Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-10-17

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

Saturday, October 17, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Aradippou councillor gunned down

[02] Shuttle talks begin

[03] Police chief 'furious' over set-up claim

[04] EasyJet is not for sale

[05] Greek planes will take part in Nikiforos

[06] Frustration grows over missing stalemate

[07] Bethell warns the nationalists

[08] University staff say Clerides deliberately stalled bill

[09] War of words over EAC continues despite cabinet decision

[10] All about sleep

[11] Turks jail Greek Cypriot

[12] Britain fines T. Cypriot airline for illegal passengers

[01] Aradippou councillor gunned down

A MASKED gunman critically wounded Andreas Xiourouppas, 54, in Larnaca yesterday.

The victim is the father of George Xiourouppas, who was arrested this month in connection with what police said was a gangland murder plot that they had foiled.

The unidentified gunman fired six to eight shots at the elder Xiourouppas, a municipal councillor in Aradippou, just before 8pm as he got out of his car, which he had just parked outside his Larnaca flat block, a witness said.

He was rushed into surgery in Larnaca General Hospital, where he was last night listed in critical condition. Police said he was hit in the back, head and chest.

The witness was also taken to hospital in a state of shock, police added.

The gunman got away on foot, police said, denying a report that a getaway car had been waiting for the assailant.

Larnaca police said they had no leads into either who the gunman was or the motive behind the shooting.

"We don't know anything yet," a Larnaca police spokesman said.

George Xiourouppas, 29, Kyriakos Sinesis and Andreas Sinesis were in a black BMW car late on October 6, when - according to police - they were handed three packages, said to have contained automatic weapons, by Theodoulos Sinesis, 24, and Pavlos Kouilis, 27. All five remain in jail on remand.

Police said they believe that, had they not foiled the alleged plot, the weapons would have been used to murder two underworld figures, whom they have not identified.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[02] Shuttle talks begin

SHUTTLE talks aimed at kick-starting stalled Cyprus negotiations began yesterday with the government seeking clarifications from the UN.

UN chief of mission Dame Ann Hercus met yesterday morning with President Clerides. She has fixed a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash for next Wednesday.

After the 50-minute meeting at the Presidential Palace yesterday, Dame Ann said: "I have had my first meeting with Mr Clerides. I meet with Mr Denktash next week on Wednesday, and have a subsequent meeting with Mr Clerides on Thursday."

Hercus has called on both sides to keep the contents of discussions private for the duration of the talks.

On September 30, UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan mandated Dame Ann to develop a process for on-island contacts with the goal of reducing tensions and promoting progress towards a just and lasting settlement.

But the government is insisting that it needs some clarifications on the process.

Spokesman Christos Stylianides said the government was willing to engage in shuttle talks, but was waiting for answers to certain questions relating to the talks.

"The government has stressed from the beginning its readiness and its position of openness to this procedure," he said.

"At the same time, the government has asked for clarifications on aspects of tension reduction and on security measures."

On Thursday, Denktash said the talks would hinge on building confidence between the two sides.

The shuttle talks are expected to take place in absolute confidentiality.

The international community wants to bring the two sides to the negotiating table in any way possible, but the Cyprus government fears that Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash will use the process to push his plan for confederation.

The UN Secretary-general's special envoy for Cyprus, Diego Cordovez, said in London this week that what was important was that negotiations take place; that, he said, was more important than arguing over terminologies.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[03] Police chief 'furious' over set-up claim

POLICE chief Andreas Angelides yesterday ordered an investigation into claims that a drug squad officer tried to frame his mistress's husband so they could run off together.

According to reports, the police chief was furious after he was told of the contents of a tape which apparently has a senior officer threatening to put someone behind bars.

"Police chief Andreas Angelides has ordered a police enquiry in connection with a case of illegal entrapment and a taped conversation with a police officer and the wife of a man on trial for drugs," a police press release said yesterday.

It is understood the policeman was having an affair with the wife of a man who is on trial in connection with a drug trafficking case involving 115 kilos of hashish from Bulgaria.

The accused man claims he was framed and says he has a tape recording to prove it.

When he became suspicious of his wife, he hired a private detective to follow her and tap the phone.

