Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-03-14
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, March 14, 2001
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[Á] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] IN/L FURNITURE FAIR OPENS IN THESSALONIKI
[02] GREEK ALTERNATE FM MEETS WITH ROMANIAN FM
[03] GREEKS IN RUSSIA EXHIBITION FEATURED IN MOSCOW
[04] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTER ON US-GREECE TIES
[05] NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR APPOINTED FOR ATHOC
[06] ECONOMY MINISTER BRIEFS PREMIER ON THIRD CSF
[07] STATE BEEFS UP MEASURES AGAINST ANIMAL DISEASE
[08] FIRST CENSUS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM ON SUNDAY
[09] SWISS SURVIVORS OF SAMINA WIN COURT JUDGMENT
[10] STATE OK's NAME MODIFICATIONS FOR EXPATRIATES
[11] GREEK SPECIAL OLYMPICS TEAM RETURNS HOME
[12] MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION WILL BE SIGNED TOMORROW BY THE
EUROPEAN AXIS X COUNTRIES
[13] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[14] THE BANK OF GREECE REPORT WAS TABLED IN PARLIAMENT
[15] REPPAS: THERE IS NO REASON TO RECALL THE LEGISLATION ON
TERRORISM
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[16] FYROM PM: CLIMATE'S RIPE FOR SOLUTION TO NAME
[17] THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH WILL VISIT ITALY
[18] GREEK-AMERICAN ORGANIZATION CAMPAIGN ON THE GENOCIDE OF THE
ASIA MINOR HELLENISM
[19] CONTACTS BETWEEN GREECE AND BRITAIN ON THE PARTHENON MARBLES
[20] KONSTANTOPOULOS: GREECE CAN PLAY A LEADING ROLE FOR PEACE IN
THE BALKANS
[21] KERIM: GREECE IS THE STRATEGIC PARTNER OF FYROM
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] IN/L FURNITURE FAIR OPENS IN THESSALONIKI
Furnidec and Furnima, two "twin" international furniture
trade fairs will official open their gates to the public tomorrow,
March 15, at the Thessaloniki Trade Fair Center.
The twin fair, organised by Helexpo, will host some of the
biggest names in furniture from Greece and abroad until Monday,
March 19.
According to Helexpo, Furnidec will cover an area of 18,000
square meters, with the participation of 358 exhibitors - 300 from
Greece and 58 from abroad.
Furnima, a wood processing equipment fair, will cover an area
of 6,000 square meters with 151 exhibitors - 90 from Greece and 61
from abroad.
[02] GREEK ALTERNATE FM MEETS WITH ROMANIAN FM
Greece's Alternate Foreign Minister Elizabeth Papazoi,
presently on an official visit to Romania, met with Romanian
Foreign Minister Mircea Dan Geoana yesterday, with whom she
discussed the present situation in the Balkan region.
Ms. Papazoi and Mr. Geoana agreed that specific initiatives
should to be taken by Balkan governments in order to avert the
worsening of the situation in the region.
"Athens will continue to support Romania in the rapprochement
of its strategic objectives - accession to the European Union and
NATO," Ms. Papazoi stated, adding that Greece wants to see the
region's countries constitute a part of the same infrastructure of
stability.
Ms. Papazoi outlined a series of specific proposals for the
granting of know-how to Romania for its adaptation to the European
acquis communautaire.
Moreover, Ms. Papazoi saluted Romania's term as president of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, stating
that Mr. Geoana, as OSCE's term president, is aware of and
comprehends the regional issues.
In turn, Mr. Geoana relayed the Romanian government's
satisfaction over Greece's reconstruction plan for the Balkans.
The Greek alternate Foreign Minister is to be received by the
President of Romania Ion Iliescu today.
[03] GREEKS IN RUSSIA EXHIBITION FEATURED IN MOSCOW
An exhibition entitled "Greeks in Russia" is presently being
held at the Russian History Museum on Moscow's Red Square,
commemorating the 10 years since the establishment of the
Federation of Greek Communities in Russia.
Organized by the Greek Embassy, the exhibition features
artifacts and documents attesting to the presence of Greece in the
region from antiquity to the present, while documents of the Greek
community in Moscow of the 19th century will be exhibited for the
first time ever.
[04] MACEDONIA-THRACE MINISTER ON US-GREECE TIES
Greece is presently undergoing a period that presents many
opportunities for strengthening economic cooperation with the
United States, the Minister of Macedonia-Thrace George Paschalides
sated last night, addressing an official dinner given in honor of
US Ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns by the Chamber of Commerce
and Industry in Komotini.
