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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-12-20
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 20, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] EXPLOSION AT BANK RATTLES DOWNTOWN
THESSALONIKI
[02] MILITARY SERVICE LENGTH TO BE REDUCED,
ARMED FORCES TO GROW
[03] GREECE'S "MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERS" ON
CHECHNYA MISSION
[04] GREEK HOSPITAL DOCTORS EMBARK ON TWO-DAY
STRIKE TODAY
[05] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[06] REPPAS: THE STOCK MARKET CAN HAVE A UPWARD
COURSE
[07] THE TURKEY-HEN IS MORE EXPENSIVE THIS YEAR
[08] PASOK DEPUTY DIMITRIS TSETINES DIED FROM
HEART FAILURE
[09] REPPAS: THE SOUFLIAS STATEMENT DOES NOT
CONCERN THE GOVERNMENT
[10] MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE
AND CYPRUS IN ATHENS
[11] GREECE GOT A TWO-YEAR EXTENSION FOR THE USE
OF LEADED GASOLINE BY OLD TECHNOLOGY CARS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] CYPRIOT FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES IN ATHENS
TODAY
[13] RUSSIA: COMMUNISTS TAKE THE LEAD IN DUMA
ELECTIONS
[14] GREEK AID TO ALBANIAN HEALTH SECTOR IS OVER
GRD 3 BILLION
[15] TURKISH DEPUTY: HANG OCALAN, THEN ABOLISH
DEATH PENALTY
[16] US CONGRESSMAN: RETURN PARTHENON MARBLES
TO ATHENS
[17] GREEK-TURKISH INFORMATION FIRMS SHARE
INTERNET WEB PAGE
[18] OTE-KPN BUYOUT OF BTC SAID TO BE ON THE
VERGE OF SINKING
[19] THE COMMUNISTS LEAD THE ELECTION RACE IN
RUSSIA
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NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] EXPLOSION AT BANK RATTLES DOWNTOWN
THESSALONIKI
A strong explosion rattled the center of
Thessaloniki this morning when a blast took
place at the Labor Bank branch, causing material
damages to the premises and cars parked near by.
Thessaloniki's police chief stated that the
explosive devise used by the culprits was of a
massive quantity, although the police are
concerned over not having located any signs of
explosive mechanisms. As the blast occurred at
the automatic teller machine, police are not
sure whether they are dealing with a terrorist
attack or an attempted bank heist.
[02] MILITARY SERVICE LENGTH TO BE REDUCED,
ARMED FORCES TO GROW
Minister of National Defense Akis
Tsochatzopoulos has announced that the
government plans to reduce the length of
compulsory military service, coupled by an
expansion of the professional armed forces.
Following the inauguration of a ministry
exhibition in Thessaloniki yesterday, Mr.
Tsochatzopoulos stated that a decision on the
possible changes will be taken before the end of
next year, a landmark year, as he said, for the
reconstruction of the country's armed forces.
[03] GREECE'S "MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERS" ON
CHECHNYA MISSION
The Greek branch of the "Doctors Without
Borders" medical relief organization are to
embark on a humanitarian aid mission to Chechnya
tomorrow.
Three members of the organization, aka
"Medecins Sans Frontiers", who are working at
Tbilisi will travel to northwest Georgia in
order to document the needs of the Chechen
refugees in the region.
[04] GREEK HOSPITAL DOCTORS EMBARK ON TWO-DAY
STRIKE TODAY
Doctors employed by the country's state
hospitals are embarking on a two-day strike
today, demanding health fund increases and
granting permanent status to their counterparts
who hold lecturer positions.
Public hospital staff are to also embark on
a two-day strike tomorrow.
[05] BIG LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Big losses of 3.63% were recorded in the
Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index
closed at 5.034,85 and the volume of
transactions reached 234,3 billion drachmas.
The investors' intentions were obvious from
the start of the session when the majority of
stocks were strongly pressured. Only 26 stocks
closed with gains, 278 recorded losses, while 25
remained stable.
In the secondary indexes all stocks
recorded losses namely, the bank shares 2.50%,
leasing 6.43%, investment 3.23%, industries
4.65%, constructions 6.86%, holdings 4.71% and
parallel market 7.18%.
[06] REPPAS: THE STOCK MARKET CAN HAVE A UPWARD
COURSE
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas,
responding to questions by reporters on the
losses recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange,
stated that the stock market can have an upward
course in the immediate future.
Mr. Reppas characterized as natural the
fluctuations recorded and stated that the stock
market must operate autonomously.
