Clinton's speech on ending Kosovo war

Former US President Bill Clinton announced that the Serbian Army and police are withdrawing from Kosovo.

I can report to the American people that we have won a more secure world, our democratic values and a stronger America. Our pilots are back on base. Air strikes have been suspended. The aggression against an innocent people has been contained and is turning back”, he said through a statement.

According to him, the result will be security and dignity for the people of Kosovo, RTKlive reports. We must remember that the violence we responded to in Kosovo was the culmination of a 10-year campaign by Slobodan Milosevic, the leader of Serbia, to exploit ethnic and religious differences to impose his will on the lands of the former Yugoslavia,”, he said.

Full speech:

Americans, tonight for the first time in 79 days, the skies over Yugoslavia are silent. Serbian Army and police are withdrawing from Kosovo. One million men, women and children expelled from their land are preparing to return home. The demands of an indignant and united international community have been met.

I can report to the American people that we have won a more secure world, our democratic values and a stronger America. Our pilots are back on base. Air strikes have been suspended. Aggression to an innocent people is holding back and turning back.

When I ordered our Armed Forces to fight, we had three clear goals: to enable the Kosovo people, victims of some of the most vicious atrocities in Europe since World War II, to return to their homes with security and self-government; to require that Serb forces responsible for those atrocities leave Kosovo; and to establish an international security force, with NATO essentially, to protect all people of that troubled land, Serbian and Albanian, equally. These goals will be achieved. A necessary conflict has resulted in a just and honest outcome.

The result will be security and dignity for the people of Kosovo, achieved by an alliance that remained together in purpose and determination, assisted by Russia's diplomatic efforts. This victory brings new hope that when a people isolate themselves for destruction because of their heritage and religious faith and we can do something about it, the world will not look on the other side.

I want to express my deep gratitude to the men and women of our Armed Forces and to those of our allies. Day after day, night after night, they flew, risking their lives to attack their targets and to avoid civilian casualties when they were shot by populated areas. I ask every American to join me to tell them, thank you, you have made us very proud.

I am also grateful to the American people for their stand against terrible ethnic cleansing, for sending generous aid to refugees and for opening your hearts and homes to innocent victims who came here.

I want to talk to you for a few moments tonight about why we fought, what we achieved, and what we must do now to advance peace, and together with the people of the Balkans, to create a future of freedom, progress and progress and harmony.

We must remember that the violence we responded to in Kosovo was the culmination of a 10-year campaign by Slobodan Milosevic, the leader of Serbia, to exploit ethnic and religious differences to impose his will on the lands of the former Yugoslavia.

That is what he tried to do in Croatia and Bosnia, and now Kosovo. The world saw terrible consequences: 500 villages were burned; men of all ages separated from their loved ones to be shot and buried in mass graves; raped women; children made to see their parents die; a whole people was forced to abandon for hours, communities that their families spent building up.

For these atrocities, Mr. Milosevic and his key aides have been indicted by the International Court for War Crimes and Crimes Against Mankind.

I will never forget the Kosovo refugees I recently met. Some of them could hardly speak about what they had been through. They had only the hope that the world would not turn away.

When our diplomatic efforts to avoid this horror were opposed and violence increased, we and our allies chose to act. Mr. Milosevic continued to do terrible things to the people of Kosovo, but we were determined to return it. Our endurance finally ended a vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing, and we acted too early to return it, to enable Kosovars to return home.

When they do, they'll be safe. They will be able to reopen their schools, speak their language, practice their religion, select their leaders and shape their own destiny.

There will be no more days of searching for food in the cold of mountains and forests, there will be no more nights hidden in cellars, wondering if tomorrow will bring death or liberation. They will know that Mr. Milosevic will disappear, his 10-yearpression campaign has ended.

NATO has achieved this success as a united alliance, led by Secretary General Solana and General Clark.

Nineteen democracies joined and stuck together during the most severe military challenge in NATO's 50-year history.

We also maintained our very important partnership with Russia, thanks to President Jelcin, who opposed our military efforts but supported diplomacy to end the conflict with conditions that met our terms.

I am grateful to Russian envoy Chernomyrdin and Finnish President Ahtisaari for their work and Vice President Gore for the key role he played in uniting their partnership. Now, I hope that Russian troops will join the force that will preserve peace in Kosovo, as they have in Bosnia

Finally, we have avoided the greatest war this conflict could have caused. Southeast European countries backed NATO's campaign, helped refugees and showed the world that there is more compassion than cruelty in this troubled region. This victory makes them even more likely to choose a future of democracy, fair treatment of minorities and peace.

We are now entering a new phase, building that peace and having big challenges. First, we must be sure that Serbian authorities will fulfil their commitments.

We are prepared to resume our military campaign if they fail to do so. Afterwards, we must bring Kosovo refugees home safely; mine fields will have to be cleared; houses destroyed by Serb forces will have to be rebuilt; homeless people needing food and medicine will have to take them; the fate of the missing will have to be determined; The Kosovo Liberation Army will have to demilitarise, as it has agreed to do. And we in the peacekeeping force will have to ensure that Kosovo is a safe place to live for all its citizens, ethnic Serbs, as well as ethnic Albanians.

For these things to happen, security must be established.

To that end, around 50,000 troops from almost 30 countries will be deployed in Kosovo. Our European allies will offer the vast majority of them; America will contribute about 7,000. We are grateful that during the NATO air campaign, we did not lose any single soldiers in combat. But even this next phase will be dangerous.

Sad memories will still be fresh, and there may be victims. So we have made sure that the force going to Kosovo has NATO command and control and the rules of engagement established by NATO. It will have the means and mandate to defend itself during the performance of office.

Meanwhile, the United Nations will organise a civil administration by preparing Kosovars to govern and police themselves. While local institutions will take power, NATO will be able to hand over increased responsibility to them and withdraw its forces.

The third challenge will be to create a plan for lasting peace and stability in Kosovo and throughout the Balkans. For that to happen, the European Union and the United States must plan for tomorrow, not just today. We must help to give Southeast European democracies a path towards a prosperous, shared future, a magnet more powerful than attracting hatred and destruction that has threatened to crush them.

Our European partners must provide most of the resources for this effort, but it is in America's interest to do our part as well. The last challenge will be Serbia's encouragement to join its neighbours on this historic journey towards a peaceful, democratic and united Europe.

I want to say a few words to the Serbian people tonight. I know you too have suffered in the wars of Mr. Milosevic. You should know that your leaders could keep Kosovo as part of your country without driving any Kosovo family out of its home, without killing any adults or children, without inviting any NATO bombs to fall on your country.

You endured 79 days of bombing, not to keep Kosovo in Serbia's province, but simply because Mr. Milosevic was determined to eliminate Kosovo Albanians from Kosovo, dead or alive.

As long as he remains in power, as long as your nation is run by an indicted war criminal, we will not provide any support for the reconstruction of Serbia.

But we are willing to offer humanitarian aid now and help build a better future for Serbia as well, when its government represents tolerance and freedom, not depression and terror.

Americans, all these challenges are essential, but they are much more popular with the challenges of war and continued instability in Europe.

We have sent a message of determination and hope to the whole world. Think of all millions of innocent people who died in this bloody century because democracies reacted too late to evil and aggression. Because of our determination, the 20th century is ending, not with helpless indignation, but with a hopeful affirmation of human dignity and human rights for the 21st century.

In a world far apart from fear among people of different racial, ethnic, and religious groups, we have given faith to friends of freedom and pause to those who would exploit human differences for inhumane purposes.

America still faces great challenges in this world, but we are eager to meet them. So tonight I ask you to be proud of your country and very proud of the men and women who serve him in uniform.

Because in Kosovo we did the right thing; we did it the right way; and we will finish the job.

Good night and God bless the United States of America.