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MPA NEWS IN ENGLISH (23/04/1996)From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>Macedonian Press Agency News in English DirectoryMACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISHThessaloniki April 23, 1996TITLES[01] THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER MET WITH THE BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER[02] GREECE CATEGORICALLY REJECTED THE REPRESENTATION TURKEY MADE ON YESTERDAY'S INCIDENT IN KASTELORIZO[03] TURKS ADMIT THAT FISHING BOAT TRANSPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS[04] THE FINDINGS OF THE INVESTIGATION ON THE CAUSES OF THE HELICOPTER CRASH IN IMIA[05] GREECE EXERCISES VETO ON EU MEDA FUNDING TO TURKEY[06] GREEK TOURISTS WOUNDED IN CAIRO MASSACRE STILL HOSPITALIZED IN EGYPT, CONDITION IMPROVING[07] PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT IRELAND TOMORROW[08] CULTURE MINISTER OPENS EUROMEDITERRANEAN MEETING IN BOLOGNA[09] GREEK GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR PRESIDENT MET WITH GLIGOROV[10] THE ALBANIAN PRESIDENT SPOKE ABOUT THE FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH GREECE IN HIS INVERVIEW TO "EURONEWS" TV CHANNEL[11] GREEK NAMES WERE GIVEN TO BUILDINGS IN THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE IN ATLANTA[12] GREEK PRODUCTS PROMOTION WEEK WAS HELD IN ALBANIA[13] GREEK GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR PRESIDENT MET WITH GLIGOROV[14] CYPRIOT SOCIALIST PARTY LEADER ON VISIT TO UNITED STATES[15] HANS VAN DEN BROEK TRAVELS TO ANKARA TOMORROW[16] THE EUROPEAN COURT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WILL EXAMINE THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ANKARA[17] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISIT TO SKOPJE POSTPONED[18] FYROM TO JOIN NATO'S PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE[19] THE BASEL INTERNATIONAL BANK TO DIVIDE THE FORMER YUGOSLAV PROPERTY[20] THIRTY-THREE KILOS OF HEROINE CONFISCATED BY ROMANIAN CUSTOMS OFFICIALS[21] FYROM'S TRADE UNION TO JOIN THE EUROPEAN FAMILY[22] FYROM AND ALBANIA TO INCREASE THE ECONOMIC COOPERATION NATIONAL NEWSNEWS IN DETAIL[01] THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER MET WITH THE BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADERGreek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis accompanied by alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Romeos and greek Ambassador to London Ilias Gounaris met today with British Labour Party leader Tony Blair and shadow Foreign Minister Robin Cook, in the office of the british main opposition party leader in the Parliament building in London.After the meeting, mr.Simitis stressed that the discussion focused on issues that interest Greece and Britain and mainly on issues concerning the European Union and the european development. [02] GREECE CATEGORICALLY REJECTED THE REPRESENTATION TURKEY MADE ON YESTERDAY'S INCIDENT IN KASTELORIZOGreece categorically rejected the representation Turkey made regarding yesterday's incident with the turkish boat that brought 8 illegal immigrants to the Aegean island of Kastelorizo, stated Undersecretary of Press Nikos Athanasakis who is acting as government spokesman.He said that Turkey yesterday made an unprecedented show of bad faith and appeared as the protector of slave- traders. Mr.Athanasakis added that 22.906 illegal immigrants had entered Greece in the period 1992-1995 and 5.361 of them had been brought to greek islands by turkish slave-traders. [03] TURKS ADMIT THAT FISHING BOAT TRANSPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTSYesterday's incident off the coast of the Kastelorizo island in the Aegean Sea, where a turkish fishing boat dropped off eight Iranian illegal immigrants to the nearby Agios Stephanos islet and sped away, not obeying Greek Coast Guard orders, has been confirmed by the turkish authorities who stated that the boat had sailed from a turkish port without the proper permit and it, indeed, transported illegal immigrants.