MPA NEWS IN BRIEF (17/05/1996)

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

Macedonian Press Agency Brief News in English Directory

BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY

Thessaloniki May 17, 1996

TITLES

[01] GREECE'S PARLIAMENT HONORS GREEKS KILLED IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS

[02] GREEK UNDERMINISTER OF DEFENSE MEETS WITH US COUNTERPART IN WASHINGTON

[03] GENOCIDE OF GREEKS FROM PONTOS COMMEMMORATED IN THESSALONIKI

[04] TURK MINISTER OF JUSTICE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR TORTURES

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] GREECE'S PARLIAMENT HONORS GREEKS KILLED IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS

An honorary laurel wreath has been laid in memory of the 300 Greeks who were killed at the nazi concentration camp in Noiengham, near Hamburg by representatives of Greece's Parliament.

An interparty parliamentary delegation, headed by PASOK deputy Magakis, has traveled to Hamburg in order to attend the commemmoration ceremony held at the site where the concentration camp used to be. Also attending the ceremony were German state officials.

Mr. Magakis, addressing the hundreds of Greek and German citizens who attended the ceremony, stated that the German occupation and the atrocities that marked those years have left deep wounds in the memories of the Greek people.

"Yet," Mr.Magakis said, "among the countries which were subjected to german occupation, Greece was the first to extend an arm of friendship to Germany, just a few years after the end of World War II.

"This gesture expressed our will to construct a common future with the German Republic and the rest of the european countries, a future marked with peace and freedom," he stated.

The PASOK deputy referred to Greece's current position and underlined that "we are nearer the potential ignition areas than all the other European Union countries, and for this reason Greece is more interested than the rest in seeing stability and peace established in the region.

"Our country does not want to relive the torment of war and is fighting for the protection of human rights and for securing the inviolability of borders throughout the region, as a basic premise of maintaining peace."

[02] GREEK UNDERMINISTER OF DEFENSE MEETS WITH US COUNTERPART IN WASHINGTON

Greece's role in the Balkans and issues of bilateral defense cooperation were among the topics of a discussion held in Washington yesterday between Greek under-Minister of Defense Nikos Kouris and his United States counterpart Ian Lowdohl.

In statements made following the meeting, a State Department official termed the discussion as successful and stated that it was held in a friendly atmosphere.

Commenting on the results of these bilateral meetings, the advisor of US under-Minister of Defense stated that Mr. Lowdohl was given the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the greek positions in the Aegean Sea, especially following the recent Imia islets crisis that erupted between Greece and Turkey, and was also thoroughly informed of Greece's positions regarding the establishment of stability in the greater Balkan region.

Concurrently with the meeting held between the two under-Ministers of Defense, numerous discussions have been held during the last two-day period between lower-level Greek and American officals, within the framework of work group operations.

It is noted that, based on the bilateral defense agreement signed in 1990 between Greece-US, besides the annual high-level meeting, a joint committee comprising of officials from the Greek Defense Ministry and the US State Department, holds four quarterly meetings in Athens per year. These contacts aim at examining a wide scope of issues, such as the provision of defense assistance, arms sales, procedural issues and, in general, defense cooperation topics.

[03] GENOCIDE OF GREEKS FROM PONTOS COMMEMMORATED IN THESSALONIKI

The anniversary of the May 19, 1919 genocide of Greeks from Pontos by the hords of Kemal in Caucasus, will be commemmorated in three-day ceremonies, held in Thessaloniki today through Sunday.

Under the initiative of the Panhellenic Federation of Pontiac Unions and with the cooperation of the Prefectural Self-Government, the events will be marked by various speeches and activities held throughout the city.

Participating in tomorrow's and Sunday's events, will be the Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos, Transports and Communications Haris Kastanides and Macedonia-Thrace Philippos Petsalnikos.

[04] TURK MINISTER OF JUSTICE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR TORTURES

Turk Minister of Justice Mehet Agar is being held responsible for prison tortures, according to a report of the danish news agency RB, which brought to light various United Naitons documents and data provided by the Center for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (CRTV).

According to the report, which was published in the danish newspapers "Information" and "Berlingke Tidende", the Turk Justice Minister is held responsible for these tortures that took place during his term as chief of police in Ankara and Constantinople. While he held that post, the UN Committee Against Tortures (CAT) and the Committee for the Prevention of Tortures (CPT) visited the turkish jails and police headquarters and found that the practice of torture was widely and systematically used. Committee representatives spoke with the prisoners and, after medical examinations, ascertained that the prisoners were often subjected to severe tortures, while CPT also discovered torture facilities in the jails.

According to Inge Genefke, director of CRVT in Copenhagen, "Mehmet Agar cannot claim that he was not aware (of the tortures) since that would mean that he was an unable chief, who didn't know what was going on in the police stations for which he was responsible."

Meanwhile, the doctors and directors of Turkey's CRTV may be obliged to turn over to local authorities the names of those who were treated at the Center for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, in light of a trial currently being held in Ankara. The case involves a lawyer and a doctor who, invoking confidentiality laws, have refused to reveal the names of those they counseled and treated.

"It makes me wonder," Genefke said, "the fact that there is a timely coincidence between the appointment of chief torturer Mehmet Agar to the post of Minister of Justice and to the recent demand that the most basic principle of the medical profession be done away with, that is, the medical confidentiallity."

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