Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-11-04
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, November 4, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREECE REACTS TO WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE ON
TERRORISM
[02] BUDGET TABLED IN PARLIAMENT, THE LAST
DRAFTED IN DRACHMAS
[03] DEFENSE MINISTER TO VISIT UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES THIS MONTH
[04] SMALL QUAKE, 4.9 RICHTER, RATTLES
SOUTHWESTERN GREECE
[05] CONFERENCE ON RECONSTRUCTION OF S.E. EUROPE
CONCLUDES
[06] EX-PUBLIC ORDER MINISTER: ARTICLE ON
TERRORISM IS RIDICULOUS
[07] PHILOXENIA '99 OPENS TODAY AT THESSALONIKI
INTERNATIONAL FAIR
[08] PM HOLDS TALKS WITH PARTY LEADERS IN LIGHT
OF CLINTON'S VISIT
[09] FERRY'S DEATH TOLL RISES TO 14, THREE MORE
BODIES DISCOVERED
[10] GREECE DRAWS UNPRECEDENTED SECURITY
MEASURES FOR CLINTON
[11] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT EXPRESSED SATISFACTION
AFTER THE STATEMENTS MADE BY RUBIN AND BURNS
[12] THE POSITIONS OF NEW DEMOCRACY IN THE
SECTOR OF HEALTH
[13] REACTIONS TO THE US NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON
TERRORISM IN GREECE
[14] NEW DEMOCRACY: THERE IS A PROBLEM OF
TERRORISM BUT IT IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND THE
ADVISABILITY OF CERTAIN PRESS REPORTS
[15] GREEK COMMUNIST PARTY: WASHINGTON IS AWARE
OF THE TERRORIST ORGANIZATION "17 NOVEMBER" AND
ITS EXISTENCE IS CONVENIENT
[16] THE FUNERAL OF A FORMER PRESIDENT OF
PANAMA, WHO WAS OF GREEK ORIGIN, WILL BE HELD ON
NOVEMBER 8
[17] THREE MORE KURDS WERE FOUND DEAD IN THE
SUPER FAST FERRY-3
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] PRIME MINISTER IN BULGARIA TODAY FOR
TRIPARTITE MEETING
[19] US TO LIFT EMBARGO AGAINST SERBIA IF FREE
ELECTIONS ARE HELD
[20] STATE DEPARTMENT: ANONYMOUS CLAIMS DON'T
REFLECT OUR VIEW
[21] PREMIER SIMITIS EXPRESSES SUPPORT TO
ALBANIAN COUNTERPART
[22] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS IS IN BULGARIA
[23] AVRAMOPOULOS-ANNAN MEETING IN NEW YORK
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NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREECE REACTS TO WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE ON
TERRORISM
The recent article published by the U.S.
daily "Washington Post", has provoked a flurry
of reactions in Greece as its author quotes an
anonymous U.S. official who said Washington
could not vouch for "people at other levels (of
government) who have potential associations"
with the group.
Government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas
characterized the article as beyond the realm of
reality and said that he hopes it does not
reflect the State Department's views.
Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Grigoris
Niotis and Greece's Ambassador in Washington
have submitted protest demarches to the State
Department, while a similar protest was given to
the US Ambassador in Athens Nicholas Burns.
As a result, the State Department has
issued two consecutive retractions in an effort
to alleviate the negative climate that has
blanketed bilateral relations, especially in
light of the forthcoming visit to Greece by US
President Bill Clinton.
[02] BUDGET TABLED IN PARLIAMENT, THE LAST
DRAFTED IN DRACHMAS
The Minister of National Economy and
Finance Yiannos Papantoniou submitted next
year's budget in Parliament last night, the last
one before Greece's participation in the
European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
The 2000 budget allows for a 5.8 percent
increase in revenues, a further cut in
government deficits, tax cuts worth 470 billion
drachmas and a 7.4 percent increase in public
spending.
The budget includes measures to support
lower incomes, worth 470 billion drachmas,
including higher tax-exempt income ceilings.
[03] DEFENSE MINISTER TO VISIT UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES THIS MONTH
Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos will
conduct an official visit to the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) on November 16, where he will
hold talks with the government aimed at
strengthening bilateral defense cooperation.
Foreign undersecretary Grigoris Niotis was
in Dubai yesterday, where he represented Greece
yesterday at a one-day joint meeting of European
Union (EU) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
foreign ministers.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Niotis
held talks with the UAE defense minister and
foreign undersecretary.
[04] SMALL QUAKE, 4.9 RICHTER, RATTLES
SOUTHWESTERN GREECE
An earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter
scale occurred in southwestern Greece early this
morning, causing no injuries or damages.
