Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 97-12-12

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

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Thessaloniki, 12 December 1997

NEWS IN ENGLISH

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NEWS IN DETAIL

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[01] HEAD OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S DIRECT/TE-GENERAL X ON MEDIA POLICY

The Director-General for Information, Communication, Culture and Audio Visual Media of the European Commission’s Directorate- General X Spyros Pappas addressed the Thessaloniki-held Fifth European ministerial conference on Mass Media Policy today.

On the occasion of the adoption of the Political Declaration and the two accompanying Resolutions, Mr. Pappas relayed the Commission’s satisfaction and stressed that the Declaration is to contribute to the achievement of utilizing the new technologies in the information sector in the fullest degree, while at the same time preserving the intrinsic values of the European society.

Moreover, the European Commission official stated that the Commission approved a Green Paper on the Convergence of the Telecommunications, Media and Information Technology sectors and the implications for Regulations.

“The Green Paper will provide the basis for a wide consultation process with a view to identifying the key models for future regulatory polices both at the European Union and at a national level, “ Mr. Pappas stated, adding that this consultation process will last until the end of April.

Mr. Pappas urged that “given the essentially transfrontier nature of many Information Society issues, it is important that our policies have as wide a geographical scope as possible,” one that could expand to the members of the Council of Europe who are not -or not yet- members of the European Union.

Furthermore, Mr. Pappas illustrated another sector of complementation being carried out in the work of the European Union institutions and in the Council of Europe, that being the protection of minors and human dignity and the safe use of the Internet where the Commission has adopted proposals for a Council Recommendation and an Action Plan. He added that the Commission has proposed, and in some cases is already preparing, initiatives on crucial regulatory issues related to electronic commerce, such as protection of copyright, liability, applicable law, regulatory transparency and digital signatures.

“The reality of today’s Mass Media scene is that television is the dominant medium for the vast majority of Europeans and will remain so for the foreseeable future,” Mr. Pappas stated and added that the EU has adopted an amended “Television Without Frontiers’ Directive” which will be implemented by December of 1998.

In all, Mr. Pappas emphasized that the “Commission, for its part, will continue to work to this end in the Standing Committee. The successful outcome of the amendment process will, in this way, make possible a proposal for the European Community to accede to the Convention.” A.F.

[02] EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR MEDIA POLICY TO CLOSE TODAY

The problems that rise from the implementation of the new technologies, mainly issues of protection of the human rights, but also a need for the re-examining the operational frame for the mass media, were the main issues during yesterday’s session of the two- day 5th European Conference of Ministers for the Policy in the Mass Media.

Summing up the works of last night’s session, the Greek Minister of Culture, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, leading the works of the conference, observed that technology is ahead and that the policy and the legal regulations follow with great delay. A.F.

[03] EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR MEDIA POLICY CONTINUES IN THESSALONIKI

The Fifth European ministerial conference on Mass Media Policy conference, jointly organized by the Council of Europe and Greece’s Ministry of Press and Media, is to close today

This marks the first time that Greece has been assigned the organization of such a significant event in the sector of information and communication.

The Conference was inaugurated by the Greek Minister of Press and Media Dimitris Reppas and the C of E’s alternate secretary- general Hans Christian Kruger, while salutations were forwarded by the President of Greece Kostis Stephanopoulos and the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.

The Greek delegation, headed by the secretary-general of information Yiannis Nikolaou focused on the theme “Society of Information: a Challenge for Europe” .

Yesterday, Mr. Reppas proposed that a Protocol of Human Rights within the Information Society be drafted, since it is necessitated by the intense legislative activity of the European Union to create a European broadcasting landscape without boundaries and by the current efforts of the Council of Europe to consolidate the freedom of broadcasting across borders among the members.

Moreover, the Press Minister stressed that this Protocol must provide for freedom of access to information, ensure transparency and promote respect of human dignity, i.e., protecting minors from information deleterious to their physical and emotional well- being, without infringing on the adults’ right to obtain access to specialized services.

The two-day Conference examines the opportunities provided by the governments for the adoption of a common policy in regards to new technologies and the new services related to communication- information. The ministers will try to conclude at a regulating framework that will aim at safeguarding human rights and freedoms, as well as the basic principles of democracy. A.F.

