Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-09-23
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, September 23, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PREMIER: GREECE WILL BE IN THE EMU IN THE YEAR 2000
[02] OPPOSITION PARTIES REACT WITH CRITICISM TO PASOK RALLY
[03] REPPAS: NO CHANGE SEEN TO CYPRUS'S ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN
UNION
[04] MEDITERRANEAN CULTURE MINISTERS TO HOLD CONFERENCE IN RHODES
[05] "ARTISTS WITHOUT BORDERS" EMBARKS ON 3-MONTH TRAIN TOUR OF
BALKANS
[06] SPARTATHLON '98 RACE BEGINS FRIDAY IN GREECE, 23 COUNTRIES
REPRESENTED
[07] SIMITIS HAD CONTACTS WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
[08] GAINS ARE RECORDED IN THE EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS
[09] GREECE IS A PROSPEROUS COUNTRY ACCORDING TO THE OSCD
[10] 167 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM IRAQ WERE ARRESTED IN CRETE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] GREECE'S FOREIGN MINISTER IN WASHINGTON
[12] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH UN'S SECURITY COUNCIL
REPRESENTATIVES
[13] CLERIDES : I WANT MY COUNTRY TO BE A FEDERAL, INDEPENDENT
REPUBLIC
[14] GREECE'S PRESTIGIOUS ARSAKIO SCHOOL OPENS IN TIRANA, TEACHES
GREEK TOO
[15] THE SERB ARMY UNITS CONTINUE THE MILITARY OPERATIONS IN
KOSOVO
[16] THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES A RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO
TODAY
[17] THE US PENTAGON ON THE SALE OF THE F-15 JETS TO GREECE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PREMIER: GREECE WILL BE IN THE EMU IN THE YEAR 2000
In his address before a large and enthusiastic crowd during
last night's rally marking the second anniversary of the ruling
PASOK party's 1996 general election victory, Prime Minister Kostas
Simitis stressed that the country will achieve its target of equal-
terms accession to the Economic and Monetary Union in the year
2000.
Mr. Simitis added that during the general elections of the
year 2000, the people will grant another large majority vote to
the ruling party's forces of change and reform, thereby allowing
PASOK to turn the page to the next millennium and lead Greece into
Europe.
The Premier admitted that the government's economic policies have
been tough, but he stressed that the sacrifice has paid off.
"We've asked the people to make sacrifices, and we're proud
the sacrifices are paying off. Greece is moving ahead, it has a
voice, and it's an equal partner in the European Union.
"The future belongs to us, to the youth, to all who have a plan
for the future", he continued.
People want a strong Greece, and PASOK is building it, said Mr.
Simitis; Greece is winning its battles, because everyone's
fighting together.
Referring to his decision to devalue the drachma in March so
Greece could join the European stable exchange rate system, Mr.
Simitis said that "the global crisis recently showed we'd made the
right decision."
"As a result of the March decision, we were able to weather
the international economic storm well. If we hadn't entered the
exchange rate mechanism, not only the drachma but the entire
country would've been destabilized when crisis hit".
The prime minister also said that his tough stabilization
policies have been socially sensitive, defending not only the
nation's currency, but also working people's wages.
"We're moving forward", the Prime Minister assured the nation.
"We're sending out a message of hope, certainty, and continuity".
[02] OPPOSITION PARTIES REACT WITH CRITICISM TO PASOK RALLY
Commenting on the prime minister's speech during yesterday
PASOK rally in Kallithea, main opposition New Democracy deputy
Prokopis Pavlopoulos stated that Mr. Simitis had chosen to make an
account of his government's work for the past two years at a time
when six out of 10 citizens regarded him unreliable.
The ND parliamentarian added that this period was marked by
the government's failure to lead the country into EMU, as well as
the devaluation of the drachma and inability to push structural
changes and real privatizations.
An announcement by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) said
that "the failed PASOK rally is an apparent expression of popular
displeasure at the PASOK government's anti-popular attack". It
further said that Mr. Simitis used "ideologically intimidating
arguments to persuade working people that things for them were on
a good path".
The Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos)
described the PASOK rally as a "directed fiesta for television
consumption".
[03] REPPAS: NO CHANGE SEEN TO CYPRUS'S ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN
UNION
The framework for the accession of Cyprus and other countries
to the European Union has been defined by the decisions of the
Luxembourg and Cardiff summits and any change to this should be
brought to the competent EU bodies, government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas stated yesterday, in response to related objections
expressed by France, Italy and Spain.
The government spokesperson said that such a development "is
not practically feasible and politically correct".
Mr. Reppas said he believed there would not be any change to
the EU's decisions, adding that Greece and Cyprus were
"unprepared" to pay the price of the stand-off over finding a
solution to the division of Cyprus, due to Turkey's intransigence.
