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/Whispers of peace in Yugoslavia?/ THE WAR in Yugoslavia continued to take
up most of the space in yesterday's papers as efforts to broker a peace
deal were stepped up.
Simerini
reported that the warring sides in the Yugoslavia dispute were both
involved in efforts to secure a peace deal that was to their advantage.
Nato hoped that the relentless bombing would crush morale and force the
Yugoslav government to agree to the conditions set by the western alliance.
The bombing would continue, parallel to diplomatic efforts for a peace
deal. The Yugoslav government had pinned its hopes on Moscow, in the belief
that Russia could get the UN Security Council involved in the dispute.
Belgrade wanted a solution based on "the strategic logic of the Chinese who
speak about two winners or two undefeated".
Machi
claimed that the "whispers of peace" were being heard in Kosovo as "the
paralysed diplomacy" was being set in motion, giving rise to hopes of a
peaceful settlement. The first indication had been a two-hour telephone
conversation between presidents Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin. The
Americans saw Yeltsin as a possible peace mediator. The second indication
was UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's visit to Moscow on Thursday and the
third was the failure of the weekend Nato summit to reach any decision
about its next moves. The fourth indication was the public criticism
levelled against President Milosevic by deputy prime minister Vuk
Draskovic.
Alithia
asked whether Draskovic's criticism, questioning Milosevic' decisions, had
been approved by the Yugoslav president. It speculated that the objective
may have been to create public support for a change in the policy being
followed by Milosevic. Draskovic had also made a suggestion that would meet
with Nato approval. He said that while he would not like to see the
countries that were bombing Yugoslavia participating in a peacekeeping
force, he was willing to accept a decision of the UN Security Council, with
regard to the composition of the peacekeeping troops.
Haravghi
led with an attack on the Clerides government for adopting the oil embargo
imposed by the EU on Yugoslavia. It quoted Akel deputy Nicos Katsourides as
saying that Clerides was misleading the public when he said that Cyprus
imposed the embargo because it did not produce oil, because by adopting it
he was stopping ships under the Cyprus flag from supplying Yugoslavia. The
deputy said that the struggle of the Cypriot people was based on one
principle - that of international legality. International legality was
being violated by Nato and the Cyprus government should not have imposed
the "illegal" oil ban.
Phileleftheros
reported that Washington had made it clear it would not follow its Kosovo
approach in the case of Cyprus, thus "confirming its double standards". The
view was expressed by State Department envoy Thomas Miller, who said that
"Cyprus is not Kosovo and we cannot use troops here". He added: "We are
against the use of force." Miller said that the US had asked for Russia's
co-operation regarding the Cyprus peace efforts, a move which had the
support of Britain as well. Foreign Minister Ioannis Cassoulides agreed
that the US was guilty of double standards but said this did not justify
Cyprus doing the same.
Politis said that
Britain had demanded yet another concession from the Cyprus government in
the hope that this would give any new peace initiative the impetus it
required. Britain had asked Cyprus to start trade relations with the
occupied north.
© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999
