Cyprus News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-10-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] Miller named special Cyprus Coordinator

[02] Turkish Cypriot leader for meetings in US

[03] Effort for Cyprus settlement expected after elections

[04] Bill on commercial activity with occupied areas discussed

[05] Cyprus' foreign trade statistics

[06] US favours bicommunal trade links

0945:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Miller named special Cyprus Coordinator

US President Bill Clinton announced his intent to nominate Miller for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure as State Department Special Coordinator for Cyprus.

His appointment must be confirmed by the Senate.

Miller, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US embassy in Athens, Greece, since 1994, is already working on the Cyprus problem and had visited the island in September.

Prior to that he was Director of the Office of Israeli and Arab-Israeli Affairs.

Miller also served as Director of the Office of Maghreb Affairs and earlier headed the Office of Regional Affairs under the Ambassador-at-Large for Counter-terrorism.

CNA DA/MA/GP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

0950:CYPPRESS:02

[02] Turkish Cypriot leader for meetings in US

Rauf Denktash will put forward his views on latest developments in the protracted Cyprus problem on October 29.

During his stay in the American capital, Denktash is expected to meet US President's Special Emissary on Cyprus Richard Holbrooke and State Department Special Coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Miller.

Holbrooke, appointed Special Emissary earlier this year, will be meeting Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides in New York on Monday.

CNA DA/MA/GP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1050:CYPPRESS:03

[03] Effort for Cyprus settlement expected after elections

"I think Kofi Annan will take advantage of this meeting to have a very thorough review of the situation, see how things have evolved over these past several months, what the assessment is and how to proceed," Gustave Feissel said.

President Glafcos Clerides and the UN Secretary-General are scheduled to meet Monday in New York, for the first time since Annan opened a round of talks between Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash in July in the United States.

A second round of talks followed in Switzerland, but ended in failure because of Denktash's intransigent stance.

Feissel said "we all understand that a major effort on the overall settlement is not likely to take place until after the (Presidential) election in February" in Cyprus.

"But in the meantime we can still take a number of important small steps such as the July agreement on humanitarian issues and what we are trying to do now on security," he added.

President Clerides and Denktash agreed after meeting in Nicosia to provide each other with information at their disposal on the location of graves of persons missing.

The Greek Cypriot side appointed Takis Christopoulos and the Turkish Cypriot side Rustem Tatar to exchange this information.

Feissel said the two men "will meet next week to exchange information and then proceed with discussing the arrangements for the return of remains."

He added he expects the UN chief to give "very careful consideration" to the appointment of a new third member of the Committee of Missing Persons, as requested by President Clerides and Denktash.

There has been no UN member to the Committee since Paul Wurth, a Red Cross official, retired about two years ago.

Referring to last week's meeting between the two leaders on security measures, the UN envoy expressed regret that an agreement was not possible.

"We haven't given up hope and we will continue because we believe that even a modest step on security will be very important for both sides," Feissel said.

He pointed out such an agreement will help bring about "a better climate which would facilitate our efforts in the coming months" and "the big step when the time comes."

The UN resident representative expressed satisfaction with the increase in meetings between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

"I think this has also been one of the good developments in the recent months, the number of bicommunal activities have increased significantly," he said.

Feissel welcomed US efforts for commercial activity with the involvement of American businesspeople in joint ventures between Greek and Turkish Cypriot entrepreneurs and said "anything that facilitates contact is good."

CNA MAN/MA/GP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1240:CYPPRESS:04

[04] Bill on commercial activity with occupied areas discussed

The House Legal Affairs Committee began discussing yesterday the first bill on the movement of goods from the occupied areas.

It aims at legalising commercial exchanges, on license from the Cyprus authorities, between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and the few Maronites and Greek Cypriots living in the occupied areas.

The proposed bill provides that the Ministerial Council will appoint an inspector charged with issuing licenses for the transport and exchange of goods from the occupied areas.

Permission will be given under conditions and after thorough research to safeguard the quality of the products and that they do not come from property owned by Greek Cypriots.

Persons possessing or selling products with no license face a 2000- pound-fine or a four-year prison sentence or both.

Deputy Attorney-General, Loucis Loucaides, who drafted the bill, said it provides complete control of products and will, to a large extent, combat illegal activity with the occupied areas.

He pointed out that Turkish Cypriots are also considered victims of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and there is no intention of strangling them economically.

Loucaides denied the legislation "partitioned" Cyprus and said "we want to be able to check anything that comes from the occupied areas." He admitted, however, that the bill has some drawbacks.

During the first day of discussion members of the Committee raised a number of questions and reservations on the proposed bill and agreed to ask Ministers and the Police to provide more information.

Committee Chairman, MP Panayiotis Demetriou, said reservations about the political dimensions of the bill were expressed.

Deputies queried the practical difficulties of implementing the proposed bill and particularly ensuring the goods were not products of stolen property.

Demetriou stressed that it does not aim at partitioning Cyprus commercially but controlling the movement of goods from the illegally occupied areas.

CNA MA/GP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1250:CYPPRESS:05

[05] Cyprus' foreign trade statistics

According to a recent report by the official Department of Statistics and Research, in the same period total imports declined by 4,4 per cent to 765,7 million pounds, while total exports fell by 5,9 per cent to 253,0 million pounds.

Imports for home consumption fell by 3,0 per cent to 606,9 million pounds.

Referring to the origin of imports, the report says the European Union (EU) countries supplied 48,1 per cent of imported goods, compared to 47,8 per cent in the first five months of the previous year.

The EU countries absorbed 53,0 per cent of the island's domestic exports, compared to 61,2 per cent in the same period last year, the report reveals.

On the contrary, the share of the Arab countries in Cyprus' domestic exports increased to 25,4 per cent, compared with 17,0 per cent.

According to the report, industrial products accounted for 73,8 per cent of exports, compared to 67,2 per cent in the same period last year.

CNA GG/GP/1997

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1510:CYPPRESS:06

[06] US favours bicommunal trade links

"If the borders between the two parts of Cyprus opened up for international business, it would be mutually beneficial. Trade between people should proceed," Richard Holbrooke, Presidential Emissary said after a meeting with Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides.

He pointed out: "Many peoples and countries have trade when they do not have their political differences settled" and implied that such business deal would help increase the per capita income of the Turkish Cypriots.

Advocating direct business between Greek and Turkish Cypriot businessmen, he said it is up to the two sides to work out how to go about it before a political settlement is reached.

Holbrooke will be co-convener of a business conference later this month in Brussels to promote economic cooperation between businessmen from Cyprus, Greece and Turkey.

Kasoulides described his meeting as "interesting" and said Holbrooke is still at a stage of trying to work out how and when he would get involved in the Cyprus peace effort.

While in New York, Kasoulides has had meetings with his Australian, Tanzanian and Bangladeshi counterparts to discuss current developments in Cyprus, bilateral relations and UN related matters.

CNA MM/MCH/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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