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Greens: exit polls should be abolished

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By Peter Stevenson

THE PUBLICATION or broadcasting of election exit polls could bring with it a six month jail sentence or a €1,000 fine after the Green Party proposed a new law at the House Environment Committee yesterday.

Greens MP, George Perdikis cited the recent incorrect exit polls which followed the Presidential elections on February 17 as the reason.

He told the Cyprus Mail that although he believes they should be stopped altogether, he was willing to discuss some form of compromise.

“I think it’s a mistake to ask people immediately after they have voted who they selected but I do not have a hard line on the proposal and am willing to discuss the matter with the other MPs,” he said.

The polls had been way off the mark, predicting an outright win from the first weekend of voting with over 50 per cent of the vote, for the eventual winner, President Nicos Anastasiades. They had also underestimated the numbers for third placed Giorgos Lillikas although the exit polls were consistent in their error, yielding very similar projections for the three main contenders.

Pundits and journalists were baffled as to how the surveys could have got it so wrong.

Yiannis Mavris, an elections analyst for state broadcaster CyBC, speculated that voters did not deliberately seek to deceive pollsters. Rather, he said, “for psychological reasons” many people just coming out of the ballot booth tend to cite the candidate they think is most likely to win.

According to political analyst Christoforos Christoforou, the discrepancy between the actual results and the exit polls was probably due to a combination of false disclosure on the part of respondents and the methodology used by pollsters. For example, exit polls conducted by phone may not be able to reach some of the sampled respondents, however the no-response is still factored in.

“Court decisions in certain countries clearly state that a ban on opinion polls and exit polls is breaching freedom of expression,” he said.

Christoforou added that exit polls and opinion polls are neither a forecast or the final result so they should not be taken so seriously.

He said he believes the Green’s proposal should be dismissed and the seven-day ban on opinion polls prior to elections should also be abandoned.

A series of polls conducted during the election campaign had given Anastasiades anywhere from 42 to 48 per cent.

Perdikis claimed that the exit polls were used strategically by the political parties to mislead the voters and change the outcome. “It is a fact that political parties used the exit polls to tell their voters to vote for other candidates in an attempt to alter the result,” he said.

According to the proposal, exit polls would be banned from taking place and also from being broadcast or published by TV and radio stations. The punishment for not adhering to the law could be a six month jail sentence or a fine of €1,000, or both.

Perdikis also told the Mail he was thinking of withdrawing his 2010 proposed bill to carry out noise pollution tests at Larnaca and Paphos Airports after little encouragement from the government and other MPs. He revealed that when he had put forward the bill, Hermes Airports, which manage the two airports said they were not interested in carrying out any such tests. Since then, Perdikis said, the company has carried out noise pollution tests while MPs and the government hesitate.

The tests carried out by an internationally recognised company which specialises in noise pollution indicated that levels were below the EU designated limits.

“It would appear a private company like Hermes has more of a conscience than our members of parliament and government,” he concluded.


Leading peace negotiators to visit

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By Maria Gregoriou

LEADING peace negotiators will visit Cyprus on June 18 to discuss the benefits and challenges of participatory peace processes with senior politicians, businesses and civic leaders in both communities.

The London-based organisation Engi Conflict Management is bringing Northern Irish MP Jeffrey Donaldson (pictured) and Roelf Meyer from South Africa, both of whom acted as chief negotiators in their respective countries. Ljuljjeta Goranci Brkic, Director of the Nansen Dialogue Center Sarajevo will also be joining the visiting team.

With only 9 per cent of Greek Cypriots and 16 per cent of Turkish Cypriots believing that policymakers hear their voices, Donaldson argues that it is time for a more inclusive peace process in Cyprus. This process will take into account the options and priorities of the general public.

Donaldson said he initially resented the interest or involvement of civil society but he “came to realise that we need civil society to help prepare the ground and change the mind-sets that are such an important part of any conflict divided society.”

Meyer wants to encourage support for a more transparent process. “Whilst you cannot profile conflict or offer template ‘solutions’, I’m hoping that the people on the island can benefit from a comparative learning approach” Meyer said.

I learned many lessons the hard way, at the negotiating table, Meyer added.

“Sharing these personal experiences could help the two communities to reflect on their own conflict, without having to abandon their viewpoint,” director and co-founder of Engi, Yeshim Harris said.

Brkic will bring up the subject of dialogue across ethnic and national divides. She hopes to encourage discussions of trust between the two communities.

“In most conflicts there is little understanding of each other’s hopes, thoughts and motivations,” said Harris.

Whatever the future brings in terms of settlement, one way or the other, the two communities will continue to share the island. Without true understanding of each other’s position, no solution would be sustainable, she added.

The visit is part of the Participatory Peacemaking initiative supported by UNDP-ACT.

For more information contact Charles Trew on +44(0)7745974228, or send an email to cfgtrew@engi.org.uk or call Nicolas Jarraud on +357-99-542425 or send an email to nicolas.jarraud@undp.org

 

Also visit the following websites

http://www.engi.org.uk/ppp-cyprus/

http://www.engi.org.uk/project-advisors/

http://www.undp-act.org/data/Factsheet-ENGI%2003.pdf

Part of old sewerage pipe being replaced after leak

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SOPAZ AREA

By Poly Pantelides

NICOSIA sewerage board is busy replacing part of an aged pipe close to Nicosia’s Constantinos and Eleni cemetery that recently collapsed under the weight of its concrete encasement leading to a leakage in the area, authorities said.

Some of the sewerage leaked onto a seasonal river called Kateva that runs parallel to the pipe, Nicosia municipality said.  Nicosia municipality’s health services and the sewerage board cleaned up and decontaminated part of the river bed last week, it said. The municipality said the sewerage board’s pipe was some 20 years old and was now being upgraded.

Technical director with the Nicosia Sewerage Board, Savvas Hadjineocleous, said that heavy rainfall may have contributed to the collapse but that they only saw last week that the pipe had started leaking.

Though the pipe needed replacing along a 20-metre stretch, the board will replace 100 metres of it with a sun-resistant pipe that does not need to be encased in concrete, he said. In the meantime, sewerage is being collected by a tanker and taken to Vathia Gonia wastewater treatment plant. This was possible because the pipe did not service big amounts of sewerage, Hadjineocleous said.

Asked if they had observed any problems elsewhere along the pipeline and the river Kateva, Hadjineocleous said they had not and that the pipe leak itself was “nothing unusual” by the board’s standards.

Nicosia municipality – which issued the announcement – was busy last October clearing flooded roads along the river area following a bout of rain. Residents had complained then that authorities were slow to clean up rubbish in the Sopaz area in Palouriotissa.

One person told the Cyprus Mail that he was given the run-around when he tried to get the municipality to clean up before the rains started. But the same person said that in late April he notified both Nicosia municipality and Aglandjia municipality over what seemed to be sewerage leakage or industrial pollution along Kateva and Aglandjia rivers close to the Sopaz area.

There were stinking stagnant waters and obvious signs of apparent industrial pollution, he said. Although the problem lay within the confines of Aglandjia municipality, it was Nicosia municipality that got in touch about a month later, forwarding the information to the Water Development Board that notified the environment department.  “I think they are taking this seriously,” he said.

Moderate Rohani on course for outright Iran election win

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Iran presidential election

By Marcus George and Yeganeh Torbati

Moderate Iranian cleric Hassan Rohani looked to be heading towards an outright victory over his conservative rivals in the presidential election, initial results showed on Saturday.

The vote is unlikely to radically alter ties between Tehran and the West, but if Rohani wins he has indicated he would pursue a less confrontational foreign policy than current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and enact a “civil rights charter” at home.

With more than 5.2 million votes counted from the 50 million electorate, Rohani had 52.30 percent of votes cast, Iran’s interior ministry said. That takes Rohani above the 50 percent of the vote he needs to avoid a second round run-off on June 21.

Rohani’s nearest rival was conservative Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a long way behind with 17.33 percent. Other hardline candidates scored even lower.

Rohani received significant boosts earlier this week when reformist candidate, Mohammad Reza Aref, withdrew in his favor. His campaign was also endorsed by former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

In contrast, Iran’s big-hitting conservatives failed to organize themselves around a single candidate, suffering what appeared a decisive split in their support base as a result.

Voting was extended by several hours at polling stations across the country on Friday as millions of Iranians turned out to cast their ballot in the first presidential race since a disputed 2009 contest led to months of political unrest.

Press TV reported that turnout was about 80 percent.

Security has been tight and campaigns subdued compared to the euphoric rallies that preceded the last presidential election in 2009, when reformist supporters thought they scented victory and the prospect of change in Iran.

Those hopes were dashed when rapid announcements gave Ahmadinejad 63 percent of the vote, returning him to office and starting a series of deadly protests that lasted for months.

‘We don’t turn anyone away’ say volunteer doctors

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By Peter Stevenson

MEMBERS of Volunteer Doctors Cyprus have treated around 350 people at their free clinic in Nicosia since it opened three months ago, while two more, one in Paphos and one in Polis are due to open today.

Limassol also has a free clinic, which was opened only last month, and plans have been drawn up to create one in Paralimni.

