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Wednesday, March 3, 1999, 1:55 PM.
Renewed attacks on Pustenik
Hani i Elezit, March 2 (Kosovapress) Since the early hours of this morning (04.40), large
Serbian military and police forces have renewed their attack on the village Pustenik and
on the UĒK positions, while using all available means. Serbian forces used infantry also
on the attack on Pustenik. Apart from shelling there are also reports of severe near
distance fighting. It is known about three UĒK wounded soldiers, and we do not have any
information about the casualties on the Serbian side as yet.
William Cohen warns Serb Officials not to use force against
Albanians of Kosovė
Prishtinė, March 2 (Kosovapress) International Monitors in Kosovė, according to radio
"Voice of America", are reporting that Serbian forces are increasing their
presence in the vicinity of a village 60 km south-west of capital Prishtinė. They are
qualifying the situation as highly tense. During a press conference in Pentagon, American
Defence Secretary William Cohen, warned Serbs not to use force against the innocent
civilians. We have made it clear that if Serbs, using heavy artillery, tanks and armoured
vehicles, are engaged in the wide-scale attacks aimed at innocent population, it will be
in breach of the agreement signed in October between Milosheviq and Holbrookeand therefore
it will result in NATO attack. Mr Cohen and NATO’s Secretary General Javier Solana,
can order a military strike after a consultation with NATO countries.
Serbian forces are moving towards west
Komoran, March 2 (Kosovapress) There were movements of Serbian military vehicles along the
road Prishtinė-Pejė today. At around 09.00, a Serbian military convoy exited
"Feronikel" base, and continued towards Llapushnik Canyon and Kijevė. In
comparison with previous similar movements this convoy had armoured vehicles. At around
10.00 military aeroplanes flew above the sky of Drenicė and in the direction of Pejė.
Another convoy, accompanied by a helicopter, at around 10.00, came from Prishtina and went
through Llapushnik Canyon towards Kijevė.
Serbian Forces have renewed attacks on the Villages of Vushtrri
Vushtrri, March 2 (Kosovapress) Serbian forces positioned in the villages Dolak, Bukosh
and Frashėr, continued their onslaught against the Albanian villages on the foothill of
Qyqavicė. Albanian empty houses in Dolak and Bukosh are being burgled and robbed by
Serbians.
Serbian military exercises are provoking the situation
Klinė, March 2 (Kosovapress) Today Serbian forces in the region of Sferkė and
Pėrēevė, municipality of Klina, have started so-called military exercises. They went on
from 03.30 until 09.00. Tanks, Armoured vehicles, "Praga", Military Trucks,
Landrovers, APC were used during this exercise. Population of Sferka and some of
Pėrēeva, have fled their homes. UĒK units have stood their ground and monitored the
situation during all this time. OSCE monitors came later on and were warned that this is
not an exercise, rather , they (Serbs) are provoking already tense situation.
Serbs attack two OSCE Verifiers
Prizren, March 2 (Kosovapress) Two members of OSCE Verifying Mission in Kosova, were
attacked yesterday, in the town of Prizren, by a group of Serbs, informs regional centre
in Prizren. One of the verifiers has suffered physical injuries.
Interview with Mr. Jakup Krasniqi, spokesman of the KLA and
member of the Kosova Delegation at the International Rambouillet Conference
Drenice, March 1,1999 (Kosovapress) Jakup Krasniqi, spokesman of the KLA and member of the
Kosova delegation in Rambouillet of France, gave our news agency a long interview, which
deals with the most important issues from the current situation in Kosova after
Rambouillet and before the coming Albanian-Serbian negotiations.
Kosovapress: Mr. Krasniqi, the Albanian people’s struggle organized by KLA brought
the Kosova question to Rambouillet. What does Rambouillet mean to the Albanians?
Mr. Krasniqi: The Rambouillet International Conference is the first of its kind being held
to solve the Kosova question. As it is known the delegation from Kosova participated in
it. This is the first serious attempt enabling the Albanian people united to have its own
seat and have its own say, at an International Conference.
Kosovapress: The public opinion in Kosova rejoiced especially at the unity of our
Delegation in Rambouillet. What else could you say about this?
Mr. Krasniqi: Throughout its history the Albanian people has rightfully sought unity.
Moreover, the International factor has demanded that the Albanian delegation and the
demands of its people before international mechanisms be pronounced in one voice. Our
success at the Rambouillet Conference, which united the political subjects with the KLA,
is a victory for the Albanian people. I believe that the Albanian people ought to hail,
support and strengthen that unity of the KLA with the political subjects as displayed at
Rambouillet, no matter what the final outcome of this conference will be. The Albanian
people must be united in its struggle for freedom and independence.
