THE CYPRUS Radio Television Authority was right to fine a show aired in the afternoon on Ant-1 TV during which a male stripper was asked intimate questions about his genitals and whether or not he worked as a prostitute, the Supreme Court has ruled.

The decision overrules a previous one from a lower court that argued that punishing a show for having low standards was a “dark age censorship existing before the right of freedom of expression and speech were implemented”.

The authority had fined Ant-1 TV CY4,000 pounds (€6,834), for airing the contents of a show hailing from Greece on the subject of male strippers.

The show is called Revelation Now.

During the show, the stripper was asked if he and his colleagues added anything in their boxer shorts for the benefit of their audience, if strippers were also prostitutes, if they use anything to enlarge their genitals, if they had done time for prostitution and whether they worked as “escorts”. 

The show was aired during the afternoon’s family zone viewing, when children under the age of 15 watch TV.

ANT-1 appealed the authority’s ruling, arguing that the authority had failed properly to meet administrative procedures in the case. 

Despite disagreeing with the grounds for the appeal, a lower court said that the authority had failed to define the principles of “high standards” that the show was meant to have violated.

Because there was no clear definition on what constitutes good quality television, condemning the show was a kind of “preventative censorship” that violated freedom of speech, the court said rejecting both fines imposed on ANT-1. 

But the authority appealed the court decision – taking it to the Supreme Court – which agreed the authority had managed to prove that the show was “qualitatively degrading” without needing to define “the principles of high qualitative standards”. The Supreme Court also rejected the claim that punishing the show was akin to censorship. 

The contents of the show and the references it made to male strippers “are sufficient argumentation” that the show was lacking in quality, the Supreme Court said. 

The authority has ruled seven times in total against ANT-1 and the show in question, with the TV station appealing four times, according to data available online.

A REPORT on Cyprus’ financial and business services lists recommendations that can be implemented on tight budgets but could add 9,700 new jobs in five years and bring in additional state revenues of €13 million, its authors yesterday said.

A report commissioned by financial services providers PwC Cyprus and presented yesterday in Nicosia looks at professional and business services as they have become the drivers of job creation and growth in Cyprus, growing 40 times faster than tourism and generating more jobs.

 “Our research shows that the newer sectors of professional business services and international financial services have been the most resilient sectors in the recent downturn,” the report’s authors said. 

Just last year, for example, the professional sector created 6,400 jobs, well ahead of the financial and insurance sector with its 2,100 jobs, and accommodation and food services that created 1,900 jobs, according to statistical services’ data cited by the authors.

The international component of services has been growing – sometimes modestly – but has nonetheless been the fastest growing sector over the last five years, with the exception of the small sector of domestic workers, the report said.

Extrapolating from data on the 2007-2011 growth figures, the authors estimate that whereas tourism grew on average by just 0.2 per cent per year, international services grew by 8.3 per cent per year, or 40 times faster than tourism.

International services have driven job creation and have been more resilient to external changes, the report concludes.

And a proportion of the output from different sectors, services claim almost 81 per cent of Cyprus’ gross value-added output or GVA, which roughly measures the difference between the end-price of products and the cost of producing them. 

“Indeed, Cyprus would have found it much more difficult to weather the global financial crisis and the subsequent eurozone crisis without [the professional and financial services],” the report’s authors said.

But the report urges against complacency. In terms of international indicators on corruption, economic freedom, competitiveness, ease of doing business, and business environment, Cyprus does all right but not spectacularly. For example, in the 2012-2013 rankings of the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness ranking, Cyprus has dropped to the 58th place and scores the worst on innovation and sophistication. “Cyprus trails behind as a business centre,” one of the authors said during her presentation.

Threats that Cyprus must prepare for include the potential loss of Cyprus’ advantageous tax regime on various fronts, the lack of innovation, and the ongoing banking crisis.

And lack of niche capacities, fragmented business efforts (e.g. the commerce ministry and the investment promotion agency do not always coordinate), overdependence on tourism calls for action to remedy these weaknesses. 

Among others, the authors recommend implementing the measures proposed by a memorandum of understanding with Cyprus’ international lenders, reducing bureaucracy, working on new sectors, investing in the youth, and bringing social media and technology to the forefront. Suggestions also include implementing the island’s lenders’ recommendation to enable civil servants to transfer to other departments so that, for example, a dedicated double taxation treaty team can be formed. 

The report was written and researched by the head of Sapienta Economics Fiona Mullen, and the founder and head of Curveball Marina Theodotou. It was reviewed by university of Cyprus’ professor, Stavros A. Zenios.  

The report, Professional Services: Driving jobs and growth in Cyprus, is available online at www.pwc.com.cy 

A 63-YEAR-OLD man from Larnaca died during the early hours yesterday after the water tanker he was driving collided with a parked private jet at the old Larnaca airport amid confusion between Hermes Airport and the police. 

Giorgos Nicolaou was trapped inside the tanker’s cabin before being freed by members of the Fire Service and taken to Larnaca General Hospital. According to a nurse at the hospital, Nicolaou had suffered severe damage to his neck but was in a lucid state when he arrived at the hospital. Doctors made the decision to operate, but he succumbed to his injuries. A post mortem will be carried out to determine the exact cause of death.

Police and Hermes will both carry out investigations in attempt to piece together what exactly caused the accident although there was initial confusion about who had priority.

According to the police, they were initially denied access to the scene of the accident by Hermes Airport officials. “We wanted access in order to investigate the accident that occurred between a vehicle and a parked airplane and were surprised that we were not allowed in, to do our job,” police spokesman Andreas Angelides said.

