HRH CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER OF YUGOSLAVIA 

KOSOVO AND YUGOSLAVIA 
NO AIR STRIKES 

London (6 October 1998). The tragedy of Kosovo is of great concern to
the world. My heart goes out to all the innocent victims and refugees.
The refugees need urgent humanitarian help. Both the Belgrade regime and
the Albanian extremists are hindering a political solution and I strongly
condemn their resort to violence. Human rights violations should be immediately
investigated by independent teams and the criminals punished. 

I am strongly against air strikes. Many people in the west including
governments conclude like I do that air strikes on Serbia or Montenegro
will kill many innocent people and only further consolidate the Belgrade
regime. The Belgrade regime fully controls the media, politics and institutions.
The regime is the continuation of the communists using another image. The
regime prospers on its daily orchestration of propaganda using negative
patriotism, negative religion, disinformation and intimidation. 

The west believed that the ruling members of the former League of Communists
were capable of real democratic reform. The west struck a deal with the
regime in Belgrade and the war ended, but hope of real democratic reform
was firmly put on hold since the regime received credibility and recognition
from the west. Today real democratic and economic reforms are dead. All
the people of Yugoslavia face a dismal political and economic future since
thesame Mafia and the interconnected Mafia’s, militias and fronts the regime
created are homogeneous and fully in power. All the brave people working
and longing for democracy have been abandoned by this western short-sighted
policy.  There has been a vast “brain drain” of hundreds of thousands
to the west during the last few years. Western policy of striking deals
with the regime has contributed considerable pain and only supported those
in power. 

I forecast that the Belgrade regime will continue to fire up in the
future the many “hot spots” regardless of air strikes or threats for the
sake of staying in power. The west must review its policy and come up with
a workable plan in implementing real democratic reforms and human rights
in Yugoslavia for future peace and stability within the region. 

 
 
 

1997 HRHCP Aleksandar II
All Rights Reserved