Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-12-02

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

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Unruly pilgrims jeopardise further visits

[02] Government seeks to play down talk of missile split

[03] US promises action to reduce tensions

[04] Cash shortages force cutbacks in all-day school trial

[05] Insurance companies face flood claims

[06] CY resumes flights to Brussels, but still expects losses

[07] Cyprus protests November air violations

[08] Man arrested on suspicion of incest

[09] 'Missing millionaire abandoned maid with nine dogs'

[10] Man arrested after Limassol cabaret fight

[11] Cyprus priest held for possessing illegal arms

[01] Unruly pilgrims jeopardise further visits

VISITS by Greek Cypriots to the Apostolos Andreas Monastery have been jeopardised by the unholy behaviour of some pilgrims on Monday, Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner Takis Christopoulos said yesterday.

During Monday's visit to mark the Apostle's Feast Day, 1,300 stampeding pilgrims fought and swore at each other to get into the church, elbowed and jostled each other at the altar and shoved each other aside in a desperate scramble for holy water.

In addition, two enclaved people were arrested by Turkish Cypriot 'police' and detained briefly after swigging brandy brought to them by diaspora relatives who had come on the pilgrimage.

Sources suggested they had had "one too many", and began shouting "things the Turks didn't like".

Christopoulos said it had been wrongly reported that it was the overseas Cypriots on the pilgrimage who had been arrested for bringing two bottles of brandy to their enclaved relatives.

"We are so tired from the past few days and no one seems to be satisfied about anything," Christopoulos said.

"I am wondering if it's worth doing it again," he added, referring to the organisation of the pilgrimage by his office.

Commenting on Monday's incidents, Christopoulos said it had been a mistake to allow so many people to go on one trip.

"There are always a few unpleasant situations. Apart from that it went well. There were just too many people and it is not a mistake we will make again," Christopoulos said.

He said some problems had arisen because of the size of the church, which can only accommodate 200 pilgrims at a time.

There was only one church service, which lasted one and a half hours. "Some of them did not give others a chance," Christopoulos said.

"They nearly killed themselves to get to the holy water. You know that Cypriots don't queue."

In all, 1,338 Greek Cypriots went on the pilgrimage, along with 145 UN peacekeepers. Each of the 35 coaches was accompanied by a plain-clothes Turkish Cypriot security 'official'.

The majority of those who made the trip were the old, the seriously ill and those who came especially from abroad to make the visit. It was be the fourth such visit in the past 18 months.

Christopoulos said there had also been problems on previous visits.

"We said 'never again' but there are so many people who want to go..." he mused.

He said that before deciding simply to cancel further visits, discussions would be held to see if anything can be done to ease the pressure next time around. The next visit, if it goes ahead, should take place at Easter.

"There is plenty of time to think about it yet," Christopoulos said. "We might all cool off a bit by then."

Scuffles also broke out between Greek Cypriots and police and UN peacekeepers at the Ledra Palace checkpoint on Monday when an anti- occupation group entered the buffer zone.

They were protesting at not being allowed to visit the monastery to carry out repairs to the dilapidated building.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[02] Government seeks to play down talk of missile split

FEARS that Athens and Nicosia are at loggerheads over the destination of the controversial S-300 missiles were played down by the government yesterday.

"The Cypriot people should not feel anxious, because the facts are that important decisions taken by Athens and Nicosia will concern the future of Cypriot Hellenism and be such that they will safeguard the public interest, so nobody should be concerned," government spokesman Christos Stylianides said yesterday.

Ever since Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis' carefully worded statement about the missiles after last Friday's Athens summit, speculation has been rife about a growing rift between the two governments on S-300 policy.

Although Athens was said to be insistent on the surface-to-air-missiles going to Crete and not Cyprus, Simitis publicly stated that Nicosia would decide, in consultation with Greece.

This was interpreted by commentators as a grudging climbdown by Athens in the face of President Clerides' "non-negotiable" decision that the S-300s would be stationed on Cyprus.

