Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-04-28
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, April 28, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] WOMAN KILLED DURING TERRORIST ATTACK IN ATHENS LAST NIGHT
[02] STUDENT BODY ELECTIONS HELD AT GREEK UNIVERSITIES TODAY
[03] MPA PARTICIPATES IN HERMES TRADE EXPO NEXT WEEK IN NEW YORK
[04] YUGOSLAV DELEGATION TO MEET WITH N. GREECE BUSINESSMEN
[05] ECONOMIC CONFERENCE HELD ON "DAY AFTER" KOSOVO CONLFICT
[06] SECI TO BE SIGNED TODAY IN ATHENS BY ELEVEN MEMBER-STATES
[07] BALKAN FRIENDSHIP CENTERTO BE FOUNDED IN EVROS
[08] MR. REPPAS COMMENTED ON THE DEMIREL STATEMENTS
[09] MR. REPPAS' COMMENTS ON THE TERRORIST ATTACK ON AN ATHENS
HOTEL
[10] REPPAS: LOCAL AUTHORITIES DO NOT HAVE THE COMPETENCE TO
EXERCISE FOREIGN POLICY
[11] SIMITIS: GREECE INSISTS IN A POLITICAL SOLUTION FOR KOSOVO
[12] LACK OF INTEREST IN THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT ELECTIONS
[13] MR. PAPANDREOU'S STATEMENTS MADE ON HIS WAY TO MOSCOW
[14] ANTI-WAR RALLY AND A BLOCKADE OF THESSALONIKI'S PORT ARE
SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] MORE CIVILIANS KILLED FROM NATO RAIDS IN YUGOSLAVIA
[16] GREEK FM IN MOSCOW TO MEET WITH RUSSIAN COUNTERPART
[17] NATO MIGHT STOP THE RAIDS IF SERB TROOPS LEAVE FROM KOSOVO
[18] SECURITY COUNCIL TROUBLED OVER HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
[19] SERB PARTY OF RENEWAL SAYS: NO NATO TROOPS IN YUGOSLAVIA
[20] TWENTY BODIES EXTRICATED SO FAR FROM RUBBLE IN SURDULICA
[21] 400 KILLED, 4,000 INJURED SO FAR BY NATO'S RAIDS IN
YUGOSLAVIA
[22] RUSSIAN FM OPTIMISTIC: KOSOVO WAR WILL END BEFORE SUMMER
[23] A MEMBER OF THE YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT REFERRED TO THE
LIKELIHOOD TO PUT AN END TO THE CRISIS
[24] THE BOSNIAN SERBS ASK THAT THE BOSNIAN AIRSPACE SHOULD NOT BE
USED BY NATO
[25] BALKAN ECOLOGICAL ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR THE END OF THE WAR
[26] NATO WANTS TO DESTROY THE WORK OF 50 YEARS, STRESSED A
YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL TO MPA
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] WOMAN KILLED DURING TERRORIST ATTACK IN ATHENS LAST NIGHT
The terrorist organization "Revolutionary Nuclei" has claimed
responsibility for last night's explosion at the lobby of the
"Intercontinental Hotel" in Athens, occurring shortly before
midnight, which killed a 39-year-old woman and injured a 28-year-
old man.
Both victims were employed by a computer company, installing
facilities in light of today's "Economist" conference to be held
at that hotel.
The terrorists issued a declaration wherein they claim that
the deadly attack is aimed against the United States, NATO and the
new order of things.
The same organization also claimed responsibility for an
additional eight explosions, starting from October 1996.
Government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas has condemned the
attack.
[02] STUDENT BODY ELECTIONS HELD AT GREEK UNIVERSITIES TODAY
Student body elections are being held at the Greek university
campuses today, including the technical education colleges. The
ballots will close at sundown and the primary results are expected
to be announced shortly after 10 p.m. tonight.
The National Council of Youth has announced that the
elections should constitute the starting point for the
reorganization of the student body movement throughout the
country.
