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1. Meldungen von dpa

Meldung vom 24.09.1998 12:54 http://seite1.web.de/show/360A24E2.NL1/

Fernsehen: Geheimdienst lieferte illegal Rüstung nach Albanien
Bonn (dpa) - Der Geheimdienst der deutschen Streitkräfte (Militärischer Abschirm-Dienst/MAD) hat nach Angaben des Ersten Deutschen Fernsehens (ARD) illegal Funkgeräte und Überwachungstechnik an den albanischen Geheimdienst geliefert. Teile dieser Lieferung seien zu albanischen Freischärlern im Kosovo gelangt, berichtet das ARD-Magazin «Monitor» in einer am Donnerstag abend ausgestrahlten Sendung.
     Nach Informationen von Monitor erhielt der albanische Geheimdienst SIKH in den Jahren 1990 und 1991 mehrfach Funkgeräte sowie elektronische und optische Aufklärungsgeräte vom MAD. Nach dem Gesetz zum dem Militär-Geheimdienst seien derartige Rüstungslieferungen illegal. Der Geheimdienst dürfe nur zum Schutz der deutschen Streitkräfte und zur Spionageabwehr tätig werden.
     Auch der deutsche Auslands-Geheimdienst (BND) war nach Darstellung von «Monitor» über seine offizielle Vertretung in der albanischen Hauptstadt Tirana an der Aktion beteiligt. Vor Ort hätten MAD- Mitarbeiter albanische Geheimagenten an den gelieferten Geräten ausgebildet.
     Als Begründung für die Aktion sei angegeben worden, es handele sich um eine politische Aktion, die «von ganz oben» erwünscht gewesen sei, erklärte ein an der Albanien-Lieferung beteiligter Mitarbeiter des deutschen Militär-Geheimdienstes dem TV-Magazin.
     Seit 1990 pflegt die deutsche Regierung nach Angaben des Magazins gute Beziehungen zu den albanischen Militärs und Geheimdienstlern. Es seien Militärfahrzeuge, Kampfausrüstung, Nachtsichtgeräte, Computer und Triebwerke für MIG-21-Kampfflugzeuge im Wert von zwei Millionen Mark in das albanische Krisengebiet geliefert worden. Militärgüter seien zum Teil an die Rebellenarmee UCK im Kosovo gelangt.
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Duma-Vorsitzender kritisiert NATO-Vorbereitungen für Kosovo scharf
Moskau (dpa) - Der russische Parlamentsvorsitzende Gennadi Selesnjow hat die Vorbereitungen der NATO für einen möglichen Luft- Einsatz im Kosovo-Konflikt am Donnerstag scharf kritisiert. «Ohne Sanktionen des Weltsicherheitsrats hat niemand das Recht, Luftangriffe im Kosovo zu fliegen», sagte Selesnjow am Donnerstag der Nachrichtenagentur Itar-Tass.
     Die NATO begann am Donnerstag damit, die Flugzeuge für einen möglichen Luft-Einsatz im Kosovo-Konflikt zusammenzustellen. Einen entsprechenden Beschluß faßte der NATO-Rat im portugiesischen Ort Vilamoura.
     NATO-Generalsekretär Javier Solana bezeichnete den Beschluß der NATO-Botschafter als Zeichen für eine steigende militärische Bereitschaft des Bündnisses, in den Konflikt einzugreifen. «Ich möchte aber auch betonen, daß die Anwendung von Gewalt weitere Entscheidungen des NATO-Rates voraussetzt», sagte Solana.
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NATO zieht Schraube für Belgrad weiter an
Vilamoura (dpa) - Der jugoslawische Präsident Slobodan Milosevic war von der internationalen Gemeinschaft und besonders von der NATO schon mehrfach gewarnt worden. Bisher aber konnte er im Kosovo- Konflikt sicher sein, nur einem «Papiertiger» gegenüberzustehen, nun muß er jedoch bald mit einer für ihn gefährlichen Entwicklung rechnen.
     Mit der Entscheidung des NATO-Rates vom Donnerstag, Flugzeuge für einen eventuellen Einsatz im Kosovo zusammenzustellen, nimmt die bisher nur auf dem Papier ausgedrückte Drohung Gestalt an. «Wir haben damit die Schraube noch einmal angezogen», warnte ein NATO-Beamter. Allerdings hat Milosevic noch Luft, denn weitere Entscheidungen werden nötig sein.
     Tatsächlich ist dieser Schritt noch nicht das Signal zum Militärschlag, um Milosevic an den Verhandlungstisch zu zwingen. Mit der Vorwarnung, der «Activation on Warning», geht es jedoch um den ersten konkreten Schritt dorthin, der über die bisherigen Planungen und das Ausarbeiten von Optionen hinausgeht. NATO-Militärs erläuterten am Rande der Verteidigungsminister-Tagung in Vilamoura (Portugal), «daß die Alliierten nun Farbe bekennen müssen».
     Denn wenn auch die UNO-Resolution vom Mittwoch im Bündnis nahezu einhellig begrüßt wurde, ist das weitere Vorgehen keineswegs unstrittig unter den 16 NATO-Mitgliedern. Sobald der NATO- Oberbefehlshaber Europa seine Mitteilungen an die Verteidigungsministerien schickt, erwartet er konkrete Angaben darüber, welches NATO-Land bereit ist, aktiv an einem militärischen Schritt mitzuwirken und wie.
     Und der oberste NATO-Soldat, der Vorsitzende des Militärausschusses, Klaus Naumann, hatte gewarnt, wenn das Bündnis den ersten Schritt tue, dann müsse es auch zu einem zweiten und dritten bereit und fähig sein.
     Fest steht nach Angaben von NATO-Experten, daß die Option, Milosevic mit NATO-Bodentruppen zum Einlenken zu zwingen, ausgeklammert bleibt. Doch auch an der ersten Phase des Eingreifens mit sogenannten Luftschlägen werden sich nicht alle NATO-Länder beteiligen. Nur Deutschland und die Niederlande haben bisher öffentlich die Bereitschaft bekundet, mit 14 beziehungsweise acht Flugzeugen dabei sein zu können.
     Aber es werden etwa 200 Maschinen gebraucht, wenn die NATO in Wellen die jugoslawische Luftabwehr ausschalten und gezielte Schläge gegen serbische Stellungen richten will. Unter den anderen Mitgliedern gibt es trotz des nun einstimmig gefaßten Beschlusses weiterhin große Vorbehalten gegen ein militärisches Vorgehen.
     Drei Monate lang konnte Milosevic die NATO hinhalten und derweilen seine Position auf Kosten der Kosovo-Albaner, die Tote und Hunderttausende von Flüchtlingen beklagen, festigen. Der Zusammenstellung der Flugzeuge muß nun ein neuer NATO-Beschluß folgen, der die Maschinen auch anfordert. Dann müssen diese unter NATO-Oberbefehl gestellt werden.
     «Wir haben nun den Zeitraum zwischen Entscheidung und Aktion gekürzt», sagte ein NATO-Beamter. Es dürfte Milosevic immer noch zu viel Zeit bleiben, fürchten Militär-Experten.
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Deutschland stellt 14 Tornados für mögliche Militäraktion
Stuttgart (dpa) - Deutschland würde sich an einer möglichen Militäraktion der NATO im Kosovo mit 14 Tornado-Kampfflugzeugen beteiligen. Dies kündigte Außenminister Klaus Kinkel am Donnerstag vor Journalisten in Stuttgart unmittelbar nach seiner Rückkehr von der Sitzung des UNO-Sicherheitsrats in New York an.
     Der Minister sagte, mit der Einigung des Sicherheitsrats auf eine Resolution zum Kosovo-Konflikt und der Entscheidung des NATO-Rats zur konkreten Planung eines militärischen Eingreifens werde der Druck auf die jugoslawische Regierung erheblich erhöht. Dem Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic werde klargemacht: «Wir sind bereit, die Politik der Vertreibung und der verbrannten Erde notfalls auch militärisch zu stoppen.»
     Kinkel ergänzte, vor einer Beteiligung Deutschlands an einem Militär-Einsatz im Kosovo sei selbstverständlich ein entsprechender Beschluß des Parlaments notwendig. Zentraler Erfolg der UNO- Resolution sei es, daß Rußland einbezogen sei. Dies sei das klare Signal an Belgrad, daß Rußland seine Haltung geändert habe.
     Der Außenminister unterstrich den Willen der Vereinten Nationen zu einer politischen Lösung des Kosovo- Konflikts. Er fügte hinzu: «Wir lassen ein zweites Bosnien mit Sicherheit diesmal nicht zu».
     Wann es frühestens zu militärischen Operationen kommen kann, sagte Kinkel nicht. Er weigere sich Fristen zu nennen, auf die man festgelegt werden könne. Dies ändere nichts an der Entschlossenheit der NATO-Staaten, die militärische Option auch wahrzunehmen.
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Fernsehen: Geheimdienst lieferte illegal Rüstung nach Albanien
Bonn (dpa) - Der Geheimdienst der deutsche Streitkräfte (Militärischer Abschirmdienst/MAD) hat nach Angaben des Ersten Deutschen Fernsehens (ARD) illegal Funkgeräte und Überwachungstechnik an den albanischen Geheimdienst geliefert.
     Teile dieser Lieferung seien zu albanischen Freischärlern im Kosovo gelangt, berichtet das ARD-Magazin «Monitor» in einem am Donnerstag abend ausgestrahlten Beitrag. Ein Sprecher des Verteidigungsministeriums in Bonn wies den Bericht zurück und sprach von «abenteuerlichen Behauptungen, die so nicht zutreffend» seien.
     Nach Informationen von Monitor erhielt der albanische Geheimdienst SIKH in den Jahren 1990 und 1991 mehrfach Funkgeräte sowie elektronische und optische Aufklärungsgeräte vom MAD. Nach einem Gesetz zu diesem Geheimdienst seien derartige Rüstungslieferungen illegal. Der Militär-Geheimdienst dürfe nur zum Schutz der Streitkräfte und zur Spionageabwehr tätig werden.
     Auch der deutsche Auslands-Geheimdienst (BND) war nach Darstellung von Monitor über seine offizielle Vertretung in der albanischen Hauptstadt Tirana an der Aktion beteiligt. Seit 1990 pflegt die deutsche Regierung nach Angaben des Magazins gute Beziehungen zu den albanischen Militärs und Geheimdienstlern.
     Es seien Militärfahrzeuge, Kampfausrüstung, Nachtsichtgeräte, Computer und Triebwerke für MIG-21-Kampfflugzeuge im Wert von zwei Millionen Mark in das albanische Krisengebiet geliefert worden, hieß es weiter. Militärgüter seien zum Teil an die Rebellenarmee UCK im Kosovo gelangt.
     Der Sprecher des deutschen Verteidigungs-Ministeriums erläuterte, der Aufbau der Beziehungen der Streitkräfte (Bundeswehr) zum Militär des demokratischen Albaniens habe erst Mitte der 90er Jahre begonnen. Die Bundeswehr habe der albanischen Armee insbesondere Ausbildungshilfe geleistet und sie in geringem Umfang materiell unterstützt.
     1995 seien unter anderem Kraftfahrzeuge, Feldküchen und Bettmatratzen zur Verfügung gestellt worden. Wenn «unter Umständen» in der Auflösungs-Phase der Nationalen Volksarmee (NVA) der DDR 1990 Material auf Umwegen nach Albanien gelangt sei, dürfte das heute kaum noch nachvollziehbar sein, sagte der Sprecher.
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Deutscher Verteidigungsminister Rühe fordert Ultimatum an Milosevic
Vilamoura (dpa) - Der deutsche Verteidlungsminister Volker Rühe hat gefordert, dem jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic im Kosovo-Konflikt kurzfristig ein Ultimatum zu stellen. «Es geht um die Glaubwürdigkeit der NATO und die gemeinsame Handlungsfähigkeit zwischen den USA und Europa», sagte Rühe am Donnerstag am Rande der NATO-Verteidigungsminister-Tagung in Vilamoura in Portugal. «Wir sind keine Organisation, die sich in Rethorik erschöpfen darf», fügte Rühe vor Journalisten hinzu.
     Nach der Verabschiedung der Resolution des UNO-Sicherheitsrates und dem Beschluß der NATO in Vilamoura über die Bereitstellung von Flugzeugen müsse nun in denn kommenden zehn Tagen an der Herstellung eines Ultimatums gearbeitet werden. «Dabei müssen die politischen und militärischen Überlegungen zusammengeführt werden», sagte Rühe.
     Durch das Ultimatum solle unter anderem ein Waffenstillstand, Zugang für Hilfsorganisationen und die Rückkehr der Flüchtlinge erreicht werden. Der Minister warnte gleichzeitig vor zunehmendem Unverständnis der USA über die zögerliche Haltung einiger europäischer Staaten für ein militärisches Eingreifen.
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Estland schließt sich EU-weitem Landeverbot für JAT an
Brüssel (dpa) - Estland hat sich am Donnerstag dem Landeverbot für Flugzeuge der jugoslawischen Gesellschaft JAT in der EU angeschaltet. Das teilte die EU in Brüssel mit. Estland will der Europäischen Union beitreten.
     Mit dem Landeverbot will die EU die serbische Führung zum Einlenken im Kosovo-Konflikt bewegen. Es ist seit dem 8. September in Kraft.
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NATO-Botschafter zu Beratungen über Kosovo-Einsatz zusammengekommen
Vilamoura (dpa) - Kurz vor Beginn eines zweitägigen Treffens der NATO-Verteidigungsminister sind am Donnerstag morgen im portugiesischen Ort Vilamoura die NATO-Botschafter zusammengetroffen.
     Hauptthema der Beratungen ist der Kosovo-Konflikt. Die Botschafter wollen als NATO-Rat den Oberkommandierenden für Europa, den amerikanischen General Wesley Clark beauftragen, sich von den Allierten Kampfflugzeuge für einen möglichen Lufteinsatz im Kosovo- Konflikt bereitstellen zu lassen.
     NATO-Kreise erläuterten am Donnerstag noch einmal, dies bedeute nicht, daß die NATO einen solchen Angriff auch ausführen werde. Mit der «activation on warning» genannten Bereitstellung wolle das Bündnis seine Fähigkeit zum militärischen Eingreifen demonstrieren.
     Dies sei vor dem Hintergrund der am Mittwoch verabschiedeten UNO- Resolution, über deren Folgen die NATO-Verteidigungsminister beraten werden, von großer Bedeutung für den jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic, hieß es.
     Der deutsche Verteidigungsminister Volker Rühe sagte, die Resolution biete keine rechtliche Grundlage für einen Militärschlag.
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Belgrad: Kosovo-Resolution der UNO `unnötig und schädlich"
Belgrad (dpa) - Die jugoslawische Regierung hat die Kosovo- Resolution des UNO-Sicherheitsrats als `unnötig und schädlich" bezeichnet. Für die Entschließung gebe es weder eine rechtliche noch eine politische Grundlage, sagte der Außenminister Zivadin Jovanovic der amtlichen Nachrichtenagentur Tanjug am Donnerstag.
     Die Resolution sei Ausdruck der `Politik des Drucks". Die Entscjließung übersehe Tatsachen und `positive Prozesse", wie die `Verbesserung" der Lage und erfolgreiche Entwicklungen im humanitären Bereich in der südserbischen Krisenprovinz.
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NATO stellt Flugzeugstaffeln für Kosovo-Einsatz zusammen
Vilamoura (dpa) - Die NATO hat am Donnerstag damit begonnen, die Flugzeuge für einen möglichen Lufteinsatz im Kosovo-Konflikt zusammenzustellen. Einen entsprechenden Beschluß faßte der NATO-Rat am Vormittag im portugiesischen Ort Vilamoura.
     Danach traten die NATO-Verteidigungsminister zu zweitägigen Beratungen zusammen, in deren Mittelpunkt neben dem Kosovo auch die Lage in Bosnien sowie in Albanien steht.
     NATO-Generalsekretär Javier Solana bezeichnete den Beschluß der NATO-Botschafter als Zeichen für eine steigende militärische Bereitschaft der NATO, in den Konflikt einzugreifen.
     «Ich möchte aber auch betonen, daß die Anwendung von Gewalt weitere Entscheidungen des NATO-Rates voraussetzt», sagte Solana.
     Der deutsche Verteidgungsminister Volker Rühe sieht nach diesen Beschlüssen die Handlungsbereitschaft des Bündnisses zu Luftschlägen hergestellt.
     Er räumte aber ein, daß die am Mittwoch vom UNO-Sicherheitsrat beschlossene Resolution zum Kosovo noch keine volle Handlungsfreiheit für einen solchen Angriff auf serbische Stellungen bedeutet.
     «Wenn man den Weg über den Sicherheitsrat gehen will, ist das noch keine ausreichende rechtliche Grundlage», sagte Rühe vor Beginn der Ministertagung. Er verwies aber auf den deutschen Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl, der gesagt habe, wenn eine humanitäre Katastrophe drohe, müsse man notfalls auch auf einer allgemeinen rechtlichen Lage handeln.
     Rühe kündigte an, daß er die Opposition über den Stand der Beratungen informieren werde. «Es ist wichtig, daß es möglichst viel deutsche Kontinuität gibt.
     Die Botschafter beauftragten den Oberkommandierenden für Europa, den amerikanischen General Wesley Clark, sich von den Allierten Kampfflugzeuge für einen möglichen Lufteinsatz im Kosovo-Konflikt bereitstellen zu lassen.
     Eine entsprechende Anfrage sollte noch am Donnerstag an die Bündnispartner gerichtet werde.
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«Der Standard» kritisiert Kosovo-Resolution der UNO
Wien (dpa) - Die liberale österreichische Tageszeitung «Der Standard» (Wien) kritisiert am Donnerstag die jüngste Kosovo- Resolution des UNO-Sicherheitsrats:
     «Die Resolution des UNO-Sicherheitsrates zum Kosovo ist ein Meisterwerk zeitgenössischer Diplomatie. 'Weitere Maßnahmen' werden dem jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic angedroht, sollte er nicht schleunigst aufhören, die 'Stabilität auf dem Balkan' zu gefährden. Was diese 'weiteren Maßnahmen' genau beinhalten sollen, wurde ebensowenig ausgeführt wie konkrete Drohungen ausgesprochen.
     Jeder kann aus dem Schriftstück herauslesen, was ihm gerade paßt. Doch das Übel am Balkan hat einen konkreten Nemen: Slobodan Milosevic, und gegenüber diesem Mann hätte man ruhig ein bißchen deutlicher werden können. Die einzige Sprache, die Milosevic in der Vergangenheit verstanden hat, war die der glaubwürdigen militärischen Gewaltandrohung».
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«Les Echos»: Milosevic kann sich nun gemäßigt zeigen
Paris (dpa) - Zu den Drohungen des Westens gegen Serbien wegen dessen Vorgehens in der Provinz Kosovo schreibt die französische Wirtschaftszeitung «Les Echos» am Donnerstag:
     «Um soweit zu kommen, mußten in den vergangenen Monaten die serbischen Streitkräfte die Separatisten der Kosovo-Befreiungsarmee (UCK) erbarmungslos niederschlagen. Zu Beginn dieses Sommers waren die von der NATO geplanten Luftangriffe in der Tat noch von Washington abgelehnt worden, um nicht die UCK zu stärken.
     In der Zwischenzeit haben sich die Reihen der Flüchtlinge so vergrößert, daß 'es zunehmend offensichtlich ist, daß wir am Rande einer möglichen Katastrophe stehen', wie (Pentagon-Sprecher) Kenneth Bacon sagte.
     (Der jugoslawische Präsident) Slobodan Milosevic, mit der Unterstützung Moskaus und mit der Trägheit des Westens rechnend, der immer den Verfechtern einer Unabhängigkeit des Kosovo mißtraute, konnte die rebellische Provinz 'säubern', wie er beabsichtigte. Künftig dürfte es für ihn nicht allzu schwierig sein, sich 'verständnisvoll' zu zeigen und schließlich einzuwilligen, mit den Vertretern eines besiegten und erniedrigten Volkes zu sprechen.»
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UNO-Flüchtlings-Beauftragte Ogata reist in das Kosovo
Belgrad (dpa) - Die Chefin des UNO-Flüchtlings-Hilfswerks UNHCR, Sadako Ogata, beginnt an diesem Donnerstag ihre fünftägige Balkan- Mission. Der Sender B 92 (Belgrad) meldete weiter, geplant sei auch ein Besuch Ogatas im Kosovo, um sich über die Lage der zehntausenden Flüchtlinge in der südserbischen Konfliktprovinz zu informieren.
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Kinkel: Kontaktgruppe will politische Lösung für Kosovo durchsetzen
New York (dpa) - Die internationale Kontaktgruppe hat nach den Worten von Bundesaußenminister Klaus Kinkel ihren gemeinsamen Willen zur Durchsetzung einer «politischen Lösung» für das Kosovo demonstriert. Kinkel hatte am Mittwoch abend (Ortszeit) in New York mit seinen Kollegen aus den USA, Rußland, Großbritannien, Frankreich und Italien über die Lage in der südserbischen Krisenprovinz beraten. Zuvor hatte der UN-Sicherheitsrat in einer Resolution zu einem Waffenstillstand im Kosovo aufgerufen.
     Kinkel hob nach dem Ministertreffen die Einigkeit der Kontaktgruppe hervor. Es habe sich als «richtig erwiesen, die Geduld nicht zu verlieren und Rußland im Boot zu behalten», sagte der deutsche Minister vor seiner Rückreise nach Bonn. Er fügte hinzu, die UN-Resolution biete «noch keine Rechtsgrundlage für Militärschläge».
     In der Sitzung der Außenminister drang Kinkel nach eigenen Angaben darauf, den Menschen im Kosovo noch vor dem Wintereinbruch humanitäre Hilfe zukommen zu lassen. Er habe UN-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan gebeten, den in der Resolution angeforderte Bericht über die Lage im Kosovo bereits in zwei Wochen vorzulegen.
     Die Kontaktgruppe will noch am Donnerstag auf Direktorenebene einen «speziellen Aktions- und Zeitplan» entwickeln.
     Die UN-Resolution war mit 14 Ja-Stimmen, einschließlich der Rußlands, verabschiedet worden. China enthielt sich der Stimme. Die Entschließung fordert, «daß alle Parteien, Gruppen und Individuen unverzüglich die Feindseligkeiten einstellen und einen Waffenstillstand im Kosovo aufrechterhalten».
     In der Entschließung werden die serbische Regierung und die Führung der Kosovo-Albaner auch aufgefordert, sofort unter internationaler Beteiligung einen intensiven Dialog aufzunehmen und einen Zeitplan zur Beendigung der Krise aufzustellen. Von der serbischen Führung wird außerdem verlangt, ihre Sicherheitskräfte aus dem Kosovo zurückzuziehen.
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Deutsche Zeitungen kommentieren UNO-Resolutionsentwurf zum Kosovo
Hamburg (dpa) - Die Kommentatoren vieler deutscher Tageszeitungen beschäftigen sich in den Donnerstag-Ausgaben mit der Einigung des UNO-Sicherheitsrates auf einen Resolutionsentwurf zum Konflikt im Kosovo.

