ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETINS

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Subject: ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETINS
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ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 580), May 6, 1995
=================================================


Gov't rejects Turkish accusations
-------------------------------------
Athens, 05/06/1995 (ANA):

The government yesterday dismissed Turkish "lessons" on how to
protect human rights and respect international laws. "Greece
does not accept lessons, advice or censure concerning the
protection of human rights and respect for the principles of
international law from the Turkish government which is
accountable to all international organisations for circumventing
these rights and principles," government spokesman Evangelos
Venizelos said.

The spokesman also described as "groundless" and "slanderous"
Turkish accusations that Greece was supposedly involved in acts
of terrorism on Turkish soil or against Turkish targets. "All
this is nothing but an attempt by Ankara to export Turkey's
domestic problems," Mr. Venizelos said, adding that "such
accusations by Turkish officials are a provocation... and Greece
will never tolerate the accused playing the accuser."

Mr. Venizelos again expressed the government's regret over
Wednesday's incidents in Thessaloniki when Turkish government
spokesman Yildirim Aktuna was pelted with various objects as he
arrived at the Turkish consulate. The episode was provoked by
televised comments by Mr. Aktuna during a visit to Greece's
Moslem minority in Western Thrace, when he referred to them as
"fellow Turks".

Mr. Venizelos said that responsibility would be sought at an
administrative level, noting that the crowd outside the
consulate should have been at a greater distance from the
building.

Meanwhile, an ANA report from Ankara yesterday said the Greek
embassy had received scores of complaints and bomb threats over
the incidents in Thessaloniki. The Turkish authorities, notified
of the bomb scares, had bolstered security around the Greek
establishment.

The report said protest action against the episode in
Thessaloniki was highlighted by a rally staged by Turkish
journalists outside the Greek embassy. "Demonstrators laid a
wreath of carnations assembled on a black frame with an
inscription saying 'let us not be enemies'," said the report.

A protest gathering was also held outside the Greek Consulate in
Istanbul yesterday, where staff also complained about receiving
bomb threats.

ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 579), May 5, 1995
=================================================


Aktuna visit failed to observe international norms, Gov't says
------------------------------------------------------------------
Athens, 05/05/1995 (ANA):

The Foreign Ministry yesterday strongly criticised the
provocative behaviour of Turkish minister of state and
government spokesman Yildirim Aktuna during his three-day tour
of Thrace, saying he had failed to observe the norms of
international relations an d that his visit was an abuse of
democratic practice that would not be allowed in Turkey.

"As a European and democratic country, Greece allowed Mr.
Aktuna, the Turkish MPs and the entourage of (Turkish)
journalists to visit, in the belief that during his visit he
would respect the relevant rules of international relations,"
foreign ministry spokesman Costas Bikas said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, from the very first moment he stepped on Greek
soil, Mr. Aktuna's entire behaviour was provocative. He
questioned (the validity of) the Treaty of Lausanne and showed
that the purpose of his visit was not to protect or improve the
climate between Greece and Turkey. But we believe that he had
the opportunity to see how the Moslem minority lives and that
its rights are fully respected.

"I am afraid that the same would not hold for a Greek official
wishing to visit the once thriving Greek minority of Istanbul,
of Imvros and Tenedos, because it has shrunk to virtually
nothing following the Turkish persecutions of 1942 (Vallik
Vergisi), the pogrom against the Greeks of Istanbul in 1955 and
the mass expulsions of 12,500 Greeks of Istanbul which had as a
result the departure of a much larger number of Greeks in 1964.

"We also doubt whether it would be possible for the official of
any foreign country to freely visit all of Turkey accompanied by
reporters," Mr. Bikas said.

The statement followed a Turkish protest to the Greek Ambassador
in Ankara, Dimitrios Nezeritis, about a demonstration outside
the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki during a visit by Mr.
Aktuna Wednesday night. Greece has expressed its regret at the
demonstration.

Mr. Aktuna and his entourage, which included a Turkish MP and 25
journalists, were met by a demonstration of Cypriots, Kurds,
Armenians and Black Sea Greeks (Pontians) as they attempted to
enter the Turkish Consulate in Thessaloniki Wednesday evening,
where they spent the night instead of in the hotel they had
booked.

The demonstrators were protesting the genocides of Armenians in
1915 and Pontians in 1916-1919, the on-going war against the
Kurdish people and the 1974 invasion and continuing occupation
of Cyprus.

