Tagesnachrichten 18. September 1998
     von dpa, from ALBANEWS and others
     News of the day - September 18, 1998
     Kosova Information Center : Daily Report No

         Die Bibel sagt  -  The Bible says
 

If available you find on this page  -  Soweit verfügbar finden Sie auf dieser Seite     1. 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 18.09.1998 19:44   http://seite1.web.de/show/36029C28.NL1/

Albaner: Serben zerstörten 17 Dörfer im Kosovo
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Während der dreitägigen Offensive im Norden Kosovos haben serbische Einheiten nach albanischen Angaben 17 albanische Dörfer vollkommen zerstört.
     Die Artillerieangriffe und anschließende Plünderungen hätten in der Region Bajgorska Salja, nördlich von Kosovoska Mitrovica, stattgefunden. Das meldete das albanische Kosovo-Informationszetrum am Freitag abend in Pristina.
     Mindestens drei Personen seien getötet worden, mehrere tausend Menschen seien vor den Granaten in die umliegenden Berge geflüchtet. Ihre Lage wurde als äußerst schwer beschrieben.
© dpa

Nato reagiert auf jugoslawische Attacke gegen Bonn mit Unverständnis
Brüssel (dpa) - Die NATO hat am Freitag mit Unverständnis auf die Vorwürfe Jugoslawiens reagiert, Deutschland unterstütze albanische Terroristen im Kosovo. Ein hoher NATO-Beamter in Brüssel nannte die Beschuldigungen propagandistisch. «Das entbehrt jeder Grundlage», sagte er. Die Politik der Allianz gegenüber dem Konflikt im Kosovo hätten die NATO-Staaten gemeinsam entwickelt. «Es gibt keinen deutschen Alleingang», hob der Beamte hervor. «Die Verbündete sind über die Vorwürfe sehr erstaunt.»
     Die jugoslawische Regierung hatte am Donnerstag in einer Protestnote äußerst scharf gegen die Äußerung von Verteidigungsminister Volker Rühe protestiert, die NATO könne in den nächsten drei bis fünf Wochen militärisch im Kosovo-Konflikt eingreifen. Am Freitag demonstrierten etwa 500 bis 600 Serben vor der deutschen Botschaft in der Innenstadt von Belgrad.
© dpa

UNHCR: Krise in Kosovo spitzt sich weiter zu
Belgrad/Pristina/Genf/ (dpa) - Die Kosovo-Krise spitzt sich nach Einschätzung des UNO-Flüchtlingshilfswerks (UNHCR) weiter zu. Wegen der jüngsten serbischen Offensive seien weitere 10 000 Menschen aus ihren Dörfern zwischen Podujevo und Mitrovica geflüchtet, sagte UNHCR-Sprecher Kris Janowski am Freitag in Genf. `Die Kosovo-Krise wird von Tag zu Tag schlimmer", sagte Janowski. Am Freitag blieb es im Kosovo weitgehend ruhig.
     Eine internationale Diplomatengruppe, die die Lage im Kosovo seit drei Monaten verfolgt, sprach in ihrem am Freitag in Belgrad veröffentlichten Bericht von einer `gewissen" Verbesserung der Flüchtlingslage.
     Die Menschen würden beginnen langsam in ihre Ortschaften zurückkehren, die humanitäre Lage sei dennoch `dramatisch", denn weiterhin weilten etwa 50 000 Menschen unter freiem Himmel.
     Unterdessen stimmte der Führer der Kosovo-Albaner, Ibrahim Rugova, einem US-Vorschlag für eine Übergangslösung in der südserbischen Krisenprovinz `grundsätzlich" zu. Diskutiert werden müsse jedoch der vorgeschlagene Zeitrahmen von drei Jahren, sagte Rugova am Freitag in der Provinzhauptstadt Pristina. Mehrere radikale Albanerparteien und die Unabhängigkeitsarmee UCK lehnten den Plan ab, der unter Vermittlung des US-Botschafters in Mazedonien ausgearbeitet wird.
     Das Flüchtlingshilfswerk sei von Armee und Polizei daran gehindert worden, nach Bojcina und Mitrivica zu gelangen, sagte Janowski. Anwohner berichteten, ihnen sei mitgeteilt worden, daß 13 Dörfer angegriffen würden. Zwar seien später nicht alle Dörfer beschossen worden, doch seien die meisten Einwohner geflohen.
     An der Grenze zu Montenegro halten sich nach Schätzungen inzwischen rund 25 000 Flüchtlinge im Freien und ohne medizinische Versorgung auf. Viele seien verletzt oder verwundet. In Bosnien haben bereits 9 000 Flüchtlinge aus dem Kosovo Zuflucht gesucht, teilte das UNHCR mit.
© dpa

Ton zwischen Bonn und Belgrad verschärft sich
Bonn/Belgrad (dpa) - In der Auseinandersetzung um das serbische Vorgehen im Kosovo hat sich der Ton zwischen Bonn und Belgrad verschärft. Die jugoslawische Führung warf der deutschen Regierung eine Bedrohung ihres Staates und Unterstützung des albanischen «Terrorismus» vor. Das wurde am Freitag in Bonn mit großer Schärfe zurückgewiesen.
     Vor der deutschen Botschaft in Belgrad demonstrierten am Freitag mehr als 500 Menschen unter dem Motto «Hände weg von Serbien». Dabei wurden auch Rufe «Mörder» und «Nazi-Schweine» laut.
     Das jugoslawische Außenministerium hatte am Vorabend den deutschen Geschäftsträger Rolf Krause einbestellt und gegen Äußerungen von Verteidigungsminister Volker Rühe protestiert. Rühe hatte in einer ZDF-Sendung von einer möglichen NATO-Intervention im Kosovo «in drei bis fünf Wochen» gesprochen, wenn die Angriffe der serbischen Sicherheitskräfte gegen die Zivilbevölkerung weitergingen.
     «Mit diesen Drohungen fallen die Masken der destruktiven Politik der Unterstützung des (albanischen) Terrorismus im Kosovo», hieß es in der Protestnote.
     Der deutsche Diplomat wies die Vorwürfe zurück und erklärte, Rühe habe sich mit seinen Äußerungen im Rahmen der Debatte innerhalb der NATO bewegt. Gleichzeitig widersprach er in scharfer Form Beschuldigungen, Bonn unterstütze terroristische Aktivitäten der albanischen Untergrundbewegung UCK im Kosovo und dulde deren Finanzierung aus Deutschland.
     Der Sprecher des deutschen Außenministeriums, Martin Erdmann, sah am Freitag in der Einbestellung des deutschen Diplomaten eine «Inszenierung billiger Propaganda». Es sei abwegig, Deutschland einen Alleingang in der Kosovo-Krise zu unterstellen oder sie als Initiator einer Militäraktion darzustellen.
     Ein Sprecher des Verteidigungsministeriums sagte, Rühe habe sich mit seiner Drohung von der Not Zehntausender von Menschen leiten lassen, die im hereinbrechenden Winter ohne Nahrung, Wasser und medizinische Versorgung in den Wäldern im Kosovo umherirrten.
     Auch der deutsche Innenminister Manfred Kanther drohte Belgrad am Freitag in ungewöhnlicher Schärfe Konsequenzen an. «Wir können der serbischen Regierung nicht gestatten, einen Raubkrieg zu führen und damit eine weitere Flüchtlingswelle auszulösen», sagte er in Chemnitz (Sachsen). Vermutlich sei die serbische Führung erst belehrbar, «wenn sie die Faust sieht».
     In der jugoslawischen Protestnote wurde daran erinnert, daß Deutschland in zwei Weltkriegen den Serben großes Leid zugefügt habe. Auch Außenminister Klaus Kinkel wurde wegen seines Eintretens für scharfe Sanktionen kritisiert. «Derartige Aussagen und Propagandafeldzüge deutscher Minister destabilisieren die Lage auf dem Balkan», hieß es in Radio Belgrad.
© dpa