[04] GREEK RAILWAY OSE CANCELS ROUTES DUE TO WORK STOPPAGES

The engine drivers of the Greek railway organization (OSE) are conducting two separate three-hour work stoppages today, resulting in the cancellation of 13 routes to, from and via Thessaloniki.

The routes that will be conducted as scheduled are the following: 602 Athens-Thessaloniki-Dikaia; 613-503 Dikaia- Thessaloniki-Athens; 723 Thessaloniki-Kozani and Kozani- Thessaloniki and 770 Thessaloniki-Florina and Florina- Thessaloniki.

Also, the routes 334/335 Thessaloniki-Budapest and 392/393 Thessaloniki-Belgrade are to be conducted as scheduled. A.F.

[05] ECOSYSTEM OF MT. OLYMPUS STUDIED AT INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

The ecosystem of Mount Olympus and its sustainable growth is to be examined during an international symposium, which is to begin this evening at the city of Litochoron and will feature the participation of distinguished Greek and foreign experts.

The participants are to discuss the opportunities for the mountain’ s development and further safeguarding of its flora and fauna by the state.

The two-day event, held for the third consecutive year, is organized by the municipality of Litochoron, in cooperation with the Region of Central Macedonia, under the auspices of the Greek Ministries of Development and Culture and the Greek Tourism Organization. A.F.

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

[06] EU SUMMIT BEGINS IN LUXEMBOURG TODAY

The European Union Summit is set to begin today in Luxembourg, the country currently holding the Community’s rotating presidency. Luxembourg Premier and EU President Jean Claude Junker stated that Turkey will need decades to come before it achieves accession to the EU. As it is known the issue of the expansion concerns Greece directly, since there is a proposal for the creation of a European conference, that will meet twice a year and the countries that are candidates for entrance as well as Turkey will participate. Greece sets condition for the participation of Turkey, the most important of which are, that Turkey should accept the general jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, abide with the international law and the international agreements, not object to the entrance of Cyprus in the European Union and take steps towards a solution to the problem of the island. A.F.

[07] GREECE WILL INTERVENE FOR KOSSOVO

Greece is ready to intervene between Albanians and Serbs in an effort to resolve the Kossovo issue, if the Greek government were to be asked to do so, stated that press attache of the Greek embassy at Tirana N. Vlahakis.

Moreover, Mr. Vlahakis stressed that Greece had already made this gesture during the Crete-held Summit conference. A.F.

[08] U.S.: TURKEY SHOULD STOP ITS USELESS AND PROVOCATIVE FLIGHTS

The spokesperson of the US State Department James Foley has issued an appeal to turkey that it halt its military activity in the Aegean Sea’s air space, after a question submitted to him during yesterday’s press conference, where he stated that the Turkish military flights in the Aegean’s northwest region are uselessly provocative and unnecessary, even if they took place in the international air space.

Mr. Foley stated that these flights were registered on NATO’s radar and pointed out that military activity of this sort undermines trust and worsens tension between two countries-members of the Alliance. A.F.

[09] EXPANSION AND EMU WILL BE THE MAIN ISSUES AT LUXEMBOURG’S EU SUMMIT

The European Union Summit began today in Luxembourg, the country currently holding the Community’s rotating presidency, where the “15” leaders are to mainly focus on the Community’s expansion and monetary union.

The European leaders are expected to agree on the beginning of pre-accession negotiations, starting with the onset of 1998, with Cyprus and five countries of central and eastern Europe, that is Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The remaining five (Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania) are expected to be invited to attend the start of these talks and will undergo a period during which their progress will be examined through an annual report drawn for each country separately, so that the rate of their progress can be ascertained in regards to the necessary criteria for gaining accession to the EU.

Moreover, the “15” are to discuss the mater of which countries are to participate in the informal committee that will examine the course towards 1999’s monetary union. Dissenting opinions have been voiced as to whether countries, such as Britain, which are not to participate in the monetary union from the start, should take part in this committee.

The present summit is deemed as a “critical” one since it is to “breath new air” into the Union’s future, both in terms of its expansion, as well as in regards to the “Agenda 2000”.

