Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-04-04

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

Friday, April 4, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Workers strike against the war

[02] Collections under way for Iraqi civilians

[03] Vote buying claim mars Church election campaign

[04] Taxpayer forking out £500 a day to protect ailing criminal

[05] House anger at change in out-of-town building regulations

[06] Interest rate decision brought forward as economic crisis bites

[07] Do you have an idea and a business plan?

[01] Workers strike against the war

In separate declarations, the demonstrators demanded an end to the war and said Iraq's disarmament and democratisation should be carried out with UN consent.

Between 11am and 11.30am the island's workforce came to a standstill. Workers, who gathered in droves at specific locations and staged pickets in protest against the war, called on the United States and Britain to stop their attack immediately.

House President and AKEL leader Demetris Christofias, who joined the work stoppage outside the House, said the protests expressed workers' peace- loving feelings and opposition to the war. “This is an unjust, illegitimate and amoral war,” he said.

SEK trade union General-secretary Demetris Kitenis said working Cypriots wanted to send a strong message to the international community, the US and Britain. “They oppose the war without a UN decision and feel this war is a danger for peace in the region, the world at large and is affecting global development and prosperity,” he said.

Even Turkish Cypriot trade unions participated in yesterday's nationwide work stoppage. DEV-IS trade union president Ali Kulen said Cypriots understood the trauma of war: “We know why this war is taking place and what its objective is… Everybody, irrespective of religion and colour, must say loud and clear that they are against this war,” he said.

The workers, who called on Britain and the US to stop fighting and take the issue back to the UN, urged the European Union to try and end the war by exerting its influence, and called on the member states to “take all the necessary step to offer every possible humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq”.

Meanwhile, the Pancyprian Federation of Students' Unions, in co-operation with pupils' unions, organised a separate pro-peace demonstration in Nicosia's Eleftheria Square. Around 2,000 students attended the rally and nearly half of them proceeded to march to the US embassy, where they handed over a declaration condemning the war.

“Nobody can have a clear conscience when people are being killed for the sake of world domination policies and oil. We join millions of other people around the globe to protest this war,” it said.

The students also carried banners with various anti-war slogans, ranging from “No to war, yes to friendship among the people”, to “No facilities to the imperialists” and “No more blood for oil”.

Dozens of police officers dressed in riot gear formed a cordon outside the embassy. Several students threw eggs and an American flag was burned, but there were no violent incidents.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, April 4, 2003

[02] Collections under way for Iraqi civilians

A number of humanitarian organisations yesterday began fundraising campaigns around the island in an effort to help the people of Iraq.

Kykkos Monastery, the Cyprus Social Forum, the Doctors' of the World and various other groups set up collection centres for food and medical supplies in all major districts. Meanwhile bank accounts for donations were also set up at banks around the island.

Kykkos Monastery has set up collection booths in six different towns. In Nicosia the booth is located at Eleftheria Square, in Limassol at the Patichi Foundation elderly club (old hospital), in Larnaca at the Municipal market's 13th Street, in Paphos at Ayios Neophytos Church and the Bishopric, in Paralimni at Ayios Giorgios Church, and in Athienou at the Meli Zachariades and Theokritou crossroad. The collections will continue until Saturday, April 12. The church has also set up bank accounts at the Bank of Cyprus (a/c 0194-05-010677), Hellenic Bank (a/c 119-12-25161100) and Laiki Bank (a/c code 172).

The Cyprus Social Forum is also collecting medication and children's food at PEO trade union offices in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Paralimni. Donations will be accepted from Monday-Friday, between 8am and 6pm and on Saturday from 8am-midday. Meanwhile bank accounts have been set up at the Cyprus Workers' Coop bank, STEK, (a/c number 694001292-7), Bank of Cyprus (0110-05-144-029), Laiki Bank (005-21-024463) and Hellenic Bank (a/c 121-01-253150-01), under the name “supporting the Iraqi people”.

Doctors' of the World have also set up collection points for food in the Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Famagusta districts. Organisers stressed they were only collecting powdered, condensed and/or evaporated milk and children's food.

In Nicosia, collection points were set up at the Apostolos Varnavas Church in Dasoupoli and Astra radio station; in Limassol at Ayios Nicolaos Church and the Green Party headquarters; at Larnaca's community centre on Ayias Faneromenis Avenue; at the Paphos Church Metropolis' offices, at Radio Paphos and Omega TV and at the Independent Free Democrats Movement headquarters; and in the Famagusta district at Ayios Demetrios, Ayios Georgios and Ayia Varvara churches.

