Subject: ANA Bulletin, 16/08/93 From: zarros@turing.scs.carleton.ca (Theodoros Sp. Zarros) Athens News Agency Bulletin, August 16, 1993 ============================================ Athens, 16/8/1993 (ANA): President Constantine Karamanlis and Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis emphasised Greece's role as a source of peace and stability in the Balkans during this critical period for the region in separate messages on the occasion of yesterday's celebration of Armed Forces Day. "Greece, now an integral part of a united Europe and with a firmly rooted presidential democracy, is and must remain - not only institutionally but also in the conscience of the entire Greek people - a source of domestic and foreign peace and stability in our region. This is even more imperative today, when humankind is in a dangerously turbulent period and when the Balkans, in particular, face the threat of being drawn into the vortex of war", the President said. "In these difficult times, the Armed Forces are a guarantee for our territorial integrity and the peace and prosperity of our people", Mr. Karamanlis added. Speaking at an Armed Forces Day reception at the Ayios Andreas army camp, Mr. Mitsotakis praised the Greek armed forces, saying they secured Greece's independence and safeguarded its borders. "Greece is at a difficult turn in its history, surrounded by problems and dangers", he said. "Greece is an agent for peace and stability - the only agent of peace and stability in our turbulent region. Greece's Armed Forces help us implement our policy which is aimed at peace - a policy whose outcome I am increasingly optimistic about", Mr. Mitsotakis added. Sukhumi (Georgia), 16/8/1993 (ANA - K. Christodoulou / AFP): One thousand ethnic Greeks left Abkhazia for Greece yesterday aboard a ship that had delivered humanitarian aid to the region. Greek Consul Dionis Kalamvrezis said all ethnic Greeks wishing to leave the conflict zone would be evacuated. There are an estimated 100,000 ethnic Greeks living in Abkhazia. Foreign ministry officials said Friday that about 10,000 ethnic Greeks were expected to be evacuated by sea and air. The Pontian Greeks will be housed temporarily in camps near refugee reception centres set up at Elassona and Olympus before being transferred to permanent settlements in Thrace. Operation Golden Fleece, is being co-ordinated by the foreign, national defence and merchant marine ministries. The ethnic Greek community, 1.9 per cent of Georgia's 5.5 million population, traces its ancestry back to the ancient Kingdom of Pontus on the north-eastern shores of the Black Sea. Athens, 16/8/1993 (ANA): Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis yesterday called on the Greek people to display unity, cohesion and determination "in this transitional period for humankind". "If we can do this, if we restore our confidence in ourselves and our abilities, then it is certain that Greece will become the epicentre of growth and prosperity for an entire region and will be able to face its future with confidence and optimism", he said in a speech at the Church of the Panayia Soumela marking the Feast of the Assumption and Armed Forces Day. During the ceremonies, the premier presented the sacred relics of the Four Angels and the Cross of Soumela Monastery to the Church of the Panayia Soumela. The presentation ceremonies and church services were attended by Culture Minister Dora Bakoyannis, cabinet members and senior members of all Greek political parties. The sacred relics' transfer from the Byzantine Museum to the Panayia Soumela Foundation was approved by the central archaeological council. They were collected by private individuals sent to Greece following the 1922 Asia Minor catastrophe.