Cyprus News Agency: News in English (PM), 99-05-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus - Yugoslavia

[02] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[03] Trade Union Forum

[04] Experts - Exhumation - War dead

[05] UN envoy - Festival

[06] US Ambassador - Nomination

[07] AKEL - Ocalan

1440:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Cyprus - Yugoslavia

Speaking after a meeting with House of Representatives President, Spyros Kyprianou, Mrkic said that he "informed President Kyprianou about the latest developments", adding that he "regularly" informs him about the events in Yugoslavia.

"I especially told him how intense the bombing was yesterday", he said, adding that "it was one of the worst nights in the history of this bloody war".

Mrkic described the bombing as "truly genocidal", and pointed out that "they have been hitting power plants, destroying hospitals again, and so on".

Asked to comment on the EU travel ban on Yugoslav officials, Mrkic said "we consider that only the Security Council can introduce an embargo and sanctions", adding "all other embargoes we consider illegal, from the point of view of international law".

Invited to describe Yugoslavia's feeling about Cyprus being in line with the embargo, Mrkic said "we are disappointed, because we consider that the list introduced is an illegal matter, because the Security Council of the UN was not involved".

Asked to confirm whether Yugoslavs have been taking their money out of Cyprus, Mrkic said he is not a private company, and so cannot comment on that issue.

He did say, however, that "if they consider that the environment is not friendly, I wouldn't be surprised if they took their money out".

Responding to other questions, Mrkic said Yugoslavia will continue to use Cyprus government services in London, "because we maintain friendly relations and we will try to build some even more friendly relations in the future".

Asked whether Yugoslavia trusts the Cyprus government to represent its interests in London, Mrkic said: "Absolutely".

CNA RG/GP/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1730:CYPPRESS:02

[02] Cyprus Stock Exchange

      CSE General Index                         148.57 (-1.07)

      Traded Value            CYP 13,290,795

      Sectural Indices

      Banks                   CYP 9,330,279     202.72 (-1.39)
      Approved Investment
      Companies               CYP    91,579      75.22 (-1.88)
      Insurance Companies     CYP    63,407      74.37 (-1.27)
      Manufacturing Companies CYP   140,896      85.83 ( 0.27)
      Tourism Companies       CYP   385,038     100.04 (-0.29)
      Trading Companies       CYP   441,882      53.96 ( 1.07)
      Other Companies         CYP   432,408      92.91 ( 0.53)

CNA MM/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1800:CYPPRESS:03

[03] Trade Union Forum

Addressing the Forum, which started today at the Ledra Palace in Nicosia, various speakers expressed their full backing to the efforts Trade Unionists make.

UNFICYP Spokeswoman Sarah Russell, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Cyprus Ambassador Donato Chiarini, Director of the Department for Trade Union Rights at the ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) George Martens, and ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) Secretary-General, Emilio Gabaglio, were among these speakers.

The 3rd All Trade Union Forum, which will end tomorrow with a declaration, is being attended by delegates from 16 trade unions from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.

The Secretary-General of the Cyprus Workers' Confederation (SEK), Michalakis Ioannou, said that the real hope for peace comes through the island's European Union accession course.

He also said SEK members are concerned over the fact that the principles contained in joint declarations, adopted by the two previous fora, have not yet been implemented.

The Secretary-General of the Pancyprian Workers' Organisation (PEO), Pampis Kyritsis, said the present Forum is a "ray of hope in a sky that is constantly becoming gloomier".

The President of the public sector trade union (PASIDI), Andreas Polyviou, said trade unions today "confirm their commitment to carry on, despite difficulties, in order to reach their target" and give hope for a good future to all.

The President of Turkish Cypriot KTAMS, Ali Seylani, said the solution of the Cyprus problem passes through the rapprochement of the two sides on the island, and reassured that trade unions will continue their efforts to bring the two communities closer.

DEV-IS Secretary-General, Bayram Celik, told the Forum that a political solution to the Cyprus problem is of great importance, adding that the trade unions must prepare themselves to tackle any problems faced by Greek and Turkish Cypriot workers after a settlement.

TURK-SEN President, Oder Konuloglu, said the Forum is taking place despite various obstacles, adding that those posing the problems of course are not trying to solve them.

UNFICYP Spokeswoman, Sarah Russell, said the UN supports contacts between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, adding that it also plays an important role in finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.

Addressing the Forum, ETUC Secretary-General, Emilio Gabaglio, said that his organisation shares the aims of the Forum and will continue to support the efforts of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot trade-unionists.

He also said that the ETUC will urge the EU to play an effective role in reaching a solution of the Cyprus problem.