At the Kipoi border post before leaving Greece, Mr. Aktuna said
Pontians, Cypriots and Kurds who demonstrated against him in
Thessaloniki on Wednesday night were "common terrorists." Mr.
Aktuna reiterated his statement that he would visit Greece again
in three months to ascertain whether living conditions for
citizens he termed "Turks" had improved in western Thrace,
adding that he would start his tour from Athens.

Extremely annoyed by Greek press reports, Mr. Aktuna said he
would resort to international press agencies and sue media for
abuse directed at him and questioned the concept of democracy in
Greece.

Mr. Aktuna's abrasive statements to Moslems throughout Thrace
sparked a shower of protests from political parties, and 15
deputies from the ruling PASOK and opposition New Democracy and
Political Spring parties demanded that he be declared "persona
non grata".

In speeches to Moslems, Mr. Aktuna called on the members of the
Greek Moslem minority to call themselves Turks. The rights of
the Moslems in Greece and the Orthodox Christians in Istanbul
are explicitly set out in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, under
which the minority in Western Thrace is referred to as "Moslem".

Before boarding the coach that transported the entourage back to
Turkey, Mr. Aktuna told the ANA he was "very sad" that Minister
for Macedonia-Thrace Costas Triarides had not invited him to
meet during his visit.

Mr. Triarides told reporters in Thessaloniki on Tuesday that Mr.
Aktuna had, with his statements at the border before entering
Greece, "in effect ruled out the possibility for any meeting or
contact we could have had".

"The positions and activity of the Turkish minister on a private
visit surpass both our efforts and our desire for improved
relations as well as the statements of the Turkish government
concerning dialogue and co-operation," Mr. Triarides said.

Gov't expresses regret at rowdy demonstration
-------------------------------------------------
Athens, 05/05/1995 (ANA):

Greece yesterday expressed regret over Wednesday's incidents in
Thessaloniki when Turkish Press Minister Yildirim Aktuna arrived
at the Turkish consulate. Government spokesman Evangelos
Venizelos said Greece deplored violence from whatever source,
adding that it had proved repeatedly that it honoured human
rights and indicated that problems concerning respect for human
rights existed elsewhere.

He said Mr. Aktuna's provocative statements were disrespectful
of Greek hospitality and provoked Greek sensitivities and was an
attempt to interfere in Greek domestic affairs. "Greek citizens
of Moslem religion did not adopt Mr. Aktuna's tactic and
manners, who attempted to export Turkey's domestic problems
according to his country's standing tactic," Mr. Venizelos said.

Mr. Venizelos further termed allegations on reported Greek
involvement in terrorism against Turkey "defamatory."

Replying to a questioner on whether after Mr. Aktuna's visit the
government was considering that maybe it should have taken
administrative measures, Mr. Venizelos said administrative
measures were not suitable since they transferred the basis of
discuss ion. The sole issue for discussion, he added, was Mr.
Aktuna's provocations.


Bikas on improved relations with Turkey
-------------------------------------------
Athens, 05/05/1995 (ANA):

Greece said yesterday that improvement of relations with Turkey
was not possible as long as the Turkish military occupation of
Cyprus continued, the status quo in the Aegean was disputed, and
Ankara attempts to divert its domestic problems to Greece.

"Greece agrees that both countries will gain from normalisation
of their relations. But we do not see such a normalisation as
possible when the military occupation of a large part of the
Republic of Cyprus continues or the status quo in the Aegean is
disputed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantine Bikas said.

Mr. Bikas said this equally applied to the "frequently
provocative violations of Greek national airspace which
necessitate the immediate reaction of our Air Force" and
"Turkey's attempts to export its domestic problems to Greece".

Mr. Bikas was commenting on a statement by Turkish President
Suleyman Demirel in the Turkish Daily News that Turkey had been
"unable to rekindle our relations with Greece despite our
efforts", adding that the two countries "have much to benefit
from normal relations".

Analysing Turkey's foreign relations, Mr. Demirel said that
Greece had not responded to Ankara's proposal for the signing of
a friendship and good neighbourhood pact. Mr. Bikas told a press
briefing that the signing of such a pact, "under these
circumstances, would only serve to show that the words have
totally lost their meaning".

