Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-04-10

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

Friday, April 10, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Pilgrims cross amid tight security

[02] Pyla vandals deface bust of Ataturk

[03] House demands legal action against Britain over arrest of MP Matsakis

[04] Woman denies spreading Aids

[05] Russia to take Cyprus to Security Council

[06] Urgent need for marina overhaul

[07] Dealing with sexual harassment

[08] New movement a focus for disgruntled centrists

[09] Pupils call off strike after ministry promises compromise

[10] Dead baby in box smuggled into morgue

[11] Popular Bank working to defuse the millennium bug

[12] November 17 blames US policy on Cyprus for latest attacks

[13] Work starts on Russian cathedral

[14] Minister steps in to save Polis camp site

[15] Stricter money laundering law on the way

[16] Police appeal for help in identifying crash victim

[01] Pilgrims cross amid tight security

It was the second such visit this year, this time involving the largest ever number of Turkish Cypriots to cross the Green Line since 1974. Heavy security was deployed.

The visit was part of rapprochement efforts under UN auspices. The pilgrims were celebrating the Muslim feast of Eid el-Adha.

A reciprocal visit by Greek Cypriot pilgrims to the Apostolos Andreas Monastery on Easter Sunday will not take place because of the exit and entry charges being imposed by the Turkish Cypriot regime.

The Turkish Cypriot pilgrims who crossed yesterday were charged £4 sterling to leave the occupied areas.

They were joined in Tekke by Turkish Cypriots living in Limassol and other parts of the government-controlled areas.

The worshippers, mostly families and young people, crossed over in 24 Greek Cypriot-owned buses, paying an additional £2 each for the journey to Larnaca.

Those whose first trip it was since 1974 said they were happy and touched by the pilgrimage.

Speaking in Greek, Suleyman Kucat, 72, originally from Mathiatis village outside Nicosia said he was "very moved".

He expressed the wish a Cyprus settlement would be reached soon so that Greek and Turkish Cypriots would be able to live together again.

At the mosque, the Turkish Cypriots -- from grandparents to toddlers -- milled around the nearby Al Halili restaurant or set up impromptu picnics on the grounds after finishing their prayers. Others walked around, took family snapshots or video footage.

As on previous occasions, many complained of being confined to the grounds of the mosque.

"The last time I was here, I was eight years old. I remember it roughly," said Elmazeye Eyrtualt, 38. "I want to see my village, but it is difficult, " she added, referring to her former home near Paphos.

The pilgrims returned to the north in mid-afternoon.

[02] Pyla vandals deface bust of Ataturk

A Turkish flag was also removed from near the bust outside the Turkish school in the centre of the mixed Greek and Turkish Cypriot village.

"The bust of Ataturk was sprayed with blue paint, and the Turkish flag was removed from an adjacent flagpole," said Unficyp spokesman Waldemar Rokoszewski.

"A swift investigation was carried out by Unficyps's Irish civilian police and the Turkish Cypriot police element."

Unficyp condemned the vandalism, saying it "was not in keeping with the generally peaceful and friendly atmosphere in Pyla."

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash yesterday condemned the attack as an effort to heighten tensions and derail bi-communal contacts. Bi-communal activities have been at a standstill since last December when Denktash banned contacts in retaliation for the EU's decision to open accession talks with Cyprus.

Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides later dismissed the charge, saying Greek Cypriots always respected Turkish monuments. He instead blamed Turkish provocateurs for the incident.

Although there have been problems between villagers in Pyla in recent months, these have related to infrastructural rather than politically motivated problems.

The last sectarian incident took place around four years ago, when visiting Greek Cypriots attempted to remove a Turkish flag.

Turkish Cypriots living in Pyla have recently refused electricity supplies from the Greek Cypriot side because they did not want to make applications to the relevant semi-government body.

Late last year, Pyla villagers nearly came to blows over a borehole while a week later a second crisis erupted over the construction of a road by the government that crosses through Turkish Cypriot land in the buffer zone.

[03] House demands legal action against Britain over arrest of MP Matsakis

THE House plenum yesterday demanded that the government take legal action against Britain for the arrest last Friday of Diko deputy Marios Matsakis by Dhekelia base authorities.