ICFTU representative, George Martens, said his organisation supports the trade-unionists, and wished them well.

Ambassador, Donato Chiarini, said that Cyprus' accession to the EU will be to the benefit of both communities.

The opening ceremony of the Forum was attended by US Ambassador Kenneth Brill, British High Commissioner Edward Clay, and political party leaders from both communities.

Tomorrow's session will focus on the role of the trade union movement and of the Forum in particular, in the process of confidence building in Cyprus.

CNA AA/RG/MM/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1835:CYPPRESS:04

[04] Experts - Exhumation - War dead

They are members of the international, non governmental organisation "Physicians for Human Rights", which shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize with another organisation.

The team of experts, headed by Professor William Haglund, will carry out exhumations at two cemeteries, one in Nicosia and one in the suburb of Lakatamia, seven kilometres south of the capital.

The team, comprising scientists from various countries and including anthropologists, archaeologists and pathologists, will carry out scientific examination of the remains at a scientific laboratory in Nicosia, set out for this purpose.

Subsequently, samples of the remains will be handed over to the Nicosia-based Institute of Genetics and Neurology for analysis in order to establish the identity of the dead.

Relatives of the war dead will be notified of the results and the remains will be handed over to them for proper burial.

The team of experts will be working in Cyprus under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry and the Office of the Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs.

Exhumations will take place "solely for humanitarian purposes and their main objective is to restore and respect the rights of relatives of war dead to be informed of their identity in a convincing manner".

The government "is taking all necessary steps for the completion of this humanitarian project with dignity and respect to the feelings of all, especially to the relatives concerned."

The international team, led by Professor William Haglund, has extensive experience in the process of exhumation and identification of remains as a result of their work in Rwanda, Somalia, Croatia and Bosnia.

There are 1.619 persons listed as missing since the Turkish invasion and so far the fate of only one of these persons has been established.

Efforts to ascertain the fate of other missing persons have yielded no results primarily because of the unwillingness of the Turkish side to cooperate on this humanitarian issue.

CNA GG/MM/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2015:CYPPRESS:05

[05] UN envoy - Festival

Addressing the opening ceremony of the Peaceful Co-existence Festival, organised by people "who are key to the success of the UN efforts around the world", Dame Ann said that "for every dollar all the governments around the world spend on military armaments, the world spends less than half a cent on peace-keeping".

She said that "since peace-keeping was invented 45 years ago, over 1500 peace-keepers have died in the performance of their duties", adding that 164 have died in Cyprus.

Dame Ann said that "over the past 35 years, the UN has often been blamed for failing to produce a solution here in Cyprus" and pointed out that "the hard truth is that the international community can help parties to solve a dispute, but it cannot do it for them".

She said that a solution "cannot be imposed from outside", but it is a "co-responsibility which lies with the parties to find a mutually acceptable solution, the will to enter into the give and take of negotiation".

The UN representative also expressed regret that the Turkish Cypriot community did not attend tonight's Festival.

Dame Ann pointed out that "as we strive for the goal of peaceful co- existence, we know that also means a commitment to reconciliation and a determination to invest, not in repeating mistakes of the past, but in the children of the future".

CNA RG/MM/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2020:CYPPRESS:06

[06] US Ambassador - Nomination

Bandler, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, is currently on the National Security Council staff where he has been special assistant to the President, senior director for European Affairs, and counselor to the National Security Advisor for the NATO Summit.

He is to replace Kenneth Brill, who is expected to leave in July. Bandler, a native of Pennsylvania and resident of Maryland, has served in Paris and Bonn.

The new Ambassador designate studied Political Science and he speaks fluently French and German.

Bandler is married with 3 children. Meanwhile, President Clinton has also announced his intent to nominate Thomas Miller to be Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

CNA FZ/MM/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2030:CYPPRESS:07

[07] AKEL - Ocalan

In his letters, Christofias says that AKEL is convinced that "Turkey, having the additional advantage that the world's attention is concentrated on the NATO attack against Yugoslavia, is going to conduct a farce trial, which will disregard the rules of European Law and will not respect Ocalan's human rights".

He calls on the two organisations to "intervene effectively in order to safeguard that Ocalan's human rights will be respected and that he will have a fair trial", thus "protecting international and European institutions and values, which are flagrantly violated in the case of Ocalan".

Christofias also points to "an impressively contradictory approach, according to which, on one hand, the right of Kosovars to broad autonomy should be safeguarded even by NATO attacks against Yugoslavia, while the leader of the Kurds is detained as a 'terrorist', when Turkey has virtually razed to the ground thousands of villages in the south-eastern region of the country, refusing to comply with the international treaties on minority rights".

CNA RG/MM/1999

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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