Spain, Italy and France have reportedly albeit unofficially,
proposed that a solution must be arrived at regarding the island's
Turkish occupation before its full entry.
According to the Cypriot Foreign Minister, Yiannakis
Kasoulides, the EU External Affairs Commissioner, Hans Van den
Broek clarified during their meeting yesterday in New York that
Cyprus' accession course was progressing uninhibited.
[04] MEDITERRANEAN CULTURE MINISTERS TO HOLD CONFERENCE IN RHODES
The first Mediterranean wide conference of culture ministers
will be held on the island of Rhodes this weekend from September
25-27.
Greece's Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos has stated that
all of the region's countries except Libya will be participating
and will discuss all the large cultural programs planned for the
celebration of the new millennium as well as the 2004 Olympic
Games.
The minister said that the celebrations for the year 2000
include exhibitions, publications, Greek participation in musical
and theatrical international events, as well as the new monuments
such as the new Acropolis museum and Goulandris Museum of Modern
Art.
He said that the events for the year 2000 include a religious
element represented by the Orthodox Christian Church and organized
by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and will include Byzantine art
exhibitions.
[05] "ARTISTS WITHOUT BORDERS" EMBARKS ON 3-MONTH TRAIN TOUR OF
BALKANS
"Artists Without Borders", a Greek non-profit group, is to
embark on a three-month train tour of 11 Balkan and European
cities today, outlining the origins of culture and the
development of Western civilization.
The train consists of six white wagons representing various
stages of Western culture:
democracy, theater, commerce and industry, technology, the Olympic
idea and human rights. The train will spend at least two days in
each city and hold theatrical shows with local groups. It is
funded by the Greek culture ministry and parliament.
The train will first visit Sofia, Bulgaria and then travel to
Bucharest, Romania; Leipzig, Germany; Brussels, Belgium;
Strasbourg, France; Milan, Italy; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Zagreb,
Croatia; Banja Luka and Sarajevo, Bosnia; Belgrade, Yugoslavia and
end in Skopje, capital of FYROM.
[06] SPARTATHLON '98 RACE BEGINS FRIDAY IN GREECE, 23 COUNTRIES
REPRESENTED
Over 190 athletes representing 23 countries will be in Athens
on Friday to take part in what is considered to be one of the most
grueling races in the world, the international ultra-distance
endurance race "Spartathlon '98".
The race, held for the 16th consecutive year, will begin on
Friday at the foot of the Acropolis. The athletes will have 36
hours to run the 246-kilometer distance to the city of Sparta, in
southeastern Peloponnese. They will be tracing the steps of the
ancient Athenian courier Pheidippides, and will run 1,200 meters
up Mount Parthenio in the dead of night.
According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus' account
of the Battle of Marathon, Pheidippides was sent to Sparta to ask
for help when the Persians landed at Marathon. Herodotus says
Pheidippides arrived in Sparta "the next day".
The Spartathlon was originated by John Foden, a British Royal
Air Force wing commander who ran the course in 1982 with four RAF
colleagues.
The 1st International Spartathlon was organized in 1983 with
the participation of 45 runners from 11 countries as well as
Greece.
[07] SIMITIS HAD CONTACTS WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Prime minister Kostas Simitis had contacts with government
officials today to discuss the current political developments. A
meeting was held this morning presided over by Mr. Simitis with
the participation of undersecretary to the prime minister's office
Mr. Paschalidis and also undersecretaries of national economy Mr.
Pachtas, environment land planning and public works Mr. Verelis
and PASOK's executive bureau member Mr. Tsoukatos.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction over yesterday's
open-air rally in Kallithea, Athens, while in statements he made
on the issue undersecretary of national economy Mr. Pachtas
pointed out that the government got a message of optimism from the
people's participation in the rally.
[08] GAINS ARE RECORDED IN THE EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS
An upward trend is being recorded today at the European Stock
Markets. The investors await with great interest for the statement
the US Central Bank governor will make before the US Congress
hoping that he will give the message that the US interest rates
will at last be lowered at the end of the month.
In the Athens Stock Exchange the general price index has
closed with marginal gains.
[09] GREECE IS A PROSPEROUS COUNTRY ACCORDING TO THE OSCD
Greece is regarded as prosperous but not rich country,
according to a statistic comparison conducted by the OSCD. Based
on a research by the international organization, the national
income of Greece corresponds to 67% of the average income of all
the OSCD countries, which are among the most developed in the
world.
At the top of the list is Luxembourg with 160% and the United
States with 120%, while Greece's level is equal to Slovenia's and
the Czech Republic's.
