April 5, 1999

CRISIS IN KOSOVO: 'HEADING OFF A CATASTROPHE'

(THIS IS AN UPDATE OF THE EARLY REPORT)

The refugee crisis unfolding in the Serbian province of Kosovo dominated headlines in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with supporters and critics alike of the NATO military intervention expressing alarm at the situation of Kosovo Albanians. Many media voices judged that the air strikes have not only failed to force Yugoslav President Milosevic to back down, but have contributed to the "human tragedy...on the ground." A number of these analysts argued that the time has come to pursue a negotiated settlement. Other observers, however, stressed that only continued "force" will move Mr. Milosevic to accept a peace plan. Regional views follow:

EUROPE: Posts in London, Bonn, Paris and Rome did not report today. Available editorial comment focused on the "humanitarian earthquake" in Kosovo. Some papers saw NATO's bombing as contributing to the refugee crisis. An Ankara writer, for example, argued, "The Serbs have managed to wipe out the Kosovar Muslims under the umbrella of the NATO strikes." Remarking that "NATO's inability to anticipate Milosevic's reaction to its initial bombing has turned into the biggest fiasco in its history," Madrid's independent El Mundo, likewise, judged that "the air campaign has provided cover for Milosevic's reprise of Nazi scorched-earth tactics." Others, such as a Sarajevo analyst, disagreed, holding that Serbian "propaganda directed at Western countries is trying to convince Western public opinion that the NATO air strikes provoked the refugee wave." Most press in Moscow remained highly critical of NATO's intervention, with an official paper charging that "NATO's aggression has been as inhumane as it has been absurd." Reformist Segodnya contended, "The U.S. and NATO are losing the war." MIDDLE EAST: The majority of media was critical of NATO's bombing campaign, with many in the Arab press blaming NATO forces in general and the U.S. in particular for the Kosovo refugee crisis. While a few expressed support for the operation on humanitarian grounds, most continued to worry about its legal ramifications, particularly its "marginalization of the UN." Some claimed that the air strikes are evidence of U.S. hegemony and worried that the U.S. has "changed NATO's role from a defensive one into an offensive one that serves U.S. interests."

EAST AND SOUTH ASIA: The majority of comment from the region voiced criticism of NATO's sustained air campaign against Yugoslav targets, with the most harsh denunciations coming--not surprisingly--from official, Communist Party papers in China and Vietnam. Beijing dailies, for example, contended that "in the name of preventing a humanitarian disaster," NATO was carrying out "the cruelest aggression...since World War II." Writers in Tokyo and the Philippines judged that NATO's air strikes were not achieving their intended objectives and had, in their view, managed only "to make life even more wretched...for the Kosovars." Liberal and moderate papers in Tokyo insisted that the U.S. and NATO must articulate a "post-air strike scenario" and "make greater efforts" to find a negotiated end to the conflict. Commentators in Pakistan and Bangladesh argued that the OIC should take a "more active role" in alleviating the misery of fellow Muslims."

Owing to holiday observances, several major European posts did not file today.

This survey is based on 42 reports from 26 countries, March 30-April 5.

EDITORS: Diana McCaffrey, Katherine Starr, Kathleen Brahney, Gail Hamer Burke

To Go Directly To Quotes By Region, Click Below

|  EUROPE  |     |  MIDDLE EAST  |    |  EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC  |    |   SOUTH ASIA  |

FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: "Humanitarian Earthquake"

Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje (4/5) carried a front-page commentary by Emir Habul: "UNHCR officials estimated that in ten days Kosovo would no longer have a population. A NATO spokesperson gave an exact term for this catastrophe: a 'demographic earthquake.' Serbian propaganda on local television does not show footage of refugees nor does it mention them in their reports. On the other hand, propaganda directed at Western countries is trying to convince Western public opinion that the NATO air strikes provoked the refugee wave. This story is naive, but Serbs and the pacifist part of Europe believe it. (FRY) is using the same scenario as in Bosnia. Last October, Milosevic's forces cleaned out the border area with Albania, then the northern part of Kosovo (connected with Serbia), after that he eats part of Kosovo (securing Ibar road) and now all of Kosovo. None of the colonization plans in the past 80 years managed to secure a Serbian majority. Therefore, Milosevic is determined to make Kosovo exclusively Serbian in this third Balkan war."

