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additional press news

Betreff:    [ALBANEWS] INFO: KOSOVA FILE. ALBRIGHT/COHEN/OSCE/CSCE/ 25 SEPT 98
Datum:    Sat, 26 Sep 1998 09:45:59 -0400
    Von:    Sokol Rama <sokolrama@sprynet.com>

25 September 1998
TEXT: ALBRIGHT STATEMENT ON UNSC AND NATO ACTIONS ON KOSOVO

25 September 1998
TEXT: CSCE RELEASES LETTER TO CLINTON URGING ACTION IN KOSOVO

25 September 1998
TEXT: COHEN REMARKS AT PORTUGAL NATO MEETING, SEPT. 25

25 September 1998
TEXT: OSCE WELCOMES UNSC RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO

25 September 1998
TEXT: U.S. WELCOMES TALKS BETWEEN UNHCR AND MILOSEVIC

25 September 1998
TRANSCRIPT: COHEN, SHELTON PRESS CONFERENCE IN PORTUGAL 9/24
-------------

25 September 1998
TEXT: ALBRIGHT STATEMENT ON UNSC AND NATO ACTIONS ON KOSOVO
(Says UNSC made clear what Milosevic must do to end tragedy) (160)

Washington -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said September 24 that the U.N. Security Council made clear the previous day what President Milosevic must do to end the tragedy in Kosovo.

Albright also stated that "With today's action in Portugal, NATO has begun the final preparation so it will be ready if necessary."

Following is the text of the secretary's statement:

(Begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(New York, New York)

September 24, 1998

STATEMENT BY U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT

U.N. Security Council Resolution

Yesterday the U.N. Security Council made clear what President Milosevic must do to end the tragedy in Kosovo. It is now up to President Milosevic to act immediately. With today's action in Portugal, NATO has begun the final preparation so it will be ready if necessary.

(End text)
-------------

25 September 1998
TEXT: CSCE RELEASES LETTER TO CLINTON URGING ACTION IN KOSOVO
(Must "stop the killing of civilians in Kosovo") (600)

Washington -- The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE or Helsinki Commission) released a letter to President Clinton September 24 urging the President to take action "to stop the killing of civilians in Kosovo."

The letter follows a Commission hearing on the situation in Kosovo held September 17 where former Sen. Robert Dole and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor John Shattuck reported on their recent trip to the region.

Following is the text of the CSCE press release and the letter:

(Begin text)

CSCE NEWS RELEASE
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
234 Ford House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-6460
(202) 225-1901
Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, Chairman
Rep. Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chairman

COMMISSION LEADERS CALL ON CLINTON TO TAKE ACTION TO STOP THE KILLING OF CIVILIANS IN KOSOVO

For Immediate Release
September 24, 1998

Washington, DC -- The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe today released a copy of a letter to President Clinton signed by Commission Chairman Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY), Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Members Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) calling for him to "obtain NATO agreement to take action to stop those attacking and killing civilians in Kosovo and destroying their homes and livelihoods."

The letter follows a Commission hearing on the situation in Kosovo held September 17 where former Sen. Robert Dole and Assistant Secretary of State and Commissioner John Shattuck reported on their recent trip to the region.

Full text follows:

September 23, 1998

The President
The White House
Washington, DC  20500-0001

Dear Mr. President:

We write once again to urge that you obtain NATO agreement to take action to stop those attacking and killing civilians in Kosovo and destroying their homes and livelihoods.

We commend you and Secretary of State Albright for requesting that Senator Bob Dole join Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck in a fact-finding mission to Kosovo, both to investigate the reported atrocities and to assess the humanitarian crisis. On September 17, the Senator and Secretary appeared together before a hearing of the Helsinki Commission, and their testimonies about the situation on the ground in Kosovo were alarming. We and seemingly all the Members present concluded that war crimes and crimes against humanity are without question taking place regularly in Kosovo and that Slobodan Milosevic will only stop this carnage when confronted with NATO action, or the fact of concrete preparations for action.

At the hearing, we noted that the use of armed force is not something to be taken lightly, and we are not easily convinced that such action is prudent. You know, Mr. President, of the need to weigh the risks and responsibilities that would arise from any NATO intervention in Kosovo. We believe strongly, however, that horrors like those reported by Secretary Shattuck and Senator Dole must be addressed when deciding whether or not to act. Bosnia taught us that delayed action costs lives. In the case of Kosovo, we are convinced that action must be taken soon in order to avert a more severe humanitarian crisis and catastrophe.

Mr. President, we hope that we and the American people will hear from you soon on this important issue.

Sincerely,

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, M.C.          ALFONSE D'AMATO, U.S.S.
Co-Chairman                         Chairman

STENY H. HOYER, M.C.                FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, U.S.S.
Ranking Member                      Ranking Member

(End text)
---------------

25 September 1998
TEXT: COHEN REMARKS AT PORTUGAL NATO MEETING, SEPT. 25
(Discusses initiatives to be at NATO Washington Summit) (3100)

Vilamoura, Portugal -- Secretary of Defense William Cohen has outlined a broad range of issues he feels NATO should address during its April 1999 Summit in Washington, during which the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland will formally join the Alliance.

The initiatives Cohen raised September 25 during an informal meeting of NATO defense ministers at Vilamoura, Portugal include:

-- making Alliance forces more flexible, more deployable and more technologically sophisticated while stressing interoperability of allied equipment.

-- developing an updated NATO strategic concept that will adapt its defense capabilities to new threats and missions,

-- launching an initiative to address the risks posed by nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, missile proliferation and terrorism,

-- taking steps to ensure "a continued vigorous and credible Open Door" through such things as the Partnership for Peace [PFP], and

-- moving forward on further engagement with Russia.

Following is the text of his "talking points" as prepared for delivery:

(Begin text)

Secretary of Defense William Cohen

Remarks at the Informal Defense Ministerial Meeting Vilamoura, Portugal

25 September 1998

Yesterday, I shared my thoughts on the strategic environment the Alliance will face in the coming decade as well as an assessment of our defense capabilities as we go into the next century. Today I would like to present some ideas on key initiatives to which the Alliance could agree at the April 1999 Summit, which would transform the Alliance's capabilities to meet the security challenges which lie ahead.

NATO WASHINGTON SUMMIT

The Summit will serve the historic purpose of ceremonially admitting the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland into the Alliance, while also commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Washington Treaty. It provides a unique opportunity for us to ensure that history's most stable and successful military Alliance will remain strong and effective into the next century.

The U.S. is developing a range of goals for the Summit. These include to:

-- set a vision for the Alliance as we move into the 21st century;

-- adopt an updated Strategic Concept; this Concept would include a long-term program to adapt our defense capabilities to the new environment of threats and missions;

-- approve a Defense Capabilities Initiative, that would include agreement on a "Common Operational Vision" and establishing a High Level Steering Group to coordinate efforts to implement this vision;

-- launch a WMD [Weapons of Mass Destruction] initiative to ensure that the Alliance takes the steps needed to address the risks posed by nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; missiles and terrorism;

-- reaffirm our firm commitment to the Open Door; develop a Summit agenda that takes concrete steps forward to ensure a continued vigorous and credible Open Door, reflecting progress since Madrid; and

-- move forward on further engagement with Russia.

As Secretary of Defense, my highest priority is to ensure that we actually follow through on building the defense capabilities -- to be outlined in the Strategic Concept -- to meet the new challenges we face, and that we recognize and act to meet the serious challenges that the spread of WMD and terrorism present to the security of our people.

DEFENSE CAPABILITIES INITIATIVE

Our experience in Bosnia provided numerous lessons on interoperability, communications, logistics support, and sustainment. Our planning for Kosovo has demonstrated that flexible forces are essential to non-Article 5 crisis response operations in complex political circumstances. What these experiences have taught us is that, in order to deal with the future strategic environment across the full spectrum of collective defense and non-Article 5 crisis response operations, we must transform NATO's defense capabilities.

