Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-07-27

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

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

Sunday, July 27, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] War dead of both sides remembered

[02] Developments unlikely, says Iacovou

[03] Group of Israeli gamblers ‘sent back home’

[04] Hasikos denies fatal helicopter crash caused by bad maintenance

[05] Soccer head defends friendship match ban

[06] Newspapers to be subject to VAT

[07] Britons held after drugs and fake cash found

[08] Reduced number of rubber cheques

[09] Pistol found after tip-off

[01] War dead of both sides remembered

THE BI-COMMUNAL Initiative against Nationalism and War, comprising both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, held commemorative ceremonies yesterday in the north and south to honour those killed on both sides during the Turkish invasion in 1974.

But their attempts to lay wreaths on the graves of Turkish Cypriots killed during the invasion failed, after Turkish Cypriot ‘police’ stopped the bus carrying 50 members of group just outside the village, and said they had not applied for a permit to hold the ceremonies.

Members of the group carrying banners saying ‘No more blood on the altar of nationalism’, decided to hold their ceremony under protest on the spot, by reading a joint declaration in both Greek and Turkish and accusing the Turkish Cypriot authorities of being part of the same nationalistic policy which led to mass graves of innocent people on both sides.

The group then returned to the free areas, where they held a ceremony at the grave in Nicosia of 15-year-old Vassilia Georgiou, a Greek Cypriot who was killed when a shell hit her house during the invasion on July 21, 1974.

Turkish Cypriot members of the group gave flowers to the parents of the dead girl and laid wreaths on her grave, denouncing nationalism.

Vassiliou’s mother could barely hold back the tears as she was hugged by Turkish Cypriot Murat Kanatli and expressed her gratification that the memory of her daughter was celebrated by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Speaking to the Sunday Mail, Dinos Ayiomamitis, a spokesman and organiser for the group, said the event transformed human suffering over those killed during the war into a weapon for reconciliation and peace.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, July 27, 2003

[02] Developments unlikely, says Iacovou

FOREIGN Minister George Iacovou said yesterday he did not expect any new developments in the Cyprus problem before a meeting in September between President Tassos Papadopoulos and UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan.Speaking from Tehran, Iacovou said the international community does not appear to be interested in a resumption of face-to-face talks between the two sides until the results of upcoming ‘elections’ in the north later this year.

“I do not expect anything to happen prior to the New York meeting in late September,” Iacovou said. “Of course things can change, but I do not anticipate any surprises.”

He said it seemed the international community would rather wait to see if Rauf Denktash will continue to represent the Turkish Cypriot community in the talks.

“It is interesting to see that the international community is trying to find a common denominator to help resume negotiations immediately after the so-called elections in Turkish-occupied Cyprus,” Iacovou said.

He said the government welcomed Denktash’s stated intention to clear minefields near the Green Line, but noted that demining the ceasefire line had been a long-standing proposal by the government.

“There is the international convention on the ban of landmines and we hope that Turkey will accept to implement its provisions in Cyprus as well,” he added.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, July 27, 2003

[03] Group of Israeli gamblers ‘sent back home’

ACCORDING to local press reports a large group of Israelis who arrived at Larnaca airport on Friday were sent back to Tel Aviv by authorities on the same day, after it was alleged they planned to stay in the occupied north to gamble.

Reports in yesterday’s Alithia, Phileleftheros and Politis newspapers claimed the group --numbering between 38 and 50 Israelis -- had arrived at Larnaca airport and told authorities they were going to stay at a hotel in the south, but were instead driven towards one of the checkpoints in local buses in order to cross over to the occupied areas to gamble at casinos.

Phileleftheros reported that authorities stopped the group on its way to the checkpoint, after which the decision was taken to send the Israelis back to Tel Aviv instead of allowing them to stay at the Ayia Napa hotel at which they had registered.

Justice Minister Doros Theodorou is reported to have told Phileleftheros that police had been ordered to send foreigners wanting to gamble in the north back to their homelands.

He said that in the past Israelis arriving in Cyprus would state the occupied areas as their destination, but added that since this had been banned by authorities at the airport, they gave hotels in the south as their place of stay, before making their way to the north.

Officers at the Police Press Office were unable to comment on the reports yesterday.

Government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said: “I have no comment. This is a matter for the police.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, July 27, 2003

[04] Hasikos denies fatal helicopter crash caused by bad maintenance

FORMER Defence Minister Socratis Hasikos yesterday brushed aside reports that the helicopter crash that killed the head of the National Guard and four other officers last summer was a result of poor maintenance.

