A HIGH-ranking government official yesterday claimed that the US chanelled around $60m to non-governmental organisations and persons in Cyprus, without Congressional approval to sway Cypriot voters in favour of the Annan Plan.
The actions were also outside the legal procedures agreed with the Cyprus Government during the period of the Annan Plan.
Testifying before the Parliamentary Watch Committee investigating the use of US funds through UNOPS to sway Cypriot voters in favour of the Annan Plan, Planning Bureau chief Andreas Moleskis said that any country would view this as working against its interests.
Nicos Koutsou, deputy leader of the Evroko party, which asked for the investigation, told journalists that the investigation will spread to Washington. He said a Cyprus Foreign Minister representative was already there to find and bring back evidence for sums, which had not gone through the competent Congress committee, but were unused funds from US aid to other countries redirected to Cyprus.
"We shall work together with Congress so as to help it locate those diplomats and others who violated American law and discuss this issue with them," Koutsou said.
He stressed that the aim of the investigation was not to smear anybody’s name, but on the contrary to enable anyone to speak for themselves and set the record straight.
Tarnish
"We undertook this investigation because we were repeatedly challenged to do so by Disy and others, but those who challenged us now criticise us for trying to smear people," Koutsou stressed.
Accusations for trying to tarnish the names of those involved in the Bicommunal Development Programme financed by UNOPS/USAID were repeated at yesterday’s session of the Watch Committee by Disy MP Christos Pourgourides, getting him into loud exchanges with Committee chairman Rikkos Erotokritou, also of Evroko, and Nikos Koutsou.
Red Cross Honorary President and one of the longest serving personalities of Cypriot politics Stella Souliotou caused a sensation by her written testimony, in which she said that there was an attempt by the US to finance NGOs directly in Cyprus as early as 1998.
As president of the Cyprus Red Cross, Souliotou had been authorised by the Government to conclude and sign agreements with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about the Relief Operation of Cyprus and she always did so working jointly with the Foreign Ministry and the Planning Bureau under the scrutiny of the Auditor General.
This changed in 1998 when UNOPS took over from UNHCR.
President Clerides renewed her authorisation, but UNOPS now wanted to conclude agreements with NGOs without the usual cooperation and auditing procedures.
Souliotou refused to cooperate in this and it was then agreed that UNOPS could finance NGO programmes directly, provided they were approved by a Steering Committee, composed of the Planning Bureau, Stella Souliotou and a representative of the American Embassy.
Later, the Steering Committee was bypassed with NGO programmes being approved only by procedures dominated by the American embassy in Nicosia.
According to a final evaluation report of the Bicommunal Development Programme prepared by Nathan Associates, Inc., a ‘Special Initiative’ grant was established permitting the beginning of a more directive programme that remained within the control of the US embassy. This development came about "as the possibilities for a settlement improved in 2002."
Responded
By 2002-2003, financing focused more on programmes for ‘peace and mediation’, the evaluation report said. It is also noted in the report that the size of grants to many NGOs in Cyprus, especially in the first three years of the Bicommunal Programme "appears excessive by most standards used by USAID and others."
UNOPS Programme Manager Andrew Russell, who took over in January 2004, has responded positively to an invitation by the Watch Committee to testify before it and has accepted to waive his immunity for this.
The Watch Committee President, Rikkos Erotokritou, announced that in view of Russell’s forthcoming testimony and in order to give the opportunity to Committee members to study the bulky documentation that has accumulated, the Committee will resume its work in a fortnight.
I believe this. I know about a bi-communal NGO that all of its GC members are Annan plan supporters and it is sponsored by the Americans.
)
