Antenna: News in English (PM), 98-10-29

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

Last Updated: Thursday, 29-Oct-98 22:34:13

CONTENTS

[01] Cabinet reshuffle

[02] Burns

[03] New Democracy

[04] Archimedes' manuscript

[01] Cabinet reshuffle

The public order ministry is effectively being abolished - it will be transformed say sources, into a ministry of state. With the public order ministry gone, the police will now be headed by its own high command.

Public order minister Giorgos Romeos was one of three ministers removed from the cabinet.

The other two are health minister Stephanos Tzoumakas; and health minister Kostas Gitonas.

In addition to the ministers, four deputy ministers have also been removed.

Kostas Simitis said at the last meeting of Pasok MPs, held last week, that in the wake of the party's setbacks in the recent local elections, that there has to be changes in the way the party and government work. And he mentioned specific ministerial areas he wasn't happy with: among them were health care and the efficiency of the police.

There may be several reasons for the prime minister's decision to surprise absolutely everyone with his reshuffle. One thing is clear: it is his reshuffle, and his alone. The unmistakable message is that Kostas Simitis is determined to run the government his way.

[02] Âurns

In a speech at his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, Nicholas Burns also said that Greek- American relations are considerably better than they were ten years ago.

Greece has long been upset over Turkey's claims on its territorial rights in the Aegean, and over the Turkish air force's violations of Greek air space in the Aegean.

US ambassador to Greece Nicholas Burns wants the two countries to take steps, however small, to mend fences.

"We can understand why countries sometimes cannot take giant steps together when they have major differences", he said. "Less understandable is why it is so hard to take baby steps".

Burns proposes a series of steps that will move the two countries closer together.

He wants them to accept Nato-proposed confidence- building measures. Those include Nato monitoring of military flights over the Aegean.

Greece says it is ready to implement some of those measures which it and Turkey have agreed to.

The problem is, Turkey won't agree to partial implementation until the whole package has been agreed to.

Burns also suggests other steps to improve relations and promote understanding. He believes increased business contacts and exchanges between non-governmental organisations would be helpful.

And Burns thinks bridges could be built with governmental exchanges and cooperation in non- controversial areas, like fighting drug trafficking, environmental protection, trade, and investment.

Greek-Americans, says the ambassador, could also play a role, by traveling to Turkey and becoming acquainted with officials there.

The US, Burns adds, will support any effort by Greece and Turkey to resolve their differences peacefully.

He reaffirms US support for Greece's call for Turkey to take its claims on Greece's sovereign rights to the international court. Turkey wants bilateral negotiations, but Greece says it cannot negotiate over its established rights.

Burns is satisified with Greek-American relations. He believes that the two nations have a "more mature partnership today than they did a decade ago.

As an example of how well the two allies are working together, he cited the Kosovo issue. Greece used its influence to persuade the Yugoslavs to comply with Nato's demands in Kosovo, he says. Greece was also ready to let Nato use its bases in the event of military operations against the Serbs.

Burns also praises Greece for offering to send 150 people to work on the international verifiers' commission in Kosovo.

[03] New Democracy

Kostas Karamanlis addressed mayors in the Thessaloniki area, all elected with the support of New Democracy.

Now is not the time for complacency, Karamanlis told them.

"Whoever has been tired out by the past or for personal reasons, should step aside", he intoned. "I don't want to hear any grumbling. What I want is for all of us to work together without the burden of the bonds of yesterday weighing upon us".

Karamanlis told the newly-elected mayors the party won't try to tell them what to do.

"We're not trying to replace Pasok green with New Dmeocracy blue in local government", he explained. "We want to change the way officials behave towards their constituents. That means putting honour, efficiency, and respect for the citizenry above all else".

Many of the candidates New Democracy successfully backed in the elections were also supported by other parties.

Karamanlis says there's a need to strengthen those social alliances, to build on them.

[04] Archimedes' manuscript

Greece, will bid for Archimedes 1,000 year old manuscript being put on the auction block by Christie's New York.

Greece's decision to bid for the Palimpsest comes after the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem lost an injunction against Christie's New York auction house to stop the sale.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, says the text was stolen from its library in present-day Istanbul after World War I.

The 174 manuscript, currently owned by a French family for the past 75 years is expected to fetch between dlrs 800,000 and dlrs 1.2 million.

Venizelos said the Patriarchate will continue with legal action even after the auction. Adding, `Our aim is for the manuscript to be saved, to be revealed to the scientific community, to stop being hidden. The Jerusalem Patriarchate has some very strong evidence which perhaps could not have been judged in the phase of the injunction'.

According to the Patriarchate the medieval manuscript came into the hands of its current owners following a mysterious journey from Middle Eastern monasteries. It was originally copied in Constantinople in the 10th century, only to be copied over with a Greek religious text two centuries later. The original writings, however, are still legible.

In the Middle Ages, it was owned by a monastery in Palestine whose manuscript collection was incorporated into the Greek orthodox Patriarchate library in Jerusalem in the 19th century.

No one knows why it was transferred to another monastery in Constantinople. All but four ancient texts

including the Archimedes volume

The Archimedes text was the only one to fall into private hands.

The document is one of the most important classical

palimpsest manuscripts in existence.

It is the only known copy of original notes and calculations by the 3rd century BC theoretician and inventor, who explored the movements of the stars and is credited with devising the compound pulley and devices for raising water.

Archimedes, who explored physics, astronomy and engineering, is credited with shouting ``Eureka!'' or ``I've found it!'' while running naked through the streets after discovering the principle of water displacement while sitting in his bath.

The manuscript is said to contain the only known copy of the original Greek text of his work `On Floating Bodies'. It also contains works such as `On the Measurement of the Circle' and `On the Sphere and the Cylinder' and `On Spiral Lines.'

The ancient text was studied in 1907 by a Danish scientist, who used only natural light and a magnifying light. Experts believe modern methods such as ultra-violet light and digital scanning could reveal as yet unknown workings of Archimedes.

(c) ANT1 Radio 1998

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