U.S. CALLS SERBIAN WAR CRIMES IN KOSOVO UNACCEPTABLE

( Editorial: --> 7196 ) ZAGREB, Aug 31 (Hina) - A special American diplomat for war crimes on Monday said the scale of crimes being committed in the southern Yugoslav province of Kosovo was absolutely unacceptable. David John Scheffer, the United States Ambassador at Large for War Crimes, also said these crimes could not be justified through any military doctrine and the motive was obviously revenge not any military aim. Scheffer told a press conference in Zagreb that he had hoped to talk about the Kosovo crisis in Belgrade instead, but had been forced to choose the Croatian capital as authorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) had refused to grant him a visa. "The FRY refusal represents once again that government's insecurity about its own accountability under international law," he said. Scheffer recalled that the FRY had a "long history of refusing to cooperate in a meaningful and constructive way" with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), especially by refusing to turn over indicted war crimes suspects who "comfortably reside on its territory". "But beyond that, Serbian actions in Kosovo increasingly demonstrate that the leaders of the FRY appear determined to continue to ignore the requirements of international humanitarian law," he said. "Thus, the isolation of the FRY, including the retention of the outer wall of sanctions, will continue." The American diplomat said the US deplored the actions by Serbian authorities in Kosovo that had resulted in "widespread burnings of settlements, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Serb citizens, and the deaths of many innocent civilians and humanitarian aid workers". Scheffer said the US also agreed with the stance of the ICTY's Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour, who in a letter to the Contact Group in July said that it was "simply wrong both in law and in fact" for the FRY to try and deny the Tribunal's jurisdiction on the grounds that Kosovo was a "police action". "There is no question that an armed conflict exists in Kosovo. There is also no question that the ICTY has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 837 (1993), which covers the former Yugoslavia," he said. Scheffer told reporters that recent Serbian operations showed a more extensive destruction of civilian property than in the previous campaign. "The fact that much of the damage has occurred in areas where there was no appreciable combat and frequently well after occupation by the Serbs suggests a punitive rather than military motivation for much of the destruction," he said. "In short, since July 16 (when they began their offensive) the Serb armed and police forces have increased their assault on civilian settlements and intentionally damaged civilian structures and crops and livestock. "This scale of damage is disproportionate to any combat in the affected areas and clearly exceeds significantly any military necessity." The American diplomat warned those who intentionally committed such actions that they were acting illegally and would be subject to international investigation and prosecution. At the end of the press conference Scheffer tackled media speculation about whether "ethnic cleansing" was occurring in Kosovo. He said it did not matter for the purposes of international criminal law, because forced displacement was criminal by itself. Scheffer said it appeared that the common understanding of "ethnic cleansing" was not yet occurring, where members of another ethnic group were moving into the homes of residents expelled by Serbian forces. "We do not know whether such population transfers might be contemplated for the future," he said. "We may just happen to be in the interregnum right now between the forced removal of one ethnic group and its replacement with another ethnic group." (Hina) mbr jn /jfk 312110 MET aug 98