Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 97-07-08

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

News Update

Tuesday, 08/07/97

CONTENTS

• [01] President Clerides in New York: UN resolutions cannot be subject to interpretation
• [02] British and American support for UN-sponsored direct negotiations
• [03] Cyprus can be a model for many countries in preventing money laundering
• [04] Cypriot Parliamentarians urge OSCE to take more active role in Cyprus issue

[01] President Clerides in New York: UN resolutions cannot be subject to interpretation

Speaking to the press upon arrival in New York yesterday, Mr Clerides said that UN resolutions cannot be subject to interpretation. One example he gave was the issue of one indivisible sovereignty. Clerides said it was accepted by Denktash "but according to his own interpretation" of the issue. "The definition should be such, so as to be acceptable by both communities and not be subject to interpretation", he added.

Mr Clerides said that the Greek Cypriot side had come "in good will, ready to negotiate a solution that will secure the future of the two communities on the island".

Referring to the issue of security, President Clerides stressed that it is "one of the basic aspects" on the Cyprus problem, noting that "a solution will be impossible if the Greek and Turkish Cypriots do not feel secure for the future".

He also made a reminder of the repeated proposals by the Greek Cypriot side on security, that included the demilitarisation of the island and the stationing of an international force under a UN Security Council mandate.

[02] British and American support for UN-sponsored direct negotiations

Replying to press questions after the meeting Mr Madden said that London's contribution to these talks "is to assist the UN, the two parties in every way we can, to take the process forward to a settlement".

Mr Madden added that the fact that he was in New York and that Sir David Hannay was going to be joining him soon "demonstrates the commitment and resolve of the British Government to help the process forward".

Moreover, the US Presidential Emissary on Cyprus Mr Richard Holbrooke, after a meeting he had in New York yesterday with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, told the press that the US were supporting the UN process.

Mr Holbrooke added: "We keep low level here because this sector is Kofi Annan's event and we are supporting him and special representative Diego Cordovez and Carey Cavanaugh will represent the US State Department on the talks".

Mr Holbrooke was also scheduled to have separate meetings with President Clerides and Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides.

[03] Cyprus can be a model for many countries in preventing money laundering

Addressing the conference, the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus Afxentis Afxentiou referred to Cyprus' performance in preventing money laundering and said: "I am proud to say that Cyprus can be a model for many countries of the world. The vastness of the amounts of money involved poses a severe danger to the world financial system, threatening the smooth functioning of financial markets".

CBC Governor pointed out that 70 per cent of laundered funds are drug related, while other offences include illegal arms deals, premeditated murders, abduction, smuggling, product counterfeiting, etc.

It seems that criminal behaviour is no longer the act of individuals, but in more and more cases, that of organisations, a development that turns organised crime into "a threat to most of us, to financial institutions, and to the society as a whole", Afxentiou noted.

The abolition of exchange controls in most countries and the liberalisation and globalisation of financial markets have facilitated money laundering, he pointed out.

Afxentiou noted that fighting money laundering is an "international problem", and he urged regulatory authorities world-wide "to remain vigilant, keeping under constant review the development of new money laundering techniques, and adopting appropriate counter measures".

Speaking in the same conference, Central Bank of Cyprus Chief Senior Manager, Andreas Philippou, described Cyprus' policy on the issue, and said the Republic has taken every necessary measure to prevent money laundering.

For Cyprus, he said, eliminating money laundering "not only represents the honourable and ethical path to follow, but also ultimately is expected to promote material interest as well".

[04] Cypriot Parliamentarians urge OSCE to take more active role in Cyprus issue

MP Markos Kyprianou told the Session's Permanent Committee that the Cyprus issue should have been raised by the Session as a problem of invasion and occupation and a problem which Turkey plays a leading role.

Kyprianou stressed that this position has been adopted by other international fora.

Deputy Isidoros Makrides told the OSCE's General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian issues, that Cyprus has for 23 years bore witness to the violation of its people's human rights and basic freedoms by Turkey, a powerful member of the United Nations and the OSCE.

Referring to the role of mass media on society at large, Makrides said the media constitutes a "high profile court" through which "weak and undefended victims of injustice can make their case to the international community".

He added that in the case of Cyprus, the mass media have contributed in not allowing the international community to forget the continued injustice committed at the expense of the Cypriot people.

MP George Lillikas, speaking before the OSCE's General Committee on Political and Security Issues criticised the two-tier policy often selectively employed by the OSCE and other international organisations on various issues.

He stressed that the key to a solution in Cyprus is in Turkey's hands and the international community must act so that the territorial integrity of states is respected by all.

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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