The former state pathologist and active anti-British bases campaigner was detained for five hours by base authorities following a scuffle outside a court in Dhekelia. Matsakis will be summoned before a bases court at a future date in connection with criminal trespass and breach of the peace charges.

Deputies angrily condemned the behaviour of British base authorities yesterday evening, and unanimously decided to ask Attorney-general Alecos Markides to proceed with legal action against Britain and the bases over the incident.

"Mr Matsakis was released but with some delay. He should have been released at once," House President Spyros Kyprianou said.

"Now there are other issues at stake: the issue of behaviour towards deputy Matsakis and the issue of violation of the laws of the Cyprus republic," Kyprianou said.

Deputies enjoy immunity from prosecution under Cyprus law. But bases spokesman Mervyn Wynne Jones said last night this immunity did not extend to within Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs). Wynne Jones made no comment on the plenum's call for legal action against Britain.

Kyprianou told the House the bases authorities had been "insulting" towards him when he contacted them in an attempt to secure Matsakis's release last week.

The Diko parliamentary team went one step further than the plenum, demanding the arrest of British officials "responsible" for the deputy's apprehension.

"We have asked the government to arrest the Commander of the British bases, the chief of SBA police and all officials who took part in the arrest and abuse of Mr Matsakis," Diko parliamentary spokesman Tassos Papadopoulos said.

According to reports last Friday, Matsakis leapt over a barricade after being denied entry to the Dhekelia base where he had gone to observe a court case involving Greek Cypriot farmer Hambis Himonas. The court area had been sealed off to prevent trouble by Himonas's friends and relatives.

Matsakis became embroiled after insisting he be allowed to see Himonas, both as a doctor and as a deputy.

After the arrest, bases authorities said Matsakis was "well-known for this sort of irresponsible behaviour".

Wynne Jones said yesterday that a report on the incident was being prepared by SBA police for consideration by the SBA attorney-general.

[04] Woman denies spreading Aids

A WOMAN Aids patient yesterday pleaded not guilty before a Nicosia court to a charge of deliberately exposing her lovers to the deadly disease.

London Cypriot Chrysavgi Zarzour, 27, is suspected of having sex with four men in the past few weeks without informing them of her condition. She has been charged under a decades-old law criminalising the deliberate spread of life-threatening disease.

Zarzour made a brief appearance before Nicosia District court yesterday to plead not guilty to the charge. The court adjourned the trial till April 14.

The accused, who has full-blown Aids, went into and left the court with a blanket over her head.

At a remand hearing last week, the court heard that Zarzour had in the past month had unprotected sex with four men without telling them she was an Aids patient. The men, whose names were mentioned in court yesterday, are now undergoing Aids tests.

The accused is being held at the Larnaca Aids clinic where she is receiving constant medical attention.

Last week, Zarzour, who left London to come to Cyprus in 1987, handed a written statement to the court admitting she did not tell her sexual partners of her condition but saying she always asked them to use a condom.

She denied she was a prostitute and said she had sex with lonely young men she met at her regular bar and "who need companionship."

She is being prosecuted under a law enacted to combat the spread of cholera in Cyprus. It provides for sentences of up to two years imprisonment or a fine of £1,500, or both.

The suspect -- who told police she contracted Aids in Cyprus three years ago -- was arrested by police last Friday following a complaint from a 25- year-old local man who said she had had sex with him without informing him she was HIV-positive. The man had been told Zarzour had Aids by a friend of hers, police said.

The woman was initially released without charge after questioning as police could not find what to charge her on.

The issue was referred to the Attorney-general's office, which ruled last Thursday that the woman could be charged under the cholera prevention law.

This is the second court case in Cyprus involving an Aids patient. In July last year, Ayia Napa fisherman Pavlos Georgiou was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for knowingly infecting his former British lover, Janette Pink, with the Aids virus. Georgiou was granted a Presidential pardon and released five months later.

Health Ministry statistics released yesterday show there are 282 known HIV- positive persons on the island. Of the 165 Cypriot carriers, 140 are men.

[05] Russia to take Cyprus to Security Council

Speaking in Nicosia yesterday, Muratov said he believed Russia would receive the support of other Security Council members, and that such discussion would be aimed at boosting the efforts already undertaken by the UN Secretary General and his Special Advisor on Cyprus Diego Cordovez.

