Macedonian Press Agency News In English (96/11/06)
From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, November 6, 1996
NEWS IN ENGLISH
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PREMIER OPTIMISTIC ON ECONOMY'S PATH
[02] NEW DEMOCRACY LEADER SENDS CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO CLINTON
[03] GREECE-FYROM TALKS ON NAME ISSUE HELD TODAY IN NEW YORK
[04] EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON BALKANS TO BE HELD IN ATHENS TOMORROW
[05] GOVERNMENT TO DRAW FINAL DECISIONS ON STATE'S 1997 BUDGET TODAY
[06] MAIN OPPOSITION NEW DEMOCRACY TO HOLD POLITICAL COUNCIL TOMORROW
[07] GREECE-FYROM TALKS ON NAME ISSUE TO BE HELD TODAY IN NEW YORK
[08] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT REACTED STRONGLY TO THE REPORT ON THE MINORITIES IN THE BALKANS DRAWN UP BY FORMER BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER LEO TINDEMANNS
[09] THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER WILL VISIT A NUMBER OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL CITIES
[10] INFLATION IN GREECE WAS 8,3% IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
[11] THE GREEK MILITARY EXERCISE "PARMENION 96" ENDED TODAY
[12] TURKISH FIGHTER JETS VIOLATED AGAIN THE GREEK AIR SPACE
[13] THE GREEK PRESIDENT SENT A CONGRATULATORY TELEGRAM TO US PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ON HIS RE-ELECTION
[14] GREECE IS GETTING CLOSE TO THE TARGETS OF THE CONVERGENCE PROGRAMME ACCORDING TO THE EU COMMISSION
[15] GREEK-BULGARIAN MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE NORTHERN GREEK CITY OF KOMOTINI FOR THE OPENING OF A NEW BORDER CROSSING
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[16] DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT BILL CLINTON RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES
[17] YUGOSLAV PREMIER SUPPORTS M.P.A.'S BALKAN DATA BANK AND DIAVLOS
[18] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE VARTHOLOMEOS TOURS HONG-KONG AND AUSTRALIA
[19] EUROPEAN UNION: CURRENT STATUS OF CYPRUS IS UNACCEPTABLE
[20] YUGOSLAVIA: ELECTION FINAL RESULTS OUT, MILOSEVIC'S LEFT COALITION WINS
[21] ROMANIA: ILIESCU LEADS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENT
[22] ALBANIA: OFFICIAL RESULTS IN LOCAL ELECTIONS OUT, DEMOCRATIC PARTY WINS
[23] EU COMMISSION NOT INFORMED ON "INCOMPLETE PEACE" REPORT
[24] TURKEY PREPARES TO VIOLATE CYPRUS' FIR, IN RETALIATION TO "NIKIFOROS" DRILL
[25] RUSSIA: BORIS YELTSIN UNDERGOES FIVE-FOLD BYPASS, CONDITION IS GOOD
[26] MANY UN MEMBERS, AMONG THEM GREECE, CALL FOR DRASTIC CUTS IN MILITARY SPENDING
[27] THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENT CALLED ON PRESIDENT CLINTON TO UNDERTAKE THE INITIATIVES ON CYPRUS HE HAD PROMISED DURING THE PRE-ELECTION PERIOD
[28] THE CYPRIOT PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT DID NOT RULE OUT A US INITIATIVE FOR THE SOLUTION OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM PATTERNED ON THE DAYTON MODEL
[29] HUNGARY SUPPORTS CYPRUS' TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND THE NON RECOGNITION OF THE PSEUDOSTATE IN THE TURKISH OCCUPIED PART OF THE COUNTRY
[30] THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE FOREIGN MINISTERS IS HELD IN STRASBURG TODAY
[31] 200 INMATES IN TURKISH PRISONS ARE ON A HUNGER STRIKE FOR THE PAST 40 DAYS
[32] BOSNIAN PRESIDENCY TO MEET IN SARAJEVO NEXT WEEK
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PREMIER OPTIMISTIC ON ECONOMY'S PATH
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis appeared optimistic on the
country's economic path, speaking in Parliament this evening
during the re-opening of a "The Premier's Hour" session held in
the House.
