Is The Crisis in Kosovo Leading to A World War? Ask A York University Expert

TORONTO, April 13, 1999 -- As the crisis in Kosovo escalates and our Members of Parliament take up the debate in the House of Commons, Canadians are examining, and in some cases reassessing, the country's role in the war-torn region. Below is a list of York University faculty members who can provide context, analysis and expertise on the issue, ranging from Canada's role in the NATO bombings, to the possibility of sending ground forces to Kosovo, to war crimes, to the plight of the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees.

NATO / BALKAN EXPERTS

Sergei Plekhanov, a political science professor, director of York's Post-Communist Studies Program and a member of York University's Centre for International and Security Studies, can chart the social, political and historical development of the Balkans region, and offer an in-depth analysis of the crisis in Kosovo. He can be reached at: (416) 736-5156 or at home: (416) 229-2397.

Martin Shadwick, a political science professor and senior research fellow at York University's Centre for International and Security Studies, is a defence analyst with interests in Canadian defence policy, strategic studies and defence industrial preparedness. He can discuss Canada's role in the NATO bombings and the possibility of Canada sending ground troops to Kosovo. Shadwick can be reached at: (416) 736-5156 or at home: (416) 494-5950.

Timothy Donais, a PhD candidate in political science and a researcher at York University's Centre for International and Security Studies, is currently conducting doctoral research on the problems of post-conflict peace-building in the former Yugoslavia. Donais has worked in Bosnia over the past several years as a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Able to comment on the Kosovo crisis, Donais can be reached at: (416) 736-5156 or at home: (416) 654-1601.

INTERNATIONAL LAW EXPERTS

Sharon Williams, a professor of law at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is an expert on international law and international criminal law. She served as a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague from 1991 to 1997 and has been at the forefront of efforts to establish an international criminal court. Williams can comment on atrocities and crimes against humanity. She can be reached Monday through Thursday at: (416) 736-5581.

REFUGEE EXPERTS

Howard Adelman is the former director of York University's Centre for Refugee Studies and a professor of philosophy. Editor of the Journal of Contemporary International Issues, an electronic journal focused on intra-state conflicts, Adelman has written extensively on the plight of refugees, especially in Rwanda, and on children caught in the middle of conflicts. Available to comment on the ethnic Albanian refugee crisis, Adelman can be reached at: (416) 736-2100, ext. 77595 or at home: (416) 533-5012.

Sharryn Aiken is a professor of law, director of the Immigration and Refugee Law Intensive Program at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School, and a research associate with York's Centre for Refugee Studies. She has served as president of the Canadian Council for Refugees and is an active member of the Canadian section of Amnesty International. Available to discuss the plight of the Kosovo refugees caught in the squalor of make-shift camps along the Kosovo border, she can be reached at: (416) 736-5663 or at home: (416) 924-8142.

Irving Abella, a professor of history and one of Canada's most distinguished writers, scholars and community leaders, is available to offer his unique perspective on the Kosovo refugee crisis. Abella is chair of the Board of Governors for the Canadian Jewish Congress, and a member of the academic advisory committee for the new Holocaust Gallery at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa. He has earned numerous distinctions and honours, including several Canada Council awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Jewish Book Award for None Is Too Many. Abella can be reached at: (416) 736-2100, ext. 30412 or at home: (416) 487-9924.

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For more infomation or additional experts, please contact:

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor for Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100 ext. 22087

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
YU/037/99