Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-09-08
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, September 8, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] FM VEXED BY US CRITICISM ON TALKS WITH MILOSEVIC
[02] GREEK PM ADDRESSES UN MILLENIUM SUMMIT IN NY
[03] GREECE, US ANTI-TERRORISM MEMORANDUM TODAY
[04] GREECE GRANTS $2 MN TO GEORGIA IN ECONOMIC AID
[05] OTPOR MEMBER CUFFED OUTSIDE AMBASSADOR'S HOME
[06] DEUTCHE BANK CHIEF: GREECE-EMU A SUCCESS STORY
[07] MAIN OPPOSITION: FM's BALKAN TOUR "UTTER FAILURE"
[08] SAE'S ATHENS COMPLETES VISIT TO ROMANIA TODAY
[09] JOURNALIST VASILIS RAFAILIDIS DIED TODAY
[10] IMPRESSIVE GAINS OF 7.92% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[11] HITIRIS: THE PATRIARCH IS WELCOME
[12] TRADE AND INVESTMENT COOPERATION BETWEEN NEW JERSEY AND
GREECE
[13] THE INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES ARE OPTIMISTIC OVER THE FUTURE
OF ENTERPRISES
[14] HITIRIS ON MR. PAPANDREOU'S VISIT TO THE BALKANS
[15] PAPANDREOU MEETS WITH KOSOVO OFFICIALS
[16] MAKEDONSKO SONCE MAGAZINE: WE ARE NOT INVOLVED IN TERRORISM
[17] THESSALONIKI WILL HOST GLOBAL SCHOOLS CONFERENCE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] GREEK PREMIER MEETS WITH US PRESIDENT CLINTON
[19] PM HAS SERIES OF TALKS WITH OTHER LEADERS IN NY
[20] GREEK FM STILL ON BALKAN TOUR, IN KOSOVO TODAY
[21] US: TURKEY WILL NOT STOP GAY TOURISTS AGAIN
[22] EUROPE HAS TO TURN TO ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF ENERGY
[23] CONFERENCE OF THE STATISTICS AGENCIES INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION
[24] FROM KNOSOS TO OXFORD
[25] THE GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER CONTINUES THE BALKAN TOUR
[26] CLINTON DISCUSSED THE CYPRUS PROBLEM IN THE UN MILLENNIUM
CONFERENCE
[27] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON THE CATASTROPHIC FIRES IN
THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION
[28] GREECE-US SIGN COUNTER TERRORISM MEMO
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] FM VEXED BY US CRITICISM ON TALKS WITH MILOSEVIC
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou reportedly became
perturbed over the State Department's displeasure concerning his
meeting with F.R.Y. President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade
yesterday, retorting that Greece does not need anyone's
authorization in undertaking initiatives and in exercising its
foreign policy.
"We had briefed both the United States and the European Union over
our intention to visit Belgrade, "Mr. Papandreou stated, "we did
not request authorization, as this would be inconceivable. We
believe that our contacts with the Yugoslav leadership were
especially useful and that our positions were understood. We had
the opportunity to get our through message for free and democratic
elections and to express our support to the Serbian people," he
added.
The State Department issued an announcement yesterday,
whereby it stated that, while it supports a visit with the aim of
consulting with Yugoslavia's democratic opposition before the
elections, "any meeting between a European figure of Mr.
Papandreou's stature and persons indicted for war crimes is
unfortunate."
Mr. Papandreou is the only top envoy from an Alliance nation
to visit Yugoslavia since NATO airstrikes drove Yugoslav forces
from the province of Kosovo last year.
[02] GREEK PM ADDRESSES UN MILLENIUM SUMMIT IN NY
Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis addressed the United
Nations General Assembly Millennium Summit yesterday evening,
where he stressed the necessity to strengthen the UN's role in
the consolidation of peace and cooperation.
"The task of humanity's leadership for the future should be
to find new ways in controlling and eradicating everyday problems
of people around the world," he stated, adding that "our task must
be to find new avenues through which we will control and gradually
eradicate the causes of the plights that tantalize our common
lives.
