So Bobby you wanted a little war?
Yugoslavia 'dicing with destruction', warns Nato general
By Patrick Bishop in Belgrade
>Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Humanitarian law violation in Kosovo - Human Rights Watch
>Centuries of Serbian suffering in Kosovo and Metohia - Kosovo Servian web site
>Albanian terrorism in Kosovo and Metohia - Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
>United Nations documentation - Research Guide: special section on peacekeeping
>Security Council - United Nations
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NATO'S senior general warned President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia yesterday that he risked "the destruction of his country" as Western efforts to broker a peaceful solution in Kosovo remained deadlocked.
A meeting between Richard Holbrooke, America's special envoy, and Mr Milosevic in Belgrade ended without sign of a breakthrough. Gen Wesley Clark, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said the alliance was militarily in "a heightened state" and Mr Milosevic was dicing with destruction.
He said: "The whole world is asking, 'Why would a single man want to risk the ravages of armed conflict and the destruction of his own country in order to maintain a regime of repression which has turned a political problem into a severe and growing humanitarian tragedy?'"
Mr Holbrooke was accompanied by Gen Mike Short, commander of the United States 16th Air Force, based at Aviano, in north-east Italy, who will direct air raids if Nato is given the go-ahead. His presence was "intended to emphasise the gravity of the situation", an American official said. "It is he who will command the planes that will be flying over to drop the bombs."
It was not clear whether Mr Holbrooke's coup de theatre had an impact on the Yugoslav president, who has resisted strong international pressure to declare a ceasefire in Kosovo, pull out his special forces and allow the refugees to return home. An afternoon session with Mr Milosevic ended apparently inconclusively. Mr Holbrooke is due to return for more talks, accompanied by Christopher Hill, the American diplomat leading the search for a long-term political solution in Kosovo.
Officials hinted that Mr Holbrooke's mission was open-ended, and he could stay in Belgrade for days if he thought there was a chance of progress, but William Cohen, the American Defence Secretary, said a decision whether to use force should come soon. "This has to be resolved, certainly within a week," he said. "Some resolution has to take place because time is running out [for] the people up in the hills."
Before his fourth meeting with Mr Milosevic in days, Mr Holbrooke said the situation remained extremely serious. "Nato continues intensifying and planning its preparation for action and we are continuing and intensifying diplomatic effort to see if that's going to be necessary or not."
Faced with Russia's hostility, and German and Italian caution, America seems to have decided on a generous interpretation of what constitutes Belgrade's compliance with Western demands.
There is confusion as to what would be deemed an acceptable troop presence for Yugoslavia to maintain in Kosovo. Reports said that Mr Holbrooke would tell Mr Milosevic he had to scale down troop levels to those that existed before he ordered an offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army.
Yet an American diplomat said that as long as there was a net outflow of forces, Mr Milosevic would have satisfied that particular demand. On the political front, it appears that he has only to agree to talks with Albanian leaders, without acceptance of the American blueprint for a Kosovo settlement.
Mr Holbrooke was also asked by the six-nation Contact Group directing peace efforts to demand access for relief organisations to bring aid to displaced Albanians, co-operation with an international war crimes tribunal and the removal of obstacles to the return of refugees.
Meanwhile Nato ambassadors in Brussels are expected to work over the weekend on a legal basis for military action that would avoid the need for another UN Security Council resolution, which Russia might veto.
telegraph.co.uk |
