Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-04-22

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

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Thessaloniki, April 22, 1998

NEWS IN ENGLISH

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NEWS IN DETAIL

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[01] FORMER PRESIDENT KARAMANLIS IS AT “THE POINT OF NO RETURN”

In a serious blow to hopes he would regain his health, former president Konstantinos Karamanlis's condition is "extremely critical" according to his treating doctors. Mr. Karamanlis suffered renal failure late on Monday.

The 91-year-old ethnarch was admitted to the Hygeia Hospital on April 7 with a respiratory infection. He was placed on breathing support on April 12 after his heart stopped during a mild heart attack.

[02] GREEK PRESIDENT DEPARTS FOR OFFICIAL VISIT TO HUNGARY

The President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos embarked on a three-day visit to Hungary today at his Hungarian counterpart's invitation.

The Greek president will hold private talks with Hungarian President Arpad Goncz and leadership, while he will also inaugurate a Greek-Hungarian business conference. Accompanying Mr. President are the Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos, Undersecretary of National Economy Alexandros Baltas and various businessmen.

The President Stephanopoulos will also visit the ethnic Greek village of Beloyiannis and will address the Hungarian Parliament.

[03] ATHENS: THERE IS NO DAYTON-TYPE CONFERENCE FOR CYPRUS

The Greek government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas denied the persistent rumors that a Dayton-type conference is in the works for Cyprus. Addressing reporters yesterday, Mr. Reppas stated that “there is no such issue.”

He did stress that the Greek government will not adopt a negative stance on the interest expressed recently over Cyprus by various sides.

Moreover, Mr. Reppas added that any resolution of the Cyprus problem had to be modeled after United Nations resolutions and summit agreements reached between the late Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios and the leader of the Turkish-Cypriots, Rauf Denktash.

[04] PM HEADS MEETING WITH FINANCE, TRANSPORTATION MINISTERS

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is to chair a meeting with the Minister of finance and National Economy Yiannos Papantoniou and the Minister of Transportation and Communications Tasos Mantelis in order to discuss the current situation of the state’s economy.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has forwarded to the Greek government a 12- page questionnaire concerning the privatization course of the state-owned companies, work relations and the overall insurance system.

[05] GREECE WILL STAND BY CYPRUS IN THE FACE OF TURKISH THREATS

Greece’s Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos has reiterated that Greece will stand by Cyprus in the face of Turkish threats and the island’s continued occupation by Turkish forces.

Following talks with the US Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who made a four-hour stop in Athens yesterday, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that "Greece, as a guarantor power, is concerned about the security of Cyprus and will stand by it as long as there is a threat, whether from Turkish occupation troops on the island or from the refusal of Turkey to contribute to the ending of the military occupation and to an acceptable resolution of the Cypriot problem. "

Moreover, referring to the deployment of Russian-made S-300 missiles in Cyprus, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that this matter was solely the concern of the Cypriot government, which was the only authority able to decide on the issue.

"It is an inalienable right of each country - and particularly a small country - to use all its means for its defense and we can not accept that through this limited defense system Turkey is being threatened," he said.

[06] MISSING PRIEST’S DROWNED BODY DISCOVERED IN HALKIDIKI BAY

The drowned body of a Greek priest, 42-year-old Panayiotis Spagos, was discovered off the Halkidiki peninsula this morning, two days after the vessel carrying him, another Greek and three Canadian nationals capsized during a sudden storm.

According to a statement issued by the Merchant Marine Ministry, the search for the Canadians - identified as Roger Richer, 49, his brother Gerald, 39, and Alvin Guesnel, 44, - continues.

The Canadians, employed by TVX Hellas, the subsidiary of the Canadian gold mining company which received a mining concession in the area, along with the priest and Alkiviades Kefalas went fishing Monday evening in a small boat, the Samiopoula.

Kefalas , who managed to swim to shore, told police that he saw the four others swimming next to him after the boat overturned near Marmari, Halkidiki. He swam for several hours before being rescued by a trawler as he approached the coast, but the four other men had disappeared.

Coast guard vessels, a Hellenic Air Force plane, helicopters and fishing vessels mounted a search of the area on Tuesday.

[07] US SECRETARY OF DEFENSE COMMENTS ON TALKS IN ATHENS

The United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who was received by his Greek counterpart Akis Tsochatzopoulos in Athens yesterday, discussed NATO's structural changes and reiterated his country’s support for confidence-building measures in the Aegean.

