Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-12-29
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 29, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PREMIER, CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TO MEET IN ATHENS TODAY
[02] FREEZING TEMPERATURES IN N . GREECE, MERCURY FALLS BELOW ZERO
[03] "REVOLUTIONARY NUCLEI" CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR BOMBS IN
PIRAEUS
[04] FOG IMPEDES LANDING AND TAKE OFF AT MACEDONIA AIRPORT
[05] A BRIDAL DOWRY FROM HONAZ UNITES TURKS AND GREEKS
[06] THE CLERIDES - SIMITIS MEETING HAS ENDED
[07] THE CYPRIOT GOVERNMENT WILL DECIDE ON THE S-300 MISSILES
[08] THE BITTER COLD IN NORTHERN GREECE CONTINUES
[09] TWO RADIO STATIONS IN THESSALONIKI AND MELBOURNE WILL UNITE
THE GREEKS LIVING ABROAD
[10] 14 IRAQI ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WERE ARRESTED IN THE ISLAND OF
KOS
[11] DIALOGUE ON THE ADOPTION OF THE CREMATION PRACTICE IN GREECE
[12] EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS EVALUATIONS BY MOODY'S ON THE STATE OF THE
GREEK ECONOMY
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] THE UNITED STATES WILL DEAL WITH ANY IRAQI PROVOCATION
[14] THOUSANDS OF ROMANIANS HOSPITALIZED AFTER HOLIDAY OVEREATING
[15] TWO GREEK SAILORS MISSING IN PORT OF TEXAS AFTER SHIP FIRE
[16] GEORGIAN MINISTER: MURDER OF EMBASSY WORKER WAS WORK OF
HITMEN
[17] ALBANIAN PM THANKS GREECE FOR ASSISTING IN HIS BABY'S BIRTH
[18] THE SERBS IN KOSOVO CALL FOR PROTECTION
[19] GREEK RELIGIOUS PAINTINGS ARE EXHIBITED IN VIENNA
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PREMIER, CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TO MEET IN ATHENS TODAY
Greece's Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is to receive Cypriot
President Glafkos Clerides in Athens today with whom he will
discuss the S-300 anti-aircraft missiles which Cyprus has
purchased from Russia.
The leaderships of the Ministries of Defense and Foreign
Affairs will also be attending the meeting.
In turn, Mr. Clerides will return to Cyprus where the
National Council will convene this evening in order to draw its
final decisions on the missiles matter.
In case a consensus is not reached, President Clerides will
have the final say.
[02] FREEZING TEMPERATURES IN N . GREECE, MERCURY FALLS BELOW ZERO
Northern Greece is undergoing one of the coldest winters in
recent years, as the temperatures have fallen to as low as -15
Celsius in some areas.
The frosted roads, combined with early morning fog, are
forcing drivers to be extra cautious and anti-skid chains are
required in many provincial roads due to the snow.
The temperature in the city of Florina has fallen to -10, in
Grevena -8 and to -5 in Kastoria. Thessaloniki warmed up to -3
this morning.
[03] "REVOLUTIONARY NUCLEI" CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR BOMBS IN
PIRAEUS
An organization, which has dubbed itself as the
"Revolutionary Nuclei", has claimed responsibility for two bombs
that exploded at the center of Piraeus shortly after midnight
today.
The self-made explosive devices were targeted at the
"American Express" and "Barclays Bank" buildings, causing material
damages.
The same organization had claimed responsibility for previous
attacks against the offices of a deputy and a Supreme Justice.
[04] FOG IMPEDES LANDING AND TAKE OFF AT MACEDONIA AIRPORT
Persistent fog continued to impede flight landing and take
off at Thessaloniki's "Macedonia" airport this monring, delaying
for approximately one hour the Thessaloniki-Athens route this.
Yesterday one flight from Athens to Belgrade via Thessaloniki
was cancelled and three others from Athens to Stuttgart, Munich
and London went ahead without making the scheduled stopover.
It is hoped that a modern electronic system, the ILS 2,
which enables "blind" landings will solve the problem when it is
installed some time in 1999. The new system will safely guide
aircraft from the ground in conditions of zero visibility to
within 30 meters above the runway. The pilot will then be able to
safely land the aircraft.
The present ILS system is an older version which is
ineffective in conditions of thick fog.
