Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-06-22
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, June 22, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] FYROM FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES TODAY ON OFFICIAL VISIT
[02] HOLBROOKE TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS TODAY
[03] UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAMS CONTINUE IN PHYSICS, ANCIENT GREEK
[04] IONIAN BANK WORKERS RETURN TO WORK, CALL OFF STRIKE
[05] NATO EXERCISE "PROMETHEUS ‘98" UNDERWAY IN NORTHERN GREECE
[06] LABOR UNDERSECRETARY: WE MUST WIN LOST GROUND IN IONIAN BANK
[07] GREEK-ORIGIN POLITICIANS TO MEET IN GREECE IN JULY
[08] MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD FOR ANDREAS PAPANDREOU
[09] MOSCOW'S MAYOR IN ATHENS FOR LIGHTING OF OLYMPIC FLAME
[10] PLAYERS TRANSFERS PROCEED SMOOTHLY IN GREEK SOCCER
[11] THE TOPICS ON WHICH HIGH-SCHOOL GRADUATES WERE TESTED WERE
EASY
[12] THE PRIVATIZATION OF THE IONIAN BANK WILL GO AHEAD
[13] OECD REPRESENTATIVES IN ATHENS
[14] GREECE MAKES NEW EFFORTS AIMED AT CLAIMING WAR REPARATIONS
FROM GERMANY
[15] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS MET WITH US PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY RICHARD
HALBROOKE
[16] ALAVANOS IS ON A VISIT TO GEORGIA, AZERBAIDJAN AND ARMENIA
[17] GREEK DEFENCE MINISTER CONCERNED OVER KOSOVO PROBLEM
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] EU COMMISSIONER VAN DER BROEK: END VIOLENCE IN KOSSOVO
[19] RUSSIAN FM: GIVE MORE TIME TO MILOSEVIC FOR TALKS WITH
ALBANIANS
[20] IRAQ-TURKEY INVOLVED IN ILLICIT FUEL TRADE, THE U.S.
ACKNOWLEDGE
[21] FRANCE TO SET FORTH CYRPUS ISSUE AT EU POLITICAL COMMITTEE
[22] ARMED CONFLICT CONTINUES IN KOSSOVO
[23] GREECE EARNS SILVER MEDAL IN BICYCLE WORLD CUP RACES
[24] PRIMAKOV STATEMENTS ON KOSOVO
[25] THE GERMAN SUPREME COURT WILL DISCUSS THE ISSUE OF THE WORLD
WAR II REPARATIONS
[26] THE US GOVERNMENT WARNED THE US CITIZENS NOT TO VISIT ALBANIA
[27] "TITAN" IS INTERESTED IN BUYING OUT FYROM'S CEMENT INDUSTRY
[28] THE CNA DIRECTOR DIED TODAY
[29] THE GENOCIDE OF THE ARMENIANS IS INCLUDED IN A TURKISH
UNIVERSITY BOOK
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] FYROM FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES TODAY ON OFFICIAL VISIT
FYROM's foreign minister Blagoje Hatzinski begins an official
two-day visit to Greece today and is expected to raise the issue
of the name of his country in his meetings with Greek government
officials.
In an interview published in the Greek newspaper "To Vima"
yesterday, Mr. Hatzinski rules out any change to Skopje's name,
saying his compatriots would refuse such a proposal "100 percent"
if a referendum were held on the issue.
Mr. Hatzinski said no resolution of the name issue would
nevertheless require Greece and FYROM to "learn to live with the
problem with dignity as their strategic interests coincide in 99
percent of cases."
[02] HOLBROOKE TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS TODAY
Newly appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and
special envoy for Cyprus Richard Holbrooke is to arrive in Athens
today for talks with senior officials over rising tensions with
neighboring Turkey.
Mr. Holbrooke is the guest of an American college in Athens
and will also hold talks with top foreign ministry officials on
issues including Cyprus and Greek-Turkish relations,'' a Greek
government official said yesterday.
He will be accompanied on his visit by State Department
special coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Miller.
Turkish President Suleiman Demirel is to visit the occupied
territory of Cyprus on June 28.
[03] UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAMS CONTINUE IN PHYSICS, ANCIENT GREEK
Greek high school graduates who have their eyes set on
college are being examined today on the courses of physics and
ancient Greek.