Yesterday the doctors expressed their enthusiasm at how well the clinics have been doing and said that if the need arose a second clinic could also be opened in the capital.

The Nicosia clinic was set up on Antigonou 49 street near the Taht El-Kale mosque, and is open to the public between 9am and 3pm the weekends. It was opened on March 9.  It had taken four months to compile their list of volunteer doctors and to equip the clinic.

“We started off with 12 doctors and now we have 60 in Nicosia of which 24 are pathologists, six are paediatricians and 30 are general practitioners,” head of Volunteer Doctors George Macriyiannis said.

He said none of the doctors approached had refused to offer their services other than a few colleagues who had family obligations and could not spare the time.

The clinic can deal with both immediate and chronic problems as it is fully equipped with a cardiograph and an ultrasound.

“Our visitors include low-income earners and children, and even pensioners who are allowed free healthcare at public hospitals, prefer to visit us because we are open at the weekends,” he added.

Macriyiannis said that state outpatient clinics were closed at weekends and the emergency department at the general hospital was usually packed, and has an average waiting time of six hours.

The clinic in Limassol operates on Saturday from 9.30am until 1.30pm and on Sundays between 10am and 1.30 pm. In Paphos they will be open between 9am and 3pm on the weekends and in Polis it will be open two days a week between 3pm and 6pm.

Larnaca does not have a volunteer doctors clinic as physicians in the coastal town have made arrangements to see the needy free of charge in their own time, according to Macriyiannis.

“If there is an increase in demand we have already considered opening up a clinic in Livadhia [in the Larnaca district],” he said.

The usual course of action is to ask the patient for their unemployment records or their last payslip but the majority are not asked to prove their status as it makes both parties feel awkward, he added.

“Even in cases when patients are not eligible we will still examine them. We do not turn anyone away,” Macriyiannis said.

It is estimated that every weekend the clinic in Nicosia is visited by around 35 people, and when that number rises to 60 each weekend, a second clinic will most likely be opened.

Contact Numbers: Nicosia – Dr. George Macriyiannis 99435735, Limassol – Dr. Andreas Prokopiou 99448347, Paphos Dr. Yioula Loizidou 99585033, Polis – Dr. Marios Theodorou 99393226, Paralimni – Dr. Maria Adamou 96604408.

Until last year, and this year when Cyprus was really badly hit by the economic crisis, Volunteer Doctors Cyprus was better known for its good works in international war zones and areas of the world hit by natural disasters such as the Haiti earthquake and the Indonesian tsunami, plus offering assistance in poverty-stricken areas of Africa.

Our View: Time would be better spent negotiating a comprehensive settlement

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CYPRUS ELECTIONS

SOME 10 days ago, foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides raised expectations by announcing the possibility of a deal with Turkey for the opening of the fenced off area of Famagusta, for the return of its inhabitants. In exchange the Cyprus government would agree to the opening of Tymbou airport to direct flights.

Kasoulides also said that Ankara had given the EU the preliminary go-ahead to examine the deal that could also have led to the unblocking of chapters in Turkey’s accession negotiations. Perhaps this was the reason for press speculation that Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule would take charge of the negotiations for the deal, which Kasoulides described as a ‘big step’.

The idea of the opening of the fenced off area of Famagusta under the UN has been raised many times in the past and President Anastasiades also supported it, arguing that this would be a meaningful confidence-building measure that would help negotiations for an overall settlement. However, the president and his government did not follow the example of Kasoulides, avoiding saying anything about the matter in public.

It was obvious the president did not approve of Kasoulides’ decision to reveal the existence of the plan. The UN, which was trying to broker the agreement, had requested that it was kept secret, as making it public could destroy the initiative. We do not know if the plan is still being discussed, but the foreign minister’s revelation prompted the predictable reactions from the Greek Cypriot hardliners, who wanted a comprehensive settlement and not a deal that would lead to the recognition of the north, by allowing direct flights Tymbou airport.

Ironically, they were in agreement with Dervis Eroglu’s spokesman Osman Ertug who denied the existence of an EU initiative and stated that Varosha would be part of the ‘comprehensive settlement’. Of course it is entirely possible that Turkey had not informed the Turkish Cypriots about the initiative.

Meanwhile, Kasoulides changed his story five days after making his revelation. “Right now what we have is our proposal on this issue,” he told CNA, adding that “we believe talks will be helped significantly if Famagusta is returned to its legal citizens.” No mention was made of EU involvement or Turkey’s willingness to discuss the matter. The foreign minister had obviously made a blunder and was trying to patch things up, but his revelation may have destroyed the initiative.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, because rather than waste time and effort negotiating the technicalities of a legally complicated confidence-building measure, it would be better to devote the time and effort to finding a comprehensive settlement. We have to agree with the hard-liners on this.

 

 

Georghadji: EAC is not even a going concern

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head office photo

By George Psyllides

PRIVATE auditors have expressed doubt the electricity authority (EAC) could be considered a going concern and have asked its board to draft a credible plan to tackle the problem, according to the auditor-general’s 2012 report on the semi-state company.

Among other issues, Chrystalla Georghadji highlighted the EAC’s cash flow problem, the overdue electricity bills and the handsome employee allowances.

The auditor-general said she had been informed by the company’s director at the end of May that “following a preliminary examination of the EAC cash flow, private auditors expressed doubt whether the EAC can be considered a going concern and have asked the board to prepare and submit a credible plan to tackle the problem.”

Georghadji said she agreed with the proposal.

The auditor-general said the company should have expedited the process of streamlining its structure in a bid to cut operating costs and improve its financial situation.

In her view, “no substantive measures had been put in place to restructure/rationalise the organisation while actions that had taken place were rather circumstantial and achieving the undertaking is questionable.”

Georghadji said the company had drafted a new voluntary retirement scheme, which has not been approved by the finance ministry and parliament thus any spending had no legal basis.

According to the report, the compensation provided by the plan “are especially high and much higher than the additional compensation afforded to EAC employees today.

“In our view, the plan is not realistic and provokes the people’s sense of justice,” the auditor-general said.

The plan appeared to ignore the EAC’s cash flow problems, the dire economic situation in general, and the fact that civil servants who retired early received no additional benefits.

The report said that at the end of 2012 EAC was owed €57.2 million in arrears from the sale of electricity.

In the first three months of this year, the amount rose to €77.2 million.

Georghadji said the EAC has the right to cut power to consumers who owe money but it failed to do so in cases where bills remained unpaid systematically.

And the EAC has not yet cut any of the numerous allowances afforded to staff as was the case in the central government.

The organisation’s chairman said the allowances were being reviewed in cooperation with the unions.

Wastefulness was also observed at the semi-state telecommunications company CyTA.

The auditor-general said certain funds in the regular budget had been exceeded repeatedly and covered by transfers from other funds.

This raised questions regarding the degree of monitoring of the budget and whether the budgeted amounts represented CyTA’s real needs, Georghadji said.

CyTA had overshot 12 items in 2012 by €13.2 million.

A report will be prepared and submitted to parliament detailing the cases where and why certain funds had been exceeded, the report said.

Case in point was the early retirement fund.

The finance ministry had released €2.0 million but CyTA ended up paying €3.91 million – the balance covered by transferring funds.

Other notable extras were €3.6 million paid for the purchase of programmes for Cytavision – the company’s television arm – €1.5 million for water and electricity, and €1.6 million for advertising and promotion.

A further €3.4 million above budget was paid for equipment.

Overtime pay dropped in 2012 compared with 2011 – €3.92 million versus €4.75.

However, it was again observed that many CyTA staff systematically put in many extra hours and in some cases their overtime pay exceeded 100 per cent of their gross revenues.

 

 

AKEL wants state to look at options other than SGO sell-off

akel  pc   1OPPOSITION AKEL yesterday released a draft finance ministry report outlining steps that need to be taken towards privatisation.

The draft report listing a number of recommendations to Cabinet demonstrates the government’s “stubborn refusal to consider other proposals and alternative choices so that it can safeguard the national wealth,” AKEL’s deputy parliamentary spokesman Stavros Evagorou (pictured) said.

AKEL – which was in government when Cyprus first agreed to possible privatisations – said President Nicos Anastasiades was breaking his electoral pledge not to privatise profit-making semi-governmental organisations (SGOs).

Anastasiades did promise to prevent privatisations if Cyprus’ bailout was low enough to ensure a sustainable public debt and had even visited one SGO and pledged he would not agree to privatisations. Although Cyprus’ €10 billion bailout is considered sustainable, the finance ministry’s report makes it clear to those who still had a doubt that privatisations will take place.

AKEL seized the opportunity to urge the government to consider alternatives, such as allowing SGOs to find the necessary funds themselves, despite the fact that Cyprus itself was forced to seek a loan from the troika of lenders because no one else would lend to the country.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed with the troika, privatisations are meant to eventually fetch €1.4 billion. The finance ministry has recommended to Cabinet to hire specialised independent consultants to prepare a framework for privatisations. The electricity authority, ports authority and other semi-state bodies may all be privatised with the finance ministry warning that because of tight timeframes, actions need to be swift and relevant bodies need to collaborate closely.

