Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-10-20
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, October 20, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] INTEREST RATES EXPECTED TO DROP IN ORDER TO
BOOST ASE
[02] MEASURES FOR AGRICULTURE SECTOR ANNOUNCED
TODAY
[03] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT CANADA AT
THE END OF OCTOBER
[04] GREECE RANKS FIRST IN EU'S BLACK ECONOMY
LIST
[05] COUNCIL OF GREEKS ABROAD ISSUES RESOLUTION
ON CYPRUS ISSUE
[06] TURKISH FM REPORTED TO ATTEND BSEC MEETING
IN THESSALONIKI
[07] ASE GENERAL PRICE INDEX MARKS SIGNIFICANT
GAINS TODAY
[08] GREECE EXPECTS GOOD WILL ACTIONS FROM
TURKEY
[09] BLACK SEA FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN
THESSALONIKI NEXT WEEK
[10] PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE ON VIDEOLOTTO TO BE
HELD THIS EVENING
[11] BIG RISE IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
GENERAL INDEX
[12] OPPOSITION - GOVERNMENT CONFRONTATION IN
PARLIAMENT ON THE VIDEO-LOTTO
[13] MEASURES FOR THE FARMERS ANNOUNCED BY THE
PRIME MINISTER
[14] SOULADAKIS: THE GREEK BUSINESSES IN KOSOVO
ARE UNDER PERSECUTION
[15] PAPANTONIOU: THE DROP OF THE INTEREST RATES
INITIALLY WILL BE SMALL
[16] THE OLYMPIC VIDEO-LOTTO HAS BEEN CANCELED
[17] A 6YEAROLD BOY WAS BURNED ALIVE IN AN ARSON
ATTACK TARGETING A GREEK HOUSE IN THE ISLAND OF
IMVROS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] GREEK FM MEETS WITH SPANISH COUNTERPART IN
MADRID
[19] US SPECIAL ENVOY ON CYPRUS MEETS WITH
CLERIDES, DENTASH
[20] MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE
AND ITALY
[21] THE DEATH SENTENCE WAS IMPOSED ON 231
CHILDREN BY STATE SECURITY COURTS IN SE TURKEY
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NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] INTEREST RATES EXPECTED TO DROP IN ORDER TO
BOOST ASE
The Monetary Policy Council is expected to
announce a drop in interest rates today, a move
that would give a boost to bond purchases and
the stock exchange.
Through the bonds sales, and as of the year
2000, the government is expected to receive the
revenue of insurance funds and other
organizations controlled by the ministries of
labor, agriculture, culture, environment and
economy. The incoming monies are estimated at
1.5 trillion drachmas, i.e. 250 billion each
year.
[02] MEASURES FOR AGRICULTURE SECTOR ANNOUNCED
TODAY
Prime Minister Costas Simitis is expected
to announce the package of measures for the
agricultural sector today, following a session
held yesterday with the Minister of National
Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou and the
Minister of Agriculture George Anomeritis.
According to reports, the government will
reduce the value added tax imposed on
agricultural products, as well as the price of
oil used in tractors and other agriculture-
related vehicles.
[03] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT CANADA AT
THE END OF OCTOBER
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou
will conduct an official visit to Canada on
October 31, on the invitation of his Canadian
counterpart Lloyd Axworthy.
From Toronto, Mr. Papandreou will leave
for Boston, to address an event organized by
Harvard.
He will travel to Paris from Boston to meet
his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine and French
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
Prime Minister Costas Simitis will also be
in Paris as of November 8 to attend the
Socialist International's meeting.
Mr. Papandreou will leave for The Hague on
November 9 to meet his Dutch counterpart Van
Archen. He will then return to Athens to be
present during the visit by US President Bill
Clinton.
On November 15, Mr. Papandreou will
participate in the European Union's Council of
General Affairs and then leave for Moscow to
meet his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov, as
well as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
On November 18-19, Mr. Papandreou will
accompany Prime Minister Costas Simitis at the
OSCE's summit in Istanbul.
[04] GREECE RANKS FIRST IN EU'S BLACK ECONOMY
LIST
Greece tops the European Union's black
economy list, according to the findings of a
recent report by Belgium's Credit Bank.
