MONTHLY REPORT -- NICOSIA BUREAU -- AUGUST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: September 3, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
03 September 1986
MEMORANDUM FOR. Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
THROUSH s Chief j Operations Group
SUBJECT s Monthly Report -- Nicosia Bureau -- August
A. Little progress was made in the construction of the new bureau this
month as the building trade uions ceased work on masse 9-24 August in
observance of an annual island-wide vacation period. Work has now resumed,
and a new RECD engineer will be arriving shortly to take up the task of
oversight.
In the interim, the bureau relocation team contacted local suppliers
for price quotations an furnishings for the new facility.
B. The 3 August terrorist attacks on the British sovereign base at
Akrotiri prompted another upswing in Embassy concern over security.
Embassy and bureau employees were reminded yet again to observe good
personal security practices and to promptly report any suspicious activity
or problems.
1. The bureau placed Nicosia television and radio on open-speaker
watch following 3 August reports that the British base at Akrotiri had
been the target of a "bomb attack." Bureau personnel kept Embassy
officials apprised of all subsequent reportage until monitored Cypriot
media were observed to conclude their broadcast day at normally scheduled
times.
Arrangements were made to open the bureau early on 4 August to
cover any early morning bulletins on the subject from Nicosia radio. For
the rest of the month, the Embassy's RSO and other officers were kept
informed of developments pertaining to the attack, including local press
reports on the rumored "escape" of the assailants aboard an "Arab"
airliner and the arrest of a Lebanese national in Larnaca for possession
of illicit arms and ammunition. During police questioning, the man
admitted to being a member of the pro-Khomeyni Hizballah organization. He
claimed he was merely a courier responsible for transferring the weapons
and ammunition between two Arab parties in Cyprus.
2. The Islamic Jihad organization issued statements twice this
month, accompanied by photographs of American hostage David Jacobsen, in
which it threatened to kill the U.B. hostages it holds unless its demands
are met. These statements and photographs were published by the Beirut
newspaper AL-NAHAR on 3 and 10 August. As the bureau has not received the
Sunday editions of this paper from its local distribution agent on a
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
regular basis since 1 June, special arrangements were made to procure
these two editions, with the help of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, in
response to a Washington consumer's urgent interest in seeing the papers
themselves. The papers were then delivered to Washington via commercial
air courier.
3. The clandestine Radio Free Lebanon (RFL), affiliated with the
Christian Lebanese Forces, was placed on open-speaker watch on 10 August
after it failed to carry its regularly scheduled morning newscasts. Beirut
Domestic Service reported that RFL had "fallen" during fighting in East
Beirut between supporters and opponents of Lebanese Forces Executive
Committee Chairman Samir Ja'Ja'. RFL resumed transmission that evening
with a regularly scheduled newscast in which it reported on the results of
the day's fighting. The bureau remained open to cover the radio until its
normally scheduled sign-off.
4. On 6 August, Nicosia successfully completed its first phone
patch of Tehran Domestic Persian material to London Bureau since the
bureau's assumption of Tehran radio commitments formerly held by Gulf
Bureau. Two subsequent phone patches of addresses delivered by Ayatollah
Khomeyni were carried out on 24 and 30 August.
5. A newly inaugurated Beirut transmitter, the clandestine Voice of
Truth, was sampled for a week and determined to be a small Christian
station representing the views of Lebanese President Amin al-Jumayyi1. As
no unique reportage was observed, it was decided not to add the radio to
regular coverage.
6. The Ihdin Radio of Free and Unified Lebanon, the voice of former
President Gulayman Franjiyah, apparently went off the air on 13 August and
remained unheard until 18 August. Though no explanation of this
interruption was forthcoming, bureau monitors noted an improvement in the
radio's signal, suggesting the successful conclusion of maintenance work.
7. With the arrival in country of ~ the STAT
Turkish-language monitor from Gulf Bureau, the bureau resumed its coverage
of the Turkish mainland press on 19 August. The advantages of having a
fulltim? itor co er n Turkey's papers, in contrast to the part-time
efforts of 7 predecessor, were apparent in the heavier file STAT
and change o or en a on rom comment to hard news reportage from Turkish
press sources. One immediate result was the BBC's request for priority
filing of Ankara press coverage of Turkey's air and ground strikes across
the Iraqi border against Kurdish rebels. The press reports were found to
be considerably more detailed than radio reports.
