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Greece: Prosecution against extradition of two Turkish military

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The prosecutor of the Greek Court of Cassation ruled against the extradition of two Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece in the aftermath of the putsch failed in Turkey on 15 July.

“I do not allow Greek judges to extradite them,” said Haralambos Vourliotis, quoted by a judicial source. He justified his position by not being entitled to a fair and just trial in their country.

In the aftermath of the abortive coup in Turkey, eight Turkish troops had fled their country and arrived in Alexandroupolis (northern Greece) aboard the same helicopter.

In the first instance, an Athens court had accepted the extradition of six of these soldiers, who then appealed. The court, however, had opposed the extradition of the last two, believing that their lives would be in danger in Turkey. But after an appeal by the public prosecutor’s office, these two soldiers will also be tried by the Court of Cassation.

On Tuesday, the case of two first soldiers had been examined by the court, and the prosecution had already ruled that they should not be returned to Turkey because they would not have a fair and fair trial. The case of the last four Turkish troops must be examined on Friday. According to judicial sources, a judgment could be issued on 23 January, but the final decision will be taken by the Greek Minister of Justice.

The eight soldiers, who deny having participated in the putsch, say they fear for their lives. Many soldiers fled to European countries after the failed coup in Turkey. The affair embarrasses Greece, which keeps delicate relations with its neighbor.

Former Greece President Costis Stephanopoulos dies

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former-pm-deadFormer Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos has died at the age of 90. Stephanopoulos served as president between 1995 and 2005 and won praise for his modesty during his time in office.

Greece’s Athens News Agency reported former Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos died late Sunday evening after a bout with pneumonia. He was 90 years old.

Stephanopoulos was hospitalized Thursday and his condition declined rapidly, according to a statement released by his doctors at Henry Dunant hospital in Athens Saturday. He soon suffered multiple organ failure and did not respond to treatment.

Current Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras expressed his condolences, saying Stephanopoulos was “a moral man with a lofty vision.”

Stephanopoulos, widely known by his first name, served two terms as president as allowed by the Greek constitution. Though the position is mostly ceremonial, he won popularity for his modesty during his time in office. Stephanopoulos worked well with politicians from all sides of the political spectrum, especially moderate socialist Costas Simitis, despite Stephanopoulos’ conservatism. Simitis was prime minister from 1996 to 2004.

kbd/bw (AP, dpa)

Thousands take to Athens’ streets in protest to Obama visit

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Greek riot policemen clash with protesters during a demonstration against the visit of US President Barack Obama, in Athens, Greece, November 15, 2016.

Greek riot policemen clash with protesters during a demonstration against the visit of US President Barack Obama, in Athens, Greece, November 15, 2016.

Violent clashes have broken out between Greek police and demonstrators protesting US President Barack Obama’s visit to Athens.

Riot police used teargas to disperse the around-7,000-strong crowd of protesters who had taken to the streets in central Athens on Tuesday.

The protesters had initially planned to march towards the US embassy, but clashes with police disrupted the march.

All manners of protest had been banned in the city over Obama’s trip, with police parking buses along the US president’s route.

The protests turned violent after demonstrators attempted to break through police cordons around the Greek parliament and US embassy.

Petrol bombs were also thrown towards police officers in the city’s northern districts. 

According to reports, over 5,000 police forces have been stationed in the city to disrupt the protesters.

RT quoted Greek journalist Aris Chatzistefanou as saying that the demonstration was being held against the US’s policies which are “creating tensions” with other countries across the globe, especially with Russia and China.

“While the Greek government is trying to present the visit of Obama as a visit of a peacemaker, thousands of demonstrators came onto the streets to protest US policy in [such] parts of the world from Latin America to Middle East, Afghanistan and Syria,” he added.

Austria: EU must prepare borders for end of Turkey migrant deal

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refugees-hotelAustria’s defense minister has said the European Union’s migrant deal with Turkey is dead. The EU must now prepare to strengthen its external borders, he added.

The European Union should bolster its border defenses against another influx of migrants in anticipation of the possible collapse of the bloc’s refugee deal with Turkey, Austria’s defense minister said Saturday.

“I have always said that the EU-Turkey deal should only be a stop-gap measure until the EU is in the position to effectively protect its external borders and thereby stem the flow of migrants,” Hans Peter Doskozil told the German daily “Bild” in an interview.

“The time to organize for that is ever closer,” he said, adding that he invited defense ministers from Central European states to Vienna early next week to discuss joint measures and the situation in Turkey.

Doskozil’s comments come as the EU-Turkey migrant deal, which went into effect in March, has encountered a number of stumbling blocks even as it has reduced the number of migrants arriving in Greece.

Under the deal, Turkey agreed to take back Syrian migrants in Greece who did not apply for or did not receive asylum in the EU in exchange for aid and the bloc taking a set amount of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey.

But since the deal went into effect, migrants who previously tried to reach richer northern European states before applying for asylum have put in applications in Greece. This has slowed down deportations back to Turkey and left Greece overburdened as applications are processed. The EU, meanwhile, has been slow to develop a refugee distribution plan as countries, mainly in central and eastern Europe, refuse to accept asylum-seekers.

