Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-11-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Denktash threatens to quit talks over Annan ideas

[02] Expert report will not be 'magic wand' for CSE

[03] How low the market go?

[04] Patriarch under fire for 'undermining Cyprus Church'

[05] New delay for Chrysanthos trial

[06] Man accused of travellers' cheque fraud

[07] Grenade thrown in car lot

[08] Pourgourides joins campaign to end bird slaughter

[09] New 10-year deal for French radio transmitter

[01] Denktash threatens to quit talks over Annan ideas

"After my return to Cyprus, we will evaluate developments and decide accordingly," Denktash said in an interview with the Turkish Daily News, published today. In the telephone interview, Denktash said the "non-paper" presented in separate meetings to him and President Glafcos Clerides on Wednesday by Annan contradicted the UN chief's September 12 statement on the equality of the two sides, ignored security concerns of Turkish Cypriots and set aside the norms the two sides had agreed in a 1977 "High- level Agreement" between himself and Archbishop Makarios on the handling of the territorial aspects of the Cyprus problem.

Denktash told TDN that Annan's Special Envoy for Cyprus Alvaro de Soto was right in his statement that there were marked differences in the approaches of the two sides on Cyprus. He said that the latest developments had shown that there were not only deep differences between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, but there were also sharp differences between the Turkish Cypriots and Annan in their approach to the Cyprus problem.

"We told him, in the plainest terms, that accepting the framework he presented would amount to allowing Greek Cypriots to return to the entire territory in northern Cyprus," Denktash said. "It would amount to an approach taking as a principle the Loizidou case. This means we would agree right from the beginning that all Greek Cypriots have the right to property in northern Cyprus. This is not possible."

Denktash said that despite earlier pledges made to the Turkish Cypriot side that the process would be between "two equal parties", the "non-paper" presented by Annan portrayed the Turkish Cypriot side as a community. "That cannot be accepted," he said. Denktash said that even though over the past four rounds there had been talk by the secretary-general and his envoy about a rotating presidency and the political equality of the two parties, all of a sudden Annan had revived the 1960 formula of a Greek Cypriot president and Turkish Cypriot vice-president and brushed aside the principle of political equality of the two parties, instead talking about the "effective participation" of Turkish Cypriots in the government.

"This is an attempt to revive the 1960 system. We shall not accept that," he said. Stressing the proximity talks process would come to an end unless the secretary-general withdrew his "non-paper," Denktash accused Annan of totally ignoring the security concerns of the Turkish Cypriot people. "The changing security concerns were totally ignored. On the one hand our state is asked to make large-scale territorial concessions to Greek Cypriots, and on the other we're asked to allow large number of Greek Cypriots to settle in the north.

If we accept this… Cyprus will soon be far worst than what has been happening recently in Palestine," Denktash warned. "We started this process in December 1999 with a pledge that there wouldn't be any preconditions. Now, the secretary-general has put forward a precondition. He should eliminate this precondition," the Turkish Cypriot leader said.

[02] Expert report will not be 'magic wand' for CSE

Klerides told a news conference: "The report will not be a magic wand that needs to be waved once for the Index and share prices to rocket." He said the study aimed at suggesting ways in which the CSE and Stock Exchange Council could be modernised and improved within the framework of Cyprus' EU accession and subsequent competitiveness and the globalisation of the world's stock markets.

"We have set a timetable for the report to be completed in three and a half months. Two months into that, an interim report will be put forward and we will have some results to announce then."

Tsimpanoulis said his four-member team was made up of top financial experts. "We may not know every little thing about the CSE now, but we will by the end of the report and will be continuously meeting with the involved parties to this end." He said the main aim of the report was to blend elements of the EU practice into the Cypriot status quo.

"Obviously not everything can be copied as is." Tsimpanoulis and his team arrived in Cyprus on Thursday. They have already met with some Cypriot experts and while the group will not spend the entire three and a half month period on the island -- "we see no point in that" -- they will be returning to Cyprus frequently and will invite Cypriot officials to Greece.

Tsimpanoulis signed an official agreement with Klerides yesterday and said he saw many similarities in the Greek and Cypriot markets, stressing the team did not see the CSE as a "sick patient." "The CSE is a new Stock Market and has been suffering some teething problems.

A study like the one we plan to carry out could be just as useful to even the most advanced markets." He compared the study to a guidebook, which the Stock Exchange Board and any other body involved could refer to when in doubt or when changes were mooted. Klerides noted that some of the suggestions could be implemented even before the report was completed.

"If we see something that could be useful and relatively simple to implement we could use it straight away." The government announced they would be bringing in foreign experts last month following a series of huge losses and decreasing indexes at the CSE and complaints that the CSE lacked a strong enough legal base. The three other members of Tsimpanoulis' team are Nicolaos Travlos, Costas Kyriakakis, and Mariliz Takvorian.

[03] How low the market go?