Kosovapress: Our delegation insisted on the option of Kosova Independence. However it
agreed, in principle, to accept another solution. Why?
Mr. Krasniqi: Kosova delegation in Rambouillet was not supposed to go and get the
independence, for the framework of the document given to it in advance by the Contact
Group put constraints on it. However, we went to Rambouillet to bring the voice of the
Albanian people and the KLA there, to tell the International mechanisms that the goal and
the objective of the Albanian people’s struggle in general, and of the KLA in
particular is independence.
Kosovapress: The interim solution means autonomy, protectorate, special status or…?
Mr. Krasniqi: The preamble of the document says that it is a three-year interim agreement,
which means it is neither independence, nor autonomy, nor a republic. It’s a special
status similar to that of an international protectorate.
Kosovapress: Was it the pressure by the Contact Group or the International Community that
forced you to accept in principle to sign the Rambouillet agreement after three weeks, or
was it something else?
Mr. Krasniqi: There has been pressure and demands to sign such a document and in principle
we agreed to do so not because there was pressure or because of the demands. We agreed
because, in a way, we are convinced that this would be an interim agreement during which
the Albanian people if they know how to organize and how to shape their pertinent organs
and mechanisms, they will be able to achieve independence, naturally after the three year
period.
Kosovapress: Kosova was in need of a government or a complete executive organ that would
operate in Kosova. The Kosova delegation in Rambouillet agreed to and decided to found
such an organ, now the mandate for this is given to KLA.
Mr. Krasniqi: It was high time for Kosova to have a government that would operate and
exercise its activity in Kosova. Viewing this as an important and cohesive demand, the KLA
General Staff, since the beginning of the last year’s offensive charged Mr. Adem
Demaci with the formation of the Civic Assembly, out of which would come the Government
for Kosova. But this was not accomplished though (…) months have elapsed. It is a
positive achievement, indeed a success that should be appreciated by all. In Rambouillet
the Albanian delegation comprised of KLA, UDM (United Democratic Movement) and KDL (Kosova
Democratic League) came to the conclusion that it is necessary, indeed indispensable, to
bring to a fruition the long standing demand that Kosova have its own executive organ
which we called the Provisional Government. We are convinced that this decision is very
important, perhaps the most important one taken at the Conference, and that it will be
acclaimed and supported by all the forces and the citizens in Kosova.
Kosovapress: Mr. Krasniqi, could you tell us who will be the Prime Minister of Kosova
until the new elections?
Mr. Krasniqi: The Prime Minister of Kosova until the new elections will be Mr. Hasim
Thaci.
Kosovapress: While the representatives of the KLA along with the other members of the
Kosova delegation were still at Rambouillet, the KLA Commandant was nominated. Was the
post of the Commandant vacant or was something else to it?
Mr. Krasniqi: While part of the KLA General Staff was in Rambouillet, a part of the
General Staff along with the regional Commanders decided to make public the name of the
Commandant of the KLA General Staff. This does not mean that KLA did not have its
Commandant before this. But his name had not been made officially public. And we must be
thankful to the heretofore Commandant for his generosity and wisdom that this was not made
an issue, because of the lofty aim of advancing the struggle. In its meeting of 27th and
28th of February, KLA General Staff unanimously approved the nomination of the new
Commandant. Thus, the leading and commanding core of the KLA was further tempered.
Kosovapress: Is there real discord among the KLA?
Mr. Krasniqi: In the KLA ranks there have been tendencies, coming mainly from the outside,
in various forms to corrupt and sow discord among the KLA. Nevertheless, KLA and its
General Staff have been able to preserve the unity.
Kosovapress: What has the KLA General Staff decided in more concrete terms, in its last
joint meeting with the regional commanders?
Mr. Krasniqi: In its last meeting the KLA General Staff was informed in detail about the
course of negotiations and about the proceedings of the Rambouillet Conference in general.
It decided to form the delegation, which will visit the United States, designated the
Prime Minister of Kosova Provisional Government and also dealt with other organizational
matters related to the defense of Kosova.
Kosovapress: What characterized this meeting, bearing in mind some problems that have
surfaced recently?
Mr. Krasniqi: This meeting was characterized by a new spirit and philosophy, the
philosophy of unity that does away with such tendencies which lead to discord and disunity
and which weaken the defensive capacity of the KLA. We may say that this was a turning
point, historic moment in which unity and cohesion was preserved, thus doing great service
to the cause of our struggle for freedom, independence and democracy.
Kosovapress: The last meeting of the General Staff designated a KLA delegation that is to
visit Washington. Who will be in this delegation, when will the visit take place, and what
is its significance?
Mr. Krasniqi: Upon the invitation by the United States, which was extended during and
after the Conference, KLA will send its delegation to the USA to talk about the future of
the KLA, how to transform and professionally train it and to enhance its defensive
capacity. The delegation will consist of Hashim Thaci, Jakup Krasniqi, Rame Buja, Bashkim
Jashari, Ramush Haradinaj and Bislim Zyrapi. This delegation will travel to the US in
March. The significance of this visit lies in that it confirms the KLA recognition and the
honor that goes with it. It also is proof of further internationalization of the Kosova
question.
Kosovapress: The 2 – 3 week period will be used for consultation with the KLA
structures and others to follow up the Conference and eventually sign the Agreement. What
will this agreement bring to Kosova?
Mr. Krasniqi: We will consult all those whom we shall be able to. It is a good thing that
a large part of the army and the people will be able to air their opinions about this
important event, which has to do with the present and future of Kosova. Other people will
be asked to express their views and depending on the disposition of all the intellectuals,
experts, soldiers and the military about the agreement then it is going to be signed or
not. If the consent is given, certainly the delegation is obliged to sign i. I believe
that it is in the interest of the Albanian people to have an interim period which will be
used for solving something and for opening up the prospects for Kosova’s
independence; this of course after three years.
Kosovapress: Could you tell us what will Kosova gain after the three-year interim period?
Mr. Krasniqi: After this conference Kosova will gain its organs of democratic
self-government along with the credible prospect to decide about its own fate. This means
that after three years conditions will be created that will make it possible for the
Albanian people to decide about Kosova’s future, about its independence.
Kosovapress: What will be the fate of the KLA in case the agreement is signed?
Mr. Krasniqi: The question of the existence of the KLA has been a burning issue and a
complicated one at the end of the Conference. Of course, our view is that the KLA should
exist for it was this force which enabled the Albanian delegation to go to Rambouillet in
France, that forced and obliged the International Community to hold a Conference on such a
level. Now at issue is problem of the transformation of the army, which could be explained
and interpreted in different ways. Personally I view the transformation of the KLA not as
undoing it. I would not even accept, nor reconcile myself to the thought of it. I view the
transformation of the KLA as an effort to allow a continuation of its existence in a
professional manner able to perform its duty towards its people and the country. Such
transformation will be carried out with the help of the United States and other NATO
countries. I do believe in hope that this will be in the interest of Kosova’s defense
even after three years.
Kosovapress: Mr. Krasniqi, it is now a year since the massacres in Likoshan, Qireze, and
Prakz I Poshtem meanwhile as is known massacres are still going on and it is the civilian
population that is suffering the consequences. What would be your message to the people
after one year of Serbian State organized crime against the Albanians?
Mr. Krasniqi: This one year long unequal struggle in Kosova between the fascist occupying
forces on one hand and the KLA and the people of Kosova on the other has been a year
during which we have seen and heard of much sufferings, pain and massacres, each one worse
than the other. But these sufferings, pain and misfortunes are in a way the price of
freedom; freedom has a high price. And we know that even after a year, these massacres
along with the sufferings and the pain they have caused the people have not stopped. In
strong opposition to this, the KLA and the people’s resolve to continue their
struggle for independence until final victory, is on the rise. It is high time to put an
end to these massacres. Such a thing is promised by the Rambouillet Agreement. But a lot
depends on how this is understood and interpreted, how the Albanian people will set up and
organize its defensive mechanisms, to subvert this war and to put an end to the massacres.
By strengthening the unity and by closing the ranks of the people and the army we are
convinced that the pain and the suffering and the massacres will hit a low or will come to
a halt.
Political Parties Represented in the Kosova Parliament Support
Rambouillet Accords on Kosova
The efforts of the U.S. Administration, first and foremost the commitment of Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright to a political resolution to the Kosova issue applauded by local
political and NGO representatives in Kosova
PRISHTINA, March 3 (KIC) - The eight Kosovar political parties represented in the
Parliament of the Republic of Kosova elected on 22 March 1998 have given support to the
Rambouillet accords on an interim settlement for Kosova.
The representatives of the eight parties, including the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK),
President Ibrahim Rugova's party which has most of the seats in the Parliament, met today
in Prishtina to discuss the plan.
The peace conference on Kosova held in Rambouillet, France, should be supported and a
clear 'yes' given to the interim settlement, because it "is of great importance to
Kosova and all its people", a statement issued by the parties said.
The agreement is an interim one and it opens the way for the realization of the
independence of Kosova, the parties said. Only NATO, led by the United States, can
guarantee its implementation, the parties stressed.
The parliamentarian parties said they supported fully Ibrahim Rugova, the President of the
Republic, and the Kosova delegation to the international conference which approved in
principle the document on the interim settlement for Kosova. They thanked the Contact
Group, the European Union, France as host to the Conference, but singled out the role of
the United States of America and Secretary Albright in their unrelenting efforts to secure
a resolution to the Kosova issue.
The LDK chapters in Kosova have been discussing and giving support to the Rambouillet
conference, local sources said.
Meanwhile, the round-table of political and non-governmental organizations in Gjakova
supported yesterday unanimously the Kosovar delegation's decision to approve the
Rambouillet conference's results. The round-table hailed the engagement of the United
States of America and the six-nation Contact Group. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright's efforts on a political resolution to the Kosova issue were applauded by the
political and non-governmental organizations' representatives in Gjakova during a meeting
yesterday, according to a press release issued today.
The Women's Forum of the LDK likewise gave support to the Rambouillet Accords, and pressed
the Kosova delegation to sign it.
Sporadic Fire Reported in Southeastern Kosova, along the Border
with FYROM
PRISHTINA, March 3 (KIC) - For an hour today, beginning at 7 a.m., Serbian forces opened
sporadic fire against the villages of Pustenik, Meliq, Brav and Seqishtė, municipality of
Hani i Elezit ('General Jankovic'), local LDK sources said.
Serbian machine-gun fire against the village of Pustenik was reported today.
Two Albanians were reported wounded during yesterday's fighting. Several Albanian houses
were burned in Pustenik yesterday.
Meanwhile, four Albanians have been reported unaccounted for, sources said, naming them as
Menduh Bushi, Halit Bushi, Aqif Bushi (70) and Enver Bushi (45).
Six Albanians were reported arrested by Serb police in Hani i Elezit yesterday.
A 120 mm shell exploded in the center of the small town of Hani i Elezit. No damage was
reported.
The Albanian population has been on the move. As many as 400 residents of Krivenik village
crossed over to Graēan village of neighboring Macedonia.
Vushtrri and Mitrovica Villages Shelled Overnight and Today
PRISHTINA, March 3 (KIC) - Last night and today morning, Serbian forces shelled six
villages in the municipalities of Mitrovica and Vushtrri, in northern Kosova, local LDK
sources said.
From their positions in Frashėr i Vogėl, Serbian military troops pounded the villages of
Pirē, Verrnicė, Vaganicė, Oshlan, Pantinė and Lkej.
Increased Serbian military and police movements have been reported in the town of
Mitrovica today.
2Columns of Serb vehicles have been seen heading towards Skenderaj. Serbian military
aircraft overflew the Mitrovica area today.
Meanwhile, an explosive situation is reported in the town of Skenderaj, as Serbs have been
massing armor and troops there.
Four Albanians Found Killed in Three Separate Incidents
PRISHTINA, March 3 (KIC) - Two Albanians were found murdered today in the village of
Serboc, municipality of Mitrovica, local LDK sources said.
The killed were named as Sejdi Rushiti, around 30 years of age, and Nexhat Azemi (40),
both of them residents of the town of Mitrovica. The circumstances of their killing are
still unknown. Sejdi and Nexhat were probably together, and the former's car has been
found near the railway station in Mitrovica. The car was open and the keys to it were
inside, local LDK sources said.
Meanwhile, sources said the body of Gani Hajda (49) was found yesterday afternoon in the
suburbs of Rahovec ('Orahovac'). Serbian police, with a black BMW car without license
plates, kidnapped Gani Hajda and two other Albanians, Ilir A. Dina (1978) and Qerim I.
Rexhaj (1980), last month. Ilir and Qerim were later found killed.
The body of an Albanian, bearded and with UĒK uniform, was found killed in the village of
Trakaniē, municipality of Gjakova, yesterday morning, Koha Ditore sources said.
The LDK chapter in Prizren said eight persons were found killed in unsolved circumstances
in the municipality last week alone, and four more early this week.
Three Albanians - Murat Syla, Shani Thaēi, Zymer Morina - have been unaccounted for for
an unspecified period of time, according to the LDK chapter in Prizren.
"My impression is that Albanian population of Kosova
received very well, the draft-proposal, for the interim solution of Kosova issue" -
Knut Vollaebek after the meeting with President Rugova
(Radio21)
The presider of OSCE, the Foreign Minister of Norway Knut Vollaebek stayed today in
Prishtina. The subject of the today's discussions was the activity of Albanian delegation
regarding the continuance of the peaceful conference, on March 15.
