Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-04-24
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, April 24, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PM VOWS TO FULLY UPHOLD ALL ELECTORAL PLEDGES
[02] VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN PARLIAMENT TONIGHT
[03] GERMAN CHANCELLOR INVITES SIMITIS TO CONFERENCE
[04] ZEMING FAVORS RETURN OF PARTHENON MARBLES
[05] CYPRIOT FM ARRIVES IN ATHENS ON WEDNESDAY
[06] GREEK FM MEETS WITH SERB DELEGATION IN ATHENS
[07] ECONOMY MINISTER PAVES WAY TO PRIVATIZATION
[08] GREEK AND TURKISH JOURNALISTS TO MEET IN RHODES
[09] GREEK TOURISM TO BENEFIT GRD 2.3 TL FROM OLYMPICS
[10] THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE HAD LOSSES OF 0.74%
[11] REPPAS ON THE ELECTION LAW
[12] REPPAS: GREECE WANTS THE SITUATION IN YUGOSLAVIA TO NORMALIZE
[13] ARMENIAN DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE TURKISH CONSULATE IN
THESSALONIKI
[14] PAPANDREOU PLEDGED CONSENSUS AND DIALOGUE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
ISSUES
[15] THE GREEK POLICE IS ON THE TRACES OF A CHILD PORNOGRAPHY RING
[16] A TRIPARTITE MEETING OF LOCAL RADIO STATIONS' REPRESENTATIVES
FROM GREECE, TURKEY AND BULGARIA
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[17] ROMANIA TO HOST FORTH BSEC MEETING THIS WEEK
[18] TURKEY'S CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF ON G/T RELATIONS
[19] RUSSIA OVERTURNED TURKISH PLANS ON THE BLACK SEA
[20] SIMITIS-CLERIDES MEETING IN ATHENS ON MAY 19
[21] ITALY AND GREECE ARE ALBANIA'S TOP TRADE ALLIES
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PM VOWS TO FULLY UPHOLD ALL ELECTORAL PLEDGES
Prime Minister Costas Simitis vowed to fully uphold all of
the PASOK party's electoral pledges, during his address before
Parliament on Saturday, where he officially announced his
government's program for the next four years.
Specifically, the Premier reiterated that he will pursue
steady economic growth, coupled with increased employment.
Moreover, he stressed the importance his government will grant to
social welfare and announced that he plans to reform the health
and education.
"The first and main aim is to raise the standard of living of
all Greeks so as to converge with that of other European
countries," the Premier stated, adding "but we must understand
nothing was given to us as a gift. We shall earn our place in the
world through our own choices, decisions and efforts."
The Premier's "special commitments", a voluminous document
submitted to Parliament, contains specific spending targets, such
as 45 trillion drachmas slated for social spending between 2000-
04, which will help raise the lowest social security pension to
152,000 drachmas monthly for 350,000 individuals and provide tax
breaks to families with three or more children.
In regards to funding from the European Union's Third
Community Support Framework for 2000-06, 80 percent is to be spent
on developing rural areas, including 15.7 trillion drachmas for
supporting regional growth, developing infrastructure and backing
industry, commerce and tourism.
Moreover, Mr. Simitis stressed his two-trillion-drachma
National Employment Action Plan and reiterated that he will press
forward with pledges to create 300,000 new jobs, 300,000 paid job
training positions for the unemployed and an equal number of
training or retraining positions for those already employed. Also,
one trillion drachmas has been earmarked for providing updated
technological training to employees.
Referring to Greece's standing in European and international
institutions, Mr. Simitis stated that "today, more than ever, the
future of the Greek people depends on Greece's position on the
international scene and in the globalized economy, mainly our
strength within the European Union.
"Our political strength is determined by our equal and
dynamic participation, both institutionally and economically," the
Premier stressed.
[02] VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN PARLIAMENT TONIGHT
Greece's 300-member parliament will conclude a three-day
debate over the ruling PASOK party's program with a vote of
confidence tonight at midnight.
Premier and PASOK leader Costas Simitis, who outlined his
government's program before the House on Saturday, will make his
closing remarks tonight before a roll call of the 300 deputies
where they will vote on their confidence in the new government.
In his parliamentary address on Saturday, the Premier vowed
that "the commitments we made before the Greek public will be
fully adhered to", stressing that the government's main priorities
are the country's accession to the euro zone by January 1, 2001,
supporting employment, education and wages, as well as improving
health services.
The main opposition party of New Democracy stated that the
government's policy statement could not be construed as a plan of
action.
