Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-04-16

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

April 16 , 2000

CONTENTS

[01] Eroglu alleges &gt;dirty tricks=in election

[02] Bases police find suspect device

[03] Lawyer remanded in dud dollars case

[04] Extra security charges rock the boat at Limassol marina

[05] Spyros keeps mum on future plans

[06] Arson attacks in Limassol & Paphos

[01] Eroglu alleges &gt;dirty tricks=in election

CHARGES of dirty tricks marred the &gt;presidential= elections in the occupied north yesterday, as supporters of &gt;Prime Minister= Dervis Eroglu accused the Rauf Denktash team of breaking the law.

Election rules strictly prohibit campaigning after 6pm on the eve of polling day. But yesterday morning the Turkish newspaper Star, which circulates widely in the north, carried a huge front page photograph of the Turkish Cypriot leader, and one television station also broadcast interviews with Denktash voters.

"They have made an ass of the law," complained S. Ozman, Eroglu campaigner and businessman, speaking outside National Unity Party (NUP) headquarters.

The offending newspapers were withdrawn from sale after the election governing body was informed. Arrangements were also swiftly made to give Eroglu a consolatory TV appearance -- not a speech, just an appearance -- when he arrived in Nicosia after casting his vote in Famagusta.

Nerves were clearly frayed in the Eroglu camp, despite determined optimism. To topple Denktash, who has been the recognised leader of the Turkish Cypriots for the past quarter of a century, Eroglu needed every vote he could get, both yesterday and in the second round most observers expect will take place next week.

Unease in Eroglu=s NUP was compounded by his supporters working on the estimate that 15 to 20 per cent of the electorate would sit on the fence until polling day B and last-minute Denktash electioneering could swing the undecided his way.

Observers said Eroglu particularly needed to attract undecided voters who are elderly, precisely the age group which is generally pro-Denktash.

But the NUP team was not beyond reproach either. Its special election website was still online yesterday regardless of the 6pm ban instated on Friday.

When challenged about the website Ozman defended it, saying the elderly "know nothing of computers, of web-sites".

"The youngsters can make up their own minds," he added.

No small coincidence, then, that the NUP sports the largest political youth organization in the north. The groups of young people gathered at party headquarters were confident, brandishing cellphones, university-educated and desperate for change in the form of an Eroglu victory.

But Denktash was also feeling the pressure yesterday. Speaking to reporters, he alluded to opposition tactics in a previous election offering jobs to "thousands" just before voting began.

"I don't know if they've done something like that again. Maybe if they have, that will change the situation," he said, referring to a possible second round of balloting.

This was his most forthright statement yet, given his insistence so far that he will emerge the outright winner in the first round.

Denktash refused to forecast percentages: "All I am seeking is a vote of confidence from my people for having done the work which they gave to me at the last election," he said.

Asked about the third round of UN-sponsored proximity talks with President Glafcos Clerides in New York next month, Denktash reiterated his oft-stated position.

"Turkish Cypriots will not give in to Greek Cypriot pressure and become a minority in Cyprus. I want to protect the state, not bargain off the guarantee system of 1960," he said.

Apart from a flurry of journalists, the mood was quiet in the streets of north Nicosia. There was an alcohol ban until polling stations closed at 6pm, after which the atmosphere livened up as results began to come through.

A total of eight candidates are standing in the election, but it has always been a straight race between Denktash and Eroglu.

As The Sunday Mail went to press last night, even with the prospect of a second round, all indications were that it is Rauf Denktash, not Dervis Eroglu, who will represent the Turkish Cypriots in next month=s New York talks on the Cyprus problem.

April 16 , 2000

[02] Bases police find suspect device

SBA police on routine patrol spotted the package of suspected explosives wrapped in newspaper by the side of the road at the M1- Trachoni junction. The SBA bomb squad was called in and roads leading to the junction were closed for two hours.

The suspect device was found to lack a detonator, so was not primed to go off, Need said. He was unable to say whether the package contained military explosives or dynamite of the type commonly used in mining and quarrying operations.

The device will be sent to the state laboratory for forensic analysis tomorrow.

April 16 , 2000

[03] Lawyer remanded in dud dollars case

Police on Friday arrested 50-year-old Vassilis Hadjigeorgiou, in connection with conspiracy to commit felony, and circulation of counterfeit dollars.

