Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-05-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] THESSALONIKI ECSTATIC: PAOK WINS GREEK CUP

[02] GREECE RANKS THIRD IN EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

[03] GREECE'S MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER VISITS SKOPJE

[04] JEWISH MUSEUM INAUGURATED IN THESSALONIKI

[05] DEFENSE MINISTER TO ATTEND SERIES OF MEETINGS

[06] NEW ZEALAND PM IN ATHENS FOR BATTLE OF CRETE

[07] PRESIDENT OF TUNISIA ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO GREECE

[08] PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA PETROS TO VISIT GREECE

[09] MUSEUMS, ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES, FREE ON MAY 18

[10] BUSINESSMEN FROM NORTHERN GREECE GO TO JAPAN

[01] THESSALONIKI ECSTATIC: PAOK WINS GREEK CUP

Exultant fans are still celebrating the triumph of PAOK Thessaloniki which won the Greek Soccer Cup last night, after beating Olympiakos 4-2 in a match played in Athens.

The Cup final was played at the Nea Philadelphia stadium in Athens before a crowd of 13,000 spectators. The match was also attended by the President of the Hellenic Republic Costis Stephanopoulos and featured a 4,000-men police force in an effort to avert potential melees between the dueling fans.

PAOK won the Greek Cup for the third time in its history.

A.F.

[02] GREECE RANKS THIRD IN EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Greece came third at the 46th Eurovision Song Contest yesterday, losing the coveted top place to Estonia and ranking right behind Denmark.

Competing with singers from 23 countries, Greece's song ``Die for you'', performed by the Sweden-born duo Antique, amassed 147 points, not too far from Estonia's 198 points and Denmark's 177.

Estonia's ''Everybody'' sung by Tanal Padar and Dave Benton was the surprise winner

A.F.

[03] GREECE'S MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER VISITS SKOPJE

The leader of Greece's main opposition party of New Democracy Costas Karamanlis arrived at FYROM yesterday to meet with the strife-ridden Balkan state's leadership, through an initiative of the European Peoples Party (EPP) where he serves as vice president.

On a tour of the western Balkans, Mr. Karamanlis met with FYROM's Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski and Albanian Democratic Party leader Arben Xhaferi.

The meetings came only hours after an army spokesman denied a wire service story claiming that 30 ethnic Albanian insurgents had been killed during clashes in two rebel-held villages northwest of Skopje.

On Friday, most of the country's top political leaders concluded an agreement to form a broad government coalition that will include ethnic Albanian parties.

"I'm visiting Skopje for a second time in such a short period because developments in this country have troubled us and because we have been assigned an EPP initiative for democratization in the western Balkans," Mr. Karamanlis stated.

Moreover, he expressed the confidence that "the formation of a national unity government with the participation of all political parties, including the Albanian parties, of course, will meet its goals."

Mr. Karamanlis added that he conveyed to both Messrs. Georgievski and Xhaferi three positions:

Namely, the condemnation of all acts of violence or threat to use violence; the standing principle of the inviolability of the region's borders, and finally, respect for human and minority rights as well as reforms in this direction.

The Greek political leader also called for an increased presence by the international community and the European Union, saying the NATO force in Kosovo (KFOR) must take steps to better guard the Kosovo-FYROM frontier and to disarm rebels in the area.

During his earlier visit to Belgrade, Mr. Karamanlis was received by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica for talks that expectedly touched on the latest troubling developments in the Balkans.

The EPP vice president arrived in the Yugoslav capital to attend a European Democratic Union (EDU) meeting sponsored by the European Peoples Party, part of the conservative and center-right political grouping's efforts to promote democratization in the region.

Following his talks with the Yugoslav leader, Mr. Karamanlis told reporters that he outlined ND's positions regarding Yugoslavia's efforts to participate in several pan-European organisations, including a reference to allowing Kostunica's party the Democratic Party of Serbia -- to participate in European political groupings where New Democracy is a member.

Along those lines, Karamanlis conveyed an invitation to the Yugoslav president to participate in an upcoming EPP summit meeting in Goteborg, Sweden. 

A.F.

[04] JEWISH MUSEUM INAUGURATED IN THESSALONIKI

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos inaugurated the opening of a Jewish Museum today in Thessaloniki, the city which once was home to thriving Jewish community of about 55,000 people.

The Museum, which Mr. Venizelos characterized as a memory ark is housed in one of the city's few buildings that survived the fire of 1917, and which was restored in 1997.

The president of Thessaloniki's Jewish Community Andreas Sefiha stated that the opening marks the realization of a vision that was to date utopian and unattainable.

A score of local government officials and dignitaries attended the opening ceremony, among them the mayor of Thessaloniki Vasilis Papageorgopoulos, the president of the Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) Andrew Athens and the Israeli ambassador to Athens.

Thessaloniki was known throughout the Balkans as the "Mother of Israel, before 50,000 Greek Jews were killed during WWII.

Even after the repatriation of Greek Jews who survived the concentration camps in Poland and those who sought refuge in neutral countries, 96 percent of Thessaloniki's Jewish community had been annihilated.

