Why the Allies stand firm
in the defence of values
by NATO Secretary General, Dr. Javier Solana
NATO's 50th anniversary this month was to be mainly a celebration. At our major Summit meeting in Washington, our Heads of State and Government would gather, confirm our vows, celebrate NATO's successes, and make speeches on our community of values.
The events in Kosovo changed our focus. Suddenly, we were faced with an unexpected choice: we had to decide whether the notion of common values is only rhetorical flourish or whether it carries real meaning. We made our choice. We decided that values do not only have to be preached, but upheld. That is why the Allies supported the effort to achieve a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Kosovo. Indeed, the Rambouillet talks were largely the result of the patient and persistent diplomacy of Allied nations. But it is also why the Alliance opted to use military force against the Yugoslav security forces and the government in Belgrade, once these negotiations had failed.
It was a decision we did not enter into lightly. The humanitarian tragedy was not likely to be stopped within a few days. The military risks to our soldiers would be significant. Civilian casualties might occur. Our important relationship with Russia was likely to suffer. And, last but not least, NATO would be charged by some with taking international law into its own hands.
Yet despite these potential risks and drawbacks we had to go ahead. We did so for three reasons.
First and foremost, we acted to stop the humanitarian tragedy. To stand idly by while a brutal campaign of forced deportation, torture and murder is going on in the heart of Europe would have meant declaring moral bankruptcy. Imagine the - justified - public outcry had NATO decided to just look the other way. The entire logic of turning Europe into a common political, economic and security space would have been revealed as empty rhetoric had we tolerated the barbaric ethnic cleansing on our doorstep. One of the lessons of Bosnia was that acting earlier might have been less costly in the end. We learned this lesson. We would not repeat that mistake.
Secondly, all other means - political and economic - had been exhausted before we reverted to military action. President Milosevic's refusal to sign the Rambouillet agreement made it clear that he had no interest in a political solution. He has tried instead to create a new ethnic reality on the ground. Any honest observer realises that military force was the only option left to stop him and, hopefully, make him reconsider. The Allies have to stand firm, leaving Milosevic with no alternative but to accept a just peace.
Finally, we acted to prevent a further destabilisation in the Balkans. As the UN Security Council already confirmed months ago, the destabilisation caused by the onslaught of Milosevic's brutal security forces constitute a threat to the entire region. In this respect, no one should forget that the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo began many months before NATO launched its first strike. It was to stop Milosevic from writing the final chapter in his campaign for the systematic depopulation of Kosovo that NATO decided it could no longer postpone military action. It would not be the first time that a regional crisis in the Balkans turned into something far bigger and nastier. With several hundreds of thousands of refugees being driven into neighbouring countries by Milosevic's brutal actions, the entire region faces a serious threat of general conflict. Those neighbouring countries, which themselves face serious political and economic problems, have long reached the limits of their ability to cope with this exceptional burden. In short, if Belgrade's policy of deliberate displacement of the Kosovo-Albanians were not energetically opposed, even more instability and bloodshed would have been the result.
NATO's military actions will be pursued until President Milosevic accedes to the demands of the international community:
· A verifiable stop to all military action and the immediate ending of the killing;
· The withdrawal of Serb military, police and paramilitary forces;
· The deployment in Kosovo of an international military presence;
· The return of all refugees;
· Putting into place a political framework for Kosovo on the basis of the Rambouillet Accords.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the countries of the European Union and NATO agree: Without all of these steps being taken there can be no peaceful multi-ethnic democratic Kosovo in which all of its people live in security. NATO is ready to help implement such an agreement. It is not too late to achieve it. Milosevic knows what he has to do.
The bulk of our military efforts are concentrated on bringing about a lasting political solution in Kosovo. But we are also doing our best to alleviate the suffering of the victims of Belgrade's policy - the Kosovo Albanians. NATO is supporting the UN High Commissioner for Refugees by providing and transporting food and supplies. The Alliance is also providing medical support and is helping to set up refugee centres in the neighbouring countries. We will sustain and intensify our humanitarian relief operations as necessary, in support of the many other organisations working to succour the victims of Belgrade's policy.
I am aware that many inside Yugoslavia do not understand what is happening. They believe that their country is being victimised by the international community. However, NATO is not at war with Yugoslavia. Our quarrel is not with its people but with the government which has abused its power and has waged war against its own citizens in Kosovo. If Serbian TV would show the same images of suffering refugees and displaced persons that we see night after night on our own television screens, many Serbs would undoubtedly be as outraged as the publics in our NATO countries, and indeed across the whole world, have been. When this conflict is over, and a political settlement is in place, the people of Yugoslavia will see better than they do today that they have entrusted their fate to a criminal political leader - a leader who in the course of 10 painful years has led his country into war, isolation and increased economic deprivation. This will be the moment when our hearts and minds must be open - to bring a democratic Yugoslavia back into the European family, where it belongs.
I admit that as we prepare for NATO's Washington Summit, we would have liked to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this Alliance in different circumstances. We all would have prefered to highlight Europe's achievements rather than be concerned with a region where this continent shows its darkest side. But in having decided to become engaged, to make peace and long-term stability in the Balkans our concern, we have sent a strong signal that in our Atlantic community, values have a meaning. This is the central message of our Washington Summit - a message that will reinforce the many initiatives that this historic meeting will generate; a message worthy of our Atlantic community.
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