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

To: robnhood who wrote (4400)	4/18/1999 7:50:00 PM
From: George Papadopoulos	Respond to of 17770

This is an editorial appearing in the most respected newspaper in Greece View Point The spectre of Vietnam By Yiannis Kartalis* This week will mark the completion of a month of intense bombings carried out by Nato against Yugoslavia, which have failed to fulfil the goals set by the alliance. Far from it - in fact, the mistakes have led to a veritable human tragedy. And while Nato celebrates its 50th anniversary under a pall of depression this week, an overwhelming question hangs in the air: How will this affair end? Repeating the same errors they made in Vietnam, the Americans are increasingly committing themselves to this war, while the Europeans - though they have shown that they would like to - dare not undertake a courageous initiative to break the deadlock. A characteristic example of this faint-heartedness was demonstrated at last week's European Union summit, causing the Germans not only to abandon their own proposal, but to return to their original positions. In this way, an important opportunity, which would have allowed a united Europe to finally raise its voice but also put the United Nations back on the scene, was squandered. Such an opportunity would have opened new paths to a solution, particularly as regards the exact makeup of the international peacekeeping force to be stationed in Kosovo, which seems to be the key to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's own acquiescence to the plan. As is known, the plan was torpedoed mainly by Britain but also by other states, which are obviously unable to detach themselves from the American chariot. The Europeans will get one more chance to raise their voices, not just their champagne glasses, at the celebration of Nato's jubilee which is to be held in Washington on April 23. To do so, however, they must realise that bombings lead nowhere. Or rather, that they lead to the general destabilisation of the region and the detriment of not only the Serbs but also the Kosovars, the people they were meant to protect. Prime Minister Costas Simitis justly pointed out on Friday that the military solution had exacerbated the problems instead of solving them, stabilised the Milosevic regime, brought about the death of civilians, did not stave off ethnic cleansing and undermined both FYROM [the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia] and Albania politically and economically as they face the pressure of hundreds of thousands of refugees. This is a reality which no one can doubt. If the bombings continue and a political solution is not sought, then we will be inexorably led to Nato ground operations - for, as we have seen so far, bombs can flatten Yugoslavia but they can affect neither Serbian morale nor Milosevic's position, which is now being strengthened even by his opponents. However, ground operations also bring casualties on the side of the attackers. This is what Washington fears most, for it knows that such a development has the power to sway public opinion and create the negative climate which was witnessed during the Vietnam war. The slaughter of Kosovar civilians at the hands of their supposed protectors last week has already brought a slight volte-face in European public opinion, something which is fully reflected by the press, even in Britain. This change could be intensified if similar “mistakes” are repeated, and it will reach a peak when the first coffins begin flying back from the front. By then, however, it will be too late. Seen in this light, Simitis' call for a peaceful solution to the crisis, made on Friday, is an important contribution to the search for a political formula, providing, of course, that it is supported by other states. As Simitis himself noted, cooperation is needed so that these initiatives can become more then mere proposals uttered for purposes of public consumption. The above article, by Yiannis Kartalis, appears in today's edition of the Sunday newspaper To Vima, of which he is chief editor