Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-05-17

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

Sunday, May 17, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] English School row to go to arbitration

[02] Diko man tries to force party leadership poll

[03] Two held after airport drugs seizure

[04] Turks hold gypsies for another three days

[05] End in sight for market's roller-coaster ride?

[06] Suspected pimp remanded

[07] Gradual liberalisation of telecoms urged

[08] Hoteliers complain about water cuts

[01] English School row to go to arbitration

THE ROW at the English School over the Headmaster and his alleged favouritism is likely to go to binding arbitration, the Chairman of the School Board said yesterday.

Also yesterday the teachers' association ESSA released 80 pages of documentation relating to the furore over the promotion of a female member of staff to a senior position.

The dossier contains reports, minutes of meetings and testimonies against Headmaster Thomas Thomas by Department Heads.

The documents describe Thomas's conduct as allegedly "aggressive, disrespectful and unprofessional" and have called for his removal "as soon as possible", a letter to the Board dated March 18, 1998 said.

Teachers also want the promotion to Senior Teacher rescinded, implying it had been the result of the Headmaster's "close relationship with one of the candidates", according to an ESSA report to an ad-hoc investigating committee set up by the Board.

"It is clear... that the attitude of the interviewing panel/Head Teacher towards the appointed candidate was more favourable in that she was asked questions on her answers to the interview questions. (She was probed more times than the other candidates)," the ESSA report said.

The dossier also contains written statements by 12 Heads of Department, only one of whom supports the Headmaster.

One of the teachers who has been at the school for 27 years said she could not recall a time when staff members were so demoralised.

"I have been present at meetings where the HT (Head Teacher) has used the word "bugger", has made obscene gestures with his arms, has intimidated staff by threatening their jobs...," her written statement said.

Another teacher said the four-man ad-hoc committee set up to investigate the claims "was being very defensive and not really listening to what she was saying".

Board Chairman John Hadjiantonas said yesterday the releasing of the dossier by ESSA was "not in the spirit" of the agreement reached on mediation "only two days ago".

"I don't know what the intentions of the staff are," he said.

"The ad-hoc committee has evaluated the case and believes there is no substance to the claims and to the demand that the Head teacher must go, and that there are no grounds for not proceeding with the promotion," Hadjiantonas said.

"Any attempt at this stage to argue the merits of the case seems to be pointless."

But another member of the Board, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Cyprus Mail the Board itself is to blame for the situation.

"It's a case of 'yes sir, no sir, anything you say sir'," he said. "Our Lord and Master wanted to appoint a girl with qualifications less than those of some others. It's a bloody scandal."

The Board member said the only solution is for the Headmaster to resign or the situation will only get worse.

Other sources at the school agreed. "We can't just try and pretend now that it hasn't all happened," they said.

The sources added that the Board's stubbornness in recognising that a problem exists is probably due to its reluctance to admit making a mistake by appointing Thomas "not because he is not a good Headmaster but because he has gone the wrong way about it".

Staff say that unless mediation meetings tomorrow come up with a solution, industrial action will be taken. However they will not take any measures which might affect upcoming examinations.

[02] Diko man tries to force party leadership poll

DIKO executive committee member Christos Triantafyllides submitted his resignation at yesterday's party conference in an effort to force immediate leadership elections.

Triantafyllides called on all Diko officials, including party leader Spyros Kyprianou, to follow suit. His calls seemed appeared last night to have fallen on deaf ears, even though support for early elections is said to be strong within the party.

The party conference, continuing for the second weekend running, has been a tumultuous affair dominated by wranglings over when party leadership elections should be held.

Party general secretary Stathis Kittis yesterday stuck to the official party line that leadership elections will not take place until October.

The conference was yesterday considering a proposal for the creation of a party vice-president post. Reports suggest that the post, if approved, would be given to the party's parliamentary spokesman, Tassos Papadopoulos, as a first step to his taking over the party leadership.

Papadopoulos and Kyprianou have both made it clear they do not want to stand against each other in party elections.

The conference is expected to continue today and next weekend.

Leadership contender Kypros Chrysostomides has revealed that the conference has heard calls for Kyprianou's resignation following the party's defeat in February's presidential elections. Chrysostomides also said Kyprianou was unwilling to step down.

Diko deputy Nicos Cleanthis yesterday called on his party leader to make "sacrifices" for the good of the party.

[03] Two held after airport drugs seizure

TWO LIMASSOL men were yesterday remanded in connection with the seizure of nearly eight kilograms of cannabis at Larnaca airport on Friday night.

Larnaca District Court heard that 25-year-old Loukas Michail tried to smuggle the narcotics through customs in his suitcase after arriving on a flight from Athens. A search of his luggage by customs officials revealed 7, 942 grams of hashish wrapped in eight packages placed among books and clothing, the court heard.

Michail was arrested at 10.40pm, and later named 22-year-old Dimitris Charidimou Sofroniou as his drug smuggling accomplice, case investigator Christos Papadopoulos told the court.

Papadopoulos said Michail confessed that he and Sofroniou bought the cannabis in Athens on May 13 and then agreed to travel to Cyprus separately, Sofroniou arriving on Thursday in order to avoid creating suspicion.

Sofroniou was arrested yesterday morning.

A search of his home unearthed a precision set of scales that police believe was used to measure out drugs, the court heard.

