Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-12-01

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>

Saturday, December 1, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] Turkish Cypriots expect little cheer from next week's talks

[02] CyTA backtrack on phone charges

[03] £100 million defence upgrade

[04] Save the dogs, protesters plead

[05] £26m emergency boost for tourism

[06] UN's Annan talks of 'regrets'

[07] Torrential rains spark flash floods

[08] Papapetrou hits back in row over drivers who smoke

[09] AIDS campaigners warn against complacency

[10] Rolandis calls tenders for five new marinas

[11] 'Milosevic used secret accounts in Cyprus to fund wars'

[12] Pardon is only avenue for convict who insists he's innocent

[13] Markides dismisses deported Briton's charges

[14] CY comes out top

[01] Turkish Cypriots expect little cheer from next week's talks

TURKISH Cypriots may dream of a prosperous future in the European Union but few see a way out of the diplomatic tangle Turkey, Greece and the EU have woven around their isolated corner of the island.

Zafer Canturk, whose first name means victory, was born in 1974, the year Turkish troops invaded Cyprus.

All his life he has known the international isolation, trade embargo, tense division and dependency on Turkey that the invasion brought for northern Cyprus. No foreign soccer team may play in northern Cyprus, no airliner may fly there without touching down in Turkey first and goods are excluded from foreign markets.

He has little faith that the first face-to-face meeting in four years between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash next week will change much.

The pressure is on the two veteran rivals to find a way to overcome decades of mistrust to re-unite the island before it moves to join the EU.

"I've been hearing the same thing my whole life. I don't think anything will result from these talks," Canturk said.

The mood in occupied northern Cyprus is in stark contrast to that in the south, which boasts a per capita income more than three times higher. Where bustling highrise hotels mark the southern coasts, sleepy northern ports such as Kyrenia, with its Venetian fortress, seem untouched by the passage of three decades.

If Cyprus is reunited and the north opened again to international traffic, that lack of development, now a reflection of hardship, could become an asset.

But that, for now, seems far in the future.

Cyprus is a frontrunner for EU membership, and would theoretically carry northern Cyprus in with it if it enters. All countries except Turkey recognise the government in Nicosia as sovereign over the entire island, even the occupied north.

Turkey, an EU candidate itself, has threatened to annex northern Cyprus if the EU admits the island without first recognising northern Cyprus as an independent state.

Many other young people in the self-proclaimed 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC) share Canturk's pessimism. Countless numbers study abroad and then stay there, seeking their future in north London rather than northern Cyprus.

"The future for the TRNC is with the EU and it will have to be together with Turkey," said Done Yeter, a 19-year-old banker.

"I hope something will result from Tuesday's meeting so there will be a better future for us."

Carrying those hopes is Turkish Cypriot leader Denktash, who has led northern Cyprus since it proclaimed 'statehood' in 1983.

Only Turkey has ever recognised that proclamation and for some Turkish Cypriots Denktash epitomises a stubborn resistance to diplomatic efforts to reunite the island after it was torn by vicious ethnic strife in the 1960s and 70s.

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit - who ordered the invasion in 1974 - said recently there would be violence worse than those dark days if the international community tried to press a settlement.

Few on the island believe such a large-scale relapse into Greek killing Turk, Turk killing Greek is likely. They do, however, need the assurance of a settlement of property claims covering Greeks who were driven out in thousands in 1974.

"No one wants to wake one morning to find someone knocking at their door, asking for their house back," one student said.

Sener Levent, editor of the controversial, left-leaning &lt;i&gt; Avrupa&lt;/i&gt;paper, one of Denktash's main critics, is pessimistic.

"I do not believe Denktash will achieve a solution. I do not believe he is a person who desires a solution."

Others, however, back Denktash for calling the meeting with Clerides.

The Turkish Cypriot side seeks a loose confederation of two states, one Greek, one Turkish, with weak central government. The Greek Cypriot vision is of a more integrated state with stronger central government.

"Mr Denktash's policies are taking the correct path, we have extended our hand in an expression of good will and it is our hope Mr Clerides takes our hand and accepts the rights of sovereignty and political equality of the Turkish Cypriots," said 'Speaker of Parliament' Vehbi Zeki Serter.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] CyTA backtrack on phone charges

FIXED telephony charges will not be raised today as planned, following a last-minute intervention by the House acting on uproar from deputies' constituents.

