Iraq, a fact pointed out by Greece's political leadership in statements made after the parade. There was a strong antiwar undertone in the parade in Thessaloniki.

[02] HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION OF THE CHURCH

"What can one say when near us we can hear the battle cries of war, the sound of weapons, the cries of the wounded and the mourning of those who have lost and are losing their loved ones daily", asked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos in his message. An order for the construction of refugee camps in Jordan and Syria by the Greek Church's NGO "Solidarity", was given by Archbishop Christodoulos.

Tomorrow, Mr. Simitis will brief the Greek Parliament on the positions of Greece and the EU in the discussion at the party leader level on the Iraq war issue.

Greece has reserves for 90 days he said, and observed that the understandings with OPEC and Arab countries have shown that the guarantee given by OPEC that there are reserves that will be offered if the need arises, is real.

Within the next few days, price checks will begin in Thessaloniki gas stations in the framework of the price observatory, and the aim is for it to extend throughout the country.

"There is a European position on this issue and Greece (individually) has no interests from a dispute on this problem. But there was great interest on behalf of the European Union, in the decisions at last weeks Summit Meeting in fact, and their importan ce will become evident as the present phase of the Iraq crisis develops. Of course we tried to avert the war with our diplomatic actions all this time, with initiatives with the Arabs, with discussions and in the UN. Unfortunately, the war began with the images we saw causing grief and sorrow, and with, of course, a humanitarian problem in the making. But in relation to Turkey and every neighboring country, the EU has stressed that above all, the international community must guarantee the wholeness and in tegrity of Iraq. On the other hand we have said that we recognize the problems that neighboring countries may have, especially as far as the refugee wave is concerned. But there is also a third point which we would like to mention as the EU, that says tha t neighboring countries must not involve themselves in and must restrain themselves on this issue, so that the crisis in the region is not broadened.

"I had consecutive meetings with Kofi Annan, Mr. Gul and Mr. Grossman on behalf of Washington on the issue. On Turkey's side there are public assurances that they do not intend to enter Iraq, while they referred to the refugee issue and their fears for p ossible, as they call them, acts of terrorism. At the same time, however, I can say that Europe and the US have stressed that Turkey's implication in the region could cause especially large problems."

Meanwhile in statements to NET, the Minister on National Defense, Giannos Papantoniou, stated he was against any changes in boarders internationally. Mr. Papantoniou pointed out that Greece is watching the developments closely and pointed out the clear d angers a Turkish invasion of Iraq could have.

At the same time, Minister of Energy Akis Tsochatzopoulos called the attention of the international community and the European Union to Turkey's actions concerning Iraq.

The number of countries involved in the war does not need to increase, he said characteristically, while making it clear that any movement by Ankara into north Iraq would equate a direct Turkish involvement in the war with everything that entails. If the re is such an involvement, the EU should reexamine Turkey's European prospects. "If Turkey joins the war, it has nothing to do with Europe, said the Minister, who called Ankara to clarify whether its interests are oriented towards Europe or towards the Ea st.

Mr. Tsochatzopoulos expressed his satisfaction with the expression of a large social movement against the war, outside and beyond political parties, embracing the masses.

"It is an unfair war and there is a problem of international legality", he commented on the war in Iraq. As far as information regarding the war in Iraq is concerned, not even 1/5 of what we learn is true, according to Mr. Tsochatzopoulos' estimation.

He characterized the position of the EU as "clear", as it was expressed at the Brussels Summit Meeting, and stressed that the fact that Greek Presidency has achieved two joint statements, taking into account all the disagreements within the EU, is very i mportant.

"All those who believed that this war was going to last just a few days have been proven wrong", said the deputy Minister, who added: "This war is singular due to its goal. It is a variation and an interchanging between military operations, propaganda, a nd parallel negotiations both for the development of the war and for the "next day" (of the war).

In any case, this is a non-legalized war, a unilateral war that has overturned international law, circumvented international organizations, it must stop. And that is our message, that is our position. The international community must have a say both in t he development of the war, and even more so in the "next day" (of the war), on the new regime in Iraq and of course on the region's stability and security. These are the positions that Greece is proposing within the European Union and everywhere it has a chance, whether that is the Arab League or the United Nations".

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Nikos Christodoulakis, who represented the government at the celebrations for March 25 in Heracleon, stated that "the Greek government, with the securing of Greece's national interests and the security of the country and of

Greek citizens in mind, has categorically stated that it is neither participating nor is implicated in the war efforts".

