The New York Times

Friday, June 11, 1999

Albright Arrives in Macedonia

By The Associated Press

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright praised American troops preparing today to move into Kosovo as peacekeepers and assured refugees they would soon be able to return home ``to live a decent normal life.''

Addressing the troops, Albright said, ``The country you will be freeing has gone through some dreadful times. I know this is not easy on you. We are deeply honored to have you do this. You are bringing in a new history.''

Albright was surprised when she arrived in Macedonia and heard reports that Russian troops were moving toward Kosovo. But she received assurances from Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov that the troop movement was just a preliminary step and the Russians would not deploy into Kosovo until arrangements were worked out, her spokesman James P. Rubin said. He also said the Russians understand there will be a unified command under NATO for the eventual 50,000 peacekeepers.

Albright was told of the movement by British Lt. Gen. Michael Jackson, commander of NATO troops in Macedonia, and then talked by telephone with Ivanov.

Albright ordered Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott to return to Moscow immediately. Talbott, who had been in Moscow discussing arrangements for the participation of the Russians in peacekeeping, was en route to Brussels.

In Washington, National Security Adviser Sandy Berger was optimistic. ``I think they'll work it out,'' Berger said.

Later, Albright visited camp Stenkovic I, the first refugee camp established here and a tent city that's home to about 25,000 refugees, many of them children.

Albright counseled against vengeance and said the goal was a multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo. But she also acknowledged the task was awesome and said many of the refugees may not be able to get home before the onset of winter.

In a statement to hundreds of refugees crowded behind a rope, Albright said ``we want you to rebuild. We want you to go home. But be very careful, there are land mines. All the world knows about your suffering, they know you want to go home and have a normal life. You will go home and be able to live a decent normal life and do it your way.''

After meeting with Gen. Jackson, she was taken by motorcade to Camp Able Sentry, a base for U.S. troops preparing to go into Kosovo.

``We will have to do some winterizing of the tents in the camps,'' Albright said before departing for Macedonia to visit refugees and consult with government leaders. ``We can't count on everyone getting back before the weather.''

At the same time, Albright said, investigators, possibly including the FBI, want to get to Kosovo as quickly as possible before evidence of atrocities is destroyed.

In all, 400,000 uprooted civilians are in Kosovo, another 500,000 are in Albania, about 200,000 are in Macedonia and others are scattered in Hungary and elsewhere, Albright said. Many were stripped of their identity papers, complicating their return.

Earlier Thursday, trying to rally international support to rebuild Southeastern Europe, Albright said, ``It is time to bust the ghost of the Balkans past and build a new reality'' with reconstruction and democracy.

Albright and the foreign ministers of seven other world powers, including Russia, ended four days of talks dominated by Kosovo. They met with foreign ministers of the Balkan nations to sign a stability pact aimed at helping all countries in the region economically and ultimately bringing them into the European political fold.

They agreed the Europeans would bear most of the financial burden after the United States took the lead in winning the war. ``Southeast Europe is a part of Europe. It is our priority,'' German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said.

``It's going to be expensive,'' Albright said, but she offered no estimate of the cost. Whatever it is, rebuilding is ``our gift to the next generation,'' she said.

Although both Albright and Fischer denounced Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic -- Fischer said Milosevic had pursued a ``fascist policy'' -- there were no calls for revenge, and Kosovo Serbs were urged to stay.

``Revenge is not appropriate,'' Albright said. ``We would like Kosovo to become a multi-ethnic society.''

Albright likened the task to the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Western Europe after World War II, and efforts to bring prosperity to Eastern Europe since the fall of communism.

``We do not want the conflict now ending in Kosovo to be the prelude to others,'' she told representatives of more than 30 nations as NATO suspended the bombing of Yugoslavia. ``We want to build the true basis for a new era of peace.''

Fischer spoke hopefully of the ``end of the Yugoslav wars'' after nearly a decade of bloodshed.

``We want all countries in the region to develop toward an integrated Europe,'' said Fischer, who chaired the meetings as leader of the host nation.