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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-07-30Macedonian 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, July 30, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREEK DEFENSE MINSTER WARNS ANKARAAthens, July 30 (MPA)Greece's Minister of National Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos has warned Ankara to consider the cost of any action it may take against Greece.Specifically, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said that Greece will react in every way to such possibility. Moreover, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos criticized the US stance on the Cyprus issue by stating that mediators need to be objective and not merely intervene on behalf of one side. [02] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER PANGALOS MEETS WITH US AMBASSADOR BURNSAthens, July 30 (MPA)Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos had a seventy-minute meeting with US ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns today. No statements were given to reporters following the talks, yet, according to reports, the two men offered mutual explanations in regards to the terse statements made by both sides recently.Moreover, Mr. Burns is said to have briefed Mr. Pangalos on the alternate scenario of delivering smaller-scale missiles (S-15) to Cyprus, as opposed to the S-300, as well as the flight moratorium over Cyprus. [03] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET WITH US AMBASSADOR TO ATHENS TODAYAthens, July 30 (MPA)Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos is to receive US ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns today.The two men's discussions are expected to focus on the latest developments in Greek-US relations and following an exchange of terse statements by both sides over the past week. According to reports, no comments are expected after the meeting. [04] TURKISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE AT EVROS BORDER, NO VICTIMSThessaloniki, July 30 (MPA)The Greek government is to present a demarche to the Turkish government today, after the serious incident caused yesterday evening by Turkish border guards at the Evros station when they opened fire against the Greek guards.According to Greece's General Army Staff, three Turkish border guards opened fire yesterday against a two-member Greek crew. The Greek returned the fire and the exchange lasted about 15 minutes. The Greek Minister of Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos stated that this is an isolated incident and expressed the hope that the shooting was not intentional. [05] GREECE REAFFIRMS SUPPORT OF CYPRUS' S-300 PURCHASEAthens, July 30 (MPA)Greek government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas reaffirmed yesterday evening that the purchase of the S- 300 anti-aircraft missile system by the Cyprus government was a joint decision within the framework of the defense pact between the two countries.Specifically, Mr. Reppas stated that "issues of a national nature are dealt by the Cyprus government after consultation with the Greek government." He pointed out that the alignment of the policies of the two countries regarding the Cyprus problem is well-known and stressed that both Greece and Cyprus are acting within the framework of UN and Security Council resolutions on Cyprus. "The two governments are entitled to cooperate fully, to maintain close relations and identical political options to promote the Cyprus issue," Mr. Reppas added. [06] EUROPEAN UNION APPROVES THESSALONIKI'S METRO CONSTRUCTION PROJECTBrussels, July 30 (MPA)The European Union has allowed the official appointment of a French-Greek consortium to begin work on Thessaloniki's metro project, following a meeting held yesterday between EU Commissioners Christos Papoutsis and Mario Monti.The meeting confirmed that the Greek government will soon be informed that the objections to the project will be formally shelved and that the French company Buick, along with four Greek construction companies, will sign the necessary agreements in the days to follow. [07] GREECE TO FACE ITALY TONIGHT AT MUNDO BASKETAthens, July 30 (MPA)Greece is to play against Italy tonight during the second game of the World Basket Championships.Yesterday, Greece beat Canada 78-72. The coach Panayiotis Giannakis expressed his satisfaction over the team's performance and added that everyone's morale was boosted when Nikos Ghalis visited the locker rooms. [08] SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC TO MEET WITH EU ENVOYSBelgrade, July 30 (MPA)European Union envoys are to be received today by the Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in order to achieve talks that will alleviate the tension in the strife-torn region of Kossovo.According to latest reports, the Albanians have suffered significant losses. Yesterday, the Serb forces recaptured the Metrovixca-Pec axis. [09] EU COMMISSION RELEASES BLOCKED AID TO OLYMPIC AIRWAYS, AMOUNT LOWERBrussels, July 30 (MPA)The European Commission has released a restructuring aid to Olympic Airways, which had been blocked since April 1996, although it plans to enforced the attached conditions until the year 2002.These conditions include the prohibition for Olympic to undercut competitor's fares on specific routes and a limitation of its offer on European routes. Moreover, the authorized capital injection has been reduced to 40, 800 million drachmas, from 54,000 million drachmas. [10] EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS COURT AWARDS DAMAGES TO CYPRIOT REFUGEENicosia, July 30 (MPA)The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Turkey to pay 300.000 CYP pounds in damages to Greek Cypriot refugee Titina Loizidou for the continued violation of her right to peaceful enjoyment of her property.In what is described as a landmark case, Cyprus's Attorney- General, Alecos Markides, told reporters that the ECHR ordered Turkey to pay pecuniary damages of 300.000 CYP pounds (one pound is about 2 US dollars) to Ms/ Loizidou from the Turkish occupied town of Kyrenia, a further 20.000 for non-pecuniary