Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-10-01
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, Octomber 1, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PREMIER SPEAKS WITH NEWLY-APPOINTED ALBANIAN PM MAJKO
[02] GREEK ALTERNATE FM EXPRESSES FULL SUPPORT OF ALBANIA'S NEW
PREMIER
[03] GREEK ALTERNATE FM CANCELS TRIP TO BELGRADE OVER VISA ISSUE
[04] PROBLEMS MOUNT AT GREECE'S HOSPITALS AS DOCTORS CONTINUE TO
STRIKE
[05] PRICES FALL ON 250 FOOD AND CONSUMER GOODS AS OF TODAY
[06] ACADEMY OF GREEK LANGUAGE AND CULTURE OPENS IN GERMANY
[07] "MACEDONIA" AIRPORT TO UNDERGO PROJECTS AMOUNTING TO GRD19.4
BILLION
[08] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS INVITED HIS NEW ALBANIAN COUNTERPART
TO VISIT ATHENS
[09] REPPAS: A POLITICAL SOLUTION IN KOSOVO IS STILL POSSIBLE
[10] THE TREATY OF AMSTERDAM IS A MILESTONE IN THE COURSE OF THE
EUROPEAN UNIFICATION
[11] BLACK SEA INTERIOR AND PUBLIC ORDER MINISTERS' TWO-DAY
MEETING IN CORFU
[12] MEETING ON THE STATE BUDGET UNDER PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS
[13] LOSSES IN THE EUROPEAN MARKETS
[14] ONLY 70.000 ECONOMIC IMMIGRANTS HAVE APPLIED FOR A "GREEN
CARD"
[15] BIRDS CALL ON THE PEOPLE IN NORTHERN GREECE TO VOTE FOR THEM
[16] THE CITY OF PATRAS WILL BE THE CULTURE CAPITAL OF EUROPE IN
2006
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[17] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER TO BE RECEIVED TODAY BY CYPRIOT
PRESIDENT
[18] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER IN CYPRUS: OUR RESPONSE TO THREATS IS
ACTION
[19] FRANKFURT INT/L BOOK EXHIBITION FEATURES STRONG GREEK
PRESENCE
[20] SECURITY COUNCIL CONVENES AFTER REPORTS OF ATROCITIES IN
KOSSOVO
[21] UN SECRETARY GENERAL "OUTRAGED" BY REPORTS OF ATROCITIES IN
KOSSOVO
[22] UN ENVOY IN NICOSIA TO MEET WITH CLERIDES, DENKTASH
SEPARATELY
[23] RUSSIA WARNS: RAID ON YUGOSLAVIA COULD END RUSSIA-NATO
AGREEMENT
[24] THE GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER MET IN NICOSIA TODAY WITH THE
CYPRIOT PRESIDENT
[25] BERISHA REJECTS THE MAJKO GOVERNMENT
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PREMIER SPEAKS WITH NEWLY-APPOINTED ALBANIAN PM MAJKO
Greece's Prime Minister Kostas Simitis had a telephone
conversation with Albania's newly-appointed Premier Pandeli Majko
yesterday, wherein he congratulated him on his appointment.
According to government reports, Mr. Simitis invited his
Albanian counterpart to visit Athens on November 12. Mr. Majko
accepted the invitation although he expressed reservations over
the date of the visit and stated that it will be fixed through
diplomatic channels.
[02] GREEK ALTERNATE FM EXPRESSES FULL SUPPORT OF ALBANIA'S NEW
PREMIER
Greece's alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou has
expressed the government's support of Albania's newly-appointed
Prime Minister Padeli Majko, stating that Greece hopes the new
leadership will prove to be a catalyst for positive developments
in the neighboring country.
"We fully support the new prime minister in his efforts to
tackle the most pressing and important issues that Albania faces
today, i.e. the restoration of public order, the fight against
corruption, the economy, and the institution-building process,"
Mr. Papandreou said.
