Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-01-31

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] PRODI: GREECE'S STABILIZING ROLE

[02] SIMITIS: UN WILL SOLVE THE FYROM NAME

[03] REACTIONS TO CHOMSKY PUBLISHER TRIAL

[04] KAZADZIDIS LIFE IN THE THEATER

[05] THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE AND TURKEY WILL MEET TOMORROW

[06] SMALL GAINS IN THE ASE

[07] THE FINAL DECISIONS ON OLYMPIC AIRWAYS WILL BE MADE ON MONDAY

[08] TITAN CONTROLS THE MAJORITY OF THE KOSJERIC CEMENT INDUSTRY

[09] 4.7 RICHTER EARTHQUAKE AT PYRGOS

[10] SIMITIS COMPLETES VISIT IN BRUSSELS

[11] KARAMANLIS IN THE UK ON SATURDAY

[12] CHURCH VANDALISMS IN ALBANIA

[13] MAGRIOTIS VISITS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHY

[14] SIMITIS ON A FEDERAL EUROPE

[01] PRODI: GREECE'S STABILIZING ROLE

Greece's positive contribution to the promotion of stability in the Balkans and to the geostrategic role of the Southeastern Mediterranean was mentioned by President of the European Committee, Romano Prodi, who met with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis yesterday.

"Greece is a Mediterranean country, it holds an ideal position en route to the Middle East, to the Arab and Muslim world", he stressed, and added that Greece is playing a fundamental role in the Balkan region and the EU, and he is thankful for the effort it is making.

[02] SIMITIS: UN WILL SOLVE THE FYROM NAME

We have agreed with FYROM that the name issue will be resolved by the UN, underlined Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, during a press conference he held after his meeting with the President of the European Committee, Romano Prodi.

Answering a question of Nova Macedonia newspaper, Mr. Simitis disagreed with the International Crises Team on the issue, and stated that no third party has a say on the issue. He also added that Greece has made a lot of moves on the name issue and is waiting for the other side to respond.

Mr. Simitis repeated that the text presented at the Laaken Summit Meeting on cooperation in European policy issues and the defense of EU members and NATO members that are not part of the Union, was not acceptable to Greece.

As the Prime Minister mentioned, that document was an attempt to repeat the status quo of NATO in the relations between the Alliance and the EU. The EU, however, is something new, something different. The European policy for defense and security has its own rules, and those rules must be abided by. We cannot move the problems at hand to the EU, he added.

He also stressed that Greece does not want a repetition in the EU of what has happened to part of Greece, the Aegean not being available military excerecises.

[03] REACTIONS TO CHOMSKY PUBLISHER TRIAL

Reactions are growing in number at the European Youth Parliament, regarding the trial of the Turkish publisher of US intellectual Noam Chomsky. The publisher is being arraigned at an Istanbul court on the 13th, facing charges of propaganda for secession supporters. The crime of Fatih Tas of Aram Publications, who is in danger of being imprisoned within the year, is publishing a Noam Chomsky book, which mentions the oppression of the Kurds, and military operations against the Kurdish population in Southeast Turkey.

After submitting a draft, EuroMP of the Coalition of the Left, Michalis Papayannakis and EuroMP of PASOK, Myrsini Zorba, sent a letter to the Chairman of the Cultural Committee of the European Parliament, Michel Rocar, asking him to examine the possibility of members of the Cultural Committee being sent to Istanbul as observers at the trial.

The EuroMP of PASOK also asked Mr.Rocar and the members of the Committee to join their voices of protest, which can be heard all over the world, reminding them of Turkey's commitment to the European Union to review its laws on freedom of expression by March 19, 2002.

It should be noted that Noam Chomsky and his Turkish publisher are the latest victims of Turkish censorship, while confiscation of books by many famous authors, among which is Impressions from Kurdistan, by a journalist of the Washington post has happened before. In conclusion, Mrs. Zorba, in letters to Mr. Chomsky and Mr. Tas, expressed her personal support and informed them of the European Council's actions.

[04] KAZADZIDIS LIFE IN THE THEATER

The life of Stelios Kazadzidis has been turned into a theatrical play, and will be presented on February 4 on the second stage of Peroke Theater, in a performance titled The Life of Stelios. Authors Nikos Kabanis and Panos Germanis are presenting the life and work of the great people's bard, through a poverty-immigration-love triptych, the three great turning points of his life, as well as of the life of most Greeks during the occupation.

[05] THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE AND TURKEY WILL MEET TOMORROW

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou will meet with his Turkish counterpart tomorrow on the sidelines of the Davos Forum Summit meeting in New York. The contacts the two ministers will have on the sidelines of international meetings tomorrow and on February 12, will be exploratory and they will be followed by the meetings of the political directors of the two Foreign Ministries, according to a statement by Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis.

Mr. Beglitis stressed that whether Turkey wants a dialogue is an issue under exploration and it will be made clear depending on its stance in the Cyprus issue and its intentions toward the Greek-Turkish relations.

Government spokesman Christos Protopapas referred today to the issue of the Greek-Turkish dialogue and reiterated that bilateral dialogue with Ankara is legitimate within the framework of the efforts for the solution of problems in the areas of good neighborly relations and cooperation, stressing that their settlement will facilitate both sides.

