Tagesnachrichten 20. September 1998
     von dpa, from ALBANEWS and others
     News of the day - September 20, 1998
     Kosova Information Center : Daily Report No 1558

         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 20.09.1998 18:25  http://seite1.web.de/show/36052C86.NL1/

Serbische Offensive westlich von Pristina
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Serbische Sicherheitskräfte haben am Sonntag eine neue Offensive in der Provinz Kosovo gestartet. Das meldete das albanische Kosovo-Informationszentrum.
     Die Polizei sei in die Ortschaft Srbica, 35 Kilometer nordwestlich der Kosovo-Hauptstadt Pristina, eingedrungen. Nähere Einzelheiten wurden zunächst nicht bekannt. Serbische Quellen bestätigten diese Meldung zunächst nicht.
     Das Zentrum berichtete außerdem, daß bei der serbischen Offensive nördlich von Pristina in der vergangenen Woche 18 Albaner, darunter fünf Kämpfer der Kosovo-Untergrundarmee UCK, getötet worden seien.
© dpa

Belgrad kündigt eigenen Plan für Kosovo an
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Die serbische Regierung bereitet einen eigenen Plan für die Lösung der Krise in der südserbischen Provinz Kosovo vor.
     Konkrete Vorschläge wolle Regierungs-Chef Mirko Marjanovic dem Parlament bei einer für den kommenden Montag einberufenen Sondersitzung vorlegen, schrieb die Zeitung `Dnevni telegraf" (Belgrad) am Sonntag. Gleichzeitig kamen aus der Unruheprovinz am Sonntag keine Berichte über neue Zwischenfälle.
     Belgrad hatte sofort den albanischen Lösungsvorschlag abgelehnt. Er sah vor, in einer auf drei Jahre begrenzten Übergangsphase die Provinz als gleichberechtigte dritte Republik der jetzigen jugoslawischen Doppelföderation auszurufen und dann einen Volksentscheid über die Unabhängigkeit.
     `Kosovo ist und bleibt Teil Serbiens, und wir können nur über eine kulturelle und personelle Autonomie der Albaner reden", sagte der serbische Vizeregierungschef Tomislav Nikolic am Samstag.
     Der noch unveröffentlichte serbische Vorschlag beruhe auf den bisher unter internationaler, vor allem amerikanischer Vermittlung geführten indirekten Verhandlungen mit Albanervertretern und soll für beide Seiten akzeptable Lösungen beinhalten, sagte eine der Regierung in Belgrad nahestehende Quelle der Zeitung.
     Beobachter in Belgrad bezweifeln jedoch die Möglichkeit einer Kompromißlösung in diesem Augenblick, denn Serbien lehnt einen Volksentscheid und den Status einer Republik, der zur Unabhängigkeit Kosovos führen würde, ab.
     `Wir werden alles unternehmen um unseren Staat zu bewahren und unsere Freiheit zu verteidigen, ohne Rücksicht auf ausländische Drohungen", sagte der serbische Parlamentspräsident Dragan Tomic.
     Das Verhandlungsteam um den Anführer der Kosovo-Albaner, Ibrahim Rugova, stellte am Samstag als Reaktion auf ein von den USA vorgelegtes Papier seinerseits seinen Plan für eine Beilegung des Konflikts vor.
     Die 16 Punkte der angestrebten Übergangslösung sähen eine zeitlich begrenzte Selbstverwaltung mit internationalen Garantien vor, schrieb die albanischsprachige Zeitung `Bujku" in der Provinzhauptstadt Pristina.
     Grundlage von Rugovas Vorschlags ist ein albanischer Volksentscheid von 1990 über eine Unabhängigkeit des Kosovo, der aber weder von Serbien noch von anderen Staaten anerkannt wurde.
     Während einer zeitlich nicht definierten Übergangsperiode zur vollen Unabhängigkeit soll das Kosovo nach albanischer Auffassung mit den beiden jugoslawischen Bundesrepubliken Serbien und Montenegro gleichberechtig sein.
    Außerdem soll die Region ein selbstständiges Parlament, eine eigene Regierung, Notenbank, Gerichte und Polizei bekommen. Das entspricht der Verfassung von 1974, die das serbische Regime unter Slobodan Milosevic 1989 gewaltsam aufgehoben hatte.
     Belgrad lehnte jedoch jede Lösung ab, die über eine `Kulturautonomie" für die albanische Bevölkerungsmehrheit im Kosovo hinausgeht. Vizeprämier Nikolic beschuldigte die Albaner, sie seien unfähig, zu verhandeln, weil unter einander zerstritten.
     Niemand wisse, wer wen vertrete. Sollte die albanische Seite Verhandlungen ablehnen, werde Serbien auch ohne sie ein Gesetz zur lokalen Selbstverwaltung verabschieden und Wahlen in der Provinz ausschreiben, sagte er.
     Rugovas Vorschlag sieht auch einen sofortigen Waffenstillstand, Abzug der serbischen Einheiten, Freilassung aller politischen Gefangenen und Straffreiheit für Teilnehmer der Kämpfe in der Provinz vor. Eventuelle Kriegsverbrecher sollen davon ausgenommen sein. Drei Monate nach Inkrafttreten des Abkommens sollten allgemeine Wahlen im Kosovo stattfinden.
© dpa

«The Observer»: USA gelähmt - wir müssen selber handeln
London (dpa) - Politische Folgen für Europa aus der politischen Lähmung des US-Präsidenten infolge der Lewinsky-Affäre kommentierte das liberale britische Sonntagsblatt «The Observer»:
     «Die Lähmung hätte angesichts der sich verdichtenden Anzeichen einer weltweiten Rezession zu keinem schlechteren Zeitpunkt kommen können. Die Welt braucht die USA, um Finanzhilfe für in Not geratene Regierungen zu leiten, den IWF zu finanzieren und auf einer gewissen koordinierten Wirtschaftsexpansion zu bestehen.
     Wenn die USA sich aber selbst an den Rand manövrieren, dann fällt Europa besondere Verantwortung zu... Die EU wird verstärkt eigenständig handeln müssen - mit Hilfe für Rußland, Rüstungskontrollen im Irak, Eingreifen im Kosovo und gutem Zureden zur Konjunkturbelebung in Japan.
     Sexuelle Peinlichkeiten in Washington haben politische Konsequenzen für Brüssel: Die Stunde der EU ist gekommen. Sie darf es nicht verpatzen.»
© dpa

Belgrader Polizei löst Protestaktion gegen Krieg im Kosovo auf
Belgrad (dpa) - Die serbische Polizei hat am Samstag abend in Belgrad eine friedliche Protestkundgebung gegen den Krieg im Kosovo aufgelöst. Nur einige Dutzend Menschen waren dem Aufruf mehrerer Friedensgruppen gefolgt und hatten sich zwischen dem serbischen Parlament und dem Republikspräsidium versammelt, um gegen den bewaffneten Konflikt in der südserbischen Provinz zu protestieren. Polizisten forderte die kleine Gruppe jedoch auf, den Park zu verlassen. Die geringe Beteiligung an der Demonstration sei Folge der Angst, Unverständnis für die Gefahr und einer verbreiteten Lethargie, sagte Biljana Stanojevic, Vertreterin des serbischen Helsinki-Menschenrechtskomitees der Belgrader Nachrichtenagentur Beta.
© 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 # 1558
Prishtina, 20 September 1998

AT LEAST 18 ALBANIANS KILLED BY SERB TROOPS IN LLAPI REGION THIS WEEK
Eight Albanians Missing, 45 houses Burned in Two Villages

