Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-07-15
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, July 15, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ALBANIAN HIJACKER STILL HOLDS BUS PASSENGERS HOSTAGE
[02] DEVELOPMENT MINISTER WARNS SECTOR: KEEP DIESEL PRICES DOWN
[03] SERB OPPOSITION PARTIES LEADERS ARRIVE IN ATHENS TODAY
[04] NATIONAL YOUTH FOUNDATION HOSTS YOUNG CYPRIOTS IN GREECE
[05] TAILOR SEWS PRIEST UNIFORM AND WEARS IT TO ROB A BANK
[06] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS BRIEFED PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS ON
THE HOSTAGE SITUATION
[07] FOREIGN MINISTRY LEADERSHIP MEETING UNDER THE PRIME MINISTER
[08] MR. REPPAS COMMENTED ON THE HOSTAGE SITUATION IN PROGRESS
[09] THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ALBANIAN HIJACKER HAVE STOPPED
[10] COMPROMISE PROPOSAL ON THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE ORGANIZATION
FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BALKANS
[11] PAPANDREOU-DRASKOVIC MEETING IN ATHENS
[12] MARGARET PAPANDREOU WAS RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
[13] THE SLOVENIAN MINISTER OF DEFENSE MET WITH PRESIDENT
STEPHANOPOULOS
[14] ARSOFSKI MET WITH THE MINISTER OF MACEDONIA-THRACE AND THE
MAYOR OF THESSALONIKI
[15] THE NEW NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ALBANIAN HOSTAGE-TAKER HAVE
FAILED
[16] THE ALBANIAN HIJACKER FREED TWO OF THE 7 HOSTAGES
[17] THE HOSTAGE SITUATION HAS ENDED- THE HIJACHER IS DEAD, ALL
HOSTAGES ARE SAFE.
[18] ECONOMY MINISTER: CURB EXPENDITURES AT 4% OF STATE BUDGET
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] UNITED NATIONS ENVOY ARRIVES IN KOSSOVO TODAY
[20] LISBON IRED OVER EC BEEF EMBARGO EXTENSION, THREATENS TO SUE
[21] CYPRUS ELECTED TO THE VICE-PRESIDENCY OF UNESCO
[22] CYPRUS MARKS 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF COUP THAT LED TO INVASION
[23] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL TO LEAVE POST IN THE FALL
[24] EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK WARNS OF THREAT TO EURO, SAYS REPORT
[25] IRAN FILES PROTEST OVER TURKISH PM'S "IRRESPONSIBLE REMARKS"
[26] BONN, VIENNA TO BOYCOTT EU MEETING OVER CHOICE OF LANGUAGE
[27] GREEK EUROMEPS MEET WITH SAE PRESIDENT ANDREW ATHENS
[28] GREEK AMBASSADOR TO BELGRADE MEET WITH TRANSPORT MINISTER
[29] THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN MONTENEGRO DO NOT WANT
INDEPENDENCE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ALBANIAN HIJACKER STILL HOLDS BUS PASSENGERS HOSTAGE
Greek police are still negotiating with 28-year-old Albanian
national, Alexander Nana, who is holding hostage a Greek inter-
city bus with seven hostages on board, after having seized the
vehicle yesterday afternoon in Northern Greece.
Nana, who is armed with half-a-dozen hand grenade, is
demanding 250 million drachmas ($780,000) two automatic weapons,
and safe passage into Albania.
The bus is presently immobilized near the town of Florina,
about 60 kilometers (35 miles) from the Albanian border.
Police chief Spyros Doudopoulos said that the hijacker was
offered the money on the condition that he simultaneously release
the hostages. Nana has reportedly refused the offer, demanding
instead that he be allowed to cross into Albania before he
releases the passengers.
[02] DEVELOPMENT MINISTER WARNS SECTOR: KEEP DIESEL PRICES DOWN
The Minister of Development Evangelos Venizelos has given a
five-day deadline to the country's diesel and oil dealers and
companies in keeping prices at reasonable rates, threatening the
imposition of ceilings and severe penalties to those who
profiteer.
The oil dealers federation of Greece has responded that the
oil companies and refineries are responsible for the rising prices
in fuel.
[03] SERB OPPOSITION PARTIES LEADERS ARRIVE IN ATHENS TODAY
Two leaders of Serbia's opposition parties, Serb Renewal
Movement's Vuk Drascovic and Democratic Party's Zoran Djindic,
are conducting separate meetings in Athens today, on the
invitation of Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou.
