Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-10-27

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

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Markides orders probe into police brutality

[02] Immigrants appeal to Amnesty

[03] Girl dies of injuries suffered at UN day

[04] Kidnap victim found dead

[05] Clerides haggled with Russians over S-300 discount

[06] Plans for naval base are ready

[07] Madden concern at rising tension

[08] UN spokesman leaves

[09] British Minister accused of favours for Cypriot millionaire

[10] EU accession cannot be taken for granted

[11] Planning not to blame for water crisis

[01] Markides orders probe into police brutality

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Alecos Markides yesterday appointed two people to investigate allegations of police brutality against a group of illegal immigrants awaiting deportation at a Larnaca detention centre.

The severity of the beating given to some of the immigrants brought a barrage of criticism against the police yesterday from shocked government ministers and senior politicians, including President Clerides.

Markides' decision to appoint independent investigators was officially announced by government spokesman Christos Stylianides, who said the incident was being taken very seriously at the highest levels.

TV footage released on Saturday showed anti-terrorist police - some in large groups - viciously clubbing, kicking and stomping on the African immigrants during a riot in which tear gas was used at detention cells late on Friday night.

In all, around ten people, including one policeman, were treated at Larnaca hospital for injuries, including respiratory problems suffered as a result of the tear gas.

"The government is saddened by the TV pictures, but the appointment of the investigators indicates its great sensitivity on human rights issues," Stylianides said.

"The investigation will look into any possible criminal offence by members of the police force."

Eurodemocratic party leader and presidential advisor Alexis Galanos, who met the President earlier, said Clerides had also been "disturbed" by the scenes.

Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides told journalists he was personally shocked by the TV footage and that they would only harm Cyprus' reputation abroad.

"When I saw the scenes I was shocked," Cassoulides said. "I hope this will not be broadcast to the outside world."

Earlier yesterday. Markides, who also saw the footage, said the behaviour of the anti-riot police tarnished the reputation of Cyprus abroad.

Markides told the press he had personally watched the video clip, but had not be able to do anything until he received an official complaint, which he did yesterday from the island's Human Rights Association.

"I believe all that I have seen warrants a criminal investigation," Markides said. "I saw pictures of an individual on the ground being brutally attacked."

Markides said that it appeared, based on preliminary evidence, that riot police did not use reasonable force.

"It is unacceptable and does no honour to a civilised state," he said.

The 48 immigrants at Larnaca rioted late on Friday night after being informed that several Nigerians among them would be deported on Saturday morning.

After setting fire to their bedclothes, the immigrants refused to leave their cells. It was then that members of the rapid-reaction force, Mmad, moved in to remove them.

Officers used tear gas to force the men into the yard of the detention centre, where they were made to lie face-down on the ground.

Justice Minister Nicos Koshis said whether or not unreasonable force had been used by the police would be determined by the investigation.

Speaking of the group awaiting deportation at Larnaca, Koshis said: "They have proved troublesome and do not want to co-operate with the authorities."

"We have a serious problem with illegal immigrants, and it's a problem we need to contain and solve, especially when there are reports of more coming, " the Minister added.

The Minister spoke of the need for the construction of special detention centres.

Officials estimate that some 5,000 illegal immigrants are on the island, with a recent influx coming through Lebanon.

Interior Minister Dinos Michaelides is expected to travel to Lebanon and Syria to hold talks on stopping the flow of human traffic to the island.

Four of the nine Nigerians due to be deported on Saturday but refused entry on the Balkan Airlines flight to take them to Lagos via Sofia, were finally sent home via Beirut on Sunday. The other five remain at Larnaca airport.

Until late August, the Africans had been housed at the Pefkos Hotel in Limassol, along with fellow passengers found starving and sick aboard a ship floating off the coast of the island in June.

Of the original 113 passengers rescued from the Ridallah, some 50 still remain at the Pefkos, while others have already been deported.

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[02] Immigrants appeal to Amnesty

THE REMAINING immigrants from the ill-fated Ridallah will today forward a letter entitled 'Save Us Now' to the human rights organisation Amnesty International.

The letter from the 109 immigrants, a copy of which has been forwarded to the Cyprus Mail, says they are living in "terrible fear".

