Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-01-19
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, January 19, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] STUDENTS TO HOLD ANOTHER ROUND OF RALLIES TODAY
[02] DEVELOPMENT MINISTER DEPARTS FOR THE US TOMORROW
[03] ESP CONFERENCE TO BEGIN IN THESSALONIKI ON FRIDAY
[04] BALKAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE TRAINING CAMP INAUGURATION TOMORROW
[05] GREEK PENSIONERS TO CONDUCT MASSIVE RALLY TODAY
[06] EUROSTAT: GREECE'S INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IS STEADILY RISING
[07] SIMITIS-ARSENIS MEETING
[08] REPRESENTATIVES OF PENSIONERS MET WITH THE PRIME MINISTER
[09] REPPAS: THE GOVERNMENT WANTS THE SCHOOLS TO OPEN BEFORE A
DIALOGUE STARTS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[10] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER IN SOFIA TODAY, BUCHAREST TOMORROW
[11] SOLANA, ALBRIGHT, DON'T RULE OUT MILITARY INTERVENTION IN
KOSOVO
[12] EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORT ON GREEK ECONOMY IS "THUMBS UP"
[13] GREECE-BULGARIA SIGN ACCORD ON BORDER COOPERATION
[14] ROMANIA: POLICE CONCEDE ROADS TO PROTESTING COAL MINERS
[15] "HISTORY OF GREECE" IS A BEST SELLER IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
[16] PANGALOS' CONTACTS IN SOFIA
[17] NEW CLASHES IN KOSOVO
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] STUDENTS TO HOLD ANOTHER ROUND OF RALLIES TODAY
Students throughout Greece are to continue with their
protests against the education reforms by holding another round of
rallies today. At the same time, they continue to occupy about 600
high-schools throughout the country.
Teachers have joined the protests as their unions have given
them the go-ahead to hold two 24-hour strikes on Thursday and
Monday.
The Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece Christodoulos has
offered to mediate the fermenting crisis and has appealed to the
students that they return to class.
[02] DEVELOPMENT MINISTER DEPARTS FOR THE US TOMORROW
The Minister of Development Vaso Papandreou is to
embark on an official,
eight-day visit to the United States tomorrow.
During her stay in the US, Ms. Papandreou will have
a series of meetings and contacts with US government officials
and Greek-American leaders, among them the US Secretary of Energy,
assistant Secretary of State, and others.
She will give an interview to CNN will visit Houston's energy
installations.
On the 25th of January she will attend a luncheon given in
her honor by the
Foreign Policy Association, at Manhattan's Yale Club. Ms.
Papandreou will also be received by the Archbishop of America
Spyridon.
[03] ESP CONFERENCE TO BEGIN IN THESSALONIKI ON FRIDAY
The "European Socialist Party" is to hold a three-day
conference concerning southeastern Europe on Friday in
Thessaloniki, featuring the participation of the Party's leader
and German Defense Minister Rudolph Scharping, the President of
the European Parliament's Socialists Pauline Green and other
Socialist leaders from European and Balkan countries.
Greece's Defense and Foreign Ministers, Akis Tsochatzopoulos
and Theodoros Pangalos respectively, will also be present, as well
as the ruling PASOK party's central committee secretary Kostas
Skandalides.
[04] BALKAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE TRAINING CAMP INAUGURATION TOMORROW
The Balkan Peacekeeping Force's training camp, with
headquarters in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, is to be inaugurated tomorrow
near northern Greece's city of Kilkis.
The ceremony will be chaired by Defense Misnter Akis
Tsochatzopoulos and will be attendee by defense ministers,
undersecretaries and chiefs of staffs from Balkan countries and
the former Soviet bloc.
[05] GREEK PENSIONERS TO CONDUCT MASSIVE RALLY TODAY
In protest to the government's economic and tax policies,
Greece's pensioners are to conduct a massive rally in Athens today
where they will try to achieve a meeting with the Premier Kostas
Simitis.
Pensioners from Western Macedonian and Thrace are not to take
part in Athens' rally as they will hold a similar event in the
northern Greek city of Kavala.
Among the pensioners' demands are an 80% increase of the
minimum level of retirement pay and also the indexing of the tax
scale.
[06] EUROSTAT: GREECE'S INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IS STEADILY RISING
Greece's industrial production pace has surpassed the median
rate noted in the other European Union member-states, ranking
among the top three member-states according to Eurostat.
Specifically, Greece has presented an industrial production
increase of 1.3% for the August-October period of 1998, in
relation to the immediately preceding quarter. Ireland and
Finland rank on top, with a 4.5% and 1.7% respective increase in
industrial production.
The mean overall rate for the EU member-states was .3%.
