Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-10-29
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, October 29, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK FM IN BERLIN TO MEET WITH GERMAN
COUNTERPART
[02] BOURSES THROUGHOUT WORLD ON AN UPWARD RALLY
[03] BALKAN RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE HOSTED BY
THESSALONIKI
[04] DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ON SUNDAY, CLOCKS
TURN BACK ONE HOUR
[05] GREEK, TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRIES ISSUE
JOINT COMMUNIQUE
[06] MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER: BUY GREEK BONDS
[07] GREEK PREMIER SENDS CONDOLENCES TO
PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA
[08] SMALL RISE IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[09] HALF OF THE MEN AND WOMEN SUFFERING FROM
CANCER ARE COMPLETELY CURED
[10] TECHNICAL PROBLEM IN AN OLYMPIC AIRWAYS
PASSENGER PLANE
[11] THE EU COMMISSION IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE RESTORATION OF CULTURAL MONUMENTS IN KOSOVO
[12] THE EUROPEAN COURT FOUND GREECE GUILTY OF
NOT PAYING FAMILY ALLOWANCES TO WOMEN
[13] THE DISPILIO LAKE SETTLEMENT MUSEUM IN
KASTORIA WAS INAUGURATED BY PRESIDENT
STEPHANOPOULOS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[14] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT
[15] GREECE TO TAKE PART IN BULGARIAN TELECOMS
FORUM
[16] WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES CLINTON'S
VISIT TO GREECE
[17] GREEK EXPERTS VISIT LONDON FOR PARTHENON
MARBLES
[18] FOREIGN AFFAIRS UNDERSECRETARY TRAVELS TO
SOUTH AFRICA
[19] U.K. REPORTER, AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER
DETAINED IN CHECHNYA
[20] TURKEY: FORMER PM IMPLICATES IRANIANS IN
KISLALI'S MURDER
[21] ARMENIA: MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR RESIGNS
[22] BOMB EXPLODES AT ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY, NO
VICTIMS
[23] GREEK ENTERPRISES MARK STRONG PRESENCE AT
EUROPARTENARIAT
[24] SOFIA WANTS $160 MILLION PER YEAR TO CLOSE
KOZLODUI REACTORS
[25] THE CYPRUS ISSUE IS AT THE CENTER OF THE
PAPANDREOU-FISCHER MEETING
[26] THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN FYROM WILL BE
HELD ON SUNDAY
[27] THE NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE GROUP CONTROLS
THE MAJORITY SHARES OF SKOPJE'S STOPANSKA BANKA
[28] A VETERINARY CONTROL ZONE WILL BE
ESTABLISHED BY BULGARIA AT ITS BORDERS WITH
GREECE AND TURKEY
[29] A PRAISE FOR THE GREEK LANGUAGE
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NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK FM IN BERLIN TO MEET WITH GERMAN
COUNTERPART
Foreign Minister George Papandreou is
presently in Berlin, continuing his European
tour to outline Greece's position on EU
membership for Turkey and Cyprus.
Mr. Papandreou will meet with his German
counterpart Joschka Fischer with whom he will
discuss Turkey's candidacy for accession to the
EU.
Addressing the German parliament, Mr.
Fischer supported Turkey's candidacy, sparking
an intense reaction from the opposition parties
which stated that Turkey's shortcoming in
democratic processes render the country's
candidacy problematic.
Mr. Papandreou will visit Canada on October
31, from where he will leave for Boston on
November 4 to address an event organized by
Harvard
He will leave for Paris from Boston to meet
his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine and
French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
Prime Minister Costas Simitis will also be in
Paris as of November 8 to attend the Socialist
International's meeting.
Mr. Papandreou will leave for The Hague on
November 9 to meet his Dutch counterpart Van
Archen. He will then return to Athens to be
present during the visit by US President Bill
Clinton.
On November 15, Mr. Papandreou will
participate in the European Union's Council of
General Affairs and then leave for Moscow to
meet his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov, as
well as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
On November 18-19, Mr. Papandreou will
accompany Prime Minister Costas Simitis at the
OSCE's summit in Istanbul.
[02] BOURSES THROUGHOUT WORLD ON AN UPWARD RALLY
An upward race is marked in today's trading
at foreign bourses, a positive turn of events
that is expected to spill over into the Athens
Stock Exchange as well.
The Dow Jones marked an increase of 2.19%,
given the lack of inflationary pressures in the
United States, while the London bourse rose by
1.71 per cent.