"This task requires cooperation at all levels, but mainly at
the global level; because it would be otherwise difficult, if not
impossible to have positive results in our world of close
interdependence."
Furthermore, he stressed that the United Nations have a
serious role to play in this respect, as "its experience in past
achievements in these fields, its nature, as the only political
international organization with universal participation, which is
coupled with its specialized organs and agencies, are solid
material upon which we may rely in our fight against the problems
of our world."
[03] GREECE, US ANTI-TERRORISM MEMORANDUM TODAY
A key memorandum of police cooperation - particularly in the
field of counter-terrorism - between Greece and the United States
will be signed in Washington today by Public Order Minister
Michalis Chrysochoides and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
The agreement essentially formalizes existing arrangements on
information-sharing and other forensic expertise.
Yesterday, Mr. Chrysochoides held successive meetings with
Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering, U.S. coordinator for
counter-terrorism issues Michael Sheehan and FBI director Louis
Freeh, who expressed their pleasure over the initiatives
undertaken by Greece.
During the talks, the Public Order Minister briefed the US
officials on counter-terrorism changes in Greece's penal code and
security measures drawn in light of the 2004 Olympic Games to be
held in Athens.
Heading a delegation of Greek police officials, Mr.
Chrysochoides will also meet with CIA's director George Tenet
today.
According to the Public Order Minister, this memorandum of
cooperation is an important step forward in the cooperation
between the two countries in combating crime and terrorism.
"This memorandum, is the expressed political will of both
countries toward law enforcement cooperation in a series of
issues. The contents of the memorandum are in total agreement with
the Greek Constitution, the protection of human rights and the
general interests of the country, while it does not create binding
legal obligations," he stated, adding that the signing of this
memorandum will lift a climate of mistrust between the two
countries and will allow for better cooperation between Greek and
US law enforcement agencies.
[04] GREECE GRANTS $2 MN TO GEORGIA IN ECONOMIC AID
Two million dollars in economic aid will be granted by Greece
to Georgia, following an agreement signed earlier this week by
National Economy Deputy Minister Yiannis Zaphiropoulos and
Georgia's ambassador to Greece, Alexandre Tsikvaidze.
Thanking the Greek government for the economic support, Mr.
Tsikvaidze stressed his country's efforts for the reconstruction
of its economy, while he also referred to the traditional friendly
relations between the two countries.
Greek exports to Georgia are on a steadily upward course,
especially in the fields of fuel, machinery, steel products,
sweets, alcohol and tobacco. Imports from Georgia include
minerals, forestry products, and fertilizers.
A total of 22 Greek-owned and another 28 joint ventures are
presently operating in Georgia, mainly in the sectors of trade,
communications, constructions, transport and tourism.
[05] OTPOR MEMBER CUFFED OUTSIDE AMBASSADOR'S HOME
Yugoslav police arrested a member of the student group Otpor
(Resistance) outside the Greek Ambassador's residence in Belgrade
yesterday, as a farewell reception was taking place inside the
building in honor of Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou.
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic and various
officials from Serbia's political parties were also among the
reception's guests.
Four members of Otpor, a strong opposition movement mostly
comprising college students, had been invited to the reception
by Greek Ambassador to Belgrade Panayiotis Vlassopoulos. They were
to meet with Mr. Papandreou when police prevented them from
approaching the ambassador's residence and detained one of them.
Requesting the immediate release of the arrested student, Mr.
Papandreou presented a demarche to his Yugoslav counterpart who
pledged to look into the matter. A verbal remonstrance was also
made by Mr. Vlassopoulos to the Foreign Ministry of F.R.Y.
[06] DEUTCHE BANK CHIEF: GREECE-EMU A SUCCESS STORY
Deutsche Bank's chairman Rolf Breuer saluted the course of
Greece's economy as a "success story" that has proven all the
sceptics wrong.
According to Mr. Breuer, who was in Athens for a two-day
visit, the financial markets' perception of Greece was positive,
noting that "there is a high degree of confidence in the
credibility of Greek economic policy as the drachma and
convergence of long-term interest rates show."
