BUTCHERS ARE threatening to import pork, in response to the anomaly in Cyprus of having high pig prices and low pork prices as a result of “unfair competition” from the supermarkets.

The head of the Cyprus Butchers’ Association, Costas Livadiotis, yesterday said that even though there was a 23 per cent increase in the price of pigs in the past three months alone, the price of pork was being pushed down due to competitive prices offered by supermarkets. 

This, he said, was leading butchers to seek alternative solutions, including thoughts of importing meat from abroad.

Based on the European Union’s official data, he said, Cyprus has the highest price for live pigs in Europe compared to the price at which pork is being sold.  

He said supermarkets were competing with each other to offer the lowest prices, forcing butchers to do the same, which has left them running at a loss. 

“The unfair commercial practices and policies of the supermarkets, using meat as a way to draw people in by selling it at below cost prices, have caused irreversible damage…,” said Livadiotis.

He said farmers’ financial enslavement to supermarkets had “bled the pig farming sector dry” and butchers were now having to pay for the damage.

“Small and medium-sized butchers can no longer tolerate this situation…,” said Livadiotis.

He added that the butchers’ association would not remain inactive. The association “has alternative choices, including the collective import of meat to protect the sector and the consumer”.

Phileleftheros newspaper yesterday published an investigation into the price of meat, which showed that Cyprus’ pork, cows' milk and poultry products were much dearer than the EU average.

Despite the dire state of the island’s farming sector, it showed that only lamb was around 30 per cent cheaper than the EU average. Pork was 20 per cent dearer,  beef milk 60 per cent more expensive, poultry 30 per cent and eggs 20 per cent higher, said the report.

POLICE have charged the leaders of potato farmers organisations with violating traffic regulations during a protest last week.

Famagusta police spokesman George Economou told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that they had charged two men: the head of the Cyprus potato producers’ association, Andreas Karyos, and the head of the Cyprus potato growers’ coordinating committee, Nicos Vasilas. He said charges including violating the highway code.

Vasilas said that he was called to Xylofagou police station on Tuesday afternoon when he was told he was facing charges in relation to the protest.

He and Karyos were among 250 potato growers and producers who last week on Wednesday blocked the Ayia Napa-Larnaca highway with their tractors and double-cabin pickups between 11am and 1pm.

Vasilas told CNA yesterday that on Wednesday last week, it was the police who had escorted the tractors during the demonstration. “Potato growers followed with their tractors. Then the police got in the road, cleared the traffic, blocked the road and signalled us to go,” he said.

The police knew in advance about the protest and diverted traffic for its duration, he said. The Famagusta police spokesman could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Potato growers are unhappy with the movement of produce from the north and have asked foreign minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis to enforce tighter restrictions, including the introduction of labels to explicitly state when produce hails from the north.

CYPRUS will not default on its debts, the government said yesterday, amid a raging war of words with the opposition.

“We will not default on our payments; I am stating it again so that we don’t start the same discussion,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou told reporters.

He had been asked if the country would receive the monetary assistance it had asked for by November to avoid a default.

Cyprus applied for assistance from its EU partners and the International Monetary Fund – the troika -- in June.

Troika officials have visited the island twice since in a bid to assess the scale of the assistance that is expected to be accompanied with painful austerity.

Stefanou rejected suggestions there was a delay in them returning, noting that no date had been set when they were here in July.

He also rejected suggestions that discussions between the two sides have frozen.

“Contacts and consultations with the troika, mainly on a technocratic level, continued in August,” Stefanou said.

Regarding reports that the government disagreed with the troika over the form of the austerity measures, Stefanou said they were in the process of discussions.

“When they come we will continue the negotiations and we will judge where each side is based on the result,” he said.

He added that the government believed any measures should include policies to support growth and social cohesion.

Parties meanwhile continued to trade barbs yesterday over who was responsible for the economy’s sorry state.

DISY spokesman Haris Georgiades accused the administration and ruling AKEL of irresponsibility at a critical time for the economy.

“More worrying of course, is their obstinate refusal, even now, to take decisions and measures to prevent a complete economic collapse,” Georgiades said.

AKEL spokesman Giorgos Loukaides reiterated that the reason for the bailout is the deep banking crisis and DISY cannot twist the truth.

He accused the opposition party of rejecting bills for the contribution of wealth, depriving the state of millions because “simply they wanted to saddle workers of the private and public sectors with the burden.”

A PROFESSIONAL services firm hired to investigate why the country's two largest banks had to seek state support will also seek evidence of potential criminal offences, the Cyprus News Agency reported yesterday, citing Central Bank sources.

“If the firm, before it issues the final report, comes across some evidence, which signals civil or criminal liability” it will inform the Central Bank and give the information to the Attorney-general to examine the matter, CNA said, citing un-named sources inside the Central Bank.

The Central Bank said last week it had appointed Alvarez & Marsal to investigate what led the country's two largest banks, Bank of Cyprus and Popular, to seek state support.

The probe was expected to "provide clarity and comprehension regarding the current financial stress" and guide remediation to strengthen the stability of the banking sector, the Central Bank said in a news release last Friday.

