SERBIA/KOSOVO WATCH #75

SERBIA/KOSOVO WATCH #75

March 26, 1998

Serbia Watch is issued by the Open Society Institute (Washington Office).
Please communicate any questions or comments on Serbia Watch  to
Jay Wise at (202) 496-2401 or <jwise@osi-dc.org>.

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Please note at the end of this e-mail the updated chart on Belgrade's
compliance with the Contact Group's March 9 London Meeting demands
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A)   News Summary (Compiled from news and wire reports):

1.    Renewed Serbian attacks on Kosovo villages leave three dead, eleven more arrested
       or missing;
       human rights council: special forces keep tens of villages under siege, block
       international access;
       Belgrade "still ignoring Contact Group's key demands," says Albright, but Europeans
       disagree;
       Milosevic escapes new sanctions;
       Russia withdraws veto of FRY arms embargo as arms deal alleged;
       Contact Group endorses international mediation of talks;
       Seselj named Vice-Premier of Serbia;
       US Representatives urge NATO intervention

B)   "Lowest common denominator" diplomacy: Contact Group goes easy on Belgrade

2.    BONN -- Contact Group Statement on Kosovo
3.    BONN -- Yugoslavia escapes new sanctions over Kosovo
4.    BELGRADE -- Radicals: Contact Group softened stance on Serbia
5.    BELGRADE -- Sanctions on hold
6.    ROME -- Press Briefing with Secretary Albright, Foreign Minister Dini

C)   Attacks continue as security forces "digging in"

7.    PRISTINA, DECAN - ARTA News Summary (Military movements, police harassment)
8.    PRISTINA -- Serb police digging in to stay in Kosovo
9.    GLODJANE -- Serb leader stokes fires of war in Kosovo
10.  PRISTINA -- Serbs defy West with Kosovo raids
11.  PRISTINA -- Committee on Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms letter to Contact
                            Group

D)   Seselj named Serbia's Vice-Premier: Draskovic sees "grim days ahead"

12.  BELGRADE -- Skinheads' hero beats war drums
13.  BELGRADE -- BETA suggests reasons for Socialists' coalition with Radicals
14.  BELGRADE -- Opposition leader sees "very grim days ahead"  with new government

A)   News Summary (Compiled from news and wire reports)

" It is the same pattern, all over again....another Balkan war is on the way....these clashes
seem to be only a foretaste of what is yet to come...there is a general expectation here --
much stronger than ever before -- that Kosovo is on the edge of conflagration..."
Steve Crawshaw in Glodjana
The Independent (London), March 26, 1998

