An official at the Press Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus in Toronto provided the following information on the above subject during a telephone interview on 19 October 1995.

In the 1980s there were no private radio stations, including any owned or run by religious groups, in Cyprus. In that decade Cyprus had only one radio station called the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which was "semi-governmental like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation." The CBC broadcast in different languages such as Arabic, Armenian, English, French and Greek; it did not have a Persian program.

In the 1980s the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had a relay station in Cyprus through which it broadcast its international programs in different languages. The official did not know whether these international programs included a Persian program. The official stated that the relay station is still operational.

According to the official, private radio stations have been established in Cyprus since 1990.

The attached page of The Europa World Year Book 1989, which refers to a BBC Persian program, might be useful.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Press Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus, Toronto. 19 October 1995. Telephone interview with official.

The Europa World Year Book 1989. 1989. Vol. 2. London: Europa Publications, p. 2711.