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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ALBANEWS Site of the Week <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
! K O S O V A S T U D E N T
P R O T E S T S '97 !
! Protests Against the Serbian Occupation of University
Buildings !
!
http://www.alb-net.com/
!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Protests begin on October 1st <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1243
Prishtina, 1 October 1997
Morning Edition
Tensions Soar in Prishtina and Kosova as Student Protests Are to Start
Tens of thousands of Albanian university students and citizens have
been streaming towards the Velania quarter of Prishtina, the capital of
Kosova, where the students peaceful protest march calling for the release
of seized University buildings is scheduled to start at 10:30.
It is since autumn 1991 that Serbian occupation authorities in Kosova
have kept the University of Prishtina campus sealed off to the Albanian
students and teachers.
Heavy Serbian police forces have been roaming the streets of Prishtina,
the capital city of
Kosova, since early morning today (Wednesday).
The Protest Committee of the Students Union of the Prishtina University
(UPS) has announced that peaceful protests will start today in Prishtina
and half a dozen towns of Kosova [Mitrovica, Gjilan, Ferizaj, Gjakova,
Peja and Prizren] where the institutions of higher education of the Prishtina
University are based. In a major intersection near the Taukbashqe neighborhood,
neighboring the Velania quarter, two armored police cars, six busloads
of Serb policemen, as well as military police and policemen in plain clothes
have been stationed. Serb forces may well exceed 400, according to sources.
Heavily armed police, in squads of up to 10 policemen, have been stationed
in almost all
intersections in town as well as in the roads leading in and out of
the town.
A heavy Serb police squad has been stationed near the building of the
Faculty of Law of the
University of Prishtina, another one near the building od the Parliament
of Kosova. In downtown Prishtina, in front of the Serb police headquarters
fire brigades have been stationed.
The Serbian police has reportedly intervened in several occasions,
preventing people from
streaming towards the starting point of the protest manifestations.
There have been indications the police might provoke incidents, although
the Students Union of
the University of Prishtina has repeatedly emphasized the protests
will be peaceful and will not
resort to violence.
Today, around 9 o'clock in the morning, Serb police hit two Albanian
students with wooden and metal truncheons because they were carrying written
slogans.
Reports from municipalities of Kosova say Serb police forces have in
a number of cases stopped and prevented busloads of Albanians heading to
Prishtina.
Ferizaj
Sources in Ferizaj reported an increased Serbian police presence in
the town as well as in all the roads leading in and out.
The Bujku correspondent in Ferizaj said that the police has been halting
all the buses coming in
from other towns or the surrounding villages, rigorously scrutinizing
all the passengers.
Hyzri Beqir Varoshi, owner of the house in the town where students
of the Technical College
attend classes, is reported in the Serbian police custody since 10:00
hrs.
This morning the Serbian police prevented a bus coming from Ferizaj
to carry on for Prishtina.
Young people, most of them students were reported on the board.
Mitrovica
Heavy Serbian police forces have been reported in the streets of Mitrovica,
too, scrutinizing all
passers-by.Three busloads of Serb policemen coming from Serbia reached
the town yesterday (Tuesday) at 13:30.
Artim (Sejdi) Jashari (23) student with the Technical College in Mitrovica
has been reported in
custody since yesterday afternoon. Artim Jashari was arrested while
putting on a wall a placard of the Students Union of Prishtina University.
Kosova Information Center
Last page!
Note: KIC will cover the events related to students protest in Kosova
throughout the day.
______________________________________________________________________
From: Edmond Hajrullaaga <edihaga@EUnet.yu>
Subject: [ALBANEWS] English:Kosova Daily
Report #1243a
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Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1243
Prishtina, 1 October 1997
Second Edition -11:15
Serb Police Warn Albanian Students Not to Kick off Protest march
Police Sets 11:30 as deadline
The Serbian police forces addressed around 11:00 hrs the crowd of Albanian
students and
teachers at the Velania quarter, telling them through loudspeakers
they have up to 11:30 to
disperse.
Around 20.000 protesters have reportedly gathered at Velania, the venue
of start of the expected student peaceful protest march calling for the
release of seized University buildings.
The Serb police told the crowd they would not be allowed to march,
on grounds that the protest had not been reported with the Serb occupation
authorities.
Ferizaj
Latest reports say that police told the Albanian crowd in Ferizaj to
disperse with three minutes!
Serbian Police Seals off Main Street in Prishtina
Around 10:45 today, heavy Serbian police forces pushed thousands of
Albanian citizens off the
main street in Prishtina, what was formerly the Mareshal Tito street.
The crowds had gathered in the very center of Prishtina to support
the student march, which is
expected to pass through the area shortly.
The formerly Marshal Tito avenue had in the past decade or so been
a pedestrian precinct.
When Albanian students started evening walking protests ten days ago,
the Serbian occupation
authorities turned traffic into the pedestrian area to fend off people
from occupying the square.
