Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-03-19
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, March 19, 2001
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[Á] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS STAFF EMBARK ON 24-HOUR STRIKE
[02] GREEK POLICEMEN COMPLETE FBI TRAINING COURSE
[03] NEA SMYRNI METROPOLITAN AGATHANGELOS DIED
[04] FOREIGN MINISTER CONCLUDES HIS TOUR OF THRACE
[05] BODY AT SHORE MAY BE OF CHOPPER CRASH DOCTOR
[06] NATIONWIDE CENSUS CONDUCTED SMOOTHLY
[07] TOUR BUS DRIVERS EMBARK ON INDEFINITE STRIKE
[08] EU HOLDS AGRICULTURE MINISTERS COUNCIL TODAY
[09] DM OPPOSED TO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SKOPJE
[10] A SECTION OF ATTICA ROAD NOW OPEN TO DRIVERS
[11] GREEK, UK PREMIERS SHARE BYLINE IN ARTICLE
[12] DEPUTY FM: NO ROOM FOR GAMES IN THE BALKANS
[13] SIMITIS ON IMMIGRATION AND XENOPHOBIA
[14] KAKLAMANIS WILL BE IN SKOPJE TOMORROW
[15] GREEK PROPOSAL FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE IN FYROM
[16] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[17] GREEK GOVERNMENT DISCONTENT OVER A BBC PROGRAM
[18] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE ARREST OF TWO GREEK
JOURNALISTS IN JORDAN
[19] GREECE CALLS FOR GREATER EFFECTIVENESS BY KFOR
[20] SIMITIS-BLAIR MEETING
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[21] THE FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THE EU
AGRICULTURE MINISTERS MEETING
[22] THE GREEK STUDIES INTER-UNIVERSITY CENTER WAS INAUGURATED IN
MONTREAL
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] OLYMPIC AIRWAYS STAFF EMBARK ON 24-HOUR STRIKE
Personnel unions at the ailing national carrier Olympic
Airways have declared a 24-hour strike for tomorrow, March 20, in
protest to the government's move to sell a majority stake of the
airline, through an international tender, to strategic partners.
Even though O.A. is to be staffed with a skeleton crew tomorrow,
the strike is expected to disrupt air travel as only one flight
per domestic and international route will be conducted.
[02] GREEK POLICEMEN COMPLETE FBI TRAINING COURSE
A team of 26 Greek police officers have completed a two-week,
US-sponsored course in counter-terrorism techniques taught in
Athens by trainers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to a press release issued by the United States
Embassy in Athens, US Ambassador Nicholas Burns and Greek police
chief Gen. Ioannis Giorgakopoulos presented certificates to the
police officers who were taught the essentials of investigating
terrorist crime scenes.
The course is part of an extensive program that took place
last year in the context of Greek-US police cooperation. Since
last June, FBI officers have instructed over 50 Greek officers in
aviation security and major case management, with many of them
traveling to FBI's training facility in Quantico, Virginia.
Additional FBI experts are expected to come to Greece to
provide further training in surveillance detection, marine
operations and terrorist crime scene investigation.
[03] NEA SMYRNI METROPOLITAN AGATHANGELOS DIED
The Metropolitan of Nea Smyrni Agathangelos, who died on
Friday after a lengthy illness, was buried at the second Athens
cemetery on Sunday.
Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece Christodoulos praised
Agathangelos' personality, while the Metropolitan of Didimotiho
Nikiforos praised the work of the deceased in the region before
1986 when he assumed his duties of Metropolitan of Nea Smyrni.
The funeral ceremony was attended by many clerics as well as
by politicians including main opposition New Democracy party
Honorary President Constantine Mitsotakis and Agriculture Minister
George Anomeritis.
[04] FOREIGN MINISTER CONCLUDES HIS TOUR OF THRACE
Concluding his three-day tour of the region of Thrace
yesterday, Foreign Minister George Papandreou visited the city of
Alexandroupolis where he praised initiatives by the Evros
prefecture regarding cross-border cooperation.
Mr. Papandreou later met with representatives of repatriated
Greeks who delivered a memorandum to him containing claims
concerning their housing arrangements.
On Saturday, the Foreign Minister visited the prefecture of
Rodopi and attended an open regional council in the city of
Komotini, organized by the regional authorities of eastern
Macedonia and Thrace.
According to Mr. Papandreou, the region "can be none other
than the center of cooperation between countries in the region".
He also added that the foreign ministry is "acting at a diplomatic
level to safeguard the best possible relations and always in the
framework of respect for our sovereign rights and always in the
framework of respect for basic principles which is the explanation
for good cooperation and good relations."
