Tagesnachrichten 17. August 1998
von ALBANEWS und anderen
Daily Report No 1524 August, 1998
Kosova Information Center
Tagesnachrichten 17. August 1998
7. to call on the Commission and the Council to provide all necessary humanitarian aid to the victims of and the refugees from the acts of violence and call on member states to stop returning refugees and asylum seekers to Kosova where protection cannot be guaranteed;________________________________________________________________________
Agani Replies to Markovic Regarding Prishtina-Belgrade
Negotiations
An end to Serbian violence and the pulling out
of units used to repress civilian population as pre-requisites
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - On behalf of the Kosova
negotiating team appointed by President Ibrahim Rugova last week, Dr. Fehmi
Agani responded today to a letter by Dr. Ratko Markovic, Deputy Prime Minister
of Serbia, regarding the possibility of resumption of talks between Prishtina
and Belgrade.
Following is the text of Agani's letter:
(Begin text)
"We have received your letter. We, too, wish
to see as soon as possible a resumption of the negotiations, which have
been interrupted in the wake of the escalation of violence against the
Albanian civilian population.
We want (expect) to see an end to violence and
a pulling out of the units used against the civilian population, as demanded
by the Contact Group.
The timing and manner of the resumption of negotiations
will, I hope, be arranged through Ambassador Hill, who is in permanent
contact with Belgrade and Prishtina."
(End text)
Serbs Are Torching Albanian Houses in Loxhë
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - Albanian houses in the
village of Loxhë and the Dardania III neighborhood of Peja ('Pec')
are in flames today.
LDK sources in Peja said the houses that have
not been destroyed or burned during the Serb shelling over the weekend,
are being today doused with gasoline and set ablaze.
Names of Three Other Albanians Killed in Peja Revealed
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - Sources in Peja have
confirmed the identity of three other Albanians killed in the villages
of Loxha and Grabovc during a huge Serb offensive last weekend.
The LDK information Commission in Peja said Ahmet
Shala (30) from Loxha and Ahmet Mekaj (31) and Hysen Gashi (70) from Graboc
were killed by Serbs.
The LDK named the following Albanians as wounded
in the two villages: Rexhep Kelmendi, Agim Berisha, Abaz Çaka, Ruzhdi,
Zekë Hoxha, Burim Hoxha, Osman Shala, Halit Shala, Isuf Shala (all
from Grabovs; Valbonë Shala, 22-year-old pregnant woman, Ms Rukë
Shala, 70, Abedin Morina (23).
Earlier on Sunday, sources in Peja reported of
four other Albanian women killed during the Serb offensive against the
villages along the Peja-Deçan roadway, naming them as Xhevë
Hulaj (80) from Hulaj, who had found refuge in Dabiq; Hatmane Xhemaj (83)
from Strellc i Epërm, sheltered in Prapaçan; Ajshe (Halit)
Aliaj (75) from Kodrali, sheltered in Krushec; and Xhylshahe Mazrekaj (48)
from Prejlepi, sheltered in Strellc i Ulët.
Around a dozen villages of Deçan and Peja
- Strellc i Ulët, Isniq, Prapaçan, Dobovik, Krushec, Broliq,
Raushiq, Loxhë, Grabovc, Kotradiq, Vranoc were subject to air and
ground bombardment during the whole course of Saturday.
The LDK information Commission in Peja said today
that it could not yet determine the exact casualty-toll in the latest Serb
offensive as the population has been scattered and the many houses affected
by the Serb attack turned into rubble.
39 Out of 54 Abducted Kosovars Released after 23 Days in Serb Prison on Routine 'Terrorist' Charges
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - 39 Kosovars - of whom
36 Albanians, one Turk and three Slav Muslims - held hostage by the Serb
regime for 23 days under routine charges of terrorism, were released on
11 August, the Prishtina-based Bujku daily reported today.
They were being held in jail in Prokuplje (Serbia)
together with 15 more Albanians - that is all the 54 passengers on board
of a bus travelling from Slovenia to Kosova, who were kidnapped in Podujeva,
on entry to Kosova, on 20 July.
All the 54 passengers were routinely charged
with 'terrorism' and 'association for hostile activity' and were held for
a week in Serb-run jail in Prishtina.
The Serb prosecutor in Prokpuplje, Miroslva Nikolic,
dropped charges of terrorism against the 39 passengers on 7 August, whereas
the investigating judge, Mijat Bajovic, suspended the criminal proceedings
accordingly, Bujku reported, quoting lawyers, Dr. Hysni Bytyçi and
Bajram Krasniqi.
