Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-01-18

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

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

CONTENTS

[01] Are we for or against the Swiss model?

[02] Bank workers charged with embezzling cash to play the market

[03] Market on the mend as shares rise again

[04] Deputies call for public spending cuts before new tax hikes

[05] Confusion over post-operation death of Bangladeshi builder

[06] Government plans business incentives for repatriated Cypriots

[07] Government abandons plans to build parliament on Pasidy site

[08] Kyprianou arrives in US ahead of surgery

[09] Taxi driver accused of swallowing heroin package

[01] Are we for or against the Swiss model?

POLITICAL bickering was the order of the day yesterday as a new internal row fuelled frenzied rumours that the governments in Athens in Nicosia might be moving closer to a taboo confederal solution to the Cyprus problem.

A passing weekend comment by Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous on the Swiss model as a possible solution to the Cyprus problem led to a furore on the political scene yesterday. Switzerland is nominally a confederation.

Even more confusing yesterday were comments by government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou that other presidents had in the past referred to the Swiss model and wondering why such a fuss was being created.

"I want to remind you that in the past two presidents of the Republic, both Mr (George) Vassiliou and President Clerides most recently, spoke of the Swiss model and I wonder why there is all this furore today," Papapetrou said.

He also said the Swiss model had in the past been mentioned at the National Council and that no one had objected.

But almost exactly a year ago, President Clerides issued a written statement expressing his objections to a comment by British envoy Sir David Hannay, which was perceived as a suggestion that Cyprus follow the Swiss model.

"I take strong exception to the statement of Sir David Hannay advising us to follow the Swiss model which recognises sovereignty of the Swiss cantons, rotation of presidency, and numerical equal representation of cantons, all of which are the Turkish positions..." the statement of January 22, 1999 said.

Questioned by journalists on this aspect yesterday Papapetrou said the objections and Clerides’ subsequent snub of a British High Commission dinner had not been specifically due to Hanna’s comment on the Swiss model.

Papapetrou said the Greek Cypriot side was willing to discuss the Swiss model on a chapter by chapter basis.

"If only the Turkish side would accept the Swiss style we would be ready to discuss every chapter separately," he said.

"As far as the government is concerned, the statements of the Minister (Themistocleous) are not a problem since he clearly referred to our own aims, which are nothing else but a federal solution. There is no issue of anyone accepting a confederation."

Papapetrou went on to say that Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash was repeatedly made aware, in talks both with Vassiliou and Clerides, of the Greek Cypriot side’s willingness to discuss the Swiss constitution, and he "took not even five seconds to say he would not discuss such a thing".

"And you know why? Because the Swiss constitution is far more centralised even than a federation."

Defending his comments yesterday, Themistocleous said the Swiss model, though called a confederation, was in essence a federation and that his words had been for the purpose of discussion.

"I said a federation and a confederation are the same thing. I never said we were changing tack and going from federation to confederation," he said.

But some quarters were still not satisfied. Edek's Yiannakis Omirou, the former Defence Minister, said terminology was important.

Disy deputy Stelios Stylianou said the criticism of Themistocleous was hypocritical, but his response was cryptic.

"Because with the realities in Cyprus, anyone who is against a confederation should rightly be against a federation too," he said.

"The issue isn't so simple. I believe that with the realities today and with the long term Turkish plans I don't see why a federation would not tomorrow end up as a confederation so I repeat that because of the realities today it would therefore be more honest for those attacking him (Themistocleous) to say they are against a federation as well."

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

[02] Bank workers charged with embezzling cash to play the market

Kyriacos Kyriacou, the former branch accountant, and Petros Petrou, who was the branch's computer chief, both denied the charges.

The two men were arrested earlier this year after an internal audit at the Limassol suburb's co-op branch found hundreds of thousands of pounds had gone missing from customers’ accounts.

Police later said the two suspects had embezzled the money to invest on the stock market.

Both suspects were brought up before the Limassol Assizes yesterday.

Seventeen charges were read out against Kyriacou. These related to the alleged theft of £592,000 by making false transactions in December 1996.

After Kyriacou pleaded not guilty, the court set the first hearing in his trial for February 14. Kyriacou will remain in custody till then.

Nine charges were read out against Petrou. These included forgery, circulation of a forged document and execution of false transactions. Petrou, who is charged with embezzling £36,000, also pleaded not guilty and will re-appear before the same court on February 28.

