Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-11-18

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

CONTENTS

[01] Paphos Bishop refuses to meet Athanassios

[02] &pound;270 million to upgrade oil sector

[03] Price cuts in bid to beat inflation

[04] Primary school teachers threaten action over pay

[05] Girl aged four killed

[06] Market to close for three days for IMC move

[07] Former top judge to head CSE probe

[08] Minister to recommend closure of Ergates foundry

[09] Man jailed for fatal army accident

[10] Feissel in Cyprus to help on bicommunal project

[11] Pupils commemorate Athens uprising

[12] Government plans immigration crackdown

[13] Romanian to face murder charge

[01] Paphos Bishop refuses to meet Athanassios

The Major Synod on Thursday night unanimously cleared Bishop Athanassios of Limassol. The Bishop consistently denied the charges levelled against him, claiming they were part of a plot to destroy him. But yesterday Athanassios' prime detractor, Bishop Chrysostomos of Paphos refused to meet him face to face, showing signs the crisis could drag on. Bishop Chrysostomos is thought to be behind the moves against Athanassios, seen as a likely successor to Archbishop Chrysostomos.

On Thursday, after announcing it had cleared Athanassios, the Major Synod said it would invite the Bishop of Paphos to the Archbishopric to meet Athanassios in an effort to restore peace in the Church.

Yesterday, Chrysostomos duly showed up at the Archbishopric in Nicosia, but refused to meet Athanassios. He brushed aside waiting reporters and refused to make any comment on the outcome of the case.

Representatives of the Major Synod said later the Bishop of Paphos had accepted the verdict. Bishop Chrysostomos in August said he would be the first to apologise to Athanassios if he were acquitted, but yesterday there was no sign that he was ready to bury the hatchet.

Despite the ongoing row, the Major Synod has made it clear that it did not intend to delve into the conspiracy allegations.

Reports yesterday said the visiting members of the Major Synod had washed their hands of the conspiracy charges, stressing the Church of Cyprus should deal with the case alone.

But even if the Synod refuses to look into the conspiracy charges, the Attorney-general yesterday insisted the case would be pursued by the state. Five people have been charged with conspiracy to defame the Bishop of Limassol, including two Limassol Archimandrites.

One of the two, Archimandrite Andreas Constantinides, yesterday refused to accept the Major Synod's decision, saying it would go down in Church history in black letters.

"The decision officially legitimised homosexuality in the Church," a bitter Constantinides said.

He continued his attack on the Major Synod, claiming money had muzzled the truth.

"Everyone knows what happened backstage," he added.

Replying to a question, Constantinides said he would only meet Athanassios when they both died and went to the other life.

Athanassios supporters welcomed the verdict with scenes of jubilation in Limassol on Thursday night, with church bells ringing and hundreds of people and clergy gathering to welcome their bishop home. It was only the second time a Major Synod had convened in Cyprus since the foundation of the Church 2,000 years ago.

The last time was in 1973, when three local bishops were defrocked for conspiring against the late Archbishop Makarios.

[02] &pound;270 million to upgrade oil sector

EU HARMONISATION considerations, the oil crisis and the Cyprus economy's dependence on imported petroleum have prompted the Ministry of Commerce to initiate a &pound;270 million programme aimed at "modernising" the oil sector.

At a news conference held yesterday, Minister Nicos Rolandis announced the results of a European Commission study entitled 'EU harmonisation of the Cypriot oil sector'. The study is part of the EU's SYNERGY program. Rolandis said the purpose of the news conference was to "initiate official dialogue on the issue, and we hope that in time this will lead to the creation of a strategy for the Cypriot oil sector."

He went on to say that the energy sector was one of the most difficult issues in EU harmonisation, adding that the problem was compounded by the fact Cyprus depended on oil supplies from abroad and alternative energy sources. He said the ministry's project to upgrade refineries to meet EU standards and ensure oil reserves lasting 90 days would amount to around &pound;270 million, some of which would have to be shouldered by the taxpayer. He added that the EU standards should be met in two to three years. Rolandis further said that the energy sector needed to be modernised and decentralised, so that it could compete in a free market environment.

