Albania Rejects New Dayton in Kosovo, Only ‘Nuremberg’
Albanian Daily News
6/4/99

TIRANA – Albania was sceptical on Wednesday about efforts to make Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic part of a solution to the Kosovo crisis and rejected the idea of a new Dayton-style agreement on Kosovo.

Prime Minister Pandeli Majko said after talks with a visiting senior Italian official in Tirana on Wednesday that there is no other option for Milosevic but capitulation and submission to NATO demands.

Milosevic should be subjected to a Nuremberg-style war crimes trial rather than be allowed to sign a Dayton-style peace settlement for Kosovo, Albania premier said. "Belgrade has no other alternative than to sign its defeat. There can be no Dayton but only a Nuremberg for Belgrade," Majko said in a statement to reporters.

He was referring to the trials of Nazi German leaders at Nuremberg after World War Two and to the US-brokered Dayton Accords which ended the Bosnia conflict in 1995.

"Milosevic and the other leaders of the Belgrade regime should answer for their war crimes so they can be an example that should never be followed by any people," Majko said. "Justice should be meted out by all means so that the Balkans is not destroyed."

He said Albania was closely following all diplomatic initiatives for the solution of the conflict, but said it will reject any deviation from NATO’s initial non-negotiable conditions to the detriment of a solution in favour of Kosovo’s Albanians.

Majko pledged undiminished support for NATO’s air raids against Serbia on Wednesday despite the mistaken bombing of its territory by alliance aircraft.

"The Albanian government supports the fulfillment of the five NATO conditions as the only way to resolve the conflict," said Majko, referring to NATO demands to stop air strikes against Yugoslavia that include a cease-fire and the pull out of all Yugoslav security forces from Kosovo, allowing the safe return of the Kosovo refugees under the protection of NATO forces, and the establishment of an interim international protectorate to safeguard the provinces broad autonomy and democratic process.

Majko maintained the war in Yugoslavia should have one victor, i.e. NATO, and one loser, Milosevic.

The premier said he was confident in NATO’s resolve, quoting a statement of the chief of US diplomacy, Madeleine Albright, who said: "The war will conclude only when NATO scores a victory."

Majko said Milosevic would not back down willingly but will be forced to concede as a result of NATO’s resolve to continue attacks.

"The bombardments of Albanian border by the Serb forces is the reality that Milosevic offers," he said, dubious at any peace offers by Milosevic. "These bombardments have occurred at a time that the Yugoslav Foreign Minister has declared his approval of the peace plan," he said, underlining that Belgrade’s latest moves should be seen with caution.

Foreign Minister, Paskal Milo, confirmed on Wednesday to the visiting Italian Deputy-Foreign Minister, Umberto Ranieri, that Albania would never accept whatever plan on Kosovo’s partition.

"Albanian government is against any plan on Kosovo’s division even for the sake of the deployment of an international peacekeeping force there," Milo told reporters.

Milo said that the recent diplomatic attempts are to be welcomed.

"Parallel to the NATO military pressure, the international diplomacy as well has become recently quite active," he said, adding "however it is Milosevic who should accept the five NATO conditions".

The Albanian premier played down the unintentional bombing of Albanian territory by NATO aircraft that were pounding Serb positions who were fighting Kosovo guerrillas close the Albanian-Kosovo border.

NATO planes dropped seven bombs near the Morina border post, four km (2.5 miles) from the Yugoslav border on Tuesday. The bombs, which destroyed communist-era pillboxes, caused no casualties.

"We are not in a position to say possible mistakes in NATO bombing constitute a problem because we understand the price we have to pay," Majko told reporters.

"We know that the price of peace is war and... we shall pay our part of the bill without playing the victim."

Albania has handed over complete control of its ports and airports to NATO and allowed the alliance to use its airspace for strikes on Yugoslavia, now in their 72st day.