Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 99-06-11

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

Friday, June 11, 1999

CONTENTS

[01] House approves anti-graft billMartin HellicarTHE HOUSE of Representatives plenum has approved a controversial anti-corruption bill that will force all politicians and many other public figures to declare their assets.The aim of the new law, first proposed a decade ago, is to prevent cabinet members, deputies and others from abusing their position for personal financial gain. It stipulates that the assets of the public figures concerned will be published in full in the government gazette.The bill was passed yesterday evening by 26 votes for and four against after a marathon four-hour debate. After concluding a general discussion on the bill begun last week, deputies debated and voted on no fewer than 19 separate amendments to the proposed law before finally passing it.Most speakers agreed the law was a ‘necessary evil’ if public concern about corruption in high places was to be addressed. The persistent unlawful enrichment allegations which recently forced Dinos Michaelides to resign as Interior Minister have heightened public mistrust of politicians.Disy deputy Prodromos Prodromou said Michaelides had been "unjustly" targeted.The amended new law covers not just politicians but also judges, directors of Ministries and semi-governmental organisations, the governor of the central bank and other top figures -- but not civil servants. Those liable will have to declare not just their own wealth but also that of their spouse and dependants.Many deputies expressed concern that the publicising of assets could lead to a ‘media circus’. One of the eleventh hour amendments approved last night was that media bosses -- including the editors and publishers of newspapers and magazines -- be put on the list of accountable persons.Those concerned will have to declare their wealth to a specially appointed five-member watchdog body within three months of taking up an appointment. They will have to make a fresh statement after every three years in a position, and three months after leaving the post.Incumbent public figures are also accountable and the law is also retroactive from independence (1960). Former public figures will only have to declare their assets if a specific request is made to the Auditor- general.Opponents of the bill said it contained blatantly unconstitutional provisions and would prove totally unworkable."This body knows full well that this law is unconstitutional and has only approved it under pressure from the media," Disy deputy Socratis Hasikos said, explaining why he had voted against.The vote on the anti-graft bill had been postponed several times for various reasons, prompting widespread media speculation that deputies were trying to avoid passing the law.Yesterday's debate was often good-humoured but at other times bad-tempered, with acting House president Nicos Anastassiades struggling in vain to speed up procedure by asking deputies to limit the length of their speeches.

[02] Government to publish list of dioxin suspects

[03] Popular Bank seeks double Athens listing

[04] G8 tries to give Cyprus peace settlement a push

[05] Nominee for US ambassador hopes G8 will give impetus to Cyprus talks

[06] Kyprianou denies link to arms find

[07] Unions not impressed with hotel mediation committee

[08] Police in dawn raid on Fanieros club

[09] Cyprus welcomes Kosovo deal

[10] Rare bronze age tomb found in Xylotymbou

[11] Doctors accept government offer

[01] House approves anti-graft billMartin HellicarTHE HOUSE of Representatives plenum has approved a controversial anti-corruption bill that will force all politicians and many other public figures to declare their assets.The aim of the new law, first proposed a decade ago, is to prevent cabinet members, deputies and others from abusing their position for personal financial gain. It stipulates that the assets of the public figures concerned will be published in full in the government gazette.The bill was passed yesterday evening by 26 votes for and four against after a marathon four-hour debate. After concluding a general discussion on the bill begun last week, deputies debated and voted on no fewer than 19 separate amendments to the proposed law before finally passing it.Most speakers agreed the law was a ‘necessary evil’ if public concern about corruption in high places was to be addressed. The persistent unlawful enrichment allegations which recently forced Dinos Michaelides to resign as Interior Minister have heightened public mistrust of politicians.Disy deputy Prodromos Prodromou said Michaelides had been "unjustly" targeted.The amended new law covers not just politicians but also judges, directors of Ministries and semi-governmental organisations, the governor of the central bank and other top figures -- but not civil servants. Those liable will have to declare not just their own wealth but also that of their spouse and dependants.Many deputies expressed concern that the publicising of assets could lead to a ‘media circus’. One of the eleventh hour amendments approved last night was that media bosses -- including the editors and publishers of newspapers and magazines -- be put on the list of accountable persons.Those concerned will have to declare their wealth to a specially appointed five-member watchdog body within three months of taking up an appointment. They will have to make a fresh statement after every three years in a position, and three months after leaving the post.Incumbent public figures are also accountable and the law is also retroactive from independence (1960). Former public figures will only have to declare their assets if a specific request is made to the Auditor- general.Opponents of the bill said it contained blatantly unconstitutional provisions and would prove totally unworkable."This body knows full well that this law is unconstitutional and has only approved it under pressure from the media," Disy deputy Socratis Hasikos said, explaining why he had voted against.The vote on the anti-graft bill had been postponed several times for various reasons, prompting widespread media speculation that deputies were trying to avoid passing the law.Yesterday's debate was often good-humoured but at other times bad-tempered, with acting House president Nicos Anastassiades struggling in vain to speed up procedure by asking deputies to limit the length of their speeches.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[02] Government to publish list of dioxin suspects

