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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-02-18
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
CONTENTS
[01] DISY calls emergency meeting to discuss fate of rebelsBy a Staff
ReporterDISY'S Central Committee last night decided against immediate
action to expel the five party members who had backed Attorney-general
Alecos Markides' unsuccessful bid in Sunday's presidential elections, but
called an emergency meeting for Saturday to discuss their fate.DISY leader
Nicos Anastassiades has blamed the split in DISY ranks for President
Glafcos Clerides' first round defeat by DIKO leader Tassos Papadopoulos.
Before the votes had even been counted, a furious Anastassiades called for
the five dissenters - Prodromos Prodromou, Demetris Syllouris, Rikos
Erotocritou, Eleni Vrahimi and Sofoclis Hadjiyiannis - to be kicked
out.Ugly scenes erupted outside the DISY offices before the two-hour
meeting when a handful of party faithful jeered the rebels as they arrived,
lambasting them as traitors.Speaking after the meeting, DISY spokesman
Tassos Mitsopoulos told reporters it had been decided to convene an
extraordinary meeting of the committee on Saturday to discuss
Anastassiades' proposal to expel the five dissenters. He said there were no
plans to strike them off at present.Mitsopoulos also said the general party
congress would be brought forward from June to March.
[02] Over 1,000 entries in flag and anthem competitionsBy a Staff
ReporterUNFICYP has received over 1,000 entries for the flag and anthem
competition for a new Cyprus, spokesman Brian Kelly said last night as the
deadline for submissions closed.“We have received upwards of 1,000 entries
and still counting,” Kelly said, adding that some were multiple entries
from schools. He said that entries had been received from 15 countries
“including Cyprus” but said it was too early to make a distinction yet
between how many were flag entries and how many contained a new Cyprus
anthem.Last month, incumbent President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot
leader Rauf Denktash, who were engaged in discussions on a UN settlement
plan, authorised the UN to set the ball rolling for a new flag and
anthem.Kelly said the UN would probably not announce any winner until an
agreement has been signed on the Cyprus problem.
[03] Bloodbath at DISYBy Elias HazouREELING from Sunday's heavy election
defeat, right-wing DISY was yesterday in the throes of a full-blown crisis,
with some of the party's top brass being threatened with expulsion.The fall-
out came sooner than expected. On Sunday night, as poll results were still
coming in, a visibly furious Nicos Anastassiades announced live on
television that he would be recommending the expulsion of five senior party
officers for undermining the Clerides candidacy. Anastassiades followed up
with scathing criticism and name-calling, saying that the so-called
“dissenters” should be ashamed of themselves.Political pundits yesterday
pointed to a crisis simmering for a while amid DISY ranks; Sunday's defeat
was the last straw, it seemed.Anastassiades blamed the dissenting deputies
for alienating socialist KISOS boss Yiannakis Omirou, who from DISY's one-
time candidate returned to the fold of the opposition alliance. KISOS' vote
was considered crucial in tipping the scales in favour of Papadopoulos and
allowing him to win the elections from round one.Reaction to Anastassiades
was quick and bitter. Sofocles Hadjiyiannis, a member of DISY's Political
Bureau, launched a full-scale attack on the party boss, blaming the
election defeat on Anastassiades' personal ambition. In a five-minute-long
outburst on a TV panel, Hadjiyiannis' description of his party boss was
less than flattering.“What you saw here tonight was nothing compared to his
tantrums at Political Bureau meetings. He literally flies off the handle,
shouts like mad, bangs his fists on the table, throws ashtrays… this is
what Anastassiades is all about.”A slightly calmer Hadjiyiannis then blamed
Omirou's alienation from DISY on a power grab, saying this was not the
first time Anastassiades was acting out of pure self-interest.For their
part, deputies Prodromos Prodromou and Demetris Syllouris urged
Anastassiades to assume his responsibilities for the defeat and resign as
party leader. Failing that, they predicted that the next party congress in
June would move to replace Anastassiades as chairman.“Any leader of a
European party would have quit by now,” said Prodromou, who supported the
candidacy of independent candidate Alecos Markides. “What has happened is
due to his own scheming and wheeling-and-dealing. If you ask me, he didn't
really care if Clerides won the elections.“He messed up, and now he wants
our head on a platter,” remarked deputy Rikos Erotokritou.The debates
degenerated into rows as pro-Anastassiades party deputies joined the panels,
while live TV feeds showed jubilant Papadopoulos fans celebrating in towns
across the island.Stelios Stylianou, a former DISY deputy, opted for
sarcasm: “We congratulate Papadopoulos for his victory. At the same time, I
think we should also congratulate Anastassiades who, in his own inimitable
way, greatly contributed to Papadopoulos' success.”Tension on the panel was
somewhat relieved when television showed Papadopoulos fans holding up a cut-
out in the shape of a hand reading “Papapetrou, go home!” Government
spokesman Michalis Papapetrou joked: “OK, I think that means me.”By
yesterday there appeared to be some second thoughts. Prominent DISY figures
appeared on radio and TV shows appealing for calm and unity. Still, a
meeting of the Political Bureau was set for late in the afternoon; any
decision for expulsion would require a majority in the 10-member
body.Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides, slated as a possible successor
to the DISY leadership, advised common sense. “It was an emotional night
for everyone in the DISY camp… and I think that a civilised debate is now
in order.”Meanwhile former Attorney-general Markides was considering his
own options in the election aftermath. Markides, supported by DISY big guns
Prodromou and Syllouris, was rumoured to be thinking about setting up a
political movement. Pundits suggested that Markides' decision would to a
large extent depend on the developments in DISY. A statement by Markides
indicated that he would not leave his supporters in limbo.One of the major
issues being debated is whether Markides, a former long-time member of DISY,
actually hurt President Clerides' chances of re-election. Looking at the
figures, Clerides got 38.8 per cent, while Markides received slightly less
than seven per cent. Combined, the numbers would still fall well short of
Papadopoulos' 51.5 per cent. It has also been suggested that Clerides' was
a lost cause, since he was up against five parties.