The suspect allegedly gave another person a large number of dollar bills, believed to be forged, to exchange for local currency.

Investigators have so far located and confiscated $9,100 in 100-dollar bills.

April 16 , 2000

[04] Extra security charges rock the boat at Limassol marinaBy Jean ChristouBOAT owners at the St Raphael Marina in Limassol were shocked this week to receive notice that as of May 1 they will have to pay charges for security ranging from ,50-,1,500 a year.

The amount each owner will have to pay is based on the size of his boat with rates beginning at ,49 and rising through ,144, ,372, ,790 to ,1,500, all plus VAT, which is soon expected to rise to ten per cent. This is in addition to standard berthing costs at the marina.

One foreign boat owner, who will pay an extra ,400 a year, told The Sunday Mail the additional charges had "upset people", especially the ones who will end up paying a massive charge for larger vessels.

He said it has only been two years since berthing fees were doubled, and until now these had always included the security fees.

It is estimated that the St Raphael Marina company will raise and ,50,000 extra per year from the new charges.

"It just seems to be another way of making money. They can charge what they like because there is nowhere to put the boats and nowhere else to go," the boat owner charged, adding that is difficult to complain when one is a foreign resident or a visitor.

The marina has a capacity for 227 vessels.

"Now it's going to cost us one and a half times more to berth in Limassol than in Larnaca. How come they get cheaper police in Larnaca? Why can=t we have them?"

Another marina user wondered what the size of the boat has to do with the difference in charges.

Phoebe Katsouri, a senior official at the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), said she was unaware of the development but believed there was little they could do because the Limassol marina was run by a private company.

Katsouri said security at Larnaca marina was provided by the CTO itself which employs its own full-time security personnel.

She agreed that the new fees introduced at Limassol would have an adverse impact, but said that until the new marinas were built and more competition brought prices down not a lot could be done. But she promised the CTO would look into it.

Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said the Limassol marina had complained it was running at a loss, despite not having paid any rental to the government. The marina was initially exempt but the exemption has now expired, he said. "One of their arguments for the losses was having to pay so much for security," Rolandis said. The minister agreed with the CTO that it was not a positive development but that there was not much the government could do about it.

Marios Michaelides, the marina manager at St Raphael, defended the company's decision. He said the cost of providing security was increasing and now totalled around ,80,000 a year "just for the police". "It's a decision the company made," he said.

Up to midday three policemen are stationed at the marina and two after that. They also act as immigration officials, Michaelides said.

He also defended the varying charges based on the size of the boats, saying it "doesn't actually matter" but that under any other system the smaller boat owners would have had to pay more. Michaelides also said the company had not yet received any complaints about the new charges.

April 16 , 2000

[05] Spyros keeps mum on future plans

DIKO CHAIRMAN Spyros Kyprianou was tight-lipped yesterday amid rampant speculation about his political future in the run- up to today's special constitutional party conference.

Party officials have over the past two days expressed a variety of opinions concerning their chairman's future status.

Deputies Nikos Pittokopitis and Zacharias Koulias have clearly said they do not favour Kyprianou staying on as Diko leader.

"There cannot be renewal in the Centre with Kyprianou," Pittokopitis said on Friday.

He also said there was an "orgy" of backstage contacts, trying to postpone the party's annual conference to November instead of June.

Diko Spokesman Andreas Kyprianou yesterday said: "what we will hear will be a responsible decision which will give new dynamism to the party's future course, and a more effective role in the island's politics".

He added that Kyprianou had great experience and knowledge not only on the Cyprus problem, but also in handling political affairs in general.

"He will definitely not be a retired politician but an active one," the spokesman said.

Diko General-secretary Stathis Kittis said that it would be the party=s members who took the final decision.

"It is not what some people decide backstage. We will fail if we do that," Kittis said.

April 16 , 2000

[06] Arson attacks in Limassol & Paphos

The vehicle belongs to 27-year-old Romanian Janina Karounu, and was parked near her flat in the tourist area.

A plastic container with flammable liquid was found near the scene. Police have issued an arrest warrant for one person who has not been named.

Limassol police are investigating a suspected arson attack on a motorbike in the tourist area. They have detained a 22-year-old Russian man they believe may be connected with the incident.

The man was at a beach party where there was a fight in which he suffered a broken nose at around 2am.

The man denies he had anything to do with the attack.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 2000

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