He did not exclude the possibility of discussing the island's complete demilitarisation.

Meanwhile, delegations headed by the foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Greece, Yiannakis Cassoulides and Theodoros Pangalos, met in Greece to discuss recent developments in the Cyprus problem.

Their meeting came after discussions held on Wednesday by the Greek Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and Defence Affairs.

Speaking at the committee, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis described the Cyprus problem as being at "perhaps its most critical point".

He also referred to Cyprus' European Union accession process, saying it would benefit both sides on the island, guaranteeing security for each.

Kranidiotis also met with US Ambassador to Greece Nicholas Burns and discussed the recent visit to Cyprus of US presidential Emissary Richard Holbrooke.

Diplomatic sources told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that Holbrooke would return to the island after a visit by the State Department's Cyprus Co- ordinator Thomas Miller, who is expected to make trips to Nicosia, Athens and Ankara at the end of April.

The sources also said the US was insistent that there should be no change in the basis upon which any Cyprus peace talks would take place, in spite of demands by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash that any future talks should take place with the two sides represented as equal states.

[06] Urgent need for marina overhaul

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday urged deputies to push through legislation opening the door to private sector involvement in an £80 million plan to develop marine tourism.

Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said the plan was essential to tourism. Infrastructure was needed to attract high-quality visitors and meet competition from neighbouring countries such as Israel and Turkey, which are investing heavily in new marinas.

The government did not have the funds to invest in six marinas with a total of 4,500 berthing spots, and failure by the House to approve the bill would create serious problems, he said.

"My message to the House of Representatives is an SOS for tourism. We are far more expensive than our competitors, and if we do not improve infrastructure then we will have a problem. The marinas are the first issue with which we will be troubling the House," he said.

At issue before the committee is a government bill allowing the state to lease marinas or fishing shelters to the private sector. The government also wants the authority to set marina rates without the prior approval of the House.

The plan is to invite the private sector to bid for the construction and operation of four new marinas in Cyprus. The plan also involves the expansion and operation of Larnaca marina to make it into a high quality destination, and not just a "parking place for boats."

Larnaca marina has proved the main bone of contention, with deputies from Akel and Diko accusing the government yesterday of deliberately allowing it to deteriorate in order to sell it off to the private sector.

This was denied by Rolandis. "The government has no plans to sell, let alone to sell off for cheap," he said.

But he added that the marina needed to be expanded and improved, and that this project -- expected to cost several million pounds -- should be carried out by the private sector in return for a contract to operate it for a specific period. There were no objections to Larnaca municipality expressing such an interest, he said.

But the minister said that in its 20 years of operation under the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), Larnaca marina had generated a total revenue of £200,000, or £10,000 a year -- and that was without taking into account CTO overheads.

He said the state had spent £2.9 million, excluding capital investment, and received £3.1 million in the 20 years.

CTO officials said it was essential for Larnaca marina to be enlarged and improved as a matter of priority. They said they had no objections to the task being given to the private sector. The issue remains before the committee.

[07] Dealing with sexual harassment

JUSTICE Minister Nicos Koshis yesterday acknowledged sexual harassment was a problem and said a comprehensive bill was being drawn up to deal with it.

Koshis told the House Labour Committee that sexual harassment in the work place did exist, but said it was impossible to determine its extent.

The issue was raised in the House Labour Committee by Disy deputy Rikos Erotocritou who called for tough penalties for an offence that caused considerable psychological trauma to victims.

He and other deputies, including Andreas Parisinos also of Disy, noted that victims were reluctant to come forward, with the vast majority of the cases being swept under the carpet. Thus Parisinos' proposal for some kind of support group to assist victims.

Koshis said the package of proposals, which emerged from a 1995 House Labour Committee debate on the issue, had been forwarded to Women's Board for discussion and from there to the law commissioner.

A draft bill, which is in line with EU directives, is nearly ready and should make its way to the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives soon.

It defines what constitutes sexual harassment, sets out procedures on how complaints should be submitted and examined, specifies civil and criminal responsibilities and provides for a code of conduct for employers. This would apply to the workplace with a view to tackling, or even trying to defuse potential problems on the spot rather than needing to recourse to the courts.

