By Constantinos Psillides

THE CYPRUS Drug Squad (YKAN) has been making headlines this last month, regarding a string of drug busts that yielded a record number of cannabis plants and amounts of prepared cannabis.

Since February 25, YKAN seized 435 cannabis plants and 52.5 kilos of cannabis.

The busts reflect a consistent spike in cannabis seizures observed in recent years with a 100 per cent jump in cannabis seizures for 2014. According to YKAN data, 202 kilos of cannabis were confiscated in 2014 compared to 99 kilos in 2013.

With 62 kilos in total confiscated so far this year, it is clear that 2015 will be another record year. In the first three months of this year alone YKAN has seized almost as many cannabis plants as in the whole 2014 (487 plants in 2013 compared to 484 plants in 2014).

The drug squad spokesman Stelios Sergides attributed the success to a combination of drug squad officers being more experienced and well-trained than before and sheer hard work.

“This is not just a fluke. We have been working hard and methodically towards battling illegal drugs, by analysing information, planning out raids and coordinated operations. We are meticulous and better organised. We are making progress and that is reflected in our results,” said Sergides, who declined to answer whether YKAN has introduced new technology, like thermal imaging cameras, in their arsenal.

Large cannabis plantations in urban areas can be easily identified through the use of thermal imaging cameras since the lighting required to grow the plants emits large waves of heat. Police in the UK have been mounting thermal cameras on helicopters, in an attempt to clamp down on indoor plantations.

The lighting required to grow cannabis plants emits large waves of heat which can be detected by thermal imaging cameras

Cannabis though is not the only drug that has seen a meteoric rise over the last few years. Cocaine use also skyrocketed, if seizures are evidence of use. In 2013 YKAN confiscated a mere three kilos of cocaine while in 2014 that number went up to 31 kilos.

“Cocaine users are increasing because people are under the false impression that they can control how much they take, neglecting the fact that it is highly addictive,” said Sergides, asked to comment on the increase of cocaine use.

“You have to realise that in general, drug use always goes up in periods of social unrest. The numbers have spiked since the financial crisis of 2013 and that is no coincidence. People are looking for a way to escape their problems through drug use,” he said.

Only one drug has seen a decline in use, to the point of disappearing completely. Heroin, the number one cause of death in drug users, has all but vanished from the market. Heroin seizure in 2014 dropped to lowest ever, a mere five grams for the whole year.

“This is not just a Cyprus phenomenon. All over the EU heroin use has dropped to almost negligible levels. We are cautiously optimistic, of course, but we hope that in the years to come heroin will disappear from the market completely,” Sergides said.

But a drop in heroin use doesn’t equal a drop in drug use.

Heroin users instead turned to synthetic drugs, as evidenced by the – almost unbelievable – spike in ecstasy pills seizures. While in 2013 YKAN seized 504 ecstasy pills, in 2014 that number shot up to over 18,000, along with 5 kilos of various synthetic drugs.

And ecstasy is just one of the many synthetic drugs currently in the market. Skunk, a much more potent strain of cannabis, is also classified as a synthetic drug and a recent study by the Kings College in London, published in The Lancet, found that daily users of high potency skunk are five times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder than non-users.

“Synthetic drugs are the new threat. In a recent European police forum we have been informed that over 101 new strains of synthetic drugs were developed in 2014 alone. This is the new challenge YKAN is now facing,” said Sergides, pointing out that the synthetic drugs are as dangerous as heroin.

“Dealers pass the new synthetic stuff off as heroin to drug users, which unfortunately had lead to overdosing.”

The drop in heroin use is reflected in the decline of request for opioid treatment. On the other hand, as the Sunday Mail previously reported, cannabis treatments have almost tripled.

Following an YKAN protocol introduced in 2010, instead of locking up younger drug users (14 to 24), and especially those caught using cannabis, police have ordered them to complete a rehabilitation programme. Upon completion of the programme, the offender is released without any ramifications from the court.

But does an increase in drug seizures really equal an increase in drug use? Sergides says that it’s highly probable but only a proper survey will have a definite result.

“In 2015 the state will conduct an epidemiology survey that will yield tangible results not only for cannabis use but for other drugs too. It’s the only way safe way to know,” he said.

According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2009 figures), 9.9 per cent of Cypriots over 15 say they have tried cannabis compared to the European average of 23.2 per cent. That is a 3.3 per cent rise from the 6.6 per cent reported in 2006.

Taking into consideration the relatively low number of drug busts during those years, a 2015 survey on current drug use could well come up with some shocking numbers.

YKAN’s major drug busts in 2015

On February 25 drug squad officers discovered 345 cannabis plants in a villa at Simou village, Paphos district.
Three people, a 56-year-old Cypriot, his wife, 53, and her son from a previous marriage, 31, were arrested.

On March 9, a British man and his wife were both arrested after police found them tending 80 plants of cannabis in two adjoining villas at Kathikas village, Paphos district.
They claimed that they were taking care of the plants for a third party.

Two days later, on March 11, YKAN officers found 30 kilos of cannabis in a secret room in a carpentry shop in Limassol. The cannabis was stashed inside water heaters that were unloaded a day before at the Limassol port. Five people were arrested.

A day after that, YKAN arrested a 33-year-old man after they found 16 kilos of cannabis in his possession. The arrest followed a raid at the man’s apartment, where weighing scales were also confiscated.

By Patroclos

ONE OF the few things this government does extremely well is the non-commercial exploitation of hydrocarbons. This non-commercial exploitation might earn the government popularity points and its energy minister Sheikh Lakkotrypis’ high approval ratings for his powers of gas exaggeration, but for the rest of us it is just third-rate theatre.

Special guests flew in all the way from Texas to take part in this theatre last week. Two Noble Energy vice presidents were in town to meet Prez Nik and declare the Aphrodite well commercially viable. Keith Elliot, the vice president for the Eastern Mediterranean said Noble was “bringing the Aphrodite discovery to the next phase of exploitation”, something that “we hope will bring prosperity to the people of Cyprus.”

Sheikh Lakkotrypis was ecstatic. For once he did not have to talk about grand plans that would never materialise but had something tangible to say. “We are progressing from exploration to exploitation,” he boasted while adding: “I cannot emphasise strongly enough the significance of this development.”

For the government’s non-commercial exploitation purposes the significance of the development was indisputable, but for the casual observer, it was just a case of a bit of theatre assisted by Noble’s head honchos who really did not have to come here all the way from Texas to state the obvious – that they will sell the gas.

A DAY later, the Sheikh had another reason to be ecstatic. French oil giant Total, which in January had announced it would quit Kyproulla because it had not been able to locate drilling targets in blocks 10 and 11, on Wednesday signed an agreement to carry on conducting geological and geo-chemical surveys.

