Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-10-23

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

Friday, October 23, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] More EAC board members to quit

[02] Britain warns it could release immigrants

[03] Greek war planes join Nikiforos

[04] Hercus shuttle moves back to Clerides

[05] Bank of Cyprus in new bonds issue

[06] Cyprus on course for record tourism year

[07] Anastassiades threatens whistle-blowing deputy

[08] Bishop's associates questioned

[09] New union at Cyprus Airways

[10] CTO hits back at BBC Larnaca vice claims

[01] More EAC board members to quit

COMMERCE Minister Nicos Rolandis said yesterday he expected at least two more resignations from the Electricity Authority (EAC) board soon, stemming from the scandal over the board's over-priced purchase of land from the Limassol Bishopric.

"Two members have already resigned," Rolandis told the Cyprus Mail, confirming these were EAC board vice-chairman Nicos Lakkoufis and member Andreas Christodoulides. "Now I understand that probably another two will do the same. I was given the names," he said, identifying them as Aristos Spyrou and Panicos Yiorkadjis.

"If these two resign as well, then we have four resignations out of nine, and we are left with five (board members)... My position was that they should have done it (resigned) from the outset, taking into account what happened," Rolandis said. "So I would just simply repeat my position."

A government probe into the land deal found that the £1,425,000 the EAC board paid Bishop Chrysanthos of Limassol for the property far exceeded the plot's value, which was pegged at about £700,000-£800,000 by government and private estimates.

Rolandis said Attorney-general Alecos Markides was drawing up a bill to present to the House of Representatives that would amend the law to allow President Glafcos Clerides, who appointed the EAC board members, to dismiss them at his pleasure.

He said the bill should be in the House "before the end of November", after consultations with the political parties, "because we have to make sure that it will go through" with no hitches.

Clerides wanted to dismiss the board after the Council of Ministers found "they had acted without proper care and that they failed to safeguard public interest" in paying so much for the land without ever having it appraised, Rolandis said.

But the law makes it "extremely difficult to dismiss people from the boards of semi-governmental organisations", and Clerides' hands were tied.

"This is very odd," Rolandis noted, "because they exercise executive power. And while the president is fully entitled under the constitution to fire ministers, neither he nor the Council of Ministers can terminate the services of members of boards."

"As we couldn't do anything, we publicised our decision, and it's up to the members of the board to act the way they want to," Rolandis said.

Meanwhile the Limassol Bishop - already at the centre of several scandals involving his international financial activities - has not returned all of the £1,425,000 he got from the EAC board, as he promised in early September, Rolandis said.

"It was agreed that they would return to us £1.1 million, cash, which they had in the bank, plus plots of a value of £325,000, to be valued by the Land Registry Office," Rolandis recalled.

"(But) the bishop was unable to return the whole amount, because part of it - an amount of £290,000 - was transferred from the original account, where the amount paid by the Electricity Authority was deposited. Now that amount is not in the bank any more... and actually this is under investigation now by the police to see what happened."

As to the outstanding church property, Rolandis said: "The Land Registry Office has already valued property of the Church equivalent to the £325,000, and we are in the process now of having the amount plus the plots returned to us," he said.

But, as the EAC board cannot acquire land except for operational purposes - i.e. offices, power plants and the like - the government has to take actual title to the Church property, sell it, and pay the EAC board, Rolandis explained.

With several different pieces of Church property available, the Council of Ministers will have to decide just which plot of land will satisfy the Bishop's promise to return part of the sale price in property, he said.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[02] Britain warns it could release immigrants

BRITAIN yesterday warned Cyprus that it was prepared to dump 75 unwanted boat people on its doorstep if an amicable solution was not reached soon.

The plight of the illegal immigrants, currently detained by the British bases since coming ashore at Akrotiri, has sparked a diplomatic row over who should take responsibility.

"If they are identified as refugees, Britain has no legal obligation to send them to the UK and we would have to release them," British bases spokesman Captain Jon Brown told the Cyprus News Agency yesterday.