[04] THE FINDINGS OF THE INVESTIGATION ON THE CAUSES OF THE HELICOPTER CRASH IN IMIAThe helicopter that crashed in the Imia islets on January 31st was not downed and no mechanical failure was found to be the main cause of the crash, according to the findings of the Navy's General Staff committee of specialists.At the same time, it is stressed that the causes that led to the helicopter crash and the deaths of its three-member crew were not fully substantiated. According to the conclusion drawn by the committee, the causes of the helicopter crash were not substantiated by the investigation but at the same time it was substantiated that the helicopter was not downed and that there was no mechanical failure that could have led to the crash. The findings of the committee leave open the possibility of human error that could have led to the helicopter loss, while it is a fact that in the crash contributed and the adverse weather conditions in the region. [05] GREECE EXERCISES VETO ON EU MEDA FUNDING TO TURKEYGreece exercised its veto powers over Turkey's funding by the European Union's MEDA funding regulation, which aims to allocate ECU 3.4 billion in aid to 12 non- Community Mediterranean countries including Turkey, during yesterday's meeting of the EU General Affairs Council.Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, who participated in the Council's meeting, emphasized that Greece will withdraw its reservations if Turkey states that the greek-turkish differences will be resolved peacefully and if Ankara states that it will resort to the International Court of Justice at The Hague for the Imia islets issue. [06] GREEK TOURISTS WOUNDED IN CAIRO MASSACRE STILL HOSPITALIZED IN EGYPT, CONDITION IMPROVINGThe condition of those greek tourists who were hospitalized in Cairo following the massacre is imrpoving, although it is not yet known when they will be brought back to Greece, stated the under-Minister of Press and Media Nikos Athanasakis today.Referring to those victims whose conditions after the massacre did not allow for their transport to Greece, Mr. Athanasakis stated that their health is steadily improving, while, referring to Mr. Stylianos Drakoulis who was the most critically wounded, the under-Minister noted that his conditIon is considered serious since his respiratory function is technically supported. [07] PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT IRELAND TOMORROWGreek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, currently on a formal visit to London, will meet today with British Prime Minister John Major.According to reports, Mr. Simitis is expected to present to Mr. Major Greece's positions regarding national issues, mainly the greek-turkish differences. This evening, the British Deputy Prime Minister Mike Heseltine will host a dinner in honor of Mr. Simitis at Lancaster House. Mr. Heseltine is the British government's co-ordinator for the promotion of british trade export and it is said that he will refer to the improvement of bilateral economic and trade relations between Greece and Britain. Tomorrow morning, the Greek Premier will leave London for Dublin, Ireland, where he will hold talks with his Irish counterpart John Bruton during a working lunch. [08] CULTURE MINISTER OPENS EUROMEDITERRANEAN MEETING IN BOLOGNAMinister of Culture Stavros Benos is currently in Bologna, Italy, representing Greece in the Euromediterranean Meeting on Cultural Heritage and will participate in the informal Culture Ministers Council, headed by Italy, which currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency.Participating in this meeting are the Culture Ministers of all the EU member-states, as well as the Culture Ministers of Mediterranean countries outside the Community. Mr. Benos was the primary speaker in the first of the meeting's three parts, and spoke on the issue of "Identity and Maintenance of the Cultural Heritage within the Euromediterranean Framework." [09] GREEK GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR PRESIDENT MET WITH GLIGOROVA final solution to the FYROM name issue must be reached through a dialogue, imperatively, stated the President of the Greek General Confederation of Labor Christos Protopapas, who met yesterday with FYROM's President Kiro Gligorov.Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency, Mr. Protopapas stated that his meeting with Mr. Gligorov was held in a very friendly climate. Mr. Protopapas headed a delegation of confederation officials on a formal visit to Skopje, where they held talks with FYROM labor unions and the Labor Minister Naser Zimberi, exchanging views on the issue of unemployment. [10] THE ALBANIAN PRESIDENT SPOKE ABOUT THE FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH GREECE IN HIS INVERVIEW TO "EURONEWS" TV CHANNELIn an interview to the television channel "EURONEWS" albanian President Sali Berisha referred to the friendly relations with Greece.He said that the recent disagreements between Albania and Greece were due to the problems that had piled up in the past decades stressing that now there is a realistic basis for friendship and cooperation between the two countries which, he said, is very important not only for Greece and Albania but for the whole