Mr. Cohen said he did not ask for Greece's help in preventing the deployment of the Russian-made S-300 missiles in Cyprus, but did state that such a move would be a mistake.

The American official stressed that ways must be found to bring the island’s two communities into a dialogue.

Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Cohen said it was "a shame" that Greece and Turkey were not exploiting the chances open to them, such as proposals by the NATO secretary-general on a moratorium.

He stated that the Clinton Administration is willing to help both countries turn from an atmosphere of suspicion to a climate of trust, calling on an end to the use of threats of force, open diplomatic channels to resolve differences and adding that the essence of the issue was that there should be negotiations.

Messrs. Cohen and Tsochatzopoulos discussed the Greek military's multi-million dollar armaments procurement program as well as the creation of a multinational force in the Balkans, to which, Mr. Cohen stated his country would provide its help.

Mr. Cohen added that Athens and Washington have a common target of creating conditions of stability, peace and cooperation in the wider region extending from the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Black Sea.

Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said that "on the basis of this common strategy, we discussed ways of contributing towards the tackling of problems which are created by destabilizing attitudes, by events and countries in the region.”

In turn, Mr. Cohen stressed that Greece and the US have a long relationship in the Defense sector as NATO members and cooperation between them has strengthened security for each country.

Mr. Cohen pointed out that the effort is being focused now on the creation of conditions of peace in the Balkans, since following developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kossovo, it acquires a particular importance for Europe in general. "In this effort, Greece can play a leading role for stability in the region," he said.

Mr. Cohen also officially invited Mr. Tsochatzopoulos to visit Washington for a continuation of their talks.

[08] GREEK AIR FORCE PILOTS EJECT SAFELY BEFORE THEIR JET CRASHES

Two Air Force pilots ejected safely yesterday when their F-5b jet crashed near Chrysoupouli, in northern Greece, during a low- flying training mission.

The plane reportedly suffered engine failure when a flock of birds were sucked into one engine.

Airmen Panayiotis Geordiadis and Panayiotis Grinias escaped unharmed.

[09] HOLOCAUST’S 55TH ANNIVERSARY TO BE COMMEMORATED IN TOWN

Thessaloniki’s Jewish Community is to pay a tribute to the city’s 50,000 Jews who perished in the Nazi concentration camps fifty-five years ago during the Holocaust, this Sunday, April 26, at the Monastirioton Synagogue.

Thessaloniki was a major Sephardic metropolis since the very early 16th century, boasting a more than 50,000-strong community prior to Nazi occupation. During WWII, most of city's Jews were transported to concentration camps in Germany and Poland where they perished.

Greek Jews suffered the greatest mortality rate at the hands of Nazi forces and their satellites (96 per cent) among all occupied Europe to the stand of the allies, particularly Britain and to a lesser extent the United States.

[10] KOSSOVO ETHNIC ALBANIANS AND SERBS SEEK SOLUTION IN THESSALONIKI

The two-day meeting titled “Confidence-Building Measures in Kossovo” which took place in Thessaloniki with the participation of high-level representatives of the Kossovo ethnic Albanians and Serbs was completed late yesterday night.

During the meeting that was organized by the German Institute “Bertelshman”, the participants examined the eventuality of an agreement between Serbs and ethnic Albanians regarding confidence- building measures which could lead to a solution in the conflict that seems to escalate since last March.

However, the views of the two sides as far as the content of these measures was concerned were completely different since the ethnic Albanians called for recognition of some kind of a Kossovo state while the Serb side expressed its disagreement over that suggestion and asked for the preservation of Yugoslavia’s territorial integrity an solutions within the framework of Yugoslavia.

The fact that seems to be of great of great importance is that the meeting which is part of a series of similar initiatives aiming at reaching a solution to the Kossovo problem took place in Thessaloniki, a town that, according to a member of the “Bertelshman” Institute, offers easy access to all sides involved.

The representatives of the Serbs to the meeting were Artemije Radosavljevic, the Bishop of Prizen who is the spiritual head of the Serb Orthodox Church in Cossovo, which includes all the orthodox in Kossovo, the professors, Milan Protic, director of the Serb Studies Centre in Belgrade, Predrag Simic, researcher in the International Policy and Economics Institute in Belgrade, Dusan Batakovic, researcher in the Balkan Studies Institute in Belgrade and Ratomir Tanic, member of the party of New Democracy which supports mr Milosevic’s socialists .

