Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-10-19
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, October 19, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] THESSALONIKI PREFECT AND NEWLY-ELECTED MAYOR COMMENT ON
VICTORY
[02] CONSERVATIVE MAIN OPPOSITION WINS COUNTRY'S LARGEST
MUNICIPALITIES
[03] PREMIER MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER COMMENT ON LOCAL ELECTIONS
RESULTS
[04] ECONOMICS NOBEL PRIZE WINNER TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS TOMORROW
[05] PREMIER TO LAUNCH INT/L BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN NORTHERN
GREECE
[06] NAVAL EXERCISE "ASTRAPI ‘98" BEGINS TOMORROW IN AEGEAN
[07] NEW COIN EDITIONS TO COMMEMORATE FEREOS AND SOLOMOS
[08] BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION: ABOLISH DOUBLE TAXATION
[09]REPPAS: THE GOVERNMENT GOT THE MESSAGE AND WILL FIRMLY
CONTINUE ITS POLICY
[10] NEW DEMOCRACY WON 391 MUNICIPALITIES COMPARED TO PASOK'S 304
[11] DOWNWARD TRENDS PREVAILED IN THE EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS
[12] THEMISTOKLIS AND CHRISTINA ZAMAGIA FROM KASTELORIZO WERE
NOMINATED FOR THE IPEKCI AWARD
[13] PROF. HARARY WILL BECOME HONORARY PROFESSOR OF MACEDONIA
UNIVERSITY
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[14] FYROM ELECTIONS: HIGH VOTER PARTICIPATION RATE
[15] GREEK-CYPRIOT MILITARY EXERCISE "NIKIFOROS" BEGINS TOMORROW
[16] LONDON'S "FINANCIAL TIMES" ON GREECE'S LOCAL ELECTIONS
[17] YELTSIN CANCELS SCHEDULED MEETINGS, RECOVERING FROM
BRONCHITIS
[18] KOSSOVO: HOLBROOKE DISSATISFIED WITH RATE OF TROOPS
WITHDRAWAL
[19] FIRST GROUP OF OSCE VERIFIERS ARRIVES IN KOSSOVO
[20] PALM ORDER OF GRAND CROSS BESTOWED UPON AUSTRALIA'S FORMER PM
[21] THE VMRO-DPMNE IS LEADING IN THE FYROM ELECTIONS
[22] RUSSIA WILL DELIVER THE S-300 MISSILES TO CYPRUS AS AGREED
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] THESSALONIKI PREFECT AND NEWLY-ELECTED MAYOR COMMENT ON
VICTORY
Thessaloniki's newly-elected Mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos,
supported by the country's main opposition party New Democracy,
thanked the town's voters for his victory and called the outcome a
"great honor" for him.
Speaking after his election last night, Mr. Papageorgopoulos
stated that "we are resolved and prepared to demand from the
central government what they owe to this city and we are going to
achieve that if we all join in a struggle for a common cause."
The PASOK-backed candidate for the city's mayoral post
Thrassyvoulos Lazaridis stated that he and his side would
contribute to the unity of the new administration and that he had
telephoned Mr. Papageorgopoulos to wish him success in his
endeavor.
Re-elected Thessaloniki prefect Kostas Papadopoulos, who is
backed by PASOK, extended an offer for cooperation between
"victors and defeated" for the benefit of Thessaloniki.
Referring to collaboration with Mr. Papageorgopoulos, the
Prefect stated that "we can work together for the benefit of the
city...I intend to work with all the mayors in the prefecture so
that Thessaloniki can advance, away from partisan 'feuds'."
[02] CONSERVATIVE MAIN OPPOSITION WINS COUNTRY'S LARGEST
MUNICIPALITIES
The country's main opposition party New Democracy won the
mayoral posts in the second largest municipality of Greece
Thessaloniki and in Piraeus, and also came ahead of the ruling
PASOK party in the races for prefect in Attica and Drama-Kavala-
Xanthi.
As a result, the conservative main opposition won a great
number of the country's prefectures and municipalities, while
PASOK ended up with 24 out of the 41 prefectures it had held in
the past, among them Thessaloniki.
Nevertheless, in spite of the jubilance, abstention was a key
ingredient of the results.