Beziehungen zwischen Belgrad und Bonn wieder auf Tiefpunkt
Belgrad (dpa) - Die andauernde Kosovo-Krise hat in dieser Woche zu einem neuen Tiefstand in den jugoslawisch-deutschen Beziehungen geführt. Die Äußerung des deutschen Verteidigungsministers Volker Rühe, die NATO könne «in den nächsten drei bis fünf Wochen» militärisch im Kosovo-Konflikt intervenieren, stieß in Belgrad auf eine geschlossene Front der Regierungskoalition.
     «Deutschland ist genetisch vom Balkan besessen», war die Einschätzung der kommunistischen Jugoslawischen Linke. «Wir sind zu einem erbarmungslosen Krieg mit Deutschland bereit», donnerte der Radikalenführer Vojislav Seselj.
     In einem selten derart scharf formulierten Protest des Außenministeriums wurde Bonn vorgeworfen, einem unabhängigen Staat militärisch zu drohen und gleichzeitig den albanischen Separatismus und Terrorismus zu unterstützen. «Meint Rühe etwa, daß Deutschland im 20. Jahrhundert dem serbischen und montenegrinischen Volk zuwenig Leiden und Gräber zugefügt hat», heißt es im Protestschreiben. Die deutsche Regierung hat am Freitag mit Nachdruck diesen Protest der jugoslawischen Regierung zurückgewiesen.
     Für Belgrad und die offiziellen serbischen Medien ist Deutschland seit langem eine der «Hauptstützen» des albanischen Separatismus. So wie Bonn schon 1991-92 die kroatischen, slowenischen und bosnischen Separatisten unterstützt hat, möchte Deutschland jetzt Serbien und Jugoslawien zerstören, steht es tagtäglich in den Staatsmedien.
     Di Befürwortung internationaler Sanktionen gegen Jugoslawien durch Bonn wegen des Ausbleibens einer friedlichen Lösung in der Kosovo- Frage wird als Beweis der «ständigen Hegemonieansprüche der Germanen» auf dem Balkan gedeutet. «Die Nachkommen jener, die beide Weltkriege auf dem Balkan verloren haben, sollen diese Niederlagen nicht vergessen», warnte der Pressesprecher der Jugoslawischen Linken, Ivan Markovic.
     Nicht nur die rechts-liberale Koalition in Bonn, sondern auch deutsche Medien sind seit Monaten Zielscheibe heftiger Kritik. Den Korrespondenten wird vorgeworfen, «unobjektiv» aus dem Kosovo zu berichten. Einige deutsche Journalisten wurden ausgewiesen und vielen wurde ohne Begründung das Einreisevisum verweigert. «Deutsche Korrespondenten sind das Sprachrohr der Bonner Regierung», hieß es in den regimetreuen Medien.
     Die neueste politische Krise wird nach Ansicht von Beobachtern auch auf die wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit Einfluß haben. Trotz aller Schwierigkeiten der serbischen Wirtschaft steht Deutschland an der Spitze der Handelspartner.
     Einen Job wird die serbische Industrie bestimmt verlieren: die Produktion von Kampfanzügen für die deutschen Streitkräfte. Das deutsche Verteidigungsministerium hatte bestätigt, daß diese Bekleidung in der staatlichen YUMKO-Fabrik an der Grenze zum Kosovo gefertigt wird.
     Die oppositionelle Partei von Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in Bonn warf daraufhin der deutschen Regierung vor, sie treibe Geschäfte mit dem jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic. Yumco habe seit 1996 über deutsche Firmen mehrere Aufträge zur Produktion von insgesamt 769 200 Kampf-Jacken, Blusen beziehungsweise Hosen im Wert von 26,6 Millionen Mark erhalten.
     «Was, wir haben für die Deutschen Uniformen gemacht, in denen die uns angreifen wollen», reagierte darauf empört ein «Patriot» in Belgrad. Aber weder er, noch die meisten Serben werden aus politischen Gründen auf das stärkste Symbol Deutschlands, die Deutsche Mark verzichten. Sie ersetzt in allen größeren Transaktionen als parallele Währung den Dinar. Und die staatliche Nomenklatura wird auch nicht auf ihre nagelneuen deutschen Mercedes-Modelle, Audi oder BMW-Karossen verzichten.
© dpa

Manöver mit NATO-Beteiligung in der Westukraine begonnen
Kiew (dpa) - Ein internationales Manöver mit NATO-Beteiligung hat am Freitag im Westen der früheren Sowjetrepublik Ukraine begonnen. An der Übung «Friedensschild 98» nehmen Truppenteile aus 22 Ländern teil, darunter aus Deutschland, Frankreich und den USA.
     Auf dem Truppenübungsplatz Jaworowski im Gebiet Lwow sollen Kommandeure mit Hilfe modernster Simulationstechnik trainieren, ethnische Konflikte wie im Kosovo im Rahmen von Friedensmissionen zu verhindern. Rußland und Großbritannien schickten Manöverbeobachter.
     Die Übung «Friedenschild 98», an der knapp 1 000 Soldaten teilnehmen, ist das vierte Manöver mit NATO-Beteiligung in der West-Ukraine und soll am 24. September enden.
© dpa

Kanther: Deutsch-tschechische Grenze Brennpunkt illegaler Einreise
Chemnitz (dpa) - Die deutsch-tschechische Grenze hat sich nach Ansicht des deutschen Innenministers Manfred Kanther zum Brennpunkt der unerlaubten Einreise von Ausländern nach Deutschland entwickelt.
Nach einem Treffen mit Beamten des deutschen Grenzschutzes Kündigte
Kanther am Freitag in Chemnitz (Sachsen) schärfere Kontrollen am deutsch-tschechischen Grenzabschnitt an.
     Dazu sei das Personal allein im Grenzbereich Sachsens um rund 480 Beamte aufgestockt worden. Mit mobilen Einheiten will der Grenzschutz auf die zunehmende Flexibilität bei Aktionen der Schleuserbanden reagieren.
     Vor dem Hintergrund der Kosovo-Krise drohte Kanther in ungewöhnlicher Schärfe der serbischen Regierung Konsequenzen an. Die Staaten der Europäischen Gemeinschaft würden sich ein «zweites Bosnien» nicht bieten lassen. «Wir können der serbischen Regierung nicht gestatten, einen Raubkrieg zu führen und damit eine weitere Flüchtlingswelle auszulösen», sagte Kanther. Vermutlich sei die serbische Führung erst belehrbar, «wenn sie die Faust sehe».
© dpa

Diplomaten: Gewisse Verbesserung der Flüchtlingslage im Kosovo
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Die Lage der Flüchtlinge in der südserbischen Krisenprovinz Kosovo verzeichnet nach Ansicht von ausländischen Diplomaten `gewisse" Verbesserungen.
     Dies geht aus einem am Freitag in Belgrad veröffentlichten Bericht der internationalen Diplomatenmission hervor, die seit drei Monaten die Lage im Kosovo verfolgt.
     Die Menschen beginnen in ihre Ortschaften zurückzukehren. Trotzdem gebe es eine `dramatische humanitäre" Lage, denn weiterhin hielten sich etwa 50 000 Menschen unter freiem Himmel.
     Die Mission bemängelte gleichzeitig, daß die serbischen Behörden ihnen den Zutritt zu diejenigen Regionen verweigerten, in denen Polizei- und Armeeverbände im Einsatz waren. Deswegen gebe der Bericht nicht das vollständige Bild der tatsächlichen humanitären Lage wider.
© dpa