[04] Denktash: we wouldn't have had a solution with CleridesBy Jean
ChristouTURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said yesterday it was unlikely
he and outgoing president Glafcos Clerides would have achieved a Cyprus
agreement and blamed the UN for interference in the talks.In an interview
with Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio yesterday, Denktash claimed Clerides had
rejected the Annan plan.“I am aware that Clerides rejected the Annan plan,
regardless of the fact that he pretended to accept it. I regret to say that
the Greek Cypriots who oppose an agreement have achieved victory,” Denktash
said. “I do not believe that Clerides would have solved the Cyprus problem
with me. He proved through his approach that he would not be able to do so
and, in fact, would not do so.”Criticising the UN, Denktash said UN envoy
Alvaro de Soto had told the leaders he would just “take notes and that we
should see him like a fly on the wall”.“But he acted like a referee and
tried to place the talks under his control. He began to use pressure on us
as much as he could to impose an agreement that was drawn up by other
entities. That is why an impasse emerged in the talks,” Denktash said.“We
lost the opportunity because two things would have come to light through
face-to-face talks. We would have been able to establish whether an
opportunity existed for talks on a realistic basis. Furthermore, we would
have been able to establish whether we would be able to reach an
agreement.”The Turkish Cypriot leader slammed president elect Tassos
Papadopoulos' message that the Cyprus problem could not be solved until
Karpasia was retaken and all refugees returned to their homes. “He said
that the Karpass peninsula is a Hellenic area, the return of the Hellenic
people to their places is unavoidable, all the refugees must return to
their places, and the problem of missing persons must be solved,” Denktash
said. “Mr Papadopoulos claimed that he will take up his duties as the
president of the whole Cyprus. In view of that, I cannot congratulate him.
As the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, it is
impossible for me to congratulate a person who claims to be the president
of the entire island. However, I congratulate him in his capacity as the
leader of the Greek Cypriot side.”Denktash said Papadopoulos had
contributed to the conditions that divided Cyprus as much as Clerides had
in the past, “in fact even more than Clerides”.“He must refrain from
telling lies by claiming that the Turkish military forces divided Cyprus
into two parts and that they are an occupying entity on the island.
Claiming that all the Greek Cypriots will return to their former places as
if nothing has happened is meaningless,” he said.
[05] Kyprianou brushes off Cabinet speculationBy Alex MitaDIKO deputy
Marcos Kyprianou yesterday waved off suggestions that he would be appointed
as the new Finance Minister, saying what was important at present was the
implementation of newly-elected President Tassos Papadopoulos' programme,
not the people who would be appointed. He also refused to comment on
speculation he might take over as DIKO chairman, if Papadopoulos stood down
to concentrate o nthe presidency, as he said he would during the campaign.
Asked whether he would be interested in following in the footsteps of his
late father Spyros Kyprianou, who founded DIKO, Marcos Kyprianou merely
said the party had a chairman and that when the position became vacant, the
electoral office of the party would take the relevant decisions as to who
would succeed Papadopoulos as head of the Democratic Party. “The scenarios
were there before the elections, what is important today is Mr
Papadopoulos' victory,” Kyprianou said. “The President will first consult
with the parties which support him, on how they will co-operate on a
political level, and then he will decide together with the parties on who
will be appointed and where,” he added.“As for who will be DIKO's new
leader we will have to wait and see. All these matters will be resolved in
a few days, and we will have specific answers and indications.” Deputy
chairman Nicos Cleanthous said the issue of who would succeed Papadopoulos
had not been under discussion. “We are not in a hurry; when the issue comes
up we will be able to solve it through democracy,” he said.“We have been
trough many a hard time in our party but today we are more united than ever
and we feel the responsibility that we have undertaken.”Papadopoulos' now
vacant seat at the House of Representatives will automatically be filled by
the party's Permanent Secretary Andreas Angelides, who is DIKO's next in
line for the Nicosia district in terms of preference votes cast at the 2001
parliamentary elections. Asked whether he would chose the House or a
Ministry, Angelides said it was his duty to the electorate to take up his
seat in Parliament.“I would be honoured if the President called upon me to
exercise other duties, but I feel it is my duty to the people to fulfil my
duty at the House,” Angelides said. “What is important now is who will
succeed Mr Papadopoulos at the House, it is a difficult task and I hope I
can rise to the challenge,” he added.
[06] Smiling Clerides welcomes Papadopoulos to the PalaceBy Alex MitaA
JUBILANT smile lit the face of newly-elected President Tassos Papadopoulos
yesterday as he stepped out of his black Jaguar and shook hands with
Pantelis Kouros, Undersecretary to outgoing President Glafcos
Clerides.Kouros welcomed the president elect on the steps of the
Presidential Palace while a pack of journalists were kept at bay behind a
blue ribbon by security.Papadopoulos arrived at around 10am in a three-car
convoy and swept in to the Presidential Palace to meet Clerides without
making any comments to the waiting media. Clerides welcomed Papadopoulos
cigar in hand; the two men embraced and sat down, while photographers
engaged in a scrum to get 'the shot'. There was a moment of uncomfortable
silence as neither of the two spoke and then suddenly Clerides, in
surprisingly good cheer, told Papadopoulos: “Say something or else they'll
think we are angry at each other.”The rest of the meeting took place behind
closed doors.On his way out, Papadopoulos fended off questions by
journalists, who wanted to know when he was planning to form the new
government and whether he had formed a new negotiating team for the Cyprus
problem, saying all would be revealed soon. There were smiles all round
DIKO headquarters as staff exchanged hugs and kisses and congratulated each
other for the election of their leader, and telephone lines were blocked
from the hundreds of telephone calls from supporters wanting to
congratulate Papadopoulos. Outside, a few of Papadopoulos' supporters
waited eagerly to catch a view of the newly elected president, as he
stepped out of his car to meet with UN Special Envoy Alvaro de Soto.
