Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-05-11
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, May 11, 2001
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[Á] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] DM: TURKEY'S INTERPRETATION OF TREATY IS MOOT
[02] TEMPERS FLY IN PARLIAMENT, PM BARES HIS TEETH
[03] PRINCE OF WALES CONCLUDES VISIT TO MT. ATHOS
[04] MILITARY EXERCISE "SARISA-2001" BEGINS TODAY
[05] TURKISH AIRFORCE VIOLATES ATHENS FIR ANEW
[06] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER IN BELGRADE AS EPP VP
[07] TRANSPORTATION MINISTER VISITS CZECH REPUBLIC
[08] PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA PETROS TO VISIT GREECE
[09] TSOCHATZOPOULOS: TURKEY'S CLAIMS ARE GROUNDLESS
[10] STABILIZING TENDENCIES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[11] REPPAS: THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS DECISION AGAINST
TURKEY IS OF HISTORIC IMPORTANCE
[12] BALKAN NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS MEETING IN KALAMARIA
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] ECHR: TURKEY GUILTY OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
[14] KRAPOVIC WILL BE ON A VISIT TO ATHENS
[15] PATRIARCH PETROS OF ALEXANDRIA WILL BE ON A VISIT TO GREECE
ON MAY 17-25
[16] THE NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER WILL ATTEND THE BATTLE OF
CRETE EVENTS
[17] KARAMANLIS-KOSTUNICA MEETING IN BELGRADE
[18] GREECE'S ROLE IN THE SETTLEMENT OF CRISES
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] DM: TURKEY'S INTERPRETATION OF TREATY IS MOOT
In response to Turkey's refusal to allow a Greek military
helicopter to land at the island of Rhodes, transporting Greece's
navy chief of staff, Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos took
Ankara to task yesterday over its interpretation of a 1947 treaty
that describes the island as demilitarized.
"Greece has the right to fortify the islands of the
southeastern Aegean in accordance to the UN Article 51, in defense
of its sovereign rights, security and people," Mr. Tsochatzopoulos
stated.
The Greek DM said that Turkey's refusal is both outdated and
baseless since with the "1047 Treaty of Paris Greece annexed the
Dodecanese Islands from Italy as a victorious force of World War
II.
"Turkey was not a co-signer of the Treaty, nor is there an
article in that treaty prescribing rights toward the interests of
third parties, thus (Turkey) does not have the right to react".
Moreover, the Greek DM stated that Greece and Italy are the
only countries involved in the Paris Treaty pertaining to the
Dodecanese, and they never accepted the status of demilitarization
prescribed by the treaty for northern Italian borders or the
Dodecanese. As such, he pointed out, these countries have a
sufficient military presence: one in northern Italy and the other
in Dodecanese, based on their right to defend themselves.
[02] TEMPERS FLY IN PARLIAMENT, PM BARES HIS TEETH
In a tempestuous, off-the-agenda session held in Parliament
yesterday, verbal blows of unprecedented levels were exchanged
between Prime Minister Costas Simitis and the leader of the main
opposition party of New Democracy (ND) Costas Karamanlis who
locked their horns over economic policy and social security
reforms.
Mr. Simitis blasted ND for its stance over the state's
planned reforms in the social security sector, for which he vowed
his "personal responsibility", only to be met with Mr. Karamanlis
disdain over the Premier's "fanaticism as the last plank of
salvation to correct matters that can't be fixed."
Calling for a massive overhaul of the country's ailing social
security and pensions sector, the Premier appealed for "solidarity
among the generations" in order to maintain economic growth and
invited all agencies and organizations to "an open and sincere
dialogue on all issues without prerequisites and without
evasions."
Directing his ire towards ND, the Premier accused the main
opposition party of maintaining a "hypocritical silence". He then
pointed to a document featured on ND's web site which, the PM
said, "proposes reduction of pensions and increase of the
retirement age and paints the 1960-1980 period as the most robust
for the Greek economy."
"You disavow the policy of the (Constantine) Mitsotakis
government (1990-93), and consider correct the 20-year period of
royal governments and the colonels (i.e. the 1967-74 military
junta)," the Premier roared, noting that the aforementioned
document on ND's site has already been withdrawn.
