Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: 'Ethnic cleansing' in Kosovo feared Date: Sat, 7 Nov 92 19:23:58 EST Message-ID: \SE A;WORLD \SS (WS) \HD 'Ethnic cleansing' in Kosovo feared \BY Alan Elsner \CR REUTERS NEWS AGENCY Bush administration officials are worried that Serbia will take advantage of the presidential transition in the United States to launch a new wave of "ethnic cleansing" by driving out the Albanian majority in Kosovo. Such a move would escalate the Yugoslav civil war to new heights, possibly spreading it beyond the borders of the former Balkan federation. "It's going to be very hard for Washington to do anything in the next two months, and [Serbian President Slobodan] Milosevic may calculate he can put his plan into action now," said one official, who asked not to be identified. The population of Kosovo province, which is in the southern part of Serbia, is 90 percent ethnic Albanians and 10 percent ethnic Serbs. The Albanians are severely repressed and virtually unarmed. Serbian army units are stationed on the territory and radical paramilitary groups have been recruiting there, according to Helsinki Watch, a New York-based human rights group. There have been many reports of intimidation of Albanian civilians. The area was the cradle of Serbian nationalism, and Mr. Milosevic and his supporters have made it clear they see it becoming part of "greater Serbia." George Kenney, a former State Department official who resigned in August to protest U.S. policy on former Yugoslavia, believes an explosion in Kosovo is inevitable. "Serbian militants in Kosovo are armed and trained; they despise the Albanians and plan an ethnic cleansing, to push as many Albanians as possible into Albania," he wrote in one of many articles since his resignation. "It is worse than Bosnia. It is a massacre," he wrote. If that happens, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and even Greece and Turkey might be dragged into the conflict. President-elect Bill Clinton criticized President Bush during the campaign for not doing enough to stop Serbian aggression in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Officials fear Mr. Milosevic may not want to wait for Mr. Clinton to assume power before trying to drive Albanians out of Kosovo. Mr. Clinton himself seems aware of the danger. In his one substantive statement since winning the presidential election Tuesday, he warned enemies of the United States not to assume that Washington would be weak during the transition. "The greatest mistake any adversary could make would be to doubt America's resolve during this period of transition," said Mr. Clinton. He went on to cite several areas in which he said he would ensure continuity in U.S. policy, including "working toward peaceful resolution of the conflict in the republics of the former Yugoslavia." Some administration officials, who are privately critical of Mr. Bush for failing to act more decisively against the Serbs in Bosnia, wish he would give a strong signal to deter aggression in Kosovo. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM