Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-04-29

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

Wednesday, April 29, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Partition looms, says Denktash

[02] Russia promises mid-August delivery for missiles

[03] Holbrooke wants results

[04] A gospel for tourism

[05] Pilots call off Eurocypria strike

[06] HTI students clash with police

[07] Christodoulou appeals for EU aid

[08] Water balloon leavers Turkey on dummy run

[09] Britain working hard to smooth EU relations with Turkey

[10] He went for a kebab and never returned

[11] Submit your tax return, or else...

[12] European sports ministers to gather in Cyprus

[13] Israeli held for jewellery theft

[14] Man held for grenade attack

[15] Green Line shorts shown in New York

[01] Partition looms, says Denktash

Cyprus is heading toward partition and time is running out to reverse the trend, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash warned yesterday. In an exclusive interview with the Cyprus Mail, Denktash said time was going "in the wrong direction" towards "complete separation". "The Greek Cypriots should really make up their minds. Do they want a settlement or do they want the complete division of Cyprus?" he asked. Denktash's warning comes only three days before the arrival on the island of US presidential emissary Richard Holbrooke who hopes to make some progress towards restarting the stalled political dialogue.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash makes a point to our reporter Jean Christou yesterday(Photo by Christos Theodorides)

Speaking to the Mail in his office in occupied Nicosia, Denktash said Holbrooke was bringing some ideas, but the Turkish Cypriot leader appeared unimpressed. He sent the US envoy away empty handed barely four weeks ago.

"We have our own ideas and our own paper to give to him," he said.

During his last visit Holbrooke put forward three proposals under which talks might be resumed. Both sides rejected them as they stood, but agreed to look at them again.

Whether or not progress can be made on his return trip depends on what changes Holbrooke brings, Denktash said.

Asked what he thought Holbrooke wanted, he said: "I wish I knew".

"There are changes which I can make and which I can afford to make and those which I can't," he added, but refused to say what they were.

On the table as major bargaining chips are the Greek Cypriot side's missile deal and the Turkish side's insistence on recognition. To a lesser extent Denktash may, in return for another concession, consider reinstating the banned bicommunal contacts, particularly for businessmen, a pet project of Holbrooke's.

Denktash said the American envoy had warned consistently of last chances for a settlement though no time limit has been set, he said.

Holbrooke was clearly irked at the end of his last trip and warned that his interest would not last forever.

"I think as long as he sees a chance of helping us he will come back but if he really finds out that there is no way, I think he will quit because he is a busy man... he says he's not going to waste his time on Cyprus and we don't want him to waste his time or his credibility on Cyprus."

Denktash described Holbrooke as a "strong upright fair-minded diplomat who appreciates the difficulties of the people he is trying to help".

"He is outspoken which is good because I'm outspoken too so we understand each other," Denktash said.

The Turkish Cypriot leader repeated that the dialogue with the Greek Cypriot side could only resume on the basis of two states despite Ankara's statement on Monday that recognition by the international community would not be a precondition.

"This has been our policy from the beginning. All we said is recognise and acknowledge that Greek Cypriots are not the government of Turkish Cypriots, that Turkish Cypriots have their own administration, their own government and their own state and the talks shall be between these two," Denktash said.

"Acknowledge this as Security Council, as Holbrooke, as Americans as British and as Greek Cypriots... acknowledge this... this is the reality".

Without this acknowledgement the Turkish Cypriot side will not return to the table, Denktash said. He added that acknowledgement and recognition were the same.

"If somebody... the Americans, the British and the Security Council does not tell them (Greek Cypriots) this then I don't think there is any chance of a settlement of the Cyprus problem," Denktash said.

"We are what we are. Treat us for what we are and then we'll talk. There is a destroyed table with nothing left on it and I'm putting on it my statehood".

The Turkish Cypriot side favours a recent proposal for a four-party conference on Cyprus which will include both sides with Greece and Turkey.

"Greek Cypriots and Greece, Turkish Cypriots and Turkey have to agree on a solution," Denktash said. "The Greek Cypriot game is to cut off Turkey to deprive us of that parity".

He accused President Clerides of underhand tactics by accepting what he knows Denktash has rejected to show the Turkish Cypriot side as the intransigent party.

