Former NATO commander in Europe Wesley Clark said today that the world should not forget what happened in Kosova from 1997 to 1999. Clark recalled the repression under Slobodan Milosevic. He said more than 400,000 people were expelled from their villages in the summer of 1998. He also recalled military operations targeting intellectuals, lawyers and professors, along with the looting of homes and serious crimes against civilians.
Clark said people resisted the repression. He warned that the war in Ukraine and events in the Middle East could make people forget what happened in Kosova. The former NATO commander said the events of 1997–1999 should remain part of the effort to protect human rights. He also referred to the role of the United States in supporting those principles.
Clark said he was shocked and angry over the Hague verdict against four former Kosova Liberation Army leaders. The court sentenced them to a combined 81 years in prison. Clark said he had testified at the trial about what he had seen and about cooperation with the Kosova Liberation Army. He said he had seen no evidence to justify the verdict.
Clark said he had met Hashim Thaçi three times during the conflict and at Rambouillet. He described the Kosovo Liberation Army as part of a rebellion against an authoritarian regime. He also referred to individual crimes committed by Serbs against their Albanian neighbors. Clark said Thaçi had worked to protect the innocent Serb population.
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