Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-04-16
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, April 16, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREECE TAKES INITIATIVES FOR PEACE IN THE BALKANS
[02] PM BRIEFS PRESIDENT ON LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA
[03] GREECE'S CULTURE MINISTER DEPARTS FOR UNITED STATES TODAY
[04] UNDESECRETARY OF ECONOMY TRAVELS TO SKOPJE ON MONDAY
[05] OLYMPIC GAMES OF 2004 TO BRING OVER SIX MILLION TOURISTS
[06] COMPREHENSIVE GREEK PROPOSAL FOR THE SOLUTION OF THE CRISIS
IN YUGOSLAVIA
[07] JOINT DECLARATION BY THE MUNICIPALITIES OF TRIGONO AND
SVILEGRAD AGAINST THE MILITARY INTERVENTION IN ALBANIA
[08] NIOTIS IS VISITING TIRANA - A GREEK FOREIGN MINISTRY ADVISER
IS IN BELGRADE
[09] STEPHANOPOULOS-SIMITIS MEETING
[10] KOSTAS KARAMANLIS VISITED MUNICIPALITIES IN THESSALONIKI
[11] THE EUROPEAN INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF ORTHODOXY
EXPRESSES ABHORRENCE OVER THE BOMBINGS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] RAIDS CONTINUE, FOURTH WEEK OF WAR UNDER WAY
[13] CLINTON PLEDGES PRIORITY TO IMPROVING G/T RELATIONS
[14] NATO ADMITS IT ERRED, BUT SAYS ITS MILOSEVIC'S FAULT
[15] GREEK PREMIER MEETS WITH BULGARIAN COUNTERPART IN SOFIA
[16] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS ANTI-SERBIA RESOLUTION
[17] HARVARD HOLDS EVENT ON LITERARY INSPIRATION FROM GREECE
[18] COHEN: "RAIDS COULD CONTINUE FOR MANY WEEKS, EVEN MONTHS"
[19] BELGRADE WOULD ACCEPT OBSERVERS, BUT ONLY NON-NATO
[20] COALITION PARTY LEADER APPEALS FOR AN END TO THE WAR
[21] MILUDINOVIC MET WITH RUGOVA
[22] THE GREEK POSITIONS ON PEACE IN THE BALKANS WERE PRESENTED BY
G. PAPANDREOU IN THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE
[23] THE US PENTAGON WILL CALL 33.000 ARMY RESERVES
[24] THE BBC WILL HELP REFUGEE FAMILY MEMBERS TO REUNITE
[25] THE RUSSIAN DUMA APPROVED THE ACCESSION OF YUGOSLAVIA INTO
THE UNION OF RUSSIA WITH BELARUS
[26] TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS ARE CLOSE TO BELGRADE
[27] KOMNENIC: NATO CONTAMINATES THE YUGOSLAV CROP WITH CHEMICAL
SUBSTANCES
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREECE TAKES INITIATIVES FOR PEACE IN THE BALKANS
Senior foreign ministry officials from Balkan countries will
be in Athens on Monday in order to discuss the content of a
proposal for Balkan security to be presented at the forthcoming
NATO summit in the United States.
The proposal is an Athens initiative and is expected to be a
joint communique on general principles for stability, peace and
the prosperity of Balkan countries. Officials from Yugoslavia have
been invited to attend the informal meeting but have not yet
replied as to whether they will.
[02] PM BRIEFS PRESIDENT ON LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA
The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
met with the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis this morning, for an
overview of the latest developments in Yugoslavia.
Mr. Simitis stated that the Cabinet will review a Greek plan
which is designed to motivate Europe into displaying a greater
degree of mobility concening the Yugoslav crisis.
The Premier also briefed the President on the European
Union's informal Summit, held on Wednesday, and stated that,
through mutual effort and understanding, there is room to
discover a solution.
Furthermore, Mr. Simitis stressed that Greece intends to
request a peace initiative from both the EU and NATO, suggesting
plans of action for managing the crisis.
[03] GREECE'S CULTURE MINISTER DEPARTS FOR UNITED STATES TODAY
Greece's Minister of Culture Elizabeth Papazoi is departing
for the United States today where she will attend the opening of
the Greek wing at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, which will
be inaugurated by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.
Ms. Papazoi will be the guest speaker at Harvard's lecture on
"The values of Greek culture and their influence in the 21st
century" which is held within the framework of the "The Spirit of
Greece Inspires" event.
