Tagesnachrichten . September 1998
     von ALBANEWS und anderen
     News of the day - September , 1998
     Kosova Information Center : Daily Report No

         Die Bibel sagt  -  The Bible says
 

If available you find on this page  -  Soweit verfügbar finden Sie auf dieser Seite   1. Remarks - Hints - Special informations  2. Reports about deportation and persons repatriated to Kosova  in deutsch und englisch   3. Daily Report from KIC  (Kosova Information Center)  4. news from ARTA  (Koha ditore)  5. news from RFE/RL NEWSLINE  6. news from Fr. Sava  (Decani Monastery)  7. Reports from Human Rights Organisations      especially CDHRF  (Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms, Prishtina)  8. news from ATA /ENTER  and so on  9. eventual additional press news  Link to Background-information  Link to earlier news - so far as room is given by my provider on the server  The Bible says  -  Die Bibel sagt

 

1. Remarks - Hints - Special informations

........
       now Germany can not deport Kosova-Albanians !

   Three months ago:

Contact Group Statement on Kosova, London/12 June 1998
   8.  The Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States confirmed their decision to implement the ban on new investment in Serbia and to freeze funds held abroad by the FRY and Serbian governments, and agreed to take steps to ban flights by Yugoslav carriers between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and their countries. Japan supported this approach and agreed to consider similar action. The Russian Federation does not associate itself with these measures.

Kennen Sie Fälle von Abschiebungen nach Kosova ? - Bitte senden Sie mir Ihren Bericht !
Do you know cases of deportations to Kosova ? - Please send me your report !

Postkarten schreiben ! -  Write postcards !

Postkarten schreiben ! -  Write postcards !

 

3. Daily Report from KIC (Kosova Information Center)

Betreff:         [ALBANEWS] News:Kosova Daily Report #1547
Datum:         Wed, 9 Sep 1998 18:16:09 +0200
    Von:         Edmond Hajrullaaga <edihaga@EUnet.yu>

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1547
Prishtina, 9 September 1998

President Rugova Receives Belgian Foreign Minister Derycke

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova received today in Prishtina Mr. Erik Derycke, Foreign Minister of Belgium, and his aides. Attending the meeting was also Joris Couvreur, Belgium's ambassador to Belgrade. Rugova and Derycke discussed the extremely grave situation in Kosova in the midst of continued Serbian military and police offensive against the Albanian people, but also the need for stepped up efforts in pursuit of a political settlement.
The continued Serb forces' offensive is turning more and more Albanians into refugees and their settlements into rubble, the President stressed, and referred to the increasing casualty toll amongst the Albanian people as a result of the Serb terror.
Rugova pressed for real and resolute international pressure to force Belgrade into halting its outrageous aggression in Kosova and create the conditions for a resolution by political means. The best solution for Kosova and indeed the entire region is independence, with an international protectorate as an interim stage, President Rugova of Kosova said.
Belgian Foreign Minister Eerik Derycke said he had come to Prishtina to get first-hand information about the situation in Kosova, which he called "grave and unacceptable". The solution for the Kosova issue should be sought and attained through negotiations, Mr. Derycke said, adding that his government would support fully that political process to that end.

Rugova and Derycke to the Press
The proposal which has been put forth by Ambassador Hill, the U.S. envoy for Kosova, is the proposal that was "forwarded by Europe a long time ago", Erik Derycke said.

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - After the conclusion of their meeting in Prishtina today (Wednesday), President Ibrahim Rugova of Kosova and Belgian Foreign Minister spoke to the domestic and international press.
Ibrahim Rugova said Mr. Derycke was the third foreign minister of a European country to visit Kosova. Speaking about the contents of today's meeting, Rugova said the very difficult situation in Kosova in the wake of Serb attacks was discussed. "We have asked for international protection. Ways should be found to stop this very negative tendency in Kosova", he said.
Erik Derycke recalled that this was not the first meeting he had with Dr. Rugova. "We met him a couple of times in Brussels already." Rugova is the man on whom "the West is counting a lot to solve the problems" in Kosova, which are very worrying, the Belgian Foreign Minister said. He spoke of the very important meeting (of the EU Council of Ministers) in Salzburg last weekend. He expressed the hope that the violence in Kosova will stop, but also the fear that a "humanitarian drama" will occur in a few weeks' time, when winter comes. "We insisted in Belgrade, and we insisted also here, to have an optimum collaboration with Western NGOs and Western governments to deal with humanitarian problems."
Speaking about the political track, Derycke said, "We value the fact that we have now at least a proposal to start negotiations - I think the proposal of ['FRY' President] Milosevic and [U.S. Ambassador Chris] Hill is not perfect - but it is worth to discuss." In this context, "we highly esteem the role of Dr. Rugova's (as the President) participation", he said, adding that neither humanitarian problems, nor political problems will be solved if the parties are not ready to sit around the same table.
Speaking on behalf of his European colleagues, he said they fully supported Dr. Rugova and his team in their efforts for a peace settlement to the crisis. "We don't see at the moment a better solution". The Kosovars should have trust in their leadership, the Belgian minister said, and noted that more pressure has been put on Belgrade with the ban on JAT flights.
Asked by reporters about Ambassador Hills' remarks in Washington last week on Europe's neglect of Kosova, Derycke said: "We were a little bit saddened by the declaration of Ambassador Hill - because we don't quite understand - all the help is coming from Europe." "And we do that with a very good heart, and we do that because we think it is necessary. We can only make this constatation, that the proposal [which] has been forwarded by Hill is the proposal [that] has been forwarded by Europe a long time", Erik Derycke said. There is no individual European solution, and no individual U.S. solution, he said. "That's why we decided to support Hill, because it is our proposition, and we will send down a high representative of Europe in the forthcoming weeks, because we think it is valuable, it is complementary of what the Americans are doing. We must work together, even with the two hands perhaps we will perhaps not have enough to solve the problems.", the Belgian Foreign Ministers told reporters. This is not the time for military intervention in Kosova, he said. "We will see what the new sanctions will give", he noted, adding that sanctions "are good and bad" at the same time. Sanctions play only for a limited period of time. "We are always afraid that sanctions might also a contraindications."
Asked about further steps that might be considered, Derycke reiterated that the Europeans "will have an envoy with Mr. Hill, to be around the same table, and give a complementary boost and support from the European side, because I think you will need European money for the reconstruction."
In answer to questions, President Ibrahim Rugova welcomed the ban of JAT flights. Belgrade should be told decisively that it should halt these attacks and this situation in Kosova, he said. "There should be more resolve on behalf of Europe and the international community. Belgrade should be told it has to stop.", the President of the Republic of Kosova emphasized.
Nothing should be left to be used as a pretext, Rugova said, in reply to a question regarding the UÇK. There should be a unity of command and control, he pointed out. They all should have the sense of responsibility, because "the Albanian people of Kosova are bearing the brunt of Serb army attacks". We have now the new Serb offensives in Deçan, Dukagjin and Drenica regions, President Ibrahim Rugova said. "People have been displaced, but they are still in Kosova. If this situation goes on, we will witness new massacres and huge groups of refugees."

President Rugova Receives Delegation of Italian Parliament

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova received today in Prishtina a delegation of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Italian Parliament consisting of Achille Occhetto, chairman, and Gualberto Niccolini, Adria Bartolich, and Stefano Morselli, members. Participating in the meeting was also Ricardo Sessa, Italy's Ambassador to Belgrade.
The grave situation in Kosova amidst the unfolding Serb offensive against the Albanian people, as well as efforts to towards a political settlement to the Kosova issue were discussed in the meeting.
The President denounced in the strongest terms the continued Serb military and police offensive, which has turned already hundreds of thousands of Albanians to refugees and internally-displaced people, and destroyed settlements and property on a large scale. "This is ethnic cleansing at work", Rugova said, calling for international pressure to make Belgrade halt its attacks and ensure a safe return of people back to their places of permanent residence. There is an all-party consensus in Kosova that independence is the best and viable solution, with an interim international protectorate pending a lasting solution, President Ibrahim Rugova said.
The Italian parliamentarians said they were supportive of a political solution to the Kosova issue.

