Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-07-05

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

Saturday, July 5, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Trading with the north: a bureaucratic nightmare

[02] Green fury over Curium U-turn

[03] EUROPOL deal in battle against organised crime

[04] It’s official: this is a heat wave

[05] Relief all round at deal to end hotel strike

[06] Defence Minister blames predecessor for US weapons row

[07] Eroglu: passport vote ban ‘not on the agenda’

[08] Price of water set to rise in response to EU directive

[01] Trading with the north: a bureaucratic nightmare

GOVERNMENT spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said yesterday that Turkish Cypriot trucks would be allowed to circulate in the free areas in order to facilitate internal trade and the export of Turkish Cypriot products to the EU through legal ports.

But one observer argued the government was dragging its feet regarding the promotion of internal trade.

The House of Representatives approved regulations providing for internal trade concessions to Turkish Cypriots on Thursday. The main measure allows for Turkish Cypriot trucks carrying goods to cross from the occupied north to the free areas. Drivers will be issued one-day permits to get their truck inspected by the Vehicle Inspection Centre. Once the truck is certified to be road worthy, drivers will be given a temporary permit for a non-registered vehicle, valid for two months. The permits apply to both Turkish Cypriots and other individuals residing in the north.

Chrysostomides said yesterday that the authorities would use their discretion to decide on a case-by-case basis whether a non-Turkish Cypriot could be issued a permit. The idea, he explained, was to make it easier for Turkish Cypriots to trade their products inland and abroad and therefore allow for non-Turkish Cypriots, including family members, to be used to do that.

All goods coming over to the south will need to be issued with a movement certificate by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce. Chrysostomides said that the government would not levy customs and excise duties on the goods but would apply VAT arrangements. All agricultural products need an extra phytosanitary certificate in order to satisfy the criteria, while no arrangements have been made for veterinary products.

The Government Spokesman said that inspectors from the EU would be used to issue the necessary certificates for the crossing of agricultural produce. Asked when the inspectors would be available to Turkish Cypriots, he replied: “We don’t know when they will come. This is a matter for the Foreign Ministry to sort out.”

Asked whether a Greek Cypriot would be seen as handling stolen property if he bought products from the occupied north, the spokesman replied: “Agricultural products from the occupied north are a result of effort and cultivation and it is this effort we wish to recognise by easing trade”.

Regarding overnight stay in hotels owned by Greek Cypriots in the occupied north, he reminded that people entering private property without the owner’s permission were liable to civil action by the owner.

According to state radio, the European Commission will, unofficially, present various ideas and programmes to be singled out for the distribution of a 12 million euros aid package set aside for Turkish Cypriots. The money is expected to reach the occupied north by September.

Meanwhile, the Cyprus Mail spoke to a member of the Cyprus Forum, a Cypriot bi-communal think tank recently established, to see how far internal trade was being promoted on the island.

“I doubt there is any internal trade. In principle they (the government) are touting it but in reality, they are not doing anything to bring it about; they are hiding behind legal regulations,” said Constantinos Lordos.

Lordos did not see much scope for Greek Cypriot products being sold in the north because of the higher costs of the economy in the south. Regarding trade movement to the south, he said: “I have heard nothing substantial. Our side creates a lot of obstacles,” adding, “There are practical solutions to these obstacles which they are not implementing.”

The Greek Cypriot businessman said he had personally tested the internal trade measures but got nowhere. “I tried bringing across 10 boxes of tomatoes three weeks ago. I called the Commerce Ministry to inspect them at the checkpoint but they refused, saying they needed access to the fields where they originated. When I asked them to go to the fields, they refused citing that it was an illegal state,” said Lordos.

According to Lordos, EU regulations allow governments to appoint properly qualified private firms to issue the necessary certificates. “I suggested they do that last February but they insisted they must do it themselves. Now, they are bringing EU inspectors, but when?” he asked.

“They are not serious about it (internal trade). They are pulling our legs by hiding behind legalities and proper procedures,” added Lordos.

He highlighted that the government’s policy was stagnating the process to reunify the island. “We are stuck. The government is still thinking and manoeuvring in terms of a Greek state. It’s silly and it will get us into a lot of trouble.

“If Turkey sorts out its internal problems and Rauf Denktash is replaced as chief negotiator for the Turkish Cypriots in December, will our side be ready for a solution?” warned Lordos. “They don’t want to do it and their true colours are coming out,” he ended.

When asked to comment on the effectiveness of the government measures, Chrysostomides replied: “Internal trade is not necessarily based around goods needing phytosanitary certificates. There are other products currently open to trade, like stones and other building equipment. There is no problem in trading in everything else other than agricultural products which need a specific certificate.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 5, 2003

[02] Green fury over Curium U-turn

THE GREEN party yesterday slammed the new government - which it backed in February’s elections - for not keeping its promise to stop the construction of a cafeteria and parking facilities at ancient Curium.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, a furious Green Party deputy George Perdikis said President Tassos Papadopoulos should be disappointed in himself for failing to keep his election promise to the party.

