PRESS CONFERENCE BY FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

Albania supported separatism and terrorism by aiding ethnic Albanians fighting in Kosovo, said Ambassador Vladislav Jovanovic, Chargé d'affaires of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, at a press conference held today at Headquarters.

Albania wantonly disregarded international law by officially recognizing Kosovo as an independent State, he said. The United Nations and the international community had not denounced or condemned that action. Albania had also served as a base for terrorists to launch attacks into Kosovo against Yugoslav forces and had, for years, acted as a training ground for terrorists.

He said about 5,000 terrorists where quartered in barracks in Albanian towns preparing to fight in Kosovo. The Kosovo Liberation Army, a military group fighting for Kosovo's independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, had an office in Albania. That office was a centre for recruiting fighters, and was engaged in obtaining and dispatching arms to Albanian fighters in Kosovo. Between 1 January and 25 August, terrorist groups from Albania had caused 87 border incidents and used firearms in 68 cases. Sixty-one terrorist groups of various sizes attempted to infiltrate the border during the same period.

Since the beginning of the year, about 200 terrorists had been killed and about 20 had been captured, he said. Several thousand pieces of miscellaneous weapons had been impounded, as well as 1 million bullets for automatic rifles and heavy artillery. His Government had also found that a number of foreign mercenaries were fighting alongside ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

He added that the targets of terrorists in Kosovo were not only soldiers and Serb civilians, they also attacked other Albanians and persons belonging to ethnic groups such as gypsies, Serbian-speaking Muslims and Turks. An entire village inhabited by Turks was forced to flee under pressure, harassment and threats from Albanian fighters. Such fighters had also perpetrated violent acts and massacres against civilians. It was clear that those groups were not freedom fighters, but terrorists.

Security Council resolution 1199 (1998) of 23 September had been adopted without the consent of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, he said. Even that resolution, however, referred to Albanian groups fighting in Kosovo as terrorists and it called on Albanian leaders to condemn such terrorists.

There was no action or repression against civilians by the Yugoslav forces, despite reports to the contrary, he said. There were occasionally some unintentional and unwanted collateral damage among civilians. However, the number of civilian casualties was infinitely small compared to the scale

Yugoslavia Press Conference - 2 - 25 September 1998

of the struggle against terrorism. The number of civilian casualties by Yugoslav forces had not exceeded 500. That number was not a reason for outcries against his Government and claims that it threatened peace and stability in the region. That was a deliberate form of exaggeration in order to justify interference from abroad.

A correspondent asked if the 200 ethnic Albanians that were killed by Yugoslav forces were massacred? He responded that the Albanian fighters were eliminated in fighting and Yugoslav forces were not involved in barbaric ways of killing.

Where were the 20 captured ethnic Albanians referred to by Mr. Jovanovic being held? a correspondent asked. He said that those captured were being held in prisons and all of them would go to trial.

How did his Government plan to address the humanitarian problem of displaced people in Kosovo who were exposed to harsh weather as winter approached? Mr. Jovanovic was asked. He responded that his Government had already taken steps to help those displaced people. It had set up a number of humanitarian centres to meet the needs of those displaced. It had also encouraged people to return to their homes and 100,000 people had already returned.

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