Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-04-01

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

Wednesday, April 1, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] EU membership talks begin

[02] Turks step up merger threats

[03] Cyprus to get rail network by 2006

[04] Pangalos takes no-fly plan to Nato

[05] Bank of Cyprus strikes secret deal in harassment case

[06] Government water policy under fire

[07] Stringent water cuts on the way

[08] Turks to charge 'exit tax' on Tekke pilgrims

[09] Local jobs to go in Unficyp cutback

[10] Exam move 'unconstitutional'

[11] HTI students to take protest to the palace

[12] Port strike threat lifted

[13] Get writing those film scripts

[14] Sterling soaring strength bodes well for tourism

[15] Former police chief dies

[01] EU membership talks begin

THE EUROPEAN Union opened accession talks with Cyprus in Brussels yesterday amid hopes they could help towards a political solution of the island's division.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in London: "I believe the accession process we are now embarking upon should promote the prospects for a peaceful Cyprus settlement which is now being pursued by the UN Secretary- general."

In Brussels, the first session of the intergovernmental conference signalling Cyprus's accession was marked by the absence of the Turkish Cypriot side, which turned down President Clerides's offer for them to participate in the talks.

Specific reference to this was made by EU Council president and British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who addressed the conference.

"Of course we would prefer to see a united Cyprus enter the European Union but the government in Nicosia cannot of itself achieve that settlement. That requires the participation and co-operation of the Turkish Cypriot community as well and we very much regret that Mr Denktash has turned down the offer", Cook said.

He added that President Clerides's offer for Turkish Cypriot participation in the talks was considered "fair and generous".

President Clerides invited the Turkish Cypriot community to nominate representatives as full members of the Cypriot team and assured them their views would be discussed "freely, seriously and in good faith."

Blair said that if the Turkish Cypriot leader was unwilling to participate at the start "we will continue to encourage both sides to come to a suitable arrangement as the accession negotiations progress".

Cook said Cyprus would be allowed room for transitional measures but only in exceptional circumstances and with a time-limit in mind.

The British Foreign Secretary repeated the importance the EU attaches to "associating the Turkish Cypriots with the accession process".

He also expressed regret that a political solution had not been achieved in time for the accession negotiations.

"A political settlement would allow the provisions of the Accession Treaty to be implemented throughout the island," Cook said.

"Cyprus's accession should benefit all communities, including the Turkish Cypriot community and help to bring about civil peace and reconciliation on the island."

Cyprus Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides repeated the government's invitation in Brussels yesterday. "We regret that they (Turkish Cypriots) are not here with us today," he said.

He described the search for a solution in Cyprus as the "most important and most fundamental objective".

"Accession to the EU is not a substitute for the solution of the problem of the division of Cyprus," he said adding that both processes will proceed in tandem.

"For us, the most important priority, for which we will spare no effort, is to end the division of our country and to reunite our homeland and our people."

But he added: "Our future lies in Europe and we are willing to make the adjustments required for Cyprus to secure its rightful place in the European family."

He admitted that the weakness of Cyprus's application was the political problem and the division of the island but said: "All candidate countries beginning negotiations today have their problems".

[02] Turks step up merger threats

TURKEY and Greece exchanged threats yesterday as Cyprus's EU accession talks got under way in Brussels.

In a tit-for-tat move against the talks, the breakaway Turkish Cypriot regime in the occupied north warned it would merge with Turkey.

"If our existence on the island is in peril we will not hesitate to unite totally (with Turkey) to protect the Turkish presence on the island," 'Foreign Minister' Taner Etkin told reporters in Ankara.

Etkin was speaking after a meeting with Turkish ministers.

Greece meanwhile dismissed the latest Turkish Cypriot threats to unite with Turkey, saying the whole of the island would be better off in the European Union.

"The Turks have been saying this for over a year now. The Greek government has rejected this position," Greek foreign ministry spokesman Costas Bicas said.

