MONTHLY REPORT--NICOSIA BUREAU--FEBRUARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-00733R000100080011-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2012
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: March 4, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/13: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100080011-4
MNC-7003
4 March 1987
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
THROUGH Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT Monthly Report -- Nicosia Bureau -- February
I. GENERAL
A. Work at the new bureau is starting to show signs of winding down
as all major projects have been completed or are nearing completion in the
next few weeks. Interior painting has begun and the laying of carpets and
installation of furniture and monitoring equipment will begin late in
March. We are working with the contractor to coordinate our preparatory
work inside the building as the contractor completes various areas of the
building. The contractor's site engineer feels that the building will be
completed by the end of March. On that basis,we are shooting for a 21
April activation date. However, it must be added that inclement weather
and other factors could force a change. We are taking it as it comes to
ensure a smooth transition from the old to the new offices.
B. February witnessed a resurgence in the AKEL-generated campaign
against the Government of Cyprus (GOC) for its willingness to allow U.S.
"spy stations" to operate on the island. The campaign was launched by a 5
February address at the House of Representatives by AKEL Secretary General
Ezekias Papaioannou in which he again accused the GOC of "illegally"
granting the USG permission to construct a "radio monitoring station" near
Arkhangelos in Nicosia. This was followed by critical articles and
editorials in the 8 and 9 February editions of the AKEL paper KHARAVYI in
which the GOC was accused of allowing Cyprus to become a
"telecommunications-espionage center" for the "imperialist secret
services." These charges prompted a GOC spokesman to issue a denial on 9
February, which included a brief overview of past and present FBIS
operations on the island. "Foreign Ministry circles" in northern Cyprus
also denied the existence of U.S. monitoring stations" in their territory
in a short report published in the 11 February edition of BOZKURT. The
issue continued to generate press reports and comment for several
subsequent days; all reports have been filed to Headquarters.
C. A brief Nicosia radio report on the evening of 14 February cited a
Cypriot Police announcement of an "explosion" in the Arkhangelos area of
Nicosia. As this is the area in which our new bureau is located, the
bureau guard contacted the police and was informed that the explosion had
occurred over 2 miles from our new site, and that the incident was under
investigation. This information was supplied to Headquarters in an FYI and
the Embassy was informed. At month's end no new information on the
incident was available.
II. OPERATIONS
A. Monitorial/Editorial
1. The bureau extended its operating hours on 1 February to
complete processing and filing of Egyptian President Mubarak's live
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"Police Day" address, in which he discussed the recent ICO summit in
Kuwait and alluded to Egypt's possession of a "bulging file" on Syria's
illicit activities, including apparent Syrian contacts with Israel.
Mubarak went on to say, however, that it was beneath Egypt's dignity to
use that information at present in retaliation for Syria's attack on Egypt
at the ICO conference.
2. Ongoing developments in the issue of the U.S. hostages in
Lebanon and Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite's apparent kidnapping
prompted the bureau to remain open past its usual time of closure on two
occasions. On 7 February, the bureau stayed open in light of conflicting
reports on Waite's release. However, the two hourly Voice of Lebanon
newscasts monitored after our normal COB offered no confirmation of
Waite's release, later established to have been a false alarm, and the
bureau closed with Wire concurrence. On 9 February, the bureau laid plans
to remain open around the clock in response to the midnight deadline
established earler by the Islamic Jihad Organization for the Liberation of
Palestine (IJLP) by which it would execute the four latest hostages, three
of whom are American, unless Israel agreed to release some 400
Palestinians under detention (an ultimatum that Israeli Foreign Minister
Shim'on Peres had rejected the day before). However, we received a
last-minute reprieve in the form of a late AFP report citing an
announcement by the IJLP that it was "deferring" the execution "for the
time being" in response to "certain positive points" contained in earlier
remarks by Israeli officials, and closed only an hour after our usual COB.
3. A Radio Free Lebanon report of an unusual midnight flight over
Beirut and its suburbs by "unidentified warplanes" on 16 February prompted
the bureau to remain open past its COB for a fourth time. The 2315 GMT
Voice of Lebanon newscast offered no additional information on the
incident, and we received Wire approval of our closure shortly thereafter.
4. The closure of Beirut International Airport early in February due
to fighting and the Lebanese Forces' threats that it would be shelled put
an effective end to the timely receipt of the Beirut press under coverage
at the bureau, as the papers must now travel by ship at irregular
intervals. In response, the bureau arranged with the U.S. Embassy in
Beirut to have the papers supplied via the official twice-weekly air link
to and from our Embassy here, until the airport reopens. An immediate
benefit of this arrangement was the bureau's receipt from the Beirut
Embassy of the 9 February edition of AL-NAHAR AL-'ARABI WA AL-DUWALI,
which contained three interviews with Hizballah leaders in which a
high-level Washington consumer had expressed interest. We were able to
file the interviews on 13 February, and received a message of thanks from
the DRD managing editor for the effort, which we passed along to the
Embassy in Beirut.