CROATIA: "A Recipe For Victory Over Milosevic"

Semi-independent, Split-based Slobodna Dalmacija (4/2) carried a commentary by Mladen Jurasek that offered this "recipe" for the final crackdown on Milosevic forces: "How, then, can the Yugoslav troops in Kosovo be stopped without sending in NATO ground troops and without putting at risk the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers? The strength of the Belgrade regime and of the Yugoslav army lies in the firm backing from the people, who do not feel the consequences of war. Maybe they have to run to shelters, maybe it is harder to get bread, maybe there is shortage of gas, but all of this is acceptable as long as Kosovo is being 'liberated.' If the regime is to be broken, one has to break the people's will to fight.... The scenario of such attacks is well-known. The primary targets would be all major bridges in order to paralyze the traffic and all power plants in order to cut the electricity supply."

EUROPE

RUSSIA: "Stop Carnage"

Official government Rossiyskaya Gazeta (4/3) had this comment by Vladimir Lapsky: "Right from the start, NATO aggression has been as inhumane as it has been absurd. Now, after (Rugova's) statement, it looks stupid. Will its strategists ever realize that this carnage has to stop?"

"Russia In Virtual World"

Leading international affairs commentator Andrei Piontkovsky mused in reformist weekly Novaya Gazeta (# 12, 4/5): "When it comes to the Balkan conflict, Russia is in a virtual world in which Albanians and their burnt villages simply do not exist.... Thousands of those who make up Russia's political class and are well informed about what is going in Yugoslavia like to deceive themselves and others, referring to geopolitical concepts, 'orthodox fraternity,' and Russia's strategic position in the Balkans.... Russia would benefit enormously by siding not with the Serbs, Croats or Bosnians, but with the victims, peaceful citizens who are killed or driven from their homes.... We have heard enough about the West's double standard. Let us not wink at our own. By urging an end to the bombing, we should also demand protection for the Albanians who have been exposed to severe repression lately. We should stop supporting Milosevic alone and regarding Albanians as a source of Islamic extremism in Europe. Russian diplomacy should focus on halting the bombing and protecting the Albanian population."

"Funny, Clinton Invokes Law"

Nikolai Zimin filed from Washington for reformist Segodnya (4/3): "President Clinton has sworn to do everything in his power to get the captured soldiers back home. Funny, the American president and other members of the administration have suddenly remembered international law and various conventions.... But their references to international law sound unconvincing, considering that they and their NATO Allies did not think of it when they mounted an attack on a sovereign country."

"U.S. Loses War"

Leading defense specialist Pavel Felgenhauer remarked in reformist Segodnya (4/3): "Strategically, the United States and NATO are losing the war against Serbia. The West is in panic. The American president, it seems, simply does not know what to do."

"Iraq Comes Next"

Aleksandr Reutov asserted in centrist Nezavisimaya Gazeta (4/3): "After setting the precedent of partitioning a sovereign country in the Balkans, the United States will be ready to spread that practice to the rest of the world. Iraq is next in line."

ALBANIA: "Emergency Situation; Humanitarian Corridor Needed"

Medium-circulation, centrist Albanian/Italian Gazeta Shqiptare remarked (4/2): "A state of emergency must be declared immediately in the city of Kukes and the cities around it in order to secure the border and to ease the arrival of the Kosovars. PD Chairman Berisha called on NATO to open humanitarian corridors and to begin parachuting food and medicines to the victims of the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. NATO must intervene immediately to stop Milosevic, who is using hunger to exterminate the Kosovo Albanians. For Berisha the situation is becoming unpredictable."

BULGARIA: "NATO Has Not Justified Its Existence"

Financial daily Pari remarked (4/5): "NATO is totally confused. Its missiles target Serbian military sites, but the Albanians are the ones who suffer. On the eve of its 50th anniversary, NATO has missed an opportunity to justify its existence. It was supposed to act as a global security system, but it turned out to be an instrument of repression serving the interests of a particular state."

"Talbott In Sofia: Take In More Refugees "

Top-circulation Trud maintained (4/5): "If the Bulgarian government was hoping last week to avoid the refugee issue, it is now clear that it will have to do something about it. The slogan of Talbott's visit in Sofia will be, 'Let's encourage the government to take in more refugees.'"

KAZAKHSTAN: "How To End The Conflict"

Independent weekly Delovaya Nedelya argued (4/2): "It's difficult to decide how the conflict will be finished. Milosevic can use the method of 'burnt land.'... NATO can also prolong the bombings, send ground troops--no one can avoid a real war in that case--but the Kosovo people will be the ones who lose. A lot depends on Russia, which should understand that supporting dictators all over the world is beyond its power and reflects badly on its image."

