Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-03-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] A WEEK BEFORE THE BALLOTS

[02] QUAKE WITH NO DAMAGES

[03] FRUITLESS SEARCHES

[04] ARIS WINS BASKETBALL CUP

[05] THE "BALKAN STAR" CAPTAIN WILL APPEAR BEFORE THE PROSECUTOR

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[07] TSOVOLAS CENTRAL SPEECH IN ATHENS

[08] SIMITIS: ND'S THOUGHTLESSNESS IS A GREAT DANGER

[09] KARAMANLIS: I AM READY TO GOVERN

[10] KARAMANLIS: "NO TO EXTORTIONATE DILEMMAS"

[11] GREEK-AMERICAN LOBBY AGAINST PRESSURE

[01] A WEEK BEFORE THE BALLOTS

The major parties entered the final week of the pre-election period with major rallies. The dilemmas of the elections have been raised by PASOK President Giorgos Papandreou and Prime Minister Costas Simitis on behalf of their party and President of New Democracy Costas Karamanlis said no to extortionate dilemmas and polarization. Both parties are optimistic that they will win the Sunday elections. The major rally of the KKE will be held in Thessaloniki today, with Secretary General of the party Aleka Papariga as the speaker. If Mr. Vretzos does not do what he has to, he has no place on our ballots, announced PASOK regarding their candidate MP in Heraclion, Crete.

[02] QUAKE WITH NO DAMAGES

Memories of 1986 awakened in the early morning hours in Kalamata, where a 5.5 R earthquake hit at 02:35. There was material damage to many buildings, with balconies collapsing and walls cracking, but no injuries have been reported. Residents exited their houses and spent the following hours on the streets, concerned about aftershocks or a greater earthquake to follow. There was serious damaged done to the Sparta-Kalamata road. Seismologists characterized post-seismic conditions as stable, and placed the epicenter of the earthquake in the same area as that of the 1986 quake.

[03] FRUITLESS SEARCHES

Searches being carried out by US crews for the location of 18 seamen, among whom 3 Greeks, off the coast of Virginia, have moved into their second day yielding no result. The seamen were aboard the Greek interest Bow Mariner tanker, which sunk in the US, and hopes of survivors being found are continually decreasing. The three missing Greek sailors are 52-year-old captain Stratos Kavouras from Chio, 42-year-old first mate Spyros Melles and 47-year-old Mechanic I, Legantis Athanasiou.

[04] ARIS WINS BASKETBALL CUP

Aris conquered its 8th basketball Cup yesterday, after beating Olympiakos 73-70 in the Chalkiopoulio stadium in Lamia, in a final game not without incidents, as the game was interrupted for about two hours when Olympiakos fans threw flares onto the court. The game was picked up from minute 27 and with a score of 44-51 in favor of Olympiakos. A thrilling game was in store for the fans, with the two teams neck and neck up until the end, and Aris finally taking the Cup.

[05] THE "BALKAN STAR" CAPTAIN WILL APPEAR BEFORE THE PROSECUTOR

The captain of the cargo ship Balkan Star will be led before the prosecutor in the Aegean island of Siros today. Three undeclared rockets were found in the ship under a St. Vincent and The Grenadines flag.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Merchant Marine, the Algerian Defense Ministry appears as the sender of the cargo and the receiver is a Ukrainian state-run company.

The ship was en route to Ukraine when it sailed into the port of Siros coming from Algeria with a ten-member crew all from Ukraine.

An investigation on the affair is underway by the Siros island Coastguard.

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Small losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.22% at 2446.16 points, while the volume of transactions was at 153.9 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 145 had gains and 158 had losses, while the value of 87 stocks remained unchanged.

[07] TSOVOLAS CENTRAL SPEECH IN ATHENS

Today, at 19:30 President of DIKKI Dimitris Tsovolas will hold his central speech in Athens, at the Egaleo Gym, on Plastira and Adrianoupoleos st.

Tomorrow, Mr. Tsovolas will visit the Nikea General Hospital at 12:30 and on Wednesday he will visit the Elefsina shipyard at 11:00, where he will speak with the workers. On the afternoon of the same day he will tour Achaia.

[08] SIMITIS: ND'S THOUGHTLESSNESS IS A GREAT DANGER

The dilemma of the March 7 elections was raised by Prime Minister Costas Simitis in an article in the Ethnos newspaper, where he underlined: All us Greeks are being called to answer this question: Will we continue to build on what we have achieved, the stable economy, the high growth rate, the foreign policy that has secured credit for Greece, so that we may change for the better? Or will we choose a party which refuses everything we have achieved and which promises to change it without telling us how?