“We are bitterly disappointed at the government, and Mr Papadopoulos should be feeling disappointed too,” Perdikis said.

Perdikis’ outburst came after a meeting at the Archaeological Research Centre in Nicosia yesterday, where Communications Minister Kikis Kazamias tried to explain why the government had changed its mind and decided to go ahead with the works.

Kazamias, who also came under fire from tour operators angry that the Curium theatre is out of bounds to tourists because of construction works, said the cafeteria would now be half the size originally planned and pledged it would not be turned into a restaurant but only serve refreshments.

Kazamias added the government had no other option but to continue the construction of a parking area next to the site, since the court would not allow them to appropriate nearby private land.

“The court would ask us the reason why we would want to appropriate land,” he said.

“But when they discover that the existing parking lot area has been used for over 50 years they will simply say we do not need more land.”

In January, parliament unanimously voted to freeze this year's budget that would have seen the construction of a car park, a large canteen, and site museum, amid accusations from environmental and heritage groups that the works would destroy the archaeological site.

But to the Greens’ dismay, reports emerged last month that parliament was to accept the proposal to continue work at the site.

The Green Party’s Roxanne Coudounari said President Tassos Papadopoulos had visited the site with members of the Green Party during his presidential campaign and pledged to put an end to the building work, saying that no work should be done until the plans were re-examined.

“The brutal truth is that when we went prior to the elections and took Mr Papadopoulos around (the site), he said that work should not be continued. They stopped for a few days but then they carried on,” she said.

The Greens said Kazamias’ comments on the size of the restaurant and the excuses he gave for continuing the construction of the car park were misleading to both deputies and the media, and Perdikis pledged he would not rest until works on the site were stopped.

“We will not give up on the issue,” he said.

“We will fight them with the media and in the courts and we will use all political and legal means necessary in order to achieve our goals.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 5, 2003

[03] EUROPOL deal in battle against organised crime

CYPRUS and the European police force (EUROPOL) yesterday signed an agreement to undertake joint operations to combat international organised crime.

The deal provides for co-operation in fighting terrorism, human trafficking, illegal immigration, drugs, and other serious forms of organised crime.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Justice Minister Doros Theodorou expressed Cyprus’ willingness “to contribute to all efforts and processes towards preventing and combating all forms of international criminality”.

EUROPOL Director Jurgen Storbeck praised the Cypriot Police’s efficiency, and underlined the island’s importance as an EU external border to “another continent where we have really major problems of drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and trafficking of human beings and a lot of other forms of international crime”.

“So for us in the EU, for us in EUROPOL it is of utmost importance to rely on the efficiency of the Cyprus Police, to co-operate with the Cyprus Police and the judicial Authorities,” Storbeck noted.

He added this agreement enabled the Cypriot Police to get all the information it needed for its investigations and its operations, as well as support, technology, and access to EUROPOL’s databases or EUROPOL experts if necessary.

“So we will have common investigation, international investigations which have never happened before in history. We will have common investigations because this is your response to international organised crime”, he noted.

Theodorou said the agreement would reinforce the already excellent co- operation and friendly relations between the two forces.

“The Republic of Cyprus is well aware of the fact that the accession of Cyprus to the EU requires hard work, co-operation and devotion and is willing to contribute to all efforts and processes towards preventing and combating all forms of international criminality,” Theodorou said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 5, 2003

[04] It’s official: this is a heat wave

THE ISLAND is experiencing the first heat wave of the year, Meteorological Office Director Kyriakos Theophilou said yesterday.

Nicosia residents felt the heat on Thursday, as temperatures in inland areas reached 39 C.

“Temperatures yesterday were the highest in Nicosia, at 39 C and the situation in the afternoon was extreme - we surely had a heat wave,” Theophilou said.

The Met office has forecast that temperatures will push into the forties at the weekend, before dropping next week.

“We will experience temperatures in the inland areas of about 40 C on Saturday and Sunday - the accuracy of these forecasts are plus or minus one.

“It seems that from Monday there will be a decrease in temperatures - there will be some clouds and temperatures will be about 38 C.”

Theophilou said temperatures should return to normal - around 36 C­­ - by Tuesday and Wednesday. He added that there was a possibility of rain in inland areas on Tuesday.

The high temperatures are the result of a high pressure system affecting the east Mediterranean region.

“This high pressure is causing the air mass to heat up, leading to higher temperatures, “ he said. “It started in the west, in Greece and the Balkans.”