«Der Tagesspiegel» (Berlin) ist der Ansicht:
«Immerhin markiert die Feststellung des UNO-Sicherheitsrates, im Kosovo würden Frieden und Sicherheit bedroht, den Abschied von der bisher mit Rücksicht auf Rußland so sorgsam gepflegten Leisetreterei gegenüber dem kleinen Pol Pot in Belgrad.
     Der Weg für mehr als nur eine wortreiche Aufforderung, die Waffen schweigen und die Menschen in ihrer Heimat zu lassen, ist eingeschlagen. Ignoriert Milosevic diese Aufforderung, muß er nun damit rechnen, daß die UNO ihn mit Moskaus Zustimmung durch Waffengewalt zum Frieden zwingen läßt.
     Offenbar beginnt auch Rußland endlich einzusehen, daß Milosevic keine seiner Versprechen, die er Boris Jelzin persönlich gemacht hat, jemals einzuhalten gedenkt. Slobodan Milosevic, so dämmert es der russischen Außenpolitik, ist kaum noch zu verteidigen, ja, die mit Glauben und Geschichte begründete Treue gegenüber den serbischen Brüdern ist längst umgeschlagen in die belastende Komplizenschaft Moskaus mit einem Mörder.»

Die bürgerliche «Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung» meint:
«Eine völkerrechtliche Grundlage für ein Eingreifen der NATO bietet die Resolution jedenfalls nicht. Sie macht bestenfalls offiziell, was als Drohung dem jugoslawischen Präsidenten längst so geläufig ist, daß er es kaum noch zur Kenntnis zu nehmen scheint.
     Nicht einmal die westlichen Verfasser dieser Resolution stimmen in deren politischer und militärischer Auslegung überein. Und in der Gewißheit, daß es eines weitaus bestimmteren Mandats des Sicherheitsrats bedürfe, fährt Rußland fort, jede Art von Gewalt zur Beendigung der serbischen Zwangsherrschaft im Kosovo abzulehnen ...
     Ob sich nach all den Drohungen und Vorbereitungen der NATO gleichwohl so etwas wie eine Eigen-Dynamik zur Zügelung Belgrads einstellen könnte, steht dahin. Nach den bisherigen Erfahrungen ist eher zu erwarten, daß in drei bis fünf Wochen die Lage der Kosovo- Albaner noch bitterer, noch hoffnungsloser geworden sein wird. »

Die den Reformkommunisten nahestehende Zeitung «Neues Deutschland» (Berlin) bemerkt:
«Noch nie gab's eine Region wie den Balkan, in der sich die NATO derart engagierte. Bewiesen wurde aber bislang nur: Auch wenn die Gegner nun Zwerge sind, Realitäten einzuschätzen - das ist auch heute noch nicht die Stärke westlicher Politiker und Militärs. Nicht nur im Kosovo.
     In Bosnien waren die Wahlen eine Pleite für die NATO-Favoriten, gerade weil der Pakt sie stützte. In Albanien sieht es düster aus. In Serbien trugen Einmischung und Druck dazu bei, daß die Rechtsextremen mitbestimmen, und Montenegros westlich gesponserter Präsident versagt auch als Hoffnungsträger.
     Gerechnet hat man stets brillant, nur aufgegangen ist nichts. Und mit der Resolution des UNO-Sicherheitsrats, auf die die Jäger der vertanen Zeit nun setzen, könnte es ebenso geschehen. So wie bis jetzt zu vernehmen war, ist sie kein Freibrief für einen Militäreinsatz, kein Sprungbrett für ein nachzureichendes Gewaltmandat, kein pures Anti-Belgrad-Pamphlet. Es scheint sogar, als würde die Realität berücksichtigt. Höchste Zeit wär's, daß man dem Balkan dieses Glück bescherte.»

Die «Heilbronner Stimme» kommentiert:
«Die letzte Warnung an Belgrad kommt spät, vielleicht zu spät. Schon sind auf dem Balkan die ersten Schneeflocken gefallen, und bald wird der Winter im gebirgigen Kosovo einziehen. 70 000 Menschen halten sich dort in Wäldern versteckt, sie wären der Kälte schutzlos ausgeliefert.
     Höchste Zeit also, daß Milosevic seinen schmutzigen Krieg gegen die albanische Bevölkerungsmehrheit in der serbischen Krisen-Provinz einstellt und die Flüchtlinge in ihre Dörfer zurückkehren läßt. Sollen Bomben ihn zwingen?
     Dies ist aus der UNO-Resolution zum Kosovo nicht herauszulesen. Aber sie bezeichnet einen Stimmungsumschwung. Milosevic wird erleben, daß sich immer mehr westliche Spitzenpolitiker jetzt für NATO- Angriffe auch ohne UNO-Mandat aussprechen werden. Eine deutsche Beteiligung könnte sogar noch zum späten Wahlkampfthema werden.»
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UN-Resolution zu Kosovo beschlossen - Nato berät über Militäraktion
New York (dpa) - Der Weltsicherheitsrat hat am Mittwoch die lange umstrittene Resolution zum Kosovo-Konflikt verabschiedet. Darin werden die Konfliktparteien aufgefordert, einen Waffenstillstand herbeizuführen und in einen ernsthaften Dialog zu treten.
     14 Mitglieder stimmten für die Resolution, darunter auch Rußland. Nur China enthielt sich der Stimme. Die Entschließung des Sicherheitsrates beruft sich auf Kapitel VII der UN-Charta, das als letztes Mittel in einem Konflikt einen militärischen Einsatz zuläßt. Die Resolution selbst enthält aber keine Ermächtigung für einen Militärschlag.
     Die Verabschiedung der Resolution wurde am Mittwoch abend in der Nato begrüßt. «Das gibt nun den Weg für die Nato frei, weitere Entscheidungen mit Blick auf gezielte Luftschläge (gegen serbische Stellungen) zu treffen», sagte ein Nato-Beamter im portugiesischen Vilamoura. Dort kommen an diesem Donnerstag die Nato-Botschafter und dann die Verteidigungsminister der Allianz zusammen.
     Die Nato-Botschafter wollen in ihrer Eigenschaft als Nato-Rat den Oberkommandierenden für Europa, den US-General Wesley Clark ermächtigen, Staffeln aus Kampfflugzeugen der Alliierten zusammenzustellen. Er wird dann die Nato-Mitglieder um die Bereitstellung der Maschinen ersuchen. Mit diesem Schritt will die Nato ihre Fähigkeit zu gezielten Luftschlägen gegen serbische Stellungen betonen. So soll Belgrad notfalls zum Einlenken im Kosovo- Konflikt gezwungen werden.
     In einem Kommentar der staatlichen jugoslawischen Nachrichtenagentur Tanjug wurde die UN-Resolution verurteilt. Die Entschließung sei ein Ergebnis des Drucks der «Mächtigen dieser Welt», hieß es in Belgrad. Der Text enthält nach Ansicht der Agentur «vollkommen unwahre» Behauptungen zur humanitären Lage in der südserbischen Krisenprovinz.
     Bei einem Treffen der Sechs-Mächte-Kontaktgruppe drang Bundesaußenminister Klaus Kinkel nach eigenen Angaben darauf, den Menschen im Kosovo noch vor dem Wintereinbruch humanitäre Hilfe zukommen zu lassen. Er habe UN-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan gebeten, den in der UN-Resolution angeforderte Bericht über die Lage im Kosovo bereits in zwei Wochen vorzulegen, sagte Kinkel in New York.
     Die Kontaktgruppe will noch am Donnerstag auf Direktorenebene einen «speziellen Aktions- und Zeitplan» entwickeln. Der Gruppe gehören Deutschland, die USA, Rußland, Großbritannien, Frankreich und Italien an.
© dpa

Sicherheitsrat beschließt Kosovo-Resolution - Keine Militäraktionen - Nato begrüßt Entschluß
New York/Vilamoura/Belgrad (dpa) - Der Weltsicherheitsrat hat am Mittwoch die lange umstrittene Resolution zum Kosovo-Konfikt verabschiedet. Sie erhielt 14 Ja-Stimmen, einschließlich der Rußlands. Nur China enthielt sich der Stimme. Die Entschließung des Sicherheitsrates beruft sich auf Kapitel VII der UN-Charta, enthält aber in den beschlossenen Formulierungen keine Ermächtigung für mögliche militärische Einsätze. Der Entwurf fordert, «daß alle Parteien, Gruppen und Individuen unverzüglich die Feindseligkeiten einstellen und einen Waffenstillstand im Kosovo aufrechterhalten».
     Die Verabschiedung der Resolution wurde am Mittwoch abend in Nato- Kreisen mit Genugtuung aufgenommen. «Das gibt nun den Weg für die Nato frei, weitere Entscheidungen mit Blick auf gezielte Luftschläge (gegen serbische Stellungen) zu treffen», erklärte ein Nato-Beamter in Vilamoura (Portugal), wo sich an diesem Donnerstag und Freitag die Nato-Verteidigungsminister treffen.
     Bevor die Minister zusammenkommen, werden sich die Nato- Botschafter als Nato-Rat zusammensetzen, um den Oberkommandierenden für Europa, der amerikanische General Wesley Clark, zu ermächtigen, Staffeln aus Kampfflugzeugen der Alliierten zusammenzustellen. Die Anfragen an die Nato-Staaten, welche und wieviele Flugzeuge sie bereitstellen können, würden noch am Donnerstag morgen verschickt, hieß es. «Dies bedeutet noch nicht, daß ein Militärschlag unmittelbar bevorsteht», erklärte der Beamte. «Aber die UN-Resolution sowie die Auflistung der Flugzeuge ist eine Schere, die sich auf (den jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan) Milosevic zubewegt».
     Außenminister Klaus Kinkel nannte die Entschließung eine «Sprungbrett-Resolution», die «knapp» vor der Billigung militärischer Einsätze liege und dem jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic «deutlich und klar sagt, bis hierher und nicht weiter.»
     Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl hält einen militärischen Nato-Einsatz im Kosovo auch ohne ein UN-Mandat für möglich. «Dies kommt auf die Entwicklung an», sagte Kohl am Mittwoch dem Zweiten Deutschen Fernsehen (ZDF). Er wolle bei einer entsprechenden Entscheidung «auf jeden Fall Moskau mit im Boot haben», sagte er.
     In der Entschließung werden die serbische Regierung und die Führung der Kosovo-Albaner auch aufgefordert, sofort unter internationaler Beteiligung einen Dialog aufzunehmen und einen Zeitplan zur Beendigung der Krise aufzustellen. Von der serbischen Führung wird außerdem verlangt, ihre Sicherheitskräfte aus dem Kosovo zurückzuziehen.
     Bei der Vorbereitung eines Militäreinsatzes wollen die USA einen Schritt weitergehen. Das Verteidigungsministerium teilte in Washington mit, die USA befürworteten eine sogenannte Aktivierungsvorwarnung in der Nato. Mit der Vorwarnung würden die Nato-Mitglieder von den Anforderungen unterrichtet, «die sie als ihren Teil mit Streitkräften nach diesem Plan zu leisten hätten», erläuterte Ministeriums-Sprecher Kenneth Bacon.
     Jugoslawien sei entschlossen, seine Unabhängigkeit und territoriale Integrität «bis zum Ende» zu verteidigen, sagte der serbische Republikspräsident Milan Milutinovic am Mittwoch. «Die (albanischen) Terroristen und ihre Anstifter im Ausland haben falsch gerechnet, ungestraft unsere Integrität bedrohen zu können», sagte Milutinovic, der Armee- und Polizeieinheiten im Kosovo besuchte.
     Bei der serbischen Armee- und Polizeioffensive im Kosovo kamen seit Dienstag mindesten 14 Albaner ums Leben. Das berichtete das albanische Kosovo- Informationszentrum in Pristina am Mittwoch abend. Durch die andauernden Artillerieangriffe seien mindesten 30 Menschen verletzt worden. Die Serben griffen nach diesen Angaben Gebiete am Cicavica- Gebirge und rund um Kosovska Mitrovica, Srbica und Glogovac an. Zehntausende von Menschen seien vor den serbischen Sicherheitskräften auf der Flucht.
© dpa

Tanjug: UN-Kosovo-Resolution Ergebnis des Drucks der «Mächtigen»
Belgrad (dpa) - Die vom Weltsicherheitsrat verabschiedete Resolution zum Kosovo-Konfikt ist in einem Kommentar der staatlichen jugoslawischen Nachrichtenagentur Tanjug am späten Mittwoch abend verurteilt worden. Die Entschließung sei ein Ergebnis des Drucks der «Mächtigen dieser Welt», heißt es in Belgrad. Der Text enthält nach Ansicht der Agentur «vollkommen unwahre» Behauptungen zur humanitären Lage in der südserbischen Krisenprovinz. «In der Resolution ist der Ton von Drohungen (von militärischen Schlägen) sehr deutlich», heißt es weiter.
© dpa

Österreichischer Botschafter künftiger EU-Beauftragter für Kosovo
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Der Botschafter Österreichs in Jugoslawien, Wolfgang Petrisch, ist der zukünftige Beauftragter der Europäischen Union (EU) für den Kosovo.
     Er soll die Mission Anfang Oktober übernehmen, sagte er dem politischen Führer der Kosovo-Albaner, Ibrahim Rugova, berichtet am Mittwoch abend da albanische Kosovo-Informationszentrum aus Pristina.
     Diese Ernennung seitens der 15 EU-Außenminister erfolgte am Rande der UNO-Vollversammlung in New York am Dienstag. Petritsch soll unter anderem auch mit dem US-Vermittler im Kosovo, Christopher Hill, zusammenarbeiten, meldete die Nachrichtenagentur Beta (Belgrad).
© dpa

BACK to Part 1

Betreff:         [ALBANEWS] NEWS: 09-24. /B/
Datum:         Thu, 24 Sep 1998 12:27:36 -0400
    Von:         Sokol Rama <sokolrama@sprynet.com>
Taken without permission, for fair use only.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

               KOSOVA
NATO Allies Ratchet Up Plan For Kosovo Action
NATO Warns Milosevic; Bonn Urges Ultimatum
NATO prepares to act in Kosovo
Will NATO Intervene?
NATO prepares for possible air strikes in Kosovo
Russia Hails U.N. Resolution on Kosovo
Eurocouncil Chief Wants to Bar Belgrade Over Kosovo
Russian Duma Condemns Armed Actions in Kosovo ....
Kosovo "Activation Warning" Is Step Three of Eight

               TIRANA
Albanian PM Seeks Confidence Vote from Party

               FYROM
Cohen Traveling to Europe, Morocco
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday September 24 7:39 AM EDT
NATO Allies Ratchet Up Plan For Kosovo Action
By Douglas Hamilton

VILAMOURA, Portugal (Reuters) - NATO Thursday followed up a tough United Nations resolution demanding a cease-fire in Kosovo with an order to the allies to ready their air forces for possible military intervention.
     The Western alliance said it had not yet taken a decision to use force in Kosovo but was moving to an increased level of military preparedness for possible action should Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic flout the U.N. demands.
     The mandatory U.N. resolution, adopted Wednesday, and NATO's latest threat to intervene end three months of hesitation by the international community during which fighting in Kosovo escalated and a tens of thousands of civilians fled their homes.
     No deadline has been set for military intervention, which the allies would prefer to avoid. But unless Milosevic complies quickly, winter cold threatens to decimate some 50,000 ethnic Albanian civilians now hiding in the forests.
     "Just a few moments ago, the North Atlantic Council approved the issuing of an activation warning for both a limited air option and a phased air campaign in Kosovo," NATO secretary general Javier Solana said in a statement.
     The move would allow NATO commanders to identify the assets, including aircraft and ships, required for strikes that could begin with a warning salvo of cruise missiles and move up if necessary to bombing waves using hundreds of planes.
     "Let me stress that the use of force will require further decisions by the North Atlantic Council," Solana said.
     "But today's decision is an important political signal of NATO's readiness to use force if it becomes a necessity to do so."
     The Western alliance has called repeatedly for a political settlement in Kosovo which would give its 1.6 million ethnic Albanian people a large degree of self-determination but not the independence most want.
     Voicing firm backing for the Security Council resolution, Solana reiterated the resolution's demands -- that Milosevic must stop his repressive actions against the population, must seek a political solution to the Kosovo crisis together with its ethnic Albanian majority, and must take immediate steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation.
     The NATO council, made up of countries' permanent representatives to the 16-nation alliance, issued the so-called "activation warning" in the Portuguese resort of Vilamoura ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers who were expected to discuss individual members' contribution to any eventual action.
     The NATO allies are divided, however, on what would constitute sufficient legal grounds for intervening in Kosovo, which is a province of Serbia in the Yugoslav federation.
     The U.N. resolution does not explicitly authorize force. Some NATO allies believe a further ruling by the supreme council of the world body would be required before NATO could legally act, but others including the United States assert that "in extremis" the allies have a right to intervene.
     Milosevic insists his forces have a right and a duty to counter the secessionist insurgency begun seven months ago by the Kosovo Liberation Army.
     But Western powers and Russia say he has used excessive force, deliberately destroying ethnic Albanian villages and creating a humanitarian emergency for 275,000 people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday September 24 9:38 AM EDT
NATO Warns Milosevic; Bonn Urges Ultimatum
By Douglas Hamilton

