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MPA NEWS IN BRIEF (20/09/1996)From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>Macedonian Press Agency Brief News in English DirectoryBRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, September 20, 1996TITLES[01] PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGNS WIND UP TONIGHT WITH PASOK RALLY[02] WE'RE READY TO GO TO WORK ON MONDAY, SAYS THE PRIME MINISTER[03] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER: "WE WILL NOT BARGAIN OUR SOVEREIGN RIGHTS"[04] GREECE, CYPRUS SALUTE EUROPARLIAMENT RESOLUTION TO FREEZE TURKEY'S FUNDS[05] DEFENSE MINISTER GERASIMOS ARSENIS: IMIA ISSUE HAS CLOSED[06] GREECE'S REGISTERED VOTERS ELECT COUNTRY'S NEW PARLIAMENT ON SUNDAY[07] ANDREAS PAPANDREOU'S SON LASHES AGAINST DIMITRA LIANINEWS IN DETAIL[01] PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGNS WIND UP TONIGHT WITH PASOK RALLYAthens, September 20 (M.P.A.)The pre-election campaign period will wind up tonight with the speech to be given by Prime Minister and PASOK President Kostas Simitis during the ruling party's central political rally in Athens. Appearing confident of enjoying victory in Sunday's elections, Mr. Simitis launched another attack against the main opposition party leader New Democracy's Miltiades Evert today and developed the government's top priorities after the elections. In an interview published in an Athens daily today, Mr. Simitis also stated that the following year's budget is ready and assured that it does not include any new, direct or indirect taxes. Moreover, the Premier pointed out that his government will primarily seek to secure stable opportunities of employment and higher salaries to the employed. Mr. Evert is currently touring Castellorizo. Last night, the N.D. President reiterated that the ruling PASOK rendered the Imia islets in the Aegean Sea as a "grey area" and purported that if he had been called upon by the Premier the evening of the Imia crisis in January, he would have advised him not to retreat. Mr. Evert did not respond when asked if he will station the armed forces on the Imia in case he becomes Prime Minister. The minor opposition party leaders are also continuing their campaigns throughout Greece. Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary-General Aleka Paparega toured the central districts in Athens, the President of the Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) Nikos Konstantopoulos is in the Peloponnese visitng the city of Pyrgos and the president of the Democratic and Social Movement (DHKKI) Dimitris Tsovolas is touring the islands of Kos, Calymnos and Leros. [02] WE'RE READY TO GO TO WORK ON MONDAY, SAYS THE PRIME MINISTERThessaloniki, September 20 (M.P.A.)On the last day of the campaign period, Prime Minister and PASOK President Kostas Simitis has expressed his certainty that the ruling party will stay in government after Sunday's elections. In an interview with the Greek daily "Ta Nea", Mr. Simitis stated that the Greek people want "clear and decisive solutions to the political problems, which is why it will again trust PASOK." The Premier also criticised the main opposition leader, New Democracy's Miltiades Evert, and stated that his opponent "does not comprehend what he says on national issues." Regarding PASOK, Mr. Simitis stated that the new Cabinet will closely resemble the current one, which was clearly more composed than the previous ones and was primarily based on meritocracy. "Never in my life did I separate the people who care for the future of this country into 'our people' and 'others'," Mr. Simitis said. "More so when it comes to my own party. We want to be a government of all Greeks. We are ready to go to work on Monday and we aim at improved governmental coordination and improved productivity." Regarding the economic policy to be adopted by the government, Mr. Simitis repeated that he does not intend to impose new taxes in the year 1997. He also emphasized that the government's main target will be to secure the people's incomes and to increase the job opportunities, as well as to support the unemployed. On the unemployment issue, the Premier pointed out that it is a problem concerning all of Europe and added that there are no miracle-makers who will solve the problem from one day to the next. Speaking on the main opposition leader Miltiades Evert, Mr. Simitis accused him of having made repeated blunders regarding Greece's national issues. He's gotten to the point of talking about re- negotiating the Accords that determine our international relations, he spoke of re-examining the Lauzanne Treaty and the Treaty of 1932," the Premier said, adding that the N.D. spokesperson excused Evert by saying that it was an "oversight." "Aside from his (Evert's) unconscious, I hope, blunders during the pre-election campaign, he also did something that harmed to a degree our national positions," Mr. Simitis said. "For days now, he has been speaking of 'grey zones' in the Aegean, forgetting that by doing this, the only thing he accomplishes is to play Ankara's game, a game that precisely aims at the admittance of such zones." [03] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER: "WE WILL NOT BARGAIN OUR SOVEREIGN RIGHTS"Thessaloniki, September 20 (M.P.A.)Main opposition leader New Democracy's Mitliades Evert emphasized that his party, should it win in Sunday's elections, would not engage in any form of negotations with Turkey regarding Greece's sovereign rights. In an interview