Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-05-03

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

Sunday, May 3, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Holbrooke shuttles between both sides

[02] Russian plan calls for total demilitarisation

[03] London Turkish Cypriots back UN solution

[04] Taxi driver quizzed after sex assault complaint

[05] Interpol praises Cyprus police

[06] Bar owner remanded

[07] CTO beach safety campaign targets Paphos

[08] Peres to address Paphos peace congress

[09] Fraud suspect remanded

[10] Diplomat's wife dies in horror crash

[11] Hijacker faces 15 years in jail

[12] Bosses stand firm as building strike looms

[01] Holbrooke shuttles between both sides

U.S. SPECIAL Envoy Richard Holbrooke spent yesterday shuttling back and forth between the two sides in intense negotiations, which proved to be inconclusive.

As Holbrooke headed back for his second meeting of the day with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, government sources said: "There is nothing to announce to the press, unfortunately. This is a critical time, a difficult time. Let's wait for the conclusion of the talks."

The sources added that whether or not he would return for another meeting with Clerides last night "depends on Denktash".

Holbrooke was, however, scheduled to have dinner with Clerides anyway.

His first meeting with Denktash took place at 9.30am. Before the meeting, Denktash dismissed as "irrelevant" Holbrooke's statements that neither the US, the UN nor the EU can recognise his regime as a state.

"We exist, and we are going to exist as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" Denktash said. "If you want Cyprus to be united, two states are ready to unite. If not, let Cyprus be divided," he added.

Holbrooke, seated beside Denktash as he made this statement, made no comment.

Denktash went on to say that the Cyprus government had "no legal or moral right to be our government".

On his way to this first meeting, Holbrooke paused for about 10 minutes at the Ledra Palace Hotel checkpoint to talk to anti-occupation protesters and relatives of the missing persons there.

After his 90-minute talk with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Holbrooke returned to the free areas for a two-hour working lunch with Clerides, which was also attended by Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides, Attorney- general Alecos Markides, Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides, Under- Secretary Pantelis Kouros, US State Department co-ordinator Thomas Miller and US Ambassador to Cyprus Kenneth Brill.

After an hour's break, he returned to the presidential palace for a further hour and a half of talks with Clerides before going back to the north at 5pm for his second meeting with Denktash.

When he arrived on Friday, Holbrooke said the US was not here to impose a solution. "We can only listen to the two sides, see if the distances are bridgeable and reducible with external assistance - not imposition, not coercion," he said.

US State Department spokesman Jim Foley said on Friday that the US believes closer ties between Turkey and the EU could contribute to finding solutions to the problems in the Eastern Aegean, and the Cyprus problem.

"Turkey's future is and ought to be in Europe" and this could contribute in a positive way to solving problems in the region, Foley said.

[02] Russian plan calls for total demilitarisation

The plan was proposed in a letter to UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan from Russia's UN Ambassador Sergey Lavrov.

Under the Russian plan, Cyprus would adopt a bicommunal federation system and disband all armies, leaving only the coastguard. All armament programmes would also end, as would Greek and Turkish military activity in and around the island.

The proposal would also mean that the government's order for the S-300 missiles from Russia would be cancelled.

The two sides would each have their own police forces, but an overall federal force would also exist.

Russia believes this would create an atmosphere of confidence and co- operation on the island. To this end, it calls for the two sides on Cyprus, Greece and Turkey to sign a four-way document agreeing to the conditions. The UN would then monitor the situation to make sure the agreement was adhered to.

Russia has recently come under strong fire from the US for its pledge to deliver the S-300 missiles on time. American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said this week that this pledge was "not useful and exacerbates the situation on the island".

[03] London Turkish Cypriots back UN solution

The letter points out that the division of the island has also resulted in the division of the Turkish Cypriot community, with many leaving Cyprus.

Figures from 1996 show that of a total population of 200,587 in the north, just 30,702 were native Turkish Cypriots. In 1960, the Turkish Cypriot population was 104,000.

[04] Taxi driver quizzed after sex assault complaint

Angelos Constantinou, 29, was remanded for two days yesterday by Paphos district court in connection with a complaint made by a British woman.

She told police that Constantinou picked her up in his taxi at Polis Chrysochous and started to grope her.

Then he drove to a secluded spot off the road and allegedly threatened the woman, telling her not to try and escape his advances.

The tourist's cry for help was heard by a passing motorist and she was taken to a local police station.

Police said that Constantinou had made a statement admitting to indecent assault.

[05] Interpol praises Cyprus police

The Russian suspect was arrested at Larnaca airport last August on arrival from Germany because his name was on the stop-list after an alert by Interpol.

Diakonenkov, 28, will be extradited to Belgium to stand trial for a murder which took place in 1994.

Meanwhile, because of Cyprus' success in capturing international criminals Interpol has sent a letter to the police congratulating them for their co- operation.

The praise coincides with the arrival of Japanese detectives today to receive evidence concerning doomsday cult member Toshiyasu Ouchi.

Ouchi was wanted in connection with a deadly gas attack on the Tokyo underground which killed 12 people in 1995.

The fugitive was tracked down in Cyprus and issued with two warrants, one declaring him persona non grata and the other ordering him to leave the country. He was deported to Tokyo last month.

Helping to bring Ouchi to justice has enhanced the reputation of the Cyprus police abroad.

