Cyprus News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-01-31

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[02] Government comments on US report

[03] Cyprus backs peaceful, not military solution

[04] President promotes Cyprus as business centre

[05] Spokesman denies use of offensive language

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[01] Cyprus Stock Exchange

CSE All Share Index                    74.27 (+0.50)

Sectural Indices

Banks                                  84.49 (+0.62)
Approved Investment Companies          62.27 (-0.56)
Insurance Companies                    52.58 (+0.59)
Industrial Companies                   72.65 (+0.93)
Tourist Industries                     63.62 (-2.39)
Commercial Companies                   49.39 (+3.07)
Other Companies                        59.04 (-0.54)

Trading Volume                       CYP 1118416.790

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[02] Government comments on US report

Commenting on the report, Government Spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides said the parallel made between the legal Republic of Cyprus and the illegal entity in Cyprus' Turkish occupied area ''cannot be accepted''.

Cassoulides said the government ''continues to believe no parallel can be made between the legal Republic of Cyprus and the illegal regime,'' which UN resolution 541 (1983) considers as ''legally invalid.''

Bodies operating under the illegal regime (self-styled police and civil authorities) are referred to in the report as if they operate under international law and order.

The juxtaposition of the lawful authorities of the Republic and the illegal ''authorities'' in occupied Cyprus runs throughout the 16-page document.

Cassoulides said the terminology in the report, which covers 1996, has somewhat improved compared with the diction used in earlier reports.

''I believe the content of the report pictures the human rights situation in the government controlled part of the island and notes the measures the Cyprus government has taken in connection with certain issues, '' Cassoulides said.

He also points out that the report is particularly critical of the murder of a prominent Turkish Cypriot journalist, Kutlu Adali, outside his home in July last year, in Turkish occupied Nicosia.

The report says Adali wrote articles ''critical of Turkey's role in the north (occupied areas) and the role of the Turkish military and of policies that allowed large numbers of Turkish workers into the north (occupied areas).''

It also notes that some Turkish Cypriot journalists had complained about ''surveillance and intimidation'', allegations to which the Turkish Cypriot regime ''has not responded adequately.''

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[03] Cyprus backs peaceful, not military solution

The President has also reiterated his proposal for the demilitarisation of Cyprus which, he noted, would allay the concerns of all Cypriots.

''Cyprus is not interested in polemics and we do not believe in a military solution which will have disastrous consequences for all Cypriots, Greeks and Turks alike,'' the President told a press conference in Davos, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

Noting the fragility of the situation on the island, he underlined that the division of the country cannot be sustained.

President Clerides' proposal provides for the disband of the Cyprus National Guard in return for the withdrawal of Turkish troops, occupying part of Cyprus since they invaded in 1974, and the disband of the Turkish Cypriot armed forces.

The proposal, put forward in December 1993 to the UN, also envisages the stationing of a multinational force, in which both Turkey and Greece could participate, with a UN mandate to intervene in case of breaches of peace.

''My proposal is still on the table and I honestly believe that it represents a genuine answer to the security concerns of all Cypriots,'' the President added.

He pointed out that its implementation will also lead to ''stability in our sensitive region.''

President Clerides described Turkey's reaction to the government's announcement to purchase a defensive missile system as ''exaggerated.''

Turkey's reaction, he said, has created suspicions about the true motives of the Turkish side and more specifically about their willingness to facilitate a solution, through their cooperation in the forthcoming initiative of the international community for Cyprus.

The President repeated earlier statements that no component of this system will arrive in Cyprus before Spring 1998 and added ''the intervening period provides ample time for seriously engaging in efforts for a peaceful settlement.''

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[04] President promotes Cyprus as business centre

In his intervention on ''The outlook of Cyprus'' President Clerides said that over 26 thousand companies have registered as off-shore, since 1975, due to favourable tax rates, of which 1.200 keep offices in Cyprus.

''To the business world, Cyprus offers highly educated professionals, an excellent communication network, well-functioning infrastructure and a legal system based on internationally accepted legal norms,'' President Clerides said.

Noting that attracting investment has always been one of the primary objectives of Cyprus' development policy, the President said the government is in the process of further liberalising its investment policy.

''Under the new policy,'' he added, ''administrative procedures will become much simpler and, in most cases, foreign participation of up to 100 percent will be permitted.''

Referring to ship ownership, President Clerides said that ''today Cyprus ranks third among the international ship registries and fourth among the world's merchant fleets with about two thousand 780 ships, equivalent to almost 27 million gross tonnage.''

He attributed this achievement to the cost competitiveness of the Cyprus Register, its maritime infrastructure as well as the island's competence and ability to serve international shipping.

President Clerides also noted Cyprus' ties with Israel, the Middle East and North Africa and said Cyprus is accepted ''as an honest broker for regional reconciliation and for the promotion of co-operation and prosperity.''

He stressed Cyprus ''has the potential to become a cultural, economic and political bridge between the European Union and its neighbours.''

President Clerides also replied to questions by American, Japanese, European, Chinese and other business people, on the political situation in Cyprus, its economy and its benefits as a regional business centre.

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[05] Spokesman denies use of offensive language

''It is not in my nature to use offensive or bad-mannered expressions against any person,'' Cassoulides said.

Turkish Cypriot press reports quoted Cassoulides as likening Denktash to a barking dog.

''The nearest phrase I can find that may have been misinterpreted by somebody is a misquotation used in an interview I gave to a Cypriot journalist in Athens,'' Cassoulides said.

Replying to the journalist's questions, the Spokesman had said that ''no reasonable person on this side (Greek Cypriot) or on the Turkish side, including Turkey, wishes to wage war, regardless of verbal threats.''

The Spokesman had noted that whoever issues verbal threats does not necessarily bite, using a Greek language saying in a metaphorical sense which is, by no means, offensive.

CNA MA/MM/1997

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