Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 98-10-07

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

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Tourist killed in jet-ski crash

[02] Car bomb in Nicosia car park

[03] Schools' main aim is to spur militancy

[04] Government rules out reshuffle

[05] Police say they thwart Limassol murders

[06] Church committee submits report on bishop

[07] Paramedic plan finally on the way

[08] Former foes underline unity

[09] Russia stands by missile commitment

[10] Turkish side denies eyeing enclaved school

[11] Police mount new safety campaign

[12] Bishop collects stolen icons

[01] Tourist killed in jet-ski crash

A BRITISH woman died instantly yesterday afternoon when a jet-ski driven by her husband collided with another jet-ski off the coast of Ayia Napa.

Police have named the victim as Karen White, 32, who was confirmed dead on arrival at a private clinic in Ayia Napa.

She is thought to have suffered fatal injuries to the chest during the head- on collision with another jet-ski in the sea area known as Limanaki.

Her husband, Greg White, is not reported to have suffered any serious injury.

A post mortem is expected to be carried out today.

Police said the other jet-ski was driven by Dutch tourist Alfred Post.

According to a police eye-witness the accident happened at around 5pm; the driver of the other jet-ski was apparently travelling at speed when he collided with the two Britons.

Famagusta CID and marine police arrived at the scene and said they are now examining if the jet-ski owner had a permit to rent the machines and whether the Dutch tourist had a valid driving licence.

Tourists must show a valid driving licence under the law before being allowed to rent a jet-ski.

This summer there has been a series of jet-ski accidents in which tourists have suffered serious injury, but yesterday's was the first fatality.

The dangers of jet-skis and water sports in general were raised on August 19 by Famagusta district judge Marios Georgiou when sentencing a British tourist for crashing into a banana boat and putting two British women into hospital with multiple fractures.

"The uncontrolled use of high-powered vessels like jet-skis, which are particularly dangerous, noisy and disruptive, should not be allowed," said Georgiou, calling for tighter regulations.

Briton David Whitworth, 22, from Barnsley, received a six-month jail sentence suspended for three years for reckless driving and hiring a jet- ski without a licence.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[02] Car bomb in Nicosia car park

Police said the bomb went off underneath a car belonging to the Bank of Cyprus at around 10.30pm.

The vehicle caught fire and the blast also damaged two other cars, but there were no reports of any injuries, police said.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[03] Schools' main aim is to spur militancy

THE PRIMARY aim of education in Cyprus is to teach children not to forget the Turkish occupation of the island, according to a newly-released government report.

An educational programme entitled I Get to Know, I Do Not Forget, I Struggle Against the Occupation "saturated life in school", according to the report on education in 1997.

While the report sets out that what it calls the "general" aim of education is the development of "free and democratic citizens", it makes clear that the government's programme to remember the invasion is the primary objective in schools.

"The programme formed the spine of militancy in our schools and the route of the people of Cyprus for achieving its visions," the report said.

"The main target is to keep alive the memory of our land still under occupation, to foster and strengthen optimism, confidence and militancy for freedom and return to our fatherland."

It adds that schools have been equipped with the necessary teaching aids and materials "for more effective functioning" of the programme.

The plan is currently under review in primary schools, the report said, to assess its effectiveness on sixth grade students, in relation not only to their knowledge of the situation, but also to their "attitudes".

But Elementary Schools Director Michael Stavrides yesterday denied that the programme constituted any sort of institutionalised propaganda from the Greek Cypriot side. He said it was only one of the aims of education.

"The occupation is part of our lives," Stavrides said.

"The programme is part of our priorities in order for our children to wake up and see Pentadactylos and not to forget."

He said the programme was not militant in any way. "The people of Cyprus are peaceful, but the children must not forget about their villages and the occupied areas," Stavrides said.

The report concludes that "there are sound reasons to look to the future with more optimism".

"One could mention the feeling of responsibility of the Cypriot teachers, the recent upgrading of salaries... in a country... where the people struggle for freedom and justice," the report said.

A Unesco report published last year concluded that the Cyprus education system was geared more towards the needs of teachers than pupils, and it also expressed concern over the politicisation of student bodies on the island.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[04] Government rules out reshuffle

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday ruled out a cabinet reshuffle in the wake of the corruption allegations levelled at Interior Minister Dinos Michaelides.

"The president wishes to announce there is no issue of a reshuffle," said government spokesman Christos Stylianides, responding to reports that President Clerides was preparing a shake up of his cabinet.