Around 70,000 Displaced Albanians Spent the Night in the Open, in Stormy Rain, in Deçan Area

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - Around 70,000 Albanians spent last night rough in the open in two villages, Isniq and Strellc, in the western municipality of Deçan. The two villages have become home to these people displaced from 40 villages of the municipality of Deçan, the Reka e Keqe and Dushkajë regions of Gjakova, the Lugu i Baranit (Barani valley) and several villages of the municipality of Klina, Mr. Osman Cacaj, head of the LDK Information Commission in Deçan, told the KIC today. There were stormy rains in the region last night, he said.
Some 10,000 people, mostly women, children and elderly, have been on the move heading for the Strellc mountains. Their condition remains unknown.
The local Albanian structures in the Deçan municipality made a renewed, dramatic appeal today to the International Red Cross, the United Nations, and other international institutions, calling for them to come to the help of the Albanian people who are going through a dreadful catastrophe, Osman Cacaj reported.

CDHRF: At Least 843 Albanians Killed By Serbs in Kosova Since January
Around 50 were killed in south-west and central Kosova since last Weekend

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - At least 843 Albanians have been killed by Serb forces in Kosova since 14 January 1998, the major Kosovar human rights group, the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said today.
The Prishtina-based CDHRF said the 843 victims it has registered by Tuesday were killed by fire-arms, slain or/and mutilated in various fashions, summarily executed, tortured to death in Serb hands, or died during bombardment of their homes by Serb troops.
According to the Council, 88 victims were children, 127 women, 181 elderly persons, while the rest were aged between 18 and 55 years.
54 victims could not be identified, it said.
The CDHRF said that it has registered over 600 Albanians who are missing for weeks or even several months.
Around 50 Albanians were killed since last weekend in a huge Serb offensive unfolding in central and south-west parts of Kosova.
The Prishtina-based daily Bujku said on Tuesday that at least 26 Albanians - men, women and children - were killed during a Serb offensive against the Vërrini area villages in the Prizren municipality. The human rights Council circulated the same days a list of other 16 Albanians, killed in the communities around Rahovec ('Orahovac') since last weekend.
Meanwhile, sources in south-west and central Kosova reported Tuesday about half a dozen Albanians killed in the preceding two days, and whose names were not included in the accounts of Bujku or Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms.

            [ Remark:  The full text of this report you can read at  kill7998.htm ]

Bodies of Three Killed Albanians Found Near Malisheva
Mutilated body of 70-year-old man remains unburied in Kramnik, elderly couple, captured by Serbs, missing since last week

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - The bodies of three killed men were found today laying in the fields between the villages of Polluzha and Guri i Kuq, in the municipality of Malisheva. The LDK Information Commission in Malisheva described them only as Albanians whose identity could not be yet established.
The same sources reported of another Albanian killed by Serb forces in the area. Isuf Idrizi (70) was slain in his village of Kramnik. His badly mutilated body was still unburied.
At least 15 men, residents of Guri i Kuq village, are being held in Serb police custody in Prizren. The head of the LDK chapter of Malisheva said he learned the names of three of them, Banush Mustafa, Haki Mustafa and Muharrem Mustafa. He noted that the whereabouts of a couple from Marsor village, captured by Serb forces last week, are still unknown. Sokol Rexhepi (90) and his wife Ajshe Rexhepi (82) were apprehended by Serb forces on 4 September, and no one was able to find out where they were taken to, the LDK activist said.
The International Red Cross delivered a shipment of relief to the villages of Llapçvë, Panorc and Zatriq, sources in the area said.

Serb Troops Loot and Raze Ostrozub Village in Malisheva
Serbs exhume bodies of three Albanians buried last July in the local cemetery

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - Serb troops advanced Tuesday afternoon into the Ostrozub village of Malisheva, leaving behind a ghost town, local sources said.
The head of the LDK Information Commission in Malisheva said the Serb infantry looted whatever could be taken away from the village, including valuables, electronic devices and other household commodities.
Yesterday afternoon, Serb troops exhumed the bodies of three Albanians in the local cemetery of Ostrozub. Sylë Morina and Islam Morina, both local residents, and Muharrem Hoxha, a student from Dushanova village of Prizreni, were killed by Serb forces in late July. Witnesses who saw the Serb exhume the three Albanians could not learn the motive behind such a move.

Villagers Find Bodies of Their Neighbor After Serbs Leave Lez

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - Four Albanians killed by Serb troops during a huge offensive against Albanian communities last weekend, were buried Tuesday afternoon in the local cemetery of Lez village of Prizren.
The bodies of the four Albanians - Asllan E. Berisha (66), Izair M. Berisha (64), Salajdin H. Berisha (42) Agim S. Berisha (41), all residents of Lez - were found after Serb troops had left the village.
Metë Berisha, a local resident of the Lez village, told the LDK chapter in Prizren that the village practically does not exist any longer. Only the local mosque and a farmhouse survived the Serb bombardment, he said.
The other killed bodies have been spotted near Leskovec village of Prizren, but they could not be collected or identified yet.
The whereabouts of scores of residents of the villages in the Prizren municipality which were attacked during the past days are still unknown, local sources said.
The town of Prizren has been swelled by thousands of refugees from the villages in the area as well as from the municipalities of Rahovec, Malisheva and Suhareka.
The Serb court authorities in Prizren said on Tuesday criminal charges were brought against 76 Albanians, accusing them for alleged terrorist and hostile activities. A busload of detainees was seen transferred from the detention house in Prizren to the jail in Lipjan.

Father and Son Slain by Serbs in Kodrali Village, Gjakova

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - Resident of Kodralia village, Gjakova, found Tuesday the mutilated body of their 23-year-old fellow villager Halil Alija. The Albanian was killed on 3 September during a Serb attack against his village, the LDK chapter in Gjakova said.
Witnesses said that the father of the slain Albanian, Haxhi Alia (73), was tortured badly by Serb troops the same day, and he died the next morning, on 4 September.
Local activists said that 12 Albanians were arrested in Kodralia village, and were taken to the Serb police station virtually nude. They named the following residents of Kodralia still in Serb custody: Zenel Alija (29), Hajdin Alija (24), Riza Alija (18), Isa Alija (28), Agron Alija (14), Bekim Kalimashi (17), Naser Kalimashi (25), Arben Alija (20), Ismail Taraku (30), Enver Taraku (15), Gani Çeku (48) and Selim Çeku (18). They were reportedly tortured badly in the Serb police station in Gjakova before being transferred to the Peja jail, where they are believed to be held.

Huge Detonations Reported North-West of Prishtina Overnight

PRISHTINA, Sept 9 (KIC) - Huge detonations were heard last night in the area of Shala e Bajgorës, north-west of Prishtina. (The Shala e Bajgorës is a region in north-east Kosova straddling the municipalities of Mitrovica, Podujeva and Vushtrri ('Vucitern').
Sources told the KIC that at least 20 detonations were heard in the area after 23:00 hrs, which could be clearly heard in the towns of Mitrovica and Podujeva. The LDK chapters in these two towns could not confirm the exact location of the blasts, nor reports about possible casualties or damage in the villages there.

Kosova Information Center
Last page!

