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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2001-07-25
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, July 25, 2001
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ATTACK ON GREEK PRESS OFFICE IN SKOPJE
[02] CONFRONTATION BETWEEN REPPAS AND ROUSSOPOULOS
[03] STELIOS KAZANTZIDIS IS IN A CRITICAL CONDITION
[04] COOPERATION MEMORANDUM ON THE BROADCAST OF THE ATHENS 2004
OLYMPIC GAMES
[05] MILVA SINGS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN IN SIVIRI, CHALKIDIKI
[06] GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[07] GREEK-TURKISH CONCERT IN EFES, TURKEY
[08] FOREIGN STUDENTS VISIT THE GREEK PARLIAMENT
[09] THE EU IS SATISFIED WITH THE VETERINARY INSPECTIONS IN GREECE
[10] FISCHLER VISIT TO GREECE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] THE 2004 OLYMPIC FLAME WILL VISIT OVER 60 COUNTRIES
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ATTACK ON GREEK PRESS OFFICE IN SKOPJE
There were strong reactions from the Greek Foreign Ministry
last night, due to the attempt of a nationalist group to invade
the press offices of the Greek diplomatic mission in Skopia, while
they succeeded in taking the Greek flag. The prostesters departed
after police intervention.
The representative of the Greek Foreign Ministry, Panos
Beglitis, condemned the attack of these extremist elements and
called the country's authorities to take all necessary precautions
for the protection of the grounds used by the Greek diplomatic
mission, while further statements from the Foreign Ministry
underlined that Greece is intent on resolving the problem
peacefully. Mr. Beglitis also stressed that the incident will not
affect the good relationships between Greece and FYROM.
The attack was made by a group of about 500 nationalist Slavs
from Tetovo. Their attempt to enter the Press Office was prevented
by the strong reactions of the editor, Giorgos Koutsoumis. The
aforementioned group, were part of a 1.000 protesters that had
gathered outside the parliament in Skopia, in protest of the
situation in the area of Tetovo, asking for "the liberation of
their villages (which are in the area of Tetovo), from Albanian
extremists".
As Mr. Koutsoumis stated to the Macedonian Press Agency, one
of the protesters climbed to the floor on which the Greek Press
Office is housed and tried to burn the Greek flag, something he
didn't accomplish, but he managed to throw the flag to the mob,
who then desecrated it.
Apart from stoning of the Press Office, the protesters also
shouted slogans against Greece, which they deem responsible for
the situation in their country. The protesters finally departed
after the arrival of the police called by Mr. Koutsoumis. It is
noteworthy that the Greek Press Office is not guarded, even though
the matter has been put before Skopian authorities before.
Following the incident, the Greek Ambassador in Skopia, Mr.
Kaklikis, asked for the protection of the Greek Press Office in
intense tones from the FYROM Foreign Ministry.
Statements from Nea Dimokratia mention that the situation in
Skopia is being observed with uneasiness, while questioning the
more general ability of effective government actions in dealing
with it.
Besides the offices of the Greek Diplomatic Mission, the
nationalist group also attacked the American and German Embassies,
set fire to OSCE vehicles, and caused damage to the Bulgarian
airline offices and the local McDonald's.
These attacks took place a few hours after the accusations
made by the Georgiefski government against NATO and the EU envoy,
of helping the Albanian extremists. Earlier, FYROM closed down the
borders with Kosovo, after conflicts were noted in vicinity of
Tetovo, but also in the city itself.
[02] CONFRONTATION BETWEEN REPPAS AND ROUSSOPOULOS
After allegations of the main opposition party that the Greek
government submitted a list with names of protesters that came
from the Greek Intelligence Agency to the Italian authorities in
order to assist them in dealing with the riots, a barrage of
statements between the government and the main opposition party
broke out.
Mr. Reppas denied that "any agency of the Greek Government gave a
list of names, full stop." According to a previous statement of
Mr. Roussopoulos, The Italian Minister of Internal Affairs stated
that he had in his possession "a list of troublemakers", and
demanded that the government comment on whether or not they had
submitted such a list. After a barrage of statements between the
two spokesmen, Mr. Reppas attacked Mr. Roussopoulos saying that he
had distorted the facts of the Italian Minister's statements, that
he had used political slander, and that the Opposition's claims
were harmful to the country's image, and thus constituted a major
political and ethical issue.
The Government's spokesperson added that the government would be
glad to partake in any parliamentary procedure on the issue, as it
has nothing to hide. He also added that anyone has access to
information hosted on web-sites showing movements and groups.
Last night found protesters in Athens moving towards the Italian
Embassy, while anarchists in their midst broke shop windows and
set fire to a garbage can, to which the police answered with tear
gas. There were also protesters in Thessaloniki starting from the
Polytechnic School and ending at the branch of the Italian Chamber
of Commerce which is housed together with consulate services,
however the building was well protected by the police.
