Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-10-01
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, October 01, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] CENTRAL MACEDONIA TO RECEIVE GRD 400
BILLION FROM THIRD CSF
[02] EC COMMISSIONER DIAMANTOPOULOU TO MEET WITH
PARTY LEADERS
[03] ARIS RETURNS TRIUMPHANT FROM SWITZERLAND,
PAOK BEATS TBILISI
[04] CIVIL WORKERS UNIONS FROM BALKANS TO MEET
IN THESSALONIKI
[05] BALKAN "OPTICAL CABLE HIGHWAY" TO BE
INAUGURATED TODAY
[06] GREECE'S DEFENSE MINISTER EMBARKS ON
OFFICIAL VISIT TO CYPRUS
[07] SAE: CLINTON-ECEVIT TALKS WERE
DISAPPOINTING, MEANINGLESS
[08] 2004 OLYMPICS SYMBOL: WHITE WREATH WITH
OLIVE BRANCHES
[09] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO BE KEYNOTE
SPEAKER AT ISTANBUL U.
[10] SEISMIC RISK ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE OUSTS
VAROTSOS
[11] CHANGE IN THE POLITICAL CLIMATE IN FAVOR OF
THE GOVERNMENT BASED ON TWO OPINION POLLS
[12] KOSTAS LALIOTIS: CONCERN SHOULD NOT TURN
INTO PANIC
[13] SLIGHT DECLINE IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[14] THE FRANCE TELECOM WILL RELEASE THE 20%
SHARE OF THE PANAFON CAPITAL IT OWNS
[15] FRENCH PHILOSOPHER ETIENNE BALIMAR WILL BE
IN THESSALONIKI ON OCTOBER 4-6
[16] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 4.1 ON THE RICHTER
SCALE IN AMPHILOCHIA
[17] OVER 1.197.000 PASSENGERS USED
THESSALONIKI'S AIRPORT DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS
[18] THE GREEK JOURNALISTS ARE IN FAVOR OF THE
CANDIDATURE OF MIKIS THEODORAKIS FOR THE NOBEL
PEACE PRIZE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] TURKISH STATE REJECTS 28 MAYORS' REQUEST TO
VISIT ATHENS
[20] TURKISH PRISON UPRISING COMES TO AN END
AFTER NEGOTIATIONS
[21] TOXIC WASTE TRANSPORTED FROM FYROM TO
GERMANY
[22] IN NOVEMBER THE NEW ROUND OF THE NAME
CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN GREECE AND FYROM
[23] SCHROEDER WILL BE IN ATHENS ON OCTOBER 4-5
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NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] CENTRAL MACEDONIA TO RECEIVE GRD 400
BILLION FROM THIRD CSF
The region of Central Macedonia is to
receive 400 billion drachmas in funding through
the Third Community Support Framework (CSF),
whose duration is 2000-2006, the deputy National
Economy Minister Christos Pahtas announced
yesterday.
The monies are to be allocated to projects
of the regional business plan, such as the
development of Thessaloniki into a metropolitan
center with international operations,
environmental protection, balanced development,
quality of life, human resources, equal
opportunity, development of the mountainous area
and the domestic zones.
[02] EC COMMISSIONER DIAMANTOPOULOU TO MEET WITH
PARTY LEADERS
Greece's EU Commissioner responsible for
Employment and Social Affairs Anna
Diamantopoulou will meet with the secretary
general of the Communist Party of Greece Aleka
Paparega today, within the framework of the
former's series of contacts with Greek party
leaders.
Ms. Diamantopoulou will alo meet with the
leader of the Coalition of Left and progress
party Nikos Konstantopoulos, while she met with
the leader of the main opposition party, New
Democracy's Kostas Karamanlis, in Brussels
yesterday.
The Commissioner will meet with the leader
of the Democratic and Social Movement Dimitris
Tsovolas next week.
[03] ARIS RETURNS TRIUMPHANT FROM SWITZERLAND,
PAOK BEATS TBILISI
Amidst a jubilant atmosphere in their
hometown, Thessaloniki, soccer teams Aris and
PASOK are now waiting to see whom they'll play
against after having advanced into the second
round of the Champions league.
Aris returns from Switzerland this evening,
after having beat Chervette 2-1, while PAOK beat
Tbilisi's Locomotive team in Thessaloniki 2-0.
[04] CIVIL WORKERS UNIONS FROM BALKANS TO MEET
IN THESSALONIKI
Representatives from civil workers union
organizations in Balkan countries are to meet in
Thessaloniki today, within the framework of a
conference organized by ADEDY and EDOTH.