However, he also stressed that Greece has to move fast to be
ready for the introduction of euro banknotes and coins, adding
that Greek enterprises and the public sector must take
preparations under time pressure.
"The challenge is tougher than for the other eleven EMU
members which have had nearly four years to prepare," he said.
He also said that Greece would benefit, on balance, more than
other EU members from any eastern enlargement, while he forecast
that progress in privatization and reform plans by the Greek
government would make the Greek stock market more attractive to
foreign institutional investors and would lead to the upgrading of
the Greek bourse in the top league of international markets.
Deutsche Bank is the first large European bank to venture
with a Greek bank, through a cooperation with EFG Eurobank
Ergasias in which it holds a 10 percent equity stake.
Mr. Breuer said that this strategic partnership has been
fostered since and has already produced tangible results. He
further
announced a joint venture between the two banks in real estate
management and cooperation in project finance.
As for Deutsche Bank's additional investments, he stated that
"we will not continue to make fresh outlays but we will maintain
our presence, interest and business activities here," while he
added that the bank has no plans to boost its 10 percent stake in
EFG Eurobank Ergasias.
[07] MAIN OPPOSITION: FM's BALKAN TOUR "UTTER FAILURE"
The main opposition party of New Democracy blasted the
Foreign Minister George Papandreou for his visit to Belgrade
yesterday, stating that "he completely failed in his
experimentation, a result of the Greek foreign policy's total lack
of strategy in the Balkans."
Dora Bacoyanni, in charge of N.D.'s foreign and defense
sectors lashed against Mr. Papandreou by stating that "his visit
was crowned by failure and managed to achieve the impossible: to
turn all the powers against Greece and, concurrently, to cancel
(the country's) advantages and distinct role in the Balkan region.
"I am very saddened, because the decisions (for the visit)
were drawn against the Foreign Ministry's recommendations and have
brought our country into a very difficult position worldwide. What
we did achieve was to reduce Greece's clout."
[08] SAE'S ATHENS COMPLETES VISIT TO ROMANIA TODAY
The world President of the Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE)
Andrew Athens, is wrapping up his tour of Romania's Greek
communities today, where he traveled at the invitation of the
Greeks of Romania Association and with the support of the Alliance
of Romania's Greek Entrepreneurs.
Mr. Athens, who is accompanied by the president of SAE's
European region Aggelos Aslanides, met today with the US
Ambassador to Bucharest James Rosapepe. He also met with the
chairman of the Hellenic parliament's committee for Greeks Abroad
Grigoris Niotis, who arrived in Bucharest this morning.
The President of SAE also met with Patriarch Theoktistos, as
well as presidential adviser Zoe Petre. Romanian President Emil
Constantinescu is presently in the United States attending the UN
General Assembly's Millennium Summit.
Following his talks with Mr. Athens, Patriarch Theoktistos
stated that "we would like to see our brothers, the Romanians,
organized as well as the Greeks are."
Mr. Athens' visit aimed at strengthening ties between
Romania's leadership and the country's Greek communities with
other Greek communities dispersed throughout the world.
Mr. Athens also met with leading Greeks in Romania.
[09] JOURNALIST VASILIS RAFAILIDIS DIED TODAY
Journalist Vasilis Rafailidis died today at the age of 65. He
was suffering from cancer and he was in the intensive care unit of
the Red Cross hospital in Athens. The last person who visited him
in hospital was film director Theodoros Angelopoulos.
Culture minister Theodoros Pangalos announced that his
funeral will be made public expense.
[10] IMPRESSIVE GAINS OF 7.92% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Impressive gains of 7.92% were recorded in the Athens Stock
Exchange today and the general index reached 4.381,79 points,
while the volume of transactions was at 322.1 billion drachmas,
mainly due to the intense mobility observed in the bank shares
especially the National Bank of Greece and the Alpha Credit Bank
shares.
Of the stocks trading today 347 recorded gains, 8 had losses
and 21 remained unchanged.
[11] HITIRIS: THE PATRIARCH IS WELCOME
The Ecumenical Patriarch is welcome at any time, stated Greek
acting government spokesman Tilemachos Hitiris today responding to
a question by a reporter on the occasion of the Church of Greece
Holy Synod decision to send a letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch
asking him to postpone his visit to Athens because of the bad
relations between the state and the Church.
