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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-07-29
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, July 29, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK-TURKISH TALKS RESUME
[02] THE FOUNDATION OF A CRISIS CENTRE IN SOUTHEASTERN
EUROPE WAS DISCUSSED
[03] GREECE RECOGNIZES ONLY THE EXISTENCE OF A MUSLIM
MINORITY
[04] PAPANDREOU: THE GREEK-TURKISH DIALOGUE HAS ANNOYED
CERTAIN PEOPLE
[05] THE INTER-BALKAN MEETING OF PRESS CORRESPONDENTS WILL
OPEN IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW
[06] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS WILL BE IN SARAJEVO TOMORROW
[07] VENIZELOS: THE GREEK PRODUCTS ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH
SAFETY AND QUALITY
[08] THE RUSSIAN TANK LANDING SHIP "AZOV" HAD MANY VISITORS
[09] THE MINORITIES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A VEHICLE LEADING
TO THE CHANGE OF THE BALKAN BORDERS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[10] TOMORROW THE SUMMIT IN SARAJEVO
[11] KOSOVO: 1.500 TOWNS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY THE BOMBINGS
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK-TURKISH TALKS RESUME
Greek and Turkish specialists' talks began today in
Athens on cooperation matters. The two sides will discuss
the subject of fighting crime, illegal immigration and
narcotics. The turkish side will raise matters of bilateral
agreement on battling terrorism.
Tomorrow, Foreign Ministers of the two countries,
Giorgos Papandreou and Ismael Cem are expected to assess the
results of their talks during their meeting in the sidelines
of the Balkan Stability Pact summit, in Sarajevo. Premier of
Turkey, Bulent Ecevit said the the greek-turkish dialogue is
a positive development.
[02] THE FOUNDATION OF A CRISIS CENTRE IN SOUTHEASTERN
EUROPE WAS DISCUSSED
Subjects that concern the foundation of a centre for
handling crises and the creation of an engineers unit, which
will be included in the multinational brigade of
southeastern Europe, were discussed yesterday in Athens at a
military specialists' level. In the conference that was
chaired by deputy chief of staff, vice admiral, Hristos
Kazasis, deputy chiefs of staff of Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM
and Slovenia took part, as well as representatives of USA,
Italy, Romania and Turkey.
[03] GREECE RECOGNIZES ONLY THE EXISTENCE OF A MUSLIM
MINORITY
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated today
that the position of the Greek government remains firm and
that Greece recognizes only the existence of a Muslim
minority.
Mr. Reppas also stated that the members of this
minority enjoy the same rights with every Greek citizen.
[04] PAPANDREOU: THE GREEK-TURKISH DIALOGUE HAS ANNOYED
CERTAIN PEOPLE
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou suggested
sobriety, seriousness, cleverness and patience on the
occasion of the opening of the second phase of the Greek-
Turkish dialogue at a specialists' level in Athens today.
Mr. Papandreou spoke of those who are annoyed by the Greek-
Turkish dialogue and confirmed that the Greek interest is
being promoted through this process.
The two sides will discuss ways in which organized
crime, illegal immigration and drug-trafficking can be
tackled, while the Turks is possible to raise the issue of a
bilateral agreement to counter terrorism.
The Greek foreign minister will meet in Sarajevo
tomorrow with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem, on the
sidelines of the Balkan Stability Pact summit meeting.
Turkish prime minister Bulent Ecevit characterized the
opening of the Greek-Turkish dialogue as a pleasant
development.
[05] THE INTER-BALKAN MEETING OF PRESS CORRESPONDENTS WILL
OPEN IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW
The Inter-Balkan meeting of the Association of Greek
Press Correspondents opens in Thessaloniki tomorrow. Its
goal is to develop and strengthen the relations between
owners and directors of Greek-speaking mass media abroad and
contribute to the exchange of views and experience on the
mass media in the wider Balkan region.
Messages to be read to the participants will be sent by
minister of press Dimitris Reppas and representatives of
political parties, while among the main speakers will be
undersecretaries of foreign affairs Grigoris Niotis and
national economy Christos Pachtas as well as general
secretary of Hellenism Abroad Stavros Labrinidis.
[06] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS WILL BE IN SARAJEVO TOMORROW
The state leaders, who will attend tomorrow's summit
meeting on the Balkan Stability Pact, have already started
to arrive in Sarajevo. In the summit will participate 28
countries, including the United States, as well as
international banks and organizations.