PRISHTINA, Sept 21 (KIC) - At least 18 Albanians were killed, and 45 houses burned in two villages, Dobratin and Kaçanoll, this week by Serbian military and paramilitary police forces in the northern Llapi region of Kosova, the Kosova Information Center (KIC) has learned.
Two Albanians, Maksut Islam Rekaliu (64), resident of Dobratin, and Fetah Sefer Behrami (54), resident of Kaçanoll, were known to have died earlier in the week, when heavy Serb troops backed up by 75 tanks and scores of other vehicles were deployed in an area between the villages of Dobratin and Bajçinë, 8 km north of Podujeva, from where the Shalë e Bajgorës region was attacked.
Two other Albanians, Jashar Fetah Behrami (28) was found killed in Kaçanoll Friday, together with another man, still unidentified.
Likewise in Kaçanoll, three villagers were found killed: Ilaz Bali Hyseni (82), Mihane Ramë Hyseni (f, 75), and Elez Begu (55). The remains of six burned Albanians were found today (Sunday) in burned and destroyed houses between the villages of Dobratin and Bajçinë.
Meanwhile, on Saturday the headquarters of the Operative Sub-zone for Llapi region of the UÇK (Kosova Liberation Army) issued a statement saying five of its fighters were killed in fighting with Serb troops: Fadil Sejdiu, Nazmi Zhegrova, Bekim Lushaku, Bekim Maliqi, and Habib Zeka. They will be buried later in the day on Sunday.
Reports from Podujeva said eight Albanians have gone missing for five days now: Ramadan Behrami (60), Muhamet Fazliu (36), Rrahim Ramadani (16), Ejup Sejdiu (36), Beqir Lepaja (26), Rrahim Lepaja (28), Haki Rekaliu (35) and Xhafer Ajvazi.
It will remain to be seen whether any of the missing could in fact be among those whose burned remains have been found in three houses between the villages of Dobratin and Bajçinë.
Twenty six Albanian farmhouses have been burned in the village of Dobratin, and 19 in the neighboring village of Kaçanoll, which makes a geographic whole with the mountainous Shalë e Bajgorës village, straddling between Podujeva, Mitrovica and Vushtrri ('Vucitrn'). [See related stories below, "Remains of Six...", "At Least Five...", "UÇK for Llapi..."]

Remains of Six Burned Albanians Found Near Dobratin Village of Podujeva

PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The remains of six burned Albanians were found today (Sunday) in burned and destroyed houses between the villages of Dobratin and Bajçinë, municipality of Podujeva, in the area where heavy Serb troops were stationed earlier in the week during the Serbian attack on Dobratin and the villages of Shalë e Bajgorës.
LDK sources in Podujeva said two burned bodies have been found in the house of Hazir Shemsi Rekaliu, three others in the guest hall of Fehmi Shemsi Rekaliu, whereas one in the house of Rizah Rekaliu.
The three houses where the remains were found were burned.
LDK sources in Podujeva said the water in the well of Tefik Xhemajli in the same area was red and stank. It was suspected of containing corpses of killed people.

At Least Five Albanians Massacred in Kaçanoll Village of Podujeva

PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - Sources in Podujeva confirmed today (Sunday) that at least five Albanians were massacred in Kaçanoll village during a Serb offensive in the Shala e Bajgorës region this past week.
The Shala e Bajgorës region - straddling the municipalities of Mitrovica, Podujeva and Vushtrri in north-west Kosova - was targeted by heavy Serb troops for three days last week.
According to estimates by a local Albanian organization, some 260 vehicles, tanks, trucks and armored personnel carriers, and around 12.000 Serb troops, were involved in the operations against Albanian villages in the area.
The LDK chapter in Podujeva confirmed that the following five Albanians were slain in Kaçanoll village alone: Fetah Behrami (55), his son Jashar Behrami (28), Ilaz Hyseni (82), Mihane Hyseni (f,75) and Elez Begu (55). They were all buried on Saturday evening in the local cemetery in Kaçanoll.
Another residents of the village, Ramadan Behrami, has been missing for five days now.
The LDK named 19 families in Kaçanoll, whose farmhouses were razed during the Serb bombardment. This small village has a total of 55 extended families. The houses of many other families were badly damaged, it said.
Activists of the Podujeva LDK chapter who visited Kaçanoll on Saturday afternoon described it as a ghost village. Only half a dozen residents, mainly elderly, had stayed behind, they said.

UÇK for Llapi Region Says Five of Its Fighters Killed
It claims to have killed 100 Serb soldiers and forces Serb troops Withdraw

PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The headquarters of the Operative Sub- zone for Llapi region of the UÇK (Kosova Liberation Army) issued a statement Saturday claiming success in battling the Serbian military in the northern Kosovar region from 15 through 18 September.
"The Serb attack was fierce especially in Qafë e Kaçanollit (the Kaçanolli mountain pass)", the UÇK said, claiming that as many as 12,000 Serb soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries as well as "Russian and Rumanian mercenaries were involved in the offensive".
UÇK special forces carried out guerilla warfare tactics and forced Serb troops to withdraw from the villages of Llapi region, the statement said.
The Serb enemy destroyed Albanian property and arrested a number of innocent, non-combatants, especially in the village of Dobratin, the statement said.
Around 100 members of the enemy forces were killed by the UÇK in the area of Llapi making part of the Shalë e Bajgorës region, and tens of motorized and armored vehicles were destroyed, the statement said.
Five fighters of the UÇK died heroically in action, the statement of the UÇK Llapi sub-zone said, naming them as Fadil Sejdiu, Nazmi Zhegrova, Bekim Lushaku, Bekim Maliqi and Habib Zeka. Two villagers were killed by Serb troops, too, the statement said.
Publication of the names of the fallen men has not been the rule, bur rather an exception, with the UÇK so far.

Serbs Crack Down on Albanian Communities After Deadline for Surrendering Weapons Expires

PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The villages of Damjan, Lipovec and Gërqinë in the municipality of Gjakova saw themselves encircled for hours by huge Serb troops on Saturday before they cracked down on the local population, local sources reported.
The three villages were earlier last week given a two-day ultimatum to surrender the weapons they allegedly possesses or else risk a reprisals.
The LDK chapter in Gjakova said the residents of Damjan, Lipovec and Gërqinë who were still in the villages were holed up in houses and the local school building in Damjan during the whole day, fearing an imminent attack. Part of the population had fled homes once the Serbs announced the ultimatum to these villages.
The Serb entered into the village in the afternoon and embarked on a brutal campaign, the LDK information commission in Gjakova reported.
In Lipovec, the Serb troops set ablaze several farmhouses of the Halilaj extended family.
Several Albanians, including Zenun Gjuraj and his son Ramush Gjuraj in the village of Gërqina, were rounded up and taken to the police in Gjakova.

Serbs Strike Against Refugees Attempting to Cross into Albania
The bodies of two other killed Albanians brought to town morgue Saturday

PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - Serb forces attacked a group of some 200 Albanians from Gjakova villages who were on their way to neighboring Albania. The Albanians were attacked at a location called "Shpatulla e Bobit" near Deve village, the LDK chapter in Gjakova reported.
The LDK chapter could not confirm if there were casualties there.
The Serb police brought Sunday the bodies of two killed Albanians to the town morgue in Gjakova. Sources named one of them as Adonis Beci from Gjakova, while the second one, a male in his early twenties, has not been identified yet. The LDK chapter in Gjakova said it believed the two Albanians were killed while attempting to cross the border into Albania in the mountains.
Serb forces brought Saturday two wounded Albanians to the town hospital in Gjakova: Avni Kadria (21), resident of Stubëll village (Gjakova), and a 12-year-old girl Shyhrete Bajrami from Strellc i Ulët (Deçan). No details related to their health condition or the circumstances they were wounded has been made available.

