Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-01-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

[02] THESSALONIKI IS IMPORTANT FOR THE UNITED STATES

[03] TEXT ON THE JEWISH HOLOCAUST READ IN SCHOOLS TODAY

[04] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[05] CEREMONY IN THESSALONIKI FOR THE JEWISH HOLOCAUST

[06] OPEN DIALOGUE ON ISSUES OF THE PRESS AT ZAPPION BUILDING

[07] AVRAMOPOULOS: TOURISM SHOULD BECOME THE MAIN LEVER FOR GREECE'S

[08] TOUGHER REGULATIONS FOR THE LAWS TO BE OBSERVED

[09] FIRE ON THE RION-ANTIRION BRIDGE

[01] HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

Events in memory of the 50,000 Jews of Thessaloniki, who perished in the Nazi extermination camps during WWII, are being held in Thessaloniki. Today is the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp and events are being held around the world with Auschwitz being the center of all in the presence of leaders from all over the world among them Hellenic Republic President Kostis Stephanopoulos.

In Thessaloniki the Jewish Community held an event this morning at the Holocaust Monument, while later in the evening another event will be held in the Music Megaron Building with main speakers German Foreign Minister Yoshka Fischer, Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Nikos Tsiartsionis, Central Jewish Council in Greece President Moses Konstantini and Jewish Community President David Saltiel.

The events will attend Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis, who will have a meeting tomorrow with his German counterpart, and main opposition Socialist Party leader Giorgos Papandreou, while the Israeli ambassador will bestow honorary titles on Greeks who saved the lives of Jews during WWII.

[02] THESSALONIKI IS IMPORTANT FOR THE UNITED STATES

Thessaloniki and northern Greece are very important for the United States underlined US ambassador to Athens Charles Ries in the first meeting he had today with Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Nikos Tsiartsionis stressing that he intends to visit the city often.

Mr. Ries stated that it is an important region for the United States due to its geographic position given the fact that it is close to the rest SE Europe. He added that Mr. Tsiartsionis explained to him the reasons for which the city is important for the region's prosperity and progress adding that he wanted to visit the city as soon as possible.

He said that Thessaloniki is in the Greek Macedonia and concerning Turkey's provocation in the Aegean he commented that the United States encourage Greece and Turkey to cooperate.

[03] TEXT ON THE JEWISH HOLOCAUST READ IN SCHOOLS TODAY

A four-page text on the annihilation of Jews by the Nazis was read today in schools across Greece.

It is the first time this happened after the unanimous decision by the Greek Parliament to declare January 27th a National Memorial Day for the Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust.

The text was sent with an Education Ministry document and was read to the students during prayer time.

[04] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.78% at 2941.43 points, while the volume of transactions was slightly higher compared to yesterday at 222,5 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 192 had gains and 122 had losses, while the value of 107 stocks remained unchanged.

[05] CEREMONY IN THESSALONIKI FOR THE JEWISH HOLOCAUST

The Jewish Holocaust does not concern only the Jews, it is a global symbol against any form of totalitarianism and fascism, underlined both the visiting Israeli Minister of Transportation and David Saltiel, the President of Thessaloniki's Jewish Community during a ceremony held at noon today at the Holocaust Monument in memory of the 50,000 Jews of Thessaloniki killed in Nazi concentration camps.

They expressed regret because there are a few who question the existence of the Holocaust and make ignorant of history and unacceptable allegations while the Israeli Minister of Transportation condemned the voices of anti-Semitism in Europe.

Their speeches referred to the extermination of a total of 6 million Jews in Europe and praised Greece's stance by saying that it was a ray of light because it resisted fascism and many Greeks in Thessaloniki and other cities gave refuge to their Jewish fellow-citizens to save them from the Nazi concentration camps. They also expressed satisfaction because the Greek Parliament has declared January 27th a National Memorial Day for the Greek Jewish Martyrs.

German ambassador Dr. Albert Spiegel said that he represents the country responsible for the Jewish Holocaust and stressed that the crimes and the victims should not be forgotten, while he characterized as frightening and inconceivable the numbers of the Jews who were exterminated and bowed with respect and deep regret to the memory of the dead.

