Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-04-30

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

Thursday, April 30, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] 'I'll defrock Aids priest'

[02] Russia promises mid-August delivery for missiles

[03] US bids to dampen missile tension

[04] Bank of Cyprus posts sharp hike in profits

[05] 'Embargoes push us into the arms of Turkey'

[06] No water balloons for us, for now

[07] CoLA is safe, but will not rise

[08] Staff costs must fall, hotels warn

[09] Police plays down action against Kurdish activists

[10] Pilots extend strike deadline

[11] British tourists jailed for theft spree

[12] Turkish jets in new airspace violation

[13] Cypriot researcher in genetic breakthrough

[14] Romanian extradited on fraud charges

[01] 'I'll defrock Aids priest'

ARCHBISHOP Chrysostomos said yesterday he would not hesitate to defrock one of his priests who is reportedly suffering from Aids.

"He should go up into the mountains," Chrysostomos advised during a CyBC TV interview.

"Without doubt he will be defrocked," the Archbishop asserted. "It's not a severe punishment because if he's got Aids he cannot carry out his duties, irrespective of how he was infected."

He said there could be no alternative course of action because the risks to the congregation, such as in giving communion, overrode any individual compassion.

Allowing a priest with Aids to hold church services would be "deceiving" the faithful, said Chrysostomos.

The Archbishop said the giving of Holy Communion by an Aids-infected priest would be on a par with "infecting someone with a contaminated needle".

But the Archbishop qualified his position by saying the Church still needed "concrete" medical evidence to confirm that the priest was definitely HIV positive.

Meanwhile doctors dispelled mounting speculation that a well-known priest had definitely been diagnosed as having the Aids virus.

A report in yesterday's Simerini claimed it had first-hand knowledge of a positive Aids test, which the unnamed priest had allegedly taken.

One doctor involved in the case told the Cyprus Mail that "a number of tests and analyses have been carried out but so far there is nothing conclusive.

"We won't have a clear picture until we get more results back, which we expect in the next few days."

A close friend of the priest has confirmed that he has been suffering from a blood disorder since March and has yet to be cured.

"He is out of hospital, but still very weak and very pale; doctors have yet to find a remedy," the friend said.

He also confirmed that the priest has undertaken a series of routine blood tests, one of which was for Aids.

"He (the priest) took an Aids test, which is very natural under the circumstances, but there has been no confirmation that he has Aids."

Although the close friend questioned the reliability of the Simerini report concerning the positive Aids test, he said other facts relating to the case were accurate.

"There is no doubt as to who the report concerns, and the Archbishop is well aware of his condition," the source said.

[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] US bids to dampen missile tension

The US, Bacon said, hopes that if a Cyprus settlement is reached, the need for the missiles will "disappear".

He added that Washington believed a Cyprus solution was a possibility because of the involvement of US Presidential Envoy on Cyprus Richard Holbrooke, due to arrive on the island tomorrow in an effort to restart talks between the two sides.

Bacon's comments came on the same day as the New York Times carried a front-page story saying that Russia planned to go ahead with the sale of the missiles, "despite American protests that the sale to Cyprus will inflame tensions on the island". The missiles are, the paper claimed, "effective enough to worry the Turks, but not effective enough to prevent a Turkish invasion".

The paper goes on to say that some American specialists believe Russia's aim is to extend its influence in the Mediterranean and cause problems for Nato by fuelling tension between Greece and Turkey.

The "dominant view among American officials," it added, "is that the sale is part of a disturbing pattern in which Moscow uses exports to prop up its ailing military industry with little regard for the foreign policy consequences."

[04] Bank of Cyprus posts sharp hike in profits

THE BANK of Cyprus, the island's largest bank, yesterday announced a sharp rise in profits in the three months ending March 31, but said the dramatic increase was largely due to the exceptionally low profits in the same period of 1996.

A statement by the bank said operating profits reached £12.6 million, compared to £9.4 million in the first quarter of 1997, an increase of 34 per cent.

"The significant increase in profit for the first quarter of 1998 is, to a great extent, attributed to the fact that the profits of the first quarter of 1997 were very low in relation to the profit for the whole of 1997," the statement said.

Profits for the whole of 1998 were expected to be satisfactory, the bank added, but the increase in profitability was not expected to match that registered in the January to March quarter.

Yesterday's announcement underlined the bank's growing strength as it seeks to expand its operations abroad, particularly in Greece, and endeavours to transform itself from a local bank on an island of under one million people to an international bank.

