Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-06-02
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, June 2, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] IONIAN BANK'S STAFF CONTINUE STRIKE
[02] GOVERNMENT IS ADAMANT ON SELLING IONIAN BANK, SAYS REPPAS
[03] NATIONAL ECONOMY AND FINANCE MINISTER ON IONIAN BANK'S SALE
[04] THESSALONIKI TO HOST TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE
[05] THESSALONIKI'S SEISMOLOGY CENTER RECORDS AFGHANISTAN QUAKE
[06] GREECE'S AND ITALY'S CULTURE MINISTERS CALL FOR COOPERATION
[07] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS PILOTS REFUSE TO WORK OVERTIME
[08] COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S ENVIRONMENT COM/TEE TO MEET IN GREECE
[09] GREEK COMPANY UNDERTAKES ROAD PROJECT IN ROMANIA
[10] LONDON'S MAYOR IN THESSALONIKI ON THURSDAY
[11] THE WORKERS UNIONS SUPPORT THE DIALOGUE WITH THE GOVERNMENT
[12] PROBLEMS IN OLYMPIC AIRWAYS
[13] THE MAYOR OF LONDON WILL SPEAK IN THESSALONIKI ABOUT THE EURO
[14] THE COOPERATION OF THE BALKAN CAPITAL MARKETS IS BEING
STRENGTHENED
[15] MORE EU COUNTRIES SHOULD RECOGNIZE THE GENOCIDE OF THE
ARMENIANS
[16] A CHINESE BUSINESS DELEGATION WILL VISIT THESSALONIKI ON JUNE
26-30
[17] SIMITIS: GREEK GOVERNMENT CAN GUARANTEE GREECE'S FUTURE
[18] GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SUPPORTS PANGALOS' COMMENTS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] ALBANIA: CONFLICT IN KOSSOVO COULD LEAD TO WAR, UN RUSHES TO
RELIEF
[20] KOSSOVO'S RUGOVA AT UN HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK
[21] GREECE ASKS FOR EXPLANATIONS FROM UK ON ITS "WAR SCENARIA"
[22] AIR FRANCE PILOTS ON STRIKE, WORLD CUP OPERATION THREATENED
[23] GREEK DEMARCHE FOR THE "SUNDAY TIMES" REPORT
[24] OMIROU-TSOCHATZOPOULOS MEETING IN ATHENS
[25] CLASHES IN KOSOVO ESCALATE
[26] THE UNITED STATES WANT TURKEY TO GIVE BACK THE GOLD STOLEN
FROM THE JEWS BY THE NAZIS
[27] TRACES OF BENZOLIUM FOUND IN BEVERAGES
[28] FATOS NANO CALLS ON BELGRADE OVER THE KOSOVO SITUATION
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] IONIAN BANK'S STAFF CONTINUE STRIKE
Although a Greek court ruled last week that the strike
conducted by Ionian Bank's disgruntled staff is illegal and has
barred its resumption, the undaunted employees are determined to
press on with their protest to the privatization of the bank,
continuing the strike today and tomorrow.
The Athens-based First Circuit Court ordered workers at state-
controlled Ionian Bank to end the strike they have held since May
11.Today, officials of Ionian's staff association, the Federation
of Greek Bank Employees' Unions, and the General Confederation of
Greek Labor are to meet in order to discuss the government's
dialogue proposal.
In its ruling, the Court said union leaders would be fined
GRD400,000 (about $1,200) on a daily basis if the order was
ignored. As for the employees, under Greek law, staff members
failing to return to work after such a ruling also face the
possibility of dismissal.
In its reasoning, the Court held that the striking Ionian
workers have essentially barred thousands of customers from
having access to their savings accounts, since there isn't even a
skeleton staff on duty to serve them.
[02] GOVERNMENT IS ADAMANT ON SELLING IONIAN BANK, SAYS REPPAS
Government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas stated yesterday that
the government's decision to sell Ionian Bank will be adhered to.
"The decision has been made. The timetable has been
decided,'' Mr. Reppas stated, following a four-hour meeting
between the cabinet and the socialist PASOK party's leadership.
Mr. Reppas noted that the government would unwaveringly
implement and defend the policy it had announced.
He added that the inner Cabinet meeting had confirmed the
government's unanimous decision to sell Ionian's majority stake,
exactly as announced on April 30.
"The procedure to be followed will be of a competitive nature
through the Athens Stock Exchange," he confirmed, adding that the
general shareholders' meeting of Ionian's parent company,
Commercial Bank, would take place on June 19 to approve the sale.