Two Villages in Drenica Come under Serb Artillery Fire Saturday and Sunday

PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - At around 11:00 a.m. today (Sunday), Serb forces launched a heavy artillery attack against the villages of Prekaz i Epërm and Klinë e Poshtme in the municipality of Skenderaj ('Srbica').
The two villages were fired upon from the huge Serb base in the former ammunition factory near Skenderaj and from an outpost at a location 'Lisat e Varreve', sources said.
These two village had also been pounded from the ammunition factory on Saturday afternoon.
An eye-witness told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) that the Serb forces cracked down around midday today on a suburb of Skenderaj itself.
There has been no word on possible casualties there.

Serb Forces Terrorize Albanians in Klina Villages, Central Kosova

PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - The LDK chapter in Klina said today (Sunday) several thousand internally displaced persons (IDP) have been still camping out in the mountains of this municipality. The IDP's are sleeping under home-made plastic tents or even in make- shift tents covered with tree branches and leaves, with scarce food supplies, and without medication.
LDK sources in Klina said the Albanians who stayed in their villages, as well as the those who returned to their homes in the meantime, have been subjected to everyday terror and intimidation by Serb police and armed Serb civilians. It named the villages of Sferkë, Dush, Volljakë, Siçevë, Gremnik, and Përçevë, which have been particularly targeted by Serbs.
The LDK chapter in Klina named scores of Albanians who bore the brunt of Serb campaigns of repression, including Ahmet Gashi (60) from Siçeva, and four other old persons in Siçeva: Shaban Sherifi, Demë Morina, Fetah Smajli and Ahmet Brahimi.
At Vuljaka village, Serb police arrested 13 local Albanians last week. Six were released after having been tortured badly, while the rest are still being held in police custody.
At Siçeva village, Serb troops have occupied houses of local Albanians, where from they attacked the outlying villages.
Serbs have burned many farmhouses in this village, abandoned earlier by their Albanian owners in the wake oft Serb attacks.

Serb Police Shoots at and Wounds Pedestrian in Lipjan

PRISHTINA, Sept 20 (KIC) - An Albanian, Sadri Luma from Grackë e Vjetër village in Lipjan, was reported wounded by Serbian police on Thursday.
The LDK chapter in Lipjan said Sadri Luma was wounded on the Prishtina-Lipjan road when, together with a companion of his Ramadan Jashari, was returning from the town to his village. The two Albanians were first halted and ill-treated by a Serb patrol, the LDK said. After they were let go, one of the policemen shot three bullets in their direction, wounding badly Sadri Luma.
The condition of the wounded Albanian is not life threatening, the LDK Information Commission in Lipjan said today.

Kosova Information Center
Last page!

KOSOVA (humanitarian catastrophe – Malishevë)
"Help these people. Tell the world that we are dying"

Tërpezë, 19 September (ARTA) 2100CET--
"Every day an old man or a child dies, not being able to bare the cold", stated the reporter of the Berlusconi TV network and reporter of the private Slovenian TV, after the visit made to the village of Tërpezë, a village never mentioned before by the media and the humanitarian organizations. 13-15 thousand refugees, are besieged by the Serb forces and for two straight months they have received no assistance.
"For five months, nobody visited the village of Tërpezë, on the road to Malishevë, which for two months now is under an iron Serb police siege. We entered this village by chance. We ran into the police who told us to get away from that zone, because there were many KLA soldiers", tells the Italian in his thirties. "We tried to enter the KLA zone, from several hundred meters away, but a group of other policemen, dressed in black came out from the bushes and banned us from entering "the dangerous zone". We besieged the "bandits" here, thus "you cannot get in".
We drove some several hundred meters inside the forest and we met an old man and a woman, lying under a bush covered with a blanket, all wet from rain. They were barely heard asking for help. We couldn't understand anything they said, except for the five fingers they were raising constantly. We understood that they were saying "five months, five months...", but we couldn't understand what were they trying to say. She pointed her finger in the direction of the valley. Thousands of people could be seen lying on the ground, as their coughs were being heard as a chorus of a collective disease. It was a terrifying site. A catastrophe. "Every day, an old man or a child dies, not being able to bare the cold", tells us a girl in her twenties, speaking English quite fluently. They were all lying, waiting for help. Nobody had been there before. "We are forgotten. There is no medical help and there is no food coming. We are all going to die".
"Here, there are no KLA soldiers and we are waiting for the police to come in every day. They have surrounded us and blocked every exit. This is a massacre, only without knives, was saying the girl, that was escorting us, showing us every corner of sick and hungry people".
Help these people. Tell the world that we are dying", were the girl's last words.
"We returned, without seeing any KLA soldier or armed person, all we saw was people dying, without receiving any help. They were buried in an open grave, were telling the journalists, who were hurrying of from Prishtina to Italy and Slovenia to sent their exclusive material for their TV stations. "We will tell the world that they are dying for help", said the colleagues from Italy and Slovenia.

KOSOVA (tense situation – Podujevë)
Unexploded grenades in Bradash

Podujevë, 19 September (ARTA) 2130CET --
LDK and CDHRF sources claim that over 20 houses were burned in the village of Dobratin today, as 70% of the households of this village were looted and damaged in different ways. According to the same sources, two persons were killed, one from Dobratin and another from Kaçandoll. The school of Dobratin was completely demolished, along with the village's mosque.
Four people from the village of Dobratin and two from Llaushë, are registered as missing.
Albanian sources confirm that the Serbs confiscated (read: looted) tractors, cars, agricultural machinery, as well as killed and burned cattle, that could be seen lying on the ground all around.
In certain places, people have started going back home, but the police are still present in almost every corner.
The Serb offensive against the villages of the Llap region, caused the dislocation of the residents of 30 villages, which make about 32 thousand people, who still hesitate to go back home.
On the other hand, sources of information in Bradash claim that after the Serb police withdrew from this village, they left behind unexploded grenades.

KOSOVA (burning/destruction – Lipjan)
Burned houses - destroyed dwellings

Lipjan, 19 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
Thousands of residents of the villages of Drenica e Epërme are fleeing their dwellings, as a result of the threats they are exposed to: starting from the humanitarian catastrophe up to the physical extermination, sources from the terrain confirm. Albanian sources claim that thousands of people, that were so far sheltered in forest and in those few houses that were not shelled, headed in the direction of the municipalities of Ferizaj and Prishtina. Thus, the exodus of the dislocation of the Albanian population from the villages of Drenica e Epërme is continuing, leaving the villages of this region totally empty.
On the other hand, the Albanian houses in the villages of Magurë and the surroundings are being burned down. According to "KOHA Ditore" sources, the house of Fatmir Rexha was burned down, yesterday, whereas two other Albanian houses, in Lipjan and Grackë e Vjetër, were shot at by the police.
Sources from the ground confirm that a humanitarian activist was killed on 15 September in Gryka e Berishës, as he was trying to distribute the assistance to the sheltered.