 Using attack helicopters, tanks, APCs and mortars, Serbian security forces
attacked several Kosovo Albanian villages in an operation that began Tuesday and ended
just hours before the start of Wednesday's Contact Group meeting. The renewed
crackdown left at least two Kosovo Albanians and one member of the Serbian police dead,
and at least eleven Kosovo Albanians are missing and presumed arrested, according to
Serbian Interior Ministry and regional media accounts. Kosovo Albanians repeatedly
returned fire in some villages; the Associated Press reported "an eleven hour gun battle"
between Serbian security forces and Kosovo Albanians in the village of Glodjane. The
attacks, the first so far in Western Kosovo, centered around several villages about 15
kilometers from the Kosovo-Albanian border. The Serbian Interior Ministry claimed the
attacks were "provoked" by an ambush on Serbian police carried out by a team of
"terrorists"  that had come from Albania; the Albanian government vehemently denied the
charges.  ARTA, the independent Belgrade-Pristina news service, reported Wednesday
that Serbian security forces had abducted schoolchildren and shot indiscriminately into
village dwellings. The New York Times reported that Serbian forces set fire to civilian
dwellings in Glodjane village.
 The Pristina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms cited
"tens of villages under siege" in a Wednesday letter addressed to the Contact Group. The
letter described the increasing number of "special military and police forces" sent to the
Drenica region, the use of snipers "to prevent people from moving around," and the
continued obstruction of "international humanitarian organizations and various human
rights organizations" from the area. Local and international media reported a belief on both
sides that the conflict was spreading and would continue to do so, particularly in the
absence of forceful action by the international community. The Washington Post reported
Wednesday that "Serbian officials agreed the conflict was likely to spread," and quoted a
former Communist Party leader of Kosovo as warning that "any delay or confusion will
produce a wider conflict or even a war."
 Sharp and growing divisions between the US and most of the Contact Group were
on public display during Secretary Albright's joint press conference with Italian Foreign
Minister Dini Tuesday. "Belgrade is still ignoring the Contact Group's key demands," said
Albright.  "Serbian forces are digging in, not pulling out; President Milosevic still has not
committed himself to unconditional dialogue; aid workers continue to be harassed, and the
list goes on...We have seen too many diplomatic efforts fail to believe that President
Milosevic will respond to positive measures alone. And if we give him even a shadow of a
glimmer, of a hint, that he has done enough, he will most assuredly do no more."
 For his part, Dini declared himself "extremely pleased with what has been done [by
Belgrade authorities]...we are equally pleased that it has been indicated that special forces
will be withdrawn from Kosovo, that the crackdown will end, and this it seems has been
achieved for the time being." Responding to a question about the Serbian special police
units, Dini said: "Have the troops been withdrawn from Kosovo...? I understand that they
have not been withdrawn from Kosovo. But I understand that they have been confined in
their barracks and certainly we cannot say that they have intervened again in Kosovo."
The Guardian reported Wednesday that the "paramilitaries manning checkpoints in
Drenica clearly wear insignia saying æSpecial Police Units' ".
 Wednesday's Contact Group meeting in Bonn  -- originally set to judge Belgrade's
compliance with Contact Group demands and impose "severe consequences" if the
demands were not met in a ten day period that expired March 19th -- failed to produce the
further sanctions promised against Belgrade if Milosevic did not comply with its demands.
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Tuesday that Milosevic had not met the
"specific demands of the Contact Group. I don't think any of us can credibly say that he
has."  To date, at least 9 out of 11 Contact Group demands have been rejected or violated
by Belgrade, and the remaining two only partially met (see attached updated chart for
details). The March 9 Contact Group demands included the withdrawal of Belgrade's
special police units, cessation of action against civilians in Kosovo, and access to Kosovo
for representatives of any Contact Group member state. Before the Bonn meeting, US
officials had expressed growing frustration with the determination of Russia, France,
Germany and Italy to accept Belgrade's claims that most of the demands had been
implemented and to forego further sanctions against Belgrade. On Wednesday, the
Washington Post quoted one "senior administration official" as saying that the US effort in
Bonn would be to "prevent backsliding" on existing sanctions.
 At the March 9 London meeting, Contact Group members had agreed if Milosevic
"fails to take these steps, and repression continues in Kosovo, the Contact Group
will...specifically pursue a freeze on the funds held abroad by the FRY and Serbian
governments." The Group's statement from Bonn backed away from this stance and
extended the deadline for Belgrade's compliance to late April.
 Cautioning that "further progress by Belgrade on certain points [of the March 9
demands] requiring action by the FRY and Serbian governments is necessary," the Group
said it would meet "in four weeks time...if Belgrade fails to meet the London
benchmarks...we shall take steps to apply further measures."  The US only succeeded in
getting Russia to drop a threatened veto of a UN Security Council arms embargo on
Yugoslavia. At the March 9 Contact Group meeting, Russia had agreed that an embargo
would be imposed in response to previous attacks on civilians; within days, Moscow
publicly threatened to veto the measure in the Security Council. US State Department
spokesman James Rubin said today the resolution would be for an "unconditional,
unlimited arms embargo" and that it would prohibit any "transfers... of military equipment."
 International media reported Wednesday that Russia had entered into a deal to sell
Belgrade a large number of arms -- including the kinds of tanks and helicopters used in the
recent attacks on Kosovo. The New York Times reported that the deal, which was agreed
in Moscow in December, would put the FRY in violation of the Dayton Accords, and that
US officials could not rule out that some weapons in the arrangement may have already
been sent to Belgrade. The Russian foreign ministry denied the reports. Asserting that the
embargo would cover any  Russian sale of arms to Belgrade, US State Department
spokesman James Rubin declared Thursday that any military assistance would, "if it
involved military equipment, be prohibited by an arms embargo resolution."
 Russia continued to lead the opposition to US efforts to hold Belgrade to the March
19 deadlines. Agence France Presse reported yesterday that Moscow had demanded all
specific examples of the "further measures" -- such as a freeze on Belgrade's bank
accounts abroad cited in a draft of the Bonn document -- be deleted from the final
statement. Reuters reported today that Russia had also tried to "water down" the London
benchmarks during the Bonn conference.
 Immediately after the Contact Group meeting, Belgrade authorities refused to allow
US Special Representative Robert Gelbard to enter Serbia. Gelbard, who was slated to
visit Pristina and Belgrade, was eventually allowed into the country. Following a meeting
with Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, he told reporters that Serbian special police are
"digging in and making their presence permanent or at least semi-permanent, and that
Milutinovic had been unable to give a "credible assurance" that special police would be
removed. On Wednesday, Belgrade announced that all special police had been sent back
to bases outside Kosovo.
 Reaction to the outcome of the Contact Group meeting was harsh, with one US
Congressman saying the Group was "shaking like jelly."  US diplomats also registered
disappointment with the outcome of the Contact Group meeting, calling it "the lowest
common denominator" approach.   The Los Angeles Times reported that Kosovo Albanian
leaders were disappointed by the Contact Group's decisions and believe Milosevic will
interpret it as a green light for further attacks. Reuters quoted Kosovo Albanian Prime
Minister-in-exile Bujar Bukoshi as voicing "regret the Contact Group failed to agree to
concrete steps to speed a solution...the only language Milosevic understands is that of
violence."
 Following the Contact Group meeting, Secretary Albright said that only "the
minimum amount of pressure needed" to push Belgrade to a negotiated solution had been
attained. Reuters reported that "frustrated" US officials were drafting options for further
unilateral and multilateral economic measures against Serbia.
 In what appeared to be a significant softening of the March 9 demands, the
Contact Group Wednesday did not reiterate that Milosevic must accept a long-term EU
and OSCE presence in Kosovo. The Bonn statement urged Milosevic to "cooperate fully
with the mission of Mr. Felipe Gonzales," and suggested that full cooperation with OSCE
and EU representative Felipe Gonzales will make it possible to "address the potential for
FRY participation in the work of the OSCE."  The new Contact Group statement dropped
any reference to the OSCE's agreed position that the FRY would not be readmitted to the
OSCE before long-term monitoring missions are installed in Kosovo, the Sandzak, and
Vojvodina; the March 26 document also omits recognition of Gonzales' mandate to
specifically address the "problems in Kosovo."
 Urging President Milosevic to "take political responsibility for ensuring that Belgrade
engages in serious negotiations on Kosovo's status," the Contact Group urgently
demanded  the initiation of "unconditional dialogue" between the Kosovo Albanian
community and "federal and republic levels of the government." The Group urged that
"authoritative delegations from both sides convene rapidly in order to agree a framework
for a substantive negotiating process and agree to the participation of an outside
representative or representatives." This marked the first time the Contact Group has
endorsed international mediation of Belgrade-Pristina negotiations on Kosovo's status.
Belgrade has repeatedly rejected this proposal, declaring Kosovo an "internal"  matter for
Serbia to deal with. Despite this language, as well as the formation of a Kosovo Albanian
council to draft a platform for negotiations,  and a recent letter addressed to the Contact
Group in which Kosovo Albanian "President" Ibrahim Rugova said that the ethnic
Albanians were prepared for "unconditional dialogue" with Yugoslav (not Serbian)
authorities in the presence of international mediators, subsequently both France and
Russia publicly pressured the Kosovo Albanian leadership to enter into talks with
Belgrade. Reuters reported Wednesday that French President Jacques Chirac had called
Rugova to press him to "take the initiative" on talks with Belgrade. Russian Foreign
Minister Yvgeny Primakov said that "dialogue does not only depend on Belgrade, it
depends on the Albanian side." So far, only Serbian -- and not Yugoslav -- officials have
offered to participate in talks. On Wednesday, Secretary Albright noted that "President
Milosevic has still not committed himself to unconditional dialogue."
 Former paramilitary commander and ultra-nationalist Vojislav Seselj was one of
two Serbian Radical Party (SRS) leaders given a vice-premiership in the Serbian
government formed Tuesday. Seselj's Belgrade-backed paramilitaries committed some of
the worst atrocities of the wars in Croatia and Bosnia. During the most recent presidential
campaign, Seselj advocated the deportation of Albanians disloyal to Serbia, criticized
Milosevic for being "soft" on Kosovo and declared that the would "use all available means"
to fight terrorism in Kosovo. Seselj's party was also given 15 out of 35 ministerial portfolios.
Independent Belgrade news agency BETA reported that "with the Radicals in the
government, the Serbian authorities" will "more decisively...reject calls for international
mediation in resolving the Kosovo issue and the demands that [Kosovo] become a unit of
the Yugoslav Federation...the Yugoslav president could not survive such developments
politically...the Radicals were the most suitable partner for fighting internationalization of
the Kosovo issue." At a news conference today, Seselj welcomed the outcome of the
Contact Group meetings, calling it "milder than first signaled," and suggested that the
government appointments of the SRS had "stabilized the position of Serbia and
Yugoslavia." He also rejected the idea that Kosovo talks should be held at the federal
level, saying "we are convinced that Serbia is absolutely capable of resolving this problem
on its own."
 Belgrade announced Wednesday that it would launch its own  inquiry to determine
whether Serbian police had "used excess force" during recent crackdowns in Kosovo;
Reuters reported a Belgrade official saying that Yugoslav authorities had asked forensic
experts from Russia and the United States to investigate killings of civilians blamed on
police. The announcement comes two weeks after Belgrade rejected direct demands from
the Contact Group and US Special Representative Robert Gelbard to allow international
forensics experts to examine the bodies of victims of the brutal Serbian crackdown.
Following the requests, and an announcement by the International Criminal Tribunal for
War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia that it would investigate the Kosovo killings for
possible future prosecution,  Serbian police used a tractor to dig a mass grave and bury
the bodies. In its March 25 letter to the Contact Group, the Pristina-based NGO Council for
the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms said that "local and foreign forensic crews
are not given permission to do an autopsy on the civilians massacred and not one family
has the proof of the cause of death of their loved ones."
 Three US Members of Congress denied visas by Belgrade to visit Kosovo held a
press conference Wednesday, condemning Serbian "ethnic cleansing" and calling for
NATO to: create a no- fly zone in Kosovo, establish humanitarian corridors for the
transport of food and medicine, appoint a special envoy to concentrate on the region,
station US and international observers in Kosovo, and refer Milosevic's name for
prosecution before the UN War Crimes Tribunal. The lawmakers, Representatives Elliot
Engel, James Moran and Susan Kelly, also announced that they and 19 other
Representatives had sent a letter to President Clinton requesting to meet with him on
Kosovo. Representative Moran urged NATO's involvement, declaring "while our diplomats
are talking today in Bonn...Belgrade is attacking another Albanian city with helicopters and
armored personnel carriers."
 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson Tuesday condemned
"police brutality in Kosovo" and urged Serbia to mount an "independent inquiry into the
killings." The High Commissioner also urged Kosovo Albanian leaders to reiterate their
"total rejection of terrorism." The Organization of Islamic Countries criticized the statement,
slamming the equation of "unsubstantiated allegations of terrorism" with Serbian police
brutality.

