CBS Evening News open - 1999-06-09

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:03] The deal is done. NATO and Serb military

[0:06] leaders sign a peace agreement today.

[0:08] The Serbs say their withdrawal from

[0:10] Kosovo could start tomorrow. Eye on

[0:13] America investigates aggressive and

[0:15] sometimes effective policing. Crime is

[0:18] down. Is it worth the price? And taking

[0:21] your life in your hands. The very bad

[0:24] health news tonight for cigar smokers.

[0:29] This is the CBS Evening News

[0:33] with Dan Rather reporting from CBS News

[0:36] headquarters in New York. Good evening.

[0:39] The Serbs say the war is over. The

[0:41] Allies say, "Let's see." In Macedonia

[0:44] tonight, NATO and Yugoslav generals

[0:46] signed a military agreement, spelling

[0:49] out the terms for ending the fighting in

[0:51] the Balkans. The allies made it clear

[0:53] that the next step is up to the Serbs

[0:55] and the proof is not on paper but on the

[0:58] ground. CBS News correspondent Richard

[1:00] Roth in Macedonia begins our coverage.

[1:03] >> The British general who signed it near

[1:05] the Yugoslav border tonight said the

[1:07] agreement provides for the withdrawal of

[1:08] Serb forces from Kosovo and the return

[1:11] of refugees. In effect, it ends the war.

[1:14] Uh NATO's resolve in conducting a

[1:17] sustained air campaign has finally

[1:20] achieved this agreement.

[1:22] >> For the Serbs, it amounts to a surrender

[1:24] to NATO. But that's not at all how it

[1:26] was described by the Yugoslav general

[1:28] who signed it and praised Sloban

[1:30] Milosovich for achieving it.

[1:33] >> Well, during these negotiations, we

[1:36] showed that we are really for for peace.

[1:40] >> The deal tonight ended a 24-hour

[1:42] marathon meeting. the fourth in a series

[1:44] of on andoff talks. The British NATO

[1:47] commander here had said it was his plan

[1:49] when the talks resumed to just put a

[1:51] document down on the table and tell the

[1:53] Serb generals, "Now sign it." But each

[1:56] time the Serbs came to NATO's tent,

[1:58] sources say they wanted to discuss the

[2:00] definition of every word on the six-page

[2:03] document NATO called non-negotiable.

[2:07] The plan now is for British airborne

[2:09] troops to cross the border first once

[2:12] the Serbs start pulling out. Heavy armor

[2:14] will be right behind and NATO says it's

[2:17] more than ready.

[2:19] Richard Roth, CBS News, Kamanovo,

[2:21] Macedonia. In Belgrade tonight, a

[2:24] Yugoslav official said Serb forces will

[2:26] begin withdrawing from Kosovo tomorrow.

[2:29] From the US Defense Department, CBS News

[2:31] correspondent David Martin has details

[2:33] of the military agreement and what's

[2:35] happening on the ground.

[2:38] Even before the agreement was signed, a

[2:40] satellite photo showed the Serbs

[2:41] marshalling tractor trailer trucks for

[2:43] the pull out. They have 11 days to

[2:46] complete the withdrawal, pulling out in

[2:48] phases along designated routes and

[2:50] through designated exit points. Within

[2:52] one day of the signing of the agreement,

[2:55] which was today, we will have a uh

[2:58] demonstrable withdrawal of troops from

[3:01] the northern area here.

[3:03] >> As soon as NATO can verify the

[3:04] withdrawal has begun, NATO would

[3:06] officially suspend the already reduced

[3:09] bombing, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

[3:11] >> If the Serbs honor the terms of this

[3:13] agreement and they pull out as

[3:14] scheduled, NATO will pause and then end

[3:18] its air campaign. Once the bombing is

[3:20] suspended, the UN Security Council would

[3:22] pass a resolution authorizing 50,000

[3:25] NATO peacekeepers to begin moving into

[3:27] Kosovo. The first British troops could

[3:30] cross the border within hours of the

[3:32] vote. This quiet Greek port will see

[3:34] 1,900 US Marines come ashore and start

[3:37] moving north toward Kosovo. The Marines

[3:40] along with 1,700 army troops now in

[3:42] Albania will follow the British from

[3:45] Macedonia into Kosovo, taking the main

[3:47] road toward Pristina, then turning east

[3:50] into the American sector. Kosovo will be

[3:52] divided into five sectors under the

[3:54] command of British General Michael

[3:56] Jackson.

[3:57] >> This will not be an easy operation and

[4:00] it will take time.

[4:02] Although the air campaign has not yet

[4:04] been officially suspended, it has been

[4:06] several hours since any bombs actually

[4:09] fell on Yugoslavia. NATO planes are

[4:11] still in the air and more are scheduled

[4:14] to launch tonight. But as long as the

[4:15] Serbs hold their fire, the bombing has

[4:18] effectively ended. Dan David Martin,

[4:21] thanks. Serb forces in Kosovo may have

[4:23] been busy in recent days covering up

[4:25] evidence of war crimes.