He also stated that "we call on President Meidani to take
political initiatives to revive the spirit of dialogue and round
tables with a constructive opposition. A constructive opposition
is one that takes part actively in parliament and the
constitutional process. It is also totally against those tactics
which contribute to the recent violent events in Tirana. "
[03] GREEK ALTERNATE FM CANCELS TRIP TO BELGRADE OVER VISA ISSUE
Greece's Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who
currently serves as the chairman of the Council of Europe, has
canceled today's scheduled visit to Belgrade after the refusal of
Yugoslav authorities to grant entry visas to an adequate number of
foreign participants for a conference in the Yugoslav capital.
Mr. Papandreou was to travel to Belgrade today in order to
attend the opening of the "International Conference on
Broadcasting for a Democratic Europe: The case of the Association
of Independent Electronic Media - ANEM", organized by the
secretary general of the Council of Europe.
Mr. Papandreou expressed his "full support to the organizers
of the conference" and said that he "shared the efforts put
forward for the strengthening of the role of the media in
Yugoslavia."
[04] PROBLEMS MOUNT AT GREECE'S HOSPITALS AS DOCTORS CONTINUE TO
STRIKE
Hospitals throughout the country remain closed and only
accept dire emergency cases while their outpatient clinics have
closed their doors on visiting patients.
The state-employed doctors have been on a strike for almost
two weeks, protesting the government's moves to cut the
physicians' overtime expenses and to appoint professional
managers.
After a meeting with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, Health
Minister Kostas Gitonas said that ``we will take all measures so
that work at the hospitals returns to normal. The labor action in
some cases is unacceptable.''
[05] PRICES FALL ON 250 FOOD AND CONSUMER GOODS AS OF TODAY
Retail sales prices of about 250 foodstuffs and consumer
goods will start decreasing as of today, ranging between 3-33 per
cent and being applied gradually in the market until October 15.
The price reductions are the result of an agreement reached
between the Ministry of Development and representatives of
household and foodstuffs industries.
The duration of the retail sales price decreases is three
months and six months for certain products.
The categories of products whose prices will be decreased are
cleaning products, flour, pasteurized milk, yogurt, hard cheeses,
coffee, rice, legumes, pasta products, infants' foods,
refreshments, corn flakes, chocolates and mayonnaise.
[06] ACADEMY OF GREEK LANGUAGE AND CULTURE OPENS IN GERMANY
The Academy of Greek Language and Culture, headquartered in
Wupertal, Germany, is to open 32 Greek language and culture
departments aimed at all age groups.
This effort to disseminate the teaching of the Greek language
is especially targeting public servants, academics and students.
The Academy's chairman Charalabos Stephanopoulos stated that
this move "illustrates the liveliness of the Greek spirit,
language and culture."
The curriculum, currently in its first year of enforcement,
has been applied on an experimental basis to foreigners who plan
to visit Greece and 23 persons, Britons, French and Germans, who
traveled to Greece returned with a richer vocabulary.
"We thought is was necessary that the foreign tourists who
visit our country can assimilate some Greek cultural facts," Mr.
Stephanopoulos said.
[07] "MACEDONIA" AIRPORT TO UNDERGO PROJECTS AMOUNTING TO GRD19.4
BILLION
Thessaloniki's "Macedonia" airport is to undergo an expensive
"facelift", as the Greek government is allocating 19.4 billion
drachmas for upgrading works that will fortify the target of
establishing the airport's international status.
Specifically, the Civil Aviation Authority is planing to
execute six projects by the end of this year, which aim to update
the building facilities and the airport's overall operational
enhancement.. According to CAA's assistant commissioner George
Souladakis, these projects fall within the airport's overall
upgrading program.
[08] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS INVITED HIS NEW ALBANIAN COUNTERPART
TO VISIT ATHENS
Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis had a telephone
communication with Albania's new prime minister Pandeli Majko and
invited him to visit Athens on November 12, stated Greek
government spokesman Dimitris Reppas clarifying that the issue of
the visit will be settled through the diplomatic route.