Asked whether temperatures so far this year had been particularly high, Theophilou said: “The temperatures this year were quite nice in June. We didn’t have a day above 39 C whereas last year at this time temperatures reached 43 C.”

The monthly weather report for last month, issued by the Meteorological Service on Thursday, concluded that temperatures during the first week of June were relatively cool, with rain, hail and thundery showers across the island. Precipitation for the month was above normal, with widespread flooding in the Nicosia district between June 1-3.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 5, 2003

[05] Relief all round at deal to end hotel strike

LABOUR Minister Makis Keravnos yesterday expressed his satisfaction that Thursday’s disruptive hotel strike was at an end.

Kervanos said that if the strike had continued beyond Thursday “the cost for the economy would have been unbearable at this time”.

There were fears that a prolonged strike would have had disastrous consequences for the Cypriot economy, as the hotel sector provides up to 25 per cent of the island’s Gross Domestic Product.

Behind-the-scenes negotiations went on almost all day yesterday with hoteliers finally accepting Keravnos’ proposal late on Thursday night. The Cyprus Hotel Association (PASYXE) had previously rejected the renewal of an employer-worker collective agreement accepted by employees’ unions SEK and PEO in January.

PASYXE Director General Zacharias Ioannides said yesterday that the strike had come to an end after negotiations “removed the two greatest stumbling blocks” to a solution.

“It took so long because there were a number of issues which had to be resolved - the most serious of which were the issues of welfare and unemployment benefit.”

He stressed that hoteliers had not given in to the Minister’s proposal.

“We did not back down - we managed to achieve a mutual agreement after mutual concessions, which facilitated an agreement,” he said. “It was an honourable agreement with concessions from both parties helping to set the foundations for more positive developments in the industry.”

He said the controversial 25 per cent contribution fee that employers paid towards staff unemployment benefits had been scrapped.

“It was the commitment of all parties involved - the unions, PASYXE and the government - that from November 1 this year we shall not have any more 25 per cent contribution to employees temporarily out of work. It will be replaced in some form by the government. This is a commitment and certain regulations will need to be amended accordingly.”

It was also agreed that employers would pay arrears to the employees' welfare fund by July 2009, to give hoteliers breathing space. The timespan for the payment of outstanding contributions will start no later than August 1 2004 and will be paid every other month.

Ioannides said the employee strike and two-hour lockout staged by hoteliers had highlighted the hotel sector’s plight.

“We must be honest and say that the cost of yesterday has stimulated an enhanced interest from all parties concerned, including the Labour and Tourism Ministers and the Presidential Palace.

“It gave a very strong message to all concerned that the need is there for solutions to the longstanding problems to our industry. Cyprus is less competitive year after year - this industry is the very backbone of our economy and this needs to be addressed.”

Lefteris Georgiades, General Secretary of the PEO-affiliated Hotel Employees’ Union told the Cyprus Mail past mistakes should not be repeated.

“Whenever a strike ends people always wonder why we didn’t reach an agreement earlier. This is a matter that should be considered by all sides involved so we can avoid making these mistakes in future,” he said.

He added that the quality of the Cyprus tourism product should be the main concern of all parties and not the pursuit of “issues like employees’ salaries and benefits”.

Asked what concessions employees had made to hoteliers to facilitate an agreement, he said: “It is not a matter of sacrifices,” he said. “But we held back on demanding many things in order to achieve what was best for the industry.

“Other branches of the economy which renewed collective agreements demanded a three per cent increment on their salaries, but we accepted the Ministry’s proposal which sets it at 1.8 per cent per year.”

Thursday’s strike involved 45 hotels and more than 2,000 employees across the island.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 5, 2003

[06] Defence Minister blames predecessor for US weapons row

DEFENCE Minister Koullis Mavronikolas yesterday blamed the policy followed for 10 years by the previous administration for the problems now faced by the military over the acquisition of American weapons systems.

Mavronikolas was responding to revelations made by his predecessor Socratis Hasikos in an interview with daily Phileleftheros that two American-made helicopters had been grounded due to pressure from the US.

An American arms embargo has been in place on Cyprus since the 1970s.

Despite the US banning its arms from being used in aggressive actions, the bulk of weapons maintained by the Turkish occupying forces in the north are American made.

In the interview, Hasikos said the US were applying double standards in not dealing with the fact that the occupying forces were mainly armed with American weapons when they were making a big fuss about two helicopters and four old self-propelled guns, which were demonstrated for the first time in last year’s independence parade.

The helicopters, used for search and rescue missions, and the artillery were acquired from Greece.

The M-107 175mm self propelled guns, despite their long range - around 30 kilometres - have become obsolete in almost all the countries that used them in the past.M-107 was first developed in the 1950s and saw extensive combat service in Vietnam.

