MONTHLY REPORT -- NICOSIA BUREAU -- NOVEMBER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86-00040R000300570002-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: December 5, 1985
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/08: CIA-RDP86-0004OR000300570002-9
MNC-5128
5 December 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR& Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
THROUGH a Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT $ Monthly Report -- Nicosia Bureau -- November
I. GENERAL
A. The local communist party, AKEL, seized upon the construction of
our new bureau as an issue to embarrass the Kyprianou government during
the November-December election campaign. The specific charge was that
President Kyprianou had approved the construction of a large "spy station"
on the outskirts of Nicosia. The communist party newspaper has carried
several articles, editorials, political cartoons, and pictures on the
subject. The pictures showed several bureau employees inspecting the site
and the bureau car. As the month and campaign progressed, references were
confined to grouping the construction of the "spy station" with several
other examples of "concessions granted to the imperialists" by President
Kyprianou. We were advised by the embassy that the Libyan ambassador had
expressed concern to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) that the new
"spy station" was targeted against monitoring diplomatic signals emanating
from his chancery. We provided the embassy with background briefing
material to assist the MFA in dispelling and countering this concern.
Thus far the espionage incident involving former FBIS employee Larry Chin
has not been raised in the AKEL campaign.
B. Work on the new bureau progressed more slowly than expected,
primarily because the contractor ceased work on the site for 9 days while
an overhead high-voltage powerline was removed. Although we are now
behind schedule, our architect believes the contractor can make up the
lost time. Efforts to find a qualified landscape architect, a rare
commodity on Cyprus, were initiated. All applications for utilities have
been submitted to the authorities. Selection of interior fittings, tiles,
ceilings also has been completed.
1. The 23 November hijacking of an Egyptair airliner on a flight
from Athens to Cairo prompted the bureau to place monitorable Cairo and
Athens radios on open speaker watch. In light of a Cairo MENA report that
the hijackers would announce their demands "later," the bureau remained
open past its normal 2300 GMT close of business to monitor MENA until
sign-off and to check the last scheduled Athens Domestic Service newscast
for any further reportage on the hijacking. The bureau again extended its
operating hours on 24 November to monitor an expected Egyptian
"communique" on the storming of the hijacked aircraft in Valetta by
Egyptian troops.
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2. The Christian Lebanese Forces' clandestine Radio Free Lebanon
resumed transmission on 14 November following 6 weeks of silence. The
station observed an "experimental transmission period" of 4 days, after
which it returned to normal programming. It has been restored to bureau
coverage.
3. In line with a work stoppage declared by the technical and
editorial staff of AFP over a salary dispute, all services were halted
from 1218 GMT to 1830 GMT on 6 November. AFP's EXOR service, monitored via
landline at the bureau, ceased transmission for that period of time. An
apology to subscribers was transmitted at 1830 GMT, and normal service
then resumed.
4. The 29 November edition of Beirut's AL-NAHAR reported that a new
radio station, "The Voice of the Port of Tripoli," has been established in
Tripoli, Lebanon, and that experimental transmissions have begun. The
station has not yet been monitored at Nicosia Bureau.
5. Istanbul HURGUN in Turkish, a newspaper that was added to
coverage in October, announced in its 3 November edition that it was
terminating publication, hinting at financial problems.
Acting on a request relayed by the Embassy's Public Affairs
Officer, the bureau has arranged to pass a copy of the West Europe DAILY
REPORT on a regular basis to an offical in the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, who has just returned from a post in the United States, where he
found the product very helpful.
1. A 16-line patch panel has been rebuilt for use in the bureau's
plans to alter teletype signalling from high level neutral to low level RS
232 standard.
2. Equipment receivede One Comscribe Model IIIC terminal.
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Nicosia Bureau Production Report for November 1985
TOTAL PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH: 316420
TOTAL NON-PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH: 83970
TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLISHABLE ITEMS FILED DURING MONTH: 973
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
I I . INPUT OF REGULAR COVERAGE: 8565.00 22260.00 1 17. 00
(minutes or issues per week) min. min. issues
III. OUTPUT FROM ALL SOURCES:
(publishable words per month)
CHINA
Beijing in
Persian to Iran
CLANDESTINE (LEVANT')
*(CLANDESTINE)
English
Radio Free Lebanon
in
430
(Clandestine)
A
bi
Radio Free Lebanon
in
9760
ra
c
(Clandestine)
Arabic
Voice of the Mountain
in
14510
CYPRUS
Nicosia Domestic Service in
Greek
*Nicosia Television Service in
Greek
Nicosia Cyprus MAIL in
English
Nicosia ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek
Nicosia I SIMERINI in
Greek
Nicosia I SIMERINI tis DHEFTERAS in
Greek
Nicosia KHARAVYI in
Greek
Nicosia k~.HARAVYI tis DHEFTERAS in
Greek
Nicosia 0 FILELEVTHEROS in
Greek
Nicosia 0 FILELEVTHEROS tis
DHEFTERAS in
Greek
152
1580
850
480
4960
230
2270
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BROAD-- PRESS PUBLI-
CAS'TS AGENCIES CATIONS
*Nicosia PRESS AND INFORMATION
OFFICE in
English
EGYPT
Cairo Domestic Service in
Arabic 48590
*Cairo Voice of the Arabs in
Arabic 1290
* (Editorial Report in
Arabic) 250
Cairo MENA in
Arabic
Cairo MENA in
English
FRANCE
Paris AF'P in
English
GREECE
Athens Domestic Service in
Greek
Athens ATHENS NEWS in
English
440
Athens ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek
272(.')
Athens I k;ATHIMERINI in
Greek
Athens K:IRIAK:ATIKK::I ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek:
230
Athens RIZOSPASTIS in
Greek
5080
I RAQ
Baghdad in
Persian to Iran
LEBANON
Beirut Domestic Service in
Arabic
37620
Beirut Voice of
Arabic
Lebanon
in
24351 i
*Beirut Voice of
Lebanon
in
English
170
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Beirut Ihdin Radio of Free & Unified
Lebanon in
Arabic
Beirut AL_NAHAR in
Arabic
Beirut AL SAFIR in
Arabic
Beirut MONDAY MORNING in
English
LIBYA
Tripoli Domestic Service in
Arabic
BROAD- PRESS PURL I --
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
1 120
1550
6030
TURKEY
Ankara YANK.I in
Turkish
0
*Istanbul BULVAR in
Turkish
4'7 0
Istanbul CUMHURIYET in
Turkish
2810
Istanbul DUNYA in
Turkish
Istanbul GUNAYDIN in
Turk i sh
510
*Istanbul HURGUN in
T'ur k i sh
990
Istanbul HURRIYET in
Turkish
1410
Istanbul MILLIYET in
Turkish
1070
Istanbul TERCUMAN in
Tur k i sh
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
Moscow in
Greek to Cyprus
Moscow in
Persian to Iran
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/08: CIA-RDP86-00040R000300570002-9