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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 99-04-20Macedonian 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 20, 1999TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] ONE KILLED, 11 WOUNDED FROM LAST NIGHT’S RAIDS IN SERBIABelgrade, April 20 (MPA)NATO continued to pound Yugoslavia last night, targeting oil refineries and industrial sites in Belgrade, Prishtina and Nis. The state-owned television reported that one person was killed and 11 were wounded. Washington has dispatched an additional 500 troops to Tirana, reportedly for the safekeeping of the Apache helicopters expected to arrive in Albania. The United States is exerting pressure on its European allies for imposing an oil embargo on Yugoslavia. Foreign ministry officials from the European Union member-states are reviewing the proposal in Brussels today. A.F.[02] SIMITIS URGES UN TO TAKE INITIATIVES OVER KOSOVO CRISISNew York, April 20 (MPA)Greece’s Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, who met with the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York yesterday, has requested that the UN undertake initiatives for the Kosovo crisis and the Cyprus issue. Referring to Kosovo, Mr. Simitis stressed that the UN must undertake initiatives in order to achieve peace in the region and Mr. Annan agreed. A.F.[03] MINISTERIAL AND SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ON TOXIC CLOUDAthens, April 20 (MPA)The Minister of Environment, Public Works and City Planning Kostas Laliotis is to head a conference today in order to examine the effects born on the environment from the incessant bombing of Yugoslavia, where chemical manufacturing sites have been hit.The Greek government assured the public yesterday that there is no risk of toxic pollution or radiation leaks. The Minister of Health Lambros Papademas stressed that the toxic cloud detected in Yugoslavia is not to affect Greece. The conference will feature the participation of representatives from the environment and health ministries, as well as a number of environment experts. A.F. [04] GREEK PREMIER’S ITINERARY IN THE UNITED STATESNew York, April 20 (MPA)Greece’s Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, presently in New York for NATO’s 50th anniversary, is to meet Archbishop Spyridon of America today. Tomorrow, Mr. Simitis will address a lunch held in his honor by the Council on Foreign Relations. The Premier’s address will concern foreign policy issues, including the Kosovo crisis, Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue.On Thursday, the Premier will attend a lunch held in his honor by the board of directors of the Woodrow Wilson Research Institute on foreign, economic and social policy issues. On Saturday, the 19 NATO leaders will attend a formal dinner held in their honor and hosted by US president Bill Clinton at the White House. Mr. Simitis will depart for Greece on Sunday, April 25 after the close of the NATO summit. A.F. [05] GREEK PREMIER, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSS KOSOVO, CYPRUSNew York, April 20 (MPA)The Kosovo crisis and the Cyprus issue where the main points of discussion during the meeting held in New York last night between Greece’s Premier Kostas Simitis and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.Mr. Simitis stressed that the prolongation of the Kosovo crisis will lead to even more complex problems in the region and further deterioration. “The alliance that has been formed against Yugoslavia wants the pacification of the region, but this pacification must be sought through different and various means, but under the specific conditions set by NATO,” Mr. Simitis stated, after his meeting with the UN chief. "The United Nations must play a role. Mr. Annan must think which initiatives are possible for us to be able to arrive at a solution, a solution through political means. We believe that at the present moment political means are a must, and that the problem cannot be dealt with only through military means. We need diplomatic initiatives," he said. The Greek Premier also stated that “the ethnic cleansing must stop, the refugees must return to their homes and Serbia must accept these terms.” He stressed that any solution should not include any change in borders. "The Greek position, in common with that of the other NATO member-states, is that there must not be a change in borders. If there is a change in borders, then a new very difficult situation will be created in the Balkans. We must not complicate the problem," he emphasized. Mr. Simitis outlined Greece’s course of action for reaching a solution to the crisis. "One sector is the humanitarian. We have already sent significant amounts of aid to neighboring countries. These amounts are only second compared to other countries' and Greeks are in the field to distribute it. "The second point is what we do afterwards, to repair the damage which is continuing," he said. Messrs. Simitis and Annan also discussed the Cyprus issue. "The United Nations has entered into a commitment to deal with the problem, it must deal with it. Within this wider problem there is a narrower one, that of restricting military forces on the island. This problem needs to be tackled immediately. "Cyprus made a step towards the end of last year, by deciding not to deploy the S-300 missiles. The US, other countries and the UN had provided assurances that there would be moves to demilitarize the island. These moves must begin. There will be a new Turkish government in the next few weeks. We hope this new Turkish government will cooperate towards this end, " Mr. Simitis said. A.F. [06] SIX BALKAN COUNTRIES ISSUE JOINT COMMUNIQUE ON KOSOVOAthens, April 20 (MPA)Six Balkan countries have asked for the application of immediate measures that will lead to the discovery of a solution to the Kosovo crisis, in a joint communique issued in Athens yesterday.Representatives from Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Romania, Turkey and Greece met in Athens and discussed ways to form a task force comprising representatives from S.E. countries, which would be affiliated with the