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/ Kranidiotis death a 'national loss'
/
THE DEATH of Greece's Cypriot-born deputy foreign minister Yiannos
Kranidiotis in a freak air accident completely dominated the front pages.
All papers agreed that his passing was "a national loss" that would have a
high political cost for Cyprus.
_Phileleftheros
_ said Kranidiotis' loss would "create real problems and substantial gaps",
which the governments of Greece and Cyprus were trying to tackle. It quoted
the Cyprus foreign minister as saying that time would be needed for
Kranidiotis' planning and strategies to be put back on track. It would be
more difficult though for the personal relations he had with all EU foreign
ministers to be re-established.
The paper cited two policy fields which would suffer. The deceased had
played an instrumental role in Cyprus' EU accession course, in which there
were currently "serious developments" and in the Cyprus peace efforts. His
death had come at the "most critical point" in his strategy to link the
Cyprus issue with EU accession and Greek-Turkish relations.
_Alithia
_ carried a eulogy on its front page, saying: "The role of Kranidiotis, in
the safeguarding of national rights, was expressed through modern and
scientific thought, incisive observation of relations and changes in the
international forum, the correct evaluation of givens and capabilities and
result-oriented political practice.
"The vacuum left by his premature and tragic death can be filled only with
the continuation of the same sensible and pragmatic politics, which brought
Cyprus closer to Europe and widened the horizons for national liberation
and vindication."
_Simerini
_ said that "(someone has) huge responsibilities for the accident that led
to the death of Kranidiotis and five others". The Greek government
spokesman said that Prime Minister Costas Simitis had given instructions
for an investigation that would establish who was to blame for the tragic
accident.
Simitis had contacted the top brass at Olympic Airways and demanded that
the investigation should go as high up the hierarchy as is justified in
order to find those responsible. The Falcon jet in which the accident
occurred had experienced problems in the past and on one occasion pilots
had to opt for a crash landing.
_Haravghi
_ led with a report about President Clerides' meeting in London with Akel
leader Demetris Christofias, whom he briefed about the "imminent
developments" in the Cyprus problem. Christofias said both he and the
president were sceptical about the prospects for a breakthrough.
While there seemed to be "some mobility on the part of the US and the UN
Secretary-General", if Rauf Denktash persisted with his demand for talks
between two "heads of state", then there would be no negotiations,
Christofias was quoted as saying.
_Machi
_ continued its "revelations about the terrorist plans of the Islamist
terrorists". It claimed that there were 70 training centres for Islamist
terrorists in the occupied north which were operating with the blessing of
"the arch-terrorist Denktash". The "fanatical Islamist trainers" have set
up operations in several countries, it claimed.
The occupied part of Cyprus had been chosen as a base so that the
fundamentalists could launch terrorist attacks against south Lebanon,
Israel, the British bases and American and Russian interests in the Middle
East. The leader of Hamas in Britain, Omar Bakri Mohammed, was the brain
behind the operations and often visited Cyprus, the paper claimed.
_Politis
_ reported that the Registrar of Companies had asked for the entire list of
all those who had secured shares on private placement from Louis Cruise
Lines. However, the law is not very clear, with regard to the provision and
transfer of shares, so it is not certain that the Registrar's request will
be granted.
© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999
