Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-02-07
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, February 7, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PASOK IS LEADING, ACCORDING TO NATIONAL POLL
[02] PM URGES PARTY DELEGATES: FIGHT TO TRIUMPH
[03] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER: IT'S A TOUGH RACE, BUT WE'LL WIN
[04] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EU FOREIGN POLICY
[05] TRADE MISSION FROM QUEBEC ARRIVES IN GREECE
[06] GREEK, TURKISH JOURNALISTS BRAINSTORM AT MEDIA CONFERENCE
[07] HOMBACH PRAISES GREEK ROLE IN S.E. EUROPE'S RECONSTRUCTION
[08] PRESIDENT TO BE ELECTED TOMORROW
[09] THESSALONIKI HOSTS ASIA FORUM 2000
[10] US AMBASSADOR PRAISES GREEK FM
[11] LESS THAN 10% OF GREEKS ARE ACTIVE ECOLOGISTS
[12] GREECE,YUGOSLAVIA SIGN TOURISM ACCORD
[13] GREEK-ALBANIAN POLICE COOPERATION AGAINST SMUGGLING
[14] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 4.3 ON THE RICHTER SCALE IN PATRAS
[15] ASIA FORUM STARTED IN THE PRESENCE OF 17 GOVERNMENT MINISTERS
[16] ASIA FORUM GIVES A BOOST TO THE TRADE WITH CHINA
[17] GAINS OF 2.05% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[18] KAKLAMANIS-ATHENS MEETING
[19] CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX ICON EXHIBITION
[20] THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER WILL VISIT BUCHAREST
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[21] ECEVIT: THE GREEK-TURKISH RAPPROCHEMENT IS POSITIVE
[22] CLERIDES: THE UN BELIEVES THAT THERE WAS PROGRESS IN THE
TALKS ON CYPRUS
[23] THE TURKISH JOURNALISTS ARE OPTIMISTIC OVER THE RAPPROCHEMENT
WITH GREECE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PASOK IS LEADING, ACCORDING TO NATIONAL POLL
With surveys conducted on a weekly basis ever since talk of
early elections emerged - and was confirmed -, another nationwide
poll shows the ruling PASOK party as leading over the main
opposition party of New Democracy by one percentage point.
Conducted by KAPA Research between January 20 - February 3 on
a sample of 1,714 individuals, the poll shows the ruling
Socialists as being ahead (35.7%), with New Democracy edging at
34.9%.
Incumbent Premier and PASOK leader Costas Simitis amasses the
voters' preference with 57%, followed by N.D.'s leader Costas
Karamanlis, 47.35.
Voted as most popular among PASOK officials was Foreign
Minister George Papandreou (63.6%), followed by the President of
the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis (59.7%), and Defense
Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos with 56.9%. Leading the other end of
the scale is Education Minister Gerasimos Arsenis with 32.4%.
[02] PM URGES PARTY DELEGATES: FIGHT TO TRIUMPH
In a speech reminiscent of an election campaign kick-off,
Prime Minister Costas Simitis urged PASOK's party delegates,
3,000 of whom attended the ruling party's ideological conference
in Athens this weekend, to "fight to win" on April 9's elections.
In his rejoinder address, Mr. Simitis, who is also PASOK's
president, stated that the ruling party expresses "a triumphant
Greece, a strong Greece", while he accused the opposition of
having created a front of negation on all of the government's
achievements.
The Premier pledged that PASOK will continue the course of
development with rapid rates, while he also stressed that the
government will focus on social policy, radical reform of the
national health system and changes in the public sector.
Furthermore, Mr. Simitis stated that the government has
already mapped out the third plan of development, based on the
Community Support Framework, while concurrently he dismissed the
opposition's development plan as unclear, unsubstantiated and
incomplete.
[03] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER: IT'S A TOUGH RACE, BUT WE'LL WIN
Main opposition party leader, New Democracy's Costas
Karamanlis, is confident that his conservative party will win the
upcoming elections, while he also hopes that Athens mayor Dimitris
Avramopoulos, who has yet to reveal his intentions, will "do the
right thing" for the party by joining the race.
In an interview with the Athens's paper "Kiriakatiki
Eleftherotypia", the main opposition leader admitted that April
9's elections will be a tough race but, he pointed out, "the Greek
people will have to decide on the country's course after the
Economic and Monetary Union.
"They have to decide if they want to forge ahead with "tired"
people who have been in power since the 80s and for a quarter of a
century, or with young people, with a modern mentality and with a
specific and cohesive plan for the future."
