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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 99-04-08Macedonian 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, April 8, 1999TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST TODAY, OBSERVED BY ORTHODOX FAITHFULThessaloniki, April 8 (MPA)Hundreds of thousands of Orthodox faithful throughout the world are mourning the Crucifixion of Christ today, flocking to the churches in order to hear the 12 Gospels.Twenty centuries have passed, yet the ultimate sacrifice continues to inspire Christians awaiting eternal life. The feast of Christ's Resurrection, to be celebrated on Saturday at midnight, is the most sacred in the Orthodox religious calendar. During a magnificent service, all lights are turned out just when the priest, holding a single candle, transmits the sacred flame to the faithful chanting 'Come receive the light from the eternal light and glorify Christ, risen from the dead'. A.F. [02] BELGRADE’S HEART RIPPED APART BY NATO’s LATEST RAIDBelgrade, April 8 (MPA)Cruise missiles struck downtown Belgrade last night, shortly after midnight, the second time the Yugoslav capital was raided since the start of Operation Allied Forces. Defying the piercing sounds of the sirens, hundreds of residents abandoned the shelters and ran to the city’s central bridge to form a human shield. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who lived in Belgrade during part of her youth, acknowledged NATO's intense bombings against Yugoslavia, but said that the "score" at this point is "probably pretty even." Meanwhile, Greece’s Chief of Staff Manousos Parayioudakis is to travel to Brussels today where he will take part in a meeting convened by NATO’s supreme commander in Europe Wesley Clark who will brief the participants on the alliance’s latest raids. A.F.[03] KYPRIANOU IN BELGRADE TODAY FOR RELEASE OF US SOLDIERSBelgrade, April 8 (MPA)The President of the Cypriot Parliament Spyros Kyprianou is traveling to Belgrade today, within the framework of the initiative taken for the release of the three U.S. servicemen captured by the Serbs. During his stopover in Athens last night, Mr. Kyprianou expressed his optimism concerning the outcome of this humanitarian effort, stating that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has offered to return the men as a gesture of good will. At the same time, NATO has refused any possibility of terms set forth by Mr. Milosevic being accepted. A.F.[04] OVER 130,000 REFUGEES IN FYROM, INFORMATION MINISTER TELLS MPASkopje, April 8 (MPA)Over 130,000 persons have sought refuge in FYROM so far and this number could be augmented to 200,000 if the steady influx keeps up the present tempo.Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency’s general director Spyros Kouzinopoulos, FYROM’s Minister of Information Reijep Zlatku relayed his government’s fears of economic disaster as the country is heavily burdened with a continuous incoming flow of displaced persons from Kosovo. Mr. Zlatku lamented that, just as his country had hoped for economic recovery, the Alliance’s raids on Yugoslavia have borne a toll on FYROM’s internal affairs, while international aid for the refugees is trickling in at an extremely slow pace. Responding to the MPA’s question regarding the present situation in FYROM, Mr. Zlatku stated: “The refugees emerged suddenly in my country and this at a rapid rate, as refugees do, truly a human tragedy. “My country’s government, even before the onstart of the war, assessed that that FYROM can take in approximately 20,000 refugees from Kosovo. “During the first days, there were dozens trickling in, to be followed by surges of hundreds and thousands, while on some days, the number swelled to tens of thousands. As a result, the ceiling of 20,000 refugees was met within a few days. Nevertheless, (FYROM) did not close its doors to the second wave of refugees, which kept expanding from hour to hour, day by day. “We never knew how many would come today, how many would enter the country tomorrow. We never closed the borders and, as a result, today, April 7, there are 130,000 refugees in FYROM, that is six and a half times more than the country had originally assessed it could take. “Not only did the refugee phenomenon emerge suddenly, but it found the country in a difficult period, faced with difficult economic impediments.” The Information Minister opined that the key issue is economic, adding that there are no fears of political repercussions to be borne by the refugee situation. “The refugees are individuals who are fleeing a region that threatened their identity and life. They are granted the refugee status in the host country only when the conditions that forced them to abandon their country and homes are present. “I believe the Kosovo refugees will return to their homes, just as they left. There are journalists who dramatize the events, thinking that the refugees will alter the country’s population chart. I don’t believe this is true or that it will occur, since these are individuals anxious to return to their homes. That’s why I think we should leave them in peace, we’re talking about families having been separated, with a few members here, another few in Albania, and some more in other regions.” When asked if the refugee influx has burdened his country economically, Mr. Zlatku stated that “it is true that my country is facing economic problems and the international community has offered to forward help,” adding that although there have been positive statements that FYROM, just as Albania, will be assisted by the neighboring and western countries, “in reality, this aid is slow in arriving.” He further added that FYROM is asking