PBS NewsHour - 1999-06-04 - 1 of 2

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Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

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[0:37] Good evening. I'm Jim Lara. On the

[0:39] NewsHour tonight, further reaction to

[0:41] the Kosovo peace deal from Senators

[0:44] McCain and Lieberman and Congressman

[0:46] Leech and Cusenich with some analysis by

[0:49] Paul Jigo and Tom Olifant substituting

[0:51] for Mark Shields. Then Jeffrey Kay tells

[0:54] the story of the second coming of a

[0:56] missile defense system for the US and

[0:59] Ian Williams of ITN marks the 10th

[1:01] anniversary of Tianaan Square. It all

[1:04] follows our summary of the news this

[1:06] Friday.

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[1:44] >> NATO and Serb military officials are to

[1:47] meet tomorrow on the Kosovo Macedonia

[1:50] border. there to schedule the withdrawal

[1:52] of Serb forces in Kosovo. Until then,

[1:55] NATO said it would continue to bomb

[1:57] military targets. Today, it spared

[1:59] Yugoslavia's capital, Belgrade.Wami

[2:02] Hullman summarizes the day's events.

[2:06] >> In Belgrade's main square today, people

[2:08] strolled in the sunshine. A news vendor

[2:10] shouted, "It's over." Heralding the

[2:12] peace plan accepted by the Yugoslav

[2:14] government yesterday.

[2:22] But for NATO, the war is not over yet.

[2:24] Allied planes flew more than 600 sorties

[2:27] in the last 24 hours, hitting Serb

[2:29] forces, broadcast stations, and an

[2:31] airfield, but steered clear of targets

[2:34] in the capital city. At the Pentagon

[2:36] this afternoon, spokesman Kenneth Bacon

[2:38] said the end to NATO's bombing could be

[2:40] in sight.

[2:41] >> If Serbia cooperates, I think the

[2:44] bombing could be halted. uh um uh by the

[2:48] end of the weekend or very early next

[2:50] week, but it could take much longer than

[2:52] that. It could be 4 days, it could be

[2:53] longer, and uh a lot will depend on how

[2:56] quickly the Serbs are willing to um act

[3:00] on the uh agreement that their

[3:02] parliament has already accepted.

[3:04] >> Earlier in an interview with Charles

[3:05] Gibson on Good Morning America,

[3:07] President Clinton said there will be no

[3:09] halt in the bombing until NATO's

[3:10] objectives are met. And I think it's

[3:12] important that we continue the military

[3:15] action against the military targets

[3:16] until we have some evidence that there

[3:19] are more than words here. What is the

[3:21] evidence?

[3:21] >> For six and a half years, we've had

[3:25] various agreements.

[3:27] But until we had the agreement ending

[3:30] the war in Bosnia at Dayton, the others

[3:33] weren't kept. And so I think that and

[3:35] we've had the same problem in Kosovo. We

[3:37] want to know that the military forces

[3:39] are withdrawing and uh we want to have

[3:42] the timetable for our people going in.

[3:44] >> Were war crimes the war crimes charges

[3:46] against Mr. Mallosvich discussed at all

[3:48] in the talks?

[3:51] >> I don't believe they were

[3:52] >> his staying in office. Were they

[3:54] discussed? Was that discussed?

[3:56] >> That's not part of the terms that NATO

[3:58] set out in the beginning.

[4:00] >> So that that question is simply left

[4:02] >> that question is left open. uh the he is

[4:05] subject to uh the jurisdiction of the

[4:07] international war crimes tribunal which

[4:09] means that if he comes within the

[4:11] jurisdiction of any country that is

[4:13] cooperating with the United Nations uh

[4:16] they would have an obligation to turn

[4:17] him over. There also was doubt the NATO

[4:20] allies would help war torn Yugoslavia

[4:22] with Slovadon Mallich still in power.

[4:25] British Prime Minister Tony Blair

[4:27] compared the main Yugoslav Republic of

[4:29] Serbia to the city where he was meeting

[4:30] with European Union leaders, Cologne,

[4:33] rebuilt after it was devastated by

[4:35] Allied bombs in World War II.

[4:37] >> So, however dark these days may seem to

[4:40] people in Serbia, there is a brighter

[4:42] future there for them if they are

[4:45] prepared to grasp it. A democratic

[4:48] Serbia can and should take its place

[4:52] among the family of nations.

[4:55] But you have a dictator in charge, an

[4:58] indicted war criminal as your leader,

[5:01] and you cannot expect properly to be

[5:04] part of the reconstruction of the

[5:05] Balkans. While that remains so.