"We view this harmonisation of Cyprus' energy sector with the acquis communautaire as a challenge to resolve our domestic energy problems," said Rolandis The ministry's plans may be further complicated by the fact that the planned construction of tank farms will be located at the current site of the idle Vassilikos chemical plant that has been the subject of controversy between the government and the Larnaca municipality. The local authorities want assurances that the new oil tanks will not cause pollution to the environment.

[03] Price cuts in bid to beat inflation

Finance Minister Takis Klerides has announced a set of measures for reducing inflation, up to 4.2 per cent this year compared to 1.5 per cent in 1999. According to the EU's Maastricht criteria, a country's inflation must not exceed three per cent for it to be eligible to join the Euro zone, something Cyprus is hoping to achieve once it joins the EU.

The price of wheat will decrease by &pound;20 per tonne, bringing down the price of derivative products such as flour, bread and pasta.

The Nicosia District Officer of Farmer's Union EKA, Costas Antoniades, said yesterday the union would oppose the plan if it meant any reduction in farmers' income.

"But we have not addressed the matter yet. We do not know what the plan provides for exactly." But there is some good news for everyone.

Farmers will no longer have to pay an amount equal to five per cent of their income to Municipalities to sell their goods at municipal markets.

That will automatically reduce the price of fruits and vegetables, the minister said.

"We have been wanting this to happen for years," said Antoniades.

Klerides said: "We are concerned about high inflation and reducing it is one of our top priorities. We want to reduce it and be able to keep it down."

The government is discussing more measures to cut down inflation and will announce them by the end of the year.

[04] Primary school teachers threaten action over pay

THE ELEMENTARY school teachers union POED has announced a string of measures to protest against what it has described as "unequal treatment" at the hands of the government.

It plans to suspend all-day schools, terminate all extracurricular activities and to go on strike on November 28. The measures will take effect on Monday, with POED holding a news conference to officially announce the steps to be taken.

POED is claiming that the government has adopted double standards for wage bracket rises, arguing that elementary school teachers have the same teaching qualifications as high school teachers.

A source at POED said yesterday that high school teachers were regularly granted pay rises, while its members were denied a "long-standing demand, despite the fact that this issue had supposedly been resolved a long time ago."

The union has further decided to suspend "all relations" with the Ministry of Education.

According to the source, Education Minister Ouranios Ioannides yesterday contacted POED by phone, but made no concessions, only offering to "discuss" some of the union's demands. Ioannides has been accused of taking sides on the issue. The POED source said that the measures would be applied "indefinitely, unless there is a change in the government's stance." He added that the November 28 strike would be followed by a teachers' gathering and a march to the Presidential Palace.

[05] Girl aged four killed

A GIRL aged four died in an accident involving a double-cabin vehicle in Paphos yesterday.

Neophyta Teresa Protopapas was reported to be crossing Xenofontos Street after she left her house at about 3.45pm when the accident happened. The driver of the car was Andreas Constantinou, 40, a Cyprus Airways employee from Paphos.

Neophyta was taken to hospital where she was declared dead. Constantinou who suffered shock was admitted to hospital but was later released. Police said that an alcohol test on the driver was negative. An autopsy on the girl's body was being carried out today. Paphos police are investigating.

[06] Market to close for three days for IMC move

Removal vans were out in force yesterday afternoon at the Grivas Dhigenis Avenue offices. All the equipment was loaded up and was due to arrive at the IMC site at about 3pm.

The CSE has decided to shut down trading from Monday to Wednesday in order to get things in order. "The temporary postponement is unavoidable for the technical reasons related to the move, which involves carrying out a string of specialised work procedures relating to the new servers and computer desktops," the Board of the Exchange noted yesterday.

Technicians are to lay down an entire new cable network, and install and check new phone lines. All the computer terminals, data vendors and internal systems will be given the once over to make sure everything is ship-shape before the CSE gets to work again.

