the conclusion of agreements with the Cypriot Republic terminating the trade transactions with the turkish occupied part of Cyprus. This response was given by the Council of Ministers to mr Yiannos Kranidiotis member of the European parliament elected in the lists of the greek ruling party of PASOK which belongs to the Socialists group. Mr Cranidiotis had asked to be informed on the Council's reaction to the statements concerning the isssue which turkish Prime Minister ms Tansu Chiller and Minister for relations with the Union mr Ergiun Kirdja. Ms Chiller and mr Kirdja had stated on October 14th that the customs union agreement does not force Turkey to recognize the agreements the Union had made with the Cypriot Republic and to implement the decisions of the european organizations concerning the trade transactions with the turkish occupied northern Cyprus which are regarded as illegal. [05] THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL ENVOY TO CYPRUS INTENDS TO RESIGNThe UN Secretary General special envoy to Cyprus Joe Clark announced his intention to resign from his post. According to the cypriot state radio and television correspondent in New York, mr.Clark's move aims at averting the presentation of a unanimous proposal by the five permanent members in the UN Security Council calling for his immediate replacement. This development speeds up the process for his replacement and according to the cypriot correspondent most favourite to be appointed to the post before the end of the year is a swiss diplomat. [06] NEW DEADLINE FOR PRESENTATION OF FILES OF MISSING IN CYPRUSThe United Nations gave an extension of a few days to the greek-cypriot side in order to present to the Exploratory Committee the last files on those still missing since the turkish invasion to Cyprus. The previous deadline set by the UN Secretary General dr Boutros Boutros Ghalli had ended yesterday but the greek-cypriot authorities had not completed the sorting out of the files which will not be presented to the committee. Based on this development and taking into account the fact that every possible effort is being made for the completion of this work as soon as possible, the UN Secretary General's representative in the Committee informed the greek-cypriot side that the international organization has decided to extend for a few more days the timetable set for the presentation of the files. [07] THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENT IS ON A FORMAL VISIT TO AUSTRALIAPrime Minister of New South Walles in Australia, Bob Karr supported the complete restoration of the rights of the cypriot people and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Cyprus. In a statement he made after meeting President Kliridis of Cyprus in Sidney, last stop of mr Kliridis's visit to Australia, Mr Carr made excellent reference and praised the contribution of the cypriot community to the development of New South Walles. |