Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-10-15
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, October 15, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PARTIES ROLL UP SLEEVES FOR SECOND ROUND OF LOCAL ELECTIONS
[02] 1999 BUDGET IS OUT, DIRECT TAXES SLASHED
[03] KOSTAKIS ART COLLECTION INAUGURATED IN THESSALONIKI
[04] CONSULTATIONS ARE UNDERWAY FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF THE LOCAL
ELECTIONS IN THESSALONIKI
[05] GAINS RECORDED IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[06] REPPAS: THE COMMUNITY FUNDS ARE RAPIDLY ABSORBED
[07] ARSENIS: THE GOVERNMENT'S PRIORITY IS THE QUALITY UPGRADING
OF EDUCATION
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[08] SERB FORCES WITHDRAW FROM KOSOVO
[09] ECONOMICS NOBEL WINNER: FAMINES ARE CAUSED BY LACK OF
DEMOCRACY
[10] "DIMITRIA 1998" CELEBRATED IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
[11] THE CONTACT GROUP MEETS ON THE ISSUE OF KOSOVO
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PARTIES ROLL UP SLEEVES FOR SECOND ROUND OF LOCAL ELECTIONS
Government officials are getting ready for the second round
of municipal and county elections to be held this weekend.
While the current in New Democracy remained high, due to the
fact that its candidates have the lead in most municipalities,
supporters of the ruling PASOK party are standing by their policy,
amid comments that the message from voters was received. The
party's Central Committee of prefectural and municipal elections
has reconfirmed its decision to support candidates outside of the
conservative circles.
In Thessaloniki, New Democracy-backed Vassilis
Papageorgopoulos won 44.3 per cent of the vote, compared to the
31.3 per cent pulled in by PASOK's Thrasivoulos Lazarides. That
gives Papageorgopoulos reason to hope for victory in the run off
against Lazarides. The 15 per cent of voters who chose the Left
and Progress Coalition candidate Spyros Vougias in last Sunday's
race will be crucial in determining the outcome of the run off.
[02] 1999 BUDGET IS OUT, DIRECT TAXES SLASHED
The 1999 budget foresees significant reductions in direct
taxes in order to facilitate a drop in inflation.
According to the Minister of National Economy and Finance
Yiannos Papantoniou, the new budget calls for a deficit below the
two-per cent mark of the GNP and curbing public spending.
Meanwhile, heating oil will be available to consumers at a lower
price as of today. In Thessaloniki and Athens it will be sold at
70 drachmas per liter, while in other cities it will be sold for
72-76 drachmas per liter.
[03] KOSTAKIS ART COLLECTION INAUGURATED IN THESSALONIKI
The "Kostakis collection" of Russian avant-garde works of
art, which arrived from Cologne last week, was inaugurated in
Thessaloniki yesterday. The collection will be initially housed at
the Lazariston Monastery until the completion of the city's
modern art museum.
Minister of Culture Evangelos Venizelos stated that an
interim agreement has been signed for the purchase of about half
of the Kostakis collection in January. A substantial part of the
Kostakis Collection is also in the possession of the Tretiakov
Gallery in Moscow.
George Kostakis, a Moscow resident of Greek descent, amassed
the collection between 1930 and 1960 by exchanging works by
western artists for paintings dating from the period 1910-1930 by
then unknown Russian avant-garde artists.
The collection, which now belongs to the daughter of the
famous collector, Aliki Kostaki, includes works by Malevic,
founder of the "Supremacist" school, Tatlin, the founder of
"Constructivism", Popova, Rozanova and Mathiushin.
[04] CONSULTATIONS ARE UNDERWAY FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF THE LOCAL
ELECTIONS IN THESSALONIKI
The candidates for the municipality and prefecture of
Thessaloniki Vasilis Papageorgopoulos and Thrasivoulos Lazaridis,
Kostas Papadopoulos and Christos Koskinas respectively, make
strong efforts to win over the voters of the candidates who failed
in the first round of elections last Sunday.
In their effort to form a united front in support of the
candidates backed by the governing socialist party of PASOK
arrived in Thessaloniki last night for contacts ministers of
defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos, environment, public works and land
planning Kostas Laliotis and culture Evangelos Venizelos.
[05] GAINS RECORDED IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Gains were recorded today in the European stock markets. In
Athens, the general price index showed a considerable rise by
2.81%.
Earlier, the Nikkei index in Tokyo had closed with a loss of
half percentage point. On the contrary, big gains were recorded in
share values in the rest stock markets of Asia and especially, in
Korea.
[06] REPPAS: THE COMMUNITY FUNDS ARE RAPIDLY ABSORBED
The materialization of the government programs moves quickly,
stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.
Usually, he added, the level of absorption of the European
Union funds is obvious in the last trimester of the year and
expressed the optimism that a high percentage will be achieved.
