Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 96-08-21

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From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" <[email protected]>

CONTENTS

[01] President given "room to manoeuvre"

[02] Evert calls for "concrete decisions"

[03] Greek parliament denounces Turkish barbarity

[04] Fans turn match into anti-Turkish protest

[05] Sharp rise in OBU's business

[06] Italian President to visit Cyprus

[07] Liberalisation of charter flights from Gatwick to Cyprus

[08] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[09] Government welcomes EU Commissioners's statement

[10] No self-styled T/C commander in talk, says government

0023 :CYPPRESS:01

[01] President given ''room to manoeuvre''

These issues concern a joint statement by the President and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash aimed at reducing tension on the island, the possibility of a meeting between the two men, a US proposed dialogue between the National Guard and the Turkish occupation forces commander and ways to expose Turkey's barbarity against unarmed Greek Cypriot demonstrators they killed last week.

Speaking after a five-hour meeting of the National Council, comprising all parliamentary parties, Cassoulides said ''Council members outlined alternative ways to handle these issues which the President will take into account when making up his mind on how to proceed.''

''There is unanimity among the parties that the President must be allowed to apply any of these alternative methods to deal with these issues,'' Cassoulides said.

The parties expressed different views, but the majority of party leaders oppose a UN proposal for a joint statement, he added.

On the proposed meeting between the President and Denktash, Cassoulides restricted himself in saying that ''we must consider that there is unanimity'' on the matter.

Referring to the prospect of a military dialogue, the Spokesman said the President will handle the matter and reiterated disagreement among the parties on such a proposal.

CNA MM/RG/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

0045:CYPPRESS:02

[02] Evert calls for ''concrete decisions''

Speaking at the Presidential Palace, prior to a late night meeting with President Glafcos Clerides, Evert said ''the concessions we have made reached the optimum point'' and pointed out that the recent killings of two unarmed Greek Cypriots ''brought to the limelight the barbaric methods applied by Turkey.''

Turkish troops and Turkish Cypriots murdered in cold blood two demonstrators in the UN buffer zone, one was battered to death and another shot dead.

Evert called on the Greek government to request a meeting of European Union heads of state to protest the provocative Turkish action.

''Any provocative Turkish move shall be considered by the entire Hellenism as casus belli,'' he told the press.

CNA MM/RG/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

0940:CYPPRESS:03

[03] Greek parliament denounces Turkish barbarity

According to the Athens News Agency, Kaklamanis has sent letters to his counterparts of the US, Canada, Russia, European Union member-states, and to the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the Western European Union, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Kaklamanis calls upon his counterparts to consider hard Turkey's barbaric behaviour against peaceful demonstrators and reminds them that the brutal murders of the two Greek Cypriot demonstrators by the Turkish occupation forces and ''Grey Wolves'' extremists ''took place in the presence of the UN forces.''

The Speaker of the Greek Parliament also sent his counterparts photographs of the events of August 11 and 14 during which Tasos Isaac, 24, and Solomos Solomou, 26, were brutally murdered while many others were wounded, including two British UN peacekeepers.

CNA MCH/GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1030:CYPPRESS:04

[04] Fans turn match into anti-Turkish protest

APOEL club of Nicosia won 2-1 Heraklis of Thessaloniki (Salonica) and qualified for the second round of the UEFA Cup.

In the first match, a fortnight ago, in Thessaloniki, the Cypriot team won 1-0.

The two teams devoted the match to the memory of Tasos Isaac, 24, and Solomos Solomou, 26, the two Greek Cypriots demonstrators, who were murdered by Turkish occupation troops and Turkish extremists during peaceful anti-occupation demonstrations last week.

Isaac was savagely beaten to death in the UN buffer zone on Sunday, August 11. Solomou was shot dead on Wednesday, August 14, when he tried to lower the Turkish flag.

Before the start of the football match at Makarios Stadium in Nicosia, the players of the two teams observed a one minute's silence in memory of the victims of the Turkish barbarity.

The fans sang the National Anthem (Greece and Cyprus have the same anthem) and shouted slogans such as ''Cyprus is Greek'' and ''Turks out of Cyprus''.

