Tagesnachrichten 17. September 1998
     von dpa, from ALBANEWS and others
     News of the day - September 17, 1998
     Kosova Information Center : Daily Report No 1555

         Die Bibel sagt  -  The Bible says
 

If available you find on this page  -  Soweit verfügbar finden Sie auf dieser Seite     1. Meldungen von dpa    2. Remarks - Hints - Special informations    3. Reports about deportation and persons repatriated to Kosova  in deutsch und englisch     4. Daily Report from KIC  (Kosova Information Center)    5. news from ARTA  (Koha ditore)    6. news from RFE/RL NEWSLINE    7. news from Fr. Sava  (Decani Monastery)    8. Reports from Human Rights Organisations        especially CDHRF  (Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms, Prishtina)    9. news from ATA /ENTER  and so on  10. 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. Meldungen von dpa

Meldung vom 17.09.1998 15:21  http://seite1.web.de/show/36010CE7.NL1/

Weiter Kämpfe im Nordosten Kosovos - US-Friedensplan veröffentlicht
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Serbische Sicherheitskräfte haben am Donnerstag ihre Angriffe auf Stellungen der albanischen Untergrundarmee UCK im Nordosten des Kosovo fortgesetzt. Nach besonders heftigen Kämpfen konnte die Polizei unterstützt von Panzern mehrere Dörfer im Gebiet Bajgorska Salja erobern.
     Die USA setzten unterdessen ihre Vermittlungsbemühungen zwischen Belgrad und Kosovo-Albanern fort. In der Provinzhauptstadt Pristina wurde auch ein bisher geheimgehaltener US-Friedensplan für die Krisenprovinz veröffentlicht.
     Bajgorska Salja sei einer der letzten verbliebenen UCK-Stützpunkte, berichtete die Nachrichtenagentur Beta in Belgrad. In den andauernden Artillerieangriffen wurden nach albanischen Angaben mindestens 13 Albaner verletzt. Das halboffizielle serbische Media-Zentrum in Pristina teilte mit, vier Polizisten seien verletzt worden. Das albanische Kosovo-Informationszentrum berichtete von großen Zerstörungen durch serbische Artillerieangriffe und neuen Flüchtlingskolonnen.
     In Pristina veröffentlichte eine albanischsprachige Zeitung den bisher geheimgehaltenen US-Plan einer friedlichen Lösung der Kosovo-Krise. Demnach solle die Provinz wieder ein Parlament, einen «Vertreter» genannten Vorsitzenden der Provinz, eigene Gerichte und Polizei erhalten, schrieb die Zeitung «Koha ditore» nach Angaben von Beta. Das Kosovo soll zehn Abgeordnete in das gesamtjugoslawische Parlament und Vertreter in die serbischen Regierung entsenden.
     Die Kosovo-Polizei soll auf Bezirksebene organisiert und für die öffentliche Ordnung und den Schutz der Menschenrechte verantwortlich sein. Albaner sollen auch in die jugoslawische Bundespolizei und die serbische Polizei eingebudnen werden, die für die Grenzsicherung zuständig sind. Als Maßnahme zur Wiederherstellung des Vertrauens sollen die serbischen Armee- und Polizeieinheiten ausschließlich in ihren Kasernen stationiert sein.
     Der US-Plan sieht auch entsprechenden Änderungen der bestehenden serbischen Gesetze vor. Nach einer nicht näher bestimmten Zeit sollen unter internationaler Kontrolle Wahlen für die Provinzorgane und eine genaue Volkszählung durchgeführt werden. Drei Jahre nach Inkrafttreten des Abkommens sollen die Vertragsparteien seine Umsetzung analysieren und entsprechende Änderungen vereinbaren.
     Der US-Unterhändler Christopher Hill, Botschafter in Mazedonien, traf sich am Donnerstag mit dem politischen Führer der Kosovo-Albaner, Ibrahim Rugova, meldete der Sender B 92. (Belgrad). Hill versucht seit Wochen die Albaner und Serben zur Aufnahme von Verhandlungen zu bewegen.
     Die serbische Führung in Belgrad wiederholte am Donnerstag ihr Angebot, dem Kosovo die «Selbstverwaltung» zu gewähren. Diese soll auf der vollkommenen Gleichberechtigung aller dort lebenden Volksgruppen ruhen, sagte Ivica Dacic, Sprecher der regierenden Sozialisten. Er rief die Albaner zum Dialog auf.
     Serbien hatte 1990 die langjährige weitgehende Autonomie der zu 90 Prozent von Albanern bewohnten Provinz gewaltsam aufgehoben. Alle Albanerparteien setzen sich für die Unabhängigkeit Kosovos ein.
© dpa

Meldung vom 17.09.1998 13:46 http://seite1.web.de/show/3600F6AD.NL1/

Amerikanischer Kosovo-Unterhändler Hill in Pristina
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Die USA setzen ihre Vermittlungsbemühungen zwischen Belgrad und den Kosovo-Albanern fort. US-Unterhändler Christopher Hill, Botschafter in Mazedonien, traf sich am Donnerstag mit dem politischen Führer der Kosovo-Albaner, Ibrahim Rugova.
     Dies meldete der in Belgrad ansässige sender B 92 aus der Kosovo-Hauptstadt Pristina. Einzelheiten des Gesprächs nannte der Sender zunächst nicht.
© dpa

Weitere Kämpfe im Nordosten Kosovos
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Die Kämpfe im Nordosten der serbischen Provinz Kosovo dauerten auch am Donnerstag an. Besonders heftige Schießereien lieferten sich serbische Sicherheitskräfte und die albanische Untergrundarmee UCK in Dörfern nordöstlich von Kosovska Mitrovica.
     Das albanische Kosovo-Informationszentrum berichtete am Donnerstag von großen Zerstörungen, verursacht durch serbische Artillerieangriffe und neuen Flüchtlingskolonnen.
     Am Mittwoch abend waren in der bisher von Kämpfen verschonten Region zwei Polizisten schwer und zwei andere leicht verletzt worden, teilte das halboffizielle serbische Media-Zentrum aus der Kosovo-Provinzhauptstadt Pristina mit.
© dpa

Kinkel zur UNO-Vollversammlung - Zahlreiche Gespräche am Rande
Bonn (dpa) - Der deutsche Außenminister Klaus Kinkel will sich während der 53. UNO-Generalversammlung in New York für die Schaffung von «Frühwarnsystemen» zur Verhütung globaler Krisen einsetzen. Im Mittelpunkt seiner Gespräche am Rande der Vollversammlug stehen nach Angaben deutscher Diplomaten vom Donnerstag unter anderem der Kosovo-Konflikt und die Finanzkrise in Rußland.
     Kinkwl wird in New York an den Beratungen der Sechs-Mächte-Kontaktgruppe (USA, Rußland, Großbritannien, Frankreich, Deutschland, Italien) und der EU-Führungstroika teilnehmen. Die Kontaktgruppe will auf Vorschlag Frankreichs erneut über die Lage im Kosovo und den Entwurf einer möglichen Kosovo-Resolution des UNO-Sicherheitsrates beraten.
     In der EU-Troika sitzen Österreich, das gegenwärtig die EU-Präsidentschaft ausübt, sowie Deutschland und Großbritannien als Nachfolger beziehungsweise Vorgänger im EU-Ratsvorsitz.
     Die Minister der EU-Troika haben unter anderem Gespräche mit dem chinesischen Außenminister Qian Qichen sowie Kollegen aus mehreren Staatengruppen der Dritten Welt auf dem Programm. Darüber hinaus werden alle 15 EU-Außenminister mit ihrem neuen russischen Kollegen Igor Iwanow und ihrer US-Kollegin Madeleine Albright zusammentreffen.
© dpa

Sieben Tote bei Kämpfen im Kosovo - London hält JAT-Landeverbot ein
     Belgrad/Pristina/London/ (dpa) - Bei einer neuen serbischen Offensive im bisher von Kämpfen verschont gebliebenen Nordosten des Kosovo sind am Dienstag abend sechs Angehörige der albanischen Untergrundarmee UCK und ein serbischer Polizist getötet worden.
     Vier Polizisten wurden verletzt, teilte das halboffizielle serbische Media-Zentrum aus der Kosovo- Provinzhauptstadt Pristina am Mittwoch mit. Albanische Quellen hatten zuvor von einem großangelegten serbischen Vorstoß in der Region berichtet.
     Großbritannien hat sich am Mittwoch dem von der EU beschlossenen Landeverbot für die jugoslawische Fluggesellschaft JAT mit sofortiger Wirkung angeschlossen.
     Außenminister Robin Cook erklärte dazu in London, der jugoslawische Präsident Slobodan Milosevic habe sein vertragliches Recht auf Einhaltung von Klauseln «politisch und moralisch verwirkt».
     London hatte unter Berufung auf Klauseln in einem Luftfahrtabkommen die Umsetzung des seit acht Tagen EU-weit bindenden EU-Beschlusses zunächst verweigert.
     Mit dem Landeverbot soll Milosevic zum Einlenken im Kosovo-Konflikt gezwungen werden. Ob nun auch Griechenland seinen Widerstand gegen den EU-Beschluß aufgibt, blieb abzuwarten.
     Weil sich nicht alle EU-Mitgliedstaaten an das JAT-Landeverbot halten wollten, hat die Schweiz am Mittwoch beschlossen, sich der Strafmaßnahme nicht anzuschließen. Zunächst hatte die Regierung in Bern am 1. Juli erklärt, sie wolle die EU-Maßnahme mittragen. Die JAT fliegt täglich einmal von Belgrad nach Zürich.
     Angesichts der Krisen im Kosovo und im benachbarten Albanien berieten die Europäische Kommission in Straßburg und der NATO-Rat in Brüssel am Mittwoch über die zugespitzte Lage.
     Die EU-Kommission warnte auf ihrem Treffen am Sitz des Europaparlaments vor einer humanitären Katastrophe im Kosovo angesichts des nahenden Winters und kündigte verstärkte Hilfsleistungen für die südserbische Krisenprovinz an.
     In den Wäldern des Kosovo leben nach UN-Angaben schätzungsweise 50 000 Menschen unter freiem Himmel. Diese Zahl nannte die Chefin des Büros des UNO-Flüchtlingshilfswerks UNHCR in Belgrad, Margaret O'Keeffe, am Mittwoch. Sie warf zugleich der albanischen Untergrundarmee UCK vor, sehr oft die Zivilisten als Schild zu benutzen.
     Deswegen gebe es in den serbisch-albanischen Kämpfen auch so viele Verluste unter Zivilisten. Fast 60 Prozent der Flüchtlinge seien Kinder, hatte der UNO-Beauftragte für Kinder in bewaffneten Konflikten, Olara Otunnu, am Dienstag in Genf berichtet. Es fehlten Decken, sauberes Trinkwasser und Lebensmittel.
     Der deutsche Verteidigungsminister Volker Rühe schloß in einem Fernseh-Interview am Dienstag abend eine Militärintervention der NATO im Kosovo «in den nächsten drei bis fünf Wochen» nicht aus. Man könne nicht mehr von einer «inneren Angelegenheit» Jugoslawiens sprechen, wenn Zehntausende von ethnischen Albanern in die Nachbarländer flüchteten und diese destabilisierten.
© dpa

........