SPAIN: "Heading Off A Catastrophe"

Liberal El Pais opined (4/5): "Excluding the use of ground forces was clearly a mistake that has only encouraged Milosevic. The situation on the ground now calls for a change in plans in order to give greater priority to humanitarian assistance before the refugee problem becomes unmanageable. But this does not mean that the primary objective of obliging Milosevic--and

this can only be done by force--to accept a reasonable settlement should be abandoned.... In this century Europe has seen many mass deportations, genocides, and ethnic cleansings. After WWII it was thought that these were things of the past, but as the millennium draws to a close, we can see that this is not the case."

"The Geography Of Horror"

Conservative ABC judged (4/5): "The magnitude of the human tragedy has become the primary focus of concern, momentarily relegating all else to secondary importance. The Allies need to do everything in their power to alleviate the suffering of the Albanian Kosovars. Additionally, if NATO's originally announced bombing objective was to degrade Milosevic's offensive capability, the dubious results achieved to date counsel an urgent review, but without losing sight of the acute needs of the refugees or the determination to see the conflict through. Notwithstanding any temporary sheltering arrangements, the place to which the Kosovars must return is Kosovo, and they should be allowed to do so soon."

"NATO: Botched Job"

Independent El Mundo concluded (4/5): "NATO's inability to anticipate Milosevic's reaction to its initial bombings has turned into the biggest fiasco in its history, which--good intentions notwithstanding--has led to hundreds if not thousands of deaths and a mass exodus by the Kosovars. The air campaign has provided cover for Milosevic's reprise of Nazi scorched-earth tactics. In the game of action-reaction being played out, it would appear that Milosevic has taken over the role of cat to NATO's mouse. It is inevitable to think that without the bombing campaign, and with journalists and international observers present, the Serbian dictator would not have dared to go as far as he has."

TURKEY: "Nobody Discusses Autonomy Anymore"

Ferai Tinc wrote in mass-appeal Hurriyet (4/5): "Even if Milosevic changes his policy and accepts the terms of Rambouillet, things will not be the same as before. Kosovo can no longer go back to its status from 1989.... Consensus can only be an issue if there is something to protect. For the Kosovars, there is nothing left. The only point to discuss is independence, which is the general tendency among Kosovars. But nobody even bothers to discuss autonomy any longer."

"Refugee Crisis"

Fehmi Koru commented in fundamentalist/opinionmaker Yeni Safak (4/5): "The NATO operations, which were initiated to protect the Kosovars, have resulted in a refugee crisis due to exiles. The Serbs have managed to wipe out the Kosovar Muslims under the umbrella of the NATO strikes.... The international effort to save and protect the Kosovars should have started by ensuring their security. We are not overlooking the importance of eliminating Belgrade's economic targets, but it is also obvious that Serbian massacres of Kosovars continue to increase."

MIDDLE EAST

BAHRAIN: "Islamic World Must Support NATO War Against Yugoslavia"

Managing Editor Abdul Moneim Ebrahim wrote in leading, semiofficial Akhbar Al-Khalij (4/1): "Some criticize NATO strikes, and I think they do just because the United States leads the war against the Serbs, and that's because they hate America. Washington and NATO have the final word and control Kosovo, not the Arabs or the Muslims. This is a fact that we must admit, and if the Muslims and Islamic world have the desire to help the Muslims in Kosovo, they have to do that by supporting the NATO war against Yugoslavia."

"If U.S. Tyranny Not Limited, World Will Terminate Before End Of Century"

Abdullah Al-Thawadi wrote in leading, semi-independent Al-Ayam (4/3): "America is the sole power in the world. The crisis in Kosovo, in Iraq and the coming crises other peoples will go through are all because there is no parallel power to counter it. That sole power controls the fate of the world. The same image will be repeated not only in Iraq or Kosovo, but in other countries of the world. And if another power does not surpass it in order to limit the tyranny of the United States, the whole world will terminate before the end of the century."

EGYPT: "Game Greater Than Kosovo Muslims"

Salama Ahmed Salama wrote in pro-government Al Ahram (4/4): "The Kosovo issue has caused political confusion in Arab and Islamic countries.... The Kosovo Muslims are nothing but a tiny element in a big strategic equation. Kosovo Muslims were nothing but bait used by NATO to thwart any hopes to revive Russian influence in Central Europe. No one can be fooled by the Western crocodile tears over the fate of Kosovo Muslims. In addition, it is necessary that Arab and Islamic countries pay attention to the consequences of NATO's snatching UNSC responsibilities, and the only legitimacy left is that of NATO's military power

led by the United States. The game is much greater than Kosovo Muslims and Arab illusions."