KOSOVA (casualties – Prizren)
Three young Albanians killed

Prizren, 8 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
Albanian media informed yesterday about the arresting of five young Albanians from the neighborhood of "Vëllezrit Stavileci", out of which two managed to escape.
On the other hand, the massacred corpses of the three arrested were found today at the place they were arrested. They were confirmed to be the corpses of twin brothers, Binak and Reshat Daçaj (29), and Fatmir Bojaxhiu (34), from Prizren's neighborhood "Vëllezrit Stavileci".
There is still no information on the whereabouts of three missing Albanians from the village of Zaplugjë, who went missing on 1 September. It has been claimed that they were last seen heading to the forest to get wood the day that the repressive campaign and fierce offensive against the villages of Vërrin began.
In the meantime, evaluating that the situation in the municipality has started escalating, the LDK branch in Prizren "appeals to the villagers that are receiving ultimatums for handing in the weapons, and to all the other residents, particularly the residents of Dushanovë, not to leave their homes at any price". The LDK branch further commented such ultimatums as aiming at ethnically cleansing Kosova.

KOSOVA (casualties – Prizren)
Death toll in municipality of Prizren increases

Prizren, 8 September (ARTA) 1930CET --
The massacred bodies of Muhamet Shemsedini and Gjymret Shemsedini from Zaplugjë and of Sabri Maliqi, from the village of Kuklibeg of Opojë, supposed to have been killed on 1 September, were found yesterday in the forest between Lez and Zaplugjë, Albanian sources from Prizren inform.
There are reports that the Serb police killed Arsim Poniku (18), and his uncle, Hasret Poniku (36) in their house yard, in the neighborhood of Tusus, in Prizren, last evening at 2030CET. The latter was taken by the Serb police and sent to the town's cemetery, where he was massacred. Both were buried in the town's cemetery today.
Albanian sources also inform that last night, at around 1800CET, in Dushanovë, a Serb police APC cruised down the streets of town and using a megaphone announced in Albanian and Serb that the "the deadline for handing over the weapons has expired". Following this announcement, people started fleeing in the direction of the town of Prizren.
On the other hand, after the Serb force offensive, the investigating judge of the Municipal Court in Prizren, sentenced with 30 days detention and opened an investigating procedure against several Albanians from the municipality of Prizren. According to the investigating judge Agron Shehu (21), from the village of Krushë e Madhe, Hasan Berisha (53), from the village of Lez, Nexhmedin Berisha (53), also from Lez and Nazim Ramadani (19), from Zaplluzhë, municipality of Dragash, are accused with the crime "association for hostile activity - terrorism". All of the accused are being kept in detention since 4 September.

KOSOVA (CDHRF report)
One Albanian executed and seven killed

Prishtina, 8 September (ARTA) 1900CET --
A CDHRF report stated that: "Sources from Rahovec notify that Serb snipers in the village of Senovc, municipality of Rahovec, killed 4 years old, Myredete Morina and severely wounded her father Vesel. On the other hand, there are reports that Bedri Gashi (50), from Bratotin and Safet Hoti (19), from Ratkoc, were wounded as a result of the last Serb forces offensive in the village of Ratkoc. The CDHRF branch in Gjakovë informed today that the above-mentioned are now in the surgical department of the hospital in Gjakovë.
Serb military, police and paramilitary forces, equipped with many tanks and APCs, shelled the villages of Gllogjan and Nepole in the region of Lugu i Baranit, again during the early morning hours, the LDK branch in Deçan informs. It has been claimed that local Albanians fled and are now mostly concentrated in the villages of Isniq, Prapaçan, and Strellc.
On the other hand, during today's shelling, Serb forces in the village of Gllogjan killed the married couple Fetah and Hedije Mazreku, severely wounding their son Lush and daughter Gjyle. A grenade today hit a horse drawn chariot in Gllogjan, on which an Albanian family was trying to flee the village. So far, no reports were issued revealing the identity of this family or the eventual consequences.
Witnesses assert that the Serb forces are keeping 50 residents of the village of Mirenë, municipality of Lipjan, besieged since 12 August. They are mainly children, women, elderly and invalids, of whose fate nothing is known. Among them, in a critical health condition are the following, Adem Zejnullahu (60), Bajram Zeneli (70), Sali Ahmeti (90) and Sadri Ahmeti (85), whose relatives appealed to the ICRC, to open a humanitarian corridor in order to help these people.
From 14 January until 8 September, the CDHRF evidenced 843 cases of killed Albanians. The structure of the killed is the following: 127 female, 88 children, 181 over 55 years old, and 54 unidentified persons. Other victims are persons with ages ranging from 18 to 55 years old, who were victims of shelling, Serb snipers or those who were executed without trial or who died as a result of the brutal violence they underwent in prison.

KOSOVA (CDHRF report)
About 1,000 Albanians killed and over 1,000 arrested

Prishtina, 8 September (ARTA) 2120CET --
The CDHRF reported that starting from the beginning of the year until the first part of September, 843 Albanians were killed, as well as 200 persons, who remain unidentified. The report confirms that about 538 Albanians were wounded, adding that this number could be well exceeding following the Serb force operations in several regions of Kosova.
According to the data of this association for the defense of human rights, 1,100 people were arrested until the first part of September, while the names of about 900 new persons were added to the list of the missing.
On the other hand, the Serbian Ministry of Justice announced that starting from October, they would begin the trial of over 300 Albanians accused for the crime "association for hostile activity and terrorism".

ALBANIA (incident at the Kosova-Albanian border)
"Yugoslav" border sentry killed an Albanian

Tirana, 8 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
The Albanian Ministry for Public Order spokesperson informed that 31 Albanians from the Kosova-Albanian border region entered Has in the Pashtrik border point. They were 5 women, 16 children, and 10 men.
The newcomers were sheltered in the dormitory of a high school in Krumë. More than 350 people (mainly women, children and elderly) are sheltered in the region of Has since June, when Kosova Albanians started to pour into Albania in an attempt to escape Serb terror.
The Ministry for Public Order spokesman informed on Monday that the "Yugoslav" side informed the Albanian one that, "Marie Qosja (50), File M. (35) and Gjeto Qosja (20) passed the "Yugoslav" border and entered 50 meters within "Yugoslav" territory near the border point of Lepush on 5 September at 1455CET". According to the "Yugoslav" side, "the YU border sentry ordered them to stop, but they did not respond ". Consequently, the sentry opened fire. Gjeto Qosja was badly wounded and died afterwards.
The "Yugoslav" side asked for a meeting with the Albanian side with 48 hours delay, and after the scene of the crime was prepared. The corpse and the two women are still in "Yugoslav" territory.

KOSOVA (casualties – Ferizaj)
Nine years old kid boy dies from explosion

Ferizaj, 8 September (ARTA) 2130CET --
Blerim Ramadani (9) from the Ferizaj municipal village of Tërn, died from the explosion of a hand grenade, which he found. Blerim played with the hand grenade he had found and thus it exploded.
Since he was alone in the room, there were no other victims. The Serb police came to the scene immediately to conduct investigations.

KOSOVA (incidents at Kosova-Macedonian border)
"Yugoslav" border units arrest four Albanians

Viti, 8 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
The CDHRF branch in Viti informs that a "Yugoslav" border unit stopped Enver Beqiri (18), Fadil Beqiri (18), Shaqir Metallari (28), and Xhezair Beqiri (30) from the village of Mjak, in the municipality of Viti (a locality at the Kosova-Macedonian border), on 1 September.
They were first sent to Liskovicë, where a military camp is situated. After being physically maltreated, Xhezair was released, while Enver, Fadil, and Shaqir were sent to the police checkpoint in Viti, and subsequently to the Gjilan district prison.

