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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 99-04-23Macedonian 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 23, 1999TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] SEVERAL DEAD, SCORES OF INJURED IN BOMBING OF SERB TV STUDIOBelgrade, April 23 (MPA)Several people were killed, exact number is still unknown, and a score of others are injured, following NATO’s attack this morning against the Serb television studio in Belgrade. According to Yugoslav officials, there were approximately fifty persons inside the studio, among them foreign correspondents, when the missiles struck the studio. Rescue workers are using bulldozers to reach bodies trapped beneath the wreckage. The vice-president of the Yugoslav government Vuk Drascovic said the attack was an act of unfathomable barbarity. NATO continued to bombard other areas of Yugoslavia, thus undermining the Cernomyrdin-Milosevic agreement which had been viewed as a first step towards a peaceful solution to the conflict. A.F.[02] GREEK PREMIER GIVES ADDRESS AT WOODROW WILSON FOUNDATIONWashington, April 23 (MPA)Greece’s Prime Minister Kostas Simitis referred extensively to the conflict in Yugoslavia during his address at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation in Washington last night, where he also stressed that Greece is the only Southeastern European country that is also a NATO and European Union member. Given its geographical position, Mr. Simitis stated, Greece is a factor of peace, stability, cooperation and development, remaining true to the principles of international law and the status quo.He further stated that the continuous use of force cannot lead to a permanent solution and reiterated that Greece will not participate in military operations in Yugoslavia, being a neighboring country, stressing categorical support for wide autonomy for Kosovo and opposition to the "ethnic cleansing" policy followed by Serbia. Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Simitis said they are governed by the principles of international law, reiterating that Turkish claims can be referred to the International Court at The Hague. Regarding Cyprus, Mr. Simitis stated that it remains a national priority to discover a solution in accordance with UN resolutions. The Greek Premier also outlined the Greek economy’s upward course, in reference to the target of acceding to the Economic and Monetary Union. A.F. [03] NATO SUMMIT BEGINS IN WASHINGTON TODAYWashington, April 23 (MPA)NATO’s 50th anniversary Summit conference is getting underway in Washington today, with Greece’s Prime Minster Kostas Simitis participating. The Premier characterized the Yugoslav crisis as the greatest human tragedy in Europe since World War II. He urged the Allies to undertake a peacemaking initiative since, as he stated, the continuous use of violence cannot lead to a permanent solution. Regarding Turkish claims, the Greek Premier stressed that Ankara could seek recourse with the International Court of Justice at The Hague. He further stated that Turkey is a destabilizing factor in the region. Tomorrow, 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.[04] BANK OF GREECE GOVERNOR SATISFIED WITH ECONOMY’S COURSEAthens, April 23 (MPA)The governor of the Bank of Greece Lukas Papademos has stated that the Greek economy is still on the right track, not necessitating additional measures for containing inflation.Mr. Papademos stated that the existing inflation- control measures are sufficient in order to bring a reduction in the following months. Moreover the Bank governor forecast that the inflation rate will plunge to below the two percent mark during 1999. A.F. [05] GREEK FM: THERE’S NO DECISION FOR GROUND OPERATION IN KOSOVOAthens, April 23 (MPA)Greece’s Foreign Minister George Papandreou has stated that the United States are asking that Greece provide them with further access to facilities for NATO military operations against Yugoslavia, while he added that in this phase "there is no decision nor intent" to deploy NATO ground forces in Kosovo. Mr. Papandreou presented Greece’s proposal for solving the Kosovo crisis, to his Unites States counterpart, Secretary of State Madeleine Allbright, in Washington yesterday.Speaking to reporters, he added that the United States have not ruled out the possibility of Greece undertaking a mediating role in the matter. He further stated that Greece’s Premier Kostas Simitis is to meet with Turkish President Suleiman Demirel, while he will also meet with his Turkish counterpart Ismael Cem, albeit adding that both meetings will be held at a purely social level. A.F. [06] GREEK FM PRESENTS TO US COUNTEPRART PROPOSALS ON KOSOVOKosovo, April 23 (MPA)Greece’s Foreign Minister George Papandreou, presented Greece’s proposals for reaching a solution to the Kosovo crisis, during the 45-minute meeting he had with his United States counterpart, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in Washington yesterday. Mr. Papandreou underlined the role that can be carried out by Greece in transporting humanitarian aid to the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians who remain in Kosovo, while he also outlined the need to reconstitute economic development in the region following the end of the war.According to the BBC, which quoted diplomatic sources, Ms. Albright expressed her support of a political solution to the crisis, either through the United Nations, or Russia, albeit she reiterated that as long as Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic does not accept NATO’s terms, the raids against his country will continue. Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, the Secretary of State expressed her content for the improved climate and for the spirit of cooperation between Mr. Papandreou and his Turkish counterpart Ismael Cem during the Kosovo crisis. She further noted that the tension that arose between the two countries regarding the S-300 missiles has abated. Nevertheless, she clearly implied that the victory of the ultra-nationalist party in the neighboring country is not a positive development in regards to the Cyprus issue and G/T relations. A.F. [07] S-300 MISSILES ARE IN CRETE, GOV/NT SPOKESPERSON CONFIRMSAthens, April 23 (MPA)The acting government spokesperson Nikos Athanasakis confirmed today that the Russian-made S-300 missiles have been transferred to Crete.Responding to a relevant question, Mr. Athanasakis stated that the missiles are in Crete, but did not give further information as to when the transfer took place and when the missiles will be fully deployed. According to the French news agency AFP, the Turkish government has reacted to the news, by stressing that Ankara’s stance on this matter has not shifted and that Turkey “does not wish the introduction of new elements that would increase the tension in the already-complex relations between Greece and Turkey.” A.F. [08] ATTACK ON TV STATION CONDEMNED AS VANDALISMMoscow, April 23 (MPA)An air strike made by NATO Air Force on the building of the Yugoslav Central television which caused losses among journalists and heavy damages is "an act of vandalism", stated the Secretary General of the Union of Russian Journalists Igor Yakovenko to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass. "This is additional evidence of the immoral attitude of those who order bombardments of Yugoslavia and its peaceful civilians,” he stressed. The Union of Russian Journalists has already made a statement, expressing indignation at the barbarous bombardments of the building of the Yugoslav Central Television. "The strike on the television center is a qualitatively new step taken by NATO and the US. Until now, they had asserted that air strikes had been made on military facilities only. Today's act means that the war has spread to another level, when attempts are being made to crush the freedom of speech," Mr. Yakovenko declared. A.F.[09] BALKAN NEWS AGENCIES TO MEET IN THESSALONIKI OVER CRISISThessaloniki, April 23 (MPA)The news agencies from all the countries comprised in the Balkan region are to meet in Thessaloniki on May 7, 1999, in order to examine the problems that have arisen in the operation of the mass media organizations as a result of the dramatic events taking place in Yugoslavia.The event is being organized by the Association of Balkan News Agencies (ABNA) on the initiative of the Macedonian Press Agency, the headquarters of ABNA’s permanent secretariat. The meeting will also examine ways to improve the activity of the news agencies and all of the Balkan mass media, always in line with the principles of journalistic ethics, objectivity and truth, which principles have been espoused by ABNA since its founding in 1994. In addition to the Balkan news agencies, invited to take part in the meeting are United Nations and UNESCO representatives, European Union officials, Council of Europe representatives and International Journalists Federation members. Moreover, the news agencies of those countries neighboring with the Balkan states, and which are subject to the consequences of the Kosovo crisis, have been invited to participate. On March 26, 1999, ABNA had issued an appeal to its members, the mass media and various journalists, wherein it called on them to show restrain in these difficult times and to strictly adhere to the principles of journalistic ethics and truth, avoiding sensationalism, in order to allow peace, stability and security to return to the region of Southeastern Europe. A.F. [10] BALKAN CONFERENCE ON ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF CONFLICTSofia, April 23 (MPA)Nine Balkan countries are to form a “common front” in taking mutual emergency measures to mitigate the consequences of the Kosovo crisis on the region’s state economies, in an extraordinary conference held in Sofia today.The conference, which features the participation of Greece’s undersecretary of Development Anna Diamantopoulou, is being held under the auspices of Bulgarian Premier Ivan Kostov. The event will also feature the participation of Industry, Trade and Development ministers from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, FYROM, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey, as well as officials from the International Monetary Fund, and World Bank and the United States and Russian Federation ambassadors to Sofia. A.F. [11] SERB TV DEFIES ATTACK, CONTINUES BROADCASTING VIA SATELLITEBelgrade, April 23 (MPA)Serbia’s state-owned television station, whose premises were bombarded by NATO early this morning, killing at least 15, is continuing its broadcast through the municipal television station’s frequency.The programming continues normally and unaltered, mainly broadcasting news reports on an hourly basis. A.F. [12] FRENCH CARRIER IN THESSALONIKI WITH TANKS AND AID FOR FYROMThessaloniki, April 23 (MPA)The French “Pilgaspir” transport ship sailed into the Thermaicos Gulf this morning, carrying 25 military vehicles and humanitarian aid for FYROM, as well as 19 trailers and two containers. According to the spokesperson of the General Army Staff’s Thessaloniki division Stamatis Lazarou, the French carrier will remain moored in the Gulf until the military supplies that have been closed in for a number of days at the port of Thessaloniki get transferred to FYROM.So far, there are 125 personnel transport vehicles, 46 trucks, 33 trailers, 17 containers with military supplies, five tanks, nine armored personnel transport vehicles, 18 jeeps, and approximately 25 armored vehicles. The supplies have been transported on two ships, a Dutch and a German, but FYROM authorities have blockaded its advance, in their effort to barter NATO for more in exchange to their facilitation. A.F. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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