Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-01-14
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, January 14, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] STUDENTS IGNORE PLEAS TO BEGIN CLASS, DEFY THREATS OF
FLUNKING
[02] FINNISH PREMIER TO OFFICIALLY VISIT GREECE ON SUNDAY
[03] MISSOURI GOVERNOR IN GREECE TO PITCH MILITARY AIRCRAFT SALE
[04] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTER MEETS WITH DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY
[05] OECD REPORT ON GREECE: EXPEDITE STRUCTURAL CHANGES
[06] THE EDUCATION REFORM WILL BE IMPLEMENTED
[07] THE TENSION IN THE SECTOR OF EDUCATION CONTINUES
[08] MR. SIMITIS COMPLETED HIS VISIT TO SPAIN
[09] OECD: THE STRUCTURAL CHANGES SHOULD ACCELERATE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[10] GREEK PREMIER MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF IOC SAMARANCH
[11] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT SOFIA ON JANUARY 19
[12] BELGRADE TO FREE NINE KLA REBELS
[13] NEOLITHIC HUMAN REMAINS DISCOVERED IN CYPRUS
[14] ALBANIA: NEW LAW TO CLAMP DOWN ON ILLEGAL EMIGRATION
[15] THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTED DOWN THE CENSURE MOTION
[16] KOSOVO IS THE MAIN ISSUE IN TODAY'S OSCE MEETING
[17] STRONG REACTIONS IN BELGRADE OVER THE CIA DOCUMENT
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] STUDENTS IGNORE PLEAS TO BEGIN CLASS, DEFY THREATS OF
FLUNKING
Tension continues to ferment in the education sector as high
schools students are preparing statewide rallies tomorrow,
ignoring pleas to return to the classrooms and defying threats of
flunking.
Education Minister Gerasimos Arsenis stated yesterday that
those students who have missed many classroom hours due to the sit
ins will not be able to participate in June's examinations.
Speaking from Spain, where he is presently conducting an
official visit, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis defended Mr.
Arsenis, by stating that nothing can be rectified by closing the
schools and stressing that the reforms will go through.
The Teachers Federation denounced Mr. Arsenis threat and said
that it is incomprehensible that a Minister would threaten to
flunk the students.
[02] FINNISH PREMIER TO OFFICIALLY VISIT GREECE ON SUNDAY
The Prime Minister of Finland Paavo Liponen is to conduct an
official visit to Greece between January 17-19, in order to
discuss matters related to his country's undertaking of the
European Union's rotating presidency as of July 1, 1999.
Mr. Liponen will be received by the President of the Hellenic
Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, his Greek counterpart Kostas
Simitis and the President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos
Kaklamanis.
According to reports, the talks will center on Cyprus's
accession to the EU.
[03] MISSOURI GOVERNOR IN GREECE TO PITCH MILITARY AIRCRAFT SALE
The governor of Missouri Mel Carnahan arrived in Athens
yesterday where he met with Defense Ministry officials in order to
discuss a multi-billion-dollar military contract which Greece is
considering with Boeing Co.
According to reports, Gov. Carnahan also planned to discuss
potential bids by two Missouri companies -- HOK Sports Facility
Group of St. Louis and Black &
Veatch of Kansas City -- for $10 billion in construction projects
for the 2004 Olympic Games, to be held in Athens.
`The mission to Greece will serve to strengthen the existing
foundation of economic prosperity we currently enjoy between the
state of Missouri and the Republic of Greece,'' the US governor
said in a statement.
Boeing's Military Aircraft and Missile Systems division is
based in St. Louis, Mo.
In addition to Boeing, several European aircraft
manufacturers and Texas-based Lockheed Martin are also competing
for the contract.
[04] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTER MEETS WITH DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY
The Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Yiannis Magriotis met with
the Secretary of Development Vaso Papandreou in Athens this
morning.
Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency,. Mr. Magriotis
stated that the meeting was held in a positive climate and the two
decided to embark on closer cooperation in the sectors of mutual
interest.
