(2 Feb 1999) Eng/Albanian/Nat
A spokesman for the Kosovo Liberation Army (K-L-A), Jakup Krasniqi, has announced that the rebels will attend peace talks in France this week aimed at ending the conflict in the disputed province.
The announcement focuses international pressure on the hard-line Yugoslav government, which still has not confirmed whether it will send delegates to the talks.
The Serb Parliament is to decide on Thursday.
The rebel’s participation was uncertain earlier after another K-L-A spokesman, Adem Demaci, said he would recommend against sending delegates to the talks to start Saturday.
Ethnic Albanian guerrillas have been fighting for independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo for 11 months.
Ninety percent of the Kosovo’s population is Albanian.
Following the setting up of peace talks at Rambouillet, outside Paris this weekend, attention has been focused on both warring sides, to see whether they would attend.
The Kosovo Liberation Army (K-L-A) general staff held as meeting at a secret location to discuss the peace conference.
It was believed to be the first time all members of the general headquarters had gathered in one place since the K-L-A’s conflict with the Serb security forces began.
The other main ethnic Albanian parties in Kosovo have already agreed to attend the talks.
A spokesman for the K-L-A, Jakup Krasniqi, held a news conference during a break in their meeting.
He said they were definitely going to the talks and they would be armed with several proposals including a referendum on the province’s independence.
SOUNDBITE: (Albanian)
"We are definitely going to the talks with our proposals on which we can talk (such as) Kosovo to be under international protectorate for three years, and after three years, for there to be a referendum for all the people on self determination. "
SUPERCAPTION: Jakup Krasniqi, Kosovo Liberation Army spokesman
Belgrade insists that Kosovo remain in Serbia and has ruled out a referendum whose outcome would be a foregone conclusion.
Krasniqi also said ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova should not have agreed to the initial proposals negotiated with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic several months after the the conflict began.
SOUNDBITE: (Albanian)
"Rugova made mistakes as in the agreement on educational reform and in going into talks with Milosevic. It was a premature acceptance of a document without knowing the contents. We know what the details are of the new proposals. We are not satisfied with them but we are going to France. But the leadership of the Albanian delegation must be with the K-L-A."
SUPERCAPTION: Jakup Krasniqi, Kosovo Liberation Army spokesman
The K-L-A’s acceptance of the West’s invitation to talk came shortly after the group’s political representative, Adem Demaci, told a news conference he had advised the guerrillas to boycott the conference.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"And now to ask and to force Albanians to go and negotiate with representatives of that regime again to make new mistakes – as the mistake of 15 May last year – this is the reason why I suggested to my General staff to refuse to go to France. But General staff have the last word."
SUPER CAPTION: Adem Demaci, Kosovo Albanian spokesperson
Demaci also spurned an invitation to talk to Rugova, whose policy of passive resistance has failed to get Belgrade to soften its harsh rule over its southern province.
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