Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-08-06
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, August 06, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PHYSICIAN DIES WHILE TRYING TO SAVE HIS PENTELI HOME FROM THE
FIRE
[02] TENS OF FIRES CONTINUE TO RAGE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
[03] GREECE, ALBANIA TO SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL ON MONDAY
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[04] STATE DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE OVER CYPRUS, GREEK-TURKISH ISSUES
[05] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET WITH CYPRIOT PRESIDENT
TOMORROW
[06] US ENVOY RICHARD HOLBROOKE WARNS OF KOSSOVO DANGER
[07] TURKISH MINISTERS STEP DOWN
[08] UN LOOKS INTO REPORTS OF MASS GRAVES IN KOSSOVO
[09] MASS GRAVE REPORTS DENIED BY EUROPEAN UNION OBSERVERS
[10] BULGARIA'S COMMUNIST LEADER TODOR ZIVKOV DIES AT THE AGE OF
86
[11] TENSION IN IRAQ'S TIES WITH UNITED STATES AND UNITED NATIONS
[12] TURKISH COURT SENTENCES ACTORS TO 24 YEARS FOR ANTI-ARMY PLAY
[13] UKRAINE TELLS ITS BIGGEST DEBTORS: YOU CAN'T LEAVE UNTIL YOU
PAY
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PHYSICIAN DIES WHILE TRYING TO SAVE HIS PENTELI HOME FROM THE
FIRE
Rekindled by the strong winds that swept the region, a huge
fire continues to rage in the region of Penteli, where a Greek
physician lost his life today in his desperate effort to save his
home.
Tens of homes, stores and vehicles have turned to ash and a
score of persons have been hospitalized at a distant hospital with
breathing problems, while nearby hospitals and convalescent homes
have been evacuated for preventive reasons.
Fires continue to engulf hundreds of acres on Mount Olympus,
while in the Peloponnese fires broke out on the outskirts of
Patras and in the prefecture of Ilia.
Blazes have subsided in the ecologically unique forest of Mount
Taygetos in Messinia.
[02] TENS OF FIRES CONTINUE TO RAGE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
Tens of fires continue to rage throughout the country, while
the blaze that broke out this morning in Salamina has been put
out. Police are seeking two unknown persons who opened fire
yesterday against fire fighters in Attica.
Meanwhile, the district attorney of Athens has ordered an
investigation to ascertain whether or not the fire department
moved in a timely manner in order to combat the infernos.
The French embassy announced that three fire fighting planes
along with 12 specially-trained firemen will arrive in Athens
today in order to assist their Greek counterparts in fighting the
fires.
[03] GREECE, ALBANIA TO SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL ON MONDAY
A cooperation protocol is to be signed on Monday between
Greece and Albania, foreseeing joint patrols along the two
countries' common sea border.
The protocol is aimed at policing the region more effectively,
such as combating illegal immigration, drug trafficking and
unlawful fishing.
A special ceremony will be held at the island of Corfu on
Monday, which will be attended by Merchant Marine Minister Stavros
Soumakis and Albanian Interior Minister Neritan Ceka.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[04] STATE DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE OVER CYPRUS, GREEK-TURKISH ISSUES
The US State Department is to hold a wide-spanning conference
today concerning the Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus
issue,.
The meeting, to be chaired by Secretary of State Madleine
Albright, will feature the participation of US Ambassadors
assigned to Athens, Ankara and Nicosia.
Meanwhile, US President Bill Clinton has announced the stay
of envoys Richard Holbrooke and Thomas Miller as US mediators for
the Cyprus issue.
[05] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET WITH CYPRIOT PRESIDENT
TOMORROW
Greece's deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis is to
exchange points of view on the Cyprus issue with the President of
the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides during their meeting in
Nicosia on Friday.
Mr. Kranidiotis is to discuss the US proposals for a flight
moratorium over the island.
Also present at the Clerides-Kranidiotis meeting will be the
Cypriot Foreign Minister Yannakis Kasoulides.
[06] US ENVOY RICHARD HOLBROOKE WARNS OF KOSSOVO DANGER
The United States envoy for the Balkans, Richard Holbrooke,
has stated that the conflict in Kossovo has entered an
extraordinarily dangerous new phase.
Mr. Holbrooke said that "if President Milosevic thinks that
we're ignoring this problem, he misunderstands the nature of
democracy - which I think he's done before."
"Democracies are a little slow to act and their debate is
held in public, so people think they're hesitant. But when they
act, they are decisive," he said.
In his interview with the BBC, Mr. Holbrooke also compared
the situation now with the one
exactly three years ago in Bosnia, just before NATO eventually
launched a big bombing
campaign.
According to Mr. Holbrooke, extensive meetings are still
going on in Washington, involving
among others the NATO Supreme Commander, General Wesley Clark.
[07] TURKISH MINISTERS STEP DOWN
The Turkish Prime Minister, Mesut Yilmaz, has accepted the
resignation of three leading
Cabinet ministers under the constitutional requirement that
independent politicians take
Cabinet office in the run up to an election.
According to the BBC, they will be replaced by two
independent members of parliament and by the governor of Istanbul.