Some 50 of the original 113 illegal immigrants found off the coast in June are still at the Pefkos hotel in Limassol, while over 40 of them were moved two months ago to detention cells in Larnaca, pending deportation.

Those at the Pefkos say those among them who are black have "repeatedly been insulted over their skin colour" and have allegedly been told by police that they cannot mix with Cypriots.

"We are in terrible condition due to idleness, restricted movement and enormous stress," the letter said.

"Beside that, Cyprus police came to the hotel and subjected us to serious beatings... Now the immigration (department) has derived new plans to forcibly repatriate us bit by bit."

Among those still at the Pefkos are 11 babies, two of whom were born there.

The letter appeals to Amnesty to look into their case and advise Cypriot immigration officials about the rights of immigrants.

Meanwhile the British Bases yesterday said that generous donations from all over Cyprus had poured in for the 75 illegal immigrants who came ashore off the bases on October 8.

The Bases and the Cyprus Republic have not yet decided who should assume responsibility for the immigrants.

"In summary, the short-term needs of these people are being met by the SBA, " a bases announcement said.

"However, there can be no quick resolution of their future, and decisions will take a considerable time to be reached."

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[03] Girl dies of injuries suffered at UN day

THREE-YEAR-OLD Vergina Nicolaides, who was gravely injured in a pony-fall during weekend UN festivities, was pronounced brain-dead yesterday by her doctor, who said her parents had agreed to donate the child's organs to other children.

UN Chief of Mission Dame Ann Hercus and all Unficyp personnel were "absolutely devastated" to learn how seriously the child was hurt during Buffer Zone activities marking 50 years of UN peacekeeping efforts, Hercus' office said yesterday.

"Unfortunately, she is brain dead... 100 per cent. No doubt about it," Dr Andreas Dietis, one of the girl's two Nicosia General Hospital neurosurgeons, told The Cyprus Mail yesterday.

"All the clinical signs since Saturday are all negative, which means that it's brain-death. I'm sorry," Dietis said.

Dietis said the girl's parents "agreed... to donate some of the organs of the baby" on learning, yesterday, that their daughter could not recover from her injuries. The couple have one other child.

Vergina, from Nicosia, suffered head injuries, broken ribs and internal bleeding after falling from a pony, which witnesses said was startled by a noise during UN Open Day on Saturday at the Ledra Palace Hotel in the Buffer Zone.

It was unclear how the child was so gravely hurt, as the Unficyp statement noted: "The little girl was wearing a safety helmet at the time, and the pony was being guided by a member of the Dhekelia Pony Club. The little girl's mother was (also) walking by her."

Unficyp spokesman Peter Schmitz told The Sunday Mail shortly after the mishap that, "the girl fell off and her foot got caught in the stirrup, and she fell down and was hurt."

Other sources said the pony bolted and dragged the girl, trampling her with its hooves as well as injuring her as her head made contact with the ground before the animal was halted.

Unficyp doctors gave the child emergency medical help at the scene before she was rushed to Nicosia General Hospital, where she was admitted in critical condition and put on life-support.

"Our hearts and prayers are with Vergina, her parents and wider family at this time," Hercus said yesterday. "We have been giving all the support we can to Vergina and her family."

Vergina's mother, who declined to give her first name, spoke warmly of the concern Hercus and other Unficyp personnel showed to her injured daughter and the child's family.

Hercus, the mother said, had visited the hospital "many times. She has been very kind. I cannot complain about the treatment that they have given. I have no complaints about them at all. They have really been showing interest, and really they have been passionate and everything."

But the child's mother scathingly denounced local television stations for their coverage of the tragedy, declaring: "They have been very rude, thoughtless, unbelievably disgusting."

"I am very angry, depressed at the way that we have been treated by the television stations," the mother said. "This is my child, my pain, my family. I especially want you to put that" in any story about the tragedy, she insisted.

The TV coverage "caused a lot of harm for us," the mother said. "It hurt us very badly... and especially the relatives, that we didn't even have time, ourselves, to give them any kind of information, and they saw it straight from the television."