Mr. Simitis stated that emphasis will be given to limiting
expenses, abolishing many of the existing tax exemptions and
reaching a balance between the inflation reducing measures and
social policy.
The Government's aim, Mr. Simitis stated, is to achieve
Greece's equitable status in comparison to the other European
Union countries.
The abolished tax exemptions are said to include life
insurance premiums, private school fees, legal fees, medical
expenses etc.
Main opposition leader New Democracy's Miltiades Evert
accused the Premier of vagueness and pointed out that the rumors
surrounding the government's imminent taxation measures, recently
cost the country $500 million in suspended trade in one single
day.
[02] NEW DEMOCRACY LEADER SENDS CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO CLINTON
The President of Greece's main opposition party, New
Democracy's Miltiades Evert, has sent a congratulatory telegraph
to the freshly re-elected President of the United States Bill
Clinton for his triumphant victory.
In his message, Mr. Evert expresses his certainty that the
lengthy and historic ties of friendship with which the two peoples
are bound, will become strengthened in his new term and will
promote the further collaboration among the two countries.
[03] GREECE-FYROM TALKS ON NAME ISSUE HELD TODAY IN NEW YORK
A new round of talks on the name issue between Greece and
FYROM was held in New York today, where Greece's Ambassador
Christos Zacharakis and FYROM's representative Ivan Tosevski met
under the auspices of United Nations Secretary General's mediator
Cyrus Vance.
During a break, Mr. Vance responded to questions and stated
that "there is obviously progress made in the talks, since we are
exchanging views" but added that the talks will continue further
through the day.
[04] EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON BALKANS TO BE HELD IN ATHENS TOMORROW
A three-day European Conference on Peace, Democracy and
Cooperation in the Balkans will begin n Athens tomorrow, under the
auspice of the Council of Europe and organized by the Federation
of Balkan Non-Governmental Organizations (FEBANGO).
Over 150 non-governmental experts will participate, along
with politicians, diplomats, academics and businessmen from
Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia and Greece, all of which
are founding members, joined by Croatia, Bosnia, FYROM, Turkey and
various european countries.
Tomorrow's conference will examine ways to more productively
establish and maintain peace in the Balkans and create bridges
between the citizens and their governments.
Scheduled to address the conference are the Greek Minister of
National Defense Akis Tsohatzopoulos and Vice-Minister of Foreign
Affairs Christos Rozakis.
[05] GOVERNMENT TO DRAW FINAL DECISIONS ON STATE'S 1997 BUDGET TODAY
The Government is expected to draw its final decisions today
on the 1997 state budget, after it is reviewed and approved by the
Governmental Committee and the Ministerial Council. The final
draft must be submitted to Parliament by the end of this month.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis met with his
economic avisors who presented the final touches on the draft
budget and the basic directions of the country's economic policies
for the upcoming year.
Present at the meeting were the Minister of National Economy
and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou, Vice Ministers Nikos
Christodoulakis, George Drys, Christos Pachtas, and the Governor
of the Bank of Greece Lukas Papademos.
[06] MAIN OPPOSITION NEW DEMOCRACY TO HOLD POLITICAL COUNCIL TOMORROW
The main opposition party leader, New Democracy's Miltiades
Evert has summoned the N.D. honorary president Konstantinos
Mitsotakis and party deputy George Souflias to another Political
Council to be held tomorrow.
During yesterday's Political Council, the members decided to
expedite the procedures for the party's congress, opting to hold
it in May as opposed to June, while ruling out the possibility of
undergoing interparty changes.
[07] GREECE-FYROM TALKS ON NAME ISSUE TO BE HELD TODAY IN NEW YORK
A new round of talks on the name issue between Greece and
FYROM will be held in New York today.