The government is resolved to apply any lawful means to
implement this decision, he said, and called on Ionian's employees
to assume their responsibilities.
"The government's aim is for this affair to end without
victors and vanquished," he declared.
[03] NATIONAL ECONOMY AND FINANCE MINISTER ON IONIAN BANK'S SALE
National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou has
also stressed the government's resolve to sell the Ionian Bank, in
spite of the employees' reactions.
``The unofficial meeting between PASOK's general secretariat
and the cabinet reaffirmed unanimously the decision to privatize
Ionian Bank at the agreed time schedule,'' Mr. Papantoniou told a
news conference yesterday.
Mr. Papantoniou said that the meeting restated the
government's decision to sell a majority stake in the bank and
that terms of the sale would be submitted for approval to the
board of Commercial Bank of Greece, Ionian's main shareholder, on
June 19.
Mr. Papantoniou urged striking Ionian Bank employees and
union federation leaders to hold a dialogue on safeguarding jobs
after the bank's sale.
He stressed that there was abuse of the right to strike, and
pointed out that in every demonstration the same nucleus of
protesters had been identified.
[04] THESSALONIKI TO HOST TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE
Thessaloniki is to host the Conference of Multimodal
Transport and Transit Trade in Southeast Europe from June 4-6, an
event organized by HELEXPO, the organizer of the Thessaloniki
International Fair, in cooperation with the Department of
Communications Technology of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The event is to address legal and administrative issues
pertaining to difficulties encountered in crossing borders,
methods and practices associated with multimodal transport in
light of new technology and the use of logistics, multimodal
transport corridors and infrastructure (terminals and junctions),
networks, services and international cooperation.
Among those participating in the conference will be senior
officials and representatives of European Union directorates, the
ministries of transport and communications, of environment, town
planning and public works, of finance, of merchant marine,
universities, cultural foundations of Austria, Bulgaria, Germany
and other countries and transport organizations.
[05] THESSALONIKI'S SEISMOLOGY CENTER RECORDS AFGHANISTAN QUAKE
The earthquake that occurred on Sunday in Afghanistan and
which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale was clearly recorded by
the Thessaloniki Aristotle University geophysics lab as
registering 6.9 on the Richter scale.
According to University seismologist, Vassilis Karakostas,
Afghanistan "belongs to the Eurasian seismic zone, which starts
from Gibraltar, runs through Greece, India and Afghanistan, and
ends in Indochina".
He further explained that this zone had its strongest seismic
activity in Greece, namely, the island of Kephalonia.
[06] GREECE'S AND ITALY'S CULTURE MINISTERS CALL FOR COOPERATION
Greece's Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos and his Italian
counterpart Walter Veltroni urged European countries to strengthen
their ties in the movie-making sector in order to challenge
Hollywood's monopoly on the entertainment industry.
``Everybody must realize that Europe is not only (about a
single) currency but a continent with strong cultural links, able
to create an industry to rival that of America's,'' Mr. Veltroni
said.
Mr. Venizelos said both Greece and Italy, having both won
the two top awards at this year's Cannes film festival, have
agreed on several joint projects to boost cooperation.
Mr. Vetroni said the European Union had recently agreed to
host a European version of the Oscar awards, to be broadcast
across the continent, in an effort to strengthen European cinema.
[07] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS PILOTS REFUSE TO WORK OVERTIME
In a violation of their recent agreement with Olympic Airways
management, the national air carrier's pilots are refusing to work
overtime.
They are protesting the elimination of various routes, such
as Dubai -Bangkok, as well as the administration's decision to
hire 45 pilots, as opposed to the 75 requested by the Pilots'
Union.
[08] COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S ENVIRONMENT COM/TEE TO MEET IN GREECE
The Committee of Environment, City Planning and Local
Administration of the Council of Europe's parliamentary Assembly
is typo convene on Thursday, June 4, at the island of Lesbos, in
order to examine environmental issues concerning the Mediterranean
region.
The three-day conference is to feature the participation of
deputies from 40 countries and a number of studies will be
presented on the Mediterranean basin, the Aegean, waste
management and sea pollution.
Among those to salute the conference are the Minister of the
Aegean Elisabeth Papazoi, the undersecretary of Environment, City
Planning and Public Works Th. Koliopanos and the vice-president of
the Hellenic Parliament P. Sgourides.
[09] GREEK COMPANY UNDERTAKES ROAD PROJECT IN ROMANIA
A five-billion -drachma project in Romania has been
undertaken by Greece's "Proodevtiki" which will oversee a
consortium of Greek technical companies building roads in the
Romanian city Kluz.
