Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-11-03

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>

Friday, November 3, 2000

CONTENTS

[01] The Cyprus Anthem: A victim of history

[02] Neophytou condemns Stelmar 'blackmail'

[03] Day two and still talking

[04] Hotels struck by latest lows

[05] Bishop appears before his peers

[06] Minister hits back at hunters' call for resignation

[07] Abuse of maids is rife, support group says

[08] CSPCA fury out at killing of strays

[09] Nicosia water supply has doubled

[01] The Cyprus Anthem: A victim of history

According to veteran journalist George Lanitis, the only anthem Cyprus had at Independence was a military March, which was always played at the general salute. He said one of the military commanders just liked the piece and gave it to the band.

“They played it when Makarios went to India,” he said. “It went like this: bara rum bara rum bara rum rum rum.” After the intercommunal troubles in 1963-64, when the Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the constitution, the government decided to use the Greek national anthem, but details are vague as to when that was.

“The Archbishop (Makarios) said it may have sounded the same as the Greek national anthem but that it was Cypriot,” Lanitis said.

Political observer Sofronis Sofroniou said there had been an intention to compose a national anthem for Cyprus. “Makarios did ask someone but there was some delay,” he said. “And after the intercommunal troubles no one had the heart to do it and it was somehow left behind.”

He said the Greek anthem filled the gap simply because there nothing else. “They were thinking nationalistically as well, which was rather stupid at the time,” he said.

Christofis Economides, 92, founder of the Cyprus Import Corporation and author of several books, said he had addressed the issue of a Cyprus national anthem in a paper written in 1982. “Until 1966, when Makarios went on visits abroad, he asked that part of one of Beethoven's symphonies be played,” Economides said.

He said that in 1967 the House of Representatives passed a resolution to restore the Greek Cypriot aspiration of union with Greece, but to keep the Cyprus constitution. “From then, Makarios asked that the Greek national anthem be played,” he said.

Economides said that during the presidency of Spyros Kyprianou (1977-1989), the former DIKO leader paid an official visit to India and was asked why the Greek national anthem was played. “He replied that it happened to coincide with the national aim of Cyprus,” Economides said.

He said he believed that Cyprus - now just as then - had to prove it was a separate and independent state. “Therefore we have a duty to prove that we are not part of Greece. But one has to question the raising of this issue now, on the eve of negotiations,” he added referring to the Geneva talks.

Economides said that in the event of a federation, each side could use the anthems of its motherland, but that there would be one Cyprus state anthem. He said, however, that in response to his 1982 paper, Patroclos Stavrou, undersecretary to Makarios, had said the Greek national anthem was first used officially when Makarios visited Latin America in 1966. Stavrou was unavailable for comment yesterday.

[02] Neophytou condemns Stelmar 'blackmail'

Greek Cypriot shipping magnate Haji-Ioannou, who also owns British based budget airline easyJet and is one of the richest men in Britain, on Wednesday abandoned his hopes to list Stelmar in Cyprus, after the CSE held up his application by over a month.

Furious at the delays, Stelmar said it would be returning money put forward by investors and would de-list its 10 tankers currently registered with the Cyprus Department of Merchant Shipping (DMS). Stelmar said there was no place for its ships in a country that had such scant regard for the shipping industry.

Stelmar's retaliation was a slap in the face for the government and the DMS, from a businessman whose achievements have long been a source of national pride. “Whatever may be happening, one thing must be made clear to everyone, ” Neophytou responded yesterday. “The Cypriot state must not give in to blackmail. It is an issue of national self-respect and honour to resist any pressures, wherever they come from.”

“I've known Stelios since he was 14 and I want to make a personal appeal to him to reconsider,” DMS senior surveyor Andreas Constantinou told Reuters yesterday. “The statistical impact would be marginal, but this particular company and its ships are among the best part of our fleet as far as quality and safety are concerned,” he added.

Of the 1,700 ocean-going ships on the registry, the 10 Stelmar tankers are among the newest. The company's other two vessels are registered in Panama. Haji-Ioannou had said he wanted to list his company in his home country in order to contribute to the investment environment on the fledgling exchange.

Stelmar submitted an application to join the Cyprus Stock Exchange on April 5. After problems surfaced in September, a new deadline was set for the end of October. When it expired without further developments, Haji-Ioannou withdrew from the process.

The bourse was concerned that shipping companies were a high-risk venture and sought legal advice to determine whether specific prerequisites were needed to sign the company up.

