Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-02-14
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, February 14, 2001
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[01] THREE SLIGHT QUAKES RATTLE ATHENS, NO DAMAGES
[02] NATO EXERCISE IN IONIAN SEA BEGINS THIS WEEK
[03] "PARTNERSHIP IN PEACE" FEATURED IN NATO EXERCISE
[04] GREEK ROAD TOLL WORKERS GO ON 24-HOUR STRIKE
[05] IOC'S ROGGE ARRIVES IN ATHENS TOMORROW
[06] GREEK AMBASSADOR TO YUGOSLAVIA MEETS PM
[07] MERRY RELENTLESS: DON'T IGNORE GREEK TERRORISM
[08] GREEK FM, SECRETARY POWELL HOLD PHONE TALKS
[09] SLIGHT QUAKE ROCKS CENTRAL-EASTERN GREECE
[10] OECD OPTIMISTIC OVER COURSE OF GREEK ECONOMY
[11] IMMIGRANT DIES FROM HYPOTHERMIA ON MT. BELLES
[12] SAE TO CONVENE IN THESSALONIKI THIS MONTH
[13] CONSUMER PRICE INDEX COMPONENTS ADJUSTED
[14] THE GREEKS IN THE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA GO
THROUGH HARD TIMES
[15] GAINS WERE RECORDED IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[16] MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT PRESIDENTS OF GREECE AND CYPRUS
[17] NO NEW DEVELOPMENTS ON THE ISSUE OF THE FYROM NAME
[18] THE LEGISLATION DEALING WITH MONEY LAUNDERING IS ADEQUATE
[19] THE PRIME MINISTER WANTS ACCELERATED PACE IN THE ATHENS
OLYMPIC GAMES PREPARATIONS
[20] THE APPLICATIONS FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM IN GREECE DOUBLED IN
2000
[21] A BULGARIAN SLAVE-TRADER RECEIVED A LONG PRISON SENTENCE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[22] REASSURING SWISS LABORATORY TEST RESULTS ON THE PRESENCE OF
PLUTONIUM IN THE BALKANS
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] THREE SLIGHT QUAKES RATTLE ATHENS, NO DAMAGES
Three slight earthquakes rattled Athens early this morning,
occurring consecutively within a course of ten minutes and
measuring 3.5, 3.8 and 3.4 on the Richter scale.
No damages have been reported from the quakes that occurred
at 6.04, 6.08 and 6.14 am.
According to the Athens Geodynamic Institute, the quakes'
epicenter was located in Parnetha, an area prone to post-seismic
activity following the devastating quake of Athens in 1999.
Another quake, measuring 4.2 Richter, occurred in Thesprotia
shortly after midnight.
[02] NATO EXERCISE IN IONIAN SEA BEGINS THIS WEEK
A NATO naval exercise, touted as the most important in the
anti- submarine race world-wide, is to get underway tomorrow in
the Ionian Sea and the eastern parts of Sicily, with the
participation of 12 countries, including Greece.
Code-named "Dogfish 2001", the exercise's purpose is to
showcase the Alliance's ability to conduct coordinated counter-
submarine operations and it will involve a multinational force
composed of surface vessels, submarines, naval cooperation
aircraft and helicopters. Greece will participate with a
submarine, a naval cooperation aircraft and a destroyer.
The other participating countries are France, Germany,
Britain, the United States, Spain, Italy, Canada, Norway, the
Netherlands, Portugal and Turkey.
[03] "PARTNERSHIP IN PEACE" FEATURED IN NATO EXERCISE
The 14 "Partnership for Peace" member-states are to take part
for the first time in NATO's annual crisis management exercise
codenamed CMX 200, which will be held between February 15-21.
The purpose of the exercise is to test processes for managing
joint political and military crises and improve NATO's ability to
manage crises.
The exercise's scenario is hypothetical and will take place
in an imaginary region between Iceland and Britain, where NATO's
task will be to implement a United Nations peace operation.
[04] GREEK ROAD TOLL WORKERS GO ON 24-HOUR STRIKE
The county's road toll booth employees are embarking on a 24-
hour strike today, in protest to a bill tabled in parliament by
the Ministry of Public Works calling for changes in the sector.
Specifically, the bill calls for the transformation of
National Road Fund into a public company along the lines of Attica
Metro.
Road toll unions accuse deputy Public Works Minister Nassos
Alevras that he ignored their proposals before tabling the bill.
[05] IOC'S ROGGE ARRIVES IN ATHENS TOMORROW
The President of the International Olympics Committee's
Coordination Commission, Jacques Rogge is to arrive in Athens
tomorrow, February 15, in order to assess the country's course of
preparations for the 2004 Olympic Games.
Mr. Rogge will hold talks with the president of the Athens
2004 Organizing Committee, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Minister
of Environment, Public Works and Urban Planning Costas Laliotis
and undersecretary of Sports George Floridis.
