Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-06-23
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, June 23, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] TRAIN, PLANE TRAVELERS BEWARE, STRIKES AHEAD
[02] FYROM FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES TODAY ON OFFICIAL VISIT
[03] GREEK AND CYPRIOT MINISTERS OF TRANSPORTATION MEET IN ATHENS
[04] PRESIDENT OF GREECE ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO CYPRUS THIS WEEK
[05] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH TO VISIT MOUNT ATHOS IN OCTOBER
[06] 20% OF GREEKS LIVE BELOW POVERTY LEVELS
[07] EARTHQUAKE OF 3.5 RICHTER SHAKES CHALKIDIKI
[08] US AMBASSADOR TO ATHENS ARRIVES IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW
[09] THE GREEK-FYROM RELATIONS ARE AT AN EXCELLENT LEVEL
[10] SIMITIS - PAPANTONIOU MEETING
[11] KARAMANLIS WILL TOUR NORTH-WESTERN GREECE
[12] THE NEW PASSAGE AT THE GREEK-BULGARIAN BORDERS WILL OPEN IN
THE YEAR 2000
[13] THE "GREEK BISCUIT COMPANY" WILL EXPAND TO CENTRAL EUROPE AND
THE BALKANS
[14] THE EU COUNCIL ON THE SITUATION IN THE ISLANDS OF IMVROS AND
TENEDOS
[15] THE OLYMPIC FLAME WAS HANDED OVER TO THE MAYOR OF MOSCOW
[16] THE VATUM-ISTANBUL-THESSALONIKI-VENICE NEW COASTAL LINE WAS
INAUGURATED YESTERDAY
[17] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF JEWISH LAWYERS AND JURISTS IN
THESSALONIKI ON SUNDAY
[18] COUNCIL FOR THE HELLENES ABROAD HEADQUARTERS NOT TO BE
TRANSFERRED
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] HOLBROOKE TO ARRIVE IN BELGRADE TODAY
[20] CYPRIOT GOVERNMENT TO PRESS ON WITH EFFORTS TO LOCATE MISSING
PERSONS
[21] BELARUS: EIGHT AMBASSADORS RECALLED FROM MINSK
[22] A PLANE HIJACKING IS UNDERWAY IN VALENSIA, SPAIN
[23] CULTURAL EVENTS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF
RIGAS FEREOS' DEATH
[24] INTERNATIONAL CONCERN OVER THE KOSOVO PROBLEM
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] TRAIN, PLANE TRAVELERS BEWARE, STRIKES AHEAD
Travelers who have opted for trains or airplanes in order to
arrive at their destination are in for great delays.
Employees at the state-owned Railway Organization (OSE) are
to embark on mobilizations with work stoppages today and a 24-hour
strike tomorrow, forcing the railway to cut back on a great number
of routes.
As for Olympic Airways, the national air carrier is suffering
from a shortage in stewards and pilots which means delays, flight
merges and cancellations.
[02] 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, while other topics to be discussed include the Kossovo
crisis and the bilateral ties between Athens and Skopje.
According to FYROM's state-owned radio station, Mr.
Hatzinksi's visit to Athens is taking place at a time when the two
countries' relations have developed in many sectors, such as
defense and culture.
[03] GREEK AND CYPRIOT MINISTERS OF TRANSPORTATION MEET IN ATHENS
Transport Minister Tassos Mantelis received his Cypriot
counterpart Leontios Ierodiakonou in Athens yesterday, where the
two agreed to promote cooperation between their countries''
national air carriers, Olympic Airways and Cyprus Airways.
In addition, the charter companies of the two countries'
national air carriers, namely OA's Macedonian Airways and Euro-
Cyprus charter company, are to also established channels of
cooperation.
Moreover, Mr. Mantelis stated that Cypriot businessman S.
Hatjioannou's British-based Easyjet will be granted a license for
flights between London and Athens. Easyjet will feature a 9,800-
drachma single fare and 19,600-drachma return fare offer for 10
days as of July 10.
[04] PRESIDENT OF GREECE ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO CYPRUS THIS WEEK
The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
is to embark on an unprecedented visit to Cyprus this Thursday.
Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides stated that Mr.
Stephanopoulos' visit takes place at a very critical period for
Cyprus, during which "we need the greater possible support and
Greece is our most loyal supporter. "
President Stephanopoulos is scheduled to arrive on June 25
for a four day official visit, the first visit of a Greek head of
state since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, in 1960.
During his stay, Stephanopoulos will be received by President
Clerides, the President of the House of Representatives Spyros
Kyprianou and the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus,
Archbishop Chrysostomos.
He will also have meetings with party leaders and address a
special session at the House of Representatives.
The Greek President will be escorted by Greek Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos, Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos
Kranidiotis, Finance Under- Secretary Alexandros Baltas and other
officials.
[05] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH TO VISIT MOUNT ATHOS IN OCTOBER
Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos is to conduct a two-day
visit to the Mt. Athos monastic community in October, for
celebrations marking the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of
the Xenophon Monastery.
During his visit, the Patriarch will meet at Karyes with the
President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos and Prime
Minister Kostas Simitis, who will also attend the celebrations.
[06] 20% OF GREEKS LIVE BELOW POVERTY LEVELS
One out of every five Greeks lives below poverty levels,
while 500,000 persons in the country are unemployed, a plight
expected to worsen in the near future.
According to a study conducted by the Labor Institute of the
General Confederation of Greek laborers, which was presented
recently in the city of Volos, the country's high unemployment
levels and the widely-spanning poverty are not uncommon within
the European Union.
There are 20 million jobless persons who live in the EU's 15
member-states, while 50 million persons subsist in relative
poverty and are socially isolated. Sixty percent of the EU's
unemployed are below the age of 25, just starting out their
careers.
The UN's most current poverty figures place 1.3 billion
people worldwide below the poverty line, which means they live on
a mere $1 a day (303 drachmas).
[07] EARTHQUAKE OF 3.5 RICHTER SHAKES CHALKIDIKI
The earthquake that shook the Chalkidiki peninsula during the
early morning hours, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale, is a
routine phenomenon according to experts from Thessaloniki's
Aristotelian University.
According to the University's geophysicists, the slight
earthquake occurred at the region of Ierissos and was recorded by
the lab's seismological telemetric network at 2.29 am, 85
kilometers southeast of Thessaloniki.
University seismologist Manolis Skordiles told the Macedonian
Press Agency that this morning earthquake is not related to the
recent quakes that occurred in the peninsula's south part and
stressed that the wider region of Ierissos is marked by frequent
slight tremors, a usual phenomenon for the area.
In September of 1932, a quake measuring 7 on the Richter scale
brought catastrophe to the region of Ierissos, claiming dozens of
lives. The scale is logarithmic, which means that a quake of 5-
Richter is ten times the power of a 4-Richter quake.
[08] US AMBASSADOR TO ATHENS ARRIVES IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW
United States Ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns is to
arrive in Thessaloniki tomorrow evening where he will present an
address at the city's Greek-American four-year college "Anatolia".
Ambassador Burns will salute this year's graduates during
their
commencement ceremony.
[09] THE GREEK-FYROM RELATIONS ARE AT AN EXCELLENT LEVEL
The relations of Greece with FYROM are at an excellent level
and have developed greatly in the two years since the signing of
the interim accord, pointed out Greek foreign minister Theodoros
Pangalos and his FYROM counterpart Blagoe Hantzinski in the joint
press conference they gave after their meeting in Athens today.
Based on the facts presented, the economic transactions
between the two countries are estimated to worth over 225 million
dollars, while Greece occupies the third place among the trade
partners of FYROM.
Mr. Pangalos stated that a cross-border cooperation agreement
has been signed and that next month Greek minister of public order
Giorgos Romeos will visit Skopje.
Mr. Pangalos stressed that he shares the same position on the
issue of Kosovo with his counterpart from FYROM supporting the
autonomy of the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo without any change in
the existing borders.
Regarding the issue of the name that will be used by FYROM,
Mr. Pangalos stated that the issue was not examined extensively
and that it was agreed that the relevant procedure will develop in
the United Nations.
From his side, Mr. Hantzinski underlined the great potential
for further development in the relations between Greece and FYROM.
[10] SIMITIS - PAPANTONIOU MEETING
The state of the country's economy was at the center of the
meeting minister of national economy and finance Yiannos
Papantoniou had with prime minister Kostas Simitis.
The prime minister also met with members of the governing
Socialist party of PASOK political secretariat.
The current political developments were also at the center of
the meeting the local party leaders of New Democracy had today
with party leader Kostas Karamanlis.
[11] KARAMANLIS WILL TOUR NORTH-WESTERN GREECE
Right-wing opposition party leader Kostas Karamanlis will be
on a four-day tour of north-western Greece. The tour will start on
Saturday and will last until Tuesday, June 30.
The leader of New Democracy will visit the prefectures of
Grevena, Florina, Kastoria and Kozani, where he will have contacts
with local authorities and will speak in open-air rallies
organized by his party.
