Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-11-10
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, November 10, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PRESIDENT OF GREECE TRAVELS TO SLOVENIA
TODAY
[02] "ANTI-STATE ACTION" GROUP CLAIMS ATTACK AT
SUZUKI DEALERSHIP
[03] TORRENTIAL RAINS WRECK HAVOC IN THE
PELOPONNESE, S.W. ATTICA
[04] PASOK SECRETARY: WE SHOULD HOLD SUBSTANTIVE
TALKS WITH U.S.
[05] THE SCHEDULE OF THE US PRESIDENT'S VISIT
WILL BE ANNOUNCED TODAY
[06] SIMITIS - BARNIER MEETING ON FRIDAY
[07] THE IPEKCI AWARDS CEREMONY WILL BE HELD ON
FRIDAY
[08] THE FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE CLINTON
VISIT TO GREECE WILL BE MADE THIS AFTERNOON
[09] BILL CLINTON WILL VISIT GREECE ON NOVEMBER
19
[10] "A TRAIN OF FRIENDSHIP" FROM TURKEY TO
THESSALONIKI
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] US PRESIDENT POSTPONES VISIT TO GREECE BY
ONE WEEK
[12] PREMIER MEETS WITH FRENCH COUNTERPART IN
PARIS
[13] SERB PARLIAMENT CONVENES, STUDENTS DEMAND
EARLY ELECTIONS
[14] US PRESIDENT CONFIDENT OF SECURITY MEASURES
TAKEN BY GREECE
[15] EX- US PENTAGON OFFICIAL BLASTS GREECE ON
TERRORIST ISSUES
[16] SOLUTION TO CYPRUS ISSUE IS NOWHERE IN
SIGHT, SAYS US OFFICIAL
[17] BULGARIAN POPULATION FALLS BY ONE MILLION
IN THE PAST DECADE
[18] FYROM OFFERS $530,000 FOR INFORMATION ON
‘95 GLIGOROV ATTACK
[19] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT COMMENTS ON ANNAN
INITIATIVE
[20] GREEK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH SLOVENIAN
COUNTERPART
[21] EU: GREECE MEETS THE DEFICIT CRITERION
[22] STEPHANOPOULOS IS ON A VISIT TO SLOVENIA
[23] A BRITISH NEWSPAPER BACKS THE RETURN OF THE
PARTHENON MARBLES TO GREECE
[24] VENIZELOS: GREECE'S AND FYROM'S VIEWS ON
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE COINCIDE
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NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PRESIDENT OF GREECE TRAVELS TO SLOVENIA
TODAY
The President of the Hellenic Republic
Costis Stephanopoulos will embark on a three-
day, official visit to Slovenia today, at the
invitation of Slovenian President Milan Kucan.
Mr. Stephanopoulos will be accompanied by
Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoris Niotis.
[02] "ANTI-STATE ACTION" GROUP CLAIMS ATTACK AT
SUZUKI DEALERSHIP
A homemade bomb damaged four vehicles
parked in front of a Suzuki showroom in Athens
early this morning, with responsibility for the
attack claimed by the "Anti-state Action" group.
No-one was injured in the attack, although
material damages have been estimated at eight
million drachmas.
[03] TORRENTIAL RAINS WRECK HAVOC IN THE
PELOPONNESE, S.W. ATTICA
Torrential rains and strong winds have
caused extensive damages in the Peloponnese and
southwestern Attica during the past 24 hours.
The Athens-Peloponnese railway route
remains closed and passengers are being
transported by the Railway Organization's buses.
[04] PASOK SECRETARY: WE SHOULD HOLD SUBSTANTIVE
TALKS WITH U.S.
The secretary of the ruling PASOK party's
central committee Costas Skandalides stated
today that Greece should hold substantive talks
with the United States over pending issues.
Speaking to an Athens radio station, Mr.
Skandalides stated that perhaps it would be
better if US President Bill Clinton first goes
to Ankara prior to his visit in Athens where he
will hold talks with Greek government leaders.
[05] THE SCHEDULE OF THE US PRESIDENT'S VISIT
WILL BE ANNOUNCED TODAY
The official schedule of the US president's
visit to Greece will be announced by the White
House today. The US president will visit Greece
on November 19 in the hope that the anti-
American sentiment will be defused by then.
