Yugoslav Ambassador Tells Locals His Country Is Prepared for Peace

As his colleagues in Belgrade struggled over details of a plan to end the NATO bombing destroying their country, the Yugoslav ambassador to the United Nations sped through Ventura and other cities Thursday on a Southern California speaking tour.

Traveling in a white Saturn with an old college chum, Ambassador Vladislav Jovanovic gave speeches to an occasionally hostile group in Montecito and a world affairs group in Westlake Village.

Each time he spoke, Jovanovic stressed that the peace plan now under negotiation will work--so long as the United States and its NATO allies are willing to make a few concessions as well.

“Some hard-liners in NATO and the U.S. are obsessed with winning the war. They are potentially dangerous for the peace process,” Jovanovic said during a break between engagements. “They could undermine the peace process.”

What a difference a day makes. On Wednesday night, Jovanovic told a group in Los Angeles that Yugoslavia would never accept the withdrawal of its police forces from Kosovo, a province of Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia.

But on Thursday, as he wolfed down a large cheeseburger meal at a Ventura fast-food restaurant, Jovanovic said the situation had changed overnight. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was willing to agree to a withdrawal of all military and police forces and allow in a peacekeeping force with NATO at its core--positions long resisted by the Yugoslav government.

One key issue that may stall the peace process could be the timing of the withdrawal, Jovanovic said. On Thursday, President Clinton and NATO allies insisted that bombing will continue until all Yugoslav forces leave Kosovo. Jovanovic said the end of bombing should be simultaneous with the departure of troops.

“The withdrawal could start in a convincing way, and the cessation would start at the same time,” he said. “That would stimulate peace.”

Why the sudden change of heart? “If you have to choose between peace and war, peace is a better option,” he said.

Jovanovic, who has become a familiar figure on CNN and other news outlets during the 2 1/2-month bombing campaign, said he had planned his Southern California trip more than a month ago. He plans to visit with another world affairs group today in San Diego.

His first stop Thursday was at the Channel City Club in Montecito, where he spoke to about 300 people. He faced a barrage of sometimes pointed questions.

Again and again, Jovanovic was asked about the plight of the ethnic Albanians who live in Kosovo. Nearly a million people are estimated to have fled the province, with many of them telling of rape, beatings and murders by Serb military and police forces.

“How can your government justify the expulsion of a million Kosovar Albanians?” one man demanded.

And, again and again, Jovanovic gave the same answer: He acknowledged that some atrocities were committed, but said they were the fault of rogue units or individual acts, not condoned by the Yugoslav government.

“Unfortunately, there were some atrocities in [Kosovo],” he said. “But it is wrong to say they were committed by security forces and police. . . . As in the case of any war situation, bad elements emerge and start to do their own justice.”

* ACCORD REACHED: Yugoslavia accepts Western demands to pull out of Kosovo. A1