Information about the new contract was not released, but I bet the government gave the French company everything it had asked for to stay here and continue with low-cost exploratory surveys, just so Lakkotrypis could say Total was still interested in Cyprus gas. Total did get out of its contractual obligation to carry out costly exploratory drilling as part of the new agreement.

Speaking of drilling, Noble’s head honchos mentioned nothing about it during their visit, even though under the company’s contract with the Republic, it is obliged to drill a second well before October 23 of this year. Could the announcement of the commercial exploitation of Aphrodite have been the concession Noble made to the government to get out of this costly procedure?

ENI-KOGAS has also stopped its drilling, which was supposed to have moved to another plot after lack of results at the Onasagoras plot, on the pretext that it had to send its drilling platform for maintenance and repairs. In short, all exploratory drilling in our EEZ has stopped and plans for future drilling have been suspended.

Nobody picked this up because we were all too busy celebrating our progress from exploration to exploitation, both commercial and non-commercial.

WAS IT a coincidence that last Sunday the pseudo foreign minister of the north Ozdil Nami announced that the navtex for Turkey’s seismic research vessel Barbaros, which expires on April 6, would not be renewed? Was Turkey so keen on the resumption of the talks that it gave in to Nik’s courageous ultimatum?

As we know only too well, the Turks do not make unilateral concessions. In order not to renew the navtex, they were given assurances from someone that we would stop all exploratory drilling, which was reason the Turks were violating our EEZ. We do not know whether the Yanks arranged for the drilling to stop in consultation with Nik or if it was our prez’s initiative.

Was it another coincidence that the nerdy UN envoy Espen Barth Eide arrived this week to prepare the ground for the resumption of the talks? But it was no coincidence that in the same week we also had the theatre involving Noble.

The prez pulled off quite a clever stunt to deflect attention away from the fact that we had temporarily given up our sovereign right to carry out drilling in our EEZ so he could triumphantly return to the talks claiming that the Turks had given in to his diktat.

IN BRUSSELS for the EU summit, Nik made sure the cameras got shots of him talking to Greece’s PM Alexis Tsipras. He wanted to silence his critics who had been claiming that his government, especially Finance Minister Harris Georgiades, had not offered its unwavering support to Greece during its bailout negotiations.

He felt the photo ops were more than necessary after the visit to Athens by AKEL chief, Andros, who returned claiming the Greek government felt let down by Nicosia during the Eurogroup meetings.

The narcissistic finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, had complained about Harris’ stance, said Andros after their meeting, but refused to elaborate, urging hacks to direct their questions at the Marxist poser (these are mine, not his words).

DISY members were so jealous of AKEL’s budding love affair with the Greek government that they discussed the matter at the party’s political office. Apart from censuring horrible Harris, who had also been invited to attend, members argued that the party should faithfully support the Syriza government regardless of its loony Marxism.

AS WE HAD predicted last week, Prez Nik asked Crystal to resign when he met her last Sunday, but the lady told him she was going nowhere. To save face he asked the attorney-general to look into the legal procedure to sack an independent state official.

Nik suffered another embarrassment the next day when Crystal’s ex appeared on radio and mentioned that the prez was aware that his office represented Andreas Vgenopoulos before appointing her governor. This had been reported by Haravghi, several months before the appointment, said Andreas Georghadjis.

“We don’t have to read all the newspapers,” was the brash response of the deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos and the matter was closed. Should we also mention that this is Kyproulla and all lawyers know each other’s business, especially which office represented a high profile client like Vgen.

CENTRAL Bank director Stavros Zenios tendered his resignation on Friday, as he could not “speak publicly about the need for renewal, modernisation and transparency, while serving an untrustworthy institution”. Zenios, who has his sights set on much bigger things, could not allow his painstakingly created public image to be tarnished by remaining on the bank’s board.

The former university rector pompously said: “We have reached a deadlock, and at this moment I do not see a solution. What is needed is courage from the protagonists, the courage of self-sacrifice.” Unfortunately not everyone has Zenios’ courage for self-sacrifice.

STELIOS Kiliaris has shown that he has the courage. He sacrificed a lot more than Zenios. As executive director he was on 120 grand a year, whereas Zenios was only on 30 grand and also has another source of income – a hefty monthly salary from the Cyprus University.

In this respect, Kiliaris, whose age makes him unemployable, made a much bigger sacrifice. Technically speaking, Kiliaris has not yet resigned although he has stopped going to his office at the Central Bank. He has taken leave for a few weeks before officially leaving the job, so that he completes the months of service that make him eligible for a pension.

It would have been too big a sacrifice, even for the courageous Kiliaris, to have walked out immediately after announcing his resignation and losing his pension. But I would not be surprised if Nik offers him another state sinecure in the not too distant future.

GEORGE Syrichas, the other executive director, has no plans to heed the calls of the political parties and resign, especially after giving up his job as senior manager at the Central Bank to take up the post. Syrichas was a candidate for governor after Professor Panicos’ departure, but Nik chose Crystal because he did not want a man known to be very close to DISY chief Averof in charge of the Central Bank.

He had also been the right-hand man of Athanasios Orphanides who many consider had some responsibility for the problems of the banking sector. But nobody has ever said that the top managers of the Central Bank were in any way to blame for the collapse of the banking sector. After all they were only supervising them.

SPEAKING of the banks, Bank of Cyprus CEO John Hourican was recently given a display of the union mentality that afflicts even the most senior of his managers. At a meeting of the bank’s top brass, one senior manager proposed that all BoC employees, who had bought the high-interest, convertible bonds, that turned to shares and then to peanuts, should be compensated by the bank.

Our mole did not inform us whether the senior manager was suggesting a full or partial reimbursement of the amounts staff had invested. Apparently all managers at the meeting had invested in the convertible bonds. Hourican vetoed the idea without discussion, aware that such a move would be catastrophic for the bank, as soon as word got out.

All the thousands of bondholders that have been holding demonstrations demanding their money back would have turned homicidal if such a decision was taken and they would have been perfectly justified.

THE LIST of deputies with NPLs caused uproar, but the real concern of our public spirited deputies is another issue related to the insolvency bill – the obligations of loan guarantors. This was the reason that the five bills that make up the insolvency framework were not taken to the plenum for voting last Thursday.

The reason for the decision, according to Junior, was that the “bills are complicated and there are issues that may need to be clarified through discussion in parliament.” As was widely reported, the main sticking point was the provisions regarding the liability of people who had guaranteed the loans of others.