The Bell UH-1 ‘Huey’ helicopter is one of the most successful ever produced, but with thousands of hours on their frames, the reliability of the two National Guard Hueys is disputed by experts.

Hasikos said the previous government had been pressured by the Americans too, but hinted that they managed to stick to their guns.

Yesterday, Mavronikolas said it was wrong of the opposition to publicise such matters.

“I believe they are doing the country a disservice,” he said.

He added: “The opposition knows very well that the problems we face are the products of their policy; the policy followed in the last decade.

“Today’s problems in relation to the weapon systems stem from them being presented in the recent October 1 parade,” the minister said.

Mavronikolas said the Huey issue was not anything new or special, adding that his ministry was working with the Greek Defence Ministry to resolve the issue.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 5, 2003

[07] Eroglu: passport vote ban ‘not on the agenda’

DERVIS Eroglu, ‘Prime Minister’ of the breakaway regime in the north has dismissed statements by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash saying that ‘TRNC’ citizens who obtained Republic of Cyprus passports should not be allowed to vote.

Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kibris quoted Eroglu as saying the issue was “not on the government’s agenda”’ and that no such decision had been taken by anyone. Eroglu said Denktash was merely expressing his thoughts.

On Thursday, Denktash said Turkish Cypriots who held Cyprus passports should be struck off the voting register and not allowed to vote in December.

In statements after a meeting with the Employers’ Union, Denktash said: “The Greek Cypriots are saying: ‘Those who are coming to us and getting passports are a team of people who are really against Denktash and naturally they will use their vote against Denktash to destroy his policies and to eliminate him at the elections.”

“Do you have the right to use your vote at this side when you have a Greek Cypriot passport? We must discuss this, we must examine this…” he added.

Denktash said that accession by the Greek Cypriot side to the EU without an agreement and a solution to the Cyprus problem, meant the Turkish Cypriots would renounce their rights, accept minority status and the right of Greek Cypriots to return to their properties. “Our state exists and we will continue to exert efforts for an agreement on the basis of two states,” Denktash said.

Yeniduzen criticised Denktash’s statements, saying the Turkish Cypriot leader had made contradictory statements about the passports in the past. “According to what Rauf Denktash was saying a year ago, those who get a passport of the Republic of Cyprus are traitors! After that, he said: ‘We will throw to jail those who hold passports of the South’. But those who delivered their passports to Mr Denktash would be forgiven! ... Four months ago he said: ‘Let those who want a passport get it’,” the newspaper said.

The paper pointed out that last year the Denktash regime had prepared a bill to throw those who were holding Cyprus passports in jail. Then after the opening of the Green Line in April, “Mr Denktash announced that this ‘is not a Greek Cypriot passport, it is a passport of the Republic of Cyprus, and it is our natural right. Go everyone and get a passport’.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 5, 2003

[08] Price of water set to rise in response to EU directive

THE Water Development Department has proposed wholesale water price increases of up to 30 per cent. If the Cabinet accepts its suggestion, the new prices will be implemented at the beginning of next year.

The move follows a European Union water directive, which specifies that the government must increase the wholesale price of water, water development department vice chairman, Christodoulos Kritiotis, said yesterday.

“By 2010, the selling price of water must represent the cost of water. Today, as things stand, the price is lower than what it costs the government to produce, and we need recovery of that cost” he said.

“Wholesale water prices have not gone up in 10 years and yet the costs have. We are now also using desalination plants and water treatment plants, which cost money.”

Production costs also included environmental costs, he added. “When you treat water, you might have waste which you have to dispose of in an environmentally approved way and this costs money. Therefore the price of water must reflect this cost,” said Kritiotis. “This is essentially based on the principle that the polluter - which is the consumer in this case - pays.”

The 30 per cent WDD price rise would affect wholesale prices to district water boards and local authorities. The water boards then establish what retail price consumers should pay. “Local water boards will have to take their own costs into account and they might start charging more. Different districts also charge different prices, so there will be no uniform increase. And some councils even have other sources of water over and above what we supply,” he said.

Nevertheless, any change in price from the local boards had to first be approved by the House of Representatives, he added.

During the first stage, the water department has suggested a 30 per cent increase on the existing price. At the moment, water is sold at 33.5 cents per cubic metre or 1,000 litres of water. If the Cabinet accepts the proposal, on January 1, 2004 the price will increase to 44 cents per cubic metre.

Under the water directive, the department plans to carry out a study to determine the cost of water and what final price increases will have to be made by 2010, he said. “Based on the outcome, we will propose price increases in stages to recover the cost.”

The EU water directive allows some flexibility, as it takes local social conditions into consideration, which can involve greater water consumption.

“When we say full recovery of the costs, it might only be partial recovery. The directive gives the government the freedom to take socioeconomic and geographical conditions into account, such as our hot weather,” he said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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