Stylianides added that the government would not be pushed into any hasty decisions until it was proved beyond doubt that the minister was guilty of corrupt practices.

"I want to emphasis that the government, is under no circumstances prepared to condemn the innocent as guilty, and it will wait for the evidence to be collected first."

Auditor-general Spyros Christou is carrying out a probe into allegations of bribery against Michaelides, who says he is determined to stay in office and clear his name.

Any suggestion the government might be reluctant to put Michaelides under the spotlight was discarded by Stylianides, who cited the swift against water development department director Lakis Christodoulou.

"The government has the political will to investigate any allegation that has a valid base."

A report by a government-appointed investigator on Monday found Christodoulou guilty of two disciplinary offences. He had been suspended from his office pending the outcome of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the row concerning unlawful enrichment allegations against Diko leader Spyros Kyprianou and his family continued to rumble on yesterday.

Diko general-secretary Stathis Kittis said moves by Disy deputies to get the issue onto the agenda of the House Watchdog Committee were politically motivated.

"It's an effort to link it with the Michaelides allegations to support a similar investigation against Kyprianou," he said.

Kittis' comments prompted an abrasive retort from Disy boss Nicos Anastassiades:

"Is Mr Kittis saying that if allegations are levelled at Kyprianou then we should decide not to discuss them?"

Kyprianou became embroiled in the anti-corruption crusade when a document was leaked suggesting members of his family obtained land in Engomi on the cheap.

Although Kittis said his party was all in favour of having the matter cleared up in the House, he was less than convinced by the allegations.

"We don't even know what the actual evidence is," said Kittis.

"Is it that Kyprianou and his sons own a house and a piece of land and that he can't own a house after 50 years in politics? Nevertheless, if there is an issue let it be investigated."

Nicos Pitokopittis, a Diko deputy who has made allegations of his own about public officials, said he thought the House should not discuss the issue, because the document in question was not signed and there was no proof where it had come from.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[05] Police say they thwart Limassol murders

AN ALL-NIGHT operation has led to the prevention of two murders in the Limassol underworld, police said yesterday.

The names of the potential victims have not been released.

Two arrests were made after police set up a monitoring operation in Limassol following a tip-off with detailed information.

The operation, which began late on Monday night and continued into the early hours of yesterday, resulted in the arrest of two men, who were later remanded in custody for eight days. Three more men and two women are still being hunted by police.

Theodoulos Georgiou Kanna Sinesis, 24, and Pavlos Georgiou Kouilis, 27, were arrested after police gave chase to a Mitsubishi car that was acting suspiciously in the Limassol village of Kolossi - home to the notorious Aeroporos clan. The driver tried to outrun the police and headed towards Limassol, where it was eventually spotted outside a pub.

Police then saw the driver take packages out of his car and give them to someone in a black BMW. The two cars drove off, with the police cutting off the Mitsubishi.

Sinesis and Kouilis were taken into custody. In a statement to police, Kouilis said the packages were three automatic weapons and had been given by Sinesis to his brother Andreas.

Police are searching for the driver and passengers of the BMW, thought to be Andreas Sinesis, 30, Giorgios Xiourouppas, 29, as well as another unknown man and two women.

Four other people were questioned in relation to the incident yesterday, and investigations are continuing.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[06] Church committee submits report on bishop

The President of the Committee, Elias Pantelides, said the report was 1,700 pages long and that anyone reading it would come to the same conclusion as the Committee had done.

But Pantelides refrained from comment on what this conclusion might be.

He continued that it was not the Committee's responsibility to judge Chrysanthos' guilt or innocence: "We did not at any time overstep our authority."

He did, however, reveal that the report contained information that the police were not aware of.

Pantelides said the reason the report was so long was because every statement was backed with evidence.

Chrysanthos is being investigated on allegations of fraud amounting to millions of pounds.

Cases against him exist are pending in Cyprus as well as in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Archbishop Chrysostomos has refused to condemn Chrysanthos until he receives foolproof evidence against the Limassol Bishop.

In previous statements, the archbishop has suggested that Chrysanthos was duped by his associate Nina Petrou, who is now wanted by police for questioning.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[07] Paramedic plan finally on the way

THE GOVERNMENT is finally moving to bring paramedic ambulance services to the island, ending years of official indifference to the idea, Health Ministry officials indicated yesterday.

An eight-year plan to create a paramedic ambulance service, which has been languishing in the Finance Ministry's Planning Bureau for at least three years, got a dusting off last month at the request of the Health Ministry, the officials said.

