Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-12-13
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 13, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[01] GREECE, FYROM NEW BORDER STATION INAUGURATED
[02] N17 IN PROCLAMATION: WE INTENDED TO HIT SAUNDERS
[03] FM SALUTES DAWN OF NEW ERA IN TIES WITH FYROM
[04] SECRET SERVICE AGENT TO BE INTERROGATED TODAY
[05] GREECE IMPORTS NON-EU MEAT FOR MARKET DEMAND
[06] GREECE AND FYROM ARE CONCERNED OVER THE DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH
YUGOSLAVIA
[07] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[08] KAKLAMANIS WILL MEET WITH HIS ALBANIAN COUNTERPART
[09] THE RELEASE OF THE GREEK ARMY CAPTAIN IS A MATTER OF HOURS
[10] NO DEVELOPMENT ON THE ISSUE OF FYROM'S NAME
[11] REPPAS ON THE "17 NOVEMBER" TERRORIST ORGANIZATION
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] GLIKERIA'S CONCERT IN TIRANA WAS A BIG SUCCESS
[13] A SHIP WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SANK OFF THE COASTS OF CYPRUS
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREECE, FYROM NEW BORDER STATION INAUGURATED
A new customs station at the Greece-FYROM borders will be
inaugurated today, in a ceremony to be attended by FYROM's Premier
Ljubco Georgievski and new Foreign Minister Srdzan Kerim, as well
as Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou and Minister of
Macedonia-Thrace George Paschalides.
The station, located at the Gevgeli location, was funded by
the European Union.
Messrs. Srdzan and Papandreou are expected to hold talks in
Thessaloniki after the ceremony.
[02] N17 IN PROCLAMATION: WE INTENDED TO HIT SAUNDERS
The notorious urban terrorist group known as "November 17",
(N17), sent another proclamation to an Athens daily yesterday,
defending its mondus operandi and stressing that British defense
attache Brig Stephen Saunders, who was gunned down in June, was
not wrongfully targeted.
In a five-page proclamation sent to the Athens daily
"Eleftherotypia", the group's favored venue for publicity, N17
claims that the late British diplomat was not a mistaken target
and that, on the contrary, his killing constitutes the group's
most significant hit in all the 25 years it has been active.
"We first shot him with a semiautomatic G3, which had been
stolen from the Byron district police precinct in 1988, and then (
we shot him) with the familiar 45-caliber handgun," the terrorists
claim in their proclamation.
Also, the hitmen justify the assassination of Brig. Saunders
because, as they assert, "he took part in the planning and
coordinating of bombing raids against Yugoslavia and Kossovo."
According to the newspaper, the proclamation was written on a
word processor and was found in a trash bin at Athens' Davaki
Plaza following directions given by an anonymous phone call to
"Eleftherotypia".
Brig. Saunders was gunned down by an assailant riding atop a
motorcycle in a traffic-congested avenue in Athens as he was
driving alone to the British embassy. According to eyewitness
reports, the gunman was the passenger on an off-road-type cycle,
with an accomplice driving.
In today's proclamation, the N17 also stresses that an armed
CIA agent was locked in the traffic jam a mere 100 meters away
from the spot where the British diplomat was assassinated, while
Greek businessman Vardinoyannis and his escorts were also in a car
a bit further behind.
The elusive terrorist group also refers to the Greek public's
reaction to the murder, claiming that the fact there wasn't any
information forthcoming from citizens, in spite of police appeals,
only "confirms that the Greek people are not and will not be a
nation of informers."
Following the murder of Brig. Saunders, the Greek government
hiked the bounty on the heads of members of the November 17
terrorist group from 1 billion to 1.5 billion drachmas (about $4
million), while it has also doubled its reward for tips that could
lead to the arrest of any N17 members.
November 17, which has killed 22 persons and also has claimed
responsibility for about 100 bombing and rocket attacks, carries a
mix of ultra-nationalist and leftist ideologies. The group takes
it name from the date in 1973 when Greek military rulers crushed a
student uprising in Athens.
[03] FM SALUTES DAWN OF NEW ERA IN TIES WITH FYROM
A new era is dawning in relations between Athens and Skopje,
Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou stated today during the
opening ceremony of the new customs station between Greece and
FYROM at Gevgeli.
"As of lately, we have constantly been building bridges
between the two countries' governments, bridges of cooperation
between the two peoples, bridges for peace and collaboration in
the region," Mr. Papandreou said, adding that Greece-bound traffic
from Skopje has almost doubled since 1999 .
The Foreign Minister relayed Prime Minister Costas Simitis'
congratulatory wishes to FYROM's Premier Ljubco Georgievski who
attended the ceremony along with FYROM's new Foreign Minister
Srdzan Kerim.
The customs station, which was funded by the European Union,
also opens a new era in FYROM's relations with the EU, Mr.
Papandreou stated, following the EU-FYROM Association Accord
signed in Zagreb.
"This station constitutes FYROM's gate to the EU," Mr.
Papandreou said, while he noted the cooperation opportunities that
have manifolded between the two countries.
In turn, Mr. Georgievski stressed that the new border station
is the result of collaboration between the two countries, while he
also referred to the ever-improving ties between the two
neighbors. and Minister of Macedonia-Thrace George Paschalides.
Messrs. Srdzan and Papandreou are to hold talks in
Thessaloniki later today.
[04] SECRET SERVICE AGENT TO BE INTERROGATED TODAY
A National Secret Service (EYP) employee who was arrested on
Saturday when he was found to be carrying an arms arsenal in his
car is to interrogated by the prosecutor of Kastoria in Northern
Greece today.