This point of view was not shared by Hermes Airport and according to their spokesman, Adamos Aspris police arrived at the scene just five minutes after the call was placed to the emergency services. “A phone call was placed at 9.39pm on Monday night and police arrived shortly after at 9.45pm where they were allowed to enter the old airport by policemen who man the gates,” Aspris said. Asked whether the police were not allowed to carry out their investigations, Aspris replied, “The EU directive that was passed in parliament says that the Aviation Investigative Committee has priority in overseeing any accidents that occur, involving aircraft.”

On behalf of the police, Angelides said that because the collision had caused the death of the 63-year-old driver that police were obliged to investigate the incident regardless of whether an aircraft was involved.

OUT of an estimated €100million to €300m deposits in banks in Switzerland, authorities here collected around €4.5 million in taxes on interest during the period 2005-2010, lawmakers heard yesterday.

The House Watchdog Committee was discussing tax evasion issues, advised by officials from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the treasury, the Central Bank and the Auditor-general’s office.

The €100m to €300m estimate concerned deposits that are above board, MPs clarified. During the session it transpired that there is no way currently to work out how much cash from ‘Cypriots’ (depositors with a tax residency in Cyprus) is deposited in banks abroad, because millions more were probably undeclared.

As an EU member, Cyprus is a party to directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments.

The directive’s aim is “to enable savings income in the form of interest payments made in one member state to beneficial owners who are individuals resident in another member state to be made subject to effective taxation in accordance with the laws of the latter member state.”

Member states levying withholding tax retain 25 per cent of their revenue and transfer 75 per cent of the revenue to the member state of residence of the beneficial owner of the interest.

In the case of Cyprus, this revenue is transferred to the Central Bank.

The directive provides for exceptions to the withholding tax procedure; a beneficial owner may for example expressly authorise the paying agent (a bank) to report information covering all interest paid to him/her.

In the event a depositor in Switzerland chooses to remain anonymous to Cypriot authorities, Swiss authorities transfer two-thirds of the tax revenues to Cyprus, AKEL MP Pambos Papageorgiou said.

Deputy Giorgos Georgiou (DISY) cautioned that depositors in banks abroad who choose to remain anonymous to authorities here were not necessarily cheating.

The €4.5 million collected by the Central Bank from 2005 to 2010 related to withholding tax from ‘anonymous’ holders of bank accounts in Switzerland. These people were legitimate, he stressed.

Under the EC directive, member states can share information. However, the process of identifying individuals is lacking, as the data exchanged is limited to the first and last name, date of birth and address; there is no provision for providing the identity card number.

Having received such information from foreign authorities, the IRD must then track down the individuals one by one, according to IRD head George Poufos.

THE BOARD of telecommunications company CyTA last night agreed to provide the cash-strapped state with a €100m short-term loan from its pension fund, providing some breathing space until the state can secure an international bailout. 

According to state broadcaster CyBC, board chairman Stathis Kittis said the loan would be given under strict terms and conditions, including the return of the money within three months. 

The semi-state organisation had been pondering the government’s request for days, fully aware that three of five CyTA employee unions were against the move and even threatened legal action should the board take money from the workers’ pension fund. 

Kittis had previously told CyBC that providing the wider public sector with their 13th salaries this year rested on whether the telecoms giant would grant the loan or not. 

THE recapitalisation needs of Cyprus's banks are broadly in line with expectations, according to an interim independent report, the finance ministry said yesterday.

A preliminary agreement between Cyprus and international lenders has already earmarked up to €10 billion as aid for the island's banks, but this was subject to outside verification.

While mentioning no amount, the finance ministry said an asset quality review of banks submitted by Pimco, pending a final report from the consultancy in January, was being assessed.

"In broad outline, the results are within the expectations of discussions on the (aid) programme," the ministry said in a statement.

Reports on Monday night suggested the amount would be in excess of €10 billion.

Central Bank spokeswoman Aliki Stylianou said those scenarios did not correspond to reality.

“There is already a figure that we all know,” she said.

Cyprus sought aid from the International Monetary Fund and European Union in June to provide a buffer for its banking system which reported huge losses from a write-down in Greek sovereign debt.

It is officially estimated that the total bill, including the cost of rescheduling state debt and plugging government deficits, could reach €17.5 billion, equivalent to virtually the entire output of Cyprus.

Pimco, an investment company best known as the world's biggest bond trader, carried out an asset review of five Cyprus-based banks and a stress test to determine capital needs for each bank. 

It also covered a representative sample of co-operative credit institutions.

The review was submitted to a steering committee comprising potential lenders and Cypriot authorities.

THE Archbishopric in Nicosia was briefly evacuated yesterday as three fire engines were used to put out a fire in the historic building’s basement. 

Fire Service spokeswoman Liza Kemidji said yesterday that the fire broke out at 9.55am in the basement where the Church keeps its archives and old computers, leading to the evacuation of the entire building. The fire was brought under control by 10.15am after three fire engine units were dispatched to the scene.  

The Fire Service and Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services of the Communications Ministry are examining the cause of the fire, though Kemidji ruled out foul play.  

Archbishop Chrysostomos II said a short circuit was the likely cause of the fire, noting that the electronic installations of the Archbishopric date back to the 1960s.

“A lot of files were burnt containing receipts of the last decade, not recent ones,” he said. 

The fire caused a blackout at the building which houses the offices and residence of the Archbishop.  

Speaking to reporters after the fire was brought under control, Chrysostomos called on the Cypriot public to work towards getting the country out of the crisis. 

He sent a message to public servants to bite the bullet of austerity, noting that a wage reduction was not the end of the world.  