VILAMOURA, Portugal (Reuters) - NATO Thursday reinforced a tough United Nations resolution demanding a cease-fire in Kosovo with an order to the allies to ready their air forces for possible military intervention.
     The Western alliance said it had not yet taken a decision to use force in Kosovo and issued no deadline for Belgrade to comply.
     But Germany told its partners they should set an ultimatum by the end of the month, or face a massive blow to NATO credibility and a humanitarian catastrophe as 50,000 Kosovo refugees who are living in the open start to die in the cold.
     The NATO order moves the alliance to an increased level of military preparedness for possible action should Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic flout the U.N. demands.
     "Just a few moments ago, the North Atlantic Council approved the issuing of an activation warning for both a limited air option and a phased air campaign in Kosovo," NATO secretary general Javier Solana said in a statement.
     The move would allow NATO commanders to identify the assets, including aircraft and ships, required for strikes that could begin with a warning salvo of cruise missiles and move up if necessary to bombing waves using hundreds of planes.
     "Let me stress that the use of force will require further decisions by the North Atlantic Council," Solana said.
     "But today's decision is an important political signal of NATO's readiness to use force if it becomes a necessity to do so."
     German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe told his NATO counterparts the allies should quickly set "a trigger" and "formulate an ultimatum" to Belgrade.
     "Belgrade is clearly conducting a war against its own people," he said.
     Ruehe told reporters the credibility of NATO was on the line and said: "We must move quickly to an ultimatum in the next 10 days...we must do something for the people on the ground and not issue one resolution after another."
     If Milosevic failed to comply, the allies must strike, preferably with a United Nations mandate but without it if need be, Ruehe said.
     He quoted a "bitter" Solana as telling the defense ministers how the Serbs were mocking NATO inaction as Belgrade's forces burned village after village in Kosovo. Solana had quoted one Serb diplomat as joking "a village a day keeps NATO away."
     Wednesday's mandatory U.N. resolution and NATO's latest threat to intervene end three months of hesitation by the international community during which fighting in Kosovo escalated and tens of thousands of civilians fled their homes.
     Ruehe said the alliance could not afford to sit still until the next meeting while the fate of tens of thousands hangs in the balance in Kosovo, where winter cold threatens to decimate some 50,000 ethnic Albanian civilians now hiding in the forests.
     The Western alliance has called repeatedly for a political settlement in Kosovo which would give its 1.6 million ethnic Albanian people a large degree of self-determination but not the independence most want.
     Voicing firm backing for the Security Council resolution, Solana reiterated its demands -- that Milosevic must stop his repressive actions against the population, must seek a political solution to the Kosovo crisis together with its ethnic Albanian majority, and must take immediate steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation.
     The NATO council, made up of countries' permanent representatives to the 16-nation alliance, issued the so-called "activation warning" in the Portuguese resort of Vilamoura ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers who were expected to discuss individual members' contribution to any eventual action.
     The NATO allies are divided, however, on what would constitute sufficient legal grounds for intervening in Kosovo, which is a province of Serbia in the Yugoslav federation.
     The U.N. resolution does not explicitly authorize force. Some NATO allies believe a further ruling by the supreme council of the world body would be required before NATO could legally act, but others including the United States assert that "in extremis" the allies have a right to intervene.
     Milosevic insists his forces have a right and a duty to counter the secessionist insurgency begun seven months ago by the Kosovo Liberation Army.
     But Western powers and Russia say he has used excessive force, deliberately destroying ethnic Albanian villages and creating a humanitarian emergency for 275,000 people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSNBC/YAHOO
Thursday September 24 9:22 AM ET
NATO prepares to act in Kosovo

VILAMOURA, Portugal - NATO on Thursday followed up a tough United Nations resolution demanding a cease-fire in Kosovo with an order to the allies to ready their air forces for possible military intervention. The Western alliance said it had not yet taken a decision to use force in Kosovo but was moving to an increased level of military preparedness for possible action should Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic flout the U.N. demands.
     The mandatory U.N. resolution, adopted on Wednesday, and NATO's latest threat to intervene end three months of hesitation by the international community during which fighting in Kosovo has escalated and tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes.
     The U.N. Security Council resolution, passed 14-0, came amid growing fear that thousands of refugees may die if the fighting continues through the winter.
     The resolution is intended to increase pressure on Milosevic to loosen his grip on Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians are fighting Serb forces for independence. It calls for the Serb and ethnic Albanian leadership to negotiate a political settlement but it does not set a formal deadline.
     U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who blamed Milosevic for bringing Kosovo to "the brink of a human catastrophe," said the international community has now spoken with one voice and made it clear that if Belgrade does not choose to end offensive operations, it must be compelled to do so.
     "After [Wednesday's] vote, Belgrade should know that we have the will and unity as well - for thousands of lives are at stake," she said.
     China, which traditionally opposes intervening in what it considers internal disputes, abstained from the vote.
     "We do not see the situation in Kosovo as a threat to international peace and security," said Chinese ambassador Qin Huasun.
     The NATO allies are divided, however, on what would constitute sufficient legal grounds for intervening in Kosovo, which is a province of Serbia in the Yugoslav federation.
     The U.N. resolution does not explicitly authorize force. Some NATO allies believe a further ruling by the supreme council of the world body would be required before NATO could legally act, but others including the United States assert that "in extremis" the allies have a right to intervene.
     China, which traditionally opposes intervening in what it considers internal disputes, abstained from the vote.
     The NATO council, made up of countries' permanent representatives to the 16-nation alliance, issued the so-called "activation warning" in the Portuguese resort of Vilamoura ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers who were expected to discuss individual members' contribution to any eventual action.
     German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, said Tuesday that it was time to take action against Milosevic, whose Serb forces began a crackdown in February on Kosovo Albanians.
     "He must realize that the international community will react with military force if necessary," Kinkel said.
     Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schussel, speaking on behalf of the European Union, demanded Milosevic withdraw from Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of the population. He called for negotiations between the two sides as soon as possible to "define a new status for Kosovo."
     Western nations support reinstating autonomy for Kosovo, which Milosevic abolished in 1989. But he has steadfastly rejected the campaign for independence now being waged by the Kosovo Liberation Army and the Albanian nationals who are supplying them arms.
     The fighting has killed hundreds of people and uprooted more than 250,000 people who, now hungry and cold, could become the world's next humanitarian crisis. Snow fell in the Balkans this week.
     Top officials of Milosevic's Socialist Party, including Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, have dismissed reports of a looming humanitarian disaster in Kosovo, saying they presented an "excuse for continuation of pressure on our country."
     The Security Council resolution demands Milosevic allow international monitoring in Kosovo and the safe return of refugees.
     Russia, which has opposed force in the past, went along with the resolution because it didn't specifically authorize military intervention, Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov said.
     "No measures of force, and no sanctions at this stage are being introduced by the Security Council," he said during the council meeting.
     Britain and the United States, however, saw the resolution as the first step in cracking down on Milosevic.
     The resolution "sends a clear, unequivocal message to the authorities in Belgrade that the council is demanding that they change their behavior and live up to their responsibilities with regard to the political and humanitarian situation in Kosovo," said deputy U.S. Ambassador Peter Burleigh.
     British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, in a statement, welcomed the resolution and took particular note that Russia voted in favor.
     "The resolution sends a clear signal that the international community's patience is exhausted," Cook said.
     The resolution cites Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for the use of force by member states if regional peace and security is threatened. Nevertheless, there is no explicit authorization for member states to intervene.
     The resolution says only that "the council would consider further action and additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability in the region," if a political settlement isn't reached.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

While Kosovo Crumbles, NATO Plans
Will NATO Intervene?
By Barbara Starr
ABCNEWS.com

W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 24 — As Kosovo slides into worsening violence and a brutal winter approaches, NATO is quietly preparing for attacks—in case leaders decide to ever actually order them—and a way to bring aid to stranded refugees.
 When NATO defense ministers meet in Portugal today and Friday, the question of what to do about Kosovo tops the list of difficult problems. When the ministers sit at the conference table they will confront a looming humanitarian disaster.
     As the winter snows approach, more than 250,000 displaced ethnic Albanians in the area have been forced out of their villages in Kosovo by the military and security forces of Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

Refugees Too Scared to Go Home
The United States also estimates that there are more than 40,000 Kosovars who have fled across the border to Montenegro. U.S. officials say many of the them are simply too frightened of Milosevic’s forces to return to their homes.
     “The concern is finding ways to get shelter and food to refugees or displaced people before winter begins, and if we can’t get them adequate shelter, to find ways to take care of them during what could be a severe winter,” said Kenneth Bacon, the Pentagon spokesman.
     There are two options for distributing food and relief supplies. One would be air drops, the other would involve moving supplies in over the mountain roads and then using relief agencies for distribution.

NATO Wary of Relief Convoys
NATO leaders are wary, however, of returning to the days of the U.N. Protection Force in Bosnia, when relief convoys were often halted by fighting. However, air drops are often inefficient, especially when refugess are spread out over large areas.
 
As the winter snows approach, more than 250,000 displaced ethnic Albanians have been forced out of their villages in Kosovo by the military and security forces of Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic. (Magellan Geographix/ ABCNEWS.com) The NATO ministerial meeting is not expected to announce any major new decisions about Kosovo. But behind the scenes a number of discussions are expected.
     Although it hasn’t agreed on the use of force NATO has already approved plans for a so-called “air operation” that could involve cruise missile or aircraft attacks against Serb targets in an effort to press Milosevic to come to the bargaining table and at least offer Kosovo some autonomy.

No Cease-Fire Likely Soon
NATO also has approved a plan for monitoring and maintaining a cease-fire, if one is reached. But U.S. officials stress that they have not committed to NATO to send U.S. ground forces into Kosovo to participate in a cease-fire.
     And with a cease-fire between Serb and ethnic Albanian forces unlikely anytime soon, NATO is still far from ready to take military action. U.S. military officials are warning NATO privately not to undertake military action unless the alliance is prepared to significantly ratchet up the firepower and conduct an extended campaign against the Serbs.
     However, the United States is now pressing for NATO members to undertake what is called an “activation and warning” notice that would force each country in NATO to state which aircraft and units it would be willing to send into an air operation.

Air Force Practicing for Attack
U.S. Air Force pilots for months have been quietly using three-dimensional computer simulations to practice possible air missions over the region.
     While NATO ministers will debate the issue at the end of the week, no one is sure what could convince the alliance that the situation is so bad in Kosovo they must undertake a military operation.
     For the United States, the warning signs will be whether the refugee population grows and suffering continues, and the rate and intensity of attacks on the ethnic Albanians by the Serb forces.
     But so far, NATO has not yet decided just how much suffering will be enough before they step in.
     Other News: Yugoslav army and Serb police forces strike deeper into the last pockets of separatist Kosovo Albanian resistance. The U.N. Security Council demands an immediate cease-fire and negotiations to end the conflict in Kosovo. Only China abstains in the 14-0 vote. Serbian President Milan Milutinovic warns that federal Yugoslavia would defend itself if NATO attacked. Ahmet Krasniqi, senior military commander of the ethnic Albanian government in Serbia's province of Kosovo who was shot dead by masked men in Albania, is buried. Germany tells NATO it should set an ultimatum by the end of the month, or face a massive blow to its credibility and a humanitarian disaster as 250,000 refugees living in the open start to die in the cold
------------------------------------------------------------------------

NATO prepares for possible air strikes in Kosovo
CNN
Portugal   September 24, 1998
Web posted at: 9:41 a.m. EDT (1341 GMT)

VILAMOURA, Portugal (CNN) -- NATO ambassadors have agreed to prepare their air forces for possible strikes against Yugoslavia if Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic continues his offensive against ethnic Albanian rebels in Kosovo province.
     The ambassadors, meeting in a special session, approved an "activation warning," preparing for both "limited" and "phased" air strikes against Yugoslavia.
     NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana said it "takes NATO to an increased level of military preparedness" by asking military commanders to identify participating countries and the kind of hardware they will put at NATO's disposal.
     "Let me stress that the use of force will require further decisions" by the NATO governments, Solana told reporters.
     To date, only Germany and The Netherlands have announced they will contribute jet fighters for the mission.
     The action came 12 hours after a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Milosevic stop attacks against ethnic Albanian rebels in Kosovo province.
     Fighting has forced 300,000 people from their homes across Kosovo, including some 50,000 who are camped out in the countryside in primitive conditions.

U.N. resolution ends months of hesitation
The Security Council resolution Wednesday ended months of hesitation by the international community, during which time fighting in Kosovo escalated. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes.
     The resolution called for a cease-fire in Kosovo, and threatened further action if fighting continues. It also urged both sides to start negotiating a solution and demanded that Milosevic allow international monitoring and the safe return of refugees.
     In recent months, NATO officials have made tough statements but that has not been enough to get Milosevic to back down in his offensive against separatist ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
     "This is the last clear warning that should not be underestimated by anyone ... Increasingly, people realize that a lot of time has been wasted," said German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe.
     Solana said the NATO allies warmly welcomed the U.N. resolution, which passed by a 14-0 vote, with only China abstaining in the Security Council.
     In recent months, the NATO allies have disagreed over whether or not they need a formal mandate from the United Nations before beginning military action in Kosovo.
     The latest U.N. resolution cited Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for the use of force if regional peace and security is threatened. It did not explicitly authorize member states to intervene in Kosovo and said "the council would consider further action and additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability in the region," if no political deal is reached.
     France has been pushing hard for U.N. endorsement of any military action. The United States believes no such mandate is required. In Germany, Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and Ruehe -- in the heat of a general election campaign -- have disagreed publicly on the issue.
     Military Affairs Correspondent Jaime McIntyre, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Russia Hails U.N. Resolution on Kosovo
Xinhua  24-SEP-98

MOSCOW (Sept. 24) XINHUA - Russia Thursday welcomed the United Nations Security Council resolution on the issue of Kosovo, Yugoslavia, the Interfax news agency reported.
     The Foreign Ministry said in a news release that "there is no reasonable alternative to a peaceful settlement in Kosovo."
     The U.N. resolution adopted Wednesday calls for a negotiated settlement of the conflict between official Serb forces and ethnic Albanians in the southern Yugoslav province.
     While calling for Kosovo to stay within the Yugoslav federation, it demands extensive autonomy for the province.
     The Russian ministry said the U.N. resolution introduced no new sanctions against Yugoslavia, and gave no green light for the use of force demanded by some members of the U.N. Security Council.
     "Use of force..., especially if it bypasses the U.N. Security Council, is fraught with dangerous destabilization in the Balkan region and the whole of Europe," the ministry said.
     Russia, as permanent member of the Security Council, is still able to keep developments under control, the ministry said.
     Meanwhile, in response to NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana's statement that NATO was ready to start limited air force operations in Kosovo, Chairman Gennady Seleznyov of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said: "If this happens, Russia will make a strong protest."
     He said no one has the right to launch air strikes at Kosovo unless authorized by the U.N. Security Council.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eurocouncil Chief Wants to Bar Belgrade Over Kosovo
Reuters  24-SEP-98

STRASBOURG, FRANCE, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Leni Fischer threatened on Thursday to bar Yugoslavia's application for the Council of Europe if Belgrade did not desist from military action in Kosovo.
     "If Belgrade does not immediately end military operations against the civilian population of Kosovo, the application for Council of Europe membership made by the Federal republic of Yugoslavia on March 19 must be rejected by a democratic Europe," she said in a Council debate.
     "I appeal once again to President Slobodan Milosevic to put an end to this tragedy and start genuine negotiations with the Albanians of Kosovo.
     "Thorough democratic reforms are necessary in the FRY (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) if the country wishes to join the community of European democracies," she said.
     "Anyone wishing to be part of the great family of European democracies cannot regard the warnings of the international community as interference in their internal affairs," she added.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duma Condemns Armed Actions in Kosovo without UN Sanction.
Itar-Tass  24-SEP-98

MOSCOW, September 24 (Itar-Tass) - State Duma speaker Gennady Seleznyov regards as impermissible any NATO combat operation in Kosovo without the U.N. Security Council's sanction.
     "If this happens, Russia will make a strong protest," Seleznyov told journalists on Thursday. The Duma speaker commented on the statement of NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, who said that NATO was ready to start limited airforce operations in Kosovo.
     "No one has the right to deal air blows at Kosovo without a sanction of the Security Council," he stressed.
---------------------------------------------------

Kosovo "Activation Warning" Is Step Three of Eight
Reuters  24-SEP-98

VILAMOURA, Portugal, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The decision taken by NATO on Thursday on Kosovo is the third of eight steps needed before any planes or cruise missiles would ever take off and attack Serbian military installations in the province.
     Known in NATO jargon as an "activation warning," it is a relatively early stage in the tortuous planning and preparation which the 16-nation North Atlantic alliance has to go through before it launches any joint military operation.
     NATO officials say the aim is to show Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that their threats of intervention are not hollow, but not to imply that attacks are imminent.
     The first step, taken earlier this year, came when politicians asked General Wesley Clark, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, to start the planning process.
     Clark then told an operational commander to produce an "initial statement of force requirements"-- a list of the forces he would need to carry out the mission.
     The mission in this case would be air strikes to force a ceasefire between the Milosevic's security forces and ethnic Albanian separatist guerrillas in Kosovo.
     The North Atlantic Council, which groups the permanent representatives to NATO, on Thursday gave the supreme commander authority to release the activation warning.
     "This allows us at SHAPE (the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe) to establish formal contact with the nations usually by sending them a draft statement of requirements," according to a SHAPE explanation.
     This draft statement lays out the military forces needed in more detail.
     In fact Clark has already canvassed member states informally on what they could provide. Germany has said it could provide 14 Tornado planes and the Netherlands has offered eight F-16s, NATO diplomatic sources said.
     The next step is a "force generation conference" chaired by the deputy supreme commander. "Not long after this conference ... the ACTREQ (activation request) would be issued," SHAPE said.
     This is a formal request that the member states commit the forces they promised at the conference.
     Then, in a process known as FORCEPREPS, members send back written responses saying what they can contribute and stating any limitations on what their forces can do.
     The last step in preparations is the "activation order," known as an ACTORD, which sets a date for the operation.
     NATO planning on Kosovo was already under way in May. A contingency plan for air strikes was approved on August 4, followed by a plan for ground troops to enforce an eventual ceasefire on September 9, U.S. officials said.
     NATO officials, anxious to show Milosevic they are serious, have portrayed the activation warning as a milestone. "It ups the ante. It turns paper into planes," one official said.
     But they simultaneously do not want to raise false hopes among the Kosovo Albanians and their sympathisers.
     "It doesn't mean we are going to attack tomorrow," said a U.S. official.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved.
--------------------------------------

Albanian PM Seeks Confidence Vote from Party
Reuters  24-SEP-98

TIRANA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano, reeling from a brief opposition-led uprising last week, on Thursday sought a vote of confidence from his party's leadership in him and his coalition government.
     Nano met senior members of his ruling Socialist Party in Tirana, saying he wanted to reaffirm their trust in his authority before releasing a three-month plan to strengthen governance in the chaotic, poor Balkan country.
     The plan targets law and order, economic stability, corruption and the constitution as a way of tackling chronic instability.
     "I want to reconfirm my mandate as prime minister and to continue the work with the partners of the coalition," he told reporters. "I am convinced that I have not lost the confidence and trust of the party.
     "This confidence vote is not personal. This situation will be overcome through strengthening governance and the necessary improvement in the government," he added.
     Nano's 14-month-old government barely escaped opposition violence last week when supporters of the Democratic Party, which is led by former president Sali Berisha, looted shops and burnt government buildings.
     Nano said Berisha incited the violence and has accused him of attempting a coup, a charge Berisha has rejected as "fantasy."
     The unrest flared after the murder of a senior Berisha aide, Azem Hajdari, on September 12. The opposition has blamed the government for his death.
     A joint statement from the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the Western European Union on Wednesday said the opposition and the government should reform and begin dialogue.
     "The slow and unsatisfactory performance of the government does not justify all-out confrontation and the use of violence by any of the opposition parties. Genuine political dialogue is necessary," the statement read.
     Berisha has led daily protests in Tirana since last week calling for Nano's resignation.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved.
-------------

Cohen Traveling to Europe, Morocco
AP  21-SEP-98

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary William Cohen will travel to Europe, Bosnia, Macedonia and Morocco starting next week, the Pentagon said Monday.
     Cohen will depart Sept. 23 and attend a two-day informal gathering of NATO defense ministers in Portugal.
     On Sept. 26, he will meet with Balkan defense officials in Skopje, Macedonia, in bilateral sessions.
     While in Macedonia, Cohen plans to visit the 350 U.S. soldiers who comprise about half of the United Nations peacekeeping force stationed there. He will then fly to Rome.
     Cohen will meet Sept. 27 in Bosnia with the U.N. High Representative Carlos Westendorp, U.N. refugee officials and U.S. military commanders posted there, officials said.
     The defense secretary will then return to Rome and is scheduled to travel to Morocco on Sept. 29.