That request emerged from a September 16 meeting, at which the island's emergency medical care officials took up the crisis in Cyprus' ambulance service, according to Dr Androulla Agrotou, the Health Ministry's Principal Medical Officer.

Agrotou, who attended the meeting, said she was awaiting the Planning Bureau's reply to the Health Ministry's request to see how much money the government could budget, and how soon, to begin a "pilot" paramedic ambulance service.

"We agreed (at the September 16 meeting) to have a paramedic service," Agrotou said, and "we sent the message (to the Planning Bureau) that we want this to be established. They have to do an economic survey, and we are awaiting their decision."

"Everything is in hands of the Ministry of Finance now, and we are expecting things from them," Dr Costas Antoniades, chief of emergency medicine at Nicosia General Hospital, said. "But we insisted that we want this service as soon as possible."

"We don't need five million pounds to start; we need about one million pounds," continued Antoniades, who also attended the September 16 meeting.

"The idea is not to start fully everywhere in Cyprus. The idea is to start first in Nicosia or Limassol" on a pilot basis before going island-wide, he said.

The eight-year plan now under review is the brainchild of Andreas Kouppis, the island's senior nursing officer and de-facto operational head of its ambulance services.

Kouppis' plan had won the endorsement of international consultants who have evaluated - and failed - the island's ambulance services.

It called for �5 million to be spent over eight years to create an independent paramedic ambulance service. Despite the acknowledged need for such a service, Kouppis' plan has been collecting dust in the Planning Bureau for at least three years.

Kouppis said yesterday he was "optimistic" that, at last, it seemed something concrete was being done to realise his dream.

"The news I get from the Ministry of Finance is that we will get some money" for a pilot paramedic service, Kouppis said. "I believe we will start very soon... that in a few years, we will have an independent (paramedic) service," he said.

"The Minister of Health (Christos Solomis)... told me straight that he believes in the ambulance service and he will do everything he can to help" it go paramedic, Kouppis said.

"This is the first time I am not disappointed" in the prospect that emergency care in Cyprus will someday be administered with a capital 'C', Kouppis said.

Meanwhile, Cyprus Medical Association President Dr. Antonis Vassiliou confirmed yesterday that the agenda of his Association's meeting last night would include the island's ambulance service "emergency" and his call for a paramedic service to replace it.

Vassiliou has said Cyprus' physicians "should be outraged" at the state of the island's ambulance services. "It is years behind what we need" and should have been replaced by a paramedic service "yesterday," he said. "In many cases, they should have doctors, medical practitioners, in the ambulances."

Despite his professional status and interest in the ambulance service's improvement, Vassiliou was not invited to the Ministry's September 16 meeting.

Regardless, he pledged that his Association would take up the matter, "send them our official position, and ask them what they are going to do."

Unlike ordinary ambulance attendants, paramedics can perform many life- saving procedures on the way to hospital. However, the island's ambulances are now staffed merely with nurses "borrowed" from municipal hospitals on an ad hoc basis, and with drivers who have even less emergency medical training than the nurses.

In the last 10 days or so, Cypriots have got a preview of what Kouppis and Vassiliou are calling for, with the inauguration of the Health Ministry's "Flying Squad."

The squad's four-wheel-drive Jeep is equipped with the latest in mobile emergency technology, staffed by a driver and a doctor and intended to respond to cardiac cases even before the regular ambulance arrives.

So far, it has answered three emergency calls - one car accident and two cardiac arrests - Antoniades said, adding that all three patients survived and "people were very impressed" with the new service.

The "Flying Squad" is still awaiting a full complement of drivers, Antoniades said, adding that in the meantime, "doctors will drive (the Jeep) also. Why not?"

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[08] Former foes underline unity

THE DEFENCE ministers of Britain and Argentina were yesterday welcomed by a joint guard of honour when they inspected UN troops in Nicosia.

To underline the improved ties between the two countries since the 1982 Falklands war, Britain's defence secretary George Robertson and his Argentine counterpart Jorge Dominguez observed a simulated exercise involving troops from both countries.

"I think the work that is done by all of the different countries involved here is contributing to peace and stability on this island," Robertson said in a brief address to soldiers from both countries.

"I would like to pay tribute to the work that you do, the dangers that you face and services you are doing for the UN."

It was the first time that two ministers have inspected Unficyp troops in tandem.

The exercise by the UN's Mobile Force Reserve was keen to emphasise how British and Argentinian soldiers work together in crisis situations.

The MFR is one of several UN units in which Argentinian and British troops work together. Both countries contribute around 400 troops each to the 1, 200-strong Unficyp presence on the island.

