Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 99-10-26

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

Tuesday, October 26, 1999

Visa probe cast shadow over politics

INVESTIGATIONS into the visa scam were causing friction and tension among the politicians as police were finding new evidence, yesterday's papers all reported.

Phileleftheros, without being specific, said that findings by the police opened up new cases which raised a host of questions. The cases have cast a shadow over political life, which would inevitably cause friction. It cited the views of the Attorney-general, Alecos Markides, who had said that there were political responsibilities for the irregularities and graft in the government services, which have been recorded in the Auditor-general's reports every year.

Meanwhile, Disy leader Nicos Anastassiades hinted that some people were trying to harm him politically, presumably because of his brother's alleged involvement in the visa scam. He said that those who were trying to exploit the matter, which he had nothing to do with, would be bitterly disappointed.

Politis

said the police were waiting for the return from abroad of a witness, whose testimony would strengthen the case against Immigration Chief Christodoulos Nicolaides and lead to the arrest of another Immigration Department official. A remand order had already been issued against the witness, the paper claimed.

Investigating officers were in an awkward position after finding Immigration Department files, which showed that Nicolaides had done favours to politicians including deputies from Disy, Akel and Diko. The files have been handed over to the competent ministers, who will take decisions about the cases.

Alithia

said that the semi-governmental Cyprus Organisation for the Development of Land had been reported to the Ombudsman by buyers of flats who claimed to have been cheated. The main complaint was that the flats sold by the organisation were so badly built that they required repairs amounting to 25 per cent of their value -- a flat costing 45,000 pounds needed repairs amounting to 10,000 pounds.

The Organisation, which had been set up to help low-income home buyers, was also accused of charging 8.5 per cent interest, which was 0.5 per cent higher than the top rate set by the Central Bank. Another complaint was the delay in issuing of title deeds, with waiting periods of up to 10 years.

Haravghi

reported excerpts from a letter by a Disy official who had claimed that if there were elections now, his party would have suffered a humiliating defeat. Disy's Kyrenia District Secretary had written to the Party's Political Bureau, urging it to arrange a postponement of elections for the Pancyprian Refugee Committee, because results would be disastrous.

The letter had exposed the flimsy excuses used by Disy deputies to justify the postponement of the elections. The paper also claimed that many Disy deputies were opposed to the tax hikes introduced by the government, but had been urged by their leadership to keep quiet.

Simerini

reported that four EU member countries had prepared a document which would apply the brakes on Cyprus' EU membership course. The document, prepared by France, Holland, Germany and Italy poses the question "whether Cyprus could complete its accession procedure and join the EU before a settlement of the Cyprus problem".

The issue would be discussed by Greece's Prime Minister in Paris, which he will visit at the beginning of next month. According to an Athens source, the Greek government would fight to have the content of the document amended.

To Tharros

said that the Greek American lobby was involved in regular contacts with members of the Democratic Party in an attempt to pressure President Clinton into keeping his promise for a just solution of the Cyprus problem.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999

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