Tomorrow, students who are vying for a seat in law, public
administration and social science-related departments, will be
examined in the course of Civic Economy.
[04] IONIAN BANK WORKERS RETURN TO WORK, CALL OFF STRIKE
Employees at Ionian Bank are returning to work today, having
completed 46 days of strike, since shareholders in Ionian's parent
company Commercial Bank voted on Friday to sell a 51 percent stake
in the bank.
Employees at Ionian Bank had been on a rolling strike since
May 11, protesting the privatization, despite court rulings that
declared the strike illegal.
The strike was marked by several violent clashes which
culminated in workers disrupting the Bank's annual general meeting
on Friday. The bank's employees have vowed to resort to the courts
in order to declare the shareholders' general assembly illegal.
The privatization is a key part of the Greek government's
plan to restructure public sector companies in preparation for
possible membership in the European Monetary Union.
On hearing of the end of the strike, both Commercial Bank
management
and National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou
reiterated an earlier commitment to safeguarding jobs and pension
rights of Ionian's employees.
[05] NATO EXERCISE "PROMETHEUS ‘98" UNDERWAY IN NORTHERN GREECE
NATO's military exercise "Prometheus ‘98", held within the
framework of the Partnership for Peace program, got underway in
the city of Kilkis, in Northern Greece yesterday.
The exercise, which is set to last until June 30, features
the participation of soldiers from three NATO member-states,
namely Italian, Dutch and Greek, as well as three Balkan
countries, Armenia, Bulgaria and FYROM.
[06] LABOR UNDERSECRETARY: WE MUST WIN LOST GROUND IN IONIAN BANK
The undersecretary of Labor Christos Protopappas has issued
an appeal to all sides involved in the conflict surrounding the
privatization of the Ionian Bank to work together in order to
voice the lost ground.
Mr. Protopappas stated that the bank's image has suffered a
blow and has lost clients as a result of its employees lengthy
strike but stressed that it must be supported at this critical
time.
Moreover, the Undersecretary stated that the declaration for
the Bank's sale will contain specific clauses that will ensure the
present labor conditions.
[07] GREEK-ORIGIN POLITICIANS TO MEET IN GREECE IN JULY
Thanks to an initiative taken by alternate Foreign Minister
George Papandreou, Greek-origin politicians who live abroad have
been invited to meet in Greece on July 19-25.
The participants will have the opportunity to meet with
Greek political and state leaders, while on July 23 they will be
able to attend a seminar organized by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and which will address issues of mutual interest.
[08] MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD FOR ANDREAS PAPANDREOU
Commemorative events marking the second anniversary of the
death of prime minister and founder of the ruling socialist PASOK
party Andreas Papandreou are being continued today.
A photography exhibition is to be inaugurated at the Zappeion
Mansion this evening, while the Hellenic Parliament will hold a
memorial in the late political leader's honor tomorrow.
A memorial service was held yesterday at the Athens First
Cemetery, attended by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, members of
the government, PASOK deputies and officials, Parliament President
Apostolos Kaklamanis, members of the Papandreou family, Andreas
Papandreou's widow Dimitra Liani-Papandreou and a large crowd of
people.
[09] MOSCOW'S MAYOR IN ATHENS FOR LIGHTING OF OLYMPIC FLAME
Moscow's Mayor Yuri Luzkov is to depart for Greece today
where he will receive the Olympic flame that will be transported
by a group of Russian athletes back to the Russian capital.
The flame will be used to light the Olympic torch on July 13
at Moscow's Luzniki stadium which will host the world youth
championships.
Mr. Luzkov will stay in Greece for two days and will have
talks with his Athens counterpart Dimitris Avramopoulos.
[10] PLAYERS TRANSFERS PROCEED SMOOTHLY IN GREEK SOCCER
The transfer process of players in Greek soccer's major
league is proceeding smoothly.
The transfer of "Doxa's " (Drama) Kostas Kyriakides to PAOK
fell on dead water as the home team was asking for 70 million
drachmas.
PAOK is still awaiting Panionio's response on whether or not
Tasos Katsiabis will be transferred, while the transfer of
Pantelis Konstantinides from Athens' "Apollo" is underway.
