Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-06-29
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, June 29, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] POLL GIVES LEAD TO ND, PRESIDENT RANKS HIGHEST
[02] GREECE, TURKEY DISCUSS REGIONAL ISSUES
[03] YOUTH PARLIAMENT CONVENES TOMORROW
[04] GREECE REFUTES RACISM ACCUSATIONS
[05] MISS AMERICA 1999 COMES TO THESSALONIKI
[06] NEITHER STATE, NOR CHURCH WILL BUDGE ON ID s
[07] ANOTHER POLL FINDS PM MOST SUITABLE FOR POST
[08] GREECE RANKS 25TH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
[09] 20 MILLION YEAR OLD FINDINGS IN KASTORIA'S MUSEUM AND GEO-
PARK
[10] DUTCH FESTIVAL IN ATHENS
[11] LOSSES OF 0.65% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[12] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER PAPAZOI MEET WITH THE DANISH FOREIGN
MINISTER
[13] INDUSTRIALISTS WANT THE PRIVATIZATION PROCESS TO ACCELERATE
[14] TRACK AND FIELD: GOOD PERFORMANCE BY THE GREEK ATHLETES IN
THE "TSIKLITIRIA 2000 GRANT PRIX"
[15] 120 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WERE ARRESTED IN THESSALONIKI
[16] GREEK MEDALS IN THE WORLD TAE KWON DO CHAMPIONSHIP
[17] THE BLOWING UP OF AN OLD BRIDGE ENDED IN FAILURE
[18] THE AMERICAN COLLEGE WILL HONOR THE "SMILE OF A CHILD"
ORGANIZATION PRESIDENT
[19] THE GREEK FORCE WILL WITHDRAW FROM ALBANIA
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[20] STEPHANOPOULOS: THERE ARE NO POLITICAL PROBLEMS BETWEEN
GREECE AND RUSSIA
[21] ROBIN COOK IS AGAINST THE "TWO-SPEED" EUROPE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] POLL GIVES LEAD TO ND, PRESIDENT RANKS HIGHEST
A recently-conducted poll, the first after the April 9
elections, gives a 0.3 percent lead to the main opposition party
of New Democracy over the ruling PASOK party, while Prime
Minister Costas Simitis and main opposition New Democracy party
leader Costas Karamanlis are about equally popular, with 43.7
percent and 44.2 percent ratings respectively.
According to the survey, conducted by MRB on behalf of Mega
TV channel, the President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
currently commands the highest popularity rating ever recorded for
any person in Greek public and social life, according to the
latest opinion poll.
[02] GREECE, TURKEY DISCUSS REGIONAL ISSUES
Political consultation meetings held last week between Athens
and Ankara focused on regional issues, according to Turkey's
Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Huseyin Dirioz.
Quoted by the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Mr. Dirioz stated
that the meetings were the continuation of political consultation
meetings in November 1999.
Noting that the talks had focused mainly on regional issues,
Mr. Dirioz said the sides had exchanged opinion on issues of
Caucasus, Balkans and Middle East, and taken up bilateral
relations within framework of the nine agreements signed earlier.
According to Mr. Dirioz, who was responding to a question,
the issue of establishing a joint military committee had not been
discussed in the said meetings.
[03] YOUTH PARLIAMENT CONVENES TOMORROW
The fifth session of the Youth Parliament will convene in
Athens tomorrow, featuring the participation of a total of 350
young "deputies", 239 of whom are girls.
The President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos
Kaklamanis expressed the wish that this year's session "be a
breath of fresh air in this very hot summer."
He also added that the institution meets the real needs of
young people to ask questions and air criticism, as well as the
public's interest in hearing the voice of Greek youth.
[04] GREECE REFUTES RACISM ACCUSATIONS
Greece is categorically refuting accusations of being a state
tolerant of racism or discrimination, following a Council of
Europe report prepared by the Council's European Committee Against
Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).
