Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-15-Speech-4-154"
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"en.20010215.6.4-154"2
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"Mr President, Europe’s coherence and credibility are at stake in Kosovo. So too is the confidence of our own citizens and the people of the Balkans in the European institutions as well as the stability of the region itself.
Our action in Kosovo a couple of years ago was not exactly a paragon of speed or unity. For too many months it was not a paragon of efficiency either. Our people reacted with disgust to Milosevic’s odious policy which resulted in oppression and terror for the Albanian Kosovars and in their mass exodus. Public opinion in our own countries demanded determined action such as was eventually taken. Military intervention of that nature was likely to generate misgivings and even rejection amongst some sectors of our society and even more so in Yugoslavia itself. It is only fair to reiterate that we gave political consent to that action and that it did serve to curtail Milosevic’s excesses and the sufferings of the people of Kosovo. It also contributed to Milosevic being discredited and defeated a few months later.
However, our consistency is now being put to the test. We can no longer conceal our embarrassment as we witness how some of the former victims in Kosovo are turning into tormentors. They are persecuting their fellow citizens of Serb origin and driving them out of their territory in as hateful a process of ethnic cleansing as the previous one. Those same elements are involved in armed aggression on other Serb territory with an Albanian population. At the same time, Albanian Kosovar mafias are operating as part of organised crime networks in several of our countries. It appears that they are doing so to raise funds with which to finance their guerrilla activities.
All of this is incompatible with the objectives pursued by the European Union and we must not tolerate it. The European Union is contributing very substantial sums to the rebuilding of Kosovo. Nevertheless, that contribution must be strictly conditional on respect for human rights, recognition of existing borders adopted by the international community and the cessation of all military and terrorist operations by Albanian Kosovars within their territory or beyond it.
The stability of Yugoslavia, Albania, Macedonia and the rest of the region may depend on our consistency and firmness. It could hinge on our stifling the extremist and expansionist action of certain elements of the Albanian Kosovar population."@en1
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