Commenting on Mr. Demirel's claim of "suspicions" in Turkey that
Greece would extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles,
Mr. Bikas said: "As for the 12 nautical miles, the Greek
positions have been repeatedly set out: It is the sovereign
prerogative of the Greek government when and if it will exercise
this right, which is accorded to it by international law." "The
fact that the exercise of international law constitutes a matter
of extreme concern for Turkey is not, unfortunately, unusual,"
Mr. Bikas added.

Mr. Bikas rejected as "untrue" the view that Greece was
interfering in the neighbouring country's domestic affairs.
Greece would like to see "a prospering and democratic Turkey
with European structures and not a country torn by internal
conflicts" because "we believe that such a Turkey could
contribute to security and stability in the region and would
cease to be possessed by a syndrome of aggressiveness".

Referring to Mr. Demirel's call for a change in the negotiation
process on the Cyprus issue, Mr. Bikas reiterated that the
problem was "one of occupation and continued violation of the
most fundamental rules of international law and not a problem of
procedure as Ankara attempts to present it".


ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 578), May 4, 1995
=================================================

Criticism of Aktuna visit escalates, premier, opposition say
    conduct is unacceptable, provocative
----------------------------------------------------------------
Athens, 04/05/1995 (ANA):

Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou led the chorus of criticism
yesterday over the increasingly abrasive statements made by a
Turkish minister visiting the northern region of Thrace.

Turkish Minister of State Yildirim Aktuna's behaviour is
"un-acceptable" and a "misuse of the right we gave him to visit
our country with a group of journalists," Mr. Papandreou said
last night at a reception for the armed forces.

Mr. Aktuna, who is accompanied on his visit by one Turkish MP
and 25 journalists, has made inflammatory statements since his
arrival Monday, prompting government spokesman Evangelos
Venizelos to reiterate comments he made Tuesday that Mr.
Aktuna's general behaviour was "premeditated provocation".

Mr. Venizelos said although Mr. Aktuna's visit was not an
official one, it produces political results. "Mr. Aktuna's words
and deeds cast doubt on Turkish statements about an effort for
an improvement in relations between Athens and Ankara," Mr .
Venizelos said.

The spokesman said Mr. Aktuna's statements vindicated the Greek
position that Turkey did not respect international conventions.
In statements Tuesday, Mr. Aktuna said that he was in Greece to
visit "fellow countrymen" and that the Greek Moslem minority was
a "Turkish minority".

During his visit to the village of Koptero in Xanthi yesterday,
Mr. Aktuna said he would launch a public campaign to
re-institute the practice of appointing muftis after they have
been elected, if he were not allowed to visit the self-styled
mufti of Xanthi, Mehmet Emin Aga, currently in Larissa jail on
charges of impersonating a religious leader. In speeches to
groups of Moslems, Mr. Aktuna urged them to call themselves
Turks, and said that telephone callers from Ankara and Istanbul
had told him characteristically that "the hearts of 60 million
Turks were beating for the Turks of Western Thrace".

The rights of the Moslems in Greece and the Greek Orthodox
Christians in Istanbul are set out in the 1923 Treaty of
Lausanne. Under the treaty, the minority in Western Thrace
(northern Greece) is referred to as "Moslem".

Mr. Venizelos said it would have been a mistake if the Greek
government had prohibited Mr. Aktuna's visit since it would have
had to explain itself internationally. Mr. Aktuna repeated an
attack against Macedonia- Thrace Minister Constantine Triarides
for refusing to meet him. "The refusal of dialogue creates
trouble," he said.

Mr. Triarides said earlier that Mr. Aktuna had, with his
statements at the border before entering Greece, "in effect
ruled out the possibility for any meeting or contact which we
could have had". Speaking to reporters in Thessaloniki, Mr.
Triarides said that "the positions and activity of the Turkish
minister on a private visit surpass both our efforts and our
desire for improved relations as well as the statements of the
Turkish government concerning dialogue and co-operation".

Replying to questions about calls by Greek politicians for Mr.
Aktuna to be declared persona non grata, Mr. Triarides said that
"in a country which enjoys freedom of speech and democracy, we
respect the positions and statements of all politicians". He
added however that there was "a limit to everything" and
expressed the hope that the Turkish minister would remain within
this limit during his visit.

