MPA NEWS IN ENGLISH (28/05/1996)

From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>

Macedonian Press Agency News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Thessaloniki, May 28 1996

NEWS IN ENGLISH

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NEWS IN DETAIL

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[01] A TURKISH PATROL BOAT RAMMED A GREEK COASTGUARD VESSEL IN THE SEA REGION OF THE IMIA ISLETS IN THE AEGEAN

New turkish provocation was made a little after 9am this morning, when a turkish patrol boat violated the greek territorial waters in the sea region of the Imia islets in the Aegean.

The turkish patrol boat entered the greek territorial waters and its captain, maintaining that it was in turkish territorial waters, refused to follow the orders by the greek coastguard vessel asking it to leave the region. The turkish patrol boat rammed the greek vessel and returned to the turkish coasts.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that this incident is another turkish provocation, adding that Turkey's stance escalates the tension and undermines every effort for rapprochement. Mr.Reppas also said that the statements made by the turkish political leadership for dialogue and understanding are not sincere and are made for sensasionalism purposes.

[02] MUSLIM FORMER MP RAISED A QUESTION OF "TURKISH" MINORITY IN THRACE TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Former muslim deputy in the greek Parliament, Ahmet Faikoglu raised a question of "turkish minority in western Thrace" and accused the greek government of violating its rights in a protest resolution he presented to Council of Europe Secretary-General mr.Daniel Tarschys during an informal meeting they had on the sidelines of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly meeting held in Thessaloniki.

Mr.Faikoglu said that tomorrow will send a memorandum to greek Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis and to cabinet members in which will be expressed the minority's requests concerning its national identity, the issue of muftis, the committees for the management of the muslim properties in Thrace, etc. As it was made known, a minority delegation will visit Strasburg in order to formally raise the issue to the Council of Europe and to the European Parliament.

[03] DIPLOMATIC DELEGATIONS FROM GREECE AND TURKEY MEET IN GENEVA TODAY

Diplomatic delegations from Greece and Turkey meet in Geneva today to prepare the upcoming meeting of the greek and turkish Foreign Ministers which will take place in Berlin in early June.

Referring to the meeting, greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated yesterday that Greece's firm policy is the step by step approach, while reffering to the meeting between mr.Pangalos and mr.Gonensay next week in Berlin he said that its content will depend on what will happen in the days preceding it.

[04] THE PRESIDENT OF HUNGARY ARRIVED IN ATHENS TODAY FOR A THREE-DAY FORMAL VISIT

Hungarian President Arpand Gonz, arrived in Athens this morning for a three-day formal visit and met with his greek counterpart Kostis Stephanopoulos. The two leaders discussed bilateral issues and Budapest's request for membership in the European Union.

Also, a meeting was held between delegations of the two countries in which participated Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, Alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Romeos and Justice Minister Evangelos Venizelos, who took part in the meeting because his counterpart was a member of the hungarian delegation.

President Stephanopoulos stated to reporters that the relations between the two countries are excellent but there is room for further cooperation, while he also said that the discussions for the accesion of Hungary into the EU should begin. In the greek-hungarian talks were discussed and issues concerning education, culture and communications.

Mr.Gonz stated that Greece and Hungary share the same interests and stressed that Budapest supports the accesion of Cyprus and Malta into the EU, expressing the hope that the negotiations for Hungary's accesion will begin on the same date set for those two countries, namely 6 months after the Inter-Governmental Conference. He also stressed that the EU enlargement to include countries such as Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania will be in the interest of all the EU member-states.

Mr.Stephanopoulos stated that he briefed mr.Gonz on the issues of greek national interest and the greek-turkish relations. Mr.Gonz invited mr.Stephanopoulos to formally visit Budapest.

[05] GREEK OPPOSITION PARTIES ON THE ALBANIAN ELECTIONS

President of the main opposition party of New Democracy characterised the episodes as sad and added that he will wait for the final report of the monitors while the secretary general of the Communist Party ms Aleka Papariga expressed her solidarity with the albanian people.

[06] GREECE IS AN IMPORTANT COUNTRY FOR BRITAIN SAYS BRITISH AMBASSADOR

Greece is an important country for Britain and vice versa but some times they do not akwnoledge it, said the new british ambassador in Athens sir Llwelyn Smith in a speech he made at the the international confrerence on "The media and the Foreign Policy" organized in Athens.

Sir Llelyn reiterated that his government is for a solution to the problem of the Aegean rock islands through the International Court of Justice.

[07] NORTHERN GREECE INDUSTRIALISTS TO BE RECEIVED BY PRIME MINISTER

Northern Greece industrialists asked today minister of Northern Greece mr Philippos Petsalnikos to be present at the meeting they will have soon with Prime Minister mr Constantinos Simitis.

