MPA NEWS IN ENGLISH (12/06/1996)

From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>

Macedonian Press Agency News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY IN ENGLISH

Thessaloniki, June 12, 1996

NEWS IN ENGLISH

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NEWS IN DETAIL

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[01] ATHENS PROTESTS TO ANKARA OVER YESTERDAY'S PROVOCATION

The greek government protested strongly to Turkey regarding the new provocation that was made yesterday, when a turkish warship violated the greek territorial waters and followed the greek hydrofoil "Marilena" in south-eastern Aegean in the sea region between the islands of Rhodes and Kos.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas referring to the greek-turkish relations stated today, that Turkey must undertake an initiative for the solution of the problem it has created.

Commenting on the statements made by turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, who maintained that there is no political dimension to the issue of Gavdos but Greece and Turkey must clear up their differences which stem from the ambiguities in international treaties, the greek government spokesman stressed that the government does not regard those statements as corrective.

Meanwhile, mr.Reppas responding to a question by a reporter clearly insinuated that the greek government is not satisfied with the position adopted by the german government regarding the turkish provocations.

[02] NO FUNDING FOR TURKEY AS LONG AS ISSUES REMAIN PENDING

Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos warned again today that there can be no EU funding for Turkey, for as long as the issues of Imia and Gavdos remain pending.

In statements he made after the meeting with his polish counterpart, mr.Pangalos characterized as "inadequate" the statement made yesterday by turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, according to which, the issue of Gavdos is a technical one without a political dimension.

Mr.Pangalos stressed that this statement does not rule out the existence of a problem, while he pointed out that the military in Turkey plays a political role and stressed that for as long as, Turkey does not state explicitly that the greek sovereignty over Gavdos is not in dispute, Greece will presume that this is another problem added to the other problems created by the neighbouring country.

The greek Foreign Minister also warned that Turkey will face the consequences of its stance in the greek-turkish relations and in its relations with the European Union.

Mr.Pangalos commenting on yesterday's statements made by german Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel which confirmed the policy of equal distances toward Athens and Ankara that is being followed by Bonn, characterized the position adopted by his german counterpart as inadequate and wrong.

He characteristically stated that the European Union can not keep equal distances toward an EU member state and a country with an associate status. He also said that the European Union can not talk about the enactment of a common foreign policy when it does not take a position on basic issues, such as the respect of treaties and borders.

Commenting on the italian EU Presidency decision to invite the turkish Foreign Minister to a formal dinner that will be held on the sidelines of the EU Summit meeting in Florence, Italy, mr.Pangalos characterized it as wrong and out of touch with reality.

[03] OPPOSITION PARTIES COMMENT ON GREEK-TURKISH RELATIONS

Main opposition New Democracy party stated today that the Greek people, when they stand united, will be able to face the unacceptable taunts and provocations recently hurled by Turkey.

New Democracy spokesperson prof. Prokopis Pavlopoulos pointed out that the government's tervigersations, which are driven by PASOK's inter-partu juxtapositions, have rendered the country's foreign policy unreliable.

Meanwhile, minor opposition party of Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras spoke this morning at the European Parliament's conference of European Parties that compose the "Union for Europe" oprganization in Dublin, Ireland.

Mr. Samaras addressed his colleagues and stated "I want to very simply tell you that Greece, a country that is a member of the EU, NATO and the Western European Union, is daily subjected to indirect threats of war from a neighboring country, a country that is constantly asking for Europe's aid, demands a constant empowerment from the EU and recently signed the very significant agreement for the Customs Union.

"Turkey, through its aggressive tactics towards Greece, follows methods that we all want to forget after the second World War."

[04] GREEK PREMIER SIMITIS BRIEFED BY FOREIGN MINISTER PANGALOS

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos met with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis today and briefed him on the latest developments in greek-turkish relations and the outcomes from yesterday's meeting with German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel.

As it made known yesterday, Germany has adopted a policy of "equal distancing" between Greece and Turkey, following the footsteps of the United States.

During yesterday's meeting with President Kostis Stephanopoulos and Mr. Pangalos, German Chancellor Helmut Khol and Mr. Kinkel refrained from adopting the greek request that the European Union give guarrantees for the greek borders, and proceeded to exert further pressures on Greece to lift its veto over Turkey's funding from the MEDA financing program.

[05] TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER SCRAMBLES TO EXPLAIN ANKARA OVER GAVDOS

In an effort to soften the negative blows issued by Ankara over the island of Gavdos, turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gionensay stated yesterday that there is no issue of territorial claims regarding specific geographical regions.

During his meeting with italian EU-presidency's representative, Mr. Gionensay characterized the Gavdos issue as an "intepretation matter" that has technical and military structure without political meaning.

