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Undertaking of Demilitarisation and Transformation by the UCK This is the full text of the accord on the demilitarisation of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, known in Kosovo by its initials UCK) signed by KLA chief Hashim Thaqi and KFOR commander Lieutenant-General Mike Jackson in Pristina on June 21, 1999: 1. This Undertaking provides for a ceasefire by the UCK, their disengagement from the zones of conflict, subsequent demilitarisation and reintegration into civil society, in accordance with the terms of UNSCR 1244 and taking account of the obligations agreed to at Rambouillet and the public commitments made by the Kosovar Albanian Rambouillet delegation. 2. The UCK undertake to renounce the use of force, to comply with the directions of the Commander of the international security force in Kosovo (COMKFOR), and where applicable the head of the interim civil administration for Kosovo, and to resolve peacefully any questions relating to the...

The Independent of London, June 6, 1999 by Mark Almond From the start of the Nato air campaign, Tony Blair was the most hawkish proponent of the claim that this was a war of a new type – “for principles, not national interest” – and it was one that air power alone could win (even if he sometimes gave the impression of wanting a good old-fashioned ground war). Slobodan Milosevic has not yet signed the EU-Russian peace plan, but the success of Nato’s 11-week air campaign has forced the armies of sceptics, as well as the Yugoslav forces, to accept that awesome air power alone can settle disputes. A sinister precedent has been set. Television viewers watching videos of smart bombs knocking out precisely chosen targets in Yugoslavia may feel that they have witnessed the hi-tech equivalent of what Goethe saw at the Battle of Valmy in September 1792, when...

War, the Great Stabilizer: Media’s Superficial Critiques of NATO’s War Media Advisory June 11, 1999 As NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia neared its conclusion, the press began debating whether or not the war was a success. Many mainstream commentators and reporters were critical of NATO’s tactics, but NATO’s basic spin on the war–it was a just war waged against genocidal evil, and it has improved the region’s chances for peace and democracy–went almost unchallenged. The idea that the war in Kosovo has proved that military force is an integral part of a humanitarian foreign policy appeared again and again in the pages of the New York Times and Washington Post. As Thomas Friedman put it (New York Times, 6/4/99), if Slobodan Milosevic really carries out his end of the deal, then NATO’s action in Kosovo "will establish that an air war for limited humanitarian goals can be effective, albeit costly." A...

UN Fig Leaf Times of India Thursday 10 June 1999 By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN DESPITE the imposition of a peace agreement on Belgrade last week and the tabling of a draft resolution in the UN Security Council, it is still not certain how the crisis in Kosovo will finally end. After violating every principle of international law and international humanitarian law for more than nine weeks by attacking a sovereign country, bombing civilian targets and killing some 1,500 non-combatants, one-third of whom were children, NATO has definitely achieved a measure of success. And yet, the draft UN resolution is ambiguous on the precise role NATO will play in the international peacekeeping force to be sent to Kosovo. It merely calls on “member states and relevant international organisations” to organise the force; NATO is mentioned only in an appendix and no leadership role is assigned to it. Nevertheless, the US insists the...

United Nations Resolution 1244 (1999) S/RES/1244 (1999)10 June 1999 Adopted by the Security Council at its 4011th meeting, on 10 June 1999 The Security Council, Bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security, Recalling its resolutions 1160 (1998) of 31 March 1998, 1199 (1998) of 23 September 1998, 1203 (1998) of 24 October 1998 and 1239 (1999) of 14 May 1999, Regretting that there has not been full compliance with the requirements of these resolutions, Determined to resolve the grave humanitarian situation in Kosovo, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and to provide for the safe and free return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes, Condemning all acts of violence against the Kosovo population as well as all terrorist acts by any party, Recalling the statement made...

A Soldier’s View By Lewis MacKenzie The Vancouver Sun Thursday, June 10, 1999 How quickly some commentators, particularly in Canada and the United States, jumped on and off the Kosovo war bandwagon. Since the first hint of a ceasefire more than a week ago some reputable columnists proclaimed a NATO victory and declared that the air strikes worked to perfection in forcing President Slobodan Milosevic’s capitulation. They decried the retired politicians, bureaucrats and generals who said the air strikes would fail as a bunch of crybabies who were woefully out of date. Assuming that I was included in this condemnation I decided to research what some of the anti-bombing alumni had actually said. To my considerable pleasure I discovered that the Kissingers and Powells, the Lord Owens and Ambassador Bissetts of the world, and further down the food chain, the MacKenzies, never said that air strikes would not prevail. Let’s...

