Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-05-28
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, May 28, 2001
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[Á] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] OLDEST ICON OF CHRIST AT BYZANTINE MUSEUM
[02] ITALY, GREECE, BALKANS SIGN ANTI-CRIME ACCORD
[03] GREEK FM DEFENDS G/T RAPPROCHEMENT POLICY
[04] POLL: PM SHOULD LEAD, OPPOSITION SHOULD GOVERN
[05] POORLY-PAID DIPLOMATS DECLARE 24-HOUR STRIKE
[06] EU MP BLASTS EURONEWS FOR ERRONEOUS TERM USE
[07] SPORTEXPO A SUCCESS, WITH UNEXPECTED TURNOUT
[08] CYPRUS AIRWAYS, OUTSIDER, FITTEST SUITOR FOR OA
[09] LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[10] REPPAS ON THE ELECTION RESULTS IN CYPRUS
[11] BEGLITIS ON THE US DIPLOMAT ACTION IN SKOPJE
[12] THE EU COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ON THE BALKANS
[13] ANKARA'S MEMORANDUM TO THE 14 IS UNACCEPTABLE
[14] TONS OF URANIUM IN SERRES AND CHALKIDIKI
[15] BEGLITIS ON CYPRUS' EU ACCESSION COURSE
[16] LETTER BY KAKLAMANIS ON THE TURKISH JAILS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[17] CYPRUS COMMUNISTS WIN IN PARLIAMENTARY VOTE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] OLDEST ICON OF CHRIST AT BYZANTINE MUSEUM
The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
will inaugurate an exhibition at the Byzantine Museum today,
organized by the Greek Church to mark the 2000th anniversary of
the birth of Christ.
The exhibition is focusing on the images of Christ throughout
the centuries and features 200 icons, murals, small artifacts and
ecclesiastical embroidery from the Byzantine Museum and private
collections.
Also on display is an icon of Christ, probably the oldest of
its kind to be saved and dating back to the 6th century, which is
released for the first time ever from the Sinai Monastery, along
with eight more icons and a manuscript.
[02] ITALY, GREECE, BALKANS SIGN ANTI-CRIME ACCORD
A joint declaration calling for closer regional cooperation
in the fight against crime was in Split, Croatia, on Friday,
during a two-day conference organized as part of an Adriatic-
Ionian initiative to expedite the European Union's enlargement.
With Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania and
Slovenia represented by 200 experts, the participants stressed the
need to harmonize visa requirements as a step in fighting illegal
immigration.
The states "strongly condemn illegal trafficking in human
beings," they said in a statement, adding that they are "fully
prepared to intensify their co-operation in combating all forms of
organized crime, money laundering and illicit trade as well as
international terrorism."
Greece was represented by deputy Foreign Minister Grigoris
Niotis, who outlined the Greek proposal for combating organized
crime.
According to Mr. Niotis, the Greek proposal includes the
establishment of an early warning system.
"For us, the most important issue is stability, which can be
established, as we've stated through development, solidification
of democracy and protection of societies," he stated.
[03] GREEK FM DEFENDS G/T RAPPROCHEMENT POLICY
Greece's policy of rapprochement in its relations with Turkey
has resulted in substantive improvement in many sectors, according
to Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who dismissed criticism of
this approach as "a rationale of defeatism".
In an interview with the Sunday edition of the Athens daily
"Kathimerini", Mr. Papandreou (who just returned from an official
visit to the United States) also stressed that the Bush
Administration is in favor of the Helsinki decision in regards to
Cyprus's accession to the European Union.
"They told me with absolute clarity that they have the
Helsinki decision as a base," which does not require resolution of
the Cyprus problem before entry, he said.
In reference to his meeting with US Secretary of State Colin
Powell, Mr. Papandreou stated that their talks on a personal level
were very good, adding that Mr. Powell showed interest in Greece's
proposal for an Olympic truce.
In regards to the Balkans, Mr. Papandreou said that US
officials he had spoken to during his visit had shown interest in
Greek proposals on handling the region's crisis and asked for
regular contact on the matter. Moreover, the foreign minister said
he believed the US would contribute to resolution of Greece's name
dispute with FYROM.
[04] POLL: PM SHOULD LEAD, OPPOSITION SHOULD GOVERN
If elections were held today the conservative main opposition
New Democracy party would emerge triumphant, only it would be
steered by socialist Prime Minister Costas Simitis, according to
yet another opinion poll published yesterday.
The poll, conducted by Kappa Research, found that New
Democracy emerged ahead of the ruling party with 29.7 percent
leaving PASOK (22.9%) behind by 6.8 percentage points.
The newly founded party of Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos
(Free Citizens' Movement) ranked third in the poll with 9.1
percent, followed by: the Communist Party of Greece, 5.8 percent;
the Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) 2.7 percent;
and the Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI) at 0.9 percent.
In regards to the premier's post, Mr. Simitis amassed 31.7
percent of the votes as "best candidate", followed by ND leader
Costas Karamanlis, who gained 30.8 percent.