Heavy Serb forces, fully equipped, seem intent on preventing the marching
students from passing through the center of Prishtina. Tens of thousands
of Albanian university students and citizens have been streaming towards
the Velania quarter of Prishtina, the capital of Kosova, where the students
peaceful protest march calling for the release of seized University buildings
started at 10:30.
Heavily armed police forces have been stationed in almost all intersections
in Prishtina.
Kosova Information Center
Last page!
______________________________________________________________________
From: Edmond Hajrullaaga <edihaga@EUnet.yu>
Subject: [ALBANEWS] English:Kosova Daily
Report #1246c
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Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1243
Prishtina, 1 October 1997
Third Edition
Serb Police Cracks Down, Breaks Up Protest of Albanian Students in Prishtina
Unconfirmed reports say University leaders, including the rector Dr.
Ejup Statovci, as well as
student leaders, have been arrested A 1000-strong, heavily armed, Serb
police force cracked
down against the peaceful protesters at Velania quarter in Prishtina
at 11.50 a.m., sources from the scene said.
The Students Union of the Albanian-language University of Prishtina
staged peaceful
manifestations to protest the six-year-long Serb regime seizure of
the University premises, from which Albanian students and teachers were
forcefully kicked off.
Reporters have put the number of protesters at Velania today at around
50.000.
Scores of thousands of Albanian citizens, most of them Prishtina residents,
have flocked to
streets in the city in solidarity with the student demands.
The police used truncheons and lots of tear-gas to disperse the huge
crowd of Albanian students, teachers and citizens at Velania. The police
blocked all the streets leading in an out of the Velania quarter. The police
crackdown has been very brutal, the KIC reporters said.
Some journalists, who happened to be in the offices of the Information
Service of the
Independent Students Union (UPS) of the University of Prishtina, told
the Kosova Information
Center (KIC) around 12:30 the Serb police was chasing, beating and
arresting peaceful protesters.
Scores of injured students and citizens have been sheltered in the
houses of the Velania
neighborhood.
Police intervened against Albanian citizens in several parts of Prishtina,
sources said. Police
interventions were reported near the building of the Kosova Parliament,
near the Health Center in downtown Prishtina, as well as near the Xhevdet
Doda high school, opposite the Faculty of Philology of Prishtina.
Sources from other parts of the town say that the Serbian police has
been beating up Prishtina
residents.
Serb helicopters have been flying low over Prishtina, especially over
the Velania neighborhood.
Hundreds of fully equipped Serb police forces have been stationed in
key areas of Prishtina, like the building of the Parliament of Kosova,
the University of Prishtina campus and dormitories.
Police squads have been stationed in virtually every hundred meters
in downtown Prishtina, but also the part of Prishtina around the Velania
neighborhood.
Sources from Velania speak of dozens of police vehicles full of Albanian
detainees.
Latest reports, which could not be confirmed by KIC, say University
leaders, including the rector Dr. Ejup Statovci, as well as student leaders,
Albin Kurti and Driton Laj_i, have been arrested.
Meanwhile, protests have been staged in other towns of Kosova.
/End text!/
______________________________________________________________________
ALBANEWS Site of the Day: "About Kosova"
http://www.serve.com/rifaimar/mit-rigt.html#KOSOVA
______________________________________________________________________
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Radio B92, Belgrade
Police Attack Albanian Students In Kosovo
PRISTINA, YUGOSLAVIA -- Just after midday on Wednesday several hundred
riot police attacked more than 10,000 ethnic Albanian students demonstrating
peacefully in Serbia's bitterly disputed province of Kosovo. The police
used water cannons and tear gas to crush the
student protest. Police then rounded up and arrested student leaders
and professors.
The ethnic Albanian student movement decided to plow ahead with the
action in spite
of calls from western envoys and the local Albanian political leadership
to delay. A
13-member diplomatic mission told students earlier this week that they
feared the protest
would be used as political ammunition in the run up to Serbia's presidential
runoff this
Sunday.
Student unions are demanding university premises for Albanian-language
lectures.
Students are frustrated because they say Serbian and Albanian political
leaderships are
stonewalling on an agreement intended to normalise the province's divided
schooling
system.
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Without permission for fair use only
U.S., EU faults Milosevic for violence in Serbia
02:47 p.m Oct 01, 1997 Eastern
WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuter) - The United States and the European Union
on Wednesday
condemned the use of violence against demonstrators in Belgrade and
the Serbian region of
Kosovo and held Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic responsible.
``The EU presidency and the U.S. government strongly condemn the
use of force against
peaceful demonstrators in Kosovo today and during last night's rally
in Belgrade and call on the international community to join in condemning
this action,'' they said in a joint statement.
ALBANIAN STUDENTS WILL PROTEST PEACEFULLY ON OCT. 1.
Students of the alternative albanian university in Pristina, on Sep.