Evagorou said that sticking with the MoU would entail “many ills” for Cyprus but did not offer an alternative.

A green state, privately funded

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comment Karl Mueller

By Karl Mueller

ECONOMICALLY cornered Cyprus has choices. Two are extreme: either limiting action to the minimum required by the MoU or transforming calamity and pain into opportunity and gain, by doing more than is being asked and trying to become the vanguard instead of trotting with laggards.

Comparisons being invariably between apples and oranges, a similar challenge existed in Austria after WW2. Though morally blind, Austrians soon “forgot” the recent catastrophic destruction. Armed with lots of determination, Marshall Plan assistance from American friends and from the EFTA and EU later, Austrians “fixed” themselves, reaching the EU’s top economic league.

Cyprus should emulate the best, excelling at what it is good at, financial services, tourism and shipping. More importantly, Cyprus should venture out of its comfort zone into new, game changing economic fields like photovoltaic energy and research.

Does this mean more pain and self-sacrifice? Not at all, in my mind. First, European institutions are – as amply shown lately – well-disposed towards helping Cyprus. You should not be ashamed to milk the EU programmes and funds etc to the utmost. We all do it in the EU.

But although Mr Van Rompuy, Mr Schulz and Mr Barroso have recently assured the president they want to help as much as they can, a tough fight over the next seven year EU budget, means every EU member state will want a big slice of the (small) cake, pleading “exceptional circumstances”.

And for this marathon of economic resurgence, the mauled government need not incur extra public wrath. The following is key: the government must limit itself to creating optimum conditions and legal frameworks. Most importantly it must enable the establishment of a mostly domestically owned private “Cyprus Emergency or Rescue Fund”.

In my article in The Cyprus Mail on May 15, I tried to envisage how Cyprus could get solar panels for free. Who pays for the installation and construction work? The government? It cannot.

Willing wealthy patriotic philanthropists (a lot exist in Cyprus) should establish this rescue fund to help make Cyprus a “GreenState” and this solar energy revolution possible. Low income people should be given preference and the money spent on installations should be repayable to the fund in long term (say, 50 years) installments (and without interest?). The fund should be used for everything that is not included in “photovoltaic gifts” proposed in my first article: from fixing panels on the roofs right up to start-up costs of tram, light railway systems, fully electricity-powered car systems and for improving badly lacking energy efficiency.

Its use should be decided collectively by the fund’s owners – which should also include the rich Cypriot Diaspora.

Rich Cypriots, company owners and foreign investors, who see their own lives’ work, earnings, plans and more evaporate before their very eyes will rightly argue: “First arbitrary shares, bonds and deposits haircuts, really only directed against dynamic wealth generators, ruining many of us. And now additionally financing a fund, not for our own benefit?”

True, admittedly, at first glance. But this fund would depend on fully voluntary contributions. The money would be paid back ultimately. And it would benefit every well-to-do contributor indirectly, and in more ways than one. Its existence would tell young Cypriots, who now see no prospects on the island and want to leave: “Look, we, the wealthy and successful, believe in Cyprus, in its future. So have patience, stay and help, maybe by modifying your own professional plans.”

Its existence would tell the (newly) poor: “Look, even if the state cannot, even with bust or strangled banks, we will look after you, nurture prospects for new jobs, prevent permanent destitution, desolation, cynicism. Like one big family, we will all stand together now.”

The existence of this fund would also tell potential foreign investors: “In spite of economic chaos, crippling capital controls and haircuts, of banks with a lifeline already cut or unsafely thin, in spite of scores of bankrupt companies, the citizens act responsibly. They obviously believe in the regenerative powers and reinvention of their country. So why should we not believe and trust?”

They would restart investing; possibly before credit ratings for Cyprus improve again, astonishing economic experts. Economic optimism is extremely contagious.

This special fund cannot, in my opinion, become linked with the bail-out agreement. First of all, the bail-out has been fixed. Secondly, this fund would consist of private, charitable, voluntary donations. It should neither be taxed (a second time) nor be tax-deductible. Thereby the owners should be free from any government control as well as from any troika interference.

Any change of the bail-out conditions – with the helping Eurozone partners trying to get a better, “cheaper” deal for themselves – would need accepting by and re-negotiating with Cyprus.

One comparison in this respect jumps to mind. Some big energy companies in central Europe have, after sudden energy policy changes by the state, either received compensation or “salvation” money (if state-owned) for the sudden “forced” change of their non-sustainable energy production business model. Or they are now suing for billions in damages and losses incurred because of “unilateral” political decisions. Cyprus would – with a similar forced business model change, partly through its own fault, but still uniquely pressurised at decision time in March – be doing nothing of the sort.

Laws should insist on every roof in Cyprus being compulsorily fitted with solar panels as soon as possible if funded upfront by the fund, starting, as remarked earlier, with the people hit hardest by the financial crisis and high electricity prices.

One last idea: 95 per cent of solar panels worldwide are almost identical. Like science fiction robots, they all look the same. This hides frequent incremental innovation in tiny, but, considering the volume, very important details, which upends the league table of the winners all the time. Innovate or die: the slow innovators disappear, and even the quick ones are ultimately eaten or destroyed by the fastest ones. Cyprus could, with a strong research and innovation push, develop high value, innovative photovoltaic solutions for low quantity production. In close cooperation, techno parks, research centres and universities in Cyprus could blossom with this new industry, all propelled and fuelled by solar energy.

 

Dr Karl Mueller is the Austrian ambassador to Cyprus


Annan rejectionists promised an EU solution. Where is it?

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By Loucas Charalambous

NOBODY could have been surprised in the slightest to hear Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras say that he strongly disagreed with a possible “resurrection of the notorious Annan plan”. The last thing we should expect from Samaras is prudence.

And we were not surprised to see our own demagogues applauding him, nor to hear the nonsense uttered by Papadopoulos junior who eagerly pointed out that Samaras’ statement “sent clear messages to all those, in and out of Cyprus eyeing or planning the return of the Annan plan”. This is the foolish rhetoric of the last 40 years, the rhetoric with which the preachers of rejectionism and champions of partition led us to the current malaise.

What is most astonishing is the limitless nerve of Papadopoulos and his fellow travellers. Under normal circumstances, today, nine years after the 2004 referendum, with Cyprus now permanently partitioned as a result of their paranoid behaviour they should at least keep quiet.

Can any sensible person believe that Papadopoulos, Garoyian, Omirou, Perdikis, the AKEL leadership and all others who rejected the Annan plan in 2004, cannot see where their decision has led to?

What had they told people?

“Vote ‘no’ and do not worry. In one week we will become a member of the EU and Turkey will have to deal with Europe and then she will have to accept a European solution, with everyone’s rights safeguarded, with the return of all refugees and all properties; everything will be done according to the European acquis.” This is what they were saying in 2004.

Now the demagogues should offer an explanation to all those people they deceived. Papadopoulos should tell us what happened to the ‘European solution’? Where is the full respect of all human rights he had promised people? And what about our occupied towns? The notorious plan would have given us back Famagusta in August 2004 and Morphou in 2007 and with these another 50 villages.

They of course, uttered a fighting ‘no’. But how many towns and villages did they liberate with their brave ‘struggle’? The Annan plan would have enabled 150,000 people (refugees and their descendants) to return to the towns and villages, if they wished to do so. How many refugees have the big patriots sent to their homes in these nine years, with their courageous struggle? And how many properties have been returned to their owners? Soon there will not be any properties left as Turkey is buying them. These are the achievements of the super-patriotic camp.

The notorious plan would have sent the occupation army back to Turkey. There would have only been 600 Turkish soldiers with light weaponry left. How many has Papadopoulos and Garoyian got rid of since 2004?

The Friday before last I was in the north. I saw a least 60 Turkish tanks in the Mesaoria plain, just before Lefkoniko. They were involved in an exercise and raised enough dust to obscure the sun. This was part of the occupation army that Turkey agreed to withdraw in 2004, but the super-patriots did not let her. They asked the occupation army to stay, as Egemen Bagis reminded us a few days ago.

And as the Turkish army was asked to stay it left its tanks here to carry out military exercises. It needs to carry out exercises because one day it might be ordered to head to Paphos by a new Turkish prime minister.

Papadopoulos’ audacity is quite astonishing. Does he not have a guilty conscience over these achievements? He and the rest of the superpatriots, like Garoyian, Omirous, Lyssarides and Christofias should feel shame for cementing partition. And so should Samaras who sent a defiant message from Thessaloniki and warned us to be careful that the notorious plan that would have got rid of the occupation troops was not resurrected.

If all these brave fighters could see reason they would have realised that the resurrection of the plan is their only hope of clearing their conscience for what they did in 2004.

But why are they and Samaras worried? After all, if the notorious plan were to be resurrected, the big patriots would again utter a heroic ‘no’ and send it to hell, choosing yet again that the Turkish army stay.

Award for bi-communal dance group

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dance

By Peter Stevenson

THE bi-communal folk dance group ‘Dance for Peace’ has been awarded the European Citizen’s Prize by the European Parliament along with 42 other candidates from other EU member states.