Government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas stated that "he Greek
society is distinguished for its equal jstice and equal state,
adding that "the country's (relevant) legislation is efficient".
Pointing out that Greece has taken significant steps forward,
Mr. Reppas added that the Greek state is proceeding to legislative
and other initiatives in order to correspond tot he needs ensuing
from the huge influx of immigrants.
"Any shortcomings or voids noted in the effort to enforce
this policy should not cosntitute the premise and reason for
exrepssing such accusaitons," he said.
Interestingly enough, the report omits the fact that the
Greek Parliament includes three Muslim deputies and that Greece
has approved all 84 applications for the foundation of places of
worship. Moreover, in contrast to the rest of Europe, Greece has
no political parties with xenophobic platforms.
[05] MISS AMERICA 1999 COMES TO THESSALONIKI
Miss America 1999, Nicole Johnson, is to arrive in
Thessaloniki tomorrow where she will be a featured speaker at a
diabetes conference.
Ms. Johnson, who suffers from type A diabetes, will speak on
the significance of early diagnosis and will offer pointers on
living a normal life for those who have the ailment.
[06] NEITHER STATE, NOR CHURCH WILL BUDGE ON ID s
Those who object to the listing of one's religion on the
state-issued identification cards "breed undying hatred against
the Church, influenced by a spirit of atheist enlightment", the
Metropolite of Piraeus Kallinikos preached in his sermon
yesterday, delivered before the Archbishop of Athens and All of
Greece.
The Church of Greece has announced plans to conduct an
"unofficial referendum" in October to gauge public sentiments on
the ID card controversy.
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas charged that this
decision could "lead to a split in Greek society".
[07] ANOTHER POLL FINDS PM MOST SUITABLE FOR POST
Prime Minister Costas Simitis is deemed most suitable for the
premiership, according to a poll conducted by V-PRC on behalf on
the Athens daily "Ta Nea".
According to the poll, which was completed one day before the
Church rally in Thessaloniki, 43.5% of the respondents opted for
Mr. Simitis for the premier's post, while 36.8% for main
opposition leader, New Democracy's Costas Karamanlis.
Mr. Karamanlis's popularity rates higher, at 57.6 percent,
than the Premier's which stands at 53.9%.
While the governing PASOK party's popularity remains higher
than New Democracy's, namely 27.9 percent vs. 22.2%, it does show
a drop since last March.
Mr. Karamanlis ranks highest among regular churchgoers, as,
according to V-PRC, is favored by 70.2 percent of those who go to
church every Sunday, whereas Mr. Simitis polled 37.1 percent in
the same category.
[08] GREECE RANKS 25TH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Greece holds the 25th place in the 1999 United Nations annual
report on human development. In the previous year the country was
at the 27th place.
The human development is determined based on the life
expectancy, education and income.
[09] 20 MILLION YEAR OLD FINDINGS IN KASTORIA'S MUSEUM AND GEO-
PARK
Fossilized trees and other findings dated back to 20 million
years will soon be displayed in the Paleontology and
Paleobotanical Museum in Nostimo, Kastoria in north-western Greece
which is under construction and is expected to be completed soon.
Also, the geo-park in the nearby village of Asproklisia that will
host valuable paleontological findings will be ready soon.
Speaking to MPA, Paleontology and Paleobotany professor
Evangelos Belitselos stated that the findings of the fossilized
forest in Nostimo, dated back to 20 million years, are temporarily
hosted in the village school and are attracting thousands of
visitors.
According to information, mentioned by Mr. Velitselos, the
number of people that visited the exhibits are estimated at 10.000
and this shows that the interest of the visitors is big. Among the
exhibits in the new museum in Nostimo will be findings that were
brought from other regions as well including a piece of an animal
skeleton that was found recently in the region of Aliakmon River
and according to estimates, it is dated back to 5-10 million
years.
