Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 97-01-28

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

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Thessaloniki, January 28, 1997

NEWS IN ENGLISH

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NEWS IN DETAIL

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[01] FINANCE MINISTER RECEIVED BY PREMIER KOSTAS SIMITIS

The Minister of National Econony and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou was received by the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis today, to discuss the course of the state's budget.

Following the meeting, Mr. Papantoniou stated that neither the course of the economy nor the inflation rate will be affected by the farmers' new mobilizations.

He emphasized that the government will not compromise by granting additional benefits to the various job sectors. A.F.

[02] THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WANT CONFLICT WITH THE FARMERS

[03] PROTESTING FARMERS BEGIN SECOND ROUND OF RALLIES TODAY

Greece's protesting farmers have rolled up their sleeves and taken to the streets again, embarking on a second round of rallying today.

The hard core mobilizations are taking place in the center of Greece, the city of Karditsa specificallly, where the trial of 18 farmers was to take place. They had been summoned to court for obstructing traffic during their mobilizations in March of 1995. Today's hearing was postponed until later this year because two witnesses were absent.

Meanwhile, the goverment has remained firm in its position not to permit the farmers to disrupt traffic again. A.F.

[04] TEACHERS MEET WITH EDUCATION MINISTER, ARRIVE AT DEADLOCK

No outcome was achieved during the meeting held yesterday evening between the secondary education teachers' union representatives and the Education Minister Gerasimos Arsenis.

Union representatives stated that their ongoing strike will continue indefinitely and could take unprecedented dimensions. Also, primary education and kindergarten teachers have announced their intent to strike for three days beginning on February 3, demanding salary increases. A.F.

[05] A SEA OF CULTURE MINISTERS TO MEET IN THESSALONIKI ON THURSDAY

Culture Ministers from Balkan, Black Sea and Mediterranean countries are to meet in Thessaloniki on Thursday, where they will participate at the Culture Ministers Meeting.

During their stay in Thessaloniki, the dignitaries will observe the three-day "Formal Inauguration" festivities of the Thessaloniki Cultural Capital of Europe '97 artistic program.

The Culture Ministers expected to arrive tomorrow are from Albania, Bulgaria, Belgium, FYROM, Lethonia, Montenegro, Maroco, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Tunesia, and Ukraine. Also, Culture Ministry representatives are expected from Canada, Croatia, Sweden and Turkey.

Awaited on Thursday are the Culture Ministers of France, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Israel, Palestine, Russia, Slovenia, the Holy See, and representatives from the Culture Ministries of Finland, Italy, Hungary, Luxemburg and Spain.

On Friday, the Culture Minister of Germany will be in Thessaloniki, as well as Ministry representatives from Denmark and Sweden. A.F.

[06] IPECTSI PEACE-FRIENDSHIP AWARD TO BE GRANTED TO GREEK POLITICIANS

The Abdi Ipectsi Peace and Friendship Award, saluting greek- turkish ties, friendship and cooperation, will be bestowed upon Greece's former Premier and New Democracy's current honorary president Konstantinos Mitsotakis, during a ceremony to be held at Istanbul in May 1997.

The award will be given to Mr. Mitsotakis in recognition of his work as premier, foreign minister and leader of the main opposition, and for his role in the progress achieved in favor of the Moslem community in western Thrace.

Bestowed with the "Special Awards of Peace and Friendship" will be two other Greek politicians, George Papandreou, alternate Foreign Minister and euro-deputy Michalis Papayiannakis. Mr. Papandreou will be given the award in acknowledgement of his efforts in the greek-turkish approach during his stay in the Education Ministry. Mr. Papayiannakis will be granted the award in recognition of the objective and cool-headed manner in which he handles greek-turkish relations. A.F.

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

[07] ALBANIANS WHO LOST MONEY IN PYRAMID OPERATIONS INTENSIFY RIOTS

Albania's President Sali Berisha has refused to declare a state of emergency for his country, in an effort to defuse the crisis that erupted in Albania when thousands of irate citizens began rallying in the streets, after having fallen victim to covert money-making operations, styled after what is known as "the pyramid."

The street protests have become a daily practice and the opposition parties try to exploit the situation. Many government buildings were the targets of arsonists. Even the house where Greece's poet-laureate George Seferis lived when he was Consul- General in Koritsa was vandalized during the rioting. A.F.

[08] UNITED STATES ISSUE DEMARCHE TO SERB LEADERS OVER THEIR USE OF VIOLENCE

The United States have issued a demarche to the Serb authorities of the Federal Yugoslav Republic, protesting the latter's breach of promise not to use violence against the opposition supporters.

State Department spokesperson Nicholas Burns stated that the U.S. embassy's attache in Belgrade issued a written protest to the Serb authorities over the police beatings of protesters last weekend.

Moreover, Russia's Alternate Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, currently on an offical visit to Belgrade, directed an appeal towards the Serb government to defuse the tension that has been fermenting since November 17's local elections where the victory of tri-partite coalition "Zajedno" was challenged by the local authorities.

Mr. Ivanov also called on Serb President Slobodan Milosevic to accept and uphold the findings of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which recognized Zajedno's victory.

Following his meeting with Zajedno leaders, Mr. Ivanov stated that defusing the crisis would not only be to the benefit of Serbia but also good for the sake of stability throughout the Balkans. A.F.

[09] CYPRIOT DEMOCRATIC PARTY DEPUTY MISSING

A deputy from Cyprus' Democratic Party (DIKO) is missing along with two other persons who participated in an environmentalists rally that tried to block a british military exercise in Cyprus' peninsula Akama.