KOSOVA (casualties - Mitrovicë)
Two corpses found

Mitrovicë, 19 September (ARTA 2100CET--
Albanian sources from the ground inform that on Saturday, corpses of two Albanians killed during the attack of the Serbian forces in Kaçandoll (Shala e Bajgorës), were found.
It is also stated that the Serb forces burnt some houses in the village of Cërnushë in Shala e Bajgorës on Friday evening, while it is also stated that many people remain in the valleys near Kozmaticë Mountain near the village of Vllahi. The houses of these people were burned.
The last information is that at least 50 arrested Albanians were brought today to the Mitrovicë jail from the Pejë prison.

KOSOVA (casualties – Prizren)
Two children dead and three others wounded as a result of the explosion

Prizren, 19 September (ARTA) 2030CET --
Two children, Behar (10) and Betim Xhemaj (13) were killed, and Hashim Kryeziu (9), Milaim Kryeziu (13) and Nasi Xhemaj (11), were wounded as a result of a strong explosion, at the place called "Kodra e Levinit", situated between the villages of Lybeqevë and Leskoc in the region of Vërrin, today at 1200CET.
The wounded children were first sent to the Hospital of Prizren, but due to their critical condition, they were sent to the Hospital Center in Prishtina. According to the Albanian sources, these children, currently IDPs in Leskoc, were on their to visit their village and see the remains of their houses.
On the other hand, today at 1030CET, a police expedition made of 50 armed policemen, some of which with masked and colored faces, raided the house of Hazir Paçarizi, on the "Ulqin" road in Prizren. On this occasion, the Serb expedition demolished everything inside the house, using the pretext of weapons’ search. In addition, they arrested Ismet Paçarizi. There are reports that yesterday, Besim Paçarizi, from the same family, was arrested in the village of Pagarushë. The owner of the house, Hazir was brutally tortured. He was even put needles under his nails.

KOSOVA (KLA HQ Llap sub-zone – communiqué)
"KLA lost five soldiers, while Serb forces lost around 100"

Llap, 19 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
The communiqué of the KLA Headquarters of the Llap operative sub-zone states, among others:
"Severe fighting between the Serb occupier's forces and our armed units took place in the Llap operative sub-zone from 15 to 18 September 1998. Intensive attacks were conducted especially in "Qafa e Kaçandollit". The enemy used an arsenal of 260 various armored and motorized vehicles and around 12.000 soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries as well as Russian and Romanian mercenaries. Frontal fighting with the occupier's forces went on along the three lines of battles from the direction of Shala, in Qafa e Kaçandollit and in Potok.
KLA rapid intervention forces have undertaken brief guerilla actions even within the zones where the enemy forces were installed, thus disabling them to stay there.
Under the pressure of our rapid intervention units, the enemy forces were compelled to withdraw from the Llap villages, which were attacked.
Since the occupier's military and police forces did not manage to break the heroic resistance of our military units, they burnt and destroyed the houses and properties of the peasants in most of the attacked villages. The enemy arrested some innocent residents, especially in Dobratin village.
The peasants underwent a psychological terrorization, being kept as target for hours. Immense losses were caused to the enemy - around 100 of its soldiers were killed and dozens of armored and motorized vehicles were destroyed.
Huge amounts of ammunition were left in the positions when the enemy soldiers ran away in panic. Five of our soldiers: Fadil Sejdiu, Nazmi Zhegrova, Bekim Lushaku, Bekim Maliqi and Habib Zeka as well as two other peasants died heroically in the battle field.
We express our deep condolence to their families and promise that we will continue the way of their sons until the complete liberation of our occupied territories.
After the complete failure of the Serb offensive and the shameful withdrawal of the enemy forces from the Llap municipal villages, the peasants started to return into their houses. They find our soldiers safeguarding their military positions with a high military morale and convinced that the final victory against the enemy is definite", concludes the communiqué.

KOSOVA (KD reportage – Mitrovicë)
"You haven't lived it -- 'cause you would wonder if God exists"
by Adelina Murtezaj

Mitrovicë, 18 September (ARTA) 1530CET --
"You haven't lived it - 'cause you would wonder if God exists", said Hajzer Gashi, about 40, whose house was burned down. Subsequently he and his family were forced to flee to the neighborhood of "Tavnik", Mitrovicë.
A big crowd of men, women and children, many of them barefoot, were gathered about in the yard of a yet unfinished house of Bahri Muja, where the Gashi family found shelter, as the rain was pouring.
Their eyes were pointed in the direction of the smoke coming out from the villages of Shalë e Bajgorës, which were being shelled by the Serb police and military forces from all directions.
"Eight people sleep in this room", said a 18 years old girl, sitting in the cold concrete floor, on which there were two old beds.
38 Albanian IDPs, mostly children, were living inside a house that had three rooms only.
"The journalists have their own houses and they are only doing their job, nobody really thinks about us", said an old and ill man, lying on the bed, covered with a blanket, after he found out that journalists came to visit them.
"What do you know about Çabiq?", asked a woman, preparing a meal on the stove, outside, in the rain. Earlier, one of her daughters told us how their house had been completely burned down.
"In my neighborhood, out of 33 houses, only 6 do not have IDPs, because of the bad conditions", claimed a CDHRF activist from the neighborhood of "Tavnik" in Mitrovicë, as his colleague, Shyqri Kelmendi added that "there isn't a single free place in entire town of Mitrovicë".
"The number of the dislocated in this town of Kosova has reached 30,300 registered people and at least another 5,700 unregistered", stated Kelmendi, speaking of the flood of Albanian IDPs.
"These days, we are expecting a new wave of IDPs. This time from the region of Shalë". Kelmendi was not taking his eyes of the mountains over Mitrovicë as he was talking about the humanitarian tragedy of the Albanian villagers.
According to the local CDHRF office, the streets of "Tavnik" were providing shelter for over 6,400 IDPs. An almost deadly mood could be felt. Tired, patched people, with faces showing the miseries they lived through and outlived -- they were trying to give, at least, a frozen smile -- as they were trying to express their gratitude to their hosts: Albanian families who were willing to share their pain, for an uncertain time.
"They are giving us their food. If we were to wait for the assistance, we would have been dead and forgotten by now", said Hajzer.
On the muddy road, outside the wide yard of Bahri's house, the barefoot children of Çabiq, were playing with their new friends - their future friends.
Children's noise could be heard this morning coming from the elementary school "Migjeni" overloaded with students from all over Drenica. Forgetting about the terror -- if such a thing exists -- will at least make it easier for the young, to put behind the killings and the losses, the wounds of the birthtown, burned down during the fighting. Friends that no longer exist among them. Those that are not here and will never be.
Over 12,800 students from war affected areas are attending the schools in Mitrovicë, it is stated in the CDHRF office in Mitrovicë. There are also cases of those who no longer want to continue their education.
One of the parents whose child was not going to school said: "School?! I have no bread to feed them, not to talk about bags and books. They have nothing to wear..."
In the small yard, in which one could enter through a small iron door, in the middle of "Tavnik", was the two flat house of Murat Zymberi. Inside it, in the neatly cleaned houses, live 16 members of a family from Likovc.
They talk with horror about their hard trip. They were speaking with great nostalgia about their houses, hoping that they are not completely burned to the ground. Pain took them over when they start to talk about the ones remained at "Fusha e Mollës". "There are so many people who are left outside, in the fields and forests", they tell. The clothes they had on and the children were all they could save from the fire and the bullets.
"They had no place to go", said the 20 years old female student, who just a moment ago, asked about exams terms in Prishtina.
As she exhaled, her thoughts went back to the field: "As we were passing that way, people were still coming... God knows how they have managed in this rain..."
1830CET -- The quiet ritual of reliving death of a nation, starts with the news from TV Albania. Entire "Tavnik", the entire town of Mitrovicë, the whole Kosova, stare their TV sets. Only one thought took over these rooms, flooded by children: How long is this going to last? For how long can people take horrors of war? Is there an end to it or do we all have to die first?
Who thinks anymore about the politicians, the versions, agreements, dialogue, and the negotiations of the world diplomacy. Only the names. Only the names of the killed, wounded and missing, pronounced with a dying voice of the speaker, are what the Albanian IDPs are interested of. Albanian news, for them, is a Russian roulette. Every time they start, the heart contractions start along. Now we'll hear the name of the killed brother, sister, father, mother... Today. Or tomorrow. Or sometime...
The next morning dawned in Mitrovicë, the sun invisible by the smoke of the burned and destroyed Vidishiq. Detonations were being heard from Shalë. We'll hear the names at 1830CET...

