Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-05-26

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] "NOVEMBER 17" HANDBOOK

[02] TSOHATZOPOULOS: THERE IS NOT QUESTION OF SUCCESSION IN PASOK

[03] 230 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS REPATRIATED TO TURKEY

[04] SIMITIS: GREECE WILL ORGANIZE PERFECT OLYMPICS

[05] MOBILE TELEPHONY PROMOTION IS OTE'S FIRST GOAL IN THE BALKANS

[06] LALIOTIS: "LEAK IN MAYO CASE"

[07] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST PARTY MEETING IN ATHENS

[08] G. PAPANTONIOU: NO VETO ISSUE ON CYPRUS AND EUROARMY

[09] GREEK PRESENCE IN BALKANS STRENGTHENED

[10] MILLER PESSIMISTIC ON THE EUROARMY

[11] BRITISH MUSEUM CHANGESPOSITION ON PARTHENON MARBLES

[01] "NOVEMBER 17" HANDBOOK

A shocking document, the handbook of November 17, a terrorist group unseen for 27 years, which describes rules of conspiratorial action, security measures and bomb making techniques, was revealed in a Kathimerini publication.

The long, typed text, bearing the N17 insignia, is one of the most valuable pieces of evidence for the authorities, and is constantly evaluated in relation to N17's various attacks. The specific document is part of the Parnitha evidence, which was found thrown away on January 19 1978, and which even included handwritten notes, from which connections were made clear between November 17 and ELA, weapons, bullets and explosives. Judicial and police authorities have come to the conclusion that the terrorist's manual, mostly came from the translation of a similar one used by terrorists in South America, while the type writer used is the same one used to type the organizations' declarations.

[02] TSOHATZOPOULOS: THERE IS NOT QUESTION OF SUCCESSION IN PASOK

There is no issue of succession in PASOK for the next year, stressed Minister of Development Akis Tsohatzopoulos in an interview to Macedonia newspaper, pointing out that the 12 month grace period is necessary for the new financial, social and developmental policies being followed by the party in the last few months, and which are not yet visible in all sectors, to be fully developed.

The Minister of Development estimated that the past 20 months were not an especially successful period for PASOK, since the party made the impression that it was 'resting on its laurels ' after winning the national elections. He also expressed his view on the upcoming municipal elections, saying that we will overturn the negative atmosphere in our favor, and the October elections will not turn into a Waterloo.

Referring to the Thessaloniki viability plan, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos pointed out that it is still being processed and will be submitted and discussed by the Ministry and city bodies in two months. The Minister also characterized Thesaloniki's chances of holding the 2007-2008 EXPO as most realistic, while he did not hide his dissatisfaction with the privatization procedure of the TIF-HELEXPO so far, noting that the Ministry invited Helexpo to participate en officio, as a founding member, in the new Athens Conference Center, with 15-25%.

Finally, the Minister of Development foresaw that the course of the stock market will be better in the second half of 2002.

[03] 230 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS REPATRIATED TO TURKEY

More than 230 individuals have been repatriated to Turkey, after the signing of the Reentrance Protocol with the neighboring country.

This special article is part of the general police agreement to fight crime, terrorism and organized crime, drug trafficking and illegal immigration, which was signed between the two countries in November 2001 (it has not yet been ratified by the Greek Parliament).

As Mrs. Keti Kechagioglou, responsible for informing the Greek office of the UN High Commission for Refugees, stated to the Sunday Eleftherotypia that three mass cases of repatriation have taken place in our country: The first concerned 42 individuals on a boat near Kos. The second concerned 26 people in Ikaria. The third was near Chios: 84 individuals were deported to Turkey after very brief procedures, and without the opportunity to ask for asylum.

At the same time discussions on the protocol's effectiveness are intense. The High Commission's observations, as mentioned by Mrs. Kechagioglou, are that:

i) The text does not mention the 1951 Geneva Convention on refugees

ii) It is not made clear that all those asking for asylum, those persecuted in their country for reasons of decent or belief, are excluded, for which individuals the Greek state is obliged to examine their requests in a fast and fair manner.

iii)But above all, everyone's human rights must be respected: both those of immigrants and as well as those of refugees.

[04] SIMITIS: GREECE WILL ORGANIZE PERFECT OLYMPICS

Greece will hold perfect Olympics, stressed Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, at the last stop of his tour in the Fthiotida and Evritania Prefectures.

