Note: Placenames rendered primarily in Serbian spelling
---------------------------------------------
"Pristina is truly empty now, and the Serbs are emptying Kosovska Mitrovica."
UN High Commission for Refugees spokesman Paul Stromberg
Quoted by Agence France Presse, April 4 - Geneva
"Milosevic and his regime will pay a high price for his crimes against
humanity."
NATO military spokesman Air Commodore David Wilby
April 4 - Brussels
"Since April 1 the situation in Kosovo... has deteriorated as a consequence of
the continued brutal Yugoslav campaign of ethnic cleansing. For this,
President
Milosevic is responsible and will be held accountable."
European Union statement
April 4 - Brussels
"They killed a young boy who was trying to hide in front of our eyes. Then
they
made the women and children go down to the houses... They kept the men behind,
with their hands in the air. We have no news of them."
Ethnic Albanian refugee from Krushe Male, Kosovo
Quoted by Agence France Presse, April 5 - Morina, Albania
"I suppose the possibility always is that we will have to deal with
[Milosevic]. But the bottom line... is that more and more people are asking
that question, is it going to be possible to deal with somebody that is behind
all this, and that is something that we are focusing on... I believe that
[Milosevic] is politically responsible for the horrors that are going on in
Kosovo and because of seeing that people have had their throats slit, have
been
shot in the back of their heads, that women and children have been separated
from military-age males, that there are closed railroad cars being sent,
forced
marches, executions, I think that we know where the political decision for
this
is done."
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
NBC's Meet the Press, April 4 - Washington
"Secretary Albright has been consulting regularly with the Foreign
Ministers of
France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom regarding the situation in
Kosovo
and the surrounding region. She and the other Ministers agreed, on April 2,
that their governments' objective is a peaceful multiethnic democratic Kosovo
in which all its people live in security. This objective can be achieved by
the
return of all refugees and therefore the deployment of an international
security force, the withdrawal of Serb military, police and paramilitary
forces, and putting in place of a political framework for Kosovo on the basis
of the Rambouillet accords"
US State Department statement (foreign ministries of France,
Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom made similar statements)
April 3 - Washington
"What we are witnessing is a mass deportation on a scale that Europe has not
seen since the days of Stalin or Hitler... We will not allow [Milosevic] to
condemn the people of Kosovo to a life in exile."
Britain's Foreign Secretary Robin Cook
April 5 - London
-------------------------
I . KOSOVARS STILL FLOODING REGION; REFUGEES DYING ON MACEDONIA BORDER, RAPED
ON ALBANIAN BORDER; MASSACRES, MASS DEPORTATIONS CONTINUE
As of April 5, according to figures of the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR) 855,400 Kosovars have been displaced, over 42% of Kosovo's
pre-war population. More than 390,000 of the 855,400 are reported to have fled
from Kosovo since March 24; the numbers do not include those displaced but
still living within Kosovo since March 24. Reuters yesterday quoted UNHCR
spokesman Kris Janowski on the number of refugees who have fled Kosovo: "It's
growing by 30,000 a day." CNN correspondent Wolf Blitzer noted yesterday:
"There's a Defense Department intelligence analysis right now that suggests
that Slobodan Milosevic will have achieved his objectives within, perhaps,
only
five days."
! Reuters reported yesterday that "NATO aircraft witnessed Yugoslav troops
ethnically cleansing a Kosovo village on the weekend but could not stop it,
[NATO military spokesman Air Commodore David Wilby] said Monday. Pilots took a
series of detailed aerial photographs of Yugoslav armor deployed as troops
emptied the village of Glodjane, the villagers herded together and the houses
torched after the population had gone. But NATO was unable to neutralize Serb
forces carrying out the systematic expulsion of Kosovo Albanians, even after
they had removed the inhabitants of Glodjane... [Wilby said] 'If we were to
see
that sort of organization going on, with a mix of armor and troops very close,
then I think we'd have to think very carefully about where and when we put our
attacks in.' " Citing "harrowing evidence of how the Serbian military units
are
being employed to force villagers from their homes," Wilby on Monday showed
the
aerial photographs: "The first image ... showed Serbian armor that was working
in and around the village. This is identified by the circles on the left side
and the bottom of the screen. On the right of the screen, you can see the
consequences of the security force action, with civilians and vehicles
assembled in a holding area, presumably awaiting transportation to the border.