Mr. Hitiris stated that Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos is
to come to Greece at the invitation of the Metropolite of
Peristeri in Athens to inaugurate the Patriarchate's office that
will open in the Greek capital.
[12] TRADE AND INVESTMENT COOPERATION BETWEEN NEW JERSEY AND
GREECE
The Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce undertook the
representation of the US state of New Jersey Trade and Economic
Development Committee in Greece aimed at promoting bilateral trade
and investments, according to an announcement made by
representatives of the two sides in a press conference today.
Mr. Gerald Janssen, New Jersey's Trade and Economic
Development Committee vice-chairman, stated that New Jersey is the
first US state with a formal trade representation in Greece
expressing optimism that other US states will follow its example.
Mr. Janssen stated among others that the specific cooperation
facilitates the smaller businesses as it could be the means for
their promotion in the international economy. He also stated that
the committee's trade activation in the southern part of Europe
was its management's long set target.
Chemicals, electric appliances, industry machinery and
computers are some of the basic products exported by the state of
New Jersey to Greece. It should be noted that New Jersey has one
of the most dynamic and robust economies in the United States
occupying the 18th place in terms of economic activity worldwide
and the 8th place in the United States.
[13] THE INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES ARE OPTIMISTIC OVER THE FUTURE
OF ENTERPRISES
Businessmen and managers in the sector of industry appear
optimistic over the course of enterprises in Greece, according to
a report conducted by the Economic and Industrial Research
Institute.
Based on the report, the industry representatives believe
that exports will reach very high levels.
In the construction sector, the activities in the first half
of the year will be clearly improved especially concerning the
private construction projects as opposed to public works that
appear to be stagnant. The activities in the retail sales sector
is at high levels, while a further increase in sales is expected
in the fall.
[14] HITIRIS ON MR. PAPANDREOU'S VISIT TO THE BALKANS
Greece decides itself which must be its policy in the
Balkans, underlined Greek acting government spokesman Tilemachos
Hitiris responding to a question on the United States' objection
to Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou trip to the Balkans.
Mr. Hitiris stressed that Greece is in favor of the
restoration of a climate of peace, cooperation and economic
development in the region, adding that the government knows that
the road is not covered with roses and it was aware of it from the
start. Referring to the US reactions concerning Mr. Papandreou's
meeting with Mr. Milosevic he said that there is nothing we can do
about it if the United States are not pleased.
Regarding Mr. Papandreou's trip, he said that the Greek
minister made a wish and a suggestion on the imminent elections
in Yugoslavia for the benefit of the country itself, pointing out
that Greece with its presence contributes to stability and peace.
[15] PAPANDREOU MEETS WITH KOSOVO OFFICIALS
Greek Foreign minister George Papandreou held a series of
meetings with representatives of the international peace-keeping
force in Kosovo and of Albanians and Serbs in the region, during
his visit to Kosovo's capital Pristina.
Mr Papandreou met with the head of the UN-led administration
in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, to discuss the current situation in
the area, especially in view of the municipal elections due to be
held in the area on October 28th and of the FRY elections due to
be held on September 24th, as voting ballot-boxes for these will
be open in Kosovo.
After their meeting, Mr Kouchner expressed concern over the
increase in tension recently noted in the region, which he implied
has been caused by the decision taken by Belgrade to hold its
elections in Kosovo as well.
Mr Kouchner approved the setting up of ballot boxes in Kosovo
for this reason, but decided to refrain from offering UN
participation towards the organising of the elections, calling
them a "farce".
Mr Papandreou agreed with Mr Kouchner's decision to allow the
Yugoslavian elections to be held in Kosovo and informed the head
of the UN-led administration in Kosovo of the talks he held in
Belgrade yesterday with Yugoslavia's leadership, over the
elections.
The Greek Foreign minister also expressed his support of a
"multi-cultural Kosovo", adding that tolerance and efforts towards
achieving peaceful co-existence must prevail in the region.