   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.

Still there is no Stop of deportations ! - Immer noch kein Abschiebe-Stop !

Meldung vom 11.09.1998 19:07  http://seite1.web.de/show/35F958DA.NL1/

Flüchtlingsbeauftragter: Rückführung auf dem Landweg

Frankfurt am Main - Der Flüchtlingsbeauftragte der deutschen Regierung, Dietmar Schlee, hat darauf hingewiesen, daß nach dem JAT-Embargo eine Abschiebung der Kosovo-Flüchtlinge auch auf dem Landweg möglich sei.
Dabei vertraue die Regierung auf die Solidarität von Staaten wie Österreich und Ungarn, sagte Schlee im Hessischen Rundfunk.
Auch die noch bestehenden Flugverbindungen über London oder Athen seien nutzbar. Schlee bedauerte, daß sich Griechenland und Großbritannien nicht am EU-weiten Landeverbot beteiligten.
Aber wenn diese Länder meinten, rechtlich nicht anders zu können, «dann muß es doch eine Möglichkeit geben, über diese Flughäfen abzuschieben.
© dpa

......... 

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Do you know cases of deportations to Kosova ? - Please send me your report !

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Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1555-B
Prishtina, 17 September 1998
Second Edition: 18:00

Serb Forces Close in on Shalë e Bajgorës Region, North-West Kosova

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - After a three-day offensive, Serb forces were closing in on Shalë e Bajgorës, in the triangle between Mitrovica, Podujeva and Vushtrri, on Thursday from both the Llapi region's direction and Mitrovica.
LDK sources in Mitrovica said the villages of Kutllovc, Mazhiq, Tërstenë, Bare, Bajgorë, Kovaçicë, Kaçanoll, Magjerë, Stari Tërg, etc, were all in flames, smoke billowing from them. Zabërxhë and Vidishiq villages of Shalë were reported burned to the ground early in the morning Tuesday. An unspecified number of casualties has been reported. Some 50,000 Albanians of the three municipalities have been turned into refugees virtually overnight, with most of them seeking refuge in the nearest towns or in capital Prishtina itself.
On Thursday, Serb forces embarked on a retaliatory expedition in the villages straddling the Podujeva - Kërpimeh roadway.

Dobratin Village Torched by Serb Troops Thursday

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - The LDK chapter in Podujeva said looting of houses preceded the actual setting ablaze of Albanian houses in the village of Dobratin, 7-8 km north of Podujeva in the foot of the mountainous Bajgorë region from the north. "All the village is burning", a local activist told the KIC at 17:00 hrs today, adding that the fire and smoke could be seen in the village of Kaçanoll, too.
Two days, heavy Serb military and police troops were stationed in Dobratin village. Serb forces have now torched it.
The village population, virtually 100 percent Albanian, deserted their homes on Tuesday. Lorryloads of commodities and appliances were seen being taken away by Serb troops in the run-up to the actual torching of the houses.

Police Issues Ultimatums to Podujeva Villages
'Hand in weapons within 24 hours'

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - The chairman of the LDK sub-branch in Kërpimeh village, Ramadan Hoxha, was taken to local Serb police station for questioning today, LDK sources in Podujeva said.
The Serb police ordered Mr. Hoxha to secure that the residents of seven villages which make his constituency - Kërpimeh, Pakashticë, Dobërdol, Revuçë, Zakutë, Metohi and Repë - hand in the weapons they possess within 24 hours or risk reprisals.
Ramadan Hoxha was ordred to report back to the Serb police with local LDK party chiefs in all the seven villages in connection with the 24-hour-long ultimatum.

Police Raids Three Albanian Family Compounds in Bajçinë Village

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - Serbian police today (Thursday) raided three Albanian family compounds, allegedly in connection with arms searching, in the village of Bajçinë, municipality of Podujeva.
Most of the residents have already deserted their homes. Two days ago heavy Serb troops, backed up by tanks, were deployed in the village suburbs. They have been shelling Shalë e Bajgorës region from that position.
The Lepaja, Çitaku and Muçolli family compounds have been reported raided by Serb forces today. No other details have ben made available from the area which is sealed off by Serbs.

Serb Forces Impose Virtual Siege in Podujeva
Dobratin and Kaçanoll villages in flames

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - LDK sources in Podujeva said two convoys of heavily armed Serb military and police forces headed in the direction of the village of Kërpimeh, ten km north of Podujeva, in early in the morning today (Thursday).
Quoting residents of the villages which have been shelled by Serb troops in the past couple of days in the Shalë e Bajgorës region (an area in the triangle between Mitrovica, Vushtrri and Podujeva), the LDK chapter in Podujeva said looting of houses preceded the actual setting ablaze of Albanian houses in the village of Dobratin, 7-8 km north of Podujeva in the foot of the mountainous Bajgorë region from the north.
The first families from Kaçanoll, the village of Shalës e Bajgorës, have arrived in the town of Podujeva.
Reports said the Serb military and paramilitary units have reached a point called 'Picel', where heavy fighting is said to be going on between them and the local Albanian resistance forces, the UÇK. There have been no confirmed reports on casualties as yet.
The situation in the town of Podujeva is highly tense, with displaced people arriving by the hour in the town, or else proceeding towards Prishtina.
The Albanian doctor, Dr. Fadil Dabinovci, working with the local medical center in Podujeva, was held for several hours in police custody yesterday. He was arrested in his workplace. He was taken for further questioning twice today, local sources said.

Apprehension over Missing Albanians in Podujeva

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - As the Serb offensive against Albanian villages in the northern Llapi region of Kosova continues, people are reported missing and feared to have been slain by Serb forces.
The LDK chapter in Podujeva said Thursday afternoon three Albanians from Llapi, Muhamet Fazliu (36) from Llausha, and to others from Dobratin village, Ejup Sejdiu (36) and Rrahim Ramadani (16), have been missing since Tuesday. The three men were seen last when heading for their villages of origin in order to evacuate their families in the face of an imminent Serb crackdown. Their family members fear that the three men could have been captured and/or slain by Serb forces.
The LDK chapter said other persons from the villages west of Podujeva have also gone missing.

Police Arrests and Ill-treats Albanians in Mitrovica Area

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - At a police checkpoint at Shupkovc village of Mitrovica , Serb forces have been routinely ill-treating and arresting Albanians.
Ali Sadri Beqiri (72), Xhafer Veseli Veseli (48) from Koshtova e Vllahisë village, as well as Aziz Emin Sherifi (68) and his wife Afije (54) from Ceraja were reported arrested there. In addition, Selman Miran Tahiri (25), Fazli Miran Tahiri (30), Arsim Fazli Tahiri (22), and Syle Selman Tahiri (f, 25), residents of Stari Tërg, have been taken off a bus and arrested by Serb police, LDK sources said. Basri Ibrahimi, a local human rights activist from Shupkoci, Beqir Tupella, from Kçiçi i Vogël, and Bajram Ibrahimin have been arrested, too.
A number of Albanians were arrested in the police-checkpoint yesterday, taken to the Serb police in Mitrovica, where beaten up. The police has been ill-treating Albanians and preventing them from actually proceeding to Mitrovica. Two Albanians, Miftar Gashi (36), Qabiq village of Klina, a refugee in a Mitrovica village, and Naim Jahir Kurti (17), from Vllahi village, were arrested near the main gas station in Mitrovica yesterday.

Kosova Information Center
Last page!

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1555-A
Prishtina, 17 September 1998
First Edition: 13:30 hrs

Serb Forces Burn Two Villages Completely, at Least 13 Wounded in Attacked Villages
Shelling of Bare village of Shalë e Bajgorës, northwest of Prishtina, started at 6 a.m. today (Thursday)

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - Local LDK and CDHRF (Council for Human Rights) sources in Mitrovica reported Serb tanks and infantry units had advanced into a number of villages of the Shalë e Bajgorës region in the triangle between Mitrovica, Podujeva and Vushtrri ('Vucitrn').
Two villages, Zabërxhë and Vidishiq, with 35 and 78 houses, respectively, have been burnt to the ground by Serb forces, as well as the Voca family compound at Maxherë village with 13 houses in all. Local schoolhouses in Zabërxhë and Vidishiq have been burnt to the ground, too.
80 houses have been burnt or levelled to the ground in Melenicë village, which had 100 houses in all.
Serb forces have been stationed in the villages of Zabërxhë and Mazhiq.
There have been reports of killed and wounded. At least 13 Albanians are known to have been wounded.
Eye-witnesses said Serb police had set afire the house of Hamit Preteni (36) in Melenicë while he and his mother, Shefkije Preteni (68), were inside the house.
At six o'clock in the morning today (Thursday), Serb forces started shelling the village of Bare in Shalë e Bajgorës region, local sources in Mitrovica said.

