The German foreign minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, observed accurately that more progress has been made in the last few days towards a Kosovo settlement than in the previous ten weeks, since the NATO air bombardment began, following formal Yugoslav acceptance yesterday of the principles put forward by the Group of Eight industrialised countries. This is welcome news. It should be reinforced by applying all pressure available to the Yugoslav government to negotiate an end to its repression and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. In Ireland this must include co-ordinated efforts to prevent the soccer fixture between Ireland and Yugoslavia taking place in Dublin on Saturday.
As President of the European Union and the Group of Eight industrialised countries, Mr Fischer received a letter from Belgrade yesterday saying Yugoslavia accepts the general principles for a settlement put forward by the G8, which includes Russia. Today President Ahtissari of Finland, representing the European Union, will travel to Belgrade with the Russian envoy, Mr Chernomyrdin, to explore this further after talks with the US envoy, Mr Strobe Talbott. He will report back to the EU summit in Cologne tomorrow. There are positive prospects, despite outstanding deep disagreements over withdrawing Serb troops and the composition of an implementation force.
The long bombing campaign has taken a heavy toll on Serbia's infrastructure and civilian population, which should weigh heavily on that country's leadership. It has waited in vain for a split in the alliance ranged against it, despite differences over the use of ground assault troops and continued substantial disagreements over the bombing campaign in all NATO states. These differences have not prevented the belated decision last week to put more troops in place to implement a settlement, nor a general welcome for the indictment of President Slobodan Milosevic and four close associates on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
International civil pressure has an important role to play in the conflict, as a means of bringing it more fully home to the Yugoslav population that ethnic cleansing and expulsion of one million people from Kosovo is incompatible with civilised norms of behaviour. The Irish soccer authorities have been put in a difficult position by the rank failure of UEFA, the European umbrella body for the sport, to accept its responsibilities in this matter by taking action to prevent Saturday's match from taking place. It is clear that the overwhelming feeling among Irish supporters, players and management is against the fixture being held. Their attitudes are based on feelings of revulsion over the ethnic cleansing and expulsions - and on a realisation of how effective such a protest can be, whether at popular level in Yugoslavia or among the politico-military elite who run the game there in close association with the Milosevic regime.
If, having exhausted its efforts to get the EU foreign and sporting ministers to intercede with UEFA, that body fails to take action to prevent the game going ahead, the Government will be justified in refusing to issue visas to the Yugoslav party. There are times when political and ethical factors must override the sporting imperative - and this is one of them.