[03] MPA PARTICIPATES IN HERMES TRADE EXPO NEXT WEEK IN NEW YORK
The Macedonian Press Agency is to participate at the 7th
Annual Business Development Trade Show and Exhibition in the
United States (Hermes Expo International 1999) , to be held on May
7-8 at the New York Hilton.
The event is expected to give the opportunity to Greeks
living on both sides of the Atlantic to consolidate their
communication channels.
This marks the first the MPA has the opportunity to take part
in such an organized show, which will illustrate the agency's
multifaceted activities in the media sector, and especially its
singular commitment to the Greek community abroad.
This year's event will also feature the participation of
ventures from Albania, Romania and other Balkan countries.
Greece's Undersecretary of Sports Andreas Fouras will
inaugurate the event and has expressed the hope that the
participation of the General Secretariat of Sports and
representatives of the Greek business sector will contribute to
the further advancement of Greek products and services in the
U.S., as well as to the promotion of Greece's sports
infrastructure, especially in light of the Athens-held Olympic
Games of 2004.
The Archbishop of America Spyridon will also attend the
inauguration ceremony.
Greek businesses interested in serving the needs of the Greek
American community and establishing an initial strong foothold in
the massive American market, the exhibition is certainly worth
attending as a number of joint-venture seminars will be held,
which can provide fertile ground for such investments.
[04] YUGOSLAV DELEGATION TO MEET WITH N. GREECE BUSINESSMEN
A delegation from the Economic Chamber of Yugoslavia is to be
in Thessaloniki next Wednesday for a meeting with businessmen from
northern Greece, in order to review the damages suffered by the
sector from the conflict in Kosovo.
Among the subjects to be discussed will be the difficulties
faced by Greek manufacturers and businessmen who are active in
Yugoslavia.
The participants will brief one another on the consequences
of the war, not only borne on the Greek businesses active in the
neighboring country, but in Northern Greece's tourism industry and
exporting - transporting ventures.
[05] ECONOMIC CONFERENCE HELD ON "DAY AFTER" KOSOVO CONLFICT
The consequences borne on the Greek economy by the war in
Kosovo, are to be addressed in an economic conference next week,
hosted by the National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos
Papantoniou and which will feature the participation of forty-
nine representatives from the country's banking and business
sectors.
The participants will discuss the impact of the military
operations in Yugoslavia and the plans for economic restructuring
of the region after the crisis.
Among those invited to the meeting are National Bank of
Greece, Commercial Bank of Greece, Alpha Credit Bank, EFG
Eurobank, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, Bank of
Piraeus, Thrace Paperworks, Delta Dairy, Asprofos, Medical Center,
Intracom, the Federation of Greek Industries and chambers of
commerce and industry.
[06] SECI TO BE SIGNED TODAY IN ATHENS BY ELEVEN MEMBER-STATES
The South-East European Cooperative Initiative (SECI), aiming
to facilitate trade and transport in the region, is to be signed
in Athens today by the Transportation Ministers of the 11 member-
states.
The SECI members are Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria,
FYROM, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and
Moldavia.
SECI's primary goal is to lay the groundwork for expanded
economic cooperation among the S.E. European states, while the
Greek government will aim to take a leading role as a factor of
peace, stability and development in the Balkans.
[07] BALKAN FRIENDSHIP CENTERTO BE FOUNDED IN EVROS
A Cultural Center of Balkan Peoples Friendship is to be
founded at the city of Petrota, in Evros, following a meeting held
yesterday in Bulgaria's city of Lioubimets between the Greek and
Bulgarian task groups.
The mayor of Trigono Ioannis Grammenides led the Greek
delegation, whose talks with the Bulgarians concerned the course
of parallel action and the organization of joint events in August.
[08] MR. REPPAS COMMENTED ON THE DEMIREL STATEMENTS
Turkey does not respect the UN decisions and moves on the
line set by "Attilas" when a people that had lived together in
Cyprus was divided by force, stressed Greek government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas, commenting on the statements made by Turkish
president Suleiman Demirel.
Mr. Reppas said that Cyprus' interest as well as the interest
of the people living in the island is a solution within the
framework of the UN decisions adding, however, that Mr. Demirel
does not want the solution of the Cyprus problem.
