Note: Place names rendered primarily in Serbian spelling""There's nothing we can do for those guys down there... We're covered by
Serb artillery and can't go down."
American KVM member, watching Serbian offensive on Racak village
Quoted by Times (London), January 19, 1999 - Racak
"We'd have to get the monitors out before we could do anything. For that,
we'd have to increase the size of our extraction force in Macedonia. All
that takes time, as Milosevic well knows... It's pretty clear after the
expulsion order to Walker that Milosevic wants the OSCE people there as
potential hostages, but not to do their jobs."
NATO official
Quoted by New York Times, January 19, 1999 - Berlin
" 'The general mood is Ratlosigkeit,' a senior NATO official said, using a
German term that means both helplessness and a shortage of ideas. 'We are
sticking our fingers in the dyke, trying to plug leaks. No one has a clue
where to go from here.' "
Reuters, January 18, 1999 - London
"I cannot say definitely whether NATO will act again in the same way [as in
Bosnia]... It will be a long negotiations process again, a one-off
decision. And it is correct that the democratic states are wrestling with
one another over this. We are not an intervention alliance, we are not
global police."
NATO General Klaus Naumann (Germany)
Quoted by Reuters, from an interview with Berlin daily Tagesspiegel,
January 18, 1999 - Bonn
"No one should doubt NATO's resolve."
State Department spokesman James Rubin
Quoted by Chicago Tribune, January 17, 1999 - Washington
I. MASSACRE AT RAHAC
A. Victims discovered
Following international media reports of an offensive by Serbian forces
Friday around the town of Stimlje, the Sunday Telegraph (London) reported
from Racak that "the bodies of at least 45 farmers and workers were found
[Saturday, January 16] on hillsides and in fields and courtyards in the
village of Racak... Most of the victims had been shot at close range in the
head or neck. Eyewitnesses said many were rounded up by police before being
led up a steep hill and executed with a single bullet." Guy Dinmore
reporting from Belgrade for the Chicago Tribune noted Sunday that "some
[victims] were mutilated. The victims included a 12-year-old boy, three
women, and elderly men."
The International Helsinki Federation described the killings as the
"summary execution of ethnic Albanian civilians by Serbian Forces,
amounting to a genocidal act and a war crime... According to field sources
of the Kosovo Helsinki Committee, the death toll may reach 80 once all
bodies are discovered."
The Sunday Telegraph noted January 17 that "the identities of the killers
is no secret. Many of the Albanians who survived gave matching descriptions
of the men. One local, whose name cannot be published because of fears for
his safety, said: 'Most of them wore balaclavas but we knew who they were.
They were the police from nearby Stimlje and local Serb volunteers... All
the witnesses interviewed said that Serb volunteers from the area also took
part in the attack."
Reuters reported Monday ethnic Albanian Sami Syla "said his 65-year-old
brother and fathers, aged 30 to 36, were among the bodies laid out in the
dry bed of a stream... 'They were taken from their homes, arrested, and
told the would by taken to Urosevac...but later they were brought up to the
hill and executed."
Agence France Presse reported yesterday that "an OSCE report to the UN
Security Council blames Serb security forces for the massacre... The
report, sent to the council Monday and released to reporters here, said the
OSCE verification mission has 'evidence of arbitrary detentions,
extra-judicial killings and the mutilation of unarmed civilians by the
security forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." The Chicago Tribune
reported "Serbian police said in a statement that they had sealed off Racak
on Friday while searching for the killers of a police officer and had been
shot at by KLA rebels. 'In the clashes, several dozen terrorists, most of
whom were in uniform with KLA insignia, were killed.' "
Reuters quoted OSCE-Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) chief William Walker
saying January 16: "To see bodies like this, with their faces blown away by
what was obviously arms held close to their heads... It looks like
execution. People with no value for human life murdering these men who to
me look like farmers, workers, villagers. They certainly didn't deserve to
die in circumstances like this."
Agence France Presse reported that "some hours later, Walker went further,
openly accusing the Serb police of carrying out this crime against
humanity. 'From what I personally saw I do not hesitate to describe the
event as a massacre - obviously a crime very much against humanity... Nor
do I hesitate to accuse the government security forces of responsibility."