"What the prime minister said in parliament (on Saturday)
could be called anything but a policy statement," ND spokesman
Aris Spiliotopoulos said in a statement.
[03] GERMAN CHANCELLOR INVITES SIMITIS TO CONFERENCE
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has invited Prime
Minister Costas Simitis to an international conference on
"Progressive Governing in the 21st Century", which will take place
in Berlin on June 2 and 3.
According to the Athens Sunday paper "To Vima tis Kyriakis",
United States President Bill Clinton, European center-left leaders
and representatives of Latin American countries will also take
part in the conference.
[04] ZEMING FAVORS RETURN OF PARTHENON MARBLES
The President of the People's Republic of China, Ziao Zeming,
who ended a three-day official visit to Greece today, expressed
the view that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece
after he was given a tour of the Acropolis on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, at the same time human rights protesters staged a
mock execution at the ancient monument, protesting China's dismal
record of executions and detention of political dissidents.
Prior to departing for South Africa from Crete this morning,
the Chinese leader visited the archaeological site at Knossos.
President Zeming is the first Chinese president to visit
Greece.
[05] CYPRIOT FM ARRIVES IN ATHENS ON WEDNESDAY
Cypriot Foreign Minister Yannakis Kassoulides is to arrive in
Athens on Wednesday, where he will hold talks with his Greek
counterpart George Papandreou.
Mr. Kasoulides has said the government will never accept
injustice, imposed by the use of force, and will continue its
efforts to reunite Cyprus, divided since Turkish troops invaded in
1974.
He also stated that the position held by the Turkish side
regarding recognition of two separate states on the island or
acceptance of the two state entities and a confederation would
never be accepted by the Cypriot side.
Moreover, the Cypriot minister stressed the only way to a
solution is to ensure that international law, respect for human
rights and the European Union rules and regulations form the basis
of a settlement.
According to press reports, Mr. Kasoulides' visit was deemed
necessary in view of Mr. Papandreou's forthcoming trip to the
United States in the first week of May, where he will have
contacts with the American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright,
and the Turkish Foreign Minister, Ismail Cem.
Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides is scheduled to have a
meeting with the Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis in Athens on
May 19, in view of the third round of proximity talks on the
Cyprus issue, scheduled to get under way in New York on �ay 23.
[06] GREEK FM MEETS WITH SERB DELEGATION IN ATHENS
An Athens-held conference of Serb opposition groups hosted by
Aleksander Karadjordjevic, the son of Yugoslavia's last king,
ended on Saturday with the issuing of a declaration calling for a
united front against president Slobodan Milosevic.
The declaration said a council of Serbia's "democratic
forces" should unite all the democratic opposition under Mr.
Karadjordjevic.
Opposition groups also called for free elections to be held
under the supervision of the international community, and voiced
support for the struggle of the Orthodox church and the Serbian
National Council of Kosovo to secure the rights of the few
remaining Serbs in the NATO-occupied Yugoslav province.
The declaration added that those responsible for the woes and
defeats of the Serbian people should be brought to trial.
Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou met a committee of
Kosovo Serbs, including Orthodox Bishop Artemije, on Saturday,
and told them that Greece wants to help international efforts to
return the Kosovo Serbs to their homes, and promised assistance
with recording and repairing damage to Orthodox monuments in the
province.
Mr. Papandreou also pledged Greek help in setting up Internet
cafes in Kosovo, and said Athens would set up a radio station for
the benefit of the Kosovo Serbs. He also met with Serb opposition
leader Goran Djindjic.
[07] ECONOMY MINISTER PAVES WAY TO PRIVATIZATION
In a parliamentary address last night, National Economy and
Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou made it clear that the
government is shifting its focus on completing the privatization
program, an important part of the structural changes to the Greek
economy.
Addressing the House, as part of the government's policy
statement, Mr. Papantoniou provided the final timetable for the
partial or complete privatization of about 15 state-controlled
companies and public utilities by December 2000, starting with the
Public Utilities Company (DEH).
Moreover, the Minister announced the established of a Support
Fund for new technologies, aimed at boosting investments in the
sector and whose monies will be derived from the privatizations.
[08] GREEK AND TURKISH JOURNALISTS TO MEET IN RHODES
Greek and Turkish journalists are to convene at the island of
Rhodes on May 26-28, where they will discuss issues pertaining to
the mass media, local societies, local administration, tourism and
other areas that boost ties between the two neighboring peoples.