As Mr. Christodoulakis pointed out, Greece "is working hard and with dedication within international organizations and especially in the EU, so that the negative consequences of the war can be limited and so that the international community can find a st eady pace in order to resolve its differences and so that we can cooperate and progress even more".

The statements of the President of the Coalition of the Left, Nikos Constantopoulos, moved along the same lines: "The war must stop immediately. Everything else is provocative hypocrisy", stressed Mr. Constantopoulos in the framework of the March 25 cele brations.

"Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair have turned against humanity. They are destroying the international community, dismantling the UN, undermining European integration", he added.

Sending his message for the national celebration, the President of the Coalition pointed out that this is a struggle for peace, freedom and solidarity, "so that human lives, democracy and culture can be placed above the minds and weapons of Bush and Blai r".

The attorney of the Aggelopoulos family, Alexandros Lykourezos, asked the court that Patroklos Tselentis testify as a witness; Tselentis had given details to the authorities on the specific case during his preliminary testimony, which he has not repealed

so far.

The President of the court, Michalis Margaritis, asked Tselentis to take the stand, and he repeated that he was on the motorcycle with Christodoulos Xeros, and that it was Xeros who shot and killed D. Aggelopoulos.

When Christodoulos Xeros was asked to comment on the case, he denied any implication and underlined: "The things that I have allegedly confessed are fabricated. Patroklos Tselentis does not know me and I do not know him. He wants to be handled gently thr ough the special provisions of the terrorism law and that is why he is saying these things. I was not there, no witness has described a tall fat man, as I used to be then".

In any case, during Monday's hearings, Giorgos Dimitropoulos, driver of D. Aggelopoulos, recognized Christodoulos Xeros as the man observing the car a few months prior to the killing.

The hearings will continue with testimonies on the bombings of the two buses transporting US troops in Redi and Kavouri.

An antiwar rally at the Venizelos statue has been organized by the Greek Social Forum, to be followed by a protest march through downtown Thessaloniki, on March 29, at 1pm.

Also, two antiwar concerts will be held in Thessaloniki tomorrow. One will be held at the statue of Venizelos, organized by the Thessaloniki Antiwar Committee in cooperation with the "Doctors Without Boarders" and "Initiative for Peace", beginning at 11a m and ending at 6pm, while the other at the city hall of the Municipality of Kalamaria, with the slogan "Culture against war", at 7pm.

Further antiwar events will be held in Crete, with an antiwar rally to be held today in the square of the Rethymno city hall, after the initiative of the University of Crete and the participation of all prefecture bodies, while an antiracist event will b e held at the Heracleon Theatrical Station, to be followed by an antiwar rally in Eleftheria square.

Meanwhile, former EuroMP and Evros MP Akis Gerontopoulos raised a flag for peace from the Alexandroupoli lighthouse. The flag had the word "peace" written on it in Greek and Italian, and Mr. Gerontopoulos presented the Evros-Rodopi Prefect with one of th e same.

Yiannis Magriotis to MPA.

Mr. Magriotis stated that the European Union and Washington have stated clearly to Turkey that it should not be involved in the operations in northern Iraq and that the UN will help it face any security and humanitarian problems.

He referred to the domestic instability recorded in the neighboring country mainly due to its economic problems and spoke of inconsistencies regarding its strategy on Iraq to which it is being led because of its political deadlocks.

Mr. Magriotis stated that Turkey should not export its problems to the region of Kurdistan, while he expressed concern over the likelihood of instability.

On the international community, he said that it should be involved in the efforts concerning the day after the war. He said that the countries in the EU and the UN Security Council that reacted to the war should call on Washington to give answers regardi ng the outcome of the war and the day after. In a different case, the new US dogma will be confirmed namely, the preventive wars and the by-passing of international organizations.

The attacks on New York and Bali, the violence in the Middle East, the assassination of Djindjic are not unrelated events. They are parts of a long war waged on different levels, a war that has already begun and continues. The risk is that violence will bring more violence in an endless chain of decades and furthermore, this violence will acquire a foundation based on reason, added Mr. Giannitsis.

Mr. Giannitsis backed a two-speed Europe regarding foreign policy and defense and announced Greek EU Presidency initiatives to restore the EU-US relations in a process that will take time because it is hard and needs moves that should be made by both sid es.

Specifically, regarding the Greek-US relations, he said that Greece is a member of the EU and there is no issue of a choice to be made by Greece between the EU and the United States.

Mr. Protopapas stated that we are very interested in standing by the Iraqi civilian population and offer humanitarian aid. On the likelihood of a flood of refugees in Greece, he said that all necessary measures have been taken to deal with the problem.

