Macedonian Press Agency: News in English,99-03-15
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, March 15, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] THREE MISSING CLIMBERS DISCOVERED DEAD IN MT. OLYMPUS
[02] TIPPER GORE, US VICE-PRESIDENT'S WIFE, IN THESSALONIKI
TONIGHT
[03] RALLY HELD IN LITOCHORO, PROTESTING NATO FORCES
[04] CONSUMER DAY CELEBRATED TODAY, COMPLAINTS ON THE RISE
[05] LATVIA'S PRESIDENT AND HIS WIFE WILL VISIT THESSALONIKI
[06] REPPAS: PARTY MEMBERS ARE FREE TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS
[07] SIMITIS-SCHRODER MEETING
[08] THE OCALAN CASE LEGAL BRIEF IS AT THE MAGISTRATE'S DESK
[09] FEWER THAN HALF OF THE CONSUMERS KNOW ALL THEIR RIGHTS
[10] FORTY SEVEN NEW AIDS CARRIERS WERE REPORTED IN GREECE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] GREEK FM ADDRESSES INFORMAL MEETING OF EU FOREIGN MINISTERS
[12] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS INFORMAL COUNCIL SUPPORTS GREECE
[13] SECOND ROUND OF KOSSOVO TALKS BEGINS TODAY IN PARIS
[14] GERMAN FM SALUTES GREECE'S STANCE ON OCALAN CASE
[15] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER TO MEET WITH US SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
[16] "REVENGE FALCONS OF APO" CLAIM ISTANBUL BOMB ATTACKS
[17] CLARK: MILOSEVIC RESPECTS NATO'S FORCE
[18] KARAMANLIS-COHEN MEETING
[19] THE TALKS ON KOSOVO HAVE RESUMED
[20] NEW BOMB ATTACK IN ANKARA
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] THREE MISSING CLIMBERS DISCOVERED DEAD IN MT. OLYMPUS
The bodies of the three climbers of Mt. Olympus who had been
missing since yesterday afternoon were discovered shortly after
midnight, in an 800-meter deep ditch.
The rescue team had great difficulty accessing the steep site
which is located at an altitude of 2,500 meters.
According to assessments so far, the three male climbers
slipped and fell into the snowed ditch and unavoidably dragged one
another downwards as they were tied together with rope.
A helicopter pilot has spotted the bodies of the alpinists
and efforts to pull up their bodies are presently under way.
[02] TIPPER GORE, US VICE-PRESIDENT'S WIFE, IN THESSALONIKI
TONIGHT
Tipper Gore, the wife of United States Vice President and
presidential candidate Al Gore, is to arrive in Thessaloniki this
evening where she will address a forum organized by the city's
American College Anatolia tomorrow.
Ms. Gore will speak on The Role of Volunteerism in Covering
Social Needs."
The event will held in honor of the 60th anniversary since
the founding of Anatolia's Alumni Association, which also
coincides with the school's administrative board resolution to
promote volunteerism through its social activities.
Ms. Gore, a known advocate of volunteerism, is the Clinton
Administration's mental health adviser.
A dinner will be held in her honor tomorrow evening and will
be attended by several ministers, including Defense Minister Akis
Tsochatzopoulos, local and
prefecture officials, as well as the US ambassador in Greece.
Ms Gore will tour the city and travel to the nearby ancient
Macedonian archaeological site in Vergina before briefs visits to
Athens and Crete.
[03] RALLY HELD IN LITOCHORO, PROTESTING NATO FORCES
Thousands of individuals gathered in Litochoro yesterday,
protesting the presence of NATO troops who are bound for Kosovo.
The pacifist rally, comprising members of the communist party
of Greece, was organized by the Greek Committee for International
Detente and Peace.
[04] CONSUMER DAY CELEBRATED TODAY, COMPLAINTS ON THE RISE
The international day of the consumer is celebrated today,
albeit Greeks have flooded the country's consumer advocate group
INKA with a record number of complaints, mostly concerning altered
or expired foods, followed with cost-of-living woes.
In 1998, according to the General Federation of Greek
Consumers, complaints marked a whooping 69.44% increase.