The participants will examine issues
concerning the existing political, economic and
labor situation in the Balkans, the problems
that emerged after the war as well as the
unions' role in the establishment of peace.
[05] BALKAN "OPTICAL CABLE HIGHWAY" TO BE
INAUGURATED TODAY
A new optical fibre cable that will
radically improve the quality of
telecommunications among Balkan neighbors
Greece, Bulgaria and FYROM will be inaugurated
today.
According to press reports, the
Thessaloniki-Sofia-Skopje network will ensure a
speedy, dependable and faultless flow of a huge
volume of telecommunications signals
encompassing telephone operations, television
images, and digital data for mobile telephony.
The "optical cable highway", as the experts
call it, will also facilitate domestic
telecommunications in Bulgaria since it will
link Sofia with 10 major cities in the country,
while its terminus to Greece will be in the town
of Petrich, at the southeastern-most tip of
Bulgaria where the three countries have a common
border.
[06] GREECE'S DEFENSE MINISTER EMBARKS ON
OFFICIAL VISIT TO CYPRUS
Greece's National Defence Minister Akis
Tsochatzopoulos is embarking today on a three-
day, official visit to Cyprus, where he will
hold talks with the island's president Glafcos
Clerides.
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos will also attend
today's military parade marking the 39th
anniversary of Cyprus' independence from
Britain.
During his stay, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos will
also meet with his Cypriot counterpart, the
chairman of the Cyprus House of Representatives,
political party leaders, and Archbishop
Chrysostomos.
[07] SAE: CLINTON-ECEVIT TALKS WERE
DISAPPOINTING, MEANINGLESS
The World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE)
described as "disappointing and meaningless" the
results of the recent meeting held in Washington
between US president Bill Clinton and Turkish
prime minister Bulent Ecevit.
SAE's North and South America Region
Chapter, stated that "the Hellenic American
community and all Americans who are concerned
about human rights and international legality
are deeply disappointed about the results of the
talks of President Clinton with Turkish Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit."
The statement further added that Messrs.
Clinton and Ecevit "agreed that there cannot be
a solution to the problem of Cyprus that would
return the situation to what it was before
1974."
[08] 2004 OLYMPICS SYMBOL: WHITE WREATH WITH
OLIVE BRANCHES
The new emblem for the Athens 2004 Olympic
Games, depicting a white wreath made of olive
branches, was unveiled in Athens last night in a
ceremony attended by International Olympics
Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch,
President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos,
Prime Minister Costas Simitis and other
officials.
The symbol brings to mind the crowning of
ancient Olympic champions, while the colors,
azure and dark blue, symbolize the sky and sea
of Greece.
Culture Minister Elizabeth Papazoi stated
that "the Olympic Games are an institution of
worldwide stature, and our primary goal was for
the 2004 Games to be a landmark event. Athens
will be a new city in 2004. We have the support
of the entire Greek people and the Olympic
family."
Mr. Samaranch said "this emblem will draw
the attention of the entire world. It will
remain engraved in the history of the Olympic
Movement after the end of the 2004 Games. The
factors of Greek success are three: your
successful candidacy, the organization, which I
believe will be impeccable, and the performances
of Greek
athletes."
[09] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO BE KEYNOTE
SPEAKER AT ISTANBUL U.
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou
will visit Istanbul on October 5 to deliver a
speech to university students and attend a panel
conference at the invitation of the "Taxim"
Intellectuals' Club.
The panel, which meets at regular
intervals, will discuss current affairs, such as
the new international environment in the region
and Greek-Turkish relations.
In his address at Istanbul University, Mr.
Papandreou will speak on the role of the society
of citizens and of the two peoples in shaping
the climate in Greek-Turkish relations.
He will later attend a dinner given in his
honor by the university's dean. His Turkish
counterpart Ismail Cem has also been invited.
[10] SEISMIC RISK ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE OUSTS
VAROTSOS
The Ministry of Environment, Planning and
Public Works has ordered the removal of
earthquake expert Panayotis Varotsos (who heads
the controversial VAN group) from the Seismic
Risk Assessment Committee.
According to the director of the Athens
Observatory's Geophysics Institute George
Stavrakakis, the VAN group lacks credibility.
VAN has repeatedly claimed to be able to
predict impending earthquakes, but fails to
bring forth the three most important prediction
parameters - time, location and magnitude.