“Everyone must understand that they will face difficulties in the next two, three years, but I don’t believe any public servant will starve if a part of their wages is cut,” he said. 

“We need to get a grip on reality and not have our heads in the clouds if this country is to move forward. We need vision, not short-sightedness,” he added.  

The Primate highlighted that the church will not let anyone starve, and has ordered its clerics to identify those who are in need of help. 

Regarding the government bill prepared to increase immoveable property tax (IPT), Chrysostomos said the church would also be paying the IPT as part of the government’s austerity measures. 

“Some bills have been made in haste, but there is time to correct them,” said the head of the church. 

BY A majority decision the Supreme Court has upheld an appeal lodged by the Attorney-general and has ordered a retrial of the Helios air crash case.

In the ruling, six of the nine judges said they had found fault with the Nicosia criminal court’s prior decision to acquit the defendants and as such a retrial was warranted.

“It is understood that the complexity and scope of the case will entail additional time and cost, however the public interest is such that it must prevail, in order that proper and effective justice be served,” the decision by the majority of the panel read.

The case will now be tried from scratch by a different criminal court, at a date to be determined.

Late last year a Nicosia criminal court had ruled that that there was “no causal association between the defendants and the negligence they were charged with for the fatal accident.”

Consequently the five defendants - Helios Airways as a legal person, executive chairman Andreas Drakos, managing director Demetris Pantazis, flight operations manager Giorgos Kikkides, and Bulgarian chief pilot Ianko Stoimenov – had been cleared of the charges of manslaughter and causing the death of 119 people on board (all except the two aviators) by reckless, dangerous and careless action.

The Attorney-general’s office, which had prosecuted the case, appealed that decision shortly thereafter.

In Greece, too, an appeals process is winding down. A separate trial in Greece – the site of the crash -- began in December 2011. In April of this year a magistrate's court in Athens found Pantazis, Kikkides, Stoimenov and chief British engineer Alan Irwin, guilty of negligent manslaughter, a misdemeanour.

They were sentenced to 10 years in jail, pending an appeal. At the time the court had also ordered that the defendants could not buy out the sentence, as is sometimes possible under Greek law.

The next hearing before the appeals court in Athens is due on 18 or 19 December, and a decision – which will be final and irrevocable – is expected in the next few weeks.

The statute of limitations for a misdemeanour in Greece is eight years, giving the Greek justice system until August of 2013 to rule definitively otherwise the case there would be dismissed.

The question of double jeopardy – which forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction – would become pertinent in the event the defendants in Greece are cleared.

Nicholas Yiasoumis, a spokesman for the relatives of the air crash victims, yesterday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision here as a positive development.

“So long as someone is finally held accountable, be it here or in Greece, that would at least be a moral vindication to us,” he told the Mail.

If past history is anything to go by, the re-trial in Cyprus is expected to drag on. Following the accident it had taken more than a year for the state to file charges (December 2008), and then almost another (November 2009) for the trial to begin.

The August 14, 2005 crash of Helios’ Boeing 737 was the deadliest aviation disaster in Greece and Cyprus. The plane slammed into a hillside at Grammatikos, near Athens, killing all 115 passengers and six crew – four cabin crew plus the pilot and co-pilot.

Investigators said a failure to switch a valve regulating oxygen supply to the aircraft knocked its pilots and most of the passengers unconscious shortly after the plane took off from Cyprus. The airline's safety culture drew criticism.

The Boeing 737-300 jet flew on autopilot in Greek air space for two hours before it ran out of fuel and smashed into the hillside.

VERY STRONG opposition has built up against the government’s bill drastically increasing the immovable property tax (IPT) that is expected to be approved today. 

It would appear all the political parties, including AKEL, are against it despite the assurances by the head of the Inland Revenue Department, who told the House finance committee on Monday that only 44,000 individuals would have to pay IPT and some 293,000 would be exempted; with regard to companies, only 7,100 of the 16,000 would have to pay. His aim was to show that the majority of people, those with lower incomes, would not be affected.

And while this may be the case, the truth is that half the companies, many of which are struggling to stay afloat, would be called to pay. Interestingly, according to the IRD head, 2,500 companies would be paying the bulk of the tax - €111 million – which works out at an average of €44,000 per year, which is a significant cost, especially as it is unrelated to earnings. Hotels of 200 to 250 rooms, according to the Hoteliers Association would have to pay between €200,000 and €500,000 in 2013. 

This alone shows the irrationality of the bill. A hotel faced with say a €300,000 extra annual cost will make staff redundant, lower the quality of its services and increase its rates or a combination of any of these. Whatever it does would work out not only against the owners, but also against the economy. The construction industry would be thrown even deeper into recession, as a result, because any purchase of property would come with an additional yearly cost.

Is this how the government wants to stimulate growth and development and create jobs? By taking more money out of a market that is suffering from an acute shortage of liquidity, the only thing that it would achieve would be more job cuts and even less business activity. Of course there is no rational explanation for the new IPT. It is said that the government came up with this idea to satisfy the unions which were demanding that the wealthy carried some of the burden of the crisis.

But the truth is that very little thought had gone into the proposal. Practicalities, such as the fact that 100,000 property owners do not have title deeds, were not considered. There is also the issue of penalising people who decided to put their savings in property and have already paid a host of taxes to the state. And will individuals and businesses have the money to pay this tax, which is not based on earnings?

Will there be a compromise over the bill today? The finance minister warned that there should be no changes to bills agreed with the troika because this would undermine our trustworthiness and probably delay approval of the bailout. Should it be approved so we keep our side of the bargain and come up with an alternative proposal in the new year? It is a very tricky issue, which could have been avoided if the government based its decisions on pragmatism rather than ideology.