[08] New movement a focus for disgruntled centrists

DIKO rebel Alexis Galanos said yesterday the new political movement he had formed on Wednesday was not opposed to the Democratic party.

Galanos and other top Diko members were expelled from the party after February's presidential elections, after they opposed the leadership's decision to back independent candidate George Iacovou.

Speaking after a news conference yesterday, Galanos said the new Euro- Democratic Renewal Movement (EDRM) was not anti-Diko, but aimed rather at uniting dissatisfied centrist and centre-right forces.

Galanos said the marginalisation of centrist forces, which had been confirmed in the last presidential elections, meant thousands of voters were facing a political vacuum.

The situation could only get worse as long as the current "fragmentation of the centre continued," he added.

"The EDRM shall act with consistency and determination and will rally against old party ideologies... which today plague political life and, in particular, the political centre," said Galanos.

Without ruling out the possibility of the movement becoming a fully-fledged party, Galanos said it was wrong to try and put a time frame on such an event.

Answering senior Diko rebel and Interior Minister Dinos Michaelides' criticism that there was "no room" for a new political movement, Galanos stressed that, as Diko's ex-vice president, Michaelides had his own "perspective on the matter".

Michaelides on Wednesday called for the Diko leadership to find ways of giving members a say in the future of the Democratic party.

"But we are not Diko officials and are not pressing to return to... a rank which we don't have," said Galanos.

Summing up, he said his movement did not currently represent a solution to political party re-shuffles; it aimed at undertaking proposals and becoming the "lever of pressure" for centre-aligned citizens.

There were 74 signatories to the founding document of the new movement.

Meanwhile, former Diko member and Galanos' election spokesman, Harris Kyriakides, echoed Michaelides' opposition to the movement, saying yesterday he did not understand the "haste for its formation".

"If we wanted to do something, we should have done something which the country wanted, not the 'anti-Diko' or 'the new-Diko'... or a movement which merely safeguards our own political survival," he said.

Disagreeing with Galanos' criticisms of the Diko leadership, Kyriakides pointed out that he and Galanos had helped found the Democratic party and "did not wish to see its dissolution so as to succeed ourselves".

He added that the door to a possible reconciliation with Diko should be left open.

[09] Pupils call off strike after ministry promises compromise

Schools across the island were deserted yesterday as pupils skipped lessons to protest against an Education Ministry decision to change subjects for entrance exams for a Greek university three months before the tests.

Pupils agreed not to continue their strike today after the Education Ministry tabled a compromise proposal at an emergency afternoon meeting of all concerned.

The director of Secondary Education, Yiannos Poulis, said the ministry proposal basically envisaged exams returning to the way they were last year.

The ministry's compromise proposal, welcomed by both pupils and parents yesterday, will now have to be approved by Attorney-general Alecos Markides before being officially accepted.

The contentious change in examination subjects would have meant lyceum students who have spent the past three years studying classics in the hope of entering the Pantion University were no longer prepared for all entrance exam topics. The decision to change the exams, made due to changes in the content of courses at the Pantion university, has been declared unconstitutional by the Attorney-general's office. The decision was also labelled "contrary to principles of good government" by Ombudsman Nicos Charalambous.

Meanwhile, the HTI crisis rumbled on with students of the technical institute protesting outside the House for the second week running.

The students, who have also blockaded the institute campus and say they will not sit exams, are demanding a separate technical engineer grade be created within the civil service to accept HTI graduates. They also want the institute to be upgraded and granted more autonomy.

A student representation secured an audience with House president Spyros Kyprianou yesterday. Kyprianou promised to undertake a personal initiative to bridge the gap between the protestors and the government.

The government has so far refused to back down on the issue. Labour Minister Andreas Moushiouttas has warned students that this month's exams will not be rescheduled if the students go through with their threats to boycott them.

HTI student's union chairman Charis Panayioutou was not to be bowed yesterday. "In no case will we give in, we will continue this struggle to the end," he said.

[10] Dead baby in box smuggled into morgue

The baby girl's body was discovered by morgue staff yesterday and, according to state pathologist Eleni Antoniou, the baby was dead when abandoned - having been still-born or having died within two hours of birth.

Antoniou said the baby's body had somehow been brought into the morgue - wrapped in a cloth in a cardboard box sealed with masking tape - between March 8 and 12.

