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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-03-17Macedonian 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.CONTENTS
[01] PROTOCOL OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE GREEK AND TURKISH MUNICIPALITY NETWORKSThessaloniki, 17 March 2001 (16:03 UTC+2)The "Polis" municipality network protocol of cooperation will be signed by Greece and Turkey in Sapes, northeastern Greece this afternoon in the presence of foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou. The signing ceremony will be attended by parliamentary delegations and local administration representatives from Turkey and Bulgaria. In the "Polis" network participate 16 municipalities from western Thrace, while in the Turkish "Trakyakent" network, participate 22 municipalities from eastern Thrace. Among the goals of the cooperation are the promotion of inter-regional and inter-border activities and the strengthening of the social, cultural, educational, agricultural, tourist, trade and economic relations between the Greek and Turkish municipalities aimed at strengthening the friendship relations between the two countries. [02] SIMITIS: GREECE BACKS THE SKOPJE GOVERNMENTAthens, 17 March 2001 (18:29 UTC+2)The Greek government is in constant communication with the FYROM government over the developments in the region, stated Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis, speaking in the governing socialist party of PASOK Central Committee meeting in Athens today, stressing that Greece condemns any use of force. The prime minister stated that Greece backs the Skopje government and added that the UN forces must control the Kosovo borders in order to prevent the extremist elements, coming from that region, from undertaking initiatives against neighboring countries. Mr. Simitis also stressed that the Balkans need a policy of development and cooperation, adding that differences must be resolved through democratic and political means. He also reiterated the Greek government position calling for the implementation of international law, the respect of the inviolability of the borders and the consolidation of democracy and concluded by saying that the UN decisions on Kosovo are binding for everybody. [03] ANTI-NATO BALKAN MEETING OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN THESSALONIKIThessaloniki, 17 March 2001 (17:04 UTC+2)A three-day event including an anti-NATO Balkan meeting of political parties and movements and an anti-NATO Balkan Rally as well as cultural events will be held in Thessaloniki on March 23-25 at the initiative of the anti-NATO Balkan Center. Among the speakers will be Sofia University professor Minco Mincev, former commander of the Black Sea fleet Dico Stefanov from Bulgaria, former parliament deputy and Yugoslav television editor-in-chief Tanja Lenard, SOL Marxist magazine editor Kemal Okuyan from Turkey, Romanian former parliament deputy Silviu Somiku and Skopje Law School professor Teodor Pelivanov. [04] WORLD CONFERENCE ON "CHILDREN AND THE AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA" IN THESSALONIKIThessaloniki, 17 March 2001 (16:53 UTC+2)The 3rd World Conference on children and the audio-visual media will be held in Thessaloniki on March 23-26. In the conference will be discussed issues like the world culture, world television and the future strategies of the audio-visual industry. Undersecretary of press and mass media Tilemachos Hitiris will open the conference, while among the speakers will be the presidents of the two previous conferences namely, the Swedish culture minister and Egypt's national council for children and motherhood general secretary. [05] THESSALONIKI-AMSTERDAM FLIGHT STARTING ON MARCH 26Thessaloniki, 17 March 2001 (16:38 UTC+2)A Thessaloniki-Amsterdam daily flight will be launched by Transavia Airlines, a KLM subsidiary, on March 26. The flight will depart from Thessaloniki at 06.45am and will arrive in Amsterdam at 08.55am. The return flight from Amsterdam will depart at 19.20pm (local time) and will arrive in Thessaloniki at 23.30pm. The specific flight will be made by a Boeing 737-300 aircraft. The airline fleet is made up of 22 aircraft (737-200s, 737-300s and 737-800s) with an average age of 5 years. [06] POPULATION CENSUS WILL BE HELD IN GREECE TOMORROWThessaloniki, 17 March 2001 (16:29 UTC+2)The National Statistics Agency will hold a population census in Greece tomorrow. It will help in reaching helpful conclusions on the birth rate, the state of society, internal migration and the number of foreign immigrants who live and work in Greece. A total of 150.000 census-takers will write down information that will not concern personal beliefs or the size of the citizens' tax return. The questions will be simple and will not concern any sensitive information. Those who will not participate in the population census will be fined. The next goal set by the National Statistics Agency is to register all the Greeks living abroad. This is a great project of national importance and it is the first time that it will be done by Greece. [07] EXTRAORDINARY NATO SUMMIT MEETING ON THE BALKANSAthens, 17 March 2001 (15:58 UTC+2)NATO will hold an extraordinary summit meeting in Brussels on June 13, according to the Athens newspaper "TO VIMA". The summit will give the opportunity to US president George Bush to discuss the problems faced by the alliance with the state and government leaders of the NATO member-states. On the sidelines of the summit meeting, the US president will have meetings with many prime ministers, among them the Greek prime minister, according to reliable sources. On April 2-4, George Bush, the father of the new US president, will be in Athens. He will meet with foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou, while a meeting with prime minister Kostas Simitis is not ruled out. [08] PAPANDREOU-POWELL MEETING IN MAYAthens, 17 March 2001 (15:45 UTC+2)Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou will meet in Washington in May with US secretary of state Colin Powell and the US president adviser, responsible for national security issues, according to information made available today. Their talks will focus on bilateral relations and the developments in FYROM. [09] CARL BILT GIVES BALKAN DIMENSIONS TO THE CRISIS IN FYROMTetovo, 17 March 2001 (20:05 UTC+2)UN special envoy to the Balkans and former Swedish prime minister Carl Bilt expressed the view that what is at stake with the appearance of the armed rebels in the region of FYROM is not just stability in the country but the future of the region as a whole, democracy and co-existence in the Balkans. Mr. Bilt visited the city of Tetovo today and met with the Albanian Democratic Party leader Arben Tzaferi who participates in the FYROM government. According to information, Mr. Tzaferi is unwilling to assume the role of the mediator between the Skopje government and the Albanian extremists, a role offered to him by prime minister Ljupco Georgievski. According to the same information, Mr. Tzaferi does not appear very satisfied with the new coalition created with the participation of all political parties in FYROM and expresses objections to the participation of the Social-democratic Union. [10] HEAVY WEAPONS SOUNDED AGAIN IN TETOVOTetovo, 17 March 2001 (15:30 UTC+2)Heavy weapons sounded again in the city of Tetovo, FYROM in early afternoon today, when the FYROM security forces attacked the Albanian extremists deployed in the mountains surrounding the city. For the moment, there is no response from the positions occupied by the armed Albanians. The center of the city of Tetovo is deserted and the only people on the streets are the foreign journalists covering the news. There is no police presence in the city and no KFOR troops. [11] SOLANA WILL BE IN SKOPJE ON MONDAYBrussels, 17 March 2001 (17:14 UTC+2)The European Union representative on foreign policy and defense Mr. Javier Solana will visit Skopje on Monday, as it was announced by his office today. Mr. Solana will have talks with government officials on the measures that need to be taken in order to put an end to the armed clashes at the Kosovo-FYROM borders. Yesterday, Mr. Solana had a telephone communication with FYROM president Boris Trajkovski. FYROM foreign minister Sertzan Kerim will meet with NATO secretary-general George Robertson in Brussels on Monday and he will present to his counterparts from the EU his government's plans aimed at quelling the Albanian extremists. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |