[ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH «ALBEUROPA»} NEWS: part of Text: Holbrooke Speech on 5th Anniversary of Dayton Agreement (17 Nov 2000)

[Wolfgang Plarre]

Betreff: Text: Holbrooke Speech on 5th Anniversary of Dayton Agreement
Datum: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 21:45:11 -0500
Von: US Dept of State Listserv Manager <Listmgr at PD.STATE.GOV>
An: WF-EUROPE at LISTS.STATE.GOV

Text: Holbrooke Speech on 5th Anniversary of Dayton Agreement

(...)

Everything in the Balkans will be affected by the revolution in
Belgrade.  Everything.  Take Montenegro after its heroic resistance
against Milosevic, Montenegro now has an opportunity to reconcile with
Belgrade in an outcome that is mutually agreeable.  President Kostunica
has told me that he is prepared to move forward with such discussions.
     And in Kosovo, we have renewed hope for reconciliation.  The fact
that Dr. Rugova and Hashim Thaci are with us today symbolizes Dayton's
importance to wider regional stability. During Dayton, we were well
aware of Milosevic's repression of Kosovo, and we raised this issue with
him repeatedly.  On one memorable day, while we walked around
Wright-Patterson, I urged him to meet with some Albanian-American
protestors who had gathered outside Wright-Patterson's fences, and whose
brave voices of protest were clearly audible to us.  But of course he
refused.  Indeed, all three leaders there refused to discuss Kosovo;
they had come for other reasons and we had to stop the big war.  In the
end, Kosovo followed its own destiny -- and today its people are finally
free of Serb oppression.
     To President Kostunica, we've extended the hand of hope and
friendship and a new beginning, I spent two hours with him three weeks
ago in Skopje.  I was greatly encouraged by his strong commitment to the
rule of law and democracy.  I told him that we looked forward to a
future of peace and cooperation.  To be sure, we will not agree on
everything.  But he offers his people a historic opportunity to rebuild
their lives in peace and freedom and join, for the first time, an
integrated, peaceful Europe.
     Since our meeting, President Kostunica has begun the process of
leading his country back into the international community.  It is in the
OSCE and, just sixteen days ago, Yugoslavia became the United Nations'
newest member.  This decision ended one of the most sterile debates of
the past decade, and finally brought Tito's flag down from in front of
the UN's headquarters.  Just yesterday, Yugoslavia's Charge d'Affaires
at the UN participated in a Security Council discussion on Kosovo.  And,
the United States will shortly establish full diplomatic ties with
Yugoslavia.
     But President Kostunica and the people of Yugoslavia have an
enormous amount of work to do.  Milosevic's corrupt legacy remains, and
Serbia's wounds are deep.  He has many questions left to deal with.  He
has many difficult decisions ahead, and a critical parliamentary
election in Serbia on December 23.
     We also look to President Kostunuica's leadership in the
implementation of Dayton.  He told me in Skopje that he sees Dayton as
one of his three constitutions -- along with the 1992 FRY constitution
and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 for Kosovo.  This is a positive
sign.  But we should expect more. Dayton is more than the words
negotiated here five years ago. Like any constitution, it is a living
document, one that must adapt to new realities and confront new
challenges as Bosnia grows and matures.  Dayton can and should be
improved -- not by reopening it, but by bolstering it with agreements
like last year's New York Declaration.

(...)


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