Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 05-06-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] Arab World ready for reforms, Amr Moussa says

[02] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[03] Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

[04] Cyprus House adjourns vote on resolution on British Bases

[05] Cyprus regrets near loss of EU funds for Turkish Cypriots

[06] Cyprus House set to approve European Constitution

[07] EU Commission approves negotiating framework for Turkey

[01] Arab World ready for reforms, Amr Moussa says

0850:CYPPRESS:01

Arab World ready for reforms, Amr Moussa says

Nicosia, Jun 29 (CNA) -- The end of the cold war and the globalisation are the main reasons that lead Arab countries to the willingness to revise their social and political systems and to express their readiness to follow the path for modernization and democratization, Secretary General of the League of Arab States Amr Moussa has said.

The former Egyptian Foreign Minister also expressed the opinion that in the next few years there would be a lot of changes in the systems of the Arab countries and added that when the Palestinian question is resolved the Middle East would be transformed into a very different region.

[02] Cyprus Stock Exchange

1500:CYPPRESS:03

Cyprus Stock Exchange

Nicosia, Jun 29 (CNA) -- The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) All Share
Index closed at today's stock exchange meeting as follows:

INDICES BASE VALUES: FTSEMed=5000, OTHERS=1000

TRADED VALUE                       543.201,73

GSE GENERAL INDEX                       85,33     0,86    480.169,36
FTSE/CySE 20                           406,13     0,94    265.967,81
MAIN MARKET INDEX                    1.218,54     0,94    271.482,82
PARALLEL MARKET INDEX                1.036,05     1,93     22.217,01
INVESTMENT COMPANIES MARKET INDEX      963,20     1,62     23.528,88
MAIN AND PARALLEL MARKETS INDEX      1.211,47     0,97    293.699,83
BANKS INDEX                          1.245,10     0,98    221.128,80
HOTELS INDEX                         1.010,10     2,89      6.622,74
ALTERNATIVE MARKET INDEX               949,04     1,54    114.660,62
FTSE Med (28/6/2005)                 7.690,04     1,26

* The second column presents the percentage variation of the indices
as compared to the last meeting.

[03] Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

1545:CYPPRESS:04

Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

Nicosia, Jun 29 (CNA) - Today's weather and temperatures for Cyprus,
according to the Meteorological Service at Larnaca International
Airport are:

Temperatures (degrees Celcius)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Station               Maximum     Minimum       Weather
(At 1200 UTC)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Nicosia                 35          19          FINE
Larnaca                 30          20          FINE
Limassol                31          20          FINE
Paphos                  27          18          FAIR
---------------------------------------------------------------

[04] Cyprus House adjourns vote on resolution on British Bases

1750:CYPPRESS:05

Cyprus House adjourns vote on resolution on British Bases

Nicosia, Jun 29 (CNA) -- The Cyprus House of Representatives has adjourned until Thursday morning a vote on a resolution on the legal status of the two military bases Britain has retained on the island since it gained its independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

During the last part of a debate, the overwhelming view outlined by party representatives was that the presence of the Bases has become untenable and it is high time the demand for their withdrawal is put forward for discussion.

Cypriot parliamentarians were very critical of British policy on Cyprus with regard to efforts to find a negotiated settlement of the island's division (as a result of the 1974 Turkish invasion), to London's backing of Turkish positions on Cyprus and Europe and to the violation by Britain of the 1960 Treaties of Guarantee and Establishment.

House President Demetris Christofias said a proposed amendment by Vasos Lyssarides, who proposed the House debate on the legal status of the Bases, could not be discussed at present and called on the MPs to vote on any amended text at tomorrow's House session.

The amendment proposed that it should be noted that the Bases, as part of the Republic of Cyprus, are in fact European Union territory. The resolution refers to Cyprus' Accession Treaty that notes that the Bases remain non EU territory.

Zaharias Koulias, speaking on behalf of the Democratic Party (DIKO), said the House debate on the Bases was not seeking a confrontation with London and added that the issue if the political and legal aspects of the presence of the British Bases was correctly raised by Lyssarides.

He said the Bases are not a state, nor a colony and London cannot act as if they were and advocated implementation of the EU acquis communautaire on the Bases and for the implementation of the European Convention of Human Rights in the Bases territory that is not used for military purposes.

''Our wish is to see these Bases withdraw from Cyprus,'' he added.

Leader of the Social Democrats Movement EDEK Yiannakis Omirou said the Bases are not British sovereign territory, adding that being ''civil and mere observers of British foreign policy against us has led from bad to worse.''

He said London must pay the government of the Republic its dues, as this is provided in the 1960 Treaties, which he estimated it amounted to ''several hundreds of millions of pounds.''

''The British government must receive the message that it cannot behave in an arbitrary manner nor can it act from a position of power towards a country which it has an obligation to protect,'' he said, adding that if this policy continues, then the Cyprus government must take measures, not withstanding an appeal to international courts.

Christos Klerides, of New Horizons party, said London has violated the 1960 Treaties of Establishment and Guarantee, that call for British safeguards for the Republic's independence, territorial integrity and security, all of which, he said, were violated during the 1974 Turkish invasion and continuing occupation of Cyprus' northern areas.

''We have a common goal, we all want to see the Bases leave. This debate can be likened to a referendum on the presence of the Bases,'' he said, adding that it would be wrong to suggest that a political settlement must precede a debate on the status and future of the Bases. ''This kind of position is music to British ears,'' he concluded.