Mr. Drascovic will meet with Mr. Papandreou today and will
also be received by the honorary president of the country's main
opposition party, New Democracy's Konstantinos Mitsotakis.
Mr. Djindic will be received by Mr. Papandreou tomorrow.
[04] NATIONAL YOUTH FOUNDATION HOSTS YOUNG CYPRIOTS IN GREECE
A group of 114 Cypriot students will be hosted in Greece
until July 24, thanks to a program established by the National
Foundation of Youth and the Ministry of National Education and
Religion.
The program aims at acquainting the students and their
chaperones with modern Greece and the ancient Greek civilization.
[05] TAILOR SEWS PRIEST UNIFORM AND WEARS IT TO ROB A BANK
Greek police have nabbed the "priest" who held up a bank in
the island of Rhodes earlier this week, only to discover under the
religious frocks a resourceful man wearing his very own, tailor-
made creation.
Fifty-year-old tailor Nikos Perrakis sewed the priest's
clothing, donned it and proceeded to hold up the perplexed bank
employees. Perrakis was in cahoots with one of the bank's
tellers, who handed over the money to the "priest", and another
man who drove the getaway car.
The police cracked the case after viewing the bank's closed
circuit cameras and by discovering inconsistencies in the
statements given by the teller-accomplice.
[06] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS BRIEFED PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS ON
THE HOSTAGE SITUATION
Prime minister Kostas Simitis briefed president Kostis
Stephanopoulos on the developments concerning the hostage
situation involving an Albanian hijacker and the 7 passengers of
an inter-city bus he holds hostage near the village of Palestra in
Florina, north-western Greece.
Meanwhile, the meeting of the crisis management committee in
the ministry of interior is in progress with the participation of
minister of interior Vaso Papandreou, public order Michalis
Chrisochoidis and press Dimitris Reppas.
[07] FOREIGN MINISTRY LEADERSHIP MEETING UNDER THE PRIME MINISTER
A meeting of the Greek foreign ministry leadership under
prime minister Kostas Simitis was held in Athens at noon today.
The meeting focused on the Greek-Albanian relations after the new
incident with the Albanian hijacker. The role of Greece in the
reconstruction of the Balkans, the preparation of the stability
pact and the Greek-Turkish relations were also discussed.
In statements he made after the end of the meeting, foreign
minister Giorgos Papandreou distinguished the Greek-Albanian
relations from the increased crime rate among the Albanian
immigrant population in Greece which he attributed to the almost
60 years the tough Hodja regime stayed in power in Albania.
The Greek minister stated that the two countries have a good
cooperation and added that the crime problem exists not only in
Greece but in Albania as well. He also stressed the need for the
establishment and operation of democratic and police institutions
inside Albania in order for the situation to be under control.
[08] MR. REPPAS COMMENTED ON THE HOSTAGE SITUATION IN PROGRESS
Minister of press and mass media and government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas referred to the hostage situation and maintained
that the whole issue is being handled based on a well-thought
plan, stressing that the priority is the safety of the hostages.
The government minister also referred to the fact that the
Albanian hostage-taker appears to be in cooperation with foreign
centers. Mr. Reppas stated that the responsible state agencies are
convinced that the Albanian hijacker is in communication with
other individuals. Mr. Reppas stated that last night the Albanian
was in contact with certain individuals, he exchanged views with
them and possibly he received directions and even orders by them.
He said that the evidence at the disposal of the police
authorities are being analyzed, clarifying that he refers both to
the demands the Albanian has made and the way he has behaved and
reacted to the way the Greek police has handled the situation so
far.
Mr. Reppas stated that the Greek government had expressed
from the start the wish to give the money the Albanian had
requested but the hostage-taker insisted to his own terms.
According to information, the Albanian has told many lies and
has contradicted himself repeatedly.
[09] THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ALBANIAN HIJACKER HAVE STOPPED
According to government sources, the negotiations between the
Greek police and the Albanian hijacker have stopped because of the
intransigent stance he has adopted. The bus with the 7 hostages is
still immobilized at the village of Palestra in Florina, north-
western Greece.
In the region has arrived at strong police force, while on
the scene is expected to arrive the Albanian consul general to
talk with the armed Albanian.
The Albanian, who identified himself as Alexander Nana, still
asks for 250 million drachmas and four guns, while he also wants
to be handed over to him the police officer who had mistreated him
according to his allegations. He also wants to be allowed to go to
Albania.
