Subject: A.N.A. Bulletin 14/9/93 From: miltos@nfl2.irc.nrc.ca Athens News Agency Bulletin, September 14, 1993 =============================================== Athens, 14/9/1993 (ANA) - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrived in Athens yesterday for a five-day visit and talks with the country's political leaders. Shortly after arriving, Mr. Gorbachev met with President Constantine Karamanlis. Mr. Gorbachev was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of Political Sciences at Panteios University last night, at a special ceremony addressed by former German foreign minister Hans Dietrich Genscher. He was also made an honorary citizen of Piraeus and presented with the gold medal of the port city. This afternoon, Mr. Gorbachev is due to have successive meetings with Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis, Coalition of the Left and Progress leader Maria Damanaki, Political Spring Maria Damanaki, Political Spring president Antonis Samaras and main opposition socialist PASOK party leader Andreas Papandreou. No meeting has been scheduled between Mr. Gorbachev and Communist Party of Greece Secretary General Aleka Paparriga. In an interview with a Greek television channel Sunday night, Mr. Gorbachev expressed "full support" for Greece's positions on the Skopje issue which, he said, "are not dictated by nationalistic considerations or fanaticism". "Greece's positions", he went on, "are rooted in history" and this must be understood on the other side of the border, otherwise there is a danger of conflagration". Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Mr. Karamanlis yesterday, Mr. Gorbachev said that his views on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were "identical" with Greece's positions. "Macedonia is Greek and the land of Alexander the Great. Nobody can question this", Mr. Gorbachev said. The former Soviet leader expressed concern over the situation in the Balkans, stressing that the most important issue for neighbouring countries was peaceful coexistence. Earlier, while entering the Presidential Mansion, Mr. Gorbachev told Mr. Karamanlis that "I, too, have in my views those elements of Democracy which was born in your country". The one-hour meeting between Mr. Karamanlis and Mr. Gorbachev focused on Greek-Russian relations, the situation in Europe and the Balkans and international issues. Mr. Gorbachev described the talks as "constructive with complete mutual understanding". Mr. Gorbachev, in a speech at Panteios University after receiving his honorary doctorate, said that humankind was in a transitional phase "towards a new civilisation" and that comprehensive solutions were needed to confront current problems. "The East and West must transcend their rivalry", he said, adding that international security could be safeguarded through the proper use of world and regional organisations. Referring to the role of "perestroika" in toppling Soviet totalitarianism, Mr. Gorbachev said that Russia would overcome its problems " through political means, based on democracy and the traditions of its people". He also spoke warmly of Greece, which he said "had laid the foundation stone of the civilisation of all nations". Mr. Gorbachev was introduced by Panteios President Dimitris Konstas and former German foreign minister Hans Dietrich Genscher. Thessaloniki University will confer an honorary doctorate on Mr. Gorbachev tomorrow, during his trip to Macedonia. He will speak at the university on the latest international developments. He will tour historic sites in the region and visit the archaeological museum and the Vergina Royal Tombs. The city of Thessaloniki will present him with the city's gold medal. Athens, 14/9/1993 (ANA) - Reports from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund can verify that the Greek economy is on the right course, government spokesman Vassilis Manginas said yesterday. He was responding to what he said were " attempts by main opposition party PASOK and a section of the press to cast doubt on the real state of the economy". The aim of the opposition attempts to reduce public support for major infrastructure projects implemented by the government, Mr. Manginas said, was to postpone the 500 million dollar Spata airport project, which would be of tremendous benefit to the Greek economy. Mr. Manginas noted that one quarter of taxes paid today by the Greek people went to pay for interest on debts incurred by the PASOK government in the 80s. London, 14/9/1993 (ANA) - The Financial Times yesterday reported Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis' warning that a socialist win in the elections would lead to a "haemorrhage of deficits". "The Greek people will be called on to pay a huge amount, if privatisation is abandoned", the paper quoted Mr. Mitsotakis as saying. "[Main opposition PASOK's] intention of cancelling negotiations for the sale of public utilities and rolling back recent legislation permitting private operators to build and run power plants would damage chances of attracting investment", the report said. Athens, 14/9/1993 (ANA) - The Israeli-Palestinian agreement is a "ray of light in a troubled world", Foreign Minister Michalis Papaconstantinou said yesterday, speaking to reporters shortly after his visit to the 58th Thessaloniki International Fair. He expressed the hope that a solution to the 19-year-old Cyprus problem and Bosnia-Herzegovina would follow soon. Mr. Papaconstantinou said there would be further talks