29, rejected appeals from
Kosovo ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova and foreign diplomats
to postpone protests
announced for Oct. 1. The independent union of ethnic Albanian students
of Pristina University late in the evening decided to go ahead with peaceful
protests on Oct. 1.
The protest will start from the Pristina suburb of Velania at 10:30
a.m. Several alternative
albanian colleges and university administration are housed in private
homes in the suburb. More information on the protest, including how long
it will last, will be announced on Sep. 30.
DIPLOMATS SAY ALBANIAN STUDENT PROTEST COULD FUEL TENSIONS.
Western diplomats stationed in Belgrade, voiced concern over the expected
protest by ethnic
Albanian students, saying it could fuel rising tensions in Kosovo.
The Western diplomats stationed in Belgrade, representing 12 embassies, including U.S. charge d'affaires Richard Miles; and in the name of the EU, the Royal Dutch Ambassador, Jan Sizoo; visited Pristina on Sep. 29.
In Kosovo's administrative center and major city, the diplomats met with local (ethnic) Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova, representatives of local Serbian authorities, and representatives of the independent union of ethnic Albanian students.
"We are very concerned with the protests the (ethnic) Albanian students
have announced for
Oct. 1," said Miles at a press conference in Pristina. He said he could
understand the need for
people to protest peacefully and make demands of their authorities.
But, he said, that the time
was not right, because of the second round of Serbian presidential
elections, and continuing
dialogue to normalize education in the Albanian language in Kosovo.
"We have warned the Serbian authorities in Kosovo to restrain from using
force and we were
given guarantees it would not be applied against demonstrators, unless
they break the law," said Sizoo. He also said that Rugova and other ethnic
Albanian leaders were cautioned to avoid using force. The Albanian students
also said that their protest would be peaceful and that they would go out
of their way to avoid violence.
Rugova had urged Albanian students to delay the protest which they describe
as aimed at
improving the education system in the province.
The premier of the Kosovo Albanian cabinet in exile, Buyar Bukoshi,
said he was against
delaying the demonstrations.
On Sep. 28, Albanian students staged another peaceful, two-hour evening
walk in several
Kosovo towns, in the presence of strong police forces.
No incidents were recorded, according to Albanian sources, except in
Kosovska Mitrovica,
where the police "mistreated" a number of Albanians.
GELBARD AND ISCHINGER TO VISIT KOSOVO.
U.S. special envoy Robert Gelbard and German foreign ministry political
department head
Wolfgang Ischinger will visit Kosovo soon. The goal of the visit is
to "decisively urge" the
resolution of the Kosovo issue and prevent the worsening of the Kosovo
situation from
endangering regional stability.
This was stated to BETA by sources in the U.S. mission to NATO, and
by German foreign
ministry officials in Bonn. The American representative to NATO stressed
that the U.S.-German initiative was based on estimates by Contact group
members that "the Kosovo situation's slipping out of hand" could jeopardize
peace and stability in the Balkans.
STUDENT CLUB ASK FOR U.S. MEDIATION IN TALKS WITH KOSOVO STUDENTS.
The Belgrade Student Political Club will ask for U.S. mediation during their meeting with Kosovo Albanian students.
The club president, Cedomir Jovanovic, told BETA that he will ask U.S.
Embassy charge
d'affaires Richard Miles to enable Belgrade students to meet with their
Albanian counterparts as soon as possible, to "prevent further worsening
of Kosovo's political situation."
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[KMDLNJ]
Statement on the recent events in Prishtina
On October 1, 1997, at 10.30 a.m. in Prishtina,
peaceful and non-violent protests for the
release of school facilities, organized by the Students' Independent
Union of the University of
Prishtina, started. Based on first hand information, over 100.000 Albanian
students and citizens
participated in these protests.
Serbian police used force and terrorised citizens.
Many foreign diplomats and journalists as well as representatives of
NGO's came to Prishtina to observe the protests.
The protests began as announced at 10.30 a.m..
The students' line was stopped some 500
meters from the place from where they started their march, by some
300 members of special
police units. More than 500 policemen intervened at the same time from
the back.
At 11.55, Serbian police intervened by using force against the protestors.
Seeing an armoured
car that was approaching, the students sat down. On this case, police
intervened brutally
injuring over 100 protestors.
According to many eye witnesses, Prof. Dr.
Ejup Statovci, Rector of the University of
Prishtina, Ahmet Geca, Vice-Rector, Bujar Dugolli, Chairman of the
Students' Independent
Union of the University of Prishtina, Driton Laj‡i, Vice-chairman,
Albin Kurti, member of the
Presidency, Muhamet Mavraj, Chairman of the Assembly of the Students'
Independent Union,
were arrested and severely beaten-up. Police blocked the protestors.
During this action, 2
police helicopters threw tear gas on the protestors. Police started
dispersing the protestors to
the neighbouring quarters. There were large military units stationed
during the last night in
suburbs of Prishtina.