SECURITY is to be stepped up at all government buildings in anticipation of more angry outbursts against coming austerity measures in the days and weeks to come, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said yesterday.

Angelides was speaking only hours after angry investors, who claim they were duped into buying high-yield bank bonds, stormed parliament and disrupted a committee meeting discussion on the issue,  while another arm of the police themselves demonstrated outside the finance ministry and later parliament.

Angelides yesterday told online news portal Stockwatch that the force was “reviewing its policy for law enforcement and maintaining order and security.”

Yesterday’s demonstration at parliament, and another ‘invasion’ of the House last month by disgruntled public service contract workers appears to have decided the get-tough policy. The few police officers posted at the parliament then and yesterday, could not stop a group of outraged investors from storming the building.

And today, a number of new protests have been scheduled outside parliament including large families, teacher unions and people with disabilities.

One of the counter measures being considered by police, said Angelides, was beefing up security around the presidential palace, parliament, and government buildings. This would include regular police and members of the riot squad (MMAD).

“We realise that working people are angry, and it is their inalienable right to demonstrate. But these demonstrations must be within the bounds of the law,” Angelides said.

“It is no easy thing to exercise violence against a working person protesting that his or her salary and pension are being cut. These are sensitive issues and require delicate handling,” he added.

The disgruntled investors yesterday assembled outside parliament in the morning to demand justice. They heckled bank officials arriving for the meeting and threatened to close their accounts with the banks if justice was not done.

At some point during the House protest the demonstrators stormed the building, pushed the few police officers out of the way, eventually making their way to the atrium.

Shouting and banging their hands on the glass windows, the protesters interrupted the meeting of the House Institutions Committee, which was discussing the matter.

The heads of their association urged the protesters to leave the building lest they caused the meeting to be called off.

“The meeting must not be interrupted. Wait outside and when we finish we’ll go outside the finance ministry and the banks where those responsible are,” association vice chairman Stavros Yiallourides said.

The investors later invaded two bank branches belonging to Popular and Bank of Cyprus, but apart from some shouting and threatening, they did not cause any damage

The protesters remained outside the House for some time after the meeting ended yesterday, forcing Bank of Cyprus CEO Yiannis Kypri to leave parliament through a rear door.

The island’s two largest lenders, the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank, stopped paying interest and blocked access to investors’ capital following losses on a Greek sovereign debt write-down in late 2011. 

The banks collected some €1.4 billion through the high-risk, high-yield securities.

Many investors claim they had been given the impression by untrained staff that investing in high risk securities would guarantee them a safe and regular income.

The issue was further complicated after the island applied for a bailout. International lenders, the troika, want the banks to foot the bill and not the state.

The memorandum of understanding agreed between Cyprus and the troika says that 

before any state recapitalisation is granted, the Central Bank will require a conversion of any outstanding junior debt instruments into equity for the purpose of protecting the public interest in financial stability, including by implementing voluntary or, if necessary, mandatory subordinated liability exercises (SLE). 

“In order to facilitate a voluntary SLE, a small premium can be offered in line with state aid rules,” the MoU said.

And while their bosses talked of stepping up security, a group of police officers protested outside, first the finance ministry, and then parliament yesterday against a government decision to cut their allowances as part of the bailout agreement.

Officers in plain clothes assembled outside the finance ministry and then marched outside parliament to protest against scrapping several of their allowances and cutting others. Overtime pay will also be cut.

The chairman of the police association Andreas Symeou said they expressed their anger and indignation about the measures, which were taken without anyone thinking of the consequences.

Symeou vowed that officers would not stop fighting “despite finding themselves facing a fait accompli.”

Symeou claimed that the state wanted to cut the allowances for a long time and grabbed the chance to blame it on international lenders. Cops will see their good conduct, plain clothes and rent allowances gone, while other allowances will be cut by 15 per cent.

Angry investors bang on the glass in the atrium at the House (CNA)

THE CABINET yesterday selected as its strategic partner/investor in the creation of a state fuel storage terminal in Vassilikos, Dutch company VOPAK Oil EMEA.

“After evaluating the results of the tenders’ requests, [VOPAK] was selected as a strategic partner for the fuel terminal and storage facility in Vassilikos,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said after the meeting.

When negotiations with the company are completed, the commerce ministry will table the matter to the cabinet so that a final decision is taken, Stefanou said, without giving a timeframe, safe to say it was important that “the issue proceeds as quickly as possible”.

 “This work is very important for the country’s economy and will promote our island as a commercial transit centre,” Stefanou said. 

The cabinet has appointed a negotiating team comprising one official each from the energy department, the state’s legal services, the treasury, the Cyprus organisation for storage and management of oil stocks, the electricity authority, and the Cyprus petroleum storage company.

The decision to create an energy centre dates back to 2004, with the basic plan completed about two years later. Meanwhile, a private company, VTT, is also constructing a fuel terminal at Vassilikos, expected to be completed in 2014.

VOPAK operates 21 terminals for bulk liquids in Europe, Middle East and Africa with a total storage capacity of some 9.0 million cubic metres, VOPAK says on its website. The company is also active in Asia, Australia, North America and Latin America and operates 84 terminals in total with a total capacity of over 29 million cubic metres across 31 countries.

THE DISCOVERY of hydrocarbons in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has created “good prospects” for enhanced cooperation in the energy sector, said Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak yesterday. 