Taking the podium in turn, Mr. Karamanlis commented that the
Premier's raised tone was an indication of fanaticism "as the last
plank of salvation to correct matters that can't be fixed."
Stressing that the only solution to the social security
system crisis will stem from economic growth, Mr. Karamanlis
proposed a return to the social security reforms enacted during
ND's 1990-92 term.
The main opposition leader stated that the country's economic
and social conditions are undergoing a "profound crisis" and are
marked by "massive structural shortcomings, dependencies,
rigidity," all of which reveal an economy that ranks last in
Europe.
Moreover, Mr. Karamanlis disputed the ruling PASOK party's
projections of a five-percent growth rate for the economy, citing
OECD and IMF reports to the contrary.
According to Mr. Karamanlis, the surplus envisioned for the
state budget "exists only on paper" and is full of "hidden debts".
In his riposte, the Premier countered the main opposition
leader's charges, accusing Mr. Karamanlis of being a doomsayer,
playing the role of a "Cassandra".
According to Mr. Simitis, the OECD has certified that Greek
economic figures are satisfactory and that there are no "hidden
debts".
In her address, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) leader Aleka
Papariga was adamant that her party will not participate in a
"dialogue of pretences", and accused both PASOK and ND of
promoting "anti-popular proposals that favor big capital."
In regards to the social security system, the KKE leader
proposed that the state and employers increase contributions,
while she also called for an increase in the corporate and
business tax rate and a reduction of defense spending allocated
towards NATO needs.
The Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos)
president Nikos Constantopoulos argued that the Premier should
respond "not to ND's criticism, but that of working people,
society, the trade unions and the left."
[03] PRINCE OF WALES CONCLUDES VISIT TO MT. ATHOS
The heir to the British throne, Prince of Wales, concluded
his three-day visit to the Vatopedi Monastery at the monastic
community of Mt. Athos yesterday, where inclement weather in the
area prevented him from continuing his tour to the surrounding
monasteries.
Prince Charles sailed for the port of Kavala aboard the yacht
"Rio Rita", and then took off from the small airport of
Chryssoupolis, near Kavala, aboard a private corporate jet.
[04] MILITARY EXERCISE "SARISA-2001" BEGINS TODAY
The military exercise code-named "SARISA-2001" will begin
today and will conclude on May 17.
The annual exercise is to take place in Central Macedonia and
its aim is to examine the operational possibilities of the Second
Army Corps.
The final phase of the exercise will be held on May 15 and
the defense ministry's civil and military leaderships have been
invited to attend.
Meanwhile, the Navy's medium-scale exercise code-named
"Kataigida 2001" is currently underway in the south, central and
eastern Aegean.
The final phase of the exercise will be observed by National
Defense General Staff Chief Manousos Paragioudakis.
[05] TURKISH AIRFORCE VIOLATES ATHENS FIR ANEW
Ten Turkish military aircraft made five infringements of air
traffic rules in the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) and
seven violations of the national air space in the region between
Lesvos and Kastellorizo.
Greek aircraft took off immediately and intercepted the
Turkish aircraft in all cases.
[06] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER IN BELGRADE AS EPP VP
Leader of Greece's main opposition party of New Democracy
Costas Karamanlis is to embark on a two-day visit to Belgrade
today, in his capacity of vice-president of the European People's
Party.
A meeting to be held today between Mr. Karamanlis and the
President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vojislav Kostunica
will also be attended by the President of the European Democratic
Union (EDU) Sauli Niinisto, Finland's alternate Premier.
Mr. Karamanlis will also meet with F.R.Y.'s Foreign Minister
Goran Svilanovic and will co-chair the 79th meeting of the EDU"s
administrative committee.
Tomorrow morning the ND leader will meet with Serbia's
Premier and Democratic Party President Zoran Djindjic and will
afterwards embark on a tour to other Balkan capital cities.
[07] TRANSPORTATION MINISTER VISITS CZECH REPUBLIC
Transportation Minister Christos Verelis, presently on an
official visit to Prague, met with his Czech counterpart Jaromír
Schling with whom he discussed the growth of bilateral cooperation
in the transport sector.