Following the private surveillance operation, the man discovered his wife was having erotic phone conversations with a police officer.

But the conversations also allegedly had the police officer saying he would "stick" his mistress's husband in jail so they could run off together.

Although the tape cannot be used as evidence in court, the police chief is said to be determined to come down hard on any member of the police bringing shame upon the force.

"Mr Angelides is interested in the substance of the case, and, if any proof is found against the officer, he will not hesitate to take action," police spokesman Stelios Neophytou told the Cyprus Mail.

The police see the matter as especially sensitive, as it involves a high- profile drugs case in which any possible convictions could be made unsafe by such allegations.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[04] EasyJet is not for sale

BRITISH media claims to the contrary, EasyJet, whose no-frills flights have been turning heads (and profits) in Europe's open skies, is not for sale - especially not to British Airways, EasyJet's founder and two of its officials said yesterday.

"This airline is not for sale!" Stelios Hadjioannou, EasyJet's founder, declared in a message on the Internet in reply to a story on Wednesday in the London newspaper, The Mirror.

The Mirror claimed Hadjioannou was calling it quits due to too much competition from other low-cost airlines, and was probably selling EasyJet to arch-rival British Airways.

"I think The Mirror got it wrong," Jo Picciano, EasyJet's marketing executive, said by phone from London.

Hadjioannou just last week told The Sunday Mail he planned to begin Larnaca-London service in May 1999. He said he also planned to open other routes from Cyprus when the Republic complies with EU law requiring an "open skies" policy, allowing competition with money-losing Cyprus Airways.

"It's no secret that Stelios has considered, since he started the airline, the possibility of outside minority investment, be it the stock market, private equity, or through aircraft-related bonds," James Rothnie, head of public relations for EasyJet said by phone from London. "But at no stage has he considered a majority sale or a total sale or the airline."

"The story emanated from an interview he did with the Mirror two months ago, in which he was asked: 'Would you ever sell your airline?' and to which he replied: 'Every man has his price,' which I think is probably true, " Rothnie said.

"But it's a hypothetical question; the airline is not for sale," Rothnie declared.

Even minority investment is out of the question, "with the state of the capital markets the way they are at the moment," Rothnie said. "But certainly in principle... it's something which he has considered in the past, and I'm sure will consider in the future."

Meanwhile EasyJet continues to buy new aircraft, Rothnie said. "We've taken delivery of two aircraft in the past months. We've got another 10 coming between next month and the end of 1999, and another 30 of the next generation aircraft after that."

Asked why Hadjioannou is waiting until May 1999 to begin the Larnaca-London route, instead of using one of his planes, or leasing another airline's older plane, to begin it now, Rothnie said EasyJet wants to begin the new route with a new jetliner.

EasyJet does not want to "destroy an established route" by borrowing a plane from it, and the airline is "keen to avoid" leasing some old Boeing 737 from an East European carrier.

"Those planes have more technical problems and are more difficult to operate. That's why we're investing in brand new aircraft," Rothnie said.

He called "highly unlikely" any prospect that British Airways (BA) might buy EasyJet, "since we're actually pursuing them through the High Court... for abusing their dominant position" by starting up BA's own no-frills' carrier, GO.

EasyJet claims giant BA unfairly used its own funds to subsidise GO, instead of toughing it out at the bank the way other start-up airlines do. BA has denied the charge.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[05] Greek planes will take part in Nikiforos

GREEK air and land forces will take part in National Guard war games codenamed Nikiforos, it was announced by the National Guard yesterday.

Confirmation that Greek fighter jets and navy vessels would take part in next week's six-day manoeuvres starting on Tuesday was announced by National Guard brigadier-general Panayiotis Tatsiopoulos at a press conference in Nicosia yesterday.

"Special units, including Greek fighter jets, will participate at the same level as last year," Tatsiopoulos said.

The brigadier-general did not rule out the possibility that Greek jets would use the recently constructed Paphos air base.

"There is a possibility that Greek jets taking part could use the air base."

The last time Greek jets flew over Cyprus, earlier this year, tensions rose on the island as Turkish war planes violated Cyprus air space in tit-for- tat manoeuvres.