Indicative of his intransigent stance is that even though he
was offered the 250 million drachmas under the precondition to
free the hostages immediately, he turned down the offer, according
to Greek police brigadier Mr. Dodopoulos.
[10] COMPROMISE PROPOSAL ON THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE ORGANIZATION
FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BALKANS
The Finnish EU presidency promotes a compromise proposal
concerning the seat of the Balkan reconstruction organization.
According to information, the proposal, which it appears that
will be accepted by Greece, confirms that the seat of the
organization will be in Thessaloniki where all the economic
services will be based. However, the operational part of the
organization will be based in Pristina.
The efforts of the Finnish presidency to find a mutually
acceptable solution have intensified in view of the General
Affairs Council meeting that will be held in Brussels on Monday
and Tuesday.
[11] PAPANDREOU-DRASKOVIC MEETING IN ATHENS
Serb Renewal Movement party leader Vuk Draskovic, who arrived
in Athens last night, will meet this afternoon with Greek foreign
minister Giorgos Papandreou. Mr. Draskovic will also meet with
mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos.
Tomorrow at noon, the Greek foreign minister will meet with
Serb Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic, who is on vacation in
Greece.
[12] MARGARET PAPANDREOU WAS RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
Margaret Papandreou, the former wife of the late Andreas
Papandreou, was released from the Onasion Heart Surgery Hospital
in Athens where she was rushed 11 days ago with an acute heart
attack.
Ms. Papandreou thanked the doctors and all those who were at
her side during her health problem. Her doctor stated that the
condition of her health is very good but the problem has not been
overcome.
[13] THE SLOVENIAN MINISTER OF DEFENSE MET WITH PRESIDENT
STEPHANOPOULOS
Minister of defense of Slovenia Fransi Desmar, who is on a
visit to Greece, was received today by Greek president Kostis
Stephanopoulos in Athens.
The Slovenian minister also met with his Greek counterpart
Akis Tsochatzopoulos and the two men signed a military cooperation
agreement between Greece and Slovenia. The agreement provides for
joint Naval exercises, the training of army officials and
information exchange.
[14] ARSOFSKI MET WITH THE MINISTER OF MACEDONIA-THRACE AND THE
MAYOR OF THESSALONIKI
Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Yiannis Magriotis received today
the head of FYROM's liaison office in Athens ambassador Ljupco
Arsofski.
In the meeting they discussed the stability pact and the
program for the reconstruction of the Balkans as well as,
proposals submitted to the European Union by FYROM.
The FYROM official stated to the Greek minister that his
country has submitted project proposals concerning security, tele-
communications, energy, small-medium sized businesses, the road
and railway network. He pointed out the need to repair the railway
line linking Bitola with Florina which will also make easier the
transport of goods to the rest Balkan countries.
He also discussed with Mr. Magriotis the problem that has
been created with the implementation of the Schengen Accord which
resulted to less entry visas for the people from FYROM who want to
visit Greece.
The FYROM ambassador was also received by mayor of
Thessaloniki Vasilis Papageorgopoulos and they discussed ways in
which cooperation could develop in the sector of local
administration as well.
[15] THE NEW NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ALBANIAN HOSTAGE-TAKER HAVE
FAILED
The new negotiations with the Albanian hijacker, who is
holding hostage 7 passengers of an inter-city bus from the
prefecture of Kilkis since yesterday, failed earlier this
afternoon.
In the team which conducted the negotiations with the
Albanian hostage-taker participated the Albanian consul general to
Thessaloniki, two psychologists and two high ranking Greek police
officers. Their proposal was for the Albanian to get off the
hijacked bus, free the hostages and get on another vehicle taking
with him the ransom money and the guns he had demanded. They also
proposed that the Albanian consul general or a Greek officer could
get on the same vehicle with him playing the role of a hostage.
The Albanian could use the vehicle to get to the Greek-Albanian
borders.
The hijacked bus is immobilized outside the village of
Palestra, in Florina of north-western Greece since yesterday and
the Albanian hijacker has stated that he is determined not to
accept any compromise.
[16] THE ALBANIAN HIJACKER FREED TWO OF THE 7 HOSTAGES
The Albanian hijacker freed two of the 7 hostages he was
holding since yesterday when he seized an inter-city bus from the
prefecture of Kilkis, near Thessaloniki. It appears that the
decision to free them was the result of the negotiations between
him and the Greek police.
Specifically, the Albanian freed the 20yearold Vasiliki
Delipalta, the only woman hostage in the bus, and another person,
who has not been identified yet.