The Los Angeles Times reported today that "foreign monitors are hinting
that they have damning evidence from the killers' own mouths. Information
gleaned from eavesdropping on Serbian police radio conversations may be the
ace up [OSCE-KVM chief Walker's] sleeve... At such a critical moment,
neither Walker nor his monitors will say publicly what he meant when he
told reporters that the victims' bodies and eyewitness accounts weren't his
only evidence. But Walker wouldn't have made such an explosive allegation
of mass murder without proof... In interviews, survivors said the killers
gave and received orders over walkie-talkies as they moved through the
village and rounded up their victims. Walker's monitors confirm privately
that they are able to eavesdrop on police communications."
B. A second attack
The Independent (London) reported that January 16, following the discovery
by the KVM of the massacre site in Racak, "the Yugoslav authorities had
informed the OSCE monitoring mission that they wanted to send their own
team of forensic science experts to inspect the dead. OSCE officials asked
for and got a pullback of the KLA [Kosovo Liberation Army] to allow the
Serbian team to do their work. In return, the OSCE officials demanded that
the Serbian team should be unarmed and in plain clothes with no escort or
show of force from the security forces. But the hapless monitors had to
watch helplessly as a steady build up of police and army units took place
throughout yesterday evening. The senior OSCE official, a British general,
John Drewinkiewicz, was meeting Serbian officials when the police action
began. 'Our meeting broke up to the sound of gunfire.' "
Despite the shelling, the Daily Telegraph (London) reported: "On Saturday
evening, the OSCE... assured villagers and journalists that their teams
would stay in Racak to deter the Serbs from attacking the survivors" of the
massacre Friday. Drawing confidence from these pledges of support, 100 or
so villagers, who had ventured back after fleeing Friday's onslaught,
slowly gathered their dead... [the next day] Back in the center of the
village, the OSCE monitors had grown tense. A British monitor said that the
Serbs had drawn up lines just the other side of the valley... Then all hell
broke loose. An OSCE man shouted that they had been ordered out of the
village immediately. Sustained automatic fire erupted close by... As one of
[the monitors'] Albanian translators ran to warn the civilians, a monitor
shouted: 'Not a word to them, in the car.' "
The Daily Telegraph noted that the monitors [Sunday] "abandoned ethnic
Albanian women and children to Serbian forces - after being sent to their
village to persuade them it was safe." The Daily Telegraph reported Monday
that "among those trapped in [Sunday's] fighting was a 12-year-old girl
whose father and brother were among the 45 civilians butchered in Racak
last Friday."
The Daily Telegraph (London) said "about 200 Serbian policemen equipped
with rocket-propelled grenades, light machine guns, Kalashnikovs and flak
jackets took up positions [Monday] on a hill near the village of Stimlje,
two miles from Racak. In a nearby forest we watched as they crouched in
readiness for a push through rebel-held territory...towards a brigade
headquarters of the Kosovo Liberation movement at Petrovo... Three miles
away, the Serbs then opened a second flank with anti-aircraft guns and
dozens more police advancing towards the village of Malopoljce to cut off
an Albanian retreat. As the Serbian advance continued throughout the day,
mortars whirred and the howl of howitzers echoed across the valleys."
Reuters reported Monday that "police stationed with armored personnel
carriers on hillsides overlooking the village fired large-caliber guns,
mortars and machine guns. Some of them put on masks or turned their backs
at the approach of a Reuters reporting team. Army troops later moved an
anti-aircraft gun into position and fired a round from it at the village."
As reported in Kosovo Briefing #30, "in an agreement on NATO's aerial
Kosovo Verification Mission signed October 15 by NATO and the Yugoslav Army
(JNA), the JNA agreed to establish a Mutual Safety Zone in which all
Surface to Air Missiles and air defense weapons will either be "removed
from Kosovo...or placed in cantonment sites and not operated."
CBS news Monday cited cease-fire observer Arthur Marquardt: "This seems to
be part of an ongoing operation... It just seems to be that this is a
plan." The Independent noted that on Saturday "Serb forces sealed off other
villages in the area. Peace verifiers from the OSCE reported houses burning
in villages west of Racak, 15 miles south of Pristina."
The Daily Telegraph noted that "Belgrade [Monday] flaunted its disregard
for international opinion allowing Western monitors and journalists to
their front lines to watch the new attack."
The Times (London) reported yesterday that "in a move calculated to
further increase tension, Serb forces removed 41 bodies of the massacred
civilians [to Pristina] as they stepped up their assault on the region."
The Daily Telegraph said that "in an additional indignity for the
survivors, the bodies were taken from a mosque, where they had been laid by
their relatives in preparation for burial."
C. The Hague Tribunal
Agence France Presse reported Monday that International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia chief prosecutor Louise Arbour "opened an
investigation into the massacre, which the OSCE has blamed on Serb police
units, and has demanded that Yugoslav authorities grant immediate and
unimpeded access to the site."
But Reuters reported Monday that Arbour "was turned back from the border
with Kosovo Monday by Yugoslav officials." Associated Press reported Arbour
"said she would return to the Macedonian capital of Skopje to contact
Yugoslav officials regarding her right to enter the country to pursue her
orders from the UN Security Council... Arbour did not apply for a visa
before the trip. 'I took the position that I was entitled to enter the
territory and I didn't have to go through the formalities of visa
application."
The New York Times reported today that Generals Clark and Naumann during
their meeting yesterday with Milosevic "demanded...that Serbian officials
allow...Arbour to enter Kosovo to investigate." US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright said Monday that "it is very important that Arbour...be
allowed access."
The North Atlantic Council (NAC) in a statement following a meeting
Sunday, noted that "the Council calls on the Yugoslav Authorities to
cooperate fully with the ICTY in accordance with UN resolutions, including
by granting immediate and unrestricted access to Chief Prosecutor Arbour,
and international investigators including Finnish forensic experts. We
also call on the FRY Authorities to ensure the security of the ICTY personnel."
The Financial Times reported Monday that Yugoslavia's Foreign Minister
Zivadin Jovanovic "refused to meet European Union ambassadors who requested
a visa for Mrs. Arbour. He sent a deputy instead who said the government
would consider the application." Agence France Presse Monday cited a
communique released by Yugoslavia's government to state-run news agency
Tanjug (Belgrade): [The ICTY] has no and cannot have any jurisdiction in
Kosovo, given that the issue there is not one of armed conflict but of
terrorism...that the authorities have the legitimate right to combat."
The Times (London) reported Monday that Belgrade authorities were
continuing "their own investigation into " 'terrorism' in Kosovo, which is
why they were so adamant that Danica Marinkovic, the local state
prosecutor, had to be given access to Racak yesterday, even if that
involved spraying the area with automatic weapons fire and rather handily
dispersing any international community witnesses."
Reuters reported that "Yugoslav and Belarussian forensic experts
[yesterday] began the examination of dozens of bodies of ethnic Albanian
villagers... A source at the Pristina Forensic Medical Institute where the
examinations were being performed said the local experts could not wait for
a team of independent examiners to arrive from Finland: 'We have started.
They will join in later and that does not jeopardize the job... The bodies
will start decomposing, and then its difficult to work on them'... The
Finns had arrived in Belgrade, the Yugoslav capital, Tuesday and were
meeting with authorities, Danica Marinkovic...told Reuters, referring to
the Justice Ministry."
Reuters yesterday reported that Pristina's Forensic Medical Institute
director Sasa Dobricanin "said on Tuesday [the bodies of 40 ethnic
Albanians killed Friday]...bore no signs of having been executed. 'Not a
single body bears any sign of execution... The bodies were not massacred...
Walker was wrong when he said these people were massacred."
US State Department spokesman James Rubin said today: "Based on our
experience and unfortunately, there's a long experience in this area, in
this part of the world we regard the Serbian claims of their forensics
investigation to be a sham. If they do not bear responsibility for this
atrocity and they want that proven, there's a simple way they can do that:
it's to allow an international investigative team to go in and make a
determination."
