Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

14 April 2004

KOSOVO

• Responding to a rash of ethnic violence in Kosovo, key UN officials warned the province's leaders to confront growing extremism there or face being ostracized by the rest of Europe. "Kosovo's leaders must leave no doubt of their wholehearted commitment to tackle and confront extremism and extremist positions including within their own ranks and to hold those politicians responsible, and to discipline those civil servants who may have played an instrumental role in formenting or participating in the violence," UN Undersecretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno said Tuesday. "The message they are called on to convey to Kosovo's representatives and its population is simple and clear: there can be no peaceful and prosperous future for Kosovo without respect for the diversity of its people violence will not be rewarded," he said. U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham said last month's violence "was clearly a setback in Kosovo's development into a society that can become part of Europe" and posed a challenge to the international community which must now ensure that it fulfills UN standards and becomes a peaceful, multi-ethnic democracy. He indicated the UN will not decide Kovoso's future status until this happens. "Those who believe that violence can be used to further a political agenda should know that the United States and the international community shall not pursue a final status decision until Kosovo can ensure a peaceful and secure environment for all its communities," Cunningham said. (AP 140206 Apr 04)
  
  
• A shadowy rebel group appeared at a funeral in UN-run Kosovo vowing to stop the "occupation" of the province and to fight for unified Albanian lands, local media reported on Tuesday. Three men wearing balaclavas and insignia of the Albanian National Army (ANA) showed up during the re-burial on Monday of two ethnic Albanian guerrillas who died fighting Serb forces five years ago, several dailies said. NATO's commander for southeastern Europe, U.S. Admiral Gregory Johnson, said it could be seen as intimidation and "it cannot be taken lightly." He told reporters after meeting Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi that they had talked about "appropriate action to be taken” “We swear on the graves of national martyrs that we will not stop on our path towards national liberation and unification," a man in uniform told a crowd of several hundred people. (Reuters 131827 GMT Apr 04)

IRAQ

• At a rare White House news conference, Bush called on radical Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to disband his militia in Iraq after days of deadly clashes between his fighters and U.S. forces. U.S. troops massed outside the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf on Tuesday, ready for a possible move against Sadr and his militia. Pledging to keep U.S. troops in Iraq as long as necessary and to meet Pentagon requests for more resources. Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the region, said on Monday he had asked for two more brigades – about 10,000 troops -- for Iraq. "If that's what he wants, that's what he gets," Bush said. "We have set a deadline of June 30. It is important that we meet that deadline. As a proud and independent people, Iraqis do not support an indefinite occupation and neither does America," Bush said. "Now is the time, and Iraq is the place, in which the enemies of the civilized world are testing the will of the civilized world. We must not waiver," the president said. (Reuters 140225 GMT APR 04)

MIDDLE EAST

• An Israeli withdrawal from Gaza has President George W. Bush's endorsement even before Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sets foot in the White House on Wednesday. But that is only a part of the difficult bargaining that has been under way since mid-February and intensified before Sharon's arrival for White House talks between Israeli and U.S. officials. Bush and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stressed after their meeting Monday at Bush's Texas ranch that while an Israeli pullback in Gaza would be welcomed, it must be under a wider agreement that would leave the Palestinians with a state. "I think any withdrawal from the occupied territory is very highly appreciated," Mubarak told reporters. But, he said, withdrawal from Gaza alone would not be enough. "It will not be accepted by the public opinion in the area," Mubarak said. In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he hoped Israeli withdrawal in Gaza would not impede creation of a viable Palestinian state. (AP 140155 Apr 04)

RUSSIA

• A top Russian general on Tuesday took a conciliatory stance on NATO’s eastward expansion, saying that Moscow would closely watch the alliance's activities in the new Baltic member states, but wants to avoid taking military countermeasures. Col.-Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, the first deputy chief of the Russian military's General Staff, said that Russia's response to NATO's expansion would be careful to "avoid making excessive steps under the impact of emotions." "Our main goal is to avoid Russia's isolation," he said at a news conference. Baluyevsky emphasized, however, that NATO aircraft now could reach Russia within just a few minutes and said that was a source of concern. He warned that Russia could revise its 1999 pledge to limit troop numbers in western and northwestern regions if it feels threatened, but emphasized that Moscow would like to avoid such moves. Baluyevsky strongly urged NATO members to ratify an amended version of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty that limits the number of troops and weapons in various areas. "The most rational path is to ratify the amended CFE treaty and stop scaring each other," he said. (AP 131406 Apr 04)