Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-12-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] US INTEREST FOR CYPRUS

[02] PASCHALIDIS IN FRANCE TOMORROW

[03] PAPADREOU-SAMPAIO FOR OLYMPIC TRUCE

[04] GOVERNMENT REACTION ON ND'S PARALLEL PRESIDENCY

[05] IN SEARCH OF NEW N17 MEMBERS

[06] ND PARALLEL PRESIDENCY - "PROSPERITY, SECURITY"

[07] DENKTASH READY TO NEGOTIATE ANNAN PROPOSAL

[08] PRODI: CYPRUS' ACCESSION CANNOT WAIT

[01] US INTEREST FOR CYPRUS

The interest of the US on the Cyprus issue and the need for Cyprus to be incorporated as a whole, was underlined by US Ambassador Thomas Miller, in statements to NET Television.

Mr. Miller stated that the US are interested in the region because of their closer relations with Greece and Turkey, and because of the very high priority given to the solution of the Cyprus issue by many US Presidents. It is in everybody's best interest for Cyprus to be incorporated to the EU as a whole, and not as a divided island, he said characteristically.

On his side, Special Coordinator on the of the State Department on the Cyprus Issue, Thomas Weston, stressed that it is of great importance to resolve the Cyprus issue before the Copenhagen Summit and he characterized the Annan proposal as flawless and fair, in statements he made to the Ethnos newspaper.

[02] PASCHALIDIS IN FRANCE TOMORROW

Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis, will visit France tomorrow and the day after, heading the Greek mission which will attend the General Assembly of the International Exhibition Bureau (IEB).

During the two days of the General Assembly, the five candidates for the 2010 World EXPO Fair (Russia, China, Korea, Poland, and Mexico) will be presented. There will also be a crucial vote among IEB members on the winner. The progress report on Aichi, Japan, which will hold the 2005 EXPO, is also expected.

[03] PAPADREOU-SAMPAIO FOR OLYMPIC TRUCE

Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou will meet with the President of the Portuguese Republic, Mr. Jorge Sampaio, at the Museum of Cycladic Art at 18:40 tomorrow, where Mr. Sampaio will sign the Olympic Truce Declaration.

[04] GOVERNMENT REACTION ON ND'S PARALLEL PRESIDENCY

Unprecedented and unacceptable were the terms used by Government Spokesperson Christos Protopapas to characterize New Democracy's intentions of forming a Parallel Presidency, to monitor the Greek Presidency and to push the government towards common Greek and European goals.

The Minister of the Press pointed out the danger of creating serious negative comments at Greece's expense, and accused the main opposition party of turning its unfortunate inspiration into, as he called it, a low comedy with the way it has handled things.

Alternate Foreign Minister Tassos Giannitsis accused ND of trying to turn the Greek Presidency into a political game, for domestic consumption. ND, through this unique in European history finding of a shadow presidency, believes it can transform our country's Presidency of the EU, into political game for domestic consumption. ND is wrong. There is only one EU Presidency, which is undertaken by the government of the country holding that Presidency. There is no room for third parties, said Mr. Giannitsis.

At the same time he noted that ND is characterized by a procrustean and single minded view, with which it accuses anything Greece's government does as administrative or logistical.

In response, ND Spokesperson Thodoris Roussopoulos expressed his view that all political parties can contribute to the good of the country.

The government has to understand that in Democracy which was restored to Greece by New Democracy in 1974 and the European Union which Greece is part of after an ND decision there is more than one party functioning, and all of them can contribute to the good of the country with their proposals, stated Mr. Roussopoulos, and added: The Presidency is not held to benefit the government, but to benefit the country and the citizens of Greece.

[05] IN SEARCH OF NEW N17 MEMBERS

A search is underway for one to three unknown members of the November 17 terrorist organization, who had access to the Patmos st. and Damareos st. hideouts. Investigations are being carried out by the Counter Terrorist Service in cooperation with the Direction of Criminological Investigations.

According to the Sunday Eleftherotypia, which calls on valid information, two orphan handwritings and three categorized repeated fingerprints on domestic and mobile telephones have been found. In fact one of the fingerprints was found on one of the orphan handwritten notes.

The number of suspects will be determined within the next ten days, while approximately the same time will be required for the examination of all objects found in the hideouts.

Meanwhile, the two new handwritings were found in manuscripts, one of which depicted a military camp in the Serres area, including notes on the facilities and how to gain access to them, and the other was a draft for making time bombs with short descriptions and instructions.

At the same time, Al. Giotopoulos, alleged leader of N17, characterized the manuscript on conspiratorial activities attributed to him as stitched up document, comprising of texts belonging to anti-dictatorship era organizations (mainly LEA).

Giotopoulos' close environment referred to a delayed collage, mentioning that in at least two cases, manuscripts of his came into the possession of the Greek and French authorities, during the junta. Al. Giotopoulos was indeed a member of LEA, and as such visited Paris often.

The authorities also found two typed pages in Giotopoulos' briefcase, with extensive instructions on how to treat limb wounds, which also described the necessary medication in such cases.

[06] ND PARALLEL PRESIDENCY - "PROSPERITY, SECURITY"

Europe for all Prosperity, Security is the message of the Parallel Presidency being organized by New Democracy for the first half of 2003, during Greece's Presidency of the EU.

Press Spokesperson of New Democracy Thodoris Roussopoulos presented the message and logo of the Parallel Presidency in Kerkyra (Corfu), and criticized the government for preparing a Presidency of administrative character, seeming uneasy and settling with what is too little and second rate.

As far as the Parallel Presidency is concerned, he said that ND will observe, as it had committed itself, the Presidency with its MPs, EuroMPs, the International Relations Secretariat, and approximately 100 experts. It is more than ready to push the government towards the common Greek and European goals and aspirations.

[07] DENKTASH READY TO NEGOTIATE ANNAN PROPOSAL

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash stated that he was ready to negotiate on the Annan proposal, according to a letter he sent to the UN Secretary General on November 27, published in the Sunday Vima newspaper.

In fact, in his letter, Mr. Denktash noted that certain points of the proposal are useful contributions to negotiations, while others raise serious concern and need to be studied and clarified, in order for us to see whether we can bring them within an acceptable framework.

The Turkish Cypriot leader also stressed that he must present the results of the negotiations and clarifications to the government and parliament, in order to decide if the final result can be seen as an acceptable package in order to completely resolve the Cyprus issue.

Finally, Mr. Denktash informed the UN Secretary General that he had received his latest letter of November 25, and gave his assurance that he would respond as soon as possible.

[08] PRODI: CYPRUS' ACCESSION CANNOT WAIT

Today, we can no longer delay or stop Cyprus' accession course to the EU, stated President of the European Commission Romano Prodi, in an interview to the Epsilon magazine of the Sunday Eleftherotypia newspaper.

To the question on whether the occupation of a part of the island would constitute a problem in its accession, he stated that: Our proposal was and is for the whole island to be incorporated, but we cannot wait forever. This is the best solution.

As far as Turkey is concerned, he noted: Turkey does not yet meet the necessary political criteria for accession, set at Copenhagen. Our opinion was expressed in our regular reports and our strategy document of October, which have not been questioned. And of course it is not just the fulfilling of these criteria, but how they will be applied in daily life. We hope that something like this happens in the near future. Now, the Copenhagen Summit will decide on the next stage of Turkey's candidacy.

On the Greek Presidency of 2003, Mr. Prodi stressed that it will be a rich, but at the same time, harsh presidency, and they have agreed with Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou on certain initiatives to be undertaken by the Greek Presidency.

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