B) "Lowest common denominator" diplomacy: Contact Group goes easy on Belgrade

2.   CONTACT GROUP STATEMENT ON KOSOVO

     BONN -- 25 March 1998

We the Foreign Ministers of Contact Group countries, together with the Deputy Chairman
in Office of the OSCE, the Chairman-in-Office's  personal representative for the FRY and
EU Special Representative, the High Representative and the representatives of the
European Commission, met in Bonn on March 25 to review developments in Kosovo and
to follow-up decisions reached at our March 9 London meeting.

   1.In London, we called on President Milosevic to take rapid and effective steps to end
the violence in Kosovo and commit himself to a political solution through unconditional
dialogue. We adopted an action plan to advance these goals, decided on a series of
concrete measures, and agreed to reconsider these measures if President Milosevic took
the steps required by the Contact Group.

   2.We insist that an urgent start be made to the process of unconditional dialogue with
the leadership of the Kosovar Albanian community, involving federal and republic levels of
government. Neither party should attempt to predetermine the outcome. We expect
President Milosevic to implement the process of unconditional dialogue and take political
responsibility for ensuring that Belgrade engages in serious negotiations on Kosovo's
status.

3. Today we have reviewed the situation in Kosovo, including the degree of compliance by
President Milosevic, FRY and Serbian authorities with the London statement's
requirements.

  4. Since our meeting in London, there has been progress in some areas of concern,
notably some movement in Belgrade's position on dialogue on a range of issues including
the autonomy of Kosovo and the conclusion of the long-overdue agreement on
implementation of the education accord.

  5. Our overall assessment is that further progress by Belgrade on certain points in
paragraphs 6 and 7 of the London statement requiring action by the FRY and Serbian
governments is necessary. Therefore we have agreed to maintain and implement the
measures announced on March 9, including seeking adoption by March 31 of the arms
embargo resolution currently under consideration in the United Nations Security Council.
We call upon President Milosevic again to implement fully all the relevant steps in the
London Statement.

  6. We demand that authoritative delegations from both sides convene rapidly in order to
agree a framework for a substantive negotiation process and agree to the participation in
the negotiating process of an outside representative or representatives. We will accept no
pretext for delaying such a process. We reaffirm the willingness of the Contact Group to
facilitate talks, recognizing that international engagement in support of dialogue is essential
to the achievement of a political solution.

  7. We agree that the Contact Group will meet again in four weeks time to reassess the
situation. Our assessment and subsequent decision will  take account of a report on
compliance to be submitted to the Contact Group by the Troika of the OSCE, if they agree
to our request to prepare such a report. If President Milosevic takes the steps specified in
London, we will reconsider existing measures including action in the Security Council to
terminate the arms embargo. If Belgrade fails to meet the London benchmarks, and if the
dialogue foes not get underway within the next four weeks  because of the position of the
FRY or Serbian authorities, we shall take steps to apply further measures as announced in
London.

8. Unless the FRY takes steps to resolve the serious political and human rights issues in
Kosovo, there is no prospect of any improvement in its international standing. On the other
hand, concrete progress to  resolve the serious political and human rights issues in
Kosovo will improve the international position of the FRY and prospects for normalization
of its international relationships and full rehabilitation in international institutions. We urge
President Milosevic to cooperate fully with the mission of Mr. Felipe Gonzalez as personal
representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and EU Special Representative. Once the
Gonzalez mission is underway, it will certainly be possible to address the potential for  FRY
participation in the work of the OSCE.

  9. We take this opportunity to reaffirm our strong opposition to all terrorist actions.
Violence does not contribute to the search for a solution in Kosovo. This applies equally to
Serbian police and Kosovar Albanian extremists. We will use all appropriate elements of
pressure and influence with both sides to ensure that violence does not escalate and that
the serious dispute over Kosovo's status between Belgrade and the Kosovar Albanian
community is resolved strictly through peaceful means. We urge those outside the FRY
who are supplying financial support, arms or training for terrorist activity in Kosovo to
cease doing so immediately.

10. We welcome Dr. Rugova's clear commitment to non-violence and urge others in the
leadership of the Kosovar Albanian community to make their opposition to violence and
terrorism both clear and public.
 Belgrade authorities cannot, however, justify their repression and violence in
Kosovo in the  name of anti-terrorist activities. We repeat that the way to combat terrorism
is for Belgrade to offer the Kosovar Albanian community a genuine political process.