It also coincided with an all-time high of volume on the Cyprus Stock Exchange -- £3.82 million -- of which the bank's own shares accounted for 35.3 per cent with 345,970 stocks changing hands before closing up at £3.90.

The bank's first quarter results were announced after market hours.

The bank's main rival, Cyprus Popular Bank, finished the day a distant second, with only 15 per cent of the volume on a turnover of nearly 142,000 shares. They closed up at £4.05.

The official all-share index edged up 0.14 per cent to 94.03 points, with all sub-indices finishing down save that of the banks.

"I think the banks will continue to carry the market up," said John Pitsillos of Share Link Securities Ltd, a Nicosia-based brokerage. "If it had not been for the banks, the market would have gone down by now."

The fledgling market has appreciated by about 20 per cent so far this year, largely on the back of the banks sector and optimistic expectations for tourism, the backbone of the economy.

Bank of Cyprus shares appreciated by a staggering 26 per cent since the bank announced the issue of Global Depository receipts (GDRs) in January.

Earlier this month, the London Stock Exchange accepted for listing 8.8 million GDRs, or 15 per cent of the bank's share capital, with every GDR the equivalent of two ordinary shares traded on the Cyprus market.

Beside the GDRs, the bank's drive to internationalise itself is best manifested in its Greek operations. Business in Greece last year accounted for about a third of total group profits.

Preliminary 1997 results showed an 11.7 per cent increase in the bank's pre- tax profits to £37.7 million in 1997. Net profit rose by 13.3 per cent to £27.4 million.

[05] 'Embargoes push us into the arms of Turkey'

THERE were more vendors than shoppers around noon yesterday in occupied Nicosia's covered municipality market, although there was much to buy.

The vendors looked distinctly bored, save for a cheerful one who, on seeing a group of visitors, hurried out of his shop to offer them Turkish delight from a stainless tray.

Sensing that a buy was unlikely, other vendors sounded less than enthusiastic when the Turkish Cypriot official in a grey suit asked them about the price of vegetables for the benefit of visiting journalists.

Elsewhere in the Baladiya market, there were South American bananas, brass wear, colourful central Asian hats, perfumes and rugs -- including three depicting the Sacred Heart, the Last Supper and Madonna and Child -- together with several shops selling a seemingly endless variety of wicked, teeth-wrecking Turkish delights.

But there was no one at the butcher's buying beef, for example, at £3 a kilo.

Or lamb at £2.70 a kilo. There were no buyers either for potatoes at the bargain price of 20 cents a kilo or onions going for 25 cents a kilo.

And no one was interested in the hundred or so bread loaves on sale from the boot of a battered Renault station wagon parked nearby.

A short distance away, dozens of off-duty Turkish army soldiers clad in tidy olive green uniforms queued outside cash points. Scores of their comrades, meanwhile, could be seen virtually everywhere, giving the false impression of a city temporarily taken over by soldiers enjoying a break from duty on a battlefront.

The economic plight of northern Cyprus is all too obvious, but Rauf Denktash -- the man at the helm of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus -- wastes no time to tell his visitors with a great deal of pride that his people may be down but they are not out.

In fact, he told the Cyprus Mail in an interview yesterday that things are actually getting better, not worse, in the north.

"The realisation by the Greek Cypriot side that we are going down and down economically and that we are on our knees is nonsense," he told his interviewers at a reception room in his modest Nicosia offices.

"Already, we are seeing evidence of moves to further the special relation (with Turkey), or what you call integration. The development money that Turkey is spending has increased," he said, without giving figures.

As signs of an improved economic climate, Denktash cited ongoing projects to widen the Nicosia-Kyrenia road, build a four-lane highway between Kyrenia and Famagusta and the improvement of airports and sea ports.

"We are making headway and our average per capita income is now $4,000 to $5,000 after it was down to $500 and $600 back in 1974," he boasted, before blaming international sanctions imposed on his 'state', declared in 1983 and recognised only by Turkey, for its present economic woes.

"The embargoes are throwing us onto the laps of Turkey more and more. So, all we are saying is this: Remove the embargoes in order to show that you intend friendship. They (the embargoes) did not help, they merely confirmed our view that you don't want unity with us."

Northern Cyprus, where 30,000 Turkish troops have been deployed since Turkey's 1974 invasion of the island, has an annual inflation rate running at about 100 per cent. The speed with which prices go up has forced the 'government' to adjust salaries every three months so employees can cope with inflation.

The use of the free-falling Turkish lira in the north has deepened the economic crisis, leaving merchants, businessmen and even cafe owners and restaurateurs no choice but to accept any hard currency for their services and goods.