"Federation implies friendship and trust first, and joint interest second," Denktash said. "What is the joint interest now? They want the Turkish army to go and we want it to stay."

Denktash envisages a federation where two sovereign states will live side by side under an umbrella government. He said this would eventually lead to friendship and trust between the two peoples. "Then we will be abler to talk on how a political settlement will be," he said.

Referring to restrictions he imposed on bicommunal activities in the wake of the EU's decision to open accession talks with the government of Cyprus, Denktash said:

"The moment they concede that we exist as a separate political unit these restrictions can be removed".

[02] Russia promises mid-August delivery for missiles

Yevgeny Ananyev, director of Russian's Rosvooruzheniye arms export monopoly, said the agency was aiming for a mid-August delivery for the missiles.

The missiles had not yet been built, said Ananyev.

"Our enterprise cannot make such equipment for storing," Ananyev told a news conference. "This system is too expensive. But the contract will be fulfilled on time."

He said the missiles should be shipped at the end of July for delivery by mid-August.

No exact date has been given for the deployment of the missiles, although the government has in the past indicated the controversial deal would go through some time in autumn.

Turkey has reacted angrily to the planned deployment, threatening to block delivery or -- if that fails -- to destroy the missiles.

The United States has criticised Ankara for making such threats. But the US, echoed by European Union countries, has also made clear to Cyprus it considers deployment of the missiles counter-productive.

Last week, US Defence Secretary William Cohen said it was a mistake for Cyprus to order the missiles. Cohen was speaking while on a visit to Athens.

Greece's Defence Minister Akis Tzohatzopoulos countered that the internationally recognised government of Cyprus had the right to self- defence.

Nicosia has repeatedly said the deal would go ahead, unless there was agreement to demilitarise the island or if their was substantial progress towards a settlement.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides said Cyprus might cancel the order if a "real dialogue" was developed, as this would mean "we do not really need weapon systems and can take final and permanent decisions."

[03] Holbrooke wants results

TOP AMERICAN envoy Richard Holbrooke aims to produce results when he arrives in Cyprus on May 1, US ambassador Kenneth Brill hinted yesterday.

"We are looking forward to Mr Holbrooke's visit later in the week and I'm not going to say much more than that, except that we're bringing in Mr Holbrooke to do some serious work," said Brill after a meeting with President Clerides to discuss the diplomat's visit.

Brill said he had had the chance to "compare notes" with Clerides and discuss a full range of issues.

The US ambassador kept his cards close to his chest as to whether Holbrooke would visit Athens and Ankara while in the region.

Holbrooke is scheduled to arrive on Friday and leave on May 4 for "personal business" before returning again on the 8th.

Brill also refrained from commenting on reports that Turkey might be ready to back down on demanding recognition for the Denktash regime.

"There have been a lot of statements made in a variety of capitals and I'm not going to comment on any of them at the moment."

On whether US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright would also visit Cyprus, Brill said she was "in touch with Mr Holbrooke a great deal".

[04] A gospel for tourism

HIGHER tourist arrivals should not lull the industry into a false sense of security, hoteliers warned yesterday.

They also called for collective decision-making as part of a national approach to tackle problems at hand.

The warning was delivered in a speech by Cyprus Hotels Association (CHA) chairman Avgerinos Nikitas to the association's annual general meeting.

It came minutes after Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said Cyprus could expect five to 10 per cent more tourists this year.

But the minister's good news came with a caution. He said Cyprus tourism faced acute competition, urged restraint as collective agreements come up for renewal and promised a string of measures to enhance the tourist product.

Nikitas, whose audience included government ministers, deputies and other officials said despite more arrivals and receipts of some £800 million, the tourist industry was actually stagnating.

"If we take into consideration the annual inflation rate of around three per cent, we see our hotel and tourist industry is ailing, and is in fact following a clear downward trend," he said.

As key symptoms, he singled out loss of competitiveness, with Cypriot packages costing between 20 and 40 per cent more than those of competitors, low productivity and delays in tourist enhancement works. Profitability was down. And increasingly the industry was hard put to meet its loan obligations.

The only remedy, he said, was a national approach on tourism based on a new mentality to cover central and local government, the House of Representatives and the media.

