Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-05-19

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

Tuesday, May 19, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Turks and Greeks 'must take tough decisions'

[02] Top English School teachers threaten to quit

[03] Top Turk's Moscow missile mission

[04] 'S-300 radar potential worries West'

[05] US says use of new phone links should be encouraged

[06] Toddler dies in pool tragedy

[07] Two die in head-on collision

[08] Tourist to testify in 'Aids waiter' case

[09] Police fire shots to break up brawl

[10] Lost and found: two elderly tourists

[11] Kyprianou hangs on as Diko leader

[12] Rape suspect remanded

[13] Third remand after airport hash haul

[14] Cyprus waters clean, says government

[15] MS sufferers 'need better care'

[16] New safety campaign targets bikers

[17] 'Plan to cut CyBC output'

[01] Turks and Greeks 'must take tough decisions'

Ankara's relations with the EU hit a new low last December after Turkey was excluded from talks on which states should start negotiations on entering the 15-nation bloc.

Turkey, which responded by cutting its political dialogue with the EU, has also raised international fears with its avowed determination to block plans by the Cyprus government to install Russian-made air defence missiles later this year.

In April Greece - involved in disputes with Turkey over jurisdiction in the Aegean Sea - again vetoed the release of 375 million ECU ($410 million) of financial aid earmarked for Ankara in a customs union deal.

"We have got to resolve this," Clinton told a news conference after an EU- US summit in London.

"To get there I think we will have to proceed on many fronts at once, and I think both the Turks and Greeks will have to make difficult decisions which I believe the European Union and, I know, the United States will strongly support," he said.

"I do not think we can solve one problem in isolation from the others. I think we have to move forward on all these problems, Cyprus, the Aegean jurisdictional disputes and the role of Turkey in Europe's future. All of that we have to move forward on."

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook will visit Turkey tomorrow to discuss ties with the EU, which turned down Turkey's bid to start accession talks after expressing concerns over Ankara's shaky human rights record and its dispute with Greece over Cyprus.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the news conference it was important to emphasise that the EU wanted a good, close relationship with Turkey.

"We want Turkey to feel included in the family of European nations. We have a deep concern over what has happened, and is happening, in Cyprus and we believe that it is essential we make progress in this area," he said.

"I think we should and will redouble our efforts to give a very clear signal to Turkey about our proper and true intentions and also to do what we can to bring hope in the conflict in Cyprus," he said.

[02] Top English School teachers threaten to quit

EIGHTEEN English School teachers threatened to resign yesterday in the continuing row over the Headmaster as union and board representatives met at the Labour Ministry.

Also yesterday, Board member Nicos Saveriades issued a written statement publicly disagreeing with the board's position, and Disy deputy Lefteris Christoforou said he has tabled the issue before the House Education Committee.

The row centres on the alleged favouritism shown by Headmaster Thomas Thomas in relation to the promotion of a female member of staff to Senior Teacher.

Tension at the school has risen so high that the teachers' union ESSA has threatened to take industrial action unless the promotion is rescinded.

The union is also objecting to what it has described as "unacceptable and demoralising behaviour" towards staff by Thomas.

No agreement was forthcoming yesterday at the Labour Ministry, although it was suggested that an ad-hoc committee comprising three board members and three union members be set up to re-examine the background to the row. A previous four-man ad-hoc committee of the board found no case for the cancellation of the promotion.

ESSA president Antonis Antoniou said the mediation proposal for a new committee was acceptable but added that the Board has asked as a condition for industrial measures to be called off. ESSA was last night discussing the proposal. "We have to answer by tomorrow (Tuesday)," Antoniou said.

The union's position was strengthened yesterday when 18 senior teachers, including heads of department, threatened to resign unless the board takes decisive action.

"The Board still appears to be unaware that their actions are leading the school to paralysis," a statement from the 18 teachers said.

"We have watched in amazement as the Board of Management has used delaying tactics and legalistic manoeuvres to avoid proposing solutions to the issues raised."

The teachers said they are no longer able to perform their duties "to the high standards we set ourselves because of the prevailing negative climate and strained relationships".

