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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-12-05Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>Tuesday, December 5, 2000CONTENTS
[01] Minister warns of bogus asylum claimsINTERIOR Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou yesterday accused officials of encouraging bogus asylum claims by making it too easy for illegal immigrants to stay in Cyprus. He was speaking after another 35 boat people washed up off the coast of Cyprus at the weekend, claiming they were fleeing persecution in their countries of origin. Coming out of a special meeting on the issue with officials from the interior, justice and foreign ministries, Christodoulou said: "Some officials in the government services and others who present themselves as the protectors of foreigners' rights have made it easier for illegal immigrants to remain in Cyprus." The Interior Minister charged many were bogus asylum seekers, falsely claiming their lives were in danger if they were returned home. "All the illegal immigrants that come say their lives would be in danger if they were sent back where they come from. This is a story they have been taught off by heart by the people who profit from this smuggling trade from Syria and Lebanon. "Some illegal immigrants come complete with contact telephone numbers and addresses (for Greek Cypriots). The police are taking all the necessary measures provided to them by the law," Christodoulou added. The latest batch of immigrants included 20 Iraqi men, one of whom was accompanied by his wife and four young children, a Turkish Kurd with his wife and six children, a Lebanese man and a Syrian man. The Iraqi children are aged between five and 10 while the Kurdish children are between one and 15. The two families are being held in the Famagusta district, with the rest housed at special holding facilities at the Nicosia Central Prisons, pending the resolution of their status. An Interior Ministry official said any applications for political asylum would be treated appropriately. "As far as I know, they have not applied yet, but when they do each one will be investigated and a decision will be taken." An Immigration Department source said yesterday that the families -- 14 people in total -- were staying at an undisclosed venue in Famagusta -- "not police holding cells" - - while the 21 single men in the group were at the holding facilities in Nicosia, "which have every convenience and were inspected by the Attorney- general and Ombudsperson when they were built." The Central Prisons denied permission for a reporter and photographer to visit the facility: "If we let one newspaper come, we'll be overrun by the television channels and all the other press. It is just something we cannot allow," said one official. The police picked up the 35 illegal immigrants in the early hours of Sunday; 16 were spotted in Konnos near Paralimni and the rest at Cape Greco. The immigrants told police they had all sailed from Lebanon, arriving on the island on Saturday. They said they thought they had been taken to Italy and were now seeking political asylum in Cyprus. They told police that they had each paid $1,000 to be taken to Europe. The Iraqis said they were trying to flee Saddam Hussein's regime, the Kurd said he was trying to prevent his children from having to join the Turkish army, and the Syrian was simply on the lookout for a better life. Cyprus has over the last two years fallen prey to an increasing amount of illegal immigrant arrivals with additional police patrols on the coast introduced in an attempt to stem the flow. The government is also in the process of ordering sophisticated radar equipment expected to be able to spot the small wooden fishing boats so popular with the crews paid to bring in the illegal immigrants. Cyprus has agreements with Lebanon and Syria, which provide for illegal immigrants setting out from either country to be returned to their point of departure.[02] Education crisis as more strikes loomSERIOUS disruption loomed for the island's schools yesterday, with primary and nursery school teachers threatening to resume their strike action and secondary school teachers announcing a work-to-rule and stoppage of their own. Primary and nursery schools are to remain closed all-day on Thursday this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday next week and on December 20. Secondary school teachers are to stage a two-hour stoppage on Monday and warn of further stoppages. They are also declining to produce end-of-term reports and supervise extra-curricular school activities. The Education Ministry, primary school teachers' union POED and secondary school teachers' union OELMEK were all at loggerheads with each other yesterday. The strike action all stems from the primary and nursery school teachers' demands for pay equal to that of their secondary colleagues. OELMEK's strike action comes in response to discussions between POED and the Education Ministry over the pay parity demand following last month's strike action by POED. OELMEK chief Andreas Stavrou said Education Minister Ouranios Ioannides had failed to follow "proper procedure" by excluding OELMEK from the talks, which Stavrou insisted affected secondary school teachers' too. OELMEK's strike action had been on the horizon since last week, but the POED strike appeared to have been broken by a deal agreed last week between the primary school teachers and the Minister. But, by yesterday, the agreement had fallen through and POED were accusing Ioannides of giving in to OELMEK blackmail and announcing more strikes. POED had been expecting Ioannides to present to them yesterday a final pay deal based on last week's discussions. But the Minister decided he could not table the deal till the educational services committee had approved it. The Minister expressed optimism the strike action could yet be averted, saying the matter was "not over".