Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-05-20

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

Sunday, May 20, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] Back us, asks Cassoulides

[02] Friendly Arabs, but US and UK are not so welcome

[03] No dog rape, court rules, in case of the large mongrel

[04] Man charged over girl, 14

[05] SODAP's Paphos seafront building to be demolished

[06] Cyprus No 64 for Guinness traveller

[01] Back us, asks Cassoulides

JUST a week before the parliamentary elections, Foreign Minister Ioannis Cassoulides used a news briefing on the Cyprus problem to urge people to vote for a party which supported the government's work, pointing to ruling DISY and coalition partners United Democrats.

Cassoulides was addressing a news conference which he called to on developments in the Cyprus problem and Cyprus' EU accession course.

But President Glafcos Clerides a few months ago issued a circular calling on ministers and other government officials to stay away from election campaigns.

Cassoulides has come under fire many times lately from opposition AKEL which accused him of getting involved in DISY's election campaign. When asked yesterday whether he was breaking the president's rule, the minister replied: “We are not masochists. How can we put up with the opposition attacking us all the time, branding us as useless? Do you think we should tell people to vote for the nihilists?”

The latest election poll showed left-wing AKEL as three points ahead of DISY. “I am not being biased right now but I will not be surprised if the opposition turns day into night or vice versa. But I am not touched by the opposition's accusations,” Cassoulides said.

The minister charged that the Cyprus problem was not part of any election campaign except that of DISY. “They all stress the need to combat crime and prevent drug use, and not many people take drugs anyway, but they fail to address our major national issue,” he claimed.

On the Cyprus problem, the minister said he expected the UN to call on the two sides to return to the talks in autumn. The UN-led Cyprus talks collapsed at the beginning of the year when Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash called for recognition of his breakaway regime for the issue of confederation to be on the table.

On the EU, Cassoulides said that with or without a solution to the Cyprus problem “the country will access the EU as a whole”.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] Friendly Arabs, but US and UK are not so welcome

A POLL among candidates in next Sunday's parliamentary elections shows the US and the UK are viewed as the least friendly countries towards Cyprus out of a list of eleven.

Four Arab countries, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Libya came out on top and Turkey was not included on the list.

The poll, carried out by Politis newspaper, showed that 51 per cent of candidates believed America is unfriendly to Cyprus while only 17 per cent said the opposite and 32 per cent were undecided.

Britain was also viewed as unfriendly to Cyprus among 50 per cent of those polled, while 22 per cent believed the opposite and 28 per cent were undecided.

But the differences in opinion swung wildly when the results were broken down among the parties for which the candidates were running. Over 72 per cent of communist AKEL candidates saw the US as unfriendly but only 29 per cent of ruling right-wing DISY, and 26 per cent of coalition partners United Democrats, thought the same.

Half of centre-right DIKO candidates agreed with the AKEL majority, as did 57 per cent of candidates for socialist KISOS, 53 per cent of Greens and 70 per cent from right-wing New Horizons.

The United Democrats were the biggest believers that Britain was a friendly country to Cyprus with 50 per cent voting in favour, along with 39 per cent from DISY. New Horizons were the biggest detractors, with 74 per cent saying Britain was an unfriendly country, along with 70 per cent from AKEL, 56 per cent of Greens, 44 per cent from DIKO and 41 per cent from KISOS.

In the overall poll, Greece was viewed as the friendliest country to Cyprus with 97 per cent, no detractors and only three per cent appearing undecided. After Greece, 86.8 believed Russia was friendly.

Germany was viewed as unfriendly by 36 per cent of candidates, although 29 per cent said the opposite and 35 per cent said they didn't know. Israel also rated a negative view with 35 per cent, but 36 per cent remained undecided.

Out of the five remaining countries on the list, 55 per cent of those polled viewed France as a friendly country along with the four Arab states. Nearly 80 per cent viewed Egypt as friendly to Cyprus, Syria clocked up 78 per cent, Lebanon 68 per cent and Libya 52 per cent. Less than two per cent believed these countries were unfriendly.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] No dog rape, court rules, in case of the large mongrel

A NICOSIA court has ruled that rape cannot exist among canines following a case brought by a man who sued his neighbour for compensation for veterinary bills. Following testimony by a vet, the court ruled that animals had no concept of rape so no offence existed.

The case was filed late last year after a Nicosia man claimed his neighbour's large mongrel raped his smaller bitch named Lulu who became pregnant. Vets told him the puppies would have to be aborted because they would be too large to be born safely to such a small dog and that her life could be in danger.

The problems started when the owner demanded £150 in compensation from his neighbour to cover the vet's bill, claiming his mongrel dog was responsible for the problems. The neighbour refused, and the man filed a law suit at Nicosia court.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Man charged over girl, 14

A LIMASSOL man aged 35 was yesterday charged by the British Bases with suspected sexual offences involving a 14-year-old girl. The suspect was also given bail on other charges relating to suspected possession of a small amount of cannabis.

The man was arrested on Friday afternoon after being found with the girl in his car near Lady's Mile beach within Bases territory and was held for 24 hours.

Bases spokesman Rob Need said the suspect could not be remanded on suspicion of statutory rape because under Cyprus law, which is mirrored in Bases legislation, when consensual sex is involved the offence is classed as a misdemeanour. In such cases the suspect is charged and released and summoned to appear in court at a later date

Attorney-general Alecos Markides told the Sunday Mail yesterday that the penalty for such offences, when the girl is under 16 but over 13, is three years' jail. In cases involving girls under 13 the sentence is life imprisonment.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[05] SODAP's Paphos seafront building to be demolished

By Melina Demetriou

THE large SODAP building which has occupied a prime site on Paphos seafront for 40 years is to be demolished, probably making way for a hotel.

Sofoclis Pittokopitis, chairman of the Vine Products Co-operative Marketing Union (SODAP), said that following calls by the government to get in line with the EU acquis communautaire, SODAP had decided to demolish its building and move the factory to an industrial area in the Paphos or Limassol district.

SODAP has issued an invitation for tenders for the sale, joint venture or long-term leasing of the land on which the building stands. There is a July 27 deadline for the submission of tenders.

“We want the land to be used to build a hotel,” said Pittokopitis. “The government for years insisted that according to the EU acquis communautaire there should only be tourist units in a tourist area,” he explained.

But there have been many complaints over the years from local residents about the building spoiling the scenery and tourists have been puzzled why it occupied a seafront site.

Pittokopitis said he expected the demolition of the building to take place in less than a year.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[06] Cyprus No 64 for Guinness traveller

A BRAZILIAN man who has set out to be the youngest traveller to visit every country in the world will be in Cyprus next month.Gus Walkman, 26, aka the Aloha Traveller, is on a journey to visit 191 countries and enter the Guinness Book of Records. So far he has visited 63 countries since he set out from Brazil in 1992 and hopes to complete his journey in the next three years, before his 30th birthday.

He hitchhiked from Brazil to Alaska when he was 17, walked 6,000 kilometres along the coast of Brazil in 1994-1995 and has been to all 50 states in the US. Walkman is travelling on a $20-a-day budget and has no sponsor, a press release said. He is expected in Cyprus late next month. It will be his 64th country...

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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