[12] THE NEW PASSAGE AT THE GREEK-BULGARIAN BORDERS WILL OPEN IN
THE YEAR 2000
The new passage at the Greek-Bulgarian borders in the region
of Komotini will be ready to open in the year 2000, stated the
regional governor of north-eastern Greece Stavros Kabelis who
visited south-eastern Bulgaria.
Mr. Kabelis stated that the Greek authorities will give to
the municipal authorities of Kirtzali in Bulgaria the complete
report for the construction of the Komotini-Makaza road axis and
the new border post at the Greek-Bulgarian borders.
[13] THE "GREEK BISCUIT COMPANY" WILL EXPAND TO CENTRAL EUROPE AND
THE BALKANS
The "Greek Biscuit Company" is expected to benefit greatly
especially, in the sectors of exports and production, as a result
of its move to buy out 67% of a food industry in Johannesburg. The
move was made recently by the group of industries headed by Mr.
Kiriakos Philippou.
High executives of the business group stayed for a number of
weeks in Johennesburg, South Africa and prepared the outline of
the investment plan that will be materialized in the four company
plants in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Vereeninging and Durban.
The next move of the company will be to purchase a new plant,
this time in a central European country. Also, in the plans of the
company's management is included the construction of a production
unit in a Balkan country.
[14] THE EU COUNCIL ON THE SITUATION IN THE ISLANDS OF IMVROS AND
TENEDOS
The state of democracy and human rights in Turkey remain an
issue of high priority for the European Union Council, as it is
mentioned in a response issued by the council to an earlier
question made by Greek Euro-deputy for the Coalition of the Left
party Alekos Alavanos on the vandalism targeting the church of
Annunciation in the island of Imvros.
In its response the council expresses regret for the recent
developments and points out that it is aware of the fact that
based on the July 1923 Treaty of Lauzanne, Turkey has undertaken
certain commitments toward the non Muslim minorities for the
protection of individuals and property.
[15] THE OLYMPIC FLAME WAS HANDED OVER TO THE MAYOR OF MOSCOW
The Olympic flame was handed over today to Moscow's mayor
Yuri Luskov by the Greek Olympic Committee president Lambis
Nikolaou.
The mayor of the Russian capital will take the flame to his
country where the first World Youth Games will be held in July 11-
19.
The flame was delivered in a special ceremony in the
archaeological site of Pnika in Athens in the presence of Athens'
mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos, Greek Tourist Organization general
secretary Yiannis Zgouros and a Russian delegation.
[16] THE VATUM-ISTANBUL-THESSALONIKI-VENICE NEW COASTAL LINE WAS
INAUGURATED YESTERDAY
New prospects are being opened for Greece's relations with
the Black Sea countries and Italy by the Vatum - Istanbul -
Thessaloniki - Venice new coastal line that was inaugurated
yesterday by the Georgian shipping company Gesco Line.
The Georgian company's representative in Greece is Kinissi
Tour Operator which examines the likelihood of a coastal line that
will link Thessaloniki with Odessa.
[17] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF JEWISH LAWYERS AND JURISTS IN
THESSALONIKI ON SUNDAY
The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
based in Tel Aviv will pay homage to the Jews of Thessaloniki, who
were the victims of the Holocaust, with their conference that will
be held in Thessaloniki on Sunday.
In the conference will participate 140 delegates from 15
countries. The majority of them are lawyers, judges and Law
professors and are expected to arrive in Thessaloniki on Thursday
not only to attend the conference but to visit sites associated
with the Jewish presence in the city such as, the Holocaust
Monument, the Synagogue of Monastiriotes and the Jewish Museum.
The conference proceedings will open on Sunday morning with
the speech of the Jewish Lawyers International Association
president Ms. Hadassa Ben-Itto, who has been appointed arbitrator
in the issue of the Jewish assets held by Swiss banks.
[18] COUNCIL FOR THE HELLENES ABROAD HEADQUARTERS NOT TO BE
TRANSFERRED
The secretary general for Hellenes Abroad, Stavros
Lambrianidis, stated to the Macedonian Press Agency that the Greek
Foreign ministry and the General Secretariat of the Council for
the Hellenes Abroad fully support the institution of the Council
as well as Thessaloniki as its permanent headquarters.
Mr Lambrianidis' comments were incited by a report published
in "Thessaloniki" newspaper, according to which the activities of
the Council for the Hellenes Abroad in the Macedonian capital were
to be reduced while it was planned that its main headquarters
would be transferred to Athens.
