Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-03-12

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Thursday, March 12, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Cook stands firm on EU progress

[02] Rolandis fury at promotion of the north

[03] You want water? Move to old Nicosia or the coast

[04] Diko rift widens

[05] Doctors fight to save meningitis girl

[06] Relatives call for experts to join hunt for missing

[07] Cyprus ponders protest over fishing attack

[08] Greens call for measures to protect Akrotiri salt lake

[09] Police claim duo ran hotel brothel

[10] Two held on rape charge

[11] Apoel's cup reign ends

[01] Cook stands firm on EU progress

THE CYPRUS government is working overtime to come up with a "suitable" proposal to include the Turkish Cypriots in upcoming EU accession talks, diplomatic sources close to the EU presidency were quoted as saying yesterday.

The statements came as British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the House of Commons that the Turkish Cypriots would have no veto rights in the accession talks and had "more to gain than anybody else from Cyprus' EU accession".

His comments came after France on Tuesday suggested freezing Cyprus' accession process until a solution to the island's division was found.

Cook was backed up by a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said: "The accession process embraces Cyprus and the countries of Eastern Europe. That is what was agreed, and that is what we will be pursuing."

Blair last night met with President Glafcos Clerides, and will hold further talks with him today. The spokesman also said the issue of the S-300 missiles would be discussed in addition to EU accession, with Blair pressing for the deal to be scrapped.

Replying to questions, Cook added that Cyprus had been urged to send a mixed Greek and Turkish Cypriot negotiating committee to the talks, but noted that in spite of Clerides' "willingness" to do this, the "present stubbornness on the Turkish Cypriot side may prevent that from happening".

The 'Assembly' in the north on Tuesday decided not to participate in EU negotiations unless the 'TRNC' was recognised by the international community.

The EU diplomatic sources told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) yesterday that the actual possibility of Turkish Cypriot participation was "extremely unlikely", echoing views expressed earlier in the week by former president George Vassiliou, who will head the island's EU negotiation team.

A proposal is expected, the sources said, but no specific time or format for this was given. The issue was understood to be at the forefront of Clerides' talks with Blair.

Cook, meanwhile, also spoke of Turkey's EU prospects, saying that since the country had declined an invitation to be present at December's European Conference in Luxembourg, Britain would "look for other ways to take forward" dialogue between the two countries.

[02] Rolandis fury at promotion of the north

TOURIST Minister Nicos Rolandis has returned from the high-profile Berlin Tourism Fair smarting about holiday promotions to the occupied areas.

Rolandis used his post-Berlin press conference in Nicosia yesterday to condemn efforts by tour companies to promote "north Cyprus" as a kosher holiday destination.

He said a number of pavilions at the fair were used by travel firms exclusively to sell package tours to the breakaway state.

Strong representations were made by the Cyprus embassy in Bonn, urging the German foreign ministry to apply pressure on the organisers to withdraw offending material.

But Rolandis said he was less than satisfied with the Berlin organisers' response.

They refused to take down pavilion signs promoting "north Cyprus", arguing they referred to a "geographical", not a political entity.

But despite the complex games of political football, there were some encouraging signs from the Berlin fest.

The minister said the Berlin indicators pointed to an increase in arrivals this year of between five and 10 per cent.

However, Rolandis was quick to pick up on the down side of the island's expected tourist boom - its lack of competitive edge.

"Cyprus' tourist product is expensive... We are 15 to 20 per cent more expensive than Greece and around 30 to 40 per cent more expensive than Turkey."

Rolandis also voiced concern about the island's world renowned hospitality: "there is not the same difference that existed between Cyprus and other destinations as in the past."

But he did hint at the kind of attitude which could turn things around. "We must offer tourists the atmosphere and colour of Cyprus."

[03] You want water? Move to old Nicosia or the coast

DOZENS of areas around the island will not be affected by the new water restrictions to be introduced to conserve dwindling supplies.

The drastic new measures, which are being drawn up by water experts, are expected to come into force shortly as reservoirs continue to dry up and the prospect of rain recedes.

But while the agricultural and domestic sectors are likely to be affected by the new cuts, many areas will not.

Apart from tourist areas, which are given year-round supplies, many villages do not have any water worries and neither does old Nicosia.

According to an official at the Nicosia Water Board, most of the coastal tourist areas would not suffer from the cuts, nor would the "small self- sufficient communities at a high elevation."

"All areas of Nicosia, except the old town and a part of Makedonitissa, for technical reasons, have restrictions," the official added.

He said the old city being spared had nothing to do with the fact that the Archbishopric was there, and pointed out that cuts were imposed in the area around the Presidential Palace.

"Nicosia within the walls has never had restrictions because it is a commercial area and has little consumption outside working hours," the official said.

The official also blasted criticism of continuous supply to the tourist areas.

"Tourists use less than four per cent of resources," he said. "Maybe the average tourist is using more water than the average Cypriot, but overall tourism does not use as much as you think."

[04] Diko rift widens

THE DIKO party continued to tear itself apart yesterday, with high-profile party members and rebels calling for a new leadership to be elected.