[05] BODY AT SHORE MAY BE OF CHOPPER CRASH DOCTOR
A woman's decomposed body that washed ashore on the coast of
Crete could be that of a woman doctor aboard an emergency service
helicopter that crashed into the sea early this year, according to
a medical examiner.
An Agusta Bell helicopter of the EKAB national emergency
assistance service crashed into the sea off the coast of Athens as
it was transporting a 75-year-old man who had suffered a heart
attack from the island of Patmos to Athens. All five passengers on
board are presumed dead.
According to the medical examiner, the body, which was found
by fishermen Saturday on the shore of Balos and was in a state of
"very advanced decomposition", belonged to a woman 30-40 years of
age and of an indeterminable height.
The body is believed to have been in the sea for about 2-3
months and had suffered severe bruising and massive bone fractures
from head to toe.
A DNA examination and a comparison with dental records is to
performed in order to ascertain if the body belongs to the late
Sophia Befon.
[06] NATIONWIDE CENSUS CONDUCTED SMOOTHLY
A nationwide census of households and citizens was held in
Greece yesterday, constituting the state's prime tool for
measuring sociological and demographic trends in order to attain
as accurate a picture as possible of the country.
Conducted by the National Statistical Service, the census
included Greek citizens, foreigners, economic immigrants and
travelers.
The 150,000 enumerators visited all houses and apartment
buildings, as well as shacks, Gypsy settlements and prefabricated
housing settlements accommodating quake-victims in western and
northern Athens suburbs. They also approached the homeless at
shelters and on the street.
The questions covered everything from the number of persons
per household and marital status to place of residence one year
and five years ago, nationality and education. Foreigners were
asked to state when they arrived in Greece, their country of
origin and the reasons why they reside here. The government
believes it will take 10 months to review the data before
publishing the conclusions.
The census is compulsory and people who failed to fill in a
form are subject to fines similar to those imposed during general
elections for abstaining from voting.
People who were not counted for any reason are obliged to go
to the police precinct in their area or to the offices of the
municipality where they live or to prefectural offices today to
fill in a census form. The last census in Greece was held in
1991 when the country's population was found to be about 10.3
million.
[07] TOUR BUS DRIVERS EMBARK ON INDEFINITE STRIKE
Greece's tour bus drivers are embarking on an indefinite
strike today, in protest to the state's transport policies which,
they claim, unfairly favor public mass transit companies over
private operators.
Also, work stoppages have been declared by railway, bus and
trolley workers for tomorrow afternoon.
[08] EU HOLDS AGRICULTURE MINISTERS COUNCIL TODAY
Greece's Agriculture Minister George Anomeritis is to join
his European Union counterparts in Brussels today, during a
ministers council that will review matters such as the recent
outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease.
Greece has taken a series of precautionary measures over the
animal disease, such as subjecting NATO soldiers entering Greece,
as well as tourists coming from high-risk countries for foot-and-
mouth, to thorough checks.
According to the Ministry, travelers from high-risk countries
(UK, France, Italy, Belgium and Germany) will have their luggage
checked for products that might carry the disease, such as canned
foods, milk, sausages, salami etc. In addition, the ministry has
banned the sale and movement of animals through traders and
requires that the Veterinary Service approve all animal movements.
Also, imported animals will be subjected to clinical and
laboratory testing, while all animals imported from France are now
being monitored.
[09] DM OPPOSED TO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SKOPJE
The government of FYROM has not requested military assistance
from Greece, but, even if such request were to be made, Greece's
position against military involvement in neighboring countries is
clear, according to Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos.
In an interview with the Athens radio station "Flash", Mr.
Tsochatzopoulos added that Greece could dispatch its forces in
FYROM through a United Nations order following an appeal on behalf
of Skopje.
The Defense Minister stated that Greece upholds the military
cooperation agreement it has with FYROM, as well as with Albania,
while it supports the government of FYROM politically, aiming at
establishing peace in the region.
Referring to the developments in FYROM, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos
said that Albanian secessionist forces are trying to duplicate the
case of Kosovo, while he stressed that the only solution is
respect and consolidation of rights for all the citizens and the
minorities.
[10] A SECTION OF ATTICA ROAD NOW OPEN TO DRIVERS
Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Costas
Laliotis inaugurated yesterday a 21-kilometer section of a 65.2-
kilometer speedway, which will be open to motorists as of today.
The sections that are open to the public are the approach
road to the airport, from the Pallini and Gerakas junctions and
the section between the Athens-Thessaloniki national highway and
Kymis Avenue, near the Olympic Sports Complex at Maroussi.