11. We applaud the work of Sant'Egidio and of the 3+3 commission in reaching agreement
on measures to implement the 1996 Education agreement. We call on all sides to ensure
that implementation proceeds smoothly and without delay, according to the agreed
timetable. We are considering what assistance we can provide to facilitate implementation.
We will also consider measures if either party blocks implementation. We urge all sides to
cooperate with Sant'Egidio on efforts to reduce tensions in other social sectors as well.

12. The fundamental position of the Contact Group remains the same. We support neither
independence nor the maintenance of the Status Quo as the end-result of negotiations
between the Belgrade authorities and the Kosovo Albanian leadership on the status of
Kosovo. Without prejudging what that result may be we base the principles for a solution
to the Kosovo problem  on the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and
on  OSCE standards, Helsinki principles, and the UN Charter. Such a solution must also
take into account the rights of the Kosovar Albanians and all those  who live in Kosovo.
We support a substantially greater degree of autonomy for Kosovo which must include
meaningful self-administration.

3.   YUGOSLAVIA ESCAPES NEW SANCTIONS OVER KOSOVO

Los Angeles Times -- March 26, 1998 (excerpts)
     BONN--The United States lost its bid Wednesday to punish Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic for not fully meeting Western demands that he make peace in
Kosovo, as European allies rejected an American push for an immediate freeze on his
nation's overseas financial assets.
     ...while the Yugoslav leader failed to meet the allied deadline, he took enough modest
steps to convince Russia and other reluctant European powers that sufficient progress
had been made to obviate the need for further sanctions, which the group had threatened
should Milosevic flout its demands.
     As a result, the ministers settled for a compromise giving Milosevic another four weeks
to begin serious talks with the ethnic Albanians, who make up 90% of Kosovo's 2.1 million
people, and to meet other allied demands. The ministers warned that they will freeze
Yugoslavia's overseas assets--and consider other sanctions--if Milosevic does not comply.
     Although U.S. officials tried to put a good face on the decision, the outcome was a
setback for the Clinton administration. U.S. officials had argued that the only way to
prevent Milosevic from repeating brutalities such as the recent crackdown on Kosovo
separatists that left more than 80 people dead is to punish him until he is convinced that
he must stop.
     Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, chairwoman of the ministerial-level meeting,
called the Contact Group's moves "the minimum degree of pressure needed" to compel
action by Milosevic and forestall a bid by some European allies to ease existing sanctions.
     In Kosovo, ethnic Albanian political leaders were disappointed by the Contact Group's
decision. They expressed fear that Milosevic will interpret it as a green light for another
crackdown on separatists.
     Even as the Contact Group met, Kosovo's Albanians were surveying the damage to
several villages that police had raided the day before in an apparent search for members
of the clandestine rebel movement the Kosovo Liberation Army.
     The raids, along with an ambush of a police patrol, allegedly by ethnic Albanians, that
killed one officer, had sparked fears that fighting between state security forces and rebels
would again escalate. But on Wednesday, it appeared that reports about the extent of
fighting had been overstated.
     In the village of Glodjane, in western Kosovo, residents who witnessed Tuesday's raid
said they watched government helicopters strafing homes while police in armored
personnel carriers moved through the streets. The police ransacked homes in a search for
weapons and interrogated villagers about the whereabouts of rebels, the residents said.
     Initial reports that four Albanians were killed in the attack could not  be confirmed.
Damage in the village was relatively light.  The Serbian government said that about 30
armed rebels ambushed a police patrol near Glodjane, killing one officer and wounding
three others. One suspect was captured and told authorities that the group had infiltrated
from Albania, the government said.
     The Contact Group's decision Wednesday to seek a U.N. embargo on arms transfers
to Yugoslavia was made once before, on March 9 at the group's last meeting, but Russia
later blocked the effort. However, the Russians agreed Wednesday that the embargo will
be pushed through the U.N. Security Council by Tuesday.
     At the March 9 meeting, the ministers gave Milosevic 10 days to withdraw Serbian
security forces from Kosovo and begin a serious dialogue with ethnic Albanian leaders
aimed at giving the Albanian population more autonomy in the province.
     While the Yugoslav government has said that Serbian special police units have been
confined to their barracks in recent weeks, they still are deployed in the province in force,
and Milosevic has made only token efforts so far to give the ethnic Albanians any
increased political clout.
     At a news conference Wednesday, a clearly disappointed Albright warned that going
easy on Milosevic was exactly what had caused the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina to
escalate in the early 1990s, eventually involving the allies.
     "Clearly, President Milosevic is hoping he can get away with this familiar pattern of
behavior by keeping the international community off balance and divided," she said.
     Diplomats said that only Britain was fully in agreement with the U.S. on the question of
whether to freeze Yugoslavia's overseas financial assets now. France, Italy, Germany and
Russia all opposed immediate imposition of such a measure. Italy, for one, has developed
lucrative trade and business ties with Yugoslavia in recent months...

4.   RADICALS: CONTACT GROUP SOFTENED STANCE ON SERBIA

Reuters -- March 26, 1998
     BELGRADE - The Serbian Radical Party (SRS), a member of a new Serbian coalition
government, said on Thursday the six-nation Contact Group's decision to delay extra
sanctions on Serbia was more lenient than initially signalled.  Foreign ministers of Britain,
France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States decided to give Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic four weeks to end bloodshed in Kosovo and start a dialogue before
discussing additional sanctions.
     "The decisions by the Contact group are somewhat milder than first signalled and the
Serbian Radical Party thinks that the formation of the government of national unity has
substantially stabilised the position of Serbia and Yugoslavia," SRS leader Vojislav Seselj
told a news conference.
     Seselj was an ultranationalist firebrand and a paramilitary leader in wars in Croatia and
Bosnia but has recently softened his stance and accepted the government of moderate
prime minister Milorad Dodik in the Bosnian Serb republic.
     He is now one of the five vice-premiers in a new Serbian cabinet composed of leftists
and rightists.
     Seselj said the fact that Serbia has now got a stable and competent government would
prompt a more moderate course of the Western powers to the Balkan events.
     The leader of the radicals said Kosovo was Serbia's internal issue to be addressed by
the Serbian government.
     "The federal state should not directly participate in any negotiations...We are convinced
that Serbia is absolutely capable of resolving this problem on its own," he added.
     Seselj declined to comment on how the new government would avert threats of new
sanctions.
     But he welcomed the agreement on education signed earlier this week between
representatives of the Serbian government and the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
     "This is only a step towards resolving the Kosovo-Metohija problem, that is the problem
of the Albanian ethnic minority, whose members mostly avoid to take part in our social
system, in education and all other fields," he said.
     The agreement was signed one day before the new government was constituted.