Later on in the day, Mr Papandreou also held talks with the leader
of NATO's forces in Kosovo, Juan Ortunio, before visiting the army
camp in Kosovo Polje, where Greek forces are based. He expressed
his satisfaction with the Greek military force acting under the
supervision of NATO and praised its contribution to the peace
process.
The Greek Foreign minister held talks with the President of
the "Democratic League of Kosovo", Ibrahim Rugova, as well as with
the region's Albanian leader, Retzep Tsosia. He also met with the
leader of the northern Kosovo Serbs, Olive Ivanovic, who
represents the province's Serb community at the UN advisory
council in Kosovo and visited the historic Serb monastery in
Gracanica.
Whilst in Gracanica, Mr Papandreou had the opportunity to
visit the hospital, which was created and operated by the Greek
department of the Medecins du Monde organisation (Doctors of the
World).
Mr Papandreou left Pristina in the evening and will complete
his Balkan tour with a visit to Podgorica, the capital of
Montenegro, where he will meet with its Prime Minister, Filip
Vujanovic.
[16] MAKEDONSKO SONCE MAGAZINE: WE ARE NOT INVOLVED IN TERRORISM
Editor-in-chief of the Skopje based magazine "Makedonsko
Sonce", Slavko Mangovski, denied claims that his magazine was
involved with the people who sent an e-mail to the University of
Macedonia in Thessaloniki on 31/08/2000, threatening to blow up
its buildings if it does not change its name, in a letter
addressed to the Macedonian Press Agency.
"We have nothing to do with the person or persons who wrote
the threatening e-mail", Mr Mangovski maintains in his letter.
He added that the magazine has been published for the last
six years and "does not have extreme nationalistic views, but
instead is pro-Europe and pro-Western and is fuelled by the
respect of our inviolable borders, democracy and human rights". Mr
Mangovski also highlighted the general improvement of relations in
the Balkans and expressed respect for the potential role of Greece
as a member of the European Union.
[17] THESSALONIKI WILL HOST GLOBAL SCHOOLS CONFERENCE
The last phase of the international schools conference 2000,
held for charismatic students, will be held from the 18th to the
25th September in Thessaloniki and is being organised by the
city's mayor, in conjunction with the Greek Education ministry and
that of Victoria, Australia.
Over 200 students will take part in the conference, from middle
education schools all over the world, who communicate via e-mail
and will allow them to analyse various issues. The event will
focus on issues such as genetics, development, heredity and social
problems in general.
The conference aims to encourage able students to integrate and to
rise to the challenge of improving society.
The countries due to take part in the conference are
Australia, Africa, China, Cyprus, Britain, India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore and South Africa.
Around 14 Greek secondary schools will take part in the
conference, from Thessaloniki, Chania, Volos, Kozani and Athens.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] GREEK PREMIER MEETS WITH US PRESIDENT CLINTON
Prime Minister Costas Simitis met with United States
President Bill Clinton on Wednesday evening, with whom he
discussed the Cyprus problem and Greek-Turkish relations.
According to reports, Simitis stressed the need for the new
round of talks to deal with the substance of the Cyprus problem.
The 20-minute meeting took place at the sidelines of the
dinner hosted by US President Bill Clinton for the 13 world
leaders of the "Network for a progressive governance in the 21st
century".
Mr. Simitis also met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and
discussed the Cyprus issue and conditions in the Balkans.
As White House national security advisor Sandy Berger had
announced earlier, Mr. Clinton also met with his Turkish
counterpart Ahmed Sezer.
According to Mr. Berger, "He (Sezer) is the former president
of the Turkish Constitutional Court, a sound supporter of
democratic reforms and respect of the law. We will discuss, of
course, bilateral issues, European-Turkish relations, Greek-
Turkish issues, the issues of the Aegean and Cyprus."
[19] PM HAS SERIES OF TALKS WITH OTHER LEADERS IN NY
Prime Minister Costas Simitis held a series of talks with
other leaders attending the United Nations General Assembly
Millennium Summit, presently held in New York, among them Albanian
President Rexhep Mejdani, FYROM President Boris Trajkovski the
President of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat, Israeli
Prime Miniser Ehud Barak and Jordanian King Abdallah.