Our second shot shows that the civilians had disappeared. And later, a final
image clearly showed that the village had been set on fire."
! The Times (London) reported yesterday: "According to human rights groups and
investigators from the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague, and the victims
themselves, Kosovo Albanian women are being picked out at the border as they
wait with their families to cross into Albania, taken to a building not far
away and violated. 'There have been so many credible reports of this sort of
thing that we are convinced it is part of a systematic campaign of sexual
abuse. The whole level of atrocities being committed in Kosovo has overwhelmed
us. We are going to have to bring in extra investigators,' said a member of
the
tribunal team in Kukes, the nearest town to the border crossing. The Serbs'
method is simple. They select the women they fancy tormenting as they approach
the final crossing point with their families, who are ordered to keep
travelling into Albania. They are then taken away, weeping and begging for
their lives. Hours, perhaps a day passes for the families, and then those who
survive the ordeal are sent on their way with a casual wave... The latest
revelations... carry...weight with human rights groups who stand alongside the
families of abducted women and teenage girls, helpless to do anything about
what they are certain is going on behind the bulletproof glass of the Monice
crossing." The New York Times today noted an account by an ethnic Albanian
refugee that "two girls were pulled out of their car at the Serbian border
checkpoint the other night and raped."
! The New York Times reported today that Macedonia has been flooded with a
total
of "136,000 refugees, most of them arriving in the last few days. In addition
to the 65,000 believed to be stranded at Blace... another 30,000 people are
thought to be on the other side of the border." Reuters reported yesterday
that at the refugee camp in Blace "a few dozen are said to have died, but no
one appears to be keeping count." The London Free Press reported yesterday
that
the toll had reached 50 dead. The Times (London) reported today that "on
Saturday, three children were trampled to death in the scramble as bread was
thrown into the mass of bodies." A Daily Telegraph (London) correspondent
wrote
today that "the next scourge at Blace is likely to be an epidemic. Already
there are reports of meningitis and polio. Appalling sanitation among so many
poses a huge health risk." The London Free Press reported yesterday that "a
police officer, his colleagues and many volunteer workers donned white medical
masks late yesterday. Cholera, tuberculosis and other diseases are said to be
rampant. 'They say the epidemic is spreading,' explained one masked volunteer."
! Reuters noted yesterday the "the United Nations reported one crossing point
into Macedonia Jazince having a single registration table to process an
influx of thousands." Reuters reported UNHCR's spokeswoman in Skopje, Paula
Ghedini "said the agency was hearing from refugees that the queue of those
waiting to cross from Serbia at Jazince stretched for 16 miles. 'We need to
get
those people out,' Ghedini told reporters. 'It is terrible there. It is
extremely muddy. The rain is not helping. We have already weakened people who
went through a harrowing experience for four days. They waited at the border;
they have not eaten." The Daily Telegraph (London) reported yesterday that
"the
Serbs continued to run trains to the border, at one point firing over the
heads
of a column of refugees to hurry them along." The Scotsman (Edinburgh)
reported
yesterday that "the Serbs were busy yesterday. On a ridge above Blace, columns
of troops carried spades and appeared to be digging a trench or preparing a
bunker. The risk of a sniper attack means NATO personnel are not allowed
anywhere near the border at Blace."
! The New York Times reported today that "one official with the UN refugee
agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Macedonian
officials
were barely cooperating with the relief operation and charged that the
Macedonians were intentionally putting the brakes on the influx." The Times
(London) reported yesterday from Macedonia that "six British charities here
say
the Macedonian authorities are being "deliberately obstructive" in registering
aid organisations to help in the humanitarian crisis... Arben Jafare,
leader of
the Democratic Party of the Albanians, which is part of the ruling
coalition...
