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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-08-06
BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY
Thessaloniki, August 6, 1998
TITLES
[01] PHYSICIAN DIES WHILE TRYING TO SAVE HIS PENTELI HOME FROM THE
FIRE
[02] STATE DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE OVER CYPRUS, GREEK-TURKISH ISSUES
[03] TENS OF FIRES CONTINUE TO RAGE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
[04] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET WITH CYPRIOT PRESIDENT
TOMORROW
[05] GREECE, ALBANIA TO SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL ON MONDAY
[06] US ENVOY RICHARD HOLBROOKE WARNS OF KOSSOVO DANGER
[07] TURKISH MINISTERS STEP DOWN
[08] UN LOOKS INTO REPORTS OF MASS GRAVES IN KOSSOVO
[09] MASS GRAVE REPORTS DENIED BY EUROPEAN UNION OBSERVERS
[10] BULGARIA’S COMMUNIST LEADER TODOR ZIVKOV DIES AT THE AGE OF
86
[11] TENSION IN IRAQ’S TIES WITH UNITED STATES AND UNITED NATIONS
[12] TURKISH COURT SENTENCES ACTORS TO 24 YEARS FOR ANTI-ARMY PLAY
[13] UKRAINE TELLS ITS BIGGEST DEBTORS: YOU CAN’T LEAVE UNTIL YOU
PAY
NEWS IN DETAIL
[01] PHYSICIAN DIES WHILE TRYING TO SAVE HIS PENTELI HOME FROM THE
FIRE
Athens, August 6 (MPA)
Rekindled by the strong winds that swept the region, a huge fire
continues to rage in the region of Penteli, where a Greek
physician lost his life today in his desperate effort to save his
home.
Tens of homes, stores and vehicles have turned to ash and a score
of persons have been hospitalized at a distant hospital with
breathing problems, while nearby hospitals and convalescent homes
have been evacuated for preventive reasons.
Fires continue to engulf hundreds of acres on Mount Olympus, while
in the Peloponnese fires broke out on the outskirts of Patras and
in the prefecture of Ilia.
Blazes have subsided in the ecologically unique forest of Mount
Taygetos in Messinia.
[02] STATE DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE OVER CYPRUS, GREEK-TURKISH ISSUES
Washington, August 6 (MPA)
The US State Department is to hold a wide-spanning conference
today concerning the Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus
issue,.
The meeting, to be chaired by Secretary of State Madleine
Albright, will feature the participation of US Ambassadors
assigned to Athens, Ankara and Nicosia.
Meanwhile, US President Bill Clinton has announced the stay
of envoys Richard Holbrooke and Thomas Miller as US mediators for
the Cyprus issue.
[03] TENS OF FIRES CONTINUE TO RAGE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
Athens, August 6 (MPA)
Tens of fires continue to rage throughout the country, while the
blaze that broke out this morning in Salamina has been put out.
Police are seeking two unknown persons who opened fire yesterday
against fire fighters in Attica.
Meanwhile, the district attorney of Athens has ordered an
investigation to ascertain whether or not the fire department
moved in a timely manner in order to combat the infernos.
The French embassy announced that three fire fighting planes along
with 12 specially-trained firemen will arrive in Athens today in
order to assist their Greek counterparts in fighting the fires.
[04] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET WITH CYPRIOT PRESIDENT
TOMORROW
Athens, August 6 (MPA)
Greece’s deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis is to
exchange points of view on the Cyprus issue with the President of
the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides during their meeting in
Nicosia on Friday.
Mr. Kranidiotis is to discuss the US proposals for a flight
moratorium over the island.
Also present at the Clerides-Kranidiotis meeting will be
the Cypriot Foreign Minister Yannakis Kasoulides.
[05] GREECE, ALBANIA TO SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL ON MONDAY
Athens, August 6 (MPA)
A cooperation protocol is to be signed on Monday between Greece
and Albania, foreseeing joint patrols along the two countries’
common sea border.
The protocol is aimed at policing the region more effectively,
such as combating illegal immigration, drug trafficking and
unlawful fishing.
A special ceremony will be held at the island of Corfu on Monday,
which will be attended by Merchant Marine Minister Stavros
Soumakis and Albanian Interior Minister Neritan Ceka.
[06] US ENVOY RICHARD HOLBROOKE WARNS OF KOSSOVO DANGER
Prishtina, August 6 (MPA)
The United States envoy for the Balkans, Richard Holbrooke, has
stated that the conflict in Kossovo has entered an extraordinarily
dangerous new phase.
Mr. Holbrooke said that "if President Milosevic thinks that we're
ignoring this problem, he misunderstands the nature of democracy -
which I think he's done before."
"Democracies are a little slow to act and their debate is held in
public, so people think they're hesitant. But when they act, they
are decisive," he said.
In his interview with the BBC, Mr. Holbrooke also compared the
situation now with the one
exactly three years ago in Bosnia, just before NATO eventually
launched a big bombing
campaign.
According to Mr. Holbrooke, extensive meetings are still going on
in Washington, involving
among others the NATO Supreme Commander, General Wesley Clark.
[07] TURKISH MINISTERS STEP DOWN
Ankara, August 6 (MPA)
The Turkish Prime Minister, Mesut Yilmaz, has accepted the
resignation of three leading
Cabinet ministers under the constitutional requirement that
independent politicians take
Cabinet office in the run up to an election.
