THE INDEPENDENT (London)
20 December 2000
KOSTUNICA APPEALS FOR NEW BUFFER ZONE
By Vesna Peric Zimonjic in Belgrade
The Yugoslav President, Vojislav Kostunica, yesterday called for the Kosovo peace agreement to be changed to allow Serb forces to operate closer to the Kosovo border, to "clear the area of terrorists".
The region has been simmering for a month, since three Serb policemen were killed by ethnic Albanian rebels who want to unite a swathe of Serbian territory with a large Albanian population to Kosovo, which is under United Nations administration.
Four days from elections in Serbia, the main republic in federal Yugoslavia, Mr Kostunica said Nato-led peacekeepers are incapable of resolving the problem, and suggested the 5km buffer zone between Serbia and Kosovo, part of the peace agreement that ended last year's Nato bombing, be reduced to 2km or even 1km.
"[That would] free the communication route to the south," he said. "That would help return stability into the zone."
He also said Serbian forces should be allowed to use heavier weapons than the 7.62mm sidearms they are permitted. The Yugoslav government blames K-For for turning a blind eye to heavy arms being brought in by the rebels. Unlike Slobodan Milosevic, deposed as p;resident in October, Mr Kostunica has refrained from violent measures in dealing with the rebellion. The troubles in southern Serbia have been seen as a major test for his fledgling government.
Mr Kostunica blamed unidentified "powerful lobbies" in the US, who support the independence of Kosovo, for encouraging the rebellion in southern Serbia.
He again fell short of promising to extradite Mr Milosevic to face war crimes charges. "Co-operation with The Hague is not off our agenda," he said. "But it is also not our priority at the moment."
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