Cyprus News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-07-29

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Government supports industry

[02] Fisherman found guilty of passing AIDS virus to British lover

[03] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[04] Clerides submits proposals on missing

[05] Government protests puppet regime's acceptance

[06] Government raps Denktash's views on EU

[07] Government says T/C celebrations injure peace process

[08] British Bases act to prevent illegal cultivation of land

[09] Russian remanded for stealing via Internet

1510:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Government supports industry

The Minister was speaking to the press after a meeting with the special Industry Committee of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE), to examine the problems facing Cyprus' industry.

The government wants to help strengthen the island's industry, in an effort to diversify its industrial base, Christofi noted, explaining that "we can't rely exclusively on tourism for ever."

The Minister said during the meeting he briefed KEVE's Committee on the progress of recent government measures, aimed at strengthening the island's industry, while a number of other issues related to the industry, were examined.

Commenting on the results of measures introduced recently, Christofi pointed out that they were "very important," and therefore they must have contributed to helping the industry to recover.

According to the Minister, in order to deal with the economic complications resulting from its European Union accession, Cyprus must keep its prices low, and improve the quality of its products.

KEVE President, Vassilis Rologis, acknowledged that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism has already helped the industrialists enough, and that now it is up to other Ministries to do the same.

He expressed satisfaction with the results of the measures already introduced by the government in the field of industry.

CNA GG/GP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1545:CYPPRESS:02

[02] Fisherman found guilty of passing AIDS virus to British lover

Pavlos Georgiou, a 40-year-old father-of-four, from the Ayia Napa southern coastal resort, now faces a maximum two-year imprisonment and a fine of 1,500 Cyprus pounds (around 3,000 US dollars) for knowingly infecting British divorcee Janette Pink, 45, with the AIDS virus.

Sentencing was set for next Thursday, July 31.

In rendering his decision, Famagusta District Court Judge Antonis Liatsos said throughout the affair Georgiou did not once tell Pink he was HIV-positive, even though the two had repeated sexual contact without the use of a condom.

"From January 1994 and for a period of two years, the accused repeatedly came in sexual contact with Janette Pink without the use of a condom. In no case did he tell her he was a carrier of the disease," the Judge said.

Pink, a mother-of-two, from Basildon, England, accused Georgiou of failing to use a condom and of keeping his illness a secret from her.

Georgiou denied the accusation, saying Pink knew of his condition before having sex with him.

However, Judge Liatsos rejected Georgiou's claims as "utterly unreliable" and called the accused "not a credible witness" with "too many contradictions in his statements."

"He had sex with Janette Pink knowing his condition and did not tell her about HIV. He negligently exposed another person to the infection," the Judge said.

He also noted the legal obligation to take precautions rested with Georgiou and added he was impressed with the way Pink had withstood gruelling examination and cross-examination on the witness stand.

"Without any hesitation, I accept that her testimony was the truth...I was impressed with the way that she stood up to questioning about her private life," the Judge said.

Lawyers for Georgiou said they would ask the Court for a suspended sentence, noting that his wife, Martha, had died of AIDS in 1994 and that his four-year-old son was also infected with the disease.

Georgiou was the first person on the island to be charged with knowingly passing on the AIDS virus to another person. His trial is seen here as a test case whether allegations that an HIV carrier can be convicted on charges of transmitting the virus.

He was prosecuted under a 50-year-old British colonial law designed to combat the spread of cholera and typhoid.

During her testimony, Pink told the Court she fell in love with Georgiou during a visit to Cyprus, in 1994.

She said Georgiou told her his wife died of leukemia and that it was not until his wife's death that she found out Martha had died of AIDS.

She returned to Britain in 1996 HIV-positive where she was soon admitted to hospital and treated for pneumonia for nearly two months.