ALBANIA (reactions – Berisha)
Berisha: "I will continue the battle in whatever place I am..."

Tirana, 19 September (ARTA) 2230CET --
After the Albanian Parliament decided to lift Berisha’s immunity, the President of the Democratic Party stated in a press conference that, by voting 97% in favor of the motion, the parliament has improved a bit, compared to the Communist-like parliament, when the results of the voting were always 99%.
Berisha claimed that, he is not worried whether the police would come and arrest him, because he will continue the battle from whatever place he is in, even from prison".
"I appeal the Albanians to contend the consolidation of the neo-communist dictatorship". Berisha claimed further that, "he excludes the negotiations with the government, but he will recognize only the conversation with the Albanian nation".
"When I have appealed the Albanians for sacrifices, I had taken into account that Nano has shot at the people in the funeral, and even in their bedrooms", Berisha claimed.
He invited his collaborators to intensify the resistance against Nano’s communist government.
Berisha informed that the National Council of the Democratic Party will assemble on Sunday, and " that important decisions will be taken".

FYROM (KD interview – Arben Xhaferi)
Xhaferi: "Our unification was saluted by all -- starting from the Albanian-American League up to the dislocated people of Malishevë"

Tetovë, 18 September (ARTA) 1700CET --
The chairman of the Democratic Party of Albanians, Arbën Xhaferi initially answers the question concerning the agreement, which was signed between the two largest Albanian parties in Macedonia, PPD and PDSH

Xhaferi: It is very easy to take over the credit. However, politics is not a medium where people make only positive deeds.
Politics has also responsibility. A responsibility for the interests of a society. If a doctor subscribes a wrong diagnosis and treatment, he harms only one individual, while the mistakes of the politician are reflected through the repercussions that the entire society has to bear.
In this sense, I am trying to explain the issue of responsibility, why such agreements were not signed before, and why an internal consensus about the way of communicating and acting (between the parties) is not reached. The idea for cooperation and unification is fundamental to our people. Wherever we are, here or in the Diaspora, we face the claim for unity and now we achieved it. This is not a false unity.
Of course difficulties will emerge, because besides the people's psychological barriers (which are too complicated), we will have to face also their national, intellectual and political viewpoints. However, relying on the idea for a positive approach, I think we will manage to augment the constructive energies of the people and inhibit the destructive ones. The good thing from this agreement is that, it creates the grounds for a mutual confidence, for a consensus, for a joint platform and for establishing a continuous coordination which will enable a positive selection of the cadre.

KD: Can you be more specific on concrete, politically harmonized actions, to be carried out after the Parliamentary elections in Macedonia, e.g., the University of Tetovë becoming official?

Xhaferi: The divergences between us were not about the program but about the actions and limitations. We consider the prevailing circumstances as extraordinary and historic, they are a moment when our national interests will be determined.
In the light of this determination, we think that, no Constitution, no democracy and no concept of state which does not include the Albanian interest into its framework (on that constitution, democracy or state) must be legitimated. Namely, we insist to initially achieve an agreement about the mutual rights and obligations between Albanians and Macedonians, and then to draft a Constitution which includes these guarantees in its framework. The possibility of expressing the loyalty to a system, which is established relying on the will of the majority of citizens, is allowed.
If we, as political parties (which are established to articulate this interest), will not be able to compel the Macedonian political factor recognize this agreement, then I think that the "Yugoslav" fever will overwhelm Macedonia.
The agreement with PPD will give space for at least some pragmatic interests of Albanians in the field of education (i.e. University of Tetovë become official), culture and media to be fulfilled.
Although I am not entitled to speak about the determinations of PPD, I am convinced that this party possesses a huge political and governing experience, so in the future I expect the Albanian political subject to have a stronger positioning.

KD: After the parliamentary elections, does your party intend to take part in the Albanian-Macedonian coalition Government or will remain an opposition party?

Xhaferi: Taking into account that in this phase, the Macedonian political subject is not "mature enough" for an initial agreement with Albanians concerning the mutual rights and obligations and taking into account that they are still in the phase of the self-centered nationalism, it is very hard the PDSH (as a party which always emphasizes the Albanian interest and the vital necessity for it to be guaranteed by the system) to take part in a Macedonian-Albanian coalition Government.
But, if they will accept an Albanian platform which will provide at least a guarantee that the fundamental demands of the Albanians will be resolved step-by-step, this for sure will be a strong argument which will persuade our membership to accept such an offer.

KD: The above-mentioned cooperation of the Albanian parties in Macedonia was welcomed by the nation-wide public, whereas it caused no particular attention of the Macedonian mass media. What is your comment?

Xhaferi: For me, it is sufficient that this agreement was welcomed by the Albanian public opinion starting from the Albanian-American League, LDSH, PPK, LDSHK, SHBK up to the dislocated people of Malishevë. I would like to use this opportunity and express my gratitude for this support. The international factor suggested us for a long time that it is in our interest if the Albanian political subject will speak in one voice.
This agreement was approached by the Macedonian mass media with suspicion. That seems normal, taking into account that they always insisted to diverge us. Since their analyses did not succeed in preventing the agreement, currently they try to devaluate the effect of this agreement. In the first place, some certain individuals were incited to express their dissatisfaction with the agreement and to run as independent candidates for MP. With such conducts, they prove that only the Albanian individual (and not an Albanian politician) is suitable for them.
The candidates for the Macedonian Government showed many times that, in the future after completing the works concerning the foundation of the State, there will be no need for the Albanian political parties, namely for Albanian politics. According to them, it is sufficient if the Albanian individuals (which would be just embellishments in the branches of their false multi-ethnicity) would articulate the Albanian interests. The Macedonian political parties, besides this project with independent candidates, have included also some Albanians in their lists allegedly to ruin the national political parties.
Frankly speaking, Macedonians have accomplished their national project. They have turned Macedonia into a state of Macedonians, and currently for the sake of the international image, they do not need national parties. Therefore, they look for individuals who resign from the Albanian politics and accept the Macedonian parties' activities. According to this project, an Albanian should be converted into a citizen striped off the nationality, and turned into a technical subject. Nevertheless, all these plans will fail because the Albanian political capacity is immense and as such, it will survive.

KD: What would be the first positive result (of this agreement) for the Albanians here?

Xhaferi: The agreement, the change of the political climate, the coordination of the actions and the rationalization of the political space.

KD: Can you say something more about the role of the Permanent Coordinating Commission, which is defined in the document of the agreement. What will be its role in the future?