The court will convene today to decide whether Petrou will remain in custody till his trial begins.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

[03] Market on the mend as shares rise again

Trading appeared buoyant from the return of small investors to the market, and even renewed tension between brokers and the authorities over controversial legislation allowing broker-free trading wasn't enough to dent sentiment.

"The market sentiment is definitely on the mend after the nervousness we were experiencing earlier this year," said one stockbroker.

The all-share CSE index opened firmly at 658.54 after pre-trading and touched a high of 664.03 points before closing at 661.72, 15.75 points higher than on Friday.

Trading volumes were marginally higher than last week at £26.9 million on 4, 946 trades.

Investment firms, which were hammered in a wave of profit taking earlier last week, ended the day 5.2 per cent higher, while banking stocks ended almost on a par with the general index, notching up a 2.1 per cent gain.

Popular Bank led gains among bank stocks with a 38 cent increase to a last trade of £13.60, but on a relatively small turnover of 77,984. Bank of Cyprus shares ended up 10 cents to £10.20 while Hellenic Bank stocks retreated marginally by a cent to £4.98 on a turnover of almost one million shares.

Bourse insiders say Hellenic is being snapped up by Laiki Investments, the brokerage arm of the Cyprus Popular Bank. Some put the ownership of Laiki in Hellenic at almost nine per cent.

Companies in the "other" category raced up 3.7 per cent as most companies in the sector rose; Severis and Athienitis Financial Services (SAFS) climbed £1.81 to £27.51.

Earlier in the session, SAFS announced a five-way split, issue of 1.6 million new warrants to shareholders and a forthcoming equity issue. Traders said the market had discounted the move in speculative buying which drove the stock up last week.

Sharelink, another star performer in the same category, climbed £1.81 to £25 on a volume of 35,211.

While investors have shrugged off the controversial legislation over broker- free trading , the issue continued to cause tension on the floor of the exchange yesterday.

By allowing private equity transactions, brokers say that this would leave smaller investors exposed to occurrences like insider trading, and the bourse vulnerable to money laundering activities. Some have also questioned the usefulness of market tools to measure performance, like indices, if there will be a parallel market where transactions are not recorded.

"We want the government to seek recourse on this to the Supreme Court," a brokers' union representative said.

Broker representatives met with Finance Minister Takis Clerides yesterday. They were told that the legislation would be sent to Attorney-general Alecos Markides, who would advise the government if it is constitutional or not.

*Severis and Athienitis Financial Services plan a five-way split, an increase in equity and a warrants issue, it said yesterday.

SAFS, which made its debut on the Cyprus bourse last month, said it would seek shareholders' approval to split the nominal value of shares to 10 cents from its present 50, and issue 6.2 million 10-cent new warrants.

The company climbed £1.81 to £27.15 on the Cyprus Stock Exchange as shareholders greeted the news, traders said.

The warrants will be given free to shareholders registered as on March 30, 2000. The exercise price to convert warrants to shares is four pounds and the exercise date November 30 2000.

SAFS said it would also increase the approved share capital of the company, and initiate negotiations for a series of takeovers.

It did not elaborate. Last week the company said it would submit a bid to take over between 20 and 100 per cent of Universal Life Insurance. A formal bid is expected to be submitted this week.

Shareholders will be called to approve the decisions at a meeting on February 21.

*Blue Island Fish Farming Ltd. yesterday gave details of its purchase of the "Thalassina" company, which will increase its retail outlets to 11 from two.

It said the £420,000 deal was financed partly by a £150,000 cash exchange and partly through the issue of 100,000 new shares.

Blue Island said the deal, signed on January 5, would boost the turnover of the group by some £800,000 and profitability by 60 per cent, based on projected results for 1999.

Shareholders would be called to approve the deal at a meeting on February 9. Blue Island's £300,000 purchase of new premises on the outskirts of Nicosia would also be put to vote, the company said in an announcement.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

[04] Deputies call for public spending cuts before new tax hikes

DEPUTIES yesterday warned the government to rein in public spending, only days before Finance Minister Takis Klerides presents his budget for 2000 to the House.

The House Finance Committee is calling on the state to take "concrete and broader" measures to curb public spending. The committee argues that cuts could be made in the state wage bill.

Deputies also want further discussions with Klerides before deciding on the tax increases the government wants approved along with the budget.