[06] GAVDOS IS A GREEK ISLAND, SAYS BRITAIN'S FOREIGN OFFICE

A high-ranking official of the British Foreign Ministry said that Greece's sovereignty over the Gavdos island is not subject to questioning, according to statements broadcast by the BBC today.

"Britain does not have any doubts over the status of the Gavdos island, since Turkey does not provide any explanation regarding the relevant issue it brought forth at NATO and, as such, it proved that it was mistaken when it questioned the island's Greek sovereingty," stated the Foreign Office official, emphasizing that "therefore, and according to common sense, the British government considers Gavdos to be a Greek island."

[07] MINISTER OF DEFENCE TO PARTICIPATE IN NATO MINISTERS SUMMIT

Greek Minister of Defence, Gerasimos Arsenis and Chief of the National Defence General Staff wing-commander, Athanasios Tzoganis will arrive in Brussels this afternoon to participate in the NATO Defence Ministers Summit.

On the sidelines of the summit mr.Arsenis will have talks with his american, british, french and german counterparts and will outline to them the turkish provocations against Greece, while he is also expected to ask them to take a position on the situation.

[08] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS MEETS WITH SAXON PREMIER BIEDENKOPF

Greek President Konstantinos Stephanopoulos met with Prime Minister of Saxony Kurt Biedenkopf today, during his visit to Germany.

Following their meeting, President Stephanopoulos stated that his visit to Dresden carries a significant symbolism.

"We want to express our vast satisfaction over Germany's reunification, and over the fact the countries of the former East Germany follow quickly the path of the former West Germany and are making quick progress. I am sure that soon, there will be a united Germany, not only geographically, but economically, culturally and societally as well," the President said.

In turn, Premier Biedenkopf expressed his joy over Mr. Stephanopoulos' visit and stated that "you give us the feeling that we, here in Saxony, have been united not only with Germany, but with the rest of Europe as well."

[09] GREECE-FYROM TALKS IN NEW YORK TO BE CONTINUED

Under the aegis of United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy Cyrus Vance, the negotiations regarding the FYROM name were continued today between Athens and Skopje.

Greek Ambassador Christos Zacharakis and his counterpart from FYROM Ivan Tosevski agreed to continue the talks later this month, or perhaps at the beginning of July. The talks are being held within the framework of the intermediate agreement signed on September 1995.

[10] EU COMMITTEE APPROVES THESSALONIKI MAYOR'S LANGUAGE PROPOSAL

In the multi-faceted and multi-national information society that is growing at dizzying rates through the electronic media, a proposal that has been brought forth by Thessaloniki's Mayor Konstantinos Kosmopoulos and aims at protecting the language and national heritage of the small nations, has gained the unanimous approval by the European Regions Committee in Brussels today.

Mr. Kosmopoulos' proposal aims at providing electronic media with the means to carry information and logismics programs in a variety of languages and at offering a multi-language structure to the European Union's services.

According to Mr. Kosmopoulos, today's European society must adopt a multi-language character in order to secure the economic and societal cohesion among its regions.

"By offering language pluralism, all European citizens can equally participate in the right to information throught he use of their mother tongue," Mayor Kosmopoulos stated, in his address to the Committee's plenary session.

[11] PHENOMENON OF INCREASING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CONCERNS GREECE

The plight of illegal immigrants entering Greece, and the various ways of addressing this ever-increasing phenomenon, was the focus of a discussion held today by the Coordinating Committee on Refugees, under the presidency of Public Order Minister Kostas Geitonas.

Over a million of Albanian illegal immigrants to Greece have been sent back since 1991, according to recent data issued by the Public Order Ministry, and sweeping operations have cost Greece an astounding three billion drachmas, during last year alone.

According to the data, illegal aliens surge at the Greece- Turkey borders, where approximately one-third of the total would- be illegal aliens have been picked up by Greece's border patrols.

From Albania, in 1991, the number of illegal immigrants who were arrested and sent back to their countries rose to 84,259. One year later, in 1992, the number skyrocketed to 276,656. A slight drop was noted in 1993 when the arrested numbered 220,655, a fall that was continued in 1994 when they numbered 216,449.

In 1995 a rising tendency appeared again when the number of those arrested reached 239,908. This upward trend continued into 1996, where in the first five months alone, 102,221 Albanian illegal aliens were arrested. Currently, the number of albanian immigrants who reside legally in Greece is estimated at approximately 70,000.

Adding a troublesome dimension to the problem are the persons (known as bounty-hunters) who, against a steep fee, promise transportation -and often jobs- to those wishing to enter Greece covertly either by sea or through the grecoturkish border in the river of Evros . More than 2,000 of them have been arrested since 1991.

This morning Greek border police detected a turkish boat dropping off 21 Iraqui illegals on the Greek island of Lesvos.

[12] GREEK FETA CHEESE KEEPS COPYRIGHT, SAYS EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The European Commission gave its seal of authenticity today to the greek white cheese made by goat milk, exclusively by greek producers, thereby annulling any attempts made by European allies to gain a share of the market, specifically Denmark, which has attempted to call its white cheese, made from cow's milk, "feta" too.

The EC issued a list of 318 european secured products, foodstuffs that cannot be reproduced in close resemblance and called by the same name as the original, 45 of which are Greece's very own.

Greek Commissioner Christos Papoutsis, the nation's most fervent fighter in the "feta" cheese battle with Denmark, expressed his satisfaction at the Commission's decision and stated that "the EC recognizes the significance of protecting the european traditional foodstuffs which constitute a part of the cultural and economic tradition of the European peoples."

[13] GREECE-POLAND SIGN FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT

Friendship and cooperation agreement between Greece and Poland was signed today at the greek Foreign Ministry by greek Foreign Minister, Theodoros Pangalos and his polish counterpart mr.Rozati, who is on a two-day official visit to Athens.

After the meeting, mr.Pangalos characterized the greek-polish relations as old and good, while he stressed that both countries have a common history of struggle for freedom and independence against strong neighbours with expansionist aspirations.

Mr.Pangalos also assured mr.Rozati that Greece supports Poland's application for membership in the European Union and NATO. The greek Foreign Minister accepted an invitation to visit Poland, while greek President Stephanopoulos will also make an official visit to the country.

Mr.Pangalos referred to the polish community in Greece and underlined its contribution to the development of the greek economy. Finally, he stressed that he discussed with mr.Rozati the region's problems with an emphasis on Greece's relations with the neighbouring states and especially with Turkey.

The polish Foreign Minister also stressed the traditionally good relations between the two countries adding that they can be further developed, while he thanked mr.Pangalos for Greece's support to his country's application for membership in the EU and NATO.

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

[14] UN SEC-GEN'S REPORT ON CYPRIOT GUARD'S KILLING CHANGED SLIGHTLY

The United Nations have succumbed to Ankara's protests over the Secretary-General's bi-annual report, which holds the turk- cypriot side responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old Cypriot National Guardsman, and the document was changed from the original text.

The report refers to the murder of National Guardsman Stelios Panagis who was killed on June 3 at the island's disengagement area, and also blames the turk-cypriot side for obstructing the peacekeeping forces efforts to provide aid to the dying guardsman.

According to sources, the turkish diplomats were especially displeased by the fact that the report asked that legal charges be filed against those responsible for the killing and, as such, the amended version merely asks that the proper steps be taken.

Yet, in spite of the changes, the UN Secretary-General's report still maintains a critical spirit for the turkish side's actions. Of significant importance is considered a paragraph which states that the UNFICYP police have been asked to interrogate the Turkish soldier that shot Panagis.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Alekos Michaelides gave instructions to the Permanent Representatives of Cyprus in New York to issue a demarche to the UN regarding these alterations in the report. The Cypriot government is protesting the fact that turkish protestations were taken into consideration in order to conceal evidence.

The UN report's original version stated that Panagis was killed with malice by the turk-cypriot guard who fired his gun at the greek-cypriot in ambush. and also mentioned that the turkish soldiers shot three times and obstructed the peacekeeping forces men from getting to Panagis on time in order to transport him safely to a hospital. It is reported that Panagis still had a faint pulse when he was given first aid.

[15] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT SAYS THAT DECISIVE MEASURES MUST BE TAKEN BY UN

Cypriot Foreign Minister Alekos Michaelides stated that President Glafkos Clerides asked the United Nations Secretary- General Butros Ghali to undertake more decisive measures for solving the Cyprus problem, during their meeting in Geneva yesterday.

Mr. Michaelides, who is accompanying the Cypriot President, also stated that following th UN Secretary-General's meetings with Mr. Clerides and Turk-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, one cannot speak with abounding optimism, given the turkish side's intransigence.

The Foreign Minister reiterated the Greek-Cypriot side's insistance on finding common ground on the critical issues, prior to embarking on direct talks.

[16] 72 KURDISH REBELS KILLED BY TURKISH FORCES IN SOUTH-EASTERN TURKEY

Turkish Air Force jets bombed mountainous regions in the south-eastern part of the country, in order to stop kurdish separatist rebels from fleeing the region, while the clashes between the turkish armed forces and the kurds continue for a second day.

The turkish news agency Anadolu reported, that the latest clashes were the most violent in the past few months and at least 78 people were killed, among them 6 turkish soldiers.

According to turkish officials, last April were killed 120 kurdish rebels and 33 turkish soldiers.

Early this week, the kurdish PKK party announced that is lifting the unilateral cease-fire it had declared last December and threatened that will launch attacks on turkish cities.

In the past 12 years, at least 25 thousand people have lost their lives in the attacks launched by the kurdish separatist rebels and the military operations of the turkish armed forces in south-eastern Turkey.

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