He accused ND of not proposing a policy of its own and keeping a continuously negative stance. ND did not see, did not hear, did not realize. It spoke of a transvestite economy, when Greece was on its way to the EMU. On national issues it was a supporter of the hard line, non dialogue. Now it has changed lines, seeing the success of government policy. Those responsible for ND are not responsible towards the policies they support. They are hotheaded, sketchy, they have no comprehension, judgment or an ability to see ahead. This relentless hotheadedness resulted in their changing three Ministers of National Finance in three years during the 1990-1993 period and lead Greece to a recession. This is the great danger. ND's hotheadedness. It's lack of a plan. A policy concealing another policy. It's constant contradiction. And that is why it will result in, if ND is called to govern, obstacles in Greece's course towards growth and social cohesion. So what will ND do if it wins the elections? What it did in 1990-1993. Tests. Continual changes in policies and individuals. Laying the blame at previous governments. Scandal mongering. And above all division tactics, social confrontations. The economy will slip from stability into a state of crisis, which will require a long time to get over.

[09] KARAMANLIS: I AM READY TO GOVERN

His certainty of New Democracy's victory in the March 7 elections was expressed by ND President, who also stated that he was ready to govern, as he knows all of Greece's problems and how to deal with them.

In an interview to Antenna TV, he responded to criticism concerning ultra-right elements in ND and said the he moves outside and beyond the extremes and extremeness. He insisted on moderate politics and referred to ND as a party of the Center. If they win the elections, he pointed out that he would also utilize individuals that do not belong to ND's area, as long as they meet the conditions of honesty, capability, a disposition to work and contribute, and of course an agreement on a political course.

Mr. Karamanlis was saddened by the attacks carried out against him by President of PASOK Giorgos Papandreou and stressed: I am sad, because inside my I prayed and I hoped that with Mr. Papanreou's election the political atmosphere of political confrontations and dialogue would change. He is a personality with a sense of decorum, of a different generation. And suddenly, over the last few days, I have seen a deviancy and political terminology that reminds me of the 60s and 70s. We could answer with similar arguments. But does that interest citizens?

Regarding families with many children, he underlined that all benefits will be given on a scale and gradually.

In reference to his position on corruption, he was categorical: I do not make alliances. I do not believe it is worth it. If that's the way to become Prime Minister let the day never come. It is not the end of the world, he said, adding that after 7 years of not giving in, he would not compromise now.

[10] KARAMANLIS: "NO TO EXTORTIONATE DILEMMAS"

New Democracy's victory in the elections this Sunday was foretold by ND President Costas Karamanlis, in his speech last night at his party's large rally attended by thousands of friends and supporters, at Aristotelous Square in Thessaloniki. A rally which, as Mr. Karamanlis stated, is the largest ever held in the city, while in the most part of his speech he launched a harsh attack against PASOK, accusing it of having become the establishment and that it is making efforts to divide and polarize the people, and of using extortionate dilemmas and recipes from the past.

[11] GREEK-AMERICAN LOBBY AGAINST PRESSURE

A new warning towards the Bush government that if it continues pressuring Nicosia and denies significant amendments to the Annan plan, it will be responsible for the negotiations' failure, was addressed on Wednesday by the leading officials of the Greek-American lobby. According to the Greek abroad newspaper GreekNews, lobby officials had a telephone communication with alternate Secretary of State Mark Grossman, who tried to reassure them.

The Greeks abroad were especially austere regarding issues touching on European acquis, while they stressed that the Annan proposal was only accepted as a platform for negotiations, and not as a final agreement. The discussion was quite heated, and diaspora officials stated that President Bush's position will negatively affect the support of the Greek-American community in the November elections.

I do not know what Mr. De Soto or Mr. Weston say, and they are not going to point out to me how the negotiations will be carried out, stressed President of the Cypriot Republic Tassos Papadopoulos.

In responses to journalist questions upon leaving the Presidential Mansion for the 6th meeting in the framework of the negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus issue and in regard to statements that negotiations are entering the most important week, President Papadopoulos mentioned that all days are crucial and all issues are important.

Regarding the reassurance of State Department Special Coordinator on the Cyprus issue Mr. Thomas Weston, that the US and the international community will approach the issue of the cost of the solution generously, he said that generosity is a matter of degree.

Let them calculate the cost and give us an indication as to what percentage of that cost will be covered by their generous contribution, said Mr. Papadopoulos.

When asked to comment on Mr. Weston's statement, that the side that says no to the referendum will have the serious cost, he said let the people judge.

When asked if the US diplomat is a bit hasty, the President of the Cypriot Republic replied that he would meet with Mr. Weston this afternoon and hear what he has to say.

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