Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 97-01-17

From: Macedonian Press Agency <[email protected]>

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Thessaloniki, January 17, 1997

NEWS IN ENGLISH

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NEWS IN DETAIL

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[01] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS IN ATHENS TODAY

The President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides was received by the President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos in Athens this morning and will meet with the Greek Prime Minister later today.

Messgrs. Clerides and Simitis will discuss Cyprus' purchase of the Russian-made surface-to-air S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, the United States' proposal for a flight moratorium over Cyprus, as well as the recent visits conducted by the U.S. official Carey Cavanaugh to Nicosia, Athens and Ankara.

Upon his arrival in Athens last night, President Clerides stated that the missiles will be deployed in Cyprus 16 months from now.

The President of the Cypriot Parliament Spyros Kyprianou has emphasized that the agreement to deploy the six S-300 missiles in Cyprus will be maintained. A.F.

[02] NO MORE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN GREECE

Greece's Education Ministry is on the verge of abolishing mandatory university admissions tests, the nerve-racking experience for the country's thousands of high-schoolers who have their eyes set on college.

A Cabinet session held yesterday dealt exclusively with school and academic issues and, afterwards, the Minister of Education Gerasimos Arsenis stated that there will be changes made in the student-selection process, as well as in the course of studies.

The state university deans have embraced these changes, stating that doing away with admissions tests would grant an equal opportunity to all and that they would put an end to the Greeks' "collegiate immigration" to universities of neighboring countries. A.F.

[03] PREMIER VOWS TO SUPPORT FARMERS, BUT WILL NOT SUCCUMB TO STRIKES

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis vowed to support the farmers and to press for changes necessary for agricultural growth, but warned that these measures are not to be drawn through the force of demagogic bidding, thus making an indirect reference to the agricultural unions who threaten to start blocking the roads again by January 28.

There are four fallacies concerning the farmers, according to the Premier, who speculated that perhaps these false impressions are created purposefully by "some" who want to avert the public's attention from the real and burning issues concerning the farmers.

The first fallacy, according to the Premier, is the debilitated and helpless farmer, the second is the farmer who milks away state funds with reckless consumption, the third is that nothing is ever done for agriculture and the fourth is the one created by the main opposition party -New Democracy- which has said that jobs in the agricultural sector will be reduced by 280,000.

The Premier emphasized that enabling the Greek farmer to stand on his own feet is at the heart of the State's national strategy. But, he added, in order to achieve this aim, the Greek economy must target for convergence with the European Union, upon which Greece's agriculture is greatly depended. A.F.

[04] LOCAL TRADE-INDUSTRY CHAMBER URGES STATE TO ACT FAST, BEFORE STRIKES

Officials at Thessaloniki's Trade and Industry Chamber urge the Government to act fast in light of the warning issued by the country's farmers who threaten to begin striking again on January 28.

In a letter addressed to the Premier, the Chamber points out that governments must not be subjected to mobilization blackmail which, the letter states, "go beyond the nature of a lawful demand process."

In all, the Chamber officials ask the Government to adopt the necessary measures and apply initiatives that will ensure the protection of public order and the smooth and vital operation of the country's economy. A.F.

[05] GREECE-FYROM TO HOLD NEW ROUND OF TALKS ON MONDAY IN NEW YORK

A new round of talks over the name issue pending between Greece and FYROM will be held in New York on Monday.

Greece's ambassador Christos Zacharakis will meet with his counterpart from FYROM Ivan Tosevski, in a meeting to be held under the auspice of UN mediator Cyrus Vance.

Diplomatic sources maintain that nothing new will emerge from this round, given FYROM's insistence on its "constitutional name." A.F.

[06] SEAMEN'S STRIKE TO CONTINUE FOR FOUR MORE DAYS, SHIPS REMAIN DOCKED

Greek ships will remain at port for four more days, after seamen renewed their decision to strike for improved benefits, while, further narrowing travel availability to-and-from the country, civil aviation workers will also conduct brief work stoppages and 24-hour strikes.

Greek ships will be docked at ports until early Tuesday morning. Aviation workers will conduct four-hour work stoppages today and Sunday, between 2-6 pm. Aircraft electricians plan 24- hour successive strikes for tomorrow, Sunday and Monday. A.F.

[07] PROPOSALS FOR THE DIPLOMATIC SUPPORT OF THE JOINT DEFENCE DOCTRINE

Concrete proposals for the diplomatic backing of the Joint Defence Doctrine and the decisions made within this framework, were discussed by Greek alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou and the Cypriot Parliament Defence Committee.