Messrs. Schling and Verelis also discussed the promotion of
cooperation in bilateral trade transport via railway through the
pan-European axes.
In a press conference following the talks, Mr. Verelis
underlined the satisfactory level of bilateral ties and expressed
his pleasure over the Czech Republic's impressive results
following the legislative reforms to EU standards in regards to
transport.
[08] PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA PETROS TO VISIT GREECE
The Patriarch of Alexandria Petros VII is to conduct an
official visit to Greece between May 17-25, upon the invitation of
the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos.
During his stay in Athens, the Patriach will meet with
members of the Holy Synod and will be received by the President of
the Hellenic Republic Costis Stephanopoulos. He will also meet
with the Speaker of the House Apostolos Kaklamanis, various
ministers and the Mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos.
In the evening of May 23, the Patriarch will travel to
Thessaloniki where the Aristotle University's School of Theology
will bestow upon him the title of professor emeritus.
[09] TSOCHATZOPOULOS: TURKEY'S CLAIMS ARE GROUNDLESS
Greek defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who watched a
landing exercise in the Aegean island of Samos, stated that
Turkey's claims for the demilitarization of the Aegean islands are
groundless.
The minister stated that Turkey must realize that the views
it tries to consolidate belong to the past, adding that they have
no consistency and no legal, political or institutional validity.
[10] STABILIZING TENDENCIES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Stabilizing tendencies prevailed in the Athens Stock Exchange
today, the last day of the trading week.
The general index recorded marginal gains and rose to +0.29%
at 3.120,39 points, while the volume of transactions was at 126.4
million Euro or 43.06 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, 249 recorded gains and 69 had
losses, while the value of 57 stocks remained stable.
[11] REPPAS: THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS DECISION AGAINST
TURKEY IS OF HISTORIC IMPORTANCE
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that the
European Court of Human Rights decision against Turkey is of
historic importance and stressed that it confirms the continuous
and mass violations of human rights committed on the Greek
Cypriots as far as their private property, personal assets,
rights, freedoms and life itself are concerned.
The Greek government spokesman stated that the European Court
of Human Rights must use every means for this decision to be
respected and implemented. Mr. Reppas also called on everybody and
especially those it concerns, to respect the decision and
implement it.
[12] BALKAN NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS MEETING IN KALAMARIA
The Federation of Balkan Non Governmental Organizations
(FEBANGO) executive committee will meet in Kalamaria, Thessaloniki
tomorrow presided over by former Greek government minister
Christos Markopoulos.
In the meeting will be discussed the overall political
situation in the Balkans, especially after the crisis that erupted
as a result of the attacks launched by the Albanian-speaking
extremists. A joint statement and a condemnation of such actions
will be issued only in the case of unanimity, while the interested
states will request the intervention of FEBANGO within the
framework of the efforts to ease the crisis.
FEBANGO is made up of 29 non governmental organizations
promoting culture, the rights of the workers and science, while
also members are organizations promoting peace, human rights and
sex equality from seven Balkan countries namely, Greece, Albania,
Yugoslavia, FYROM, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldavia.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[13] ECHR: TURKEY GUILTY OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
In an overwhelming majority ruling, the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) found Turkey guilty of massive human rights
violations committed in Cyprus ever since the 1974 invasion of the
island republic.
The Court's judgment was delivered yesterday in a public
hearing attended by Cyprus' Attorney General Alekos Markides.
Following the ruling, where 16 judges voted for conviction and one
was against, Mr. Markides hailed the Court's decision as a
"triumph".
The ruling, he said, "constitutes Cyprus' biggest legal
battle against Turkey since 1974", when Turkish troops invaded and
occupied 37 percent of the island's territory.
The Cyprus government, which brought the case before ECHR,
had argued that the 27-year-old Turkish occupation of Cyprus
violated most of the rights enshrined in the European Human Rights
Convention, particularly those involving the living conditions of
the Greek Cypriots enclaved in the occupied part of the island,
rights of displaced Greek Cypriots and missing persons since the
invasion.
