Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 03-12-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] 16 GUILTY, 3 INNOCENT

[02] BALKAN NEWS AGENCIES ON THE INTERNET TOGETHER

[03] BAD WEATHER WITHOUT TROUBLE

[04] BETTER DAYS WITH TURKEY IN THE EU

[05] FOUR NOT GUILTY

[06] VICTORY, EVEN BY A HAIR'S BREADTH

[07] CONDEMNING TERRORISM

[08] K. KARAMANLIS IN BRUSSELS

[01] 16 GUILTY, 3 INNOCENT

The acquittal of Ag. Sotiropoulou, An. Papanastasiou, and G. Serifis, and the dropping of charges against Th. Psaradelis due to the statute of limitations was decided on by the Three Member Criminal Appeal's Court, which convicted the remaining 16 defendants for participation in the 17 November terrorist organization. Al. Giotopoulos was seen as the leader, mitigating conditions due to sincere remorse for Th. Serifis, P. Tselentis, S. Condylis, and K. Telios. The DA will propose sentences on Wednesday.

[02] BALKAN NEWS AGENCIES ON THE INTERNET TOGETHER

A joint appearance on the Internet will be made next month by all state news agencies of Southeastern Europe, which have also decided, during the General Assembly of the Association of Balkan News Agencies (ABNA) which was held in Thessaloniki, to open a front against terrorism and violence, wherever they may come from.

[03] BAD WEATHER WITHOUT TROUBLE

No problems have been caused by the winter weather phenomena that have been affecting a large part of the country since yesterday. Skid-chains are required for most of Greece's mountain-road network. All regional, prefecture and municipal services are on standby in order to deal with any problems that may arise from adverse weather conditions.

[04] BETTER DAYS WITH TURKEY IN THE EU

Two days after the negative statements of the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece Christodoulos on Turkey's accessional progress, Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos, from Myra in Lykia, placed himself in favor of Turkey's accessional course, stressing that with Greece's neighbor's accession to the European family, we will see better days, politically and ecclesiastically speaking.

[05] FOUR NOT GUILTY

The ruling on the 17 November suspect member trial was read this morning, beginning at 9am, in the Corydallos Penitentiary, by the President of the Court Michalis Margaritis.

Giannis Serifis, Anestis Papanastasiou, Theologos Psaradelis and Aggeliki Sotiropoulou have been found innocent of all charges due to lack of evidence, while Alexandros Giotopoulos, Dimitris Koufontinas and Savvas Xeros were found guilty of all acts.

So far, Alexandros Giotopoulos seems to the considered the instigator of all the crimes.

In his short statement to the press, Alexandros Giotopoulos supported that the ruling is backed by foreign interests, and he characteristically mentioned: Simiti's present day Greece is a modern US colony. In the long run, all the blood drenched struggles for national independence were sold out. All the parties are responsible, the people long for something new, different, that cannot be controlled by major capital.

Dimitris Koufontinas on the other hand, supported that he is not interested in the ruling of the court, but he is interested in the verdict of the people, and of history.

Christodoulos Xeros stated that this ruling could have been made in March and that it did not require 9 months of preliminary hearing. He also supported that this is the decision the Americans would want and he added that he is not interested in mitigating factors.

Alexandros Giotopoulous, Dimitris Koufontinas, Savvas Xeros, Christodoulos Xeros, and Iraklis Costaris are facing heavy terms of life imprisonment. A sentense of 5 to 10 years is expected to be ruled on in the case of Nikos Papanastasiou and Pavlos Serifis.

[06] VICTORY, EVEN BY A HAIR'S BREADTH

PASOK's victory in the elections, even if only by a hair's breadth was foreseen by Minister of National Defense Giannos Papantoniou. In the Minister's interview to the Sunday Eleftherotypia newspaper, he insisted that despite the great difference prognostics point to PASOK, and undecided voters will consolidate around us as we draw nearer to the elections, while he added that the party needs its present leader regardless of the electoral result.

[07] CONDEMNING TERRORISM

The ruling of the court in the case of the 19 defendants accused of participating in the 17 November terrorist organization, will be announced today. The proposal of the DA on the sentencing will take place on Wednesday, while the defense attorneys will then address the court. More arrests of peripheral members of the organizations were announced by Minister of Public Order G. Floridis. The procedure was flawless stated Minister of Justice Ph. Petsalnikos.

[08] K. KARAMANLIS IN BRUSSELS

President of New Democracy Costas Karamanlis is departing for Brussels at 19:00 tonight, in order to participate in the works of the European People's Party.

In the framework of his visit, Mr. Karamanlis will meet with Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino tomorrow at 09:00.

The President of New Democracy will be accompanied by the Secretary of International Relations and the European Union, Professor Valinakis, and New Democracy Press Spokesperson Thodoris Roussopoulos.

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