This requires a renewed Alliance commitment to develop Alliance forces that are mobile, flexible, lethal, sustainable, and survivable. The Alliance should not face the threats of 2011 with tanks, aircraft, ships, and soldiers trained and equipped for combat in 1991.

Our goals should be:

-- adaptation of our capabilities to meet the new future threats;

-- agreement to develop a long-term blueprint for developing new operational concepts to harness technologies, using commercially available off-the-shelf technology, to the extent possible, to improve defense capabilities while ensuring interoperability;

-- actual improvement of interoperability and deployability of communications and logistics through refinement of force goals and development of common standards and architectures.

We must be interoperable. We have to design interoperability into nearly every system and unit we build. We do not have excess capacity to build or allow incompatible systems, concepts or training.

The alternative to making our forces more flexible, more deployable, and more technologically sophisticated is very simple: They will become less useful, less effective for the resources they consume, and less able to respond to complex military and political challenges posed by a world of global communication, commerce and connections. That is an unacceptable future.

We can become interoperable by harnessing new technologies through innovative concepts, but without necessarily increasing defense budgets. This initiative is about utilizing military forces so that Allied militaries can work together as efficiently as possible. It is not about spending more money. It is not about buying American arms or adopting U.S. technologies.

It is about making national procurement and modernization decisions that are compatible and mutually supportive of the Alliance as a whole. When we do modernize, even if we do it with nationally-designed and acquired gear, we must ensure we do not erect barriers to working together.

COMMON OPERATIONAL VISION

A prerequisite for these undertakings is agreement on a common operational vision.

For our national defense establishments to be able to accomplish the missions we decide to give them, they must share core operational concepts that enable them to work together on the battlefield, behind the lines, and in the acquisition processes that put hardware on the field.

In the past, a monolithic adversary helped organize that process and led to the adoption of such concepts as Follow-On Forces Attack. In the absence of such an adversary, we need to think through and develop guidelines to ensure that national transformations of defense capabilities support shared Alliance objectives. We must be certain we have the forces to respond to the full spectrum of Alliance missions.

-- In the U.S., we have been rethinking our national operational vision for some time. Our initial analysis suggests that there are four core capabilities that should form the basis of a common Alliance operational vision: mobility, effective engagement, survivability, and sustainability.

-- These capabilities must be underwritten by compatible, interoperable forces supported by superior information and technologies.

A common operational vision would provide the link between NATO's Strategic Concept and the actions necessary to adapt NATO's defense capabilities.

In order to give the highest visibility to this critical challenge, we believe this type of vision should be made part of the 1999 Strategic Concept, specifically, Part IV, or the section on "Guidelines for Defense."

In the next few weeks we will circulate a paper with the details of our thinking.

HIGH-LEVEL STEERING GROUP

We also need to think carefully about how we can better coordinate and prioritize our work to ensure that what the Strategic Concept says actually results in practical actions which fulfill our national and NATO defense responsibilities.

There is a need for a coordinating mechanism, reinforced from capitals.

A High-Level Steering Group would serve as that mechanism to: First, ensure linkage between the Strategic Concept, our "Common Operational Vision," defense planning, and the priorities of the NATO political and military committees. Second, it would oversee the development of a long-term blueprint for exploiting technological advances through innovative operational concepts and new military organizational arrangements like CJTF. And, third it would implement our Summit initiatives. Its work would involve regular recommendations, to be approved by Ministers.

WMD INITIATIVE

The 1999 NATO Summit should lay the broad framework for Alliance efforts to address evolving security challenges over the coming decades.

Foremost among these challenges is the threat posed by the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and missiles among state and non-state actors. These challenges must be addressed with greater resources and energy, or we run the risk of neglecting the highest-stakes threat to our populations.

It would be difficult to claim we have focused on WMD challenges unless resources are expended to make our publics and our forces visibly less vulnerable to attack by any weapon of mass destruction. We say we are serious about Article 5 and collective defense -- our response to WMD challenges is a litmus test of that commitment.

Building on work led by the DGP since 1994, the Summit should underscore the determination of Allied leaders to forge a common assessment of this threat, to make a concerted effort to prevent further proliferation, to accelerate development of capabilities to address the threat, and to develop collective capabilities to respond effectively to WMD terrorism directed against our civilian populations.

Key elements of an initiative could include the following objectives:

-- enhanced public awareness;

-- shared strategic outlook on the WMD problem;

-- support for expanded diplomatic non-proliferation efforts through increased information sharing;

-- increased military readiness to operate in a WMD environment (for example, exercises, detection capabilities, protective gear), including in response to attacks on civilian populations.

An Alliance initiative could have the following elements:

-- Highlighting WMD risks in the Strategic Concept and Summit Declaration as a priority challenge; we should highlight development of a broad and effective -response as a central task.

-- Agreement at the Summit to an intensified program of information sharing designed to ensure a more effective assessment of WMD threats facing the Alliance;

-- Agreement to establish a clearinghouse to allow for more effective coordination of Allied assistance programs that address WMD dangers;

-- Agreement to a comprehensive program to enhance NATO's military preparedness to address the WMD threat. This program could include tailored training and exercises, a WMD-specific Force Goals review, accelerated development of Alliance immunization policies, and a collaborative R&D effort.

-- Agreement at the Summit to an Alliance response mechanism dedicated to protection of NATO populations in the event of chemical or biological weapons use against our cities and towns. The mechanism could include designation of national forces, trained and exercised for specific scenarios and, thus, capable, on an "if asked" basis, of providing directed assistance to civil authorities.

-- Agreement to establish a WMD-focused Center created from within existing Alliance structures that would serve to coordinate WMD-related activities including the development and dissemination of appropriate intelligence assessments.

COMBATING TERRORISM

We are also developing an initiative to combat terrorism, to include common doctrine, intelligence sharing, the sharing of anti- and counter-terrorism technology, coordination on strategic planning, training, and exercises, and strengthening the interface between military counter-terrorism operations and law enforcement activities and civil "consequence management."

We will provide more details in the near future and look forward to discussing these ideas with Allies.

NORFOLK CONFERENCE

In order to "transform NATO's defense capabilities," I would like to mention the conference that the U.S. plans to host in Norfolk this fall.

-- Last June, I invited each of you to send representatives to a conference in the U.S., so that we could begin exchanging ideas concerning concept development and joint warfighting experimentation as well as larger issues associated with true "force compatibility."

-- We believe that a focused and dedicated Alliance dialogue is needed to work through these issues.

-- To that end, we have invited Allies (including the three) to a conference at Norfolk in mid-November.

-- The Conference will:

   - review the concepts I have outlined above;

- explore the way forward on architectures to ensure interoperability and to exploit new technologies for C31, information assurance, and focused logistics;

- incorporate lessons learned from IFOR/SFOR and CJTF implementation trials;

- work out concrete proposals to be finalized in NATO structures for consideration at the December NAC/D.

-- I will be addressing the Conference, and I have asked my key people to participate.

-- I urge you all to send senior military and civilian experts to this important discussion.

STRATEGIC CONCEPT

All of these initiatives should support NATO's new Strategic Concept.

The practical effect of the updated Concept should be guidelines for military planners to transform our defense capabilities.

If the updated Strategic Concept is to have any practical value -- and it must in order to have more than purely rhetorical significance -- it must commit each of us to a common vision that will allow us to make this transformation.

After many months of exchanging views, serious drafting is about to begin based on the excellent work by the International Staff. It will be important to finish this work in time for the Summit next April.

As Allies begin detailed drafting, we should strive for language that provides a clear view of where the Alliance should go and sets out a well-defined way to get there.

The revised Concept will set the stage for a newly enlarged NATO as it begins its second 30 years and enters a new century.

It is hard to over-emphasize the importance of a cogent Concept to define the roles and functions of a renewed Alliance.

The 1991 Strategic Concept, the decisions we have taken since 1991, and NATO's experiences in the Balkans are an excellent foundation upon which to build. The U.S. view is that we are not reinventing but building the future NATO.