According to information, president Bill
Clinton will arrive in Athens from Istanbul to
meet with president Kostis Stephanopoulos and
prime minister Kostas Simitis.
The newspaper "Washington Post" referred to
the issue today, writing that according to US
officials the US president considers seriously
the possibility to delay his visit to Greece.
Minister to the prime minister Kostas
Gitonas stated that Mr. Clinton will come to
Greece and that his visit will be useful and
fruitful and will not be affected by the
negative climate.
[06] SIMITIS - BARNIER MEETING ON FRIDAY
European Commissioner responsible for
issues of regional policy Michel Barnier will
meet with prime minister Kostas Simitis in
Athens on Friday.
The EU commissioner will also have contacts
with minister of national economy and finance
Yiannos Papantoniou and foreign minister Giorgos
Papandreou.
[07] THE IPEKCI AWARDS CEREMONY WILL BE HELD ON
FRIDAY
The Peace and Friendship Abdi Ipekci Awards
ceremony will be held on Friday and the prize
awarded will go to Greek and Turkish citizens
who were distinguished in the period 1998-99 for
their activities aimed at the Greek-Turkish
rapprochement. The award ceremony will be held
in Athens on Friday morning.
The representatives of the Ipekci Awards
stated that their main goal is the rapprochement
of the people of Greece and Turkey through
actions, statements and efforts that refer to
the relations of the two peoples in a
constructive way.
[08] THE FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE CLINTON
VISIT TO GREECE WILL BE MADE THIS AFTERNOON
Formal announcements on the Clinton visit
to Greece will be issued in Washington and
Athens this afternoon, stated Greek government
spokesman Dimitris Reppas who refused to say
anything on when the visit will take place and
pointed out that there is cooperation between
the two governments, while bilateral relations
are in a very good level and the government
regards the visit as important.
Responding to the question if the
postponement of the visit is a negative
development Mr. Reppas stated that if foreign
leaders did not visit Greece and the prime
minister was not invited to foreign countries it
would have been a negative development but this
does not happen and the role of Greece is
recognized through the visits of foreign
leaders. He said that Greece's position is
stronger than ever before and the improvement of
the Greek-US relations is to the interest of the
country.
Responding to the question on the role the
protests have played, he responded that there is
a group of citizens that react but they are not
the majority and do not affect the visit.
Commenting on the statements made by US
president Bill Clinton on the situation in
Greece, he said that he does not regard them as
derogatory, while on the "Washington Post"
report on terrorism, he commented that the
association of leading officials, who took part
in the struggle against dictatorship, with
terrorist phenomena is unacceptable and is being
made in bad faith. He also said that no
accusation of government negligence is
justifiable as there is a close cooperation
between Greece and the United States in the
fight against terrorism.
[09] BILL CLINTON WILL VISIT GREECE ON NOVEMBER
19
US president Bill Clinton will be in Greece
on November 19, according to announcements
issued by the governments of Greece and the
United States.
In the Greek announcement is mentioned that
after consultations between the two countries
and to the interest of the Greek-US relations,
the Greek government has suggested to the White
House that the US president's visit to Greece
take place on November 19 and 20 after the OSCE
summit meeting. In the announcement it is also
mentioned that initially the visit had been
scheduled for November 22 and 24.
The Greek announcement concludes that the
White House accepted the Greek proposal and that
the two governments believe that the period
before the US president's visit will be used
productively for the best possible planning of
the visit. In the announcement that was
issued by the White House is mentioned that this
change was made after a proposal by the Greek
government, while the visit of the US president
is being characterized as very important for
both countries.
The White House also mentions that Greece
is a NATO ally and has very close ties with the
United States and that the two countries share
many common interests on economic, political and
security issues, while it underlines the very
strong and old ties linking the American and
Greek people.
[10] "A TRAIN OF FRIENDSHIP" FROM TURKEY TO
THESSALONIKI
The "Train of Friendship" arrived in
Thessaloniki this morning from Istanbul at the
initiative of the Turkish Railways and the state
radio-television, TRT, with the prospect to
become a continuation of the effort started by
Eleftherios Venizelos and Kemal Ataturk.