At 12.10 a.m., police intervened against citizens
gathered in the center of the town. Many
were ill-treated and arrested. Free rein violence by Serbian law enforcement
authorities is still
continuing. According to information from our field associates, many
citizens were arrested and ill-treated in the town of Peja. In Gjilan and
Ferizaj police prevented citizens from joining the students. Afterwards,
force was used against them. There was a similar situation in Mitrovica
and Prizren. In De‡an and Gjakova police intervened by arresting and beating-up
many protestors.
Among those who were subjetced to ill-treatmnet, was the chairman of
the Council for the
Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms, Mr. Pajazit Nushi. In several
strategic points snipers were positioned.
The police intervention was not provoked by students and citizens.
Prishtina, 1.10.1997
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Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1243
Prishtina, 1 October 1997
Afternoon Edition - 17:00
Serb Police Cracks down, Breaks up Protest of Albanians in Prishtina
Tens of thousands of protesters prevented from even kicking off peaceful
march along the
streets of the Kosova capital Tens of thousands of Albanian university
students and citizens
streamed towards the Velania quarter of Prishtina, the capital of Kosova,
today (Wednesday)
morning, despite efforts of the ubiquitous Serb police force to prevent
them from doing so. A
students peaceful march was to start at 10:30 hrs at Velania, where
the Albanian-language
University of Prishtina main offices are, to protest the continued
seizure by the Serb regime of
University of Prishtina buildings. The march could not event kick off,
as the Serb police blocked all roads leading towards the center of Prishtina,
namely the planned route of the peaceful protest march.
It is since autumn 1991 that Serbian occupation authorities in Kosova
have kept the University
of Prishtina campus sealed off to Albanian students and teachers. The
premises have been
used by the local Serb community alone, as well as Serb students who
have been brought in by
the regime to boost Serb presence in the overwhelmingly Albanian Kosova.
Heavy Serbian police forces roamed the streets of Prishtina since early
morning today
(Wednesday).
The Protest Committee, established by the Students Union of the Prishtina
University (UPS),
had announced earlier peaceful protests would start today (Wednesday)
in Prishtina and half a
dozen towns of Kosova [Mitrovica, Gjilan, Ferizaj, Gjakova, Peja and
Prizren] where the
institutions of higher education of the Prishtina University are based.
October 1st was chosen as the day to start protests, because the date
marks the beginning of
the new academic year in Kosova. In a major intersection near the Taukbashqe
neighborhood,
neighboring the Velania quarter, armored police cars, busloads of Serb
policemen, as well as
military police and policemen in plain clothes were stationed to prevent
the protest march from
proceeding towards the city center, where the University of Prishtina
campus is located.
Police Sets 11:30 as deadline for protesters to disperse The Serbian
police forces addressed
around 11:00 hrs the crowd of Albanian students and teachers at the
Velania quarter, telling
them through loudspeakers they have up to 11:30 to disperse. Around
50.000 protesters
gathered at Velania, the venue of start of the expected student peaceful
protest march.
The Serb police told the crowd they would not be allowed to march,
on grounds that the protest had not been reported with the Serb occupation
authorities, i.e. that it was 'illegal'.
Police Cracks Down, Breaks Up Protest
A 1000-strong, heavily armed, Serb police force cracked down against
the peaceful protesters
at Velania quarter in Prishtina at 11.50 a.m. The area had already
been sealed off, leaving the
around 50.000 Albanians virtually trapped in between the Serb police
cordons.
The police used truncheons and tear gas to disperse the huge crowd
of Albanian students,
teachers and citizens at Velania. The police blocked all the streets
leading in an out of the
Velania quarter. The police crackdown was brutal. Serb police routinely
chased, beat up and
arrested protesters.
Among those beaten up, according to eye-witnesses was also the University
of Prishtina rector, Dr. Ejup Statovci. The rector and the vice-rector,
Dr. Ahmet Geca, as well as the leaders of the Students Union - Bujar Dugolli,
Albin Kurti, Muhamet Mavraj, Driton Lajçi - were arrested and detained.
They were reported released shortly.
Dozens of police vehicles full of Albanian detainees were reported
seen at Velania during and in the immediate aftermath of the police crackdown.
Scores of injured students and citizens during the Serb police crackdown
found shelter with
Albanian households in the Velania neighborhood.
Scores of thousands of Albanian citizens, most of them Prishtina residents,
flocked today onto
the streets of the capital, along the route of the expected march,
to show solidarity with the
student demands.
Police interventions against Albanian citizens were reported in several
parts of Prishtina - near
the building of the Kosova Parliament, near the Health Center in downtown
Prishtina, as well as near the Xhevdet Doda high school, opposite to the
building of the Faculty of Philology of
Prishtina.
Sources from other parts of the town say that the Serbian police has
been beating up Prishtina
residents routinely.
Today, Serb helicopters flew over Prishtina, especially over the Velania
neighborhood.
