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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-04-22Macedonian 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 THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, April 22, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] FORMER PRESIDENT KARAMANLIS IS AT “THE POINT OF NO RETURN”Athens, April 22 (MPA)In a serious blow to hopes he would regain his health, former president Konstantinos Karamanlis's condition is "extremely critical" according to his treating doctors. Mr. Karamanlis suffered renal failure late on Monday. The 91-year-old ethnarch was admitted to the Hygeia Hospital on April 7 with a respiratory infection. He was placed on breathing support on April 12 after his heart stopped during a mild heart attack.[02] GREEK PRESIDENT DEPARTS FOR OFFICIAL VISIT TO HUNGARYAthens, April 22 (MPA)The President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos embarked on a three-day visit to Hungary today at his Hungarian counterpart's invitation. The Greek president will hold private talks with Hungarian President Arpad Goncz and leadership, while he will also inaugurate a Greek-Hungarian business conference. Accompanying Mr. President are the Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos, Undersecretary of National Economy Alexandros Baltas and various businessmen. The President Stephanopoulos will also visit the ethnic Greek village of Beloyiannis and will address the Hungarian Parliament.[03] REFERENDUM TO BE HELD IN SERBIA TOMORROWBelgrade, April 22 (MPA)The referendum proposed by the Serb President of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, on whether or not his state should accept foreign intervention in the matter of Kossovo, is to be held tomorrow. Meanwhile, the “Contact Group” for the former Yugoslavia is to meet in Rome on April 29 in order to review the situation in Kossovo.[04] GREECE’S CHIEF OF STAFF EMBARKS ON VISIT TO CYPRUSNicosia, April 22 (MPA)Greece's chief of staff, General Athanasios Tzoganis, is to embark on a three-day visit to Cyprus today, this marking the first official visit to the island by as Greek chief of staff.In Nicosia, Gen. Tzoganis is to hold talks with the political and military leadership on the island, and will discuss the Greek-Cypriot unified defense doctrine. He is scheduled to meet with Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides, Archbishop Chrysostomos, House Speaker Spyros Kyprianou and Defense Minister Yiannakis Omirou. [05] GREECE’S AEK BASKETBALL TEAM TO CLAIM CUP TOMORROWBarcelona, April 22 (MPA)Greece’s AEK basketball team, based in Athens, defeated yesterday Italy's Benetton Treviso with a score of 69-66 in a close game during the semi-final match held in Barcelona for the European Champions' League. Claiming the Euroleague Championship Cup tomorrow, AEK will play against Italy’s Kinder Bologna, which earlier defeated Belgrade's Partizan.[06] ATHENS: THERE IS NO DAYTON-TYPE CONFERENCE FOR CYPRUSAthens, April 22 (MPA)The Greek government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas denied the persistent rumors that a Dayton-type conference is in the works for Cyprus. Addressing reporters yesterday, Mr. Reppas stated that “there is no such issue.” He did stress that the Greek government will not adopt a negative stance on the interest expressed recently over Cyprus by various sides. Moreover, Mr. Reppas added that any resolution of the Cyprus problem had to be modeled after United Nations resolutions and summit agreements reached between the late Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios and the leader of the Turkish-Cypriots, Rauf Denktash.[07] PM HEADS MEETING WITH FINANCE, TRANSPORTATION MINISTERSAthens, April 22 (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is to chair a meeting with the Minister of finance and National Economy Yiannos Papantoniou and the Minister of Transportation and Communications Tasos Mantelis in order to discuss the current situation of the state’s economy.Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has forwarded to the Greek government a 12-page questionnaire concerning the privatization course of the state-owned companies, work relations and the overall insurance system. [08] FORENSIC EXPERTS CONTINUE TO EXHUME BODIES IN SREBRENICASrebrenica, April 22 (MPA)A team of fifty forensic experts working for the United Nations has found human remains and clothing during new exhumations conducted around the former Muslim enclave Srebrenica, site of the Bosnian war's worst massacres."So far we have found 1,500 shell cases, fragments of human bones and some clothes" said a UN spokesman at the site. The operation in eastern Bosnia is expected to provide ''significant evidence' ' a UN statement said. The investigators are working for the prosecuting office of the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which is prosecuting people, charged with genocide and war crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict. [09] GREECE WILL STAND BY CYPRUS IN THE FACE OF TURKISH THREATSAthens, April 22 (MPA)Greece’s Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos has reiterated that Greece will stand by Cyprus in the face of Turkish threats and the island’s continued occupation by Turkish forces. Following talks with the US Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who made a four-hour stop in Athens yesterday, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that "Greece, as a guarantor power, is concerned about the security of Cyprus and will stand by it as long as there is a threat, whether from Turkish occupation troops on the island or from the refusal of Turkey to contribute to the ending of the military occupation and to an acceptable resolution of the Cypriot problem. "Moreover, referring to the deployment of Russian- made S-300 missiles in Cyprus, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that this matter was solely the concern of the Cypriot