Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-12-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] POLICE HAS LAUNCHED A MASSIVE MANHUNT TO APPREHEND THE TWO FUGITIVES

[02] ARCHBISHOP LASHES OUT AT "ENEMIES OF NATION" AT NEW YEAR CAKE CUTTING

[03] PRESIDENT ISSUES PARDON FOR ALL ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL

[04] MINISTERS, MP'S VISIT CENTRAL MARKET IN THESSALONIKI

[05] PM AND INTERIOR MINISTER DISCUSS REVISION ON CONSTITUTION

[06] TWO POLICEMEN KILLED AS INMATES BEING TRANSFERRED FROM IOANNINA ESCAPE

[07] ROUSSOPOULOS SAYS CONTRACT WORKERS AT STATE-RUN ERT WILL BE MADE

[01] POLICE HAS LAUNCHED A MASSIVE MANHUNT TO APPREHEND THE TWO FUGITIVES

Two policemen were killed on Friday while escorting three inmates, all foreign nationals, from a police lock-up in Ioannina to a prison in Volos during an escape by two of the prisoners in their care. A third man, one of the three prisoners, was also injured by gunfire.

Police say they are now hunting for Russian national Maxim Zhilim, 23, who is wanted for murder and 17-year-old Albanian Ilmi Dada that assisted him in his escape. The third prisoner, also an underage Albanian, did not participate in the attack and was found wounded inside the transport van when police arrived. The two underage Albanians were being held for drug-related offences.

A massive manhunt that was launched to apprehend the two fugitives has so far failed to find any trace of them, police said.

The two officers, one driver and a guard, were killed at around 11:00 in the morning at Malakasi in Kalambaka, when they made an unscheduled stop while in transit toward the juvenile prisons in Volos, where the two Albanians were to be incarcerated and Zhilin picked up by another transport van bound for the adult prisons in Larissa.

According to sources, the Russian and one of the Albanians had asked to be let off in order to relieve themselves. The Russian asked the guard to remove the handcuffs he was wearing and, when the guard complied, he assaulted and grabbed the guard's weapon, shooting him in the head.

With the assistance of the second Albanian, who was still in handcuffs, they then managed to overpower the driver, whom they also shot and killed before fleeing.The three prisoners were being escorted by just two officers from the Ioannina Prisoners Transfer department.

When the escape was discovered, the bodies of the slain policemen were first taken to Kalambaka Health Centre at 12:20, where doctors pronounced them dead on arrival, and then taken to Trikala Hospital.

A massive operation has been launched to find the two men throughout the surrounding region, with the participation of police, border guards. A C-130 military transport plane has departed from Athens, meanwhile, carrying special forces men and police commandos in cars to take part in the manhunt.

At the public order ministry, Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis and police chief George Aggelakos have been coordinating and monitoring efforts to apprehend the two fugitives since the escape was first discovered.

Zhilin was convicted for the murder of a 42-year-old woman on October 2 in Corfu, whom he robbed and killed after she had picked him up with her car when she saw him hitch-hiking by the side of the road.

[02] ARCHBISHOP LASHES OUT AT "ENEMIES OF NATION" AT NEW YEAR CAKE CUTTING

Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece on Friday lashed out at "forces seeking the devastation of the nation and the country" during a ceremony for the cutting of the traditional New Year cake at the Archepiscopate.

In an attack on those seeking further separation of Church and State, Christodoulos called for resistance to efforts to "de-Christianise" Greece.

[03] PRESIDENT ISSUES PARDON FOR ALL ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL

President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias on Friday issued a general pardon for all members of the armed forces that have outstanding disciplinary penalties, effective from December 31 for all punishments issued up to that date.

[04] MINISTERS, MP'S VISIT CENTRAL MARKET IN THESSALONIKI

Deputy Development Minister George Salagoudis and Deputy Sports Minister George Orfanos visited the central market in Thessaloniki on Friday, accompanied by several ruling New Democracy MPs in order to inspect the market and talk to local shop owners.

Salagoudis reported finding a relatively sanguine climate and said that intensified market inspections had paid off, ensuring that the market was free of the 'sins' of the past, such as overcharging or the sale of foods unfit for consumption.

Orfanos said that consumers appeared satisfied and that there was a smooth flow of products on the market. Regarding persistent high prices, he said these were related more to high prices in the past and problems that needed more time to be ironed out.

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) MPs that also visited the market on Friday, however, had markedly different views and noted several problems.

According to MP Angelos Tzekis, the "virtual reality" being promoted by ND's government today and PASOK governments in the past was not fooling the people.

"The reality is different and the people's indignation is a fact," he said.

[05] PM AND INTERIOR MINISTER DISCUSS REVISION ON CONSTITUTION

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Friday met Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos to discuss a planned revision of the Constitution and related procedural issues.

Pavlopoulos said that details on the procedure to be followed and the specific articles of the Constitution that were to be revised would be made public as soon as the government's deliberations were completed.

[06] TWO POLICEMEN KILLED AS INMATES BEING TRANSFERRED FROM IOANNINA ESCAPE

Two policemen were killed and one was injured on Friday as three foreign inmates escaped while being transferred from Ioannina to prisons in Volos and Larissa.

An armoured police coach set off Thursday morning, carrying three inmates -- two Albanian nationals and one Russian national -- from the police lock-up unit in Ioannina for Volos and Larissa prisons. As the vehicle was approaching Malakasi, in Trikala, one of the inmates requested from the police escort to stop for a "nature call", but as the police officer unlocked the inmate's handcuffs, the latter grabbed the officer's service revolver and shot him, then immediately open fire on the other two police escorts.

According to early information, a second inmate rushed to the first inmate's assistance when the incident commenced, while the third inmate remained neutral.

Two of the three police officers escorting the inmates were killed, while the third was seriously injured. All three were stationed in Larissa.

A manhunt has been launched throughout the prefecture, comprising a strong police contingent and border guards, to locate the three escaped inmates, while police have also set up roadblocks along the Ioannina-Trikala national highway.

[07] ROUSSOPOULOS SAYS CONTRACT WORKERS AT STATE-RUN ERT WILL BE MADE PERMANENT

Minister of State and Government Spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos in a statement on Thursday evening said that contract workers at state-run Greek Radio and Television (ERT) would be made permanent.

According to a Ministry of State press release, Roussopoulos said:"Yet another committment by the government is being implented. With the 1,498 contract workers being made permanent, and in implementation of Presidential Decree 164/2004, of Internal Affairs, Public Administration and Decentralisation Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the years long hardship of employees (journalists, technicians and administrative staff) which covered and are covering the needs of ERT S.A. has come to an end. Through this decision an important step is being made in the direction of upgrading the role of state-run radio and television in our country."

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