Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-06-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] US DEFENSE SECRETARY ARRIVES FOR SEDM TALKS

[02] BELOVED ACTOR DINOS ILIOPOULOS DIES AT AGE OF 86

[03] THEA HALO'S BOOK PRESENTATION

[04] THE C OF E ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETS IN SANTORINI

[05] NO GREEK-TURKISH AGREEMENT ON "PIRI REIS"

[06] THE SLOVENIAN PRESIDENT MET WITH STEPHANOPOULOS AND SIMITIS

[07] THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE IS ON A FREE FALL

[08] AHMETI'S LETTER TO FOREIGN MINISTER PAPANDREOU

[09] ARCHBISHOP BLESSES CHURCH BUILT BY REPATRIATES

[10] HONORARY DEGREE CONFERRED UPON ARCHBISHOP

[11] GREEK COMMUNISTS ON SEDMs: PERSONAE NON GRATA

[12] BRITISH LEISURE CRAFT RUNS AGROUND, ALL SAFE

[13] PASOK'S GENERAL SECRETARY IS IN ROMANIA

[14] BALKAN INTERIOR MINISTRIES' MEETING BELGRADE

[15] VISSI AND KOSTUNICA ARE IN BUCHAREST

[16] BRITISH HOOLIGANS WERE FORBIDDEN TO TRAVEL TO GREECE

[17] GREECE ABSORBS 13.8% OF THE RUSSIAN WEAPONS SYSTEMS SALES

[01] US DEFENSE SECRETARY ARRIVES FOR SEDM TALKS

Defense Ministers of the countries composing the Multinational Brigade of Southeastern Europe (SEDM) are to hold an informal, two-day meeting in Thessaloniki as of today, where Greece's Akis Tsochatzopoulos is to meet with his Turkish counterpart Sabahattin Cakmakoglu and US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Among the matters to be discussed by Mr. Tsochatzopoulos and his interlocutors are the present situation in FYROM and Southern Serbia, as well as Greek-Turkish relations and the confidence-building measures between the two countries.

The Greek Defense Minister will also meet with his Romanian counterpart Mircia Pascu and Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexander Kuzmuk, who is participating for the first time.

Also attending the two-day conference are representatives of NATO, the OSCE, the European Union and the special representative for the Stability Pact in southeastern Europe Bodo Hombach. 

Prior to his arrival in Thessaloniki, marking his first official visit to Greece, Secretary Rumsfeld met with the Turkish political and military leadership in Ankara and discussed Turkey's concerns on the European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI), which he said were understandable.

The US Secretary met with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem.

Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, FYROM, Italy, Romania, Turkey, the U.S., Slovenia and Croatia participate in SEDM.

A.F.

[02] BELOVED ACTOR DINOS ILIOPOULOS DIES AT AGE OF 86

One of Greece's most charismatic actors Dinos Iliopoulos died at an Athens clinic yesterday evening, succumbing to a long illness. He was 86 years old.

Mr. Iliopoulos was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1915 and spent his early years in Marseilles, France, where his father worked, before coming to Athens with his family in 1935. 

He first appeared on stage in 1944 with the Katerina troupe, while in 1953 he appeared at the head of his own troupe.

His theatrical career spanned a vast array of roles, including characters by Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Goldoni and many other playwrights. 

He participated in dozens of films, many of them great successes, and first appeared on the screen in 1948, leaving his mark in the history of the Greek cinema.   He was awarded the Gold Cross of George I For his contribution to the theater. 

Mr. Iliopoulos is survived by his wife Hildegard, who is Austrian, and their two daughters Evita and Hilda.

A.F.

[03] THEA HALO'S BOOK PRESENTATION

The sensational book "Not even my name" written by author Thea Halo, who is of Greek origin, has been published in Greek and it will be presented in Thessaloniki on Thursday,

June 7.

The special event will be held in the presence of the book's 91-year-old heroine, Sano Halo, while also present will be her daughter and the book's author, Thea Halo.

