April 20, 1999
A SERBIAN ACCOUNT
Special NATO Pilot Was Ordered to Bomb Convoy, Belgrade Says
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By STEVEN ERLANGER
ELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- While NATO was making its own efforts
Monday to explain what happened last Wednesday in southwestern
Kosovo where, Yugoslav authorities say, 74 ethnic Albanians died in
a NATO attack on a convoy, a most decidedly alternative version has
appeared in the state-run Yugoslav press.
The Yugoslav version says American officials deliberately sought
out a convoy of refugees to kill. It includes what is said to be a
tape recording of the pilot's conversations with his superiors in
which he calls the Yugoslav forces "Reds" and is ordered to fire
by his controller, despite his protests.
(The tape has been doctored, NATO's civilian spokesman, Jamie
Shea, said at a briefing in Brussels, Belgium, with the start of
the recording remixed and the end completely fabricated.)
The Yugoslav version also asserts that Defense Secretary William
Cohen ordered the NATO commander, Gen. Wesley Clark, personally to
choose the pilot, who for some reason was Dutch, and that President
Clinton wanted to dismiss Clark when the pilot failed to kill the
refugees in sufficient secrecy.
According to Monday's Vecernje Novosti newspaper, "well
informed sources in the White House" said the Americans had
decided to kill ethnic Albanian refugees and blame their deaths on
the Yugoslavs. Supposedly upset with the influence of the moderate
Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova, who is talking to Yugoslav leaders
and urging refugees to return home, the White House wanted to send
a message, the paper claims.
There were two reasons to kill the Albanians, the paper
asserted: "To let everyone know that there would be no return for
refugees, because it is against NATO strategy, and second, to
accuse Serbian security and police forces with accompanying media
propaganda."
But after other pilots saw the "Dutch pilot," who is said to
have been trained in the United States, attack the convoy, Clinton
was furious, the paper said. "After this alleged massacre, Clinton
wanted Clark fired right away, the same source says," according to
the Vecernje Novosti report.
The tape recording of what was said to be a conversation between
the pilot ("Charlie Bravo") and his guidance officers in the
AWACS plane ("Mother") was played with a very heavy Serbian
voice-over on state television on Sunday night, again giving credit
to Vecernje Novosti.
It includes the following exchange, translated from the Serbian
voice-over:
"Charlie Bravo to Mother. I am keeping 3,000 feet. Under me
columns of cars, some kind of tractors. What is it? Requesting
instructions."
"Mother to Charlie Bravo. Do you see tanks? Repeat, where are
the tanks?"
"Charlie Bravo to Mother. I see tractors. Can the Reds have
camouflaged tanks as tractors?"
"Mother to Charlie Bravo. What kind of strange convoy is this?
What civilians? Damn, this is the Serbs' doing. Destroy the
target."
"Charlie Bravo to Mother. What should I destroy? Tractors?
Ordinary cars? Repeat, I can see no tanks. Request additional
instructions."
"Mother to Charlie Bravo. This is a military target, a
completely legitimate military target. Destroy the target. Repeat,
destroy the target."
"Charlie Bravo to Mother. Understand. Roger. Target locked.
Launching."
