Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 99-06-26

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

Saturday, June 26, 1999

CONTENTS

[01] Pilots decide: back to work

[02] Louis bids for government's Hilton shares

[03] Port workers accept improved compensation package

[04] Kyprianou-US row is closed, government insists

[05] Annan: creativity needed on Cyprus

[06] Plumbers tools spark new embassy bomb scare

[07] Girl killed in moped crash

[08] Russia's Duma approves taxation treaty with Cyprus

[09] Court rejects defence plea on murder statement

[10] Hospital incinerator is a health hazard, inspectors say

[11] Shares go up and up

[12] Three jailed for life for Limassol gangland murder

[13] Ledra Palace rocks to the sound of The Stranglers

[14] Health Ministry casts doubt on Agros EU water claim

[01] Pilots decide: back to work

STRIKING Cyprus Airways (CY) pilots decided last night to go back to work after an eleventh hour union meeting. George Charalambous, spokesman for the pilots’ union, said that ending the strike was a sign of good faith in light of the government's offer to appoint a bi-ministerial committee to investigate the issue.

Charalambous said: "We welcome this proposal, after all we were the first ones to ask for an enquiry."

He said that the strike was not continuing as a direct result of the proposition which had been brought to the union that day and because "the Finance Minister Takis Clerides is trying to get the two sides together to try to find a solution." Charalambous continued, "In the meantime, the union's executive committee will monitor the situation and decide on any further action."

Pasipy completed a 48 hour strike at midnight last night following a dispute with management over captain promotions which they covet in CY's charter subsidiary Eurocypria.

The two-day strike affected almost 10,000 passengers and 32 flights, and came only a day after a 24-hour strike grounded 11 flights and caused delays to 3,000 passengers on Tuesday.

The airline put the cost of the entire three days of industrial action at more than £300,000. In a strange twist to the saga, rival pilots, who are members of the airline's largest staff union Cynika, turned up for work yesterday but some cabin crew from the same union did not. Pasipy claimed it was because they did not want to fly with the Cynika pilots in a show of support for Pasipy.

"This is important news for us that Cynika members refused to board an aircraft with their own pilots because it means Cyprus Airways could not utilise its aircraft," said Charalambous at the time. "This gives us the courage to continue".

During Tuesday's strike it was the Cynika pilots who failed to show up for work after threats from Pasipy members to report them to the International Pilots Union.

Asked why he thought the Cynika cabin crew decided not to fly, Charalambous said he believed it was because they had been hit by the realisation of what the government's announcement on liberalisation would mean for them.

The cabinet on Thursday backed a proposal by the Communications and Works Minister to extend air deregulation if the pilots continued their industrial action.

Finance Minister Takis Clerides called on the pilots again yesterday to end the strike. "If the government goes ahead the first ones to feel the repercussions will be Cynika members," Charalambous said. "Despite the fact that their leader said to go to work it seems the cabin crew are on our side".

Cynika leader Costas Demetriou told the Cyprus Mailthat although his union, comprising 1,700 staff members was read to fight liberalisation, no instructions to strike had been issued. He was reluctant to discuss the issue of cabin crew and said "there might have been" some cabin crew who reported sick yesterday because of "so much tension and blackmail". He could not put a figure on the number, he said.

The Pasipy claim was categorically denied by airline spokesman Tassos Angelis who said there were two CY flights yesterday with Cynika cabin crew, both of which flew as planned. The remaining passengers, from a total of 4, 500 due to travel yesterday, went out on leased aircraft. In all 11 flights were operated, Angelis said.

Earlier yesterday it appeared that each side was waiting for the other to make the first move. A member of the Pasipy executive told CyBC they have made repeated pleas in order for a solution to be found "because the strike was never an aim in itself".

"If someone came from their side and said let's continue negotiations from where we left off we would end the strike this second," he said. "We believe the problem can be solved, it just needs the other side to show goodwill".

In response Angelis said: "How can we start from where we left off when the dialogue was blown out of the water. The conditions have changed. We are waiting for a move from the pilots which is the only thing which can happen".

Also yesterday, the board of Cyprus Airways met and approved plans to increase its authorised share capital to 100 million shares from 75 million. The move is necessary to dilute the government's holding to below 70 per cent, a key condition for Cyprus Airways shares remaining listed on the stock exchange. The decision needs to be ratified by shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on July 21 to meet a September deadline. Cyprus Airway's shares rose one per cent yesterday to 67 cents on the bourse on a turnover of 192,920 shares.

Meanwhile in a separate action, Transport and General Workers' union members employed by Cyprus Airways in London announced that they would be taking strike action on July 1. An announcement from the union said that action was being taken because of the company's refusal to recognise their trade union.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[02] Louis bids for government's Hilton shares

The announcement was made through Severis and Athienitis Securities Ltd, Louis Tourist Organisation's brokers.

It said that the offer was specifically to purchase the state's 2,440,100 shares in the Cyprus Tourism Development Company Ltd (CTD), which controls the Nicosia Hilton.

Louis is prepared to pay £4.10 a share, amounting to a total of £10,004,451 for the shares.

The announcement added that, based on this price, the Hilton was worth £27 million, while the average price of shares from March 31 to yesterday was £3.94.

The government faces Stock Exchange rules forcing it to reduce its stock holdings in the Hilton from its current 82 per cent to a maximum of 70 per cent.

The CTD has been suffering from heavy debts in the last few years after extensive refurbishment of the Hilton Hotel.

If the proposal is accepted by the government, then based on Stock Exchange Rules, the company will be able to offer to purchase all the shares at the same price. The bid is valid for 30 days.

Louis Tours is one of the leading travelling organisations in Cyprus.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[03] Port workers accept improved compensation package

After a general meeting of Sek, Peo and Deok unions at Sek's Larnaca headquarters, the port workers decided to accept the offer, which was issued after a meeting of Commerce and Labour Ministries late on Thursday night.

Sek's Larnaca district secretary Nicos Moiseos, who presided over the union meeting, yesterday told the Cyprus Mailthat the decision to accept the government's new offer had been unanimous.

According to the new agreement, the 51 port workers and four harbour pilots who will lose their jobs when the port is converted into a leisure facility will now receive a total of £840,000 -- £40,000 more than the government had earlier offered.

Of that, £700,000 will be taken from government funds, while the remainder will come from a loan from the Shipping Agents' Association, with the government acting as guarantor.

The loan will be paid off with the money saved in cutting the harbour costs after the redundancies.

Port workers and harbour pilots had on Monday warned they would begin an indefinite strike yesterday if their compensation demands were not met.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[04] Kyprianou-US row is closed, government insists

Government spokesman Costas Serezis said President Glafcos Clerides was satisfied with the explanation given to him by Brill for not meeting then acting President Kyprianou.

Clerides was on a state visit to China when the incident took place earlier this month.

Kyprianou was acting President by virtue of his position as President of the House. But he also leads Diko, one of the two parties targeted by letters from the embassy, angry at their attitude towards Nato bombing in Yugoslavia. His request for a meeting with Brill was to express his displeasure at the letters.

Serezis made the announcement yesterday after being asked to comment on statements made on Wednesday by US State Department spokesman James Rubin.

Kyprianou and communist Akel on Thursday responded angrily to Rubin's comments.

Rubin had said the US government fully supported Brill, adding it was appropriate for American ambassadors to "try to counter some of the propaganda coming out of Belgrade and other places."

Kyprianou retorted that the US and Great Britain always saw those who did not agree with them as the enemy, and insisted the issue was not so much about opinions on Yugoslavia as over the snub inflicted on the Republic by Brill's refusal to meet him at a time when he was acting President.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[05] Annan: creativity needed on Cyprus

In reply, he said that at the negotiating table, creativity was needed. Cyprus should "not being tied down by history or some other previous arrangements," he added.

Asked about the apparent rejection by the Turkish side of the G-8 comments, which called for a return to the negotiating table with no preconditions, Annan pointed out that the Cyprus problem was a complex one, adding that although he was aware of the Turkish sentiments, he hoped they were not "insurmountable".

