Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-10-08
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, October 8, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] CLIMATE OF UNCERTAINTY PREVAILS IN GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKETS
[02] ANOTHER 10 PERCENT OF OTE SHARES TO BE LISTED ON ATHENS
BOURSE, NYSE
[03] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER DISCUSSES KOSSOVO CRISIS WITH RUSSIAN
COUNTERPART
[04] PRIME MINISTER TO MEET WITH DEFENSE MINISTER TODAY
[05] STATE TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL LAND REGISTRY SERVICE
[06] MPA PERPLEXED OVER USE OF ITS NAME BY NEW PRESS AGENCY IN
FYROM
[07] SIMITIS HAD CONTACTS WITH EUROPEAN LEADERS ON KOSOVO
[08] SIMITIS-TSOCHATZOPOULOS MEETING
[09] LOSSES RECORDED IN THE EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS
[10] INFLATION CLOSED AT 5.2% IN SEPTEMBER
[11] PANGALOS' MEETING WITH KYPRIANOU AND SERGEYEV
[12] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 5.2 ON THE RICHTER SCALE HIT ZAKYNTHOS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] CONTACT GROUP TO CONVENE TODAY OVER KOSSOVO
[14] GREEK-AMERICANS SUPPORT CLINTON, ORGANIZE LOBBY
[15] HALBROOKE IS IN BRUSSELS
[16] NEW TAXES ACROSS EUROPE ARE RECOMMENDED BY THE EU COMMISSION
[17] NEW YORK STATE SENATOR D'AMATO ACCUSES THE TURKS OF USING US
WEAPONS IN CYPRUS
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] CLIMATE OF UNCERTAINTY PREVAILS IN GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKETS
A climate of uncertainty and insecurity is prevalent in
financial markets throughout the world, reflected in fluctuations
in the shares index.
Yesterday's dollar devaluation sent waves throughout the
financial circles, having reached the lowest German mark parity in
the last 20 months. The dollar is sold for284.2 drachmas.
Meanwhile, Greece's Minster of Finance and National Economy
Yiannos Papantoniou stated that the impact of the international
crisis has been kept under control in Greece and added that the
Greek banking system is not subject to the risks abroad.
[02] ANOTHER 10 PERCENT OF OTE SHARES TO BE LISTED ON ATHENS
BOURSE, NYSE
Greece's state-owned telecommunications group OTE is to
proceed with another 10 percent shares sale by the end of next
month, looking at revenue of approximately 320 billion drachmas.
The final decision for the third round of shares sale on the
Athens bourse and the NYSE was taken yesterday by the Minster of
National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou after he met in
Washington with the ten conglomerate banks that will undertake the
shares process.
[03] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER DISCUSSES KOSSOVO CRISIS WITH RUSSIAN
COUNTERPART
Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos discussed the
Kossovo crisis with visiting Russian Defense Minister Igor
Sergeyev in Athens yesterday.
Following the meeting, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that Greece
continues to believe that all political and diplomatic efforts
should be exhausted before NATO intervenes militarily in Kossovo.
"NATO", he added, "should act only to back up any political
solution that results from negotiations" Greece is concerned
that any escalation of the violence could result in the conflict
spilling over into other Balkan countries and destabilize the
entire region.
In turn, Mr. Sergevev stated that NATO strikes on Serb
targets would be akin to an act of war that could lead to more
bloodshed.
According to reports, NATO's European commander, general Wesley
Clark has submitted a written request to his Greek counterpart
wherein he requests a response on whether or not Greece will take
part in any NATO air strikes.
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos has stated that Greece is asking the
Alliance to take into account that Greece's situation is special,
since it is a Balkan country. For now, Greece is hoping that no
military action is taken.
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated "there's a Greek saying that every
war ends in peace."\
"But," he asked, "is it worth having a war in the first
place?"
[04] PRIME MINISTER TO MEET WITH DEFENSE MINISTER TODAY
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is to receive Defense Minister
Akis Tsochatzopoulos today with whom he will discuss the course of
Greece's four-trillion-drachma armaments procurements program and
other issues.
According to government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, no
decision has been made yet on whether or not the Government
Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) will convene
tomorrow.
[05] STATE TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL LAND REGISTRY SERVICE
The National Land Registry Service was inaugurated by the
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis in Athens yesterday, a project which
he hailed as the biggest, most useful, most crucial and most
developmental of the country's major products which constitutes,
as he said, a precondition for Greece's modernization and
development.
The Service, according to Mr. Simitis, will be attached to
the third Community Support Framework to ensure necessary funds
for its completion.
Calling the Registry one of the most significant government
departments, Simitis said over the last 170 years governments have
been unable to set up a proper registry due to people coming in
with multiple claims for the same piece of land.
"The deeds we've been shown for the Attica region add up to
plots three times the size of the area", he explained. "No one
knows exactly what belongs to whom."