[03] PREMIER MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER COMMENT ON LOCAL ELECTIONS
RESULTS
Commenting on the outcome of yesterday's local elections
second round, which was disappointing for the government, Prime
Minister Kostas Simitis (who is also the ruling party's
president) stated that "PASOK gave a fight for reform and
decentralization and was successful in establishing its points of
view."
Nevertheless, Mr. Simitis added that the result fared below
the government's expectations.
He stressed that the government's work will be judged at the
end of the four-year term and vowed that the government will
support the newly-elected local officials.
On the other hand, New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis
said that the elections result reflects the people's resentment
with the governmental policy .
[04] ECONOMICS NOBEL PRIZE WINNER TO ARRIVE IN ATHENS TOMORROW
This year's winner of the Nobel prize for Economics, Dr.
Amartya Sen, will be in Athens tomorrow, October 20, in order to
present an address at an event organized by the Andreas Papandreou
Institute.
The Nobel laureate, an economist from India, will speak on
"The political element of economic development: a tribute to
Andreas Papandreou". The event, which will be held at the Old
Parliament Building. will be attended by the President of the
Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos and the Prime Minister
Kostas Simitis,
[05] PREMIER TO LAUNCH INT/L BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN NORTHERN
GREECE
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will inaugurate an
international business conference to be held in the northern Greek
city of Alexandroupolis on October 22-25.
Expected to attend the conference are officials from seventy
six countries including ministers, ambassadors, trade attaches and
bank governors.
Among the items on the agenda are energy networks, transport,
telecommunications, small and medium-sized enterprises, and peace
and security in the region.
Moreover, the event will review the prospects for a new
economic area after the year 2000 spanning the Mediterranean,
Balkans and Black Sea.
Greece's Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who is
also the head of the conference's organizing committee, has
personally called on the delegates to forge contacts in order to
help expand cooperation in the region.
Organizing the event is the Foundation for Mediterranean
Cooperation, backed by the European Parliament, the European
Investment Bank, the Foundation for Mediterranean Studies and
local authorities in the north.
[06] NAVAL EXERCISE "ASTRAPI ‘98" BEGINS TOMORROW IN AEGEAN
The Greek Navy is to embark on the exercise "Astrapi '98"
(lightning) tomorrow, in the central and eastern regions of the
Aegean Sea.
The two-day exercise will feature the participation of
surface ships, submarines, helicopters and naval support aircraft.
[07] NEW COIN EDITIONS TO COMMEMORATE FEREOS AND SOLOMOS
A draft presidential decree provides for the issuing of new
commemorative 50-drachma coins, marking Parliament's declaration
of 1998 as Year of revolutionary figure Rigas Fereos and national
poet Dionysios Solomos.
Fereos, the visionary of Balkan unity, died in the hands of
Ottoman executioners in Belgrade 200 years ago. Solomos was born
in the same year in Corfu, and his "Ode to Liberty" provided the
lyrics for Greece's national anthem.
The coins will circulate in five million pieces, 2.5 million
bearing the portraits of Fereos and Solomos each.
[08] BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION: ABOLISH DOUBLE TAXATION
The Black Sea Economic Cooperation's Committee of Legal and
Political affairs is to convene in Athens tomorrow and Wednesday
in order to form the legal groundwork for the abolishment of
double taxation among its member-states.
The BSEC event will be held at the "Caravel Hotel" and will
feature the participation of deputies from Greece, Albania,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldavia, Romania, Russia,
Turkey and Ukraine.
[09]REPPAS: THE GOVERNMENT GOT THE MESSAGE AND WILL FIRMLY
CONTINUE ITS POLICY
The government received the local administration elections
message but it appears that others did not get it thinking that it
does not concern them, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas.
Mr. Reppas stated that the government will firmly continue
its policy to meet its goals with the belief that the voters will
trust PASOK and prime minister Kostas Simitis in the next
parliamentary elections that will be held in the year 2000. At the
same time, the government spokesman stated that certain aspects of
the government policy must be reconsidered.
[10] NEW DEMOCRACY WON 391 MUNICIPALITIES COMPARED TO PASOK'S 304
Right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy is the big
winner in yesterday's second round of local administration
elections.
According to the results issued by the ministry of the
interior, New Democracy alone as well as in cooperation with other
smaller political parties won 27 prefectures and 2 super-
prefectures compared to the governing socialist party of PASOK
that won 26 prefectures.