CyTA (Cyprus Telecommunications Organisation) had been set to raise rates for landline phones and Internet use as part of a price-restructuring programme aimed at eliminating the subsidisation of one service by another, in line with European Union directives. The final phase of the plan, which had been due to go into effect this weekend, would have seen the cost of local calls rise to two cents per two minutes at peak time instead of the current three minutes. Internet rates would go up to two cents per four minutes, while the landline connection fee was set to be raised to £30 from the current £25.

But the semi-government telecoms monopoly came under heavy fire in parliament on Thursday when deputies, responding to complaints from angry constituents, charged CyTA of arbitrary pricing policies. The deputies also pointed out recent evidence showing that CyTA posted a surplus of some £200 million. Cyprus law forbids semi-government organisations from accumulating surpluses.

CyTA was further accused of neglecting various " pro-social programmes"it had announced as part of its 2001 strategy.

Late on Thursday night the House passed a bill freezing any further price hikes, despite a last-ditch effort by Communications Minister Averoff Neophytou not to delay the changes.

The increase in fixed telephony would be accompanied by lower mobile call charges, particularly for SoEasy service users.

Glafcos Houtris, head of CyTA's Business Management Support department, yesterday confirmed to the Cyprus Mailthat a freeze on rates would be implemented.

According to the House bill, the freeze will be effective until end of February 2002. At the end of that deadline, the debate over phone rates could start all over again.

Meanwhile, Cypriots will need to get used to a new dialling number system. As of today, district codes are replaced by 8-digit numbers for all parts of the island, with the '0' on fixed telephone codes being replaced by '2'. For example, '22' will be added to all Nicosia numbers or '25' to Limassol numbers, irrespective of where the call is placed from. For cellular phones, the 09 prefix will be replaced by 99. The current dialling system can be used alongside the new during a six-month transitional period.

Yesterday CyTA announced it would be offering a free phone listings service to persons suffering from severe visual impairment. The service will be made available for one fixed or mobile phone per person.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] £100 million defence upgrade

Defense Minister Socratis Hasikos yesterday presented to the House Defence Committee his department's budget for 2002 showing total projected expenditures of £114 million.

The armed forces plan to purchase more combat choppers and upgrade existing ones, while state-of-the-art computer systems will be installed on anti- tank batteries.

Also slated for upgrading are the " Othellos"air defence system and the " Mistral"rocket launchers. The budget further provides for the purchase of advanced coastal radar systems for checking the approach of illegal immigrants to the island.

Hasikos yesterday played down suggestions that the armaments were in response to increased threats from Turkey on annexing the northern part of the island, but added that the submission of the new defense budget " coincided"with increased Turkish threats.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Save the dogs, protesters plead

DOGS and dog lovers yesterday picketed the gates of the UN-controlled Nicosia Airport to protest against what they see as the new 'euthanasia' policy to be introduced at the Nicosia Dog Shelter as of today.

Sharon Becket, the wife of a UN officer within the airport area where the shelter is housed, was recently appointed to take over the dog shelter from Nikoleta Djordjevic, who has been running it on a strict no euthanasia policy for the past three years.

Prior to that, the policy was to put down the animals that could not be rehoused to make room for more, since shelter has room for only about 30 animals. Until this week, there were 50 dogs at the shelter but 13 have been found new homes in a matter of days in response to Djordjevic's appeal to the public to save the dogs.

Yesterday, Djordjevic and her supporters, including several secondary school pupils and CSPCA president Toula Poyadji, who also runs an animal shelter with a 'no killing' policy, staged a protest against what they say will be the carnage of dozens of homeless dogs.

" If we can manage with this demonstration to postpone the killing we will be happy. It's the main goal,"Djordjevic told the Cyprus Mailyesterday. Breaking down in tears, she added: " We don't have anything except love for the dogs."

Poyadji, who shelter houses some 240 dogs and cats, criticised the government for doing nothing to solve the problem of dogs being dumped by their owners in Cyprus.

" I'm very disappointed with what is happening here. The government has to take some strong measures so that people are not given the chance to take dogs and let them have puppies and dump them in the field because they know some stupid woman will come and take them in. The government does nothing at all to protect animals. They just wait for two or three animal lovers to spend their time and money."

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[05] £26m emergency boost for tourism

Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said yesterday that the measure had been decided because of indications that the number of tourists visiting Cyprusnext year was likely to fall by 10 per cent because of flight fears in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[06] UN's Annan talks of 'regrets'

INCIDENTS of gun pointing, stone-throwing and verbal abuse between the two sides along the ceasefire line in Cyprus were cited by UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan in a report issued yesterday.

In his six-month report on UNFICYP's in Cyprus Annan described the situation along the ceasefire line as calm overall, noting however that, "incidents between the two sides were continuing".

