Yugoslavia denies accusations
It is appalling how much untruth and misinformation about Kosovo, as well as unfounded accusations and insults about Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav president are contained in such a brief article by The Washington Post published by The Jakarta Post in its column, "Other Opinion" on Sept. 22, 1998.
The article accuses Serbian security forces of alleged crimes, while it says nothing about the monstrous crimes of Albanian terrorists in Kosovo, about the crematorium in Klecka, where the bodies of 20 Serbian civilians were burnt, about the mass grave in Glodjani, where the corpses of over 40 Serbian civilians were thrown into the river, prior to which they had been savagely tortured. The Washington Post, just as The Jakarta Post, do not have the professional, or the human courage, nor did they have it before, to simply mention the numerous victims among Serbian civilians, as if the murder of Serbian civilians were not worth mentioning by these renowned daily newspapers.
Now, after the so-called "KLA" has been destroyed, the alleged humanitarian disaster is being used to call for intervention by the U.S. and NATO in Kosovo. Nothing is said, however, about the fact that Albanian terrorists in Kosovo have been forcing people to leave their homes, using them as a moving shield in their fight against the Serbian forces, creating a false impression about the humanitarian disaster, trying to invite and justify military intervention by NATO forces in Kosovo.
The article goes on further, calling for the use of force on Kosovo with the aim of imposing a political solution, while it remains silent about the fact that Albanian leaders in Kosovo have been refusing negotiations that are being constantly offered to them by the Serbian authorities. They are hoping that the military intervention by NATO will allow them to achieve independence and separation from Serbia and Yugoslavia, with the aim of their annexation to the so-called "Great Albania," whereas through renegotiations they could only achieve autonomy within Serbia and Yugoslavia, which is actually the standpoint of the international community.
The Yugoslav president is being accused in the article of alleged destabilization of government in the region (by refugees), while it says nothing of the fact, well known to everybody, that the center of destabilization lies in Albania which serves as a place of training and armament, for the supply of people, weapons and equipment to the terrorists in Kosovo, that anarchy and chaos rule Albania, and that Albania is a center for recruiting terrorists from all over the world, against which the United States itself is so determinedly fighting.
We think that the above mentioned article from The Washington Post can only serve as a bad example of how, by presenting misinformation, by remaining silent on the truth and by reversing thesis, the press is being misused for preparing public opinion for the possible use of force against a sovereign country, which on its own territory, is fighting against separatism and terrorism, and for maintaining its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
DUSAN STOJKOVIC
Charge d'Affaires a.i.
Yugoslav Embassy
Jakarta