Bulgaria, 1999

May I first congratulate you, Mr.

President, on your election to this responsible position. I am

sure that your vast knowledge and experience are a

guarantee of the success of this session.

I avail myself of this opportunity to express my most

sincere congratulations also to the Secretary-General, Mr.

Kofi Annan, for his contribution to strengthening the role

of the United Nations in line with the challenges of the

modern world.

I am going to spare the Assembly the review of this

year's international developments that it probably

anticipated, because I come from a region that has

generated enough bad news and is still the focus of world

attention.

Some of the developments in our region were not

the result of human will. The earthquakes in Turkey and

Greece, which claimed tens of thousands of victims,

shook the world. Regrettably, man-made disasters have

taken a high toll on our region. The war in Kosovo, the

fourth in a row in the former Yugoslavia, has left in its

wake a comparable trail of tragedies.

Now that the war is over, there are two things we

must do: as soon as possible, repair the damage and

alleviate the trauma it has inflicted, and build an

infrastructure of security and prosperity that precludes any

future repetition of such tragic events.

The international community has in the past set itself

similar ambitious tasks. This time, I hope, the experience

it has gained has reached the critical mass needed for the

achievement of lasting peace settlements in conflict areas.

The consequences of the Kosovo crisis have spilled

over the borders of the region. That is why I find it

worthwhile to share with the Assembly some conclusions

about what was, hopefully, the last war in the Balkans.

With the adoption of Security Council resolution

1244 (1999), the world community has endorsed the

political end of the system established by the cold war.

That resolution reflected the new international status quo

and the understanding that has grown during the past 10

years of the importance of individual security.

Today, the rights and dignity of the human individual,

civil freedoms and the international rule of law override

even the sovereignty of States. This calls for a new

responsibility on the part of the international community for

their protection. The resolution also showed the

commitment of Security Council members to international

stability.

Paradoxical as it may sound, the Kosovo crisis has

served as a catalyst of post-bipolar relations and of a new

type of political dialogue among States. Significantly, for

the first time since the Second World War, four permanent

Security Council members are participating in one force —

KFOR. Furthermore, they have been involved in

peacekeeping operations — something that would have

been unthinkable 10 years ago.

The Kosovo crisis has also highlighted the need for

change within the United Nations system itself. For

example, the world Organization is in serious need of a

mechanism for compensating neighbouring States for

damage caused by international intervention or sanctions. I

raise this issue not only because of the losses sustained by

my country during the past eight years from the embargo

against Iraq and because of the military conflicts in the

former Yugoslavia, but also because this will increase the

efficiency and boost the image of the United Nations. It

will certainly improve the credibility of United Nations-led

operations and provide better motivation for individual

countries to participate.

On the other hand, the crisis in Kosovo promoted a

new type of relations among international organizations in

respect of the protection of human rights. As a result of the

crisis, a new kind of interface has been born between the

United Nations and the regional organizations in Europe,

such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,

the European Union and regional initiatives such as the

Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. This has

strengthened the role of the United Nations on that

continent.

Today, the Balkan people expect the international

community to show the same commitment to the future of

the region as it did during the crisis. Threats to peace and

security should cease to be the only international mobilizing

factor, and we must act towards this end.

I am convinced that the developments in the former

Yugoslavia have not been due to some peculiar Balkan

mentality or to any historic predestination. Half a century

ago, Western Europe was embroiled in wars that were no

less bloody. The difference is that after the Second World

War the nations of Western Europe were rescued at the

same time from fascism and communism. This helped

them attain a democratic and economic homogeneity that,

in turn, enabled victors and vanquished alike to set aside

their differences and build their present prosperity while

respecting human rights and protecting their national

identity.

Unfortunately, a different lot fell to the countries of

South-Eastern Europe after the Second World War. States

like Greece and Turkey, both NATO members, preserved

and built up their potential for liberal-democratic

development and a free market, and the rest of the States

in the region were forced to become a part of the Soviet

communist system.

Today, 10 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the

Balkans still lack democratic homogeneity. This has been

a source of tensions, which, translated into ethnic hatred,

are the favoured tool of any totalitarian regime attempting

to cling to power. But I am sure it is wrong to apply a

common denominator to the whole region. Today

Bulgaria, as well as most of the Balkan States, is a

country with a working democracy, a free market

economy and the rule of law.