Other details bring our journalist Antigona Baxhaku.
Mr. Vollaebek at first met President Rugova. After this meeting Mr. Vollaebek declared:
"My impression is that the draft-proposal has been very well received among the
Kosova Albanian population and Dr. Rugova assured me that they were working actively to
get the support for the proposal and that as far as he thought, he could foresee a reply
or response rather soon, where the various elements of the proposals would be accepted by
the delegation that went to Rambouillet on behalf of the Kosova Albanian population. I
underline that this is important and it's a positive step and that we should work towards
finding a solution as soon as possible in order to avoid the further escalation of
violence".
After the meeting with President Rugova, the Presider of OSCE Knut Vollaebek met also
representatives of Joined Democratic Movement and Veton Surroi. In the afternoon hours he
held a press conference.
Te movements of Serb police and military troops Mr. Vollaebek evaluated as the violation
of the October's agreement. Because of this he said that he will insist on the military
support of verification mission, because "otherwise this mission will not fulfil for
what its authorised". "The violence and the incidents itself which are happening
these days show clearly that something more should be done. We should help each other in
order to create a atmosphere for a peaceful solution", said Mr. Vollaebek.
Regarding the withdrawal of Mr. Demaēi from the duty as KLA General Political
Representative, Mr. Vollaebek said:
"Well, I had hoped also that Mr. Demaēi would be a part of "yes". I think
it's very important that this "yes" is as broad based as possible. My hope is
that Mr. Demaēi not will work against finding peaceful solution and now working against
those who want to prepare the ground before settlement".
To the question whether he thinks that Albanian are ready to sing the agreement even if
its not foreseen the referendum, Mr. Vollaebek answered:
"My impression is "Yes", but than again I could be wrong. They have not
finished the consultations and I should not prejudge the outcome of that. As you will know
in the document from Rambouillet there is no talk over referendum. But it is pointed out,
or given the room for a large and extensive autonomy".
Regarding weather KLA will accept to disarm, the presider of OSCE Knut Vollaebek said that
there are different points of views about this issue. "But in such cases we should
confront this. This is the reason why the presence of international military forces is
necessary", said Mr. Vollaebek.
In this press conference Mr. Vollaebek said that Yugoslav President Milosevic has refused
the presence of foreign troops in Kosova.
Rebel to Lead Kosova Albanians Thaqi Will Head Provisional
Government, Mission to U.S.
By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, March 3, 1999; Page A18
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, March 2—Hashim Thaqi, a senior commander of the rebel Kosova
Liberation Army, was named to head a provisional government established by the province's
ethnic Albanian majority, eclipsing the role played by Ibrahim Rugova, a pacifist long
supported by the United States.
U.S. officials said they hope to persuade Thaqi, 29, to embrace nonviolent politics during
an scheduled visit by Kosova's ethnic Albanian leaders to Washington, during which the
Clinton administration will seek to win backing of a Western plan to end the year-old
ethnic war in Kosova, a province of Serbia, the dominant republic of Yugoslavia.
According to an announcement by the Kosova Liberation Army late Monday, Thaqi will be the
prime minister of an unofficial interim government established by ethnic Albanians to rule
until a peace accord is signed and elections are held for new members of a Kosova
parliament, perhaps later this year.
Thaqi served as head of the ethnic Albanian delegation at talks with Yugoslav officials in
France last month and opposed signing the peace accord. The talks ended without agreement,
and the United States and its European allies have asked the two sides to return to France
to resume talks on March 15.
Thaqi's appointment, which was approved by other ethnic Albanian political leaders who
took part in the talks, marks the end of a two-year slide in influence for Rugova. In
elections not recognized by Yugoslavia or Serbia, Rugova was overwhelmingly chosen
president of Kosova's ethnic Albanians in 1992. But Rugova, a literary critic who rose to
prominence as a dissident during the Communist era here, was accused of weak leadership
that helped galvanize support among Kosova's ethnic Albanians for armed resistance to
Serbian rule.
The Clinton administration's decision to host a visit by Thaqi and a handful of other
Kosova Liberation Army officials reflects its decision to accept the transfer of power
instead of attempting to preserve Rugova's position, according to several Western
officials. It also reflects a new understanding in Washington, after the unsuccessful
talks in France, that the rebel group is the most influential organization in Kosova and
that gaining the support of its commanders is critical to achieving peace.
Until recently, U.S. officials had looked with scorn on top officials of the Kosova
Liberation Army, privately dismissing them as inept, amateurish or irrelevant to Kosova's
future. No senior American official had consulted closely with Thaqi before the
negotiations began in Rambouillet, France, on Feb. 6, with the result that his last-minute
opposition to the accord caught Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and other top
administration officials by surprise.
