Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-07-17

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

Thursday, July 17, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Police accused of offering witness £100,000 to testify

[02] £7 million computerisation project has cost £80 million, with only 20 per cent of the work done

[03] SARS measures lifted as global outbreak subsides

[04] Government blast Denktash ‘arrogance’

[05] Grim figures for tourism industry

[06] ACs in retirement homes: owners battle new rule

[07] Two Turkish Cypriots held for carpet theft in north

[08] Government vows to crack down on crime

[01] Police accused of offering witness £100,000 to testify

THE JUSTICE Ministry was cagey yesterday about reports that the police had offered to pay a witness to testify against jailed gambling club owner Antonis Fanieros during an investigation into a series of bomb attacks against police officers.

Politis reported yesterday that a decision of the Nicosia criminal court into a bombing case referred to a police offer to one of the suspects if £100,000 in cash, police protection and a job abroad if he testified against Fanieros.

Two suspects, George Stylianou and Salih Musa, were arrested in connection with the case after they were named by another man, Costas Hadjimarkou, who is currently serving a 12-year-sentence for taking part in the bombings.

Stylianou and Musa were released after being found not guilty by the court on the basis that Hadjimarkou’s statement was untrustworthy.

According to Politis, Musa was asked to testify against Fanieros - who is serving a five-year sentence for fraud - in exchange for money, protection and a job abroad.

When Musa refused, the police allegedly threatened the witness he would serve life in prison if he didn’t co-operate.

Justice Ministry Permanent Secretary Lazaros Savvides said yesterday he could not comment on whether the allegations were true.

“The fact that one man has made some comments during his testimony doesn’t tell us whether those comments are true or false,” he said.

“What I can tell you is that this is not the sort of practice the police would follow in order to force someone to testify against another person so that they could incriminate him.

“I can’t doubt a sworn statement, but what I can tell you is that it is just a statement that could either be right or wrong.

Savvides said Justice Minister Doros Theodorou has asked to be briefed on the issue, but said no investigation had been ordered into the allegations yet.

Fanieros’ son, Loukas, has said the revelations only proved the police had been out to get his father at any cost.

Fanieros slammed the police for keeping his father in jail while he was suffering from complications to his vocal cords from a bullet lodged in his throat from a failed murder attempt.

“They can forgive people who took part in the 1974 coup, but they refuse to pardon my father for humanitarian reasons so he can go abroad for treatment, ” he said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

[02] £7 million computerisation project has cost £80 million, with only 20 per cent of the work done

THE computerisation of the public service has so far cost taxpayers £80 million, with only 20 per cent of the project completed, compared to the initial budget of £7 million for the entire programme, the House Watchdog Committee heard yesterday.

DIKO deputy Zacharias Koulias told the committee that, according to the plan, drafted in 1987, automation of the public service would cost £7 million -- £3.66 million for hardware and around £3 million for the software.

But for just 20 per cent of the project, taxpayers have until now have coughed up £80 million.

The cost of computerising the land registry department alone was £10 million, instead of the estimated £850,000, Koulias said.

Similarly, the social security department was computerised at a cost of £3.85 million, instead of the original 1994 estimate of £1.75 million.

And equipment installed in the state hospitals has remained unused since 1999, the DIKO deputy charged.

The members of the committee reacted angrily when the director of the state computer services, Costas Agrotis, informed them that the board that had been appointed to supervise the project had remained inactive, due to the absence of ministry permanent secretaries, which were supposed to sit on it.

Committee chairman Christos Pourgourides of DISY noted that the permanent secretaries had not lived up to the occasion, adding that the delays had negative consequences on the productivity of the public sector.

Agrotis said the board was not operating properly because permanent secretaries were always sending representatives to the meetings, who did not have the authority to take decisions.

Agrotis said his department had noted the problems in various reports, which the committee asked him to submit.

AKEL deputy Kikis Yiangou charged that the state had been paying a private company £720 per day to support the system at the social welfare department.

Yiangou said that the government had asked for tenders only from the specific company, which charged £180 per head per day for four employees.

DIKO deputy Andreas Angelides demanded an explanation for the failure of the supervising board, adding that the “sinful” past could not be ignored while trying to build the future.

Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Christos Patsalides said the issue would be studied in depth and contracts and charges would be compared to the cost the state would have had if it had hired civil servants to do certain jobs instead.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

[03] SARS measures lifted as global outbreak subsides

THE HEALTH Ministry yesterday confirmed it had lifted all its preventive measures against SARS, following World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The announcement comes just over four months since the virus first began moving around the world in late February.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the flu-like disease which affected 32 countries and left over 800 dead made its sudden global outbreak in March and sparked a WHO warning. Countries worldwide followed the health organisation’s lead and issued travel advisories that recommended postponement of all non-essential travel to affected areas, primarily in the Far East, where the largest outbreaks occurred.

“We have stopped all prevention measures concerning travellers entering Cyprus from all previously affected areas,” said Dr Olga Kalakouta.

