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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2002/01/30

Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.


MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY Thessaloniki, January 30, 2002

SECTIONS

  • [A] NATIONAL NEWS
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • NEWS HEADLINES

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

  • [01] E. VENIZELOS BOOK PRESENTATION
  • [02] PRESIDENT: PROMOTE THE GOOD SIDE OF GREECE
  • [03] G. PAPANDREOU: CONTINENTAL SHELF "LEFT OPEN"
  • [04] MINISTERS MEET ON ILLEGAL GAMBLING
  • [05] NO WORRIES ABOUT 4.1 EARTHQUAKE
  • [06] GREEK CHILDREN UNAWARE OF INTERNET DANGERS
  • [07] GREECE DOES NOT BARGAIN OVER ITS SOVEREIGN RIGHTS
  • [08] CAMPAIGN FOR OLYMPIC ARMISTICE
  • [09] DIOXIN CHICKENS SEIZED
  • [10] NO RECYCLED PLANE PARTS IN GREECE
  • [11] NELLY'S LENS SEES THE ASIA MINOR DISASTER
  • [12] THE FARMERS' MOBILIZATIONS CONTINUE IN GREECE
  • [13] FIVE MAIN AXES FOR THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM REFORM
  • [14] GREECE PLANS AN ENERGY "EGNATIA ODOS"
  • [15] SIGNIFICANT LOSSES IN THE ASE
  • [16] PROTOPAPAS ON THE IMMINENT GREEK-TURKISH DIALOGUE
  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • [17] SOLBES ON GREECE'S PUBLIC DEBT
  • [18] SIMITIS-PRODI MEETING NEWS IN DETAILS

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

  • [01] E. VENIZELOS BOOK PRESENTATION President of the Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis referred to the theoretical approach to the review of the Constitution, which was completed in April 2001, during a speech at the presentation of Constitutionalist and Minister of Culture Evaggelos Venizel os' book, "To anatheoritiko kekthmeno" (The review precedent).

    The intervention of constitutionalist and EuroMP of PASOK, Dimitris Tsatsos, concentrated on the procedure of reviewing institutions.

    Mr. Venizelos referred to the reviewed Constitution as a contribution of the parliamentary system to the Greek people.

  • [02] PRESIDENT: PROMOTE THE GOOD SIDE OF GREECE President of the Republic Kostis Stefanopoulos stressed the need to promote the good side of Greece apart from the negative, by honoring important individuals for their contribution science and culture, as well for their philanthropic work.

    Emeritus Professor of Athens Academy, Konstantinos Vavouskos, was honored with the commander of the order of the Phoenix. Academicians Victor Sariyannidis and Leon Benmayor were honored with the Golden Cross of the Order of Honor.

  • [03] G. PAPANDREOU: CONTINENTAL SHELF "LEFT OPEN" The only territorial issue of dispute in Greek Turkish relations is that of the continental shelf, stated Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Papandreou.

    "The position Greece holds on this issue is very specific, and that allows us to go to a very specific position in our contacts both with the EU and with Turkey, one which ensures our national interests", he stressed.

    Coordinator of Foreign Affairs and Defense of New Democracy, Dora Bakoyanni, pointed out that discussions can only take place in a specific framework, which will respect the territorial integrity and sovereign rights of each country, international law an d bilateral agreements.

  • [04] MINISTERS MEET ON ILLEGAL GAMBLING Illegal gambling will be the topic of discussion at a meeting to be held by Ministers responsible for the issue.

    Already, Minister of Finances Nikos Christodoulakis announced a series of measures to crack down on this phenomenon, while he admitted that the number of illegal slot machines is much larger the 150,000 that have been registered.

    Heads of the DAs' offices in Thessaloniki and Patra have ordered an urgent preliminary investigation to be carried out, so that the owners of the illegal slot machines are traced and indicted.

  • [05] NO WORRIES ABOUT 4.1 EARTHQUAKE The slight seismic vibration of 4.1 R that took place last night at 9pm, its epicenter in the sea region 15 km Southwest of Kefallonia, is of no concern to seismologists. So far, no material damages have been reported to the police.
  • [06] GREEK CHILDREN UNAWARE OF INTERNET DANGERS A staggering 98% of Greek children have no idea of the dangers of Internet use, according to the results of a European wide survey on children and the Internet, which took place in the framework of the European ONCE program. 1,882 children from Belgium, England and Greece, aged 9-17, participated in the survey.

    It is especially worrying that children are not aware of the safety rules of the Internet and in e-mails, and that 92% of them cannot imagine what could be behind a communication over the Internet. Also, 72% of children have given their personal informat ion and data about their family to sites or friends they communicated with.

    Children do not understand the importance of keeping their parents informed on what they do on the Internet. Greek children, 82% of them at least, do not inform their parents because they are afraid of being punished.

    Teenagers use the Internet from an age of 13, usually as a chat area. In Greece 64% of chat room users are girls, but boys are more willing to travel in order to meet their "e-friend". They also admit that they are willing to use an excuse in order to le ave the house and meet them.