The focus for the complainants' attacks was a party central committee decision to call a general conference rather than party elections.

Diko parliamentary spokesman Tassos Papadopoulos, rebel deputy Alexis Galanos and party member Kypros Chrysostomides all said the party base had lost confidence in the present leadership.

Diko has been in turmoil ever since its chosen candidate, George Iacovou, lost last month's Presidential elections.

Galanos, who stood as an independent candidate for the elections, said the party's failure to call leadership elections had closed the door on any chance there might have been to re-unite the party. The time was ripe to form a new party, he said.

Galanos is among a group of rebels turfed out of the party for refusing to endorse the decision to back George Iacovou for the presidential elections.

Chrysostomides said the current party leadership was incapable of re- uniting the party. Papadopoulos said the party leadership was out of touch with the real problems within the party.

Diko spokesman Andreas Constantinou hit back, saying the consensus within the party was that the rebels, and not the party leadership, were the root cause of division within the party.

He said the dissenters were over-simplifying the problems within the party and appointing themselves as representatives of the party base when they were not.

Going against the decisions of the central committee only made the situation within the party worse, Constantinou said.

Dinos Michaelides, a prominent party rebel, called on the Diko leadership to extend invitations to all members to attend the upcoming general conference, even rebels. He said he still considered himself Diko vice- chairman despite being thrown out by the party.

[05] Doctors fight to save meningitis girl

The child, from Troulli village outside Larnaca, was admitted to hospital in a poor state in the early hours of yesterday morning, doctors at the hospital said. She was transferred to intensive care after a severe meningitis infection was diagnosed.

Students at the girls primary school in Troulli were yesterday doused with antibiotics as a precautionary measure.

On Monday, 19-year-old National Guardsman Lefcos Eliades died of the disease.

[06] Relatives call for experts to join hunt for missing

The missing issue was examined by the House refugee committee yesterday in the wake of the first positive identification of a missing person's remains since 1974.

The US government revealed last week that DNA analysis had been used to identify remains found in the occupied areas as those of Andreas Kassapis, a Greek Cypriot with American citizenship who disappeared during the invasion when he was 16.

The leaders of the two relatives of the missing committees told deputies the tri-partite committee for missing persons (CMP) would be ineffectual unless its investigative work was backed up with scientific expertise. The UN recently announced it was re-appointing a member to the committee, but Father Economos Christoforos and Nicos Sergiou said this long-awaited appointment would be meaningless unless scientists were also assigned to help the CMP.

"If these people do not come and the UN Secretary-general's appointee comes and starts working with the same old people already here, then the issue of the missing will not move forward," Father Christoforos said.

Sergiou said this was a time for definite action and not experimentation. The identification of Kassapis' remains proved what could be done given the will, he said.

A total of 1,619 Greek Cypriots are listed as missing since 1974. The Turkish Cypriots list 803 members of their community as missing since 1963 intercommunal strife.

[07] Cyprus ponders protest over fishing attack

CYPRUS may protest to Egypt over an alleged attack on a Cypriot fishing boat on Tuesday.

The Foreign Ministry said yesterday it had spoken to the Egyptian embassy but added it would wait until a full investigation was conducted before deciding what final measures to take.

According to police, the seven crew of the Cypriot fishing boat Nemesis were held at knife-point by more than 50 assailants on five vessels, claiming to be inspectors.

The incident took place some 25 miles off the coast of Egypt, in international fishing waters.

Captain Panicos Loizides said the assailants had cut him when he tried to stop them from stealing equipment and damaging the engine.

Police said two members of the Nemesis sustained serious stab wounds. The damage to the fishing boat is estimated at around £20,000.

Emilios Economou, an official at the Department of Fisheries, said yesterday that fishing off the Egyptian coast, although in international waters, was not sufficiently policed.

"We believe this was an isolated incident but well planned," he said.

It was the second attack on the Nemesis in the space of two months. In the first incident, Egyptian fisherman threw Molotov cocktails at the vessel.

[08] Greens call for measures to protect Akrotiri salt lake

The fire last week destroyed vital bird nesting habitat and highlighted the need for real protection for the lake and its environs, the Ecological Movement group said in a statement.

The greens pointed out that the Akrotiri salt lake was a wet-land of international importance playing host to 240 predominantly migratory bird species and the only population of the rare Dead Sea sparrows on the island.

Fire had become a constant threat to the reed-beds and marshes around the salt lake, the greens said, and could force many birds to abandon the area permanently.

The Ecological Movement called on the government to draw up a management and protection plan for Akrotiri as a matter of urgency.

[09] Police claim duo ran hotel brothel

Larnaca district court issued a seven-day remand against Moldovan Lelenko Alecandre and a four-day order against hotel owner Andreas Patsalos as suspects in a prostitution racket.

CID officer Christos Mouzouris told the court that Alecandre was believed to have brought girls from his home country to work as prostitutes at Patsalos' Larnaca hotel.

Police believe that Alecandre collected money from clients, while Patsalos benefited from "renting rooms".

A 22-year-old Moldovan woman has told police she was paid £5 for sleeping with clients, while Alecandre took a £25 cut and Patsalos received £10 in rent.

