A BILL is to be drawn up for the tighter control on suspected CIA rendition flights landing at Larnaca Airport, the House Human Rights Committee heard yesterday.
Discussing the issue behind closed doors, the Committee heard testimony from the Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Alexandros Zinon that several meetings had taken place between the relevant authorities concerning the flights.
Cyprus has been named as one of 14 European countries that allowed the flights, carrying terrorist suspects to third countries for torture, to land at Larnaca and Paphos airports.
A report adopted by the European Parliament earlier this month said some 57 such flights had landed in Cyprus. The government said it would not investigate because it would not serve any practical purpose.
However according to what was heard at the Committee yesterday the government has been working on the issue since last July when the allegations first surfaced in Europe.
House Committee Chairman Sophoclis Fyttis said Zinon had told them that a meeting had been held on July 12 involving the Transport Minister, the Attorney-general, Immigration and Civil Aviation to studies measures that would “ensure Cyprus was not an accessory” to the gross violation of human rights.
“There was a decision to ask for more information about these flights that were landing, especially if it was suspect” said Fyttis.
The government has defended itself by saying that under international law Civil Aviation cannot prevent a flight from landing for technical reasons and tat there was no way to know that the commercial planes arriving had been leased by the CIA.
Fyttis said the July meeting had proposed a legislative regulation that would allow stricter control over the flights by changing the rules under which overflights and landings.
Zinon told the Committee that on August 31 last year the cabinet adopted the proposals made at the July meeting and said another meeting would be held to discuss the drawing up of a bill.
In addition the Foreign Ministry had written to the American embassy last July asking for clarification on at least seven of the suspect flights but they answered that they had no briefing on the issue.
“We believe the Cyprus Republic needs to come up with some sort of legislative framework to control these flights,” said Fyttis.
He said the entire committee had agreed on this.
“If the planes are government-owned and ask for technical aid or supplies it’s hard to find information on them but if they are private companies there should be information.”
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