Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-01-20
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, January 20, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] STUDENTS TO CONTINUE WITH PROTESTS AND ROADBLOCKS
[02] DEVELOPMENT MINISTER DEPARTS FOR THE US TODAY
[03] ESP CONFERENCE TO BEGIN IN THESSALONIKI ON FRIDAY
[04] BALKAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE TRAINING CAMP INAUGURATION TODAY
[05] BLACK SEA FIBER OPTICS AGREEMENT SIGNED IN ATHENS TODAY
[06] GREECE EARMARKS GRD 15 BILLION TO DEAL WITH MILLENNIUM BUG
[07] GREEK PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS S-300 MISSILES TODAY
[08] CONSTRUCTION OF EGNATIA ROAD TO BE DELAYED BY 2-3 YEARS
[09] REPPAS: CYPRUS CAN NOT BE A HOSTAGE OF TURKEY
[10] NEW STUDENT PROTEST RALLIES TOMORROW
[11] BLACK SEA CABLE SYSTEM AGREEMENT
[12] REPPAS: THERE IS NO QUESTION OF A GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE
[13] MR. KARAMANLIS CALLS FOR THE RESIGNATION OF THE EDUCATION
MINISTER
[14] THE ARCHBISHOP OF AMERICA WILL VISIT ATHENS IN FEBRUARY
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER IN BUCHAREST TODAY
[16] MILOSEVIC MEETS WITH NATO OFFICIALS, TALKS BEAR NO RESULTS
[17] S. AUSTRALIA LABOR PARTY CHIEF TAKES INITIATIVE ON CYPRUS
[18] ALBANIAN FM SPEAKS TO MPA ON KOSOVO CRISIS
[19] PANGALOS ATTENDS "RIGAS FEREOS" BOOK PRESENTATION IN SOFIA
[20] PANGALOS' CONTACTS IN BUCHAREST
[21] THE NATO AMBASSADORS MEET IN BRUSSELS ON KOSOVO
[22] FATOS NANO RESIGNED FROM THE ALBANIAN SOCIALIST PARTY
LEADERSHIP
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] STUDENTS TO CONTINUE WITH PROTESTS AND ROADBLOCKS
Students throughout Greece are continuing their mobilizations
in protest to the education reforms, by holding another round of
rallies tomorrow in Thessaloniki, Athens and other cities
throughout the country. Teachers have joined the protests as their
unions have given them the go-ahead to hold a three-hour work
stoppage tomorrow and a 24-hour strike on Monday.
Episodes erupted during yesterday's student rally in Athens,
where one policeman was injured and two other individuals were
arrested.
[02] DEVELOPMENT MINISTER DEPARTS FOR THE US TODAY
The Minister of Development Vaso Papandreou is to
embark on an official,
eight-day visit to the United States today.
During her stay in the US, Ms. Papandreou will have
a series of meetings and contacts with US government officials
and Greek-American leaders, among them the US Secretary of Energy,
assistant Secretary of State, and others.
She will give an interview to CNN will visit Houston's energy
installations.
On the 25th of January she will attend a luncheon given in
her honor by the
Foreign Policy Association, at Manhattan's Yale Club. Ms.
Papandreou will also be received by the Archbishop of America
Spyridon.
[03] ESP CONFERENCE TO BEGIN IN THESSALONIKI ON FRIDAY
The "European Socialist Party" is to hold a three-day
conference concerning southeastern Europe on Friday in
Thessaloniki, featuring the participation of the Party's leader
and German Defense Minister Rudolph Scharping, the President of
the European Parliament's Socialists Pauline Green and other
Socialist leaders from European and Balkan countries.
Greece's Defense and Foreign Ministers, Akis Tsochatzopoulos
and Theodoros Pangalos respectively, will also be present, as well
as the ruling PASOK party's central committee secretary Kostas
Skandalides.
[04] BALKAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE TRAINING CAMP INAUGURATION TODAY
The Balkan Peacekeeping Force's training camp, with
headquarters in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, is to be inaugurated today
near northern Greece's city of Kilkis.
The ceremony will be chaired by Defense Minister Akis
Tsochatzopoulos and will be attended by defense ministers,
undersecretaries and chiefs of staffs from Balkan countries and
the former Soviet bloc.
