Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-01-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] MITSOTAKIS OUTSIDE ELECTIONS

[02] ND THREE POINTS AHEAD

[03] VARTHOLOMEOS-FIDEL MEETING

[04] "METOEROLOGICAL TIME BOMB"

[05] MAGRIOTIS WILL VISIT GEORGIA

[06] GREEK PARLIAMENT DELEGATION IN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY

[07] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[08] MITSOTAKIS WILL NOT RUN IN THE ELECTIONS

[09] AVRAMOPOULOS RETURNED TO ND

[10] MEMORANDUM ON THE OPENING OF CONSULATE OFFICES IN THESSALONIKI AND

[11] PAPANDREOU-FISCHER MEETING

[12] POSSIBLE CHANGE OF NAME FOR PASOK

[13] QUESTIONS ON FORMER KING CONSTANTINOS' PRESENCE IN HAVANA

[14] VARTHOLOMEOS' HISTORIC VISIT TO CUBA

[01] MITSOTAKIS OUTSIDE ELECTIONS

His decision not to run in the March 7 parliamentary elections was announced today by honorary President of New Democracy Constantinos Mitsotakis, in his speech to the party's Central Committee. The coming electoral battle is of capital importance to Greece, said Mr. Mitsotakis, while he stressed that these elections will decide the direction Greece will moving for the next decade. Greeks thirst for change, they thirst for hope and renewal, said Mr. Karamanlis, who underlined that renewal requires bravery and daring. In my life I never feared the political cost, said ND's honorary President. We rely on your experienced advice and we are glad that you said you would always be with us, responded ND President Costas Karamanlis.

[02] ND THREE POINTS AHEAD

A difference of three-points between ND and PASOK was recorded by the Opinion company, in its poll for Mega television. ND is at 39.9%, PASOK at 36.6%, the KKE at 5%, and the Coalition of the Left, LAOS and DIKKI are at under 3%. Giorgos Papandreou was found the most appropriate Prime Minister and is 3 points ahead of Costas Karamanlis. New Democracy is 7 points ahead in electoral victory probability. In political leader popularity Giorgos Papandreou concentrated 64.6%, Mr. Karamanlis 60.6%, while N. Constantopoulos of the Coalition of the Left is at 44% and D. Tsovolas of DIKKI is at 36%.

[03] VARTHOLOMEOS-FIDEL MEETING

An hour long meeting was held last night between the Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos and Cuban Leader Fidel Castro, after the end of the speech of the Head of Orthodoxy in a central hall in Havana on the environment, while the five-day visit being carried out by the head of the 300 million orthodox Christians to Cuba has been characterized as historic. Questions have been raised by the way the former king of Greece Constantinos has been invited to Cuba, while he is expected to arrive in Havana this afternoon.

[04] "METOEROLOGICAL TIME BOMB"

All of Greece is feeling the effects of the bad weather, while meteorologists have made mention of the meteorological time bomb phenomenon, causing snow, polar temperatures, powerful storms and extremely strong winds. Anti-skid chains are necessary at many points within the Thessaloniki road network due to the snow. The mountainous regions of Ioannina and Florina have been covered in snow and drivers have been called to be very careful. All passenger and vehicle-transport ships remain tied in at the ports of Piraeus and Rafina due to the strong winds, while schools are closed in many prefectures. In Macedonia and Thrace temperatures are expected to drop to 9 degree Celsius with a top temperature of 1, in the west from 4 to 6, in Thessaly, east Sterea, Evia and Peloponnisos from 6 to 5, in the Cyclades islands and Crete from 1 to 6 and in the islands of the eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese from 2 to 5 degrees Celsius.

[05] MAGRIOTIS WILL VISIT GEORGIA

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Magriotis will visit Tblisi, Georgia on Sunday to represent Greece in the formal swearing-in ceremony of the country's new President Michail Saakashvili.

During his visit to Georgia, Mr. Magriotis will meet with representatives of the Greek community.

[06] GREEK PARLIAMENT DELEGATION IN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

An eight-member delegation will attend the A' part of the 2004 conference of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly to take place in Strasburg on January 26-30.

In the meeting will be discussed the Hungarian Parliament deputy Matas Eorsi report on the situation in Cyprus, there will be a presentation of the Council of Europe 3rd annual report on human rights by German Parliament deputy Rudolph Bindig and a discussion will be held on the implementation of the European Court for Human Rights decisions by Turkey.

Other issues will be the economic dimension of the European enlargement, the consequences of the EU enlargement on the free movement in the Council of Europe member-states and Monaco's application for accession into the Council of Europe. Also, they will discuss the human rights situation in Armenia and Georgia.

[07] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.28% at 2484.00 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 141.1 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 140 had gains and 147 had losses, while the value of 96 stocks remained unchanged.

[08] MITSOTAKIS WILL NOT RUN IN THE ELECTIONS

His decision not to run in the March 7 parliamentary elections was announced today by honorary President of New Democracy Constantinos Mitsotakis.

The announcement was made during his speech at ND's Central Committee, and immediately after its end all the officials and members of the party gave him a standing ovation.

As he explained he came to his decision after serious thought and with his actions he wants to give an example for younger officials to rise. He has completed half a century as an MP, he said, and despite the fact that he will not be a candidate, he will participate in the pre-electoral battle.