Mr. Aktuna was met by a rowdy demonstration of Cypriots, Kurds,
Armenians and Black Sea Greeks as he attempted to visit the
Turkish consul in Thessaloniki to attend a reception in his
honour later yesterday. The demonstrators showered the Turkish
minister's entourage with coins and stones during their arrival.
A policeman was injured in the melee and a window of the bus
carrying the entourage was shattered. The demonstrators were
protesting the genocide of Black Sea Greeks in 1916-1919, the
genocide of Armenians in 1915, the ongoing war against the
Kurdish people and the invasion and occupation of Cyprus.


Deputies call on Aktuna to be declared persona non grata
------------------------------------------------------------
Athens, 04/05/1995 (ANA):

In Athens, 15 deputies from ruling PASOK, New Democracy and
Political Spring parties said Mr. Aktuna's stance was
"unacceptable and insulting", in a letter to Parliament
President Apostolos Kaklamanis and called on the government to
"characterise Mr. Aktuna persona non grata and to ask him to
leave Greece".

The letter also said that the government should "bring protests
before the Turkish government concerning the provocative and
insolent stance of its minister and also inform the European
Parliament". In the letter, the deputies claim that Europe ought
to isolate Turkey and "to take measures which will oblige Turkey
to respect international law and human rights." All opposition
parties were unanimous in their criticism of Mr. Aktuna's
conduct.

Main opposition New Democracy party spokesman Vassilis Manginas
said Mr. Aktuna's statements and general behaviour prove "he
does not respect Greek hospitality" and of visiting Greece in
order to provoke and mislead Turkish public opinion away from
the major problems faced there.

Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras said that "the
Greek people were offended" at Mr. Aktuna's conduct. "The
government is already facing the negative repercussions of its
wrong moves on the issue of the Turkish minister's visit," he
said.

In an announcement, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) said
that "Mr. Aktuna's statements do not serve the bettering of
bilateral relations and reveal the provocative tactics of the
Turkish government backed by the US".

The Coalition of the Left and Progress party said that "the form
and character of Mr. Aktuna's visit constitutes the choice of
provoking tension between Greece and Turkey."


ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 577), May 3, 1995
=================================================



'Inauspicious start' to Turkish minister's visit to Thrace,
     Venizelos says
---------------------------------------------------------------
Athens, 03/05/1995 (ANA):

Greece yesterday harshly criticised statements by Turkish
Minister of State and government spokesman Yildirim Aktuna
referring to the Moslem minority in Thrace as Turkish. "Mr.
Aktuna's visit has begun inauspiciously, due to the provocative
and obviously premeditated statements of his regarding the
Treaty of Lausanne and the legal status of the Moslem minority
in Greece," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said.

"In a period in which Turkey is being criticised by the entire
international community for its systematic and persistent
violations of international law and human rights, such
statements as Mr. Aktuna's simply serve to confirm the
observations and recommendations of many international
organisations," Mr. Venizelos added. He was responding to
statements by Mr. Aktuna earlier in the day, on his arrival to
begin a three-day tour of Thrace, that he was in Greece to visit
"fellow countrymen" and that the Greek Moslem minority was a
"Turkish minority".

"Mr. Aktuna is in a foreign sovereign state and is obliged to
respect its legal order and the norms of international law, even
if these are blatantly flouted by Turkey, as is the case
unfortunately with the Treaty of Lausanne," Mr. Venizelos said.

"His statements do not aid the improvement of Greek-Turkish
relations and are contradictory with the stated official stance
of his country, the credibility of which (Mr. Aktuna) is
undermining," Mr. Venizelos said.

The top-ranking Turkish official kicked-off his tour of Western
Thrace, northern Greece, saying Moslems in the region were
Turkish kinsmen. "My visit aims at meeting with fellow
countrymen living in Western Thrace. The Turkish government is
very sensitive to the issue of the Turkish minority in Western
Thrace," Mr. Aktuna said.

The issue of the 130,000 Moslem minority in Western Thrace has
frequently fuelled tension between NATO allies Greece and
Turkey, also at odds over Cyprus and Aegean sea rights. The
rights of the Moslems in Greece and the Greek Orthodox
Christians in Istanbul are set out in the 1923 Treaty of
Lausanne, which excluded them from a major population exchange
at the time.

The Greek community in Istanbul has dwindled to a few thousand
from 150,000 in the 1920s. Under the treaty, the minority in
Western Thrace is referred to as "Moslem" and the Greek state
has the right to appoint Moslem religious leaders, just as
Ankara appoints the Patriarch in Istanbul.

