Antenna News in English 080896

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From: Antenna Radio <http://www.antenna.gr> - email: antenna@compulink.gr

News in English, of 08/08/1996

TITLES

• Parliament honours Greece's Olympic gold and silver medalists
• Serbian and Croatian leaders meet in Athens
• And, Europe's riders protest against Turkish occupation of Cyprus

PARLIAMENT

On Wednesday, it was the greek parliaments turn to honour them, by a special awarding ceremony organised for Greece's eight Olympic gold and silver medalists.

It was a heroes'welcome Tuesday afternoon prepared for Greece's Olympic winners who made their country proud. Wednesday, gold and silver medalists went to the greek parliament to receive another honour, the gold medal of the parliament, a distinction that is usually given to presidents of the republic, presidents of parliaments and other top-ranking figures from Greece and other countries.

Before they entered the parliament, some of the athletes had something to say. Second time Olympic gold winner in weight-lifting, Pyrros Dimas, said, "Tuesday, the common people honoured us, they prepared a splendid welcome for us". Gold medalist in gymnastics floor exercises, Yiannis Melissanides, said "There are no words that can describe our feelings. Tuesday, the greek people said everything". Valerios Leonides, who won a silver in weight-lifting, added "It was a great honour for me to be so warmly welcomed. I did my best in Atlanta, and I'll try to do the same in the future". Wind-surfing gold winner Nikos Kaklamanakis said "When I heard the greek anthem in Atlanta, I was happy and proud.

But it was only until I entered the stadium in greece, when I touched the greek land, that I realized what a gold medal really means",and Christos Iakovou, the man who has forged Greece's weight-lifting "Dream Team", said, "These kids did their best in Atlanta. They were worth a welcome such as this one.All the athletes in every sport have worked hard, to honour the one hundred years for the revival of the Olympics, to prove equal to the Greeks of time".

Prime minister Kostas Simitis and all of the political leaders awarded the Olympic gold and silver medalists with the greek parliament's gold medals. In their speeches, politicians put emphasis on the moral these athletes gave to all Greeks. "The moral of the story is, that nothing can be won without pain, without sacrifices, without great efforts", premier Kostas Simitis explained. "This moral gave a message to our youths, to all of us who want a powerful Greece. They proved that hellenism has the strength and the abilities to achieve great things in all fields", he added.

New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert said, "You offered us joy, hope and faith that there can be a better future for Greece".

After the awarding ceremony in the parliament, wind- surfing gold medalist Nikos Kaklamanakis said, "I dedicate my victory to entire Greece, to Greeks all over the world, to my family and myself, to the Greek officers who died in the sea for the Imia rocks, and especially to Greece's olympic team".

All of these athletes, and especially Greece's Olympic winners proved that the greek soul can do miracles all over the world, and so they deserve every distinction and honour.

VOULIAGMENI

Slobodan Milosevitch and Franio Tuntsman decided to move to the mutual recognition of both countries at nearly the end of August. They also decided to re-establish diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The main issues that the two leaders focused onwere, the decision of which country will succeed former Yugoslavia,this issue is highly important because of the pending matter of former Yugoslavia's assets; what will happen to the nearly two hundred thousand Serbian refugees, and the mutual recognition of both countries.

In the following press release, a great emphasis was given to Greece's contribution for the meeting, which opened and ended in the presence of premier Kostas Simitis and foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos.

"We organised and hosted this meeting", said prime minister Kostas Simitis on Wednesday. "Greece is always willing to contribute in discussions of this kind, because it believes that the aim among all of us should be peace, stability in the Balkans and friendship between the nations". He added, wishing the meeting to be a success and give results "which will contribute to a better cooperation of all our people".

TURKEY/CLAIMS

Turkish daily "Jum Hurriet" published excerpts from the report on Wednesday, which was written after the Imia crisis. According to the report, Greece is accused for "trying to reverse power balances in the Aegean, claiming all of the islands, which are not included in the Lausanne's and Paris' treaties".

The report also refers to the islands of Imia, which is called by the Turkish name of "Kardak". It says the Imia islands are turkish territory and Turkey should convince Greece to sit on the negotiating table to discuss the Aegean status quo.

