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Having ignored Serb
massacres of Kosovo liberation forces over the past few months, NATO forces have
at last moved in for the kill. The so-called peace talks between the Yugoslav
government and the Kosovo fighters brokered by the ‘Contact Group’ (of US,
France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Russia) is to get an agreement signed in
NATO’s interests. Their aim is to utilise this conflict, generated by Serb
national chauvinism, in order to establish a strong military presence in this
strategic region. Their chief aim is to — (i) destabilise the pro-Moscow Serb
government; (ii) disarm the KLA fighters fighting for liberation from Serb
domination and (iii) replace Serb military forces in Kosovo with a massive
30,000-strong NATO force, euphemistically called ‘peace-keeping’ force.
It is an agreement
sought to be imposed on both parties at gun-point — with 430 NATO aircraft ready
to strike at a moment’s notice and with US, British and French troops already
stationed on Kosovo’s border as an "advance guard". It is a well planned
strategy of the imperialist vultures to carve out Kosovo among themselves. Under
their plan American troops will take control of the eastern corridor of Kosovo;
the French, the western; the British in the central, the Germans, the south and
the Italians, the northern corridor. The capital city, Pristina, will be seized
by 1,855 US marines as part of a NATO "Enabling Force", to be later replaced by
a 4,000 contingent of US troops. Russia, though part of the ‘Contact Group’, is
not to be given a share of the loot. Their plan is to station 30,000 NATO forces
in Kosovo.
And to make sure both
sides agree to the NATO formula, throughout the 17 days of the talks, which
ended in a stalemate, on February 23, ’99, NATO, and particularly the US, openly
flexed its muscles. Yugoslav president Milosevic has been openly told "Agree to
a NATO-led ground force in Kosovo or NATO planes will bomb Serbia." They were
again and again warned to remove their force by the deadline (of the end of the
talks) or face bombing. On February 17 Washington moved 51 war planes to Europe.
Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State, speaking with the arrogance of a
world gendarme, said, "Milosevic will be hit hard and he will be deprived of the
things he values" (Feb. 18). NATO Secretary General said (Feb. 19) "NATO was
determined to avert a humanitarian catastrophe by compelling compliance ...." By
February 19, US ordered evacuation of its diplomatic personnel from Belgrade in
preparation for the bomb attacks. On February 19, the US and French Presidents
jointly stated that Milosevic must accept the ground realities or face military
action. Clinton openly threatened that the only way Yugoslavia could keep Kosovo
as part of their country was to accept the ‘multinational peace force’. And all
these open threats were taking place while the talks were in progress, in which
Yugoslavia agreed to Kosovo autonomy but was opposed to the NATO forces being
stationed in Kosovo.
On the other hand USA
and its allies were arm-twisting the KLA to give up its demand for independence,
accept autonomy and lay down its arms. They attempted to split the KLA since,
till the very end, a major section opposed the laying down of arms, opposed mere
autonomy and were demanding that finally a referendum should be held to
determine the future of Kosovo. NATO warned the Kosovan representatives that
their arms and money from neighbouring Albania would be blocked if they did not
sign an agreement for autonomy. Madeleine Albright warned that the KLA would
lose all Western support if they failed to accept a ‘political’ settlement by
23rd afternoon..
So it was to be an
agreement signed at gun-point... held at the head of, not only Milosevic, but
also the KLA. Yet, after 17 days of discussions and continuous intimidation no
agreement was signed and talks have been postponed to March 15. The stalemate
was partly due to the resistance of the KLA and partly due to inter-imperialist
contradictions. Russia was vehement against military strikes on Yugoslavia. Also
two important NATO forces, particularly those based in this region — Italy and
Greece — have excellent relations with Serbia and are reluctant for military
attack. For Russia, Yugoslavia is not like Iraq.... it is not only its only
foothold left in East Europe, but also the ties are so close that Yugoslavia has
proposed to join the Russia-Belarus unification. In case of a conflict, Russia
has openly stated that it will assist Yugoslavia with arms and technical
assistance. The Russian Defence Minister also stated that NATO would get a
Vietnam-style war in the heart of Europe if it launched strikes against
Yugoslavia.
The true solution for
the Yugoslav people is to put an end to Serb chauvinism and domination by
allowing the Kosovo people to decide their own future and opposing all forms of
imperialist interference and domination in Yugoslavia — that is, by kicking out
NATO forces from the Balkans and by opposing Russian domination of Serbia.
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