Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-02-06

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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-02-06

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Thursday, February 6, 2003

[01] Minister admits Armenian conference was discouraged for fear of derailing talks
[02] 'New road spells doom for natural landmark'
[03] Tragedy of cancer family: children battle tumours after mother's death
[04] Limassol bakery robbed
[05] Bank shares take a hammering
[06] National Council to meet before weekend
[07] 1,500 civil servants to work on polls in Limassol
[08] Papadopoulos promises freeze on stock market debts
[09] Themistocleous sure of Clerides re-election
[10] Giant crack splits open Paphos village road

[01] Minister admits Armenian conference was discouraged for fear of derailing talks

By Sofia Kannas

THE GOVERNMENT admitted yesterday it had discouraged plans to host an Armenian conference in Cyprus earlier this month for fear that it might derail settlement talks by provoking Turkey.

Cyprus had been the favoured venue for the 'Pro-Armenia' Conference, which was held in Paris instead.

In January last year, the government was approached by the Armenian National Committee of Europe (ANCE) and asked if Cyprus could be the venue for the conference.

The deputy of Cyprus' Armenian community at the House of Representatives, Petros Kalaydjian, was shocked and angered that he had not been told about the invitation when the possibility of Cyprus hosting the conference was first mooted.

"I could at least have been informed. As the representative of Armenian community in Cyprus I should at least have been told about the request when it was first made.

"But I didn't even know that Cyprus had been asked to host the conference until after I returned from Paris."

Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides yesterday played down reports that the government had refused to host the conference in Cyprus.

"If the organisers had really wanted to hold the conference here they could have. We did not forbid it," he told the Cyprus Mail.

"I was approached by the organisers at the beginning of last year and we replied that under the circumstances at the time it would be best to wait and see what happened with the Cyprus Problem.

"We didn't actually say no. They sent us a formal request by letter in April, but the situation was no different by then."

Asked why the government had not welcomed the invitation to host the conference, which was attended last Saturday and Sunday by over 130 ministers, ambassadors and political leaders, Cassoulides said: "I don't think that holding the conference would have affected the Cyprus issue to a great extent, but since we were having talks at the time, we thought it would be best not to jeopardise our relations with Turkey."

Cassoulides dismissed suggestions that the conference would have been good for bringing the Cyprus Problem to the attention of the international community.

"The organisers themselves were in doubt as to whether it would be a good thing to hold the conference here -- that's why they wanted to meet with us to discuss the issue, and they said they had alternative venues in mind. We never prohibited the conference from taking place in Cyprus though.

"I still think it was probably best not to host the Pro-Armenia Conference here."

The Minister expressed his astonishment that the issue has been raised again, given that the conference went ahead smoothly in Paris on February 1- 2.

"I do not understand why there is suddenly such controversy surrounding the conference. It must be because it's election time."

Antranik Ashdjian, Chairman of the ANC for Cyprus, said yesterday that his organisation was disappointed the conference had not been not held in Cyprus.

"We had the meeting with the Minister in January last year during which he said we should wait a few months to see how the Cyprus Problem developed.

"Three months later we tried to meet with him again to ask for our request to be re-examined and but were told by his secretary to send a request in writing, which we did. But there was never any response to our letter.

"So the ANC decided to stage the conference in Paris instead. But the committee thought Cyprus was the best venue geographically to hold it."

Ashdjian said the committee had been sensitive to the Cyprus problem.

"Of course we were aware of the issue of the Cyprus Problem, which is why we decided to approach the government instead of just organising a conference without the approval of the government.

"Although as an organisation we felt that a forum with so many well esteemed dignitaries participating from all over the world would be advantageous for Cyprus and the Cyprus Problem.

"After all, the conference was not aimed against Turkey -- Armenia has nothing against the Turkish people. All we are asking for is for the historical truth of the Armenian genocide to be acknowledged by Turkey."

Honorary KISOS leader Vassos Lyssarides was in Paris for the conference.

"The conference was attended by a significant number of politicians and intellectuals and covered by journalists and media from all over the world. Had it been held here it would have been a great opportunity for Cyprus to draw attention to the Cyprus Problem," he said.

The Cyprus government last month ratified an agreement on co-operation in the military sphere between Cyprus and Armenia.

[02] 'New road spells doom for natural landmark'

By Alex Mita

GREEN Party Deputy George Perdikis was yesterday fuming over plans by the Ministry of Works to widen a road going through a historic natural landmark outside Kidasi in the Paphos district.

