Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-03-14

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] FYROM PM: CLIMATE'S RIPE FOR SOLUTION TO NAME

[02] STATE BEEFS UP MEASURES AGAINST ANIMAL DISEASE

[03] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTER ON US-GREECE TIES

[04] SWISS SURVIVORS OF SAMINA WIN COURT JUDGMENT

[05] THE BANK OF GREECE REPORT WAS TABLED IN PARLIAMENT

[06] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

[07] MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION WILL BE SIGNED TOMORROW BY THE EUROPEAN AXIS

[08] GREEK SPECIAL OLYMPICS TEAM RETURNS HOME

[09] STATE OK's NAME MODIFICATIONS FOR EXPATRIATES

[10] FIRST CENSUS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM ON SUNDAY

[11] ECONOMY MINISTER BRIEFS PREMIER ON THIRD CSF

[12] KERIM: GREECE IS THE STRATEGIC PARTNER OF FYROM

[13] KONSTANTOPOULOS: GREECE CAN PLAY A LEADING ROLE FOR PEACE IN THE

[14] CONTACTS BETWEEN GREECE AND BRITAIN ON THE PARTHENON MARBLES

[15] THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH WILL VISIT ITALY

[16] GREEK-AMERICAN ORGANIZATION CAMPAIGN ON THE GENOCIDE OF THE ASIA MINOR

[01] FYROM PM: CLIMATE'S RIPE FOR SOLUTION TO NAME

The climate in Greece is ripe for a solution to be found to the name issue pending with Scopje, FYROM's Premier Ljubco Georgievski stated yesterday during his meeting with the visiting leader of Greece's minor opposition party Coalition for the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) Nikos Constantopoulos.

Mr. Georgievski stated that while his government is working towards discovering a solution to the name issue, he is facing obstacles posed by his country's opposition parties.

Moreover, the Premier of FYROM rejected the idea of transforming FYROM into a federation, as has been proposed by the newly-founded Albanian party National Democratic Party, while he also added that he doesn't think the problems faced by the Albanians are that great.

Meanwhile, FYROM's deputy prime minister Bedredin Ibrahimi, who is the secretary of the Albanian party National Democratic Party, told Mr. Constantopoulos that he advocates the independence of Kosovo, since, as he said, the province cannot continue to exist within Yugoslavia.

Mr. Ibrahimi, who does not set forth the issue of rendering FYROM a federation at the present stage, also stated that the Constitution should be amended.

A.F.

[02] STATE BEEFS UP MEASURES AGAINST ANIMAL DISEASE

The Greek government has banned imports of live animals and raw meat from France in order to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease, an animal virus that is so infectious it can be spread by gusty winds or truck tires.

Greece has also suspended the importation of lamb from Albania and Serbia.

A European Union veterinary panel has agreed to ban French livestock exports until March 27, while it will reconvene on March 21 in order to review the matter.

At the same time, the United States, Canada and New Zealand have imposed a ban all EU meat, while animals shipped to the US from the EU since February 21 will be quarantined and inspected.

So far, 200 outbreaks of the foot-and-mouth-disease have been detected in the United Kingdom, and the highly contagious disease appears to have jumped into France, which reported its first case of foot-and-mouth disease yesterday in a northwest province. Separately, Argentina confirmed an outbreak in its central Buenos Aires province and Colombia said it detected its first cases of the disease this year.

A.F.

[03] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTER ON US-GREECE TIES

Greece is presently undergoing a period that presents many opportunities for strengthening economic cooperation with the United States, the Minister of Macedonia-Thrace George Paschalides sated last night, addressing an official dinner given in honor of US Ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Komotini.

According to Mr. Paschalides, the effort for Balkan reconstruction constitutes an important field of joint action in which businesses of northern Greece, and Thrace in particular, can play an active role.

Mr. Paschalides pointed out that the trade balance between the two countries remains lagging, with an exports-imports ratio of 1:3, even though noted improvement has been made between 1995 and 1999.

The Minister stressed that Thrace is a region providing favorable conditions and considerable incentives and expressed the hope that Ambassador Burns' tour will be of help in this direction.

Presently on a three-day visit to Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Ambassador Burns is accompanied by the US General Consul in Thessaloniki, the embassy's commercial attache and the general secretary of the Greek-US Chamber of Commerce.

A.F.

