Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-07-19

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

Saturday, July 19, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Talks to avert truck strike crash

[02] Lefka part of a bigger de-mining plan

[03] American magazine looks to win ‘hearts and minds’ in Cyprus

[04] Spirited pub owner arrested after attempted arson

[05] Turkish Cypriot debtor released

[06] Turkey again found guilty in ECHR

[07] News in Brief

[01] Talks to avert truck strike crash

TRUCK DRIVERS are almost set to go on strike next Wednesday after talks between the Commercial Driver’s Association and the Ports Authority in Limassol yesterday morning ended in gridlock.

The debate began after a government decision to install tachographs on commercial vehicles according to European Union standards.

But speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, POVEK union spokesman Kyriacos Moustakas said the move meant that drivers would be delayed and they would not be able to survive on one journey a day.

He said the association demanded that port working hours be extended so that all of the 700 lorries loading and unloading in the area could be served - something that has been opposed by the Ports Authority.

“We are all for safety and we appreciate the government’s decision to install the tachographs, but the installation of the tachographs would affect the driver’s performance, so to help us we have demanded that the ports work on a 24-hour basis just like every other port in Europe,” he said.

“But there are two things they didn’t consider. One is that lorry drivers will have to take a one-hour break after driving for four hours and that the ports close at two.

“This means that the first driver served at around 8am, would arrive in Nicosia by noon, he would have to wait another hour until the cargo is unloaded, and then he would have to take a one hour break before driving back to Limassol. By that time the port would be closed, so how are these people supposed to survive with one delivery a day?”

Moustakas said the only way was for port working hours to be extended so that all drivers could have more deliveries, but that the Ports Authority was unrelenting, saying the law prevented them from changing working hours.

“What we want is for them to realise that lorry drivers depend on deliveries to survive and because of the installation of the tachographs, they will make less trips. The EU demand that the ports work on a 24-hour basis so we know we are right in what we are saying, it is not illogical and we will not back down until our demands are met,” he said.

Moustakas said the Association was also furious with the government for not making any changes to the roads leading into and out of the port, saying the current system meant drivers would sometimes be forced to drive to two different locations to pick up goods for one client.

“We are ready to talk to anyone that can provide a solution but we will not be threatened and we will not back down. This problem could only be solved with a time schedule and direct solutions, and we will call off our measures only when those solutions are found,” Moustakas said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 19, 2003

[02] Lefka part of a bigger de-mining plan

THE DE-MINING of the Lefka area to allow it to be used as a new crossing point for Greek and Turkish Cypriots will likely take place as part of broader project to remove landmines from the 180km buffer zone, which could begin later in the year.

The Turkish Cypriot side, which opened the first checkpoints on April 23, has asked that Lefka become a new crossing point and the government said it was awaiting the UN’s position on the issue.

However there are three minefields in the Lefka area and the area could not be used until it has been cleared.

A broader initiative to de-mine the buffer zone on the Greek Cypriot side has been underway for some time after the government made a unilateral decision to do so.

A UN source said yesterday that experts had already been to the island last year and that the UN is taking it under advisement.

Anti-personnel landmines cost as little as $20 each to manufacture but between $300 and $1,000 to remove.

In 1995 it was estimated that close to 17,000 landmines had been laid in and around the buffer zone and on this side since 1974. It is not known how many exist to the north. Since then investigations reveal that the number of minefields inside the buffer zone now numbers 48, while there are over 70 known or suspected minefields within 400 metres of buffer zone. The US state Department estimates there are 132 mines areas in Cyprus covering approximately 1,350 square km.

Canada offered de-mining assistance in 1998, connected with the failed UN package of measures to reduce tension along the buffer zone.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 19, 2003

[03] American magazine looks to win ‘hearts and minds’ in Cyprus

CYPRUS IS one of 22 countries in the region where an American government- backed glossy magazine titled Hi targeting Arab youths will be distributed from next week, the US embassy in Nicosia confirmed yesterday.

The embassy said it had no details on the number of copies of the monthly magazine Hi that would be distributed or where it would be available. It will cost around $2 (£1.05).

The Arabic-language magazine will have a mix of stories and features and celebrity news and gossip in what is widely seen as a new approach to winning the ‘hearts and minds’ of young people in the Middle East.

“So what if George Bush is threatening to invade your country? At least the kids in America have nice, white teeth and listen to the same music as you. Isn't that enough for you to love the good 'ol US of A?,” said a commentary in Britain’s Independent yesterday.

A White House official compared the magazine, targeting 18-35year olds to a new weapon in the war on terrorism.

"We're fighting a war of ideas as much as a war on terror," said Tucker Eskew, director of the White House's Office of Global Communications during the launch of the magazine, put together by the State Department.

