March 25, 1999

In the early evening yesterday, the North Atlantic Alliance launched strikes against Yugoslav military targets. This is such a serious matter in the life of the Alliance that it deserves comment. I understand the current strikes not only as a response to the latest developments in Kosovo but also as a response to the Milosevic regime's conduct over many years which has had a direct impact or figured in the background of most of the conflicts in former Yugoslavia.

Milosevic has now turned against the citizens of his own country -- the Kosovo Albanians from whom he first withdrew autonomy, restricted for years their freedom, and then started to implement a policy of ethnic cleansing which provoked a mass exodus and a humanitarian catastrophe.

Tens of thousands of people without food and shelter are now suffering in the mountains, including women and children.

The international community, especially the Alliance, decided that it would not ignore this in silence. Therefore the Rambouillet peace conference was convened, with the purpose of finding a political solution. However, President Milosevic refused to sign the peace agreement, setting himself in opposition to the entire democratic world, which was then left with no choice but to intervene, in the interest of protecting human lives and ending human suffering. I understand this decision as extreme, but in the given situation inescapably necessary.

Unfortunately, President Milosevic has not used the opportunity to avert NATO's airstrikes. However, he has still the chance to resume talks and prevent the further deepening of the conflict. For these negotiations to be resumed it is unconditionally necessary for the Yugoslav president to agree to the conditions of the international community and to accept the Rambouillet peace agreement.

I do not lose the hope that Milosevic -- face to face with the determined position of the democratic world -- will come to his senses and end the policy which, with its consequences, turns against the Serbian people.

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC ON THE LAUNCHING OF THE AIR OPERATION AGAINST TARGETS ON THE TERRITORY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

March 25, 1999

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic expresses its grave concern about the continued obstinacy of Yugoslav President Milosevic rejecting constructive cooperation with the international community in seeking a peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis. By his stubbornness, President Milosevic bears the lion's share of responsibility for the collapse of the conference in Rambouillet where the last attempt was made to solve the situation by peaceful means after several months of negotiations. Under these circumstances, the imperative to put an end to further violence and to prevent a humanitarian tragedy in Kosovo resulted in the launching of an air operation by the North Atlantic Alliance against military targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic expresses its regret at this inevitable step after all diplomatic efforts made thus far to find a political solution to the conflict had failed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic stresses that the action by the international community, by the North Atlantic Alliance is not directed against the people of the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Montenegro and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with which the Czech Republic has traditional ties of friendship, and that it does not mean any support for the armed Kosovo Albanians but that its only aim is to halt the spiraling violence and thus to create more favorable conditions for future stability and peace in the region.

In agreement with the views of the international community, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic continues to believe that the politicians of the parties involved and in particular the leadership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia become aware of their responsibility, change their approach, halt the repression in Kosovo, accept the temporary agreement and allow the deployment of international forces to supervise the fulfillment of the agreement. Such temporary peace agreement would then have to include the basic principles of the Rambouillet agreement, including democratic self-government of autonomous Kosovo and the preservation of the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic underlines that the Kosovo crisis is no longer the internal affair of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The violation of human rights and the number of victims have acquired the character of an intolerable humanitarian catastrophe. Inaction would equal co-responsibility. The respect for human rights and their strict observance form an inseparable part of international security. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic recalls that the United Nations charter had been drawn precisely in order to save the succeeding generations from massive violation of human rights in the world. As a democratic country and a member state of the North Atlantic Alliance, the Czech Republic is aware of its duties and is prepared to bear its share of responsibility for efforts that could bring the resumption of negotiations and a political settlement of the crisis even amid the present tense situation.