Back to Kosovo Page

SERBS HAD LITTLE CHOICE

By Dr. Ronald L . Hatchett*

Take a look at it and you will see that the "peace plan" actually gives the Albanians precisely what they want: de facto independence now, with guaranteed de jure independence in three years. For the Serbs, signing the Rambouillet agreement would actually be signing away all Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo immediately. It was not even a “take it or leave it” proposition, as Secretary of State Albright often emphasized back in February 1999, but “sign it or get bombed.” There were, in fact, no negotiations at all, and no sovereign, independent state could have signed the Rambouillet agreement.

·        Under the agreement, "Kosovo will have a president, prime minister and government, an assembly, its own Supreme Court, constitutional court and other courts and prosecutors."

·        "Kosovo will have the authority to make laws not subject to revision by Serbia or the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including levying taxes, instituting programs of economic, scientific, technological, regional and social development, conducting foreign relations within its area of responsibility in the same manner as a Republic."

·        "Yugoslav army forces will withdraw completely from Kosovo, except for a limited border guard force (active only within a 5 kilometers border zone)."

·        "Serb security forces "police" will withdraw completely from Kosovo except for a limited number of border police (active only within a 5 km border zone)."

·        The parties invite NATO to deploy a military force (KFOR), which will be authorized to use necessary force to ensure compliance with the accords."

·        "The international community will play a role in ensuring that these provisions are carried out through a Civilian Implementation Mission  "appointed by NATO".

·        "The Chief of the CIM has the authority to issue binding directives to the Parties on all important matters he sees fit, including appointing and removing officials and curtailing institutions."

·        "Three years after the implementation of the Accords, an international meeting will be convened to determine a mechanism for a final settlement for Kosovo on the basis of the will of the people."

The Rambouillet accord would have turned Kosovo into a NATO colony in every respect, but it also would have gone a long way toward subordinating all of Yugoslavia. It revived the hated colonial concept of "extraterritoriality," under which the colonizers were immune from being tried by the courts of the colonized country, even if they committed -- as they often did – rape or murder. But most remarkably of all,

·        "NATO personnel shall enjoy, together with their vehicles, vessels, aircraft, and equipment, free and unrestricted passage and unimpeded access throughout the FRY including associated airspace and territorial waters. This shall include, but not be limited to, the right of bivouac, maneuver, billet and utilization of any areas or facilities as required for support, training, and operations."

·        "NATO is granted the use of airports, roads, rails, and ports without payment of fees, duties, dues, tolls, or charges occasioned by mere use."

·        "The Parties (i.e. Yugoslavia and “Kosovo”) shall, upon simple request, grant all telecommunications services, including broadcast services, needed for the Operation, as determined by NATO. This shall include the right to utilize such means and services as required to assure full ability to communicate and the right to use all of the electromagnetic spectrum for this purpose, free of cost."

·        "NATO may, in the conduct of the Operation, have need to make improvements or modifications to certain infrastructure in the FRY, such as roads, bridges, tunnels, buildings, and utility systems."

"NATO shall be immune from all legal process, whether civil, administrative, or criminal."

"NATO personnel, under all circumstances and at all times, shall be immune from the Parties, jurisdiction in respect of any civil, administrative, criminal or disciplinary offenses which may be committed by them in the FRY."

"NATO personnel shall be immune from any form of arrest, investigation, or detention by the authorities in the FRY."

The arrival of NATO troops in Kosovo would, by itself, be a gross violation of Yugoslavia’s and Serbia’s sovereignty. But the proposed accord requires that Yugoslavia allow NATO unfettered access to any and all parts of the country's territory, with all costs to be borne by the host country! This blatantly violates Yugoslavia's sovereignty in so provocative a manner that it cannot have been accidental. As another commentator has noted, “It is not difficult to imagine a working group in the State Department charged with the task of thinking up the most intrusive and insulting clauses possible to insert into the agreement. Clearly, U.S. policymakers never intended for Yugoslavia's leadership to sign this document.”

For the Kosovo Albanians, the Rambouillet agreement gives them total control over the province immediately. The only sacrifice required of them is to wait three years before the arrangements are made legally permanent. For the Serbs, the Rambouillet agreement means that immediately upon signing they lose all sovereignty over Kosovo. Total political control would be in the hands of the Albanians and the NATO Civilian Implementation Mission. Yugoslav laws would no longer apply in Kosovo. Neither would Yugoslavia be able to exercise police powers in Kosovo. After three years, these arrangements would be made permanent by the "will of the people" - not the people of the whole country of Yugoslavia of which Kosovo is supposedly a part, but only by the will of the people of Kosovo, who are mainly Albanians.

The Rambouillet Accord was, in truth, a declaration of war disguised as a peace agreement. The Yugoslavian delegation at Rambouillet agreed to give the Albanians autonomy in Kosovo - control over their day-to-day lives including religious, education and health care systems, and local government operations. But they tried to negotiate changes to preserve the right of the Yugoslav federal government to determine economic and foreign policy, for Yugoslav national law to continue to apply in Kosovo, and for any international presence in Kosovo to be limited to observation and advice, not control. The Serbian negotiating efforts were summarily dismissed and the Serbs were told they had only two choices: sign the agreement as written or face NATO bombing.

What would you have done if you were on the Serb delegation?

Back to Kosovo Page