Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-02-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] INVESTIGATION AND DENIALS

[02] BIG DROP IN THE ARCHBISHOP'S POPULARITY

[03] STATE-CHURCH COOPERATION FRAMEWORK

[04] THE "MACEDONIAN METRO" PROJECT IN THESSALONIKI

[05] ANTONAROS: THE GOV'T EXPECTS THE CHURCH CLEANUP

[06] THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TO ASK FOR CLARIFICATIONS BY KOFI ANNAN

[01] INVESTIGATION AND DENIALS

Head Athens prosecutor Dimitris Papangelopoulos ordered an urgent preliminary investigation on the Apostolos Vavilis case, while the government denied there is evidence that he was a secret service agent.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Erineos of Jerusalem with a statement made by the Patriarchate's lawyer Alexis Kougias denied any relation with Apostolos Vavilis, while opposition PASOK Socialist Party parliament deputy and former Prime Minister Kostas Simitis' adviser in 1996-2000 Soula Merentiti clarified that Vavilis is her distant cousin and has no contact with him.

The Ministry of Public Order announced that Vavilis participated as a representative of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in an inter-religious meeting in Assisi, Italy organized by the Vatican.

According to information published on the Greek-American daily Ethnikos Kirix, Archimandrite Giosakis who is currently detained accused of illegal trade of antiquities in the island of Kythera, wanted to build a jacusi in a Chicago church.

[02] BIG DROP IN THE ARCHBISHOP'S POPULARITY

Big drop is recorded in the popularity of Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece according to an opinion poll conducted by the VPRC polling company on behalf of Athens radio station Sky on February 7 and 9 on a sample of 1,000 people.

According to the opinion poll results, 47% of the people asked have a negative opinion about the Archbishop compared to 43% who have a positive view. Before May 2004, Archbishop Christodoulos' popularity was at 68%.

The politicians are regarded as most corrupt by 70% of the people, while 69% express satisfaction for the election of the new Hellenic Republic President compared to 16% expressing discontent.

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has the highest popularity rate at 70% followed by Giorgos Papandreou 55%, Alekos Alavanos 41%, Aleka Papariga 39% and Giorgos Karatzaferis 33%.

[03] STATE-CHURCH COOPERATION FRAMEWORK

The government will not open a dialogue on the State-Church separation changing the status in the State-Church relations, stated in Parliament Education Minister Marieta Giannakou responding to a question by Coalition President Alekos Alavanos.

Mrs. Giannakou added that the State should stop using the Church to serve its political beliefs, while she called on the Church to stop meddling in State affairs and boost its spiritual role in cooperation with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Mrs. Giannakou also stressed that corruption phenomena could be observed even if the Church was totally separated from the State.

[04] THE "MACEDONIAN METRO" PROJECT IN THESSALONIKI

The joint ventures interested in constructing the Thessaloniki subway will make their final offers by April 15 and a contractor will be selected by July 2005, while by September the materialization of the project will get underway, announced Minister of Environment, Land Planning and Public Works Giorgos Souflias. The "Macedonian Metro" got its name after a proposal by Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Nikos Tsiartsionis.

The government minister stressed that the Thessaloniki metro will be the largest public work ever built in Greece and assured that it will be financed by EU funds. The project's budget is over 1,5 billion euros and initially a total of 9,6 kilometers will be constructed with 13 stations that will be given to commuters in the next 6 years.

Meanwhile, the contractor of the underwater tunnel at Thessaloniki's Thermaikos Bay will be announced by the end of April and the project will get underway after the ratification of the contract by the Parliament in July. The project's budget is at 450 million euros and will be completed in a period of 48 months, according to Mr. Souflias.

Mr. Souflias also stated that the contractor to undertake the extension of Thessaloniki's "Macedonia Airport" runway will be announced in March after examining all offers made. The project's budget will be at 250 million euros.

On the "Egnatia Odos" national motorway, Mr. Souflias expressed satisfaction regarding the course for the project's materialization and stressed that the entire project will be ready for use by the year 2008.

[05] ANTONAROS: THE GOV'T EXPECTS THE CHURCH CLEANUP

The Greek Orthodox Church is an institution with deep roots in Greece. It is deep in the hearts of all the Greek Orthodox people, stressed acting government spokesman Vangelis Antonaros in the press briefing today.

Mr. Antonaros stated that the government expects from the Church to make bold steps toward its reform.

Responding to the question if Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece enjoys the Prime Minister's confidence, Mr. Antonaros stated that the Archbishop is the head of the Church of Greece.

[06] THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TO ASK FOR CLARIFICATIONS BY KOFI ANNAN

The statement made by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the Greek Cypriot side should submit written proposals for changes on the Annan Plan is not objective, commented Cypriot Republic President Tassos Papadopoulos adding that he will ask for clarifications on whether Mr. Annan intends to undertake an initiative on the Cyprus issue and particularly, if he accepts the principle for essential changes on his plan.

Mr. Papadopoulos, asked to comment on yesterday's statement by Mr. Annan in London, stated that it is not objective on one hand, to refer to the statements and declarations made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and on the other, to ask only the Greek Cypriot side to submit written proposals.

President Papadopoulos added that the second issue that needs to be addressed is the purpose of submitting the proposals, what Mr. Annan intends to do afterwards and what kind of initiatives he intends to undertake, stressing that an end should be put to the arbitration syndrome and enter meaningful talks.

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