[05] BLACK SEA FIBER OPTICS AGREEMENT SIGNED IN ATHENS TODAY
An agreement for the establishment of a fiber
optics telecommunications system that will link seven countries in
the Black Sea region, was signed today in Athens.
The undersea system is to cost USD 51 million and will link
Greece, Armenia, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Cyprus and Slovenia.
The signing ceremony was attended by representatives of
Greece's Transportation and Communications Ministry and the
Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE).
[06] GREECE EARMARKS GRD 15 BILLION TO DEAL WITH MILLENNIUM BUG
The Minister of the Interior Alekos Papadopoulos stated that
the Greek government will allocate approximately 15 billion
drachmas in order to deal with the computer glitch known as
"millennium bug".
The bug will cause many computers to fail at the onset of the
upcoming year, by reading the date 2000 as 1900. This is caused by
the fact that computer software programmers have abbreviated each
year to the two final digits in order to save computer memory.
Understandably, this is certain to wreck havoc on financial
institutions, as it will affect their transactions as well as
their archives.
Mr. Papadopoulos made the announcement after having chaired a
high-ranking meeting attended by the ministers of defense,
national economy, development and transport and communications, as
well as officials from the sectors of industry, banking, and other
affected sectors.
A series of such meetings are being held on a monthly basis
in order to coordinate work on the issue between ministries,
government services and the private sector.
[07] GREEK PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS S-300 MISSILES TODAY
The Hellenic Parliament is to hold another discussion on the
cancellation of the S-300 missile system's deployment on Cyprus,
during today's session, after two relevant questions were tabled
by opposition deputies.
During last night's session, PASOK deputy Lefteris Verivakis
also tabled a question regarding the validity of a report
published in the New York Greek-language "Proini" daily, which
claims that the Cyprus government has held negotiations over the
deployment of the missiles in Egypt.
[08] CONSTRUCTION OF EGNATIA ROAD TO BE DELAYED BY 2-3 YEARS
The construction of the Egnatia Road project is to be delayed
by two-to-three years, due to geotechnical hurdles, according to
the secretary-general of the Ministry of the Environment, Public
Works and city Planning Yiannis Chrysikopoulos.
Mr. Chrysikopoulos, addressing the Parliament's Transparency
Committee stated that the on-going project's delays concern the
sector of Epirus and added that foreign experts have been invited
to provide assistance.
[09] REPPAS: CYPRUS CAN NOT BE A HOSTAGE OF TURKEY
Cyprus' EU accession course is completely dissociated from
its political problem, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas.
Cyprus can not be a hostage of Turkey, stressed Mr. Reppas
and reminded that Greece has made it known that the EU enlargement
will proceed only if Cyprus is included.
[10] NEW STUDENT PROTEST RALLIES TOMORROW
New incidents were recorded today between motorists and
students, who continue to block main streets in Athens. Big
problems were created again today in transportation as a result of
the street blockades.
Meanwhile, new protest rallies will be held in Thessaloniki,
Athens and other big cities across the country tomorrow, while the
secondary education teachers will be on a 24hour strike.
The Athens prosecutor brought charges against two youngsters
who were arrested in the violent incidents that took place last
night in Athens.
[11] BLACK SEA CABLE SYSTEM AGREEMENT
The Black Sea countries will have a fibre optics cable system
worth 51 million US dollars based on the agreement signed today.
The agreement was signed in Athens this morning by
representatives of the Greek tele-communications Organization
(OTE) and other six Balkan and Black Sea tele-communications
organizations.
The OTE participation in the project is 35%, which
corresponds to 18 million US dollars, while the underwater cable
system will link Varna, Odessa, Novorosisk, Tblisi and Georgia.
In the project participate Greece, Armenia, Bulgaria, Russia,
Ukraine, Cyprus and Slovenia.
[12] REPPAS: THERE IS NO QUESTION OF A GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that there
is no question of a government reshuffle, categorically denying
the scenarios on the removal of education minister Gerasimos
Arsenis.
When asked to comment on the situation in the sector of
education, Mr. Reppas stressed that the minister of education
handles the issues of his responsibility responsibly and denied
the scenarios on a possible government reshuffle, stressing that
there is no such question.