[04] SWISS SURVIVORS OF SAMINA WIN COURT JUDGMENT

Two of the seven Swiss passengers who survived the Samina Express ferry have won judgment in the suits filed against the Greek shipowing company Minoan Flying Dolphins (MFD), the Swiss news agency SDA/ATS reported.

Quoting the plaintiffs' lawyer, SDA reported that similar judgments for damages are expected to be rendered in the remaining five lawsuits filed against MFD by the Swiss passengers.

Eighty people lost their lives when the Samina Express sank on September 26, 2000. With more than 500 passengers on board, the vessel sank off the coast of the island of Paros when it struck a well-marked rocky outcrop at full steam, minutes before it was was due to reach the dock.

A.F.

[05] THE BANK OF GREECE REPORT WAS TABLED IN PARLIAMENT

The annual report on the course of the Greek economy was submitted in parliament today by Bank of Greece governor Loukas Papadimos.

In statements he made, Mr. Papadimos said that this report is the last one concerning the country's monetary policy and the first one after its accession into the Euro-zone.

He said that the first chapters of the report deal with the monetary policy followed in the period 2000-2001, stressing that it contributed to Greece's accession into the Euro-zone. The rest of the chapters examine the goals of the monetary policy as well as the prospects of inflation in Greece.

Mr. Papadimos said that the influence of basic factors is favorable as in the second half of the current year inflation is expected to be under 3%, while in 2002 convergence will be achieved with price stability at 2%.

[06] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

Big losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to 5.19% at 3.063,39 points, while the volume of transactions was very big at 502.6 million Euro or 171.2 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, just 10 recorded gains and 352 had losses, while the value of 8 stocks remained stable.

[07] MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION WILL BE SIGNED TOMORROW BY THE EUROPEAN AXIS X COUNTRIES

Greek transportation minister Christos Verelis will be in Thessaloniki tomorrow for the signing of a cooperation memorandum by the European Axis X countries. Axis X will link the cities of Thessaloniki, Skopje, Belgrade, Budapest, Ljubljana, Nis and Salzburg.

The memorandum of cooperation will be signed by the transportation ministers of Greece, FYROM, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Austria and it is aimed at the upgrading and improvement of the road and railroad axis.

[08] GREEK SPECIAL OLYMPICS TEAM RETURNS HOME

The 36 Greek athletes who participated in the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games were warmly received at the Athens airport by the General Secretary of Sports Nikos Exarhos who congratulated them for their triumphant performance.

The mentally-disabled athletes amassed 49 medals (16 gold, 16 silver, 17 bronze) brought them to the second rank.

A.F.

[09] STATE OK's NAME MODIFICATIONS FOR EXPATRIATES

Expatriated Greeks who wish to hellenize their last or first name i.e. modify their given names into Greek-sounding ones- will be able to do so, thanks to an amendment supplied to the bill concerning the entry and residence of foreigners in Greece.

According to the amendment, the name changes will be allowed for those whose Greek nationality is ascertained and for those who are listed for the draft or on municipal registers, if their names had been altered or modified in their country of origin.

A.F.

[10] FIRST CENSUS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM ON SUNDAY

Greece will carry out a population and housing census on Sunday, March 18, including Greeks living abroad and undocumented migrants, as part of the European Union's plan to register Europe's population in 2001.

The census has three characteristics: it is obligatory for all inhabitants in the country, all information will be classified and there will be no religious restrictions. It will be carried out by 150,000 enumerators - including university graduates and unemployed individuals- who will visit every household in the country.

The census will include Greek citizens, foreigners, economic immigrants and travelers.

A nationwide 500-million drachma media campaign has been launched to encourage the public to welcome census takers into their homes. Information pamphlets are also published in a number of languages to assist foreigners living in Greece. These pamphlets stress that the information collected is confidential and will not be made available to the police.

Presently, the number of undocumented migrants living and working in Greece is estimated at between 500,000 and one million.

The 18-billion-drachma census will consist of three different groups of statistics: an overall count of all who reside in Greece on March 18; a total count of "permanent" residents - which includes foreigners who have been living in Greece for at least six months; and a total count of all legal residents.

The questions will cover everything from the number of persons per household and marital status to place of residence one year and five years ago, nationality and education. Foreigners will be asked to state when they arrived in Greece, their country of origin and the reasons why they reside here. The government believes it will take 10 months to review the data before publishing the conclusions.

The census found 10,259,900 people in 1991; 9,740,417 in 1981; 8,768,641 in 1971; 8,388,553 in 1961.

A.F.

