Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-04-01

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

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

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Violence mars Akrotiri protest

[02] Police warn pedestrians after three killed in weekend accidents

[03] University denies seeking to turn colleges into 'clones'

[04] Ice-cream stuck at UK customs after inspections mix-up

[01] Violence mars Akrotiri protest

The protest, organised by the Social Forum, took place under draconian security measures from both British forces and Cypriot police, who stood behind barricades wearing riot gear and supported by an armoured vehicle.

The demonstrators shouted anti-coalition slogans and burned effigies of US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

After the demonstration was over, a group of young men and women threw rocks at British security forces guarding the perimeter of the base. They also painted all the military signs in red and destroyed a pillar bearing the British Crown and other symbols.

Clashes broke out between police and demonstrators, during which a young Iraqi man was injured on the leg, and was arrested for causing damage to property.

Green Party member Pantelis Metaxas was also arrested.

Speaking at the demonstration, AKEL leader and House chairman Demetris Christofias said the war on Iraq was taking place with no other aim but to control the country's oil wealth, and accused the US of wanting to extend their worldwide rule.

“The bombs that are falling on Iraq are aimed at any free conscience, at world security and at the autonomous presence of Europe,” he said.

“First it was Yugoslavia, then Afghanistan, now it's Iraq and tomorrow? Who knows? We cannot accept the logic behind what the coalition call a 'pre- emptive strike'.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

[02] Police warn pedestrians after three killed in weekend accidents

On Saturday night, an elderly couple from Ergates village were knocked over as they tried to cross the Nicosia-Palechori road. The accident happened at around 8.50pm, just outside Arediou village when Panayiotis Avraxides, 69, and his wife Kyriaki, 70, were crossing the road. They were rushed to Nicosia general hospital where the duty doctor pronounced Kyriaki dead on arrival. Her husband died a few hours later, police said. The 56-year-old driver was remanded in custody for further enquiries, although he passed an alcohol test, police said.

Then on Sunday night, a 31-year-old Russian was knocked down and killed in Paphos. The accident happened at around 7.45pm along the main Ayios Giorgios Peyia road, heading towards Coral Bay when a driver, who was overtaking another car, hit pedestrian Vitali Christostomov. The victim was rushed to Paphos general hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police arrested the driver for further questioning.

“The pedestrian is always the vulnerable party in a road accident,” said police spokeswoman, Chrystalla Demetriou. “That is why all accidents involving pedestrians end up in injury or death.”

According to police statistics, over 20 pedestrians are killed every year. Between 1998 and 2002, 104 pedestrians were killed and another 1,834 were injured, many of whom suffered permanent handicaps.

“Most accidents involving pedestrians happen because the driver just didn't see them in time. Very often the driver is at fault, other times the pedestrian is to blame, but most times both parties are to blame. In all circumstances, however, the biggest price is paid by the pedestrian,” stressed Demetriou.

Over half the pedestrians killed in Cyprus were over the age of 65, she said. In last five-years, 58 of the fatalities were over 60 and a further 22 were between 40 and 59.

As people got older, the risks increased. “We all become slower, visibility and hearing weaken and reflexes slow down,” she said. Injuries also worsened and were harder to heal, which was why the elderly needed to be even more careful, Demetriou added.

Pedestrians should never assume a driver has seen them or that they will be given right of away, according to police advice directed at pedestrians.

Police advise pedestrians to follow six simple rules to increase their safety.

“Cross the road at points where you have good visibility of the road in all directions and for quite some distance,” said Demetriou. Pedestrians should make the effort to walk a few extra metres to cross the road at a safe point, she added. “At zebra crossings, pedestrians should make their intention clear that they are waiting to cross the road and not do so until they are sure the driver has stopped for them. At traffic light crossings, pedestrians should always press the button and wait for the green man to cross.”

Finally, pedestrians are advised to stick to the right hand side of the road when walking so that they can see cars driving towards them and to wear bright clothes, particularly at night, she said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

[03] University denies seeking to turn colleges into 'clones'

The comments came after the President of the Association for Higher Education Institutions Andreas Eleftheriades recently condemned a list of proposals put to the Education Ministry by the University which he alleged would turn private colleges into University of Cyprus “clones”.