The Central Bank was also concerned that Stelmar was too large a company for the small bourse and that a future withdrawal of money by foreign investors could have a devastating effect on the economy. The Central Bank yesterday stood by its opinion: "The capital resources that Cyprus possesses are finite and it is unwise to allow enterprises that are not closely connected with the economy of Cyprus to tap the resources," said Andreas Phillipou, a central bank senior manager.

"For the time being we are able to use the provisions of the exchange control law to monitor large outflows, but this legislation is gradually being phased out. It will not be there to protect us in future so we have to take that into account," said the Central Bank official.

Stelmar's lawyer in Cyprus, George Savvides has accused the CSE of discrimination and acting illegally.

[03] Day two and still talking

Speaking before his meeting with De Soto, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said he was in Geneva to talk but accused the Greek Cypriot side of wanting the whole of the island. "Naturally, we talk, this is why we are here,” he said.

"We are talking, that is a good sign, isn't it, to keep on talking." In response to questions in Turkish, Denktash said he did not know whether De Soto had invited map specialists to Geneva, but added: "Greek Cypriots want the whole of Cyprus."

After the meeting with De Soto, the Turkish Cypriot leader said the talks had been useful. President Glafcos Clerides described his meeting with De Soto as “interesting”, but made it clear the UN had put no new ideas forward.

"We had a quite interesting and in-depth discussion of various aspects of the Cyprus problem, in the context of the four chapters set out by the UN Secretary-General,” Clerides said. US Presidential Emissary for Cyprus Alfred Moses, who is in Geneva on the sidelines of the talks along with other foreign envoys, said yesterday the progress being made at the talks was not as great as expected.

But he said he was always optimistic. Moses, together with US State Department Special Co-ordinator for Cyprus Thomas Weston and US Ambassador to Nicosia Donald Bandler, met Clerides earlier yesterday.

The meeting, at Clerides' hotel, lasted 45 minutes. The US officials said they would also meet Denktash. Moses citied the UN-imposed blackout on the talks, but expressed his optimism. "So far we have not made as much progress as we had hoped, but we are continuing."

Moses also refrained from commenting on statements by Denktash yesterday, criticising De Soto for his views on the EU's contribution to efforts for a Cyprus settlement. "I do not respond to day-to-day comments by one side or the other," he said. "You can interpret these as you wish but I do not attach great importance to them."

The fifth round of talks opened in Geneva on Wednesday and will continue until November 10.

[04] Hotels struck by latest lows

Trading opened down at 289 points but managed to pull itself over Wednesday’s 291-point close before sliding back to end at 290.35 points. Volume has slipped dramatically to only £10.6 million compared to the previous day’s low of some £14 million giving rise to hopes that investors will continue to sit tight and not dump any more stocks.

The hotels sector bore the brunt of yesterday’s losses, dropping 2.27 per cent with trading companies coming in second, down 2.19 per cent. The winning sector was tourism with gains of 1.4 per cent, followed by insurance, up 1.28 per cent.

For the first time the banking sector gained slightly but nowhere near a point where it could recover the major losses sustained in the past two months. Bank of Cyprus (BoC) added five cents to close at £5.29 but Laiki slipped again, shaving off one cent to finish at £6.81.

Stocks in the two banks were the most actively traded of the day accounting for some £2 million of total volume. Heavy trading in newcomer Tsokkos Hotels stocks saw the share shed two cents on its second day of trading with over 2.2 million shares changing hands.

GlobalSoft’s long-standing winning streak was interrupted yesterday by a six cents loss which saw the share slip six cents to close at £5.99. Also in the IT sector Logicom sustained a serious blow dropping 18 cents to end at £4.45.

Analysts said despite the losses the market appeared to be stabilising, taking into account the low volumes and the decreasing daily percentage drops in the index. “No one is prepared to sell at these humiliating prices, ” said one broker.

“But the low volume is a step in the right direction for the market Anxiety over the BoC Athens listing, due next week, is still a hurdle which has to be overcome since the Greek flotation could go either way. A negative debut will only add to investors’ woes and dash their hopes of a turnaround.

“There is still a lack of confidence. Investors are afraid of what is going to happen next week on the Greek market,” the broker said.

[05] Bishop appears before his peers

The embattled Bishop - who denies the lurid claims - was presented with a list of accusations based on the testimonies of six persons who appeared before an earlier Church investigation.

Five of these witnesses are being charged by police with conspiring to defame the Limassol Bishop. The three-Bishop committee of inquiry -- meeting at the Archbishopric in Nicosia - gave Athanasios a few days in which to prepare his reply to the allegations.