[11] ECONOMY MINISTER BRIEFS PREMIER ON THIRD CSF

Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou met with the Prime Minister Costas Simits yesterday, whom he briefed on the outcome of Monday's European Union ECOFIN ministers meeting in Brussels and on the Third Community Support Framework (CSF).

Following his talks with the Premier, Mr. Papantoniou stated that they also discussed preparations for the interim EU summit, to be held in Stockholm later this month.

The Minister stressed that the EU's targets will be achieved, despite the slowdown of the US economy.

A.F.

[12] KERIM: GREECE IS THE STRATEGIC PARTNER OF FYROM

FYROM foreign minister Sertzan Kerim characterized Greece as his country's strategic partner after the meeting he had with visiting Greek opposition party Coalition of the Left leader Nikos Konstantopoulos.

Mr. Kerim sent a message to the Albanian extremists that no matter how hard they try they will not be able to take the attention of the government away from the priorities it has set itself.

He characterized as suspicious the proposal tabled by the newly founded Albanian party suggesting the federalization of FYROM, while on the proposal made by Arben Tzaferi, leader of the second Albanian party, who called for changes in the Constitution, he said that the problems of the Albanians can be solved only through the operation of democratic institutions.

Mr. Kerim also thanked Greece for its support. He said that Greece is not just a good neighbor but FYROM's strategic partner and the road leading his country to the European Union passes through Thessaloniki and Athens.

He referred to the meeting the foreign ministers of Greece, FYROM and Albania will have in a few days and pointed out that its goal is to plant the EU seed in the region.

[13] KONSTANTOPOULOS: GREECE CAN PLAY A LEADING ROLE FOR PEACE IN THE BALKANS

Greek opposition party Coalition of the Left leader Nikos Konstantopoulos stated in Skopje, after the meetings he had in the FYROM capital, that there is a need for Greece to play a leading role in the efforts for peace and stability in the Balkans.

He said that the conclusion reached in the meetings he had with the country's state and political leadership is that there is deep concern in Skopje not so much for the border armed clashes, which are only "the tip of the iceberg" but because there are different scenarios in operation that speak about an intervention in FYROM and the spread of the crisis in the region.

He said characteristically that the state and political leadership in FYROM believe that Greece's role is very important and they are expecting that precautionary measures will be taken aimed at the isolation of the mechanisms that play with fire, in order to stop the destabilization from spreading.

Mr. Konstantopoulos stated that NATO is not in a position to safeguard stability in the region because it was NATO itself that created problems with its intervention in the Balkans.

The Coalition of the Left leader said that the European Union has that capability and its autonomous role can be confirmed in the Balkans.

[14] CONTACTS BETWEEN GREECE AND BRITAIN ON THE PARTHENON MARBLES

The UNESCO's Committee for the protection of Cultural Heritage in its meeting in Cambodia decided that there must be contacts between Greece and Britain on the issue of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

As it is mentioned in the committee decision, the first meeting must be held before the end of the year. Greek culture minister Evangelos Venizelos characterized the decision as very satisfactory.

[15] THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH WILL VISIT ITALY

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will visit Calabria, Italy on March 19-23 and according to the Italian newspaper "Avennir", he will attend a Catholic Churches conference in Sicily.

During his visit he will meet with local authorities and he will visit the Greek-Byzantine monuments in the region.

[16] GREEK-AMERICAN ORGANIZATION CAMPAIGN ON THE GENOCIDE OF THE ASIA MINOR HELLENISM

The Greek-American organization American Hellenic Media Project launched a campaign against the removal of the word genocide from the Greek legislation on the Asia Minor Hellenism.

A protest letter appears in the organization's web site on the Internet calling the visitors to send an e-mail to the address Greekparliament@hec.greece.org to be forwarded to the Greek parliament deputies.

In the letter it is mentioned, among others, that Turkey attempted to annihilate all Christian minorities (Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians) through massacres, forced labor camps and death marches, under the pretext of deportation.

It is stressed that Greece, which fought in its turbulent history for the protection of democratic ideals and human rights now betrays those principles by rejecting the historical truth of the genocide suffered by its people.

Finally, it is pointed out that Greece by succumbing to the Turkish pressures in essence prolongs Turkey's territorial aspirations and forces it to remain behind the times.

The American Hellenic Media Project is a non profit organization and its goal is to respond to those who reject the genocide of the Armenians, the Greeks and other Balkan peoples.

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article