Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-04-11

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

Saturday, April 11, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Matsakis arrest 'breached the constitution'

[02] US 'working hard' to restart talks

[03] Israel apologises for air violation

[04] Cyprus sorrow at Greek archbishop's death

[05] Dead baby was forgotten in morgue

[06] Bosses angle for pay freeze

[07] Exam changes revoked

[08] Summer sun can damage your eyes

[01] Matsakis arrest 'breached the constitution'

THE ARREST of Diko deputy Marios Matsakis by the British bases was a violation not only of his rights but of the constitution of the Cyprus Republic, party officials said yesterday.

"The bases are obliged to align their legislation with that of the Republic of Cyprus... Immunity is granted by the constitution, and that is superior to any law. In my view, an offence has been committed by those involved in the arrest of Matsakis," said Diko parliamentary spokesman Tassos Papadopoulos.

"And whoever has contravened a law of our Republic is subject to investigation. The dignity of the state must be defended."

Matsakis, a former state pathologist and active member of the anti-British bases lobby, was arrested a week ago by the British bases authorities following a scuffle outside a court in Dhekelia.

Matsakis, who had gone there to observe a court case involving Greek Cypriot farmer Hambis Himonas, was held for five hours, after which he was charged with criminal trespass and breach of the peace.

The bases said Matsakis was well-known for "this sort of irresponsible behaviour".

But the move has outraged Diko to such an extent it has asked for the arrest of the British Bases Commander and the chief of the SBA police.

Papadopoulos said the House had already asked Attorney-general Alecos Markides to investigate whether legal action was possible against the bases.

"If he says it is not possible, then we will introduce legislation allowing police to investigate crimes committed in the bases," he said.

Cypriot deputies are immune from prosecution under the laws of the Republic.

The bases, however, insist the immunity factor does not apply within the bases. "Anyone in breach of he law should face the consequences," said spokesman Mervyn Wynne-Jones.

"Mr Matsakis is well known for his anti-bases attitude, but we enjoy the best of relations with by far the majority of law-abiding Cypriots".

Edek deputy Demetris Eliades, who raised the issue in parliament on Thursday, said yesterday it was time the British realised that "Cyprus is no longer their country".

He suggested the British bases authorities be hauled before international bodies to answer for what happened.

"If the British believe they have nothing to answer for then they should appear in court to prove it," Eliades said.

[02] US 'working hard' to restart talks

THE U.S. is working hard to put the stalled Cyprus negotiations back on track, ambassador Kenneth Brill said yesterday.

Speaking after a 30-minute meeting with President Clerides, Brill made it clear that US State Department Co-ordinator for Cyprus Thomas Miller and presidential envoy Richard Holbrooke would be returning to Cyprus to continue their efforts.

Both men came to the island recently, but made no progress on kick-starting direct talks. They are expected back at the end of the month.

"It's rather clear that we are working hard to move the Cyprus issue back to direct negotiations," Brill said.

"Meanwhile, we are having a variety of other contacts to keep the process that ambassador Holbrooke and I engaged in moving forward."

He added that the US was trying to create a process of moving back towards the talks.

The intercommunal talks broke down after Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash declared them dead in the wake of the EU's December decision to open accession talks with Cyprus at the end of March.

Denktash says the talks cannot be resumed unless they are carried out on the basis of two equal states.

Asked about any possibility of a change in the status of the negotiations, Brill said: "We have made it very clear that we don't recognise the so- called state."

"We're working towards the goal of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation and the direct talks that are necessary to let that happen," Brill said.

He stressed the importance of getting the two leaders together into a negotiating process "that will work and produce a result... That's in everybody's interest."

"What we are talking about here is direct talks, and actually that is not inconsistent with what was happening in the past," Brill said.

[03] Israel apologises for air violation

ISRAEL has apologised to Cyprus for violating Nicosia's Flight Information Region (FIR), state TV reported last night.

On Thursday, Machi newspaper reported that six Israeli F-16 jets violated the Nicosia FIR on Wednesday over Paphos Airport.

Israel's ambassador in Nicosia Shemi Tzur told CyBC his Cypriot counterpart in Tel Aviv had lodged a protest about the incident with the Israeli authorities.

Tzur reportedly told the station that the incident occurred during a training exercise in the Mediterranean. He said the relevant Israeli minister had met the Cypriot ambassador in Tel Aviv and conveyed his government's apologies.

CyBC also reported Cyprus Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Alecos Shambos as saying Cyprus had accepted the Israeli apology.

Last week the Israeli embassy in Nicosia complained to the Cyprus Mail over comments published about its reported violations of Cyprus air space.

The embassy denied that Israel violates Cyprus air space, but added that in the past "there have been a few misunderstandings concerning the FIR, but not the air space".

"Last year, however, these misunderstandings were solved in joint meetings held in Nicosia and Jerusalem," the embassy said.

