Annapolis Primed for Peace Talks

Nor was it lost on Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, delighted that her city was chosen for the conference.

"We're a first-class city, and we have dealt with major conferences going back to the Revolutionary War, as a matter of fact," Moyer said. "Small-town we are not."

She said Annapolis could be linked to a historic peace agreement, such as the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the conflict in Bosnia.

"What could be better?" Moyer said. "It would be a historic, historic moment."

The city offered to host a reception for the delegates, but the State Department turned down the invitation because of the conference's tight schedule.

Moyer (D) nonetheless issued a proclamation declaring tomorrow "Annapolis Conference Day" and calling on "all the citizens thereof to redouble their appreciation for service to one's community and fellow man as the highest calling one can heed."

The superintendent of the academy, Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, who at the start of the school year declared war on distractions for midshipmen by restricting their liberty and extracurricular activities, said in a statement that he was pleased at the prospect of hosting hundreds of foreign delegates and reporters.

"We are honored that the Naval Academy has been chosen as the setting for the Annapolis Conference," his statement said.

Classes will be held tomorrow, although some school facilities are being taken over for the conference. Some classes will likely monitor news coverage of the conference, academy officials said.

"We've worked closely with the academy to ensure that our schedule didn't disrupt the schedule for meals and that midshipmen can get to their classes without undue security checks," Besanceney said. "We've tried to be very sensitive to that."

Perhaps no one is happier about the conference than the city's hoteliers, who -- unlike shop and restaurant owners -- typically experience a lull in business around the holidays.

"This is good for the hotels in Annapolis," said Larry Beiderman, general manger of the Loews Annapolis Hotel, which is close to sold-out today and tomorrow, unusual at this time of year.