Tagesnachrichten 29. September 1998
     von dpa, from ALBANEWS and others
     News of the day - September 29, 1998
     Kosova Information Center : Daily Report No 1567

         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 29.09.1998 21:04  http://seite1.web.de/show/36112F4C.NL1/

Scharping: Sozialdemokraten tragen Kosovo-Beschlüsse mit
Berlin (dpa) - Die Sozialdemokraten (SPD) wollen einen Beschluß der noch amtierenden deutschen Regierung für ein mögliches Eingreifen im Kosovo-Konflikt mittragen.
     Unmittelbar vor der für diesen Mittwoch geplanten Entscheidung des Kabinetts über eine Bereitstellung von Flugzeugen der deutschen Streiktäfte (Bundeswehr) stellte SPD-Fraktionschef Rudolf Scharping in der in Berlin erscheinenden Tageszeitung «Die Welt» (Mittwoch-Ausgabe) klar: «Die Entscheidungen einer neuen Regierung werden nicht prinzipiell anders aussehen, als die der amtierenden.»
     Dies sei bereits im Vorfeld zwischen ihm und Verteidigungsminister Volker Rühe (CDU) abgeklärt worden. Auch zum Fraktionssprecher der Grünen, Joschka Fischer, habe Rühe Kontakt aufgenommen. Die von der verteidigungspolitischen Sprecherin der Grünen, Angelika Beer, vorgeschlagene Verschiebung der Kosovo-Entscheidung bezeichnete Scharping als wenig sinnvoll.
     «Wenn in der Zielrichtung gleiche Auffassungen bestehen, darf es wegen des Regierungswechsels in Deutschland keinen Zeitverzug geben. Das würde nur die falschen Kräfte ermuntern», betonte der Fraktionsvorsitzende.
     Er sei sich mit Rühe einig, daß «in diesem Konzert aus diplomatischen Bemühungen sowie politischem und militärischem Druck auch die Komponente der militärischen Drohung glaubwürdig verstärkt werden muß», sagte Scharping. Eindeutiges politisches Ziel sei es, dem Kosovo «Autonomie im jugoslawischen Staatsverband» zu ermöglichen.
© dpa

Belgrad bestreitet neue Angriffe im Kosovo - Berichte über Massaker
Genf/Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Die jugoslawische Regierung hat bestritten, daß ihre Militäroperationen im Kosovo weitergehen. Zugleich haben die Kosovo-Albaner die von Belgrad geplante, provisorische Regierung für ihre Provinz kategorisch abgelehnt.
     Westliche Journalisten berichteten am Dienstag unterdessen über ein Massaker an albanischen Zivilisten in der zentralen Drenica-Region. Ein Journalist der «Financial Times» sagte im US-Fernsehsender CNN, er habe westlich von Pristina in einer Schlucht die Leichen von 19 Zivilisten gesehen.
                      [ Bilder von ARTA siehe weiter unten ]
     Sie seien nach Aussage Überlebender am Samstag mit Schüssen aus nächster Distanz getötet worden, offenbar als Vergeltung für tödliche Anschläge auf sieben serbische Polizisten. Mehreren Menschen seien die Kehlen durchschnitten worden. Ein totes Kleinkind habe neben seiner getöteten Mutter gelegen.
     Der jugoslawische Botschafter bei der UNO in Genf, Branko Brankovic, wies am Dienstag Berichte des UNO-Flüchtlingshilfswerks (UNHCR) über eine Fortsetzung der Kämpfe zurück.
     Nach UNHCR-Angaben hatten serbische Einheiten ihre Angriffe in der Region Suva Reka, etwa 20 Kilometer südwestlich von Pristina, am Montag fortgesetzt.
     Der serbische Regierungschef Mirko Marjanovic hatte am Vortag in Belgrad die Offensive der serbischen Sicherheitskräfte im Kosovo für beendet erklärt.
     Das Mitglied der politischen Führung der Kosovo-Albaner, Fehmi Agani, sagte am Dienstag nach Angaben der Agentur Beta (Belgrad): «Wir werden mit dieser Übergangsverwaltung nicht zusammenarbeiten, da sie nur ein ausführendes Organ der serbischen Machthaber ist.»
     Das Parlament der jugoslawischen Teilrepublik Serbien hatte am Vortag beschlossen, im Kosovo eine provisorische Regierung einzusetzen.
     Brankovic kritisierte zudem das UNO-Flüchtlingshilfswerk. «Wir sind sehr unzufrieden mit den UNHCR-Berichten vom Ort des Geschehens», sagte er.
     Das Flüchtlingshilfswerk habe wiederholt falsche Zahlen und Informationen über die Kämpfe veröffentlicht. «Auch wenn wir von unserer Seite einen Waffenstillstand verkünden, müssen wir bei einem Angriff reagieren», erklärte der Botschafter. Amerikanische Medienberichte, wonach am Montag mehrere Dörfer in Kosovo aus der Luft angegriffen worden sein sollen, wies er jedoch als unwahr zurück.
© dpa

Sozialisten in Albanien wählen Nachfolger von Nano
Tirana (dpa) - Die Sozialistische Partei Albaniens hat als Nachfolger von Fatos Nano am Dienstag abend in Tirana den bisherigen Generalsekretär der Partei, Pandeli Majko (30), zum neuen Ministerpräsidenten bestimmt. Seine Bestätigung durch die sozialistische Parlamentsmehrheit noch in dieser Woche wurde als reine Formsache bezeichnet.
     Als größte Probleme seiner Regierungsarbeit bezeichnete Majko die Ausarbeitung einer Verfassung für sein Land und die Bewältigung der Krise in der benachbarten südjugoslawischen Unruheprovinz Kosovo.
     Der Verfassungsentwurf, dessen Ausarbeitung von der Opposition seit Monaten blockiert wird, werde wie geplant Ende November in einem Referendum von den Bürgern begutachtet und bei Annahme sofort inkraftgesetzt.
     Vorgezogenen Neuwahlen, wie sie seit langem von der Opposition gefordert worden waren, teilte der neue Ministerpräsident eine klare Absage. «Das steht nicht auf der Tagesordnung», sagte er vor Journalisten.
     Majko erwiderte die versöhnlichen Worte von Oppositionsführer Sali Berisha nicht. Zum Angebot Berishas, eine Expertenregierung auch ohne Mitwirkung seiner Demokratischen Partei zu unterstützen, sagte Majko «Das macht keinen Eindruck auf mich».
     Zuvor hatte Berisha den Rücktritt von Majkos Parteifreund Nano als ersten Schritt zur Bewältigung der scheren innenpolitischen Krise gelobt.
    «Wir stellen keine Bedingungen für die Teilnahme unserer Partei in einer Regierung», hatte der Oppositionsführer angekündigt und eine Unterstützung des neuen Kabinetts selbst ohne Teilnahme seiner Demokratischen Partei als möglich bezeichnet.
     Berisha war am Dienstag auch erstmals seit Monaten von seiner Forderung nach vorzeitigen Wahlen zum Parlament abgerückt. «Wir haben größere Probleme zu lösen, es ist keine Eile notwendig», begründete der seinen Positionswechsel in Tirana.
     Der designierte Regierungschef kündigte an, unverzüglich mit den anderen vier Parteien der Regierungskoalition Verhandlungen über die neue Ministerliste zu beginnen.
     Am Vorabend hatte vor Nano auch Innenminister Perikli Teta seinen Rücktritt erklärt. Er hatte seinen Rückzug aus der Politik mit scharfer Kritik an einer korrupten und unfähigen politischen Klasse des Landes begleitet.
     Nano selbst hatte sein Scheitern auf mangelnde Kooperation auch seiner eigenen Partei bei einer seit langem geplanten Kabinettsumbildung zurückgeführt.
© dpa

Serbische Führung bestreitet Luftangriffe auf Dörfer in Kosovo
Genf (dpa) - Die jugoslawische Regierung hat bestritten, daß ihre Militäroperationen gegen Dörfer in Kosovo weitergehen. Der jugoslawische Botschafter bei der UNO in Genf, Branko Brankovic, wies am Dienstag entsprechende Berichte des UNO-Flüchtlingshilfswerks (UNHCR) zurück.
     Nach UNHCR-Angaben hatten serbische Einheiten ihre Angriffe in der Region Suva Reka, rund 20 Kilometer südwestlich von Pristina, am Montag fortgesetzt - nach der Verkündung einer Art Waffenstillstandsdeklaration in Belgrad.
     «Wir sind sehr unzufrieden mit den UNHCR-Berichten von vor Ort», sagte Brankovic. Das Flüchtlingshilfswerk habe wiederholt falsche Zahlen und Informationen zum Kampfgeschehen veröffentlicht.
     «Auch wenn wir von unserer Seite einen Waffenstillstand verkünden, müssen wir bei einem Angriff reagieren», erklärte der Botschafter. Amerikanische Medienberichte, wonach am Montag mehrere Dörfer in Kosovo aus der Luft angegriffen worden sein sollen, wies er jedoch als unwahr zurück.
© dpa

Jugoslawien bestreitet weitere Angriffe auf Dörfer in Kosovo
Genf/Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Die jugoslawische Regierung hat bestritten, daß ihre Militäroperationen im Kosovo weitergehen. Zugleich haben die Kosovo-Albaner die von Belgrad geplante, provisorische Regierung für ihre Provinz kategorisch abgelehnt.
     Der jugoslawische Botschafter bei der UNO in Genf, Branko Brankovic, wies am Dienstag Berichte des UNO-Flüchtlingshilfswerks (UNHCR) über eine Fortsetzung der Kämpfe zurück. Nach UNHCR-Angaben hatten serbische Einheiten ihre Angriffe in der Region Suva Reka, rund 20 Kilometer südwestlich von Pristina, am Montag fortgesetzt. Der serbische Regierungschef Mirko Marjanovic hatte am Vortag in Belgrad die Offensive der serbischen Sicherheitskräfte im Kosovo für beendet erklärt.
     Das Mitglied der politischen Führung der Kosovo-Albaner, Fehmi Agani, sagte am Dienstag nach Angaben der Belgrader Agentur Beta: «Wir werden mit dieser Übergangsverwaltung nicht zusammenarbeiten, da sie nur ein ausführendes Organ der serbischen Machthaber sind.» Das Parlament der jugoslawischen Teilrepublik Serbien hatte am Vortag beschlossen, im Kosovo eine provisorische Regierung einzusetzen.
     Brankovic übte darüber hinaus Kritik am UNO-Flüchtlingshilfswerk. «Wir sind sehr unzufrieden mit den UNHCR-Berichten vom Ort des Geschehens», sagte er.
     Das Flüchtlingshilfswerk habe wiederholt falsche Zahlen und Informationen über die Kämpfe veröffentlicht. «Auch wenn wir von unserer Seite einen Waffenstillstand verkünden, müssen wir bei einem Angriff reagieren», erklärte der Botschafter. Amerikanische Medienberichte, wonach am Montag mehrere Dörfer in Kosovo aus der Luft angegriffen worden sein sollen, wies er jedoch als unwahr zurück.
     Auch nach Aganis Angaben wurden die Gefechte fortgesetzt. «Noch gestern (Montag) nachmittag wurden mindestens zehn Dörfer in der Nähe der Ortschaft Suva Reka niedergebrannt», sagte er.
© dpa