"Support NATO, But Legal Concerns"

Salah Montasser opined in pro-government Al Ahram (4/4): "What the Serbs are doing is unconscionable.... From the humanitarian aspect, everyone should support NATO's operations. But legally, there are fears of the consequences. This action may lead to doing without the UN outright and leaving a certain group responsible for maintaining world peace according to its own interests."

JORDAN: "Clinton, The Caliphate Of The Muslims"

Daily columnist Samih Maaytah wrote (4/2) on the op-ed page of independent, mass-appeal Al-Arab Al-Yawm: "We cannot believe that NATO would call in its air forces and possibly its ground forces in defense of Islam and Muslims or in response to the cries of women and children being killed by the Serbs. Despite the brutality of what is happening to the Muslims of Kosovo, we cannot say that the NATO forces are innocent, particularly the United States, which continues to impose a siege against the Iraqi people and to bomb Iraq right back into the Middle Ages. All this bombing will not instill a good impression of the United States in the minds of Arab and Muslim children and in the hearts of the Palestinian and Lebanese people, who have lived under and suffered from Zionist oppression and crime for decades with unlimited support from the U.S. administration."

ISRAEL: "Long On Bombs, Short On Common Sense"

Washington correspondent Orly Azolai-Katz wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot (4/4): "While Belgrade has never been more united, Washington is coming apart at the seams. The CIA continues to feed the press with stories about its pre-war predictions that smart bombs and cruise missiles cannot resolve the Kosovo crisis. Shortly before the NATO offensive, CIA Director Tenet accurately predicted in a memo to the president the catastrophe in the Balkans. Senior Pentagon and military officers have also taken to leaking to the press their warnings to Clinton about the perilousness of the offensive.... Finger-pointing in Washington is picking up momentum. Senior military and intelligence officers say they may resign when the Yugoslav adventure is over. After ten days of bombing, a good-intentioned United States is being portrayed as a monster which is conducting a war with a lot of smart bombs but very little common sense."

QATAR: "Burden Has Shifted To Helping The Victims"

The semi-independent, English-language Peninsula (3/30): "That the NATO mission to liberate the Kosovars from the yoke of President Slobodan Milosevic was a no-brainer from the start needs no further proof.... The impression persists that the current strikes are more a punishment for Milosevic's thumbing his nose at Washington's high-profile mediation than an attempt to rescue the people of Kosovo.... Now, the burden has shifted to proving that the action in the air is actually helping the victims in this latest Balkan crisis."

SYRIA: "New World Chaos"

Ali Yusef commented in government-owned Al-Bath (4/5): "We are in the midst of the new world order chaos; international law has been violated. Washington has marginalized the Security Council and changed NATO's role from a defensive one into an offensive one that serves U.S. interests."

"Vision Of Peace Must Come First"

Fouad Mardoud editorialized in the Syria Times (4/3): "The military results of NATO air strikes are unclear. But the fighting has brought new suffering to the Albanians in Kosovo, damaged the country and complicated international efforts to balance competing interests in a strategically sensitive region.... If the United States is really seeking comprehensive peace in the Middle East, in Kosovo, in Africa and in other parts of the world, it needs to articulate a long-term vision of peace, and offer that vision before sending bombs and missiles across borders."

TUNISIA: "Calculations In The Balkan War"

Co-editor-in-chief Fatma Karray commented in Iraq-affiliated, Arabic-language Ash-Shourouq: (4/3): "It is not unusual for Washington to burden other countries with the expenses associated with protecting its vital interests in other regions.... It is also not surprising that, according to the Americans and Europeans, Muslim countries should cover the costs of the NATO air strikes because the air strikes are to protect Muslims in Kosovo.... The United States has once again take it upon itself to assign roles to other countries in regard to the Balkan problem...and countries are playing their part just as they have done against Iraq, Somalia, and other countries.... The United States knows all too well that the military operation has given no concrete results...and that European public opinion is not at ease with the strikes. Hence, it hopes to stir up Arab emotions on the issue."