[03] `Proximity talks have come to an end'By a Staff ReporterTURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said yesterday that UN-mediated talks aimed at solving the Cyprus problem had "come to an end". But Denktash -- a veteran negotiator known for his ability to play with words -- did not clarify whether he saw any other way forward in the talks. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has invited Denktash and President Glafcos Clerides for a sixth round of talks next month in Geneva. "The proximity talks have served their purpose and they have come to an end," Denktash said in brief remarks after a meeting with UN special envoy for Cyprus Alvaro de Soto yesterday. The UN envoy declined to comment. Denktash last week threatened to withdraw from the talks unless his self-styled Turkish Cypriot `state' was acknowledged. "We are two governments and two states in Cyprus. The moment that you accept this the door to a full settlement is open," he said before meeting De Soto yesterday. De Soto visited both the north and the Greek Cypriot south of the island this week in a bid to ensure the continuation of the talks following Denktash's threat. He met Clerides earlier in the day. De Soto made no comments after that meeting either, but Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou made it clear the UN mediator was busy trying to get the talks back on track. Papapetrou also warned the government would not tolerate any kowtowing to Turkish demands in order to get Denktash back to the talks. "Mr De Soto is trying to carry the peace process forward following Denktash's threats to leave the talks. We have made it abundantly clear that we are not going to tolerate any attempt to pacify Denktash or any yielding to his demands," the spokesman said. Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides yesterday urged De Soto to find out the Turkish Cypriot leader's true intentions regarding round six of the talks. De Soto has previously expressed optimism that the next round of peace talks will go ahead. The UN negotiator is to hold a news conference after the conclusion of his contacts on the island today. Some analysts believe an agreement reached yesterday between Turkey and the European Union over the wording of Turkey's "roadmap" to membership talks could help break the deadlock. The EU said the Cyprus issue had been removed from a section detailing short-term goals and placed under a more general header. Turkey saw its original placement as a snub engineered by Greece. Turkish anger on this issue was thought to have contributed to Denktash's blunt attitude to the talks in recent weeks. [04] Trade union plan for foreign maidsFOREIGN housemaids in Larnaca and Paphos are preparing to unionise in order to protect their interests in working conditions that are branded illegal by their supporters. Doros Polycarpou, the chairman of the Foreign Workers Support Group, said plans were still in the early stages. It has been the group's goal since it was first set up to organise self-representation for foreign workers. "We are working in co-ordination with other unions in the country and if we can't get this, then it will be necessary for them to have their own union," Polycarpou told the Cyprus Mail. He stressed that while his organisation would continue to support the maids, he was unable to cope with every complaint. "We can only take the very serious ones, such as sexual violence or when the worker is afraid of deportation. We also deal with a huge variety of complaints, not just those of the housemaids," said Polycarpou. There has been heightened attention about the plight of foreign housemaids in Cyprus in recent months. There are many tales of abuse or breach of contract, from women who often feel unable to do anything about their problems. A union would campaign against working conditions and tackle the problems that surround foreign domestic labour. Residence permits for housemaids terminate if they loose their work permit. But Polycarpou claims it is illegal to reject a visa just because the migrant looses work. He said the practice of commandeering housemaids' papers and passports was also illegal, contributing to the sense in which maids were victims rather than respected employees. "It's a very unfair working relationship, because if the maid doesn't accept the conditions of work, then the employer says they will deport you. If the contract is stopped, then it automatically means that you're out of the country," he said. A spokeswoman for left-wing workers union, PEO, said yesterday they supported the unionisation of all foreign workers. Although PEO has not yet discussed an arrangement by which housemaids would join their ranks, the spokeswoman did not rule it out. "We haven't discussed membership, but in general we believe that workers have to be united and that fragmentation is not