Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Vancouver Quadra.
It is a pleasure for me to take part in this debate this evening. I want to speak on our role in Kosovo, where we are and where I believe we should be heading.
Today, as NATO has just celebrated its 50th anniversary, it is clear that it has become history's most successful alliance. Recently NATO's role in Yugoslavia is the most visible confirmation of the enduring value of a transatlantic alliance for strong security in Europe.
Kosovo is a region that demands our attention. It has historically been subjected to many different types of conflict. I would like to look at the historical context in which Kosovo is placed today while shedding some light on the brutal nature of Mr. Milosevic's regime.
Conflict has plagued Kosovo for hundreds of years. The humanitarian crisis in Kosovo is the most recent manifestation of a long history of conflict for Kosovars. Time does not allow me to chronicle the history.
If we look to the period in the mid-20th century following the breakup of Yugoslavia by the axis powers in April 1941, most of Kosovo was incorporated into an Italian controlled greater Albania. At this time the Kosovars collaborated with the fascist state. Kosovo saw little stability in this period. It was not until another oppressive regime took power in 1944 that Kosovars began to see some sort of consistency in their lives, the communists.
Under the communists, Kosovars were still oppressed. In July 1945 the communist-dominated assembly voted for the voluntary union of Kosovo with the republic of Serbia within a Yugoslav federation. Yugoslavia's Albanians were treated as a national minority with no right to a republic of their own. Clearly the voices of Kosovars were not heard.
Oppression of individual liberties is the hallmark of the communist regime. The state security police, through extensive surveillance and harassment, oppressed Albanians. This harassment was so severe that between 1945 and 1966 over 200,000 moved to Turkey.
The treatment of Kosovar Albanians has consistently been terrible, but it pales in comparison to the depths of depravity that Mr. Milosevic has reached. The difference between Mr. Milosevic's reign of terror and what we saw at the period after the war is that Mr. Milosevic wants to murder, rape and squeeze every bit of humanity out of these people.
I have chosen to look at this time period because it took place in the 20th century context. It was only 55 years ago that Kosovo was under the control of a fascist regime. It was only 50 years ago that NATO was formed to provide for the collective security of the North Atlantic. It was only 24 hours ago when women and children were raped and murdered. It was only 24 hours ago when the fathers of these children were lined up against a wall and shot in the back.
What we are dealing with in this debate is not history. It is the present. As we speak, atrocities are taking place that cannot be left unnoticed. As we sit here this evening, people are being shot like sitting ducks for the entire world to see.
Canada as a member of NATO must act promptly, decisively and without hesitation to restore peace. NATO was designed to do this and to do anything else would be a waste of our time and money. NATO acted quickly in Bosnia. NATO actions in Bosnia illustrate how it was called upon to ensure peace in a military role.
In 1992 a terrible conflict exploded in Bosnia-Hercegovina. During the next three years, hundreds of thousands of people were killed and over two million were forced from their homes. The missions assumed by NATO in the former Yugoslavia played a critical role in bringing peace to Bosnia, while at the same time affirming that NATO was doing its job quickly and effectively.
NATO first became involved in the former Yugoslavia in 1992 by deploying ships and aircraft to monitor UN sanctions on the Adriatic and the no fly zone over Bosnia. In 1993 this monitoring shifted to enforcement. Following the UN security council's adoption of resolution 836 in June, NATO offered close air support to the United Nations protection force, UNPROFOR, that was on the ground in Bosnia. Shortly thereafter, NATO began to develop air strike options to help lift the siege of Sarajevo and undertook its first combat action in February 1994 when allied aircraft shot down four aircraft violating the UN no fly zone.
NATO continued to take a more active role in promoting stability when it bombed a Bosnian Serb arms depot in May 1995. The Bosnian Serbs responded by taking UN peacekeepers as hostages. Bosnian Serb forces overran Srebrenica and Zepa, safe areas, in July. It became clear that diplomacy, humanitarian peacekeeping and humanitarian air strikes had reached their limits, much like the failed Rambouillet agreement.
Under the authority of UN resolution 836, NATO responded by initiating a three week campaign of air strikes against Bosnian Serb military targets. This operation, named Deliberate Force, delivered over 1,000 munitions, including 700 smart bombs and cruise missiles. The operation was a success. It reached its objective of reducing the threat to Sarajevo and deterring future attacks on the safe areas.
I cannot stress how important NATO's role was in Bosnia-Hercegovina. NATO had an objective in Bosnia and it reached it. We have an objective in Kosovo and we must reach it too. This common objective was the prevention of loss of life and the escalation of violence.
Many people do not realize how repressive this man is. In January of this year observers from the Kosovar Verification Mission discovered the bodies of 45 Albanians in the village of Racak. According to the observers the victims, including one child and three women, were killed by Serb security forces. The international community was quick to unanimously condemn this act of mass murder. But what good does universal condemnation do when people continue to die? Our number one priority is to stop the brutal killing and the destruction of human lives and property in Kosovo. We need action, not words. Acting is what we are doing.
Following this massacre, Serb forces entered the village of Racak. This led to fighting between Serb forces and the separatists in the whole area around the villages. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that over 5,000 people were driven out of this village by the fighting. Just today we read in the newspaper reports from Albania of how ethnic Albanian women and girls were publicly stripped and then raped by Serb militia as they tried to leave Kosovo.
Yesterday masked gunmen shot and killed one of Yugoslavia's most prominent journalists outside his home. This happened after a pro Milosevic newspaper accused him of supporting the NATO bombing campaign. This is absolute madness. NATO has taken an active role in the past and should continue to pursue peace and stability.
As members of this transatlantic alliance, we as Canadians cannot sit idly by and watch Milosevic's reign of terror beat people to the ground. We have fought for what we believe in and we should continue to press forward in our fight to relieve the people of Kosovo of their pain. How can we not support NATO air strikes? Can we sit and watch as women are raped in front of their children, as fathers are shot in front of their children? No, I think not.
It is for people like Milosevic that we have security organizations like NATO. As I illustrated earlier, NATO acted in Bosnia-Hercegovina to neutralize the Bosnian Serbs. We have spent years ensuring that someone like Milosevic cannot bully people, cannot do as the fascists did in the second world war.
Billions of dollars and years of planning and policy discussion, all for the collective security of NATO member countries. All of this designed to use the tool of last resort to ensure that peace is maintained. We should use it when all of our other options are no longer viable.
It was made clear a long time ago that Mr. Milosevic did not see the United Nations and NATO as serious, capable organizations. The failure of the Rambouillet meetings illustrated that Mr. Milosevic does not want peace and does not want to stop the killing. When one tyrant can cause so much death and destruction, it is apparent that we as Canadians must act. It makes me proud that we have done so. It makes me proud that we will continue to support our NATO initiative in whatever way we must.
Our actions must diminish the capabilities of the Yugoslav army and the special forces who have committed atrocities against civilians in Kosovo. Our air campaign will allow us to meet this objective. It may take some time, but our NATO allies knew from the start that degrading Yugoslavia's military capabilities would take time. I think we must remain committed to our present policy of full support of NATO in this air campaign.