[5:09] >> In Brussels today, NATO spokesman Jamie

[5:12] Shea said Allied generals will meet

[5:14] tomorrow with their Yugoslav

[5:15] counterparts to draw up plans for

[5:17] withdrawal of the Serb military from

[5:19] Kosovo. Sheay said he considered

[5:21] violence by retreating Serbs unlikely.

[5:24] >> I believe that after all of the havoc

[5:27] that they have caused in Kosovo, those

[5:29] Yugoslav security forces have an

[5:31] interest in withdrawing very quickly in

[5:34] indeed. The more crimes that are

[5:36] committed, the more people will be

[5:37] indicted for war crimes charges. There

[5:39] are already going to be enough of those

[5:41] around and so those commanders who are

[5:43] still in Kosovo should think very very

[5:45] carefully indeed before trying to commit

[5:48] even further atrocities.

[5:51] >> The peace deal calls for the Kosovo

[5:53] Liberation Army to disarm. However, KLA

[5:56] leaders today said Serb forces continue

[5:58] their attacks on ethnic Albanians in

[6:01] Kosovo.

[6:02] >> The information we are just receiving

[6:04] every moment shows quite opposite. The

[6:07] Serbian forces had undertaken at the

[6:09] same time strong offensive against the

[6:11] population in Kasova

[6:14] which shows that Milashovich once again

[6:16] it's not serious about what he promises

[6:19] and what he does.

[6:20] >> Meanwhile, Allied troops are preparing

[6:22] to be part of a 50,000 member

[6:24] international security force that will

[6:26] establish order and assist in resettling

[6:28] the refugees. Russia is expected to

[6:31] contribute a separate contingent of

[6:32] several thousand troops, but it is not

[6:34] clear how closely they'll be tied to the

[6:36] NATO operation. In the camps along the

[6:39] Kosovo border, aid workers warned that

[6:42] refugees who return home will find many

[6:44] obstacles, including a shortage of food.

[6:47] I interviewed extensively uh at the

[6:49] border when it was still possible to do

[6:51] that um about the systematic destruction

[6:54] of food sources uh by the Serbs in the

[6:57] area and you know that's been going on

[7:00] for a long time now and people just

[7:02] don't have uh food to eat. We know we're

[7:05] going to find a very bad situation when

[7:06] we go back.

[7:07] >> Refugees who crossed the Albanian border

[7:10] today said they were released from Serb

[7:12] Run prisons and reported fighting

[7:14] continues in the province. We'll have

[7:16] more on Kosovo Peace right after this

[7:18] news summary. The nation's unemployment

[7:21] rate was back down in May. The Labor

[7:22] Department reported today it was 4.2%,

[7:26] a 29-year low. The jobless rate for

[7:29] blacks was the lowest on record. The

[7:31] number of new job positions grew by only

[7:33] 11,000. It had gone up by 343,000

[7:37] in April. President Clinton appointed

[7:40] James Hormell to be ambassador to

[7:42] Luxembourg today. The Republican

[7:44] controlled Senate has twice refused to

[7:46] act on Hormeell's nomination because he

[7:49] is openly gay. Mr. Clinton took

[7:51] advantage of a presidential power

[7:53] allowing him to make appointments while

[7:55] Congress is in recess. It's out for the

[7:57] Memorial Day holiday. Hormeell lives in

[7:59] San Francisco. He's a member of the

[8:01] Hormell Meatacking Family. In Little

[8:04] Rock today, federal investigators

[8:06] continued to examine the remains of

[8:08] American Airlines Flight 1420. They

[8:11] determined that landing controls were

[8:13] not operating properly when the jetliner

[8:16] skidded off the runway and broke apart

[8:18] in a storm Tuesday night. They said the

[8:21] flight data recorder showed wing panels

[8:23] called spoilers did not deploy and the

[8:26] engine's thrust reversers did not remain

[8:29] on. Nine people, including the pilot,

[8:31] were killed, 83 were injured. And that's

[8:34] it for the news summary tonight. Now

[8:35] it's on to Congress and Kosovo Peace

[8:38] Jigo and Elephant. the return of a

[8:41] missile defense plan and the 10th

[8:43] anniversary of Tianaan Square.

[8:54] Congressional reaction to the Kosovo

[8:56] peace plan which President Clinton spoke

[8:58] about this afternoon in Washington.

[9:01] For 72 days now, we have been engaged

[9:04] with our allies

[9:06] and a difficult but just and necessary

[9:09] military campaign with three simple

[9:12] goals.

[9:14] The return of over 800,000

[9:17] innocent Kosvar refugees to their homes

[9:21] with safety and self-government.

[9:23] the withdrawal of Serb forces and the

[9:26] deployment of an international security

[9:28] force with NATO at its core to protect

[9:32] all the people of that shattered land.

