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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 96-11-12From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>Macedonian Press Agency: News in English DirectoryMACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISHThessaloniki, November 12, 1996NEWS IN ENGLISH[A] NATIONAL NEWS[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWSTITLES[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS IN DETAIL[A] NATIONAL NEWS[01] THE EFFORTS FOR THE RE-OPENING OF THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE CONTINUERepresentatives of the Stock Brokers' Association met today with the General Secretary of the Ministry of National Economy Apostolos Fotiadis within the framework of the efforts made for the re-opening of the Athens Stock Exchange. Already, three members of the association have been placed in the Stock Exchange and undertook the settlement of the "Delta Securities" brokerage firm transactions, involved in the financial scandal revealed last week. The Athens Stock Exchange held today a short session and the price index closed with an increase of 0,29%, while the value of transactions reached 4 million drachmas. Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Economy ordered audits to be held in 10 brokerage firms that appear to have problems in their transactions. [02] MINISTER OF NATIONAL ECONOMY AND FINANCE ON STOCK MARKET CRISISThe Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou stated today that the crisis in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) in reality reflects the difficulty some companies have in adjusting to the Government's new legislation on the stock market and added that it is no coincidence that the crisis emerged a few days after the new laws were put into effect. Speaking from Brussels where he attended the ECOFIN Council, Mr. Papantoniou stated that "the new laws were set into enforcement on November 1, while the crisis emerged right after a succinct order was issued to apply the new legislation very strictly, threatening with sanctions all those who violate the rules." When asked who will be called on to cover the "black hole" created by the escapades of the Delta Securities firm, the Economy Minister stated that it is not possible for the State to undertake the burden of every company that violates the law or is faced with financial problems. "Something like this, which happens in stock markets all over the world, is the stock market's responsibility," Mr. Papantoniou said. He emphasized that the ASE is currently in a position to operate, regardless if it doesn't because the brokers won't work, and issued a stern warning to all those involved in the stock market to be "especially careful in the future and to uphold the procedures and terms as assigned by the State." [03] THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT MET IN ATHENS TODAY WITH THE GREEK PARLIAMENT PRESIDENTCoincidence of views was ascertained in the meeting held in Athens today between Ukrainian President Leonid Kudzma and greek Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis. Both men stressed that the greek-ukrainian relations move forward with a satisfactory pace and expressed the will to have them further developed and strengthened. The ukrainian President thanked Greece for its support to his country's efforts for membership in the Council of Europe and in other european organizations as well, and expressed great joy for the opportunity he had to visit one of the most historic Parliaments in Europe. Mr.Kaklamanis underlined that the excellent cooperation between the two countries will be strengthened with visits that will be made by parliamentarians, while he expressed his intention to visit Kiev. The ukrainian President also visited the Acropolis accompanied by greek Minister of Culture Evangelos Venizelos, who raised the issue of the Parthenon Marbles and their return to Athens from the British Museum, while at the same time, he stressed the positive stance adopted by the ukrainian side. Mr.Venizelos briefed the unkrainian President on the events that will be held in Thessaloniki in 1997, when the city will be the Cultural Capital of Europe, in which the Ukraine will formally participate. [04] THE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE MET TODAY FOR THE FINAL PROCESSING OF THE ECONOMIC MEASURES THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE 1997 BUDGETThe government committee, presided over by greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, met today for the final processing of the economic measures that will be included in the 1997 budget. On Thursday, there will be a cabinet meeting to discuss the promotion of the draft bills concerning cuts in public spending and tax reliefs. The government's final decisions are expected to be presented for approval to PASOK's parliamentary group and also to the party Central Committee during their joint sessions that will be held on Friday and Saturday. [05] A US STATE DEPARTMENT DELEGATION ARRIVES IN ATHENS TODAYA US State Department delegation was expected to arrive this afternoon in Athens for contacts with greek Foreign Ministry high officials. The three-member US State Department delegation will be in Athens in view of the important american initiatives for the solution of the Cyprus problem that are expected to be undertaken in the first two months of 1997. Their contacts will be completed with talks and meetings they will have in Nicosia with cypriot government officials. [06] GREEK EURO-DEPUTY MR.KRANIDIOTIS ACCUSED TURKEY OF VIOLATING THE CUSTOMS UNION AGREEMENT WITH THE EUGreek Euro-Deputy from the governing party of PASOK mr.Yiannos Kranidiotis in a question to the European Commission accuses Turkey of violating the customs union agreement with the European Union. The question was made after the European Commission's decision