(19 Nov 1999) English/Nat
United States President Bill Clinton was welcomed in Athens by a small crowd chanting "Clinton, Clinton" and waved Greek and American flags.
Clinton saluted Greece's booming economy and said he hoped its leaders would help to "build a world that is undivided, democratic and at peace" by promoting democracy and stability in the nearby Balkans.
Meanwhile, riot police wearing gas masks faced off with more than 10,000 left-wing protestors in front of the parliament building.
Police had closed off much of downtown to traffic and it seemed unlikely Clinton would even see the demonstrators.
There was an eerie calm along Clinton's motorcade route from the airport to downtown.
Clinton said he wanted to use his visit to inform the people of Greece about the "receptive ear" he'd gotten in Turkey on resolving tensions with Greece.
Security was stepped up after the threat of unrest and a string of sporadic fire bomb attacks prompted the U-S to delay and shorten Clinton's trip, initially scheduled for November 13-15.
Clinton, on a tour of Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy and Kosovo, was being accompanied by top U-S officials including U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Clinton is expected to discuss efforts to thaw fierce animosity between Greece and Turkey as well as the course of Greek investments in nearby Balkan countries.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I have come here as a 'philhellene' - a friend of Greece - and I look forward to sampling that Greek hospitality known to all the world as 'philsinia'. Through this visit I want the American people to see the changing face of Greece - the power house of south east Europe, with the highest growth rate in the E-U, a booming stock market, a nation on the fast track to joining the European Monetary Union. An old democracy that is a model for the young democracies of the Balkans, a gateway to their markets, a driving force in the effort to rebuild war torn nations and to bring them into Europe. We look to Ancient Greece for inspiration, but we look to modern Greece for leadership and partnership. Tomorrow I want to speak to the people of Greece about what we can do together to build a Europe that is undivided, democratic and at peace for the first time in history. And about how together we can overcome the remaining challenges to that vision by stabilising the Balkans and achieving lasting reconciliation between Greece and Turkey, with resolution of all outstanding issues including Cyprus. "
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Our nations have so much in common. We are allies with a shared commitment to peace and security, democracies with a long tradition of impassioned political debate about issues that affect our lives and engage our convictions. Above all we are two nations proud of our past but focussed on the future."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President
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