On Sunday, the Culture Minister will attend an event held at
the Museum of Cycladic Art in New York and will depart for
Lauzanne, Switzerland, on Wednesday where she will visit the
headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and will be
received by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.
[04] UNDESECRETARY OF ECONOMY TRAVELS TO SKOPJE ON MONDAY
Greece's Undersecretary of National Economy Alexandros Baltas
is to travel to Skopje on Monday, where he and a delegation of
Greek entrepreneurs will examine the prospects of purchasing FYROM
ventures on preferential terms.
FYROM's market remains an attractive field for Greek
investors, with
indirect Greek ventures amounting to $70 million having already
been established or being in the works.
[05] OLYMPIC GAMES OF 2004 TO BRING OVER SIX MILLION TOURISTS
Over six million foreign tourists are expected to visit
Greece by the year 2011, enticed by the country's extensive
promotion through the Olympic Games of 2004, to be held in Athens.
According to a study conducted on behalf of the Institute of
Tourism Research and Forecasts, Greek tourism will reap the
benefits of the Games for at least seven years to follow.
Moreover, the study, to be officially presented next Tuesday
in Athens, foresees that approximately 24,000 foreigners will
visit Attica prior to the Games, with their number swelling to
87,000 during the course of the Olympics, not including an
estimated 60,000 who are expected to visit the country independent
of the Games, but motivated by the extensive campaign abroad.
[06] COMPREHENSIVE GREEK PROPOSAL FOR THE SOLUTION OF THE CRISIS
IN YUGOSLAVIA
Prime minister Kostas Simitis presented a comprehensive Greek
proposal for the solution of the crisis in Yugoslavia and the
stabilization of the Balkans. The measures included in the
proposal aim at the political solution of the crisis as soon as
possible, the stabilization of the Balkans and their incorporation
into the European architecture as well as the solution of the
humanitarian problems that are the result of the crisis in
Kossovo.
The prime minister stressed that Greece will be engaged in an
intense diplomatic activity within the framework of NATO and the
European Union and also at wider level. He stressed the need for a
diplomatic solution given the fact that the Milosevic regime has
been strengthened instead of becoming weaker, as sought by the
NATO forces. He also said that FYROM and Albania have suffered
heavy economic consequences and they are faced with the risk of
political destabilization. As far as Greece is concerned, tourism
can suffer considerably during the summer, while there is a risk
for difficulties in the exports from northern Greece if the crisis
continues.
On the basic principles that have to be respected, Mr.
Simitis referred to the framework of the talks in Rambouillet and
specifically, to the respect of the inviolability of the borders,
the protection of minority rights and the need for a peaceful
solution to the conflicts as well as, the cooperation for
democracy and development.
Mr. Simitis reiterated that the Greek government will not be
involved in the war in Yugoslavia but he made it clear that it
will send the Greek armed forces wherever it believes it is right.
On the executive decree signed by US president Bill Clinton
that defines Yugoslavia, Albania, the Adriatic and the northern
Ionian Sea as war zones, Mr. Simitis said that this decree does
concern Greece, stressing that it does not concern the Greek armed
forces and the movement of the Greek citizens.
[07] JOINT DECLARATION BY THE MUNICIPALITIES OF TRIGONO AND
SVILEGRAD AGAINST THE MILITARY INTERVENTION IN ALBANIA
The mayor and the city council of the municipality of Trigono
in Greece and the president and the city council of Svilegrad in
Bulgaria signed a joint declaration at the Greek-Bulgarian borders
condemning the military intervention of the NATO and US forces in
Yugoslavia.
In the joint declaration the two municipalities demand the
immediate end of the bombings and express their opposition to the
hypocricy displayed by the allies when they invoke the protection
of human rights to justify their intervention in Yugoslavia, while
human rights are being violated daily in Cyprus, Kurdistan and
other regions of the world.
The joint declaration also calls on all the countries taking
part in the military operations to stop the bombings and start
peace negotiations.
[08] NIOTIS IS VISITING TIRANA - A GREEK FOREIGN MINISTRY ADVISER
IS IN BELGRADE
Greek foreign ministry special adviser Alexandros Rontos is
in Belgrade at the orders of the Greek foreign minister. The goal
of his trip is to prepare the ground for the Greek humanitarian
aid to Kossovo.
Meanwhile, deputy foreign minister Grigoris Niotis is in
Tirana since this morning heading a government delegation. Mr.
