Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-04-08

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Wednesday, April 8, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Chrysostomos blasts Euro-court on gay sex

[02] Cypriots approve pre-marital sex for men, not women

[03] Clerides asks UN Council to press Denktash on talks

[04] Business progress hinges on Denktash support

[05] Prescott eyes Cyprus fleet for EU entry

[06] Bourse returns to galloping pace

[07] Melting snows pour into dams

[08] Four jailed for Dutch drugs plot

[09] Lebanese man held over Mafia passport

[10] Four years for attempted rape

[11] Armenian thanks for Cyprus support

[12] New drugs promise breakthrough in breast cancer treatment

[13] Sek welcomes 'first come first sacked' ruling

[14] Police swoop on pirate videos

[15] Simultaneous death for elderly Limassol brothers

[01] Chrysostomos blasts Euro-court on gay sex

ARCHBISHOP Chrysostomos yesterday launched a scorching attack on homosexuality and Europe as Cyprus was given a final stay of execution on changing its antiquated laws prohibiting gay sex.

In Strasbourg, the Council of Europe (CoE) said the government had until next month to comply with a 1993 European Court of Human Rights ruling to decriminalise homosexuality.

Speaking from Strasbourg, Cyprus's permanent representative at the CoE, Thalia Petridou, said if the law was not changed in May there would be repercussions because the government will have run out of excuses for postponing it.

But in Nicosia Archbishop Chrysostomos, leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Cyprus, laughed in an interview with a CyBC TV journalist as he openly derided homosexuality and the European ruling.

He said only "enemies of our nation" would endorse decriminalisation of homosexual acts.

"If we don't stand firm and tell Europe this does not conform, not only to Christ's religion, but also to the moral standpoint of our nation, eventually they will come and tell us to be homosexuals in order to be accepted into Europe," Chrysostomos said.

"If you go and say it's all right to be a homosexual you will encourage it and the place will be full of homosexuals".

The Archbishop said he not only didn't believe homosexuality to be a human right, but that in his opinion it was a "trampling on human rights".

"It is a violation both of the laws of the Creator God and the laws of nature. God made males and females for the reproduction both of animals and humans. Homosexuality is against the purpose of creation," Chrysostomos said.

Quoting the Bible, he said the Kingdom of Heaven would not be inherited by "whores nor idolators" and added that St Paul clearly referred to homosexuality as a curse.

"The Church considers decriminalisation (of homosexual acts) to be against what is holy and against human dignity... and this while we are waging a tough war for our national and religious survival," Chrysostomos said.

Gay rights activist Alecos Modinos, who won the 1993 case against Cyprus at the European Court, told the Cyprus Mail last night the Archbishop should think before he speaks.

"He's still stuck on the Adam and Eve business," Modinos said. "Of course, it's not for us to dispute what he believes but he is in a position of authority and he must be more careful and act more wisely before expressing his opinion."

Modinos said he was glad Cyprus was given another stay of execution and that no disciplinary action had been taken in Strasbourg yesterday. "We were lucky to get another month," he said. "But there will be no more chances and they (the government) know it."

The bill has still to face the uphill battle of being approved by the House Legal Affairs Committee, which for years has baulked at the task in the face of public and Church opposition.

Attorney-general Alecos Markides has repeatedly told deputies that Cyprus has no choice but to comply with the European Court's ruling.

He warned that the island's failure to do so would have repercussions on pending cases by Greek Cypriot refugees against Turkey.

[02] Cypriots approve pre-marital sex for men, not women

ALMOST half of Cypriots believe women should not have sex before marriage, but the overwhelming majority think pre-marital sex is acceptable for men, a study by Cyprus College's applied research centre has shown.

The social attitudes study, released yesterday, found that 45 per cent of people believed it was wrong for a woman to have sex before marriage. But only two in ten of the 600 people questioned (all over 18) said it was wrong for a man to have pre-marital sex.

This sexist attitude to pre-marital sex was particularly pronounced among the older generation. Eight out of ten over-60s think it is wrong for women to have sex before marriage, but the majority of the same age-group said it was okay for men.

In contrast, only one in ten of the 18 to 24 age-group said it was wrong for women to have sex before marriage.

Comparing their findings with those of similar studies worldwide, Cyprus College researchers found local attitudes to pre-marital sex more liberal than in Ireland, the Philippines and the US, but more conservative than those of most European countries.