The claims have been rocking the Church and grabbing headlines for months now. Reporters' determination to get as close as possible to the action led to minor scuffles with police and guards outside the Archbishopric yesterday morning.

The guards refused to let the television crews into the grounds of the Archbishopric to await the emergence of the inquisitors. When the reporters persisted, the guards called police, who in turn called in the rapid reaction squad (MMAD) to diffuse the situation.

Things only calmed down when Archbishop Chrysostomos sent word that the television crews were to be allowed to take up their customary post within the grounds. Coming out of the session at around 1pm, two of the Bishops making up the inquiry committee gave different versions of how long Athanassios had to prepare his reply.

Bishop Neophytos of Morphou said his Limassol colleague had “till the beginning of next week”, while Bishop Pavlos of Kyrenia said Athanassios had “two days” in which to respond. Neophytos suggested the Holy Synod ought to convene to consider the inquiry's verdict on the Athanassios claims.

Archbishop Chrysostomos has got his Bishops' backs up by announcing he will convene a Major Holy Synod to consider the homosexuality claims. Chrysostomos is a keen Athanassios supporter and is confident a Major Synod - including leaders from the wider Orthodox Church - would exonerate the Limassol Bishop.

But most local Bishops feel their superior is going above their heads on the issue. The man spearheading the campaign against Athanassios is Archimandrite Andreas Constantinides. Yesterday, police charged Constantinides and fellow archimandrite Chrysostomos Argyrides with conspiring to defame Athanassios.

Constantinides claimed the written charges - brought after a police investigation into claims that witnesses were bribed to testify against Athanassios before a Chruch probe - were the work of the Limassol Bishop and his supporters.

“Athanassios is behind all this; he has the ways; they use methods that allow them to always have an alibi, to always come out on top. They accuse us of what they are doing themselves,” Constantinides said, denying there was a conspiracy to oust Athanassios.

“The truth will soon shine,” he added. Both Constantinides and Argyrides have been suspended from their church duties because of their claims against Athanassios. The other three men facing conspiracy charges are laymen who spoke out against Athanassios earlier this year.

Two of them later withdrew their testimonies, claiming they had been bribed to speak against the Limassol Bishop. Athanassios' many supporters claim the Bishop is the victim of a plot to knock him off his perch as favourite to succeed the Archbishop.

[06] Minister hits back at hunters' call for resignation

RESIGNATION demands from the powerful hunting lobby yesterday prompted Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous to issue a seven-page reply to the hunters' claims that he was refusing to consult with them.

On Wednesday, the Cyprus Hunting Association complained before the House Agriculture Committee that Themistocleous was refusing to let them in on EU harmonisation discussions concerning hunting issues.

“The Minister refuses to see us. He will not even tell us what the criteria are for us to take part in the negotiations. He tells us he will call us when he deems it necessary,” Association chairman Tasos Lordos told the committee. “Fifty thousand hunters demand the Minister's resignation,”

Lordos added, showing off the full strength of the hunting lobby. Themistocelous had not been present at the committee, but he wasted no time in responding to Lordos' attack yesterday. He issued a two-page statement in which he flatly denied refusing to talk to the hunters and detailed all the meetings he had had with them since December 1998.

Themistocleous pinned official press releases about his meetings with the hunters to his statement in order to prove his point. 'I challenge the hunters' leadership to state when they ever asked for a meeting with me and were refused,” Themistocleous stated. “Nothing of the sort ever happened,” he added.

[07] Abuse of maids is rife, support group says

He was speaking after a press report that police had dismissed a maid claiming to have been harassed by her employer. She was allegedly told to put up with the abuse or go home.

According to Doros Polycarpou, the extent of what goes on is far worse than the isolated incidents that make it into print. “I believe this happens all the time. The problem is that some people are stuck in the past. They think they own this girl, like they own their car, their house or their television, that they are an object,” he said. “They are raped many times. Or else the girl agrees, but doesn't like it.

Sometimes an employer will hear that someone else is having a relationship with his maid, so he'll keep up the pressure on her until she gives in,” he added.

Polycarpou said the law was not strong enough to deter such abuse, or shake people out of inherited attitudes. “They see ways to take advantage of this situation,” he said. The Labour Office yesterday confirmed that complaints about employers were common among the 10,000 housemaids working in Cyprus.

A representative for the Migration Department also said maids were often taken advantage of. Senior Labour Officer Alecos Economides told the Cyprus Mail he was dealing with 50 cases. He has two other colleagues who also examine disputes.