Meanwhile, INKA's Macedonia chapter is opposed to generic
branding, supporting that name-brand goods boost the consumer's
freedom of choice.
[05] LATVIA'S PRESIDENT AND HIS WIFE WILL VISIT THESSALONIKI
Latvia's president Guntis Ulmanis, accompanied by his wife,
will visit Thessaloniki next Friday coming from Athens.
Immediately after his arrival in Thessaloniki, Mr. Ulmanis
will leave for the monastic community of Mount Athos in Chalkidiki
and he will return to Thessaloniki later in the day.
In the afternoon, he will visit the mayor of Thessaloniki and
afterwards Latvia's presidential couple will attend a formal
dinner given in their honor by the minister of Macedonia-Thrace.
On Saturday, they will visit the St. Dimitrios church and
then the Museum of Byzantine Civilization, while they are
scheduled to depart for their country early in the afternoon.
[06] REPPAS: PARTY MEMBERS ARE FREE TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas refused to comment
on the statements made by minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos
over the likelihood of a leadership issue to be raised in the
governing socialist party of PASOK in case of a big defeat in the
European Parliament elections.
Mr. Reppas stated that every member of the party has the
right to express his or her views freely.
[07] SIMITIS-SCHRODER MEETING
Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis will meet with German
chancellor Gerhard Schroder in Athens on Wednesday.
The visit of the German chancellor to Athens is placed within
the contacts he will have in European Union capitals to prepare
the EU summit meeting in Berlin.
[08] THE OCALAN CASE LEGAL BRIEF IS AT THE MAGISTRATE'S DESK
The Ocalan case legal brief has been delivered to magistrate
Andreas Papadimitriou and he will call the accused to testify as
soon as possible.
The Parliament's fact-finding committee will be formed by
Wednesday and will complete its work by the end of April.
Prosecutors' Association president Vasilis Makris stated that
the prosecutor's office has nothing to do with the fact that the
findings on the case have leaked to the press, while he added that
it is not accidental that the first ones who got the report were
the political reporters.
[09] FEWER THAN HALF OF THE CONSUMERS KNOW ALL THEIR RIGHTS
World Consumer Day today and while more and more people
believe that there is a need for the activation of consumers,
fewer than half know well their rights. However, there is a
positive sign as more people appeal to the responsible
associations to complain for the low standards in the offered
services and products.
Based on an opinion poll conducted in the region of
Thessaloniki, 48.8% of those asked responded that they know well
or very well their rights as consumers, while 71.9% trust the
consumers' associations for their better information. In addition,
16% trust the printed and the electronic press and 4% the
government.
[10] FORTY SEVEN NEW AIDS CARRIERS WERE REPORTED IN GREECE
Forty seven new AIDS carriers have been reported in Greece in
the October-December trimester and four of the cases are small
children.
The Greek ministry of health issued an appeal to all those
with intense and free sex life to visit the special AIDS detection
centers for free tests in order to find out if they have the
virus.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] GREEK FM ADDRESSES INFORMAL MEETING OF EU FOREIGN MINISTERS
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou addressed his
European Union counterparts during an informal summit held in
Wiesbaden, Germany, where he briefed them on the Turkish claims,
Greece' stance on the Ocalan affair and the results of his recent
tour of Balkan capitals to promote a peace deal for Kosovo.
"We hope that the opportunity will now be seized to promote a
comprehensive and viable solution to the Kurdish problem, in the
interests of Turkey itself...We expect that self-restraint and
prudence will prevail, and that the potential for peace can be
secured, based on respect for human rights, Turkey's territorial
integrity and a fair trial for Mr. Ocalan," Mr. Papandreou stated.
"Turkey is at a crossroads. Either its distance from Europe
will grow and it will be led to isolation, or it will revise its
policy on the Kurdish problem and the issue of democratic
liberties, proceeding to the necessary reforms based on the
criteria of respect for legality both at home and in its
international relations," he said.
Mr. Papandreou also lauded the EU foreign ministers' show of
solidarity towards Greece and the recognition for the need for a
coordinated and comprehensive European policy in the Balkans.
Regarding Kosovo, the Greek FM told reporters that the
initiative for the convening of an inter-Balkan conference on
Kosovo remained on the table.