And this is because the overwhelming majority of deputies are guarantors of loans and could end up having to pay them off if the borrower does not. Guarantors at risk of paying other people’s loans should rest assured that our deputies will do everything they possibly can to protect them, not because it is in their personal interest to do so but because they care about the vulnerable members of our society.

THREE cheers for visually impaired DISY deputy and lawyer Rikkos Mappourides, who revealed that he had used the services of prostitutes. He is the first elected representative of the people to make such a public admission. Mappourides supports the legalisation of prostitution and thinks there is nothing wrong with it as long as it is the woman’s choice. I am certain that when Mappourides visited a hooker, before paying her, he asked her if she chose the profession voluntarily or was forced into it by traffickers and pimps. If the latter he would leave, because he is that sort of morally upright guy.

I HAD never realised the unifying potential of halloumi until I received a tweet from a skettos drinker, who had been inspired by the agriculture minister’s comment that securing a protected designation of origin for our national cheese would benefit everyone on the island.

The tweet said: “Halloumi/Hellim: a truly federal cheese. Unites sheep’s, goat’s and cow’s milk under two names but with a single international personality.” He forgot to mention the necessary political equality among the different types of milk.

IF PUBLICITY gimmicks, political spin and defiant rhetoric could be monetised, Greece’s government would have covered all its funding needs for the year by now. Unfortunately these can be turned into votes during elections, but do not work when applied to negotiations for funding with lenders. The Syriza government should have realised this by now, after so many Eurogroup meetings that resulted in the same way – the demand for concrete reform proposals that would ensure Greece carries on meeting its budgetary targets.

This was agreed at the February 20 meeting of the Eurogroup, a deal Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis presented as a breakthrough and vindication of his positions. He also pledged to prepare a list of reforms over the weekend to submit to the Eurogroup for approval. The lists were submitted in instalments, but were vague and unconvincing – one of Varoufakis’ proposals was the recruitment of Greek citizens and foreign tourists to carry out tax inspections at establishments in the country’s tourist resorts. Were Syriza’s Marxist intellectuals joking or was this an illustration of their lack of experience of government?

How could Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Varoufakis expect to be taken seriously by lenders and win their confidence, when they showed more concern about wording and packaging than putting together concrete reform proposals? They both made a big issue out of inconsequential achievements such as the fact that they would not be dealing with the troika but with the ‘institutions’ and that they had replaced the memorandum with a ‘loan agreement’. They also barred the representatives of ‘institutions’ from visiting ministries, Greek technocrats meeting them at neutral venues instead.

This showed an astonishing lack of awareness of the precarious situation Greece is in. The country will have no money to meet its financial obligations within a few weeks and its government is taking stands over trivialities and playing silly games with the ‘institutions’ that would help its economy avoid entering a nuclear winter. There were also the daily onslaughts on Germany and its finance minister, which may have gone down well with the Greek public, but was not the smartest way to secure Berlin’s help or support. Yet tomorrow Tsipras will be visiting Berlin for talks with Chancellor Merkel.

This follows Tsipras’ marathon meeting, on the sidelines of the European summit in Brussels, with Merkel and other European leaders which lasted until the early hours of Friday. For some time Tsipras’ line has been that Greece’s economic problems should be addressed at a political level rather than by the Eurogroup’s finance ministers and on Thursday his wish came true. However, the European leaders merely repeated what the euro area finance ministers have been telling Varoufakis all along – to submit a list of reforms for evaluation, as soon as possible. Once the list of reforms is approved, the other eurozone countries will release the funds.

This was what was agreed on February 20, but the Greek government has still not managed to draft a list of reforms that could secure the approval of the lenders. Now that Greece’s problem has been addressed at a political level, with the same outcome, will Tsipras get serious and discover the sense of urgency that has been lacking so far? He said he was “more optimistic” after Thursday night’s meeting at which “all sides confirmed their intention to overcome the difficulties of the Greek economy as soon as possible.”

The reality, however, is that overcoming the difficulties, depends exclusively on one side – the Greek government which has so far failed to fulfil its February pledges. It has been given another chance, and it now has to decide whether it will carry on with the austerity measures (perhaps it could give them another name), as there is no other way to meet its bailout commitments or go for bankruptcy and an exit from the euro. In the former case, it would be accused of going back on all its election pledges but funds would be made available and the country would stay afloat.

Alternatively, it could honour its election pledges, opt for bankruptcy and plunge the country into a much deeper recession than the one experienced so far. The humanitarian crisis that Tsipras, supposedly, wants to tackle would grow geometrically. This is why it must be avoided at all costs. The Greek government must finally accept that it has failed to impose its agenda in negotiations with its lenders, put aside the humbling of Syriza and do what is right, under difficult circumstances, for the Greek people.

By George Psyllides

AN AMENDMENT passed by the parliament this week, banning banks from repossessing homes that owners have paid for but have no title deeds because of developer mortgages, has done little to relieve those affected, property experts have warned.

“It is a complete and utter mess,” property advisor Nigel Howarth told the Sunday Mail. “I don’t know if the people in government really understand what is going on.”

On Thursday, parliament voted to indefinitely ban foreclosures on homes whose owners had received no title deeds, even though they may have paid for their homes in full, because the building developers had already taken out loans on those properties which they cannot repay.

Developers’ land and buildings are counted as assets that need to be offset against their debt to banks, which gives lenders a claim on people’s properties that had been mortgaged by developers.

According to the provision, such properties will be exempted provided the buyers paid at least 80 per cent of the sale price or have fully complied with their contractual obligations towards the seller.

AKEL, which had tabled the amendment, said the legislation fully protected thousands of people whose homes or businesses could not now be foreclosed because a developer was insolvent.

But Howarth said that the amendment would actually do very little to remedy a problem that affects an estimated 30,000 home-owners as they still would not be issued their title deeds.

“What parliament achieved is merely stopping the bank from repossessing people’s homes. But what good does that do them if they don’t get the title deeds they paid for?” asked Howarth, pointing out that the issue dates back as far as 1986.

The property advisor added that even if a title deed were issued, it would still be in the name of the developer, not the buyer.

“And the developer cannot transfer that deed if his debt isn’t settled.”

This means that while the property would not be repossessed, owners might end up paying the developer’s debt just so they could get the deed for a property they had already paid for.

Not having a title deed makes selling the property difficult, if not impossible, he said.

“When people come to me looking for property, the first thing I advise them is to go for the ones that have a clean title deed, just so they can be on the safe side and avoid the hassle,” he said.

The banks readily lent to property developers, especially between 2004 and 2008, fuelling an unsustainable frenzy of building activity which roughly tripled prices.

The outdated legal framework enabled property developers to sell on property that was already mortgaged.