Since 2008, the prize has been awarded to citizens or organisations who have contributed to promoting better mutual understanding and closer integration between people or to facilitate cross-border or transnational cooperation within the EU.

The dance group’s founders, Andria Kyprianou and Mehmet Emin Eminoglu will receive a medal of honour at an award ceremony in Cyprus and will be invited to a joint event that all 43 winners will be present at, in Brussels on October 16 and 17.

‘Dance for Peace’ was created in 2001 with the aim of showcasing Cypriot traditions and highlighting the common characteristics of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot music and dance.

The group organises events to help promote and strengthen bi-communal relations in Cyprus and other countries.

The winners were nominated by MEP Takis Hadjigeorgiou who said that cooperation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots through a shared cultural activity proves to the leaders of both communities that love and solidarity can prevail. “Dance for Peace dances and sings for peace, human rights, universal values and freedom and through their cultural activities promotes European values, principles and human ideals,” he said.

The 43 winners from all Member States were selected on Wednesday June 5, in Brussels by a special committee chaired by the Vice President of the European Parliament Anni Podimata.

The laureates can be citizens, groups, associations or organisations. Every year each MEP has the right to nominate one candidate.

MEPs Andreas Pitsillides, Sophocles Sophocleous, Kyriacos Triantafyllides and Takis Hadjigeorgiou all participated in this year’s Cyprus national council.

2013 is the European Year of Citizens and is dedicated to the rights that come with EU citizenship.

During the year, the EU will encourage dialogue between all levels of government, civil society and business at events and conferences around Europe to discuss those EU rights and build a vision of how the EU should be in 2020.

Private schools take on crisis by cutting fees

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feature school fees

By Maria Gregoriou

AKEL and an association representing parents whose children attend private schools are calling on the government to pressure private schools to reduce their fees by 10 per cent.

Representatives of AKEL and its general secretary Andros Kyprianou met last week with representatives of the Private Schools Parents Association to discuss a number of issues, of which a reduction in tuition fees was top of the list.

“The minister of education should take immediate initiative, just like he did with private universities, and meet with all private school owners and suggest a reduction in fees, which should be around ten per cent,” AKEL’s education office chief, Christos Christofidis told the Sunday Mail.

President of the parents association Stella Kamitsi said that one of the most important matters that the association has focused on lately is that of tuition fees as the economic crisis has made it increasingly difficult for parents to pay for their children’s education.

“We need to be able to regulate this matter urgently and moderate the law on private schools to enable the ministry of education and the state to exercise sufficient control over fee regulations,” she said.

While parents would welcome an across-the-board reduction in fees, government regulations may not be necessary. The vast majority of private schools have been quick to respond to the new economic realities by offering a wide range of discounted fees and cutting costs – largely through a cut in teachers’ salaries.

Among those schools acting proactively is Nicosia’s FalconSchool. In its secondary school, for example, fees have been reduced by €650 a year, a saving of almost 10 per cent for some grades. Sibling discounts have also been increased from 10 to 15 per cent for the second child and the discount increases according to how many family members attend.

Parents can now also pay fees in four installments while an extra discount is available for those pay in a lump sum.

“Even though we have reduced our fees we have not increased the class sizes and we never exceed 20 students in a class,” deputy head of school, Anthony Balkwill said.

“Our increased sibling discounts are maintained even after older siblings graduate.” He said cheaper fees were not the only way the school was helping the parents.

“We are also trying to cut down on books, stationary and the use of paper by making the information electronic,” he added.

The EnglishSchool is offering a seven per cent discount on all classes except sixth and seventh forms.

“The fees for the sixth and seventh class are already low and the cost for the school is more because at these levels the students decide which GCEs they will take and there are fewer students in a class,” chairman Antonis Valanides said.

The Grammar School in Nicosia and Limassol is also offering discounts, mainly for higher classes. Extra discounts are given for parents who pay the fees in a lump sum and for those families with more than one child at the school.

“All private schools are having problems at the moment due to the economic crisis but this does not mean that the standard of the school is slipping. We are doing our best to continue to offer the best standards of education to as many students as possible,” said headmaster of the Grammar School, Andreas Afamis.

The SeniorSchool in Nicosia is offering a €1,000 discount for the first academic year, a 13 per cent discount on a second sibling in the school and a 50 per cent discount for the third sibling.

“There will also be a special offer of a seven per cent discount for the school year 2013-2014,” said chairman of the JuniorSchool and SeniorSchool board Nick Papandreou.

“These are all positive steps that are being taken to sustain the school as we are a non for profit organisation.”

Supreme Court upholds conscript’s exemption

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army4_2

THE SUPREME Court has ruled that the defence ministry was wrong to try and recruit a 17-year-old who did not have Cypriot citizenship.

The Court was reviewing the case of Ioannis Kalligerou, who was born of a Cypriot mother and a foreign father but never applied for Cypriot citizenship.

The Kalligerou family objected last year to a defence ministry decision to recruit their son, then aged 17. The National Guard interpreted the law as allowing them conscript Ioannis because he was eligible for Cypriot citizenship even if he did not have one.

The family took the case to court and won last year, but the defence ministry appealed. Last week, the Supreme Court said the original decision was correct, bringing the case to a close. The court was right in its judgement that the defence ministry’s decision to recruit Ioannis was “void” and “illegal,” the Supreme Court said. Ioannis was not a Cypriot citizen and therefore was not obliged to do the army, even if it was within his rights to apply for citizenship, the court said.

The law on the National Guard was changed in 1999 so that if either parent was Cypriot, then their son would be obliged to serve in the National Guard.  Prior to that, Cypriot citizenship was conferred automatically only though the father.

Therefore after the change, those born before 1999 – when the law changed to be non-discriminatory – were to be exempt and not automatically considered citizens of Cyprus if born to a foreign father but a Cypriot mother, the court said.

In short, those born up until 1999 can only be obliged to do the army if they are Cypriot citizens or else if their father is Cypriot. And even if they did get citizenship because their mother was Cypriot, they would only be obliged to serve for six months, the court said.

So the Supreme Court confirmed that Ioannis – born of a Greek father and a Cypriot mother in 1994 – was in the clear.

Ioannis’ mother and his lawyer, Marika Kalligerou, said the decision paved the way for others in a similar position to lodge their own court applications.

Those who have been called to serve this summer need to lodge an application to court immediately in order to secure an interim order to suspend the defence ministry’s executive administrative decision calling them for recruitment, she said.

She added she already had other clients with similar cases.

The case may have implications for any youths who do not have citizenship, whether they were born before or after 1999. But Kalligerou said the court did not actually rule on that specific point.

“With our decision the court has laid out some general guidelines that you can’t recruit someone who does not have citizenship but that was not the matter in question in our case,” she added. She said her own case, which the court examined, is limited to sons – who are not Cypriot citizens – born of Cypriot mothers and foreigner fathers before 1999, and the National Guard will have to comply with those specific guidelines.

Tattooed torsos are here to stay

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feature naked men feature

feature naked men 2By Bejay Browne

Those bright red, mostly British men, stripped down to the waist with an ever expanding stomach on full display along with an array of tattoos, have become a fixture on the streets and in bars, cafes and even supermarkets in tourist areas.

But this popular British male practice of stripping off to the waist is upsetting Paphos locals who say that standards in Paphos are dropping and urge businesses to insist on customers sporting “proper attire”.

Paphos resident Laura Neville, 32, says that the numbers or shirtless men seen out in public are increasing every year.

“I’m not adverse to the human body, I’m not a prude, but there is a time and a place for everything,” she said.

“Cloth seats, plastic and metal chairs, wood and leather, they seem unconcerned about hygiene or decency and now they are becoming braver and venturing into shops and supermarkets in this state of undress. Revolting!”

Some shops, including Papantoniou supermarket in Kato Paphos – the main tourist area in the town – have a sign outside politely requesting shoppers to refrain from entering whilst in swimwear, and a number of shop keepers say they have been forced to ask people to dress suitably.

“We have seen some terrible sights in the supermarket, but many of us are too embarrassed to ask the customers to leave and come back in more appropriate clothes. Some come in with only bikinis and swimming trunks, it is usual these days to see men without their tops on,” a Papantoniou supermarket staff member said.

“We realise that people are on holiday, but it’s not nice. It would be much better if they cover up a bit.”

When the Sunday Mail took an afternoon stroll along the Kato Paphos seafront on Thursday, most of the cafes and bars had at least one or two outdoor tables complete with a shirtless man.

Many of the premises asked said they would much prefer it if customers were properly clothed, but were also unwilling to be named in the article for fear of driving away custom.

One café owner whose busy venue is situated directly opposite the sea and has a large number of outdoor tables, said: “It’s really unpleasant to look at some of these people. I don’t want to be unkind but they are mostly overweight and don’t look nice.

“But I wouldn’t ask them to put a top on as I would be concerned that they would choose another place to eat instead of mine.”

But this lackadaisical approach could be backfiring on businesses, as the ever growing numbers of poorly attired customers are making some locals stay away.