Cypriot bank capital shortfalls from over exposure to Greek debt and their reliance on the government for aid forced Cyprus into seeking a financial bailout from its EU partners in June.

A&M will investigate the conditions under which the bonds were acquired, the banks’ expansion abroad and the responsibility of the regulator.

The result of the investigation will help the Central Bank Governor make the necessary changes if it transpired that certain things must be put on a better basis, the source said.

Popular required state aid to fill a €1.8 billion shortfall in regulatory capital, and the Bank of Cyprus sought €500 million in support when its own recapitalisation efforts fell through.

Both banks posted considerable losses on Greece's debt restructure earlier this year, agreed by European Union leaders to make that country's debt more sustainable

BANK of Cyprus (BoC) chairman Theodoros Aristodemou has resigned for health reasons, it was announced yesterday.

Aristodemou, a property developer, said in a letter to the board that "serious health issues" had forced a two-month absence abroad, and it was unclear when he could fully resume his duties.

“I judge that continuing to hold the position of president does not facilitate the smooth and unhindered operation of the group at an especially difficult time,” Aristodemou said.

Aristodemou, the lender’s biggest Cypriot shareholder, assumed the chairmanship in May 2008. He had been a member of the board since 1991.

In his letter, Aristodemou refrained from entering the ongoing banking fray, saying it would not contribute positively.

BoC sought €500 million in state assistance after its regulatory capital was depleted by a debt restructuring for Greece earlier this year.

Cyprus itself sought a bailout from European Union partners in June to cover both its fiscal requirements and the capital needs of BoC and Popular Bank, the second largest lender, which needed €1.8 billion.

Both were heavily exposed to Greek debt.

Aristodemou’s resignation follows the departure of CEO Andreas Eliades early in July.

Eliades resigned citing a lack of coordination in dealing with Europe's banking crisis as his reason.

In recent days there have been numerous negative reports in the media regarding the practices that put the banks in hot water.

BoC in particular has been the subject of many a news story in the past week, prompting its management to say it would not comment further on such reports.

The lender said the contents of the reports are being investigated by BoC itself and regulators and commenting would not offer anything more.

“The bank’s new administration has assumed a difficult task and it is very unproductive to deal with announcements and commenting on such reports on a daily basis,” a written statement said. 

A number of the reports are based on leaked documents, a matter currently under investigation by the bank.

It warned that any actions that violate the law and its own rules would be “dealt with with determination.” 

GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN Stefanos Stefanou yesterday defended the government’s decision to hire a Turkish Cypriot at Cyprus’ permanent representation in Brussels, citing “political reasons”. 

The spokesman was put in the rather unusual position of having to explain why a Turkish Cypriot holding a degree from a university in the north was hired for the purposes of Cyprus’ EU Presidency following an article in yesterday’s Phileleftheros. 

The popular Greek Cypriot daily ran an article on its front page, saying “serious questions were raised by the conditions under which a Turkish Cypriot was hired for the Cyprus Presidency”, highlighting that the person in question graduated from a university in the breakaway regime. 

The report, which resembled more an opinion piece, claimed the man was hired using “express” procedures, without elaborating further. 

It noted that he also holds a masters degree from a British university, and questioned how a British university could accept a student with a degree from a university in the north.  

The article questioned whether the Cypriot official’s degree in hotel management was at all relevant to the EU Presidency, concluding: “The Turkish Cypriot’s employment with a degree from the pseudostate undermines the policy followed all these years by the Cyprus Republic regarding the illegal universities in the occupied areas”.  

Asked to comment on the report, Stefanou felt compelled to respond to the points raised in Phileleftheros, noting that the Republic does not recognise the universities in the north. “One cannot ignore the fact that he holds a masters from a British university,” he added. 

He argued all normal procedures were followed correctly.  

“There is the technocratic aspect of the issue, but also the political aspect on which we must all conclude. Because lately there is much talk about electricity, the Green Line Regulation and other issues. We should all first reach a conclusion on what it is we all want politically,” he said.

“The government’s position is very clear: we need to show in a variety of ways both abroad, especially the EU, and to the Turkish Cypriots that the Cyprus Republic takes care of everyone and has a place for everyone.”

He added: “If some, through various positions, want to close the checkpoints, build a wall between the free areas and the occupied areas and deliver once and for all the Turkish Cypriots to Turkey, especially those who are against the occupation, like in this specific case, then let’s decide this.”  

SHEEP AND goat farmers were yesterday promised a series of measures to help their profession survive, though Agriculture Minister Sophoclis Aletraris made it clear that a decision to halve state funding would not be revoked for the time being.

A meeting was held at the agriculture ministry to find ways to help the sector, after farmers last week took to the streets to protest a recent cabinet decision taking their state subsidy from €12 million to under €6 million. The protests even turned violent, with farmers saying their profession was buckling under the constant increase in international animal feed prices.

Among Aletraris’ suggestions yesterday was to include a member of his ministry in the Cyprus Grain Commission, which farmers have been accusing of benefiting from the price hikes, instead of protecting farmers.

Another pressing matter for the minister was for farmers to become more organised in seeking their rights.