Schröder muß sich noch gedulden - die Fristen nach der Wahl
Bonn (dpa) - An diesem Mittwoch können die Fotografen in Bonn wieder einer 16 Jahre alten Routine nachgehen: Im Kanzleramt tagt das Kabinett, Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl wird die Ministerrunde mit einem Läuten seiner kleinen Glocke eröffnen.
     Anschließend werden Außenminister Klaus Kinkel und Verteidigungsminister Volker Rühe über die Vorbereitungen für eine mögliche Intervention in der Kosovo-Krise berichten. Sie alle gehören zu den Verlierern der nationalen Wahl vom Sonntag, doch noch sind sie im Amt.
     Wahlsieger Gerhard Schröder muß sich gedulden, bis er sich an den Schreibtisch des Bundeskanzlers setzen kann. Denn er wurde am Sonntag noch nicht zum Regierungschef gewählt - die Wahl des Kanzlers ist in Deutschland eine Aufgabe des Parlaments.
     Fest steht nur, daß das neue Parlament innerhalb von 30 Tagen nach der Wahl zu seiner ersten Sitzung zusammenkommen muß. Der letzte Termin dafür wäre also der 27. Oktober. In Bonn wird aber von einem früheren Termin ausgegangen. Im Gespräch ist derzeit der 20. Oktober.
     Die Einladung an die Abgeordneten für die konstituierende Sitzung spricht die Präsidenten des letzten Bundestages, Rita Süssmuth, aus. Damit endet ihr Amt.
     Die erste Sitzung des neuen Parlaments wird traditionell vom ältesten Abgeordneten eröffnet. Das ist der 70jährige Fred Gebhardt, der zwar parteilos, aber für die Reformkommunisten (PDS) gewählt worden ist.
     Schon das bisherige Parlament wurde von einem Mitglied der PDS-Fraktion eröffnet. Das war der Schriftsteller Stefan Heym, der ebenfalls als Parteiloser für die Reformkommunisten kandidiert hatte. Später gab es Streit, weil sich die Regierung weigerte, Heyms Rede bei der Parlamentseröffnung im offiziellen Bulletin zu drucken.
     Der sogenannte Alterspräsident leitet lediglich die Wahl des neuen Parlamentspräsidenten, der sein Amt sofort übernimmt. Die Christdemokratin Süssmuth hat übrigens keine Chance, diesen protokollarischen, aber hohen Posten wieder zu übernehmen. Denn jetzt sind die Sozialdemokraten stärkste Fraktion und haben damit entsprechend der Tradition das Recht, den ersten Mann oder die erste Frau des Parlaments zu bestimmen.
     Für die Wahl des Bundeskanzlers setzt die deutsche Verfassung dem Parlament keinen Termin. Ein Kandidat muß vom Staatsoberhaupt vorgeschlagen werden.
     Bundespräsident Roman Herzog wird wie alle seine Vorgänger zunächst einmal die Verhandlungen der Sozialdemokraten und der Grünen über die Bildung einer gemeinsamen Regierungskoalition abwarten.
     Die Grünen wollen das Verhandlungsergebnis von einem Parteitag billigen lassen, der für die Zeit vom 23. bis 25. Oktober einberufen worden ist. Mit einer Wahl des Kanzlers ist daher frühestens in den letzten Oktober-Tagen zu rechnen.
     Wenn die künftigen Regierungspartner dem Bundespräsidenten signalisieren, daß sie sich einig sind und Schröder zum Kanzler wählen wollen, wird Herzog ihn dem Parlament empfehlen.
     Es gibt keine Vorschrift, wann das Parlament über diesen Vorschlag abstimmen muß, doch gehen die Juristen davon aus, daß dies unverzüglich - also ohne bewußte Verzögerungen - zu geschehen hat.
     Als Kanzler gewählt ist Schröder, wenn er «die Stimmen der Mehrheit der Mitglieder des Bundestages auf sich vereinigt», wie es in der deutschen Verfassung heißt. Von den 669 Abgeordneten müssen also mindestens 335 für Schröder stimmen.
     Sozialdemokraten und Grüne haben zusammen 345 Parlamentarier, so daß dem künftigen Kanzler die erforderliche Mehrheit sicher sein dürfte. Die Bestimmungen der Verfassung für eine Niederlage des Kandidaten, die bis hin zur Auflösung des Parlaments reichen, werden wohl nicht angewendet werden müssen.
     Bei der Ernennung von Ministern hat das Parlament keine Mitsprache-Rechte. Die Mitglieder des Kabinetts werden vom Bundespräsidenten ernannt, der dabei allerdings den Vorschlägen des Kanzlers folgen muß.
     Helmut Kohl bleibt gemäß der Verfassung ohne jede Einschränkung seiner Rechte und Pflichten Bundeskanzler, bis der neue Bundestag zusammentritt.
     Da bei dieser ersten Sitzung vermutlich noch nicht der Nachfolger gewählt wird, wird der Bundespräsident den Regierungschef bitten, «die Geschäfte bis zur Ernennung seines Nachfolgers weiterzuführen», wie es im Gesetz heißt. Das gleiche gilt für die Minister.
     In diese Übergangszeit fällt unter anderem auch das außerordentliche Gipfeltreffen der Europäischen Union am 24./25. Oktober in Österreich. Dann heißt der deutsche Bundeskanzler voraussichtlich immer noch Helmut Kohl.
© dpa

Kosovo-Albaner lehnen provisorische Regierung durch Belgrad ab
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Die Kosovo-Albaner haben am Dienstag die von Belgrad geplante, provisorische Regierung für ihre Provinz kategorisch abgelehnt.
     «Wir werden mit dieser Übergangsverwaltung nicht zusammenarbeiten, da sie nur ein ausführendes Organ der serbischen Machthaber sind», sagte Fehmi Agani, Führungsmitglied der Kosovo-Albaner, nach Angaben der Agentur Beta (Belgrad).
     «Ich glaube nicht, daß irgendeine der Parteien mit dieser Verwaltung zusammenarbeiten wird.» Das Parlament der jugoslawischen Teilrepublik Serbien hatte am Vortag beschlossen, im Kosovo eine provisorische Regierung einzusetzen.
     Agani widersprach zudem der Erklärung des serbischen Regierungschefs Mirko Marjanovic, daß die Offensive der serbischen Sicherheitskräfte in der Provinz am Vortag eingestellt worden sei.
     «Noch gestern (Montag) nachmittag wurden mindestens zehn Dörfer in der Nähe der Ortschaft Suva Reka niedergebrannt», sagte er.
     Marjanovic hatte die «antiterroristischen Aktionen» der serbischen Sonderpolizei und der jugoslawischen Armee im Kosovo aufgrund der «Zerschlagung der Banden» - der Untergrundarmee UCK der Kosovo-Albaner - für beendet erklärt.
© dpa

Polizei räumte kanadische Botschaft - Kosovo-Albaner ins Heim
Budapest (dpa) - Eine Sondereinheit der ungarischen Polizei hat am Montag abend das Gelände der kanadischen Botschaft in Budapest gewaltsam geräumt, auf dem sich am Morgen Kosovo-Albaner geflüchtet hatten.
     Die 37 Flüchtlinge, unter ihnen 19 Kinder, waren am Vormittag auf das Botschaftsgelände vorgedrungen, um ihrer Forderung nach politischem Asyl in Kanada Nachdruck zu verleihen.
     Wie auf Bildern des staatlichen ungarischen Fernsehens zu sehen war, zerrten die Polizisten die Kosovo-Albaner vom Gelände und verfrachteten sie in das Asylantenlager.
     Bei den Flüchtlingen handelte es sich um Insassen des Asylantenlagers in Bicske (40 Kilometer westlich von Budapest), die nach eigenen Angaben bereits seit drei Monaten auf die Bearbeitung ihrer bei der kanadischen Botschaft eingereichten Asylanträge warten.
     Vertreter von Menschenrechts-Organisationen wiesen darauf hin, daß die «menschenunwürdigen Zustände" in den ungarischen Durchgangs- und Asylantenlagern für derartige Reaktion mit verantwortlich zu machen seien.
© dpa

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3. Reports about deportation and persons repatriated to Kosova

....
erhaltene Berichte - received reports       Namensliste ==> Einzelheiten   /   list of names ==> details

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 !

taken from  www.kosova.com on September 29,1998 at 22:20 hrs
Kosova Information Center
Prishtina, 29 September 1998, 18:30 CET
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1567
Contents

• President Rugova Receives Contact Group Ambassadors
• Around 150 Albanians Killed in Kosova since Wednesday
• Serbs Kill at Least Seven Albanians in Krajkova Village, Gllogovc
• Bodies of Six Slain Albanians Found in Two Villages
• Bodies of Two Killed Albanians Found Near Malisheva
• Three Albanians Killed in Plloçicë, Malisheva, in Serb Attack
• Four Refugee Children, Woman in Childbed, Baby, Die in Suhareka
• Serb Attacks against Villages South-West of Prishtina Continue Tuesday
• Serb Troops Crack Down on Uprooted Albanians at Camping Site Near Suhareka
• Serbs Pound Villages of Gllogovc and Skenderaj Overnight
• Over 200 Serb Military Vehicles Enter Kosova from Serbia Tuesday
• Serbs Burn Down Homes of Albanians in Ferizaj Villages
• Serb Police Crack Down on Albanian Families in Shtërpca
• 300 Albanian Civilians of Suhareka Municipality Taken to Prizren Jail Monday
• Hundreds of Other Albanians Rounded Up

President Rugova Receives Contact Group Ambassadors
Serbian offensive is continuing, the President said

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova received today (Tuesday) afternoon in Prishtina the Belgrade-based ambassadors of the Contact Group countries to discuss the current situation in Kosova.
The Serbian offensive has been continuing, Rugova said, pressing for an urgent international intervention to bring an end to the prevailing tragic developments in Kosova, the President's Office said.
Meanwhile, the ambassadors of the Contact Group issued a press release today afternoon.
Following is the text:
(Begin text)
The ambassadors of the Contact Group called on Dr. RUGOVA today to underline to him the importance their governments attach to compliance with resolution 1199. The following points were made:
- The vote on resolution 199, and the meeting of the contact Group at ministerial level, demonstrate the unity and the determination of the members of the Group;
- The resolution must be implemented in its totality. The seriousness and speed with which the parties filfill their obligations as contained in the resolution shall constitute a test of their committment;
- The Contact Group supports the political negotiating process entered into by Mr. HILL which will be continued in close cooperation with the European Union and with Russia;
- The Contact Group attaches the utmost importance to the humanitaran dimension of the situation in Kosovo and expects from the parties that they urgently take the necessary measures to adress it rapidly and effectively;
- The Contact Group draws the attention to the fact that resolution 1199 requests the Secretary General of the United Nations to make a report on his assessment of the compliance with this resolution.
- This demarche is being made to both parties.
(End text)

Around 150 Albanians Killed in Kosova since Wednesday
At least 25 Albanian fatalities learned today

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - Reports reaching the KIC from the ground in Kosova have identified 25 more Albanians killed in the last couple of days. Six killed Albanians were found in Dobrashec (Gllogovc), one in Strabaqinë (Suhareka), three at Plloçica (Malisheva), two at Llazica (Malisheva), seven in Krajkova (Gllogovc), at least six uprooted Albanians died these days in makeshift shelters in Suhareka.
Fifteen executed Albanians were found in two family compounds in Obria village (Gllogovc) yesterday.
Some 110 other Albanians were reported killed Serb troops since last Wednesday during the Serb offensive against Çiçavica area villages, north-west of Prishtina.

