Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-02-12

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

CONTENTS

[01] FORGETTING THEODORAKIS

[02] MILLERS WANTS TERRORISTS ARRESTED

[03] DAMANAKI IN SCOPJE FOR OLYMPIC TRUCE

[04] GREEK-TURKISH ECONOMIC COOPERATION MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE MEETING

[05] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[06] THE INTERNET TURNOVER WAS AT 45.5 BILLION DRACHMAS IN GREECE IN 2000

[07] GREEK-BULGARIAN COOPERATION IN THE 2004 OLYMPIAD

[08] «POLITIA» GREEK-BELGIAN CULTURAL CENTER

[09] EU AND ISLAMIC CONFERENCE MINISTERS MEETING

[10] PAPANDREOU-CEM MEETING

[11] G.PAPANTONIOU IN BULGARIA TODAY

[12] PRESIDENT OF SAE IN BRUSSELS

[01] FORGETTING THEODORAKIS

Mikis Theodorakis, holds the Olympic Organizing Committee of the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games, solely responsible for purposely omitting his name during the transmission of his piece, "Canto Olympico", in the opening ceremony of the games, yesterday, placing no fault with ERT state television. The press spokesperson of the Opposition, Thodoros Rousopoulos, however, was not as forgiving

This unprecedented indecency enacted by state television, against Greece's most eminent composer, Mikis Theodorakis, justifies the rage that any Greek citizen might feel, stated the press spokesperson of New Democracy.

The evasive answers of ERT's Administration convince no one. More so, since it knew after a Press Release sent by Mr. Theodorakis was received by ERT in time and, thus, should have informed its correspondents in Salt Lake City, that an extract of Canto Olympico was played during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, he stressed.

The government spokesperson, Christos Protopapas, mentioned that they looked into the matter with great respect to Mr. Theodorakis, and found that a mistake had been made by the organizers. "By no means did anyone ever think for a second to slight the work of a composer that promotes Greece internationally, work that is the heritage of our culture", pointed out Mr. Protopapas.

The Secretary General of the Greek Communist Party, Aleka Papariga, had a phone communication with the Foreign Ministry, in order to receive some clarifications on the issue. Mrs. Papariga supported that it was not a technical mistake, but US political intervention in the organizing committee.

[02] MILLERS WANTS TERRORISTS ARRESTED

US Ambassador Thomas Miller asked for the prosecution and arresting of terrorists, because that is the measure of success in the war against terrorism, according to statements he made during a speech in the Pavlos Bakoyannis New Politics Center.

At the same time the Ambassador stated that he is satisfied from the cooperation of the Greek authorities on the sector of terrorism.

At the same event, Minister of Public Order, Michalis Chrysochoidis, pointed out that terrorism has been morally and politically defeated in Greece. He denied the existence of a list of terrorist suspects, he called terrorists a handful of murderers, and also stated that stories about connections between terrorist groups and secret services is unfounded. He also stated that efforts to get rid of the terrorist organizations, especially in view of the 2004 Olympics, will be hastened.

[03] DAMANAKI IN SCOPJE FOR OLYMPIC TRUCE

MP of the Coalition of the Left Maria Damanaki, met with Foreign Minister of FYROM Slobodan Casule, in Skopje.

Mrs. Damanaki gave Mr. Casule a letter from Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou, in which he thanks FYROM for the support it gave in regards to the Olympic Truce.

Mr. Casule expressed his satisfaction that FYROM could contribute, along with the other 172 member-states of the UN, to the success of this initiative.

[04] GREEK-TURKISH ECONOMIC COOPERATION MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE MEETING

The proceedings of the 1st Greek-Turkish Economic Cooperation Ministerial Committee Meeting opened in Athens today as a follow-up to the nine economic and trade deals reached recently with the Turkish side. Head of the Greek delegation is Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Andreas Loverdos, while head of the Turkish delegation is Undersecretary responsible for Foreign Trade issues, Kursat Duzmen.

Mr. Loverdos stated that the goal of the meeting is to study the institutional framework, solve the existing problems in bilateral economic relations and encourage businessmen from both sides to make investments. The signing of an agreement to avoid the double taxation of income will also get underway as the specific agreement must be completed before the end of the year. Also, cooperation in the sector of tourism should be strengthened and all necessary measures must be taken to facilitate this cooperation.

Mr. Loverdos stated that the Greek side has suggested the creation of new coastal shipping lines to link the two countries by next summer.

The Turkish Undersecretary underlined that a total of 58 Greek businessmen are active in Turkey and stressed that his country wants greater activation in the sector. He also stressed that the overall volume of transactions between the two countries is at just US$1 billion and the goal set by both sides is to reach US$5 billion in the following years.

He referred especially to the activation of construction companies in the two countries by mentioning the fact that they undertake jointly projects in the Balkan states and southeastern Europe. He also raised the issue of the activation of Turkish construction companies in Greece in view of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

A memorandum of cooperation will be signed today, while the signing of the relevant agreements will take place in the second meeting that will take place in Ankara in the second half of 2002.

[05] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.35% at 2.502,40 points, while the volume of transactions was at 81 million Euro.

Of the stocks trading today, 129 recorded gains and 179 had losses, while the value of 71 remained unchanged.

[06] THE INTERNET TURNOVER WAS AT 45.5 BILLION DRACHMAS IN GREECE IN 2000

The Greek Internet Market increased by 80% since 1999 and reached 45.5 billion drachmas in 2000, according to a study conducted by the research company Strategic International.