The only evidence that the Serb regime had to
prosecute the passengers was that they are Albanians, Bytyçi said,
adding that 15 Albanians are still being held unlawfully in Serb custody
and facing charges pursuant to the 'FRY" Penal Code, articles 136 and 125.
"They cannot be even considered a 'group'. Their
sin was to have been together in a bus", Bytyçi said.
If the 15 Albanians are brought to trial, this
will be yet another anti-Albanian trial, the lawyer said.
Bajram Krasniqi, the other lawyer, said the 54
passengers were tortured while in detention in Prishtina in the first week.
They - he calls them 'hostages' - were taken to Prokupje on the night of
27/28 July. "While being transported to the Serb town, they were maltreated
too. They were beaten up even in the Prokuplje jail initially.", Krasniqi
said.
For eight days, the lawyers were not allowed
to contact their clients, in clear breach of the Serbian laws governing
criminal proceedings.
Bajram Krasniqi said the money - 360,000 DM -
and the personal belongings the of the passengers seized illegally by the
Serb police on 20 July when the Kosovars were kidnapped have not been returned.
[Remittances, at a time the banking system is nonexistent in Kosova, have
been the only way the Kosovars working abroad have been able to support
their kin in Kosova.]
The following Albanians are still in the Prokupje
jail: Sinan 2Bytyçi, Xhavit Kaçaniku, Enver Zogaj, Burim
Bllaca, Nuhi Boka, Ramadan Avdiu, Ali Gashi, Qazim Krasniqi, Azem Krasniqi,
Ymer Krasniqi, Naim Balaj, Rrahim Aliu, Ferizaj Zabelaj, Hajrullah Samadrexha,
and Halit Ndrecaj, Bujku reported.
The whole matter of the 54 Kosovars kidnapped,
ill-treated and robbed by Serb regime, is evidence only to the terrorist
nature of the Serbian regime vis-a-vis Kosova, an observer here in Prishtina
said on condition of anonymity.
10,000 Albanians Live in the Open in Gjakova
Area
Some 50,000 Albanians, displaced from their homes,
have found refuge in the town of Gjakova and its suburbs.
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - Reports from Gjakova
said people fleeing their villages in the wake of the Serbian offensive
were heading towards the town.
Around 10,000 Albanians - mainly women, children
and the elderly - continue living rough in the open, with scarce food and
water, and no medication, local LDK sources said.
These Albanians have been scattered about the
mountainous forests of the Dushkajë region, along the Drini river
area, and in the Reka e Keqe region's hills.
They are living in appalling conditions, being
threatened with starvation and by an outbreak of epidemics, the LDK chapter
in Gjakova said.
Some 50,000 Albanians, displaced from their homes,
have found refuge in the town of Gjakova and its suburbs.
There have been reports of three more missing
people, Pjetër Tal Krasniqi and Zef Gjon Krasniqi, both residents
of Meqë village and in their sixties, and Jusuf Ahmeti, resident of
Stubëll village.
Serbian police sealed off the village of Osek-Hylë
today morning and raided Albanian households allegedly for hidden arms,
LDK sources said.
70,000-80,000 Albanian Refugees Concentrated in Deçan Villages, in Appalling Humanitarian Situation
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - The humanitarian situation
in the area of Deçan and Peja is appalling, a local journalist told
the KIC today. The Albanian population is being held under 'a hermetic
siege', as he put it, from the village of Isniq to the Lugu i Baranit region
in the municipality of Peja.
Many people have been for days in tractors along
the Bistrica of Deçan river banks.
Food is running desperately short, and as of
tomorrow onwards people may starve, the journalist said. The number of
people concentrated in the area is between 70,000 and 80,000, he estimated.
There are people from Reka e Keqe region (in
Gjakova), from Gramaçel and Baballoq villages and Prejlep. It is
the area which has been attacked by Serb troops.
The villages of Loxhë and Raushiq in Peja
as well as the outlying area towards Deçan is where the people have
been effective; trapped, according to the journalist.
Junik is smoldering, he told the KIC, adding
that two or three detonations have been heard from the direction of Junik.
Although their villages have been turned into rubble, people wish to go
back there, he said.
Yet all routes for people to get out of the siege
are sealed off.
Along a corridor near the villages of Strellc,
some 8,000 people have gone to the mountains and hills, he said. "It is
virtually impossible for them to cross the mountains to Montenegro. The
situation there is also alarming. People are feared starving to death."