[07] THE TURKEY-HEN IS MORE EXPENSIVE THIS YEAR
The Christmas market is expecting the
thirteenth wage received by employees as a
Christmas present in order to boost its
turnover, while the efforts of the ministry of
development to keep the prices under control
appear to have no results.
The turkey-hen price is higher by 5-20%
this year compared to last year, while all meat
prices are high. Meanwhile, police patrol the
market continuously to avert profiteering. The
stores will be open today until 8:30 in the
evening.
[08] PASOK DEPUTY DIMITRIS TSETINES DIED FROM
HEART FAILURE
Governing socialist party of PASOK
parliament deputy Dimitris Tsetines suffered a
heart failure and died in Alexandra Hospital
intensive care unit at 3:15pm today. According
to hospital president Giorgos Velmachos all
efforts made to revive him were unsuccessful.
Dimitris Tsetines fell unconscious in
parliament while delivering a speech on the new
state budget and the parliament doctor made
every effort to revive him. An ambulance was
called immediately and rush him to a nearby
hospital. As it was made known Dimitris Tsetines
was feeling ill and was taking antibiotics.
Dimitris Tsetines was elected in the north-
eastern region of Rodopi and was born in 1937 in
Mandra, Xanthi. He studied civil engineering in
Gratz, Austria and was one of the founding
members of PASOK's initiative group in the
prefecture of Rodopi. He served as PASOK's
prefecture committee secretary for a number of
years and was a member of the Technical Chamber
of Greece board of directors in the department
of eastern Macedonia-Thrace in the period 1979-
1981.
He was elected parliament deputy for the
first time in 1989 and was re-elected in 1990,
1993 and 1996.
He was married and had three daughters.
[09] REPPAS: THE SOUFLIAS STATEMENT DOES NOT
CONCERN THE GOVERNMENT
The statement made by independent
parliament deputy Giorgos Souflias that he will
not run in the next parliamentary elections if
they are held in March and also that he will not
return to the right-wing main opposition party
of New Democracy from where he was expelled,
does not concern the government commented Greek
government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.
Mr. Reppas said that Mr. Souflias' views
and decisions are respected, stressing that Mr.
Souflias is an autonomous political personality
and his moves are always interesting.
[10] MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE
AND CYPRUS IN ATHENS
The developments in the issue of Cyprus' EU
accession course and the talks between the two
communities in the island, dominated in the
meeting of the foreign ministers of Greece and
Cyprus Giorgos Papandreou and Yiannakis
Kasoulides held in Athens today.
In statements he made, Mr. Kasoulides
characterized as positive the Helsinki EU Summit
decision and added that a solution in the Cyprus
problem can be reached only based on the UN
Security Council resolutions. As it was made
known, Mr. Papandreou is expected to go to
Nicosia in January.
Later, Mr. Papandreou met with president of
Greek minority organization OMONIA in Albania
Vagelis Dules and Human Rights Party president
Vasilis Melos.
[11] GREECE GOT A TWO-YEAR EXTENSION FOR THE USE
OF LEADED GASOLINE BY OLD TECHNOLOGY CARS
The European Commission granted a two-year
extension to Greece, Italy and Spain for the use
of leaded gasoline by old technology cars.
According to the directive approved by the
European Commission, leaded gasoline will stop
being sold in the European Union member-states
as of January 1, 2000. However, the measure does
not concern Greece, Spain and Italy where it
will be in effect starting on January 1, 2002. A
similar regulation is in effect for Portugal and
the overseas regions of France.
As it was made known, there was panic in
those countries as a result of misinformation
while local businesses were not adequately
prepared for the change. It should be noted that
Greece had requested an extension for the use of
leaded gasoline until 2005.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[12] CYPRIOT FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES IN ATHENS
TODAY
Cypriot Foreign Minister Yiannis Kasoulides
will visit Athens today for talks with his Greek
counterpart George Papandreou, according to
press reports.
Mr. Kasoulides is expected to brief Mr.
Papandreou on the first round of proximity talks
on the Cyprus issue, held in New York earlier
this week. The Greek Foreign Minister will brief
his Cypriot counterpart in turn on the decisions
affecting Cyprus taken at last week's EU summit
in Helsinki.
[13] RUSSIA: COMMUNISTS TAKE THE LEAD IN DUMA
ELECTIONS
The Communist Party of the Russian
Federation is now slightly ahead of the "Unity"
bloc in the Duma elections, according to the
latest wire report by the Itar-Tass news agency.
As the news agency reports, 67.33 per cent
of the ballots have been counted so far and
24.98 per cent of them were cast for the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation,
24.94% for the Unity Bloc, 9.97% for the
Fatherland--All Russia Movement, 8.7% for the
Union of Right-Wing Forces, 6.42% for the
Zhirinovsky Bloc, and 5.93% for Yabloko.