According to the data, the country's black
market economy amounts to 29-35 per cent of
GDP. Greece is followed by Italy with 20-26 per
cent and Belgium with 12-21 per cent.
Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Austria are at
the other end of the scale, with single-digit
figures.
[05] COUNCIL OF GREEKS ABROAD ISSUES RESOLUTION
ON CYPRUS ISSUE
The Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE) has
issued a resolution on the Cyprus issue, which
constitutes a priority on its list of national
matters.
Announced by the President of SAE America,
Christos Tomaras, the resolution supports the
United Nations resolutions pertaining to Cyprus,
and the resolute positions of the Group of
Eight and the European Union, calling on them
to contribute to the issue.
Moreover, the SAE resolution calls for an
end to the tolerance of Turkey's provocative
intransigence while it also states that it looks
forward to US President Bill Clinton's imminent
visit to Greece, stressing that Greeks
throughout the world are awaiting results, not
mere talk, and the materialization of somber US
presidential pledges of a quarter of a century
which call for a fair solution tot he Cyprus
issue.
Lastly, the resolution salutes the
excellent cooperation enjoyed between Greece and
Cyprus for the issue and the fulfillment of the
island's European course.
[06] TURKISH FM REPORTED TO ATTEND BSEC MEETING
IN THESSALONIKI
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ismael Cem is to
attend the Black Sea Economic cooperation
meeting, to be held in Thessaloniki next week,
according to Turkish diplomatic reports.
Although Greece's Foreign Ministry has
neither confirmed nor denied the said
aforementioned, the reports state that Mr. Cem
will head the Turkish delegation which will
attend the BSEC Foreign Ministers meeting on
October 27-28.
[07] ASE GENERAL PRICE INDEX MARKS SIGNIFICANT
GAINS TODAY
The Athens Stock Exchange general price
index marked significant gains as of late this
morning, amounting to 4.84 per cent and thereby
returning to the positive course it had
maintained prior to Monday's decline.
Specifically, the general price index
registered at 5,653.45 points, with shares in
most sectors marking significant gains, many of
them leading towards limit up.
[08] GREECE EXPECTS GOOD WILL ACTIONS FROM
TURKEY
Greece expects specific, good will actions
from Turkey which would improve bilateral ties,
stated the Prime Minister Costas Simitis in his
reply letter to the president of the Izmir
Chamber of Commerce.
In his letter, Mr. Simitis reiterates his
message to his Turkish counterpart Bulent
Ecevit, relayed verbally by the Greek Ambassador
to Ankara earlier this month, wherein he stated
that Athens expects Ankara to take substantive
steps in the Cyprus issue and thereby promote
its European orientation.
[09] BLACK SEA FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN
THESSALONIKI NEXT WEEK
The foreign ministers of the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation's member-countries are to
meet in Thessaloniki next week where, for the
first time in a BSEC meeting, the European Union
will officially be represented.
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou
will head the Greek delegation, while the EU
will be represented by officials from the
Finland-held presidency.
[10] PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE ON VIDEOLOTTO TO BE
HELD THIS EVENING
The on-going juxtaposition between the
government and the main opposition party
concerning the proposed "Olympic videolotto"
slot machines, a lottery planned in view of the
Athens Olympic Games of 2004, is expected to
reach a crescendo this evening when parliament
votes on the bill.
The leader of the main opposition party,
New Democracy's Costas Karamanlis, who is
vehemently opposed to the proposition saying it
would turn Greece into a country full of
gamblers, called on the government yesterday to
withdraw the proposition.
Government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas
retorted that Mr. Karamanlis' "unrelenting
struggle" is neither unrelenting, nor a
struggle, saying that the N.D. leader's reaction
to the proposition is a "joke" and masks
"agony" over the oncoming defeat during the
parliamentary elections,
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Evangelos
Yiannopoulos challenged the N.D. deputies that
if they can bring forth any specific evidence of
misdoing, then he himself will pursue criminal
charges.
[11] BIG RISE IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
GENERAL INDEX
Big rise was recorded in the Athens Stock
Exchange general index after the improvement
observed in New York's Wall Street and the drop
in the interest rates announced by the Bank of
Greece.