The Guardian (London) today reported that "international observers in
Kosovo raced against the clock yesterday to gather evidence on the
massacre... After lying under fire in Racak's mosque at the weekend, the
bodies...were examined yesterday... 'What I have seen is a massacre,' said
a Western European investigator with the [KVM]... He said cartridge cases
from weapons commonly used by the Serbian security forces had been found
around the bodies of about 20 men found shot in a ravine above Racak. 'The
stiffness of the bodies fits where they were found in the ravine,' he said.
'A lot of the bodies have entry wounds in the back and exit wounds in the
chest, the investigator continued. He saw this as evidence supporting the
claim that some of the victims were gunned down as they were running away."
Reuters reported yesterday that the UN Security Council during
consultations over a new statement on the killings in Kosovo was trying to
"bridge gaps about who should probe the killings... Differences center on
whether Arbour should launch an investigation of the killings. Diplomats
said Russia might agree to criticism of Belgrade's action in refusing her
entry but objected to calls for her to immediately probe the massacres...
[Russia's ambassador to the UN Sergei Lavrov] told reporters Monday
Yugoslav authorities should lead the investigation but should cooperate
with the tribunal."
D. Women, children displaced
Agence France Presse reported yesterday that "according to UNHCR
spokeswoman Judith Kumin, "a convoy is on stand-by in Pristina... [and]
will try to reach the forests south of Malopolje where people fleeing the
Serb offensive have sought refuge. We believe that Racak...and its
neighboring villages have been deserted by their 5,300-strong population.
Many have sought refuge in other towns further south but a thousand people
have sought refuge in the woods. On Monday, a UNHCR team in Dramnak met a
group of 29 women and children who had left the forest on foot and reported
that two infants had died from the cold. The witnesses said they had met
some 70 families hiding out in the woods."
The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday the fighting has created "new
refugees who are hiding in the woods despite sub-zero temperatures and a
lack of essential supplies... An official from the United Nations refugee
agency said there was evidence that hundreds of ethnic Albanians needed
blankets, food and medicines. In one village alone there were reported to
be 600 refugees."
E. Continued Fighting
Agence France yesterday reported continued "heavy fighting...in the hills
near [Racak]... frequent bursts of small-arms fire and several big
detonations were heard shortly before 11:00 AM, and heavy machine gun fire
and several blasts from grenade launchers were still resounding shortly
before midday in the hills near Racak... Just before the fighting erupted,
police forces equipped with armored vehicles were present in Racak. Three
armored trucks, one of them with a rapid fire cannon, were stationed in
front of the tiny mosque in the village. A dozen policemen in combat gear
and bearing armed with Kalashnikovs and small arms were standing along the
mosques. Three more policemen were guarding the entrance to the mosque and
preventing access to it."
Agence France Presse reported yesterday that "a police officer was killed
and two were wounded" in the fighting Tuesday.
II. OSCE KOSOVO VERIFICATION MISSION/NATO EXTRACTION FORCE
The Times (London) reported that OSCE-KVM mission chief Walker had been
declared persona non grata "after publicly accusing Serb forces of carrying
out the massacre. The Yugoslav government said that he had 'flagrantly'
violated his mandate to oversee the peace agreement...and that he had
proclaimed an 'undesirable person. That meant he had to leave Yugoslavia
within 48 hours." Reuters reported the Yugoslav government "said Tuesday it
had extended an expulsion order on...Walker by 24 hours. A government
statement quoted by the official Tanjug news agency said Walker...had been
given another day" giving him a Thursday evening deadline to leave the country.
Reuters reported today that OSCE chairman-in-office Knut Vollebaek "said
he had advised Walker to stay in Kosovo despite an expulsion order from the
Yugoslav government... Vollebaek said he planned to visit Belgrade soon to
press Yugoslav President Milosevic to reverse his decision to expel Walker.