Simitis did not rule out the Crete option after his lengthy meeting with Clerides last week.

But Stylianides put a different spin on the political fall-out from Athens.

"No one can doubt that Greece is at the side of Cyprus."

However, Stylianides did concede that "different scenarios" had been discussed, and a range of "concerns" raised during the summit.

"The climate was of complete co-operation. The governments of Athens and Nicosia voiced concerns and evaluations were put forward. This was done for only one reason, the good of Hellenism in general."

After being briefed by Clerides yesterday, Disy leader Nicos Anastassiades said no deal on the missiles had been struck in Athens, and the National Council would make the relevant decisions.

He said the Disy party line was that "the missiles were bought for the defence of Cyprus and to be deployed in Cyprus to provide the necessary air defence."

Nevertheless, Anastassiades said the concerns of the Greek government would be discussed at the next Council meeting. The Disy leader noted that consultation with Greece was part of the missile equation and would facilitate better co-ordination and political results.

On returning from his contacts in Athens, Edek leader Vassos Lyssarides denied there was any rift between the two governments.

"The Greek side has decided to back any decision taken by the National Council... and will keep the promises and obligations it has undertaken," Lyssarides said at Larnaca airport.

The socialist leader underlined that Athens would not impose its will on the government in an effort to avoid confrontation with Turkey if the missiles are deployed on the island.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[03] US promises action to reduce tensions

This was the pledge given to Greek foreign under-secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis in Washington by US State Department Cyprus Co-ordinator Thomas Miller and deputy secretary for European Affairs Mark Grossman.

Both senior US officials said a reduction in tension and arms would help break the deadlock in the stalled peace process.

They told Kranidiotis that the US would undertake some sort of initiative, within the UN framework, to achieve these aims.

This would be likely to examine the prospect for the reduction of arms and military forces on both sides.

Such an initiative is seen as an alternative to the arrival of the controversial S-300 missiles on the island, which the Americans strongly oppose.

During his trip to Greece last week, President Clerides revealed it was the US that had proposed that the missiles be deployed in Crete.

Kranidiotis said he told the US diplomats that it would be absurd to ask the Cyprus government to shift its policy on defence at a time when Turkey was responsible for increasing tension on the island.

He said there was no American proposal on the S-300 issue, but there were different views and alternative scenarios in the event that conditions for the non-deployment of the missiles were met.

Greece backed Cyprus on the missile issue whatever the various views might be, Kranidiotis said.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[04] Cash shortages force cutbacks in all-day school trial

INADEQUATE funding remains the main obstacle to all-day schooling, despite the pressing social and educational need for a longer day for primary pupils.

The issue was discussed yesterday at a House Education Committee meeting.

The shortage of funds has forced several changes to the Committee's initial plans for all-day schools, drawn up in July and early November.

The number of schools selected to experiment with the system has been reduced from eight to five. Rural as well as urban schools will still be selected, as countryside occupations often take up long hours, giving parents less time at home with their children.

Afternoon classes at the schools will be held on just three days a week, instead of every day as originally planned, and children will be asked to bring their own lunch on those days. Initially, lunch would have been provided by the schools themselves.

In spite of the funding problems, the Director General of the Education Ministry, Andreas Fylactou, remained supportive of the principle of all-day education.

He argued that a 1995 study showed that more than 25 per cent of primary school age children went home to empty houses.

The study also showed that 57 per cent of primary pupils' mothers already worked full time, and more would if they had somewhere to leave their children after school.

Akel deputy George Lilikas expressed concern that children might not take seriously the afternoon lessons, scheduled to include mainly 'softer' subjects, such as art, music and physical education.

But Fylactou assured the Committee that subjects taught in the afternoon would in no way be treated as less important than others.

He said the subjects had been chosen because it was felt they would be more easily absorbed by children later in the day.

Primary schools currently work from 7.45am to 1pm. Under the new system, classes would start slightly later and end at around three in the afternoon, with a one to one-and-a-half hour lunch break.

