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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 99-03-09Macedonian 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, March 9, 1999TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREEK DIPLOMAT DETAINED IN ANKARA FOR TWO HOURSAnkara, March 9 (MPA)A Greek diplomat stationed in Ankara was arrested and detained for two hours at a police station, in spite of having shown his diplomatic identification card.The Greek Embassy's charges d'affaires Michalis Christides, presently the acting ambassador, was stopped and questioned by military police while he was taking a walk in the country. The Greek Embassy has proceeded to filing a demarche with the Turkish Foreign Ministry. A.F. [02] GREEK DIPLOMAT: I WAS NOT DETAINED, IT WAS A SIMPLE ID CHECKAthens, March 9 (MPA)The charges d'affaires of the Greek Embassy in Ankara, Michalis Christides, presently the acting ambassador, clarified today that he was not detained by the Turkish police and that they merely asked him to show his identification.Speaking to an Athens radio station, Mr. Christides stated that the identification check was performed in regards to his motorcycle and it took longer than it would have normally since he does not speak Turkish. The Greek embassy did file a demarche with the Turkish Foreign Ministry as the news agency "Anadolu" reported that the Greek diplomat's movements were "suspicious". A.F. [03] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER TO MEET WITH US SECRETARY OF STATEWashington, March 9 (MPA)The leader of Greece's main opposition party, New Democracy's Kostas Karamanlis, is to be received by the Us Secretary of state Madeleine Albright today in Washington.Mr. Karamanlis, is presently on an official visit to the United States where he will remain until March 16, will hold talks with vice-president Al Gore on Thursday, and UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and Archbishop Spyridon on Friday. He met with US Senator Edward Kennedy with whom he discussed Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue. "IT is obvious that the intransigent side is Turkey which does not allow for progress towards a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus issue, "Mr. Karamanlis stated following his talks with Sen. Kennedy. "I should reiterate and underline that we both agreed that Cyprus's accession course (to the EU) should be promoted without this being a leverage point for the political solution," he added. The ND leader will also visit the universities of Tufts and Harvard, the Wall Street Journal and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in addition to giving a speech to the Greater New York Federation of Greek Societies. Mr. Karamanlis is accompanied by New Democracy MPs Petros Molyviatis, Vassilis Magginas and Fani Palli-Petralia. A.F. [04] COMMUNIST PARTY MEMBERS BLOCK TRAIN CARRYING NATO TANKSThessaloniki, March 9 (MPA)A group of approximately 150 individuals, members of the communist Party of Greece and the Communist youth of Greece, blockaded a railway train in Thessaloniki this morning, protesting the passage of NATO forces through Greece to Skopje.The passenger train, which was transporting NATO tanks to FYROM, continued its course two hours later after the group left the block. A.F. [05] HELLENIC PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT REPLIES TO TURKEY'S CHARGESAthens, March 9 (MPA)The President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis, while at the Euro-Mediterranean parliaments' conference held in Majorca, stated that "we cannot identify every struggle and every effort by peoples for freedom and independence, every struggle by individuals for human rights with terrorism, and think that in this way we have done away with the problem."Mr. Kaklamanis was responding to an effort aimed at tarnishing the Greek government in light of the Ocalan affair by Turkish assembly vice-president Gurkan. The Turkish deputy had referred "to allied countries in NATO which are supporting the terrorist organization PKK against Turkey." Mr. Kaklamanis said all must condemn and work to avert preconditions for terrorism or for actions which we freely christen terrorism afterwards. Cypriot House Speaker Spyros Kyprianou also sternly replied to the Turkish MP, saying that relevant reference to terrorism was irrational at a time "when the occupation of 40 per cent of the Republic of Cyprus is continuing for 25 years with the force of arms by 'Attila's' invasion forces." A.F. [06] US-GREECE ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL MEETING HELD IN WASHINGTONWashington, March 9 (MPA)A United States - Greece economic and commercial commission meeting was held in Washington yesterday, featuring among the participants Greece's ambassador in Washington, Alexandros Philon, and US ambassador in Athens Nicholas Burns.The meeting stressed the strength of the US and Greek economies and the growing opportunities for expansion. The next commission meeting is scheduled to be held in Greece. A.F. [07] US GENERAL MAINTAINS EQUAL DISTANCES BETWEEN GREECE AND TURKEYAthens, March 9 (MPA)The United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Shelton has maintained a stance of equal distances between Greece and Turkey, by stating that NATO could serve as a stepping stone where the differences and conflicts among its members could be settled through mutual concessions.Concerning terrorism, the US General stated that those involved in terrorist activities should not be able to find refuge anywhere. A.F. [08] US ENVOY RICHARD HOLBROOKE IN BELGRADEBelgrade, March 9 (MPA)United States envoy Richard Holbrooke is to arrive in Belgrade today, in an effort to convince Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic to accept the agreement pertaining to Kosovo.Meanwhile, leading members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) had requested additional time in order to approve the region's peacekeeping plan. A.F. [09] OLYMPIAKOS PRESIDENT APPEARS ON CNN'S "PINNACLE EUROPE"Atlanta, March 9 (MPA)Socrates Kokkalis, the founder of the Intracom group and president of Greece's Olympiakos sports club, appeared on the Cable News Network (CNN) on Sunday, during the program "Pinnacle Europe", where stressed that he wants to expand to the US.Mr. Kokkalis, said that "the Greek market is small for Intracom, which has already expanded to other markets. When asked if Intracom could be purchased by a larger firm, Mr. Kokkalis responded "Intracom was a child raised by me, but I should be a realist and think as a businessman...If there is a significant offer in the future to benefit the growth of the company, then I will be positive." A.F. [10] US PAN-CYPRIOT ASSOCIATION: LOIZIDOU IS "WOMAN OF THE YEAR"Nicosia, March 9 (MPA)The women's charter of the Pan-Cypriot Association of the United States will bestow the "Woman of the Year" award upon Greek-Cypriot refugee Titina Loizidou, for her lengthy struggle against Turkey which violated her right to peaceful enjoyment of her property in occupied Kerynia.The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Turkey to pay 300.000CYP pounds in damages to Ms. Loizidou. The award ceremony will be held in New York on Sunday, March 13, on the occasion of the International Day of Women. A.F. [11] ALBANIA: OSCE VEHICLE FIRED AT, NO ONE WAS INJUREDTirana, March 9 (MPA)Unknown culprits opened fire at a vehicle transporting staff from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) today, at the Albania-Kosovo border, although no one was injured.According to the French news agency AFP, four shots were fired at the jeep which was occupied by a Czech national, an Albanian and two OSCE observers. A.F. [12] JOSCHKA FISCHER, HANS VAN DEN BROEK, IN TIRANA TODAYTirana, March 9 (MPA)German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer is to complete his tour of Yugoslavia,. FYROM and Albanian today by visiting Tirana where he will be briefed on the current situation in Kosovo, prior to the second round talks to begin on March 15.During his brief stay at the Albanian capital, Mr. Fischer, who s accompanied by EU Commissioner Hans Van Den Broek, will meet with Albanian President Reijep Meidani, Prime Minister Panteli Majko and his Albanian counterpart Paskal Milo. A.F. 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