According to Mr. Paschalides, "the effort for Balkan
reconstruction constitutes an important field of joint action in
which businesses of northern Greece, and Thrace in particular, can
play an active role."
Mr. Paschalides pointed out that the trade balance between
the two countries remains lagging, with an exports-imports ratio
of 1:3, even though noted improvement has been made between 1995
and 1999.
The Minister stressed that Thrace is a region providing
favorable conditions and considerable incentives and expressed the
hope that Ambassador Burns' tour will be of help in this
direction.
Presently on a three-day visit to Eastern Macedonia and
Thrace, Ambassador Burns is accompanied by the US General Consul
in Thessaloniki, the embassy's commercial attache and the general
secretary of the Greek-US Chamber of Commerce.
[05] NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR APPOINTED FOR ATHOC
Ending a three-month vacancy to the post, the government
yesterday appointed a top Switzerland-based executive, Ioannis
Spanoudakis as the new managing director for the 2004 Olympics
organising committee (ATHOC).
According to the government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas, Mr.
Spanoudakis was personally selected by Prime Minister Costas
Simitis.
Mr. Spanoudakis, who is fluent in Greek, English, German and
has a working knowledge of French, served as global business
director for Dow Chemical since 1996.
[06] ECONOMY MINISTER BRIEFS PREMIER ON THIRD CSF
Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou
met with the Prime Minister Costas Simits yesterday, whom he
briefed on the outcome of Monday's European Union ECOFIN ministers
meeting in Brussels and on the Third Community Support Framework
(CSF).
Following his talks with the Premier, Mr. Papantoniou stated
that they also discussed preparations for the interim EU summit,
to be held in Stockholm later this month.
The Minister stressed that the EU's targets will be achieved,
despite the slowdown of the US economy.
[07] STATE BEEFS UP MEASURES AGAINST ANIMAL DISEASE
The Greek government has banned imports of live animals and
raw meat from France in order to prevent the spread of foot and
mouth disease, an animal virus that is so infectious it can be
spread by gusty winds or truck tires.
Greece has also suspended the importation of lamb from
Albania and Serbia.
A European Union veterinary panel has agreed to ban French
livestock exports until March 27, while it will reconvene on March
21 in order to review the matter.
At the same time, the United States, Canada and New Zealand
have imposed a ban all EU meat, while animals shipped to the US
from the EU since February 21 will be quarantined and inspected.
So far, 200 outbreaks of the foot-and-mouth-disease have been
detected in the United Kingdom, and the highly contagious disease
appears to have jumped into France, which reported its first case
of foot-and-mouth disease yesterday in a northwest province.
Separately, Argentina confirmed an outbreak in its central Buenos
Aires province and Colombia said it detected its first cases of
the disease this year.
[08] FIRST CENSUS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM ON SUNDAY
Greece will carry out a population and housing census on
Sunday, March 18, including Greeks living abroad and undocumented
migrants, as part of the European Union's plan to register
Europe's population in 2001.
The census has three characteristics: it is obligatory for
all inhabitants in the country, all information will be classified
and there will be no religious restrictions. It will be carried
out by 150,000 enumerators - including university graduates and
unemployed individuals- who will visit every household in the
country.
The census will include Greek citizens, foreigners, economic
immigrants and travelers.
A nationwide 500-million drachma media campaign has been
launched to encourage the public to welcome census takers into
their homes. Information pamphlets are also published in a number
of languages to assist foreigners living in Greece. These
pamphlets stress that the information collected is confidential
and will not be made available to the police.
Presently, the number of undocumented migrants living and
working in Greece is estimated at between 500,000 and one million.
The 18-billion-drachma census will consist of three different
groups of statistics: an overall count of all who reside in Greece
on March 18; a total count of "permanent" residents - which
includes foreigners who have been living in Greece for at least
six months; and a total count of all legal residents.
The questions will cover everything from the number of
persons per household and marital status to place of residence one
year and five years ago, nationality and education. Foreigners
will be asked to state when they arrived in Greece, their country
of origin and the reasons why they reside here. The government
believes it will take 10 months to review the data before
publishing the conclusions.
The census found 10,259,900 people in 1991; 9,740,417 in
1981; 8,768,641 in 1971; 8,388,553 in 1961.
[09] SWISS SURVIVORS OF SAMINA WIN COURT JUDGMENT
Two of the seven Swiss passengers who survived the Samina
Express ferry have won judgment in the suits filed against the
Greek shipowing company Minoan Flying Dolphins (MFD), the Swiss
news agency SDA/ATS reported.