There were heavy rains and people caught cold
in the mountains, he said.
The journalist said there have been visiting
journalist and NGO's, more or less examining the situation. Nothing else.
No aid brought, he concluded.
Albanians Tortured in Serb Jails and Wounded Are Being Treated in Prishtina Hospital
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - There are several arrested
Albanians, tortured in Serb jails, being treated in the Serb-administered
Prishtina Hospital clinics.
The KIC has learned that Adem Berisha, resident
of Buqë village of Opojë, and Fatmir Duga, both in a serious
condition, are in the Prishtina hospital.
A woman, in her eighth month of pregnancy, has
been taken to the hospital today. She is reportedly wounded from shells.
The KIC has learned that four Albanian patients
in the hospital - Mejdi Limani and Arsim Hasani from Shtime, Agim
Jaha from Gllarevë village, and Qerim Jetishi from Gjakova, have been
taken out by police today.
Police guarding such patients is no rare occasion,
the KIC has learned.
Thousands of Refugees Living Rough in Malisheva Forests Appeal for Help
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - Thousands of refugees
from Malisheva and the surrounding hamlets have been still living rough
in the hills, on the verge of starvation, witnesses said.
According to estimates of the LDK chapter of
Malisheva, at least 5.000 people have been in the open in the hills around
Ponorc, and over 4000 others in the Llapçeva forests.
Sources in the area said that besides uprooted
people from Malisheva, many others who escaped the recent fighting in the
Deçan and Gjakova area have arrived in the hills near Malisheva.
The people are exhausted and many seriously sick, LDK and human rights
activists said.
Reports from Malisheva today speak of a continued
Serb campaign of burning of villages and destruction of Albanian-owned
property in the municipality. Many houses were reported set afire by Serbs
in the village of Bubavec and Drenoc.
Branches of political parties and human rights
organizations in Malisheva appealed again today for the international community
to urgently act to help the population facing starvation and epidemics.
Albanian Detainee, Tortured to Death in Serb
Jail, Dies in Hospital
His lawyer, Destan Rukiqi, has suffered kidney
injuries in while in Serb custody
PRISHTINA, Aug 17 (KIC) - A Kosovar Albanian detainee,
Cen Dugolli, died today in the surgery department of the Prishtina Hospital,
after having been subjected to torture in the Serb jail. He was taken to
hospital in a critical condition on Sunday, sources said.
Cen Dugolli, an activist with the Democratic
League of Kosova (LDK), was being held in Serb custody since 21 June 1998.
Sources in the Prishtina hospital said the late Dugolli underwent a surgery
yesterday, but the doctors could do nothing to save his life. He had sustained
injuries on vital parts of his body.
Cen Dugolli was arrested on 21 June this year,
when Serb police mounted a large-scale campaign of arrests in Ferizaj.
Scores of political parties and human rights activists and former political
prisoners were rounded up in two days two months ago.
Another human rights activist from Ferizaj, Rexhep
Bislimi, died in hospital on 22 July. He was arrested two weeks earlier
and was subjected to outrageous torture before having been transferred
to hospital, where he died.
Destan Rukiqi, a defending attorney of the Cen
Dugolli, was likewise subjected to brutal torture because of his involvement
in protecting his client from further torture in the hands of the Serb
security. The defending lawyer protested with a Serb judge about the way
his client was been treated, but saw himself arrested and summarily sentenced
to 60 days in prison. Destan Rukiqi was tortured badly himself and was
treated for days in the nephrology department of the Prishtina hospital.
He suffered kidney injuries and was for days on dialysis. He was later
transferred to a Belgrade prison hospital.
Kosova Information Center
Last page!
_______________________________________________________________________Some 275 Kosova refugees arrive in Shkoder
SHKODER, August 17 (ATA)-By M. Malaj,
Some 70 refugees from Kosova have arrived in the Shkoder city over the last two days. They are mainly from thye villages of Peja and Junik (near the border with Albania).
The secretary of the Shkoder town-hall, Bardhyl Shaqiri, says that the number of the Kosovars in the Shkoder city has reached 275. The majority have been housed by their relatives, and some 75 others, mainly women, children and old people, at the refugees reception centre at the city's cathedral church. Some 300 others may also be accommodated at this centre.
Recently the Albanian Red Cross has distributed for the first persons arriving since June an aid package consisting of food, blankets, mattresses, and detergents. /s.s/lm/Albania-NATO joint exercise starts in Albania
BIZE, August 17 (ata) - By E Koraqi:
The joint exercise of Albanian military forces and those of NATO codenamed "Cooperative Assembly" started in Tirane on Monday.