Specifically, the general index was
improved by 5.78% and closed at 5704.26.
Regarding the drop in the interest rates, the
inter-bank market intervention interest rate
dropped from 12% to 11.5%. The interest rates
overnight dropped from 9.75% to 9.25%, while the
drop decided by the Bank of Greece monetary
committee is expected to affect the commercial
banks' interest rates as well. Minister of
national economy and finance Yiannos Papantoniou
stressed that the drop in interest rates will be
cautious until inflation is stabilized at
desirable levels.
[12] OPPOSITION - GOVERNMENT CONFRONTATION IN
PARLIAMENT ON THE VIDEO-LOTTO
The confrontation between the government
and the right-wing main opposition party of New
Democracy is expected to escalate in parliament
this afternoon with the open vote on the draft
bill which provides for the adoption of an
Olympic video-lotto.
Yesterday, New Democracy leader Kostas
Karamanlis characterized the situation as a
"shame" which his party will not allow to
continue and called on the government to
withdraw the draft bill.
The response of government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas was very strong and stated that
the "uncompromising struggle" Kostas Karamanlis
has declared is neither uncompromising nor a
struggle.
[13] MEASURES FOR THE FARMERS ANNOUNCED BY THE
PRIME MINISTER
Prime minister Kostas Simitis met with the
farmers' co-operatives organization presiding
board and minister of agriculture Giorgos
Anomeritis.
President of the farmers' organization Mr.
Nikos Liolios stated that the prime minister
confirmed that on January 1, 2000 the loan
interest rates in the Agricultural Bank of
Greece will be reduced and the value added tax
return will be doubled in the fishery sector the
farm production.
However, the measure concerning the drop in
the taxation of the fuel used by tractors and
other farm vehicles has not been finalized yet,
while the prime minister has ordered the
immediate distribution of olive oil and cotton
subsidies.
[14] SOULADAKIS: THE GREEK BUSINESSES IN KOSOVO
ARE UNDER PERSECUTION
Unlawful and well-organized interests seek
to stop the activities of Greek businesses in
Kosovo and promote other European companies in
the region, according to a question submitted to
the European Commission by Greek Euro-deputy of
the governing socialist party of PASOK Yiannis
Souladakis.
He stressed that the Greek state
telecommunications organization, OTE, and the
company "Mitilineos" face a pile of unjustified
bureaucratic problems and threats by the Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA) and other groups that want
them to leave Kosovo.
Mr. Souladakis pointed out that the
companies under persecution are those from
European Union countries and called on the
European Commission to take immediate action to
safeguard their interests and the unhindered
operation of the Greek companies.
[15] PAPANTONIOU: THE DROP OF THE INTEREST RATES
INITIALLY WILL BE SMALL
Minister of national economy and finance
Yiannos Papantoniou, in statements he made on
the occasion of the Bank of Greece decision to
cut the interest rates, stated that the drop of
the interest rates until March 2000, when Greece
will submit its candidature for accession into
the EMU, will be small. Mr. Papantoniou stressed
that there will be a continuous improvement that
will be accelerated in the year 2000.
Mr. Papantoniou also stated that
fluctuations are observed in the foreign stock
markets as well and pointed out that the
fluctuations in the Athens Stock Exchange have a
bigger breadth, adding that it is a matter of
market maturity.
[16] THE OLYMPIC VIDEO-LOTTO HAS BEEN CANCELED
Prime minister Kostas Simitis announced the
cancellation of the Olympic video-lotto after a
meeting with sports undersecretary Andreas
Fouras, minister of development Evangelos
Venizelos, culture minister Elisavet Papazoi,
minister of environment, public works and land
planning Kostas Laliotis and government
spokesman Dimitris Reppas.
In a written statement the prime minister
stressed that he decided the cancellation of the
Olympic video-lotto in order to take away from
the right-wing main opposition party of New
Democracy any pretext that could be used for the
misinformation of the Greek people.
In the statement of the prime minister it
is also mentioned that the government will
secure all the necessary funds for the
preparation of the country in view of the 2004
Olympic Games in Athens.