Speaking through an interpreter after meeting with Commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis in Nicosia, Novak said bilateral cooperation was developing between the two countries, noting the good prospects that existed for further cooperation linked to the possibilities of exploiting Cyprus’ natural gas deposits.

The government recently decided to launch negotiations with a view to awarding a gas exploration licence for Block 9 in its EEZ to a consortium comprising three energy companies: Total, Novatec and GPB Global Resources BV (a Gazprombank subsidiary). 

Block 9 is considered to be the ‘prime cut’ of the 12 remaining prospects in Cyprus’ EEZ, having received eight bids in total, after US-based Noble Energy won the first Cypriot offshore concession in the form of Block 12.  

The government’s decision to award Block 9 to the French/Russian consortium raised eyebrows after it emerged that the government altered the order of ranking of the bids for Block 9, eventually picking the Total-Novatec consortium despite its bid being graded fourth or fifth.

The government has denied anything untoward in changing the order of ranking for Block 9, arguing that its final decision took into account additional parameters, such as matters of national security.

Novak was in Cyprus yesterday for the EU-Russia Energy Council. 

Speaking after the meeting, Sylikiotis said the two ministers had the opportunity to discuss bilateral relations with emphasis on energy issues. He noted that the joint working group set up in 2010 for cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency would be meeting in early 2013 in Cyprus, providing an opportunity to further enhance relations in these sectors.

The commerce minister said the two discussed European energy policy, noting that Russia is the biggest single supplier of energy to the EU, covering around 29 per cent of all the Union’s needs in oil and gas.

Regarding hydrocarbon exploration in Cyprus' EEZ, Sylikiotis said a new field for cooperation between Cyprus and Russia was emerging: “Through this procedure, a new field of cooperation is developing between the two countries in the field of energy. Russia is an important partner and friend of Cyprus in all sectors - political, economic and commercial - but today I believe a new road opens for developing significant cooperation in the field of energy too.”  

For his part, Novak expressed hope that the working group on renewable energy sources and energy efficiency would function on a permanent basis and lay the foundations for the further development of bilateral cooperation in the field of energy.

IN A landmark decision yesterday, the cabinet restored the reputations of 19 people wrongfully labelled ‘traitors’ who were murdered between 1956 and 1958 during the EOKA insurgency against British rule.

“Making a reality an electoral promise of the President of the Republic, Demetris Christofias, the  cabinet decided today to restore those wrongfully murdered between 1956 and 1958,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said. 

Seventeen men and two women were murdered on the pretext of being traitors to the EOKA insurgency, most of them guilty only of being politically aligned with left-wing party AKEL.

“The history of Cyprus over the last decades is marred by tragic events, often bloody, that critically hurt this island and its people,” the cabinet decision said.

Most of the murders took place in 1958, “when it was clear that the English were leaving so there was a scramble for power,” sociologist Gregoris Ioannou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

“The murders were done in the context of a conflict between the left and the right,” he said. “There were efforts to terrorise those belonging to AKEL, although those members were not necessarily in leadership positions,” Ioannou added.

“After 50 years …the people of Cyprus and society ought to restore the reputation of all the people who were wrongfully murdered,” the cabinet said in its decision.

An association for the relatives of victims between 1955 and 1959 hailed the decision and thanked Christofias for fulfilling their long-standing demand. 

But the relatives’ association added that they did not necessarily interpret the cabinet decision as placing the blame on EOKA or the people who fought in its ranks. “On the contrary, we honour all those who fought and even more so those who gave their lives during that time," they said in a statement. 

Citing peaceful coexistence and the need for unity, Stefanou said that there was no intention of prosecuting anyone who was involved in the 19 murders, only to restore the good name of those killed.

The nineteen are: Neophytos Cleanthous from Mesogi, killed in October 13, 1956; Andreas Michaelides from Kato Pyrgos, October 18, 1956; Michalis Mikrasiatis from Frenaros, December 10, 1956; Christodoulos Ornitharis from Frenaros, December 10, 1956; Costas Sfiggos from Xylotympou, November 11, 1956; Panayiotis Tsaros from Ashia, November 26, 1957; Georgios Polytechnis from Lefkoniko, 1957 (no exact date given); Michalis Petrou from Lysi, January 21, 1958; Elias Ttofaris from Koma tou Gialou, January 21, 1958; Kyriacos Patatas from Pigi, May 6, 1958; Savvas Menikos from Goufes, May 23, 1958; Andreas Sakkas from Pera Orinis, May 25, 1958; Demetris Matsoukos from Gypsou, May 23, 1958; Panayiotis Stylianou from Acheritou, May 29, 1958; Nicodemos Ioannou from Ayios Theodoros Agrou, June 18, 1958; Savvas Thouppos from Tympou, August 9, 1958; Maria Charitou from Milia Famagusta, August 26, 1958; Despoula Katsouri from Milia Famagusta, August 26, 1958; and Pieris Pistolas from Lefkoniko, December 1958.

HALF THE staff of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) are going on indefinite strike today in protest at the board’s decision to loan the cash-strapped government €100m from the workers’ pension fund. 

Three of the five unions representing CyTA workers held a meeting at the authority’s main offices in Nicosia yesterday where they agreed to go on an indefinite strike until the telecoms company revokes its decision to lend the government money and the board members who voted in favour of the loan resign. They also agreed to hand in their electoral booklets. 

Members of the three unions - PASE, ASET and SEP - will gather this morning outside parliament to protest during a session of the House Finance Committee. 

The three represent around 50 per cent of total staff, while unions SEK and PEO the rest. 

SEK, which enjoys the biggest number of CyTA members, will convene today to decide whether to participate in the indefinite strike. AKEL-friendly PEO has distanced itself from the decision. 