[9:36] Yesterday, the Serbian authorities

[9:37] indicated they would accept those

[9:39] conditions.

[9:41] Russian special envoy Chernabiran and

[9:44] Finnish President Arasari

[9:46] played instrumental and courageous roles

[9:49] in making this possible. I am grateful

[9:52] to them and so should all Americans be.

[9:56] Tomorrow, military officials from NATO

[9:58] and Serbia will meet to work out the

[10:00] details of the withdrawal of Serbian

[10:03] forces from Kosovo. This is the next

[10:06] necessary step for implementation of our

[10:08] conditions. I'm pleased that it will

[10:11] take place and I hope the talks will

[10:13] proceed professionally and

[10:15] expeditiously.

[10:17] As I said yesterday, our diplomatic and

[10:19] military efforts will continue until we

[10:22] see Serb forces begin to withdraw in a

[10:25] fullscale manner. Our experience in the

[10:28] Balkans teaches us that true peace can

[10:30] only come when progress in discussions

[10:33] is followed by progress on the ground.

[10:37] At the same time, there is an enormous

[10:39] opportunity to be seized here. A chance

[10:41] to shift our focus from defeating

[10:43] something evil to building something

[10:46] good. A chance to work with our allies

[10:48] to bring a stable and prosperous and

[10:50] democratic southeastern Europe in which

[10:53] people are never again singled out for

[10:55] destruction simply because of their

[10:57] religious faith or their ethnic origin.

[11:02] This is a goal that has been worth

[11:03] fighting for over the last weeks. A goal

[11:05] which must be uppermost in our minds as

[11:08] we make sure our conditions are met. A

[11:11] goal we must work for with steadfast

[11:13] determination in the months and in the

[11:15] years to come. And I believe that the

[11:18] overwhelming majority of Americans share

[11:21] this goal. We do not want our children

[11:23] to grow up in a world which is dominated

[11:26] by people who believe they can kill

[11:28] innocent civilians because of the way

[11:30] they worship God or the way they were

[11:33] born.

[11:34] and to Elizabeth Farnsworth in San

[11:36] Francisco who've recorded this

[11:38] discussion earlier this evening.

[11:42] >> Joining me are two senators, John

[11:44] McCain, Republican of Arizona, and

[11:46] Joseph Lieberman, Democrat of

[11:48] Connecticut, and two House members,

[11:50] Republican Jim Leech of Iowa and

[11:53] Democrat Dennis Cusinich of Ohio. Thank

[11:55] you all for being with us. Senator

[11:57] McCain, is this a good peace plan?

[12:00] I think it's uh that we can be very

[12:03] guardedly optimistic about it. I if uh

[12:06] some of the outstanding questions are

[12:08] resolved, I think it's uh it's a reason

[12:11] for us to have hope and optimism.

[12:13] Obviously, we're dealing with a man who

[12:15] has broken other commitments and

[12:17] promises and has brand been branded a

[12:19] war criminal. But uh I am hopeful if we

[12:22] can have some of the aspects of it

[12:24] resolved such as the Russian role and

[12:27] the supremacy of NATO, the the hopefully

[12:30] not a partition of the country and other

[12:34] issues can be resolved, but uh let's be

[12:37] guardedly optimistic about it.

[12:39] >> Senator Lieberman, guardedly optimistic.

[12:42] >> Yeah, John Stone is just right. uh we we

[12:44] have reason to be optimistic or positive

[12:47] about the agreement and I guess guarded

[12:49] about uh about whether Melosvich will

[12:52] implement it but every sign now seems to

[12:54] be that he will and if he does then we

[12:56] will uh United States and NATO have have

[12:59] achieved a very significant victory

[13:01] because we will have shown that we're

[13:04] able to come together against aggression

[13:06] and genocide and uh that is not only

[13:09] important to the peace and freedom of

[13:11] Europe and in some senses is the next

[13:14] battle in and for the values that we we

[13:17] held up in the Cold War. But it it keeps

[13:20] the United States and NATO's credibility

[13:23] very strong and I think will help to

[13:25] diminish any uh thoughts of of

[13:28] aggression or similar uh ethnic

[13:30] slaughter that may come to the mind of a

[13:34] dictator anywhere else in the world. So

[13:36] it it it we are on the verge of what is

[13:39] a significant victory and a great one to

[13:41] end the 20th century on. Congressman Lee

[13:43] Leech on the verge of a significant

[13:45] victory.

[13:46] Well, I think first the peace plan is

[13:49] vastly preferable to prosecution of the

[13:51] war, but perspective is very difficult

[13:53] to apply, particularly at this point in