Tensions Run High in Podujeva Area, Many Missing and Feared Dead

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - The situation in the Podujeva municipality has been reported grave and dangerous today (Thursday), in the wake of two days of shelling of Albanian villages of Shalë e Bajgorës from Serb positions between the villages of Bajçinë, Bradash and Dobratin. There was no shelling from these positions overnight and today (Tuesday) morning, reports said.
Sources in the area told the KIC today morning that after having pounded for many hours the Kaçanoll village, the Serb troops advanced into it, and embarked on a campaign of terror and brutality against the local population. Part of the population managed to flee the villages before the Serb encroachment, but many are believed holed up in their homes.
LDK activists in Podujeva said Serb massacres in the village are feared.
Reports said in another village, Dobratin, the Albanians who were being held as hostage in the local schoolhouse were released yesterday afternoon. Serb troops backed up by heavy armament were garrisoned there instead.
Witnesses told the LDK chapter in Podujeva that the Serbs had burned several farmhouses in Dobratin.
The population fled the village during the past two days, but some of them who could not make it out are believed to be trapped in their homes. Local sources named some of those who could not leave the village, including Xhemajl Rexhepi and his wife, Maksut Rekaliu along with his brother, as well Xhafer Ajvazi.
Serbs have been raiding Albanian houses, looting commodities and taking them away in trucks, witnesses said.
The town of Podujeva itself has been packed with Serb forces who have been halting and checking identities of every one in the streets and entrances to the town.
A Serb police helicopter flew overhead the town of Podujeva and the surrounding villages overnight.

Eight Vushtrri Villages Deserted in Wake of Recent Serb Attack
90% of the Shalë region's displaced population has sought refuge in Vushtrri area

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) - Reports from Vushtrri said the population of the villages of Pasomë, Bajskë, Smrekonicë, Sllatinë, Tërllabuq, Karaçë, Studime e Epërme and Ceceli have deserted their homes in the wake of the Serbian attacks against the Shalë e Bajgorës region. Part of the population of Samadrexhë has also fled their homes.
A local LDK activist in Vushtrri ('Vucitrn') told the KIC ninety percent of the Shalë region's displace population has sought refuge in Vushtrri area.

Gunfire Reported in Village North of Prishtina Wednesday Evening

PRISHTINA, Sept 17 (KIC) -  On Thursday evening, from 19 through 22:00, gunfire was reported in the village of Lebanë, 8 km north of Prishtina, which straddles the Prishtina-Podujeva roadway. It is not known what the nature of the shooting was, nor who was behind it.
Part of the village population left their homes temporarily.
In the evening hours Thursday Serb police turned back people travelling the Prishtina-Podujeva road.

Kosova Information Center
Last page!

KOSOVA (shelling - Shalë e Bajgorës)
Many killed and wounded

Mitrovicë, 16 September (ARTA) 1530CET --
The Serb military\police onslaught is still taking place in the villages of Shalë e Bajgorës. These forces are using all their weaponry. The following villages of Mazhiq, Rashan, Melenicë, Tërsten, Zjaçë, Kutlloc, Bare, Bajgorë, Kaçandoll, Vidishiq and Rahovë, continued to be shelled last night also.
There are reports that the Serb military infantry, yesterday made three attempts to enter the village of Mazhiq, situated near the military base in the village of Kutlloc, but it ran into the KLA resistance.
The smoke and fire, going up from the burning houses, could be seen from as far as from Mitrovicë. "KOHA Ditore" sources confirm victims from both sides, as the police entirely blocked the Hospital of Mitrovicë, yesterday.
On the other hand, it is confirmed that three Albanians, a father, a son and a visitor from Selac, were killed in Stantërg in their family house yard. The Serb police arrested the other two sons of the same family. After they were sent to the police station, where they were brutally beaten, they were released and allowed to go and bury their father and brother.
At the place called Shkëmbi i Dudës, the Serb police and army arrested four young Albanians, including minor from the village Boletin. They were held at the police station for four hours, during which time they were subjected to ruthless beating.
Reportedly, the shelling of the villages of Shalë e Bajgorës, is being conducted from five main military bases, positioned in Zheronicë, Kutlloc, from the Orthodox Monastery in the village of Boletin, from Stantërg and from the hill of the village of Banjskë, municipality of Vushtrri.
There are claims that, several villages of Shalë e Bajgorës, particularly the villages of Sumë and Tërllabuq were shelled this morning. In addition, the neighborhood of Dautaj, was completely burned down.

KOSOVA (onslaught - Shalë e Bajgorës)
The villages of Shalë e Bajgorës attacked from Dobratin

Prishtina, 16 September (ARTA) 1700CET --
Serb forces stationed in the village of Dobratin, municipality of Podujevë, continued to shell the villages of Shalë e Bajgorës, Albanian sources inform.
Reports from Podujevë state that there are many Albanian families that remained in the village of Dobratin, not being able to flee.
According to the same sources, Serb military reinforcements settled in town and the surrounding region, are conducting harsh controls on the civilians. Reportedly, these forces are posted in the center of the town, near the post office building, by the brick factory, near the construction material factory, at the exit of the road to Dumnicë, as well as at the exit of the road to Shajkoc.
CDHRF reports that a convoy of Serb forces, composed of about 40 vehicles came from the direction of Serbia, heading to Prishtina. The same source notifies about increased movements of cars and buses in the direction of Prishtina.

KOSOVA (threat - Sverkë e Gashit)
Second ultimatum to the residents of the village of Sverkë e Gashit

Prishtina, 16 September (ARTA) 1720CET --
Albanian residents of the besieged village of Sverkë e Gashit, municipality of Klinë, claim that they have been given the second ultimatum, within five days, to hand over the weapons.
LDK sources notify that one part of the Albanian families have fled, as the other part who remain besieged by the Serb forces in the village, are seriously threatened by the same forces, which have so far burned a large number of houses, including the village's school building.
The neighboring villages of Çupevë and Volljakë are also blocked, Albanian sources claim. In the meantime, the Serb forces burned for the second time the village of Dush, leveling to the ground the few houses that were not completely destroyed.
The dislocated residents of these villages are in a very bad condition, and have urgent needs for assistance in food and medicine.

KOSOVA (CDHRF report - Suharekë)
CDHRF: Balance - 60 killed, 2 missing and 14 arrested

Suharekë, 16 September (ARTA) 1730CET --
On a CDHRF report, from Suharekë, published today it is stated that the balance of the Serb offensive is the following: 60 killed Albanians, 2 missing and 14 arrested. Among the 60 killed, 8 were children and 8 others were unidentified.
Reportedly, another large number of Albanians were arrested during this time. Some of them were even sentenced a detention. They are accused with crime acts such as terrorism and similar.
According to the CDHRF branch in Suharekë, two Albanians are missing while the number of the maltreated reaches 23.

KOSOVA (IDPs – Prizren)
About 4 thousand residents of the villages of Prizren homeless

Prizren, 16 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
The situation of the dislocated from the war afflicted areas sheltered in Prizren is still very bad, with tendencies of further escalation. The most threatened people are the dislocated from the villages of Lez, Lybeqevë, Leskovë and Jeshkovë, which are almost completely destroyed by the shelling and the Serb infantry actions.
About 4 thousand residents of these villages are homeless.
There are reports that the ICRC, the UNHCR, "Medecins Sans Frontieres" and other international health and humanitarian associations will soon open their representations in Prizren, to soften for as much as possible, the precarious situation of the civilians who are left homeless as a result of the war.
The Municipal Council for Emergency Assistance and "Mother Theresa" in collaboration the CDHRF branch and the local political parties, are making great efforts to distribute food and medicine.
Due to the great and urgent needs, the assistance that arrived from Prishtina, is running out. "Mother Theresa" health stations are also running off medicine, consequently many patients are not receiving adequate treatment.

KOSOVA (killings – Malishevë)
Two Albanians killed in Dragobil

Malishevë, 16 September (ARTA) 1920CET --
Albanian sources notify that the Serb police stationed in Malishevë, killed Osman Paçarizi (65) and Fehmi Paçarizi (49), from Dragobil, yesterday at around 1400CET, near the neighborhood of Prelanka, in Dragobil, 500 away from the police station in Malishevë. Reportedly, the corpses were not taken from the scene of the crime until today at 1800CET, due to the risk from the snipers. In the meantime, they were dragged away by the Serb police.
On the other hand, last night, Serb forces burned several more houses in the town of Malishevë and in the village of Carallukë, whereas, shootings were heard coming from the police positions along the Ostrozub-Malishevë road, throughout the night.

KOSOVA (trial – Prishtina/Kaçanik)
The trial against 11 Albanians begins

Kaçanik, 16 September (ARTA) 2200CET --
On 17 September, the Serb run Municipal Court in Prishtina, will start the trial against the 11 Albanian residents of Hani i Elezit and of the surrounding, accused with the crime of: "Association for hostile activities" and "terrorism", sanctioned according to Article 136:1 in conjunction with Article 125 of the Criminal Code of "FRY", informs attorney Avni Ibrahimi, from Ferizaj, who is defending one of the accused.
The panel jury will be chaired by judge Viseslava Cvetkovic, one of the judges that chaired the panel jury during last year's trials.