Greece's Ambassador Christos Zacharakis and FYROM's
representative Ivan Tosevski will meet under the auspices of
United Nations Secretary General's mediator Cyrus Vance.
[08] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT REACTED STRONGLY TO THE REPORT ON THE MINORITIES IN THE BALKANS DRAWN UP BY FORMER BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER LEO TINDEMANNS
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas expressed the
government's strong reaction to the report on the minorities in
the Balkans drawn up by EU Commission official, former belgian
Prime Minister Leo Tindemanns.
Mr.Reppas stressed that in this report is mentioned, in a way
that is unacceptable, a state under the name "Macedonia", while it
is known that within the UN framework the neighbouring state's
name is FYROM and this had to be acknowledged. Mr.Reppas stated
that this fact shows bad faith and prejudice.
The greek government spokesman added that the report also
speaks about a turkish minority when the minority is muslim, while
there is no mentioning of the gypsy and pomac populations.
On the issue of Cyprus, the greek government spokesman
stressed that while in the report are mentioned the "damaging
implications" of the greek government decision to introduce the
joint defence doctrine, the fact that for the past 22 years there
are turkish occupation forces on Cyprus is being totally ignored.
The greek government spokesman also pointed out that those
who prepared the report did not take under consideration the
briefing they had by the greek government and he expressed the
position that the EU Commission has not adopted all the points of
view included in the report.
[09] THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER WILL VISIT A NUMBER OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL CITIES
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will visit a number of
european capital cities in a tour that is scheduled to begin in
the following weeks.
According to greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, the
prime Minister will visit Rome on November 20 while on December 2
and 3 will attend the OSCE summit meeting in Lisbon. On December
12 he will be on a working visit in The Hague and on December 13
and 14 will attend the EU Summit meeting in Dublin.
Meanwhile, the ukrainian President is expected in Athens on
November 12 and 13, while the irish Prime Minister, currently
holding the European Council Presidency, will visit the greek
capital on November 14.
[10] INFLATION IN GREECE WAS 8,3% IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
Inflation in Greece in the month of October dropped to 8,3%
from 8,5% in September, according to data provided by the National
Statistics Agency.
Also, the cost-of-living index showed an increase of 0,9%
which is attributed to the increase of the prices in winter
clothing and footwear and also, to the increases in meat prices,
fruit, vegetables, furniture and household items.
[11] THE GREEK MILITARY EXERCISE "PARMENION 96" ENDED TODAY
The final phase of the greek military exercise "Parmenion 96"
in which live ammunition was used and was held with the
participation of air, sea and land forces was completed today in
Samos in the presence of President Kostis Stephanopoulos and
Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos.
Referring to the accident that happened two days ago, the
President expressed his deep sorrow for the tragic incident. Also,
mr.Stephanopoulos said that the military exercise was held in a
satisfactory manner and proved the greek armed forces' high level
of training.
The Minister of Defence expressed his sorrow for the accident
and pointed out that the military exercise proved that the greek
armed forces are well-trained and effective.
Meanwhile, the search continues for the location of the four
petty officers from the missile boat "Kostakos" who are still
missing since their boat was sunk two days ago near the island of
Samos after being rammed by the ferry boat "Samaina".
A preliminary inquiry is underway to determine the causes of
the accident, while legal proceedings have started against the
captain of "Samaina" who said in his testimony that he saw the
missile boat when it was very close to his ship and at that time
collision was unavoidable.
[12] TURKISH FIGHTER JETS VIOLATED AGAIN THE GREEK AIR SPACE
New violations of the greek air space by turkish fighter jets
participating in the military exercise "Toros" were recorded
yesterday and today.
In total, were recorded 52 violations of the Athens FIR and
of the greek air space over the region between the islands of
Chios and Lesvos and south-east of Rhodes. The turkish fighter
jets were intercepted by greek fighter jets that participated in
the greek military exercise "Parmenion 96".
[13] THE GREEK PRESIDENT SENT A CONGRATULATORY TELEGRAM TO US PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ON HIS RE-ELECTION
Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos sent a congratulatory
telegram to US President Bill Clinton on his re-election to the
Presidency.