The organisation also set up bank accounts at Laiki Bank (a/c 01521-00- 8116), Bank of Cyprus (a/c 0114-0101-6785) and Arab Bank (a/c 1301-093320- 500).

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, April 4, 2003

[03] Vote buying claim mars Church election campaign

The Bishop of Paphos, Chrysostomos, accused monks from Machairas Monastery of using unacceptable methods to drum up support for the upcoming elections. The Abbot of Machairas called the bishop a liar in return.

Speaking to state radio yesterday, Bishop Chrysostomos said certain people with a strong interest in the elections for the archbishop's throne were going from house to house offering bags of vegetables and taking notes of each household's needs. He maintained that the culprits appeared to come from Machairas Monastery, describing the alleged practice as “unacceptable”.

“These things are happening in my diocese. A senior cleric who wishes to be a candidate is driving around with his twin-cabin truck, distributing sacks of potatoes. But he also had a note pad with him to write down the needs of one household so he could assist them in getting a new kitchen appliance or whatever it was they needed,” said Chrysostomos.

“It is unacceptable. If it happened at any other time I would have congratulated them. But now the motives are different,” he added.

The Paphos Bishop maintained that sources told him the twin-cabin came from Machairas. “But clerics are not allowed to visit houses without passing through the bishopric first. It is their obligation to come through us,” he said.

The Abbot of Machairas, Arsenios, categorically denied the accusations and challenged Chyrsostomos to bring any evidence he had before the Holy Synod.

“I believe these statements are unnecessary. We have never visited even one household in Paphos or any other part of Cyprus to give any vegetables or buy somebody's vote for any candidate. The Bishop of Paphos is lying,” he said. “In my five years as Abbot of Machairas, I have visited the Paphos diocese twice, and I never went to any household other than for religious purposes. And if he has any evidence could he please tell us who we gave to and which candidates we were promoting. If there is any evidence, it should be heard, because people should be allowed to vote freely,” added Arsenios.

The abbot admitted that the monastery gives out perishable goods to certain monasteries once a year, and to poor people who go to Machairas monastery, but not to households.

According to reports, the Holy Synod is expected to convene soon after Easter to determine when to set an election date for a new archbishop to replace ailing Archbishop Chrysostomos. Reports have so far mentioned three candidates in the running for the position, leading with Limassol Bishop Athanasios, followed by Kykkos and Morphou Bishops Nikiforos and Neophytos.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, April 4, 2003

[04] Taxpayer forking out £500 a day to protect ailing criminal

Fanieros, 63, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2001 for fraud, but he has been in and out of hospitals in Cyprus and Canada for treatment of permanent damage to his larynx after he was shot in a murder attempt in 1997.

His sentence was suspended for eight months last year to enable him to travel to Canada for treatment, but ever since his return, his health has been steadily deteriorating and he was admitted to Makarios hospital in Nicosia last year, where he is still being treated.

But looking after Fanieros is proving to be a costly task for the government, since eight guards from the understaffed prisons have been assigned to protect Fanieros from any possible attack on a 24-hour basis.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, prison governor Panicos Kyriacou said the cost of protecting Fanieros could not be avoided.

“This man has been in hospital for months. He has to be guarded on a 24- hour basis by two-men shifts,” he said.

“Steps are being taken due to the seriousness of his condition to allow him to fly again to Canada for treatment. The Ministry of Health has authorised the trip and now it all depends on the Attorney-general's office, but we are estimating he will go in May.

“I see Fanieros often and his doctors say his condition requires fine surgery in order to repair his larynx. But the bullet is still lodged in his throat and the doctors cannot remove it because it will do more harm than good.”

Kyriacou said the Attorney-general's office was considering either suspending Fanieros' sentence for a set time, or releasing him altogether since he required constant treatment.

“We've had to provide Fanieros with continuous protection in case another murder attempt is carried out against him,” he said.

“We are definitely not worried that he will escape, not in his condition. “The costs (for his protection) are high and especially for the central prison where we are already understaffed. If we take into account prison guards' leave, then we should really be saying there are 10 men guarding Fanieros, not eight.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, April 4, 2003

[05] House anger at change in out-of-town building regulations

Changes in building coefficients, approved by the Interior Minister and published in the government's official gazette on March 21, were discussed by the committee yesterday. They studied changes to the law on housing in areas outside specified zones for housing development, or agricultural land, and discussed measures to postpone implementation of the new changes to the Local Plan.

