Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-11-21

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

Wednesday, November 21, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] 'Act now, or tourism faces £140m losses next year'

[02] Minister pledges land scandal probe after Limassol allegations

[03] CyTA to probe 1960s deaths

[04] Cyrpus revokes Astra Banka licence

[05] CSE moves up again

[06] 'Feed strays, don't poison them'

[07] UNESCO seminar in Limassol

[08] Ex-fiancée claims she was raped

[01] 'Act now, or tourism faces £140m losses next year'

TOURISM will suffer losses of £140 million next year unless the government takes radical measures to back the sector, Commerce and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said yesterday.The government came under fire from the House Commerce Committee for not doing enough to avert a tourism downturn in the light of the global economic recession.

Tourism will drop more than ten per cent this year and prospects for next summer are also bleak, Rolandis said on Monday on his return from a trip where he met all the major British and European tour operators as well as Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) officials abroad.

Addressing the parliamentary committee convening on the matter yesterday, Rolandis raised the alarm about a " major blow that tourism might suffer if we don't act fast to reverse the bad effects" .

" The tourism sector will suffer losses of £140 million in the following year if tourism drops as much as we expect,"he estimated.

Rolandis revealed some of his ministry's proposals aimed at salvaging the industry, in addition to measures already approved by the Cabinet.

The Council of Ministers has approved a bill providing for the allocation of an extra £4 million -- in addition to the £3.2 million winter budget -- to counter the current problem. With the annual £13 million usually given for tourism advertising, the advertising budget for 2001/2002 will now total £20.2 million.

However, deputies on the committee yesterday insisted that the government slashed travelling and airport services fees. The minister said that he had already suggested measures of this kind to the Cabinet which was yet to decide on them.

" An idea is to abolish landing charges for the winter period, a development that would save carriers between £150 and £200 per flight. Another thing we could do is ditch the £7 airport tax per traveller,"said Rolandis. " The CTO tax could also be abolished but it looks like hoteliers and restaurant owners object to that."

Rolandis said he would apply pressure on the Cabinet to approve his proposals at its planned meeting today.

Addressing the meeting, travel agents' representative Thasos Katsourides accused the Cabinet of being reluctant to adopt Rolandis' suggestions. The House committee shared Katsourides' view and unanimously decided to send a memo to the Cabinet calling for the immediate implementation of drastic measures, such as those suggested by Rolandis, in order to support the industry.

Various sectors of the tourism industry represented at the meeting welcomed the minister's ideas and stressed the necessity to implement them as soon as possible.

Rolandis said that tourism had not suffered major losses in September despite the terrorist attacks on the US. He said he had no figures on how the industry did in October and blamed the Civil Aviation Authority for failing to submit the relevant information to him.

" It is inconceivable that a minister is left in the dark about things like that. This is late November and I don't know what the situation was in October. If I were a manager in Ford or Mitsubishi I would know exactly how the company did last month by November 3,"Rolandis charged.

The minister complained that "there is no one to serve me at the Civil Aviation because staff are usually ill, at least that's the excuse they give. Now I have a sore throat myself because I yell at them so much."

Rolandis said that if the events in Afghanistan came to an end things would probably come back to normal but insisted that the government still had to take measures.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] Minister pledges land scandal probe after Limassol allegations

INTERIOR Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou yesterday pledged to root out all land scandals after allegations emerged of similar scams operating at an unspecified area near Limassol.

Two officials in the Paphos area have already been charged and several others are facing charges concerning the alleged illegal transfer of Turkish Cypriot property.

Yesterday it emerged that investigations could be broadened to the Limassol area after House Refugee Committee chairman Aristophanes Georgiou said allegations had been made of similar dealings. Speaking after a meeting with Georgiou yesterday, Christodoulou said the government would " exhaust all possibilities to shed light on the case" .

The minister said Georgiou had received dozens of letters concerning the Limassol area but he many were anonymous and contained no concrete evidence. But, said Christodoulou, they would all be investigated.

" The aim is to safeguard the feeling of security and trust in the Lands and Surveys Department, which is one of the best in the world, "Christodoulou said. " What I can tell you is that the vast majority of cases are not accompanied by evidence. Many of them (the letters) are unsigned but it is our obligation to investigate them and we will" , even if this meant investigating " ten, twenty or 50,000 files" .

Georgiou said all of the allegations were extremely serious. " We will not hesitate to move in every direction,"he said, but refused to give any details or specify the exact location concerned.

" What we all know is that those involved have an interest in making the evidence against them disappear and this raises concerns so we must all support the investigation procedure,"he said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] CyTA to probe 1960s deaths

CyTA has agreed that the deaths of three of its employees in the 1960s could have been linked to emissions to which they were exposed when they worked near an antenna.

CyTA representatives raised the issue during a closed session of the House Environment Committee yesterday, according to committee chairman George Lillikas who briefed reporters after the meeting.