He said that Athens wanted a united Cyprus to join the EU. "The beginning of the negotiations is a very important step for the whole of Cyprus," he said. "Membership would most benefit the Turkish Cypriots, (who live in) the poorest part of the island."

Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots announced an "economic union" to formalise already close ties, Turkish State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel told reporters.

"It was decided that a joint economic area will be set up to harmonise customs... and for the free circulation of goods, services and capital," he said, reading out a joint statement.

The two parties agreed to lift customs barriers and sign a free-trade agreement within two months to boost the ailing Turkish Cypriot economy.

The measures include cheap loans, free government land, tax exemptions and plans to improve transportation and communications to lure Turkish investors.

"We are open for all kinds of integration," Gurel said. "From now on, we see the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as a part of us."

Turkey says that the EU has taken sides in the Cyprus dispute by opening talks with the Greek Cypriots and says the negotiations have deepened divisions on the island.

"The EU has not understood Cyprus. They have everything backwards," Anatolian news agency quoted Turkish President Suleyman Demirel as saying. "If today Cyprus is divided into a north and a south, this is not the fault of the Turks, because they are the ones who are oppressed."

Gurel said that Turkey would not recognise the right of the Greek Cypriots to negotiate on behalf of the entire island.

"Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will not accept the possible legal, political and economic outcomes of the start of membership talks between the European Union and Greek Cypriot administration," Gurel said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said the division of Cyprus could still be resolved if his 'state', self-proclaimed in 1983, was fully recognised.

"If you recognise the existence of the two states, friendship between the two states can be founded. If you abandon enmity and aim at friendship, a joint administration between the two states can be developed," TAK news agency quoted Denktash as telling Britain's high commissioner in Cyprus David Madden.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem warned on Monday that the EU talks with the Greek Cypriots signalled a hazardous increase in tension in the eastern Mediterranean.

In Brussels on Monday, Greece repeated threats to block all EU enlargement if any EU country blocked Cyprus's accession.

[03] Cyprus to get rail network by 2006

THE GOVERNMENT, in its boldest measure yet to combat pollution and check a damaging car culture, has finalised plans to build a rail network that will link the capital Nicosia with all major towns on the island together with the popular resort of Ayia Napa by the year 2006.

The total cost is expected to run to nearly £1.5 billion at today's prices and the government hopes that European Union membership will have been achieved in time for the 15-nation group to foot some of the cost, according to a confidential document seen by a Cyprus Mail reporter yesterday.

Cyprus opened accession talks with the EU yesterday in Brussels but is not expected to be a member before 2002 at the earliest.

The document also revealed that the rail plan was approved in a cabinet meeting early last month, but did not say why the decision was not publicised at the time. A senior official who showed the document to the Cyprus Mail and who requested anonymity said the vast costs and the uncertainty over finance were behind the decision to keep it under wraps.

The planned rail network will ultimately link Nicosia with Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos in addition to Ayia Napa, according to the document.

The government, added the official, plans to build the network in stages starting with nearly 50 kilometres of rail track between Nicosia and Larnaca. Local and foreign construction companies will be invited as early as next month to bid for the Nicosia-Larnaca link and a separate tender will be announced for two terminals in Nicosia and Larnaca, together with four stop stations along the way.

The Nicosia terminal is planned for the Makedonitissa area near the International State Fair Grounds, while Larnaca's will be built inside a planned extension of the airport's new terminal.

A third tender will be announced for the purchase of locomotives and train carriages, with the French manufacturers of the fast Trains à Grande Vitesse (TGV) already the frontrunners.

"The government decided that if we must have trains then we should go for the fastest and most efficient," said the source, alluding to the bias in favour of France's state-of-the-art TGV trains.

The introduction of a rail service linking the island's major towns with the capital would ease congestion on the motorways, thus reducing pollution levels which have soared in recent years, and help integrate Cyprus's economy.

News of the planned rail link was welcomed by environmentalists and Greenpeace activists contacted by the Cyprus Mail. They demanded that the government introduce steep rises in road tax to help finance the project and curb the use of private vehicles.