[06] GREEK AMBASSADOR TO YUGOSLAVIA MEETS PM
The Yugoslav government's proposal to restrict Southern
Serbia's demilitarized zone from five to one kilometer, is being
given serious consideration by NATO's headquarters in Brussels,
Greece' s Ambassador to Yugoslavia Michalis Spinellis stated after
his meeting with the country's federal premier Zoran Zizic.
Mr. Spinellis also stated that Greece supports the European
Union's position over Yugoslav sovereignty and the federal model
as the best available for outlining relations between Serbia and
Montenegro.
Regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections in
Montenegro, Mr. Spinellis stated that "Greece believes that the
future of Serbia and Montenegro belongs in a democratic
Yugoslavia," adding that Greece is anxiously following the
situation in Kosovo and southern Serbia, "as these not only affect
developments in Yugoslavia but the entire region as well."
Mr. Spinellis also praised the Yugoslav forces' self-
restraint in southern Serbia in the face of raids by armed
Albanian gangs, stating that Greece deems that Belgrade's proposal
for defusing the crisis offers good prospects for a peaceful
resolution.
In turn, Mr. Zizic underlined that that only dialogue will
stabilize relations between the two Yugoslav republics.
[07] MERRY RELENTLESS: DON'T IGNORE GREEK TERRORISM
The Bush Administration should not certify Athens as safe for
American athletes and fans during the 2004 Olympics if the
terrorist organization November 17 is not destroyed, according to
former State Department and Pentagon official Wayne Merry, better
known to Greeks as "the prophet of doom".
In a "Christian Science Monitor" editorial, Mr. Merry appears
relentless in the "propaganda war" he's waged against Greece and
its security measures for the 2004 Olympiad, urging the U.S. to
threaten Athens with a Games boycott in order to force the
government to take counter-terrorism action.
"Greek authorities can deal with this problem if they want
to, and Washington should make certain they do," Mr. Merry writes,
pointing out that just as arrests where made over the Pan Am
bombing case -albeit ten years later- similar attention should be
devoted to ferreting out 17N.
"The problem is Greek government passivity. Despite scores of
attacks - many with eyewitnesses - there have been no arrests. No
suspects have even been identified. Many Western countries have
faced radical leftists, but only Greek law enforcement has zero
accomplishments," he writes, adding that "few Greeks believe
police failure is an accident. Repeatedly, key information about
investigations is leaked to the tabloid newspapers. Last fall, six
months of hard work by some of Scotland Yard's best investigators
- sent to Greece after the murder of the British defense attaché
in June - was exposed in two Athens dailies. The information could
come only from inside the "elite" counterterrorist forces."
Moreover, Mr. Merry writes that witnesses who have given
police "secret" testimony have received threatening phone calls or
seen their cars firebombed by way of warning.
[08] GREEK FM, SECRETARY POWELL HOLD PHONE TALKS
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou, presently on an
official visit to Lebanon, held a 15-minute phone conversation
with the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday evening,
to whom he conveyed the rising concerns of Arab leaders over
Israel's elections.
Moreover, Mr. Papandreou thanked Mr. Powell for his positive
statement on the issue of terrorism in Greece, and briefed him on
the progress noted in Greek-Turkish relations, as well as on
problems concerning the Cyprus issue.
The two officials also discussed the situation in the Balkan
region, where Mr. Papandreou granted particular attention to the
flashpoints of Southern Serbia and Montenegro.
Messrs. Powell and Papandreou agreed to meet on February 27
in Brussels, at the sidelines of the NATO Summit.
[09] SLIGHT QUAKE ROCKS CENTRAL-EASTERN GREECE
Another earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale rocked
the region of Thesprotia in central-eastern Greece this morning,
two hours after three tremors shook Athens.
The quake occurred at 8:35 a.m., with its epicentre in the
sea region between the Paxi islands and Igoumenitsa, 330
kilometers northwest of Athens. Non damages have been reported.
Mild tremors measuring 3.5, 3.8 and 3.4 Richter were also
recorded at 6:04, 6:08 and 6:14 a.m. in Athens, coming from the
Parnitha epicenter that produced the devastating 5.9 Richter
earthquake in 1999.
According to seismologists, the three tremors were part of
the area's continuing post-seismic activity from the September
1999 earthquake.
[10] OECD OPTIMISTIC OVER COURSE OF GREEK ECONOMY
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) is optimistic over the course of Greece's economic
development, forecasting the growth rate at 4.6 percent in 2001
and 4.4 percent in 2000.