for understanding when it comes to the vast hurdles it presently faces. “It would be good if the neighboring countries illustrated their humanitarian sides when it comes to the refugees and, depending on their abilities, accept and host a part of these unfortunate people,” he said. A.F. [05] FIRST KOSOVO REFUGEES TO ARRIVE IN GREECE ON SATURDAYThessaloniki, April 8 (MPA)The first number of Kosovo refugees, approximately 5,000, is expected to arrive in Greece this Saturday, Foreign Minister George Papandreou stated during is visit to Skopje yesterday.Mr. Papandreou made a lightning visit to Skopje before he departed for Tirana where he was accompanied by his FYROM counterpart Alexander Dimitrov. During his visit to a refugee camp near Skopje, where he was accompanied by the Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Yiannis Magriotis, Mr. Papandreou said that the refugee situation is "a disgrace for the end of the century." Commenting on concern over the future of FYROM, he said "Greece will help in having the country's territorial integrity preserved and will strive to see that borders will not change in the region." Mr. Papandreou met with FYROM President Kiro Gligorov, Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski and Democratic Alternative party President Vassili Topurkovski. A.F. [06] POLL FINDS PREMIER SIMITIS MOST QUALIFIED FOR THE POSTThessaloniki, April 8 (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is the most qualified to hold the country’s premiership, according to a poll published today in the Athens daily “Ta Nea”.Specifically, 41.6% of those questioned find Mr. Simitis to be the fittest politician for the post, followed by the leader of the main opposition party, New Democracy’s Kostas Karamanlis, with 30.6%. Ironically, 22.6% of the polled think that neither Simitis nor Karamanlis are fit to be Premier. Regarding the popularity of the country’s political leaders, the poll is led by the President of the Coalition of Left and Progress (Synaspismos) Nikos Konstantopoulos with 62.2%, followed by the leader of the Democratic and Social Movement (DIKKI), 53.9%; N.D. President, 49.5%; Premier (also PASOK’s leader), 44.9%; Communist Party of Greece secretary-general Aleka Paparega, 21.3%; and Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras, 19.5%. A.F. [07] HIGHWAY PATROL TAKES EXTRA MEASURES FOR EASTER EXODUSThessaloniki, April 8 (MPA)With the Easter weekend ahead, the country’s highway patrol is taking to the streets en masse today in order to facilitate traffic and reduce the risk of accidents. One of the safety measures the highway patrol is enforcing is the prohibition of trailer trucks on the largest national highways between 4-9 p.m. today.Meanwhile, Olympic Airways has increased the routes for the Easter holiday period, while trains, buses and ships are almost completely booked. A.F. [08] RUSSIA TO SEND THREE MORE WARSHIPS TO MEDITERRANEANMoscow, April 8 (MPA)Russia will send three more warships to the Mediterranean on Monday, sailing from Sebastapol to the Adriatic Sea.According to the French news agency AFP, sources stated that the ships are equipped to collect full and detailed information on the Balkan region. The same sources also stated that Turkey’s permission has been requested for the passage of the warships through the Bosporus Straits on April 12 and added that all of the Russian fleet warships are on a state of alert and waiting for orders from Moscow. A Russian ship left the Black Sea port for the Adriatic on April 2, in order to monitor the developments in Yugoslavia. A.F. [09] NUMBER OF REFUGEES FLEEING TO ALBANIA SWELLS TO 300,000Tirana, April 8 (MPA)Approximately 300,000 persons have sought refuge in Albania, according to official data released by information Minister Mousa Oulkini, and this number could swell to 400,000 within the next few days.The displaced persons are being distributed throughout Albania in order to alleviate the congestion at the entrance points, while yesterday alone 15,000 refugees were transported from Skopje to Korica. As part of the Albanian government’s appeal for humanitarian aid, Foreign Undersecretary Pelub Joufi met yesterday NATO’s ambassadors to Tirana whom he briefed on the refugee situation. A.F. [10] BELGRADE: ABOUT 70,000 REFUGEES HAVE RETURN TO THEIR HOMESParis, April 8 (MPA)About 70,000 ethnic Albanians have returned to their homes in Kosovo, following an “accord” between Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova.According to the French news agency AFP, Yugoslavia’s former ambassador to France Bogdan Trifunovic stated that Yugoslavia has called several times for the refugees to return and added that this process is under way. Moreover, Mr. Trifunovic stated that Mr. Rugova (in his meeting with Mr. Milosevic) “showed that he is interested in resolving the problems of his people, but not only of his people.” “The results of this meeting constitute an agreement aimed at preparing a political solution together,” he stated. A.F. [11] UCK VOWS TO CONTINUE ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST SERB FORCESBonn, April 8 (MPA)The Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) has announced its readiness to conduct talks with Belgrade on settling the Kosovo crisis, according to the Russian news agency Itar- Tass.Quoting one of Kosovo’s separatist leaders Hashim Taci, who is hiding in Prishtina, Itar-Tass reported that the UCK intends to continue the armed struggle against Serbian authorities, despite Belgrade’s unilateral call for an end to all military operations in Kosovo in time for Easter. A.F. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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