In addition to Cyprus, Hi will be available in Egypt, Israel, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza and a number of Gulf States.

The first issue contains features on jazz singer Norah Jones, sandboarding, a resurgence of interest in Arabic poetry in the US, and also on yoga. There is also a section on relationships entitled "Making Marriage Work". A feature on life in American universities has interviews with Arab students "enjoying the freedom of thought" in the US, the Independent said.

The US hopes Hi will dispel misconceptions in the Middle East about America and maintains it is not a propaganda tool.

Eskew said promoting American ideals and culture around the world was more important than ever. He also mentioned plans for an Arabic television network funded by the US government as critical to communicating America's messages to the Middle East.

"It's not our government's job to be loved, but it is our job to increase understanding," Eskew said. “The Middle East Television Network will combine the production values of American news with topics of interest to the Arab world,” he added, and an alternative he said to the "incitement of violence" often prompted by stations such as Al-Jazeera and state- controlled Arabic media.

"There is a lack of accurate, objective news information on television in the Arab world," said Joan Mower, a spokeswoman for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the bipartisan government agency that will launch the network. "We really felt that there was a desperate need to present our viewers with accurate information about the world and the United States."

According to the Independent, not everyone is convinced the magazine and the network will succeed. Rani al-Hajjar, an Atlanta student and co- ordinator for Palestinian Media Watch, told the paper: "I think if it's coming from a cultural superiority complex, saying that we are infallible and saying that our policies are best, then I think it is liable to fail."

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 19, 2003

[04] Spirited pub owner arrested after attempted arson

A PREGNANT pub-owner was arrested in Limassol on Thursday after she tried to set fire to her pub.

According to reports, the woman lost her temper when police visited the pub in Eleftheria Street because she was allegedly serving customers spirits illegally and playing loud music.

The woman, who was not been named, proceeded to shout and throw drinks bottles at police officers.

Reports say she then locked herself inside the pub and tried to set fire to the bar by dousing it in whiskey.

Officers eventually managed to enter the building by breaking a window and arrested the woman.

She was taken to Limassol Hospital where she was kept in for observation overnight.

No damage was caused to the pub.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 19, 2003

[05] Turkish Cypriot debtor released

A TURKISH-CYPRIOT minor who was jailed for failing to pay a £100 fine has been bailed out by his relatives.

The youth had been sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and joined other inmates in the overcrowded Central Prisons in Nicosia.

Recently the House revised the laws governing minor infractions and incarceration that made failure to repay a debt punishable by jail.

The imprisonment of debtors was seen as both unnecessary and impractical, and it was hoped the new measure would alleviate prison overcrowding.

Now offenders have the opportunity to repay their debts and persons already jailed for debts may appeal for early release.

Ionas Nicolaou, vice-chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee, said yesterday that the issue of the young Turkish-Cypriot should be treated more as a case of juvenile delinquency. He added that, under the amended law, failure to pay fines was still punishable by imprisonment.

For his part, the director of the Central Prisons said that the effects of the new law had still not kicked in.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 19, 2003

[06] Turkey again found guilty in ECHR

THE EUROPEAN Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found Turkey guilty of violating the human rights of a Turkish Cypriot doctor by repeatedly disallowing him to cross the Green Line.

Turkey recently raised an objection to the case citing the Turkish Cypriot side’s reopening of the checkpoints on April 23. Ankara stated the case of the doctor Ahmet Cavit An, was no longer valid.

However the ECHR said that since the applicant was referring to instances which took place between 1992 and 1998, Turkey’s objection did not stand. The ECHR ordered Ankara to pay 15,000 euros in compensation to An, and over 4,000 euros in costs.

An told Politis newspaper that during the period in question he had tried to cross to the south 147 times and was refused 122 times.

An also said that the Turkish Cypriot administration had also tried to bribe him to drop his application at the European Court by offering him funding for his books, something which he had previously been refused.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, July 19, 2003

[07] News in Brief

Irish tourist assaulted

According to a police bulletin, the woman said she had been walking alone down a street at the holiday resort at 6am yesterday when she was attacked by two unknown men, who then raped her.

The two men are described as being about 20-years-of-age, of unknown nationality, with an average build, and short dark hair.

Airport arrests

Bandar had been living in Cyprus for the last three years and has a Cypriot wife.

Meanwhile, a 40-year-old British man was arrested by Larnaca airport custom’s officers when they found 191 cigarette boxes in his luggage.

He was heading for Dublin airport.

Austrian man remanded

The 47-year-old was arrested by police at noon and his six-year-old daughter was handed over to the Welfare Office.

Fish farm vandalised

According to a police bulletin, the owner of the fish farm claimed vandals tore the netting around fish cages which resulted in the escape of 20,000 gilthead and other fish worth around £5,200.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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