on the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with Cyrus Vance in New York on September 28 but stressed that while elections were in progress, no significant developments could take place. He appealed to parties in the run up to the elections not to make national issues the object of pre-election sparring, saying that Greece should not appear to be divided on issues of national importance. Commenting on a article published in the Skopje newspaper "Nova Makedonia", asserting that Alexander and Great was not Greek, he said that "absurdities of this sort" should be ignored. "I remember (Skopje President Kiro) Gligorov himself, saying last August in London: "We are Slavs and came in the 7th or 8th century and have no connection with Alexander the Great", he said. He also expressed conviction that relations with Albania would improve, pointing out that the neighbouring country's economy was highly dependent on Greece since Albanian immigrant workers, sent back some two billion drachmas a month. "We have to understand that Greece has a leading role in the Balkans, that we are the strongest country both economically, militarily and every other aspect. We had the good fortune to live in a democracy. All Balkan countries expect Greece to pay a leading role and we are fulfilling this role. We have already helped Bulgaria and Romania and we are ready to help all these countries", Mr. Papaconstantinou said. Athens, 14/9/1993 (ANA) - Israel's Ambassador to Greece said yesterday that Israel and the PLO should isolate fanatic elements that could undermine the historic peace agreement. "The agreement is a first step in the direction of resolving existing problems between Israelis and Palestinians. I hope that both sides will isolate fanatic elements opposing the agreement so that it will not be undermined", Ambassador David Sasson told a press conference at the Thessaloniki International Fair. He said the two sides were led to the agreement because "Israel got tired of wars, and the Palestinians got tired of their problem constantly remaining unresolved". He said the new geopolitical order and a more realistic policy have also led to the signing of the peace agreement, which he added "is based on the people's will". Istanbul, 14/9/1993 (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) - Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller is to appeal to Istanbul Greeks to return to the city shortly before leaving for a visit to the US, the Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported yesterday. According to the paper, Ms. Ciller will ask the Greeks driven out of Turkey by the 1955 pogroms and later persecution to return and reclaim their property. Similar calls have been made in the past by Turkish President Turgut Ozal, without any definite outcome. Reliable observers say, however, that the conditions that led Greeks to abandon Istanbul and other Turkish towns have changed little in the present day. Not long ago a Greek cemetery in Neohorio was vandalised by as-yet unknown persons, who dug up graves and defaced tombstones. Turkish authorities have failed to restore the cemetery. "We expect, as law-abiding citizens, that our honourable government will protect what we hold sacred and holy, our lives and our property and to not allow every vagrant or fanatic to vent himself by destroying Orthodox cemeteries", Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos said of the incident. The Patriarchate also complains that, despite repeated assurances, it has not yet been given permission to report the Halki Religious School, which would contribute to creating a friendly climate to creating a friendly climate for the tiny Greek minority that remains. The Greek minority in Istanbul has become "a negotiating lever in the relations of neighbours and allies", the Patriarch added. "It is not enough that so few of us are left here, we have to put up with more and, indeed, so must our dead, who 'sleep' awaiting our common resurrection". Athens, 14/9/1993 (ANA) - Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will pay an official visit to the prefecture of the Dodecannese from September 18-22. The Patriarch will arrive in Rhodes on September 18. He will conduct mass at the Evangelismos Church the following day and attend a reception marking the 2,400 the year of the foundation of the city of Rhodes in the evening. He will visit the island of Symi on September 20, going to Castellorizo on the following day. On September 22, he will return to Rhodes for a tour of its communities and depart the same day. An announcement yesterday from the municipality of Rhodes said the Patriarch's visit to the prefecture was vested with "particular importance". Montreal, 14/9/1993 (ANA - D. Dimas) - Canada's opposition Liberal Party, fighting a close election race with the ruling Conservatives, announced yesterday it would not recognise Skopje as the "Republic of Macedonia" and called on the former Yugoslav republic to "respect Greece's cultural heritage". Speaking on behalf of the Canadian Liberal Party, Michele Dupuy, adviser on foreign affairs, said: "A Liberal government will neither recognise nor establish diplomatic ties with the state called Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, if the interested parties do not arrive at an agreement which respects and honours Greek culture". "We will not recognise this state with the name 'Macedonia'", he said. The Liberals hold a slight lead over the Conservatives.