FUNDAMENTAL TASKS OF THE ALLIANCE

We have emphasized in the past the continuing centrality of collective defense under Article 5 and the maintenance of NATO's current nuclear policy.

Our biggest drafting challenge is how we express the willingness we have demonstrated in Bosnia to act together in defense of our common security interests.

We should incorporate Alliance responses to Bosnia-like situations as a new fundamental task of the Alliance. As stated in my assessment of the strategic environment, discussed yesterday, it is these smaller, but very complex, crises for which we must be prepared, basing those preparations on the capabilities that we have, and will continue to create, for our Article 5 responsibilities.

In explicitly assuming this function, I would emphasize that this does not involve a global peacekeeping role for NATO; but, our history as an Alliance is clear proof that we have interests in common that go beyond Article 5 defense of territory. Of course, decisionmaking in the Alliance will continue to be based on consensus.

RUSSIA

We should achieve balanced language on Russia by eliminating "strategic balance" as a fundamental task and by welcoming Russia's association with the Alliance through the NATO-Russia Founding Act and the Permanent Joint Council.

At the same time, we must reflect appropriately the need for the Alliance to hedge against the possible emergence of a "near peer" competitor posing a nuclear or conventional threat.

ESDI

The Concept should endorse the further development of a European Security and Defense Identity within NATO as a means of helping to address NATO's new missions and better sharing the burden of meeting overall Alliance responsibilities.

MANDATE

We should avoid language in the Concept which would require NATO to have a UN or other mandate. All military actions should have an appropriate legal basis and should be decided upon by consensus. It would be unwise to prejudge the specific parameters of future military actions. Accordingly, the Strategic Concept should provide a permissive framework.

PARTNERS

Regarding Partners, we should emphasize Allied interest in including Partners as much as possible in Alliance activities, in particular in performing non-Article 5 missions.

Capturing the lessons of Bosnia, and our collective engagement with Partners to enhance stability in and for the Euro-Atlantic area, are key tasks for this Strategic Concept.

The new Concept should also focus on the Alliance's interest in using NATO outreach to extend stability and security in and around Europe through enlargement and deepened constructive engagement in Partnership for Peace, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council, the NATO-Ukraine Charter, and the Mediterranean Dialogue.

It will of course be important to reaffirm the Alliance's commitment to an Open Door for additional members.

PARTNER INITIATIVES

In June, I outlined the goal of a comprehensive cooperative security network among Allies and Partners for the 21st century, with PFP as the cornerstone. I stressed that implementation of PFP enhancements is central to building this cooperative security network and noted the critical work that still needs to be done in advance of the April 1999 Summit, namely the completion of the Political-Military Framework for NATO-led PFP operations.

I discussed a three-part proposal for building increased Ally-Partner interoperability for future NATO-Partner contingencies through an enhanced education and training framework for PFP, including:

-- a Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes jointly sponsored by Germany;

-- an exercise simulation network; and

-- a cooperative network of nationally-sponsored PFP training centers.

These initiatives should be a central, visible component of the Summit. I am very pleased with the progress since June on preparing these initiatives for the Summit.

On the Consortium, Switzerland will host the first Consortium conference next month in Zurich. This conference will bring together military and civilian representatives from all Allied and Partner countries to chart the Consortium's future.

As for the Simulation Network, all Allied and Partner defense attaches in Washington have been briefed on the network and the simulation demonstration that we intend to conduct for Heads of State and Government during the Summit in Washington.

-- I am very pleased that certain Allies and Partners are considering hosting remote sites for the simulation. Spread among these four sites we hope to have the widest possible representation and participation by Allies and Partners.

Concerning PFP training centers, I want to congratulate the International Staff [IS] on its work so far in completing the Training Center concept paper and encourage the IS and Allies and Partners to complete work on this paper soon.

-- I want to thank my Turkish counterpart for the training center that his country has already established.

-- Our goal should be a report to our Heads of State and Government at the Summit that we are well on the way toward implementing a network of nationally-sponsored, functionally-based centers that provide a tangible benefit to NATO-Partner interoperability.

CONCLUSION

We have an historic opportunity in April 1999 to set the course for the Alliance as we move into the 21st century.

We need to ensure that our Strategic Concept reflects the challenges that the Alliance will face in the future and provides the vision to adapt our defense capabilities to meet those challenges.

I look forward to the work in the months ahead to prepare for a successful Washington Summit.
-------

25 September 1998
TEXT: OSCE WELCOMES UNSC RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO
(International community determined to end violence there) (380)

Vienna -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has welcomes the adoption by the United Nations Security Council of a "strong resolution on Kosovo."

In a September 25 press release, OSCE said its Chairman-in-Office, Poland's Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, considers the resolution "as an important step which shows ... that the international community is united in its determination to end the violence and assist in finding a political solution to the conflict in Kosovo." Following is the text of the press release:

(Begin text)

OSCE Press Release ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN
EUROPE The Secretariat Vienna, Austria September 25, 1998

OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE REITERATES READINESS OF THE OSCE TO ASSIST IN FINDING A POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE KOSOVO CRISIS

Vienna, 25 September 1998 -- The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, welcomes the adoption on 23 September by the United Nations Security Council of a strong resolution on Kosovo (Res. 1199). He considers it as an important step which shows to the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and to the Kosovar Albanian leadership that the international community is united in its determination to end the violence and assist in finding a political solution to the conflict in Kosovo. The Chairman-in-Office reiterates the readiness of the OSCE to continue to play its part in this effort and recalls the repeated initiatives undertaken to this end since the beginning of March.
He stresses in this context the constructive role that his Personal Representative to the FRY, Mr. Felipe Gonzalez, would assume by assisting in the democratization process. He also recalls the importance of the return of the OSCE long-term mission, as foreseen during the technical assessment mission conducted by the OSCE in Belgrade and in Kosovo in July, which predicted the upcoming humanitarian catastrophe. He recalls that the OSCE would be ready to follow on the exploratory talks held in July and August with FRY representatives.
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office strongly urges once again President Milosevic to create conditions for an immediate and meaningful dialogue to seek a political solution to the conflict.
(End text)
---------

25 September 1998
TEXT: U.S. WELCOMES TALKS BETWEEN UNHCR AND MILOSEVIC
(UNHCR Ogata requested meeting on Kosovo) (430)

New York -- The State Department announced September 23 that the United States welcomed the September 24 meeting between Sadako Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

According to the press release, "The armed conflict in Kosovo has produced more than 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and other conflict victims. Like UNHCR and other relief agencies, we are worried that tens of thousands of displaced people without shelter could succumb to the winter weather which is beginning to descend on the region."

Following is the text of the September 23 press release:

(Begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(New York, New York)
September 23, 1998

STATEMENT BY JAMES P. RUBIN, SPOKESMAN
U.S. Welcomes Talks on Kosovo Between UNHCR Ogata, Milosevic

The United States welcomes a scheduled meeting Thursday, September 24, on Kosovo between Sadako Ogata, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. The High Commissioner, who will make a five-day trip to the region, requested the meeting.

According to the UNHCR, Mrs. Ogata intends to ask Mr. Milosevic to provide relief workers access to conflict victims in Kosovo and to push her call for an end to hostilities and to reach a political settlement. The United States urges Mr. Milosevic to heed this message.

The armed conflict in Kosovo has produced more than 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and other conflict victims. Like UNHCR and other relief agencies, we are worried that tens of thousands of displaced people without shelter could succumb to the winter weather which is beginning to descend on the region.

To aid conflict victims in Kosovo, the U.S. Government has recently committed more than $44 million in financial and material support for relief agencies. This includes $20 million from the President's Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance fund (ERMA), which the President authorized on September 9. Already $10 million of this amount has been made available to UNHCR to provide humanitarian relief in Kosovo. The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, which manages ERMA, will provide the remaining $10 million to other relief agencies in the region.

