Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-07-04

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

Friday, July 4, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Government urges caution over Maronite dealings with Serdar

[02] Minister hits back on claims of NHS delays

[03] President off to US for ‘routine’ medical check

[04] Only six out of 100 pools in Paphos are fully licensed

[05] £50 fine no deterrent for mobile phone motorists

[06] Revamping old prison would save the state £60 million

[07] Free movement but no birth certificates for children of mixed marriages with settlers

[08] House approves concessions for T. Cypriot trucks

[09] Only six Turkish Cypriots pass English School exam

[10] Fishermen warn of ruin in face of high tech foreign competition

[11] Doctors pledge to battle patient complaint commissioners

[01] Government urges caution over Maronite dealings with Serdar

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday warned Maronites to be careful in their dealings with Serdar Denktash, following a commotion over reports that 3,000 members of the community might be allowed to resettle in the north.

The reports caused a stir on Tuesday, with confusion over whether Maronite representatives had asked for such a large number to be allowed to return, amid suggestions they had negotiated with Serdar without consulting the government first.

However, Maronite parliamentary representative Antonis Hadjiroussos said that during his meeting with Denktash junior on June 18, he had merely raised the issue of the possible return of 10-15 elderly people to their homes in the north.

Before 1974, around 2,000 Maronites lived in the north, mainly in the villages of Kormakitis, Asomatos, Karpasia and Ayia Marina. Today, only around 150 remain at Kormakitis and a small number in the Karpasia peninsula.

It remains unclear from where the figure of 3,000 emerged, but Serdar Denktash was yesterday toying with the idea of allowing that many back to their villages.

Yesterday, the government said it had now been fully briefed on the issue, and spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides warned that the move was another ploy by the Turkish Cypriot leadership towards his goal of confederation.

“The issue of resettlement of displaced persons in Turkish occupied Cyprus is a long-standing demand of this and previous governments,” Chrysostomides said. “But we need to be careful with this issue, we should not fall into the trap of Denktash, who wants to have ‘good neighbourly relations’ between what he calls ‘two sovereign states’.”

In a written statement issued yesterday, Hadjiroussos repeated that the Maronite representatives at the meeting in June had merely asked that a small number of pensioners be allowed to resettle in their ancestral homes. The issue was one of several humanitarian concerns raised about Maronites living in the north and the possible restoration of their religious shrines.

Hadjiroussos said that, like Greek Cypriot refugees, the only way back for the entire Maronite community would be through a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

“The solution of the Cyprus question will be the settlement that will allow our return to our villages,” he said. “We do not have a policy or perception different from that of the Greek Cypriot community.”

Statements by Serdar Denktash to the Anatolia News Agency late on Tuesday confirmed that the Maronites had not made any demand for the return of 3, 000 people. “Actually, there is no such demand at the moment,” he said.

“Everybody has settled, taken jobs and has influence in southern Cyprus. There is no expectation about resettlement of them in the TRNC. However, there is a work which aims to have them come here easily and stay at their home more comfortably and use them as summer houses,” he added.

Denktash recently visited the Maronite community at Kormakitis after they complained that the opening of the checkpoints on April 23 had made their crossings more difficult because of traffic congestion at the checkpoints. Maronites have always been able to travel freely to the north since the Turkish invasion. “The passage of Orthodox Greek Cypriots to the TRNC has become much easier compared to the period before April 23, while passages have become difficult for the Catholic Maronites due to these implementations,” said Denktash, who is credited with opening the checkpoint. “We have to focus on these anomalies.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[02] Minister hits back on claims of NHS delays

THE NATIONAL Health Scheme (NHS) cannot be implemented by magic, Health Minister Dina Akkelidou said yesterday, responding to accusations by opposition House Health Committee Chairman Antonis Karas that the government did not know when it would be put into operation.

The implementation of the long-awaited health scheme, which will offer free medical care for all, has been an issue of sore debate for some time, with no specific deadline in sight.

Akkelidou said the Health Insurance Organisation would implement the NHS, but that its operation relied a great deal on staffing the organisation first, adding that its director would be appointed in two weeks time.

But, according to EDEK deputy Marinos Sizopoulos, it was the Ministry’s decision to create highly specialised medical centres that was slowing down the NHS.

Akkelidou replied that any delays were down to the reorganisation of state hospitals, which entailed financial and political costs.

“If measures to reorganise are not taken, the situation will only worsen every year,” she insisted. Nevertheless, reorganisation will have to take place in stages and with great care if the health service is not to undergo unpleasant adventures, Akkelidou warned.

