Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-07-06

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From: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>

CONTENTS

TUESDAY 6 JULY 1999

[01] HEADLINES

[02] KYPRIANOU CLAY

[03] SEREZIS

[04] TURKEY KURDS

[05] ISRAEL GOVERNMENT

[06] YUGOSLAVIA PROTESTS

[07] MARGARET ILL

[08] SHIPS COLLISION

[09] FISHERMEN

[10] SEA SPORTS

[11] WEATHER

[01] HEADLINES

--- Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, blames his escalating intransigence on Ataturk.

--- A suspected PKK guerrilla blew herself up and injured 14 others yesterday.

--- Israel's new prime minister, Ehud Barak, presented his government's policy guidelines to parliament today.

AND

--- Pressure mounted on the embattled Yugoslav government today, as opposition politicians called for change.

[02] KYPRIANOU CLAY

Speaking after a meeting with House President, Spyros Kyprianou, Mr Clay said that Cypriots must carefully consider how they would see their future, avoiding controversies that would lead to the failure of an initiative before it even starts.

He also said that Britain, as a sponsor of the G8 statement on Cyprus, has played its role in the steps already made, and assured that his country would continue to be interested in facing the critical period that the Cyprus problem is going through.

[03] SEREZIS

Government Spokesman, Costas Serezis, said today that President Glafcos Clerides' letter to the UN Secretary-General aims at clarifying the positions that are not negotiable for the Greek Cypriot side.

Mr Denktash also sent a letter to the UN chief, saying that only proximity talks could take place.

He said that without these talks and without proper preparation, the invitation for negotiations would be futile.

[04] TURKEY KURDS

Ocalan, sentenced last week to hang in Turkey, has condemned recent rebel attacks that Turkish officials attribute to his Kurdistan Workers Party guerrillas.

A suspected PKK guerrilla blew herself up and injured 14 others yesterday when she detonated explosives she was carrying outside a police station in the southern city of Adana.

On Sunday, rebels planted a bomb in a Constantinople park which killed one man and injured more than 20.

The PKK has also claimed responsibility for a machinegun attack last week in which four people died in an eastern town.

Turkish security officials say the attacks herald a new wave of PKK violence in retaliation for the death sentence handed down on Ocalan on June 29.

Turkish troops, aided by an Iraqi Kurdish faction opposed to the PKK, have pushed into neighbouring northern Iraq in the latest of frequent operations designed to root the rebels out of bases in the Kurdish-held enclave.

Security officials said the operations had started on Friday and that the PKK had so far avoided clashes with the advancing troops, who were backed by helicopter gunships.

The Iraqi government frequently protests over the presence of Turkish forces in northern Iraq, a mountainous area it has not directly controlled since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

[05] ISRAEL GOVERNMENT

If his first test is any indication, Mr Barak will lead Israel's new government cautiously, getting his way by outlasting adversity.

The 57-year-old former army chief presented his government, having taken the maximum seven weeks allowed by law to paste it together.

The effort was an exercise in persistence, an attribute that has helped Mr Barak go from political novice to prime minister in less than four years, and could signal the way he will handle peace talks with the Arabs.

[06] YUGOSLAVIA PROTESTS

About 20,000 protesters in the southern Serbian city of Leskovac answered calls by local anti-government activists and marched through the streets last night to call for political change and for Mr Milosevic to go.

Anti-government activists are also collecting signatures on a petition calling for Mr Milosevic to step down after NATO bombing drove Yugoslav forces out of Serbia's Kosovo province.

Opposition politicians, labour leaders and the Orthodox Church have been calling for Mr Milosevic to resign for the past few weeks since the 11-week NATO bombing campaign devastated Yugoslavia and left the already weak economy in tatters.

[07] MARGARET ILL

Papandreou, 75, married Andreas Papandreou in the United States in 1951. They had four children including George Papandreou, Greece's current Foreign Minister.

They divorced in 1988 after the ex-premier went public with an extra-marital affair with Dimitra Liani, an airline stewardess half his age whom he later married.

[08] SHIPS COLLISION

The ship, which sailed off for Turkey, caused damage to two vessels, when it hit a cargo ship next to it, which in turn collided with another ship.

The damage was discovered hours later. The cruise ship "Al Salam Bokasio 98" departed for Turkey without notifying anyone.

Minister of Communications and Works, Leontios Ierodiakonou, said that an investigation has been ordered into the incident.

[09] FISHERMEN

About 300 fishermen marched to the Palace to meet President Glafcos Clerides.

Their delegation was not received, due to the President's tight schedule.

When the fishermen were told that their delegation had been turned back, they tried to block the road in front of the Presidential Palace.

One of the fishermen hit a passing driver in the face, after stopping his car.

The Police intervened and clashed with the demonstrators.

Three people in total were arrested and later on released.

The fishermen are demanding compensation for the damage to their nets by dolphins and turtles.

They are also asking for financial assistance, and the improvement and construction of new fishing shelters.

The demonstrators said that they would remain outside the Presidential Palace for 48 hours.

If their demands are not met, then a group of fishermen will camp outside until their claims are fulfilled.

[10] SEA SPORTS

The Minister of Communications, Leontios Ierodiakonou, said that the sea is part of the national wealth and does not belong to any private person.

Mr Ierodiakonou said that the decisions taken for water sports in order to put coasts in order, to promote security, and to reduce pollution.

He dismissed that the decision was taken for specific interests.

[11] WEATHER

Winds in the morning will be north-westerly, light, two to three beaufort, and in the afternoon westerly to south-westerly, moderate, four beaufort.

The sea will be slight, and in the afternoon moderate in windward areas.

The temperature will reach 37 degrees inland, 33 on the south coast, 30 on the west coast, and 27 over the mountains.

The fire hazard is very high in all forest areas.

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