Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-07-20

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

CONTENTS

[01] MESSAGE BY PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS ON THE TURKISH INVASION

[02] GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE TRIAL OF TWO GREEKS IN SUDAN

[03] ACQUITTAL ON THE GROUNDS OF DNA TESTING ERROR

[04] ATHENS DEMARCHE TO ROME

[05] SIGNIFICANT LOSSES IN THE ASE

[06] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT EXPRESSED DISCONTENT OVER THE INCIDENTS IN ANKONA

[07] UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF 11.1% LAST YEAR IN GREECE

[08] SOME 150 GREEKS RETURN FROM GENOA

[09] GENOA IS A CITY UNDER SIEGE

[10] THE PRIORITIES OF THE NEW US AMBASSADOR TO ATHENS

[01] MESSAGE BY PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS ON THE TURKISH INVASION

Greece is firm on Cyprus' side for the restoration and consolidation of its integrity, sovereignty and independence, stressed president Kostis Stephanopoulos in a statement on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

Mr. Stephanopoulos also underlined that the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on July 20, 1974 and the continuing occupation of the northern part of the island constitute flagrant violation of every principle of International Law and added that in spite of the UN resolutions and the initiatives undertaken on Cyprus no solution was found because of Turkey's refusal to comply with the UN resolutions and also as a result of the international community's inability to implement them.

The president stated that the imminent accession of Cyprus into the European Union could lead the Turkish side to meet its international obligations and deal with this lingering issue in a different way.

[02] GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE TRIAL OF TWO GREEKS IN SUDAN

General secretary for the Greeks living abroad, Dimitris Dollis returned yesterday from Khartoum, Sudan where he represented the Greek government in the trial of two Greeks of the Diaspora, E. Papgis and E. Kalidakis, accused of murdering Metropolite Titos of Khartoum last July.

Mr. Dollis was accompanied by foreign ministry ambassador Iakovos Spetsios, and World Council of Hellenes Abroad, SAE, coordinator in the Asia-Africa region Stephanos Tambakis.

During his four-day stay in the Sudanese capital, Mr. Dollis had meetings with Sudan's deputy foreign minister, undersecretary of justice, and the prosecutor general, to whom he conveyed the interest of the Greek government in the case and requested that the procedures be shorter, pointing out the prolonged detention of the two and the health problems they suffer from.

From their side, the Sudanese officials assured Mr. Dollis that they will do everything possible to respond to the Greek government's request and added that the detention conditions for the two are good. They also pointed out the role of the Greek community in Sudan which they regard as a valuable part of their society.

The trial will be repeated on July 29-30 and August 5-6.

[03] ACQUITTAL ON THE GROUNDS OF DNA TESTING ERROR

A court in Athens accepted for the first time in the Greek justice history that the DNA test results can be insufficient evidence on which to base a guilty verdict.

According to the court ruling, a Lebanese woman was found not guilty based on this reasoning even though the likelihood of an error in a DNA test is 1 to 67.000.

She was accused of manslaughter in the case of the murder of a woman friend of hers.

[04] ATHENS DEMARCHE TO ROME

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas denied categorically that the Greek agencies delivered information on Greek citizens to the Italian authorities, adding however that the Italian embassy in Athens is able to collect its own information and sent it to Rome.

The minister of press pointed out that Athens expressed its strong discontent over yesterday's incidents both through the diplomatic channels and in the telephone communication between foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou and his Italian counterpart. Mr. Reppas stressed that the protesters are not a marginal force, they are citizens who want to demonstrate a different position in a responsible way.

According to Mr. Reppas, the Italian authorities maintained, in the clarifications they gave over yesterday's incidents, that citizens from other countries were also refused entry, adding that in the scuffles that erupted in the port of Ankona the Italian police was attacked as well and a police officer was injured.

The government spokesman characterized the Italian allegations as a perversion of reality and added that the Greek government is not aware of information on individuals with terrorist activities who were on their way to Genoa.

Mr. Reppas stated that probably the situation in the neighboring country would have been different if a government under Rusconi came to power after the recent elections instead of a government under conservative Silvio Berlusconi. He said that this is an educative example that gives the opportunity for the necessary parallelisms to be made in Greece and added that Athens is in no contact with the foreign ministries of other countries, the citizens of which were also not allowed to step on Italian territory. He also said that the presence of Greek police officers in Italy within the framework of the European police force, Europol, is minimal.

Responding to the question if Greece will make a demarche to Rome, he stated that already Athens has made a verbal demarche.

[05] SIGNIFICANT LOSSES IN THE ASE

Significant losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -3.12% at 2.507,28 points, while the volume of transactions was satisfactory at 206.50 million Euro or 70.364 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, the majority, 278, recorded losses and 62 had gains, while the value of 35 stocks remained stable.