Serbs Kill at Least Seven Albanians in Krajkova Village, Gllogovc

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - The bodies of 7 killed Albanians were found today (Tuesday) in the village of Krajkova, 5 km west of Gllogovc, local sources said.
Xhemë Binaku, head of the chapter of the Gllogovc chapter of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF), said most of the bodies of the killed Albanians were mutilated.
The bodies of the following Albanians were found in Krajkova, according to Mr. Binaku: Fitim Elshani (22), Vehbi Hoxha (48), Faik Braiqi (16), Fahredin Braiqi, Sabit Buzllaku (62), Fejzë Braiqi (45) and Afrim Ramadan Braiqi (30).
Naser Shala, Lindita Podrimçaku (f), Besnik Braiqi and Abedin Braiqi, were wounded, Mr. Binaku said.
In a neighboring village of Shtrubullovë, Serb forces have rounded up 28 civilians, whose whereabouts are unknown.

Bodies of Six Slain Albanians Found in Two Villages

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - The bodies of four local Albanians killed and mutilated by Serb paramilitaries were found yesterday (Monday) in the village of Dobroshec, municipality of Gllogovc, Xhemë Binaku, a local head of the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said. He named the four slain Albanians as: Mustafë Fejza, Rifat Fejza, Hazir Avdyli and Hasan Maloku.
Meanwhile, the bodies of two killed Albanians were found in the village of Poklek i Vjetër of Gllogovc. One of them was identified as Sadri Muçolli, the other as surnamed Tluna, a resident of Poklek i Vjetër.
The human rights activist said Monday other Albanians were suspected killed by Serb forces in the municipality of Gllogovc.

Bodies of Two Killed Albanians Found Near Malisheva

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - Local villagers of Llazica, in the municipality of Malisheva, found yesterday bodies of two killed Albanians in the hills not far from the village.
The LDK chapter of Malisheva named the two killed Albanians as Alush Pantina (19), resident of Gllareva (Klina), and Hasan Morina (22), resident of Vllashki Drenoci (Malisheva).
Local activists in Malisheva said they feared more dead Albanian are scattered in the fields still packed with Serb troops.

Three Albanians Killed in Plloçicë, Malisheva, in Serb Attack
The fate of several local men apprehended by Serb troops unknown

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - At least three Albanians have been killed in Plloçicë village of Malisheva during a Serb troops' attack last weekend.
The LDK information commission in Malisheva named these three Albanians killed by Serbs: Dervish Maloku (60), Sejdi Gashi (60) and Deli Gashi.
The majority of population of Plloçica fled the village in the midst of Serb attacks last week. They have been hiding  in a forest near Gollubovc ever since.
Sources said Serb forces who entered into the village rounded up Albanian men who were holed up in their houses. They were taken away in a truck to a still unknown destination.

Four Refugee Children, Woman in Childbed, Baby, Die in Suhareka

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - At least six uprooted Albanians have died recently in the makeshift shelters in the municipality of Suhareka, local sources said.
The LDK chapter said 4 children, an old man, and a woman in childbed died because of poor conditions and cold weather.
The LDK described as appalling the situation in the locations the internally displaced persons have been staying. The IDP's lack food, medication and clothing, it said, adding that many have been sleeping in makeshift tents of plastic sheeting or in roofless houses.

Serb Attacks against Villages South-West of Prishtina Continue Tuesday

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - For the third straight day, Serb troops attacked today (Tuesday) the village of Jezerc in Ferizaj, south of Prishtina.
LDK chapters in Ferizaj and the neighboring town of Shtime said today morning that Serb troops pounding with heavy artillery fire the villages of Topillë, Llanishtë, Petrovë and Mollopolc in a bid to shoot the way across the Gryka e Devetakut (Devetaku gorge). Today's attacks are said to be the fiercest since the Serb offensives were kicked in the area.
Over a dozen villages straddling a triangle between Shtime, Ferizaj and Suhareka - Topillë, Devetak and Llanishtë, Jezerc, Nerodime e Epërme, Vraniq, Budakovë, Krushicë, Papaz, Savrovë, Buzhalë, Bukosh, Dubravë, Maqitevë, Stravoqinë and Reçan - came under Serb fire on Sunday morning. Some of the villages in all the three municipalities have been repeatedly attacked during the whole course of the past three days, resulting in thousands of new internally displaced people.
Witnesses told the KIC that clouds of smoke were billowing all day today from Jezerc and the neighboring villages of Topillë, Llanishtë, Petrovë and Mollopolc.
By early afternoon, no report was available about possible casualties in the area.
At around midday, the situation was reported highly dangerous around Gaçka village. Heavy Serb troops, backed up by tanks and artillery guns, sealed off the village.
Sources in the neighboring municipality of Suhareka said Serb troops have resumed pounding with artillery fire Albanian communities east of the town. Serbs have been burning entire villages, sources in the area reported.
 
Serb Troops Crack Down on Uprooted Albanians at Camping Site Near Suhareka

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - Several hundred uprooted Albanians staying in Vraniq village of Suhareka and adjacent forests were ill-treated and dispersed by Serb troops today morning.
Sources in Suhareka said early in the morning the Serb force cracked down on the IDP's camping near Vraniq since last Sunday. The police initially separated menfolks from their families, terrorizing many of them for a couple of hours. The IDP's were later were taken in military trucks to Suhareka.
Witnesses claimed that heaps of looted appliances and other commodities were collected in the main square of Vraniq before they were taken away in trucks. Serbs took photographs with the looted goods, ridiculing the local populations being driven out of the village.

Serbs Pound Villages of Gllogovc and Skenderaj Overnight

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - At least two villages in the municipalities of Skenderaj ('Srbica') and Gllogovc were pounded with artillery fire overnight. The village Likoc in Skenderaj and Obria e Epërme in Gllogovc were attacked for about an hour and a half after midnight last night. Several shells landed in these villages.
The Chapter of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in Skenderaj said the village of Obria e Epërme came under renewed fire today morning.
15 members of two extended families in Obria, including children and women, were massacred by the Serb forces last weekend. At least two of the victims were killed by stabbing, one had his throat slit, the others were mutilated in different fashions, human rights activists claimed.
Sources in Gllogovc said that an American team of the Kosova Diplomatic Observer Mission (KDOM) visited Obria e Epërme today and the site where the 15 Albanians were massacred over the weekend.

Over 200 Serb Military Vehicles Enter Kosova from Serbia Tuesday

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - The KIC sources in the northern Kosova parts reported today (Tuesday) morning of fresh Serb troops entering Kosova from Serbia.
At least 200 Serb army and police vehicles, including tanks, drove along the Podujeva-Prishtina road from 5:30 through 7:30 today morning.
Sources in Podujeva said that more Serb military vehicles entered into Kosova from Serbia later in the morning today.

Serbs Burn Down Homes of Albanians in Ferizaj Villages

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - The Serb forces burned down scores of hoses of Albanians in the villages of Kashtanjeva and Nerodime on Monday afternoon, sources said.
The LDK chapter said the houses of the following villagers were burned down completely in Kashtanjeva: Xheladin Rexhepi, Rifat Rexhepi, Shabi Rexhepi, Hysni Rexhepi, Izet Rexhepi, Xhemajl Shabani, Ali Aliu, Sali Aliu, Shaban Shabani, Fadil Murseli, Sedat Murseli, Zeqir Murseli, Musli Murseli, Ismet Limani, Bajram Ibrahimi, Zenel Ibrahimi and Ibrahim Ibrahimi.
Several Albanians from this village have been missing for several days, and are feared to have been killed by Serbs.
In the village of Nerodime e Epërme, Serb troops burned on Monday the homes of these Albanians: Ahmet Kashtanjeva, Abdullah Kashtanjeva Rexhep Kashtanjeva, Jakup Kashtanjeva, Ismajl Kashtanjeva, Bafti Kashtanjeva, Sami Kashtanjeva, Nebih Kashtanjeva, Veli Kashtanjeva, Qerim Kashtanjeva, Elez Kashtanjeva.
At least 34 farmhouses have been burned in the village of Nerodime over the past three days, the LDK information commission in Ferizaj said.
 
Serb Police Crack Down on Albanian Families in Shtërpca
Over a dozen Albanians in police custody since Monday morning

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - Serb police cracked down brutally on several Albanian families at Viqa and Bitijë villages of Shtërpca, a small municipality in south-east of Kosova, on Monday.
Sources in the village said Serb police raided the homes of Agim Tahiri, Besim Tahiri, Ekrem Halili, Bujar Muharremi. The police beat the family heads as well as other family members. Another local villager, Daut Rexhepi, was arrested.
At another village of Shtërpca, at Bitijë e Epërme, Serb police rounded up the following residents: Haki Bakiu, Ilmi Bakiu, Rexhep Bislimi, Mehmet Bislimi, Agron Bislimi, Agim Bislimi, Imri Zenuni, Afrim Ahmeti, Fakir Hamiti, Avni Hamiti, Heset Kaçiku, Nysret Bakiu, Miftar Bakiu, Ismajl Bakiu, Fadil Jakupi, Naim Murati and Bedri Izeti.
By Tuesday morning, they were all being still held in Serb police custody.

300 Albanian Civilians of Suhareka Municipality Taken to Prizren Jail Monday

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - On Monday, Serb forces rounded up around 300 civilian Albanians at a location called "Gradinë" near the village of Maçitevë of Suhareka, local sources said, adding that they were taken to the Prizren district jail at around 15:00 hrs.
LDK sources in Prizren said the Albanians, most of them under-aged, were being ferried in lorries, hand-cuffed, and poorly clothed.
Some of the young Albanians of the municipalities of Suhareka, such as Burim Basha (17), Arben Palushi (16), Besim Sallauka (15), Arsim Krasniqi (17), were released.
They said they had been detained alongside with 15 other civilian Albanians of Suhareka, having evacuated their homes in the wake of Serb military and police forces' shelling.