'I am convinced that Milosevic will allow him to stay. It would be an
outrageous provocation, which I do not expect from him, if [Milosevic]
threw him out forcefully... We are not aiming at any kind of military
strike but the problem will of course be if there is absolutely no
cooperation from President Milosevic's side... I would then have to
reassess the situation for the verifiers and for the mission as a whole.
This stage has not arrived and I hope it will not arrive."
The New York Times reported yesterday that "administration officials said
that...it was unclear what would happen if Mr. Milosevic insisted on
expelling Mr. Walker. If Mr. Walker leaves, it is likely that the
Administration will call for the departure of the 700 unarmed monitors,
several hundred of whom are Americans. 'A consensus is emerging of one out,
all out,' an official said."
OSCE chairman-in-office Vollebaek in a statement yesterday said: "The OSCE
Chairman-in-Office reiterates that the FRY decision to declare Ambassador
Walker, the Head of the Kosovo Verification Mission, "persona non grata" is
totally unacceptable and may lead to a serious escalation of the conflict
in Kosovo. The OSCE has full confidence in the KVM leadership."
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said yesterday that "it is
essential for Ambassador Walker to be able to do his job." US State
Department spokesman James Rubin said yesterday that "the US notes with
outrage" the decision to expel Walker, noting: "We will not tolerate
anything less than full cooperation with the OSCE."
Reuters noted yesterday that Russia "also condemned Walker's expulsion,
calling it a matter of 'great concern' that can 'only further destabilize
the situation.' "
BBC reported yesterday that Montenegro's Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic
called the expulsion a "rash move, which could only further damage Yugoslavia."
One day prior to the expulsion order, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic
said in remarks carried on Belgrade state television: "Ever since he
[Walker] came, he has turned a blind eye to the crimes of terrorists. The
diplomat was behaving not as a representative of an international
organization, but as a representative and protector of separatism and
terrorism... Even though it is indisputably clear that the police were
provoked and compelled to defend themselves from terrorist attacks, Walker
ignored the fact and proclaimed the incident as a conflict with the
civilian population... [Walker] probably forgot that he is not a governor,
or a prosecutor or a judge in Serbia, but the representative of the OSCE,
an organization of 54 equal states and, the head of a mission whose task is
not to rule the territory of a sovereign country, but to observe and report
accurately."
TASS news agency(Moscow) noted that the Serbia Renewal Movement party,
whose head, Vuk Draskovic, Friday became vice-premier of the Yugoslav
government said Sunday: "In the whole period of the OSCE mission
functioning, Walker has not openly denounced the moves of terrorists
responsible for hundreds of crimes - murders, injuries and hostage taking
of policemen and civilians."
The New York Times said today: "In effect, the 700 [monitors] who have
arrived in Kosovo are now potential hostages, much like the United Nations
peacekeepers in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995 whose presence long made NATO
air threats look hollow... Faced with these difficulties, NATO appears
inclined to look for a face-saving compromise with Mr. Milosevic if he is
ready to step back from the brink once again.
Reuters reported yesterday that "security surrounding international
observers in Kosovo is being tightened because of the risk of a serious
escalation of fighting... [OSCE chairman-in-office Vollebaek said]
'Appropriate measures are being taken to ensure the safety of the
personnel... Vollebaek gave no details of the extra security measures for
the international monitors." The New York Times reported today that the
monitors "have been told by their sponsor, the OSCE, to ride only in
two-person convoys, which curtails their effectiveness by reducing the area
they can cover."
BBC yesterday reported that "a French-led force of NATO troops stands
ready in Macedonia to extricate the monitors if they get into trouble, but
if they all had to be got out this force would require significant
reinforcement."
The Financial Times reported today that "the 2,000strong Frenchled &
extraction force based in Macedonia is equipped to take out small numbers
of the international monitors. But a bigger Nato force of up to 8,000
troops might be needed to extract all of them."
III. INTERNATIONAL REACTION
A. NATO Generals dispatched to Belgrade
The Guardian reported today that "NATO's two top generals delivered a
"very blunt message" to...Milosevic last night." Agence France Presse cited
a NATO official saying Milosevic had shown " 'no flexibility' over the
Kosovo crisis during seven hours of talks in Belgrade."
