Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-03-05

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

Thursday, March 5, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] EU gloom on accession talks

[02] No executive power for Vassiliou

[03] Denktash tells Annan talks cannot resume

[04] Denktash blocks Ledra Palace meeting, but he can't stop the net

[05] Strong EU defence planned for offshore sector

[06] Shares hit yet another high

[07] Government rejects Gobbi separation plan

[08] Dog plans include shelters, sterilisation and census

[09] Extra cash to cover tuition fees

[10] Britain blocking delivery of radar spares?

[11] Diko rebels replaced on central committee

[12] Video plan would allow two months after cinema

[13] Raising net awareness in the Med

[14] Akrotiri blaze thought to be scrub clearing

[15] Date set for Chomik murder trial

[16] Power cut cable repaired

[17] Bank robber found guilty

[01] EU gloom on accession talks

TOP EUROPEAN Union envoys yesterday cast doubt on the prospects for smooth progress in the island's EU accession course.

EU external Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek said the outlook for Cyprus EU accession talks was decidedly gloomy, while British EU presidency envoy Sir David Hannay said the talks could not be conducted without the involvement of the Turkish Cypriots. Both envoys arrived on the island for high-level talks last night.

Van den Broek, speaking at a Brussels news conference before his departure, said the prevailing atmosphere in the lead-up to accession talks - due to begin at the end of the month - was not one he would have wished for.

His pessimistic gloss was echoed in Nicosia by Hannay. The British envoy said yesterday a "bi-zonal, bi-communal federal Cyprus joining the EU" was the ideal scenario. "If that's to happen, the Turkish Cypriots have to be involved in the negotiations... The negotiations simply cannot be conducted without them."

Hannay said accession talks would nevertheless begin as planned, even without the presence of the Turkish Cypriot side.

"Of course you can start the negotiations without them - that may be forced upon us by (Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf) Denktash's attitude," he added.

EU Commissioner van den Broek also remained pragmatic despite his pessimism; he dismissed the "catastrophic" repercussions of the island's EU process recently predicted in the Greek and Turkish press.

He said although the outlook for EU membership talks was not bright, "darker prophecies" should be avoided.

"We shall deal with problems as they arise," he added.

Van den Broek and Hannay both meet President Clerides today, but are being snubbed by Denktash, still smarting at the EU's decision to open accession talks with the recognised government in Nicosia.

The commissioner said he was not annoyed by Denktash's decision, but regretted that an opportunity for dialogue was being missed.

"The (EU) membership of Cyprus should benefit the whole of the island, that is, both communities," van den Broek said.

Sir David was more blunt: "I'm afraid that not seeing people is not the most effective form of diplomacy," he said, adding he was nevertheless willing to meet with Denktash at whatever date he wished.

In the meantime, he said he would continue talks with the Cyprus government in the hope of resolving the issue of Turkish Cypriot participation in the accession process.

Van den Broek praised the Cyprus government's willingness to engage with the Turkish Cypriot side, stressing the need for reciprocation from Denktash.

The role of Turkey was therefore vital, he said, and to this end the EU would have to reach out to Ankara. On cue, the European Commission yesterday urged member-states to release some 375 million ECU to finance broader EU-Turkish co-operation in an attempt to improve the bloc's soured relations with Turkey.

Meanwhile Attorney-general Alecos Markides, again made clear yesterday that the composition of the Cyprus delegation to the accession talks would be determined by the government of the free areas alone.

He stressed the importance of avoiding any presuppositions which might lead to recognition of the Turkish Cypriot breakaway state, both now and in the long term.

Markides added he was studying proposals to put to president Clerides on how best to include the Turkish Cypriots in the Cypriot delegation to the EU talks.

[02] No executive power for Vassiliou

GEORGE Vassiliou's job description as EU negotiator was finalised at the Palace yesterday and his position will be approved on Friday.

Attorney-general Alecos Markides said as he left the meeting that discussed Vassiliou's negotiating role that there was agreement on the final document.

It was made clear that the job of navigating the island towards EU membership did not allow any form of decision making.

"The negotiating role cannot be a role for someone to exercise executive power, only the cabinet has the right to decide on external policy," said Markides after meeting President Clerides and Vassiliou yesterday.

He said that Vassiliou had agreed that his role should not be one of decision-maker and had made no objection to other stipulations in his job description.