Describing the meeting as “useful”, Aletraris stressed that the government’s decision on farmers’ funding was non-negotiable for the time being though a number of other measures were discussed to help support the sector.

“It is true that animal feed prices are at an all-time high at the moment,” said Aletraris, who relayed farmers’ claims that the Cyprus Grain Commission was failing to protect them.

“Some feel the commission doesn’t help farmers and instead operates more like a trader,” said Aletraris.

He said that while he didn’t share this view, he planned to table a suggestion for his ministry to be represented in the commission, “so we can give clearer and more convincing answers on the matter of animal feed”.

The grain commission became autonomous following Cyprus’ accession to the EU in 2004 and while its nine members are appointed by the cabinet, it receives no funding from the state.

The minister also repeated his plans to discuss the high animal feed prices with the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers next month, with the aim of seeking some sort of assistance from the European Commission.

Water and electricity prices were also discussed, as were plans to provide state institutions – such as the National Guard and hospitals – with lamb.

Furthermore, the ministry promised to help sheep and goat farmers’ associations draw up standard contracts for supplying dairy manufacturing industries.

“We also discussed various measures for managing their farms, which were suggested by the Agricultural Research Institute, with the aim of reducing production costs,” said Aletraris, adding that a special ministerial delegation would be appointed to visit farmers and inform them on various cost-cutting measures, as well as ways to improve productivity.

Farmers also have the September 1 enforcement of a ministerial order determining the minimum share of sheep and goat’s milk in halloumi manufacturing to look forward to. Aletraris said the aim of the order, which was not welcomed by cheese manufacturers, who have so far used higher quantities of the more readily available cow’s milk, was to ensure that all sheep and goat milk is utilised.

The minister and farmers discussed the lack of organisation in the latter’s sector, with Aletraris urging them to create a joint association to reinforce their positions.

“There are quite a few organisations at the moment that need to unite and create groups or form a confederation, so their voice can become stronger and their negotiating power can increase,” said the minister.

He repeated the government’s will to help sheep and goat farmers, “because in my view, this sector is truly the most beleaguered and hard-done-by sector in our farming world”.

Reaffirming the lack of an organised approach, farming organisations departing the meeting offered a mixed approach to the minister’s proposed measures.

Some called on farmers to just take the funding offered by the state and decide how to seek the other 50 per cent later. Others said they simply would not accept the halving of the state subsidy.  

The head of Paphos sheep and goat farmers association, Evagoras Chrysanthou, said his organisation would continue to refuse its subsidies being halved. “We’re already finished,” said Chrysanthou.

The head of union Agrotiki, Giorgos Mouttas, agreed. “We refused the 50 per cent cut because this would be yet another obstacle in the downward spiral the sector is taking,” said Mouttas.

The general secretary of Panagrotikos, Nectarios Karyos, said that even if the full €12 million was given to the sector, the massive problems would not be resolved unless some serious structural changes in the agricultural policy were made.

However, the general secretary of the Euro-Agricultural organisation, Lambros Achilleos, urged farmers to accept the 50 per cent cut, “as there is a possibility that the funds will not be secured for the remaining 50 per cent and they should salvage what they can”.

The head of union PEK, Christos Papapetrou, said the €6 million would be a breather for farmers, who he said should take what the government was offering, without however “abrogating the demand for the remaining 50 per cent”.

POLICE only video-record trouble that may take place during gatherings, the chief of police said yesterday, as he defended the force against criticism that it was keeping tabs on people.

The force has come under fire after it was reported that they had been filming a farmers’ protest, which turned violent, outside the presidential palace last week.

The personal data commissioner said filming or taking photographs in anticipation of trouble is not legally allowed.

Police chief Michalis Papageorgiou said unsubstantiated criticism, without taking all views into consideration, can only do damage to the police and society in general.

He suggested that the data commissioner had taken a stance solely based on media reports and not on what had actually happened that day.

Based on current legislation, ”I have the strong view that the police have the authority to be present at such events, to maintain order and prevent crimes and if a crime is perpetrated, to investigate and resolve it,” Papageorgiou said.

He said officers go to events deemed high risk and start taking pictures or film “only when there is trouble. There is no reason to do so before that.”

Papageorgiou added that because the personal data legislation is almost the same in all EU countries, the force has asked its partners to inform it on what they do in such cases.

“When we get all the replies we will discuss the matter with the personal data commissioner and ask the attorney-general for a final decision,” Papageorgiou said.

The chief wondered why other EU countries had security cameras in public places while Cyprus did not.

He pointed out that members of the force had been disciplined for beating two students based on footage filmed by a private citizen.

“Can’t the police take pictures and video in order to resolve any potential offences? This is the reasonable question that every citizen must answer,” Papageorgiou said.

The chief said photos and video were not stored as there was no reason.

The material is only used to locate and arrest those implicated in criminal offences and for court purposes. “Nothing else,” he said.

Police said so far 12 EU countries have responded, saying that with or without legislation, they take photos and video of public assemblies, protests or football games and keep archives with the footage.

A HUGE fuss has been created over police officers filming farmers during last week’s violent demonstration outside the presidential palace.