KOSOVA (Serb onslaught – Klinë)
The villages of Klinë and Lugu i Baranit shelled

Klinë, 8 September (ARTA) 1700CET --
Following the killing of 4 Serb policemen, by the Llozicë Bridge, the Serb artillery shelling targeted the villages of Cerrovik, Glloçicë, Çabiq, and Gollubovc. Clashes between KLA units and Serb forces started last evening at 1900CET and lasted throughout last night. They went on during today also, and are still going on during the afternoon hours. Presently there is no information about eventual causalities, as the material damages appear to be enormous. Albanian sources notify that the people who were sheltered in the region moved fearing a possible shelling.
There are claims that the Serb police and army settled by the Ukësahitaj cemetery in Grabanicë, in the agricultural airport in Budisalc and in the checkpoint in Dollovë, shelled the villages of Lugu i Baranit, starting from the early morning hours. There are reports that Serb forces used fighting cannons of large calibers as well as surface-to-surface missiles during the attack. It has been reported that thousands of grenades were fired in these villages, as the people remain surrounded by Serb forces. It is important to note that these villages were resided by thousands of people, who escaped from the places afflicted by war earlier and that there is great risk of a possible massacre by the Serb army and police, since the people have no place left to go.

KOSOVA (Serb onslaught – Deçan)
New offensive in the municipality of Deçan

Deçan, 8 September (ARTA) 1930CET --
After three days of relative tranquility, Serb police\military forces undertook another large-scale offensive in the municipality of Deçan today. A convoy consisting of 88 tanks, APCs and Serb police and military trucks, came from the direction of Pejë at around 0700CET. During the attack conducted from Podi i Gështenjave, the military base in Hulaj, Suka e Baballoçit as well as Suka e Biteshit, the villages of Carrabreg i Ulët, Beleg, Prejlep, Prokolluk were the first villages to be shelled. It has been reported that the villages of Gramaçel, Gllogjan, Kodrali, Poser, Prapaçan, and Lumbardh, were subjected to attacks of lower intensity. There are reports that two Albanians were killed and two others were wounded during the attack in the village of Beleg.
On the other hand, two Albanians from Prejlep, two others from Prapaçan and another unidentified person were wounded in Prapaçan. After the shelling, the police along with the army and infantry units entered the above-mentioned villages, burning and destroying everything.
Since the first attacks, the local population has been evacuated from their homes and sheltered in the fields of the villages of Broliq, Isniq, and Strellc i Ulët, Dubovik etc. The majority, have no blankets, which makes living very difficult since the weather in this region for the past days has been very bad.
The Serb police phoned the villagers of Llukë e Epërme, and told them that they had a half on hour to hand in the weapons, that they have no permission to keep from Serb competent organs.

KOSOVA (Serb onslaught – Ferizaj)
"They destroyed everything"

Ferizaj, 8 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
Following the conflict in the village of Jezerc, which has been subjected to occasional shelling for some time, the villages of Nerodime e Epër and Nerodime e Poshtme, were also included in the wave of armed provocations of the Serb forces. The majority of the residents were forced to leave their houses. Those who managed to flee their homes tell of destroyed sites, as a result of the looting and destruction conducted by Serb forces.
Kimete Reka and Emine Reka, two housewives from Nerodime e Epërme, claim to have seen destroyed houses.
"They destroyed everything, they broke the doors, windows, they looted everything, TV's, VCR's, refrigerators", they say. "All the furniture was destroyed, turned upside down. They fired thousands of bullets in the walls and furniture. Our life-long struggle went in vain", they added. Such sites were also witnessed in other houses of the Rakaj neighborhood. According to witnesses, Serb police officers confiscated five cars, that belonged to the villagers, which were then used to carry the looted things.

KOSOVA (Serb offensive – Mitrovicë)
Offensive continues in the villages of Shalë e Bajgorës

Mitrovicë, 8 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
The village of Stantërg was shelled last with large caliber artillery weapons, claim Albanian sources. The shelling took place from 2200CET until 0300CET. After midnight, the diameter of the attack increased from Stantërg to other villages of Shalë e Bajgorës, such as Mazhiq, Bare, Tërsten, Vidishiq, Bajgorë, Melenicë, and Zabërgjë. Serb police\military forces conducted the shelling from their military base in Kutlloc and Veronicë, Albanian sources inform adding that the attack was very intense. The majority of people fled to Mitrovicë and to the less threatened surrounding villages. There are confirmations of damages caused to the houses that were shelled, as there is no precise information on the eventual victims either. Albanian sources inform about one Albanian, wounded during the clashes with the Serb forces.
On the other hand, in Mitrovicë proper, activists of political and non-political associations, continue to get arrested, as the Albanian civilians are undergoing unseen violence.

KOSOVA (education – Deçan)
Difficult beginning for this school year

Drenica, 8 September (ARTA) 1630CET --
In the municipality of Klinë, classes have started in three elementary schools, in Jagodinë, Zllakuqan, and Budisalc. The elementary school "Motrat Qiriazi" in Klinë will also begin work on 14 September. In Skënderaj, with the initiation of the students, teachers and of the local political structure, classes started in the elementary school "Petro Marko", though with a very small numbers of attendants.
Two days ago, the high school building "Ramiz Sadiku" in Skënderaj, resided by Serbs until recently, was finally released. It is now resided by the Serb police.
Xhafer Murtezaj, head of the Municipal Council for Education, concerning the beginning of the new school year in this municipality, among others states: "The beginning of this school year will be full of problems. There is a feeling of great insecurity among the teachers. They can be arrested by the Serb police as KLA soldiers".
Classes also began in several villages of Skënderaj, such as in Prekaz and Obri. The local high school building, which was released recently, cannot be used since a police checkpoint is set only 200 meters away.
"The largest number of students and teachers of this school, come from the surrounding villages. We think that they will arrive in a very small number if any", claims Murtezaj.
"The municipality of Skënderaj had some 11,000 elementary students. A local school in Skënderaj, "Petro Marko", had 1,500 students. On the other hand, the overall number of high-school students was 2,350.
However, the number will change this year, since a number of students and teachers are not here as a number of them were killed", explained Xhafer Murtezaj.
There are reports that classes can be held in 80 percent of the territory of the municipality of Gllogoc, which is also afflicted by war.

KOSOVA (KLA political representative)
The USA must send someone who really deals with the problem of Kosova

Prishtina, 8 September (ARTA) 1930CET --
The KLA political representative, Adem Demaçi, held a press conference in Prishtina today, on which occasion he evaluated the visit made by Dole and Shattuck to Kosova as positive.
"I got the impression that they were acquainted with our tragedy, and that their statements before the State Department will result with some changes in their operating manner", he claimed adding that he has nothing against the American policy in general.
He evaluated Holbrooke and Hill’s engagement for solving the problem of Kosova as non-satisfactory.
"We think that Milosevic does not deserve to be Hill's partner and that he should play the role that suits him, while Hill ought to be more objective in solving the Kosova problem", he continued comment the American way of handling problems.
"It was a big mistake when Gelbard insulted the KLA, and compelled Rugova to do the same", he stressed.
"It was also a mistake to force Rugova to meet with Milosevic. I am afraid that Hill’s new initiative (trying to impose something undefined, which will force Albanians to accept some proposals for postponing the solution of the Kosova problem for 2-3 years) is an attempt to stop the Albanian resistance", he added.
"We think that, if the Kosova problem is to be resolved, the USA must send someone who really deals with it, and not someone like Hill, who is incapable of handling his own problems as an Ambassador to Macedonia", he claimed.
"As for Europeans, they do not have the right to criticize Hill because they themselves change their attitudes often and do not undertake any measures", claimed the KLA political representative.
Concerning the local elections, which were proposed to take place in Kosova, Demaçi stated that, he does not oppose them if they take place under the international community’s supervision and if the Albanian people can express their viewpoints freely. Otherwise, he does not support them.
"Shattuck and Dole did not convince Milosevic to stop the Serb offensive, because he (Milosevic) understands only one language, and he will not stop unless that 'language' is applied on him", he said.
He added that the KLA has its proposals in this aspect. "But as long as this terror continues, nothing can be done", emphasized Demaçi.
Asked about the appearance of FARK (Armed forces of Republic of Kosova) in the scene, Demaçi answered that he is just a political activist, and that he is not involved in such things. "I don't believe that it represents as much a divergence as some individuals imply. There will be no divergences among Albanians so long the Serb terror continues", he said.