In a recent report, OECD notes that Greece has made great
steps towards handling macroeconomic inequalities," adding that
the Greek government's "incessant efforts were rewarded with
Greece's accession to the eurozone in 2001." The report also
forecast a decrease in the country's unemployment rate, which is
expected to drop from 10.7 percent in 2001 to 10 percent in
2002, after reaching 11.4 percent in 2000.
However, the report warns of inflationary pressures and the
noted delays in the course of structural reforms.
"The main dangers surrounding these predictions concern the
duration of a strong economic development in an environment of low
inflation. Under the circumstances, it is extremely difficult to
assess the repercussions from the slackening of monetary policy
entailed by entry to the European Monetary Union (EMU)," the OECD
warned.
"Greece's entry to the EMU's third phase, with the adoption
of the euro, means the Greek government lacks the possibility of
increasing interest rates to avoid an overheating of the economy
and control inflation. The need for a tighter fiscal policy stems
from there" according to the report, which adds that "a tougher
fiscal policy should be implemented and cutbacks in taxation
should not be applied unless they are accompanied by cutbacks in
expenditures."
[11] IMMIGRANT DIES FROM HYPOTHERMIA ON MT. BELLES
A 25-year-old Bulgarian man died from cold exposure on Mt.
Belles, during an attempt to cross the mountain and illegally
enter Greece with a group of his compatriots.
According to the police report, local villagers discovered
the young man's lifeless body after being alerted by the other
illegal immigrants that he had gone missing during their attempt
to cross into Greece a few days ago.
Fearing that if they were to search the area for the missing
man they would be spotted by the border patrol, the group of
illegal immigrants sought help from the Greek villagers instead.
[12] SAE TO CONVENE IN THESSALONIKI THIS MONTH
The Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE) is to convene at its
Thessaloniki offices between February 20-24, in the presence of
underdecretary of Foreign Affairs Grigoris Niotis and the
Secretary-General of Expatriated Greeks Dimitris Dollis.
The meeting will feature the participation of SAE presidennt
Andrew Athens, alternate president Costas Pappas, and regional
vice presidents for SAE's branches in Cyprus, Asia-Africa, North
and South America, Europe and Oceania.
[13] CONSUMER PRICE INDEX COMPONENTS ADJUSTED
January inflation is expected to close at 3.5 percent year-on-
year, compared with 3.9 in December, according to the National
Statistics Service's (NSS) report expected to be released
tomorrow.
The report notes that the containment of oil prices and the
dollar's declining rate are both contributory factors for curbing
inflation.
As the Athens daily "Imerisia" reported, NSS has begun taking
into consideration the changes in the Consumer Price Index's
components which were adjusted followng household budget reviews.
According to the modified CPI, spending on food, housing,
outerwear and footwear has fallen as a percentage, while spending
on health, transportation, commuicatins and education has
rocketed.
[14] THE GREEKS IN THE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA GO
THROUGH HARD TIMES
The situation for the Greeks in the former soviet republic of
Georgia continues to be difficult as it is for all Georgians.
Unemployment exceeds 50%, while the average monthly pensions is
just US$ 7. About 1.500 Greek families live in squalid conditions
and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are deprived of
basic foodstuffs, such as flour, sugar, butter, etc.
The above were stressed to MPA by Greek Communities in
Georgia Federation president Kiriakos Iordanidis, who is in Athens
for contacts with the responsible government institutions and
officials.
Mr. Iordanidis expressed satisfaction for the contacts he had
so far with general secretary for the Greeks Living Abroad
Dimitris Dollis and pointed out that he expects solutions to be
found for the big problems faced by the Greeks in Georgia. Mr.
Iordanidis was also scheduled to meet yesterday with
undersecretary of foreign affairs responsible for the Greeks
Living Abroad Grigoris Niotis, while today he will meet with
undersecretary of national economy Yiannis Zafiropoulos.
He stated that ten years ago, the Greek community in Georgia
numbered 130.000 members but now the Greek presence has shrunk
dramatically with the known results.
[15] GAINS WERE RECORDED IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The
general index rose by 0.47% at 3.211,32 points, while the volume
of transactions was 122.47 million Euro or 41.73 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, 268 recorded gains and only 62
had losses, while the value of 40 stocks remained stable.
[16] MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT PRESIDENTS OF GREECE AND CYPRUS
The latest developments in the Cyprus problem were discussed
in Athens by Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis and
his Cypriot counterpart Spiros Kiprianou, who is on a visit to
Greece.
Mr. Kaklamanis stated after the meeting that it was
productive and useful, while he expressed the belief that the
exchange of views on Cyprus will continue. It should be noted that
the negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem appear to
be stagnant because of the unwillingness expressed by Turkish
Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to attend the new round of the
proximity talks held within the framework of the United Nations.
The Turkish Cypriot leader calls for the recognition of two
states in Cyprus, while the Cypriot Republic is in favor of a two-
zone, two-community federation.
