Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-02-15

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

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

CONTENTS

[01] New cuts loom as water crisis bites

[02] Petrol prices set to rise to offset spiralling fuel costs

[03] Confidence building measures in limbo

[04] Party leaders meet at the Ledra Palace

[05] Doctors say Kyprianou operation a success

[06] State doctors on indefinite overtime ban

[07] State doctors on indefinite overtime ban

[08] Greenpeace says government lies to EU about Akamas

[09] Burglary hearing postponed as police chief hits back at judge

[01] New cuts loom as water crisis bites

RESERVOIR water is to be cut off from farms between Limassol and Famagusta, while cities face harsher rationing as failing winter rains have left dam levels at about half of where they were last year, government officials said yesterday.

Water Development Department Chief Engineer Nicos Tsiourtis told the Cyprus Mail that Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous had yesterday warned representatives of the four agricultural unions that, unless dam levels rose radically, "there will be no water supplied from dams for irrigation in the area from Limassol to Famagusta."

"The farmers in Limassol will get some recycled water, plus the water from the aquifers. In other areas along the coast, they can use water from bore- holes, if there is enough water, to grow their crops or sustain their permanent crops," Tsiourtis said.

Tsiourtis said the planned 100 per cent cuts to farms from Limassol to Famagusta would mark "the first time in the history of our dams, in 50 years, not to deliver water for irrigation in the Southern Conveyor Project area."

Cities served by the Southern Conveyor - from Kouris Dam to Nicosia - can expect water rationing this summer even harsher than the cutbacks currently in force, Tsiourtis warned.

"We are discussing (new urban cutback percentages) for the moment," he said. Current rationing, allowing cities to pump water several hours a day three days a week, "will continue for a few more days. Then we have to decide on the new rationing," he said.

"Yes," Tsiourtis said, it means "worse (rationing) than at present." By next week, he added, the new rationing regime would be announced.

Noting winter rains were only 46 per cent of normal, Tsiourtis said dam levels were "still very low." Yesterday they held only 31.5 million cubic metres, or about 11.5 per cent of capacity, he said, where last year they held 51.4 million cubic metres - "one and a half time more" or 18.8 per cent of capacity.

President Glafcos Clerides had yesterday still not decided what he would do to remove obstacles to two proposed desalination plants on the island, said Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou, insisting however that the President would act.

"Definitely the president will step in. As far as I know, he didn't make any moves as yet. I think the first step is to discuss the matter (tomorrow) in the Cabinet," Papapetrou said.

But Papapetrou added that Clerides was determined not to let the island's drought win.

Tsiourtis said that if the House of Representatives had not voted in late January to deny the Water Development Department (WDD) the money to build desalination plant at Zakaki, "we would have been much better off. We would have had more water in Limassol, at least."

But the vote meant there was no chance to build the Zakaki plant in time to avert the emergency water cuts, he added. "If we had any chance to start by, say, March, it would be ready by August," he said.

Stunned by the prospect of no dam water for crops, the farmers union asked Themistocleous if he would "proceed with new plans for desalination for use in irrigation, based on the low price obtained for the Zakaki desalination plant."

"He will consider it. That was the Minister's reaction. He has to study it in detail," Tsiourtis said.

The winning bidder for the Zakaki plant had pledged to charge no more than 33.6 cents per cubic metre to produce up to 20,000 cubic metres of desalted water per day.

This compares with 54 cents per cubic metres the government pays the Dhekelia desalination plant, the island's only desalination salting unit, to produce up to 40,000 cubic metres of water daily, which goes to cities along the Southern Conveyor pipeline.

Deputies voting down the Zakaki plant said they wanted the facility moved to another site that would not lower property values and threaten tourist beach areas the way they said the Zakaki project threatened to.

The Zakaki plant would have required a £612,000 power substation, and six- to-seven months and £630,000 to build a 4.9-kilometre pipeline to hook up to the Southern Conveyor pipeline.

Alternative sites would have cost more and taken more time, according to government figures leaked to the Cyprus Mail.

One proposed site, in Episkopi, would require a £416,000 power substation and 18 months and £1.5 million to build an 18-kilometre pipeline to the Southern Conveyor.

Another proposed site at Moni would require an even more expensive power substation (actual cost unknown), and two years and £3 million to build a 16-22-kilometre pipeline to hook to the Southern Conveyor.

