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Ambassadors Richard Holbrooke, William Walker, Wolfgang Petritsch, and Gabriel Keller Press conference, Pristina, Kosovo, December 15, 1998

AMBASSADOR WALKER: Good afternoon. Thank you very much for coming. I know it was on very short notice. We apologize because we just flew in from Belgrade ourselves, on very short notice. Again I want to thank you all for coming here. First let me introduce the people up here on the panel. I think you know most of them. To my immediate right is Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who is a special envoy of the President of the United States to this region, and the Secretary of State as well. To his immediate right is Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch, who is the Ambassador of Austria to Belgrade, but he is also the special envoy of the European Union. And to my left is Ambassador Gabriel Keller, who is the principal deputy chief of mission here at KVM. To those of you I haven't met, I'm Bill Walker. I am the head of KVM here in Pristina.

Let me just say that I hope all of you have been recipients of a statement that I issued last night to the press on hearing about the events up on the border and in Pec yesterday. I'd just like to go over to the points I made in that statement before turning it over to my colleagues. I strongly condemned the violence of the last 24 hours here in Kosovo. I said that violence was certainly not a solution to any of the problems of this region. And I fear -- and I think this is what we will be talking about today -- I have great fear that the events of yesterday could lead, might lead, to a spiral of retaliation and retribution, which I think we all wish to avoid -- those who are looking for a just and workable peace in the region. I would certainly call upon all members of the Kosovo community, as well as federal government authorities, to show as much restraint, to try to generate calmness in the aftermath of those events of yesterday. This is a very difficult time. We want to do everything we possibly can to avoid further conflict and violence. I think it is a very important point that I made in my statement, which I wish to reiterate here, that the events of yesterday in no way will deter the OSCE mission, our KVM mission, from continuing on with its task in terms of compliance with the agreements that were reached in the aftermath of United Nations Resolution 1199. I think we have to not only not be deterred, but we have to intensify our efforts to keep in contact with all the parties to this conflict, to all the activities on the ground, so that we can try to create the conditions of confidence and security that will get us past the awful events of yesterday. With those few words, and I think as I say you have a copy of my actual statement, let me turn the microphone over to Ambassador Holbrooke for his words.

AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: Thank you, Bill. Before I talk about anything else -- why we're here -- I want to express the deep condolences of myself and my government to the French Government and to the French Foreign Ministry for the loss they suffered yesterday in an automobile accident on the road between Belgrade and Pristina. Ambassador Keller, when we had a similar tragedy on the Mount Igman in August of 1995 it was your brave soldiers who helped us, and we shared a common loss then, and we share it today, and we would ask you to convey that to President Chirac and Foreign Minister Vedrine. [French translation by Ambassador Holbrooke.]

Diplomacy is sometimes dangerous, and nowhere more than the Balkans. It's not an accident that the deaths in this part of the world since the Dayton Agreement have all been civilians -- Secretary of Commerce Brown and his brave team, the people killed on the Ukrainian helicopter, now the French diplomats.

I was sent here by Secretary Albright and President Clinton to talk to the Yugoslav authorities about the situation in the region. Later today, I will meet with President Milosevic in Belgrade to convey to him our assessment of the situation in the region and to hear his views. I'm not going to go in to the details of the message that I'm carrying to him. We have a long-standing rule that our confidential talks must remain confidential, and it has been respected and I certainly will not preview our messages. But, as we were preparing to come here last night, Ambassador Walker called me in Athens and gave me the first news of what had happened on the border and in Pec last night and yesterday morning. And at recommendation of Ambassador Miles, our Charge d'Affaires in Belgrade, and Ambassador Walker, we changed our schedule and came down here today with our colleague, the Special Envoy of the European Union, to get an on-the-ground assessment, so we can report back to the European Union, the OSCE, the United States, and to better inform our conversations tonight. Time is extraordinarily limited, and therefore we will not get out into the field to get an on-the-ground assessment, but we have heard already detailed briefings from members of the KVM -- the Kosovo Verification Mission -- of what they understand to have happened on the border and in Pec. I want to stress to all of you that the facts are quite elusive in a situation like this, so what we know now is quite preliminary, and the details may shift as more data is collected. I was extremely impressed at the speed with which the Kosovo Verification Mission and the KDOM, which are really now merging into a single organization, got out into the border areas near Prizren. They took photographs on the ground before the bodies were removed, they have seen the prisoners, and are now seeking access to the prisoners, so that we can get a better sense of what happened, and they are gathering information. Any of you who experienced the similar incidents in Bosnia during the UNPROFOR period know that this kind of response never happened in Bosnia to incidents. It is essential -- essential -- that the Kosovo Verification Mission be permitted to gather whatever information it needs -- forensic, interrogatory, and elsewhere to understand these incidents and to prevent them from happening.