Specifically, the Mr. Magriotis and Ms. Papandreou discussed
the Macedonia-Thrace Ministry's border zone development program,
which will feature the participation of the Development Ministry,
as well as the sectors of tourism, energy and the natural gas
network in Thessaloniki.
[05] OECD REPORT ON GREECE: EXPEDITE STRUCTURAL CHANGES
A report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) contains a positive assessment of the
course of Greece's economy, while also citing that the state's
rate of implementing structural changes should be maintained, or,
even expedited.
Moreover, the report recommends that the state upgrade its
social security and public service sectors while it also warns of
a retreat in international investors confidence if the government
retracts from its restructuring pace.
[06] THE EDUCATION REFORM WILL BE IMPLEMENTED
The education reform will be implemented stated acting
government spokesman, Yiannis Nikolaou and based on data he
presented only 12-15% of the secondary education school buildings
are still under occupation across the country. He said that this
situation hurts the students and pointed out that for the
government the doors of dialogue are open.
At the same time, Mr. Nikolaou launched an attack against all
political powers that play political games by taking advantage of
the students' agony, saying that they have chosen the wrong
sector. He accused right-wing opposition party leader Kostas
Karamanlis of playing the role of Pontius Pilatus because while he
criticizes what goes on in the schools, members of his party offer
their support to the students' mobilizations. Commenting on the
stance adopted by the teachers' union he said that the teachers
should be concerned with their job and not with legal issues in
order to be kept in publicity.
[07] THE TENSION IN THE SECTOR OF EDUCATION CONTINUES
The minor scuffles and confrontations of students, parents,
teachers and the ministry of education over the school building
protest occupations continued today.
Protest rallies against the education reform promoted by the
government will be held in Thessaloniki, Athens and all the big
cities across the country tomorrow. In Thesaloniki, the students
of seven secondary education schools will not be able to
participate in the June exams.
Meanwhile, students blocked streets in many cities causing
traffic chaos and minor clashes with car drivers who were not
allowed to pass through the roadblocks.
[08] MR. SIMITIS COMPLETED HIS VISIT TO SPAIN
Prime minister Kostas Simitis returns to Greece this
afternoon after completing his three-day formal visit to Spain. In
his statements he underlined that Spain has the same policy with
Greece in dealing with different issues and added that the new
negotiation in the European Union must lead to an arrangement that
will guarantee the cohesion of European countries.
Mr. Simitis met in Madrid with his Spanish counterpart Jose
Maria Aznar, political party leaders and former prime minister
Felipe Gonzales and attended a formal lunch given in his honor by
the royal couple of Spain.
[09] OECD: THE STRUCTURAL CHANGES SHOULD ACCELERATE
Favorable assessments and observations are included in the
special OECD report on the Greek economy. The Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development pointed out the positive
steps that have been made and stressed that they must continue,
while the pace of structural interventions should be accelerated.
The OECD report also suggested that the social security
system and the public services sector should be reformed and
stressed that there is a risk to lose the trust of international
investors if there is no consistency in the economic policy or the
pace of structural interventions is slowed down.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[10] GREEK PREMIER MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF IOC SAMARANCH
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, who is concluding an official
visit to Spain today, will meet with the President of the
International Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch.
Yesterday, the Premier attended a formal luncheon held in his
honor by the King of Spain Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. He also
met with political party leaders and the former Premier Felipe
Gonzales.
[11] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT SOFIA ON JANUARY 19
Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos will conduct an
official visit to Bulgaria on January 19, at the invitation of
his Bulgarian counterpart Nadejda Michailova.
The announcement was made by Bulgarian foreign ministry
spokesman Patko Vlajko who added that the Greek foreign minister
will also be received by Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov and
parliament president Jordan Sokolov.
[12] BELGRADE TO FREE NINE KLA REBELS
Nine members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) are to be
freed by the Yugoslav authorities within the following days, in
exchange to the release of the eight Serb soldiers held captive by
KLA rebels, according to Reuters.
Quoting diplomatic sources, the wire service stated that the
KLA members to be freed are those who were arrested in December
during their attempt to enter Albania from Kosovo.