[09] MR. REPPAS' COMMENTS ON THE TERRORIST ATTACK ON AN ATHENS
HOTEL
The police authorities were not aware of the presence of the
woman, who was killed and the man, who was injured by the bomb
blast in the Intercontinental Hotel in Athens last night, stated
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, responding to a
question by the reporters on why the hotel was not completely
evacuated by the police.
Mr. Reppas condemned the terrorist attack, expressed regret
for the victims and accused the perpetrators of targeting the
existing institutions and the social development. He also
condemned the action of unidentified bombers, who placed an
explosive device in the car of journalist Giorgos Tragas,
publisher of the Athens newspaper "Vradini".
[10] REPPAS: LOCAL AUTHORITIES DO NOT HAVE THE COMPETENCE TO
EXERCISE FOREIGN POLICY
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas condemned the
action of the local authorities in the city of Chania in the
southern Aegean island of Crete to characterize US ambassador
Nicholas Burns as a "persona non grata".
He stated that the local authorities do not have the
competence to exercise foreign policy and added that the diplomats
must have all the guarantees for their safe movement and the
unhindered exercise of their duties. He said that the Greek people
have nothing against the American people.
[11] SIMITIS: GREECE INSISTS IN A POLITICAL SOLUTION FOR KOSOVO
Prime minister Kostas Simitis speaking in the parliamentary
group of the socialist governing party of PASOK expressed Greece's
firm position for a political solution in Kosovo. He reiterated
that Greece will not take part in military operations in
Yugoslavia and pointed out that until now the bombings did not
avert the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo but in addition they created
big waves of refugees.
Mr. Simitis stated that Greece's participation in NATO is a
necessity and accused the right-wing main opposition party of New
Democracy of populism and hypocricy while he suggested to the
Greek people to continue the effort for economic achievements. He
appeared optimistic that PASOK will be the first party in the Euro-
elections and will be the winner in the parliamentary elections of
the year 2000, while he condemned the terrorist attack on the
Intercontinental Hotel in Athens last night.
[12] LACK OF INTEREST IN THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT ELECTIONS
The lack of interest among the voters and the small
participation in the procedure observed until noon today are the
main characteristics of this year's student elections.
The polls opened at 8 am today and will close at sundown. The
first results will be out around 10pm tonight. The final results
will be made public tomorrow.
Efforts are being made for the results to be out with the
approval of all the student parties and avoid the practice
observed in the previous years when each student party was giving
its own results.
[13] MR. PAPANDREOU'S STATEMENTS MADE ON HIS WAY TO MOSCOW
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou, in statements he
made to the BBC radio service just before his departure for
Moscow, stressed the initiatives that can be undertaken to help in
the efforts made in order to persuade Yugoslav president Slobodan
Milosevic accept the terms that have been set aimed at a solution
to the crisis and the implementation of the peace agreement.
The Greek minister, responding to a relevant question, stated
that NATO is not preparing to send ground forces to Kosovo, while
he pointed out that there are certain significant points that
allow for optimistic predictions regarding the solution of the
crisis. He said that the NATO summit in Washington made it clear
that the solution that will be accepted will not provide for a
change of borders. He said that Belgrade should not think that the
NATO operation is targeting the country's territorial integrity,
adding that now there is serious talk over the likelihood of the
deployment of an international force under the auspices of the
United Nations.
[14] ANTI-WAR RALLY AND A BLOCKADE OF THESSALONIKI'S PORT ARE
SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY
The port of Thessaloniki will be blockaded on Friday and
Saturday by the people in a mobilization that is organized by the
Initiative Against the War Committee, while an anti-war rally will
be held tomorrow afternoon organized by teachers' unions.
The main demand that will be presented during the blockade of
Thessaloniki's port is to be allowed, in cooperation with the
Coast Guard authorities, the search of the humanitarian aid
containers transported to refugee camps via the port which,
according to the committee, also bring toxic military material.