[06] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT EXPRESSED DISCONTENT OVER THE INCIDENTS IN ANKONA

Greek foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis expressed the Greek government's discontent over yesterday's incidents that took place at the port of Ankona, Italy.

Mr. Beglitis expressed the government's strong discontent over the abusive behavior of the Italian police forces toward Greek citizens on board a Greek ship, adding that clarifications will be requested from the Italian authorities.

He also underlined that the foreign ministry handled immediately and with a sense of responsibility the problem that was created when Greek citizens were not allowed to step on Italian territory to participate in the anti-globalization protests in Genoa.

Mr. Beglitis stated that foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou had a telephone communication with his Italian counterpart Renato Ruzzero in order to find a solution, while the Greek embassy in Rome is in continuous contact with the Italian authorities making the necessary representations.

Yesterday, the Italian police deported about 150 Greeks, who had arrived in Italy to participate in the Genoa protests against the G8 summit meeting.

The deportation took place as soon as 18 buses with Greek protesters arrived by ferryboat at the port of Ankona, Italy and were ready to continue their trip to Genoa. As it was made known, police stopped 3 of the buses and ordered them to return back to the ferry, which is now on its way to the port of Patras in southern Greece.

According to a statement made by the ship-owner company, three of the protesters who are returning to Greece, are slightly injured. The rest 1.000 Greek protesters arrived in Genoa at midnight yesterday after a long delay.

[07] UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF 11.1% LAST YEAR IN GREECE

The unemployment rate for the year 2000 in Greece was at 11.1%, according to the European statistics agency, Eurostat. The unemployment rate for women was 16.7%, while among the young, under the age of 25, it was 29.5%, showing a decline compared to 1999.

The highest unemployment rate was recorded in western Macedonia, northwestern Greece (14.7%) and the lowest in the Ionian Sea islands (5.1%). Regarding the unemployment rate among women, the highest was in Thessaly, central Greece (22.8%) and the lowest in the Ionian Sea islands (5.5%). The unemployment rate for the young people was the highest in western Macedonia, northwestern Greece (45.0%) and the lowest was again recorded in the Ionian Sea islands (11.9%).

The unemployment rate is determined by the percentage of the unemployed in the total economically active population. According to the World Organization of Labor, a person is regarded as unemployed if he/she does not work during the week of the research or if he/she expects to work in two weeks counting from the day the research is being conducted or in case he/she looks for a job in the last four weeks before the research.

[08] SOME 150 GREEKS RETURN FROM GENOA

Genoa police deported about 150 Greeks, who had arrived in the Italian city to participate in the protests against the G8 summit meeting.

The deportation took place as soon as 18 buses with Greek protesters arrived by ferryboat at the port of Ankona, Italy and were ready to continue their trip to Genoa. As it was made known, police stopped 3 of the buses and ordered them to return back to the ferry.

The Greek protesters have requested the assistance of the Greek consulate and political forces.

[09] GENOA IS A CITY UNDER SIEGE

The city of Genoa, Italy is under police siege in view of the G8 summit meeting that will be held with the participation of Russia.

The strict police measures have caused strong discontent among the city residents, who blame the Berlusconi government for the uncomfortable situation they experience. The city itself is under the siege of the security forces as thousands of protesters, among them about 3.500 Greeks, have arrived in the city to declare their opposition to globalization.

The G8 leaders will discuss issues concerning the American missile defense system and the Kyoto agreement on the environment.

[10] THE PRIORITIES OF THE NEW US AMBASSADOR TO ATHENS

Thomas Miller, who was proposed by US president Bush for the post of the new US ambassador to Athens, appeared before the US Senate foreign affairs committee in Washington yesterday and presented his priorities namely, terrorism, the Cyprus problem, and the promotion of the US-Greek economic and trade relations.

Mr. Miller praised the Greek government and prime minister Simitis for the important progress that has been made in economy, and expressed his personal regret for the loss of Yiannos Kranidiotis, with whom he had worked in the past, characterizing his death as a big loss.

On the Cyprus problem, he stated that Turkey's EU course is blocked by the fact that the Cyprus problem is still unresolved, expressing however optimism concerning the Greek-Turkish rapprochement. He said characteristically that the only way to reach a solution on Cyprus is through the cooperation and help on behalf of Athens and Ankara.

On terrorism, he said that he wants the break up of the terrorist organization "17 November", pointing out that there is a problem in this area adding, at the same time, that Greece has made steps.

Regarding the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, he maintained that there is a security issue, stressing that Greece is in close cooperation with the United States and other countries in order to deal with the problem.

Mr. Miler's appointment is expected to be approved by the US Senate at the end of July or by early August.

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