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Athens News Agency: News in English, 96-12-08

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.forthnet.gr/ape>


NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 08/12/1996 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

  • Greek farmers escalate protest action
  • President meets with protesting farmers
  • Illegal immigrants caught in Dodecanese
  • Large families protest subsidy cuts
  • Cypriot Defence Minister visiting Greece
  • Coalition leader addresses women's Balkan meeting
  • Another youth dead from drug abuse
    Greek farmers protesting the government's agricultural policy kept main highways closed across the country for the eleventh day today, with more than 100 road blocks. Representatives of the farmers, who decided to escalate their protest after a meeting in Larissa yesterday, have maintained the roadblocks will stay in place until the government decides to satisfy their demands.

    Tomorrow, mainland farmers will be joined by members of 17 agricultural associations in the Cretan prefecture of Heraklio, who have said they will close the highway between the island's two main cities of Heraklio and Hania. However, Heraklio Federation of Agricultural Associations President Aristidis Schinarakis stated yesterday that the federation did not support the move.

    Last night farmers in Thessaloniki warned they would be escalating their protests. The president of the Union of Democratic Agricultural Cooperatives of Thessaloniki, Sotiris Parlapanis, told the ANA yuesterday that the Thessaloniki-Serres road would be blocked within the next two days at Derveni. If this happens, Thessaloniki will be completely cut off both from eastern Macedonia and from the Evzones, Kilkis border post, Greece's main "gate" to central Europe.

    Meanwhile, a counter-protest was made by frustrated foreign truck drivers trapped on Greece's roads, in the form of a road block of their own near Aigani, north of Larissa yesterday. The Greek farmers' protest committee was reportedly negotiating with the foreign drivers.


    President Kostis Stephanopoulos told protesting farmers at a blockade near Kavala airport yesterday that he was aware of their problems but could do nothing.

    ''I am aware of your problems but I can do nothing. I shall submit my views to the government and I believe the best possible solution will be found,'' Stephanopoulos said.

    He was speaking to farmers while on his way to Xanthi to be briefed at first hand on the widespread damage caused by heavy flooding in the region last weekend.

    Stephanopoulos was accompanied by Macedonia-Thrace Minister Philippos Petsalnikos.


    Twenty-six Iraqi illegal immigrants of Kurdish origin have been arrested by coastguard officers after landing on the island of Symi in two waves late Friday night.

    A Turkish speedboat first landed 16 illegal immigrants on the islet of Marmara, while a second craft shortly afterwards took a further 10 Iraqis to the area of Aghios Aimilianos.

    The illegal immigrants told coastguard officers that they had each paid 3, 000 US dollars to the owners of the two Turkish speedboats .

    The 15 men, 5 women and 6 children are being detained at Coastguard Headquarters on Symi and were due to appear before the public prosecutor later yesterday.

    Meanwhile, another 30 Iraqi illegal immigrants landed on the island of Symi in the early hours of yesterday morning, right in front of the yacht club, according to a report from Rhodes. Around the same time, another 12 were left in a deserted stretch of coast on the island of Kastellorizo. In both instances the Turks who transported the Iraqis to Greece returned to Turkish waters undetected. It is estimated that thousands of Iraqi citizens have gathered on Turkey's shores seeking ways to enter Greece.


    Over 5,000 members of large families participated in a rally and march to Parliament in Athens today to protest the government's decision to abolish the life pension given to mothers with more than three children.

    The protestors and representatives from 111 associations all over the country were also protesting cuts in allowances for large families and the reduction of state funds allocated to improve the country's demographic position.

    Deputies from all the political parties represented in Parliament, as well as former deputies of the Political Spring party, joined the protesters to express support for their demands.

    Ruling PASOK party deputies Stelios Papathemelis and Anastasios Peponis said that they would vote against the relevant legislative provision cutting allowances to large families.

    After the rally and march to Parliament, representatives of large family associations and a 15-member delegation of deputies from all the political parties handed a resolution containing their demands to House Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis.

    The government's decision to cut allowances to large families was part of a package of recently announced fiscal measures which include the imposition of new taxes and the abolition of scores of exemptions.


    Cypriot Defence Minister Kostas Iliades, accompanied by National Guard Chief General Vorvolakos, flew to Athens today to participate in a meeting at the Pentagon tomorrow. The meeting's agenda, according to an ANA dispatch from Nicosia, includes the US proposal for a moratorium on flights by Greek and Turkish planes over the Republic of Cyprus.
    Coaltion of the Left and Progress leader Nikos Constantopoulos today proposed to all Balkan governments that 1997 be declared a year for inter- Balkan co-operation.

    Addressing the two-day conference ''Women and the Balkans of the year 2000'' which opened today in Thessaloniki, Constantopoulos said he was putting forward the proposal so that inter-Balkan co-operation might become a ''mass movement'' in order for the region to develop into a crossroads for ''forms of international co-operation'' with the EU, the OSCE and other organisations.

    Constantopoulos said that the principles and objectives of such inter- Balkan co-operation should be incorporated in a framework along the lines of the Helsinki Final Act and become a permanent institution.


    An 18-year-old youth was found dead in a central Athens hotel room early this morning from a drug overdose. Evangelos Strongylakis, whose parents were separated, had lived at the hotel with his father for the past three months. He had reportedly tried to kick the habit at the "Strofi" rehabilitation programme. Police say that since the beginning of this year more than 190 youths have died from drug overdoses.

    WEATHER

    Monday's weather will be overcast, foggy, with west-southwesterly moderate to strong winds over most of Greece, turning to northeasterlies in the east. Athens: partly cloudy with temperatures between 10-17C. Thessaloniki: scattered cloud, light winds, with temperatures ranging from 6-13C.

    SPORTS

    Basketball:Panathinaikos beat PAOK 86-57 in their fourth straight championship victory in a row. Peristeri defeated Heracles 73-68, Apollo Patron beat spoting 82-57, Olympiakos beat Larissa 87-58. First division football games were cancelled yesterday due to a strike by staff at the nation's stadiums.

    FOREIGN EXCHANGE

    (Closing rates [buying] U.S. dlr 240.868, Can. dlr.176.497, Australian dlr. 192.160, Pound sterling 395.252, Irish punt 396.899, Cyprus pd 516.634, French franc 46.301, Swiss franc 184.844 Belgian franc 7.592, German mark 156.508, Finnish mark 52.417, Dutch guilder 139.530, Danish Kr. 40.884, Swedish Kr. 35.516, Norwegian Kr. 37.400, Austrian Sh. 22.243, Italian lira (100) 15.838, Yen (100) 214.421, Spanish Peseta 1.859, Portuguese Escudo 1.549.

    (M.S.)


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