" Some representatives of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority said that the deaths of three employees who worked in Kili in the Paphos district during the 1960s could be related to emissions produced by a CyTA antenna in the area. The three men died of cancer,"Lillikas said. He said that the old mast was no longer in place.

Lillikas added that the committee had asked CyTA to carry out an investigation in order to establish whether the three employees had died because of the antenna's emissions. " If the answer is yes, CyTA will compensate the families of the deceased in order to give them moral support, "Lillikas said.

Talking to reporters later, DIKO deputy Marios Matsakis argued that CyTA and the health and labour ministries should have investigated the matter long ago. " I think that some have tried to cover this up and now we have to get to the bottom of it,"he charged.

Matsakis also suggested that an epidemiological study should be conducted to find out whether local residents' health had also been affected by the aerial's emissions.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Cyrpus revokes Astra Banka licence

"The Central Bank ofCyprusshall apply to the court requesting the appointment of a liquidator who will be responsible for winding up Astra Banka's operations inCyprus ," theCyprusCentral Bank said in a letter to its Yugoslav counterpart, a copy of which was made available to Reuters.

The Yugoslav Central Bank ordered the liquidation of Astra Banka in Belgrade on Friday because of its lack of capital. That move coincided with Karic missing a deadline to pay tax on wealth allegedly gained on privileges while Milosevic ruled Yugoslavia.

In October, the National Bank of Yugoslavia told Astra Banka to recover $36 million in liquid assets and an additional $5.0 million in founding capital to keep its licence.

Karic's business empire grew during Milosevic's rule to include banks in Serbia and Russia, an Internet service provider, engineering firms, travel and real estate agencies. His key asset is mobile phone operator Mobtel, ownership of which he shares with the state of Serbia.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[05] CSE moves up again

The benchmark all-share index ended 2.78 per cent higher at 145.80. Turnover reached £17.3 million on a volume of 61.17 million shares. "The market has been rising for the past one and a half months... an additional positive element has given it more momentum," said Costas Shamptanis at Expresstock.

The market has rebounded strongly from a low of 103.72 points in late September because of a number of factors, ranging from an interest rate cut and measures to prop up flagging tourism arrivals to government proposals to cut corporate tax by 10 to 15 percentage points.

"People are gradually regaining their confidence in the market. Institutional investors and investors who had not been active for a long time are re-emerging," said Shamptanis.

Blue-chip banking stocks rose 1.24 per cent, buoyed by gains for Bank of Laiki. The FTSE/CySE index of 20 market heavyweights rose 1.95 per cent to 554.25 points.

Fast moving investment stocks absorbed the bulk of volume, with Dodoni being the most active with 4.8 million shares changing hands. Winners beat losers 142 to 29 with 18 issues unchanged on 189 traded. There were 12,167 deals, some 4,500 more than Monday.(R)

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[06] 'Feed strays, don't poison them'

CATS roaming free at the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation headquarters in Nicosia should be fed and cared for, the House Committee for the Environment agreed unanimously yesterday.

CyBC managers were heavily criticised by MPs earlier this month for allowing staff to poison some 100 stray cats which have been living and breeding on corporation property for years.

Whilst respecting the need for healthy working conditions for staff, chairman of the committee George Lillikas stressed that animal rights must be respected. He said getting rid of the cats would be " illegal" .

Instead, the committee will ask CyBC in writing to provide a fixed area where the strays can be fed, albeit at some distance from the headquarters' building. Committee members also agreed to

ask the Veterinary Department to vaccinate the animals and neuter them, to prevent the feline population from getting out of hand. The proposals are being sent to CyBC directors immediately.

CyBC director general Michalakis Stylianou admitted two weeks ago that some employees had poisoned a number of stray cats, which he claimed had invaded"the national broadcasting centre. Cats have reportedly sneaked into offices and caused hundreds of pounds of damage, but Lillikas castigated staff for killing cats and the odd stray dog.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[07] UNESCO seminar in Limassol

UNITED Nations representatives gathered in Limassol yesterday for a seminar organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The seminar, on 'Intercultural Dialogues and Human Rights in the 21 stCentury', will last for a week is attended by representatives from many countries, including France, China, Greece and Romania.

Representatives will also be discussing the international crisis following the terrorist attacks in the US.

UNESCO's main objective is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication, in order to further universal respect for justice, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) is sponsoring the seminar, held at the Holiday Inn, and Cyprus Airways is the official air carrier.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[08] Ex-fiancée claims she was raped

POLICE were yesterday investigating allegations of rape against a 21-year- old man by his ex-fiancée.

According to a statement given by the 20-year-old woman from Nicosia, she was raped by her ex-fiancé in her apartment on Sunday. Greek newspapers reported that state pathologist Eleni Antoniou and Dr Marios Matsakis, who examined the woman, found evidence of sexual intercourse but no signs indicating she was raped.

The 21-year-old man, who was arrested on Monday, told police he had consensual sex with his ex-fiancée at her apartment.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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