Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-09-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] GREEK SUPPORT FOR ARAFAT

[02] COPENHAGEN SUMMIT MEETING TODAY

[03] D.A. DIOTIS AT CORYDALLOS

[04] "PEGASUS" PROMISES FULL TREATMENT OF HEPATITIS C

[05] THE ASE IS A HOSTAGE OF THE NEGATIVE INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE

[06] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE GERMAN ELECTIONS

[07] THE 54YEAROLD ACCUSED OF ESPIONAGE REQUESTED MORE TIME TO PREPARE HIS

[08] PAPANDREOU EXPRESSED SATISFACTION FOR THE GERMAN ELECTION RESULTS

[09] PAPANDREOU-DE SOTO MEETING

[10] TURK ARRESTED FOR ESPIONAGE

[11] GREEK SUPPORT FOR ARAFAT

[12] SIMITIS: THE ELECTION RESULTS IN GERMANY CONSTITUTE GUARANTEE FOR THE

[13] EU SUPPORT FOR GREEK COTTON ASKED

[01] GREEK SUPPORT FOR ARAFAT

The support of Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and the Greek government was communicated to Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, by Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou, in a telephone communication they had on Sunday.

Mr. Papandreou repeated the support of Greece and the European Union to the President Arafat, as the legal leader of the Palestinian people. He assured Mr. Arafat that he would inform the EU Presidency on the issue of his besiegement in his Ramallah headquarters by the Israeli army.

On his side, Mr. Arafat spoke of the conditions which he is in, and asked Greece to act towards the EU and the US, so that the siege is lifted and the procedures for peace resume.

Mr. Papandreou then communicated with the chairman of the EU's Council of Ministers, Danish Foreign Minister Mr. Meller, whom he briefed on developments in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a protest march towards the US and Israeli embassy has been organized for Thursday, September 26, by Initiative Genoa 2001, the Committee for Solidarity towards the Palestinian People, and the Athens Workers' Center. The march will begin at 7pm from Eleftherias Park, with no to war with Iraq and freedom to Palestine as its main slogans.

[02] COPENHAGEN SUMMIT MEETING TODAY

The Summit Meeting of EU leaders with those of Asian countries began today and will continue until tomorrow in Copenhagen.

The issues to be discussed at the Summit are international cooperation against terrorism, as well as Asian-European cooperation on financial and trade issues. The Middle Eastern issue will also be discussed.

Greece will be represented by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.

[03] D.A. DIOTIS AT CORYDALLOS

Police authority investigations for the eradication of terrorism are continuing with the same intensity, with more weight being put on the findings of the two hideouts on Patmos and Damareos st. However, investigations have shown nothing worthwhile so far.

Peripheral accomplices of November 17, the social circle of the organization's alleged leader Alexandros Giotopoulos, ELA and May 1st, are still in the authorities' sights. However, there will be no arrests immediately, since there is not enough evidence to build a strong case.

Meanwhile, District Attorney Ioannis Diotis is expected to go to the Corydallos Penitentiary, in order to receive the testimonies of certain prisoners, who have information on other terrorist organizations.

[04] "PEGASUS" PROMISES FULL TREATMENT OF HEPATITIS C

Extensive analysis of the properties a new drug, Pegasus, as well as of its effectiveness on all patient groups, including cirrhosis and transplant patients, were made at the International Conference on Hepatitis C, held in Rhodes from September 13 to September 22, with the participation of more than 1000 scientists from all over the world. At the dawn of the new millenium comes a new drug, promising complete treatment of the illness.

At a press conference in the framework of the conference, assistant professor of gastrenterology at AUTh, Nikos Evgenidis, referred to the tolerability of the pegylated interferon, noting that according to recent studies, patients that received the drug withdraw from the treatment at a lower percentage than patients receiving the classic interferon. And this is because the Pegasus substance can be tolerated more easily, while its side effects, similar to the flu (weakness, headaches, fever, myalgia, and nausea), only last for 2-3 days and then progressively decrease.

On his side, Pathology Professor at Athens University, Stefanos Chatzigiannis, stressed that the pharmaceutical substance was evaluated in relation with chronic hepatitis C regarding effectiveness, side effects, tolerability, and cost with various dosages on 20,000 patients worldwide. Referring to a study, recently announced at the 9th European Hepatology Conference in Madrid, Mr. Chatzigiannis noted that the pegylated interferon was administered once a week in combination with ribavirin on 1,200 patients from 90 medical centers from all over the world, resulted in the eradication of the virus in 4 out of 5 patients with a non 1 genotype.

[05] THE ASE IS A HOSTAGE OF THE NEGATIVE INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE

The Athens Stock Exchange is still a hostage of the negative climate observed lately in the international stock markets, while the room for optimism regarding its recovery is being dramatically limited.

The general index dropped to -1.73% at 1.853,98 points today, while the volume of transactions was at 61.9 million Euro.

Of the stocks trading today, the majority of 275 recorded losses and 47 had gains, while the value of 54 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE GERMAN ELECTIONS

Government spokesman Christos Protopapas reiterated the statement of Prime Minister Kostas Simitis regarding the German election results. However, he pointed out that the main message sent out by the ballot boxes in Germany is that there is no conservative restoration.

