Cyprus News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-04-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] Annan meets Cook

[02] British Bases police arrest Cypriot deputy

[03] Feissel stresses need for Cyprus peace talks

[04] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[05] British Bases charge and release Cypriot deputy

[06] US envoy, Denktash meet again

[07] Russian envoy meets House President

[08] Government reacts to UN comments

[09] Holbrooke begins mission to Cyprus

[10] President Clerides receives Russian envoy

[11] EU reiterates call to Turkish Cypriots

1500:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Annan meets Cook

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Cook said they discussed about how to promote a solution to the Cyprus problem and "seek to heal the division there".

During their 40-minute meeting, they also discussed the situation in Iraq, the Middle East question, and the situation in the Balkans. CNA/KT/AA/GP/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1510:CYPPRESS:02

[02] British Bases police arrest Cypriot deputy

Marios Matsakis, centre-right Democratic Party (DIKO) deputy, was not allowed to enter the court area, in SBA (sovereign base area) in Dhekelia, on the south-west coast.

Entry into the area was allowed only after a security check.

"He is in custody following a scuffle with police officers at the SBA Court, Dhekelia earlier this morning," British Bases Spokesman Mervyn Wynne Jones said in a statement.

A decision will be taken later today about his release, he added.

Matsakis, a former state coroner, is an outspoken critic of the presence of the British bases in Cyprus, which Britain retained after it granted the island its indepedence in 1960.

It is understood that Matsakis jumped over the gate in a bid to get access to Greek Cypriot Chambis Chimonas who was standing trial, because the Bases authorities denied him access to the sealed area.

Scuffles broke out with the Bases police, reinforced by this time by more men, and Matsakis was arrested.

CNA MA/MM/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1540:CYPPRESS:03

[03] Feissel stresses need for Cyprus peace talks

Speaking after what he described as a "routine visit" to President Glafcos Clerides, Feissel welcomed visits to Cyprus by foreign government envoys, noting they reflect the interest of the international community.

"That is a good development which reflects the importance that the important members of the international community are attaching to the Cyprus question and the realisation that something needs to be done about it," he said.

US State Department Coordinator for Cyprus, Tom Miller, and Russian envoy for Cyprus, Vladimir Tchizhov, are presently in Cyprus for meetings with both sides.

The American President's Emissary for Cyprus, Richard Holbrooke, appointed last year, is expected here later today.

Feissel added that "we have to make a very special extra effort to move things in the right direction" and described the present stalemate in the Cyprus peace effort as "a very negative development which must be reversed."

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash told the UN Secretary-General's special advisor for Cyprus, Diego Cordovez, last month that he will not participate in negotiations unless his illegal regime in the Turkish occupied areas is recognised.

So far negotiations to settle the Cyprus problem have been held between the leaders of the two communities, but Denktash now demands he participates as the leader of his self-styled "state", unilaterally declared in 1984 and recognised only by Turkey.

Asked if negotiations between President Clerides and Denktash will take place soon, Feissel said "if we are going to solve (the Cyprus problem) the two will have to get together and talk about things."

"That is the objective," the UN envoy added.

Feissel refrained from replying to a question if he is aware of the ideas Tom Miller is said to have brought to the Greek and Turkish sides.

"The US and the UN are in touch so there are consultations and discussions between the two sides," he added.

Feissel did not wish to speculate on how the UN is considering on proceeding with the Cyprus peace talks, but pointed out that the situation never remains stagnant. CNA/GG/MA/MM/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1600:CYPPRESS:04

[04] Cyprus Stock Exchange

CSE All Share Index                    88,83 (-0,74)

Sectural Indices

Banks                                 101,78 (-0,62)
Approved Investment Companies          65,68 (-0,42)
Insurance Companies                    64,02 (-0,85)
Industrial Companies                   82,38 (-1,68)
Tourist Industries                     76,33 ( 1,07)
Commercial Companies                   51,32 (-2,41)
Other Companies                        79,21 (-0,79)

Trading Volume                       1.954.318

CNA MM/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1630:CYPPRESS:05

[05] British Bases charge and release Cypriot deputy

A British Bases spokesman told CNA Marios Matsakis, of the centre-right Democratic Party (DIKO), was charged with criminal trespass and causing breach of the peace.

