From: "Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa" Subject: A.N.A. Bulletin 12/1/95 Athens News Agency Bulletin --------------------------- (Apo to Ellnviko Grafeio Tupou kai Plnroforiwv, Ottaba, Kavadas E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca) * Arsenis: better European security means incorporating Balkan nations in defence structures * Arsenis' Speech * Paris talks see way out to issue of Cyprus entry, Turkish customs union with EU * Lamassoure awaits move from Turkey to 'untie EU hands' * Greece considers sending observer to US-Albanian military exercise * Egyptian military head visits Larissa base * Evert to meet Rabin today, hopes for greater role for Greece in peace process * Anastasios visit to Greece not an issue with Tirana, Venizelos says * Vartholomeos leaves on Ethiopian visit * Bomb threat in Greek embassy in Ankara a hoax * Greece calls for peace in Chechnya * UN talks on Skopje issue may start next week, Venizelos says * Police fight rioting youths in central Athens * Papathemelis meets with US State Dep't official Arsenis: better European security means incorporating Balkan nations in defence structures ------------------------------------------------------------ Bonn, 12/1/95 (ANA - P. Stangos): Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis yesterday told an audience of security and foreign policy experts at the German Society for Foreign Policy that a European security system cannot be effective if it does not incorporate the Balkan countries. "The Balkans should not be of interest because they are near Europe, but because they are (part of) Europe," he said, emphasising that the treatment of Balkan countries needed "open horizons", because "it is the logic of spheres of influence that has led the region to become a veritable powder-keg...". At the start of his official three-day visit, Mr. Arsenis had talks with his German counterpart Volker Ruehe, centring on closer co-operation within NATO, and joint arms production. Speaking to Greek reporters before the start of the talks, Mr. Arsenis said "we have not come as clients for the purchase of military equipment... We do have needs, but limited funds too, and we must strike the right balance". He stressed the Greek interest in "joint production of defence equipment", aiming to meet not only Greek needs, but also those of the wider region. During the talks, Mr. Arsenis proposed that Germany send observers to joint Greek-Bulgarian-Romanian military exercises carried out under the auspices of Nato's Partnership for Peace programme. His German counterpart said "the matter would be examined. .." and said he hoped Germany would send observers. Mr. Arsenis stressed the significance which Greece attached to the integration of the structures of Nato's south-eastern flank, involving the activation of HQ in Larissa, and the setting up of a rapid deployment task force in Thessaloniki. There was no clear response on the matter, but a German Foreign Ministry official said the German stand "depended on other additional factors and processes", and referred to the forthcoming visit of Nato's Secretary-General Willy Claes to Athens and Ankara. On the political level, discussion centred on Chechnya and Bosnia, and there was an identity of views: The Russian military intervention in the former was not acceptable, but could not involve the adoption of measures or sanctions against it, while on Bosnia, the two men expressed "reserved optimism" for the holding of the truce and the acceptance of the peace plan, and unequivocal support for the role of UNPROFOR. Discussion also touched on the issue of Greek and German participation in a NATO support operation, in the event of a withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from Bosnia. Both countries, for different reasons originating in their historical and political peculiarities, want a limited participation in such an operation, which basically they do not wish. Arsenis' Speech --------------- Bonn, 12/1/95 (ANA - P. Stangos): In his speech to the German Society for Foreign Policy, Mr. Arsenis said a "policy of 'knee-jerk reactions'," which now predominates in the handling of problems in the Balkans, should be abandoned and give way to the formation of a "long-term policy based on strategic principles such as the inviolability and stability of borders, and the settlement of crises through political solutions and not armed conflict." Mr. Arsenis said that the gradual integration of the Balkan countries in the European Union, the Western European Union, and NATO, as well as respect for democratic principles and human rights, were also desirable. He stressed the need for security co-operation in the Balkans, saying that such an effort should be based on the promotion of Partnership for Peace programmes with Balkan countries that are non-NATO members, and the signing or renewal of defence and military accords with Bulgaria and Romania. The minister said he would visit both countries soon. Mr. Arsenis proposed the creation of a regional defence organisation which would have an "operational connection" with NATO and the WEU. He concluded by saying that "Greece is not the problem but the key to solving the problems..." in the Balkans. Meanwhile, a DPA dispatch reported that Germany's opposition environmental Greens party issued a statement yesterday calling on Bonn to cease all military aid to Greece. The statement said that "the massive rearmament" of the Greek army is a "great danger" for the region when viewed in context of Turkey's similar "massive rearmament." Paris talks see way out to issue of Cyprus entry, Turkish customs union with EU --------------------------------------------------------- Paris, 12/1/95 (ANA - G. Zitouniati): The upshot of "constructive" talks between Foreign Under-Secretary for European Affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and European Affairs Minister Alain Lamassoure yesterday is "optimism" that a package deal on the issue of a timetable for Cyprus' accession to the European Union and the bloc's customs union with Turkey will be concluded in a few weeks time. Greece considers the two issues interlinked. According to press reports, an in principle rapprochement was