In her book Thea Halo presents a dramatic part of the history of the Greeks from Pontos through the soul-stirring memories of her mother Sano (Efthimia), who was forced by the Turks to leave Pontos at the age of 10 and was the only one from her family to survive when she was left with an Armenian family in Diyarbakir. At the age of 15 and having lost everything she loved most in life, "even her name", she was introduced to a 45-year-old Assyrian-American whom she married and went with him to the United States where she lives until today.

The book presents her life as a married woman, the way she brought up her ten children and her evolution from an innocent child to a loving mother and a resolute New York woman. Seventy years after, Sano decides to return to Turkey with her daughter Thea looking for her home in the village of Saint Anton (Agios Antonios).

It should be noted that the book was published by the giant US publishing house Picador St. Martin Press and received rave notices from critics in widely respected US mass media.

[04] THE C OF E ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETS IN SANTORINI

Greek parliament president Apostolos Kalkamanis opened the three-day conference today on "The quality of life in the 3rd millennium" that takes place in the Aegean island of Santorini.

In the conference, organized by the Greek parliament in cooperation with Council of Europe environment and agriculture committee, participate 120 Council of Europe deputies.

Distinguished university professors, specialists and personalities from Greece and abroad have received invitations to attend the conference.

The issues under discussion concern the environment in relation to quality of life, sustainable development, the effects of economic development on the environment, new production, trade and marketing methods, technological progress and human values in the new millennium etc.

In his opening speech, Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis condemned the negative US stance adopted by the Bush administration toward the Kyoto Accord on the environment that provides for a 5-7% reduction by the year 2012 in the gas emissions responsible for the so-called Greenhouse Effect.

He said that the United States represent 4% of the world population and are responsible for the production of 25% of pollutants, contributing more than any other country to the Greenhouse Effect.

Former soviet president and chairman of the world organization Green Cross, Michail Gorbachev in a telephone message emphasized that Europe's ecological voice should become louder in order to play the important role it can play at an international level.

Russian Christian Orthodox Metropolite Pitirim stressed the need to adopt a code of transaction with nature, while Francine Cousteau of the Cousteau Group referred to water resources.

[05] NO GREEK-TURKISH AGREEMENT ON "PIRI REIS"

The Greek side did not agree with the proposal made in the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Budapest, for Turkey to have a role in the European army through an internal document and without being an EU member, stated Greek minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos, pointing out that Greece rejects this proposal.

In a press conference he gave in Thessaloniki today, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said that the issue of Turkey's participation in European army operations, that will use NATO infrastructures in its region, is still in progress and no decision has been made, while the EU insists that Turkey cannot participate in decision-making, which is an exclusive issue of the 15 EU member-states.

He rejected as figments of imagination the press reports according to which, an alleged agreement has been reached between Greece and Turkey based on which, the Turkish oceanographic ship "Piri Reis" will not conduct research inside the Greek continental shelf and Greece will accept Turkey's "participation" in the European army through a NATO internal document. He underlined that "Piri Reis" will conduct purely scientific research on behalf of the University of Ismir which will have nothing to do with oil search.

Regarding the use of the port of Varna in Bulgaria by the United States for the refueling of KFOR, he said that Thessaloniki will not lose its strategic role in the Balkans.

Mr. Tsochatzopoulos also referred to the meeting he will have tomorrow with his US counterpart and underlined that the Greek government is against the materialization of the anti-missile protection program by the United States.

He also said that the Greek defense ministry promotes a 25-year reform program for the armed forces and in the next 5 years the Greek army will number less than 100.000 men but it will be upgraded in new technologies applications issues, while its deterrent ability will be strengthened. The goal is to cut defense spending in the next 7 years to be less than 4% of the GDP.

Referring to FYROM, he said that a political solution must be found to the problem through dialogue in which will participate all political parties in the state parliament and condemned the Albanian extremists actions launched from Kosovo. Mr. Tsochatzopoulos also said that Greece has an interest to promote stability in FYROM, Albania and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Meanwhile, responding to a question by a journalist on whether the Greek army has faced problems as a result of the Echelon program, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said that there have been attempts to access the Greek armed forces tele-communications and computer network.

