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U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman Press Statement

Press Statement by James P. Rubin, Spokesman
December 18, 1998

Situation in Kosovo

On December 17, Zvonko Bojanic, the Serbian Deputy Mayor of Kosovo Polje, was kidnapped and executed. Although the General Staff of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has disclaimed responsibility, the masked and armed men who carried out the attack reportedly wore KLA insignia on their uniforms.

The United States deplores this act of savage brutality. We welcome the KLA political representative's condemnation of this assault. Nevertheless, tensions in Kosovo are spiraling upwards in response to a number of serious incidents and armed clashes in the last week. These include the December 14 series of firefights on the FRY-Albanian border in which more than 30 ethnic Albanians were killed, the killings of Serb civilians in the town of Pec, and large-scale police operations in the Glodjane region on December 17. Neither side is showing the restraint needed to manage deep-rooted tensions and achieve a long-term settlement.

The U.S. Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission (KDOM) is doing everything possible to ease tensions in Kosovo and is in regular contact with the KLA leadership as well as with local officials. Harold Koh, the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, is in Kosovo today together with U.S. Embassy Belgrade Chief of Mission Richard Miles to press for maximum restraint on all sides. Ambassador Holbrooke also underscored the need for restraint and dialogue in his meeting with FRY President Milosevic on December 15.

Violence, including in retaliation for violence by another party is unacceptable. It works against the prospects for a peaceful negotiated settlement that will benefit all of the people of Kosovo. The Serbian Ministry of Information's recent threat to shut down independent Albanian-language media in Kosovo is also an unacceptable response to rising tensions. The United States remains firmly committed to supporting independent media outlets in the FRY, including in Kosovo. If Belgrade authorities target the independent press in Kosovo for the same sort of persecution they have unleashed against the Serbian-language media, they will only further deepen the FRY's international isolation.

Neither the Serbs nor the Albanians can win a military victory in Kosovo. Only a negotiated solution can provide the long-term stability necessary for the region to grow and prosper. The United States reaffirms its commitment to the negotiating process and peaceful political settlement in Kosovo. We call on both sides to join constructively in that process, and will continue to work closely with all the parties to make this a reality.

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