5.   SANCTIONS ON HOLD

B92 News  (independent Belgrade news agency) --  March 26, 1998 (excerpt)
     BONN -- ...Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic has said that Belgrade will not
allow Gonzalez to get involved in Kosovo. Belgrade's Studio B Television reported on
Wednesday that Gonzalez's potential role in Kosovo is unacceptable because the
government continues to see Kosovo as an internal affair.

6.   PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT AND
     FOREIGN MINISTER LAMBERTO DINI

ROME -- March 24, 1998 (excerpts)
     FOREIGN MINISTER DINI:   ...To start with, we have examined developments in
Kosovo since the London Contact Group meeting....It is consequently essential that, on
the part of the Contact Group countries and on the part of neighboring countries that will
be present tomorrow in Bonn, that there be a firm attitude towards Belgrade, since not all
that was requested has been done yet.  It is also necessary to be firm towards the Kosovo
authorities, so that they may accept the approach we indicated, i.e., opening a political
dialogue and negotiations tables with a view to negotiating a comprehensive and ample
autonomy for Kosovo, obviously within the territorial boundaries and limits of the Yugoslav
Federation.
     ...We are also extremely pleased with what has been done, particularly that it has been
decided to grant access to the observers of humanitarian organizations in Kosovo.  We
are equally pleased that it has been indicated that special police forces will be withdrawn
from Kosovo, that the crackdown will end, and this it seems has been achieved for the
time being.
     ...It is vital for the Contact Group and the international community at large to remain firm
vis-a-vis Belgrade, so that it may live up to all the conditions that were spelled out by the
Contact Group.  This means maintaining sanctions, considering more sanctions if
necessary, and, of course, this is going to be the subject of tomorrow's meeting.
     SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: ...Belgrade is still ignoring the Contact Group's key
demands. Serbian security police are digging in, not pulling out; President Milosevic has
still not committed himself to unconditional dialogue; aid workers continue to be harassed,
and the list goes on.  We have too much experience in the former Yugoslavia to settle for
half sincere, half measures.  We have seen too many diplomatic efforts fail to believe that
President Milosevic will respond to positive pressure alone. And if we give him even a
shadow of a glimmer, of a hint, that he has done enough, he will most assuredly do no
more.
     We are exploring every diplomatic option open for moving the process of dialogue on
Kosovo forward and that is what we did in our meeting today and what we will do
tomorrow.  My message is that these efforts can succeed but only if we stick together, and
we will need to maintain credible pressure on Belgrade to end repression and restore
autonomy.
     QUESTION:  Minister Dini, wasn't a ten day deadline (inaudible).  Your basis for being
somewhat satisfied with Mr. Milosevic's compliance and your compliance, the education
agreement basically.  When did the special forces get out of there?
     FOREIGN MINISTER DINI: We don't have visions to be especially satisfied nor to be
dissatisfied or entirely dissatisfied.  I didn't use these words in my introduction.  I think that I
said that some steps in the direction that the Contact Group wanted and have decided
upon in London have been taken.  Now we will have to make an evaluation of this.
     Have the troops been withdrawn from Kosovo, the special police troops? I understand
they have not been withdrawn from Kosovo.  But I understand that they have been
confined in their barracks and certainly we cannot say that they have intervened again in
Kosovo.   There have been numerous demonstrations organized by the students as well
as by the citizens of Kosovo themselves that have taken place peacefully without the
intervention of the authorities.  So,  it is something that has to be looked at also in this light
but we ought to continue to apply the pressure that is necessary to bring about what the
Contact Group has indicated as being necessary. And we will do that,  evaluating together
with the other member countries of the Contact Group tomorrow on what will be the best
course of action.
     I have indicated in my introductory statement that we ought to continue to apply strong
pressure on the parties, especially on Belgrade, but also on the Kosovo area in order to
start soon, as soon as possible, I would say immediately,  the political dialogue.

C)   Attacks continue as security forces "digging in"
7.   ARTA EXCERPTS (the following items are drawn from the daily bulletin of ARTA News
Service, independent Pristina-Belgrade news agency, a joint service between the BETA
and Koha news organizations):

Military movements
PRISTINA -- March 26 1530 CET

Albanian daily "Koha Ditore" sources inform on the deployment of the Yugoslav Army
troops. According to these sources, a large number of tanks have left the military barracks,
close to the airport of Prishtina, and are going in the direction of the villages Sllatinë,
Pomozotin, Bellaqevc i Vogël. It seems that they will take new positions around the village
of Kuzmin, a village near Fushë Kosovë, inhabited by ethnic Serbs.
     Serb military forces have changed positions in the past as well, but their movements
have become much more frequent nowadays, claim the sources. Ever since the police
attack on the villages in the municipality of Deçan (15 km northwest of the Albanian
border), there have been constant flighs by Serb war planes, that are flying very close to
the ground, the Albanian sources say.

Police harassment -- police mistreat civilians in Junik
DEÇAN --  March 26,  1900 CET --
The political situation in the municipality of Deçan is very tense, especially in the village of
Junik. Many civilians were reported harassed and mistreated at the police check-point,
close to the community of the Serb settlers that came from Albania, informs the Council for
the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHFR). After filming certain sites in Deçan
and talking with the chairman of CDHRF, TV crew of ABC-NEWS and SKY-NEWS were
relieved of their cameras by local police. The Council also informs of frequent police
movements through Deçan.