"The negotiator should always be briefed and kept informed and be able to put forward suggestions and exercise opinion, but not in a way which could be construed as an executive role."

Vassiliou confirmed that he had no objection to what his mission should be and said he expected the Council of Ministers to approve his position tomorrow.

Vassiliou will meet EU external affairs commissioner Hans van den Broek today.

[03] Denktash tells Annan talks cannot resume

Denktash was commenting on a reply he received from the UN secretary- general to a letter he had sent congratulating Kofi Annan on his success in defusing the Iraqi crisis and asking for a meeting.

The Turkish Cypriot leader said Annan had acted as if nothing had happened since the last round of direct talks in September last year, which failed when Denktash brought the Cyprus-EU issue to the table.

Since then the EU's Luxembourg summit has confirmed it will open negotiations with Cyprus at the end of this month.

Turkish Cypriot press yesterday quoted Denktash as saying he had asked Annan for a meeting "to change his mistaken conviction" that the intercommunal talks could resume.

According to the papers, Annan told Denktash that he was prepared to meet him though he was currently very busy and would send his special adviser Diego Cordovez.

Cordovez is due on the island in the third week of the month.

Denktash said he would explain the facts to Cordovez when he arrived.

[04] Denktash blocks Ledra Palace meeting, but he can't stop the net

TURKISH Cypriot party leaders were barred from crossing Nicosia's Green Line to meet their Greek Cypriot counterparts yesterday, the Slovak embassy said.

Party leaders from the two sides were due to meet at the UN-controlled Ledra Palace hotel, but according to the Slovak embassy, the Denktash regime refused to let the Turkish Cypriots cross.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash put a stop to all bi-communal activities in mid-December after the EU Luxembourg summit's decision to open membership negotiations with the Republic of Cyprus at the end of March.

The Slovak embassy has long been engaged in organising meetings between various Greek and Turkish Cypriot organisations.

Slovak diplomats were the ones responsible for bringing Greek and Turkish Cypriot party leaders together in early 1997 after a ten-month gap which followed tensions in the wake of a number of killings along the buffer zone in 1996.

UN spokesman Waldemar Rokoszewski yesterday confirmed that bi-communal activities were still "frozen" and that the Ledra Palace meeting facilities remain unused.

Phone and Internet lines between the two sides, however, are burning up, according to Rokoszewski.

"We've had a lot of complaints from people who can't get through," Rokoszewski said.

The three manually operated lines operated though a UN switchboard are to be replaced by the end of this month by 20 automated lines capable of handling up to a million calls a year between the two sides.

Rokoszewski also said that the use of the Internet as a tool of communication between the two sides had been a huge bi-communal success story. "This sort of thing cannot be stopped," he said.

[05] Strong EU defence planned for offshore sector

THE Central Bank and the Planning Bureau will jointly appoint foreign consultants to help them prepare a report defending the case for keeping the island's offshore sector when Cyprus becomes a member of the European Union, Central bank Governor Afxentis Afxtentiou said yesterday.

Addressing the annual meeting of the Cyprus Offshore Enterprises Association (COEA), Afxtentiou said he wanted the report to make "concrete arguments" for keeping the lucrative sector intact when the island opens accession negotiations with the EU at the start of next month.

"The government and the Central Bank will remain committed to maintaining the offshore sector after EU accession," he said.

The question of whether Cyprus can continue to be host to 33,000 offshore companies currently registered on the island after becoming an EU member has repeatedly come up in recent months amid increasing concern in the expatriate business community and its hundreds of Cypriot employees that Cyprus will have to rescind the incentives and privileges it has accorded offshore businesses since 1975.

Highlighting these fears, COEA outgoing chairman Norman Elliott spoke yesterday of what he called the "fears and reservations" that the offshore industry has about the island's EU membership prospects.

"In the short term, we do not believe there will be too many problems, but in the long term, if Cyprus wishes to keep, and indeed, increase its commitment to the offshore industry, then it has to resist giving away economic advantages in order to gain political results," said Elliott, who stepped down yesterday in favour of Michael Shadrach of Omnilife Insurance Co. Ltd.

According to Afxtentiou, the offshore sector in Cyprus employs 2,700 expatriates and 2,200 Cypriots. Of the 33,000 companies registered, a total of 1,050 maintain fully-fledged offices, he said.