Both the Cyprus Police and Unficyp said the matter was under investigation. Cyprus Police Spokesman Stelios Neophytou added the incident clearly appeared to have been an accident.

A UN source, who declined to be identified, told The Cyprus Mail yesterday: "I'm afraid that, since it happened at the show conducted by us, we will be held responsible."

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[04] Kidnap victim found dead

Roussos was kidnapped on Sunday evening from the parking lot of the Orphanides supermarket in Larnaca. Police were alerted to the kidnapping by an unidentified caller who claimed to have seen two men in a black car assault the driver of a red vehicle in the parking lot.

The caller said the two had dragged the man to their car and driven off.

Police later confirmed that a car had been found in the car park with its engine running and the driver's door open. The car belonged to Roussos, a resident of Kamares in Larnaca, and police immediately began a search for him, culminating in the discovery of his body at around 11pm.

The body was found just 100 metres from the parking lot where Roussos was snatched, on the fifth floor of the Orphanides building.

State pathologist Sophocles Sophocleous was last night carrying out an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

It is thought the victim was taken away from the supermarket and killed elsewhere, before his body was brought back to Orphanides.

Roussos had served four years in prison for burglary and theft, and was currently charged with kidnapping a minor. He had been undergoing treatment from a government psychologist and a psychiatrist.

Married with two children, Roussos was amicably separated from his wife last week.

Police said they had not ruled out an underworld connection to the case.

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[05] Clerides haggled with Russians over S-300 discount

PRESIDENT Clerides yesterday admitted that the controversial S-300 missile deal had almost been scuppered by a dispute over their price with the Russian government.

The revelation was made by Clerides in a statement denying claims by a Greek businessman that the Cyprus government had paid at least $100 million over the odds because it did not accept his S-300 offer.

"In the case of the S-300 missiles, a middleman was not used. The Finance and Defence Ministers negotiated directly with the Russian government and there was a deadlock over the price," said Clerides' statement yesterday.

The statement explained that the president had to intervene personally to get the price lowered and the terms of reference changed in the contract.

"As a result of my phone conversation with the Russian Prime Minister, there was a further discount in the price, and the Prime Minister warned that there would be no further reduction than the one agreed."

Clerides added that no middlemen were used for any arms purchases by the government and that cheapest prices were obtained.

Greek arms dealer Vassilis Vranas claims he was the officially appointed representative of the Russian government to negotiate deals with Cyprus and Greece.

He says that Cyprus could have secured the Russian-made S-300 missiles at 25 per cent below the officially agreed price with Russia - around $400 million - by going through him.

The government announced the missile deal in January 1997, and the international community has since tried to block their deployment in the face of Turkish threats of a military strike.

The government has delayed delivery on several occasions, but has so far refused to cancel the deal; the missiles are currently expected some time after November.

Vranas is now said to be taking legal action in Greece, claiming other middlemen took the 10 per cent that he should have pocketed.

Russian ambassador to Cyprus Georgi Muratov yesterday dismissed claims made by the Greek arms dealer after a meeting with Clerides.

"I categorically deny this information, and in his claims the businessman doesn't give the real picture of the negotiations between the two countries, " Muratov said.

"No commission was given because it was a deal at government level and the best possible prices were secured."

But House Finance Committee chairman Alexis Galanos said the issue still raised very serious doubts over the deal.

"If there was a firm offer by an official Russian government representative, why was it not taken into account?"

Galanos said that if an offer 25 per cent cheaper had been ignored, then it was a question of political responsibility.

"Because it would mean that the Cypriot tax payer - not the cabinet - unjustly paid a difference running into millions."

Vranas also claims that $640 million worth of Russian hardware sold to Cyprus in recent years had by-passed him as the official arms negotiator.

Apart from the S-300 missiles the purchases reportedly include 41 T-80 tanks worth $172 million and 43 BMP-3s at $68 million.

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[06] Plans for naval base are ready

"The construction plans are complete and the time needed for it to be constructed depends on the constructors who will take on the work," Clerides said during a visit to a Greek warship docked at Larnaca on Sunday.

Defence Minister Yiannakis Omirou confirmed yesterday that preliminary infrastructural work for the construction of the base was under way.