Mr.Stephanopoulos underlines the close ties between the two
countries and expresses the belief that they will continue to be
strengthened and developed for the benefit of both peoples.
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas also congratulated
mr.Clinton for his re-election and stated that as far as Greece is
concerned his work will be judged by the course of the greek
national issues.
[14] GREECE IS GETTING CLOSE TO THE TARGETS OF THE CONVERGENCE PROGRAMME ACCORDING TO THE EU COMMISSION
Greece shows an improvement in its macro-economic indexes
getting closer to the targets of the EU convergence programme,
according to an EU Commission draft report on the convergence
course of Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal which is expected to
be adopted during the EU Commission's meeting today.
The target for 1996 concerning Greece's state deficits has
been set to 7,6% of its GDP and according to the EU Commission, it
will show an increase of 3/10 of a percentage point. Based on
those facts, the EU Commission has no reason to suspend Greece's
financing from the convergence fund.
Nevertheless, in the report is mentioned that the EU
Commission has serious reasons for concern based on which, Greece
might not be able to meet this target and according to
information, is expected that in today's meeting will be proposed
the sending of a letter to the greek authorities recommending that
measures should be taken aimed at winning the convergence
objective.
According to the EU Commission, the worst record in meeting
the convergence criteria belongs to Spain, while the best
improvement in the macro-economic indexes is found in Ireland.
[15] GREEK-BULGARIAN MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE NORTHERN GREEK CITY OF KOMOTINI FOR THE OPENING OF A NEW BORDER CROSSIN
A greek-bulgarian meeting will be held in the northern greek
city of Komotini on November 20 in order to be decided what will
be the exact location of the new border crossing of Gotse Deltsev-
Drama, according to statements made by the bulgarian
Transportations Minister.
Based on a report published by the bulgarian newspaper
"Trud", in the meeting is also expected to be discussed and the
issue of the exploitation of the waters of Nestos River.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[16] DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT BILL CLINTON RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES
United States Democratic incumbent Bill Clinton was re-
elected President of the United States in yesterday's elections,
garnering 50 per cent of the electoral votes against his opponent
Bob Dole who earned 42 per cent.
President Clinton is the first democrat to be re-elected
since Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940s. Clinton's running mate is
vice-president Al Gore.
The voter turnout in these elections was 49 per cent of the
electorate body, the lowest in the country's election history,
according to television network CNN.
[17] YUGOSLAV PREMIER SUPPORTS M.P.A.'S BALKAN DATA BANK AND DIAVLOS
Prime Minister of Federal Yugoslavia Radoye Kondic, expressed
his support of the programs founded by the Macedonian Press
Agency, Balkan Data Bank and Diavlos, during his meeting with the
news agencies' Directors-General and Technical Directors who are
members of the Association of Balkan News Agencies, during a
meeting held recently in Belgrade.
Mr. Kondic stated that stabilizing his country's trade and
economic relations with international organizations will serve as
the premise for F.R.Y.'s further development.
F.R.Y.'s Vice Premier Jovan Zebic, hosted a formal reception
in honor of ABNA's officials, attended by the ambassadors of
Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey to F.R.Y.
Mr. Zebic expressed his joy at the fact that the first
international cofnerence that took place in his country, following
the lift of sanctions imposed by the United Nations, was this
meeting of the Balkan News Agencies.
[18] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE VARTHOLOMEOS TOURS HONG-KONG AND AUSTRALIA
The Ecumenical Patriarchate Vartholomeos recently conducted a
two-day visit to Hong-Kong where he met with representatives from
the Greek and Serb communities.
A formal reception given in honor of the Patriarchate was
attended by the Greek and Turkish Consul-Generals to Hong Kong.
Following Hong-Kong, Mr. Vartholomeos departed for Australia
where he will stay for two weeks, beginning with the city of
Perth.
On November 9, the Ecumenical Patriarch will visit Adelaide.
