Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STATE28847
2009-03-25 20:54:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Secretary of State
Cable title:
OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: SERBIA: NATO CAMPAIGN
how-toVZCZCXRO9920 PP RUEHAST RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR DE RUEHC #8847 0842111 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P R 252054Z MAR 09 FM SECSTATE WASHDC TO RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 8660 INFO ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS STATE 028847
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KS OSCE PGOV PHUM PREL SR
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: SERBIA: NATO CAMPAIGN
ANNIVERSARY
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
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