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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-06-12Macedonian 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 12, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] THE REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION IS DISCUSSED IN PARLIAMENTAthens 12 June (MPA)The way in which the President of the Greek Republic will be elected was at the center of yesterday's discussion in Parliament concerning the revision of the Constitution. Prime Minister Kostas Simitis stated that the governing socialist party of PASOK seeks to dissociate the election of the President from early elections but the provision's final text has not been drawn up yet.The parties of the opposition, with the exception of the Coalition of the Left, are against the government's proposal. [02] THE DIRECT TALKS BETWEEN CLERIDES AND DENKTASH WILL BE HELD ON JULY 9Nicosia 12 June (MPA)The direct talks between Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash will be held outside New York on July 9-13. The talks will be officially opened by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.British Foreign Undersecretary mr.Doug Henderson stated that reaching a solution for the Cyprus problem is more urgent than ever before and called on the two sides to work with the UN in a constructive way for direct negotiations that will lead to a comprehensive political solution. [03] ALBANIAN PARTY LEADERS ARE VISITING ATHENSAthens 12 June (MPA)Albanian Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano is visiting Athens for meetings with Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and government officials.After the meeting he had with Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis, mr.Nano stressed that Athens confirmed its pledge to assist in every way in the holding of democratic elections in Albania. Both mr.Pangalos and mr.Kranidiotis expressed the Greek government's concern over the unconrolled activity of armed gungs in Albania as well as, the dangers faced by the Greek minority. Mr.Kranidiotis expressed the hope that everything will go smoothly in Albania and pointed out that Greece wants the democratization process in the neighbouring country to move forward. Albanian Democratic Party President Tritan Sehu, who is also in Athens, speculated during his meeting with Greek Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis that the Greek minority played an absolutely positive role in the recent crisis in Albania. Meanwhile, the tension continues in Albania and the President of the Greek organization OMONIA, Giorgos Lambovitiadis spoke of a climate of terror that prevails in the country due to the attacks by armed gungs. Yesterday, gunmen attacked the Greek Consulate in Gjirokaster. [04] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS LEAVES FOR AMSTERDAM ON SUNDAYAthens 12 June (MPA)Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will leave for Amsterdam on Sunday to attend the European Union Summit meeting which will open on Monday morning.Meanwhile, according to the British newspaper "Guardian", 331 economists and academicians from 14 EU countries in an open letter to the leaders of the 15 EU member-states demand the amendment of the plan for the European Economic and Monetary Union in the Summit in Amsterdam. They also point out that the existing tough regulations on public spending are not founded on any economic basis and is possible to make recession even worse. In the open letter, they mention that the EMU does not deal with the problem of the 20 million unemployed and the 50 million, who live beyond the poverty line in Europe and they demand the revision of the EMU criteria for the creation of more jobs and economic development. [05] AFANASIEVSKI: TIME AND UNDERSTANDING ARE NECESSARY FOR THE MATERIALIZATION OF NEW INITIATIVESThessaloniki 12 June (MPA)Russian Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Nikolai Afanasievski, commenting on the cautious attitude followed by the Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria and FYROM toward the Greek-Russian initiative for the strengthening of cooperation announced during the Conference of the Foreign Ministers of South-Eastern European countries in Thessaloniki, stated to MPA, that time and understanding are necessary for the materialization of any new initiative for cooperation in the Balkans and South-Eastern Europe.Regarding the criticism made by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel on the new initiatives in the region of South-Eastern Europe, mr.Afanasievski pointed out that the issue will be discussed in detail by all those participating in the initiative. Referring to the Greek-Russian cooperation initiative, mr.Afanasievski stated that it is based on an idea that had been discussed at a government level in 1993. [06] THE MEETING OF THE PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW WITH THE POPE WAS CANCELLEDMoscow 12 June (MPA)The meeting of Patriarch of Moscow, Alexios with Pope John- Paul, scheduled to take place in Vienna on June 21, has been cancelled.In a brief statement issued by the Holy Synod of the Russian Church is mentioned that the necessary preconditions, which would have made the meeting possible, do not exist. [07] TANSU CILLER'S "TRUE PATH" PARTY WARNED ERBAKAN TO HAND OVER THE PREMIERSHIP BY JUNE 18Ankara 12 June (MPA)Tansu Ciller's "True Path" Party, which participates in the Turkish coalition government, warned islamist Prime Minister Necmetin Erbakan to hand over the premiership by June 18 otherwise, the party will withdraw its support from the government.According to political analysts in the Turkish capital, the new warning was issued because the islamist Prime Minister appears reluctant to proceed with the transfer of power if no guarantees are given to him for the holding of early elections in October and the unhintered operation of his Welfare party, which the Turkish justice threatens to outlaw and demand its dissolution. 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 |