The involvement of Greek fighter planes in next week's war games is likely further to raise tensions, which have intensified since the government announced plans to purchase Russian S-300 missiles in January 1997.

Although it is understood the missile deployment has again been delayed until November at the earliest, the government says there is no question of cancellation.

"The president has confirmed to us that the missiles will come, and it's not right to talk about a cancellation. This will only apply if there is a move towards demilitarisation," said European Democratic party leader Alexis Galanos after meeting President Clerides yesterday.

However, Tatsiopoulos did confirm that Greek war planes would take part in the end-of-exercise parade next Sunday.

He said Nikiforos would enable the National Guard better to co-ordinate with Greek military exercises codenamed Toxotis as part of the joint defence pact with Greece.

Backing up the thousands of conscripts and reservists taking part in the exercises will be the army's newest hardware acquisitions, including new generation Russian T-80 main battle tanks and Russian BMP3 armoured personnel vehicles.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[06] Frustration grows over missing stalemate

RELATIVES of missing persons fear the issue is approaching a dead end, their representatives said yesterday.

After a meeting with President Clerides, Nicos Theodosiou, chairman of the Relatives of the Missing Committee, said the issue was going nowhere.

Theodosiou was referring to the latest setback in which exhumation experts due on the island to help identify remains postponed their visit indefinitely.

Theodosiou said it had now been decided to look for a new set of experts to move the process along.

He expressed disappointment on behalf of the relatives that since the landmark agreement 1997 between Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, little had been done to get to the root of the long-running humanitarian problem.

In July 1997, Clerides and Denktash agreed to co-operate to put an end to the missing problem.

The Greek Cypriot side counts 1,619 missing while the Turkish Cypriots say 803 are unaccounted for.

Files were exchanged six months later identifying the whereabouts of a number of mass graves on each side, but the Turkish side pulled out of the process after Cyprus problem talks broke down and all contacts were cut between the two sides.

The Greek Cypriot side decided to go ahead with exhumations in the government controlled areas, and was planning to bring in the exhumation experts to identify remains.

"We are in a hurry to investigate the issue," Theodosiou said. "The relatives demand no more delays, so we decided to look for another group and hope that within the year the group will be ready."

He said it appeared the missing issue was approaching a "serious dead end".

Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides and Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner Takis Christopoulos were also at the meeting, but made no statements.

The experts who were to visit the island were also to assist in exhuming the remains of unknown Greek Cypriot soldiers killed during the coup and invasion, and who are buried at a Nicosia cemetery.

In August, two women tried to dig up the grave of an unknown soldier, believing their husbands were buried at the cemetery.

Theodosiou yesterday pleaded with the relatives not to think of having the bodies exhumed independently.

"It would be a big mistake for any relative to go and exhume on his own because this will not have any positive result. A group of experts will do the job properly and are the only ones capable of reaching a proper scientific conclusion," he said.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[07] Bethell warns the nationalists

STAUNCH nationalism on both sides of the dividing line is the real obstacle to reconciliation and a federal solution, Friends of Cyprus chairman Lord Bethell has told the Cyprus Mail.

"Many of Mr Denktash's supporters have told us 'there is no such thing as Cyprus or a Cypriot identity, Turks and Greeks cannot live together' - now that is a depressing thought," Bethell said, talking about his formal and informal contacts in the occupied areas.

But Bethell said his contacts with ordinary Turkish Cypriots indicated that they wanted an end to the conflict and wanted to live together with their fellow Greek Cypriots.

Lord Bethell also said opposition parties in the north believed Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash was not committed to a federal solution, but wanted integration with Turkey.

"Federation is the only possible solution, but there is a great deal of doubt whether he (Denktash) supports federation," Bethell told the Cyprus Mail in an interview.

Friends of Cyprus believe that a settlement can only be achieved by negotiations conducted in good faith.

"I'm not sure Mr Denktash and his friends can negotiate in good faith, I'm not sure he's made up his own mind whether he wants reconciliation," said Bethell.

"Certainly he doesn't talk about reconciliation, he talks along the lines that the two communities can't live together because he says in the past Turkish Cypriots were kicked around and they are not going back to that."