Among the detractors was the commissioner for the protection of personal data Yiannos Danielides, who said the police action was a form of personal data processing and should cease. “Any processing has to be legal, have a specific purpose and not be excessive,” he said. 

Police chief Michalis Papageorgiou responded angrily yesterday saying it was perfectly within the force’s right to take video footage at violent protests. He said no filming was done up to the point the violence broke out. Also he asked several other member states what their policies were.

What is very strange here is that since personal data protection is regulated under an EU directive, how is it possible that  neither the police chief nor the commissioner were able to state their facts for certain.

A cursory search for the directive reveals that it “does not apply to the processing of data in the course of an activity which falls outside the scope of Community law, such as operations concerning public security, defence or State security”.

This clearly puts the police well within their rights to film at the protest. 

We live in an age of technology where surveillance is the norm. There are CCTV cameras in banks, kiosks, shops and airports; often they help to solve crime.  

There is a huge difference between a ‘surveillance society’ where authorities randomly or secretly film people going about their daily business, and police taking precautionary measures during a demonstration. 

Like it or not there is a bigger chance of trouble happening at a protest, or a football match and if someone was hurt or killed, everyone would be critical if police failed to catch the culprits. 

In fact people who participate in protests or football matches should expect to be filmed as a matter of routine. 

But police should do it more openly instead of posing as civilians as was reported after the farmers' demo. Police officers running around clandestinely do not inspire trust.  

The real danger with data collection is not the act of collecting information but for what it might be used by the collector, which is where the commissioner’s role comes in but he may need to be a little less zealous.

There needs to be some perspective when personal data regulations clash with other laws. 

During the term of the previous commissioner, the former mayor of Strovolos thought he was doing a good thing by taking photos of cars parked on pavements and using them to fine the culprits, until he was stopped under the personal data law – a decision upheld by the Supreme Court. 

Was any thought was given to the fact that these selfish drivers were not only breaking traffic laws, but were also violating the rights of pedestrians and the disabled?  

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday lamented the sorry state of the domestic political front and what he called the “lack of understanding” in the country, saying it is one of the reasons he had decided not to run for president again.

In an emotional few moments as he spoke with delegations of overseas Cypriots,  Christofias said: “I do not know if I am leaving with a heavy heart or whether a great weight will be lifted from me, considering there is no mutual understanding in this place,” Christofias told the delegations of overseas Cypriots. “I am sorry for the situation on the domestic front.”

Without naming him, the president accused main opposition DISY leader Nicos Anastasiades of lying when he said “the president of the Republic had never called him“. He was referring to talks with the island’s lenders, the troika.

“What should I say now? That he is lying? We come to the point where we have dragged the level of our political life very low,” Christofias said.

He added: “It is one of the reasons why I have taken the decision to stand down.”

The president said cooperation with overseas Cypriots was excellent and wished that the same spirit was shown on the domestic front.

Referring back to the troika, Christofias said no political pressure had been exercised on Cyprus to apply for financial assistance.

“And I think they will not dare exercise political pressure because we are absolutely clear concerning our positions on the Cyprus problem and the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereignty on hydrocarbon matters,” he said.

He pledged not to give in to any pressure, if exercised, as long as he is president.

He also rejected suggestions that allowances given to Turkish Cypriots worsened the deficits. “These are fairytales and unfortunately these are also used” (against him).

Christofias once more blamed the economy’s predicament on the banks and accused the former Central Bank governor of not properly regulating them.

He said the discovery of offshore natural gas reserves was a blessing but it did not mean not taking measures to consolidate the economy.

He said if Turkey wanted to be creative they would seize the opportunity stemming from the discovery and the future potential.

“The peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem would lead to a situation where Greece and Turkey would have preferential treatment. But Turkey’s policy is short-sighted and could boomerang in the end,” he said.

Christofias defended his policy on the Cyprus problem, saying he was just trying to flesh out what Makarios defined – “a great leader they did not dare dispute.”

“A lot of presidents have gone by, it looks like they are bothered by the current one because he did not try to mock the international community nor avoid the solution of the Cyprus problem,” Christofias said. “It is everyone’s right to criticise but it is no one’s right to twist reality and political positions. This bothers me a lot. And this happens in our daily life.”

President Demetris Christofias addressing overseas Cypriots

THREE men were yesterday sentenced to seven and five months in jail in connection with fan violence that saw a European football match abandoned in August.

Two of the men, aged 22 and 26, were jailed for seven months and a 25-year-old got five months.

The three had taken part in a pitch invasion that forced the referee to abandon the Europa League fixture between Anorthosis Famagusta and Georgian side Dila Gori.

They also faced charges in connection with destroying a television camera worth around €50,000.

"Good behavior should be the rule and not the exception and sporting grounds playgrounds should become – as in the past – places for entertainment, sportsmanship and healthy competition,” the court said. “Games must stop being used as excuses for vandalism and the expression of intolerance.”

The court added: “Those who cannot control themselves should realise that they will pay a heavy price for their behaviour.”

Four others, aged between 20 and 27, have already been jailed for four months for their participation in the trouble.