Xhaferi: The mission of the permanent coordinating commission defined in the document will be to enact the agreement, the cooperation and coordination. These objectives are defined as principles of the agreement, but a vast space exists between the principle and its accomplishment. This space will be filled up by the Coordinating Commission, which is obliged to find a convenient way to harmonize the actions and the stands.
 

KOSOVA (documents)
The proposals the Albanian side addressed to Christopher Hill

Based on the American elements, proposed in the first variant of the project-proposal, the Albanian side gave its 16 points for the possibility of a creation of an interim settlement with the Serb side and the possibility of the temporary governing of Kosova. The proposals of the Albanian side, addressed to the American Ambassador and mediator for Kosova, Christopher Hill, following the first American proposal, of 16 August, called "Elements for a temporary agreement", are based on the same agreement, which was later drawn by the American side as a project-proposal. Later the document of 3 September was drafted. It was published two days ago.

"With the engagement of the international community, particularly the USA, trying to find a solution for the issue of Kosova unsolved by the process of disintegration of "Yugoslavia", the Governments of "Yugoslavia" and Serbia as well as the representatives of Kosova agreed about the following:

1. To determine a temporary solution for the status Kosova, a limited Governance with international guarantee.

2. The agreement for the temporary governing of Kosova, as well as the permanent, the later solution, will be based on the UN Charter, the Final Act of Helsinki and other international principles.
The agreement will have under consideration the fact that Yugoslavia (SFRY), a state in which Kosova was associated and was its constituent, disintegrated.
The legal status of Kosova before the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the creation of the new states in this area and the events in Kosova, starting from the Constitutional Declaration (1990) and the Referendum for Independence (1991), will be used as guiding points and support for these agreements.

3. During the period of the temporary governing, Kosova will function within "Yugoslavia", as an entity associated for a limited period of time, with internal independence and will be equal with the other federal units.

4. During the period of the temporary governing, Kosova will be governed by its own legislative, executive and judicial institutions: by its Parliament, with complete and original constitutional and legislative power, the President elected in direct elections, the Government of Kosova and the respective administration, as well as by Courts of different levels, including the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court and Kosova's Prosecution Office.
Kosova will have its own system of security, the police, and the internal security, which will be of Kosova by structure and function.
The international community will help their organization, their training, as well as their functioning.
The elections will be held under international supervision, within three months following the signing of the Agreement.

5. Kosova's institutions, including the municipal level, will be democratically governed, based on the democratic principles, and by respecting internationally acknowledged human rights. They will act independently and they will include fields of political, economic, social and cultural life, with the exclusion of the ones that by the temporary agreement are decided to partially, mainly or completely, belong to the Federation.
The relationships of the institutions of Kosova with the institutions of "Yugoslavia" or of the other parts of the federation, Serbia and Montenegro, are relationships of equality and coordination, as needed, without hierarchical relationships.

6. Every ethnic community in Kosova will have the right to completely use its rights in education, language, to preserve its culture and identity, and other issues, based on the agreement.
There will be special arrangements for the places with special historical, cultural or religious importance.

7. Kosova's participation in the federal institutions, same as the other federal units, will also be discussed.

8. Functions of the territorial integrity, of the joint market, of the emission of money, of defense, of foreign policy, of customs and other functions that can be determined by the agreement for the temporary governing are realized in the Federation, mainly as joint but not as exclusive functions. The means, the form and the level of Kosova's participation in the realization of these function will also be determined.

9. All natural and created resources in Kosova belong to Kosova and its people.

Kosova's economy will have its monetary-crediting functions and the Central Bank, with the respective institutions: the fiscal system, taxes, participation in customs and accise; its own budget; participation in economic relations with the outside world and collaboration with the international financial organizations and institutions.
Kosova administers its own public economy or participates in the direction of complex systems.
If certain measures in the joint market of "Yugoslavia" seriously threaten the economic interests of Kosova, Kosova can take certain temporary measures for defending its interests.

10. The respective international institutions can help in harmonizing the economic relations during the period of the interim solution.

11. The cease-fire and the withdrawal of forces will start immediately. The violation presumptions will be reported to the international observers and they will not be used as justification for violence.
The political prisoners will immediately be released.
Nobody will be persecuted or sentenced for participation in the war of Kosova, except for those of whom it can be proved that they conducted crimes against humanity.

12. Neither of the sides will, unilaterally change the elements of the conditions of the temporary agreement.

13. Measures will be undertaken to bring back the mutual trust.

14. The agreement for the temporary solution will determine the procedure for reaching a permanent solution, not later than three years after the temporary solution stepped on force.
If in the meantime, an agreement for a permanent solution is not reached under the international supervision, a referendum will be organized, in which the people of Kosova will decide on its future.

15. Each side will collaborate and will allow free approach to the humanitarian and international organizations; it will help in distributing the humanitarian assistance; it will speed up the return of the IDPs and refugees to their homes, including the travelling facilities for them and for the international workers; it will help in rehabilitation and securing of shelter; and they will agree for security arrangements, which will bring back the trust to the IDPs and the refugees.

16. The international community is called to assist the realization of the temporary agreement as well as of the permanent agreement, to assist economically and professionally, to be politically and strongly present during their implementation and to guarantee the definitive realization of the temporary and permanent agreement".

*NEWS REPORT*
***********************************************************************
The views expressed in the news reports and messages posted to the List by the List members are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the policy or position of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Quoting is allowed only if the source of the information  is specified.
***********************************************************************
Subject:  1998.09.16 RFE/RL  Bishop Artemije
   Date:    Fri, 18 Sep 1998 09:24:30 EDT
   Yugoslavia: Bishop Says Kosovo Peace Prospects Bleak Under Milosevic
http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/1998/09/F.RU.980916124817.html
 
By Julie Moffett

Washington, 16 September 1998 (RFE/RL) -- A leading Serbian bishop says there can be no peace in Kosovo as long as Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is in power.
     Bishop Artimije Radosavljevic of the Serbian Orthodox Church made the comment in Washington Tuesday during a press briefing sponsored by the United States Institute for Peace -- a non-profit research organization focusing on promoting peaceful conflict resolution.
     Bishop Artimije says that a peaceful solution in Kosovo cannot be found because, in his words, the "undemocratic regime of Mr. Milosevic is not only violating the human rights of Kosovo Albanians, but also the rights of the Serb population." He adds that it is unlikely there will ever be a solution to Kosovo with Milosevic in power because the people of Kosovo would not support the efforts of an "authoritarian power."
     The bishop says the problem of Kosovo is not a geopolitical issue, but "a problem of democracy and human rights." He says it must be resolved in a peaceful and democratic way, adding that there is "no solution in weapons."
     Said the bishop: "Weapons must be silenced so the people can speak." According to Bishop Artimije, efforts to classify Kosovo as a religious conflict are unfounded. He says it is impossible to consider the situation as religiously motivated because both Christianity and Islam oppose violence.
     He emphasizes that religion can play a constructive role in building peace and confidence-building in Kosovo.
     The bishop says that three months ago, he circulated a draft proposal outlining how the different religious communities in the region -- primarily the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Muslims -- could work together toward peace in Kosovo. But the bishop says he has yet to receive a "proper response" from any of the other religious leaders.
     The bishop says that in his opinion, the first step to peace in the region would be to disarm the Kosovo Liberation Army and allow special Serb police forces to stay in Kosovo until peace and order is firmly established.
     He explains: "It is impossible to ask for a unilateral withdrawal of the Serbian police without the cessation of the separatist and terrorist activities of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army."
     Bishop Artimije also says that both the local and international community must focus on the plight of internally displaced refugees in Kosovo as soon as possible. He says that their current situation is intolerable and all efforts to resolve their hardship must be a priority. He said it is "totally unacceptable" to use displaced persons for any political reason.
     Another speaker at the press briefing, Father Sava Janjic, Senior Monk of the Decani Monastery Brotherhood, said that the religious communities in Kosovo and Metohija can play a much more constructive role in achieving peace and making coexistence possible. He says this is critically different than the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he says abuse of religion, directly or indirectly caused the escalation of inter-ethnic conflicts.
( http://www.beta-press.com/temaeng.html )
     Janjic also said that despite the religious differences in Kosovo, religious communities ought to clearly demonstrate readiness to pursue a lasting peace based on truth, justice, and respect of human rights. He said this goal can be achieved only by developing cooperation, personal contacts, and organizing symposiums and debates in the spirit of tolerance and mutual respect for tradition and customs.
     Momicilo Trajkovic, President of the Serbian Resistance Party, also spoke at the press conference. He said it cannot be emphasized enough that President Milosevic is the main stumbling block in securing a peaceful resolution to the situation in Kosovo.
     Trajkovic also chided the international community and those who support Milosevic's activities, saying they are only perpetuating the difficulties in the region. He said the time has come for all sides to overcome prejudices and preconceptions and sit down and really discuss a way to end the suffering in Kosovo.
     Said Trajkovic: "With great regret, I'm forced to say that the Albanian and Serbian sides today are behaving like teenagers. And the international community is acting like an older teenager. Obviously, none of us have learned a lesson from Bosnia. I hope that we will have better times ahead."