Hercules' two new players from FYROM, Kiro Doicinovski and
Blanco Georgiev are to be part of the Thessaloniki team tomorrow.
As for Olympiakos, foreign names are coming and going, among
them Nigeria's J.J. Okoca and Paraguay's Akuna.
[11] THE TOPICS ON WHICH HIGH-SCHOOL GRADUATES WERE TESTED WERE
EASY
The questions on which the high-school graduates, taking part
in the university admission exams, were tested today were easy for
those who were adequately prepared, according to professors.
The ancient Greek text they were tested on came from
Thucydides and Xenophon. An essay question was included for the
first time in the physics exam and the exercises came from the
chapter on electricity. Tomorrow, the students will be examined in
the course of political economy.
[12] THE PRIVATIZATION OF THE IONIAN BANK WILL GO AHEAD
The Ionian Bank branches reopened today and the bank's
employees decided to look for other forms of legal and political
intervention.
Minister of national economy and finance Yiannos Papantoniou
stated that there will be no divergence from the privatization
program and added that the privatization of the Ionian Bank will
proceed as planned.
[13] OECD REPRESENTATIVES IN ATHENS
Representatives of the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development, OECD, have arrived in Athens to examine the
privatization process in Greece and to gather the necessary facts
before they draw up the organization's annual report on the state
of the Greek economy.
The procedures for the privatization of the Bank of Crete and
the bidding competition for its sale will take place on Monday
after the Ionian Bank privatization process gets underway. The
next in line for privatization will be the Bank of Central Greece.
[14] GREECE MAKES NEW EFFORTS AIMED AT CLAIMING WAR REPARATIONS
FROM GERMANY
Greece began new efforts aimed at claiming the sum of 62
billion dollars from Germany as war reparations for the crimes
committed by the Nazis in the country during World War II.
Greek Parliament vice-president Mr. Loukas Apostolidis,
speaking in the Delphi Conference organized by prefect of Viotia,
central Greece Yiannis Stamoulis, stated that prime minister
Kostas Simitis will raise again the issue of war reparations
immediately after the October voting in Germany for the election
of the new Chancellor.
Greece together with Albania are the only European states
which did not receive reparations from Germany for the atrocities
committed by the Nazis during the German occupation. Apart from
the reparations that will be claimed, Greece demands other 8
billion dollars as a compensation for the occupation loan the
Germans got illegally from Greece during World War II.
[15] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS MET WITH US PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY RICHARD
HALBROOKE
US presidential envoy Richard Halbrooke met with prime
minister Kostas Simitis in the presence of the Greek foreign
ministry leadership and US ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns.
Mr. Halbrooke is visiting Greece at the invitation of the American
College in Athens.
Their talks focused on the Cyprus problem, as Mr. Halbrooke
still is the US presidential envoy to Cyprus, while they also
discussed the developments in Kosovo and the Balkans as he was
recently appointed to the position of the US ambassador to the
United Nations.
According to information, Mr. Halbrooke suggested the
"freezing" of the procedure for the installation of the Russian S-
300 anti-aircraft missiles in Cyprus and called for certain moves
aimed at easing the tension in the relations of Athens with
Ankara.
The US envoy will be in Belgrade in the following days to
call on Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw the Serb forces from
Kosovo. It is also possible to visit Skopje and Tirana.
The relations of Greece with FYROM as well as, the issue of
the name of FYROM were also discussed on the occasion of the visit
to Greece tomorrow by FYROM's foreign minister Blagoe Hatjinski.
Referring to the visit, Greek government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas stated that the meeting with Mr. Simitis took place at the
request of Mr. Halbrooke, while he informed reporters that US
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has postponed her visit to
Greece until next fall.
[16] ALAVANOS IS ON A VISIT TO GEORGIA, AZERBAIDJAN AND ARMENIA
Coalition of the Left party Euro-deputy Alekos Alavanos is on
a visit to Georgia, Azerbaidjan and Armenia that will last until
June 30. Mr. Alavanos is visiting the region as the president of
the European Parliament Committee responsible for the cooperation
with the Parliaments of the Caucasus states.
Within the framework of his visit, Mr. Alavanos will meet
with the presidents of the former soviet republics, their foreign
ministers as well as, with representatives of their Parliaments.