Niotis will visit refugee camps to witness the conditions under
which the refugees live and offer them assistance.
[09] STEPHANOPOULOS-SIMITIS MEETING
Prime minister Kostas Simitis briefed president Kostis
Stephanopoulos on the current developments and mainly on the
crisis in Yugoslavia.
Mr. Simitis stated that a Greek plan will be discussed
through which the Greek government hopes to exert pressures on
Europe for more mobility toward the solution of the Yugoslav
crisis. The plan, according to information, aims at bringing peace
immediately to the region through political means and also
provides for the solution of the refugee problem.
The prime minister stated that this is a very difficult
period and this became evident in the recent summit meeting.
However, he added that with joint effort and understanding there
will be grounds for a solution. Mr. Simitis stressed that Greece
will call for a peace initiative by the European Union and NATO.
President Stephanopoulos stated, while welcoming the prime
minister to the presidential building, that it is clear that
everyone in Greece supports a political solution but wondered if
there is still hope for such a solution.
[10] KOSTAS KARAMANLIS VISITED MUNICIPALITIES IN THESSALONIKI
Right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy leader
Kostas Karamanlis visited municipalities in Thessaloniki today
within the framework of the second day of his tour of northern
Greece.
Today's programme includes visits to the municipalities of
Stavros, Nea Apollonia, Zagliveri, Gerakarou, Panorama, Sikies,
Ampelokipi and Menemeni, while he is scheduled to speak in an open
air rally in Koufalia this afternoon. Later in the evening, he
will be go to Kilkis and tomorrow he will tour the prefecture.
Tomorrow evening, he will speak in a open air rally in the city of
Serres.
[11] THE EUROPEAN INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF ORTHODOXY
EXPRESSES ABHORRENCE OVER THE BOMBINGS
The European Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy
expresses abhorrence and concern for the war in Yugoslavia and
underlines that the continuation of the NATO military operations,
apart from their immediate dramatic consequences, they can also
cause the destabilization of the region and they can bring the
Balkans back to the state of the "powder-keg of Europe".
The national assemblies, mainly of the NATO countries and the
rest of the world, are being called to demand from the state
governments to undertake decisive action for the immediate end of
the bombings and the rest military actions and promote the peace
process.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] RAIDS CONTINUE, FOURTH WEEK OF WAR UNDER WAY
NATO aircraft continued to pound key structures throughout
Yugoslavia, targeting oil refineries in Pancevo, Novisaad,
Subotica and Podgorica, Montenegro's capital city.
According to the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug, Allied
missiles struck a shelter for Bosnian and Croat refugees, with no
victims being reported.
United States President Bill Clinton said that the Alliance
will continue its raids on Yugoslavia. In an emergency
supplemental spending request submitted to Congress, Mr. Clinton
asked for an additional $5.9 billion for the air strikes.
[13] CLINTON PLEDGES PRIORITY TO IMPROVING G/T RELATIONS
United States President Bill Clinton has pledged to make the
improvement of Greek-Turkish relations a priority of his
Administration's tasks.
Speaking before the American Society of Newspaper Editors in
San Francisco, President Clinton conceded that relations between
the two neighboring countries did not improve during his six years
in office, nevertheless, neither did they worsen, he pointed out.
[14] NATO ADMITS IT ERRED, BUT SAYS ITS MILOSEVIC'S FAULT
NATO has expressed regret for Wednesday's "accidental" attack
on a convoy of refugees near Djakovica, where an allied aircraft
dropped a bomb on civilian vehicles, killing 75 persons and
wounding another 25.
The Alliance said the NATO pilots involved in the attack
mistakenly thought they were targeting a military convoy. In
spite of the regret, the allied forces are determined to press on
with the attacks, as NATO spokesman Jamie Shea stressed. British
Prime Minister Tony Blair said ultimate responsibility for the
attack lay with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, because his
campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against Kosovo's Albanians had
precipitated the attack.
"Of course we regret these things deeply when they happen.
But that should not make us flinch from placing responsibility for
this conflict squarely on the shoulders of ... Milosevic," he
said.
[15] GREEK PREMIER MEETS WITH BULGARIAN COUNTERPART IN SOFIA
Greece's Prime Minister Kostas Simitis met with his Bulgarian
counterpart Ivan Kostov in Sofia yesterday, where both leaders
agreed on the need to intensify initiatives concerning the Kosovo
crisis.