Hundreds of fully equipped Serb police forces were stationed in key
areas of Prishtina, like the
building of the Parliament of Kosova, the University of Prishtina campus
and dormitories.
Police squads were stationed in virtually every hundred meters in downtown
Prishtina. The
police presence was ubiquitous in the part of Prishtina around the
Velania neighborhood.
Foreign press representatives and diplomats could see today first hand
what was happening in
Prishtina, namely the unprovoked crackdown of the Serb police on peaceful
Albanian protesters.
Diplomats were quoted as saying they were greatly concerned over the
possibility of further
escalation of the already volatile situation in Kosova.
Serbian Police Seals off Main Street in Prishtina Around 10:45 today,
heavy Serbian police
forces pushed thousands of Albanian citizens off the main street in
Prishtina, what was formerly the Mareshal Tito street.
The crowds had gathered in the very center of Prishtina to support
the student march, which
was expected to pass through the area shortly.
The formerly Marshal Tito avenue had in the past decade or so been
a pedestrian precinct.
When Albanian students started evening walking protests ten days ago,
the Serbian occupation
authorities turned traffic into the pedestrian area to fend off people
from occupying the square.
Heavy Serb forces, fully equipped, were determined to prevent the marching
students from
passing through the center of Prishtina. Scores of people beaten up,
injured and arrested Eye-
witnesses told KIC that the police was excessively brutal beating people
indiscriminately. Scores of people, including children, old people and
women have suffered severe injuries and had to be treated either
at homes or in clinics throughout Prishtina.
KIC could so far learn the names of dozens of persons detained or/and
beaten up today in
Prishtina. Following are the names of some of the persons either detained
or beaten up this
morning: Arlinda Zymberi, a secondary school students, has suffered
severe injuries at her
chest, Isa Restelica, chairman of an LDK branch in Podujeva was beaten
up and detained;
Ismail Kosumi, chairman of the Kosova Sports Federation, was detained;
Shaban Haliti, owner
of a shop at Bregui i Dielit neighborhood was beaten bridally up in
front of his shop; Gani
Prekopuca, chairman of the LDK branch in Fushë-Kosovë was
beaten up brutally. He had
to seek medical treatment; Habib Plakiqi from Nekoc of Gllogovcit was
beat up bridally. He told KIC that Serb policemen, both uniformed and in
plain clothes, punched him at his face and
head; Driton Fazliu secondary school students from Prishtina was beaten
up; Hatixhe Berisha
from Suhareka, UP student was beaten up; Fahrie Ahmeti, student of
the Faculty of Pedagogy
has suffered severe injuries at her chest; Nazmi Sejdiu (60) from Prishtina
has suffered grave
injuries at his head; Shpresa Lladrovci, a student from Gllogovc has
suffered a leg injury; Shefki Osmani (72) from Prishtina was beaten unconscious.
He has suffered head injuries; Isa Kastrati chairman and Hazir Borovci,
vice-chairman of the III LDK branch in Prishtina have both suffered head
injuries; Dibran Elshani from Gllogovc, (77) has suffered severe
body injuries; Sahit
Elshani, secondary school teacher from Prishtina, was beaten up brutally;
Fehmi Miftari, LDK
activist from Prishtina suffered body injuries, Faik Kadriu and Rifat
Hajdari from Podujeva were beaten up, etc.
Tense Situation in Half a Dozen Kosova Towns
Meanwhile, protests have been staged in other towns of Kosova. Sources
in half dozen towns
speak of an uncommonly increased presence of the Serbian police in
the towns and excessive
brutality on their part.
Reports from municipalities of Kosova say Serb police forces have in
a number of cases
stopped and prevented busloads of Albanians heading to Prishtina.
Peja
Students of the college in Peja were heading for the town square this
morning to march
peacefully but were prevented by heavy Serbian police forces at "Ura
e zallit" to continue further.
At around 10 p.m., the Peja residents began gathering in the main town
square in support of the student peaceful manifestation. Half an hour later,
heavy Serbian police forces dispersed the crowd. Thousands of people were
reported gathered in the town back streets which lead into the downtown.
All the streets which lead to the town square have been blocked by
heavily armed Serb
policemen.
At 11.20 a.m., the Serbian police intervened against the Peja residents,
arresting and beating a
number of them.
Sources in Peja reported that scores of Albanians were beaten up brutally,
including Aver Hysaj, Smajl Habibi (65), Ramë A. Lajqi and Zekë
Muriqi, Selman Berisha, Valdet Sinanaj, Tahir Beqiraj, Hasan Gashi, Blerim
Gashi, Shpëtim Deskaj, dr. Sylë Dreshaj, Artan Shala, Ramë
Mekuli, Ragip Shala, Brahim Ferizaj, Marian Berisha etj.
At least 30 Albanians were reported detained in the street at around
2 p.m. They are still being
held in custody.
Among the severely ill-treated persons are Ali Geci, LDK member, Lan
Geci, member of the
LDK Information Commission, Avdi Shala from the LDK Youth Forum, all
from Deçan.