A week after the negotiations' inconclusive end, the Kosova Liberation Army has not
endorsed the Western peace accord, which offers limited autonomy to Kosova but not
independence. But today, Adem Demaci, a rebel political spokesman who opposed the accord
and played a key role in pressuring Thaqi to do likewise, resigned his job with the
guerrilla group. He accused its top commanders of ignoring his advice, a comment widely
taken as a sign that the group is preparing to back the peace plan.
One of the guerrillas' other top commanders, Jaqup Krasniqi, said in an interview
published today in Koha Ditore, an ethnic Albanian newspaper, that the group was closer to
accepting the accord than to rejecting it.
Krasniqi reiterated that any approval of the peace plan by the Kosova Liberation Army
would be contingent on the deployment of NATO troops to police it. Yugoslav and Serbian
officials have insisted they will not accept a NATO peacekeeping force on Serbian soil.
NATO General Says Milosevic Taking Big Risk
BONN (Reuters) - NATO Supreme Commander Wesley Clark said Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic was pursuing a high risk strategy over Kosova but told a German magazine he
thought the threat of force would sway him.
In an extract of an interview released Wednesday ahead of publication, the weekly Stern
said Clark had called Milosevic's tactics ``risky Balkan behavior on the edge of the
abyss.''
But, reiterating that NATO forces were ready to launch air strikes to push Belgrade toward
a peace deal, the U.S. general said experience suggested Milosevic would be influenced by
that threat.
``Whenever NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana instructs me to attack targets in
Yugoslavia, the allied forces under my command will be ready to conduct air strikes,''
Stern quoted Clark as saying.
``NATO knows what it has to do, if it becomes necessary.''
Peace talks between the Yugoslav government and representatives of Kosova's Albanians, who
are seeking independence from Belgrade, are due to resume in France on March 15.
No NATO Troops In Kosova Without Milosevic's Okay
By Paul Majendie
SKOPJE (Reuters) - NATO's rapid reaction force commander said Wednesday that peacekeeping
troops would never go into Kosova without Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic agreeing
to a peace deal.
Asked about the chances the troops would be invited in, Lieutenant General Mike Jackson
said: ``You had better ask him.''
NATO's Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is moving into neighboring
Macedonia under the auspices of NATO's so-called ``extraction force'' for Kosova which is
being expanded to become the vanguard of a Kosova Peacekeeping mission (KFOR).
NATO has plans to field 28,000 peacekeepers in the Serbian province provided the Yugoslav
government agrees and reaches a political settlement with ethnic Albanian leaders in
Kosova.
Seventeen days of peace talks in France called by the six-nation Contact Group on former
Yugoslavia ended inconclusively last week. They are due to resume on March 15.
Western diplomats say the ethnic Albanians seem ready to sign a deal, but that Milosevic
is firmly resisting any deployment of any foreign troops in Kosova, despite a threat of
NATO air strikes if he is seen to be blocking an agreement.
``The Contact Group, NATO, any western political leaders I have heard have always made it
very clear that there is no question of a ground force going in to Kosova to implement an
agreement without the consent of the government of Belgrade,'' Jackson told reporters.
Jackson, who is setting up his temporary headquarters in the Macedonian capital Skopje,
agreed that the timing of any deployment was a sensitive and delicate issue.
``The timing here will need to be nicely judged. As you know, there is quite a sizeable
force here now,'' he said.
Up to 3,000 British troops are among European soldiers already on standby in Macedonia to
join the NATO-led force.
The French-led ``extraction force'' -- deployed late last year to rescue unarmed
international truce monitors from Kosova if they are endangered -- numbers 2,300 troops.
``I am not sure that the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia can cope with very much
more in terms of holding them here. So we will need to watch our timing very carefully and
hopefully with a straight flow from the docks and the airport into whatever deployment
area may be concerned.''
Jackson said the timing would obviously be a political rather than a military decision.
``But I need to be ready for whatever is required.''
European troops would make up about 85 percent of the Kosova Peace keeping force with 15
percent from the United States.
The ARRC is the spearhead of NATO's crisis management strategy. It is a multi-national
corps with contributions from 14 nations on both sides of the Atlantic kept in a permanent
state of high readiness and ready to deploy anywhere.
Asked what would happen if the peace talks dragged on Jackson said: ``I am quite certain
the Contact group and others will do everything they can to avoid that. They have brought
the matter to a head by their own impetus. I cannot think they will be willing to let it
drift.''
``We don't quite yet know what the parameters of the job will be precisely because we
don't of course yet have an agreement. We need to see what agreement might emerge from the
next round of talks,'' Jackson said.
