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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-01-12

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.


MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, January 12, 1999

SECTIONS

  • [A] NATIONAL NEWS
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • NEWS HEADLINES

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

  • [01] VOCAL DEBATE HELD IN PARLIAMENT LAST NIGHT OVER EDUCATION
  • [02] GREEK PRIME MINISTER IN SPAIN TODAY
  • [03] NATO, PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE DEFENSE MINISTERS IN ATHENS
  • [04] ALTERNATE FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH TUPURKOVSKI
  • [05] ÂÅÁR STEARNS HAILS GREEK BONDS
  • [06] OPE-DIPEK FORM COMMON FRONT IN THE BALKANS
  • [07] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT WISHES POLITICAL STABILITY TO TURKEY
  • [08] AGREEMENT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE IN THE BALKANS
  • [09] THE TENSION IN THE SECTOR OF EDUCATION CONTINUES
  • [10] 34% OF THE DANES CHOOSE GREECE AS THEIR HOLIDAY DESTINATION
  • [11] PAPASTEFANOU: THE ALLEGATIONS ON THE POLLUTION OF NESTOS RIVER BY RADIATION ARE SCIENTIFICALLY UNFOUNDED
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • [12] PASOK DELEGATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
  • [13] ANN HERCUS TO HOLD TALKS WITH ANNAN, COOK OVER CYPRUS ISSUE
  • [14] MONTENEGRO: KLA AMMUNITION CONFISCATED BY AUTHORITIES
  • [15] KOSOVO: JOURNALIST MURDERED, CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF RUGOVA
  • [16] TENSION AGAIN IN KOSOVO

  • NEWS IN DETAIL

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

    [01] VOCAL DEBATE HELD IN PARLIAMENT LAST NIGHT OVER EDUCATION

    Tempers flared in Parliament yesterday evening, when the discussion concerned the beleaguered education sector. Prime Minster Kostas Simitis unleashed a verbal attack against main opposition party New Democracy (ND) and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), accusing their leaders of instigating the students' protests in order to satisfy their party interests.

    Furthermore, he accused the teachers of pursuing juxtaposition with the government, opposing the educational reforms without proposing alternatives.

    N.D. leader Kostas Karamanlis, in his riposte, told the Premier that he is deeply disillusioned if he believes that today's youth can actually be influenced by political parties.

    Also, KKE's secretary-general Aleka Paparega said that her party does not instigate the students, it simply informs them.

    [02] GREEK PRIME MINISTER IN SPAIN TODAY

    Prime minister Kostas Simitis is embarking on a three-day visit to Spain today where he will meet with his Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar.

    Their talks will concern bilateral ties and European Union matters. During his stay, Mr. Simitis will be received by the Spanish royals and will meet with the President of the International Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch.

    He is accompanied by the ministers of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos, Culture Evangelos Venizelos, Press Dimitris Reppas and the Undersecretary of National Economy Alexandros Baltas.

    [03] NATO, PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE DEFENSE MINISTERS IN ATHENS

    Defense ministers of NATO members countries participating in the Partnership for Peace program are meeting in Athens today in order to sign a supplementary protocol to the treaty establishing a multinational peacekeeping force in southeast Europe.

    Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos will open the proceedings. The additional protocol contains proposals drafted by military experts during their recent Istanbul meeting on issues that remained unresolved..

    The defense ministers of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and the Romanian chief of staff will be participating in the meeting. Slovenia and the United States will attend as observers. The Turkish defense minister has been invited but it was unclear whether he would be able to attend.

    [04] ALTERNATE FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH TUPURKOVSKI

    The leader of FYROM's Democratic Alternative Party Vasil Tupurkovski met with Greece's alternate Foreign Minster George Papandreou in Athens yesterday.

    According to reports, the two men exchanged points of view on the course of bilateral relations and the Olympic truce, since Mr. Tupurkovski is the president of FYROM's Olympic Committee.

    The meeting was characterized as informal since it was not officially announced and was held outside the Ministry's premises.

    [05] ÂÅÁR STEARNS HAILS GREEK BONDS

    Bearns Sterns has stated that the Greek bonds market is to skyrocket during 1999, an assessment similar to those made by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

    In its latest country report on Greece, Bear Sterns was quoted as saying that Greece's bond and stock markets had entered into a virtuous cycle of falling interest rates and inflation.

    If, as expected, inflation falls to 2.5 percent in April, then it will approach the government's 2.0 percent target for 1999 which, in turn, will facilitate the country's entry into the Economic and Monetary Union by January 1, 2001.

    [06] OPE-DIPEK FORM COMMON FRONT IN THE BALKANS

    The Inter-Balkan and Black Sea Center (DIPEK) and the Exports Promotion Organization (OPE) are to soon form a common front for the promotion and strengthening of Greek ventures in the Balkans.

    The said cooperation was proposed by the Minster of Macedonia- Thrace Yiannis Magriotis during his meeting with the chairman of OPE.

    [07] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT WISHES POLITICAL STABILITY TO TURKEY

    The Greek government's wish is for political stability in Turkey in order for the country to follow a European orientation and become a reliable interlocutor, stressed acting government spokesman Yiannis Nikolaou commenting on the formation of a new government in the neighboring country.

    Mr. Nikolaou said that Greece's position and demand is that every Turkish government should respect international treaties and contribute to good neighborly relations and peace in the region.

    [08] AGREEMENT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE IN THE BALKANS

    The agreement for the establishment of a multi-national force in the Balkans was signed in Athens today by the south-eastern European ministers of defense.

    Based on the rotating command principle that was adopted after a proposal made by Greek minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos, the command of the force will be taken over initially by a Turkish officer, while the headquarters of the force will be initially in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and at this stage head of its political-military committee will be Greece.

    The defense ministers of Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, Romania, Albania and FYROM also discussed in detail the developments in Kosovo. A common conclusion was that there is a need for the immediate opening of negotiations between the ethnic Albanians and the Serb leadership to find a political solution to the problem.

    [09] THE TENSION IN THE SECTOR OF EDUCATION CONTINUES

    The tension in the sector of education continues. It is estimated that of the 3.500 schools across the country 450 are still under student occupation. The teachers' union raises their number to 650, while the ministry of education maintains that they are less than 200.

    The future of the student mobilizations will be judged in the next few days in view of the student protest rally on Friday. Scuffles occurred this morning in school buildings under occupation and between motorists and students who had blocked the streets stopping the traffic in a show of protest against the education reform promoted by the government.

    [10] 34% OF THE DANES CHOOSE GREECE AS THEIR HOLIDAY DESTINATION

    The Danish newspaper "Berlingkse Tidende" in an article under the headline "Greece is the clear winner" writes that Greece is the favorite holiday destination for the Danes. The article mentions that the main attraction for the Danish tourists are the many Greek islands.

    The certainty of the travel agents, who maintain that this year Greece is the favorite tourist country for the Danes, is based on a Gallup Institute research that was conducted last October. According its results, 34% of the Danes will spend their summer vacations in Greece this year, compared to 28% last year.

    The second favorite destination is Spain with 19% followed by Italy 8%. At the same time, Turkey which last year was regarded as a very attractive destination this year appears to lose ground as only half of the tourists who had chosen to spend their summer vacation there last year are willing to visit the country again this year (8% compared to 16% in 1998).

    [11] PAPASTEFANOU: THE ALLEGATIONS ON THE POLLUTION OF NESTOS RIVER BY RADIATION ARE SCIENTIFICALLY UNFOUNDED

    Nuclear physics professor Kostas Papastefanou characterized as unclear and scientifically unfounded the recent articles published by Bulgarian newspapers on the radioactive wastes that are threatening with pollution the waters of Nestos River. Mr. Papastefanou points out that the press reports do not include scientific calculations' results over the radioactive elements allegedly found in the river, while no mention is made on which were those radio-active elements and the intensity of their radiation.

    Professor Papastefanou speculated that probably the Bulgarian side speaks of unfounded risks in the effort to secure more funds from the EU to finance the storage improvement projects for the radioactive waste at the village of Elesnica in Bulgaria, where a uranium mine was in operation.

    [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    [12] PASOK DELEGATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

    Greece's deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis is presently heading a delegation of PASOK party officials at an official visit to the Middle East.

    The delegates, among them PASOK central committee member Theodoros Tsoukatos, also visited the Palestine self-rule areas where they met with Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Jerusalem Patriarch Diodoros. They will be received by Israel's Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon

    Mr. Arafat stressed that he pins great hopes on Greece and the European Union for the resolution of the Middle East issues.

    He also accepted an invitation to attend PASOK's fifth congress.

    [13] ANN HERCUS TO HOLD TALKS WITH ANNAN, COOK OVER CYPRUS ISSUE

    The representative of the UN's secretary general Dame Ann Hercus is to travel to New York tomorrow in order to discuss the latest developments on the Cyprus issue meet with Mr. Kofi Annan

    Prior to New York, Dame Hercus will make a stopover in London where she will meet with British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.

    According to UNFICYP, the talks will focus on the UN's efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue.

    [14] MONTENEGRO: KLA AMMUNITION CONFISCATED BY AUTHORITIES

    Approximately 3,000 pieces of China-made ammunition, destined for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), were confiscated by the Montenegro police near the republic's government borders with Kosovo.

    The ammunition was discovered in a passenger vehicle occupied by two Albanians from Kosovo.

    According to the police's preliminary report, the two are refugees from Kosovo to Montenegro and are members of a gang that supplied arms to Kosovo's autonomists.

    [15] KOSOVO: JOURNALIST MURDERED, CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF RUGOVA

    The director of Kossovo's Information Center, Enver Maliokou, was slain yesterday by three unknown assassins, according to the Croat news agency HINA.

    The murder occurred in front of the victim's residence and no one has claimed responsibility as of yet.

    Mr. Maliokou was the publisher of the Prishtina daily "Informatori", a close associate of Ibrahim Rugova (the leader of Kosovo's Albanians) and a member of Kosovo's Democratic Association's presidium.

    The representative of the observers mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Sandy Blythe condemned the killing and said that it adds to the tension in Kosovo, while a representative from Mr. Rugova's office said that the murder of Maliokou is an attack against the freedom of expression.

    [16] TENSION AGAIN IN KOSOVO

    The United Nations Security Council continues the consultations today on the draft resolution for the immediate release of the 8 Yugoslav soldiers who have been abducted by ethnic Albanian separatist rebels in Kosovo.

    Tension has escalated in this Serb province after yesterday's killing of a distinguished member of the Albanian autonomy movement.


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