Source in Deçan say that the situation in this small town is
very tense, too.
Ferizaj
Sources in Ferizaj reported of an increased Serbian police presence
in the town and roads
leading in and out since morning today. The police halted all the buses
coming in from other
towns or the surrounding villages, rigorously scrutinizing all the
passengers. Hyzri Beqir Varoshi, owner of the house in the town where students
of the Technical College attend classes, is reported in the Serbian police
custody since 10:00 hrs.
The Serbian police prevented a bus coming from Ferizaj to carry on
for Prishtina this morning.
Young people, most of them students were reported on the bus.
Mitrovica
Source in Mitrovica said that three busloads of Serb policemen coming
from Serbia reached the town yesterday (Tuesday) at 13:30. Heavy Serbian
police forces were involved in scrutinizing all passers-by in the streets
of Mitrovica since morning today. Around 400 students of the Technical
College and over 2000 citizens protested in the streets of the town until
around noon.
Gjakova
Sources in Gjakova reported that the Serbian police set a very tight
control throughout town
since early this morning, blocking all the roads. The main streets
of town were packed with
heavily armed policemen and army, the report said.
Just after 11 a.m., the Serbian police launched an attack against the
Albanian students and the
citizens who had gathered to protest. Many students were beaten up
and arrested.
The LDK Infirmation Commission said that the Serbian police has sealed
off the LDK premises in town. The situation continues to be very tense,
while the police has been rigorously
scrutinizing all the random passers-by.
Lipjan
Heavy Serbian police forces sealed off in the early hours this morning
all the roads leading in
and out of Lipjan, LDK sources from this town reported. The police
has been checking every car in town, and preventing the buses to leave
town. No person was allowed to leave the town this morning, says the report.
Vushtrri
Since early morning hours the Serbian police has stationed in all main
streets of Vushtrri,
establishing a very tight control in town.
The police has prevented all the buses to leave town. Police built-ups
are noticed around
"Muharrem Bekteshi" secondary school, where Serbian refugees from Bosnia
and Croatia have been sheltered.
Gjilan
Heavy Serbian police forces were stationed in most of the intersections
in the town since early
morning.
Between 10 a.m. and 13:00 hrs over 10.000 people marched in the streets
of the town to show
solidarity with the demands of the students of the Prishtina University.
Sources in Gjilan said that
the police had told the people they could demonstrate peacefully until
13:00 hrs.
There were no major incidents while the protest was on.2
Prizren
Around 8000-9000 citizens protested in Prizren today to demand access
to the school premises
seized by Serbs for seven years now. Organizers of the protest were
told people could
peacefully protest until one o'clock.
No serious incidents or cases of brutalities on the on the part of
the Serbian police have been
reported yet.
Istog
Sources in Istog reported that the Serbian police has established a
tight control, since early
morning hours, in all key parts of town.
Serbian Police Throws Tear-Gas Bomb at Primary School in Prishtina
The Serbian police threw today at around noon a tear-gas bomb inside
the schoolyard of the
"Gjergj Fishta" primary school in Prishtina.
Sources said that the tear-gas bomb was thrown without any particular
reason as no protesters
were inside the school yard or in its close vicinity. The gas-bomb
was thrown near the opened
school windows.
The classes at the "Gjergj Fishta" school were discontinued soon for
the gas had entered most
of the classrooms.
Serbian Police Arrests School Principal in Ferizaj
This afternoon the Serbian police raided on the premises of Gjon Serreçi
primary school and
arrested Sabri Berisha, the school principal, LDK sources reported.
The Serbian police raided also on the premises of "Elena Gjika" secondary
school and inquired
for Rrustem Sefedini, chairman of the Municipal Educational Council.
The Serbian police inquired for Isak Jashari, director of the Technical
College in Ferizaj.
LDK Denounces Serb Police Crackdown on Albanians in Kosova, Urges for
Caution and
Restraint
The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK), the main political force in Kosova,
denounced today in the strongest terms the brutal intervention of the Serbian
police forces against the peaceful student protests in Prishtina and other
towns of Kosova.
The situation in Kosova is "tense and grave" in the wake of this intervention,
the LDK said.
The protest manifestations of tens of thousands of students of the
University of Prishtina,
backed by hundreds of thousands of citizens up and down Kosova and
all the political forces of Kosova, had but one legitimate goal, the LDK
said, "the release of schools and university
premises", which have been illegally seized by the Serb regime.
The LDK noted that the protests were peaceful, no act of provocation
or violence having
originated from the protesters. "Yet, in Prishtina and other towns,
heavy Serbian forces
intervened and cracked down brutally on Albanian students and teachers",
the party said,
adding that huge amounts of tear-gas were used. Hundreds of Albanians,
protesters and
passers-by, were beaten up and arrested, the LDK said, adding that
leading University of
Prishtina figures and student leaders were beaten up and arrested.