The Committee's President Takis Hatzidimitriou stated that in the meeting, held in the Greek Ministry of Defence with the participation of the Cypriot and the Greek ministers, were discussed all aspects of the military cooperation between the two countries characterizing the conclusions reached as good and encouraging.

In the meeting of the Cypriot and Greek Defence and Foreign Affairs Committees, mr.Hatzidimitriou agreed with the proposal made by Greek Committee President Karolos Papoulias for more frequent meetings aimed at the detailed discussion of defence issues and announced that the Greek committee's first visit has been scheduled to take place on March 25.

[08] CONCERTS IN THESSALONIKI FOR THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF BRAHMS' DEATH

A number of concerts for the 100th anniversary of the death of Johannes Brahms will be held by the Athens State Orchestra within the framework of the Cultural Capital of Europe events in Thessaloniki. The concerts will open on January 26 with the "German Requiem".

The concert will be directed by Viron Fidetzis with solists Julia Souglakou and Takis Hatziyiannopoulos. In the event will also appear the Bulgarian chorus "Svetoslav Obretenoff".

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

[09] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS TO DISCUSS CYPRUS' S-300 PURCHASE ON MONDAY

The Foreign Ministers of the European Union's member-states will discuss the matter of Cyprus' S-300 anti-aircraft missiles purchase from Russia, during a General Affairs Council to be held on Monday.

According to BBC, the EU's rotating presidency, currently held by the Netherlands, has opted to bring forth this issue in a package discussion which will include the Turkish reactions over the missiles purchase and the United States' intermediatory efforts.

Yesterday, the European Union's Dutch Permanent Representative ruled out the possibility of a common statement being issued by the "15" which would express dissatisfaction over Cyrpus' purchase.

Moreover, when asked by Euro-deputies over Cuprus' accession to the EU, Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van Mirlo responded that the Cyprus-EU Association Council has been scheduled for February 25. He stated also that while the EU's expansion is not expected to be delayed because of the Cyprus issue, "as long as the problem remains unsolved it will be hard to conduct a positive dialogue." A.F.

[10] CYPRUS AND RUSSIA LOOK FOR WAYS TO FURTHER DEVELOP THEIR COOPERATION

The Cypriot government looks for ways to further improve cooperation with Russia especially in the sectors of trade and tourism. This was the result of the meeting Cypriot Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Kiriakos Christofis had with Russian Ambassador to Cyprus Georgi Muratov.

The Russian diplomat expressed satisfaction over the stable development of bilateral relations in those sectors.

[11] ALLEGATIONS MADE BY DENKTASH OVER THE TRANSPORTATION OF S-300 MISSILE PARTS TO CYPRUS THROUGH SYRIA

Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in an interview to the Turkish-Cypriot radio station "Bayrak" alleged that the Cypriot Republic started moves for the transportation of certain parts of the Russian S-300 missiles to Cyprus through Syria, stressing that that those moves are closely watched by the Turkish-Cypriot side.

Denktash reiterated that Turkey has stated to the whole world what it intends to do in case the missiles arrive to the island and responding to a question made by a reporter he said that Turkey is a strong and determined country that does not joke. Denktash said that the Greek-Cypriots should not count on Greece, as Greece will not come at war with Turkey for the Greek-Cypriots adding that Greece uses the Greek-Cypriots to serve its interests.

According to the Turkish-Cypriot leader, the Turkish-Cypriot people should not worry over the missile crisis because it has the guarantee of Turkey which has a population of 65 million people. He also stressed that he does not believe that 1997 will be the year for the solution of the Cyprus problem. To the question if there can be a Dayton type solution to Cyprus he responded that something like that is not on the agenda adding that he does not believe that such a negotiation will be useful.

[12] KOZLODUI'S FIRST NUCLEAR REACTOR TESTED SAFE, SET IN OPERATION TODAY

The first nuclear reactor at Bulgaria's Kozlodui electric energy plant was set in operation today, following a year of inactivity, according to Germany's Siemens company, which also heads the EU-guided international committee in charge of researching the nuclear reactor's security.

After repeated testing performed on the reactor by Russian and Bulgarian atomic energy experts, joined by representatives from the U.S.'s Westinghouse, the 44-megawatt reactor was deemed fit and operable, at least up until the year 2004.