According to Eurostat, Greece's industrial production performance
fared even better when the statistics took the actual working days
into consideration, ranking it second with an increase of 8.3%.
[07] SIMITIS-ARSENIS MEETING
Minister of education Gerasimos Arsenis had a two-hour
meeting with prime minister Kostas Simitis today. In statements he
made afterwards, the minister pointed out that there is no
question for him to resign, while on the meeting with the prime
minister he stressed that they had a comprehensive discussion on
the developments in the sector of education.
Meanwhile, the mobilizations of students continue. Main
streets were blocked in many big cities across the country. In the
island of Rhodes a truck driver injured a student and the
teachers' union decided to hold two 24hour strikes on Thursday and
Monday.
[08] REPRESENTATIVES OF PENSIONERS MET WITH THE PRIME MINISTER
Pensioners from all over Greece gathered at the center of
Athens today and held a protest rally expressing their opposition
to the revenue and tax policy followed by the government. The
pensioners' march ended up outside the prime minister's office and
they demanded to have a meeting with him. Mr. Simitis finally met
with them and promised the establishment of a ministerial
committee to examine their demands. The next meeting of the prime
minister with a pensioners' delegation will be held in early
February.
Undersecretary to the prime minister's office Giorgos
Paschalides, who also met with the delegation of pensioners stated
that the social spending has increased and pointed out that the
pensioners are at the center of the government's attention.
[09] REPPAS: THE GOVERNMENT WANTS THE SCHOOLS TO OPEN BEFORE A
DIALOGUE STARTS
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that there
is not an issue of resignation or sacrifice of minister of
education Gerasimos Arsenis and at the same time, he issued an
appeal to the members of the school community to return to their
duties.
He said that the government wants the schools to open in
order for a dialogue to start, while on the Simitis-Arsenis
meeting he said that it was a scheduled one during which the
education minister briefed the prime minister in detail on the
situation in the sector of education.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[10] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER IN SOFIA TODAY, BUCHAREST TOMORROW
Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos is presently on
an official visit to Sofia where he will meet with his Bulgarian
counterpart Nadeja Michailova.
The two officials are to discuss issues concerning the course
of agreements already in effect, i.e. the three new border
crossings at Exohi, Ehinos and Nimpheon, and the management of
the Nestos River waters. He will also be received by Bulgarian
President Petar Stoyanov, Premier Ivan Kostov and the Speaker of
the House Jordan Sokolov.
Following his stay in Sofia, Mr. Pangalos will travel to
Bucharest where he will have contacts with his Romanian
counterpart and other political and state leaders.
[11] SOLANA, ALBRIGHT, DON'T RULE OUT MILITARY INTERVENTION IN
KOSOVO
The head of OSCE's verification mission in Kosovo William
Walker has been expelled from the province by Yugoslav authorities
who declared him "persona non grata", provoking the ire of NATO's
secretary-general Javier Solana and US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright.
They both warned that the possibility of military strikes in
Kosovo is open.
NATO chief Wesley Clark is to meet with the President of
Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic today.
[12] EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORT ON GREEK ECONOMY IS "THUMBS UP"
The European Commission's annual economic report on Greece
grants kudos to the Greek state for its exceptionally positive
results in reducing the country's public deficit, thereby placing
the country on a steady course towards convergence.
Nevertheless, the report, expected to be issued today, also
recommends an intensification of efforts to further reduce
inflation and adhere to a tight salaries' policy in order to avoid
inflationary pressures.
Specifically, the report stresses that Greece's growth rate
has been on an steadily upward course since 1994, mostly due to
the impressive increase of private and public sector investments.
The Commission estimates that the country's GNP will rise to
3.5% during 1999, mostly due to domestic demand.
Moreover, the report points out that the privatization
program of 1998 has materialized to a great extend and the few
exceptions marring the positive impression were due to
difficult market conditions.
[13] GREECE-BULGARIA SIGN ACCORD ON BORDER COOPERATION
A Greek-Bulgarian accord on border cooperation is to be
signed this afternoon in Sofia during the course of the official
visit to Bulgaria by a Greek delegation headed by Foreign Misnter
Theodoros Pangalos.
The accord foresees the exchange of information between the
two countries' border patrols, mutual combat of illicit trade and
drug trafficking, as well as the electronic link-up between Greek
and Bulgarian border stations.
Mr. Pangalos will meet with his Bulgarian counterpart Nadejda
Michailova with whom he will discuss regional cooperation and will
be briefed on the security standards of the nuclear energy plant
in Kozlodui.