Prodromos Prodromou, leader of the European Democracy party, said the Bases were not sovereign and called on the Cyprus government to claim what it rightfully belongs to it.

He referred to two approaches, one that says that this is not the time to open another front with Britain by raising such an issue and a second one saying that all things taken into account, this matter must be raised with Britain.

''The Bases are part of the question of Cyprus,'' he concluded and urged the House to consider holding a referendum on the future of the Bases.

Dinos Michaelides, leader of the Struggling Democratic Movement (ADIK), said that Britain undermines the Republic of Cyprus and added ''it is unheard of to see Britain, a member of the European family to which Cyprus belongs, continue to behave towards the Republic in such an unacceptable manner.''

He called on Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos to raise the issue of the British Bases with Prime Minister Tony Blair at their meeting next month in London and demand respect, sincere disposition for cooperation and good faith from Britain.

Michaelides was critical of British policy towards Cyprus, especially in relation to EU matters that affect Turkey's EU accession course.

George Perdikis, General Secretary of the Environmentalists Movement, put forward six proposals on the issue under discussion: to return to the government of Cyprus all territory not used by Britain for military purposes, to have the government appoint a civil governor for the Bases to ensure implementation of European law and to see the acquis communautaire apply throughout the Bases.

Representatives from other political parties spoke during previous House sessions.

He also said there must be a timeframe for the withdrawal of the Bases, a referendum must be held on their future among the Cypriots and London must pay us its due to Nicosia, amounting to more than one billion pounds, according to him.

At the conclusion of the debate, Lyssarides said his proposed resolution was getting a unanimous approval by the House and put forward an amendment saying that the Bases are part of the Republic and as such are EU territory, whereas Britain has managed to exclude them from the EU when it joined the Union.

Lyssarides also proposed that the resolution, once approved, should be sent to the EU.

House President referred the vote on the proposed resolution and any possible amendments to Thursday.

[05] Cyprus regrets near loss of EU funds for Turkish Cypriots

1805:CYPPRESS:06

Cyprus regrets near loss of EU funds for Turkish Cypriots

Nicosia, Jun 29 (CNA) -- Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs George Iacovou has expressed regret that a substantial amount of European Union funds, destined for the economic growth of the Turkish Cypriots, is at risk of not being delivered to them following disagreement among EU members.

He said the current EU presidency, Luxembourg, had secured Turkish Cypriot approval to allocate the funds but Ankara's direct interference had led Tuesday's negotiations to failure.

''We regret this development because it was us who had proposed that these funds be allocated to the Turkish Cypriots and for various political reasons several countries have essentially refused to approve the economic assistance,'' he said.

[06] Cyprus House set to approve European Constitution

1900:CYPPRESS:07

Cyprus House set to approve European Constitution

Nicosia, Jun 29 (CNA) -- As the Cyprus House of Representative began here today a two-day debate on the European Constitution, all indications so far are that it will be approved by a majority vote.

If approved, Cyprus will be the first European Union member to ratify the Constitution, following the most recent European Council, which failed to secure agreement on this document.

Three of the four major parties, namely government partners centre-right Democratic Party and social democrats EDEK as well as the opposition rightwing Democratic Rally party, have said they will vote in favour of the Constitution, pointing out that it reflects progress, improvement on past conventions, it consolidates political solidarity among EU member states and it is a very significant move on the part of the European family.

Speakers also noted that the Constitution does have its shortcomings but it is a much improved document, that emerged from lengthy debates among parliamentarians which could be a very useful tool for further improvement in the future.

The main government coalition party AKEL said it would vote against the Constitution, saying that it disagrees with its provisions because they restrict the political rights of citizens in the name of security, they allow Europe to be subservient to the US, they downgrade the role of the European Parliament and they maintain democratic deficit.

The Movement of Ecologists and Environmentalists said it would abstain from the vote because its request for a referendum on the Constitution was ignored.

The majority of members of the House European Affairs Committee, in its report to the plenary, advocated a positive vote for the Constitution.

House Committee president Nicos Kleanthous said the Committee, during its discussions, discussed the possibility of holding a referendum and stressed the need to inform the public at large about the provisions of the Constitution, irrespective of a possible referendum.

''At its last meeting, the majority of Committee members said it agreed with the objectives and the goals of the bill and it would therefore vote in favour of the proposed bill which would ratify the Constitution,'' he said.

He said MPs also held a debate on the legal effect of the Constitution with regard to the Cypriot law and the possible contribution of the EU Constitution to a political settlement in Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The Republic of Cyprus Constitution provides for the ratification of the European Constitutional Convention by the House of Representatives.

[07] EU Commission approves negotiating framework for Turkey

1935:CYPPRESS:08

EU Commission approves negotiating framework for Turkey

by Nicos Bellos

Brussels, Jun 29 (CNA) -- The European Commission approved here today a document on the negotiating framework relating to Turkey's membership talks, noting that the document has to be approved unanimously in the coming weeks by the Council of Ministers to enable the talks to begin as scheduled on 3 October.

Speaking at a press conference, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that the terms laid down for Turkey are very strict and the start of accession negotiations as well as their future progress would depend on meeting these terms, adding that the negotiations would be open-ended and could be suspended any time.

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