The Hassanpoulia rocks are named after a notorious band of Ottoman-era bandits. The existing narrow road passes between the giant overhanging rocks and there are fears they may fall victim to the new Paphos-Platres road that follows the same course.

Perdikis claimed on Tuesday that despite Communications Minister Averoff Neophytou's promises that the road would bypass the rocks, bulldozers had began breaking ground for the construction of the road through the landmark.

"He has given instructions for the acceleration of the works in an act of blind vengeance with the obvious aim that nothing should remain standing in a few days," Perdikis said.

But Neophytou told the Cyprus Mail that Perdikis' comments were pure fabrication.

"Mr Perdikis is lying. We would in no way aim to harm the environment," he said.

"There is no chance that the Hassanpoulia rock will be harmed in any way. We are working closely with the Geological Survey Department and any work carried out at the area will be to safeguard the environment, not to damage it," he said.

"The road will pass through the rocks, but it will be narrow down at that point, and not a single part of the rocks will be changed or affected."

But Perdikis yesterday blasted Neophytou's comments, saying the construction of the road through the rocks would mark the end of the landmark.

"Instead of building a national park where people could rest and read something about the island's history, they are aiming to destroy it," he said.

"How can Mr Neophytou say the rocks would not be harmed? The noise and fumes of the hundreds of cars that would be passing through them would eventually destroy the rocks," he said.

Perdikis slammed blasted Neophytou's behaviour, saying the Minister had also called him a liar on television.

"In violation of all ethics, Mr Neophytou supported his unacceptable behaviour by saying that 'if the Greens support Papadopoulos, they should wait until he is president so he can save the Hassanpoulia rocks'," Perdikis said, adding he would do everything in his power to protect the environment in the area.

[03] Tragedy of cancer family: children battle tumours after mother's death

By Alexia Saoulli

AN EIGHT-year-old girl and her brother of three are battling against life- threatening tumours that killed their mother last summer, with growing fears their illness could be related to environmental factors.

The family lived in Nicosia's Archangelos district, just four kilometres from Kato Lakatamia - an area residents have long associated with increased cancer risks.

On August 2 last year, Melanie Papanastasiou was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (a primary malignant tumour of bone or soft parts arising from bone-forming mesenchymal cells), her uncle Costas Minas told the Cyprus Mail. The night before her departure to London for treatment at the University College London Middlesex Hospital, her mother, Spyroulla, 32, went into coma. She was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour, he said. Spyroulla never regained consciousness and died the following morning, August 14. That afternoon, Melanie flew to the UK with her uncle and his wife, Athena Minas, unaware her mother had just died. Nine days later her father Nicos Papanastasiou flew to London and broke the tragic news.

At the time, Nicos was commuting between London and Cyprus to visit three- year-old Alexandros, who was living with Nicos' sister. On January 13, however, Alexandros was admitted to hospital for what looked like pneumonia. It turned out to be non-Hodgkin's lymphoblastic lymphoma. A few days later he was admitted to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, in London.

Melanie underwent successful surgery to remove her thighbone, which was replaced with an implant. She is currently undergoing physiotherapy and chemotherapy, said Minas. By the end of April she should be home, but will have to return to the UK once or twice a year over the next 12-13 years to have the implant adjusted, as she grows taller. Alexandros has now started treatment that will consist of 114 weeks of combined lumbar puncture and chemotherapy.

Minas said there was a history of cancer on both sides of the family and genetic researchers were investigating the possibility that his sister-in- law and her two children had inherited a "damaged gene". If the problem was genetic, the prognosis for their "long term cure goes out the window".

But local oncologist, Dr. Pavlos Drakos, told the Cyprus Mail that because all three types of cancer were different, it was likely environmental factors had influenced their onset. "It doesn't appear that it could be hereditary, because the three types of cancer are different. It is likely that some other factor in the area influenced it instead," he said.

A private epidemiologist also said it was "unlikely" that three different cancers were the cause of hereditary factors or mere chance.

"It can happen (that whole families are afflicted with cancer), but it is rare. Therefore, it is unlikely that we are looking at a coincidence," said epidemiologist Michalis Voniatis. "All environmental factors should be investigated thoroughly. But the chance factor cannot be ruled out either until studies are carried out and conclusions are drawn."

Complaints of an increase in the number of cancer among residents in Lakatamia and Ayios Dhometios in Nicosia have prompted the government to order large-scale study in eight different areas. Health Ministry chief medical officer Andreas Georgiou said they would investigate a possible link between an increase in "standardised mortality ratios" and environmental factors such as electromagnetic fields and toxic chemical substances. In the Ayia Paraskevi area in Lakatamia, residents have recorded 74 cases of different cancers, afflicting all ages, over 20 years - 40 of which have been fatal.