Papadopoulos was cheered as he stepped into his office where more
supporters embraced and kissed him and then disappeared behind the doors of
a conference room, where he met with De Soto. The meeting, which lasted for
more than 30 minutes, was followed by brief comments by both men.
Papadopoulos again refused to reveal any plans for a new Cabinet and new
negotiating team, but assured reporters he had asked for Clerides' help and
experience in the talks. There was no comment from either Papadopoulos or
De Soto on when the talks would resume.
[07] What chance of a solution now?By Jean ChristouWITH only 11 days to go
before the UN deadline for reaching an agreement on the Cyprus problem, the
question on analysts' and diplomats; lips yesterday was not so much how
quickly or to what extent president-elect Tassos Papadopoulos would take on
the mantle of Glafcos Clerides, but how Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf
Denktash would react.Either way, the February 28, deadline, already on the
rocks due to Denktash's opposition, now looks doomed - if only for logistic
reasons - despite an imminent visit by UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan,
author of the controversial UN plan.Yesterday, Denktash expressed regret
over Papadopoulos's victory in Sunday's election, saying it signalled the
opposition of the Greek Cypriot people to the plan, and warned that unless
the DIKO leader approached the talks in a realistic manner there would be
no reason to continue with the settlement process.Last month, the Turkish
Cypriot leader was more vocal with his opinion of Papadopoulos. Turkish
Cypriot press quoted him as saying he would also prefer to negotiate with
Clerides. “The main opponent of Clerides is an extremist EOKA-ist. He is
the lawyer who in south Cyprus laundered Slobodan Milosevic's money,”
Denktash said.“In my opinion, if Papadopoulos is elected the solution
avenues will be closed altogether.”Papadopoulos is no stranger to the
'hardline' tag, but seriously toned down his rhetoric during his election
campaign, although he slipped up during his victory speech on Sunday night
saying he would “fight for the right of all the displaced persons to return
in conditions of safety,” when in fact the Annan plan provides for the
return of only half of refugees.“This was really absurd in the
circumstances,” said analyst Sofronis Sofroniou. “It's like rejecting the
whole Annan plan, although I suppose it was old rhetoric that got the
better of him. I don't think it was his considered opinion,” he added.All
analysts and diplomats agree the election of Papadopoulos could provide
Denktash with more excuses to stay away from the negotiating table.“One
could take a cynical view and say he is overjoyed by this because this is
just the sort of smokescreen that he can now use to very good effect,” said
political analyst Dr James Ker-Lindsay. “It's quite clear that if Denktash
wanted to sit down he could sit down and he could talks with Papadopoulos.
Denktash is a hardliner and if he is sincere about coming to the table and
negotiating then why shouldn't another person who he is characterising as a
hardliner be able to do exactly the same.”Sofroniou also said Denktash was
exploiting Papadopoulos' reputation as a hardliner so it would be up to
Papadopoulos to prove him wrong. “We will have to see how he chooses,” he
said. “Very soon he will have to show his spots.”In the end, however, Ker-
Lindsay said it would be up to Ankara. “Frankly, the real concern is
whether Ankara is going to put the pressure on Denktash to come to the
table. At the moment you could say that it's neither here nor there what
any Greek Cypriot politician wants because the reality is that the talks
process is being stalled by Denktash,” he said. “At this stage until we can
actually see Papadopoulos in action it's very difficult to paint him as
anything.”Sofroniou said that so far Papadopoulos was showing willingness
towards moderation as he promised, “but I don't know how far he will
succeed since he has already made some ambiguous statements”.He also agreed
in part with Denktash's estimation that many Greek Cypriot voters had opted
for Papadopoulos because they believed he would oppose the Annan plan.
“Some voted for that reason, but not everybody,” he said. “I think that
Clerides wasn't really very convincing in his arguments about the 16 months
with an uncertain outcome and also people did want a bit of a change, even
a change of faces, and the division in DISY had its effect,” he said.Ker-
Lindsay said Papadopoulos was only in power through the support of AKEL,
which he said has traditionally been seen as more conciliatory. “Speaking
with Turkish Cypriots, they have been disappointed to hear the rhetoric
from AKEL (during the election campaign), and actually DISY has come to be
seen rather ironically by Turkish Cypriots as the more conciliatory, but
nonetheless now the elections have been won maybe we will see AKEL revert
to its more traditional rhetoric on this and this may be an influence on
Papadopoulos if he does take a hardline stance,” he said.However, whatever
way the talks go, the February 28 deadline for an agreement now appears
further out of reach than ever.The tightly framed plan was designed to give
time for separate referenda on March 30 and aimed at a united Cyprus
signing the EU accession treaty in April. This timetable is now unlikely to
be met, both for practical reasons and due to the political uncertainty and
the shadow of war with Iraq, which Ker-Lindsay said would draw Ankara's
attention away from Cyprus.Sofroniou said the chance was already gone,
unless Annan came up with something spectacular when he visited the island
next week.“It will be difficult to bring in a new negotiating team and it's
going to take a little time for them to find their feet,” Ker-Lindsay said.
“Really February 28 is looking more and more unlikely as a date.”However,
one international source close to the talks said there was no technical
reason the deadline could not be met. He said Papadopoulos was already on
the National Council and was more than familiar with what had been going on
in the talks. “The plan is all there. There is nothing new to learn,” the
source said, adding that the only danger was that if Papadopoulos sought
extensive changes - and the UN has said there is no room for any - that “if
one side opens up vast areas of substances in the plan it will be open to
the other side to do the same”.“That is the danger,” he said. “If
Papadopoulos is going to be a hardline Denktash for the Greek Cypriot side,
we're a long way from a solution. Denktash is asking the impossible and
Papadopoulos might also ask the impossible.”