KOSOVA (NATO meeting)
NATO once more gives way to diplomacy

Brussels, 8 September (ARTA) 1600CET --
The NATO Council will gather again tomorrow, to discuss the newest situation in Kosova and in Bosnia, just ahead of the elections scheduled to be held there on Sunday, NATO sources in Brussels inform. Concerning the situation in Kosova, a NATO official stated today that, from the military aspect, all options for intervention in Kosova have been worked out, repeating the ‘cliché’: "If there is a need and if the international community requests so from NATO".
Despite the fact that NATO Secretary General, Javier Solana, saluted announcements for a temporary solution of the Kosova problem, NATO officials in Brussels repeated their readiness for intervening in Kosova. NATO member states began consultations, in order to ensure as soon as possible, the equipment needed for intervention in Kosova. Hence, the Alliance requested from Holland 8 fighting airplanes F-16, Dutch Defense Minister, Frank De Grave informed. De Grave notified the Dutch Parliament about this request, since it is necessary for the Parliament to approve any decision for the participation of their soldiers in joint military actions. Other NATO countries have also started such discussions on military level, NATO sources in Brussels claim. NATO’s Military Council, the main military body within the Alliance, will meet on 14 September in Copenhagen. According to the NATO Council, within the framework of discussions, which will be led by General Klaus Neumann (head of the Military Council), they will also discuss the situation in Kosova and Bosnia. Steps undertaken by NATO to assist the solution of the problem by military means are also expected to be topic of discussions. NATO sources also repeat that despite their readiness to intervene "if needed", they prefer a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Kosova.

KOSOVA (KD reportage – Panorc)
"...And don't you write my name, they might return"

Panorc, 7 September (ARTA) 1500CET --
"They surrounded us with tanks on Friday evening and separated the men from women and children", said an Albanian from Panorc. "And don't write my name, because if they come back again and find out about me, they won't let me go, just like they didn't let many others go", he added.
The crowd which was gathered in front of the elementary school "Asim Vokshi" in Panorc (where a group of Albanians were kept hostage), were trying hard to tell the experience they had.
"Let me show you the places they kept and maltreated us", says a local resident.
A barrack, where a group of men accused of being KLA members were staying, was overcrowded with people, which had clear signs of horror in their faces.
"They released some of the men on Saturday at 1800CET, but some others are still being kept under arrest", claims Cen Desku – a local LDK branch leadership member -- pointing at the torn poster of Asim Vokshi (an Albanian national hero).
According to the mass of people who were gathered in front of the school, there is still no information on the fate of 100 arrested Albanians, who were kept in that elementary school.
"Here is the list of 23 people from Panorc who were not released, although there many people from other villages whose names we do not have", claimed Fetah Rudi, another leadership member of the local LDK branch. He added that, "90 people out of the total number of arrested were from Mrasor".
"Doctor Zaim Gashi paid a high price. They beat him with a piece of wood with nails on it", said a villager. Meanwhile, Jakup Kastrati, the chairperson of the LDK branch in Malishevë, claims that doctor Zaim Gashi was not released, adding that he might have been killed.
"They also burnt everything", he claimed. An old man who was sitting nearby, pointed toward a burnt carriage, saying that 2 tons of flour which were loaded on the carriage were burnt.
"They even burned our food. But what we fear most is that they might come back again", he whispered.
The police compelled the women and elderly who were staying in the forests to return home, or go to other villages. A woman claimed that the police kept a group of 1,000 women surrounded for six hours in the village of Llapqevë village (two kilometers from Panorc).
"They asked where the KLA soldiers are, threatening to kill us all if a single shot is heard", she started to tell. "The young men had already escaped and we knew that there was no KLA in the village".
She recalled that the police had gathered them in a field, and forced them to spend a night there. It rained all the time, and they did had nothing to cover with.
"We do not dare sleep, because they may come again. We are totally unprotected, they can do whatever they want with us", she adds.
The attacks had not ceased still. Burning houses could be seen in Mrasor, from a mountaintop nearby. In the meantime, an old man claimed that the villages of Zatriq, Gllarevë, and many other villages were already destroyed.
"Mrasor is still in flames. They attacked it on Saturday, and now nearly the whole village is burnt", claimed a boy from Mrasor. "They (the Serb policemen) looted everything worthy, and killed the livestock".
A cloud of smoke could be seen, rising from the village of Këpuz i Madh. A car stopped and a terrified woman got out of it. "Our child died, our child is dead", she screamed. "Our bride aborted the child in the seventh month, because she was traumatized from the shelling".
"She has five daughters, and that baby was a son", she cried, saying that the other bride Drita was also pregnant. The mother, Zize Berisha, was speechless.
"When the tanks came I escaped in the forests, and I left my wife and four children in the car", said Shukri Rudi. "They simply took the children and my wife out of the car, pushed it to a ditch, and burnt it afterwards" he claimed.
Another villager was also troubled. "My father Sokol Rexhepi (90) and my mother Ajshe (83), went missing after the Serb attack on Friday", he said.
"What is going to happen if they come with tanks again? Can we survive another strike?" asked one of the locals, his face frowning.
"It was raining that night", he said. "I don't believe we will survive another rain like this, and hey, don't write my name".

The list of the killed persons until September 7, 1998
Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms in Prishtina

         The list you can read at   kill7998.htm

More than 800 Albanians killed by Serb forces - KMDLNJ

      PRISHTINE, Sept 9 /ATA correspondent Behlul Jashari reports:
      More than 800 Albanians have been killed, executed or have died in tortures and massacres by Serb forces from January 14 up to date, according to the Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms (KMDLNJ) in Prishtine.
      According to data provided by this council, the killed include 88 children, 127 women, 181 aged and 54 unidentified.
      The other victims are 18 to 55 years old. The council also provides data for more than 600 Albanians missing, most of who are thought to have been killed, massacred and buried in mass graves. /das/lm/

Reinforcements of Serb military forces in Vushtri

      PRISHTINE, Sept 9 /ATA correspondent Behlul Jashari reports:
      New forces of Yugoslav army are being stationed in the suburbs of Vushtri.
      The Kosova Information Centre (KIC), referring to sources of the Democratic League of Kosova (DLK), reports that two personnel carriers as well as two tanks and three armoured vehicles have been deployed in a region near the villages of Pasome, Bajske and Sllatine.
      Various sources have recently reported on Serb forces movements and reinforcements also in the direction of the region of Llap, near Podujeve, and the region of Shale e Bajgores, in the suburbs of Mitrovice. /das/lm/

Some 700 Kosova people settle in Shkoder

      SHKODER, Sept 9 (ATA) - By M. Malja: The number of people from Kosova who have been settled in Shkoder district fleeing Serb brutal violence and terror is around 700.
      Esma Boksi, administration chief at the city municipality, said to ATA that they had taken all the measures to accommodate and supply food to people from Kosova.
      Some 300 of them have been settled in a center opened for them while the others have been accommodated at the Shkoder families, she said.
      The Albania Red Cross has distributed a considerable quantity of food, clothes and detergents as well as mattresses and blankets. Germany-based Dardania-Bank has also provided aid for Kosova people.
      Boksi said that an office was opened at the city town hall to receive other possible Kosova people. /das/ak/

