Killing Must Stop

by Cvijeto Job

The US State Secretary's deputy Mr. Laurence Eagleberger has received our correspondent in the State Department, Washington D.C, in the capacity of the Secretary of State, since Mr. Baker is presently in Rome, at the NATO summit

What are the long-term preoccupations and the aims of USA concerning Yugoslavia?

You said "long-term" preoccupations, but I would rather name the short-term ones first. Our basic attitude is that the killings must stop. The first step that should be made is to provide the conditions for that. Furthermore, we think that the future of Yugoslavia should be shaped by Yugoslav factors, not by foreign interests. We made a very clear point of that from the outset.

But, we also believe that the Yugoslav crisis should be solved by peaceful means, through negotiations of all the parties involved. We are prepared to stand behind whatever they decide upon the future of Yugoslavia, provided it was done through peaceful negotiations. What we do not and never will support are the changes imposed by guns. We made it absolutely clear that we shall neither recognize nor support the redrawing of borders by force.

In abstract terms, it is clear that the US would favour the solution reached through the consensus of the republics and which would make some form of political and economic relations between them possible, no matter how loose, provided the republics are allowed to cooperate and work together.

I want to stress once again our determined opposition to any attempt to solve problems by force. We are most distressed by what has been going on in Yugoslavia for the past few months. We are shocked by what is being done and we think that the conduct of the parties involved can sometimes be described as totally unscrupulous. The killings are not the solution. I personally believed that the Yugoslav peoples realized that decades ago. Do you think there is only one culprit, or should the blame be shared?

I do not intend to name a culprit, but I dare say that it seems to me, personally, that all the parties involved should have realized by now that they are all to blame. As I had foreseen a long time ago, unilateral acts of this or that republic inevitably lead to unwelcome consequences.

I have one more think to add: in the present situation it is clear, and we irrevocably stated that as a government, that the aggressive acts of Serbia against the others are completely unacceptable to us. But I must say right away that I do not think Serbia alone should be held responsible for the present situation. I do not think my government thinks that either.