The survey, carried out door-to-door last June, also noted a huge generation gap in attitudes towards homosexuality.

The overwhelming majority of Cypriots remains homophobic, with 74 per cent of those polled saying homosexuality was wrong. The over-60s were against homosexuality almost to a man, whereas a comparatively small proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds, 56 per cent, said homosexuality was wrong or mostly wrong. The survey also showed that better-educated people had a more tolerant attitude towards homosexuality.

Three-quarters of 18 to 24-year-olds favour the decriminalisation of homosexuality, but 92 per cent of over-60s oppose it.

When it comes to adultery, differences in attitude between generations are almost non-existent.

Eighty per cent of those polled said adultery was wrong. A slightly higher proportion, 88 per cent, said it was wrong for women to commit adultery.

[03] Clerides asks UN Council to press Denktash on talks

PRESIDENT Clerides has asked the Security Council to urge the Turkish Cypriot side to resume direct talks.

In a letter to UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan dated April 2 and released yesterday, Clerides said the Security Council should reconfirm its commitment to a peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem and "urge the Turkish side to return to the negotiating process".

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has said he will not meet Clerides in direct talks unless they are held on a 'two-state' basis.

His declaration that the UN-led intercommunal talks were dead came after the EU decided in December to go ahead and open accession talks with Cyprus.

"The Turkish attempt to change the basis of the negotiations strikes at the heart of the negotiating process with unforeseen consequences not only for Cyprus but for peace and stability in the region," Clerides's letter says.

The letter was in response to one written by Denktash and signed 'President of the TRNC'. The letter was sent to Clerides last month but was returned unopened.

Clerides told Annan Denktash's assumption of the title of president was consistent with Turkey's policy of attempting to legitimise in international forums the illegal secessionist entity and those purporting to represent it in order to undermine Cyprus's independence.

"Mr R Denktash's one and only representative capacity is that of the leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community and in representing his community in the efforts to reach a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus problem...", Clerides said.

He said he would not consider it proper to comment on the contents of a letter "I refused to receive for reasons of principle and order".

Denktash's three-page letter dated March 5 accuses the Greek Cypriot side of trying to avoid UN-led intercommunal talks in favour of pursuing EU accession.

It also accuses the government of being willing to use force, referring to the planned deployment of the Russian S-300 missiles on the island later this year.

But Clerides's letter to Annan reiterates that the missile system "is in no way intended against any country or the Turkish Cypriots".

Referring to his 1993 demilitarisation plan for the whole of the island, Clerides said: "The proposal, if accepted by Turkey would remove the reason that necessitated the general effort to improve my country's defence capabilities.

"The people of Cyprus are looking forward to the future, a future with no foreign troops of occupation, a future with no refugees, a future with no missing persons," the letter said.

"The ideas and ways of yesterday will not lead the people of Cyprus towards the realisation of the Cyprus they want to build. Yesterday's ideas and ways are the recipe for a new suffering and even for total catastrophe".

[04] Business progress hinges on Denktash support

AN AGREEMENT by Greek and Turkish Cypriot businessmen for the preservation of religious and cultural heritage on both sides of the island has the full backing of the government, it was announced yesterday.

But concern remains over whether the Turkish Cypriot leadership will honour its side of the bargain by allowing the renewed contacts between the businessmen to continue, according to sources close to the group.

"It all depends on the permission of the regime," a source said. "Denktash may well stop them again. These things are never certain and they are what we are looking for answers to."

A delegation from the Greek Cypriot businessmen's group, who formed part of last November's Brussels conference, yesterday briefed President Clerides on the agreement announced during last week's visit by US presidential emissary Richard Holbrooke.

After meeting Clerides, Greek Cypriot representative Constantinos Lordos said the issue of the religious and cultural heritage was one of the 20 proposals put forward at the Brussels meeting.

"We were very happy that our Turkish Cypriot counterparts were able to tell us they could agree," he said. "Gradually we may get other agreements."

Lordos said the agreement on heritage would be a huge undertaking and would involve looking for donations, probably from Unesco and from the EU.

Holbrooke announced on Saturday that he had managed to arrange for Lordos to meet his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Vedat Celik.

Their meetings, along with those of other bi-communal groups, were banned by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash last December after the EU's Luxembourg decision to open accession talks with Cyprus.

Holbrooke said the two leaders of the businessmen's group met in his presence "with the approval of both sides".