It started when a local fan ran onto the pitch a few minutes before the final whistle and headed towards the home team goalie, as Dila Gori led 3-0.

Police tried to arrest the man as other supporters poured onto the pitch to stop them, forcing the referee to abandon the game.

Anorthosis has been fined €50,000 by the European football authority, UEFA, and will also play their next three European games behind closed doors

TO MARK its opening, UCLan (University of Central Lancashire) Cyprus, the Republic’s only British university, will subsidise all students who register this year, it was announced yesterday.

UCLan said it has decided to fund the studies of all students who will register this year, cutting €2,950 per year from their tuition fees.

Each student will pay €7,000 per year of study instead of €9,950 the university said.

The offer is also valid for students registering now for the next academic year and those who wish to transfer to UCLan from other schools.

Classes start on October 2, at the university’s brand new premises located in Pyla, Larnaca.

The university is housed in a modern building with  electronic and telecommunication technology, wireless access and fiber optic support, a library with an international network of scientific data and research materials, computer laboratories, an imposing amphitheatre and interactive classrooms and full access and support for people with special needs.

Over 350 consultants, technicians and workers from Cyprus worked to complete the first building on the campus in only 180 days. This first phase of the campus provides an area of 7,000 square metres and will serve the needs of the first cohort of students for 2012.

In the next few years, the total buildings will be expanded to 48,000 square metres to serve the needs of up to 5,000 students.

The campus is now open for prospective students and their parents for daily tours.

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) was established in 1828.

It is the seventh largest University in the UK with 35,000 students, and contributes £300 million annually to the regional economy of the North West of England. It has been voted the leading modern university in the North West of England for the last five years. It is also the first Modern University in the UK to be listed in the QS World Rankings in 2010

SHEEP and goat farmers must not be swayed by empty promises from deputies that they will continue getting a state subsidy, which was halved this year and is due to expire under EU rules, agriculture minister Sophoclis Aletraris said yesterday.

Aletraris was in Parliament where main opposition DISY deputies tabled a discussion on the issue, following a series of protests by the sheep and goat farmers.

The cabinet decided in August to halve a state subsidy to the farmers offering them €5.2 million to be distributed among them depending on livestock numbers.

“We didn’t cut our own wages in half, how can we so thoughtlessly do this to the farmers?” said DISY MP Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis.

The average yearly income loss comes to €1,763 per farmer based on data given by the assistant commissioner of the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation (KOAP), Christos Mavrokordatos. 

When Cyprus entered the EU in 2004, it had secured approval to offer state funding to farmers, but this expires this year, Aletraris said. “I’ve heard deputies promise the funding will continue. This is the last year so I say this to farmers; do not accept empty promises,” he said.

The funding was given as support for the anticipated rise in animal feed prices post EU accession, and was designed to gradually decrease over the years, Mavrokordatos said.

Mavrokordatos added that 2,950 applications were filed for 2012 payments from farmers who collectively had about 435,000 animals. They expected at least €10.4 million between them – if not more - but got half of that which comes to €11.50 per animal. 

Some bigger farmers were due to get a bigger slice of the pie and were expecting even €30,000, said the head of the Paphos sheep and goat farmers’ association, Evagoras Chrysanthou.

Chrysanthou said that Paphos’ farmers were planning to let their animals loose in the district on Monday. He threatened this in August as well and retracted, after Aletraris asked the farmers to continue discussion.

Other farmers asked to get the rest of their subsidy from the government bailout, if and when it comes.

Aletraris said the state could not afford to pay any more but enlisted support measures.

These include meeting with the electricity authority and the water board to negotiate better billing schemes, and securing a guaranteed proportion of goat and sheep milk in halloumi cheese. And Aletraris said that animal feed prices had dropped somewhat.

A farmers’ delegation also met yesterday with ruling party AKEL’s general secretary Andros Kyprianou who supported Aletraris.

Opposition parties EDEK and DIKO asked the government to eventually pay the remaining subsidy in separate statements yesterday.

POLICE are on the lookout for a motorist who ran over a policeman on Wednesday afternoon, after he attempted to book him for running a red light.

According to police, the incident took place at a little before 7pm. The officer in question had just finished his shift and was riding his motorbike home when he spotted the driver running the red light on Strovolos Avenue. Police said there was immediate risk of an accident.

“The policeman immediately cautioned him to pull over and once the driver did this, (the officer) got off his bike and approached him on foot,” said the police. 

The driver then started shouting insults at the policeman, and while the officer was directly in front of the car, the driver started it up and drove straight into him. The 36-year-old officer was hit by the bumper, thrown onto the car bonnet and then onto the road. The driver sped off in an unknown direction.

The policeman was taken to Nicosia general hospital, where his left shoulder and right thigh were treated.

An investigation led police to secure an arrest warrant for a 33-year-old man from Nicosia, who could face charges of attempted murder.

IT WAS fisherman’s paradise yesterday in the Limassol area after thousands of sea bream were released from a nearby fish farm.

The company which owns the farm, off Governor’s Beach, said the cages had been sabotaged, releasing some 70 tonnes of sea bream worth around €400,000.

That did not matter much to dozens of fisherman who scrambled to the Governor’s Beach area after hearing that thousands of fish were loose.