Hundreds of Other Albanians Rounded Up
One killed during Serb attacks yesterday

PRISHTINA, Sept 29 (KIC) - Zenel Morina (30), resident of Stravuqinë village, was killed during the Serbian attacks yesterday (Monday), LDK sources in Suhareka said.
Meanwhile, reports said Serb forces took in lorries hundreds of displaced Albanians from Vraniq and other villages, who were living rough in the open, and sent them to the town of Suhareka as well as in the direction of Sopi village of Suhareka early in the morning today.
Police reportedly separated men and women and ill-treated many of them.
The forced transforation of people made a terrible scene, but worst of is that the whereabouts of many of the young Albanians rounded up by police is unknown.
An eye-witness said 144 Albanian men were held holed up inside a house for 60 hours before being sent away today afternoon (13,00 hrs) to Suharek and Prizren, respectively.
A source said two local schoolhouses in Bukosh and Savrovë villages, respectively, were crammed with detained men, whose movement is restricted inside the building.
There has been no word on the fate of 300 Albanian civilians arrested Monday.
One of the detainees, who was released Monday, was able to name some of the Albanians arrested, such as Sylejman Zyba (47) and his two sons Bekimi (20) and Urim (18), as well as Arsim Zyba (23) from Bukosh, Musli Jaha (70) and his son Ali (32), from Sllapuzhan, and Nesim Morina (34) and Bajram Morina (22) from Reshtan.
A 15-year-Albanian, Liman Zyba, was released after having been brutally beaten up.

Inhalt

Drei Tote bei dem Angriff in Plloçica

Der Angriff auf Jezerc dauert an - Das Dorf Gaçka wird belagert

Podujeva: Über 200 Militärwagen kamen von Serbien in Kosova

In Kashtanjeva und Nerodime e Epërme brannten serbischen Polizisten einige albanische Häuser nieder

In Abwesenheit des Mannes verhafteten serbische Polizisten die Ehefrau

Drei Tote bei dem Angriff in Plloçica

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Bei dem Angriff der serbischen Streitkräfte auf das Dorf Plloçica \ Malisheva sind mindestens drei Albaner getötet und alle Häuser niedergebrannt worden.
Die LDK-Informationskommission in Malisheva berichtet, dass die Toten Dervish Cen Maloku (60), Sejdi Bali Gashi (60) und Deli Bali Gashi sind. Man vermutet, es könnte mehrere Tote geben.
Die aus dem Dorf geflohene Bevölkerung hat sich in den Wäldern von Gollubovc niedergelassen. Einige Bewohner, hauptsächlich Alte, die nicht evakuiert werden konnten, sind von den serbischen Kräften verhaftet worden. Wohin sie gebracht wurden ist noch unbekannt.

Der Angriff auf Jezerc dauert an - Das Dorf Gaçka wird belagert

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Serbische Streitkräfte beschiessen auch heute das Dorf Jezerc, berichtet die LDK-Informationskommission in Ferizaj. Das ist der dritte Tag wie dieses Dorf beschossen wird.
Die serbischen Kräfte beschiessen aus ihrer Position an den "Bashkimi i Lumenjëve" genannten Ort neben Nerodime e Epërme.
Bisher gibt es keine Angaben über Tote oder Verletzte, aber die materiellen Schäden sind gross.
Über 200 gut ausgerüstete Soldaten belagern heute das Dorf Gaçka. Konzentration der serbischen Kräfte gibt es auch im Dorf Burrnik.

Podujeva: Über 200 Militärwagen kamen von Serbien in Kosova

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Heute um 05.30 Uhr kamen von Serbien in Kosova neue serbische Streitkräfte.
Die LDK-Informationskommission in Podujeva berichtet, dass der aus über 200 Wagen benstandener Konvoi in Richtung Prishtina fuhr. Während der Zeit als der Konvoi fuhr, war die Strasse für den Zivilverkehr gesperrt.

In Kashtanjeva und Nerodime e Epërme brannten serbischen Polizisten einige albanische Häuser nieder

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Gestern haben serbische Polizisten im Dorf Kashtanjeva einige albanische Häuser niedergebrannt, berichtet die LDK-Informationskommission in Ferizaj.
Die Häuser von Xheladin, Rifat, Shabi, Hysni und Izet Rexhepi, Xhemajl, Ali und Sali Aliu, Shaban Shabani, Fadil, Sedat, Zeqir und Musli Murseli, Ismet und Bajram Limani, Zenel und Ibrahim Ibrahimi wurden völlig niedergebrannt.
Das Schicksal vieler Familen aus diesem Dorf ist unbekannt.
Und vorgestern im Dorf Nerodime e Epërme haben serbische Polizisten die Häuser von Ahmet, Abdullah, Rexhep, Jakup, Ismajl, Bafti, Sami, Nebih, Veli, Qerim und Elez Kashtanjeva niedergebrannt. In diesem Dorf sind bisher 34 albanische Häuser niedergebrannt worden.

In Abwesenheit des Mannes verhafteten serbische Polizisten die Ehefrau

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Vorgestern, gegen 10.00 Uhr, durchsuchten serbische Polizisten das Haus von Gani Reshani in Ferizaj. Die Polizisten suchten den Sohn von Gani, Adil Reshtani, berichtet die LDK-Informationskommission in Ferizaj.
Da Adil nicht zu Hause war, verhafteten die Polizisten seine Frau, konfiszierten ein Auto der Marke "BMW" und misshandelten Ismet Reshani (32) und Sabrije Reshani (70).
Die Ehefrau von Adil wurde nach 30 Stunden freigelassen.

Inhalt
 

Dörfer der Gemeinde Shtime und das Dorf Jezerc der Gemeinde Ferizaj unter Beschuss

Obria e Epërme unter Beschuss

Die Niederbrennung der Dörfer von Suhareka wird fortgesetzt

Serbische Streitkräfte schickten hunderte albanische Zivilisten von Vraniq nach Suhareka

Suhareka: Wegen des schlechten Wetters starben 1 Alter, 4 Kinder und eine junge Mutter

und ihr Baby

In Llazica wurden zwei Tote gefunden

Serbische Streitkräfte griffen das Dorf Burrnik an

Dörfer der Gemeinde Shtime und das Dorf Jezerc der Gemeinde Ferizaj unter Beschuss

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Serbische Streitkräfte haben ihren Granatenbeschuss auf die Dörfer der Gemeidne Shtime und auf das Dorf Jezerc der Gemeinde Ferizaj auch heute fortgesetzt.
Die LDK-Informationskommission in Shtime berichtet, dass die serbischen Streitkräfte im Versuch in den Devetaku Pass einzudringen auch schwere Artillerie eingesetzt haben. Angegriffen werden die Dörfer Topilla, Llanishta, Petrova und Mollopolc \ Shtime und das Dorf Jezerc \ Ferizaj, das neben den anderen angegriffenen Dörfern liegt. Es wird gesagt, dass der heutige Angriff der intensivste bisher ist. Diese Dörfer wurden auch während der Nacht mit Granaten beschossen.
Die beschossenen Dörfer stehen in Flammen und aus ihnen quillt Rauch. Am schlimmsten hat es das Dorf Petrova -eines der schönsten Dörfer dieser Region - getroffen, die Hälfte dessen Häuser schon im August niedergebrannt wurden.
Rund 700 Zivilisten befinden sich unter freiem Himmel belagert von serbischen Streitkräften.

Obria e Epërme unter Beschuss

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Die um das Dorf Likoc liegenden Dörfer wurden gestern während der Nacht bis 01.00 Uhr unter Beschuss genommen, berichtet der Rat zum Schutz der Menschenrechte und Freiheiten in Skënderaj.
Es wird berichtet, dass die in Likoc stationierten Streitkräfte heute in Richtung von Obria e Epërme schiessen.
Eine Delegation der amerikanischen Beobachtermission besuchte gestern das Dorf Obri e Epërme, wo die serbischen Streitkäfte gestern 15 Mitglieder der Familie Deliu massakrierten.

Die Niederbrennung der Dörfer von Suhareka wird fortgesetzt

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Der serbische Angriff auf die Dörfer der Gemeinde Suhareka dauert auch heute an.
Die LDK-Informationskommission in Suhareka berichtet, dass heute früh Schüsse zu hören waren und sptäter haben die serbischen Streikräfte einige Häser im östlichen Teil der Stadt in Brand gesteckt. Aus den Häuser quillt jetzt Rauch.

Serbische Streitkräfte schickten hunderte albanische Zivilisten von Vraniq nach Suhareka

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Heute transportierten serbische Zivilisten hunderte albanische Zivilisten, die sich in den Wäldern des Dorfes Vraniq versteckt hatten, mit LKW-s nach Suhareka ab, berichtet die LDK-Informationskommission in Suhareka.
Die serbischen Streitkräfte haben die Frauen und Männer in verschiedene Orte gebracht. Viele Männer wurden misshandelt.
Die Flüchtlinge, die in Suhareka gebracht wurden, sagten, das die Polizei die gestohlene Ware in albanischen Häusern gesammelt hat und spielt mit ihr in Anwesenheit der Familien. Sie machen auch Fotos vor der gestohlenen Ware.

Suhareka: Wegen des schlechten Wetters starben 1 Alter, 4 Kinder und eine junge Mutter und ihr Baby

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Wegen des schlechten Wetters und der schweren Bedingungen starb im Dorf Duhla ein Alter, berichtet die LDK-Informationskommission in Suhareka.
Diese Quelle berichtet auch, dass an den gleichen Folgen auch vier Kinder und eine junge Mutter und ihr Baby gestorben sind.

In Llazica wurden zwei Tote gefunden

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Neben dem Dorf Llazica \ Malisheva wurden zwei tote Albaner, die während der letzten Offensive der serbischen Streitkräfte getötet wurden, gefunden.
Der Vorsitzender des LDK-Sektors im Dorf Vërmica der Gemeinde Malisheva sagte, dass an den "Pishat e Larta" genannten Ort neben Llazica Ahmet Alush Pantina (19) aus Gllareva \ Klina und Hasan Beqë Morina (22) aus Vllashki Drenoc \ Malisheva tot aufgefunden wurden. Man befürchtet es könnte dort weitere Tote geben.