helpful," Sotiroulla Charalambous said. She said it was unacceptable that the Interior Ministry did not consult trade unions when bringing housemaids or temporary agricultural workers to Cyprus. "It means we have no say when the employer does not observe the terms of the contract," she said. But the efforts to unionise are likely to face big problems. "To be frank, who's going to take responsibility for them or support them if they strike? And what about funds? In my experience, most employers will not accept housemaids if they are in a union. But personally I'm very interested and I would advise people to join," said Yiannakis Erotokritou, a lawyer who, as consul for the Philippines, champions foreign workers' rights. Neither will unions solve all the problems: "The housemaids aren't seen as workers in Cyprus. The Interior Ministry is responsible for them, not the Labour Office. They should be under the Labour Department and regulated by them like anyone else," said Polycarpou. Previous efforts at self-representation have had limited influence, according to the support group, because they have been attached to the consulates. There are two welfare associations in Nicosia, one for Sri Lankans and one for Filipinos.[05] Five per cent up, but `we're not out of the woods]THE CYPRUS Stock Exchange (CSE) took a turn up yesterday, with a growth of 5.53 per cent, closing at 231.93 on the back of £12.37million in volume. It was the first positive performance for the index since its relocation to the IMC Building last month, as well as the day chosen by DISY leader Nikos Anastasiades to tour the new CSE site. Quick-fire selling saw the all-share index slump to 225 in the first 20 minutes, but buying picked up from there and prices steadily rose until the noon close. "Investors realised it was Christmas and that the index deserved to get a present as well, so they embraced the festive season with high bids and gains that made the index smile for the first time in a long time," said one web analyst. But another analyst, Christos Achillides, pointed out that yesterday's success only corrected the heavy losses suffered in the previous three days of trading. "I think that it's a collection of the last three day's losses. Last week's decline was too steep and to be honest there had to be a correction," he told the Cyprus Mail. All sectors of the exchange chalked up significant increases. The banks put in a strong performance, notching up a 6.44 per cent growth as £4.02million worth of shares changed hands. Bank of Cyprus (BOC) added seven cents to share prices, closing at £4.05. Universal Savings Bank (USB) clocked up a 15-cent gain, coming into close at £2.40. "The banking sector did really well and that's always the key factor. We're not out of the woods yet there are still problems of operation, liquidity and confidence. The confidence has to change for the index to stabilise, but if the banks are attracting valuation, then it might be the start," said Achillides. "The buyers have been waiting for the sellers to come lower and now the sellers are waiting for the buyers to come higher," said broker Stavros Agrotis. Tourism companies did well, sporting a sector climb of 8.42 per cent. The star in its midst was Libra Holidays Group (LHG), chalking up a nine cent increase to close at £1.86. Hotel chain Agros Development (AGRO) scored an eight-cent gain, finishing at a healthier £1.61. The CSE ugly duckling has long since been the insurance companies. Volume was just £94,427 but the 4.54 per cent gains lifted it marginally out of the doldrums. Liberty Life Insurance (LIB) powered ahead, closing at £1.66 after a day's start at £1.57. The investment cohorts did a fraction better with a sector increase of 6.33 per cent, pushing Aristo (ARI) up to 42 cents from a 37.2 cent start. Muskita Aluminium Industries (MAI) excelled itself amongst the manufacturing group, notching up eight cents to close at 87 cents. The Sophocleous in Athens also put in a decent show yesterday and Friday, which could have had an impact on the upturn. Technology companies were the least successful. The sector pushed up just 2.90 per cent and CSE giant GlobalSoft (GLC) saw a five-cent cut in prices, down £5.20 from £5.25, reaching an intra-day low of £5.13. "We need to see the volume increase, five per cent is still not enough to generate new supply," finished Agrotis.[06] Archimandrite barred from holding servicesBy a Staff ReporterARCHIMANDRITE Andreas Constantinides, accused of conspiring to defame Limassol Bishop Athanassios, was yesterday banned from holding services at a local church. Constantinides, who is currently under indefinite suspension, yesterday received a letter from Bishop Athanassios informing him that he had been banned from holding services at the Ayia Napa church in Limassol. Constantinides said it was an act of revenge by the Bishop, who, he claimed, had wanted to see him removed from the church since the first day he took over as Limassol Bishop. Constantinides had accused the Bishop of being a homosexual, but a Major Synod called by the Archbishop early last month vindicated Athanassios. Athanassios said the charges were part of a wider plot to destroy him. Police investigators found there was sufficient evidence to charge Constantinides and another archimandrite with allegedly conspiring against Athanassios. The Archimandrite is due to appear in court on