On November 12 he will be in Camberra to meet with Prime Minister
John Howard and General Governor Sir William Dean, while he will
also visit the embassies of Greece and Turkey.
On November 13 he will visit Melbourne, while on the 18th he
will be in Brisbane. His visit to New Zealand will take place on
the 19th and to Sidney on the 22nd of November. In all of the
australian states he will visit, the Ecumenical Patriarch will be
received with state leader's honours and will have meetings with
local Governors and Prime Ministers.
[19] EUROPEAN UNION: CURRENT STATUS OF CYPRUS IS UNACCEPTABLE
The current status of Cyprus is unacceptable, according to a
report given by the European Union regarding racism and the right
to self direction, presented during the United Nations' Third
Committee.
The EU condemned the violent episodes that took place at the
island, as well as the murders of the three unarmed Greek-Cypriot
civilians, while pointing out that these events illustrate the
need to settle the matter under the UN's auspices.
[20] YUGOSLAVIA: ELECTION FINAL RESULTS OUT, MILOSEVIC'S LEFT COALITION WINS
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's leftist coalition -
Milosevic's ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) in alliance
with the Yugoslav Left (JUL) led by Milosevic's wife Mira Markovic
and the New Democracy party (ND)- has earned 45.41 per cent of
the votes cast in the country's federal parliamentary elections,
according to official results published by the Central Returning
Board.
Milosevic's coalition secured 64 seats - out of 138 total-
in the Parliament's Lower House. Lagging far behing is the
centrist coalition Together (Zayiendo) which garnered 23.22 per
cent of the votes with 22 seats, followed by the Serb Radical
Party (SRS) with 18.78 per cent and 16 seats.
Seat allocation is of utmost significance in the Lower House
since the Serb and Montenegran Socialists hold the absolute
majority, 84 seats, but fall short of meeting the two-thirds
ceiling (93 seats) needed for constitutional reform.
It is apparent that such reform is imperative for Milosevic,
who closely eyes the presidency, as he aims to extend his duties
as President of Yugoslavia to beyond those of decorative nature.
The term of Yugoslavia's current President Zoran Lilic ends in
December of 1997.
These are the country's first elections following the war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina and the lift of the embargo imposed on Belgrade
from the international community, with a voter turn-out reaching
60.70 per cent of the electorate body. It should be noted that
voting is not mandatory in FRY.
[21] ROMANIA: ILIESCU LEADS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENT
Romanians were called to the polling stations last Sunday to
elect the members of their parliament's two chambers and the
country's new president.
Incumbent President Ion Iliescu, supported by the Party of
Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), has earned 32.31 per cent of
the votes, as opposed to the other major contender, opposition
party's Democratic Coalition of Romania (CDR) Emil Constantinescu
with 28.07 per cent.
In the presidential battle, the two opponents will seek to
secure the lion's share of the 20.55 per cent of the votes cast in
favor of the former Premier Petre Roman, President of the United
Social-Democrats (USD).
Roman had withdrawn from the premiership under an initiative
taken by Iliescu, yet his supporters seem to lean towards the
incumbent, as opposed to the center-right candidate.
CDR is the main party in both chambers of the Parliament,
with approximately 30 per cent, while PDSR, a stronghold in
Parliament ever since the overthrow of the communist regime in
December 1989, garnered 23.1 per cent in the Senate and 21.6 in
the House of Representatives.
The elections took place at a difficult time for Romania, a
country traversing a process of transition to the market economy,
a telling factor of the people's living standrard.
[22] ALBANIA: OFFICIAL RESULTS IN LOCAL ELECTIONS OUT, DEMOCRATIC PARTY WINS
Albania's incumbent Democratic Party has prevailed in the
local election run-offs held on Sunday, gathering majority votes
in 58 out of the 64 municipalities that re-held the elections,
according to the Central Returning Board.
Second emerged the Socialist Party, having won in four
municipalities, while the Party of the Union of Human Rights came
in third during last Sunday's local elections where 72 per cent of
the registered voters turned out to cast their ballot.
