Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-10-20
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, October 20, 1998
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ECONOMICS NOBEL PRIZE WINNER TO SPEAK IN ATHENS TODAY
[02] PASOK CABINET AND SECRETARIAT TO CONVENE TODAY
[03] CAR INSURANCE SECTOR TO UNDERGO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
[04] PREMIER TO LAUNCH INT/L BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN NORTHERN
GREECE
[05] GREEK FM MEETS WITH IRISH COUNTERPART IN ATHENS
[06] NAVAL EXERCISE "ASTRAPI ‘98" BEGINS TODAY IN AEGEAN
[07] PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TRAVELS TO AZERBAIJAN
[08] SLIGHT QUAKE OF 2.7 RICHTER IN THESSALONIKI
[09] TURKEY'S FUNDING BY THE EU WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION MEETING TOMORROW
[10] EU PARLIAMENT PRESIDENTS ON THE LOOTING OF THE CYPRIOT
CULTURAL TREASURES
[11] SHOCKING REVELATIONS BY A FORMER OFFICER OF THE TURKISH ARMY
ON THE 2ND INVASION OF CYPRUS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] FYROM: PARTIES DIFFER ON ELECTION RESULTS
[13] GREEK-CYPRIOT MILITARY EXERCISE "NIKIFOROS" BEGINS TODAY
[14] BRITAIN: DENKTASH COULD HAVE SAME FATE AS PINOCHET
[15] CYPRIOT FOREIGN MINISTER ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO EGYPT
[16] GENERAL CLARK WILL BE IN BELGRADE TODAY
[17] THE BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER WILL BE IN FYROM TODAY
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ECONOMICS NOBEL PRIZE WINNER TO SPEAK IN ATHENS TODAY
The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos
and the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will attend an address to be
given in Athens this evening by this year's winner of the Nobel
prize for Economics, Dr. Amartya Sen, at an event organized by the
Andreas Papandreou Institute.
The Nobel laureate, an economist from India, will speak on
"The political element of economic development: a tribute to
Andreas Papandreou". The event will be held at the Old Parliament
Building.
The 64-year-old master at Britain's Trinity College in
Cambridge said his Nobel prize winning work incorporated factors
such as income distribution and health in measuring poverty.
Working with the theory of 'social choice' he explores how
different individuals' welfare is affected by collective
decisions.
Mr. Sen said he analyzed the causes of catastrophes such as
famines, and ways to include the very poor in evaluating a
nation's overall economic situation.
When asked about his interests in the dynamics of famine, Sen
told reporters it was spurred by his own experience during India's
famine in 1943, when he was 9.
"Times were difficult when I was a child. I come from a
country with a lot of problems, mainly poverty," Mr. Sen stated.
"It was rumored then that the food supply was not very low,
nevertheless a famine occurred. That period in my life has left me
with many unpleasant memories. I have made a conscious effort to
analyze that part of my life in my work."
Mr. Sen also referred to the late PASOK founder Andreas
Papandreou, whom he met during his last visit to Greece in 1963.
He
recalled, "we spent about two weeks together and had many
discussions. I like his economic theory. I often refer to Andreas
Papandreou in my lectures."
Before making his home in Britain, Sen was a professor of
economics and philosophy at Harvard, where he still has an office
and remains professor emeritus.
[02] PASOK CABINET AND SECRETARIAT TO CONVENE TODAY
The ministerial committee and political secretariat of the ruling
PASOK party are to convene today in order to review the results of
the local elections and the potential reforms that will take place
in the government's task.
Yesterday evening, the party's Central Committee secretary
Kostas Skandalides met with the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and
stated afterwards that there will be no reshuffle in the executive
bureau.
The elections outcome will also dominate talks during
tomorrow's session of the party's parliamentary group.
[03] CAR INSURANCE SECTOR TO UNDERGO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
Over 300,000 Greek drivers are to soon be called
to pay fines of up to 150,000 drachmas for failing to buy car
insurance.
Meanwhile, significant changes are to take place
in the car insurance sector which are to be enforced as of next
year.
The new administrative board of the Insurance Agencies
Association, which met with the Undersecretary of Development
Michalis Chrysochoides, will develop the new system which will
allow for damage payments to car accident victims.
[04] PREMIER TO LAUNCH INT/L BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN NORTHERN
GREECE
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will inaugurate an
international business conference to be held in the northern Greek
city of Alexandroupolis on October 22-25.