Annan said that these incidents, while fewer in number during the past six months than in previous comparable periods, included pointing weapons at peacekeepers, stone-throwing and verbal abuse.

"In addition, Greek and Turkish Cypriots were getting together less frequently and numerous planned events had to be called off because the Turkish Cypriot authorities would not let Turkish Cypriots participate," Annan said. In one case, a concert held in the buffer zone between the two sides went ahead with only Greek Cypriot choir members showing up to sing, he reported.

Annan also regretted that no progress was made in removing the restrictions imposed by the Turkish Cypriot authorities on UNFICYP or in restoring the status quo antein Strovilia. UNFICYP's mandate was yesterday extended for a further period of six months.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[07] Torrential rains spark flash floods

THE FIRE Department went on full alert yesterday, as torrential rains sweeping across the island flooded houses and parking areas, in one case endangering the life of an elderly couple.

Nicosia and the Famagusta area were the most hard-hit by the downpour, with the Fire Department responding to distress calls and speeding out to rescue people trapped in their flooded homes or cars. In the capital, the banks of the usually unnoticeable Pediaios River overflowed, while crops in the Paralimni area suffered extensive damages.

Fire Department Chief George Hadjigeorgiou yesterday said his force had received 105 calls for help, noting the department had been forced to prioritise emergency cases. In one instance, an elderly couple in the Aglandja suburb of Nicosia - where residents woke up to a freak blanket of snow - were almost crushed when their ceiling collapsed. They were evacuated in time by the Fire Department.

Over in Larnaca, heavy rain and hail fell over the town and surrounding villages, but no damages to residences were reported. Crop farmers anxious for solid winter rains yesterday got more than they had bargained for.

A couple of roads in the Paphos district were rendered inaccessible, while heavy snow fell over parts of the Troodos mountain range.

EAC (Electricity Authority of Cyprus) technicians also had their work cut out, responding to over 140 calls on power-cuts within the space of just a few hours.

Meanwhile the flow rate of water into some of the island's dams yesterday approached normal levels, a rare occurrence on the island.

Hadjigeorgiou said the situation in the major cities was serious enough to warrant the use of off-duty firemen, while even academy trainees were called in for a first hands-on experience.

With weather forecasts predicting more rains across the island over the weekend, authorities are on standby. The storms and temperatures, slightly lower than average for this time of year, are caused by low-pressure fronts above the eastern Mediterranean. The skies should start clearing up by Monday, the meteorological service said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[08] Papapetrou hits back in row over drivers who smoke

GOVERNMENT spokesman Michalis Papapetrou yesterday reacted to deputies'complaints about plans to impose up to a £1,000 fine for drivers caught smoking at the wheel.

The approval of the bill by the Cabinet prompted a flurry of protests from deputies, many of whom are smokers. The bill bans smoking in public places and includes penalties aiming to stop drivers puffing away at the wheel, for health and road safety reasons.

Papapetrou said yesterday the government had expected some reaction, and the aim had been to provoke reaction in parliament and in society. However, he said they had not expected deputies to use the type of language they had.

"The aim of this bill is partly to harmonise with the EU, and there were also other provisions referring to fines on drivers who smoke which are not required by the acquis ," he said.

Papapetrou added that the same deputies who had voted for other road safety laws in 1999, including a ban on using mobile phones at the wheel, were now using offensive language over the latest attempt to improve road safety. "The same people who are shouting now voted for the same things in 1999," he said.

He said AKEL deputy Doros Christodoulides had described the bill as "ridiculous" and DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades had claimed it would cause more accidents as smokers would be driven to distraction by their craving, which would affect their driving. Journalist Lazaros Mavros said the government was like acting like the Taliban.

"However, if parliament decides to amend or cancel the provision the government will respect that decision," Papapetrou said. "What happens if a driver is distracted by a girl in a mini-skirt? Will they ban them as well?" one unnamed deputy told Reuters news agency yesterday.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[09] AIDS campaigners warn against complacency

CAMPAIGNS are being held worldwide today to mark World AIDS Day in an effort to combat the epidemic.

This year's Health Ministry campaign is called 'AIDS: Men bringing change' and is targeted at men, because they account for 189 out of the 219 people infected with AIDS in Cyprus.

Health Minister Frixos Savvides yesterday called on Cypriots to take precautionary measures against the virus, with emphasis on those who are most at risk, such as those with dangerous sexual habits, homosexuals and drug users who share needles.

