Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-09-03

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] PM to inaugurate Thessaloniki Fair Sat. morning

[02] Deputy FM: Greece in constant touch with Greek community in Syria

[01] PM to inaugurate Thessaloniki Fair Sat. morning

At 12 noon tomorrow, Wednesday Samaras will meet at the Maximos Mansion government headquarters with representatives of production representatives from Thessaloniki and Northern Greece. Macedonia-Thrace Minister Theodoros Karaoglou will be also present at the meeting.

Main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras will visit Thessaloniki twice. On Saturday 7 September will take part in the umbrella labour unions GSEE (private sector)and ADEDY (public sector) protest rally and on Friday 13 September will address a SYRIZA open political rally. On Saturday 14 he will meet with representatives of local entities and on Sunday he will give a press conference.

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos will be in Thessaloniki on Sunday 8 September. At 10:00 am he will have a meeting with the TIF-Helexpo management and at 11:00 am he will speak in an event with the participation of the local productive entitities.

Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos will be in Thessaloniki from Monday 9 until Thursday 12 September. On Monday at 8:00 pm he will speak in an event organised by the Geopolitical Studies Institute at Macedonia Palace hotel. On Tuesday noon he will give a press conference at Vellidio Congress Centre and on Wednesday at 8:00 pm, Kammenos will speak at Independent Greeks Youth General Committee meeting. On Thursday he will attend a meeting of his party's National Congress to be held at the Grand Hotel at 11:00 am.

Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis will be in Thessaloniki on 11 and 12 September. On Wednesday at 6:00 pm he will meet with young farmers and at 8:00 pm he will speak for DIMAR's cadres at Thessaloniki Town Hall. On Thursday at 11:00 am, Kouvelis will tour TIF and at 12:00 he will give a press conference.

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) leader Dimitris Koutsoumbas will visit Thessaloniki on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 September. On Saturday at 9:30 pm he will speak at the Communist Party Youth Organisation (KNE-Odigitis) Festival that is held at former military camp Pavlos Melas.

Tsipras, Kammenos, Kouvelis and Koutsoumbas have stated that during their stay in Thessaloniki they will visit the former national broadcaster ET3's premises to express their support to laid off staff who are still broadcasting newscasts from the station.

[02] Deputy FM: Greece in constant touch with Greek community in Syria

The Ministry and he, said Gerontopoulos, are keeping an open line with the Greek diplomatic authorities, the Greek-Orthodox Patriarchates and the Greek communities, and "a watchful eye ready to offer help whenever and if needed".

On Syria, he said, "It is a difficult period," the minister said, as "people are experiencing fear and despite of what will happen from now on in Syria they have experienced a humanitarian catastrophy. Many of them have been forced to leave the area and Greeks were among them. The Greek families that remain in Syria are mostly in mixed marriaged and our ministry is in contact with them. The Greek embassy in Damascus is not open but there are some consulates, the consuls are in Damascus and the telephone numbers of the Greek Foreign Ministry are on the embassy's site and they can contact us any moment."

On the Antioch Patriarchate, Gerontopoulos said that his in open contact with Patriarch Ioannis who briefs the Foreign Ministry on the prevailing condition. "We are hoping and we do not stop our efforts" he said, referring to the abducted Metropolitans and he explains that his visit to Lebanon will be held under any condition.

Speaking about Mt. Sinai's St. Catherine's Monastery, which lies in an extremely dangerous area, Gerontopoulos said he and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos had both been briefed by Archbishop Damianos and said the monks are "doing everything they can to be able to maintain this cradle of Greek culture out of danger."

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