complained that only Albanian schools had been closed in order to be used as
temporary shelters and that the Government had gone back on a plan to use
gymnasiums and the national football stadium after protests from its Slav
supporters... Slav commentators described the country as being on a "war
footing" as military reserves were called up in a general mobilisation. The
Government is worried that if an independent Kosovo is established in any
eventual diplomatic settlement, the majority Albanians in western Macedonia
will elect to join their kinsmen. 'We will not allow our state to fragment as
the rest of Yugoslavia has done, with bloody consequences,' a senior
government
source said. 'Our economy is fragile and we can't afford this influx'... US
diplomats visiting Macedonia at the weekend say the Government is looking for
substantial aid packages and help with its existing debts. The Government has
asked the EU for a large loan, saying 'We don't need food supplies, we need
money.' "
! Physicians for Human Rights (Boston) reported yesterday that "the current
situation for refugees in Macedonia is horrific. Tens of thousands are
standing, sitting, or lying in a tremendous field filled with thick muck.
Garbage lies everywhere and some feces can be seen in the open. The Macedonian
authorities are making the delivery of humanitarian assistance extremely
difficult. Our investigator reports that Medecin Sans Frontieres (MSF) has had
their medical supplies held up at the airport for at least 2 days now.
International Medical Corps' (IMC) first aid station at Jelazica was shut down
this afternoon and their medicine and equipment was taken by authorities...
Medical aid groups are extremely ill-equiped to deal with the current medical
crisis. Late yesterday afternoon, the Macedonian Red Cross set up a firstaid
tent, and the Greek [branch of] Medicins du Monde group brought in a mobile
surgical unit a period of time. These joined the Medcins du Mond and
International Medical Corp tents. Even with the extra help, patients still
flooded to the IMC tent for help at a rate of one every couple of minutes,
frequently arriving two, three or even four to a time. These medical groups
are severely short on crucial supplies such as gloves, important antibiotics
and materials for infusions."
! UNHCR reported yesterday that 35,700 Kosovo refugees had fled to Montenegro
since March 24, bringing the total number of Kosovo refugees in Montenegro to
60,700. The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that "a second wave of refugees
began pouring into Montenegro yesterday... unlike those from Pec, who arrived
in cars, tractors or on foot, the latest batch of refugees was bused to the
border escorted by Serb police. Buses all bore license plates beginning with
the letters KM, indicating that they had come from the town of Kosovska
Mitrovica, suggesting that they represented the next stage in the Serb ethnic
cleansing."
! UNHCR reported yesterday that 226,000 Kosovo Albanian refugees have
arrived in
Albania since March 24, bringing the total number of Kosovo Albanian refugees
in Albania to 244,000. The New York Times today reported "long and miserable
lines stretching some 40 miles back into Serbia." Agence France Presse
reported
yesterday that UNHCR spokesman Jacques Franquin in Tirana "said reports
suggest
that Serbs may be holding refugees back inside Kosovo and say they cannot rule
out a new surge of refugees in coming days. 'We have information that the
Serbs
may be holding people back systematically, say six miles from the border... If
50,000 people arrive tomorrow, I don't know how we would cope.' " Agence
France
Presse noted that "concern also centers on conditions at a particularly remote
crossing point at Pashtrikut... [UNHCR spokeswoman in Kukes, Albania, Laura
Baldini] reported at least seven people had died either before crossing or on
arrival."
! The Times reported today that "Hague investigators are looking into a number
of credible reports that up to 500 men were marched into a field close to
where
the KLA has been fighting a rearguard action against the Serbs on the Albanian
border. Once in the field their resistance was allegedly broken down by being
forced to stand in freezing rain for several hours. They were then driven like
cattle back into a barn and ordered to dress in rags provided for them. Then,
at gunpoint, they were ordered to stand in front of Serb trenches while the
Serb artillery fired mortars and heavier weapons at KLA positions, confident
that they would not be the first victims if fire was returned. So far, The
Hague said, there had been only a handful of survivors from this latest
alleged
atrocity."
! The Sunday Telegraph (London) reported Sunday that "80,000 ethnic Albanians
who until a week ago lived in Pec, have been systematically cleared out of
their homes." The Sunday Times (London) reported that "the ethnic cleansing of
Pec was carried out according to a well-orchestrated plan reminiscent of the
early days of fighting in northern and eastern Bosnia... The purge started in
Kapesnyca, a predominately ethnic Albanian district in the northeast of
Pec. It
was first shelled on Saturday by Yugoslav army tanks, which set houses on
fire.