The Prime Minister stressed that setting up a proper land
registry is a priority for his government.
He said that the NLR extends to hundreds of municipalities
and communities and to 1.1 million hectares with the participation
of thousands of scientists and employees with many specialties.
"We all have a historical, moral and social duty to
contribute positively, the government, the parties, social and
scientific bodies, to ensure that in the 21st century Greece will
have an NLR which constitutes an instrument of development and
rational organization of issues related to the land," he said.
He further said that the citizens' response, including that
of expatriate Greeks, is positive. Some 500,000 citizens have
submitted statements with ownership deeds for 850,000 cases of
real estate which, as he said, is very encouraging.
[06] MPA PERPLEXED OVER USE OF ITS NAME BY NEW PRESS AGENCY IN
FYROM
The Board of Directors of the Macedonian Press Agency, was
perplexed when informed of the decision taken by the government of
FYROM to launch into operation a new press agency, under the name
"Macedonian Information Agency" (MIA), a title that fully
corresponds with our press agency's name. As a result, the MPA's
Board of Directors has decided to take action in every direction
and to employ all the legitimate means available for the
protection of its title and all rights pertaining thereto.
As it is known, the Macedonian Press Agency was founded even
prior to the creation of the state of FYROM. The MPA has been in
operation for eight years now, with an overall success recognized
by the Greek media, as well as by the international press
agencies and other news organizations which re-transmit, on a
daily basis, the MPA's news stories and other journalism-related
material.
Furthermore, our news agency's immense activity and profound
commitment are ascertained through the impact born by the MPA's
server onto the Internet, a server which receives over one million
calls on a monthly basis from all over the world. Moreover, it
should be stressed that the MPA was the first mass medium of
information in the Balkans -and one among Europe's first- to
expand into cyberspace as of 1994.
It should be taken into consideration that the MPA, in its
effort to contribute to the promotion of a climate of peace,
security and cooperation in the Balkans, developed significant
activities by having a pioneering role in the founding of the
"Association of Balkan News Agencies", by creating -with the
approval of the European Union- a "Balkan News Bank", by
organizing inter-Balkan conferences, etc.
Moreover, the MPA carried out a significant role in the
direction of news exchange between the news agencies and bureaus
of the Balkan countries, including FYROM. This fact in itself
illustrates the spirit of cooperation where the MPA's policy stems
from. From this point of view, the issue for us is not the
creation of a news agency in any Balkan country; rather, we object
to the use of "Macedonian Agency", which constitutes a direct
usurpation of our title, as this title has been internationally
recognized since 1991, when it was submitted to and ratified by
the Copyright Bureaus in 30 of the world's most significant
countries.
As such, it is evident that the operation of an agency with
such title in FYROM shall undoubtedly cause moral and real damages
to the Macedonian Press Agency, given the usurpation of the MPA's
name and the resulting confusion in regards to the origin of the
news.
In response to the aforementioned usurpation, the MPA's Board
of Directors has resolved to denounce the said act as illegal,
abusive and unethical and to undertake any means that will secure
its title and the interests thereof.
[07] SIMITIS HAD CONTACTS WITH EUROPEAN LEADERS ON KOSOVO
Prime minister Kostas Simitis had contacts with European
leaders on the developments in Kosovo and according to the Greek
government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, they have expressed
reservations on whether Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic can
comply with the demands of international organizations.
Mr. Reppas added that the Greek government watches the
developments closely and is firm in its position that every effort
should be made for a peaceful solution to the crisis.
[08] SIMITIS-TSOCHATZOPOULOS MEETING
The meeting of prime minister Kostas Simitis with minister of
defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos continues. It will be decided if
tomorrow's meeting of the governmental council on foreign affairs
and defense will be held as scheduled or if it will be postponed.
The defense council had a special meeting in the Pentagon
last night and completed its report to the governmental council on
foreign affairs and defense concerning four armaments programs.
[09] LOSSES RECORDED IN THE EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS
Losses of 1.5% and 3% were recorded today in most of the
European stock markets as a result of the liquidation of earnings
and the Bundesbank governor's refusal to proceed with an immediate
cut of the German interest rates.
In the Athens Stock Exchange, the general price index closed
with a loss of 5.23%. Earlier, in Tokyo the Nikkei index took a
plunge of 5.8%.
[10] INFLATION CLOSED AT 5.2% IN SEPTEMBER
Inflation closed at 5.2% in September from 5% in August and
the rise is attributed to the price hikes in tuition fees as well
as, in food and household items prices.
Meanwhile, minister of national economy and finance Yiannos
Papantoniou reiterated Greece's intention to participate in the
EMU in the year 2001 and added that toward this end the overall
economic policy will remain "tight" throughout 1999.
Speaking in the International Monetary Fund summit meeting in
Washington, Mr. Papantoniou underlined that the results of the
Greek economic policy that was implemented in the period of 1994-
1999 confirm the speedy convergence with the average economic
performance of the European Union.
