PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF GREECE

PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF GREECE

The world had already seen proof that the Olympic Truce was a workable idea and not simply a theoretical concept, George Papandreou, Foreign Minister of Greece, said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Mr. Papandreou, briefing correspondents on today's board meeting of the International Olympic Truce Foundation, said that the observance of the Olympic Truce during the 1998 Winter Olympic Games at Nagano, Japan, had enabled Secretary-General Kofi Annan to negotiate a diplomatic agreement with the Government of Iraq, holding off the bombing of that country.

The Minister, who is the Foundation's Vice-Chairman, recalled that during the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, the warring parties in Bosnia had heeded a ceasefire call by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Juan Antonio Samaranch, permitting the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to inoculate thousands of children.

Just last year, he said, one highlight of the Sydney Summer Olympics, resulting from Mr. Samaranch's call for peace, had been athletes from the two Koreas marching under one flag during the opening ceremonies.  Those few examples demonstrated the possibilities of the Olympic Truce and why the Foundation had been created.

Mr. Papandreou said the Foundation planned to work closely with the United Nations and to become a consistent force for peace around the world.  It would coordinate its efforts with the United Nations, so that it could help interventions in specific areas of conflict and develop a wide educational and communications programme.

He noted that the European Union had recently endorsed the Olympic Truce idea at its Summit in Nice, France.  The Pope and the Archbishop of Greece, in their recent historic rapprochement, had also agreed to support the idea, he added.

Mr. Samaranch, who was present in his capacity as the Foundation's Chairman, noting that the Olympics were a combination of sports and culture, said the 2004 Summer Games, to be held in Athens, would add the dimension of history.  But while that history belonged to Greece, the success of Athens would belong not only to that country, but also to the Olympic movement.

Also present was Gianni Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, President of the Athens

2004 Olympic Organizing Committee, who said that for the first time, the torch of the Summer Games would connect all the continents.  After the lighting of the Olympic Flame in Olympia, it would go around the world, illuminating the Olympic ideal in more than 60 countries, some of them in conflict.  That symbol, handed from person to person, would strengthen and embody the Truce.  The passing of the flame from runner to runner would build bonds of hope across chasms of conflict, she said, citing "the ancient premise and the modern promise of Olympism -- peace through sport".

Responding to a question, Mr. Papandreou said that the importance of the Truce effort was that it brought with it the strength of the Olympic movement, the credibility of the sports movement around the world and the enthusiasm of the younger generation to work together in peace and cooperation.  The Foundation's effort would be to link the spirit, moment and dynamism of that movement with specific issues in order to contribute to solving problems around the world.

There were conflicts in the Balkans, the Middle East, Cyprus and elsewhere, the Minister said.  He and Mr. Samaranch had recently carried the message to Skopje, capital of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in the hope that it could help United Nations efforts for peace wherever necessary.

Another journalist asked if the Foundation had any specific conflicts in mind for mediation initiatives by the time of the forthcoming Salt Lake City Winter Olympics or the Athens Games.  Mr. Papandreou responded that one of the reasons that the Foundation had met with the Secretary-General was to create a systematic coordination with him in order to pinpoint areas where such activities could be effective.

Would the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations not be more effective in making real peace than the Olympic Flame? another correspondent asked.  Ms. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki replied that the Flame had never arrived in Africa and South America and it could bring with it all the symbolism incorporated in the slogan "peace through sport".

Mr. Papandreou added that the dialogue among civilizations was a concept that the Foundation would like to support.  The Athens Games and the subsequent Winter Games in Torino, Italy, would present opportunities for dialogue among the many Euro-Mediterranean, as well as other civilizations.

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