[08] First round win proves the pollsters rightBy Sofia KannasTassos
Papadopoulos is the new President-elect after a resounding first-round
victory in Sunday's elections.The 69-year-old lawyer and politician was
proclaimed President after the majority of the 431,690 citizens who visited
polling stations on Sunday cast their vote in his favour.According to
official results, Papadopoullos won an overwhelming 51.51 per cent of the
vote for a comfortably win over outgoing President Glafcos Clerides, who
took 38.8 per cent of the votes. The margin of victory was the third
greatest in the Republic's history, with only George Vassiliou (1988) and
Spyros Kyprianou (1983) winning by a bigger margin, with 51.6 and 56.5 per
cent respectively.Papadopoulos' win was also the first round-one victory on
the island in 20 years --the last time a President won in the first round
was in 1983, when Spyros Kyprianou was elected without the need for a
second round.Of the other nine candidates standing for election on Sunday,
Attorney-general and former advisor to Clerides Alecos Markides - standing
as an independent - took 6.6 per cent of the vote, and Nicos Koutsou with a
distant 2.1 per cent.The final results put paid to the pre-election
controversy surrounding opinion polls, after politicians from the Clerides
and Markides camp claimed poll findings had been engineered and invalid. In
a poll published two weeks ago, poll company AMER predicted quite
accurately that Papadopoulos would get 51.9 per cent of the votes, enough
to secure a first-round win over Clerides.Meanwhile, results for individual
electoral districts showed that most votes for Papadopoulos came from
Paphos, where the new President won 58.5 per cent of the votes. This was
followed by the districts of Limassol (52.8 per cent), Larnaca (52.75 per
cent), Nicosia (49.79 per cent) and finally Famagusta with 48.18 per
cent.The DIKO leader's win was met with apprehension by some sections of
the international community, amid fears that his election may limit the
chances of a settlement being reached by 28 February, the deadline set by
the UN for a solution.However, in a victory speech at the Eleftheria
Stadium on Sunday night, Papadopoulos told euphoric supporters he would
display flexibility and good will at the negotiating table to achieve a
comprehensive and viable settlement to the Cyprus problem.In his speech,
Papadopoulos also appealed to his “Turkish Cypriot compatriots”.“I want to
convey a message of co-operation to my Turkish Cypriot counterparts for a
just and viable solution… we will exert every effort to see a reunited
Cyprus join the EU,” he said.
[09] Cabinet agrees reduced military service term for boys with foreign
father opting for citizenshipBy Alexia SaoulliCHILDREN born to a foreign
father and Cypriot mother will now only have to serve six months in the
National Guard if they want to obtain Cypriot citizenship, Defence Ministry
spokesman Andreas Yiorkas said yesterday.“In the past, children with a
foreign father and Cypriot mother had to complete the full 26 months'
military service if they wanted citizenship,” he said. “This service has
now been minimised to six months for these conscripts.” The decision was
approved by the Cabinet last week and became effective immediately, he
said.Children born to a Greek father stand to gain from this revision to
the law. Boys with Greek fathers only have to complete six months' military
service in Greece if they are permanent residents abroad. So until now,
boys born to Greek fathers had a choice of completing six months military
service in Greece or 26 months in Cyprus if they became Cypriot citizens,
he said. “Because of this, a lot of boys that grew up here and wanted to
become Cypriot did not. When faced with a choice of over two years military
service or rejecting citizenship, they opted for the latter,” said Yiorkas.
“Now, they will only have to do six months here or six months in Greece to
fulfil their military service obligations, therefore more boys will be
willing to apply for citizenship.” By becoming Cypriot citizens, they would
be eligible to all benefits, including jobs in the civil service, he
said.“A lot of young men have grown up here their whole lives and want to
become citizens. They even want to work for the government and are told
they can only do so if they are citizens. But, the idea of 26 months in the
National Guard puts them off,” said Yiorkas. Because of a bilateral
agreement between Cyprus and Greece, a boy choosing to do his military
service here would be exempt from serving in Greece, he added. “We do not
have the same agreement with other countries,” he said. “If military
service is compulsory in, say, Syria, then boys would still have to
complete it there, irrespective of whether or not they'd done six months
here.”This change in the military service law applied to all men of all
ages with a foreign father and Cypriot mother.
[10] Kidnap fears in search for missing brothersBy Alexia Saoulli POLICE
were yesterday investigating the disappearance of two brothers from a
Larnaca district village, after they were last seen at lunchtime on
Saturday.“Everything is under investigation. We are looking at all the
possibilities,” police spokesman Demetris Demetriou told the Cyprus
Mail.Nicholas Sinesi, 31, and his 27-year-old brother Kyriakos, were seen
leaving for their junkyard located in Panayia ton Ampelion in Kofinou at
around 10.30am on Saturday, police said. A local herder last saw them three
hours later.Concerned family members started calling the two men on their
mobile phones throughout the day, but neither one answered. At 6pm, Kofinou
police were officially notified of their disappearance and search parties
were sent out to find them, without uncovering any evidence of their
whereabouts.On Sunday, Rapid Reaction Unit police and a police helicopter
were used to comb surrounding dams and the greater Kofinou area. Criminal
investigation division police, criminology officials and ballistics
specialists all gathered evidence from the area where the two brothers were
last seen.At the junkyard, police found the two men's cars with their keys
in the ignition and Kyriakos' mobile phone and cigarettes. Although
Nicholas had also left his cigarettes behind, his mobile phone could not be
found. Nevertheless, when police called him on it, there was no answer.
However, investigations said they picked up signals from Nicholas' phone in
Mazotos near Larnaca and police were expected to search the sea region
yesterday.A third brother, Andreas along with Kyriakos' wife, Demetra, said
they believed the duo had been kidnapped. Demetra maintained that her
husband always took his mobile phone and cigarettes with him wherever he
went and would never have left them behind in the car.This was a very
serious case “and all possibilities were being investigated thoroughly,”
police said. Despite family members' fears, reports said yesterday there
was no evidence to suggest the two brothers had been kidnapped, although
police themselves had not yet ruled out foul play.