Board member Nicos Saveriades yesterday said the entire row was a scandal. He criticised Thomas's alleged negative approach to managing staff, and said no one has the right to attack the morale of the teachers.

An 80-page dossier of documents and minutes of meetings released by ESSA on Saturday alleged that Thomas's behaviour towards staff was "aggressive, disrespectful and unprofessional".

[03] Top Turk's Moscow missile mission

TURKEY'S top general flew to Russia yesterday to underline Ankara's opposition to the sale of an anti-aircraft missile system to Cyprus.

General Ismail Hakki Karadayi, chief of the general staff, will meet Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev and his counterpart Anatoly Kvashnin during a five-day visit.

Turkey says installation of the Russian S-300 system would harm efforts to reunite the island.

It has also repeatedly threatened to block deployment of the missiles, but such action could lead to retaliation by Greece under the defence pact Athens has with Cyprus.

Greece said on Sunday that a new Turkish attack on Cyprus would constitute a casus belli for Greece. The comment was made by Akis Tzohatzopoulos after meeting Cyprus Defence Minister Yiannakis Omirou.

Tzohatzopoulos called on the Turkish Cypriot side to abandon its present position and to take advantage of the benefits EU accession would have to offer them if they embrace Cyprus' accession. He said threats against the S- 300s are "nothing but an effort to further upgrade Turkish military presence in the occupied areas".

Russian officials have vowed to deliver the missiles as soon as August.

Karadayi is expected to offer Russian companies a piece of Turkey's multi- million dollar arms business in return for Russia's scrapping the missile deal, according to reports from Ankara.

Omirou said the Turkish threats were aimed at misleading efforts to tackle the Cyprus question and he repeated that if substantial progress is made or if demilitarisation is agreed, the missile purchase will not go ahead.

President Clerides said however that there are no reassurances that the Turkish side will change its attitude. "Turkey has said it is not prepared to make any moves," he said.

Clerides also said the government is not prepared to discuss the issue of military flights over the island.

"The issue of overflights has not been discussed. We refuse to discuss any issue concerning overflights," he said.

The president also said that US presidential envoy Richard Holbrooke will return to the island next month to discuss procedural issues relating to the possible resumption of direct talks.

Holbrooke left the island empty-handed after two visits in as many months after Rauf Denktash refused to return to the negotiating table unless his regime was recognised.

[04] 'S-300 radar potential worries West'

WESTERN concern over deployment of the S-300 system in Cyprus hinges on suspicions the missiles could give Russia invaluable intelligence on Nato movements over the Middle East, sources in Nicosia told Reuters.

A sophisticated radar which is part of an S-300 missile package is ruffling feathers in the West, not least because of the perceived attempt by Moscow to regain influence in the volatile region, an intelligence source said.

"The anxieties are more about the potential of the radar, which can gather intelligence on flight movements which they would not want the Russians to have," the source said.

Those most concerned are the United States and Britain because of their operations in the Gulf, the source said.

The government is due to take delivery of an unspecified number of the surface-to-air missiles in the next few months.

"It is a very powerful radar which would light the skies all over the region. Every move would become known to the Greek Cypriots. The west thinks that because Russian officers will be working on the system, they would also be known to Russia," the source said.

Initially, Russian military officers will come to Cyprus to train the National Guard on the use of the system, said to cost some $600 million.

The government has refused to back down on the deal in spite of warnings by Turkey that it could use force to block the missiles' deployment.

Western countries have warned strongly that the missiles' arrival could further destabilise the situation on the divided island.

But western analysts contacted by Reuters dismissed suggestions that the intelligence gathering capacity of the system was worrying the west.

"They don't need a radar... the Russians could probably get all they needed from satellite imagery," one analyst said.

The long-range surveillance radar system has a detection range of 300 kilometres on targets with speeds of up to 10,000 kilometres per hour.

The government says the missiles are defensive and will be used only if the island is attacked. But Ankara says the missiles, which can intercept aircraft at a maximum range of 150 km, are a threat not just to Turkey, but also to the occupied area.