5. The new clandestine Voice of the People radio, sponsored by the
Lebanese Communist Party, was added to coverage on 10 February following a
week's sampling. On 20 February, the bureau also assumed coverage of
Tehran International Service's daily 1730 GMT Arabic cast when it was
dropped by LD/BBC because of continuing reception problems. Finally, on 26
February we assumed London Bureau's coverage of the evening listing
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programs broadcast by Moscow Radio Peace and Progress in Arabic and Moscow
International Service in Arabic, for the short term, in response to BBC
staffing difficulties.
6. Following Syria's decision to send several battalions into West
Beirut on 22 February to quell the factional fighting that had been taking
place there for some time, the bureau filed ZZ a 24 February Beirut
Domestic Service report on an Israeli air strike against Syrian troop
concentrations in the area of Khaldah in Lebanon, and placed all
monitorable Lebanese transmitters on open watch. A subsequent Voice of
Lebanon report cited security sources as indicating that the Israeli raid
was intended to warn Syria against expanding militarily outside of West
Beirut, but the PSP's Voice of the Mountain and the Amal Movement's Voice
of National Resistance both claimed that no such raid had occurred. They
attributed the firing heard in Khaldah to shots fired into the air by
exuberant gunmen as the PSP's fighters withdrew from Beirut. The bureau's
initial ZZ report did not generate a critic, and the open watch was
suspended when it was determined that all radios were adhering to normal
programming schedules.
7. Tehran Domestic Service shortwave transmissions were completely
untraced at Nicosia Bureau from 22 February to 26 February, although it
was determined that mediumwave broadcasts and IRNA transmissions continued
throughout the period. Tehran's shortwave broadcasts were again heard on
27 February and thereafter; no explanation for the hiatus was monitored.
8. Athens radio interrupted its transmission for 3 hours on 12
February in response to a work stoppage called by the Pan-Hellenic
Federation of Hellenic Radio and Television Personnel Associations within
an ongoing labor dispute.
9. Since early December, the bureau has been conducting audio-only
tests of Cairo television from our usual monitoring site in Limassol and
from our remote site in Lara. All three Cairo TV programs have been
checked, with emphasis both on comparison of reception at the two sites
and on evaluation of programming content for coverage potential.
Observations to date indicate that reception at Lara is generally better
than that at Limassol, and that at least one feature program, the weekly
"Spotlight on the News," merits regular coverage. In contrast, it has been
determined that regular audio-only coverage of Cairo TV newscasts would
add nothing to current monitoring of Cairo radio and MENA.
1. The bureau received a ZZ service message late on STAT
February requesting that we contact the Embassy in Beirut an advise them
to reopen their CPTI to re ive NIACT traffic. The Embassy was contacted
via telephone and request was relayed. STAT
1. The bureau provided two translations at the request of the
Embassy DEA detachment in February, one of an article in the Cypriot paper
ALITHIA on the use of Cyprus as a conduit in the Lebanese narcotics trade,
and the other an Interpol document in French.
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2. At their request, Embassy officers were kept informed throughout
the month on relevant developments in the hostages issue in Lebanon,
including a 1 February report broadcast by the clandestine Radio Free
Lebanon on a threat by the IJLP that the four latest hostages would be
killed and their bodies thrown in garbage dumps in Cyprus if the 400
Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails were not released within a week.
3. The Embassy Regional Security Officer was apprised of a report
appearing in the 3 February issue of APOGEVMATINI, an independent paper
not on regular coverage, indicating that two "secret Arab organizations"
had made joint plans to kidnap U.S. and UK diplomats or dependents in
Nicosia and hold them hostage to prevent the United States from
undertaking any aggressive action against Lebanon or Syria.
1. A beverage antenna damaged by lightning at the bureau's remote
site in Pissouri was repaired, with the replacement of various
transformers and a multicoupler. Work was also done to repair a TV/FM
antenna and its mast at the Lara remote site, damaged by high winds.
2. Two local technicians will be hired on short-term contract in
early March to assist in preparing our new site for occupancy.
3. Upon expiration of the old warehouse lease, the bureau leased a
new, larger warehouse closer to our new bureau.
STAT
III. Administration
A. Personnel
1. Arabic monitor TDY at the bureau since his 28 Augu:STAT
1986 transfer from Gulf Bureau, was converted to PCS status on 1 February.
