Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 99-07-28

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

Wednesday, July 28, 1999

Serezis issue ‘in deep freeze’

THE temporary resolution of the public spat between Government Spokesman Costas Serezis and Disy leader Nicos Anastassiades featured prominently on the front pages, as did assurances that the Greece-Cyprus Unified Defence Dogma was alive and well.

Simerini said that a ceasefire had been declared between Serezis and Disy so that a bigger confrontation could be avoided. President Clerides had discussed the public fall-out in separate meetings with Anastassiades and Serezis and asked both to exercise restraint. Both said they were satisfied with their meetings, but Anastassiades insisted that he stuck by his criticism of Serezis. According to the paper, the issue had been "put in the deep freeze" until September when "new developments would be set in motion under more favourable conditions". At the moment, said Simerini, Clerides could not appoint Anastassiades-backed Chrysostomos Sophianos to the post of spokesman because there was opposition among government and Disy circles. Clerides hoped to cultivate the ground by September to make Sophianos an acceptable choice.

Haravghi said that Disy now expected Clerides to get rid of Serezis "by exercising his constitutional rights". It noted that while both Serezis and Anastassiades were "satisfied" with their respective meetings with Clerides, neither had said the "matter is closed". Serezis was even unable to say that he enjoyed the support of the president. Despite the meetings with Clerides, the Disy onslaught against Serezis continued on Monday, with three deputies calling for an extensive cabinet reshuffle, during which the government spokesman should also be replaced. The Minister of Interior intervened to say that a reshuffle was the president’s prerogative.

Machi reported that claims by an Athens newspaper -- that the Unified Defence Dogma was no longer of concern to Greece -- had been rejected by the governments of Greece and Cyprus. It quoted Greece’s deputy foreign minister as saying that the Dogma "is always in force". However, said the paper, Disy deputy Christos Rotsas had written to Clerides in April informing him that Athens’ decision to buy F-16 fighter jets instead of F- 15s showed that defending the Cyprus skies was not a priority for Greece. Other arms purchases by Greece also showed that the Dogma was a dead letter, claimed Rotsas.

Alithia reported that Disy leader Nicos Anastassiades was furious with Rotsas’ questioning of the Dogma, and said he would not tolerate the show of disrespect towards the Greek government. He said his party did not need any "military experts" and would report Rotsas to the Disy political bureau for stepping out of line. Regarding the Serezis-Anastassiades row, the paper said that Clerides and his associates were not happy with the way the spokesman had behaved. Serezis’ departure from the his post was just a question of time, said the paper.

Politis reported that there was such a demand for shares in Louis Cruise Lines that a black market has developed for them. The shares, which have a nominal value of 25 cents, are being sold for between £1.50 and £2.50 ahead of the company’s debut on the stock exchange on August 2.

Phileleftheros said that Washington had warned that October’s Cyprus talks would be the last chance for finding a Cyprus settlement. The warning put the Greek side under pressure, as the Turkish side was not interested in any other settlement than a confederation.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999

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