Holbrooke selection as US emissary welcomed

GREEKCYPRIOTS and their Turkish counterparts alike have welcomed the appointment of Mr Richard Holbrooke, former US Assistant Secretary of State, as US special emissary to Cyprus.

The architect of the Dayton peace accords which ended the civil war in Bosnia, Mr Holbrooke is known as a tough and tenacious negotiator. His appointment is in tended to demonstrate a strong US "commitment to help promote a final political settlement on Cyprus", the US State Department spokesman, Mr Nicholas Burns, said.

Mr Holbrooke is expected to head the Clinton Administration's team monitoring the direct talks between the Cypriot President, Mr Glafkos Clerides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, scheduled to begin on July 9th at an undisclosed secluded location near New York. Although the effort to reach a settlement remains under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, nine interested countries and the EU have appointed envoys to hold watching briefs and coordinate external pressures on the two sides to reach an accommodation.

The objective of the talks is a comprehensive settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation. Whether or not a settlement is achieved, Cyprus is due to begin EU accession talks next January.

Upon taking up the post, Mr Holbrooke played down the possibility of an early agreement because of the uncertain political situation in Turkey. Ankara is preparing for early elections because of the failure of the Islamist led government to achieve a madus viveridi with the military. Nevertheless, Mr Holbrooke stated: "The Turks have said they want US involvement, so we'll give it our best shot."

In the run up to the New York talks, which are expected to launch a protracted negotiating process, ordinary Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been involved in bicommunal meetings and cultural events designed to build trust and goodwill.