"We are at the very early stages and we are going to work with all the parties to get them to the table and hopefully to stay at the table until we find a solution this time round," Annan concluded.

For his part, Cook said that he and Annan had high hopes that the two sides on the island would respond to the G-8's call. Britain was, he added, very strongly in favour of the suggestions.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[06] Plumbers tools spark new embassy bomb scare

It was the second bomb scare at the American embassy in Nicosia in five days. The previous one was also a false alarm.

Police said they got a tipoff about the mysterious black bag from embassy guards at the main entrance to the US mission.

On arriving, the bomb squad deployed a computer-controlled robot bomb retrieval and disposal machine, which executed a "controlled explosion" on the tool bag.

Police said the satchel of tools might have fallen from a passing vehicle. The identity of the hapless plumber was not known.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[07] Girl killed in moped crash

Eleni Nicolaou, 17, from Pano Lakatamia was a passenger on a scooter which was hit by a car.

The accident happened shortly after midnight in the Nicosia suburb of Strovolos, when a car collided with the scooter, driven by 19-year-old Georgia Pavlou.

The scooter was then hit by a second vehicle, which had been driving behind the first car.

Nicolaou was seriously injured and taken to Nicosia general hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries at 2.25am.

Pavlou was only slightly injured and released from hospital after receiving first aid. All three drivers were breathalysed, but none were over the limit.

The police yesterday called on anyone with any information on the accident to contact their nearest police station.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[08] Russia's Duma approves taxation treaty with Cyprus

An official statement issued in Nicosia said 250 Duma members voted in favour of the treaty, only one voted against while four abstained.

The new treaty, ironed out after months of tortuous negotiations and through the economic and political crises which have beset Russian over the past 10 months, replaces one signed in 1998 between Cyprus and the former Soviet Union.

Cyprus has dozens of double taxation treaties with foreign countries. These accords are largely behind the attraction of the island as a centre for international business, given the favourable tax regime on offer to companies registered as offshore enterprises.

The most important of these treaties has been the one with Russia, whose economic reforms and open market policies have attracted scores of Western companies to set up shop in Cyprus to do business in Russia. It has also attracted scores of Russian businessmen and companies to use Cyprus as a base from which they can open new markets for Russian goods in Africa and the Middle East. It was thought prior to the Russian financial crisis of August 1998 that a total £20 billion worth of investments in Russian reached the former communist republic through Cyprus.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[09] Court rejects defence plea on murder statement

Defence lawyer Nicos Clerides claimed his client -- 33-year-old ex-special policeman Savvas Ioannou, alias Kinezos -- had been coerced and duped into making a statement the day after the December 16 killing in Limassol.

This led to a "trial within a trial" during which Clerides labelled police witnesses liars for claiming there had been nothing irregular about the way in which the December 17 statement was taken.

The three-bench court yesterday ruled the statement had been made voluntarily, thus paving the way for the resumption of the trial proper.

Kinezos, policeman Christos Symeonides, 35, waiter Prokopis Prokopi, 35, cabaret owner Sotiris Athinis, 43, and his 51-year-old sister and hospital cleaner Zoe Alexandrou have pleaded not guilty to charges of involvement in the killing.

Hambis Aeroporos, 36, was gunned down by three masked hit-men as he drove from the new Limassol hospital in Ypsonas to Limassol town.

The trial will continue on July 6.

Police again mounted a massive security operation for the trial, which was moved to Nicosia for fear of reprisals against the accused.

[10] Hospital incinerator is a health hazard, inspectors say

MUNICIPAL health inspectors have declared the incinerator at the Nicosia General Hospital a health hazard and have given the government 15 days to do something about it.

In an official announcement issued yesterday, Nicosia Municipality said the inspectors had reached a unanimous decision on the state of the antiquated incinerator being used at the hospital.

Members agreed that the fumes emanating from the hospital from the burning of clinical waste posed a danger to public health, causing respiratory and other problems to residents in the vicinity.

"The Council requires that measures be taken to reduce emissions to permissable levels," the announcement said, adding that the changes should be made within 15 days.