"Given the magnitude of the costs, we may just do that," said the senior official.

[04] Pangalos takes no-fly plan to Nato

GREECE'S Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos has put his proposal for a no- fly zone over Cyprus to Nato secretary-general Javier Solana.

Discussion of the issue in Brussels late on Monday night coincided with new statements from the United States expressing opposition to Cyprus' plans to deploy the S-300 missiles.

State Department spokesman James Rubin told his daily briefing that the US continued to believe that bringing the missiles to Cyprus "would be an escalation."

"We do not want to see this happen; we've made that clear to the various parties," he said.

And he added: "Our objective has been, is, to convince those involved not to send those missiles to Cyprus, nor for Cyprus to receive them."

But Russian President Boris Yeltsin said yesterday Moscow would not back down over the missile sale.

He assured visiting Greek Defence Minister Akis Tzohatzopoulos of Russia's "determination to fulfil the contract to provide Cyprus with the S-300 anti- missile defence system on time," Interfax news agency said, quoting Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky.

In Brussels, Pangalos told reporters yesterday that he had discussed the possibility of a no-fly zone with Solana, but would not elaborate.

The Greek Foreign Minister had first mooted the idea to US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright when Washington raised the issue of the S-300 missiles.

Press reports suggest that in the face of US pressure that Greece persuade Cyprus to cancel the missiles deal, Pangalos came back with the idea that the US or Nato guarantee a no-fly zone over Cyprus. The US has since rejected the idea as "impractical" while the Cypriot press had speculated on what prompted Pangalos to make the proposal in the first place. Pangalos on Monday told the Cypriot press contingent in Brussels for the start of accession talks that he had acted out of his own initiative.

"I put forward my own idea to the Americans and I am not a minister of Mr Clerides," he said. He added that Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides was aware he would be proposing the demilitarisation of the island, but he had not given details of his every action, just as Cassoulides did not brief him of his every move.

The Greek Foreign Minister added that his idea was simply an extension of Clerides' demilitarisation proposal.

Both the government and Disy's president Nicos Anastassiades were quick to jump to Pangalos' defence.

Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said no problem had arisen. "From the moment, the diplomatic and other moves of either the Foreign Minister of Cyprus or of Mr Pangalos are within the general strategy of Greece and Cyprus and of the National Council, then there is no problem," he said.

For his part Anastassiades spoke of "expert handling" by Pangalos, which he said "served the interests of Cyprus."

The government has repeatedly said it would scrap the missile deal if there was agreement on demilitarisation, or if there was substantial progress in efforts towards a Cyprus settlement.

No firm date has been given for delivery of the missiles, but officials have indicated they will deployed sometime in the autumn.

[05] Bank of Cyprus strikes secret deal in harassment case

THE BANK of Cyprus (BoC) has reached a secret deal with a female employee who accused a superior of sexual harassment, it was revealed yesterday.

No cash was paid out in the high profile case, BoC said.

Sources high up in the bank told the Cyprus Mail: "Not a penny was paid in settlement."

More than £200,000 in damages was to be sought in a civil action to be brought by the £1,000-a-month bank employee who complained of "persistent verbal sexual harassment".

She also claimed the bank had tried to hush up the case, although two other women supported her complaint about her boss.

Lawyers for the bank said yesterday the deal reached last week was "very confidential".

"The matter has been settled," said lawyer Polis Polyviou. "I have no further comment and no money was involved."

Sources close to the woman said: "it was an excellent deal", but said the contents were confidential.

Earlier in the case, informed sources had told the Cyprus Mail that a "substantial financial offer" had initially been made to the woman to stave off a court case.

They said a disciplinary committee at the bank had met to discuss the allegation and that although the alleged culprit was invited to attend, the woman was not.

The man involved, who denied the claims, was given a verbal warning, the same sources said, but the bank then denied any disciplinary action was taken.

It is believed the man was moved to another section while the woman will retain her position.

