Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to the motion regarding the human tragedy which has been happening in Kosovo.
The situation in Kosovo and surrounding countries is desperate. This is a humanitarian crisis involving hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee their homes. Once they get to the border, they are stripped of their passports, their dignity, their heritage.
This is one of the worst forced exodus of civilians in Europe since the end of the second world war.
According to unconfirmed reports, there are up to 800,000 displaced Kosovars, 150,000 to 200,000 of whom are said to be without shelter. A large number of them are being harassed by Serb authorities, and are in a dreadful state, suffering from shock, malnutrition and hypothermia. We had to act, we could not stand idle before such a disaster.
I am very proud that our government has consistently co-operated with the international community to put an end to this conflict by promoting a fair political settlement allowing refugees to go back to Kosovo without fearing for their security.
During a crisis such as this it is important for people not to lose track of underlying causes. Therefore I would like to recall how the crisis started and how Canada responded to the events.
We should bear in mind that before Mr. Milosevic rose to power, Kosovo was made up principally of ethnic Albanians and had constitutional autonomy. That right was stripped away by Mr. Milosevic in 1989. From that point forward he has deliberately implemented a plan to impoverish and oppress the Kosovars. Early last year his security forces mounted a campaign against innocent civilians similar to the ethnic atrocities we witnessed in both Croatia and Bosnia.
Canada supported the systematic efforts by our allies to settle the situation diplomatically. Last year, two UN resolutions failed to achieve an end to the fighting in Kosovo. Canada would by far have preferred a diplomatic solution—we have said so and we have repeated it—as we have indicated to Mr. Milosevic, who preferred to ignore the honest warnings given.
An agreement was reached, finally, under threat of NATO's air power. It established a ceasefire and provided for the intervention of an observation mission headed by the Organization on Security and Co-operation in Europe that would ensure the provisions were followed.
In addition, the agreement provided for the imposition of strict limitations on the deployment of Yugoslav security forces, but Mr. Milosevic unfortunately did not keep his word. The Yugoslav forces violated the ceasefire and conducted a campaign against civilians that clearly contravened international human rights.
The Yugoslavs increasingly defied the allies over the next four months, as the increased violence and specific incidents, such as the massacre at Racak, testified. Despite all, we continued all our diplomatic efforts, such as the discussions held in Rambouillet, France.
In these negotiations, we tried to find a diplomatic solution that would balance the interests and demands of the two parties. The provisional agreement reached provided, among other things, for greater autonomy for Kosovo within the federal republic of Yugoslavia. It did not affect in any way the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia. The agreement demanded of both parties the courage to make compromises.
In the end the Kosovars showed the courage to sign the agreement. However, Mr. Milosevic was only interested in gaining precious time. The diplomatic track has run its course. Our vision and our commitment to leave no diplomatic stone unturned were once again rewarded by Mr. Milosevic's unwillingness to stand by the agreements he had made or to seek a peaceful solution. In fact, he continued the build up of his forces during the Rambouillet process.
Let us be clear about one thing. We have no quarrel with the people of Yugoslavia. It is Mr. Milosevic and his government which bear responsibility for this human tragedy. Now we have been forced to turn to a measure of last resort, military force. This was not an easy decision nor a hasty one. But the interests we seek to preserve and protect in this region are significant.
Peace and stability in Europe has always been a pillar of Canadian security policy. Our interest in restoring and maintaining that stability is as great today as it was in the past.
The goal of NATO's air strikes is obvious: reduce the capacity of Yugoslavia's forces to attack the people of Kosovo. Kosovars themselves admit that it is not these military operations that caused the present tragedy.
The operations seek to prevent an even worse humanitarian disaster and to prevent the instability to spread elsewhere in the region. We are using both diplomatic and military means to reach our goals. The first phase of air strikes was aimed at reducing the capacity of the very powerful air defence system of Yugoslavia and, hence, to reduce its threat to NATO's pilots. The day following the raids, Yugoslavia broke off its diplomatic relations with the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France.
In response to the intensification of Yugoslavia's offensive in Kosovo, NATO decided to launch the second phase of operations, namely to attack the armed forces of Yugoslavia and reduce their capacity to harm Kosovars.
Because of the intransigence of Mr. Milosevic, waves of refugees crossed the border into neighbouring countries. On April 3, some 320,000 Albanian Kosovars had already fled Kosovo or were gathering at the border in the hope of seeking refuge in Albania, in the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia and in Montenegro, whose governments are more tolerant than the Serbian government, and elsewhere. Refugees represent an enormous challenge for those countries, which are very poor and can hardly meet their own basic needs.
Since the beginning of April, NATO attacks have intensified, though the goal of operations remains the same, to reduce and eventually destroy the resources used by Mr. Milosevic to wage war against citizens of his own country.
Canada has contributed effectively and with determination to these military operations. Our CF-18s, with their state of the art equipment, and NATO's AWAC aircraft, that are operated in part by Canadian crews, control the air space and guarantee the effectiveness of strikes, with the essential help of support personnel.
We should not forget that, at the same time, the Canadian government is doing its share to help the affected population and has provided to date over $18 million in humanitarian help. Right here in Canada, when the government has announced on April 5 that it would receive 5,000 refugees, Canadians opened their hearts and started preparing their homes to welcome the Kosovars.
Activities in Canada to support a lasting peace in that part of the world have included permanent support for the international criminal tribunal for former Yougoslavia. We want to make it clear that Yougoslav leaders will be held responsible for all the crimes they have committed or allowed to be committed in Kosovo. We will not let Mr. Milosevic's government and armed security forces to continue their action in Kosovo.
As a loyal and effective member of NATO, Canada is striving, along with its allies, to find a solution to this conflict and to promote a fair political settlement that will allow refugees to go back in their country in safety.
I think Canada should persevere in its efforts, and I know that Canadians share my position.