“I have definitely not gone into some of the cafes and restaurants in Kato Paphos because of the numbers of men – mostly tourists – sitting there without tops on and it all hanging out,” said Paphos resident Sandra Taylor, 54.

“It seems to be mostly the older generation – my age and up – who like to do this and the women are doing it too; I have seen a few in bikinis which barely covered a generous girth and droopy chest. It’s not what you want to look at whilst tucking into a meal is it.”

David Reid, 64, and his wife Jennifer, 64, are from Perth in Scotland and own a holiday home in Paphos which they visit three or four times a year. Reid says he often strolls along the seafront without his top and sits at a café without his shirt during the day.

“We don’t get to see the sun in Scotland very often and it’s hot here. Live and let live I say. I don’t see a problem with men being shirtless at bars and cafés which are close to the sea.”

However, he draws the line at not wearing a shirt to a restaurant, a more up market venue or if he were sipping a drink in the old town area of Paphos.

Friend Colin Douglas, 63, agrees. “I am often without my top when it’s hot here. We come to Paphos at least once a year, but I would always wear a top in a restaurant. We are an older generation so we wouldn’t do that, like some of the youngsters.”

Wife Anne, 57, says she wouldn’t venture into a café wearing only a bikini top to cover her top half. “I don’t think it’s appropriate, I’m too old for all that,” she said.

Jennifer Reid added: “I think it’s awful when you see men without their tops in restaurants. It’s OK at a relaxed café during the day when it’s hot, but not at night, men should be covered.”

Some places in Paphos are still insistent on a dress code though, not least the UKCA – the United Kingdom Citizens’ Association. The club is situated at a venue which also serves food and drinks.

“We operate a dress code at our club which came into effect some years ago. Gents are allowed to wear shorts but must wear a shirt with sleeves – no vests are allowed. Women do not have to have tops with sleeves but no bare midriffs are allowed,” chairman Steve Kaye said.

“People on holiday are expecting to have a good time and they should be able to relax, but dress appropriately to the situation. I don’t see a problem with men sitting at an outside table shirtless to soak up the sun as long as it’s appropriate for the venue.”

But he said club rules were strict on the subject of apparel. “We have a rail of freshly washed and pressed shirts by our entrance door for any of our members or guests to wear if they don’t have the correct clothing.”

Even though locals and businesses are vocal in their criticism of the ‘half clothed man’ it seems they have yet to complain to the local authorities.

“We haven’t received any complaints on the subject from anyone. Not travel agents, holiday makers or local restaurants, cafes or bars,” said a member of the local tourist board.

Those tattooed torsos, it seems, are here to stay.

CERA: electricity market model is being reviewed

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Ηλιακό Πάρκο, Μεταλλείο Σκουριώτισ

By Poly Pantelides

CYPRUS Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) chief George Shammas said yesterday he had appointed an advisor to review the electricity market model in order to remove potential barriers to active competition and to ensure security of supply and benefits for the consumer.

Addressing the AGM of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus union SEPAIK, Shammas said that changing the market model would allow renewable energy sources to become more competitive as the system would be based on common rules and regulations.

“It appears that Photovoltaic parks can now offer energy at cheaper levels than the current system,” he said.

Of course whether or not the government is really committed to integrating renewable energy sources (RES) in the island’s overall energy consumption – dropping long-term costs for consumers and doing a little bit for the environment – depends on who you ask.

There are commitments stemming from legal obligations. Cyprus, like all other member states of the European Union – must meet 13 per cent of its overall gross energy consumption from RES by 2020. In the case of electricity the figure stands at 16 per cent.

Cyprus – whose wind farms, even if they do tend to operate at 25 per cent capacity, far outnumber the installed capacity of photovoltaics – is now well on target. It has already nudged a little ahead of its interim 2015-2016 target of 7.45 per cent, closing last year with about 7.5 per cent, according to the commerce ministry and the energy regulator. Part of the reason is a roughly year-on-year 20 per cent reduction in energy consumption observed at the end of last year and beginning of this one.

And with the commerce ministry’s blessing, CERA has announced for this year three “very important steps towards renewable development”.

Some households will be able to install a net metering system that can generate major savings for them, industrial and commercial businesses will have a self-production option for a total of 10MW and a limit of 1MW per business; while people will be able to set up larger parks totalling 50MW following a call for tenders whose results were announced earlier this year. All the schemes relate to photovoltaics that for a long time were considered too expensive, even for small-scale units. CERA’s Shammas said last week that the three schemes would “achieve the binding targets of Cyprus”.

The official line is that the government is committed to continuing to increase the share of photovoltaics and RES in the island’s energy consumption. Commerce minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis has said that development projects, including those that focus on RES, is a top priority for the government as part of moves to give the economy a much needed boost.

Across the board, from homeowners to businesses, the idea of photovoltaics especially is very appealing. Take industries for example. Industrial consumers pay the most for electricity in Cyprus at a cost of €22.60 per 100kWh – almost double that of every other EU 27 member, according to the latest Eurostat data.  In general, between the first half of 2011 and the second half of 2012, electricity prices marked the highest jump within the EU bloc, so it would seem natural for businesses and homeowners to jump at the promise of cheaper electricity.

But the managing director of one of the early adopters of RES schemes warns that the state needs to become much more aggressive and commit to cutting through red tape.

“You can’t have 5,000 households with net metering by the end of the year if you go by the old mentality,” said Angelos Angelis, the managing director of Metartec Cyprus which sells solar power products including photovoltaic panels.

He was speaking from experience of years that taught him the hard way that companies and homeowners would sometimes have to wait for a year or even more between the time parliament approved legislation on RES and the time the state would approve an application. When the legislative framework on RES passed in late 2002, Angelis thought “the sky would be the limit”. Instead, he had to wait for a year and a half before the law was implemented. And though he applied to fit his home with photovoltaic panels in October 2004, it was not until November 2005 that he was given the go-ahead.

“Basically, the state has no policy,” Angelis said. “The country is being run by a moronic system.”  “Everything takes place with ridiculously bureaucratic procedures,” he added.

“So now they’ve announced brave decisions, but we haven’t seen anything yet,” Angelis said. But because years of bureaucracy have eroded trust in the state’s commitment to RES development, the government need to regain trust, he added.

Meanwhile, the European Commission said in March that it would ask the EU Court of Justice to impose a daily penalty of about €11,400 for failing to transpose a 2009 renewable energy directive. For Angelis, this is just one example of the way the government does not take RES investment seriously. Take the devastating naval base blast in July 2011 that wrecked the electricity authority’s main power station and prompted a series of ministers to announce they were simplifying RES procedures and would authorise CERA to process backlogged applications.

Then Commerce Minister Praxoulla Antoniadou said in October 2011 they were opening up auctions for photovoltaic parks to license 50MW in total.  That is the same auction for the same 50MW whose results the current government announced in February 2013. And though parliament was meant this week to discuss and approve the RES fund budget that is also expected to subsidise the net metering scheme, legislators pushed back a vote. However legislators themselves hailed last October the job creation potential of net metering and PV projects via development in design and construction of PV projects.

So where does this leave the private sector that can create those jobs and the development Cyprus is so keen to have?

During a recent public dialogue on the crisis and the environment, a former head of the Technical Chamber of Cyprus and a director at Leptos Estates also made it clear that the private sector would do what makes financial sense.

“If businesses are either legally obliged to implement environmental/energy action or else see a profit, they will pursue that path. Otherwise they won’t,” Linos Chrysostomou said.

“This is where a serious state policy comes in play” Chrysostomou said only to add, in a similar vein to Angelis that he did not think the state had such a serious policy in place.

Or take even net metering that could help with a major cost for many households. The system allows homes to produce electricity via small RES facilities. The facilities feed energy into the grid, while consumers draw electricity as normal from the grid but only have to pay the difference between the outflow and inflow. If their facilities produce as much electricity as the households consume, electricity bills will come to nil. If people consume more electricity than what is fed into the system, homeowners will have to pay the difference. Though they cannot make a profit from the system, net metering has the potential to make a true difference to poverty-stricken households. Some 2,000 financially vulnerable households (the definition of what this means has not yet been set) will be eligible to apply for net metering, for a combined output of up to 6MW.

However, although 2,000 financially vulnerable households are meant to be eligible on income criteria they will only get 50 per cent of their costs subsidised by the RES fund.  To install some 3kW – the maximum output allowed per unit– households will need to pay an estimated €4,500 according to CERA.  Even if they get half of that paid for, asking a struggling family to cough up at least €2,500 might be a stretch. Some other 3,000 families will also be eligible to apply for a combined output of maximum 9MW, again on income criteria, but with no subsidy. Nonetheless, after years of discussion most stakeholders are happy net metering is finally on the table.

But we are still a way off from the vision of the university of Cyprus rector or the Austrian Ambassador to Cyprus even, who believe Cyprus could meet most of its energy needs by harnessing its plentiful sun power. Is it possible? It depends who you ask.

Tales from the Coffeeshop: United in a frenzy of moral indignation

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ERT demo    3

By Patroclos

THERE is nothing more annoying than the country uniting in moral indignation, collectively beating its breasts, everyone agreeing with each other and expressing the same boring views about an issue.