One of its cars is that used by Ataturk to
travel in Turkey's interior, while another car
has been turned into a museum with an exhibition
of photographs of Venizelos and Ataturk
reflecting the spirit of their time.
The 60member Turkish mission, among them 40
journalists, attended an event held in the
Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki in
commemoration of the 61st anniversary of the
death of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern
Turkey who was born in Thessaloniki at the house
where the Turkish consulate is now housed.
The Turkish mission also visited the
archaeological site of Vergina, while this
afternoon they will visit the offices of the
Association of Daily Newspaper Journalists of
Macedonia-Thrace. Later in the evening, the
mission will leave for Athens where tomorrow
evening it will attend an event that will be
held by the Turkish embassy on the occasion of
the Ipekci Awards.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[11] US PRESIDENT POSTPONES VISIT TO GREECE BY
ONE WEEK
Propelled by concerns over the mounting
protests in Greece, the US State Department
announced that President Bill Clinton's visit to
Greece will be postponed until Friday, November
19, i.e. five days later than it was originally
planned for.
Mr. Clinton and his entourage of 750
officials are expected to stay in Athens for one
day, where he will meet with the President of
the Hellenic Republic Costis Stephanopoulos and
Prime Minister Costas Simitis.
His official itinerary is expected to be
announced today by the White House.
[12] PREMIER MEETS WITH FRENCH COUNTERPART IN
PARIS
Prime Mister Costas Simitis met with his
French counterpart Jacques Chirac in Paris
yesterday, where the two men discussed issues
pertaining to the expansion of the European
Union and the issue of Turkey's candidacy as an
EU member.
Following his talks with Mr. Chirac, which
were reportedly held in a friendly climate, Mr.
Simitis stated that both countries share the
belief that all pending issues need to be
resolved at the forthcoming EU Summit at
Helsinki.
[13] SERB PARLIAMENT CONVENES, STUDENTS DEMAND
EARLY ELECTIONS
Serbia's Parliament is in session since
yesterday, reviewing 16 items on its agenda,
while the leader of the Serb Renewal Movement
Vuk Drascovic has asked the legislators o review
the matter of early elections as well.
Meanwhile, 3,000 college students held a
rally on the university campus and marched in
Belgrade' streets demanding early elections.
[14] US PRESIDENT CONFIDENT OF SECURITY MEASURES
TAKEN BY GREECE
US President Bill Clinton stated yesterday
that he is confident of the security measures
taken by Greek officials for his upcoming trip
to Athens, which was later in the day postponed
by one week, and said he would be untroubled by
planned mass protests against his visit.
"I expect the demonstrations and I'm not
troubled by them and I think that the security
issues will be fine," Clinton told reporters at
the White House a day after the State Department
issued a Public Announcement cautioning
Americans about the situation in Greece ahead
of and during the presidential visit.
Mr. Clinton noted that many Greeks strongly
opposed the war over the Albanian-populated
province of Kosovo and that Greece had often
been the site of demonstrations.
"I know that Greece has a long and rich
history of Communists, Anarchists and others on
the left demonstrating and they all disagreed
with my position in Kosovo, as you know," he
said.
But, he added, "we want very badly to see a
resolution of the tensions between Greece and
Turkey and the Aegean, especially over Cyprus
and I think all Greeks share that hope without
regard to their political views."
[15] EX- US PENTAGON OFFICIAL BLASTS GREECE ON
TERRORIST ISSUES
In an article published in the "Washington
Post", former State Department and Pentagon
official E. Wayne Merry, presently a program
director at the US Atlantic Council, blasts
Greece for failing to discover the "November 17"
terrorist organization.
Mr. Merry writes that the US President's
imminent visit to Greece will be a test,
referring to the State Department's hope of
signing a protocol on counter-terrorist
cooperation.
"However well-intentioned on the American
side, this accord must cope with the fact that
Greek authorities do not want to find and
prosecute the terrorists," Mr. Merry opines,
adding that "the real question is what our own
government is prepared to do when a foreign
power consistently fails to combat terrorism
targeted at U.S.
personnel."
Furthermore, the writer points out that
Greece does not have the world's worst terrorism
problem; far from it.