given to the Greek daily "Eleftheros Typos", Mr. Evert stated that the "International Law and the International Accords determine precisely our sovereign rights." He continued by stating that "if the american, the european and the international organizations want to contribute to the establishment of peace, then they have to knock on the door of the international troublemaker. We want cooperation and good neighboring relations with all of our neighbors." Mr. Evert also stated that the only point of dispute between Greece and Turkey is the definition of the continental shelf's limits, which he characterized as a technical and legal issue, not political, one that can be resolved through the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The main opposition leader also lashed against Prime Minister and PASOK President Kostas Simitis for his handling of the Imia crisis and accused him of being unrepentant of the government's "tragic mistakes". He also accused the Premier of preferring to attack the authority of the armed forces in order to save his own. [04] GREECE, CYPRUS SALUTE EUROPARLIAMENT RESOLUTION TO FREEZE TURKEY'S FUNDSAthens, September 20 (M.P.A.)Greece and Cyprus have saluted the resolution adopted by the European Parliament yesterday, which asks that all funding from the European Union to Ankara be frozen. The resolution, which stemmed from Turkey's provocations against Greece, as well as its stance on the Cyprus problem and the Kurdish issue, foresees that the 375MECU earmarked for Turkey be trasnsferred to the European Union's reserve fund. Moreover, the resolution asks the European Commission to immediately block credits to Turkey from the MEDA financing program, with the exception of credits that concern the promotion of democracy and human rights. Gtreek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis stated that the Europarliament's resolution is the best answer that could be given to those who criticise PASOK's foreign policy and added that the EU has finally abandoned its policy of maintaining equal distances from Greece and Turkey. Cyprus's Foreign Minister Alekos Mihailides stated that through the resolution, "the voice of truth was heard." Meanwhile, Ankara has intensely reacted to the news and Turkey's Foreign Minister and ex-Premier Tansu Ciller has condened the resolution as a "prejudiced decicion, drawn by prejudiced people." [05] DEFENSE MINISTER GERASIMOS ARSENIS: IMIA ISSUE HAS CLOSEDAthens, September 20 (M.P.A.)Greek Defense Minister Gerasimos Arsenis stated today that the Imia issue has closed and should have never been discussed under personal terms. Mr. Arsenis added that the country's political parties and governments have been judged and will be judged by the results of their actions. The Defense Minister also pointed out that the Government's choice to de-escalate the critical political resulted in not only avoiding a dialogue with Ankara over the Aegean Sea's status, but also in Turkey's isolation as was proven by the resolution adopted yesterday by the European Parliament, which freezes all European Union funds to Turkey. [06] GREECE'S REGISTERED VOTERS ELECT COUNTRY'S NEW PARLIAMENT ON SUNDAYThessaloniki, September 20 (M.P.A.)Greece's 8,862,814 registered voters will cast their ballot on Sunday's elections in the country's 17,710 electoral precincts. The voting process will begin on Sunday morning at 6.20 and will end at 7.23 in the evening. New voters number 492,000 while exempt from voting are persons over the age of 70 years old or those who live over 200 km away from their precincts, altough they must obtain the relevant certification papers from a police station in the city where they live. [07] ANDREAS PAPANDREOU'S SON LASHES AGAINST DIMITRA LIANIAthens, September 20 (M.P.A.)A mere two days before the elections of September 22, the Greek press is giving ample publicity to the interview published in the "European" newspaper, in which the youngest son of the late Andreas Papadreou launched a surprise and vitriolic attack against Dimitra Liani- Papandreou, the widow of the ex-Premier and PASOK founder. She was a woman-vulture, who took full advantage of his father in order to fulfil her ambitions, Nikos Papandreou said. "The relationship with Dimitra ruined my father's political career and, I think, ultimately brought about his physical demise. She was a woman who wanted power and would do anything to get it. But I do not think my father was happy in his marriage, and I think he regretted it to the day he died." He added that "many vultures show up around a powerful man and she was one of them. But she has something. Otherwise she would not be where she is. She has a certain domineering quality. When you combine that with a certain instinct, a hunger for power and a physical beauty and impose that on a man in his sixties and seventies, than you have the makings of a disaster." Ms. Liani-Papandreou issued a stern and strong- worded response last night, lashing against her critics as being "ungrateful" towards Andreas Papandreou. "The people who claim to have loved him attempted to describe him as a will-less tool of his wife. They have shamelessly insulted his memory. "I only wish to remind these ungrateful persons that Andreas Papandreou has often spoken of this valuable and singular for both of us relationship," Liani wrote in her response, pointing out that Papandreou's words for his young wife were always "words of love." Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/ |