Also, New Democracy won 391 municipalities, PASOK 304, the
Communist Party 24, the Social Democratic Party 4 and the
Coalition of the Left 3. The abstention percentage recorded in the
local administration elections was high.
[11] DOWNWARD TRENDS PREVAILED IN THE EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS
A downward trend prevailed in the Athens Stock Exchange. The
general price index closed with a drop of 0.62%, while a similar
trend was recorded in many European stock markets.
The stock markets await for possible announcements on
European interest rates cuts as well, after the new interest rate
cut announced last Thursday by the United States. Meanwhile,
impressive gains of 2.1% were recorded in the Japanese Nikkei
index this morning.
[12] THEMISTOKLIS AND CHRISTINA ZAMAGIA FROM KASTELORIZO WERE
NOMINATED FOR THE IPEKCI AWARD
The Ipekci Award secretariat in Athens proposed that
Themistoklis and Christina Zamagia from the south-eastern Aegean
island of Kastelorizo be awarded the prestigious prize for taking
their ill 9 year old daughter to the hospital of the Turkish city
of Kas at the Asia Minor coast, just across their island. The
couple made the decision after waiting for 3 hours for a
helicopter to carry their daughter to a Greek hospital.
In a statement issued by the secretariat, it is mentioned
that the couple made a right and brave decision that strengthens
the rapprochement of the Greek and the Turkish peoples. Also, it
is proposed that the same prize should be given to the director of
the hospital of the city of Kas, who responded eagerly to the
emergency involving the young Greek schoolgirl.
[13] PROF. HARARY WILL BECOME HONORARY PROFESSOR OF MACEDONIA
UNIVERSITY
Distinguished American professor Frank Harary will be awarded
a honorary Doctor's degree tomorrow by the Applied Computer
Science Department of Macedonia University in Thessaloniki.
Frank Harary, a professor at the New Mexico State University
in the United States has been awarded four times a honorary
Doctor's degree by an equal number of universities in Britain,
Scotland, Sweden and the United States.
Prof. Harary is a member of the editing staff in 16
scientific magazines and has published over 700 theses. He has
written 7 books and has published 10 more, while he has presented
over 1.000 scientific reports in conferences and universities of
74 countries.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[14] FYROM ELECTIONS: HIGH VOTER PARTICIPATION RATE
Approximately 70 per cent of registered voters turned up to
cast their ballot during yesterday's parliamentary elections in
FYROM which were held in a calm climate.
According to the latest unofficial results, the VMRO-DPMNE
(Democratic Alternative) coalition elected 18 deputies, the Social-
Democrats elected seven, the Albanian Democratic Welfare party
also seven, while the PDPA-NDP coalition elected two.
Based on the newly adopted election system, 85 of the seats
will be distributed according to the majority system and the
remaining 35 according to the proportional system.
[15] GREEK-CYPRIOT MILITARY EXERCISE "NIKIFOROS" BEGINS TOMORROW
Greek air and naval forces will participate in the Cypriot
National Guard exercise, "Nikiforos", which begins tomorrow.
The six-day exercise, according to the chief of Cyprus'
National Guard, Brig.-Gen.
Panayiotis Tatsiopoulos, will be held in conjunction with the
Greek armed forces' exercise "Toxotis", within the framework of
the two countries' joint defense doctrine.
All of the National Guard's modern weapon systems will be
used in "Nikiforos", which will be conducted in three main stages.
The scenario includes a search and rescue mission 50 nautical
miles from Paphos as well as a National Guard parachute jump.
Under an imaginary scenario, National Guard positions will
come under fire from enemy lines. Brig.-Gen. Tatsiopoulos said the
main exercise will take place in the southeastern district of
Larnaca with the use of live ammunition.
[16] LONDON'S "FINANCIAL TIMES" ON GREECE'S LOCAL ELECTIONS
Reporting on Greece's local elections results, London daily
"Financial Times" attributed the defeat suffered by Greece's
ruling PASOK party to the government's economic policy.
According to the paper, the reason the conservative
opposition snatched the country's three largest municipalities,
while also winning many prefectures throughout the state, was the
public's resentment over the austerity measures enforced by the
government.
[17] YELTSIN CANCELS SCHEDULED MEETINGS, RECOVERING FROM
BRONCHITIS
Russian President Boris Yeltsin has canceled his scheduled
appointments for the day and will spend the day at his house in
the country, recovering from his week-long bout with bronchitis.