region as well. The albanian President expressed his country's gratitude for Greece's support in its effort to become a member of european organizations. On the issue of the greek minority in Albania, mr.Berisha said that it is a factor of friendship between the two countries and maintained that it enjoys all its rights. [11] GREEK NAMES WERE GIVEN TO BUILDINGS IN THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE IN ATLANTAThree greek cities and an island "lent" their names in buildings of the Olympic Village in Atlanta, USA.The students of Georgia Tech University who will be housed in the Olympic Village after the end of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, have decided to give to the four central buildings of the Olympic facilities the names "Athens", "Sparta", "Olympia" and "Ithaka". [12] GREEK PRODUCTS PROMOTION WEEK WAS HELD IN ALBANIAThe businesses in north-eastern Greece made significant contacts in Albania on the occassion of the "Greek Products Promotion Week" that was held in the neigbouring country.The albanian businessmen had contacts with their greek colleagues and signed trade deals on food, drinks, marble, cosmetics, clothes, shoes, etc. Responsible for the promotion of the products in Tirana was the Greek Organization of Foreign Trade. The Albanian and Greek businessmen also discussed the issue concerning the establishment of joint manufacturing businesses in Albania. In the exhibition held in Albania participated 18 of the largest businesses in the city of Kavala. [13] GREEK GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR PRESIDENT MET WITH GLIGOROVA final solution to the FYROM name issue must be reached through a dialogue, imperatively, stated the President of the Greek General Confederation of Labor Christos Protopapas, who met yesterday with FYROM's President Kiro Gligorov.Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency, Mr. Protopapas stated that his meeting with Mr. Gligorov was held in a very friendly climate. Mr. Protopapas headed a delegation of confederation officials on a formal visit to Skopje, where they held talks with FYROM labor unions and the Labor Minister Naser Zimberi, exchanging views on the issue of unemployment. INTERNATIONAL NEWS [14] CYPRIOT SOCIALIST PARTY LEADER ON VISIT TO UNITED STATESCypriot Socialist Party leader Vasos Lyssarides met today with the advisor to the United States President, George Stephanopoulos and the U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary on European Affairs John Cornbloom in the White House.Mr. Lyssarides stated that he informed the American officials on the cypriot positions and regarding the direction the american initiative must take regarding the Cyprus issue. Tomorrow, Mr. Lyssarides will meet with Ben Gilman, President of the Congress's International Relations Commission, the Commission's minority leader Lee Hamilton and the greek-american senator Paul Sarbanis. [15] HANS VAN DEN BROEK TRAVELS TO ANKARA TOMORROWCommissioner Hans Van Den Broek is embarking on an official three-day visit to Ankara tomorrow.During his stay in Turkey, Mr. Van Den Broek will hold talks with the Turk President Suleiman Demirel and the Premier Mesut Yilmaz, as well as with the Turk Foreign Minister Emrei Gonensay. According to the Commissioner's spokesperson, Mr. Van Den Broek's aim in his visit to Ankara is to re- constitute good relations between the Commisision and the new turkish government, as well as the exchange of points of view over the problems that have arisen or are expected to arise by the application of the European Union-Turkey Customs Union. Also, the Commissioner will discuss with the turkish officials the preparations of the Union Council of EU- Turkey, which was postponed on March 25th but the Italian EU Presidency insists on its convention prior to the expiration of its six-month term, that is prior to July and most likely on May 13-14. [16] THE EUROPEAN COURT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WILL EXAMINE THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ANKARAThe European Court for Human Rights will examine for the first time this week the accusations against Ankara for gross violations of the rights of the kurds living in south-eastern Turkey.The European Human Rights Committee estimates that Ankara has violated a number of articles of the european convention for the protection of human rights. The Committee has received over 400 complaints against Ankara. The first case that will be examined by the European Court concerns the accusation made by Husein Akduvar and other 7 individuals according to which the turkish armed forces attacked