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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 97-02-15Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.Last Update: 16:36 GMT+2SECTIONS
NEWS HEADLINES[A] GREECE[B] BALKANS[C] EUROPENEWS IN DETAIL[A] GREECE[01] TSOCHATZOPOULOS: GREECE MUST BE READY TO GIVE AN EQUAL RESPONSE IN CASE OF A TURKISH ATTACKWeb Posted: 16:32 GMT+2Thessaloniki 15 February (MPA)Greece must be ready to respond to Turkey in a flexible and equal way both with military and political moves, stated Minister of Defence Akis Tsochatzopoulos. Speaking in Thessaloniki last night, mr.Tsochatzopoulos sent a message to Ankara on the 12-mile limit leaving open the possibility of the expansion of the Greek territorial waters, while he stressed that the kind of the Greek response will depend on the seriousness of the Turkish provocation.[02] THE GREEK MINISTER OF DEFENSE TO VISIT GERMANY ON MONDAYWeb Posted: 16:32 GMT+2Athens 15 February (MPA)Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos will be in Germany on Monday for a two-day formal visit.During his stay in Bonn, mr.Tsochatzopoulos will meet with his German counterpart Folker Rue and will attend working meetings with German Defense Ministry officials. The Greek Minister will have talks over issues concerning bilateral relations, the Greek-Turkish issues, the Cyprus issue, the developments in the Balkan region and the Alliance's eastward expansion. Also, mr.Tsochatzopoulos will meet with members of the German-Hellenic Parliamentary Group and leading members of the Greek community in Germany. [03] THE ECONOMIC DEMANDS OF THE STRIKING TEACHERS WILL NOT BE METWeb Posted: 16:36 GMT+2Athens 15 February (MPA)The secondary school teachers will continue their strike for a fifth consecutive week while yesterday the cabinet decided that their economic demands will not be met. The main teachers' union will hold a mass rally in Thessaloniki on Monday, while in the afternoon of the same day will decide on the recommendations it will make to the local teachers' unions which will decide on their stance next Wednesday.[B] BALKANS[04] YILMAZ TABLED A CENSURE MOTION AGAINST THE ERBAKAN GOVERNMENTWeb Posted: 16:32 GMT+2Ankara 15 February (MPA)Mesut Yilmaz's "Motherland" party tabled a censure motion against the Erbakan-Ciller coalition government accusing it of leading the country and the workers to a dead end, and also of using its power to favour only the security forces.The censure motion will be discussed in the National Assembly plenary session that will be held on February 25. [05] PEACEFUL EFFORT AIMED AT PERSUADING TOURISTS NOT TO VISIT THE TURKISH OCCUPIED TERRITORIES IN CYPRUSWeb Posted: 16:32 GMT+2Nicosia 15 February (MPA)About 50 demonstrators from different organizations continue their peaceful effort aimed at persuading the foreign tourists not to visit the Turkish occupied territories in Cyprus by informing them on the continuing Turkish occupation of the island.According to a Cypriot News Agency report, the demonstrators managed by distributing information material to persuade several tourists not to visit the occupied territories, while the situation in the Lydra Palace passage is calm. [06] CHANGES IN THE BULGARIAN ELECTORAL LAWWeb Posted: 16:32 GMT+2Sofia 15 February (MPA)Two Electoral Law amendments were voted through by the Bulgarian Parliament before its dissolution in view of the early general elections that will be held in the country on April 19. The changes concern the adoption of one- colour ballot papers (white) and the reduction of the percentage of votes needed by a political party to be represented in Parliament from 4% to 3%.The discussions on the need of those amendments continued for a long time in Bulgaria, which is a country with a developing political system, and the 3% limit increases the chances of the newest and smallest political parties to be represented in Parliament. [07] TURKEY SIGNED AGREEMENT FOR THE PURCHASE OF 34 MILITARY HELICOPTERSWeb Posted: 16:32 GMT+2Ankara 15 February (MPA)Thirty "Cougar" military transport helicopters and 4 "Sea Hawk" helicopters will be added to the Turkish Armed Forces after the agreements Ankara signed with the French-German "Eurocopter", a subsidiary of "Aerospatiale" and the US "Sikorsky" company.According to the agreement with "Eurocopter", the French-German group will deliver 2 "Cougar" helicopters, while the rest 28 will be built in cooperation with the Turkish company "Tusas Aerospace Industries". The total cost of the agreement is estimated at 430 million dollars, while Turkey's participation will be 30%. The first two helicopters will be delivered in July 1999, while the co-production of the rest will begin in October 1999. The whole project is expected to be completed in October 2002. The cost of the second agreement with the US "Sikorsky" company is estimated at 113 million dollars. [C] EUROPE[08] PRECONDITIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EU-TURKEY RELATIONSWeb Posted: 16:32 GMT+2Brussels 15 February (MPA)Turkey must undertake a number of initiatives for the improvement of the Greek-Turkish relations, the solution of the Cyprus problem and the respect of human rights in order for its relations with the European Union to be improved. Those remarks were made to Turkish Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Onur Oymen by EU Commissioner Hans Van Den Broek, responsible for the EU foreign relations, during their meeting in Brussels.Mr.Van Den Broek expressed the hope that the EU-Turkey Association Council meeting scheduled for April 30 will contribute toward the direction of the full harmonization of Turkey's relations with the EU. He also underlined that for economic cooperation to be achieved, within the framework of the customs union, Turkey will have to give a positive response to the joint statement issued by the EU Council on June 15, 1996 over the issue of the islets of Imia. Mr.Van Den Broek also pointed out that for the accession of Turkey and other countries into the EU should be taken under consideration the detailed criteria set by the European Council in the Copenhagen meeting of June 21, 1993. Regarding the Cyprus problem, mr.Van Den Broek urged Turkey to participate in international efforts for its solution, made under the UN auspices and in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions, on the basis of a two-zone and two-community federation. He also announced that he will visit Cyprus on February 26-28 to discuss with Cypriot President Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot leader Denktash the preparations for the island's accession into the European Union. 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: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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