Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-08-27

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

CONTENTS

FRIDAY 27 AUGUST 1999

[01] HEADLINES

[02] PAPAPETROU HERCUS

[03] CLERIDES CLAY

[04] OVERSEAS PRESSER

[05] DISY LARNACA

[06] QUAKE TURKEY

[07] TIMOR DEMO

[08] KYRGYSTAN

[09] WEATHER STORMS

[10] ZAKAKI REAX

[11] WEATHER

[01] HEADLINES

-- The next six months will be especially crucial for the Cyprus problem and both overseas Greek Cypriots and the Cyprus government have a difficult mission to fulfil.

-- The members of the executive secretariat of the Democratic Rally for the Larnaca District withdrew their resignations last night.

-- Turks have started to hound builders and officials blamed for shoddy construction which some caused thousands of the deaths in last week's earthquake.

And,

-- A masked mob threw eggs at the United Nations building in Jakarta today, in protest at U.N. involvement in the vote to determine East Timor's future.

[02] PAPAPETROU HERCUS

Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou did not reveal the names of the three persons, noting that the decision will be taken by Kofi Annan.

Mr Papapetrou also said US State Department Coordinator on Cyprus, Thomas Weston, will visit Cyprus in September.

He did not say however if the visit will proceed President Glafcos Clerides' visit to New York for the UN General Assembly.

[03] CLERIDES CLAY

Speaking after being received by President Clerides, Mr Clay said they discussed the prospects for a settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Asked if he shares the views of new US Ambassador to the UN, Richard Holbrooke about Turkey's stance, he said he did not want to add to Mr Holbrooke's statements.

Mr Clay said British envoy for Cyprus Sir David Hannay does not intend to visit Cyprus soon but will carry out contacts in New York within the framework of the UN General Assembly in September.

[04] OVERSEAS PRESSER

In a press conference at the end of the World Congress of Overseas Cypriots, it was also stressed that the aim in achieving a unified political dogma both in Cyprus and overseas has been agreed.

The Presidents of POMAK and PSEKA, Haris Sofoklides and Philip Christopher respectively asked for increased funds for enlightenment purposes.

They also asked for a more effective use of the mass media, the internet and the youth in helping their efforts.

[05] DISY LARNACA

The DISY members had resigned following the government's decision not to include a Larnaca representative in the new cabinet.

DISY deputy, Andreas Mouskos in statements to CyBC said the executive secretariat members' resignation had nothing to do with the reaction to the reshuffle.

Referring to yesterday's meeting of the party's political bureau, Mr mouskos said the DISY Larnaca district has secured assurances that Larnaca's main problems will be promoted.

[06] QUAKE TURKEY

Heavy rains continued to plague teams working around the clock to clear the rubble today recover some of the thousands of bodies believed still buried under collapsed buildings.

The main crisis centre today raised the confirmed death toll to 13,472, with 27,164 injured. Officials fear the final total could rise to 40,000 when all the bodies are recovered.

Rescue teams are reluctant to abandon hope that they may find more survivors and local television stations regularly broadcast live coverage of teams pursuing scratching sounds and air pockets that may indicate signs of life.

But no one has been pulled out alive since the dramatic rescue on Monday of a four-year-old boy, the last of 621 survivors the Anatolian news agency said had been pulled from the ruins since the August 17 quake.

Constantinople Governor Erol Cakir said he had begun legal proceedings against unscrupulous building contractors believed to have skimped on construction materials.

The mayor of Constantinople's Avcilar district, badly hit by the quake, has promised to sue both the contractors and previous local administrations that approved substandard buildings.

In Avcilar, as in other quake-hit areas of the country's industrialised northwest, flattened buildings were surrounded by many others still intact, giving rise to suspicion of foul play.

The relative poverty of people migrating to the burgeoning industrial areas around Izmit in western Turkey meant that price was prized over quality, encouraging contractors to cut corners.

[07] TIMOR DEMO

Singing the Indonesian national anthem and hoisting the national flag high, the group of 50 young people from the Struggle for People's Sovereignty and National Unity held up banners calling for the United Nations Mission in East Timor to be expelled.

The protesters chanted slogans accusing UNAMET of following the will of the United States, Australia and Portugal, which is the former colonial power in East Timor.

East Timor was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and annexed the following year in a move not recognised by the United Nations, which still acknowledges Lisbon as the administering power.

The U.N. is organising the ballot under a May agreement between Jakarta and Lisbon.

More than 400,000 Timorese are expected to vote on the future of the troubled territory in Monday's ballot.

[08] KYRGYSTAN

Acting Kyrgyz Defence Minister Nuridin Chomoyev said the fate of captives seized by the fighters last weekend, including four Japanese geologists and a senior Kyrgyz military official, was unknown but their rough location had been discovered.

Initial reports said six or seven people had been taken hostage. The Defence Ministry said 18 Interior Ministry troops had later been seized after authorities launched an attack on the guerrilla group.

[09] WEATHER STORMS

The hurricane was about 220 km east of Nassau and moving west-northwest at a course that could take it across the northern Bahamas to the eastern U.S. coast.

The central and north-western Bahamas were under hurricane warnings and forecasters advised residents of the southeast U.S. coast, from Florida through North Carolina, to monitor the progress of the storm.

[10] ZAKAKI REAX

In statements to CyBc, Zakaki community leader, Andreas Demetriades said the resident of Zakaki will meet on Wednesday to be informed about the cabinet decision and decide on measures.

He said the decision to construct the desalination plant at Zakaki was taken without any consideration.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister, Costas Themistocleous said he will go to Zakaki as many times as needed to give all the explanations required to the residents.

He further said the operation of the plant will cause no problems to the area.

[11] WEATHER

The sea will be slight to moderate in windward areas.

Tonight the weather will be mainly clear with north-westerly to northerly light winds, two to three beaufort. the sea will be slight to moderate in westerly areas.

Temperatures will fall o 23 C inland and on the coasts and to 16 C over the mountains. The fire hazard remains extremely high in all forest areas.

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