The violence spread to the center, where shops were burnt. Some witnesses said
the worst killings seemed to have happened with the cleansing of Loxha, in the
south, a district already badly damaged in a Serbian crackdown last year...
Dardania is Pec's longest street and it was on a section called Dardania 2
that
15 young men were reportedly massacred because they did not have money to
bribe
the Serbs." The Washington Post today cited one family of ethnic Albanian
refugees from Pec saying paramilitary forces in Pec told the family "we are
Arkan's men." The Guardian (London) reported Saturday that "Father Sava, of
the
historic monastery at Decane [said] to a colleague who met him coming out of
Kosovo into Montenegro: 'They should bomb them' - the Serb killers - 'to
ashes.' What they are doing in Pec is atrocious. I'm never coming back.' "
! The New York Times today quoted Mishur Juareka, an ethnic Albanian refugee
from the village of Balenica: "They surrounded us. They killed some and
captured some and took them away. They killed four children because their
families did not have any money to give to the police... They killed them with
knives, not guns."
! The Financial Times reported yesterday that "a column of 12,000 fleeing from
their burning villages was bombarded by Serb aircraft and tanks on Thursday
night while they slept in hamlets near the town of Orahovac, in southern
Kosovo. In Negovac, a house crammed with 100 refugees was destroyed, killing
all, or almost all, those inside," according to a witness. Agence France
Presse
reported yesterday that five Kosovo Albanian refugees interviewed at the
Morina
border pass in Albania "on three separate occasions... told of [an]
incident at
Negovac, in the south of Kosovo, when hundreds of people were forced by the
Serbs into a number of houses which were then blown up."
! The Scotsman reported yesterday the account of a ethnic Albanian refugee who
survived a massacre in his village of Velika Krushe: " 'They put the men into
different groups. They pushed us all to the ground. After they got us on the
ground, they hit us, then they chose some of the men. The men they chose, they
kept beating us, shouting that we were terrorists. Then they put us, 30 or 40
men, into a big pit in the ground. They started shooting. They started
shooting
everyone. I don't know how I survived. After they shot us they put hay on top,
and then they poured petrol on top of that. Then they set fire to it'... The
survivor's hands, like his face, are severely burned by the flames... His is
the second story of a mass killing to emerge from the area north-west of
Prizren this weekend, following the video footage of more men shot dead in the
village of Krushe Male which was smuggled out by a villager armed with a
camera." Refugees' accounts quoted in the New York Times today confirmed
massacres in the towns.
! The Financial Times reported yesterday that "the town of Djakovica... was,
according to witnesses, the scene of widespread killing. Among the residents
was Fatos Peni, who previously worked for the [OSCE Kosovo Verification
Mission]... He says in a statement to the OSCE that on March 24... hooded Serb
gunmen called on the families of doctors, teachers, lawyers and other educated
Kosovars. They shot the men, led away women and children, and burnt the houses
[as he left on April 2], bodies littered the streets, he says in his
statement.
His account is echoed by 15 year-old Blerta Kasumi, who also left Djakovica on
April 2."
! The New York Times reported today that observers' reports from Sopine
village
in the Suva Reka district "say about 50 policemen arrived [March 24] and
killed
10 people... Hajrullah Kabashi, from the village of Ternse, said Serbs had
killed as many as 47 people who had tried to stay in their houses, including
two of the town's teachers."
! The Scotsman reported yesterday survivors' accounts from the village of
Planeje: "[One] said Serb positions had been dug in near the school
building...
for several months and the children continued having lessons. 'On Sunday, the
Serbs just started shooting. They shot at the school, the children ran out,
they killed a 15-year old girl."
! The Washington Post reported Sunday that Kosovo Liberation Army Commander
Drini "said 150 people, including women and children, had been found killed in
Izbica, in northern Drenica region, northeast of... Pristina. Another 70 had
been killed in the village of Pusto Selo, and another 34 people in Jovic, he
said."
! Agence France Presse reported yesterday that Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim
Rugova in an interview "asked Belgrade authorities to allow him to go
abroad...