Mr. Karamanlis stated that those N.D. officials who are
presently holding a key role in in-house affairs will be given
leading posts when New Democracy comes to power.
[04] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EU FOREIGN POLICY
The 13th international conference titled "The European
Union's unified foreign policy and the European Defense Policy" is
to be organized by the House of Europe-Thessaloniki on February 10-
14.
The inaugural ceremony will be held at the History Center of
the Thessaloniki Municipality and will feature salutations from
European, political and state officials and other dignitaries.
[05] TRADE MISSION FROM QUEBEC ARRIVES IN GREECE
A trade mission from Quebec, Canada, is arriving in Greece
today, in an effort to promote investments and to strengthen
commercial ties between the two countries.
The Canadian delegation, led by Minister for Industry and
International Trade for Quebec Guy Julien, will hold discussions
with officials of government and public enterprises, and private
business firms.
Participants of this mission are senior executives of
Quebec's companies specializing in a variety of sectors including
high technology and telecommunications, multimedia, food products,
shipping, environment, lumber, furniture, construction,
engineering, marketing, services and legal affairs.
Mission members will discuss possibilities of high technology
transfers, joint ventures and sales of their products and services
with members of government, public enterprises and the private
sector, both in Athens and in Thessaloniki.
Many of the participants have expressed an interest in
working with Greek firms in view of the Athens Olympics in 2004,
as well as on other upcoming infrastructure projects.
[06] GREEK, TURKISH JOURNALISTS BRAINSTORM AT MEDIA CONFERENCE
The cream of the crop of Greek and Turkish journalists and
media executives met in Athens over the weekend where they agreed
on a variety of collaborative proposals for the future, among them
the establishment of an annual conference between the two
countries' media.
A plethora of proposals was submitted during the conference,
ranging from joint radio-television broadcasts to establishing
satellite media offices in the respective countries.
One of the proposals that will materialize concerns the
establishment of a mutual webpage on the Internet which will
feature various news reports and legal documents deemed
significant by both sides. Moreover, the publication of a
bilingual, bi-monthly periodical was among the ideas submitted,
provided that it focus on articles of a social and cultural
character.
Another proposal concerned the potential signing of a
declaration of principles, based on the common values of peace,
freedom and human rights.
Both Greek and Turkish journalists also proposed that this
form of collaboration be extended into the academic sector as
well, through the establishment of a joint journalism degree, the
founding of a Greek-Turkish institute for post-graduate studies
and the mutual organization of conferences via European Union
funds.
The following conference is to be held in Istanbul,
featuring a larger number
of participants, and will be organized by the Turkish task force
who will have prioritized all and executed some of the proposals
submitted in Athens.
[07] HOMBACH PRAISES GREEK ROLE IN S.E. EUROPE'S RECONSTRUCTION
The special coordinator of the Stability Pact for
Southeastern Europe Bodo Hombach saluted Thessaloniki's role as
the headquarters of the S.E. Europe's Reconstruction Organization.
In an interview with the Sunday edition of the Athens paper
"To Vima", Mr. Hombach expressed his gratitude over the leading
role undertaken by Greece in terms of initiatives drawn for the
economic reconstruction of S.E. Europe, while he also stated that
the Stability Pact is already supporting a variety of small
projects in Serbia. Nevertheless, he clarified, the Stability Pact
will in no case negotiate with the Belgrade government.
Regarding Thessaloniki, Mr. Hombach praised the city's role
and stated that its significance is to be expanded through the
full operation of the Reconstruction Agency that is to be
established by the European Commission. Moreover, he stressed, a
bureau will be established in the city which will oversee the
local projects to be executed under the auspices of the Stability
Pact.
[08] PRESIDENT TO BE ELECTED TOMORROW
Incumbent President Costis Stephanopoulos is expected to be
re-elected in Parliament tomorrow, February 8, as both the ruling
PASOK party and the main opposition of New Democracy have pledged
their vote.
The voting process will be an open nominal ballot, while
deputies of minor opposition party Coalition of the Left and
Progress are to vote for sole contender Leonidas Kyrkos.
President Stephanopoulos will be sworn in office on March 11.
[09] THESSALONIKI HOSTS ASIA FORUM 2000
Political and business leaders from Europe, Asia and the
Middle East are to presently in Thessaloniki to attend a two-day
conference organized by the newly-founded "Asia Forum 2000".
The conference, to be held today and tomorrow,
constitutes the first public event held by a Greek organization
aiming to create business links between 90 countries from the
European Union, eastern Europe, the Balkan and Black Sea regions
and the Middle East.
