Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-09-18
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, September 18, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] HONORARY PRESIDENT OF NEW DEMOCRACY TO MEET WITH TURKISH
PREMIER
[02] INTERNATIONAL STOCK MARKET TAKE A PLUNGE
[03] YOUNG PERSONS FROM S.E. EUROPE MEET IN PLATAMONAS, DISCUSS
THEIR ISSUES
[04] BURNS: VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GREEK TRAVEL TO US TO BE
ABOLISHED SOON
[05] ALTERNATE FM COMMENTS ON LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN ALBANIA
[06] PASOK'S CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETS TODAY
[07] GREEK-ROMANIAN BUSINESS MEETING IN THESSALONIKI
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[08] ALBANIAN PARLIAMENT TO RULE ON SALI BERISHA'S IMMUNITY LIFT
[09] GREEK FM TO ATTEND UHAC CONFERENCE ALONG WITH HOLBROOKE,
DUKAKIS
[10] MAJORITY OF EUROPEANS SUPPORT COMMON CURRENCY, THE EURO
[11] PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS CLERIDES TO MEET WITH UN SECRETARY-
GENERAL ANNAN
[12] CEKA: NANO LOST BECAUSE HE UNBOUND THE HANDS OF THE CORRUPTED
[13] THE EUROPEAN TROIKA WILL BE IN TIRANA TOMORROW
[14] CLERIDES - ANNAN MEETING IN NEW YORK
[15] ISTVAN PATAKI, THE NEW AMBASSADOR OF HUNGARY TO GREECE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] HONORARY PRESIDENT OF NEW DEMOCRACY TO MEET WITH TURKISH
PREMIER
The honorary president of Greece's main opposition party and
former premier, New Democracy's Konstantinos Mitsotakis, is to
meet with Turkish Premier Mesut Yilmaz on Sunday evening with whom
he will discuss the course of Greek-Turkish relations.
The meeting, to take place at a hotel in Bosporus, is at the
request of the Turkish premier in light of Mr. Mitsotakis' visit
to Istanbul.
Mr. Mitsotakis has informed the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis
as well as the President of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides of Mr.
Yilmaz's initiative.
[02] INTERNATIONAL STOCK MARKET TAKE A PLUNGE
A negative climate continues to prevail in stock market
throughout the world as the possibility of an agreement among the
Seven for a reduction interest rates is dimming.
The chairman of the US Central Bank refused to commit to such
reduction which led investors to be discouraged. As a result,
drops were noted in the largest stock markets.
[03] YOUNG PERSONS FROM S.E. EUROPE MEET IN PLATAMONAS, DISCUSS
THEIR ISSUES
Young persons representing all the countries from Southeast
Europe are to embark on a four-day meeting today in Platamonas, an
event organized by the New Generation General Secretariat.
Fifteen government officials on youth issues from all
countries in southeastern Europe will participate in the meeting,
as well as 100 representatives of non-governmental organizations
from these countries, including Turkey for the first time.
The event is taking place as a preparation of Youth Week
which will take place in July 1999.
This initiative is part of the action program for 1998-1999,
which was adopted by the ministers responsible for youth issues in
the countries of southeastern Europe in the framework of a
relevant multipartite agreement signed in Athens in March.
[04] BURNS: VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GREEK TRAVEL TO US TO BE
ABOLISHED SOON
US ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns has announced that the
visa requirement applied to Greeks who plan to travel to the
United States will be abolished soon.
"It is a measure which has been abolished 10 years ago for
the citizens of all European Union countries, with the exception
of those of Portugal and Greece," Mr. Burns stated yesterday.
"I believe that the abolition of the visa is a matter of a
few months and this is so because processes must be completed
inside the government for such a thing to be achieved," he said.
[05] ALTERNATE FM COMMENTS ON LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN ALBANIA
Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou stated that
Greece is "keenly interested in a smooth and democratic evolution
in Albania, its economic recovery and the protection of
human rights as well as the strengthening of democratic
institutions," during a press interview held yesterday.
Presenting Greece's positions and initiatives on a bilateral
level and within the framework of international organizations
towards achieving normalization in the neighboring country, Mr.
Papandreou stated that Greece, as current Council of Europe
president, has promoted the organization's involvement in the
Albanian issue.