[17] A 6YEAROLD BOY WAS BURNED ALIVE IN AN ARSON
ATTACK TARGETING A GREEK HOUSE IN THE ISLAND OF
IMVROS
The tragic death of 6yearold Alexis, a boy
burned alive in his house in the village of
Gliki in the island of Imvros, continues to
cause revolt and deep sorrow to the Greeks
living in the islands of Imvros and Tenedos in
north-eastern Aegean and to the Greeks all over
the world. The house of the Greek family of
Maria Sozde was the target of an arson attack
which also resulted to the injury of Alexis'
2yearold sister, Maria.
In a statement issued by the Turkish
foreign ministry it is mentioned that all the
necessary measures are being taken in order to
stop such revolting attacks from happening
again. In the statement it is also mentioned
that an interrogation is underway and those
responsible will be arrested as soon as
possible.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] GREEK FM MEETS WITH SPANISH COUNTERPART IN
MADRID
Foreign Minister George Papandreou,
presently on European tour, met with his Spanish
counterpart Abel Matutes in Madrid yesterday,
where the two men agreed that the Cyprus issue
should not be an obstacle in the island's
accession to the European Union.
Messrs. Matutes and Papandreou also had a
convergence of views on maters concerning the
EU, while the Greek FM, referring to Turkey's EU-
candidacy, stressed that the said country has to
undergo significant domestic reforms.
Mr. Papandreou will travel to Rome today
where he will meet with foreign minister
Lamberto Dini.
[19] US SPECIAL ENVOY ON CYPRUS MEETS WITH
CLERIDES, DENTASH
United States President Bill Clinton's
special envoy, Alfred Moses, had a working
breakfast with Cypriot President Glafcos
Clerides early today, then reportedly went back
for further talks with Turkish-Cypriot leader
Rauf Denktash.
Speaking after his 90-minute meeting with
the Cypriot president, Mr. Moses said: "We had
good talks. I am continuing the mission and I
leave Cyprus tomorrow. We are talking to both
sides, the leaders of both communities, and I
will continue to do that while I'm on the
island," he added.
On Tuesday, Mr. Moses said he had a
"sincere exchange of ideas" with Mr. Denktash
during their 75-minute talks, reiterating that
his mission to the island is to "help the two
communities become closer."
"I am not here to tell the parties what to
do, I am here to mediate," he told reporters.
Accompanied by Thomas Weston, the US State
Department's special coordinator for Cyprus, Mr.
Moses arrived in Cyprus on Monday after visiting
Greece and Turkey.
[20] MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE
AND ITALY
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou
met in Rome today with his Italian counterpart
Lamberto Dini.
Their talks focused on bilateral relations,
the Cyprus issue and the issue of Turkey's
accession into the European Union.
Mr. Papandreou in an interview with the
Italian newspaper "Corriere della Serra"
underlined the need for a change in the policy
followed by Ankara toward Greece and added that
Turkey should make the necessary reforms to
improve its relations with the neighboring
countries.
The Greek foreign minister stated that
Greece wants a real and not a fictitious EU
candidature for Turkey and that a precondition
for this is for Ankara to implement reforms
within its borders and adopt a good behavior
toward its neighbors.
[21] THE DEATH SENTENCE WAS IMPOSED ON 231
CHILDREN BY STATE SECURITY COURTS IN SE TURKEY
The state security courts in south-eastern
Turkey have imposed the death sentence on 231
children, 11-17 years old, in the past 9 years
according to the Bar Association in Diyarbakir.
In the same period of time, 1.830 children, 11-
17 years old, received prison terms and of them
634 were found guilty of crimes related with the
PKK.
The Diyarbakir Bar Association children's
rights committee president Arif Altunkalem has
appealed to the European Court for Human Rights
underlining that the imposition of such
sentences is a violation of the European Human
Rights treaty which has been signed by Turkey.
He also points out that those trials were
illegal; because the procedures were not held in
juvenile courts but in state security courts
which have no authority over such cases.
According to information provided by the
investigation, 49 of the children that were
sentenced to death by the 4 state security
courts in Diyarbakir were 11-14 years old and
182 were between 14 and 17 years old. Most of
the death sentences were imposed in the period
1994-96.
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