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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-03-20Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, March 20, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREECE'S PREMIER EMBARKS ON BALKAN TOUR, STARTS WITH ROMANIA TODAYBucharest, March 20 (MPA)Greece's Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is to arrive in Bucharest today, accompanied by Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, where he will have contacts with the political and church leaders of Romania.Mr. Simitis will discuss the overall situation in the Balkans, as well as the Greek initiative taken to alleviate the crisis in Albania. Following Bucharest, Mr. Simitis will tour the capitals of all Balkan countries where he will meet with political leaders and he will also visit Skopje. FYROM's President Kiro Gligorov yesterday issued an invitation to Mr. Simitis to visit Skopje, after his meeting with Mr. Pangalos who was yesterday in FYROM and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In Romania, Mr. Simitis will meet with Romanian Premier Victor Corbea this evening. Tomorrow he will embark on marathon talks with Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, the leader of the main opposition party Ion Iliescu, Patriarch of Romania Theoktistos and other political leaders. The Premier is to return to Athens tomorrow evening. A.F. [02] ALBANIAN PREMIER TO MEET WITH RIOTERS' LEADERS IN SOUTHERN REGIONTirana, March 20 (MPA)Albania's new Premier Bashkim Fino is to meet with representatives of the rioting civilians from the country's southern region today.Mr. Fino urged all Albanians to turn in their guns and cooperate with the government so that the crisis will end. The deadline issued by the southern region's rebels for President Sali Berisha's resignation expires today but Mr. Fino has rejected their demand. He has replied to them that the government will not negotiate under the shadow of threats. The rebels' leader Gevat Kutsio, he is the head of the "National Salvation Committee", said that the rioters will not resort to violence in order to force Berisha to step down from his post, but added that as long as the President remains in power, they will not turn in their guns. Meanwhile, life in Tirana is slowly returning back to normal and the city's airport began re-operating this morning. Yet, thousands of refugees continue to flee their country. The Italian navy rescued about 400 Albanians whose ship almost ran aground in the Adriatic Sea. In all, about 11,000 Albanians have sought shelter in Italy so far. Italian Foreign Minister Laberto Dini requested that humanitarian aid be sent to Albania as soon as possible. He characteristically added that this mission should be accompanied by a "security force" so that the goods will securely arrive at their destination. A delegation of European Union officials and representatives from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is currently brainstorming to find ways of ending the crisis in Albania. A.F. [03] NEW DEMOCRACY DELEGATES TO ELECT NEW LEADER TOMORROWAthens, March 20 (MPA)Greece's main opposition party New Democracy is to hold its fourth Congress tomorrow where the party's 3,600 delegates are to vote on their new leader.The congress is to start tomorrow morning and it will be officially opened with an address given by the party's current President Miltiades Evert. As protocol calls for it, the party's leader will submit his resignation and then the president of the party's organizing committee and former premier George Rallis will submit his proposal for increasing the number of delegates. The four contenders for the leadership are President Miltiades Evert and deputies George Souflias, Kostas Karamanlis and Byron Polydoras. As expected, mobilization is felt throughout the party as the contenders have intensified their contacts, public appearances and juxtapositions. A.F. [04] GREECE SEEN AS A DRIVING FORCE IN ESTABLISHING PEACE IN THE BALKANSMunich, March 20 (MPA)The President of Albania's Democratic Alliance Party Neritan Geka believes that Greece could serve as a driving force for the establishment of peace, stability and prosperity in the Balkans.Mr. Gika met in Munich yesterday with two other party representatives from Bulgaria and Serbia. During the meeting, which was initiated under the auspice of the Southeastern Europe Association and the Sud-Ost Institute, the participants discussed the latest events in Albania. Mr. Giga saluted Greece and Italy for their assistance in facing the crisis. A.F. [05] COUNCIL OF HELLENES ABROAD TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL FUND OF HELLENESChicago, March 20 (MPA)The Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE), in an effort to financially assist the international programs and events that promote Greece, will establish a National Fund of Hellenes.The proposal was made by SAE's President Andrew Athens who stated that its establishment aims at promoting Greece's national issues abroad. A.F. [06] TURKISH DEPUTY FM RELAYS HIS COUNTRY'S SATISFACTION OVER PANGALOS' STANCEIstanbul, March 20 (MPA)Ankara has welcomed the recent statements made by Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos in regards to Turkey's European orientation.Turkey's deputy Foreign Minister Inal Batu expressed the hope that Mr. Pangalos' statements signify the beginning of a change in Greece's stance towards Turkey. Nevertheless, the Turkish officials stated that it is still too early to tell if these words do represent such a shift. Mr. Batu referred to the measures that must be taken in order to reduce the tension existing between the two countries. He said that discussions are currently in the works to extend the two- month moratorium of military exercises in the Aegean Sea during the summer. He also stated that among the issues being disussed is the reduction in the number of military aricraft that conduct flights over the Aegean. A.F. [07] BRITISH DEPUTIES ASSURE CYPRIOT PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT OF THEIR SUPPORTNicosia, March 20 (MPA)Nine British parliamentarians gave their assurances to Cypriot Parliament President Spyros Kyprianou that they will continue to give their support until a fair and viable solution is found for the Cyprus problem.The Cypriot Parliament President met with the parliamentarians in London and briefed them on the latest developments regarding the island and emphasized the need for international support towards Cyprus. Yesterday, Mr. Kyprianou met with his British counterpart and today he will embark on talks with Britain's special envoy for Cyprus Sir David Hannay. Sir Hannay gave an interview to a Turkish- Cypriot daily yesterday where he stated that resolving the Cyprus issue will be to the benefit of both of the island's communities as well as for the greater region. The British official stated that his country wishes for a federated solution to the problem and would like to see Cyprus enter the European Union as a federated state. A.F. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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