Authorities had ignored the title deed problems created by developers’ mortgages for years, despite the protests of mainly foreign buyers. But as the economic crisis got worse and developers tanked, it became obvious that Cyprus had a huge problem on its hands.

Years later, and under pressure from its international lenders, the island must now deal with the sorry state of affairs that authorities effectively allowed to happen with their inaction.

Under the terms of its bailout, Cyprus has set up a task force “on registered, but untitled, land sales contracts” that must prepare a study by the end of May.

The task force is made up by staff from the finance ministry, the Central Bank, the land registry, and the state law office.

After identifying the scale and various aspects of the problem, the task force must prepare an action plan “addressing at least (1) the removal of administrative hurdles for the transfer of title, (2) the provision of tools to encourage the release of encumbrances on properties to facilitate title transfer, and (3) the development of contractual standards for land sales contracts and connected loan and mortgage arrangements.”

This should have been done by October last year.

Included in their tasks would be a financial impact assessment regarding title transfers and lifting encumbrances.

“First we must measure the scale of the problem,” a government official said. That will be followed with “how can we solve it with the least possible effects.”

Resolving the matter will not be an easy feat.

Stavros Papadouris, chairman of the association for the protection of primary residence, said they have received complaints from over 1,000 cases of people who bought flats and houses and have no titles despite paying for them.

“All conditions were there for the system to be exploited,” Papadouris said. “The state did not have any safeguards in place.”

A case in point is the involvement of lawyers.

Before 2011, the land registry did not have to warn buyers of any encumbrances on property they were planning to buy. That was the work of the lawyers who either failed to do their due diligence or, as some allege, were in bed with the developers.

According to a report drafted by the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) and handed to the government in 2007, lawyers were introduced or recommended to clients by property developers, estate agents and other vendors.

“As a result many contracts signed by buyers under the ‘guidance’ of their ‘own’ lawyer are, as they may later find to their cost, heavily in favour of their developers,” the report said.

One example is that many contracts called for stage payments at certain dates rather than the standard system of other countries for payments to be made on far the project had progressed.

Buyers complained that that even if these stage “payments are contractual on ‘progress’, lawyers do not check that the stage has been completed before asking their clients to pay. As a consequence, buyers arrive in Cyprus to find that progress is not as advised by their lawyer.

Indeed, some developers take the ‘stage’ payments and may not do any work at all and then, when found out, simply tell the buyers to ‘take them to court’,” the report said.

AKEL has urged the government to defend the legislation and not to try to annul it since it removed the risk of a blatant injustice against thousands of people. It also lessened the danger of another negative development that could push Cyprus deeper in recession.

Real Madrid need Cristiano Ronaldo to channel his frustration into producing his top form as they face Barcelona in a top-of-the-table ‘Clasico’ showdown on Sunday that could decide the title race.

The Portuguese has struck a moody figure in recent weeks as Real struggled to recapture the blistering form that allowed them to set a Spanish record of 22 successive wins before the winter break.

Barcelona have capitalised on recent stumbles by Real, who have won only one of their last three league games, and earlier this month climbed to the top of La Liga for the first time since November.

By Tim Hanlon

Just weeks after holding a four-point lead over Barca, Real now trail their bitter enemies by a point and Carlo Ancelotti’s men cannot afford any more slip-ups if they want to win a record extending 33rd La Liga title.

Ronaldo will also be eager to upstage Lionel Messi when the league’s top two strikers – who have scored 62 goals between them – face off in the highly anticipated clash.

When the duo headed off for their winter breaks in December, Ronaldo topped the standings with 25 goals while Messi had netted 15 times.

But following a remarkable few months, the Argentine is now in front with 32 to Ronaldo’s 30.

Such is Ronaldo’s competitive nature that he has looked exasperated during games that have not gone Real’s way.

Ronaldo’s irritation was clear for all to see last week when he was seen saying “how embarrassing” Real were to team mate Karim Benzema following their 4-3 defeat by Schalke in the Champions League.

While Real squeezed through to the Champions League quarter-finals thanks to an aggregate 5-4 win, they are unlikely to get a reprieve in La Liga if they are trumped by Barcelona, who are on a six-match winning streak in all competitions.

Barca swept aside the challenge of Manchester City to book a place in the last eight of the Champions League on Wednesday, but midfielder Andres Iniesta refused to tag his side as favourites for the Clasico clash.

“There have been Clasicos where everything has happened and it is not down to how the teams are playing beforehand,” he told reporters. “I don’t think Madrid are playing badly and this is an important game for us against a direct rival.”

The renaming of part of Piale Pasha Street to Tasos Mitsopoulos Avenue is the least we could do in return for the love that the late Minister of Defence Tasos Mitsopoulos showed for his town, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said on Sunday, during the renaming ceremony that took place in Larnaca.

Referring to the honoured former Minister, the president said that Tasos Mitsopoulos Avenue would be the road that would remind everyone of Mitsopoulos’ moral excellence, honesty and humanitarian approach. Furthermore he said that that the renaming of the road is an honour not only for Mitsopoulos but also for the town that that he served as an MP and later as a Minister.

At the same time Anastasiades reiterated the government’s respect and support for the conservation of historical and traditional names. “Our respect for history, tradition and hence, for the Turkish Cypriot toponyms (place names) throughout Cyprus is granted. We wish that our compatriots behaved in the same way,” Anastasiades said.

The President said that the specific renaming did not violate the established principle of the Republic for the maintenance of all place names of the country. As he explained, Tasos Mitsopoulos Avenue begins at the point where in the past the historic road Piale Pasha ended and covers the new section of the road which differs morphologically from the rest of the traditional core of the Turkish Cypriot neighbourhood “Scala “.

Piale Pasha was named after the Ottoman conqueror Piale Pasha, who took over Cyprus in 1571.

Earlier in the morning, the first annual memorial service for the late Defence Minister took place in the presence of the President and other officials.

CNA

By Michael Hann

Juan Mata struck twice, including a sublime volley, for Manchester United in a 2-1 Premier League victory over Liverpool who had Steven Gerrard sent off for a stamp at Anfield on Sunday.

Mata’s neat finish put United ahead on 14 minutes before Liverpool halftime substitute Gerrard was shown the red card for a challenge on Ander Herrera after just 48 seconds on the pitch.

Spaniard Mata’s stunning left-foot volley put United 2-0 up in the 59th before Daniel Sturridge pulled a goal back for Liverpool 10 minutes later.

Wayne Rooney then missed the chance to add a third for United when Simon Mignolet saved his injury-time penalty.

Fourth-placed United have 59 points from 30 matches, five more than Liverpool in fifth.