Head of PASE Alecos Tryfonides said the decision to take €100m from the pension fund was “completely illegal and irregular”.  

Another unionist Costas Miltiadous said: “We have nothing written in our hands saying the money is secure.”

He noted that unions were given the same oral assurances the last time the government borrowed €101m from the semi-state organisation, which it has yet to see returned. 

Head of the technical staff union SEP, Haris Pafitis, told the Cyprus Mail that the telecom company by law was obliged to provide essential services, meaning if the majority of workers go on indefinite strike, a skeleton staff will remain to provide services, though many branches will likely close.

CyTA CEO Aristos Riris spoke to the unions yesterday, saying the pension fund was fully secured with guarantees, noting: “Whatever happens the money will be returned to the fund.”  

CyTA chairman Stathis Kittis said the board thought long and hard about the government’s request for a €120m loan, finally deciding on a reduced loan of €100m to the state under certain conditions. 

Through consultations with Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly, the board “secured firm commitments and safeguards covering in absolute terms the rights and interests of the beneficiaries of the pension fund”. 

He argued that the loan will be given in the form of treasury bills, one of the safest forms of investment in the Cypriot economy, adding that the fund will get a rate of 5.5 per cent interest, better than what it gets now through its deposits in banks.  

Shiarly also assured CyTA that once the first tranche of bailout money comes from the troika, the state will disburse funds to repay all maturing debt.  

The authority has a third guarantee from a bank that if the treasury bills are not repaid in 91 days, the bank will put the money into the pension fund. 

“So, there is no way the sum will not be returned to the pension fund,” said Kittis. 

He further argued that if CyTA should lose money from the transaction, it will get that money back by simply not paying a dividend to the state. 

He accused unions of “overreacting” and called on staff to be cool, calm and collected. 

The chairman suggested that any destabilisation of labour relations would open the door to privatisation, something the board was fighting hard against. 

Asked to comment on the news of strikes, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said everyone needs to show responsibility at a time when the state is cash-strapped and in the process of signing a “painful” memorandum.  

“We’re not talking about money that the state will take from a public organisation just like that. The organisations will get their money back in a short time and I think it is everyone’s responsibility to help the state continue to meet its funding needs.”  

Meanwhile, the Port Authority yesterday announced a loan of €38m to the state. According to board chairman Chrysis Prentzas, the Port Authority is prepared to give an additional €12m if needed.

CyTA workers demonstrate over loan to state

A COUPLE of hundred teachers protested outside the finance ministry and parliament yesterday over the austerity measures voted through as part of the bailout conditions agreed with Cyprus’ international lenders.

Chanting ‘hands off education’ and carrying banners saying ‘no to unemployment’ primary and secondary school teachers as well as pensioners protested the “one-sided way” the measures have been decided.

The education ministry budget has been reduced for 2013 by 7.5 per cent or €78 million to €969.9 million. Teachers will also start contributing part of their earnings to be entitled to state healthcare, and will also receive wage cuts and pension cuts.

“I can give the €200 I will lose from my monthly pension. I’ll even give €400. But I want free healthcare,” said Sotiris Pavlou, a 70-year-old pensioner who heads a pensioners’ association. 

In a peaceful protest outside parliament – some protesters bringing their children along – the teachers stood close to parliament that was already shut, blocked with wire fences and in the presence of dozens of police.

The teacher unions’ joint statement was read out loud and handed over to the head of security.

 “We strongly protest and question every one-sided measure taken to tackle the financial crisis in violation of workers’ rights, the terms and work conditions of our members,” the statement said. 

Imposing measures should be done in a transparent and fair way, and should tackle tax evasion, the unions said. They added that touching pensions was unfair. 

Increasing staff’s teaching hours by one period (40 minutes) will drive contract staff to unemployment, at a time when the jobless rate edges close to 13 per cent and takes away from the ability of education to be a driver of growth, the unions added. 

A 35-year-old physics’ teacher, Theodoros Aslanides, said that preparing for the extra teaching hour would take away from other preparation and out-of-hours work. And it will mean that hundreds of people will be out of a job “even though they are not to blame”. 

IN A second day of protests against austerity, demonstrators yesterday threw stones and eggs at the parliament building but an increased police presence prevented people from storming the House.

Inside deputies voted through 23 new laws under the bailout deal providing for cuts in social spending and a slew of fresh taxes.

While protests by teachers and the disabled were peaceful yesterday, members of large families became violent, clashing with police and anti-riot squad MMAD officers.

Unable to enter the parliament building, some of the protesters went around the back through the municipal park but were unable to gain access.

There were no injuries during the fracas, but one woman fainted in front of the entrance. After some water was splashed on her face, she regained consciousness.

The large families protested against the proposed 50 per cent cut in benefits and the decision to stop children and student allowances.

A three-man committee from the protesters was allowed entrance to speak with House President, Yiannakis Omirou in an attempt to stop the proposed bill, but they were told that nothing could be done about it. Their response was both vocal and physical with chants of: ‘We’ll remember you at the elections’ and ‘We are mothers, not terrorists’ before anger got the better of some  and they attempted to storm the entrance. 

They were cut short by police and members of the riot squad (MMAD). After being stopped from entering the building, and despite pleas from some of the other protesters, eggs and stones were thrown at the glass door.

The general feeling was one of injustice and disbelief that the government was going through with the cuts on a section of society already struggling to get by. 

“There are eleven thousand unemployed members of large families,” claimed one protester. 