Agence France Presse noted today that Clark "said the Yugoslav leader has
adopted 'a bunker mentality. He was stubborn. He was persistent. He was
determined to go his own way'... Asked what might happen next, Clark said
'repeated experience' showed Milosevic and his regime are 'most responsive
to the use of force.' "
Associated Press noted yesterday that "the generals had to delay the trip
to Belgrade by a day after Yugoslav authorities told them Milosevic was too
busy to see them."
The Guardian reported Friday "a Serbian surrender to the jurisdiction of
the tribunal was emerging as the top item on the British and US list of
demands to be put to Serbia under the threat of air strikes. The one
concession that Serbia refused to make to the US envoy Richard Holbrooke,
last October, when NATO threatened air strikes, was to grant jurisdiction
...to the war crimes tribunal. Other demands on NATO's list will include a
ceasefire, a return of Serbian forces to their barracks, and a reduction of
Serbian troop levels to the limits described in last October's agreement...
NATO is preparing further demands to bring Serbia into compliance with the
troop levels agreed last October. 'The Serbs are way, way out of compliance
on this, and have used tanks and heavy artillery in recent days, a clear
breach of the agreement,' one official of a major NATO power said."
B. International community on use of force
BBC reported today that "NATO is stepping up its readiness for possible
action [in Kosovo]... The preparations include reducing the alert time for
air strikes from 96 hours to 48 hours and deployment of warships to the
Adriatic Sea." Agence France Presse today reported: "A NATO official
emphasized that these steps should not be seen as making a decision to act
more likely. 'That would only happen once all political options had been
exhausted,' he said. A senior alliance diplomat, however, indicated that it
looked increasingly as if the international community was being pushed into
a position where it would have no option but to go through with the threat
of air strikes. 'There is the beginning of an acceptance that NATO has to
make the next move,' the diplomat...said."
Reuters noted today that "after a meeting Wednesday with Milosevic,
Russia's deputy foreign minister, Alexander Avdeyev, told reporters that as
long as the verifiers remain in Kosovo 'there won't be any bombing.' "
When asked Tuesday about the need for air strikes in Kosovo, US State
Department spokesman James Rubin said: "With respect to what will or will
not yield a decision to take away the suspension of the activation order by
the North Atlantic Council is not a decision for me to announce here. I can
tell you that it is a very serious matter, that Secretary Albright has
engaged very seriously on it, that the administration has been discussing
it intensively, and that we have very clear requirements from President
Milosevic. Number one is to reverse the requirement that he made that
Ambassador Walker leave Serbia. Number two, to allow the International
Crime Tribunal's investigators to do their work to get to the bottom of
this. Number three, to identify those responsible and those who gave the
orders, and to ensure that accountability and justice is done. And number
four, to reverse the growing pattern of deployment and numerical violations
of the accord that he agreed to with the West, with NATO generals, with
Ambassador Holbrooke...I'm not going to speculate for you what we will or
won't do if one or all of these requirements are not met."
Deutsche Presse Agentur reported yesterday that Germany's Foreign Minister
Joschka Fischer "warned Tuesday against any swift military action [in
Kosovo]... 'The situation is far too serious for muscle flexing,' said
Fischer in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur." Deutsche Presse
Agentur also noted that Germany's Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping "said
in a Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper interview Tuesday people should not
think so hastily about military action in order to bolster diplomatic moves."
Agence France Presse reported that US Ambassador to NATO Alexander
Vershbow Tuesday "clarified comments on the possibility of alliance air
strikes against Kosovo. In an interview with the BBC [he] was asked if
Belgrade had a few days to back down from its violation of last October's
ceasefire accord. He replied: 'I wouldn't guarantee that he has even that
long. If his posture in today's meeting is one of total defiance, then we
will have to make decisions even more quickly.' A spokesman for the US
mission at NATO said the comments should not be interpreted as the
ambassador saying that air strikes were imminent."