The Papanastasiou family lived only four kilometres away from the centre of Ayia Paraskevi. Georgiou said the study would begin in four to six months.

Nicos, 39, and his wife were both flight attendants with Cyprus Airways.

"This is a real tragedy that has affected a Cyprus Airways family," said the airline's spokesman Tassos Angelis. "And we are trying to help as much as we can."

Nicos has already been given 14 months unpaid leave. His sister-in-law, Athena, was also with him to help look after the children, who were being treated in different hospitals.

Although the government was paying for the treatment, it did not cover any other expenses. The family and donations were covering these, said Minas.

A bank account had been set up at Hellenic Bank in Nicos Papanastasiou's name (account number 131-12-054593-00). A bank source said yesterday they had already received �37,000 in donations.

"I didn't know there was that amount (donated). It makes it a hell of a lot easier to know that people care," said Minas. "It will not be used for immediate needs like food. Instead it will be used for long-term financial needs that will arise. So far the house has been mortgaged, their father will be out of work for at least two and a half years, medical bills will have to paid, the kids will have to keep going back to England every six months for checkups and they need to be educated," he said.

Stavroulla's sister, Eleni Stavrinidou said: "When Alexandros was diagnosed I lifted my hands in desperation and said I just don't know what else to do now.they are all so young. No one knows if it's genetic or environmental. The UK doctors said they would look at the genetic factors, but that it will take time. Today what matters is treating the children. With their mother gone and their future unsure it is my duty to them to do something."

[04] Limassol bakery robbed

TWO MEN robbed a Limassol bakery yesterday and assaulted one of the employees.

At around 8.30pm last night, two balaclava-clad men dressed in black walked into the Sunfresh bakery in the Tsirio area of Limassol and pulled away the cash register near the entrance, taking by surprise three female employees working there.

While making their escape, one of the employees pursued the robbers, grabbing the one holding the till in an effort to take off his mask. The till fell to the ground in the fracas and broke. The assailant then hit the employee who fell on the floor, injuring her left hand. The robbers escaped from the back entrance of the bakery, making off with the till and the �600 in it.

The culprits were described as tall, thin and under 20, possibly minors. At no time did they speak to the three employees. Police are searching for suspects based on the evidence already acquired.

[05] Bank shares take a hammering

BANKS shares took a hammering yesterday following Fitch Ratings' decision on Tuesday to downgrade Bank of Cyprus' (BoC) credit rating from an A to an A-.

Heavy selling pressure forced BoC down five cents to close at �1.26. Laiki dropped three cents to �1.15 and Hellenic two cents to 66 cents. In total, the banking sector ended 2.87 per cent in the red, compared to 1.79 per cent down for the all-share index and 3.07 per cent for the FTSE/CySE.

Yesterday's close marked a five-point drop in the index in the space of a week as share prices hit a new year low that dragged the index down to 88.2 points and the FTSE to 336. Volume stood at �636,026.

On Tuesday, Bank of Cyprus said the group did not expect negative consequences from Fitch's decision to downgrade its rating.

The rating action reflected concerns over BoC's high costs, its asset quality

indicators and loan loss reserve coverage levels, as well as uncertainty

regarding the economic outlook.

[06] National Council to meet before weekend

Government spokesman, Michalis Papapetrou, said last night that President Glafcos Clerides has decided to call a meeting of the National Council within the next few days, despite knowing that some will use the meeting as an election campaign tool.

Papapetrou said that the meeting will highlight those who are manipulating the National Council for their own gain.

[07] 1,500 civil servants to work on polls in Limassol

AROUND 1,500 civil servants will be working in the Limassol district on election Sunday to process an estimated 134,041 votes.

Deputy district officer Nicos Roussos said registered voters in the Limassol district totalled 134,041 people, who would be casting their vote in 323 polling centres.

The average number of voters per centre was 450, with the largest one in the town of Limassol expecting 622 voters while the smallest, at the village of Vasa Kellakiou, has 52 registered voters.

The main bulk of voters - 63,797 -- is in Limassol town, distributed between 131 polling stations.

Four other municipalities in the greater Limassol area will host 60 centres with 29,288 voters; 40,956 voters will be casting their ballot in 132 centres in the rest of the district.

Around 1,500 civil servants will be needed to process the votes, which will be counted in situ as soon as the polls close at 5pm.

Eleven communities will have to vote in neighbouring areas due to the small number of voters.

[08] Papadopoulos promises freeze on stock market debts

By George Psyllides

DIKO chief Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday pledged to implement reforms to tackle the problems of the flailing stock market (CSE) and investor debts.