08 September 1998

UN APPEALS FOR FUNDS TO AVERT CATASTROPHE IN KOSOVO THIS WINTER

(Also concerned by Serb detention of Kosovar Albanian men) (460)
By Wendy Lubetkin  USIA European Correspondent

Geneva -- The United Nations says action is needed now to avert a humanitarian catastrophe this winter in Kosovo and is appealing for $54.3 million to fund aid operations to help more than 400,000 persons affected by the conflict.
     "We have to act quickly since time is running out," said Sadako Ogata, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in a press release. "Humanitarian assistance alone will not be an answer to the Kosovo conflict, but it will alleviate human suffering until a political solution has been found."
     The U.N. estimates that nearly 270,000 have been displaced by the conflict which has left hundreds of people dead and more than 100 villages destroyed. Up to 50,000 people are camping out in the open, too fearful to go back to their homes.
     Separately, the UNHCR expressed concern September 8 over the roundup of some 450 people by Serbian authorities in the Panorac area and the continued detention in an unknown location of 40 to 50 draft-age men who were separated from that group.
     UNHCR spokesperson Kris Janowski said the action carries a "huge emotional load with it, because of what has happened in the Balkans before."
     He told a press briefing that "things like this raise the specter of other situations which were deadly in the end."
     Janowski said Serbian authorities have confirmed that they are holding the men. He said the Kosovar Albanians have apparently been charged, but the nature of their alleged crimes was not specified.
     UNHCR has raised its concerns over the detention directly with the Serbian authorities, warning that such actions will only increase mistrust and fear in the region and discourage the return process.
     Janowski said UNHCR visited villages in the Panorac area over the weekend, "and it wasn't a pretty picture.
     "In one village called Lapchevo, about 70 percent of the houses were destroyed, including the warehouse of the main local NGO [non-governmental organization], the Mother Teresa society," he said.
     Janowski also reported a separate security incident in which a UNHCR convoy heading to the village of Golubach with five tons of ready-to-eat meals was blocked at a rebel Albanian checkpoint.
     The rebel checkpoint said the convoy could not continue because of shelling, which could be heard around five or six kilometers away. But rebels at the checkpoint also made allegations that the UNHCR convoy leader and the driver were spies.
     "It was the first time that we were actually turned around by a rebel checkpoint," Janowski said.

08 September 1998

TRANSCRIPT:
SHATTUCK, DOLE PRESS CONFERENCE IN BELGRADE SEPT. 7

(On human rights fact-finding mission in Kosovo) (4380)

Belgrade -- Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck and former Senator Robert Dole, chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons, described the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo and urged "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" President Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw police and military forces from Kosovo and permit an impartial international investigation of allegations of human rights abuses.
     The two spoke at a press conference September 7 as part of their human rights fact-finding mission. They were investigating reports of atrocities and serious human rights violations in Kosovo at Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's request.
     Shattuck, who is assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labor, said he and Dole saw "massive destruction and horrendous human rights abuses on civilians of all types ... villages with no life in them except for packs of wild dogs, and tens of thousands of Kosovars, both Serb and Albanian, sleeping out-of-doors in forests with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing when they were forced to flee their homes when they were attacked or shelled."
     The need for the impartial investigation of alleged violations of international humanitarian law "is crystal clear from what Senator Dole and I have seen throughout the region as we toured it. And wherever those violations may occur and by whomever they may have been committed."
     Shattuck said they were "given assurances by President Milosevic" that the International Committee of the Red Cross will be given access to Kosovar Albanian men and boys reportedly being held by Serb authorities, and to other displaced persons.
     "Food and shelter are only the beginning of the basic needs of refugees. Most of all, internally displaced persons need confidence that they will not be shelled and that their families and possessions will be protected," Shattuck said. "As each day passes, we come closer to a humanitarian disaster. The government must address the problem comprehensively, so that people have a reason to return home without fear that they will be further attacked."
     Dole said he "was not prepared for the damage and destruction that I saw in our trip yesterday and the destruction of not only the buildings and communities but of the lives of the Albanians there, as well as of the Serbs."
     They met with Milosevic earlier that day and pressed for "a cease-fire and a withdrawal of police and military forces," Dole said. "Harassment and kidnappings and attacks on civilians must be halted -- by all the forces, whether it's the KLA [Kosovo Liberation Army], whether it's the [Serb] police, or whether it's the army. And we did send this message to President Milosevic this morning."
     The problem in Kosovo "is a political and military crisis, whose most visible symptoms are humanitarian. There should be no doubt that this is a war against civilians for political purposes," Dole said.
     Shattuck also stressed that "if Serbia and Montenegro are to be integrated into Europe and to return to conditions of normalcy, this issue must urgently be resolved. All options for resolving it are very much alive, and those points were made very clearly to President Milosevic."
     He added that "all options are open.... It is certainly not tolerable to have a humanitarian crisis unfold that is not terminated. But we hope, based on these discussions and the recognition by President Milosevic of the dimensions of this crisis, that it will be resolved, and obviously it is in everybody's interest to have it resolved, including the government here in Belgrade."

Following is a transcript of the press conference:

(Begin transcript)

PRESS CONFERENCE
BY JOHN SHATTUCK
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR
AND
SENATOR ROBERT DOLE
CHAIRMAN OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON MISSING PERSONS

Chief of Mission's Residence
Belgrade  September 7, 1998  1:30 p.m.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Good afternoon and thank you very much for patiently waiting. I am very pleased to be here with one of our most distinguished American citizens, Senator Robert Dole, who as all of you know is the former majority leader of the United States Senate and a former presidential candidate, and currently the Chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons. We have both completed a two-day visit to Kosovo, and a visit now to Belgrade, and we'd like to share with you our conclusions from this period of our presence here. I'm going to continue on in the region and will be available perhaps later.
     I'd like to take this opportunity, as I said, to thank Senator Dole for joining me on this mission, as well as the superb performance of our Charge, Dick Miles, and Embassy Belgrade staff, both here in Belgrade and in Pristina.
     Over the past three days we have conferred with representatives of the full range of persons who are working of the wrenching issue of Kosovo. We have spoken to everyone from religious leaders to politicians. Just moments ago we concluded a meeting with President Milosevic. I would like to take this opportunity to state that what we have seen here with our own eyes -- massive destruction and horrendous human rights abuses on civilians of all types, destroyed or damaged schools, hospitals that have been converted into police stations, villages with no life in them except for packs of wild dogs, and tens of thousands of Kosovars, both Serb and Albanian, sleeping out-of-doors in forests with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing when they were forced to flee their homes when they were attacked or shelled.
     In Belgrade today, we raised our findings with President Milosevic and Foreign Minister Jovanovic. We discussed the eye-witness accounts of security forces separating men and boys from their families in villages and groups of internally displaced persons. We noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross has not yet been granted access to persons being held by the military and police, and I will continue to press -- we have been given assurances by President Milosevic that they will be given access, the ICRC -- but I will continue to press until all numbers of individuals who have been arrested and their locations and charges against them are fully and transparent under international standards of due process of law, and those who were not charged released and allowed to return to their families. This is a very serious and urgent matter.
     We also specifically raised the question of mortar attacks on fleeing civilians, such as what occurred to hundreds of civilians last week in the village or above the village of Senik in a ravine in which civilians were fleeing from the village and were shelled by mortars as they sought to flee, and where scores were wounded and several terrible deaths occurred as a result of that shelling.
     We urged the deployment of independent forensic experts with international reputations who can come in and get to the bottom of some of the terrible sites of mass graves, the persons who were buried there and their identities are not known, and where victims of all types, Serb and Albanian, are at stake. We strongly urged the government to allow this expertise to get to Kosovo by issuing visas and providing access for the international teams of experts.
     The number of refugees, already large, is growing daily. Government authorities must come to terms with the humanitarian catastrophe that has been created here. Food and shelter are only the beginning of the basic needs of refugees. Most of all, internally displaced persons need confidence that they will not be shelled and that their families and possessions will be protected. As each day passes, we come closer to a humanitarian disaster. The government must address the problem comprehensively, so that people have a reason to return home without fear that they will be further attacked.
     The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has clear jurisdiction in all these matters under the resolution creating it of the UN Security Council, and under statements that have been made by those who were competent. Violators of international humanitarian law must be prosecuted and civilians must be protected. Non-governmental organizations need visas and access that has been denied. Kosovo is only a symptom of a larger problem in Serbia and Montenegro. Ultimately, the international community and the United States seek the integration of Serbia and Montenegro into the family of European nations. But to do this, citizens must be able to live free from fear and under democratic conditions. They must be able to make choices and build prosperity for themselves and their children. Coming to terms with the humanitarian and human rights devastation we have seen in Kosovo is an essential starting point on this road that lies ahead.