The Birmingham Post (England) reported today that Liberal Democrat Party
chief Paddy Ashdown "wrote to Prime Minister Blair saying he may have to
consider sending NATO troops in. Simply withdrawing the peace monitors
would see bloodshed escalate and a spread of the conflict beyond Kosovo,
said Mr. Ashdown, so although it would be 'extremely difficult,' the option
of sending in troops had to be considered... 'We have to hope the present
policy works,' he said, 'but if it fails we must be prepared to think the
unthinkable - and that means considering an engagement of NATO troops on
the ground in Kosovo as a last resort.' "
US Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke yesterday on CNN called the situation
in Kosovo "as serious, perhaps more serious as it was in October... We have
had clear-cut violations of the October agreements... If the Yugoslav
leadership thinks this a bluff they should just try us out."
US National Security Advisor Sandy Berger yesterday said on CNN: "NATO's
plans are still very much on the table and the threat of force is very much
an option... President Milosevic seeks to deprive the Albanian people of
the right of self-government. But if he is going to do that by virtue of
gross repression with these kinds of atrocious acts, then I cannot see the
international community standing by..."
US Secretary of State Albright said that Monday that the activation order
for NATO bombing strikes was 'on the table.' "
US Senator Joseph Lieberman said today that "unless Milosevic immediately
comes into compliance with the cease-fire agreement by returning his troops
to barracks and drastically lowering the number of police operating in
Kosovo, NATO, under the leadership of the United States, should take
military action to force the Serbs to abide by the agreement." US Senator
Lautenberg said that "force is the only language he [Milolsevic] seems to
understand. NATO must follow through on its threats with air strikes to
force the Serbs to respect their commitments." US Senator John Warner said
January 16 that "NATO, not just the United States...[should place] a NATO
force to be put in the Pristina region... I think there should be some US
component to that NATO force."
US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said Monday that "I am very disturbed
about what is happening in Kosovo. And I think it is very important that we
take some steps to show our displeasure with the killings in Kosovo. But I
think that if the president has any kind of plans to expand American troops
into Kosovo, then we have got to have a much more comprehensive look at his
entire plan. We cannot continue an unending mission in Bosnia along with an
expansion in Kosovo that doesn't have an exit strategy, as well as taking
the lion's share of the responsibility in Iraq as the U.S. and Great
Britain are doing."
The Scotsman (Edinburgh) reported Monday that "in Paris, the French
president, Jacques Chirac, said French policy on Kosovo had to be redrawn
from scratch in view of the massacre, which aides compared to the August
1995 slaughter in Sarajevo that triggered NATO bombing of Serb forces."
Reuters reported that France's Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine yesterday
"said the use of military force by NATO could not be ruled out, though he
did not want to prejudge the situation as diplomatic initiatives were still
under way."
Following a meeting Sunday, the North Altantic Council released a
statement noting that "the FRY must bring VJ and MUP force levels and
posture into compliance with its commitments to the Alliance last October.
As the signatory of this agreement, President Milosevic is responsible for
ensuring that these force levels are respected. He is also personally
responsible for the behaviour of his security forces....The North Atlantic
Council received briefings from the Chairman of the Military Committee and
SACEUR on the military situation and on the status of NATO planning. It
reaffirmed that the ACTORDS for air operations remain in effect."
The New York Times reported yesterday that "the options facing NATO
[during a meeting on the Kosovo issue] ranged from the most rigorous - the
reactivation of an order authorizing the use of force - to issuing a stern
statement of the kind that resulted. James Steinberg, deputy director of
the National Security Council, said the Administration was satisfied with
the NATO statement and the dispatch of the two top NATO military officials
to see Mr. Milosevic in Belgrade. 'We got everything we wanted,' he said."
Reuters reported that US envoy Robert Gelbard yesterday "said the KLA bore
part of the blame for the heightened tension in Kosovo even
though...Milosevic was the main culprit. 'We do not want to be the Kosovo
Liberation Army's air force,' Gelbard told a news briefing. 'They have to
learn to obey the rules, too'... He declined to comment on the likelihood
of air strikes threatened by NATO, but said the Western alliance had the
ability and the right to use force without specific authorization from the
UN Security Council." Speaking Monday on CNN, US envoy Richard Holbrooke
noted "that both sides have to respect, that there have been violations on
the Albanian side, and we have to be very honest about that. But the crisis
tonight is with the Yugoslav leadership."