A few months ago, some wagered that the Olympics would not be held here. They said 'they will be held elsewhere, they will take them back, Greece cannot handle it'. Lately we do not hear these voices any more. What happened? What happened is that no nobody, no matter how malicious or pessimistic he may be, can doubt the preparations' progress. Greece, that can, that dares, that succeeds, reappears in this major enterprise. The whole government, the Organizing Committee and other bodies, have worked, and are still working, with consequence and persistence, constantly and without rest. And thus, we overcome problems, which such an event is bound to have, we provide solutions, we move forward, the country moves forward, stressed the Prime Minister at the inauguration of the Karpenisi Athletes' Preparation Center.

As Mr. Simitis said, apart from the Olympics, the other goals are the promotion of national issues, Greece's convergence with Europe, and the Greek Presidency.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the Ankara Text on the Euroarmy cannot be accepted. We have the Euroarmy issue open in front of us. And our positions are clear as crystal: We want EU autonomy in making decisions. Equivalence between NATO and the EU. Treatment as equals. Reciprocity in all guarantees. The so called Ankara Text, as it is, does not ensure these, and thus, we do not agree to it, he underlined.

Referring to the Municipal elections, he asked for commitment to and voting for progressive ballots, pointing out that wherever local government is controlled by conservative leaderships, has let the people down.

[05] MOBILE TELEPHONY PROMOTION IS OTE'S FIRST GOAL IN THE BALKANS

OTE's new management will try and run the mobile telephony in the Balkans plan in 2002, in order to awake investment stagnancy in neighboring countries and to set off new sources of income for OTE.

As OTE's CEO, Lefteris Antonakopoulos, pointed out in the Economy section of the Sunday Eleftherotypia, investments concerning mobile telephony lines come first in interest, while openings to new markets, other than those OTE already has access to, will have to take a back seat, at least for now.

In the interior front, the new CEO is promoting a restructuring plan for the organization, aiming at making the group's activities in three or four major axes (mobile telephony, domestic telephony, the Internet and multimedia) clear. The mobile telephony axis is expected to be the flagship. In fact, OTE's interest in acquiring 18% of Cosmote stocks, which Telenor is interested in selling, is still alive. Foreign analysts have observed Cosmote's upgrading, appreciating that it will be assigned the management of subsidiary companies in the Balkans, or that those companies will be transferred to it.

Although L. Antonakopoulos does not exclude such a possibility, he referred to the effects of the restructuring, supporting that final decisions have not been made.

According to Mr. Antonakopoulos, solutions on the Balkan front are the follwing:

- Serbia: OTE controls 20% of Telecom Serbia, while 29% of the organization, occupied with domestic and mobile telephony, is controlled by Telecom Italia. OTE's CEO wants a clear presence of the organization in the country. He did not exclude the possibility of a form of swapping with Telecom Italia or another telecommunications organization, through which OTE would concentrate on the mobile telephony sector.

- Bulgaria: On June 10, the Bulgarian government is selling the majority package of its state run telecommunications organization (BTC). According to L. Antonakopoulos, OTE is looking into the requirements to participate in tender.

- Romania: The goal of OTE's new management is to acquire the majority of the stock capital of Rom Telecom (of which it controls 35% today).

Negotiations are already underway with the Romanian government, so that there is an increase in capital, through which OTE will be able to increase its participation. OTE is ready to allocate approximately 230 million euro for this increase.

Mr. Antonakopoulos was pressed by analysts during his visit to Frankfurt, New York and London, regarding the government's intention of bringing out a new package of the telecommunication organization's stocks.

L. Antonakopoulos, supported that final decisions belong to the government, and that every care will be taken so that the organization's stock is not damaged.

[06] LALIOTIS: "LEAK IN MAYO CASE"

In an interview to the Sunday Eleftherotypia, Secretary of PASOK's Central Committee Kostas Laliotis insinuated that there is a leak of information concerning the account in question, from circles which are ideologically and politically close to New Democracy:

These people knew a lot and were not prepared to politically and morally cover the long standing shady exchanges, a cynical stance from the leaders of ND. He gave the following explanation: They may even be feeling somewhat guilty for the historical truth and the moral redemption of A. Papandreou.

The Secretary of PASOK's Central Committee, after wishing Mr. Mitsotakis a swift recovery, stated that he has no personal vendetta against him, but that he would follow the case through. Mr. Laliotis also pointed out that:

Mr. Mitsotakis only reveals certain aspects of the truth, because he does not want to become the scapegoat . His confessions are a constant threat to other leaders, before and after him.