Mr. Stavrakakis further added that after-
quake seismic activity has subsided and advised
the public to be calm.
[11] CHANGE IN THE POLITICAL CLIMATE IN FAVOR OF
THE GOVERNMENT BASED ON TWO OPINION POLLS
A change of the political climate in favor
of the government is being recorded in two
opinion polls the results of which are published
in the Athens newspapers "Eleftherotipia" and
"TA NEA".
The right-wing main opposition party of New
Democracy is still leading in the opinion polls
but the distance from the governing socialist
party of PASOK has been limited to 0.6%, while
there is a significant rise in the popularity of
prime minister Kostas Simitis and his
government. The fact that the opinion polls were
conducted after the devastating earthquake in
Attiki, the Falcon air accident and the latest
crisis in the Athens Stock Exchange is regarded
as very interesting.
According to the opinion poll conducted by
the "Opinion" polling company, the results of
which are published in the newspaper
"Eleftherotipia", on the question of vote intent
the political parties received the following:
New Democracy (30.7), PASOK (30.1%), Democratic
Social Movement (5.7%), the Communist Party
(5.4%), Coalition of the Left (2.8%), Political
Spring (0.9%), Liberals (0.6%).
Based on the "V.PRC" polling company
opinion poll published in the newspaper "TA
NEA", 41% of those polled responded that they
regard prime minister Kostas Simitis as more fit
for the post he holds compared to 31.8% who
preferred New Democracy leader Kostas
Karamanlis.
[12] KOSTAS LALIOTIS: CONCERN SHOULD NOT TURN
INTO PANIC
The government committee met today to
discuss how it will deal with the problems
created by the earthquake.
Minister of environment, land planning and
public works, Kostas Laliotis stated before the
meeting that the people living in Athens and in
its wider region should keep calm and not allow
their justified concern to be transformed into
panic.
Mr. Laliotis stated commenting on the
warning issued by the VAN team of seismologists
over an imminent earthquake during the weekend
that the only reliable institution on such
issues is the Earthquake Risk Assessment
Committee which appears to be reassuring. When
asked to comment on the professor Varotsos
issue, who was removed from the committee, Mr.
Laliotis stated that Mr. Varotsos never attended
the committee's meetings.
[13] SLIGHT DECLINE IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
The Athens Stock Exchange general index
presented a slight decline of 0.62% today and
closed at 5.632,27. The volume of transactions
reached 452.9 billion drachmas, while the
session had opened with a dynamic rise and with
gains of over 2%.
However, the Athens Stock Exchange dropped
to negative levels due to the liquidation as
investors rushed to lock their gains in view of
the weekend. In the most part of the session
the interest of investors was turned to the
parallel market and to constructions sector
shares.
[14] THE FRANCE TELECOM WILL RELEASE THE 20%
SHARE OF THE PANAFON CAPITAL IT OWNS
France Telecom will release the 20% share
of the PANAFON capital it owns confirming the
scenarios over a "divorce" of the two companies.
The current value of the shares package in
question is estimated at 1.4 billion dollars.
The French company will offer its shares to
its employees and to investors, while it will
also release convertible bonds to the
international market which will be issued by
France Telecom and will be converted into
Panafon shares.
[15] FRENCH PHILOSOPHER ETIENNE BALIMAR WILL BE
IN THESSALONIKI ON OCTOBER 4-6
French philosopher Etienne Balimar will be
in Thessaloniki on October 4-6 at the invitation
of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Philosophy Department and Thessaloniki's French
Institute.
Mr. Balimar will give a lecture under the
title "The borders of Europe" on Monday evening
and on Tuesday he will speak on the Overturn of
Possessive Individualism in a seminar organized
by Thessaloniki's Aristotle University
Department of Philosophy. On Wednesday, he will
give a lecture on State-Nation and Globalization
in an event that will be held in Thessaloniki's
Bar Association amphitheater.
Etienne Balimar was born in 1942 and
studied philosophy in Paris. He became known at
a very young age in 1965 as a pupil and close
associate of Luis Altuser, the philosopher who
renewed Marxism urging for a new reading of Marx
in the decades of the 60's and 70's. He was a
member of the French Communist Party from 1961
to 1981 when he was removed from its ranks.
Since then he has participated in a number of
organizations for the protection of social and
political rights.
For a number of years he taught in the
Sorbonne University and since 1993 he is a
philosophy professor in the university of
Nanter.