    In Greece, the Internet is a relatively new means of communication and only 25% of children have access to it. Girls that surf the web in Greece are mainly interested in fashion and astrology, while boys mainly visit sites on networked shoot 'em up games , soccer and cars. In fact, certain teenagers stated that they can acquire information on how to build bombs and means of arson.

    Boys have visited sites with pornographic content at least once, while the discovery of a web-site starring favorite cartoon characters in various "positions" is a topic of discussion.

    Finally, what annoys children, according to the survey, is that pornographic sites pop-up when they are surfing with their parents, pornography showing children, violent images, and advertisements.

  • [07] GREECE DOES NOT BARGAIN OVER ITS SOVEREIGN RIGHTS The Greek government will not bargain over its sovereign rights in the discussion it will have with Turkey, stated Minister of Foreign Affaris, Giorgos Papandreou.

    In statements to Flash Radio, he stated he could not understand this fear that this discussion may "rock the boat" for Greek-Turkish relations. "It is acceptable to be concerned, we are also concerned and take measures accordingly", he stressed, and assu red that if Turkey raises any claims to sovereign rights, the Greek side will say "no" just as it has before.

    All governments, and all Foreign Ministers have said no to Turkey, he pointed out and added that after two years of discussion with Ismail Cem, 10 agreements of Greek-Turkish cooperation have been validated by the parliament, and another five are underwa y to be validated. Today Greece is stronger and there is a positive coincidence that may lead to the success of this venture. Turkey has every reason to want success, because if this attempt fails, and it is at fault, the position it held position will be

    evaluated by the by the European Union, on its incorporation prospects.

    To a question on the scenarios that place him as the potential "successor" of Kostas Simitis within PASOK, he answered negatively, stating that the issue will be resolved at the 6th Congress and he does not want to get involved. His relationship with Mr.

    Simitis is excellent , they work very closely together and it would be harmful for certain individuals to undermine foreign policy for reasons that would serve them inside the Party or in favor of the Opposition.

  • [08] CAMPAIGN FOR OLYMPIC ARMISTICE With "On your mark! Get set... cease fire!" as its slogan, the Olympic Armistice revival information campaign has begun in Greece.

    The informative campaign will take place from February 2-15, 2002, aiming at the ceasing hostilities all over the world, during future Olympics, mentioned Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou, in an interview to the press, underlining the significance of the message of peace through culture and sports.

    "Just as Greece managed to revive the modern Olympics at the end of the 19th century, it now has the obligation to revive the part of the event that involves the armistice. The message of peace through culture and sports is important. The Olympics are a worldwide reference point for humanity. It is important to draw the connection between principles and human values, and the Games. We Greeks have something to say. Vision and realism are both needed."

    Mr. Papandreou stated that there is close cooperation with both the IOC and the UN, and noted that the US Senate unanimously decided to support the Olympic armistice, while there is also a relevant resolution of distinguished individuals. As he mentioned

    the first signatures are his and Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's, and he pointed out that Foreign Ministers of certain Balkan countries have also signed.

    A special letter will be sent to India and Pakistan, calling the two countries to lay down their arms and respect the Olympic Armistice, while such a letter will be sent to both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

    Mr. Papandreou also noted that during the Nagano Winter Olympics, Iraq was not bombed from respect to the Armistice and that the war in Sarajevo stopped for one day. The Foreign Minister also mentioned the participation of North and South Korea in the Si dney Olympics under a single flag.

    The General Director of the Armistice Center, Ambassador Stavros Labrinidis, pointed out that the Olympic Armistice is not panacea or a utopia. "People around the world will not stop fighting just because the Olympic Movement tells them they shouldn't fi ght. That is obvious. But it is not a utopia, because it does not ask for eternal peace, just a window of opportunity for 16 days, in connection to the most widely recognized event in the world, the Olympic Games", he underlined.

  • [09] DIOXIN CHICKENS SEIZED Chicken parts, of a total weight of 5.4 tons, were seized yesterday in Athens in suspicion of dioxin presence, by the veterinarians of the Joint Foods Inspection Body (EFET).

    Specifically, the inspectors of EFET seized 1,400 kilos of frozen Belgian chickens, frozen and packed on 18.10.2001 and 4,000 kilos dated to 11.01.2002, both dates later than the detection of dioxin in Belgian poultry.

    EFET has already asked Belgian authorities for specific information on the origin of the chickens seized in Athens, in order to ascertain if they came from the suspicious Belgian farms, and there will be immediate sample checks.

  • [10] NO RECYCLED PLANE PARTS IN GREECE The Civil Aviation Service assured that Greek companies do not use old or recycled parts of aircraft, after the scandal in Italy that has caused intense concern all over the world.

    There are fears that defective aircraft parts have been sold to companies all over the world, and that fact is tied into recent airplane crashes.

    The Italian authorities revealed a network that removed old or defective aircraft parts, which it then channeled back into the market as new. Several people have already been arrested in Rome, while the country's custom office has seized thousands of air craft parts.