He said the deputy will be summoned to appear before a Sovereign Base Area court in due course.

Matsakis was arrested when he tried to enter the court area where the trial of another Greek Cypriot, Chambis Chimonas, was going to take place.

Britain has retained two military bases in Cyprus since it granted the island independence in 1960.

CNA MA/MM/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1630:CYPPRESS:06

[06] US envoy, Denktash meet again

Miller is meeting with President Glafcos Clerides, later this afternoon.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting in occupied Nicosia, Miller thanked Denktash for "an excellent lunch" and said they "continued discussions from this morning".

"We will be coming back with Ambassador Holbrooke later tonight to continue these discussions further", he added.

US Presidential Emissary, Richard Holbrooke, arrives here this evening for talks with the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides.

Tomorrow morning he will meet with President CLerides.

After his arrival this evening, Holbrooke will go to the Turkish- occupied part of Nicosia to meet Denktash, whom he will also see early tomorrow morning.

CNA MCH/MM/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1650:CYPPRESS:07

[07] Russian envoy meets House President

On his part, House of Representatives President, Spyros Kyprianou, said the present deadlock can only be broken through more involvement by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

"Both we and the Cypriot political leaders are concerned about the situation," Tchizhov said after a meeting at the House of Representatives.

The Russian envoy dismissed suggestions that the US is leading the initiative for a Cyprus settlement, stressing that "the UN is in the front line".

Tchizhov described the situation today as "a step back" from the situation in the summer when negotiations were held and the context of a solution was discussed.

He pointed out that today discussions revolve around the start of negotiations, which is a "procedural issue".

Two rounds of UN-led negotiations between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash were held in the US last July and in Switzerland a month later.

However, Denktash had refused to negotiate pending a European Union decision to start accession talks with Cyprus, which opened in Brussels last week.

Last month, the Turkish Cypriot leader told the UN he will not return to the negotiating table unless his illegal regime in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus is recognised.

Kyprianou expressed gratitude for Russia's contribution to efforts to settle the Cyprus problem and said that "in the near future there is no other way out than the involvement of the Security Council and especially its five permanent members."

He added that any country wishing to contribute should accept a Russian proposal for substantive involvement of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

The House President pointed out that the Turkish side aims at the geographical and ethnic division between the Greeks and Turks of Cyprus.

"We would never accept this because it would mean that a large part of Cyprus would be Turkified," he added.

CNA KK/MA/MM/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2010:CYPPRESS:08

[08] Government reacts to UN comments

Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides described statements by Cordovez as a bombshell to international efforts for a negotiated settlement in Cyprus.

In statements to CNA Cordovez said that the mood during the first round of negotiations between the leaders of the Greek and the Turkish Cypriot communities last summer was extremely good, but then "this bomb exploded", referring to a European Union decision to start accession talks with Cyprus while postponing Turkey's application.

"The statements made by Mr Cordovez are obviously outside the spirit of the UN Security Council resolutions which clearly consider the European course of the Cyprus Republic helpful to the process for a solution of the Cyprus problem," Stylianides said.

Two Security Council resolutions approved in 1996 (1062 and 1092) consider that "the decision of the EU concerning the opening of accession negotiations with Cyprus is an important new development that should facilitate an overall settlement."

The Spokesman said that Cordovez' statements "dynamite in an inexplicable manner efforts, by many personalities of the international political arena, which for some time now have focused, through parallel procedures, on leading the protracted Cyprus problem to a fair, viable and workable solution."