Bonn weist Belgrads Protest gegen deutsche Äußerung zurück
Bonn/Belgrad (dpa) - Die deutsche Regierung hat mit Nachdruck einen Protest der jugoslawischen Regierung zurückgewiesen. Die Führung in Belgrad hatte sich scharf gegen die Äußerung von Verteidigungsminister Volker Rühe verwahrt, die NATO könne «in den nächsten drei bis fünf Wochen» militärisch im Kosovo-Konflikt intervenieren.
     In einer Protestnote, die am Donnerstag abend dem deutschen Geschäftsträger Rolf Krause im Außenministerium überreicht wurde, war weiter gegen die angebliche «Unterstützung des Terrorismus» aus Deutschland im Kosovo-Konflikt protestiert worden.
     Nach Angaben des Außenministeriums in Bonn nannte der Geschäftsträger die Vorwürfe wegen der Äußerungen Rühes unbegründet. Der Verteidigungsminister habe sich damit im Rahmen der Debatte der NATO bewegt und nur Auskunft über eine Streitkräfteanfrage des Bündnisses an die deutschen Streitkräfte gegeben.
     In aller Form dementierte er auch den Vorwurf, Bonn unterstütze die terroristischen Aktivitäten von Kosovo- Albanern. Krause wies auf die deutschen Bemühungen hin, die Finanzierung der albanischen Untergrundbewegung UCK aus Deutschland zu unterbinden.
     Rühe hatte dem jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic angedroht, die NATO könne einen Militärschlag führen, wenn sich die Lage im Kosovo nicht entspannt. «Wenn die Angriffe auf die Zivilbevölkerung so weitergehen, dann wächst die Bereitschaft im Westen, dies auch militärisch zu stoppen in den nächsten drei bis fünf Wochen», hatte er am Dienstag im deutschen Fernsehen erklärt.
     «Und dann möchte ich nicht, daß Deutschland wieder einen Sonderweg geht und ausschert», betonte der Minister.
© dpa

Belgrad protestiert gegen Äußerung von deutschem Minister
Belgrad (dpa) - Die jugoslawische Regierung hat scharf gegen die Äußerung des deutschen Verteidigungsministers Volker Rühe protestiert, die NATO könne «in den nächsten drei bis fünf Wochen» militärisch im Kosovo-Konflikt intervenieren.
     «Mit diesen Drohungen fallen die Masken der destruktiven Politik der Unterstützung des (albanischen) Terrorismus im Kosovo», heißt es in der Protestnote, die am späten Donnerstag abend dem deutschen Gachäftsträger Rolf Krause im Außenministerium überreicht wurde, berichtet Radio Belgrad am Freitag morgen.
     Rühe hatte dem jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic gesagt, die NATO könne einen Militärschlag führen, wenn sich die Lage im Kosovo nicht entspannt.
     «Wenn die Angriffe auf die Zivilbevölkerung so weitergehen, dann wächst die Bereitschaft im Westen, dies auch militärisch zu stoppen in den nächsten drei bis fünf Wochen», sagte Rühe am vergangenen Dienstag im deutschen Fernsehen. «Und dann möchte ich nicht, daß Deutschland wieder einen Sonderweg geht und ausschert», betonte der Minister.
     In dem scharfen Protest wird daran erinnert, daß Deutschland schon in den zwei Weltkriegen den Serben großes Leid zugefügt habe. Gleichzeitig wurde auch Außenminister Klaus Kinkel kritisiert, der scharfe Sanktionen gegen Belgrad wegen der serbischen Gewaltpolitik im Kosovo fordert.
     «Derartige Aussagen und Propagandafeldzüge deutscher Minister destabilisieren die Lage auf dem Balkan», erklärte Radio Belgrad.
     Alle drei Parteien der serbischen Koalitionsregierung hatten am Donnerstag Bonn beschuldigt, ganz offen den albanischen «Terrorismus» zu unterstützen.
© dpa

NATO bereitet Hilfsaktionen im Kosovo vor
Washington (dpa) - Die USA und ihre NATO-Verbündeten arbeiten an Plänen für humanitäre Hilfsaktionen in der jugoslawischen Krisenprovinz Kosovo.
     Nach Angaben des amerikanischen Verteidigungsministeriums vom Donnerstag in Washington bereiten sie sich auf die Möglichkeit vor, Vertriebene und Flüchtlinge im kommenden Winter mit Lebensmitteln zu versorgen.
     Ministeriums-Sprecher Kenneth Bacon sagte, die Versorgung könnte aus der Luft und auf anderem Weg stattfinden. Wenn die Kämpfe zwischen serbischen Einheiten und den albanischen Rebellen andauerten und die Fluchtwelle weitergehe, könnten auch Notunterkünfte bereit gestellt werden.
     Wie am Vortag bereits US-Präsident Bill Clinton, sagte Bacon, daß eine menschliche Katastrophe im Kosovo drohe. Bisher seien bereits geschätzt 250 000 Menschen durch die Kämpfe vertrieben worden. Weitere etwa 40 000 Flüchtlinge hielten sich in Montenegro und 20 000 in Albanien auf, sagte der Sprecher.
© 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

......... 

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

Postkarten schreiben ! -  Write postcards !

Postkarten schreiben ! -  Write postcards !

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1556
Prishtina, 18 September 1998

President Rugova's Press Conference

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova condemned today the continued Serb military offensive in Dukagjin and Drenicë regions as well the Serb attacks against Shalë e Bajgorës region, which have resulted in further loss of life amongst the Albanian population and destruction of houses and property, and has produced thousands of new refugees. The villages in the municipalities of Podujeva and Vushtrri are now being threatened by the Serb forces, he said, pressing for an immediate stop of all this, and prevention of spilling over of attacks in the eastern Kosova, there hundreds of thousands of displaced people have found refuge.
President Rugova denounced the continued Serb harassment of political activists, as well as the political trials underway and in the making, referring to reports that more than 1,200 Albanians have been charged by the Serb regime.
The Kosova leader re-iterated his call for an end to the Serb offensive, international protection for Kosova, and the return of people back to their homes with security and safety, under international monitoring.
An independent Kosova, with all guarantees for local Serbs, and an international protectorate as an interim stage, is the best solution, the President said.
He thanked President Clinton for authorizing 20 million dollars in aid, as well as the Japanese government for its 2.3 million dollars in aid for Kosova.
You speak of independence as 'the best solution', the Kosova negotiating team, having submitted objections to the interim accord draft, has agreed for Kosova to remain within Yugoslavia. Does this mean the 1991 independence referendum has been betrayed? - the Albanian language Bujku reporter asked.
Kosova was part of the former Yugoslavia, the country which has ceased to exist, Rugova said in reply. The interim accord would normalize life, the end of violence and Serbian attacks in Kosova, he added. The accord, on which our team and Ambassador Hill have been working, cannot be treated as 'betrayal of the referendum', but rather a means to an end, President Rugova said.
Asked by a BBC reporter to comment on the text published by the Koha Ditore on Thursday, Rugova said they were but "suggestions and proposals". Work is going on to get an accord between the Kosovar and the Serb teams, under the mediation of Ambassador Hill, he added. "You are well aware that we had also earlier (back in the past few years, KIC) many proposals on Kosova", he said, failing to specify whether this will have the fate of those earlier proposals, whether it will serve as a starting point for anything.
The most recent developments in Albania are "tragic and dangerous" for all of us, the President said, adding that they will distract the attention of the world from Kosova.
"We call on all institutions and all the political parties, as well as the people of Albania, to find a way out of this dangerous situation as soon as possible", Rugova said. "Only a stable and prosperous Albania can help Kosova".

President Rugova Receives Dinstbir, Donnelly

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova received today (Friday) in Prishtina Mr. Jiri Dinstbir, the UN special envoy for human rights, and his aides.
Dinstbir said the UN was increasingly preoccupied with the situation in Kosova.
Rugova said the seven-month long Serb offensive has affected a large territory of Kosova. The goal of the offensive which has left hundreds killed, turned more than 400,000 people into refugees and IDP's, and destroyed their towns and villages, is the ethnic cleansing of Kosova, he pointed out.
Given the scale of destruction, the return of people back to their homes will be a difficult task, the President said. He called for an internationally monitored process of return, as well as for international NGO's to offer help and provide the relief supplies to the Albanian refugees.
An independent and neutral Kosova is the best solution, and it would stabilize the entire region, Rugova said, reaffirming the need for an interim international protectorate pending a lasting and negotiated resolution based on the 1991 referendum.
The UN special envoy for human rights, Jiri Dinstbir, said the conflict should end and the Kosova issue resolved in negotiations.
After the meeting, Rugova and Dinstbir spoke to the press in Prishtina.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day on Friday, President Ibrahim Rugova received the British Ambassador to Belgrade, Mr. Brian Donnelly, to discuss the situation in Kosova and prospects for a political resolution.
The British envoy conveyed the concern of his government over the developments in Kosova. The British diplomacy has been making efforts to assist the attainment of a political resolution to the Kosova issue, Ambassador Donnelly said.

