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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-02-21Macedonian 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, February 21, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREEK PRESIDENT TO VISIT LITOCHORON THIS WEEKEND, TO COMMEMMORATE MT. OLYMPUS REVOLUTION OF 1878Thessaloniki, February 21 (MPA)The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos will attend this weekend's festivities at Litochoron commemmorating the anniversary of the Mt. Olympus Revolution of 1878.Mr. President will be appointed as an honorary citizen of Litochoron and will attend the festivities and parade held in his honor. A.F. [02] STRIKING HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHERS HOLD MASSIVE RALLY IN CENTRAL GREECEAthens, February 21 (MPA)For a sixth consecutive week, Greece's high-school teachers will continue their strike, while today they are holding a massive rally in the country's central city of Larisa, to be followed with rallies in other cities on the mainland and in island of Crete.The teachers' national union OLME disputes the government's promises of hefty raises to the new teachers. A.F. [03] PANEPIROTIC UNION'S 30TH SESSION OF US, CANADA, AUSTRALIA BEGINS IN FLORIDAFlorida, February 21 (MPA)The 30th session of the Panepirotic Union of the United States, Canada and Australia is currently in motion in Florida, with the participation of Greece's Minister of the Interior Alekos Papadopoulos and Minister of Merchant Marine Stavros Soumakis and Greece's Ambassador to the U.S. Lukas Tsilas.Mr. Papadopoulos relayed Prime Minister Kostas Simitis' warm salutation to the delegates, emhasizing that Greece's culture must be taught to the newer generations. Mr. Soumakis stated in his address that "Hellenism, and especially the element from Epirus, serves as a spear in protecting Greece's interests and rights." Also attending the four-day session are various US senators and congressmen of Greek heritage, as well as Greek-origin deputies of the Albanian parliament. A.F. [04] EU'S EASTWARD EXPANSION DISCUSSED BY EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTStrasburg, February 21 (MPA)The European Parliament's plenary session discused the crisis plaguing Bulgaria, as well as the European Union's expansion towards eastern European countries.Addressing the Euro-deputies, Dutch Commissioner Hans Van Den Broek developed the latest outcomes in the region and expressed the hope that the European Council of Luxemburg, to be held in December, will finalize the list of countries that will be ready to begin pre-accession negotiations with the EU. Greece's Euro-deputy Nikos Papakyriazis, also president of the EU-Bulgaria joint parliamentary committee, tabled a question with the House in regards to the Commission's stance in Bulgaria's social, political and economic crises. In his response, Mr. Van Den Broek was guarded in regards to the developments and avoided making any assessments regarding the outcome of the crisis. The European Parliament also discussed the possibility of granting Bulgaria with additional humanitarian aid. It was made clear, though, that the European Commission awaits additional commitments from Bulgaria that it will continue its process of reform towards an EU approach. The presidents of the joint parliamentary committees mainly tackled the issue of the EU's eastward expansion. A.F. [05] ALBANIA: PEOPLE'S RALLIES CONTINUE, RULING PARTY SUFFERS INTERNAL WARRINGTirana, February 21 (MPA)The situation in Albania continues to be tense as, for the sixth consecutive week, large crowds of citizens press on with anti-government protests over the collapse of money-making operations known as "pyramid" and demand that Prime Minister Aleksander Mecsi and his government resign.Episodes erupted yesterday when a crowd of opposition party supporters clashed with the police. According to the Ministry of the Interior, five policemen were lightly injured and seven protesters were arrested. Meanwhile 60 students of the University of Avlona continue their hunger strike, insisting that Mecsi resign and that the government pay off the debts of one of the illicit money-making operations known as "Galitsa". Albanian President Sali Berisha is scrambling to save face and has embarked on an information campaign in order to disassociate himself from the economic scandal. However, aside from an agressive opposition, the ruling Democratic Party is also suffering warring from its factions as 14 members of the party's National Council ask for Mecsi's resignation, among them the Mayor of Avlona. A.F. [06] NUCLEAR WASTE DEPOSITED IN TURKEYAnkara, February 21 (MPA)A nine-year-old scandal concerning the deposit of nuclear waste in Turkey has resurfaced with fresh reports in the Turkish press.According to Ankara's daily "Yeni Yuzyil", in 1988 the ship "Petersburg" had sailed into Turkey transporting nuclear waste. The then-government, according to the paper, had denied the existence of the dangerous materials. Today, the former president of the turkish foundation of atomic energy Ozmen revealed what actually happened. Moreover, the article stated that the nuclear waste, which had then been touted as "chemical waste" had been incinerated on a trial basis at the plant owned by the brother of current President, Suleiman Demirel. 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 |