Held under the auspices of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs,
National Economy, Development, Merchant Marine, Macedonia-Thrace
and Transportation-Communication, the event is featuring the
participation of more than 30 countries.
The participants will review the opportunities, forms and
conditions of economic cooperation among their countries.
The conference is expected to result in the establishment of
permanent Eurasian institutions in Thessaloniki, such a tourism
chamber and a Eurasian banking center, according to professor
Marios Nikolinakos, president of Asia Forum 2000.
[10] US AMBASSADOR PRAISES GREEK FM
The Greek-Turkish rapprochement was the Greek government's
option, according to U.S. Ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns, who
also commended Foreign Minister George Papandreou for his skills
in diplomacy.
In an interview with the Sunday edition of Thessaloniki's
"Aggelioforos", Mr. Burns stated that "Mr. Papandreou is obviously
a talented diplomat, respected internationally and especially in
NATO and the European Union.
"When he visited Ankara I think that the whole world admired
the courage of his act," he stated.
Moreover, Mr. Burns stated that the agreements signed during
Turkish Foreign Minster Ismael Cem's visit to Athens were
significant and practical measures that could have been drawn even
sooner.
As for Cyprus, the US diplomat stated that Washington
supports a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation as it would ensure the
island's unified entity.
Regarding the parliamentary elections to be held on April 9
in Greece, Mr. Burns diplomatically stated that the United States
enjoy excellent relations with both Prime Minister Costas Simitis
and the leader of the main opposition, New Democracy's Costas
Karamanlis.
[11] LESS THAN 10% OF GREEKS ARE ACTIVE ECOLOGISTS
While the majority of Greeks likes to claim an ecological
consciousness, a mere seven to eight percent are actively
involved in environmental protection activities, according to a
study conducted by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki's
Biology Department.
The study, published in Thessaloniki's "Aggelioforos" daily,
also analyzed the data into the respondents' ethnic
characteristics, such as those whose descent is from Pontus,
Gypsies, and Greek Moslems.
Specifically, 72 per cent of those residing in Thessaloniki's
wider region became familiar with environmental issues through the
electronic media, while 70 percent of those polled stated that
they acquire information related to environmental issues through
the print media.
[12] GREECE,YUGOSLAVIA SIGN TOURISM ACCORD
A cooperation agreement for the reconstruction of
Yugoslavia's economy has been signed in Belgrade between Greece's
"Athens-Hellenic Engineering Industrial and Tourist Co. S.A" and
Yugoslavia's "Jugoimport SDPR", between the Greek firm's chairman
Pavlos Lekakis and Yugoslav General Jovan Cekovic.
Mr. Cekovic stated that the said agreement calls for the
establishment of a joint venture that will oversee the
materialization of programs in Yugoslavia and will participate in
third market constructions. This joint venture is expected to
facilitate the Yugoslav firms' access to large projects abroad.
In turn, Mr. Lekakis stated that the agreement represents the
Greek people's sentiments to the Yugoslavs and to the economic and
business sectors.
[13] GREEK-ALBANIAN POLICE COOPERATION AGAINST SMUGGLING
Greek and Albanian police delegations have formed a new set
of regulations concerning the entry Albanian nationals in Greece,
effective as of February 1.
The Albanian daily "Gazetta Skiptare" reported that an
Albanian national can henceforth enter the country provided that
he is sponsored by another Albanian who has a green card and is
living in Greece.
[14] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 4.3 ON THE RICHTER SCALE IN PATRAS
An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale was recorded
west of the Patras Bay at dawn today.
According to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki geophysics
laboratory, the tremor was recorded at 3:30am and its epicenter
was located 310 kilometers south-southwest of Thessaloniki.
Based on the assessments made by seismologists, the tremor is
most likely an isolated phenomenon in a region characterized by
high seismic activity.
[15] ASIA FORUM STARTED IN THE PRESENCE OF 17 GOVERNMENT MINISTERS
The two-day ASIA FORUM conference opened in Thessaloniki
today in the presence of 17 ministers and undersecretaries from
Asian and Balkan countries.
The political and business meeting held with the
participation of delegations from 30 states is a significant
event, marking the first time that Asian countries meet outside
Asia with representatives of the European Union, Eastern Europe,
the Balkans, Mediterranean, Black Sea and Middle East.
Greek undersecretary of foreign affairs Grigoris Niotis
stressed that the foreign ministry backs the initiative hoping
that there will be a rapprochement between Asia and the wider
region of Europe.
[16] ASIA FORUM GIVES A BOOST TO THE TRADE WITH CHINA
Chinese minister of development Wang Mengkui, who praised the
active role of Greece in the reconstruction of south-eastern
Europe, expressed the belief that the ASIA FORUM conference will
open the way for the strengthening of the economic and trade
relations between China and Greece.