Meanwhile, the permanent contact and cooperation group
comprising Greek and Turkish journalists and media executives,
which met recently in Istanbul, the event will feature 15
journalists-guests from each country.
[09] GREEK TOURISM TO BENEFIT GRD 2.3 TL FROM OLYMPICS
Greece's tourism sector is expected to reap benefits
amounting to GRD2.3 trillion by the year 2011, monies that are to
be derived from the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 and related
activities.
Following the castigating report by the chairman of the
International Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch, who last
week stated that the Athens 2004 summer games would be in "danger"
unless the Greek organizers made "drastic" changes by the end of
the year, Culture Minister Theodoros Pangalos is to travel to the
IOC headquarters on Thursday, in order to sway the "naysayers" and
convince them that great progress will have been made by the end
of the year.
[10] THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE HAD LOSSES OF 0.74%
The week opened for the Athens Stock Exchange with losses of
0.74% but today's session was not characterized by big surprises
as the general index had just small fluctuations.
The general index was at 4.362,79 points, while the
purchasing interest was limited and the volume of transactions was
just over 100 billion drachmas.
[11] REPPAS ON THE ELECTION LAW
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that the
discussion on the changes in the election law is among the
government's intentions.
Mr. Reppas clarified that any changes that will be made will
be put into effect after the next parliamentary elections.
[12] REPPAS: GREECE WANTS THE SITUATION IN YUGOSLAVIA TO NORMALIZE
The Greek government suggests that the embargo against Serbia
be lifted, while it is in favor of the unchangeable of the Balkan
borders, including Yugoslavia's, stated Greek government spokesman
Dimitris Reppas, adding that those positions were reiterated by
foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou in the meeting he had with the
leaders of the Serb opposition.
Responding to questions by reporters, he said that the Serb
opposition leaders visited Greece legally and the government had
no involvement in the meeting they had in Athens. He said that the
Greek government is in favor of the normalization of the
developments in Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav people must make
decisions in a democratic way through a dialogue of understanding
and consensus.
On the fact that Greek foreign minister adviser Alexandros
Rontos addressed the son of the deposed King of Serbia,
Karajorjevic, as "Your Highness", Mr. Reppas said that conclusions
should not be drawn quickly based on a courtesy address and
pointed out that the government does not recognize Mr.
Karajorjevic's title.
[13] ARMENIAN DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE TURKISH CONSULATE IN
THESSALONIKI
The Armenian community in Thessaloniki commemorated the 85th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide by the Turks.
The events on the occasion of the anniversary culminated with
a memorial service in the Orthodox Armenian church held in the
presence of local officials. In his speech Thessaloniki prefect
Kostas Papadopoulos referred to the history of the genocide of the
Armenians by the Ottoman Turks and called on Turkey to follow the
example of Germany that apologized to the Jews by recognizing the
genocide and apologizing for it.
After the memorial service, about 200 members of the Armenian
Youth Organization holding Armenian flags held a protest march to
the Turkish consulate. Tension was created when police tried to
stop the young Armenians from getting to the Turkish consulate
building to post a petition calling on Turkey to recognize and
condemn the genocide it committed against the Armenian people and
give them back the historical Armenian territory.
[14] PAPANDREOU PLEDGED CONSENSUS AND DIALOGUE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
ISSUES
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou stated that he will
personally guarantee the consensus and dialogue procedures with
the opposition parties on foreign policy issues. Mr. Papandreou
made the commitment speaking in parliament, while at the same
time, he stressed that he needs cooperation and requests it from
the parties of the opposition.
He assured that the Greek foreign policy has not changed and
remains firm in its values and targets for a strong Greece in the
international scene, the safeguarding of national targets and the
persistence to the principles and the respect of International
Law.
Mr. Papandreou gave a special emphasis to Cyprus' unhindered
EU accession course and the solution of the Cyprus problem,
stressing that if the problem remains unsolved will be an obstacle
to the complete normalization of the Greek-Turkish relations.
Referring to the bilateral Greek-Turkish relations, the Greek
foreign minister pointed out that they "constitute aggressive
dialogue initiative", adding that the dialogue does not mean
neither negotiation nor transfer of sovereign rights but it is
rather a way to avert conflict.
He also gave an emphasis to the developments in the Balkans,
pointing out that Greece undertakes initiatives for the promotion
of peace, stability, the economic development of the region and
its cooperation with all its allies namely, the United States,
Russia and the European Union on the basis of the International
Law principles and the respect of the democratic institutions and
values.
