Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-05-25

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

Sunday, May 25, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] DISY votes in leadership election

[02] Greek Cypriots ‘have spent £7m in the north’

[03] Seatbelt would have saved driver, say police

[04] Two held after Limassol drugs bust

[05] Girl, 9, ‘was not molested’

[01] DISY votes in leadership election

THE SHOWDOWN between current DISY President Nicos Anastassiades and former Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides for the leadership of the party will be settled by 11pm today as more than 31,00 party members vote in Cyprus and abroad.

Voting is scheduled to start at 9am and continue until 6pm. The results of who will be the new DISY President and Vice-president are expected to be made public at around 9pm, while the full results will be announced by 11pm at the Cyprus International Conference Centre in Nicosia. Members can vote at party offices all over the island and at special polling stations abroad.

Former ministers Ouranios Ioannides and Averoff Neophytou are battling it out for the post of Acting President, while Socratis Hasikos, Rikkos Erotocritou, Christos Rotsas and former President and DISY founder Glafcos Clerides’ daughter Katy are all candidates for the party’s Vice-presidency.

Speaking at DISY’s Pancyprian Conference in Nicosia yesterday, Anastassiades called for a massive turnout from the party’s members.

“Tomorrow’s election procedure can be compared to mini national elections,” he said.

“With the conclusion of this conference and the appointing of the new leadership we must overcome the navel gazing that gives rise to introspection and move dynamically and responsibly forward.”

In his speech to the conference, Cassoulides said party members should “work in order to reunify the party and to restore tranquillity.”

“The party should return to its former self when all members were united,” Cassoulides said, “back when every member could be in touch with the President of the party and when we all shared common values and visions.”

In his speech, DISY founder and Honorary President Glafcos Clerides said the future of the party was in the hands of its members.

“The future belongs to you,” he said. “DISY has established democracy in the party and that is why the president of the party will be elected by its members, not by a committee of representatives.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, May 25, 2003

[02] Greek Cypriots ‘have spent £7m in the north’

GREEK Cypriots visiting the north have injected £7 million into the Turkish Cypriot economy since the day the checkpoints opened on April 23, according to Turkish Cypriot press reports.

Turkish Cypriot Hoteliers’ Association President Turkan Beidagli said yesterday that 293,489 Greek Cypriots had crossed over to the north, but only 700 had spent the night in hotels.

Beidagli said the number would be higher but a lot of Cypriots refused to give their personal details, since “the Greek government doesn’t allow Greek Cypriots to stay overnight in Turkish Cypriot-owned hotels”.

Earlier this week a study released by the Finance Ministry’s statistical service showed that only a small fraction of the money spent by Greek Cypriots in the north had gone on accommodation. The study, based on a survey of people crossing the Green Line, found Greek Cypriots had spent a total of £3.9 million in the occupied areas since the restrictions were lifted.

Out of an average of £7.38 per spent capita, only 5 cents on average had gone on accommodation - suggesting very few Cypriots had taken up Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash’s offer to allow overnight hotel stays.

More than 105,000 Turkish Cypriots have crossed the divide so far, spending around £620,000 in the government-controlled areas.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, May 25, 2003

[03] Seatbelt would have saved driver, say police

A 57-year-old Ports Authority technician was killed in a road accident yesterday morning on the Larnaca to Kophinou road.

Police said Andreas Athanassiou tried to avoid a petrol tanker and a smaller car that had collided earlier but lost control of his vehicle and slammed into the protective barriers. Athanassiou, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from his car and killed instantly.

Police said the car’s safety cell was not damaged and that Athanassiou would have survived had he been wearing his seatbelt.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, May 25, 2003

[04] Two held after Limassol drugs bust

LIMASSOL Drugs Squad has arrested two men after the discovery of two kilograms of drugs.

According to a police report, officers arrested a 29-year-old man and his 24-year-old alleged accomplice at around 10pm on Friday after two men drove to a car park in Limassol for a meeting with the driver of another vehicle under suspicious circumstances. The other driver made a getaway as police approached the car park, but the second vehicle, driven by the 29-year-old, was stopped by officers. The car, which had no number plates, was found to contain 2,157 grams of cannabis, police said.

The driver reportedly confessed to growing the cannabis himself, and named his passenger and another 23-year-old from Limassol as his accomplices.

Police said they also found three grams of powder, believed to be cannabis, during a search of the home of the 24-year-old.

Investigations are continuing.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, May 25, 2003

[05] Girl, 9, ‘was not molested’

STATE Pathologist Sophocles Sophocleous yesterday dismissed claims by a nine-year-old girl’s aunt that her niece had been sexually assaulted by her own 70-year-old grandfather.

The Welfare Department and the child’s mother had been notified of the alleged attack by the girl’s aunt, who claimed her niece confided in her that her grandfather had sexually molested her. The Welfare Department then notified the CID and the man was arrested for questioning.

But speaking to the Sunday Mail yesterday, State Pathologist Sofocles Sofocleous, who examined the girl after the aunt’s claims, said the girl had not been sexually molested.

“I can tell you for a fact that the little girl was not sexually molested in any way,” Sophocleous said.

The 70-year-old was formally charged and later released by the CID. The Welfare Department has confirmed that the case is still under investigation.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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