to avoid mentioning the issue in its recent report on the progress of the relations between the EU and Turkey. Specifically, mr.Kranidiotis asks to be informed on the measures the European Union intends to take in order to deal with the indirect increase of tariffs in Turkey. According to the greek Euro-Deputy, the customs union agreement with the EU signed by Turkey in 1995 provides that the parties involved have the obligation to impose no customs tariffs or taxes on the transactions between them, while they are also obligated to implement a common customs tariff in their trade relations with third countries. Mr.Kranidiotis mentioned that based on all that, Turkey's decision to impose new tariffs is in conflict with the obligations it has undertaken toward the European Union. [07] THE GREEK ALTERNATE FOREIGN MINISTER LEAVES ON FRIDAY FOR BONNGreek alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou will make a short visit to Bonn on Friday where he will meet with german Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Werner Hoyer responsible for european affairs to discuss issues concerning the Inter- Governmental Conference. The meeting will take place in view of the Summit meeting that will be held in Dublin in December. [08] GREECE HOLDS A SEAT ON THE U.N. INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMITTEEGreece has been assigned one out of the 34 seats of the United Nations' International Law Committee, following yesterday's voting in the General Assembly held at the U.N. headquarters in New York, and will be represented by professor Konstantinos Economides. The Cypriot candidate, Andreas Iakovides, was not assigned one of the seven seats of the "Asian Group", while the candidacy of the Turkish Ambassador was withdrawn days prior to the voting. United Nations diplomatic circles emphasize the significance of the Committee which, according to the spokesperson of the General Assembly's President Ismael Rozali, features the participation of renowned figures in International Law. Among the countries participating in the "Western European Group", aside from Greece, are Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Austria, as well as the United States and Australia which fall under the same group. [09] GREECE'S JUSTICE MINISTER ON VISIT TO CYPRUSGreek Minister of Justice Evangelos Yiannopoulos has embarked on a three-day visit to Cyprus where he will attend tomorrow's anti-occupation events denouncing the illegal regime of Turkish- Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on the island's northern territory. Mr. Yiannopoulos will be the featured speaker in the commemmorative event which this year is dedicated to the memories of Tasos Isaak and Solomos Solomou, the two Greek-Cypriot civilians who were murdered in cold blood this summer by turkish forces. During his stay, the Justice Minister will meet with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides, Archbishop Chrysostomos, the President of the Cypriot Parliament Spyros Kyprianou, the Cypriot Minister of Justice and Public Order Alekos Evaggelou and officials from other parties. [10] U.S. OFFICIALS ON CYPRIOT ISSUE TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS TODAYA delegation of American officials will arrive in Athens this evening in order to embark on a series of visits with the leaders of the Greek government's offices of greek-turkish and greek- american affairs. Among the State Department officials is Carey Cavanaugh, Director of the Office of Southeastern European Affairs at the United States and special envoy for the cypriot issue. The U.S. diplomats will meet with the Greek Ambassadors A. Savaides and N. Ladopoulos and the Greek Ministry's director of the greek-turkish relations department, Elias Klis, while they are expected to meet with the Greek Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Christos Rozakis. [11] THE SAD "FAYUM PORTRAITS" - THE MYSTERIOUS GREEK PAINTINGS USED FOR THE DECORATION OF THE EGYPTIAN MUMMIES OF ROMAN TIMESThe ancient greek paintings that decorated the egyptian mummies of the Roman Times, the sad "Fayum Portraits", described by Andre Malraux as glowing with a flame of immortal life, were presented in Cairo today by greek painter Euphrosyne Doxiadis within the framework of the Kavafis International Symposium held in the egyptian capital. Products of the greek naturalistic tradition, the Fayum Portraits are the forerunners of the byzantine icons and appear as if they have captured life itself. The viewer becomes involved in direct communion with the person portrayed, who is, as if in limbo, in a twilight zone between life and death. The beautiful and mysterious portraits, that were first discovered in the region of Fayum in Egypt, began appearing in Europe and the United States in the 1880's, while a large collection of them was in the hands of austrian art dealer Theodor Graf, who maintained that they were the portraits of the Ptolemies. Better documented were those found in Hawara in the exemplary excavations carried out by british archaeologist W.M.Flinders Petrie. Today, the known Fayum Portraits are over 1000. The Fayum is an area located 60 kilometers south of Cairo where the greeks and the hellenized inhabitants buried their dead. There and elsewhere in Roman Egypt the dead, who were wealthy enough, were mummified and provided with a painted portrait, either on a thin wooden panel or on a shroud, fixed over the face. Today, the greek artist Euphrosyne Doxiadis, versed in the traditions of Byzantine icon-painting, reveals the techniques used to produce the Fayum Portraits and their fine artistic quality, while showing how the Fayum Portraits relate to Byzantine icon- painting in a tradition that extends from ancient Greece to the Renaissance and on to the present day. Speaking to MPA, ms.Doxiadis said that the idea for her book "The Fayum Portraits" belongs to her