Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 1, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba Focus a13 2001 Cyprus threatens eur stability they once almost went to War Over a tiny islet occupied solely by their never ending bilateral disputes have threatened regional stability in the Eastern often placing their nato allies in the untenable position of trying to steer a Neutral course through their frequent quarrels and accompanying but now the conflicting objectives of Greece and Turkey have reached the Point where they could undermine the european particularly the us ability to accept new at the Core of the dispute is the intractable Issue of Ever since its Independence from British Rule in that Island Republic has managed to inflict its own internal divisions on the outside ultimately compelling the United nations to Send in peace keeping person Nel to keep the greek cypriots and turkish cypriots from repeating the inter communal violence that rocked the Island in the 1960s and Early Turkey invaded the Island in 1974 and created a separate turkish cypriot administration in the first wave this time Cyprus is asking to be admitted As a formal member of the european Union when the eur accepts the first wave of new Mem Bers in about three this Prospect has infuriated the turkish setting Turkey on a potential collision course once again with according to the the present government of Glaukos Cli rides in Cyprus Only represents the greek cypriot two thirds of the it has no jurisdiction Over the one third of the Island governed by the government of Rauf Ankara warns it will not stand idly by if the eur accepts Cyprus when turkeys own 1987 request for formal membership is still Only a Remote the turks insist that the agreements establishing cypriot Independence also pro Hibit it from joining any International body in this the eur unless both Greece and Turkey Are both already Greece is equally Adamant Cyprus must be admitted or else Athens could scuttle the entire enlargement blocking any new Central and Eastern european nations entering the by the dutch parliament has passed a Resolution opposing any enlargement that included a still divided complications to complicate matters the government in Ankara is already upset with the us plan to create a rapid deployment military Force that in the View of eventually become relinked from nato marginal izing Turkey further in the the insistence of the greek cypriots that they alone represent the divided Island will not be accepted by either the turkish cypriots or their counter solution is an agreement accepting Cyprus As a confederation of two distinct equal sharing the same while this suggestion has scant Appeal for either Greece or in practical the Island of Cyprus is already divided into two even if Only Turkey recognizes the turkish cypriot notwithstanding a More direct mediation role by the existing eur Mem Bers Are far from United on who should join the Community next and although careful not to alienate some have serious reservations about that country Ever being admitted As a full fledged seeing it As outside the european tradition because of turkeys different Cul Tural and religious background and some fear excluding Turkey could destabilize it with unpredictable including the Rise of islamic key Factor major Powers like the United states do not want the Issue of turkeys eur membership to deteriorate to the Point where it threatens Ankara commitment to Turkey is a key Factor in Washington strategic plans in the Eastern Meriter providing much needed airbases for the turkeys Large army also represents an obstacle to the spread of islamic fundamentalism in the Cyprus controversial membership in the eur could jeopardize such interests if turkeys views Are what May have started out As yet another round in the seemingly endless confrontation Between Greece and Turkey May eventually Impact in unpredictable ways upon All members of the european Union and prospective new t Eaton building written off before All information is in no said the sentence first verdict Alice in wonderland Many years in my salad Days As a City i received a report card from another Winnipeg newspaper in despite a satisfactory Overall a weakness was noted with out reluctant to make a Call me old Ash but i continue to cherish the notion on great Public there will be a Shar ing of As much information As can be that there will be ample opportunities for the Public both to form and express its and that these processes will precede rather than follow the decisions of those elected to make two weeks this column posed some questions about the proposed demolition of the old Eaton store for the building of a new Arena on the Eaton an unusual volume of responses to the column suggests considerable Levels of curiosity about the undisclosed bases for these proposed courses of and equal measures of anxiety about their Impact and suspicion about the Speed at which things seem to be since City Council has almost unanimously made a substantial financial commitment to the a rather arresting development if Council has As Little hard information As it appears to for neither the cites historic buildings committee nor the Manitoba heritage Council will assess the heritage significance of the Eaton building for another week or 10 which is to nearly a month after the govern ments they advise would seem to have written it Only this it has there been any discus Sion of the need for transportation and other Impact this dearth of information Means that there continue to be two clusters of issues one centred on the heritage implications of the and the other centred on the possible intended and of the proposed Arena on Portage some of the present disquiet is at least partly a consequence of a com ment made by mayor Glen Murray in March of last in a free press the present owner of Eaton Wayne Glowacki free press the Fate of the downtown Eaton store seems to have been sealed before All needed information was was quoted As saying that it might be More economical to demolish Eaton than to the mayors in the same was direct and unequivocal theres a number of options being looked at but the destruction of that building is not a feasible in not at All concerned about that not false Security the mayors comments created what in the event has proved a false sense of Security As Long As it diminished the pressure to evaluate the building for its Possi ble heritage after the cites Power to designate a heritage building even Over the objections of an owner has been upheld in and the possible use of that Power has been a useful part of a bar gaining process