Human Rights Watch Calls on Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal
to Investigate Possible War Crimes in Kosovo

     Human Rights Watch
     350 Fifth Ave.  34th floor
     NY, NY.  10118
     Telephone: 212-290-4700
     Facsimile: 212-736-1300
     E-mail: hrwnyc@hrw.org

     FOR RELEASE: March 7, 1998

     For further information contact:
     Kenneth Roth, (212) 216-1201
     Holly Cartner, (212) 216-1277

     Human Rights Watch Calls on Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal
     to Investigate Possible War Crimes in Kosovo

(New York - March 7, 1998) Human Rights Watch today called on the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to launch an immediate investigation into
possible war crimes being committed by Serbian security forces in Kosovo.  In a letter sent
today to Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor of the Tribunal, HRW Executive Director Kenneth
Roth urged the Tribunal to investigate arbitrary and indiscriminate attacks against civilians
and the possible summary execution of detainees. "By opening an immediate investigation
into the apparent war crimes being committed in Kosovo, your office would signal that the
Tribunal's jurisdiction extends to these atrocities and, we hope, help to curtail them," said
the letter.
        Full text of the letter follows.

Open Letter to Judge Louise Arbour
Chief Prosecutor,
International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia

     Judge Louise Arbour
     Chief Prosecutor
     ICC
     Church illplein 1
     PO Box 13888
     2501 EW Den Haag
     The Netherlands

                                         March 7, 1998

     Dear Judge Arbour,

        Human Rights Watch is writing to express its grave concern about recent Serbian
military actions in the region of Kosovo. Evidence strongly suggests that war crimes are
being committed, including arbitrary and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and the
summary execution of detainees.  We call on you to launch an immediate investigation of
theses apparent atrocities and to announce your office's intention to prosecute those
responsible before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.  Prompt
action by your office can help deter further atrocities and save lives.

        On February 28, 1998, Serbian police, paramilitaries, and possibly army units began
a massive assault on a triangle of villages in Kosovo's Drenica region, believed to be a
base for the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA).  Tanks and attack helicopters have been used
in what the Yugoslav government describes as "a sweep for terrorists."  Human Rights
Watch has received highly credible reports that Serbian forces have indiscriminately
attacked civilians and other non-combatants, especially in the villages of Cirez, Likosane,
Prekaz, and Lausha.  The press has also reported that helicopters and armored vehicles
sprayed village rooftops with gunfire before security forces entered the village on foot and
fired indiscriminately into private homes. In some cases, the Serbian security forces
reportedly came under fire from unidentified individuals, possibly from the private homes,
and it appears now that a battle between the KLA and Serbian forces has begun.  Foreign
journalists have seen the bodies of six victims, including a pregnant woman, Rukia Nebihi,
who had been shot in the face, and four brothers from the Sejdiu family, two of whom had
been shot in the back.  Thus far, twenty-four ethnic Albanians are confirmed killed,
although the precise number is unknown since humanitarian aid organizations and
journalists have been denied access to the region.

        According to the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and
Freedoms,  ten members of the Ahmeti family and two of their guests, Behram Fazliu and
Shaban Muja, were killed by Serbian security forces after having been detained, although
this has not been independently confirmed.  According to the Serbian government, the
police confiscated a large amount of weapons and arrested a number of people, although
their whereabouts and the charges against them are currently unknown. Four Serbian
policemen were also killed during the action.

        Human Rights Watch recognizes that the authorities may have to use force when
confronted with an armed attack, but attacks against civilians and the summary execution
of anyone in detention is a war crime, a severe violation of international
humanitarian law.  Given the level of armed conflict that has now broken out in Kosovo,
common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which governs internal armed conflicts,
clearly applies.  It requires that civilians and other protected persons be treated humanely,
with specific prohibitions of murder, torture, and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment.

        The violations of humanitarian law apparently being committed in Kosovo fall under
the purview of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.  Article 1 of the
Tribunal's statute states that the Tribunal has the power to prosecute individuals who have
committed violations of international humanitarian law on the "territory of the former
Yugoslavia since 1991."  Article 8 further specifies that the Tribunal's temporal jurisdiction
"shall extend to a period beginning on 1 January 1991."  There is no end point to this
temporal jurisdiction.  By opening an immediate investigation into the apparent war crimes
being committed in Kosovo, and signaling that the Tribunal's jurisdiction extends to these
atrocities, your office can help to curtail them.

                                Sincerely,

                                Kenneth Roth
                                Executive Director, Human Rights Watch