European Union, NATO, the UN and other organizations. Greece’s Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who officiated the meeting, said that the conclusions will be conveyed to the next EU General Affairs Council on April 26-27 which will be attended by Alternate Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis. A.F. [07] RUSSIAN PATRIARCH EMBARKS ON KOSOVO PEACEMAKING MISSIONBelgrade, April 20 (MPA)The Patriarch of Moscow and All of Russia Alexi II, has embarked on a one-day peacemaking mission to Belgrade, according to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.Prior to his departure from Moscow, the Patriarch stated that “it is indispensable, while there is still time. To find acceptable and peaceful ways to settle the question of Kosovo and the duty of the Church is to serve peace.” He stated that the principle condition for negotiations to start was an end to NATO’s air raids on Yugoslavia and all military action on the ground, both by Serb forces and the Kosovo Liberation party. “Only a peaceful and dignified life for all, including the Kosovo Albanians, can maintain the entity of the country and foster order and good understanding,” he said. While in Belgrade, the Russian Patriarch will meet with Yugoslav officials and the head of the Serb Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle. A.F. [08] CLINTON, YELTSIN HOLD “VERY CONSTRUCTIVE” TELEPHONE TALKWashington, April 20 (MPA)Russian President Boris Yeltsin had a telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart Bill Clinton yesterday, which was described by White House Press Secretary Joseph Lockhart as “very constructive”.Mr. Lockhart said that the talks lasted approximately 45 minutes and focused on the situation around Yugoslavia. He said that both presidents acknowledged that there was agreement between the United States and Russia on some “key areas” of the Kosovo issue, which include “an immediate end to attacks on the Kosovo Albanians, withdrawal of Yugoslav armed forces from Kosovo, safe repatriation of refugees and access to humanitarian organizations to Kosovo.” However, there were areas of disagreement as well. Washington and Moscow disagreed on the NATO missile and bombing raids on Yugoslavia and the possibility of deploying “international security forces” under the Alliance’s command in that country. A.F. [09] GREEKS DIVIDED OVER ALBANIAN REFUGEES, ACCORDING TO POLLAthens, April 20 (MPA)More than 50 percent of respondents in a recent poll are opposed to the entrance of Albanian refugees to Greece, while the remaining percentage believes that the country has a moral obligation to accept and assist these refugees from Kosovo. According to a poll published in today’s edition of the Athens daily "Ta Nea", 52.4% said “no” when asked if Greece should accept the refugees, with 42.8% replying that “yes, the country is obliged to do so.”The vast majority of the respondents, 97.5%, stated that they would help the refugees by gathering foods, while 65.9% responded that they would be willing to perform volunteer work in order to assist them. Moreover, 36.5% of those polled responded that they would be willing to host the refuges, while 87.5% intends to provide financial assistance to the victims of the NATO raids on Yugoslavia. A.F. [10] PRISHTINA: GREEK DOCTORS REPORT LACK OF MEDICAL SUPPLIESPrishtina, April 20 (MPA)The main hospital of Prishtina, capital of Kosovo, lacks medical supplies, equipment and food for the 40 patients it admits every day, according to the Greek branch of Medecins du Monde (MDM or Doctors of the World). The Greek physicians have reported that most of the ethnic Albanian medical and paramedical staff have left the hospital which is operating with only three doctors, working in extremely difficult conditions 24 hours a day. In a statement they forwarded to the French news agency AFP, the MDM physicians fear that the already high rate of tuberculosis among the Albanian population of Kosovo will increase rapidly and spread to the neighboring countries which a re receiving waves of refugees. A.F.[11] NATO DECLARES INTENT TO INTENSIFY AIR RAIDS ON YUGOSLAVIABrussels, April 20 (MPA)While all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have rejected a ground operation in Kosovo, French Foreign Minister Vedrine has clarified that this option will be necessary in oprder to enforce a political agreement, while he also announced that the Alliance intends to intensify its air raids over Yugoslavia.Moreover, the German FM stated that NATO has to be prepared to conduct long-duration raids on Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, the Patriarch of Moscow and All of Russia Alexi II, has embarked on a one-day peacemaking mission to Belgrade. A.F. [12] ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: TOXIC CLOUD POSES NO RISK TO GREECEAthens, April 20 (MPA)The Minister of Environment, Public Works and City Planning Kostas Laliotis chaired an Athens-held conference today which examined the effects born on the environment from the incessant bombing of Yugoslavia, where chemical and petrochemical manufacturing sites have been hit.Following the session, which featured the participation of representatives from the environment and health ministries, as well as a number of environment experts, Mr. Laliotis announced that there is no risk of toxic pollution or radiation leaks and stressed that the atmosphere is being monitored through continuous readings. A.F. [13] SCENARIA ABOUND FOR TURKEY’S NEW GOVERNMENTAnkara, April 20 (MPA)Turkey’s Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit appears cautious towards the possibility of forming a coalition government with the ultra-right Nationalist Movement Party, albeit not ruling out such possibility.The leader of the Democratic Left Party, which led Sunday’s elections and appears to have secured the majority seats in Parliament would undoubtedly prefer a coalition government with Mesut Yilmaz’s Motherland Party, although the question remains as to which third party will complete the coalition. A.F. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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