She added it would take at least three to four years to restructure NHS services and to see the scheme implemented, and that it would take time before improvements to the health system became evident.

Akkelidou added the government was currently in the process of securing services for secondary level health care in the private sector both within Cyprus and abroad. As for the reorganisation of state hospitals, this was being carried out irrespective of when the NHS was going to be implemented, she said.

Asked what measures would be taken to minimise existing congestion problems at state health institutions, Akkelidou said the Ministry planned to reinforce existing centres and that they would be decentralised.

The state would continue to offer primary health care, she added, forcing state hospitals to reorganise in order to be more competitive.

Nevertheless, Sizopoulos warned that because of organisational problems, the state health system was being stretched to its limits, pointing out that several state doctors were currently required to examine over 100 patients a day.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[03] President off to US for ‘routine’ medical check

THE government announced yesterday that President Tassos Papadopoulos would be flying to the United States over the weekend for routine medical checks, and would be returning on July 12.

Papadopoulos is suffering from vocal cord problems and although he has undergone an operation recently, the government has not commented on the exact nature of the problem.

Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said it was possible that House president Demetris Christofias - acting president in Papadopoulos’ absence - would preside over Cabinet meetings if any were held during Papadopoulos’ absence.

“It absolutely depends on the House president’s discretionary power whether he will preside over the Cabinet during the President’s absence,” Chrysostomides said.

He added: “I have no knowledge if there will be a Cabinet meeting during the President;s absence.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[04] Only six out of 100 pools in Paphos are fully licensed

OUT of 100 public swimming pools in Paphos, only six have operating licences. Paphos Municipality health inspector, Nicos Paspalis, told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that most public swimming pools ran without licences because they failed to have a lifeguard or pool manager with first-aid knowledge present.

In order for a hotel or swimming centre to obtain an operating licence for a swimming pool, it has to meet the criteria required from the Electromechanical Department, the Health Service and the Municipal Engineer.

Paspalis said most pools in the region meet the Health Service criteria, which cover toilets, showers, sterilising footbaths and a twice-daily analysis of the pool water. “Regarding our tests, public pools have a pretty good record. The problem lies with the absence of a lifeguard, or a person in charge of monitoring people coming to and from the pool area,” he said.

“But this costs money and most hotels have two or three pools, each one needing two lifeguards to work in shifts,” added Paspalis.

The health inspector noted that the municipality had the right to take the matter to court. “Under normal circumstances, those who operate public pools without a licence should be taken to court but this is a political decision.”

Paspalis highlighted that the Paphos region had seen six deaths in public and private pools in the last year alone. “The Cyprus Tourism Organisation has been pressuring hotels to obtain swimming pool licences before renewing their operating licences. This is a problem for the whole island,” he said.

Paspalis maintained that all pools needed to have a lifeguard for safety purposes. “We do make certain allowances,” he said, adding, “According to the law, pool owners are expected to refill their pools with clean water every three months. But if this happened, pools would close down for two weeks and the town would be left without water for a month.”

The law also stipulates that microbiological tests should be carried out every week. “We find this too time consuming and costly. Tests are carried out twice a day on the chlorine, temperature and pH of the pool water. As a result, we allow microbiological tests to be carried out once a month,” he concluded.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[05] £50 fine no deterrent for mobile phone motorists

CYPRIOT drivers will need more than a £50 slap on the wallet to stop them from chatting while driving, the Cyprus Mail discovered yesterday.

Police booked 149 motorists on the first day of an island-wide crack down on the use of mobile phones while driving. Police are using the month-long campaign, running throughout July, to deter drivers from chatting by charging each offender a £50 fine. Since the beginning of the year, police have booked around 5,700 motorists for using their mobile phones while driving. But the fine alone doesn’t appear effective enough to stop motor mouth drivers.

The paper staked out a busy crossroads of the capital yesterday to see how well the new campaign was deterring motorists from using their mobile phones.

Within 15 minutes, eight motorists drove past the corner of Diagorou and Evagorou Streets talking on their mobile phones. One youth rode his motorcycle using one hand, while the other was glued to the mobile on his ear.

Six drivers, within the same period, were seen using hands-free sets, while chatting to friends, associates and loved ones.

A three-man police force booked one offender within two minutes after arriving on the scene. The police officer in charge told the Cyprus Mail that at least 10 motorists were being fined every hour since the campaign began on Tuesday. However, the £50 did not seem to discourage drivers from violating traffic laws, he said, adding, “The average Cypriot will not care about taking £50 from his pocket. But he would care if points were added to his licence. That would make them think twice before chatting while driving”.

