MPA NEWS IN BRIEF (03/07/1996)

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, July 3, 1996

TITLES

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] FOREIGN AND DEFENSE MINISTERS TO MEET WITH US UNDERSECRETARIES

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and Defense Minister Gerasimos Arsenis will receive today the Unuted States Assistant Secretary of State Peter Tarnoff and Assistant Defense Secretaty Jan Lodal.

The two US officials will also meet with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis this afternoon in order to discuss greco-turkish relations and the Cyprus problem.

Yesterday, the National Defense Ministry denied the Turkish Premier Netsmetin Erbacan's claims that Greek fighter jets violated Turkey's air space.

In an announcement, the Greek Defense Ministry pointed out that within the framework of the Yilmaz- Papoullias agreement signed in 1988, no exercises are carried out in the Aegean during the two-month period of July-August and, therefore, Mr. Erbacan's claims lack substance.

[02] GERMAN COURT OPENS WAY FOR WAR REPARATION CLAIMS BY INDIVIDUALS

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe released a decision today according to which Greek citizens who were Nazi-era wartime vitctims can file individual compenstation claims agaisnt the German state.

By its decision, the Court rejects the German government's standard argument that, according to international law of general application, individual claims regarding wartime events can be solely settled upon the basis of international law (at an inter-state level) and only through peace treaties.

The Court's opinion was in relation to a case of 22 Jews from Poland, Hungary and Germany who had filed compensation claims for wartime hard labor in Auschwitz from 1943 to 1945 and which lawsuits had been litigated before Bonn 's First Instance Court.

The ruling holds certain implications for compensation suits filed by Greek citizens, one being that when the claims reach the Court, it will be called upon to decide on the bilateral Greek-German agreement, dated March 18, 1960, according to which Germany paid Greece 115 million german marks as compensation for the victims of the Nazi occupation.

However, in contrast with Hungary and Poland- which had then signed unilateral agreements not to bring forth such lawsuits in the future, Greece had not been bound to do the same. Instead, Greece's then- ambassador to Bonn, Themistocles Ypsilantis, had pointed out that Greece had reservations on the specific point.

[03] THE MEANS TEST FOR GREEK POLITICIANS SHOWS THEIR ANNUAL INCOMES

The 1996 tax statements of Greece's politicians have been released, presenting no significicant changes from last year's reported incomes.

According to the Vice-President of Greek Parliament, who released the data, Pavsanias Zakolikos, the highest reported income belongs to PASOK deputy Pholis Arvanitis, reaching alsmost the 45- million-drachma mark. Mr. Arvanitis, whose reported occupation is a "businessman", has a total family income of more than 76 million drachmas, including his spouse's.

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis has a reported income of 29,977,510 drachmas, making it the highest one among political party leaders. Main opposition party New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert reports an income of 17,153,582 drachmas and claims no property ownership, in contrast to his wife, Liza, who holds titles amounting to hundreds of millions of drachmas.

Minor opposition Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras' tax statement reports an income of 17,209,786 million drachmas while the Communist Party (KKE) Secretary-General Aleka Paparega reports an income of 15,715,289 million.

Andreas Papandreou's last tax statement reports a 1996 income of 19,064,546 drachmas, while his wife's, Dimitra-Liani Papandreou, reports 15,700,732, of which 4,209,064 is her retirement pension from Olympic Airways where she had worked as a stewardess prior to her marriage.

[04] ECOLOGICAL CONGRESS TO BE HELD IN HALKIDIKI THIS FRIDAY

The 3rd Ecological Congress scheduled to start on Friday, July 5 in Halkidiki, will study the interaction between tourism activity and the environment.

The congress is jointly organized by the Halkidiki Hotel Owners' Association and the area's Municipalities and Communities Association.

Development Minister Vasso Papandreou and Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Philippos Petsalnikos are scheduled to address the Congress, along with undersecretary of National Economy Christos Pachtas and the secretary of the Greek Tourism Organization (EOT).

[05] THESSALONIKI WILL NOT SIZZLE DURING UPCOMING HEATWAVE

With the temperatures in Greece rising to 40C (104F) and even higher on Thursday and throughout the weekend, Thessaloniki residents are not expected to suffer as much as their Athenian couterparts.

Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency, the meteorologist at Micra's Weather Bureau stated that temperatures in Thessaloniki are not expected to surpass the 39C mark, while the highest temperatures, 38C, will be noted at Kilkis and Serres.

Thessaloniki's Center of Healtth and Hygiene has taken precautionary measures to address any cases of heatstroke that may arise during the heatwave.

[06] GREECE-FYROM AGREEMENT FOR ELECTRICITY LINK IS IN THE WORKS

Greece's Public Power Corporation (DEI) is working closely with its FYROM counterpart in achieving a bilateral cooperation agreement that aims at providing service to each of the two neighbors, whose power systems are already interlinked.

According to DEI's assistant general director, Raphael Maiopoulos, such an agreement is especially useful for handling problems that may arise during the functioning of the systems.

The Greek Public Power Corp. had drawn a similar agreement with former Yugoslavia's Power Co. "Yugel". However, "now that the region is made up of various smaller states, the signing of separate agreements with each company is necessary," Mr. Maiopoulos stated to the Macedonian Press Agency, and added that the agreement with FYROM will be similar with the one signed between Greece and Yugoslavia.

[07] SPECIAL PROGRAM TO BE BROADCAST FOR SERB TOURISTS IN GREECE

A special program targeted at Serb tourists in Greece will be broadcast daily by the Greek Radio Company (ERA), providing news and public service announcements on local festivities and entertainment to take place in the areas where the tourists are vacationing.

The program, which will run through August 31, will be broadcast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 18:05 to 18:55 from the local radio stations of Kavala, Serres, Volos, Larisa.

[08] UN BELIEVES THAT THE MISSING IN CYPRUS ARE DEAD, SAYS KORNBLUM

The United Nations have for long believed that those missing in Cyprus are dead, an assessment adopted due to the lack of evidence to the contrary, stated the United States Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum.

In reponse to a letter forwarded by the President of the Hellenic-American Institute and the Justice Committee for Cyrpus Savas Tsivikos, Mr. Kornblum noted that the only way to resolve the issue of the missing persons is through cooperation with the investigation committee, and not through aphorisms and legal claims.

Responding to Mr. Kornblum, Cypriot Foreign Minister Alekos Michaelides stated that the Cypriot government insists on discovering the fate of each of the missing persons.

Mr. Michaelides stated that even if proof and data are presented showing that some of the missing are dead, their burial place must be pointed out, their bodies will have to be exhumed and they should be re-buried in accordance to the greek orthodox church's traditions.

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