COEA represents about half the expatriate and local employees of the offshore sector and a total of 126 companies.

The offshore sector, according to the Central Bank Governor, earned the treasury £170 million, or 11 per cent of invisible receipts.

"Cyprus is still trying to have more offshore companies, despite the attraction of rival offshore centres," he said.

Elliott, however, spoke of some of the problems facing the industry and called on the government to set up what he called a central information bureau dedicated to the offshore sector that would represent different government departments. He also expressed hope that negotiations between Cyprus and foreign countries on new double taxation agreements, a cornerstone of the offshore industry in Cyprus, would be sped up.

Cyprus already has such agreements with 26 countries. This, in effect, means that offshore industries operating on the island are not liable to pay tax at their countries of origin once they have cleared the 4.25 per cent profit tax collected in Cyprus.

[06] Shares hit yet another high

IN WHAT is becoming something of a habit of late, share prices touched a new peak yesterday, with the all-share index reaching 83.03 points - 0.45 per cent higher than Tuesday's close.

Yesterday's record, the highest in more than a year, bettered Tuesday's record of 82.71 points and confirmed anew the positive sentiment which has gripped the Cyprus Stock Exchange since early February to recover from a disastrous year in 1997.

The market has hit at least a dozen record highs, including yesterday's, since the start of the year.

"People are coming to the market and there seems to be a restoration of confidence," explained Stavros Agrotis, a senior stockbroker with CISCO, the securities firm fully owned by the Bank of Cyprus Group.

"In fact, a lot of people seem to think that 1998 will be a good year for the economy. They feel comfortable buying bank stocks, but that will lead to a spillover into other equities," he added.

Already, he said, the market has discounted the good 1997 results expected to be announced later this week by the Popular Bank and Hellenic Bank - whose shares closed slightly up yesterday at £3.46-£3.47 and £3.02-£3.03 respectively. The Bank of Cyprus, the island's largest, rose 1.6 cents to close at £3.42-£3.43 apiece.

The bank's sub-index inched higher by only 0.29 per cent but on heavy volume, while the sub-indexes of investment and commercial companies surged by 3.64 and 2.40 per cent respectively.

The entire market's volume yesterday was a little more than £1 million and only the tourism-related sector ended down, by 0.57 per cent.

Yiannos Andronikou of Suphire Stockbrokers echoed Agrotis' sentiments on the 1998 prospects for the economy, saying that the impressive performance of bank stocks would eventually pull up other sectors.

"First of these to recover will be the tourism sector, where several shares are traded well below their nominal price," he said, alluding to forecasts that tourist arrivals in 1998 would hit an all-time high.

A total of 2.06 million tourists visited Cyprus in 1997, compared to 1.9 million in 1996 and a record 2.2 in 1995. Tourism, whose revenues were close to £900 million in 1997, accounts for about 20 per cent of GDP and is the largest single employer on the island.

[07] Government rejects Gobbi separation plan

The spokesman was responding to a question on a letter by Hugo Gobbi, a former United Nations Secretary General's resident representative in Nicosia, published in the Cyprus Mail last week.

In the letter, Gobbi said he sincerely believed any proposal of separation was the best settlement in Cyprus.

"I am fully convinced that it is more convenient for you to have a serious, prosperous and responsible Hellenic Republic with Boutros Ghali's or Gobbi's borders," he wrote.

Asked also about an Edek proposal to establish a Council for National Policy, Stylianides said President Clerides had conveyed the proposal to party leaders and was awaiting their views.

"President Clerides looks favourably on the Edek proposal. He will be consulting the political leadership on the issue," the spokesman said.

He would not elaborate, other than saying that the proposal had been conveyed as was submitted by Edek president Vassos Lyssarides and was not accompanied by Clerides' views.

Pressed whether Clerides adopted the document, Stylianides would only repeat that the president, who had accepted the proposal before the second round of the elections, looked upon it favourably.

Political parties, notably Akel, have expressed reservations about the proposal.

[08] Dog plans include shelters, sterilisation and census

These are two of several proposals put forward by the House Agriculture Committee to fight echinococcus.

Other proposals include a mass sterilisation programme for canines, dog shelters and an island-wide census of dogs.