WEST BANK: "Western Leaders Partly Responsible For Tragedy"

Independent, moderate Al-Quds opined (4/4): "NATO must take the full responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of Kosovo refugees.... NATO is trying to insinuate that its air strikes are not responsible for the refugee waves. Using this logic aims at distancing itself from the rise of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and from the forced removal of Albanians from Kosovo. Western leaders should have the courage to declare their partial responsibility for what is happening to the Kosovars, even though the Belgrade government is the one to blame."

"Aggression Against Yugoslavia"

Naeem Al-Ashhab commented in independent, pro-Palestinian Authority Al-Ayyam (4/5): "The current crisis in Kosovo is only a link in a chain of crises, which started erupting in 1992 and are due to the interference and conspiring of NATO, primarily the United States and Germany, in order to divide Yugoslavia and to control it piece by piece.... Today, after eight years of aggression on Iraq, the aggression on Yugoslavia represents a new term in the same direction. It represents a clear warning to the European people in general and to Russia in particular.... Indeed, the outrageous aggression against Yugoslavia is the most dangerous since WWII.... And if Washington's aggression is not confronted collectively, then the law of the jungle will dominate the whole world for years to come."

EAST ASIA

CHINA: "An Extreme, Perilous Action"

Sheng Yuan remarked in official, Central Legal and Political Commission Legal Daily (Fazhi Ribao, 4/5): "NATO's brutal air strikes have failed to achieve its desired goal.... Relentlessly bombing Yugoslavian civil infrastructures, NATO is trying to make Yugoslavia compliant with a hint of horrible war and civilian casualties. In the name of preventing a humanitarian disaster, NATO is producing a genuine disaster to mankind using its war-machine. NATO's logic is practically gangster logic."

"Who Is Infringing On Human Rights?"

Huang Xiaoning said in official, Chinese Youth Party China Youth Daily (Zhongguo Qingnianbao, 4/3): "Billions of eyes are witnessing NATO's stomp on the sovereignty of Yugoslavia and the human rights of the Yugoslavs. It is the cruelest aggression against Europe since the second World War.... NATO is bound to pay for its ruthless aggression against Yugoslavia."

JAPAN: "NATO Must Reveal Post-Air Strike Peace Scenario"

Under the above headline, liberal Mainichi's editorial stressed (4/4): "It appears that the Milosevic regime is taking advantage of the NATO air strikes to promote the 'ethnic cleansing' of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo province. The world can hardly condone the Serb violation of the human rights of ethnic Albanians. The Milosevic regime must stop the killings in the province immediately and agree to a peaceful settlement of the (Kosovo) crisis. NATO's use of force without producing a scenario for ending the military operation is also tantamount to a massacre. The Western military alliance must be responsible for at least revealing a 'post-air strike' scenario for restoring peace to Kosovo. The submission of such a plan would certainly help facilitate future peace-making efforts by Russia and the United Nations."

"Stalemated Kosovo Conflict Must Be Broken"

An editorial in moderate Tokyo Shimbun contended (4/3): "The dispatch of ground NATO troops could raise the risk of propelling the Kosovo crisis into the quicksand of a Vietnam War-like conflict. Such a risk will be even greater in the Balkans, which has historically been referred to as the powder keg of the world. Even the United States must be very concerned about the escalation of war in the Balkans. Now is the time to make greater efforts to mediate between the U.S.-led NATO and Yugoslavia in order to restore peace to Kosovo."

INDONESIA: "The Kosovo Tragedy"

According to the leading, independent Jakarta Post (4/3): "If reports of NATO missile and air strikes fail to give us an idea of the depth and magnitude of the human suffering that the war in Kosovo is bringing to the common people of the area, the statistics that enumerate an endless stream of refugees that the war sends flowing into neighboring countries and territories may surely provide us with a better picture.... In the final analysis, it is the Serbian leadership in Belgrade that must bear the responsibility for setting off this tide of forced human migration.... For Indonesians, there is a powerful lesson to be learned from the Kosovo war. Much more even than Yugoslavia, Indonesia is a hugely diverse nation--ethnically, culturally and religiously. Events in Maluku, Kalimantan and elsewhere have already taught us that, without wisdom and restraint, even the most innocent arguments can escalate into conflict, with possibly the most serious consequences for the nation."