Political developments in Turkey have also cast the deal into doubt. Doskozil said Turkey was “on its way to becoming a dictatorship,” a reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s consolidation of power and targeting of the opposition.

The political situation in Turkey makes implementation of another part of the migrant deal problematic. Under the agreement, Turkish citizens are to obtain visa-free travel to the bloc, but EU officials have questioned whether this will happen due to draconian anti-terror laws and the deterioration of democracy in Turkey. The security situation and instability in Turkey also casts doubt over whether it is a “safe country” to return migrants.

Absent visa-free travel, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu this week suggested his country would pull out of the deal by year’s end.

Vienna has allied itself with the Visegrad group – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – against the EU’s migrant policy. Earlier this year, Austria was instrumental in the closure of the Balkan route used by migrants to travel to northern Europe after it tightened its border controls and set a ceiling on asylum applications.

Also earlier this week, Austria sent 60 troops to Hungary to help build infrastructure along the border with non-EU member Serbia.

Austrians head to the polls on December 4 for a rerun presidential election that pits anti-immigration and eurosceptic Freedom Party (FPO) candidate Norbert Hofer against the left-leaning Alexander Van der Bellen. Migration has been a centerpiece of the campaign.

cw/sms (dpa, Reuters)

Source: dw.com

Report: Armenia is less corrupt than Italy, Greece, Spain

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world-economic-forumArmenia has registered better results in terms of corruption level in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report than a number of European countries.

The findings are based on a WEF survey that interviewed nearly 15,000 business leaders from 141 economies from February to June.

Numerical answers ranging from one to seven are given, with one indicating the most corruption and seven indicating the least.

In the Ethics and Corruption Index, Armenia is ranked the 65th with a score of 3.5, alongside Tunisia, Montenegro, Cyprus, South Korea, Côte d’Ivoire, Latvia and Egypt.

The South Caucasus country has done better than countries such as Spain (74th spot), the Czech Republic (79th), Greece (84th) Italy (87th) and Serbia (96th).

With a total score of 6.4, Singapore tops the list, closely followed by New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (6.3 points each), while Venezuela (1.7 points) Bolivia and Chad (2 points each) ranked as the most corrupt countries in the world.

Georgia (39th spot), Turkey (50th), and Azerbaijan (55th) have better results, while Iran lags behind in the 73rd spot.

Russia is the 75th, while the United States has the 30th position.

The Global Competitiveness Report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 138 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.

Turkey military attaches in Greece “flee to Italy” after coup

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turkish generalsTwo Turkish military attaches posted in Greece fled to Italy at the weekend following last month’s failed coup, Turkey’s top diplomat said Thursday, August 11 saying Ankara was working to track them down, AFP reports.

Speaking to NTV television, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said colonels Halis Tunc and Ilhan Yasitli left on August 6, taking the car ferry across the Adriatic Sea to Italy.

“We are working to bring both these traitors back to Turkey,” he said, without detailing the allegations against them.

“The Greek authorities recorded this. Tunc’s brother lives in Holland. We are working with both the Netherlands and Italy,” he said.

Earlier this week, media reports said the pair had gone missing. Yasitli is reported to be the overall military attache and Tunc the naval attache but their accreditation with Athens has been cancelled.

Turkey has embarked on a wholescale purge of the military in the wake of the coup which was blamed on followers of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

In a separate case that has strained improving ties between Ankara and Athens, eight Turkish military officers fled by helicopter to Greece after the failed coup of July 15. To block their deportation back to Turkey, they have applied for asylum.

They have been handed suspended two-month prison terms for illegal entry and will remain in police custody until their asylum hearing on August 19.

Two Turkish generals serving in the NATO force in Afghanistan were also detained in Dubai last month on suspicion of links to the failed coup.

Related links:

AFP. Turkey attaches in Greece ‘fled to Italy’ after coup

Greece Seeks to Create South-European Alliance to Protest ‘Austerity Policy’

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Greece PM east EUThe Greek government invited leaders of five South-European countries in order to accelerate cooperation in the economic field. German newspaper DWN writes that the main goal of the alliance would be to counter the austerity policy of the German government.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is said to have invited the leaders of five South-European countries to a conference which will take place on September 9, in Athens, the newspaper wrote citing Greece-based news agency ANA-MPA.

The meeting is aimed at discussing “common” economic, political and institutional challenges, particularly focusing on the EU’s austerity policies and migration.

“Athens consciously seeks closer cooperation between the southern EU member states,” DWN wrote.

According to the media source, with this move the Greek Prime Minister hopes to ease austerity measures and come out of the current financial crisis.

France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta are expected to attend the conference.

Greece is currently negotiating its way through its third bailout agreement with its creditors. Having had to be rescued a third time, Greece is being given financial support in a series of tranches of money after meeting strict conditions on changes to its fiscal policy.

