Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 02-10-13

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

Sunday, October 13, 2002

CONTENTS

[01] Polygamy suspect 'married three times'

[02] Doctors demand removal of Genetics Institute chief

[03] Joining the EU 'will have Green impact'

[04] Surely not to curry favour...

[01] Polygamy suspect 'married three times'

A PARALIMNI court has remanded a 27-year-old man suspected of committing polygamy in custody for five days, police said yesterday.

The Dherynia resident was accused of having three separate civil weddings with foreign women over the past five years without first getting divorced. All three women - two Ukrainians and a Romanian - live in Cyprus, reports said.

The case came to light when Famagusta's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) received information that the suspect had married a Ukrainian at Dherynia Municipality in September, despite already being married to a Romanian woman since 1997.

He married his first wife during a civil ceremony in her home country, although she now lives in Dherynia, reports said. Police say his marriage to his Romanian wife was still valid, even though the couple have been separated for two years.

The man was then able to marry first Ukrainian bride after allegedly securing false testimony that he was single. Ayia Napa police told the Sunday Mail that marriage under false pretences and using deceitful means carries a five-year prison sentence.

Further police investigations have determined the man allegedly married another Ukrainian woman last April at Aradippou Municipality in the Larnaca district, making his September bride his third wife.

Police say the man gave them a written statement on Friday admitting to the three civil weddings. He allegedly claimed that he had been forced to keep changing brides because they did not satisfy him and because the Immigration Department would not give them an extended visa to remain in Cyprus.

He was remanded in custody for five days, pending further investigations.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[02] Doctors demand removal of Genetics Institute chief

The Institute's Director, Andy Nicolaides, is accused by his colleagues of bypassing standard procedures and making decisions without first consulting the institute's scientific board.

Eleven doctors signed a petition demanding Nicolaides' removal, which they sent to members of the institution's governing board last month, demanding that a positive answer be given to them within 30 days.

The doctors are reported as saying their decision had not been taken lightly, and had taken months to reach.

Nicolaides' colleagues say they cannot trust him because of his frequent bypassing of standard procedures as stipulated in the Institute's charter. They accuse him of often acting without first informing the scientific board, of which they are members.

The Head of Cell Genetics, Philippos Patsalis, was quoted in Simerini newspaper yesterday as saying that the staff had had a communication problem with their director ever since the start of his term three years ago.

Patsalides said that despite constant complaints from senior scientists, Nicolaides continued to ignore board meeting decisions and promoted his own personal ideas to the governing board instead.

The doctors said that if the governing board does not remove the institute's director today, they will take “active retaliatory measures”.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[03] Joining the EU 'will have Green impact'

CYPRUS is not yet a European Union member which is why it cannot use European laws to enforce environmental issues, European Green Parties Federation vice-chairman Jean Lambert said yesterday.

The British environmentalist, here to attend a Green Party conference at the Nicosia conference centre yesterday, was referring to the British Bases' intention to erect a giant antenna in the Akrotiri wetlands.

The antenna site has been the centre of much controversy among local residents and environmentalists, with health concerns over its emissions as well as concern for the area's protected flora and fauna.

The site is included in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, and under its terms the British Bases are obliged to promote the conservation and wise use of the site. The wetlands support a significant number of rare species, including 13 endemic and rare plant species and 32 bird species specially protected under the European Birds Directive. A number of species of waterbird also winter on or migrate through the site, including around 6,000 flamingos.

Lambert said she had “a great interest” in the site and that the Green Party in Wales had made “strong representations to the British government about this”.

Although Britain claimed to be “a very green government”, it allowed the military to “carry on and do things like this in areas of international significance”, Lambert charged, adding that the issue was made worse precisely because the British military was involved.

“We have a real problem here because it is the military, and the military has special privileges,” she said.On a European level the island was hindered by the fact that it was not yet a member of the EU and therefore did not have EU environmental laws on its side, she added.

But if the European Green Parties Federation's predictions are correct, that will not be a problem for much longer.Cyprus is expected to be one of the 10 candidate countries to accede to the European Union in 2004 and has the full support of the European Greens, its General Secretary, Arnold Cassola, told President Glafcos Clerides yesterday morning before the Green Party conference.

Not only would the island's accession course have an impact on local environmental issues, it would also help solve the Cyprus problem, he said.

Although it would be “much welcomed if Cyprus were to join the EU as a united country,” said Cassola, it was “no precondition”.“This momentum will help to reach a solution of the problem, which is a solution not only for Cypriots, who deserve it, but for all Mediterranean and European people if we want peace and stability in our region.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[04] Surely not to curry favour...

The newspaper said that the delegation was surprised to discover that “at taverna after taverna”, the proprietors would suddenly change their attitudes when they discovered that their guests were from India.

“They would sing the praises of India's friendship with Cyprus, sadly not a subject that unduly occupies the minds of the people of India, and then often refuse to accept any payment at all,” the paper said.

“At one taverna, the lady owner not only declared that the meal was on the house but also placed another two (completely free) bottles of wine on the table. For Indians who are more accustomed to being asked to pay in advance when they reveal their nationalities, such goodies and generosity have come as a total shock.”

One group from the delegation returned the gesture, the paper said, by sending the taverna a large Indian meal with their compliments.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

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