Fifteen persons, in all, had camped out at the shooting grounds, protesting the soldiers' use of real ammunition which, as they said, was damaging to the local natural habitat, considered to be one the island's most beauteous. A.F.

[10] NICOLAI DOBREV, PREMIER OF BULGARIA BY PROXY

Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov has assigned Nicolai Dobrev with the mandate to form a cabinet, thus making him Premier by proxy.

Mr. Dobrev accepted the mandate and has stated that he will try to form a Cabinet whose program will enjoy wide acceptance, by inviting the country's ablest technocrats to map out a formula that will salvage the country from its current and formidable economic crisis.

The opposition, however, took the opportunity to comment that the country lost an opportunity to escape from the crisis.

Meanwhile, Mr. Stoyanov is geting ready to perform his first visit as a head of state abroad, as he departs for a three-day visit to Brussels tonight. Mr. Stoyanov will meet with the President of the European Commission, Jacques Santer, and NATO Secretary-General Xavier Solana with whom he will discuss the possibilities of Bulgaria's full accession to the European Union and the Alliance. A.F.

[11] HAS THE VIRUS EMBOLA " HIT" ANCIENT ATHENS?

The newspaper, "The Washington Post" reports on the findings of fossils, in the area of the ancient cemetary of Keramekou, during the recent digs for the construction of the metro in Athens. These fossils are believed to have come from people who died 2,500 years ago by the virus Embola.

It is noted that, Epidemiologist,Patric Olson, of the Naval Health Center in San Diego, examined these fossils for evidence of the virus Embola and in a letter to the magazine "Emerging Infectious Diseases", Dr. Olson and three of his colleages found a few unnatural similarities between the epidemic, as it was described by Thoukididis, of the Center for Preventive Medicine, in the exposition about the Embola epidemic that broke out in Zaire, in 1995. In the article, doubts are expressed about the University of Arizona, Prof. Thomas Worthern's, and Prof. David Morens', of the University of Hawai's, theories.

[12] IRATE ALBANIANS DEMAND THAT PREMIER MECSI RESIGN

Thousands of irate Albanians who have been rallying in the streets of Tirana for days, after having fallen victim to covert money-making operations styled after what is known as "the pyramid", now call for the resignation of Prime Minister Alexander Mecsi and demand early elections.

Also, opposition parties have sternly criticised the ruling Sali Berisha Cabinet by stating that the government has adopted a mistaken economic policy, and accusing government officials of corruption, fraud, and embezzlement of property. The opposition parties also said that Albania has now been turned into a hotbed of money-laundering, drug and arms trafficking activity.

Albania's only outlet from the deadlock, according to the opposition, is the government's immediate resignation and the formation of a caretaker acting government which would be led by technocrats who, along with the representatives of the "pyramid" operations and the investors, would make up the base for cooperation among the various political forces. Moreover, their proposal says, the new government would proceed to set up an apolitical judicial system, media and secret services, which have now been trasformed into docile yes-men for the government. A.F.

[13] SYRIA REFUTES REPORTS OF WANTED GERMAN SS OFFICER'S WHEREABOUTS

Alois Brunher, the German SS officer thought to be the perpetrator of Thessaloniki's holocaust in 1945 when over 50,000 local Jews were killed, is not hiding in Damascus, said a spokesperson from Syria's Embassy in Greece, thereby refuting recent -and persistent- relevant reports in the national and international press.

Responding to the MPA, the Syrian Embassy's press office stated that these reports do not correspond to reality and emphasized that Bruhner is not in Syria.

Last week, however, Britain's daily "the Observer" actually reported the wanted man's exact address in Damascus. Bruhner has been on the run since 1945 when he was declared as a war criminal for the mass murder of 50,000 Jews. Also, he is being sought by the German authorities and has been twice sentenced to death in France for the killings of 25,000 Jews at Drancy's concentration camp near Paris. A.F.

[14] GOVERNMENT LICENSE FOR TURKISH BERLIN

Germany, which is Turkey's traditional ally, is not hiding its friendly ties with the Erbakan- Tsiller government, although some of their decisions are not well accepted by the German people, who look negatively upon the international New Islamic Movement.

One such concession, which could never be possible before, is included in a "silent"agreement between the federal government and Turkey's wish to build a large mosque in Berlin, which will again become the capital of the Federation of the German Republic's, in the year 2000.

According to sources, this mosque; the largest in Germany, will be built next to the airport Tebelhof, in the community of Noikelm, in Berlin. It will include space for 400 people and will have two minarets up to 43 meters high.

The projected cost of the mosque is estimated at up to five million marks and will be collected only by donations, as it is expected by the Turkish Islamic Union, an organization that has the responsibility for the construction of the mosque, and is scheduled to be completed by the year 2000.

Today, Germany has only a few mosques, and almost all are located in closed areas, so as not to attract too much attention.

[15] AN INNOVATIVE PROTEST BEGINS SOON IN TURKEY

A new, innovative and massive protest, with the title,"Clean Community", will be in effect in Turkey, February 1st, against the government corruption and scandals, which came into the public limelight with the Sousourlouk matter. From this day on, Turkish citizens will be invited daily at 9 p.m. to turn off their lights for one minute, in order to show their opposition to the Sousourlouk scandal and to demand the full investigation and punishment of guilty parties, however high their ranks are.

This innovative protest is the brainchild of a 70 year old, female, lawyer. She circulated a petition that has already been signed by 10,000 citizens, among them many well-known politicians, intellectuals, artists, businessmen, and various other factions.

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/