© REUTERS/ ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS

Greece to Inject About $3Bln Into Banking System by Easing Capital Controls

In short, Greece is being called on to make severe cuts to public services, while widening and increasing tax collection and making major reforms to its state pension system. The austerity measures are deeply unpopular and have led to demonstrations and strikes for years.

Earlier in April, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa signed a joint declaration in which both classified the EU’s austerity policies as “wrong”.

“This austerity policy weakens economies and divides society,” the two politicians stressed and expressed their dissatisfaction with the EU.

Greek PM and Bulgarian Counterpart Believe Greece and Bulgaria Can Be Axis of Stability

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Greece-bulgariaBy Ioanna Zikakou

“The Greek-Bulgarian High-Level Cooperation Council held on here on Monday will allow Greece and Bulgaria, two highly important countries of the Balkan peninsula, to make a significant new start toward establishing very close and constructive relations,” Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Monday, in joint statements with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov after the Council ended.

Tsipras and Borisov pointed to the role of the two countries as pillars of stability within the surrounding region, at a time of generalized destabilization in their neighborhood, and noted their agreement for deeper cooperation within the EU and NATO in order to strengthen this role and to ensure security, stability, peace and growth in the region.

“Looking at recent developments in our neighborhood, one sees that the need for cooperation is more urgent than ever,” the Greek prime minister commented. He noted that there were major challenges to face as three parallel crises unfolded — the economic, refugee and security in Europe crises — and noted that Greece and Bulgaria fortunately remained outside the last of these as pillars of security and stability.

“Our cooperation will help so that we stay out of this crisis,” he added. Developments in Turkey and the need to progress faster toward a “better, social and democratic Europe” demanded the closest possible cooperation between the two countries, he said.

The Greek and Bulgarian people had the wisdom to overcome any past differences and forge a relationship that was very constructive and mutually beneficial for both sides and for the region, Tsipras noted. Greece and Bulgaria could be a model for a constructive cooperative relationship to promote peace and stability in the region, between two countries in the EU and NATO, he added.

“We can do a lot together within the EU and NATO with a flexible policy benefiting both states,” Borisov said, noting that relations between the two countries and their governments were marked by “personal relations and understanding” and that both sides had supported the other in times of crisis. Even though the two governments were from different political “families,” he added, they agreed on issues of critical importance.

Tsipras gave his Bulgarian counterpart an open invitation to visit Athens, Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis to examine the progress of their initiatives and said there would be “open communication” between them.

Following the Council meeting, the government delegations from the two sides signed a series of bilateral agreements, including a Joint Declaration of the 3rd Greek-Bulgarian High-Level Cooperation Council meeting, a Joint Declaration on energy cooperation, a Executive Program for Educational and Cultural Cooperation in 2016-2018, and a Joint Action Program for Tourism in 2016-2018.

(Source: ANA-MPA)

Greek court remands Turkish soldiers

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Turks greece pilotEight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece by helicopter after the failed coup have been handed suspended prison terms for illegal entry. They remain in custody pending asylum hearings, with Ankara demanding extradition.

A court in Greece’s northern city of Alexandroupoli imposed suspended two-month jail terms Thursday on eight military officers who fled Turkey last Saturday in a high-tech Black Hawk helicopter.

The court acknowledged mitigating circumstances of having acted while under threat. The pilot was acquitted of a charge of violating flight regulations.

The eight are to remain in Greek police custody until their applications for asylum are heard in August.

The case has strained ties between Greece and Turkey, two NATO allies, with Ankara demanding the officers’ return. Turkey has already recovered its aircraft.

One of the Turkish officers told the Alexandroupoli court that the group feared “indiscriminate” arrests if handed over to Turkish authorities.

Another said: “I would not have left Turkey had my life not been threatened.”

Faces hidden

Brought to court Thursday, they kept their faces hidden and declined to give their names. On arrival they were identified by rank as two commanders, four captains and two sergeants.

The court hearing preceded a post-coup sitting of the Turkish parliament. President Tayyip Erdogan was expected to ask lawmakers to endorse sweeping new powers to expand a crackdown.

Already, some 10,000 have been arrested. More than 58,000 civil service employees have been dismissed, forced to resign or have had their licenses revoked.

ipj/kl (AP, AFP, dpa)

Greece urges Turkey to withdraw troops from Cyprus

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greece ask turkeyGreece will never become reconciled with the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey and demands from Turkey to withdraw the occupying forces from that territory , said the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias .

“Today is the 42th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. It was proceeded with the continuing illegal Turkish occupation of more than a third of the territory of Cyprus, a country that is a member of the UN and the EU , ” said the statement. Kotzias expects that there will be a fairly strong , universally acceptable decision of the Cyprus issue based the UN resolutions.

As earlier reported, the Turkish troops invaded the north of Cyprus and occupied 37 percent of the territory on the night of July 20 to 21 of 1974. In 1983, the occupied territory was declared the Turkish Republic of the Northern Cyprus which is recognized only by Turkey. Since 1975, the UN Secretary General performs his Good offices mission in Cyprus, which aims to influence the Greek and Turkish communities of the island to  cooperate in the context of negotiations on the settlement of the Cyprus problem.