More Victims Identified After Serbs Leave Some of Villages of Podujeva

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - The situation in the town of Podujeva and most parts of this municipality in northern Kosova was reported still very tense and dangerous in the wake of the three-day Serb offensive against Albanian communities in the area.
In late afternoon and evening hours yesterday (Thursday), part of the Serb troops withdrew from Bajgora region, a triangle between Mitrovica, Podujeva and Vushtrri, to only be repositioned in other parts.
Over 50 tanks were garrisoned last night between the villages of Llapashticë and Obrançë, near Podujeva.
A few people who could reach Dobratin village later in the morning today said the village was virtually razed to the ground. They confirmed that a 64-year-old local Albanian, Maksut Rekaliu, was killed. The mutilated body of Fetah Behrami (54), from the neighboring village of Kaçanoll, was found in the village. Haki Rekaliu had received life-threatening wounds, while another local Albanian, Xhafer Ajvazi, is feared to have been slain by Serb forces.
Serbs have looted and destroyed almost everything there. The typical marks the Serb leave behind the communities they vanquish, bullet cartridges and chetnick '4-S' sign on the walls of gutted houses, are vastly evident in Dobratin, witnesses told the LDK chapter in Podujeva.
At the neihbouring Bajçina village, Serbs have likewise pillaged almost all houses and set some ablaze.
The population in other villages in the municipality that were given yesterday a 24-hour deadline to surrender the weapons have fled homes seeking refuge in other village or in the towns of Podujeva and Prishtina.
Few elderly family heads, who refused to leave their property, have stayed behind.
Local LDK activists in Podujeva described the situation there as extremely volatile, the town being packed with Serb troops. Only a few shops opened this morning, and the random passerby are strictly scrutinized, checked and harassed by Serb police patrols. [See below related reports on Serb offesnive in nothern Kosova]

FOCUS: U.S. Plan Published, Kosovars Slam It Unacceptable, pro-Serb
Hill says it is a 'set of ideas'; Surroi says Hill 'inspired by the Communist East; Kosovar legal expert sees it as authored by Markovic, chief Serb negotiator; Demaçi calls for Hill to be replaced

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - The Prishtina-based Koha Ditore newspaper published details Thursday of a plan it said was prepared by U.S. envoy Chris Hill and Jim O'Brien that foresees limited local autonomy for Kosova and keeps it part of Serbia and within 'FRY'.
Chief Kosova negotiator, Dr. Fehmi Agani, said the Kosovar side had "serious objections", and that the proposal would have to be changed.
The three-year accord refers to Kosova as a "territory", and does not provide any propositions which would give the majority of the people of Kosova a decisive say on their future at the end of the day.
The first reaction of the Kosovars has been utterly negative, with some suggesting it was the chief Serb negotiator Ratko Mrakovic's draft plan!
The U.S. envoy, Ambassador Chris Hill, talked to local media in Prishtina Thursday afternoon.
He said he was here to meet with the (Kosova) negotiating. "As you know, we presented some ideas to them, a couple of weeks ago I guess. We presented a set of ideas, and we wanted to get reactions here to those ideas. So, the negotiating team under Dr. Agani had put together points to respond to points that we made,", Hill said in the American Office.
The U.S. diplomat said he and the negotiating team "went through them one by one, to see which sections cause problems, which sections are O.K., which changes would be required, section changes, entire section changes."
"We are going to take those back, and we are going to talk with some of our people in Washington, and I will come up, try to put together a new package of ideas.", Ambassador Hill said, adding "of course, we will also be talking with people in Beograd [Belgrade]. So, that's the negotiating process."
The U.S. ambassador to Shkup/FYROM said he "was a little surprised to see our ideas put in Koha Ditore." He said he did not know if this was accurate. Jim O'Brien's name is misspelled, Hill noted, as if to cast the first doubt about the accuracy of the text.
A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the authenticity of the published plan but said it was "only a starting point" for Serbian and Kosova Albanian leaders, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

Utterly negative response from Kosovars
Veton Surroi, the editor-in-chief of Koha Ditore, a member of the previous Kosovar negotiating team, slammed the draft paper offered by Hill and O'Brien. In comments published in the front page of Koha Ditore on Thursday, Surroi said while the mediator does not take any responsibility to secure the creation of basic conditions for talks on a solution for the future he is "objectively placed on a position biased towards Milosevic".
Any deal in the West requires a strong implementation guarantee; in the Communist East "the interest of the working class", "the sacred word of a pioneer" etc, was sufficient. "It looks like the man who drafted the document was inspired from the East rather than the West", Surroi said.
Milosevic has in fact been "buying time", the right to continue his war in Kosova and get the sympathies of the U.S, mediator Hill so that the resolution of the Kosova issue be nearest to the position of the main Serb legislator, (Ratko) Markovic, Veton Surroi, whose Koha Ditore published the U.S. plan on Kosova, said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Professor Ismet Salihu, a law professor at the University of Prishtina, said the principles on which the solution to the Kosova issue is purported to be found "are fatal for Kosova and its people".
"From what I read [in Koha Ditore], I do doubt that this is the project (draft) of the American intermediator Hill, or else of O'Brien as the author of the draft. I rather think this is the project of the Serb jurist, Ratko Markovic, which has been presented to the Albanians for approval", Prof. Salihu said in an interview with the Prishtina-based "Kosova sot" daily newspaper on Friday.
Kosova has been stripped off of all statehood prerogatives, the Albanian law professor said. Kosova will not have a constitution, the Parliament is left without virtually all powers it used to have, the President is called the 'Representative', Salihu said.
Summing up, Prof. Salihu said 80 to 90 percent of the state and political powers that Kosova used to have with the 1974 constitution have been stripped off, according to the paper published in Koha on Thursday.
"Kosova has the right to self-determination, including independence", he said, adding that he was supportive of Adem Demaçi's idea that the 1974 Constitution should be the starting point of any Albanian-Serb negotiations on Kosova, "because Kosova enjoyed a much wider autonomy".
Adem Demaçi, the political representative of the UÇK (Kosova Liberation Army) said during an interview with the "Kosova sot" Albanian side should not "accept dubious projects which lead to a cultural autonomy" for Kosova. Mr. Chris Hill has very important work to do in Macedonia, "he should pass his exam" there, Demaçi said. He reiterated his call for the United States to appoint another envoy for Kosova, "a competent man who would deal exclusively with Kosova, who would have no prejudices, who would come her as party to mediate, and, ultimately be a guarantor of the agreement on behalf of America".
The UÇK General Staff said in a statement Wednesday no solution which leaves "Kosova under Serbia or with Serbia" will be accepted.

American analysts slam U.S. administration, plan on Kosova
The Voice of America (VOA) on Friday quoted a number of senior U.S. analysts, including former State Dept. officials, as saying the talks on an interim accord in Kosova were not serious, and have been used by Milosevic, United States, and NATO to dampen the pressure for a military intervention.
James Hooper, director of the Council for Balkan Action in Washington, said 'FRY" President is asking for Washington to pay for Serbia, to clear the mess Milosevic has created in Kosova. Kosova should be made an international protectorate for a three to five year-period, he said, adding that the after that it could ask for independence if it treated the minorities fairly and not detabilize the region by asking to join Albania.
John Fox, a former State Department official, said an interim accord in Kosova would be in the interest of Belgrade in the first place.
The goal of these talks would be for Belgrade to gain time for new offensives to depopulate half of Kosova, Fox said.
The talks in the past several months have served only as a cover for violence on the ground, he added.
"They serve also as a cover for the U.S. and the West to do as little as possible to fulfil the commitments that they would not allow such a violence in Kosova", Fox said.
Janusz Bugajsky, an associate director of the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington, said he was pessimistic about the results of an interim accord in Kosova, because it contained many unknowns, and Milosevic is notorious for not implementing agreements.
Paul Wood, also a former State Department official, now an international law professor, said the United States have in fact given Milosevic a green light to ethnically cleanse Kosova, VOA reported on Friday.