[saying[ 'I cannot work and contribute here in Pristina. I can do more outside
Kosovo... I told Serbian authorities of this request." The report noted the
interview - which was arranged by the state-run Serbian Media Center in
Pristina - followed a meeting with Russia's envoy Yuri Kotov, whom the report
quoted telling Rugova that "[Serbia's deputy Prime Minister Nikola] Sainovic
confirmed to me that your movements are free and that [the Yugoslav
authorities] are concerned about your personal security." The report also
quoted Rugova saying that "there should be an end to the situation in Kosovo,
the bombing should be stopped and monitoring put in... This is not a question
just for me. I am here without my people." Reuters noted reports yesterday by
Belgrade state-run media that Rugova had also met with Sainovic. NATO
spokesman
Jamie Shea said Sunday that "one of our NATO Allies has had contacts in the
last few hours with some close associates of [ethnic Albanian leader] Ibrahim
Rugova, and from those contacts we have learned that his house is permanently
occupied by Serb security forces. His family is able to live only on the first
floor of that house. He has no freedom of movement but has to report to the
local police station several times a day." The Daily Telegraph today quoted an
unnamed American official:
" 'Chris Hill is the leader of the camp in the US State Department that still
sees the KLA as a major part of the problem... He is still willing to pursue
peaceful overtures being made by... Ibrahim Rugova, who is now entirely bereft
of authority.' "
! US State Department spokesman James Rubin said yesterday that "Ambassador
Scheffer, our ambassador at large for war crimes, has just filed a report with
the secretary... He went to the region, and he worked very closely with a
number of the international relief and other international personnel there.
They conducted a large amount of interviews. He said that there was remarkable
consistency in the refugees' accounts and that the large and growing number of
consistent reports by the refugees is too significant to either ignore or
understate. We believe these reports, coupled with what we are learning from
other sources of information, clearly demonstrate that ethnic cleansing, war
crimes, crimes against humanity are occurring in Kosovo. The widespread and
systematic character of the criminal conduct of Serb military, paramilitary,
and police units in Kosovo points to many of the indicators of genocide.
Kosovars are fleeing Kosovo, but not because of the NATO bombing campaign, but
because of the Serb assault on the civilian population.... Killings and
beatings are common. Many refugees reported about individuals killed in their
homes either by gunfire or by torching the homes while they are inside.
Executed bodies were seen on the streets of Pristina and other towns, with no
apparent effort to remove them. There was a forced march of thousands of
Kosovars from Podujevo to the train station in Pristina. The paralyzed were
either shot in their homes or were pushed in wheelbarrows. Serb forces told
these residents, 'You are the most resistant ones, so now you march.'... the
rest of our government will be working with Ambassador Scheffer's office to
provide the necessary information for the War Crimes Tribunal to do its job.
And we intend to support them and we hope they will follow the evidence where
it leads.
! The Times (London) reported Sunday that Milosevic "is on a 'sealed' list of
war criminals drawn up by the International Criminal Tribunal for former
Yugoslavia, a source close to the court claimed yesterday... It is not known
when the indictment was issued but it is believed to predate the present
conflict in Kosovo. 'The West had been aware for a long time that if he
[Milosevic] was indicted, they would not be able to negotiate with a war
criminal," the source said. "The indictment is sealed but that doesn't mean
that it cannot be updated so that it incorporates Kosovo.' "
! Reuters reported yesterday that "in New York, U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan used some of his toughest language since the start of the crisis,
telling
U.N. Security Council members: 'The brutal persecution the refugees and
displaced persons are suffering, the loss of their family members, their homes
and even documentation of their identities, underline the urgency of their
plight.' Annan said the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary
Robinson,
was taking urgent steps to 'monitor the shocking violations of human rights of
the Kosovar population.' "
! The Sunday Telegraph reported that "thousands of Serbs are moving into homes
abandoned by ethnic Albanian refugees fleeing from Kosovo, British officials
said last night. 'We know that 4,000 Serbs have been moved into Pristina and
Pec, said a [Foreign Ministry] aide. 'They may well be trying to repopulate
Kosovo with Serbs, it is the same tactic they have used before.' "
! The New York Times reported that "the NATO alliance offered Sunday to assume
responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of Kosovo refugees, announcing
that it would coordinate an airlift by its member nations to bring in supplies
and take out almost 100,000 people to temporary shelter on American and
European territory... Some European diplomats, however, questioned the
feasibility of the plan. Emma Bonino, the European Union's Commissioner for
Humanitarian Affairs, told a news conference in Brussels Sunday that taking
refugees to Europe and American territories would merely assist President
Milosevic with his campaign of 'ethnic cleansing' and break up families. She
said that camps for the refugees should be established in the Balkans and
nearby central European nations." Agence France Presse reported yesterday that
Britain's International Development Secretary Clare Short "on Monday opposed
letting refugees into Europe: 'Moving people out of the region is doing
exactly
what Milosevic wants.' " The Financial Times yesterday noted Britain's Prime
Minister Blair on Sunday "had earlier in the day warned against European
countries accepting Kosovar refugees because it was a 'policy of despair'...
