Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 96-10-05

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[01] Government not informed of UN Chief's decision on Missing

1310:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Government not informed of UN Chief's decision on Missing

Speaking on state radio, Government Spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides said that neither he nor President Glafcos Clerides had any knowledge of reports according to which due to UN financial problems Ghali has decided against the appointment of a third party to the Investigatory Committee.

A similar statement was also made to CNA by Commissioner on humanitarian issues, Leandros Zachariades, who said the issue was not discussed during his meeting with President Clerides and Government Spokesman Cassoulides.

''If such a decision was made I should be the first to know'', Zachariades said.

The three-party Investigatory Committee was set up in 1981 and comprises of representatives appointed by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities as well as a representative appointed by the UN Secretary General.

Earlier CYBC (state radio) reports, siting reliable sources in New York, said that the UN Chief had announced his decision to Greek Foreign Minister, Theodoros Pangalos.

Meanwhile Reuter, citing UN sources, says the UN Secretary General has not yet appointed a UN official to the committee, ''because the leaders of the island's two communities have yet to complete steps he asked them to take last April.''

According to Reuter, the UN chief had asked President Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to reach an agreement on issues relating to the definition of categories of cases of missing persons submitted by the two sides; the sequence in which investigation would be carried out; the priority to be accorded to those concluded most expeditiously; and the collection of information about cases where there were no witnesses.

As the UN source told Reuter Ghali had told the two leaders to reach agreement on these matters by June ''but since they had still not done so, the appointment of a successor to (the last UN representative) Paul Wurth, has been delayed.''

CNA MCH/KN/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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