[23] EU COMMISSION NOT INFORMED ON "INCOMPLETE PEACE" REPORT
Dutch EU Commissioner Hans Van Den Broek appeared to adopt a
report on the Balkans titled "Incomplete Peace" wherein Greece is
criticized for its performance on minority rights issues and the
term "Macedonia" is widely used in reference to FYROM.
Mr. Van Den Broek presented the report during a conference
with the International Committee for the Balkans, which has been
sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and
the Aspen Institute of Berlin, and stated that he himself adopts
on general terms the analysis of the situation and the
suggestions offered by the Committee.
Greek Commissioner Christos Papoutsis reacted strongly to the
report and to Mr. Van Dern Broek's statements and issued a formal
response wherein he stated that the European Commission has not
been informed of the report and asked that acute attention and
responsibility be given to these matters.
[24] TURKEY PREPARES TO VIOLATE CYPRUS' FIR, IN RETALIATION TO "NIKIFOROS" DRILL
Turkey is preparing to violate Cyprus' FIR, and is working on
a seven-day military flights operation, in retaliation to the
Cypriot National Guard's recently-held military exercise
"Nikiforos '96."
Ankara has informed the Greek authorities of its intention to
conduct military flights, but not the cypriot authorities,
although, based on the flight plan that has been communicated to
Greece, turkish fighter jets will fly into Nicosia's FIR between 7-
14 of November.
Meanwhile, according to reports, during the turkish military
exercise "Tavros" which began yesterday in the eastern
Mediterranean and extends into the occupied territory of Cyprus,
turkish fighter jets are expected to conduct massive violations of
Cyprus' FIR.
[25] RUSSIA: BORIS YELTSIN UNDERGOES FIVE-FOLD BYPASS, CONDITION IS GOOD
Russia's President Boris Yeltsin underwent a five-fold bypass
in an open heart operation that lasted over seven hours.
United States heart surgeon Michael Dibekey stated that the
Russian President's condition is good, there were no complications
in the surgery, but the recovery period wil last from six weeks to
two months.
The surgeon also stated that had the 65-year-old Yeltsin not
undergone this operation, he would not have been able to continue
with his presidential duties.
"His heart is now functioning at 100 per cent of its
capability, whereas prior to the surgery it functioned at only 20
per cent," the treating physician said.
Following the operation, Mr. Yeltsin met with Russian Prime
Minister Victor Cernomyrdin and reclaimed the presidential duties
which he had assigned to the Premier while he was in surgery.
[26] MANY UN MEMBERS, AMONG THEM GREECE, CALL FOR DRASTIC CUTS IN MILITARY SPENDING
Greece together with other western countries tabled a draft
resolution to the UN General Assembly calling for a decision on
drastic cuts in military spending.
In the draft resolution is suggested that UN Secretary
General Boutros Ghali should brief all the UN member states on
this initiative.
The countries participating in it also call for objective
information on military issues while they maintain that every
country should inform the rest on its military spending.
[27] THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENT CALLED ON PRESIDENT CLINTON TO UNDERTAKE THE INITIATIVES ON CYPRUS HE HAD PROMISED DURING THE PRE-ELECTION PERIOD
Cypriot President Glafkos Kliridis stated that US President
Bill Clinton now that he is re-elected should undertake the
initiatives he had promised during the pre-election period,
stressing that the United States should play a positive role for
the solution of the Cyprus problem.
Referring to his meeting with greek Undersecretary of Foreign
Affairs Christos Rozakis the cypriot President stated that they
discussed Cyprus' course toward its accession to the European
Union. He also said that the strategy, that will be jointly
followed by Cyprus and Greece in view of the initiative expected
to be undertaken in February or March, must be determined in
advance before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, cypriot Foreign Minister Alekos Michailidis and
greek Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Christos Rozakis
characterized as successful and fruitful the talks they had on the
Cyprus issue.