KOSOVA (KLA communiqué)
KLA chose the path of freedom on time, with responsibility and decisiveness

Prishtina, 16 September (ARTA) 1930CET --
In the Statement # 9 of the KLA General Headquarters, among others it is stated: "For some time now, the Albanian people has found itself in a very dangerous crossroad and the political subjects are still hesitating to chose responsively and decisively the wanted direction.
KLA, on time, with responsibility and decisiveness chose the path of freedom and has repeatedly called the political, intellectual and professional forces to gather around KLA and realize the people's determination.
KLA, not only is determined for freedom and unity, but is concretely fighting in this direction, to solve the unsolved issue of Kosova.
KLA and its General Headquarters, find unacceptable, any temporary solution that leaves Kosova under Serbia or "Yugoslavia". We consider and announce that any agreement signed on this level is national treason.
The General Headquarters and every KLA soldier have followed the recent events in Albania, with great distress. They condemned and condemn any act of violence exercised on the people and the state and national cultural institutions. We are convinced that, for a free state such as Albania, every event, any claiming of authority, through ways other than democratic and people's free vote, should be condemned by the actual state laws.
Had the political subjects of Kosova and Albania spoken and acted as a nation, the events in Albania would not have taken place, Kosova would not have been burned and ruined, and there would not be any discussions about unfavorable solutions.
We are convinced that, the recent events in Albania, with all their complexity, were prepared outside Albania, to strike Kosova and its heroic war. The war in Kosova, its tragedies and misfortunes, burned and ruined houses, deserted villages, are emergency bells calling for the national conscience, to give up from any form of fight between brethren and from the struggle for power. In this regard, we condemn any attempt or support, even made in the name of democracy, to exercise vandalism against the state and private property. We are all supporters of the freedom and independence of Kosova and its people, of the national cause.
KLA General Headquarters calls the people of Albania and its entire political spectrum to get peacefully engaged for strengthening the Albanian State, Albania, without which we will never have any freedom, democracy or national prosperity.
Only the stable Albania, strong, free and democratic, will be a guarantee for life, individual and collective wealth for Albanians, wherever they are.
We request from the international community to sincerely help Albania; to prevent and fight justly and decisively the macabre tendencies directed against Albania and the Albanian people in general. To support firmly and concretely the issue of Kosova, to save the Albanians, from the Serb barbaric threats.

KOSOVA (KD reportage – Deçan/Malishevë)
Welcome in Kosova.... in the ruins of the scorched land
By Nebi Qena & Garentina Kraja

Deçan and Malishevë regions, 16 September (ARTA) 1930CET --
"They all returned to their houses", claims a police officer in Isniq, after being asked where are the dislocated people from this village that had found temporary shelter in the surrounding fields of this village. The dislocated people were expelled towards Pejë and Gjakovë, claim the residents of Isniq who were waiting in the crowd to get some plastic sheeting, as they say, to cover any cottage for cattle, or a makeshift shelter. The male residents of the village initially were sheltered in local households, but since they did not feel safe, they escaped into the surrounding mountains and there (according to the peasants) many of them were killed.
"It took three hours until all the tractors and carriages left the village. The column paraded for three hours", claims a youngster speaking about the day when the IDPs sheltered near Isniq, were forced by Serb police to "return to their houses".
"They chased them with tanks and APCs", he claims adding further, "that most of the youngsters managed to escape, but afterwards most of them were caught a slaughtered in the village Milishec".
Still there are many dislocated people in Isniq, sheltered in the houses of local peasants. Family D from Papiq is sheltered in such a house, hiding from the police.
"They killed one of his sons here in Milishec, but we still did not tell that to his old father. Last night, his name was mentioned on the news, but I turned down the volume, to prevent his father hear the news", claims the owner of the house where the Family D (with 20 members) is sheltered.
"Initially, we were sheltered in Broliq, and we came here five days ago", says the old man the head of Family D. "I don't have any news about one of my sons" he claims, while the owner of the house peers down with sorrow behind his back.
Although most of the displaced people are not staying in Isniq, their clues could not be wiped out.
"My son, look what they have done to us. More than 100 people are living here in this stable ", claims the old woman Shkurte.
"She is courageous, although she suffered a lot ", say other women about her.
"His son died in the battlefield and she knows nothing about her only nephew", they claim.
This is the second time she is sheltered in a rusty carriage, covered by transparent plastic sheeting which were distributed by the sub-branch "Mother Theresa" in Isniq.
A five years old kid, who starts to peer in shyly, penetrated the crowd of women around Shkurte. A grenade, which fell into the yard of his house, killed his mother. He was still not aware that his mother is dead. Or maybe the death of his beloved seems 'normal' to him.
The day when the grenades fired by Serb forces, without any warning, fell and when the Serb infantry headed into the village, will be remembered by the people of Rzniq, now sheltered in Isniq. Chased by the Serb infantry, they rushed into the meadow fields of Isniq, and stayed there for four days. "The wounded people were not given the first aid before 48 hours. Also there were women who gave birth before their term, because of the shock", claims one youngster.
Although, most of the displaced people do not stay anymore in Isniq, their traces have still remained, Plastic bags, waste papers, the patches spread all around gave a more repulsive image to the village than the police APC which was patrolling around.
"Come tomorrow, if you are lucky, we will give the permission, after you have cleared up the village".
On the way to Baballoç and other villages, one can meet very few residents. Only police and abandoned livestock wander along the roads marked with caterpillar tracks, which go through the local destroyed houses. The killed dogs and livestock are left all around and their stench could be smelled far.
A group of ten people goes from Deçan to Isniq.
"We come from Deçan. We are temporarily sheltered in Isniq, but we were told that we can return home", said an old man carrying a blanket and some other odd things, which he has taken, hoping to return in his own house.
"Our house was completely burnt, we did not have where to return. We are going back in Isniq, in our previous shelter because we do not have where else to go", he claims.
The Rastavicë village is abandoned as well. Even policemen do not stay there. Yet, all the villages look the same, with burnt and shelled houses, dead cows, ruins of tanks, roofs perforated by shells, unharvested grain fields already devastated... Such an 'environment' is noticeable from Raushiq to Baballoç. On the other hand, the settlements erected for Serb refugees from Croatia, were not hit by a single bullet.
Police has occupied the ditches and the checkpoints, which used to be build by KLA. The police scribbling in the surrounding walls do not differ from those on Prishtina. They are even more numerous. Also the cars with no license plates, police vehicles, jeeps, trucks carrying policemen are very frequent.
An obsolete police checkpoint is still available in the turn that leads to Irzniq. A policeman who looks pretty afraid is in guard. Only the ruins have remained from a big building just next to the checkpoint. Not a single roof could be seen around, they do not exist any more. "We cannot let you in the village without our escort. They are mines all around... Come tomorrow, if you are lucky we will allow you in after we have swiped them up", claims a policeman. A tractor driven by an old man and carrying two women, who probably came to see if anything has remained from their house, appears. The policeman lets them pass.
"If you do not behave well, we will be back"
It looks like Malishevë and its surrounding villages are being ruined increasingly every day. The number of the burnt and destroyed houses when the police took control over them, was far smaller compared to now. Malishevë proper looks now as a military training field. The policemen could be seen all around; installed in the nearby private houses, in the bushes the military forces and camouflaged tanks could be seen as well.
In a satellite dish of a private house, "privatized" by policemen, states: "Hotel Sveti Stefan - Malisevo". Their black humor is apparent in the walls of Malishevë: "If you do not behave, we will be back again". A considerable part of the town is burnt, while the other part is squared to the ground. The restaurant, which was build in near the crossroad, is burnt as well. No one could be seen In Malishevë and its surroundings even though policemen in the checkpoints claim that "people have started to return to their houses".

KOSOVA (Hill’s press conference at NATO)
Hill: "The process is not going by the desired tempo"

Brussels, 16 September (ARTA) 1900CET --
The majority of the journalists accredited in NATO, are still confused by the fact as to why Christopher Hill, presented in this case as an "American special envoy to Kosova", held a press conference in the NATO premises. Hill said almost nothing that would be considered as an innovation by the journalists that follow the situation in Kosova and his activities. Hill and the American Assistant Secretary of State, Strobe Talbot, stayed at the NATO premises where they informed the Ambassadors, the members of the Council, about the USA diplomatic activities for Kosova. In this press conference, Hill stated that before taking off to Brussels, he had another meeting with Rugova and with the representatives of his negotiating team. He claimed that the process is still ongoing and that a small progress has been achieved, despite the fact that the tempo of this process is slower than the desired.
We are working on an agreement, which was offered for discussion to both sides, said Hill not wanting to get into details about this agreement. We wish that this agreement, if it is signed, be implemented by everyone involved, by the entire Albanian political spectrum of Kosova, said Hill. Asked as to why does he always talk with the team of Rugova only, he said that in this team, Rugova left open doors for others.
The American policy is concentrated in three aspects for finding a solution for Kosova. The first one is the humanitarian problem. The second is the political solution and the third are the military plans. "I favor the political solution and I continue to follow that path", said further Hill. Asked as to whether he requested or suggested any special way for the NATO engagement in Kosova, Hill stated that he does not want to get into details about that issue. Concerning the Contact Group, he claimed that the project for the agreement on Kosova is in harmony with the Contact Group decisions. "As a man who was active in Bosnia as well, I can say that the sense of unanimity within the Contact Group concerning Kosova is much solid that with Bosnia", said Hill at the end of his press conference in the NATO premises.