Finally, on the issue of the name of FYROM, Mr. Papandreou
said that Greece is ready to reach a solution on the issue based
on a mutually acceptable basis.
[15] THE GREEK POLICE IS ON THE TRACES OF A CHILD PORNOGRAPHY RING
At least 20 cases of child pornography in which are involved
Greek Internet users are investigated by the Greek police in the
past few weeks, according to a report on the Athens newspaper "TO
VIMA".
According to the report, the specialized Crime Research
Office laboratories has all the electronic means to investigate
such cases involving the Internet.
[16] A TRIPARTITE MEETING OF LOCAL RADIO STATIONS' REPRESENTATIVES
FROM GREECE, TURKEY AND BULGARIA
A tripartite working meeting of local radio stations'
representatives from the eastern Balkans will be held at the
northern part of the prefecture of Evros in Greece on June 2-4
with the participation of the heads of the national radios. The
decision was reached in the meeting of state radio directors of
Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece Alexander Velev, Tsetin Teztzan and
Yiannis Tzanetakos respectively.
In the meeting are also scheduled to participate local radio
station delegations from Plovdiv, Entirne and Orestiada.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[17] ROMANIA TO HOST FORTH BSEC MEETING THIS WEEK
The fourth meeting among the member-states of the
Organization of Economic Cooperation in the Black Sea (BSEC) is to
be in Romania on April 27-28, according to the host country's
ministry of the interior.
The meeting will feature the participation of Interior
Ministers from Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey, Russia, Albania,
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Romania, which is undertaking the
organization's six-month rotating presidency as of today.
Romania's Minister of the Interior Constantin Dudu Ionescu
stated that the participants will review the results of the
terrorism-combat agreement signed during the BSEC's previous
meeting.
[18] TURKEY'S CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF ON G/T RELATIONS
There are four or five problems overshadowing Greek-Turkish
relations, according to Turkey's Chief of General Staff Husein
Kivrikoglu, who also urged that an agreement should be reached
between the two sides.
Participating in a reception hosted by Turkish Parliament
Speaker Yildirim Akbulut, on the occasion of the House's 80th
anniversary, Mr. Kivrikoglu referred to military relations with
Greece, and said "they only talk about the continental shelf.
"We talk about four or five problems. We should reach an
agreement. If two sides talk about different things, nothing
positive can happen. They do not even consider some things as
problem. How can we solve them?'"
Moreover, the Turkish Chief stated that Ankara had proposed
the exercise of joint maneuvers, but the Greek side has yet to
respond.
[19] RUSSIA OVERTURNED TURKISH PLANS ON THE BLACK SEA
Russia ruined Turkey's plans for the creation of a multi-
national force in the Black Sea. The meeting of the Black Sea Navy
general staff chiefs that was held in Istanbul did not give the
desired results to Turkey.
The Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet", commenting on the results
of the meeting, stressed that Russia did not accept the Kivrokoglu
proposal, who had underlined the need for the establishment of a
multi-national Navy Force under the name "BlackSeaFor" to operate
based on the model of the NATO and UN forces in constant contact
with the big defense organizations. The Turkish general maintained
that the creation of such a force would stabilize peace and
security in the region.
Russia, however, which is opposed to the creation of such
formations close to its borders, reacted negatively and blocked
any decision on the issue to the disappointment of the Turkish
generals.
[20] SIMITIS-CLERIDES MEETING IN ATHENS ON MAY 19
Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis will meet with Cypriot
president Glafkos Clerides in Athens on May 19, according to
Cypriot government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou, who
characterized the meeting of the foreign ministers of Greece and
Turkey Giorgos Papandreou and Ismail Cem as a significant
political event that it is expected with interest.
The Cypriot News Agency mentions that Mr. Papapetrou also
stated that the Papandreou-Cem meeting in the United States offers
the opportunity to Ankara to present its position after the
illegal elections in the Turkish occupied territories in Cyprus,
stressing that the Greek Cypriot side expects that with this
meeting Turkey will change its stance and enter a meaningful
discussion in the third round of talks on Cyprus.
[21] ITALY AND GREECE ARE ALBANIA'S TOP TRADE ALLIES
Italy and Greece remain Albania's top trade allies, according
to Tirana press reports.
As the daily "Koha Jone" reported, in February 2000 Albanian
imports from Italy amounted to 67.6% of the overall imports
volume, while exports to the same country rose to 33.6 percent.
Albanian imports from Greece amounted to 23.6%, while exports
represented 14.2 percent of the overall exports volume.
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