The northern Greek city had been a home to Jews since 1378, when Ashkenazi refugees from Hungary settled here.

The population expanded in 1492, when the first Sephardim arrived from Spain. Expelled by the Catholic Church, thousands of Spanish-speaking Jews chose the religious haven of the Ottoman Empire, where all creeds were tolerated as long as they paid their taxes. Over the centuries their language developed, absorbing elements of Turkish, Greek, and other local tongues.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Jews made up half of Thessaloniki's population, making it the capital of Judeoespanol (or Ladino) culture. Today, about 1,500 Jews live in Thessaloniki.

A.F.

[05] DEFENSE MINISTER TO ATTEND SERIES OF MEETINGS

Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos is to take part in a meeting of European Union defense ministers which will take place on May 14-15 with the participation of the six EU and NATO member-states and the 15 candidate countries for EU accession.

The meeting will focus on issues concerning the final phase of the creation of the European army, which must be rendered operationally ready in 2003.

Also, the defense minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will pay an official visit to Greece on May 17-18, in response to a visit made to Belgrade by his Greek counterpart.

Moreover, the informal meeting of defense ministers from member-states of southeastern Europe's multinational brigade will be held in Thessaloniki on June 5-6, in continuation of their meeting in FYROM and to examine opportunities for utilizing the force for Balkan security.

The said meeting will be attended by the US secretary of defense Colin Powell. 

The first meeting between the defense ministers of Greece and the US, to prepare Mr. Tsohatzopoulos's visit to Washington, will be held in Thessaloniki on June 6. The spring session of NATO defense ministers will also be taking place in early June which, as Tsohatzopoulos said, will examine the political option on the creation of cooperation conditions between the alliance and the EU.

A.F.

[06] NEW ZEALAND PM IN ATHENS FOR BATTLE OF CRETE

Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark is to conduct an official visit to Greece this week, where she will hold talks with the Greek government and attend events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Crete.

Clark is due to arrive on May 17, accompanied by a large delegation of New Zealand businessmen and New Zealand veterans who fought in the Battle of Crete during World War II.

Clark and the New Zealand business delegation will hold meetings with Greek government officials to discuss commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Australia's minister for veterans, Bruce Scott, will also be coming to Greece to attend the Battle of Crete commemorations, accompanied by Australian officials and 22 veterans, aged 78-85, who fought in the Battle of Crete, in Cyprus and elsewhere in Greece during WWII.

The Battle of Crete took place in May 1941 when Australian, New Zealand, British and Greek forces that had retreated to the island of Crete fought alongside the local population against the invading Nazi forces. Crete was the last part of Greece to come under German occupation, and losses were heavy on both sides during the famous battle, in which Germany deployed the largest number of paratroopers in World War II.

It is considered the most crucial battle of World War II, as it delayed the German attack on Russia long enough for the Wehrmacht to be caught in the Russian winter.

A.F.

[07] PRESIDENT OF TUNISIA ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO GREECE

The president of Tunisia, Ben Ali Zine El Abidine, is to arrive in Greece tomorrow, for a two-day official visit.

The Tunisian leader will be received by his Greek counterpart Costis Stephanopoulos and will hold talks with Prime Minister Costas Simitis on bilateral and international issues.

A.F.

[08] PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA PETROS TO VISIT GREECE

The Patriarch of Alexandria Petros VII is to conduct an official visit to Greece between May 17-25, upon the invitation of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos.

During his stay in Athens, the Patriach will meet with members of the Holy Synod and will be received by the President of the Hellenic Republic Costis Stephanopoulos. He will also meet with the Speaker of the House Apostolos Kaklamanis, various ministers and the Mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos.

In the evening of May 23, the Patriarch will travel to Thessaloniki where the Aristotle University's School of Theology will bestow upon him the title of professor emeritus.

A.F.

[09] MUSEUMS, ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES, FREE ON MAY 18

All of Greece's museums and archaeological sites will be free on May 18, in light of the celebrations for international Museum Day.

According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM), this year's theme will be on the role of museums and their manifold contributions to contemporary society.

The main celebration for 2001 will be held at the Institute of Peloponnesian Folklore in Nafplion, which will also feature a round-table discussion by museum representatives and speeches by Culture Ministry General Secretary Lina Mendoni, Euro-MP Myrsini Zorba and the president of the Greek branch of ICOM, Nikos Zias.

A.F.

[10] BUSINESSMEN FROM NORTHERN GREECE GO TO JAPAN

Representatives of northern Greek businesses will visit Japan on May 21-27, in an effort to boost business ties between the two countries.

The trip is organized by the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Jetro, Japan's trade promotion group.

It falls under the Greek national economy ministry's Hermes action plan for the two countries.

In 1999, Greek exports to Japan totaled 12.6 billion yen, up 29.7 percent from a year earlier. The value of imports from Japan fell by 3.8 percent in 1999 to total 118 billion yen, according to the Greek embassy in Tokyo.

A.F.

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