Leaders Chelsea will seek to regain their six-point advantage over Manchester City at Hull City later on Sunday, while struggling Queens Park Rangers host Everton.

“I think it’s my best game in a United shirt,” Mata told Sky Sports. “The second goal has to be up there with my best. After Steven Gerrard was sent off we needed a second goal because they pushed us to the end.

“It was important for me. The last few months I’ve not had the best moment. It is the manager who decides but I’m happy today.”

United, with testing games to come against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, needed to build on last weekend’s 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur to press their challenge for a Champions League place.

Liverpool, unbeaten in the league since their 3-0 defeat by United at Old Trafford in mid-December, fell behind after an explosive start when Herrera’s defence-splitting pass was collected by Mata who slid the ball past Mignolet.

United looked to be in control but Liverpool cranked the tempo up with midfielder Adam Lallana firing agonisingly wide after a sweeping counter-attack.

Gerrard replaced Lallana at halftime but the former England captain clattered into Mata and then stamped on Herrera in a follow-up challenge.

United defender Phil Jones was lucky to avoid being sent off for a clumsy tackle on Philippe Coutinho and the visitors made the extra man count when Angel Di Maria’s lobbed pass was met first time by Mata who scissor-kicked past Mignolet.

Sturridge’s first time shot then raised Liverpool’s hopes but United stayed on top.

By Michael Holden

Britain will introduce measures to counter Islamist extremism, including an investigation into Sharia courts and a crackdown on incendiary preachers, if Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives win May’s election, Home Secretary Theresa May said on Monday.

May said Britain would no longer tolerate those who rejected the country’s values of democracy, free speech, equality and the rule of law, adding that Islamist extremism presented the most serious and widespread problem.

“To those who choose consciously to reject our values and the basic principles of our society, the message is … clear: the game is up,” she said in a speech in London. “We will no longer tolerate your behaviour.”

Britain has wrestled with how to deal with extremism and radicalisation among its 2.8 million Muslims since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

The issue came to the fore after suicide bombings on the London transport system in 2005 and the murder of a British soldier in 2013 by young British Islamists, while recently some 600 Britons have travelled to fight in Iraq and Syria including “Jihadi John”, suspected of being the most notorious executioner of Islamic State radicals who have occupied swathes of Iraq and Syria.

May said not all extremism led to terrorism, but that those who spread hatred had to be tackled and she called for Muslims to join “a partnership” to defeat extremists.

Measures she said would be brought in under a Conservative government included bans for groups which fell short of current terrorism proscription orders, closure orders to shut down premises owned or used by extremists and extremism disruption orders to target individuals who incite hatred.

There would also be an independent figure commissioned to investigate the use of Islamic law by Sharia councils, used to settle family and inheritance disputes by some British Muslims.

The Conservatives have already pledged to beef up security measures as part of their commitments ahead of the May 7 general election, which pollsters say could be one of the closest for decades.

Recognising that there were those who disagreed with her approach, May said she wanted to defeat all forms of extremism, including far-right ideology, and that promoting British values was not narrow-minded or jingoistic.

“The starting point of the new strategy is the emphatic rejection of the misconception that in a liberal democracy like Britain, ‘anything goes’ – the belief that living in a society like ours means there aren’t really any fundamental rules of norms,” she added.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have launched a social media campaign – ‘WhereDoYouKeepYours?’ – urging British travellers to keep their passports safe.

“Although most trips abroad are problem-free, tens of thousands of people still lost their passport or had it stolen last year and needed to be issued with an emergency travel document (ETD), said an announcement from the British High Commision.

It said a considerable amount of consular time was being taken up in handling cases of lost, stolen, damaged or invalid passports.

The FCO has created six Vines (short video clips) which highlight some of the reasons that have led to people applying for an emergency travel document (ETD) abroad. They include people using their passports as a beer mat, putting it in the washing machine or microwave, or using it as a notebook.

John Heppenstall, head of consular campaigns at the FCO, said: “Passports are essential for travelling and it is important to take care of them. Although most holidaymakers do, a lot of consular time could be saved if more people treated their passport as something as valuable as their phone or wallet.

We also see people travelling who are not aware that certain countries require a UK passport holder to have six months of validity left on their passport from the date of entry, and even up to two blank pages in your passport. We strongly advise people to look after their passport, keep it safe and check its validity well in advance of travel. “

In 2014, 20,612 UK passports were reported as lost or stolen around the world and 39,053 emergency travel documents (ETDs) were also issued overseas.

Go to www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice to find out the exact requirements for individual the country. The Vines can be viewed on FCO’s Facebook and Twitter feeds: www.facebook.com/fcotravel or twitter.com/fcotravel.

A son of ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich has drowned after a mini-van he was driving plunged through ice on a Siberian lake, an aide to Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.

Authorities in Russia, where Yanukovich has lived with most of his family since protests against his pro-Moscow policies forced him from office in February 2014, did not immediately confirm the death.

Avakov aide Anton Herashchenko said on Facebook that Yanukovich’s younger son, also named Viktor, had died on Sunday in Lake Baikal.

The vehicle broke through the ice and tipped over onto the driver’s side. Five passengers survived and “four of them didn’t even get their feet wet,” Herashchenko said.

Viktor, 33, a racing car enthusiast who headed the Ukrainian Automobile Association when his father was in power, was not able to unbuckle his seat belt in time to get out, he added.

Nestor Shufrych, a Ukrainian parliamentary deputy from the Opposition Bloc and a former ally of Yanukovich, gave a similar account on Facebook.

In Moscow, the Kremlin declined comment.

“I do not have any information on the subject,” said Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I can neither deny nor confirm (the report).”

Life News, which has good contacts among Russia’s law enforcement authorities, quoted sources as saying the body had been flown by charter flight for burial on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed from Ukraine by Russia last year.

The Yanukovich family is known to have owned several properties in Crimea.

TWO WOULD-BE robbers were forced to settle for five sandwiches in lieu of cash on Monday morning, after they failed to get access to the till of a Limassol bakery, a police report said.
At around 2 am on Monday, two individuals wearing balaclavas entered a bakery in Limassol and, brandishing a knife, asked the 46-year-old cashier to open the till.
The 46-year-old woman fled through the fire exit and sought the help of a customer in a nearby kiosk.
At the bakery, one of the perpetrators attempted to open the till, to no avail.
Left with no options, the robbers grabbed five sandwiches which were on display – worth all of €15 – and fled the scene.
Limassol CID continues to investigate the case, the police report added.

European Commissioner for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness, Jyri Katainen, said on Monday that Cyprus’ image abroad was improving, and its credibility was being restored, making itself more attractive to foreign investment.