"The CSE is making every effort to carry out the required work within the allotted timeframe so that it can resume operation and undertake transactions normally on November 23 at the IMC Building," a CSE announcement said.

But the president of the Brokers' Association, Christodoulos Ellinas, yesterday criticised the Stock Exchange authorities. He said they were guilty of giving brokers insufficient warning about this afternoon's move. He said their behaviour was indicative of the scant respect the CSE held for them. Finance Minister Takis Klerides gave his final permission for the move in an announcement yesterday.

The owner of the IMC, George Kaisis, spent &pound;740,000 on renovating the building to meet the specific requirements laid out by the Council of Ministers, which was responsible for approving the CSE move.

Other brokers have praised the change of scene, thankful to escape the space constraints of the Griva Dhigenis site.

The project has been dogged by controversy since it was first proposed in January. Nicosia Mayor Lellos Demetriades has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against the move. The hearing is due on Monday, just as the stockbrokers start setting up shop.

Demetriades said the application for the IM C move was made in an unlawful way. He also argues against removing a major national financial institution from the city centre to Strovolos on the outskirts of the capital.

[07] Former top judge to head CSE probe

FORMER Supreme Court judge Yiannis Papadopoulos, former Auditor-general Spyros Christou and former Deputy Auditor-general Andreas Skordis were yesterday confirmed as the three members sitting on a committee appointed by the Cabinet to investigate written charges on alleged illegal practices and dealings at the CSE.

The government moved to appoint the committee after it received specific written charges on possible illegal actions on the stock market, with small investors long claiming that the index's decline was a result of dirty dealings. The committee was created in line with the law governing investigative committees and will have substantial powers, such as the right to summon witnesses and issue warrants.

Legal action will be taken if the committee determines there is a criminal case, and its findings will be admissible in court.

On Thursday, government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said the committee would determine whether "some people" would be held responsible, but was quick to add that at "this time we cannot point the finger at anyone." He said the matter was "extremely urgent," calling on the committee to "conclude investigations as soon as possible."

Some of the issues to be examined by the committee include ascertaining why many small investors did not receive share titles in time to sell their stocks, when larger investors were selling at record prices, and why stockbrokers are allowed to carry out transactions on their own behalf.

As a member of the judiciary, Papadopoulos was appointed committee chairman. The committee's work is expected to last several months, as every single transaction on the CSE over the past 18 months will come under scrutiny. Reports also indicate that local and foreign experts may be called in to collect and analyse data.

Papapetrou also noted the committee would look into the CSE's wider operation and make corrective suggestions.

As a government-appointed committee, anyone interfering with its work could be found guilty of an offence and face up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to &pound;350.

[08] Minister to recommend closure of Ergates foundry

THE INTERIOR Minister is to suggest the closure of the Marios & Andreas foundry in Ergates, whose emissions have been blamed for blood poisoning among local residents.

Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou told a meeting attended by Nicosia's District Officer and the Deputy of Ergates' Communal Council that he had decided to call on the Council of Ministers, convening on Wednesday, to shut down the foundry for good. Kyriacos Christodoulou, of the Ergates Communal Council welcomed the decision: "It was what we have long wished for and the results of tests have vindicated our claims."

Tests commissioned by the Health Ministry from a British team of scientists last week confirmed earlier research that Ergates residents have five times the cadmium and nearly three times the lead in their blood as Nicosia residents do. The tests also showed that Ergates residents have brain, kidney, pancreas and lung cancer many times the national average, and twice the Cyprus rate of leukaemia; 33 per cent of Ergates children were found to have chronic lung problems.

[09] Man jailed for fatal army accident

A MAN was yesterday sentenced to three months in jail after a court martial found him guilty of killing a fellow conscript when the armoured vehicle he was driving ploughed into a group of soldiers during a military exercise.

The incident happened at Kalo Horio firing range on January 14 last year.