Bishop Artimije, Father Janjic and Trajkovic are in Washington on a trip sponsored by several private U.S. organizations.

16-09-98
c 1995-1998 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  http://www.rferl.org

Further reference: United States Institute for Peace USIP
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KOHA DITORE September 19, 1998

KOSOVA (documents)
The proposals the Albanian side addressed to Christopher Hill

         The text you could read above

KOHA DITORE, September 18, 1998
This is the reproduction of the project-document regarding the draft framework of the future status of Kosova -- drafted under the supervision of the US Ambassador to Macedonia and international mediator for Kosovo, Christopher Hill.
INTERIM AGREEMENT ON KOSOVO

        The text you can read  at  day1557.htm
 

Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), 98-09-19
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] Organiser of armed rebellion be punished
•[02] Book on Albanian archaeology published in Italy
•[03] Kosova president says temporary solution for Kosova under way
•[04] European diplomats meet with president Meidani
•[05] Rahovec: 26 villages burned, 200 victims, hundreds of people missed
•[06] Berisha does not accept options offered by CE and OSCE delegation - foreign diplomat
•[07] Full growing confidence from international community for Albania's President - Geremek CE appreciates work of Albanian President - Tarchys
•[08] There can be no other solution but political for the Albanian crisis - French Foreign Minister
•[09] Material incentives for doctors to work in zones with scarce medical specialists
•[10] Chirac hopes political dialogue wins over confrontation
•[11] European Troika: We will isolate Berisha if he keeps undermining institutions
•[12] August: Albanian exports fall
•[13] Grave situation in Podujeve
•[14] Mediu denounces violation of Albanian institutions
•[15] Special forces continue to check entry in Tirana
•[16] Some 1000 refugees grave situation in Rugove
•[17] Albanian NGO's urged The Hague to bring Miloshevic to justice
•[18] Rally of DP at Scanderbeg Square
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[03] Kosova president says temporary solution for Kosova under way

TIRANE, Sept. 19 (ATA) - The president of the Republic of Kosova, Dr Ibrahim Rugova, told a news conference on Friday that Belgrade should urgently stop its offensive against the Kosova people, and not extend further attacks in the east of Kosova where 10.000 war refugees are settled.
     He asked for international security to help return refugees to their houses and also appealed for international protection especially from the United States, European Union, United Nations and NATO for Kosova and its people.
     "The best solution is an independent Kosova, with all guarantees for the local Serbs and an international protectorate as a transitional phase," said Rugova.
     Rugova said that the U.S. ambassador, Christopher Hill, has presented some suggestions for negotiations. All ideas are to be discussed including even the opinions of Kosova negotiating group, while the version of the Serb party is not made known.
     Rugova said that the draft document of the Albanian negotiating group, according to which a possible transitional solution would be a Kosova Republic within Yugoslavia, is a means to launch a referendum for independence and not "a treason of 1994 referendum."
     President Rugova thanked his U.S. counterpart Bill Clinton for the $20 million humanitarian aid, and the Japan government for $2.3 million aid for Kosova. /mima/A.A/

[05] Rahovec: 26 villages burned, 200 victims, hundreds of people missed

PRISHTINE, Sept. 19 (ATA) - Chairmanship of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) division told a routine meeting on Friday that 26 burned villages, 200 victims and hundreds of people missed during the Serb offensive against the Albanians in the commune of Rahovec, according to the Information Center of Kosova.
     Ibrahim Kryeziu, member of the chairmanship, said that the thousands of houses were burned down in the offensive. Five out of 31 villages of the commune were not destroyed. He added that the number of Albanians killed in Rahovec is over 200, while the number of the missed people, thought to be higher, cannot be established. /mima/A.A/

[13] Grave situation in Podujeve

PRISHTINE, Sept 19, (ATA) - The situation in Podujeve (north-west of Kosove) keeps being grave, while the Serbian forces, settled three days ago in the region among the villages Dobratin, Lepanje and Bajcine, began to withdraw, Kosove Information Center reports, referring to Kosove Democratic League source in Podujeve.
     Witnesses, who managed to enter in Dobratin after Serbian forces' withdraw, said that the village was completely destroyed. More than 70 % of the houses were looted and many others were burnt. At the entrance of the mosque of the village, which was also damaged, the chetnik symbols with four S's were written.
     Nearly 50 tanks were settled in Obrance village on Thursday night, while its inhabitants left for Prishtine.
     The situation in Podujeve alone keeps being tense. Only a few shops and hotels work, the movement of the people are very rare. Nearly all the inhabitants of the villages, to whom the 24 hours ultimatum to hand over the arms was given by Serbian police, left the villages./P.Ta/lola/

[16] Some 1000 refugees grave situation in Rugove

PRISHTINE, Sept 19, (ATA) - Montenegro police is preventing the movement of the inhabitants of the villages of Rugove towards Rozhaje, the nearest town of these villages of Kosove bordering Montenegro. A source informed Kosove Information Center by a telephone call that about 17:00 on Thursday Montenegro police, one kilometer inside Kosove territory at Qafa e Hajles, chased and shot against some children who were gathering mushrooms in that zone.
     Montenegro police is toughing the stand towards Rugove inhabitants and refugees who keep being settled in this zone, the above-mentioned source said adding that in the last three days the police has maltreated 9 inhabitants from Rugove villages.
     The road to Rozhaje, about 20 km long, is the only one to supply the zone with food and medicine, which is actually closed because of the police repression.
     Since Sept 11 some 1000 refugees, directed for Montenegro, keep staying in this zone of Rugove, who after the close of the border are holed up in the villages of Kosove without any help./pas/lola/