The last reported probable case in Taiwan, and - for the moment - in the world, was detected and isolated on June 15, said Kalakouta. Two consecutive 10-day incubation periods passed with no further cases detected. “The last country removed from the WHO list of countries with local transmission was Taiwan,” she said.

This spurred the WHO to remove Taiwan from its list of areas with recent local transmission, which means that all known chains of person-to-person transmission of the SARS virus have now been broken and prevention measures can be lifted.

In Cyprus, the government had implemented a series of WHO-recommended SARS prevention measures. These included banning foreign workers from China and Singapore from entering Cyprus; postponing the registration of students from China at local colleges until September; and screening of travellers from WHO affected areas at Paphos and Larnaca airport, including filling in questionnaires, taking temperatures and visiting hospital outpatient clinics for checkups on the fifth and 10th day of arrival in Cyprus. These measures have now all been lifted, said Kalakouta.

“We alerted the civil aviation authority, airlines and the Interior Ministry last Thursday,” she said. “It is now up to them on how quickly they implement our announcement.”

All recommendations to postpone travel to affected areas have also been lifted, as there are no longer any areas with recent local transmission of SARS, added Kalakouta.

Nevertheless, as the current global outbreak of SARS comes under control, the most important message for international travellers is to continue to be aware of the main symptoms of SARS, which include: high fever, dry cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties. Persons who experience these symptoms and who, in the last 10 days have been in an area which has experienced a recent outbreak of SARS, are still advised by WHO to visit a doctor,

Kalakouta said that despite the positive global outlook, SARS could not be said to have been “wiped out”.

“A year needs to pass without any more cases,” she said. “At present, although there is no transmission of the disease, it could be due to other factors, including the weather. We need to get through all the seasons before we can safely say it has been stamped out.”

Mirroring this warning, Dr David Heymann, the WHO Executive Director for communicable disease said: “Public health must not let down its guard, as more cases could still surface somewhere in the world. SARS has taught us that a single case is capable of igniting an outbreak.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

[04] Government blast Denktash ‘arrogance’

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday accused Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash of “abysmal arrogance” over his latest threat to settle the abandoned town of Varosha if the Greek Cypriot side did not accept his proposal to hand back part of the fenced off area in return for the opening of Nicosia Airport.

“I think the arrogance of Denktash is abysmal,” Government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides told his daily press briefing. “Denktash suddenly says he does not wish to be accused by foreigners of leaving Famagusta to become deserted.”

Chrysostomides said Denktash’s position was not serious and repeated that the lifting of “occupation measures” was an obligation for the Turkish side under international obligations. “Only the occupation force can lift, for the time being, these restrictions,” he said.

On Friday, Denktash announced he was willing to give back part of Varosha to the Greek Cypriots under UN auspices if Nicosia Airport was reopened.

The proposals echoed the ‘Set of Ideas’ set out in a 1993 plan drawn up by then UN Secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali and a subsequent series of Confidence Building Measures, which Denktash rejected at the time.

The Greek Cypriot side responded coldly to the announcement but has not yet given an official response, which will be handled through the UN Secretary- general office.

Announcing his threat to settle Varosha on Tuesdat, Denktash said he did not believe the Greek Cypriot side would respond positively.

Under UN resolutions, the status quo of Varosha is protected and it cannot be resettled unilaterally.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

[05] Grim figures for tourism industry

TOURIST arrivals for the first six months of the year are down over 12 per cent on the same period in 2002, according to statistics released yesterday.

According to figures from the government’s statistical department, 262,100 tourists visited the island last month, down from 293,100 in June last year. That 10.6 per cent decrease in tourism translates to millions of pounds lost by local businesses, attractions, and hotels. Worse still are figures for the period January to June, which saw a 12.3 per cent fall in arrivals compared to the same period a year ago.

If these numbers were not bad enough, the comparison with 2001 - before the September 11 terrorist attacks cast a shadow over the global travel industry - are even more depressing. Comparing June of this year to June 2001, there has been a drop off of 18.1 per cent, while tourism numbers from January to June this year are a dramatic 23.73 per cent down on the first six months of 2001.

Avgi Papagiorgiou, Senior Tourism Officer for the Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO) was not surprised by the latest figures.

“It’s to be expected, isn’t it?” she told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. “With the Iraq crisis this year and the general uncertainty before that, our main booking period in the late winter and early spring was entirely lost.

“It’s not like Cyprus is the only affected tourist spot. All destinations in Europe are suffering, not just Cyprus,” she added.

With the main booking period lost to the Iraqi conflict, the tourism industry is trying its best to lure last-minute bookers and more local travelers than ever before. “With the poor state of the economy currently in England, a lot of the British travelers have suddenly become a lot more price conscious than they were in previous summers when looking to go on holiday,” she conceded. Accordingly, travel agents have lowered their prices to lure more tourists, and hotel prices have gone down as well to attract those feeling the effects of the stalling economy.