Parliament has now gone into recess, and deputies have
returned to their constituencies.
The election will not be held until April next year, but
under the Turkish constitution, the
ministers had to step down immediately.
[08] UN LOOKS INTO REPORTS OF MASS GRAVES IN KOSSOVO
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary
Robinson has indicated that UN monitors are looking into reports
of mass graves in Kossovo.
Monitors from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights are currently working out of Belgrade as talks continue
with the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on the
possibility of opening an office in Pristina.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva yesterday, Ms. Robinson
described the "very difficult circumstances" under which the
monitors were working.
"They report fairly and objectively and impartially as on the
situation as professional human rights officers," she said.
Monitors had been tracking the "huge problem" of missing persons,
and had been reporting on abductions of Serb civilians as well as
problems facing the Albanian majority populations. They had also
been seeking further information on deaths in detention and on the
harassment of the Albanian population, as well as harassment of
relief workers.
"These may seem -- and inevitably are -- modest because we
have a small office," said the High Commissioner. She noted that
staff were operating in extremely difficult conditions, adding "I
have to say that the courage and conditions under which they
operate are quite remarkable."
[09] MASS GRAVE REPORTS DENIED BY EUROPEAN UNION OBSERVERS
European Union observers have been investigating press
reports of mass graves in the south-western town of Orahovac in
Kossovo and, after examining the site, they could not confirm
their existence.
Reports in European newspapers yesterday said that graves
with more than 500 bodies, many of whom children, were found in
the area.
But EU observers and journalists who visited Orahovac say
there are only about 40 graves
of ethnic Albanians.
A BBC correspondent in Kossovo, who visited the site, said
she saw 37 wooden crosses on mounds of earth covered with rubbish.
Serb officials, who took journalists to the site, said they
were victims of the recent fighting.
They denied allegations that more bodies were buried, and did not
accept that the site was being used as a rubbish dump. The Serb
military offensive against the Kossovo Liberation Army (KLA) has
created enormous numbers of refugees - at least 10% of the
population of Kossovo.
[10] BULGARIA'S COMMUNIST LEADER TODOR ZIVKOV DIES AT THE AGE OF
86
The leader of Bulgaria's Communist era Todor Zivkov died
today at a Sofia hospital from a bout with pneumonia. He was 86
years old.
Mr. Zivkov served as Bulgaria's leader for over 30 years. In
1989, with the onstart of political reform he was disbenched as
president and leader of the communist party.
[11] TENSION IN IRAQ'S TIES WITH UNITED STATES AND UNITED NATIONS
The Iraqi government announced yesterday it would stop
cooperating with United Nations inspectors until the international
body which monitors its weapons was radically reformed to free it
from direct United States influence.
"Iraq completely suspends its cooperation with the U.N.
Special Commission within its current setup and the International
Atomic Energy Agency," said a statement released after a meeting
of Iraqi leaders chaired by President Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz sent letters to U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and head of the Security Council
informing them of the Iraqi decision.
Earlier, Iraq's parliament had voted unanimously for a freeze
in the work of the U.N. arms inspectors, deepening the latest
dispute over its alleged weapons of mass destruction.
In Washington, the White House said it would continue to
pressure Iraq to comply with the U.N. inspectors and was waiting
to assess their "actions, not their words."
[12] TURKISH COURT SENTENCES ACTORS TO 24 YEARS FOR ANTI-ARMY PLAY
A Turkish court sentenced a playwright and an actor to 24
years in prison for staging a play
depicting the military as persecutors of Muslims, while four cast
members were given 16-year jail sentences for their part in the
play, which was performed last year.
According to the BBC, the play, An Enemy of God, portrays an
unnamed country in which Muslims are oppressed by the armed forces
and retaliate by declaring a holy war. It was condemned by
Turkey's secular authorities, who said it encouraged revolt.
Playwright Mehmet Vahi Yazar was jailed for inciting regional
and racial hatred for his
production, which depicted the army as "an enemy of the people".
Prosecutors said the drama encouraged revolt by portraying
the military as an obstacle to the
establishment of a state based on Islamic Sharia law.
The generals believe it their duty to protect Turkey's
secular constitution.
[13] UKRAINE TELLS ITS BIGGEST DEBTORS: YOU CAN'T LEAVE UNTIL YOU
PAY
The Ukrainian government, faced with a severe shortfall in
tax revenues, has resorted to an
unorthodox way of recovering the money.
According to the BBC, it gathered together more than 2,000
of its biggest debtors at a conference center in Kiev and told
them they could not leave until they paid some of their overdue
taxes.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko had invited 500
local and regional officials
and 1,700 businessmen to the conference center in the Palace of
Ukraine for talks on the country's desperate need to boost budget
revenues.
But during the conference, he suddenly announced that only
those promising in writing to pay up could leave.
He said the choice was either to put the bad debtors in jail
or to resolve the issue there and
then. Industrialists and heads of state corporations were cooped
up for several hours until the
government relented - on the promise that part payments would be
made by Thursday.
A government spokesman informed the "guests" that food, water
and telephones were available. The prime minister assured them
that "the toilets are also very clean."
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