Reuters noted Russia's Foreign Minister Ivanov said yesterday: "It is our
deep conviction that any military decision could only further exacerbate
the crisis... We should be speaking not of threats but of efforts to remove
the tensions of the last few days... We can only settle the Kosovo problem
by political means."
Reuters reported yesterday that Britain's Foreign Secretary Robin Cook
told parliament following a conversation with US Secretary of State
Albright that " 'to put in ground troops without a commitment on both sides
to a political process would be to put in ground troops without a clear
political objective'... Cook said NATO remained fully prepared to carry out
air strikes."
Reuters reported Monday that European Commission Vice-President Manuel
Marin said on Monday: "After the ice melts and the spring comes it is more
than likely that there will be a war if there is no intervention as there
should be - that is to say a NATO intervention."
The Times (London) reported yesterday that "one NATO officials said: 'No
one wants to bomb if there are diplomatic ways of persuading President
Milosevic to abide by the agreement. But, clearly, at the moment the deal
struck by Holbrooke is not working and we may need to scrap it and revert
to the threat of force.' One military option devised by NATO was to launch
a 'stand-alone' strike in response to a single incident. After the weekend
massacre, this option is now being re-studied."
Associated Press Monday reported a senior US administration official "said
NATO authorities have been told to be prepared to act on short notice to
implement an air operation against Yugoslavia similar to the one approved
last October." Agence France Presse reported Sunday a US State Department
spokeswoman said that "we will urge that the NAC [North Atlantic Council]
review and update contingency plans for implementation of the October 27
activation orders which remain in effect."
The Christian Science Monitor said today that a senior NATO official
speaking on the condition of anonymity "said the level of outrage was 'much
stronger' now than after previous massacres, and that there was a consensus
that the Serbs were responsible."
The Guardian reported Monday that "although the order which authorizes air
strikes on Serbia remains in place and can be triggered by a NATO council
decision, the diplomatic context has been seriously changed by the open
split between the US and France over policies toward Iraq." The Irish Times
(Dublin) quoted one senior Western official: "There's not much agreement
among members to go to war... There wasn't really agreement back in
October. You should have read the diplomatic cables."
III. International statements on massacre
President Bill Clinton said Sunday: "This was a deliberate and
indiscriminate act of murder designed to sow fear among the people of
Kosovo... The Serb authorities must act immediately to identify those
responsible."
Associated Press reported January 17 UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said
in a statement, "I am shocked to learn today of the alleged massacre of
some 40 individuals, apparently civilians, in Kosovo.. I am gravely
concerned at this latest development and call for a full investigation by
the competent authorities."
The Scotsman (Edinburgh) noted Monday: "In Paris, the French prime
minister, Lionel Jospin, said those responsible for 'these barbarous acts'
would be brought to justice. 'There are no words that can describe this
horror. We are filled with revulsion and disgust."
OSCE Permanent Council chairman Kai Eide Monday condemned "these
atrocities, which the OSCE mission has determined were committed by FRY
military and police against unarmed civilians. All available information
indicates that many of the victims of the latest atrocities were brutally
executed.... The latest violence is by far the worst set-back to the
ongoing efforts to solve the Kosovo crisis since the 16 October... It is
now essential that a climate of security be re-established to promote the
return process and prevent further displacement."
Agence France Presse reported the European Union on Monday "officially
protested to Yugoslavia over the massacre of 45 ethnic Albanians in
Kosovo...a German foreign ministry spokesman said."
The Daily Telegraph quoted British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook saying
Monday to the UN Security Council: "The eye-witness accounts of
international observers make it only too clear that they were murdered. In
any commonsense understanding of the term, this was a war crime."
Reuters Monday reported UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary
Robinson said she was "shocked and outraged by the massacre... The
perpetrator of the killings must swiftly be brought to justice."