In this dark land, liberation can only end in more bloodshed By Robert Fisk inside Kosovo The Independent June 9, 1999 If cliches were permitted in Pristina and its like, city of fear would not be good enough. There are rifle shots in the empty streets, loud, close to hand, from somewhere behind the 15th-century Imperial Mosque. There is the constant roar of Nato jets and a thump of bombs in the hills around Kosovo’s capital that changes the air pressure in Marshal Tito street. There are acres of looted houses, homes to the persecuted Albanians, two of whom I met – still I wonder at their courage – walking down the Corso arm-in-arm, a husband and his pregnant wife waiting for their day of liberation. And there are the Serbs, fearful of their future, unable to sell their homes, tens of thousands of them, still unable to grasp what...

Text-Excerpts of G8 Kosovo draft resolution Cologne June 8, 1999 (Reuters) (Includes all points and both annexes to draft resolution) COLOGNE, June 8 (Reuters) – Following are extracts from the draft text of a U.N. Security Council resolution agreed by foreign ministers from Group of Eight countries in Cologne on Tuesday. Brackets denote additional background information supplied by Reuters. “The Security Council… 1. Decides that a political solution to the Kosovo crisis shall be based on the general principles of Annex 1 (the G8 principles agreed on May 6 in Bonn) and as further elaborated in the principles and other required elements in Annex 2 (the agreement reached in Belgrade with Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and Russia Balkans envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin on June 4). 2. Welcomes the acceptance by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) of the principles and other required elements referred to in paragraph 1 above, and demands...

Law the Loser Times of India Editorial Saturday 5 June 1999 Although the peace agreement worked out between the US, Russia and the EU and imposed on Yugoslavia contains many elements that are distasteful to Belgrade, it is international law that has undoubtedly emerged as the biggest loser. For 72 days, NATO warplanes and missiles relentlessly bombarded a small nation of 11 million, killing more than 1,500 civilians, wounding several thousands more and destroying close to 100 billion dollars worth of property. Consequent to the bombing and to the unpardonable actions of Serb troops, more than 800,000 Kosovar Albanians fled their homes and took refuge in neighbouring countries. With so much destruction and displacement having taken place as a result of NATO’s armed aggression, the international community is entitled to ask why the agreement which was finally reached on Thursday could not have been hammered out much earlier. Though NATO...

Special feature. Two articles from the Independent by Robert Fisk 1) The Peace that Betrays the Kosovar Cause By Robert Fisk The Independent, June 5, 1999 So we’ve won the war, have we? That’s what we are now being told by our leaders. Messrs Clinton, Blair, Cook and all the rest are telling us that Nato may shortly achieve its aim of returning 750,000 refugees to their homes, of installing a Nato-Russian force in Kosovo and ensuring the withdrawal of Serb police and troops. Nato, after its failure to crush a country of 10 million people in fewer than 70 days, can now walk tall again. All the Albanians who trekked over the frontiers of Macedonia and Albania are going to head home under “our” protection. The BBC and CNN have gone along with this scenario – just as their cameras will be there to record the emotional return of...

Belgrade Peace Agreement 4.6.99 Friday, June 4, 1999 Published at 01:20 GMT 02:20 UK on BBC website This is the text of the agreement obtained from European Union sources in Cologne and was the document taken to Belgrade by the EU’s envoy, Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, and Russia’s Viktor Chernomyrdin. Agreement should be reached on the following principles to move toward a resolution of the Kosovo crisis: 1. Immediate and verifiable end of violence and repression in Kosovo. 2. Verifiable withdrawal from Kosovo of all military, police and paramilitary forces according to a rapid timetable. 3. Deployment in Kosovo under UN auspices of effective international civil and security presences, acting as may be decided under Chapter VII of the Charter, capable of guaranteeing the achievement of common objectives. 4. The international security presence, with substantial Nato participation, must be deployed under unified command and control, and authorised to establish a...

They Call This Victory? From "Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting" Media analysis, critiques and news reports FAIR Media Advisory Washington, June 4, 1999 Media commentators have been asserting that the Kosovo peace plan adopted June 3 by the Serbian Assembly vindicates NATO’s airstrikes on Yugoslavia. A New York Times editorial (6/4/99) claimed the plan, if genuine, shows that NATO’s "sustained bombing has been more effective than many critics allowed" and represents a "victory for the principles of democracy and human rights." The Washington Post’s Stephen Rosenfeld wrote (6/3/99): "They said Bill Clinton was wrong to rely on air power alone to win the war, and — assuming the details are mastered — they were wrong…. This time around, anyway, he showed he was right. His weighing of means and ends finally clicked." USA Today’s Walter Shapiro stated (6/4/99): "The record must show that Bill Clinton did the morally right thing....