"But Greece does have the world's worst
counter-terrorism problem," he states, adding
that no member of November 17 has been arrested
or even officially identified in a course of 24
years.
"The terrorists have expanded their tactics
from guns to bombs to rockets, but the Greek
police and their political masters remain
unmoved."
The former Pentagon official also lambasted
the Greek police, whose response he calls
"nothing short of deliberate negligence".
He further adds that "the real problem is
one of attitude", stating that officials from
Greece's Public Order and Foreign ministries
many times told him that "November 17 is not
really an important problem, New York is more
dangerous than Athens, and the terrorists will
eventually stop their killing. U.S. help is not
wanted. Patience is the solution. The problem,
in their eyes, is the bad image in America that
keeps our tourists (and the dollars they might
spend) away from Greece.
"Greek police are often said to be
reluctant to pursue November 17 because of its
supposed links with figures of the ruling left-
wing PASOK party," the writer ads.
"This is certainly part of the problem.
However, several right-wing governments also
did nothing. The sad truth is that November 17
enjoys wide popular acceptance in Greece,
reflecting deep-seated ethnocentric Balkan
prejudices. These terrorists are tolerated not
for their veneer of Marxism-Leninism (which
nobody takes seriously) but for their rabid anti-
U.S., anti-NATO, anti-EU, anti-Turkey, anti-
Western nationalism.
"Greek officials say privately that they
have more influence on Capitol Hill than does
the State Department, that the Greek lobby will
always protect aid for Athens. If so, is our
rhetoric about fighting terrorism as empty as
the Greeks?"
[16] SOLUTION TO CYPRUS ISSUE IS NOWHERE IN
SIGHT, SAYS US OFFICIAL
"The solution to the Cyprus problem is very
far ahead", stated the leader of the U.S.
congressional committee on foreign affairs
Richard Murphy who, according to the Turkish
daily "Cumhurriyet", included the island issue
among the world's four unsolvable ones.
These insurmountable problems, Mr. Murphy
stated, are Cyprus, Palestine, Kashmir and
Ireland, while he added that in all these cases
the positions of both sides are resolute and
unyielding.
His statements have resulted in a flurry of
reaction in Nicosia where both the ruling party
and the opposition gave suitable retorts to the
US official.
[17] BULGARIAN POPULATION FALLS BY ONE MILLION
IN THE PAST DECADE
Bulgaria's population has fallen by nearly
one million people since 1989, according to the
results of a demography conference held in Sofia
yesterday.
Since 1990, dropping birth rates have
resulted in a 300,000 reduction in the
population and 700,000 people have emigrated,
according to Minko Minkov, a demography expert.
The Bulgarian Institute of Statistics said
the current population was around 8.23 million
people.
According to the Bulgarian Academy of
Sciences the birth rate has fallen from 12 per
thousand population in 1990 to 7.9 per thousand
now. An Academy member said the phenomenon was
due to "the worsening living conditions during
the transition."
[18] FYROM OFFERS $530,000 FOR INFORMATION ON
‘95 GLIGOROV ATTACK
The government of FYROM is offering a
$530,000 reward for any information leading to
the identification of the car-bomber who
attempted to assassinate Kiro Gligorov in 1995.
FYROM's Minister of the Interior Pavle
Trajanov stated yesterday that four years have
passed since the attack and the investigation
has yet to come up with any concrete results.
Mr. Gligorov, now 82, was seriously injured
when a booby-trapped car exploded near the
parliament building in Skopje in October 1995.
The president, who was passing in another
vehicle, received head injuries and lost his
right eye in the blast. His driver was killed.
Mr. Trajanov also said that the parliament
would set up a commission to lead an inquiry
into the attack.
[19] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT COMMENTS ON ANNAN
INITIATIVE
Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides stated
that he expects US President Bill Clinton to act
on the United Nations resolution and the
decision drawn by the "Group of 8", during the
latter's imminent visits to Athens and Ankara.
Shortly before his departure for South
Africa yesterday, President Clerides stated that
the Cypriot government awaits the promotion of
restarting the talks for the Cyprus issue in a
substantive manner and sans conditions.
As to when the talks could start,
President Clerides stated that the UN Secretary-
General Kofi Annan's position is to assess the
developments to ensue from Mr. Clinton's
contacts on the sidelines of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Conference to be held in Istanbul later this
month.