Turning off the reservoir taps to agriculture and encouraging them to rely on bore-holes could cause problems of its own.

Overpumping has left some aquifers bone dry and seawater infiltration has made others along the coasts useless. The remaining aquifers are dangerously low for lack of annual recharge from failing winter rains.

Besides the now-dead Zakaki plant, a desalination plant under construction in Larnaca is besieged by lawsuits by the city's mayor, who threatens to close it down. Plans for another desalting plant, set for Ayios Theodoros, were buried by public opposition.

With Cyprus expecting over 2 million tourists this year, Tsiourtis warned: "We are in worse shape (this year than last), much, much worse. Last year we were talking about water cuts of 20 per cent," he said, declining to finish his sentence.

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

[02] Petrol prices set to rise to offset spiralling fuel costs

THE COUNCIL of Ministers will tomorrow tackle how to reduce the huge $250 million annual burden on the Cyprus economy caused by the near-tripling of oil prices over the last year, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said yesterday.

"This will be brought before the Council of Ministers because of the magnitude of the subject, which concerns... everybody and everything: all households, industry, tourism, agriculture, trade, construction, transport. You name it," Rolandis said.

Where oil cost $10 a barrel last year, "the going Brent price now is $27 dollars a barrel," he said. This means "an extra burden on the Republic of Cyprus in the region of $250 million per year - or say £140 million," he said.

When oil was cheap, pump prices remained high. The government netted a windfall, part of which was returned to consumers in lower electrical bills, and part of which went to the Defence fund.

But while pump petrol prices would have to be raised, Rolandis said - he declined to say to what levels – neither petrol nor other price rises would absorb the huge outflow of foreign capital required to pay for the more expensive oil, and the Cabinet would have to see how to "absorb this extra amount."

Rolandis acknowledged that, as oil prices rise, electricity bills rise. And as they do, CyBC, the state broadcasting service, is reaping a windfall in profits, since a proportion of each electricity bill goes to fund CyBC.

"I have never agreed with that personally, but that has been in the law since the '60s because there is no other way for the CyBC to create an income," Rolandis said. "This is one of our concerns, actually. I shall look at that," he said.

As to what levels petrol prices might rise to, Rolandis said he could not say. "We shall make our proposals (in Cabinet)," he said, but "I do not know how the House will react... They have to be approved by the House as well."

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

[03] Confidence building measures in limbo

CONFIDENCE building measures between the two communities on the island are on hold, if statements by Government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou are anything to go by.

"There is nothing pending at the moment, and there isn't any movement in this direction either. That is all I have to say about confidence building measures," Papapetrou told his daily press briefing yesterday.

After the start of UN-led proximity settlement talks in December, the two sides agreed to renovation work on the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque in Larnaca and the Apostolos Andreas monastery in the north. But the government would now appear to have gone cold on the idea of such confidence building measures.

Observers suggest the government could be retaliating for Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash tabling his long-standing demand for recognition of his breakaway regime at the second round of proximity talks, which ended in Geneva last week.

Papapetrou appeared reticent on the issue yesterday, sticking to repeating the government position that confidence building measures were welcome provided they did not imply recognition of the Denktash regime and were not a substitute for settlement talks.

British High Commissioner Edward Clay backed this position yesterday. "The UN process is a quite separate and self-sustained process and whatever else is done is outside it," Clay said when asked to comment on the relation between confidence building measures and the talks.

Clay declined to comment directly on Denktash's chances of gaining recognition. "The UN process is ongoing and what will come out of it is what Cypriots themselves will be comfortable with," he said.

The High Commissioner, speaking after a morning meeting with President Clerides, also said two British officials were to visit Cyprus before the third round of proximity talks, set to start on May 23 in New York.

The Head of the South European Department at the Foreign Office, Jeremy Hill, will be on the island from February 27 to March 2. Britain's envoy for Cyprus, Sir David Hannay, will be here on March 13 and 14.

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

[04] Party leaders meet at the Ledra Palace

A joint statement issued after the meeting, which was held under the auspices of the Slovakian Embassy, said the participants had "expressed views on the course of developments in the Cyprus problem."

The statement said the Greek and Turkish Cypriot political parties had "welcomed the resumption of the meetings and expressed their readiness for the continuation of these meetings."

The statement said that the next gathering would take place in May 8 this year.