[28] THE CYPRIOT PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT DID NOT RULE OUT A US INITIATIVE FOR THE SOLUTION OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM PATTERNED ON THE DAYTON MODEL
The Cyprus problem and the course of the implementation of
the joint defence doctrine adopted by Greece and Cyprus were the
main topics of discussion in the meeting held this morning between
greek Prime Minister, Kostas Simitis and cypriot Parliament
President Spyros Kyprianou, who continues his formal visit to
Athens.
Later, mr.Kyprianou in a joint press conference with greek
Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis stressed that he does
not rule out a US initiative for the solution of the Cyprus
problem that will include a solution patterned on the Dayton
model.
He also did not rule out the likelihood of blackmail for the
solution of the Cyprus problem based on the fact that the country
is on an EU accession course.
The cypriot Parliament President also pointed out that
initiatives are not rejected if they are undertaken within the
framework of the UN Security Council resolutions and have as an
objective the just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem.
[29] HUNGARY SUPPORTS CYPRUS' TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND THE NON RECOGNITION OF THE PSEUDOSTATE IN THE TURKISH OCCUPIED PART OF THE COUNTRY
Hungary supports the UN resolutions on Cyprus concerning the
country's territorial integrity and the non recognition of the
pseudostate in the turkish occupied part of the country, according
to a reply letter sent by the hungarian Prime Minister to the
hungarian Labour party President.
Hungarian Labour party President, Thermer Gula made
representations to his country's Prime Minister after being
informed on the incidents in Derinia by Dimitris Christofias,
General Secretary of the cypriot political party of AKEL.
The Hungarian Prime Minister stresses in his letter that both
his government and the public opinion in his country were shocked
by the scenes of horror shown on television from the brutal
beating and the shooting of unarmed civilians in Derinia that
resulted in the deaths of two greek-cypriots and the injuring of
tens of others.
The hungarian Prime Minister also expressed strong concern
over the lives of the hungarian peace-keepers in Cyprus "who are
there to serve peace", as he characteristically mentioned.
[30] THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE FOREIGN MINISTERS IS HELD IN STRASBURG TODAY
The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly meeting began
today with a formal ceremony for Croatia's accession to the
international organization, while the Council of Europe Foreign
Ministers meeting is also being held to discuss issues concerning
security and cooperation. Greece is represented by alternate
Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou.
The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights will also
meet to discuss among others issues concerning the obligations and
commitments undertaken by Albania, the Czech Republic, Romania,
Russia, Slovakia and Turkey.
[31] 200 INMATES IN TURKISH PRISONS ARE ON A HUNGER STRIKE FOR THE PAST 40 DAYS
Two hundred inmates in turkish prisons, members of the
kurdish PKK party, are on a hunger strike for the past 40 days,
according to information published today by the Human Rights
Association.
Already, 3 of the 85 hunger strikers in the Aidin Prison have
been taken to hospital but two of them refused treatment and
returned to jail. It should be noted that 84 prisoners are on a
hunger strike in the Konia Prison and 48 in the Prison of Amasia.
The hunger strikers demand the improvement of living
conditions in their prisons while they call on the Justice
Ministry to keep the promises it gave last summer in order to stop
the mass hunger strikes that resulted in the deaths of 12 inmates.
[32] BOSNIAN PRESIDENCY TO MEET IN SARAJEVO NEXT WEEK
The three-member Presidency of the Union of Bosnia-
Herzegovina will meet next Tuesday in a Serb suburb of Sarajevo,
Tanjug reported.
This will be the fifth working Session, the second in Serb
territory, focusing on the Constitution of joint institutions.
Presidency members Alija Izetbegovic, (Muslim President),
Momcilo Krajisnik (Serb) and Kresimir Zubak (Croat) are expected
to reach an agreement on the composition of the Council of
Ministers, comprised by five ministers and a president. According
to Tanjug's sources, the Prime Minister's portfolio is to be
assigned to a Serb, while the Foreign Ministry portfolio to a
Croat.
The agenda will include other issues such as the Presidency's
activities in preparing international conferences on Bosnia, to be
held in Paris during November and in London during December.
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/
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