“They are murderers of our society, how can we possibly survive now with all of these cuts?” asked disgruntled 46-year-old, father-of-five, Yiannakis Ioannou.

Poppy, a mother of four, told the Cyprus Mail that she had to bring back her daughter who was studying in England as she would no longer be able to afford it.

Argyris Argyrou from the Pancyprian Organisation of Large Families (POP) said that help was being handed out in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca to large families in need. “Members of large families must go to their local POP representative and apply for help and if they are deemed to be in need, they will receive help,” he said. “But I don’t believe it’s the troika’s fault, if you ask me it’s the people inside the finance ministry who decided that these benefits could be reduced,” he added.

A 76-year-old mother of 14, and grandmother of 46, Alexandra Tsiambarta was one of those at the front line. Her husband Antonios Tsiambarta, who has passed away, was one of the founding members of POP and together they sent eight sons to the army. “I sent my children to serve this country, which is now coming and taking away the measly €70 I was getting,” she said.

“Aradippou currently houses 850 large families, the most of any town or municipality,” her son Minas told the Cyprus Mail. “I am also a father of five and all I ask for is justice and equality for all, not just the members of large families,” he added.

The large families were followed closely by people with disabilities who received a round of applause on their arrival in front of the House. They also sent in a committee to speak with the House President to tell him of their disagreement at the proposed 9.0 per cent cut to their disability allowance. 

Omirou was unable to see them himself, as he was presiding over the ongoing plenum and so sent a representative to listen but they only wanted to speak to him.

Many of those outside the House expressed their disbelief that the government was cutting money from a group of people whose benefits are already paltry. “When the state is stooping to the level of cutting money from people with disabilities then it truly has become the banana republic,” 48-year-old Andreas Potamitis said. “Disability benefit, which is a pitiful €337 [per month] is being reduced to €330, so of course this will affect us because we can’t work to make a living and we depend on benefits,” he added.

Fifty-two-year-old Ioannis Mavros who was injured while volunteering at a church and is now in a wheelchair also expressed his anger. “These cuts are truly unfair, I’ve written letters to the Archbishop to help me out, I have three children and I’ve been in this wheelchair for the last 24 years and instead of receiving help all we get are cuts to benefits,” he said. “Those in charge only want to help themselves,” he added.

Yesterday’s protest went a lot smoother than the first but it was evident that police were more prepared for any incidents. Last month disgruntled casual public workers who had been told their services were no longer required by the state stormed the house, and on Tuesday angry investors who claim they were duped into buying high-yield bank bonds disrupted a committee meeting. This led police to deploy more personnel, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said. “More and more protests are being planned so a plan has been put in place to protect the House.”

Protesters at the House

AS A proportion of GDP, Cyprus’ bank bailout would be the largest ever, second only to the bailout of Indonesia, Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades said yesterday.

“The Cypriot taxpayer is now facing a bank bailout package that could be as high as €10 billion, which is equivalent to over 50 per cent of Cyprus’ GDP,” Demetriades said.  “As a proportion of GDP it is one of the largest bank bailouts ever, second only to the 1997 bank bailout in Indonesia.”

Cyprus has struck a preliminary bailout deal with international lenders but the exact amount needed for bank recapitalisation has not been determined yet.

Cyprus and international lenders have already earmarked up to €10 billion as aid for the island's banks, but this was subject to outside verification.

It is officially estimated that the total bill, including the cost of rescheduling state debt and plunging government deficits, could reach €17.5 billion, equivalent to virtually the entire output of Cyprus.

Pimco, an investment company best known as the world's biggest bond trader, carried out an asset review of five Cyprus-based banks and a stress test to determine capital needs for each bank. 

It also covered a representative sample of co-operative credit institutions.

The review was submitted to a steering committee comprising potential lenders and Cypriot authorities.

Demetriades said the troika acknowledges that the Cypriot banking sector has been severely affected by the broader European economic and sovereign crisis, in particular through its exposure to Greece. However, it says many of its problems are home grown and relate to overexpansion in the property market as a consequence of banks’ poor risk management practices and gaps in the supervisory framework that have led to significant under-provisioning.

He said it was important to note that banks could and should have done more to limit their exposure to Greece and their overseas expansion that is unrelated to core business.  “They should also have done a lot more to manage domestic loan portfolios.  In particular, they should have done more to contain their exposure to the local property market,” Demetriades said. 

He added that when one invested over 100 per cent of one’s capital in a single financial instrument – even if that instrument was considered low risk – it was indicative of poor risk management.  “When, however, markets consider that product highly risky, the same practice is usually considered risk loving, in other words gambling,” he said.

“When bankers do the same with investors’ money – because their bonuses are linked to short-term income while the losses are underwritten by the taxpayer – the same behaviour is  more than just poor risk management – it is ‘casino banking’."

“Boards that fail to contain such behaviour by bank executives are boards that fail to exercise proper oversight. The Greek PSI alone cost Cypriot banks nearly 25 per cent of the country’s GDP, because of excessive concentration of Greek debt in the balance sheets of the two largest Cypriot banks.” 

APART from cuts in social transfers, the batch of austerity bills approved by parliament yesterday include a freeze in cost of living allowance payments (CoLA), hikes in fuel taxes and contributions of private sector workers.

Petrol and motoring diesel will go up by 7 cents per litre from January 1 next year and five more cents in 2014.

Private sector employees and pensioners and the self-employed will continue in 2013 to pay a staggered contribution between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent on their monthly wage with the threshold being €2,501.

The contribution was extended to 2016 with the threshold going down to €1,501 in 2014.

The same goes for the public sector.

