Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-04-25

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

Saturday, April 25, 1998

A nation in mourning

THE EFFORTS to restart the peace talks continued to dominate the front pages, all of which also carried pictures of Greece's former President Constantine Karamanlis, who passed away on Thursday.

Alithia was the only paper which made Karamanlis' death its lead story. It said that "the great leader of the nation, who had shaped modern Greece had entered the ranks of the immortals".

It added: "The whole nation and Greeks everywhere are in mourning. The people and the political leadership bow to the greatness of his life. He had been, after all, the man who commanded respect from friend and foe, in Greece and abroad."

Phileleftheros, quoting Turkish press reports, said that Rauf Denktash had secured several promises from the US, regarding his positions on sovereignty, separate states, guarantees and the EU, in exchange for agreeing to a "Dayton-type" peace process.

According to the reports, Denktash had been given specific assurances by the US in exchange for agreeing to a new round of talks. This showed that the Americans had understood Turkish Cypriot positions and concerns, Denktash had said.

Simerini said that the form that the new round of peace talks would take, would be worked out in Cyprus during Richard Holbrooke's visit next month. Both sides would be consulted before it is decided whether there would be four-party or multi-party talks.

Differences still remained between the two sides, with the Cyprus government setting two conditions for attending talks: the Turkish side should show a spirit of co-operation, while the prospect of recognition of the Turkish Cypriot should be eliminated.

Agon and Machi both led with a reports that the Greek government had rejected the idea of a four-party meeting, involving the Turkish Cypriots and the governments of Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

They both quoted Greek government spokesman Demetris Reppas as saying that a four party meeting "was neither constructive nor helpful to efforts to solve the Cyprus problem".

Haravghi, under the headline "Deadlock", reported that a confrontation was inevitable in the construction industry as negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreements had reached an impasse.

It laid the blame on the employers who have been refusing to give any pay rises in a sector employing 20,000 people. The union would be meeting next week to decide when to take strike action, the paper said.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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