Senior U.S. officials, including Assistant Secretaries of State Julia Taft and John Shattuck and Hugh Parmer, head of USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Response, also have visited Kosovo in recent weeks to assess the situation and press for an end to the crisis.

(End text)
--------

25 September 1998
TRANSCRIPT: COHEN, SHELTON PRESS CONFERENCE IN PORTUGAL 9/24
(Cohen to Milosevic: "It is time to stop the killing") (2250)

Vilamour, Portugal -- Secretary of Defense Cohen told reporters at the NATO Informal Defense Ministers meeting here September 24 that "I want to send a clear message to President Milosevic: that it is time to stop the killing and the destruction in Kosovo. Patience is running out.

"NATO has used air power in the past to help force an end to the fighting in Bosnia," he said, "and we took an important step in that direction today."

Cohen said "there was broad agreement" at the Defense Ministers meeting, "to move quickly to avert a humanitarian disaster in Kosovo."

The previous day, he noted, the United Nations Security Council "demanded that Yugoslavia cease hostilities in Kosovo, withdraw units used to suppress civilians in Kosovo, facilitate the return of refugees in the provision of humanitarian aid and start a dialogue designed to produce a political settlement.

"NATO wants to achieve these goals through diplomacy," said Cohen, "but today's action makes it clear that NATO is prepared to use force, if necessary."

Following is a transcript:

(Begin transcript)

PRESS CONFERENCE
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE WILLIAM COHEN
AND U.S. CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
GENERAL HENRY S. SHELTON

INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETING
VILAMOUR, PORTUGAL
SEPTEMBER 24,1995

SECRETARY COHEN:

Good afternoon. I want to send a clear message to President Milosevic:
that it is time to stop the killing and the destruction in Kosovo. Patience is running out.

NATO [the North Atlantic Treaty Organization] has used air power in the past to help force an end to the fighting in Bosnia, and we took an important step in that direction today.

At the meeting there was broad agreement to move quickly to avert a humanitarian disaster in Kosovo. Milosevic has used some 15,000 army troops, 11,000 security police to attack villages and destroy homes. More than 250,000 people have been driven from their homes and have become refugees in their own country. And more than 50,000 have fled Kosovo to other countries.

Yesterday the United Nations Security Council demanded that Yugoslavia cease hostilities in Kosovo, withdraw units used to suppress civilians in Kosovo, facilitate the return of refugees in the provision of humanitarian aid and start a dialogue designed to produce a political settlement.

NATO wants to achieve these goals through diplomacy, but today's action makes it clear that NATO is prepared to use force, if necessary. At the meeting we also discussed other subjects, including progress in Bosnia.

NATO-led forces have provided a secure environment that has allowed democracy, reconstruction, and reconciliation to take seed. But everyone recognizes that there's still a great deal to be done. The pace of civilian rebuilding has to accelerate. Later this year, NATO will review the force level of Bosnia. And we hope that the military forces and the missions can shrink as civilian authorities play a larger role.

In a moment I will be willing to answer your questions, obviously, but before that I would like to turn to Chairman [of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Henry S.] Shelton who can also discuss items that he discussed in the course of today.

GENERAL SHELTON: Thank you Secretary Cohen. Good afternoon to each of you.

As Secretary Cohen mentioned, this is indeed a critical time in NATO. Today's meetings have included an important series of discussions about the future course of the alliance.

Although I say we are talking about the future course of the Alliance, in truth, much of what we have discussed today are issues that must be addressed right away.

The increasing threat from the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons, the clear and present danger posed by international -- and increasing trends of national -- terrorist organizations, are issues that are upon us. The alliance must adapt to meet these threats.

I can assure you that NATO civilian and military leaders are working very hard to transform the Alliance, internally as well as externally, to meet the security challenges of the 21st century.

But as we grapple with the future shape of the Alliance and military structure, the Alliance's strategic concept, we must also deal with other challenges that confront us today. Issues like the continuing violence in Kosovo and the increasing likelihood that we will face an enormous humanitarian crisis in that region as the harsh Balkan winter approaches.

As Secretary Cohen and I have said many times before, we all hope to see a diplomatic solution to the political differences in the region. But as we all know, hope is not a method.

So let me assure you that NATO has military plans to deal with the situation in Kosovo, should our diplomatic efforts fail to produce a solution.

We have developed military options that could be executed as part of the overall effort to convince all parties that the violence in Kosovo must stop, that serious negotiations to resolve the differences must begin, and that the quarter of a million refugees in the region must be allowed to return to their homes before they face starvation, disease, and exposure in the coming months.

Consideration of the use of military force is never taken lightly, for those of us in uniform understand both the capabilities and the consequences of military action. All parties must act in good faith to resolve a situation before the crisis deepens and spreads.

The unanimous vote of the U.N. Security Council and the decision by the North Atlantic Council to begin formal force generation measures for the military options in Kosovo are clear signs that NATO is prepared to take necessary measures to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Kosovo in the months ahead.

Q: If diplomatic efforts fail, are you convinced that NATO can bomb Slobodan Milosevic into submission?

SECRETARY COHEN: Let me answer that question first Jamie. We hope that diplomacy is going to be successful. The action taken by the United Nations Security Council yesterday was to issue a set of demands. Those demands correspond very closely to what the NATO military authorities also are seeking to achieve, namely, a cessation of the hostilities, withdrawal of the armed forces, the police forces, allowing humanitarian groups, NGOs [non-governmental organizations] to have access to those who've been displaced and the resettlement of the refugees and a commitment to sit down and negotiate seriously a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Kosovo. So we share the same goals. Time will tell, and it's a very short period of time as to whether that diplomacy will be successful or not. In the event that it fails, what we have indicated today is that NATO stands ready from its military preparations to conduct military operations that would indeed have an impact upon Mr. Milosevic's ability to wage war against either the members of the UCK [the Kosovo Liberation Army, or the KLA, as it is also known] or certainly against innocent civilians. So we have that capacity and should it become necessary to exercise it, it was clear to me today from the commitments and statements made by individual members that that is what would take place.

Q: Will you be moving any additional military assets into the region? Planes, aircraft carriers, anything like that?

GENERAL SHELTON: I think discussing the military planning and the options that are available at this point, Jamie, would be premature. Suffice it to say that the necessary resources to carry out any one of several options that the North Atlantic Council has been looking at, the Military Committee has been working on, would be made available to the Commander.

Q: Mr. Cohen, some of the people at the conference have spoken about... seven days, the end of the month, ten days before you review the progress... Is that a realistic time frame?

SECRETARY COHEN: I think what is required is a very short time frame. There should be an opportunity for Mr. Milosevic to respond to the Security Council's set of demands, but that should not be an indefinite period of time, and I would say that time is of the essence in this particular case, and it should be within a reasonably short period of time. No one has fixed a date certain, but surely time is of the essence given the circumstances, the people who are up in the hills.

Q: Mr. Secretary was there talk about an ultimatum to put to Milosevic?

SECRETARY COHEN: There was some discussion concerning ultimatums. As I indicated, the Security Council has issued a set of demands, and perhaps at some future time within a reasonably short period of time there will be an ultimatum issued. But at this point no such ultimatum was issued today.

Q: Mr. Secretary, ...that NATO would be unable or unwilling to do the job in Kosovo... the United States would do... ?

SECRETARY COHEN: The United States is not prepared to act unilaterally. The United States believes that this is an issue for NATO to act as an Alliance, and I believe that the credibility of NATO really is on the line that one cannot continue to prepare for possible military action or indeed threaten military action unless one is prepared to carry it out. In this particular case, there was a very strong consensus that we should proceed with the detailed planning and complete that planning for military action subject only to seeking a political solution, a diplomatic solution. So I think it will be a NATO action if action is required.

Q: Will the absence of an explicit UN mandate stand in the way of a use of force?