Quoting the plaintiffs' lawyer, SDA reported that similar
judgments for damages are expected to be rendered in the remaining
five lawsuits filed against MFD by the Swiss passengers.
Eighty people lost their lives when the Samina Express sank
on September 26, 2000. With more than 500 passengers on board, the
vessel sank off the coast of the island of Paros when it struck a
well-marked rocky outcrop at full steam, minutes before it was due
to reach the dock.
[10] STATE OK's NAME MODIFICATIONS FOR EXPATRIATES
Expatriated Greeks who wish to "hellenize" their last or
first name – i.e. modify their given names into Greek-sounding
ones- will be able to do so, thanks to an amendment supplied to
the bill concerning the entry and residence of foreigners in
Greece.
According to the amendment, the name changes will be allowed
for those whose Greek nationality is ascertained and for those who
are listed for the draft or on municipal registers, if their names
had been altered or modified in their country of origin.
[11] GREEK SPECIAL OLYMPICS TEAM RETURNS HOME
The 36 Greek athletes who participated in the 2001 Special
Olympics World Winter Games were warmly received at the Athens
airport by the General Secretary of Sports Nikos Exarhos who
congratulated them for their triumphant performance.
The mentally-disabled athletes amassed 49 medals (16 gold,
16 silver, 17 bronze) brought them to the second rank.
[12] MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION WILL BE SIGNED TOMORROW BY THE
EUROPEAN AXIS X COUNTRIES
Greek transportation minister Christos Verelis will be in
Thessaloniki tomorrow for the signing of a cooperation memorandum
by the European Axis X countries. Axis X will link the cities of
Thessaloniki, Skopje, Belgrade, Budapest, Ljubljana, Nis and
Salzburg.
The memorandum of cooperation will be signed by the
transportation ministers of Greece, FYROM, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria,
Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Austria and it is aimed at the
upgrading and improvement of the road and railroad axis.
[13] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Big losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today.
The general index dropped to 5.19% at 3.063,39 points, while the
volume of transactions was very big at 502.6 million Euro or 171.2
billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, just 10 recorded gains and 352
had losses, while the value of 8 stocks remained stable.
[14] THE BANK OF GREECE REPORT WAS TABLED IN PARLIAMENT
The annual report on the course of the Greek economy was
submitted in parliament today by Bank of Greece governor Loukas
Papadimos.
In statements he made, Mr. Papadimos said that this report is
the last one concerning the country's monetary policy and the
first one after its accession into the Euro-zone.
He said that the first chapters of the report deal with the
monetary policy followed in the period 2000-2001, stressing that
it contributed to Greece's accession into the Euro-zone. The rest
of the chapters examine the goals of the monetary policy as well
as the prospects of inflation in Greece.
Mr. Papadimos said that the influence of basic factors is
favorable as in the second half of the current year inflation is
expected to be under 3%, while in 2002 convergence will be
achieved with price stability at 2%.
[15] REPPAS: THERE IS NO REASON TO RECALL THE LEGISLATION ON
TERRORISM
There is no reason to recall the legislative initiative
against organized crime and terrorism, stated Greek government
spokesman Dimitris Reppas, responding to a relevant question by
reporters, while at the same time he pointed out that the specific
legislation protects the rights of the citizens.
He said that this initiative is based on the International
Treaty of Palermo that was signed by 150 countries last November
and added that it is aimed at solving organized crime and
terrorism cases.
Mr. Reppas stressed that the draft bill in question has no
relation whatsoever with the current legislation, underlining that
it abolishes clauses that were in effect since the time of the
dictatorship in Greece.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[16] FYROM PM: CLIMATE'S RIPE FOR SOLUTION TO NAME
The climate in Greece is ripe for a solution to be found to
the name issue pending with Scopje, FYROM's Premier Ljubco
Georgievski stated yesterday during his meeting with the visiting
leader of Greece's minor opposition party Coalition for the Left
and Progress (Synaspismos) Nikos Constantopoulos.
Mr. Georgievski stated that while his government is working
towards discovering a solution to the name issue, he is facing
obstacles posed by his country's opposition parties.
Moreover, the Premier of FYROM rejected the idea of
transforming FYROM into a federation, as has been proposed by the
newly-founded Albanian party "National Democratic Party", while he
also added that he doesn't think the problems faced by the
Albanians are that great.