Television footage showed lines of fishermen knee-high in the water, filling bucket after bucket with sea bream.

“They caught a lot, they filled dustbins,” one said. 

One man said he caught five kilos in two hours – a woman said she netted 25 fish.

Nets, buckets, coolers, were all filled to the brim.

For some, it appeared that catching them took as long as changing the bait.

“As long as they bite we will be here,” said a man who had caught three kilos.

Authorities said the company had reported to police that the release was an act of sabotage.

The company said it must have taken place between 4pm on Tuesday and 6am Wednesday.

They told police that the perpetrator or perpetrators had cut 56 ropes that supported the cages causing them to sink and setting the fish free.

FAMAGUSTA District Court yesterday remanded 13 municipal beach workers for eight days, after they were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of embezzling a reported €500,000 by pocketing the takings from sunbed rentals.

The most popular method used, the court heard, was by re-issuing receipts. Someone would pay for their sunbed and/or umbrella and the municipal worker would re-print the previous customer’s receipt on the ticket dispensing machines introduced by Paralimni municipality two years ago.

Between May 21 and August 14, police found there were over €220,000 worth of re-printed receipts. Other methods under investigation include handing out handwritten or blank receipts, leading the municipality to suspect that as much as €500,000 was embezzled this tourist period alone.

The court heard that nine of the suspects had confessed, while the other four deny any involvement.

After complaints from the public, combined with the suspicion that money was going astray, the municipality notified police in July. Their investigation led to the 13 suspects.

They are facing charges of deception, abuse of trust by a public official, illegal activities and conspiracy to commit a crime. The latter charge – whether the suspects were in cahoots and the crime was organised – is something the police are looking into, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said. 

Paralimni mayor Theodoros Pyrillis yesterday said rumours of such wrongdoings had been circulating Paralimni for the past four to five years.

“We knew we had to either prove it wasn’t going on, or prove it was,” said Pyrillis. “With this in mind, when this year’s tourist period started, I gathered the beach workers… I told them that we had a duty to prove that what was being said about them were just rumours. We said we didn’t believe it was going on, but we had an obligation to prove it.”

But he added: “Unfortunately, it appears – though we need to wait for the relevant investigations to wrap – that something is going on”.

The suspects were caught out after the municipality decided to alter its checking system, making the workers report on a monthly instead of a daily basis, the court heard. This way, it apparently became harder for workers to keep check of what they were doing, as they started handing over different amounts to those registered on the machines’ software system.

Taking a closer look, the municipality found that between July 8 and July 27, the suspects had shortages of between €12.50 and €727.50 each.

Apart from re-issuing tickets, police – who also worked undercover and posed as beachgoers to investigate – told court the suspects had also issued blank or handwritten receipts. Often they didn’t even issue a receipt.

The town’s mayor has called on the public to be more vigilant. 

“A vast amount of people don’t even ask for receipts,” he explained. “From what has emerged, it seems people were getting receipts but not checking them.”

Investigations spotted a €221,645.50 discrepancy. The suspects are believed to have pocketed amounts from €1,752.50 and going up to €32,377.50.

Upon their arrest, police found €25,926.18 in cash on them in total, with one suspect having around €10,000 in his pocket, said Angelides.

The Paralimni mayor said the exact amount that was embezzled could be way higher than the initially estimated €500,000, which he said appeared to have come from  this tourist period alone.

At times when austerity-hit municipalities and local authorities have been crying for help – in mid August, the Union of Municipalities sent a plea to the government and parliament for financial assistance, saying they would soon be forced to suspend services or even shut down altogether – Pyrillis said this was too large an amount to be dismissed.

“During these difficult times, we have a duty to make ends meet. But if you had half a million, you would do a lot for your district. It is a lot of money,” he said.

Police have so far taken 20 statements and plan another 30, the court was told.

The suspects will also stand in a line-up so the members of public who filed complaints can identify them.

The judge yesterday accepted the force’s request for the suspects’ eight-day remand, to assist investigations. 

THE austerity enforced by international lenders in other countries has not resolved any problems, ruling AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said yesterday, reiterating that what is necessary for the Cypriot economy to recover is growth.

“On the contrary, it has led many countries into protracted recession,” Kyprianou said. “There are problems in all the countries where austerity measures only were implemented,” he added, referring to Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Hungary.

Cyprus sought financial assistance from its EU partners and the IMF – the troika -- in June. The amount of the bailout has not yet been set but it is certain that it will be accompanied with painful austerity measures.

Kyprianou said political parties in Cyprus must convince that what was primarily necessary was growth “to achieve recovery of the Cypriot economy and curb unemployment.”

Officials have said that they have been in touch with the lenders throughout August, but the perceived delay in their return to the island was yesterday attributed to a lack of response from Nicosia.

Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly has said that the troika had given Cyprus a document, at the end of July, which he said could be part of the "building blocks" towards a memorandum of understanding.

Daily Phileleftheros reported yesterday, without naming its sources, that the troika was unhappy over the delay in Cyprus submitting its counter-proposals.

