LEADING
members of Italy's centre-left coalition joined calls by Green and far-left
coalition factions for a "unilateral ceasefire" by Nato as the
search for cluster bombs jettisoned by US warplanes in the Adriatic widened
from the Venice area to waters off the tourist resorts of Rimini and Ancona
yesterday.
Massimo D'Alema, the former...
Prime Minister, said that a United Nations resolution imposing conditions
on Belgrade with Russian and Chinese backing might be enough to "stop
the bombing".
Walter Veltroni, head of the
ruling Party of the Democratic Left (PDS), said Italy should take the initiative
at the UN "on behalf of its Nato allies" to see if a suspension
of the raids might restart diplomatic effort.
Signor Veltroni, a former
Deputy Prime Minister, added: "We must make our voice heard."
...
Signor D'Alema, trying to
contain a growing tide of pacifism among his supporters ahead of a critical
parliamentary debate on Nato and Kosovo on Wednesday, said a ceasefire
was "conceivable" if Russia and China signed up to a UN resolution
based on conditions set by the Group of Eight industrialised countries
including Russia. These include the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from
Kosovo and a return of refugees under an international force's protection.
This would be enough to justify
a halt to the bombing, Signor D'Alema suggested, adding: "I
have to say the air campaign has not so far had the results hoped for,
and is producing repeated tragic episodes." He assured anti-war marchers
at Assisi he wanted to make "an urgent gesture of peace". The
Pope yesterday also called for an end to the bombing.
Italians have been dismayed
by civilian casualties, including the deaths of 85 Kosovo refugees apparently
used as human shields by the Serbs [blunt lie] at a military camp [another
lie] at
Korisa on Friday. The dumping
of cluster
bombs in Italian waters has brought the war even closer to home.
Enzo
Fornaro, head of the Italian Adriatic Fishing Co-operative, was incandescent
over injuries caused to three Chioggia fishermen last week when they hauled
up bombs in their nets. Yesterday Vinzenzo Barbati, the Prefect of Venice,
ordered the closure of beaches from the island of Pellestrina in the Venetian
lagoon to the port of Chioggia, at the southern entrance to the lagoon.
Cypriot protest
Dhekelia: About 10,000 protesters
marched on roads passing through a British military base in Cyprus yesterday
demanding an end to Nato airstrikes on Yugoslavia. Greek Cypriots walked
four miles in scorching sun past Dhekelia, one of two British military
bases. They regard Yugoslavia as a traditional ally.
Policemen working for the
bases walked with the protesters, who chanted "Nato killers"
as British soldiers kept watch from a tower. The Yugoslav Ambassador also
took part.
(Reuters)
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