Attending the inauguration ceremony held on Monday at Rinas airport (Tirane) were the Albanian President, Rexhep Meidani, Prime Minister Fatos Nano, Defence Minister Luan Hajdaraga, Admiral T. Joseph Lopez, commander-in-chief of Allied Forces Southern Europe and western diplomats accredited in Albania.
"This exercise is sending the right messages to people that are being massacred and the people that are massacring them to comply with modern realities and try to work with us for identifying peaceful solutions," said PM Nano referring to Serb massacres in Kosove.
"This exercise is not directed at any particular party or element in Kosovo or Belgrade, it is directed at regional stability, as are all Partnership for Peace exercises," said Lopez.
Taking part in "Cooperative Assembly" are about 1 700 troops from 14 NATO member countries and of the Partnership for Peace and about 60 aircraft and helicopters.
NATO's commander-in-chief for Southern Europe said on Monday his forces were ready to intervene in the Kosovo crisis if called upon to do so by their governments. /y.pa/mima/xh/Azem Hajdari opposes Russian presence in NATO-Albanian joint Exercise
TIRANE, August 17 (ata) - By P Shuteriqi:
The chairman of the Albanian Parliamentary Defence Commission Azem Hajdari opposed on Monday the presence of Russian troops in joint Albania-NATO military exercise codenamed "Cooperative Assembly," which started in Tirane today.
Hajdari, deputy of the largest opposition Democratic party, made the statement in a news conference on Monday saying that the best solution to the armed conflicts is reached without the Russian presence.
"Russia was not taking part in the international military efforts while Albania sent to Bosnia amid war flames a peace-keeping company which carried out its mission with success," said Hajdari referring to the Bosnian conflict.
Russia participated with a military force in the IFOR troops which, according to the Dayton peace accord, were installed in the Bosnian territory to implement the peace plan signed by the three belligerent parties in the bloody conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The present military exercise of Bize is being held with the participation of 1 700 effective forces of 14 countries such as Albania, U.S. Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Spain, Turkey, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and of the armies participating in the Partnership for Peace, as well as from Russia and Lithuania. /y.pa/mima/xh/
Serbian ambushes in pastures between Kosova and Montenegro_______________________________________________________________________PRISHTINE, August 17 (ATA)-The inhabitants of the villages of Decan and Peja commune (western Kosova), which are involved in the offensive of the Serbian military and police forces, have been under siege and have tried to flee but have fallen into the ambush of the Serbian forces, according to the Kosova Information Centre.
Sources of the Democratic League in Montenegro report that early on Wednesday, a group of 25 Albanians from Decan commune, heading for the mountains in the direction of Rozhaja, fell into the trap of Serbian forces in the pastures between Kosova and Montenegro.
Some of them arriving in Rozhaja said that Serbian forces have wounded two Albanians and arrested five others.
There is no word on the destiny of many others they said as the ambush was organised overnight and the group had spread in mountains, in an effort to escape massacres.
Reports from Rozhaja say that some 1000 Albanians, especially from the villages of the Decan and Peja communes, have arrived in this commune over the last two days.
Sources from the Democratic League of Montenegro in Rozhaja report of numerous ambushes erected by Serbian forces in the pastures between Kosova and Montenegro. /p.ta/pas/lm/
Pejë, 16 August (ARTA) 1800CET--
During the course of last night and throughout
the whole morning today, Serb forces continuously shelled the Pejë
municipal villages Loxhë and Raushiq, which are a couple of kilometers
far from the town of Pejë.
Detonations could be heard also from other villages,
which are situated past the Pejë-Deçan road.
The facts that the smoke from the burnt villages
has reached Pejë and the detonations shook the windows of the town
are self-explanatory.
So far, there is no information from the field
on the eventual victims or material damages. The situation in town is very
tense, especially because of the positioning of the Serb forces in strategic
positions in town.
KOSOVA (dramatic situation – Pejë)
Grave situation in Pejë municipal villages
Pejë, 16 August (ARTA) 1900CET--
More than 700 detonations have been heard during
the day today, ever since the Serb offensive against the Pejë municipal
villages started. Local sources state that the consequences are serious.
CDHRF branch in Pejë informs that the shelling of the Pejë surrounding
villages and those near Bjeshkët e Nemuna (Cursed Mountains) has been
conducted through the whole night on 15 August.