Although Bethell believes that most Greek Cypriots support reconciliation, he said there was a nationalistic element that polluted the atmosphere of trust between the two sides.

"It doesn't help if (Greek Cypriot) children are being taught at the teachers' knee about the terrible crimes that Turks committed.

"We could, of course, in Britain continue our hatred of the Germans and crimes of Hitler, and the Crusades were a bad time for Christians and Muslims."

And apart from the government's education policy, Lord Bethell warned jingoistic Greek Cypriot politicians to mind their language.

"Every time I see Mr Denktash, he has some statement - made 20 years ago or two weeks ago - of a nationalist type, and he says: 'there, you see Greeks are all the same they want to make it a Hellenist Republic'."

Denktash has an army of researchers scanning the press for anti-Turkish comments made by Greek Cypriot politicians, and the fruits of their labour are stacked up in his office, Bethell said.

"If a politician in the south tries to win votes on a nationalist stance, you can be sure a copy of what he said will be in Mr Denktash's drawer within a couple of days to show foreign visitors."

Friends of Cyprus have spent four days on the island to discuss the benefits to both communities of Cyprus' EU accession.

However, Bethell said that the Turkish Cypriots viewed the EU and the UN as being pro-Greek, as they do the Friends of Cyprus.

"If you try to walk down the middle of the road you are likely to be run over."

Bethell urged both sides to realise that times had changed and said a peaceful solution would be based on the realisation of that fact.

"We have to accept that the landscape has changed, what it's changed into I don't know, but it doesn't mean going back to 1974, '64 or 1960."

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[08] University staff say Clerides deliberately stalled bill

PRESIDENT Glafcos Clerides deliberately held up a bill that would have allowed university administrative staff to vote in yesterday's elections for a rector, their union president Elena Gregoriou has charged.

Speaking on CyBC radio while the elections were taking place, she said the staff were taking a letter to the Presidential Palace responding to the reasons cited by Clerides in sending back the bill to the House on Wednesday.

Even though the House of Representatives passed the legislation at a special session last Monday, Clerides refused to ratify it, saying that at universities abroad, administrative staff either had no seat on the administrative council that votes for the rector, or made up a much lower proportion of it than was being proposed in Cyprus.

Refuting this, Gregoriou said that in Europe the administrative staff did get to vote for the rector, while in America, the university rector was not an elected position, and this was why the statistics had come out as they had.

She said the big question was who had advised the president on the matter, and why he had chosen this course of action.

In protest, administrative staff went on strike from 12pm to 2pm yesterday, but Gregoriou said no decision had been taken as to any further action. In spite of the fact that they would be unable to affect the outcome of yesterday's elections, she added, they wouldn't stop struggling for the right to vote in further elections.

Yesterday's election was won by former vice-rector Nicos Papamichael, who beat competitor Aris Spanos by 63 votes to 35. He takes over as rector from Miltiades Haholiades, who did not run again for personal reasons.

Papamichael, a lecturer in mathematics and statistics, as well as a university senate and council member, became vice-rector five years ago, at the same time as Haholiades became rector.

The new vice-rector will be Andreas Demetriou, formerly head of applied sciences. A member of the university senate and council, he was the only candidate for the position.

None of the candidates have political affiliations.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[09] War of words over EAC continues despite cabinet decision

A CABINET decision not to sack the Electricity Authority board appears to have done little to ease tension between the board and Commerce Minister Nicos Rolandis.

Rolandis has been pressing for the dismissal of the electricity board following the disclosure that board members had bought land from the Church in Limassol for well above its market value. The board, he insists, had also failed to commission an independent valuation of the land, on which the authority planned to build its Limassol headquarters.

Electricity Board member Renos Prenzas, speaking in a radio interview yesterday, called on Rolandis to accept the Cabinet's decision, saying "if the charges had stood, the law would have ensured the dismissal of the Board."

Prenzas called Rolandis a "crusader of the fourth crusade," adding that "anyone who knew about history would know what I mean."

He was referring to the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by an army of Western crusaders. The events of the Fourth Crusade are widely interpreted as having weakened the Byzantine Empire and prepared its final demise to the Ottoman Turks.

Rolandis appeared unperturbed by the criticism. Also speaking on radio, the Commerce Minister said Prenzas "... can do whatever he wants until his term ends in eight months."