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

Taken without permission, for fair use only.

KOSOVA
Nato steps towards Kosovo action
Ogata to meet Milosevic after Serb sweep in Kosovo
Serb offensive continues
UN Threats Don't Deter Serb Forces
NYT:Security Council Tells Serbs to Stop Kosovo Offensive
NYT:Serbs Continue Attacks on Kosovo Albanians
NYT:U.S. Urging NATO to Step Up Plans to Act Against Yugoslavia
TIMES:UN backs Britain on Kosovo ceasefire
TIRANA
Funeral for slain Kosovo commander in Albania
__________________________________________________

Thursday, September 24, 1998 Published at 12:36 GMT 13:36 UK
Nato steps towards Kosovo action

Nato has taken the first formal step towards military intervention in the Kosovo crisis.
     The announcement comes one day after the UN adopted a strong resolution calling on Serbia to halt its offensive against ethnic Albanians in its southern province of Kosovo and to start negotiating with them.
     Nato Secretary-General Javier Solana said: "The North Atlantic Council has approved the issuing of an activation warning for both a limited air option and a phased air campaign in Kosovo."
     But as the announcment was being made there were also fresh reports of Serb attacks.
     Serbian forces are said to have continued advances into the last pockets of Kosovo resistance.
     Serb police sources are reported to have split in two the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army forces by taking control of a main road passing through the group's last stronghold.
     The activation warning will allow Nato commanders to identify the assets required for any future Kosovo operation.
     The use of force will require further discussions by the North Atlantic Council but Mr Solana said the first step was an important signal of intent to Serbia.
     Nato defence ministers are expected to endorse the activation meeting when they meet in Portugal on Thursday.
     The decision is being described as a building-block towards military intervention.
     Mr Solana's declaration also contained a strongly-worded appeal to Yugoslavia's President Slobodan Milosevic to stop repressive actions against the civilian population.
     The BBC's Andre Vornic, in Vilamoura for the Nato meeting, said there is a feeling that military action may soon be called upon to enforce legal instruments put in place against President Milosevic.
     Shortly after the declaration:
        •Holland promised F-16 squadrons.
        •Germany promised 14 Tornado planes.
        •Portugal made one frigate available as well as three F-16 planes and 100 men.
     The Western alliance has repeatedly called for a political settlement in Kosovo which would give its 1.6 million ethnic Albanian people a large degree of self-determination but not the independence most want.
     President Milosevic insists his forces have a right to tackle secessionist insurgency from the Kosovo Liberation Army within Serbia's borders.
     But Western powers say he has used excessive force, deliberately destroying ethnic Albanian villages and creating a humanitarian emergency for 275,000 people.
__________________________________________________

Ogata to meet Milosevic after Serb sweep in Kosovo
05:37 a.m. Sep 24, 1998 Eastern

GENEVA, Sept 24 (Reuters) - United Nations refugee chief Sadako Ogata begins a six-day trip to the Balkans on Thursday and will hold talks later in the day with President Slobodan Milosevic about the crisis in Kosovo, a spokesman said.
     Spokesman Kris Janowski, who will acccompany Ogata on the trip which follows a Serbian security forces offensive in northern Kosovo, said she was due to meet Milosevic at about 3:30 p.m. (1330 GMT).
     On Wednesday, Milosevic was put on notice by the Security Council to call off his offensive and enter a political dialogue with leaders of the Serbian province's ethnic Albanian majority.
     The resolution demands a ceasefire and the start of negotiations to end the conflict. It was adopted under the mandatory provisions of Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which provides for possible punitive measures in the event of non-compliance.
     The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees will hold talks with ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova in Pristina on Saturday, Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic on Sunday in Podgorica, with Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano on Monday in Tirana, and with Albanian President Rexhep Meidani on Tuesday.
     "The purpose is to ask for access, to push her call for a cessation of hostilities and a political settlement and essentially to scream to the world again that it is a disastrous humanitarian situation getting worse by the day..." Janowski told a news briefing on Tuesday in Geneva.
     Fighting in Kosovo, where the Kosovo Liberation Army is seeking the independence of an ethnic Albanian-majority region, has claimed about 700 lives. It has forced up to 300,000 people to flee their homes, including 18,000 now in Albania.
     Fighting continued on Wednesday, with a Serbian assault on ethnic Albanian villages to the east and west of Mount Cicavica, northwest of Kosovo's capital Pristina. The ethnic Albanian-run Kosovo Information Centre said that on Tuesday and Wednesday 27 people were killed and 29 injured in the mountain region.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
__________________________________________________

Thursday, September 24, 1998 Published at 12:36 GMT 13:36 UK
Serb offensive continues

Serb artillery has continued attacking the last stronghold of the Kosovo Liberation Army as Nato announced it was gearing up for air strikes.
     Troops have reportedly advanced deeper into the Drenica region of Kosovo, burning villages as they press forwards.
     The BBC's David Loyn in Kosovo: "Woods are full of people who are too frightened to go home"Serb police sources said they have split up the remaining KLA forces by taking control of a main road that passes through the region.
     The offensive began before the United Nations adopted a resolution calling for a negotiated settlement.
     The Serb offensive is concentrated in two areas and has reportedly captured at least six villages.
     The ethnic Albanians' Kosovo Information Centre said eight other villages had been burned while 20,000 people fled their homes.
     Drenica is the heart of the rebellion against Serbia and the last major stronghold of rebels fighting for Kosovo's independence from Serbia.
     The Serb offensive began as the six-nation Contact Group increased pressure on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to halt the crackdown in Kosovo.
     But Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, who visited Kosovo on Wednesday, said that the world should rather put pressure on Albania because it provides bases for the "terrorists".
     "The terrorists and their supporters abroad were wrong when they thought they could violate the integrity of our country and go unpunished," he said.
     Our correspondent in Kosovo says that Mr Milosevic has ignored similar warnings from the international community before, and instead of delcaring a ceasefire, he is trying to make as many military gains as he can before winter makes these sort of operations virtually impossible.

Refugee crisis looming
Winter is also feared by aid agencies and the UN High Commission for Refugees, which is sending a high level delegation to see President Milosevic.
     Kris Janowski, from UNHCR, said: "The message will be that there is a humanitarian disaster in the making.
     "The situation is grim with more and more people being displaced virtually every day."
     The group is to call for unimpeded access to refugees and a halt to the destruction of property.
     Aid workers say many of the estimated 250,000 refugees who fled the conflict still have no shelter.
     And those who have, live in appalling conditions. A Western aid worker said that people in Drenica were already packed 100 to a house.
     "If there are any more refugees, we just cannot handle it here," said the aid worker.
     As winter approaches, starvation is a serious threat to the refugees, who are still leaving their homes.
     Diplomats and aid agencies say houses are being burnt indiscriminately, apparently in order to drive people away.
     The tactic contradicts the stated Serb position that all refugees should return.
     Serbian security forces claim they have already stabilised the situation and ethnic Albanian refugees have already started returning to their homes.
     The Serb authorities have established 14 aid centres to encourage the return of refugees, but our correspondent says most people are too afraid to go back.
__________________________________________________

September 24, 1998
UN Threats Don't Deter Serb Forces
Filed at 8:38 a.m. EDT
By The Associated Press

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Yugoslav army and Serb police forces struck deeper into the last pockets of separatist Kosovo Albanian resistance today, ignoring U.N. and NATO moves that edged open the door for a military strike against them.
     Artillery boomed across the central Drenica region of the Serbian province, and Serb police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they split the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army forces by taking over a main road that passes through the last stronghold of Kosovo Albanian resistance.
     Pristina's Serb-controlled Media Center said police had "closed the ring around strong groups of Albanian extremists," destroying their bases in 15 villages in the region.
     The offensive eased later in the day, but it was impossible to determine whether that had occurred in response to new signs of U.N. and NATO determination to stop the bloodshed.
     A U.N. Security Council warning Wednesday threatened further action unless the fighting stopped. While not specifically mandating NATO action, the resolution opened the way for international approval of involvement by the military alliance.
     NATO ambassadors meeting in Portugal approved increased planning today for air strikes in Kosovo. NATO will begin asking military commanders to identify participating countries and the kind of weapons they will put at NATO's disposal.
     Secretary-General Javier Solana said the decision takes NATO "to an increased level of military preparedness" without actually approving the use of force.
     NATO sources said a number of nations, including Germany and the Netherlands, already have committed men and aircraft to any future military action against Yugoslavia.
     In Belgrade, the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug quoted Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic as saying the resolution was "groundless and counterproductive" and that the Kosovo crisis could not be settled "with the use of force."
     Serb police and the Yugoslav army are close to wiping out all KLA resistance after a seven-month military campaign in Kosovo, a province of Serbia, the largest of Yugoslavia's two republics.
     Ethnic Albanians -- 90 percent of Kosovo's population -- are overwhelmingly in favor of independence. World powers back autonomy for Kosovo instead, arguing that independence can be achieved only through prolonged, and spreading, bloodshed.
     Most victims of the military campaign have been ethnic Albanian civilians. More than 275,000 people have been driven from hundreds of destroyed villages.
     The risk to refugees facing the harsh Balkan winter is driving Western efforts to get a commitment from Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to end the government offensive and permit mass refugee returns.
     Refugee numbers were swollen by the latest fighting, with up to 20,000 civilians fleeing their homes in the Drenica area, west and southwest of Pristina.
     Many refugees increasingly agree that Western actions should focus on helping feed them or keeping them safe from police. Air strikes to stop the Serb offensive might come too late for refugees who need help now, they say.
     "I love NATO," says Xhavit Rudi, a 30-year-old farmer who lost his house, cows and tractor to the scorched-earth campaign by Serb security forces. "But make them know that people are dying. It's very late."
     Many Serb police fighting in Kosovo shrug off the possibility of NATO intervention. Since late July, Serb forces started using heavy artillery, Katyusha rockets and Russian-made tanks in an offensive that devastated western Kosovo.
     "You're going to bomb us?" taunts a wiry Serb police officer guarding a main highway. His colleagues, wielding Kalashnikov assault rifles, gather around and laugh.
     He moved his left hand to represent a NATO fighter jet. He pretended his right hand was an anti-aircraft missile that swooped into its target.
     The direct hit elicits a chuckle.
     "What do you think?" the policeman said. "Will NATO come?"
__________________________________________________

September 24, 1998
Security Council Tells Serbs to Stop Kosovo Offensive
NYTIMES
By BARBARA CROSSETTE

UNITED NATIONS -- The Security Council sent a warning to President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia on Wednesday to stop Serbian attacks on civilians in the ethnically Albanian Kosovo region or face international intervention.
     Only China did not support the resolution, saying that the Kosovo crisis was an internal matter for Yugoslavia, which was acting within its "legitimate rights."
     The resolution, which calls for an immediate cease-fire and the opening of negotiations between the Serbian-dominated Yugoslav army and the Albanian separatists of the Kosovo Liberation Army, did not specify what comes next -- or whether it would be the use of force -- if the Serbs do not comply.
     The deliberate ambiguity allowed Russia, which opposes the use of NATO power in Kosovo, to support the resolution along with the United States, which argues that NATO already has the authority to send in a military force.
     Sergei Lavrov, the Russian representative, said the resolution was in line with Russia's principles because "no measures of force and no sanctions at this stage are being introduced by the Security Council"
     The resolution falls under a section of the U.N. Charter that gives it military enforcement powers, but Council members said there are conflicting views on whether another resolution would be necessary specifically to authorize military action.
     Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine of France, a cosponsor with Britain of the resolution, called it "sufficient unto the day" in a meeting with reporters Wednesday and deflected a question about where France stood.
     He said the Council should wait to see what happens next before considering the use of force. He added that NATO had a range of options at its disposal. Talks among NATO members are also going on this week in the North Atlantic Council, the organization's policy-planning arm, but American officials say that this is all contingency planning, not preparations for war.
     Nevertheless, Western diplomats said they wanted to deliver a strong warning. "The international community's patience is exhausted," Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the British representative said. "President Milosevic carries a direct responsibility. If he ignores those obligations, and continues to pursue military repression, the international community will respond and will respond vigorously."
     "The Security Council is putting President Milosevic on notice that he will be held accountable for his actions," he said. "He would be wise to take heed."
     The debate over Kosovo had a familiar ring. When NATO action was first proposed in Bosnia, it was necessary for Western nations to deal very carefully with the Russians so that they would not react negatively to the introduction of European and American troops in the former Yugoslavia.
     And, as on Iraq, there is a recurring disagreement over how much authority individual nations or regional organizations have to take military action without the clear support of the Security Council. This was a major issue when the United States and Britain began massing forces in the Persian Gulf last winter in the face of the obstruction of weapons inspections by Iraq. The issue could arise again as the Council moves toward another showdown with Iraq in coming months.
     But the Kosovo situation is immediate and critical, with hundreds dead and more than a quarter of a million people displaced from their homes, often by Serbian units attacking civilians in their villages.
     Wednesday's resolution calls on Yugoslavia "to order the withdrawal of security units used for civilian repression."
     It also demands that the Albanian opposition leadership in Kosovo keep humanitarian concerns in mind and "condemn all terrorist actions." The resolution says that Yugoslavia must allow "effective and continuous international monitoring" in Kosovo by the European Community Monitoring Mission and diplomats based in Belgrade.
     It restates a list of broken promises Milosevic made to President Boris Yeltsin of Russia in June and demands that these pledges be honored. These include unimpeded access to Kosovo for relief organizations, the return of refugees and money for the reconstruction of their homes.
     The resolution also calls on all parties to the Kosovo conflict to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Milosevic has ignored requests in the past to help turn over Serbs wanted by the tribunal for war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia.
__________________________________________________

September 24, 1998
Serbs Continue Attacks on Kosovo Albanians
NYTIMES
By JANE PERLEZ

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia -- Scoffing at warnings by the West that force might be used to end the fighting in Kosovo, the Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, pressed ahead with a tank and artillery offensive on Wednesday that chased about 10,000 ethnic Albanian civilians into the hills and left many of their homes on fire.
     Flames and columns of thick white smoke were visible, and the sound of artillery echoed from more than a dozen villages at the foot of the Cicavica hills, just a few miles north of the provincial capital.
     European Union diplomatic monitors said they saw Yugoslav army tanks entering the broad swath of countryside, which had been tightly sealed by the Serbian police. Late Wednesday afternoon army trucks were heading for the region.
     The monitors, as well as workers from the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, skirted the area in armored vehicles but were turned back, even on narrow side roads, by heavily manned roadblocks.
     A senior official of the U.N. refugee commissioner's office here, Morgan Morris, said that she believed up to 10,000 civilians were trapped in the mountains with only the belongings they could carry, after the artillery fire that started at 5 a.m. on Tuesday drove them out.
     These new ethnic Albanian refugees join more than 200,000 others who have fled their homes in the last six months. They spent Tuesday night in the cold and damp with no shelter and little food, and faced similar conditions Wednesday night.
     At the United Nations, the Security Council passed a resolution Wednesday calling for an end to Serbian attacks on the civilian population of Kosovo and allowing for the possible use of force to curb Milosevic.
     NATO defense ministers, meeting in Portugal on Thursday, are scheduled to consider several options on Kosovo.
     Officials in Milosevic's government have repeatedly said in the last two weeks that the separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas have been crushed, statements that Western diplomats say were taken as meaning that no further military action was needed.
     But Milosevic has made a mockery of this interpretation by continuing to send in his army and police. On Wednesday he sent one of his senior political colleagues, Milan Milutinovic, to Kosovo to declare that all was normal.
     Milutinovic, the president of Serbia, who drove past the clearly visible burning villages on his route from Belgrade, said, "I didn't see much smoke."
     He added, "I see that life is normal in Kosovo."
     After months of neglect during the summer, Kosovo has become a renewed issue for Washington and Western European leaders who appear uncertain about how to respond to Milosevic's offensive and the hundreds of thousands of refugees it has created.
     Kosovo first became a flashpoint in the spring when separatist guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army started attacking Serbian policemen and institutions and briefly held some territory.
     The Serbian police, backed by the Yugoslav army, started an all-out offensive against Albanian villages that were suspected of harboring guerrillas. But officials in Washington and at NATO headquarters acknowledge that the Yugoslav army attacks have gone beyond rooting out guerrillas and are now intended to intimidate all ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
     Serbs make up less than 10 percent of the people in Kosovo, which has a population of about 2 million, but Serbs control all functions of government, including the police and the army, in the overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian province.
     The Serbian police acknowledged in a statement Wednesday that the Cicavica hills region had been "blocked." Action was being taken to search for a "group of disbanded terrorist units" that had attacked Serbian police units, the statement said.
     Western relief agency workers said they believed those who fled on Tuesday could be stuck outdoors, where the temperatures are steadily dropping, for a while.
     "This is a pincer movement, they are trapped by the military all around," said Miss Morris, describing the Yugoslav army's advance from the west that chased the villagers to the hills and troop movements from the east that stopped fleeing villagers from coming down the other side of the hills.
     According to the European Union monitors, the area under siege ran from Pristina north to Mitrovica, west to Srbica and then south to Komorane. The army attacked from all sides, they said.
     The monitors, who are supposed to have province-wide access, have been blocked from witnessing military action by the Serbian police since the monitoring groups were formed in June. Once the Yugoslav and Serbian forces withdraw from villages, the monitors are then allowed to inspect the damage.
     On Wednesday afternoon the village of Stanovce was a kind of viewing stage of the front line as the Albanian men of the village looked fearfully to the neighboring village of Bencuk six miles to the west. Houses burned and thick plumes of white smoke clouded the view of the countryside.
     In the village of Glavatin, about four miles to the southwest of Stanovce, many of the red-tiled two-story houses were also on fire. According to a U.N. refugee report Wednesday night, up to 15 villages at the Cicavica hills had been attacked.
     Even though the artillery was not aimed at Stanovce, all the women and children were told by the men to leave. The dirt tracks of the village were empty except for clusters of anxious men.
     One young woman, Selvete Rrahimi, 17, came back Wednesday afternoon to check whether the family house was still secure. After seeing that the place was still intact, she hurried back to the main road to return to the safety of relatives near the capital.
     Asked why he didn't leave Stanovce for fear of an attack by the Yugoslav army, Nazmi Segashi, 23, a builder, said: "Where should I go? War is everywhere."
__________________________________________________