He also said that during Tuesday's extraordinary meeting of
the CoE's permanent representatives, Greece received a mandate to
undertake initiatives on Albania in cooperation with other
international and European organizations such as the OSCE, the EU
and the WEU.
He added that the most likely development is a joint visit
to Albania in the next few days by the foreign ministers (or their
deputies) of the countries currently holding the presidency of the
OSCE (Poland), the EU (Austria) and the WEU (Italy),as well as EU
Commissioner for foreign relations Hans van den Broek.
OSCE, EU and WEU officials are already in Albania to examine
the situation on the spot.
Asked to comment on statements by former Albanian president
Sali Berisha accusing Greece of involvement in the Albanian
turmoil, Mr. Papandreou said that Greece has never interfered in
Albania's internal affairs, adding that it is not the first time
that Mr. Berisha "makes statements of a similar content."
Replying to a relevant question, Mr. Papandreou avoided any
comment on the issue of the possible lifting of Mr. Berisha's
parliamentary immunity, but said that further polarization (in
Albania) must be avoided.
[06] PASOK'S CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETS TODAY
The two-day meeting of PASOK's Central Committee, with main
issues for discussion the preparation of the party's 5th congress
and the imminent local administration elections, opens in Athens
this afternoon.
For this purpose, the governmental committee and the
political secretariat of the governing party met at noon today
presided over by prime minister Kostas Simitis.
[07] GREEK-ROMANIAN BUSINESS MEETING IN THESSALONIKI
A fertile autumn for the Greek-Romanian business relations
starts in Thessaloniki at the initiative of the local Trade and
Industry Chamber.
Romanian businessmen, members of Bucharest's Trade and
Industry Chamber, will be in Thessaloniki on Monday for the
signing of cooperation agreements.
According to a statement by Thessaloniki's Trade and Industry
Chamber, the Romanians are interested in signing agreements of
cooperation in the sectors of advise services, the representation
of foreign companies in their country and the development of money
investments.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[08] ALBANIAN PARLIAMENT TO RULE ON SALI BERISHA'S IMMUNITY LIFT
The Albanian parliament is to decide today whether or not it
will lift the parliamentary immunity of main opposition leader and
former president Sali Berisha, in order to allow for criminal
proceedings to be filed against him for organizing an armed
uprising on September 14.
The government is ready to proceed to the lift, even though
this might harbor new uprisings from the opposition leader's
followers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Berisha has called his supporters to
participate in a country-wide rally today.
[09] GREEK FM TO ATTEND UHAC CONFERENCE ALONG WITH HOLBROOKE,
DUKAKIS
Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, United States
ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke and former US
presidential candidate Michael Dukakis will be among the
participants at the following week's 14th annual Hellenic
Leadership Conference to be held in Washington.
According to an announcement issued by the United Hellenic-
American Caucus (UHAC), a renewed peace initiative for Cyprus and
the Aegean will be the focus of the three-day meeting between top
policy-makers and Greek leaders from the US and around the world .
Mr. Pangalos will host a strategy session and a working
dinner on September 23 for his fellow participants. Many of the
major Greek-American organizations, as well as Greek and Cypriot
organizations will be represented in these meetings by their
leaders.
On September 24, participants will spend most of the day on
Capitol Hill meeting with committee and subcommittee chairmen and
other policy- makers in the US Congress.
Moreover, the conference participants will meet with the
chairman of the US Senate Gordon Smith and Senator Joseph Biden,
as well as Greek-American Senator Paul Sarbanis (of the Senate's
Foreign Relations Committee) and Senator Ted Kennedy (of the
Senate's Armed Services Committee).
In the US House of Representatives, some of those with whom
participants will meet include: House Minority Leader Richard
Gephardt; the chairman and next ranking Democrat of the House
International Relations Committee, Congressmen Ben Gilman and Sam
Gejdenson; the chairman and ranking Democrat of the House Foreign
Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Sonny Callahan
and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi the former chairman and current
ranking Democrat of the powerful Appropriations Committee,
Congressman David Obey; as well as Greek-American Congressmen Mike
Bilirakis (co-chair of the Hellenic Caucus) and Mike Pappas (of
the House National Security Committee). Participants will also be
meeting with Ambassador Holbrooke and special State Department
Cyprus coordinator Thomas Miller.
