PHILELEFTHEROS: “International criminals hiding in the north”. Ten criminals wanted by Interpol are hiding in the north with the government helpless to do anything about it except putting their names on a stop list at the checkpoints, the paper reports. Police chief Tassos Panayiotou said the north had become a haven for wanted criminals because of the lack of control. Panayiotou said the murder of a British man wanted by the police in the UK has raised fears that criminals are sorting out their differences in the north.
SIMERINI: “Anastassiades: ‘Show us those tapes’”. Justice Minister Doros Theodorou has refused to come forward with video evidence, which he claims shows DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades interfering with police business during the arrest of a football trainer at last Sunday’s Omonia vs. Apollon game at the GSP stadium. Anastassiades has invited Theodorou to come forward with the evidence, saying he also had video evidence that would “burn” the Justice Minister. Anastassiades said that during the arrest, Theodorou had chosen to have coffee at the cafeteria.
MACHI: “Prisons overflowing.” Attorney-general Solon Nikitas has for the first time admitted that the Nicosia Central Prisons are overcrowded, the paper reports. Speaking at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Nikitas said the overcrowding was due to the large number of illegal foreign workers, but warned that the government should not give the impression that all they are interested in is kicking foreigners out of the island.
HARAVGHI: “No government decision on casino.” President Tassos Papadopoulos said on Tuesday that no decision had yet been taken by the government on the construction of a casino in the free areas. Speaking at a news conference, Papadopoulos said all views on the casino would be evaluated. Papadopoulos said he was against the operation of a casino because it would lead to other problems with gambling, but added that he was open minded enough to look to the other side of the coin.
ALITHIA: “Erdogan: ‘I don’t get this guy’”. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is said to have criticized Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash’s policy according to Turkish newspaper Radikal. According to the paper, Erdogan is said to have been highly critical of Denktash’s stance on the Annan plan. He was quoted as saying, “I can’t understand this man. If the plan works for you, then you say yes, if it doesn’t then you say no and then move, on. I personally do not share the same views with this man, his statements are losing him points.”
POLITIS: “Sine qua non for Turkey.” The European Union has made it clear that the absence of a solution to the Cyprus problem could be a serious obstacle in Turkey’s European Union accession ambitions, the paper reports. This is the first time that the EU’s report on Turkey has set the solution of the Cyprus problem as a term for Turkey’s accession negotiations in a direct manner.