British High Commission spokesman Piers Cazalet confirmed to the Cyprus Mail that the boat people would be released if the UNHCR approved their refugee status.

"Cyprus and Britain have a common interest to sort out the problem as we cannot grant them residence on the bases as refugee status implies residence," said Cazalet.

The British authorities would like to see the Cyprus government move in and take responsibility for the boat people (thought to be mainly Iraqi), who arrived from nearby Lebanon on October 9.

The government insists it has no legal obligation towards the immigrants, who include 19 children and five infants and allegedly paid thousands of dollars to be smuggled to Italy.

"It is not right to transfer the responsibility for these people to the Cyprus Republic if it has no control over their entry into the British bases," said a government source.

It now seems that Britain could resolve the legal wrangle over who has jurisdiction over the unwanted immigrants by releasing them from detention and allowing them to wander into Cyprus Republic territory.

One informed source told the Cyprus Mail: "If they are released into the bases then in effect they would be released into the Republic as there are no checkpoints to stop them."

Ever since 75 boat people were offloaded within the shores of the Akrotiri base, the government has been locked in unsuccessful talks with the British High Commission on how to deal with the problem.

A screening process is under way to determine the boat people's country of origin and status.

As the immigrants have no travel documents, it is impossible to deport them without confirming their nationality or country of origin.

Cazalet said the High Commission was now in talks with the Lebanese authorities to see whether they would actually accept any or all of them back.

The High Commission is also working with the UNHCR to determine their status.

A UNHCR representative visited the boat people on Tuesday, but until their status can be determined, the bases have to renew their detention order every eight days.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[03] Greek war planes join Nikiforos

GREEK fighter jets and bombers yesterday flew over Nicosia as part of the Nikiforos exercises, but Ankara responded in kind by despatching two Turkish RF4 spy planes to violate Cyprus air space.

However, Defence Minister Yiannakis Omirou earlier dispelled any fears that the presence of Greek warplanes would raise tension on the island.

"As you know, we have absolutely no intention of creating tensions or getting into a climate of tension," Omirou said welcoming a delegation of Greek army officers who had arrived to observe the Nikiforos exercises.

The minister was responding to reports in the Athens press that the Turkish armed forces planned a series of provocations during the war games in order to raise tension in the region.

"We remain calm but at the same time we are prepared to face any provocation," Omirou told reporters.

Omirou made the comments before the Defence Ministry announced that two Turkish RF4 reconnaissance planes violated Cyprus air space yesterday between 11.40am and 12.35pm.

"The two aircraft entered the air space north of Cyprus and flew over Kyrenia and Famagusta before entering the free areas and flying over Larnaca and Paphos," the defence Ministry statement said.

Yesterday's violation follows Tuesday's buzzing of a Greek transport plane heading for the Paphos air base by Turkish F-16s - which raised fears that similar incidents could be repeated before the war games end on Sunday.

The government has condemned the buzzing incident, but vowed that Nikiforos - conducted in co-ordination with Greek military exercises in the region codenamed Toxotis - would continue regardless of any Turkish provocation.

Four Greek F-16s fighter jets hit mock targets in the Nicosia region and two A-7 Corsair bombers also participated as the wargames entered their final phase.

Omirou said that the participation of the Greek air force and navy in the exercises proved that the 1993 defence pact with Greece was not just an agreement on paper.

The Head of the Greek delegation, Lieutenant-general Demetris Arvanitis, said the readiness of the Greek and Cyprus armed forces no longer made it easy for Turkey to make threats that could produce any results.

Five Greek navy vessels - a frigate, a destroyer, a submarine and two torpedo boats - will enter the fray today to take part in a major search and rescue exercise off the Paphos coast.

The four-hour air and sea rescue operation will also include the participation of Greek jets.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[04] Hercus shuttle moves back to Clerides

Hercus, emerging from 50 minutes of talks with Clerides at the Presidential Palace, said she planned to meet today with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, and to meet yet again with Clerides next Friday.