This all-too familiar herd mentality was set in motion by Tuesday’s decision by the Greek government to pull the plug on the mega-wasteful, state broadcaster ERT. All great and good of Kyproulla were apoplectic, protesting about the loss of 2,600 jobs, lamenting the closure of a national institution, moaning about the end to quality broadcasting (even though they never watched ERT) and expressing fears for democracy in Greece.

Hard-line commie spokesman Nicos Katsourides was particularly saddened by the event, which he felt was a big blow to democracy, pointing out that not even the junta had dared to close down ERT. Was the Greek junta more democratic than the Samaras government? Did the existence of a public broadcaster in the Soviet Union ensure democracy, pluralism and freedom of expression? And Kats is supposed to be one of the smart Akelites.

 

ALL OUR politicians, from the prez down to the last party nobody, had expressed their opposition to the closure. The public parasites union held 5-minute work stoppage in protest, RIK went off air for 10 minutes and hacks organised a very poorly attended demonstration (50 people most of whom were students) outside the Greek embassy.

The overpaid, underworked employees of RIK, were incensed with this devastating blow to democracy, also known was workers’ privileges. For two days, the ERT outrage was the top news story and the only issue discussed on chat shows; even music DJs were sermonising about it. Only the weather report was free of ERT references. If World War three had broken out it would not have been given as much coverage by RIK.

But RIK’s labour aristocrats were terrified they may suffer the same fate and decided that the best defence was to get as many people as possible to rubbish the Greek government’s decision and make it appear that their only concern was the defence of pluralism, democracy and free speech in Greece.

Their noble campaign to preserve the privileges and fat salaries of public broadcasting employees, in the name of democracy, was conducted at the taxpayer’s expense, the Rikkies using the airwaves to promote their personal agenda. That is what public broadcasting is about in Kyproulla, which is why it must preserved, even at a cost of €25m per year to the taxpayer.

Despite the passionate campaigning, RIK could still close down, considering that Prez Nik declared on Friday that what happened to ERT would never happen to RIK.

 

NEW HOPE was offered to all us suffering Kyproullans, this week, by a group of deputies who proposed that the Republic sued the ECB and its president Mario Draghi, for lending Laiki Bank too much Emergency Liquidity Assistance.

The campaign is being led by new DISY chief, Averof Neophytou, a pragmatic, upstanding neo-liberal that was recently bitten by the populism bug and has stubbornly refused to seek treatment. Averof argues that the ECB had breached its own regulations in allowing the continued provision of ELA to Laiki that resulted in a €9bn debt that poor old Bank of Cyprus now has to repay.

The Republic had to sue, “otherwise, we are losers,” concluded Averof. The legislature’s multi-purpose populist and turtle-lover Giorgos Perdikis was a step ahead as he had already sent a report prepared by economists, detailing the irregularities committed by the ECB and Draghi, to president Nik, urging him to sue.

If the ECB had not been so generous and turned the liquidity taps off sooner (Laiki needed tough, not unconditional, love) the debt would have been manageable. And it was obliged to do so (hence the irregularities) as Laiki was insolvent and therefore ineligible for assistance, according to ECB rules.

We would be suing the ECB, because it committed the inexcusable blunder of assuming Kyproulla’s banking sector was being run and supervised by responsible and sensible people.

It is the same argument used by Andreas Vgenopoulos to support that he was not to blame for bankrupting Laiki – it was the fault of the Central Bank Governor who, as the supervisory authority, did not stop him plundering the bank’s money. But not even Vgen thought of suing the former Governor for breaching CB regulations.

 

IF THERE is one person the KyproullaRepublic should be suing for Laiki’s ELA, it is our very own Central Bank Governor Professor Panicos. He was the guy authorising more and more liquidity assistance, telling the ECB that the bank was offering adequate collateral and, presumably, that it was solvent, thus increasing the debt from €3bn to €9bn.

National central banks are responsible for authorising ELA and securing it from the ECB, something Perdikis’ economists must have ignored in preparing their report. The professor publicly admitted that he had instructions from the Tof government to keep Laiki afloat until February’s presidential elections and he obeyed, drawing more money from Frankfurt and building up the debt.

The ECB bureaucrats including Draghi know very well how to cover their asses. Of course we could sue them for naively believing that the Professor, an AKEL appointee, was an independent state official who put the interests of the economy and the banking system above those of his clapped-out commie masters.

 

ONE DAY after Averof announced his plan, it was reported that Prez Nik had written to the heads of the IMF, Commission and ECB that make up the troika gang, to ask them to change the terms of the MoU, because otherwise B of C would collapse taking with it the whole banking system and economy.

He had not put it so bluntly, but this was the gist of the letter (more below) drafted by his team of economic advisors headed by our Nobel prize-winner. It seemed a bit of a tactical mistake, for deputies to demand we sue one of the organisations our prez was asking to do us this big favour.

It seemed weird that Averof a close associate and ally of Nik would undermine him in such clumsy way. Of course, there is the possibility we were witnessing a brilliantly clever plan unfold which aimed, through the threat of legal action seeking billions in damages, to force Draghi to agree to Nik’s reasonable request.

It is a good plan, but if it doesn’t work, our deputies might consider watching the Godfather film trilogy which shows a variety of methods of persuasion, that are much more effective in achieving results than the threat of legal action.

 

WHO LEAKED Prez Nik’s troika letter to the media, sparking a mini-run (restricted only by the capital controls) on the banks in the last three days of last week? Frightened head honchos of co-op banks were on radio Friday morning telling customers that everything was fine and was no reason to worry.

The leak could have been avoided if the prez had not given the letter to the party leaders, notorious for passing on information to the media. But he may have wanted the contents made public so that in the event there was a banking collapse he could claim that he had foreseen it and done everything he could to prevent it happening.

What his communications advisors might not have pointed out was that the publication of the letter could help this happen much sooner.

 

NOT CONTENT to exchange polite insults with AKEL deputy Erini Charalambidou on Facebook, over his holiday in Mykonos, DIKO chief Marios Garoyian decided to make a more meaningful contribution to public life by demanding a criminal investigation into the purchase by the B of C of Russian bank Uniastrum.

It was a change of priorities for Marios who until recently was only interested in defending Kyproulla from foreign attempts to impose an unfair, unjust and speedy solution to the Cypob. Why was he now demanding a criminal investigation into the Uniastrum deal, citing the Alvarez and Marsal report and claiming that €50m was paid in backhanders?

The A&M report clearly stated it had found “no evidence to substantiate rumours of corrupt payments in relation to the transaction,” but motor-mouth Marios’ gut feeling told him otherwise. As the prez feels eternally indebted to Marios for his election and makes a point of pandering to him, he asked the AG to order a police investigation.

So now our clueless cops would waste time and resources, looking for evidence of corrupt payments that much better qualified investigators were unable to find, because Garoyian had a hunch of wrongdoing.

 

MY HUNCH is that there is a hidden agenda. Marios has another reason for posing as a crusader against bankers’ corruption and fraud as it could help him hold on to the DIKO leadership, by seeing off the challenge from Ethnarch Junior.

Junior’s law office has represented the banks, including Laiki, a point that will most certainly be made by the devious Marios when leadership elections approach.

DIKO voters would have to choose between the cynical candidate who was working for the nasty bankers and the idealistic candidate who zealously campaigned to bring the greedy bankers before justice.

 

SPEAKING of bankers, Professor Panicos has encountered some insubordination at B of C. Panicos has written to Christakis Patsalides, the head of the bank’s treasury department, which bought the Greek government bonds, demanding that he submit his resignation.

Patsalides, unlike other top managers who received similar letters (former CEO Yiannis Kypri was one of them) and obeyed, has ignored the professor’s command. He has told colleagues that he would not resign as long the Central Bank is acting both as the administrator and the supervisor of the B of C, a perfectly legitimate point that nobody has raised.

Panicos is not only running the B of C, he is also supervising himself doing so, quite a cosy arrangement considering how badly he has been performing both duties. And when the politicians try to challenge his absolute power he runs crying to the ECB that his independence is under threat.

When a couple of weeks ago, DISY drafted a bill curtailing his powers, he begged the ECB to issue a statement of support for his independence and it did so. If he devoted as much time and effort to saving the banking system as he does to saving his ass, the banks might not be so deep in the merde today.

 

ELECTRICITY Authority workers have been visiting business premises to check that electricity meters are working properly. I hear there is no real reason for these visits other than to give EAC employees something to do now that all repair work at the Mari power station has been completed and there is no real work for them. The Authority cannot possibly make them redundant, as this would be a big blow to democracy and pluralism.

 

PHIL carried a story on Tuesday referring to a €300 fine imposed on the Cyprus Mail by the Commissioner for the Protection of Personal Data, for reporting that a leading political family had a Harrier fighter jet in its garden and naming the family. But the journalist never mentioned the Cyprus Mail, referring to it as ‘the English language newspaper’ four times. Why did the journalist of the Greek language newspaper not mention the paper’s name? We would not have reported him to the Commissioner of personal data if he mentioned our name.