NATO Said to Rule Out Kosova Reaction
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
WASHINGTON -- Although NATO remains poised to act, the United States and its NATO allies
have no intention of launching punitive strikes against Yugoslav military targets at this
point despite an army buildup and renewed fighting in Kosova, administration officials and
NATO diplomats said on Tuesday.
Yugoslavia's deployment of heavy weapons and increase in the number of special police
officers, as well as renewed attacks, clearly violate the cease-fire agreement brokered
last fall between the Yugoslav government and ethnic Albanian insurgents fighting for
Kosova's independence, the officials said. NATO said at the time that it would enforce the
cease-fire with military force, if necessary.
But the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that a strike against
Yugoslav forces now would scuttle efforts to reach an accord between the two sides once
peace talks resume near Paris on March 15.
The officials also said it was hard for the NATO allies to contemplate striking Yugoslav
military targets when the rebel factions have also violated conditions of the agreement
with ambushes and kidnappings.
With the rebels seemingly as reluctant as the Yugoslav government to move toward a peace
agreement at the last round of talks last week in France, the case for NATO air strikes
also was weakened.
"We're back to square one again," a Pentagon official said on Tuesday.
"NATO has pulled out the 'we're ready to act' card way too many times."
The officials said NATO could still resort to force, but only if the Yugoslav violations
of the cease-fire become much more grave.
"What we don't have at this point is a pre-agreed level of violence at which NATO
will respond," a NATO diplomat in Washington said. "It will be judged when it
happens."
The United States and NATO have 430 planes ready to act if a decision is made to go ahead,
including 50 sent last month by Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.
Britain's defense minister, George Robertson, acknowledged on Tuesday that the October
cease-fire agreement was "creaking at the edges" but said it had not yet
collapsed.
Robertson, visiting Macedonia, warned the Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, that if
forces now amassed on the border push into Kosova "then action will be taken."
Fighting flared again on Tuesday in villages around Kosova, a province of Serbia, which is
one of two republics in Yugoslavia. In the heaviest fighting, Yugoslav forces used
anti-aircraft artillery, American intelligence reports said, which is explicitly
prohibited under the cease-fire.
The fighting sent hundreds of refugees fleeing, an ominous echo of the hundreds of
thousands of ethnic Albanians who fled last year's fighting in Kosova.
There have been repeated violations of the cease-fire agreement almost from the moment it
was brokered in October by Richard Holbrooke, an American envoy to the region, and NATO's
supreme commander, Gen. Wesley Clarke. But in the week since the first round of peace
talks in France ended with only a partial agreement, they have intensified, the officials
said.
Last week, the Pentagon reported that 4,500 heavily armored Yugoslav troops had massed on
the Kosova border, apparently in preparation to attack. The Pentagon also reported that
Serbian commanders had moved into position tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery
pieces that were supposed to remain in garrison.
For now, the Clinton administration has focused its efforts on persuading the two sides to
agree to a settlement that would disarm both sides and provide greater autonomy for
Kosova, where 90 percent of the population is ethnic Albanian.
The administration plans to send Holbrooke to Belgrade, the Yugoslav capital, next week to
put new pressure on Milosevic to accept a settlement. Holbrooke, the nominee to be the
United States' chief representative to the United Nations, has had extensive dealings with
Milosevic, going back to the negotiations in Dayton, Ohio, that ended the civil war in
Bosnia in 1995.
The administration announced on Monday that it had enlisted Bob Dole, the former
Republican presidential candidate, to meet with the ethnic Albanians.
The administration's efforts faced bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Sen.
Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., used an appearance by Cohen before the Appropriations Committee
to criticize the administration for making demands and setting deadlines it did not then
enforce.
He singled out Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who shepherded the inconclusive end
to the first round of talks between the two sides in France last week after warning
several times that NATO would act if Milosevic did not accept a deal.
"She had us at war last week," Hollings told Cohen. "You talk to her some
time and tell her to cool it."
Hollings and Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., also expressed opposition to the proposed
deployment of 4,000 Americans as part of a 28,000-member force that NATO plans to send
into Kosova if a settlement is reached.
"I know Milosevic is a problem, but I don't see a militarily achievable goal,"
Nickles said. "I see us being stuck."
Humanitarian aid sent to Kosova refugees
PRISHTINA, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- International relief agencies on Wednesday sent a convoy
with humanitarian aid to a region along Kosova's border with Macedonia, where thousands of
people have been displaced because of fighting between Yugoslav forces and separatist
ethnic Albanian rebels.
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other
agencies sent urgently needed food, blankets, mattresses and medicines to the area.