[13] MR. KARAMANLIS CALLS FOR THE RESIGNATION OF THE EDUCATION
MINISTER
Right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy leader
Kostas Karamanlis called for the resignation of education minister
Gerasimos Arsenis as the only way to defuse the tension in the
sector of education, adding that in case Mr. Arsenis chooses not
to resign the prime minister has to proceed with his immediate
replacement.
Mr. Karamanlis stated that the situation in the sector of
education has crossed the limits and issued an appeal to the
students to return to their classes, while he called on the
government to give way to the students' demands.
The leader of New Democracy said that the "unacceptable
examination system" must be "frozen" and that a broad based
dialogue should start in accordance with the draft law proposed by
his party.
[14] THE ARCHBISHOP OF AMERICA WILL VISIT ATHENS IN FEBRUARY
Archbishop Spiridon of America accepted the invitation of the
Greek government to formally visit Greece in the second week of
February.
According to a report published by the New York based Greek-
American newspaper "Proini", even though no details have been made
known, the visit will take place on February 8-10.
The Archbishop of America will meet with president Kostis
Stephanopoulos, prime minister Kostas Simitis, foreign minister
Theodoros Pangalos and minister of education Gerasimos Arsenis. He
will also meet with Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of
Greece.
Archbishop Spiridon of America will be accompanied by a large
delegation and according to information, he will invite Archbishop
Christodoulos to visit the United States.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER IN BUCHAREST TODAY
Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos is presently on
an official visit to Bucharest where he will have successive
meetings with his Romanian counterpart, the country's Premier and
the President Emil Constantinescu, as well as with the Orthodox
Patriarch of Romania and the leader of the main opposition party
Mr. Iliescu.
[16] MILOSEVIC MEETS WITH NATO OFFICIALS, TALKS BEAR NO RESULTS
US State Department spokesperson James Rubin has stated that
the contacts held between NATO officials and the President of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic were not
encouraging.
Mr. Milosevic stated that no amount of external pressure can
end his country's right to handle terrorism.
In Tirana meanwhile, the Albanian Parliament approved a
resolution which stressed the need to support the Albanian-
speaking military and political leaders.
[17] S. AUSTRALIA LABOR PARTY CHIEF TAKES INITIATIVE ON CYPRUS
The leader of South Australia's Labor Party Mike Rann has
proposed that the Cyprus problem should be the keynote issue at
this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be
held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mr. Rann further proposed that the CHOGM appoint an Eminent
Persons Commission on Cyprus, composed of former Commonwealth
Prime Ministers and Heads of State, as a means to help resolve the
Cyprus issue.
The Australian parliamentarian recently concluded an official
visit to Cyprus, after having met with the US State Department's
Special coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Miller and Britain's Special
Envoy Sir David Hannay.
[18] ALBANIAN FM SPEAKS TO MPA ON KOSOVO CRISIS
Albania's Foreign Minister Pascal Milo stated that "there is
no other option but to share our future with Kosovo's Albanians",
during a meeting held with Strasbourg-based corespondents
following his talks with Council of Europe's secretary-general
Daniel Tarschys.
Responding to a question posed by the Macedonian Press
Agency, if he believes that there is still hope to achieve an
agreement regarding Prishtina's future, Mr. Milo stated that "the
Albanian government has been and still is in favor of searching
for a path that will lead to a peaceful resolution," albeit adding
that the situation has changed in the recent days.
He further told the MPA that the Albanian government believes
that the best solution would be NATO's intervention, as "we do not
believe that (FRY's) President Milosevic truly has the will to
speak of a political resolution, while we also have the Bosnia
experience and know what that represents."
[19] PANGALOS ATTENDS "RIGAS FEREOS" BOOK PRESENTATION IN SOFIA
Prior to his departure for Romania, Greece's Foreign Minister
Theodoros Pangalos attended a "Rigas Fereos" book presentation in
Sofia's National Library.
In his address during the book's presentation, a Bulgarian
edition of the Greek historical figure's "The Revolutionaries",
Mr. Pangalos thanked the organizers, such as the scientific study
committee chaired by Dimitris Karabelopoulos and the Bulgarian
publishing house "Ivan Vazov".
The Greek FM stressed that the book is "quite a remarkable
undertaking which (will also proved to be) quite useful."
