Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-09-08

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Tuesday, September 08, 1998

'Grand finale' for the Republic?

ALL papers carried previews of yesterday's National Council meeting, which was to decided whether there would be a Cyprus recourse to the UN General Assembly and on the further handling of the missile issue.

Haravghi led with a report of the comments made by Akel leader Demetris Christofias about the Cyprus problem. Christofias slammed President Clerides' handlings, which, he said, were leading to the "grand finale of the Cyprus Republic".

Christofias explained that Turkey's expansionist and reactionary policies on Cyprus had the full backing of the United States, which Clerides had hoped would help find a settlement. Clerides had proved totally inconsistent, and could not be taken seriously by the international community, the Akel chief said.

Alithia reported that the US envoy Thomas Miller was preparing informal consultations between Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Clerides during the latter's visit to New York. Albright would also see her Greek and Turkish counterparts.

Albright's objective, according to a US official, was to secure a concession from Turkey so as to give Nicosia a reason not to deploy the S- 300 missiles. The least Clerides would expect would be the imposition of an overflights ban.

Simerini reported that the Cyprus Church would lose the complete control it has over the Hellenic Mining Company, which was left to the "Greek Cypriot community", by the Bodosakis family in 1959. After a long study of the matter, the Attorney-general is of the opinion that the Bodosakis estate did not constitute the property of the Church.

The Attorney-general believed that the company, which owns, among other things, a bank, the Keo brewery and a cement factory, cannot be regarded as property of the Church. Two former Attorney-generals were of the opinion that the Hellenic group belonged to the Church.

Phileleftheros reported that members of the underworld had embarked on a campaign aimed at misleading and confusing the police. In the early hours of Saturday, Limassol police received three phone calls, claiming there had been three bomb explosions at different parts of town.

This at least was how the police, which found no evidence of explosions, interpreted the telephone hoaxes.

To Tharros reported that the three Italian MPs who had visited Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in the occupied north had been sent there by Italy's arms manufacturers. The latter are after a share of Turkey's $2 billion dollar budget for arms purchases.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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