  • [11] NELLY'S LENS SEES THE ASIA MINOR DISASTER Human pain, as expressed during the Asia Minor Disaster, is represented through Nelly's Pictures, which will be on display from next Tuesday, at the Athens Intellectual Center.

    The Exhibition is titled, "Refugee Grief (1925-1927) through Nelly's lens", and is being organized by the Cultural Organization of the Municipality of Athens and the Smyrna Community, drawing on the 80th anniversary of the Asia Minor Disaster. The photog raphs are from the photograph archive of the Benaki Museum, and the only ones of Nelly's depicting human pain.

  • [12] THE FARMERS' MOBILIZATIONS CONTINUE IN GREECE The motorways leading to the border crossings of Evzoni and Doirani at the north of the country remain closed as farmers have used their tractors to stop traffic. The situation is similar in many parts of northern Greece.

    Meanwhile, the stance that will be adopted by the farmers in the inauguration of the agriculture trade fair "Agrotica", that will take place in Thessaloniki later this afternoon, is still unknown. Minister of Agriculture Giorgos Dris will formally open t he trade fair.

    Meanwhile, government spokesman Christos Protopapas called on the opposition parties to make it clear whether they support the farmers' road blockades.

  • [13] FIVE MAIN AXES FOR THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM REFORM The proposals for the reform of the social security system, to be forwarded to the social partners by Labor Minister Dimitris Reppas in February, are based on five main axes.

    In the proposals' text it will be stressed that there is a need to hold a further discussion on issues of tax reform, namely, age limits, ways to calculate pension, auxiliary social security, the tripartite funding and the unification of social security funds.

    According to information cited by the Athens newspaper "Ethnos", the likelihood for Mr. Reppas to bring the national pension issue to social dialogue remains open.

  • [14] GREECE PLANS AN ENERGY "EGNATIA ODOS" The government is interested in creating an energy "Egnatia Odos" looking for new natural gas sources in the Caspian Sea countries. Negotiations are already underway with Turkey, Iran Azerbaidjan and Turkmenistan, according to revelations made by the Nat ural Gas Public Company president Dimitris Sotirlis, addressing in the international conference of The Economist on the energy market.

    Specifically, Mr. Sotirlis clarified that negotiations with Turkey concern the link-up of the natural gas network, while the negotiations with the rest three countries concern the expansion of the existing pipeline for the supply of Greece with natural g as.

    Mr. Sotirlis added that for the materialization of this project is necessary to build an 85-kilometers long pipeline in Greece and an additional 200 kilometers on Turkish soil. He also said that Greece intends to expand the pipeline to Italy for the supp ly of Western Europe with natural gas.

  • [15] SIGNIFICANT LOSSES IN THE ASE Significant losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -1.12% at 2.595,87 points, while the volume of transactions was at 111.5 million Euro or 38 billion drachmas.

    Of the stocks trading today, 53 recorded gains and 272 had losses, while the value of 33 stocks remained unchanged.

  • [16] PROTOPAPAS ON THE IMMINENT GREEK-TURKISH DIALOGUE Greece can say "No" if there are problems or irrational claims on behalf of Turkey that are in conflict with its national interests, stated government spokesman Christos Protopapas. The statement was made on the imminent dialogue with Turkey and Mr. Prot opapas reiterated that the only issue that is open for Greece is that of the continental shelf.

    When he was called to comment whether Greece regards Abdulah Ocalan as terrorist, Mr. Protopapas responded that the whole international community is against the Kurdish PKK organization placing it on the list of terrorist organizations. Regarding the al legations concerning the cooperation between Greek and Turkish secret services on the Ocalan case, Mr. Protopapas stated that secret agencies cooperate within the framework of the efforts to combat international terrorism.

  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • [17] SOLBES ON GREECE'S PUBLIC DEBT European Commissioner Pedro Solbes expressed the view that Greece should intensify its efforts to cut its public debt in order to gain greater fiscal stability. Earlier, the European Commission had examined the Greek stability and convergence program.

    Similar warnings had been issued to Germany and Portugal as their deficits are very close to the 3% limit set by the European Union.

    This was a so-called "early warning" to the states in question suggesting to them that they should make further efforts to cut their deficits. It is the first time the European Commission issues such a warning.

  • [18] SIMITIS-PRODI MEETING The future of Europe, the priorities of the Greek EU Presidency in the first half of 2003 and the farm issue, were discussed in the meeting Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis had in Brussels today with European Commission President Romano Prodi.

    Mr. Simitis underlined Greece's interest in a democratic European Union with a greater political role and social character. The Greek Prime Minister pointed out the need to respect the timetables for the enlargement procedure, while on the issue of Cypru s, he wished that the Turkish Cypriot side will adopt proposals that will lead to the solution of the Cyprus problem.

    On the issues that concern the Greek farmers, he pointed out that he discussed them with Mr. Prodi, while he will also discuss the issue with the responsible European Commissioner Frantz Fischler. The Prime Minister characterized as a main issue the comp ensation that should be paid to the farmers who suffered damaged crops as a result of the recent bad weather.

    Mr. Simitis also stressed the need to form a joint European policy to deal with illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.


    Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
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