[05] A BRIDAL DOWRY FROM HONAZ UNITES TURKS AND GREEKS
For seventy-eight whole years the trousseaux of Eleni and
Sofia Minoglou were safely kept in Ummuhan Yalcin's cedar chest
at Honaz, a village in Turkey. A bridal dowry consisting of dainty
lace, silk shirts and embroidered fabric yellowed from the passage
of time, a passage too feeble to conquer the lavender scent and
the memory of a generation lost. Until the day came when the chest
was opened and a stream of memories overflowed. Memories from an
era past, when Turks and Greeks lived harmoniously in Asia Minor,
until the tragedy of war and catastrophe drenched the soil in
blood and uprooted millions of persons from both shores of the
Aegean.
In a corner of their souls Kemal Gacaroglou and his wife Ayse
shielded the memory of their neighbours, the Minoglous, along with
the trousseaux they entrusted upon them before bidding farewell
for another land. These memories, along with the trousseau, they
handed over to their son, Ramazan, who in turn bestowed them upon
his son Kemal, with his last wish. "Find the Minoglous and give
them the trousseaux." And so, Kemal embarked on a journey to find
his grandfather's neighbours amidst ten million Greeks. While the
Minoglou neighbour never made it to Greece, his wife and daughters
did, but they had passed away by the time Kemal discovered them.
Thus, the trousseaux remained in his hands and his father passed
away without having his wish realised. Nevertheless, Kemal's
journey for his own "Ithaca", filled with adventure and
enlightenment, did not betray him.
He met the last survivors of the generation that came to
Greece during the population exchange. He then travelled back home
and found the refugees who had set up their lives there.
Kemal Yalcin, the grandson of Kemal Gacaroglou, came to
Greece recently and brought the cousins of Minoglou the
trousseaux. Their grandfather's neighbors had died long ago
during the years of exile and uprooting, before they had a chance
at coming to Greece. The only ones who managed to come over where
the sister-in-law of Mama Minoglou, Anthoula, with her son, Nikos,
but they both had died long ago.
Kemal discovered Yiannis Minoglou, the son of Nikos, in a
village near the city of Volos.
Last Sunday morning, the two men, teary-eyed, held each other
in embrace as Kemal laid the contents of the trousseaux on the
table. They spoke for hours on end and Kemal, just as he was about
to leave, said, "I'm leaving you half of my heart."
"Yes, but you've taken all of mine," Yiannis responded.
The Honaz village was called Colossai during ancient times
and was named Honai during the Byzantine era. Up until 1920 there
were about 1,000 Greeks living in Honaz.
Kemal described to the Macedonian Press Agency the day the
Minoglous were uprooted, as it was tearfully narrated to him by
his father when he was still a child. Papa Minoglou was deported
along with all of the village's Greek men, while his wife and
daughters were confined for three months in a stable along with
the other Greek women. "My grandmother would send my father to
bring bread to Mama Minoglou and her daughters. When the order
for their deportation was issued, a piercing scream stirred the
village. My father, scared, abandoned his game and ran home. In a
short while, Mama Minoglou, arrived at my grandmother Ayse's home
carrying a silk bedspread, accompanied by her two daughters who
were each carrying a sack. "My sister Asa," said Mama Minoglou,
"these are the trousseaux of my daughters. I'm leaving them with
you for safekeeping. We're leaving and we may never come back, we
may return and never see each other again! If we do come back,
you'll give us the trousseaux. If we don't, give them to the
poor."
"What overwhelmed me during my search for the Minoglous were
the stories told by the refugees," Kemal said. "I will never
forget what Vasilis Vasiliadis described to me when, as a young
child persecuted along with the other Greeks, he eyewitnessed
horrifying scenes. They gathered all the Greeks from his village
and, having stripped them of their clothing, they placed them in
the church and torched them alive. He and his family were rescued
by a Turkish friend of theirs. The Greeks would hide in caves. But
their babies would cry and that's how the Turkish irregulars
would discover them and killed them. There were babies in Vasilis'
group. He was a young boy. The leader of the group, Aga Giorgi,
told them that if they wanted to be saved they had to kill their
babies. He strangled his own baby first and others followed with
theirs. There were some who could not bring themselves to killing
their children. But the heinous act was performed by those who
were more composed. Twenty children, not older than the age of
two, were killed on that day. Mr. Vasilis was unable to talk for a
long time after that morbid day. Even when I met him, an 87-year-
old man, he still saw that nightmare."
After his first trip to Greece, Kemal decided to travel home
and become better acquainted with the refugees who had arrived
during the population exchange.