Mr. Aktuna denied that he was contesting the Lausanne Treaty by
referring to the minority as Turkish. He said: "There is no
intent to provoke, we are just saying what is right. Minorities
are not defined by religion but by ethnicity ... and the
minority living in this region is sheer Turkish".

His comments contrasted strongly with those of his president
Suleyman Demirel who, referring to the 12-million-strong Kurdish
minority in Turkey, told the Turkish Daily News that "no one was
granted rights in Turkey due to ethnicity or faith. If such
rights were granted then those who were a majority in Turkey at
present would end up becoming a minority. However, there are no
minorities in Turkey."

Earlier, Mr. Venizelos said statements made by Mr. Aktuna in
Ankara before his departure "did not presage anything positive",
regarding his visit. Mr. Aktuna's statements "are part of the
climate of exporting Turkey's domestic political problems and
creating artificial tension which Greece has rejected," Mr.
Venizelos said.

Mr. Venizelos reiterated that Mr. Aktuna's visit was private and
he would have no contacts of a political level. He said the
Turkish minister's entourage was "large, luxurious and unusual."
It includes one MP and 25 journalists.

Replying to a questioner as to why Mr. Aktuna's large entourage
was being allowed to enter the country, Mr. Venizelos said
Greece did not consider it expedient to create obstacles for the
entry of a number of persons in the entourage because the focus
of discussion would be transferred from the Turkish minister's
statement to the ban on the entry into the country of a small
number of Turks.

Mr. Venizelos said the Greek state was open and Turkish deputies
and journalists would have the opportunity to ascertain how
Greek citizens of the Moslem faith lived and make the necessary
comparisons.

Meanwhile, opposition parties lashed out at Mr. Aktuna's
statement and criticised the government's handling of the issue.
Main opposition New Democracy party spokesman Vassilis Manginas
said the Turkish minister should have been more careful and
should have known there was no Turkish minority in Greece but
only Greeks of the Moslem faith.

He added that Mr. Aktuna should respect international
agreements, rejecting the Turkish minister's statement favouring
a revision of the Lausanne Treaty.

Political Spring party spokesman Notis Martakis criticised the
government for not heeding his party not to allow Mr. Aktuna's
arrival to prevent political symbolisms and the problems
presently being faced.

Mr. Martakis called on the government "to abandon its
complacency and realise the magnitude of the problem created by
its tolerance."


ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN (No 576), May 2, 1995
=================================================


Greece says visit by Turkish delegation should follow
    international norms
---------------------------------------------------------
Athens, 02/05/1995 (ANA):

Greece said Sunday that an unofficial visit by a Turkish
minister to the north-eastern prefecture of Thrace, due to begin
today, should not be used to import Turkey's domestic problems
to other nations, and particularly Greece.

A Turkish delegation, led by minister without portfolio and
government spokesman Yildirim Aktuna, is due in Thrace today to
examine what a report from Ankara said were "problems of the
Moslem minority" in the region.

"Mr. Aktuna's visit has been prepared in a negative atmosphere
and in a climate which could create tension," government
spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said in Thessaloniki on Sunday.
"Greece avoids manufactured tension and uses language which is
exceptionally cautious and calm".

On Saturday, Mr. Venizelos called on the delegation to observe
the ethics of international relations. Mr. Aktuna, Mr. Venizelos
said at his regular press briefing in Thessaloniki, "should take
as an example occasional visits to Turkey, by Greek politicians,
government and non-government officials and be inspired by their
behaviour."

Reports from Ankara said that the delegation also includes four
members of parliament, an advisor to the Turkish prime
minister's office and 36 journalists.

At a recent meeting in Istanbul of a group calling itself "the
international parliament of western Thrace", Mr. Aktuna was
reported as saying that "the Greeks were afraid of the Turks and
that is why they oppress the Turks (Moslem minority) of Western
Thrace."

"The use of such methods, like the establishment of a (western
Thrace) parliament in exile is simply a caricature, which does
not help, at all, in maintaining stability in the region," Mr.
Venizelos said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Political Spring party called on the
government to ban Mr. Aktuna's visit to Thrace, saying his
presence in the region "is aimed at creating a climate of
controversy and constitutes an intervention in Greece's domestic
affairs."

In a statement, Political Spring described the visit as
"provoca-tive", pointing to the "inflammatory statements" Mr.
Aktuna made in Istanbul concerning the establishment of a
so-called "international parliament of Western Thrace." Such
visits "can only cause tension to the already existing problems
between the two countries," the statement said.


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