Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-11-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] 1000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN ZACHYNTHOS

[02] POLITICAL CONTACTS OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF TIRANA

[03] AVRAAM LESPEROGLOU RELEASED

[04] PROTOPAPAS: ISSUES CONCERNING CYPRUS' EU ACCESSION WILL BE RAISE TO MR.

[05] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS VISITED THE FOREIGN MINISTRY

[06] THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN ZAKYNTHOS WILL BE REPATRIATED

[07] SMALL GAINS IN THE ASE

[08] SATISFACTORY REACTION BY THE STATE MECHANISM

[09] PAPANDREOU - DE SOTO MEETING ON CYPRUS

[10] ARCHBISHOP ANASTASIOS CONTINUES HIS CONTACTS IN ATHENS

[11] SIMITIS-PAPANTONIOU MEETING

[12] GREEK AND TURKISH BUSINESSMEN WILL MEET IN EVROS IN JANUARY

[13] SOCIAL CONTRACT ON TOURISM

[14] "NOVEMBER 17" ON BRITISH GOVERNMENT TERRORIST LIST

[01] 1000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN ZACHYNTHOS

The 50-meter-long boat, on which the coast guard found more than 1000 illegal immigrants, is still moored at the Zachyntho harbor. The Municipality of Zachynthos has supplied the illegal immigrants with blankets and food, while medical attention has been paid to the children.

Approximately 50 of the illegal immigrants have been transferred to the island hospital with symptoms of exhaustion, after the trip that took many days.

The counting of the illegal immigrants has not been completed yet, but so far 131 children and 71 children have been counted, either Kurds, Afghans or Iraqis.

It should be noted that the boat was found sailing rudderless towards Italy 17 nautical miles southwest of Cape Marathia in Zachyntho.

[02] POLITICAL CONTACTS OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF TIRANA

The Archbishop of Tirana and all of Albania, Anastasios, is continuing his official visit to Greece.

Mr. Anastasios will meet with the mayor of Athens, Dimitris Avramopoulos, this morning, while at 12 noon he will meet with the Minister of Education, Petros Eythymiou.

At 1pm, the Archbishop of Albania will meet with the President of the Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis, and half an hour later, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Papandreou. Anastasios' visit to Greece will be completed on November 9.

[03] AVRAAM LESPEROGLOU RELEASED

Avraam Lesperoglou was released after approval of his appeal for parole and suspension of his sentence, by the Supreme Revisional Military Court.

A few days ago Lesperoglou was found not guilty by the Mixed Sworn Court, with a vote of 5-2 in his favor, on charges concerning his participation in criminal activities of the Struggle Against the State terrorist organization, in the Spring of 1985. Lesperoglou had been convicted for 3,5 years for insubordination, and had already served 2/3 of his sentence. He stated that he is ready to start his life over again.

[04] PROTOPAPAS: ISSUES CONCERNING CYPRUS' EU ACCESSION WILL BE RAISE TO MR. CEM

All issues concerning Cyprus' EU accession prospects and the relevant statements made by the Turkish side will be pointed out by the Greek government during the visit to Athens by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem tomorrow, stated Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas. He reiterated that the solution of the Cyprus problem is desirable and efforts are being made toward this direction but it is not a precondition for Cyprus' EU accession.

Mr. Protopapas concluded that Turkey must respect the UN decisions, resolutions and actions.

[05] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS VISITED THE FOREIGN MINISTRY

The establishment of a Crisis Management Ministerial Unit within the framework of the Governmental Council of Foreign Affairs and Defense aiming at the improved coordination on foreign policy issues, was announced today by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis after his visit to the Foreign Ministry today. Mr. Simitis pointed out that the final decision will be made in the next meeting of the governmental council.

The Prime Minister clarified that in charge of the Unit will be the Foreign Ministry general secretary and it will be made up of Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry and other responsible ministries representatives.

Mr. Simitis stated that the diplomatic corps faces the challenge to complete the plan for a strong Greece both at a European and an international level.

Referring to the Greek EU presidency in 2003, he stated that Greece's goals are the EU enlargement and the completion of Cyprus' EU accession, Greece's participation in the EU development and the adoption of a more complete system of security by the EU and NATO.

Mr. Simitis stated that the need for the Balkan reconstruction should not be overshadowed by the September 11 tragic events in the United States. He also stressed the need for the Euro-Arab dialogue to be upgraded, while a fair and viable solution should be reached in the case of Cyprus and Turkey's European prospects should be based on the terms set in Helsinki.

[06] THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN ZAKYNTHOS WILL BE REPATRIATED

Greece's firm position on the repatriation of illegal immigrants will be followed by the government and in the case of the 1.200 illegal immigrants on the Ionian Sea Island of Zakynthos, stated Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas.