Papadopoulos said police had reason to believe the two men had been running a drug smuggling scam for some time and that they needed to take statements from 25 people in Cyprus and Greece and also liaise with Interpol on the case.

Both men were remanded for eight days.

[04] Turks hold gypsies for another three days

The papers reported that the three detainees - Christos Demetriou, 35, George Charalambous, 35, and 26-year-old George Alexiou - broke down and cried when the 'prosecutor' asked for an eight-day extension of their incarceration.

The 'court' only renewed their detention for three days and warned that the three, who live in Limassol, would be released if the case against them was not ready by tomorrow, the papers said.

Charalambous apparently told the 'court' his friend Alexiou was suffering and getting aggressive because he was without the sleeping pills he needed. The 'judge' ordered that Alexiou be seen by a doctor.

A UN team which visited the three yesterday found them to be in good health.

The three men were apprehended near Strovilia in the Dhekelia area on Monday evening. According to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) the three, who work as travelling salesmen, were "selling their goods" when apprehended, but other sources suggested they were hunting close to the occupied areas.

[05] End in sight for market's roller-coaster ride?

THE MARKET'S bumpy ride over the past two weeks may have ended with two mini rallies on Thursday and Friday. But if some lingering doubts remain about the market's immediate direction, next week's annual general meetings of the Popular and Hellenic banks should be enough to dispel them.

The month started disastrously for the Cyprus Stock Exchange. Its first two trading days produced a combined drop of 5.42 per cent in the index.

A rally in the next two days regained some territory, but four drops in as many trading days followed, plunging the market into its worst sentiment since the start of the year. As in the previous week, the market rallied on Thursday and Friday with a combined 1.98 per cent rise in the index.

All told, the official all-share index fell by 5.50 per cent since the start of the month, wiping out a quarter of the market's spectacular rise in value since January together with tens of millions of pounds from investors' pockets.

Explaining the market's erratic behaviour, Costas Anastassiades of Laiki Investments, the Popular Bank's securities arm, said it was partly an overdue correction given the steady gains made since January, together with nervousness over the latest impasse in diplomatic efforts to solve the Cyprus problem.

"Some would even say that the current prices are logical, if a bit on the low side," said Anastassiades.

Whatever the reasons behind the drop, which include mass selling by major brokerages and profit-taking by speculators, help is on the way.

The Popular Bank, the island's second biggest financial institution after the Bank of Cyprus, plans to hold its annual general meeting on Wednesday. A day later, Hellenic Bank will hold its AGM. The two banks are expected to announce first quarter results in their AGMs which, judging by available forecasts, will give the market a welcome boost and, at least in the immediate future, end its dizzying roller-coaster ride.

"I expect the index to end at 90 or 91 next week. Positive movements without big jumps," predicted one trader of a major bank-affiliated brokerage.

The index closed on Friday at 89.08.

"If you are a long- or medium-term investor, this is a good time to get into the market," was the advice given by the trader, who requested anonymity.

"I will not be surprised if Hellenic and Popular announced a sweetener for shareholders next week," said another trader, who also did not want to be named.

"Things will be better next week, unless of course there is a negative political development," was the prediction of Glafcos Psyllakis of the Limassol-based brokerage of the same name.

The impact of the island's three largest banks - Bank of Cyprus, Popular and Hellenic - on the market cannot be overstated. Their profits are consistently rising and their expanding overseas operations, particularly in Greece, are making an increasingly significant contribution to profits (35 per cent in the case of the Bank of Cyprus). Share dividends are also among the highest.

The three currently account for nearly 65 per cent of the market's capitalisation of £1.33 billion, while trading in their shares makes up nearly 45 per cent of all transactions.

While this extraordinary leverage on the market reflects the banks' sound fundamentals, it also highlights the ominous lack of depth in the market.

[06] Suspected pimp remanded

Andreas Antoniades, 42, was arrested on Friday after a man told police that he had paid £60 to have sex with a Bulgarian girl at Antoniades' hotel in a Western suburb of Larnaca town.

Larnaca District Court heard that the plaintiff had made photocopies of the £20 notes he allegedly used to pay Antoniades and police had found the original notes in the possession of the hotel owner and the Bulgarian girl.

The suspect's lawyer asked on whose initiative the notes had been photocopied. The investigating officer answered only that the plaintiff's statement named the persons who suggested he do this.

The hotel owner was remanded for three days on suspicion of pimping.

[07] Gradual liberalisation of telecoms urged

Such liberalisation is strongly opposed by unions and opposition parties who believe it would effect employees at the state-run Telecommunications Authority (Cyta).

But Ierodiakonou said liberalisation of the sector would "improve quality of life and upgrade Cyprus's role as a telecommunications hub in the Eastern Mediterranean".

He also said the sector had been liberalised in a large number of countries, including EU states and the US.

Ierodiakonou made the statements on the eve of International Communications Day today.

[08] Hoteliers complain about water cuts

The Limassol water board announced earlier this week it was reducing domestic water supplies from 96 to just 70 hours a week.

In a statement yesterday, the chairman of the Hotel Association, Avgerinos Nikitas, said the lack of water would keep tourists away.

"If we cannot provide even this basic necessity... what hope is there of attracting tourists?" Nikitas asked.

He said that the cuts discriminated against Limassol hotels because out-of- town establishments would not suffer the same fate.

Nikitas called on the Limassol water board to review its decision.

The cuts were deemed necessary in view of the dire water shortage affecting the whole island.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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