September 24, 1998
U.S. Urging NATO to Step Up Plans to Act Against Yugoslavia
NYTIMES
By STEVEN LEE MYERS

VILAMOURA, Portugal -- Defense Secretary William Cohen said on Wednesday that NATO had to be prepared to act to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Kosovo or the alliance would rightly face "severe criticism" for issuing empty threats.
     On the eve of a meeting of NATO members' defense ministers at a resort here in southern Portugal, Cohen said that on Thursday the United States would call on NATO to take the next step toward calling up a force that could carry out missile strikes or a larger air campaign against the Yugoslav forces cracking down on rebels in Kosovo.
     Under the alliance's labored planning process, the next step -- called an activation warning -- would notify the allies to ready forces for one of several attack plans already drawn up by NATO's military commanders. American and NATO officials said the allies would go along with the proposal.
     The action would stop short of authorizing the use of force. A senior defense official traveling with Cohen described the action as "the last step in the planning process and not the first step in a military act," explaining that NATO would have to take several more steps before launching any strikes.
     Nonetheless, Cohen said the step would demonstrate the alliance's resolve against the Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, who has by and large ignored NATO's threats and its months of military planning. It would, he said, "send a very strong signal to Milosevic that this is serious, this is more than words."
     Cohen went on to say that the organization's credibility was at stake.
     "NATO has a choice now," he said in an interview with reporters on his way to Portugal on Wednesday. "They must go forward with this, or it will be seen as simply a hollow warning."
     With the meeting Wednesday coming hard on the heels of the vote by the U.N. Security Council to call on Milosevic to end his repressive crackdown in Kosovo, the United States and its European allies are mounting a coordinated, last-ditch effort to avoid the spectacle of thousands of refugees stranded in the hills, unable or afraid to return to their homes as winter arrives.
     There is a growing consensus within the Clinton Administration and NATO that the alliance badly misplayed its hand against Milosevic over the summer when it warned of strikes and staged an aerial exercise in neighboring Albania, only to do nothing when his forces stepped up their crackdown and began shelling villages, not just rebel strongholds.
     The inaction has prompted sharp criticism of the Clinton Administration and NATO. In a speech in Washington on Tuesday night, former Senator Bob Dole, who traveled to Kosovo this month with Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck, accused the Administration of "tough talk and no action."
     "As in Bosnia, instead of firing up the engines, NATO is firing up excuses," Dole said in a speech to the International Republican Institute.
     The alliance's military commanders have completed plans for a range of possible military actions against Milosevic's forces -- from a limited cruise missile strike to an escalating air campaign first against military targets in Kosovo and then against targets throughout Serbia. NATO has also drafted plans to police a cease-fire, if one is reached, and to provide food, shelter and other relief to stranded refugees.
     NATO officials said Wednesday that the plans could require several hundred warplanes.
     Cohen declined to say the type and amount of American forces that would take part in any NATO strikes, but the alliance has already informally asked countries to make pledges, and the United States has agreed to do so.
     In some of his most forceful language yet, Cohen called Milosevic's crackdown a "challenge I don't think NATO can afford to walk away from."
     "We can't simply ignore what he continues to do," he said.
__________________________________________________

September 24 1998 EUROPE
TIMES
UN backs Britain on Kosovo ceasefire
FROM JAMES BONE  IN NEW YORK

BRITAIN won backing last night for a mandatory United Nations resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, but the text omitted any explicit authorisation for military action.
     The Security Council voted 14-0, with China abstaining, to adopt a British draft calling on Serb security forces and ethnic Albanian separatists to stop fighting for control of the predominantly Albanian area.
     The resolution spelt out a series of additional demands on Belgrade, including a halt to all military action against civilians, allowing the safe return of refugees and making "rapid progress to a clear timetable" for peace talks. It also insists that the Kosovo Albanian leadership condemns all terrorist action.
     Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, welcomed the resolution's adoption. "There must now be a ceasefire and rapid progress on a political dialogue, which is the only route to a lasting solution to the humanitarian problem," he said.
     The text might be interpreted as permitting the use of force if President Milosevic of Yugoslavia refuses to comply, because it refers to the "enforcement provisions" of Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Such a strained construction might prove necessary for countries such as Britain and France which have argued that UN authority is needed for military action.
__________________________________________________

Funeral for slain Kosovo commander in Albania
08:04 a.m. Sep 24, 1998 Eastern
By Benet Koleka

TIRANA, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Mourners paid tribute on Thursday to a senior military commander of the self-styled ethnic Albanian government in Serbia's province of Kosovo who was shot dead by masked men in Albania.
     The body of Ahmet Krasniqi lay in state at the Albanian army's central house, the coffin covered in a large Albanian flag and dressed in wreaths and flowers. A photograph of Krasniqi stood at one corner of the coffin.
     Ibrahim Shala, a senior Kosovo Albanian official, told a small audience at Tirana's national museum that Krasniqi's vision of an independent Kosovo would live on.
     "The killing of Ahmet Krasniqi comes at a time when Kosovo and its army needed him most, when things started to move ahead. This is a big loss for us," he said before the funeral procession moved to the army's offices.
     Krasniqi was to be buried later in the day.
     Pjeter Arbnori, of Albania's opposition Democratic Party, charged that Krasniqi was killed in a communist-led plot, an allusion to the Socialist government.
     "It looks to me like a communist-style execution. It has got all the signs," he told reporters at the funeral.
     Krasniqi, 50, was shot dead by three masked men in an ally near his home in Tirana on Monday night.
     Asked about newspaper reports that Krasniqi and his bodyguards were allegedly disarmed by Albania's secret service the day before the assassination, Arbnori said:
     "Surely, his disarming and the search of his house are part of the plot...the full scenario is not known because there might be other actors and I am sure there are other players."
     A government spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the allegation.
     The Albanian government was represented at the funeral by Deputy Defence Minister Ilir Bocka.
     Krasniqi was described by Western sources as the commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kosovo (FARK), a rival of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army fighting Serbian forces in Kosovo.
     On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council demanded an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to end the Kosovo conflict.
     Albania has been drawn to the edge of the conflict on its northern border with Kosovo, where guerrillas have supply bases.
     Albania recognised Kosovo as a republic in 1991 and has allowed a representative "embassy" in Tirana.
     Albanian officials have denounced Serbian depredations against Kosovo Albanian civilians and endorsed the idea of autonomy for the Albanian-majority province.
     But the Socialist government does not back outright independence for Kosovo and has not joined right-wing emigre Albanian groups in supporting the KLA for fear of isolation by Western powers, on whom Albania depends for aid in its struggle to overcome chronic economic and political turmoil.
     In fact, the government accused Kosovo Albanians of participating in an opposition-led coup attempt last week, sparked by the murder of a senior member of the Democrats, led by right-wing former president Sali Berisha.
     Two armed ethnic Albanians from Kosovo were among people arrested by police after armed supporters seized the state television offices in the violence on September 14.
     An Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed on Thursday the arrest of eight more Kosovars in Tirana and the northern city of Shkoder for their roles in the violence.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
__________________________________________________

Albania opposition marches, PM seeks stability
03:06 p.m Sep 23, 1998 Eastern
By Lesley Wroughton

TIRANA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Albania's opposition Democratic Party renewed a series of anti-government protests on Wednesday after a two-day break, as Socialist Prime Minister Fatos Nano prepared to release a plan to restore political stability.
     An aide said Nano was also considering reshuffling his Socialist-led coalition government to improve its performance following an alleged coup attempt last week.
     And a joint declaration of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Western European Union reiterated a call for feuding Albanian parties to establish talks to end the political standoff.
     More than 2,000 opposition supporters of the centre-right Democratic Party and its smaller allies, who have merged into a so-called League Against Dictatorship, marched to Tirana's Skanderbeg square to continue calls for Nano's resignation.
     Carrying Albanian and U.S. flags, they called for an end to "communistic dictatorship" and chanted "Life or death, we will topple communism."
     Separately, Nano told reporters he would present the stability plan, which targets rampant corruption and crime, to his Socialist coalition on Thursday.
     "This situation will be overcome with the strengthening of governing, with the necessary improvement in the government, which we are to decide together with our coalition partners," he said.
     A Nano aide, Vladimir Prela, told Reuters the premier was considering a cabinet reshuffle as a means of better governance and getting to grips with the consequences of recent opposition unrest.
     "A government reshuffle is a possibility but it will be done according to due process," Prela said.
     Western diplomats said they expected the possible reshuffle to happen "within days" after Nano had met his coalition members.
     Before the opposition march in central Tirana began, police sealed off the Skanderbeg square to traffic while a small police convoy patrolled the area in an apparent show of force.
     Opposition demonstrators last week rampaged through the capital's streets, looting shops and torching government buildings, angered by the murder of senior party member Azem Hajdari and his bodyguard on September 12.
     Since then the government has kept security tight in the capital and soldiers guard state institutions. Nano has accused Democratic leader Sali Berisha, a former president, of trying to topple him in a coup during the violence.
     Daily peaceful protests of opposition supporters followed the unrest, although Wednesday's attendance was lower than last week. A march on Monday was called off because of poor turnout and rescheduled for Wednesday.
     Berisha, addressing his followers from the steps of the Tirana's Palace of Culture, vowed to continue the fight to oust Nano.
     "We are here to tell him (Nano) we shall stay unshaken at the sovereign right. The opposition does not surrender, it will win," he said, calling another protest rally for Saturday.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

23 September 1998

_______________

23 September 1998

UN SECURITY COUNCIL DEMANDS AN END TO FIGHTING IN KOSOVO

(Sends "clear message" to Milosevic, diplomats say) (920)
By Judy Aita
USIA United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- Acting with uncommon speed and cohesion, the UN Security Council September 23 demanded that all hostilities in Kosovo cease immediately and that Yugoslav and Kosovar leaders begin a political dialogue.
     The Council's demands, enacted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, comes as the international community has become increasingly concerned and impatient with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's failure to end the military crackdown on the province and the number of displaced persons and refugees soared to more than 250,000.
     The Council adopted a resolution -- sponsored by France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, Great Britain, and the United States -- by a vote of 14-0 with China abstaining. The vote came within days after it was proposed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the opening of the 53rd General Assembly September 21.
     The lengthy preambular section of the five-page resolution clearly states that the main responsibility for the situation in Kosovo lies with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbian security forces and states that the situation "constitutes a threat to peace and security in the region."
     The resolution unambiguously calls on Milosevic to negotiate seriously, allow humanitarian access, have a cease-fire and to pay attention to the concerns of the international community, diplomats said.
     The resolution demands that "all parties, groups and individuals immediately cease hostilities and maintain a ceasefire in Kosovo" and calls on Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Albanian leadership "to enter immediately into a meaningful dialogue without preconditions and with international involvement."
     US Charge d'Affaires Peter Burleigh called the vote a "profound and courageous step forward" that sends a "clear and unequivocal message to the authorities in Belgrade that the Council is demanding that they change their behavior and live up to their responsibilities with regard to the political and humanitarian situation in Kosovo."
     "We hope this will have the desired impact...We are hoping the Belgrade authorities will respond appropriately," Burleigh said. He said that planning at NATO for military operations if the resolution is not heeded is nearing completion.
     In his speech to the Council, Burleigh said that the United States strongly supported the resolution which "underscores our growing concern that Belgrade's repressive actions have created a potentially catastrophic humanitarian situation as winter approaches."
     The resolution "increases pressure on Belgrade to negotiate seriously with the Kosovo Albanians to achieve a political settlement that provides for democratic self-government for the people of Kosovo and avoids the devastating consequences of continued conflict," Burleigh said. "The best way to stem this crisis is for Belgrade to heed our demands," he said.
     "The international community will not stand idly by as the situation in Kosovo deteriorates," Burleigh said. "The Council will not tolerate the continued violence, lawlessness, repression, and violation of human rights in Kosovo."
     British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said that, most importantly, the resolution "makes clear that the international community's patience is exhausted. President Milosevic bears responsibility. If he ignores the Council's demands, the international community will respond and respond vigorously."
     The resolution puts Milosevic "on notice he will be held accountable for his actions. He would be wise to take heed," Greenstock said.
     Senior US officials attending the General Assembly session with Secretary of State Albright characterized the resolution as another step in building greater and greater support for a credible threat of force if Milosevic doesn't end the repression in Kosovo.
     The officials said that the US is "past the period of sanctions, well past the period of sanctions." The intention of Albright and other American diplomats during the high level talks taking place during the opening of the General Assembly is to increase "the credibility of the threat to use force."
     "The hope is that it would be sufficient to get the message through to President Milosevic that he had better act before it's too late and that the West is prepared to act," one senior State Department official told journalists.
     The Security Council resolution sets out four specific steps that Belgrade must take immediately: order the withdrawal of security units repressing civilians, allow European Community monitors and diplomatic missions in Kosovo, facilitate the return of refugees, and make rapid process on a timetable for agreeing to confidence-building measures and finding a political solution.
     The resolution also reminded Milosevic of the commitment he made to Russian President Boris Yeltsin in June that included resolving the Kosovo problem politically, not taking repressive actions, and allowing international monitoring.
     The resolution also insists that the Kosovo Albanian leadership condemn all terrorist actions and calls on all nations to honor the mandatory arms embargo against FRY in March. It also underlined the need for Belgrade to bring to justice members of the security forces who have been involved in the mistreatment of civilians and the deliberate destruction of property.
     Slovenian Ambassador Danilo Turk, who was president of the Council in August, said that "everybody agrees that this is the time when the Security Council has to...explain that under the obligations of Chapter 7 things have to change. And that is essentially the message of the resolution."
     "Political efforts so far did not really enjoy the kind of unified support that this resolution has," Turk said. "So this resolution creates, to some extent, a new political situation and I think it would be worthwhile pursing political efforts in the immediate aftermath of the adoption of the resolution."
_______________

23 September 1998

TEXT: UNSC RESOLUTION SEPT. 23 CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE IN KOSOVO

(Further action to be considered, if measures not taken) (1760)

United Nations -- The UN Security Council voted 14-0 with one abstention September 23 to demand "that all parties, groups and individuals immediately cease hostilities and maintain a ceasefire in Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."
     This would, the Council said, "enhance the prospects for a meaningful dialogue between the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Albanian leadership and reduce the risks of a humanitarian catastrophe."
     The Security Council also demanded "that the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Albanian leadership take immediate steps to improve the humanitarian situation and to avert the impending humanitarian catastrophe."
     It was also decided that "should the concrete measures demanded in this resolution and resolution 1160 (1998) not be taken," the resolution said, "to consider further action and additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability in the region."
     China was the sole abstention in the 15-member Council.

Following is the UNSC text:

(begin text)

United Nations Security Council

23 September 1998

France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America:
resolution #1199

The Security Council,

Recalling its resolution 1160 (1998) of 31 March 1998,

Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General pursuant to that resolution, and in particular his report of 4 September 1998 (S/1998/834),

Noting with appreciation the statement of the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America (the Contact Group) of 12 June 1998 at the conclusion of the Contact Group's meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Canada and Japan (S/1998/567, annex), and the further statement of the Contact Group made in Bonn on 8 July 1998 (S/1998/657),

Noting also with appreciation the joint statement by the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 16 June 1998 (5/1998/526)

Noting further the communication by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to the Contact Group on 7 July 1998, expressing the view that the situation in Kosovo represents an armed conflict within the terms of the-mandate of the Tribunal,

Gravely concerned at the recent intense fighting in Kosovo and in particular the excessive and indiscriminate use of force by Serbian security forces and the Yugoslav Army which have resulted in numerous civilian casualties and, according to the Secretary-General's estimate, the displacement of over 230,000 persons from their homes,

Deeply concerned by the flow of refugees into northern Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other European countries as a result of the use of force in Kosovo, as well as by the increasing numbers of displaced persons within Kosovo, and other parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, up to 50,000 of whom the UNHCR has estimated are without shelter and other basic necessities,

Reaffirming the right of all refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes in safety, and underlining the responsibility of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for creating the conditions which allow them to do so,

Condemning all acts of violence by any party, as well as terrorism in pursuit of political goals by any group or individual, and all external support for such activities in Kosovo, including the supply of arms and training for terrorist activities in Kosovo and expressing concern at the reports of continuing violations of the prohibitions imposed by resolution 1160,

Deeply concerned by the rapid deterioration in the humanitarian situation throughout Kosovo and alarmed at the impending humanitarian catastrophe as described in the report of the Secretary-General, and emphasizing the need to prevent this from happening,

Deeply concerned also by reports of increasing violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law, and emphasizing the need to ensure that the rights of all inhabitants of Kosovo are respected,

Reaffirming the objectives of resolution 1160 (1998), in which the Council expressed support for a peaceful resolution of the Kosovo problem which would include an enhanced status for Kosovo, a substantially greater degree of autonomy, and meaningful self-administration,

Reaffirming also the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,

Affirming that the deterioration of the situation in Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, constitutes a threat to peace and security in the region,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

1. Demands that all parties, groups and individuals immediately cease hostilities and maintain a ceasefire in Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which would enhance the prospects for a meaningful dialogue between the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Albanian leadership and reduce the risks of a humanitarian catastrophe;

2. Demands also that the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Albanian leadership take immediate steps to improve the humanitarian situation and to avert the impending humanitarian catastrophe;

3. Calls upon the authorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Albanian leadership to enter immediately into a meaningful dialogue without preconditions and with international involvement, and to a clear timetable, leading to an end of the crisis and to a negotiated political solution to the issue of Kosovo, and welcomes the current efforts aimed at facilitating such a dialogue;

4. Demands further that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in addition to the measures called for under resolution 1160 (1998), implement immediately the following concrete measures towards achieving a political solution to the situation in Kosovo as contained in the Contact Group statement of 12 June 1998:

(a) cease all action by the security forces affecting the civilian population and order the withdrawal of security units used for civilian repression;

(b) enable effective and continuous international monitoring in Kosovo by the European Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM) and diplomatic missions accredited to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including access and complete freedom of movement of such monitors to, from and within Kosovo unimpeded by government authorities, and expeditious issuance of appropriate travel documents to international personnel contributing to the monitoring;

(c) facilitate, in agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the safe return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes and allow free and unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations and supplies to Kosovo;

(d) make rapid progress to a clear timetable, in the dialogue referred to in paragraph 3 with the Kosovo Albanian community called for in resolution 1160 (1998), with the aim of agreeing confidence-building measures and finding a political solution to the problems of Kosovo;

5. Notes in this connection, the commitments of the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in his joint statement with the President of the Russian Federation of 16 June 1998:

(a) to resolve existing problems by political means on the basis of equality for all citizens and ethnic communities in Kosovo;

(b) not to carry out any repressive actions against the peaceful population;

(c) to provide full freedom of movement for and ensure that there will be no restrictions on representatives of foreign States and international institutions accredited to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia monitoring the situation in Kosovo;

(d) to ensure full and unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations, the ICRO and the UNHCP, and delivery of humanitarian supplies;

(e) to facilitate the unimpeded return of refugees and displaced persons under programmes agreed with the UNHCR and ICRO, providing State aid for the reconstruction of destroyed homes,

and calls for the full implementation of these commitments;

6. Insists that the Kosovo Albanian leadership condemn all terrorist action, and emphasizes that all elements in the Kosovo Albanian community should pursue their goals by peaceful means only;