Thank you very much.  Senator Dole.

SENATOR DOLE: Thank you John. Let me say, copies of our statements will be available to the press. They are now in the process of being reproduced. Secondly, I am going to read my statement. If there is any direct question for me, if I could have the first direct question to me, because I need to catch an airplane by 2:45.
     Let me thank Secretary Shattuck and Ambassador Miles, the American Embassy staff, the USIS staff, and the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission for arranging what I thought was a very good effort. We have learned a great deal.
     I first visited Kosovo in 1990, and back then there were some voices saying that sooner or later war would come to Kosovo; and it has come, and it's been delayed only because of what happened in Croatia and Bosnia.
     I wish I could say, as I think the Secretary has indicated, that we had some good news from our three-day visit. I wish I could say that I found something encouraging. I cannot. We watched the situation in Kosovo on television, radio, read news reports, but I was not prepared for the damage and destruction that I saw in our trip yesterday and the destruction of not only the buildings and communities but of the lives of the Albanians there, as well as of the Serbs.
     As I said, we'd seen these images on American television, but this weekend we saw everything up close. We saw the women and children and the elderly living in fear, without adequate food or housing. Ironically, the ones we met yesterday were the lucky ones, because during the daytime they come down from the mountains and the forests, and then they go back at night. But there is still, according to some estimates, 80,000 to 120,000 -- according to President Milosevic, only about 16,000 -- but there is a great number of thousands who have fled their homes, who have been driven from their homes; and these hungry thousands, masses, we don't know how many for certain, are going to face winter and the freezing conditions that come with it. And I think this is a humanitarian catastrophe in the making.
     And again, we saw some assurances this morning from President Milosevic that this would not happen and, hopefully, he will do what he can to make certain that it does not happen. Because if it happens, if these images are transmitted around the world of people freezing because they've been driven from homes, their homes have been burned, they are fearful of the police and the army, they will not come back, I think the repercussions will be dramatic.
     We've also had some eye-witness testimony. We've asked President Milosevic, as Secretary Shattuck has said, to allow a team -- if not Physicians for Human Rights, then some other group of independent forensic scientists to come in -- of pathologists take a look at Klecka and other places where there have been indications of mass burials.
     We also believe that there should be more freedom of movement by what we call the NGOs, non-government organizations, and that humanitarian aid personnel not be subject to harassment or attacks. We had chance to meet with them for hours the other day. They are impressive. They are from all over the world. They don't have any biases. They are just trying to do what they are supposed to do. And so, hopefully, there will be more access, some more freedom for them.
     American and European leaders have pledged not to allow the crimes against humanity which we witnessed in Bosnia to occur in Kosovo. But, from what I have seen this weekend, they are already occurring. Yet the response has fallen far short.
     There is a humanitarian disaster here. But we must recognize, at least in my view, that the problem in Kosovo is not by definition a humanitarian one. This is a political and military crisis, whose most visible symptoms are humanitarian. There should be no doubt that this is a war against civilians for political purposes.
     And so I believe that the United States and our friends and allies who are legitimately concerned about the dire situation in Kosovo must press urgently -- and again we discussed this this morning very bluntly, very candidly with Milosevic -- for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of police and military forces. Harassment and kidnappings and attacks on civilians must be halted -- by all the forces, whether it's the KLA, whether it's the police, or whether it's the army. And we did send this message to President Milosevic this morning.
     If we can provide a cease-fire and a pull-out of Serbian police and Yugoslav Army forces, I think, people will lose some of the fear they have and return to their homes, return to their communities, and rebuild their lives with international assistance. Moreover, only under conditions where civilians are not under attack can Serb and Albanian political leaders engage in negotiations and achieve a permanent and lasting peace based on democratic institutions.
     Finally, I would just emphasize, based on what I know about the situation, that it must be our goal -- I think the goal of everybody who may be involved in this, plus the international goal -- that we have a permanent, a just, and a democratic solution. The Kosovars have been denied their civil liberties and human rights for more than a decade. A real and permanent peace is long overdue. I don't think half measures are going to work. The options are not easy. But we must not go for a band-aid diplomacy.
     So I just urge that we take a long-term view. We've already had, as I said, 10 years of this crisis. And I think to keep postponing the search for a genuine resolution is unwise and unjust -- and will only prolong the agony of Albanians and Serbs who deserve to live in a free and democratic society. So I just suggest, in conclusion, that I appreciate Secretary Shattuck's effort, Ambassador Miles' efforts, and all the others we met with. But in less than a month it's going to be a disaster unless something is done to encourage people to come back to their homes without fear of retribution by the police or by the army.
     We thank you very much for being here today.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Can we have the first question for Senator Dole, please.

Q: Have you threatened Mr. Milosevic with any new sanctions? You are not the first coming to Belgrade and to tell him all these things you told us now.

SENATOR DOLE: No, I think we just raised sanctions in passing. We talked about a number of things. We think we had a very frank and a very candid discussion. I think he would agree. We talked about some of our observations, some of the witnesses we talked to -- some were Serb, some were Albanian. We tried to give an even-handed report. He has different views on some of the issues, but my view is that we have to have a cease-fire and withdrawal of some of the forces if there are going to be people returning to their homes. I think President Milosevic indicated that people are coming back. He claimed 60,000. We didn't see anybody yesterday coming back to their homes. I guess we did some a few in -- what's the name of the town?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK:   A few.  In Orahovac.

SENATOR DOLE:  Orahovac.  That's about it.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I think, to add to that point, the points that we have made emphasize that if Serbia and Montenegro are to be integrated into Europe and to return to conditions of normalcy, this issue must urgently be resolved. All options for resolving it are very much alive, and those points were made very clearly to President Milosevic.

Q: Can you tell me how you guarantee that the KLA doesn't take advantage of any Serb withdrawal?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: This was a very even-handed fact-finding event. We met with victims of human rights abuses of all types, and certainly those who have family members who have been taken hostage or kidnapped, and we are calling for a reduction of the violence on all sides, but most urgently for a pull-back of the Serb security forces, the government security forces, so that people can be encouraged to return to their homes. That itself will go a long way toward developing a much better framework within which a negotiated solution over time to this issue can be achieved as the international community is working very actively. The efforts of the Ambassador Chris Hill, I think, are well known to you.

SENATOR DOLE: I think in addition, of course, that if there was some effort by the KLA, that could be responded to very quickly. My view is -- or I think this is Milosevic's view -- that they are a marginal force. I don't think it's rocket science to talk to people who say they will not go to their homes because they are afraid of the police or the army. I mean these are human beings. They've lost their property, they've lost their homes, some have lost members of their family. They're frightened, just as we would be frightened, whether they are Albanians or Serbs, whoever may have committed the atrocities. I hope we get some resolution. If it doesn't happen, I'm not sure what the consequences would be.
     John, I'm going to leave.  Thank you very much.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Thanks very much. I'll take further questions.