Although due for delivery by August, observers say the missiles will probably arrive in September or October because Cyprus has been "a bit slow" with its payments.

The government has said it would consider cancelling the S-300 deal only if there was an agreement to demilitarise the island or if progress in intercommunal talks made their deployment unnecessary.

But the talks have been at a virtual standstill for months and the clock is ticking towards the missiles' arrival.

"A year ago I would have said the Turks would definitely strike at the system. Now we are getting mixed messages. It depends on what side of the bed Karadayi gets out of," one Western source in Nicosia told Reuters yesterday.

[05] US says use of new phone links should be encouraged

OBSTACLES should not be imposed on the use of phone lines between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides, the US embassy said yesterday.

The comment came after the announcement last week by the regime in the north that it would be charging Turkish Cypriots international rates for calls to the Greek Cypriot side.

Despite the higher charges the UN has reported that around 20,000 calls a day on a 50/50 basis are being made between the two sides on the new automated system.

In fact the UN said late last week that it may even expand the system.

"The heavy usage of the telephone lines shows that people want to use these lines," a US embassy spokesman told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

The spokesman said, however, that the US believes "nothing should be done to discourage the use of the telephone lines".

The UN has said it will raise the issue with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to establish the justification for the higher rates.

The Turkish Cypriot side says international rates must be imposed because the calls are being made beyond 'TRNC' borders.

The 20 new automated telephone lines replaced the UN-operated three-line system which became ineffective in recent years because of increased demand.

The old system could only handle around 100,000 calls between the two sides each year, compared to the 750,000 the new lines can cope with. The system cost £40,000.

[06] Toddler dies in pool tragedy

A BRITISH toddler drowned in at the weekend in a tragic accident after giving his parents the slip to go swimming.

State Pathologist Eleni Antoniou yesterday confirmed that five-year-old Max Baker died of asphyxiation through drowning.

Max, from Sudbury in Suffolk, died within 24 hours of arriving on holiday in Cyprus in a crowded Paphos swimming pool on Sunday afternoon.

After eating a heavy lunch with his parents Peter and Kim and older brother and sister, he jumped into the pool, according to Paphos police.

His father Peter began to panic when he lost sight of his youngest son before an alert hotel guest dived into the pool after he saw Max floating in the deep end, not moving.

Once he was dragged from the pool, guests tried to revive him using mouth- to-mouth resuscitation.

An ambulance arrived to rush the boy to Paphos General Hospital where doctors desperately tried to bring him round.

After an hour of frantically trying to save the boy doctors pronounced Max dead at 3pm on Sunday.

The five-member family arrived in Cyprus on Saturday for a two-week holiday in Kato Paphos.

Since the death of their son they have been too distraught to talk about the tragedy.

Tour giants Thomson said yesterday that speedy arrangements are being made to fly the family and the body back home as soon as possible.

Meanwhile a 67-year-old Swedish tourist drowned yesterday while swimming in choppy seas near Protaras.

The body of Rolf Gunnar Johannsson, who was visiting the island alone, was washed ashore at around 1.20pm. He was rushed to a nearby clinic, but doctors were unable to revive him.

Johannsson was taken to Larnaca General Hospital where he was officially pronounced dead. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

[07] Two die in head-on collision

The crash happened at around 8.30am at Pissouri on the Limassol-Paphos road.

Taxi driver Christakis Nicodimou, 60, and 24-year-old Finnish tourist Mika Tapani Lahtenpera, a passenger in the taxi, were both killed.

Another taxi passenger, 50-year-old Elisabeth Ioannou from Paphos, was critically injured and transferred to Nicosia General Hospital. The remaining taxi passengers - two British tourists, Lahtenpera's 22-year-old fiancé and a National Guardsman - and the 32-year-old driver of the tanker are recovering in Limassol General Hospital.

The driver of a third car which smashed into the wreckage, Thekla Photiou, was slightly injured and released from hospital after receiving first aid treatment.

The accident appears to have happened when the petrol tanker, travelling from Limassol to Paphos, collided with the taxi coming in the opposite direction.