The incident is being investigated and police say they are searching for the baby's mother for questioning.

[11] Popular Bank working to defuse the millennium bug

The millennium bug is expected to strike at midnight on December 31, 1999, when computer systems across the globe could crash if they are not programmed to recognise the year 2000.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the bank's Director General of Financial Services and Information Technology, Petros Petrou, called for the establishment of a central institution to co-ordinate the work needed to combat the threat.

Petrou said as much one trillion dollars might be needed worldwide for compliance programmes, possibly triggering a global recession.

The Popular Bank has also produced a booklet detailing the risks for businesses. The booklet is available in both Greek and English and is entitled The Year 2000, A Challenge to Your Business.

Bank customers and suppliers have been warned of the problems and are working with the bank on possible solutions.

[12] November 17 blames US policy on Cyprus for latest attacks

In a letter to an Athens daily yesterday, the group said it had carried out a rocket attack on a branch of Citibank on Wednesday, as well as several other incidents where a McDonald's and three US car dealerships were bombed. No-one was hurt in the incidents.

The eight-page letter said the group had "decided to attack American Imperialism-nationalism for what it is attempting to do to the country's rights". It added that the US was working against Greek interests in the Aegean and Cyprus, where it was "the main one responsible for the perpetuation of the Turkish occupation".

Rocket attacks like the one on the Citibank branch became one of the group's trademarks after it stole an unknown number of anti-tank missiles from a Greek military arms depot in 1989. Wednesday's attack, which took place in central Athens saw the rocket fired from a launcher on the roof of a luxury car.

November 17 has killed more people than any other guerilla group in the country, with a body count of 22 since it first emerged in 1975. Espousing ultra-leftist and nationalist ideologies, the group takes its name from the day in 1973 when the ruling military junta violently crushed an Athens student uprising.

[13] Work starts on Russian cathedral

The chapel on the site of the church at Yermasoyia is a gift from the Moscow city government. It will be finished by Sunday, when it will be officially consecrated by visiting member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Sergei. Moscow Mayor Yuri Louzhkov and Russian Ambassador Georgi Mouratov will also attend the ceremony, along with representatives of the Russian sponsors of the project. Archbishop Chrysostomos and the Mayor of Limassol may also attend.

Meanwhile in Nicosia yesterday, Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous met with an official Russian delegation to discuss bilateral agricultural relations between the two countries.

Among the topics discussed were the possibility of establishing an ecology centre in Cyprus and proposals from Russian experts regarding Cyprus' water- shortage problems.

Speaking after the meeting, Themistocleous said Russian water experts had made studies on several possible solutions to Cyprus' chronic water problems, including the possibility of building dams on mountains in the Troodos range.

[14] Minister steps in to save Polis camp site

The camping site faced closure because of lack of funds, to the objections of Paphos deputies.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) has spent more than £200,000 in the past 17 years, and received £77,000 in rent. Its chairman Andreas Erotocritou told the House Commerce Committee yesterday that the CTO was prepared to continue leasing the site -- but someone had to fork out £100, 000 to improve camping conditions, money the CTO did not have.

A brief statement from Rolandis suggested all was not lost. The minister said he had been persuaded the camping site must be retained and would be recommending to his colleagues in the Council of Ministers to approve the funds.

[15] Stricter money laundering law on the way

The amendment would expand the list of offences for which authorities can block funds as part of efforts to combat the laundering of dirty money.

Specifically, the proposal would add offences carried out in violation of the convention for the protection of nuclear material, attempted murder, living off immoral earnings and corruption. The proposal is subject to the approval of the House of Representatives.

[16] Police appeal for help in identifying crash victim

At around 1.30 am yesterday, plumber Kyriakos Charalambos, 42, was driving to Dhekelia when his car collided with the bicycle, which had no lights. The cyclist was fatally injured. He was not wearing a crash helmet and has not been identified.

The victim is described as being around 30, 1.8 metres tall, heavily built, with blue eyes and dark blonde hair. At the time of the accident, he was wearing blue jeans, a black shirt and a blue denim jacket.

Anyone who may know anything about his identity or can provide further details about the accident should contact Larnaca traffic police, who are still investigating.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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