In other markets, Madrid's rose by 2.03
percent, Sydney is presently at 1.39%, Hong Kong
at 3.02%, the Nikkei index has risen by 2.65%,
Philippines +3.41%, Thailand +1.46% and
Singapore +1.8%.
[03] BALKAN RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE HOSTED BY
THESSALONIKI
Thessaloniki will host a conference on
Balkan reconstruction on November 2 and 3, which
will be inaugurated by the special coordinator
of the Stability Pact for SE Europe, Bondo
Hombach and attended by prominent officials of
several governments and organizations, with the
president of the European Commission Romano
Prodi also expected to be present .
The conference will include discussion of
inter-Balkan cooperation in business and
banking, and of the financing of the planned
reconstruction projects.
National economy minister Yiannos
Papantoniou will present Greece's Balkan
reconstruction plan, to be followed by an
exchange of views with his Balkan counterparts.
The event is jointly organized by the
Industries Association of Northern Greece
(SVVE), the International Trade Fair of
Thessaloniki and the Euromoney publications.
[04] DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ON SUNDAY, CLOCKS
TURN BACK ONE HOUR
Clocks turn back an hour at 4 a.m. on
Sunday October 31, marking the end of Daylight
Savings Time.
Winter time will be in force until March
26, 2000, when clocks will again go forward an
hour.
[05] GREEK, TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRIES ISSUE
JOINT COMMUNIQUE
Following their second round of talks in
September, high officials of the Foreign
Ministries of Greece and Turkey met for á third
round in Ankara (21 and 22 October 1999) and
Athens (25 and 26 October 1999) to discuss
issues related to tourism the environment,
economic and commercial relations, culture,
cooperation in the multilateral regional field
and combating organized crime, illegal
immigration, drug trafficking and terrorism.
According to a joint communique issued by
the Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministries, the
talks were held in a friendly and business-like
atmosphere. The two delegations, with the
participation of representatives of the
competent authorities from their respective
country, elaborated the items of the agreed
agendas. These included updating the contractual
framework of Greek-Turkish relations as and
where appropriate, as well as defining specific
areas where cooperation could be initiated in
the short or longer term.
The delegations decided to establish
working groups related to the above fields with
the aim of further elaboration of the draft
texts already exchanged and relevant matters.
These working groups, headed by high officials
of the respective Foreign Ministries at
ambassadorial level and composed of
representatives of competent authorities, will
convene in November 1999.
The two sides agreed that the conclusions
of the working groups will be assessed during
the fourth round of talks, in principle due to
take place in December, with the aim of
presenting the results achieved to their Foreign
Ministries.
[06] MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER: BUY GREEK BONDS
A leading financial analyst for Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter is optimistic that Greece's
inflation rate will soon be curbed, while he is
also confident that Greek bonds will soon
register an impressive performance.
Specifically, Ricardo Barbieri notes that
if the European Union's harmonized inflation
index is raised from 1.5% in September to 1.6%
in October and remains at that level, then
Greece will be given the coveted "go ahead" for
accession to the Economic and Monetary Union,
since in February it would mark an annual
average of 1.9 per cent.
Concerning bonds, Mr. Barbieri opines that
Greece's accession to the EMU on January 1,
2001, will mark the Greek bonds rapprochement
with European levels and, thus, urges buyers to
opt for the said bonds in order to reap
substantial benefits later.
[07] GREEK PREMIER SENDS CONDOLENCES TO
PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA
Prime Minister Costas Simitis has forwarded
his condolences to the President of Armenia
Robert Kocharian wherein he expresses the Greek
people's and the government's sympathies towards
Armenia and its people.
The President of the Hellenic Parliament
Apostolos Kaklamanis also expressed his dismay
over the massacre in the Armenian House, stating
that the attack harbors dangers for an overall
destabilization in that region.
[08] SMALL RISE IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
A small rise was recorded in the Athens
Stock Exchange today. The general index showed a
rise of 0.96% and closed at 5.442,14, while the
transactions reached 298.6 billion drachmas. The
general index had ups and downs, while there was
increased demand of bank shares today.
Two hundred and four shares moved upwards,
97 dropped and 20 remained stable. The bank
shares showed an increase of 2.17%, leasing
dropped by 0.50%, securities -2.57%, investments
-0.37%, industrial shares increased by 0.82%,
holdings -1.43%, others rose by 0.37% and the
parallel market showed a increase of 1.32%.
[09] HALF OF THE MEN AND WOMEN SUFFERING FROM
CANCER ARE COMPLETELY CURED
Half of the men and women who are suffering
from cancer can be completely cured, while new
methods and new drugs are being tested to treat
the cancerous cells.
