From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Sat, 9 Apr 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). ANA, 09/04/1994 ( ) Premier replies to President Clinton `on all issues` --------------------------------------------------- ATHENS, 9/4/94 (ANA).-- Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's reply to the letter received a fortnight ago from President Bill Clinton refers to all the issues which will be on the agenda of talks between the two leaders in Washington on April 22, the government said yesterday. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said that Mr. Papandreou handed the letter to US Ambassador Thomas Niles Thursday night. On the Skopje issue, Mr. Venizelos said that no decision had been taken by the European Commission to refer Greece to the European Court of Justice over the trade sanctions it has imposed as retortion measures against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). He said that there had been a decision "in principle", suspended until April 13. "The procedure under Article 225 has not been used before, and its purpose is to examine whether or not Greece exercises its rights abusively," Mr. Venizelos said. The most competent person, the spokesman said, is UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali "who in his repor ascertains that the problem between Greece and FYROM creates tension which jeopardizes peace in the region." The procedure of referral, Mr. Venizelos said, is not regulated by rules of the Luxembourg court " and, therefore, it is a procedure which moves at its own pace within a time-framework of one year". "The decision is taken behind closed doors precisely because problems of a political nature are raised, but despite this, the government has no objection to stating its positions publicly," the spokesman said. Greece's legal arguments are both numerous and potent, Mr. Venizelos stressed, clarifying that the procedure was not penal in nature, but merely "to establish a point, " and it did not carry legal consequences. Fines are not easily imposed, Mr. Venizelos said, "precisely because the political nature of the issue comes first." The spokesman dismissed the possibility of provisional remedies being imposed against Greece, noting that such measures were anticipated only in cases of an urgent nature, "while here we have an issue which the Commission has been involved with for two months." Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after meeting with President Constantine Karamanlis, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias described the Commission's referral decision as "untimely, unhelpful and reminiscent of previous EU decisions on former Yugoslavia". Mr. Papoulias said that the referral procedure "does not worry us". Foreign Undersecretary George Papandreou yesterday had talks with US envoys Thomas Niles focusing on the Skopje issue. The two men also discussed matters relating to the Premier's visit to the Unites States. ANA PolA calls for Skopje referendum -------------------------------- ATHENS, 9/4/94 (ANA).-- The Political Spring (Pol.A) party yesterday called for a referendum on the Skopje issue immediately or, at the latest, simultaneously with the European Parliament elections in June. The request was tabled in Parliament by the party's Parliamentary Group in a motion addressed to all the government ministers. Pol.A proposed that Greek voters should be asked in the referendum whether or not they would "accept Greece's co-signing, under any conditions, a concession on the name Macedonia (as is, a derivative, or in any other form) to the state of Skopje on the grounds this constitutes a vehicle of irredentist propaganda and a future threat to our national security". Political Spring is the third largest party in the 300-member Parliament. ANA Greece hopes S.C. won't implement Turkish Bosnia mission --------------------------------------------------------- ATHENS, 9/4/94 (ANA).-- Greece yesterday expressed the hope that the recent Security Council decision to include Turkish troops in the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) contingent in Bosnia would not eventually be implemented. "What matters to the Greek government is that the decision should not be implemented, but if it were, then the government would be interested in seeing that the relevant terms and conditions made Turkish participation as least negative as possible for peace in the region," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said. Meanwhile, commenting on statements concerning the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Phanar, Istanbul, by Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Ferhat Ataman, Mr. Venizelos said that in addition to the Treaty of Lausanne, international practice and standing rules also governed the functioning of the Patriarchate. "The honours afforded the Ecumenical Patriarch on his visits abroad are not coincidental," the spokesman said. Mr. Ferhat said Thursday Ankara could not "understand the liaison between the Patriarchate and Greece". He also claimed that the Patriarchate was a "Turkish foundation". Greece, added Mr Venizelos, condemns terrorism and all acts of violence "but at the same time respects the principles of international law and therefore asks Turkey to refrain from systematically exporting its problems to other countries". The spokesman said that the Kurdish Workers' Party did not have a representative office in Athens, as it did in other large European countries. ANA