Her talks today with Denktash represent her second discussions with the Turkish Cypriot leader since she began this round of diplomacy to break the deadlock in the negotiations.

The talks, on which Hercus has clamped a tight lid of secrecy, have the "goal of reducing tensions and promoting progress towards a just and lasting settlement" of the Cyprus problem, Hercus said yesterday.

Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides, honouring the government's pledge to refrain from comment on the substance of the talks, yesterday said only that they remained at the "shuttle talks" level.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[05] Bank of Cyprus in new bonds issue

THE BANK OF Cyprus, the island's largest financial institution, said yesterday it would issue subordinated bonds worth £25 million pounds to boost the capital base of the banking group.

It said the issue would be due 2003-2008 and would have a floating interest rate set at 7.25 per cent for the first six months. The issue would take place in December and the interest rate would be reviewed at six-month intervals, it added in a statement.

"The purpose of the issue is to strengthen the Group capital base and to support the group's projects both in Cyprus and abroad," it said.

News of the issue pushed the bank's share price on the bourse by 6.5 cents to close yesterday's trade at £3.63 apiece.

The sub-index of the blue-chip banking shares also shot up by 1.51 per cent to close at 100.93 points, helping the official all-share index to rise by 0.84 per cent. It closed at 86.77.

The Bank of Cyprus, which celebrates 100 years in business in 1999, had a market capital of £423.1 million at the end of last month, accounting for nearly 35 per cent of the bourse's capitalisation.

The Bank of Cyprus statement quoted Group Chairman Solon Triantafyllides as telling shareholders on Wednesday afternoon that the Bank had not incurred any losses as a result of the turmoil prevailing in many of the world's markets.

The bank, he said, was only involved in traditional banking business and is not engaged in currency speculations or derivatives, activities which the bank's boss said had the potential of high profits but also spectacular losses.

Triantafyllides said the bank's prospects for the whole of 1998 would be satisfactory but would not emulate the high profits posted in the first six months of the year.

The Bank of Cyprus has said that its pre-tax profits reached £21.6 million in the January to June period of this year, compared to £16.8 million in the same period a year ago. It attributed the increase in profits partly to the expansion and profitability of its operations in Greece and the United Kingdom.

Next year's results, Triantafyllides added, was expected to be also satisfactory, barring what he called any negative political developments.

Shareholders would also be rewarded for what the chairman said was their support for the bank in its 100 years of operations. A "gesture of appreciation" to them would decided later and announced in January.

Market traders have speculated that the bank might give shareholders bonus shares or free bonds in proportion to their holdings.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[06] Cyprus on course for record tourism year

TOURIST arrivals increased by 11.2 per cent in August compared to the same month a year ago, giving further support to widely held expectations that 1998 would be a record year for the island's vital tourism industry.

The Department of Statistics and Research said yesterday that a total of 326,854 tourists arrived in August, compared to 293,887 in August 1997, with Britons holding their traditional number one spot with 44.2 per cent of all arrivals.

Russian tourists, whose numbers have steadily risen over the years since the break-up of the Soviet Union, were a distant second, accounting for 12.2 per cent. Germany and Sweden came third and fourth respectively.

Foreign exchange receipts from tourism were about £900 million in 1997, when a total of 2.08 million tourists visited the island.

The industry accounts for about 20 per cent of gross domestic product and is the island's biggest single employer. It is expected to bring in close to £1 billion in hard currency this year.

Independent economists, however, have expressed fears that Russia's financial woes and Britain's slow slide into recession were likely to reduce the number of visitors from the two countries: there has been no evidence so far to support these fears.

But Bank of Cyprus Chairman Solon Triantafyllides, speaking to shareholders on Wednesday evening, said the crisis in Russia was likely to affect the number of tourists from the former Communists country.

He also cited Russian or Russia-related offshore companies on the island and the luxury houses sector of the property market as areas where the Russian contagion was likely to hit in Cyprus, whose services-based economy is forecast to grow by a healthy 4.7 per cent this year and four per cent in 1999.