This optimistic message comes out from the
7th post-graduate conference of clinical
oncology that is being held in Iraklion, Crete.
New drugs and vaccines against cancer will
be announced in the conference that will be
completed on Sunday, while scientists stress the
importance of annual check-ups which help in
detecting cancer in early and more treatable
stages.
[10] TECHNICAL PROBLEM IN AN OLYMPIC AIRWAYS
PASSENGER PLANE
A technical problem was recorded in an
Olympic Airways passenger plane that had
departed from Athens and was flying over the
north-eastern Aegean island of Chios on its way
to Sidney, Australia.
The pilot of the airplane, with 294
passengers on board, noticed a technical problem
just after take off from Athens and managed to
bring it back to the airport of the Greek
capital where it landed safely. The passengers
boarded another plane and continued their trip.
[11] THE EU COMMISSION IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE RESTORATION OF CULTURAL MONUMENTS IN KOSOVO
The EU Commission does not have any
responsibility to take measures for the
protection of the cultural heritage in Kosovo,
according to EU Commissioner in charge of
exterior relations Chris Patten, who made the
statement responding to a question by Greek
Coalition of Left Euro-deputy Alekos Alavanos.
The Euro-deputy used figures, according to
which, 160 cultural monuments that are part of
the European cultural heritage were hit during
the war, among them 13 archaeological sites and
60 monasteries and churches.
[12] THE EUROPEAN COURT FOUND GREECE GUILTY OF
NOT PAYING FAMILY ALLOWANCES TO WOMEN
The European Court found Greece guilty of
not paying the lawful family allowances to
working women since 1981 when the country became
a member of the united Europe. The Greek Social
Security Organization (IKA) had begun
implementing the measure years later, in 1989.
The court decided that the backdated
marriage and children benefits should be paid to
all married women who did not receive them in
the period of 1981-89.
The public workers' union in Greece has
expressed satisfaction over the European Court
decision.
[13] THE DISPILIO LAKE SETTLEMENT MUSEUM IN
KASTORIA WAS INAUGURATED BY PRESIDENT
STEPHANOPOULOS
Greek president Kostis Stephanopoulos
referred to the existing political climate which
is very good, in the inauguration of the museum
of the Dispilio pre-historic lake settlement in
Kastoria.
Mr. Stephanopoulos was very excited with
the exhibits and urged all Greeks to visit the
museum. The pre-historic settlement was
discovered by Aristotle University archaeology
professor Giorgos Hourmouziadis. In the region
of Dispilio were discovered the most ancient
music instruments in Greece. The settlement is
estimated to be 7.000 years old.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[14] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT
Armenian President Robert Kocharian is to
hold a series of meetings with members of his
country's parliament, following Wednesday's
massacre when terrorists gunned down seven
people in the House, including Armenia's Prime
Minister and the National Assembly Chairman.
The country's new government will not be
appointed before the victims' funerals on
Sunday. The end to the 18-hour crisis came after
Armenian President Robert Kocharian promised to
spare the lives of the hostage-takers if they
gave themselves up, and guaranteed them a fair
trial.
[15] GREECE TO TAKE PART IN BULGARIAN TELECOMS
FORUM
More than 20 Greek telecommunications
companies will participate in a Greek-Bulgarian
telecommunications forum to be held in Sadanski,
Bulgaria, on November 3-5.
``The forum is organized by the American
Commerce, Industry and Science Council for
Greece and the Balkans, based in Thessaloniki
and aims to promote regional cooperation and
joint ventures by Greek and Bulgarian companies.
The forum's main attraction is an evolving
alliance between Hellenic Telecommunications
Organization with Bulgaria's state telecoms
company.
Telecommunications companies from the two
countries will have the opportunity to discuss
further cooperation.
[16] WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES CLINTON'S
VISIT TO GREECE
United States President Bill Clinton will
officially visit Greece on November 13-15,
according to a White House announcement.
Mr. Clinton will visit Turkey on November
15-17 ahead of a planned Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
summit, scheduled for November 17-19 in
Istanbul.
The OSCE summit "is an opportunity for the
leaders of 54 countries of the Euro-Atlantic
region to focus on the promotion of democracy,
human rights, security and stability between us,
as well as within the participating countries,"
the announcement read.
Mr. Clinton will also visit Italy on
November 20-21 and Bulgaria on Nov. 21-23.
[17] GREEK EXPERTS VISIT LONDON FOR PARTHENON
MARBLES
A team of Greek experts are presently in
London, where they will examine the state of the
Parthenon Marbles following revelations made in
a book by British historian Ian Saint Clair that
they were seriously damaged during their
cleaning process by British Museum workers about
50 years ago.