George Vasiliou, 57, and Savvas Yianasmoglou, 39, who is
suspected of being the former's accomplice in an illegal arms
smuggling operation, are both facing criminal charges.
At the same time, a team of Greek counter-terrorism experts
is joined by British and American officials in an investigation
into the case.
Since his apprehension, Vasiliou - who holds a non-
operational job in EYP's Florina bureau - claimed that he was
transporting the arms and ammunition under orders given by his
superiors, while Yianasmoglou, a furrier, asserts that he has no
involvement in arms smuggling.
Vasiliou's claims are reportedly unfounded as, according to
reports, no such order has been issued by the bureau, while
Yianasmoglou revealed during questioning that Vasiliou sold a gun
and ammunition for GRD200,00 to an unknown individual in Lamia.
[05] GREECE IMPORTS NON-EU MEAT FOR MARKET DEMAND
Greece is to begin importing meat from countries outside the
European Union, in order to meet demand in the market, due to
increase during holidays.
Following a meeting with Development Minister Nikos
Christodoulakis earlier this week, Agriculture Minister George
Anomeritis said that EU measures regarding the "mad cow" disease
will be implemented immediately, while Mr. Christodoulakis
announced that Greece will begin importing lamb, goat, turkey,
pork and chicken meats from non-EU countries.
As the state is intensifying meat quality controls,
[06] GREECE AND FYROM ARE CONCERNED OVER THE DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH
YUGOSLAVIA
FYROM prime minister Ljupco Georgievski and Greek foreign
minister Giorgos Papandreou expressed their concern regarding the
developments of the past two weeks in south Yugoslavia after their
short meeting at the Greek-FYROM borders on the sidelines of the
inauguration ceremony for the new customs' station.
The two men discussed the situation that has been created in
south Yugoslavia and agreed that there is a need to undertake
initiatives aimed at achieving stability in the region.
Mr. Georgievski stated that the foreign ministers of Greece
and FYROM, Giorgos Papandreou and Serzan Kerim, who are scheduled
to meet in Thessaloniki today and will be together in Belgium,
will have the opportunity to discuss in detail the context of the
initiatives that they must undertake aimed at bringing stability
and security to south Yugoslavia and the wider Balkan region.
[07] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Big losses of 3.15% were recorded in the Athens Stock
Exchange today and the general index dropped to 3.498,69 points,
while the volume of transactions was small at 106.2 billion
drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today the overwhelming majority namely,
316, had losses, 38 recorded gains and 11 remained unchanged.
[08] KAKLAMANIS WILL MEET WITH HIS ALBANIAN COUNTERPART
Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis will receive
his Albanian counterpart Skenter Ginusi in his office in Athens
tomorrow.
The Albanian parliament president is on an informal visit to
Greece.
[09] THE RELEASE OF THE GREEK ARMY CAPTAIN IS A MATTER OF HOURS
The release of Greek army captain Efstathios Kokkinidis and
the Polish army officer, who were abducted while on patrol in
north-western Georgia, is a matter of hours. According to
information, the two UN officers are being held as hostages, about
50 kilometers south-east of Sochumi. The Georgian authorities
briefed the Greek National Defense General Staff that there is
optimism that the ordeal of the Greek army captain will have a
happy end.
The United Nations are handling the case and gave the
assurance that they will not pay ransom for the release of the two
officers, while it was also announced that the UN temporarily will
stop sending military observers in the region and will withdraw
the peace-keepers deployed in the region.
[10] NO DEVELOPMENT ON THE ISSUE OF FYROM'S NAME
There is no development on the issue of FYROM's name,
reiterated today Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas
mentioning that the issue is being discussed within the framework
of the United Nations.
On the occasion of today's meeting of Greek foreign minister
Giorgos Papandreou with FYROM's prime minister, the Greek minister
of press underlined that the relations between the two countries
develop smoothly. He said that they are improving in the economic,
trade and cultural sector and this is an indication of good
neighborly relations. The Greek government spokesman concluded
that bilateral relations will reach an excellent level when the
issue of FYROM's name is resolved.
[11] REPPAS ON THE "17 NOVEMBER" TERRORIST ORGANIZATION
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that there
will be no dialogue with the terrorists referring to the "17
November" terrorist organization proclamation published today by
the Athens newspaper "Eleftherotipia". The proclamation refers to
the assassination of British military attache in Athens Stephen
Saunders.
The minister of press stated that the Greek government and
the Greek people feel abhorred because the terrorists attempt to
justify what can not be justified by taking the lives of
fellowmen. He stated that terrorism is a plague for every society
and added that the government remains firm to its position that
the terrorists must be brought to justice.
On the content of the proclamation, he stated that he can not
enter a discussion on it as the anti-terrorist agency is dealing
with the issue.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] GLIKERIA'S CONCERT IN TIRANA WAS A BIG SUCCESS
The charity concert that was given by Greek singer Glikeria
in Tirana last night was very successful.
Among the people in the audience were Albanian prime minister
Ilir Meta, Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All of Albania,
government ministers, political party leaders and many
dignitaries.
The proceeds from the concert will be offered for the
financial and moral support of the families of the police
officers, who were killed in the line of duty in the 1997 events.
Greek ambassador to Tirana Dimitris Eliopoulos stated that
the response of the Albanian people to the concert proves that
culture and especially, music unite the two peoples.
[13] A SHIP WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SANK OFF THE COASTS OF CYPRUS
The ship "Royal Prince" that was carrying illegal immigrants
from Lebanon sank about 60 miles off the coasts of Cyprus at dawn
today.
The nine-member crew was rescued, while there is no news on
the fate of the illegal immigrants. The ship sent out an SOS
signal and two helicopters, one from the Cypriot police and a
second one from the British bases, responded to it immediately.
|