Expected to attend the conference are officials from seventy
six countries including ministers, ambassadors, trade attaches and
bank governors.
Among the items on the agenda are energy networks, transport,
telecommunications, small and medium-sized enterprises, and peace
and security in the region.
Moreover, the event will review the prospects for a new
economic area after the year 2000 spanning the Mediterranean,
Balkans and Black Sea.
Greece's Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who is
also the head of the conference's organizing committee, has
personally called on the delegates to forge contacts in order to
help expand cooperation in the region.
Organizing the event is the Foundation for Mediterranean
Cooperation, backed by the European Parliament, the European
Investment Bank, the Foundation for Mediterranean Studies and
local authorities in the north.
[05] GREEK FM MEETS WITH IRISH COUNTERPART IN ATHENS
Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos received his
Irish counterpart David Andrew in Athens this morning, with whom
he discussed bilateral relations, the situation in the Balkans,
Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue, as well as matters
that concern the European Union and its expansion.
Following the talks, Mr. Pangalos stated that both Greece and
Ireland are two small countries that are interested in
transparency and balance in the Community.
In turn, Mr. Andrew stated that he briefed Greek Premier
Kostas Simitis and Mr. Pangalos on the Irish problem and the
course of the peace agreement.
[06] NAVAL EXERCISE "ASTRAPI ‘98" BEGINS TODAY IN AEGEAN
The Greek Navy is to embark on the exercise "Astrapi '98"
(lightning) today, in the central and eastern regions of the
Aegean Sea.
The two-day exercise will feature the participation of
surface ships, submarines, helicopters and naval support aircraft.
[07] PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TRAVELS TO AZERBAIJAN
Greek deputies Christos Rokofyllos and Spylios Spyliotopoulos
are to represent the Hellenic Parliament during the conference of
the Alliance Committee to be held in Azerbaijan between October 22-
24 and which will address NATO's expansion.
During their stay in Baku, the two parliamentarians will meet
with Azerbaijan's President of the Republic, the Speaker of the
House, and the ministers of defense and foreign affairs.
[08] SLIGHT QUAKE OF 2.7 RICHTER IN THESSALONIKI
A slight tremor measuring 2.7 on the Richter scale was
recorded this morning in Thessaloniki, with the epicenter located
at the Panorama suburb, 10 kilometers east of downtown.
According to the Geophysics Lab at the Aristotle University,
the quake was recorded at 4.45 am.
A second tremor, measuring 2 on the Richter scale, was
registered at 5.05 am. Seismologists have characterized both
tremors as local and not worrisome.
[09] TURKEY'S FUNDING BY THE EU WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION MEETING TOMORROW
The European Commission meets tomorrow to examine among
others the issue of Turkey's funding by the European Union.
Greece already knows that efforts are being made by European
Union member-states to bend its veto on Ankara's funding, while
Greece's next step is to bring its case to the European Court of
Justice.
Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos has already sent a
letter to the Austrian EU presidency briefing it on the intentions
of the Greek government.
[10] EU PARLIAMENT PRESIDENTS ON THE LOOTING OF THE CYPRIOT
CULTURAL TREASURES
The presidents of European Union parliaments reacted
positively to the initiative of Greek parliament president
Apostolos Kaklamanis, who sent them the publication of the
committee for the protection of Cyprus's cultural heritage under
the title "Cyprus, 9000 year old culture works are being looted".
In response letters addressed to Mr. Kaklamanis his European
counterparts underline their sensitivity on issues concerning the
protection of monuments and cultural treasures that have survived
for thousands of centuries and they stress that they have already
briefed the responsible parliamentary and governmental bodies in
their countries.
[11] SHOCKING REVELATIONS BY A FORMER OFFICER OF THE TURKISH ARMY
ON THE 2ND INVASION OF CYPRUS
Shocking facts on the second Turkish invasion of Cyprus,
called Attila B', came to light through the testimony of Turkish
university professor Yalcin Kucuk, who was a reserve officer of
the Turkish army in the period of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
This account of the Turkish invasion is included in the book
"Dalga-Dalga" by Sofia Iordanidou that is expected to be in the
bookstores in the next few days.
Yalcin Kucuk, who lives self-exiled in Paris, will visit
Athens and Thessaloniki on October 23 and 24 for the presentation
of the book, a few days before his return to Turkey to serve,
starting on October 29, the two-year prison sentence imposed on
him.