 

AN EVEN bigger blow to democracy was dealt by the Cyprus Airways board which decided that it would give redundancy notices to some 200 staff tomorrow, without paying them the additional compensation that the government had promised them. The bankrupt airline’s unions have called general meetings tomorrow to decide how they would react to this broken promise. Sadly, strike action is no longer an instrument of blackmail for CY employees, another reminder that we live in undemocratic times.

 

A SKETTOS drinker related this anecdote to our establishment, but we cannot vouch for its authenticity. Two deputies were chatting in a Nicosia cafe and the Akelite was expressing his strong disapproval of Nik’s dog Leo roaming freely in the presidential palace. This was not appropriate, especially when important guests were visiting the palazzo, he said. The DISY deputy reportedly responded as follows: “You are one to talk, you had a gaaaros roaming the presidential palace for five years and were not bothered.”


Our View: Mindless leak of president’s letter has damaged confidence

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President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades

President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades

PRESIDENT Anastasiades came to power at the most difficult time in Cyprus’ history since 1974. Two weeks after he took office he was in Brussels to discuss the bailout and was forced to accept a haircut of all bank deposits. But the legislature refused to approve this and 10 days later the Eurogroup and the troika imposed much tougher MoU. Laiki Bank was under resolution, and the Bank of Cyprus not only had to bail in its uninsured depositors and freeze bank accounts, it was also lumbered with the former’s €9.5bn ELA debt.

Less than a month in power and he was presiding over a rapidly shrinking economy, a collapsing banking sector that had to be protected with capital controls and plummeting living standards. None of this was of his doing, but the legacy of five years of Christofias’ gross incompetence, procrastination and rampant populism, combined with the deteriorating position of the banks that had taken a big hit from the Greek PSI. Still, we had hoped that the new president would be different, that he would have the mettle and nerve to provide the strong leadership that the country so desperately needed.

Sadly this strong leadership we had hoped for has not been evident in the first 100 days of Anastasiades’ presidency. On the contrary, we have watched him pander to union bosses, try to win over the hard-line nationalists, commit errors of judgment on basic issues and make promises that he would have great difficulty keeping. The pragmatism he had shown before he was elected is no longer evident and he seems overly concerned with his popularity, as if he was already thinking about his re-election.

Perhaps he has not yet recovered from the trauma of the March Eurogroup meetings which apart from destroying his credibility (he had pledged he would never agree to a haircut of deposits) multiplied the problems facing the economy. Then again, this is the situation we are in, and the president needs to take difficult decisions with the longer term in mind and no concern for the political cost.

Instead he has been pandering to the union bosses, making all sorts of promises he cannot keep. His government’s promise of additional redundancy compensation for Cyprus Airways workers, at a total cost of €20m, was a case in point, with the company’s board declaring on Thursday it could not honour it. The previous board resigned because it could not honour the compensation deal between the government and the airline’s unions.

His worst blunder yet, was the letter he sent to the leaders of the troika, asking for changes to the terms of the memorandum so that a collapse of the banking sector could be averted. Although it was a very well-argued letter, it should never have been made public, because it caused panic among the public who rushed to the banks on Wednesday and Thursday to withdraw as much money as they could.

In its defence the government could argue that it did not leak the letter to the media, but the president’s decision to give it to the party leaders was as good as leaking it. Why did Garoyian, Omirou, Kyprianou and Perdikis have to be given the letter? Anastasiades is not accountable to them nor does he have any obligation to keep them informed about what he was doing. Does he feel so isolated that he craves the public approval of AKEL and EDEK?

The letter should have remained a carefully guarded secret, because there is the possibility that the troika would turn down his request. In such a case, if there was an outside chance of still saving the banking system, it has been shattered by the president’s letter, which spoke about the ‘systemic importance’ of the Bank of Cyprus both for the banking system and the economy, stressing the need for its survival. From this it is very easy to conclude that if the MoU terms were not changed the systemic bank would crash taking everything with it.

People are certain to carry on withdrawing as much money as they are permitted from the banks – co-op bosses were complaining about increased withdrawals on Friday and trying to reassure the public the was no danger – thus putting them in even bigger capital difficulties. The tragedy is that the situation does not look like it can be fixed. We can only hope and pray that the troika will soften its stance and try to help, because the mindless leak of the president’s letter destroyed the very slim hopes of the banking sector regaining any confidence.

‘Act now or be damned later’ EAC union told

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By Peter Stevenson

AN EMERGENCY action plan is needed to deal with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus’ (EAC) declining revenues, Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) chief George Shammas said yesterday while calling on unions to leave their old-school thinking in the past.

Shammas said demand for electricity was down 20 per cent, the biggest drop in consumption seen in 35 years.

“Declining sales need to be dealt with by creating an emergency action plan,” he said.

“Solving the EAC’s financial difficulties by passing the cost onto the consumer is not a long-term or sustainable solution.”

Cyprus has the highest electricity prices in Europe, having risen over 20 per cent between the second half of 2011 and the second half of 2012.

Shammas’ comments came during the annual general meeting of EAC scientific personnel union SEPAIK, and a day after auditor-general Chrystalla Georghadji said it was doubtful the EAC could even be considered a going concern any more. The EAC, and other semi-government organisations have been earmarked by international lenders for privatisation.

But Georghadji blasted, among other issues, its cash flow problems, overdue electricity bills and fat employee allowances, and has asked the board to submit a credible plan to tackle the problems. Georghadji said “no substantive measures had been put in place to restructure/rationalise the organisation while a new voluntary retirement scheme, provided “especially high”  compensation that would provoke the public’s sense of justice. Neither has the EAC yet cut any of the numerous allowances afforded to staff as was the case in the central government.

Shammas yesterday told union representatives the delay in taking measures and leaving the EAC open to external factors would not lead to the desired solutions.

“You must leave behind any reactions which go against the modernisation and the improvement that all public sector organisations like the EAC require,” he said.

“You all know the problems and you are in a better position than any external players to suggest solutions, otherwise the way things are going, very soon, painful solutions from others who do not take into account all factors and characteristics of the area you know very well, will be implemented,” he added.

EAC chairman Charalambos Tsouris, who also addressed the union members was blasé about Georghadji comments. “We are used to the auditor-general only presenting the possible negative aspects that she sees,” he said.

Commenting on the state of the EAC, Tsouris added: “Unfortunately the government still owes the EAC €25 million for the rental of generators following the naval base blast and the amount has not even been included in the 2013 budget, which fills us with concern.”

The EAC chairman said that unpaid electricity bills now totalled €50 million. “The media often exaggerates the amount of houses which have had their electricity cut off unfortunately,” he said. Tsouris said that of the 550,000 EAC customers, electricity has been cut-off from around 1,600 who were unable to pay their bills, even with payment flexibility offered to them by the authority.

SEPAIK’s Sotos Savva, addressing the AGM, also commented on Georghadji’s criticism  saying that “every Cypriot should be extremely worried at the prospect of a private electricity-supplying monopoly. “We do not believe that privatisation is the answer,” Savva said, but rather streamlining the existing structure of the EAC.

Savva said that under the current circumstances SEPAIK understood that as demand decreases, work decreases and so the workforce would also have to be reduced somehow.

“Trade unions have publicly stated that we accept and respect CERA’s decision for the gradual reduction by ten per cent of employees and we are currently speaking with the board about how to smoothly achieve that,” he said.

Savva said the employees – there is talk of a reduction of 350 – have been offered a scheme for early, voluntary retirement but are currently studying another plan.

Despite the troika’s determination to see the island’s SGOs privatised, the government has on a number of occasions promised semi-government employees that their jobs, and or, benefits would be protected.

Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou yesterday repeated the promise to the EAC union, saying no employee of any semi-government organisation would be victimised by any restructuring.

“I can assure you that workers’ rights are at the top of our priorities as we strive not to victimise any employees,” she said.

Emilianidou said she believed that EAC employees could play a vital role in the important field of energy which would help in the recovery and long-term development of the economy, by providing more jobs.

Political parties also weighed in yesterday in the wake of Georghadji’s report.

EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou said any discussion about the future of SGOs should not involve slogans, political dogmatism or inflexible attitudes.

“Despite the government’s pre-election promises they are going ahead with privatising profitable SGOs,” he said. At the same time he said his party was against all forms of inflated bonuses whether in the private or public sector.

“The mistakes of Cyprus Airways and Eurocypria must become a lesson to other organisations and companies to not reach the same state,” he said.

The Green Party also criticised the situation at SGOs labelling it unacceptable that certain people were mishandling public wealth and property.

“We do not support the opinion that SGOs should be dismantled, like Cyprus Airways, or for them to be completely privatised but unfortunately the heads of those organisations have made them unsustainable as they are,” a statement from the party said.

