IHF press release on Kosovo
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Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 18:35:29 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: IHF press release on Kosovo
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: International Helsinki Federation <[email protected]>
IHF press release on Kosovo
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN KOSOVO MUST BE STOPPED
New York and Vienna, 10 May 1999. While the international community
searches for a formula for ending the conflict in the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia that is acceptable to NATO and to the Serbian
government, Kosovo Albanian civilians continue to be subjected to
ethnic cleansing and other crimes against humanity. Daily, they are
being murdered, raped, mutilated, robbed and deported by the soldiers
and agents of the Milosevic regime.
The Executive Committee of the Vienna-based International Helsinki
Federation for Human Rights (IHF), which represents 39 Helsinki
committees and other human rights organizations in North America,
Europe, and the Former Soviet Union, insists that the protection of
these people and their future in Kosovo is the central responsibility
of the United States and its European and Russian partners. The IHF is
firmly convinced that the Serbian regime is the source of the tragedy
in Kosovo. Although the tactics of the allies have failed so far to
achieve their aims, NATO's lack of success does not detract from the
noble principle of humanitarian intervention.
That principle must now be upheld and acted upon. All necessary and
appropriate available means must be deployed swiftly to stop the
atrocities and the ethnic cleansing; to save the Albanians remaining
under Serb oppression in Kosovo; and to provide for the safe return of
those who have fled or been deported. The allied governments must
carefully consider mounting an armed protective force for this
purpose.
Humanitarian military operations cannot be conducted at no risk. The
fate of Albanians - and also many Serbs - shows that risks that the
allied military forces have avoided for themselves have been
transferred to people bearing no responsibility.
It is the responsibility of the international community to stop the
atrocities being perpetrated against Kosovar Albanians and to create
conditions under which everyone can enjoy the full civil and political
rights guaranteed to them under international law. The international
community also has a responsibility to assist the multi-ethnic
government of Montenegro in its efforts to establish democracy and
resist the destabilizing efforts of the Serbian authorities.
We insist that the Serbian regime's crimes against humanity cannot be
tolerated. Those responsible for the crimes must be charged, and
brought before the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia in
The Hague. They must stop or be stopped.
The IHF urges the allied governments promptly to deliver humanitarian
aid to the displaced people of Kosovo who are dying of starvation and
illness. We also urge the neighboring Balkan countries as well as the
allies to provide for the refugees outside Kosovo and to ensure that
their basic needs are met and their basic rights guaranteed.
The IHF is deeply skeptical of an outcome where the Milosevic
government would be left in power and thousands of Kosovar Albanians
unable to return to their homes. Such a settlement would legitimate
the genocidal tactics of the Serbian government and would serve as a
precedent for other governments seeking to suppress ethnic
constituencies.
For more information:
Aaron Rhodes, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)
Sonja Biserko, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Gazmend Pula, Kosovo Helsinki Committee
Slobodan Franovic, Montenegrin Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
at (917) 842-3825
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