March 25, 1999

In a first reaction to the NATO air strikes against military targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Austrian Federal Chancellor Klima and Vice Chancellor Schuessel have expressed their hopes tonight in Berlin that the strikes would put an end to the violent acts committed by the Serbian security forces against their own people. It is to be hoped that President Milosevic will see reason and make possible a political solution of the Kosovo problem.

In view of this dramatically aggravating situation, there was no other choice but to stop the actions of the Yugoslav army and the Serbian para-military alliances with air strikes. The point is not to take sides but to prevent a further aggravation of a humanitarian catastrophe that has become absolutely unbearable.

The most recent Serbian-Yugoslav offensive produced some 65,000 refugees; according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the entire number of Kosovo refugees amounts to more than 440,000 people. Regrettable though the use of force by NATO may be, its goal is to prevent the further ousting and killing of innocent civilians, the destruction of villages, more human rights violations, and a humanitarian disaster.

The international community has been trying for a year to achieve a political solution for the Kosovo crisis, and for a year, Belgrade has been preventing such a solution. The Rambouillet and Paris talks failed because of Yugoslavia's position. While the Kosovo delegation eventually accepted and signed the draft agreement worked out by the negotiators Petritsch, Hill, and Mayorsky, Belgrade continued to refuse to even seriously discuss the document. Nevertheless, the international community made every effort to bring about a solution without the use of force. Yet, all these efforts failed owing to the intransigence of President Milosevic. Now that all conceivable peaceful means have been exhausted, the use of force is the only way to prevent a worsening of the situation.

President Milosevic bears the full responsibility for the consequences of his actions. It is to be hoped that he recognize that only a negotiated solution will be of value for the future.

The European Council in Berlin, too, demanded today that Milosevic embark on the way of a peaceful solution for the Kosovo conflict and to reforms and democratization, including freedom of the media in all of Yugoslavia.