In its report, the European Commission noted that there are currently three challenges faced by the EU: 1. How will the Union’s policies be strengthened and reformed so that they will be able to correspond to the expansion and result in sustainable development, increased employment and improved living conditions for the Europeans. 2. How will the negotiations for the expansion take place, while at the same time all the candidate -members will prepare for their accession. 3. How will the expansion, preliminary preparation and the development of domestic policies be funded.

Moreover, in regards to the fiscal framework for the period between 2000-2006, the Commission maintains that “the new fiscal framework will need to provide cohesive coverage within reasonable fiscal limits, for the development of community policies and the consequences stemming from the accession of new member-states.” A.F.

[10] TURKEY-EU RAPPROCHEMENT LEADS TO IMPASSE

The rapprochement of relations between the European Union and Turkey is apparent leading to an impasse since the Turkish government’s efforts to promote its accession to the Community were fruitless, following the negative stance adopted by Ankara in regards to the continuous European conference.

Specifically, Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, during his lengthy meeting yesterday with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and EU President Jean Claude Junker, did not seem willing to accept the package of conditions that have to be met in order for Turkey to participate at the European conference.

As such, the Turkish government withdrew its interest for the conference since its potential participation would not have been associated with its accession -or not- to the EU.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Junker stated that “the Turkish side is not willing to accept our offer since it deems that it is not interested in the European conference, once we made it clear that it is not linked with the accession process.”

Moreover, the EU President outlined the three conditions that have to be met by Turkey in order to achieve the progress it wishes in its relations with the EU: 1) to accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, 2) to not obstruct Cyprus’s course of accession to the EU and 3) to resolve the issue of human rights violations in its country. A.F.

[11] WITH GOOD WILL, GREECE WILL INTERVENE FOR KOSSOVO, IF ASKED TO DO SO

Greece is ready to intervene between Albanians and Serbs in an effort to resolve the Kossovo issue, if the Greek government were to be asked to do so, stated that press attache of the Greek embassy at Tirana N. Vlahakis.

Moreover, Mr. Vlahakis stressed that Greece had already made this gesture during the Crete-held Summit conference.

“Athens will exert all of its efforts, within the spirit of mutual understanding and building a climate of trust among the region’s countries,” he stated. A.F.

[12] FYROM WANTS TO HOST S.E. EUROPE’S DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING IN 1998

The Defense Minister of FYROM Lazar Kitanovski announced that FYROM plans to organize two conferences in the following year, one that will host the defense ministers of southeastern European countries and the other which will host the Defense Ministers of Albania, FYROM, Bulgaria and Greece.

Mr. Kitanovski, who briefed his country’s parliamentary committee on domestic policy and defense on the initiatives to be undertaken by his ministry in the sector of defense during 1998, stressed that priority will be granted to the creation of a NATO military training center southeast of the city of Skopje, at Krivolak where the forces of the former Yugoslavia currently hold their training. A.F.

[13] EQUAL ACCESS TO INFORMATION FOR ALL CITIZENS

The European ministers’ meeting on the policy toward the mass media was concluded in Thessaloniki today with a political decision reached by the 40 member-states of the Council of Europe which is aimed at promoting the principles that will safeguard the equal access of all citizens to information.

The media ministers agreed on the principle of a “Universal Community Service” through which all citizens will have access to new communications services and networks.

General-secretary of information in the Greek ministry of press Yiannis Nikolaou stated that the adopted principles are binding and should be used to supplement the European convention on human rights. He also stated that the ministers have pledged to: -develop training and information of the public in the new technologies; -guarantee access to the new communications services; -guarantee freedom of expression in the new services; -combat violence, hate-speech, pornography, organized crime and any other misuse of services; -encourage self regulation of services at European and international levels; -study the consequences the future development of the new technologies will have on human rights in an information society.

Within this framework the Council of Europe Media Ministers pointed out the need for the respect of the freedom of expression and information and also the need to avoid any interference by the public authorities beyond that which is permitted under the Council’s European Human Rights Convention.

During the conference the ministers voiced grave concern regarding the restrictions imposed on media freedom in Belarus and they called on the country’s authorities to create a political, legal and administrative framework that will be based on the respect for the freedom of information and media independence.