[07] ARSENIS: THE GOVERNMENT'S PRIORITY IS THE QUALITY UPGRADING
OF EDUCATION
Minister of education Gerasimos Arsenis inaugurated two new
school buildings in Athens and talked with students and teachers.
Mr. Arsenis underlined that the quality upgrading of
education is among the priorities of the government. He also
stressed that the school can cover all the students' needs
regarding their education, reiterating that they do not have to
seek help outside the school in order to improve their level of
education.
Referring to the education reform, Mr. Arsenis stated that it
will continue as programmed and suggested to students to have no
frustration over it.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[08] SERB FORCES WITHDRAW FROM KOSOVO
US State Department spokesperson James Rubin has stated that
there are positive indications that show Serbia as complying with
the terms set forth by the United Nations.
European and US officials are stating that Serb security
forces are gradually withdrawing from Kosovo, while refugees have
started returning tot heir homes.
[09] ECONOMICS NOBEL WINNER: FAMINES ARE CAUSED BY LACK OF
DEMOCRACY
The winner of the Nobel prize for Economics, Amartya Sen,
stated yesterday that famines are linked to dictatorships and lack
of democracy.
Addressing a United Nations press conference in New York,
Mr. Sen, an economist from India who has participated in the
preparation of the annual development report of the United Nations
Development Program, said that famines were peculiarly extreme
deprivations which were also easy to prevent.
Mr. Sen said that although there were other economic factors
which caused famines, in the political arena very often
governments did not have incentives to prevent such famines
because while they might kill millions, they typically did not
affect the rulers.
The Nobel laureate said that democracy makes the rulers pay a
cost, because once a famine comes the rulers would be criticized
by the free press, they would be attacked by other political
parties, if other political parties were tolerated, and they would
be chastised in parliament if there was a parliament. "And you
will lose the next election, if there are elections. So a
democratic government immediately has an incentive not to have a
famine."
According to Mr. Sen countries that were currently
experiencing famine, whether in Africa or Asia, "are countries
without a democratic form of government." He said he was depressed
by this because he did not think that winning as a scientist was
more important than winning as a human being. "I would wish that
my predictions were proved wrong and there would be no famines
even in these dictatorships because a lot people live under
dictatorships."
[10] "DIMITRIA 1998" CELEBRATED IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
The famed "Dimitria 1998" festivities are currently underway
in Melbourne, Australia, successfully organized by the Pan-
Macedonian Association of Melbourne and Victoria, and have been
saluted by the political leaders of both Greece and Australia.
The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
forwarded a salutation the festival wherein he hails "the Dimitria
events which promote literature, arts and sports, promote Greek
culture, strengthen the national institutions of family with the
mother land, constitute a magnificent cultural event for the wider
region of Victoria, reflect the admirable progress and social
status achieved by Greeks who are second and third generation, who
were born and live in Australia."
In his message, the Archbishop of Australia Stylianos
expressed his certainty that this year's events will attract the
interest not only of the Greeks living abroad, but of the wider
Australian public as well. The Archbishop also congratulated the
Association's members for their activities concerning Greece's
national-interest issues.
The Prime Minister of Australia stressed the vast cultural
contribution made by Australia's Greeks and stated that the
"Dimitria" grant Australians with the opportunity to become
acquainted with Greek culture and traditions.
The leader of Greece's main opposition party, New Democracy's
Kostas Karamanlis, also forwarded a salutation to the event
which, as he stated, constitutes a continuation of Thessaloniki's
"Dimitria".
"This proves that you carry within you our land, our country
and everything it represents, as you are representatives of the
Greek culture in dear Australia, your second land," Mr. Karamanlis
stated.
The Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Philippos Petsalnikos,
saluting the event, stressed that "the festivities constitute a
great cultural event, an established tradition with resounding
effect, which contributed to the maintenance and promotion of our
cultural heritage, our culture and traditions, our history."
The festival, which will be held until November 15, was
inaugurated on Sunday, October 11, with a doxology performed at
the Cyrill and Methodius Church in Preston.
The festivities will continue on Saturday with the annual Pan-
Macedonian ball, while a soccer match will be held on Sunday
morning, dubbed "DIMITRIA CUP". Poetry readings will be held on
Sunday afternoon, while on Sunday evening the Macedonian Press
Agency's general director Spyros Kouzinopoulos will give an
address on "The Developments in the Balkans and the Macedonian
Press Agency's Role in the Efforts for Inter-Balkan Cooperation".
[11] THE CONTACT GROUP MEETS ON THE ISSUE OF KOSOVO
A NATO delegation is expected in Belgrade to sign the
Halbrooke-Milosevic agreement for the easing of the crisis in
Kosovo.
The contact group also meets in Paris on the issue and in
statements he made at noon today NATO secretary-general Javier
Solana stressed that the Serb forces have not been withdrawn yet
from Kosovo.
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