He also said he was looking forward to reconvening the full 24-member Brussels group and adding more in the near future.

However, a source close to the group said several issues still needed to be ironed out before contacts could resume on a concrete basis.

The businessmen have expressed concern over the slow pace of progress in the promised opening of communication lines.

The UN was to have installed 20 automatic telephone lines by the end of March to replace the three existing manual lines linking the two sides, but little progress has been made, according to the source.

"There's $160,000 worth of equipment sitting in a store in Cyprus and we would like the UN to get moving on this faster," the source said.

A UN spokesman said the installation has begun but could not say yesterday when it would be completed.

Similarly, an information office planned by the bi-communal group at the UN- controlled Ledra Palace hotel can be ready at an hour's notice if there are guarantees the Turkish Cypriots will be allowed access. "But there are no such guarantees," the source said.

The businessmen are also concerned over the charging of a crossing tax by the Denktash regime, which also affects Turkish Cypriots.

The source said Holbrooke had been very clear on his position regarding the tax. The US envoy criticised the charges being imposed by the Turkish Cypriot side. "This thing about paying to cross the line troubles me a lot. I talked to Denktash about it," Holbrooke said on Saturday.

"I think the movement should be free across the line... this is just wrong... it troubles us all."

[05] Prescott eyes Cyprus fleet for EU entry

He warned, however, that the EU took maritime safety very seriously and that Cyprus "will need to follow suit".

Prescott said that upon Cyprus' accession, the EU's share of the top 20 shipping nations' tonnage would rise overnight from 11.6 per cent to 17.9 per cent.

"With the average age of Cypriot vessel at 16 years, as compared to 23 years in Greece or 21 in Italy, the average age of the EU fleet would also be reduced," Prescott said.

He was speaking at the opening of the inauguration of Cyprus Popular Bank's Finchley Administrative Centre yesterday morning.

Prescott referred to his own address to the Cyprus House Communications Committee on shipping two years ago.

"I expressed the concern then about the safety and social condition on some of the vessels under the Cyprus flag," Prescott said.

"It has long been a subject of differences between our two nations, but despite these differences, Cyprus can prove useful in influencing its natural allies in a way that facilitates progress in IMO (International Maritime Organisation) discussions."

He said that EU accession would mean that Cyprus seafarers would benefit from the freedom of movement across the EU and could be entitled to seek employment on UK ships.

"This is not problematic in principle, but it could be in practice," Prescott said. "The UK does no currently recognise certificates of competency issued by the Cyprus administration. Neither would the UK currently wish to recognise any marine equipment approvals issued by Cyprus."

Prescott said he was aware that Cyprus has expanded its shipping inspection teams around the world in order to ensure its fleet maintained acceptable standards in relation to safety and quality.

The EU took maritime safety very seriously, Prescott said. "Cyprus will need to follow suit. This will be an important component of EU accession".

Prescott said Britain's objective was to see the benefits of EU membership available to all Cypriots.

"It is regrettable Mr Denktash has rejected President Clerides' serious offer for joint participation in the EU accession process," he said.

[06] Bourse returns to galloping pace

SHOWING the kind of galloping pace on display last month, the Cyprus Stock Exchange index yesterday broke through the 90 point barrier for the first time since January 1997 in what traders said was the beginning of a new bull run.

The all-share index closed at 90.70 points, up 1.48 per cent over Monday's close. It was the index's first one-day increase of more than one percentage point since March 17 when it rose by 1.77 per cent.

Yesterday's increase meant that the market's value increased by 1.89 per cent so far this month -- in four trading sessions including yesterday's -- and builds on an increase of 7.99 per cent in the whole of March.

"We expect this to be the beginning of a new bull run," said Koullis Panayiotou of CLR Stockbrokers, one of the island's top securities firm.

"It was a very good day," he said.

Yesterday's volume was slightly more than �3 million with the blue-chip bank shares accounting for nearly half of this. Bank of Cyprus shares yielded the biggest volume from a single share -- �602,111 or 20.1 per cent -- with nearly 163,000 of them changing hands. It closed at �3.695 apiece, up by 12.3 cents, a record one-day increase.

BoC shares have risen by nearly �0.30 since the end of February, while those of its rival Popular Bank rose by �0.35 over the same period. The latter closed yesterday at �3.80, up by 4.7 cents.