8.   SERB POLICE DIGGING IN TO STAY IN KOSOVO

Reuters --  March 26, 1998 (excerpts)
     PRISTINA -- Special Serbian police sent to the troubled province of Kosovo to crush
rebellion among ethnic Albanians are digging in for the long haul rather than withdrawing,
American envoy Robert Gelbard charged on Thursday.
     "It is the view of the United States, based on first-hand evidence from embassy
personnel, that the special police and other units are digging in and making their presence
permanent or at least semi-permanent," Gelbard told reporters in Pristina.
     "They are clearly in positions they were not in before. The United States feels very, very
strongly that this is an abnormal situation which is absolutely terrorising the population
throughout Kosovo."
     Serbian police launched a crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in the Drenica
area west of Kosovo's provincial capital, Pristina, on March 5. More than 80 people,
including 25 women and children, were killed in the operation.
     Major powers known as the Contact Group -- the United States, Britain, France,
Germany, Italy and Russia -- demanded on March 9th that Serbian special police be
removed from Kosovo within 10 days and threatened economic sanctions if they were not.
     The deadline for action came and went with no penalty. The Contact Group, deeply
divided over Balkan policy as has been the case ever since it first convened in 1994 to
deal with Bosnia, on Wednesday gave Belgrade another month to shape up.
     Belgrade said on Wednesday that all special police anti-terrorist units (SAJ) used in the
Drenica operation had been sent back to bases outside Kosovo.
     Anxious to press Anglo-American concerns over Kosovo home, Gelbard travelled to
Belgrade and Pristina on Monday, accompanied by Jeremy Greenstock, the Political
Director of Britain's Foreign Office.
     The two met Serbian President Milan Milutinovic in Belgrade but got little satisfaction on
the police issue.
     "We were not able this morning, when we asked Mr Milutinovic, to get a credible
assurance from him that the special police would be removed," Greenstock said.
     ...Both sides have appointed negotiating teams since March 9 but the basis for
substantive talks still seems elusive.
     "It is not for us, the international community, to decide on the status of Kosovo,"
Britain's Greenstock said.
     "That is to be done by negotiations between the parties involved. But we haven't
reached the point of even beginning to talk about substance."
     Kosovo's Albanian leadership insists that an international mediator be involved in the
talks, a position rejected by Milosevic, who is now President of Yugoslavia, comprising
Serbia and Montenegro.
     Gelbard and Greenstock said that even Russia, Serbia's most sympathetic Contact
Group member, agreed that some international role in the talks was necessary to
overcome the lack of trust and confidence poisoning relations between Kosovo's
antagonists.

9.   SERB LEADER STOKES FIRES OF WAR IN KOSOVO

The Independent (London) -- March 26, 1998
     GLODJANE --   IT IS the same pattern, all over again. One destroyed house, and more
badly damaged. Four Albanian dead, and one Serb policeman. Both sides blame the other
and expect things to get worse. Another Balkan war is on the way.
    In Bonn, the six-member contact group on Yugoslavia - Britain, France, Germany, Italy,
Russia, and the United States - met to decide what to do about the exploding violence in
the Albanian majority Serbian province of Kosovo.
    They decided, in effect, that the answer was: not very much. Theoretically, sanctions will
be imposed in four weeks time if President Slobodan Milosevic fails to initiate peace talks
with Kosovo's Albanians. That hesitant proposal suggests the West remains as confused
as it always has been about how to deal with the Yugoslav leader.
    In the village of Glodjane, where the latest killings in Kosovo took place, the fire has
been well stoked.
    Brutality begets bitterness, and determination. As you turn off onto the road that leads to
Glodjane, 50 miles west of the Kosovo capital, Pristina, Albanian men greet you with
victory signs, as though their battle with the Serbs was already won.
    For others, there is no reason to feel victorious. Tractors and carts were leaving
Glodjane yesterday; villagers fear a renewal of Tuesday's violence. Idajet and her
husband Janos sat with their four children on a tractor. All they had was a change of
children's clothes. They do not know when they will return. "What future have we?" asked
Idajet. "None."
    The course of events on Tuesday remains unclear. According to the Serbs, they ran
into an Albanian ambush. The Albanians insist there was an unprovoked assault by the
Serbs. The Albanians deny a form of guerrilla resistance movement is growing. The Serbs
deny they use unlimited brutality in an attempt to eradicate this Albanian intifada.
    Glodjane and several neighbouring villages were deserted yesterday, except for
roaming groups of visiting locals, who had come to inspect the damage for themselves.
There was a curiously unsettled atmosphere as dozens of youths wandered through the
empty villages and gazed at the damage done by the Serbs.
    Some Albanians are keen to ensure the official Albanian version is all anybody hears.
One remaining villager began describing Tuesday's events - including the hours of
shooting and the Serb helicopters that landed outside his house.  But a self-important man
in a suit was eager to prevent him giving his eye-witness account. The man in the suit held
a furtive conversation, accompanied by emphatic hand gestures. Speaking freely to a
foreign journalist was clearly not a good idea.
   Serb headlines talked yesterday of how the police had "liquidated terrorists": the front
page headline in the Albanian-language Koha Ditore listed the villages that had been
attacked, like a role call of death.
    These clashes seem certain to be only a foretaste of what is yet to come. Mr Milosevic
unleashed Serb nationalism in Kosovo as a way of strengthening his power. The Balkan
wars that began in 1991 have helped to keep him in power. Now, it may be Kosovo's turn.
    There is a general expectation here - much stronger than ever before - that Kosovo is
on the edge of conflagration. "We want freedom - or we want war," said one man in the old
town of Pecs just a few miles away from the latest violence, yesterday.
    The Serbs fear what might happen to them. But the Albanians are still more
traumatised. "We live like dead people. We have nothing," said one Albanian in the village
of Dubrava, where Tuesday's ambush was said to have taken place. "How can this go
on?"

10.  SERBS DEFY WEST WITH KOSOVO RAIDS

The Guardian -- March 25, 1998 (excerpts)
     PRISTINA --  Serbian forces launched new attacks on ethnic Albanian villages in
Kosovo yesterday in a direct challenge to the United States-led Contact Group, which
meets in Bonn today to decide whether to tighten sanctions on Yugoslavia.
    Four Albanians and a policeman died in the fighting, a Serbian official said.
     The attacks occurred in the Decan area of the Serbian province, at least 20 miles from
the Drenica region where raids by paramilitary police killed at least 80 people earlier this
month.
     In another snub, Serbia's Socialist prime minister, Mirko Marjanovic, ended months of
party haggling by forming a government in which an extreme nationalist, Vojislav Seselj,
will be a deputy prime minister.
    Mr Seselj's Radical Party takes an even fiercer line on Kosovo than Yugoslavia's
president, Slobodan Milosevic. It took part in some of the worst ethnic cleansing in Bosnia,
and he has been branded a fascist by US officials who refuse to work with him. The
Radicals will have 15 ministers in the new government, while 35 cabinet seats will go to the
Socialists and their electoral partner, the United Left (JUL), led by Mr Milosevic's wife.
    The Albanian-run Kosovo Information Centre in the province's capital, Pristina, accused
Serbian police of using heavy weapons in the assaults yesterday and forcing people to
flee. The information centre, run by the League for Democracy in Kosovo, the biggest
ethnic Albanian party, said police from the town of Pec, north of the villages of Glamocel,
Dubrave, Glocane and Babaloc took part in the mid-morning attacks.
     "The villages were sealed off and later the sound of heavy Serb weapons and artillery
was heard," it added. "Several houses in Glocane were set on fire and people abandoned
their homes."
     Albanian sources said the fighting spread in the direction of the nearest big town of
Djakovica in the evening, although the town itself was calm. Reporters heard gunfire and
explosions in neighbouring woods.
    A Serbian official who refused to be identified claimed the dead Albanians were
guerrillas of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army, and that a large amount of captured
weaponry came from Albania, 12 miles away.
    The Contact Group, comprising the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia, told
Mr Milosevic two weeks ago to withdraw his special police from Kosovo or face a freeze on
Yugoslav assets held abroad.
    The Serbian government claims its anti-terrorist forces have returned to barracks, but
the paramilitaries manning checkpoints in Drenica clearly wear insignia saying "Special
Police Units"...