[10] DUTCH FESTIVAL IN ATHENS
A Dutch Festival is organized by the Dutch Embassy in Athens
that will last from September 15 to October 5 with painting,
photography and flower exhibitions, lectures and a Gastronomy
Week.
The painting exhibition under the title gods and heroes in
the era of Rembrant and Roubens that will be hosted in the
National Gallery on September 28-October 5 will be the main event
in the Festival. The exhibition will include over 80 works made by
leading Dutch painters.
[11] LOSSES OF 0.65% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Losses of 0.65% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange
today and the general index was at 4.071,4 points while the volume
of transactions was at 122.2 billion drachmas.
The session did not develop in a satisfactory way as the
investors appeared to be affected by yesterday's big drop in the
Athens Stock Exchange.
Of the stocks trading today 44 recorded gains and 293 had
losses.
[12] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER PAPAZOI MEET WITH THE DANISH FOREIGN
MINISTER
Greek deputy foreign minister Elisavet Papazoi met in
Copenhagen yesterday with Danish foreign minister Helveg Petersen.
They discussed issues concerning the Inter-Governmental
Conference, the Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue.
Mr. Petersen underlined the significance of the European
Council decisions in Helsinki on the EU relations with Turkey. On
the Cyprus issue, Ms. Papazoi said that its solution must be in
agreement with the UN decisions and the European Union principles,
while she reminded Cypriot president Glafkos Clerides' proposal
for the participation of the Turkish Cypriots in the EU accession
negotiations.
[13] INDUSTRIALISTS WANT THE PRIVATIZATION PROCESS TO ACCELERATE
The Association of Greek Industries expressed disagreement
with the way the ministry of national economy deals with the
privatization issue. The association's new president Mr.
Antonakopoulos criticized the government for delaying to put in
effect the privatization program that has been announced because
it deals with privatization as a source of income that will cover
the black holes of debt and deficits, adding that the government
is not interested in the fate of the state companies after their
privatization.
Mr. Antonakopoulos announced that the Association of Greek
Industries in cooperation with the ministry of development will
draw up a report on the competitiveness of the Greek businesses.
[14] TRACK AND FIELD: GOOD PERFORMANCE BY THE GREEK ATHLETES IN
THE "TSIKLITIRIA 2000 GRANT PRIX"
No world record was broken in the "Tsiklitiria 2000 Grant
Prix" that was held in Athens but the performance of the Greek
athletes was good.
Katerina Thanou was once again the leading athlete in the
women's 100 meters as she won the first place with 11 seconds
leaving behind strong competitors.
On the contrary, there was no great performance in the men's
100 meters. The first place was won by American Gregory Santler
with 10.08 seconds. Greece's Angelos Pavlakakis came seventh with
10.29 seconds.
Kostas Gatsioudis won the first place in javelin throwing
with 88.46 meters, while Mirela Maniani-Tzelili came second in the
women's javelin competition with 64.51 meters.
[15] 120 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WERE ARRESTED IN THESSALONIKI
One hundred and 20 illegal immigrants, among them 8 minors,
were arrested during a police operation in Thessaloniki last
night.
According to the police, the foreigners were in Greece
illegally and they will be deported.
[16] GREEK MEDALS IN THE WORLD TAE KWON DO CHAMPIONSHIP
Three Greek athletes had a great performance in the World Tae
Kwon Do Championship that is being held in the city of Tsun Tso in
Korea. Michalis Mouroutsos won the gold medal, Areti
Athanasopoulou the silver and Elli Mistakidou the bronze.
In the championship participated about 1.200 athletes from 49
countries many of whom will compete in the Sydney Olympic Games.
The Greek athletes that will compete in Sydney will be Michalis
Mouroutsos, Alexandros Nikolaidis and Areti Athanasopoulou.
[17] THE BLOWING UP OF AN OLD BRIDGE ENDED IN FAILURE
The attempt to blow up part of an old bridge in the
Thessaloniki-Nea Moudania motorway, near the village of Agios
Pavlos, ended up in a big failure.
