Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-05-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] EXHIBITION ON PARTHENON OPENS IN ZAGREB TODAY

[02] MEASURES FOR THE UNEMPLOYED AND THE POOR

[03] WOMEN AND MOUNT ATHOS

[04] THE PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA IN THESSALONIKI

[05] THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SE EUROPE

[06] THE 6TH EAWC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

[07] EUROFIGHTER PROGRAM POSTPONED UNTIL 2005

[08] GREEK-TURKISH BUSINESS CONTACTS

[09] GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

[10] SE EUROPEAN DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING

[11] EVENT ON BYZANTINE MONUMENTS IN THESSALONIKI

[12] THE GREEK PRESIDENT IS IN CROATIA

[01] EXHIBITION ON PARTHENON OPENS IN ZAGREB TODAY

An exhibition on "The Parthenon and the Western Frieze: Restoration and conservation" is to be inaugurated in Zagreb today, in the presence of visiting Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos.

The event, which will run until June 17, is organized by the Greek Institute of Culture and the Mimara Museum (Ante and Wiltrude Topic Mimara Art Collection).

It features a life-size reconstruction of the Parthenon's western frieze that was made from a 19th-century mould at the British Museum, in addition to architectural drawings, photographs and models depicting the famous Parthenon temple.

A.F.

[02] MEASURES FOR THE UNEMPLOYED AND THE POOR

The national action plan on unemployment and the creation of a network against poverty and exclusion were the main issues of the talks held in the ministry of labor today.

According to minister Tasos Giannitsis the action plan on unemployment has already been approved by the government and will be submitted to the European Commission by the end of the month. It will be financed with 900 billion drachmas coming from national funds and the 3rd Community Framework of Support.

The programs that will materialize in the three year period of 2001-2003 concern the longtime unemployed, women, the poor households and the sensitive social groups.

Commenting on the changes in the social security system and the Greek General Confederation of Labor demand for a pledge by the government on a three-way funding of the social security system, Mr. Giannitsis pointed out that the issue will be discussed within the social dialogue framework and reiterated that the government is in favor of an open dialogue.

[03] WOMEN AND MOUNT ATHOS

The government has not raised and does not intend to raise an issue regarding the fact that women are not allowed to the monastic community of Mount Athos, in Chalkidiki northern Greece.

The above were stated by Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas when he was called to comment on the initiative that was undertaken by governing socialist party of PASOK Euro-deputy and the party's equality of the sexes sector secretary Ms. Anna Karamanou.

Meanwhile, right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy spokesman Theodoros Rousopoulos characterized any discussion on the issue as uncalled-for and harmful.

Responding to a relevant question, he pointed out that the monastic community in Mount Athos is unique in the world and any discussion aimed at lifting its special status, which is solidified and more than 1.000 years old, is thoughtless, ignorant of history, uncalled-for and harmful.

[04] THE PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA IN THESSALONIKI

Thessaloniki mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos honored Patriarch Petros of Alexandria and All of Africa with the city's golden key.

The mayor speaking in a ceremony held in honor of the Patriarch stated that his visit has a special importance and underlined the great missionary work of the Patriarchate in the sensitive region of the African continent.

Patriarch Petros underlined the ties that exist between the cities of Thessaloniki and Alexandria since the times of Alexander the Great, who gave his name to the Egyptian city.

The Patriarch honored Thessaloniki's mayor Mr. Papageorgopoulos with the Cross of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

[05] THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SE EUROPE

A new model of cross-border cooperation with the concurrent development of the appropriate leadership skills through education and experience exchange programs directed to distinguished women in southeastern Europe, is being promoted by the "Seelida" movement.

The initiative was launched in Sofia in 1998 by Ms. Stoyanova, the wife of the Bulgarian president, with the participation of all the wives of southeastern European presidents and prime ministers and former US First Lady Hilary Clinton.

The program's coordinator in Greece Ms. Aliki Mitsakos stated to MPA that the movement in question aspires to bring women in contact with non governmental organizations in SE Europe for a constructive dialogue aimed at the development and enactment of a network of women politicians, entrepreneurs and heads of local non governmental organizations that will have as a main goal the strengthening of trust.

An education program will be held in the foreign ministry auditorium in Athens on May 25-26 within the framework of the "Seelida" activities. The program will be attended by 60 women from 10 countries.