Slovak Ambassador Dusan Rozbora acted as co-ordinator for the meeting, which was attended by Disy deputy Kate Clerides, Akel Secretary-general Demetris Christofias, Edek president Vassos Lyssarides and deputy Doros Theodorou, United Democrats president George Vassiliou and representative Andreas Ladas.

The Turkish Cypriot parties were represented by the Democratic Party's Serdar Denktash, the Republican Turkish Party's Mehmet Ali Talat, the Communal Liberation Party's Mustafa Akinci and the Patriotic Unity Movement's Alpay Durduran.

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

[05] Doctors say Kyprianou operation a success

"The operation went well. There were no complications during the procedure. His present condition is good and he is breathing on his own," consultant Rex Stambridge told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

Kyprianou was rushed to London on Friday after sutures put in his sternum following open-heart surgery in Ohio last month came loose during a coughing fit.

The 68-year-old former President went under the knife on Saturday afternoon.

"The operation took some time because of special difficulties encountered soon after the previous operation and due to the special techniques used," Dr Stambridge said.

"His original operation in the US was very successful from the heart point of view but unfortunately owing to several complex medical conditions predisposing to poor healing his sternum bone separated," the consultant explained.

Kyprianou is expected to remain at St. Mary's hospital for another two weeks, and may remain in London longer. "He will go back to Cyprus when he feels confident that everything is good," Stambridge said.

Kyprianou was yesterday expected to move from the London hospital's high dependency unit into his own hospital room.

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

[06] State doctors on indefinite overtime ban

GOVERNMENT doctors yesterday began an indefinite overtime ban, but assured the public their action would not endanger any lives.

The president of the Government Doctors' Union (Pasiky), Dr Stavros Stavrou, said his members would work overtime in "life or death" emergency cases.

Explaining his members’ action, Stavrou said yesterday that: "We will not offer overtime cover from now on. We said the system did not function properly a long time ago. It is generally accepted that the system was open to abuse and in some cases to stealing from public funds, but mostly it has led to government doctors being taken advantage of."

Stavrou said emergency room staff would notify specialists if they were needed and that the doctors would respond immediately.

The doctors decided The overtime ban was decided after a House Watchdog Committee meeting last month, where a report by Auditor-general Chrystalla Yiorkatzi claimed that at one hospital at least, two specific operations were only carried out at weekends and on holidays, when the surgeons were paid overtime. The allegation prompted Committee members to accuse government doctors of abusing the system, infuriating the doctors and sparking an immediate three-hour protest strike.

That strike was cut short following the Health Minister’s assurances that he did not agree with the Committee’s comments.

Minister Frixos Savvides also put forward a proposal for an on-call system to be introduced at state hospitals, with doctors sleeping at hospital halls of residence and being paid per procedure performed during irregular hours.

The green light for yesterday’s action came after a final proposal on the on-call system had failed to materialise.

Doctors and Health Ministry agree on the principles of the system, but the doctors' fees have yet to be decided by the Finance Ministry.

Senior Health Ministry official Androulla Agrotou said yesterday that patients involved in serious cases that were not life threatening but required specialist consultation, would be sent to a private specialist at state expense.

"On cases that are judged not to be urgent but requiring some expert opinion, for example from a surgeon, pathologist, or urologist, special arrangements have been made for emergency room doctors to send them to the private sector."

The patients would be given a special form by emergency room doctors, which they could then use to receive treatment from a private specialist of their choice.

Agrotou said Pancyprian Doctors Association president Dr Antonis Vassiliou had been informed about the measure and would be briefing private sector doctors.

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

[07] State doctors on indefinite overtime ban

GOVERNMENT doctors yesterday began an indefinite overtime ban, but assured the public their action would not endanger any lives.

The president of the Government Doctors' Union (Pasiky), Dr Stavros Stavrou, said his members would work overtime in "life or death" emergency cases.

Explaining his members’ action, Stavrou said yesterday that: "We will not offer overtime cover from now on. We said the system did not function properly a long time ago. It is generally accepted that the system was open to abuse and in some cases to stealing from public funds, but mostly it has led to government doctors being taken advantage of."

Stavrou said emergency room staff would notify specialists if they were needed and that the doctors would respond immediately.

The doctors decided The overtime ban was decided after a House Watchdog Committee meeting last month, where a report by Auditor-general Chrystalla Yiorkatzi claimed that at one hospital at least, two specific operations were only carried out at weekends and on holidays, when the surgeons were paid overtime. The allegation prompted Committee members to accuse government doctors of abusing the system, infuriating the doctors and sparking an immediate three-hour protest strike.

