Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-03-20

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

CONTENTS

[01] X-FM: FYROM CRISIS STEMS FROM NATO'S DEADLY SIN

[02] JOBLESSNESS RISING IN GREECE, YOUNG HARDEST HIT

[03] GREEK PM TO MEET WITH BLAIR AT 10 DOWNING ST.

[04] POPULATION CENSUS ESTIMATES STAND AT 11,200,000

[05] IPEKCI AWARD TO THE AGRICULTURE MINISTERS OF GREECE AND TUKREY

[06] THE VATICAN FOREIGN MINISTER IS IN ATHENS

[07] MEETING ON THE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BLACK SEA

[08] KARAMANLIS WILL BE IN SKOPJE TOMORROW

[09] BIG GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

[10] GREEKS SCORE HIGH ON HEALTH, LONGEVITY IN EU

[11] JORDAN DETAINS, QUESTIONS, JAILS GREEK REPORTERS

[12] SAUNDERS WIDOW, OTHER N17 VICTIMS JOIN FORCES

[13] THE EU OPENS ITS BORDERS FOR THE YUGOSLAV GOODS

[14] KAKLAMANIS-ANTOV MEETING IN SKOPJE

[15] KAKLAMANIS APPEALED FOR PEACE IN THE BALKANS

[16] VALUABLE ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURES HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IN ANCIENT PELLA

[17] NIOTIS: THE GREEK-CANADIAN RELATIONS ARE DEVELOPING

[01] X-FM: FYROM CRISIS STEMS FROM NATO'S DEADLY SIN

The situation is FYROM is the result of NATO's deadly sin, i.e. its policy in Kosovo where it encouraged the Albanians' secessionist tendencies, according to Greece's former Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos.

Mr. Pangalos also stated that the international community has to appreciate the fact that Greece's point of view was correct all along and it had tried to promote it through every means.

A.F.

[02] JOBLESSNESS RISING IN GREECE, YOUNG HARDEST HIT

Greece's unemployment rate has been steadily increasing in recent years, with the plight of joblessness especially felt among those who are under the age of 25 and women.

According to official data provided by the European commission's statistics agency Eurostat, 55 percent of Greece's unemployed between the ages of 25 and 64 belong to the long-term category, i.e. have been jobless for over six successive months.

The situation takes a turn for the worse for those under the age of 25, 23% of whom are long-term unemployed, against 9.4 percent in Europe and faring better only to Italy (25.4%).

In terms of Greece's employment rate, only 55.6% of the registered workforce had a job in 1999, of whom 40.3% were women.

A.F.

[03] GREEK PM TO MEET WITH BLAIR AT 10 DOWNING ST.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis, presently on a four-day visit to London, is to meet with his British counterpart Tony Blair at 10 Downing St. this evening.

According to the Greek government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas, Messrs. Simitis and Blair will discuss a series of matters of bilateral interest, focusing on economic issues and unemployment.

Commenting a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) program on terrorism in Greece, Mr. Reppas termed the content of the broadcast as fabrication and public misinformation.

While admitting that the desired results have not been attained yet, Mr. Reppas stressed that Greece and Britain enjoy close cooperation on the issue, noting that terrorism is an international problem.

The government spokesperson stated that Greece is a safe country and that its citizens and tourists are safe.

A.F.

[04] POPULATION CENSUS ESTIMATES STAND AT 11,200,000

The nationwide population and housing census, conducted on Sunday, has been deemed a complete success, according to officials from the National Economy Ministry's Statistics Office.

While the final result could be released as early as the end of this week, early estimates assess the country's present population to be 11,200,000. The last census in Greece was held in 1991 when the country's population was found to be about 10.6 million.  

Constituting the state's prime tool for measuring sociological and demographic trends, the census included Greek citizens, foreigners, economic immigrants and travelers.

The questions covered 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 were 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.

A.F.

[05] IPEKCI AWARD TO THE AGRICULTURE MINISTERS OF GREECE AND TUKREY

Agriculture ministers of Greece and Turkey Giorgos Anomeritis and Yussef Giokapl, businessmen Panagiotis Koutsikos and Sarik Tara, Association of Athens Daily Newspaper Journalists president Nikos Kiaos and the deans of the Athens and Istanbul Universities Konstantinos Dimopoulos and Kemal Alemdaroglu are on the list with those who are honored with the special 2000-2001 Abdi Ipekci award of Peace and Friendship.

Also, the special Ipekci Award will be received by Asaf Guneri, supporter of the Greek-Turkish rapprochement since the establishment of the award.

The Ipekci Communication Award will be received by mayors of Mugli and Chalkida Osman Gurun and Charalambos Maniatis, mayors of Tekirntag and Sapes, Osman Tabak and Dinos Charitopoulos, the Greek-Turkish Forum of Cooperation, singer Faedon, the grand-daughter of Ismet Inonu, Gulsun Bilgehan, the directors of the "Voice of America" (Greek and Turkish departments) Giorgos Bitsis and Tatzlan Suerdem, basketball player Ibrahim Kutluai and sports news writer Manolis Mavromatis.