PHILIPPINES: "The Road To Hell"

Liberal Today maintained (4/5): "In the weeks--perhaps days--to come, it is no longer improbable that the United States, Great Britain, Germany France and other Western European nations would send in ground troops.... Milosevic, the alleged author of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, has merely hunkered down, thus far, untouched--and untouchable--by even the most advanced high-tech weaponry of NATO's air forces.... NATO's bombing campaign...has only succeeded in uniting the Yugoslavian populace behind their leader and against do-gooder interlopers who brazenly violate Serbian national sovereignty.... Worst of all, NATO has managed to make life even more wretched than it already was for the Kosovars.... The road to hell is, as has been often pointed out, paved with good intentions. In Kosovo, NATO's expressed aim of saving the ethnic Albanians has led them not to salvation but to perdition."

SINGAPORE: "From Kosovo To Kalimantan"

Foreign Editor Felix Soh opined in the pro-government Straits Times (4/2): "The most unequivocal of signals must be sent to the Serbs and other brutal regimes that the international community would not sit by idly and watch passively as acts against humanity are being committed.... To end the crisis, ground troops are necessary.... Emphatic and decisive NATO action is needed."

VIETNAM: "Stop Immediately Savage Strikes On Yugoslavia"

Communist Party Nhan Dan insisted (4/4): "The situation in the past 11 days has shown that the savage military strikes of the United States and its NATO Allies have not helped them reach their goals, which are: forcing Yugoslavia to withdraw its forces from Kosovo and allowing the deployment of 28,000 NATO troops in the region.... Together with peace-loving people in the world, Vietnamese demand that the United States and NATO stop immediately their savage bombings on Yugoslavia. Their calculation of attacking Yugoslavia with ground troops is only a crazy and dangerous ambition, and is fiercely condemned by mankind. If the United States and NATO carry out this plan they will definitely be bogged down in a mixture of crime and failure."

SOUTH ASIA

BANGLADESH: "Kosovo's Killing Fields"

The independent Bangladesh Observer maintained (4/5): "The tragedy is that even the Islamic countries seemed loath to express the kind of outrage this Hitleresque depopulation campaign called for.... One wonders: Is the Islamic Ummah worth anything when it takes so much time to give even a moral reaction to the wholesale torture of fellow Muslims in the heart of Europe?... It will indeed be grossly unjust on the part of the international peace brokers if they ceased bombing only to impose on Kosovo the status of a Serbian province after all that happened.... Enough testing of NATO 'smart' bombs and other military wizardry if all it means is emptying Kosovo of ethnic Albanians and making them roam the edge of Europe as stateless refugees. Surely the end game is not the creation of another Palestine?"

"NATO's Face-Saving War In The Balkans"

The independent English-language Daily Star ran this comment (4/2) by A.R. Chowdhury: "The Western world must recognize that it is time to arm the victims.... Failing to do so, we now know, will permit the attempted annihilation of an entire population on the doorsteps of the West."

NEPAL: "Crisis In The Balkans"

The government-owned Rising Nepal contended (4/4): "By slaughtering ethnic Albanians, Serbia may well have breached international humanitarian law, but it has hardly threatened NATO territory. The UN's impotence has once again been exposed by the United States, with the secretary general powerless to control the superpower and its numerous phobias. The U.S. strike against Iraq left a trail of devastation in that country and a plethora of documents in the United Nations, which are meaningless unless the superpower chooses to give them a meaning. If prompt action is not taken by the world body, it might follow in the same footsteps."

SRI LANKA: "Slap In The face Of UNSC?"

Stanley Kalpage maintained in the pro-opposition, English-langugage weekly Sunday Island (4/4): "Despite the intensity of the air attacks, Milosevic seems to have achieved his objective of cleansing Kosovo of much of its ethnic Albanian population.... Milosevic has caused what is probably the worst humanitarian disaster since World War II."

PAKISTAN: "Fruitless NATO Attacks And Slaughter Of Muslims In Kosovo"

Leading, mass-circulation Urdu-language Jang argued (4/5): "NATO has announced sending 6,000 troops to help the Kosovar refugees. But the real solution of this problem lies in stopping the Serbian atrocities which the NATO countries are not paying any attention to. NATO's futile air raids manifest its double standards.... The need of the hour is that the Islamic world should raise its voice for the Muslims in Kosovo and take concrete measures in their support."

"The Problem In Kosovo"

An editorial in the center-right Nation stated (4/5): "The possibility of a combined force from the Islamic countries, as was sent in Bosnia, should be seriously considered. The OIC [Organization of Islamic Conference] is therefore once again being tested to prove its viability and effectiveness as a representative organization of the Islamic countries and should now play a more active role in alleviating the misery of its fellow Muslims who are facing the brunt of Serbian brutality."

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4/6/99

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