ALBANIA (statement – Government)
"The leaders of the Democratic Party did not accept to hand over the weapons"

Tirana, 15 September (ARTA) 2030CET --
The spokesperson of the Ministry for Public Order stated that,"…an action of Special Police units (in conformity with the law), aiming to take back the tanks and the weapons which are currently in the disposal of the terrorist crowd in front of the Democratic Party's seat, is expected to take place every moment".
According to the spokesman, the negotiations that took place during the last night and the morning, between the deputy Prime Minister Fino, MP Teta and the representatives of the PD, failed.
"The PD leaders did not want to give the weapons in", claimed the spokesperson. According to the spokesman, the Ministry for Public Order has undertaken on Tuesday all measures to overcome the current situation. Around 2.000 troops have been mobilized by the Ministry of Public Order, while 1.000 others patrol permanently through the streets of Tirana.
The field sources from other parts of the country inform about 10.000 people who have volunteered to help the police in safeguarding the state institutions in Tirana.
The spokesman of the President informs that President Meidani received US, German, and Italian delegation and the resident representative of the European Union in Tirana. The Austrian Ambassador, Arnold Riedle, on the behalf of European Union, the OSCE, USA and other European countries, evaluated the situation in Tirana as very tense and expressed his full support for finding a democratic solution. They expressed the support of the organizations they represent to the President of the Republic.
At the same time, they strongly condemned the acts of violence and the attacks against the state institutions, and evaluated them as irresponsible and antidemocratic.
" We will not support any kind of solution which will result from the violent, antidemocratic and illegal actions", they claimed.
Meanwhile, the President of the Republic, Rexhep Meidani, declared that the way out from this crisis will be found as soon as the opposition leaders will exclude using violence against state institutions and will condemn the riot and the criminal acts of Monday. He informed about yesterday's meeting with the coalition forces. He asked them a package of realistic and acceptable measures in order to stop the newly created situation.
The ambassadors participating in this meeting assured President Meidani, for their continuous support to Albania on the way to the full normalization of democracy in the country.

ALBANIA (statement – Berisha)
Berisha: "We will overthrow the dictatorship of the criminal Fatos Nano"

Tirana, 16 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
"Fatos Nano's scenario plans to terminate the opposition and Albania", said the Democratic leader, Sali Berisha before of the crowd gathered in front of the Parliament's cabinet.
"I have no immunity in this Parliament, with which I departed once and for all", stated Berisha.
"80 percent of the orders given by the police and the Intelligence Service (SHIK) were addressed to surround the Democratic Party and shoot with snipers its main leaders", claimed the former President, Berisha.
Berisha notified that "even the DP supporters, registered 30 orders given to the snipers posted by the building, on Tuesday night, before the tanks settled in front of the premises were handed over".
Berisha saluted the police, which "rejected to comply with the order to surround the DP premises".
Emphasizing that the scenario planned the destruction and the split of Albania, Berisha continued saying that "the DP is ready for any sacrifice, not to allow the establishment of the dictatorship in Albania by turning the peaceful revolt into a real hurricane. We will overthrow the dictatorship of the criminal, Fatos Nano", stated Berisha.
"It won't be long, before Tirana will be filled with democrats from all over Albania, protesting against the dictatorship".
In the end, Berisha evaluated Nano's policy towards Kosova, as "Milosevic's policy".

ALBANIA (protests)
Rightists parties failed to protest

Tirana, 16 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
About 2,000 protesters, headed yesterday from the Democratic Party premises in the direction of the "Skënderbeg" square, now called "Sheshi i Lirisë" (Freedom Square) by Berisha.
The mass was headed by Berisha, escorted for the first time after some time, by his wife, Lirie. Roaring, "Azem you are alive", "Fatos Nano, traitor", "Berisha President", the protesters were making turns around the "Skënderbeg" square, led by the Democratic Party leader, Sali Berisha.
Initially, it seemed that Berisha was not about to hop on the platform and deliver a speech, since he passed by it once. However, after the second turn, he could not restrain himself from getting once more on the platform and hold the usual speech. This time Berisha was not being followed by the Coalition Parties for Democracy, or from the other rightist parties.
Further, the protesters stayed for several more minutes in front of the DP premises after which, they peacefully dispersed, after Berisha called them to meet again tomorrow, to protest. The democrats’ cruise ended without any incident.

ALBANIA (criminal proceedings)
"Armed Insurrection" main accusation

Tirana, 16 September (ARTA) 1820CET --
The General Prosecutor’s Office notifies that it started the criminal proceedings of suspects to have committed the crime of "Armed insurrection", according to Article 221 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania.
The first interrogations were conducted immediately at the Prime Ministry's premises, in the Parliament, Constitutional Court, at the State TV premises, and in the number of stores and other private buildings.
The investigations began by the engagement of several prosecutors and court police, divided according to the regions of Tirana. The police are working very effectively to identify the suspects.

KOSOVA (analysis)
"The author of the draft document Mr. Hill was inspired by the East"
by Veton Surroi

Washington, 16 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
When it was heard (at the end of this month), that an agreement for the interim settlement of Kosova issue was reached between Rugova and Milosevic, most of the international comments regarding it were positive. According to the vague information, the compromise achieved implies: the decision about the political status of Kosova will be postponed for 3 to 5 years, the democratic institutions in Kosova would be established and the military struggle in field, would be carried onto the political realm.
Mistake. I can say it with full competence, since I am repeating for years that presently the solution for the status of Kosova cannot be found, that this has to be a process, while within the frame of this process the future democratic status of Kosova ought to be assured through the creation of democratic institutions and the process of the free expression of will of the people of Kosova. Furthermore, I have insisted for years, and I did it again recently, in what looked like the beginning of a negotiating process (initiated by Ambassador Holbrooke), that the achieved rights of Kosova, which were forcibly abolished by Serbia in 1989, cannot be subject to negotiations. So, the entire constitutional system of the collective rights which Kosova had (i.e. the Constitution, Parliament, the Government, all courts up to the Constitutional Court, etc.) is not negotiable. At least, this position is accepted so far by most of the experts of International Law, and as such, it is incorporated in the European Council.
The optimism mistake constitutes, in fact, the essence of that what we heard in those first days of September. Serb leader Milosevic in fact admitted that there would be an agreement (and not that he has acknowledged the agreement), meanwhile three years later there would be a need for the eventual amendments of the agreement (and not a decision on the political status of Kosova). Judged upon these publicly declared words, President Milosevic had "accepted an interim settlement", but upon his style, that wouldn't have been neither a settlement nor it would have been interim. Milosevic in fact has gained time and the right to carry on further the war in Kosova, as well as the sympathy of the American mediator Hill that the solution for the Kosova issue be the closest to positions of the drafter of the Serb laws, Markovic.
President Rugova's position, according to his public statement concerning the non-existent agreement, was supportive of the agreement, and as we learnt later, he was concerned about the fact that mediator Hill cannot devote enough to his family. Moreover, judging to the up-to-now experiences, it would have been difficult to precise whether Dr. Rugova could understand what was written on the draft-document on the interim settlement he was offered. I had the opportunity to read the draft-document offered by mediator Hill these days. In few words, this document contains the limitation of Kosova as an entity, which self-administers some aspects of life and at the same time, it circulates around the legal framework of Republic of Serbia and "FRY".
Nevertheless, although the self-administrative action of Kosova is limited by the "Statal Law" of Serbia and "FRY", it is also limited by a series of internal mechanisms which more or less assure that any national community in Kosova could significantly restrict the decisions of the majority.
Naturally, the first answer that such a proposal could get, even without reading the document would be: who guarantees the safety of the people? Today, when Albanians are expelled from their houses in Kosova in a war mainly directed against civilians, how can both sides in the conflict sit and talk about the future? Doesn't the mediator take any responsibility to assure the basic conditions to think or talk about the future solutions? This has not been done before the draft document was offered and this objectively placed the mediator in the position of favoring Milosevic. Such a war against civilians in Kosova would not be developed without the consenting silence of the mediator, which incites suspicion over all what is proposed by the mediator.
But, even it weren't so, lets say that with the magic stick the mediator has managed to stop war, to withdraw the Serb repressive forces from Kosova and start the negotiations and offer the draft document again.
This document again would not be even in the initial phase of discussion, since its starting point is a right achieved by force: Serbia controls Kosova by force, since 1989 and has the right to include this right in the next constitutional solutions. From here, many deficiencies derive, starting from the lack of definition of property (former societal property in Kosova) up to the lack of definition of the judicial and police bodies in Kosova. According to the offer of the draft document, all these contradictions that come to the surface could be solved through some kind of National Council, which would be chaired by the President of Republic of Serbia and where all nationalities would be represented in their appeals. In addition, to crown the draft document, even if the parties agree with these draft agreements instead of making declarations on what the final status of Kosova would be, after three years the parties have the right to suggest what eventual amendments could be done in this thing defined as transitory status. Thus, the transitory status de facto turns into the final status, because there are no mechanisms that would guarantee the improvement of the interim status.
Finally, even if all these points were negotiable, the author of the draft document has forgotten to state how would these complicated links between Albanians and other nationalities in Kosova as well as Kosova and Serbia on one hand and "Yugoslavia" on the other, be implemented. In the West, all contracts request a strong implementing guarantee; in the communist East "the interest of the working class", "the scout's word of honor", etc., was sufficient. Seemingly, more than by the West , the author of the draft document was inspired by the East. Or, saying it more devilishly, by the conviction, that since both sides are the same, they have the same interests for the implementation of this agreement.
This is one moment and one document, offered to the hands of those that have killed children and the hands of the children asking for bread in the fields of Isniq. As such and primarily because it is such, it will not be successfully accepted by the "parties in conflict". However, it will successfully prove as another sequence of "playing blind" to human tragedy.

ALBANIAN PARLIAMENT TO CONSIDER LIFTING BERISHA'S IMMUNITY.

The Albanian parliament announced on 16 September that it will discuss the issue of lifting former President Sali Berisha's immunity as a deputy, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Fatos Nano has accused Berisha of leading an attempt to overthrow the government and says he should be arrested. Spartak Braho, the head of the parliamentary commission investigating the case, said that Berisha will have the opportunity to appear before the full assembly and respond to the charges against him. Berisha called attempts to take legal action against opposition leaders "an act of madness." He said he does not want to "preserve any immunity" for himself "in this state without laws." Berisha repeated claims that Nano is responsible for the murder of Democratic Party deputy Azem Hajdari (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 September 1998). PB

NANO INSISTS ALBANIANS SUPPORT HIS GOVERNMENT.

Albanian Premier Fatos Nano said on 16 September that the majority of Albanians consider his government to be "legitimate," AFP reported. Nano made his comments in response to calls from opposition leader Berisha for him to resign (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 September 1998). PB

OPPOSITION DEFIES GOVERNMENT, HOLDS RALLY.

A march by several thousand supporters of the opposition, led by Berisha, in Tirana on 16 September passed without incident, AFP reported. After police prevented the demonstrators from moving to the central Skanderbeg Square,  a rally was held in front of the opposition Democratic Party headquarters. As many as seven people have died and 76 have been wounded in violence on the streets of Tirana since 13 September. Berisha described the Nano government as a "dictatorship" and called for a national day of protest to be held on 18 September. PB

THOUSANDS MORE KOSOVARS FLEE SERBIAN ATTACKS.

Several thousands of ethnic Albanians have left their homes northeast of Prishtina after the shelling of several villages by Serbian forces, AP reported on 16 September. Officials of the UN refugee agency said they saw houses burning in some of the villages. Renewed attacks in the central region of Drenica were also reported. There were no independent reports on casualties in either area. Northeast Kosova is considered to be one of the last refuges of the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK). PB

HILL, TALBOTT AT NATO MEETING ON KOSOVA.

U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia Christopher Hill flew from Prishtina to Brussels on 16 September to brief NATO ambassadors on the situation in the Serbian province, Reuters reported. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott also attended the meeting. Hill, Washington's top envoy for Kosova, told officials that the continued military action by Serbian forces is complicating his efforts to forge a political accord aimed at ending the violence and allowing Kosova some form of interim autonomy. The UCK condemned Hill's attempts to secure the interim accord, saying it considers such an agreement "national treason." In London, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook ordered an immediate ban on Yugoslav airline flights to Britain, citing the "sharply deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Kosova. The U.K. had previously said it could not join an EU ban on such flights. PB

HARD-LINE SERBIAN PARTIES DEMAND RELEASE OF PRELIMINARY RESULTS.

The Bosnian Serb Radical Party and the Serbian Radical Party released a joint statement on 16 September calling on the OSCE to issue the preliminary results of the Bosnian general elections, Beta reported. "The results are known but [the] OSCE is silent," said the statement. The previous day, the OSCE canceled the planned release of preliminary results. OSCE spokeswoman Nicole Szulc said "the people have spoken in this country. Bosnia and the OSCE will respect what they said--regardless of what they said." She said final results will be issued in four to seven days. Several observers are predicting victories for hard-line candidates contesting many of the key posts. PB

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP CONDEMNS MONTENEGRO.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch has criticized the Montenegrin government for not allowing ethnic Albanian refugees to remain in Montenegro, an RFE/RL correspondent in Washington reported on 16 September. The organization said the closing of Montenegrin borders to the refugees in effect trapped them. She also condemned the expulsion of some 3,200 ethnic Albanians to Albania. In Sarajevo, the UNHCR said that about 3,000 refugees from Kosova have been registered and are being cared for in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A spokesman said that as many as 15,000 Kosovar Albanians have fled to Bosnia but that not all have registered with the authorities. PB

ALBANIAN GUNMEN LEAVE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HEADQUARTERS.

Albanian opposition leader Sali Berisha led a march from Democratic Party headquarters in Tirana to Skanderbeg Square on 16 September. Earlier the same day, armed Democratic supporters left their positions around that building but did not surrender their arms (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 September 1998). The parliament the previous day had set a dawn deadline for the armed demonstrators to hand in weapons or face a police crackdown. Prime Minister Fatos Nano in a televised address offered an amnesty to the gunmen, but his spokesman told the BBC that the gunmen "will be shot" if they reject the offer. After Nano's address, the Democrats surrendered to the police two tanks that they had captured during riots on 14 September. But they removed a heavy machine gun and ammunition before handing over the vehicles. FS

GOVERNMENT WANTS BERISHA INDICTED.

The cabinet issued a statement on 15 September charging that Berisha tried to stage a coup d'etat the previous day. The statement added that all those responsible for the violence will go on trial. Prosecutor-General Arben Rakipi launched investigations on 15 September of several high-ranking Democratic Party officials. Those under investigation include Berisha, former Parliamentary President Pjeter Arbnori, and legislator Vili Minarolli. The parliament is slated to vote on lifting their legislative immunity on 16 September. Berisha told VOA's Albanian Service that the charges are typical for a "communist dictatorship" and that Albania now has "political prisoners and political killings." In the same broadcast Arbnori, a former political prisoner under communism, compared the current accusations against him and Berisha to his persecution under the communist regime. FS

NANO REFUSES TO QUIT.

Nano told television viewers on 15 September that he will definitely not step down, as the Democrats have demanded. Nano said "the freely elected government does not accept ultimatums issued by an armed group of terrorists." He added that any "resignation would be a betrayal of the nation." But the same day, Finance Minister Arben Malaj resigned, saying that he does not have enough public support to continue in office. Meanwhile, the government issued a statement announcing a 50-100 percent increase in policemen's wages. The text also said that police will receive a one-time payment ranging from $200 to $330 "to increase their motivation." And the parliament has passed a law allowing the Interior Ministry to call in military police to preserve domestic peace. Some Socialist Party legislators criticized the decision on the grounds that it recalls Berisha's decision to call in the army during the 1997 unrest. FS

EU NAMES SPECIAL ENVOY TO ALBANIA.

The office of the EU Presidency, which is currently held by Austria, announced the appointment in Vienna on 16 September of Herbert Grubmayr as special envoy to Albania. The veteran diplomat's mission will be to promote domestic peace and reconciliation. The previous day, Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini and his German counterpart, Klaus Kinkel, sent a joint statement to Austria's Wolfgang Schuessel proposing the deployment of an international police force in Albania. The two ministers added that the EU should earmark increased funds to promote Albania's stability, which, they stressed, is also threatened by the Kosova conflict. FS

SERBIAN OFFENSIVE MOVES NORTHWARD.

Serbian army and paramilitary police shelled 12 ethnic Albanian villages northwest of Prishtina on 16 September, AP reported. Observers noted that the assault marks the first time that the Serbian forces have extended the fighting to that region. PM

REFUGEES PACK QIREZ.

Several hundred displaced persons arrived in the village of Qirez, west of Prishtina, on 15 September following continuing Serbian assaults on the civilian population in the Drenica region. Some 10,000-15,000 additional displaced persons have taken refuge in Qirez over the past month, AP reported. A spokesman for the World Food Program said that even under the best conditions, aid convoys provide food for only a few days. A doctor added that basic medicines are not available and that "at least 10 people died in Qirez last week from treatable illnesses." Meanwhile in Prishtina, Adem Demaci, who is the political spokesman for the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK), said that the guerrillas are "reorganizing" themselves despite the constant pressure from Serbian attacks, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM

CHIRAC CALLS FOR CONTACT GROUP MEETING.

French President Jacques Chirac told his Russian counterpart, Boris Yeltsin, in a telephone conversation on 15 September that France wants the international Contact Group to meet in New York next week to discuss the situation in Kosova. Chirac made the same point in recent days in telephone conversations with U.S. President Bill Clinton and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The Contact Group consists of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, and Russia. PM

INDECISION ON KOSOVA CONTINUES.

In Bonn, Defense Minister Volker Ruehe said on 15 September that "if the attacks against the civilian population [in Kosova] continue, then the West's readiness will grow to use military force to stop them in the course of next three to five weeks. No one has the right to shoot at their own civilian population with tanks and artillery," he added. And in Washington, an unnamed senior administration official told the "New York Times" of 16 September that "the situation [in Kosova] is awful and getting worse. If we don't want thousands of people to starve to death this winter, the White House will need to make a decision very quickly on whether to use firepower" to stop the Serbian assaults. PM

U.S. CONGRESS WANTS MILOSEVIC INDICTED.

The House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution on 15 September urging the Hague-based war crimes tribunal to take action against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on charges of "war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. On 18 July, the Senate passed a similar resolution saying that Milosevic is the man most responsible for the wars on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. PM

OSCE POSTPONES RELEASING BOSNIAN ELECTION RESULTS.

Officials of the OSCE, which supervised the 12-13 September general elections in Bosnia, said in Sarajevo on 15 September that the OSCE will not release any vote tallies until the final results are available next week. OSCE representatives had said earlier that they would publish preliminary results on 15 September. Unnamed Western diplomats told AP that the reason for the delay is that hard-line nationalist candidates among the Serbs and Croats, in particular, received more votes that most observers had expected. The BBC's Serbian Service reported on 16 September that nationalist candidate Nikola Poplasen has a strong lead over moderate Biljana Plavsic in the contest for the presidency of the Republika Srpska. PM

HUNGARY BANS YUGOSLAV FLIGHTS.