SECRETARY COHEN: As you know, I believe -- the United States believes that no authority from the Security Council is necessary, that this would fall under Article 51 of the UN Charter. This would be an act consistent with defending the interest of NATO itself in terms of the potentiality of this to spread and to undermine and destabilize a number of countries throughout the region and so we believe that no mandate is required from the Security Council. It would be helpful in our judgment, but not mandatory. To the extent that others feel that there must be some Security Council action, we believe that the Security Council action yesterday, the Chapter Seven Resolution -- Article Seven Resolution is more than sufficient authority for NATO to take action. That is a belief that we hold; whether other members share that at this point has not been resolved. But I think more and more members understand that this cannot be delayed too much in the future, and frankly the issue of whether or not the Security Council should have a veto over action which is important to NATO security, I think, is one that we ought not to subordinate NATO's ability to act under these circumstances.

Q:  Would a NATO consensus on that be required?

SECRETARY COHEN: If NATO is to act, we act by consensus. We believe that the action taken yesterday by the Security Council gives enough authority to those who feel that authority is required from the Security Council itself to take action.

Q: General Shelton, I apologize; earlier I didn't give you a chance to respond to my earlier question so let me just ask you again. Do you think that NATO air strikes can bomb Slobodan Milosevic into submission?

GENERAL SHELTON: I believe that we have a wide range of options that are available to us, the end of which will be that Milosevic will comply with the demands made of him by NATO, and certainly we would start with the lighter of those options and give him a chance to respond, but it might not end with the light option.

Q: In terms of targets, without getting into specific target lists, are you thinking only of military targets in Kosovo? Would economic targets in Yugoslavia be on the table? Is Belgrade on the table?

SECRETARY COHEN:  Discussion of targets is not on the table.

GENERAL SHELTON: As I indicated earlier, we don't discuss the military planning aspects of a potential operation.

Q: Mr. Cohen, don't you feel a little bit uneasy that the United States is taking a tougher stand on the Kosovo crisis than its European partners?

SECRETARY COHEN: I'm sorry, what separate stance are you talking about?

Q: Tougher stance as regards the legitimacy of military action... the United States, the opposition, is that a separate Council resolution is not necessary but...

SECRETARY COHEN: I don't feel uncomfortable at all. I think what would be uncomfortable would be for the other NATO members to find that a Security Council Resolution was vetoed by one member or another preventing action from being taken and thereby stranding some 250,000 people out of their homes, 50,000 of whom run the risk of either freezing to death or starving to death. I think that that's what will be uncomfortable for others to answer for.

Q: Will NATO forces or U.S. forces be involved in any kind of humanitarian assistance in terms of airlifting food or supplies?

SECRETARY COHEN: I would anticipate if Mr. Milosevic were to comply with the demands of the Security Council, that many countries -- all countries would try to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance, but we would rely primarily upon the NGOs to deliver that humanitarian aid.

Thank you very much.

(End transcript)

Taken without permission, for fair use only.

KOSOVA 09-26
-NATO Defense Ministers Meeting Ends in Portugal
-NATO Prepares Yugoslavia Attacks
-Turkey Endorses U.N. Resolution on Kosovo.
-Serbian parliament asked to condemn threats
-Kosovo Clashes Rage As Refugee Chief Arrives
-Defiant Yugoslav Leader Says Western Threats Unproductive Milosevic Sneers at NATO
-Western envoys fear airstrikes will wreck Dayton deal
-Rugova's Closest Aide Seriously Wounded in Attack
-Nato jets ready to hit Serbia

TIRANA 09-26
-Albania Concerned Over Kosovo Refugees in Montenegro
-Albania President Urges Parties To Reconcile
-Clinton Backs Albanian PRESIDENT'S Efforts to Solve Crisis

FYROM 09-26
-Southeast European States Create Peacekeeping Force
__________________________________________________

NATO Defense Ministers Meeting Ends in Portugal
Xinhua  26-SEP-98

LISBON (Sept. 25) XINHUA - A two-day informal meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense ministers to discuss possible military action in Kosovo ended in the southern Portuguese resort town of Vilamoura on Friday.
     NATO Secretary General Javier Solana expressed NATO's "strong support" for a U.N. resolution demanding an end to violence in the Serbian province of Kosovo and threatening further action if fighting continued. The U.N. Security Council passed the Kosovo resolution on Wednesday.
     The North Atlantic Council also asked the NATO member countries to be ready for military strikes against Kosovo.
     The NATO defense ministers met after the North Atlantic Council decided to request an air force for possible action in Kosovo.
     The 16-nation alliance issued an "activation warning", saying air forces would be required for "both the limited air option and a phased air campaign in Kosovo".
     For the first time, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary -- the three nations due to join NATO in April -- were invited to participate in the NATO meeting. They promised to coordinate their actions with NATO members on the Kosovo crisis.
__________________________________________________

NATO Prepares Yugoslavia Attacks
Filed at 1:16 a.m. EDT
By The Associated Press

VILAMOURA, Portugal (AP) -- For the first time, the NATO allies plan to take the offensive, readying bombers, missiles and warships to strike at a European neighbor that, at best, poses a vague threat to them.
     The Kosovo crisis has dragged them into something new: They are publicly planning for hostilities, rather than reacting to them.
     During 45 Cold War years, NATO never said it would not be the first to strike. Nor did it say it would be. It kept Moscow at bay with the threat of massive retaliation to any attack, a strategy that worked so well the allies were able to reap a huge "peace dividend" when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
     "But that dividend has been paid out," Dutch Defense Minister Frank de Grave said Friday after a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting.
     "NATO cannot go on endlessly cashing in that dividend. The world has not become a safer place. We still must invest in our security."
     Against that backdrop, the allies are preparing for air strikes on Yugoslavia unless President Slobodan Milosevic ends his attacks on ethnic Albanians struggling for independence in Kosovo. If necessary, NATO says it will attack with missiles and bombs, gradually intensifying the assault until Milosevic capitulates.
     After months of contingency planning, NATO knows its way around Yugoslavia. For one thing, sources say, military planners have identified 600 surface-to-air missile sites across the country that would be targeted and knocked out along with their command and control centers.
     Although allied air strikes helped end the Bosnian war, Kosovo is different.
     "What we are really talking about here is a humanitarian disaster precipitated by the cold political calculus of an autocratic leader who has pursued a political strategy by military means against his own citizens," said Gen. Wesley K. Clark, supreme allied commander in Europe.
     In Bosnia, NATO was a partner of the United Nations, which passed 36 Security Council resolutions aimed at achieving peace.
     NATO could have cited a half dozen of the resolutions to justify military action, particularly to retaliate for Bosnian Serb attacks against U.N. "safe havens" and to protect international peacekeepers.
     Milosevic threatens no NATO troops or U.N. peacekeepers and considers Kosovo an internal matter. To him, the province was Serbia's heartland in the Middle Ages and an integral part of the Serbian state since the Serbs regained independence from the Turks in 1878.
     How, then, can NATO justify attacking a sovereign country that does not threaten it?
     The United States and Germany lead a camp that argues that by bombing his own subjects, making almost 300,000 of them homeless and turning hundreds of villages into ghost towns, Milosevic undermines stability on NATO's eastern doorstep.
     An allied attack, they say, is about defending Western values and interests and NATO needs no formal approval for that from the United Nations.
     "The United States believes that no authority from the Security Council is necessary," Defense Secretary William Cohen told reporters. "The credibility of NATO is on the line."
     France and others are less sure. French Defense Minister Alain Richard, pressed by reporters, said: "It would be irresponsible to say what the next step is going to be."
     The United States is confident that, in the end, the allies won't let themselves be hog-tied by the need to get a U.N. blessing for military action and thus run the risk of a Russian or Chinese veto.
     This debate does not end with Kosovo. Next April, NATO leaders meet in Washington to approve a new overall post-Cold War strategic concept, one that will deal with new security risks and challenges just like the one the allies are facing from Belgrade now.
__________________________________________________