In turn, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadejda Michailova
stressed that "there is something symbolic in the fact that Mr.
Pangalos' visit coincided with the presentation of Rigas Fereos'
book in Sofia."
. She further added that "in a sense it is a sort of a
political promise, to enable the two countries to discover all
those points which bring them together," concluding that the two
countries need to manage to work each other "in order to transform
the Balkans into a zone of stability, peace and prosperity."
[20] PANGALOS' CONTACTS IN BUCHAREST
Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos met in Bucharest
with his Romanian counterpart Andrei Plesu. In the meeting were
discussed issues concerning the further development of the Greek
business activities in Romania.
Mr. Plesu characterized the talks as very important and at
the same time he said that relations between Greece and Romania
are excellent, while Mr. Pangalos also said that the talks were
very important, saying at the same time that relations between
Greece and Romania are excellent.
The Greek foreign minister characterized as positive
development the decision by Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic
to appoint Vuk Draskovic to the position of the vice-president of
the Serb government, responsible for international relations.
In a press conference in Bucharest, Mr. Plesu stated that the
way Mr. Milosevic acts in the last few days does not contribute to
the smooth development of the situation in Kossovo. Mr. Pangalos
said on the issue, that the south-eastern European countries
approached the problem in Kossovo as well as, the special position
that Serbia has with great understanding.
Mr. Pangalos said that the SE European countries tried to
reduce the isolation of Yugoslavia for reasons of principle and
interest and that when the time came for the lifting of the
measures against Yugoslavia the unacceptable stance of the Serb
government did not help toward this development. He said that the
issue of human rights is not an internal affair for any country
and the time when someone could slaughter the population of a
country for domestic reasons has passed, adding that now all those
who do not respect the human life are accountable to the
international community.
The Romanian foreign minister stated that Greek president
Kostis Stephanopoulos will visit Romania and that Romanian prime
minister Mr. Vasiliev will visit Greece, while he referred
specifically to Greece's investments in Romania such as the
investment of ROM-TELECOM of 670 million US dollars which is one
of the largest. Mr. Plesu said that the economic transactions
between Greece and Romania can develop further this year and
called on Greece to contribute to the reform that takes place in
Romania.
The two ministers also discussed cultural issues and
exchanged views on the prospect for the establishment of a joint
economic committee and the legal framework on which it will be
based.
They also discussed regional cooperation and the cooperation
in the Black Sea, while they both said that there is an idea for
cooperation between the European Union and the Black Sea region.
Referring to the issue, Mr. Plesu said that the rest of the world
should realize that the region is not just a region of disputes
but a region of peace.
Mr. Pangalos spoke of the potential for the further promotion
of economic cooperation between the two countries and added that
the economic transactions in 1999 will reach the sum of 500
million US dollars.
The Greek foreign minister added that Greece will help
Romania to become a member of the European Union and NATO and
pointed out that the regional cooperation will help toward the
European orientation of the peoples living in this area.
Finally, referring to the peace-keeping force that was
recently created in the Balkans, Mr. Pangalos said that it will
intervene whenever it is necessary to solve certain problems,
adding that it is much more preferable the region's problems to be
solved by the countries of the region instead by NATO and the
United States.
[21] THE NATO AMBASSADORS MEET IN BRUSSELS ON KOSOVO
The ambassadors of the member-states of NATO meet in Brussels
to decide on the stance the alliance will adopt after Yugoslav
president Slobodan Milosevic's decision to refuse to withdraw the
Serb forces from Kossovo.
The NATO officials will examine the report of the two NATO
generals who had talks with Milosevic in Belgrade.
[22] FATOS NANO RESIGNED FROM THE ALBANIAN SOCIALIST PARTY
LEADERSHIP
Former Albanian prime minister Fatos Nano announced his
resignation from the leadership of the Albanian Socialist Party.
The announcement was made during the party's general
administrative council meeting that was held today.
Mr. Nano launched a verbal attack against Albanian prime
minister Pandeli Majko and his government and he also called for
an extraordinary Socialist Party congress causing the strong
reaction of the majority of the general administrative council
members.
Responding to a MPA question, on whether he intends to form a
new political party, he avoided to give a clear answer saying that
this is an old idea but he does not want to be detrimental to
state money by putting it into effect.
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