"Preliminary work has started based on the draft plans put before the Ministry for the costly project," Omirou told journalists.

"What we are seeking now is to secure loans to implement these plans."

Omirou was commenting on the end of the six-day joint Cypriot-Greek exercises, which wrapped up on Sunday with a military parade at Larnaca.

The Cypriot Defence Minister also confirmed that two Greek F-16 fighter planes were still stationed at the Paphos air base yesterday.

He said proposals to have Greek planes stationed at the base on a permanent basis were being examined, but no firm decision had yet been taken.

Omirou also confirmed that Greek jets had taken off on Saturday from the base, which is named after the late Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, to face off with Turkish fighters violating the Nicosia flight information region (FIR).

The Minister said that Turkish attempts to foil the joint exercises between Greece and Cyprus had failed.

"Greek aircraft were in Cyprus with exact precision in terms of timing in all the phases of the exercises," Omirou said.

Some 10,000 Greek Cypriots participated in the annual six-day exercises, 8, 000 of whom were reservists.

In addition to the Greek air force, naval vessels also took part in the fourth day of manoeuvres, using live ammunition off the island's southern coast.

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[07] Madden concern at rising tension

Speaking after a morning meeting with President Glafcos Clerides, Madden made specific reference to the recent repeated violations of Cyprus airspace by Turkish jets. He also, however, pointed to the Nikiforos military exercises, saying that "it is a fact that when military exercises are taking place, that is the time of the year when there are more problems than there are at other times."

Asked directly about Turkish air violations, Madden said Britain regretted "anything that raises the level of tension on the island, and therefore we are looking for ways of reducing tension."

It was on principle, he added, that Britain would look to both sides to find ways of reducing tension in such a situation.

Madden also expressed support for UN Permanent Representative Dame Ann Hercus' shuttle talks initiative, saying that during his talks with Clerides, he had expressed this support to the President. Commenting on press speculation that the initiative was doomed to failure, Madden said it would be more constructive to "see how (Dame Anne) gets on and how much progress can be made". He added he hoped that Hercus' efforts would be crowned with success.

The High Commissioner did not comment on the substance of the talks, citing their confidential nature.

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[08] UN spokesman leaves

In an official press release, Unficyp said a new position of Deputy Spokesman would be created and would be filled by Major Paul Kolken, who will arrive from the Netherlands at the beginning of next month.

Kolken will be acting Spokesman until Russell, currently serving as a UN Public Affairs Officer in Afghanistan, arrives eight weeks later.

The press release said the "termination" of Rokoszewski's employment with Unficyp followed his service of 11 years on the island, first as political officer, then as spokesman.

In statements to The Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Rokoszewski said he would leave the island today to take up the post of senior political officer at the UN mission in Tajikistan.

But he added: "Cyprus remains my current post, but I have signed for an initial one-year duty in Tajikistan. I am really on loan."

As a farewell present, Unficyp gave Rokoszewski a crystal decanter and glasses.

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[09] British Minister accused of favours for Cypriot millionaire

Alan Meale, who has close ties with Cyprus, has been accused of breaching parliamentary convention after he intervened in a planning inquiry to press for a controversial £14 million sports complex in north London.

The proposed site was 140 miles from Meale's constituency in Mansfield, in the east Midlands.

The junior environment minister is said to have stepped in after being asked to do so by the chairman of Barnet Football Club, Tony Kleanthous.

Kleanthous, a prominent member of the Greek Cypriot community in the UK, had earmarked the green-belt site for a new stadium for his third division club.

The Greek Cypriot businessman is said to have known Meale - who visits Cyprus frequently and was head of Labour's British-Cyprus committee - since 1995.

According to an article in the Sunday Times, Greek Cypriot community lobby groups have donated thousands of pounds to Labour, and have paid for Meale and his wife to go on trips to Cyprus.

Meale's lobbying in favour of the Greek Cypriot businessman has raised further questions about Labour's links with the Greek Cypriot diaspora.

The Labour MP was revealed to be at the centre of a fundraising campaign in which wealthy Greek Cypriots donated thousands of pounds towards the party's election push.

Meale has declared at least 11 trips to Cyprus since 1992.