The 435-billion-drachma project comprises a total of six
sections and is being financed mainly by loans from the European
Investment Bank (EIB) and Greek commercial banks. When completed
at the end of 2003, the highway is expected to absorb 10 percent
of total traffic in the Attica prefecture.
[11] GREEK, UK PREMIERS SHARE BYLINE IN ARTICLE
Greece and Great Britain have a mutual benefit from economic
reforms, according to an article penned jointly by Greek Premier
Costas Simitis and his British counterpart Tony Blair.
"We both wish to combat unemployment, rendering Europe more
competitive, and attract investment in new job positions," they
wrote in the article published in the two Athens dailies
"Eleftherotypia" and "Ta Nea", adding that "we both seek to secure
opportunities for all citizens and we deem that employment is the
most effective guarantee against social isolation."
The two premiers also refer to the upcoming European Union
summit in Stockholm (March 23-24), where the issue of unemployment
will top the agenda, and note that it will be a first opportunity
to assess progress made on the target set during the Lisbon
Summit, i.e. rendering Europe the world's most competitive and
dynamic economy by the year 2010.
[12] DEPUTY FM: NO ROOM FOR GAMES IN THE BALKANS
There is no room for game-playing in the Balkan region where
any challenge for border changes could awaken the most nightmarish
domino-effect and lead to expanded regional instability, deputy
Foreign Minister Grigoris Niotis stated in reference to the
situation in FYROM.
In an address before Greek-Canadian community leaders in
Toronto, Mr. Niotis stated the Greek government is pleased that
its position over the inviolability of borders has been fully
supported by both Europe and the United States.
"This coincidence of views", he said, was ascertained during
his meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister John Manley.
According to Mr. Niotis, he and Mr. Manley also discussed the
prospect of NATO intervening to establish peace in the region and
control the terrorists who seek regional instability.
Furthermore, Mr. Nioitis hailed Greece's Balkan
Reconstruction Plan, budgeted at 180 billion drachmas, as the
"most complete proposal calling for development, stability and
peace in the region".
In reference to Turkey, the deputy FM warned that, by its
unwillingness to enforce the Security Council's resolution for
Cyprus, it is opting for the road to isolation.
"In no way will Cyprus be rendered Turkey's hostage in its
European course," he stressed.
Lastly, concerning the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and the
role expatriates can play therein, Mr. Niotis stated that a
volunteer program will target the Greek expatriates, aiming at the
participation of 5,000 young volunteers of Greek decent.
[13] SIMITIS ON IMMIGRATION AND XENOPHOBIA
A progressive government should have an anthropocentric
attitude when dealing with immigration, underlined prime minister
Kostas Simitis speaking before the members of working teams
forming the network for the exchange of views on a progressive
government.
The prime minister speaking in an event held in Athens stated
that blaming the foreigners for the problems faced by society is
an indication of xenophobia and sometimes racism, stressing that
the reappearance of human slavery is unacceptable. He also pointed
out that safeguarding diversity in a world that changes rapidly is
the main goal for a progressive government.
Mr. Simitis stated that foreigners are the flag-bearers of
values, who open new horizons and do not build new walls.
[14] KAKLAMANIS WILL BE IN SKOPJE TOMORROW
Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis will be in
Skopje, FYROM tomorrow to attend the 2nd conference of
southeastern European parliament presidents.
The conference will be held while dramatic developments are
underway in FYROM as the armed battles continue between Albanian
extremists and FYROM security forces. The situation in the region
is expected to dominate in the conference.
[15] GREEK PROPOSAL FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE IN FYROM
Greek foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis stated today
that the situation in FYROM remains crucial and alarming.
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou is in constant
communication with the Skopje leadership, while this morning he
met with EU representative on the common foreign policy and
defense policy Mr. Javier Solana and FYROM foreign minister
Sertzan Kerim on the sidelines of the EU foreign ministers council
that is being held in Brussels.
Mr. Papandreou also had consultations with Stability Pact
coordinator Mr. Hobach, who will attend the southeastern European
parliament presidents' conference.
In the meetings he had, Mr. Papandreou presented the Greek
proposal for an immediate ceasefire and the simultaneous opening
of a political dialogue with the participation of all political
forces represented in the FYROM parliament.
Mr. Papandreou stressed that Greece believes in the political
solution of the problems in FYROM which can not be solved through
the use of violence, the threat for the use of violence or
accomplished facts.
When he was asked to comment on the statements made by
Ibrahim Rugova, leader of Democratic Union (the main political
party of the Kosovo ethnic-Albanians) according to which, the
preservation of the independence of Kosovo will limit the violent
incidents in FYROM, Mr. Beglitis pointed out that such statements
are inflammatory. Mr. Beglitis stated that the international
community has responded repeatedly that there is not an issue of a
Kosovo independence.
