Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-07-22

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

Sunday, July 22, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] Takis or Yiannakis? It's a close-run thing

[02] Machairas fire began at a holiday home

[03] Another 1974 victim buried

[04] Tourist found dead in hotel pool

[05] Unions alarmed at plan for more foreign workers

[06] Anti-globalisation protest planned for Nicosia

[07] Up against the wall - the road to ruin?

[08] Two remanded after armed raid on co-op

[01] Takis or Yiannakis? It's a close-run thing

THE SOCIALIST party elects a new leader today -- Takis Hadjidemetriou or Yiannakis Omirou -- signalling what it hopes will be the beginning of a new era in KISOS.

The party's electoral conference signals the official end of 82-year-old Dr Vassos Lyssarides' three decades at the helm. He founded the party in 1969.

The KISOS faithful believe the long-awaited change of guard will help the ailing party recover its electoral strength. Members fear that if the leadership change fails to help KISOS back onto its feet it might deepen the crisis and split the party.

Lyssarides came under fire from all sides when he failed to step down after his party's dismal showing in the May 27 polls. The veteran politician eventually announced he was going two days later. His announcement was followed by the resignation of the entire KISOS political bureau and the central committee.

KISOS, which won five House of Representatives seats as EDEK in the 1996 elections, secured only four seats in the new parliament. The party garnered just 6.5 per cent of the vote on May 27, 1.6 per cent down compared to 1996.

The party won almost 11 per cent in the 1998 presidential elections.

KISOS' poor showing is generally put down to two things: the decision to change its name from EDEK in an unsuccessful attempt to merge with two smaller groupings last year, and Lyssarides' decision to go into government with President Glafcos Clerides for a short period after the 1998 polls.

Approximately 5,000 party members will vote today for a party leader, one acting chairman, two vice-chairmen, an 85-member central committee and a 15- member political bureau.

The battle between 67-year-old Hadjidemetriou and 50-year-old Omirou is expected to be a close-run thing.

Veteran deputy Hadjidemetriou failed to secure re-election to the House of Representatives on May 27, even though he received more preference votes than any other of the party's candidates. He automatically made way for party leader Lyssarides, who took KISOS' only seat in Nicosia.

Hadjidemetriou, who is considered more left wing than Omirou, was among the first to criticise Lyssarides for clinging on to power and has vowed that if elected he would only lead the party for three years.

Omirou, current acting-chairman of the party and one of Lyssarides' closest allies, was Defence Minister during the party's brief stint in coalition with the Clerides government in 1998. Omirou did make it into the new House.

Koullis Mavronicolas, vice-chairman of KISOS, is the only candidate for acting-chairman.

Three senior members of the party are contesting the two vice- chairmanships: Marinos Sizopoulos, Sophocles Sophocleous and Efthimios Flourezdou.

About 170 members are contesting 85 positions in the central committee.

Asked by the Sunday Mail yesterday to describe his feelings at the end of his long career as socialist leader, Dr Lyssarides would only say: “I will give a speech at the conference.”

However last month he said that: “The party and socialism are the only children I ever had.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] Machairas fire began at a holiday home

INVESTIGATIONS into the Machairas forest fire have revealed the fire began at a holiday house situated near the Lythrodontas army camp. According to Head of the Forestry Department, Aristos Ioannou, the cause of the outbreak is not yet known.

Cypriot, British and Greek firefighters took nearly 30 hours to extinguish the forest fire that began on Wednesday. It destroyed six square kilometres of forest, at an estimated cost of more than £4 million.

The flames blazed on multiple fronts to the south of Lythrodontas village, destroying forests that took 80 to 100 years to develop. The fires were eventually extinguished with the help of two firefighting aircraft flown in from Greece.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] Another 1974 victim buried

THE recently identified remains of another Cypriot killed during the Turkish invasion in 1974 were buried yesterday.

Akis Pantazis from Nicosia, who was killed on August 14, 1974, was buried in Makedonitissa cemetery at 4pm.

Exhumations leading to the DNA identification of remains are being carried out by forensic experts from Physicians for Human Rights, led by Dr William Haglund, in conjunction with a team of scientists from the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Tourist found dead in hotel pool

A 21-year-old British tourist was found dead in the pool of a hotel in Ayia Napa yesterday morning.

Shaeiki Adnaan, from London, was found at 8am by a hotel employee, who immediately called an ambulance.

Initial reports reveal that Adnaan was at the bottom of the pool for about 15 minutes before he was discovered.

An autopsy will take place tomorrow at Larnaca General Hospital.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[05] Unions alarmed at plan for more foreign workers

THE UNIONS SEK and PEO have expressed their dissatisfaction at a possible increase in the numbers of foreign workers in Cyprus.

The two union federations have written to the Labour Ministry, after it announced the continuation of discussions this week on the future recruitment of foreign workers.

The Labour Ministry will be resuming meetings with the House Labour Committee to discuss the criteria for the employment of foreigners and the procedures for the approval of work permits.

Employers' associations are asking for the procedures concerning the employment of foreign workers to be simplified, saying they are time- consuming and, in certain cases, do not serve the employers.

The government decided in April to reconsider the review criteria for allowing foreigners to work on the island.