[20] GREEK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH SLOVENIAN
COUNTERPART
In the first such official visit conducted
to Slovenia, the President of the Hellenic
Republic Costis Stephanopoulos was received by
his Slovenian counterpart Milan Kucan in
Ljubljana today, where he was officially greeted
at the Presidential Mansion.
Following the vis-a-vis talks between the
two leaders, delegations from both countries
signed agreements on scientific and
technological cooperation.
Mr. Stephanopoulos will also meet today
with the Prime Minister of Slovenia Ganes
Girnosik this afternoon, while in the evening he
will address a business forum held in the
capital city.
[21] EU: GREECE MEETS THE DEFICIT CRITERION
Greece meets the deficit criterion which is
necessary in order to join the Euro-zone
countries, according to a statement issued today
by the European Commission which mentions that
the public deficit in Greece is less than 3% of
the GDP.
The European Commission announced that it
decided to propose to the next EU finance
ministers council on November 29 to cancel the
September 1994 decision based on which Greece
was listed among the countries with excessive
public deficit.
According to the European Commission
statement, Greece's public deficit was cut from
13.8% in 1993 to 4% in 1997 and to 2.5% in 1998,
therefore it meets the 3% criterion set in the
Maastricht Treaty which is necessary in order
for the country to join the Euro-zone.
[22] STEPHANOPOULOS IS ON A VISIT TO SLOVENIA
President Kostis Stephanopoulos, who is on
a formal visit to Slovenia, met with his
counterpart Milan Kutsan. The two presidents
signed an agreement on scientific and
technological cooperation. Mr. Stephanopoulos
also had contacts with prime minister Ganes
Girnosik.
In their meeting the two presidents
discussed issues of bilateral relations and the
developments in the Balkans.
Mr. Stephanopoulos responding to a question
by MPA, stressed that in the meeting there was a
coincidence of views concerning the respect of
the existing borders in the region.
Slovenian president Milan Kutsan referred
to the Greek proposals on the Stability Pact and
stressed that Greece, due to its geo-political
position and influence in the European Union and
NATO, has to play a significant role in the
Balkans.
This afternoon, the Greek president will
deliver a short speech in the business forum
that is being held in Ljubljana with the
participation of Greek businessmen who accompany
Mr. Stephanopoulos in his visit.
[23] A BRITISH NEWSPAPER BACKS THE RETURN OF THE
PARTHENON MARBLES TO GREECE
The British newspaper "The Guardian" in an
article published today backs the return of the
Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
It stresses that the British Museum can not
refuse their return to Greece on the grounds
that Greece can not protect them when at the
same time it organizes expensive symposiums in
the hall where the archaeological treasures are
being exhibited. The new museum of the Acropolis
in Athens is also being mentioned in the
newspaper report which is presented as the most
suitable place to house the marbles.
[24] VENIZELOS: GREECE'S AND FYROM'S VIEWS ON
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE COINCIDE
The Thessaloniki-Skopje oil pipe line was
characterized by FYROM prime minister Ljupco
Geogievski as a project of major political
importance for his country's European
integration. Speaking in the foundation laying
ceremony of the pipe line, which is part of a
wider 180million dollar investment by the
Hellenic Petroleum in Skopje, Mr. Geogievski
stated that the only thing that is not needed in
the Greek-FYROM relations is political
prejudice.
The foundation laying ceremony of the
280kilometer long oil pipe line, was held in the
OKTA oil refineries in Skopje in the presence of
Greek minister of development Evangelos
Venizelos.
Referring to the project that will be
completed a year and a half before the
expiration of the 2002 deadline, Mr. Venizelos
stated that its construction is placed within
the overall framework of the reconstruction of
south-eastern Europe. He also stated that it
will give a new boost to FYROM's wish to become
part of the European Union given the fact that
the project is expected to be part of the inter-
European energy networks.
On the issue of bilateral relations, Mr.
Venizelos pointed out that Greece's and FYROM's
views coincide regarding the future of south-
eastern Europe. He also stated that Greece is
present in FYROM as a friendly neighboring
country which deals with the Balkan states
showing respect and on an equal basis.
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