"All Israeli flights over Cyprus are carried out in compliance with international regulations and following the granting of official permission by the Cyprus authorities," it added.

[04] Cyprus sorrow at Greek archbishop's death

His Beatitude passed away peacefully at around 1.35am at the Popular hospital of Greece, where he had been receiving treatment for the last 45 days.

The body of the 85-year-old Archbishop will lie in state for three days, allowing Greeks to pay their last respects before his state-burial on Monday.

President Clerides expressed his sorrow at the passing of not only "an outstanding Church leader, but an ardent supporter of (the Cypriot) struggle".

"May God grant his soul peace," said Clerides.

Echoing his condolences were House president Spyros Kyprianou and Archbishop Chrysostomos.

Seraphim carried out his Christian service with great devotion for the roots of the Church, said Kyprianou.

Scores of Greek Orthodox faithful flooded the Athens Archbishopric yesterday to pay their respects.

The government will be represented at the funeral by Education Minister Lykourgos Kappas.

[05] Dead baby was forgotten in morgue

Hospital sources said yesterday that the baby girl had been delivered at a private clinic in Paphos, but as she was stillborn could not be baptised, and therefore could not be buried on consecrated ground.

Her body was therefore transferred to Nicosia General for cremation, but a breakdown in communications between doctors led to it remaining in the refrigeration chamber at the hospital's morgue. At the time of discovery, it had been there for more than a month.

Police said yesterday it was no longer a matter for them, but would probably be the subject of an internal hospital investigation.

[06] Bosses angle for pay freeze

As collective agreements come up for renewal in various sectors, the chairman of Oev, Andreas Pittas, re-stated yesterday that employers would be pushing for a wage freeze.

"We will convince the union movement of the correctness of this position," Pittas said at a morning press conference in Nicosia.

During the conference, called in anticipation of Oev's annual general meeting on May 8, Pittas outlined the reason's why Oev wanted to keep salaries at current levels.

He said the rate of economic growth was still slow, the public deficit had gone up by £39 million to £181 million last year and public deficit as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) had gone up from 54.2 per cent in 1996 to 55.6 per cent in 1997.

He said the main reason for increased public deficit was a rising civil service wage bill, "which damages private enterprise."

"As a result of this (economic situation), it is necessary to take immediate action to remedy public finances, among which is the reigning in of state wage bills," Pittas said.

[07] Exam changes revoked

SECONDARY school pupils have emerged triumphant from a protracted battle to restore Greek university entrance-exam subjects to their pre-February state.

Attorney-general Alecos Markides gave the legal go-ahead yesterday to an Education Ministry proposal to put the clock back, restoring the old syllabus after the ministry's controversial decision in February to make changes just three months before exams began.

This has caused chaos over the last fortnight and pupils boycotted lessons on Thursday, agreeing not to continue their strike only after the Education Ministry tabled a compromise proposal at an emergency meeting of all concerned on the same day.

Speaking before the concerned parties met Markides yesterday, Secondary Education director Yiorghos Poulis said the ministry proposal restored the situation that prevailed before university entrance exams in 1997.

"We proposed an all-encompassing plan that which was hailed by all concerned," Poulis said.

Meanwhile, students from the Higher Technical Institute, (HTI) who have been demanding more government recognition of their qualifications, said yesterday their protest would continue after the Easter holidays if their demands were not met.

HTI Students have been protesting outside the House for the second week running and blockaded the institute campus saying they would not sit exams unless a separate grade of technical engineer was created in the civil service for HTI graduates. They also want the institute to be upgraded and to be given more autonomy.

In a letter to House Labour committee president Avraam Antoniou yesterday, Finance Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou said the desired civil service grade had already been approved on October 16, 1997 by the Council of Ministers, but the accompanying rate of pay still had to be discussed with the trade unions.

Both Labour and Finance ministries, which are the target of the HTI demands, stood their ground yesterday, warning that if the students continued their protest, they would end up losing the academic year.

But students remained unrepentant, vowing to continue their actions even if it did cost them the year. Negotiation with the ministries would only be acceptable on their terms, they said yesterday.

HTI students have turned down a proposal from House president Spyros Kyprianou to sit their exams during or a week after Easter.

They will continue to meet with political party representatives during the next two weeks to discuss the problem.

[08] Summer sun can damage your eyes

At a press conference, the organisation said that a recent poll had found that people buying sunglasses now considered the quality of the lenses ahead of all else, including the style and brand name.

They also announced their second seminar on eyesight to be held tomorrow at the Forum Hotel. The seminar will include addresses by foreign experts on subjects as diverse as the protection of children's eyesight and laser corrective surgery.

The society also said it was lobbying the government to take a more responsible attitude over the power of sunlight, and asking that a daily Ultra Violet bulletin be included in the weather forecast, especially in the light of the depleted ozone layer and the dangers this could cause.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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