OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: SERBIA: NATO CAMPAIGN

UNCLAS STATE 028847 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KS OSCE PGOV PHUM PREL SR SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: SERBIA: NATO CAMPAIGN ANNIVERSARY ¶1. Post is authorized to make the following supplementary statement, if the issue is raised by others, at the March 26, 2009 meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna: Begin Text: Thank you, Madame Chairwoman. We have listened with great interest to the statements by the (Russian/Serbian) Delegation(s) marking the tenth anniversary of NATO,s campaign that brought an end to Serbian aggression in Kosovo. In late 1998, the Yugoslav government, under former president Milosevic, unleashed a brutal military campaign inside Kosovo, which included widespread atrocities against civilians. In its recent ruling in the case of former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and five other senior officials, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia detailed that this was part of a Yugoslav state policy to force hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo, killing many in the process. The international community worked very hard to find a diplomatic solution to halt these events, resulting in the Rambouillet Accords, which called for Kosovo,s autonomy and the intervention of NATO troops to preserve the peace. Unfortunately, Milosevic rejected peace and continued the ethnic cleansing campaign. As a result, the international community, in the face of rising international outrage over the atrocities occurring in Kosovo, responded with a NATO military operation to halt the violence in Kosovo and stop the humanitarian catastrophe. As we look back on this period, it is incumbent upon governments and leaders to ensure that the true legacy of 1999 is understood. During this process, we should acknowledge that many suffered, ethnic Albanian and Serb alike. With a clear understanding of the facts, we are better able to move ahead and contribute to the stable, prosperous Euro-Atlantic future to which the people of the region aspire. Thank you, Madame Chairwoman. End text. CLINTON