[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 12 (Monday, March 27, 2000)]
[Pages 623-624]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on North Atlantic Treaty Organization Operations in Southeast 
Europe

March 24, 2000

    One year ago today, the 19 democratic members of NATO, supported by 
our regional partners, launched Operation Allied Force to put an end to 
Slobodan Milosevic's brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing.
    Milosevic's actions not only caused the worst human disaster in 
Europe since World War II but also threatened NATO's core interest in 
the stability of Southeast Europe. As result of NATO's resolute and 
concerted stand over 78 days, we reversed the ethnic cleansing, 
compelled Serb forces to withdraw, allowed a NATO-led force and a United 
Nations mission to secure the peace, and paved the way for nearly a 
million refugees to return to their homes in safety. Imagine the 
consequences if NATO had not acted one year ago. Milosevic's campaign of 
ethnic cleansing would have proceeded unchecked, exterminating or 
expelling hundreds of thousands of Kosovar Albanians, a final grim 
epitaph of the twentieth century. Those who survived would have become 
permanent refugees, causing a humanitarian crisis and threatening the 
stability of the region. The historic progress we have made toward 
building a Europe undivided, democratic, and at peace for the first time 
in history would have been reversed, and NATO's role to help consolidate 
stability in Europe would have been undermined.
    We should be proud that we met our responsibilities in Kosovo, and 
we have accomplished much in the past year. With the support of the 
international community, NATO and the United Nations Interim 
Administrative Mission have created the foundation that can lead to a 
peaceful and stable Kosovo. The U.N. mission helped return over 90 
percent of the refugees to their homes in time to assist their 
preparations for winter. Some 300,000 Kosovar children are back in 
school today. Electric power has been restored to most areas. Over 200 
kilometers of railway are back in service, and nearly 2,000 kilometers 
of roadways have been cleared of

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unexploded ordnance and mines. Although violence still remains too 
frequent in Kosovo, the weekly murder rate has been reduced by 90 
percent since last June, thousands of weapons have been confiscated and 
destroyed, and the Kosovo Liberation Army was successfully disbanded.

    There is much more to be done. The NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR), 
with approximately 85 percent of the troops contributed by our Allies, 
has helped create conditions of basic security that will permit civil 
implementation to move forward quickly. The international community has 
pledged over $1 billion for the stabilization and economic 
revitalization of Kosovo--with our partners providing more than 6 times 
our contribution to this effort. U.N. member states have sent over 2,500 
policemen to patrol the streets of Kosovo, but the U.N. has asked for an 
additional 2,000 officers, and we will do our share. Building on the 
foundation of the 300 local judges and prosecutors that have been 
appointed by UNMIK, the international community is working with Kosovars 
to help rebuild Kosovo's legal and judicial systems. With the support of 
international soldiers and police, we are working to protect the 
individual human rights and cultural heritage of all Kosovars, Serb, 
Roma, Albanian and others. We remain committed to seeking the release of 
those Kosovars jailed in Serbia without the benefit of due legal 
process.

    During Allied Force, we persisted until we prevailed. Today we are 
carrying that same spirit forward into the challenges of building peace, 
democracy, and opportunity--in Kosovo and across the Balkans. And with 
the leadership of our European Allies and the support of our Congress, 
we will continue to work with the people of Southeast Europe toward our 
shared vision of a democratic and peaceful future.