Jackson, U.S. Lawmakers
Press For Yugoslav Deal
06:31 p.m May 02, 1999 Eastern
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
Rev. Jesse Jackson and
congressional leaders urged
President Clinton Sunday to
jump-start peace talks with
Belgrade after President Slobodan
Milosevic's release of three U.S.
prisoners of war.
Jackson, the civil rights activist who
brokered a deal to free the
soldiers, said NATO should
consider releasing two Yugoslav
prisoners as a goodwill gesture,
and he appealed to Clinton to meet
face to face with Milosevic to bring
an end to the bombing of
Yugoslavia.
''Leaders should not be afraid to
meet. As a matter of fact, they
must,'' Jackson told NBC's ''Meet
the Press.'' ''I think (Clinton) and
Milosevic would understand each
other. ... We should not miss this
moment of opportunity.''
Senate Republican Leader Trent
Lott of Mississippi and Rep. Tom
DeLay of Texas both urged Clinton
to ''seize this moment'' to press for
a compromise after more than a
month of bombing.
Jackson secured the release of the
U.S. soldiers while on a free-lance
mission to Belgrade with other
religious leaders. He undertook the
trip despite warnings from the
White House that it was dangerous
and ill-timed.
The three soldiers -- Steven
Gonzales, 22, of Huntsville, Texas;
Andrew Ramirez, 24, of Los
Angeles; and Christopher Stone,
25, of Smiths Creek, Michigan --
were seized while patrolling the
Yugoslav-Macedonian border on
March 31.
The Clinton administration
welcomed their release but
rejected Jackson's call for direct
talks between Clinton and
Milosevic, who has been called
''evil'' by Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright.
Instead of easing up on the
bombing, as proposed by Jackson,
U.S. officials promised Sunday to
step up NATO air attacks against
military targets in Serbia and its
province of Kosovo.
''This gesture on his (Milosevic's)
part cannot overcome the stench of
evil and death on the killing fields of
Kosovo,'' Defense Secretary
William Cohen told NBC.
In interviews with U.S. television
networks, Jackson urged Clinton
and other NATO leaders to reach
out to Milosevic. ''A diplomatic
gesture should get a diplomatic
response,'' he told ABC's ''This
Week'' by telephone from Zagreb,
Croatia.
Lott told CNN's ''Late Edition''
that this was the time for Clinton to
press for a diplomatic settlement.
''Let's see if we can't find a way to
get the bombing stopped, get
Milosevic to pull back his troops,
find a way to get the Kosovars (to)
go back in a secure way,'' Lott
said. ''Short of that, I see a
quagmire that is going to go on. It's
going to get bloodier.''
DeLay, a member of the House
Republican leadership, said Clinton
had two choices: to occupy
Yugoslavia or to work out a
settlement. ''Bombing for
diplomacy's sake is always a
mistake, and this president ought to
show some leadership and admit it
and come to some sort of
negotiated end,'' he said.
But Deputy Secretary of State
Strobe Talbott told CBS that
Milosevic was a ''master
manipulator'' and argued against
giving ground just because the
soldiers had been freed.
Arizona Republican Sen. John
McCain was also skeptical.
''Milosevic remains a Balkan thug
who is willing to do whatever is
necessary, including the slaughter,
rape and ethnic cleansing of
hundreds of thousands of people,''
the presidential hopeful told CBS.
Jackson sharply criticized the
bombing for putting civilians in the
line of fire. He cited a NATO
attack that accidentally struck a
bus crossing a bridge in Kosovo
Saturday. Serb television put the
death toll in that attack at 60.
Contrary to reports by NATO,
Jackson said the bombing
campaign had not weakened
Milosevic's resolve. He said
NATO attacks were, in fact,
having a ''rallying effect'' in
Yugoslavia, bolstering Milosevic's
hold on power.
''If we have the intent to negotiate
a relationship, we have to @ some
point shift from demonizing to
organizing and negotiating,''
Jackson told ''Fox News Sunday.''
''I am convinced that if the leaders
are bold and seize this moment,
something great could happen. The
alternative would be an expensive,
bloody war,'' he said.
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. |