He concluded by saying that there is vigilance in order to face the increased pressure exerted on Greece by illegal immigrants.

Of the stocks trading today, 245 recorded gains and only 44 had losses, while the value of 65 stocks remained unchanged.

Mr. Protopapas stated that the argument used by Turkey, according to which there is a refugee issue, does not justify an invasion adding that the EU has decided to offer assistance to solve the problem.

Responding to a relevant question, he stated that assurances have been given that no such invasion is imminent in Iraq and added that if Turkey wants to deal with the problem of a likely refugee flood to its territory it should request the EU and UN assi stance.

· The European Union is deeply concerned over the arrests of dozens of independent journalists and opposition members by the Cuban authorities.

· The wave of arrests is contrary to the principle of freedom of speech, a principle which the European Union is anxious to promote in its relations with non member countries.

· The European Union condemns those arrests and demands that those persons, whom it considers prisoners of conscience, be released without delay.

· These recent events highlight the common position on Cuba, specifically the call for democratic reform and greater respect for human rights. Violations of fundamental civil and political rights will be monitored very closely by the European Union and t hey will continue to influence the Union's relations with Cuba.

The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria and Romania and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of th e European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration.

Mr. Papantoniou pointed out that Greece watches developments closely concerning the consequences of the war in Greece and the wider region.

He stated that the effects on the Greek economy will be limited if the war has a short duration, adding that Greece watches the developments closely and will reevaluate its positions in case the war is long.

Mr. Papantoniou reiterated Greece's opposition to Turkey's likely involvement in northern Iraq and characterized as positive any move by the international community to avert this likelihood.

On the first day, the EU ministers will discuss the shaping of the common policy on asylum, migration, the effective management of the Union's external borders as well as efforts to combat illegal immigration and human trafficking. The meeting will be ch aired by Greece's Public Order Minister Michalis Chrisohoidis. These issues have taken on particular importance in view of the Union's enlargement, the forthcoming institutional changes currently being discussed in the framework of the European Convention

and the evaluation of the political priorities decided by the Seville Council at the Thessaloniki European Council in June.

In the area of Home Affairs, the discussion will focus on the effective appropriation of available resources to the domains of legal and illegal immigration, asylum, borders and repatriation policy. The ministers will also discuss the apportionment of re sponsibility for the common management of the Union's external borders and efforts to combat illegal immigration. Another issue on the agenda is the immediate upgrading of the network of immigration liaison officers in third countries and the substantial role they must play in the local coordination of common policies and cooperation between the Union and third countries.

The discussion of Home Affairs on the first day, chaired by Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation Minister Kostas Skandalidis, will also include the social integration of legal immigrants in the EU member states.

On the second day, the discussion of judicial cooperation - chaired by Justice Minister Philippos Petsalnikos - will focus on the minimum procedural safeguards for suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings, particularly in view of the recent issuin g of the European Commission's Green Paper. The ministers will also discuss the progress of the European Convention.

The European Council President stated that the decisions reached by the European Council in Brussels underline the role the European Union has to play in the future to deal with the situation created by the war in Iraq.

Mr. Simitis referred to the common stance achieved in Brussels, saying that it was stressed that there is a need to protect the territorial integrity of Iraq, deal with serious humanitarian problems and offer EU support to the countries that will be affe cted. Also, an emphasis was given to the UN role in the revival of the peace process in the Middle East and the importance of transatlantic relations.

During Mr. Simitis' speech, a group of Euro-deputies expressed indignation over today's attack on civilians in a Baghdad market holding placards with antiwar slogans.

Mr. Simitis referred in detail to the Lisbon strategy pointing out that its goal is to increase the competitiveness of the European economy, limit unemployment and strengthen social cohesion.

European Commission President Romano Prodi addressed the European Parliament after Mr. Simitis and thanked the Greek Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister for their moves in the recent European Council meeting. He said that he participates in the mourn ing of the families who have lost their loved ones in the war.

Mr. Simitis underlined the need for unity in the EU and stressed that in spite of the fact that there was no EU decision on the war in Iraq the joint efforts should continue to strengthen the EU role in international developments.

He pointed out that the common European policy on defense is not non existent and referred characteristically to the EU peacekeeping force in FYROM. He stated that the role of the European defense is important and it is the result of the foreign policy.

Speaking about the Lisbon strategy concerning the EU economic, social and development policy, he pointed out that there is a specific work schedule concerning the objectives of the EU next year and the results can be very concrete.

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