The project concerns the repair and expansion of a road axis
whose length measures 32 kilometers and will be funded buy the
European Bank of Investments. It was granted to the Greek company
following an international bidding process .
[10] LONDON'S MAYOR IN THESSALONIKI ON THURSDAY
London's preparation for the arrival of the European Union's
common currency, the Euro, is to be the topic of a speech to be
delivered by the British capital's mayor Alderman Richard Nickols,
during his visit to Thessaloniki.
The British mayor is to visit Thessaloniki on the invitation
of the Hellenic-British Chamber of Commerce whose office in
northern Greece will host a dinner on his honor.
The event will be held on Thursday evening.
[11] THE WORKERS UNIONS SUPPORT THE DIALOGUE WITH THE GOVERNMENT
The opening of a dialogue with the government on the issue of
the Ionian Bank was decided in a joint meeting of the presiding
boards of the Bank Employees' Union (OTOE), the General
Confederation of Labor and the Association of the Ionian Bank
Employees.
The employees and the union leaders will meet this afternoon
with minister of national economy and finance Yiannos Papantoniou
and minister of labor Miltiadis Papaioannou. In the dialogue the
employees will present their demand for the merger of the Ionian
Bank with the Commercial Bank, while later in the evening the
government and the opposition will discuss the issue in
Parliament.
[12] PROBLEMS IN OLYMPIC AIRWAYS
New problems are being created in the flights of Olympic
Airways as the pilots of the state-run airline, in violation of
their recent agreement with the management, refuse to work
overtime.
The pilots react this way to the permanent cancellation of
flights such as, the Dubai-Bangog flight as well as, to the
decision of the Olympic Airways management to hire 45 pilots
instead of the 75 requested by the Pilots' Union.
[13] THE MAYOR OF LONDON WILL SPEAK IN THESSALONIKI ABOUT THE EURO
The preparation of London to welcome the European single
currency, the "Euro", will be the issue of the speech that will be
delivered in Thessaloniki on Thursday by mayor of London Lord
Alderman Richard Nickols.
The mayor of the British capital will visit Thessaloniki at
the invitation of the Greek-British Chamber and will attend a
formal dinner that will be given in his honor by the Chamber's
executive committee.
[14] THE COOPERATION OF THE BALKAN CAPITAL MARKETS IS BEING
STRENGTHENED
The strengthening of the Balkan Stock Markets' cooperation
was decided in the recent meeting of the US initiative "SECI" that
was held in Tirana. Final decisions on inter-Balkan cooperation in
the capital market sector is expected to be reached in a meeting
of the involved parties scheduled to take place in Istanbul on
June 14-15.
Meanwhile, the establishment of a Center Against Corruption
and Crime in Bucharest aims at dealing with business security
problems. The center is expected to help all the businesses that
are interested in becoming active in regions with limited
security.
[15] MORE EU COUNTRIES SHOULD RECOGNIZE THE GENOCIDE OF THE
ARMENIANS
The decision of the French National Assembly to recognize the
1915 genocide of the Armenians by the Turks was welcomed by the
Armenian National Committee of Greece.
France is the third European Union country after Greece and
Belgium that has recognized the genocide of the Armenians and the
Armenian National Committee of Greece expresses the hope that the
rest EU countries will also recognize the genocide and stop
backing Turkey which is a constant violator of international law
principles.
[16] A CHINESE BUSINESS DELEGATION WILL VISIT THESSALONIKI ON JUNE
26-30
Representatives of 10 Chinese businesses, 7 state-run and 3
private, will visit Thessaloniki at the end of the month to
examine ways of bilateral trade cooperation.
They are interested mostly in importing electronic products,
petrochemicals, clothing items, metallurgy products,
pharmaceuticals, transport and communications material,
construction materials and high-tech products.
The Chinese delegation will visit Thessaloniki on June 26-30
at the invitation of the prefecture of Thessaloniki.
[17] SIMITIS: GREEK GOVERNMENT CAN GUARANTEE GREECE'S FUTURE
Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis, in the speech he
addressed, during the scheduled meeting at a parties leaders'
level, that took place on the initiative of the leader of the
"Democratic Social Party", Dimitris Tsovolas, stressed that the
Economic and Monetary Union is not a coercion but an additional
chance which will render the country capable of handling
international competition and all new provocations.
Mr Simitis, also, underlined that the government will proceed
to the announced structural changes and noted that, although Greek
society has unanimously approved the course to the European
integration, there is not a proportionate reaction concerning the
implementation of that policy.