The Bell 206 Long Ranger carrying National Guard Chief Evangelos Florakis and four other officers went down in the early morning hours of July 10 last year, killing everyone on board. Ever since, speculation over the causes of the accident (foul play has been ruled out) has been fuelled by a controversy over whether the chopper was suitable for night flights. Hasikos has maintained throughout that the Bell choppers were properly equipped with night vision goggles (NVGs).Some members of the House Defence Committee last year suggested that the Defence Ministry was attempting a cover-up and trying to conceal the fact that the Bell choppers were unsuitable for night operations.

The latest accusations come from government parties that say the helicopter crashed because of bad maintenance, and they have attacked Hasikos for not resigning after the accident.

But Hasikos told a news conference yesterday that such comments were untrue and unfounded, and said the findings of the investigation into the crash ruled out any possibility that it had been caused by maintenance problems.

“The results of the study are clear, so what they are saying is not true and is not based on fact,” Hasikos said.

“Those who are accusing me today should be more careful because when they were called as deputies to vote for the purchase of new helicopters, they voted against,” he added.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, July 27, 2003

[05] Soccer head defends friendship match ban

THE HEAD of the Turkish Cypriot Football Association, Omer Adal, yesterday defended a decision to impose a three-month ban on six footballers for taking part in a friendship match with Greek Cypriots on July 9, insisting the association had not been informed about the game.

Speaking to the Sunday Mail, Adal said the association only heard about the match from the press.

“The only way we heard about the match was when we saw the advertisements in the newspaper,” he said.

He said the decision to fine the players was taken after it they discovered that footballers from the league had taken part in the game.

“It was later revealed that some super league players had taken part in the match and an investigation was launched,” he said.

“And the conclusion of the investigation was that disciplinary action should be taken.”

Adal said the ban would mean that super league players would be off the pitch for only two weeks since the league doesn’t start until after the summer, and that first league players would hardly miss any matches since their season starts two weeks after the super league.

“It is a dead season anyway, so it will not really affect them,” he said.

Out of the six players banned, three were super league players and three were first league players.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, July 27, 2003

[06] Newspapers to be subject to VAT

NEWSPAPERS, magazines and books will be no longer be VAT-free as of next May.

According to European Union directives, a minimum VAT rate of five per cent must be applied to all newspapers, magazines, periodicals, books and other similar items.

“At the end of the EU negotiations for Cyprus, one of the things agreed upon was that Cyprus would follow the VAT directive of the EU according to which these items are taxed at the reduced rate of VAT, which cannot be less than 5 per cent,” Demos Spatharis, a Senior VAT Officer at the Finance Ministry VAT Service, told the Sunday Mail yesterday.

By May 1, 2004, the date of the island’s accession, Cyprus has the obligation to impose the reduced rate of VAT on these items.

The actual rate fixed will be decided by the government: “It is a political decision by the national authorities of each member state and the EU only interferes if the rate falls below five per cent.

“If we go by the reduced rate that we have now -- which is 5 per cent, as used in restaurants and hotels -- then indications are that it will be 5 per cent,” Spatharis added.

Newspapers and magazines in all EU member states -- save for the United Kingdom -- are taxed at the reduced VAT rate, which ranges from six per cent in Belgium and Greece to eight per cent in France.

The UK continues to apply a zero VAT rate, as agreed during Britain’s own EU accession negotiations.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, July 27, 2003

[07] Britons held after drugs and fake cash found

THREE BRITONS were arrested yesterday in two separate cases involving the alleged sale of drugs and circulation of counterfeit money, police said.

According to a police bulletin, a 28-year-old British tourist was arrested in Paphos after police found 43 ecstasy pills and 24 grams of what is believed to be cannabis in his hotel room.

Police said the suspect has admitted he was going to sell the drugs and that he was a user.

Meanwhile, a British couple was also arrested in connection with the alleged possession and circulation of counterfeit money, after the woman attempted to change four £50 Sterling notes into Cyprus pounds.

The hotel receptionist notified the police when he discovered that the notes all bore the same serial number.

The woman was arrested and told police she was given the money by her boyfriend, who was also arrested.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, July 27, 2003

[08] Reduced number of rubber cheques

THERE HAS been a significant drop in the number of cheques that bounce, the Central Bank has announced.

The fall has coincided with the introduction of the Central Information Database for Issuers of Bounced Cheques. The service has been in operation for five months and appears to have deterred people from issuing cheques that are not honoured.

Between February and June this year, 22,760 cheques bounced more than once, compared with 49,260 over the same period last year -- a decrease of 54 per cent.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, July 27, 2003

[09] Pistol found after tip-off

A 7.65mm Beretta pistol and six bullets were discovered yesterday by police in Nicosia after a tip-off. The weapon was in good condition.

According to a police bulletin, members of the Nicosia Crime Prevention Squad found the pistol and bullets at the roundabout leading to the Makarios Hospital.

Nicosia CID is investigating.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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