Police raid on Istanbul park triggers night of rioting

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Thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul overnight on Sunday, erecting barricades and starting bonfires, after riot police firing teargas and water cannon stormed a park at the centre of two weeks of anti-government unrest. Lines of police backed by armoured vehicles sealed off Taksim Square in the centre of the city as officers raided the adjoining Gezi Park late on Saturday, where protesters had been camped in a ramshackle settlement of tents. 
Armoured police vehicles are now patrolling Taksim Square

By Ayla Jean Yackley and Seda Sezer

Thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul overnight on Sunday, erecting barricades and starting bonfires, after riot police firing teargas and water cannon stormed a park at the centre of two weeks of anti-government unrest.

Lines of police backed by armoured vehicles sealed off Taksim Square in the centre of the city as officers raided the adjoining Gezi Park late on Saturday, where protesters had been camped in a ramshackle settlement of tents.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had warned hours earlier that security forces would clear the square, the centre of more than two weeks of fierce anti-government protests that spread to cities across the country, unless the demonstrators withdrew before a ruling party rally in Istanbul on Sunday.

“We have our Istanbul rally on Sunday. I say it clearly: Taksim Square must be evacuated, otherwise this country’s security forces know how to evacuate it,” he told tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters at a rally in Ankara.

Protesters took to the streets in several neighbourhoods across Istanbul following the raid on Gezi Park, ripping up metal fences, paving stones and advertising hoardings to build barricades and lighting bonfires of trash in the streets.

Some chanted, “Tayyip, resign.”

Local television footage showed groups of demonstrators blocking a main highway to Ataturk airport on the western edge of the city, while to the east, several hundred walked towards a main bridge crossing the Bosphorus waterway towards Taksim.

Thousands more rallied in the working-class Gazi neighbourhood, which saw heavy clashes with police in the 1990s, while protesters also gathered in Ankara around the central Kugulu Park, including opposition MPs who sat in the streets in an effort to prevent the police from firing teargas.

A main public-sector union confederation, KESK, which has some 240,000 members, said it would call a national strike for Monday, while a second union grouping said it was holding an emergency meeting to decide whether to join the action.

“One million people to Taksim” – a call for more anti-government demonstrations later on Sunday – was a top-trending hashtag on Twitter.

“The police brutality aims at clearing the streets of Istanbul to make way for Erdogan’s meeting tomorrow,” said Oguz Kaan Salici, Istanbul president of the main opposition People’s Republican Party.

“Yet it will backfire. People feel betrayed.”

Turkish police clear demonstrators from park

Turkish police clear demonstrators from park earlier today

 

CLOUDS OF TEARGAS

A similar police crackdown on peaceful campaigners in Gezi Park two weeks ago provoked an unprecedented wave of protest against Erdogan, drawing in secularists, nationalists, professionals, trade unionists and students who took to the streets in protest at what they see as his autocratic style.

The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannon at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association.

Panicked protesters fled into an upscale hotel at the back of Gezi Park during Saturday night’s raid, several of them vomiting, as clouds of teargas and blasts from percussion bombs – designed to create confusion rather than injure – engulfed the park.

“We tried to flee and the police pursued us. It was like war,” Claudia Roth, co-chair of Germany’s Greens party, who had gone to Gezi Park to show her support, told Reuters.

The Gezi Park protesters, who oppose government plans to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks there, had defied repeated calls to leave but had started to reduce their presence in the park after meetings with Erdogan and the local authorities.

“This is unbelievable. They had already taken out political banners and were reducing to a symbolic presence in the park,” Koray Caliskan, a political scientist at Bosphorus University, told Reuters from the edge of Gezi Park.

ERDOGAN DEFIANT

Erdogan told protesters on Thursday that he would put the Gezi Park plans on hold until a court rules on them. It was a softer stance after two weeks in which he called protesters “riff-raff” and said the plans would go ahead regardless.

But at the first of two rallies this weekend by his ruling AK Party, he reverted to a defiant tone, telling supporters on the outskirts of Ankara that he would crush his opponents in elections next year.

The police intervention so soon after Erdogan spoke took many by surprise on a busy Saturday night around Taksim, one of Istanbul’s main social hubs, not least after President Abdullah Gul, who has struck a more conciliatory tone than Erdogan, said earlier on Saturday that talks were progressing well.

Erdogan has long been Turkey’s most popular politician, his AK Party winning three successive election victories, each time with a larger share of the vote, but his critics complain of increasing authoritarianism.

He has said the AK Party rallies in Ankara and Istanbul are meant to kick off campaigning for local elections next year and are not related to the protests, but they are widely seen as a show of strength in the face of the demonstrations.

Obama, Putin face tough talks on Syria at G8 summit

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By Guy Faulconbridge

U.S. President Barack Obama will seek the help on Monday of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Syria’s most powerful ally, to bring Bashar al-Assad to the negotiating table and end a two-year civil war.

At their first private face-to-face meeting in a year, Obama will try to find common ground with Putin on the sidelines of a G8 summit in Northern Ireland after angering the Kremlin by authorising U.S. military support for the Syrian president’s opponents.

During talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London on the eve of the summit, Putin renewed his criticism of the West’s position in startling tones, describing Assad’s foes as cannibals.

“I think you will not deny that one does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines, in front of the public and cameras,” Putin said at a joint news conference with Cameron.

“Are these the people you want to support? Is it them who you want to supply with weapons?”

Cameron conceded London and Moscow remained far apart.

Russia does not buy the West’s assertion that Assad’s forces have used chemical weapons and crossed a red line in doing so, saying U.S. military support for Syrian rebels would only escalate violence.

Washington said on Saturday it would keep F-16 fighters and Patriot missiles in Jordan at Amman’s request, prompting Moscow to bristle at the possibility they could be used to enforce a no-fly zone inside Syria.

Putin’s rhetoric has become increasingly anti-Western since he regained the presidency last year but he appeared upbeat in London, stressing several areas of cooperation between Russian and Britain.

At the Lough Erne golf resort in Northern Ireland, Cameron will bring together leaders of the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia, Germany, France and Italy – representing just over half of the $71.7 trillion global economy.

Syria will inevitably dominate the Monday-Tuesday talks but persistent worries about the global economy will also be central to the discussions.

MARKET TURMOIL TO FOCUS MINDS

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders will likely discuss the role of central banks and monetary policy.

They are likely to say they are not content with progress so far in fixing their economies in the wake of the global financial crisis, according to a draft communiqué seen by Reuters.

Japan’s Abe will use the opportunity to explain his cocktail of fiscal and monetary stimulus known as ‘Abenomics’ to the leaders as investors try to absorb the implications of a signal by the U.S. Federal Reserve that it may start to slow its money-printing.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will not attend. He and his colleagues hold a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Bond yields have climbed and share prices have sagged globally since Bernanke shocked investors on May 22 by saying the bank might ‘take a step down’ in the pace of bond purchases – a blow to a global economy still growing well below trend due to the after effects of the great financial crisis.

“Japan’s decisive moves to reflate its economy will support growth in the near term, but it will need to manage the twin challenge of providing near-term stimulus and achieving longer-term sustainability,” the draft communiqué said, although the version circulated by Britain and seen by Reuters was put together before the recent market turmoil.

The leaders of the European Union and United States are likely to announce the start of formal negotiations on a free trade deal that could be worth more than $100 billion a year to each economy.

EU and U.S. negotiators aim to finish their work by the end of next year.

TREASURE ISLAND TAX

Cameron has made tackling tax avoidance – which campaigners say costs about $3 trillion a year – one of the key parts of the formal agenda at the summit.

He has turned up the pressure to clamp down on secretive money flows by pressing Britain’s overseas tax havens into a transparency deal and announcing new disclosure rules for British firms.

“It is important we are getting our house in order,” Cameron said on Saturday after representatives of overseas tax havens linked to Britain agreed to sign up to an international transparency protocol.

Aid campaigners said Britain’s action will count for little if the rest of the G8 does not follow suit.

G8 leaders will probably shy away from adopting a measure aimed at curbing tax avoidance by highlighting when companies channel profits into tax havens, and will include a watered-down alternative, according to the draft communiqué.

Tackling corporate tax avoidance has become a political goal internationally following public anger about revelations over the past year that companies like Apple and Google had used structures U.S. and European politicians said were contrived to minimise the amount of taxes paid.

But the draft summit text suggested there will be no agreement on a rule that would force companies to publish their profits, revenues and tax payments on a country-by-country basis.

Global tax evasion could be costing more than $3 trillion a year, according to researchers from Tax Justice Network while as much as $32 trillion could be hidden by individuals in tax havens.

Magnitude 5.8 quake hits Mexico, tremour felt in Mexico City

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5.8 magnitude earthquake, 22km West of Jolalpan

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Mexico on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, and tremors were felt in Mexico City.

There were no immediate reports of damage in the city, Mexico City mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said on Twitter, although there were some disruptions to the electricity supply. A Reuters witness said buildings shuddered in the city.

The quake was 20 miles (32 km) south of the central Mexican town of Santa Rosa Treinta, the USGS said.

Power outages hit the Mexican capital  after the earthquake struck the centre of the country, and officials said there was no other damage reported.

Some restaurants and residential buildings in the capital were evacuated as a precautionary measure, they said.

Buildings shuddered in the city, a Reuters witness said.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) downgraded its initial measurement of the quake to magnitude 5.8 from 6.0.

 

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