UK Draft Resolution on Kosova Not to Call for Force
British official elaborates on the rationale for half-measures

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - Britain confirmed on Thursday it was drafting a U.N. resolution calling on Serb and pro-independence forces in Kosova to stop fighting but said the motion would not threaten the use of force, Reuters news agency reported.
The resolution, co-sponsored by France, also calls for a global flight ban on Yugoslav airlines, the withdrawal of special police force units from Kosova, and better access to refugees.
Most NATO states believe a Security Council resolution is necessary before the alliance mounts any military move in Kosova.
British officials said the resolution would not present any ultimatums to Belgrade because, arguably, these would be vetoed by Security Council members such as Russia and China.
Russia, an ally of the Serbs, has said it opposes any Security Council resolution placed under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter which could lead to the ultimate use of force to back it up.
"We're thinking of an interim resolution rather than a clear Chapter VII threat of military action. We have to see what the Russian reaction is. There is an indication they might swallow such a resolution,'' a British official told reporters, Reuters said.
Elaborating on the rationale of half measures, the official said "It seems to us that it is right to put the pressure on. But it wouldn't be right to introduce a tougher resolution which would collapse because of opposition in the Security Council.''
Further elaborating on this, the official said, "We'll have to see whether the resolution has any effect on Milosevic. He hasn't listened much in the past but it seems to us that we have to make an effort"!

Pentagon Says Air Drops an Option in Kosova

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) The Pentagon is looking at "a variety of options" for getting emergency aid to Albanians displaced by fighting in Kosova, Keneth Bacon said on Thursday.
"The short time to winter is putting pressure on everyone for a solution," the Pentagon spokesman said.
"We're looking at a variety of options" to deliver large amounts of food quickly to the estimated 250,000 refugees, Bacon said.
The U.S. Mercy Corpse International puts the number at 400,000 Albanians displaced, whereas Kosovar authorities say the number is closer to 450,000 now.
"We know we can drop our rations from planes. ... Theoretically that is an option for providing humanitarian assistance," the spokesman said.
The impending winter is putting increased pressure on NATO to find  an answer to the fighting in Kosova, and a diplomatic solution is being sought, Keneth Bacon said during a regular press briefing.
"We don't want a repeat of Bosnia," President Clinton said on Wednesday.
Milosevic may become a victim of his own success, a senior CNN military correspondent said Friday, alluding to the possibility that NATO launch air strikes against Serb forces now that these strikes would not raise 'false hopes' to the UÇK (the Kosova Liberation Army) after its setbacks.

OSCE Commissioners Say 'NATO Must Act'
"It's time for an American commitment in Kosova," says Dole

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - The following statement was issued Thursday by the Commission on  Security and Cooperation in Europe:  "What is urgently needed now is American leadership and a firm commitment to a genuine and just peace in Kosovo," said former Senator Bob Dole at a hearing conducted by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday that reflected bipartisan frustration with current developments in Kosova,  and the lack of a coherent  Western plan to end the violence.
"Bush gave Milosevic the green light, and it hasn't been turned off," said Dole, chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons in Bosnia. "Yet if we do not act before winter sets in, if the Kosovars in the mountains begin to freeze to death, then Milosevic can get away with the claim that he didn't murder them. To do the right thing, we don't have much time."
Also testifying was John H. F. Shattuck, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and a Commissioner, who stated, "Crimes against humanity have been committed.
[Thus] the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague is a critical piece of the long-term process of bringing a political solution in Kosovo."
Commission Chairman Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) asked, "Why is there no action (by the West)? The short answer is that there is no political will. As I understand the situation, NATO's military command is fully prepared to act in a full range of responses if given the order. If we do not act now, we become accomplices in Milosevic's genocidal campaign. What we need is U.S. leadership to build a 'coalition of the willing,' or, short of that, unilateral action to halt the ethnic cleansing."
Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) ventured, "Speaking personally, I am not known  as someone who readily recommends military response, but if action is not taken, knowing -- as we do know - that many more people will die as a result, we share a portion of the responsibility for what does happen. NATO must act."
Also participating in the hearing were Commissioners Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Ranking Member  Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), and Representatives Benjamin A. Gilman  (R-NY), Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, and Eliot L. Engel (D-NY).

Serbs Take Away Looted Commodities, Torch Village of Dobratin
Serb troops re-positioned around Albanian villages overnight

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - Serb forces torched Thursday afternoon scores of Albanian farmhouses in Dobratin, a village 8 km north of Podujeva, local sources reported. The LDK chapter in Podujeva said looting of houses preceded the  setting ablaze of houses in the Dobratin. Big plumes of smoke billowing from this villages and the neighboring Kaçanoll could be seen until late hours last night. A motorized convoy of around 85 Serb police and army vehicles left Dobratin village last evening at around 8 p.m.
Large amounts of commodities and domestic appliance, pillaged in the village, were loaded on trucks and taken away by Serb forces, witnesses said.
The Podujeva Information Commission said the area which came under Serb attacks during the past three days is still tightly sealed off by Serb forces, making it impossible to determine the real extent of the consequences and the casualty-toll resulting from the offensive.
Sources said that around 22:00 hrs last night, 58 Serb tanks withdrew from an area around Dobratin village. They were later garrisoned in a hillside between the villages of Llapashticë and Obrançë, only a couple of miles west of the town of Podujeva. This location has been turned into a Serb base for weeks now,

Serbs Pound and Torch the Remaining Houses in Pasoma Village
At least three Albanians killed in Shala e Bajgorës on Thursday

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - Serb troops resumed today (Friday) morning the shelling of Pasoma village in Shala a Bajgorës, an area straddling the municipalities of Mitrovica, Vushtrri and Podujeva, north-west of Prishtina.
Albanian communities in the Shala e Bajgorës regions have come under fierce attacks by Serb forces in the past three days, resulting in casualties, destruction of entire villages and thousands of people fleeing their homes.
Sources said most of the farmhouses in Pasoma village have already been razed.
The LDK chapter in Mitrovica reported of further movement of Serb troops in the area of Shala e Bajgorës. Part of the Serb forces withdrew overnight, yet many of them with heavy armament have continued to remain dug in many key positions.
The LDK said it has learned that three Albanians were killed during the Serb attacks on Thursday, but it failed to give their name.

Serbs Troops Kill Albanian in His Home in Vushtrri

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - Serb forces killed a 60-year-old Albanian, Halil Mustafa, in Smrekovnica village of Vushtrri ('Vucitrn') on Thursday afternoon. The LDK chapter in Vushtrri said the late Mustafa was killed in the courtyard of his family house yesterday at around 18:45.
Serb troops returning from the Shala a Bajgorës region, which was under heavy fire in the past days, opened indiscriminate fire on houses of Albanians in Smrekovnica, killing Halil Mustafa on the spot.

Firefighting Reported around Likovc Village, Skenderaj, Friday

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - Skirmishes were reported fought today (Friday) between Serb troops and a local unit of the Liberation Army of Kosova (UÇK) around Likovc village, in Skenderaj municipality.
Local sources said the village of Likovc came under heavy fire at around midday today. Serb forces who attempted to enter into the village from the neighboring Makermal hamlet were reportedly prevented from doing so.
At around 14:00, the had of the chapter of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in Skenderaj said fighting around Likovc was still going on. A witness told the CDHRF he had seen smoke rise from a couple of two Serb vehicles.
The human rights group could not confirm any reports about possible casualties in Likovc today.