The epicenter was located 225 kilometers
southwest of Athens.
[05] CONFERENCE ON RECONSTRUCTION OF S.E. EUROPE
CONCLUDES
The two-day "Conference on the
Reconstruction of SE Europe" came to a close in
Thessaloniki last night with the announcement of
the conclusions reached.
According to the text of conclusions, the
programs for the reconstruction of southeastern
Europe in the framework of the Stability Pact
should move with speedy rates and adequate funds
so as to cover the 10-year worsening of the
position of countries in the region , compared
to countries in central and eastern Europe.
Particular importance is attributed to the
present underdeveloped regional cooperation with
the promotion of joint investment programs, both
at the level of private initiative and states.
Promoting regional cooperation and avoiding
each country being handled separately is a
necessary precondition for the reconstruction
program's success.
Processes for the accession of southeastern
European countries to the European Union should
be speeded up with customs association being the
first step.
Greece's 180-billion-drachma reconstruction
plan for the Balkans has been unanimously
approved by all of the region's countries.
[06] EX-PUBLIC ORDER MINISTER: ARTICLE ON
TERRORISM IS RIDICULOUS
Greece's former minister of Public Order
Philippos Petsalnikos stated that the claims
made in the "Washington Post" article referring
to terrorism links within the Greek government
circles are unacceptable, ridiculous and
foolish.
Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency,
Mr. Petsalnikos stated that it is a shame the
article was published on the eve of Mr.
Clinton's visit to Greece.
The former minister speculated that the
report could actually aim at designing an
overall climate that would subject Greece to
pressures on matters related to terrorism
combat.
Concerning the bilateral accord of police
cooperation pending between the two countries,
Mr. Petsalnikos stated that it is ready to be
signed. He added that hit is the 21st or 22nd
such accord and, in addition to terrorism-
related matters, it refers to crime, illegal
immigration and other issues.
[07] PHILOXENIA '99 OPENS TODAY AT THESSALONIKI
INTERNATIONAL FAIR
The annual tourism exposition Philoxenia
'99 is to be inaugurated today at Thessaloniki's
International Trade Fair by the Minister of
Development Evangelos Venizelos in the Ioannis
Vellidis conference center.
The Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Yiannis
Magriotis, and the tourism undersecretaries of
Serbia and Bulgaria are among those who will
attend the opening ceremony.
The event will feature 449 exhibitors and
this year's event is anticipated to surpass all
previous ones, given that the rate of
participation has marked a 30% increase from
last year.
[08] PM HOLDS TALKS WITH PARTY LEADERS IN LIGHT
OF CLINTON'S VISIT
Prime Minister Costas Simitis is to hold a
round of meetings with political party leaders
in order to discuss the upcoming arrival of
United States President Bill Clinton in Athens.
Specifically, Mr. Simitis will tomorrow
with the Secretary -General of the Communist
Party of Greece Aleka Paparega, whose party
supporters are planing a protest rally, as well
as with the President of the Coalition of the
Left and Progress Nikos Constantopoulos, the
leader of the Democratic and Social Movement
Dimitris Tsovolas.
The Premier will meet with the leader of
the main opposition party, New Democracy's
Costas Karamanlis, next Thursday.
[09] FERRY'S DEATH TOLL RISES TO 14, THREE MORE
BODIES DISCOVERED
Three more bodies have been discovered
aboard the Super Fast Ferry -3 which caught on
fire Monday night, with the overall death toll
having now risen to 14, all of the victims being
Kurdish nationals who had attempted to smuggle
into Greece.
The fire aboard the Super Fast Ferry-3
vessel broke out as it was sailing just off
western Greece and after it had set off from
Patras towards Ancona, Italy.
The victims, all of whom died of smoke
inhalation, were discovered in the ferry's
parking levels.
Seven of the deceased are to be buried
today, at the expense of the vessel's owner
company Superfast Ferries SA, while the
remaining victims have yet to be identified.
[10] GREECE DRAWS UNPRECEDENTED SECURITY
MEASURES FOR CLINTON
Over 10,000 Greek policemen have been
assigned to the Athens "Hellinikon" airport, in
light of the visit of United States President
Bill Clinton to Greece.
The airport premises resemble a "fortress",
while the same security force will be in
effect throughout the American President's stay
in Greece.
[11] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT EXPRESSED SATISFACTION
AFTER THE STATEMENTS MADE BY RUBIN AND BURNS
The Greek government expressed satisfaction
after the statements made by US state department
spokesman James Rubin and US ambassador to
Athens Nicholas Burns and after the telephone
communication Greek government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas had with Mr. Burns regarding the
"Washington Post" report about alleged links
between Greek government officials and
terrorists.