The minister of press also stated that the illegal immigrants will be handled in accordance with the humanitarian principles and will be hosted on the island for a total of 15 days. He said that the Greek government has done everything for their rescue and medical care, while there will be a special care for children with health problems and their families.

Mr. Protopapas pointed out that there is a need for cooperation with Turkey to combat human trafficking and announced that the illegal immigrants issue will be raised in the next EU summit meeting in December in order for the "15" to adopt a common policy.

When asked to comment on whether the illegal immigrants in Zakynthos will apply for political asylum status, he responded that they are not political refugees.

[07] SMALL GAINS IN THE ASE

Small gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.13% at 2.593,42 points, while the volume of transactions was at 205 million Euro or 70 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 113 recorded gains and 215 had losses, while the value of 36 stocks remained unchanged.

[08] SATISFACTORY REACTION BY THE STATE MECHANISM

The state mechanism operated in a satisfactory way in the effort to deal with the recent heavy rainfall, stated Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas, pointing out that every possible effort was made and the state mechanism was effective.

Mr. Protopapas also stated that damages are being assessed and compensations will be paid as soon as the process is completed.

Regarding the complaints concerning the damages caused to Eleftherios Venizelos Athens Airport due to the bad weather, he said that the newly constructed airport is a huge project that should not be downgraded, adding that public works' inspectors have been mobilized and the responsible minister Ms. Vaso Papandreou has given orders according to which, all those responsible will be held accountable for any constructional defects.

[09] PAPANDREOU - DE SOTO MEETING ON CYPRUS

UN secretary-general special envoy on Cyprus Alvaro de Soto appeared optimistic that there is room for the resumption of proximity talks on Cyprus, after the meeting he had with Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou in Athens today.

Mr. de Soto will be in New York tomorrow to brief the UN secretary-general on the conclusions of his visit to Nicosia, Ankara and Athens within the framework of his efforts for the solution of the Cyprus problem.

When asked to comment on whether the statements made by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash affect the optimistic climate in a negative way, Mr. de Soto said that the statements made to the press by any of the two sides are not taken literally.

From his side, the Greek Foreign Minister underlined that he exchanged political views on Cyprus. He called on the Turkish side, and all those involved in the Cyprus issue, to contribute constructively to the efforts made for the settlement of the problem based on the UN decisions and resolutions.

[10] ARCHBISHOP ANASTASIOS CONTINUES HIS CONTACTS IN ATHENS

Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All of Albania continues his formal visit to Greece. This morning he met with Athens mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos and received the Medal of Honor.

The Archbishop referred to the state of the Church of Albania and its role in the consolidation of peace. From his side, the mayor of Athens praised the efforts made by the Archbishop for the reconstruction of the Christian Orthodox Church in Albania.

[11] SIMITIS-PAPANTONIOU MEETING

The governmental council of foreign affairs and defense will meet on November 15, presided over by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, to appoint a new National Defense General Staff Chief to replace general Manousos Paragioudakis whose term ends in February 2002.

The above were announced by Minister of Defense Yiannos Papantoniou after the meeting he had today with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, underlining that the program for the gradual decrease of the military service term will be implemented with the appointment of professional soldiers.

Responding to a question by a reporter, the Defense Minister ruled out the likelihood for a Greek military force to be sent to participate in the military operations in Afghanistan and pointed out that Greece facilitates the US armed forces which are active in Afghanistan.

[12] GREEK AND TURKISH BUSINESSMEN WILL MEET IN EVROS IN JANUARY

About 300 Greek and Turkish businessmen will meet in January 2002 within the framework of the business meeting organized by the Greek-Turkish Chamber.

The meeting was scheduled to take place last September but it was postponed because of the terrorist attack on the United States and it is expected to be a tangible proof of the mutual interest expressed by both sides in the strengthening of bilateral cooperation at a business level.

[13] SOCIAL CONTRACT ON TOURISM

The necessity of a social contract between the state, tourism entrepreneurs and employees in tourism, aiming at a complete development in tourism, was pointed out by Minister of Development Akis Tsohatzopoulos, at the 17th Philoxenia Fair during the official luncheon of the Association of Greek Tourist Function (SETE).

In previous statements, the Minister of development had mentioned that cooperation between the state and the market is necessary for complete long term tourism development.

[14] "NOVEMBER 17" ON BRITISH GOVERNMENT TERRORIST LIST

British Financial Minister Gordon Brown published and sent a list with the names of 15 international terrorist organizations to all banks and financial organizations, asking them to freeze all assets and bank accounts of these organizations.

This list includes November 17 and Revolutionary Cores.

The British Minister stated that the organizations on the list have committed terrorist acts or are suspected of funding terrorist acts.

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