[06] Bar owner remanded

Bar owner George Apostolou, 43, was yesterday remanded for eight days by a Larnaca court in connection with the blaze.

Larnaca CID officer Andreas Krokos told the court that police were investigating a case of arson which caused damage estimated at �10,000 to the Iguana, and two cases of attempted arson as two neighbouring restaurants were also affected.

He said there was a history of animosity between the suspect and other bar owners on the seaside strip leading up to the Larnaca fort.

Apostolou's lawyer Vassos Theodorou said his client was willing to co- operate with police but asked that he be allowed to continue his therapy for alcohol abuse.

[07] CTO beach safety campaign targets Paphos

The campaign, entitled 'Your Life is Ours', will focus on the Paphos region where most of the drownings have taken place. It will include seminars on beach safety. A list of safety guidelines for the beach will also be issued.

Six tourists drowned last year, while 1996 saw nine die, prompting an outcry which included official concern voiced by the British High Commission.

The safety seminars will be held twice daily on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Tuesday seminars will be at the Venus Beach Hotel at 2pm and the Pioneer at 8pm, while Wednesday's will take place at the Laura Beach Hotel at 2pm and the Coral Beach at 8pm.

The list of guidelines includes suggestions on items to be taken to the beach, including rubbish bags and sunscreen, and tips on swimming techniques to use if you get into trouble while in the water. It will also highlight the various buoys and warning flags used to denote dangerous areas.

[08] Peres to address Paphos peace congress

The conference, which begins today at the Annabelle Hotel in Paphos, is being held under the auspices of Peres' Centre for Peace. Some 60 political leaders aged 21-39 from Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian- controlled areas will meet to discuss co-operation, understanding and the forging of mutual trust.

Today's opening ceremony will be addressed by Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides and former President George Vassiliou.

The conference ends on Wednesday.

[09] Fraud suspect remanded

Antony Akuile, 30, was remanded for eight days in connection with 36 counts of credit card fraud in Larnaca.

But the court was told that the suspect was already under investigation for similar offences in Paphos.

Paphos CID believe Akuile purchased sports wear and jewellery worth �14,050 knowing he had no money in his account.

Some of the goods have been recovered from his Limassol home.

Larnaca police said the Nigerian received goods worth �2,514 during his spending spree but alleged that on at least two occasions they were purchased with a stolen credit card belonging to an American.

Akuile, married to a Cypriot, rejects the charges and said he had been kept in custody for 33 days without reason.

[10] Diplomat's wife dies in horror crash

Twenty-three-year-old Maxim Vetrof was taken to Larnaca General hospital to be treated for multiple injuries after the crash in which his wife Oxana, 24, died instantly.

Police said the diplomat crashed his car after trying to overtake fellow compatriot Igor Borisof, 21, who runs an offshore company in Nicosia.

They said Vetrof failed a breathalyser test and was twice over the legal limit.

The horrific accident happened on Ayia Napa-Xylophagou road at 2am, when Vetrof drove into the outside lane to overtake but careered off the road and crashed into a shop after hitting Borisof's car.

Borisof and his wife Julia were not hurt in the incident.

Famagusta and Xylophagou traffic police are investigating the cause of the accident.

At the same time, but in a separate incident, a car crash in Limassol took the life of resident Pavlos Pavlides, 34, from Greece.

His vehicle collided head on with one driven by Aliki Michaelidou, 42, also from Limassol.

Michaelidou, her husband Andreas, 49, and fellow passenger Zoran Vukmanovic are being treated for serious injuries at Limassol hospital.

[11] Hijacker faces 15 years in jail

It said Mehmet Erturk, 20, was officially charged with hijacking in an indictment that calls for a prison sentence of between 10 and 15 years.

Erturk, wielding a cigarette lighter shaped as a grenade, tried to divert a Boeing 727 on a flight between Cyprus and Ankara in March.

The pilot landed at the Turkish capital Ankara where Erturk, a seasonal agricultural worker in the occupied north, was arrested.

[12] Bosses stand firm as building strike looms

EMPLOYERS yesterday put up a defiant stance against wage rises, saying that pay increases in the past have not seen a boost in productivity by the same rate.

An Employers' and Industrialists' Federation (Oev) press release said that benefit increases to workers, between 1991-97, reached 62 per cent during which time productivity only reached a 13.4 per cent increase across the economy.

It said this disparity between productivity and the cost of production was because of the collective agreements (32 per cent) and the Cost of Living Allowance (30 per cent).

These figures are highlighted in an Oev study which will be discussed at its Annual General Meeting on May 8.

This latest move by Oev is certain to aggravate an already tense climate which has already seen the failure of mediation over collective agreements in the building sector.

With employers standing firm on a decision not to increase wages, the construction sector is preparing for a lengthy strike.

The employers' attitude towards a pay freeze was made clear in yesterday's press release. Oev said its study showed how "justified our position is and in those sectors affected in renewing contracts as they stand for 1998".

Despite efforts behind the scenes to resolve the building sector deadlock, employers said yesterday they would not budge from their position.

It is now feared that if strike action goes ahead in the construction industry this will have a knock-on affect in other sectors which are also seeking renewal of collective agreements.

Rank and file members of the building unions have voted overwhelmingly to stage a 24-hour strike on Wednesday.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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