STAT
ATTACHMENT: Production Report
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/13: CIA-RDP88-00733R000100080011-4
Nicosia Bureau Production Report for Februawy 1987
TOTAL PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH: 344810
TOTAL NON-PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH: 119770
TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLISHABLE ITEMS FILED DURING MONTH: 1261
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
I f . INPUT OF REGULAR COVERAGE: 9180.00 22260.00 125.00
(minutes or issues per week) min. min. issues
III. OUTPUT FROM ALL SOURCES:
(publishable words per month)
CHINA
Beijing in
Persian to Iran
CLANDESTINE
(Clandestine) Radio Free Lebanon in
Arabic 283:30
(Clandestine) Radio Iran in
Persian 0
(Clandestine) Voice of the Mountain in
Arabic 14380
(Clandestine) Voice of the People in
Arabic 2320
CYPRUS
Nicosia Domestic Service in
Greek:
Nicosia Television Service in
Greek
Nicosia ALITHIA in
Greek:
Nicosia APOGEVMATINI in
Greek:
Nicosia BOZKURT in
Turkish
Nicosia Cyprus MAIL in
English
Nicosia ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek k:
Nicosia ELEVTHEROTIPIA tis DHEFTERAS
1n
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BROAD- , PRESS PUBLI--
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
Nicosia I SIMERINI in
Greek:
2194
Nicosia I SIMERINI tis DHEFTERAS in
Greek
t7
Nicosia KHARAVYI in
Greek
4620
Nicosia KHARAVYI tis DHEFTERAS in
Greek
620
Nicosia 0 AGON in
Greek
510
Nicosia 0 FILELEVTHEROS in
Greek
1650
Nicosia 0 FILELEVTHEROS tis
DHEFTERAS in
Greek
Nicosia PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE
i n
Greek
Nicosia PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE
.
,
in
English
Nicosia TA NEA i
720
n
Greek
1020
Nicosia THE CYPRUS WEEKLY in
English
470
EGYPT
Cairo
Domestic Service in
Arabic
23700
Cairo
Television Service in
English
1480
Cairo
Voice of the Arabs in
Arabic
620
Cairo
Cairo
MENA in
Arabic
MENA in
English
Paris AFP in
Engi ish
m'L. ha rl _ Domestic ~t '_vitDomestic a~..e 1I"i
Greek
ri't:.ll::;tli ATHENS NEWS in
En g i i ::ii L.i
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Athens ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek
Athens I KAT H I MER I N I in
Gr-eel-::
Athens k::IRIAKATIKI ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek:
Athens KIRIAKATIKOS RIZOSPASTIS in
uraW-:
Athens RIZOSPASTIS in
i r" e e k:
I h i?iN
whr an International Service in
Turk i sh
Ienr..an Domestic Service in
Perri an
IRAQ
Baghdad in
Persian to Iran
LEBANON
Beirut Domestic Service in
Arabic
Beirut Voice of Lebanon in
Arabic
Beirut Voice of National
Resistance in
Arabic
Beirut Ihdin Radio of Free & Unified
Lebanon in
Arabic
Beirut AL-NAHAR AL-'ARABI WA
AL-DUWALI in
Arabic
Beirut. AL-NAHAR in
Arabic
Beirut AL-SAFIR in
Arabic
Beirut MONDAY MORNING in
English
LIBYA
Tripoli Domestic Service in
Arabic
Tripoli Voice of Greater Arab
Homeland in
Arabic
BROAD- . PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
2590
930
O
1230
1 060
1850
4560
180
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UA'TAR
Doha Domestic Service in
Arabic
T'URI::EY
Ankara YANf~:I in
BROAD-. PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
turk:ish
0
Istanbul BULVAR in
-fur ki sh
1 020
Istanbul CUMHURIYET in
Tour k: i sh
6060
Istanbul DIJNYA in
Turkish
0
Istanbul GUNAYDIN in
Tur- k:i s h
710
Isstaribul HURRIYET in
T u r k i sh
6730
Istanbul IIILLIYET in
1Turk:i Gsh
6610
Istanbul IERC:UV1AN in
'l ur-kIssl'i
5740
UI?J I ON OF' SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
Radio Peace and Progress in
Per-si an 1260
N1oscow i r-
Or'eek: to Cyprus 0
Moscow in
Persian to Iran 3090
Baku Domestic Service in
Az er i 1390
Tashkent Domestic-Service in
Uzbek 92o
UNITED KINGDOM
London AL-SHARD AL-AWSAT in
Arabic
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