Under the new changes, the minimum area of land needed before issuing planning permission to build a house on 'agricultural land' has been increased from 4,000 square metres to 6,000 square metres. The maximum size of the house can only be 240 square metres and a developer has to have access to the house through a public road. The government can no longer issue passes through other people's property.

Acting Committee Chairman Ionas Nicolaou and DISY colleague Christodoulos Taramoundas argued that this first change violated the principle of equality because it only applied to areas under the Local Plan and not areas under the Statement of Policy. They also argued that the changes would greatly diminish the value of agricultural land, in many cases by 700 per cent even before implementation.

AKEL deputies argued that the specific changes came from members of the previous government.

Nicolaou told state radio that the House Legal Affairs Committee wished to submit a legal proposal for suspension of implementation of the changes. He said the committee would look at the extent of the legal consequences of the changes, and were likely to propose legal measures to oversee the adoption of such measures.

One Town Planning official told the Cyprus Mail that changes were made for many reasons including to free up land in the Nicosia district. “There is no clear path to put one major road in Lakatamia or Latsia because of these huge plots of land. People build huge houses on these plots. Now, the maximum size of the building is limited to 240 square metres and that is for each plot of land with a minimum size of 6,000 square metres,” said Markela Hadjida.

The original Local Plan for Nicosia was published in 1996 and was 150 pages thick, covering residential, industrial and agricultural areas. With the new changes approved last month, the Local Plan has reached 200 pages.

“Many things have changed since 1996. We have had to address more specific issues like EU accession, promoting Cyprus as a service provider instead of just a sun and sea destination and other matters which have been injected into the plan,” she added.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, April 4, 2003

[06] Interest rate decision brought forward as economic crisis bites

THE Monetary Policy committee will meet in a hurriedly-convened session today to review interest rate policy and the state of the economy, hit by a slump in tourism arrivals.

The meeting is being brought forward from its previously scheduled date of April 16.

“The committee had said that it would closely follow the economic situation and it now feels that it is time for a review,” a Central Bank spokesman told Reuters.

Cyprus' growth prospects have been dented by the conflict in Iraq and the impact it is having on tourism arrivals, the lifeblood of the economy.

Interest rates are currently at 5.00 per cent for advances and 2.5 per cent for deposits. The latest rate adjustment was on December 13.

The European Central Bank kept key rates unchanged yesterday, with the benchmark refinancing rate at 2.5 per cent. Cyprus is expected to join the EU on 1 May 2004.

Last month, the government was forced to cut growth forecasts on the back of poor tourism bookings seen as a direct impact of the war in Iraq.

Hoteliers say they may not renew the contracts of thousands of workers in the sector.

The most recent estimate suggests the economy will expand by some 2.3 per cent in 2003, significantly below initial estimates of above 4.0 per cent.

Authorities have said that if the situation worsens it will consider a freeze on employment of foreign labour, no pay rises for civil servants and a curb on defence spending.

But ratings agency Moody's Investors Service yesterday retained its A2 rating with a stable outlook, given the country's moderately high per capita income and manageable public debt burden, the agency said.

“Moody's believes that the new tax system, coupled with Cyprus' wide network of double tax treaties, will improve the island's attractiveness as an international business centre in the European Union,” said Bernard Musyck, a Moody's AVP, and author of the annual credit report.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, April 4, 2003

[07] Do you have an idea and a business plan?

THE University of Cyprus today holds its first open event of the 'Cyprus Entrepreneurship Competition 2003' (CyEC), a contest aimed at promoting high-tech development around the island.

The event takes place at the University Main Hall, between 3pm and 5pm.

Speakers at today's workshop will elaborate on the objectives, guidelines and procedures of the competition, which requires each contestant or group of contestants to create a business plan fit to present to a panel of judges comprised of investors, academics and entrepreneurs.

The first place winner of the competition will take home £6,000, with £ 2, 000 going to both second and third place. Organisers insist, however, that all participants will win in gaining a learning experience that will prepare them for future success.

Participation in the competition is open to anyone with a high-tech start up idea, with the exception of any existing company or professional.

CyEC was modeled on the “MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition,” the 14- year-old contest at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which has produced US companies with an aggregate value of $175 million in Venture Capital funding.

Organisers hope that bringing the competition to Cyprus will help evolve the entrepreneurial environment on the island, allowing it to keep up with the fast pace flourishing technical centers worldwide.

A number of promotional, educational and training events will culminate in the selection of a winner in autumn 2003.

The next workshop is scheduled for April 11 at 11 am at the Ampitheatre of the Athens University of Economics and Business.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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