The newspaper said this was linked to Nicosia’s request for a €5.0 billion loan from Russia, a view voiced repeatedly by the opposition.

Moscow has not yet responded.

AKEL chief Kyprianou said the troika had submitted ideas – not proposals – which will be discussed and the Cypriot side will table its arguments.

“It’s very early for anyone to take a stance in my view, concerning what they will do when the troika submits any proposals,” Kyprianou said.

Meanwhile, main opposition leader and presidential hopeful Nicos Anastasiades reiterated his call for a common action plan “that will bind everyone so that we secure its implementation without worrying about political cost.”

Anastasiades said the big challenge for Cyprus was not just securing a loan.

“To tackle the crisis we need a comprehensive programme of reform that would lead to growth, consolidation of public finances and the creation of jobs.”

Anastasiades’ call came after a bitter spat with AKEL and the government that saw the two sides holding news conferences and issuing statements two to three or more times in one day.

BANK employees yesterday turned down an early retirement scheme offered to a section of Popular Bank staff, and served notice that any similar plan that might follow must bear their stamp of approval.

The decision was taken at a general meeting of the Cyprus Union of Bank Employees (ETYK) to discuss an early exit plan put to around 180 staff at the Popular Bank.

The meeting was called amid rumours that a number of employees were being approached by management and coerced into agreeing to early retirement.

The scheme is part of major downsizing at Popular that also involves shutting down a number of branches here and in Greece.

The bank, which needs some €1.8 billion in bailout funds, currently employs some 2,500 staff in Cyprus, and must reduce its payroll by 12 per cent within 2012.

ETYK boss Loizos Hadjicostis later told newsmen the package offered to bank staff was “degrading and unacceptable,” but did not go into details.

He said only a small minority of employees had taken the deal, as a result of which the bank decided to revise the scheme. This proved the scheme lacked “seriousness.”

Asked what would happen should the bank insist on the plan, Hadjicostis said the bank could not do so, as the plan was on a voluntary basis.

“If the employees do not agree to it, then the bank cannot insist. But if there is blackmail and pressure, we have the means to react,” he stressed.

“We call on the [Popular] Bank, if it so wishes, to submit any future plan, but in a serious manner and in writing to the leadership of ETYK,” he added.

The union boss hinted the bank had tried to slip the plan through the back door, for example by not submitting it in writing as it should have done.

As such, ETYK now demands that any future scheme would have to be presented formally to the union and be negotiated with it.

Without naming names, the union boss went on to slam bank officials for leaking to the press rumours that the bank would be massively scaled down. The purpose of these leaks was clearly to “motivate” employees into accepting the early exit scheme, he said.

“All this is aimed at shattering the staff’s confidence in the future of the bank and their own survival, apparently oblivious to the fact that the same [negative] message is being sent to the bank’s customers as well.”

Earlier, a Popular Bank spokesman had said the early retirement scheme concerned 185 employees who would have retired at any point from now until 2017.

Under the plan, they would be entitled to lump sums and some salary benefits, depending on their service. Until recently, bank employees received their provident fund on retirement, which accounted for 78 monthly wages for those with a service of over 36 years.

Some employees were reportedly worried their lump sums would be taxed, depending on the outcome of the government’s negotiations with the troika – the EU delegation in charge of Cyprus’ request for bailout. Until now, they were not taxed and these concerns had led to an increase in employees seeking early retirement.

Meanwhile a group of Bank of Cyprus investors are suing the bank to the tune of €2 million.

A written statement released yesterday by the investors’ lawyers said they are demanding compensation for up to €2 million for damages incurred in the period 1999 to 2012.

The lawsuit is directed at the bank but also top figures including former CEO Andreas Eliades and Solon Triantafyllides former chairman of the board of directors.

Among other things, the bank is being sued for allegedly having made false representations to investors, predatory lending, abusive practices, misrepresentation of financial results and/or outright falsification thereof, including concealment of losses or risk, and exposure of the bank to international speculators.

The island’s largest lender, the Bank of Cyprus is in hot water and could need as much as €700 million in aid.

THE AUTHORITIES must be congratulated for getting tough with the football hooligans and adopting a zero-tolerance approach. 

Yesterday another three hooligans were given prison sentences (seven months for two of them and five months for the other) by Larnaca district court, for causing trouble on the pitch and destroying a television camera during a Europa League qualifying game. A day earlier, a 22-year-old man was sentenced to four months in prison for causing trouble at the same game; the same sentence was imposed previously on another three men, charged with the same offence. Before that a 17-year-old was banned from football grounds for three months.

What is even more commendable is the speedy handling of the cases. Normally, it would have taken two years before a suspected hooligan appeared before a judge, whereas the latest cases were dealt with in record time. Within a month of committing the offences, the troublemakers were tried and sentenced.

Nobody likes to see young men serving time – they were in their 20s – but the truth is that the authorities had to get tough. For too long tolerance was shown to hooligans who were often let off with nothing more than a police warning or a fine, if the case went to court. This approach, obviously, did not work with more and more incidents of hooliganism every year.

