Search
/Nato 'bombing civilians to break morale'/ N.A.T.O. was very strongly
criticised by yesterday's papers for the 'mistaken' bombing of the small
Yugoslav town of Surdulica which killed some 20 civilians.
Phileleftheros
maintained that Nato aircraft were hitting non-military targets and killing
civilians "with the obvious aim of destroying the morale and resistance of
the Serbs". This was a new tactic - after the destruction of economic
targets such as factories and oil reservoirs - aimed at building up
domestic opposition to President Milosevic. The Nato spokesman had admitted
that the bombing of Surdulica was a mistake, but added that the death of
civilians was inevitable in any war. Meanwhile, the Yugoslav authorities
said that 1,000 people had been killed by the bombing, half of whom were
children, and 5,000 had been injured. Belgrade estimated that the damage
caused by the bombing was in the region of $100 billion.
Haravghi
launched a scathing attack in a front-page editorial against the "cold-
blooded murderers of Nato" whose "barbarism" included attacks on civilians.
It said: "This is how the 'civilised' leaders of Nato behave. This is how
the 'guardians' of human rights behave." "The hands of the Nato leaders
have been stained with the blood of innocent civilians. There are no
excuses. They are criminals, murderers of people, barbarians who are taking
mankind centuries back. What will Clinton, Blair and Schroeder and the rest
of the gang say? Who will be accountable for Nato's crimes? What does the
international court of justice at The Hague say about war crimes? When will
the moral instigators of the murder of civilians be tried?"
Simerini
focused on the sacking of Yugoslav Vice-President Vuk Draskovic, which was
brought about by his overt criticism of the government. The official
explanation was that his comments - that official circles refused to tell
the truth about Kosovo - "damaged the image of the government". The paper
said that Draskovic had angered the generals and government hardliners.
Government circles in Belgrade had been accusing Draskovic of pursuing
personal political ends with his stance. He was accused of trying to win
Nato's favour which he could exploit after the war.
Alithia
led with a report about the government's response to criticism by
opposition politicians, who had claimed that President Clerides had been
caught unread and ill-informed about the provisions of the Rambouillet
agreement. Akel and Edek deputies had claimed that Clerides was wrong to
claim that Rambouillet would not have given Kosovars the right of separate
self-determination. Foreign Minister Ioannis Cassoulides held a press
conference and provided evidence to show that Clerides' evaluation was
correct. There was no such provision, but there was a provision
safeguarding the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, said Cassoulides.
Politis
quoted US State Department official Thomas Miller as saying that the main
objective of the next US peace initiative on Cyprus would be to get
President Clerides and Rauf Denktash at the negotiating table. All issues
would be on the table and no conditions would be set. At the same time in
London, Britain's Cyprus envoy Sir David Hannay had been saying that the
initiative would take place immediately after the formation of a new
government in Turkey. Russia would also be involved in the initiative.
Machi reported that
the Potato Marketing Board had lost its one of its biggest customers in the
UK - the Safeways supermarket chain which bought between eight and 10
thousand tons a year. The firm was now buying from Egypt, whose potatoes
were cheaper.
© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999