Stylianides refrained from commenting further on the issue or replying to any questions.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash was the first to describe the Cyprus Republic's EU course as a "bombshell" during the second round of inconclusive UN-sponsored negotiations held in Switzerland in August.

Denktash had refused to negotiate during the Switzerland meetings, pending a decision by the EU to open accession talks with Cyprus. The talks opened in Brussels on March 31.

The Turkish Cypriot leader told both Cordovez and UN chief Kofi Annan, last month, that he will not participate in another round of peace talks unless his illegal regime in Turkish occupied Cyprus is recognised.

The illegal entity, unilaterally declared in 1983 in the areas occupied by Turkey since 1974, is recognised only by Turkey. Numerous UN resolutions call on all states not to recognise or in any way facilitate the secessionist entity.

CNA MA/MM/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2020:CYPPRESS:09

[09] Holbrooke begins mission to Cyprus

Holbrooke, who was appointed last June, is scheduled to meet later tonight with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash. He will see Denktash again early tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow, Saturday, Holbrooke will also call on President Glafcos Clerides and there is a possibility he will have a second meeting with the President in the afternoon.

Holbrooke, who is the architect of the Bosnian deal, is expected to leave the island on Sunday.

US State Department coordinator for Cyprus, Tom Miller, has been in Cyprus preparing the ground for Holbrooke's visit, and already met twice with President Clerides and Rauf Denktash.

Efforts to settle the Cyprus problem reached a deadlock after a demand by Denktash that his illegal regime in the areas occupied by Turkey since it invaded in 1974 is recognised.

The Turkish Cypriot leader stepped up his intransigence in efforts to settle the Cyprus problem after the European Union decided to open accession talks with the Cyprus Republic.

Cyprus' accession talks with the EU got underway in Brussels on March 31.

Denktash demands a change in the bicommunal basis on which the peace negotiations have been held until today, in a bid to gain recognition of his illegal entity, unilaterally declared in the Turkish-occupied areas in 1983 and recognised only by Turkey.

CNA MA/GP/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2020:CYPPRESS:10

[10] President Clerides receives Russian envoy

Tchizhov was speaking to the press after a meeting with the Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides, the second in the last 24 hours.

Tchizhov said the frequency of his meetings with President Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash should not surprise as all of them had been scheduled.

The Russian envoy declined to comment on the US Presidential Emissary for Cyprus, Richard Holbrooke's arrival here this evening.

Tchizhov had a meeting this morning with House of Representatives President, Spyros Kyprianou, after which he reiterated his concern about the stalemate in efforts to settle the Cyprus problem.

Yesterday he held separate meetings with President Clerides and Rauf Denktash.

Tchizhov said yesterday he was not more optimistic after his meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader.

Denktash has refused to participate in the bi-communal talks aiming at a Cyprus settlement, unless the illegal regime unilaterally declared in the Turkish-occupied part of the island in 1983 is recognised. Denktash's puppet regime is recognised only by Turkey.

CNA GG/GP/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2045:CYPPRESS:11

[11] EU reiterates call to Turkish Cypriots

Van den Broek said he hoped that Turkish Cypriots would reconsider their objections to Cyprus' bid to join the EU and pointed out that the Union has tried to get them to participate.

The Turkish Cypriot side has rejected a proposal by President Glafcos Clerides to nominate representatives to participate in the official team to negotiate Cyprus' accession.

EU accession talks with Cyprus and five central and eastern European countries got underway in Brussels on March 31.

Van den Broek made it clear it was up to Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots to show movement, if they wanted to improve the situation.

"Which is not to say that we shouldn't continue our efforts to strengthen our relationship with Turkey," he said, noting the EU has made several proposals to this effect.

Today, the EU Commissioner had his first official meeting with the chief negotiators of the applicant countries.

Van den Broek said that hard work is now beginning and within the framework of the screening process, to examine the applicants conformity with the acquis, about 50 meetings will take place by this summer.

CNA NB/MA/MM/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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