At the same time, he underlined that Greece either alone or
in cooperation with other countries will offer its assistance for
the progress of Albania.
[09] REPPAS: A POLITICAL SOLUTION IN KOSOVO IS STILL POSSIBLE
Greece says "No" to a NATO military intervention in Kosovo
before every possibility for a diplomatic solution is exhausted,
stressed Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.
Mr. Reppas stated that there is still room for a peaceful
solution and that Greece will express its position when the issue
comes up for discussion, adding that Greece's position will depend
and on the views that will be expressed by other countries.
[10] THE TREATY OF AMSTERDAM IS A MILESTONE IN THE COURSE OF THE
EUROPEAN UNIFICATION
Prime minister Kostas Simitis characterized the Treaty of
Amsterdam as a milestone in the course of the European
unification, speaking in a conference on the course of Europe
after the Treaty of Amsterdam organized by the Greek foreign
ministry, the European Constitutional Law Center and PASOK Euro-
deputies.
Mr. Simitis said that the Treaty of Amsterdam strengthens the
European Parliament, improves the terms for the exercise of
foreign policy, while the necessary pre-conditions are being
created to deal with unemployment and significant steps are being
made for the protection of fundamental rights.
Referring to the character of the European unification he
rejected the views presenting Europe as a common market or a
federal state and backed a unified Europe in which the different
peoples preserve their identity and at the same time, contribute
to the European unification.
Referring to the election victory of the Social-democrats in
Germany, Mr. Simitis underlined that great emphasis will be given
again to issues of social policy.
[11] BLACK SEA INTERIOR AND PUBLIC ORDER MINISTERS' TWO-DAY
MEETING IN CORFU
The two-day meeting of the Black Sea interior and public
order ministers opened in the Ionian Sea island of Corfu today.
The meeting, in which participate ministers from 11
countries, is organized by Greece within the framework of the
Black Sea economic cooperation.
Minister of public order Giorgos Romeos characterized the
meeting as very important and announced that a police cooperation
agreement will be signed by the participants to deal with
organized crime, illegal immigration, money laundering, illegal
arms trade and drug-trafficking.
[12] MEETING ON THE STATE BUDGET UNDER PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS
A meeting of the government's economic staff, presided over
by prime minister Kostas Simitis, was held in Athens today.
On the 1999 state budget, minister of national economy and
finance Yiannos Papantoniou stated that it will be submitted in
mid November, while he appeared optimistic that the government
will meet the Maastricht criteria for the country's participation
in the EMU. Mr. Papantoniou expressed satisfaction for the sale of
the duty free shops.
[13] LOSSES IN THE EUROPEAN MARKETS
Notable losses are being observed in the European stock
markets today. In Athens, the general price index closed with a
loss of 3.71%.
This trend in Europe reflects the pessimism of the Central
Bank in Japan for the course of the country's economy. Also, it
reflects concern over the openings made by the European banks in
the crisis regions like, Russia and Latin America.
[14] ONLY 70.000 ECONOMIC IMMIGRANTS HAVE APPLIED FOR A "GREEN
CARD"
Only 70.000 economic immigrants have applied for a "green
card" that gives to foreigners the right to live and work in
Greece for a specific period of time.
At the same time, the holders of the so-called "white card",
that allows the economic immigrants to reside in the country and
work for a period of one year, are over 373.000.
The above were announced by minister of labour and social
security Miltiadis Papaioannou, who expressed surprise over the
small number of applications the responsible agencies have
received so far.
The deadline for the filing of "green card" applications
expires at the end of October.
[15] BIRDS CALL ON THE PEOPLE IN NORTHERN GREECE TO VOTE FOR THEM
The birds of Europe have their own weekend on October 3 and 4
but those that fly in the skies of northern Greece have started
their own pre-election campaign calling on the people to vote for
them.
The Ornithology Society calls on all the people in northern
Greece to go bird watching and vote for the one they like in the
"polling stations" that will be set up at Thessaloniki's
boardwalk, Porto Lagos in north-eastern Greece and Gallikos River
in Kalochori, near Thessaloniki. The second phase of the
"elections" will take place on Sunday in Kitros of Pieria,
Kerkini, Koronia and Porto Lagos.