[01] DISY calls emergency meeting to discuss fate of rebelsBy a Staff
ReporterDISY'S Central Committee last night decided against immediate
action to expel the five party members who had backed Attorney-general
Alecos Markides' unsuccessful bid in Sunday's presidential elections, but
called an emergency meeting for Saturday to discuss their fate.DISY leader
Nicos Anastassiades has blamed the split in DISY ranks for President
Glafcos Clerides' first round defeat by DIKO leader Tassos Papadopoulos.
Before the votes had even been counted, a furious Anastassiades called for
the five dissenters - Prodromos Prodromou, Demetris Syllouris, Rikos
Erotocritou, Eleni Vrahimi and Sofoclis Hadjiyiannis - to be kicked
out.Ugly scenes erupted outside the DISY offices before the two-hour
meeting when a handful of party faithful jeered the rebels as they arrived,
lambasting them as traitors.Speaking after the meeting, DISY spokesman
Tassos Mitsopoulos told reporters it had been decided to convene an
extraordinary meeting of the committee on Saturday to discuss
Anastassiades' proposal to expel the five dissenters. He said there were no
plans to strike them off at present.Mitsopoulos also said the general party
congress would be brought forward from June to March.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[02] Over 1,000 entries in flag and anthem competitionsBy a Staff
ReporterUNFICYP has received over 1,000 entries for the flag and anthem
competition for a new Cyprus, spokesman Brian Kelly said last night as the
deadline for submissions closed.“We have received upwards of 1,000 entries
and still counting,” Kelly said, adding that some were multiple entries
from schools. He said that entries had been received from 15 countries
“including Cyprus” but said it was too early to make a distinction yet
between how many were flag entries and how many contained a new Cyprus
anthem.Last month, incumbent President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot
leader Rauf Denktash, who were engaged in discussions on a UN settlement
plan, authorised the UN to set the ball rolling for a new flag and
anthem.Kelly said the UN would probably not announce any winner until an
agreement has been signed on the Cyprus problem.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[03] Bloodbath at DISYBy Elias HazouREELING from Sunday's heavy election
defeat, right-wing DISY was yesterday in the throes of a full-blown crisis,
with some of the party's top brass being threatened with expulsion.The fall-
out came sooner than expected. On Sunday night, as poll results were still
coming in, a visibly furious Nicos Anastassiades announced live on
television that he would be recommending the expulsion of five senior party
officers for undermining the Clerides candidacy. Anastassiades followed up
with scathing criticism and name-calling, saying that the so-called
“dissenters” should be ashamed of themselves.Political pundits yesterday
pointed to a crisis simmering for a while amid DISY ranks; Sunday's defeat
was the last straw, it seemed.Anastassiades blamed the dissenting deputies
for alienating socialist KISOS boss Yiannakis Omirou, who from DISY's one-
time candidate returned to the fold of the opposition alliance. KISOS' vote
was considered crucial in tipping the scales in favour of Papadopoulos and
allowing him to win the elections from round one.Reaction to Anastassiades
was quick and bitter. Sofocles Hadjiyiannis, a member of DISY's Political
Bureau, launched a full-scale attack on the party boss, blaming the
election defeat on Anastassiades' personal ambition. In a five-minute-long
outburst on a TV panel, Hadjiyiannis' description of his party boss was
less than flattering.“What you saw here tonight was nothing compared to his
tantrums at Political Bureau meetings. He literally flies off the handle,
shouts like mad, bangs his fists on the table, throws ashtrays… this is
what Anastassiades is all about.”A slightly calmer Hadjiyiannis then blamed
Omirou's alienation from DISY on a power grab, saying this was not the
first time Anastassiades was acting out of pure self-interest.For their
part, deputies Prodromos Prodromou and Demetris Syllouris urged
Anastassiades to assume his responsibilities for the defeat and resign as
party leader. Failing that, they predicted that the next party congress in
June would move to replace Anastassiades as chairman.“Any leader of a
European party would have quit by now,” said Prodromou, who supported the
candidacy of independent candidate Alecos Markides. “What has happened is
due to his own scheming and wheeling-and-dealing. If you ask me, he didn't
really care if Clerides won the elections.“He messed up, and now he wants
our head on a platter,” remarked deputy Rikos Erotokritou.The debates
degenerated into rows as pro-Anastassiades party deputies joined the panels,
while live TV feeds showed jubilant Papadopoulos fans celebrating in towns
across the island.Stelios Stylianou, a former DISY deputy, opted for
sarcasm: “We congratulate Papadopoulos for his victory. At the same time, I
think we should also congratulate Anastassiades who, in his own inimitable
way, greatly contributed to Papadopoulos' success.”Tension on the panel was
somewhat relieved when television showed Papadopoulos fans holding up a cut-
out in the shape of a hand reading “Papapetrou, go home!” Government
spokesman Michalis Papapetrou joked: “OK, I think that means me.”By
yesterday there appeared to be some second thoughts. Prominent DISY figures
appeared on radio and TV shows appealing for calm and unity. Still, a
meeting of the Political Bureau was set for late in the afternoon; any
decision for expulsion would require a majority in the 10-member
body.Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides, slated as a possible successor
to the DISY leadership, advised common sense. “It was an emotional night
for everyone in the DISY camp… and I think that a civilised debate is now
in order.”Meanwhile former Attorney-general Markides was considering his
own options in the election aftermath. Markides, supported by DISY big guns
Prodromou and Syllouris, was rumoured to be thinking about setting up a
political movement. Pundits suggested that Markides' decision would to a
large extent depend on the developments in DISY. A statement by Markides
indicated that he would not leave his supporters in limbo.One of the major
issues being debated is whether Markides, a former long-time member of DISY,
actually hurt President Clerides' chances of re-election. Looking at the
figures, Clerides got 38.8 per cent, while Markides received slightly less
than seven per cent. Combined, the numbers would still fall well short of
Papadopoulos' 51.5 per cent. It has also been suggested that Clerides' was
a lost cause, since he was up against five parties.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[04] Denktash: we wouldn't have had a solution with CleridesBy Jean
ChristouTURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said yesterday it was unlikely
he and outgoing president Glafcos Clerides would have achieved a Cyprus
agreement and blamed the UN for interference in the talks.In an interview
with Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio yesterday, Denktash claimed Clerides had
rejected the Annan plan.“I am aware that Clerides rejected the Annan plan,
regardless of the fact that he pretended to accept it. I regret to say that
the Greek Cypriots who oppose an agreement have achieved victory,” Denktash
said. “I do not believe that Clerides would have solved the Cyprus problem
with me. He proved through his approach that he would not be able to do so
and, in fact, would not do so.”Criticising the UN, Denktash said UN envoy
Alvaro de Soto had told the leaders he would just “take notes and that we
should see him like a fly on the wall”.“But he acted like a referee and
tried to place the talks under his control. He began to use pressure on us
as much as he could to impose an agreement that was drawn up by other
entities. That is why an impasse emerged in the talks,” Denktash said.“We
lost the opportunity because two things would have come to light through
face-to-face talks. We would have been able to establish whether an
opportunity existed for talks on a realistic basis. Furthermore, we would
have been able to establish whether we would be able to reach an
agreement.”The Turkish Cypriot leader slammed president elect Tassos
Papadopoulos' message that the Cyprus problem could not be solved until
Karpasia was retaken and all refugees returned to their homes. “He said
that the Karpass peninsula is a Hellenic area, the return of the Hellenic
people to their places is unavoidable, all the refugees must return to
their places, and the problem of missing persons must be solved,” Denktash
said. “Mr Papadopoulos claimed that he will take up his duties as the
president of the whole Cyprus. In view of that, I cannot congratulate him.
As the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, it is
impossible for me to congratulate a person who claims to be the president
of the entire island. However, I congratulate him in his capacity as the
leader of the Greek Cypriot side.”Denktash said Papadopoulos had
contributed to the conditions that divided Cyprus as much as Clerides had
in the past, “in fact even more than Clerides”.“He must refrain from
telling lies by claiming that the Turkish military forces divided Cyprus
into two parts and that they are an occupying entity on the island.
Claiming that all the Greek Cypriots will return to their former places as
if nothing has happened is meaningless,” he said.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[05] Kyprianou brushes off Cabinet speculationBy Alex MitaDIKO deputy
Marcos Kyprianou yesterday waved off suggestions that he would be appointed
as the new Finance Minister, saying what was important at present was the
implementation of newly-elected President Tassos Papadopoulos' programme,
not the people who would be appointed. He also refused to comment on
speculation he might take over as DIKO chairman, if Papadopoulos stood down
to concentrate o nthe presidency, as he said he would during the campaign.
Asked whether he would be interested in following in the footsteps of his
late father Spyros Kyprianou, who founded DIKO, Marcos Kyprianou merely
said the party had a chairman and that when the position became vacant, the
electoral office of the party would take the relevant decisions as to who
would succeed Papadopoulos as head of the Democratic Party. “The scenarios
were there before the elections, what is important today is Mr
Papadopoulos' victory,” Kyprianou said. “The President will first consult
with the parties which support him, on how they will co-operate on a
political level, and then he will decide together with the parties on who
will be appointed and where,” he added.“As for who will be DIKO's new
leader we will have to wait and see. All these matters will be resolved in
a few days, and we will have specific answers and indications.” Deputy
chairman Nicos Cleanthous said the issue of who would succeed Papadopoulos
had not been under discussion. “We are not in a hurry; when the issue comes
up we will be able to solve it through democracy,” he said.“We have been
trough many a hard time in our party but today we are more united than ever
and we feel the responsibility that we have undertaken.”Papadopoulos' now
vacant seat at the House of Representatives will automatically be filled by
the party's Permanent Secretary Andreas Angelides, who is DIKO's next in
line for the Nicosia district in terms of preference votes cast at the 2001
parliamentary elections. Asked whether he would chose the House or a
Ministry, Angelides said it was his duty to the electorate to take up his
seat in Parliament.“I would be honoured if the President called upon me to
exercise other duties, but I feel it is my duty to the people to fulfil my
duty at the House,” Angelides said. “What is important now is who will
succeed Mr Papadopoulos at the House, it is a difficult task and I hope I
can rise to the challenge,” he added.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[06] Smiling Clerides welcomes Papadopoulos to the PalaceBy Alex MitaA
JUBILANT smile lit the face of newly-elected President Tassos Papadopoulos
yesterday as he stepped out of his black Jaguar and shook hands with
Pantelis Kouros, Undersecretary to outgoing President Glafcos
Clerides.Kouros welcomed the president elect on the steps of the
Presidential Palace while a pack of journalists were kept at bay behind a
blue ribbon by security.Papadopoulos arrived at around 10am in a three-car
convoy and swept in to the Presidential Palace to meet Clerides without
making any comments to the waiting media. Clerides welcomed Papadopoulos
cigar in hand; the two men embraced and sat down, while photographers
engaged in a scrum to get 'the shot'. There was a moment of uncomfortable
silence as neither of the two spoke and then suddenly Clerides, in
surprisingly good cheer, told Papadopoulos: “Say something or else they'll
think we are angry at each other.”The rest of the meeting took place behind
closed doors.On his way out, Papadopoulos fended off questions by
journalists, who wanted to know when he was planning to form the new
government and whether he had formed a new negotiating team for the Cyprus
problem, saying all would be revealed soon. There were smiles all round
DIKO headquarters as staff exchanged hugs and kisses and congratulated each
other for the election of their leader, and telephone lines were blocked
from the hundreds of telephone calls from supporters wanting to
congratulate Papadopoulos. Outside, a few of Papadopoulos' supporters
waited eagerly to catch a view of the newly elected president, as he
stepped out of his car to meet with UN Special Envoy Alvaro de Soto.