Meanwhile, FYROM's deputy prime minister Bedredin Ibrahimi,
who is the secretary of the Albanian party "National Democratic
Party", told Mr. Constantopoulos that he advocates the
independence of Kosovo, since, as he said, the province cannot
continue to exist within Yugoslavia.
Mr. Ibrahimi, who does not set forth the issue of rendering
FYROM a federation at the present stage, also stated that the
Constitution should be amended.
[17] THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH WILL VISIT ITALY
Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will visit Calabria, Italy
on March 19-23 and according to the Italian newspaper "Avennir",
he will attend a Catholic Churches conference in Sicily.
During his visit he will meet with local authorities and he
will visit the Greek-Byzantine monuments in the region.
[18] GREEK-AMERICAN ORGANIZATION CAMPAIGN ON THE GENOCIDE OF THE
ASIA MINOR HELLENISM
The Greek-American organization American Hellenic Media
Project launched a campaign against the removal of the word
genocide from the Greek legislation on the Asia Minor Hellenism.
A protest letter appears in the organization's web site on
the Internet calling the visitors to send an e-mail to the address
Greekparliament@hec.greece.org to be forwarded to the Greek
parliament deputies.
In the letter it is mentioned, among others, that Turkey
attempted to annihilate all Christian minorities (Greeks,
Armenians and Assyrians) through massacres, forced labor camps and
death marches, under the pretext of deportation.
It is stressed that Greece, which fought in its turbulent
history for the protection of democratic ideals and human rights
now betrays those principles by rejecting the historical truth of
the genocide suffered by its people.
Finally, it is pointed out that Greece by succumbing to the
Turkish pressures in essence prolongs Turkey's territorial
aspirations and forces it to remain behind the times.
The American Hellenic Media Project is a non profit
organization and its goal is to respond to those who reject the
genocide of the Armenians, the Greeks and other Balkan peoples.
[19] CONTACTS BETWEEN GREECE AND BRITAIN ON THE PARTHENON MARBLES
The UNESCO's Committee for the protection of Cultural
Heritage in its meeting in Cambodia decided that there must be
contacts between Greece and Britain on the issue of the return of
the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
As it is mentioned in the committee decision, the first
meeting must be held before the end of the year. Greek culture
minister Evangelos Venizelos characterized the decision as very
satisfactory.
[20] KONSTANTOPOULOS: GREECE CAN PLAY A LEADING ROLE FOR PEACE IN
THE BALKANS
Greek opposition party Coalition of the Left leader Nikos
Konstantopoulos stated in Skopje, after the meetings he had in the
FYROM capital, that there is a need for Greece to play a leading
role in the efforts for peace and stability in the Balkans.
He said that the conclusion reached in the meetings he had
with the country's state and political leadership is that there is
deep concern in Skopje not so much for the border armed clashes,
which are only "the tip of the iceberg" but because there are
different scenarios in operation that speak about an intervention
in FYROM and the spread of the crisis in the region.
He said characteristically that the state and political
leadership in FYROM believe that Greece's role is very important
and they are expecting that precautionary measures will be taken
aimed at the isolation of the mechanisms that play with fire, in
order to stop the destabilization from spreading.
Mr. Konstantopoulos stated that NATO is not in a position to
safeguard stability in the region because it was NATO itself that
created problems with its intervention in the Balkans.
The Coalition of the Left leader said that the European Union
has that capability and its autonomous role can be confirmed in
the Balkans.
[21] KERIM: GREECE IS THE STRATEGIC PARTNER OF FYROM
FYROM foreign minister Sertzan Kerim characterized Greece as
his country's strategic partner after the meeting he had with
visiting Greek opposition party Coalition of the Left leader Nikos
Konstantopoulos.
Mr. Kerim sent a message to the Albanian extremists that no
matter how hard they try they will not be able to take the
attention of the government away from the priorities it has set
itself.
He characterized as suspicious the proposal tabled by the
newly founded Albanian party suggesting the federalization of
FYROM, while on the proposal made by Arben Tzaferi, leader of the
second Albanian party, who called for changes in the Constitution,
he said that the problems of the Albanians can be solved only
through the operation of democratic institutions.
Mr. Kerim also thanked Greece for its support. He said that
Greece is not just a good neighbor but FYROM's strategic partner
and the road leading his country to the European Union passes
through Thessaloniki and Athens.
He referred to the meeting the foreign ministers of Greece,
FYROM and Albania will have in a few days and pointed out that its
goal is to plant the EU seed in the region.
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