A technical committee of representatives from relevant organisations was set up to study the criteria and make proposals so the service responsible for issuing work permits can apply the criteria more easily.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[06] Anti-globalisation protest planned for Nicosia

CYPRIOT activists plan a massive anti-globalisation protest in Nicosia tomorrow.

Among the 18 organisers of the demonstration are left-wing AKEL, the Greens, KISOS' youth branch, the Pancyprian Peace Council, left wing and socialist trade unions, teachers' union OELMEK and doctors' union PASIKI.

What is expected to be a peaceful protest will take place at Chryssaliniotissa Park in Nicosia at 8pm.

In a press release, the campaigners say: “We are protesting against the G-8 Summit in Genoa. Decisions taken at summits of this kind make poor countries poorer, lead to the sell-off of public property, and pave the way for 'powerful players' to impose their wills on sovereign countries.”

The protest is aimed at “the globalisation of monopolies and the privatisation of health, education and social insurance, which the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank push for”.

The cmpaigners demand that multinational companies be taxed “properly” and call for “a fairer distribution of wealth and a viable development which will respect people's rights to education and health”.

While massive street protests against global capitalism have become a staple at economic meetings since demonstrators disrupted an international gathering of trade ministers in Seattle in 1999, the Genoa summit has produced the first death, when demonstrator Carlo Giuliani was shot dead by police on Friday.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[07] Up against the wall - the road to ruin?

PART OF an idyllic walled garden in Strovolos may be bulldozed 18 years after it was landscaped because of oversights and bungled paperwork at the Department of Land Registration.

Maurice Brown and his wife live in a stunning villa set in spacious grounds, with a swimming pool, immaculate lawn and patios, bordered by olive, shrub and palm trees.

They brought the land 20 years ago after they moved to Cyprus, found an architect and began building.

They finished the property in 1983. Planning permission was requested and given at every step of the way.

In subsequent years the surrounding olive groves were sold to developers, the land was cleared and marked out into plots.

Then 18 months ago, the Browns were confronted by contractors marking out a new road on the other side of their wall. To their horror, the width of the road extends into four metres of their garden.

Their property is so far untouched, but to align the new road with one at the other end of the house, the developers would have to shave off 140 square metres of their property.

That would bulldoze an outhouse, bar and storage building, destroy paving, uproot a satellite dish, two enormous olive trees and shrubbery, and leave the pool almost on the road. The Browns would also be forced to reposition an aviary.

Brown blames the powerful owners of the neighbouring land for using their influence to avoid laying the road on their land, leaving him to suffer instead.

Squeezing the road on to his land, he claims, means they can maximise their profits.

“Until they actually make a legal application to the court, we can't do anything. They certainly can't leave the road as it is. With the wall sticking out like that, it's a hazard. This road is solely for developers. It is the law that they should build access roads from their own land. So once they've finished, they intend to take our land. It's unbelievable,” Brown told the Sunday Mail.

He said that efforts to reach a private agreement with the owners have come to nothing.

The new road was approved by Strovolos municipality and delineated by the Department of Land Registration -- the same department that signed over the same land to Brown 20 years ago.

A source close to the problem told the Sunday Mail that the fault lies with officials of the Department of Land Registration, who signed the permit for the Browns' property without noticing that they had failed to leave the required margin of free land at the edge of their plot, to allow for future roads.

He said that the road is routed where it should be, that the Brown's property encroaches on the road, and not vice versa.

But that's cold comfort to the Browns, given that their permits seemed done and dusted. Maurice Brown says he has been stonewalled by the municipality. No one informed him about the road until the contractors started digging.

His letters have gone unanswered, he says. He feels excluded and victimised. Meetings have either solved nothing or failed to materialise.

He says he was given no opportunity to object and that lawyers have told him that development which violates a property already approved can be stopped.

Brown claims the developers' original application for permission was rejected because only 50 per cent of the proposed road covered land for which the planning permission was sought.

He accuses the authorities of contravening the European Convention of Human Rights that dictates the right to free enjoyment of property without interference.

In February, a former land registry official advised him to keep quiet about his complaints, saying the authorities would never force him to break his boundaries in order to finish the road.

“Consequently he need not worry at all. In addition my advice would be to keep silent about the whole matter and not create any problems for the owners” of the proposed development, the former official wrote.

He said the road could be re-routed, but only if the owners gave their permission, which would cut into the value of their land, delay work and require lengthy re-applications for planning approval.

Now the Browns are worried they'll simply be issued with a compulsory purchase order once the development project nears completion.

For them the situation is absurd, and one that seems to put them up against a brick wall at every turn.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[08] Two remanded after armed raid on co-op

TWO MEN were remanded for eight days yesterday by Nicosia District Court in connection with Friday's robbery at a co-operative savings bank.

A 29-year-old army volunteer from Lakatamia, who confessed to being involved in the robbery, was arrested at 10.30pm on Friday.

The man led police to an army camp where he handed over £1,287 of the stolen cash. He then took them to a storage area in the camp where he showed police where to find the gun used in the robbery.

He also revealed the identity of his alleged accomplice in the robbery, a 23-year-old photographer from Greece living in Nicosia, who was arrested at 1.30am yesterday.

The robbery took place at a co-operative savings bank near Nicosia's Ayios Antonis market on Friday afternoon.

Two black-clad helmeted raiders brandishing a sawn-off shotgun stormed into the bank and stole £3,000.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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