In each one of those events, that are placed within the
framework of the Pan-European Bird festivities, the Ornithology
Society members will guide the visitors who will have the
opportunity to engage in bird watching with the help of binoculars
and telescopes.
[16] THE CITY OF PATRAS WILL BE THE CULTURE CAPITAL OF EUROPE IN
2006
The city of Patras, in the Peloponnese southern Greece, will
be the Culture Capital of Europe in the year 2006.
The announcement was made at noon today by minister of
culture Evangelos Venizelos, undersecretary of sports Andreas
Fouras and mayor of Patras Andreas Karabelas.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[17] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER TO BE RECEIVED TODAY BY CYPRIOT
PRESIDENT
Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos will be received
by the President of the Republic of Cyprus today in Nicosia.
Later in the day, Mgrs. Clerides and Tsochatzopoulos will
attend the military parade honoring the island's independence day.
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos, who met yesterday with the Speaker of
the Cypriot Parliament Spyros Kyprianou, will meet today with
Archbishop Chrysostomos and other political and military
officials.
[18] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER IN CYPRUS: OUR RESPONSE TO THREATS IS
ACTION
Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who arrived in
Cyprus yesterday, stated that Greece will continue to strengthen
its defense pact with the island and will respond to Turkish
threats with actions not words.
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said that as long as Turkish
"expansionist" policies persisted, so would the defense pact
between Cyprus and Greece.
"The Cypriot people and the Greek people are very experienced
in the expansionist policy of Turkey and its threats," he
stressed.
Commenting on the planned deployment of Russian S-300
missiles in November and on Turkey's threats to strike,
Tsochatzopoulos said such threats would be met with decisiveness
and by boosting of the defense pact.
"Threats are just words, and there is no need to reply with
words. We must be ready to respond with action. That's what I want
to say."
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos was received at the Larnaca Airport by
his Cypriot counterpart Yiannakis Omirou. with whom he held talks
later in the day.
"Our difference with Turkey is that it continues for 24 years
now to insist on depriving northern Cyprus of its human rights,
freedom and international law," Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said.
"We are not ready to accept for long more the last dividing
line, the Attila wall, in the ranks of the European Union..."
However, he did add that the results of his recent meeting
with Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem was that the two
countries could work together for collective security in the
Balkans and even on the Cyprus problem.
Welcoming Tsochatzopoulos to the island, Mr. Omirou said the
Greek Minister was visiting at a crucial time, "indicating once
again Greece's firm support in our struggle for freedom and
justice".
[19] FRANKFURT INT/L BOOK EXHIBITION FEATURES STRONG GREEK
PRESENCE
The 50th Frankfurt International Book Exhibition, to be
inaugurated on October 6, is to feature a strong presence of Greek
literature, with an upgraded Greek pavilion.
Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said that an
international book exhibition will also be started in Thessaloniki
within the framework of HELEXPO.
"It is an issue which we are processing with the assistance
of HELEXPO and the Thessaloniki International Fair, but we do not
want to make an announcement before some discussions are
completed," Mr. Venizelos has stated.
"In light of 2001, the year in which Greece will be the
honored country at the exhibition, our presence will be orientated
towards this event," he added.
The Greek pavilion is considering 1,500 books produced over
the past 18 months which have been proposed by publishers.
[20] SECURITY COUNCIL CONVENES AFTER REPORTS OF ATROCITIES IN
KOSSOVO
The United Nations Security Council is to convene today after
the latest reports of atrocities in Kossovo, where members of the
region's Albanian community have reportedly been killed,.
Meanwhile, NATO is apparently on the brink of taking military
action, while Britain, France and the United States are warning
Serb President Slobodan Milosevic that the Alliance is ready to
attack Serb targets.
