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Albright tells the crowd that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic "should answer for his crimes" VIDEO Albright received a warm welcome in Kosovo. CNN's Nic Robertson was there. (July 29) Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: Minus Milosevic, Balkan leaders prepare for summit U.S. soldier dies from gunshot in Kosovo

July 29, 1999
Web posted at: 12:56 p.m. EDT (1656 GMT)

In this story: British detain 3 in massacre probe 'Never again will there be massacres' Protesters greet Albright at monastery RELATED STORIES, SITES

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Thursday warned ethnic Albanians that the international community will turn its back on them if anti-Serb violence continues in Kosovo.

"Democracy cannot be built on revenge and you will not have the support of the world if you are intolerant and take the law into your own hands," Albright ( 1.1 MB/2 min. AIFF or WAV sound) told a crowd of ethnic Albanians in the center of Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital.

Albright's comments came one day after the funeral of 14 Serb farmers, who were ambushed and killed last week.

Albright described the incident as a "cowardly murder" and said Kosovar Albanians must prove that they will not repress Serbs.

"Otherwise, it is not victory," she said. "It is merely changing one form of repression for another."

British forces formally detain three in massacre probe

Three of the five men questioned in the slaying have been ordered jailed while investigators search for more evidence, British peacekeepers said.

The three have not been charged in the slayings, but investigators believed there was enough reason to formally detain them "in order for the investigation to continue," said Col. Robin Hodges, spokesman for the British forces in Kosovo.

Their detention was approved by the British forces' commander, Brig. Bill Rollo, Hodges said. Two other men detained for questioning over the past two days have been released.

The Serb farmers were gunned down Friday evening while harvesting wheat near the village of Gracko, about 12 miles southwest of Pristina.

The attack undermined already shaky Serb confidence in NATO's peacekeeping mission and its pledge to protect all ethnic groups in Kosovo under the peace agreement that ended the NATO airstrikes.

Ethnic-based violence erupts daily in Kosovo despite the presence of more than 35,000 peacekeeping troops, though it is nothing approaching the intensity of violence that was common before NATO entered the province.

Albright is getting a firsthand look at reconstruction efforts as she meets with Kosovars in Pristina

The NATO-led Kosovo protection force, known as KFOR, entered the Serbian province on June 12. Russian and other troops are also participating in the force.

Serbs have increasingly been targeted by Albanians seeking revenge for more than a year of Serb persecution that culminated in the mass expulsions of hundreds of thousands starting in March. Tens of thousands of fearful Serbs have fled Kosovo since the NATO troops arrived.

Serbia is the largest republic in Yugoslavia, but ethnic Albanians make up a large majority of Kosovo's population.

'Never again will there be massacres'

Thousands of ethnic Albanians turned out in Pristina to greet Albright, who they affectionately refer to as "Nona," or Mother. American, Albanian and British flags waved in the crowd. Chants of "U.S.A.!" followed Albright's ( 732 K/1 min. AIFF or WAV sound) pledge that the United States will provide up to $500 million to rebuild Kosovo.

She also called for a stable, peaceful Kosovo.

"I hope that today we may pledge here in Kosovo never again will people with guns come in the night, never again will houses and villages be burned, and never again will there be massacres and mass graves," said Albright.

Albright is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Kosovo since the end of the NATO alliance's 78-day bombing campaign over Yugoslavia ended in early June.

The crowd responded enthusiastically when she declared that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic "should answer for his crimes."

"She is the best woman in the world," said Lirie Hana, 54, "She is the one who made it possible to breathe free."

Added Ibrahim Hallaci, 44: "I'm here to await and thank her for everything she did for us. As a simple citizen, I am very, very happy that I could come and chant her name in freedom for which she worked so hard."

Protesters greet Albright at monastery

In contrast, Albright got a hostile reception when she visited a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Gracanica, just south of Pristina.

About 150 people, mostly Serb men, chanted "Serbia, Serbia" and "Slobo, Slobo," referring to Milosevic. Some shouted obscenities.

When Albright spokesman James Rubin got out of his car he was greeted with a thumbs-down gesture and several shouted an obscenity.

After Albright left, the protesters pushed past British soldiers guarding the monastery, demanding to see the bishop who met with Albright.

"How can he talk to her?" shouted someone in the crowd. "Americans bombed us!"

"That priest met Albright. She is Hitler!" yelled another man.

The tension eased when British military police and peacekeeping soldiers regrouped and blocked off the entrance to the chambers.

Earlier Thursday, Albright met with British Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson, head of NATO's peacekeeping forces, and Bernard Kouchner of France , the chief U.N. administrator in the province.

After her one-day stop, Albright will join U.S. President Bill Clinton and Balkan leaders for a summit in Sarajevo. Milosevic will not be at the summit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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