Serbische Streitkräfte griffen das Dorf Burrnik an

PRISHTINA, den 29. September (IZK) - Gestern haben grosse mit schwerer Artillerie
ausgerüstete serbische Streitkräfte das Dorf Burrnik der Gemeinde Ferizaj angegriffen, berichtet die LDK-Informationskommission in Ferizaj.
Dieses kleine Dorf, in dem nur 18 Familine leben, wurde aus dem Positionen der serbischen Kräfte im Dorf Semaja \ Kaçanik unter Beschuss genommen. Im Dorf sind noch zwei Familien geblieben, deren Schicksal ungewiss ist.
Das Dorf Burrnik wurde auch aus dem Dorf Gaçka angegriffen. Bisher gibt es keine Angaben über Tote oder Verletzte.

taken from  http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA/index.htm  on September 29, 1998  at 22:25 hrs

KOSOVA (massacre)
Women, children and old people massacred in Obri e Epërme

Drenica, Obri e Epërme, 29 September (ARTA) 1445CET --
These photos were taken in the aftermath of the latest Serb police\military offensive in the Drenica region. The victims were found on Tuesday, in the village of Obri e Epërme. The identities of the massacred are not yet confirmed, but it is presumed that they are members of the Imer Delia family. Eighteen family members have so far been found massacred.
Massacred family members are:
Ali Delia (63); Adem Delia (33); Mejhane Delia (27); Valmir Delia (18 months); Hamide Delia (60); Hava Delia (64); Lumnije Delia (34); Jeton Delia (8); Menduhije (4); Luljeta Delia (28); Pajazit Delia (65); Zeqir Delia (44); Habibe Delia (53); Hysen Delia (51); Fazli Delia (94 – physically handicapped); Zahide Delia (27); Gentiana Delia (7) and Donjeta Delia (4).
This is new evidence of Serb police\military forces carrying out crimes against humanity and summary executions. Among the massacred, there is a one-year-old baby, a woman, a young boy, and an old man, whose throat is cut.
Kosova Diplomatic Observers Mission visited the village of Obri e Epërme, Monday.
Despite claims of the Serbian Government that the police\military offensive has ceased, shelling of villages is still continuing in the region of Ferizaj, South-east of Prishtina

                           WARNING
  You may find the pictures that follow disturbing
 

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KOSOVA (Serb offensive)
Serb forces continue offensive

Ferizaj, 29 September (ARTA) 1800CET --
Local sources in Ferizaj inform that Serb military and police forces continued for the third day the shelling of the village of Jezerc. According to the sources, the shelling is conducted by the Serb forces installed in the place "Bashkimi i lumenjëve" in Nerodime e Epërme. So far, there is no confirmation on casualties, but the material damages in the Jezerc village are immense.
Large police forces have besieged the village Gaqkë.
Serb forces are concentrated also in the direction of Burrnik village as well as on the road d, linking the villages of Gaqkë and Baincë. The same sources claim that 16 terrain vehicles with policemen, three APCs, and two police trucks, drove today from Gaqkë to Ferizaj.
Serb forces are using heavy artillery in order to penetrate into the Devetak gorge. The shelling of the villages of Topillë, Llanishtë, Petrovë e Mollopolc (Shtime municipality), as well as the Ferizaj municipal village of Jezerc is still continuing.
There are claims that the attack conducted on Tuesday, was the most intensive one undertaken so far.
The village of Petrovë, which was the most urbanized one of this municipality, is burnt. According to local sources, around 700 residents, mainly women, children and elderly have remained outside in the forests and under the siege of Serb police forces.
Due to repeated Serb attacks school lessons are suspended in the village of Reçak, as well as in Shtime.
Serb military and police forces burnt yesterday several Albanian houses in the village of Kashtanjevë, claim the LDK sources in Ferizaj. No information is available so far about many Albanian families from Kashtanjevë. Meanwhile 37 Albanian houses were burnt in the village of Nerodime e Ulët.

KOSOVA (destruction – Klinë)
167 Albanian houses destroyed in Këpuz and Çeskovë – Serb forces shoot at civilians

Klinë, 29 September (ARTA) 1830CET --
During the current Serb force offensive in the villages of Këpuz and Çeskovë, after looting and burning Albanian houses, Serb forces completely destroyed 167 houses and other valuable properties.
An escapee from the village of Këpuz claims that the Serb police and army threw dead animals in the village's wells, to poison the drinking water. It is also reported that these wells contain dead human bodies as well.
According to the locals, the clashes resulted with 16 killed policemen and two destroyed tanks, one of, which remained burned in the Lumaj neighborhood in Këpuz.
Serb units, returned to the village of Sverkë, from where dozens of tanks and other fighting equipment are constantly cruising down to the villages of Volljakë, Sverkë, Përçevë and Dush, shooting in the direction of the civilian population, "KOHA Ditore" sources inform.
These Serb units, confirm the fleeing villagers, confiscated all the quarry equipment and those of the cement factory in the village of Sverkë.
The elementary school of Përçevë was also burned down on Tuesday.
More than 20,000 people have been staying outdoors, for about two weeks now surrounded by numerous Serb forces that are constantly shooting in their direction.
Fifteen families are on the verge of dying from hunger and the cold. It is also reported that 100 young people, aged from 15 to 25 years, from different regions of the municipality, are still surrounded by the Serb forces.
Their family member and witnesses from the ground state that they carried nothing, but for the clothes they had on.

KOSOVA (victims)
At least 1472 Albanians killed since January

Prishtina, 29 September (ARTA) 1900CET --
The violence in Kosova was manifested with the massive killing of the civilian population, summary execution of Albanians, shelling and burning of entire villages, looting of property, abduction and hostage taking, arrests and framed political processes and large displacement of population, a CDHRF report states.
Since 14 January, when the situation escalated, according to the CDHRF reports, at least 1472 Albanians were killed, 162 of which women, 143 children (85 males and 36 females, whereas for 22 children they could not determine the gender), 297 people of over 55 years old (243 males and 54 female), 373 unidentified.
Other victims’ age varies between 18 to 55 years old. They were killed due to shelling, or summary executions. Their corpses were burned or were massacred in different ways.
During this period circa 1300 people were abducted, taken hostage or are considered missing. 45 out of them are of Serb nationality, whereas the rest are Albanians, it is stated in the report and added that at least 1700 Albanians, are under arrest or under an investigating procedure.
CDHRF states that several warehouses, factories, mines, schools, and even monasteries have been turned into "investigating prisons" and concentration camps, where the Albanians are ruthlessly tortured.
Some 450,000 Albanians have fled their homes in Kosova and more than 150,000 Albanians are presently living outdoors.
The number of the Albanians that have sheltered outside Kosova is the following: 90,000 Albanians in Montenegro, 25-39,000 in Albania, 25,000 in Macedonia, 15,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the number of those that headed for the European countries is unknown.
According to CDHRF at least 45,000 houses, housing facilities and stores were destroyed. Many villages were wiped off the face of earth. Serb policemen, soldiers, or paramilitary looted Albanian owned houses, before burning them.
The Serb death squads, ordered by their superiors, conducted mass executions, in the villages of Prekaz, Likoshan, Qirez, Poklek i Ri, Deçan, Lybeniq, Rahovec, Dobratin, and in the villages of Shalë e Bajgorës, and finally in the villages near the Çiçavicë forest, killing many elderly, women and children.
CDHRF once more claims that there are mass graves in which the bodies of the Albanians executed by Serbs, were forcefully buried, and make an appeal to the international organizations to investigate these cases and form a team of forensic experts. These experts, coming from a neutral side, would either refute or confirm the claims of the Serb side on the existence of a mass grave or crematoriums and thus obstruct the manipulation of the Serb regime, with the dead bodies of the victims, of which we fear to be the Albanians from the list of the missing, it is stated in the CDHRF report, signed by its chairman Pajazit Nushi.

KOSOVA (hostages –Gllogoc)
Thousands of Albanians held hostage in "Ferronikel", fourth day

Gllogoc, 29 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
Thousands of Albanians, mainly young people from Drenica, are being held hostage in the police station in Gllogoc and in the military base in the "Ferronikel" building, for the fourth According to a young boy from Domanek, the Serb policemen are "testing" their participation in the "terrorist actions" of the detainees held at the Gllogoc Police station.
There are reports that there are still killed and wounded people in the forest of Çiçavicë and Kosmaq, following the massacre in Obri e Epërme.
Two killed Albanians have been buried in the village of Krajkovë, near Kosmaq, Monday evening.
In the meantime, on the Prishtina-Pejë road, there are still no movements of the civilian vehicles, only motorized military\police vehicles.

KOSOVA (arrests – Prizren)
Some 500 Albanians under arrest – IDPs flood the city of Prizren

Prizren, 29 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
"Koha Ditore " sources in Prizren inform of hundreds of Albanian residents from Suharekë municipal villages (who were arrested during the last offensive) being kept in custody in extremely bad conditions. The number of those arrested has reached 500.
Although, yesterday afternoon some of the arrested were released after being tortured, the vast majority of them are still kept in the Police station and in the fire brigade private compound in Prizren. Twenty Albanian civilians (in grave health situation), from Suharekë municipal villages, are on medical treatment after being tortured by the Serb military and police.
The sources from the city hospital claim that three policemen were killed, while 8 were wounded during the fighting in the outskirts of the city. The wounded policemen are now in the city hospital.
The flux of the dislocated from the areas engulfed by the Serb attacks continued also on Tuesday.
Thousands of displaced people from the Suharekë municipal villages sought shelter in Prizren.
Hundreds of houses of the villages Savrovë, Bukosh, Muhlan, Reqan, and other villages are burnt claim witnesses from the field.
The highway Prizren-Suharekë-Prishtina still remains blocked.

KOSOVA (police repositioning – Mitrovicë)
Serb police reinforcements stationed in Shalë e Bajgorës - New offensive ahead?

Mitrovicë, 29 September (ARTA) 1930CET --
An APC, containing a multi barrel mine launcher and two trucks loaded with Serb soldiers, departed from the military barrack in Mitrovicë, heading in the direction of Stantërg and settling in the military barrack in Kutlloc, in Shalë e Bajgorës, "KOHA Ditore" sources from Mitrovicë informed.
An hour later, another APC and seven trucks loaded with policemen came out from the military barrack in Mitrovicë, the same sources confirm.
This convoy continued its way to Skënderaj and the villages of Drenica. Cruising down town, the policemen provoked the passers by, offending them and pointing the guns at them, while singing Chetnik song. Some of them were even holding KLA emblems in their hands.
Today, the Serb police, posted near the bus station, is constantly controlling, beating and arresting many of passers by confirm local sources. The police stop every vehicle and passer by, headed to Stantërg. The Mitrovicë-Stantërg roads, remains completely blocked for the Albanians.