The technicians of the construction company that has
undertaken to widen the Thessaloniki-Nea Moudania motorway placed
40 kilos of explosives at the bridge's foundations at 11am this
morning and police stopped the traffic, while the local residents
were led away from the scene of the blast for precautionary
reasons. Many television crews had arrived to cover the event but
the blast that followed was not strong enough to destroy the old
bridge.
The technicians of the construction company are trying to
establish why the attempt failed, while it should be noted that
the blowing up of the bridge had been announced several days
earlier by the company representatives who had invited the mass
media to cover the event.
[18] THE AMERICAN COLLEGE WILL HONOR THE "SMILE OF A CHILD"
ORGANIZATION PRESIDENT
Thessaloniki's American College will honor "Smile of a Child"
organization president Konstantinos Yiannopoulos with the
Humanitarian Prize within the framework of the graduation ceremony
of its students that will take place today.
For the past three years, Konstantinos Yiannopoulos is
fighting for the protection and the promotion of the interests and
rights of children who live in Greece regardless of their origin
and nationality. The "Smile of a Child" organization was founded
to fulfill the wish of Mr. Yiannopoulos' 10yearold son Andreas who
had a long battle with cancer.
[19] THE GREEK FORCE WILL WITHDRAW FROM ALBANIA
Greek minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos announced
yesterday the withdrawal of the Greek force from Albania after a
3year stay in the country.
The decision was taken after consultations between the
ministries of foreign affairs and defense and the Albanian
authorities and no agreement was reached on a formula to extend
the Greek presence in the region.
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that the construction of political
and infrastructure projects will continue in Ghirokastra, Durres
and Tirana based on the agreement that has been signed, while 30
Greek army officers will remain in Albania at Greece's persistence
to train the Albanian armed forces. Another 60men force will also
remain in Albania within the framework of the KFOR.
The Greek force in Albania was deployed in the country within
the framework of the international operation after the 1997
uprising.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[20] STEPHANOPOULOS: THERE ARE NO POLITICAL PROBLEMS BETWEEN
GREECE AND RUSSIA
Greek president Kostis Stephanopoulos met with the governor
of St. Petersburg Mr. Yakovlev and had a long and interesting
discussion. Later, he gave a press conference in the presence of
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou, undersecretary of
national economy Mr. Zafiropoulos, the Russian culture minister
and the ambassadors of the two countries.
Mr. Stephanopoulos stated that there are no political
problems between Greece and Russia and on the contrary in talks he
had with prime minister Kasianov it was established that they
share the same views while they also discussed issues of common
interest.
President Stephanopoulos said that Greece recognizes the very
big role Russia can play internationally, expressing the certainty
that it will play this role and will become a power of stability.
He also said that the talks focused on the issues of economic
interest and the construction of big projects, while he expressed
the certainty that future economic cooperation will be promoted
based on the fact that he is accompanied in his visit to Russia by
many Greek businessmen.
President Stephanopoulos and governor of St. Petersburg Mr.
Yakovlev stressed that they discussed issues of common interest
and that a working group will be established with the
participation of the foreign ministry that will consider issues of
regional cooperation. They also discussed issues of tourism and
they agreed that tourism in both countries can develop to a great
degree.
[21] ROBIN COOK IS AGAINST THE "TWO-SPEED" EUROPE
The need to maintain the equality among the EU member-states
was stressed by British foreign secretary Robin Cook rejecting the
French plans to create a "two-speed" Europe through the
establishment of a "pioneer group" within the European Union.
Mr. Cook warned that such a move will hurt the British
interests, pointing out that the EU must be a group of equal
states.
British prime minister Tony Blair is in Berlin for talks with
German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that will focus on French
president Jacques Chirac's proposal for the creation of a "pioneer
group" within the European Union.
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