The session opened in negative territory and nosedived rapidly from 286 points to as low as 280 before some last minute trading, again in BoC, recouped some of the losses. The index closed at 284.1, a drop of 1.98 per cent, while volume, mainly accounted for by trading in the two main banks, stood at £19 million.

Brokers said the sharp drop coupled with the higher volume shows that the market is still operating on thin ice and is a long way from a turnaround. BoC's performance both here and in Athens yesterday left traders stunned. On the CSE, the stock, the second most actively traded of the day, plunged as low as £5.02 before settling at £5.12, a loss of 12 cents on its opening price, with nearly 540,000 shares worth £2.76 million changing hands.

In Athens, the back appeared to be heading towards a similar fate, hitting a low of 2,910 drachmas (£4.87) before recovering to close at 3,130 drachmas (£5.24). Some 232,00 BoC shares were traded on the ASE, which itself sustained a 0.5 per cent drop yesterday with the banking sector losing 0.20 per cent.

The CSE banking sector dropped a massive 2.22 per cent as BOC dragged Laiki with it. Laiki stocks plunged 20 cents to close at £6.67. "What happened today was totally unexpected and it's not exactly good news," said one Nicosia broker. "We don't know why the BoC stocks are behaving like this. We are surprised and disappointed. Nobody expected this."

The broker said the worry now is that Greek investors would sell their BoC shares in Athens at the higher price and buy on the CSE. "Investors have a frustrating two days ahead if we bear in mind the Cypriot psychology," the broker said. 'What happens on Monday will be critical.A lot will want to sell."

The broker said he believed the index would open low around 277 for the first half hour or so but that the institutional investors would step in to support the market in the second half of the session. He said shares are cheap although some are still grossly overvalued.

All sectors suffered yesterday. The insurance sector was down as much as 3.84 per cent and the trading sector 3.32. IT companies also took a beating, the sector falling 2.86 per cent as star performer GlobalSoft could not escape the overall trend and slid one cent to end at £5.87. Nearly 750,000 GlobalSoft shares were traded on a volume of £4.34 million, almost 25 per cent of the day's total. Logicom suffered a heavy 19-cent loss, closing at £4.20 while Glory also shed 19 cents, ending at £5.60.

[04] Patriarch under fire for 'undermining Cyprus Church'

The Archbishop's decision to call the Synod was seen by Church circles as an effort to clear Limassol Bishop Athanassios of homosexuality charges. But on Thursday Archbishop Chrysostomos confirmed he had received a letter from the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew informing him that no one would be representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate at Tuesday's Major Synod.

Speaking after a two-hour meeting with the Archbishop yesterday, the Kiti Bishop wondered why the Patriarch had decided not to send a representative, since, as he told reporters, it was the Patriarchate which had asked for the Major Synod to be held on November 14, to give them time to attend. Patriarch Bartholomew, said the Bishop, had even named the representative who would attend.

The Major Synod had initially been scheduled for October 31. In his letter, the Patriarch said the Archbishop did not have the authority to call a Major Synod, in a statement seen here as disputing the autocephalous rights of the Church of Cyprus.

The Patriarch based his statement on the argument that the powers vested in the Archbishop of Cyprus by the Pentherti Ecumenical Synod had been temporary. Yesterday, Bishop Athanassios' lawyer Christos Clerides said the Patriarch was clearly meddling with Cyprus Church affairs, something he said was unacceptable.

Clerides urged the Archbishop to defend the Church's autocephalous right by not accepting the Ecumenical Patriarchate's position and insisting on the Major Synod. "The crisis has created a larger crisis concerning the independence of the Church of Cyprus, and to a greater extent to the 1960 constitution since the independence of the Church is guaranteed in it," Clerides said.

Clerides too questioned why this issue had suddenly been created since a few days ago the Patriarchate had agreed to the convocation of the Major Synod. According to Clerides, the Bishop of Paphos had something to do with the Patriarchate's change of heart.

"The Paphos Bishop has admitted to having contacts with the Ecumenical Patriarchate," Clerides said. Clerides called upon the clergy to co-operate instead of trying to undermine the Major Synod because, he said, if the Archbishop backed down to the Patriarchate on this issue then his privileges would be irrevocably undermined.

[05] New delay for Chrysanthos trial

In early June, Chrysanthos's trial was put off for five months after his lawyer, Efstathios Efstathiou, told the Nicosia Criminal court he had too much work to get through. The first hearing had been set for this Monday, but has now been put back till January 29 because a key British-based prosecution witness cannot make it to the island before then.

Chrysanthos has pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding British-based investor Gerald Chambers out of $3.7 million. Efstathiou says New Zealander Chambers has informed the Criminal Court that he cannot come to Cyprus before the end of January, forcing a further postponement.