KOSOVA (prisoners – Pejë)
Arrested Albanians taken to the prison of Pejë then deported into prisons of Serbia proper – Serb trade inspectors fine Albanian shop-owners in Pejë

Pejë, 29 September (ARTA) 2030CET --
The SCDHRF in Pejë asserts that, the number of the imprisoned persons has risen rapidly in the last days. The prison of Pejë has become a "station" wherefrom every second or third day dozens of arrested are deported into the prisons of Serbia. Accordingly, SCDHRF states that, Albanian residents from Baran and Jabllanicë of Gjakovë are sent to the Pejë prison. A penal procedure is initiated against them.
Four Albanians from Deçan, Pejë, and Gjakovë municipal villages were arrested while travelling by bus in the direction Gjakovë-Pejë. Penal procedures are introduced against them with the accusation for "terrorist activity", restricted with the sections 135 and 125 of the "Yugoslav" criminal code.
Serb financial and trade inspectors are plundering those few shops still working, thus deteriorating the tense economical situation in Pejë, informs SCDHRF.
The fines they apply reach the value of 100.000 Dinars.
Furthermore, Serb Trade inspectors closed on 26 September all the shops that sell nutritive articles. On this occasion, they confiscated from the Albanian owned shops, large amounts of these "prohibited" articles like flour, sugar, oil etc. It is informed that these wares were subsequently sent into the state-owned enterprises, while the owners of the shops will be charged for misdemeanor, state the report of SCDHRF in Pejë.
Dozens of Albanian houses were looted and burnt by the Serb forces in the Pejë municipal village of Gllogjan, SCDHRF claims.

KOSOVA (forced dislocation – Suharekë)
Hundreds of residents of Vraniq loaded on a truck and sent to Suharekë - four children, mother, and newborn child die due to bad weather

Suharekë, 29 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
The Serb force attack against the villages of Suharekë, continued throughout Tuesday, local Albanian sources from Suharekë inform.
Shooting was heard since the early morning hours. Serb units continued burning the villages in the eastern side of Suharekë, from which smoke and fire could be seen clearly.
There are reports that early this morning, Serb units loaded by force a truck with hundreds of dislocated residents of the village of Vraniq and sent them in the Suharekë town.
The Serb police units separated males from females, mistreating a number of them.
Due to the bad weather, one Albanian died in the village of Duhël, as well as four Albanian children and one mother and her recently born child.

KOSOVA (false alarm – Podujevë)
Population of the villages of Podujevë flees after false alarm

Podujevë, 29 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
A large wave of people, moved out from the villages of Dobratin, Revuç, Bajçinë and Bradash municipality of Podujevë, Monday night, even though there were no Serb force attacks.
LDK information sources and CDHRF, in Podujevë, state that "some thugs, launched a
misinformation according to which the villages of Bradash and Dobratin, will be attacked by the Serb police\military forces. This misinformation caused a large wave of displacement, from the villages of Dobratin, Revuç, Bajçinë, Bradash etc.".
The locals, that had just recently returned home after fleeing before the Serb offensive of 15 September, on Monday night started leaving their houses in a great panic, using tractors, chariots and other vehicles.
The wave of villagers fleeing is reported to have started at around 2100CET and lasted until about 2300CET.
According to the same sources, "starting from the early morning hours, large Serb police, military and paramilitary force convoys, headed in the direction of Prishtina". These movements started in the early morning hours and lasted until sometimes around noon.

KOSOVA (Gonzales)
Gonzales:"Belgrade communiques-insufficient"

Brussels, 29 September (ARTA) 1900CET --
The special envoy of the EU, OSCE and Contact Group for Yugoslavia, Felipe Gonzales, estimated, at the European Parliament in Brussels, that the communique of the Belgrade Government concerning the switching into defansive from the offensive in Kosova "is not sufficient at all, in a situation when it is very difficult to see what is really happening in the entire territory".
Gonzales who spoke with the European MPs (behind closed doors) on the possibilities of an eventual continuation of his mission in "FRY", told the journalists that " the long-term solution of the prevailing unrest in the entire region could be only the democratization, and the acceptance of democratic change of the government".
"This is also the framework of securing the human rights, while respecting the territorial integrity ought to be in conformity with the normal conducts of the international community".
The former Spanish Prime Minister said that he explained to the European MPs of the reasons "which compel Milosevic not to accept him personally as an envoy, and what are the essential reasons to find a steady solution for the crisis".
"The International Community must be far more serious, more decisive in determining its objectives, and in securing the financial means and people who will accomplish those objectives", he claimed.
Asked whether this means that he supports NATO military intervention in Kosova and Serbia, Gonzales responded that, "the persistence of the International Community must be convincing in all aspects, including the one using the violence".
However, he added further "If the decision of the UN Security Council exists, then all the necessary means to fulfill it ought to be prepared".
According to the sources of the European Parliament, Gonzales pointed out to Milosevic as the culprit for "what is happening to the entire Serb nation", in this way evaluating that Milosevic behaves like a dictator.

KOSOVA (Serb offensive – Suharekë)
16 Suharekë villages under fire

Suharekë, 28 September (ARTA) 1600CET --
The Serb offensive commenced against 16 Albanian villages on Sunday, continued also on Monday morning. Large Serb military and police units with motorized vehicles headed into the shelled villages, burning everything they reached.
"Koha Ditore" sources in Suharekë confirmed that the dislocated civilian population from these areas is in a very bad condition. More than 15.000 displaced people from these villages are deferment in the place called "Lugu i Vraniqit" and they are completely besieged by Serb forces.
An information of CDHRF branch in Suharekë states that Serb police arrested 13 young Albanians in the village Savrovë, and they were sent toward Prizren.
The same source claims that large Serb military and police forces headed, today morning, towards the villages of Maqitevë, Papaz, Budakovë and Buzhalë, while the village Sopi is completely blocked and many of its Albanian houses are destroyed .
The sixteen villages of the eastern part of Suharekë, are still burning. The overall figure of the burnt villages, including the previous 14, reach 30 (namely 75% of the Suharekë municipal villages).
Serb police forces are installed also in the villages of Dubravë and Sallagrazhdë. Is seems they are waiting the deadline of the ultimatum for handing in the weapons (which was posed to local Albanians) to expire.
Since the access into these areas is impossible, there are no confirmations about the eventual victims, yet there are claims for a considerable number of the wounded.
According to a local resident (whom we reached by phone), more than 600 Albanian youngsters are currently besieged by the Serb units in Buzhalë mountains, and their lives are endangered.

KOSOVA (shelling– Gllogoc)
One Albanian wounded from the Serb force base in Komoran

Gllogoc, 28 September (ARTA) 1700CET --
On Monday, Serb forces stationed in the military base in Çuka e Komoranit, shelled the southern villages of Drenica: Kizharekë, Nekoc, Fushticë e Poshtme, Sankoc and Shalë.
There are reports that these Serb forces, badly wounded on Sunday Sefedin Rexhepi (20), from Zabeli i Epërm. He was wounded on the hand and leg, and was sent to the Hospital of Prishtina where the doctors are trying to save his life.

KOSOVA (massacre – Drenica)
A baby among the eight massacred members of Deliu family

Gllogoc, 28 September (ARTA) 1930CET --
The local CDHRF branch in Skënderaj, informs that eight members of the Deliu family were found massacred in Deliu neighborhood in the village Obri e Epër.
Among the massacred were a pregnant woman and a one year old child.
They were found one kilometer far from their house. In the house of Hajriz Deliu, four other corpses were also found, including children from 4-7 years of age.
Fazli Deliu (90) was found burnt inside his house. In addition, three other old men were found massacred (one of them had a cut throat).
The same source informs that a one month old baby was found alive hugged by her mother, and covered by her blood. So far, there are no confirmations about the other members of Deliu family.
A seven months old baby from Skënderaj municipal village of Dashec died from cold during the Serb offensive. Local LDK sources in Mitrovicë, inform that the corpses of several killed and massacred Albanian civilians remain in the Mountains of Çiçavicë.
On Saturday, Serb military and police forces arrested 326 Drenica civilians. They are being kept in the building of the "Fazli Grajçevci" elementary school in Gllogoc municipal village of Krajkovë.

KOSOVA (casualties – Drenica)
"We saw corpses of people, without heads, arms or legs"

Prishtina, 28 September (ARTA) 1630CET --
Members of a family that managed to escape from the a village in Drenica, tells how nearby a water collector, near the village of Vasilevë, they saw at least five massacred people by the Serb forces.
"We saw corpses of people, without heads, arms or legs", tell the escapees from this village. "They were thrown by the road that goes near this collector, and tanks were parked near the massacred bodies".
They also stated that the village of Vasilevë is completely burned down. People are kept hostage in the village's school building that is being guarded by the police.
"We passed through many villages that were burning on fire", stated one of the women, who escaped from this region.
Today, the dirt roads of this region are full of Serb police and soldiers and people who are trying to escape are constantly running into them.
There are rumors that there are concentration camps where males from 15 years old and on are being kept confined.
The few people that managed to escape from the siege of the Çiçavicë forest, tell how they have seen corpses of killed people, in groups, in several places.

KOSOVA (military positioning – Ferizaj)
Serb artillery surrounded Greme, Gaçkë and Baincë

Kaçanik, 28 September (ARTA) 1730CET --
Large Serb military forces arrived in the village of Greme, municipality of Ferizaj, on Monday, at around 1200CET, LDK local information sources Kaçanik inform.
There are reports that four tanks went in the direction of the village of Gaçkë, as two others settled in the neighborhood of Omuraj, in the crossroad that links the villages of Greme, Gaçkë and Baincë. One part of the infantry headed in the direction of the forest and the other remained in the village.
At around 1000CET, a Serb military convoy, composed of 30 vehicles, military tanks and APCs, entered the village of Baincë, municipality of Kaçanik, to settle in the Rexhepi neighborhood.
This village has more than 50 houses. The zone where the clashes in the municipality of Ferizaj are taking place, is being controlled from the position in the forest of the village. Due to the Serb military movements, one part of the population, fled the village and went in the villages of Soponicë, Rakë and Ferizaj proper.
The residents of the Rexhepi neighborhood, are still in their homes. Frequent detonations, coming from the side of Ferizaj, were heard in the town of Kaçanik, since early morning.

KOSOVA (arrests – Mitrovicë)
"We saw this world's terror of hell"

Mitrovicë, 28 September (ARTA) 1700CET --
Following the arrest of many Albanians, there are reports that the Serb police released Halil Veseli (56), from Rezallë, municipality of Skënderaj, Smajl Tahiri (60) and Vesel Veseli (58), from Likovc, municipality of Skënderaj.
According to the testimonies of the released, 72 people were placed in one room of the Municipal Prison of Mitrovicë. The majority of the arrested were young, mainly from Drenica.
The three released tell how the police were taking out groups of four and after a few moments they would hear shrieks, which they believed were result of the violence that they were using on them. "We saw this world's terror of hell".
On the other hand, yesterday in the neighborhood of "Tavnik" in Mitrovicë, the Serb police beat unconscious three young Albanians from the villages of Skënderaj, leaving them lying on the ground.