Kleanthous has denied donating money to Labour or paying for Meale's trips to Cyprus.

But a member of the Greek Cypriot Brotherhood, which donated £10,000 to Labour last year, told the Sunday Times that Kleanthous had participated in at least one big fundraising event.

Meale has denied any wrongdoing, and said his involvement in the matter was purely down to his "football interest".

A statement issued by the Department of Environment said the issue was first raised with Meale, not by Kleanthous, but by the chairman of his local team, Mansfield Town, which is in the same division.

The statement said that "nothing improper had occurred" and that Meale's letters to the planning minister to back the scheme were written while he was still a ministerial aide.

The planning enquiry ended three months ago, and an inspector's report is to go before Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott for approval.

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[10] EU accession cannot be taken for granted

But speaking at a press conference, Vassiliou warned this did not mean accession could be taken for granted.

High-level negotiations are set to begin on October 29, while on November 19, the six candidate countries' chief negotiators will meet with the member states' foreign ministers. Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schussel will preside over the meeting, as Austria currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

The council of ministers is expected to take decisions this afternoon about issues already examined in light of the EU screening criteria. Vassiliou said yesterday he had asked all ministries to help draw up a timetable for harmonisation.

He noted the obligations which Cyprus would have to undertake were "essential", and that changes which would take place were huge.

"If it is proved that in some matters, we are not responding to our obligations, then the consequences will be severe," he warned.

Asked if anything particular stood in the way of EU accession, Vassiliou said the main issue at present was the liberalisation of semi-government agencies, particularly in the telecommunications sector. He added that the cabinet had already decided to set up the regulatory body that would handle the transition period.

Asked to comment on reports that the EU had asked Cyprus to look into its recent spate of corruption scandals, Vassiliou said there should be no exaggeration because Cyprus was not as scandal-ridden as some other EU countries. The Cyprus scandals had not, he added, been given much publicity in Europe and they would not hinder Cyprus' EU accession.

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

[11] Planning not to blame for water crisis

FAILURES in forecasts, rather than poor planning, lie behind the expected disappearance of all the island's reservoir water by December 31, Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous yesterday told an international water conference in Cyprus.

His remarks came on the eve of today's planned opening of tenders for either "mobile" seawater desalination plants, or imported water, to get the island through the coming summer until a second, permanent desalination plant can be built. The new plant is not expected on-line before mid-2000.

Despite the Republic's extensive dam and aqueduct projects since 1960, "the (water) problem has not been solved," Themistocleous told the Third Mediterranean Agriculture Forum, because no one predicted "the hydrological changes" the island has experienced since then.

"Over the last 10 years, the rainfall reduced by 18 per cent, while the average flow of rivers reduced by 50 per cent," he told the gathering's workshop, 'Water use in Agriculture: Problems and Perspectives'.

As a result, "as from the end of the year, we will not have any water reserves in the dams," Themistocleous told some 65 delegates from 16 countries, including Cyprus, as well as the Palestinian Authority, at the Forum Hotel gathering in Nicosia.

The Water Development Department (WDD) yesterday said dam reserves were at an all-time low - 15.7 million cubic metres of water, or 5.9 per cent of capacity, versus the 30.3 million cubic metres in storage this time in 1997, when reservoirs were 11.3 per cent full.

Rainfall was at only 75 per cent of normal last winter, and much of the runoff from rains and melting snow failed to make its way behind the dams, WDD and Meteorological Service sources have said.

Cyprus derives 80 per cent of its water from groundwater, which the WDD acknowledges is dangerously overpumped. The remainder comes from the Dhekelia desalination plant.

Delegates to the Forum came from Egypt, Jordan, Albania, Israel, Morocco, Ireland, Britain, Poland, France, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, the Czech Republic, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Cyprus and the Palestinian Authority.

Turkey, despite invitation, did not attend the Forum, which was co- sponsored by the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies.

Forum sources could not give any reason for Turkey's no-show. However, Cyprus House Deputy Takis Hadjidemetriou, who is also vice-chairman of the CoE Parliamentary Assembly's Subcommittee on Food, had said beforehand that Turkey was welcome to send delegates, provided they did not try to enter Cyprus from Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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