Acting Greek government spokesman Nikos
Athanasakis characterized the report as
ridiculous and sordid and stressed that after
the clarifications that were made by the US side
the whole issue is regarded as closed.
After the strong reactions of the Greek
government, US state department spokesman James
Rubin had stated that the views allegedly
expressed by US officials to the "Washington
Post" do not reflect the positions of the US
government, while US ambassador to Athens
Nicholas Burns characterized as unrealistic the
insinuations included in the report.
[12] THE POSITIONS OF NEW DEMOCRACY IN THE
SECTOR OF HEALTH
The upgrading of the rural type health
centers, the establishment of the family doctor
institution based on the free choice of the
citizens and the creation of a common health
booklet for all Greeks are among the positions
of the right-wing main opposition party of New
Democracy in the sector of health that were
presented today by party leader Kostas
Karamanlis.
Mr. Karamanlis spoke of a complete network
of measures for the reform of the public health
system which is the product of hard work and
discussions, adding that it is still open to
dialogue for new proposals.
[13] REACTIONS TO THE US NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON
TERRORISM IN GREECE
Commenting on the US newspaper "Washington
Post" report which links terrorism with the
Greek government, press ministry general
secretary Yiannis Nikolaou stated to the Athens
radio station "Sky" that the United States is
the country that can be accused of terrorism
internationally.
Minister of interior Vaso Papandreou
commenting on the US newspaper report on
terrorism in Greece, stated to the Athens radio
station "Flash" that we will not have the
Americans dictate to us what to do, while she
characterized the article in question as
ridiculous and sordid.
Undersecretary of foreign affairs Grigoris
Niotis characterized the report as despicable
and underlined that the Greek government reacted
immediately with protests to the US government.
Former minister of public order Stelios
Papathemelis characterized the "Washington Post"
report as provocation and speaking to MPA
expressed the concern that the US president
wants to exert pressures in favor of Turkey. He
stated that the report is a provocation and
repeats things already said thousands of times
in the past which have already been rejected by
the US government and its agencies. Mr.
Papathemelis said that they are brought back to
surface through the "Washington Post" report in
an effort to exert pressures not on the issue of
terrorism but on other issues that are among
president Clinton's priorities who obviously
wants to exert pressures in favor of Turkey.
[14] NEW DEMOCRACY: THERE IS A PROBLEM OF
TERRORISM BUT IT IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND THE
ADVISABILITY OF CERTAIN PRESS REPORTS
Right-wing main opposition party of New
Democracy spokesman Aris Spiliotopoulos
commenting on the "Washington Post" report
regarding the alleged links of Greek government
officials with the terrorist organization "17
November", stated that there is a problem of
terrorism but this does not mean that we
understand the advisability of certain press
reports just before the visit of the US
president to Greece.
Mr. Spiliotopoulos stated that such reports
should be based on specific evidence.
[15] GREEK COMMUNIST PARTY: WASHINGTON IS AWARE
OF THE TERRORIST ORGANIZATION "17 NOVEMBER" AND
ITS EXISTENCE IS CONVENIENT
The United States are aware of the
organization "17 November" and it appears that
its existence is convenient, stated the Greek
Communist party, KKE.
The KKE accuses Washington of blackmail
aimed at creating a policing mechanism in Greece
and calls on the people to participate in
mobilizations.
[16] THE FUNERAL OF A FORMER PRESIDENT OF
PANAMA, WHO WAS OF GREEK ORIGIN, WILL BE HELD ON
NOVEMBER 8
Former Panama president Dimitrios Lakkas,
who was of Greek origin, died last Monday
suffering from heart problems, as a heart attack
on October 27 left him in a coma.
He became Panama's president in 1969 and
stayed in office for 9 years. Father Fotios
Bithas a priest of the Greek community in Panama
stated that Dimitrios Lakkas was a distinguished
member of the Greek community. He also said that
his father came from Kranidi and his mother from
the island of Lesvos.
His funeral will be held on Monday,
November 8 and it will be a day of mourning for
the whole country.
[17] THREE MORE KURDS WERE FOUND DEAD IN THE
SUPER FAST FERRY-3
The death toll from the Super Fast Ferry-3
fire continues to rise as the bodies of three
more Kurdish illegal immigrants were found in
the ship's third garage raising the number of
those killed in the fire to 14.