Talks with Albanian President Mejdani focused on the two
leaders' interest in maintaining relations between the two
countries at a good level. Mr. Mejdani stressed Albania's bid to
join European institutions and called for even greater support
from Greece to enable Albania to approach Europe. Mr. Simitis
referred primarily to issues concerning Greek business activities
in the neighboring country, while he also raised the issue of the
Greek minority and pointed to the Albanian government's obligation
to handle all issues in a responsible and effective way.
Mr. Simitis and FYROM President Trajkovski underlined the
very favorable development of bilateral relations between the two
countries, particularly in the economic and commercial sectors.
The issue of FYROM's name was also raised and both sides showed
interest in finding a solution to the issue. Mr. Simitis said the
situation cannot be perpetuated and both sides should contribute
towards an agreement on the name.
In is talks with Mr. Arafat, the Greek Premier expressed
Greece's interest in the handling of the Middle East problem in
talks with Arafat and stressed the importance of the issue for
Greece. He showed understanding over efforts made so far by the
Palestinian leader and on the difficulties he is encountering.
However, he encouraged him to proceed even further with bolder
steps to contribute to the finding of a solution and not to allow
the opportunity to be lost.
The Greek government's views were also outlined during his
meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Mr. Simitis wished King Abdallah every success in his task
since Jordan can play an important role in the region, which is
faced with many problems. Both expressed the desire for an
improvement in relations between Greece and Jordan, adding that
there is ground for closer contact and communication and the joint
undertaking of initiatives on issues concerning the wider region.
[20] GREEK FM STILL ON BALKAN TOUR, IN KOSOVO TODAY
Foreign Minister George Papandreou is presently in Kosovo,
the second leg of his three-day tour in the Balkans, where he will
meet with representatives of the province's Albanian and Serb
leaders.
Presently in Prishtina, Mr. Papandreou will travel to
Gracanica, a Serb enclave, where he will meet with the leader or
the Serb orthodox church, as well as with the Greek members of
the Doctors of the World mission in the town's hospital.
While in Prishtina, Mr. Papandreou is to meet with UN
administrator Bernard Koucher, president of the democratic party
of Kosovo Hasim Thaci and Oliver Ivanovic, leader of the northern
Kosovo Serbs.
The Foreign Minister will complete his three-day tour with a
stop in Podgorica, Montenegro, where he will meet with Premier
Philip Vujanovic.
[21] US: TURKEY WILL NOT STOP GAY TOURISTS AGAIN
The United States announced that the Turkish authorities have
assured them that there will be no other incident like the one in
which the country's authorities banned a group of American,
British and French gay men to visit the region of Kusandasi and
the city of ancient Efesos.
The US state department mentioned that the tourists will
continue their trip to Turkey without any similar incident and
stressed that for the time being the issue is regarded as closed.
Earlier, the Turkish television channels had reported that
the tourists continue their visit to Istanbul under the
observation of the Turkish police.
The Kusandasi police did not allow the group of tourists to
visit the city after a Turkish interior ministry decision.
[22] EUROPE HAS TO TURN TO ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF ENERGY
The view that the European Union countries must turn to
alternative forms of energy and cooperate closer in order to
secure the adequacy of the energy sources was expressed by EU
Commissioner responsible for energy issues Ms. Loyola de Palacio.
The Spanish Commissioner stressed that measures and decisions
must be taken immediately making the EU state economies less
vulnerable than they were proved to be with the current oil price
hikes, pointing out that the energy issue in Europe is not the
responsibility of the EU but the national responsibility of every
member-state.
Regarding the situation that has been created in France she
said that it is unacceptable, underlining that neither the tax
cuts nor similar mobilizations like those taking place in that
country could offer a solution to the oil price increases.
According to Ms. de Palacio, the railways must be used more
in the transportation of goods across Europe while alternative
forms of energy such as, the nuclear energy, must not be excluded.
[23] CONFERENCE OF THE STATISTICS AGENCIES INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION
Seven hundred delegates from 110 states participate in the
Conference of the Statistics Agencies International Association on
Statistics, Development and Human Rights taking place in
Montreaux, Switzerland.