[16] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 4.1 ON THE RICHTER
SCALE IN AMPHILOCHIA
An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter
scale was recorded at 13:27pm today and its
epicenter was located in the sea region of
Amphilochia in western Greece.
The exact epicenter of the earthquake was
250 kilometers west north-west of Athens and
seismologists maintain that there is no reason
for the population to be concerned.
[17] OVER 1.197.000 PASSENGERS USED
THESSALONIKI'S AIRPORT DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS
The number of passengers, who used
Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport in August, was
increased by 12.2% compared to last year and the
tendency was upward throughout the three summer
months, while over 1.197.000 passengers have
passed through Macedonia Airport during the
summer.
In the month of August, over 450.000
passengers traveled by plane via Thessaloniki
while a similar increase of 12.5% was recorded
in the month of July when the number of
passengers reached 418.500 compared to 371.900
in July 1998. In June, 328.100 passengers
traveled through Macedonia Airport and their
number is increased by 10.3% compared to June
1998 when they were less than 297.500.
[18] THE GREEK JOURNALISTS ARE IN FAVOR OF THE
CANDIDATURE OF MIKIS THEODORAKIS FOR THE NOBEL
PEACE PRIZE
The presiding board of the Greek Federation
of Journalists' Associations supports the
candidature of Greek music composer Mikis
Theodorakis for this year's Nobel Peace prize.
In a statement it has issued it mentions
that if Mikis Theodorakis is the winner of the
Nobel Peace prize it will be a vindication of
the struggles and contribution of the Greek
people toward peace and cultural development.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] TURKISH STATE REJECTS 28 MAYORS' REQUEST TO
VISIT ATHENS
Turkey's Foreign Ministry has rejected a
request submitted by 28 mayors -members of a
Turkish municipalities association- to visit
Athens in order to express their support to the
Greek earthquake victims.
According to the Turkish daily "Mulliyet",
the Association's president stated that the
Foreign Ministry, after requesting the input of
the Turkish embassy in Athens, turned down the
request by stating that the Mayor of Istanbul
visited Athens in reciprocation of the visit
conducted to Istanbul by his counterpart from
the Greek capital.
[20] TURKISH PRISON UPRISING COMES TO AN END
AFTER NEGOTIATIONS
The five-day uprising in prisons across
Turkey, sparked by the death of 10 inmates in a
shootout Sunday, came to an end last nigh
according to Istanbul's chief prosecutor Ferzan
Citici and Bar Association chairman Yucel
Sayman.
According to the French news agency AFP,
Mr. Citici stated that "this was neither the
result of bargaining, nor of an agreement,"
adding "it was rather a formula to end the
action by the prisoners."
However, Mr. Sayman added that there would
be an independent investigation into Sunday's
deadly shooting -- one of the demands put
forward by the prisoners.
It also came after an official promise of
widespread reform in Turkey's overcrowded and
largely chaotic prisons, often controlled either
by organized crime syndicates or political
extremists. The breakthrough came hours after
police violently broke up a march here
protesting against the death of one of the
prisoners killed in Ankara and detained 65
people.
"There is serious weakness in establishing
security and order in (Turkish prisons),"
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said
Wednesday.
"We need comprehensive reforms to comfort
the public and re-establish trust in the prison
system."
[21] TOXIC WASTE TRANSPORTED FROM FYROM TO
GERMANY
Seventy-five tons of toxic waste were
removed from FYROM, on the basis of a relevant
agreement that had been signed by Skopje as an
offset to the establishment of NATO troops on
its grounds.
According to the state-owned radio, the
said waste is neither nuclear nor radioactive
and consists only of toxins and hospital waste
derived from medical supplies and chemical
substances used by NATO at its facilities.
The waste was reportedly transported from
FYROM to Germany via Thessaloniki.
[22] IN NOVEMBER THE NEW ROUND OF THE NAME
CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN GREECE AND FYROM
The talks for the settlement of the issue
of FYROM's name continued in the UN's New York
headquarters yesterday. The talks are being held
by ambassadors Ivan Tosefski and Elias Gounaris
in the presence of international mediator Cyrus
Vance.
FYROM's state television reported that the
meeting was held in a good climate, while it was
announced that the new round of consultations
will be held in November.
[23] SCHROEDER WILL BE IN ATHENS ON OCTOBER 4-5
German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will be
in Athens on October 4 and 5, according to a
statement by the German government spokesman.
The contacts of chancellor Schroeder will
focus on issues such as Greece's accession into
the Euro-zone countries as well as, Greece's
relations with Turkey.
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