According to diplomatic sources at the Council of Europe, the
court's ruling will fortify the great number of individual claims
filed with ECHR by Greek-Cypriots against Turkey.
[14] KRAPOVIC WILL BE ON A VISIT TO ATHENS
Yugoslav defense minister Slobodan Krapovic will be on a
visit to Athens on Tuesday at the invitation of his Greek
counterpart Akis Tsochatzopoulos.
The two ministers will sign bilateral agreements for defense
cooperation and the training of Yugoslav officers in Greece.
They will also discuss measures for the strengthening of
regional security and the Greek initiatives on Yugoslavia's
accession into the NATO "Partnership for Peace" program and other
regional and wider defense structures.
[15] PATRIARCH PETROS OF ALEXANDRIA WILL BE ON A VISIT TO GREECE
ON MAY 17-25
Patriarch Petros of Alexandria will be on a formal visit to
Greece on May 17-25 at the invitation of Archbishop Christodoulos
of Athens and All of Greece.
During his visit he will meet with Archbishop Christodoulos
and members of the Holy Synod as well as state officials.
In the afternoon of May 23 he will be in Thessaloniki and on
the next day he will be declared honorary professor at
Thessaloniki's Aristotle University Theology School.
[16] THE NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER WILL ATTEND THE BATTLE OF
CRETE EVENTS
New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark will be on a formal
visit to Greece on May 17 on the occasion of the events for the
60th anniversary of the Battle of Crete.
Seven thousand New Zealand soldiers arrived in Crete in April
1941 and of them 671 were killed, 967 were injured and 2.180 were
held prisoners of war. The participation of the Maori, the New
Zealand native people, in the commemorating events is very
significant as it honors the big role played by the 28th regiment
of the Maori in the Battle of Crete during WWII.
It is the fifth time Ms. Clark visits Greece and she will be
accompanied by Battle of Crete veterans, school students, an armed
forces firing squad, a Maori music group and businessmen.
In statements she made to the mass media in New Zealand, Ms.
Clark underlined the friendly relations her country shares with
Greece dated back to WWI.
On May 17-18 before her visit to Crete, Ms. Clark will meet
with president Stephanopoulos, prime minister Simitis and other
government officials.
The businessmen delegation will have contacts aimed at
promoting bilateral trade relations.
[17] KARAMANLIS-KOSTUNICA MEETING IN BELGRADE
Greek right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy
leader Kostas Karamanlis and Yugoslav president Voislav Kostunica
met in Belgrade today and agreed on the inviolability of the
borders and the need for the respect of human rights, while they
condemned the use of force.
Mr. Karamanlis pointed out that initiatives, stability and
the active role of the international community and the EU are
necessary to back these basic principles.
The two discussed other issues as well concerning the region
namely, the alarming developments and New Democracy's support to
Yugoslavia's efforts to participate in the European organizations.
The New Democracy president, who is visiting Yugoslavia
within the framework of the European Democratic Union meeting and
"The Initiative for Democracy in Western Balkans" undertaken by
the European Popular Party, invited Mr. Kostunica to participate
in the European Popular Party summit meeting that will be held in
Gothenburg, Sweden.
[18] GREECE'S ROLE IN THE SETTLEMENT OF CRISES
European Affairs general secretary Elias Plaskovitis
represented Greece in the 108th Summit of the Council of Europe
Committee of Ministers that was held in Strasbourg today.
Mr. Plaskovitis expressed Greece's firm positions on
democratic stability, cooperation, security, the inviolability of
the borders and the respect of territorial integrity.
Regarding Balkans, Mr. Plaskovitis referred to the need for a
solution to pending issues like the crisis in FYROM, the end of
the use of violence mainly on behalf of the Albanian-speaking
extremists, democratization and the respect of human and minority
rights in the region. He also expressed the wish that OSCE and the
Council of Europe will help the Albanian government to hold free
elections.
On the region of Caucasus, he said that dialogue should
continue both within the framework of the OSCE and the Council of
Europe for stability and cooperation in the region and the
settlement of issues, like Nagorno-Karabach.
Finally, he stressed that the European Court of Human Rights'
decisions must be respected by all member-states without any pre-
conditions.
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