[12] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS INFORMAL COUNCIL SUPPORTS GREECE
The European Union allies have expressed their solidarity
towards Greece, in light of the continuous provocations and
threats hurled by Turkey, during the informal EU Foreign Ministers
held in Germany.
Concurrently, the Foreign Ministers called on Kosovo's two
conflicting sides to sign the agreement that will stem from the
second round of talks in Paris, France.
[13] SECOND ROUND OF KOSSOVO TALKS BEGINS TODAY IN PARIS
The second round of talks between the two sides of the strife-
torn Kosovo region (Serbs and ethnic Albanians) is to begin today
in Paris, France.
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana has warned that if the
agreement is not signed by both sides, then the Alliance will seek
-and gain- approval to attack Serb targets.
[14] GERMAN FM SALUTES GREECE'S STANCE ON OCALAN CASE
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer saluted Greece's
stance on the Ocalan affair, during an informal two-day session
held in Wiesbaden for the Union's FMs.
"We expressed solidarity with Greece, as a member-state
facing attacks which we reject as fully unjustified," Mr. Fischer
stated.
[15] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER TO MEET WITH US SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
The leader of Greece's main opposition party, New Democracy's
Kostas Karamanlis, is to meet with the United States Secretary of
Defense William Cohen in Washington this evening.
In an interview with an Athens Sunday paper published
yesterday, Mr. Karamanlis stated that he expects the US to
undertake an initiative for the promotion of a fair and viable
solution to the Cyprus issue, following the elections in Turkey.
[16] "REVENGE FALCONS OF APO" CLAIM ISTANBUL BOMB ATTACKS
An unknown Kurdish organization which calls itself "Revenge
Falcons of Apo" has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack
that occurred in an Istanbul mall yesterday and killed 13 persons,
while injuring six others, according to Turkish daily "Hurriyet".
The daily said that an unidentified individual called at a
television station and said that the aforementioned organization
is behind the attack.
Turkish authorities are continuing their efforts to locate
the perpetrators although their suspicion has fallen on the PKK
which had conducted similar attacks in 1991 and 1995.
Istanbul governor Erol Cakir said that the attacks may
continue and stressed that added security measures have been
taken, although this is a vast city with areas which police may
not be able to reach.
[17] CLARK: MILOSEVIC RESPECTS NATO'S FORCE
Gen. Wesley Clark, the supreme NATO commander in Europe, has
stated that the Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is fully
aware of NATO's power and the damage his country could potentially
suffer in case of an air raid.
"Milosevic is cunning but today we are at an advantage, since
he respects the power of NATO's air forces", Gen. Clark stated
while addressing a Paris institute of defense studies, and added
that he expects Serbia to succumb to pressures and grant the go-
ahead for the deployment of foreign troops in Kosovo.
Furthermore, the NATO General stressed that the present
situation in Serbia is dangerous, an 14 brigades are presently in
a state of alert near the administrative borders of Kosovo, while
the number of Serb forces in Kosovo supersedes that which was
agreed upon during the Milosevic-Holbrooke talks.
[18] KARAMANLIS-COHEN MEETING
Right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy leader
Kostas Karamanlis will meet today with US secretary of defense
William Cohen. This meeting completes the visit of the New
Democracy leader to the United States.
The leader of the main opposition party stated in an
interview with an Athens newspaper that after the elections in
Turkey the United States are willing to undertake an initiative
for the promotion of a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus
issue.
[19] THE TALKS ON KOSOVO HAVE RESUMED
The second round of peace talks on Kosovo between the
Yugoslavs and the ethnic Albanians has resumed in Paris.
The western governments want the talks to be completed as
soon as possible, while there is still a threat of a military
action by NATO against Belgrade. Meanwhile, the armed clashes in
western Kosovo continue.
[20] NEW BOMB ATTACK IN ANKARA
A woman was injured and two cars were destroyed completely
from a bomb blast outside the European Commission offices in
Ankara, according to the French news agency AFP.
Earlier, this morning the Kurdish Workers' Party, PKK, with a
statement it has issued warned that Turkey is a war-zone after the
arrest of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and tourists, especially
Europeans, are not safe while in Turkey.
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