The Cyprus economy, according to the Bank of Cyprus boss, was not expected to suffer significantly from the current upheavals in world financial markets. This was because it is a closed economy, he said.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[07] Anastassiades threatens whistle-blowing deputy

DISY LEADER Nicos Anastassiades said yesterday he would not take any action against rebel deputies, but advised them to think about their future if they continued to make "groundless" corruption allegations.

"Members of the party who execute parliamentary duties should be responsible when making allegations, but no measures will be taken against them," Anastassiades said during a visit to Athienou yesterday.

But the Disy chief said the troublesome deputies might want to think twice about their future if they continued to go against the party line.

"There is a reaction by party supporters to groundless allegations and as a consequence of such a reaction those concerned might consider they no longer belong to the party."

Anastassiades was referring to Disy deputy Demetris Syllouris, who has hugged the limelight in recent days with claims that corruption is rife in semi-government organisations.

The allegations have caused a rift in the island's largest party because it sees such accusations as scandal-mongering that is only harmful to the government which it supports.

Several Disy deputies have spoken publicly about their disagreement with the way Syllouris has gone about his whistle-blowing task.

Fellow Disy deputy Christos Pourgourides also faced censure from his party after accusing Interior Minister Dinos Michaelides of accepting bribes from big business.

The pro-Anastassiades camp inside the party believe the two are deliberately breaking ranks to make life difficult for their boss.

"A political leader is judged on his actions and achievements, not on other people's motives," said Anastassiades, refusing further comment on the internal wrangling.

Syllouris and Anastassiades will meet today in what the Disy leader said will be an attempt to thrash out the party line to be maintained.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[08] Bishop's associates questioned

Archbishop Chrysostomos yesterday said the committee's investigations would be finished a week at the latest.

The accountant and the director of the Limassol bishopric, Savvas Theklos and Andreas Loizides, were among those questioned, along with two of Chrysanthos' advisors, Ioannis Kyriakides and Alkis Mavronichis.

No comments were made after the meeting, which began at 9 am.

Chrysanthos has been implicated in fraud charges worth millions of pounds and involving companies in Cyprus and overseas.

Much was made yesterday of a comment by Chrysanthos on Wednesday, which has been interpreted to implicate politicians in illegal activities.

Speaking after his own nine-hour meeting with the special committee, Chrysanthos answered a reporter's question on whether politicians were involved in his case.

Chrysanthos answered that he did not know, but if anyone was, "he has a tongue and may speak".

Disy party leader Nicos Anastassiades hit back at the bishop yesterday, saying Chrysanthos seemed to have "taken on an approach of scandal- mongering that we politicians have cultivated".

He went on to say that if politicians had been involved, this would have come out during the investigations on Chrysanthos.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[09] New union at Cyprus Airways

Synika president Costas Demetriou, yesterday condemned the action as a "break in the ranks", and said it would only weaken the employees' position.

He noted that there may soon be cuts at Cyprus Airways and that staff needed to stick together.

Synika still has 1,400 members, drawn from employees from all Cyprus Airways sectors.

Andreas Zivanas, temporary head of the new Cyprus Airways Cabin Crew Union, said that members believed the new body would better serve employees. He said 274 Synika members were eligible to join, and that the union had so far received "more than 200 applications".

Elections on the leadership of the union, he added, would be held next week.

Friday, October 23, 1998

[10] CTO hits back at BBC Larnaca vice claims

A CTO representative said the tourists in question had been the victims of overbooking, and were only in the hotel because the accommodation they were supposed to have was already occupied. He also said, however, that the CTO was investigating the allegations.

The unnamed show featured testimony from the tourists themselves, who said their hotel was in a red-light district and that nearby prostitutes had tried to pull them off the street as clients.

It also featured on-the-spot reporting by BBC journalists who filmed the place where the tourists had been staying.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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