Mouzouris said the 22-year-old worked the hotel for two months and was then replaced by a fellow compatriot aged 17.

The racket was uncovered when a team of plain clothes policemen showed up at the hotel as clients looking for sex.

Both the 17-year-old and the hotel owner have made statements about the scam; Alecandre has refused to do so, according to Larnaca CID.

[10] Two held on rape charge

Andreas Costa Kakoyiannis, 30, and Christos Andrea Constantinou, 36, were arrested on Tuesday after rape claims by two women employed as performers in the Crazy Girl club in Limassol.

One of the alleged victims was recovering in hospital yesterday from a pelvis fracture she claims she suffered while trying to escape her attacker's attentions. She slipped while climbing out of the window of the Kakoyiannis' third floor flat and fell onto the balcony of the apartment below, Limassol District Court heard.

The two artistes claim the suspects bought them drinks at the cabaret on Monday night and then invited them to go to a bouzouki tavern with them, the court heard. Things began to go wrong after the bouzoukia, the artistes claimed, when the suspects refused to take them home, the court heard.

Kakoyiannis allegedly took one of the girls to his flat on Omonias street while Constantinou took the other to a Limassol hotel. Both girls claimed they were then raped, the court heard.

The two suspects told the court they admitted seeing the artistes on the night in question, but said the women had willingly had sex with them.

Kakoyiannis said he paid his alleged victim for sex and then she, for no apparent reason, jumped out of the window. He suggested to the court she needed to be examined by a psychiatrist.

Constantinou said the other artiste had dinner with him after the alleged attack and even asked him for his phone number so they could meet again.

Kakoyiannis and Constantinou were remanded in custody for eight days.

[11] Apoel's cup reign ends

APOEL'S three-year domination of the Cyprus Cup came to an end in Nicosia last night as the holders were defeated 2-1 by Anorthosis and lost the quarter-final tie 3-1 on aggregate.

Apollonas joined the champions in the semi-finals thanks to a 1-0 away victory over Salamina which gave them a 2-1 aggregate win.

Earlier in the day, Apop secured a semi-final place despite losing 2-1 to Ethnikos Ashia in Nicosia, on the strength of an away goal. The Paphos side had won the home leg 1-0.

The only tie to be decided in extra-time was the clash between Anagennisis and Ethnikos Achna in Dherynia which, like the first leg, had ended in a 1- 1 draw after 90 minutes. Ethnikos won 3-2 in extra-time.

For Anorthosis, last night's victory was sweet revenge for last season's semi-final defeat by Apoel, and keeps them on course for the league and cup double. The hero of the night was Yiannakis Okkas who scored both his side's goals.

Apoel fought hard, but it was always going to be an uphill struggle after conceding a goal in the 26th minute.

Until then they had dominated the play, with Anorthosis content to sit back and defend their first leg lead. Captain Ioannou spurned a couple of half chances while Satchias failed to direct his header towards Panayiotou's goal.

Then disaster struck, as Bambis Andreou released Okkas, who turned Cosntantinou inside-out before rifling a powerful shot past Apoel keeper Marangos. Five minutes later Michailovic, scorer of the goal in the first leg, had the chance to kill off the tie but his shot was blocked by Marangos.

Apoel coach, Andreas Mouskallis, sent in striker Alexandrou in place of Constantinou in the second half and six minutes after the restart his side were level, Ioannou beating a defender before placing the ball past Panayiotou.

The holders still needed another two goals to go through, but as they stormed forward they left huge gaps in defence. Michailovic twice squandered good chances while Andreou saw his effort cleared off the Apoel goal-line by Costa.

Anorthosis had managed to slow the game down, disrupting Apoel's momentum and as the minutes ticked away it became obvious that this was the end of Apoel's three-year hold on the cup.

Two minutes from the end, Okkas put the home side out of their misery when he broke through and coolly chipped the ball over Marangos to ensure a semi- final place for Anorthosis. Apoel's Timotheou was sent off in injury-time for a second bookable offence.

Apollonas just about deserved their narrow win which put a dampener on Salamina's 50th anniversary celebrations.

After a disappointing first half, in which Apollonas enjoyed most of the possession but failed to threaten Ioannou's goal, they raised their game with the start of the second half.

Their reward came 10 minutes aftre the break, when Pittas crossed and defender Marios Charalambous headed in the all-important goal. Salamina, missing several first team players, tried to come back but were unable to break down the visitors' solid defence.

In Dherynia, Mousic put Achna in front from the penalty spot before Elia equalised for Anagennisis with a brilliant volley on the turn, to force extra-time.

Mousic restored the visitors' lead, before Anagennisis equalised again through Gondola. Macedonian midfielder, Jurev scored Achna's winner to book a place in the semis.

In Nicosia Ethnikos Ashia took a fourth minute lead through Satchias but Apop levelled through Arsene Michailovic, seven minute later.

Satchias scored his side's winner from the penalty spot in the last minute of the game, but it proved too little too late for the first division's bottom club, who were hoping to be in the cup semi-finals for the first time in their history.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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