Besides its consistently good results and expanding operations in Greece, much of the current interest in the BoC shares stems from the prestige won by the listing last Friday in the London Stock Exchange of the group's Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), the first ever by a Cypriot company on a foreign bourse.

The listing is expected to attract foreign interest in the bank, the island's top financial institution, and give credibility to its endeavours to develop into an international bank.

The sub-index of bank shares is the only one of the bourse's seven indices to have broken through the 100 point mark. Yesterday, it closed at 104.43, a 2.12 per cent increase over Monday's close.

Except for those of industrial and tourist companies, all other sub-indices ended up yesterday with commercial companies in the lead with a 2.60 per cent increase.

[07] Melting snows pour into dams

But despite this, the level of water in the dams remains much lower than it was at the same time last year, the Water Development Department said yesterday.

"We have at the moment 40.9 million tonnes of water in dams, which is 15.2 per cent of capacity," a department official said yesterday. "At the same time last year, dams were at 21.4 per cent of capacity," he said.

Dams were below the ten per cent level at the end of a pitifully dry winter, forcing the government to introduce further water cuts.

"Seven million tonnes of water flowed into dams in March, which was the biggest total for a single month since October," he said.

"Since then we have had about 200,000 tonnes flowing into dams every day," he said.

Most of the April flow has been into the Kourris dam which is fed from the Troodos mountains.

[08] Four jailed for Dutch drugs plot

The four men were arrested last year along with two former special policemen in connection with a massive marijuana haul at Larnaca airport on September 24.

Kyriacos Constantinou, known as Glykas, 25, from Latsia, Nicos Nicolaou, alias Maou, 20, from Yeri near Nicosia, Andreas Charalambous, alias Koros, 23, from Nicosia, and Afxentis Afxentiou, 20, from Yeri, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle narcotics, drug smuggling and possession.

Nicolaou and Charalambous were sentenced to five years imprisonment, Constantinou to four and Afxentiou to two.

Axed special officers Loukas Kakkouris, 31, and Andreas Flourentzou, alias Kattos, 24, from Latsia outside Nicosia, have pleaded not guilty to similar charges and are to appear before the court in June.

The September haul was described by police as the biggest ever of marijuana destined for the local market.

Nicolaou was arrested on arrival on an evening flight from Amsterdam after police said they found seven-and-a-half kilos of marijuana in his hand- luggage.

Constantinou is believed to have been the gang's Amsterdam contact, buying drugs which he gave to Nicolaou to carry to Cyprus.

Police believe the two special policemen were the "brains" behind a drug trafficking ring, taking advantage of their postings at Larnaca airport to facilitate the smuggling of drugs by Nicolaou.

[09] Lebanese man held over Mafia passport

Hossein Khalife Mohammad, from Bourj el-Brajne in Lebanon, was arrested on arrival at Larnaca airport on Monday morning, Larnaca District court heard. The Italian passport he presented to airport immigration officers was found to be on a list of 6,000 stolen in Naples last year in a suspected mafia raid, the court heard.

Investigating officer Christos Mouzouris said Mohammad had stuck his own photograph over the original one in the passport.

The suspect told immigration officers he had been given the passport by a woman who adopted him in Lebanon two years previously, the court heard.

But, when interrogated at Larnaca police station later on, Mouzouris told the court, Mohammad admitted he had bought the stolen passport in Lebanon for $3,000. Mouzouris said Mohammad told police he had six sisters back home and wanted to escape to a better life.

This was the second discovery in Cyprus this year of a passport taken in the Naples raid, the court heard. Three months ago a Lebanese man was arrested with three such passports in his possession, Mouzouris told the court.

The officer asked for a remand order for the suspect, saying he was a Muslim and might escape to the occupied areas if released.

Asked by presiding judge Leonidas Kalogirou whether he had anything to say, Mohammad replied that he had confessed and wanted to be sent back home.

The court remanded Mohammad for eight days on suspicion of possession of a forged passport.

[10] Four years for attempted rape

Limassol Assizes heard that Yiorgos Charalambous Georgiou attacked the 34- year-old woman employee in Limassol on the night of March 2.

He visited his victim to pay insurance premiums and managed to get her into his car before driving her to a remote beach, the court heard. Georgiou then attacked the woman, grabbing her by the neck and hitting her before tearing her clothing and indecently assaulting her, the court heard.

He then drove her to a private clinic and told doctors he had found her comatose on the beach. Georgiou was arrested after a medical examination of the woman showed signs of attempted rape.