[14] THE EU SUMMIT MEETING OPENED IN LUXEMBOURG

The Summit meeting of the “15” opened in Luxembourg today to discuss the EU enlargement and the monetary union. The efforts made by Luxembourg’s EU presidency for Turkey’s participation in the European conference have been led to a dead end.

The compromise proposal made by Luxembourg’s EU presidency, that would have allowed for the participation of Turkey in the European conference and was rejected by Turkish prime minister Mesout Yilmaz, did not have the acceptance of Greece stressed prime minister Kostas Simitis, who attends the EU Summit meeting in Luxembourg.

Prime minister Kostas Simitis stated that Ankara should make moves that will safeguard the peaceful progress of the European Union.

Turkish prime minister Mesut Yilmaz in his long meeting yesterday with Luxembourg’s prime minister Jean Claude Junker did not appear willing to accept the package of pre-conditions his country would have to meet in order to attend the European conference and as a result, the Turkish government withdrew its interest in it. Mr.Junker said that the three pre-conditions set for Turkey were: to accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in the Hague, to stop raising obstacles to Cyprus’ EU accession course and to solve its human rights problem.

Those developments led the 15 EU leaders to reject their invitation to the Turkish prime minister to attend their formal dinner after the end of the Summit meeting in order to be briefed on its outcome.

Meanwhile, Turkish foreign minister Ismail Cem appeared provocative and stated that the EU is at risk of losing Ankara’s political cooperation except in the case it is declared to be a possible EU member.

The issue of the pre-conditions for the opening of accession negotiations with Turkey will be discussed in Luxembourg this afternoon and later at the formal dinner that will be given in honor of the EU leaders.

[15] THE TERMS FOR THE MATERIALIZATION OF TURKEY’S EUROPEAN PROSPECT

The terms for the materialization of Turkey’s European prospect were reiterated today by Greek minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who stated that Turkey has to respect International Law.

Speaking in an international symposium on NATO’s expansion eastwards, Mr.Tsochatzopoulos characterized as provocative the mass violations of the Greek air space that were made yesterday by Turkish fighter jets. He said that Turkey must realize that if it wants to become an EU member should accept the principles and the terms of operation and cooperation followed by all the European countries and international organizations.

[16] YILMAZ WILL VISIT WASHINGTON ON DECEMBER 17

Turkish prime minister Mesout Yilmaz will be on a formal visit to Washington on December 17-21 accompanied by a 150-member delegation that will include 30 journalists.

The Turkish prime minister is scheduled to meet with US president Bill Clinton, the US vice-president and the US secretaries of state, energy, defense and finance, while special emphasis has been given to his meeting with the International Monetary Fund general director and the World Bank president.

[17] 92 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN TURKEY BEFORE THE END OF OCTOBER

The Turkish newspaper “Radikal” characterizes the recent circular that was issued by the Turkish government concerning the end of tortures and the unacceptable behavior of the security forces, as empty promises that do not lead anywhere.

The article writer speculates that the circular is placed within the framework of the efforts made by Turkey to improve its image in the international community and underlines that if Turkey’s intentions were serious, the authorities would have announced specific measures to prevent the unacceptable behavior which is mentioned in the circular.

According to evidence provided by the newspaper, 92 killings occurred by October 1997, while the number of those executed without a court trial and of those killed while in police custody reached 87. During that time, 19.835 people were held in police custody and 1.149 of them were imprisoned, while according to allegations, 46 people are declared as missing.

[18] THE FIRST BALKAN LITERATURE PRIZE WILL BE AWARDED ON SUNDAY

The first Balkan literature prize “Balkanika” will be awarded on Sunday by Greek minister of culture Evangelos Venizelos during a special ceremony that will be held in Thessaloniki under the auspices of the Cultural Capital of Europe Organization.

According to book publisher and member of the Balkanika Institution Ms.Katia Lembesis, the main objective of this prize is to promote literature as the road that will lead to the friendship and communication among the Balkan peoples as it will assist in the efforts to overcome the problems that were caused by the historical, political and social developments in recent years.

The establishment of the Sofia-based Balkanika Institution was the initiative of 6 publishers in Athens, Belgrade, Skopje, Istanbul, Bucharest and Sofia, while Albania was later added to its founding members.

A three-member or five-member committee from each country selected one book and a total of 7 books are contesting for the prize. They were later translated in all 7 languages in order to be evaluated by the committee of judges.