that could ensure that time and resources be committed to finding viable it was a reasonable that the mayor would seek a heritage evaluation before sex Cathe that demolition after the mayors present position is that Eaton is a Wood Frame it is actually steel and Wood Frame which renders it too expensive to Ren Ovate to current code that presumably is the conclusion of the feasibility study commissioned by the owners though that which is driving Public is not a Public the Glen Murray of which is to Glen Murray As unofficial Leader of the opposition to the mayor Susan would have asked to see any report upon which Thompson was proposing a reversal of previous policy and have asked for an Independent study which might propose Dif Ferent pose different questions and come up with different and he would have been right to do it is certainly possible that other consultants might have drawn differ ent for the fact is that other Early 20thcentury buildings have been successfully modernized or Are being redeveloped even As our debate struggles to take we close to the Ashdown now a successful Condo minium and much larger redevelopments in a number of other cities on this continent present ing similar or greater redevelopment these include the 10 Storey Lipman Wolfe building in port Oregon the Queens Quay terminal in Toronto the 11storey for Mer Fox retail department store in Connecticut Butler Square in Minneapolis perhaps most the Denver dry goods building built in 1897 which has received local and National awards from both heritage and eco nomic development what is common to nearly All of these is that they Are mixed use developments involving various combinations of residential accommodation ranging from Coop housing to seniors residences to commercial educational galleries and other cultural not on the table the Success of these and the redevelopment of other Large heritage buildings does not prove conclusively that we can do but neither is there conclusive proof that downtown Arenas have the regenerative effects now being claimed for much of the evidence suggests the but the real Point is that the relevant evidence is not on the table and there Are grounds for thinking it will not be if the present timetable for demolition is adhered the obstacle to redevelopment of the Eaton building May simply be a Lack of not a Lack of til 1u the free press welcomes letters from they must include the authors address and Telephone number letters May be letters to the 1355 Mountain r2x fax email dont let Naftal usurp sovereignty the editorial Metal lads lesson May 15 is a blatant example of the muddled reasoning of some defenders of the Naftal it is obvious for anybody to see that the presented example of Metal lads Story and the argumentation in this editorial prove rather As disprove the statement that it Naftal usurps it is completely unreasonable to maintain that it is anything else but an erosion of sovereignty if an elected government cannot act without impunity on behalf of its citizens or the no matter whether these acts Are or Are not considered to be arbitrary by the writer of the above Why should a private Domestic or be above the Law of the land what else but an erosion of sovereignty is it if the mexican government cannot establish an ecological preserve with out being sued for million by a private or if the Canadian government is sued by the Ethyl for Banning the controversial gasoline additive another Case demonstrating the loss of sovereignty is the claiming by ups of More than million in damages due to the Competition from the Public it of Correct to say that the government has of its own free will traded away these Sovereign rights under chapter 11 of the Naftal the Howe is that in a democracy the govern ment has no moral right to do the government is elected to govern on behalf of its and is therefore responsible to the electorate and not a private company for its the lesson of therefore is that the government of Canada should find ways to renegotiate the Naftal treaty As prime minis Ter Jean Chretien promised to do during his 1993 election and that the government should make sure that it does not sign any further agreements that May include clauses whereby a Sovereign government can be sued by a foreign Gerd Froese Winnipeg local residents Lack control i agree with your editorial Metal class lesson May 19 that the Metal Clad Case has a lesson for All but Metal Clad was not invited to do business in it invited looking for a place to dump its toxic the local people of the municipality rejected the operation right from the beginning and continued to do but Federal government officials at different times gave granted issued stated other requirements and made Metal Clad ignored them Pur chased land from a mexican constructed a Landfill site and began to operate the municipality challenged Metal Clad in and out of court until the state governor declared the site an ecological with the help of met a Clad took the mexican Federal government to to me it seems very Clear that the mexican Federal government and the taxpayers lose Power when they have to pay an almost Fine because they violated Naftal the wishes and the consistent protests of the local citizens were never you say interests May not always be shared among provincial and municipal this is the real Crux of the the local peo ple who would be most and who had the most at stake in this oper were not they had to use desperate measures to become the lesson Canadian citizens can learn from this Case is that if the Canadian government Sells an inter est in your Community to a foreign youll have Little to our resources could be sold from under us for this All government deals should be on the transparent and nothing Secre Margaret Maier Winnipeg walk for arts missed from list upon Reading Brenda Sudermann May 19 raising variety of family events Aid worthy i was terribly disappointed to find no mention of an important event being hosted by the Manitoba conservatory of music and established in the Manitoba conservatory of music and arts is an Independent nonprofit school of music and Fine the conservatory three or five Kilometre walk for the arts on Sun june is an excellent Opportunity for families to enjoy fresh air and exercise while helping to raise funds for Quality arts Educa Tion in Check in is at 9 the morning of the which begins at 10 at the Duck Pond in Assini Boine Call the Manitoba conservatory of music and arts at 9436090 for More information about the sunday Louise Marleau communications coordinator Manitoba conservatory of music arts Winnipeg doonesbury by Garry Trudeau and Thomain qh0in ;