[18] GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SUPPORTS PANGALOS' COMMENTS
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas fully supported
Foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos, concerning the comments of
the latter against the Greek Commissioner Christos Papoutsis.
Mr Reppas stressed that mr Papoutsis overstepped the bounds
of his authority and described his comments on mr Pangalos' moral
standards as unsuccessful and inadmissible. Regarding the Foreign
minister, mr Reppas underlined that mr Pangalos excelled in the
bids he made for national interests which should not be doubted by
anyone.
However, the European Commission spokesman fully supported Mr
Papoutsis, saying that "Commissioners are politicians, not
political eunuchs", a phrase previously stated by the EC president
Jacques Santer.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] ALBANIA: CONFLICT IN KOSSOVO COULD LEAD TO WAR, UN RUSHES TO
RELIEF
Albania has issued an appeal to the international community
to intervene in order to end the "cleansing" that Serbia has
embarked upon in Kossovo. Moreover, the Albanian government warned
that he conflict would escalate to a full blown war. According to
Albanian press reports, 2,000 persons from Kossovo have sought
refuge during the last two days in northern Albania.
Serious fighting erupted in Kossovo over the weekend, causing
people to flee into Albania, United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard
said yesterday.
According to preliminary reports from the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some 1,300 people fled into
Tropoje, in northern Albania in the largest such exodus to date,
Mr. Eckhard said. The UNHCR does not know how many people have
been displaced in the latest fighting, but there are reports some
are trapped and cannot cross the border.
There was heavy and indiscriminate shelling in two villages
alongside the border with Albania, he continued. Workers in the
hills could see 120 millimeter mortars being fired into the
villages. The UNHCR and other UN agencies are rushing relief
supplies into the area.
[20] KOSSOVO'S RUGOVA AT UN HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK
At a press conference given at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York yesterday, the President of Kossovo's
Albanian community, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, described the situation as
very dangerous and said Serb police and military action had left
many people dead.
Massive ethnic cleansing was quite possible in Kossovo,
although Albanians make up 90 per cent of the population, he said.
He urged the international community to do more to end the
massacres.
Independence for Kossovo was the best political solution and
would bring stability to the whole region, including Albania and
FYROM and would also help the Serbs as well, he added.
Moreover, Dr. Rugova said he had urged UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan to provide more support for Kossovo and to initiate
preventive measures, including the establishment of a human rights
monitoring office.
He had also urged support for a United States initiative to
start talks between Prishtina and Belgrade. However, he stressed,
police and military action must stop, for any talks to succeed.
At a meeting with United States President Bill Clinton, Dr.
Rugova said he also called for some kind of international civil
administration as an interim measure.
[21] GREECE ASKS FOR EXPLANATIONS FROM UK ON ITS "WAR SCENARIA"
An article published in the British newspaper "Sunday Times",
which wrote of a "hot incident" taking place in Cyprus if the
Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles are installed in Cyprus and
the airlift prepared by the British government for the emergency
evacuation of British tourists and pensioners in case of war in
the island, has provoked the reaction of the Greek government.
The Greek ambassador to London Vassilis Zafeiropoulos has
lodged a protest to the Foreign Office over the report..
Mr. Zafeiropoulos stressed to Foreign Office officials that
such articles created serious negative repercussions for the
tourism of both Greece and Cyprus and should not be used as a
means of exerting pressure to secure the cancellation of the
missiles' installation.
A British Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that the
government was not involved in the article's publication. British
defense ministry and foreign office representatives questioned the
credibility of the reporter who wrote the article.
A Foreign Office representative was quoted as saying that the
article had also damaged British foreign policy.
[22] AIR FRANCE PILOTS ON STRIKE, WORLD CUP OPERATION THREATENED
A strike threatened by the pilots of the French national
carrier Air France could undermine the smooth operation of the
world cup soccer tournament Mudial.
The pilots are protesting an offer to exchange 15 percent of
salary for stock in the airline since, they say, this amounts to a
loss of two months' salary a year.
Air France has canceled its flights through Thursday, but the
pilots' union strike notice is for two weeks -- in other words,
for five days after the world cup soccer tournament opens next
week, June 10 to July 12, and it is renewable.
As such, Air France, which has painted its aircraft with huge
figures of soccer players from all of Mudial's 32 participating
nations, faces the prospect of seeing its fleet grounded
throughout the world cup festival.
According to statistical data, Air France pilots are among
the best-paid pilots in Europe, their average salary being just
over 120 thousand dollars a year.
In light of the strike, Air France management has promised to
use non-striking crews to bring world cup teams into France,
although it says that it cannot guarantee the transport of the
thousands of fans, whom they may be able to accommodate with the
French state railroad's 200 extra high-speed train routes on a
daily basis.
