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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-06-11Macedonian 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, June 11, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] PRESIDENT OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC RECEIVES PRIME MINISTER KOSTAS SIMITISAthens, June 11 (MPA)The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos received the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis this morning at the Presidential Mansion.Following the one-hour long meeting, Premier Simitis stated that "I briefed the President of the Republic on the developments occurring at the European Union for he imminent European Council in Amsterdam and on Greece's positions. Moreover, I briefed the President on other foreign developments, as well as on domestic issues, such as economic, and social. It has a very good and interesting discussion." Messrs. Stephanopoulos and Simitis also discussed the subject of revising the country's Constitution. A.F. [02] GREEK PREMIER STRONG SUPPORTER OF SOCIAL DIALOGUEAthens, June 11 (MPA)Addressing the Parliament Assembly last evening, Greece's Prime Minister Kostas Simitis issued an appeal to all that they participate in the government's social dialogue so that this great opportunity for the country will not go astray.Main opposition party leader, New Democracy's Kostas Karamanlis, blamed the government of promoting the social dialogue in order to be ridded of its responsibilities and to draw the citizens in its mistaken choices. A.F. [03] GREEK FM: THESSALONIKI'S CONFERENCE IS A GREAT STEP AHEADThessaloniki, June 11 (MPA)Addressing the Thessaloniki-held Conference of South-Eastern Europe's Foreign Ministers, Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos stressed yesterday that Greece is trying to resolve its differences with its neighbours in a peaceful manner.Mr. Pangalos characterised the two-day meeting as a great step ahead for the building of inter-Balkan cooperation. A.F. [04] SCHENGEN ACCORD RATIFIED BY GREEK PARLIAMENT, 142 IN FAVOR, 80 AGAINSTAthens, June 11 (MPA)The Greek Parliament ratified today the Schengen Accord in a majority vote of 142, as opposed to 80 votes against, in spite of the strong opposition the issue has provoked among numerous politicians and other citizens.The Schengen Accord, which has also been ratified by a number of European Union member-states, foresees removal of border controls and checks for EU citizens and closer cooperation on police matters concerning drug and arms trafficking, through the creation of vast computer databases. The Accord's opponents say that the computer processing and filing of personal data violates personal freedoms and human rights. Fifty-three of the deputies who voted against the Accord belong to the main oposition party New Democracy, while four belong to the ruling party PASOK and the remaining 23 to the Communist Party of Greece, the Coalition of the Left and Progress and to the Democratic and Social Movement. Meanwhile, a protest is currently being held outside the Parliament, where two armed policemen who were assigned to guard the premises joined the crowd of protesters. The opponents are asking that the Accord be ratified through a referenfum. A.F. [05] GREEK EURO-DEPUTY:ALBANIANS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO VOTE FROM ABROADAthens, June 11 (MPA)Greek Euro-Deputy Alekos Alavanos has proposed that the Albanian citizens who are currently living outside their country should be allowed to vote from their place of residence during their country's upcoming early elections, to be held on June 29.In a question tabled to the European Union's Foreign Ministers. Mr. Alavanos stated that in spite of the good intentions that have been voiced by certain governments which are willing to enable the Albanian immigrants to travel to their country, only a handful of them will actually be able to make the trip and exercise their right to vote. A.F. [06] CLERIDES-DENKTASH DIRECT TALKS TO BEGIN ON JULY 9Nicosia, June 11 (MPA)The United Nations Secretary-General's alternate special envoy to Cyprus Gustav Feischel relayed today the UN Chief's (Kofi Annan)) invitation to the President of the Republic Of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides for the direct talks to be held in New York with the Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.Speaking to journalists, Mr. Feishel stated that the meeting has been set for July 9 and will be held on the outskirts of New York, at a location which he did not reveal. Moreover, the UN official did not refer to the content of the invitation, in light of his imminent meeting with Mr. Denktash to whom he was to also forward the invitation. Mr. Feischel merely reiterated the need for both sides to attend the direct talks in a spirit of good will and cooperation so that progress may be achieve on the Cyprus issue. A.F. [07] FOURTH WORLD-WIDE CONFERENCE OF GREEKS FROM PONTUS IN THESSALONIKIThessaloniki, June 11 (MPA)The Fouth World-Wide Conference of Greeks from Pontus is to be held in Thessaloniki between June 13-16, in an effort to illustrate the struggles and the claims of these two million people throughout the world, but foremostly to achieve the actual recognition of the genocide of the Greeks from Pontus by the Turks during the early 1900s.According to the Mayor of the Municipality of Kalamaria Thrasyvoulos Lazarides, "the genocide must