The 68-year-old former Bishop could face up to three years in jail if convicted of trying to dupe Chambers. It is alleged that Chrysanthos offered Chambers a 200 per cent monthly return on his investment but that the New Zealander got cold feet after he became suspicious of the deal.

According to the charge sheet, the then Bishop conspired with Laurence Edward Olsen and Shirley Anne Rhodes to entice Chambers into a suspect investment scheme which would see his money wired into a joint account at the Serbian offshore Karic Banka in Nicosia.

Chrysanthos then allegedly tried to persuade officials at the bank to transfer the £3.7 million to his own account with the Kredientbank in Brussels. The charge sheet states that the Bishop falsely claimed he had secured a bank guarantee from the Kredientbank for the benefit of Chambers.

The offences are alleged to have taken place in Nicosia, Limassol and London between April and June 1997. Chrysanthos resigned from his position in November 1998 as the Holy Synod met to decide his fate as allegations of financial misdeeds mushroomed.

The Synod suspended Chrysanthos from carrying out church services. But he was allowed to keep his residence, servants and salary from the Church. Chrysanthos' brief appearance before the Nicosia Assizes on June 6 generated huge media interest.

The cleric turned up in his black priestly robes and confidently told reporters outside the court that he was completely innocent and had no doubts the justice system would prove as much.

[06] Man accused of travellers' cheque fraud

POLICE yesterday arrested a Portuguese man and are seeking for a couple thought to be European, all suspected of cheating several banks out of £25, 000 using forged travellers' cheques.

The man was arrested just as he was trying to cash three cheques worth £375. The travellers' cheques were apparently stolen and forged, police said. Police believes a German passport found on the suspect when he was captured was also forged.

Based on their information, investigators believe the suspect, along with the other two who are thought to be Spanish or Portuguese, are part of a larger gang operating in Europe. Police said the trio had so far managed to take off with £25,000 from several banks around the island.

[07] Grenade thrown in car lot

A NICOSIA neighbourhood was rocked yesterday by an explosion at a used car forecourt, which shattered windows and damaged several cars.

The 3am blast came after a hand-grenade was hurled inside the yard of Star of Japan Motors Ltd in Strovolos, belonging to Fotis Vassiliou. After combing the area for clues, police said it the blast had been caused by an M-26 fragment grenade, hurled from the road.

It is thought the attack was prompted by professional differences.

[08] Pourgourides joins campaign to end bird slaughter

Despite the fact that the cruel trapping techniques have been banned since 1984, the practice continues to be both widespread and blatant, particularly in the southeast of the island.

The warblers and other songbirds caught in their hundreds of thousands end up being served up in local tavernas as expensive and popular delicacies known as ambelopoulia.

With a single pickled bird selling for £1.50, the trapping is a multi- million pound industry. Following unflattering reports on the bird killing in the British press, Pourgourides is now proposing that the relevant law be tightened up.

The veteran of many an anti-corruption crusade wants the consumption or possession of ambelopoulia to be punishable by up to a year's imprisonment or a fine of up to £1,000. As things stand, it is illegal for a restaurant to put any wild-caught bird on its menu.

Pourgourides' proposed amendment - detailed in a letter he sent to the director of the House on Thursday - would take things a step further. The possession and use of both lime sticks and mist nets has been illegal for over a decade.

Environmentalists insist police are not doing enough to enforce the bans, and the evidence "on the ground" suggests trappers have little fear of being penalised. Police point to records of arrests, but admit that tackling the trappers is not their top priority.

Pourgourides says the practice is unacceptable and is giving the island a "bad name" abroad. The Times, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail have all recently carried stories about the widespread and blatant bird killing. The Daily Mail described Cypriots as "the most merciless bird killers in the Mediterranean".

Britain's powerful Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) last week called on Brussels to block Cyprus's entry unless the lime sticking and bird trapping is halted. The RSPB call came after its under-cover officers estimated, on a recent visit to the island, that some 20 million songbirds fall foul to lime sticks and mist nets every year in Cyprus.

The bad press prompted the local Hunting Association - which is keen to cultivate a green image - to echo the RSPB's call for the EU to make Cyprus's accession conditional on the stamping out of the illegal trapping. Once a traditional, small-scale activity, the bird trapping has been turned into a high-tech industry, with tape lures often being used to attract migrants to their doom.

[09] New 10-year deal for French radio transmitter

CYPRUS and France yesterday renewed an agreement regarding the broadcasting of programmes by French radio to the Middle East.

The transmitter used by Radio France Internationale (RFI) is at Cape Greco, in the Famagusta district, where it has been in operation since 1970. The agreement was renewed for 10 years for the sum of £1.7 million, and was signed by Transport and Communications Ministry Permanent Secretary Vassos Pyrgos and the President of RFI, Jean-Paul Cluzel.

An official statement said the agreement was yet another step in the direction of promoting Cyprus as a service hub to the Middle East by utilising the island's strategic location.

Cyprus Mail 2000

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