Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-03-27

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

Friday, March 27, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Denktash slams the door on talks

[02] US spurns no-fly zone plan

[03] Turkey beefing up weapons systems in arms race

[04] Turks bar women from London meeting

[05] Government backs EU patent bill

[06] Officials pledge solution to custody confusion

[07] 'Cyprus won't make the grade on EMU'

[08] Billion pound development plan means EAC cannot cut prices

[09] HTI turns down reform plan

[10] British police hold two over Paphos diamond theft

[11] Stormy seas bar access to stricken ship

[12] Transatlantic travel made simple

[13] Britain urges Denktash to reconsider EU stance

[14] Scene set for pay clash

[15] Anorthosis book place in final

[01] Denktash slams the door on talks

Earlier in the day, the UN special envoy to Cyprus, Diego Cordovez, said he hoped Denktash's meeting with Annan might help kick-start the stalled negotiations.

But Denktash seemed to dismiss any chance that the talks, which collapsed in Switzerland last summer, would restart. "No negotiations, no negotiations at all," he said in an interview with Reuters in Istanbul before flying to Geneva.

"We ask them (the Security Council) to tell the Greek Cypriots... you are not the government of the Turkish side," he said.

Denktash, smarting at the EU's decision to begin accession talks with the government, is refusing to return to the negotiations with President Glafcos Clerides unless his breakaway state is recognised.

"The inter-community talks and its parameters have been destroyed by the EU decision that the Greek Cypriots are the legitimate government of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriots a minority," he said.

He added cancellation of the government's controversial order for Russian S- 300 surface-to-air missiles to his preconditions for talks.

"If they (Greek Cypriots) want the problem to be negotiated they have to accept two things: that they are not the government of Turkish Cypriots and Mr Clerides must do away with missiles if he wants negotiations," Denktash said.

The missile order, due for completion in the summer, has raised tension between the two sides, with Turkey threatening a military strike against them should they ever be deployed. Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos yesterday repeated his government's position that any attack by Turkey on Cyprus would mean a Greco-Turkish war.

Denktash promised to cancel the recent "partial integration" of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)' with Turkey if the missile order was cancelled.

"If Clerides stops the missiles, whatever counter-measures we have taken so far... we shall cancel," he said.

"Clerides cannot blackmail us into giving things we would not give otherwise by bringing more guns, missiles and threatening war. We have already gone through a war," Denktash warned.

Cordovez, speaking after briefing US, British, EU and other Western European envoys in Geneva on his fruitless visit to Cyprus last week, noted the importance of the Denktash-Annan meeting.

"It is very important that Denktash be given a hearing... it is important to show that we treat them (Denktash and Clerides) as political equals," Cordovez said.

Denktash is expected to formally present Annan with a request for recognition of the 'TRNC', which is recognised only by Turkey.

But Cordovez said he had told Denktash the reaction of the UN Security Council to this request "was not positive"

Cordovez again said the talks process was deadlocked.

"We are trying to find some common ground, some way out. But the talks are stuck," he said. "There is a total lack of confidence between the interlocutors."

[02] US spurns no-fly zone plan

A GREEK proposal for a Cyprus no-fly zone to be guaranteed by the international community has been shot down by the Americans.

Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos made the proposal during his current trip to the United States, but the idea has been rejected by the Americans, both in Washington and in Nicosia.

US ambassador Kenneth Brill said yesterday the proposal was "not very practical", while a US State Department spokesman told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA): "The US would welcome the establishment of a permanent moratorium of all combat aircraft overflights over Cyprus by Greece and Turkey as a serious effort to reduce tensions and build confidence.

"We do not agree, however, that a no-fly enforcement regime that could potentially pit one Nato ally against another is the best way to accomplish this objective," the spokesman said.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Pangalos vowed Greece would retaliate if Turkey struck at S-300 missiles due to be deployed on the island later this year.

The Greek Minister's comments were welcomed by the government yesterday.