The former Finnish prime minister and finance minister who was in Nicosia to promote the European Commission’s investment initiative said that if Cyprus had the necessary instruments in place, it could benefit from investment in the areas of the small and medium size enterprises, tourism via hotel renovation, and energy.

“Giving you the impression from outside, your country has managed to deal with the crisis very well and this has helped you receive confidence,” he said.

Referring to the energy sector, he added: “If we can manage to fund a viable project in this area, it could contribute to Europe`s energy security.”

The European Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe aims at triggering more than €300bn over the next three years. It was announced by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in November, in an attempt to kick-start the European economy.

Katainen commended Cyprus’s efforts towards economic recovery, adding that the country managed to face the crisis even as internal disagreements existed.

The commissioner, who met President Nicos Anastasiades and members of the parliamentary committee for European and external affairs, said that while Cyprus was located in a troubled region, he hoped external factors would not affect its efforts.

By Angelos Anastasiou

CENTRAL Bank governor Chrystalla Georghadji was subpoenaed to testify on Monday in connection with claims that the Panayiotis Neocleous law firm bribed deputy Attorney General Rikkos Erotokritou in connection with a law suit Erotokritou filed against legacy Laiki Bank, which the law firm represented.

The probe into the case is being carried out by retired judge Panayiotis Kallis, who has thus far subpoenaed 15 witnesses, including Georghadji. Erotokritou will be the last one to be called in.

The accusations concerning Erotokritou’s law suit were made by former Central Bank board member Stelios Kiliaris at parliament on March 12, and prompted a flat denial by Georghadji and the deputy AG’s wrath.

The alleged bribery related to a law suit by Erotokritou against legacy Laiki, in which he asked that a debt of some €600,000 be offset against an equal amount he had in deposits which were seized as a result of the March 2013 bail in. Laiki’s lawyer, Panayiotis Neocleous & Co, failed to show up at the trial and lost, and allegedly did not file an appeal until after the Central Bank – Georghadji – got wind of the issue. The appeal found in favour of Laiki.

Kiliaris argued that the Panayiotis Neocleous law firm bribed Erotokritou with the €600,000 he was asking to balance out his loans, in order to abandon his court case. Erotokritou responded that, had this been the case, he would not have subsequently filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in order to uphold the original decision in his favour.

But Kiliaris’ remarks did not go unnoticed by Attorney-general Costas Clerides who tasked Kallis with looking into the matter.

Georghadji’s testimony lasted one hour and 45 minutes, and followed those of all eight CBC board members – including Kiliaris – resigned Laiki Bank’s administrator Andri Antoniades, her deputy Panicos Iracleous, lawyers Panayiotis Neocleous and Pambos Ioannides, Erotokritou’s lawyer Andreas Kyprizoglou, and a police officer for whom no information was released.

Earlier on Monday, former Central Bank non-executive board member Stavros Zenios, who resigned his post last Friday amidst unanimous calls from political parties for the ousting of the entire board, was brought in by Kallis to testify.

Speaking to reporters after the session, Zenios said it was essential the Central Bank restores its credibility.

“It is up to the Central Bank governor to make the choices that will safeguard the stature she had acquired as Auditor General, and restore the Central Bank’s credibility.”

Asked whether he would like to send a message to the rest of the Central Bank board members who remain at their posts, Zenios said that at this point both leaving and staying is a sacrifice.

“That colleagues opted to stay on so that the Central Bank can continue to function, thus receiving flak for things they are not responsible for, is a sacrifice in itself,” he said.
“Right now, the Central Bank’s credibility is in the hands of the governor.”

Monday’s statements by Zenios and Georghadji leave Erotokritou the only party implicated that has yet to be called in for questioning.

According to state radio, the deputy AG was expected to receive a subpoena for Tuesday, which will conclude the witness list.

Kallis was given a 10-day period to conclude investigations and produce a report to the Attorney General. This expires at the end of March, although Clerides has confirmed it may be extended if necessary.

By Jean Christou

THE GOVERNMENT would not be opposed to the initial resumption of talks taking place in Geneva, a spokesman said on Monday commenting on reports that UN Special Envoy Espen Barth Eide had sounded out the two leaders on the possibility during his visit to the island last week.

But deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said there was nothing concrete relating to the reports.

“It’s just journalists’ information,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

Daily Phileleftheros said on Monday Geneva-based Eide believed that keeping the process out of the media spotlight in Cyprus during the delicate stage of resuming stalled negotiations would be the optimal solution. UN officials could not be reached to confirm the reports.

The talks are slated to resume by the end of April or at the beginning of May after a ‘window of opportunity’ has opened with the expiration on April 6 of Turkey’s second navigational telex (NAVTEX) for exploration within the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This, combined with the cessation of drilling by ENI-KOGAS ‘for maintenance’ of its drilling equipment, appears to fulfil the conditions both sides set for talks to re-start.

Turkey had made the cessation of drilling a precondition and the Greek Cypriot side had insisted negotiations could not resume as long as the NAVTEX remained. Ankara benched its exploration vessel Barbaros on December 30, the final date of its first NAVTEX, and the ship has remained docked off Famagusta since, even though the April 6 NAVTEX had not been rescinded.

Eide said last week he expected during his next trip, prior to the elections in the north on April 19, to announce the resumption of talks as the ‘window of opportunity’ had opened but made it clear there had been no agreement between the sides as to their respective conditions.

Asked what would happen if the talks resume and ENI re-starts drilling prompting Turkey to issue a third NAVTEX, the deputy government spokesman said: “The Cyprus government will react the same way it did before”.

He was referring to the first NAVTEX, which ran from October 20 to December 30, and which prompted the Greek Cypriot side to withdraw from the talks last year.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Sunday Turkey would be the only one responsible for what would happen if it issued a new NAVTEX after April 6.

“This will be considered an act of bad faith,” he said, adding that Cyprus expected no new NAVTEX to be issued, and also that the Barbaros would leave Cyprus.

Kasoulides also said the negotiations would restart from the point they left off.

Asked to comment on the fact that Turkey was presenting the resumption of talks as a result of the suspension of drilling in Cyprus` EEZ, Kasoulides insisted ENI was carrying out maintenance work.

Meanwhile Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign minister’ Ozdil Nami was quoted on Monday as saying the rights of the Turkish Cypriots were not limited only to revenue from hydrocarbons, but should be included to all stages of the various processes from exploration to exploitation.

By Angelos Anastasiou

Greek Cypriot politicians and the church are behind Cyprus Football Association (CFA) chairman Costakis Koutsokoumnis’ reluctance to press ahead and reunite football on the island, the chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Football Association (TCFA) has said.