During his brief visit, Robertson met President Clerides at an informal dinner at the British High Commission on Monday night.

Although government spokesman Christos Stylianides described the meeting as "social", he said the Cyprus problem had been discussed.

Diplomatic sources said the possibility of imposing a moratorium on Greek and Turkish flights over the island was also touched upon.

Robertson has called off a scheduled visit to Kuwait because of the Kosovo crisis and left for the UK yesterday from the British base of Akrotiri.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[09] Russia stands by missile commitment

Igor Sergeyev refused, however, to give a firm date for the arrival of the S-300 missiles, whose delivery has been delayed by several months.

Russia will "fulfil all obligations" concerning the sale and delivery of the missiles, Sergeyev said after a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Yiannakis Omirou at a defense industry trade show in Piraeus.

Omirou for his part said the controversial missile deal had not been discussed at yesterday's meeting. He accused Turkey of exploiting the row over the purchase of the missiles to divert attention from its illegal invasion of Cyprus.

Turkey has threatened to strike at the missiles if they are deployed. Greece could be drawn into the conflict, having said any attack would be treated as an act of war. And last month, the deputy chairman of the Russian parliament's Defense Committee, Alexei Arbatov, said Russia may also consider giving military support if Turkey attacked.

Some Western nations have urged Cyprus to call off or delay the S-300 deal.

But Omirou was defiant yesterday: "Cyprus is a sovereign country and will answer to no one."

Sergeyev is in Athens to visit the defense show and hold meetings with Greek officials, who are considering whether to purchase the S-300s or the US-made Patriot missile system.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[10] Turkish side denies eyeing enclaved school

Unficyp spokesman Waldemar Rokoszewski said yesterday they had looked into the report published in the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kibris.

According to the newspaper, the 'Mayor' of Rizokarpasso, Arif Ozbayrak, had said that one of the two enclaved schools would be appropriated for the school year 1999-2000 to accommodate children of the 650-strong Turkish Cypriot population in the village.

Rokoszewski said yesterday the Turkish Cypriot side had dismissed the report as totally unfounded. "They told us 'there are and will be no plans for the appropriation of the Greek Cypriot school' as reported by Kibris, " Rokoszewski said.

There are 30 Greek Cypriot pupils at elementary school in the north out of a population of enclaved numbering some 500, mostly elderly people. There are no secondary schools.

The Greek Cypriot schools in the north are maintained by the Cyprus government.

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[11] Police mount new safety campaign

A RISE in the number of fatal accidents this time last year has prompted police to mount a road safety campaign beginning on Saturday.

Lasting until 7 November, the campaign will feature media advertisements and information posters on issues such as the importance of wearing a seat- belt, the need for crash helmets and the dangers of speed.

Announcing the campaign, police said yesterday that the period October to December last year had seen a marked rise in the number of fatal accidents, with 36 people killed in the three-month period.

This marked an increase of five deaths on the same time the previous year.

The Second Superintendent of the Traffic Department, Andreas Papas, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that although the increase was not great, it could nevertheless be prevented.

He said there were such rises at any time of the year (August, for example, when more people are on the roads), but three specific factors increased the risk towards the end of the year: the reopening of schools (with more traffic and young people on the roads), the worsening weather conditions and the December celebrations.

Papas also stressed that Cypriots were not, for the most part, disciplined drivers and that this contributed to crashes all year round.

And he called on parents to help the police by taking special care of their children: "A father has to look after one child, we have to look after 30, 000."

He added parents "should not let their 16-year-old son, to get on his bike, without a motorcycle licence, go out at night, have a few beers, and then expect him to come home safely at 3 am."

However intense the police presence might be, he warned, "we can not be everywhere at once".

Wednesday, October 07, 1998

[12] Bishop collects stolen icons

The icons had been stolen on the night of September 17 to 18 from the church of Saint Barnabas and Saint Hilarion in Peristerona.

They were found wrapped in black plastic bin liners in a dried-up pond in a field between Dhali and Lymbia, near Nicosia.

Three men were arrested in late September in connection to the thefts. Sotiris Merikou, 35, Andreas Vrasidas, 40, and Harilaos Schizas, 40, are due to appear in court in the next few days.

Among the icons found is a depiction of Saint Barnabas, which Neophytos yesterday said was unique, and of Saint Hilarion, dating from around 1816. Also recovered were icons of Saint Nicholas, Saint Charalambos and the Ascension of Christ, all dating from 1849.

During the robbery, the church's collection boxes were also broken into, with an unknown amount of money being taken.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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