The book includes Kucuk's interviews to Sofia Iordanidou and
his personal account of the second Turkish invasion of Cyprus,
parts of his personal diary as well as new unpublished interviews
with the writer in Paris.
It should be noted that Kucuk, in an event held in Nicosia
last May, referred to the missing people since the Turkish
invasion and stated that the Turks either free their prisoners or
they do not free them, adding characteristically that "they
certainly do not keep them", tearing apart any hope the families
of the missing might have had to see them again.
Referring to the Turkish invasion of the village of Assia,
Kucuk had pointed out that the villagers looked like they were not
expecting the attack possibly because they had confidence in
Washington and stated "I advise you not to trust the United States
again". He had characterized Turkey as a second rate imperialist
country and speculated that Kemal's era nears its end to give its
place to an ominous period.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] FYROM: PARTIES DIFFER ON ELECTION RESULTS
While the official election results have yet to be posted in
FYROM, conflict has erupted among the ruling Social Democratic
Union and the VMRO-DPMNE coalition with the Democratic
Alternative, after the Social Democrats' refusal to accept the
results of last Sunday's parliamentary election's first round as
presented by the opposition .
[13] GREEK-CYPRIOT MILITARY EXERCISE "NIKIFOROS" BEGINS TODAY
Greek air and naval forces will participate in the Cypriot
National Guard exercise, "Nikiforos", which begins today.
The six-day exercise, according to the chief of Cyprus'
National Guard, Brig.-Gen. Panayiotis Tatsiopoulos, will be held
in conjunction with the Greek armed forces' exercise "Toxotis",
within the framework of the two countries' joint defense doctrine.
All of the National Guard's modern weapon systems will be
used in "Nikiforos", which will be conducted in three main stages.
The scenario includes a search and rescue mission 50 nautical
miles from Paphos as well as a National Guard parachute jump.
Under an imaginary scenario, National Guard positions will
come under fire from enemy lines. Brig.-Gen. Tatsiopoulos said the
main exercise will take place in the southeastern district of
Larnaca with the use of live ammunition.
[14] BRITAIN: DENKTASH COULD HAVE SAME FATE AS PINOCHET
The Turkish-Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, could find himself
under arrest by British authorities if the government of the
Republic of Cyprus requests his extradition and submits the
appropriate documents, according to the British Home Office.
The Cyprus New Agency reported that the Home Office
spokesperson responded to a question on whether or not Mr.
Denktash may find himself in a similar position to that of the
Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for crimes against Greek-
Cypriots, if Mr. Denktash visits Britain, with whom Cyprus has an
extradition treaty.
"Naturally, whether he will be actually extradited or not
will depend upon the contents of the official documents that will
be supplied by the Cyprus government in such an event," the
spokeswoman said.
She stressed that "I should explain that this would apply to
any other country with which the Cyprus government has an
extradition treaty".
The spokeswoman was commenting on a report in the British
daily "The Times" yesterday that if Britain granted a similar
extradition request in future, Mr. Denktash and other leaders
would be advised to stay away.
Greek Cypriots who hold Mr. Denktash responsible for the
death of Greek Cypriots during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus
could apply for the extradition of the Turkish-Cypriot leader, the
report added.
[15] CYPRIOT FOREIGN MINISTER ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO EGYPT
Cypriot Foreign Minister Yiannakis Kasoulides is
currently on a two-day official visit to Egypt, where he is to
relay a personal message from Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides
to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Mr. Kasoulides will meet with his Egyptian counterpart Amr
Musa with whom he will discuss bilateral relations and the
region's current problems. The two officials will also sign an
agreement calling for the promotion and safeguarding of
investments between the two countries.
[16] GENERAL CLARK WILL BE IN BELGRADE TODAY
NATO supreme commander in Europe general Clark will be in
Belgrade today for talks on the situation in Kossovo.
General Clark will examine whether the Yugoslav authorities
will have all the special forces withdrawn from the province by
next Tuesday when the NATO deadline expires.
[17] THE BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER WILL BE IN FYROM TODAY
British foreign minister Robin Cook is expected in Skopje
today for meetings with FYROM president Kiro Glogorov, prime
minister Branko Crvenkofski and foreign minister Blagoi
Hantzinski.
Among the issues for discussion will be bilateral relations
and the situation in Kossovo as it has developed after the
agreement reached by Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and
American mediator Richard Halbrooke.
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