[03] STELIOS KAZANTZIDIS IS IN A CRITICAL CONDITION
Popular Greek singer Stelios Kazantzidis is in a critical
condition and is hospitalized at the Athens Medical Center with
cancer.
His doctor Lefteris Doukas stated that his condition is
stable with a tendency to deteriorate.
The prognosis is very bad and the disease brings him closer
to death, stated Dr. Doukas, adding that the treatment he
undergoes is aimed at offering him relief and cannot be regarded
as a cure treatment.
[04] COOPERATION MEMORANDUM ON THE BROADCAST OF THE ATHENS 2004
OLYMPIC GAMES
A memorandum of cooperation has been signed by Greek
Telecommunications Organization, OTE, a major sponsor of the
Athens Olympics, and the Athens 2004 Olympic Broadcasting, AOB.
The cooperation of the two concerns the services that will be
offered in the area of the radio-television broadcast of the
Athens 2004 Olympics. The goal of the cooperation memorandum is
the signing of a framework-agreement on the services that will be
provided to AOB, news agencies, and mass media, which have the
radio-television broadcast rights for the Olympic Games.
[05] MILVA SINGS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN IN SIVIRI, CHALKIDIKI
A show under the title "Mediterranean-The sea of love and
friendship" will be presented for the first time by famous Italian
singer Milva. The show will be held at the Siviri Amphitheater
within the framework of Kassandra Festival in Chalkidiki on July
28.
Milva will sing songs written by Greek composers Papathanasiou,
Theodorakis, and Mikroutsikos. She will also sing Edith Piaf
songs, folk songs from Naples, Italy, and many of her
international hits.
[06] GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Gains were recorded again in the Athens Stock Exchange. The
general index rose to +0.22% at 2.621,64 points today, while the
volume of transactions was at 134.90 million Euro or 45.967
billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, the majority, 233, recorded
gains, and 98 had losses, while the value of 42 stocks remained
stable.
[07] GREEK-TURKISH CONCERT IN EFES, TURKEY
A Greek-Turkish concert will take place at the ancient
theater in Efes, Turkey on August 3. It is a music collaboration
between the Thessaloniki Municipality Symphonic Orchestra and the
Symphonic Orchestra of Ankara's Bilkent University.
The concert is placed within the framework of the Cultural
Olympiad events and is organized by the Municipality of
Thessaloniki in cooperation with Istanbul's Philharmonic Society
and the Municipality of Efes.
[08] FOREIGN STUDENTS VISIT THE GREEK PARLIAMENT
The Greek parliament seats were occupied today by 270
students from 90 universities in 40 countries, who attend the
summer scholarships' education program on Greek studies provided
by Athens University.
Parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis addressed "the
ambassadors of the Greek language and civilization to the world"
and stressed that there is a need for cooperation and solidarity
among the peoples who share the same vision of peace and progress,
especially in this interim period experienced by humanity.
Mr. Kaklamanis stated that the incidents in Genoa prove that
many have reservations regarding globalization, while he reminded
that Nicosia in Cyprus, is the only state capital in the world
that continues to be divided.
[09] THE EU IS SATISFIED WITH THE VETERINARY INSPECTIONS IN GREECE
The European Union Veterinary Committee appeared satisfied
with the quality of veterinary inspections in Greece in a meeting
held yesterday, according to Greek agriculture minister Giorgos
Anomeritis, who added that Greece will not have to take any
additional measures for the protection of consumers after the one
case of "mad cow" disease traced in the northern part of the
country.
Mr. Anomeritis also announced that the responsible EU
committee will proceed with the amendment of the existing EU
regulation dealing with issues concerning the implementation of
agriculture development projects with the participation of new
farmers.
[10] FISCHLER VISIT TO GREECE
European commissioner Franz Fischler, responsible for
agriculture and fishery issues will be on a formal visit to Greece
on September 7-10.
According to Agriculture Minister Giorgos Anomeritis, Mr.
Fischler will visit Thessaloniki's International Trade Fair and
will have meetings with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, the
agriculture ministry leadership, and production sector
representatives.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] THE 2004 OLYMPIC FLAME WILL VISIT OVER 60 COUNTRIES
The Australian news agency, AAP, referred to the Olympic
Truce revival potential in a correspondence from Athens, pointing
out that this revolutionary idea can prove to be strong even in
modern times and contribute to the end of contemporary war
conflicts.
The report includes statements by Foreign Minister Giorgos
Papandreou, who points out that the idea can and must become a
reality like the revival of modern Olympic Games in 1896.
It is also mentioned that the Olympic Truce Center in a
proposal to the Athens 2004 organizing committee suggests that the
Olympic Flame of the 2004 Olympics should visit all the regions of
the world which are in a war situation. The plan includes more
than 60 countries in the five continents, among them, Middle East
countries, North and South Korea, and African and Balkan states.
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