"We believe there must be initiatives to achieve peace as
soon as possible. In this context, we hail the involvement or the
decision for a more active presence of the UN in facing the
problem," Mr. Simitis said.
Mr. Kostov stated that both Greece and Bulgaria are in favor
of a speedy, peaceful and just resolution of the crisis,
"considering that a scenario of a prolonged crisis without a
peaceful solution will not only cause huge economic losses, but
also social and political destabilization of another kind."
Messrs. Kostov and Simitis called for an immediate end to the
NATO bombings of Yugoslavia and the convening of a conference of
Balkan countries, including Yugoslavia, under the European Union's
auspices.
[16] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS ANTI-SERBIA RESOLUTION
The European Parliament has adopted a draft resolution
denouncing Serbia and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
The resolution calls on President Milosevic to withdraw
Yugoslav troops from Kosovo, allow the return of refugees to
Kosovo, agree to the deployment of an international force in the
region and create the conditions that would lead to a political
resolution of the crisis.
The draft bill was voted by 313 MPs, with 78 voting against, and
29 abstaining.
Concurrently, the Parliament declared that NATO's raids on
Yugoslavia are "unavoidable", characterizing Belgrade's policy as
"criminal".
[17] HARVARD HOLDS EVENT ON LITERARY INSPIRATION FROM GREECE
The tradition of Hellenism, as espoused by Lord
Byron, Henry Miller and
James Merrill, among others, will be the focus of an international
conference
scheduled to take place at Harvard University between April 16-17.
Titled "The Spirit of Greece Inspires," the
conference is aimed at promoting
Greece as a country which inspires foreign writers.
Divided into two sections, its first day deals with
the relation between writers and mythical Greece, while the second
day focuses on the relationship between
journalists with the Greece of reality.
A number of renowned authors will recite excerpts from their
works, illustrating the inspiration they have derived from Greece,
among them Italy's Dario FO and Franca Rarne, Barry Unsworth from
the United Kingdom, and Edmund Keeley, Patricia Stotace, Olga
Broumas, Jeffrey Eurenides from the United States.
The event is organized by Harvard University's Seferis
Faculty, the Socrates
Kokkalis program at Harvard's John F. Kennedy College and the
literary magazines Harvard Review (Cambridge) and Mondo Greco
(Boston).
Sponsors include the Culture Ministry of Greece and
the Socrates Kokkalis Foundation.
[18] COHEN: "RAIDS COULD CONTINUE FOR MANY WEEKS, EVEN MONTHS"
U.S. Secretary of State William Cohen has stated that
NATO's raids against Yugoslavia could very well continue until the
summer, speaking at the Senate's Armed Services Committee.
Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
denied that the deployment of ground troops is eminent but, when
asked if the raids could continue for "many, many, many weeks or
even months," both he and Mr. Cohen, responded "yes."
"This is not going to be quick or easy or neat," the
Secretary of Defense said.
[19] BELGRADE WOULD ACCEPT OBSERVERS, BUT ONLY NON-NATO
Belgrade is willing to discuss the possibility of political
observes in Kosovo, on the condition that the force would not
comprise members from countries participating in the raids against
Yugoslavia, according to the spokesperson of the Yugoslav Foreign
Ministry, Neboisa Vujovic.
Mr. Vujovic stressed that Yugoslavia is utterly opposed to
the assignment of a Kosovo mission similar to OSCE's verification
force, which, he stated, "escaped Kosovo in order to pave the road
for NATO's air raids."
[20] COALITION PARTY LEADER APPEALS FOR AN END TO THE WAR
The leader of Greece's Coalition of the Left and Progress
party, Nikos Konstantopoulos, who is presently on a visit to
Skopje, warned of the perils borne by the war in Yugoslavia as it
endangers stability in the Balkans.
Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency, Mr. Konstantopoulos
stated that "Yugoslavia is at the brink of dissolution and
disaster, with all the other Balkan countries being in the
destabilization plan.
"This catastrophic war must end now. Each day that passes and
as the war rages on, the invasion plan is expanded and
intensified," Mr. Konstantopoulos said, warning of the risks
involved to the Balkan region's stability.
He blasted the European Union, saying that the Community is
turning against its own self.
"The European Union is essentially conducting a war against
itself, a war against Europe... because it does not have a common
foreign policy, it lacks the will to develop an autonomous
political role and is content with playing the role of satellite
to the United States."
Referring to the refugees, whom he had the opportunity to
visit, the Coalition leader described their horrendous condition
as a disgrace to humanity.