Pink, who was not present for the verdict at the end of the three-month trial, is currently in remission with the aid of new-generation anti-AIDS drugs and slow-release morphine tablets. CNA/MAN/MH/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1600:CYPPRESS:03

[03] Cyprus Stock Exchange

CSE All Share Index                    74.69 (+0.12)

Highest: 82.46 (2/1/97)
Lowest : 73.90 (30/1/97)

Sectural Indices

Banks                                  83.26 (-0.12)
Approved Investment Companies          63.03 (-1.08)
Insurance Companies                    56.79 (-0.68)
Industrial Companies                   75.77 (+0.20)
Tourist Industries                     63.41 (-0.39)
Commercial Companies                   46.67 (-0.02)
Other Companies                        59.51 (+0.05)

Trading Volume                         CYP 495653.082

CNA AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1750:CYPPRESS:04

[04] Clerides submits proposals on missing

Christofides made the statement while briefing journalists on yesterday's meeting between President Clerides and Denktash, who met without any advisors at the residence of top UN envoy in Cyprus, Gustave Feissel, at the UN-controlled Nicosia airport area.

The Spokesman said "the meeting concentrated on clearly humanitarian issues. They examined the various aspects of the missing persons issue. Some proposals were made which might lead to a solution or progress of the problem. An obligation to reply on Thursday was undertaken," he added.

This was the first meeting here between President Clerides and Denktash since their first round of face-to-face talks that took place earlier this month in Troutbeck, New York. The meeting was proposed by President Clerides to deal with humanitarian issues. Another meeting is scheduled for Thursday.

Asked if an issue of exhuming remains was raised, the Spokesman said this issue is "substantial and if it is solved, it will provide the most convincing evidence on the fate and identity of the missing."

Christofides stressed that this means the graves of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will be opened.

President Clerides, he said, supports the view that graves should be opened up to properly ascertain the fate of the missing.

The Spokesman said every effort will be made to achieve solutions to these issues, noting that he did not know whether more than three meetings will take place before the second round of the UN-sponsored direct talks, expected to take place near Geneva, Switzerland, between August 11 and 16.

Asked whether during yesterday's meeting the issue of Denktash's participation in the second round of talks was raised, Christofides said the President asked Denktash if he will attend but the Turkish Cypriot leader said he will decide after tomorrow's meeting of his so called "cabinet".

CNA MM/EC/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1810:CYPPRESS:05

[05] Government protests puppet regime's acceptance

Government Spokesman, Manolis Christofides, told his press briefing Tuesday that WEPZA (World Export and Processing Zone Association) is a private organisation which initially was associated with UNIDO but now operates independently.

WEPZA is said to fight for free trade in the world.

The breakaway pseudostate became a member of this private organisation which numbers 38 members. The internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus is not a member of WEPZA.

"Irrespective of the fact that it is an international private organisation, representations by the Foreign Ministry have been made and will continue," Christofides noted.

Turkish Cypriot press yesterday described the move as "very important."

CNA MM/AP/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1835:CYPPRESS:06

[06] Government raps Denktash's views on EU

Quoting Denktash's description of Cyprus' efforts for EU accession as a "big trap" Christofides said "we consider the road to Europe as a salvation."

Backing his position, Christofides said it "provides a guarantee for prosperity and happiness for all the people of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenians, Latins and Maronites."

"The Turkish Cypriot community will not have a problem of survival and safety within Europe. Europe strictly adheres to the protection of the rights of its citizens," he added.

Denktash, said Christofides, "asserts that Cyprus' European course will be discussed only when Turkey becomes a member of the EU, an extortion on a grand scale, instrumented with similar statements by Turkish officials and is under the direction of the new Turkish external policy maker, Bulent Ecevit," Christofides said.

Finally, he called on EU member-states not to "disregard this barren policy" which only serves Turkey instead of the Turkish Cypriots.

Denktash and Ankara have unleashed threats for gradual integration of the northern occupied part of Cyprus with Turkey, if the European Commission goes ahead with its decision to start accession talks with Cyprus six months after the Intergovernmental Conference.