[17] GREEK DEFENCE MINISTER CONCERNED OVER KOSOVO PROBLEM
Greek Defence minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, addressing the
NATO working meeting, which takes place in Vienna and investigates
the potential of making decisions in the political and military
field, underlined that a foreign intervention in Kosovo would be
equivalent to the violation of the province's sovereignty.
Mr Tsohatzopoulos expressed his concern over the situation in
Kosovo and added that Europe and NATO should make every effort in
order to avert new bloodshed.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] EU COMMISSIONER VAN DER BROEK: END VIOLENCE IN KOSSOVO
The European Union's Commissioner on Foreign Affairs Hans Van
Der Broek has issued an appeal to all involved parties that the
violence in Kossovo be stopped.
Having reiterated the EU's firm stance on immediately halting
all acts of violence, Mr. Van Der Broek stressed the need to
established channels of dialogue between the two sides.
[19] RUSSIAN FM: GIVE MORE TIME TO MILOSEVIC FOR TALKS WITH
ALBANIANS
Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeni Primakov has stated that the
President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic
should be given greater leeway -in terms of time- to hold talks
with Kossovo's ethnic Albanians.
Moreover, the Russian diplomat indirectly supported Mr.
Milosevic's refusal to withdraw the Serb troops from Kossovo by
pointing out the consequences of such move.
"It would be extremely dangerous to remove the Serb security
troops from Kossovo," Mr. Primakov is quoted as having said,
since, as he further explained, this would mean that the 150,000
Serbs who reside in the area would have to abandon their homes.
Mr. Primakov also criticized the United States for the
"unilateral" stance they have adopted in the Kossovo crisis issue.
According to Mr. Primakov, additional pressures to hold talks
must be exerted on the region's Albanians as well.
Moscow's differentiated stance from that adopted by the
international community is a somewhat sore subject for the western
leaders who are pressuring the Serb president to uphold his
commitments.
Mr. Milosevic has refused to withdraw the Serb troops from
the conflict-stricken region before all terrorist activity ceases
in Kossovo.
Russia, a member of the "Contact Group", is opposed to
enforcing military measures against Serbia.
[20] IRAQ-TURKEY INVOLVED IN ILLICIT FUEL TRADE, THE U.S.
ACKNOWLEDGE
The United States have acknowledged that Iraq smuggles vast
quantities in fuel on an annual basis through Turkey and State
Department officials have said it was inevitable some oil would
get through.
The illicit trade is a violation of United Nations sanctions
imposed on Iraq but is apparently tolerated by Turkey's Western
allies.
According to the US daily " The New York Times ", which
quotes high-ranking American and Turkish government officials, the
Clinton Administration is aware of what is going on at the Iraq-
Turkey border but is turning a "blind eye" since the illicit
trade greatly benefits Turkey, a country which is considered to be
a strong ally for The US's policy against Iraq, whi8le it also
benefits the Kurds who live in northern Iraq and are challenging
Saddam Husein's authority in the region.
``There inevitably is going to be some cross-border traffic
in Turkey,'' White House spokesman Mike McCurry said, albeit
adding that this illicit trade is only marginally affecting the
sanctions against Iraq.
According to UN estimates, Mr. McCurry said, the sanctions
cost Iraq 15 billion dollars per year while the sale of oil
through Turkey is bringing in only 100 million dollars a year.
Moreover, Mr. McCurry added that the Turkish government,
which -as he stated- supports the sanctions against Iraq, has
expressed its understanding of the State Department's concerns
over the smuggling and has stated that it will attempt to address
the issue.
[21] FRANCE TO SET FORTH CYRPUS ISSUE AT EU POLITICAL COMMITTEE
France intends to set forth the matter of the tension
that recently arose between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus, as
well as the Cyprus issue itself, during the European Union's
Political Committee that is to convene in Brussels today.
In light of this initiative, western diplomats are now under
the impression that both French President Chiraq and Premier
Lionel Jospen are scrambling to restore their country's ties with
Turkey, following the resolution adopted by France's National
Assembly which recognized the Armenians genocide by the Turks.
The same diplomats opine that the French leaders are
"fearing" Turkey will actually carry out its threat to bar French
companies from the bidding process for purchasing armament systems
worth billions of dollars.