A source at the University yesterday refuted the claims, saying that the University had only made suggestions for amending the law, and did not intend to dictate terms.

“There is no new higher education law active yet. We (the University of Cyprus) merely made a suggestion for some changes to make the existing law better… We are not against private colleges and universities in Cyprus.”

Nicos Peristianis, Executive Dean at Intercollege, said the college was in support of many of the proposals put forward by the University, as they were in line with a government decision made four years ago to make Cyprus a regional and international higher education centre.

“The government made this decision but it has taken four years for them to specify the criteria necessary for the creation of new universities and the upgrading of existing colleges into universities,” he said.

He added that Intercollege had already come up with its own public campaign for converting Cyprus into an education centre.

Peristianis also stressed that Intercollege did not belong to the Association, and was therefore not covered by Eleftheriades' comments.

“We believe that all public debate on new universities is welcome, whether it comes from the University of Cyprus or any other institution.

“As to the substance of the University's proposals, we are mostly in agreement with what they propose and we especially underline the University's… proposal for the introduction of a quality audit council to look at public and private institutions, which includes themselves - this is very welcome and very bold on their behalf.”

He added that Intercollege's only concern was that the procedure for converting Cyprus into a higher education centre would not be complete in time for Cyprus' European Union accession.

“The only worry that we have is that there may be a possible delay in the procedure…The aim should be for the whole procedure to be completed by next summer.

“By 2004 we will be EU members and from then on the pressures on the local colleges will be dramatic - we will have to compete with western institutions which have centuries of tradition behind them, are much more wealthy than we are, and which have lower fees.

“If we… drag our feet and don't complete the procedure by this time then we will be entering the EU completely disarmed… and that will be a great blow to our future, and to the collective vision of converting Cyprus into a tertiary education centre.”

He warned that while converting Cyprus into an education centre should be taken very seriously, needlessly dragging on discussions with the Education Ministry would only hinder the process.

“Believing in this means acting… not just accepting this idea. What we need to do now is to act.”

Peristianis added he was hopeful: “There's a new government which wants to prove itself and I hope they will not stall on this.”

A source at the Education Ministry yesterday confirmed that the Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades would be taking up the issue at a meeting with college authorities next week.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

[04] Ice-cream stuck at UK customs after inspections mix-up

Pahit Ice owner Christos Pahitas yesterday blamed the mix-up on the authorities' failure to update a list including companies that have met relevant food safety regulations and passed EU inspections.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, Pahitas said his company had been dealt a big blow by the situation.

“The relevant authority for dairy products, the Veterinary Service, had sent a list of factories which were approved by the service to export their products to EU countries,” he said.

“They never told us about this list. In 2002, the law changed and the Health Service has now taken over. But it looks like no one informed the Health Ministry so it could upgrade its records of all companies that meet with safety standards.

“We are one such company, we built a new factory we applied to the relevant authority and they approved us.”

But the veterinary services seem to have failed to inform the Health Service of the list that was sent to the EU, so that it could be updated upgraded with the new companies that enter the market.

“The Health Service told us we only need their approval. But when the shipment arrived to the UK, the customs there said they couldn't let the products out of customs because we were not on the Veterinary Service list, which was old and outdated.

“So they caused us a great deal of damage because in order to be on this list now, we have to wait for months.

The director of the Veterinary Service, Fidias Loukaidis told the Cyprus Mail that including Pahit Ice on the list was not that easy.

“It seems that Mr Pahitas is ignoring the fact that in order to export animal-derived products to the UK and Europe as a country outside the EU, his factory should be approved by the authorities in Cyprus, and the EU,” he said.

“Mr Pahitas is exporting goods for the first time and he was not aware that his factory should have been approved by the EU. He claims we visited his factory 15 years ago for inspection, but 15 years is a long time and we don't have this information in our records.

Loukaides said it would take time to add Pahit Ice the list and that it was not something that could be fixed by a phone call.

“We can't just pick up the telephone and call the EU and ask them to approve his factory,” he said.

“What happens is this: for example, we inspect a slaughterhouse like that in Kofinou. If we approve the slaughterhouse then we send a report to the EU, and they decide whether they should approve the centre straight away.

“They might even say they want to send in their own inspectors to check whether the factory is working to EU standards. Once the company is approved then meat can be exported to EU countries.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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