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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 02-08-11Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>Sunday, August 11, 2002CONTENTS
[01] Denktash defends jailing of journalistsTURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash yesterday defended the decision in the north to jail newspaper editor Sener Levent and one of his reporters.Levent, publisher of Afrika newspaper, formerly Avrupa, and reporter Memduh Ener were each jailed for six months earlier this week over an article criticising Denktash and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot regime. The article on July 29, 1999, allegedly libelled Denktash, the occupation army and Turkey, in an article headlined "Who is the number one traitor?" Levent and other Turkish Cypriot journalists face around 400 "libel" cases in all. Following outrage by several Turkish Cypriot political parties and organisations, Denktash yesterday insisted that freedom of the press existed in the north. But he said this freedom was used by journalists to hide behind when they wished to insult the honour and esteem of the 'TRNC' and its governors. The Turkish Cypriot leader said that if the 'court' sentenced them to six months then it must have had good reason. “Some reporters use pens as guns and assault the honour and esteem of others,” he said. “They don't recognise the laws, go against the army which protects the state and they go against Turkey, which they accuse day and night.” Republican Turkish Party leader Mehmet Ali Talat, Denktash's main opposition in the north, was quoted as saying “shame” over the jailing of the journalists. “Until today there had never been a person convicted for ideological beliefs,” he said, adding that the sentence was the result of prejudice and political motives. “Is the justice system mandated only to protect the honour and opinion of Rauf Denktash?” Talat asked. Levent's brother Osman told the Greek-language daily Politis yesterday that they would continue their efforts to publish Afrika and defend their right to freedom of speech. He said his brother's morale was high and that they would be appealing the decision. Avrupa, which means 'Europe', was repeatedly the target of raids in the north and was eventually shut down before reopening under the name Afrika as a snipe at the Denktash regime. Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 [02] Investors may soon be able to bring class action suitsBy Jean ChristouTHE INVESTORS' Association yesterday welcomed moves by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to push for legislation enabling small investors to bring class action lawsuits against brokerages. Association president Demetris Hadjipapas told the Sunday Mail that it was one of the measures they had been asking for. Many of the investors who were defrauded in the Cyprus Stock Market (CSE) bubble had claims too small to make it financially viable for them to bring individual suits against brokerages. “We had a lot of people who lost £200, £500 or £1,000,” he said. “It was not worth it for them to take individual suits, so this is a very good measure for them.” The legal services ruled last year that companies that had taken money from investors but which subsequently failed to list on the CSE within a specific date should return the money. The amount involved is believed to be in the region of £230 million, and many investors have taken their cases individually to court. Hadjipapas said he believed that when the legislative changes are tabled to the House of Representatives in October, there would not be any opposition. He said he has already spoken to several deputies who favoured the idea. “Slowly things are improving for the small investor,” he said. SEC chief Marios Clerides told the net-based market news site Stockwatch that the legislation will give more power to the SEC to bring a legal case or to represent a group of small investors using the American 'class action' method. He said it aimed at providing cover for those small investors who were left out due to the relatively small amounts they had lost on the market. Once it is approved by the House the SEC will move ahead with the criteria and rules as to how the class actions will be decided and run. Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 [03] Protest over Paphos Gate Sunday market evictionBy Jean ChristouSTALL HOLDERS at the foreign workers' Sunday market at Paphos Gate will today defy an eviction order by Nicosia Municipality, they said yesterday. The Municipality has ordered the market to be moved from the CyTA area to the car park next to the Paphos Gate fire station, opposite the Holiday Inn Hotel. But a spokesman for the 35 stall holders told the Sunday Mail that they will stage a demonstration against the relocation order today. Nicosia Mayor Michalakis Zampelas warned yesterday that any stall holder who defies the order to move would be reported. Those who operate the market want to stay in the CyTA area because it is next to the municipal park where many foreign workers gather on their day off. “All of the stall keepers strongly believe their eviction from the CyTA area where the Sunday market is held on a weekly basis is taking place for only one particular reason, and that is the removal and relocation of the foreigners' gathering place to some other area,” a spokesman for the stall holders said. “This is a violation of their human rights and they plan to demonstrate against it.” He said the workers feel their gathering point must stay together with their market. “As far as they are concerned, telling them to relocate the market is telling them to move from the park,” he added. Zampelas told the Sunday Mail that the market is being moved to a better organised place. “All they need is already there and the stalls have been allocated,” he said. “What we now see under the walls and in the CyTA area is unacceptable and the situation is being sorted out by transferring everybody to a proper place.” Zampelas said in the current location there is little room to move on a Sunday. He said there were no toilets and no rules and people were sitting everywhere on the street. “Everything is terrible,” he said. “We have allocated the end of the parking place near the fire station so it's a properly organised place, and those who they do not obey and still try to sell their goods from Paphos gate will be reported.” Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 [04] Income from tourism down 7%INCOME from tourism dropped 7.22 per cent during the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2001, the Commerce, Industry and Tourism Ministry announced yesterday.It said that between January and June income from tourism reached £445,474,355 compared to £480,126,583 during the same period last year.There were 1,017,366 tourist arrivals during the first half of 2002 compared with 1,170,323 during the same period last year -- a drop of 13.07 per cent.The Ministry said that together with the Cyprus Tourism Organisation it was closely following developments and pushing ahead with an aggressive advertising campaign.The sector expects better results from the second half of the year, which incorporates the main part of the peak season with estimates for an overall drop for the year of around nine per cent. Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 [05] Former CTO and BA chief diesANDREAS Nicolaou, the former General Manager of British Airways (BA) and former chairman of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), has died aged 73 after a long illness, it was announced yesterday.Nicolaou was with British Airways in Cyprus for 42 years and contributed greatly towards the development of the airline in Cyprus and to the island's tourism, a statement from BA said. In recognition of his contribution to the airline, which he left in 1991, he was made Member of the British Empire (MBE) by the Queen. Nicolaou also served one term of office as chairman of the CTO in the mid- nineties. Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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