The goals of the summit will be the reconstruction of
the region and the removal of Yugoslav president Milosevic
from power. In the summit, that was characterized by prime
minister Simitis as the summit of donor-countries for Kosovo
and former Yugoslavia, will participate the leaders of the
15 European Union member-states, Japan, Canada, Russia,
Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary,
Romania, FYROM and Turkey as well as, representatives of the
UN, OSCE, NATO, WEU, IMF, the World Bank, the European Bank,
Royaumont and the president of the United States.
Greece will be represented by prime minister Kostas
Simitis, who will be accompanied by foreign minister Giorgos
Papandreou and deputy foreign minister Yiannos Kranidiotis.
Belgrade will not be represented in the meeting as the
western leaders have decided to isolate Yugoslavia for as
long as president Slobodan Milosevic is in power.
[07] VENIZELOS: THE GREEK PRODUCTS ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH
SAFETY AND QUALITY
The Greek production is absolutely safe, stated
minister of development Evangelos Venizelos in a press
conference in which he presented the first results of the
tests conducted on animal products to spot any traces of
dioxin contamination.
The test results showed that 60% of the samples tested
for the detection of a substance called PCB, which is an
indication of dioxin presence, were negative. In the rest
40% of the samples this substance was in levels much lower
than the safety limits set by the European Union.
The tests were made on dairy products, chickens, eggs,
fresh meet and meet products as well as, on products such
as, mayonnaise which is made of egg-products. The Greek
minister of development stated that the tests will continue
on a regular basis.
[08] THE RUSSIAN TANK LANDING SHIP "AZOV" HAD MANY VISITORS
The Russian transport tank landing ship "Azov" of the
Black Sea fleet which has sailed into the port of
Thessaloniki was visited by many people today on the
occasion of the Russian Navy Day.
This evening, Russian consul general in Thessaloniki
Mr. Viktor Bojko will host a formal dinner in honor of the
local authorities. The four Russian Navy ships which are
currently in Thessaloniki are scheduled to leave tomorrow
afternoon and return to their bases in the Black Sea.
[09] THE MINORITIES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A VEHICLE LEADING
TO THE CHANGE OF THE BALKAN BORDERS
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou stated in an
interview he gave today to the Athens radio station FLASH
that the minorities should not become the vehicle that will
lead to the change of the borders in the Balkans.
Mr. Papandreou stated that there are certain people who
are annoyed and react because the Greek-Turkish dialogue is
underway, predicting that it will be a long and laborious
process. He also commented on the attacks launched against
him by a part of the Greek press because he is praised by
the Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" on its front-page for his
statements on the existence of Turkish origin Muslims in
Greece, by saying that we should look for the essence of
things. He stressed that the issue is not how the members of
every minority in the Balkans will be called but the fact
that the minorities should not become the vehicle that will
lead to the change of the borders in the region.
Mr. Papandreou spoke of the issue of the identity of
the minorities in relation with the international treaties
and predicted that because there are international accords
in effect most probably Greece will be forced to accept that
the minorities can define their own identity.
It should be noted that Mr. Papandreou had disagreed
publicly with the way the Greek political leadership in its
entirety handled the issue of the statement that was signed
by the three Muslim deputies in the Greek parliament and
spoke of reactions indicating fear and panic, while he
reminded that there are ethnic differences even within the
Muslim minority.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[10] TOMORROW THE SUMMIT IN SARAJEVO
The Balkan Stability Pact summit begins tomorrow in
Sarajevo. Thirty world leaders will take part in the summit,
while Greece will be represented by prime minister, Kostas
Simitis, who will be accompanied by Foreign Minister and
deputy Foreign Minister, Giorgos Papandreou and Giannos
Kranidiotis. All the leaders of the balkan countries will
take part in the summit except from Yugoslav President,
Slobodan Milocevic.
[11] KOSOVO: 1.500 TOWNS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY THE BOMBINGS
At least 1.500 towns have been destroyed in Kosovo by
the NATO bombings, according to data given to publicity by
the United Nations.
According to UN specialists, at least 40% of the
buildings in Kosovo have been completely destroyed, while
15% of the houses are characterized as badly destroyed.
The NATO missiles have hit many school buildings as 32%
of them have been either levelled or are in such a bad state
that it is impossible to be used in the new school year.
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