IDP's in Drenica Double-Hit, Human Rights Activist Say

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - Murat Musliu, head of the chapter Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in Skenderaj, told the KIC today that thousands of internally displaced persons (IDP) have been double-hit by continuous Serb attacks and drastic shortages of food and medical supplies.
At least 30.000 IDP's have been sheltered in the villages  between Skenderaj and Gllogovc, he said.
The human rights activist said that many villages in the area continued to be deserted for months now, their inhabitants crammed in 'relatively safer villages'.
He named the villages of Polac, Kryshefc, Morinë, Polluzhë, Makërmal, Likoc, Rrezallë, Obri e Ulët, Obri e Epërme, Murgë, Ticë, Plluzhinë, Açarevë, Cerovik, Bezheviq, Tërstenik and Tërdefc, whose population has fled homes.
These villages had a population of over 25,000 before the Serb crackdown in early spring this year.

Serbs Burn Houses that Outlived Shelling in Opterusha, Rahovec
Bodies of two local Albanians cannot be collected and buried

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - Serb forces have continued burning Albanian farmhouses in Opterushë village of Rahovec ('Orahovac'), local sources said today.
Naim Kabashi, head of the local LDK organization in Opterrushë, told the KIC that Serbs have been torching the houses in the village which survived the shelling last month.
He said the bodies of two local Albanians, killed by Serbs earlier, could not be collected and buried as the area is still sealed off by Serb troops. The two men were mentally retarded persons, who did not flee the village when it came under the Serb fire.
Part of the population of Opterushë has been sheltered in the villages of Krusha and Mamusha, but many are still camping under makeshift tents made of plastic near Pagarusha, the LDK activist said.

Serb Snipers Wound Albanian in Malisheva

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) -  Serb snipers wounded an Albanian, Shkëlzen Javori, at his village of Llazicë of Malisheva on Thursday afternoon, local sources reported.
Jakup Kastrati, chairman of the Malisheva LDK chapter, told the KIC that the body of another Albanian, Sadik Morina from Astrazub village, was found today at a location called "Hurdhat".
Sadik Morina was killed by firearms. Quoting a source in the area, the LDK activist said he had been executed by Serbs.

1,000 Albanian Refugees in Desperate Situation in Rugova Region
Montenegrin police crosses Kosovar border to chase Albanians

PRISHTINA, Sept 18 (KIC) - The Montenegrin police has been obstructing the movement of the residents of the Kosovar mountainous region of Rugova to Rozhajë, the nearest Montenegrin town.
A resident of Rugova, Selman Lajçi, told the KIC the Montenegrin police entered a kilometer inside Kosovar territory on Thursday and chased and opened fire on Albanian children collecting mushrooms.
A dozen Albanians were illtreated by the Montenegrin police in the past couple of days, while they were trekking the 20 km distance, Mr. Lajçi said.
Some 1,000 refugees are still in this part of Rugova, he said. They had been trying to cross to Montenegro, but have been turned back. The refugees have been since 11 September in the villages of Malaj, Pepaj, Dreshaj, Haxhaj, Kuçishtë, Bogë, Shkrel, Koshutan, Pecaj. Some of them are living rough in the open, some in summer alpine huts.
The Serb police has been ill-treating Albanians trying to move in and out of the region of Rugova, too, reports said.

Kosova Information Center
Last page!

KOSOVA (war in Kosova)
Mitrovicë: Burning villages in Shalë e Bajgorës

Prishtina, 17 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
Serb infantry and police forces backed by tanks, penetrated into some villages of Shalë e Bajgorës and burnt the completely the village Zabërgjë with 35 houses, Vidishiq with 78 houses and Vocaj suburb of Maxherë with 13 houses.
Even the school buildings were burnt. Also, 80 out of total 100 houses of Melenicë village are burnt and ruined. According to the last information, Serb forces are installed in the villages Zabërgjë and Mazhiq. There are claims for a large number of the killed and the wounded. There is confirmation on the wounding of 13 people.
Sources in Vushtrri state that the entire population of the villages Pasomë, Banjskë, Smrekovnicë, Sllatinë, Tërllabuq, Karaçë, Studime e Epërme and Ceceli fled their houses, while only a part of the population fled from the village Samadrexhë.
According to "Koha Ditore" sources, Serb forces (angry about the losses in military hardware and in people as there are claims that 60 policemen, soldiers and paramilitaries were killed) embarked an action of burning the Albanian houses in Dobratin and other surrounding villages.
Last Thursday at 0700CET and 0800CET, Serb forces installed in FAN and the Brick Factory, headed towards Dobratin with 20 trucks and three tanks stationed in Obrançë.
Podujevë: Albanians missing in Dobratin, the population abandons the village Kaçandoll.
LDK sources from Podujevë informed that in the course of the Thursday night, no shelling were conducted by the Serb forces situated between the villages Bajçinë, Bradash and Dobratin against the villages of Shala e Bajgorës.
After the shelling which lasted two days, Serb forces penetrated with several tanks into the village of Kaçandoll, wherefrom burning of the houses were reported afterwards. A part of the population of this village managed to escape, while most of them are sheltered in the mountains and are surrounded by the Serb forces.
It was informed that, the residents of Dobratin village who were held as hostages in the building of the local school (where the Serb forces are installed), were released Wednesday afternoon.
Our sources inform that, Serb military and paramilitary forces have managed to take over the place called Picel, where severe fighting between KLA and Serb units are going on.

Klinë: Entire villages targeted by snipers

"Koha Ditore" local sources confirm that the villages Gremnik, Çupevë, Volljakë, Sverkë, Përçevë, Këpuz, Çeskovë, Gllarevë and Gjurgjevik i Madh are being kept under the target of numerous Serb military and police forces equipped with heavy artillery, which are situated in the plantation of cherries in Gremnik.
Moreover Serb snipers are installed in the highest peaks of the mountains between Gremnik and Llapushë, and they shoot against the Albanian people who attempt to enter or get out of the villages.
Serb police gave the second ultimatum to the residents of these villages to hand over weapons, within five days. A larger number of the local residents of the villages Volljakë, Sverkë and Çupevë are being kept isolated in their own houses. These are mainly old men, women and elderly who did not succeed to escape. It is suspected that some of them have died from hunger, lacking medical treatment and medicaments.
A catastrophic situation prevails in Përçevë, where over 2.500 people (women, children, and elderly) are staying outdoors, lacking the basic living conditions. Most of them are escapees from the war striken villages who found shelter in this village.
These people are endangered also by an eventual attack of the Serb forces except from the hunger and the cold weather. More than 100 houses are burnt in the village Sverkë including the local elementary school in Dush.
The Albanian population of this village was barred entry in this village since 1 July. Dërgut Krasniqi (78) who spent three days and nights in the sewerage pipeline, was the last one who left the village. Dërgut declared to "Koha Ditore" that during that period, he had seen two Serbs and one Gypsy armed with machine guns and knives, entering in his yard. The Gypsy, whom he identified as Naim Cakolli from Drenoc village, called the name of Dërgut all the time. However, he did not answered and in this way, he avoided being killed.
Furthermore, there is no information about dr. Zajm Gashi who was arrested in Panorc a couple of days ago, and it is suspected that he could have been eliminated by Serb police.

KOSOVA (KD reportage)
"I found the police inside my house"

Deçan, 17 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
"Starting from May, when the Serb police\military forces besieged the village of Junik, I as many others was forced to flee my house. Serb army cannons and APCs, were placed right in front of my house", starts her story the 65 years old woman, Xhyle Pepshi, from Junik. "After the police call and their insistence on the dislocated to go back to their homes, on Saturday I headed to Junik, to my house. I was curious to find out what had happened", she continues telling.
"The Serb police registered me at the entrance of the village and let me in without any problem. Upon entering the yard, I heard a man's voice coming from the inside of my house. First I thought they were some kind of plunderers, but as I entered the hall, I ran into Serb policemen", tells she.
"I told them that this was my house and I came back to ive in it, because I have nowhere else to go. However, they did not move from the house", she claimed.
"We do not plan to leave, but you can come and live with us", was the answer of the Serb policemen. "The house was not burned down, but they ate and drank there and demolished everything", explains Xhyle Pepshi, fearing that if she leaves Junik, her house will be burned down, just as many other Albanian houses had been.
Rukmane Shehu, another woman from Junik, tells how her house was not burned down, but it was completely looted.
"I have gone through so much sufferings to buy these things", says Rukmane. "The girls and I never had a proper sleep, during the fall. Early in the morning we always went out in the forest, to pick up chestnuts, so we can have a proper living. And now when we created everything, they left us without anything", tells with tears in her eyes Rukmane Shehu.
The looting is still going on, even in the other villages of the municipality of Deçan. This is becoming a normal procedure, particularly in the villages, whose residents are allowed back in. These actions are mostly done by the Romany, locals claim.