Monday, December 11. Yesterday, a bitter Constantinides slammed the Major Synod for not doing its job properly, adding that Synod members would now be having problems with their consciences. He claimed he had never conspired against anyone, arguing that what he did had been out of love for the Church. Reacting to his ban from holding services, Constantinides said he would now have to go on the dole since he did not have any other income. "He can now fulfil his wish to get me out of the Ayia Napa church. "He wanted to appoint his own priest since the first day he came. Now he got the chance to implement his plans," Constantinides said. [07] Fraudster fakes judge's signatureBy a Staff ReporterA FORGED judge's signature on a court "decision" awarding £300 in a civil suit has put Larnaca police on the alert to catch the cheeky fraudster. "We have a case of a court decision with a forged signature, the signature of a judge that was not from a judge," Larnaca police chief Charalambos Argyrou said yesterday. Officials at the Larnaca District court discovered the deception last week and a complaint was made to police. Argyrou yesterday insisted that reports suggesting a lawyer was behind the scam were jumping the gun. "There is a complaint from the court that certain documents were forged, but there is no specific suspect lawyer or anything: we are simply investigating a case to see who is responsible," Argyrou said. The case in question concerned a relatively minor civil suit, but the Bar Association has expressed great concern about the possibility of one of their own being involved. [08] Planeload of tourists `milliseconds from disaster'By a Staff ReporterA BRITISH plane carrying 234 tourists to Cyprus was seconds away from being blown out of the sky in a near miss with US military plane on November 22, Britannia Airways confirmed yesterday. Flight BY444A from Birmingham to Paphos was just feet away from colliding with a US Air Force F15 in the Daventry area in Northamptonshire. The Britannia Airways Boeing 757 took off just after 10am on November 22. Just minutes later, at 10.17am, travelling at over 600ft a second, the pilot spotted a US military jet just 100ft away, after emerging from cloud. The pilot told Britannia Airways that he was "milliseconds away from disaster," according to reports in the British press at the weekend. Air traffic controllers have called it the closet near miss in recent times. Most of the passengers are thought to be still holidaying on the island. It seems none of them had any idea how close they came to near-certain death, minutes into their winter sun holiday. "This was a very serious incident. The Boeing was under the control of the National Air Traffic Control Service and the F15 jet was controlled by the military. At that height, they should have been at least five miles apart and to come so near is incredible. It is amazing they did not collide," the Daily Telegraph quoted one air traffic control specialist as saying. The Civil Aviation Authority said the incident happened eight miles west of Daventry whilst the plane was under London air traffic control. The Ministry of Defence told The Times that all military planes were co-located with civil air traffic control in London once they fly more than three miles from their bases. The F15 jet is designed for air combat. It is fitted with a sophisticated Doppler radar system that can detect and track other planes. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating the matter, which has unleashed yet more controversy about the British Government's plans to partly privatise the National Air Traffic Control Service. Britannia Airways operates eight winter flights to Paphos from the UK. [09] US coy on latest claims of Cyprus link to Milosevic cashBy a Staff ReporterTHE UNITED States government yesterday distanced itself from reports last week that American investigators had traced $1 billion transferred from Yugoslavia to Cyprus during Slobodan Milosevic's presidency. Reports from Belgrade on Friday quoted the new governor of the Central Bank of Yugoslavia as claiming that US Treasury Office investigators had offered to help repatriate the funds. Yesterday, the US embassy in Nicosia told the Cyprus Mail that the US government was working in co-operation with the government in Belgrade as well as with governments throughout the world to protect the assets of Serbian people. "Any further questions about the points raised in the media are best directed at the government of Cyprus and the Central Bank of Yugoslavia," an embassy spokesperson said. Rumours that Milosevic had channelled $100 million in funds through various countries including Cyprus have been around for years, but the government and the Central Bank have consistently denied the island was involved. On Friday, Central Bank Governor Afxentis Afxentiou said he knew nothing of the latest allegation, stressing that the bank had already investigated claims that Milosevic was connected to 12 Cyprus-based companies and had come up empty. "I cannot understand how the (US) Treasury Office came up with those findings. But if they point to us which are the accounts in question and convince us that there is something worth investigating, then we shall do it," Afxentiou told the Cyprus Mail on Friday. Cyprus Mail 2000Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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