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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-01-14Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, January 14, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] ENVIRONMENT MINISTER VISITS FTHIOTIS TO ANNOUNCE RELIEF MEASURESLamia, January 14 (MPA)The torrential floods and storms that raged on Sunday may have subsided, but they left behind a disaster of biblical dimensions in Corinth, Argos, Fthiotis and Athens where six persons were killed.Minister of Environment, Planning and Public Works will visit Fthiotis in central Greece today, after yesterday's visit to Corinth, where he will announce relief measures to the area's flood victims. In central Greece's region of Thessaly, the country's most fertile area, 5,000 acres of cultivated land were destroyed when water overflowed from the banks of the Pinios River. The electricity lines which were cut off during the storms have been restored in Corinth. The city's fire department has been "flooded" with hundreds of calls and estimates that it will take over a week to pump the water out of the flooded houses and stores. Government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas has emphasized that the state mechanism worked finely during the disaster and a batallion of armed forces and engineers has been called on the premises to provide assistance and begin re-building projects. [02] US DIPLOMAT CAVANAUGH TO MEET WITH FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS TODAYAthens, January 14 (MPA)The Director of the Office of Southeastern European Affairs at the U.S. State Department, Carey Cavanaugh, will be received by Foreign Ministry officials today in Athens.Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides met with Mr. Cavanaugh yesterday in Nicosia and allowed for a 16-month time period so that Washington will have the opportunity to develop its initiative on the Cyprus issue. Meanwhile, the leader of the occupation regime in northern Cyprus Rauf Denktash, following his meeting yesterday with Mr. Cavanaugh, stated that if Cyprus' Russian-made S-300 missiles arrive on the island sixteen months from now, the crisis will be created once again. Greece's Premier Kostas Simitis stated yesterday that Cyprus is a sovereign state, free to decide for its defense and all those who worry have only to stop the island's illegal occupation. U.S. State Department spokesperson Nicholas Burns stated that Msgrs. Clerides and Denktash agreed to strenghten the security measures along the demarcation line, based on proposals promoted by the United Nations. In Athens yesterday, Russian Minister of Energy Piotr Rodionov was asked by reporters to comment on the Cypriot government's decision to purchase the Russian- made missiles and he replied that "this is an issue of competition and if the purchase was made by a western country it would not have been given such dimensions by the media." [03] TURKEY TURNS TO BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS WITH MISSILES SHOPPING LISTBrussels, January 14 (MPA)Belgium's Defense Ministry has confirmed reports that Turkey is negotiating the purchase of the U.S.-made surface-to-air missile system "Hawk" type from Brussels and the Netherlands.According to the BBC, acting as a mediator for the purchase is the French electronics company "Thompson". A spokesperson for Belgium's Defense Ministry appeared evasive regarding his country's direct involvement in the missile sale. He stated that before any decision can be drawn, his country's defense and foreign ministries must agree on the sale, as well as secure the State Department's approval. Also according to the BBC broadcast, the Greek government is aware of these negotiations and has tried to avert the purchase. Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos met with his Belgian and Dutch counterparts during last month's Brussels-held conference of NATO's defense ministers and discussed the issue. [04] MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY'S EXECUTIVE AND CENTRAL COMMITTEES MEET TODAYAthens, January 14 (MPA)In successive meetings, the main opposition party New Democracy's Executive and Central Committees will convene today in order to ratify the decisions drawn during a recent meeting held among N.D. leader Miltiadis Evert with former Prime Minister Giorgos Rallis.Mr. Rallis accepted the invitation to chair the party congress' Organizing Committee made up of six Parliament deputies, members of the party's Executive Committee, and of an additional six members selected by him. [05] CLERIDES CLARIFIES: NOTHING NEW BETWEEN NATIONAL GUARD AND OCCUPATION REGIMENicosia, January 14 (MPA)No additional agreement has been drawn between the Cypriot National Guard and the turkish occupation forces in northern Cyprus, stated the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides, commenting on the statements made by the U.S. official Carey Cavanaugh who said that he secured an agreement from both sides for a speedy and immediate application of the United Nations' proposals.Mr. Clerides stated that the military dialogue will continue as it is, based on the relevant UN resolution. That is, to clarify the terms for engagement, to find a way which will secure that neither of the sides will bear live bullets, to remove all mines from the demarcation line and to continue talks for disengagement on the points where both sides agree that they can be held. Moreover, the Cypriot President clarified that in regards to the island's purchase of the Russian-made S- 300 missile system, Mr. Cavanaugh's visit to Nicosia did not bring a change since it was Moscow which said that the soonest the missiles can be delivered to Cyprus is 16 months from now. [06] DENKTASH: CRISIS WILL SUBSIDE ONLY IF CYPRUS' MISSILE PURCHASE IS CANCELLEDLondon, January 14 (MPA)The leader of the Turkish occupation regime in northern Cyprus Rauf Denktash stated that the crisis which erupted in over Cyprus' purchase of Russian-made missiles will eclipse only if the Cypriot Government calls off the purchase.Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Denktash emphasized that if the S-300 missiles are deployed on the island, Turkey's reaction must be immediate. "If the missiles are deployed, I believe that Turkey must react like any other country would. Even if there was no agreement between us on defense and security issues, Turkey would have the right to tell its neighbors 'don't do this'," he stated, adding that "for some time now, I begged Turkey to take action against the Greek- Cypriots. How long will we wait for them?', I would ask, 'until they cover us with an umbrella of missiles?' " Moreover, Mr. Denktash stated that the Turkish- Cypriots have no belligerent military intentions, "contrary to the Greek-Cypriot side. "If some want to start a war in Cyprus, it is the Greek-Cypriots who think that they can carry out a limited war and that the whole world will then stop Turkey." [07] ALBANIA: SOCIALISTS TO COOPERATE WITH LEFT AND RIGHT OPPOSITION PARTIESTirana, January 14 (MPA)Albania's Socialist Party has undertaken an initiiative which foresees cooperation with both the left- and the right-wing opposition parties, as well as with unions and former political prisoners.According to the Party's spokesperson, this initiative was necessitated by the country's need to reform its constitution and to hold elections. 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/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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