Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-06-23

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From: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES WEDNESDAY 23 JUNE 1999

[02] AIRWAYS STRIKE

[03] STRIKE MEASURES

[04] PANGALOS ARRIVAL

[05] YUGOSLAVIA SITUATION

[06] OCALAN TRIAL

[07] TURKEY ISLAM

[08] NERO PALACE

[09] LIMASSOL FORMALIN

[10] TOWN PLANNING

[11] WEATHER

[01] HEADLINES WEDNESDAY 23 JUNE 1999

Former Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos says it's time the international community enforces its own laws in Cyprus,

Serbs continue to stream out of Kossovo, while violence in the province is rampant,

Abdullah Ocalan is warning Turkey of great bloodshed if he is condemned to death,

Turkey's National Security Council wages war on the perceived threat of radical Islam,

And the emperor Nero wasn't such a bad guy after all.

[02] AIRWAYS STRIKE

The company's aircraft took to the skies today, but the pilot's union, PASIPI, declared a new, forty-eight hour-strike this time, if it's differences with the company are not resolved by tonight.

The strike will begin at midnight and will affect nine-and-a-half thousand passengers.

The government is warning of a deadly blow to the tourism industry and of significant damage to the economy in general.

The Cyprus Airways situation will preoccupy the Minister's Council meeting tomorrow, but the Labour Minister is already talking about drastic measures aimed at protecting the tourism industry and the wider economy.

He has stated that if the matter is not resolved, the Gordian Knot method will be applied, meaning that whatever cannot be untied must be cut.

Transport Minister Leontios Ierodiakonou was more specific, talking about privatisation and stressing the idea goes back a long time.

Cyprus Airways president Takis Kyriakides, who shares the government's positions, accepts that no one will invest in the company any longer and that a change in the way of thinking is necessary.

The pilot's union however, notes that it is the only union in the company which had accepted the company's restructuring plan in 1994 and which went against it's members best interests.

PASIPI media spokesman Yiorgos Charalambous said that it is a political decision if the government wishes to shut the company down.

He also levelled some heavy accusations at a part of the company's hierarchy, saying that they are leading the company towards a shut-down with some of their actions.

[03] STRIKE MEASURES

Mr. Angeli also said that Cyprus Airways have made all the necessary arrangements so that passengers on the affected flights can reach their destination.

[04] PANGALOS ARRIVAL

This from former Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos who arrived today in Cyprus, when asked to comment on NATO's demand that Milosevic be removed from his country's presidency.

Further commenting on U.S. President, Bill Clinton's statements, Mr. Pangalos said he hopes that human rights will finally be enforced by the international community, including in Cyprus.

Mr. Pangalos expressed the conviction that following Kossovo, all other problems will be resolved peacefully and that Europe will return to the path of expansion on which Cyprus lies.

[05] YUGOSLAVIA SITUATION

Meanwhile, NATO peacekeeping forces seem unable to respond.

Some seventy thousand Serbs have abandoned Kossovo since the start of the Serb forces' pullout.

Despite President Clinton's and other European foreign Minister's constant reassurances that they will be protected, only a few hundred Serbs returned to their homes.

At the same time, hundreds of ethnic Albanians are streaming back into the province, but are faced with the problem of mines strewn everywhere.

The de-mining process is expected to take a considerable amount of time.

Meanwhile, war crimes experts are making headway as they are constantly unearthing moe evidence of mass graves and mass executions against Kossovar Albanians.

The British, French, German and Italian foreign ministers are in Kossovo to promote reconstruction plans for the area.

They are the first Western top officials who are visiting the area since the end of the war.

[06] OCALAN TRIAL

In an interview to the newspaper Republica, the Kurdish leader added that the bloodshed may lead to a military coup.

He noted that the Kurdish Worker's Party constitutes a major political force and that the struggle does not end with him and will continue.

He warned Turkey that it is terribly mislead if it believes that his end will mean and end to the Kurdish problem.

Moreover, he repeated taht the war must end and directed a plea to the international community to pressure the Turkish goverment for a peaceful resolution.

Ocalan's trial resumed today on the island of Imrali, but was delayed due to rough seas. The Kurdish leader refuted for the last time, the charges against him.

[07] TURKEY ISLAM

The influential council's call followed media reports that a high-profile Moslem preacher allegedly used his secretive Moslem sect to subvert Turkey's officially secular character.

The latest to come under the scrutiny of secularist prosecutors is sect leader Fethullah Gulen who denied the accusations against him and said videotapes of his sermons had been edited and taken out of context.

State prosecutors have begun an investigation of Gulen after the release of tapes to the media, which quoted military reports that Gulen was using his Light sect to infiltrate state offices with radical Islamists intending to overthrow the state.

[08] NERO PALACE

Described by Roman historian Tacitus as famous for his "licentiousness, brutality and cruelty", Nero displayed his love of beauty in the palace's frescoed, marble-lined rooms.

As Rome restores hundreds of ancient sites as part of its celebrations of the Millennium, Nero's huge palace opens to the public on Friday.

But the excavations and restorations are far from complete -- archaeologists have so far explored only 150 of some 200 rooms, and of these only 32 will be open to the public.

[09] LIMASSOL FORMALIN

A 400-ton load of the toxic chemical formalin was being transported in a warehouse by a lift mechanism.

It's unknown, however, how the load was dropped and one of the containers started leaking the chemical.

There were 20 workers in the warehouse at the time who faced the health danger.

TV crews were forbidden from entering the accident site, but CyBC information indicates that some of those present developed respiratory problems.

[10] TOWN PLANNING

There were strong criticisms levelled against the bill during discussions on the matter by the House's Committee of the Interior.

Municipalities Union President and Nicosia Mayor Lellos Dimitriades protested because the views of the local authorities were not requested during the drafting of the bill and said the bill's passing will open the door to more illegalities than before.

ETEK President Nicos Mesaritis was particularly critical, stressing that the bill encourages those involved to break the law and later to seek retroactive coverage.

Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou clarified that the bill was not submitted in its final form, but will be revised during the course of debate.

[11] WEATHER

The temperature will drop to 20 degrees inland, 21 on the coasts and 16 in the mountains.

The weather tomorrow will start of fine, but partial cloudy periods will develop inland later in the day.

The winds will be southerly moderate to strong, 5 or 6 beaufort and the sea will be generally moderate.

The temperature will reach 32 degrees inland, 29 on the coasts and 25 in the mountains.

Today's maximum and minimum temperatures.

Nicosia 32 and 21 Limassol 32 and 21 Larnaca 31 and 21 Paphos 29 and 24 and Prodromos 26 and 18.

The fire hazzard is extremely high in all forested areas.

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