Plenary session, Wednesday 14 April 1999

Statement by the Council on the situation in Kosovo

Speech by the Commissioner Emma Bonino on behalf of the Commission

Bonino. Honourable President, honourable members of parliament, it seems to me that with the sole exception of one political group this Chamber has been unanimous in its condemnation of the mass deportation practised by Milosevic, and not only in the last few days. It seems to me equally that there have been varying opinions regarding what to do.

We all want peace, except perhaps Milosevic. And we should bear this in mind: if there is anyone who has been pursuing an ultra-nationalist program for the last ten years, a bloody, cruel program that has cost the lives of millions of Croats and Bosnians, then that person is Milosevic, who has perpetrated and used war for ten years. We all want peace, except him, and it is important to make this clear. This problem is how, after ten years, to force this man to a solution, to a reasonable solution. I believe that after ten years there was no path other than the use of force. And I say this as a believer in nonviolence, and not only as the member of an institution. But that is not all. For ten years - ten years, I repeat - we have been negotiating with Milosevic, holding conferences and counter-conferences, half-agreements, agreements: not once have we reached the end; each agreement has only prepared us for the next massacre.

I believe that a sort of erasure of memory is underway in our countries. Is it possible that names like Osijek, Vukovar, Srebrenica, Bihac and Sarajevo no longer mean anything to anybody?

(Applause)

Is it possible that all this did not happen? That we have forgotten about it? Was it not you yourselves who wanted to face up to the shame of Sarajevo, who said "Never again do we want to see the shameful evil that has allowed Sarajevo?

Honourable colleagues, now that for once oil is not at stake, diamonds are not at stake, even territorial expansion is not at stake, now that for once the right of a whole people to live in their own homeland is at stake, now that for once force is being used, we suddenly discover that it is not right. For what? For Rambouillet 1945? This is the question I believe we should be asking ourselves, and above all the answer it would be useful to find. I hope that we can arrive at a serious conference, in a situation in which the commitments made are not only serious but also verified and verifiable. I hope that we do not fall into yet another half-agreement trap, perhaps this time to prepare for the massacre of Montenegro.

(Applause)

There is one thing I would like to underline in this debate: today we are witnessing the disintegration and the annihilation of Kosovo and of an entire people. And it did not begin on 24 March. In August - perhaps we were a bit distracted, a bit "away on holiday", there were 400,000 evacuees within Kosovo, forced to wander in the mountains, precisely the same people who were kept inside and who in the last few weeks Milosevic has fired like human bombs at Albania, at Macedonia, and let's hope he doesn't decide to fire them at Montenegro as well.

I would also like to point out that even from a humanitarian point of view, there is no humanitarian organisation that has the mandate, the human resources, or the preparation for a human bomb of half a million people in a few days. In particular I would like to point out that, true, the Commission has resigned and is corrupt and whatever, but perhaps we should understand the very particular institutional situation in which we had to work, which I believe we dealt with to the best of our abilities. I repeat, there is no humanitarian organisation that can cope with half a million human bombs in the space of a few days.

Two further worries from a humanitarian point of view: first, what is happening inside Kosovo, where the Kosovan population is completely without help, without protection, and also without witnesses? Second question: Montenegro. If 100,000 deportees are driven into Montenegro, this will clearly create another crisis of instability.

Three considerations, very briefly, from a humanitarian point of view. This crisis show us, first of all, that in complex situations like Hurricane Mitch in Central America, at times it is impossible for humanitarian organisations to deal with the situation without the help of the military.

True, it would have been more suitable if we could have used the WEU, but it seems to me that for the moment the WEU is more virtual than anything else, so I agree with Mrs Ogata when she wrote to NATO to ask for help with transport, the construction of refugee camps, and so on. But we must bear this in mind, because as with Hurricane Mitch, in this situation military assistance for civilian ends is absolutely indispensable, if only from a logistic point of view. Secondly, the honourable Van den Broek has already spoken of the need to support the countries that these refugees are pouring into. We will certainly report to Mrs Gradin so that the case cited will be followed up. Finally, one last recommendation: I hope that all our efforts at solidarity, also in public opinion, are carried out in a disciplined, co-ordinated manner. There is a risk that the few airports and ports available will become bottlenecks. Also, it is better to buy local produce, so money is better than food parcels. If anyone could help

us to spread this message it would be a great help.

Lastly, I would like to thank the member states, beginning with Italy, which reacted swiftly and immediately, but also the other members states who are making considerable efforts. As you know, in the budget the reserves used amount to 150 million euros: up to now the bilateral collaboration of the member states amounts to 177 million euros. I believe that this should be taken into account so that these sums can work together.

Honourable colleagues, I hope above all that this institution manages to hold firm, to give a sense of leadership to the general public so that everyone understands the difference between aggressors and innocent victims of aggression. I would like to point out that humanitarian aid is also given to the Serbian population by the Red Cross. There is no discrimination as far as we are concerned. I hope that together we will be able to face up to this hard, complex battle, a battle which I hope will ensure that national sovereignty does not mean property, and that individual rights can make progress.