[11] Armenian thanks for Cyprus support

The deportation and massacre by the Young Turks of 1.5 million of the two million Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915 has been consistently denied by Ankara.

This has spurred Armenians worldwide to press for Turkish recognition of the massacre -- the 20th century's first genocide.

Speaking at a news conference yesterday, visiting ANCG members praised the recognition of the Armenian genocide by the Cypriot government in the 1960s - the first country to do so in the world.

Other countries have since followed suit, including France, Greece and most recently Belgium.

"The Armenian national committees (worldwide) have used their strength and influence in whichever country they were to persuade the governments (of these countries) to recognise the Armenian genocide" said ANCG member Gioula Kassabian, adding they had met with "considerable success".

ANCG members were accompanying young people from the Salonica Armenian Youth organisation (TAYO), visiting the island to perform a cultural programme based on the last 100 years of the Armenian freedom struggle through poetry and literature.

"They (TAYO members) have been left with a mixture of impressions (of Cyprus) ranging from anger for the continuing injustice (of Turkish occupation) to enthusiasm for the wellbeing of the country which is evident" said Kassabian.

She also stressed the need for diaspora Armenians to find a balance between integration into their host-countries, becoming "efficient citizens" and maintaining their ethnic identity.

[12] New drugs promise breakthrough in breast cancer treatment

A LEADING cancer specialist predicted yesterday that upcoming breakthroughs with new drugs would mean an even more positive outlook for breast cancer patients.

This follows on the optimistic results of a recent $68 million National Cancer Institute survey, indicating the commonly used drug Tamoxifen reduced the potential for breast cancer in high-risk age groups by 50 per cent.

Nicosia general hospital oncologist Dr. Adamos Adamou said yesterday that, although Tamoxifen for pre-emptive treatment was indeed reducing the likelihood of breast cancer, better drugs were currently in the experimental stage, set to give even better results when placed on the market.

He said Tamoxifen had been available in Cyprus for the last 25 years, also successfully being used to treat 50-60 per cent of Cyprus breast-cancer patients, of which there were 250 new cases each year.

"But the new drug, which is an aromatase 1 inhibitor, might prove even more successful -- especially if combined with Tamoxifen," said Adamou.

A European study of the new drug would give the final verdict on how best to use it in cancer treatment over the next five years, he added.

The oncologist pointed out, however, that despite the good results achieved by speedy diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, 40 per cent of Cypriot women who contracted the disease still succumbed to it because they had not been not tested soon enough.

Women aged between 45 to 55 years old were most at risk, Adamou said, but a new trend now seemed to be raising vulnerability among younger women.

"This is possibly because life has changed so much, both in terms of diet and stress," said Adamou.

[13] Sek welcomes 'first come first sacked' ruling

In a statement issued yesterday, right-wing Sek said that a recent industrial disputes tribunal decision ruled that employers laying off workers when they outnumbered available positions were to implement the "first come, last to leave" rule.

This was the first time the principle had gained judicial support in Cyprus, said Sek, despite being a common element in trade union regulations.

The court further stated that enforcement of the principle was particularly necessary where the over-employment situation did not stem from modernisation or cases involving specially skilled personnel.

The case that prompted the ruling involved a clothing manufacturer sued by a cleaning lady, one of three to be laid-off due to lack of sufficient positions.

However, because she had worked for the manufacturer far longer than the others, the court ruled that her dismissal was unlawful, ordering 26 weeks worth of salary be awarded to her in damages.

[14] Police swoop on pirate videos

The squad swooped on TH Video club in Limassol, where 516 pirated tapes were found on offer for rental.

Among the tapes were illegal copies of recent releases such as The Full Monty, Titanic, Men in Black and The Jackal, as well as current sci- fi release Sphere.

Police are investigating.

[15] Simultaneous death for elderly Limassol brothers

Eighty-year-old Yiannakos died of natural causes in the Limassol home of third brother Costas at 10pm on Friday night.

Costas immediately tried to ring Yerolemos at his home in Kyvides village, but got no reply.

The morning after, 72-year-old Yerolemos was found dead in his home. A subsequent medical examination indicated a fall had been the cause of death. The examination also showed Yerolemos had died at about 10pm on Friday night.

The two brothers were buried, Yiannakos in Kissousa and Yerolemos in Kyvides, on Monday.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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