11.  COMMITTEE ON DEFENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS LETTER TO
CONTACT GROUP

PRISHTINA --  25 March, 1998
     Despite the Contact Group's requests that are in favor of creating conditions for finding
a solution to the issue of Kosova and Kosova Albanians, the Serb regime continues to:
     - Send more special military and police forces to the region of Drenica, equipped with
light and heavy ammunition;
     - To use snipers as means to keep tens of villages in this region under siege and to
prevent people from moving around this area;
     - To prevent food and medicine from being sent to the sick and hungry people left in
this region;
     - To prevent international humanitarian organizations and various human rights
organizations from penetrating to the area;
     - To prevent physicians from giving medical help to the sick and wounded.
     The situation in the field confirms the fact that special military and police forces are not
being withdrawn.  Local and foreign forensic crews are not given permission to do an
autopsy on the civilians massacred and not one family has the proof of the cause of death
of their loved ones; There were even cases of people being buried without prior
identification. Humanitarian organizations are allowed to enter only those villages which
have not been subject of attacks by armed Serb police forces, and not those that are
struck by hunger and epidemics.  The police refuses to give any information on the
number of people they arrested or the well being of those that they claim to have
"surrendered".  There are claims that the Ammunition Factory has been turned into a
concentration camp where Albanian civilians are tortured.  The police does not allow an
inspection of Sadik Jashari's demolished house, where eight members of his family are
presumed to be.  Many villages have been abandoned in fright of new massacres and
those that escaped to safer areas, are prevented from returning to their houses and living
under the already miserable conditions.

D)   Seselj named Serbia's Vice-Premier: Draskovic sees "grim days ahead"
12.  SKINHEADS' HERO BEATS WAR DRUMS

The Times -- March 26, 1998
BELGRADE --  IN THE dark regions of the Serbian extreme Right, Vojislav Seselj, a
former boxer, comes from the most Stygian depths. To liberal Serbs, the leader of the
Serbian Radical Party is an open fascist. His appointment as a Deputy Prime Minister in
the new Government of Serbia this week makes the West's worst nightmares come true.
     The heart of his appeal is the mass rally, patrolled by heavily armed skinheads. The
nobodies of Zemun, his working-class Belgrade power base, feel somebodies as they
bawl "Seselj, Seselj".
     He abuses the corrupt rich in the circle of President Milosevic and bellows against the
Dayton accords. But under the thuggish exterior, there is an acute brain knowing how to
play on the genuine grievances of the dirt-poor refugees from US-backed Croat "ethnic
cleansing" in Krajina in 1995.
     The key to his elevation is the Kosovo crisis. Mr Seselj is utterly opposed to
compromise on Kosovo, where 90 per cent of the people are Albanian. Vuk Draskovic,
leader of the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement, said the Seselj appointment showed
that Mr Milosevic "has opted for a conflict with Kosovo and with the whole world".
     Seselj supporters dominate swaths of the police and army and he has big support in
south Serbia. Mr Milosevic needs him in the Government for the war that seems to be
looming over Kosovo.

13.  BETA SUGGESTS REASONS FOR SOCIALISTS' COALITION WITH RADICALS

BETA News (independent Belgrade news agency) -- March 26, 1998 (excerpt)
     BELGRADE --  The decision of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia [SPS] and the
Yugoslav Left [JUL] to form a coalition government with Vojislav Seselj's ultranationalist
Serbian Radical Party [SRS], was received among political observers in Belgrade as a
great surprise. The government was formed in the morning of 24th March and only 18
hours earlier, a senior official, close to Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, told Beta that
the Socialists were "still hoping" for an agreement with Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal
Movement [SPO]. He also said that the coalition with Seselj "was out of the question" .
Such an opinion was also shared by all the Belgrade newspapers, as well as Draskovic
himself.
     The Serbian legislature has 250 seats. The Socialist Party of Serbia and the Yugoslav
Left control 105 seats, the Radicals have 82 and the Serbian Renewal Movement 45
seats. The Serbian Renewal Movement negotiated several months with the Socialists on
the distribution of ministerial posts. The belief that he was the only potential partner for the
distribution of authority, Draskovic based on an obviously wrong presumption - that
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, because of the international community, would
not dare make a pact with the xenophobic, ultra-nationalist Seselj.
     Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic (who held the post of premier for four years in the
former government as well) will once again be at the helm of the cabinet of 36 members,
which, apart from himself, also has five vice-premiers, 23 department ministers and seven
ministers without portfolio. In Marjanovic's government there will be 15 Socialists, just as
many Radicals, four representatives of the Yugoslav Left and an independent personality
(Milan Beko). Thus, during the same night that the movie "Titanic" was awarded 18
Oscars, Seselj came by 15 ministerial posts. This symbolism was also pointed to in the
halls of the Serbian government on the very day of the election of the new government by
some displeased persons, who nicknamed the new cabinet - "Titanic" .
     To all intents and purposes, the Radicals and Socialists have come to terms on the
Kosovo issue.
     At a moment when Kosovo is experiencing threatening turmoil, and the international
community is seriously announcing a reimposing of sanctions, Milosevic needs a strong
and nationally reliable ally who will protect his "flanks" . He needs a government even
"more Serb in nature" than the one he had so far.
     Seselj is, of course, for that task incomparably more dependable than Draskovic who
very often shows understanding for the international community's demands. With the
Radicals the left coalition has more than a stable assembly majority.
     Milosevic is certainly aware of the danger which has been threatening him from the
Radicals for a long time, who by entering the government have become stronger and
potentially pose a greater threat to him. Therefore, he will now be forced to hasten the
intended transfer of the true authority from the Serbian to the federal level, for which the
only serious obstacle comes from the new Montenegrin authorities, led by [President] Milo
Djukanovic, who opposes such intentions. For that reason Milosevic invests great hopes
in the former Montenegrin president, Momir Bulatovic, whose victory at the parliamentary
elections in May could significantly speed up the desired transfer of authority to the federal
level. Even in that task, Seselj, who announced that his party would run in the Montenegrin
elections independently, could be a valuable ally to Bulatovic (Milosevic) in the showdown
with Djukanovic...
     In case the world forces him to abandon the just started co-operation with Seselj in
exchange for opportunity to come closer to the international community, Milosevic may
once again turn to Vuk Draskovic. If something like that happens (which is not out of the
question) the Socialists would have to pay an incomparably higher price than the one
Draskovic demanded earlier, and finally did not get.
     At a moment when Serbia was once again faced with the possibility of having the
sanctions reimposed because of the crisis in Kosovo, it seemed more logical that
Milosevic would form a government with reform potentials offered by the Serbian Renewal
Movement, instead of opting for cooperation with xenophobic Radicals. During his expose
in the Serbian Legislature, Premier Mirko Marjanovic several times expressed regret, that
despite the lengthy talks with the Serbian Renewal Movement, an agreement was not
reached...
     Certainly a great obstacle for the Serbian Renewal Movement's entering the
government was also that party's decision not to send its representative to Pristina for
talks on resolving the Kosovo issue.
     Contrary to the Serbian Renewal Movement, which insisted that the intended dialogue
with the Kosovo Albanians was unprepared, the Radicals immediately sent their vice-
president, Tomislav Nikolic, to Pristina. Reporters in Pristina noticed that at the so-far
unsuccessful talks, Nikolic was mainly passing his time in the company of a Yugoslav
Left's representative, Milovan Bojic, and had a premonition that maybe a "love affair"
between the Radicals and the Yugoslav left was in sight. And that is how it happened in
the end: Bojic and Nikolic will continue their friendship forged in Pristina, as vice-premiers
in the new Serbian government...