[06] Government water policy under fire

THE HOUSE environment committee slammed the government yesterday for failing to carry out an environmental impact study for the island's second desalination plant.

"In every case that we examine before this committee there is never an impact study to pre-empt environmental destruction," deputy Christos Mavrokordatos protested.

By law, an environmental impact assessment is required for any government project costing £1 million or more. The new desalination plant at Kalo Chorio outside Larnaca is costed at £30 million. Construction is due to begin in the Autumn.

The government excuse for the absence of an impact study, presented to deputies yesterday, was that the desalination plant was an "emergency" project.

"An impact assessment will be carried out in parallel with construction," Agriculture Ministry general director Simeon Matsis said.

Committee chairman Demetris Iliades was not impressed: "At the very least, this is disappointing," he said.

He took Matsis to task for claiming the plants were an emergency measure. "You talk as if the drought happened yesterday, this is unacceptable," he said.

Nicos Georgiades, director of the Environment Service, pointed out that the story had been the same in the case of the Dhekelia desalination plant. The final impact assessment report was only ready in May 1997, after the Dhekelia plant had begun operation, Georgiades said.

Matsis admitted the situation left something to be desired and said his ministry agreed impact studies should be carried out before a project went to tender.

Representatives of environmental organisations challenged the wisdom of desalination plants as a solution to the water crisis.

One green put the cost of desalinised water at 70 cents per tonne. The cost of dam water was only 14 cents per tonne, she maintained.

She added that in the Famagusta and Larnaca districts 25 per cent of piped water was lost through leaks. "The cost of plugging up these leaks would be much less than desalination," she said.

Matsis countered that Cyprus had one of the lowest leakage rates worldwide, at 17 per cent overall.

Another ministry officer said the rate of water loss from pipe networks in Greece was 55 per cent and in Britain 45 per cent.

Fisheries department director Andreas Demetropoulos spoke of pollution problems created by the dumping at sea of waste salt generated by the desalination process. In the Summer months, this salt could raise salinity to levels dangerous for wildlife, he told the committee.

Georgiades said the outflow pipe for the Dhekelia plant was only 200 metres long but the one for the Kalo Chorio plant would be 1 km in length.

Deputy Prodromos Prodromou asked Matsis why the Kalo Chorio plant was being sited 11km from the sea.

Matsis replied that objections had been raised to a proposed coastal site West of Larnaca airport on environmental grounds. In any case, he said, the 11km pipe bringing sea-water to the plant would only add one or two cents per tonne to the cost of the water produced.

[07] Stringent water cuts on the way

Available water supplies are one third short of minimum needs, making it essential for further measures, he said.

These were approved by the Council of Ministers yesterday and will be announced in detail at a press conference.

They provide for cuts in both irrigation and drinking water, and an attempt to increase supplies of drinking water from desalination and to use recycled water from sewage system for irrigation.

Themistocelous told reporters that even though March had been one of the wettest this century, the dire water situation resulting from the protracted drought had not been alleviated.

"We are obliged to implement cuts. There is no other choice because, while needs for 1998 are 136 million cubic metres of water, available quantities at this moment stand at only 80 million. That is why we are going to introduce cuts to cover in total 56 per cent of our needs," he said.

Agriculture will be given water to cover 44 per cent of its needs, while drinking water needs will be met up to 72 per cent of requirements, he clarified.

Asked about complaints some people were wasting water while others were doing everything they could to save it, Themistocleous said these issues fell within the jurisdiction of local water boards and municipalities and were handled by them.

This is the third consecutive year that rain has fallen short of the average, obliging authorities to enforce year-round rationing. Reserves in the dams have dwindled to some 14 per cent of capacity, while attention is increasingly turning to desalination.

[08] Turks to charge 'exit tax' on Tekke pilgrims

TURKISH Cypriot authorities intend to impose a crossing charge on Turkish Cypriot pilgrims due to visit a mosque in Larnaca next week.

Over 1,000 Turkish Cypriots are expected to cross on April 9 to visit the Hala Sultan Tekke on Larnaca's Salt Lake to celebrate the Muslim feast of eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice).

