Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-04-04

Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Saturday, April 4, 1998

Holbrooke's Cyprus visit dominates

THE pending visit of top US envoy Richard Holbrooke was inevitably the main story in all the dailies yesterday.

With Holbrooke's precursor, Thomas Miller, giving nothing away on arrival on Thursday, the papers speculated broadly about what proposals Holbrooke would be carrying in his briefcase when he arrived yesterday.

Left-wing Haravghi reported that Holbrooke would be aiming to secure an informal agreement for non-deployment of the S-300 missiles in exchange for an overflight moratorium.

Quoting "diplomatic sources", Haravghi said Holbrooke would also be seeking to find some sort of compromise on the EU accession issue that would allow Cyprus's course to continue without the Turkish side objecting and Turkey to move closer to the EU.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash is refusing to resume the Cyprus peace talks unless the EU reverses its decision to open accession talks with the government.

Right-wing Machi speculated that the seasoned US negotiator was to impose a military dialogue on the two sides.

Cancellation of the S-300 deal, an overflight moratorium and an agreement between President Clerides and Denktash to do what they could to dampen tensions on the island were Holbrooke's targets, Machi reported.

Phileleftheros claimed to have inside information about a proposal Miller had presented to Clerides on Thursday night.

This was a detailed proposal covering security and procedural aspects of a Cyprus settlement, Phileleftheros stated.

Unconfirmed reports, the paper said, suggested the Miller proposal included a new proposal for Turkish Cypriot participation in the accession talks. The new proposal would allow the Turkish Cypriots to be represented at the talks as something more than just a community, Phileleftheros said. The Miller paper also covered a step-by-step plan for demilitarisation, the paper said.

Clerides and his aides were up till the early morning hours of yesterday studying the proposal, the paper added.

Simerini's reports were in the same vein. Demilitarisation and Turkish Cypriot participation in EU accession talks were Holbrooke's main concerns, the paper said. It added that Holbrooke would suggest Turkey participated in a multi-national force deployed on the island to ensure security after a bi-zonal settlement.

Alithia said Holbrooke's arrival would put "flesh" on the bones of the US initiative on Cyprus. He would be setting the foundation for what Americans saw as a step-by-step procedure for an overall settlement, Alithia reported.

In the field of party politics, according to right-wing daily Machi, Diko chief Spyros Kyprianou was creating a whole series of new party posts with the aim of appeasing party big-wigs to ensure his re-election.

Kyprianou is disguising his jobs-for-the-boys campaign as a party rejuvenation initiative, Machi reported. Quoting sources within the centre-right party, Machi said Kyprianou was "neutralising" all his opponents within the party by offering them top positions.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article