The ethnic Albanian representatives were two of the four members of the group for negotiators with Belgrade formed by the Kossovo Albanian leader Imbrahim Rugova, the Sociology professor in the University of Pristina and vice-president of the Democratic League party, Fahmi Agani and the editor of the newspaper “Koha Dittore” Veton Suroj, two of mr Rugova’s close assistants, the secretary of international relations of the Democratic League Edita Tahiri, and the director of the Information Centre Iza Zuberj, mr Rugova’s particularly popular political rival, head of the Kossovo Parliamentary Party Adem Demaci, the spokesman of thePristina University students Alpmin Kurti and Gazment Pula head of the Elsinki Commission in Kossovo.

Greece was represented by the professors Thanos Veremis and Yiannis Koliopoulos, the ambassador Evangellos Kofos and the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director of Balkan Affairs D. Rallis while high officials of the German diplomacy, the Western Europe Union and representatives of the “Open Society” institute which is financed by George Soros also participated in the meeting.

[11]] ALBANIAN INTERIOR MINISTER TO M.P.A. OF THE KOSOVO CRISIS

Professor Neritan Ceka, the Interior Minister of Albania and head of the Democratic Alliance which is a minor partner in the albanian government in an interview with the Macedonian Press Agency stresses that the solution of the crisis in Kosovo and the albanian target for independence should be decided between the Serbs and the Albanians on Kosovo.

Mr Ceka said that he thinks that independence is the best solution for the Albanians in Kosovo, clarifying that this is his personal view.

Q:Could there be a solution to the problem in Kosovo without a total independence for the Albanians?

A:It’s up to the Kosovars and to the Serbians to decide. We can facilitate their way. It must be a way of discussion, of dialogue and international support so that we create a new climate for all the Balkans.

Q:If I can understand well, what you say, indicates that independence is not the only solution for the Albanians in Kosovo?

A:I think that it would be the best, but it is not up to me to decide.

Q:And if you were to decide?

A:I should repeat that it is a matter that concerns that Serbs and the Albanians in Kosovo.

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

[12] REFERENDUM TO BE HELD IN SERBIA TOMORROW

The referendum proposed by the Serb President of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, on whether or not his state should accept foreign intervention in the matter of Kossovo, is to be held tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the “Contact Group” for the former Yugoslavia is to meet in Rome on April 29 in order to review the situation in Kossovo.

[13] GREECE’S CHIEF OF STAFF EMBARKS ON VISIT TO CYPRUS

Greece's chief of staff, General Athanasios Tzoganis, is to embark on a three-day visit to Cyprus today, this marking the first official visit to the island by as Greek chief of staff.

In Nicosia, Gen. Tzoganis is to hold talks with the political and military leadership on the island, and will discuss the Greek- Cypriot unified defense doctrine.

He is scheduled to meet with Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides, Archbishop Chrysostomos, House Speaker Spyros Kyprianou and Defense Minister Yiannakis Omirou.

[14] GREECE’S AEK BASKETBALL TEAM TO CLAIM CUP TOMORROW

Greece’s AEK basketball team, based in Athens, defeated yesterday Italy's Benetton Treviso with a score of 69-66 in a close game during the semi-final match held in Barcelona for the European Champions' League.

Claiming the Euroleague Championship Cup tomorrow, AEK will play against Italy’s Kinder Bologna, which earlier defeated Belgrade's Partizan.

[15] FORENSIC EXPERTS CONTINUE TO EXHUME BODIES IN SREBRENICA

A team of fifty forensic experts working for the United Nations has found human remains and clothing during new exhumations conducted around the former Muslim enclave Srebrenica, site of the Bosnian war's worst massacres.

"So far we have found 1,500 shell cases, fragments of human bones and some clothes" said a UN spokesman at the site.

The operation in eastern Bosnia is expected to provide ''significant evidence' ' a UN statement said. The investigators are working for the prosecuting office of the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which is prosecuting people, charged with genocide and war crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict.

[16] EU-CYPRUS JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETS TOMORROW

The Joint Parliamentary Committee of the European Union - Cyprus is to convene tomorrow in Nicosia.

The two-day session will address the island’s accession bid as well as its relations with the EU. The Presidium of the EU will be represented by the British High commissioner in Cyprus David Madden.

[17] TENSION MOUNTS IN KOSSOVO

Thousands of armed Albanians have moved into the western region of Kossovo, in an operation reportedly organized by the Liberating Army, according to Belgrade’s daily “Dnevnik”.

According to the article, the Liberating Army has armed its forces and is said to be getting ready to seize the towns of Decani and Jakovica.

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