Papadopoulos was cheered as he stepped into his office where more
supporters embraced and kissed him and then disappeared behind the doors of
a conference room, where he met with De Soto. The meeting, which lasted for
more than 30 minutes, was followed by brief comments by both men.
Papadopoulos again refused to reveal any plans for a new Cabinet and new
negotiating team, but assured reporters he had asked for Clerides' help and
experience in the talks. There was no comment from either Papadopoulos or
De Soto on when the talks would resume.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[07] What chance of a solution now?By Jean ChristouWITH only 11 days to go
before the UN deadline for reaching an agreement on the Cyprus problem, the
question on analysts' and diplomats; lips yesterday was not so much how
quickly or to what extent president-elect Tassos Papadopoulos would take on
the mantle of Glafcos Clerides, but how Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf
Denktash would react.Either way, the February 28, deadline, already on the
rocks due to Denktash's opposition, now looks doomed - if only for logistic
reasons - despite an imminent visit by UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan,
author of the controversial UN plan.Yesterday, Denktash expressed regret
over Papadopoulos's victory in Sunday's election, saying it signalled the
opposition of the Greek Cypriot people to the plan, and warned that unless
the DIKO leader approached the talks in a realistic manner there would be
no reason to continue with the settlement process.Last month, the Turkish
Cypriot leader was more vocal with his opinion of Papadopoulos. Turkish
Cypriot press quoted him as saying he would also prefer to negotiate with
Clerides. “The main opponent of Clerides is an extremist EOKA-ist. He is
the lawyer who in south Cyprus laundered Slobodan Milosevic's money,”
Denktash said.“In my opinion, if Papadopoulos is elected the solution
avenues will be closed altogether.”Papadopoulos is no stranger to the
'hardline' tag, but seriously toned down his rhetoric during his election
campaign, although he slipped up during his victory speech on Sunday night
saying he would “fight for the right of all the displaced persons to return
in conditions of safety,” when in fact the Annan plan provides for the
return of only half of refugees.“This was really absurd in the
circumstances,” said analyst Sofronis Sofroniou. “It's like rejecting the
whole Annan plan, although I suppose it was old rhetoric that got the
better of him. I don't think it was his considered opinion,” he added.All
analysts and diplomats agree the election of Papadopoulos could provide
Denktash with more excuses to stay away from the negotiating table.“One
could take a cynical view and say he is overjoyed by this because this is
just the sort of smokescreen that he can now use to very good effect,” said
political analyst Dr James Ker-Lindsay. “It's quite clear that if Denktash
wanted to sit down he could sit down and he could talks with Papadopoulos.
Denktash is a hardliner and if he is sincere about coming to the table and
negotiating then why shouldn't another person who he is characterising as a
hardliner be able to do exactly the same.”Sofroniou also said Denktash was
exploiting Papadopoulos' reputation as a hardliner so it would be up to
Papadopoulos to prove him wrong. “We will have to see how he chooses,” he
said. “Very soon he will have to show his spots.”In the end, however, Ker-
Lindsay said it would be up to Ankara. “Frankly, the real concern is
whether Ankara is going to put the pressure on Denktash to come to the
table. At the moment you could say that it's neither here nor there what
any Greek Cypriot politician wants because the reality is that the talks
process is being stalled by Denktash,” he said. “At this stage until we can
actually see Papadopoulos in action it's very difficult to paint him as
anything.”Sofroniou said that so far Papadopoulos was showing willingness
towards moderation as he promised, “but I don't know how far he will
succeed since he has already made some ambiguous statements”.He also agreed
in part with Denktash's estimation that many Greek Cypriot voters had opted
for Papadopoulos because they believed he would oppose the Annan plan.
“Some voted for that reason, but not everybody,” he said. “I think that
Clerides wasn't really very convincing in his arguments about the 16 months
with an uncertain outcome and also people did want a bit of a change, even
a change of faces, and the division in DISY had its effect,” he said.Ker-
Lindsay said Papadopoulos was only in power through the support of AKEL,
which he said has traditionally been seen as more conciliatory. “Speaking
with Turkish Cypriots, they have been disappointed to hear the rhetoric
from AKEL (during the election campaign), and actually DISY has come to be
seen rather ironically by Turkish Cypriots as the more conciliatory, but
nonetheless now the elections have been won maybe we will see AKEL revert
to its more traditional rhetoric on this and this may be an influence on
Papadopoulos if he does take a hardline stance,” he said.However, whatever
way the talks go, the February 28 deadline for an agreement now appears
further out of reach than ever.The tightly framed plan was designed to give
time for separate referenda on March 30 and aimed at a united Cyprus
signing the EU accession treaty in April. This timetable is now unlikely to
be met, both for practical reasons and due to the political uncertainty and
the shadow of war with Iraq, which Ker-Lindsay said would draw Ankara's
attention away from Cyprus.Sofroniou said the chance was already gone,
unless Annan came up with something spectacular when he visited the island
next week.“It will be difficult to bring in a new negotiating team and it's
going to take a little time for them to find their feet,” Ker-Lindsay said.
“Really February 28 is looking more and more unlikely as a date.”However,
one international source close to the talks said there was no technical
reason the deadline could not be met. He said Papadopoulos was already on
the National Council and was more than familiar with what had been going on
in the talks. “The plan is all there. There is nothing new to learn,” the
source said, adding that the only danger was that if Papadopoulos sought
extensive changes - and the UN has said there is no room for any - that “if
one side opens up vast areas of substances in the plan it will be open to
the other side to do the same”.“That is the danger,” he said. “If
Papadopoulos is going to be a hardline Denktash for the Greek Cypriot side,
we're a long way from a solution. Denktash is asking the impossible and
Papadopoulos might also ask the impossible.”