Diko deputy Marios Matsakis, who had been championing the cause of residents, welcomed the results of his crusade to have something done. He said he had also tabled the issue for discussion at the relevant House of Representatives Committee.

"The incinerator at the hospital, which although is not the original one, is still very old," he said.

He said it required specialised operation and maintenance, which he believed it was not receiving.

"It is not functioning properly and in addition to this there is no proper differentiation on the types of things they burn."

Matsakis said everything was burned at the hospital incinerator, including PVC and plastic syringes containing chemical waste.

This is then released into the atmosphere from hospital chimneys releasing toxic fumes, including dioxins, which are breathed in by residents of the area, he said.

He added the incinerator might be as much as 15 years old. "It's too old," he said. "It is obviously a health hazard and should be dealt with drastically and quickly."

Matsakis said he had been pursuing the issue for some time and had visited the hospital to see for himself. He said there had been rumblings on the official side that there was no point in replacing the incinerator because a new general hospital was being built.

"Why should they wait? Diseases and toxic fumes don't wait," he said.

"They caused chaos over dioxins in Belgian mayonnaise and chocolate, and this is in the middle of Nicosia and they are not doing much about it. The hospital is a rubbish-full establishment. It's a scandal and a shame and it should be stopped."

The Health Ministry could not be reached for comment yesterday.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[11] Shares go up and up

The latest hike took the week's gains to 3.10 per cent. Gains on the year by the small market now stand at a mouth-watering 76.45 per cent.

As has been the case in recent days, trading companies again vied with the banks, the market's traditional movers, for the largest share of trade.

The blue-chips of the banks, with a trade worth £2.67 million, edged the trading companies' £2.39 million for the top honours. But it was the trading sub-index which was by the far the day's biggest winner, going up by 4.06 per cent compared to the banks' dismal 0.38 per cent.

Woolworth of the Nicos Shacolas Group rose by 8.50 cents to close at £1.02, while CTC remained unchanged at £2.06. A combined two million shares from the two companies changed hands.

The Bank of Cyprus also remained unchanged at £6.82 and the Popular Bank rose slightly to close at £3.71. Hellenic Bank shot up by 20 cents to close at £4.60, accounting for an impressive 5.3 per cent of the day trade.

The industrial sector had a particularly good day, with printers Cassoulides & Sons rising by 13 cents to close at £1.53, beverages conglomerate KEO by 8.5 cents to close at £ 1.48, and Cyprus Cement notching up 12.50 cents to end the day pegged on £1.90. The sector sub- index closed 2.41 per cent up at 96.16.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[12] Three jailed for life for Limassol gangland murder

Limassol district court passed the sentence yesterday, putting 28-year-old Nicolas Nicolaou, Ierothios Christodoulou, 38, alias Ropas, and Ara Harutyunian, 29, behind bars.

The men were convicted of killing night club bouncer Marios Panayides.

The 30-year-old was gunned down at a Limassol petrol station on the night of September 16 last year.

He had been shot six times in the chest by the masked killers.

The murder is thought to have been part of Limassol underworld turf wars between gangs vying for the control of lucrative prostitution and drugs rackets.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[13] Ledra Palace rocks to the sound of The Stranglers

THE LEDRA Palace was rocking on Thursday night as punk rock icons The Stranglers blasted out a mix of hit sounds dating back to the mid seventies and some of their more recent songs to a small but appreciative audience of Unficyp soldiers.

The Nicosia concert was the third of four gigs in Cyprus organised by Combined Services Entertainment (CSE). The first two were held in Akrotiri on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the final performance took place at Dhekelia last night. The Stranglers left straight afterwards to fly to the Ukraine for Rockiev '99, where they will perform tonight.

Formed back in 1974, The Stranglers were arguably one of the least hyped of the many new wave bands which came into being in the punk era, but they are also probably the only group of that time to have survived intact into the nineties. Lead singer Hugh Cornwell left in 1990, but the void was admirably filled by the acrobatic Paul Roberts, whose impressive vocal range and lively antics on stage wowed the Cyprus audiences.