Most of the problems arise over working hours, food or leave. Maids are contracted to work 44 hours a week, with one day off a week. Polycarpou said it was common for them to work from 6am to 10pm, something he termed “disgusting”.

Although Economides said complaints of sexual abuse were very rare, Polycarpou retorted most women kept their mouths shut, desperate to fulfil the terms of their contract and take the money they had saved home to their relatives.

If the Migration Department Economides cannot broker a solution and the girl is deemed in the wrong, she will be deported. If officials find in her favour, she will be found another position.

“I had one girl who complained after her four years were up that she didn't get her leave or her last three salaries. I've recommended that she be allowed to stay in Cyprus long enough to get her money through the courts,” Economides said.

[08] CSPCA fury out at killing of strays

On Wednesday, a joint meeting of the House Interior and Agricultural Committees heard that local authorities in Nicosia had put down nearly 700 dogs and 400 cats in the past four months. The committees were meeting to discuss an Interior Ministry proposal to revise the law for the protection of animals and cut down the number of stray cats and dogs.

The plan, backed by the Animal Welfare Authority, aims to provide a legal framework for the practice of killing stray or dangerous animals, which has been carried out for years by the authorities. But CSPCA president Toulla Poyadji said yesterday the Interior Ministry plan was in contravention of EU regulations adopted by Cyprus in 1993 forbidding the injuring, frightening or causing of pain to animals, and providing that the only ones licensed to put down animals were vets.

“The country should do its best to implement that law, instead of trying to legalise the unspeakable, cruel practice of killing, sometimes shooting, animals in cold blood, many times even without them being stray. I have already written to the President and to the Animal Welfare Authority making it clear to them that I will press charges against them in Courts outside Cyprus and I am prepared to go as far as the International Court of Human Rights,” said Poyadji, who was present at Wednesday's committee meeting. “I know of a case where two poodles were shot dead by a Limassol Municipality employee.

These people just want to kill animals. If there has been a complaint that a stray cat or a dog is hanging around in a neighbourhood, the authorities have the right to kill it. It's disgusting and obnoxious. We have received innumerable complains about dogs which have been injured by the authorities and have bled for several days before they died.”

“Is this the job of the Animals Welfare Authority? Running around killings animals?” Poyadji accused the joint committee President, AKEL deputy Christodoulos Veniamin, of covering up for the Welfare Authority. “DIKO deputy Stathis Kittis asked the Authority's Andreas Clitos about the proposal not being into line with EU regulations and Veniamin said: 'Do not expect an answer now, we will look into the matter another time.'

Several deputies questioned the plan but Veniamin seemed to take the Authority's side.” Poyadji said she had information that the House was in favour of the plan so it would probably pass through Parliament.

Officials argue that many owners abandon their pets or their pets' offspring, increasing the number of stray cats and dogs, and forcing the authorities to put some of them down. The Interior Ministry says it is not prepared to provide special places to keep and take care of stray dogs and cats.

The proposed scheme also aims to toughen regulations on pet treatment by punishing abuse. The CSPCA wants the creation of an archive to prevent owners from abandoning their animals. At the moment, there are about 100, 000 dogs and 80,000 cats on the island. It is expected that a government programme to neuter stray cats and dogs will cost the state £15,000.

[09] Nicosia water supply has doubled

WATER supply in Nicosia has almost doubled since the summer, but restrictions will remain in force until at least December, the Nicosia Water Board told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

Recent rain has enabled the authority to relax summer-time restrictions, which only pumped water to homes three days a week. Technical manager, Panayiotis Theodorides, was reluctant to pin down specific hours of supply, which he said now varied slightly from day to day.

“But supply has almost doubled now, because lower temperatures have lowered demand,” he told the Cyprus Mail. The new Larnaca desalination unit is due to be completed by December 16, providing an extra 52,000 tonnes a day.

Although the director of Water Development Christos Markoulis has admitted that delays could push that date forward, Nicosia water restrictions are to be reviewed at the end of the year.

The Director of the Nicosia Water Board, Charalambos Palantzis, told the Cyprus Mail the cuts had every chance of being lifted in December. “The Nicosia water problem will then be solved,” he said.

He added that only if the torrential rains that swept across northern Europe this week moved down to Cyprus would there be a quicker end to the restrictions. Plans to build another desalination plant at Moni have been shelved because of escalating cost, in the hope that rains would be more forthcoming this winter.

Cyprus Mail 2000

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