Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-12-07
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 7, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[01] NO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, FEW PLANES, NO MEDIA
[02] THESSALONIKI-PLOVDIV CONFERENCE OPENS TONIGHT
[03] GREECE, TURKEY AGREE ON CBMs AT NATO SESSION
[04] STUDY ON THE VALUES, THE GOALS AND THE BELIEFS OF HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS IN GREECE
[05] STATEMENTS BY THE AHEPA PRESIDENT TO MPA
[06] GAINS OF 0.22% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[07] INFLATION IN NOVEMBER IS EXPECTED TO BE OVER 4%
[08] HOLY RELICS FROM THE MONASTERY OF KASTAMONITOU WERE SOLD TO
RUSSIANS
[09] CONFLICTING FIGURES ON TODAY'S 24HOUR STRIKE OF THE LABOR
UNIONS
[10] CREDIT AGRICOLE OWNS 6.7% OF THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF GREECE
[11] SHOCKING FIGURES ON GREECE'S SO-CALLED "CHILDREN OF THE
TRAFFIC LIGHTS"
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] A SIMITIS-ECEVIT MEETING IN NICE IS NOT RULED OUT
[13] PAPANDREOU-CEM MEETING
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] NO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, FEW PLANES, NO MEDIA
The country will come to a standstill today, as the
Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), Greece's largest union, has
declared a nationwide 24-hour work stoppage in protest to labor
reforms planned by the state.
The strike will affect practically all civil service sectors,
state-owned utilities, banks, the post office and even public
hospitals. News organizations and other media will also conduct a
work stoppage between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Public transportation will also come to a halt, although
state-run Olympic Airways will schedule one flight per route.
Railway employees and passenger shipping workers will also join
the strike, while ferry boats will stop disembarking from the port
of Piraeus for 24 hours starting this morning.
Keynote rallies is scheduled in Athens, Thessaloniki and
other major cities.
Both the Civil Servants Supreme Administrative Council
(ADEDY) and GSEE call on all workers to give a strong presence at
all the rallies organized today.
GSEE is demanding the withdrawal of the state's bill on
employment and labor relations, which includes the regulation
concerning the retirement after 35 years of work.
[02] THESSALONIKI-PLOVDIV CONFERENCE OPENS TONIGHT
A conference titled "Thessaloniki-Plovdiv on parallel courses
18th-20th centuries" opened in Thessaloniki last night, featuring
the participation of more than 50 scientists from Greece and
Bulgaria.
Inaugurated by the Minister of Macedonia-Thrace George
Paschalides, the conference will focus on the similarities of the
two cities in architecture, culture and religion over time.
The participating scientists will examine the two cities'
parallel courses and will discuss matters pertaining to religion,
communities, culture, education, economy, society, architecture
and art.
The city of Plovdiv was first established in the 12th century
BC and has been inhabited continually by Greeks up to the early
20th century, its historical course has been similar to that of
Thessaloniki.
A concurrent art exhibition titled "The Balkan Urban
Phenomenon - Thessaloniki - Plovdiv similar cities" is to open in
Thessaloniki today and will be held until December 20.
[03] GREECE, TURKEY AGREE ON CBMs AT NATO SESSION
Greece and Turkey have reached an agreement to notify each
other regarding their national armed forces exercises, according
to NATO's Secretary General George Robertson.
The agreement was reached during the Alliance's winter
conference in Brussels, where discussions were held between the
Greek and Turkish permanent representatives to NATO, for the
striking of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between the two
countries.
On other matters, the NATO Defense Ministers reviewed plans
by the European Union to develop a new European rapid reaction
force.
While the NATO Secretary General has welcomed the EU
initiative as something that will encourage Europeans to bolster
their military capabilities, some NATO members are not exactly
pleased. According to press reports, Turkey feels excluded as it
wants to participate fully in the EU's decision-making process on
security issues, a demand not expected to be met by the EU.
A proposal made by Greece's ambassador at NATO Vassilis
Kaskarelis, to "respect for the autonomy of decisions taken by
NATO and EU" was included in the session's final communique, while
there was a special provision for "privileged briefing for certain
countries afterwards", primarily when NATO infrastructures will be
used for possible EU operations.
NATO Defense Ministers also discussed matters related to
defense expenditures, where Greece's Defense Minister Akis
Tsohatzopoulos said that the country has 2.5 times more defense
expenditures than the NATO average.
[04] STUDY ON THE VALUES, THE GOALS AND THE BELIEFS OF HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS IN GREECE
The values, the goals and the beliefs of high school
students, their parents and teachers are reflected in a study
conducted by the National Center for Social Studies.
According to the study, the Church has the confidence of 75%
of those questioned, while among the high school students the
percentage was 87%. Lower confidence is enjoyed by the justice
system and the police, while the parliament and television are
regarded as mostly unreliable. The army with 65-85% is in the
first place together with the Church, while only 15% of the high
school students have confidence in the education system.
Xenophobia among the students, parents and teachers reaches
50%, while 6 in 10 students have ethno-centrist tendencies.
The students show indifference toward politics, while over
90% of them are concerned that the national identity will be lost
as a result of the loose border controls. Meanwhile, 6 in 10
students believe that the EU accession is against Greece's
independence and rights and it should be reconsidered.
[05] STATEMENTS BY THE AHEPA PRESIDENT TO MPA
Greek-American organization AHEPA president John Economi and
public relations head Steve Mantas had contacts in Athens aimed at
the activation of AHEPA's proposals for the organizing of the
Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
In statements he made to Macedonian Press Agency, Mr. Economi
pointed out that AHEPA has offered its services for the best
possible organization of the Olympic Games. He also said that
AHEPA has submitted proposals for a complete program of volunteer
work that will contribute greatly to the success of the games.