As to who would be Mr. Simitis' best successor, the poll
found that Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos and Foreign
Minister George Papandreou would run a neck and neck race at 24.9
and 24.8 percent, respectively.
Not surprisingly, the President of the Hellenic Republic
Costis Stephanopoulos topped the popularity stakes with 89.2
percent of the vote.
[05] POORLY-PAID DIPLOMATS DECLARE 24-HOUR STRIKE
Greek embassies and consulates are to be closed today due to
a 24-hour strike by diplomats who are protesting their low
salaries.
According to the Foreign Ministry's union of diplomatic
personnel, diplomats have not had a pay rise for ten years.
Over the same period, "considerable increases have been
granted to all other special categories of civil servants, under
the threat of social upheaval or political cost," it said.
[06] EU MP BLASTS EURONEWS FOR ERRONEOUS TERM USE
Greek European Parliament deputy Stavros Xarhakos is
reportedly displeased over a European television network's
insistence on using political terms contrary to the policies and
decisions of both the European Union and the United Nations.
Specifically, Mr. Xarhakos, who was elected to the
Europarliament on the ballot of Greece's main opposition party of
New Democracy, referred to the television channel Euronews which
has repeatedly ignored the EU- and UN-recognized "FYROM" and opts
for the term "Macedonia", a practice which he termed
"provocative".
Mr. Xarhakos also denounced the broadcast station's practice
of referring to the Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash as
"president", an incorrect term since the latter is recognized as
such only by the island's occupied territory which he leads and
Turkey.
In a question tabled with the European Commission, Mr.
Xarhakos pointed out that the said channel is provoking the Greek
national sentiment, at a time when it receives funding from the
EU, including Greek taxpayers.
The Greek eurodeputy requested to receive exact viewer rates
for Euronews, as well as EU funds it has received so far.
[07] SPORTEXPO A SUCCESS, WITH UNEXPECTED TURNOUT
The second international Sports and Recreation Equipment and
Facilities trade fair "Sportexpo 2001" surpassed all turnout
expectations, attracting a crowd of 14,077 persons, a mighty
figure when compared to last year's 4,491.
Out of the total number of visitors, 186 were trade
representatives from Greece, Yugoslavia, FYROM, Romania, Ukraine
and Turkey.
The event featured 169 exhibitors from Greece and abroad, a
marked increase from 1999's 143. The countries represented were
Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, United States, Japan, India,
Spain, Italy, Canada, Korea, Great Britain, Netherlands, Hungary,
Poland, Slovenia and Sweden.
The theme of this year's Sportexpo, organized by Helexpo,
centered around the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, with focus granted
on several special events not widely popular to the public, such
as triathlon, hockey, softball, baseball, canoe-kayak, pentathlon,
archery, body building, mountain biking, martial arts and
aerobics.
Among exhibitors were the General Secretariat for the Olympic
Games, the General Sports Secretariat, the Confederation of
Athletics Unions of Greece and federations representing individual
sports.
[08] CYPRUS AIRWAYS, OUTSIDER, FITTEST SUITOR FOR OA
In view of the unclear bids submitted by the bidders for a
majority stake in Greece's ailing national air carrier Olympic
Airways, Cyprus Airways has emerged as the fittest of the three
since it has submitted a comprehensive business plan, albeit
coupled with a low bidding price.
The two other bidders are private Greek airline Axon, which
belongs to the Liakounakos Defense Group, and a group headed by
Greek shipowner Stamatis Restis.
[09] LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
The game played by the domestic and foreign institutional
investors in view of the Athens Stock Exchange upgrading next
Thursday had a negative effect on the Greek stock market.
Losses of -0.64% were recorded today and the general index
dropped to 3.201,83 points, while the volume of transactions was
at 189.2 million Euro or 64.45 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, just 49 had gains and 281
recorded losses, while the value of 50 stocks remained stable.
[10] REPPAS ON THE ELECTION RESULTS IN CYPRUS
The election results in Cyprus reflect the will of the
sovereign Cypriot people, stated Greek government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas referring to the outcome of the Cypriot elections.
Mr. Reppas added that all political forces in Cyprus do their
part for the solution of the country's problems namely, the
solution of the Cyprus problem and the country's accession into
the European Union.
[11] BEGLITIS ON THE US DIPLOMAT ACTION IN SKOPJE
Greek foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis stated that
the US ambassador's action to mediate for the signing of an
agreement between Albanian political parties and Albanian
extremists is very negative for developments in FYROM.
He underlined that this can create conditions that could
undermine the political dialogue procedure that is in progress in
FYROM.
He also said that it is clear both in Greece and the EU that
such a practice cannot be justified, adding that all Albanian
political parties should act realistically and contribute to
political dialogue.
[12] THE EU COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ON THE BALKANS
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou leaves this
afternoon for Budapest where the EU Council of Ministers will meet
on May 29-30.