14.  OPPOSITION LEADER SEES "VERY GRIM DAYS AHEAD"  WITH NEW
GOVERNMENT

BETA News (independent Belgrade news agency) -- March 24, 1998
     BELGRADE -- Vuk Draskovic, the chairman of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO),
said today that time will show very soon that the new republic's government will push
Serbia into even greater isolation.
     "I would love not to be right but I am afraid that the Socialists' coalition with Vojislav
Seselj marks the beginning of very grim days indeed for our country and our people,"
Draskovic told Beta in connection with today's election of the new Serbian government.
     The new government comprises the representatives of the Socialist Party of Serbia
(SPS), the SRS [Serbian Radical Party headed by Vojislav Seselj], and the Yugoslav Left
(JUL). The SPO does not have representatives in the government.
     "Seselj's party has been urging a tougher course towards the United States and other
Western powers, a shift to China, and a hard-fist approach towards Kosovo-Metohija,"
Draskovic said, adding that the part of the SPS that "feels close to Seselj's line" ultimately
won the day...
     Asked whether he was disappointed with not being in the government, Draskovic said:
"No, not in the least," but he stressed that he was " very concerned about the fate of this
country and people" .
     "It is incredible how everything repeats itself, and how the person that makes all the
decisions always chooses the worst solution," Draskovic told Beta.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
COUNTDOWN ON CONTACT GROUP DEMANDS:
"...we feel compelled to take steps to demonstrate to the authorities in Belgrade that they
cannot defy international standards without facing severe consequences...because of the
gravity of the situation, we endorse the following measures to be pursued immediately...we
call upon President Milosevic...within ten days [March 19, 1998] to: Contact Group
Declaration, London   March 9, 1998

CONTACT GROUP DEMAND:
-----------------------
1.  Invite independent forensic experts to investigate allegations of extrajudicial killings

Status: Rejected

Reference: Serbian police buried more than 50 victims from last week's killings...last night,
in defiance of international demands that the bodies be examined by forensic experts.
(Daily Telegraph, March 11, 1998)
-----------------------
2.   Withdraw the special police units

Status: Violated

Reference: The paramilitaries manning checkpoints in Drenica clearly wear insignia saying
"Special Police Units".
                  (The Manchester Guardian), March 25, 1998)

Albright said..."Serbian security police are digging in, not pulling out."
    (Reuters, March 24, 1998)
-----------------------
3.   Cease action by the security forces affecting the civilian population

Status: Violated

Reference: The village of Lausa--with over 4,500 residents, six of whom have already
been killed by police snipers -- has come under increasing pressure in recent days.
(International Helsinki Federation, March 24, 1998)
-------------------------
4.   Allow access to Kosovo for the International Commission of the Red Cross and other
humanitarian organizations

Status: Violated

Reference: [Belgrade is] into a pattern of harassment of NGOs...who are present or are
seeking to go to Kosovo... (State Department press briefing, March 23, 1998)
-------------------------
5.   Allow access to Kosovo by representatives of the Contact Group and other embassies

Status: Violated

Reference: [Ambassador Gelbard said ]"We have seen intimidation and death threats
against American journalists and ...diplomats..." (Daily Telegraph, March 19, 1998)
-------------------------
6.   Commit...publicly... to enter without preconditions into a process of meaningful
dialogue on political status issues

Status: Not Met

Reference: Gelbard described [Milosevic's most recent offer] as an "unfortunate attempt"
to catch the eye of the Contact Group and stressed that "it falls quite short... of what we
feel is necessary." (Reuters, March 19, 1998)
--------------------------
Cooperate in a constructive manner with the Contact group in the implementa- tion of:
--------------------------
7.   A mission to Kosovo by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Status: Rejected

Reference: Serbian foreign minister Zivadin Jovanovic told Russian Foreign Minister
Yvgeny Primakov the crisis in the breakaway province of Kosovo is an internal affair of
Serbia and rejected any interference by a foreign power. Jovanovic said international
pressure on Belgrade is "not welcome... Serbia intends to solve the crisis...without
interference from abroad," he said. (UPI, March 17, 1998)
---------------------------
8.   The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia should
begin gathering information related to the violence in Kosovo...the FRY authorities have an
obligation to cooperate with the ICTY

Status: Rejected

Reference: See #7
--------------------------
9.  The return of OSCE long-term missions to Kosovo, the Sandzak and Vojvodina

Status: Rejected

Reference: See #7
-------------------------
10.  Support [Vatican NGO] Sant' Egidio's efforts to secure implementation of the
Education Agreement

Status: Partially Met

Reference: {British Foreign Secretary Cook said]"... what matters now is translating
commitments made by the two parties  into action and concrete results..." (Deutsche
Presse Agentur , March 23, 1998)
------------------------
11.    The proposal of a new mission by Felipe Gonzales as a personal representative of
the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for the FRY that would include a new and specific mandate
for addressing the problems in Kosovo

Status: Rejected

Reference:  Belgrade's Studio B Television reported...that Gonzalez's potential role in
Kosovo is unacceptable because the government continues to see Kosovo as an internal
affair.
                              (B92 News Service, March 26, 1998)