"What they described to me was almost identical with what I
heard and saw in Greece. They all missed their home, had a silent
yearning for their land. I was ashamed, became angry with myself
for not having been able to recognise all these years the sadness
in the faces of my refugee neighbours. I felt ashamed for not
having ever asked them why, when and how they came. I was ashamed
that I never heard the bitterness and longing of the Greeks, the
Armenians, the Assyrians and the Jewish who were my brothers and
compatriots during the thirteen years I lived in Istanbul," he
said.
Kemal decided to utilise the testimony he recorded onto
dozens of tapes into writing a book. So he wrote "A Trousseau in
Safekeeping", a book published in Turkey and currently being
translated into Greek by the "Livani: publishing house.
[06] THE CLERIDES - SIMITIS MEETING HAS ENDED
The meeting of Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis with
Cypriot president Glafkos Clerides, that was held in Athens for
the discussion of the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles issue,
was completed at noon today without any statements by the two
leaders.
Mr. Simitis and Mr. Clerides met for an hour and a half in
the presence of the leadership of the Greek ministries of foreign
affairs and defense. The Cypriot president has already left for
Nicosia where the Cypriot National Council will meet this
afternoon to reach a final decision on the issue of the
installation of the S-300 missiles.
The Athens meeting was held in the presence of the leadership
of the foreign affairs ministry, while also present were minister
of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos and Cypriot minister to the
president's office Pantelis Kouros.
[07] THE CYPRIOT GOVERNMENT WILL DECIDE ON THE S-300 MISSILES
The final decision on the place where the Russian S-300 anti-
aircraft missiles will be installed will be announced this
afternoon after the meeting of the National Council in Cyprus,
while based on the existing indications they are most likely to
end up in the southern Aegean island of Crete.
According to press information, this was agreed in the one
hour and a half meeting of Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis and
Cypriot president Glafkos Clerides that was held in Athens this
morning. No official statements on the content of the
consultations in Athens were made after the meeting. However,
based on the same information the responsibility for the
announcement of the decision not to install the missiles in Cyprus
will be undertaken by the Cypriot government.
After the meeting of the Cypriot National Council in which it
is certain that no consensus will be reached, Cypriot president
Glafkos Clerides will make an announcement on the final
destination of the missiles and immediately afterwards will follow
the Greek government announcement which will express the full
backing of Athens to the Cypriot government decisions.
[08] THE BITTER COLD IN NORTHERN GREECE CONTINUES
The bitter cold is again today the main weather
characteristic in northern Greece. Transportation in the biggest
part of the region's provincial and national road network is
possible only with the help of non-skid chains due to the icy
conditions on the roads.
In many cities temperature has dropped several degrees below
zero. In the north-western Greek city of Florina the temperature
is -10, while the same conditions dominate in other cities of the
region such as Grevena with -8, Kozani -6 and Kastoria with -5
degrees. In Thesaloniki temperature dropped to -3 degrees Celsius
in the early morning hours.
[09] TWO RADIO STATIONS IN THESSALONIKI AND MELBOURNE WILL UNITE
THE GREEKS LIVING ABROAD
The radio station "Foni tis Toumbas" (Voice of Toumba) in
Thessaloniki in cooperation with "Radio Hellas" in Melbourne,
Australia will unite the Greeks living abroad with Greece on New
Year's Eve.
During the live radio show the Greeks living abroad will be
able to send their wishes and communicate with their relatives
living in Greece.
The audience can call the telephone numbers (031) 243-560,
(031) 243-561 and (031) 243-562 while the program will be
broadcast through Internet at the address www.spar.net.gr/
[10] 14 IRAQI ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WERE ARRESTED IN THE ISLAND OF
KOS
Fourteen Iraqi illegal immigrants, among them two women, were
located and arrested by the Greek Coast Guard in the region
Psalidi of the south-eastern Aegean island of Kos.
The illegal immigrants, who are of Kurdish origin, stated
that they came from the Turkish coasts and that they arrived in
Kos on board a speed-boat after paying a large sum of money to its
captain.
[11] DIALOGUE ON THE ADOPTION OF THE CREMATION PRACTICE IN GREECE
The Greek government is ready to propose even a change in
legislation allowing cremation for the Orthodox Christians as
well under the pre-condition that this is the wish of the citizens
and for this purpose there will be a dialogue, stated
undersecretary of interior Giorgos Floridis.
According to Mr. Florodis, no negative reaction is expected
in the regulations that have already been prepared, stating that
this was a mature development that appears to enjoy a wide social
consensus. He said that the regulations completed so far concern
those who are not Orthodox Christians.
Mr. Floridis said that in the following days it will be
discussed whether this regulation should be extended to the
Orthodox Christians as well, adding that this way each one will
have the option to request with a written statement to be cremated
after death.