The committee's findings and reports will
be forwarded to Culture Minister Elizabeth
Papazoi first and will be presented at a special
conference to be organized by the British Museum
at the end of November on the state of these
historic monuments.
The committee studied the marbles yesterday
and compared them with archived photographs.
[18] FOREIGN AFFAIRS UNDERSECRETARY TRAVELS TO
SOUTH AFRICA
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Grigoris
Niotis is presently in south Africa where he
will meet with the Greek communities of
Pretoria, Johannesburg and Derban and will be
received by his South African counterpart.
On November 1, Mr. Niotis will travel to
Dubai where he will participate in the
conference of European Union Foreign Ministers -
Cooperation Council of Gulf Countries.
During his stay at the Arab Emirates, Mr.
Niotis will have meetings with various officials
as well as members of the Greek community.
[19] U.K. REPORTER, AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER
DETAINED IN CHECHNYA
British officials are presently conducting
negotiations with Russian authorities over the
detention in Chechnya of journalists, a Brit
(Anthony Lloyd of U.K.'s Times daily) and an
American (freelance photographer Tyler Hicks), a
Foreign Office official representative said.
According to latest reports, the two were
detained by Russian soldiers yesterday when
their car was trying to cross the roadblock to
rebel Chechnya.
The representative said Foreign Office was
looking for a direct contact with Mr. Lloyd and
wanted to know reasons of his detention.
The representative stated that all British
journalists had been strongly advised not to
travel to Chechnya.
[20] TURKEY: FORMER PM IMPLICATES IRANIANS IN
KISLALI'S MURDER
Iranians currently living in Germany had a
hand in last week's murder of Turkish
intellectual Ahmet Taner Kislali, former prime
minister Mesmut Yilmaz was quoted as saying by
the Turkish daily Sabah.
"It appears that the people who organized
the attack are Iranian and are now in Germany,"
Mr. Yilmaz is quoted as having stated, adding
that "Iran holds Turkey responsible for
disturbances last July in Tehran."
Relations between the Islamic republic of
Iran and secular Turkey have been stormy in
recent years, with Ankara accusing Tehran of
backing Muslim extremists in Turkey.
Mr. Kislali, a former culture minister and
journalist, was killed October 21 in front of
his home in Ankara when a parcel bomb placed on
his car exploded.
Two Iranians were questioned but then
released in Istanbul two days later, while an
Islamic group claimed responsibility for the
attack.
[21] ARMENIA: MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR RESIGNS
Armenia's Minister of the Interior Suren
Abramian handed in his resignation yesterday,
following the shooting at the parliament that
left the premier and seven other politicians
dead.
A three-day mourning period has been
declared in the country, where flags will wave
at half-mast until October 31.
[22] BOMB EXPLODES AT ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY, NO
VICTIMS
A bomb exploded early this morning at the
campus of Marmara University in Istanbul,
causing minor damage but no casualties, the
Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.
According to the report, an unidentified
person called Anadolu's Istanbul bureau and
claimed responsibility for the bombing in the
name of an extreme-Islamist group, the Islamic
Front of Raiders of the Great Orient, known by
its Turkish acronym of IBDA-C.
The IBDA-C, founded in 1985, is known to
have carried out attacks against bars,
discotheques and churches in Istanbul.
The group was last suspected of being
behind a bomb attack on October 21 in Ankara
that killed former culture minister, academic
and journalist Ahmet Taner Kislali, but police
say they do not yet know who is responsible for
the assassination.
[23] GREEK ENTERPRISES MARK STRONG PRESENCE AT
EUROPARTENARIAT
Greek and German businesses will have the
opportunity to discuss future alliances at the
Europartenariat trade fair and forum, which got
underway today in Potsdam, Germany.
More than 70 Greek enterprises are
partaking in the forum which also features the
participation of 405 select German firms and
2,500 from other countries, both from within the
EU and from Eastern Europe, North and Latin
America, Asia, South Africa and the
Mediterranean basin.
Trade between Greece and Germany totaled
5.2 billion ecu last year, according to the
Northern Greek Exporters Union, making the
country Greece's biggest trade partner.
German imports increased 20 percent in the
last five years, marking an annual average
growth rate of 5.0 percent.
Imports totaled 2.96 billion ecu in 1994,
rising to 3.28 billion ecu the following year,
but declining to 3.18 billion ecu in 1996. They
rose again in 1997 and 1998 to 3.235 and 3.56
billion ecu, respectively.