KOSOVA (KD reportage)
"We pray to God, this to end well"

Podujevë, 16 September (ARTA) 1500CET --
A long convoy of tractors were driving over the old bridge which separates the village Sibovc i Epërm from Sibovc i Ulët. In the way to the village, police checkpoints are installed and civilian cars drive through very seldom. At the very entrance of the village, we meet four men.
"Yes, there are 'newcomers' in this village. Here they are there, ahead ", they told us.
In the local shop, we saw some people and we met Ismet Hyseni, a LDK activist.
"Some 'newcomers' came on Tuesday. Today there weren't any. It seems that our appeal for the people to stay in their homes was effective", he claimed. We were led to a nearby house.
A couple of minutes later, a woman with her children got out.
"We were seven or eight families there. We escaped. We did not dare stay any further. Many soldiers came there", claims Habibe Prestreshi (30) a mother of four children. She used to live with her family (until one day ago) near the Brick Factory in Podujevë. Besides them and a group of locals who were accompanying us, no signs of disorder were apparent. We turned back. Some trucks carrying soldiers drove through the road near Lupç i Poshtëm towards Podujevë.
Halil Mustafa (60) whom we met in the way near Lupç i Poshtëm, was running a carriage loaded with some odd things. In addition, an old man and two old women were travelling with him. They were going to their relatives’ in Barilevë. They were coming from Podujevë municipal village Majac.
"Our sons! They are all in Majac", he claims.  When we asked him whether his sons could defend themselves if they feel threatened by someone, the old man replied without hesitation: "Yes".
We went through a side road in order to avoid the check on the Prugovc crossroad. A helicopter flew over our heads towards Prishtina. After walking for half a kilometer through a muddy road, we got into the main road. In Raskovë, we were stopped at the checkpoint. It didn't take long.
"Yesterday afternoon, I saw more than 40 vehicles which were stopped by the police here. They wouldn’t let cars into the town", told us a local resident.
We were told that some 'newcomers' are sheltered in Mazgit i Epërm. Mursel Durmishi (68) an old man with a black hat, finds it very difficult to speak about his experiences.
"What should we do, that was our fate, lets hope everything will end well", he claims offering us cigarettes. Several families from Podujevë, Llapashticë, and Baincë are sheltered in his home. Some children were playing around the large yard.
On our way back, we saw three buses full of policemen. When we entered Prishtina, a helicopter flew over our heads. After a turn around, it landed at the hospital yard. Probably, it was transporting wounded policemen.

KOSOVA (tense situation – Fushë Kosovë)
We have no weapons to hand in and we don't know what the police want from us

Fushë Kosovë, 17 September (ARTA) 1900CET --
"We have no weapons to hand in and we don't know what the police wants from us", claims a villager of Henc. A week ago the Serb police "cruised" around the villages of Bardh i Madh, Sllatinë, Henc, Vragoli, Miradi e Sipërme, Miradi e Poshtme, Lismir and others, and gave an ultimatum to the residents to hand in the weapons, which they do not have. Many are now awaiting for what might happen, as a large number have already started fleeing fearing a possible attack by the Serb police against the undefended population.

KOSOVA (CDHRF report – Istog)
13 killed and 25 wounded persons, so far

Istog, 17 September (ARTA) 1500CET --
According to the six-month CDHRF Istog branch report, which gives the data on the balance of the Serb violence against the Albanian population of this region and its property, 13 Albanians from this municipality, were killed staring from March until the end of August. 25 people were wounded, 15 of which during the mass protests of 9 March. Five persons are considered missing, as 2 are sentenced by the Municipal Court in Pejë (one for the crime act of "terrorism"), 66 underwent physical torture, out of which 57 suffered severe body injuries.
During this period 15 houses were raided, 24 cases of looting of private properties were reported, 34 houses were completely burned and 242 Albanians (activists and others) were taken in for "informative talks".

KOSOVA (looting – Istog)
The goods looted from Albanians on sale

Istog, 17 September (ARTA) 2130CET --
Two points for selling elementary nutritive articles are opened in Istog, while the Albanian merchants had been prevented form selling such articles in their own shops beforehand.
One of these points supplies the local Serbs with goods free of charge, while wares looted from Albanians and obtained from various humanitarian organizations are being sold selectively to Albanian citizens. Afterwards, all people are registered by names and ID cards numbers.
In addition, some gypsies were seen merchandising with different domestic articles looted from the Albanian houses in the war stricken areas. Some of them (coming from Pejë, Gjakovë and Deçan) were spotted today in the market of Istog.

KOSOVA (NATO-Russia meeting)
"Russia, will not veto, after all"

Brussels, 17 September (ARTA) 1600CET --
Bosnia and Kosova were the main topics of the joint NATO Council-Russia meeting. NATO Secretary General, Javier Solana, informed the Russian Ambassador about the plans of the Alliance and of the western partners concerning Kosova, in this joint meeting of the Council in Brussels. A senior NATO official stated after this meeting that, NATO and Russia discussed about the joint reaction towards the crisis in Kosova and about the diplomatic activities for finding a solution to the problem. In this regard, this NATO source states, Russia saluted the activities of the special American envoy to Kosova, Christopher Hill.
In the NATO-Russia meeting, the Russian side is quoted to have said that the changes in the Russian Government will have no affect on the collaboration of this country and NATO nor other international community member states, by means of finding a solution to the Kosova crisis.
NATO sources claim that Great Britain and France gave a new proposal for a new resolution of the UN Security Council concerning Kosova, which would send a clear signal to Milosevic, that NATO will use force if he continues using the force in Kosova. Asked as to whether Russia expressed willingness to support this resolution, the senior NATO official stated "that it is much to soon to say anything about this. However, he added, it would be very useful if this resolution be supported by all, so Milosevic would not be able to count on the international community's divergences. If Russia supports us in this direction, then the signal will be much stronger", stated this NATO official.

KOSOVA (Hill meets negotiating group)
Agani: We have serious objections to the American project-document

17 September (ARTA) 1920CET --
American mediator, Christopher Hill, stayed in Prishtina on Thursday, waiting for his European homologue, following the visit made to the NATO Council on Wednesday.
During his stay in Prishtina, the American envoy had a meeting with the Albanian negotiating team, headed by Fehmi Agani.
According to Agani, they discussed about the American project-document, presented to the Albanian side a few weeks ago and about the objections that this side had to it.
"The objections are serious", stated Agani and stressed that "the Albanian negotiating team has already put these objections in writing and repeated them verbally in today's meeting".
However, according to the head of the Albanian negotiating team, the American mediators should "have more understanding for the objections of the Albanian side".
"I hope we will come close to a document that would be a real solution for the Kosova problem", stated Agani.
On the other hand, the American Ambassador to Shkup said that he "came to get the reactions to the ideas proposed to Prishtina a few weeks ago".
"The negotiating team, headed by Agani, presented several points, as an answer to our proposal", stated Hill, concerning the objections made by the Albanian side.
"I can say that they (the Albanian negotiating team), had more points than we did", claimed Hill.
"I will convey these objections and I will talk with some of our people in Washington and then we will try and draft another package", stated Hill, adding that, "I will also talk with the authorities in Belgrade".