The increase is attributed to the easy Internet access and the services offered and as a result the specific market promises to have similar growth rates during the next four to six years. The sector also received a boost by the progress in the e-commerce and e-business area and the new Internet companies.

Strategic International analysts maintain concerning the future of the Greek Internet that it will be especially favorable, stressing that Greece enters the information society in the sectors of society/people, state/public administration and businesses.

[07] GREEK-BULGARIAN COOPERATION IN THE 2004 OLYMPIAD

Bulgarian Youth and Sports State Committee President Vasil Ivanov expressed satisfaction for the results of his meeting in Athens with Minister of Culture Evangelos Venizelos.

In statements he made to the Bulgarian press, Mr. Ivanov stressed that both sides pledged to form a joint committee on pre-Olympic cooperation.

Mr. Ivanov also stated that a new meeting with Mr. Venizelos will take place by the end of February.

[08] «POLITIA» GREEK-BELGIAN CULTURAL CENTER

A group of Greeks and philellenes in Brussels, with vision and common concerns about the future of Belgian Hellenism, moved to the founding of the "Politia" Greek-Belgian Cultural Center, and the publication of a trilingual newspaper with the same name, in January, 2002.

The President of the Center is Mr. Nikos Moutsios and the Secretary is Mr. Dimitris Pehlivanidis, former coordinator of the SAE Youth.

In statements to the MPA, Mr. Moutsios, who is responsible for publishing the newspaper, stressed that the main goal of this effort, is strengthening the ties of local society and a closer connection to the young Greeks of Belgium, who were born there.

Mr. Moutsios noted that this newspaper will "tell it as it is", believing that this will contribute to the development of an organized Greek community in Belgium. Regarding SAE, he pointed out that the overtones of the 4th World SAE were positive, but there are still imperfections and misgivings, expressed for the better functioning of SAE, so that it may become a true body of all Hellenism abroad.

[09] EU AND ISLAMIC CONFERENCE MINISTERS MEETING

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou speaking in the joint European Union and Islamic Conference Foreign Ministers meeting in Istanbul today, stressed that Greece backs the dialogue between religions and cultures.

Mr. Papandreou stated that the dialogue of cultures should continue until the 2004 Olympics and referred to the Greek proposal for an Olympic Truce. The differences between cultures and religion cannot become an obstacle to understanding and dialogue, said Mr. Papandreou, adding that many have maintained that the new millennium will be the millennium of the conflict of cultures and religions but it is up to us to prove that this is untrue.

The conference was opened by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, who stressed that a dialogue was made imperative after the September 11 terrorist attack, stressing that those events proved the vulnerability of the basic understanding between cultures.

In the forum Culture and Harmony: The Political Dimension participate high ranking officials from Islamic countries and the EU and some of the most distinguished philosophers and intellectuals, like Eduard Said.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Yiannis Kasoulidis addressed the meeting and referred to the problems created by globalization and the need for unity in the effort to defend the common struggle.

From his side, the head of the Islamic states organization stressed that terrorism cannot be defeated if the Palestinian problem is not solved, while the Spanish Foreign Minister stated that the European Union is ready to normalize its relations with Iraq if Baghdad accepts the UN decisions.

[10] PAPANDREOU-CEM MEETING

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou met with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem in Istanbul today on the sidelines of the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the East and West.

The two Foreign Ministers confirmed their decision to open exploratory contacts within the framework of the Greek-Turkish dialogue. Earlier, Mr. Papandreou was called to comment on the Cem letter which speaks about two separate states in Cyprus and responded that the European Union will give a solution to the problem.

[11] G.PAPANTONIOU IN BULGARIA TODAY

The Minister of National Defense, Giannos Papantoniou,statrts today his two-day visit to Bulgaria during which he will meet with Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburgotski and President Georgi Parvanov.

Mr. Papantoniou will give a two-hour speech to the members of the Atlantic Club, while tonight he will be present at a dinner held by the Bulgarian Minister of Defense, Nikolai Sviranov.

Tomorrow Mr. Papantoniou will visit the SEEBRIG Headquarters in Plovdiv.

[12] PRESIDENT OF SAE IN BRUSSELS

Issues concerning the Greek community of Belgium and Hellenism Abroad , were discussed during the meeting of SAE President Andrew Athens with body representatives of the Belgian Greek community, which took place yesterday in the offices of the Brussels Greek Community, with Consul General Nikos Kotrokois present.

According to "The Greek European Magazine", Mr. Athens made a brief review of SAE's course to this day , and set the priorities for the coming years. He made special reference to the work of the "Greek Medical Centers" in countries of the former Soviet Union, and to the upcoming phase of the Medical Center in Marioupolis, construction of which will begin in March and be completed in September.

The importance of the Greek Community in Belgium, and, specifically, that of Brussels, the seat of the European Community bodies, from which SAE expects a more dynamic presence in order to explore fundraising potential at present to complete its work, was stressed. "We are well on our way and continuing", stated Mr. Athens.

In further statements to Greek Press abroad correspondents, Mr. Athens stressed that SAE must become known to all Greeks around the world through the functioning of a Press Office. Also mentioned was the Fund for Greeks Abroad, which must be supported by the various Greek communities.

Another important proposal was that Greek Community Presidents should participate in SAE, because they are individuals who are well aware of the problems their communities face. there should also be better cooperation with the European Coordinator, in order to promote the issues concerning Greek Communities throughout Europe.

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