CYPRUS: "ARTISTE" PERMIT ABOLISHED, GOC TAKING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NICOSIA 000824

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, EUR/PGI, G/TIP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PHUM SMIG CY
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: "ARTISTE" PERMIT ABOLISHED, GOC TAKING
OTHER STEPS

REF: SECSTATE 105872


1. (SBU) Summary: In delivering Reftel TIP Tier 2 Watch List
Action Plan for Cyprus ("WL Plan"),the Embassy confirmed
with high-level GoC contacts that the Ministry of
Interior-issued "artiste" work permit -- the favored conduit
to traffic women to Cyprus for sexual exploitation in bars
and cabarets -- would be effectively abolished on November 1.
Impresarios seeking to bring foreign women to the island to
work in these establishments instead will have to solicit
permits from the Ministry of Labor, which will apply more
stringent oversight to the process; suspect "businessmen"
already are noisily protesting the change. Interior Minister
Neoklis Sylikiotis has taken to denouncing publicly the
"shame" of trafficking, while Justice Minister Kypros
Chrysostomides promises additional resources for the police
anti-TIP team. Respective sub-units of the RoC's
multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking committee will soon
launch a public awareness campaign, assess conditions at the
government-run victims shelter with an eye toward crafting
improved SOPs, and crack down further against human
traffickers. End Summary.

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Artiste Work Permit Abolished
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2. (SBU) Sylikiotis, speaking after a September 12
Ministerial Committee of Employment meeting, announced the
effective abolishment of the "artiste" work permit -- a key
recommendation in the WL Plan -- effective November 1. Media
first trumpeted that the move would end or severely restrict
trafficking, only to walk back their claims somewhat after
further studying the proposal; still, they spun the change
positively. During the October 9 delivery of the WL Plan,
Sylikiotis's deputy, Permanent Secretary Lazaros Savvides,
confirmed the abolishment and revealed that implementing
procedures would go to the Council of Ministers for approval
by October 23. Under the proposal, the Ministry of Labor,
following practices in other EU member states, would create
three types of specialist work permits for "spiritual
creators," performers, and supporting staff. There would be
objective criteria applied in judging qualifications,
Savvides explained, including applicants' international
renown and, in the case dance troupes, proof of their prior
public performances. (Note: Our NGO contacts were
encouraged by the change, reckoning that "artistes" would be
allowed to switch employers or even employment sectors after
a dispute with their employer, impresarios would have to
rewrite their performers' contracts to conform to MOL norms
and standards, and the MOL would be able to enforce workplace
rules. Contacts could even envision bar/cabaret workers
unionizing in the future.)

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MOI Reaction to Other Elements of T2WL Action Plan
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3. (SBU) In reaction to the first recommendation in the WL
Plan -- that the GoC demonstrate vigorous law enforcement by
upping prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing, Savvides
proposed a coordination meeting between the Cypriot police,
Attorney General, and MOI personnel to study next steps.
Moving to other elements of the Plan, the MOI had completed
the design work for the TIP demand reduction campaign --
Recommendation 3 -- and was selecting a vendor to manage its
implementation. One of the NGOs serving on the
multi-disciplinary committees was already heavily involved in
the campaign, Savvides noted. As to Recommendation 4, the
committee would soon issue a lengthy report, complete with
recommendations for improved SOPs, on the government-run
shelter for trafficking victims. Additional resources for
the anti-TIP unit, as stipulated in the Plan's fifth
recommendation, depended on a more favorable police/Ministry
of Justice budget, Savvides explained. He expected, however,
a slight increase in his own ministry's budget for
anti-trafficking activities. (Note: The Justice Minister
informed the Ambassador on October 14 that the police
anti-trafficking unit, which was doing "excellent work,"
would receive increased resources shortly.)


4. (U) Minister Sylikiotis on October 13 delivered remarks at
an anti-TIP seminar organized by the European Parliament's
local office and NGO Mediterranean Institute of Gender
Studies (MIGS). Sounding more determined than any
high-ranking Cypriot official to date, he pledged to attack

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the TIP problem immediately. Cyprus had to rid itself of
this "shame," and required deeds, not words, to do so. It
was "unthinkable" that a whole year had passed between
enacting the new anti-TIP law and the operation of the
multi-disciplinary committee, the Minister continued. Soon,
however, the committee would accelerate its work pace and
focus on abolishing the "artiste" visa and launching a demand
reduction campaign. Sylikiotis acknowledged that changing
the work permit regime alone would not eradicate TIP, and
called for greater coordination of government and NGO action.


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MFA Reaction to T2WL Action Plan
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5. (SBU) The Embassy presented the WL Plan to the Foreign
Ministry on October 10. Acting Political Director George
Kasoulides seemed better informed on TIP than in earlier
conversations, noting, for example, that Cyprus had not
secured a single anti-trafficking conviction under its 2007
anti-trafficking law. Referring to demand reduction,
Kasoulides estimated the GOC could double the amount pledged
for the campaign by the end of 2008, without explaining,
however, from where the money would come. He revealed that
the MFA had been pushing within the multi-disciplinary
committee to double the number of staff at the shelter, which
offered victims 24-hour assistance. Both the MOI and MFA
wished to increase the number of police investigators
tackling TIP cases, Kasoulides added. In regards to
establishing an International Organization for Migration
(IOM) office in Cyprus, he pledged that IOM was welcome, and
should consult the MFA if it encountered any roadblocks.
Kasoulides concluded by claiming he had seen great changes in
his colleagues who were tasked to combat TIP, having become
less dismissive toward victims' reports of abuse.

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The Gall of Them: Impresarios Picket
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6. (U) Owners and managers of Cyprus's numerous bars and
cabarets on October 15 conducted a noisy demonstration
outside the Ministry of Interior, protesting the artiste
permit's abolishment and arguing that prostitution did not
occur in their establishments. The new arrangement under the
Labor Ministry would require them to file reams of additional
paperwork and increase their employment costs, they
continued. Finally, the "businessmen" lamented that no Greek
Cypriot woman would dare think to work in a cabaret -- if
they could not import labor, how could they survive?
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Comment
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7. (SBU) The Embassy remains hopeful the GOC's louder
anti-trafficking rhetoric will convert into additional
concrete actions; indications look promising, especially
Sylikiotis's vigor in criticizing TIP and the government's
heretofore unacceptable performance combating it.
Abolishment of the artiste permit was a promising first step,
and shortly we should be able to gauge the work of the
multi-disciplinary sub-committees tackling other WL Plan
recommendations.
Urbancic