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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News In English, 97-10-30Macedonian 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, October 30, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREECE LOVES PEACEAthens 30 October (MPA)Greece loves peace and works for peace, but nevertheless its armed forces are ready, strong, determined and able to protect its national integrity and national interests.The above were stated by the Chief of the General Defense Staff wing-commander Athanasios Tzoganis, who attended the reception in the Turkish Embassy in Athens last night on the occasion of the national holiday of Turkey. [02] PROBLEMS IN NORTHERN GREECE BECAUSE OF THE SNOWThessaloniki 30 October (MPA)Bad weather continues to hit northern Greece with snow, extreme cold and rain. The snowfall has caused serious problems in many roads in north-western Greece and cars move with difficulty, while in the city of Florina schools will not open today.In Hortiatis and Agios Vasilios, near Thessaloniki the snow continues, while in many cities of northern Greece temperatures dropped below zero. [03] VRANITSKI IS IN TIRANATirana 30 October (MPA)OSCE special envoy and former Chancellor of Austria Frants Vranitski will be in Tirana today.During his stay in the Albanian capital he will meet with Prime Minister Fatos Nano and Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha. Their talks will focus on the current political and social situation in Albania. [04] ANKARA’S STANCE WILL CHANGE AFTER THE SIMITIS-YILMAZ MEETINGAthens 30 October (MPA)Greek Minister of Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos predicted that Ankara’s stance will change after the Simitis-Yilmaz meeting in Crete.Meanwhile, vice-President of the Turkish government Bulent Ecevit continues the provocation with his interview to the Turkish newspaper “Milliyet”, in which he maintains that Greece seeks an armed conflict to block Turkey’s accession into the European Union. [05] KOC: TURKEY SHOULD PROMOTE THE CUSTOMS UNION AND STOP INSISTING IN ITS ACCESSION INTO THE EUThessalonki 30 October (MPA)Turkey should promote the customs union and stop insisting in its accession into the European Union stated to MPA, Turkish tycoon and President of the Greek-Turkish Business Council Rahmi Koc. Recently mr.Koc had stated that Turkey has no reason to insist in its accession to the EU given the fact that the Europeans do not want its membership.Mr.Koc stated that Turkey can not fully harmonize with the norms set by the EU, stressing that his country does not meet the EU criteria because the inflation is 85%, the budget deficit is 30% and the population increase is 1,7%. The Turkish business tycoon also said that his statements, made in yesterday’s press conference on the occasion of the conference “Thessaloniki: Ataturk-Venizelos”, were translated incorrectly. He said that he did not mention anything about a message from Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis to his Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz. Referring to the issue of the Ecumenical Patriarchate he reiterated that Turkey should use the advantages of the Patriarchate for its own benefit, pointing out that the Patriarchate can become for Turkey what the Vatican is for Italy and Rome. [06] TURKISH DEPUTIES APPEALED TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AGAINST TURKEYStrasbourg 30 October (MPA)The Council of Europe Human Rights Committee partially accepted, in the first hearing, the appeal made against Turkey by Turkish Parliament deputies Selim Sadak, Leila Zana, Hatip Dizle and Organ Dogan of the Democratic Party (DEP).On March 2, 1994 the Turkish National Assembly decided to lift the parliamentary immunity of those deputies based on article 83 of the Turkish Constitution, and on December 8, 1994 they were convicted and received a prison term of 15 years accused of participating in an armed organization, namely the Kurdish PKK. The Committee will try to reconcile both parties based on the respect of human rights. If its efforts are not successful it will draw up a report which will include all the facts and its views on the case that will be submitted to the Court for Human Rights. [07] THE TENSION WITH TURKEY DOES NOT SERVE THE INTERESTS OF GREECE AND CYPRUSAthens 30 October (MPA)The tension between Greece and Turkey does not serve the interests of Greece and Cyprus, according to the overwhelming majority of the Greeks, based on the conclusions of a research on the Greek-Turkish relations that was held on behalf of the “Flash” radio station in Athens on October 23 and 24 on a sample of 807 Athens residents.Specifically, 90% of those asked believes that the tension serves the interests of those who want the increase of armaments in the region, 89,8% believes that it serves the interests of the United States and 77% the interests of Turkey. Also, 88% believe that it does not serve Greece’s interests and 82% believe the same for Cyprus. An immediate danger of an armed conflict with Turkey is visible by 33,6% of those questioned, while 63% speculates that such a danger does not exist. Regarding the policy followed by the Greek government toward Turkey, 38,3% believes that it moves in the right direction, 49% that it is wrong and 13% did not express an opinion. In support of a step by step approach with Turkey is 67% of those asked, while 27% wants to stop every contact with that country. Also, the Greek public opinion appears to have strong reservations regarding the US initiatives in the region and accuse Washington of fostering the tension. According to 77% the US initiatives favor the tension, while 12% responded that they favor peace. The United States favor Turkey according to 68%, while 26% believes that they keep equal distances and only 2% believes that Washington favors Greece. [08] HANS VAN DEN BROEK: TURKEY SHOULD STOP THE THREATS OF WARNicosia 30 October (MPA)EU Commissioner Hans van den Broek called on Turkey to stop the threats of war against Greece, change its policy on the Cyprus issue and stop raising obstacles to Cyprus’ EU accession.The statement was made to the Cypriot Radio and Television Company in view of mr.Van den Broek’s two-day visit to Ankara, on the occasion of the December Summit meeting in which will be decided if the EU ties with Turkey will be strengthened. Meanwhile, US assistant Secretary of State Mark Grossman expressed the hope today that the imminent Simitis-Yilmaz meeting in Crete will have a positive effect on the Greek-Turkish relations. [09] THE POMAKS IN THRACE HAVE THEIR OWN NEWSPAPERKomotini 30 October (MPA)The Pomaks in Thrace, north-eastern Greece have their own “voice” with the publication of the first newspaper in the Pomak language under the title “Zagalisa” which means “love”.The newspaper is published with the support of the construction company “Michaniki A.E.” and is distributed for free as a bulletin of the Pomak Research Center based in Komotini. Its first issue is made up of two pages but those responsible for the publication promised that the newspaper contents will improve both in quality and in quantity. 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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