The defense minister stated that there is no information regarding who is making those attempts and from where (it could be a hacker or anybody), stressing that the Greek armed forces are taking the necessary protection measures.

[06] THE SLOVENIAN PRESIDENT MET WITH STEPHANOPOULOS AND SIMITIS

Slovenian president Milan Kucan had separate meetings in Athens today with prime minister Kostas Simitis and president Kostis Stephanopoulos within the framework of his formal visit to Greece.

The contacts he had focused on bilateral cooperation and EU and NATO enlargement issues as well as the situation in southeastern Europe. The Greek side expressed its support to Slovenia's request to become a member of the EU and NATO.

President Stephanopoulos pointed out that Greece is positive toward Slovenia's effort to become a member of the Euro-Atlantic institutions.

Prime minister Simitis stressed that Greece wants the EU enlargement, stressing that this way stability in Europe will be safeguarded and new prospects will be created for Greece in the Balkans and central and eastern Europe. He also said that Slovenia is one of the countries that meet the preconditions for EU membership.

[07] THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE IS ON A FREE FALL

The Athens Stock Exchange was on a free fall today and the general index lost about 100 points.

Big losses were recorded in today's session and the general index dropped to -3.31% at 2.910,55 points, while the volume of transactions was at relatively satisfactory levels at 259.67 million Euro or 88.48 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, only 19 recorded gains and the overwhelming majority of them namely, 331 had losses, while the value of 31 stocks remained stable.

[08] AHMETI'S LETTER TO FOREIGN MINISTER PAPANDREOU

Albanian National Liberation Army (UCK) political representative Ali Ahmeti sent a letter to Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou addressed personally to him and in it he formally denied that he gave an interview to Australia's state radio on the alleged action Albanian extremists prepare to undertake in Greece.

In the letter to Mr. Papandreou, published in the Athens newspaper "Eleftherotypia", Ali Ahmeti states that there was misinformation by the mass media reports according to which, he had declared the immediate creation of the "Liberation Army of Chameria" in Greece. In the letter he stated categorically that such a declaration was never made. He gave assurances that the sovereignty and integrity of the Greek state are being respected.

Last Friday, Ahmeti himself in an interview with the BBC Albanian service he had stated that the interview attributed to him was a fabricated lie and its goal, among others, was to hurt the relations of the "National Liberation Army" with the Greek political establishment.

[09] ARCHBISHOP BLESSES CHURCH BUILT BY REPATRIATES

Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos is to arrive in Thessaloniki today where he will give a section of the holy relic of St. Serapheim Sarov to the Metropolite of Neapoli, a Thessaloniki municipality, Dionysus.

The holy relic, given to Mr. Christodoulos by Russian Patriarch Alexei during the former's recent visit to Russia, will be transferred to a local church built on the initiative of Greeks repatriated to Thessaloniki from the former Soviet Union.

The Archbishop will conduct a liturgy at the St. George Church, to be followed by addresses given him, as well as by Metropolite Dionysus and the Russian ambassador to Athens Michael Bocaremko.

A.F.

[10] HONORARY DEGREE CONFERRED UPON ARCHBISHOP

The School of Medicine at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is to confer an honorary degree on Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Chistodoulos, who is to arrive in Thessaloniki this evening.

However, a number of university professors who are affiliated with the minor opposition party of Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) are perturbed by the honor bestowed upon Mr. Chirstodoulos, citing his expressed opposition to in-vitro fertilization and denouncement of abortion.

The awarding of an honorary professor degree on behalf of a School takes place either for (one's) preeminent contribution to the Nation, or for (one's) substantial contribution to the development of the said School's science, the professors noted in an announcement, adding that Mr. Christodoulos' nomination runs counter to democratic ideals and academic mores.

Following the awarding ceremony, Mr. Christodoulos will give an address entitled Horizons of the Church's Social Work.

A.F.

