Macedonian Press Agency: News in Brief (96-10-21)

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY

Thessaloniki, October 21, 1996

TITLES

[01] GREECE'S PRESIDENT KOSTIS STEPHANOPOULOS ON FORMAL VISIT TO POLAND

[02] U.S. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON SAYS CYPRUS IS STATE DEPARTMENT'S PRIORITY ISSUE

[03] U.S. PRESIDENT CLINTON: IMIA ISSUE SHOULD BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE HAGUE

[04] GREEK-AMERICAN LEADERS WELCOME PRESIDENT CLINTON'S STATEMENT

[05] MILITARY DIALOGUE HAS BEGUN IN CYPRUS WITH THE UNITED NATIONS

[06] UNESCO TO CELEBRATE ITS 50 YEARS WITH A "PEACE MEETING" IN CALYMNOS

[07] GREEK CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR IN BONN RANKS SIXTH AMONG 38 COMPETITORS

[08] ALBANIA: LOCAL ELECTIONS HELD YESTERDAY, RESULTS TO BE ISSUED THIS WEEK

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] GREECE'S PRESIDENT KOSTIS STEPHANOPOULOS ON FORMAL VISIT TO POLAND

Athens, October 20 (M.P.A.)

Formal talks will take place in the Presidential Building in Warsaw this afternoon and later the two men will give a joint press conference.

Tomorrow, President Stephanopoulos will meet with the Polish Foreign Minister and afterwards he will visit the Parliament, the Senate, the Old City and the former Palace.

At noon on Tuesday, the Greek President will attend a working breakfast with the Polish Prime Minister and later will attend a wreath-laying ceremony. In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Stephanopoulos will meet in the polish capital with the Orthodox Christian Metropolite.

On Wednesday, October 23, the Greek President will visit the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau and later will attend a dinner given in his honour by the local authorities in Katovice. The President will return to Athens on Wednesday afternoon.

[02] U.S. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON SAYS CYPRUS IS STATE DEPARTMENT'S PRIORITY ISSUE

Washington, October 21 (M.P.A.)

President Clinton characterized the island's continued division as "unacceptable" and condemned the recent murders of Greek-Cypriot civilians.

The U.S. President stated that it would be a "personal failure" if a fair and viable solution is not found for the Cyprus problem and stated that he will continue to press for a substantive and lasting solution.

Mr. Clinton also referred to the efforts to discover the fate of those missing in Cyprus as well as the upkeep of financial aid to Cyprus in the amount of 15 million dollars annually, which, as he stated, aims to create a "stronger intercommunal contact on the island." Moreover, Mr. Clinton stated that his government will contribute to the issue of Cyprus' accession to the European Union.

On Saturday, Mr. Clinton met with the director of the Cypriot News Agency Andreas Christofides during a 20- minute meeting held at a dinner given in the President's honor by the Democratic Party's National Committee.

Mr. Christofides expressed his concern to President Clinton regarding the possibility of a warm incident erupting, which, as Mr. Christofides stated, would be detrimental to the american interests.

In turn, the American President told Mr. Christofides that he is personally committed to solving the Cypriot issue.

[03] U.S. PRESIDENT CLINTON: IMIA ISSUE SHOULD BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE HAGUE

Washington, October 21 (M.P.A.)

President Clinton criticised Turkey for its territorial claims against Greece and added that when Greece's sovereignty of the island Gavdos was challenged by Turkey, the United States immediately reacted in favor of Greece. Moreover, he stated that any differences that exist between the two countries must be resolved through peaceful means and in accordance with International Law.

[04] GREEK-AMERICAN LEADERS WELCOME PRESIDENT CLINTON'S STATEMENT

Washington, October 21 (M.P.A.)

"We welcome President Clinton's statement on issues of concern to the Greek-American community," stated Philip Christopher, president of the International Coordinating Committee - Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA) and the Pancyprian Association of America.

"We are particularly pleased with his repeated reference to the resolution of the Cyprus problem as a "high foreign policy priority' as well as the 'recent unjustified and unwarranted killings of Greek-Cypriots in the U.N. buffer zone,' " Mr. Christopher added.

The President of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) Andrew Athens also expressed his organization's appreciation of the american leader's statements.

"We ... appreciate the President's reference to Turkey's 'frivolous territorial claims' including that the 'island of Gavdos might not be Greek', " Mr. Athens said.

Andrew Manatos, the President of the National Coordinated Effort said that in just four years, "The President and his administration have put an extraordinary amount of time and attention to numerous issues of concern to the Greek-American community."

[05] MILITARY DIALOGUE HAS BEGUN IN CYPRUS WITH THE UNITED NATIONS

Nicosia, October 21 (M.P.A.)

Following the meeting, Mr. Feischel stated that the discussion centered around three basic issues of the proposal for military dialogue, that is, the extension of disengagement, the non-use of live bullets, and the rules of engagement.

Moreover, the U.N. official added that the military dialogue has already begun, both with the discussion he held last Friday with Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and with Mr. Clerides.

[06] UNESCO TO CELEBRATE ITS 50 YEARS WITH A "PEACE MEETING" IN CALYMNOS

Thessaloniki, October 21 (M.P.A.)

The celebration will honor UNESCO's anniversary and the establishment of peace in the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean.

So far, fifteen messages of peace have been forwarded by peace nobelists whose statements will be read on Sunday.

The event is jointly organized by the Dodekanese Chapter of UNESCO, which includes the island of Kos, Kalymnos, Leros, Nisiros, Telos, Chalke, Syme, Patmos and Lipsi.

[07] GREEK CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR IN BONN RANKS SIXTH AMONG 38 COMPETITORS

Bonn, October 21 (M.P.A.)

Mr. Markou, the only candidate who was not German- born, garnered 2,579 votes, a 1.2 per cent rate.

The Christian Democrat candidate Wolfgang Shuster came first with a 35 per cent rate, followed by the "Green" Retco Slauch, 30.6% and the Social Democrat Reiner Brechten, 22.6%.

Since an absolute majority was not earned by any of the candidates, a second round will be held on November 3rd among the top three candidates.

[08] ALBANIA: LOCAL ELECTIONS HELD YESTERDAY, RESULTS TO BE ISSUED THIS WEEK

Tirana, October 21 (M.P.A.)

According to reports, the Albanian Foreign Ministry's Secretary and the president of the Central Returning Board, ruled that opposition party officials should be removed from the electoral centers and, in tens of election centers in Tirana, election officers removed the ballot boxes.

The opposition Social Democrats Party issued an announcement to the foreign monitors who supervised the election process, as well as to diplomatic delegations in Tirana, wherein they denounced the government's aim to alter the electoral outcome. The Social Democrats Party forewarned that these developments could lead to a repeat of the events noted during Albania's parliamentary elections, which the party had characterized as an "electoral coup" and had claimed that the public records had been falsified.

In turn, the Central Returning Board responded to these warnings through an announcement broadcast on Albanian television wherein it stated that the opposition officials failed to show up at many of the electoral centers and did not pick up the election material.

Meanwhile, the Organization of Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE) withdrew its monitors after the Albanian Foreign Ministry set a series of conditions for examining the monitors' credentials. Nevertheless, according to reports, approximately 400 monitors observed the elections, some from the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly and others from the United States Congress, the Republican and Democratic Institutes of the U.S. and various european governments.

Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/

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