7. Recalls the obligations of all States to implement fully the prohibitions imposed by resolution 1160 (1998);

8. Endorses the steps taken to establish effective international monitoring of the situation in Kosovo, and in this connection welcomes the establishment of the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission;

9. Urges States and international organizations represented in the Federal Republic of, Yugoslavia to make available personnel to fulfil the responsibility of carrying out effective and continuous international monitoring in Kosovo until the objectives of this resolution and those of resolution 1160 (1998) are achieved;

10. Reminds the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that it has the primary responsibility for the security of all diplomatic personnel accredited to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as well as the safety and security of all international and non-governmental humanitarian personnel in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and calls upon the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and all others concerned in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to take all appropriate steps to ensure that monitoring personnel performing functions under this resolution are not subject to the threat or use of force or interference of any kind;

11. Reguests States to pursue all means consistent with their domestic legislation and relevant international law to prevent funds collected on their territory being used to contravene resolution 1160 (1998);

12. Calls upon Member States and others concerned to provide adequate resources for humanitarian assistance in the region and to respond promptly and generously to the United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Humanitarian Assistance Related to the Kosovo Crisis;

13. Calls upon the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the leaders of the Kosovo Albanian community and all others concerned to cooperate fully with the prosecutor of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the investigation of possible violations within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal;

14. Underlines also the need for the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to bring to justice those members of the security forces who have been involved in the mistreatment of civilians and the deliberate destruction of property;

15. Reguests the Secretary-General to provide regular reports to the Council as necessary on his assessment of compliance with this resolution by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and all elements in the Kosovo Albanian community, including through his regular reports on compliance with resolution 1160 (1998);

16. Decides, should the concrete measures demanded in this resolution and resolution 1160 (1998) not be taken, to consider further action and additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability in the region;

17. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
_____________

23 September 1998

TEXT: ALBRIGHT PRAISES SECURITY COUNCIL VOTE ON KOSOVO

(US wants "rapid, significant progress" from Belgrade) (560)

New York -- "In framing this resolution ... the international community says with one voice that, if Belgrade does not now choose to end offensive operations in Kosovo, it must be compelled to do so," U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said September 23.
     In a statement issued after the Security Council overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding that "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" President Slobodan Milosevic end the offensive and repression in Kosovo, Albright said that "Belgrade should know that we have the will and unity" to intervene.
     "We will not be fooled by another round of empty promises from Belgrade," Albright said, adding that "if we do not see rapid, significant progress, we will be prepared to respond."
     Following is the text of the Secretary's statement:

(Begin text)

Statement by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
New York
September 23, 1998

The passage of a strong Security Council resolution today on Kosovo reflects the stark reality we face there: President Milosevic's flouting of UN resolutions and international norms has led Kosovo to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The region's stability is threatened. And neighboring governments are under tremendous strain.
     In framing this resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, the international community says with one voice that, if Belgrade does not now choose to end offensive operations in Kosovo, it must be compelled to do so. President Milosevic is well aware that the international community has the means to take that step. After today's vote, Belgrade should know that we have the will and unity as well -- for thousands of lives are at stake.
     A quarter-million people have been displaced as a result of fighting in Kosovo. Tens of thousands are without shelter, stranded in the open or hidden in the hills. And winter is approaching, temperatures in the mountains are dropping toward freezing.
     Belgrade has claimed to be instituting a program of returns. Indeed, some refugees have been forced back to their homes, counter to any standard of decent behavior. But at the same time, security forces continue their offensive operations -- creating thousands of newly-displaced persons.
     UNHCR and other aid agencies are making tremendous efforts to care for displaced persons in the region. Yet Milosevic has never lived up to his promise to allow the agencies unfettered access to those in need.
     The situation of displaced persons threatens to deteriorate rapidly -- and soon. At the same time, we have grave concerns about reports of summary executions and of men of military age being singled out and taken away. Belgrade has consistently prevented international forensic investigators from following up such reports in Kosovo. We can only conclude that crimes against humanity are occurring.
     Belgrade's obligations are clear. The resolution just passed by the Security Council spells them out in detail. We will not be fooled by another round of empty promises from Belgrade. We will look for an end to the destruction of villages and the targeting of non-combatants. We will demand real cooperation with aid agencies and human rights investigators. We will expect serious progress in the talks being conducted by Ambassador Chris Hill. If we do not see rapid, significant progress, we will be prepared to respond.

(End text)
______________

23 September 1998

TEXT: STATEMENT BY BURLEIGH IN UNSC MEETING ON KOSOVO

(Praises "strong, unequivocal" message to Serbs) (670)

United Nations -- The United States has praised the United Nations Security Council for sending Serbia "a strong, unequivocal message" that it "will not tolerate the continued violence, lawlessness, repression, and violation of human rights in Kosovo."
     US Charge d'Affaires Peter Burleigh praised the Council's September 23 resolution expressing its concern that the Belgrade government's "repressive actions have created a potentially catastrophic humanitarian situation as winter approaches" and demanding that it conduct serious negotiations with the Kosovar Albanians to create meaningful, democratic self-government in the region. He blamed authorities in Belgrade for the current crisis, and emphasized they are responsible not only for the well-being of Kosovo's population, but also "for the security of all diplomatic personnel and non-governmental humanitarian personnel on the ground."

Following is the US/UN text:

(begin text)

United States Mission to the United Nations

September 23, 1998

Statement by Ambassador A. Peter Burleigh, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the United States Mission to the United Nations, in explanation of vote on Kosovo, in the Security Council, September, 23, 1998
     Mr. President, my government strongly supports this important resolution on Kosovo. It underscores our growing concern that Belgrade's repressive actions have created a potentially catastrophic humanitarian situation as winter approaches. It increases pressure on Belgrade to negotiate seriously with the Kosovo Albanians to achieve a political settlement that provides for democratic self-government for the people of Kosovo and avoids the devastating consequences of continued conflict. It also affirms that the situation constitutes a serious threat to peace and security in the region.
     To date, approximately a quarter of a million people have been displaced by the offensive actions of the Serb security forces. At least 50,000 Kosovo Albanians are living in open valleys and forests, without shelter or basic necessities. The international community must act to prevent a disaster this fall.
     The best way to stem this crisis is for Belgrade to heed our demands for an immediate cessation of offensive actions and the pull-back of its security forces. We also call for a meaningful dialogue, without preconditions and with international involvement, leading to a solution to the Kosovo question, as set out in this resolution. My government is continuing its efforts to assist in such a dialogue and to coordinate with members of the Contact Group and others in this effort.
     In particular, the authorities in Belgrade must be held to account for creating the current crisis. It is their responsibility to create the conditions to allow all refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes in safety. Belgrade is responsible for the well-being of the people of Kosovo, as well as for the security of all diplomatic personnel and non-governmental humanitarian personnel on the ground.
     This resolution endorses international monitoring and humanitarian efforts and demands that there be full and unimpeded access, without interference in international monitoring or delivery of assistance and humanitarian supplies.
     Adequate resources for humanitarian assistance in the region are vital. My government has earmarked 20 million dollars in assistance, in addition to 11 million dollars previously identified and other donations. We appreciate the very important contributions of others, including members of this Council, and urge all UN member states to respond to the urgent appeal by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
     We also underline the importance of full cooperation with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
     We all hope that this resolution and the ongoing efforts to reach a settlement will convince Belgrade to comply with the demands of the international community. Planning at NATO for military operations if these efforts do not succeed is nearing completion. The international community will not stand idly by as the situation in Kosovo deteriorates.
     Mr. President, today the Security Council sends a strong, unequivocal message. The Council will not tolerate the continued violence, lawlessness, repression, and violation of human rights in Kosovo.
     Thank you, Mr. President.

(end text)

TAKEN WITHOUT PERMISSION, FOR FAIR USE ONLY.

KOSOVO / BISHOP (L ONLY) BY VICTOR MORALES (WASHINGTON)

DATE=9/23/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-239133
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:

(SERBIAN ACTUALITIES IN BUBBLE)

INTRO: WHEN NATO DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET IN PORTUGAL THIS WEEK (THURSDAY), THE VIOLENCE IN SERBIA'S KOSOVO PROVINCE IS EXPECTED TO BE HIGH ON THEIR AGENDA. U-S OFFICIALS SAY THEY WILL PRESS THE ALLIES TO CONSIDER THE USE OF FORCE TO END THE STRIFE BETWEEN SERBS AND ETHNIC-ALBANIANS. BUT AT LEAST ONE GROUP FROM THE REGION BELIEVES THAT INTERNATIONAL MILITARY INTERVENTION IS NOT THE ANSWER. V-O-A'S VICTOR MORALES REPORTS ON THE VISIT TO WASHINGTON BY A LEADER OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN SERBIA.

TEXT: SERBIAN ORTHODOX BISHOP ARTEMY RADOSAVLJEVIC (AR-TAY-MEE-YEH RADO-SAV-LAY-VITCH) CREDITS THE UNITED STATES WITH TRYING TO BRING AN END TO THE VIOLENCE WHICH HAS CLAIMED MORE THAN 900 LIVES THIS YEAR IN KOSOVO. BUT HE FEARS THAT A NATO STRIKE WOULD ONLY PROLONG THE CONFLICT.
 
///// RADOSAVLJEVIC ACT (IN SERBIAN; FADES TO TEXT) /////
 
IN REMARKS TO REPORTERS ON WEDNESDAY, BISHOP RADOSAVLJEVIC, WHO IS FROM THE RASKA-PRIZEN (ROSH-KA PREEZ-RIN) REGION OF KOSOVO, SAYS THAT ALLIED MILITARY INTERVENTION WOULD BOLSTER SERB LEADER SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC. ACCORDING TO THE CHURCH LEADER, MR. MILOSEVIC WOULD USE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TURN DOMESTIC PUBLIC OPINION AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND BUILD SUPPORT FOR HIS POLICIES. AND THE BISHOP SAYS NATO INTERVENTION WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE ETHNIC-ALBANIAN SEPARATISTS IN KOSOVO -- ULTIMATELY LEADING TO A BALKAN-WIDE CRISIS.

BISHOP RADOSAVLJEVIC IS IN WASHINGTON UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ALLIANCE FOR CHANGE -- A POLITICAL MOVEMENT IN SERBIA LED BY FORMER YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER, MILAN PANIC. THE CHURCH LEADER IS HERE FOR A SERIES OF TALK WITH CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS AND CLINTON ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS.

THE BISHOP IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH THE SERBIAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT -- WHICH IS CONSIDERED A MODERATE ALTERNATIVE TO SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC. HE SAYS THAT ONLY DIALOGUE BETWEEN SERBS AND ETHNIC-ALBANIANS IN KOSOVO CAN BUILD A LASTING PEACE.
 
///// RADOSAVLJEVIC ACT (IN SERBIAN; FADES TO TEXT) /////
 
BISHOP RADOSAVLJEVIC SAYS THAT POLITICAL EFFORTS TO END THE VIOLENCE IN THE REGION MUST BE PURSUED. AND HE CALLS ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO PRESSURE BOTH SIDES TO END THE CONFLICT THAT HAS FORCED SOME 300 THOUSAND PEOPLE TO FLEE THEIR HOMES IN KOSOVO. (SIGNED)
NEB/VM/KL
23-Sep-98 3:23 PM EDT (1923 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
------------------------------------------------------------------------

KOSOVO FIGHTING (L ONLY) BY PHILIP SMUCKER (PRISTINA)

DATE=9/23/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-239134
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:

INTRO: SERB SECURITY FORCES IN KOSOVO -- DEFYING INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE TO END A MILITARY OFFENSIVE -- HAVE SET FIRE TO SCORES OF HOMES IN THE CENTRAL DRENICA DISTRICT. PHILIP SMUCKER IN KOSOVO'S CAPITAL, PRISTINA, REPORTS THE SERB FORCES ARE ATTACKING VILLAGES NEAR CICE VICA MOUNTAIN WHERE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN SERBS AND ETHNIC ALBANIANS BEGAN SIX-MONTHS AGO.

TEXT: FIRES ARE SWEEPING THROUGH ETHNIC-ALBANIAN VILLAGES OFF THE MAIN NORTH-SOUTH HIGHWAY IN KOSOVO. SERB SECURITY FORCES ARE POUNDING VILLAGES THAT THEY SUSPECT ARE HARBORING GUERRILLA FIGHTERS FROM THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY, K-L-A.

FLAMES LEAPED FROM HOMES AND FARMHOUSES JUST OFF THE MAIN HIGHWAY, AS SERB REINFORCEMENTS RACED TO THE FRONT LINE. U-N REFUGEE OFFICIALS SAID THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES HAVE BEEN TRAPPED IN THE HILLS BY THE FIGHTING.

SERB POLICE FORCES WERE SEEN GIVING WEAPONS TO SERB VILLAGERS TO PREVENT ANY SUSPECTED MEMBERS OF THE K-L-A FROM SLIPPING PAST A FOUR-CORNERED ATTACK IN THE CENTRAL DRENICA DISTRICT.

U-N REFUGEE OFFICIALS SAY THAT WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND OLD PEOPLE ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO ESCAPE A CLOSING CIRCLE OF TANKS AND HEAVY ARMOUR.

KOSOVO'S GUERRILLA CONFLICT BROKE OUT IN THE DRENICA DISTRICT SIX-MONTHS AGO. LIGHTLY ARMED FIGHTERS FROM THE K-L-A ARE BATTLING SERB SECURITY FORCES OF YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC.

MR. MILOSEVIC IS UNDER INTENSE INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE TO CALL A HALT TO THE FIGHTING, BUT THE YUGOSLAV LEADER HAS SO FAR IGNORED SUCH CALLS. SERB OFFICIALS SAY THE OFFENSIVE IN THE DRENICA DISTRICT IS DESIGNED TO BLAST THROUGH K-L-A LINES AND -- IN THEIR WORDS -- LIQUIDATE THE ENEMY WITHIN DAYS.

WESTERN MILITARY ANALYSTS SAY THEY DOUBT SUCH TACTICS WILL SUCCEED AGAINST THE ETHNIC-ALBANIAN FIGHTERS WHO VOW TO FIGHT UNTIL KOSOVO WINS INDEPENDENCE FROM SERBIAN RULE. BUT THE ANALYSTS SAY WITH THE POSSIBLE THREAT OF NATO AIRSTRIKES, SERB FORCES MAY PRESS THE OFFENSIVE EVEN HARDER TO TRY TO WIPE OUT THE K-L-A BEFORE THEY CAN BE STOPPED. (SIGNED)
NEB/PS/JWH/RAE
23-Sep-98 1:47 PM EDT (1747 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
------------------------------------------------------------------------

KOSOVO FIGHTING (L ONLY) BY PHILIP SMUCKER (PRISTINA)

DATE=9/23/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-239134
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:

INTRO: SERB SECURITY FORCES IN KOSOVO -- DEFYING INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE TO END A MILITARY OFFENSIVE -- HAVE SET FIRE TO SCORES OF HOMES IN THE CENTRAL DRENICA DISTRICT. PHILIP SMUCKER IN KOSOVO'S CAPITAL, PRISTINA, REPORTS THE SERB FORCES ARE ATTACKING VILLAGES NEAR CICE VICA MOUNTAIN WHERE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN SERBS AND ETHNIC ALBANIANS BEGAN SIX-MONTHS AGO.

TEXT: FIRES ARE SWEEPING THROUGH ETHNIC-ALBANIAN VILLAGES OFF THE MAIN NORTH-SOUTH HIGHWAY IN KOSOVO. SERB SECURITY FORCES ARE POUNDING VILLAGES THAT THEY SUSPECT ARE HARBORING GUERRILLA FIGHTERS FROM THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY, K-L-A.

FLAMES LEAPED FROM HOMES AND FARMHOUSES JUST OFF THE MAIN HIGHWAY, AS SERB REINFORCEMENTS RACED TO THE FRONT LINE. U-N REFUGEE OFFICIALS SAID THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES HAVE BEEN TRAPPED IN THE HILLS BY THE FIGHTING.

SERB POLICE FORCES WERE SEEN GIVING WEAPONS TO SERB VILLAGERS TO PREVENT ANY SUSPECTED MEMBERS OF THE K-L-A FROM SLIPPING PAST A FOUR-CORNERED ATTACK IN THE CENTRAL DRENICA DISTRICT.

U-N REFUGEE OFFICIALS SAY THAT WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND OLD PEOPLE ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO ESCAPE A CLOSING CIRCLE OF TANKS AND HEAVY ARMOUR.

KOSOVO'S GUERRILLA CONFLICT BROKE OUT IN THE DRENICA DISTRICT SIX-MONTHS AGO. LIGHTLY ARMED FIGHTERS FROM THE K-L-A ARE BATTLING SERB SECURITY FORCES OF YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC.

MR. MILOSEVIC IS UNDER INTENSE INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE TO CALL A HALT TO THE FIGHTING, BUT THE YUGOSLAV LEADER HAS SO FAR IGNORED SUCH CALLS. SERB OFFICIALS SAY THE OFFENSIVE IN THE DRENICA DISTRICT IS DESIGNED TO BLAST THROUGH K-L-A LINES AND -- IN THEIR WORDS -- LIQUIDATE THE ENEMY WITHIN DAYS.

WESTERN MILITARY ANALYSTS SAY THEY DOUBT SUCH TACTICS WILL SUCCEED AGAINST THE ETHNIC-ALBANIAN FIGHTERS WHO VOW TO FIGHT UNTIL KOSOVO WINS INDEPENDENCE FROM SERBIAN RULE. BUT THE ANALYSTS SAY WITH THE POSSIBLE THREAT OF NATO AIRSTRIKES, SERB FORCES MAY PRESS THE OFFENSIVE EVEN HARDER TO TRY TO WIPE OUT THE K-L-A BEFORE THEY CAN BE STOPPED. (SIGNED)
NEB/PS/JWH/RAE
23-Sep-98 1:47 PM EDT (1747 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
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U-N / KOSOVO WARNING (L) BY MAX RUSTON (UNITED NATIONS)

DATE=9/23/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-239144
CONTENT=
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INTRO: THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL IS INCREASING PRESSURE ON YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC TO AGREE TO A CEASEFIRE WITH KOSOVO ALBANIAN SEPARATISTS. BUT THE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY) STOPPED SHORT OF THREATENING MILITARY INTERVENTION. V-O-A'S MAX RUSTON REPORTS FROM OUR UNITED NATIONS BUREAU.

TEXT: THE SECURITY COUNCIL APPROVED A RESOLUTION DEMANDING A CEASEFIRE IN KOSOVO AND AN IMMEDIATE START TO POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS AIMED AT ENDING FIGHTING IN THE YUGOSLAV PROVINCE. THE RESOLUTION WARNS THAT THE COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER FURTHER MEASURES TO RESTORE PEACE AND STABILITY IF THE DEMANDS ARE NOT MET.

THE RESOLUTION STOPS SHORT OF THREATENING MILITARY INTERVENTION. DIPLOMATS SAY RUSSIA AND CHINA REJECTED CALLS FOR THE COUNCIL TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF FORCE AT THIS TIME. CHINA ABSTAINED IN THE VOTE ON THE RESOLUTION, DESCRIBING THE UNREST AS AN INTERNAL AFFAIR FOR YUGOSLAVIA.

SLOVENIA'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, DANILO TURK, DESCRIBED THE RESOLUTION AS A FORCEFUL MESSAGE TO THE WARRING PARTIES.
 