The Director of the Gregorio AIDS Clinic at the Larnaca General Hospital, Dr. Ioannis Demetriades yesterday told the Cyprus Mailthere were 110 patients who visited the clinic, with 99 of them being successfully treated with a variety of drugs to combat the virus.

The clinic has many specialists, as well as 12 nurses, a social worker and a psychiatrist, who treat the patients and help them and their families deal with the disease.

" It is a difficult task, because sometimes we have to convince patients to take the drugs, as some are toxic and have serious side effects. Fortunately most of the patients are willing to take the treatment,"said Demetriades.

At present, Dr. Demetriades is also looking after an AIDS infected couple who are expecting a baby.

" We have to be very careful in cases like this, so that the baby does not get infected. With the drugs the mother is taking, the chances of the baby being infected are reduced from 30-40 per cent to 5 per cent,"he said.

The mother will also have to have give birth by caesarean so the baby is not exposed to more bodily fluids.

Demetriades has treated two other HIV-positive couples, who have had babies. Both children were born free of the infection.

According to Demetriades, some couples want a baby so much they are willing to take a risk.

" There have also seen cases where only one of the partners have been diagnosed with HIV but they stay together anyway. It proves that human feelings can overcome anything,"said Demetriades.

Recently a new cocktail of drugs to fight resistant strains of HIV has been released in Cyprus, with more expected at the end of 2002.

Current treatments have managed to block the evolution of HIV into AIDS, which is why there has been a decrease in the AIDS mortality and hospitalisation rate in Cyprus.

AIDS figures in Cyprus have remained low and Demetriades praised the Health Ministry for taking precautionary measures, and commended the government's commitment to buying costly HIV drugs that are administered to Cypriots for free.

According to a World Health Organisation report, Cyprus has one of the lowest rates of HIV infection in the world, but remains a high-risk country because of the number of tourists visiting the island every year.

Statistics released by the government report 374 cases recorded up to October this year, 155 of the patients being foreigners; 137 of the patients have developed full-blown AIDS, and 53 have died.

For more information on AIDS, contact the Health Ministry at 22-305155, 22- 309543, and 22-309545.

For information about support groups, contact the Solidarity Movement for AIDS Carriers and their Relatives at 99-609070.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[10] Rolandis calls tenders for five new marinas

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday invited international tenders for the creation of five new long-awaited marinas under the 'Build-Operate-Transfer' (BOT) method.

Speaking at a news conference in Limassol yesterday, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said the tenders would be open as of Monday.

" Our efforts of many years have finally come to fruition,"Rolandis said adding that the five marinas, to be situated in Paphos, Ayia Napa, Paralimni, Limassol and Larnaca were the first BOT projects to have been approved by the government.

He said the successful bidder would undertake the development, operation and management of the marinas for up to 48 years, after which it would be returned to the state along with all its installations.

Rolandis estimated the bidders would need some £10 million for each marina. The construction work is expected to start in second half of 2002 and take between two and four years to complete. " We expect to be in a position to declare the successful bidders by next May," Rolandis said.

'The development of yachting tourism is part of the strategy to differentiate our tourism product. These great projects will upgrade our tourist product and boost Cyprus' competitiveness in relation to other destinations. They will alleviate problem of seasonality and increase income from tourism because yachting is aimed at high income tourism."

The Minister said that environmental studies on the five areas had already been submitted.

Current marina space totals around 700 berths - 450 at Larnaca and 250 at the St Raphael marina in Limassol. Larnaca will be upgraded to 1,000 berths, Rolandis said.

In addition to basic port facilities, the marinas would include commercial and entertainment buildings, Rolandis added. " Prospects in yachting are very promising. Neighbouring countries such as Israel Turkey and Greece have already developed this sector. It is expected that Cyprus will have a comparative advantage because of its geographic position as the last outpost of Europe in the eastern Mediterranean."

He also said that the demand for docking facilities in Cyprus and the wider region had increased, not only from foreign visitors but also from Cypriots.

" Other benefits will include yachting events and cruising,"Rolandis said. " The marinas will also create jobs."

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[11] 'Milosevic used secret accounts in Cyprus to fund wars'

UN Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte will call on the banks to provide evidence of the accounts allegedly used by Milosevic when he stands trial next year charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in all three conflicts.

"Significant documentation will be produced by those banks that will assist in identifying the system of covert funding used by the accused and specific transactions that took place," prosecutors said in an application to the court for the three Milosevic indictments to be heard in a single trial.

The documents did not name any banks and prosecutors declined comment on the matter. Both Greece and Cyprus have categorically denied they were knowingly conduits for illicit Serbian funds.