"If (the Turks) attack Cyprus, we shall fight. Yes that will mean war between Greece and Turkey," Pangalos said.

Asked if Greece would interpret a strike on the missiles as such an attack, " he replied: "Certainly".

But Pangalos admitted that the Greek Air Force would be no match for the Turkish air force over Cyprus.

He told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that Turkey had an "overwhelming military superiority on Cyprus".

Pangalos said there was no reason for Turkey to become alarmed by the proposed deployment because the missiles were defensive and would not alter the supremacy that Turkey currently enjoyed in the Aegean skies.

If Cypriot forces responded to a Turkish attack with the Russian-made missiles it plans to deploy, the bulk of the Turkish air force would be spared, even if the SAM firings had a 100 per cent success rate, Pangalos said.

That is because the warheads in Cyprus's prospective SAM arsenal number less than a third of the "super-modern" fighters in the Turkish air force, he said.

He said Turkey dominated by a ratio of more than 2:1 in personnel, more than 3:1 in artillery and more than 4:1 in armour, and that Turkey had some 180 aircraft at its disposal.

He is quoted as saying: "The Greek Cypriots ordered only 38 missiles, which will, if ever used, eventually destroy 38 Turkish airplanes," Pangalos said.

"The missiles don't change the equilibrium," Pangalos said, expressing frustration at the US policy of opposing the missile deployment.

Underscoring Turkey's military advantage, Pangalos pointed out that the proximity of Cyprus to Turkey and the distance of the nearest Greek air force base in Crete meant that Turkish planes could engage in hostile action over Cyprus for a considerably longer period than Greek fighters could before they ran out of fuel.

For a Greek-Turkish balance to be achieved, Greece would need "five planes for every Turkish plane," Pangalos said.

[03] Turkey beefing up weapons systems in arms race

Military studies director and defence specialist Aristos Aristotelous said yesterday Ankara had increased her military power on the divided island in response to the parallel upgrade in National Guard (NG) weaponry and the country's Joint Defence Dogma with Greece.

Speaking at a news conference to launch his book: The Joint Defence Dogma between Greece and Cyprus, Aristotelous pointed out that Turkish defence systems had been upgraded with Milan anti-armour missiles and Steiger surface-to-air missiles.

This highlighted the potential cost to Turkey of further military strikes against the Cyprus Republic, Aristotelous said, adding that although the area's balance of power had not changed, Turkey "felt" it would encounter problems from now on.

But he stressed the importance of setting up a mixed Greco-Cypriot command centre for complete air-defence of the island.

Touching on the issue of the pending arrival to Cyprus of Russian S-300 missiles, vehemently opposed by Turkey, Aristotelous said their efficiency was entirely dependent on the prior arrival of the requisite "support mechanisms".

He also predicted the crisis over the S-300s would be heightened as the time for their delivery neared.

Aristotelous' new book is intended to be a guide to the defence dogma and an information source for Cypriot and Greek military-studies students and academics alike.

It is dedicated to all those missing after the Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island in 1974.

[04] Turks bar women from London meeting

According to Turkish Cypriot press reports, the four women were stopped at occupied Tymbou airport on the orders of the 'Attorney-general'. The order preventing them from leaving the island remains in force until April 1.

Three of the women were stopped on Wednesday and a fourth yesterday. They were to join another seven Turkish Cypriot women and several of their Greek Cypriot counterparts in London for meetings scheduled for yesterday and today.

The three women stopped on Wednesday held an impromptu press conference at the airport. They are quoted as saying their human rights had been violated.

Turkish Cypriot papers said that according to the 'Attorney-general', the three women had not obtained leave of absence from the 'government' departments where they worked as required by civil service law; his office had therefore acted legally in the issue.

Taner Etkin, the Denktash regime's 'Foreign Minister' told a Turkish Cypriot radio station: "The organisers of such meetings have ill intentions."