According to a government spokesperson, President Yeltsin has
postponed his meeting with the Prime Minster Yevgeni Primakov and
Chief of Security Vladimir Putin for tomorrow.
The Russian President's state of health is satisfactory,
according to the spokesperson, who added that Mr. Yeltsin will
have telephone conversations with government officials.
[18] KOSSOVO: HOLBROOKE DISSATISFIED WITH RATE OF TROOPS
WITHDRAWAL
United States mediator Richard Holbrooke appears dissatisfied
with the rate of Serb troops withdrawal from Kossovo.
Mr. Holbrooke warned that in spite of the partial withdrawal
of security forces and Yugoslav troops, the international
community is not satisfied with the present situation in Kossovo
and, as a result, the NATO forces continue to be in a state of
readiness in case the Serb leaders do not achieve the full
application of the UN Security Council's resolution 1199.
[19] FIRST GROUP OF OSCE VERIFIERS ARRIVES IN KOSSOVO
The first assessment team, comprising 20 members, of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
arrived in Kossovo yesterday in order to pave the way for 2,000
'verifiers' who have been assigned to the region.
Their basic mission, under a deal struck by U.S.
mediator Richard Holbrooke and Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic, will be to evaluate Mr. Milosevic's degree of
compliance with the Holbrooke-Milosevic agreement, which obliges
the Yugoslav President to withdraw his security forces from
Kossovo.
The second group of OSCE verifiers is to arrive in the
region on Wednesday.
[20] PALM ORDER OF GRAND CROSS BESTOWED UPON AUSTRALIA'S FORMER PM
In a simple ceremony, held at the residence of Greece's
consul-general in Australia George Beis, the insignia of the Grand
Cross of the Palm Order were bestowed upon Australia's former
Prime Minister Malcolm Frazer, for his contribution to the
development of ties among the two countries and for his numerous
offerings to the Greek community in Australia.
The insignia were granted on behalf of the President of the
Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos.
Upon receiving the honorable distinction, the former Premier
referred to the immense contribution made by Greek immigrants to
Australia's development.
"Australians are very grateful towards Greece for our modern
lifestyle, which was developed from the premises of democracy and
the Olympic spirit.
"We hope that the rest of the world will recognize and
appreciate Greece's contribution to humanity and will set aside
the political and economic motives, so as to not distort Greek
history which is also the history of the world.
"I believe that the Australian people will support the
Greeks, since not only do they appreciate their lifestyle, but
also because both peoples fought and gave their lives for the
ideals of freedom in both world wars," Mr. Frazer stated.
[21] THE VMRO-DPMNE IS LEADING IN THE FYROM ELECTIONS
Based on unofficial results for yesterday's elections in
FYROM, the coalition formed by the VMRO-DPMNE party and the
Democratic Alternative party have a lead over the rest political
parties.
According to the data available, the coalition elects about
40 deputies based on the proportional and the majority election
system adopted by FYROM, followed by Branko Crvenkofski's Social-
democratic Union with 14 deputies.
[22] RUSSIA WILL DELIVER THE S-300 MISSILES TO CYPRUS AS AGREED
The Russian company Rozvaaruzenje is ready to deliver and
install the S-300 missile system to Cyprus within the time
framework agreed upon, stated in Moscow the company's deputy
director Oleg Sitorenko.
The Russian official stressed that no paragraph of the
agreement has been violated until now neither by the Russian nor
the Cypriot side.
When called by the Russian news agency "Novosti" to comment
on the Greek government's decision to proceed with the purchase of
the "Patriot" US missile system instead of the Russian S-300, Mr.
Sitorenko maintained that this action by the Greek government is
not regarded as a defeat for the Russian defense industry. On the
contrary, said the Russian official, the decision by Athens to
purchase 21 "Tor" missile systems was a great success for Moscow.
The military experts of the company, stated the Russian
official, believe that it is impossible for a NATO member-state to
purchase the S-300 missiles system in spite of the fact that it is
regarded as the most perfect missile system available in the world
weapons industry today.
He maintained that the very good relations between Athens and
Moscow in the military sector have not been affected and revealed
that the two sides are negotiating the sale of more Russian
armaments to Greece.
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