[06] GAINS OF 0.22% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Gains of 0.22% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange
today and the general index was at 3.741,86 points, while the
volume of transactions reached 162.2 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today 213 recorded losses, 129 had
gains and 33 remained unchanged.
[07] INFLATION IN NOVEMBER IS EXPECTED TO BE OVER 4%
Inflation in Greece is expected to be over 4% in the month of
November.
The relevant announcements will be made by the National
Statistics Agency tomorrow.
[08] HOLY RELICS FROM THE MONASTERY OF KASTAMONITOU WERE SOLD TO
RUSSIANS
A scandal involving the sale to Russians of pieces of holy
relics from the Monastery of Kastamonitou in the monastic
community of Mount Athos in northern Greece, was revealed by
Bulgarian researcher Kirilos Pavlikianov, speaking in the
"Thessaloniki-Plovdiv" conference organized in Thessaloniki by the
Cultural Society of Businessmen in Northern Greece.
The perpetrator of this act, that was committed in the 19th
century, was the monastery's Reverend Father Kirilos.
According to Mr. Pavlikianov, the revelation was made by
Kirilos' successor Simeon, who was elected Reverend Father on
September 11, 1855.
[09] CONFLICTING FIGURES ON TODAY'S 24HOUR STRIKE OF THE LABOR
UNIONS
The figures on today's 24hour strike organized by the labor
unions against the new labor draft bill are conflicting.
Greek General Confederation of Labor president Mr.
Polizogopoulos characterized the mobilization as successful but
the Association of Industries in Northern Greece announced that
the participation was just 34.83% compared to 40.74% in the
mobilization of last October. Meanwhile, Thessaloniki's Trade
Unions Center announced that the workers' participation in the
strike was 70-80%.
The strike action takes place in protest to the changes in
the labor relations that the new labor draft bill, proposed by
labor and social security minister Tasos Yanitsis, is expected to
bring with its implementation on April 1, 2001.
The basic demand of the strikers is the adoption of the
35hour working week without wage cuts. Also, they call for
retirement after 35 years of work without a specific age limit. In
addition they call for free education and healthcare, while they
demand unemployment benefits corresponding to 80% of the minimum
wage.
Thessaloniki's Trade Unions Center vice-president stated to
MPA that the strike action will escalate in case the demands of
the workers are not taken under serious consideration.
[10] CREDIT AGRICOLE OWNS 6.7% OF THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF GREECE
The transfer of 6.7% of the Commercial Bank of Greece to
France's Credit Agricole was completed today at 16.450 drachmas a
share, based on last June's agreement.
A total of 5.718.466 shares were transferred to Credit
Agricole for the sum of 94.06 billion drachmas. Also, the
Commercial Bank of Greece board of directors met today to decide
on its new makeup. Four of the resignation submitted were accepted
and in its new board of directors now participate two Credit
Agricole representatives.
[11] SHOCKING FIGURES ON GREECE'S SO-CALLED "CHILDREN OF THE
TRAFFIC LIGHTS"
The figures given to publicity after a research study in
Greece on the so-called "children of the traffic lights" are
shocking. The study was held by the research-polling company
"Alko" on behalf of UNICEF and covered the wider Athens region in
the period of November 17 to November 29. The study was conducted
on a sample of 955 children (61.5% boys and 38.5% girls) aged
between 2-15.
Based on the study, it is estimated that about 5.800 children
in Greece live and work in the streets most of the day. Those
children, both Greek and immigrant, earn about 1 billion drachmas
a month for their employers (about 172.000 drachmas each).
However, there should be a clear distinction between the "children
of the traffic lights" and the total number of children under the
age of 16 who work in Greece, as their number is estimated at
150.000. In this figure are not included the children of farm
families, who work mainly in the fields or do other minor jobs.
To the question "who is your employer", 12% of the children
refused to give an answer, 79.3% said that their employers are
their parents and 8.7% responded "somebody else". This response is
more common among children of economic immigrants or refugees. It
is indicative that 27.3% of the children of Kurdish origin
responded that their employers are other than their parents, while
14.6% of the Albanian, 12.2% of the Serb and 25% of the Iraqi
children refused to answer to that question.
Most of the children (26.8%) sell paper tissue, 15.9%
flowers, 13.5% clean car windows and 20% are street beggars. This
percentage is very high among the Serb children, as 43.9%
responded that that they are street beggars on a daily basis.
The answers given by the children to the question if they are
punished when they do not go to work or when their takings are
low, are hair-raising. No response was given by 38.6% of the
children, while most of them said that apart from being beaten
they are refused food and they are threatened to be kicked out
from where they are staying.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] A SIMITIS-ECEVIT MEETING IN NICE IS NOT RULED OUT
A meeting of Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis with his
Turkish counterpart Bulent Ecevit is not ruled out to take place
on the sidelines of the EU Summit meeting in Nice, France.
Meanwhile, the French embassy in Ankara in a statement it has
issued today categorically denied that French foreign minister
Hubert Vedrine gave an interview to the Turkish daily economic
newspaper "Dunya" in which he allegedly maintained that France is
not taking under consideration the Helsinki Summit decisions on
the issues of Cyprus and the EU-Turkey partnership relation.
[13] PAPANDREOU-CEM MEETING
Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou, responding to a
question by a reporter if he met with the Turkish side, stated
that the two delegations had a quick informal meeting.
He also stated that he had a brief exchange of views with his
Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem on the confidence-building-measures
in the Aegean.
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