Papagiorgiou continued, “Three government measures have been taken to help increase tourism here this year. First, they abolished all landing charges at the airport until June 30, they got rid of the £8 passenger tax on all flights for the summer, and the government has granted the CTO £7 million for advertising and assorted promotional events and activities.”

In the last few weeks, Papagiorgiou said, “things have been improving. Even though June was a tough month, we are looking forward to the rest of the season getting better.”

A hotel industry source in Ayia Napa said all the surrounding resorts had been affected by the drop in tourism this year.

“We hope things will change and we’ll see an upswing in August when locals are on holiday, since we’re depending much more on them for business this year,” the source remarked. “We’ve seen about a 30 per cent drop off in business this summer. We’ve just been giving better offers to try and attract more people. Hopefully it will work out.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

[06] ACs in retirement homes: owners battle new rule

ALL HOMES for the elderly should have air conditioning units installed in all rooms by law, a Welfare Department official confirmed yesterday.

“Based on the current law, which was approved by Parliament in July 2000, it’s true that every home must be fitted with an air conditioner in all rooms,” welfare officer Chloe Koromia told the Cyprus Mail.

“By law rooms should be kept at a temperature appropriate to the weather for the time of year.”

Maria Polyviou Kountourou, owner of the Ayios Pavlos nursing home in Nicosia, believes the law is necessary.

“With such high temperatures in the summer, air conditioning is not a question of luxury, but one of necessity,” she said. “Just as old people are susceptible to pneumonia in winter if they are not warm enough, then equally, in summer they are liable to become ill due to dehydration and heatstroke if they are not cool enough.”

The implementation of the law is subject to a five-year grace period, but Kountourou believes nursing home owners should not be reluctant to implement changes.

“It’s better to install air conditioning units gradually, each year, than to have to pay out a large sum all at once at the end.”

But since its introduction, the law has been opposed by some home owners.

“It’s a fact that some establishments believe it shouldn’t be compulsory to have air conditioning throughout the home,” Koromia said. “Some say fans are sufficient. And their position is being studied by our department.”

President of the Old People’s Homes Association, Costas Ioannides, warned yesterday that the law was difficult to implement.

“As an association, we agree that air conditioning should be installed in all common rooms, such as dining areas and lounges, but it’s difficult to insist on air conditioning in bedrooms,” he said.

“If there is more than one person to a bedroom, patients often argue over whether to have the air condition on or not. And doctors recommend that some people should have windows open even in summer due to medical conditions like asthma. It would be easier if air conditioning was optional in bedrooms.”

He also stressed that home owners often struggled to make ends meet due to fund shortages.

“Ninety-five per cent of our patients are the government’s responsibility,” he said, “but we only get about £10 per day towards each person, which is not enough.”

Planning Bureau member Georgia Christofidou stressed yesterday that the law was not a European Union directive.

“The EU doesn’t have such detailed regulations on social policy -- it was a law adopted by the Cyprus government concerning minimum standards on homes for the elderly.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

[07] Two Turkish Cypriots held for carpet theft in north

TWO Turkish Cypriots were yesterday remanded in custody for eight days in connection with the theft of £5,400 worth of carpets and antiques from a shop in occupied Famagusta.

In the first case of its kind, the Turkish Cypriot owner of the shop reported to Larnaca police on July 7 that burglars had stolen £5,400 of carpets and antiques from his shop in Famagusta.

During a visit to the government-controlled areas, the Turkish Cypriot had recognised his carpets in the window of a Nicosia shop.

The owner of the shop returned the carpets, worth £500, and named 34-year- old Turkish Cypriot Mustafa Tofaloglu from Nicosia as the person who had sold them to him.

Tofaloglu was immediately arrested and allegedly confessed to the burglary, naming 41-year-old Mehmet Osterin as his accomplice.

Osterin was arrested in his Larnaca home, where police allegedly found 10 carpets worth £2,000, thought to be part of the stolen property.

Reports said police were looking for two Turkish Cypriot brothers in connection with the case.

However, it is believed the pair are being held in the north for similar offences.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

[08] Government vows to crack down on crime

THE GOVERNMENT said yesterday it was increasingly concerned over the possible resurgence of organised crime after a series of murders and shootings in the Limassol district this month.

Justice Minister Doros Theodorou yesterday presided over a meeting with police to find ways to tackle the problem of organised crime.

Theodorou vowed after the meeting that criminals would not escape the clutches of the law.

He said crime could not be completely eradicated, but warned police were doing everything in their power to limit criminal activity on the island.

“You cannot simply wipe out crime from the face of the earth,” Theodorou said.

“That’s just big talk, crime is a part of human nature and we can do nothing to stop it, all we can do is to confine it.”

Theodorou pledged that police would not hide any information regarding the level of crime on the island.

“We will no longer have cases put in a file and forgotten, all cases will be solved, the police will continue to fight crime, and criminals should beware they can’t hide forever.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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