"I don't know where we are going to end up if there are people who, whatever they do, cannot be dismissed," Rolandis lamented. "These people are there and won't leave because that is the way they want it and because there are laws to protect them."

Government spokesman Christos Stylianides yesterday refused to be drawn on Thursday's Cabinet decision not to sack the Electricity board.

In a statement, the Cabinet said that board members had been careless in their decision to buy the land, but added that it could not legally sack them.

The government, however, said it planned to hold consultations with House deputies to prepare a draft bill providing for stricter supervision of semi- government organisations.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[10] All about sleep

DOES your partner snore? Get a new one.

This was just one of the pieces of advice to emerge from a conference this week on that most important element of our lives - sleep.

Experts addressing an audience at Nicosia's Forum Hotel examined a whole range of sleep-related topics, from cot deaths to children's nightmares, from beds to insomnia.

Wednesday's packed conference - sponsored by mattress company Gevorest - was the highlight of 'Sleep Week' and was entitled 'Sleep - Body and Soul'. It featured four guest speakers, all experts in fields connected to sleep.

Dr Paris Iacovides, child cardiologist, opened proceedings with an address on what is every parent's nightmare - the phenomenon known as cot death, or sudden infant death syndrome.

Dr Iacovides gave valuable information on how to reduce risk, and exploded several myths about the issue.

What parents can do is for the mother not to smoke while pregnant or breast- feeding. Babies should also never be put to sleep on their front or be covered more than necessary.

The advice not to put babies to sleep on their front came as a shock to many members of the audience, who had previously thought this was perfectly safe. Dr Iacovides explained that the safest position for a baby to sleep was on its side.

And he reassured parents that theories blaming inoculations, certain types of mattress or even transatlantic flights for cot deaths had no standing whatsoever.

Dr Evstathios Papadopoulos, chiropractor, then spoke on how sleeping in the wrong position can affect the back.

While admitting every person was different when it came to the type of mattress required, he stressed that basic guidelines such as proper support, comfort, size and quality of the mattress were vital.

And if your partner keeps you awake at night by tossing and turning or snoring, Dr Papadopoulos said only drastic solutions would do: separate beds, separate rooms or a different partner!

Neurologist Dr Constantinos Pougiouros for his part informed the conference on insomnia.

He explained the basic causes of insomnia, stressing the importance of getting a good night's sleep.

But he explained how, more often than not, the sufferer only believes something is wrong. For example, he said, as people get older, they need less sleep, and elderly patients often insist on trying to sleep more hours than they actually need to.

Doros Michaelides, a psychologist, was the last speaker.

Speaking on children's nightmares, he differentiated between actual nightmares and what he described as "night terrors".

The main difference between the two is that children will forget their 'night terrors' by the next morning, while often remembering nightmares. Children will not understand what they are afraid of during 'night terrors', but they can specifically recall what scared them in a nightmare.

And Michaelides blamed television, computer games and violent comics - factors that many parents often dismiss as harmless.

Diet, tiredness, not having a bed-time routine and fears picked up from parents also contribute to nightmares.

Michaelides said that parents should talk to their children about nightmares, if the child mentioned them. Night terrors, however, should not be brought up, as this may simply cause anxiety to the child.

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[11] Turks jail Greek Cypriot

Skirou, 32, apparently drove into the occupied areas through the Dhekelia British Bases on Saturday October 10. Originally from Famagusta, he currently lives in Larnaca.

The 'court' said Skirou would be released immediately if he paid a fine of some 200 million Turkish lira ($716).

Saturday, October 17, 1998

[12] Britain fines T. Cypriot airline for illegal passengers

CTA flights travel to the UK via Istanbul as only Turkey accepts to fly to the occupied areas.

The airline has also been asked to pay up £100,000 in expenses incurred by the illegal passengers. A British High Commission Spokesman told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the British government imposes a fine of £2,000 sterling on airlines for every passenger they carry with forged documents.

According to Kibris, the passengers in question were found to have fake Greek and South African passports.

Sources have told the Cyprus Mail that CTA planes are housed in the same maintenance hangars as Cyprus Airways planes at London.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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