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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-05-08Macedonian 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 THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, May 8, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] FOREIGN AFFAIRS SPOKESMAN RESPONDS TO U.S. REGARDING PKKAthens, May 8 (MPA)The spokesman of the Greek Foreign ministry Konstantinos Bikas, responding to the State Department’s question as to whether or not there is a PKK office operating in Greece, made the following statement yesterday: "The United States Administration is very well aware of Greece's position towards matters connected with Kurdish organizations, as expressed both in recent official announcements and during the briefing received by the US Embassy in Athens at its request."No offices of the PKK operate in Greece and no such question has arisen. However, there are offices of Kurdish political organizations, as there are in almost all the other countries of the European Union and in the United States. The Geneva Convention grants such rights to refugees.” Moreover, Mr. Bikas stressed that "as a European democratic state, Greece believes that human rights anywhere in the world are not a domestic issue for any state and that positions should not be adopted selectively. The violations of human and minority rights in Turkey are thus a major issue, and only by means of its resolution can stability in that country and the general area be guaranteed and the development and progress of the Turkish people safeguarded. "Lastly, it goes without saying that the development of activities involving elements of violence or terrorism is not permitted in this country." [02] AMERICAN HELLENIC INSTITUTE PROTESTS US’ POSITION OVER S-300Washington, May 8 (MPA)The State Department’s position on the S-300s is "a distortion of Orwellian proportions", according to the officials at the American Hellenic Institute who wrote a relevant letter of protest to recent statements made by White House Spokesman Mike McCurry who recently criticized the Cypriot government’s decision to buy the missiles. The letter says every country has a right to self- defense under international law and the UN Charter. It also adds that the missiles are defensive, and pose no offensive threat to anyone, least of all Turkey, a country which has an "overwhelmingly large population, maintains the areas' largest land army and represents the largest defense expenditure in NATO as a percentage of its GDP." The Institute also stressed that unless the US administration recognized that Cyprus was the victim and Turkey the belligerent aggressor, "there will be no progress on the Cyprus problem."[03] ALBANIAN PM IN THESSALONIKI, MEETS WITH DEFENSE MINISTERThessaloniki, May 8 (MPA)Albanian prime minister Fatos Nano, accompanied by the minister of National Economy and Privatization Ily Bufi and a six-member delegation, is currently in Thessaloniki within the framework of a 4-day visit, after an invitation by the Northern Greek Industries Federation (SVVE). Mr. Nano, who arrived in Thessaloniki yesterday, will attend the general assembly of SVVE today. He is also expected to meet with defense Minister Tsochatzopoulos and Macedonia -Thrace minister Philippos Petsalnikos.[04] ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS TO BE ENTHRONED TOMORROWAthens, May 8 (MPA)The newly-elected Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece Crhistodoulos is to be enthroned tomorrow at the Athens Metropolis. The President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos will be present at the ceremony, along with representatives from the ecumenical patriarchate and the orthodox churches.[05] THESSALONIKI’S AIRPORT REPLACED BY KAVALA’S FOR 4 DAYSThessaloniki, May 8 (MPA)Thessaloniki’s “Macedonia” airport is to be closed for maintenance works for another four days during which time it will be replaced by the “Alexander the Great” airport in the northern Greek city of Kavala. Following a decision drawn by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Olympic Airways, Kavala's airport will handle about 50 flights daily between May 8 and 12. The timetable allows 43 international flights from European countries daily and 7-8 domestic and charter flights carrying tourists from Europe. The runway works at Thessaloniki's airport are part of a month of projects to improve air access to the airport, where flights are often postponed due to fog. Also, the airport's ILS I landing system will be upgraded to ILS II, boosting visibility by 80 percent.[06] WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION TO CONFER IN RHODES THIS WEEKENDAthens, May 8 (MPA)The Western European Union is to hold a conference at the island of Rhodes this weekend and, according to reports, NATO’s secretary-general Javier Solana is expected to refer to the subject of confidence-building - measures between Greece and Turkey. At the recent meeting of the WEU parliament in Spain, Mr. Solana met with Greek defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who invited the Alliance‘s chief to Greece this summer. The foreign and defense ministers of Greece and the other nine WEU members will be at the Rhodes conference, while Turkey’s defense minister will also attend, as Turkey has associate status in the WEU.[07] ALBANIAN PREMIER FAVORS PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO KOSSOVOThessaloniki, May 8 (MPA)Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano, who arrived in Thessaloniki last evening, has expressed his wish to reach a peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis.He expressed his belief that both sides involved in the crisis will “proceed to a courageous dialogue, which will offer long-term solutions." Mr. Nano stated that his country has advised both sides, “Belgrade, which continues to strike at unarmed civilians, and to the representatives of the Albanian community who do not react in the same manner, that Albania is a member of the international community which exercises pressures and offers solutions for the peaceful settlement of historic differences." When asked if he was ready to meet with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, Mr. Nano responded yes, if the latter "takes off his military uniform." [08] STATE DEPARTMENT PLEASED WITH GREEK RESPONSE ON PKK OFFICEWashington, May 8 (MPA)US State Department spokesperson James Foley stated yesterday that the Clinton Administration is pleased with the statement-response made by the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry regarding (false) reports of the establishewmnt of a PKK office in Athens.