Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-01-08

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY

Thessaloniki, January 8, 1997

TITLES

[01] CABINET TO CONFER TOMORROW OVER NATIONAL ISSUES

[02] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADERSHIP AGREES ON PARTY CONGRESS FRAMEWORK

[03] US STATE DEPARTMENT SALUTES CYPRIOT PRESIDENT'S DEMILITARIZATION PROPOSAL

[04] GREEK SEAMEN TO STRIKE AGAIN ON MONDAY

[05] ARCHBISHOP OF CYPRUS CHRYSOSTOMOS COMMENTS ON MISSILE PURCHASE

[06] MORE THAN FIFTY PERSONS WERE MURDERED IN TURKEY LAST MONTH

[07] TURKEY TO BE SUPPLIED WITH 1.2 BILLION KW/H ELECRICITY FROM BULGARIA

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] CABINET TO CONFER TOMORROW OVER NATIONAL ISSUES

Athens, January 8 (MPA)

Participating at the conference will be Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos who will be accompanied by alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou and the deputy Foreign Minister Christos Rozakis, who recently submitted his resignation. Also present will be PASOK eurodeputy Yiannos Kranidiotis who is thought to be the sole contender for Mr. Rozakis' post which will vacated on January 15.

Meanwhile, Washington has announced that by the end of this week the Director of the Office of Southeastern European Affairs at the U.S. State Department Carey Cavanaugh will visit The Hague, Nicosia, Athens and Ankara.

Last night, U.S. Ambassador to Nicosia, Kenneth Brill, attempted to justify the protests issued by his government over Cyprus' purchase of a Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile system. He said that his country's concerns stem from its friendly sentiments towards Cyprus.

Cypriot Government spokesperson Yiannakis Kasoulides criticised the reactions heard from western allies and stated that they have for 22 years now been silent over the turkish invasion and occupation of the island.

In Athens, both the government and the opposition have expressed their full support of the Cypriot government's purchase.

However, Ankara has opted to heighten tensions in the Aegean. Yesterday, five turkish fighter jets violated Greece's air space during a turkish aeronautical exercise that is to be completed on Friday. A.F.

[02] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADERSHIP AGREES ON PARTY CONGRESS FRAMEWORK

Athens, January 8 (MPA)

Yesterday, N.D. President Miltiades Evert met with the party's vice-president Ioannis Varvitsiotis and the main contender for the leadership, George Souflias. The three reached an agreement in principle on the terms of the party's congress.

Mr. Evert agreed that George Rallis, ex-premier, will serve as the president of the congress' organizing committee and that the congress' regional members will be elected from the local committees.

The congress will be held one month later than originally announced, specifically between March 27-29, in order to allow time for two pre-congress conferences, which will tackle issues related to the party's charter and program. A.F.

[03] US STATE DEPARTMENT SALUTES CYPRIOT PRESIDENT'S DEMILITARIZATION PROPOSAL

Washington, January 8 (MPA)

State Department spokesperson Glenn Davis stated that "the United States express their concern over the purchase of Russian missiles and believe that Cyprus is heavily militarized. Steps need to be taken for a drastic reduction in arms."

However, Mr. Davis added that this demilitarization cannot occur by itself. "Given the history and the level of mistrust on the island, it is not possible to go from thousands of foreign troops and high levels of arms, to a zero number of military and arms in one night." A.F.

[04] GREEK SEAMEN TO STRIKE AGAIN ON MONDAY

Athens, January 8 (MPA)

PNO rejected once again the Government's offer to tax the seamen's income up to 10 percent for the following two-year period.

According to previous regulations, no income tax was imposed on lower-ranking marine staff, while the rest were taxed with approximately 5 percent of their total income. The new regulations would impose a 7.5% income tax on the lower-ranking staff, while the remaining ranks would be taxed with 10 percent. A.F.

[05] ARCHBISHOP OF CYPRUS CHRYSOSTOMOS COMMENTS ON MISSILE PURCHASE

Nicosia, January 8 (MPA)

The Archbishop stated that the Cypriot Government's aim, as well as the Church's, is the restoration of human rights for both of the island's communities, while he characterized the protection of the Cypriot people as "an obligation and duty."

"The big powers should first address Turkey to withdraw its military forces and restore human rights, so that we won't need arms," Archbishop Chrysostomos stated. A.F.

[06] MORE THAN FIFTY PERSONS WERE MURDERED IN TURKEY LAST MONTH

Ankara, January 8 (MPA)

A number of organizations blame the Turkish security forces for these mysterious murders whose victims are mainly Kurdish citizens living in those regions. A.F.

[07] TURKEY TO BE SUPPLIED WITH 1.2 BILLION KW/H ELECRICITY FROM BULGARIA

Ankara, January 8 (MPA)

According to Turkish daily "Sabah", Turkey is set to import 1.2 billion Kw/h of electric energy from Bulgaria. 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/

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