Nicodimou was trapped in the wreckage for two hours after the crash, and Lahtenpera died on the way to hospital.

[08] Tourist to testify in 'Aids waiter' case

A NORWEGIAN woman will be flown to Cyprus next week to testify against a Cypriot waiter who is charged with having unprotected sex with her, knowing he was HIV-positive.

The 25-year-old said yesterday she was willing to come back and testify against Larnaca waiter Andreas Michael, 28.

Michael has been charged with having unprotected sex with three woman, two of them Cypriot, and hiding the fact that he was HIV-positive.

Of the two Cypriot women, one is understood to be married with two children and the other his fiancée of nearly three years.

Michael denies the charges against him. He will stand trial on May 27, Larnaca district court decided yesterday.

All three women will testify against the waiter behind closed doors and away from the media spotlight.

Michael has been released on £1,000 bail, had his passport confiscated, and must report to a local police station once a day before his court appearance.

Although Michael has been charged with exposing three women to the Aids virus, police suspect he has had unprotected sex with another three women, one a Swedish tourist. All three have declined to make a statement.

Michael is being prosecuted under a 50-year-old Cyprus law enacted to stop the spread of cholera on the island.

If found guilty he could face two years in prison, or a £1,500 fine or both.

This is the third Aids-related case in a year to go before the courts. Last July a fisherman was sentenced to 15 months for having unprotected sex and failing to tell his British girlfriend Janette Pink of his condition.

Last month a British-born Cypriot woman was jailed for seven months on similar charges.

[09] Police fire shots to break up brawl

Three policeman were injured, including a sergeant, Nicos Nicou, who suffered serious head injuries.

The fight broke out at around 2am at the Opa Opa night spot when a group of 10-15 young people refused to pay their £150 bill. The club's management called the police who arrived as the group was leaving.

A confrontation lasting nearly an hour followed, when stones and bottles were thrown at the police, one bottle causing head injuries to Sergeant Nicou. Police say five shots were fired in the air in an attempt to restore order.

Seven people were arrested and in the case of two, the court convened at Limassol General Hospital. One of the youths was released because of insufficient evidence against him and the rest were remanded for five days. An eighth person was arrested later on Sunday and also remanded for five days.

The three injured officers are on medical leave.

[10] Lost and found: two elderly tourists

On Saturday Norman Wilfred Craddock, 68, and his wife, 64-year-old Dorothy May, had been on a walking tour organised by the local company Nissos Safari in the Akamas region when they disappeared.

Having stopped at around 3pm for a scheduled picnic lunch,

the Craddocks told their tour guide that instead of turning back with the group, they wanted to walk on further and arranged to be collected at around 5pm.

But when the guide arrived to collect the couple, they didn't appear, and when they still hadn't arrived three hours later the tour company's manager alerted the police.

A search was launched and continued until 3am on Sunday, with no result.

The search resumed at dawn and the two were finally found at around 9.30am. Both were said to have suffered no ill-effects.

[11] Kyprianou hangs on as Diko leader

DIKO will continue with Spyros Kyprianou as its leader and parliamentary spokesman Tassos Papadopoulos waiting in the wings for at least a few more months.

The Diko conference had a second inconclusive weekend session with Kyprianou's main leadership contender Papadopoulos stating his support for the current leader until he is ready to step down.

Party general secretary Stathis Kittis said yesterday that Kyprianou was prepared to resign and stand for re-election, but Papadopoulos' stance had changed his mind.

Kittis had earlier stuck to the official party line that leadership elections will be held no earlier than October. Yesterday, however, he commented that "renewal is necessary and offers the best possible route towards regeneration. More importantly, it provides the opportunity to overcome the current crisis in the best possible way."

The Diko crisis peaked in the past fortnight with conference wrangling over when leadership elections should be held. There were calls for Kyprianou to resign following Diko's defeat in February's presidential elections.

In his speech to the conference, Papadopoulos said he was not prepared to contest the leadership because it would lead to a party split. He said he will support Kyprianou while he remains as leader but called on him to heed the strong need for renewal and decide on an appropriate time for his departure.