According to the BBC, they will be replaced by two independent
members of parliament and by the governor of Istanbul.
Parliament has now gone into recess, and deputies have returned to
their constituencies.
The election will not be held until April next year, but under the
Turkish constitution, the
ministers had to step down immediately.
[08] UN LOOKS INTO REPORTS OF MASS GRAVES IN KOSSOVO
Prishtina, August 6 (MPA)
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary
Robinson has indicated that UN monitors are looking into reports
of mass graves in Kossovo.
Monitors from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
are currently working out of Belgrade as talks continue with the
authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on the
possibility of opening an office in Pristina.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva yesterday, Ms. Robinson described
the "very difficult circumstances" under which the monitors were
working.
"They report fairly and objectively and impartially as on the
situation as professional human rights officers," she said.
Monitors had been tracking the "huge problem" of missing persons,
and had been reporting on abductions of Serb civilians as well as
problems facing the Albanian majority populations. They had also
been seeking further information on deaths in detention and on the
harassment of the Albanian population, as well as harassment of
relief workers.
"These may seem -- and inevitably are -- modest because we have a
small office," said the High Commissioner. She noted that staff
were operating in extremely difficult conditions, adding "I have
to say that the courage and conditions under which they operate
are quite remarkable."
[09] MASS GRAVE REPORTS DENIED BY EUROPEAN UNION OBSERVERS
Prishtina, August 6 (MPA)
European Union observers have been investigating press reports of
mass graves in the south-western town of Orahovac in Kossovo and,
after examining the site, they could not confirm their existence.
Reports in European newspapers yesterday said that graves with
more than 500 bodies, many of whom children, were found in the
area.
But EU observers and journalists who visited Orahovac say there
are only about 40 graves
of ethnic Albanians.
A BBC correspondent in Kossovo, who visited the site, said she saw
37 wooden crosses on mounds of earth covered with rubbish.
Serb officials, who took journalists to the site, said they were
victims of the recent fighting.
They denied allegations that more bodies were buried, and did not
accept that the site was being used as a rubbish dump. The Serb
military offensive against the Kossovo Liberation Army (KLA) has
created enormous numbers of refugees - at least 10% of the
population of Kossovo.
[10] BULGARIA’S COMMUNIST LEADER TODOR ZIVKOV DIES AT THE AGE OF
86
Sofia, August 6 (MPA)
The leader of Bulgaria’s Communist era Todor Zivkov died
today at a Sofia hospital from a bout with pneumonia. He was 86
years old.
Mr. Zivkov served as Bulgaria’s leader for over 30 years. In 1989,
with the onstart of political reform he was disbenched as
president and leader of the communist party.
[11] TENSION IN IRAQ’S TIES WITH UNITED STATES AND UNITED NATIONS
Baghdad, August 6 (MPA)
The Iraqi government announced yesterday it would stop
cooperating with United Nations inspectors until the international
body which monitors its weapons was radically reformed to free it
from direct United States influence.
"Iraq completely suspends its cooperation with the U.N. Special
Commission within its current setup and the International Atomic
Energy Agency," said a statement released after a meeting of Iraqi
leaders chaired by President Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz sent letters to U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and head of the Security Council
informing them of the Iraqi decision.
Earlier, Iraq's parliament had voted unanimously for a freeze in
the work of the U.N. arms inspectors, deepening the latest dispute
over its alleged weapons of mass destruction.
In Washington, the White House said it would continue to pressure
Iraq to comply with the U.N. inspectors and was waiting to assess
their "actions, not their words."
[12] TURKISH COURT SENTENCES ACTORS TO 24 YEARS FOR ANTI-ARMY PLAY
Ankara, August 6 (MPA)
A Turkish court sentenced a playwright and an actor to 24 years in
prison for staging a play
depicting the military as persecutors of Muslims, while four cast
members were given 16-year jail sentences for their part in the
play, which was performed last year.
According to the BBC, the play, An Enemy of God, portrays an
unnamed country in which Muslims are oppressed by the armed forces
and retaliate by declaring a holy war. It was condemned by
Turkey's secular authorities, who said it encouraged revolt.
Playwright Mehmet Vahi Yazar was jailed for inciting regional and
racial hatred for his
production, which depicted the army as "an enemy of the people".
Prosecutors said the drama encouraged revolt by portraying the
military as an obstacle to the establishment of a state based on
Islamic Sharia law.
The generals believe it their duty to protect Turkey's secular
constitution.
[13] UKRAINE TELLS ITS BIGGEST DEBTORS: YOU CAN’T LEAVE UNTIL YOU
PAY
Kiev, August 6 (MPA)
The Ukrainian government, faced with a severe shortfall in tax
revenues, has resorted to an unorthodox way of recovering the
money.
According to the BBC, it gathered together more than 2,000 of its
biggest debtors at a conference center in Kiev and told them they
could not leave until they paid some of their overdue taxes.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko had invited 500
local and regional officials
and 1,700 businessmen to the conference center in the Palace of
Ukraine for talks on the country's desperate need to boost budget
revenues.
But during the conference, he suddenly announced that only those
promising in writing to pay up could leave.
He said the choice was either to put the bad debtors in jail or to
resolve the issue there and then. Industrialists and heads of
state corporations were cooped up for several hours until the
government relented - on the promise that part payments would be
made by Thursday.
A government spokesman informed the "guests" that food, water and
telephones were available. The prime minister assured them that
"the toilets are also very clean."
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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