[17] NO NEW DEVELOPMENTS ON THE ISSUE OF THE FYROM NAME
The round of consultations, held under the UN auspices on the
issue of the name that will be used by FYROM continues, stated
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas responding to a
relevant question by reporters, pointing out, however, that no new
developments have been observed on the issue.
Mr. Reppas underlined that the climate in bilateral relations
is totally different compared to the past and announced that the
Balkan Summit meeting will be held in Skopje at the end of the
month, stressing that this would have been inconceivable a few
years ago.
[18] THE LEGISLATION DEALING WITH MONEY LAUNDERING IS ADEQUATE
The legislation that deals with money laundering phenomena is
adequate, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas,
adding that the government is willing to proceed to marginal
improvements whenever this is necessary.
Specifically, Mr. Reppas stated that the government is
studying the European legislation on such issues for the Greek
justice ministry to incorporate it into the existing state
legislation.
[19] THE PRIME MINISTER WANTS ACCELERATED PACE IN THE ATHENS
OLYMPIC GAMES PREPARATIONS
Prime minister Kostas Simitis called for accelerated pace in
the preparations for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in the
ministerial meeting on the Olympic Games that was held today.
In statements he made after the meeting, undersecretary of
press Tilemachos Hitiris stated that the preparations in progress
were examined in view of the visit to Athens by an International
Olympic Committee, IOC, delegation headed by committee vice-
president Jacques Rogge.
"Athens 2004" Organizing Committee president Ms. Yianna
Angelopoulou-Daskalakis stated that it is important to realize
that the issue is of extremely urgent nature and that everybody
must have a sense of the responsibility that corresponds to them.
She also stated that she is personally concerned over the fact
that time is the enemy in this case, adding that more
determination is needed and changes must be made even if the
changes are institutional ones.
The undersecretary of press stated that there are 1.200 days
before the Athens Olympic Games and the problems that arise must
be dealt with quickly.
Mr. Hitiris stated that Mr. Rogge will have separate meetings
tomorrow with sports undersecretary Giorgos Floridis, labor
undersecretary Christos Protopappas, environment, land planning
and public works minister Kostas Laliotis, culture minister
Evangelos Venizelos and prime minister Kostas Simitis. On Friday,
Mr. Rogge will give a press conference to comment on the progress
made by Greece in the preparations for the Athens Olympic Games in
2004.
[20] THE APPLICATIONS FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM IN GREECE DOUBLED IN
2000
There are 20 million political refugees all over the world
and 2.7 million come from Afghanistan, according to figures
presented today by UN High Commission on Refugees office
representative in Greece Ms. Florinda Rojas. The UN High
Commission on Refugees organizes a number of events in Greece in
cooperation with non governmental organizations and institutions
on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
The number of those requesting political asylum in Greece has
doubled in 2000 compared to 1999, while there was also an increase
in the political asylum approval rate reaching 11.2% compared to
8.5% in 1999.
In the last five years, political asylum was granted to 6.291
individuals coming mainly from Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan.
The main entry points of refugees to the Greek territory are the
Greek-Turkish borders and the Aegean islands. Referring to the
issue of the Kosovo refugees, Ms. Rojas stated that 80% of them
have returned to their homes.
[21] A BULGARIAN SLAVE-TRADER RECEIVED A LONG PRISON SENTENCE
A court in the northern Greek city of Serres sentenced
23yearold Bulgarian Kiro Stoyanov to 17.5 years in prison, while
he will also have to pay a fine of 2.3 million drachmas. The young
Bulgarian was found guilty of attempting to bring illegally to
Greece a total of 37 Asian immigrants.
He was arrested two days ago in the region of the Lake of
Kerkini during a police chase. In his truck police found 28
Iranians, 7 Pakistanis and two Bangladeshis. During interrogation
he stated that he crossed over to Greece from an unguarded Greek-
Bulgarian border crossing and his destination was the city of
Thessaloniki. He also said that he had an accomplice who managed
to escape during the chase.
After the trial, he was taken to Diavata Prison, outside
Thessaloniki, pending his appeal.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[22] REASSURING SWISS LABORATORY TEST RESULTS ON THE PRESENCE OF
PLUTONIUM IN THE BALKANS
The tests conducted by a Swiss scientific laboratory showed
very small traces of plutonium in the depleted uranium bombs that
were used by the NATO forces in the Balkans, according to Swiss
radio reports.
Based on the same information, the plutonium quantities
traced in the depleted uranium bombs that were used by the NATO
forces in the Balkans are very small and are not a threat for
public health.
The UN Environmental Program had sent a group of specialists
to Kosovo in the beginning of the month to collect soil, water and
plant samples from different areas in Yugoslavia. Those samples
were tested in laboratories to clarify if the depleted uranium
weapons are any threat whatsoever, for the people.
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