According to the BBC, during today's meeting of the
political directors of the EU's Foreign Ministries, the Greek
representative plans to remind all of the EU allies that France -
in a peculiar way- appears to be actively interested in Greek-
Turkish relations, and especially for the Cyprus issue, a matter
in which it had not taken any initiative to date.
Political observers in Brussels assess that this French
initiative is actually serving the country's interests in its
efforts to appear likable to Turkey.
[22] ARMED CONFLICT CONTINUES IN KOSSOVO
Armed conflict continues between the Serb forces and the
Albanian rebels at Decani and Jacovica in Kossovo, according to
the Croat news agency HINA.
The Democratic Alliance of Kossovo reported that the armed
conflict in Decani continues while Serb forces have bombarded a
number of villages in the region and looted Albanian homes which
in turn they burned down.
The government press center in Prishtina reported that a
group of armed Albanians raided the Ducevic village, killing an 18-
year-old Serb .
[23] GREECE EARNS SILVER MEDAL IN BICYCLE WORLD CUP RACES
Greece's national bicycling team earned the silver medal in
yesterday's world cup races geld in France.
The three-men team, Dimitris Georgalis, George Cheimonetos
and Labros Vasilopoulos came second after the French.
Last week, the Greek team have finished fifth in Berlin's
world cup races.
[24] PRIMAKOV STATEMENTS ON KOSOVO
Russian foreign minister Gevgeni Primakov stated that Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia president Slobodan Milosevic needs more
time before the resumption of talks with the ethnic Albanians in
Kosovo.
Mr. Primakov warned that if the Serb forces leave Kosovo the
Serbs living in the region will have to be relocated.
[25] THE GERMAN SUPREME COURT WILL DISCUSS THE ISSUE OF THE WORLD
WAR II REPARATIONS
The German Federal Supreme Court will decide if the Greeks,
who were victims of the Nazi atrocities, are entitled to World War
II reparations.
The court of appeals in the city of Kolon last Thursday
rejected the reparations suit filed by four brothers from Distomo,
in the prefecture of Viotia in central Greece, whose parents were
savagely killed by the Nazi forces in the June 10, 1944 massacre
of Distomo.
The court's president, judge Prior gave to the survivors of
the Nazi atrocities the right to appeal maintaining that the
Federal Court might be able to reach a solution in favor of the
victims.
[26] THE US GOVERNMENT WARNED THE US CITIZENS NOT TO VISIT ALBANIA
The Albanian press characterized as unexpected the suggestion
made by the US government to its citizens calling them to avoid
traveling to Albania due to the lack of security in the country as
a result of the arrival of a great number of refugees from Kosovo.
The newspaper "Gazetta Skiptare" writes of a "shock-
announcement" by the US government.
[27] "TITAN" IS INTERESTED IN BUYING OUT FYROM'S CEMENT INDUSTRY
The Greek cement industry "TITAN" expressed interest in
participating in the privatization of FYROM's "USJE" cement
industry.
According to the Skopje pro-government newspaper "Nova
Makedonja", which cites unofficial information, representatives of
the Greek cement industry met in Skopje last week with "USJE"
representatives to be briefed on the privatization process as well
as, on the potential to purchase 51% of its shares.
[28] THE CNA DIRECTOR DIED TODAY
Cypriot News Agency, CNA, director Andreas Christofides died
in the early morning hours today at the age of 61 from multiple
sclirosis and according to his doctors, his condition had
deteriorated in recent weeks.
He had served as minister of education and as government
spokesman.
[29] THE GENOCIDE OF THE ARMENIANS IS INCLUDED IN A TURKISH
UNIVERSITY BOOK
At a time when the Turkish leadership refuses to recognize
the genocide of the Armenians, a course taught in Hacettepe
University, one of the largest in Turkey, includes the genocide
mentioning that the Turks had proceeded with the mass annihilation
of the Armenians during World War I.
The English-speaking book "The Twentieth Century" is being
taught in the freshmen year of the Management and Economic
Sciences Department. The book is the collective work of four
authors published by Eastern Michigan University.
In the book the policy of Turkey is being compared with that
followed by Hitler during World War II toward the Jews and the
Gypsies.
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