According to the statement issued by the
ship owners, the fire possibly started in one of
the trucks. The ship has sailed into the
Skaramanga shipyards where the vehicles that are
still on board will be unloaded and the
necessary repairs will be made.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] PRIME MINISTER IN BULGARIA TODAY FOR
TRIPARTITE MEETING
Prime minister Costas Simitis will travel
to Bulgaria today, November 4, where he will
attend the two-day tripartite meeting of Greece,
Bulgaria and Romania that will be held in the
resort of Borovec. Another such meeting had been
held in Delphi, central Greece last fall at the
initiative of the Greek premier.
Mr. Simitis and the presidents of Bulgaria
and Romania, Petar Stoyanov and Emil
Constantinescu respectively, will examine the
implementation of the stability pact in south-
eastern Europe and the effects the crisis in
Kosovo had on the Balkan states.
[19] US TO LIFT EMBARGO AGAINST SERBIA IF FREE
ELECTIONS ARE HELD
In a shift in its policy towards Serbia,
the United States dropped a demand that Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic be removed from
power before sanctions are lifted.
Instead, Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright stated that Washington would move to
drop sanctions once a free and fair election was
held. Ms. Albright stated that "we will support
suspending the flight ban and oil embargo as
soon as free elections are held in Serbia."
She added that "we believe it is vital that
the people of Serbia understand that if they
have the courage to bring down the walls of
repression that separate them from a democratic
future, they will not face that future alone."
In addition to dropping sanctions once a
democratic election is held, the U.S. have
lifted its objection to a pilot European Union
program to send heating oil to opposition-
controlled towns in Serbia and increase
assistance to anti-Milosevic groups.
[20] STATE DEPARTMENT: ANONYMOUS CLAIMS DON'T
REFLECT OUR VIEW
US State Department spokesperson James
Rubin has scurried to refute the recent article
published yesterday in the "Washington Post",
which quotes anonymous U.S. officials as having
stated that the Greek government has potential
association with terrorist groups, by stating
today that it does not reflect the Clinton
Administration's views.
US ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns
stated last night that any suggestions that
terrorism suspects are linked to the Greek
government are groundless and do not represent
US policies and views.
Yesterday, Greek government spokesperson
Dimitris Reppas said that "the particular
concern and effort of the Greek government and
state services in combating terrorism cannot be
questioned in the least bit.
"The positions of American officials, who
are included in the report, are not only far
from reality, but offer negative services to
Greek-American relations. We hope that they do
not reflect the positions of the United States
government."
Greece's envoy to Washington yesterday
delivered a demarche at the US State Department
over the "Washington Post" article.
[21] PREMIER SIMITIS EXPRESSES SUPPORT TO
ALBANIAN COUNTERPART
Prime Minister Costas Simitis relayed the
Greek government's support to the Albania's new
cabinet, during a telephone conversation he held
with his Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta
yesterday.
According to Albanian press reports, Mr.
Simitis assured Mr. Meta that the two countries
will continue to enjoy their course of
cooperation, while they will soon meet in
Athens.
[22] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS IS IN BULGARIA
Prime minister Kostas Simitis is on a visit
to Bulgaria today and tomorrow to take part
together with the presidents of Bulgaria and
Romania, Petar Stoyanov and Emil Constantinescu,
in the tripartite meeting of Greece, Bulgaria
and Romania that is being held in the winter
resort of Borovec.
This is the second such meeting and is
being held as a follow-up to the first meeting
that was held at Greece's initiative in Delphi,
central Greece, in October 1998.
In the meeting were discussed issues of
political and economic cooperation as well as
issues concerning stability in south-eastern
Europe. Also, they examined Romania's and
Bulgaria's European prospect and Mr. Simitis
expressed Greece's support to the efforts of the
two countries toward this end.
A joint communique will be issued this
evening in which Greece's role in the region
will be underlined, while ways for cooperation
among the three countries aimed at tackling
crime and drug trafficking will be outlined.
Referring to today's meeting, acting Greek
government spokesman Nikos Athanasakis stressed
that it is to the interest of the wider region.
[23] AVRAMOPOULOS-ANNAN MEETING IN NEW YORK
Mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos in
his meeting with UN secretary-general Kofi Annan
in New York presented his positions on the new
role the cities are being called to play in the
international scene at the threshold of the 21st
century.
Mr. Avramopoulos briefed the UN secretary-
general on the initiatives undertaken by Athens
at an international level for the creation of a
climate of cooperation in south-eastern Europe,
while he pointed out that the new role of the
cities will be decisive for cooperation and
understanding among the peoples.
The UN secretary-general asked Mr.
Avramopoulos to submit to the UN a memorandum on
the positions he presented regarding the role of
the cities in the new millennium, while he
expressed the wish for a viable solution in
Cyprus as a result of the efforts that are in
progress.
Mr. Annan also accepted an invitation by
Mr. Avramopoulos to visit Athens but no specific
date was set.
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