/// TURK ACT ///
 
THIS RESOLUTION IS CERTAINLY A STEP FORWARD. IT INCREASES THE PRESSURE ON THE PARTIES TO COME TO A POLITICAL SOLUTION. IT, IN ITSELF, DOES NOT CONTAIN AN AUTOMATICITY SO FURTHER DECISIONS WOULD BE NEEDED AND I DO NOT WANT TO SAY THAT USE OF FORCE IS THE ONLY OPTION. THERE ARE OTHER POLITICAL MEANS WHICH SHOULD BE EMPLOYED IMMEDIATELY AND THE RESOLUTION SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED, SO I THINK THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESOLUTION SHOULD BE THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA AFTER THE ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTION.
 
/// END ACT ///
 
PREPARATIONS FOR POSSIBLE MILITARY INTERVENTION ARE REPORTED UNDERWAY IN NATO, AMID GROWING CONCERN IN EUROPE THAT VIOLENCE IN KOSOVO COULD SPREAD AND CREATE INSTABILITY IN A MUCH LARGER AREA.

THE SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION BLAMES MR. MILOSEVIC FOR MUCH OF THE VIOLENCE IN KOSOVO, SAYING HIS FORCES ARE USING EXCESSIVE AND INDISCRIMINATE FORCE AGAINST CIVILIANS IN KOSOVO. THE RESOLUTION ALSO WARNS ALBANIAN SEPARATISTS NOT TO USE TERRORISM TO PURSUE THEIR GOALS. THE RESOLUTION SAYS THE COUNCIL SUPPORTS A SOLUTION TO THE CONFLICT THAT WOULD GIVE A GREATER DEGREE OF AUTONOMY AND SELF-ADMINISTRATION TO KOSOVO WITHIN YUGOSLAVIA.

APPROVAL OF THE RESOLUTION TAKES PLACE AMID GROWING U-N CONCERN ABOUT THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN THE KOSOVO REGION. U-N SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN HAS WARNED OF A HUMANITARIAN DISASTER INVOLVING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LEFT HOMELESS IN THE FIGHTING. U-N OFFICIALS SAY THESE REFUGEES ARE FACING LIFE-THREATENING CONDITIONS WITH THE APPROACH OF WINTER. (SIGNED) NEB/UN/MPR/LSF/JO
23-Sep-98 4:38 PM EDT (2038 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
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U-S/KOSOVO RESOLUTION (S ONLY) BY GIL BUTLER (NEW YORK)

DATE=9/23/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-239155
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// NOTE: MAY BE USED WITH MAX RUSTON'S CR ON THE PASSAGE OF THE KOSOVO RESOLUTION BY THE SECURITY COUNCIL OR MAY FOLLOW A CN ON THAT SUBJECT.

INTRO: THE UNITED STATES SAYS PASSAGE OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO SHOULD SEND A STRONG MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNMENT IN BELGRADE. V-O-A'S GIL BUTLER HAS THE UNITED STATES REACTION FROM NEW YORK.

TEXT: THE MESSAGE TO YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC IS: STOP THE OFFENSIVE AGAINST KOSOVAR ALBANIANS, ALLOW HUMANITARIAN AID TO THOSE WHO NEED IT, AND START NEGOTIATING WITH THE KOSOVARS.

SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT ISSUED A STATEMENT AFTER THE RESOLUTION PASSED THE SECURITY COUNCIL SAYING THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS SENDING THE MESSAGE THAT IF BELGRADE DOES NOT CHOOSE TO END OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS IN KOSOVO, IT MUST BE COMPELLED TO DO SO.

THE RESOLUTION WAS FRAMED UNDER UNITED NATIONS CHAPTER SEVEN--WHICH, IN THE AMERICAN VIEW, IMPLIES THE POSSIBLE USE OF FORCE TO BACK IT UP.

IN HER STATEMENT, SECRETARY ALBRIGHT SAYS THE SECURITY COUNCIL WILL NOT BE FOOLED BY WHAT SHE CALLS, ANOTHER ROUND OF EMPTY PROMISES FROM BELGRADE. HER STATEMENT CONCLUDES: IF WE DO NOT SEE RAPID, SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS, WE WILL BE PREPARED TO RESPOND.

NATO IS EXPECTED TO TAKE ANOTHER STEP TOWARD MILITARY ACTION IN KOSOVO BY CALLING ON MEMBERS FOR FORCES--PROBABLY AIR FORCES-- TO IMPLEMENT ITS PLANS--IF A DECISION IS MADE TO STRIKE.(SIGNED)
NEB/MGB/WDC/PT
23-Sep-98 6:07 PM EDT (2207 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

Security Council Demands Kosovo Cease-Fire, Talks .
 By Anthony Goodman UNITED NATIONS

(Reuters) - The Security Council Wednesday demanded an immediate cease-fire and negotiations to end the conflict in Kosovo, where Serb authorities have been cracking down on a separatist movement among the ethnic Albanian majority. The vote in the 15-nation council was 14-0 with China abstaining. The resolution, aimed at Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, was adopted under the provisions of Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which provides for possible punitive measures in the event of noncompliance.
The resolution warns that if this happens, the council will "consider further action and additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability in the region." China's abstention was a repeat of its action on March 31, when the council imposed an arms embargo on Yugoslavia -- now comprising only Serbia and Montenegro -- in hopes of forcing a peaceful settlement in Kosovo. NATO has been making contingency plans for possible intervention in Kosovo, and Washington contends the council resolution edges closer to permitting the use of force. But almost all other members insist that would require further council authorization. Russian Ambassador Sergei Lavrov stressed before the vote that "no measures of force at this stage are being introduced by the Security Council." He said Russia called for a settlement "exclusively through peaceful political methods on the basis of granting broad autonomy to Kosovo" and respecting Yugoslavia's territorial integrity.

 An early version of the resolution had included a worldwide flight ban against the Yugoslav airline, JAT. But this was dropped as part of the price for Russian support. China's Ambassador Qin Huasun said Kosovo was "an internal matter for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" and the problem "should and can only be solved by the Yugoslavian people themselves, in their own way." Qin said the situation in Kosovo was "now stabilizing." "There is no large-scale armed conflict, still less any escalation of the conflict," he said, adding that the Yugoslav government had taken positive measures to encourage refugees to return home and to provide humanitarian relief. But British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, speaking after the vote, said Milosevic's security forces were "continuing to inflict brutality and repression on those they claim to see as their fellow citizens." "The so-called Kosovo Liberation Army has contributed to the present crisis," he said, referring to the guerrilla force spearheading the campaign to break away from Serbia. "Terrorism, in whatever guise and for whatever end, is unacceptable." Greenstock said the resolution "makes clear that the international community's patience is exhausted." If Milosevic continues to pursue military repression, "the international community will respond and will respond vigorously," he said.

The council is "putting President Milosevic on notice that he will be held accountable for his actions," Greenstock said. "He would be wise to take heed," he added. American Acting U.N. Representative Peter Burleigh said Belgrade's "repressive actions have created a potentially catastrophic humanitarian situation as winter approaches." "Today the Security Council sends a strong, unequivocal message. ... The council will not tolerate the continued violence, lawlessness, repression and violation of human rights in Kosovo," he said. Greenstock also served notice that "planning at NATO for military operations if these efforts do not succeed is nearing completion." In addition to a cease-fire and the immediate start of negotiations, the resolution demands that both the Yugoslav and the Kosovo Albanian leadership take immediate steps to "avert the impending humanitarian catastrophe." The council has been wringing its hands for months over the crisis in Kosovo, where the fighting has killed about 700 people, and forced 250,000 from their homes. Serb assaults are continuing against ethnic Albanian villages. The council had been prevented from taking tough action up to now because of opposition from Russia, Serbia's historic friend.

BBC World: Europe
UN demands Kosovo ceasefire
Up to 275,000 people have been forced to leave their homes

The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution on the conflict in the Serbian province of Kosovo which could provide a legal basis for international military intervention
     The council passed the resolution by 14 votes to none, with China abstaining. Russia, a traditional ally of Serbia, voted in favour of the resolution.
     The BBC UN Correspondent, Rob Watson, says the passing of the resolution is the strongest warning by the Security Council yet on the issue.
     The resolution does not specifically authorise force, but invokes Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which has been used to justify past military action - for example, against Iraq.
     The Pentagon has said America favours moving towards possible military intervention in Kosovo.
     Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said informal talks had taken place seeking commitments of arms, material and troops from Nato members for any future action in Kosovo.
     The UN resolution demands an immediate end to the fighting and calls on the Belgrade authorities and the leaders of the ethnic Albanian majority to begin a meaningful dialogue without preconditions and with international involvement.
     It demands that the Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, allow international monitoring in Kosovo and the return of refugees.

Diplomatic ammunition
The British ambassador to the UN, Jeremy Greenstock, said the goal of the resolution was to end the fighting and halt a humanitarian disaster.
     "This resolution is the diplomatic version of preparing our ammunition and over the next couple of days NATO will do the same in military terms," Mr Greenstock said.
     "It issues a very strong warning, and as Prime Minister Blair said a couple of days ago, Milosevic ignores this at his peril."
     Immediate military action was not the objective, Mr Greenstock said.

Keeping Russia on board
Russia, which has opposed force in the past, said it would go along with the resolution because it did not specifically authorise military intervention.
     Russian ambassador, Sergei Lavrov, said Russia opposed any military intervention.
     "The use of force is the last resort, and it could only be done on the decision of the Security Council," he said.
     Western officials say the strategy for now is to keep Russia on board diplomatically, while at the same time trying to convince President Milosevic that the threat of military action is real.
     Critics point out it was a similar strategy during the Bosnian crisis which led to years of confusion and muddle - a muddle that was skilfully exploited by the Serbian leader.

Further Serb attacks
In Kosovo itself, there have been further Serb attacks on villages in the north-west.
     The seven-month-long government crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists fighting for independence of Kosovo has so far claimed hundreds of lives and forced up to 275,000 people from their homes.

INTERVIEW WITH  UN CORRESPONDENT  ROB WATSON; "DANGER OF THE RESOLUTION IN ITS AMBIGUITY":
http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_178000/178107.stm

Senior MP Says Kosovar Leaders Involved in Albanian Coup

TIRANA - A senior MP of the ruling Socialist Party said on Wednesday ethnic-Albanian leaders from Kosovo were involved in last week's failed coup attempt by opposition Democratic Party supporters supplying them with armed people. "Some Kosovo leaders, like Premier Bujar Bukoshi, were involved in the coup," said Spartak Braho, the chairman of the mandates and immunity committee, in an interview to daily Gazeta Shqiptare. Two armed ethnic Albanians from the Yugoslav province of Kosovo were among those arrested when security forces recaptured Tirana's state-run television station from anti-government protesters on Monday last week. It was not known if the two had any links with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which is fighting for the province's independence from Serbia. Police also arrested for illegal possession of weapons 11 Kosovars, who claimed to be KLA fighters, travelling from the northern district of Tropoja to Tirana earlier this week. A KLA spokesman has denounced the failed coup and has turned down allegations of their involvement in Albanian events. Supporters of opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha stormed public buildings in an eruption of serious violence last week following the murder of a leading party member. Government forces later regained control of the capital. Some 14,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo have poured into Albania in the last six months to escape fighting between the KLA and Serbian forces. Braho said Bukoshi, whose government-in-exile is based in Germany, had supplied Berisha's Democrats "with armed persons, who were charged with undertaking concrete activities" during the coup. "Over a dozen arrested Kosovars and many suspected others, who are presently hiding in Tirana, prove this fact," he said. A leading member of the self-styled Kosovo government and commander of its armed forces (FARK), colonel Ahmet Krasniqi, 50, was shot dead in Tirana on Monday evening by masked gunmen while entering his home in Tirana, Interior Ministry said. Braho, who was also prominent in blaming the Democrats for crushing an anti-government popular uprising last year, maintained that "Berisha is the initiator of the coup, while its details were designed by former senior army generals." He claimed the now-retired senior officers were also supported by "some elements in the Albanian National Guard and Ministries of Public Order and Defence."

Taken without permission, for fair use only.

ICRC slams Serbia for unabated actions in Kosovo
Security Council Demands Kosovo Cease-Fire, Talks .
U.N. moves toward Kosovo action
NATO And U.N. Ready Tough Warning On Kosovo
Serb Forces Press Kosovo Attack
THE TIMES: US puts blueprint for Kosovo deal to Milosevic after rebels' rout
NYTIMES:West and Russia Reach Accord on Kosovo Actions
NYTIMES:U.S. Envoy Pays Visit to Refugees in Kosovo
NATO Ponders Step Towards Kosovo Air Strikes
TELEGRAPH:Nato intervention in Kosovo could provoke 'big war'
__________________________________________________

ICRC slams Serbia for unabated actions in Kosovo
02:34 p.m Sep 23, 1998 Eastern

BELGRADE, Sept 23 (Reuters) - An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official criticised Serbian authorities on Wednesday for the use of force in Kosovo and said civilians were still being driven from their homes as winter nears.
     Thomas Merkelbach, head of the ICRC delegation in Yugoslavia, told a news conference: "Ongoing security operations are being carried out with the use of force that continue to frighten me and the displaced (people).
     "There are returns and today there are fewer people in the open than some weeks ago. But at the same time there are still many, if not even more, that continue (to be) displaced from their homes."
     The ICRC believed information from teams in the field was important "to help authorities find the right way of creating the climate of security needed for returns."
     Merkelbach described the situation in Kosovo as extremely difficult, saying there were many victims, including more than 100,000 displaced persons in the province, but added: "To use terms like catastrophe is, I think, overblown."
     Ethnic Albanian guerrillas are fighting for independence in Kosovo, a province of Serbia with an Albanian majority. The conflict has wrought widespread destruction, often caused by Serbian security forces blowing up homes abandoned by Albanians.
     Merkelbach said that ICRC estimated there were close to 200,000 people living in extremely parlous conditions with the freezing Balkan winter looming, "and that is only those inside Kosovo."
     Montenegro, Serbia's partner in the Yugoslav federation, has been flooded with more than 45,000 Kosovo refugees, up to 18,000 are estimated to have found refuge in Albania, some 11,000 in Bosnia and between 3,000 and 5,000 have fled to Macedonia.
     Asked about the discrepancy between the ICRC figure of displaced and that of the UNHCR, which is 300,000, Merkelbach said it was very difficult to establish the right number "as the people are constantly shifting."
     "People you meet in the field one week, they might not be there next week. That is one of the major problems," he said.
     The figure of more than 100,000 displaced persons that the ICRC is using is a "conservative estimate."
     "It means that it is rather lower than the reality might be. Our figure is as close as we can give and what we believe is the reality," he explained, adding that ICRC teams had not been able to visit many places due to security problems.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
__________________________________________________

Wednesday September 23 6:30 PM EDT
Security Council Demands Kosovo Cease-Fire, Talks .
By Anthony Goodman

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Security Council Wednesday demanded an immediate cease-fire and negotiations to end the conflict in Kosovo, where Serb authorities have been cracking down on a separatist movement among the ethnic Albanian majority.
     The vote in the 15-nation council was 14-0 with China abstaining.
     The resolution, aimed at Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, was adopted under the provisions of Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which provides for possible punitive measures in the event of noncompliance.
     The resolution warns that if this happens, the council will "consider further action and additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability in the region."
     China's abstention was a repeat of its action on March 31, when the council imposed an arms embargo on Yugoslavia -- now comprising only Serbia and Montenegro -- in hopes of forcing a peaceful settlement in Kosovo.
     NATO has been making contingency plans for possible intervention in Kosovo, and Washington contends the council resolution edges closer to permitting the use of force.
     But almost all other members insist that would require further council authorization.
     Russian Ambassador Sergei Lavrov stressed before the vote that "no measures of force at this stage are being introduced by the Security Council."
     He said Russia called for a settlement "exclusively through peaceful political methods on the basis of granting broad autonomy to Kosovo" and respecting Yugoslavia's territorial integrity.
     An early version of the resolution had included a worldwide flight ban against the Yugoslav airline, JAT. But this was dropped as part of the price for Russian support.
     China's Ambassador Qin Huasun said Kosovo was "an internal matter for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" and the problem "should and can only be solved by the Yugoslavian people themselves, in their own way."
     Qin said the situation in Kosovo was "now stabilizing."
     "There is no large-scale armed conflict, still less any escalation of the conflict," he said, adding that the Yugoslav government had taken positive measures to encourage refugees to return home and to provide humanitarian relief.
     But British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, speaking after the vote, said Milosevic's security forces were "continuing to inflict brutality and repression on those they claim to see as their fellow citizens."
     "The so-called Kosovo Liberation Army has contributed to the present crisis," he said, referring to the guerrilla force spearheading the campaign to break away from Serbia.
     "Terrorism, in whatever guise and for whatever end, is unacceptable."
     Greenstock said the resolution "makes clear that the international community's patience is exhausted." If Milosevic continues to pursue military repression, "the international community will respond and will respond vigorously," he said.
     The council is "putting President Milosevic on notice that he will be held accountable for his actions," Greenstock said.
     "He would be wise to take heed," he added.
     American Acting U.N. Representative Peter Burleigh said Belgrade's "repressive actions have created a potentially catastrophic humanitarian situation as winter approaches."
     "Today the Security Council sends a strong, unequivocal message. ... The council will not tolerate the continued violence, lawlessness, repression and violation of human rights in Kosovo," he said.
     Greenstock also served notice that "planning at NATO for military operations if these efforts do not succeed is nearing completion."
     In addition to a cease-fire and the immediate start of negotiations, the resolution demands that both the Yugoslav and the Kosovo Albanian leadership take immediate steps to "avert the impending humanitarian catastrophe."
     The council has been wringing its hands for months over the crisis in Kosovo, where the fighting has killed about 700 people, and forced 250,000 from their homes. Serb assaults are continuing against ethnic Albanian villages.
     The council had been prevented from taking tough action up to now because of opposition from Russia, Serbia's historic friend.
__________________________________________________

Wednesday September 23 9:10 AM ET
MSNBC
U.N. moves toward Kosovo action

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 - The United States and United Nations are taking key steps toward military intervention in Kosovo, increasing pressure on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to stop the slaughter before winter sets in. With winter imminent in the Balkans, the U.N. Security Council prepared to vote, possibly Wednesday, on a resolution threatening force unless the Serb leader calls a cease-fire and negotiates with Kosovo Albanian separatists.
     The Clinton administration also asked the North Atlantic Council to seek commitments of arms, material and troops from NATO members to complete plans for a multinational force, two U.S. officials said Tuesday.
     An informal survey of possible NATO contributions already has been taken, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said.
     "The combination of the diplomatic message of the Security Council resolution and the military message of NATO being one step closer to acting we hope very much will get President Milosevic's attention," said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
     Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in meetings with foreign ministers here for the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, received assurances from key Security Council members, including Russia, that they'll support the U.N. resolution threatening military action if Milosevic doesn't lay down his arms, U.S. officials said.
     Britain and France proposed the resolution last week.
     Only China, which as a permanent member of the Security Council could veto any action, voiced concerns about the implied threat of force and might abstain from the vote, another U.S. official suggested.
     The resolution doesn't itself authorize force, but falls under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which does.
     German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, in a speech to the General Assembly, said Tuesday that it was time to take action against Milosevic, whose 250,000 Serb forces began a crackdown in February on Kosovo Albanians.
     "He must realize that the international community will react with military force if necessary," Kinkel said.
     Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schussel, speaking on behalf of the European Union, demanded Milosevic withdraw from Kosovo, a southern Yugoslav province where ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of the population. He called for negotiations between the two sides as soon as possible to "define a new status for Kosovo."
     Western nations support returning autonomy for Kosovo, which Milosevic withdrew in 1989.
     "Their police and military operations have led to consequences for the civilian population that are out of any justifiable proportion," Schussel said.
     The fighting has killed hundreds of people and uprooted more than 250,000, now hungry and cold refugees who could become the world's next humanitarian crisis. Snow fell in the Balkans this week.
     Russia, which has cultural and religious ties to the Serbs and has opposed force in the past, said it would go along with the resolution because it didn't specifically authorize military intervention.
     Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanhov warned the General Assembly that the use of outside force "might lead to a big war with unpredictable consequences for the Balkan region and Europe at large."
     But the Russians also are angry because Milosevic failed to follow through on promises months ago to President Boris Yeltsin to stop the fighting.
     While Moscow, which has veto power on the Security Council, is reluctant to back military intervention, their diplomats agree that increasing the threat of action may bring Milosevic to the negotiating table.
     The resolution demands that Milosevic call an immediate cease-fire, allow humanitarian access to refugees and negotiate seriously about the future of the region. It says "the council would consider further action and additional measures to maintain or restore peace and stability in the region" if a political settlement isn't reached.
     It sets no timetable.
     Bacon noted that the North Atlantic council already has approved two contingency plans - an air operation to put pressure on Milosevic and "another plan to monitor and maintain a cease-fire agreement if one is reached."
     NATO also was preparing for possible airlifts to feed refugees.
     Bacon and other U.S. officials were careful to say that a political decision to use military force hadn't been made. And the North Atlantic Council hadn't yet decided whether to begin rounding up of forces for possible action. But the officials said the matter was "on a fast track" and could be decided this week.
     Meanwhile, Yugoslav officials shrugged off threats of military action in Kosovo, in a defiant reaction typical of Milosevic. For years, Milosevic ignored growing worldwide condemnation of Serb excesses in Bosnia until NATO struck at Bosnian Serb positions in 1995, helping end the war there.
     In Belgrade, Milosevic's aide Zoran Lilic said the world should "leave Serbia alone to solve its own problems."
     Backed by blistering artillery strikes, the Serb-Yugoslav forces were reported to have seized at least four villages by late Tuesday and killed dozens of ethnic Albanian rebels. The fighting forced thousands from their homes to nearby forests, increasing fears of mass deaths this winter from hunger and cold.
     Top officials of Milosevic's Socialist Party, including Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, dismissed reports of a looming humanitarian disaster in Kosovo, saying they presented an "excuse for continuation of pressure on our country."
__________________________________________________