The surroundings of Pejë were severely destroyed
by the flames of the burnt houses, and wheat fields of the Pejë surrounding
villages, particularly Loxhë, which is burnt to ashes. The houses
of these villages have been looted before being burnt. These was apparent
after the Serb paramilitaries and police came back from the offensive with
their APCs and military trucks loaded with valuable things. Pejë's
citizens were witnesses for this.
The same source claims that shelling has commenced
from four sides even though it is known that a very large number of civilians
is concentrated in Lugu i Baranit (over 70.000 people, mainly women and
children) without any available corridor for evacuation.
A big cloud of smoke coming from the burnt surrounding
villages has covered the town of Pejë town. It has been noticed recently
a considerable number of the returned citizens. The situation is tense
and alarming because the citizens are undergoing a continuous violence.
Albanian citizens from Kapeshnicë suburb have started to flee with
the fear they will be attacked.
In Dardania suburbs I, II, III it was impossible
to enter or exit. More than 12.000 Albanian inhabitants have been expelled
from these suburbs during 40 days. CDHRF assess that the plundering of
these houses is continuing, while in Dardania III suburb 'Qehane', at least
one house is burnt every night.
KOSOVA (Serb offensive – Gjakovë)
Serb offensive still continued today
Gjakovë, 16 August (ARTA) 1830CET--
The Serb offensive, which is going on since two
weeks, has destroyed dozens of Albanian dwellings. Almost 40 Gjakovë
municipal villages are burnt to the ground, 44 unidentified corpses have
been buried in the town graveyard, while dozens of others are being identified
by name and surname. Reka e Keqe is completely destroyed.
This offensive resulted with the fall of Junik
under Serb police control. KLA forces from the Dukagjin Plain which have
been situated in the mountains of Junik, after enabling the civilian population
to move out of the area, have installed new positions, apparently to respond
the Serb offensive soon.
So far, there is no information about the victims
and material damages in the area of Junik.
KOSOVA (KD reportage - Deçan)
"We remain surrounded under the mercy of God
and the rocks of Bistricë"
Lugu i Baranit, Lumbardhi i Deçanit, 15
August (ARTA) 2100--
The noise of the shelling continued in the surrounding
villages of Pejë and along the Pejë-Deçan road, while
a huge wave of people were escaping towards the Lumbardh valley, near Deçan.
From the village of Zllopek, one would clearly
see the smoke coming out from Raushiq and Loxhë, both near Pejë.
Now, 2 kilometers away from Zllopek, the police
was changing shifts, the villagers claimed. Used to run away from place
to place, they had learned even the police shifts.
"Each time they change shifts, at around 1300CET
and sometimes at around 1500CET, shelling starts", they claim.
Over 40 thousand people, mainly children, women
and elderly of the 25 villages of the Deçan municipality, but also
those from the municipalities of Pejë and Gjakovë, are now completely
surrounded.
In a small triangle, made of six villages, Strellc
i Ulët, Llukë e Ulët, Dubovik, Prapaçan, Broliq and
Vranoc, staying on tractors and carriages, they were living their "new
life" since ten days ago,
"They stay here the whole day and night. They
have nowhere to go from here... because of the shelling", state the villagers
of Broliq, a village nearby Lumbardh. They are all staying some 4 kilometers
away from there.
The village of Broliq, still remains the only
unshelled village among the six villages.
Along the river, there is the long column of
people, which were listening with fear to the detonations of the shells.
Hungry and sleepless, for days in a row, they
see their only hope in the hospitality of the villages of Broliq. Maybe
it is precisely this hospitality that is offering the international NGOs
quite a commodity in their behavior. Villagers say that none of them had
ever been to visit them.
"The villagers have helped us, as much as they
could", states 47 years old Hysen, although he immediately adds: "See,
even they have been living on their stock since five months ago".
"No one has come to offer us assistance. Yesterday
some foreign journalists came, otherwise you are the first ones to come
and see us", says Agim Gashi, 38, from Broliq.
He claimed that from all guests, he couldn't
recognize his own children. "The money is no use. There is nothing one
can buy", he says, almost hopeless.
In the long flow of people who saw their only
hope in the rocks of Bistrica river, we found Sejdi, 30, from Baballoç.
"I left my village on 21 April. We spent some
time in Gjakovë, but there too we were under threat. Then we went
back to Baballoç, but stayed there only one week. Then we went to
Pozhare, and then to Dashinoc, and finally pushed by the continuous shelling
we ended up around the riverbank near Lumbardh.