[12] EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS EVALUATIONS BY MOODY'S ON THE STATE OF THE
GREEK ECONOMY
A report prepared by Moody's, which is published today by the
Athens financial newspaper "Imerisia", includes extremely cautious
to negative evaluations regarding the Greek economy and its
prospects.
Moody's mentions that Greece will enter the EMU but this
development will be followed by a more hard period of adjustment
for the people. Also, it is mentioned that an apathy is observed
in the government over the necessary EMU reforms because it
expects an inflow of EU funds.
Based on the report, the slow pace with which the structural
changes move in Greece is due to the misconceptions caused by the
inflow of foreign capital after the drachma devaluation. The
report also refers to the risks from foreign loans both in the
public and the private sector.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] THE UNITED STATES WILL DEAL WITH ANY IRAQI PROVOCATION
The State Department has emphasized that the US and British
aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone over Iraq are to react
decisively to any renewed Iraqi threat.
Washington issued the said announcement after Iraqi forces
fired missiles yesterday at U.S. jets which fired back at the
missile launch site. An Iraqi government communique said four
Iraqis were killed during the action.
President Bill Clinton said that the United States would
continue to enforce no-fly zones in the north and south of Iraq.
[14] THOUSANDS OF ROMANIANS HOSPITALIZED AFTER HOLIDAY OVEREATING
Thousands of Romanians crammed hospital emergency rooms after
packing themselves with pork, pickled cabbage and prune alcohol
over the winter holidays, local media reported yesterday.
About 3,500 Romanians called ambulances since Christmas Eve
in Bucharest alone and thousands more were treated elsewhere for
ulcers and gastritis over the weekend, according to the Bucharest
newspaper Libertatea.
Hospitals nationwide are prepared for more patients as
Romanians continue the traditional indulgence of food and drink
through NewYear's Day.
National television showed images of emergency rooms crowded
with patients holding their stomachs, many unable to speak and
others too embarrassed to say how much they ate.
[15] TWO GREEK SAILORS MISSING IN PORT OF TEXAS AFTER SHIP FIRE
Two sailors of the Greek-flag ship "Violeta" remain missing
since yesterday afternoon after the ship, waiting to dock at the
port of Texas, caught on fire.
They are Manolis Gavalas and Nikitas Labrinos, while the 21
Filipino sailors and the ship's captain Grigoris Alexiou are safe.
[16] GEORGIAN MINISTER: MURDER OF EMBASSY WORKER WAS WORK OF
HITMEN
The murder of a Greek embassy security officer in Georgia
appears to be the work of professional hitmen, according to
Georgia's Minister of the Interior Kahi Targamange.
Anastasios Myzithras, 37, the head of security at the
Embassy, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at the entrance to
his home on Thursday. His funeral was held yesterday in Greece.
Mr. Targamange stated that there has been progress in the
investigation surrounding the murder but the police are still not
close to solving the crime.
[17] ALBANIAN PM THANKS GREECE FOR ASSISTING IN HIS BABY'S BIRTH
Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko has expressed a
heartfelt "thanks" to the Greek government and the medical
community for the assistance they granted to his wife in the
premature birth of their baby girl. His message of gratitude was
published widely in the Albanian media.
The baby and the mother remain hospitalized at the "Elena"
maternity clinic in Athens. Neither has presented any
complications. Mrs. Majko was airlifted into Athens by a Greek Air
Force C-130 transport plane on Saturday when she went into
premature labor.
[18] THE SERBS IN KOSOVO CALL FOR PROTECTION
Serb officials in Kosovo sent an open letter to Yugoslav
president Slobodan Milosevic demanding protection for the Serb
population living in the province. Hundreds of Serbs have
abandoned their homes as a result of the recent armed clashes.
Meanwhile, the Kosovo Serbs will hold a rally on January 11
at the center of the regional capital Pristina protesting against
the renewed clashes.
[19] GREEK RELIGIOUS PAINTINGS ARE EXHIBITED IN VIENNA
The Austrian press continues to promote the exhibition of
paper religious paintings in the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna,
organized at the initiative of the Greek embassy within the
framework of the EU Austrian presidency, characterizing it as a
cultural event.
Under the headline "Greek icons from Vienna" the newspaper
"Neue Kronen Zeitung" offers an extensive report which refers to
the history of their printing which began in Vienna in the 18th
century.
The newspaper mentions that the Greeks of Vienna started
printing paper religious paintings in 1701 such as those of
Hristofor Zefar and Thomas Mesmer which were sent to the Greeks
living under the Turkish yoke.
|