There were attacks on buses carrying supporters, pitched battles outside stadiums, attacks on policemen and use of Molotov cocktails, not to mention the damage caused to property. Many were injured in the trouble, but fortunately there were no fatalities, which could not have been ruled out if there was no tough action. 

Against this background and with the danger of hooliganism veering totally out of control, prison sentences became an imperative. It is the strongest possible deterrent against violent and threatening behaviour at football grounds. Youngsters will think twice about engaging in mindless acts of hooliganism when there is the possibility of a prison sentence if they are caught. 

The hooligans had left society with no choice other than a zero tolerance policy, which needs to be maintained if crowd trouble at sports events is to be eliminated. We hope the tough measures were not taken to impress UEFA, European football’s governing body, given that the crowd trouble took place during a European fixture. The zero tolerance approach needs to be maintained by the police and the courts, because it is the only way to end the hooliganism that plagues Cyprus sport. 

THE EUROPEAN Central Bank yesterday unveiled its most ambitious plan yet to halt Europe's financial crisis with a pledge to buy unlimited amounts of the government bonds of countries struggling to manage their debts.

Large-scale purchases of short-term government bonds would drive up their price and push down their interest rate, or yield, making it less expensive for countries to borrow money.

It represents the clearest sign yet that ECB president Mario Draghi is willing to live up to his pledge to do "whatever it takes" to save the single currency.

"Under appropriate conditions, we will have a fully effective backstop to prevent potentially destructive scenarios," Draghi told a news conference after the central bank's monthly meeting.

Draghi said the ECB would only help countries that signed up to and implemented strict policy conditions, with the euro-zone's rescue fund also buying their bonds, and preferably with the IMF involved in designing and monitoring the conditions.

The new plan goes well beyond the ECB's earlier, limited bond-purchase programme, which was not big enough to decisively lower borrowing costs.

After the ECB plan - dubbed Outright Monetary Transactions or OMT - was announced, the yields on government bonds across Europe fell and stock markets rallied.

"This is a potential game-changer," says Jacob Kirkegaard, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "This is the first time the ECB has committed its balance sheet in this way. And the way it is done is politically sustainable in Europe."

But the ECB's pledge of support came with a caveat: countries that want the central bank to help with their debts must first seek emergency aid from the bailout funds managed by the 17 countries that use the euro and submit their economic policies to the scrutiny of the International Monetary Fund. That puts enormous pressure on heavily indebted countries such as Spain and Italy, which have been reluctant to seek help from their euro partners.

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, welcomed the ECB plan and said the organisation stood "ready to co-operate".

Analysts warned that while the ECB plan would provide short-term relief to European countries and financial markets, it does not address underlying economic weakness across the region, which could persist for years.

Still, investors cheered the move. Spain's interest rate on three-year bond was down 0.17 percentage points to 3.73 % while its 10-year bond was down 0.3 percentage points on the day at 6.12%. Meanwhile Italy's 10-year rate was down 0.1 percentage points at 5.33% and its rate for three-year bonds was down 0.06 percentage points to 3.02%.

In Europe, Germany's DAX was up 2.7% at 7,153 while the CAC-40 in France surged 2.7% to 3,497. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 1.6% higher at 5,750.

The possibility of ECB intervention impresses markets because, in theory, the central bank has unlimited funds at its disposal.

As the issuer of the euro currency, it can simply create new money to buy the bonds from banks. The eurozone's bailout funds could buy bonds as well, but they have concrete limits on their finances set by governments that are putting up taxpayer money - and much of that is already committed anyway to bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Still, rescuing governments from immediate disaster will only buy the eurozone time to fix its underlying problems. For one, the purchases do not solve the chronic imbalances that plague the currency union, with some countries able to export and grow while others remain uncompetitive.

There were other technical but important details revealed yesterday  The ECB agreed to give up preferred creditor status, which could have frightened away countries' other creditors afraid they would take all the losses in case of a default.

It also agreed to ward off any increase in the supply of money in the economy, a side effect of making purchases with newly created money. The bank said it would withdraw an equivalent amount from the financial system, which it can do by taking deposits or selling notes. That helps deflect off any criticism it is using its monetary powers to finance governments, which it is forbidden to do by the European Union treaty that created the euro.

The head of Germany's Bundesbank national central bank, Jens Weidmann, has opposed the bond purchases. He says they are too close to outright financing of governments. The treaty bars the ECB from loaning directly to governments.

The bank also left the refinancing rate unchanged at 0.75%, a record low.

Some analysts believed the programme unveiled yesterday would not solve the underlying problems in the eurozone, however. "Without trying to be a 'party pooper'," said Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital, "suppressed borrowing costs certainly provide relief in the short term but do not resolve problems of solvency and debt unsustainability."

Draghi partly acknowledged that fear in his statement, saying that governments needed "to push ahead with great determination" to bring down budget deficits and make their economies grow faster.

Draghi said bond buys would be linked to "strict and effective conditionality" and that purchases would be focused on debt maturities up to three years.

"The involvement of the IMF shall be sought also for the design of country-specific conditionality and the monitoring of such programmes," he said, adding that now it was up to the governments of the euro zone to act. 

Yesterday’s move came as think-tank the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned the eurozone remained "the most important risk for the global economy".