We have been here for over a week. We sleep under
the open sky, together with our families, with our children".
"We have cases of chronic diseases among people.
And we don't know how to help them", says Sejdi, who was looking as the
newcomers were flowing in.
"The morning was rainy, and we have no idea where
we are going to go. Maybe we need to open a corridor to evacuate children
and women and spare them from massacres".
Brahim Ukaj was another of those who fled to
Broliq from Pozhare. "All the land, from Deçan's Bistricë to
the border with Albania, is completely burnt", he says.
"We remain surrounded under the mercy of God
and the rocks of Bistricë. This is the end. We need a corridor to
save our women and children. On the contrary, the best thing is to take
gas and burn ourselves completely", says Rrahim at the end of his story.
KOSOVA (killing – Prizren)
One killed and two unidentified wounded
Prizren, 16 August (ARTA) 1830CET--
Bursts of weapons were heard for over half an
hour last night 2300CET, near the Catholic Church of Grazhdanik village.
According to eyewitnesses from Nashec village, in the time when an "Audi"
was driving near the church, shots were fired against it.
The morning revealed that one of its travelers
was killed and two others were wounded. Yet there is no information about
their names, but it is supposed they are from Prizren municipality.
Heavy police forces drove to Nashec village and
raided the families of Murtezan and Adem Thaçi. Police destroyed
their house compounds and since they did not find anything, they arrested
Murtezan and Jamin Thaçi.
Police was looking for Ramadan Thaçi,
owner of the "Audi" , but he was not home.
On their way out, the police left a message saying
that "if Ramadan doesn’t show up at the police station tomorrow morning
and hand over his weapons, we will shell and burn the whole village".
KOSOVA (wounding – Prizren)
Two Albanians and two Serb policemen wounded
Prizren, 16 August (ARTA) 1930CET--
Last night at 2300CET, clashes between Serb police
forces and KLA units took place on the Prizren-Nashec side road. Two Albanians
and two Serb policemen were badly wounded, and there is grounded suspicion
that there also might have been mortal victims.
Serb police patrols have intensified their activities,
maltreating and oppressing the civilians. Cases of detentions were also
reported.
In the meantime, KD sources claim that Adem Berisha
(37), who was tortured by the Serb police at the police station in town,
is in coma and he was transported from Prizren hospital into Prishtina,
because of his critical condition.
On the other hand, the health condition of more
than 100 arrested people who are being kept in custody in Prizren district
prison, is also very bad. Accordingly, CDHRF in Prizren appeals to all
international humanitarian and health associations to urge the authorities
to allow the medical and humanitarian treatment be given to the prisoners,
according to the international covenants.
PRISHTINE, August
16/ATA correspondent Behlul Jashari reports:
The Peja city
(western Kosova) today has been covered by black clouds of smoke. Houses
near the leather-shoe compound, along the Peje-Prishtine road and in the
direction of the Loxhe village have been engulfed by fire.
Sources from Peja
say that more than 40 powerful blasts have been heard from morning till
noon. The Serbian forces' heavy artillery shells come from the military
positions in Zagerme and the Dardania 1 and Dardania 2 quarters of Peja.
/lm/
TIRANA, August
15 (ATA)-By Th. Thanasi,
A Yugoslav artillery
shell landed about 20 metres inside Albanian territory on Friday.
After checks by
Albanian border experts on Friday it turned out that in the Badesh area,
20 metres inside the border, in Albanian territory, Has district, a shell
had fallen as result of Yugoslav army artillery shooting in Kosova, the
spokesman of the Public Order Ministry told ATA on Saturday.
According to the
spokesman, based on the information provided by the Albanian border guards,
the shell fell as result of the Yugoslav artillery shooting beyond the
border with Albania.
A clarification
letter will be addressed to the Yugoslav party on this incident, the spokesman
says.
He adds that it
has been the second case this week and the seventh since fighting started
in Kosova that Yugoslav artillery shells land in Albanian territory. The
previous shell, on Tuesday evening, landed about 1000 m inside Albanian
territory, in the direction of the C 2/7 border post in Tropoje district.
Referring to repeated
incidents and Belgrade border provocations, the Albanian Foreign Ministry,
through a statement issued two days ago, called on the Yugoslav government
"not to speculate with the moderated stand of Albania towards these incidents,
which are becoming an ordinary practice." /y.pa/pas/lm/
Serbian forces attack Peja and Decan suburbs
PRISHTINE, August
16 /ATA correspondent Behlul Jashari reports: Serbian forces' attacks on
the Peja and Decan suburbs continued overnight and this morning, according
to sources from the spot.