government, which was the only authority able to decide on the issue. "It is an inalienable right of each country - and particularly a small country - to use all its means for its defense and we can not accept that through this limited defense system Turkey is being threatened," he said. [10] MISSING PRIEST’S DROWNED BODY DISCOVERED IN HALKIDIKI BAYThessaloniki, April 22 (MPA)The drowned body of a Greek priest, 42-year-old Panayiotis Spagos, was discovered off the Halkidiki peninsula this morning, two days after the vessel carrying him, another Greek and three Canadian nationals capsized during a sudden storm. According to a statement issued by the Merchant Marine Ministry, the search for the Canadians - identified as Roger Richer, 49, his brother Gerald, 39, and Alvin Guesnel, 44, - continues. The Canadians, employed by TVX Hellas, the subsidiary of the Canadian gold mining company which received a mining concession in the area, along with the priest and Alkiviades Kefalas went fishing Monday evening in a small boat, the Samiopoula. Kefalas , who managed to swim to shore, told police that he saw the four others swimming next to him after the boat overturned near Marmari, Halkidiki. He swam for several hours before being rescued by a trawler as he approached the coast, but the four other men had disappeared. Coast guard vessels, a Hellenic Air Force plane, helicopters and fishing vessels mounted a search of the area on Tuesday.[11] US SECRETARY OF DEFENSE COMMENTS ON TALKS IN ATHENSAthens, April 22 (MPA)The United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who was received by his Greek counterpart Akis Tsochatzopoulos in Athens yesterday, discussed NATO's structural changes and reiterated his country’s support for confidence-building measures in the Aegean. Mr. Cohen said he did not ask for Greece's help in preventing the deployment of the Russian-made S-300 missiles in Cyprus, but did state that such a move would be a mistake. The American official stressed that ways must be found to bring the island’s two communities into a dialogue. Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Cohen said it was "a shame" that Greece and Turkey were not exploiting the chances open to them, such as proposals by the NATO secretary-general on a moratorium. He stated that the Clinton Administration is willing to help both countries turn from an atmosphere of suspicion to a climate of trust, calling on an end to the use of threats of force, open diplomatic channels to resolve differences and adding that the essence of the issue was that there should be negotiations. Messrs. Cohen and Tsochatzopoulos discussed the Greek military's multi-million dollar armaments procurement program as well as the creation of a multinational force in the Balkans, to which, Mr. Cohen stated his country would provide its help. Mr. Cohen added that Athens and Washington have a common target of creating conditions of stability, peace and cooperation in the wider region extending from the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Black Sea. Mr. Tsochatzopoulos said that "on the basis of this common strategy, we discussed ways of contributing towards the tackling of problems which are created by destabilizing attitudes, by events and countries in the region.” In turn, Mr. Cohen stressed that Greece and the US have a long relationship in the Defense sector as NATO members and cooperation between them has strengthened security for each country. Mr. Cohen pointed out that the effort is being focused now on the creation of conditions of peace in the Balkans, since following developments in Bosnia- Herzegovina and Kossovo, it acquires a particular importance for Europe in general. "In this effort, Greece can play a leading role for stability in the region," he said. Mr. Cohen also officially invited Mr. Tsochatzopoulos to visit Washington for a continuation of their talks.[12] EU-CYPRUS JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETS TOMORROWNicosia, April 22 (MPA)The Joint Parliamentary Committee of the European Union -Cyprus is to convene tomorrow in Nicosia. The two-day session will address the island’s accession bid as well as its relations with the EU. The Presidium of the EU will be represented by the British High commissioner in Cyprus David Madden.[13] GREEK AIR FORCE PILOTS EJECT SAFELY BEFORE THEIR JET CRASHESThessaloniki, April 22 (MPA)Two Air Force pilots ejected safely yesterday when their F-5b jet crashed near Chrysoupouli, in northern Greece, during a low-flying training mission. The plane reportedly suffered engine failure when a flock of birds were sucked into one engine. Airmen Panayiotis Geordiadis and Panayiotis Grinias escaped unharmed.[14] HOLOCAUST’S 55TH ANNIVERSARY TO BE COMMEMORATED IN TOWNThessaloniki, April 22 (MPA)Thessaloniki’s Jewish Community is to pay a tribute to the city’s 50,000 Jews who perished in the Nazi concentration camps fifty-five years ago during the Holocaust, this Sunday, April 26, at the Monastirioton Synagogue. Thessaloniki was a major Sephardic metropolis since the very early 16th century, boasting a more than 50,000- strong community prior to Nazi occupation. During WWII, most of city's Jews were transported to concentration camps in Germany and Poland where they perished. Greek Jews suffered the greatest mortality rate at the hands of Nazi forces and their satellites (96 per cent) among all occupied Europe to the stand of the allies, particularly Britain and to a lesser extent the United States.[15] TENSION MOUNTS IN KOSSOVOBelgrade, April 22 (MPA)Thousands of armed Albanians have moved into the western region of Kossovo, in an operation reportedly organized by the Liberating Army, according to Belgrade’s daily “Dnevnik”.According to the article, the Liberating Army has armed its forces and is said to be getting ready to seize the towns of Decani and Jakovica. 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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