Casts from Tehran International Service in Turkish and from two
Soviet regionals, Baku Domestic in Azeri and Tashkent Domestic in Uzbek,
were also added to coverage with assumption of duties. STAT
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
1. A doublet antenna cut for 9.6 mHz and for 6.2 mHz was installed
at the bureau's Pissouri remote site in an effort to improve reception of
shortwave transmissions from Libya.
2. Application was made to the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority
for permission to install a microwave relay dish atop CYTA's Electra House
in Nicosia, for use in the primary communications link between the new
bureau and the Embassy. In response, CYTA's general manager requested that
approval of the project be pursued through the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. The Embassy is following up on the issue with the Ministry on our
behalf.
III. ADMINISTRAATION
1. Turkish monitor
6 August
and Arabic monitor
Gulf Bureau transfersq arrived on
assume duties at Nicosia Bureau.
and 27 August respectively to
2. Associate editor) left for England on private
travel on 15 August. While there, she is to undertake one day's TDY at
London Bureau for orientation.
ATTACHM IT. Production Report
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
Nicosia Bureau Production Report for August 1986
TOTAL PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH: 231260
TOTAL NON-PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH: 103190
TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLISHABLE ITEMS FILED DURING MONTH: 831
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
II. INPUT OF REGULAR COVERAGE: 9425.00 22260.00 117.00
(minutes or issues per week) min. min. issues
III. OUTPUT FROM ALL SOURCES:
(publishable words per month)
AFGHANISTAN
*Kabul in
English to South Asia
CHINA
Beijing in
Persian to Iran
CLANDESTINE (LEVANT)
(Clandestine) Radio Free Lebanon in
Arabic
18540
*(Clandestine) Radio Free Lebanon in
English
140
*(Clandestine) Radio Iran in
Persian
1090
(Clandestine) Voice of the Mountain in
Arabic
6480
CYPRUS
Nicosia Domestic Service in
Greek
7110
Nicosia Domestic Service in
English
130
*Nicosia Television Service in
Greek
350
*Nicosia ALITHIA in
Greek 1530
*Nicosia APOGEVMATINI in
Greek 380
Nicosia Cyprus MAIL in
English 1780
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
Nicosia ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek
Nicosia I SIMERINI in
Greek
Nicosia I SIMERINI tis DHEFTERAS in
Greek
Nicosia KHARAVYI in
Greek
Nicosia KHARAVYI tis DHEFTERAS in
Greek
Nicosia 0 FILELEVTHEROS in
Greek
Nicosia 0 FILELEVTHEROS tis
DHEFTERAS in
Greek
*Nicosia PRESS AND INFORMATION
OFFICE in
English
*Nicosia TA NEA in
Greek
*Nicosia THE CYPRUS WEEKLY in
English
EGYPT
Cairo Domestic
Arabic
*Cairo Voice
Arabic
Cairo MENA in
Arabic
Cairo MENA in
English
FRANCE
Paris AFP in
English
GREECE
Athens Domestic Service in
Greek
Athens ATHENS NEWS in
English
Athens ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek
Athens I KATHIMERINI in
Greek
Athens KIRIAKATIKI ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek
730
1120
0
1550
930
0
110
1420
340
440
1680
250
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
1 C
Athens RIZOSPASTIS in
Greek
I RAN
Tehran Domestic Service in
Persian
I RAQ
Baghdad in
Persian to Iran
0
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
LEBANON
Beirut Domestic Service in
Arabic 29200
*Beirut Domestic Service in
English 220
Beirut Voice of Lebanon in
Arabic 26480
*Beirut Voice of Lebanon in
Arabic 110
Beirut Voice of National
Resistance in
Arabic 5790
Beirut Ihdin Radio of Free & Unified
Lebanon in
Arabic 410
Beirut AL_NAHAR in
Arabic
Beirut AL_SAFIR in
Arabic
Beirut MONDAY MORNING in
English
LIBYA
Tripoli Domestic Service in
Arabic
QATAR
*Doha Domestic Service in
Arabic
SYRIA
*Damascus Domestic Service in
Arabic
2740
260
0
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
TURKEY
Ankara YANKI in
Turkish
0
Istanbul CUMHURIYET in
Turkish
2380
Istanbul DUNYA in
Turkish
0
Istanbul GUNAYDIN in
Turkish
530
Istanbul HURRIYET in
Turkish
4870
Istanbul MILLIYET in
Turkish
1190
Istanbul TERCUMAN in
Turkish
1340
UNION OF SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
*Baku Domestic Service in
Azeri
*Tashkent Domestic Service in
Uzbek
Moscow in
Greek to Cyprus
Moscow in
Persian to Iran
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
*Dubayy Domestic Service in
Arabic
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100005-6