Prior to returning to Thessaloniki tonight, Mr.
Konstantopoulos will be received by the President of FYROM Kiro
Gligorov, Premier Georgievski, Foreign Minister Dimitrov and
political party leaders.
[21] MILUDINOVIC MET WITH RUGOVA
Serb president Milan Miludinovic met with Kosovo ethnic
Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova. Also present in the meeting was
Yugoslav vice-president Nicholas Sainovic.
Russian officials believe that NATO escalates its air strikes
in order to destroy the Serb military and make the likely risks of
a ground operation more acceptable by the north Atlantic alliance.
At the same time, US president Bill Clinton asked from
Congress to approve an additional sum of 6 billion US dollars for
the attacks against Yugoslavia.
[22] THE GREEK POSITIONS ON PEACE IN THE BALKANS WERE PRESENTED BY
G. PAPANDREOU IN THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE
The Greek strategy on peace in the Balkans was presented by
foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou in the 3rd Euro-Mediterranean
Conference that was held in Stuttgart with the participation of
the foreign ministers of the EU and their twelve counterparts from
the Mediterranean, the Middle East and north Africa.
Mr. Papandreou referred to the effort made by the Euro-
Mediterranean Conference to set the main principles on which the
cooperation of the region's countries will be based. Mr.
Papandreou stated that a framework of principles was formed which
is in agreement with the Greek position concerning the relations
between neighboring countries and added that it is a framework of
principles that contributes to the good neighborly relations.
Mr. Papandreou stated that among the principles underlined
were the peaceful solution of conflicts, the establishment of
confidence building measures, the respect toward the International
Court of Justice in The Hague, the exploitation of international
mechanisms, the observance of treaties and the respect of the
existing borders.
[23] THE US PENTAGON WILL CALL 33.000 ARMY RESERVES
The US Pentagon is ready to call on duty 33.000 army reserves
and members of the National Guard for the first time after the war
in Vietnam, according to the "New York Times".
Meanwhile, US president Bill Clinton will ask Congress to
approve the sum of 6 billion US dollars for the military
operations in Yugoslavia.
[24] THE BBC WILL HELP REFUGEE FAMILY MEMBERS TO REUNITE
A number of radio programs aimed at the reunification of
refugee family members, who were separated due to the situation in
Yugoslavia and sought shelter either in FYROM or in Albania, will
be broadcast by the BBC world service today.
The Albanian service of the BBC with the support of the
International Red Cross will create a "radio bridge" to help the
families that were separated. The BBC will broadcast in Tirana and
Skopje on the FM band.
[25] THE RUSSIAN DUMA APPROVED THE ACCESSION OF YUGOSLAVIA INTO
THE UNION OF RUSSIA WITH BELARUS
The Russian Duma approved today the draft resolution which
calls president Boris Yeltsin to sign the treaty for the accession
of Yugoslavia into the loose union of Russia with Belarus,
according to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.
The resolution calls on the Russian president and the
government to examine the economic, political, legal and
international issues that are associated with the accession
procedure of Yugoslavia into the Russia-Belarus union.
The accession treaty has to be signed by the presidents of
the two countries before it is submitted to the Duma for
ratification.
[26] TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS ARE CLOSE TO BELGRADE
There are two nuclear reactors in Yugoslavia and they are
located close to Belgrade, stated in a press conference Mr. Valeri
Meziyev chairman of the Russian Atomic Energy committee, who
pointed out that if the reactors remain isolated there will be no
risk for a radiation leak.
Mr. Meziyev pointed out that other three nuclear plants are
in operation in Slovenia, Hungary and Romania within a distance of
100-200 kilometers from the Yugoslav borders and expressed the
hope that the NATO pilots know exactly the location of the nuclear
reactors and plants in order to avoid a disaster.
[27] KOMNENIC: NATO CONTAMINATES THE YUGOSLAV CROP WITH CHEMICAL
SUBSTANCES
Yugoslav information minister Milan Komnenic launched an
attack against NATO maintaining that the allied aircraft
contaminate the cultivated land in Yugoslavia with chemical
substances.
In an interview with the Japanese newspaper "Mainitsi Sibun",
Mr. Komnenic stressed that NATO's goal is to destroy this year's
farm production in order to further weaken his country.
The Yugoslav government minister also pointed out that the
explosives used so far for the bombing of his country equal the
strength of four nuclear bombs.
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