The flags in the stadium, except that of the UEFA, were at half-mast.

The second Cypriot team, who participated in the UEFA Cup, Anorthosis, a refugee club from the Turkish-occupied town of Famagusta, were defeated 4-0 away from Xamax, Switzerland.

In the first match in Cyprus, 15 days ago, the Swiss team won 2-1.

CNA GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1220:CYPPRESS:05

[05] Sharp rise in OBU's business

Spyros Stavrinakis, Assistant Manager Bank Supervision Department at the Central Bank, told the weekly ''Financial Mirror'' that the rise was mainly due to an increase in OBU activities and also due to the addition of new banks, which chose Cyprus to base their operations.

He said inquiries are strong from many countries with most of the interest stemming from major European banks, which may decide to follow in the footsteps of Credit Suisse and open Administered Banking Units here.

As for those coming from Russia and other CIS republics, Stavrinakis said the Central Bank's moratorium on the issue of new licences is still in force, but added the recent granting of an OBU licence to Menatep, the Russian banking giant, shows that ''we are selective and will proceed to grant such licences when we are sure that they are sound and healthy banking organisations.''

In addition to the 28 strong OBU's and one Administered Banking Unit, there are eight Representative Offices operating from this east Mediterranean island.

CNA GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1230:CYPPRESS:06

[06] Italian President to visit Cyprus

This was confirmed today by the island's Foreign Ministry and the Italian Embassy in Nicosia.

The exact dates will be officially announced later.

The two leaders are expected to discuss the Cyprus problem, Cyprus' bid to join the European Union and bilateral relations.

CNA MA/GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1300:CYPPRESS:07

[07] Liberalisation of charter flights from Gatwick to Cyprus

The decision was taken yesterday by the Council of Ministers, which met under President Glafcos Clerides.

Government Spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides told the press that the appropriate government services would decide when the liberalisation of charter flights from Gatwick would come into effect.

Zacharias Ioannides, Director General of the Cyprus Hotelier's Association, has welcomed the government decision.

Last month, the cabinet approved the liberalisation of charter flights from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Haifa.

The licence for flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg will be valid, on a trial basis, from November 1996 to October 1997. The licence for flights from Haifa, Israel, will last until the end of this year.

CNA GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1730:CYPPRESS:08

[08] Cyprus Stock Exchange

CSE All Share Index                    87.43 (-0.03)

Sectural Indices

Banks                                  93.02 (0)
Approved Investment Companies          79.87 (-0.47)
Insurance Companies                    67.81 (+0.55)
Industrial Companies                   88.22 (-0.10)
Tourist Industries                     79.98 (+0.98)
Commercial Companies                   73.82 (+0.86)
Other Companies                        87.87 (-0.95)

Trading Volume                         CYP 270209.554

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1745 :CYPPRESS:09

[09] Government welcomes EU Commissioner's statement

''I would like to express pleasure with Santer's remarks because he has expressed clear disappointment with Turkey's non-European attitude,'' Government Spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides said here today.

Santer told the press yesterday in Brussels that the EU expects it to behave as a true EU partner.

He also said that Turkey's latest actions in Cyprus do not reflect such an attitude, an apparent reference to the brutal killings of two unarmed Greek Cypriot demonstrators by Turkish troops in the UN buffer zone.

CNA MM/RG/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1815 :CYPPRESS:10

[10] No self-styled T/C commander in talks, says government

''We have accepted to enter a military dialogue between the commander of the National Guard (the Republic's armed forces) and the commander of the Turkish occupation forces,'' Cassoulides told his daily press briefing.

''We do not want any presence of so-called Turkish Cypriot forces,'' he added.

The government, he said, had made its views known about this matter at the time of a visit to Cyprus by US Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright.

Albright announced, during her brief visit to Cyprus in July, that a military dialogue would begin under UN auspices to help reduce tension along the buffer zone.

So far, the convening of such a meeting has eluded all sides concerned. One of the obstacles is a Turkish Cypriot request to participate in the dialogue, a move the government opposes.

CNA MM/RG/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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