[06] THE 6TH EAWC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Euro-American Women's Council, EAWC, chairwoman Loula Alafoyiannis stated to MPA, within the framework of the organization's 6th international conference on Women, technology and e-trade in the new millennium, that it was former First Lady Hilary Clinton who urged her to undertake the initiative to create this organization.

Ms. Alafoyiannis also pointed out that this non profit organization has as a goal the international promotion of Greek culture and tourism, adding that all these years it has contributed to the development of greater understanding and the creation of business opportunities through the establishment of a strong network of new strategic options for women in Greece and other countries as well. The Euro-American Women's Council has also managed to collect the sum of US$200.000 for scholarships abroad that were granted to Greek students.

The main speaker in the conference that opened in Athens yesterday with the participation of over 150 women from Greece, Europe and the United States was undersecretary of development Ms. Milena Apostolakis.

The 7th EAWC conference will be held in Malaysia in 2002.

[07] EUROFIGHTER PROGRAM POSTPONED UNTIL 2005

The government council on foreign affairs and defense that met today under prime minister Kostas Simitis decided to postpone the fourth generation Eurofighter fighter jet program until after the year 2005.

In statements defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos made after the meeting, pointed out that certain programs are being postponed as the existing credit ceilings for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 are not high enough to include those programs as well.

The defense minister also said that because of the existing fiscal needs the armaments program of the armed forces has been adjusted and was extended from a five-year to an eight-year program to avoid any cuts in the supply of important weapons systems.

[08] GREEK-TURKISH BUSINESS CONTACTS

Over 35 Greek companies from the sector of clothing and textiles have expressed interest in signing cooperation deals with similar businesses in Turkey, according to statements made to MPA by Association of Knitwear-Clothing Companies in northern Greece general director Theofilos Aslanidis.

For the record, representatives of 22 companies from Ismir, Turkey are already in Thessaloniki and according to Mr. Aslanidis, over 250 business meetings are expected to take place. Also, Mr. Aslanidis pointed out that Greek businessmen will visit Ismir in the fall on a similar mission.

Managing director of the Turkish company "Inci Tekstil", Boran Sekertzi stated to MPA that the goal of the Turkish business delegation visit to Thessaloniki is to get in touch with their Greek colleagues in order to cooperate and become active in the Greek market and elsewhere.

Turkish company "ARTI IKI" representative Murat Oztzan underlined that judging from the contacts already made with the Greek businessmen, both sides have a lot in common and cooperation between them can be very profitable.

[09] GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

Small gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.52% at 3.181,99 points, while the volume of transactions was 130.2 million Euro or 44.37 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 214 recorded gains and 111 had losses, while the value of 53 stocks remained stable.

[10] SE EUROPEAN DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING

The armed clashes in FYROM, the situation in south Serbia, Kosovo and the Balkans in general will be discussed in the informal southeastern European defense ministers summit meeting that will be held in Thessaloniki on June 5-6.

Their previous summit meeting was held in Skopje and they had agreed then on a declaration condemning extremist actions and offering support to the FYROM government efforts to safeguard territorial integrity and the existing borders.

June's meeting in Thessaloniki will be attended by the defense ministers of Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United States.

[11] EVENT ON BYZANTINE MONUMENTS IN THESSALONIKI

An international conference entitled Byzantine Monuments and World Heritage is to be inaugurated by Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Thessaloniki on May 26.

The purpose of the event, which will conclude on June 1, is the exchange of points of view on the following matters: protection of national monuments in accordance to state legislation; issues, prospects and principles pertaining to monument manipulation, the formation of a common electronic site of Byzantine monuments under the auspices of UNESCO, etc.

Held under UNESCO's auspices, the conference is organized by the European Center of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies and features the participation of 16 countries.

A.F.

[12] THE GREEK PRESIDENT IS IN CROATIA

Greek president Kostis Stephanopoulos continues the contacts with Croatia's political leadership in Zagreb within the framework of his formal visit to the country. Mr. Stephanopoulos met with his Croat counterpart and political party leaders.

In his statements stressed that there is a need to safeguard stability in the Balkans, adding that the existing borders must be preserved. Mr. Stephanopoulos underlined that the extremist elements act autonomously in the region without the support of any country or political force in the Balkans. He also stressed that Greece plays the leading role in the efforts aimed at the development of the countries in the region in order to acquire a European prospect.

When Mr. Stephanopoulos was asked about the issue of the FYROM name in an interview with the Croatian state television, he stated that any agreement on a name that will include the term "Macedonia" will not be approved by the Greek parliament. He also expressed the hope that soon there will be results in the issue of the name.

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