[PEN-L:8145] G8's Stability Pact and Yugoslavia

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

The Independent (London), June 21, 1999, Monday

THE G8 SUMMIT: RECONSTRUCTION: NO AID FOR SERBIA UNTIL MILOSEVIC REGIME GOES

Imre Karacs In Cologne

AS THE FINAL elements of the Kosovo peace deal slotted into place
yesterday, Western leaders turned their attention to the rebuilding of
those parts of the Balkans where Yugoslavia'sPresident, Slobodan Milosevic,
does not hold sway.

After strenuous Russian efforts, the communique issued at the end of the G8
summit betrayed no hint of Serbia's pariah status. But Western leaders left
no doubt that very little of the funds made available by a Balkan
"stability pact" would be flowing to Belgrade in the near future. Certainly
not while President Milosevic is in power.

Not all statesmen put this in such blunt terms. President Jacques Chirac of
France described Mr Milosevic as a "big obstacle to reconstruction". He was
not asking for his speedy overthrow. "It's up to Serbia to draw the
conclusions, but the quicker they do it, the better for everyone," is all
he would say. . .

At the start of the air campaign, Nato had been at pains to stress that the
bombs falling on Belgrade were not aimed at ordinary Serbs. Now, with the
war over, Mr Blair raised the question of national guilt.

"There is no way that we are going to agree to any reconstruction programme
for Serbia while Milosevic is there, and the more that I see what has
happened in Kosovo... the Serbian people have the responsibility to make
Milosevic culpable for these crimes," the Prime Minister said. It was, he
added, very much in the interest of the Serbian people to dump their leader.

"Our plea to them is: recognise that you can be part of a prosperous Balkan
future, but it requires you to embrace the values of democracy and
civilisation, and that's inconsistent with having an indicted war criminal
as head of your country," Mr Blair said.

But aid of some kind will reach Serbia, if only because even her enemies
cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of the people. Humanitarian help
will soon be underway, irrespective of whether Serbia starts displaying
commitment to the "democratic and economic reforms" demanded by the G8 as a
precondition for help. That leaves the West with a terrible dilemma.

© 1999, LEXIS®-NEXIS®, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

=====

>From University of Toronto G8 Information website:
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/g7/99koln/regional.htm

G8-Statement on Regional Issues

June 20, 1999

We welcome the adoption of the Stability Pact on June 10 in Cologne, an
initiative of the European Union which will continue to play the leading
role. This Stability Pact has launched a process for South Eastern Europe
with the objective of a positive mid- and long-term perspective for the
countries in the region to achieve lasting peace as well as political and
economic stability. We take note that countries in the region participating
in the Stability Pact commit themselves to continued democratic and
economic reforms, as well as bilateral and regional cooperation amongst
themselves to advance their integration, on an individual basis, into
Euro-Atlantic structures. We consider this stabilization process to be one
of the major political and economic challenges ahead of us. We declare our
readiness to take strong action to achieve all the objectives of the
Stability Pact. In regard to the above, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
must demonstrate a full commitment to all of the principles and objectives
of the Pact.

=====

>From the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe

Cologne, 10 June 1999

Final

We, the Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the European Union, the
European Commission, the Foreign Ministers of Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria. Croatia, Hungary, Romania, the Russian Federation,
Slovenia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Turkey, the United
States of America, the OSCE Chairman in Office and the Representative of
the Council of Europe representing the participants in today's Conference
on South Eastern Europe; and the Foreign Ministers of Canada and Japan,
Representatives of the United Nations, UNHCR, NATO, OECD, WEU,
International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank
and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, acting within
their competences, representing the facilitating States, Organisations and
Institutions of today's Conference, as wall as the Representatives of the
Royaumont process, BSEC, CEI, SECI and SEECP, have met in Cologne on 10
June 1999, in response to The European Union's call to adopt a Stability
Pact for South Eastern Europe. . .

A settlement of the Kosovo conflict is critical to our ability to reach
fully the objectives of the Stability Pact and to work towards permanent,
long term measures for a future of peace and inter-ethnic harmony without
fear of the resurgence of war. . .

The Stability Pact aims at strengthening countries in South Eastern Europe
in their efforts to foster peace, democracy, respect for human rights and
economic prosperity, in order to achieve stability in the whole region.
Those countries in the region who seek integration into Euro-Atlantic
structures, alongside a number of other participants in the Pact, strongly
believe that the implementation of this process will facilitate their
objective. . .

To that end we pledge to cooperate towards:

--creating vibrant market economies based on sound macro policies, markets
open to greatly expanded foreign trade and private sector investment,
effective and transparent customs and commercial/regulatory regimes,
developing strong capital markets and diversified ownership, including
privatisation, leading to a widening circle of prosperity for all our
citizens;

--fostering economic cooperation in the region and between the region and
the rest of Europe and the world, including free trade areas; promoting
unimpeded contacts among citizens;

Lasting peace and stability in South Eastern Europe will only become
possible when democratic principles and values, which are already actively
promoted by many countries in the region, have taken root throughout,
including in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, International efforts must
focus on consolidating and linking areas of stability in the region to lay
a firm foundation for the transition of the region as a whole to a peaceful
and democratic future. . .


Louis Proyect

(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)