A previous Bank of Greece investigation failed to find any funds deposited by Milosevic in Greece, while other searches in Cyprus, Switzerland and London also failed to turn up any of the former ruler's assets.

Yugoslavia suffered crippling sanctions during the Milosevic era. Since he was ousted last year the reformist government that replaced him has been trying to trace funds it believes the former Yugoslav president transferred abroad.

He has refused to plead on charges of crimes against humanity at the international tribunal in The Hague.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[12] Pardon is only avenue for convict who insists he's innocent

THE CASE of a convicted felon whose appeal for a retrial has been rejected has highlighted the complexities of the legal system in Cyprus.

Ierotheos Christodoulou, alias Ropas, was sentenced to life imprisonment on manslaughter charges. His appeal to the Supreme Court was later turned down, but now his spouse says she has new evidence that could reverse the guilty verdict.

She has appeared on television shows, including Sigma's " Tell it to Mamas"feature, hosted by investigative reporter Demetris Mamas, claiming she had come across witness testimony that would clear her husband of all charges. She has also accused the authorities of framing her husband and covering up material witness testimony.

The publicity on the Ropas case yesterday elicited comments by Attorney- general Alecos Markides, who said that, under Cyprus law, no retrial could be held after an appeals court had rejected a defendant's plea. " In such cases, court decisions are irreversible,"Markides explained.

In the event the new evidence did appear to clear Ropas, a presidential pardon would be the only way for the convict to get out of jail. But a pardon would still suggest that a convict was guilty as charged, even though new evidence might suggest otherwise.

" True, but the fact remains a pardon would be the only legal means by which a person is acquitted in such cases,"Markides yesterday told the Cyprus Mail .

The Attorney-general went on to say he would examine any new evidence brought to his attention and on that basis would decide whether or not to recommend to the President that Ropas be pardoned.

Markides also pointed out that, during Ropas' appeal, the counsel for the defence had in fact refused to have the new testimony heard in court.

Meanwhile Ropas' wife has gone on a hunger strike, and has come under fire from Markides and other officials for using " populist tactics and publicity stunts."

With the affair so far being played out on TV screens, some deputies have called for amending existing legislation to allow for the establishment of a different court hierarchy system.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[13] Markides dismisses deported Briton's charges

ATTORNEY-general yesterday Alecos Markides dismissed allegations by a deported British businessman that he did not know the reason he had been thrown out of Cyprus last August.

Graham Cockroft, 56, from Leeds, whose Pissouri company Rockpool Homes Ltd is a joint venture with Cypriot partners building solar-powered houses, has filed suit against the government at the Supreme Court in an attempt to find out why he was deported.

Cockroft was deported to the UK in August on the last available flight before his case was due in court after spending four days in custody at Limassol police headquarters.

He believes local competitors pulled strings to have him thrown out of the country after 10 years on the island. He said no one told him or his lawyer why he had been deported, other than citing vague allegations that he was involved in property deals in the Turkish-occupied north of the island.

Cockroft returned to the island last Wednesday on a tourist visa in an attempt to have his deportation withdrawn. He was due to leave Cyprus again today to await the outcome of his court hearing in 15 days.

" The allegation that he doesn't know why he was deported doesn't stand up to scrutiny,"Markides told the Cyprus Mailyesterday. " I have a letter before me to his lawyer on August 24 which roughly translated says his questions could be answered if he inspected the file. The client stayed in the Republic without permission. His permit expired and he continued residing in the Republic, which is illegal. In any event he was exercising a profession without a permit. Moreover, he had a website advertising not only holidays in occupied areas but the sale of immovable property there as well."

Markides said the outcome of Cockroft's case would be for the court to decide.

" These are proceedings initiated by the applicant himself,"he said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[14] CY comes out top

The results of a survey carried out by the International Association of Travel Agents (IATA) put CY joint first with the other two airlines, and ahead of British Airways, Swissair, KLM and Lufthansa, which also participated in the survey.

The survey covered all aspects of service and catering relating to the airlines, including quality and quantity, presentation of meals and choice of drinks.

CY registered in the top three in most categories and came out number one for its service in business class where it was considered best value for money.

An announcement from CY said yesterday it was not the first time the airline had been commended for its quality. For the past three years, similar IATA surveys rated the national carrier as one of the best airlines in Europe.

" This recognition encourages us to proceed with our plans to upgrade our services even more and make the company more competitive,"CY spokesman Tassos Angelis said yesterday.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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