REPORT OF FACT-FINDING MISSION TO BELGRADE, KOSOVO AND MACEDONIA
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By Svend J. Robinson, NDP Member of Parliament, 15th-21st May, 1999
The aim of NATO's military action is clear: to prevent further violence by
the Yugoslav security forces in Kosovo and to avert a large-scale humanitarian disaster.
-Hon. Art Eggleton, Minister of National Defence, 24 March, 1999
My visit to the Balkans reinforced my view that the objectives set out by
our government for the NATO action in Kosovo were certainly not met. While
the war is now over, it is important to review the events that led to the
bombing, and to determine why the NATO campaign led to so many innocent
civilian deaths and environmental destruction, and to what extent it
exacerbated the plight of Kosovar Albanians on the ground in the days and
weeks after the bombing started.
All parties in the House of Commons shared the objective of ensuring the
rights of all peoples in Kosovo to be able to live in their homes and their
communities in peace and security. International human rights and refugee
organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Medecins
Sans Frontieres, UN agencies, and spokespeople for the Kosovo Verification
Mission all urged the international community to respond to serious human
rights violations in Kosovo, including expulsions of ethnic Albanians from
their homes and the large number of internally displaced refugees. In the
absence of a UN response, the NATO bombing campaign began on 24 March.
Despite our longstanding opposition to NATO, New Democrats initially joined
with all other parties in supporting limited military action to bring
Milosevic to the table, particularly bearing in mind the previous history in Bosnia.
Within a few days it became obvious that the NATO strategy of bombing from
15000 feet in the air was not in any way meeting this objective. Instead the
bombing unleashed a wave of retaliation against Kosovar Albanians on the
ground, who were totally defenceless. Attempts by the KLA to take advantage
of the NATO bombing to attack Serb targets backfired and resulted in further
brutal retaliation. Ethnic Albanians fled their homes and villages in
terror, many were killed and injured, and their houses burned and destroyed.
Hundreds of thousands crossed the borders into refugee camps in Albania and
Macedonia, and thousands more escaped into the mountains inside Kosovo. NATO
bombs killed growing numbers of innocent civilians, both ethnic Albanian
refugees and Serbs, and caused massive environmental damage. The voices of
democratic dissent within Serbia were silenced. It soon became clear that
NATO's strategy was a military, political, environmental and humanitarian
disaster. Those who were the alleged beneficiaries of the bombing, the
Kosovar Albanians, were being ruthlessly killed and driven out of their
homes and villages.
In light of the disastrous situation in Kosovo and Serbia and growing
concern in Canada about the failure of NATO's strategy and our government's
role in the region, and following consultation with my New Democrat caucus
colleagues, I decided to travel to the region. As a member of the House of
Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, and New Democrat Foreign Affairs Critic,
I believed it to be particularly important to see first hand the situation
in Belgrade, Kosovo and in the refugee camps in Macedonia. I met with
Yugoslav Embassy officials in Ottawa, including the Ambassador Pavle
Todorovic and First Secretary Liljana Milojevic-Borovcanin and received
their assurance that my meetings and travel in the area would be unrestricted.
In addition, I met with officials of the Foreign Affairs Department in
Canada, including chief spokesperson James Wright, and officer Lisa Helfand.
While they were of course unable to assist in any way with travel or
meetings within Yugoslavia, they were most helpful in suggesting contacts in
Belgrade, and in facilitating travel and meetings in Macedonia. The embassy
in Romania was also very helpful in making travel arrangements from
Bucharest to the Yugoslavia border at Vatin. As this mission was undertaken
on behalf of my caucus and federal party, no taxpayers' money was spent on
it. Expenses were covered by the federal party and by myself.
I arrived in Belgrade on the evening of Sunday the 16th of May, having been
picked up at the border and transported to Belgrade by officials of the
Yugoslav Foreign Ministry. While in Belgrade I stayed at the Hyatt Regency
Hotel, along with all journalists and other official visitors. The only
Canadian journalist present when I arrived was Tom Clark of CTV. He soon
left, to be replaced by Roger Smith. Gilles Paquin of La Presse was also in
Belgrade after I arrived. Liz Palmer of CBC TV arrived the day I left. Other
journalists were most helpful to me in providing background, particularly
John Simpson of the BBC.