Turkey Endorses U.N. Resolution on Kosovo.
Itar-Tass  26-SEP-98

ANKARA, September 26 (Itar-Tass) - Turkey has backed the U.N. Security Council's resolution on the Kosovo province. The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Saturady published a statement which lauds the resolution as a "chance for a peaceful settlement of the problem which carries a serious threat to peace and stability in the region".
     The ministry's statement says Turkey stands for a settlement in Kosovo in the framework of territorial intergiry of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia through immediate and unconditional conduction of constructive talks of representatives of Belgrade authorities and ethnic groups of the Serbian province".
     Ankara called for settling the Kosovo crisis with observance of rights of the Kosovo community and principles of the U.N. and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
     The Security Council on September 23 unanimously passed a resolution which urged an immediate stop to hostilities and a ceasefire in Kosovo.
     The Security Council did not sanction any forcible actions on which some of Western countries insist.
__________________________________________________

Serbian parliament asked to condemn threats
12:34 p.m. Sep 25, 1998 Eastern

BELGRADE, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The Serbian government said on Friday it would ask parliament to condemn international "pressures, threats and blackmail" against Serbia over the separatist conflict in Kosovo.
     Tanjug news agency said a session of parliament on Monday was expected to endorse a draft condemning Kosovo Albanian "terrorism" for the crisis and calling for "comprehensive and unconditional dialogue."
     The government statement was Serbia's response to a U.N. security council demand this week for a ceasefire and peace talks in Kosovo which was backed up by renewed NATO threats of military intervention.
     The internationl community's initiatives put the onus on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to end seven months of fighting between Serbian police and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) which has cost more than 700 lives and created 300,000 refugees.
     The KLA and moderate Kosovo Albanian political leaders are seeking independence for the southern Serbian province whose 1.8 million population is 90 percent ethnic Albanian.
     Serbia disputes that the Albanian share of the population is so high and claims that many of them are illegal immigrants from neighbouring Albania proper.
     The United States and its allies want Milosevic to restore autonomy to Kosovo, where ethnic Albanian leaders have refused to join in talks while Serb security forces wage an offensive against their people.
     A draft proposal for the start of talks prepared by U.S. mediator Christopher Hill urged a three-year transition towards a political settlement during which the Kosovo Albanians would get wide rights to self-government and policing.
     Milosevic has offered to discuss restoring autonomy but the government draft was sharply critical of the outside world's attitude to the conflict.
     It accused the U.S. and European governments of "subjecting Serbia to constant pressures, threats and blackmail and even abusing the mechanisms of the U.N. for the realisation of their own aims, which directly threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia."
     The draft asked parliament to condemn "all those countries which are rendering financial, media, military and other aid to the terrorists while advocating military intervention for hypocritical humanitarian reasons."

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
__________________________________________________

Friday September 25 12:48 PM EDT
Kosovo Clashes Rage As Refugee Chief Arrives

GENEVA (Reuters) - Fighting raged in the Serbian province of Kosovo as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata arrived in the capital Pristina Friday, officials of her UNHCR agency said.
     "It was not much of a welcome for her," one official told Reuters.
     The agency said its representatives on the spot had seen homes being burned during the day and discovered some 15,000 ethnic Albanians who had fled a Serbian assault on their town camped out near a road running south from Pristina.
     About 15 wounded people, mainly women, were being cared for in a makeshift clinic set up in a damaged mosque, a spokeswoman said. There was firing in nearby hills.
     The Serbian authorities say their offensive is aimed at guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which is seeking independence for the province, 90 per cent of whose population is ethnic Albanian.
     The UNHCR spokeswoman said several Serbian tanks had been seen heading westwards into the area of Konorane west of Pristina.
     Earlier, U.N. agencies in Geneva expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Kosovo and called for a political solution to the conflict which would allow 400,000 displaced people to go home.
     The U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said its mobile medical team had found 250 of 2,000 Kosovars hiding in a forest near Novo Selo in "very bad condition" this week, suffering from acute respiratory infections and diarrhea diseases.
     "It is the worst the UNICEF team has seen to date in Kosovo," spokeswoman Marie Heuze told Reuters.
     Some 80 percent of the displaced at Novo Selo, near the border with Montenegro, were women and children, she added.
     "Even prior to the recent crisis, Kosovo was the poorest region of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and one of the most underdeveloped areas of Europe, with an alarmingly poor epidemiological record," UNICEF said in an update.
     The UNHCR said it was opening three new field offices in Kosovo, in Pec in the west, Mitrovica in the north, and Prizren in the south. This would reinforce its Pristina base and bring its staff in the province to a total of 37.
     "It is clear that humanitarian activities and expansion, while it can alleviate suffering and save lives cannot replace a political solution," UNHCR spokeswoman Judith Kumin told a news briefing in Geneva.
     UNHCR is organizing relief convoys to bring supplies to pockets of people scattered in hills and forests.
     Fighting between the KLA and Serbian forces has claimed about 700 lives this year. It has forced up to 300,000 people to flee their homes, including 18,000 now in Albania.
__________________________________________________

Defiant Yugoslav Leader Says Western Threats Unproductive
Milosevic Sneers at NATO
by Adam Brown
The Associated Press

P R I S T I N A, Yugoslavia, Sept. 25 —A defiant Slobodan Milosevic says NATO threats “only feed the illusions” of Kosovo’s Albanian rebels, who appear powerless to stop a Serb onslaught that has sent thousands more desperate civilians fleeing their homes.
NATO is preparing for limited air strikes unless Yugoslav army and Serb police forces end their crackdown on the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army in the Kosovo region. (Magellan Geographix/ABCNEWS.com)
Backed by a tough U.N. resolution, NATO instructed its generals Thursday to prepare for air strikes unless Milosevic, the Yugoslav president, halts attacks against the remnants of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
     But there was little sign that the international warnings will deter the government from its campaign to destroy the KLA, which is fighting for independence from Serbia, the dominant republic of Yugoslavia.

Milosevic Balks at NATO Warnings
During a meeting Thursday with the chief U.N. refugee official Sadako Ogata, Milosevic said that “pressures on Yugoslavia … do not contribute to solving the problems.”
     The government’s Tanjug news agency quoted Milosevic as saying international threats “only feed the illusions of terrorist and separatist forces.”
     In Pristina, a close aide of ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova was shot and seriously wounded Thursday night. Sabri Hamiti, 50, was attacked in front of his house in a suburb of Pristina, the provincial capital, sources close to Rugova said today.
     Two bullets lodged just above Hamiti’s heart and one broke his arm. He was taken to a Pristina hospital.

Serbs Surround Drenica
“This was an attack on Kosovo institutions and prominent public figures, not only in Kosovo, but in the whole region,” a shaken Rugova said today.
     He said the attack “only further destabilizes the situation in Kosovo and the whole region.”
     To reinforce Milosevic’s message, the ruling Socialist Party, in a meeting chaired by him, blamed “Albanian separatism and terrorism” for the crisis and declared that “rooting out terrorism” is Yugoslavia’s top national priority.
     Serb security forces, backed by armed Serb civilians, have formed a ring around the province’s central region of Drenica. On the roads and trails that wind out of the region, about 12 miles west of the provincial capital, Pristina, Serbs with black ski masks and machine guns wait in ambush for guerrillas flushed out by tank and artillery fire.

Albanians Flee in Terror
“We can’t stop the Serbs,” said a 23-year-old guerrilla, who refused to give his real name for fear of reprisal against his parents who live in a Serb-controlled area.
     Four months ago, he left his factory job in Germany to fight for Kosovo independence. “Really, I want to go back to Germany,” he said, displaying a shrapnel wound in his back. “We can’t leave. We can only live if we win or if NATO threatens Milosevic to stop.”
     A U.N. spokesman, Fernando del Mundo, estimated about 15,000 refugees are fleeing the fighting in the Drenica area. But del Mundo said an accurate count was impossible because police refused to grant them access to the area.