As examples, he cited the need to avoid arbitrary strikes and for greater co-ordination on infrastructure projects.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) should be given more funds to promote tourism, and hotels should be spared heavy charges for utilities. Hoteliers are also asking for lower VAT rates and no VAT at all for payments from abroad, a status enjoyed by export industries.

Operational costs -- particularly labour costs -- should be reduced. Hoteliers themselves should introduce new, more efficient operating methods.

And he concluded: "For our country, tourism represents a national issue. It is not an issue affecting only hoteliers, a frequent misconception, since tourism is the pillar of our economy and directly affects the prosperity of every Cypriot."

In what he termed "his gospel for tourism" Rolandis promised to work for the implementation of 12 measures he said were essential to tackle seasonality and improve the tourist product. They include six marinas, six to seven golf courses, casinos, four to five theme parks and a doubling of agrotourism beds.

CTO chairman Andreas Erotocritou echoed the good, and the bad news. He said a substantial increase was expected in tourist arrivals this year, notably from Britain, Germany and Russia. But he said that, as a mature tourist destination, Cyprus faced growing competition and needed to work hard and methodically to deal with it.

[05] Pilots call off Eurocypria strike

The pilots had threatened to stage the strike on May 2 after the pilot, Andreas Charalambous, was suspended last Sunday. The measures against him were taken after he cut short a flight to Heraklion and Larnaca by landing in Rhodes.

Pilots union Pasipy said he interrupted the flight because the schedule would have meant he exceeded his flying duty limit.

But Eurocypria management and director Charalambos Hadjipanayioto yesterday revoked the decision to suspend the pilot.

A spokesman for Pasipy said that the union was pleased with the decision, but called on Eurocypria, the charter wing of Cyprus Airways, to apologise for its actions.

He added that although the 24-hour strike would definitely not go ahead, the union's administrative committee had yet to decide about a three-hour strike that had been planned before Charalambous' suspension.

That strike was to be staged over problems with the renewal of the pilots' collective agreement, the signing of which is now 18 months behind schedule.

[06] HTI students clash with police

HIGHER Technical Institute (HTI) students yesterday clashed with police outside the Finance Ministry, leaving two policemen with injuries.

The incidents happened at around 11.30am, when 300 protesting students arrived at the ministry demanding to see the minister.

They were refused access to the building, and staged a sit-down protest inside their bus, blocking traffic. Arrangements were made for a group of them to meet with the Ministry's Director General, but those who remained outside the building demanded they be allowed in too.

Members of the MMAD riot squad refused them access and scuffles broke out. No arrests were made, but the injured police officers were taken to Nicosia General Hospital.

The Finance Minister was not in the ministry at the time, as he was attending a meeting at Pasydy.

After the meeting, Harris Panayiotou, President of the HTI Students' Union, said "nothing had changed".

He added that action by the students would continue, although they had voted almost unanimously to return to classes. Protest measures would, he stressed, be carried on alongside classes.

The crowd dispersed without further incident at around 1.20pm.

A student council meeting was held at 2pm, and the measures officially announced at a press conference two hours later.

The students are demanding higher recognition of their diplomas, and job security for HTI graduates.

[07] Christodoulou appeals for EU aid

"The accession course to Europe and the harmonisation process has already created a cost to the economy of Cyprus.

"It is our position that we should receive the benefit of pre-accession aid, " Christodoulou said in Nicosia after a meeting with a five-member team from the International Monetary Fund.

An assessment of the island's economy is being carried out by the IMF experts.

The government is concerned that because of the strength of its economy, compared to those of the other five enlargement candidates, it may miss out on the wide-ranging financial package offered to Eastern European candidates to soften the blow of harmonisation.

Christodoulou said the issue had already been raised with EU officials in Brussels and Nicosia.

The government is calling for a similar aid package to that distributed to the east by the EU's Phare programme.

Phare was established in 1989 to help former communist countries bring their economies into line with the rest of Europe.

Cyprus is not only suffering from tougher competition, but its revenue from customs duties has been slashed since it signed a customs agreement with Brussels in 1987.

Falling import revenues are one of the reasons why the government is facing a higher fiscal deficit this year -- 5.2 per cent of GDP compared to 4.1 per cent in 1997.