During my stay in Belgrade and Kosovo I was assisted at all times by foreign
affairs officer Miodrag Panceski, and his director, the head of the
America's Department Rajko Bogojevic. I had meetings in Belgrade with:
Mr. Lj. Ristic, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Federal Assembly
Mayor Mikovic of Pancevo (opposition party to Milosevic)
Mr. Sergio de Mello, UN Under-secretary for Humanitarian Affairs
Oxfam representative in Belgrade
Mr. Vuk Obradovic, former General and leading opposition figure
Mayor Mihailovic of Belgrade (opposition party)
President Stambuk of the Serbian Parliament
Mr. Nils Kastberg of UNICEF
Mr. Andras Agoston, leader of the Hungarian community
Mr. Zivadin Jovanovic, Foreign Affairs Minister of Yugoslavia
I also visited many of the sites of NATO bombing, including the refinery and
petrochemical plants at Pancevo, the press building, the Chinese embassy,
the Hotel Yugoslavia, and many other locations. A number of common themes
emerged from my many discussions. All agreed that the NATO bombing campaign,
whatever its initial objectives, had not achieved its stated objectives, and
that it would be impossible to achieve a diplomatic solution while the
bombing continued. There was deep anger at the loss of civilian lives, and
the economic destruction caused by the bombing. The economy was already
devastated, with unprecedented levels of poverty and unemployment. The deep
historical significance of Kosovo to the Serbs was stressed by many. The
political impossibility for any Serb leader of accepting the terms of the
Rambouillet document, including the presence of NATO troops throughout
Yugoslavia, was highlighted. Many opposition and NGO figures lamented the
crushing and silencing of the voices of dissent, in words like "We made a
fertile soil for democracy...and onto that soil is now falling NATO bombs."
Many noted the irony that the most intense NATO bombing targeted cities held
by parties in opposition to Milsosevic.
I was struck by the atmosphere of defiance of the Serbs I met in Belgrade.
Even as the bombs fell they were telling grim jokes. One was told about the
woman who covered her mouth every time she heard an air-raid siren. Asked by
her husband why she did that, she replied, "Because the dentist just put a
bridge in my mouth."
I was strongly urged by many people, including Foreign Affairs officials and
NGO representatives, not to travel to Kosovo, as it was too dangerous.
Indeed, the International Committee of the Red Cross representative warned
me that their convoy had narrowly missed being bombed (50 metres) a few days
earlier, despite having notified NATO of their movements 48 hours earlier.
It was only with the personal intervention of the Foreign Minister, and the
assistance of another Minister that I was able to travel to Kosovo.
I was the only politician from any country to travel into Kosovo after the
bombing started on the 24th of March. In Kosovo I visited the village of
Podojevo, and villages around Pristina, before entering Pristina and staying
at the Grand Hotel. While there I met two journalists, both with Canadian
connections: Paul Watson, writing for the Los Angeles Times, but formerly of
the Toronto Star, and Alexander Mitic, for AFP, who had spent time in
Canada. I had extensive and vigorous exchanges with representatives of the
"Temporary Executive Council" of Kosovo, including President Zoran
Andjelkovic, as well as Health Spokesperson Vukasin Andric and Culture
Spokesperson Guljbehar Sabovic.
I was naturally unable to meet with any representatives of the ethnic
Albanian community, as they had all fled. I was unwilling to meet with a
group of people who had taken over responsibility for conditions in Podojevo
after the Democratic League elected representatives had left. When I
requested a meeting with the Mayor, I was first told that he was in the
hospital, and then that he was unavailable. I refused to visit Serb patients
in the Pristina Hospital, allegedly victims of NATO bombing, as I was told
that there were no ethnic Albanian patients in the hospital, victims of Serb
attacks. In the Grand Hotel, I met a group of mercenaries from Russia,
Ukraine and Israel. They said they were there to "kill Moslems", and some
had killed many Moslems in Bosnia previously.
I visited the sites of NATO bombing, including a residential complex in the
heart of Pristina. Dr. Andric pointed out the location of his
mother-in-law's apartment, in ruins, and said that she had died in the
attack. I also saw a cemetery that had been bombed, the bus that had been
hit, and visited a farming village which had been attacked by cluster bombs.
Some unexploded cluster bombs still lay in the fields nearby, a grave threat
to the children of the community.
Driving into Kosovo from Belgrade, and then from Pristina to the Macedonian
border, was a terrible experience. Village after village was totally empty
of any life, with houses burned and roofs destroyed. They were like ghost
towns. While the Serb officials blamed all of this on the KLA or on NATO
bombing, it was clear that many of the villages had been "ethnically
cleansed" of Kosovar Albanians, who had fled to neighbouring countries or
into the mountains.
