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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 96-12-09Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, December 9, 1996TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] FARMERS PROTESTS CONTINUE, ROADBLOCKS SLICE THE COUNTRY APARTAthens, December 9 (MPA)Greece's farmers continue to defy the cold weather and have mounted their protests over the State's economic policy, by forming additional roadblocks with motley lines of tracters that have sliced the country apart.By blocking all interstate and intrastate transportation, the farmers have amassed billions of drachmas in irrecoverable costs to the state's economy, according to Minister of Transit and Communications, Haris Kastanides. Mr. Kastanides has pointed out that the country's railway, interstate and tourist buses, are suffering a daily cost of about two and a half billion drachmas, in addition to the goods- transporting national and international companies that are rendered unable to make their routes through Greece. A massive rally has been organized by the farmers to be held this evening in central Greece. Meanwhile, the Association of Greek Industries of Thessaly asks the Premier to meet with leaders of the country's productive sectors and the farmers in order to undertake commitments for resolving the problems plaguing the farming community. A.F. [02] PREMIER TO ATTEND EUROPEAN COUNCIL'S SUMMIT IN DUBLIN ON THURSDAYAthens, December 9 (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will attend the European Council's Summit to be held in Dublin, Ireland on Thursday, December 12. He will return to Athens on Sunday evening.Accompanying the Premier will be the Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou, Press and Mass Media Minister Dimitris Reppas, alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou and Eurodeputy Yiannos Kranidiotis. A.F. [03] PREMIER DISCUSSES FARMERS' PROTESTS WITH PASOK'S POLITICAL SECRETARIATAthens, December 9 (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis discussed the issue of the farmers' mobilizations during a meeting with the PASOK Political Secretariat this afternoon.Earlier today, the Premier met with the Minister of Agriculture Stephanos Tzoumakas and the Minister of Public Order George Romeos. Meanwhile, the leader of the country's main opposition party, New Democracy, Miltiades Evert, requested a meeting with the President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, held this afternoon, wherein he lashed against the Government and called on the Premier to hold a dialogue with the farmers, regardless if he will accept their demands or not. "The essense of democracy is dialogue," Mr. Evert stated after his meeting with President Stephanopoulos. This evening, the farmers' protests wil be discussed in Parliament as a regularly agendaed item. Also in the House this evening, party leaders will discuss the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in light of the forthcoming Summit meeting in Dublin. The Ministerial Council will convene tomorrow to assess the situation arisen from the farmers' mobilization. A.F. [04] THERE IS NO MARGIN LEFT, SAYS NATIONAL ECONOMY AND FINANCE MINISTERAthens, December 9 (MPA)"There is no more margin left for further benefits, we've exhausted the limits," reiterated the Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou today, referring to the protesting farmers' demands.Mr. Papantoniou emphasized that the Government is not about to succumb to blackmail exerted by a group of farmers, as such an action would throw away years-long sacrifices. "The Government has held a dialogue and it is willing to continue," Mr. Papantoniou said, although adding that a prerequisite for further talks would be to lift the roadblocks from the national highways. "The PASOK party that was elected in government for four years has the order to execute a specific program. The governemnt is not about to violate this program," the Minister concluded. A.F. [05] LABOR MINISTER APPEALS TO FARMERS TO STOP ROADBLOCKSThessaloniki, December 9 (MPA)Labor Minister Miltiades Papaioannou, who is currently in Thessaloniki with the Ministry's Undersecretary Christos Protopappas to participate at the National Conference regarding insurance and health benefits for workers, issued an appeal to the striking farmers to lift the roadblocks placed at the country's vital motorways."They should consider the hardship they have subjected the whole country to," stated Mr. Papaioannou. Speaking at the conference, the Labor Minister stated that the improvement of working conditions constitutes a right the workers have earned. Following the conference, Mr. Papaioannou met with the administrative staff of Thessaloniki's Labor Center and the Association of Northern Greece's Industries. A.F. [06] F.R.Y.'S SUPREME COURT REJECTS OPPOSITION'S REQUEST TO REVIEW ANNULMENTBelgrade, December 9 (MPA)The Federal Yugoslav Republic's (FRY) Supreme Court rejected the main opposition's request to review the State's annulment of November 17's local elections results in those municipalities where the three-member coalition Zajedno (Together) prevailed.Zajedno followers and Yugoslav students continue to rally in the streets of Belgrade for three weeks now, carrying placards asking Serb President Slobodan Milosevic to resign. A.F. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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