[11] GREEK COMMUNISTS ON SEDMs: PERSONAE NON GRATA

The Defense Ministers of Southeastern Europe (SEDM), presently in Thessaloniki for an informal meeting, have been declared personae non grata by the Communist Party of Greece, which asserts that their talks, coordinated by the United States with the Greek government's blessing aim at escalating war in the Balkans.

Concurrently, Thessaloniki's Anti-War Committee is opposed to the SEDMs' planned visit to Mt. Athos, arguing that certain of the visiting ministers masterminded crimes against the Balkan peoples and, as such, their visit is disrespectful to the monastic community's ages-long tradition of serving as a peacemaker for the Balkan Orthodox peoples.

A.F.

[12] BRITISH LEISURE CRAFT RUNS AGROUND, ALL SAFE

The eight-member crew and seven passengers on board the British-flagged leisure craft "Executive," which ran aground in the sea north of Makronissos island, are all safe, according to the Coast Guard.

The Executive collided with a reef yesterday while touring the area.

The Coast Guard immediately responded to the ship's distress signal and found that the passengers had been transported to the port on a boat.

A.F.

[13] PASOK'S GENERAL SECRETARY IS IN ROMANIA

A Greek governing socialist party of PASOK delegation, headed by party general secretary Kostas Skandalidis, is on a formal visit to Bucharest.

PASOK backs the participation of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) in the Socialist International, according to statements made after the meeting of the Greek delegation with Romanian prime minister and Social-Democratic Party president Adrian Nastaze in Bucharest.

Mr. Skandalidis conveyed to the Romanian prime minister a message by his Greek counterpart in which he expressed the wish that the Greek-Romanian relations will contribute to the region's stability.

Mr. Skandalidis also stated that Greece will back Romania in its effort to become an EU member.

[14] BALKAN INTERIOR MINISTRIES' MEETING BELGRADE

Interior ministries' representatives from Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary will meet in Belgrade on June 6-7 to discuss issues concerning organized crime and border police cooperation.

The meeting is organized by the Stability Pact in Southeastern Europe in cooperation with the Yugoslav interior ministry and the Stability Pact national coordinator office in Yugoslavia.

The Stability Pact work group responsible for police training will meet in Belgrade tomorrow, while a police forum will be held on Thursday with the participation of representatives of southeastern European countries.

[15] VISSI AND KOSTUNICA ARE IN BUCHAREST

Famous Greek singer Anna Vissi is in Bucharest today to participate in the spectacular multi-media event "2001, Peace Odyssey" which will be directed by Emir Kostunica and Angelos Hatziandreou. The event is organized by Rom Telecom, Cosmorom and OTE International.

Its organizers have promised that it will be an unprecedented event featuring laser beams, sound, light and underwater effects. The event promotes culture and communication, two elements that are against violence and war.

[16] BRITISH HOOLIGANS WERE FORBIDDEN TO TRAVEL TO GREECE

The British authorities refused to give permission to travel to Greece to 450 hooligans as a precautionary measure to avoid tension in Athens where Greece's National Football Team will play against Britain's National Football Team for the 2002 World Cup qualifiers.

According to a British interior ministry representative, football fans, who were involved in the past in violent incidents, were ordered to hand over their passports to police to avert any likelihood to be in Athens and cause trouble.

Also, according to the Reuters news agency members of the British police will be present during the game in the Athens Olympic Stadium on Wednesday evening in an effort to located any trouble-makers.

A total of 3.000 British football fans will travel to Greece according to the British newspaper "Daily Telegraph", while initially it was estimated that a total of 6.000 were going to be in Athens to watch the game.

[17] GREECE ABSORBS 13.8% OF THE RUSSIAN WEAPONS SYSTEMS SALES

Greece is the first NATO country purchasing Russian weapons systems for its armed forces and according to the Russian newspaper "Vremya MN" these purchases correspond to 13.8% of the overall sales of Russian weapons systems in the international defense market.

For the record, Russia wants to increase the sales of its defense industry abroad to secure the inflow of capital in its budget and reduce its dependency on the loans by international economic organizations.

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