Powerful explosions
and volleys of gunfire were heard in the villages of Logj, Raushiq and
Graboc, which later were engulfed by smoke and fire, sources from Peja
(Western Kosova) say while fierce fighting between Albanian and Serbian
forces continued also in the suburbs of Junik, on the border belt with
Albania. /p.ta/lm/
Serb forces attack village of Sllapuzhan of Suhareke
PRISHTINE, August
16 /ATA correspondent Behlul Jashari reports:
This morning the
Serb forces positioned at Biraqe pounded for more than one hour the Sllapuzhan
village of Suhareke and sources from the Human Rights Council ion Kosova
said that the explosions were strong and heard also in the city of Suhareke.
According to earlier
reports from the Sllapuzhan village there have been neither killed nor
wounded, but only damages in materials.
In the meantime,
there are no reports from Albanian sources in Prishtine about the events
taking place in Junik, while according to several Serb forces, Junik has
been taken over by the Serbs. /p.ta/lm/
REPORT NO.430 a_______________________________________________________________________ON THE WIDESPREAD REPRESSION AND HARASSMENT PERPETRATED BY THE SERBIAN POLICE AND OTHER AUTHORITIES IN KOSOVA FROM AUGUST 9, UNTIL AUGUST 13, 1998
The recent offensive of Serbian police and military forces in Drenica and Dukagjini Plain is threatening the lives of more than 100.000 women, children and elderly, who had to flee their houses and seek shelter in the villages, which are now being attacked, or are in the open surrounded by Serbian forces.
The number of the killed and wounded is getting higher, especially among women, children and elderly.
- August 9: The carbonized corpse of Zeqë Bajram Gashi (86) was found in Llapushnik. Mevlude Gecaj and another woman of the Taraku family from Vitak were killed in Llausha near Skënderaj. Selim Rexhepi (55), who was wounded due to shelling, died and was buried in Petrova near Shtime.
- August 10: The following were killed in Hereç near Gjakova: Musë Bajrami (80), Asllan Bajrami (19), Dinë Rexhepi (63), Metë Dervishi (80) and Haxhi Tahiri. Arsim Liman Hysenaj (15) and Mejreme Liman Hysenaj (2) were killed during the shelling of Petrova. The corpse of Feriz Ramiz Selimi (44), father of eight, was found in the forests of Radisheva near Skënderaj. Donjeta Beqiri (1) from Turiqec near Skënderaj died and was buried in Brusnik near Vushtrri. Xhemajli Muharrem Kryeziu (1963) was found dead in the hall of his house in Suhareka. Xheladin Miftar Kurtaj (1974), a student, and two other Albanians were killed during clashes with the Serbian forces in Gabrrica near Kaçanik.
- August 11: The corpse of an Albanian killed at Llapushniku Gorge was brought at the morgue of Prishtina hospital. The corpse of an unidentified Albanian was found in the yard of Avdi Syla in Turiqec. The corpses of a man of about 50, a boy and two girls are in the morgue of the Peja hospital.
- August 12: Zade (13) and Elmije Zeneli (10) were killed during the shelling of Mirena near Lipjan. The following were killed in Shaptej near Deçan: Nexhat Humaj, Xheladin Mushkolaj, Naim Nimanaj, Gëzim Dervishaj, Orhan Halilaj and an unidentified Albanian - from Gllogjan, Maxhun Mujë Çekaj from Irzniq, as well as several other Albanians. The corpses of 6 unidentified Albanians were buried by police order in the cemetery in Gjakova. One Albanian was killed and one was wounded in Gorozhub near Prizren on the border with Albania. Due to difficult living conditions in the open, the newly-born babies of Muharrem Sopaj from Jançiç and Isuf Krasniqi from Drenoc and a pregnant woman from Malisheva died.Prishtina, August 13, 1998 Information Service
PRISTINA, 16 Aug (Hina) - The quantity of humanitarian
aid provided by humanitarian organisations in Kosovo meets only one third
of refugees' needs, a coordinator with the Pristina-based "Mother Teresa"
humanitarian organisation said Saturday.
By 12 August there were
327,626 refugees in Kosovo, said Zef Shalja adding the humanitarian crisis
was intensifying.
Shalja thanked Mercy
Corps International and Catholic Relief Services but warned that the number
of displaced Albanians in Kosovo was increasing every hour.