achieved on a package deal, which France, current EU president, will discuss with the other EU member-states as well as Turkey on January 19. Generally speaking, the formula anticipates an accession timetable for Cyprus immediately after the holding of the inter-governmental conference in 1996 and Cyprus' participation in Community processes in the interim -- on the same lines as those concerning central and eastern European countries -- in exchange for the lifting of the Greek veto on Turkey's customs union with the EU. According to the reports, the settlement discussed includes more conditions set by Greece on Turkish concessions on the Cyprus issue or economic safeguards for repercussions stemming from customs union between Turkey and the EU. Lamassoure awaits move from Turkey to 'untie EU hands' ----------------------------------------------------- PARIS 12/1/95 (ANA): French European Affairs Minister Alain Lamassoure said yesterday political problems on the completion of customs union between the European Union and Turkey remained despite the fact commercial and technical negotiations had been completed. In an interview with the Greek TV network Antenna, Mr. Lamassoure said the EU awaited a goodwill gesture by Turkey on the Cyprus issue to "untie its hands." He referred to the issue of human rights in the country, terming the sentencing of eight Kurdish deputies to jail as "unacceptable". "If the Turks make certain gestures, then the Greeks would probably agree with us and a political agreement will be reached on customs union between the EU and Turkey," he said. Mr. Lamassoure said the union issue would be discussed again at a new meeting on March 7 and if the Turks made some gesture he hoped Greece would consent to Turkey's claim. Referring to the issue of a start to negotiations on Cyprus' accession to the EU, Mr. Lamassoure said he considered it a given. "We have the decision taken in Corfu as a given that Cyprus and Malta will be the next two countries to preoccupy the next enlargement of the EU. However, these negotiations will start after the revision of the Maastricht Treaty," he said. Mr. Lamassoure also referred to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the Greek language and Mediterranean policy. He said FYROM's intransigence was a given fact, adding that Greece was a country having ties and long-standing friendship with France. "Greece is meeting with certain difficulties but is destined to become 'a pole of radiance' in the Balkans," he said. Mr. Lamassoure said Greek was considered a "great cultural language", but added that after EU enlargement "we have between 15 and 11 languages and this is an extreme case of feasibility. We will not be able to function with 20 or 25 languages. Foreign ministers are already speaking three or four languages. Consequently, what I propose is that what is already established practice should be made official through these texts." He indicated the Mediterranean was the French EU presidency's second priority. "We believe the EU should re-determine its relations with Mediterranean countries and propose to them a general framework of co-operation in the political and economic sectors," he said. According to an ANA dispatch from Brussels, Mr. Lamassoure conceded that the French presidency was mistaken in raising the issue of limiting the number of EU languages. This was deduced at a discussion at the European People's Party (EPP) group on the French presidency's programme to be presented at a European Parliament plenary session on Tuesday. In strong interventions, Eurodeputies G. Anastassopoulos and P. Lambrias raised the issue of limiting working languages to five as proposed by Mr. Lamassoure. Replying, the head of the French delegation at the EPP, Mr. D. Baudice, said that at a meeting with French Eurodeputies Mr. Lamassoure had recognised that raising the language issue was a mistake on his part. Greece considers sending observer to US-Albanian military exercise --------------------------------------------------------- Bonn, 12/1/95 (ANA - P. Stangos): Greece is considering sending an observer -- actually the Greek military attachi in Tirana -- to a joint US-Albanian military exercise to be held shortly under the NATO Partnership for Peace plan. Such a move is viewed as signalling a thaw and gradual normalisation in relations between Albania and Greece, in the wake of Albanian President Sali Berisha's recent compromise gesture on the issue of accrediting a Greek military attachi to the neighbouring country. Meanwhile, reports quoted members of the Greek delegation accompanying National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis on his visit to Germany, as saying it would be "counter-productive" for Athens not to be represented at an observer level at the exercise, especially as it had been initially suggested by Greece. Egyptian military head visits Larissa base ------------------------------------------ Athens, 12/1/95 (ANA): Visiting Egyptian Joint Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Esalam Mohamed Attia Halaby yesterday visited the Larissa-based Tactical Airforce Headquarters. General Halaby is in Greece on an official visit to promote closer defence co-operation between the two countries. Evert to meet Rabin today, hopes for greater role for Greece in peace process ---------------------------------------------------------------- Tel Aviv, 12/1/95 (ANA): Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert will meet today in Tel Aviv with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to discuss the possibility of Greece playing a decisive role for peace in the Middle East. Mr. Evert, who arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday at the invitation of the Israeli government, said he was satisfied with talks already held and that Israel viewed Greece's role in the Middle East peace process as positive. He met with Israeli Alternate Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin to discuss problems in the region after his arrival. Yesterday he met with the Mayor of Jerusalem Mr. Olmert, a top official of the main opposition Likud party. Speaking to the press, Mr. Evert said Greece must become the link which will connect Europe with