[10] 167 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM IRAQ WERE ARRESTED IN CRETE
The 167 illegal immigrants from Iraq, among them 80 children,
had lived a small odyssey before being arrested by the Greek coast
guard near the coasts of the island of Crete. The immigrants, who
paid 2.000 US dollars each to the slave-traders in order to bring
them to Greece, were left without drinking water for 5 days on
board a 20-meter long boat which has a capacity of just 10 people.
The boat named "Alak" had been spotted by the coast guards in
Crete two days ago and according to information given by the
people arrested, it had departed from Lebanon with Greece as its
destination where the desperate people it carried hoped to find a
better life.
The four crew members from Lebanon and Syria will appear
before the prosecutor in Iraklion, Crete today, while the illegal
immigrants are being held at the immigration agency offices and
they have received medical care and food.
According to information, an international illegal network is
hidden behind the four slave-traders in which the Italian Mafia is
involved as well as a number of Greeks.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] GREECE'S FOREIGN MINISTER IN WASHINGTON
Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos met with various
of his counterparts in New York yesterday, on the sidelines of the
United Nations General assembly.
Today, Mr. Pangalos will travel to Washington where he will
speak on national issues, as well as on European-Greek-Turkish
relations.
The Greek Foreign Minister is to address the UN's general
assembly tomorrow, when he will also meet with the United States
assistant Secretary of State Mark Grossman.
[12] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH UN'S SECURITY COUNCIL
REPRESENTATIVES
The President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides is
to meet with the representatives of the United Nations Security
council in New York today with whom he will discuss the latest
developments on the Cyprus issue.
Meanwhile, Russia's newly appointed Foreign Minister Igor
Ivanov, during his meeting yesterday with President Clerides,
reiterated his country's support to the UN's resolutions
concerning the island republic.
[13] CLERIDES : I WANT MY COUNTRY TO BE A FEDERAL, INDEPENDENT
REPUBLIC
The President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides,
addressing the United Nations Council of Foreign Relations in New
York yesterday, slammed the confederation proposal submitted by
the Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, saying he would not
agree to any solution that would reduce the island into a Greek
and Turkish protectorate.
"I want my country to be a federal, independent republic,"
President Clerides said. The Cypriot President added that a new,
internationally-endorsed arrangement to ensure Cyprus sovereignty
must be in place to prevent the island from becoming a
protectorate.
"A repetition of the treaties of the past will not prevent
this from happening," he stated.
He reiterated that the demilitarization proposal and the idea of
an international peace force on the island would be ways to
overcome the peace process deadlock.
[14] GREECE'S PRESTIGIOUS ARSAKIO SCHOOL OPENS IN TIRANA, TEACHES
GREEK TOO
One of Greece's most prestigious private schools, Arsakio,
has opened in the Albanian capital, Tirana, teaching first and
second-graders Albanian and Greek.
Enforcing tough admission requirements, the school accepted
only eighty children out of the hundreds of applications
submitted.
According to the school's director, the school's aim is to
sustain Albanian culture and to add Greek culture to the pupils'
learning.
There are 700 thousand pupils in Albania, where, given the
country's exceptionally young population, nearly one in four
people is a student.
[15] THE SERB ARMY UNITS CONTINUE THE MILITARY OPERATIONS IN
KOSOVO
Serb police and army units continue their military operations
against villages in the region of Drenica in Kosovo.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council examines a resolution on
the conflict in Kosovo that could become the legal basis for an
international military intervention in the region. The resolution
is being promoted by Britain and France, while it has also the
backing of Russia.
[16] THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES A RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO
TODAY
A resolution on Kosovo will be discussed today in the UN
Security Council. The resolution, which can serve as a legal basis
for an international military intervention in Kosovo, is promoted
by Britain and France while it also has the backing of Russia and
calls for the end of the hostilities and the opening of peace
talks between the Serb and the Albanian side.
The resolution refers to article 7 of the UN Charter which in
the past had been used for the undertaking of military action,
like in the case of Iraq.
However, according to the BBC radio service, British
officials have refused to comment on whether the resolution
corresponds to an authorization for a military intervention in
Kosovo.
Russian ambassador Sergei Labrov has stated that there is
nothing in the resolution that authorizes the use of military
means.
[17] THE US PENTAGON ON THE SALE OF THE F-15 JETS TO GREECE
The US Pentagon press spokesman stated that there is no issue
of a sale of 60 F-15 fighter jets to Greece at least not at this
point.
Called to comment on the letter of Republican House
Representatives Benjamin Gilman and Lee Hamilton addressed to the
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in which they express the
concern of the US House Representatives over the sale of the
fighter jets to Greece, the US Pentagon spokesman avoided to make
any comments and directed the question to the US State Department
spokesman.
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