In the past, the EU's Committee on Atomic Research had halted the operation of Kozlodoui's reactor, insisting that Bulgaria look into alternative sources of energy.

For this, the EU earmarked MECU-10 in order to purchase lignite for Varna's thermoelectrical plant. So far, Bulgaria has received half of the promised amount. A.F.

[13] MONTENEGRO'S FOREIGN MINISTER KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT TODAY

Montenegro's Foreign Minister Yianko Yieknic was killed today in a car accident that occured on a state highway.

The 49-year-old official had served a lengthy term on the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry and two years ago he was bestowed the leadership of Montenegro's diplomatic corps.

Mr. Yienknic was dead on arrival. A female passenger in his car was transported in a critical condition to a hospital. A.F.

[14] TURKEY: DECEMBER'S TOLL OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BEARS GRIM FIGURES

According to the Turkey-based english language daily Turkish Daily News, the toll of human rights violations for the month of December alone has been published and is as follows: 78 persons were murdered. Their cases remain unsolved. 46 were attacked by unknown assailants. 190 persons were executed, without a trial, while in custody. 2,.859 persons were killed in armed conflict.

194 persons disappeared while in custody. 346 persons were tortured, or claimed to have been.

20,434 individuals were incarcerated and 421 of them are journalists. 2,071 persons were arrested without probable cause.

68 villages were evacuated. 109 sections of cities or townns were bombardized.

132 unions were closed down. 134 unions were subjected to investigation and questioning. 195 publications were confiscated. 140 conscientious objectors are currently incarcerated. A.F.

[15] CYPRUS: MEASURES AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

The Cypriot government announced measures against the illegal employment of foreigners and Interior Minister Dinos Michaelides revealed that the Cypriot authorities estimate that there are over 10.000 illegal workers on the island.

According to mr.Michaelides, since January 1st all those who employ illegal workers will be punished with up to 3 years imprisonment and will receive fines of up to 5.000 Cyprus pounds.

On the Greeks who work in Cyprus, mr.Michaelides said that all measures have been taken to facilitate them within the framework of the cooperation between Greece and Cyprus in this sector.

[16] TURKISH COURT SENTENCED UNDERAGED STUDENTS TO 12,5 YEARS IN PRISON

The State Security Court in the turkish city of Ismir sentenced to 12,5years in prison 5 of the 15 underaged students, who had been arrested last February in Manisa for writing slogans on walls. The accused had suffered brutal tortures while in police custody.

Other 5 students received prison sentences of 2,5 years to 3 years and 9 months, while the remaining 5 were acquitted. The young boys and girls, who were found guilty, were accused of participating in an outlawed leftist organization and of forming an illegal organization. The trial attended representatives of human rights organizations as well as, Turkish and foreign parliamentarians.

It should be noted that the police officers, who tortured those young students, are on trial and the prosecutor demanded prison terms of 70 years for each one of them.

[17] THE MOBILIZATIONS OF SLAV STUDENTS CONTINUE FOR A FOURTH DAY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SKOPJE

The mobilizations of Slav students continue for a fourth successive day in Skopje's Cyril and Methodius University. The students are against the passing of a draft law allowing the use of ethnic minority languages in the University's Department of Education classes. The continuation of their mobilizations will depend on the decision of the University's Deanery on the matter.

According to FYROM's state television, the students have expressed their discontent over the negative comments published in yesterday's morning papers. The students were angered especially by the article in the "Dnevnik" newspaper which accused them of having a "fascist attitude".

[18] THE TURKS PREPARE TO FINANCIALLY EXPLOIT THE CELEBRATIONS FOR THE 2.000 YEARS SINCE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

The Turks prepare to celebrate the 2.000 years since the birth of Christ not because they have converted to Christianity but because they want to exploit religious tourism for financial gains.

Kiamil Sumbasi, mayor of Selcuk (Ephesos), has already started a campaign with the slogans "Let's meet in the house of Virgin Mary in the year 2000", and "Jesus Christ, 2.000 years old". According to statements mr.Sumbasi made to the newspaper "Hurriyet", his municipality's goal is to attract to Selcuk, where the house of Virgin Mary is located, 250 million of the 2,5 billion Christians living around the world.

The mayor of Selcuk called for the support of the state and suggested that each Christian visiting the region should receive a "pilgrimage certificate". As he stated, Christianity may have been born in Jerusalem but was spread to Ephesos and for this reason Turkey should not lose the opportunity to invest in religious tourism taking advantage of this historical chance.

Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/