Now, in regard to the situation in Pec, we do not know the identity of the gunman or gunmen who fired in the Penda Bar, and we cannot yet draw any specific conclusions. But I want to be clear and I'll try to speak for all my colleagues, that whoever it was, whatever the motivation, it was an act that is not acceptable and not justified. It is our understanding that at least six people were killed. It is our further understanding, and I hope you will forgive us if the information turns out to be not entirely accurate, that they were young people, and they were certainly not armed. I'm familiar with this kind of thing in Northern Ireland and in other parts of the world -- West Bank. This is not an appropriate action, and whoever is responsible for it should be ashamed, and Ambassador Walker, Ambassador Keller, and Shaun Byrnes, the American who heads the U.S. Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission, are going to be taking active steps to contact everyone who might of been involved in this event to make it clear how unacceptable it is.

We also understand that there are some demonstrations that are going on in Pec directed against the KVM or the KDOM, apparently organized by or taking place by some members of the Serb community in Pec. Such actions are a direct violation of the OSCE Agreement with the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." Whatever their motivation, in whatever anger is expressed understandably by people who may have lost relatives or friends in the Penda Bar last night, the international verification mission is not responsible for this action and equivocally condemns it. And if anyone is threatening the safety or security of members of the Verification Mission or KDOM they are acting in direct violation of solemn assurances given by the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" about the safety of the Kosovo Verification Mission, and this is completely unacceptable. Nor is it rational either, because the KVM's presence in Kosovo is a stabilizing influence that should reduce tensions.

I'll just say in conclusion that, despite the events of yesterday which are undeniably serious -- very serious -- the international community has moved quite fast. There are over 500 people here already, under the OSCE, KDOM. The buildup continues rapidly, and the events of yesterday will not in any way deter the commitment of the international community to carry out our obligations nor our insistence that the authorities here and the leaders of all the communities act in accordance (inaudible). So, I want to stress that, and I want also to express my high admiration for the way that the international community and the OSCE -- Ambassador Walker and Ambassador Keller -- have built up their efforts. So again, we are determined to continue our efforts and we call on all the people involved to understand that they are playing with dynamite if they follow a deteriorating pattern. And I know that Secretary Albright and the President and other American officials, who are following the situation very carefully, will share these views. Thank you.

AMBASSADOR PETRITSCH: Thank you Dick. May I first convey my heartfelt condolences to the Government of France, the President of France, and to the family of Gerard Fauveau, a good friend of mine (inaudible) excellent professional, and I'm really shaken by this incident (inaudible) difficult job for diplomats, for all of us, (inaudible).

The European Union summit this past weekend in Vienna painted a rather gloomy picture of the situation in Kosovo. Unfortunately, the incidents of the past couple of hours are sort of proof of the seriousness of the situation and the expression is our presence here, in order to convey to all sides how difficult the situation is and that we are not going to (inaudible) further deterioration of the security situation here.

First of all, I am concerned very much with the negotiating track that Ambassador Hill and myself are conducting. We have been extremely busy over the past couple of days. We met with the Contact Group in Brussels as well as in Paris. I myself as the special envoy addressed the 15 EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels this past Monday. As I said, the situation here is extremely difficult, and we have to be really very, very careful. It must not further deteriorate. I'm very glad that KVM and KDOM acted so quickly in regard to the border incident, and we want all facts in the case in order to assess the situation. (inaudible) investigating aspects have to come up.