[08] Water balloon leavers Turkey on dummy run

Instead, it will turn round and carry the water back to Turkey.

Turkish press reports yesterday said the unloading structure, which is being built at occupied Syrianochori on the Morphou coast, would be completed in June; regular transportation of water from Turkey would begin after that. This week's first transport would be a "test run" and a "symbolic show".

The balloon is expected in the waters off Kyrenia tomorrow.

[09] Britain working hard to smooth EU relations with Turkey

"We hope that our work as presidency in talking to them (Turkey) about the prospects and about how to take the relationship forward will in the end prove to have been beneficial," said British High Commissioner David Madden yesterday.

He said that Britain was working "very hard" on its mandate for accession talks with Cyprus and taking forward Turkey-EU relations.

British envoy Sir David Hannay is also concentrating on normalising relations between Turkey and the EU, said Madden.

Asked if any specific ideas were being put on the table for Turkey, Madden said: "it is being discussed between Turkey and the presidency and the member states."

The High Commissioner described Richard Holbrooke's arrival as "very important" and said Britain was working closely with the UN and other countries to bring a political settlement.

[10] He went for a kebab and never returned

Father-of-two Andreas Charalambous went round the corner to buy his favourite take-away in January 1995 but failed to return.

His wife Stella decided to report him as officially missing to police on Monday.

She told police that her husband, from Yenari village, had popped next door to get a kebab but never came back.

Police believe Charalambous did a runner as he had a court case pending at the time.

It is understood that the 40-year-old went further than usual to get his kebab, and is now living abroad.

[11] Submit your tax return, or else...

The department has broken with tradition by not extending the deadline for the return of tax forms.

It is insisting that all returns reach the department by the April 30 deadline or there will be a five per cent fine imposed on the total sum owing.

The Inland revenue said yesterday that employees and employers had had ample time to submit their tax returns for 1997.

[12] European sports ministers to gather in Cyprus

Sports Ministers and other top officials from 47 states will take part in the 15th informal meeting, to be held in Nicosia between May 14 and 15, according to a Council of Europe press release.

The three main themes of the conference will be sporting ethics plus legal and social cohesion through sport.

A comparative report on national sports laws, to be studied by the conference, concludes that hooliganism, drug taking and poor funding are major areas that need to be tackled.

The report also reveals that time spent in schools on physical education is decreasing and that social and economical links between sport and the media are growing stronger.

[13] Israeli held for jewellery theft

David Hihinashvilli, 51, is being held in Paphos on suspicion of stealing jewellery there.

He was taken to Larnaca yesterday after police matched his fingerprints with those found in two Larnaca jewellery shops. The alleged offences there took place last August.

Hihinashvilli is suspected of having walked into the two shops, asked to see the jewellery and then walked out saying he was going to the bank to change money. He never came back, and employees noticed that jewellery worth £8,895 was missing.

Police told the court the suspect had travelled back to Israel on August 22 and returned to Paphos on April 20. His lawyer objected to his remand, but the court ordered he be held for six days.

[14] Man held for grenade attack

Builder Thanos Athanasiou, 28, was remanded for eight days yesterday by a Limassol court for the grenade attack on the home of Andreas Tsitsis.

Police arrested the suspect after finding a hand grenade safety pin in his car.

The court heard that Athanasiou had told police that he had lent his car to his friend Renos Kyriakou, 24, also in custody, who then disappeared with the vehicle for 15 minutes.

Athanasiou said he didn't know where his friend went during that time.

According to a police eye-witness, the suspect's car was spotted leaving the scene of the crime after the explosion.

[15] Green Line shorts shown in New York

Espresso was shown alongside the Press Information Office produced A Master Plan For Nicosia: The World's Last Divided City as part of a conference entitled 'Nicosia -- Divided City'.

Espresso was funded by the Film Advisory Committee and produced by Adonis Florides and Theodoros Nicolaides. It is now scheduled to be shown at several film festivals in Europe and the Middle East.

Expresso follows several storylines, all affected by the division of Nicosia. Speaking at the conference, Florides said it was inspired by his experiences while serving on the Green Line while doing service in the National Guard.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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