In its report circulated in the House of Representatives yesterday, the committee also urged the government to come back with new, reviewed and updated legislation to cover loopholes in existing animal welfare laws.

The issue was brought to the committee by two Akel deputies, Costas Papacostas and Kikis Yiangou, who said there had been an upsurge in the appearance of echinococcus cases because authorities were resting on the laurels of a successful campaign of the 1970s which led to the killing of 86,000 dogs - and the wiping out of the disease.

According to Papacostas, there are 5,000 stray dogs in Cyprus. Their numbers are rising because of uncontrolled breeding by unprofessional dog breeders and because a number of dogs are just abandoned.

Stray dogs scavenge in dustbins where they may eat infected dead animals left there by irresponsible livestock breeders and butchers, he said.

Veterinary department officials said an island-wide campaign had been launched as soon as the first echinococcus cases were spotted in 1993 and had received international praise.

Health Ministry officials said that 146 echinococcus cases were diagnosed between 1980 and 1996. There were 87 operations between 1990 and 1996, 37 of which involved old cases, 35 new cases and 15 for which it was unclear whether they were new or old.

From January to August last year, seven people were operated for echinococcus - of which six for the first time.

The committee report is expected to be discussed in the plenary.

[09] Extra cash to cover tuition fees

GOOD news - and extra cash, could be in the pipeline for thousands of Cypriots attending universities abroad.

The new proposal amending regulations governing state grants would cover students who pay tuition fees, those on scholarships and those over 28 years old, and follows a concerted campaign by parents angered that some overseas students were being discriminated against.

It is due to be officially submitted to the House of Representatives today, and will make its way through the committees. Implementation is subject to the approval of the House plenary.

An annual £1,000 state grant per overseas student was introduced in 1996 by the government after tax deductions were scrapped as part of an overhaul of the income tax system.

Students over 28 and those on scholarships were exempted. Students on part scholarships were allowed only £500 a year. The sums were paid in two instalments - the first on presentation of a registration certification from a university, the second on proof that the student had been attending classes for the first term.

Implementation of the law led to an outcry by parents who felt that their children were losing out.

There were objections from parents whose children paid tuition fees - they noted that the £1,000 was given irrespective of whether tuition fees were paid, and argued that tuition fees usually averaged some £2,000 a year.

The Council of Ministers acknowledged the parents were in the right and decided they should be allowed an additional special grant of up to 50 per cent of the fees - or a maximum of £500 each academic year.

Discrimination against students over 28 will also be eliminated under the new proposal, which is retroactive to January 1, 1996.

Scholarship students also stand to benefit after parents argued that by depriving them of the grant, the state was punishing them, whereas it should be rewarding students who had managed to secure scholarships. This amendment will also be retroactive to January 1, 1996, with scholarship students entitled to the entire sum.

With some 10,000 students abroad, the Finance Ministry also recognised that the system requiring two sets of certificates within three months was inconvenient for the students and costly for the bureaucratic machine. It plans to cut down on the red tape from the next academic year by paying the special grant in one instalment.

[10] Britain blocking delivery of radar spares?

The magazine, quoted yesterday by Machi, claimed that London was hindering delivery of spare parts to the British-made GEC-Marconi Radar Systems, in violation of an agreement with the NG.

According to the magazine, the Foreign Office based its decision on UN resolution 1062, as well as an EU checklist, forbidding the export of certain military systems by member-countries.

UN resolution 1062 is concerned with "serious concerns about the modernisation and upgrading of military forces" by the Cyprus government, whilst the checklist covers offensive weaponry such as missiles and their secondary support systems.

The magazine said its story had been confirmed by sources in the Greek government.

The British High Commission could not be reached for comment on the report yesterday.

[11] Diko rebels replaced on central committee

During a protracted meeting of the Diko central committee to decide the date and agenda for an upcoming party conference, five new members were brought to the committee, namely Andreas Ioannides, Vassos Konaris, Athos Petrides, Achilleas Achilleos and Elias Demetriou.

They substituted rebel central committee members Petros Voskarides, Michalis Michaelides, Panicos Leonidou, Charalambos Karamanlis and Yiorgos Lycourgos, recently expelled for opposing the leadership's decision to support George Iacovou's candidacy.

The Pancyprian Diko party conference is expected to take place on March 29 and the decision as to whether it will involve by-elections is expected to be announced over the next few days.