friend the famous greek painter Yiannis Tsarouchis, who always used to say to her that it would have been good if someone wrote a book showing that the Fayum Portraits are greek. Ms.Doxiadis also stressed that Tsarouchis had come to realize that the Fayums were part of the ancient greek heritage. According to ms.Doxiadis, greek inscriptions were found on certain of them, adding that many had been destroyed in the excavations held by europeans at the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century. Ms.Doxiadis said that scientists trying to determine the exact period of time during which those portraits were made, came to the conclusion that they first appeared in 14AD and suddenly disappeared at the end of the 3rd century AD. The Fayum Portraits were not known to the general public for many years mainly because they could not be attributed to named artists and also, because they were scattered all over the world, sometimes in different sections of the same museum. Furthermore, they were initially dogged by the reputation that they were fakes partly because the late 19th century austrian dealer Theodor Graf absurdly claimed them to be portraits of the Ptolemies, and partly because those in his collection were so perfectly preserved or so over-restored that all seemed too good to be true. [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS[12] THE SEARCH CONTINUES FOR THE LOCATION OF THE 4TH CREW MEMBER OF THE TURKISH HELICOPTER THAT CRASHED SOUTH-EAST OF RHODESThe search continues for the location of the fourth crew member of the turkish helicopter that crashed for unknown reasons in the early morning hours today in the sea region, 35 miles south- east of the Aegean island of Rhodes during a NATO exercise. Earlier, NATO forces, participating in the same military exercise with the turkish helicopter, had located three members of its crew who were found dead. The turkish helicopter had taken off from the turkish frigate "Barbaros", which participated in the NATO military exercise. Immediately after the crash, a greek Air Force C-130 transport plane flew over the region to participate in the search for the location of the helicopter crew members, while shortly afterwards helicopters took off from Rhodes with the same mission. In the search participates and the greek Navy frigate "Andrias". Meanwhile, a turkish air and sea military exercise begins today in north and central Aegean, expected to last 3 to 4 days, and the greek Air Force is in a state of alert for the possibility of greek air space violations by the turks. [13] FYROM SUBMITS FIVE PROPOSALS FOR COOPERATION WITH GREECEThe Greek Government has received five proposals submitted by the government of FYROM on ways to develop cooperation between the two countries, within the framework of their interim agreement. The proposals concern the strengthening of economic and trade cooperation and the creation of fertile grounds for greek investments in FYROM. Also, FYROM has proposed the creation of a consulate-trade department in the Greek Liaison Office located in Skopje, as well as a consulate of FYROM in Thessaloniki. Moreover, the neighbouring country proposes the signing of an agreement to combat crime, illicit trade, drug trafficking and international terrorism, the drawing of environmental protection measures, the establishment of commercial airline flights and cooperation in the sectors of education, archaeology and history. The proposals submitted by FYROM also ask that Greece renew its agreement with the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. Greece's answer to these proposals is expected to be given next week, through the Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis' response to the formal invitation to visit FYROM, issued by the Foreign Minister of FYROM Ljubomir Frtchkovski. [14] ARCHBISHOP OF AMERICA SPYRIDON IN ASTORIAThe Archbishop of America Spyridon officiated the holy liturgy at Astoria's St. Demitrius Cathedral on Sunday, where he emphasized the relation between Orthodoxy and Hellenism. "For us, the orthodox of America, the Greek letters are not an end in themselves, they are closley related to Orthodoxy because Orthodoxy can not be imagined separately from Hellenism," the Archbishop stated. Moreover, his Eminence stated that whether Orthodoxy is Greek, Russian, Bulgarian or Romanian it always contains strong the Greek element, "and under this prism I see the significance of Greek letters." [15] YUGOSLAV TRADE FAIR IN ATHENS FOR FIRST TIMEYugoslav businesses from practically every sector of the economy will present their products in the first trade fair to be held in Athens between December 3-7. Given that Greece holds sixth place in the sectors of foreign trade, (during the first ten months of 1996 trade volume reached $170 million) the Yugoslav Economic Chamber decided that the such exhibit in Greece will contribute to their country's development. According to Yugoslav official reports, the optimal areas of trade are construction projects, production of building and agricultural machinery, transportation, glass manufacturing, modernization of railroads, metallurgy and information systems. The F.R.Y. Minister of Economics stated that the exhibit is a way to present the yugoslav businesses to foreign investors, and aims at a more active involvement with the foreign markets and the achievement of the economic policy targets. Also, the deputy minister of Public Works in Serbia stated that the yugoslav construction companies are intensely interested in participating in structure projects conducted in Greece which are funded by the European Union. [16] U.S. PRESIDENT CLINTON REPORTED AS BEING EVASIVE ON CYPRIOT ISSUEUnited States President-elect Bill Clinton appears to backtrack on his pre-election campaign promises in regards to the Cyprus problem, according to reports by the Cypriot News Agency (KYPE). According to