Kosovars to U.S.: Don't give an inch
Haxhi Haxhaj
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05/03/99- Updated 06:54 PM ET
By Kirk Spitzer, USATODAY.com
TIRANA, Albania - Even as President Clinton planned
to meet with Russian envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin
Monday, Kosova refugees urged him not to accept any
deal that would compromise previous NATO demands
or provide a role for Russia in Kosova.
"The Russians and the Serbs are the same. They won't
protect us. I'll sleep in a tent or an empty house
before
I'll go back," said Visar Kelmendi, 21, a refugee
from
Peja, Kosova.
More than 600,000 ethnic Albanians have fled Kosova
since the NATO
bombing campaign began last month. More than 400,000
have made their
way to Albania, where most still live in squalid tent
camps or with local
Albanian families.
The bombing campaign began after Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic
failed to meet conditions of the Rambouillet peace
accords, which call for a
pullout of Serb forces from Kosova and introduction
of a NATO
peacekeeping force.
Fitor Muça, administrator of a transit camp for 2,800
refugees in Tirana, said
Clinton should not accept any compromise forwarded by
Chernomyrdin.
"If I could give advice to President Clinton, I would
tell him to make it clear
the decision stands," Muça said. "The only way to
deal with Milosevic is not
to back down. After all this blood, there is no room
for compromise."
Muça said more than 47,000 refugees have passed
through the camp since
March and many have told of relatives who were killed
by Serb forces along
the way.
"It's very important that Clinton stays strong. As
Albanians, it's tough to
accept Milosevic at the same table after what he has
done. It's tough to
shake hands with a killer," Muça said.
U.S. officials so far have insisted that all NATO
demands be met before
airstrikes halt, including withdrawal of Serb forces
from Kosova and
Milosevic's acceptance of an armed, NATO-led force to
protect returning
ethnic Albanians.
Chernomyrdin met with Milosevic in Belgrade over the
weekend and is
expected to suggest a compromise that could include
Russian or U.N. troops
as peacekeepers, rather than those from NATO
countries.
Ilir Hasani, 23, a refugee from Prizren, said any
proposals from
Chernomyrdin should not be trusted because of
Russian's historical ties to
the Serbs.
"The Russians and the Serbs are the same. I don't
trust them," said Hasani,
an English teacher who fled Prizren with his parents
and two sisters. One
brother-in-law remained behind in Prizren to care for
an invalid mother and
Hasani said he is not sure he will see either of them
again.
Kelmendi said the only solution is for NATO to keep
bombing targets in
Yugoslavia and Kosova until Serb forces meet NATO
demands.
"Either we give up Kosova completely, or we get it
all back. We can't live
with the Serbs. If we go back with the Serbs (still
in Kosova), they will
continue to oppress us, they will kill us," said
Kelmendi, who escaped from
Kosova through Montenegro 25 days ago.
Rexhep Boja, president of the Islamic Community of
Kosova, said there is no
room for compromise.
"The people of Kosova know what they will get under
the Milosevic regime,"
said Boja, who was forced from his home in Prishtina
by
Serb forces last month. He fled to Macedonia, settled
his immediate family in
Turkey and came to Albania this week to search for
members of his
extended family.
"Until all the Serb forces are out, it is worth
waiting," Boja said. "Kosovars
will return only to a free Kosova."
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