Northern Greece Industries Association appealed to mr Petsalnikos so that a duty-free zone is created in Thessaloniki and "one-stop-shop" procedures be applied for the best possible function of the industrial section.

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

[08] CLASHES IN TIRANA BETWEEN OPPOSITION DEMONSTRATORS AND POLICE

Violent clashes broke out in Tirana's central square today, when police forces tried to disperse the crowd gathered to participate in a demonstration organised by the opposition parties, which withdrew from the May 26th elections accusing the ruling Democratic party of electoral fraud.

According to eyewitnesses, many demonstrators were arrested, among them, two leading members of the Democratic Alliance, Arben Imami and Blenti Gotze, who were also beaten up by the police.

Clashes also took place and in other parts of Tirana, when the police special forces tried to stop the crowd from getting to the center of the albanian capital in order to participate in the demonstration.

According to information, a number of journalists were also victims of police violence, while based on unconfirmed information, the albanian police attacked a woman journalist from Greece and destroyed a video cassette on which the clashes had been taped.

The President of the Democratic Alliance stated regarding the clashes, that the Berisha regime with its actions shows that it "has turned into a junta without colonels".

Azem Haidari, leading member of the ruling Democratic party said, referring to the incidents in Tirana, that police tried to restore order by breaking up groups of rowdy elements, adding that there was no use of violence.

The Socialist party spokesman, commenting on the statements made by mr.Haidari said to MPA, that today's incidents are a continuation of the ruling party's scenarios aiming at physically hurting the opposition leaders after their political destruction that was attempted through the parliamentary elections.

Democratic Alliance President, Neritan Tseka blamed the United States and especially Europe for the turn of political events in Albania. He characteristically said that Europe for a long time is responsible for what is happenning in Albania and underlined that Europe has the capability to overturn this situation, but apparently it uses Albania as political experimentation ground.

[09] GREECE WILL WAIT FOR THE FOREIGN OBSERVERS OFFICIAL REPORTS BEFORE IT COMMENTS ON THE ALBANIAN ELECTIONS, STATED MR.REPPAS

Greece will wait for the official reports that will be submitted by the foreign observers before it comments on the albanian elections, stated greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, who underlined that the relations between Greece and Albania depend on the safeguarding of the rights of the greek minority in the neighbouring country, which Greece will defend in every way.

The greek government spokesman also denied information that Greece has financed mr.Berisha's political party.

[10] TIRANA:PEACE AFTER THE OPPOSITION RALLY

Tirana seems to have a quiet evening after the violent episodes which occured earlier today during a rally organised by the opposition so that they protested for the alledged violation of the electoral procedure in favour of the governing Democratic Party.

Macedonian Press Agency special envoy in Tirana writes that the opposition managed to persuade up-to some point the international monitors who observed the albanian parliamentary elections.

President of the party of the Democratic Alliance called on the European Union for an immediate intervention so that elections are repeated at at least 15 electoral zones while president of the Socialdemocratic party spoke about a conflict between the government and the people which now starts.

Monitors who addressed the press conference of the opposition admitted that they witnessed a number of violations and that the will of the albanian people was not expressed freely.

[11] ALBANIA:OSCE MONITORS ASK FOR A NORMAL AND PEACEFUL SECOND ROUND

The members of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for the Security and the Cooperation in Europe which monitored the albanian parliamentary elections on Sunday in a written communique issued today said that during the election procedure they observed a number of irregularities and technical shortcomings and added that the withdrawal of opposition representatives from the polling stations contributed to the lack of confidence in the integrity of the counting process.

The delegation appealed to to the albabnian aurhorities and to all political parties to make their outmost to secure that the second round of the election can take place in a normal and peaceful atmosphere where the electorate can freely express their opinions.

Regarding the pre-electoral procedure, the delegation said that the "Law of genocide" is not entirely transparent and it includes stipulations which limit the elctorate's possibilities to choose freely their candidates.

The communique was distributed in Thessaloniki during the session of the tenth Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

[12] GREEK MONITORS IN ALBANIAN ELECTIONS CONDEMN VIOLATIONS OF LAW

Delegation of the greek party of the coalition of the left which monitored the elections in Albania condemned today the wide violations of the principles for fair and democratic elections.

Mr Rigas, Head of the delegation ex-MP for the prefecture of Ioannina, which is next to the greek albanian border stressed that that there is a danger that new tension is created in the area while he appealed to the United States and the European Union to intervene so that stability be secured in Albania.

[13] MUSIC CONCERT FOR CYPRUS WILL BE HELD IN PARIS

A music concert for Cyprus will be held in Paris, France on the initiative of the "Permanent French Committee for the Cyprus Affair". The event's artistic director is film director Kostas Gavras, who spoke about the tragedy in Cyprus on the 3rd Channel of the french television.

