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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-03-19Macedonian 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, March 19, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT OF FYROMSkopje, March 19 (MPA)Greece's Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos is currently in Skopje where he is scheduled to meet with FYROM's President Kiro Gligorov, Premier Branco Crvenkovski and Foreign Minister Ljubomir Frchkovski.The three officials will discuss the overall situation in the Balkan region and will focus their talks on the Albanian issue. In turn, Mr. Pangalos will travel to Belgrade where he will meet with Serb President Slobodan Milosevic and Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic. According to reports, Mr. Pangalos' visits to Skopje and Belgrade were decided late last night following meetings held between Greece's Foreign Ministry officials and European Union representatives. The same sources state that an initiative is in the works, with Greece carrying out the role of mediator, in order to alleviate the crisis in Albania and to shape a common stance to be adopted by the neighboring countries. A.F. [02] GREEK FOREIGN UNDERSECRETARY'S MEETING WITH ALBANIAN PREMIER CANCELLEDTirana, March 19 (MPA)The scheduled meeting between Greece's Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis and Albanian Premier Bashkim Fino has been cancelled since the latter's tour was called off.Mr. Kranidiotis, who is currently touring Albania, met with the Greek ethnic minority's leaders and with representatives of southern Albania's cities where the protests against President Sali Berisha are rising. The residents of these cities are insistant that Mr. Berisha step down from his post and are pressuring Mr. Fino to achieve the President's resignation. Mr. Berisha told the European officials whom he recently met with that he will not resign. Meanwhile, the resignation deadline given to him by the armed rebels expires tomorrow. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will assign a police force to Albania. A.F. [03] ANOTHER MISSION OF HUMANITARIAN AID SEND TO ALBANIA FROM GREECEAthens, March 19 (MPA)Another mission of humanitanian aid to Albania sailed for Sarande today from Greece.Thirty-five tonnes of food and medicines have been collected by the Municipality of Athens fo Albania, while the Red Cross is also amassing humanitarian aid earmarked for Albania throughout Europe. The European Union will not send humanitarian aid to Albania, at least not officially, fearing that the food will fall into the hands of the rebels and will in turn be sold in the black market. A.F. [04] COUNCIL OF EUROPE CALLS EU AND OSCE TO GRANT ASSISTANCE TO ALBANIAStrasburg, March 19 (MPA)The Policy Committee of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly has called the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to grant the Albanian government with all aid possible in restoring order in the country.Moreover, the Committee points out the urgent need to send humanitarian aid to Albania, along with medicines and financial assistance. The Parliamentary Assembly's Greek representative Dinos Vrettos (PASOK deputy) included in the Committee's statement an extensive reference to Greece's role in providing aid to the Albanian refugees and stressed the need to assist Greece in the provision of care and shelter to the incoming refugees. A.F. [05] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER: CYPRUS ISSUE IS A WORLD ISSUEAthens, March 19 (MPA)Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos stated yesterday that the 22-year-old course of the Cyprus issue will be overturned when a democratic solution will be found based on United Nations principles.Mr. Tsochatzopoulos, addressing an Athens-held event organized by Cypriot college students, also referred extensively to the joint defense doctrine between Greece and Cyprus and outlined its significance. Moreover, he referred to the island's advantages, such as its imminent accession to the European Union, and the significance the southeastern Mediterranean bears for the EU. "We are not alone," Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said, "the Cyprus issue is a European one, it is an international issue." A.F. [06] INTERBALKAN, BLACK SEA BUSINESS CENTER TO APPOINT ADVISERSThessaloniki, March 19 (MPA)Financial advisers whose task will be to provide information to potential investors in the Black Sea and Balkan countries are to be established in various cities of the region by the Interbalkan and Black Sea Business Center.These advisers will provide useful information to the investors, on matters concerning legislation, labor law, contract practices, etc. "These markets are difficult but it is imperative that we enter them since this is the natural area for Greek investment activity," stated the Center's official responsible for management and planning George Seitanides. A.F. [07] FYROM: STUDENTS CALL OFF HUNGER STRIKE BUT PROTEST CONTINUESSkopje, March 19 (MPA)The two-week hunger strike of students from the University of Skopje in FYROM was called off yesterday, after two of the strikers were hospitalized with serious health problems.The Education Department students are opposing the law which allows the teaching of the Albanian language in higher education. They have stated that they will continue with their protest until the disputed law on the minority languages is annulled. The protesting students are joined by the University's Slav Students Association. A.F. [08] HELSINKI WATCH: TURKEY SYSTEMATICALLY VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTSAnkara, March 19 (MPA)The internationally-recognized human rights organization "Helsinki Watch" recently published a report wherein it illustrates how the human rights of Turkey's political dissidents are systematically violated, at times through the use of torture.According to the report, Turkish policemen have made it a practice of torturing those they arrest by using electrical shock methods or dousing them with high-pressure water hoses. The report also contains accounts taken by four women and three men who suffered severe injuries after having been left hanging by their hands for months on end. Two of these persons have been rendered completely paralysed. While the Turkish Parliament recently amended a law that foresees a four-day maximum in the time an arrested individual is detained, another organization, Amnesty International, reports that the police continue to hold people in pre-trial custody for over a week, claiming bureaucratic delays. Helsinki Watch points out that this law is ineffective given that those who are taken into custody are not entitled to immediate legal defense. The organization calls on the European Union to further pressure Turkey into protecting human rights. 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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