This in fact very unacceptable incident in Pec, we do not know who is behind it, but we are also going to look into this. This is a clear provocation, and we condemn it. We are also concerned about the ongoing demonstrations which are being conducted in a rather aggressive nature. There are some hostile acts and this is unacceptable to us. This endangers the peace and the safety of the KVM here and, as I said, not acceptable to us. I join in alerting you to the situation here with Ambassador Holbrooke , and we're going to look into it very carefully because the European Union, being here, having supplied a considerable part of the mission here, is not going to allow it to deteriorate (inaudible). We're going to stay here, and we're going to go on with our mission here in Kosovo.

AMBASSADOR WALKER: Thank you Mr. Ambassador. We only have a fairly short time because both the ambassadors have to get back to Belgrade, so we will take some questions, and please direct them to whomever you want and ask whatever you want.

QUESTION: (inaudible) Mr. Holbrooke, in your discussions with President Milosevic today, will the issue of the extraction force come up, in particular with reference to his statements in that Washington Post article over the weekend?

AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: I read that interview quite carefully. Let me be very clear on this. In the period between around October 7th to 9th or 13th -- the exact days I don't remember, we told President Milosevic that, as part of the effort in the region, NATO would probably send a force to Macedonia. We couldn't say definitively because NATO hadn't approved it, and we couldn't announce it on October 13 when we announced the rest of the package because we didn't have formal approval. But we already had been in extensive talks, particularly with the French and British Governments. President Milosevic knew that, and he said, "What you do in neighboring countries is your business." There is nothing inconsistent in that statement and his interview. As for an extraction mission, let me be clear that the safety of the OSCE Verification Mission, the Kosovo Verification Mission, is of the utmost importance. These men and women are unarmed. They are doing a dangerous job. In Bosnia, people are doing jobs like that are armed -- in most of the world people doing jobs like that are armed. They are unarmed here, and they are here with the absolute guarantee of their safety by the Yugoslav authorities -- in writing. And that is why I expressed earlier our concern about threatening demonstrations, use of language or rock throwing directed at any international personnel by anyone in Kosovo. And we will hold the Yugoslav authorities to their commitment to the security of the OSCE Verification Mission.

QUESTION: (Valentina Saracini, Deutsche Welle) Ambassador Holbrooke, can you tell us if you will have a meeting with any Albanian politicians today here?

AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: They don't appear to be in town -- the ones that I hoped to meet with. You see this trip was arranged -- we landed in the Belgrade airport less than 4 hours ago, and as we were landing Ambassador Miles came out to the airstrip and I said, "What do you think about us going to Pristina?" And he thought it was a good idea. We have this real problem. We called Ambassador Walker and Mr. Byrnes, who were waiting for us in Belgrade. They came out. We filed, the Yugoslav authorities gave us authority, we took off, and when we got in the air we found out that, as far as we can tell, Dr. Rugova is not here. I would certainly not come to Pristina and not call on him were he here. And I don't know -- is anyone else going to be here that we can see, Dick? We are going to see some of the leading political figures here who are in town, but I don't know how -- we're running out of time. I'm sorry I'm not seeing Mr. Agani and Dr. Rugova, but they are not here. That is not -- don't read anything into that, that's just logistics.

QUESTION: (Valentina Saracini) Will you meet Mr. Demaci, because you know he had some statement -- he declared that he has a critical opinion for your role in this diplomatic work . . .

AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: I don't know what the schedule is right now. We are on a terribly tight schedule, so I'm not sure exactly how it's going to work, but I don't think we're going to have much time.

QUESTION: (Binak Kelmendi, Rilindja) (in French) I have two questions for you. I am the editor-in-chief of the daily Rilindja, (inaudible) Binak Kelmendi. (inaudible) the victims (inaudible) that is to say the Serbian, Albanian, and international victims -- French -- when one promised that from (inaudible) the crisis would be resolved. What do you think about that now? That's my first question. My second question is - there has been a lot of talk about the agreement between you and the (inaudible), but I, as a journalist, I have not seen a single line of this agreement. What do you (inaudible)?

AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: Regarding the second question -- that surprises me because the agreement between Belgrade and the OSCE is public. There are no secrets. There are no secret agreements between Milosevic and the United States (inaudible). Call the French embassy, the American embassy, the Austrian embassy to obtain the OSCE-Yugoslav agreement.