the Middle East. "It is of strategic importance for Greece to play a substantive role in the region," he said, adding that there was a change in the balance of forces and that if Greece lagged behind events its national issues would suffer. Anastasios visit to Greece not an issue with Tirana, Venizelos says -------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 12/1/95 (ANA): Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos yesterday said the Albanian authorities have not caused any problems for Archbishop Anastasios, who wants to visit Greece for medical reasons. According to sources, the Albanian authorities warned Archbishop Anastasios that they would not permit his re-entry to the country if he left. "We believe," Mr. Venizelos said, "that the Albanian government knows that the international community follows developments (in Albania) concerning respect of human rights and especially religious freedoms." Last year the Greek government denounced Albania to the UN for flagrantly violating human rights, and in particular religious freedoms safeguarded by international law and the UN Charter, accusing it of engineering the removal of Archbishop Anastasios through Article 7 in the draft Albanian Constitution. Paragraph 4 of Article 7 in the proposed Albanian constitution required that "the leaders of large religious communities should be Albanian citizens, have been born in Albania and lived permanently in the country over the past 20 years." The Greek government said the specific article in the proposed constitution in essence meant the ousting of Archbishop Anastasios. A referendum held in November voted down the draft constitution designed to replace the old communist model in force since 1976. The 300,000 members of the ethnic Greek community in Albania rejected the referendum in protest against Article 7 which threatened the position of Archbishop Anastasios. Meanwhile in Tirana, Archbishop Anastasios appealed to the press to abandon the issue saying "it is not exactly so. I have not asked for a visa." Vartholomeos leaves on Ethiopian visit -------------------------------------- Istanbul, 12/1/95 (ANA): Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos, spiritual leader of more than 200 million Orthodox Christians around the world, left yesterday for Ethiopia for his first official visit to the Church of Ethiopia. Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Eastern Churches, including the Church of Ethiopia, is proceeding satisfactorily and any differences will be fully resolved, the Patriarch said in an announcement yesterday. The Patriarch is due back to Istanbul on January 21. Bomb threat in Greek embassy in Ankara a hoax --------------------------------------------- Istanbul, 12/1/95 (ANA - A. Kourkoulas): A bomb threat by an anonymous caller to the Greek Embassy in Ankara yesterday turned out to be a hoax after a Turkish police special squad made a thorough search. The embassy notified the authorities immediately after receiving the call at approximately 4 pm. Soon afterwards, five police cars with special squad men arrived. They searched the embassy building and compound without discovering any bomb or explosive device. Observers were quoted as saying the incident was characteristic of the prevailing climate in the neighbouring country, where all evils plaguing the nation were blamed on Greece, through a violent anti-Greek press campaign and hostile statements. Nationalist Action Party leader Alpaslan Turkes claimed Tuesday that Kurdish PKK rebels were receiving training in camps in Armenia, Syria, Greece and Cyprus, adding action was necessary to cope with the "source of infection". Greece calls for peace in Chechnya ---------------------------------- Athens, 12/1/95 (ANA): Greece remained firm and steadfast in its position that peace should prevail in regions of conflict, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos told reporters yesterday when asked to elaborate on Greece's position on the situation in Chechnya. UN talks on Skopje issue may start next week, Venizelos says ----------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 12/1/95 (ANA): The UN-brokered talks to resolve the Greek-Skopje crisis might resume next week, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos told the press yesterday. The talks will take place with the mediation of UN special Skopje mediator Cyrus Vance. Greece insists that its Balkan neighbour change its name, remove ancient Greek symbols from its flag and change the preamble of its constitution expressing territorial designs against Greece's Macedonia province. Police fight rioting youths in central Athens -------------------------------------------- Athens, 12/1/95 (ANA): Riot police used tear gas, smoke bombs and baton charges in downtown Athens to break up groups of youths who had earlier infiltrated a march by schoolchildren in memory of a teacher murdered in January 1991. According to initial reports, the youths had joined the end of the march and suddenly began throwing petrol bombs and rocks at shops, banks and cars. Police made 13 arrests and seized a number of petrol bombs. They said late last night that eight of those arrested had been charged. The youths split up into two groups, one of which occupied the Law School building on Solonos street in central Athens. The schoolchildren were marching from the Athens Polytechnic to the Ministry of Education building to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the death of Nikos Temponeras, a Patras schoolteacher who was attacked when a group of men tried to remove pupils from a school they had occupied. Yiannis Kalambokas, a Patras municipal councillor and president of the main opposition New Democracy youth wing when Temponeras was killed, was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment for the murder in May last year. Papathemelis meets with US State Dep't official ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 12/1/95 (ANA): Public Order Minister Stelios Papathemelis held a meeting yesterday with visiting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Nancy Ely-Raphel. US Ambassador to Athens Thomas Niles also attended the meeting which focused on issues of mutual interest.