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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (11263)	6/7/1999 7:51:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 17770

It would be very hard sell for NATO to seel ocupation if atrocities become rampant in Serbia....and partisan war is all but guaranteed.. Serbs fear mass killings by the KLA By Philip Smucker in Skopje Yugoslavia 'has been bombed back to 1945' SERBS from Kosovo fear reprisal killings by the Kosovo Liberation Army when the Yugoslav army withdraws. They say that Nato is not offering enough guarantees for their safety in the troubled province. Danijela Knezevic, 28, a nurse with two small daughters said: "When I heard about the peace deal I called my husband in Pristina and said, 'This is great. I am coming home soon'. But he didn't share my opinion. He said, 'Be patient and stay there a little longer. The KLA might start to slaughter'." America offered few assurances over the weekend. Ken Bacon, a Pentagon spokesman, said: "Our assumption is that many Serbs will leave Kosovo. I don't think that Kosovo is going to be a very happy place for them." The Serbs, he said, would not be forced out, but that is what most of the 150,000 Kosovar Serbs, some living in the province and others surviving as refugees in neighbouring states, fear most. It is not clear, however, that Nato forces will be able to defend Serb civilians. An exodus of 150,000 Serbs from Kosovo would make a farce of Nato's mission to re-establish a multi-ethnic Kosovo. Most male Serbs of fighting age have remained in Kosovo during the Nato air strikes, many of them fighting on the side of the army and police. Though some Serbs from large cities are not armed, Serbian villagers generally keep at least a Kalashnikov handy at all times. Others have rocket-propelled grenades and bazookas. Serbs now planning their return from Macedonia are not happy about their homecoming prospects. Todor Stankovic, 48 is an engineer from Urosevac, a once peaceful town, which, say Albanian refugees, became an armed camp during the war with Nato. He said: "It will be very difficult for Serbs to defend themselves. People will be forced to move out, they will be harassed at work and we won't be able to find jobs." Adding to growing Serb fears of revenge, Albanian attacks against persons thought to be sympathetic to the Serbian regime began over the weekend in the Stankovec II refugee camp. Several gipsies said to have helped burn Albanian homes were severely beaten in the camp by an angry mob. Christopher Hill, the American Ambassador to Macedonia, arrived on the scene and tried to calm the Albanians by reassuring them that they would soon be going home under Nato's protection. But few Western officials appear ready to guarantee the safety of Serbs in Kosovo. The Serbs are most concerned about the first few days of the peace implementation process when their own forces leave and Nato forces move in. Despite an apparent peace agreement between Nato and Belgrade, Serb and KLA forces continue to engage in fierce fighting inside Kosovo. Western officials estimate that the rebels now have 20,000 armed followers. Nato officials say they hope to plug the security vacuum, but are not optimistic about creating immediate peace in Kosovo. Capt Anthony Kennaway, a British spokesman for Nato in Skopje siad: "We are not saying that when the first troops cross the border we will have peace in Kosovo. We will be in Kosovo to enforce the peace and that applies to both sides. It has been made clear to the KLA that we expect them to abide by our terms." Such statements are met with scepticism. The Serb people, who suffered immensely through two World Wars, have a long history of being persecuted. Zaklina Popovic, 30, a female economist from Pristina said: "Nato will provide no security for the Serbs in Kosovo. My husband is there, my job and my home. But I still don't feel free to plan my return." Under an original peace agreement offered to the Serb leadership in Rambouillet, the KLA was to be disarmed. The wording has now changed to "demilitarise", leading many Serbs to fear that Nato is not serious about disarming the rebels. Ana, 24, a student from Urosevac said: "The KLA is a dangerous organisation that will continue its terrorist activities. Nato said it would discuss their disarmament, but when? And how long a process is that going to be? I only hope that Nato will keep its promise to be the peacemaker." telegraph.co.uk