An earlier democratic homogenization of South-

Eastern Europe can be achieved only if the vision for our

countries' integration with the rest of the European States

is shared by both the Balkan nations and the people of

Western Europe. Efforts and perseverance to this end are

the safest guarantee for converting the whole of Europe

into a continent of peace, stability and prosperity.

This common European vision fully applies to the

future Yugoslavia. There is hardly any country that has a

higher stake in Yugoslavia's earliest possible integration

in the family of democratic Balkan States than Bulgaria.

I cannot but share here the concern of the world

community at the continuing ethnic tensions in Kosovo,

which distance us from the desired state of peace and

ethnic tolerance. Six months ago I firmly supported

NATO's operation, designed to end ethnic violence

against the Albanian population in Kosovo. Today, just as

firmly, I oppose ethnic violence against the Serb

population in that province.

The Balkans have paid a high price for peace in

Kosovo. Today the region needs direct assistance for its

reconstruction. The priority beneficiaries should clearly be

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the hardest-hit countries and areas. Nonetheless, rather than

discussing figures and reparations, I believe it would be

more productive for both the Balkans and the world to

adopt a clear vision for the future of South-Eastern Europe.

This future has no alternative but the transformation of the

Balkans into an integral part of a united Europe of the next

century.

The General Assembly is the right forum to discuss

the issue of how this can be done. The path leads through

the direct rehabilitation and reconstruction of the

Balkans — the best form of assistance for our region being

“help for self-help”. The Stability Pact for South-Eastern

Europe can provide the necessary framework.

We are convinced that the economic prosperity of the

region is a vital condition for achieving political stability.

We need infrastructure and strategic investment that

generate and guarantee more security than any political

dialogue. We need the promotion of trade and a maximum

involvement of the economic potential of our countries in

the reconstruction effort. This will encourage them to

cooperate with each other, while opening up the region and

transforming it into a natural, organic part of Europe, rather

than isolating it.

The crisis in Kosovo will be long over before its

effects, such as the blockage of the Danube to shipping,

have been eliminated. The international waterway should

not become a new line of conflict; we should help it play

its natural role of a link rather than allow it to act as a

dividing line across Europe. The issue I am raising at this

point concerns both the economic damage that has been

caused and the very principles of the European architecture

since the end of the crisis in Kosovo.

The location of the Balkans at a crossroads has been

a curse for its people in the past; in today's globalized

world, it is our greatest blessing. The Balkans should serve

as a link between Western Europe and Central Asia, the

Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. It is one of the most

promising regions for the coming century. A case in point

is the restoration of the historic silk road, which crosses the

whole of Asia and links it to Europe. Restoration will entail

huge infrastructure projects and investment which in turn

could improve the quality of life of whole nations and

regions.

The Balkan nations have already demonstrated a

willingness to adopt a new approach in their relations with

one another. The various forms of aid which neighbouring

States generously offered each other in response to the

recent natural disasters were a positive new sign. Another

significant fact is the formation of the multinational peace

force for South-Eastern Europe, staffed jointly by

countries that were enemies earlier this century, including

during the cold war. It is an honour for my country that

the first headquarters of that force is based in Bulgaria.

I cannot fail to mention here the success of the

trilateral initiatives between Bulgaria, Romania and

Greece and between Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey for

cooperation in combating organized crime and illegal

drugs and arms trafficking.

The Kosovo crisis calls for a contemporary rereading

of the chronicles of the Balkan wars by all the Balkan

peoples: the modern perspective will reveal to them that

those wars have done no country in the region any good.

The new task facing the political elite is to translate these

lessons of history into a lasting commitment to peace and

cooperation. Having paid such a high price in suffering

and fear, it would be a pity if we failed to learn from our

experience.

In conclusion, I reiterate my country's willingness to

cooperate with and contribute actively to the joint efforts

of all Member States to streamline the United Nations, an

Organization with a key role in maintaining international

peace and security and achieving the objectives of

sustainable development in the coming century.