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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-05-19Macedonian 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 19, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] CHANGES IN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION PROCESS, NO MORE EXAMSAthens, May 19 (MPA)High school students who are to graduate in the year 2000 will not be subject to the grueling state-wide examinations, according to the new graduation process announced by the Minister of Education Gerasimos Arsenis.The curriculum reforms, which will be announced in detail later today, will also call for examinations in the junior and senior years of high school twice a year, as opposed to every three months. Once students graduate from high-school, they will be able to continue in the university of their choice without entry examinations. [02] GENOCIDE OF GREEKS FROM PONTOS COMMEMORATED TODAYThessaloniki, May 19 (MPA)The Genocide of Greeks from Pontus is being commemorated throughout the country today. The Coordinating Committee of Pontos Associations demand that the international community exert pressures on Turkey to recognize the genocide. Two rallies will be held in Thessaloniki today, where the protesters will march to the Turkish consulate.[03] US PRESIDENT, BRITISH PREMIER COMMENT ON CYPRUS ISSUELondon, May 19 (MPA)United States President Bill Clinton has stated that Greeks and Turks have to draw difficult decisions in order to help in alleviating the rising tension concerning Cyprus. ``We have got to resolve this,'' Clinton told a news conference after an EU-U.S. summit in London yesterday. ``To get there I think we will have to proceed on many fronts at once and I think both the Turks and Greeks will have to make difficult decisions which I believe the European Union and, I know, the United States will strongly support,'' President Clinton said. ``I do not think we can solve one problem in isolation from the others. I think we have to move forward on all these problems, Cyprus, the Aegean jurisdictional disputes and the role of Turkey in Europe's future. All of that we have to move forward on,'' he added. In turn, British Prime Minister Toni Blair stated that he "agreed entirely" with Mr. Clinton's remarks and emphasized the EU's desire for "a good and close relationship with Turkey." "We have a deep concern over what is happening in Cyprus and we believe it is essential to make progress in this area", Mr. Blair said. “We want Turkey to feel included in the family of European nations. We have a deep concern over what has happened, and is happening, in Cyprus and we believe that it is essential we make progress in this area,'' he said. ``I think we should and will redouble our efforts to give a very clear signal to Turkey about our proper and true intentions and also to do what we can to bring hope in the conflict in Cyprus,'' he said. Both the US president and Britain's PM stated yesterday that problems relating to Greek-Turkish relations, Cyprus and Ankara's European aspirations have to be tackled in a comprehensive manner and not in isolation.[04] PRESIDENT, PM TO OPEN GREEK INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION ASSEMBLYAthens, May 19 (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is to salute the open session of the annual assembly of the Greek Industries Association (SEV) which will be held tomorrow and will also be attended by the President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos.The Minister of Finance and National Economy Yiannos Papantoniou will be among the speakers at the event, along with SEV’s Chairman Jason Stratos and the chairman of the German Industries Association Hans-Olaf Henkel. [05] MORE BANK EMPLOYEES EMBARK ON ROTATION STRIKESAthens, May 19 (MPA)In protest to the state’s privatization plans for the Ionian Bank, employees at Commercial and Attica banks will strike today. The employees at Ionian Bank have been on an indefinite strike for a week, while rolling strikes by bank staff are scheduled to continue until June 12 when the shareholders of Commercial Bank vote on whether they will approve the sale of subsidiary Ionian.Tomorrow, employees at the state-owned enterprises (DEKOS) and banks will hold a four-hour work stoppage, a decision issued by the General Confederation of Greek Laborers (GSEE). [06] CONTACT GROUP REVERSES PART OF SANCTIONS AGAINST BELGRADELondon, May 19 (MPA)The six-nation Contact Group on former Yugoslavia has reversed its decision to impose new sanctions on Belgrade because Serb President Milosevic had begun a dialogue with the ethnic Albanian leadership in its troubled province of Kosovo. In a statement issued by the British Foreign Office, the Contact Group said it had lifted an investment ban which had been imposed at their meeting last week. While it will also review a freeze on Yugoslav assets held abroad, earlier sanctions will remain in place. The statement said that “by choosing dialogue, President Milosevic had made a clear choice to work with the international community rather than face deepening isolation.”