That strike was cut short following the Health Minister’s assurances that he did not agree with the Committee’s comments.

Minister Frixos Savvides also put forward a proposal for an on-call system to be introduced at state hospitals, with doctors sleeping at hospital halls of residence and being paid per procedure performed during irregular hours.

The green light for yesterday’s action came after a final proposal on the on-call system had failed to materialise.

Doctors and Health Ministry agree on the principles of the system, but the doctors' fees have yet to be decided by the Finance Ministry.

Senior Health Ministry official Androulla Agrotou said yesterday that patients involved in serious cases that were not life threatening but required specialist consultation, would be sent to a private specialist at state expense.

"On cases that are judged not to be urgent but requiring some expert opinion, for example from a surgeon, pathologist, or urologist, special arrangements have been made for emergency room doctors to send them to the private sector."

The patients would be given a special form by emergency room doctors, which they could then use to receive treatment from a private specialist of their choice.

Agrotou said Pancyprian Doctors Association president Dr Antonis Vassiliou had been informed about the measure and would be briefing private sector doctors.

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

[08] Greenpeace says government lies to EU about Akamas

GREENPEACE yesterday charged the government with lying to the EU over the protection of the Akamas.

"The Cypriot authorities have informed the European Commission that the Cyprus legislation is in place which will safeguard the protection of the Akamas peninsula," the spokeswoman for Greenpeace in Cyprus, Irini Constantinou, said yesterday.

"The Commission was also told that no new hotels have been built on the Akamas recently," she said.

The international pressure group said these government claims were false. Greenpeace said the government was stalling over implementation of National Park plans and, meanwhile, the family firm of former Foreign Minister Alecos Michaelides had secured cabinet relaxations to allow construction of the massive Anassa hotel on the Akamas coast. A relative of the current Justice Minister, Nicos Koshis, had since been granted permission to build another hotel in the pristine area, Greenpeace claimed.

"The government is obviously intending to mislead the EU on the scandalous affairs going on in the Akamas, where ministerial favourites are exploiting the Akamas for their own profit through the creation of new hotels," Constantinou said.

The "misinformation" had been supplied to the Commission in response to questions put to the body by a Euro MP, Greenpeace stated.

Greenpeace has recently taken its decade-long campaign to protect the Akamas to the EU, hoping that pressure from Europe will convince Cyprus to declare the area a National Park.

The House of Representatives approved an Akamas National Park plan in 1998, but the plan has since been stuck in a ministerial committee.

The government line is that a park formula must be found to satisfy local residents, who want tourism development. Greenpeace and other green groups claim the state is pandering to big landed interests, who want to build hotels on the Akamas.

Environmentalists are keen to preserve the peninsula's scrub forests, gorges and sandy beaches - nesting sites for endangered green and loggerhead turtles.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 2000

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

[09] Burglary hearing postponed as police chief hits back at judge

The two suspects, aged 19 and 20, were on Saturday remanded in custody for two days.

On Sunday, Police Chief Andreas Angelides hit back at Judge Tereza Karakanna, who had criticised police for the publicity given to the arrests, and warned officials to be cautious of what they said.

Angelides replied that he knew his job well, and called upon those "who had just got their positions" to be careful. Judge Karakanna is a recent appointee.

"We know how to do our jobs," Angelides said.

"Our long experience in the law services allow us to decide how to act and what steps to take," he added.

Announcing the arrests on Friday night, Angelides said the two suspects had confessed to carrying out the heist, and suggested the case was more or less solved.

During the first remand hearing on Saturday, the defence objected to a police request for an eight-day remand, saying the chief's statement that the case had been solved was prejudicial to a fair trial.

The judge then said two days would be enough for police to prepare the prosecution case since police felt it had already been "solved".

Friday's raid took place at the Larnaca Avenue branch of the Bank of Cyprus in Aglandja in Nicosia, with the robbers getting away with around £17,000.

Two hooded men entered the bank at 10.55am and threatened staff and customers with a shotgun.

Police said the two fled the scene in a stolen Mitsubishi Colt they later dumped in the greater Aglandja area.

But the suspects were spotted switching getaway cars by witnesses, who told police that they had seen two men fitting the suspects' descriptions getting out of a Mitsubishi and fleeing in a silver BMW, which police traced to one of the suspects.

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