It was made known that the bus will move toward the direction
of the city of Florina in north-western Greece and hopes are
expressed that more hostages will be released.
[17] THE HOSTAGE SITUATION HAS ENDED- THE HIJACHER IS DEAD, ALL
HOSTAGES ARE SAFE.
The hijacking of a bus by an Albanian who had identified
himself as, Alexander Nana, has ended and all the hostages are
safe. According to reliable information, at 7:25 pm this
afternoon, one of the hostages, 21year old soldier Nestoras
Kokalis disarmed the Albanian by taking the grenade off his hands
and throwing it out of the bus before it exploded, while at the
same time the police forces stormed the bus. The ministry of
interior has confirmed that the Albanian is dead but it is not
clear if he was shot by the police or he was killed when the hand-
grenade exploded.
The state's fiscal policy will continue along the same
stringent lines, containing expenditures at a four-percent rate of
the upcoming year's budget, according to the Minister of National
Economy Yiannos Papantoniou who chaired a meeting today with the
ministry's undersecretaries, Nikos Christodoulakis and George
Drys.
The ministry officials reviewed the course of the current
budget, which they deemed as especially satisfactory given the
hereto GRD 273 billion surplus.
A 2% salary and pension raise was also decided upon for the
year 2000, while it was also estimated that the GNP will further
drop to 1.9% from 1.7%.
[18] ECONOMY MINISTER: CURB EXPENDITURES AT 4% OF STATE BUDGET
The state's fiscal policy will continue along the same
stringent lines, containing expenditures at a four-percent rate of
the upcoming year's budget, according to the Minister of National
Economy Yiannos Papantoniou who chaired a meeting today with the
ministry's undersecretaries, Nikos Christodoulakis and George
Drys.
The ministry officials reviewed the course of the current
budget, which they deemed as especially satisfactory given the
hereto GRD 273 billion surplus.
A 2% salary and pension raise was also decided upon for the
year 2000, while it was also estimated that the GNP will further
drop to 1.9% from 1.7%.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] UNITED NATIONS ENVOY ARRIVES IN KOSSOVO TODAY
The United Nations special envoy for Kosovo Bernar Kushner is
to arrive at the Serb province today in order to coordinate the
tasks of the various organizations working for the region's
reconstruction.
Meanwhile, hundreds of residents of Valjevo, 80 kilometers
southwest of Belgrade, staged a third day of demonstrations
against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic yesterday.
[20] LISBON IRED OVER EC BEEF EMBARGO EXTENSION, THREATENS TO SUE
Portugal is to take legal action in the European Court of
Justice against the European Commission's decision to extend by a
year an embargo on Portuguese cattle exports, Agriculture Minister
Luis Capoulas Santos stated yesterday.
According to the French news agency AFP, Portugal is furious
that the Commission has taken additional action against its cattle
but has conditionally lifted a worldwide export ban on British
beef imposed in 1996.
The embargo against Portuguese beef had been due to end on
August 1.
Santos told parliament that there had been far more cases of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Britain than in
Portugal.
The Commission's decision was "deeply unfair, misplaced and
unjustified,"
he said.
Portuguese premier Antonio Guterres has told outgoing
Commission president
Jacques Santer of the content of the government's law suit, he
added.
[21] CYPRUS ELECTED TO THE VICE-PRESIDENCY OF UNESCO
Cyprus has been elected to the vice-presidency of the World
Federation of UNESCO Associations and will be responsible for
Europe.
United Democrats MP, George Christofides, was elected vice-
president of the Federation for the next four years during the
UNESCO world meeting, which concluded yesterday in Yekaterinburg,
Russia.
The meeting was attended by more than 300 representatives
from different countries.
[22] CYPRUS MARKS 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF COUP THAT LED TO INVASION
Cyprus marks today the 25th anniversary of the coup in
Nicosia that triggered the Turkish invasion of the north and the
division of this eastern Mediterranean island.
Sirens will wail this morning on the island's unoccupied
region, while Cypriots are to attend memorial services for the 200
people killed on July 15, 1974.
The 1974 coup ousted Cyprus' president, Archbishop Makarios
III, with the backing of the military junta in Athens, and led to
Turkey's July 20, 1974 invasion.
[23] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL TO LEAVE POST IN THE FALL
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana is expected to leave his
post in mid-October, when he will be transferred to another
position, sources in the NATO
headquarters told the Russian news agency Itar-Tass yesterday.
European Union heads of state and government appointed Mr.