Hungary on 15 September joined the EU ban on flights to and from Yugoslavia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Gabor Horvath told MTI. In other news, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori ended a three-day visit to Hungary during which he met with President Arpad Goncz, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and other officials. Fujimori and Goncz signed bilateral cooperation agreements on agriculture, tourism, and sports. MSZ

Havel talks about Kosovo, American greatness, McGwire during White House visit
 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (September 17, 1998 09:02 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) --
Czech President Vaclav Havel says there's still a lot about America he doesn't understand.
     And today's world, he said humbly, is a "very complicated" place. But the former playwright and leader in the struggle to return democracy to his homeland is certain of one thing.
     "It's extremely important, the responsibility of the United States as the biggest, most powerful country all around the world," he said Wednesday in halting English.
     Havel expressed some bewilderment about America at a joint news conference with President Clinton that was dominated by questions about the Monica Lewinsky affair.
     Havel met at the White House with Clinton earlier in the day and then was feted at a state dinner. Thursday, he was taking up Europe's problems in meetings with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill.
     At the top of Havel's agenda are the conflict in Kosovo between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, and political unrest in Albania.
     Clinton said they had discussed "the urgent need to bring stability to Kosovo to prevent suffering" in the Yugoslav province, where Serb forces are trying to crush an ethnic Albanian insurgency, as well as tensions between the government and its opponents in Albania.
     Their aim, Clinton said, was a "true partnership for security" and preparations for the Czech Republic's entry into the NATO military alliance.
     Havel, who lost his job and was jailed for campaigning to rid Czechoslovakia of Soviet controls, said converting Europe into a peaceful continent was complicated.
     But he said he was not concerned that Russia was imposing some Soviet-style controls over the Russian market.
     "It's a complicated situation," Havel said. "And it will still be in 50 and in 100 years. We understand these complications. ... I don't see anything very dangerous in it."
     Clinton, meanwhile, praised the Czech Republic for contributing peacekeeping troops to Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Angola and other countries.
     Havel Thursday was seeing Senate Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, other senior senators, and House leaders.
     At 61, he is apparently is on the mend after months of serious medical problems. He underwent surgery for a ruptured colon in April and in August came down with pneumonia and an irregular heartbeat. He has been hospitalized five times since 1996, when he lost part of a lung to cancer.
     After meeting with President Clinton, Havel addressed a variety of subjects.
     He noted the success of baseball sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, who are in a race to see which sets an all-time record for major league home runs in one season.
     "I congratulate Mr. McGwire and wish success to Mr. Sammy Sosa," Havel said, diplomatically avoiding mention of a preference between the two.
     Havel also avoided any reference to Lewinsky, the White House intern whose disclosures have shaken the presidency.

By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer

JAMES R. HOOPER: Caving in on Kosovo

Copyright © 1998 Nando.net
Copyright © 1998 The Christian Science Monitor

  A map of Albania and its neighbors, including Kosovo.

(September 17, 1998 10:25 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) -- The Clinton administration's inaction in the face of Serbia's war in Kosovo has effectively repealed the security legacy of the Truman Doctrine in the Balkans.
     When all eyes turn to Belgrade, rather than Washington, to wait the next move in a conflict that jeopardizes regional stability, it is a sign that something profound has changed in Europe. The stabilizing role that the United States established in the Balkans in 1947, when Truman issued his doctrine, has come to an end as Serbia rewrites the rules of the new Balkan order.
     The war in Kosovo, following hard on the heels of the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, confirms that this administration, like the one before it, lacks the will to fight in the Balkans. Limited pinprick bombing, yes; the United States may yet use minimalist air power in Kosovo to avert the looming humanitarian catastrophe.
     Nor does the U.S. government show any evidence of the political will to prevent another avoidable war in the Balkans. Kosovo was the most anticipated conflict in recent memory, foreseen by any number of officials, observers, and experts. Yet the Clinton administration allowed its most effective conflict prevention tool - the 1992 "Christmas warning" threatening Belgrade with prompt and severe military retaliation if Serbia cracked down in Kosovo - to lapse into disuse as the Bosnian conflict receded into post-Dayton diplomatic politicking.
     The calamity that the United States now uneasily watches in Kosovo is unfolding precisely because the United States hugs the sidelines. We see and hear familiar sights and sounds: of sobbing refugees - nearly 20 percent of Kosovo's inhabitants have been displaced by the fighting; of crackling fires destroying unharvested crops and homes - over 20,000 so far; and of tough NATO rhetoric about lessons learned in Bosnia not to be repeated in Kosovo. The collapse of Kosovo into war and destruction is the visible effect of the collapse of any semblance of coherent U.S. policy in the Balkans.
     We might reasonably ask, what will come next? How will the Greeks, Turks, Bulgarians, Macedonians, and others act in anticipation of low-risk American leadership and policies? Indeed, how will Serbia act itself?
     Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic skillfully and persistently labored to create a security vacuum that he can fill with his ultranationalist agenda, eliciting like behavior from America's friends and allies in the region. This will poison the discourse in Macedonia, exacerbating latent ethnic tensions there. NATO will talk, but Milosevic will act, destabilizing the Balkans indefinitely and leaving others to pick up the pieces.
     What will the United States do? Unwilling to take up Belgrade's military challenge, Washington seeks an accommodation with Milosevic in Kosovo that legitimizes his political aims and battlefield gains under the guise of a negotiating process, perhaps sealed - at best - by a brief bombing campaign against Serbia to project NATO's "firm resolve" to avert a humanitarian disaster and stabilize the region. Will the Kosovar Albanians cooperate? With the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) decisively defeated on the battlefield, the ethnic Albanians have little choice but to accept what they can get from Milosevic, even as the KLA underscores its intention of regrouping in neighboring sanctuaries to prepare for a long guerrilla war.
     Is short-term stability so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at a price of de facto partnership with Milosevic? It seems so. That is the price the United States pays for divesting itself of the burden of carrying the roughest security problems in the post-Cold War Europe. Milosevic will, of course, shortchange the West, bringing even more instability to the region and upping the ante on Washington and NATO in the next crisis.
     What should the United States do? Everything in its power to expand and build up Serbia's democratic forces until they are strong enough to govern in Belgrade. A democratic Serbia will bring more genuine stability to the Balkans than any number of carrots used in vain attempts to induce good behavior from Milosevic. With committed leadership by Washington, the support of America's allies, and the tools and knowledge acquired from successful democratization efforts throughout Eastern Europe in the 1980s and in Portugal in the 1970s, the task would be less difficult than many might think. Did Solidarity's task in Poland look any easier in 1980?
     Such an approach requires disentangling Washington from its embrace of Milosevic, whom it still treats as a Balkan peacemaker rather than the paramount regional destabilizer. First, that means launching an effective air campaign to drive Serbian forces from Kosovo, and placing Kosovo under a self-governing international protectorate. If the Kosovars nurtured their own democratic institutions and behaved responsibly in their treatment of minorities and neighboring states, they could seek independence. If democrats attained power in Belgrade during the period of the protectorate, the Serbs could explore constructive relationships with Kosovo that might conceivably find some degree of reciprocation.
     Milosevic has made force the coin of the realm in the Balkans. The time has come for Washington to shed its defeatism and begin letting Milosevic pick up the pieces from our initiatives for a change.

JAMES R. HOOPER is director of the Balkan Action Council in Washington. He was a U.S. foreign service officer, 1971 to 1997.

ANALYSIS: Albanian unrest complicated by Kosovo conflict

Copyright © 1998 Nando.net
Copyright © 1998 Reuters News Service

TIRANA (September 17, 1998 10:07 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) -
Mired in poverty, cursed by weak government and plagued by the sort of anarchic violence that rocked the capital Tirana earlier this week, few Albanians are concerning themselves with the crisis next door in Kosovo.
     And yet the plight of ethnic Albanians in the southern Serbian province, where they constitute a majority but are ruled directly and with considerable brutality by Belgrade, vastly complicates political life here in Albania.
     "Kosovo is a card our politicians play whenever it is to their advantage," said Linda, a well-educated young Albanian woman infused with a skepticism bordering on cynicism about her country's current political crisis.
     "Think of it as a tennis ball they hit back and forth between them, each trying to get the other to make a fault. Everyone is susceptible to Kosovo to a degree, but its greatest appeal is to nationalists, and to the emotional north."
     The latest spasm of politically-inspired street violence in Tirana was induced by the assassination of Democratic Party stalwart Azem Hajdari over the weekend.
     Former Albanian President Sali Berisha, chief of the Democrats and a northerner like Hajdari, laid the murder at the door of Prime Minister Fatos Nano and his Socialist government.
     Democrats took to the streets in what Nano alleges was an attempted coup and order was restored to the capital only after two days of rioting.
     When the dust finally settled, at least six people had been killed and as many as 76 wounded.
     Berisha supporters cited Hajdari's death as the main cause of their discontent, but many were also inflamed by comments Nano made at the weekend that were interpreted as support for continued Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo.
     "Kosovo is important, a shadow over us, but in truth we have our own problems in Albania that must be dealt with," Berisha told Reuters in an interview this week.
     At least 270,000 Kosovars have been driven from their homes by fighting this year and a continuing Serbian offensive is adding to that number every day. As many as 50,000 may be living rough on hillsides and in forests, U.N. officials warn.
     Many Albanians are outraged by the suffering of their ethnic kin in Kosovo and by the international community's apparent willingness to tolerate Belgrade's attacks on civilians so long as the violence is contained to the province.
     Rhetorically, at least, Nano has been a reliable partner for the international community on the issue of Kosovo, urging a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
     He met Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, regarded by some as the "butcher of the Balkans," late last year in a gesture of statesmanship that stuck in the craw of every Albanian nationalist, Democrat or Socialist.
     Nano has called for the deployment of NATO troops in Albania along its border with Kosovo, a move his nationalist critics say would cut vital supply lines to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) units battling Serbian security forces.
     The prime minister's rhetoric aside, northern Albania has become a vital staging area for the war in Kosovo, posing severe challenges to the country's control over its border.
     Like the army, Albanian border police were badly affected during months of civil turmoil that paralyzed the country in 1997.
     Facilities, equipment and arms were looted and destroyed and the ranks of the security forces were severely depleted as Albania came apart at the seams after a series of financial scams collapsed, virtually bankrupting the nation.
     A year later the border police in Europe's poorest country are still under-manned and under-equipped as they wrestle with the KLA guerrilla force that uses Albania as a safe haven.
     While few in Albania seem prepared to go to war to help their brothers in Kosovo, most are happy to turn a blind eye to the illicit border traffic and some are eager to profit from the sale of weapons, ammunition and equipment.
     Among those profiting, Western diplomats say, are senior officials from the north of the country.
     With all-important clan-structures straddling the border between northern Albania and Kosovo -- a border only drawn in 1948 -- observers say it is unrealistic to expect a real government crackdown on KLA movements there.
     Meanwhile, Kosovar refugees are arriving in their thousands, straining the government's ability to cope, even with substantial international assistance.
     As Balkan poverty, violence and ethnic injustice churns anew, so the prospect for a wider Balkan war increases.
     Albania is home for most ethnic Albanians, but substantial numbers are also to be found in Macedonia, in the Serbian province of Kosovo and in Montenegro, which along with Serbia makes up the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
     The possibility of a "Greater Albania," of unifying a nation divided by 20th-century wars and the borders they produced, animates a hard core of Albanians around the world who are prepared to fund the struggle and fight for the goal.
     Albania itself poses no direct threat to its neighbors. The Albanian army has only about 5,000 soldiers. Even with its substantial police forces, Tirana has difficulty projecting power against its own citizens.
     But the energy of the war in Kosovo is being sucked into the vacuum of Albania, like a cyclone forming, and the storm that may ensue would certainly batter Macedonia and Montenegro. Greece, Turkey and even Bulgaria could also be affected.

