Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-07-01

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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, July 1, 1997

TITLES

[01] THE PRESIDENT OF BULGARIA WILL VISIT THESSALONIKI ON THURSDAY

[02] THE BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ISSUED AN INVITATION TO THE GREEK INVESTORS

[03] BALKAN NEWS BANK CONVEYS MENTALITY OF LOVE, PEACE, FRIENDSHIP

[04] THE CONFERENCE OF MPA ENDS IN THESSALONIKI TODAY

[05] FATOS NANO CALLED ON PRESIDENT BERISHA TO RESIGN

[06] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT IS INTERESTED IN THE RESTORATION OF ORDER AND NORMALITY IN ALBANIA

[07] SIMITIS-CLERIDES MEETING IN ATHENS

[08] THE GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER MET WITH US SENATOR PAUL SARBANIS

[09] YLMAZ WILL ASK FOR A VOTE CONFIDENCE ON JULY 13

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] THE PRESIDENT OF BULGARIA WILL VISIT THESSALONIKI ON THURSDAY

Thessaloniki 1 July (MPA)

Mr.Stoyanov will visit Greece at the invitation of President Kostis Stephanopoulos and will meet with him in Athens. He is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, while he will have contacts with the leaders of the main political parties of the opposition.

On Thursday, mr.Stoyanov will be in Thessaloniki and on Friday will visit the monastic community of Mount Athos.

[02] THE BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ISSUED AN INVITATION TO THE GREEK INVESTORS

Thessaloniki 1 July (MPA)

Mr.Stoyanov pointed out that his decision to visit Greece first was not a random one, adding that very soon he will visit Turkey.

Referring to the relations between Greece and Burlgaria stated that they can develop toward every direction facilitated by an excellent legislative basis. He also said that the issue of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipe line will be resolved based on the respect of the interests of all sides.

The Bulgarian President expressed the certainty that the opening of the borders in the Balkans is an issue of the immediate future and characterized as very significant Greece's assistance in Bulgaria's efforts for accession into NATO and the European Union.

On the economic reforms in Bulgaria, mr.Stoyanov stated that they are placed within the framework of a strategy aimed at the country's economic reconstruction, by making Bulgaria more attractive to foreign investors and called on the Greek businessmen to invest in his country.

[03] BALKAN NEWS BANK CONVEYS MENTALITY OF LOVE, PEACE, FRIENDSHIP

Thessaloniki, July 1 (MPA)

Stressing the importance of establishing coordination and cooperation among Balkan news agencies, Mr. Bengi added that "the Balkan media are still getting the news of interest to them from the international news agencies and, in a certain way, they succumb to their directions."

The Turkish journalist saluted the creation of the Association of Balkan News agencies (ABNA), and said that this establishment will contribute to the improvement of friendship and cooperation in the Balkans.

"We should learn ourselves from ourselves, not from others. To pave the way for this, an active communication web is needed. That's why, the information bank project, which MPA pioneered should be given life," Mr. Bengi concluded. MPA's director of documentation, historian Vlasis Vlasidis referred to the new opportunities that will emerge from the operation of the Balkan News Bank.

"That which today obstructs the unimpeded communication among the Balkan news agencies is the outdated technology and the incompatible systems in the sectors of telecommunication, all of which are problems inherited from the past.

"The news agencies usually exchange news via fax, while they face even bigger hurdles when it comes to sending and receiving photographic materials. The modems they use when they transfer photos in digital form do not provide rapid rates and, as such, the transfer process is slow and expensive. With the operation of the Balkan News Bank, this will become a thing of the past," Mr. Vlasidis explained.

The Balkan News Bank is a program funded by the European Union, within the framework of the INTERREG-II initiative, and enjoys the full support, both moral and material of Greece's Press and Media Ministry, as well as the support of all of the Balkan states.

The initiative will be enforced on a pilot program any day now, as the facilities are currently being set up. The Balkan News Bank will be established in two central powerful computers and its set up is such that will provide an uninterrupted flow of news and will fully support multimedia applications. Its capabilities are quite vast, given the almost limitless advantages of the database software, and the provision of picture, sound and video, as well as the automatic filing of all news in all the Balkan languages.

The Balkan News Bank will feature multimedia, since this was deemed necessary for the creation of applications, such as video production, recorded news bulletins, photo processing, etc.

The final touches on the operation of the Balkan News Bank are to be drawn during September's meeting of the Balkan news agencies's technical directors, which will be held in Thessaloniki.

The editor in chief of the Athens News Agency Nikolaos Voulelis proposed that a network of correspondents be established among the Balkan media, which could lead to an exchange of commentary and editorials among the print and electronic media.

"Significant problems concerning political and moral ideology arise in regards to the stance, choices, and behavior of the mass media, both in the Yugoslav issue, as well as in the Albanian crisis," Mr. Voulelis stated.

"We should not promote points of view that lead to war and barbarity. We should combat racism and xenophobia. We should, if we all agree to peace and development, proceed without prejudice and distorting lenses," the ANA journalist stated.

The Albanian News Agency's deputy general director Margalina Sina characterized the media's role in establishing peace and cooperation in the Balkans as a significant one, and saluted the Creation of ABNA, hailing its contribution to the upgraded coordination among the Balkan news agencies.