A spokesman at the Greek Cypriot trade union federation Peo, which has representatives at the London meeting, said this was to be the second such gathering between women's unions and other women's organisations from both sides.

The first meeting under the auspices of the Jerusalem Link took place last year in Brussels and was partly financed by the EU Commission.

Trade unions on the island used to meet regularly but have been hard hit by the ban on bi-communal contacts imposed by Denktash last December in the wake of the EU's Luxembourg decision to open accession talks with the Republic of Cyprus.

[05] Government backs EU patent bill

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday threw its weight behind an EU-based patent bill amid signs the proposal would be approved next Thursday &#151; seven years after the issue was first raised.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nicos Rolandis told deputies that the cabinet had on Tuesday adopted the final version of a draft bill to introduce national patent legislation.

The bill, which has pitted importers against local drug manufacturers, satisfies EU requirements.

But some provisions on experimentation and testing &#151; one of the main bones of contention have been left vague to the benefit of local industry. Any discrepancy could be settled by the courts.

"We have no reason to be more royal than the king. If there are provisions that need interpretation then the courts can rule," Rolandis said.

But the draft bill prohibits any commercial act prior to the expiration of patents and adopts five-year supplementary protection certificates (SPC), he clarified.

And he made clear Cyprus was bound under international and European obligations &#151; including GATT and a European Convention, to adopt the law.

He said the urgent need for a patent law had been repeatedly raised by the European Union; with accession talks just round the corner, Cyprus could not fly in the face of the acquis communautaire.

Deputies' queries focused on the repercussions the new bill would have on the local pharmaceutical industry, in view particularly of last week's SOS call from drug manufacturers that approval of the law would spell disaster for them.

"I have asked myself the same question. My conclusion is that the proposal should not affect manufacturers because the new regime will not be any different from the one now in force. If anything, the British law which now applies in Cyprus pending the approval of national legislation is more strict," he said.

Rolandis added that as a minister of industry he was committed to doing everything possible, within the law, to help manufacturers.

Maria Kyriakou, registrar of companies, said GATT had made clear that Cyprus could not dilute provisions in force prior to the approval of national legislation. When the possibility of not including SPCs was mooted, the reply was a warning that Cyprus would be dragged before the World Trade Organisation panel for violating GATT.

The proposal is due to be put to the plenary for a final vote next Thursday &#151; just in time for an April 4 deadline set by a European Convention ratified by Cyprus earlier this year.

Although there was no firm word yesterday, sources suggested that deputies on the House Commerce Committee felt they had little option but to approve the bill, in view both of Cyprus' international obligations and assurances from the minister that local industry would not suffer.

[06] Officials pledge solution to custody confusion

The issue was raised in the House Legal Affairs Committee yesterday with all deputies pledging to approve any amendment submitted by the government.

The Justice Ministry's Marianna Patsalides said the issue was pressing. Cases handled by the ministry under the state's obligations under bilateral agreements had run up against problems over whether they should go to the Family or District courts.

The result was delay, and then the government finding itself in the embarrassing position of having to tell contracting parties abroad that the case had been thrown out because of lack of jurisdiction.

Deputies promised to push through an amendment to the family court law as soon as possible.

[07] 'Cyprus won't make the grade on EMU'

With accession talks due to begin on Monday, Vassiliou claimed the Cyprus economy did not make the grade for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) because it failed to satisfy all the Maastricht criteria.

"Basically...the Cyprus economy is on course for exclusion (from the single currency)," he said.

"What is important in an economy is not where you are but where you are going and, unfortunately, at this moment there is a tendency towards increase of deficits and higher inflation than in Europe," Vassiliou said. "For these reasons, we must follow a policy that will allow us to return to the Maastricht course and secure economic growth," the former President said.

Christodoulou begged to differ.

"I can say Mr Vassiliou's point that there is a need to curb tendencies that will worsen indicators is correct, but I cannot agree that at this moment we do not satisfy the Maastricht criteria," Christodoulou said.

"The economy is basically healthy, and overall is in a better position than the economies of certain EU member states," he said.

"The only Maastricht index with which there is no convergence is public deficit, which has reached five per cent, whereas according to the Maastricht indexes it should be three per cent," he said. He also admitted public deficit was growing, but said it met Maastricht criteria at the moment.

Vassiliou left for Prague yesterday to attend a meeting with the five other countries starting accession talks with the EU &#151; Estonia, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. He said the applicant countries would be examining ways of co-operating during their accession course.

[08] Billion pound development plan means EAC cannot cut prices

THE ELECTRICITY Authority (EAC) cannot afford to cut electricity prices because it needs to finance a £1.2 billion development programme.

This was the clear response given yesterday by Commerce and Industry Minister Nicos Rolandis to calls for lower prices.

He said Cypriot households enjoyed the cheapest electricity in Europe &#151; 30 per cent cheaper than Greece, the second least expensive, and three times cheaper than Italy, which tops the table. For industry, Cyprus is more or less halfway.

Prices were now lower than in 1983, while the EAC was in the middle of the single biggest development project by one organisation. It was taking out loans to pay for the Vasiliko power station and needed a surplus in order to service them, he added.

Asked whether he could promise electricity prices would at least not go up, Rolandis said he could give no such guarantee, but added that he did not expect prices to rise.

The issue came to the committee at the proposal of two deputies, Disy's Lefteris Christodoulou and Akel's Kikis Kazamias, on two different grounds.

Christodoulou queried the logic of the Electricity Authority paying the state £10 million a year in income tax at a time when consumers were being asked to make sacrifices to enable the authority to go ahead with its development programme.

He said his queries had arisen after the authority furnished him with "persuasive arguments" as to why its development programme did not allow it to pass on to the consumer savings incurred from not having to supply the Turkish-occupied north with electricity since 1995. The Denktash regime had never paid the authority for electricity, obliging it to impose a special 15 per cent surcharge on Greek Cypriot subscribers.

Christodoulou said that despite its huge expansion plan, the authority has since 1995 being obliged to pay some £10 million a year in income tax to the state for its profits.

Officials countered that the law required semi-government organisations to pay income tax, and that the state had an obligation to implement laws approved by the House.

For his part, Rolandis advised against scrapping this requirement because the economy needed the money.

Kazamias focused his arguments on the government's obligations to share out the surplus profits from petrol companies between consumers and the defence fund.

He said the law appeared to have been dormant for the past two years, even though all indications were that a hefty profit &#151; over and above the 12 per cent stipulated by the law &#151; was being made because of the 25 per cent drop in the price of crude.

"The law of 1986 must be activated. We are talking about tens of millions of pounds," he said.

Officials said the law had been activated for three months in 1997 when surplus profits had arisen. A new review was due later this year.

Rolandis asked for grace to look into the issue, but said the government fully respected the law. And he said the Electricity Authority had only the other day received a cheque for £1.6 million from the state. This would be distributed among consumers as provided by the law.

The issue remains before the committee.

[09] HTI turns down reform plan

TEACHERS and students from the embattled Higher Technical Institute (HTI) yesterday rejected a proposed set of reforms to the administration and status of their institute.

The new package of government proposals concerns the functioning of the public sector Technical Institute, which HTI staff want shifted to the private sector.

Students, meanwhile, stepped up their protest in support of their parallel demand for recognition of their qualifications as university-degree equivalent, and a consequent review of pay scales for graduates.

A secret ballot of students yesterday overwhelmingly backed a proposal to boycott exams in April.

On Tuesday, HTI students began a 48-hour blockade outside the Institute, barring entry to teachers and other staff in a bid to secure better pay and job security for their graduates.

At a House of Representatives labour committee meeting earlier in the day, HTI students, teachers and graduates gave new government proposals the thumbs down, saying they were "unacceptable" and not "far-reaching" enough.

At the forefront of HTI demands yesterday was the need for greater autonomy for the institution, which delegates wanted placed under the umbrella of the Education ministry &#151; like the University of Cyprus &#151; and not the Labour ministry, as it is now.

HTI members also asked for the Institution's contract to be free of government control and for an upgrade in status for the Technical School, which students say the EU is in any case likely to demand.

HTI head Dimitris Lazarides said that if the committee felt the new government proposals needed amendment, changes should be made and queries put to the Labour Ministry.

Technical chamber (Etek) president Nicos Mesaritis said the matter was clearly an educational one, pointing out it was unfair to have one technical school under a separate jurisdiction to other technical schools that were governed by the Education Ministry.

"It is unfair for a citizen of this country to undergo three years of extra training, becoming HTI graduates, with the only difference (between him and other technical school graduates) being that he must answer... to the Labour ministry," he said.

[10] British police hold two over Paphos diamond theft

The two Britons &#151; John Talbot, 21 and his girlfriend Kathryn Lois King &#151; were arrested in the UK this week after an Interpol co- ordinated effort by Scotland Yard and Cypriot police.

According to local police, Talbot, who has just been released from a British prison, and King, who is in the last month of her pregnancy, arrived in Cyprus on February 15 this year.

After their return to the UK, they were arrested and remanded in custody after goods police say were stolen were found in their apartment.

Police said the couple were involved in three burglaries worth £70,000, including the theft of diamonds, watches, handbags and clothes from shops in Paphos between February 22 and 26.

[11] Stormy seas bar access to stricken ship

A spokesman at Paphos said the 1,793 tonne Demetrios 2 &#151; whose crew had been airlifted from the vessel by a British military helicopter &#151; could not be reached because of bad weather.

He said there was no danger of the ship's fuel tank leaking into the sea. "There is no damage to that part of the ship," he said.

The eight crew members, including the Greek captain of the Honduran-flagged vessel, are staying at a Paphos hotel, the police spokesman said.

No one from the Demetrios 2, owned by the Greek company Silver Star, was injured when the ship ran aground.

The crew consisted of four Greeks including the captain, two Syrians and two Pakistanis.

The Demetrios 2 was on its way from Greece to Syria with a 700-tonne cargo of wood.

[12] Transatlantic travel made simple

An announcement by the Cypriot agents, GAP Vassilopoulos, said the appointment would help to satisfy the growing demand for travel from Cyprus on Virgin Atlantic's services using connecting flights from Larnaca.

Virgin Atlantic operates regular scheduled flights from Heathrow to New York, (Newark and JFK), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Miami, Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Toyko and Athens, and from Gatwick to Athens, Newark, Boston and Orlando.

British Airways has also announced that passengers who book with them from Cyprus will obtain a free "fast train" ticket which will transfer them from Heathrow direct to Paddington train station.

The tickets will be handed out to BA passengers when they check in at Larnaca, the company said.

The Fast Train takes 30 minutes and leaves every 15 minutes from all Heathrow terminals. At Paddington, passengers are centrally located and in a position to use the London Underground as well as other rail connections.

[13] Britain urges Denktash to reconsider EU stance

Henderson also said he hoped the Turkish Cypriot side would reconsider its refusal to take up the offer to take part in the Cyprus delegation for EU accession talks.

Replying earlier this week to a question tabled in the House of Commons by Labour MP Tom Cox concerning British efforts to develop further links between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Henderson said the British High Commission in Nicosia was in contact with the Turkish Cypriots.

He said officials were trying to persuade them to co-operate with the Cyprus government so that "the benefits of EU membership are available to all Cypriots and to develop further links between Cypriots on both sides of the island."

"We also co-operate closely with the UN and others to promote bi-communal contacts," Henderson said.

Replying to a second question by Cox, the British Minister said Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has expressed his views "very clearly" by refusing to take up an offer to meet Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in London this month.