find its place in history for the moral justice of those who lost their lives." Aside from tabling a proposal to the United Nations for the recognition of the genocide, the Conference will also look into the creation of an international body that will be assigned with the task of executing the decisions to be drawn. The conference will be declared open by the Minister of Interior, Public Adminstration and Decentralization Alekos Papadopoulos, while present at the ceremony will be the Ministers of National Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos, Trasportation and Commmunications Haris Kastanides and Culture Evangelos Venizelos. Among the Pontus organizations to be represented at the Conference will be those from the former Soviet Union, the United States, Australia, Africa, Sweden and Switzerland. A.F. [08] UN CHIEF'S REPORT ON CYPRUS TO SECURITY COUNCIL IS OUTNew York, June 11 (MPA)The report issued to the Security Council by the United Nation's Secretary-General's Kofi Annan on UNFICYP's activities in Cyprus between December 11, 1996 and June 5, 1997 is currently at the UN headqquarters in New York.The UNFICYP's budget has been balanced through a one-third submittance by the Cypriot govenrment and 6.5 million dollars provided by the Greek government on an annual basis. The report characterizes the past six months as "calm", is relation to the first half of the year, although it does note numerous signs of tension on the island. Moreover, the Secretary-General refers to his efforts on achieving direct talks between Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, on which he will brief the Security Council in a later report. A.F. [09] SALE OF SERB TELECOMMUNICATIONS A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTBelgrade, June 11 (MPA)Forty-nine percent of the Serb Telecommunications Organization's shares will be owned by the Greek Telecommunications Organization (OTE) and Italy's private telecommunications industry STET, as per an agreement signed in Belgrade among the three countries, in the presence of Serb Premier Mirko Mirianovic. According to the Serb Ministry of Information, the Agreement constitutes a significant strategic investment.The agreement foresees that STET will own 29% of the shares, at a cost of $526 million, while 20% will be owned by OTE, purchased with $399 million. A.F. [10] FYROM'S FOREIGN MINISTER RE-AFFIRMS HIS COUNTRY'S EUROPEAN ORIENTATIONSkopje, June 11 (MPA)FYROM's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Blagoj Handziski, who represented his country at the Balkan Foreign Ministers Conference held during the past two days in Thessaloniki, has expressed his overall satisfaction for the event and characterized as positive the declaration adopted by the participating ministers, emphasizing that the document fully meets his country's foreign policy interests.The press in FYROM published numerous reports on the event, wherein the meeting's constructive atmosphere was emphasized, as well as the vast significance these contacts will bear on strengthening the ties and coooperation among the Balkan peoples. A.F. [11] BULGARIA SALUTES S.E. EUROPE'S FOREIGN MINISTERS CONFERENCE IN THESSALONIKISofia, June 11 (MPA)The Foreign Ministers Conference on Security, Stability and Cooperation in South-Eastern Europe, completed yesterday in Thessaloniki, has been saluted by Bulgaria as a significant step for the development od good neighborly ties in the region.The state-owned radio station in Sofia broadcast that the declaration signed in Thessaloniki re-confirms the participants' willingness to mutually contribute to the region's rapid developments. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadejda Michailova stated that Bulgaria's European orientation is indisputable and the country supports all the initiatives for the strengthening of stability and security in the region." Moreover, The Bulgarian FM saluted the Greek-Russian initiative for the annual holding of a summit meeting of representatives from the region's countries, with the participation of the United Nations, the Security Council's permanent members, the the European Union and other international organizations. Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos told his Bulgarian counterpart that the price fee for the visa issued to Bulgarians who wish to travel to Greece will soon be reduced. Moreover, Mr. Pangalos stated that Greece's ratification of the Schengen Accord will not bear negative effects on the visa-issuing process between Bulgaria and Greece. Ms. Michaelova also met with her Romanian counterpart Adrian Severin in Thessaloniki where the two officials discussed the issue of constructing a second bridge for the Danube River and agreed to re-examine the matter during a trilateral meeting among the FMs of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. A.F. [12] ALBANIA:ARMED GANGS LOOT ONE OF LARGEST ARMS FACTORIESTirana, June 11 (MPA)One of Albania's largest arms factories was looted on Monday night by armed gangs, outside the city of Gramcy in southern Albania.Armed and masked men attacked the factory's guards and after a lengthy conflict they stole large quantities of copper, steel, as well as electrical power generators. Before fleeing, they set the plant on fire, which ignited the flammable materials and fully destroyed the facilities. A.F. 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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