Q:  How responsive was Milosevic?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: We are going to follow very closely to make sure that his commitment to allow the ICRC to get access to those who have been detained, is followed through on. I think that there was some responsiveness there. We are going to also follow very closely the interest that he showed in considering international forensic experts to come in and conduct investigations in places where there have been major human rights abuses. I can't say that that issue has been resolved, but that there was responsiveness on that point, and we are going to press very hard to make sure that access is provided, so that the victims of human rights abuse can have evidence gathered, particularly those who have lost loved ones, but also where there have been major violations of international humanitarian law those who are responsible can be identified and prosecuted.

Q: Do you find that crimes committed in Kosovo are war crimes, and did you find enough evidence for raising new indictments?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: One of the main themes of our mission has been to look at the evidence without reaching any immediate conclusions whether international humanitarian law has been violated, and I think we have concluded that it almost certainly has, that there is substantial evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law, that these are subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, which by its charter has a mandate to investigate and prosecute cases throughout the former Yugoslavia, including in Kosovo. Statements have been made by the Chief Prosecutor, Judge Arbour, that indicate that the Tribunal is actively pursuing these issues. The United States is sharing all information that it may have about these subjects with the Criminal Tribunal; we are providing assistance and support to the Tribunal to be able to conduct its investigations. We think this is a very crucial element to being able to re-establish, or to establish, basic humanitarian law in this region.

Q:  Did Mr. Milosevic comment on that?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I pointed out to him that we have not seen adequate cooperation on any front with the International Criminal Tribunal by his government, and he does not at this point give us any additional assurances that he will provide specific forms of cooperation. However, I want to stress that the issue of international forensic experts is one that is being actively pursued and discussed, and we expect qualified, internationally recognized individuals who are forensic experts to be able to come in and conduct investigations. And that is something that is clearly of great interest to his government, given allegations that have been made about atrocities and grave sites in such places as Klecka.

Q: Have you acquired any information on missing persons, especially the case of missing reporter of Radio Pristina, Djuro Slavuj?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: We have consulted very closely with those who are most actively working on the cases of missing persons. We are not at this point able to announce any specific new information. But this is a subject that the United States -- and I was joined on this mission by the European Commission, as well as Senator Dole -- the United States is going to be pursuing very actively with such organizations as the International Committee for the Red Cross. We have also raised these issues with all those with whom we have spoken on all sides.

Q: Since you've been there and seen, as you said, with your own eyes, who would you think is responsible for the KLA actions?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Responsible for the KLA actions? We are not investigators, and that is precisely why in the cases of human rights abuses that may have been committed by anyone, on whatever side, we are calling for international investigations.

Q:  (Inaudible)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Well, certainly there are abuses that are coming from many different quarters, including KLA quarters. There is no question about it. But we are not here to announce conclusions, but only to announce -- and most urgently to announce -- the need for impartial international investigation -- and for the treatment of persons who are arrested under international law with due process of law and to provide access to those persons by the International Committee for the Red Cross, which is the main subject of our discussion with President Milosevic.

Q: In your opinion and in the opinion of the United States -- what is KLA?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: What is KLA? I don't think I have any comment on that question one way or the other. I am not here to make statements about any organization, alleged or real organization, and how it may be organized.
     But certainly what we have said, and let me be very clear about this, we have said -- I think this is an important point that needs to be made over and over again -- the need for the impartial investigation of violations of international humanitarian law by anyone is crystal clear from what Senator Dole and I have seen throughout the region as we toured it. And wherever those violations may occur and by whomever they may have been committed.

Q: Give us an impression of how you found President Milosevic. Is he worried by the threats, the sanctions, the pressure you've been putting on him?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I think he understands that he has a very serious problem on his hands in Kosovo. He has got a humanitarian problem, and I believe we have impressed upon him that he has the human rights problem. He certainly disagrees with some estimates about the dimension of that problem. But if this crisis of tens, or maybe even hundreds of thousands of persons, who are without food, shelter and are unable to return to their homes because of the fear they have, if this crisis is not resolved, I think he understands this is going to reflect directly and immediately on him and his government.

Q: What if the situation doesn't change in the positive meaning? What then?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I said, and I will not say more than this now, that all options are open, and I will repeat what Secretary Albright and others have said in that regard. It is certainly not tolerable to have a humanitarian crisis unfold that is not terminated. But we hope, based on these discussions and the recognition by President Milosevic of the dimensions of this crisis, that it will be resolved, and obviously it is in everybody's interest to have it resolved, including the government here in Belgrade.

Q: Any comment on the government's refusal to grant a visa to David Scheffer?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Well, I think this is one more example of the so far unwillingness -- we hope it has changed today -- of the government here to understand how valuable it is to have international investigative individuals or groups come and go and look at all the violations that are alleged and may have occurred. And that was certainly what Mr. Scheffer could have done, I think it is what Senator Dole and I have done extensively, and we hope that the willingness to entertain access to the region by the international forensic experts, which is something that we discussed extensively with President Milosevic, will indicate that that attitude is changing, and it is very important that it do change. I think that's it. Thank you very much.

Q:  What are your plans for the coming days?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I will be traveling to Podgorica tonight and returning to Belgrade and then traveling on to the Hague. Thank you very much.

(End transcript)

PRESS RELEASE
September 09, 1998                               Contact: Aferdita Rakipi   202-429-2035

HURTING AND OFFENDING VICTIMS IN KOSOVA

Washington, DC –An agreement was reached earlier this week on September 5th , between the US Assistant Secretary of State, Julia Taft, and the Belgrade Serb authorities supposedly to assist the Albanian displaced persons in Kosova, victims of Serbian aggression since February 28, 1998.  Next day, a US Aid official confirmed that the United States would allocate $21.5 million to meet the emergency need of the Albanian internal displaced persons.
     The "Agreement" contains several unacceptable provisions.  It is "unrealistic" wrote the New York Times of Sept 07, 1998 in its Editorial, and it could " …come at a cost of making the United States Mr. Milosevic’s partner and thus blocking long term solutions."
     The "plan" agreed upon would create eleven centers where refugees would receive their food under "the protection of Serbian police", which are responsible for the population’s displacement in the first place.  These centers are the equivalent of Bosnia’s "safe Havens’ whose fate shook the consciences of the civilized world.  By luring the hungry and  the homeless to these centers, Serbian Police  would be able to separate women and children- seen as refugees-, from young people and adults only three days ago, in Ponorac, 450 Albanians were separated from their families and carried away in Police trucks.
     There are several humanitarian organizations presently operating successfully in Kosova: "Mother Teresa", Mercy Corps International, Merhamet etc. assisting the needy and the homeless, in spite of Serbian obstacles to prevent their activities.  These are the best channels for the aid.  We are appalled at the U.S. Government’s decision to put the daily bread of the Albanian victims in Kosova in the hands of the criminal Serbian Police directed by Milosevic.  It will be used to starve Albanians, as well as a strong card in Serbian dealings with ethnic Albanians.
     "If the United States Government has failed to convince Milosevic to stop the killing and destruction of Kosova through diplomacy," said Dr. Sami Repishti President of the National Albanian American Council (NAAC), " then, it should not add insult to injury by "helping" the Albanian victims through the hands of the criminal.  The US Government should use the only language dictators understand, and that is sufficient force to convince the criminal that crime does not pay.  Dealing with Milosevic it means treating him as a reliable partner, and that is wrong, immoral and dangerous."

	Wolfgang Plarre		Homepage  Inhaltsverzeichnis - Contents  Seite erstellt am 9.9.1998   Mail   senden
	Dillinger Straße 41... 86637 Wertingen...
	Telefon       08272 - 98974.... Fax            08272 - 98975....
	E-mail wplarre@dillingen.baynet.de