"We hope that the Turkish Cypriots will reconsider their refusal to take up the offer to participate in the delegation to the accession negotiations made by President Clerides," Henderson said.

He added this would allow the Turkish Cypriots to make clear their views to the EU side and also to understand fully the implications of EU membership, "including the very substantial benefits which would, we believe, flow to the Turkish Cypriot community".

Denktash was quoted in yesterday's Turkish Cypriot press as saying the Cyprus question was at a "turning point".

He said should the accession talks go ahead as planned at the end of this month, "there would be no hope left for any reunification under the name of Cyprus".

Denktash is expected to outline his position in Geneva tomorrow to UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan.

[14] Scene set for pay clash

Addressing the union's general conference in Nicosia yesterday, Pasydy general secretary Glafcos Hadjipetrou said pay increases and more benefits would be what the union would be seeking in the months to come.

Speaking from same podium soon afterwards, Finance Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou said reducing public expenditure would be the government's main aim in the months ahead.

President Clerides had a similar message for civil servants. "I repeat both the government and I personally will view these issues with understanding but always with the greater good as the determinant and within the limits imposed by the capability of the state and economy," Clerides said in his speech.

Commenting on Hadjipetrou's speech afterwards, Christodoulou appeared to reinforce the no more money message.

"Our position on the issue will be fully in accordance with the capabilities of the economy and the need to keep withdrawals from the state coffers to a minimum," he said.

The Employers and Industrialists Federation (Oev) issued a statement later in the day to express their opposition to any increase in civil servant pay or benefits.

[15] Anorthosis book place in final

ANORTHOSIS all but booked a place in the Coca-Cola Cup final after trouncing Ethnikos Achna 4-0 on Wednesday in the home leg of their semi- final clash.

They will have to wait a fortnight to find out who they will meet as Apollonas could still clinch their semi-final tie after losing 3-2 to Apop in Paphos, where they were 3-0 down at half-time.

The champions, who stay on course for the double, steamrollered past Ethnikos with a passionate first-half performance which their opponents' coach, Slobodan Vutsecovic, described as over-physical.

Vutsecovic, one of the few coaches who never complain about the refereeing, accused ref Christos Skapoullis of tolerating Anorthosis' "very physical" tactics instead of protecting the Achna players.

The intimidation tactics worked, as Ethnikos' usually dependable defence committed several basic errors that allowed the home side to take a three- goal lead in the first 45 minutes.

No-one picked up Melanarkitis in the 25th minute when he collected the ball after it had hit the post and beat keeper Shimitras at his near-post.

In the 33rd minute Tomic crossed for the unmarked Michailovic to head the ball in with a little help from a deflection by Kenny. Charalambous powered in the third on the stroke of half-time with the visiting defence ball- watching once again.

Ethnikos could have had a penalty, immediately after the restart when Neocleous was fouled by Elia, but Skapoullis waved for play to continue. Krismarevic completed the scoring seven minutes into the second half with an angled shot, after a solo effort.

In Paphos, Apollonas fans booed their players and coach for the side's non- descript first half performance, and after the game went on the rampage, injuring two people. Coach Motsa Vucotic was so hurt by the stick from the fans that he said that he was considering resigning.

That Apollonas still have a chance of qualifying, is not owed to any great improvement in the second half, but a diabolical refereeing decision. With the visitors trailing 3-0, ref Kyprianides awarded them a penalty, after a theatrical dive by Spoliaric, who buried the spot kick to reduce the deficit.

Apop's foreign duo were responsible for the three goals. Sasa Jovanovic opened the scoring after three minutes, and Arsene Michailovic scored the second after 26. In the dying seconds of the half Michailovic was brought down in the area and Jovanovic converted the penalty kick.

In the 72nd minute, Michelic, left unmarked inside the six-yard box, slotted the ball into the net, after Kais' cross. The goal kept alive Apollonas' chances of reaching the final, although a marked improvement in form would still be necessary.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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