The book that will win the Balkanika prize will be translated into 4 languages by UNESCO and its author will receive a 10.000 US dollar prize and a statuette made by a famous Bulgarian sculptor.

[19] MICHAILOVA: BULGARIA HAS CHOSEN THE EUROPEAN COURSE

Bulgaria has chosen the European course and it will follow it regardless of the decisions that will be made in the Luxembourg EU Summit meeting, stated Bulgarian foreign minister Nadezda Michailova in Sofia today, speaking on her country’s relations with the European Union.

Ms.Michailova stated that Bulgaria’s priorities in its policy toward the EU are the fulfillment of its obligations that stem from the European Agreement, as well as the materialization of its national strategy for the EU accession preparations and the harmonization of the country’s market, foreign relations, justice system and economy for its participation in the EU policy.

[20] A DELEGATION OF THE MINISTRY OF MACEDONIA-THRACE WILL VISIT BULGARIA

A delegation from the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace Inter- Balkan Cooperation office will visit Bulgaria, headed by the ministry’s secretary-general.

The visit will be held on December 14-17 within the framework of the efforts for the consolidation of peace and stability in the region as well as, for the development of bilateral relations of the Balkan states.

The issues that will be discussed in the talks the delegation will have in Bulgaria will concern joint business ventures, the Bulgarian zones of free transactions, the safety of transportation, as well as the cooperation on issues of know-how and technical companies, while a special emphasis will be given on the solution of the problems faced by the Greek businessmen.

[21] APPEAL TO THE EURO-PARLIAMENT FOR THE RELEASE OF LEILA ZANA

Greek Euro-deputy of the governing party of PASOK Nikos Papakyriazis with a question to the Council of Ministers and a letter addressed to the European Parliament president, calls for the intervention of the European Union for the immediate release of Kurdish former deputy in the Turkish National Assembly Leila Zana, who was honored with the 1995 Zacharov prize.

Mr. Papakyriazis reminded that Leila Zana is still jailed in Turkey in spite of the fact that she has become an international symbol as a woman who fights peacefully for the survival of her people.

The Greek Euro-deputy requested from the Council of Ministers to inform him on the actions it intends to take in order to persuade the Turkish government to meet its basic obligations and move toward the immediate release of Leila Zana.

[22] IN 2001 GREECE WILL BE IN THE ZONE OF THE “EURO”

Deadlock and disagreement has been noticed between the state- members of the European Union, concerning the informal Council that the state-members which will enter the zone of “Euro” want to create. According to the Minister of National Economy, Mr. Yiannos Papantoniou, the group of the countries that will participate in the “Eurozone” from the beginning will be composed by 10 or 11 countries and in this circle Greece, Great Britain, Denmark and Sweden will not be included. Mr. Papantoniou stressed that the goal of Greece is to participate in the “Euro” from January 1st , 2001, after fulfilling the criteria of Maastricht in 1998 and 1999.

[23] THESSALONIKI, AS A CULTURAL CAPITAL, CONTIBUTED TO THE INSTITUTION

The Greek Minister of Cultural Affairs, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, stressed, during the formal celebration that took place in order to welcome his Swedish counterpart, Ms. Marita Oulvskog, that : “Thessaloniki, as a Cultural Capital of Europe for 1997, has contributed to the strengthening of the prestige and the credibility of the institution of the Cultural Capitals. An institution that promotes the unity of the various European cultures and will play an even more important role in the cultural issues of the continent in the short-term future, something that is proven by the competition among several countries to become Cultural Capitals the coming years.” Today the role of Thessaloniki as a Cultural Capital of Europe ends, Stockholm will be the new Cultural Capital for the year 1998.

[24] THE 5TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR THE POLICY IN THE MEDIA ENDED

With a political declaration, a resolution for the promotion of freedom, expression and information at a European level and expressing concerns for the consequences of the new technologies upon the human rights and the democratic values as well as the re- examination of the operating frame for the Mass Media the 5th European Conference of Ministers in Thessaloniki for the policy in the Mass Media in which Ministers, General Directors of Ministries and Organizations as well as other higher governmental executives from 36 countries of Europe and 6 International Organizations ended today afternoon.

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/