damage and 137.084 for her costs and expenses. In its decision, the ECHR dismissed by 15-2 Turkey's claim that Loizidou, has no entitlement to an award of just satisfaction under Article 50 of the Convention. With the ruling, Markides said Loizidou's legal battle over the violation of her right of property, which began in 1989 ended. According to the Cyprus News Agency, Markides said the amount of 300,000 was assessed as the loss suffered by Loizidou with reference to the annual ground rent, calculated as a percentage of the market value of the property that could have been earned on her properties between 1989-1997. The Attorney-General said the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe will monitor the implementation of the ruling. He said the amount should be collected within three months from the date of the issue of the ruling. A simple interest at an annual rate of 8 percent shall be payable on all amounts from the expiration of the three months until settlement. The ruling stressed that in the light of the December 1996 decision, Loizidou "is still the legal owner of the property, no issue of expropriation arises...and that her claim is this confined to the loss of use of the land and the consequent lost opportunity to develop or lease it". In its ruling in December 1996, the ECHR found Turkey guilty of continuous human rights violations with respect to the peaceful enjoyment of Loizidou's property. It ordered that within the next six months the applicant and the Turkish government submit written observations with respect to the issue of compensation and costs. It is the first time an international legal body has condemned Turkey and ordered the country to pay damages over human rights violations as a result of the continuing Turkish occupation of Cyprus' northern areas. [11] EU COMMISSION OKs LOWER COST OF LONG DISTANCE TELECOMMUNICATIONSBrussels, July 30 (MPA)The European Commission has updated its recommendation on 'best current practice' interconnection charges for the fixed telecommunication services for 1999, to provide guidance to network operators and national regulatory authorities.'Interconnection charges' - the prices that telephone companies charge each other if for delivering a telephone call the networks of more than one operator have to be used - are converging towards the levels recommended by the Commission for the year1998. Interconnection charges in several Member States have dropped substantially over the last nine months. The 'best current practice' interconnection charges are derived from the interconnection charges in the three lowest-cost Member States. The 1999 best practice figures are about 8% lower on average than the corresponding figures for 1998. [12] SOUTH AUSTRALIAN OPPOSITION LEADER EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER CYPRUSLondon, July 30 (MPA)South Australian opposition leader Mike Rann MP has written a letter to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, asking for his active support to place the Cyprus problem "as a keynote issue for debate and action" on the agenda of next year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in South Africa.In his letter, the Australian politician reminds Mr Blair, that Cyprus has remained divided for 24 years following the illegal Turkish invasion and occupation of the island in 1974,.and stresses that the Turkish government continues to defy international law and to ignore a series of resolutions on Cyprus by the UN Security Council and General Assembly and the European Parliament. Referring to Turkey's intransigent position, Mr Rann states that it is quite clear "that Turkey is determined to frustrate moves by Britain and the United States to negotiate a peaceful and just solution to the Cyprus problem". Mr Rann also points out that whenever progress is made, the Turkish government and the Denktash regime take action to torpedo any serious moves towards a resolution of the problem. A letter to the same effect would also be sent to the South African President Nelson Mandela and Australian Prime Minister John Howard, seeking their support. [13] GREEK CONSULATE TO OPEN IN MONTENEGRO ON AUGUST 30Podgogrica, July 30 (MPA)A Greek consulate is to open in the capital city of Montenegro, Podgorica, on August 30.According to the local press, Greek Consul Konstantinos Mavraskelides is to be assigned to the post as of August 10. The federal government of Yugoslavia approved the relevant Greek request last February. [14] VOTING CENTERS TO BE ESTABLISHED THROUGHOUT GREECE FOR SWEDESThessaloniki, July 30 (MPA)Eleven voting centers are to be established in regions where over 20 Swedes reside in order to enable them to vote during the September 20th's elections.The cities are Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Chania, Iraklion, Ioannina, Kavala, Kilkis, Corfu, Kos and Rhodes. The establishment of the voting centers is a result of the efforts exerted by the Greek-origin deputy in the Swedish Parliament Nikos Papadopoulos. Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency, Mr. Papadopoulos stated that those Swedish citizens who have not voted in the last ten years are at risk of losing their right to vote or run for office. He added that they can forward a relevant request, up until August 20, to the address Skattemyndighetten I Stockholms Lan, Skattekontor Stockholm 4 , S- 163 69 SPANGA, Sverige- Suede in order to register. According to estimates, approximately 20,000 Swedes presently live in Greece. [15] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTRY PROMOTES GREEK-AMERICAN EDUCATIONThessaloniki, July 30 (MPA)A program of televised studies between local universities and American ones on subjects concerning Greek history, archaeology and Greek language is being promoted by the Ministry of Macedonia- Thrace with the support of the Pan-Macedonian Association of US- Canada.The application of the program is expected to start in the fall, and among the US schools to be linked are Columbia University, as well as the University of Connecticut. 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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