Currently, mobile phone violators are imposed a monetary penalty without any points being added to their driving licence.

“I stopped one guy who had a hands-free set in one ear, while he was talking on his phone in the other. He said he didn’t like using the hands- free because he couldn’t hear well,” said the officer. However, he did note that the number of motorists using hands-free sets had gone up by 30 per cent.

Hands-free devices are not covered by the ban on mobile phone use at the wheel.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[06] Revamping old prison would save the state £60 million

THE STATE could save at least £60 million if it refurbished the old prison instead of building a new one, Justice Minister Doros Theodorou said yesterday.

Speaking before the House Legal Affairs Committee, where he briefed deputies about the visit of European Commissioner for Human Rights, Alvaro Gil Robles, Theodorou said it would be better to refurbish the old prison instead of building a new one.

That, together with an amendment to the penal code, would spare the state the need to build a new prison with a capacity of 1,000 inmates.

Theodorou said a new prison would cost £75,000 per inmate -- £75 million for the whole project -while an overhaul of the old installations would cost around £15 million. Although it would not have the same capacity, a change in the penal system to decriminalise certain offences would solve that problem.

During his visit, Robles highlighted the problem of prison overcrowding, despite the good conditions, suggesting that decriminalising illegal entry into the island and abolishing the imprisonment of debtors would alleviate the problem.

Around 25 people have been jailed for defaulting on the debts, but the overcrowding problem is compounded by the hundreds of illegal aliens arrested around the island.

The minister said the government was looking into enforcing the suggestion for automatic deportation of foreigners arrested for illegal entry.

He added, however, that only 20 per cent of the illegal immigrants came from the sea.

“Most come from the occupied areas and some could be spies,” Theodorou said.

But that is not Cyprus’ only worry.

Robles pointed out that Cyprus had a disproportionate number of ‘artistes’ - over 2,000, not including the illegal ones - often working as prostitutes in cabarets and bars.

The minister said the issue was difficult to tackle, as police had to catch them in the act to press a case, since the majority of women, usually from Eastern Europe, were too scared to testify.

Theodorou said the only way was to cut numbers drastically by issuing fewer permits, though the chairman of the committee, Ionas Nicolaou, suggested that some police officers did not do their job properly when it came to checking cabarets and similar establishments.

The minister acknowledged the problem and vowed that officers would not be posted to a particular position for long periods to prevent them from building up links with people of the night.

He said they should be rotated continuously and that the House could even pass a law to ensure this.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[07] Free movement but no birth certificates for children of mixed marriages with settlers

THE children of mixed marriages between Turkish Cypriots and Turks can move freely in the government-controlled areas, but cannot obtain birth certificates from the Republic, Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said yesterday.

The spokesman said the issue of official certificates or passports and nationality in general was connected with the wider political problem of settlers from mainland Turkey.

“It is a serious political issue related to the course of solving the Cyprus problem,” Chrysostomides said.

Commenting on reports that a child born to a Turkish Cypriot woman married to a Turk had been refused a certificate, Chrysostomides said the issue had been studied by the authorities for a long time, and that the question was how the father had come to Cyprus.

“Birth certificates are issued to all Turkish Cypriots” if it is proven that both their parents are Turkish Cypriot, the spokesman said.

When one of them is a settler, movement is allowed, but certificates are not issued, he added.

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Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[08] House approves concessions for T. Cypriot trucks

THE HOUSE of Representatives yesterday approved regulations providing for internal trade concessions to Turkish Cypriots.

The decision follows Cabinet approval last week of measures announced by President Tassos Papadopoulos designed to facilitate the movement of Turkish Cypriots and ease internal trade between the two communities.

The main measure will allow Turkish Cypriot trucks carrying goods to cross from the occupied north. The regulations provide for the issue of temporary permits for lorries carrying products for internal trade; the permits apply to both Turkish Cypriots and other individuals not residing in the south.

Since restrictions on the freedom of movement were eased in late April, only private cars have been allowed to cross to the south.

The House approved the measures, after 34 deputies voted in favour of the new regulations.

Turkish Cypriots interested in applying for the permits must register at the Road Transport Department, where they will be issued with a one-day permit, so that trucks can undergo checks by the Vehicle Inspection Centre.

Once their truck has been approved, Turkish Cypriots will be given a temporary permit valid for two months.

All goods coming over to the south will undergo checks by the relevant authorities, and will not be allowed into the free areas unless special criteria are satisfied.

The Communications Committee stressed yesterday that no permits would be issued for the transport of goods from the free areas to the north.