In an interview published in daily Politis on Monday, Hasan Sertoglu claimed that although last year’s deal with the internationally recognised CFA “remains on the table and will be implemented”, the effort is being met with political resistance from the Greek Cypriot side.

“The single biggest problem we are facing is that, on your side, politicians still hold significant power over football,” he said.

“I know for a fact that [CFA chairman] Koutsokoumnis also wants the deal to materialise, and can guarantee that he is acting in good faith. But someone, somewhere is placing obstacles in his way.”

Last week, Sertoglu emerged victorious from a battle against the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) and the north’s ‘sports minister’ Cyprus Serdar Denktash, who applied to FIFA to open a TFF branch in northern Cyprus as a means of offering Turkish Cypriot footballers – currently isolated as they are not part of any recognised football association – a route to international competitions.

The idea was fiercely opposed by Sertoglu, Turkish Cypriot media, and most political parties, and the application was ultimately rejected by FIFA.

“There certainly are political parties here that want to block the deal [with the CFA], but the question is whether they can,” Sertoglu said, citing popular support for his endeavour.

A poll of Turkish Cypriot respondents earlier this year revealed 81 per cent of the public supported the effort, but Sertoglu expressed doubts on Greek Cypriots’ commitment.

“[Public support] isn’t as strong as on our side, and maybe that is one of the reasons why the CFA’s leadership are hesitant,” he said.

“It’s something I can’t fathom – what do Greek Cypriots stand to lose from this deal?”

Pressed to elaborate on the reasons the CFA appears more cautious than it did originally, Sertoglu did not mince words.

“I have heard from at least 10 sources from the Greek Cypriot community that the church is trying to pressure Koutsokoumnis directly,” he said.

“We have known each other for a long time and I know he honestly wants this deal, which is why I am starting to believe that what I hear is true.”

CFA officials could not be reached for comment.

The TCFA has been at odds with the Turkish Football Federation for some time, as employment contracts entered into by Turkish Cypriot footballers with their local clubs are not internationally recognised, allowing Turkish clubs to ‘steal’ footballers who currently have no other options.

The deal with the CFA was meant to remedy this situation by enabling Turkish Cypriot footballers to tap alternative employment opportunities in international football.

Serdar Denktash’s effort to engage the TFF aimed at the same outcome via Turkey, but failed in the face of public outcry and FIFA’s rejection.

By Constantinos Psillides

A PROTEST by outraged bond holders outside the Bank of Cyprus’ (BoC) main offices in Nicosia once again turned violent on Monday after windows were smashed and employees threatened.

The bond holders broke through the police line that was guarding the area and threw oranges and eggs at the building, while others hurled rocks and bricks from the surrounding area. The protesters smashed office windows with bricks and shouted at employees.

During the scuffles with police a woman fainted and was rushed to the Nicosia General Hospital.

Representatives of the bond holders were denied access in the building, where they were supposed to meet with bank officials.

This is not the first time a bond holders’ protest turned violent. On November 20, 2014 during the BoC annual general meeting the bond holders again hurled stones and bricks at the building, breaking glasses and threatening bank and government officials.

Earlier this month the bond holders once again clashed with the police when they tried to enter the conference centre in Nicosia where European Central Bank president Mario Draghi was hosting a press conference.

The issue dates back to the late 2000s, when the Bank of Cyprus and now-defunct Laiki Bank issued the first of a series of Convertible Enhanced Capital Securities (CECS), an exotic financial product that offered high yields at high risk.

Of some €2.5 billion issued by the two lenders, most of the securities were purchased by institutional investors, but over €1 billion was sunk by private individuals. They now claim that the bonds were presented to them by their bankers as something of an equivalent to bank deposits, which they most decidedly are not – for example, the issuer (the bank) can opt to buy these bonds back, or not, meaning the investor may never see his or her funds returned.

Following the March 2013 crisis, the CECS issued by the Bank of Cyprus and Laiki were wiped out. Bank of Cyprus’ securities were technically turned into ‘Category C’ bank equity, which basically means they are so far down the line of priority they have zero chance of ever approaching their original value.

The bond holders are now demanding to be compensated, claiming that they were duped by the banks.
The state has urged bond holders to sue the banks. To that end the Cabinet approved on March 3 a proposal for free legal aid.

By Elias Hazou
THE CYPRUS Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) said on Monday that it is on track to roll out its 4G network, denying allegations that authorities deliberately held back the organisation from implementing the technology.
In a statement, CyTA said its 4G project is in the stage of implementation, and that they are on schedule, as agreed between the organisation, the Privatisations Commissioner and the inter-ministerial commission on privatisations.
“There has been no delay whatsoever,” the statement said.
CyTA also rejected claims that it stood to lose revenues over the next few years because private-sector competitors got into the 4G business earlier.
MTN and Primetel are already offering their customers 4G technology.
“This is simply not true, as CyTA will very soon acquire its own 4G network,” the state-owned enterprise said.
CyTA added that it is working on the infrastructure to ensure both maximum 4G coverage and a multitude of related applications.
The statement was in response to the racket raised by the AKEL party and the SIDIKEK-PEO trade union, who earlier claimed that the government was blocking CyTA from acquiring 4G.
Last week AKEL’s mouthpiece Haravghi ran a story claiming that Privatisations Commissioner Constantinos Herodotou, in cahoots with the government, had intentionally obstructed CyTA from introducing the new technology.
Haravghi even came up with a figure, saying CyTA would in the long term lose about €100m as a result of the government tampering.
The aim was clear, AKEL said: it was part of a plot to give private-sector competitors the edge, dealing a blow to CyTA and diminishing its value so that it could then be claimed that the organisation is uncompetitive.
This, said Christos Christofides of AKEL, would give the government more ammunition to argue that privatising CyTA was the right move.
The telecoms provider is one of a number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) slated for privatisation, the revenues to be used by the state to pay down a €10bn international bailout.
According to AKEL, the government’s ultimate goal is for CyTA to be sold on the cheap to private operators and predatory investors.
AKEL is fiercely opposed to the coming privatisations.
Their accusations were rebuffed by the finance minister, who said the Privatisations Commissioner has no authority to meddle in what projects CyTA invests in.
He attributed any delays to red tape.
Sources who did not wish to be named told the Mail that the issue was being deliberately politicised.
Back in September, CyTA requested the funds to invest in the 4G project. Under the relevant law, any SOE slated to be privatised must secure approval for any major investment from the Privatisations Commissioner in consultation with the inter-ministerial committee.
The Privatisations Commissioner, the same sources said, was at the time unable to proceed with examining the request, because he did not have the specialist consultants to aid him in the task.
The government eventually hired the consultants, but not before one-and-a-half months had passed.
The funds for CyTA’s 4G project have since been okayed, the sources said.
It’s understood that CyTA aims to roll out the fourth-generation technology around the end of summer or autumn.

