Americans, British, Germans, French and Italians entered Pristina The first five vehicles of the British KFOR contingent entered Pristina yesterday evening. NATO peacekeeping troops entered Kosovo at dawn via Macedonia to begin taking control of the province after the withdrawal of Serbian troops. Chinook and Puma helicopters, carrying members of the British Gurkha regiment and paratroopers, crossed the border at around 0130 GMT. The operation is one of the largest military undertakings in Europe since the Second World War. Russians and British clash yesterday at Pristina airport BRITISH GENERAL JACKSON ARRIVES IN PRISTINA THIS EVENING British soldiers taking up positions in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina (REUTERS) Sunday 13 June 1999 Newspaper of the Socialist Party of Albania Price: 30 lekë. For Greece: 3000dpx

Smugglers and police officers behind bars PAGE 10

Prime Minister Majko thanks Albanian generals and those of NATO Laurels for NATO soldiers, the UÇK and Albanian soldiers Prime Minister Majko thanks Albanian generals and those of NATO Majko: The bad dream with the ghosts of the Second World War has not yet dissipated Laurels for NATO soldiers, the UÇK and Albanian soldiers TIRANA—“The General Staff, its generals and those thousands of soldiers who were deployed for days on the front line deserve laurels for the way they fulfilled their assigned duties. History will reserve golden pages for the combat operations of the Albanian army.” Addressing the military attachés of the Alliance countries, Majko said: “While respecting your epaulettes, I wish to recall that military epic written by the sons and daughters of the UÇK, who embodied the determination to fight for and defend the same cause as the soldiers and generals of NATO.”

Thousands of troops and 100 “Leopard 2” tanks

The IMF and Albania sign “ESAF 2” on Monday in Washington

“ABC” Yesterday, the entire democratic world held its breath for several hours over an action by a contingent of Russian military forces that was as adventurous as it was diversionary. It had secretly set out from Bosnia, crossed Serbia, and suddenly found itself in Kosovo, in Pristina. Someone called this move “the Russian bear’s belated awakening.” But behind that phrase comes an inner alarm for every Albanian in particular, as well as for the entire international community in general: Why did the Russians take this step? Who ordered it? How willing is Moscow to respect the peace agreement? Why is the Russian military hesitating? These legitimate questions have several answers. The first would be: Russia, although compelled only in words to “annihilate NATO”—a consequence of its economic and financial interests vis-à-vis the West—does not want to accept the new realities created in Europe after the Cold War, which include recent developments in Kosovo, Serbia and the entire Balkan region. With this action, the Russians wanted to take advantage of the vacuum being created in Kosovo and put the international community, and NATO in particular, before a fait accompli. In doing so, they tested the West’s resolve to secure a different future for Kosovo. After this military action, initially called a “mistake” by Moscow’s foreign minister, they discovered that NATO had no intention of tolerating them—and was therefore not prepared to give way to the Russian objective, declared some time ago, of having two commands in postwar Kosovo. Their action, which is said to have been undertaken not on the initiative of some general’s cronies but on direct orders from the Kremlin, also shows something else: the Russians’ megalomaniacal role no longer works in international relations, much less in shaping Kosovo’s future. Regardless of their being granted only the role of “peace mediators” for Kosovo, they cannot assume the role of its “carpetbaggers.” (Continued on page 11) PAGES 3–4

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