“The Greek Foreign Ministry has told our Embassy in Athens that there has never been, is not and never will be an office of the PKK in Greece,” Mr. Foley stated at the daily State Department news briefing. He added that “we welcome this pledge, which is in keeping with Greece's international commitments on counter- terrorism.” [09] GREEK PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT RECEIVES FINNISH COUNTEPRARTAthens, May 8 (MPA)The President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis received his Finnish counterpart Ritta Maria Uosukainen and both ascertained that the two countries enjoy excellent bilateral relations and ties of friendship. Mr. Kaklamanis and Ms. Uosukainen, who is on a three-day official visit to Greece and is heading a Finnish parliament delegation, discussed their countries’ convergence programs with the European Union, and reviewed the role played by national parliaments in upgrading the status of the European citizen. Ms. Uosukainen is scheduled to meet with the President of the Hellenic Kostis Stephanopoulos and Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, as well as opposition party leaders and other parliament officials.[10] GREEK AVIATION OFFICIALS APPLAUDED FOR KEY RING ALERTNESSAthens, May 8 (MPA)The head of security at Athens international airport confirmed yesterday that Greek authorities have confiscated two small key-chain pistols which are undetectable by metal detectors and X-ray machines. According to a Reuters report, Takis Tassopoulos, civil aviation head of security at Athens airport, stated that the unloaded key rings were not detected by airport machines “but by very capable and experienced personnel who got suspicious. “They did not contain bullets. If they had then the alarm would have been set off. There have been arrests,” Mr. Tassopoulos said, without giving any more details. The deadly pocket gun, which can pass unnoticed through normal airport security checks, is causing concern among airport authorities around the world. The weapon, which resembles a key ring, fires two .32- calibre bullets and can kill at a range of 20 yards. The gun is covered in leather and able to bypass airport metal detectors. It is cocked by pulling on the ring and fired with the push of a button. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is charged with United States aviation security, said it was warned about the gun earlier this year by Greek officials and has since warned all airlines and airport managers.[11] PUBLIC ORDER MINISTER RECEIVES ALBANIAN COUNTERPARTAthens, May 8 (MPA)Greece’s Public Order Minister George Romeos received his Albanian counterpart Perikli Teta in Athens yesterday, with whom he reviewed the relations between the two countries on police matters.The two officials agreed to improve coordination between the police forces of the two countries by appointing liaison officers and exchanging information. Mr. Romeos told Mr. Teta that if the two neighbors failed to take the necessary measures to curb the influx of illegal immigrants into Greece, then the situation would lead to serious problems for both countries. "Greece cannot endure any more economic refugees," Mr. Romeos said. Mr. Romeos is also expected to discuss the same matters with Albanian Premier Fatos Nano during the latter’s stay in Thessaloniki tomorrow. [12] MAN CONVICTED FOR POSSESSING “KEY-CHAIN” HAND GUN IN GREECEAthens, May 8 (MPA)A man was arrested and has been convicted of attempting to pass a “key chain” hand gun through the Athens airport on April 29, Greek police announced yesterday. The 29-year-old jewelry store owner Ioannis Trabakopoulos was arrested on April 29 was later convicted to 21-month- prison term (and fined 800,000 drachmas) for possessing an unloaded "key chain" hand-gun which he tried to smuggle the pistol on board. Such pistols are not detectable by X-ray machines or other security equipment and it was sharp-eyed was police officers who noticed the weapon and arrested the man. According to the Public Order Ministry, 12 such weapons have been confiscated in Greece so far.[13] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER: WE AGREE WITH SOLANA’S CBMsAthens, May 8 (MPA)Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos has confirmed the Greek government’s agreement with the confidence building measures (CBMs) proposed by the NATO secretary-general Javier Solana. In an interview with the Spanish daily “El Mundo”, given during his stay in Madrid for the recently-held WEU meeting, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos nevertheless added that Turkey is the country which consistently challenged the status quo of the Aegean Sea and does refrain from territorial designs against Greece and Cyprus. In regards to the communique signed between the Greek Premier and the Turkish President, Kostas Simitis and Suleiman Demirel respectively, during the Madrid Summit held approximately one year ago, the Defense Minister stated that no rapprochement was achieved up to date since “Turkey insists on bring tot he negotiations table all of its unilateral claims, some of which, according to international law, are unfounded.”Moreover, the Greek Defense Minister stressed that the Aegean Sea’s status quo has been determined in accordance with the Lausanne and Paris treaties and, as such, “there is nothing more to discuss. “If they (the Turks) want to express their disagreement, they can refer to the international court of Justice at The Hague, and stop their destabilizing acts. “The matter goes beyond bilateral ties and is affecting the whole region,” he stated. Moreover, he reiterated Greece’s firm position which favors Turkey’s European orientation. In regards to the Kossovo crisis, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that this constitutes a serious crisis for Greece. 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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