It will be the second Turkish Cypriot pilgrimage to the Larnaca mosque this year.

However, according to Turkish Cypriot press reports, each of the Turkish Cypriots is to be charged £4 sterling in "exit fees" &#151; in addition to the £2 return for the cost of transport to Larnaca.

"It's a lot of money for some of them," a source told the Cyprus Mail yesterday, referring to the monthly wage in the north which is less than a quarter that of Greek Cypriots.

Turkish Cypriot press reports said yesterday the Society for the Preservation of the Hala Sultan Tekke had criticised the Turkish Cypriot authorities for turning down applications for the visit on the grounds that the number of applicants exceeded the agreed number of places. It also condemned the decision to charge the pilgrims to cross.

The "exit fee" was recently introduced by the Denktash regime to hit back at Britain's imposition of visa restrictions on Turkish Cypriots.

Until now, it has affected only the Greek Cypriot enclaved and tourists crossing to the north and back.

The imposition of the fee is also likely to kill off plans for a Greek Cypriot pilgrimage to the Apostolos Andreas Monastery on Easter Sunday.

On previous visits, worshippers had been willing to pay £5 charged for transportation costs, but the "exit fee" is likely to be deemed totally unacceptable.

"The Greek Cypriot authorities will not accept any fee to enter the north," the source said.

It is believed that the Office of the Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner has given until Monday for the issue to be clarified.

[09] Local jobs to go in Unficyp cutback

The abolition of the posts, due to cutbacks, is expected to affect around 50 people &#151; both Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

It is understood that Unficyp's 1:4 ratio of local staff to military exceeds the acceptable UN level of 1:7.

Sources said yesterday most of the job losses would be covered by persons due for retirement at the end of the year.

[10] Exam move 'unconstitutional'

The ministry's February decision to include maths among a predominantly humanities range of subjects three months before exams raised a storm of opposition from teachers, parents and humanities students last week, claiming entrance standards had effectively been raised and competition for places heightened.

The decision stemmed from the recent merger of humanities and economics faculties by the Greek university in question.

But the ministry came under fire yesterday from lawyers Rena Vrahimi-Petrou and Rena Papaeti-Hadjicosta, both from the Attorney-general's office, who said the decision was against article 28 of the Cyprus constitution and should be nullified.

Humanities students chose exam subjects "in good faith", they said, on the basis of the Education Ministry's actions in approving the original set of exam-options.

"Precisely these actions... bind the Education Ministry... obstructing the last minute modification (of subjects) which constitute the foundation upon which a group of students based their preparation in the hope of securing maximum success in... exams," stressed the lawyers.

For this reason, they went on, the new changes with the inclusion of maths would have to be annulled and the subject arrangement prior to the February decision reinstated.

Students in the maths and science streams positively affected by the changes were not "legally entitled to hinder such annulment", they added, since the decision was "unlawful and unconstitutional" and had only been in place for a short period of time.

[11] HTI students to take protest to the palace

The students are demanding that their diplomas be recognised as university level. In addition, they want job security for graduates, with a specific public sector post created for them.

Students' Union president Harris Panayiotou said yesterday the students had decided the matter was serious enough to warrant a political decision.

He added that since the Finance Minister was "totally disinterested", the students were going directly to the president. "We believe he's the only one who can solve the problem," he said.

The students, who want a meeting with President Glafcos Clerides, are also planning to boycott exams beginning on April 6.

Last week, the students took over the HTI buildings for 48 hours.

[12] Port strike threat lifted

A last ditch intervention by Communications Minister Leontios Ierodiakonou seems to have been enough to persuade the five unions representing port pilots at Limassol and Larnaca ports not to stay at home.

The unions had threatened to call an indefinite strike in protest at what they said was the Port Authority's refusal to fill a vacant management position.

Ierodiakonou met with union leaders on Monday night and urged them to give him some breathing space to find a compromise solution to end the dispute.

