Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-04-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] PRIME MINISTER CONTEMPLATING MINI RESHUFFLE

[02] T. MILLER: THRACE A REGION OF OPPORTUNITIES

[03] PROTESTS ON EU SUMMIT MEETING IN THESSALONIKI

[01] PRIME MINISTER CONTEMPLATING MINI RESHUFFLE

A mini reshuffle immediately following the municipal elections, in response to the prevailing negative atmosphere, is being proposed to Prime Minister Simitis by an increasing number of top party officials, especially after the resignations of deputy Ministers Spyros Vougias and G. Kourakis, who are candidate Mayors of Thessaloniki and Heracleon.

According to information published in the Imerisia newspaper, top PASOK officials are proposing that the Prime Minister does not replace the two deputy Ministers before the municipal elections, but to act afterwards, to absorb both the aftershock of a defeat and mark a new beginning.

The election of Mr. Kourakis is considered certain, especially if there is an understanding with some of the guerrillas, even in the second round, while according to surveys, Mr. Sp. Vougias, may give Mr. Papageorgopoulos a run for his money, especially if he achieves a 2nd round strategy with Left parties. It should be noted however, that the Prime Minister's initial intent was for the two deputy Ministers to resign in August, while ND is expected to press for their immediate replacement.

In any case, before departing for his Easter vacation, the Prime Minister is expected to meet with top staff members, with whom apart from discussing the government's work they will also discuss political developments, while the Joint Communications Center meeting chaired by him, will prove especially interesting.

[02] T. MILLER: THRACE A REGION OF OPPORTUNITIES

During a two day tour of Thrace, US Ambassador to Greece Thomas Miller stressed: We consider Thrace to be in a very geostrategic position, and that Thrace is the geographical heart of a region which in the past we considered threatening, but which is today a region of opportunities. He added: The world has changed, we are now concentrating on development. In fact he added that if he was Ambassador 20 years before, he would have been accompanied by the Military or Political Attaché, while today he was with the team of the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce. He also added that the meetings he has had during the past few days concern potential business collaborations.

He made it clear however, that it is not his role to direct investments in the specific region, adding however, that commencing a procedure is an important part of his visit. He stressed that this has already happened, there has been communication with the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce and the commercial department of the US Consulate in Thessaloniki. Making business connections is a long process, noted Mr. Miller, and he added that what he can do is address US investors saying that Thrace is a region worth the effort.

This is because, as he said, there are five positive points in the region: The business motives, the university, creating an educated workforce, the calm environment which the residents live in, the fact that Greece's relations with it's neighbors, Bulgaria and Turkey, are better than ever, and finally, in the transports sector, that when he left in 1997 Egnatia was still just an idea, while today it exists, although it may not be complete. I will try to convince investors to look into the region underlined Mr. Miller. Answering other questions concerning his term as Ambassador to Greece, he said that tries not to make predictions but do his best every day.

[03] PROTESTS ON EU SUMMIT MEETING IN THESSALONIKI

The initiative of parties and bodies participating in "Action: Thessaloniki 2003" has begun, aiming at organizing protests before, during, and after the Summit Meeting of the European Union in Thessaloniki in June 2003.

In this first stage participants include the Greek Communist Party, DIKKI, the Communist Renewal, the EDYETh, The Citizens' Movement, the Anti-war Committee, the Balkan Anti-NATO Center and the construction workers' and bottled drinks workers' unions, while an appeal is being made to political and social bodies to participate.

At a press conference held at the Workers' Center of Thessaloniki, the spokesperson of the initiative, Kostas Droutsas, stressed that their goal is to give an fighting answer the leaders of the EU, who are imposing anti-popular measures in the new world order of wars and social insensibility. Thus the initiative is calling for a lasting struggle against the policies functioning at the expense of the people of the EU and the broader region, and is aiming at an anti-imperialist consolidation and solidarity. The protests will be a continuation of those expressed in Genoa and Barcelona. The aim of the "Action" is to hold peaceful protest events, and not to cause incidents that may result in the destruction of private property.

The events will begin shortly and will last until and reach their climax in June 2003, with marches, concerts and rallies. The declaration has already been prepared and a panhellenic conference has been programmed for May in Thessaloniki. A delegation of the "Action" will participate in the works of the European Social Forum in Vienna, on May 11 and 12.

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