Still in their trademark black - Meninblack is an epithet which has stuck - founder members Jet Black on drums, JJ Burnell on bass and Dave Greenfield on keyboards, along with John Ellis on lead guitar, showed that, although they may now be veterans on the scene, The Stranglers have lost none of their energy or their ability to entertain.

Some of the squaddies jumping to the beat on Thursday were probably not born when The Stranglers' first big hit, Peaches, made the top ten in 1977, but as the music blasted out you wouldn't have known it. The band's rendition of the Kinks' 1964 hit 'All Day and All of the Night' (which charted for them in 1988) brought one of the biggest responses of the evening, as did 'Golden Brown' and their finale, 'No More Heroes'.

Two years ago The Stranglers packed the Royal Albert Hall in London for their 25th anniversary concert, and last year saw the release of their latest material on the CD Coup de Grace. A Greatest Hits compilation is also in the offing, due for release shortly, to coincide with their 22-date UK tour, which is scheduled to start in October.

As their website assures, fans can look forward to very many more, innovative, yearsinblack.

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Saturday, June 26, 1999

[14] Health Ministry casts doubt on Agros EU water claim

AGROS Natural Mineral Water thought its EU certification was on solid ground this week, but its competitor, Saint Nicholas still natural mineral water, and the Health Ministry both suggested Agros' claim to being EU- certified simply did not hold water.

The flap surfaced this week in Agros newspaper advertisements, declaring the water was "the first and the only Cyprus water to receive an official European Union approval to be named as Natural Mineral Water."

Agros' parent company, Carlsberg Breweries of Cyprus, proudly declared in the ad that Agros "has secured the highest distinction ever earned by a Cyprus water source."

This, the ad said, came only "after a series of strict laboratory tests, multiple studies and continuous observation of the source at Agros."

Such were those tests' results that the Committee on Natural Mineral Waters of the European Union based in Greece had "unanimously decided to approve Agros as Natural Mineral Water on June 6, 1999," the company's ad said.

Not so, a top Health Ministry official, who declined to be identified, told the Cyprus Mailyesterday.

The anonymous official said Akis Zambartas, managing director of Keo Beer and wines -- which bottles Saint Nicholas Water -- "received a certificate from the Minister of Health for the recognition of his table water. For the moment, all other applications are under consideration," including Agros'.

The point is crucial, since the official and Zambartas said EU certification required the signature of Health Minister Christos Solomis certifying the water in question had met the EU's stringent requirements.

A special technical committee of Cyprus officials, scientists and water experts must pass on a candidate water's quality before the company's application is sent to Solomis.

Once obtained, the Solomis-signed certification is then submitted to the health ministry of an EU member state -- in Cyprus' case, Greece -- for additional review and certification that the water indeed makes EU muster.

This Greek certification, in turn, is submitted to the European Union for official recognition and publication in EU journals.

Sophocles Anthousis, Health Service Director at the Ministry of Health, told Politisthis week that Agros, instead of getting Solomis' signature on its application, simply got the Limassol District's officer's signature.

He said Agros then submitted this application to the Greek Ministry of Health and Welfare for the preliminary certification and forwarding to EU headquarters.

So, if someone at the Greek Health Ministry gave Athens' imprimatur to Agros' application, they suggested to Politis, something may not have been completely kosher.

"No one, for the moment, was recognised through the Greek Ministry of Health," the anonymous Health Ministry official said, not even Saint Nicholas Water.

Zambartas does not dispute this. He simply insists Saint Nicholas Water has passed the first hurdle by obtaining Solomis' signature.

"Minister Solomis has assured us we are the only ones that he certificated, " Zambartas said. "We have, and we are the only one to have, the recognition of and the certificate of assurance of the Minister of Health of Cyprus, our relevant authority, that we comply (with EU criteria) and that our water is a natural mineral water," he said.

He said Keo received Solomis' nod on Monday, and on Tuesday sent the paperwork to Greece. If Greece approves, then the paperwork will be sent to the European Union. If it makes muster there, "the water is considered to have European Union recognition," he said.

Officials at Carlsberg declined to address the question of whether or not their application went through the proper Cyprus channels.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999

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