Fylactou believes that children will benefit from all-day schooling in that they will be kept away from "dangerous influences", and develop closer relationships with their teachers and fellow students.

"The learning process will be continuous," he noted. "They would also be learning during meal-times, how to use a knife and fork properly, how to act."

An Education Ministry source told the Sunday Mail last month that the Education Ministry would be implementing the plan on a trial basis in September 1999, after negotiations with the Finance Ministry were not completed in time for the current school year.

Fylactou yesterday said that £11,000 were available for the first four months of the trial, while further funds would be negotiated as part of the government budget for the year 2000.

Akel estimates the cost of the pilot scheme at £1.3 million and the cost of full implementation at £35 million a year. This translates into an extra £650 per pupil per year.

The Ministry has been unable to confirm these figures, simply saying: "It will cost a lot of money and will mean the government putting a lot more money into education."

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[05] Insurance companies face flood claims

INSURANCE companies were yesterday beginning to count the cost of the flash floods which hit Nicosia on Sunday.

The fire brigade had its hands full on Sunday as a total of 370 homes, shops and factories were swamped by sudden torrential rains. But yesterday it was the turn of the insurance claims handlers to be inundated.

One Nicosia shoe factory has apparently put in a claim for £500,000 in damages, but most demands are for hundreds rather than thousands of pounds.

"It's too early to say what the total cost will be to insurers, but we've had a number of claims," the manager of one of the island's largest insurance firms said yesterday.

Other companies also reported good numbers of claims.

"Homes usually are insured but businesses usually not; people believe it will never happen to them, but then it does" one insurer said.

Nicosia mayor Lellos Demetriades said the floods had not left the municipality with a huge clean-up bill.

"The only additional cost was the overtime for the rescue teams that worked on Sunday," he said.

"The floods did not create a huge mess for us to clear up because the drains worked well enough that - with the exception of a few isolated areas - the waters had actually gone within an hour of the rains stopping."

He dismissed media reports of malfunctioning and inadequate storm sewer systems as totally inaccurate.

Nicosia received more rain in a day on Sunday than it normally gets in the whole month of November. Heavy rains were also experienced in other areas.

But the deluge made little difference to the island's desperate water situation, as most of the water was swiftly soaked up by land parched during the prolonged drought and therefore never reached the dams.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[06] CY resumes flights to Brussels, but still expects losses

CYPRUS Airways (CY) has resumed its flights to Brussels for the winter season, having axed the route on the eve of EU accession talks last March.

The loss-making route will run weekly until March 27 next year, even though it is not likely to contribute to the airline's profits.

"In winter we have a lot of planes and we have to use them somehow," a CY source said. "It brings in some cash until summer when the planes are then deployed to better routes. It's either that or leave it on the ground, and this way it contributes to the revenue of the company."

The source said, however, that the Brussels route was likely to remain loss- making, even though there had been an increase, which is expected to continue, in the number of Belgian tourists coming to Cyprus.

According to latest figures, more than 40,000 Belgians will have visited the island by the end of this year and a further increase of 10 per cent is expected in 1999.

But the CY source said there were more than enough charter firms operating out of Brussels to cater for the number of tourists coming from Belgium.

The source also said there was simply not enough passenger traffic from to Brussels to justify year-round flights, despite accession talks to the EU.

"Some are going, but there is not a lot of demand," the source said. "The only link is the EU one."

Since the Brussels route was scrapped in March, Cypriots wishing to fly to the Belgian capital must travel via Amsterdam, where they can catch a connecting flight within an hour.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[07] Cyprus protests November air violations

In a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Cyprus' Permanent UN Representative Sotos Zackheos noted that Turkish military aircraft had violated the island's national airspace and the Nicosia Flight Information region on November 19, 20 and 21. The violations took place during Turkish military manoeuvres in the occupied areas.

Describing the violations as "provocative", Zackheos pointed out that this was far from the first occurrence.

"The frequency and intensity of these airspace violations are a further reminder of Turkey's offensive disregard of international law, the UN Charter and all relevant decisions of the organisation on the question of Cyprus."