Regarding the territorial claims, Mr. Protopapas underlined that the only dispute recognized by Greece concerns the limits of the continental shelf. Referring to the recent statements of Turkish Army Chief Mr. Ozkiok, Mr. Protopapas stressed that the framework of the political solution in Cyprus is given. The UN regards today's situation as unacceptable and has demanded the withdrawal of the military forces, while the same demand has been made by the EU as well, said Mr. Protopapas. He also observed that any expression of intransigence on behalf of Turkey leads the country to its complete isolation.

On the issue created in relation with certain statements that were made by Mr. Papandreou, allegedly concerning a rotating presidency in Cyprus, the government spokesman stressed that the Foreign Ministry has offered the necessary clarifications. He also underlined that Greece's position is known and firm, pointing out that Athens backs the Clerides government choices.

[06] SMALL GAINS IN THE ASE

Small gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.03% at 2.596,75 points, while the volume of transactions was at 119.1 million Euro or 40.6 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 188 recorded gains and 117 had losses, while the value of 66 stocks remained unchanged.

[07] THE FINAL DECISIONS ON OLYMPIC AIRWAYS WILL BE MADE ON MONDAY

The final decisions on Olympic Airways will be made on Monday, stated government spokesman Christos Protopapas responding to a relevant question.

The government spokesman stressed that the intention of the government is to find a solution for the airline that will facilitate its viability and will not put a burden on the Greek people. He characterized the statement made by the spokesman of the right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy as unacceptable saying that it appears that New Democracy is happy every time there are difficulties.

[08] TITAN CONTROLS THE MAJORITY OF THE KOSJERIC CEMENT INDUSTRY

The majority of the capital share of the Serb KOSJERIC cement industry, 70%, is controlled by the TITAN Group for the sum of US$35.5 million. Representatives of the Greek Group and Serbia's Privatization Agency signed an agreement yesterday which provides for additional investments of US$28.5 million.

The KOSJERIC plant has a production capacity of 600.000 tons expected to be increased to 800.000 tons after the investments undertaken by TITAN are completed.

Global Finance was the TITAN Group adviser in the privatization process.

[09] 4.7 RICHTER EARTHQUAKE AT PYRGOS

A 4.7 R earthquake was noted a few minutes past 10 last night, with its epicenter in the area of Lala, Ilia.

According to the seismology lab of Patra University, the earthquake depth was 16 km. No material damages have been reported so far.

[10] SIMITIS COMPLETES VISIT IN BRUSSELS

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will complete his three-day visit to Brussels with his speech on the future of Europe at the College of Europe in Brugge.

During his stay in the Belgian capital, Mr. Simitis met with the President of the European Committee, Romano Prodi and European Commissioner on Agriculture, Franz Fissler.

[11] KARAMANLIS IN THE UK ON SATURDAY

President of New Democracy Kostas Karamanlis is departing for the UK on Saturday, on a four-day trip. During his stay in London, Mr. Karamanlis will meet with the British Foreign Secretary.

The President of New Democracy will also visit Scotland and will meet with the President of the Conservative Party, and he will speak at Edinburgh University, on the course of Democracy in the Balkans. Mr. Karamanlis will return to Athens on February 6.

[12] CHURCH VANDALISMS IN ALBANIA

The Christian Orthodox Church of Albania protests against the vandalism of churches in Albania and expresses concern, stressing that such actions insult the traditional religious harmony and peaceful coexistence of religious communities in Albania.

According to a statement that was issued by the Church of Albania, the St. Paraskevi Church in Dervitsani was vandalized last Monday, while ten days ago a similar incident took place in a monastery in Delvino. Also, unidentified individuals have broken into the St. Nikolaos church of Sarakinstas in Ghirokastra and stole priceless icons and parts of the church icon screen.

[13] MAGRIOTIS VISITS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHY

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Giannis Magriotis visited the Ecumenical Patriarchy during his two-day trip to Istanbul, and was present at the Panegyric Synod service for the celebration of the Three Hierarchs.

Then, Mr. Magriotis had a private meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and in statements made he underlined that the Ecumenical Patriarchy and Greeks living abroad are the bridge of friendship between the Greek and the Turkish people.

In statements to the Turkish media, he sided with Turkey's European prospects, stressing that if they followed that path without delays and hesitation, all the problems of Greeks living abroad will be solved.

[14] SIMITIS ON A FEDERAL EUROPE

The next target of the European Union especially, after the successful introduction of the single European currency, should be its transformation into an authentic political union of a federal character. The EU must move rapidly toward being transformed into a political union with a federal content that respects the EU model of integration.

The above were stressed, among others, by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, who visited the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium on the occasion of his visit to the European Commission headquarters in Brussels.

In his speech on The future of Europe: Economic and social cohesion in an enlarged European Union, Mr. Simitis referred to the new progressive vision for Europe. He said that this vision should be the promotion of the EU into a political union of a federal character with a competitive economy that will guarantee employment, social solidarity and ecological balance.

Mr. Simitis said that a necessary precondition for the promotion of this new European vision is to review the values and goals of the European Union in a way that will serve the European society and the people. The Prime Minister also said that the economic union must be completed with the development of redistribution policies, the improved coordination of the macroeconomic policy and the solution of tax harmonization problems. The joint foreign policy and the policy of defense must be developed as well for the protection of the EU member-states contributing to the consolidation of stability and peace at an international level.

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