Mr. Stefanopoulos will have discussions with the President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki this afternoon, on bilateral and international issues and will then greet the joint session of the National Parliament and the National Regional Council of South Afric a. He will also formally receive the Ministers of Education and Sports, and will attend a formal dinner held in his honor by his South African counterpart.

The goal of the President's visit to South Africa, is, on the one hand, to promote diplomatic relations between the two countries (noting that this is the first visit of the Greek President to SA), and, on the other, to reinforce Greek-South African busi ness relations and strengthen the ties with the Greek element living there.

The President is being accompanied by Deputy Foreign Ministers Giannis Magriotis and Andreas Loverdos, as well as a diplomatic entourage of 60 Greek businessmen.

Mrs. Papariga congratulated all powers on the significant, as she characterized it, victory of da Silva in the elections, and pointed out the solidarity of the Greek communists in the struggle for a new progressive and democratic people's course in Brazi l.

The Head of the Opposition was critical towards the government on developments in the Euroarmy issue and the "freezing" of the common agricultural policy. Essentially, the Brussels text is no different, concerning the Euroarmy, from the Ankara text, he s aid, and stressed that we are paying for the mistakes and carelessness of the government, while concerning the farmers he pointed out that their income will greatly decrease after 2006.

The information mentioned the arrests of 3-4 individuals, among which a woman and a member of the Xeros family. Specifically, two fingerprints of Avgoustinos Xeros, brother of "November 17" suspects Savvas, Vassilis and Christodoulos Xeros, were found in

the Patmos st. hideout, on a book and a sheet of iron.

Avgoustinos Xeros is expected to testify before Special Examiner Leonidas Zervobeakos within the next few days, concerning the fingerprints.

Specifically, Mr. Christodoulakis clarified that the economic staff came to a new prediction on next year's growth rate expecting it to be slightly lower than 4% compared to 4.1%, predicted in the 2003 draft budget.

The revised prediction is believed to reflect more realistically the prospects of the Greek economy in the turbulent international environment.

The new state budget is expected to be prepared based on the predicted growth rate of 3.8%, meaning that there will be changes on revenues and spending.

The research revealed that 21%-28% of the Greek population cannot meet even the most basic needs, like housing and food, while 65% maintains its life model through loans, according to the INKA statement.

Therefore, 1/5 of the Greeks cannot be characterized as "consumers", with the contemporary meaning of the term, while 1/3 of them actually live on credit.

According to its site on the Internet, the Turkish Cypriots will keep 24-26% of the Cypriot territory, while they will have to return occupied land in the regions of Morfu and Famagusta.

It is also stressed that, in case the draft plan is accepted by both sides, it will have to be ratified through referendums by April 2003.

Commenting to MPA on the issue, governing Socialist Party of PASOK Parliament deputy Stelios Papathemelis stated that if the information is confirmed it will mean that the Turkish views are accepted and the fait accompli of the Turkish invasion is legali zed. In addition, a grotesque state entity will be created on the map, which will be inherently unable to function. Mr. Papathemelis also stated that the political leaderships of Greece and Cyprus should rise to the occasion and reject the draft plan in a bhorrence.

The general index rose to +0.49% at 1.782,40 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 55.5 million Euro.

Of the stocks trading today, 190 recorded gains and 99 had losses, while the value of 86 stocks remained unchanged.

Summit Meeting and the developments on national issues.

The United Nations study draft proposals on the solution of the political problem in Cyprus. This was a request made by Cyprus and Greece a long time ago. We should realize, said the Prime Minister, that on the way to the completion of Cyprus' EU accessi on, namely in the following weeks and months, it is likely to have to answer difficult questions and make crucial choices. Caution and calm are needed now to move on, said Mr. Simitis.

On the issue of the Euro-army, he said that the decisions reached in Brussels constitute an important step. He clarified that according to the solution that is being promoted, the EU and NATO member-states will not be able to resort to the use of force, threaten the use of force or promote the change of external borders.

He stressed that Greece, as the country that holds the EU presidency on issues of defense, did its duty by presenting proposals and forming solutions and for this reason it hopes that there will be a response by all those involved. They are responsible t o clarify obscurities allowing the EU to play the important role it has in the international community, stressed the Prime Minister.

Mr. Protopapas observed that from time to time the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot sides had discussed different proposals but there is no specific UN plan.

Finally, the government spokesman stated that for a solution to the Cyprus problem to be accepted it will have to respect the single international personality of Cyprus, and its single sovereignty and nationality, while it will have to be functional, via ble and compatible with the European standards.

Mr. Beglitis refuted "Flash" radio sources that claimed that Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan has a plan for the resolving of the Cyprus issue, which foresees the forming of two federal states with joint representation. "Flash"'s website also indic ated that the Turkish Cypriots would keep 24%-26% of the area and would return the areas of Ammochostos and Morfos.

Specifically, Mr. Beglitis observed: "There is a lot of information. At times we see scenarios and solution plans in newspapers. At present UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has no complete plan. On the contrary, I would say that he has even decided on whe n the plan is even to be submitted. Therefore, discussion a solution plan and a series of other issues that would constitute a solution plan is very premature". Turkish Cypriots becoming a minority

It is necessary for the Council of Europe to take certain measures due to "the real danger of the Turkish Cypriots becoming a minority in their own territory", due to Turkish settlers, underlined Spokesperson of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the issue of settlements in occupied Cyprus, Finnish MP Jaakso Laakso.

Mr. Laakso, who is visiting Cyprus, had a meeting yesterday with the President of the Cypriot Parliament, Dimitris Christofias, after which he stated he was not allowed access to the occupied territories. As he mentioned, despite the difficulties, he wil l complete his report and will submit it to the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE in Spring.

He did not go into details concerning the necessary measures so as to ensure that Turkish Cypriots do not become a minority, however he did state he was going to propose a census in the area.

Mr. Stephanopoulos, who is on a four-day formal visit to the country, referred to the hard times of apartheid and the creation of institutions like the African Union and the New Cooperation for the Development of Africa (NEPAD). He also referred to the s uccessful World Conference Against Racism and the Earth Summit, which brought the African continent a step closer to the elimination of famine, violence and xenophobia.

Mr. Stephanopoulos also referred to the over-a-century long presence of the Greek community in the country and outlined Greece's geopolitical role, while he pointed out that the Cyprus problem must be solved based on the UN principles and resolutions.

He referred to the problem of international terrorism, stressing that there is a need to deal with the phenomenon within the framework of International Law, while the causes that give birth to it should be eliminated.

On globalization, he said that the rich countries have to help the poorer countries and assist in the eradication of economic and social inequalities. He also expressed his support to the promotion of the EU-South Africa relations through the Trade, Deve lopment and Cooperation Agreement.

On the second day of his visit to Cape Town, Mr. Stephanopoulos was received by his South African counterpart at the Presidential Building.

Mr. Mbeki stressed that their talks focused on the further improvement of bilateral relations, international developments, mainly in the Middle East and Iraq, the Cyprus problem and the economic development of South Africa. Referring to the Greeks of Sou th Africa, Mr. Mbeki underlined that their presence is very important.

Mr. Stephanopoulos referred to the close ties between Greece and South Africa and the leading economic and political role of South Africa. He also invited Mr. Mbeki to visit Greece and the South African President accepted the invitation.

The Greek President said that he invited his South African counterpart to visit Greece to further strengthen bilateral relations and stressed that 60 Greek businessmen accompany him to his visit to South Africa. He added that the goal is to further expan d bilateral economic relations and underlined the role played toward this direction by the estimated 50.000 Greeks and Cypriots living in the country.

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