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[08] First round win proves the pollsters rightBy Sofia KannasTassos
Papadopoulos is the new President-elect after a resounding first-round
victory in Sunday's elections.The 69-year-old lawyer and politician was
proclaimed President after the majority of the 431,690 citizens who visited
polling stations on Sunday cast their vote in his favour.According to
official results, Papadopoullos won an overwhelming 51.51 per cent of the
vote for a comfortably win over outgoing President Glafcos Clerides, who
took 38.8 per cent of the votes. The margin of victory was the third
greatest in the Republic's history, with only George Vassiliou (1988) and
Spyros Kyprianou (1983) winning by a bigger margin, with 51.6 and 56.5 per
cent respectively.Papadopoulos' win was also the first round-one victory on
the island in 20 years --the last time a President won in the first round
was in 1983, when Spyros Kyprianou was elected without the need for a
second round.Of the other nine candidates standing for election on Sunday,
Attorney-general and former advisor to Clerides Alecos Markides - standing
as an independent - took 6.6 per cent of the vote, and Nicos Koutsou with a
distant 2.1 per cent.The final results put paid to the pre-election
controversy surrounding opinion polls, after politicians from the Clerides
and Markides camp claimed poll findings had been engineered and invalid. In
a poll published two weeks ago, poll company AMER predicted quite
accurately that Papadopoulos would get 51.9 per cent of the votes, enough
to secure a first-round win over Clerides.Meanwhile, results for individual
electoral districts showed that most votes for Papadopoulos came from
Paphos, where the new President won 58.5 per cent of the votes. This was
followed by the districts of Limassol (52.8 per cent), Larnaca (52.75 per
cent), Nicosia (49.79 per cent) and finally Famagusta with 48.18 per
cent.The DIKO leader's win was met with apprehension by some sections of
the international community, amid fears that his election may limit the
chances of a settlement being reached by 28 February, the deadline set by
the UN for a solution.However, in a victory speech at the Eleftheria
Stadium on Sunday night, Papadopoulos told euphoric supporters he would
display flexibility and good will at the negotiating table to achieve a
comprehensive and viable settlement to the Cyprus problem.In his speech,
Papadopoulos also appealed to his “Turkish Cypriot compatriots”.“I want to
convey a message of co-operation to my Turkish Cypriot counterparts for a
just and viable solution… we will exert every effort to see a reunited
Cyprus join the EU,” he said.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[09] Cabinet agrees reduced military service term for boys with foreign
father opting for citizenshipBy Alexia SaoulliCHILDREN born to a foreign
father and Cypriot mother will now only have to serve six months in the
National Guard if they want to obtain Cypriot citizenship, Defence Ministry
spokesman Andreas Yiorkas said yesterday.“In the past, children with a
foreign father and Cypriot mother had to complete the full 26 months'
military service if they wanted citizenship,” he said. “This service has
now been minimised to six months for these conscripts.” The decision was
approved by the Cabinet last week and became effective immediately, he
said.Children born to a Greek father stand to gain from this revision to
the law. Boys with Greek fathers only have to complete six months' military
service in Greece if they are permanent residents abroad. So until now,
boys born to Greek fathers had a choice of completing six months military
service in Greece or 26 months in Cyprus if they became Cypriot citizens,
he said. “Because of this, a lot of boys that grew up here and wanted to
become Cypriot did not. When faced with a choice of over two years military
service or rejecting citizenship, they opted for the latter,” said Yiorkas.
“Now, they will only have to do six months here or six months in Greece to
fulfil their military service obligations, therefore more boys will be
willing to apply for citizenship.” By becoming Cypriot citizens, they would
be eligible to all benefits, including jobs in the civil service, he
said.“A lot of young men have grown up here their whole lives and want to
become citizens. They even want to work for the government and are told
they can only do so if they are citizens. But, the idea of 26 months in the
National Guard puts them off,” said Yiorkas. Because of a bilateral
agreement between Cyprus and Greece, a boy choosing to do his military
service here would be exempt from serving in Greece, he added. “We do not
have the same agreement with other countries,” he said. “If military
service is compulsory in, say, Syria, then boys would still have to
complete it there, irrespective of whether or not they'd done six months
here.”This change in the military service law applied to all men of all
ages with a foreign father and Cypriot mother.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
[10] Kidnap fears in search for missing brothersBy Alexia Saoulli POLICE
were yesterday investigating the disappearance of two brothers from a
Larnaca district village, after they were last seen at lunchtime on
Saturday.“Everything is under investigation. We are looking at all the
possibilities,” police spokesman Demetris Demetriou told the Cyprus
Mail.Nicholas Sinesi, 31, and his 27-year-old brother Kyriakos, were seen
leaving for their junkyard located in Panayia ton Ampelion in Kofinou at
around 10.30am on Saturday, police said. A local herder last saw them three
hours later.Concerned family members started calling the two men on their
mobile phones throughout the day, but neither one answered. At 6pm, Kofinou
police were officially notified of their disappearance and search parties
were sent out to find them, without uncovering any evidence of their
whereabouts.On Sunday, Rapid Reaction Unit police and a police helicopter
were used to comb surrounding dams and the greater Kofinou area. Criminal
investigation division police, criminology officials and ballistics
specialists all gathered evidence from the area where the two brothers were
last seen.At the junkyard, police found the two men's cars with their keys
in the ignition and Kyriakos' mobile phone and cigarettes. Although
Nicholas had also left his cigarettes behind, his mobile phone could not be
found. Nevertheless, when police called him on it, there was no answer.
However, investigations said they picked up signals from Nicholas' phone in
Mazotos near Larnaca and police were expected to search the sea region
yesterday.A third brother, Andreas along with Kyriakos' wife, Demetra, said
they believed the duo had been kidnapped. Demetra maintained that her
husband always took his mobile phone and cigarettes with him wherever he
went and would never have left them behind in the car.This was a very
serious case “and all possibilities were being investigated thoroughly,”
police said. Despite family members' fears, reports said yesterday there
was no evidence to suggest the two brothers had been kidnapped, although
police themselves had not yet ruled out foul play.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
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