The Greek foreign ministry also confirmed the information
according to which, there is an increase in the number of
applications for entry visas on behalf of the FYROM citizens
adding, however, that for the time being there is no reason for
concern.
Regarding the Greek military assistance, it will be within
the framework of the country's obligations to EU and NATO based on
the agreements it has signed. The latest developments in FYROM
will be discussed at Greece's request, in the formal dinner of the
EU leaders in the extraordinary summit meeting that will be held
in Stockholm on March 23-24.
Finally, it should be noted that the date for the tripartite
meeting of the foreign ministers of Greece, Albania and FYROM in
Prespes, initially scheduled to take place on March 28-29, has not
been set yet. Yugoslav foreign minister Mr. Svilatovic has been
invited to attend the meeting.
[16] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Big losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today.
The general index dropped to 1.70% at 3.072,66 points, while the
volume of transactions was 196.29 million Euro or 66.9 billion
drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, 308 recorded losses and 42 had
gains, while the value of 24 stocks remained stable.
[17] GREEK GOVERNMENT DISCONTENT OVER A BBC PROGRAM
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas expressed the
Greek government's strong discontent over a BBC program on
terrorism in Greece. Mr. Reppas stated that the BBC program was an
arbitrary fabrication aimed at misinformation and disorientation.
The Greek government spokesman underlined that such actions
must stop, stressing that Greece is a safe country.
[18] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE ARREST OF TWO GREEK
JOURNALISTS IN JORDAN
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas responded to
questions by reporters on the arrest of two Greek journalists,
Nikos Yiannopoulos and Ioanna Sotirchou. Mr. Reppas stated that
the Greek foreign ministry through the Greek embassy in Jordan
made all necessary moves and representations that led to the
release of the two Greek journalists.
Regarding the information on the two arrested journalists
that was at the disposal of the secret services, the Greek
government spokesman stated that the way in which this information
was gathered is an issue of the Jordanian secret services.
[19] GREECE CALLS FOR GREATER EFFECTIVENESS BY KFOR
The KFOR forces must display greater effectiveness, exercise
their duties and implement UN resolution 1244, which has not been
implemented yet and provides for the disarmament of the Albanian
extremists, stressed Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas
when he was asked to comment on the crisis in FYROM.
Mr. Reppas also underlined that the Skopje government must be
backed politically, while the forces deployed by the international
community in the region, within the framework of KFOR, should play
their role in order to avert phenomena that lead to fluidity and
instability.
He reiterated that Greece is present in every international
consultation and added that, within the framework of an agreement
signed by the Greek and FYROM defense ministries, Athens has sent
material assistance and support to the neighboring country and
will continue to do so if necessary.
When asked to comment if there is a wave of refugees toward
Greece, the Greek government spokesman stated that there is no
such issue underlining, however, that lately there is an increase
in the number of entry visa applications received by the Greek
consulate.
[20] SIMITIS-BLAIR MEETING
British prime minister Tony Blair and Greek prime minister
Kostas Simitis, who is on a visit to Britain, will discuss issues
of bilateral and wider European interest, stated Greek government
spokesman Dimitris Reppas, while he did not rule out a discussion
on the issue of terrorism as well.
The Greek government spokesman stated on that specific issue
that it is being dealt with within the framework of the
responsible agencies and both countries have expressed the will to
counter terrorism, stressing that it is a phenomenon that concerns
the whole world.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[21] THE FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THE EU
AGRICULTURE MINISTERS MEETING
The foot-and-mouth disease that tends to become an epidemic
not only in Europe but in the Persian Gulf countries as well will
be discussed in the EU agriculture ministers meeting that will be
held in Brussels today.
The European Union ministers will be called to discuss the
measures that will be adopted to deal with the disease and the
measures already taken at a state level by each EU member country.
In Britain alone, the foot-and-mouth disease is expected to
cost about 14 billion Euro, while the German government is
pressured by the farmers to pay compensation.
[22] THE GREEK STUDIES INTER-UNIVERSITY CENTER WAS INAUGURATED IN
MONTREAL
The Greek Studies Inter-University Center in Montreal
University was inaugurated last Saturday in the presence among
others of Greek ambassador to Ottawa Leonidas Chrisanthakopoulos
and Greek consul general in Monreal Gabriel Papadopoulos.
The center will offer modern Greek language, literature and
culture programs in three universities namely, the universities of
MacGill, Montreal and Concordia.
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