The conference will convene again the next two weeks to decide on Kyprianou's proposal for leadership elections in November with a changed electoral procedure.

[12] Rape suspect remanded

[13] Third remand after airport hash haul

Air conditioner repairman Stelios Demetriou, 21, from Ayios Nicolaou, was detained after police interrogated Loukas Michail, 25, and Dimitris Sofroniou, 22, who were remanded on Saturday for eight days each after 7, 942 grams of hashish were seized at the airport.

Larnaca District Court remanded Demetriou for three days.

Police have said that they believe Sofroniou and Michail bought the drugs in Athens and that they have been running a drug smuggling ring for some time. They plan to take statements from up to 25 people in Cyprus and Greece.

[14] Cyprus waters clean, says government

Reacting to claims by environmental group Greenpeace that the Israeli authorities have allowed the dumping of coal ash in the Mediterranean, Fisheries Department official Loizos Loizides told the Cyprus News Agency that systematic checks on the quality of the sea water around Cyprus had revealed no problems.

He added that the direction of the currents made contamination of the sea around the island "impossible".

The Israeli Embassy in Nicosia has said it has no official information on the Greenpeace claim, and is checking with the matter with the Israeli Environment Ministry.

[15] MS sufferers 'need better care'

She was speaking at a press conference to launch the programme for Multiple Sclerosis awareness week, this year entitled 'The Waves of Life', which starts next Saturday.

The week's events are being held not only to increase awareness of the disease among the general public, but to inform sufferers of their rights and potential she said. It is also the society's intention to increase governmental awareness of MS sufferers.

Special charity events taking place during the week include theatrical performances by Theatro Ena, concerts, a charity raffle and a football match. All proceeds will go towards helping the disease's 400 local sufferers.

More information is available from the association on 02-423644.

[16] New safety campaign targets bikers

ALMOST a third of road deaths in Cyprus between 1993 and 1997 were of people on two wheels, and 96 per cent of them were not wearing crash helmets.

The continuing carnage on the roads, especially with respect to motorcyclists, was the theme of a road safety campaign targeting motorcycle awareness which was launched yesterday by the magazine MOTO, in conjunction with the police traffic department and with sponsorship from BMW.

Though many are no longer on the road, there are some 72,000 motorcycles registered in Cyprus. Leaving out the youngsters who acquire a bike at the age of 17, it was emphasised that the majority of motorcyclists are also car drivers, and should therefore treat motorcyclists with respect - since most accidents involving bikes also include a car.

George Voutounos of the police traffic section stressed the importance of wearing crash helmets, and said the police divided motorcyclists into two groups - the majority, who were law-abiding road users, and the others "who ignore traffic regulations".

He added that the police regularly visited schools to instruct pupils in road safety, but conceded that the number of youngsters riding mopeds without a licence - or very much idea about the rules of the road - was a problem.

A suggestion from a spokesman for the Motorcyclists' Federation that a school for motorcycling should be set up, and a test passed after a course of lessons, was warmly received by the police, though they pointed out that such a plan would have to be legally ratified if it were to work.

The organisers of the campaign were at pains to stress that two-wheel road users have a bad name because of the activities of a small minority of youngsters who modify their bikes, making them noisy, "and giving all bikers a bad image".

The enjoyment to be had from motorcycling was promoted, and - apart from the safety concerns - the plea was to car drivers to respect the rights of motorcycle, moped and bicycle riders.

[17] 'Plan to cut CyBC output'

According to Alithia newspaper the ministry is pondering the unthinkable in an effort to try to reduce the corporation's £1 million plus deficit.

The suggestion of chopping the TV and radio channels, or the alternative of restricting programme transmission hours has been put before a ministerial committee, the paper says.

CyBC's 1998 budget, which has been submitted to the Council of Ministers, forcasts various scenarios with a deficit wavering between £1-2 million, something which the government is not prepared to accept.

It is understood that CyBC has been told to balance its books much better or face painful cost-cutting.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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