Serbian Crackdown
Albanian sources said Serb forces Thursday burned four villages on the eastern side of Cicavica mountain and took control of eight others on the southeastern slope near Obilic, about 12 miles northwest of Pristina.
     The Serbian Media Center said police had “closed the ring around strong groups of Albanian extremists,” destroying their bases in 15 villages in the region.
     Milosevic launched the crackdown Feb. 28 to destroy the KLA. Albanians form 90 percent of Kosovo’s 2 million people. <Picture>

Copyright 1998 Reuters. All rights reserved.
__________________________________________________

THE TIMES 09/25
Western envoys fear airstrikes will wreck Dayton deal
FROM TOM WALKER IN BANJA LUKA

WESTERN diplomats in Bosnia yesterday gave stark warnings that airstrikes against Serbia could endanger the lives of international personnel in the region and undo the Dayton Peace Accords.
     They painted a grim picture of Serbs rising as one against the West; of Republika Srpska, or Bosnian Serb territory, politically fracturing from Muslim-Croat Bosnia and seeking to become part of a "greater Serbia"; and of President Milosevic receiving a mandate to rule for life.
     Western intervention in the Kosovo conflict is already at least partly being blamed for the rise to power of Nikola Poplasen, a radical Serb nationalist who has replaced the pro-Western Biljana Plavsic as President of Republika Srpska. Nato airstrikes would give Mr Poplasen all the evidence he needed to tell his impoverished and isolated people they are again fighting the world.
     "There would be rolling chaos here," said one European Union diplomat in the Bosnian Serb capital, Banja Luka. "I don't see how in those circumstances [airstrikes] Republika Srpska could be salvaged. It doesn't bear thinking about, and there's no point even planning for it."
     International personnel have suffered the wrath of Bosnian Serbs before, especially US stabilisation force troops as they tried to replace police units working against Mrs Plavsic last year. Then an organisation surfaced calling itself the Black Hand: its skull-and-Orthodox cross flag has been seen at Radical Party rallies in the last month.
     All Americans have been warned not to make unnecessary trips in Republika Srpska and similar warnings have been distributed around most international organisations. In Serbia, many Belgrade-based diplomats and their families are bracing themselves for the worst.
     • Attack urged: Paddy Ashdown, the Liberal Democrat leader, yesterday called for immediate Nato airstrikes to prevent an "eruption of bloodshed" in Kosovo (Roland Watson writes). Mr Ashdown, who was forced to cancel a visit to the region after Serb authorities denied him a visa, said Europe's response so far to the unfolding tragedy had been "hopelessly inadequate".
__________________________________________________

Rugova's Closest Aide Seriously Wounded in Attack
AP  25-SEP-98

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Gunmen wounded an aide to a leader of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians in a possible attempt to derail any settlement for the troubled province short of independence from Serbia.
     Serbia, meanwhile, continued to shrug off NATO threats of an armed strike if violence in Kosovo is not halted, and claimed its latest offensive in the southern province has ended with success.
     Sabri Hamiti was shot late Thursday in front of his house in a Pristina suburb, sources close to Kosovo leader Ibrahim Rugova said Friday. Two bullets ended up just above his heart and one broke his arm. Hamiti was taken to Pristina hospital.
     Hamiti, 50, is believed to be the closest aide of Rugova, the main ethnic Albanian political leader in Kosovo.
     Rugova has showed readiness to negotiate an agreement for Kosovo that falls short of independence from Serbia. But the Kosovo Liberation Army is bent on independence and has pledged to "punish" anyone who gives up that goal.
     It was not clear who shot Hamiti, but the attack may be a warning to Rugova by more radical factions among ethnic Albanians who reject any deal with the government of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
     There have been indications that Rugova and Milosevic could sign a U.S.-backed agreement that would give Kosovo a degree of self-rule but would leave it part of Serbia and within Yugoslavia.
     The militants, who controlled some 40 percent of Kosovo half a year ago, have largely been defeated by Serb police and the Yugoslav army in seven months of bloody offensives.
     While defense ministers from the 15 NATO countries threatened air strikes and cruise missile attacks unless the fighting comes to an end, the Serbian government pledged to use all measures to wipe out the rebels, which it considers terrorists.
     The Serbs also announced, through their media center in the provincial capital Pristina, that the latest offensive on Mount Cicavica was over and rebel Albanians had been wiped out.
     But reporters who were within a mile of the area saw Serb police and Yugoslav troops advance steadily on rebel Albanians who had fled their the mountain for surrounding hills.
     Machine guns echoed across the central Drenica region's hills Friday as thick smoke billowed across the horizon. Albanian fighters said police had seized and destroyed six villages Friday, after taking 14 in the previous two days in southern Drenica.
     Yugoslav observer jets flew overhead, as the guerrillas hurriedly ate their first meal in two days -- pickled tomatoes, goat's cheese and bread.
     Ethnic Albanian sources also claimed that 30,000 refugees -- mostly women, children and elderly, many of them wounded -- were concentrated in the village of Brusnik, on the eastern side of Mount Cicavica.
     According to the pro-Albanian Kosovo Information Center, seven Albanians, including an 81-year-old man, were killed in the Drenica region, bringing the Albanian causalities in the latest offensive to at least 31.
     Aid officials estimate that more than 15,000 people have been displaced in the latest fighting. The international Red Cross said in a statement issued Friday in Belgrade that its team reached Resnik village in Drenica and found thousands of people begging for help.
     In its statement, the Red Cross said it was "immediately surrounded by thousands of civilians pleading for assistance and, above all, reassurance about their security."
     The Serb crackdown in Kosovo has sent more than 275,000 people fleeing and claimed hundreds of lives. It has also caused world alarm over the humanitarian situation, primarily because of the danger of mass deaths among the estimated 50,000 unsheltered refugees as winter approaches.

Copyright 1998& The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
__________________________________________________

THE TIMES 09/25
Nato jets ready to hit Serbia

NATO combat aircraft were on alert yesterday to launch attacks on Serbian military targets in Yugoslavia to force an end to the crisis in Kosovo.
     After a tough resolution by the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday night, demanding an end to Serbian repression in Kosovo, Nato defence ministers at a meeting in Portugal approved a phased campaign of airstrikes if Belgrade's killing of civilians continued. Nato's North Atlantic Council voted 15-1 on Wednesday to put the alliance's air forces on standby, but Greece demanded a delay of 24 hours until the Security Council had issued its resolution.
     Yesterday, encouraged by the Security Council wording which had been supported by Russia, the permanent representatives of the North Atlantic Council met in an emergency session at Vilamoura to authorise military preparations for airstrikes. After the defence ministers gave their approval, George Robertson, the Defence Secretary, said military action could be a matter of a few weeks away unless President Milosevic recalled his forces and agreed to a ceasefire.
     The plans for airstrikes envisage limited raids at first leading, if necessary, to a phased campaign throughout Yugoslavia, involving the launching of US Tomahawk cruise missiles and the full panoply of allied bombers based in Italy for the Bosnia operation.
     Mr Robertson said Britain would be ready to reinforce the four Harrier GR7s at Gioia del Colle in Italy with other aircraft from bases in Britain if a decision was taken to start airstrikes. Four other Harrier GR7s are on standby to fly to Gioia del Colle. Ministry of Defence sources indicated that, if a bigger presence was demanded, it was likely that Jaguars would be added to the British force.
     The decision to put Nato air forces on alert - codenamed Actwarn - was the next stage in Nato's latest confrontation with Mr Milosevic followed the "step change" in language adopted on Wednesday night by the Security Council, which demanded a ceasefire in Kosovo and an end to Serbian attacks on civilians.
     Mr Robertson said the legal backing for airstrikes was something which needed to be resolved, but he was sure the necessary justification would be found.
     Mr Robertson emphasised there would be "no geographical limits" to the airstrikes in Yugoslavia. The object of the airstrike warning, Mr Robertson said, was to force the Yugoslav leader to honour pledges he had made to stop the violence in Kosovo and to allow the international community to help to distribute aid to the refugees, driven from their homes by Serbian "ethnic cleansing".
     Yesterday's announcement did not include a specific deadline, but Mr Robertson said the onset of winter in Kosovo - the first snow fell in the mountains last week - provided an indirect ultimatum to Mr Milosevic, because the imminent cold weather would worsen the humanitarian crisis. "I'm not talking about a lot of weeks here; it could be less than a month."
     Volker Rühe, the German Defence Minister, was also adamant that the warning was not just a gesture. He said: "This is the last clear warning that should not be underestimated by anyone." William Cohen, the US Defence Secretary, was also firmly in favour of gearing up Nato forces for military action to hit Serbian targets if Belgrade refused to back down.
     Walter Slocombe, US Under-Secretary of Defence, said that if a phased campaigned went ahead it would be "very effective", aimed at the "instruments that Mr Milosevic is using to carry out this repression". Mr Robertson and his Nato colleagues agreed that if action was to be taken all alliance members should play a part. The Dutch said they would double the number of F16s based in Italy from eight to 16.
     Mr Robertson said that, once a ceasefire had been agreed, it was likely that Nato ground troops would go into Kosovo to provide protection for aid agencies to distribute food and clothing to 50,000 homeless people.
________________