Meanwhile, it was made known that teachers from Thessaloniki
will go to Yugoslavia in early next month to participate in a
human chain formed around institutes of education in order to
protect them from the NATO bombings.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] MORE CIVILIANS KILLED FROM NATO RAIDS IN YUGOSLAVIA
More civilians were killed last night during NATO aircraft
raids in a densely-inhabited region of the city Surdulica.
According to reports, dozens were killed and a great number
of others, mostly women and children, were injured during the
strike. Belgrade was also subject to bombardment during the early
morning hours.
Gen. Wesley Clark, the supreme NATO commander in Europe, has
announced that the air raids against Yugoslavia will intensify.
Meanwhile, Greece's Foreign Minster George Papandreou and the
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan are traveling to
Moscow today.
[16] GREEK FM IN MOSCOW TO MEET WITH RUSSIAN COUNTERPART
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou departed for
Moscow today where he will conduct a working visit at the
invitation of his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov.
Mr. Papandreou will discuss the latest developments in
Kosovo with Mr. Ivanov, vice-premier Valentina Matvienko and the
Russian president's special envoy on a Yugoslavia settlement
Viktor Chernomyrdin.
Tomorrow, Mr. Papandreou will have talks on the Kosovo
situation with the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan who will be
in the Russian capital at that time. Mr. Papandreou will depart
for Tbilisi on Friday where he will participate in a meeting of
foreign ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation where
Greece will hold the rotating presidency as of May 1, 1999.
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas noted on Tuesday
that the Greek government maintains an open communications channel
with Moscow "to concert efforts, aimed at a search for a political
settlement of the Yugoslav crisis".
Mr. Papandreou's visit to Moscow at a time when Mr. Annan
will be there, is "a lucky coincidence" which will enable the
Greek and Russian governments to make efforts together with the
United Nations to settle the Kosovo crisis politically, the
spokesman emphasized.
[17] NATO MIGHT STOP THE RAIDS IF SERB TROOPS LEAVE FROM KOSOVO
NATO might consider suspending its bombing of Yugoslavia
while Belgrade is withdrawing its troops from Kosovo, the US State
Department spokesperson James Rubin said Tuesday.
"When authentic information about the withdrawal of the Serb
forces arrives than a pause in conducting bombardments might be
considered," the US spokesman said.
Mr. Rubin underlined that the NATO alliance reserves the
right to resume air strikes in full scale if the suspension of
bombardments do not result in full withdrawal of troops from
Kosovo.
[18] SECURITY COUNCIL TROUBLED OVER HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
The U.N. Security Council has expressed its deep concern in
view of the worsening humanitarian situation in Yugoslavia, Alain
Dejammet, this month's Council President, stated yesterday after
the close of the Council's closed-door consultations.
At the same time, the Council members came out in support of
the activities of humanitarian organizations in Kosovo and
adjacent areas, and welcomed, in particular, the latest efforts
and initiatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross,
Mr. Dejammet pointed out.
[19] SERB PARTY OF RENEWAL SAYS: NO NATO TROOPS IN YUGOSLAVIA
The Serb party of renewal agrees to a political settlement of
the Kosovo problem, but not to the deployment of NATO forces in
Yugoslavia's territory as a result of such a settlement, Milan
Bozic, one of the leaders of the Serb Party of Renewal, member of
parliament, stated.
According to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass, Mr. Bozic
stated that "there will certainly be a need for foreign
presence in some form as the final stage of settlement, but we
cannot put up with the deployment of NATO troops in Yugoslav
territory. "
He expressed consent to Russian servicemen participating in
foreign troops that may be deployed in Yugoslavia and believes
that such forces must be under the United Nations aegis.
Mr. Bozic, representing the party led by Vuk Draskovic, said
that there is now complete unity regarding the Kosovo crisis among
Yugoslav political parties and movements.
[20] TWENTY BODIES EXTRICATED SO FAR FROM RUBBLE IN SURDULICA
Twenty bodies of civilians were extricated from under the
debris of dwelling houses, blasted by 11 bombs dropped by NATO
aircraft on the city of Surdulica yesterday.