[14] ROMANIA: POLICE CONCEDE ROADS TO PROTESTING COAL MINERS
Fifteen thousand coal miners in Romania stormed through
police roadblocks outside the city of Petrosani and embarked on a
300-mile course to Bucharest, defying government warnings.
According to the AFP, the police forces tossed tear gas to
the miners who managed to push through the security forces and
forced them to concede.
Police chief Georgi Lupu said that the police decided to allow the
miners to continue their march as far as the next town, Bubesti,
expecting them to gather to the city's stadium, 200 kilometers
north-west of Bucharest in the Carpathian Mountains.
The miners stormed the roadblock after having spent the night
outdoors. They had marched yesterday for 11 hours.
They have been on a strike for 16 days, demanding a 35-
percent wage increase and the cancellation of government plans to
close thirty non-profitable plants which would cost the jobs of
6,500 workers.
Romania's Industry Minister has rejected their demands.
[15] "HISTORY OF GREECE" IS A BEST SELLER IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
The recently-released "History of Greece" is such popular
read in the Czech Republic that, after almost a month in the
bookstores, it has sold out.
The book's first edition of 5,000 copies, released on
December 21, 1998, had sold like "hot cakes" by January 5 and a
second edition is expected by the end of this month.
It is an 800-page account of Greece's classical age,
Byzantine era and modern times.
The ancient era is abridged in the first chapters, while a
lengthier account of the Byzantium follows. It further focuses on
the Turkish rule period and gives extensive analyses of
developments in post-civil war Greece to date.
Furthermore, the book provides an array of interesting data
concerning Greek-Czech relations and also features an appendix on
Greek modern art.
[16] PANGALOS' CONTACTS IN SOFIA
Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos, who was on a visit
to Bulgaria, met today with his Bulgarian counterpart Nadezda
Michailova. The two government ministers discussed issues
concerning the course of the implementation of the agreements on
the three new border crossings and the management of the waters of
Nestos River.
Also, they discussed international issues of common interest
such as the situation in Kosovo and international initiatives
aimed at peace and stability in the region of south-eastern
Europe, as well as other issues like Bulgaria's Euro-Atlantic
orientation.
In a press conference they gave after their meeting they
stated that there was a coincidence of views on all the issues
discussed and especially on the Kosovo problem.
Mr. Pangalos characterized the relations between Greece and
Bulgaria as especially friendly and an example of cooperation.
Ms. Michailova revealed that Mr. Pangalos presented to her a
draft text requesting the establishment of a 25kilometer long free
zone at the Greek-Bulgarian border. She said that the draft plan
will be carefully examined and expressed the certainty that there
will be a final agreement. The Bulgarian foreign minister also
mentioned that a tripartite meeting of Greece, Bulgaria and
Romania will be held in Tseliko Tirnovo in mid May. The meeting,
according to Ms. Michailova, will focus on problems concerning the
Balkans, while there will be a discussion on issues concerning
transportation, tele-communications and infrastructure projects in
the three countries.
Mr. Pangalos, after stating that he invited Ms. Michailova to
visit Greece, referred to the crisis in Kossovo. He said that
those responsible for the massacre must be brought to justice and
be dealt with as criminals.
Ms. Michailova expressed the concern of the Bulgarian people
over the escalation of violence in Kossovo and underlined that
Bulgaria expects that the International Court of Justice will
intervene. The Bulgarian foreign minister also wondered why the
Yugoslav government refuses to accept observers from the
neighbouring countries and characterized Belgrade's refusal as an
irrational act.
The Greek foreign minister referred to the issue of the
Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipe-line and stressed that he called for
progress in its construction. The two ministers also discussed the
issue of Bulgaria's accession into NATO and the European Union and
once again the Greek government's support in the effort of
Bulgaria to become a member of the two organizations was
underlined.
They also discussed the issue of Kozlodui and Mr. Pangalos
said that it is not a Greek-Bulgarian problem and that the issue
should be discussed by Bulgaria, the European Union and those
responsible on nuclear energy.
Ms. Michailova said that there is a treaty for the exchange
of information on nuclear energy and nuclear accidents between
Greece and Bulgaria, while she said that Bulgaria is in regular
contact with the EU and the European Commission and an
investigation by specialists is currently underway in the nuclear
plant of Kozlodui. She said that Bulgaria is committed to close
reactors 1-4 and said that Kozlodui does not constitute a problem
in the Greek-Bulgarian relations.
[17] NEW CLASHES IN KOSOVO
New clashes between ethnic Albanian rebels and Serb forces
started again in the region Stimlje in Kosovo.
The verification mission in Kosovo is at risk, according to
OSCE president Knut Volembek, after the decision of the Yugoslav
authorities to give 48 hours to the head of the mission William
Walker to leave the country.
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