The government has been sounding out the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the possible establishment of a development bank on the island, finance minister Harris Georgiades told MPs on Tuesday.

“We are in dialogue with the European Investment Bank, but there has been no conclusion, the talks are ongoing,” he said at a House Commerce committee meeting.

“There is a simple limitation when you want to set up a bank. You need capital, lots of it, in order for the venture to have any meaning.

“At this time,” added Georgiades, “we do not have the resources to raise this kind of capital.”
He said the government has reached out to other funding sources, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), but that these overtures did not meet with success.

On the EBRD, the minister said it had recently opened offices in Cyprus with a view to investing between €500m and €700m into the economy over a five-year time span.

Late last year the EBRD said it planned to invest at least €100 million annually in Cyprus’ financial and energy sectors as well as in privatisations. The EBRD, which is owned by the European Union, the European Investment Bank and 64 countries, made a €107.5m investment in Bank of Cyprus in mid-2014 and it now holds a 5.02 per cent stake in the bank.

On the EIB’s lending programmes, worth a total of €300m, the minister said he was “cautiously optimistic,” adding that since the beginning of 2015 local commercial banks have started giving out and advertising these loans.

The scheme involves government guarantees worth €300 million for bank loans that will finance development projects and small and medium businesses (SMEs). The lending criteria to SMEs are set by Cypriot banks.

Georgiades said that as far as he knew, at least one local bank has already lent out half the initial amount at its disposal; other commercial banks had not started lending yet.

On another EIB lending facility to SMEs, worth some €100m, Georgiades said that local commercial banks would contribute 50 per cent. The scheme will offer loans at interest rates from 3.4 per cent to 3.9 per cent.

So far, the EIB has struck a deal worth €20m with Bank of Cyprus.

Regarding the €300bn EU-wide financial instrument proposed late last year by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Georgiades said this was another prospect to tap into funds.

The Juncker plan, he added, was at the final stage of planning.

“We are in constant contact to see what would be the best way of making use of this prospect,” the minister said.

Financial commentators have criticised Juncker’s financing scheme as being excessively leveraged and thus risky.

Cash-starved Cyprus is looking to tap financing to reverse an economic slump following the events of March 2013, when its second-largest commercial bank was wound down as part of an international bailout deal.

By Constantinos Psillides

The Cyprus University of Technology (TEPAK) academic faculty has expressed fears over the possibility of a cover up regarding the scandal there.

In a letter sent to the police on Monday, the faculty claim a high ranking police official may be trying to cover up the case because he is related to one of the people involved.

Speaking to CyBC radio on Tuesday, head of the TEPAK academic faculty union Antonis Theocharous said the police official has tried to exert his influence to close the case.

“The academic staff fully support absolute transparency in the university’s dealings. Those who oppose this will find us in their way,” Theocharous said.

Police spokesman Andreas Angelides responded by saying that there was no attempt to influence the investigation and that the police official isn’t part of the investigating squad.

Police chief Zacharias Chrysostomou said that he requested Attorney General Costas Clerides to launch a probe headed by an independent investigator to look into whether the official did indeed try to cover the case up.

The TEPAK case includes shady contracts for around 60 buildings acquired to accommodate students, with the contracts estimated to be in the millions.

A former director of finance at TEPAK and the head of university’s property management service Zenon Achillides, and a 51-year-old contractor Giorgos Hadjigeorgiou are to appear before the Limassol Assize court on June 3 for the first hearing in the case.

The pair face 20 charges including conspiring to commit a felony, forgery, circulating a forged document and obtaining money through false pretences.

Achillides was also charged with receiving bribes and abuse of authority. Both have denied all charges. The charges relate to offences committed between 2005 and 2009, concerning three buildings rented by TEPAK for almost €16m.

By Elias Hazou

Trade unions of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) have announced that workers at the power utility will hold a work stoppage on Friday, followed by three-hour strikes daily as of next week.

The work stoppages are in protest at government plans to privatise the state-owned power company.
A “warning” strike will be held on Friday from 7am to 10am. During this time, the announcement said, the EAC will maintain sufficient staff to operate three steam turbines at the Dhekelia power station and two steam turbines at Vasilikos.

The power utility does not anticipate power cuts on Friday, sources at the EAC said.

But rolling power cuts across the island are likely – depending on electricity demand – starting from Monday, when the EAC will operate just two steam turbines at Dhekelia in the morning.

As of Monday, the strikes will be from 7am to 10pm, daily. The strikes will continue indefinitely.
Power outages during this three-hour window are not likely to last for more than an hour in certain areas, EAC sources said.

To prevent the system from crashing due to the lower capacity, the EAC, working with the Transmission System Operator, will decide if, when and where cuts are necessary and will issue regular advisories to the public, which is urged to limit electricity consumption during those times.

The EAC will operate on a skeleton staff from 7am to 10am. Customer service will likewise be closed during this time, resuming normal service thereafter.

Striking employees will gather outside their workplace and hold demonstrations, the announcement by the four major EAC unions said.

The industrial action is intended to turn the screws on the government, which plans to privatise the EAC in line with its bailout obligations.

To pay down a €10bn international bailout, Cyprus must generate proceeds from privatisation of at least €1bn within the bailout programme period (by 2016) and €0.4bn outside.

Privatisation of the EAC is to be completed by 2018.

The government-appointed Privatisations Commissioner has launched a tender for commissioning an independent consultant to prepare a study into how the legal separation of EAC would be carried out.
The unions want the tender scrapped, and a new study initiated, to be carried out by them, the EAC and the energy ministry – taking the Privatisations Commissioner out of the loop.

“In private conversations I had with them, they put forth this demand in a take-it-or-leave it fashion,” energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said on Tuesday.

“Based on a cabinet decision, instead of going straight to denationalising the EAC, we are proceeding with a study, which has a specific remit,” he told the state broadcaster.

“The study will tell us: can I privatise the EAC? If so, in what way? How do I ensure security of electricity supply, how do I safeguard consumers’ rights?”

Asked whether this meant that the EAC might eventually not be privatised, the minister said: “That is exactly what we want the study to tell us. And if this is the wrong way of going about it, as the trade unions claim, then I don’t know what the right way is.”

According to Lakkotrypis, the study will decide which parts of the EAC can be privatised.

“The EAC itself acknowledges that the organisation comprises competitive parts and monopolistic parts. For example, production is a competitive part, the grids are monopolistic. All this will be examined by the study.

“Now, why all this reaction over the study, I cannot understand,” the minister added.