In its initial report on the budget - unanimously approved during a closed session yesterday - the committee expresses alarm at the budget's provision for an "unprecedented" rise in the already large public deficit.

The £2.2 billion 2000 budget Klerides is to present to the House plenum on Thursday provides for only £1,366 million pouring into state coffers. It is thus an £872 million deficit budget.

Acting committee chairman, Diko deputy Nicos Moushiouttas, said deputies had unanimously approved a report on the budget. "A report expressing us all has been approved," he said after the meeting.

Moushiouttas said parties would express their positions during the three days of plenum budget debate on February 2, 3 and 4.

He made it clear there was much scepticism about the further tax hikes Klerides wants passed.

"The committee would like to see the (tax) issue along with relief measures which the House and government must arrive at before the (tax) bills are passed," Moushiouttas said.

Opposition parties have already made clear their disapproval of tax increases the government is tabling as part of the budget.

Main opposition party Akel have threatened to vote against the whole budget, a move that would be unprecedented.

The main bone of contention is a proposed rise in VAT from 8 to 10 per cent.

In an apparent effort to appease his opponents, Klerides has vowed to keep food VAT-free until Cyprus actually joins the EU. The Minister has also said the proposed increase in road tax could be cut by a third.

Klerides argues that the VAT hike is necessary if Cyprus is to come into line with EU norms and that tax rises are needed to reduce the public deficit.

Klerides has already succeeded in getting increases in levies on fuel, four- wheel vehicles and alcohol through the plenum.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

[05] Confusion over post-operation death of Bangladeshi builder

CONFUSION reigned yesterday after a young Bangladeshi man died following an appendix operation in Paphos.

Rasheed Ravani, 29, a builder working in Paphos, died on Friday night at the Hippocratic private clinic in Paphos at the end of a week that saw him disappear from the city’s general hospital the day before doctors there had been due to remove his appendix.

Ravani had complained of stomach aches last Monday, and was taken to Paphos General Hospital where doctors initially prescribed stomach relief medication, before realising that the problem was in his appendix, not his stomach.

The doctors decided that he had to be operated and he was hospitalised for three days until the operation date. Doctors programmed his diet so that the operation could be carried out smoothly.

However, Ravani, who was a drug addict, disappeared from hospital on the eve of his scheduled operation, telling friends he could not get "the right medication" – apparently meaning he had been unable to find drugs there.

Police believe he in fact only initially complained of stomach pains so that he could receive painkillers in hospital.

But once Ravani had disappeared from hospital, he was forced to seek treatment for his appendix, which had reacted to pre-operational medication administered at the hospital. "He had to seek medication elsewhere and we took him to this clinic where he was operated," said Imbrahim Rowe, a closest friend of the man. "It seems our friend didn’t really have a chance, " he added.

Doctors from Paphos General Hospital have refused to comment about the case and about how a known drug addict was left unattended and able to walk out of hospital.

But Dr. Takis Theodosiou, owner and manager of the Hippocratic Clinic of Paphos where Ravani was operated, said the patient had died because of a lung malfunction caused by shock after the operation on his appendix.

He said he had been aware of the patient’s earlier hospitalisation and that he had been informed of the fact that he had been using drugs.

But Theodosiou called on the media to make clear why Ravani had died, "before reporters destroy the reputation of the Hippocratic Clinic".

He told the Cyprus Mail that septicemia killed his patient after hitting his lungs. "Blood poisoning, otherwise known as septicemia, occurred after Ravani was operated because his system could not react to the operational medication," he explained.

Police chief Spyros Koniotis said the Bangladeshi had come to Paphos six months ago to find work. He was living and working in town legally and he had never bothered the police, Koniotis said.

Responding to questions about the victim’s drug habit, the police chief said: "the fact he could not find drugs on the streets is what really killed Ravani, since he thought he could find relevant material in the hospitals and clinics."

"This drove him to his destiny only too fast" he said.

Ravani was married and he had a three-year old son. His wife and child live in Bangladesh.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

[06] Government plans business incentives for repatriated Cypriots

THE GOVERNMENT may soon provide repatriated Cypriots with self-employment incentives, the Labour Minister confirmed yesterday.

Minister Andreas Moushiouttas told the Cyprus Mail that he had on Friday met with Finance Minister Takis Klerides to discuss providing overseas Cypriots with the incentive to return to the island to start their own business.