According to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass, there were
women and children among the dead, while another 20 people were
placed at the city hospital with severe injuries.
[21] 400 KILLED, 4,000 INJURED SO FAR BY NATO'S RAIDS IN
YUGOSLAVIA
Over 400 civilians have been killed and another 4,000 were
injured since the start of NATO's raids against Yugoslavia and as
of yesterday, according to the Serb Minister of Health Leposava
Milicevic.
Ms. Milicevic pointed out that the number of civilian
casualties cannot be exact as, in many cases, body identification
is nearly impossible.
The NATO raids, according to the Minister, have also borne
their toll on the general public's health and psychological state
of being, as, in Belgrade alone, cardiac arrests have increased by
seven percent.
Yugoslav hospitals have underwent extensive damages from the
bombings, in addition to medical supplies, water and electricity
shortages.
[22] RUSSIAN FM OPTIMISTIC: KOSOVO WAR WILL END BEFORE SUMMER
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov predicted that a UN-
monitored peace pact between NATO and Yugoslavia would soon put an
end to NATO's air raids, a Spanish newspaper reported Wednesday.
"I am sure that there will be a process of pacification
before the summer,"
Mr. Ivanov told the Spanish daily El Mundo.
He further stated that he doesn't believe NATO will attack
Russian ships transporting oil to Yugoslavia, as such act would
bar severe consequences, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass
reported.
Mr. Ivanov stated that Russia was opposed to an embargo on
oil deliveries to Yugoslavia, saying this would be "illegal, since
sanctions against a sovereign country can only be imposed with the
approval of the UN Security Council."
[23] A MEMBER OF THE YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT REFERRED TO THE
LIKELIHOOD TO PUT AN END TO THE CRISIS
Another member of the Yugoslav government referred to the
likelihood to put an end to the crisis in Yugoslavia, according to
The New York Times.
Yugoslav government official Goran Matic stated that in the
following days there could be a formula for an agreement. He also
clarified that no one can sign an agreement for the occupation of
the Serb territory.
Meanwhile, Yugoslav army barracks in three Belgrade suburbs
were bombed in the early morning hours of today by NATO aircraft,
according to the radio station "Studio B".
[24] THE BOSNIAN SERBS ASK THAT THE BOSNIAN AIRSPACE SHOULD NOT BE
USED BY NATO
The implementation of measures to avert the use of the
Bosnian airspace by NATO aircraft was requested by the parliament
of the Serb Republic of Bosnia, pointing out that it is imperative
that peace in the region is safeguarded. The request was made to
international community representative Carlos Westentorp and to
the SFOR commander.
According to a decision by the parliament of the Serb
Republic of Bosnia, officials of the General Army Staff will be
deployed in different parts of Bosnia to act as observers and in
cooperation with the SFOR will collect information over the
possible use of the Bosnian airspace by NATO aircraft for
offensive activities against Yugoslavia.
[25] BALKAN ECOLOGICAL ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR THE END OF THE WAR
Twenty three ecological organizations from Greece, Bulgaria,
Albania, Yugoslavia and FYROM with a joint declaration call for
the immediate end of the war and warn of the huge humanitarian and
ecological disaster taking place in the Balkans and its long-term
effects on the whole of Europe.
In the declaration, part of which was heard on the state
radio station in Skopje, it is stressed that as citizens and
residents of the countries in the region the members of those
organizations are against the ethnic cleansing operations and the
bombings and want the immediate end of the war in the Balkans,
adding that there are other ways to solve the problems in the
Balkans instead of the use of force.
[26] NATO WANTS TO DESTROY THE WORK OF 50 YEARS, STRESSED A
YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL TO MPA
The NATO bombings are aimed at destroying everything that was
built and achieved by the Yugoslav society and economy in the past
50 years, stated Federal Republic of Yugoslavia foreign relations
committee chairman Ljubisa Ristic, responding to a question made
by MPA.
Behind the NATO bombing, said Mr. Ristic, is hidden the
opposition to the development of the country, as well as disputes
with Russia over issues concerning raw material and energy.
x-------------------
|