The Serbian police, in
addition, sealed off elementary and secondary school buildings and,
in a number of occasions,
maltreated pupils and their teachers, the LDK said. Outrageous violence
was instituted by police against citizens who had gathered in sidewalks,
the party added.
Denouncing this "vicious chauvinist outpouring of violence" against
Albanians, the LDK calls on the international factors, the democratic public
opinion in the world, and in Serbia itself, to use all their authority
so as to "bring an end to Serbian terror and violence in Kosova", and prevent
a further escalation of the conflict. The preconditions for a just and
peaceful settlement to the Kosova question, especially the issue of Albanian
education, should be created, the LDK stressed.
While reiterating its support form the legitimate demands of Albanians
students and teachers of the University of Prishtina, the LDK urges for
caution and self-restraint, calls on all citizens to do their utmost in
"these dangerous times" to avoid any provocation or situation that could
"harm their legitimate cause"..
PSHDK Denounces 'Serb Police Barbarity'
The Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosova (PSHDK) denounced
today the "outrageous barbarity" of the Serbian police against the Albanian
peaceful protesters in Prishtina and other centers of Kosova.
The PSHDK said the Velania quarter of Prishtina, where the student
protest march was set to
kick off today at 10:30, was the scene of outrageous Serb police brutality,
but also downtown
Prishtina, where residents had showed up in support of student demands.
The Albanian people
of Kosova demonstrated today their resolve to press ahead with their
peaceful policies in their
independence struggle, the Albanian Christian Democrats said.
The PSHDK called on the international community to take measures so
as to prevent a conflict break-out in Kosova. Inaction by the world community
will only encourage the Serb occupier of Kosova to pursue an even more
aggressive policy, the party said.
The international community should engage in meaningful and concrete
efforts to prevent the
worst from happening in Kosova, or else it will be an accomplice itself,
PSHDK concluded.
Education Agreement, Serb Regime Propaganda, the Kosovar Reality
Thirteen months ago today an Education Agreement was signed by President
Rugova of
Kosova in Prishtina and then Serbian President Milosevic in Belgrade,
which provided for an
unconditional return of Albanian students and teachers to all schools
and the University of
Prishtina.
In the years 1990-91 the Serb occupation authorities forced the Albanian
students and teachers out of the public school facilities in Kosova, while
unashamedly claiming Albanians were "walking out of schools of their own
accord"!
The one thousand-strong Albanian staff of the bilingual University
of Prishtina was dismissed in a matter of a couple of months in the autumn
of 1991. The Serb regime thus purged the
University from Albanians.
The formerly 80 percent Albanian University (the remaining 20 percent
serving instruction in
Serbian) was thus turned into a Serb University. The argument of the
Serb regime ran that
Albanians in Kosova, over 90 percent of the population, are a minority
population - therefore not entitled to university level education in their
mother tongue!
Virtually all high schools in Albanian were likewise closed in 1990-91,
and some 60.000
Albanians kicked off from all buildings, with the exception of four
or five schools.
The September 1st, 1997, Education Agreement signed by Presidents Rugova
and Milosevic
was hailed at the time by the international community as a first step,
and even a breakthrough,
towards the settlement of the Kosova crisis. The world proved wrong.
The Milosevic regime proved again its byzantine skills to mislead the
international community
over its alleged willingness to solve problems by dialogue, while resorting
to its dear instrument -
sheer force.
No progress at all has been made towards the implementation of the
Agreement because of the Serbian regime intransigence. This has been asserted
all along by the Kosovar authorities. The last time Milosevic got his people
meet, for the sake of meeting, with the Kosovar working group was February.
The next meeting, planned for Prishtina, did never take place, for the
Serbs were intent on living up to their commitments.
It was this fact, lack of any sign of Serb readiness to press ahead
with implementation of the
Agreement, that prompted Albanian students of the University of Prishtina
to stage protests and draw the attention of the world over their desperate
plight.
Yet on the very eve of the expected student protest manifestations
in Prishtina and other
centers in Kosova, the Serb government representative, Ratomir Vico,
resorted to yet another
attempt to bluntly deceive the world by lying it was the Kosovar Albanian
representatives in the joint working group for the implementation of the
Agreement who have allegedly been blocking progress!
The Serb regime rector of the University in Prishtina, Radivoje Papovic,
a prominent Milosevic
proxy, told his students they should feel comfort, "because the state
will ensure a normal
beginning of the academic year". In translation in plain words this
means Albanians will not be
allowed to return to the University of Prishtina premises. "I am satisfied
with the very fruitful
discussions" I had with Milosevic, Papovic said.
'Sheer Lie" of the Serb Government, Says Kosovar Education Official
Rexhep Osmani, a
Kosovar member of the joint 3+3 working group on the implementation
of the Education Accord, told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) today
what Ratomir Vico said yesterday about the alleged willingness of the Serb
government to implement is a "sheer lie"!
