Cyprus News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-06-29

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] South African MPs conclude visit

[02] Darts competition between Greek and Turkish Cypriots underway

[03] Greenpeace ship to promote use of solar energy

[04] Interior Minister leaves for Luxembourg

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[01] South African MPs conclude visit

Deputies Roelf Meyer, Bulelani Ngcuka and Takis Christodoulou, of Cypriot origin, arrived on the island on Tuesday at the invitation of the House of Representatives.

During their stay, they were received by President Glafcos Clerides and the House President Spyros Kyprianou.

They also held separate meetings with Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Nicosia Mayor Lellos Demetriades and the Cyprus -South Africa Association.

During their meetings the MPs were briefed on the protracted Cyprus problem and relayed their experiences from the dismantling of apartheid.

The South African deputies visited the ceasefire line in Nicosia, separating the government-controlled areas of the Republic from the Turkish occupied north of the island.

They also travelled to the eastern town of Dherynia, site of last summer's violent incidents in which two unarmed Greek Cypriot demonstrators were murdered by Turkish occupation forces and extremists.

In Dherynia, the South African deputies also viewed the occupied ghost town of Famagusta, which remains vacant since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the occupation of 37 per cent of its territory.

CNA EC/MA/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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[02] Darts competition between Greek and Turkish Cypriots underway

President of the Darts Association, Alexis Constantinou, stressed that the tournament has no political connotations, since it is a humanitarian competition organised to raise money for Thalassaemia sufferers, a hereditary blood disorder.

He added that the participants in the competition, held at the medieval Bellapais Abbey and sponsored by the Australian contingent of the UN peacekeeping forces, will also donate blood.

Constantinou clarified the purpose of the competition to relatives of Greek Cypriots missing since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and others who have been holding a demonstration at the Ledra Palace checkpoint every weekend, for the last year.

The demonstrators gather at the checkpoint, the only place where one can cross into the Turkish occupied part of the island, to inform visitors about the situation in Cyprus.

They disagree with people crossing into the occupied areas, saying it is an indirect recognition of the puppet regime set up in 1983 and recognised only by Turkey.

However, both the UN, the US and other embassies sponsor contacts between the two communities, through mainly professional groups and other organisations, in an effort to create a better atmosphere between them.

The Cyprus government has repeatedly expressed its support to bicommunal gatherings, provided there is no recognition of the illegal entity in the island's occupied areas.

It is the second darts competition between the two communities. The first was held in the government-controlled part of the island three years ago.

The participants are expected to return to the free areas of the Republic late this evening.

CNA MA/EC/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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[03] Greenpeace ship to promote use of solar energy

An announcement from the Mediterranean section of the international environmentalist group says the ship will dock in the new Limassol port, in the southern coast, and will be open to the public.

"The public of Cyprus will have the opportunity to be informed about the latest developments in solar energy, the ways with which Greenpeace promotes solar energy and the organisation's achievements," the announcement adds.

Cypriots who are interested can also be informed about the organisations campaigns in the Mediterranean and the rest of the world.

At the same time two events will take place, one in Limassol and the other in the capital Nicosia, on the Greenpeace campaigns and solar energy.

This is the eighth consecutive year the Greenpeace ship will be visiting the island, as Cyprus is included in its Mediterranean tour.

Greenpeace has also been campaigning for the protection of Akamas, an area of unique flora and fauna in the western tip of the island, designated to become a national park, amid demands from the locals for tourist development in the region.

During their stay Greenpeace officials will meet local environmentalist groups to discuss recent developments over Akamas.

CNA MA/EC/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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[04] Interior Minister leaves for Luxembourg

The harmonisation of Cyprus' legislation with EU directives for TV without frontiers and the EU-Cyprus agreement for participation in the MEDIA II programme, are among the issues to be examined at the meeting.

Michaelides will fly to Geneva on Friday to take part in a ministerial committee meeting on Civil Defence, that will examine the reinforcement of the role of civil protection on an international and national level.

It will also discuss the possibility of creating a non-governmental international association to support activities for the protection of civilians throughout the world.

CNA EC/MA/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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