Also, there will be literature, folklore, student and music awards as well as a newly established award for documentary film making.

[06] THE VATICAN FOREIGN MINISTER IS IN ATHENS

Vatican's foreign minister Cardinal Leonardo Sandri is in Athens today.

He will meet with Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens to deliver a letter by Pope John-Paul B' concerning his imminent visit to Greece. According to information, the Pope will be in Greece on May 4.

Protest demonstrations against the Pope's visit have been scheduled to take place during that time.

The Athens Archdiocese in a letter addressed to every metropolis in the country has clarified that the Greek president invited the Pope to visit Greece without the Church's previous agreement and points out that if the Church of Greece had responded negatively to the Pope's visit to Greece it would have been the target of attacks launched by all those who want to trap it.

[07] MEETING ON THE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BLACK SEA

Investment opportunities in the Black Sea zone and the procedures followed in undertaking projects in the wider region will be at the center of the one-day meeting organized by the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to take place in Thessaloniki tomorrow.

The meeting will be attended by Black Sea bankers, businessmen and investment advisers as well as senior executives of the Black Sea Bank and other credit organizations such as, EBRO and World Bank.

The opening speech will be made by Black Sea Bank president Ersoi Volkan.

[08] KARAMANLIS WILL BE IN SKOPJE TOMORROW

Right wing main opposition party of New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis will visit Skopje tomorrow for meetings with FYROM president Boris Trajkovski, prime minister Ljupco Georgievski and main opposition party leader Branko Cervenkovski to discuss the dramatic developments in the country.

Mr. Karamanlis will return to Greece tomorrow afternoon and he will speak in the New Democracy conference that will be held in the northwestern city of Kozani on the border problems and the safety of the citizens.

[09] BIG GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

Big gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to 1.16% at 3.108,39 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 165.4 million Euro or 56.41 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 290 recorded gains and 50 had losses, while the value of 32 stocks remained stable.

[10] GREEKS SCORE HIGH ON HEALTH, LONGEVITY IN EU

Greeks are among Europe's longest-living and healthiest peoples, according to results of a study conducted by the European Commission.

Specifically, Greece has the highest average life expectancy free of disabilities - 63 years for men and 65 for women -, with the Portuguese, German and Dutch suffering the most from various ailments at those ages.

In terms of longevity, Greeks rank second among the EU, topped only by the Swedes, with an average life expectancy of 76 years for men and 81 for women.

A.F.

[11] JORDAN DETAINS, QUESTIONS, JAILS GREEK REPORTERS

Jordanian authorities reportedly detained, jailed and interrogated at length two Greek reporters last week in Amman, where they had traveled in order to interview prisoner Nadim Rizmaoui, a local man who is to testify in defense of Abraham Lesperoglou, a suspected leftist terrorist in Greece.

According to the claims made by the two journalists, Ioanna Sotirchou and Nikos Yiannopoulos, they were interviewing Rizmaoui inside a car last Thursday when they were surrounded by armed men in civilian clothing who handcuffed them and led them blindfolded to a building housing Jordan's Intelligence Service.

According to Ms. Sotirchou and her colleague, both of whom work for the Athens daily Eleftherotypia, they were denied phone access to notify the Greek embassy or the paper in Athens and were interrogated at length over their ties to Lesperoglou.

After spending the night in jail, the two Greek reporters were again subject to relentless questioning and were openly accused of having ties with the Greek terrorist organization 17 November. They were released after being held for 20 hours and were escorted to the airport by Jordanian police.

According to Mr. Yiannopoulos, a member of Greece's Network of Political and Civil Rights, the fact that the Jordanian authorities were privy to a wealth of information on the two reporters' personal lives and political activities, merely indicates the existence of a global surveillance network.

Greek government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas claimed ignorance as to how the Jordanian authorities gathered background information on the Greek journalists, denying that Athens the supplied Amman with relevant reports.

The Jordanian authorities had some background on one of the two (reporters), Mr Reppas stated, adding that he, as a journalist covers that area and often travels there. As to how this information was collected, it really concerns the authorities of that country.

A.F.

[12] SAUNDERS WIDOW, OTHER N17 VICTIMS JOIN FORCES

The widow of Brigadier Stephen Saunders, the military attaché shot in Athens last year by the terrorist cell 17 November, has joined forces with families of others who fell victim to the group in an effort to intensify pressure exerted on Greek authorities.

According to an article published by London's The Sunday Times, Heather Saunders is frustrated by the lack of progress made in the ongoing investigation over her husband's assassination in Athens last June. The group plans to announce today its campaign to alert the Greek, British and American publics to the "unresolved injustice" of the N17 killings.

I am feeling very frustrated," Ms. Saunders is quoted as saying, adding that I thought nine months since Stephen's murder there would be something, a little shred of evidence or hope that his killers would be caught.

The failure to get anything concrete is unreal. I am more adamant now about speaking out. He was an innocent man who was murdered and I want his killers to be caught and punished.

