[ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=AB?=ALBEUROPA=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=BB?=} Reduction in Kosovo Peacekeepers Is More Likely Now, Officials Say

[Trepça.net]

Los Angeles Times 
Tuesday, October 17, 2000 

Reduction in Kosovo Peacekeepers Is More Likely Now, Officials Say 
By DAVID HOLLEY, Times Staff Writer

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia--A new democratic government in Yugoslavia and
law-and-order gains in Kosovo will open the door to reductions of the
international peacekeeping force in the province, but cuts must be
made gradually, military and civilian authorities here say. 

U.S. Air Force Gen. Joseph W. Ralston, commander of North Atlantic
Treaty Organization forces in Europe, noted at a news conference here
Monday that troop levels have been boosted to provide security before
local elections set for Oct. 28. He strongly implied that the force
will begin returning to preelection levels after the vote. 

While avoiding any timetable, Ralston also indicated that the
international force here, known as KFOR, could be further reduced if
the Yugoslav army no longer appears to pose a threat of attack. 

KFOR has 39,900 troops in Kosovo, including 5,700 Americans. An
additional 5,500 KFOR soldiers, including 1,000 Americans, are in
support capacities in nearby Macedonia, Albania and Greece. Before
the preelection buildup, KFOR had about 36,000 troops in Kosovo. 

"We go through on a continuous basis looking at the environment,
looking at the threat, looking at the mission tasks," Ralston said
when asked about the apparent decrease in the threat of Yugoslav
attack under the new government of President Vojislav Kostunica. The
peacekeepers arrived in the separatist province last year after an
11-week NATO bombing campaign against Kostunica's predecessor,
Slobodan Milosevic. 

In their debate last week, both Republican presidential nominee
George W. Bush and Democratic nominee Al Gore expressed the desire to
pull U.S. troops out of Kosovo. 

Bush noted during the debate that he is "on record as saying, at some
point in time, I hope our European friends become the peacekeepers in
Bosnia and in the Balkans. I hope that they put the troops on the
ground so that we can withdraw our troops." 
Gore responded, "I certainly don't disagree that we ought to get our
troops home from places like the Balkans as soon as we can, as soon
as the mission is complete." 

Bernard Kouchner, the Frenchman who heads the U.N. mission here, said
in an interview that "with the change in [the Yugoslav capital of]
Belgrade, we can consider the eventuality of reducing some forces." 

"In some few months, and eventually some few years, we can certainly
reduce the forces," Kouchner said. "In terms of tanks, heavy cannons,
heavy weapons, etc., [KFOR's size] will be decreased. But I'm not a
specialist." 
So far, however, the Yugoslav army has "not changed," Kouchner added.
"For the moment, they are the same people. So let's wait. It will be
absolutely childish to believe that in one day, or in one month, the
army just changed. It is not true." 
Oliver Ivanovic, head of the Serb National Council in northern
Kosovo, said he is pressing KFOR to provide greater protection for
Serbian enclaves in the predominantly ethnic Albanian province of
Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic. But the elimination of the
threat of attack by the Yugoslav army should make it possible to cut
KFOR by half over the next two or three years, he said. 

In addition to its purely military functions, KFOR has played a major
role in policing duties, despite its troops' not having been trained
for police work. 

Efforts have been underway for more than a year to build up U.N. and
local police forces to take over those responsibilities. A strong
local police force and generally improved public safety in Kosovo
could eventually relieve KFOR of at least part of that burden, but
this process is still far from complete. 

According to U.N. police statistics, there were 430 murders in
Kosovo, many of them ethnically motivated revenge killings, between
KFOR's entry in mid-June 1999 and the end of the year. So far this
year, there have been 205. Major crimes have dropped since August to
an average of 450 a week, compared with about 500 a week during the
first half of the year. 
KFOR soldiers have played a major role in providing humanitarian aid
in Kosovo, and the gradual fulfillment of those duties could also
free up some troops to go home. 

But even as all these changes open up the possibility of a reduction
in KFOR's size, all sides agree that KFOR is likely to remain in
Kosovo for many years. Many ethnic Albanian leaders stress that a
continued U.S. presence--not just European troops--is essential in
Kosovo to ensure stability, largely because most ethnic Albanians
place greater trust in the United States. 
"Albanians just need Americans' guarantee," said Baton Haxhiu, editor
in chief of Koha Ditore, Kosovo's most widely respected
Albanian-language newspaper. "They do not believe in European policy
for the region. If Americans leave the region, conflict is imminent.
It's impossible to stop the conflict, believe me, if Americans go
from here. 

"If you have 1,000 American soldiers here, it would be OK. We need
moral support. We need to see the American flag in the street.
Nothing has changed in Serbia. It's just the transfer of power from
one nationalist side to another nationalist side." 
Milazim Krasniqi, vice president of the Liberal Center of Kosovo, an
ethnic Albanian political party, said he is confident that the United
States won't pull out all its troops for many years. 

"If the Balkans--especially Kosovo and Bosnia--are left in the hands
of Europeans, I'm deeply sure they will end up again in chaos,"
Krasniqi said. "Whoever wins the presidential race, we believe a
pullout from Kosovo and the Balkans is impossible for a long period." 

Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times 
http://www.latimes.com/news/asection/20001017/t000098944.html


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