[12] Video plan would allow two months after cinema

The proposal, an amendment to a law of 1990, is due to be tabled in the House of Representatives today, and be sent to the Commerce Committee for examination. Implementation is subject to the approval of the plenary.

Under the 1990 law, the Minister of Commerce compiles a list of cinema films which can not be circulated on video for a year after the first screening on the big screen. The law was one of a series of measures aiming to combat video piracy.

Now the government wants to cut this protection period from 12 months to 60 days - a period cinema owners say is not enough because there is still a problem with piracy.

[13] Raising net awareness in the Med

REPRESENTATIVES from companies across the world converged in Nicosia yesterday for the opening of the Euro-Med Net 98 Conference.

The conference, which is being held under the auspices of the Ministry of Communication and Works, will focus on the role of the internet in developing the Euro-Mediterranean Information Society. This will be discussed through lectures, development seminars and round-table discussions. Entrepreneurs will also have the chance to air their projects, while strategies and specific project analyses will be discussed.

Speaking at the opening, Communications and Works Minister Leontios Ierodiaconou said Cyprus was ready to implement a national 'information society' strategy to strengthen its role at an international level.

Elaborating on this, he said Cyprus' strategy for dealing with internet- based business was being co-ordinated by his ministry and was a "basic necessity" given the information society's increasing prominence.

Focusing on "encouraging and promoting" conditions favourable to the development of Cyprus' internet awareness, the plan will hinge on four central points: the creation of a modern support infrastructure, the implementation of a suitable legal framework, the involvement of all productive classes of society and the active involvement of the state.

As such, the existing team of specialists is to be upgraded to advisory committee status and will be supported by a specialist overseeing committee.

Ierodiaconou added that it was hoped Cyprus would become a regional centre for digital trade due to its location, relations with the Eastern Mediterranean countries and sound economy.

The conference, at the Hilton Hotel, ends Saturday.

[14] Akrotiri blaze thought to be scrub clearing

The fire, which raged out of control on the fringes of Akrotiri British base, was finally put out at around 5am yesterday morning.

The blaze destroyed some three square kilometres of scrub land between Asomatos and Tserkezi villages and scorched an area where rare birds inhabit.

Environmentalists are concerned that some of the nesting areas near the salt lake might have been damaged.

It took seven fire engines (two from the bases) and 40 personnel to contain the fire, which started at around 9pm on Tuesday.

Forestry department experts believe that the fire was deliberate, because a similar blaze started in the same place only last autumn.

"We believe it was scrub clearance which got out of hand," Bases spokesman Captain John Brown said yesterday.

[15] Date set for Chomik murder trial

A Limassol District court yesterday referred Zanas, 36, to the criminal court to stand trial on April 2.

The court ruled that Zanas would remain in custody until the hearing.

Police say the taxi driver has already confessed to shooting the 49-year- old French woman with a hunting rifle en route from the airport to her hotel in Limassol, and then dumping her body down a well in Xylophagou.

During the remand hearings, police told the district court they believed Zanas had killed the woman for her money.

[16] Power cut cable repaired

The 132 Kvolt cable was damaged some time ago during the protracted Acropolis Avenue road works.

The Electricity Authority has apologised for any inconvenience to its customers and called on those involved in roadworks to pay greater attention to the placing of underground cables in future.

Repair costs were estimated at around £80,000.

[17] Bank robber found guilty

Larnaca court found Yiorgos Constantinou, from Lythrodontas village in the Nicosia district, guilty of being one of two armed and hooded robbers who held up the Leivadia branch of the Hellenic Bank in Larnaca on March 17, making off on a motorbike with £4,582.

Presiding judge Dimitris Hadjihambis said there was no doubt that Constantinou was the robber riding pillion on the motorbike, drawing attention to the defendant's "calling card" footprints which were found on the bank floor.

The judge also pointed out that bank notes found in Constantinou's car, which was abandoned in a cul-de-sac, matched those stolen from the bank.

Witnesses later saw Constantinou stow the stolen cash in a second car; he was arrested after a police officer spotted him driving it.

He reportedly declined to give his name when challenged by police and refused to give a statement upon arrest.

The court is set to sentence him next Monday.

Constantinou had previously been sentenced to seven years in jail for his part in a robbery in 1986.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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