Papadopoulos said the plan was to freeze investor debts "with the agreement of the banks, the Central Bank, and the Finance Ministry", allowing debtors to pay low interest rates while the debts were frozen, with the balance covered by increased interest rates paid to commercial banks by the Central Bank.

Papadopoulos said these proposals had already been submitted but rejected by the government.

Cyprus is still reeling from the 1999 CSE fiasco, which saw thousands of small investors losing millions of pounds in the collapse of the stock market.

Papadopoulos has been heavily criticised for his role in the debacle, since he was one of the CSE's legal advisers.

He revealed he would be meeting the Central Bank governor today because the bank's position was important in implementing the plan.

"There are responsibilities, and there are people who are guilty for what happened on the stock market, as it was recorded by the unanimous report of the House Watchdog Committee," Papadopoulos said.

"If we have any chance of regaining public trust in the stock market, we will have to bring the guilty to court and punish those found guilty."

He said he did not accept the argument that the Law on Evidence made it difficult to initiate prosecutions, saying there were other offences that could have been brought to court on the current law.

Attorney-general Alecos Markides has repeatedly slammed the House, 22 of whose 56 deputies are lawyers, for dragging its feet in approving amendments that would modernise the antiquated Law on Evidence.

Markides suggested amendments to the law would have freed his hands to prosecute stock market related cases and made convictions easier.

[09] Themistocleous sure of Clerides re-election

AGRICULTURE Minister Costas Themistocleous said yesterday he would submit his resignation the morning after the presidential elections because he felt his department's main goals had been achieved and his conscience was clear.

The minister said he had no doubt President Glafcos Clerides would be the winner on the second Sunday of the elections.

Themistocleous revealed he would submit his resignation to Clerides the morning after the second round for two reasons: because he believed that his ministry's main aims for the past five years had been achieved, and because he wanted Clerides to be able to go ahead with his promise to form a government of national unity.

"My decision from now is to help the President of the Republic to do what he promised; (to form) a government of the widest possible unity," Themistocleous said.

The minister said he expected there would be a second Sunday runoff, but he had no doubt Clerides would come out on top.

Commenting on the decision by 37 former ministers to support DIKO chief Tassos Papadopoulos, Themistocleous said, "Mr. Papadopoulos is fighting for five years in power and maybe some people are craving for power again."

"I am sure that there are more former ministers who have not voiced their support," he added.

Themistocleous said he had been sure 2002 would be the year of Cyprus' accession to the European Union and he was now sure 2003 would be the year the Cyprus problem would be solved.

"The solution clock is ticking and if we don't listen to the ticks we might need to hit our heads on the wall," Themistocleous said.

[10] Giant crack splits open Paphos village road

By Sofia Kannas

A ROAD connecting the villages of Kellokedara and Salamiou has been closed after a section of the tarmac cracked and split open.

Mukhtar of Kellokedares Antonis Emilianou told the Cyprus Mail the damage to the road was considerable.

"The road just split open in two or three places. The surface of the road has fallen by up to a metre in some areas."

Asked what had caused the road to split open, Emilianou said: "The road is pretty new, it was finished in 2002 by Joannou and Paraskevaides I believe. But the cracks are most likely due to subsidence in the area combined with recent falls of heavy rain, and not to bad construction work.

"The Public Works Department are investigating the matter," he added.

One inhabitant of the village said the Kellakedares-Salamiou road had showed signs of erosion for some time.

"As you come down the hill, before Salamiou the road has looked bad for some time. Erosion began almost immediately after it was finished and they've been patching it up since then."

Pavlos Pavlou, an Inspector at Paphos District Administration said engineers were looking into the road, and confirmed that it had been closed to traffic in the meantime.

"The road is completely unusable.

"All vehicles must go via the Trachipedoullas-Salamiou road instead at the moment, although one section of this road is notoriously dangerous.

"What we need is a new road linking the Trachipedoullas and Kellokedares road. We hope construction will begin soon."

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-02-06

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Thursday, February 6, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Minister admits Armenian conference was discouraged for fear of derailing talks

[02] 'New road spells doom for natural landmark'

[03] Tragedy of cancer family: children battle tumours after mother's death

[04] Limassol bakery robbed

[05] Bank shares take a hammering

[06] National Council to meet before weekend

[07] 1,500 civil servants to work on polls in Limassol

[08] Papadopoulos promises freeze on stock market debts

[09] Themistocleous sure of Clerides re-election

[10] Giant crack splits open Paphos village road

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article