The economy received a massive blow from a 1994 European Court of Justice decision that effectively ended shipments of citrus and new potatoes to Europe by requiring health certificates from the internationally recognised Cyprus government.

Alternative, albeit cheaper, markets were found for the north's farm produce in Asia and elsewhere.

A Turkish financial crisis in 1994 badly hit the economy, which was shaken three years earlier when Polly Peck, the fruits-to-electronics conglomerate owned by fugitive Turkish Cypriot tycoon Asil Nadir collapsed.

The problems are compounded by a transport embargo that forces planes heading for the north to make a stop in Turkey, adding cost and delay to the movement of goods and negatively affecting tourism.

Insurance premiums charged by shipping lines are also particularly high for cargoes heading to ports in the north.

"Using our economic difficulties as a stick to hit us with is not a friendly act ... it shows that they (Greek Cypriots) want to destroy us economically," Denktash said.

"That is why we agreed with Turkey that economically we shall remove all barriers between us..."

Searching for alternative sources of revenue, the north has set up six universities, which at present attract 15,000 foreign students, most of whom are Turks, who pay an average of $4,000 in annual tuition fees alone.

"We shall do our best to bring up our economy so that Greek Cypriots realise that we are not here temporarily, we are here to stay, and the TRNC is here to stay," said the Turkish Cypriot leader defiantly.

[06] No water balloons for us, for now

THE GOVERNMENT has no immediate plans to copy Turkey's balloon water transfer to the occupied areas, but may consider such a solution in the future, officials said yesterday.

A massive water-carrying balloon left the Coast of Asia Minor on Tuesday, towed by tugs on a trial run towards occupied Kyrenia. It was set to return to Turkey with its cargo intact, however, as facilities to receive its water-cargo were not yet ready.

Agriculture minister Costas Themistocleous said yesterday a similar water- transport scheme to address the drought in the government-controlled areas was not planned for the short-term.

Speaking after a meeting of the Council of Ministers yesterday, Themistocleous said alternative solutions to the water problem were being implemented, such as completing a second desalination plant, setting up mobile desalination units and implementing water-recycling policies.

But he did not rule out a water-transport scheme completely, saying that in such a situation, the water would be brought in from "neighbouring countries other than Turkey".

"It is a probable solution (to the water problem), but not of immediate priority," he said.

Themistocleous pointed out that drought conditions were far more severe in the occupied areas than they were in the government-controlled areas, and Turkey had therefore signed a contract with a Norwegian company to provide the water-carrying balloon technology.

He denied that the government had had any contact with Turkish Cypriot businessmen to collaborate on a similar water-transport scheme.

Turkish Energy Minister Cumhur Ersumer said on Tuesday that each cubic metre of water to be sent to the occupied areas would cost $0.55, but would be Turkey's gift to the 'TRNC'.

He also pointed out that Turkey would be happy to supply water at the request of the Cyprus Republic.

It is understood that the Turkish Cypriots would be willing to share water with the Greek Cypriot side if such a project were financed by the United States.

For its part, the US has said it is interested in backing a joint water- project between the two sides.

[07] CoLA is safe, but will not rise

THERE will be no increase in the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) for the foreseeable future, the Labour and Finance Ministers said yesterday.

Speaking after a meeting of the Council of Ministers, Labour Minister Andreas Moushiouttas was responding to reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had suggested abolishing CoLA.

An IMF team arrived on the island on Tuesday for a 15-day visit. The experts are expected to make recommendations to the government on a number of financial issues.

"It's not the first time that the IMF has made an issue of abolishing CoLA, " Moushiouttas said.

"But according to agreements made, the issue is clear and that is that at this time there is no question of abolishing CoLA."

But the minister added that -- in line with agreements reached in the past - - some changes should be made to the way in which the index-linked six- monthly allowance is calculated.

"This is clear," Moushiouttas said. "Therefore there is no question of abolishing or abandoning CoLA, independently of what the reports by the IMF may say."

He said the IMF recommendations were not binding on the government.

Employers have for years been trying to axe CoLA from wage calculations, claiming it is a heavy burden on their business, particularly in the cash- strapped manufacturing sector.

Unions oppose any changes at all to CoLA.

The views of the Labour Minister were echoed by his cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou.

"The IMF has not made any suggestion," Christodoulou said. "They only came yesterday (Tuesday) and have yet to meet the governor of the Central Bank."

He added that the IMF had in the past strongly suggested that the CoLA situation be changed.