"We looked at the issue of subsidisation. We discussed whether there should be a subsidy or a loan and it was decided that the relevant government services needed to discuss the issue again" as time had lapsed since the idea was first introduced.

Moushiouttas also said the government was considering the provision of funds within the framework of government plans to subsidise out-of-work professionals.

He said a decision could be taken as soon as next month.

Moushiouttas dismissed an article in Phileleftheros yesterday, which said that regular businesses would receive a £10,000 loan with the interest subsidised by the government.

Quoting unnamed sources, Phileleftheros said the parties would have to already hold an equal amount in cash to receive the loan.

Those wanting to start up export companies, ones in the countryside or with an innovative theme, would be lent £15,000, again provided they already held the same amount, the paper added.

The finer details of the plan, according to Phileleftheros, were to be decided by the Labour Department and would be available to repatriates who have returned within the last two years.

But Moushiouttas yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that the framework of the plan, including the amounts involved, had not yet been decided.

The chairman of the Pancyprian Association of Repatriated Cypriots from England, Andreas Chialoufas, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that the plan had long been an aim of his and other repat associations.

"We have asked that Cypriots returning from overseas and wanting to start up their own business have loans with the interest subsidised by the government," he said.

The government already provides several incentives and schemes for the support and development of industry by repatriates.

These include loan guarantees for small and medium businesses and incentives for the promotion of exports of industrial products.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

[07] Government abandons plans to build parliament on Pasidy site

Communications and Works Minister Averoff Neophytou, speaking after a meeting with a ministerial committee, said the decision had been taken following surveys of the site by the Antiquities Department.

Work had already begun at the site, the former headquarters of the civil servants’ union Pasidy in central Nicosia, when major archaeological finds were uncovered, forcing a rethink of the plans.

"Taking into account the position of the Antiquities Department and with everyone involved understanding and recognising the need to preserve our cultural heritage it has been decided unanimously to abandon thoughts of building the new House of Representatives on Pasidy hill," Neophytou said.

The Minister hinted that the delay could push the cost up from the £15 million budgeted for the new building.

"If building had started five years ago the cost would have been ‘A’, but for the same plans to be implemented now, the cost will be greater," the Minister added.

He said three new site options had been put forward as possible alternatives: a site in front of the Interior and Finance Ministries, the area south of the Pasidy building or the site of the Nicosia General Hospital, which is directly opposite the present parliament building. A new Nicosia General Hospital is being built at Athalassa on the outskirts of the capital, but is not due for completion for another two years.

Neophytou said the Antiquities Department would have reviewed the suitability of these sites by April.

He did not mention an option touted during the course of last year, the purchase and renovation of the Yiorkion building, an idea that had found favour with House President Spyros Kyprianou.

It was reported last August that the government was in negotiation with the owners to buy the former luxury hotel and shopping complex, at an asking price of some £20 million.

The Yiorkion closed its doors last year after less than two years of operation.

But some deputies opposed the move, saying conversion of the building to suit a parliament would far exceed the budgeted amount.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

[08] Kyprianou arrives in US ahead of surgery

Diko leader Kyprianou arrived at Cleveland, Ohio, where he was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for examinations before the surgery.

The operation on the mistral valve is expected to take place either tomorrow or on Thursday, a Diko spokesman said.

The operation will be carried out by Dr. Delos Cosgrove. It will seek either to restore the functioning of the valve or replace it.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 2000

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

[09] Taxi driver accused of swallowing heroin package

Evripides Panayides, 30, from Akrounta in the Limassol district was arrested at 8pm on Sunday after his arrival from Beirut.

Police told the court Panayides had been intercepted at the airport after they received information that the suspect had swallowed around 200 grams of heroin packed in a plastic bag.

The suspect was then taken to Larnaca general hospital to undergo x-ray examinations to find the drugs.

But when they arrived at the hospital, Panayides, who had earlier given his written permission, refused to be examined.

Police then had to take him to the Larnaca CID bureau and wait for the drugs to pass through his system.

Police said that Panayides, who is refusing to eat or drink, told them while he was being taken to court yesterday that he wanted to go to the toilet.

The suspect allegedly said he wanted to get it over with and give the drugs to the police, but in the end it proved to be a false alarm.

The investigating officer asked the court for an eight-day remand but defence objected, asking for 24 hours instead.

Eventually, the court decided that two days would be enough for the suspect to pass the alleged evidence.

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