Meanwhile, the KLA is to announce today the terms it set
forth to Belgrade for releasing the eight Serb hostages.
[13] NEOLITHIC HUMAN REMAINS DISCOVERED IN CYPRUS
Excavations conducted by French archaeologists in Cyprus
have unearthed what is believed to be the oldest human remains
ever found on the island at a Neolithic settlement occupied
between 8200 and 7000 BC, the Parekklisha-Shillourokambos, near
the coastal city of Limassol .
The remains were discovered in a trench which is believed to
have been used as a communal burial place, containing human skull
remains.
[14] ALBANIA: NEW LAW TO CLAMP DOWN ON ILLEGAL EMIGRATION
The Albanian Parliament has passed a law to clamp down on the
smuggling of illegal emigrants to Italy through the Adriatic Sea,
according to state television reports.
The new measure bans any boat equipped with an engine of
more than 70 horsepower from sailing more than 20 nautical miles
from the coast without permission from the authorities and
requires the owners of such boats to advise the police of their
itinerary each time they set sail.
Albania's former minister of Public Order Neritan Ceka, who
now heads a parliamentary commission for public order, said the
government believes that "this law will save many lives".
Smugglers board 100 persons onto their boats at night time,
at a hefty fee per person, in order to transport them to nearby
Italy. Once they arrive at the port, they dump them and leave them
to fend for themselves as they race back to Albania.
About 250 people have drowned and over 50,000 have been
arrested since 1991, according to Italian authorities, but many
Albanians, Kurds and Albanians from Kosovo have managed to evade
Italian patrols.
[15] THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTED DOWN THE CENSURE MOTION
The European parliament with 293 votes against, 232 for and
27 abstentions, voted down the censure motion against EU
Commissioners Edith Cresson and Manuel Marin.
The two were accused of fraud and the Euro-deputies passed
another proposal which suggests the appointment of an independent
committee which will examine the accusations against the EU
Commission.
European Commission president Jacques Santer had threatened
that he would resign if the majority of the Euro-deputies would
vote against the Commissioners.
[16] KOSOVO IS THE MAIN ISSUE IN TODAY'S OSCE MEETING
Kosovo will be the main issue for discussion in today's
meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe permanent council, the first held after Norway took over
its presidency.
The Norwegian foreign minister, who completed his short tour
of Albania, Yugoslavia and FYROM, will present his views
concerning the developments in Kosovo to the representatives of
the 54 member-states of the organization and he will brief them on
the results of his contacts in the Yugoslav capital.
The latest developments in Kosovo will be on the daily agenda
of the OSCE parliamentary assembly executive committee that meets
this afternoon. A resolution will be issued during the meeting on
the role of the OSCE in the solution of the crisis in Kosovo.
[17] STRONG REACTIONS IN BELGRADE OVER THE CIA DOCUMENT
The secret document of the American CIA that was brought to
light by the Serb government and suggests to the US government
that the sum of 35 million US dollars should be used for the
funding of independent elements in Serbia aimed at the overthrow
of Belgrade's authoritarian regime, has caused strong reactions in
Belgrade.
According to US officials, the document is not a secret one
but a report drawn up by the Washington based independent
"Institute for Peace" which was forged by the Serb government and
was presented as a CIA secret document.
US special envoy to the Balkans Robert Gelbart, who met
yesterday with the president of Montenegro, accused the Serb
government of misinformation and lies and stressed that this
action did not surprise anyone as, according to his statement, the
Serb leadership is not a democratic one.
The US embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
characterized the document as forged and stressed that its
contents do not represent the plans of the US government.
The opposition in Serbia accused the country's leadership of
forgery which had as a goal to present all the independent
elements in Serbia as traitors and spies operating on behalf of
the West.
For the moment, the Serb government has not responded yet to
the accusations according to which the document is not CIA's but a
report issued by the Washington based "Institute for Peace".
The Socialist Party of Slobodan Milosevic with a statement
issued on the occasion of the revelation of the document accused
the US government of meddling in the country's internal affairs in
order to destabilize and topple the legally elected Serb
leadership.
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