their village in the province of Diyiarbakir on November 10th, 1992, burned down their homes and killed their live stock. A few months later in April 1993 turkish soldiers completely destroyed the Kelektsi village. The turkish authorities maintained that the military operations in the village were not violent and attributed its destruction to the Kurdish Labour Party separatist rebels. The European Committee for Human Rights sent observers in the region on March and April of 1995 to examine the situation and to gather facts. Also, the European Court will examine the accusation made by Zeki Aksoi before his assassination in April of 1994. In May of 1993, Aksoi had brought his case before the European Court accusing the turkish security forces of brutal tortures during his detention that caused the paralysis of his upper limbs. A year after Aksoi submitted the accusation to the European Court he was murdered and his killers were never arrested. Ankara had accused a kurdish rebel for the murder of Aksoi. [17] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISIT TO SKOPJE POSTPONEDThe official visit to FYROM of the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski was postponed today. Pirinski was expected to arrive tomorrow in Skopje to discuss with his counterpart Ljubomir Frchkovski the principles regarding the relations and mutual cooperation between FYROM and Bulgaria, as well as the Bulgarian initiative to convoke a Balkan foreign ministers summit in Sofia.In an interview with the Russian newspaper "Semovja" FYROM's Foreign Minister Frchkovski expressed his suspicion that some countries might refuse such high level meeting, therefore FYROM suggested the meeting to be preceded by an "elastic forum of politicians" to discuss such an idea, Bulgarian daily "Continent" reported. [18] FYROM TO JOIN NATO'S PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACEFYROM, represented by its Foreign Minister Ljbomir Frchkovski, and the NATO representatives will sign the Individual Programme for "Partnership for Peace" activities on June 14.The Defense Minister in Skopje unofficially estimates that, accounting for the technical procedures, FYROM might officially join NATO in about one year. [19] THE BASEL INTERNATIONAL BANK TO DIVIDE THE FORMER YUGOSLAV PROPERTYThe Governors Council of the Basel International Bank and the International Monetary Fund are backing the Slovenian proposal to divide the former Yugoslav property in this bank, local and international media reported. The Governor of the Slovenian National Bank Frantse Arhar stated that the SFRY property amounting $500 million should be divided.Moreover, in a meeting in Skopje on Friday the representatives of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and FYROM expressed their common principle stand, based on the Badinter's Commission Report and International Law principles, that all former Yugoslav republics are equal successors. The Slovenian and Croatian representatives left yesterday for Brussels to discuss the succession issue with Carl Bildt. [20] THIRTY-THREE KILOS OF HEROINE CONFISCATED BY ROMANIAN CUSTOMS OFFICIALSThrity-three kilos of heroine, estimated to be worth $4 million, was confiscated on April 18 by the Romanian customs officials and frontiere police in the southern port of Calafat, on the Danube-river, Romanian public television reported. The heroine was hidden in the trunk of a Renault GTX registered in Holland and belonging to a Turk citizen Orguru Ayhan.[21] FYROM'S TRADE UNION TO JOIN THE EUROPEAN FAMILY"The FYROM's Trade Union will join the European family after the country's political integration in the European structures," the European Confederation of the Trade Unions Secretary-General Emilio Gabalio said yesterday in Skopje. He met the representatives of the local Trade Union."In order to become full member of the European Confederation of Trade Unions, the Trade Union of the FYROM must be independent and free and the government should take care of the social aspects of the transformation," Emilio Gabalio said, adding that this process is neither easy nor simple. He also expressed his satisfaction that the initiative to form an European Social Council was accepted by FYROM's officials and over the fact that the Collective Bargaining with the government and the privatisation agreement had been signed. [22] FYROM AND ALBANIA TO INCREASE THE ECONOMIC COOPERATIONIn order to boost the economic cooperation between FYROM and Albania, the Albanian government passed yesterday the mutual agreement on protection and support of the investments.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/ |