Mr.Gavras expressed the hope that with Cyprus' accesion into the European Union the solution of its political problem will be possible, because the majority of the Europeans are against its partition and also because Turkey will never be able to become an EU member if it continues to occupy the northern part of the island where it has imposed ethnic cleansing.

Mr.Gavras stressed that through the music concert the peaceful nature of the cypriot people will be displayed, as well as their will to resolve the problem through dialogue, as they have done in the past 20 years, and not through terrorism and violence. [C] EU NEWS

[14] INTER-STATE AGREEMENTS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES WAS SUGGESTED TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE BY GREEK ENVIRONMENT MINISTER

The need for the european countries to reach inter-state agreements for the management of water resources was stressed by greek Minister of Environment, Land Planning and Public Works ms.Elisavet Papazoi, speaking in the Council of Europe Environment, Land Planning and Local Administration Committee meeting that was held this morning in Thessaloniki within the framework of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly meeting.

Ms.Papazoi said that national and regional programmes and mainly, inter-state agreements, are necessary for water-saving purposes and for the effective distribution of water supplies to sectors, such as agriculture, urban centers and tourism.

[15] SECOND ROUND OF CONSULTATIONS FOR AN ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EU AND FYROM BEGINS TODAY

The second round of consultations for a trade and economic cooperation agreement between the European Union and FYROM begins in Brussels today.

According to the skopjan state television, in the meeting will be discussed FYROM's regional accesion into the European Union and the prospects for the trading of skopjan products in the european market.

[16] BRITISH VOTERS BLAME THE GOVERMENT OVER THE BEEF CRISIS

A newspaper opinion poll on Sunday said most British voters blamed the government rather than the European Union for the crisis caused by the "mad cow" disease scare.

Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler criticised British attempts to block EU business in a newspaper interview on Friday, and said a ban on British beef exports would remain until London took adequate steps to combat mad cow disease.

Ireland's foreign minister and deputy prime minister, Dick Spring, critisized Britain's policy within the EU saying that the European Union must show solidarity towards Britain in the current beef crisis.

[17] EU AND US HOLD CONFERENCE ON INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS IN ROME

The European Commission and the US Government are sponsoring a high-level conference on key issues related to the present state and future development of intellectual property rights of interest to the European and American economies within the framework of the joint EU-US Action Plan for expanding and deepening transatlantic relations.

Organised by the Commission and in cooperation with the Italian Presidency, the conference will take place today and tomorrow in Rome .

The conference will give representatives of industry andGovernment from both sides of the Atlantic the chance to present their views on intellectual property rights and discuss possible courses of future actionwith Government officials from the EU and the US.

[18] FAVORABLE ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES FOR EAST COUNTRIES

A new series named "The european economy" is published by the European Commission and is going to go to market tommorow.

" The european economy" is an analytical report on the economic situation of 10 countries within the central and eastern Europe and it concludes that important steps have been made in the economic field of these countries.

[19] FINANCE FOR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS BY THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND

The financement of 58 innovative projects decided the European Commission of a total cost of ECU 55.9 million that is going to be paid by the European Social Fund (ESF) .

These projects are mainly designed to explore new approaches to labour market policy as set out in theEuropean employment strategy approved by the Essen European Council.

The main goals of the projects in 1995 were achieving a more employment-intensive pattern of growth, improving the workings of the labour market and reinforcing the training system.

[20] BOSNIA: GENERAL AGREEMENT ON MOSTAR ELECTIONS

A final agreement was signed by Moslem, Croat and Serb representatives with the city's EU administrator to hold local elections next month in order to avert disaster in the divided city of Mostar.

A text of the agreement calls for the poll not later than June 30th.

[21] MAJOR SEES LONG-TERM BOSNIA ROLE

Long-term tasks for the international community in Bosnia sees British Prime Minister John Major according to a radio interview he gave.

The british Prime Minister said it was too early to judge whether British troops would pull out by a December deadline.

[22] METHOD OF "INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYMENT RANKING 1996"

The employment policy on the international level is going to be the subject of the discussion between employment and social affairs Commissioner, Padraig Flynn, with Mr.Reinhard Mohn, Chairman of the Board of the Bertelsmann Foundation on 30 May.

Mr. Mohn will present the method of "International Employment Ranking 1996" of the Bertelsmann Foundation the key objective of which is to analyse national employment policy concepts and instruments in a comparative ay and to develop a corresponding ranking of countries.

The intention is to stimulate public debate at national and European level with this approach not onlyas regards individual fields of policy but also concerning the consistency of the overall policy approach regarding employment.

Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/