Greek Press

ALITHIA: “Tractors hit the roads on Monday”. Potato farmers are set to hit the streets on Monday with their tractors in a large-scale blockade in retaliation against the government’s failure to meet their demands for early retirement pay-offs. Local producers are afraid they will not be able to compete with European potato growers when the island joins the EU, and demand that an early retirement compensation scheme be introduced.

HARAVGHI: “Denktash: ‘Solution before May 1 an illusion’”. UN Special Envoy Alvaro de Soto is hoping Turkey will encourage progress in the face-to-face talks in order to achieve a solution in the set timeframes, the paper reports. However, such an achievement would seem rather difficult since no substantial changes are expected until March 22. Meanwhile, speaking from Ankara, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said reaching a solution before May 1 was an illusion and that he would never allow Cyprus to be turned into another Crete.

SIMERINI: “Criminal proceedings against Archbishop’s relatives”. Police have launched a criminal investigation against two relatives of ailing Archbishop Chrysostomos, the paper reports. Archbishopric secretary Ionas Alexandrou and Chief Accountant Chrysostomos Philippou face charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, demanding property with threats, interfering with police investigations, and corruption.

MACHI: “One in five Cypriots has tried drugs”. Studies carried out by the Centre for Education about Drugs and Treatment of Drugs Addicted Persons (KENTHEA), showed that one in five Cypriots has tried drugs. According to the studies, which were discussed at the House Health Committee, The number of Cypriots aged 15 to 60 who have tried drugs has shown a significant increase from five per cent in 1999 to 19.7 per cent in 2003.

POLITIS: “Erdogan shocker: ‘Turkey willing to trade land for peace.’” Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was willing to offer a land-for-peace deal in an attempt to break a deadlock over talks to re-unify the island before EU accession on May 1, the paper reports. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Erdogan told journalists that Turkish Cypriots, who control about 36 percent of the divided island, would make a “gesture” in offering land to the Greek side.

PHILELEFTHEROS: “Denktash threatens to resign”. Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has threatened to resign if his demands changing basic provisions in the Annan plan are not met. Speaking from Ankara, Denktash said he would resign and campaign against the plan. “It’s my right, because I am the one who is negotiating,” Denktash said. Denktash’s son Serdar is also set to follow suit.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.