ALBANIA (Foreign Ministry communiqué)
"The Albanian nation and ist Government always stand besides their brothers and sisters in Kosova"

Tirana, 17 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
The Albanian Foreign Ministry in the behalf of the Albanian Government, expresses its deep concern for the continuation of the Serb military repression against the innocent Albanian population of Kosova, it is stated in a communiqué issued by this Ministry concerning the recent events in Kosova.
"The military operations have recently overwhelmed almost the entire territory of Kosova, causing numerous victims and suffering to the innocent people who want to ive in their own houses. It is already apparent that the aim of Belgrade is to transform Kosova into a ruin, thus accomplishing its plans for ethnic cleansing. The Albanian Government has denounced those plans before the situation escalated".
The Albanian Government is also preoccupied with some recent stands of the Montenegrin Government referring to the Kosova Albanian refugees who were refused assistance, although they were chased by the Serb persecutors.
"Such behaviors oppose the moral and juridical principles, which ought to be obeyed by every Government which pretends to be democratic", is stated in the communiqué.

KOSOVA (press conference – government)
"It is a continuous coup d'etat"

Tirana, 17 September (ARTA) 1730CET --
In a press conference, the spokesman of the Albanian Government stated: "I want to make clear the stance of the Albanian Government, following the recent days’ events, when armed bands, encouraged and organized by Sali Berisha's Democratic Party, attacked the major state institutions, including the Prime Ministry, the Parliament, Albanian TV and a number of major Ministries. The Government considers this act as a clear and intentional coup d'etat, which attempted to forcefully take over the rule and subsequently eliminate all political opponents. I want to remind that this was attempted, by demanding the direct elimination of the Prime Minister Fatos Nano and of the Interior Minister, following Sali Berisha's call for "death and termination to the criminals".
The Government evaluates that if the anti-constitutional actions of Sali Berisha would to be realized, they would have unpredictable consequences in Kosova as well, and subsequently, in the entire region.
In this regard, the Government requests from all the political factors in Kosova not to cooperate with them and to understand that the chaos in Albania undermines the perspective of the democratic solution of the Kosova problem.

ALBANIA (reactions)
Gjuliku: "Many Kosovars implicated in the recent days’ unrest"

Tirana, 17 September (ARTA) 1800CET --
Concerning the claims, stating that many Kosovars are implicated in the recent days’ unrest in Albania, Tirana’s Deputy Mayor, Veton Gjuliku, stated that a large number of Kosovars were involved in the recent turmoil. "It is true that a large number of Kosovars were implicated", stated Gjuliku and added that "it is a misfortune for us as a nation, to have such events happening. At the time when Kosova has enough problems of its own, Kosovars find time to come to Albania and protest against the Albanian Government. We, not only confirm that Kosovars were implicated, but that they were armed as well. Among them, there were those who have just recently arrived to Albania, but also Kosovars who have been here for weeks", he stated.

Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), 98-09-17
Taken without permission, for fair use only.
From: The Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Home Page at <http://www.telpress.it/ata>

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

CONTENTS

•[01] Greece denies interference in Albania's internal affairs
•[02] Special envoy of European Union for Albania named
•[03] Albania governmentstrongly protests against violence in Kosova
•[04] Police kill three, injured four gunmen
•[05] DAP supports allies of government coalition
•[06]Influx of passengers in navigation companies in Durres
•[07] Secondary school "Honoured Cross" inaugurated in Gjirokaster
- sponsorship by Albanian Orthodox Autochephalous Church -
•[08] Ship "Lucky Mar" leaves secretly the Durres sea port but seized again
•[09] Looters have preferred industrial goods and not food articles during Tirane recent unrest
•[10] Albanian Finance Minister Malaj demands his personal assets be controlled
•[11] Foreign investments to continue, funds signed
•[12] My appeal is to ease tension, to respect laws, to restore normality and see forward
•[13] Italian company "Cosmar" wins tender for reconstruction of Durres terminal
•[14] EU committed to actively help solving present crisis in Albania - Grubmayr
•[15] Six people arrested in police roadchecks in Tirane
•[16] Albanian government says any delay limits possibilities for a political solution
•[17] Yugoslav and Bosnian citizens of Albanian nationality arrested
•[18] •[19] Serb forces burning Albanian villages near Stanterg
•[20] Parliament to discuss Berisha's parliamentary immunity on Friday
•[21] Grave situation in Vushtrri
•[22] Meidani: We should show restraint to find better solution
•[23] Dentist service store looted
•[24] ATA has nothing to do with false news on DP leader's accident; the news has entered in internet from another source

=>  The Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA)
       Home Page at <http://www.telpress.it/ata>

Taken without permission, for fair use only.

Kosovo leaders split on U.S. envoy's Kosovo policy
07:54 a.m. Sep 18, 1998 Eastern

PRISTINA, Serbia, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova endorsed a U.S. peace plan for Kosovo on Friday, but other ethnic Albanian politicians said it would prolong the ethnic crisis in the Serbian province.
     Rugova, the head of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the largestethnic Albanian party, said the draft aimed at stopping the violence in Kosovo where separatist guerillas have been fighting Serbian security forces for more than six months.
     A copy of the draft published by the Albanian-language daily Koha Ditore said it envisaged a three-year transitional period during which Kosovo would have governing institutions free of Serbian or Yugoslav control and its own judiciary and police.
     Internationally-monitored elections and a population census would be held and the situation would be reviewed at the end of three years.
     The draft made no attempt to define Kosovo's political status or say whether it would be part of Serbia or Yugoslavia.
     "This is an interim agreement that our group is working on together with (U.S. envoy Christopher) Hill and with the Serbian side...We have agreed in principle to a three-year interim accord, which is very important," Rugova told reporters in Pristina, Kosovo's capital.
     Rugova's words came amid bitter reactions from other ethnic Albanian leaders to Hill's draft.
     Adem Demaci, ex-political prisoner and the political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), said he hoped the Albanian side would not accept "such a distrustful project."
     "(It) will leave the problem unsolved and the crisis will not end, but will appear in other forms... (Hill) is prolonging the agony of both sides," Demaci said.
     The conflict has left at least 700 people dead and about 300,000 refugees. Scores of ethnic Albanian villages have been destroyed and a humanitarian tragedy is looming as winter approaches.
     Western diplomatic sources in Pristina said rejection of the plan was premature and called it " a model, a paper as a starting point to get the process moving."
     Serb political sources in Pristina said on Friday there were no reactions from their side to the issue. "We consider the document as a suggestion, open to discussions," one of the Serb sources, who demanded anonymity, told Reuters.
     "The Serbian parliament will meet next week and then we may have more concrete stand," the Serb source said.
     Some other ethnic Albanian politicians, who, unlike Demaci, are considered moderate, such as Veton Surroi, a former Kosovo negotiator, and Shkelzen Maliqi, a political analyst, also expressed disappointment with Hill's draft.
     In an article in Koha Ditore on Thursday, Surroi wrote that Hill was "inspired by the East," in an obvious reference to the Serb side. "The document limits Kosovo as an entity and it circulate around the legal framework of Serbia and Yugoslavia," he said.
     Maliqi said what he had seen of the document "looked like it was the Serbian proposal.
     "It grants Kosovo's autonomous entity certain powers but nothing of essence, for example its own police," Maliqi told Belgrade-based BETA news agency on Thursday.
     However, he left some space for adjustments. "What I saw was probably just the first draft, still to be harmonised," Maliqi said.
     Unlike him, the KLA's statement on Thursday rejected any temporary solution which would leave Kosovo within Serbia and Yugoslavia, calling it a national treason.
     Echoing the statement, Demaci said on Friday that the Albanians "must be prepared for the war which may last for years."
     One diplomatic source said on Friday: "The more violence, the more difficult it will be for both sides to focus on the talks."
     The sources added that the model document aimed at establishing democratic institutions, getting life back to normal and then start resolving other issues.
     "It is going to be a slow process, but that is all the negotiations are about. People here must learn the meaning of the words compromise and tolerance. The world is not black and white, there is a lot of other colours in it," the diplomatic source said.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
 

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