However, by last night a spokesman for Mr. Blair said the UK was willing to
provide temporary accommodation for thousands of Kosovar refugees." Agence
France Presse reported Sunday [4/4] a government source "[said] France cannot
accept 'massive' numbers of Kosovo refugees... 'the essential thing is to
ensure that the Kosovars can return to their homeland,' the source said."
! The New York Times reported today that "NATO on Monday gave its military
commander the authority he sought to send 24 US Apache helicopter gunships to
Albania, with surface-to-surface missiles and about 2,000 American soldiers
who
will use them to attack Serbian forces... in Kosovo. The Apache anti-tank
helicopters and their missile systems are expected to be in position in
about a
week."
II. NATO MOVES TOWARDS GROUND FORCES, AWAY FROM RAMBOUILLET AGREEMENT
! The Financial Times reported yesterday from Brussels that "the Rambouillet
peace plan for Kosovo... seemed to be dead at the weekend, amid signs of a
shift in NATO policy. NATO leaders and officials continued to rule out a
ground
invasion of Kosovo, or using any ground forces that would have to 'fight their
way in.' But plans are being studied for the western alliance to send an
'escort force,' which might have to number 60,000 or more, into Kosovo to
protect returning refugees. First signs of the shift came with a statement
from
[NATO Secretary-General] Javier Solana... which appeared to toughen the
alliance's demands on Slobodan Milosevic." As reported in Kosovo Briefing #63,
the statement said: "NATO's military action supports the political aims of the
international community - a peaceful multi-ethnic, democratic Kosovo in which
all its people live in security... To this end, the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia must stop all repressive and combat activity and withdraw its
forces
from Kosovo and accept arrangements in which all refugees can return safely to
Kosovo under the protection of an international security force." However,
Agence
France Presse reported yesterday that Solana's statement was "one of the
clearest signs of internal communication problems [within NATO]. Several of
NATO's 19 ambassadors wanted the campaign's political aims to be restated, but
others voiced opposition. In a bid to satisfy both camps, Solana recycled an
old news release. But the journalists at NATO headquarters saw the vaguely
worded announcement as a veiled indication NATO troops would be sent into
Kosovo to protect refugees without a signed agreement from Belgrade -
signifying a major shift in allied policy." The Agence France Presse report
cited diplomats saying the statement "almost led to the collapse of the
Italian
government." Reuters Sunday quoted France's Defense Minister Alain Richard:
"An
armed intervention on the ground is not envisaged except in the framework of
the implementation of an accord among the parties."
! The Financial Times reported yesterday that Solana's statement "is
understood
to have reflected the views of informal discussions between the five NATO
countries... The new thinking in the Contact Group marks a realization that
the
humanitarian crisis is so grave the western alliance could not wait for formal
negotiation of a peace accord before starting to put refugees back into
Kosovo." In a separate report yesterday, datelined London, the Financial Times
said that "plans are being studied for the western alliance to send an 'escort
force' into Kosovo to protect returning refugees. This might have to number
between 60,000 and 90,000 troops... and would be deployed only after Yugoslav
forces had withdrawn -- or been driven -- from the region. But it might occur
before any peace deal was signed."