"But the government will not changing it for now," Christodoulou said.

CoLA is just one of the contentious problems in the industrial sector, which is currently going through a crisis in the renewal of collective agreements.

A deadlock has been declared in the building sector, which employs some 70, 000 workers whose unions are deciding on strike action.

Moushiouttas said yesterday he had been working behind the scenes to try to avert strike action, but with no success so far.

"Until now, there is nothing to report," he said. "There is nothing I can say that could be considered as progress in this whole effort."

The Labour Minister warned that developments in the building sector were an indicator for those in other areas of industry, with a danger that the situation could spiral out of control.

"If there is a conflict in this sector it will influence all the other sectors and the countdown to strikes will be out of control," he said.

[08] Staff costs must fall, hotels warn

HOTELS have their backs to the wall and only lower operating costs and improved productivity can save the day, the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (ACTE) warned yesterday.

Chairman Marios Hamboullas said a specially commissioned survey among its members showed a sharp rise in operating costs over the past six years. Yet revenue per bed was the same as 1992, while occupancy was down an average of 10 per cent.

Because of this difficult situation ACTE wants a new temporary collective agreement until the end of 2000 to "reflect today's crisis."

ACTE was founded a year ago. Its members -- three, four and five star hotels and class A and luxury hotel apartments and tourist villages -- represents some 9,000 beds. They have a workforce of 3,000.

Hamboullas said the sharp rise in labour costs was particularly worrying. The average monthly cost of each employee had risen by 92 per cent from 1991 to 1997. As a result, labour costs now account for 43 per cent of total hotel costs on average, and in some instances as high as 50 per cent. In comparison, labour costs in Europe are 33 per cent of the total and in neighbouring countries such as Israel and Turkey 28 per cent and 23.2 per cent respectively.

High costs have pushed hoteliers to cut back on staff by some 30 per cent, but any further cuts affect quality.

The study also showed the real revenue of employees stood at 43 per cent of receipts. If the 10 per cent service is added, then employees take home 48.2 per cent of total hotel receipts.

"The only way out left is a reduction in operating costs, improvements in the quality of our tourist product and increased labour productivity," Hamboullas said.

Alternatively, "we risk mourning over the ruins of investments worth hundreds of millions of pounds," he said.

Hamboullas appealed particularly to trade unions to appreciate that stiff competition from abroad ruled out any increase in wages. In talks for the renewal of collective agreements, ACTE is proposing a suspension of the existing agreement until the end of the year 2,000 and the formulation of a new temporary one.

This would "respond to the current crisis due to the spiralling operating costs and low competitiveness abroad which the hotel industry is facing".

Trade unions' demands, as submitted on the negotiating table, would lead to a further 5 per cent rise in labour costs -- way above the 1.5 per cent rise in productivity, he added.

"Trade unions have for a series of years secured pay rises not only above the increase in productivity but in a period where the value added of the sector has fallen from year to year," he said.

With hotels in such dire financial states, the private sector would be unable to make new investments in the ambitious tourist projects expected to cost some £250 million, which the government wants to see built.

Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis pledged on Tuesday to work for what he called his "gospel for tourism". The 12 measures proposed include marinas, golf courses, sports fields, casinos, theme parks and more agrotourism beds.

Hamboullas said these were the right measures, that should have been implemented before, but wondered who would pay for them.

"No one disputes that these are the right steps. Our doubts relate to who will finance them," he said.

[09] Police plays down action against Kurdish activists

FOUR Kurds were taken to Limassol police-station between Monday and Tuesday after impeding traffic circulation in the coastal city, police reports said yesterday.

But police denied the four were arrested for trying to plug Kurdish separatist publications, as claimed by the Limassol-Kurdistan Solidarity committee (LKSC) and by reports in the Greek press.

Limassol police chief Andreas Mina said yesterday that four Kurds had been directed to his police station over the last 48 hours for a warning after posing a traffic problem. He vehemently denied any "police arrests of Kurds for the sale of Kurdish propaganda".

Two of the four had been observed in Limassol on Monday afternoon trying to sell the separatist Voice of Kurdistan magazine near traffic-lights, endangering themselves by their movements and hindering drivers, Mina said.

"They were directed to the police station to check their residence permits... Once it was verified that these were in order, they were advised to avoid (selling magazines near) traffic-lights so as not to cause traffic problems and for their own safety," the LImassol police chief said.

The other two Kurds apparently received a similar police warning on Tuesday.