CNA MM/EC/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1925:CYPPRESS:07

[07] Government says T/C celebrations injure peace process

This was stressed here today by Government Spokesman, Manolis Christofides, when invited to comment on Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash's admission in the "Turkish Daily News" that he was one of three founders of the extremist organisation TMT, in 1957.

Celebrations will be held in the Turkish-occupied areas on August 1, marking the anniversaries of the foundation of TMT the declaration of a separate Turkish Cypriot administration and the conquering of Cyprus by the Turks in 1571.

Christofides said such celebrations do not help the climate of direct talks taking place this period between President Glafcos Clerides and Denktash.

"I do not believe that these kinds of celebrations are conducive to the climate in which we are operating to find a solution to the Cyprus problem, " the Spokesman said.

Commenting on Denktash's admission, Christofides said this "does not constitute a badge of honour in Cyprus, either in the Greek Cypriot community or the Turkish Cypriot community."

The Spokesman said that TMT, officially founded in November 1957 with the aim to undermine the Greek Cypriot struggle for self-determination against British colonialism, had presented Cyprus with many dire consequences and added that "it is not the first time that the Turks have admitted a role in illegal activities."

Christofides referred to two historically significant events in the '50s, one in Constantinople and one in Nicosia, when the Turks accused the Greeks of bombing attacks they later admitted to organising. CNA/MM/MH/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1945:CYPPRESS:08

[08] British Bases act to prevent illegal cultivation of land

The work at Pyla range, near the southeastern village of Xylophagou, involved the removal of 16,000 cubic metres of topsoil from land used by local farmers Demetris Pantelis and Andreas Psaras for potato and melon crops.

Before the bulldozers moved in, British Bases personnel removed irrigation pipes to land owned by the two farmers, both of whom stressed the great damage the removal of the topsoil is doing to their livelihood.

Pantelis and Psaras admitted that the land which was bulldozed by British army engineers is in fact forest land owned by SBA Administration, but claimed the land has been cultivated for 70 years now without any problems arising.

SBA Spokesman Mervyn Wynne Jones said the farmers were indeed cultivating illegally land not belonging to them and had chosen to "flaunt" the law despite repeated warnings to stop.

He explained to CNA that one of the farmers had applied and was granted a licence in 1995 to cultivate cereals on forest land adjacent to land legally owned by him.

However, Jones said the farmer got "greedy" and went for profit by cultivating more lucrative crops such as potatoes and melons which require extensive irrigation equipment.

The SBA Spokesman added that although his licence was revoked and in spite of repeated warnings including an SBA Court order to stop cultivation, the farmer continued to grow the crops which forced SBA authorities to take action.

In a news release, SBA authorities pointed out that encroachment on Bases land is not only illegal but potentially dangerous since the area is used for tactical training by British troops who advance in formation across open terrain and shooting at targets with live ammunition.

"Irrigated farming and live firing do not mix," Jones said.

Meanwhile, in a press release, the Committee Against British Policy and British Bases in Cyprus accused SBA authorities of "acting illegally and contrary to the Constitution" by removing the topsoil and preventing farmers from "exercising their right to cultivate land which belongs to them."

The Committee also said that if the government demonstrates "weakness" in protecting its citizens, then the responsibility to do so must fall on citizens or other organised groups.

Two Sovereign Base Areas, Dhekelia on the southeastern coast and Akrotiri on the southwestern coast, were ceded to Britain by the 1960 Treaty of Establishment which founded the Republic of Cyprus. CNA/MAN/MH/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2035:CYPPRESS:09

[09] Russian remanded for stealing via Internet

According to Cyprus radio, the suspect allegedly hacked into the computers of commercial banks throughout the world where he picked up credit card numbers of customers and ordered thousands of pounds worth of goods through the Internet.

The suspect admitted guilt in 15 cases from a specific bank in Cyprus, the radio said.

Police are further investigating the case and are cooperating with Interpol since the suspect's activities extend beyond Cyprus.

CNA EC/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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