In conclusion, he added that "these continuing overflights by the Turkish Air Force, as well as the presence of the Turkish military occupation forces on the island, constitute the underlying causes of tension in Cyprus."

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[08] Man arrested on suspicion of incest

A police statement released last night did not issue the name or age of the man, nor did it specify his exact relationship to the girl.

The man was arrested following a complaint to Nicosia police by the girl's mother, who claimed that the suspect had had repeated sexual contact with her daughter over a two to three year period.

Nicosia CID launched an investigation following the mother's accusation and made an arrest yesterday.

"Today, a person related to the minor was arrested and gave a voluntary statement that appears to confess to the accusations," said the police statement.

The suspect is being detained at police holding cells at the Central Prison.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[09] 'Missing millionaire abandoned maid with nine dogs'

IT BEGAN as a burglary case, turned, briefly, into a hunt for a missing multi-millionaire and, by yesterday, had become the "case of the absent dog- food."

A few days ago, police were called to a luxury villa in the Ayios Tychonas area of Limassol to investigate reports of a burglary.

Officers found evidence of a break-in but nothing appeared to have gone missing from the £500,000 home. They were further puzzled to learn that the owner of the home, a Lebanese millionaire, had disappeared six months ago, leaving his Sri-Lankan maid to watch over two luxury cars, two expensive motorbikes and nine pedigree dogs.

The story hit the television news headlines on Monday night, with Sigma reporting the "mysterious disappearance" of a Lebanese millionaire.

The millionaire's maid was reportedly at a loss. She had gone without pay for the past six months and was being driven hairless by the nine hungry and unruly dogs, one of which was a doberman with a tendency to attack other dogs, Sigma reported.

But by yesterday police were dismissing the "mysterious disappearance" version of events.

"The man's in Greece, he hasn't disappeared at all," a senior Limassol police officer told the Cyprus Mail.

"We were contacted by his lawyer, who said he had spoken to his client who had told him he was sending his wife to Cyprus to sort out the whole situation."

Police did confirm the nine dogs had become a nuisance, saying they had received a number of complaints about the canines from neighbours, which were being investigated.

When the millionaire's wife does arrive on the island, she is likely to face questions from police about why the maid was left unpaid and the dogs with no dog food.

In the meantime, animal protection groups, Limassol municipality and the Limassol public health department have been called in to help with the dogs.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[10] Man arrested after Limassol cabaret fight

According to a police report, the incident took place at about 2am yesterday after Andreas Kakoyianni, alias Kattos, 30, got into an argument with an artiste in a night-club. Police said witnesses had seen Kattos hit the girl on various parts of her body and also throw a glass at another cabaret customer, cutting him on the forehead.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

[11] Cyprus priest held for possessing illegal arms

This latest incident is more bad news for the Cyprus Church which is still reeling from a prestige-damaging multi-million corruption scandal involving one of its bishops.

Last week, Bishop Chrysanthos of Limassol resigned from his position in the wake of corruption charges levelled at him by the Holy Synod.

Following a tip-off, police swooped on the refugee housing estate in Frenaros village looking for 72-year-old priest Papademetris Neopytou and his alleged illegal arms cache.

At first the priest refused the police entry, but when they produced a search warrant Papademetris handed over a Beretta pistol and 26 bullets for a 7.65 mm hand gun.

"When the priest was informed of the reason for the search he handed over the pistol and 26 bullets, which were kept in a cabinet drawer, to police," said a police statement.

The priest was then arrested and taken to Famagusta CID in Paralimni where he was charged with the illegal possession of a pistol arm and ammunition, then released.

Meanwhile, Antenna TV reported yesterday that the police investigation into claims that Chrysanthos conspired to defraud a UK-based investor of $3.7 million was now complete.The completed case file was handed over to the Attorney-general Alecos Markides.

It is reported that detectives believe there is enough evidence to charge Chrysanthos with conspiracy to defraud but it is now up to the Attorney- general to decide on the course of action.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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