By KURT SCHORK, Reuters

Political crisis builds as Albanian opposition calls for nationwide protests

Copyright © 1998 Nando.net
Copyright © 1998 The Associated Press

  A map of Albania and its neighbors.

  ANALYSIS: Albanian unrest complicated by Kosovo conflict

TIRANA, Albania (September 17, 1998 10:07 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) --
Former President Sali Berisha called Thursday for a nationwide protest against the government even as lawmakers opened deliberations on whether to lift his immunity from arrest.
     A defiant Berisha called Prime Minister Fatos Nano "the champion of corruption in Europe" and led an opposition protest rally of about 2,000 Democratic Party supporters in the capital, Tirana.
     Berisha, who could be arrested on charges of seeking to overthrow the government if he loses his immunity as a member of parliament, called Thursday for nationwide protests Friday, saying they would be peaceful.
     Before the rally, he called Nano "the most dangerous leader, staying in power only by arresting, by murdering, by executing ... the opposition."
     He accused Nano's secret police of cutting off access in Albania to independent media, forcing people to rely on state media, which he claims is sending out false, biased information. He said Albanians must listen to foreign or independent media in order to understand what is going on.
     "Fatos Nano is keeping the Albanians in darkness," he said.
     Nano's elected government is backed by Western powers desperate to prevent the unrest from influencing other crises in the region, mainly the violence in neighboring Kosovo province in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia.
     The crisis raised fears of nationwide unrest reminiscent of the the months of anarchy that struck Albania last year following the collapse of shady pyramid schemes that cost many people their life's savings.
     A parliamentary committee convened Thursday to consider whether to lift Berisha's immunity. It was unclear when a decision would be made.
     A source who asked not to be identified said there was pressure from international officials to come up with a lesser charge against Berisha in order to avoid further instability.
     Meanwhile, new unrest was reported in northern Albania, where Berisha has strong support.
     Police said about 80 people armed with grenades and automatic rifles attacked a bank and police station late Wednesday night in Lezha, 35 miles north of Tirana. Three of the attackers died and several were wounded, said Interior Ministry spokesman Artan Bizhga.
     An explosion in Lezha two weeks ago damaged the office of Nano's Socialist Party.
     In rioting Sunday and Monday, Berisha's supporters damaged the parliament and prime minister's office, briefly took over the state television station, burned cars and looted shops.
     The second major crisis in Albania in 18 months began after the slaying Saturday of popular politician Azem Hajdari, a close aide to Berisha, who immediately blamed Nano.
     Demonstrations degenerated into rioting that lasted two days and left three people dead and dozens injured.
     Berisha has been seeking to return to power, tapping not only outrage over Hajdari's killing but also widespread disappointment with the government's inability to revive the economy.

By MERITA DHIMGJOKA, Associated Press Writer

CNN NEWS
Plight of Kosovo refugees grows as winter nears
September 16, 1998
Web posted at: 4:59 p.m. EDT (1659 GMT)

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Fresh fighting between Serb forces and ethnic Albanian rebels in northern Kosovo triggered a new flood of refugees Wednesday in the troubled Serbian province. The U.N. refugee agency estimates the seven-month war has displaced about 200,000 people within Kosovo itself.
     An estimated 70,000 more have fled to other locations in Europe, including neighboring Albania, the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro and the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
     In the latest developments on Kosovo's refugees:
• In Brussels, NATO envoys were given a grim picture of the humanitarian  disaster unfolding in Kosovo. With food and medical supplies running short, humanitarian agencies said they are worried that people forced to flee the fighting won't make it through the harsh winter.
• Some of the ethnic Albanians from Kosovo who have fled to Sarajevo protested there Wednesday. The Bosnia capital, still devastated from the  long war among Serbs, Croats and Muslims, now hosts some 10,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo.
• Switzerland extended its deadline for refugees who fled there to return to Kosovo, saying it was too dangerous to send people back as winter approached. The Swiss government said over 14,000 rejected asylum seekers could stay in Switzerland until the end of next April instead of  leaving by September 30.
• Hundreds of refugees streamed Tuesday into the cramped Kosovo village of Cirez, where rebels of the Kosovo Liberation Army were preparing to defend their stronghold from a Serb onslaught. Cirez is in the Drenica region, the KLA's last major holdout about 18 miles west of the provincial capital of Pristina.
     Between 10,000 and 15,000 people have taken refuge in Cirez for more than a month. Many fear Serb police will push through the KLA lines in the coming days, forcing them to move again.
     Most of the refugees who arrived in Cirez survived for weeks on a meager  diet of bread and milk from area cows. They were met Tuesday by a humanitarian aid convoy loaded with wheat flour, cooking oil, beans and non-food items. But according to Anthea Webb, spokeswoman for the World Food Program, which helped organize the convoy, the supplies are only enough for a few days.
     About 60 people, mostly ill women carrying babies, were lined up Tuesday  afternoon outside a makeshift clinic on Cirez's single main street.
     "We do all we can, but people still die," said Dr. Osman Veligi, one of two doctors in Cirez who together see 200 to 400 patients per day. "We have  no way to treat injuries. All we can give is rehydration serum for diarrhea."
     He said at least 10 people have died in Cirez in the last week from treatable illnesses, such as severe diarrhea and circulatory ailments.

Wednesday September 16, 7:02 PM
UK changes mind, bans flights by Yugoslav carriers
By Alan Wheatley

LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Britain defused a row with its European Union partners on Wednesday by changing its mind and slapping an immediate flight ban all on Yugoslav carriers.
     EU ministers agreed the ban last week to punish Belgrade's crackdown in the predominantly ethnic Albanian province of Kosovo, but Britain originally said a 1959 bilateral agreement with Belgrade meant it had to give a year's notice before it could halt flights.
     On Wednesday, however, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said he had concluded an immediate ban was needed given the "continued repressive activities" of Yugoslav troops in Kosovo and a sharply deteriorating human rights situation.
     Cook said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic had forfeited the right to the 12 months' grace period "on moral and political grounds".
     "In the changed circumstances, we have concluded that it would be right to proceed with an immediate ban," Cook said.
     Britain's refusal to implement the ban had angered its EU partners and was seen as a severe embarrassment for the foreign policy of the 15-member bloc.
     Officials declined to expand on the U-turn, which followed a review of the government's position that Cook said he ordered on his return from holiday.
     The change of heart had been anticipated by EU External Relations Commissioner Hans van den Broek, who said he expected Greece, which has also baulked at implementing the ban, to fall into line too.
     "It seems that the problem that seems to have risen can be tackled. We are awaiting news from the capitals as I speak," he told the European Parliament shortly before Britain's announcement.
     Greece, a traditional ally of fellow Orthodox Christian Serbia, said earlier this week its international obligations towards Yugoslavia took precedence over the EU sanctions.
     Neutral Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, said on Wednesday it would not join the ban against Yugoslav flights because some member states were not applying it.
     But the Swiss government decided that Yugoslav airline JAT would not be granted permission for any additional flights to Switzerland in order not to undermine those measures adopted by the EU.
     Cook insisted that Britain had backed the flight ban from the beginning and was determined to strengthen sanctions against Belgrade.
     He said Britain was pressing for a U.N. Security Council resolution that would include a worldwdide flight ban on Yugoslavia. It also wanted the EU to tighten an existing freeze on Yugoslav government funds to include funds held overseas by state-controlled companies and banks.

Clinton raises possibility of NATO intervention in Kosovo

Copyright © 1998 Nando.net
Copyright © 1998 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (September 16, 1998 4:43 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com)
-- President Clinton raised the idea Wednesday of NATO intervention in Kosovo to halt a Serb offensive.
     At a news conference with Czech President Vaclav Havel, Clinton said the "big problem" for Kosovo is Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's refusal to give its people the autonomy to which he said they are entitled.
     "We don't want a repeat of Bosnia," Clinton said, alluding to the war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives earlier this decade.
     Over the past six months, more than 200,000 Kosovo Albanians have been forced from their homes by Yugoslav forces, and he noted that the humanitarian situation is becoming increasingly precarious as cold weather approaches.
     "We are doing everything we can to avert a humanitarian disaster," Clinton said.
     On the possibility of armed intervention, Clinton said, "We're doing NATO planning and consulting with our allies."
     In addition, he said, the United States is attempting to promote a peaceful settlement.
     Earlier, State Department spokesman James Foley said there is "a growing sense of urgency" about NATO planning and increasing resolve among NATO members to act if the Kosovo situation deteriorates further.
     "All options, including the air option, are open," Foley said. While diplomacy is the best solution, he said, NATO is prepared to use force if Milosevic "forces us to do so."
     Meanwhile, House International Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman of New York urged the administration to begin immediate discussions with NATO on delivering an ultimatum to Milosevic to cease all military attacks in Kosovo or "face military action by NATO."

By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer

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