However, the Paris treaty of 1947 clearly gives Greece the right to all the Dodecanese islands, and smaller islands and rocks nearby. And, the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne also backs Greece up, saying that islands less than three miles from the Turkish coast belong to Turkey, which is not the case for the Imia islands.

In Greece, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said the government won't remain indifferent to the new turkish provocation, and urged Ankara to condemn the military report, stressing that Turkey's essential problem is not Greece, but the international treaties.

New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert slammed Pasok's handling of Turkey, saying it has retreated before Turkey's aggressive propaganda campaign over the Aegean. Evert asked for the political leaders council to meet under the chairmaship of the Greek president as soon as possible, to face the situation.

TURKEY/PRISONS

Antenna presented exclusively for Greece, the study which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Antenna's correspondent in New York talked with doctor Vincent Iakopino about the revealing study. Dr. Iakopino calls Turkish physicians behaviour a severe violation of medical deontology, which helps in perpetuating torture in Turkish prisons.

According to the study, 96% of Turkish physicians believe that torture is a common practice in Turkey, while almost all of the detainees are put through this torture.

However, the most shocking conclusion of the study was, that up to 76% of Turkish physicians don't consider beating and psychological pressure (strain) as torture.

American doctors, who carried out the study, believe that the main reason why Turkish physicians are lead to misrepresentation and omission of evidence of torture in postdetention medical examinations, is fear. They are afraid of losing their jobs, as all of them are state employees; they are afraid of being tortured themselves, or even mysteriously killed.They are also afraid that their denonciations may lead to more torture for the detainees in the Turkish prisons.

KASTELLORIZO

The island's watch-tower-keeper denounced having been attacked by an unknown man, who lowered and threw the Greek flag in Strongili's rocks. The flag flew over the island, which is near Kastelorizo. Initially, the defence ministry confirmed the soldier's denonciations, stressing that it was not about a hostile military incident. But, some hours later, the ministry officials announced that the whole event was only a fancy of the watch-tower- keeper.

At the time, Pasok held its fourth congress, with the important task to choose its new president of party, after the death of its founder Andreas Papandreou.

Last Friday morning, the relevant official investigation was completed. Its conclusion ? There WAS an incident occurred on June 30th at dawn in Strongili island. The military officers who carried out the investigation believe that the unknown man, who attacked the watch-tower-keeper, couldn't have acted all alone.

The officers found out that a few days before that incident, on June 22nd, Athens mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos visited the island of Kastellorizo, close to Strongyli. There, the mayor raised three flags : the greek, the European Union's and the local flag of the island...The next morning, they all disappeared.

A few days after the incident in Strongyli, a battalion was ordered to move from Rhodes to Kastellorizo to oversee the island of Strongyli and the near-by Greek rocks.

The investigation over the incident on the island of Strongyli is to be handed over to the Greek pentagon officials.

EVERT

The opposition leader has taken his party's platform to the people in the Aegean islands by touring the island in the last two months.

WILL

Last Friday, Andreas Papandreou's lawyer Athanassios Liapis submitted a holographic will signed by Andreas Papandreou to the First Instance Court. Sources say the late premier declares general heir- at-law of his mobile and immobile fortune.

As for his children, the same sources say that Andreas Papandreou mentioned that the best inheritance he could give them, is his political name and their studies.

Andreas Papandreou's lawyer said he's aware of the existence of another will. Indeed, Papandreou's wife, Dimitra, submitted this week request to the First Instance Court authorities for another holographic text to be declared as the prime will. Mrs Papandreou said, in her request, that her late husband had asked her to publish this will, after his death.

Sources say this will's content is the same as the one submitted by Mr. Liapis.

RIDERS

Thessaloniki was the first stop in their course from Berlin, Germany to Cyprus, where they will meet dozens of other riders from all over the world, to pass through the occupied territories. As Giorgos Chatzikostas, president of the Cypriot Motorcycly Riders Federation, explains, "The aim of our rally is to show all of the world, that free transport is forbidden in Cyprus, due to the presence of the Turkish occupying troops".

Ricardo Forte, former president of the European Motorcycle riders federation, says "It is unfair that Turks do not to allow people to go wherever they want, stay wherever they want and do whatever they wish to". Motorcyclists'next stop was in Volos.They are expected to arrive into the occypied city of Kerynia, in Cyprus, by Saturday,and they certainly won't feel like lonely riders.

© ANT1-Radio 1996

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