If the situation does
not improve, in ten days people will start dying of starvation, Shalja
said.
Belgrade, July 1998
The experiences of past wars, in particular the war waged in the 1990’s on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, showed that monuments of historical and cultural significance for all the nations involved as well as natural heritage were targets of wanton destruction by the opposed armies. Not only was there a manifest lack of awareness of the importance of this property for history and posterity, but also evident intention to inflict irreparable losses upon the opposite side precisely by destroying its loftiest spiritual, cultural and civilisational values.
Under circumstances of conflicts which have now befallen Kosovo and Metohija, the heritage which lies at the core of Serbian culture as well as the heritage of other ethnic groups on this territory should be protected without delay and in an as efficient a way as possible. A large number of natural and cultural monuments registered both in Yugoslavia and by international institutions should be adequately protected: of more than 1400 monuments - 62 are of exceptional value.
They include:
- ancient monastery complexes, churches, mosques
and other places of worship;
- old urban and rural complexes and ambients;
- medieval frescoes, icons, church and monastery
treasuries;
- museums, public and private collections;
- rich archives, libraries and documentation
centres;
- important archaeological sites;
- numerous memorial complexes, cemeteries and
other monuments and memorials.
Also there are natural resorts and individual items of natural heritage and phenomena of exceptioanl and unique value:
- biodiversity centres of global significance;
- national parks, reserves and natural monuments
which have been or are planned to be placed under protection;
- regions of special natural value with attractivr
rural complexes;
- habitats of rare plant and animal species,
etc.
Drawing up a plan for the preservation and protection of the entire monumental treasure in Kosovo and Metohija is therefore a matter of utmost urgency and all the parties in the conflict, both domestic and international, should be bound to abide by the international conventions:
- Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property
in Armed Conflicts (The Hague, 1954);
- Convention on Measures for the Prohibition
and Prevention of Illicite Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of
Cultural Property (Paris, 1970);
- Convention on the Protection of World’s Cultural
and Natural Heritage (Paris, 1972);
- Convention on Biodiversity (Rio de Janeiro,
1992), and others.
We urge all state intitutions, the military, the police, institutions of culture as well as the entire population irrespective of national, political or religious affiliation to abide by their obligation to observe these Conventions, i.e. respect international agreements and accepted standards of conduct in the field of protection.
We call upon all governmental and non-governmental organisations - national and international, as well as all citizens to support us in this effort aimed at salvaging the historic, cultural, artistic and natural patrimony in Kosovo and Metohija as part of the universal heritage of mankind.
Non-governmental organisations in the field of
protection:
- Association of Art Historians
of Serbia, Miroslav Timotijevic, Ph.D., President
- Associations of Conservators of Cultural
Heritage of Serbia, Olivera Kandic, ach., President
- Serbian Archaeological Association, Borislav
Jovanovic, Ph.D., President
- Association of Librarians of Serbia,
.Dob rivoje Mladenovic, President
- Community of Libraries of Serbia, Dragan
Barac, M.A., President
- Yugoslav National Committee of ICOM,
Academy member Aleksandar Despic, President
- National Committee of ICOMOS, Marko Omcikus,
President
- Serbia Nostra – Europa Nostra, Aleksandra
Banovic, arch, President
- Ecolibri-Bionet, Jovan Angelus, Ph.D.,
President
- Eco Center, Vukasin Pavlovic, Ph.D.,
President
- Assoiation of Ecologists of Serbia, Radoje
Lausevic, Ph.D., President
- Young Researchers, Kristina Kujundic,
President
- Yustat, Radivoje Dinulovic, arch, President
--
Decani Monastery
38322 Decani, Serbia, Yugoslavia
http://www.decani.yunet.com
E-mail: decani@EUnet.yu
tel (fax) +381 390 61543
+381 390 61567
Anmerkung: Ich wuerde mich freuen, wenn es einen ähnlichen
Appell gäbe
zum Schutze menschlichen LEBENS und der Menschenrechte.
REMARK: I would be glad, if there
were a similar appeal
to protect human LIFE and Human Rights.
LINK to further press news
LINK to further press news_______________________________________________________________________
 |
|
Homepage
Inhaltsverzeichnis - Contents Seite erstellt am 17.8.1998 |
|
|
Dillinger
Straße 41
86637
Wertingen
|
|||
|
Telefon
08272 - 98974
Fax
08272 - 98975
|
|||
|
E-mail
wplarre@dillingen.baynet.de
|