KOSOVA (Serb forces movements – Prizren/Gjakovë)
Large Serb force movements in the direction of Gjakovë

Prizren, 28 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
The tense situation in the Has region and the current offensive in the villages of Suharekë, intensified even further the situation in Prizren proper and in the surrounding villages, it was stated in a debate of the All-Party Council of Prizren.
The CDHRF representative, Masar Shala, notified about the flux of the dislocated that is increasing every day and about the blocked Prizren-Suharekë-Prishtina road.
He also stated that about 1,000 people are leaving Prizren every week.
Albanian sources from the ground inform that two badly wounded Serb policemen were brought, most probably from the flashpoints in Suharekë, to the Hospital of Prizren on Sunday and Monday.
A convoy of military vehicles, consisting of several tanks, APCs and terrain vehicles, drove down the Prizren-Gjakovë road, today. On the other hand, numerous military forces, which largely included anti-air artillery, settled in the military base "Vreshtat e Landovicës".

KOSOVA (IDPs not allowed return – Klinë)
No way back for Albanians in Leskoc

Klinë, 28 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
A tense situation has been prevailing in the past days in the villages of Lugu i Drinit region. There are claims that Serb forces went into the village Leskoc and expelled those few Albanians who returned into their burnt houses by shooting at them.
Meanwhile the number of the victims confirmed since the beginning of the war in Klinë municipality has increased to 88.
Serb police arrested today Ilaz Gashi from Çabiq and some other Albanians, separating them from their families.
So far there is no confirmation about their fate, but it is suspected that they were sent in the "Ferronikel" factory.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Dr. Zaim Gashi from Rastok, arrested at the beginning of this month in Panorc, is presently being kept in Pejë prison.

KOSOVA (closedown of school – Klinë)
An armed Serb entered the village's school building

Klinë, 28 September (ARTA) 1600CET --
The armed and uniformed Serb, Zarko Cekovic, entered the building of the elementary school "Gjergj Fishta" in Klinë. He said he was looking for Gjon Palushi, a teacher in this school, "because he wanted to kill him".
Since Gjon was not there, Cekovic maltreated another teacher, Kristë Bekaj, threatening him with the weapon.
Later, this armed Serb went to Nikollë Ndrecaj’s house in Jagodë village, threatening him and his family. He gave an ultimatum that if they don’t abandon their household, he would kill them and burn down the house.
Due to this provocation, the classes in one of the only four schools working in this municipality, were interrupted.

KOSOVA (trials)
927 persons accused for 'terrorism'

Prishtina, 28 September (ARTA) 1830CET --
"A new Serb judicial offensive", is expected to start in the October of this year. Over 927 arraignments for "terrorism" and "association for hostile activities", have been raised by the Serb Law Courts so far. Although 927 indictment bills are raised, according to the information, around 600 people are under custody while many of them are accused in absentia.
Just e few days ago, the District Court of Prishtina sentenced ten Albanians from Kaçanik with 63 years of imprisonment. Seven of them were sentenced in absentia.
The international community (besides the verbal reactions) delegated the diplomatic mission to monitor the situation and collect field information, because the intensity of the attacks in Kosova increased recently. Meanwhile, UN has promised to monitor the trials of the Albanians during the October 'legal' offensive.
"If we would not be able to monitor all the trials, then we will monitor some of them", Henrik Stenman, UN official for human rights has declared.
"UN could not change the jury panel and cannot intervene. What we can do is to show the trial records and to give recommendations", claimed Stenman for "Koha Ditore".
However, the people will be trialed and if something is not changed, they will have the fate of the indicted from Kaçanik. Serb high-ranking officials have declared the possibility the capital punishment to be applied, and at the same time mentioned the possibility of proclaiming amnesty.
Serb Minister of Justice, Jankovic, claimed that, "The capital punishment will still remain applicable because of the events in Kosova", adding further that, "maybe remission could be granted, but only for those people who were forced to join the KLA". According to him, "more than the half of the accused, belong to that 'category'".
Yet, there are no information concerning the predicaments of the accused, since the ICRC which is one of the sole organizations that could meet them, works "confidentially", and does not make its materials public. Nevertheless, some of the arrested after the clashes in Rahovec, who fortunately were released testify about grave beatings and maltreatment.
ICRC officials declared that they are visiting the arrested Albanians.
"Our visits are of a humanitarian character. We provide the records of our visits to the authorities and negotiate with them about improving the conditions of the arrested", claimed Nicolas Sommer, ICRC Spokesman in Prishtina. Notwithstanding, referring to the previous experiences, all the accused, are gravely maltreated during interrogations.
It is noteworthy, that several Albanians died in the last months during "investigation".

KOSOVA (abducted now in detention)
100 kidnapped Albanians in detention

Prishtina, 28 September (ARTA) 1730CET --
"Serb military authorities, confirmed as arrested 325 previously abducted Albanians, who will be subjected to investigating procedure. In the meantime, 100 others from the villages of Obiliq and Vushtrri, abducted during this offensive, are put in detention", it is stated in a communiqué of the Association of Political Prisoners (SHBP).
This association informs that "due to the large wave of the arrested and the overload in the prisons of Kosova, Serb authorities are transporting Albanian prisoners in the prisons of Serbia".
In this regard, SHBP makes an appeal to all international, humanitarian and non-governmental institutions, particularly ICRC and the International Commission for Missing Persons, to increase their engagement in protecting these people, by forcing the Serb regime to respect the international norms of war.

KOSOVA (KLA communiqué)
International Community's engagement should be more energetic

Prishtina, 28 September (ARTA) 2000CET --
A KLA Headquarters communiqué, among others states: "Midst September marks the time of the highest scale of the military confrontations between the Serb military, police, paramilitary forces on one side and the KLA on the other. Fierce clashes took place in almost all the sub-zones of the first operating zone of Kosova. Clashes of general character, took place and are still taking place in the operation sub-zone of Drenica. In this zone alone, the enemy has activated about 250 tanks, over 300 other military vehicles and over 6,000 infantry and military aviation troops. They were faced with the unseen heroism of the special unit 111, assisted by brigades 112, 113 and 114. During these clashes, the enemy suffered a loss of over 130 soldiers, many wounded and considerable amount of damages in the fighting technique. During the war, a considerable amount of weaponry and ammunition, was captured from the enemy. Clashes also took place in the operative zone of Pashtrik. While from the enemy’s side, there are many killed and wounded and destruction of several military vehicles, there are no killed or wounded from our side. The KLA forces in the operative sub-zones in Shalë, Llap, Nerodime and Dukagjin are also strongly resisting. During this period, we undertook punishing measure against certain betraying elements, who with their anti-national actions, are damaging the liberation war of the Albanian population.
The following list of KLA soldiers, fell in the battlefield as soldiers of freedom: Fehmi Lladrovci, Xhevahire Krasniqi-Lladrovci, Sadik Shala, Bekim Berisha, Bedri Shala, Zymer Tahiri, Xhavit Isuf Uka, Xhavit Sali Shala, Afrim Kliçina, Valdet Xhemajli, Afrim Hajdari, and the list is not complete.
The KLA General Headquarters, expresses their condolences to the families and friends of the soldiers of freedom, vowing that they will seek revenge. KLA General Headquarters calls the Albanian people wherever they are, to help the liberation war, to be united, in the sacred path of liberation, led by the KLA.
KLA General headquarter is carefully following the diplomatic steps of the relevant international factors in their engagement for the solution of the Kosova issue. It evaluates that this engagement should be more just, quick and energetic. On the contrary, the consequences of the war, which is taking place in Kosova, will very soon be reflecting in the Balkans and further".

KOSOVA (KD reportage – Vushtrri)
The return to the devastated land

Vushtrri, 28 September (ARTA) 1800CET --
Five young Albanians were killed on top of Çiçavicë forest, tells Sami, from one of the villages of Drenica. We were surrounded by group of people wearing black uniforms. I had with me several young aging from 15 to 19.
"Get on your knees and put your heads down", was the order of one of the killer police. One of the boys tried to escape when they were not looking, but an arms burst set him on the ground. I was the oldest among them.
"They took out a long knife and stabbed twice the boys in the neck, leaving them dead, without any sound. It was an `easy' but terrifying death". I have never seen such ruthlessness, coldness and hatred and at the same a desire to kill Albanians".
They put the knife back in its folder and continued kicking them. He should not be killed, they said, taking away from my chest the automatic gun, several seconds before going off. This one should live to tell what he saw. I started climbing up the hill, feeling the bullets on my back. Only when I got to Vushtrri, I realized I was alive. Now I'm going crazy", Sami ends his story about Çiçavicë.
The current Serb force offensive, turned Kosova into a lifeless ruin. It can just as well be said that the villages no longer exist. Only the names have remained. Ruined walls, burned property and people going back to their "homes", since they have nowhere to go, is what is left from them.
During the last month, the police after shelling the houses, following the escape of those who managed to do so and the killing of those who didn't, called the population that fled in the forest, to go back home.
"Why did you escape?", asked a policeman (in Albanian) the villagers of Dubovc that were hiding in the forest, claims an old man from this village.
"We didn't come here to slaughter and kill children. Go ahead, go home", the policeman told them.
"Further from the spot we were staying, a baby was born. A policeman comes and says: `Porodio se UÇK' (KLA gave birth), and continued in Albanian `find a place in Albania, because Serbs and Albanians can no longer live in one place’. The escapees spent three days in the forest while the police burned down their village. After looting what had remained, the police went in the forest and found the escapees and burned even those few things they managed to get with them.
Dubovc has turned into ruins. With the return of the escapees, the police gathered them in one of the streets of the village. They feared to enter their houses.
"Nobody dared to go inside their houses. We spent the entire night outside. Nothing was left from the village. My house was looted. They burned the tractors in the forest. The tractors that were left here, were also burned".
In the house, the old man tells, the police threw the flour over the floor, they stole our car, and nothing was left inside.
After spending the night outside in the street, the villagers returned home.
"We had no reason to stay. We spent the night on the street, and we returned in the forest the next day, and then headed to Vushtrri", tells the old man.
He is now sheltered at a "friend’s" in Vushtrri, and was staying at the bus station waiting to see anyone he knows and find out what is going on there".
"What can I do? Tomorrow I'll go back to the village, to see what has happened", he says.
The dislocated, who have been running away from the Serb forces for a month, are moving from one village to another.
Following the gathering of a great number of the dislocated in the village of Isniq, the police reacted by dispersing them in different directions. The same happened in Resnik.
"We were told to leave Resnik today, by 1200CET, the latest", says Bahrije Ahmeti from Ticë, one of many escapees, which after fleeing Resnik, remained at the bus station in Vushtrri.
"We left our village of Ticë, three weeks ago. The very night they shelled our house", she continues. "From there we first went to Qirez, then in Resnik, where we stayed for two weeks".
After leaving Resnik, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, stated that she left there several of her officers, who according to her, were supposed to ensure the villagers, that they were not going to be left with the feeling of insecurity. Nevertheless, the sights from the bus station in Vushtrri, make these words vane...
The 14 member family of Ahmeti, were sitting on a bench at the bus station, recalling their suffering. The houses in Vushtrri, were already overloaded, and they had very little chances of finding a shelter.
"Last night the police wanted to oust us from Resnik, but upon seeing us in such a large number, they postponed it for today", said Bahrije's mother. Ogata stated on Saturday, that she met over 2000 dislocated in Resnik. On the other hand, the Serb official media, came out with the comments that this village now does not have a single displaced.
"We stayed at a family, but many others stayed in the village's mosque", stated Xhylferije (16). "They first told them to move out and then, in the evening, an APC went there to make sure they were gone".
The order was given to several villagers, which later transmitted it to the others.
"Presently, there is only one family, which had no means of getting here. Several villagers of Resnik, also moved out, upon hearing the shelling in the neighboring village of Dërvar (20 minutes away), even though they were not told to leave", tells further Bahrije. "We traveled to Vërmicë on a horse drawn chariot, and from there we came here by bus".
A bus stopped at the station at the same moment and all the dislocated rose their heads to see, where its destination was. "On the way here, nobody told us anything. We don't know what will happen when we come back", said her mother, referring to the police patrols. "Here we have no place to go, we'll go back to Resnik tonight. As for tomorrow, we don't know what will happen".