KYPE, Mr. Clinton addressed a letter to the President of the Cypriot Federation of America Panikos Papanikolaou, wherein he skillfully avoids any mention of the cypriot issue and of Turkey's role and merely speaks generally of freedom and human rights. During his election campaign, President Clinton had issued another letter wherein he had condemned the murders of the two Greek-Cypriot civilians who were killed by turkish forces, and had promised that an american initiative on the issue will be unveiled immediately after the election, in order to reach a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus problem. According to Greek-American and Cypriot community leaders, Mr. Clinton is believed to be subjected to strong pressures by the Turkish lobby within the Senate and the Pentagon, which, even if the american initiative is expressed, will force the American President to adopt an "equal- distances" policy expediting the problem-solving process, while he is expected to exert pressures towards all directions in achieving an all-inclusive solution. [17] FYROM IMPORTS 14.000 LITRES OF PETROL FROM GREECE, BULGARIA AND FRYFYROM began importing a total of 14.000 litres of petrol, unleaded and super, based on a government decision that was made after it was concluded that the existing gasoline supplies in the country were not enough to fully cover the needs of the market. The petrol will be gradually imported from Greece, Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by FYROM's oil supply and distribution company "Makpetrol" and by the country's oil refineries. According to estimates comming from both companies, the import of the 14.000 litres of petrol will cover the consumer needs until the end of the year. [18] EU FINANCE MINISTERS MEET ON EMU BUDGET PLANGreek National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou attended the European Union's Finance Ministers ECOFIN Council in Brussels yesterday, where the officials worked on an accord that seeks to enforce budgetary regulations among EU member- counries in light of the economic and monetary union. According to reports, efforts to achieve a budget stability pact before the EU's December Summit are uncertain as the ECOFIN participants offered a mixed picture of how quickly they could reach an agreement. [19] VAN DEN BROEK: YES TO CYPRUS' EU ACCESSION AND MEDA FUNDS TO TURKEYThe Dutch Commissioner for the European Union's Foreign Affairs Hans van den Broek has reiterated the EU's commitment to begin negotiations on Cyprus's accession to the EU six months after the Intergovernmental Conference. Addressing the European Parliament, Mr. van den Broek condemned the recent murders of the Greek-Cypriot civilians who were killed in Cyprus by turkish forces last summer, stating that these incidents were provoked in order to give the impression that the divided island's two communities cannot co-exist peacefully. In regards to EU-Turkey relations, the Dutch Commissioner stated that as it is now, it is difficult to ascertain the priorities in Turkey's foreign affairs, thus making a clear-yet- indirect reference to the schism noted between Turkish Premier Necmettin Erbakan and Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller. Yet, Mr. van den Broek supported that a complete isolation of Turkey from the EU would be "counter-productive" for all and, as a result, believes that the funding from the MEDA financing program should be continued in the upcoming year towards Turkey in the areas provided for by the Europarliament's recent resolution, such as human rights, democratization and programs for southeastern Turkey. [20] BULGARIA: PREMIER JEAN VIDENOV RECEIVES VOTE OF CONFIDENCEBulgarian Prime Minister Jean Videnov received a vote of confidence from the Highest Council and Parliamentary Group of his Socialist Party, with 87 votes in favor, and 69 against. In a marathon meeting that lasted over 20 hours, the Socialist Party discussed the results of the recent presidential elections and Mr. Videnov requested the vote of confidence so that he may proceed to the application of his economic stability measures within the following two years and until the parliamentary elections scheduled for two years from now. The Bulgarian conservative opposition, President-elect Peter Stoyanov's United Democratic Forces (UDF), has already stated firmly that it does not intend to support any socialist government and will drive the country to early parliamentary elections. [21] ROMANIA: SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS THIS SUNDAYThe second round of Romania's presidential elections will be held next Sunday, November 17, with incumbent Ion Iliescu of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) combating his opponent Emil Constantinescu of the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR). In the first round of the elections held on November 23, Iliescu gathered 33 per cent of the votes, against Constantinescu's 30 per cent. Constantinescu's CDR) is the main party in both chambers of the country's Parliament, with approximately 30 per cent, while Iliescu's 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 results secure a coalition between CDR and the Socialdemocratic Union headed by ex-premier P. Roman. [22] BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE DISCOVERED GUN OF LUKANOV'S ASSASSINThe Bulgarian District Attorney confirmed today that the gun discovered last week in a Sofia residence is the same with which former Premier Andrei Lukanov was assassinated. The nine millimeter handgun was submitted for ballistic tests at the Criminology Institute of Sofia. Lukanov, Bulgaria's two-time former Premier and a leading member of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, was assassinated on October 3 outside his home in Sofia. 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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