MONTHLY REPORT -- NICOSIA BUREAU -- MAY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: June 3, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
MNC-6137
03 June 1986
MEMORANDUM FORu Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
THROUGH a Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT a Monthly Report -- Nicosia Bureau -- May
A. Work on the new building is continuing at a steady pace, but the
performance by the architect's and contractor's supervisory personnel
remains spotty. Almost constant supervision on site by the RECD engineer
or another member of the bureau's project team is required to ensure that
matters are carried out properly, and even then there are times when our
instructions are ignored or implemented only after being raised several
times. The pouring of the roof area required considerable last-ditch
efforts by the contractor, architect, and the RECD engineer to minimize
potential durability problems stemming from poor reinforcement placement
work that had been pointed out to the contractor several weeks earlier.
Even if we have only minor repair required in selected roof areas, the
fact remains that we again settled for work that was not up to our
original specifications in an important structural area of the building.
Proper curing of concrete continues to be a problem and patches of plaster
on the perimeter wall are already cracking and will require repair. The
new RECD engineer's concerns about poor safety practices by the contractor
proved justified in late month when a workman was killed when he fell from
scaffolding and was impaled on iron bars protruding from a concrete wall.
Our early fears that the communist press might exploit the accident proved
groundless.
A. Monitorial/Editorial
1. As the situation in Libya began to stabilize following the
mid-April American raids on Tripoli and Banghazi, Nicosia suspended its
continuous backstop recording of Tripoli Domestic Service on 16 May.
Nevertheless, an extensive backstop arrangement involving Tripoli Domestic
Service and Voice of the Greater Arab Homeland remains in place, with the
major newscasts of both transmitters being backstopped during London
Bureau's hours of primary coverage responsibility.
On the evening of 27 May, the BBC alerted London and Nicosia to
the possibility that a coup was underway in the Libyan capital, prompting
the bureau to place Tripoli radio on open-speaker watch. This continued
until it was clear that the coup rumors were unfounded, and that all
Libyan broadcast sources were behaving normally.
2. In Lebanon, the Phalangists' Voice of Lebanon radio instituted
round-the-clock broadcasting on 24 April. The bureau sampled its new
overnight transmissions for 3 days, and concluded that expanded coverage
is not now warranted, as the added news summaries are largely
unproductive.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
3. A Lebanese Arabic-language FM station calling itself the
"Radio of the Future" was also monitored for the first time in May, albeit
with poor reception. Its offerings consist chiefly of Western and Arabic
pop music, interspersed with advertisements for businesses located in the
Christian-held areas of the country. We have no current coverage plans.
4. In anticipation of Gulf Bureau's closure, Soviet Central Asian
and Iranian radios were extensively surveyed early in the month. While the
results from Tehran Domestic Service were generally good, the reception of
USSR regional radios ranged from poor to unheard, due in part to summer
propagation conditions.
B. Communications
1. The bureau's primary communications circuits were successfully
upgraded from 75 baud to 150 baud on 7 May.
2. Bureau received in May a new IBM XT and Headquarters-supplied
BACH communications software, which are now being tested.
C. Technical
1. Our long wire antenna at Pissouri remote site remains in the
hold mode waiting for the last landowner's signature. Recent negotiations
with CYTA indicate that if the signature is not received soon, they will
proceed with the project based on a eminent domain clause for
nonresponsive landowners.
2. Our present landowner has rejected a proposal to use this
building as a repeater site (via a roof mounted reflector) for the new
bureau microwave link to the embassy. Other alternatives are being
investigated.
1. Deputy Chief traveled to Frankfurt on a second STAT
medevac related to his broken leg -11 May; yet a third medevac is
anticipated in late June.
2. Senior Editor
stateside R & R.
left Cyprus on 16 May for STAT
STAT
were promoted to FBN-8 on i6 May. STAT
CTOT
1.I of RECD arrived on 10 May on a 6-week TDY to
oversee the construction a he new bureau.
ATTACHMENTS Production Report
STAT
- Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
Nicosia Bureau Production Report for May 1986
TOTAL PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH: 238010
TOTAL NON-PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH: 91500
TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLISHABLE ITEMS FILED DURING MONTH: 834
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
II. INPUT OF REGULAR COVERAGE: 8565.00 22260.00 117.00
(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) Radio Free Lebanon in
Arabic
(Clandestine) Voice of the Mountain in
Arabic
CYPRUS
Nicosia Domestic Service in
Greek
Nicosia Domestic Service in
English
*Nicosia Television Service in
Greek
9670
0
290
*Nicosia ALITHIA in
Greek
180
*Nicosia Cyprus Bulletin in
Greek
430
Nicosia Cyprus MAIL in
English
1100
Nicosia ELEVTHEROTIPIA in
Greek
140
Nicosia I SIMERINI in
Greek
2130
Nicosia I SIMERINI tis DHEFTERAS in
Greek
270
Nicosia KHARAVYI in
Greek
4790
Nicosia KHARAVYI tis DHEFTERAS in
Greek
0
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
Nicosia 0 FILELEVTHEROS in
Greek
Nicosia 0 FILELEVTHEROS tis
DHEFTERAS in
Greek
*Nicosia TA NEA in
Greek
EGYPT
Cairo Domestic Service in
Arabic
*Cairo Voice of the Arabs in
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
Athens RIZOSPASTIS in
Greek
IRAQ
Baghdad in
Persian to Iran
LEBANON
Beirut Domestic Service in
Arabic
*Beirut Domestic Service in
English
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
2690
2020
610
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3
Beirut Voice of Lebanon in
Arabic
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
TURKEY
Ankara YANKI in
Turkish
Istanbul CUMHURIYET in
Turkish
Istanbul DUNYA in
Turkish
Istanbul GUNAYDIN in
Turkish
*Istanbul GUNES in
Turkish
Istanbul HURRIYET in
Turkish
Istanbul MILLIYET in
Turkish
Istanbul TERCUMAN in
Turkish
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
Moscow in
Greek to Cyprus
Moscow in
Persian to Iran
BROAD- PRESS PUBLI-
CASTS AGENCIES CATIONS
160
4930
0
0
3440
0
500
430
1620
2560
2040
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100100008-3