Albania Concerned Over Kosovo Refugees in Montenegro
Xinhua  26-SEP-98

TIRANA (Sept. 25) XINHUA - Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano Friday expressed his concern over the situation of Albanian refugees in Montenegro who were forced to leave from their homes in Kosovo after the armed conflict.
     In a letter to Montenegrin President Milo Gjukanovic, Nano extended his appreciation to the Montenegrin government for its work in coping with the humanitarian situation after the arrival of thousands of refugees.
     Kosovo, a province of Serbia within the Federal Repubic of Yugoslavia, where ethnic Albanians. who make up 90 percent of the province's 2 million people, is seeking independence from Yugoslavia. The conflict broke out in February this year.
     Nano also expressed his concern over "several operations carried out recently by the Montenegrin border authorities with regard to blocking the Kosovo refugees at border check points and sending them to third countries, or with the refusal to offer them the necessary assistance in several cases", reported the Albanian Telegraph Agency (ATA).
     Nano also appealed to the Montenegrin government to stop such actions and provide necessary treatment for the refugees according to international practice.
     Over the past six months, more than 200,000 Kosovo Albanians have left Kosovo due to the conflict.
_____________

Friday September 25 12:48 PM EDT
Albania President Urges Parties To Reconcile
By Benet Koleka

TIRANA (Reuters) - Albanian President Rexhep Meidani, in a rare address to parliament, Friday urged feuding parties to reconcile and proposed sweeping government changes to end turmoil in the volatile Balkan nation.
     He recommended immediate dialogue and a reshuffle of the Socialist-led coalition of Prime Minister Fatos Nano.
     The president also called on the opposition Democratic Party to end their boycott of parliament so that the country's first post-communist constitution could be drafted.
     Speaking prior to Meidani's speech, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha told reporters his Democrats were ready to discuss the charter but that the arrest of six officials of the party's former administration in August for their roles in last year's unrest had made further talks impossible.
     As in the past, the success of Meidani's plan depended on the Democrats' reaction, especially to the constitution which needs the broadest consensus to become a lasting effort.
     "I propose...structural and political changes in the ruling coalition, even if it means expanding it," Meidani said in a statement read by Speaker Skender Gjinushi.
     "Let us work together to approve the constitution in parliament and through a referendum so that we can in a more modern way implement the policy of governing and its restructuring."
     Nano's 14-month-old, five-party government was shaken last week by a brief opposition uprising, the worst violence since armed chaos erupted last year after the collapse of bogus pyramid savings schemes.
     Nano accused Berisha, a former president, of trying to topple the government in the riots, sparked by the murder of Berisha's aide Azem Hajdari on September 12.
     Berisha blamed the government for Hajdari's murder and dismissed charges of attempting a coup. He has mounted daily protests of up to 3,000 supporters to call for the resignation of the Nano government.
     Meidani said police should find Hajdari's assassins and bring them to justice as the first step to getting out of the country's "bad dream."
     Nano, shrugging off talk of resigning, has received his party's mandate to carry out sweeping changes to take the country out of the crisis within three months, vowing even to try to find capable people outside the coalition parties.
     Daan Everts, the Tirana head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said he hoped Meidani's appeal would help to improve the political situation.
     "I hope so because it is (in line with) the democratic spirit of reason and constructiveness and very much in keeping with the recommendations of the European Union, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and Western European Union," he said.
     Everts said he hoped the president's call would be followed by action.
     The international community has called on Meidani, a former member of the ruling Socialist Party and now an independent, to mediate talks to end the political standoff.
_____________

Clinton Backs Albanian PRESIDENT'S Efforts to Solve Crisis
Xinhua  25-SEP-98

TIRANA (Sept. 24) XINHUA - American President Bill Clinton said on Thursday that he supported Albanian President Rexhep Mejdani's efforts in seeking a political solution to the political crisis in his country.
     In his letter transmitted to Mejdani by the U.S ambassador to Albania, Clinton said the U.S. was worrying about and paying close attention to the situation in Albania.
     Joining other world leaders, the U.S. president condemned all forms of political violence.
     In the letter, Clinton also expressed his thanks for Mejdani's constructive leading role in trying to settle the crisis through his mediation among the political parties.
     He said that the development of relations between the two countries was based on the friendship between the peoples of Albania and the U.S..
_______________

Southeast European States Create Peacekeeping Force
Reuters  26-SEP-98

SKOPJE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Seven countries in southeastern Europe agreed on Saturday to set up a joint peacekeeping force billed as a symbol of cooperation in an area torn by conflict.
     Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey signed the agreement during an annual meeting of regional defence ministers in the Macedonian capital Skopje.
     "These are countries that have never historically worked together. One obvious area where they can is in peacekeeping," a senior Pentagon official said.
     U.S. Defence Secretary William Cohen, attending the signing ceremony as an observer, said the agreement had taken long negotiations but offered the hope of a new era.
     "All of us recognise that there are still people in this region who would rather dig fresh graves than bury old hatreds," Cohen said, a reference to turmoil in the remnants of Yugoslavia, most recently in the Serbian province of Kosovo.
     The new grouping, known as the Multinational Peacekeeping Force for South Eastern Europe, will have between 3,000 and 4,000 troops divided into 11 mechanised companies and three light infantry companies, U.S. officials said.
     The United States and Slovenia, another observer, will not contribute troops. Slovenia may join in later but at the moment its tiny army cannot spare the forces.
     The force could deploy anywhere in the world under the umbrella of NATO, the West European Union, the United Nations or any other multilateral organisation.
     Approximate models are the Baltic Battalion set up by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and a joint force created by Italy, Hungary and Slovenia.
     Another Pentagon official travelling with Cohen said the partners had not yet agreed where to put the headquarters.
     "There's at last tentative agreement to put it at Plovdiv in Bulgaria to start with and then rotate it periodically, but that's not been completely signed off on," he said.
     "There may be some issues to solve there but we really think we can get that unit off the ground."
     The countries contributing are either NATO members-- Italy, Greece and Turkey-- or members of the Partnership for Peace set up as a gesture to former Soviet bloc states.
     "This is the right way for NATO and partnership countries to cooperate," Macedonian Defence Minister Lazar Kitanovski said at the signing ceremony.
     U.S. officials said they were also pleased to see Greece and Turkey-- at odds over the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus-- working together on a regional security project.
     The defence ministers first met in the Albanian capital Tirana in 1996, then in Sofia last year.
     The peacekeeping force is their main achievement, overshadowing their work on training cooperation, border security and information exchanges.
     A U.S. delegation member said that because of the chronic dispute over Macedonia's name, the agreement named only the observer countries. For the others, it named the ministers.
     Greece refuses to recognise the name Macedonia, forcing the government to use the unwieldy title Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in international forums.
     Turkey tried to enforce the title Republic of Macedonia, the style Skopje prefers.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved.

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