He made a review of his political course over the years, and noted that he never took political costs into account and always told the Greek people the truth.

He referred to ND's founder Constantinos Karamanlis and appeared certain that ND will win the elections, saying that Costas Karamanlis will be Prime Minister after March 7.

Immediately after Mr. Mitsotakis, Mr. Karamanlis took the stand who stated that he was greatly moved and pleased with the great decision of the former Prime Minister. He characterized Mr. Mitsotakis as the model political man and stressed that he connected his life to contributing to Greece and democracy.

[09] AVRAMOPOULOS RETURNED TO ND

His return to ND was confirmed by former Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos, who was received by ND President Costas Karamanlis at 13:30. Mr. Avramopoulos had already announce his intentions of returning to the political center stage. He is expected to run in the I Athens electoral district, where he had first been elected in 1994, before his election was cancelled. The Government Spokesperson characterized Mr. Avramopoulos' return an interior matter for the main opposition party.

[10] MEMORANDUM ON THE OPENING OF CONSULATE OFFICES IN THESSALONIKI AND BITOLA

Greece's Consulate, Economic and Trade Affairs Office in Bitola, FYROM and the relevant FYROM Office in Thessaloniki will be in operation by July at the latest.

A memorandum was signed in Skopje yesterday by ambassadors Alexandros Mallias and Nikola Todorowski, representatives of the Foreign Ministries of Greece and FYROM respectively.

In statements they made to reporters, they stressed that the signing of the memorandum is going to give a new boost to political relations and the development of cooperation between the two countries. The two ambassadors also discussed the opening of new border crossings, the protection of Lake Doiran and the potential for the development of cooperation between neighboring border regions.

[11] PAPANDREOU-FISCHER MEETING

The Cyprus issue and the accession of Turkey to the EU were the main points of discussion between Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou and his German counterpart Joska Fischer during their meeting yesterday in Berlin.

According to Mr. Papandreou's statements the two Ministers ascertained a new momentum on the Cyprus issue and a need to resolve the issue within 2004.

The momentum has been created by Cyprus' accession to the EU and, at the same time, from our decisions in Helsinki and Copenhagen on the opening of Turkey's prospects to commence negotiations with the EU. So our goal is for the situation to be handled properly by all sides so that we can lead this effort to a positive ending, he stressed.

Mr. Fischer stressed that all interested parties should take advantage of the coincidence in order to promote the resolving of the Cyprus issue.

As he pointed out, both the practical application of the Copenhagen criteria by Turkey, and its positive contribution to the resolving of the Cyprus issue, are very important factors in Turkey's accession to the EU.

[12] POSSIBLE CHANGE OF NAME FOR PASOK

The possibility of changing the name of PASOK if it is asked for by the party basis, was left open by Foreign Minister and candidate PASOK President Giorgos Papandreou, who me with British PM Tony Blair in London. If the basis asks for it, if it is raised by the participants during the proceedings, we have a look at the matter, but it is not on the agenda, said Mr. Papandreou characteristically. The main points of discussion during the Foreign Minister's contacts in London, concerned the return of the Parthenon Marbles and the Cyprus issue. Today, Mr. Papandreou is in Berlin.

[13] QUESTIONS ON FORMER KING CONSTANTINOS' PRESENCE IN HAVANA

Many questions have been raised on the way former king of Greece Constantinos was invited to Cuba, while he is expected to arrive in a few hours.

Initially, there were rumors that Constantinos would arrive in the Cuban capital to attend the events for the inauguration of the Holy Church of St. Nikolaos erected in the center of Havana, following an invitation of Greek Ambassador to Cuba, G. Costoulas. When this claim was refuted as categorically as possible, a second scenario appeared, in which Constantinos had been invited to Cuba by Fidel Castro himself, but this scenario was also refuted.

After all these rumors a third scenario started circulating in Havana, which wanted Constantinos invited by Cuban architect Efsevios Leval, who was in charge of the church's construction plans.

Archbishop of America Iakovos was not able to answer the issues raised, however he stated that the issue of the visit of Vartholomeos itself is so significant that such matters are unimportant. When we have a matter of such enormous significance developing in front of us, we must not deal with such minor cases, stated the Archbishop of America.

[14] VARTHOLOMEOS' HISTORIC VISIT TO CUBA

A meeting lasting approximately one hour was held on Thursday night between Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos and Cuban leader Fidel Castro, following the speech of the Head of the Orthodox Church in a central hall in Havana on the environment, while the five-day visit being carried out by the head of the 300 million Orthodox Christians to Cuba has been characterized as historic.

The exact issues discussed were not made known, while Patriarchate circles asked were not in a position to confirm whether the discussions concerned the protection of human rights in Cuba, an issue that received a lot of attention recently.

In any case, in his speech five hours later at the dinner held in his honor by the Greek Ambassador to Cuba, Georgios Costoulas, Mr. Vartholomeos stressed that the Cuban people thirsts for Christ, and life with Christ, life in Grace, and he added that the sorely tried by its history people hears Christ's voice say: Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. And this voice is more clearly heard through the worship, the dogma and the tradition of the Orthodox Church, a fact that creates greater obligations for us, which we must confront with a spirit of love and missionary zeal.

During the dinner, the Archbishop of America Mr. Dimitrios was also honored, while special mention was made of the work of the Metropolite of Panama and Central America, who has Cuba under his authority.

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