WEYMOUTH: Why is it important for Germany to be involved in Kosovo?
SCHRÖDER: We are trying to contain the on-going human catastrophe–to stop the killings and deportations.
After the second world war, Germany never participated directly in any military intervention. The reason is that we were a divided country. Because of this and our history, it was necessary to keep out of conflicts… [But] we are no longer a divided nation [and]… our partners, both in Europe and in the United States, would have misunderstood it if we had [opted out].
It has been argued that Germany should not intervene in the Balkans because of the atrocities [Hitler’s forces] perpetrated there . One could argue exactly the reverse–that we are now under a moral obligation to help stop new atrocities being committed there.
I warn against putting the atrocities committed in Kosovo on the same level as Auschwitz because it detracts from the singularity of the Holocaust. We had to decide either to lean back and watch the events unfold, and thus abide by the principle of “Never again war”–or say there is a higher principle that we have to uphold, namely to stop the killings and deportations.
Do you honestly expect me to answer that? I don’t think we have a reason to change the current NATO strategy. With the ongoing airstrikes, we stand a chance of limiting the military capacity of Milosevic [so that] we will, in the end, see a negotiated solution.
We do not want to send ground troops, [but] I think we have proved–beyond any doubt–our capacity to [act] both in foreign and security policy–although some people had their doubts at the outset as to our resolve. NATO has to win this military conflict. We must not allow Milosevic to win.
There are no secret negotiations. I would consider it a wrong step if anyone in the alliance were trying to pursue secret negotiations.
Yes. Kofi Annan wrote a letter to Mr. Milosevic and spelled out a number of demands [that] were identical to the demands that the West had put to Milosevic. I think Kofi Annan’s role is important in… trying to interest the Russians in a political solution [that] follows the clear line the West has already established. I support giving Russia an important role in achieving a settlement of this conflict.
We can have a political solution only if we do not allow any doubt about our willingness to continue the air war.
What Primakov brought here were proposals from Milosevic which I simply could not accept because they were in direct contradiction to the line agreed upon by the Western Alliance.
We are in regular contact over all of these issues. It’s a very, very close contact.
It is an honor to be compared to such important personalities, but… I am not the German Tony Blair. Nor am I the German Bill Clinton. I am Gerhard Schroder. I don’t want to be a copy of anyone.
No. This event will always influence the way German politicians think and act. Even if one says there is no such thing as collective guilt, it is still our task to see to it that people remember what happened–because by remembering we can ensure it will not happen again.
