October 23, 2000
The leaders of Kosovo's international community warned Monday that any pull-out of US peacekeeping troops from the province, as proposed by aides of presidential candidate George W. Bush, would be premature. A spokeswoman for Bernard Kouchner, Kosovo's chief UN administrator, said: "Dr Kouchner has said many times, and again last week, that this is not the time to withdraw military strength."
Daan Everts, head of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation's mission in the province, echoed this view. "The international presence is of course very, very much needed for members of the community to feel minimally secure," he said, "It would really be too early to make any clear moves towards an exodus of the internationals and that would be a very discouraging signal at the moment."
Eric Morris, head of the Kosovo mission of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that the KFOR peacekeeping force had been committed to protect minorities living in Kosovo by the UN Security Council resolution which gave them their mandate, and that it was too soon for them to leave. "It's incumbent of the international presence, both civil and military to live up to their commitments," he said.
All three were speaking at a news conference in Pristina, responding to a question on a statement by Condoleeza Rice, Bush's senior foreign policy advisor, that if a Republican administration were to be installed in the White House after US elections on November 4 the US presence in Balkans peacekeeping operations would be phased out.
With 5,736 troops, the US commitment to Kosovo's 40,000 strong KFOR peacekeeping force is the largest of the 39 nations present, a military spokesman said.
KFOR has been responsible for security in the province since June last year when a NATO bombing campaign forced Yugoslav troops to withdraw. The force's main responsibility, apart from deterring Yugoslav forces from returning, is to provide security for Kosovo's embattled minorities who face daily acts of intimidation and violence.