HEALTH Minister Christos Solomis yesterday said that, in response to public demand, the government would publish a list today of Belgian-sourced food products suspected of being poisoned by dioxin, one of the most toxic of man-made substances.

Solomis made his remarks after discussing the Belgian dioxin scare rocking Europe with Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous and House President Spyros Kyprianou before a House Health Committee hearing on the matter.

He said Cyprus had acted quickly -- even before being told to act by the European Union -- to order the impounding of foods and imports suspected of containing dioxin, which causes cancer.

He said a product list was not strictly necessary to protect consumers from dioxin-tainted foods or animal feeds, because the government had already ordered all the suspect categories of products removed from store shelves or impounded in importers' warehouses. Rather, he said the list was being made to satisfy consumer demand.

The Cyprus Consumers Association this week complained the government had failed to publish a list of the brand-names of all suspect Belgian food products, despite Belgium's publication of the names of 76 companies suspected of producing dioxin-tainted goods, and the publication of the list in Greece.

Sophocles Anthousis, Health Service head at the Ministry of Health, said the Public Health Co-ordinating Committee had declined to publish such a list because "we want to protect" the brand-name manufacturers -- despite the EU order banning sale or transfer of the suspect Belgian foods.

The government preferred to list the generic categories of foodstuffs suspected of dioxin contamination, Anthousis said.

The EU generic list includes all Belgian eggs or egg products; all live chickens, cattle and pigs, dressed poultry, beef and pork, and meat products made from them; powdered milk and baby food containing milk; butter, cheeses, other dairy products; chocolates, mayonnaise, sauces and mozzarella cheese.

Themistocleous said yesterday that imported animal feeds already in Cyprus stores or on farms were not dangerous. He was reiterating assurances by Dr Pavlos Economides, director of his ministry's Department of Veterinary Services, in the wake of press reports to the contrary.

Economides again yesterday said his department had been assured by European feed manufacturers that they had not sourced their raw materials from any Belgian or other companies suspected of dioxin contamination, so all feed stocks already in Cyprus were safe. Besides Belgium, France, Spain and The Netherlands have dioxin-contamination problems.

He further said his department has ordered some 90 tons of imported feed stocks impounded in Limassol Port for later checking against a list of suspect companies.

Anthousis told the House Health Committee his officers were working seven days a week in stores and at ports to impound suspect foods, and were so overworked they could only do the top-priority jobs. He added that, for each sample of suspected food, it would cost between £700 and £1,000 to test for dioxin.

Takis Antoniou, of the Agriculture Ministry, said Cyprus did not have the necessary equipment to test for dioxin, but noted many other countries -- including Belgium -- were in a similar position.

Dr Panayiotis Zarbos of the Cyprus Medical Association said dioxin was "a big problem" and very high on the World Health Organisation's list of carcinogens.

He said children were at special risk, since dioxin could be carried in breast milk or cow's milk, builds up in the body and stays there a long time. Dioxin has a half-life of 12 years, causes grotesque birth deformities, and can be passed down through generations.

House Health Committee Chairman Andreas Parisinos said yesterday all food suspected of dioxin contamination would be examined, and the poisoned food destroyed.

Pavlos Pavlides, Chief Health Inspector, said the government did not know how it would destroy the tainted food or feeds, but felt it was more important now simply to collect the suspect foods, and worry about how to destroy them later.

Takis Fotiades said his Association of Importers was willing to co-operate with the government to protect consumers, but wanted its help in obtaining certificates of safety from European exporters for all imported foods and feeds.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[03] Popular Bank seeks double Athens listing

THE POPULAR Bank said yesterday it planned to seek the listing of the Cyprus-based group and its Greek subsidiary, the European Popular Bank, on the robust Athens Stock Exchange.

"There will be consultations on both matters with the (Athens) exchange authority," said Kikis Lazarides, the Popular Bank chairman and chief executive.

Speaking from Athens to a news conference in Nicosia on a live television link, Lazarides said the decision by the European Popular Bank to seek a listing in Athens had been approved by shareholders of the Greek subsidiary during a general meeting on Wednesday.

"The prospects of listing are good. The only details we can give now are that we have already started consultations with the Athens Stock Exchange to ascertain what is needed by them," said Lazarides.

Popular Bank shares, four days into their two-for-one split, closed at £3.80 yesterday, up 8 cents, while its warrants also closed in positive territory, up by 11.50 cents at £4.87.

The Popular Bank has been known for months to be considering a listing in the Athens bourse, one of the best performing emerging markets in Europe, whose fortunes are closely monitored by traders in Cyprus. His announcement, however, that the group's Greek subsidiary would seek a separate Athens listing was unexpected.

European Popular Bank shareholders, according to Lazarides, yesterday also approved an increase in its share capital to 25 billion drachmas (about £45 million) from 5.5 billion drachmas (about £9.8 million) to help an expansion drive by the bank in Greece.

Lazarides said European Popular Bank branches in Greece would rise to 17 from the current 13 and would leap to 40 or 50 branches in the next three years.

Faced with the limitations of the small Cyprus market and eager to gain an international image, the Popular Bank Group and its bigger rival, Bank of Cyprus, entered the lucrative and larger Greek market in the early 1990s and now depend on their operations there for a good chunk of their profits. Hellenic Bank, the island's distant third largest bank, opened its first branch in Greece last December and plans several more this year.

The Bank of Cyprus has already applied for a listing in Athens. It said last month that the necessary piece of legislation on foreign companies listing in Athens had been tabled in the Greek Parliament for approval.

The listing course for the European Popular Bank should be much easier than that of the Popular Bank Group or the Bank of Cyprus since it is a Greek- registered concern, according to Popular Bank officials.

The all-share index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange, meanwhile, rose yesterday for the second successive day. It closed at 151.47, 2.03 per cent up on Wednesday. Combined, the two successive hikes have more than compensated for Tuesday's drop of 3.60 per cent.

The Bank of Cyprus was up 13.50 cents to close at £6.64. Hellenic Bank, continuing its impressive run of late, was up 11 cents and closed at £4.24.

Universal Bank rose by 5 cents to end the day at £2.32.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[04] G8 tries to give Cyprus peace settlement a push

Meeting in Cologne to prepare next week's annual G8 summit among other things, a joint statement said they would urge their leaders to get fresh negotiations under way between the two sides.

"We recommend that the G8 summit urge the UN secretary-general to invite the leaders of both parties to enter into comprehensive negotiations without pre-conditions," the foreign ministers of the United States, Russia, Japan, Germany, Canada, France, Italy and Britain said.

"We urge all those concerned to avoid any measures that could increase tensions on the island and complicate efforts to promote a just and lasting peace."

A European source at the G8 talks said there was general frustration that there was still a stalemate over the status of the island 25 years after Turkish troops invaded following a short-lived coup backed by the then military junta in Athens.

The G8, fresh from taking a lead in ending Nato's war with Yugoslavia, was not seeking to take over the Cyprus peace process from the United Nations, the source said. But there was a consensus that the parties should get back to the negotiating table under UN auspices.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[05] Nominee for US ambassador hopes G8 will give impetus to Cyprus talks

THE NOMINEE for new US ambassador to Cyprus, Donald Bandler, hopes the Group of Eight will add to the impetus for Cyprus talks to resume this Autumn.

"Secretary Albright is in Europe now meeting with her EU and G8 colleagues, and we do hope that the G8 will say something positive in the days ahead. The Ministers will discuss it and we know it is on Secretary Albright's agenda," he said.

"We hope then that they will further the impetus to the idea that we should begin negotiations this fall."

As President Clinton's nominee for the Cyprus posting, Bandler was addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The G8 are not expected to have their own initiative or be directly involved in the negotiations, but the member states are very interested on the issue," Bandler said.

"We do have about nine months ahead, we have the new Turkish government and we do have the EU factor and other reasons in an unsteady status quo to work to move forward in this time frame. So we hope the G8 will lend its voice and give further impulse to this idea."

Asked about the impact of the EU accession process on the Cyprus problem, Bandler said there were EU countries that had said both privately and publicly that they were uncomfortable with the notion of bringing a divided island into the EU. "Turkey's policies on the Cyprus issue will also affect the way EU sees the issue of candidacy," Bandler said.

In his address to the committee, Bandler said he was aware that Cyprus was not "just a problem".

"It's a country with which we have excellent bilateral relations and common interests on a wide range of issues. If confirmed, I aim to strengthen these relations..." he said.

"Over past decades, some of America's most capable statesmen have laboured on the Cyprus problem and there is no reason to believe it is amenable to a quick fix. This must not deter us from pressing ahead with the parties and the international community to find arrangements that will meet the needs of all Cypriots and bring about a negotiated solution to this very difficult -- but not intractable problem."

If Bandler is confirmed as ambassador to Cyprus, he will probably take up his post in August, a spokesman for the US embassy said yesterday.

Outgoing ambassador Kenneth Brill is due to leave the island in July.

Meanwhile, the government yesterday announced it would lodge an official protest with the Pakistani government because its ambassador to Turkey made an 'official' visit to the occupied areas.

Government spokesman Costas Serezis, who is with President Clerides on his current visit to China, said Cyprus' Beijing-based ambassador to Pakistan, Loria Markides, would make written and oral representations.

According to reports in the Turkish Cypriot press, Pakistani ambassador Karamytullah Khan Ghori and his wife visited the north last week, meeting Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[06] Kyprianou denies link to arms find

HOUSE president Spyros Kyprianou yesterday dismissed any suggestion he was somehow linked to Wednesday's huge arms find in Galata village.

He has issued legal proceedings against Alithianewspaper for implying that while he was president, he was somehow aware that 19,000 bullets -- thought to have been found in the cache on Wednesday -- had been taken from police storerooms in 1979 for illegal purposes.

Kyprianou also dispelled press rumours that the timing of the find was tinged with political motives and was somehow a move by the government to embarrass him.

"I don't think the timing of the find was in any way deliberate," Kyprianou told reporters yesterday.

Police uncovered a massive cache of arms and explosives at an abandoned house belonging to the father of a former intelligence commander, both of whom are dead.

Officers raided the abandoned house in the mountain village of Galata following a tip-off.

The house belonged to the late Ioannis Koukoularides, the father of Charalambos Koukoularides, a former commander at the police intelligence service KYP, and a former director of the Cyprus Sports Organisation (Koa).

Police discovered six heavy and six light machine guns along with six Kalashnikovs, 47 hand grenades, 25 flares, one pistol, heavy artillery gun, 52 automatics, 22 rifles, one revolver, 18 artillery shells, one flare gun, seven detonators and tens of thousands of bullets of different types.

The bullets were packed in dozens of boxes stamped: "Ministry of Interior" indicating they were originally the property of the police force, which has since fallen under the jurisdiction of the Justice Ministry.

The weapons find is believed to be one of the largest ever made in Cyprus.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[07] Unions not impressed with hotel mediation committee

UNIONS yesterday emerged unimpressed from their first meeting with the three-member committee appointed to investigate the continuing strike at two Larnaca hotels.

Sek's secretary-general for hotels, Nicos Epistethiou, yesterday told the Cyprus Mailthat the unions had expected more to be done during the meeting.

He said the unions were hoping more ground would be covered in the following meeting next Wednesday.

The Cabinet decided to appoint the committee on June 2 in an attempt to breach the deadlock in the marathon strikes at Lordos Holdings' Golden Bay and Lordos Beach hotels in Larnaca.

The committee is made up of retired judge Savvakis Nicolaides, former labour disputes court president Takis Papamiltiades, and Takis Christophis.

Epistethiou said yesterday the unions accepted the Cabinet's decision to set up the committee. "We will continue the strike at the two hotels, but not call for any additional measures such as sympathy strikes until we see the outcome of investigations," he said.

The dispute began on January 31, when 53 members of staff were dismissed after sections of the hotels were turned over to outside contractors.

Lordos Holdings said the changes were necessary to combat chronic losses at the hotels.

The increasingly bitter conflict has landed striking workers and union members in court, with Lordos Holding taking out court orders prohibiting pickets from blocking the hotels' entrances.

For their part, unions have called sympathy strikes in the industry.

The government had sought to bring both sides to binding arbitration, but the unions refuse unless the sacked workers are first reinstated.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[08] Police in dawn raid on Fanieros club

Officers of the crime prevention unit descended on the club at around 5am and uncovered what they said was evidence of gambling activity. Fanieros, 58, and 10 other men who were in the club at the time were all arrested. They were later charged with illegal gambling and released.

Fanieros, who survived a machine-gun attack outside his club in May 1997, claimed he was being singled out by police.

"The law in Cyprus exists only for Fanieros," he yelled, addressing himself to the TV crews that had arrived on the scene. "There is an undeclared war against me going on right now," he said.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[09] Cyprus welcomes Kosovo deal

Speaking from Shanghai, Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides said "the agreement achieved should be hailed as a step in the right direction and a step towards peace."

The Minister is accompanying President Glafcos Clerides on a state visit to China.

Cassoulides said Cyprus was in favour of a peace-keeping force in Kosovo under a UN aegis and the with the involvement of the G8 group, as the seven most industrialised countries in the world plus Russia had "played a role in finding a way out of the crisis."

Cassoulides said Cyprus was also pleased that the UN Security Council would issue a resolution on the end of the conflict, a move he said would place the entire process under the aegis of the Council. He said that this action may in addition signal "some positive developments for Cyprus."

[10] Rare bronze age tomb found in Xylotymbou

"It's rather important because it dates from a transitional period," said senior archaeological officer Pavlos Flourentzos.

According to a British bases statement, the discovery was made two days ago by two workmen constructing a slurry lagoon at Xylotymbou village.

The bases informed the Antiquities Department, and inspectors began excavations immediately. Experts estimated that the untouched tomb, which consisted of two chambers, dated from between 1,400BC and 1,600BC

A total of 156 objects were found, including bronze items, necklace beads and several types of pottery. Fifteen human skeletons were also unearthed from the tomb, which was made from "havara" soil, indicating that after it was dug, the tomb was filled and flattened, the bases statement said.

"Everything has now been removed," said bases spokesman Rob Need. "Now they are going to bulldoze the site because it is not stable."

Flourentzos said what made the site rare was both the period it dated from and the fact that it was unlooted.

He said it was usual to find either Middle Bronze Age sites or Late Bronze Age sites. "It is rare to find a tomb from the transitional period," he said. "And usually the condition of these tombs is not good."

He said there was nothing unusual in finding several skeletons in the same tomb. "They were family tombs," he said.

The items are being examined by experts at Larnaca Museum, Flourentzos said.

Friday, June 11, 1999

[11] Doctors accept government offer

The government offered to create some new ranks within the health service, going some way towards meeting medics' demands for higher pay and better pensions.

The proposal -- which includes a promise of further negotiations on doctors' various demands -- was voted for by 70 per cent of state doctors on Wednesday.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999

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