released by the White House Office of the Press Secretary,

Yulee, Florida, May 27, 1999

I welcome the decision of the International War Crimes Tribunal to indict Slobodan Milosevic and four other senior Serbian leaders for crimes against humanity and war crimes. It will reassure the victims of Belgrade's atrocities in Kosovo and it will deter future war crimes by establishing that those who give the orders will be held accountable. It will make clear to the Serbian people who is responsible for this conflict and who is prolonging it. I call on all nations to support the Tribunal's decision and to cooperate with its efforts to seek justice.

For 6 years, the United States has strongly supported the work of the Tribunal and urged it to pursue its investigation of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia as far up the chain of command as the evidence leads. The Congress recently approved my request for supplemental funding for the Tribunal, which will provide $9 million for the Tribunal trust fund, $4 million for technology that will speed up our providing information to the tribunal, $10 million to interview Kosovar refugees, and $5 million for forensic teams to go into Kosovo once conditions there allow the gathering of evidence.