Wednesday September 23 11:01 AM EDT
NATO And U.N. Ready Tough Warning On Kosovo
By Douglas Hamilton

VILAMOURA, Portugal (Reuters) - NATO allies were moving quickly Wednesday to back an expected United Nations resolution on Kosovo with a threat of air strikes to halt a Yugoslav government offensive in the province.
     After three months of hesitation, which Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic exploited to press a ferocious campaign against ethnic Albanian secessionists, the alliance appeared determined to regain the initiative in its bid to forge peace.
     In Kosovo, Serbian security forces claim they have already stabilized the situation and are now mopping up pockets of guerrilla resistance. They assert that ethnic Albanian refugees have already started returning to their homes.
     Warning against "phoney assurances" from Serb leaders, British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined France this week in pushing forward a mandatory Kosovo resolution. The Security Council was expected to adopt the measure Wednesday, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Kosovo and talks on a peaceful solution to the crisis.
     Russia, which brokered some breathing space for Milosevic earlier this year so he could tackle the fast-growing guerrilla threat from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), previously balked at a resolution under the mandatory Chapter VII provisions of the U.N. Charter.
     It has now decided to endorse such action. That left only China's position uncertain, but no Chinese veto was expected.
     NATO ambassadors were scheduled to meet in special session in the Portuguese Atlantic resort of Vilamoura Thursday to authorize the Supreme Commander Europe, General Wesley Clark, to start the process of lining up what types and numbers of aircraft the allies could have ready to join possible strikes.
     The so-called "activation warning," formally advising of the possible execution of NATO's contingency plans for Kosovo, would subsequently get the public endorsement of alliance defense ministers holding their annual informal get-together in Vilamoura.
     The defense ministers of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, soon to become full members of NATO, will take part in the talks, which are also expected to discuss the outlook in Bosnia, following elections in which an ultra-nationalist hardliner did unexpectedly well, and in volatile Albania.
     Germany has already said it will provide 14 Tornado fighter bombers for a Kosovo strike force, seven equipped with electronic gear to disable Yugoslav anti-aircraft missile systems and defenses. The Dutch air force is reported to be ready to provide eight F-16 fighters.
     In a warning display of NATO air power in May, the allies skirted Yugoslavia with 86 warplanes. In the air strikes that ended the war in Bosnia in 1995 well over 100 aircraft were deployed.
     NATO contingency plans for Kosovo also provide for a warning barrage of cruise missiles, which could be followed up by an escalating aerial bombardment of Yugoslav military targets if Milosevic continues to defy the ceasefire call.
     In Kosovo, the government drive to obliterate the KLA rolled on, setting more villages afire, according to eyewitnesses, and scattering more ethnic Albanian refugees.
     Over a quarter of a million people -- a sixth of Kosovo's overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian population -- have been driven from their homes by the fighting. An estimated 50,000 are living in the open, threatened by starvation, hypothermia and disease as winter approaches.
__________________________________________________

Wednesday September 23 10:24 AM EDT
Serb Forces Press Kosovo Attack
ALEKSANDAR VASOVIC Associated Press Writer

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - Defying world pressure to end a crackdown in Kosovo, Serbia's security forces today pounded an ethnic Albanian stronghold after reportedly capturing at least six rebel-held villages.
     The fighting sent 20,000 refugees fleeing their homes in the central Drenica region, the heart of the separatists' rebellion against Serbia, the ethnic Albanians' Kosovo Information Center said.
     The military assault came as the U.N. Security Council prepared to vote, possibly today, on a resolution threatening further action unless Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic halts the fighting and begins negotiations with ethnic Albanians on the future of the separatist province.
     The Clinton administration has already asked the NATO governing body to seek commitments of arms, material and troops from NATO members in preparation for a multinational force, two U.S. officials said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
     But if the latest threats have alarmed Serbian officials, there was little sign of that on the ground, as government forces tightened the noose today around the Kosovo Liberation Army rebels.
     Smoke billowed from at least three towns and artillery resounded in the central Drenica region, where Serbs reportedly captured at least six villages from ethnic Albanian rebels: four Tuesday and two more today.
     Drenica is the heart of the rebellion against Serbia and the last major stronghold of rebels fighting for Kosovo's independence from Serbia.
     The ethnic Albanians' Kosovo Information Center said eight other villages have been burned and 20,000 people had fled their homes.
     Thousands of Serb police and armed Serb civilians patrolled the winding dirt roads into the Drenica region today, refusing to let reporters reach refugees near the town of Kosovska Mitrovica.
     Serb-led troops have defeated the KLA elsewhere in Kosovo since launching their crackdown in February. The fighting has claimed hundreds of lives and sent an estimated 275,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, fleeing.
     The Security Council was expected to adopt a resolution calling for a cease-fire and threatening further action if the violence continues. The draft resolution does not specifically authorize NATO force to stop the clashes, but calls for unspecified "additional measures" if the fighting continues. It gives no time frame.
     A U.S. envoy in Kosovo, Christopher Hill, visited some of the refugees in the area southwest of the capital Pristina on Tuesday. He was expected to meet ethnic Albanian leaders today.
     In Belgrade, Milosevic's government shrugged off the threats and accused the West of being anti-Serb.
     The defiant reaction is typical of Milosevic. For years, he ignored growing international condemnation of Serb excesses in Bosnia, until NATO struck at Bosnian Serb positions in 1995, helping end the war there.
     Milosevic sent his top ally, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, to Kosovo today. At a meeting with Yugoslav army commanders, Milutinovic declared Yugoslavia would defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the official Tanjug news agency reported.
     He said the world should put pressure on Albania because it provides bases for the rebels, instead of threatening Yugoslavia.
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September 23 1998 EUROPE
US puts blueprint for Kosovo deal to Milosevic after rebels' rout
FROM TOM WALKER  IN BELGRADE

PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC of Yugoslavia has been presented with an American-backed peace framework for Kosovo, with tacit assurances that Nato has dropped plans for military intervention unless Belgrade fails to head off a humanitarian catastrophe before winter.
     Kosovo's fate has dramatically changed over the summer, first through the world turning a blind eye to the defeat of the Kosovo Liberation Army by the Serb police and military, and more recently by the policy-making paralysis in Washington induced by the Monica Lewinsky affair.
     It is probably too late for the KLA to hope for Western airstrikes as a result of any renewed Serb offensive, simply because the police and military agree their job is largely done.
     However, what might still force Nato's hand is television pictures of shivering refugees starving and dying beneath the shattered ruins of their former villages in the lee of snow-capped peaks. A month ago it could all have been different. Western diplomats in Belgrade have admitted Nato was close to issuing Mr Milosevic an ultimatum to remove his forces or face the worst: initially, twin missile strikes against targets inside Serbia where there was a low risk of "collateral" damage - military-speak for civilian casualties.
     Then if Mr Milosevic had still refused to budge, Nato would have resorted to one of its boldest attack plans hatched since the dawn of the global peacekeeping era: a blanket knocking out of the Yugoslav air defence system, targeting about 180 sites throughout Serbia and, contentiously, its tiny and Western-friendly sister state, Montenegro.
     "Suddenly the word from the Situation Room in Washington was that it was all off," said a former military officer now serving in Bosnia. There are various theories why Belgrade was let off the hook, including Russian opposition and the notorious fallibility of Tomahawk missiles, which have performed poorly in other Nato surgical strikes against recalcitrant governments. But the most likely explanation is that Washington was too consumed by President Clinton's personal crisis.
     Yesterday the Serbs continued their mopping-up operation in villages north of Pristina, where ominous clouds of smoke from houses hit by army and police artillery rose west of the road to Mitrovica.
     In Belgrade, radio and newspapers carried reports that the KLA had been defeated, and that only villages where isolated bands of guerrillas were attempting to regroup were suffering in the latest clampdown. Mr Milosevic, who has never visited Kosovo during the current crisis, and indeed rarely ventures beyond the Belgrade suburb of Dedenje, is studying a peace plan given him by Washington's point man in the region, Christopher Hill, officially the Ambassador to Macedonia.
     It evisages a three-year transitional period, in which Kosovo adopts the status of a quasi-republic in the Yugoslav Federation. The former province would have its own "representative" rather than president, and an ombudsman appointed by the Yugoslav Government from a list of candidates supplied by the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg.
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September 23, 1998
West and Russia Reach Accord on Kosovo Actions
By BARBARA CROSSETTE

UNITED NATIONS -- Western diplomats said Tuesday night that they had reached agreement with Russia on a Security Council resolution that could be interpreted as allowing the use of force to stop the fighting in the Serbian province of Kosovo.
     The agreement came within hours of a speech to the General Assembly by the new Russian Foreign Minister, Igor S. Ivanov. Mr. Ivanov appeared to rule out Russian support for military action in Kosovo, where Serbian forces are waging an increasingly deadly campaign against ethnic Albanian separatists.
     Western nations, fearing a Russian veto in the Council, worked hard in the last few days to persuade the Russians to back the resolution, more as a warning to the Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, than as a prelude to attack.
     Mr. Milosevic has broken understandings with the Russians, making their task more difficult in dealing with this issue.
     Western nations hope the resolution, proposed by Britain and France, will be adopted on Wednesday. It restates demands that Moscow has made on the Serbs, including warnings that they have to allow European Union observers into Kosovo, guarantee access for relief agencies and provide for the safe return of refugees.
     The main thrust of the resolution, however, is its demands that the Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo cease hostilities immediately and begin a serious dialogue. The resolution also calls for an end to Serbian attacks on the civilian population. The demands made in the resolution are supported by its status as a Chapter 7 resolution, which under the United Nations Charter makes it militarily enforceable.
     The resolution is part of a two-pronged campaign being mounted this week by Washington, which has taken the position that it does not need Security Council backing for military action in Kosovo. The North Atlantic Council, NATO's decision-making arm, has been asked to begin contingency planning for action in Kosovo. That planning includes the lining up of pledges of military support.
     An American official took pains today to describe this NATO action as a last step in planning, not a first step to war.
     Administration officials are also insistent that present plans are a very long way away from any introduction of American ground troops.
     In his speech today Mr. Ivanov also warned against the use of military force in Iraq and raised the possibility that Russia would argue in the coming months that Iraq was no longer a threat to its neighbors and therefore deserved some relief from sanctions.
     Mr. Ivanov is a former deputy to Yevgeny M. Primakov, the new Russian Prime Minister, who some Western diplomats expect to take a consistently harder line on foreign policy issues of importance to Moscow.
     Mr. Primakov, a former Foreign Minister, has had a long relationship with Iraq, and the Russians consider themselves indispensable players there and go-betweens with Iraq's enemies.
     On the former Yugoslavia, Russians have long been opposed to the intrusion of NATO, which is now threatening to intervene in Kosovo.
     In his speech to the 53d session of the United Nations General Assembly today Mr. Ivanov spoke out generally against military solutions and seemed to be indirectly criticizing the United States for usurping the power of the United Nations.
     "What I have in mind are attempts to undercut the charter-stipulated powers of the Security Council to use coercive measures," he said. "We must not allow creation of a precedent involving the use of military power in a crisis without the support of the Security Council."
     Narrowing in on Kosovo, Mr. Ivanov said that "political logic must prevail" in solving the civil conflict.
     In his speech, he went out of his way to praise regional organizations that he said were useful in solving problems, mentioning the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, but conspicuously leaving out NATO.
     Turning to Iraq, Mr. Ivanov said Russia was concerned about rising tensions in the region, where Iran and Afghanistan are now armed against each other over a common border. He called for a new look at the embargo that has crippled Iraq since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
     Mr. Ivanov also made a strong plea to India and Pakistan, without mentioning them by name, to adhere to treaties banning the testing and spread of nuclear weapons and arms technology.
     He repeated Mr. Primakov's pledge to press the lower house of the Russian Parliament for ratification of the Start II arms treaty with the United States.
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September 23, 1998
U.S. Envoy Pays Visit to Refugees in Kosovo
By JANE PERLEZ

PRISTINA, Serbia -- The Clinton administration's special envoy for Kosovo drove into a valley filled with about 20,000 ethnic Albanian refugees Tuesday, many of whom sleep in the fields, to refute the Yugoslav president's assertions that there was no human crisis in the province.
     During a meeting in Belgrade on Monday with the envoy, Ambassador Christopher R. Hill, President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia insisted that Western descriptions of a crisis had been invented as an excuse to use force against the Serbian troops and policemen in Kosovo.
     Kosovo is the southern province of Serbia, the republic that is the larger part of Yugoslavia. More than 90 percent of Kosovo's people are ethnic Albanians.
     After the session with Hill, Milosevic said on television that "the term 'humanitarian catastrophe,' which we have been hearing in past weeks, is not based on reality."
     But Tuesday after touring the Pagarusa region -- about 25 miles south of Pristina, the provincial capital -- Hill said he had heard the stories of many Albanian refugees who had been living in the open for more than a month and were too scared to return home because hostile Serbian forces were posted in their villages.
     "I saw no sign of people returning and met people who, contrary to Serb insistence of their being under shelter, were sleeping in the fields," Hill said.
     Some slept in tractor trailers, others in makeshift tents, he said, and many had been without shelter for up to six weeks.
     Some of their houses were damaged by the Serbs. Some were intact, but even in those cases, the Albanians said they were too fearful to go back because of the Serbian police, Hill said.
     An estimated 250,000 Albanians have fled their homes since the conflict between Albanian separatist guerrillas, known as the Kosovo Liberation Army, and Serbian forces started in the spring. The exodus of Albanians from villages all over the province intensified in July when the Serbian security police, backed by the Yugoslav Army, mounted a tank and artillery offensive against the lightly armed guerrillas.
     With the Serbian offensive about to enter its third month, senior Clinton administration officials and NATO diplomats have renewed their threats of air strikes against Milosevic's forces. They say they hope to deter Milosevic from continued attacks that result in ever more refugees as winter closes in.
     NATO's defense ministers are scheduled to meet in Portugal on Thursday to discuss what to do.
     Early Tuesday, residents of Pristina woke to the sound of shelling about 12 miles northeast of the capital. The new attacks, which centered on the Cicevica ridge where the Kosovo Liberation Army was known to have some remaining strength, were expected to result in many more refugees, relief officials said Tuesday night. The officials said they had seen two military attack helicopters fly over the area.
     In his meeting with Milosevic, Hill said he had pressed the Yugoslav president -- the de facto leader of Serbia -- to withdraw the additional security forces that were sent to Kosovo to deal with the Albanian guerrillas. "Until they are removed, people will not return to their homes," Hill said.
     Milosevic did not give any specific commitment about a withdrawal of forces, Hill said.
     At the same meeting, Hill presented Milosevic with a draft proposal drawn up by the State Department for the future of the province. The proposal, Western diplomats said, does not touch the basic issue of the status of Kosovo.
     That is because the issue of whether Kosovo should remain part of Serbia, become a separate republic within Yugoslavia or be granted independence, as the Albanians demand, is too hot for rational discussion, diplomats said.
     Rather, the proposal presents ideas for an "interim solution" of three years during which a presidency, and the leadership of a legislature and government would be rotated among the major and minor ethnic groups in the province.
     Milosevic promised to return point-by-point comments to the State Department within a week, Western diplomats said. Ethnic Albanian leaders released their reaction to the proposal last weekend.
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Wednesday September 23 8:54 AM EDT
NATO Ponders Step Towards Kosovo Air Strikes

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO said Wednesday it was considering taking another step towards possible air strikes designed to bring peace to Serbia's restive Kosovo province.
     The plan to ask members of the 16-nation Western alliance formally for contributions to the air operations could be agreed when NATO defense ministers meet Thursday in the Portuguese town of Vilamoura, a NATO official said.
     "The issue is under active consideration at the alliance. Watch this space," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters after NATO ambassadors held their weekly meeting before travelling to the Portugal meeting.
     Last month NATO ambassadors agreed to sound out their members informally on the contributions they would be prepared to make.
     A NATO source stressed that the move would only apply to possible NATO air operations to bring peace in the province and not the various options for military action on the ground.
     NATO's action comes as the UN Security Council prepares to discuss a resolution urging an immediate cease-fire and talks on a peaceful solution to the crisis in Serbia's mainly ethnic Albanian province.
     The United States believes adoption of such a resolution later Wednesday would bring NATO members closer to military intervention in Kosovo.
     "We very much hope that it will be adopted," the NATO official said. "We believe that this strongly worded resolution sends a clear message to (Yugoslav President Slobodan) Milosevic of the resolve of the international community."
     Only China's agreement was still uncertain on the Anglo-French draft.
     Serbia's traditional ally Russia, which previously balked at a resolution under the mandatory Chapter VII provisions of the U.N. Charter, endorsed the resolution Tuesday.
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ISSUE 1216Wednesday 23 September 1998
Nato intervention in Kosovo could provoke 'big war'
By Christopher Lockwood, Diplomatic Editor, in New York

RUSSIA'S new Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, warned Nato yesterday against any military action in Kosovo, saying such a move could provoke "a big war" in Europe.
     "The use of power tools to resolve the Kosovo conflict might lead to a big war with unpredictable consequences for the Balkan region and Europe at large," Mr Ivanov told the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
     Nato has been preparing plans for military strikes on Yugoslav targets in Kosovo for months, and yesterday UN officials were drafting a Franco-British Security Council resolution that could bring military intervention nearer.
     Under the proposal, President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia must impose a ceasefire and withdraw his troops in Kosovo to barracks.
     Though military action is not directly threatened, the clear implication is that it may soon be used.
     Meanwhile, the Yugoslav army has stepped up its action against the rebel Kosovo Liberation Front. Shrugging off international condemnation, Yugoslav and Serb forces backed by heavy artillery launched an offensive on Drenica, the last stronghold of the rebels, where 10,000 to 15,000 civilians are believed to be trapped.
     By last night, the government forces claimed to have seized four guerrilla-held villages and killed many rebels.

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