The trade balance of the two countries is currently at low
levels but events like ASIA FORUM prepare the ground for a
significant rise of transactions and cooperation between Greek and
Chinese companies, stated Mr. Wang president of the State Council
Development and Research Center.
Greece can act as an intermediary for the Chinese companies
that want to become active in south-eastern Europe but more
specific results are expected at this field in May when
businessmen from China will attend the second ASIA FORUM event
that will also take place in Thessaloniki, stated the Chinese
official speaking to MPA.
[17] GAINS OF 2.05% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Gains of 2.05% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange
today which continued its upward course for a fifth session.
Specifically, the general index closed at 5.498 points, while
the volume of transactions reminded of good old times reaching 346
billion drachmas.
Market analysts stated that the Greek stock exchange has
entered a course of recovery after the recent statements made by
prime minister Kostas Simitis concerning the early elections
scheduled to be held in the country on April 9.
[18] KAKLAMANIS-ATHENS MEETING
The most important issues that concern the Greeks living
abroad were discussed today in the meeting Greek parliament
speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis had in Athens with World Council of
Hellenes Abroad, SAE, president Andrew Athens.
Mr. Athens briefed Mr. Kaklamanis on the course of the big
effort made by SAE for the establishment of health centers and
hospital care units in the former Soviet Union republics where a
large part of the Greeks abroad still lives and has increased
needs.
The Greek parliament speaker praised the important role of
the Greeks living abroad and assured Mr. Athens of the active
interest and backing of the parliament to every effort made by SAE
aimed at dealing with the problems faced by the Greeks abroad.
Part of the meeting was dedicated to the exchange of views
concerning the coordination of the efforts aimed at forming an
objective picture of the international public opinion for the
better promotion of the Greek rights and the solution of the
Cyprus problem.
[19] CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX ICON EXHIBITION
The first international exhibition of modern Christian
Orthodox icons named "The Art of the Icons" opened a few days ago
in Thessaloniki's municipal gallery. The exhibition will be open
until March 3 and is being held on the occasion of the 2.000 years
since the birth of Christ. It includes works of leading icon
painters who get their inspiration from the Christian Orthodox
tradition.
The exhibits come not only from the monastic community of
Mount Athos in Chalkidiki but from Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia, Italy
and Britain.
[20] THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER WILL VISIT BUCHAREST
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that prime
minister Kostas Simitis will be in Bucharest on Friday afternoon
to attend the 3rd Inter-Balkan Conference.
As it was made known, Mr. Simitis is possible to meet with
his Turkish counterpart Bulent Ecevit on the sidelines of the
conference.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[21] ECEVIT: THE GREEK-TURKISH RAPPROCHEMENT IS POSITIVE
The Greek-Turkish rapprochement climate has started giving
very positive and specific results, stated Turkish prime minister
Bulent Ecevit, referring to the relations between Greece and
Turkey.
Mr. Ecevit underlined that what makes him happy is the big
support offered to the two governments by the Greek and Turkish
public opinion, stressing that it is an especially satisfactory
and promising situation.
[22] CLERIDES: THE UN BELIEVES THAT THERE WAS PROGRESS IN THE
TALKS ON CYPRUS
The United Nations believe that there was progress in the
proximity talks on Cyprus held in Geneva given the fact that the
two sides have presented their views, stated Cypriot president
Glafkos Clerides.
Responding to questions on the meeting he had with UN
secretary-general special adviser Alvaro de Soto, the Cypriot
president reiterated that he does not know if the differences
between the two sides have become smaller, as the one side does
not know what the other side has said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations have announced that Mr. De Soto
will give a press conference tomorrow after the meetings he will
have with Cypriot president Glafkos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot
leader Rauf Denktash.
[23] THE TURKISH JOURNALISTS ARE OPTIMISTIC OVER THE RAPPROCHEMENT
WITH GREECE
The Turkish journalists, who recently were in Athens to take
part in the Greek-Turkish Journalist Conference, expressed
optimism over the issue of the Greek-Turkish rapprochement and
stated that the two sides have already covered half of the way
toward this end.
The above are mentioned in an article signed by Sedat
Sertoglu and published on the Turkish newspaper "Sabah". He wrote
among others that the road ahead is long but there is a faith
among the people that the efforts for the improvement of the
relations will be successful.
According to Sedat Sertoglu, there is a different wind
blowing in Greece regarding the Turks attributing the change in
the climate not to the politicians but to the people.
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