The Kosovar troika had carried out all preparations, offered all details
and the timing for the
return of Albanians to the school buildings and the University of Prishtina,
he said. The data
about the existing space and the school facilities we presented
were double checked by the
Serb side, Mr. Osmani said.
The Rome-based Sant' Egidio community, the intermediator that facilitated
the reaching of the
Agreement, "was duly informed about all this", Rexhep Osmani said.
"It was political will from the Serb regime that was lacking, and nothing
else, which prevented
any progress in the implementation of the agreement", Rexhep Osmani
told KIC. He denounced
in the strongest terms the fresh attempts of the Serb side to lay the
blame on the Kosovar
Albanian side. "Fraudulent and unacceptable" are the Serb government
representative's claims,
the Kosovar education official concluded.
Kosova Information Center
Last page!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ALBANEWS Site of the Week <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
! K O S O V A S T U D E N T
P R O T E S T S '97 !
! Protests Against the Serbian Occupation of University
Buildings !
!
http://www.alb-net.com/
!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Protests begin on October 1st <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Dear all,
Further to my previous report DIRECTLY from Kosova, I can now
inform you that the following information has become available:
Wounded: appr. 200
Arrested were, apart from the Rector and Professors ALL representatives
of the Student
Union and others possibly involved in the organization of the protest.
For tomorrow NO further demonstrations have been planned. But tomorrow
more information
will become available about further course of action and possible protests.
Yours sincerely,
Prof.Dr. Barend A.J. Cohen
MD, PhD, DMJClin, DFM, DOccMedIndHyg
Assoc. Professor of Medical Jurisprudence
and Clinical Forensic Medicine
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AlbaNews archives: http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/archives/albanews.html
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Dear all,
I have just been informed by the coordinator of the Albanian-German
Friendship Association
(Mr. Milazim Maraj) that during the demonstrations in Prishtina (which
were attended by 20.000 Kosova Albanian Students) have led to violent reactions
by the Serb Milicija. Approximately 200 people have been wounded during
police actions.
The Rektor, Prof.Dr.Statovci and many other Professors and students
have been arrested.
amongst which ALL representatives of the Student Union and others,
possibly involved in
organizing the protest-action.
For tomorrow NO further demonstrations have been planned. But tomorrow
more information
will become available about further course of action and possible protests.
I shall keep you informed if and when more news becomes available.
Sincerely,
Prof.Dr. Barend A.J. Cohen
MD, PhD, DMJClin, DFM, DOccMedIndHyg
Assoc. Professor of Medical Jurisprudence
and Clinical Forensic Medicine
Neth. School of Public Health Residence: "Jembatan Merah"
Adm. Helfrichlaan 1 Leidsestraatweg 237
NL-3582 KV UTRECHT NL-3443 BT WOERDEN
Phone: +31.30.2913232 Phone: +31.348.481444 }
Fax: +31.30.2913242 Fax: +31.348.481544 }
ISDN
Mobile: +31.6.53796964
E-Mail: nsph@cc.ruu.nl E-Mail: formedbc@xs4all.nl
* * * * * *
"Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and
evil passes not through
states, nor between classes, nor between political parties--but
right through every human heart--and all human hearts."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ALBANEWS Site of the Week <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
! K O S O V A S T U D E N T
P R O T E S T S '97 !
! Protests Against the Serbian Occupation of University
Buildings !
!
http://www.alb-net.com/
!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Protests begin on October 1st <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Prishtina, 1 October - Following the obstruction of the peaceful protests of the students and the brutal police intervention against them and other citizens that took to the streets in sign of support to the students, the University of Prishtina issued a communique stating the following:
1. The organizing board evaluated the peaceful protests as very successful
and dignifying, carrying a clear message for the Serbian regime, the domestic
and foreign public opinions. It was best proven once again that the students
are the most vital part of the nation they belong to. On the other hand,
the University proved once again that it can shake not only the very foundations
of the brutal occupier as is the Serbian regime, but also all others. Once
again have the students and their university proven that they are the hope
of the creation of their future, the future of their people as well as
that of the independence of Kosova.
The Board ascertains that the Serbian regime tried, with its interventions,
to convert the peaceful and nonviolent students protests into a terrifying
massacre. The students' dignity, their determination and that of the people
that defended them, showed the regime that they fear not the brutality
or the force of the occupier. The Serbian police showed its brutality also
towards members of the organizing board, the students and professors, by
injured a number of them. The organizing board expresses its regret and
special sympathies to them.
The Board expresses its admiration to the students, teachers, pupils
and the people for such a dignifying and magnificent presentation, and
for the comprehensive message to the world.
2. As the Board has previously stated, it evaluates that the protests will continue as planned and based on the published platform, but taking into account the suggestions of the Contact roup that met with the students. The Organizing Board, appreciating their efforts and messages, informs the public that there will be no protests on 2 October. The Organizing Board calls the faculties and superior schools to normally develop their educational process.