[23] GREEK DEMARCHE FOR THE "SUNDAY TIMES" REPORT
The British Foreign Office does not intent to give a formal
response to the Greek government on the plan for the emergency
evacuation of the British nationals in case of a war in Cyprus
which was made public by a "Sunday Times" news report.
Greek ambassador to London Vasilis Zafiropoulos made a
demarche to the British government and pointed out to the British
Foreign Office officials that such publications have negative
effects on tourism in Greece and Cyprus and that they should not
be used as a means to exert pressures aimed at averting the
installation of the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles in
Cyprus.
According to the BBC radio, a Foreign Office spokesman has
confirmed the existence of an operational routine plan for Cyprus,
as he characterized it. He also described the publication as
"unfounded" and stressed that there is no intention to give
further clarifications as requested by Greek foreign minister
Theodoros Pangalos.
[24] OMIROU-TSOCHATZOPOULOS MEETING IN ATHENS
The sovereign right of Cyprus, a member of the UN, to defend
itself can not be put under negotiation, stated Cypriot minister
of defense Yiannakis Omirou after the meeting he had with Giorgos
Dounas, commander of the Greek Navy training ship "Aris" which is
on a visit to the port of Limassol in Cyprus.
Mr. Omirou referred to the British press publications on the
S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, and stressed that an effort is being
made to intimidate the Cypriot Republic and harm the country's
economy. The main message, said Mr. Omirou, is that Greece backs
the Cypriot Hellenism at this difficult time and a joint effort
will be made to deal with national dangers. He also added that the
Turkish expansionism does not threaten only Cyprus but the Aegean,
its islands and Thrace as well.
The Cypriot minister of defense will be in Athens this
afternoon, on his way to Paris for a meeting with his French
counterpart, and he will meet with his Greek counterpart Akis
Tsochatzopoulos to set the program for the joint defense course of
the two countries.
[25] CLASHES IN KOSOVO ESCALATE
Thick clouds of war gather over Kosovo, as clashes escalate
between Serb forces and the Albanian- speaking population
resulting to the deaths of tens of people, while about 2 thousand
ethnic Albanians have already crossed the borders into Albania.
The Albanian government of prime minister Fatos Nano has
accused the Serb government of seeking the ethnic cleansing of the
Albanians in Kosovo and issued an appeal to the international
community to intervene.
[26] THE UNITED STATES WANT TURKEY TO GIVE BACK THE GOLD STOLEN
FROM THE JEWS BY THE NAZIS
A US State Department report mentions that part of the Jewish
gold seized by the Nazis during World War II was liquidated in
Turkey and calls on Ankara to return it to its rightful owners
with its current value.
In the report, which is being presented in Washington today,
it is pointed out that during that time Germany, through two of
its banks in Switzerland and Turkey, liquidated gold with a total
value of 70 million dollars. The value of that gold today is
estimated at 600 million dollars and it should be returned to the
Jews, who survived the Holocaust or to their relatives.
The 200-page report was drawn up at the initiative of
assistant US Secretary of State responsible for economic issues
Stuart Aizestein and among others it mentions that together with
Turkey, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal as well, supplied the
Nazis with ammunition and raw material that were paid with money
that came from the stolen Jewish gold.
Based on the report, Turkey's gold deposits before the war
were 27 tons but after the war they reached 216 tons, as a result
of the gold that was brought to the country by the Nazis.
[27] TRACES OF BENZOLIUM FOUND IN BEVERAGES
Millions of cans and bottles of beverages and mineral water
were taken off the shelves in the British market when laboratory
tests showed traces of the cancer causing chemical substance
benzolium.
Among the beverages taken off the shelves are millions of
cans and bottles of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Seven Up, Fanta, and Sprite.
However, the companies that make those beverages stressed that
there is absolutely no danger for the public health and that the
measures were taken to check their quality and not if they are
dangerous.
[28] FATOS NANO CALLS ON BELGRADE OVER THE KOSOVO SITUATION
The Albanian cabinet held a session today concerning the
tense situation in Kosovo and the big numbers of ethnic Albanians
who seek refuge in the Albanian territory.
The Albanian prime minister Fatos Nano, in the speech he
addressed, stressed that Belgrade, through the policy of an ethnic
cleansing, it pursues, aims at the collapse of the dialogue which
began in Pristina between Serbs and Albanians.
Mr Nano added that the Albanian government will be obliged to
revise its policy against all sides involved in the crisis, if
Belgrade adheres to its stance regarding Kosovo Albanians.
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