Permits issued to Turkish Cypriots carrying personal goods or goods belonging to other Turkish Cypriots will carry a £5 charge.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[09] Only six Turkish Cypriots pass English School exam

ONLY six Turkish Cypriot students passed the English School entrance exams last Thursday, the school confirmed yesterday.

The prestigious fee-paying school in Nicosia had made available a maximum number of 20 places for Turkish Cypriot students in Years 2, 3, 4 and 6 because of the late application date.

Although there were 36 firm applications for examinations for Years 2, 3, and 4, just over a handful managed to pass. Four places were given in Year 3 and two in Year 4, the school said.

There were no successful candidates for Year 2, the school added. Candidates for Year 6 will be interviewed in early September following their O-level results next month.

The school had specified that places would only go to candidates who could cope with the English School environment. The successful candidates were able to demonstrate that their quality of English was good enough to keep up with the curriculum, and that their general academic knowledge was up to standard.

The additional places were created specially for Turkish Cypriot students and had not been taken away from Greek Cypriots or other candidates, the school said. Therefore the remaining nine places will not be made available to other candidates for Years 2-4.

In future, the school hopes to offer places on a quota system - with four classes in Year 1 for Greek Cypriots and one class for Turkish Cypriots. Examinations will be held in the candidate’s own language.

The English School was a bi-communal school until 1974.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[10] Fishermen warn of ruin in face of high tech foreign competition

TUNA and swordfish fishermen yesterday warned they were on the brink of ruin from the activity of foreign competitors using high-tech equipment, including radars, in the area.

Speaking before the House Agriculture Committee, the fishermen said they were no match for foreign fishermen - Italian, Greek, Spanish and Turkish, with the Spanish being the most advanced -- who used state-of-the-art boats aided by helicopters equipped with radars to locate tuna and swordfish.

AKEL deputy Kikis Yiangou said over 100 fishing boats from other Mediterranean countries were fishing in the area, using means that were banned in some countries and without applying treaties provided by the European Union.

The 30 to 40 fishermen urged the government to help them soon to save them from ruin.

They said they had huge debts due to their futile efforts to compete with their foreign counterparts.

The fishermen asked the government either to help them to equip themselves with the same technology or to compensate them to quit the field.

They warned that they could not modernise their boats every few years because the cost was too great.

Agriculture Ministry Permanent Secretary Makis Constantinides said the government could not prevent the foreign boats from fishing in the area since they were in international waters.

Likewise, they could not stop the flight of special helicopters, he said.

Concerning the enforcement of international rules on fishing, Constantinides said it was the responsibility of the state whose flag the boat flew to check whether they were within their quota.

This could only be done if an observer boarded the boat, he added.

Constantinides suggested that to alleviate the problem, the fishermen should be given permits to trawl all types of fish and not only tuna and swordfish, as well as upgrading the sector by co-operating with foreign companies, which had already expressed interest in such an enterprise.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Friday, July 4, 2003

[11] Doctors pledge to battle patient complaint commissioners

THE MEDICAL Association said yesterday it would fight a proposed bill that aims to introduce medical commissioners at private and state hospitals, who would be responsible for dealing with patients’ complaints.

The law commissioner was asked by the Cabinet to draft the bill in an effort to protect patients’ rights.

But Medical Association president Dr Antonis Vassiliou said he feared legalising such a measure would have detrimental effects on medical care and that the situation would get out of control, with patients suing doctors at will. Instead of practising medicine, doctors would start practicing “defensive medicine” - in other words how to protect themselves, before caring for patients, he said.

“We’ll be taken to court just for failing to smile at a patient,” said Vassiliou

“Even worse, doctors will start thinking twice about performing life-saving procedures for fear of being taken to court over complications that might ensue, or they will start charging 10 times as much to make it worth their while. In the long term, this will only harm patients and not protect them.”

He insisted this did not mean doctors did not want to protect patients.

“We are not against protecting patients’ rights,” he said, pointing to the association’s insistence that doctors had to renew their medical licences annually and acquire signed patient consent forms before surgery. “We have bodies that deal with medical negligence cases such as the medical disciplinary board,” he added. “If doctors do not provide the proper care for a patient, then we investigate the matter. However, appointing someone who knows nothing about medicine to listen to patients’ complaints will mean that we’re in and out of court every day.”

If the House felt patients’ rights were not being met in some way, the association was prepared to discuss how to improve their health care, said Vassiliou.

Nevertheless, he said the association would not accept the bill and warned that if the House went ahead and approved it anyway, it would take unspecified “retaliatory action”.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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