USA: US CONGRESS MEMBERS KOSOVO PRESS CONFERENCE

(25 Mar 1998) English/Nat Three members of the U-S Congress, who were prevented from entering Kosovo, had some strong words for Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic at a press conference held on Wednesday in Washington, U-S-A. They also chided European nations for failing to back the U-S position at talks in Germany. Four American Peace Workers who had been detained by the Yugoslavian government and later released stood in support of the congressional representatives. Democrat Eliot Engel, a Senator from New York, is one of three members of Congress who led a fact-finding mission to the Balkans this past weekend. The delegation were forced to stay in Macedonia when the Belgrade government of President Slobodan Milosevic denied them permission to enter the province. When they were there, they managed to secured the release of six American peace activists, imprisoned over the weekend in the embattled Yugoslav province of Kosovo. The group had been arrested for not registering with police. The five male members of the group all had their heads shaved after being taken into police custody. Those who were detained said they had been intimidated but not abused. The activists had been expected to spend ten days in prison but were released and deported at the Macedonian border on Monday, two days after their arrest. At a press conference held on Wednesday in Washington, Eliot Engel underlined the plight of the Ethnic Albanians and delivered some strong words of rebuke to America's European allies. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Milosovic has terrorised the Ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo. They constitute 90 per cent of the population. They have no political freedoms, no humanitarian freedoms, no hopes of jobs, no hopes of anything. He's terrorised them for nine years. The fact of the matter is, unless he knows the West is resolute and will block him, and stop him, and come crashing down on him, he will do the minimum amount that he needs to do. And it's shameful that our so-called European allies don't have the gumption to stand up to tyranny." SUPER-CAPTION: Eliot Engel, Democrat, New York Engel lashed out at the Yugoslavian President and called for further sanctions to force Milosovic to adopt a new stance towards the Ethnic Albanians of Kosovo. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Well I think Milosovic is one of the most insincere people I've ever met. In fact I would liken him to Hitler rather than say he's sincere at all. He will do the minimum amount possible in order to get sanctions lifted, and therefore I think that Secretary Albright is absolutely right to demand further sanctions on Serbia and to demand that Milosovic immediately desists from terrorising and killing innocent Albanians." SUPER-CAPTION: Eliot Engel, Democrat, New York Meanwhile, after meetings held in Bonn in Germany on Wednesday, the U-S and five European powers threatened to impose new sanctions in four weeks if Milosevic blocks efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting in the separatist southern province. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...