! The Sunday Times reported: "NATO, Pentagon and Ministry of Defence planners
envisage that a force of at least 60,000 troops would advance into the
province
after air pounding of Yugoslav units. The force would fulfil a role described
by a Nato official as "offensive peacekeeping" to protect hundreds of
thousands
of refugees returning to Kosovo. The occupying force could be required to stay
for more than 10 years. [Prime Minister Tony Blair's pledge to the Kosovo
Albanians, cited below] would make the deployment of land forces inevitable...
British and American politicians have consistently ruled out ground attacks.
The plan being considered would be implemented only after President Milosevic
had lost the capacity to wage war. A defence ministry source said the force
would operate in a "semipermissive" peacekeeping role. It would not attempt to
control the countryside, but would secure main lines of communication and some
towns: "The force would be able to handle terrorist activity and gun battles,
but would not be configured to withstand fullscale fighting." A senior NATO
official emphasized there was no support for a ground war or even limited
intervention until the back of Milosevic's armed forces had been broken. "But
even if this is not a ground war, we may have to be prepared for mopping up
some Serbian resistance," he said. "We would also have to be prepared for a
Serbian counterattack. We would have to fortify and de fend the borders of
Kosovo."
! However, Associated Press reported yesterday that Britain's Prime Minister
Blair wrote in Monday's edition of The Sun (London) that "there is no question
of NATO ground forces being sent in unless it is to police an agreed political
settlement... 'But what NATO is doing is making Milosevic pay a higher and
higher price until he calls off his brutal commanders." [As noted in Kosovo
Briefing #63, Blair said Saturday in a television interview: "My message to
the
people of Kosovo is very simple. The whole of the international community
recognises our obligation to you. We will not let you down, we will make sure
that you are able to return to your homes, live in your homes in peace,
that is
our promise to you, we will carry it out."] The Sunday Telegraph quoted an
unnamed official with Britain's Ministry of Defense: "It is the settled
view of
British commanders that it is impossible to establish a safe haven unless
there
is a settlement first."
! Washington officials appeared to move away Sunday and yesterday from
demanding
an explicitly agreed-upon deal, however. President Bill Clinton said at a
press
conference yesterday that "[Milosevic] could end the bombing... by withdrawing
from Kosovo his military, police and paramilitary forces; by accepting the
deployment of an international security force; and making it possible for all
refugees to return, as we move toward a political framework for Kosovo on the
basis of the Rambouillet accords. But more empty promises and token
halfmeasures won't do the job. A commitment to cease killing in a Kosovo
denied
its freedom and devoid of its people is not acceptable... If Mr. Milosevic
does
not do what is necessary, NATO will continue an air campaign. It will be
undiminished, unceasing, and unrelenting. It will inflict such damage that
either he will change his calculations, or we will seriously diminish his
capacity to maintain his grip and impose his control on Kosovo."
! When asked yesterday whether the United States would sit down to talks with
Milosevic, US State Department spokesman James Rubin said: "With our
objectives
[as cited above in statements by President Clinton yesterday, and the State
Department Saturday] there are other ways in which we could know that the
Serbs
have agreed to the four objectives that we had other than sitting down at the
table with Milosevic. We would have to judge whatever agreement were
reached to
achieve our objectives based on concrete indicators that that is real, but it
is possible to imagine how to do that without sitting down with him."
! When US Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon was asked Sunday whether a
"permissive environment" to escort refugees back to Kosovo would require a
peace agreement, he said: "The elements we require are one, stop the fighting.
Two, the withdrawal of the forces. Three, a commitment to democratic
government. Four, we want to have a NATO-led international peacekeeping force
on the ground to enforce the peace; and five, we want the refugees to be able
to return and live in safety. Those are the five elements we're looking for.
These basically are all taken from -- they're elements of the Rambouillet
accord. We have been saying since this began that we want something that
embraces the framework or the elements of Rambouillet. So those are the five
elements we're working for, and we'll continue to work for those." When asked
again "you do not need an actual peace accord for this scenario to unfold?"
Bacon said: "Without getting into the legalities here, I've just listed the
five conditions that we're aiming for, and those will continue to be our goal."