[17] Albanian NGO's urged The Hague to bring Miloshevic to justice

TIRANE, Sept 19, (ATA) By Eranda Nepravishta/ Non-governmental Organizations in Albania (NGO's) urged Hague War Crime Tribunal to bring the current Yugoslav president Slobodan Miloshevic to justice as a war criminal.
     "It's eight years that Albanian people of Kosove have expressed their will for freedom and independence by Referendum. But Belgrade oppressive regime uses all means of violence to keep this people and their country occupied," the statement, signed by 23 non-governmental organizations of Albania, said.
     The statement stresses the fact that during last six months Kosove has been subjected to genocide and ethnic cleansing. "Serbian police and military forces, ordered by Miloshevic, terrorize the innocent, Albanian civilians in Kosove, by committing killings, massacres and massive cleansing, including here children women and old people," the statement said.
     Among the organisations, which signed this statement, are Albanian Intellectuals Forum, Albanian Group for Human Rights, Organisation "For democratic culture", Friendship Organisation Albania-USA, Albanian Businessmen Organisation and Albanian Women Independent Organisation./pas/lola/

>From the Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Home Page at http://www.telpress.it/ata

Taken without permission, for fair use only,
Kosovo Albanians Link Talks To 1991 Referendum
03:04 p.m Sep 19, 1998 Eastern

PRISTINA, Serbia (Reuters) - An adviser to ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova said Saturday that a 1991 referendum which favored Kosovo's independence should be the basis for any peace plan for Serbia's southern province.
     Alush Gashi, a senior member of Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) presidency, said the Albanian side's proposals, drafted by the Kosovo peace negotiating team, were a part of a process brokered by U.S. envoy Chris Hill.
     The Albanian language newspaper Bujku, considered close to the LDK, published proposals for a settlement in Kosovo after a U.S. peace plan for the province elicited bitter reactions from some Kosovo politicians.
     On Friday, Rugova endorsed the U.S. plan -- which foresees autonomy for Kosovo while leaving its final status undetermined -- but only as a starting point for negotiations. Kosovo Albanian hardliners dismissed it as pro-Serb.
     Kosovo, an Albanian-majority region under harsh direct rule from Belgrade for a decade, erupted in February when ethnic Albanian guerrillas started fighting for independence.
     Better-armed Serbian security forces have routed the Kosovo Liberation Army insurgents in the past two months.
     Western diplomatic sources said it was premature to reject the U.S. peace draft, which they described as a model open to amendment by either side. It proposed significant moves towards autonomy over the next three years but did not mention its future political status.
     The Kosovo Albanian document envisaged that any agreement on Kosovo's legal status would start from the political situation following the break-up of federal Yugoslavia in 1991-92 when four of its six republics seceded.
     It also stressed that any solution should consider a so-called Kosovo Parliament Constitutional Declaration of 1990, as well as the 1991 referendum.
     In that plebiscite, ethnic Albanians who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's population overwhelmingly voted for independence from Serbia and Yugoslavia and there is no doubt that any new one would have the same result.
     Neither of the 1990 and 1991 decisions was recognized by Serbian republic or Yugoslav federal authorities, nor has the U.S. peace plan referred to either of them.
     Western sources close to the negotiations could not confirm Saturday they were familiar with the Albanian proposals.
     "If they (the Albanians) have the proposals it is a positive sign that they are coming up with ideas," a diplomatic source told Reuters.
     The Albanian document endorsed the U.S. proposal for a three-year transitional period during which Kosovo would have governing institutions free of Serbian and Yugoslav control and its own judiciary and police.
     "If in the meantime (three years) no such (permanent) agreement is reached, a referendum will be organized under the international supervision," the Albanian document said.
     On Friday, Serbian sources in the Kosovo provincial capital Pristina said that their stand would be known after the Serbian parliament session expected to be held next week.
     Serbian opposition leader Vuk Draskovic said in Pristina: "I haven't read any of the documents, but I can say that nothing that would separate Kosovo from Serbia would be accepted by any Serb."

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Video:  CNN's Jim Clancy interviews Joseph Dioguardi, President of the Albanian-American Civic League on the situation in Albania and Kosova.

http://cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9809/19/albania.02.ap/index.html

Kosovo refugees return to villages razed beyond repair

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

LABUCEVO, Yugoslavia (September 19, 1998 12:49 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) --
Piles of ash -- what was a door only days earlier -- greet visitors to what's left of the two-story home of refugee Besim Gashi, who recently descended from a chilly mountaintop hideaway to find the ruins of his village.
     Gashi's home is among thousands destroyed in the seven-month crackdown on separatist Albanians in Serbia's Kosovo province. Stepping on the sooty red tiles from his collapsed roof, Gashi, 32, displays the sum of his household possessions -- a scorched mattress spring and several pieces of blackened silverware.
     "We have no food or water," Gashi said. "The police came at our village from three sides, and we ran. When we came back, we found this."
     A study by international observers made available Saturday shows that a fifth of nearly 20,000 houses randomly surveyed last month in western Kosovo are uninhabitable and irreparable.
     Yet Serb and Yugoslav authorities, claiming they've won their war against the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army and seeking to deflect international criticism, are encouraging, sometimes forcing, refugees to return home.
     About 600 people have been killed and at least 275,000 civilians forced to flee since the crackdown began in February. The latest Serb offensive continued Saturday, with the guerrillas fleeing from one of their last strongholds, north of Pristina, Kosovo's capital.
     Kosovo province is part of Serbia, the dominant republic in Yugoslavia. Its population is 90 percent Albanian and demanding independence.
     The international study, obtained by The Associated Press, surveyed about 220 villages and showed that in addition to the 4,400 irreparable homes, many more suffered major damage. It was completed August 24, before many villages in western, northern and southern Kosovo were gutted in more recent offensives.
     Fear also gets in the way of refugees returning. Many tell stories of friends and neighbors who tried to go back, only to be driven off again -- or killed by shelling or gunfire.
     "We don't know if we can live here because police might come again," said Gashi, who sleeps outside beneath a plastic sheet to let 12 women sleep in the one relatively intact room of his burned-out house. "I'll feel better only if we can find out how to live through the winter."
     Before all this, Gashi was looking forward to his final year of economics studies in Pristina. Now, his main worry is what to eat once the first prolonged frost destroys the berries and grapes so many residents subsist on.
     The pro-government Serb Media Center says tens of thousands have returned to their homes in recent weeks as fighting has died down in many areas.
     But Fernando del Mundo, the Kosovo spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, says few refugees attempt to go home because they fear attacks by Serb police.
     The UNHCR said Friday that the latest offensive in northern Kosovo had emptied at least 13 villages and sent more than 10,000 ethnic Albanians fleeing. "The humanitarian crisis in Kosovo is worsening by the day," said Kris Janowski, UNHCR spokesman in Geneva.
     Winter already is here in some regions, and an estimated 50,000 people are living in the open. The World Food Program on Friday reported snowfalls in the border area with Albania forcing hundreds of refugees to descend on foot to warmer regions.
     Even if some refugees overcome their fear and return to rebuild, they often have to start with nothing.
     Aid agencies are delivering plastic sheeting, sleeping bags, plywood and nails. But that's just the beginning for those who must rebuild from the ground up.
     In Labucevo, 45 miles west of Pristina, two recent days of fires, fed by gasoline, reduced the village to a jumble of roofless brick and concrete skeletons. A thousand people now huddle here in fear and mourn the loss of nearly everything built up over the generations.
     They cook on open fires and sleep a dozen to a room in the few structures where partial roofs keep out some rain.
     For Gashi, the combination of gunfire and winter are frightening prospects.
     "Here are only civilians with not even any weapons to fight," he says. "Many will die."

By ADAM BROWN, Associated Press Writer

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