[21] UN SECRETARY GENERAL "OUTRAGED" BY REPORTS OF ATROCITIES IN
KOSSOVO
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that he
was outraged by reports of atrocities perpetrated by security
forces in Kossovo, under the authority of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
A statement issued by his spokesman yesterday said that these
reports were particularly shocking to the Secretary-General in
light of denials that such actions were taking place received from
the Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zivadin
Jovanovic whom he met on Tuesday.
The statement recalled that the Security Council had recently
reaffirmed the commitment of all member-states to the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
From this, the statement added, it followed that the authorities
of Yugoslavia had the right and the duty to maintain public order
and to defend the country from provocative actions such as those
which had been committed by Kosovar Albanian separatist
extremists.
"But those actions can never justify the pattern of terror,
including the burning of houses, looting, killing of livestock and
wanton killing that have been reported these past few days," the
Secretary-General said. Stressing that such actions were totally
unacceptable to the international community, the Secretary-General
reiterated that it was the duty of security forces to protect
citizens, not to intimidate them.
The Secretary-General "utterly" condemned these actions and
renewed his strong representations to the government of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, made directly to the Foreign
Minister, to desist from repeating them.
"He once again calls upon all parties to cease violence and
to concentrate on the search for a negotiated solution to the
crisis in Kosovo according to law," the statement said.
[22] UN ENVOY IN NICOSIA TO MEET WITH CLERIDES, DENKTASH
SEPARATELY
The United Nations envoy to Cyprus, Ann Hercus, is to hold
talks with Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot
leader Rauf Denktash in separate meetings that are aimed at
promoting progress toward a resolution of the Cyprus issue.
The UN has issued a statement wherein it states that there
were no plans for a resumption of face-to-face talks between
President Clerides and Mr. Rauf Denktash.
The U.N. statement was issued after Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, who held a meeting last Friday with President Clerides,
conferred Wednesday with Mr. Denktash.
``In these meetings, the secretary-general proposed that his
special representative for Cyprus, Ann Hercus, develop a process
for on-island contacts with both parties, with the goal of
reducing tensions and promoting progress toward a just and lasting
settlement,'' a U.N. spokesman said.
``Both leaders expressed their support for such a process and
have promised to cooperate with it in a constructive and flexible
manner,'' he added.
[23] RUSSIA WARNS: RAID ON YUGOSLAVIA COULD END RUSSIA-NATO
AGREEMENT
A NATO raid on Yugoslavia could provoke Russian deputies into
"breaking the agreement between Russia and NATO", the president of
the Russian Parliament (Duma) Gennady Seleznev stated yesterday
evening in a televised interview.
Mr. Seleznev also warned the Alliance to expect retaliation
from the Yugoslav army following any air raid against Yugoslavia.
Russia has to date opposed growing support in the West for
air strikes to end a seven-month crackdown by Serb security forces
against ethnic Albanian separatists.
Russia and NATO are due to update the Conventional Forces in
Europe (CFE) treaty, signed in November 1990 by the 16 members of
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the 14 members of the
former Warsaw Pact.
[24] THE GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER MET IN NICOSIA TODAY WITH THE
CYPRIOT PRESIDENT
Greek minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who is on a
visit to Cyprus, met in Nicosia today with Cypriot president
Glafkos Clerides.
The meeting was held in the presence of Cypriot minister of
defense Yiannakis Omirou, National Guard Chief lieutenant-general
Dimitrios Dimou, undersecretary to the president Pantelis Kouros
and Greece's ambassador to Nicosia Kiriakos Rodousakis. No
statements were made after the end of the meeting.
Earlier, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos had laid a wreath at the
Archbishop Makarios monument and watched the Cypriot Independence
Day parade.
[25] BERISHA REJECTS THE MAJKO GOVERNMENT
The opposition Democratic Party in Albania, led by Sali
Berisha, rejected the Majko government solution as a way out of
the crisis.
The Democratic Party appears determined to continue its
mobilizations insisting in its proposal for a government of
technocrats which will prepare the ground for early elections in
Albania.
Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available
on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at
http://www.hri.org/MPA/
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