Mina added that the Greek press may have been confused by the fact two Kurds with Syrian citizenship were currently being held in police custody for violating the terms of their employment and residence on the island.

The LKSC has denounced as "unpardonable" such police activity, accusing police of hindering Kurdish activists from selling magazines and calling on the public to oppose such measures by writing to the Justice Minister.

Police also drew fire on the issue from Diko deputy Marios Matsakis, who said yesterday it was "at the very least unfortunate" for four Kurds to be arrested by police at the very time the House Human Rights committee was in uproar over legal proceedings against another Kurdish activist, allegedly arrested at the request of US embassy officials for hawking Kurdish magazines.

Matsakis told the Cyprus Mail he had written to Justice Minister Nicos Koshis seeking verification about the arrest of the four in Limassol and pointing out the displeasure of the House over the matter.

"We have the closest link with the Kurdish people because we are both engaged in a struggle for national survival," said Matsakis. "This kind of (police) behaviour causes a (Cypriot-Kurdish) rift and is not representative of the feeling of the Cypriot people."

He added that the House had called both Attorney-general Alecos Markides and Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides for a meeting on Monday to discuss the issue.

[10] Pilots extend strike deadline

In a written statement, Pasypi said it had decided to postpone, but not cancel, the May 2 work stoppage and accept management's proposal to negotiate the renewal of the collective agreement that lapsed at the end of 1996.

But it said it was setting a deadline of 10 days for the completion of the talks. And it added: "The new dialogue is the last chance the company will have to normalise labour relations and avoid an industrial dispute that can only harm the national carrier, tourism and the Cyprus economy as a whole."

This is the second consecutive piece of good news for the charter company. On Tuesday, Eurocypria pilots called off a threatened 24-hour strike after one of their number had his suspension revoked.

[11] British tourists jailed for theft spree

A Larnaca court sentenced Stuart Anderson, a 23-year-old chef from Manchester, to four months in prison; his friend Gary Markland, 20, self- employed and also from Manchester, received a three-month jail term.

Both pleaded guilty to stealing £100 and expensive perfume from a Danish woman's flat and breaking into three Ayia Napa restaurants and taking £80 in cash and 600 cigarettes.

Local police said the Britons went on their thieving spree within two days of arriving on the holiday island on April 18.

In passing sentence, judge Tefkros Economou said the two men had abused the island's hospitality and said it was his duty to impose a prison term as a deterrent.

Although the two faced the same charges, the court was more lenient with Markland because of his age.

The court also took into account the fact that the two men had handed over some of the money and admitted to their crimes when arrested.

[12] Turkish jets in new airspace violation

Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets violated the Nicosia Flight Information Region (FIR) between 9 and 9.30am, said the Cyprus Civil Aviation Authority, which monitored the overflights.

According to the National Guard, there was a second incident several hours later, in which two Turkish reconnaissance RF4 aircraft violated Cyprus air space and flew from west to east over the occupied areas for around 25 minutes.

The Turkish jets flying over Nicosia were part of the Tauros '98 and Determination '98 war games, which began yesterday in the occupied north.

Tauros, which ends on Thursday, involves Turkish land, sea and air forces.

The government said it had filed a complaint with the international civil aviation authority protesting against overflight violation.

Turkish navy vessels are expected to dock at the occupied port of Kyrenia, according to Turkish Cypriot press reports.

[13] Cypriot researcher in genetic breakthrough

The findings of Leonidas Phylactou were published in this month's issue of the leading scientific journal Natural Genetics. His methods involve manipulating the natural abilities of the genetic molecule ribozyme, which can repair genetic defects, to make it repair the genetic defect that causes myotonic dystrophy.

Myotonic dystrophy is a common neuromuscular disease for which there is, at present, no effective treatment. Phylactou's ribozyme identifies and corrects the defect, hence the term "molecular surgery".

Phylactou told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that it was still early days in the technique's development, but that the potential was "tremendous".

He added that the technique could also be developed and applied to other genetic diseases.

Phylactou left Cyprus in 1989 to study at undergraduate and graduate level in Britain and the US. He has been working at Oxford University -- where the breakthrough was made -- since 1995.

[14] Romanian extradited on fraud charges

Two Romanian police accompanied Constantin Perpechidis on the flight back to Bucharest.

Perpechidis allegedly scammed over 700 Romanians into giving him money, promising to find them work abroad. He then left Romania and was living in a flat in Nicosia with his family when he was arrested in January.

His extradition papers were issued by Nicosia District Court on January 30. His to appeal against the order was rejected.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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