A deputy of the governing party of PASOK, Giannis Magriotis,
submitted a question to the Greek parliament concerning this
matter.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] HOLBROOKE TO ARRIVE IN BELGRADE TODAY
Newly appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Richard
Holbrooke is to arrive in Belgrade today for talks with Serb
president Slobodan Milosevic.
The American diplomat is expected to insist that the Serb
security forces be withdrawn from Kossovo.
Ambassador Holbrooke will also visit Skopje and Pristina and
will also meet with Kossovar Albanian leader, Ibrahim Rugova and
his colleagues.
[20] CYPRIOT GOVERNMENT TO PRESS ON WITH EFFORTS TO LOCATE MISSING
PERSONS
The Cypriot government is determined to press on with its
efforts to find the remains of four Cypriots of American
citizenship and hand them to their relatives, the President of
Cyprus Glafcos Clerides stated yesterday, speaking after a
memorial service for Andreas Kasapis, the fifth Cypriot-American
citizen who had been missing since the 1974 Turkish invasion of
the island.
"We will continue our efforts to ascertain the fate of all
persons missing," Mr. Clerides stated and added that Jean-Pierre
Ritter, UN representative to the tripartite Investigatory
Committee on Missing Persons will arrive at the island in early
July.
The Investigatory Committee also includes Takis
Christopoulos, who represents the Greek Cypriot side and Rustem
Tatar, from the Turkish Cypriot side.
A report, released earlier this year, concludes that the
other four Americans, of Greek descent, "in all likelihood did not
survive the events in Cyprus in the summer of 1974."
Mr. Kasapis' remains were buried yesterday in his home-town
of Detroit, US.
[21] BELARUS: EIGHT AMBASSADORS RECALLED FROM MINSK
The ambassadors of Greece, Britain, France, Germany, Italy,
Poland, Japan and the United States have departed from the capital
of Belarus Minsk, in protest to the behavior of the local
authorities who somewhat forcibly evicted the diplomats from their
residences.
The government of Belarus demanded that the diplomats be
relocated from their suburban homes to another region in order to
conduct construction works. Government officials did so with a
variety of means, including cutting off the electricity, cutting
off plumbing services, cutting off the telephone service and
denying vehicular access - not letting cars go through.
Both the United States and the governments of the EU's member-
states have called on Belarus to recall its diplomats from their
capitals until a mutually-accepted solution is reached.
[22] A PLANE HIJACKING IS UNDERWAY IN VALENSIA, SPAIN
The Spanish airline IBERIA Boeing 747 passenger plane that
was hijacked today, during a domestic flight to Barcelona from
Seville with 124 passengers and a 7member crew on board, remains
at the airport of Valensia, Spain.
According to international news agencies, three unidentified
gunmen forced their way to the cockpit and made the pilot land the
plane at the airport of Valensia where it was surrounded
immediately by a strong police force.
Head of the Greek embassy press office Mr. Hatzilambis stated
that the hijackers released 15 children and 3 elderly passengers
and that they have threatened to blow up the plane if it is not
refueled in order to go to Tel Aviv. Initially, the hijackers had
asked to go to Athens and according to Mr. Hatzilambis, on board
the plane is the mayor of Seville.
The Reuters news agency reported that an adviser of Israeli
prime minister Benjamin Netaniahou stated that no decision was
made to allow the hijacked plane to land at the airport of Tel
Aviv.
[23] CULTURAL EVENTS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF
RIGAS FEREOS' DEATH
Cultural events on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of
Rigas Fereos death will be held at the Neboisa Tower the scene of
torture for Fereos and his comrades. The events will take place on
June 26 organized by the Association of Greeks in Serbia in
cooperation with the Serb-Greek Friendship Society.
The president of the Association of Greeks in Serbia stated
in an interview with Belgrade's newspaper "Politika" that the
events in memory of Rigas Fereos confirm the strong traditional
ties that exist between the two peoples.
Rigas Fereos and 7 of his comrades were killed 200 years ago
tomorrow. Fereos was the first one to materialize the idea to
organize the Greeks, who were living under the Turkish yoke in a
powerful national liberation movement inspired by the principles
of the French Revolution.
[24] INTERNATIONAL CONCERN OVER THE KOSOVO PROBLEM
Albanian prime minister Fatos Nano warned today over the
danger for Albania to be involved in a war with Yugoslavia due to
the Kosovo conflict and called on NATO, which convened in Vienna
today, to launch a military intervention in the serbian province,
so as to avert a potential spreading of the crisis.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador to the United Nations Richard
Holbrooke, also, expressed fear for a war in the Balkans, after
the talks he had with the FYROM president Kiro Gligorov and the
prime minister Branko Crvenkovski, concerning the Kosovo crisis.
Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available
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