I believe keeping it in the public eye does work, and myself and the others are ready to keep on banging on doors and asking a lot of questions for as long as it is necessary.

Ms. Saunders has joined forces with Nikos Peratikos, whose brother, Costis, a shipping magnate, was the last Greek to be killed by N17; Christina Welch, whose husband, Richard, a CIA station chief, was murdered; and Patricia Nordeen, the widow of Commander Bill Nordeen of the US navy.

The aim is at a very human level to remind people that our relatives have been murdered and nothing is being done to stop this happening again, Mr. Peratikos stated.

A.F.

[13] THE EU OPENS ITS BORDERS FOR THE YUGOSLAV GOODS

Yugoslavia's permanent mission representative in Brussels Dragan Zupanjevac announced that starting on April 1, 95% of the Yugoslav goods will be exported to the European Union countries.

It should be noted that the European Commission had approved the abolition of customs tariffs for the majority of the Yugoslav goods on November 23, 2000 but the 15 EU member-states representatives, responsible for customs, did not accept the existence of two customs authorities in Yugoslavia namely, the federal customs agency and the Montenegro customs agency.

After marathon consultations of the EU, Belgrade and Podgorica a golden mean was found. Namely, the Montenegro goods will be exported accompanied by Montenegro customs documents, the Serb products will be accompanied by certificates of the federal customs agency, while the Serb products that will be exported through the Montenegro territory will be accompanied by certificates from both customs agencies.

[14] KAKLAMANIS-ANTOV MEETING IN SKOPJE

Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis met in Skopje this morning with his FYROM counterpart Stojan Antov.

Mr. Antov expressed satisfaction for the Greek participation in the 2nd conference of parliament presidents from southeastern Europe, saying that Greece is not just a good neighbor but the only EU country in the region.

In the meeting that was held before the opening of the conference the two parliament presidents exchanged views on the situation in the northern borders of FYROM and the further strengthening of cooperation between the two parliaments.

Commenting on the situation in FYROM, Mr. Kaklamanis expressed the hope that tension will de-escalate soon, adding that the efforts made by the FYROM leadership toward this direction have Greece's support. Mr. Kaklamanis also stated that safeguarding FYROM's territorial integrity and sovereignty is decisive for stability in the region.

[15] KAKLAMANIS APPEALED FOR PEACE IN THE BALKANS

Greece's strong concern regarding the escalation of the tension in FYROM and the wider region was expressed by Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis speaking in the Skopje conference of parliament presidents from southeastern Europe.

Mr. Kaklamanis issued an appeal to all sides to display the necessary self-restraint and avoid putting peace in the Balkans in danger, adding that the multi-sided and open cooperation is the only obvious one-way street that must be followed. He also referred to the Stability Pact and the Good Neighborly Relations Charter which are a stable and constructive basis for the development and consolidation of cooperation.

On the role of the state parliaments, he pointed out that it can be important in the effort aimed at making relations among the states in the region stronger.

Later this afternoon, Mr. Kaklamanis will meet with FYROM president Boris Trajkovski and prime minister Ljupco Georgievski and then he will return to Athens.

[16] VALUABLE ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURES HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IN ANCIENT PELLA

The London Times published an extensive report with photographs of ancient sculptures and a map that characterizes Greek Macedonia as the ancient Macedonia.

The report, under the headline "The big palace of Alexander has been discovered" signed by Dalya Alberge, concerns the excavations in Pella, the birthplace of Alexander the Great, during which thousands of valuable ancient artifacts and constructions have been discovered. According to the journalist, this fact squashes the supporters of a theory based on which, the ancient Macedons were not as developed as the rest of the Greeks.

Many of those findings will be displayed in Oxford next weekend within the framework of a three-day conference under the title "Excavations of Classical Treasures: Recent archaeological discoveries in Greece". The conference is organized by Oxford's Somerville College and 25 archaeologists, academicians and specialists have been invited to present their work.

[17] NIOTIS: THE GREEK-CANADIAN RELATIONS ARE DEVELOPING

Greek undersecretary of foreign affairs Grigoris Niotis in a press conference he gave in Toronto to the Greek-Canadian mass media characterized the Greek-Canadian relations as multifaceted and developing.

He stressed that bilateral relations are very close and referring to the meeting he had in Ottawa with the Canadian foreign minister, stated that they discussed bilateral issues as well as issues of international interest.

Referring to the ten-minute meeting he had with Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien he underlined that it is a proof of the prestige enjoyed by the country and the Greek-Canadian community.

Mr. Niotis also referred to the developing bilateral cooperation in the military sector, educational programs and peacekeeping missions as well as in the armaments sector which will be the main topic of discussion in the meeting of the Greek and the Canadian defense ministers in Athens on April 9.

He said that consultations will be made to avoid double taxation, while he added that even though Canada is the second largest foreign investor in Greece there is still room for the further development of bilateral economic relations, adding that Canada and Greece can form joint ventures in the Balkans and the wider Black Sea region.

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