Among the issues discussed in the conference are the
contribution of statistics in the economic development and the
creation of new indexes measuring social development and the
respect of basic human rights in the fight against racial,
religious and language discrimination.
[24] FROM KNOSOS TO OXFORD
An exhibition dedicated to Knosos in Crete will be
inaugurated in Oxford on September 19 and will be open for the
public until November 5 on the occasion of the 100 years since the
start of the excavations at the Knosos palace by Arthur Evans.
The exhibition will be hosted at Ashmolean Museum and
includes copies of wall-paintings found in Knosos, drawings and
other documents many of which are shown to the public for the
first time.
The exhibition raises the issue of the credibility of Arthur
Evans who occasionally was accused of altering the findings by
reconstructing them using concrete.
Within the framework of the events for the 100 years since
the discovery of the Knosos Palace the British Archaeology School
will hold an international conference on Knosos that will take
place in Iraklio, Crete on November 14-16.
[25] THE GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER CONTINUES THE BALKAN TOUR
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou had contacts in the
regional capital of Pristina with representatives of the Albanian
and Serb leaderships in Kosovo, while he also met with head of the
UN administration in the Serb province, Bernard Kouchner.
Meanwhile, the officials at Belgrade's airport had delayed
for 15 minutes the take off of the airplane carrying the Greek
mission to Pristina. The Greek foreign minister finally left for
Kosovo after consultations.
Yesterday, Mr. Papandreou expressed discontent over the US
state department statement with which the United States reacted to
his meeting with Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.
Acting Greek government spokesman Tilemachos Hitiris stated
today that the government firmly backs the correct policy it has
adopted in the Balkans.
[26] CLINTON DISCUSSED THE CYPRUS PROBLEM IN THE UN MILLENNIUM
CONFERENCE
US president Bill Clinton assured Cypriot president Glafkos
Clerides that he works for Cyprus adding however, that he does not
know if his actions will be successful. The short discussion was
held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York where they are
staying on the occasion of the Millennium Summit.
Also, in a separate meeting the US president had with Turkish
president Ahmet Nezdet Sezer in New York encouraged him to promote
the opening of meaningful talks on Cyprus.
[27] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON THE CATASTROPHIC FIRES IN
THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION
An urgent resolution calling on the European Commission to
develop actions aimed at dealing with the effects of the recent
devastating fires in Greece and in most parts of the Mediterranean
region, was adopted today by the plenary session of the European
Parliament. The initiative for the adoption of the resolution
belongs to the Greek governing socialist party of PASOK Euro-
deputies, who had tabled the proposal.
The resolution refers to the tragic results of the fires and
specifically it is mentioned that people have lost their lives and
properties have been destroyed, while the ecological effects of
such disasters are unpredictable. The resolution also expresses
solidarity and sympathy to the families of the victims and to the
people who suffered material damages, while the European
Commission is called on to secure funds for the protection of
forests as well as to form an overall policy on natural disasters.
Greek Euro-deputy Ms. Meni Malliori called on the European
Commission to use its influence on the EU member-states in order
to make more strict the legislation on the change of the use of
land, secure reforestation after a disaster, improve the training
of the fire-fighting forces and inform the people on the great
role the forests play and how they can be protected.
[28] GREECE-US SIGN COUNTER TERRORISM MEMO
The memorandum calling for "the fight against crime" was
signed in Washington today by Greek Civil Order minister Michalis
Chrysochoides and US minister of Justice, Janet Reno.
The agreement encourages cooperation between the two signatories
as far as preventing, containing, investigating, tracing and
clearing up certain crimes are concerned.
Included in the memorandum is a detailed description of the
organised terrorist crimes that it refers to. These include
illegal gun handling, money laundering, fake credit card producing
and serious crimes endangering peoples lives and property.
The two countries have also agreed to cooperate in the
training of staff, scientific research programs for fighting crime
and the development of computer systems, the exchanging of
information for the prevention and containment of international
crime, especially terrorist acts, organised crime, illegal gun
trafficking, illegal immigration etc.
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