Incremental wage increases in the state and broader state sector were frozen through to 2016 while CoLA payments will remain frozen until 2014.

Parliament also introduced a 20 per cent tax on any state lottery winnings over €5,000 and games of chance offered by Greek company OPAP.

From next year, all companies, without exception, will have to pay a €350 levy.

The levy was introduced in 2011 with some exceptions as regards entities that were deemed inactive – those without revenues or assets.

The new law abolishes all exemptions.

Public sector work hours will also change to bring them more in line with the private sector and cut the cost of overtime.

Civil servants will start work 30 minutes later at 8pm and work until 3.30pm, or 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

To date, civil servants worked between 7.30am to 2.30pm with the exception of Wednesday, 3pm to 6pm.

The bill provides for a transitional period from January 1 until the end of August 2013 during which government workers can start work at 7.30am or 8.30am and leave at 3pm or 4pm.

THE ENTITLEMENT culture, which has become a key feature of our society, was on display outside the legislature in the last two days, as deputies were discussing the 20-plus memorandum bills that had to be approved urgently. People from an assortment of interest groups gathered outside the building to protest against the injustice of the austerity measures, directed against their respective groups.

On Tuesday, policemen protesting against the scrapping of allowances and cuts in overtime pay were joined by a rowdy group of investors who demanded a refund of their investment in the high-risk, high-yield bank bonds. Angry investors pushed past policemen guarding the House and entered the atrium while some entered the room at which the institutions committee was discussing the banking crisis. 

Things took a turn for the worse yesterday when representatives of large families showed up and decided to put across their case by hurling bricks at the building and fighting with policemen. At least for once, the police were not accused of using excessive force as they tried to restore order. What a contrast, with the organisations of disabled who behaved impeccably, even though they had as much reason to protest about the measures.

This is the crux of the problem – all protesters at the legislature believe they have been hard done by and that the benefits/allowances they enjoyed were set in stone. The general attitude was that ‘others should make sacrifices, not us.’ We have heard this from far too many interest groups, including judges, civil servants, students, teachers who were protesting yesterday afternoon, residents of mountain villages etc. 

It did not help that populist deputies were inviting representatives of the interest groups, to give their views, while bailout bills were being discussed. This created the impression that provisions could be changed which was untrue. Nothing can be changed, as the finance minister made clear last week, when he submitted the bailout bills to the legislature, but this is unlikely to end the protest measures.

This is why it is important for one of our political leaders to stand up and tell these self-interested groups that there are much less fortunate people than them – 40,000 unemployed many of whom get nothing from the state. Unemployment benefit is not paid after six months. But these people have not been at the legislature, throwing bricks, fighting with policemen and demanding that the state carries on paying them. We think our politicians need to point this out to all the protesters who cannot see anything beyond their self-interest.

WITH its back to the wall, Cyprus yesterday passed a raft of austerity measures included in a provisional bailout agreement, in a bid to convince lenders it would stick to its side of the bargain ahead of a Eurogroup meeting today.

Faced with the dilemma of austerity or bankruptcy, parliament rushed through some 23 bills that included social spending and wage cuts, a freeze in benefits, and a slew of fresh taxes.

Earlier, and during part of the session, scores of people protested outside parliament against the cuts in social spending that would affect large families, members of which threw stones and eggs at the House and clashed with police. 

Vote on a controversial bill hiking immovable property tax was postponed after the government withdrew the draft pending further study.

Most of the bills were unanimously approved, apart from provisions concerning cuts in child, student allowances, and a benefit given to mothers with three or more children.

MPs highlighted the gravity of the situation, and despite stressing it was not a fair deal, they agreed that it was necessary or else the country would go bankrupt.

Main opposition DISY deputy chairman Averof Neophytou said it was an unfair memorandum but the alternative was bankruptcy.

“For us, our country’s bankruptcy was never and will never be an option,” he said.

Neophytou said it was perhaps the most difficult session parliament had to hold in the history of the Republic as he commended parties for closing ranks for the good of the country.

“We are a proud and stubborn people. We do not accept losing the battle or being humiliated,” Neophytou said, in a rather conciliatory speech.

Ruling AKEL said it disagreed with many of the terms in the bailout agreement but it would nevertheless vote for the bills.

MP Yiannos Lamaris added that his party will fight for the measures to be reversed as soon as conditions would allow.

“We know our country will go through great difficulty but we must show responsibility,” MP Yiannos Lamaris said.

The AKEL lawmaker sought to fend off criticism of government inaction in the face of the crisis.

He quoted various officials who had said, back in 2008, that the economy and its banks were robust.

Before that, DIKO vice chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos suggested that President Demetris Christofias and his government bore most of the responsibility for the sorry state of the economy.

Papadopoulos said they were late in realising the crisis was coming, late in taking measures, late in seeking assistance and late in negotiating the bailout.

As a result, Cyprus ended up with a tough deal.

“The memorandum is not fair, it is not even bearable,” he said.

 It is necessary however because the alternative would be bankruptcy.

Papadopoulos warned however that Cyprus still faced a difficult task in Brussels.

“The climate is negative because we have unfortunately lost our credibility. We are trying to convince them that we are doing now what we have not done in the past five years,” the DIKO MP said.

The government had made several appeals for the bills to be approved as a matter of urgency, hoping that financial aid would be more forthcoming if the island showed a concerted effort to trim spending and introduce long-overdue economic reforms.

Papadopoulos said the cut in social transfers was the “most unpleasant side-effect of the past years’ mismanagement.”

He added: “If we do not approve these measures today, tomorrow we will get measures that are three times as bad.”

Protesters try to take down police barrier (CNA)