Serbia's neighbours in the Balkans have voiced their concern over the recent violence in the southern province of Kosovo. A joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of five southeast European countries - Romania, Macedonia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece - warned that the crisis could threaten regional stability. Montenegro urged Serbia, its larger partner in Yugoslavia, to act responsibly. Meanwhile, television in Albania, whose leaders have condemned the violence, broadcast what it said was a statement by Kosovo Albanians on their readiness to defend themselves:

Balkan Foreign Ministers' statement

Excerpts from report by the Bulgarian news agency BTA

Albanians demonstrating in Pristina chant slogans, and talk about the recent events (Dur 1' 56")

"The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of countries of southeastern Europe, Mr. Andrei Plesu, Mr Blagoj Handziski, Mr Ismail Cem, Mrs Nadezhda Mihaylova and Mr Theodoros Pangalos, express their serious concern with the deteriorating situation in Kosovo and with the grave consequences of an inter-ethnic conflict and its possible spill-over in the region."

"The ministers declare the commitment of their states to take all appropriate steps in order to prevent such a development in the region of southeastern Europe.

"The ministers reiterate that a first step to reduce tensions in Kosovo is the initiation of a genuine dialogue between the Serb authorities and the ethnic Albanians and call on both parties to take prompt measures to that end.

"Both parties should condemn and refrain from use of violence as a means to resolve their conflict.

The bodies of ethnic Albanians killed in Serbian police operations

"They deeply regret the suppression by the Serbian police of peaceful demonstrations in Kosovo and the subsequent unrestrained use of force that has resulted in fatalities. At the same time they urge all organizations of the Kosovo Albanian community to make clear their opposition to violence and terrorism as a tool to seek change. They condemn terrorist actions to achieve political goals as well as violence as a means to repress political views.

"The ministers call for the full respect of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the ethnic Albanian population. They declare that a lasting solution to the Kosovo problem can be based only on the full protection of the rights of Albanians, Serbs and all others living in Kosovo in accordance with the UN Charter, Helsinki principles and OSCE standards.

"The ministers call for the immediate and full implementation of the agreement on education concluded in 1996 between President Milosevic and Mr Rugova, leader of the Albanians in Kosovo.

"The ministers underline that the solution to the Kosovo problem should be searched in full respect to the existing borders. They call on all organisations of the ethnic Albanians to deny any secessionist policies and to fully respect the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

"The ministers call on Belgrade to face the problems with utmost responsibility and search for mutually acceptable solutions based on granting a large autonomy to Kosovo within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Police operations sparked street protests in Kosovo

"The ministers believe that the integration of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into the international community would be to the benefit of that country and would strengthen the stability of the region. They also recognise that considerable progress towards the solution of the Kosovo issue will contribute to this end.

"The ministers call on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to enable the return of the international monitors in Kosovo as a means of preventive diplomacy.

"The ministers declare the readiness of their States to play an active role in the efforts to find a peaceful and political solution to all issues related to the Kosovo problem. In this framework they also welcome the initiatives of the United States, the European Union and the Contact Group.

"The ministers call on all States in the region and beyond to support this Declaration and join the efforts towards preserving the peace, stability and security in South-Eastern Europe."

Serbia will "pay dearly" - Albanian TV broadcasts Kosovo "military" statement

Excerpts from announcer-read public statement by the "military men of the Republic of Kosovo", broadcast by Albanian TV on 9th March

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic says the dispute must not be "internationalised"

Based on the permanent assessments of the political and military situation that we are confronted with, when at every moment we are impatiently waiting for any signal from the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, we express our full readiness to line up, with our entire potential, and successfully lead and command all the defence structures of our people.

The communique by the military men of the Republic of Kosovo states that every self-organized force of the Albanian people in defence of our hearths, the Kosovo Liberation Army and the self-defence units, as based on the constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, will be the core of the commandos, staffs and units of the armed forces of the Republic of Kosovo.

In this statement, the military men of the Republic of Kosovo express their determination more than ever to defend their honour and our territories.

For this reason, they invite all the freedom-loving Albanians to cooperate ... to realize the will of the people expressed through a referendum and the full accomplishment of the independence of the Republic of Kosovo.

The military men of the Republic of Kosovo also inform the Serbian occupying forces that they will pay dearly for the bloodshed in Drenice and throughout Kosovo.

Source: Albanian TV, Tirana, in Albanian 1735 gmt 9 Mar 98

Macedonia reinforces border troops

Text of report by the independent Belgrade-based news agency Beta

Skopje, 9th March: The security situation in Macedonia continues to be stable, with the situation on the border with FRY [Federal Republic of Yugoslavia] peaceful, just as it was before the unfortunate events in Kosovo, the Macedonian government said today.

The government held a session today at which the defence minister and interior minister, Lazar Kitanovski and Tomislav Cokrevski, submitted reports on the situation on the FRY border.

A statement issued after the government session said that Macedonian and Yugoslav army troops on the border had been reinforced.

Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 1624 gmt 9 Mar 98

Montenegrin premier urges Milosevic to act "responsibly"

Excerpt from report by the Belgrade-based independent Radio B92 on 9th March

[Announcer] Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic has described the contact group's statement [threatening sanctions against Yugoslavia] as very serious and called for responsible behaviour on the part of the Yugoslav and Serbian authorities:

[Vujanovic] The contact group has called on the president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to take swift and efficient action to stop the conflict in Kosovo, and they listed all the measures to be taken within the next 10 days.

I think that the demand is clear and that it should be handled responsibly.

I do not believe that we should provoke the imposition of further political and economic measures against Yugoslavia, which would certainly render its position more difficult and carry the possibility of further political and economic isolation.

We know what this means and where it could take us ...

Source: Radio B92, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 2030 gmt 9 Mar 98

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
 

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