The Romanian news agency's deputy general director Victor Martalogou from "Rompress" stated that his country is currently enjoying a new era of free press, a situation, as he stated, that was hard to envision a little earlier, just before four decades of tight and severe totalitarian rule came to an end.

However, freedom of press does contain certain ills, especially when handled by the ill-prepared or the aspiring heralds of truth.

"Freedom of press, one of democracy's defining characteristics, may be a temptation which can make some people surpass the limits of its correct exercise," Mr. Martalogou said. "Freedom of press, sometimes understood as the right to write anything about anything and anybody, may lead to tackling issues with immoral character, to pornography and publication of libelous materials, in an unscrupulous manner."

Mr. Martalogou stressed that his agency has an editorial policy to correctly, accurately and objectively inform its readers on the Balkan realities, as well as the Balkan readers on Romania's domestic affairs.

Lastly, the Romanian journalist saluted the Conference, with special homage given to MPA's general director Spyros Kouzinopoulos, to whom he referred as the "founding-father of the Association of Balkan News Agencies, an association which supports us and on which we can rely for first-hand information that serves the quest for truth in the media. Cristian Ionescu cultural news editor in chief of "Cronica Romana", spoke on Culture and the mass media in Romania.

Mr. Iionescu stated that the Balkan region is inhabited by peoples of very important historical heritage, which makes them so different and particular.

"At the same time, they share a common historic spirit which, in my opinion, should be the main argument in giving up both Balkan inferiority and superiority complexes as to the Western world."

Mr. Ionescu advised that "as long as the European integration process is not accomplished yet, we must evaluate not only our political, and strategic role in a new Europe, but also out cultural contribution to it."

Zoran Jevdovic, the general director of Tanjug, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, stressed that his Agency has a lasting interest in establishing the closet professional and business ties with all news agencies in the Balkan region,. As well as throughout the world.

Mr. Jevdovic saluted ABNA and commended that "this kind of information could be a strong barrier to monopolies held in this field by western news agencies an other mass media, whose reports and information from he Balkans are often colored by the specific interests of their states or their owners'.

Moreover, he referred to the Declaration Thessaloniki, recently held in town among the Balkan region's Foreign Ministers which concerned political and economic cooperation and stability in the region.

The Yugoslav journalist stated that the Declaration globally defines the Balkans as a zone of peace and cooperation where a close interaction of allies achieved through an awareness of the multitude of shared political, economic and other interests.

[04] THE CONFERENCE OF MPA ENDS IN THESSALONIKI TODAY

Thessaloniki 1 July (MPA)

Speaking yesterday in the conference General Director of ERA mr.Yiannis Tzanetakos suggested the drawing up of a Balkan journalists charter in which will be included the basic and inviolable principles of information.

Programme Director of ERA, mr.Georgakopoulos proposed the holding of a Balkan State Radio Stations Conference in 1998.

[05] FATOS NANO CALLED ON PRESIDENT BERISHA TO RESIGN

Tirana 1 July (MPA)

The Socialists estimate that they will control 63 seats in Parliament, to which 10 more will be added from the parties of the opposition, while they also believe that, based on the existing electoral system, they will win other 22 seats over a total of 155 seats. The official final results are expected to be announced later this afternoon.

President Berisha recognized the election results and stated characteristically that the voters have decided that the Democratic party should be in the opposition.

[06] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT IS INTERESTED IN THE RESTORATION OF ORDER AND NORMALITY IN ALBANIA

Athens 1 July (MPA)

Responding to a question on the votes the Union of Human Rights Party got in the elections, mr.Reppas stated that the Greek government can not intervene in the internal affairs of Albania which is an independent state.

[07] SIMITIS-CLERIDES MEETING IN ATHENS

Athens 1 July (MPA)

After the meeting mr.Simitis stressed that Turkey is the one that has to implement the international treaties and stop the occupation of Cyprus, while he reiterated that any initiative from the international community is welcomed if it is based on the UN resolutions. He also underlined that US initiatives on Cyprus are expected to take place in order to have some progress and stressed that the solution that will emerge should be fair and viable and must be based on the UN resolutions.

Mr.Clerides met yesterday with President Kostis Stephanopoulos and today is scheduled to meet with New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis and the party's honorary president Konstantinos Mitsotakis.

[08] THE GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER MET WITH US SENATOR PAUL SARBANIS

Athens 1 July (MPA)

Mr.Tsochatzopoulos stated that they examined issues concerning the prospects of the US policy on security, stability and cooperation in Europe, while Greece presented its positions on Mediterranean issues.

Also, US Senator Paul Sarbanis characterized the visit of mr.Tsochatzopoulos to the United States as successful and fruitful.

[09] YLMAZ WILL ASK FOR A VOTE CONFIDENCE ON JULY 13

Ankara 1 July (MPA)

Mr.Yilmaz promised to the Turkish people that he will govern with an emphasis on civil values, democracy and freedom.

According to predictions, mr.Yilmaz will manage to get a vote of confidence as his government coalition has 12 deputies more compared to the deputies of the Ciller-Erbakan alliance.

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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