[14] GREEK AID TO ALBANIAN HEALTH SECTOR IS OVER
GRD 3 BILLION
The Greek government has provided aid to
Albania's health sector that amounts to more
than three billion drachmas, for the time span
between 1997-99.
According to the Greek Embassy's press
attaché in Tirana, N. Vlahakis, the aid amounted
to 3.3 billion drachmas in the form of
pharmaceutical supplies and medical care
provided to Albanian nationals in Greek
hospitals, as well as provisions of medical
facilities to Albania.
In an interview televised in Tirana, Mr.
Vlahakis referred extensively to the assistance
provided by the Greek Ministry of National
Defense in the reformation of the Tirana
Military Hospital as well as the Greek aid
provided during the Kosovo crisis.
[15] TURKISH DEPUTY: HANG OCALAN, THEN ABOLISH
DEATH PENALTY
Turkey should abolish the death penalty but
only after the execution of Kurdish rebel leader
Abdullah Ocalan, the Turkish chairman of a joint
EU-Turkey commission said in a newspaper
interview today.
As the French news agency AFP reported,
Kursat Eser, a leading deputy of the far-right
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a member of
the coalition government told the "Hurriyet"
daily "first execution. Then we can abolish the
death penalty."
Ocalan's fate has sparked a heated debate
among politicians in Ankara, with the majority
maintaining that hanging Ocalan will harm
Turkey's interests, particularly its prospects
for entry into the European Union.
Turkey was declared a candidate for EU
membership on December 11.
[16] US CONGRESSMAN: RETURN PARTHENON MARBLES
TO ATHENS
US congressman Donald M. Payne, (10th
District, New Jersey) is a proponent for the
return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece,
according to his letter to the editor published
in the "Washington Post" wherein he points out
that President Clinton recognizes the
significance held by the Marbles, a symbol of
democracy, for the cultural heritage of the
United States and the international community.
In the op-ed page, Congressman Payne writes
that while opponents raise the false alarm that
returning the Parthenon marbles to Athens would
set the precedent for all the museums in the
world to be emptied in rapid succession, the
issue of the Parthenon marbles is unique.
"The marbles--which were removed by Lord
Elgin and taken to London in 1801-1816--are not
merely statuary (movable decorative art) but
integral, interdependent parts of the temple,
which was built nearly 2,500 years ago by the
original Periclean democracy. The British Museum
acquired the marbles by an act of Parliament in
1816, but while Lord Elgin incurred enormous
expense to remove them, the marbles were not
legally purchased," he added.
Furthermore, the congressman referred to
the declarations issued by the The United
Nations and the European Parliament urging the
return of the marbles, while he also cited two
recent polls which demonstrated that the British
public favors reunification of the marbles.
Congr. Payne stated that he plans to
introduce legislation, the Parthenon Marbles
Reunification Act, as soon as Congress
reconvenes.
[17] GREEK-TURKISH INFORMATION FIRMS SHARE
INTERNET WEB PAGE
Greek and Turkish information and high
technology firms are expected to establish a
mutual web page on the Internet, aiming at the
exchange of information, while they will also
embark on various projects aiming at the
promotion of bilateral trade cooperation.
The decisions were drawn during the
"Turkish-Greek Forum of Information Society",
which took place on the sidelines of the
Istanbul-held "Bilisim" (Informatics)
exhibition.
Participants noted the need to improve
cooperation between universities, as well as the
linkage of academic and research networks for
the application of research programs.
[18] OTE-KPN BUYOUT OF BTC SAID TO BE ON THE
VERGE OF SINKING
The 51% buyout of Bulgaria's state-run
telecommunications organization BTK by its Greek
and Dutch counterparts, OTE and KPN
respectively, is said to be on the verge of
sinking, according to numerous press reports in
Sofia, which quote government sources.
According to the same sources, a new
bidding period is to be assigned, this time
accepting offers without the mediation of an
consulting firm, while the Bulgarian
government's economic staff are considering a
reduction in BTC's shares package subject to
privatization.
[19] THE COMMUNISTS LEAD THE ELECTION RACE IN
RUSSIA
The Communist Party and the Unity Party
give a close battle in the Russian parliamentary
elections held yesterday.
The Communists got 24.54% with 80% of the
votes already counted, the Unity Party backed by
president Boris Yeltsin and prime minister
Vladimir Putin gets 23.92%, while third comes
the Russia is our homeland party with 11.67% of
the votes.
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