[07] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST PARTY MEETING IN ATHENS

The Greek Communist Party will hold a new International Communist and Worker's Party meeting in Athens from the June 21 to June 23, in the Pantion University.

Already, dozens of parties from all over the world have registered to participate. Iraq, Tajikistan, India, Spain, the US, Cuba, Vietnam, China, Moldavia, Russia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Austria, Palestine, Israel, Colombia, Venezuela, Balkan countries, Canada and the People's Republic of Korea are some of the countries that have expressed this interest.

[08] G. PAPANTONIOU: NO VETO ISSUE ON CYPRUS AND EUROARMY

The is no question on whether Greece will veto the Cyprus issue or the Euroarmy, pointed out the Minister of National Defense Giannos Papantoniou, in an interview to Macedonia newspaper. He expressed the opinion that on one hand the accession is guaranteed, while regarding the second issue which concerns Greece's relations to its EU partners it would be good if we avoided voting procedures, and find a solution through the efforts being made by Mr. Solana.

On Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Papantoniou made it clear that although the government's goal of improving the relations of the two countries has been achieved, there has been no improvement in the relations of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, mainly due to Turkey's aggression and to the intolerance of Mr. Denktash on the Cyprus issue.

When asked about the method of electing a party President Mr. Papantoniou stressed that electing the President from the base, is the essence of Democracy, since there is a more immediate communication between the electoral body and society, going around middle mechanisms. He also insinuated that he has leadership ambitions.

[09] GREEK PRESENCE IN BALKANS STRENGTHENED

The plans for the strengthening of Greece's presence in areas of strategic interest are taking shape with the increasing of the developmental aid to be given by Greece in the next 5 years, to countries in various regions of the world. The diplomatic result of the decisions is related to the distribution of funds, which has initially been decided on by the Foreign Ministry, while it is expected to become more specific according to the decisions of the Minister of Finance.

The geographic regions that have priority are the Balkans, the Middle East and the former USSR, and as deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos, who is responsible for the matter, explained to the Imerisia newspaper, aid is decided in relation to Greece's long term foreign policy goals. Pointing out that Greece has a right to be interested in the broader region, Mr. Loverdos added that by aiding the region's countries in their political set-up, Greece is helping itself. For this reason Greece's contribution percentage as a member of the Developmental Aid Committee of the OASE, has risen from 0.19% of the GDP (in 2000) to 0.26%, according to commitments made at the European Council meeting in Barcelona in March. The largest sums will be given in the form of financial aid, while a smaller amount will be distributed through NGOs.

An interesting aspect arose after Mr. Loverdos' visit to Nicosia. Including Cyprus in its plans, Athens will move with a partner with the same financial and strategic interests as its own for the next five years. Cooperation with Nicosia aims at more rational and better organized rendering of aid, technical, humanitarian and developmental, to countries in need.

[10] MILLER PESSIMISTIC ON THE EUROARMY

His opinion that the Euroarmy issue, which has received a lot of attention from the Greek media, should have been discussed sooner, was expressed by US Ambassador Thomas Miller in an interview to ET3, part of which was published in Macedonia newspaper. The US Ambassador still mentioned misconceptions on the subject and continuing efforts behind closed doors, for the facilitation of resolving the Euroarmy issue.

Furthermore, Mr. Miller is not very optimistic that a solution can be found by the Spanish Presidency's Summit Meeting in June. He stressed the equivalence of Greek-US relations, while concerning the name with which FYROM will officially be recognized and what will happen when the present agreement ends, 100 days from now, the US Ambassador said that that is something the two countries must decide, stressing that the agreement will stand until one of the two countries denounces it.

[11] BRITISH MUSEUM CHANGESPOSITION ON PARTHENON MARBLES

The new Director of the British Museum, Neil McGregor, who will take up his duties in August, agreed, according to today's Sunday Telegraph, to start working on the Parthenon Marble's issue as soon as he begins. In fact, Mr. McGregor is prepared to have discussions with the British Committee for the Repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles for the first time in the long conflict of the two sides.

The Telegraph mentions that the British Museum is more lax on the Marbles issue, although today's Director recently stated that the marbles will never return to Greece.

According to the Sunday Times, this apparent change in attitude has to do with the fact that the Greek government promised to give the British Museum other recent archeological finds, in exchange for the Marbles. This could allow the British Museum, always according to the Telegraph, to cover a huge deficit it has by charging visitors for a possible special exhibit of new archeological finds from Greece.

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