[07] RUSSIAN-GREEK TRADE MAY REACH ONE BILLION DOLLARSMoscow, May 19 (MPA)Russian-Greek bilateral trade turnover may hit one billion dollars in 1998, a 10 percent rise since 1997 and a continuation of an upward trend since 1993, Konstantinos Charatsaris, counselor of economic and trade department, at Greece's embassy in Moscow told Prime- Tass yesterday.Mr. Charatsaris said that two groups of Greek businessmen will visit Moscow and St. Petersburg in June to voice their investment proposals in construction, ship- repairs, and light and food industries before Russian partners. The two countries are running two major investment projects, the construction of an aluminum works plant and a gas pipeline for Russian gas supplies in Greece, according to the Greek diplomat. Preparations of the Russian Black Sea port in the region of Krasnodar are currently underway. The Krasnodar region has been given a ten-million-dollar loan from the Greek government for the purchase of Greece-made equipment and consumer goods. [08] BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER ROBIN COOK VISITS ANKARAAnkara, May 19 (MPA)British Foreign Minister Robin Cook is to arrive in Ankara today for a brief, one-day visit.Mr. Cook is to be received by Turkish President Suleiman Demirel, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, and his Turkish counterpart Ismael Cem. During their meetings, Mr. Cook will brief the Turkish officials on his country’s positions -following yesterday’s Clinton-Blair talks- towards reaching a solution in the Cyprus issue and the British government’s belief that talks between the island’s two communities need to be restarted, in spite of the intransigence displayed by the leader of the Turkish-Cypriots Rauf Denktash. Moreover, it is expected that the British Foreign Minister and the Turkish officials are to discuss matters concerning Turkey’s ties with the European Union, in light of the Turkey-EU Association Council to be held on May 27. [09] CYPRIOT DEFENSE MINISTER SPEAKS AT SERRESThessaloniki, May 19 (MPA)Visiting Cypriot Defense Minister Yiannakis Omirou gave an address at the city of Serres yesterday where he stated that Turkey has embarked on an orchestrated campaign to shift the focus of the Cyprus issue from what it really is.Specifically, Mr. Omirou said that Ankara wants to distort the problem of the island from being one of invasion and occupation to one of a threat against Turkey because of the deployment of the Russian-made S-300 anti- aircraft missiles on the island. Moreover, Mr. Omirou stated that the United States need to understand that the key to solving the Cyprus issue lies with Ankara. [10] US PROPOSE MISSILE SALES TO GREECE AND TURKEY, 5.5 to 10 RATIOWashington, May 19 (MPA-AFP)The United States Pentagon announced yesterday proposed sales of Hellfire anti-tank missiles to Greece and sea- skimming Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Turkey, saying they would not hurt the region's military balance. The proposed sale of 228 Hellfire missiles to Greece was worth 24 million dollars, while the proposed sale of 30 Harpoon missiles to Turkey was valued at 43 million dollars."This sale will not adversely affect either the military balance in the region or US efforts to encourage a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus question," the Pentagon said, using identical language in statements on both proposals. US Defense Secretary William Cohen made clear in a recent visit to both countries that Washington remains keen to sell arms to both Athens and Ankara as their military undertake major investments in new weapons. The latest proposed sales, which represent a ratio of 5.5 to10, for Greece and Turkey respectively, would add to weapons already in the Greek and Turkish arsenals. [11] CN/TL MACEDONIA MANAGER ACCEPTS MAYOR’S RESIGNATIONThessaloniki, May 19 (MPA)The District Manager of the Central Macedonia Charalabos Sofianos has accepted the resignation of the mayor of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Kosmopoulos.The city council is now to convene at a later date which has yet to be announced. Mr. Kosmopoulos resigned on Saturday from the city’s mayoral post, after having served in that seat for ten years. While announcing his resignation, he lashed out against the opposition party’s leader, New Democracy’s Kostas Karamanlis, for not having granted the Thessaloniki mayor his support and for having opted to support another candidate, Vasilis Papageorgopoulos. The PASOK-backed candidate for the mayorship is Thrasivoulos Lazaridis. Elections will be held in October. [12] IMF OFFICALS TELL GREECE TO STEP UP PRIVATIZATION PROCESSAthens, May 19 (MPA)Officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have asked the Greek government to step up its privatization process of the state-owned enterprises, according to the draft report drawn after a two-week study of the Greek economy. The report mentions that the privatizations announced so far are limited and allows room for more, while it also states that the government’s target of containing inflation at 3% by the end of 1999 is feasible.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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