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British General Involved in 1999 Pristina Events Dies
On the night of June 12, 1999, Russian paratroopers forced their way to the airport near Pristina, ahead of NATO forces. British General Jackson rejected an order from an American general to close the airport.
Former British Army Chief of Staff Mike Jackson, famous for refusing to stop Russian peacekeepers at Pristina airport in 1999, has died at the age of 80, the Daily Telegraph reported.
"It is with great sadness that I have learned of the death of General Mike Jackson, MBE, OBE. He died on 15 October surrounded by his family," the British military said in a statement.
Jackson served in the army for more than 40 years, ending as chief of staff. Born into a military family, he began his career in military intelligence in 1963 after graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he also learned Russian.
In 1970, he transferred to the elite Parachute Regiment. During the conflict in Northern Ireland, he served as an adjutant in the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, which became famous after the tragic events of Bloody Sunday (30 January 1972), when troops opened fire on protesters in Londonderry, killing 14 people. There were casualties, 15 protesters were injured.
During his second tour of duty in Ireland in 1979, Jackson witnessed the IRA's Warren Point massacre, in which more than 20 British soldiers were killed or wounded.
From 1995 to 1996, the future general commanded a multinational peacekeeping division in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 1997 to 2000, he headed NATO's Joint Rapid Reaction Corps, reporting directly to US General Wesley Clark.
In 1999, Jackson commanded NATO forces in Kosovo (KFOR) and became famous when he defied Clark's orders to stop Russian peacekeepers from successfully marching to take control of Pristina airport. "I will not start World War III for you," he told the then-US general.
On the night of June 11-12, 1999, a group of 200 Russian paratroopers made a 600-kilometer march from Pristina to Kosovo's Slatina airport, located 15 kilometers away, and took control before Western troops. . This happened the day after NATO announced the end of its military operation in the Balkans. Moscow hoped to take control of settlements in northern Kosovo, where the majority of the population is Serb. The Americans, who had previously promised to involve Russia in the peace process, unexpectedly refused to do so. Undersecretary of State Strobe Talbott explained that Britain would be better able to stabilize the situation in northern Kosovo, since Russia had not yet regained its former power. The transfer of British troops to Kosovo was supposed to begin through Slatina airport on June 12. However, Moscow decided to block the entry of foreign troops into Pristina by blocking the airport. British troops surrounded the airport but took no action until further instructions were given. The following day, Talbott met with Vladimir Putin, then secretary of the Russian Security Council. He promised to look into and resolve the situation around Slatina. As a result, talks began in Helsinki to resolve the crisis, and Moscow won the right to deploy peacekeepers in northern Kosovo. During the talks, it was decided that the Russians would remain in Slatina, but everyone would use the airport. Russian peacekeepers remained in Kosovo until 2003.