The Livanos Award will be presented to Mr. Dukakis.
[10] MAJORITY OF EUROPEANS SUPPORT COMMON CURRENCY, THE EURO
A large majority of Europeans support the euro, according to
a European Commission public opinion poll.
According to the poll, 60 per cent of EU citizens that
responded said they fully support the new currency, up from 50 per
cent last year.
Italians are the most ardent supporters at 83 per cent, 79
per cent of Luxembourg's citizens favor the euro, while 67 per
cent of Greeks had a positive response.
Almost half of the citizens of the European Union (EU) member
states favor Cyprus' accession to the Union, being the fourth most
favorite of the 11 candidate countries, after Hungary, Poland and
the Czech Republic.
As far as European standards of living go, Greece has the
worst record among the EU member-states. Forty-four percent of
the Greeks responded that they are not satisfied with their
lifestyles, 48% said that they are somewhat satisfied and only
seven percent reported being very satisfied.
[11] PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS CLERIDES TO MEET WITH UN SECRETARY-
GENERAL ANNAN
The President of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides, who is departing
for New York this evening, is to meet with the United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Prior to his meeting with Mr. Annan, President Clerides will
salute the UN General Assembly.
In light of his talks with the UN secretary-general, Mr.
Clerides met yesterday with Mr. Annan's alternate special
representative in Cyprus.
[12] CEKA: NANO LOST BECAUSE HE UNBOUND THE HANDS OF THE CORRUPTED
In an interview to the Macedonian Press Agency, Neritan
Ceka, the president of Albanian opposition party of Democratic
Alliance and former Minister of the interior in the present
cabinet, blamed the Prime Minister Fatos Nano for the recent
political crisis in his country, mainly in regards to existing
corruption in Albania's public life, pyramid-like corruption which
spanned from the economy to the police.
Mr. Ceka also stated that he believes the crisis is currently
under complete control, although he added that he blames Mr. Nano
not only for certain aspects of his character, as he stated, but
also for the manner in which he handled the crisis.
"He seems brave on easy days, but bravery is something to be
shown on difficult days," Mr. Ceka said.
He added that " on the one hand Albania faced Berisha's
aggression, and on the other hand it faced the government's
corruption which started from the top and reached the bottom."
Mr. Ceka further added that "justice will decide on the first
issue, but the second issue became prevalent the moment it was
clear that the government did not enjoy tremendous social support
and this is why 200 people were able to overtake the power."
When asked if he includes the Premier personally in his
allegations of corruption, Mr. Ceka said that he is responsible
for unbinding the hands of all those who are involved in the
matter.
[13] THE EUROPEAN TROIKA WILL BE IN TIRANA TOMORROW
The European troika made up of Papandreou, Geremek, Schussel
and Dini, will be in Tirana tomorrow in an effort to find a
solution for the political crisis in Albania.
The troika will meet with Albanian president Redzep Meidani
and prime minister Fatos Nano. Meanwhile, a huge rally of Sali
Berisha's supporters is taking place at the central square of
Tirana today.
The Albanian Parliament will vote today on whether to lift
the parliamentary immunity of the former Albanian president in
order to be brought before justice accused of instigating the
recent unrest aimed at the overthrow of the government.
[14] CLERIDES - ANNAN MEETING IN NEW YORK
Cypriot president Glafkos Clerides, who leaves for New York
this afternoon, will have a meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan. Before the meeting, the Cypriot president will address the
UN General Assembly.
It should be noted that in view of his departure today
president Clerides met yesterday with Mr. Annan's deputy special
representative in Cyprus, Ann Herkus.
[15] ISTVAN PATAKI, THE NEW AMBASSADOR OF HUNGARY TO GREECE
Former foreign affairs undersecretary Istvan Pataki will be
the new ambassador of Hungary to Greece.
His appointment was unanimously approved by the foreign
affairs committee of the Hungarian Parliament.
Hungary's new ambassador to Greece is a carrier diplomat and
was undersecretary of foreign affairs responsible for European
issues in the previous government headed by Gula Horn. He is
regarded as a specialist on issues of European Union expansion and
Hungary-EU relations.
Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available
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