I walked across the border into Macedonia, where I was met by Foreign
Service Officer James Hill, who coordinated the Canadian operations in
Skopje. While there, I visited Stenkovac refugee camps, and met with
officials of the Macedonian government as well as representatives of the
Kosovo Democratic League, Ibrahim Rugova's party. Ms. Edita Tahiri,
Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Kosovo Parliament and
Kosovo negotiator at the Rambouillet Conference, was most helpful. I also
met with Canadian officials from Immigration and other departments,
including our defence attaché, as well as the World Food Program rep and the
head of the Swiss humanitarian mission into Kosovo.
In the refugee camps I listened to many moving stories of ethnic Albanians
who had been driven from their homes and lost loved ones. I was also able to
board five busses of refugees on their way to Canada, and extend a welcome
to them on behalf of our country. On the 21st of May I was driven to Sofia,
Bulgaria, from where I flew home to Canada.
RECOMMENDATIONS
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1. The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee should hold public
hearings as soon as the House resumes sitting in the Fall, to examine in
full the conduct of the war in the Balkans and Canada's role. Questions to
be addressed include:
--What were the precise circumstances in Kosovo before NATO bombing
started on 24 March? How many refugees were outside the country? How many
internally displaced persons? How many dead and injured? What concrete
evidence existed that the Serb military and paramilitary and police were
preparing for a major attack and "ethnic cleansing" campaign?
--Precisely what did the government of Canada know about the contents
of the Rambouillet document before 24 March? When did they know it and what
information was shared with other parties?
--What efforts were made before 24 March to engage the United Nations
in a diplomatic solution?
--How were targeting decisions made by NATO? What input did Canada
have in these decisions? On the 22nd of May, NATO spokesperson Jamie Shea
said "No government has asked NATO to change its strategy, including its
targeting policy." A few days after this statement, NATO bombed a bridge in
Varvarin, in broad daylight, on a busy shopping day and religious holiday.
Nine civilians were killed, including a young girl on her bike and a local
priest, and 17 injured.
--Did our government voice concern about the terrible impact on the
environment of NATO bombing, including the bombing of industrial plants in
Pancevo, attacks on transformers, poisoning of the Danube river, and the
use
of depleted uranium in weapons?
--What was the precise role played by the Canadian military? How many
military targets did our CF-18 aircraft hit? How many were involved in hits
on civilians? Were there any other members of the Canadian Armed Forces in
the area? If so, what role did they play?
--How many sorties were flown by NATO jets? How many military targets
were actually hit, including tanks?
2. What reconstruction aid is being given to rebuild the shattered
infrastructure both within Kosovo and in Serbia itself? UN representatives
have voiced serious concern that Kosovars may be at risk of freezing in the
upcoming winter, with the spokesperson for the UNHCR in Pristina, Ron
Redmond, saying on the 8th of July: "The whole goal of this operation was
that people would be able to return home. There's got to be some kind of
transfer of money from the military to the humanitarian side or we are
afraid it's going to jeopardise our winter operations."
3. What steps are being taken to ensure that all of those responsible
for crimes against humanity are brought to justice? While this certainly
must include Milosevic and those Serb military leaders responsible for the
appalling "ethnic cleansing" campaign in Kosovo, it cannot stop there. Those
in NATO who were responsible for the loss of so many innocent civilian lives
in places including hospitals, markets, civilian vehicles including a train
and bus, and the use of cluster bombs, must surely have their conduct
measured against international humanitarian law as well. Their "collateral
damage" was massive, and those responsible must be brought to justice.
4. Far more vigorous steps must be taken to protect the Serb minority in
Kosovo from reprisals, and to ensure that those refugees who have fled are
able to return to their homes in security. The KLA must be completely disarmed.
5. The outrageous "right of landing" fee, referred to as the head tax,
applied to refugees who wish to become landed immigrants in Canada, must be
immediately repealed.
6. The United Nations must be reformed and strengthened to enable it to
respond effectively and consistently to crimes against humanity and massive
human rights violations within national borders. Never again must NATO be
the body that arrogates unto itself this decision, particularly given the
glaring inconsistencies in its approach (see the plight of the Kurds in NATO
member Turkey for example). Canada should take the lead as a member of the
UN Security Council in seeking changes in the UN to make this possible,
including the possibility of a UN Rapid Reaction Force. Canada should
convene at an early date an international conference to review these issues
and make recommendations for change.