Solana as leader
of a new EU structure during the EU summit held in Cologne last
month.
Mr. Solana will be EU supreme envoy for foreign and security
policy and secretary-general of the EU Council.
German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping is rumored to be Mr.
Solana's successor, although German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
has denied this.
[24] EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK WARNS OF THREAT TO EURO, SAYS REPORT
European Union governments risk undermining the euro by
failing to take action to curb their huge public deficits,
according to a confidential report issued by the European Central
Bank and published by the British daily The Times.
According to the article, ECB argues that unless governments
in the single currency area slash social security spending, a
number of countries risk breaching the criteria for euro
membership "at the start of the next century".
The leaked report, which was presented to European finance
ministers on Monday, claims this would spark panic in the
financial markets, testing political commitments to the single
currency to the limit, it added.
[25] IRAN FILES PROTEST OVER TURKISH PM'S "IRRESPONSIBLE REMARKS"
Tehran's foreign ministry summoned the Turkish charge
d'affaires yesterday to explain Turkish Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit's "irresponsible" remarks about the violent unrest that has
rocked Iran.
The Iranian ministry filed a protest with charge d'affaires
Kut Sezgin after Mr. Ecevit said on Tuesday that six days of
clashes which left at least two people dead were a "natural"
reaction to an "outdated regime of oppression," the official IRNA
news agency reported.
The ministry called Mr. Ecevit's remarks "irresponsible" and
"against the
principle of good neighborliness" and demanded an official
explanation from
Ankara, IRNA said.
At a government-sponsored rally in the capital yesterday,
conservative deputy speaker of parliament Hassan Rouhani warned
against "foreign interference" in the unrest.
"Other countries are making a mistake by lending their
support" to the
student demonstrators, Mr. Rouhani told the crowd of hundreds of
thousands, warning that Iran would "respond at an opportune time."
Iran has been rocked by violent clashes for a week now after
a hardline religious court closed down a leading reformist
newspaper.
[26] BONN, VIENNA TO BOYCOTT EU MEETING OVER CHOICE OF LANGUAGE
Austria and Germany are to boycott next week's informal
meeting of European culture ministers because German will not be
among the working languages, officials in Bonn, Helsinki and
Vienna announced yesterday.
The two nations boycotted a meeting of European Union
industry
ministers last week for the same reason.
According to the French news agency AFP, a spokesman for the
German minister delegate for culture Michael Naumann said that he
would refuse to attend the EU meeting in eastern Finland, which
opens on Sunday.
Officials at the Austrian foreign ministry said Wednesday
that Austria would join the boycott after failed attempts to get
Finland to change its mind and add German to French and English as
working languages.
The Finnish government maintains it has simply reverted to
normal European practice after the previous presidencies of
Germany and Austria had used
German.
The country holding the EU's rotating presidency is permitted
to add its language, and in certain cases another, to French and
English. German will, therefore, be used for selected meetings in
Finland.
The Finnish government said it had already decided the
linguistic arrangements for its meetings after taking advice from
EU officials and considering the "practical, technical and
economic constraints" of organizing these meetings.
The meeting is expected to touch on the European culture
industry and cooperation between EU states in the music sector.
[27] GREEK EUROMEPS MEET WITH SAE PRESIDENT ANDREW ATHENS
European Parliament deputies from Greece's ruling PASOK party
had a meeting with the President of the Council of Hellenes
Abroad (SAE) Andrew Athens in Brussels yesterday.
Mr. Athens and the deputies discussed the European
Parliament's ability to fund SAE's efforts to improve the living
conditions of Greeks living in the former Soviet Union.
The PASOK Euro-deputies stated their support for the
Council's work and vowed to assist SAE in every way possible
within the realm of the Assembly.
[28] GREEK AMBASSADOR TO BELGRADE MEET WITH TRANSPORT MINISTER
Greece's Ambassador to Belgrade Panayiotis Vlassopoulos held
talks with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Transportation
Minister Dreyan Drobnicacovic, which ascertained the good ties
and high cooperaiotn level enjoyed by the two countries.
According to an official statement, the two men discussed the
resumption of civilian air transportation between the two
countries and agreed t
[29] THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN MONTENEGRO DO NOT WANT
INDEPENDENCE
The majority of the people in Montenegro are against
independence and want union with the Yugoslav Federation,
according to the results of an opinion poll conducted by the
newspaper "Vreme".
Specifically, of the 1.000 people who have answered the
questionnaire by Belgrade's news agency PRA, 49% is against
independence and 39% is in favor.
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