And what was your first question?

QUESTION: (Binak Kelmendi, in French): What do you think, as special envoy of the President and of Mrs. Albright, can be done now to ameliorate the situation, at a time when (inaudible) victims (inaudible)?

AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: As I already said in English, as usual, it is not a good idea to announce a private message in public, before delivering the message in private. Forgive me for not answering more precisely (inaudible).

QUESTION: (Ylber Bajraktari, Koha Ditore) Mr. Holbrooke, so far have the KVM people managed to prevent any incidents?

AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: Well I think it's absolutely clear that the level of violence has been significantly (inaudible) . . . freezing or starving to death as winter set in, been able to leave the forests and woods and return to inhabited areas. Now they weren't all able to return to their homes, because many of their homes were destroyed in the pillaging and rampaging of the Serb security forces during the summer -- an action which the United States, the European Union, and the U.N. Security Council strongly condemned. But even despite the extremely unfortunate incidents of yesterday, as this gentleman said a few moments ago in French, the three tragic incidents of yesterday - it is quite right to include the French diplomats because even though it was a traffic accident, a road accident, they were traveling on a mission of peace, they wouldn't have been on that road if it hadn't been for this problem, so we consider them as much casualties of the crisis as they have been otherwise (inaudible). Despite yesterday's tragedies, the fact is that the situation here has been much calmer - much calmer - in the 2 months since the agreements than it had been prior to that. And that, we all consider positive.

QUESTION: (Burbuqe Rushiti, Hyrijet (inaudible) Turkey) Mr. Holbrooke, we saw in the field that people are not afraid of winter, but they are afraid of spring.

AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE: Well, that's a very good point and we have addressed that many times. Let me put it this way. To repeat something I said in Belgrade the last time I was there, we had a crisis and an emergency -- the emergency inside the crisis. The emergency was caused by the military offensive and it was immediate, and it led to the NATO ACTORD, the NATO Activation Order. And I want to stress that the ACTORD is still in place. The emergency was dealt with by the NATO Air Surveillance Agreement, the OSCE-Yugoslav Verification Mission in Kosovo, and the beginning of the full implementation under Ambassador Walker and under the NATO air forces. But the crisis has been going for over 10 years. The crisis is the political future of Kosovo. Ambassador Hill, Christopher Hill, my friend and colleague, is now on his way to Belgrade to meet me and he will go with me to the meeting with President Milosevic tonight, while Ambassador Walker and Ambassador Keller stay here, and Ambassador Petritsch goes to Vienna to report to the EU and the OSCE. In Ambassador Hill's negotiations he is the only with the core issue, the core reason for the crisis itself. Those are the most difficult negotiations of all, and we share your concern that progress in these must be made because we are concerned, as your question implies, that fighting can flair up -- you say in the spring, but we had two very bad incidents yesterday. So, it isn't necessarily the spring. We have to deal with this on a day-to-day basis. And the political negotiations are by far the most difficult part of this process -- by far. And they've been over-reported in the press, they are misreported in the press. There is lot of misunderstanding, but I believe that both sides are engaged, through Ambassador Hill, in a sorting out of the issues, but I'm not prepared to go into any greater details now. Ambassador Hill would be with us right now except that he was detained in Skopje, and so he will meet us in Belgrade.

QUESTION: My name is Radovan Urosevic, Media Center, Pristina. I would like to ask you, Ambassador Walker, a simple question. Do you consider the two incidents yesterday -- the border incident and the Pec incident -- of equal difficulty? And the question is based on numerous telephone calls from Pec. People are saying that your statement was there understood as you made the mark of the equality of all the incidents yesterday.

AMBASSADOR WALKER: I was thinking a mark of equality in that I was denouncing violence -- and obviously both incidents were very violent. I think we are still trying to straighten out exactly what we know about the incident up on the border. I think the words of Ambassador Holbrooke about what happened in Pec yesterday are very much what I would say about that incident, too -- both incidents very violent, both incidents resulting in deaths, both incidents very unfortunate, and both incidents likely to lead, or possibly will lead, to further acts of violence. That is what I am trying to condemn and I am trying to stop. Thank you.

[End of Document]

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