Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-01-03

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

Saturday, January 3, 1998

Meeting to ensure fair elections

ONLY two evening papers appeared yesterday because of the New Year's Day holiday.

Both led with reports about the party leaders' meeting on Monday to discuss ways of ensuring fair elections.

Dilini said the meeting was called by House President Spyros Kyprianou after claims by opposition parties that President Clerides was using the government machinery for his re-election drive. Kyprianou had said that Clerides had recruited policemen to help his election campaign.

The allegations were sparked by the chief of the secret services (Kyp) Nicos Ioannou, who had assured Clerides of his re-election during a speech. As a result, Diko, Edek and Akel candidate George Iacovou accused Kyp of being involved in the campaign.

Apogevmatini reported that an ad hoc committee could be set up to look at the election issue. It added that opposition parties were expected to demand the replacement of the permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, Thanos Michael, who had publicly taken a stand about the elections.

It also quoted former Kyp chief Costas Achillides as saying that when he was in charge, before the 1993 elections he had issued a circular in which he had banned any political involvement by members of the agency.

Dilini claimed there was no danger of a "heated incident" in Cyprus or the Aegean - where a Turkish military exercise is expected to take place - but government circles in Athens and Nicosia said they were ready to face any Turkish provocation.

Apogevmatini alleged that another two young drug users had attacked their parents last month, but "miraculously" a tragedy was avoided. The two youths, who liked to combine hashish with alcohol suffered "hashish psychosis which causes a paranoid stupor" and were taken to hospital for treatment, the paper claimed.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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