Demetris Fotis from Kofinou, a Cascavel driver at the time, was taking part in a combined exercise with the army.

After the end of the exercise while the troops were heading back to camp, Fotis ploughed into a line of soldiers on the side of the road and killed Michalis Pentaliotis from Nicosia.

Fotis was charged with causing death through negligence, and yesterday the military court sentenced him to three months in jail.

The court said it had taken into consideration the fact that Fotis, who in the meantime had completed his 26-month military service, was now the provider for his family.

[10] Feissel in Cyprus to help on bicommunal project

FORMER UN Special Representative in Cyprus Gustave Feissel has been called in by the American embassy to assist in a bicommunal project aiming to bring Greek and Turkish Cypriots together.

Feissel, who served with the UN in Cyprus for eight years, said yesterday the project would be a useful one.

Speaking after a paying a courtesy call on President Glafcos Clerides, Feissel said he had been asked by the US Embassy to assist in the project to promote greater tolerance between the two sides.

"The US Embassy has been active in promoting activities which would encourage better relations, greater tolerance between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, and I was asked to be helpful in some aspects related to that and I think it is a very useful endeavour," he said.

"They have the strategy, they have the programme, they just asked me to be helpful on some aspects of it."

Asked by reporters whether he has been briefed on developments on the Cyprus problem, he said, "one hears things". However, he said he was not really up to date on what was happening, because he was not involved in the efforts for a solution.

[11] Pupils commemorate Athens uprising

HUNDREDS of secondary school children converged on the American Embassy yesterday morning, to commemorate the killing of students from the Athens Polytechnic by the US-backed Greek Junta in 1973.

The right-wing Greek colonels savagely crushed the student protest against their regime on November 17, 1973. US-made tanks were sent in and 20 protestors were killed, with many others injured.

The students yesterday hoisted Cypriot and Greek flags to a background of chants, "USA: murderer of peoples," and "never again fascism". They presented a petition to the Embassy.

The demonstration kicked off at around 11am. There was a strong police presence and the pupils were kept behind barbed wire boundaries on the field opposite the Embassy on Ploutarchou Street in Engomi.

The 1973 Polytechnic uprising is widely regarded as the beginning of the end of the military junta. It collapsed in July 1974, in the wake of the coup to overthrow Archbishop Makarios that sparked the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

[12] Government plans immigration crackdown

Senior immigration officers are to meet President Glafcos Clerides and the Council of Ministers to discuss all aspects of the problem.

Speaking after a session of the House Interior Committee, Christodoulou added he was to fly to Syria and Lebanon to thrash out the problem with his foreign colleagues.

In September, 266 illegal immigrants, mainly Kurds and Iranians, were moored off the coast of Limassol for three weeks before Cypriot authorities managed to escort them back to Lebanon, from where their ship set sail.

Days later, another boatful of hopefuls was intercepted at Cape Greco, and on Tuesday some 45 Syrians and Iranians arrived from Syria.

They await deportation and 35 have already been transferred to Nicosia prison. Syrian authorities have been informed of the situation.

Cyprus has bilateral treaties with both Lebanon and Syria for the return of immigrants, who start out from their shores.

[13] Romanian to face murder charge

THE CASE OF a 19-year-old Romanian man accused of stabbing his compatriot to death was yesterday referred to the criminal court, where he will be charged with premeditated murder.

Ionout Vratseanou will remain in police custody until his trial begins on December 6.

Vratseanou is accused of stabbing 30-year-old Marius Isac during a fight over what they were going to watch on television on November 5.

Vratseanu and the victim, both farm workers in Athienou, had been out on a drinking spree the night before.

At 1am, the two men returned to the suspect's room at the farm and continued drinking.

During his remand hearing on November 6, the suspect told the court that he and Isac had quarrelled over what to watch on television, and that Isac had grabbed a large kitchen knife and threatened him. In the struggle, Vratseanu managed to wrest the knife from Isac and then stabbed 10 times in the throat and chest, the court heard.

Cyprus Mail 2000

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