About 4,000 people have been displaced in the past days by fighting in the southern border
zone near the villages of Jankovic and Kacanik, said UNHCR spokesman Fernando del Mundo in
Pristina on Wednesday.
However, the Yugoslav Information Minister Milan Komnenic disputed the figure, saying the
aid agencies were exaggerating the situation around Kacanik.
Unconfirmed reports said Yugoslav forces again shelled the hills in the Jankovic region in
the early morning hours on Wednesday.
"They have been shooting towards the hills, the main passage between Kosova and
Macedonia," a refugee told a Western news agency.
Heavy military presence
A convoy of 15 armored vehicles and trucks carrying troops and heavy weapons arrived to
beef up Yugoslav forces in the region on Wednesday.
International monitors said that Yugoslav army troops have deployed six times the number
of personnel allowed under an October agreement reached with NATO, which has threatened
airstrikes unless Belgrade stops its crackdown against ethnic Albanians.
Belgrade says the deployment has come in response to provocations by the rebel Kosova
Liberation Army, which has not signed the October truce accord but pledged restraint.
International peace mediators Chris Hill of the United States and Wolfgang Petritsch of
the European Union described the situation as "very volatile" and said there was
"considerable non-compliance" with the October agreement.
A second-round of internationally mediated peace talks on Kosova is scheduled for
mid-March in France, and the international community is trying to avoid a return to all-
out war that would likely ruin any chance of reaching a peace agreement at the Kosova
peace talks.
Macedonia Concerned by Refugee Exodus from Kosova
SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia, worried a wave of ethnic Albanian refugees fleeing clashes
in neighboring Kosova might upset its own delicate ethnic relations, is stepping up
patrols on its northwestern border.
Macedonian police say hundreds of ethnic Albanians have crossed the border in recent days,
most on foot over the mountains rather than through official crossing points, where they
have to show documents, which many say they do not have.
So far the flow is not enough to make any significant impact on Macedonia's own sizeable
ethnic Albanian minority, but the fear is that guerrillas might make use of the passage of
people to smuggle weapons or that fighting might spread.
"Macedonia has started implementing stronger measures for preventing the illegal
crossing of its border, transport of arms, armed groups and so on," said a government
statement issued Tuesday evening.
Defense Minister Nikola Kljusev said the army had noted fighting close to its border
Tuesday.
"The police came across 600 refugees and it is accommodating them where it can for
the moment," he said.
Red Cross officials say 1,720 refugees have registered in the ethnic Albanian-dominated
western town of Tetovo.
Others traveled to the capital Skopje, helped by ethnic Albanian kin living in the former
Yugoslav republic, who have been stirred by the fight for independence being led by the
ethnic Albanian Kosova Liberation Army (KLA) next door.
Bege Suma, 40, queuing to be registered with Muslim aid agency El Hilal in the courtyard
of a Skopje mosque, said ethnic Albanian taxi drivers had picked her and others up at the
border crossing, known as General Jankovic on the Yugoslav side.
"Yesterday morning in General Jankovic, where I come from, there was a lot of
shooting. I heard special units were entering neighboring houses and I became very
afraid," she said.
"I was in a large group of other women, children and old people. They transported us
to Skopje for free."
Suma said that while she had a Yugoslav passport, she had been forced to send her six
children, who did not have documents, over the mountains.
Fourteen-year-old Petrit Dogani, said he had been taken in by a family in Macedonia after
fleeing alone two days ago.
"I do not want to go back there and I don't believe the situation will calm
down," he said.
"I am very frightened and I don't want to fight. I would like to join my two brothers
in Germany. I am waiting to be registered here so that the family that is sheltering me
receives assistance for keeping me."
When ethnic Albanian refugees began spreading across Europe to escape a fierce offensive
against separatism in Kosova by the Yugoslav security forces last summer, few fled to
Macedonia.
This time it is different because the recent clashes between the Yugoslav army and the
KLA, which have broken out in the run-up to a new international deadline for a peace
settlement for Kosova in mid-month, are right on Macedonia's doorstep.
Government sources say around 6,000 Kosova Albanian refugees have crossed over in the last
few months. The government has said it can take care of up to 20,000 but will need help
from international humanitarian organizations.
The government decided Tuesday evening to organize collection points for the refugees near
the border which would provide food and medical assistance and sort out those who had fled
fighting and those "coming to Macedonia for other reasons."
Ismet Rexhepi, 45, who fled General Jankovic Tuesday with his wife and two children, said
relatives left behind had told him refugees were hiding in houses in the center of town.
"The surrounding villages are empty apart from troops and tanks," he said. |