After a morning meeting at Limassol port, the unions announced the strike action was being put on hold, but warned the reprieve was conditional on the swift appointment of a ports development officer.

Ierodiakonou, speaking after a morning cabinet meeting, expressed optimism about the situation.

"I believe the differences (between the Authority and unions) are not big and the problem can be solved through dialogue," he said.

Unions say the development officer post has been vacant for two years now.

In an announcement later in the day, the Ports Authority was uncompromising, saying the post would only be filled after a new work plan for the ports had been agreed with unions.

Ierodiakonou also spoke of the need for permanent solutions to the financial, management and labour problems driving the island's ports to extinction.

Both Limassol and Larnaca ports are on the brink of ruin in the face of stiff competition from other, cheaper, ports in the region.

[13] Get writing those film scripts

Writers are invited to submit scripts no longer than 30 typed pages on any subject they like. The script must be accompanied by a story synopsis, a description of the characters in the film and the author's resume.

Prize giving will take place in two stages, with a first prize of £700 going to the winner, followed by £1,000 after a production schedule and details are submitted to the ministry.

The closing date is August 28. Budding scriptwriters can obtain further information on 02-303337.

[14] Sterling soaring strength bodes well for tourism

THE LATEST surge in the value of the pound sterling generally bodes well for tourism in Cyprus but may not have much of an immediate impact on the number of visitors from Britain, a London-based Cyprus Tourism Organisation official said yesterday.

Industry analysts in Cyprus, however, spoke of the need to revise what they view as over-optimistic forecasts for tourism in 1998, saying the recent 14 per cent devaluation of the drachma together with the chronic plight of the Turkish lira meant that nearby Greece and Turkey offered Britons much cheaper holidays compared to Cyprus.

Reports that 1998 will be a record year for tourism in Cyprus have played a pivotal role in bolstering investors' confidence which led to a spectacular rally in share prices during February and most of March. Tourism accounts for nearly 20 per cent of GDP and is the island's biggest single employer.

The sterling's strength against the Cyprus pound has already proved to be attractive enough for some operators in London to take reservations for Cyprus holidays in the summer of 1999, according to Orestis Rossides, head of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation office in London.

Rossides, who spoke to the Cyprus Mail from London by telephone, said he expected a total of 900,000 Britons to visit Cyprus this year, compared to 790,000 in 1997, nearly 40 per cent of the 2.06 million tourists estimated to have visited Cyprus last year.

Rossides, however, explained that the strength of sterling had already been incorporated in the 1998 forecasts for Britons visiting Cyprus and that summer flights to Cyprus were already 85 to 90 per cent full.

But the latest surge in the currency's value, he added, could mean some changes in flight schedules by tour operators in favour of Cyprus.

The sterling on Monday hit its highest level for a decade against a basket of major currencies and remained at record highs yesterday. Its continuing strength is expected to hit hard British exports and has already led to fears in the City of recession and balance of payments crisis.

In contrast, the British currency's current might is a godsend for Britain's holidaymakers, with tour operators reporting increased bookings for holidays in countries whose currencies are high on the long list of the sterling's victims.

Holidays in Greece, for example, are now 26 per cent cheaper than they were a year ago, according to American Express in London.

The Central Bank's exchange rate for the Cyprus pound against sterling was posted at £1.10 yesterday, down by nine per cent from its value a year ago and a staggering 21 per cent from April 1, 1996. Yesterday's Cyprus pound- sterling rate was also down by nearly one per cent over Friday's price.

The fortunes of sterling have traditionally served as a reliable indicator of the number of British tourists coming to Cyprus, a former British colony whose special appeal to Britons is partly due to the wide use of English, driving on the left and the fact that many establishments in tourist areas cater for their eating and drinking habits.

[15] Former police chief dies

Yiangou joined the police force in 1953, at the age of 19, and served in every rank of the force before being appointed police chief in 1986.

He was born in the Limassol district village of Ayios Dimitrios 65 years ago.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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