US ambassador Charles Ries reminded that two Jews who served in the US consulate in Thessaloniki were taken to concentration camps and a consulate hall was named after the one who never came back.

Spanish ambassador Juan Ramon Martinez Salazar underlined that terrorism is being used by those who want to impose the model of authoritarianism.

Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Valinakis, who represented Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis, stated that the Holocaust Memorial Day is a very important day for everybody. The peoples who have no memory have no future. Therefore, we should remember to stop similar inhumane barbaric actions of the past from ever being repeated again in the future, said Mr. Valinakis.

France's consul general referred to the initiatives undertaken by his country for the Holocaust to be remembered while World Council for Greeks Abroad, SAE, President Andrew Athens said that the Holocaust must be taught in schools for the younger generations to know about it.

[06] OPEN DIALOGUE ON ISSUES OF THE PRESS AT ZAPPION BUILDING

An open dialogue on issues of the press took place at Zappion Building in Athens today and focused on the positions occupied by journalists in the public sector.

The dialogue was held at the initiative of Minister of State and government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos with the participation of representatives of political parties and journalists' associations.

Opening his speech, Mr. Rousopoulos raised five questions, among them, the issue of journalists occupying more than one position in the public sector, the contract work agreements, the levels of fees received, the vocational incompatibility, maintaining that the government's goal is not to engage in a witch-hunt.

Mr. Rousopoulos stated regarding the lists with the names of journalists working in the public sector in 2003 that he will send them to the journalists' associations as soon as such a request is made, while by April 5th he will forward the 2004 list.

During today's open dialogue at Zappion Building, it was decided that the Minister of State and the representatives of political parties and journalists' associations will hold a closed dialogue to reach specific decisions on the issue.

On the secret funds, Mr. Rousopoulos stated that in the 10 months he is in charge of the Press General Secretariat he has nothing to accuse anyone of, while he expressed the view that a journalist should not hold more than one position in the public sector.

[07] AVRAMOPOULOS: TOURISM SHOULD BECOME THE MAIN LEVER FOR GREECE'S DEVELOPMENT

Minister of Tourism Dimitris Avramopoulos and deputy minister Anastasios Liaskos briefed Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis on the actions undertaken to upgrade the quality of tourism in Greece and attract more tourists to the country.

In statements he made after the meeting, Mr. Avramopoulos stressed that a lot is being expected from tourism reminding that the strategic goal of the Ministry of Tourism will be met within the framework of a ten-year plan, clarifying that the goal is to make tourism the main lever for Greece's development.

On his part, Mr. Liaskos pointed out, among others, that bureaucratic procedures are being simplified expressing the certainty that the tourism scene in Greece in the next few years will be different, more upgraded and quality oriented.

[08] TOUGHER REGULATIONS FOR THE LAWS TO BE OBSERVED

Justice Minister Anastasis Papaligouras, who visited Supreme Court to be briefed on the investigation underway concerning an illegal ring made up of court judges, announced the enactment of stricter regulations against bribery.

We need respectable servants of the law for the law to be respected, stated Mr. Papaligouras.

A total of four judges will be brought before the Supreme Court plenary session to face the likelihood of being removed from their posts, while investigations are targeting other six.

Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece will ask for changes in the ecclesiastical law on the occasion of claims concerning favorable treatment of Archimandrite Iakovos Giosakis by court judges.

Meanwhile, judges and prosecutors participated in a two-hour work stoppage today to promote economic demands.

[09] FIRE ON THE RION-ANTIRION BRIDGE

Rion-Antirion commuters use ferryboats after the fire that broke out at a Rion-Antirion bridge pylon.

According to information, the fire was a result of a short circuit caused by a lightning that struck the bridge earlier today.

Fire Department vehicles have arrived on the spot while bridge technicians are trying to restore the failure. However, it is still unknown when traffic will return on the bridge.

Earlier, ferryboats were not allowed to leave port due to the bad weather in the region.

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