The alliance of the Social-democrats with the Greens was characterized by Mr. Protopapas as positive for the European developments, the EU enlargement and the social character of the EU.

Regarding the Stability Pact, he stressed that Greece supports it because it is positive for the Greek economy, its prospects and competitiveness, and the Greek citizens.

[07] THE 54YEAROLD ACCUSED OF ESPIONAGE REQUESTED MORE TIME TO PREPARE HIS TESTIMONY

Pekinel Murat Mahmet, 54, requested and received more time from the Mitilini magistrate to prepare his testimony.

Pekinel, who is of Turkish origin and has a German temporary passport, was arrested on Friday afternoon while he was taking pictures of military installations in the region of Kallithea, in the northeastern Aegean island of Limnos. A total of 57 rolls of film found in his possession were sent to the state security office laboratories in Athens to be examined.

[08] PAPANDREOU EXPRESSED SATISFACTION FOR THE GERMAN ELECTION RESULTS

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou appeared satisfied with the German election results.

Mr. Papandreou stated that the decision of the German people gives a greater potential to Turkey's European prospect and EU enlargement, while it contributes to the efforts for stability in the wider region. He added that the Greek government has cooperated with and knows the leaders of the alliance government of the Social-Democrats and the Greens.

He also expressed joy because he will have the opportunity to cooperate again with German Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer characterizing him as a personal friend.

[09] PAPANDREOU-DE SOTO MEETING

The belief that there is room for the solution of the Cyprus problem in spite of the distance separating the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities, was expressed by UN secretary-general special envoy to Cyprus Alvaro de Soto after the meeting he had with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou.

The UN official characterized as useful the consultations he had with Mr. Papandreou in Athens in view of the visit to Ankara at the end of the week and the imminent meeting of UN secretary-general Kofi Annan with Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

However, Mr. de Soto did not want to comment on the Denktash proposals that became public in New York, neither on the information that Turkey is issuing passports to the Turkish Cypriots. He also refused to adopt a position on whether the developments in Iraq affect the solution of the Cyprus problem.

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou agreed that there is still a chance for a solution to the Cyprus problem to be reached before Cyprus' accession into the EU and therefore, efforts should intensify.

[10] TURK ARRESTED FOR ESPIONAGE

A 54-year-old Turkish man was arrested in Limnos on espionage charges.

The 54-year-old was arrested while he was photographing the military installations in the area of Callithea, while 57 rolls of film were found on him and confiscated, and then sent to the labs of the State Security Direction in Athens.

[11] GREEK SUPPORT FOR ARAFAT

The support of Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and the Greek government was communicated to Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, by Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou, in a telephone communication they had on Sunday.

Mr. Papandreou repeated the support of Greece and the European Union to the President Arafat, as the legal leader of the Palestinian people. He assured Mr. Arafat that he would inform the EU Presidency on the issue of his besiegement in his Ramallah headquarters by the Israeli army.

On his side, Mr. Arafat spoke of the conditions which he is in, and asked Greece to act towards the EU and the US, so that the siege is lifted and the procedures for peace resume.

Mr. Papandreou then communicated with the chairman of the EU's Council of Ministers, Danish Foreign Minister Mr. Meller, whom he briefed on developments in the Middle East.

[12] SIMITIS: THE ELECTION RESULTS IN GERMANY CONSTITUTE GUARANTEE FOR THE COURSE OF EUROPE

The election victory of the Social-Democratic Party and the Greens in Germany is a guarantee for the course of Europe, stated Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis commenting on the election results in Germany.

He stated from Copenhagen, where the ASEM IV Summit meeting is taking place, that the election results in Germany are a guarantee for the continuation of a common foreign and security policy that Europe needs, especially in those difficult times.

Mr. Simitis said that the election results are a guarantee for the continuation of a policy of development that is combined with social justice and seeks more social cohesion.

On the sidelines of the ASEM IV Summit meeting, the Greek Prime Minister met with his Swedish counterpart whom he congratulated for the victory of his party in the September 15 parliamentary elections.

[13] EU SUPPORT FOR GREEK COTTON ASKED

Greece's request for issuing national subsidies to cotton producers is expected to be submitted officially by Minister of Agriculture Giorgos Drys, during the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture in Brussels today.

In any case, final decisions on the issue will probably not be made before the end of next month. Awaiting developments, Mr. Drys expects his European counterparts to vote in favor of the Greek request for national subsidies in one of the coming meetings.

In order for the request to be approved, all EU Ministers of Agriculture must be in accordance, while if the Council does not make a unanimous decision, the whole enterprise will fail. One negative vote is all it takes for the request to be denied.

There are two issues which are expected to stand in the way of approval: firstly, skeptics wonder it is possible for further funds to be given from the state budget, since financial latitude is slim.

Secondly, there are those who believe that if such a request is approved by the Community, it will open a back door to a renationalization of the Common Agricultural Policy, with all the consequences that entails for financially weaker countries, such as Greece.

It should be noted, that during the meeting, the Danish Presidency is expected to submit a report on an intermediate reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, while the Commission will make a relevant announcement on the issue.

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