On the other hand, Greek exports to Germany
remained stable in 1998 at 1994 levels to total
1.676 billion ecu, despite small increases in
1995 and 1997.
[24] SOFIA WANTS $160 MILLION PER YEAR TO CLOSE
KOZLODUI REACTORS
Bulgaria's would need economic assistance
from the European Committee amounting to $160
million on an annual basis in order to shut down
its first and second nuclear reactors at the
Kozlodui plant, according to the country's
designated task force which replied as such to
the EC's ultimatum that Sofia draw specific
guidelines for inactivating the plant's four old
reactors.
According to Bulgarian press reports,
Premier Ivan Kostoc has asked the Parliament's
energy committee to support the closing of the
plant's first and second reactors, warning that
if they are not rendered useless, then the
country will not be invited to embark on
accession negotiations with the European Union.
However, this initiative calls for
significant economic aid from the West,
amounting to $80 million for each reactor, which
figure was arrived at after Bulgaria calculated
its direct and indirect losses from such move.
[25] THE CYPRUS ISSUE IS AT THE CENTER OF THE
PAPANDREOU-FISCHER MEETING
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou
will meet in Berlin with his German counterpart
Joshka Fischer.
Their talks will focus on the Greek-German
relations, the Cyprus issue, the Greek-Turkish
relations, the developments in the Balkans,
Turkey's EU association in view of the Helsinki
summit meeting and EU enlargement issues. After
the meeting the two ministers will visit the
federal parliament and later in the evening they
will have a private dinner.
Tomorrow's schedule includes a tour of
Berlin by ship and lunch on board. Mr.
Papandreou will return to Athens on Sunday
morning.
[26] THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN FYROM WILL BE
HELD ON SUNDAY
The presidential elections in FYROM will be
held on Sunday. The registered voters are
1.610.338 and they will exercise their right in
2.973 polling stations.
Based on political analysts in Skopje, most
favorite to replace president Kiro Gligorov are
the candidate of the governing VMRO-DPMNE party
Boris Trajkovski and the candidate of the Social-
democratic Union party Tito Petkovski. The first
unofficial results will be announced by
Wednesday.
[27] THE NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE GROUP CONTROLS
THE MAJORITY SHARES OF SKOPJE'S STOPANSKA BANKA
The National Bank of Greece Group controls
55% of Stopanska Banka, the biggest bank in
Skopje. An agreement was signed at noon today by
FYROM's minister of finance Boris Stojmenov,
Stopanska Banka director Ljupco Popovski and
National Bank of Greece assistant director
Apostolos Tabakakis.
The day of the signing of the agreement had
not been made public in advance to avoid
possible political reactions in view of Sunday's
presidential elections in FYROM.
[28] A VETERINARY CONTROL ZONE WILL BE
ESTABLISHED BY BULGARIA AT ITS BORDERS WITH
GREECE AND TURKEY
A 50kilometer long veterinary protection
zone will be established by Bulgaria along its
borders with Greece and Turkey to limit the
spread of epidemics.
The above was announced by the national
veterinary agency director who stated that the
zone will spread between the village of
Slivarovo in the region of Burgas and the
village of Matocina in the region of Haskovo.
The total investment is estimated at 550
thousand EURO and the money will come from the
European Union PHARE programme.
[29] A PRAISE FOR THE GREEK LANGUAGE
The French-speaking newspaper "Le
Republiquen Lorein" made a special presentation
to philhellene Anri Miller, known for his
adoration of Greece and the Greek civilization
on the occasion of the publication of Nikos
Kazantzakis' work in the Luxembourg language.
Mr. Miller, who is a retired professor, has
translated Kazantzakis' book The life and Works
of Alexis Zorba which was published last May.
Responding to the question on why he has
such passion with the ancient Greek language
which is a so-called dead language, he said that
the Greek language and civilization had a
tremendous effect on everything existing today,
stressing that the world is in debt to the
Greeks for all the intellectual tools they have
given to humanity.
Mr. Miller said that the Greeks were the
first to write drama in the form of ancient
tragedies, while most authors have been inspired
by Greek mythology, adding that the ancient
Greeks were the ones who created sculptures and
architectural forms that are models of
perfection. He said that those who study
philosophy have to study the Greek philosophers,
while the complexity of the ancient Greek
language makes those who master it more able to
learn faster any modern language. The knowledge
of the Greek language makes it easier to learn
anything that has to do with higher thought,
while those who speak the ancient Greek language
will learn to handle better even their own
mother-tongue.
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