The meeting will focus on the latest developments in the
Balkans with an emphasis on FYROM, Kosovo, south Serbia, Presevo
and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Another issue that will be discussed by the 15 EU foreign
ministers is the NATO-EU relations within the framework of the
developments in the joint foreign policy and policy of defense in
the light of the Nice conclusions.
[13] ANKARA'S MEMORANDUM TO THE 14 IS UNACCEPTABLE
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that
Ankara's memorandum on Cyprus' accession into the European Union
addressed to the 14 EU leaders is unacceptable, unethical and anti-
European.
The Greek minister of press stated that Turkey's negative
stance on Cyprus is not expressed for the first time, adding that
this and other similar documents addressed to the EU or other
organizations by the Turkish leadership have no practical effect
on Cyprus' EU accession.
Mr. Reppas stated that Turkey with the policy it follows is
not only turning against Cyprus or Greece but against the EU as
well and in effect, it turns against itself. He said that all the
EU countries have praised the effort and progress made by Cyprus
within the framework of the EU accession procedure and this proves
that the EU has made its decisions and has an autonomous policy
that leads to Cyprus' accession.
[14] TONS OF URANIUM IN SERRES AND CHALKIDIKI
It appears that the subsoil in the region of eastern and
central Macedonia, in northern Greece, hides hundreds of tons of
uranium especially, in the regions of Serres and Chalkidiki.
The uranium deposits in the Serres basin are estimated today
at 600 tons putting the region at the top of the list with the
regions where the specific mineral can be found. However, the
region's potential concerning the quantity of the uranium found
there is not totally clear yet in spite of the notable research
efforts that have been made for the complete mapping of the
uranium deposits.
[15] BEGLITIS ON CYPRUS' EU ACCESSION COURSE
Nobody can block Cyprus' EU accession course and any threats
coming from Turkey are placed within the framework of the deadlock
policy it follows on the Cyprus issue.
The above were stressed by Greek foreign ministry spokesman
Panos Beglitis commenting on press reports concerning the latest
Turkish memorandum to the EU member-states regarding Cyprus'
accession into the EU.
Mr. Beglitis stated that the Turkish positions concerning
Cyprus' EU accession are not new. A similar memorandum with the
one sent to certain EU member-states a month ago in view of the
Association Council had been drawn up by Turkish foreign minister
Ismail Cem before the meeting in Evian.
Mr. Beglitis stated that the EU has a specific policy toward
the candidate states, including Cyprus, which is based on the
Helsinki conclusions. The decision of the "15" on Cyprus'
unhindered EU accession course was reaffirmed in the Cyprus-EU
Association Council.
He said that Turkey must realize that it cannot hold Cyprus
hostage by using threats and have no regard for the fact that they
turn against the EU which has formed this policy.
On the election results in Cyprus, Mr. Beglitis said that
they concern the Cypriot people and the Cypriot political parties.
However, he expressed the certainty that the Cypriot parliament
with its new composition will continue and accelerate the
collective efforts for Cyprus' unhindered EU accession course.
[16] LETTER BY KAKLAMANIS ON THE TURKISH JAILS
Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis condemned the
tragic situation in the Turkish prisons and the numerous deaths of
political prisoners, who are on a hunger strike in protest of the
conditions in the Turkish jails, and called on the international
community to take measures to stop the oppression and abuse in
Turkey.
The above are mentioned in a letter by Mr. Kaklamanis
addressed to his EU and Euro-parliament counterparts as well as to
the presidents of the Council of Europe parliamentary assemblies.
Mr. Kaklamanis stresses that Turkey violates the basic human
rights included in the UN Charter and the European Treaty on Human
Rights.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[17] CYPRUS COMMUNISTS WIN IN PARLIAMENTARY VOTE
Cyprus' communist AKEL party emerged ahead in yesterday's
parliamentary elections, thus becoming the party that will most
likely undertake the historic task of ratifying the island's
accession to the European Union during its five-year term.
AKEL (the Progressive Party of the Working People), garnered
29,842 votes or 34.94% of the vote, followed by President Glafcos
Clerides' right-wing party DISY (Democrat Rally) with 14,422 or
32.06%.
"`We will continue to strive for national unity to bring
about the reunification of Cyprus on the basis of Security Council
resolutions and for reconciliation with the Turkish Cypriot
community,'' AKEL leader Dimitris Christofias told thousands of
cheering supporters outside the party headquarters.
The election was restricted to the southern Greek Cypriot
government controlled part of the island. The north has been under
Turkish occupation since 1974. Enclaved Greek Cypriots, who now
number about 550, voted in specific polling stations in Nicosia,
Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos. In the aftermath of the Turkish
invasion in 1974 there were about 20,000 Greek Cypriots living in
occupied Cyprus.
The keenly contested elections for the island's eighth 56-
seat House had a record 454 candidates, 86 of them women,
representing eight parties. Six are independent.
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