He also pointed out that the size of the public finance
stabilization that was achieved by Greece in the last four years
is about three times bigger compared to that achieved by the rest
EU member-states during the same period.
[11] PANGALOS' MEETING WITH KYPRIANOU AND SERGEYEV
Foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos had separate meetings in
Athens today with Cypriot Parliament president Spyros Kyprianou
and Russian minister of defense Igor Sergeyev.
According to information, the dominant issues in the talks
concerned the installation of the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft
missiles in Cyprus and Russia's intention to undertake part of the
Greek armed forces armaments program.
[12] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 5.2 ON THE RICHTER SCALE HIT ZAKYNTHOS
A new earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit the
Ionian Sea island of Zakynthos at 7am this morning and its
epicenter was located at the sea region west of the island. The
tremor was also felt in the island of Kephalonia, and in north-
west Peloponesse in southern Greece.
In spite of the fact that an increased seismic activity has
been recorded in the region of the wider western Greece in the
past few days, seismologists maintain that there is no reason for
great concern.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] CONTACT GROUP TO CONVENE TODAY OVER KOSSOVO
The Contact Group is to convene in London today in order to
solely discuss the stance to be adopted after the refusal of
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to abide by the UN
resolutions.
Meanwhile, the second round of talks held yesterday between
US special envoy Richard Holbrooke and Mr. Milosevic bore no
breakthrough.
[14] GREEK-AMERICANS SUPPORT CLINTON, ORGANIZE LOBBY
As the formal impeachment process against United States
President Bill Clinton is under way, Americans of Greek descent
have formed an "Organization of Friends of President Clinton" and,
in a letter forwarded to the Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-
GA), have launched an attack against independent prosecutor
Kenneth Starr as well as the judicial and legislative systems.
According to the organization, both the House's judicial and
legislative committees have been used against the President for a
matter that has nothing to do with his task as the President of
the United States, as they characteristically state.
The said letter was forwarded to a large number of newspapers
in the States and public figures, among them the leader of the
Senate's Minority Thomas Dasley, Senate's Judiciary Committee
chairman Orren Hutch, Senator Patrick Leahy, Leader of the
Minority Richard Gephard, House Judiciary Committee chairman Henry
Hyde and Rep. John Conyers.
The Organization's Presidium comprises the following persons:
chairman Nicholas Rezevoulis, vice-chairman Elizabeth Kozyraki,
Secretary Georgia Tsichli, Treasurer Kostas Papapoulias, Public
Relations head Efi Pseta and legal adviser Lila Zelou.
In the letter, the members emphasized that the whole matter
concerning the Lewinsky scandal appears more like an interrogation
than an investigation.
"It is evident to us that both the judicial and the
legislative systems where used by certain individuals for
political reasons: to harm Mr. Clinton's credibility."
They conclude their letter by stating that "it is especially
worrisome that the President's vilification and the undermining of
the system is being performed by those whose task is to protect
it."
[15] HALBROOKE IS IN BRUSSELS
US envoy Richard Halbrooke is in Brussels to brief NATO
secretary-general Javier Solana and US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright on the outcome of his mission in Belgrade and
Pristina.
Mr. Halbrooke failed to persuade Yugoslav president Slobodan
Milosevic to put an end to the military operations in Kosovo.
[16] NEW TAXES ACROSS EUROPE ARE RECOMMENDED BY THE EU COMMISSION
The adoption of new taxes across Europe by the year 2000 was
suggested in a proposal by the European Commission that was
discussed in its meeting yesterday which was held to examine the
issue of the member-states money contributions to the community
budget.
The proposal provides for new taxes on petroleum, alcohol
beverages, tobacco, telecommunications and transportation to deal
with the problem in the community budget that resulted from the
cuts in the contributions of Austria, Germany, Sweden and Holland.
Those countries want their money contribution to the community
budget to be reduced because they believe that there is no reason
for them anymore to contribute more than the remaining 11
countries, which benefit by contributing less to the European
Union budget.
[17] NEW YORK STATE SENATOR D'AMATO ACCUSES THE TURKS OF USING US
WEAPONS IN CYPRUS
Accusations of illegal transportation of US weapons systems
to the Turkish occupied northern Cyprus were included in a letter
by New York State Senator Alfonse D'Amato addressed to US
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
The New York State Senator expressed concern over the fact
that Turkey has violated the US law and demands an immediate
investigation to get underway as well as, a complete and detailed
report to be submitted in 30 days.
Characteristically he mentions that over 200 armored tanks,
400 personnel carriers and tens of anti-tank missiles have been
carried to the occupied northern part of Cyprus since 1994 to
contribute to the modernization of the Turkish forces which
illegally occupy the northern part of the island.
Senator D'Amato concludes in his letter that such movements
complicate the US efforts aimed at achieving a visible progress
toward a fair and viable solution of the Cyprus problem.
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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