KOSOVA (KD reportage – Ferizaj)
"The offensive is over"
by Valbona Mehmeti

Ferizaj, Nerodime e Epërme & Poshtme, 28 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
Serb Prime Minister Marjanovic declared today at 1005CET that "The offensive in Kosova is over". But the bulks of smoke emerging from the burnt houses of the village Nerodime e Epërme, the shooting of the heavy machine guns and the detonations of the shelling against Jezerc mountain (which could be heard in the town of Ferizaj) testify the opposite.
Four houses at the foot of the mountain, along the road to Nerodime e Epër were still in flames. The rain, which fell this morning, could not put out the fire and wipe out the burning by the Serb police. The smell of the gun-powder could be felt at the very entry of the village abandoned by local Albanians.
The view until the farthest end of the village is embraced by ruined walls, burned roofs of the Albanian houses and broken widows of the looted shops.
Of course, the Serb houses have remained intact. Two children were playing in front of their yards. Their ply creates an impression that they are not afraid of anything. Policemen were all around them. Do they ask themselves sometimes, where are now their Albanian fellows? ...for sure they are wandering through the forests seeking shelter for one, two, three...days, months or...?
Some Serb old men sitting along the road, started with curiosity at the car which was driving toward the "prohibited zone", where nobody passed through (for months), except Serb tanks and policemen. The line of 12 empty trucks and APCs in the place called "Bashkimi i dy lumenjeve" ("junction of two rivers") makes one ask "What are they waiting for?"
Probably they have brought soldiers, claims one of the foreign journalists. However, no soldier could be seen around. It seems they are all dispersed in the forest. A group of exhausted policemen staying at the end of the line, were peering into us probably wondering themselves "What are you doing here?". The boxes of ammunition were stocked near a truck.
Why all this ammunition is required now, when it was stated that "the offensive is over". Go back, you cannot go further, orders a policeman. Every effort to get further is in vain.
No journalist has got into Jezerc so far. Every local road, which leads there, is blocked by the police. According to the local LDK activists, around 15.000 civilians are besieged in this village. Those who manage to get into town, are arrested by police and accused "terrorists".
"Your work in Kosova is over", says a policeman to the foreign journalist. "Things are now settled down here", he adds.
However, the sudden shooting and strong detonations from the villages nearby refute the words of the policeman.
Only a couple of kilometers far from there another policeman warns the journalists to get out of that area because " the road is not safe".
The bursts of shelling against the Suharekë municipal villages could be heard in Shtime town. "It is dangerous staying here. many terrorists are around", claims the policeman at the outskirts of the town, and adds further: "You can come tomorrow or after two days, we will finish until then".
Besides the statements of Serb Prime-Minister, peace in Kosova is still very far away...

ALBANIAN PREMIER, INTERIOR MINISTERS RESIGN...

Socialist Prime Minister Fatos Nano resigned that office on 28 September. Earlier the same day, Interior Minister Perikli Teta of the Democratic Alliance Party quit his post. Both resignations came after the five governing coalition parties failed to agree on unspecified government changes. In a letter to President Rexhep Meidani, Nano said that he stepped down because squabbling within the ranks of his party and the coalition had made it impossible to form a new cabinet. He added that "I am not receiving any credible signal of solidarity either from parts of the Socialist Party or from the coalition partners." Teta told journalists that "the Albanian political [elite] is unable to bring the country out of the current grave political crisis." He described the country's leadership as "corrupt and incompetent," the BBC reported. A BBC reporter suggested that Teta was unhappy with Nano's "disappearance" from public view during the recent unrest. FS

...WHILE BERISHA HAILS MEIDANI.

Gunfire erupted in several parts of Tirana on 28 September as word of Nano's resignation spread. Political commentator Fatos Lubonja told the BBC that opposition supporters celebrating the resignation apparently fired the shots. Police stepped up patrols in the capital, fearing a repetition of the unrest there earlier this month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 September 1998). Opposition Democratic Party leader and former President Sali Berisha said that Nano's resignation "opens the way for dialogue" between the opposition and the governing coalition. He added that Meidani played an unspecified role in Nano's resignation and added that "the president has paved the way for a political solution [of the] deep crisis." Berisha urged the creation of a government of technocrats and stressed that the new interior minister should be "honest and [not] work with gangs and smugglers." FS

MAJKO TO REPLACE NANO?

Meidani asked Nano to stay on until a new government can be formed. Socialist Party legislator Musa Ulqini said on 28 September that the party will propose its secretary-general, Pandeli Majko, as Nano's replacement,  but he gave no indication that the Socialists will consider new elections, which the opposition Democrats demand. Widely regarded as a reformer, the 31-year-old Majko began his political career in the student protests that toppled the communist dictatorship in 1990. Majko recently tried unsuccessfully to end the feud between Nano and Berisha. Lubonja, however, questioned whether Majko has the experience and authority to fill the current power-vacuum. He suggested that Meidani, whose position has been largely ceremonial, will have to play a greater political role in the future. FS

COHEN SAYS NO EVIDENCE OF CEASE-FIRE IN KOSOVA...

U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen said in Rabat, Morocco, on 28 September that Washington has no evidence that the Serbian forces have stopped their offensive in Kosova, despite Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic's statement to the parliament that the fighting has ended (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 September 1998). Cohen added that Marjanovic's claim "may be another rhetorical declaration without any intent to match those words with concrete steps. We have seen no evidence that there has been any strategic drawback at this point, and we will insist that whatever words [Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic] issues will be followed up by deeds." PM

...AS DO KOSOVARS.

Ethnic Albanian spokesmen said in Prishtina on 28 September that the Serbian offensive is continuing in several areas to the west of the provincial capital, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The spokesmen added that the Serbian authorities have "declared war not only on the Kosova Liberation Army [UCK] but on the entire Albanian nation." The BBC reported on 29 September that at least 15 villages west of Prishtina are either being shelled by Serbian forces or are still burning as a result of previous attacks. It added that Kosovar civilians are continuing to flee their homes in those areas where the offensive is in progress. In Prishtina, the presidency of the moderate Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) issued a declaration saying that Marjanovic's statement is aimed at manipulating international public opinion, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from the provincial capital. The LDK called on NATO to intervene quickly to end the crisis. PM

MARJANOVIC SAYS 'PEACE REIGNS.'

Marjanovic also told the parliament on 28 September that UCK fighters will be granted an amnesty provided that they turn in their weapons to the authorities within 10 days, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He  named Zoran Andjelkovic to head a new provisional Supreme Council to govern the province and called on ethnic Albanian leaders to start a dialogue with the Serbian authorities. Marjanovic added that "peace reigns [in the province] and life is returning to normal.... There is no humanitarian catastrophe.... All assertions to that effect are lies.... As of today, anti-terrorist activities [against the UCK] have ended. They will be renewed only if any new bandit and terrorist activity reappears," "Nasa Borba" wrote. PM

HUNGARIAN POLICE REMOVE KOSOVA REFUGEES FROM CANADIAN EMBASSY.

Police have removed more than 30 Kosova Albanians from the grounds of the Canadian Embassy in Budapest, Hungarian media reported on 29 September. The refugees were demanding political asylum. Canadian diplomats asked police to negotiate a settlement but later authorized the refugees' forcible eviction after the talks failed. The refugees, 19 of whom are children, put up no resistance when riot police placed them into a bus and returned them to a refugee camp in Bicske, some 40 kilometers west of Budapest. Some members of the group had submitted  asylum requests three months ago and wanted to pressure the Canadian authorities to process their applications. MSZ

His Grace ARTEMIJE
Diocese of Raska and Prizren
Serbian Orthodox Church

September 23, 1998

The Honorable Alfonse M. D'Amato, Chairman
The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chairman
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
H2-234 Ford House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman and Mr. Co-Chairman:

        As requested by Mr. Hoyer, with whom I spoke briefly during your September 17 hearing on the situation in Kosovo, I am submitting to you my prepared remarks, which I would have delivered if the schedule had permitted.  I respectfully request that they be included in the printed official record of the hearing.

        Thank you for your consideration.

Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren

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TESTIMONY  OF  HIS  GRACE  ARTEMIJE,
BISHOP,  THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

Mr. Chairman, honorable members of the Senate and Congress, ladies and gentlemen.

     This is the third trip that His Grace, Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren, the ancient see of the Orthodox Church of Serbia in the province of Kosovo and Metohija, has made to Washington, DC, with a delegation of Serbian democratic opinion from Kosovo in an attempt to avert catastrophe in our homeland.
     In our previous missions, we spoke to centers of American power and opinion in an effort to avert an imminent escalation of the bloodshed in Kosovo. We warned that the mistaken American policy of, on the one hand, tacit encouragement of maximalist Albanian goals of creating a greater Albania, and, on the other hand, barely disguised political support for the regime of Slobodan Milosevic as the only possible voice of the Serbian people, was helping to make that escalation more likely. Regrettably, our warnings were not heeded, and the escalation against we warned has come to pass, with a terrible cost in human suffering for all the people of Kosovo, Serb and Albanian, as well as others, alike.
     We now learn that not only has the Western community not been dissuaded from its past mistakes but may be on the verge of compounding them with a military intervention in Kosovo, perhaps preceded by air attacks against our homeland. We are here to warn, with all appropriate urgency, that this compounding of past mistakes may have unforeseen and perhaps irreparable consequences.
     First, foreign intervention will strengthen, rather than weaken, the power of the Milosevic regime at a time when he may be most vulnerable.
     We are especially concerned that the past United States policy, initiated, we understand, by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, to rely on Milosevic as a guarantor of peace is immoral and counterproductive.
     Whereas American negotiation efforts to date have been willing to talk to virtually all Albanians, they have ignored the democratic Serbian opposition. This is a grave error.
     Second, it would once more encourage the radical program of violence among the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and its sympathizers, victimizing not only Kosovo Serbs -- who in proportion, are now as many refugees as Kosovo Albanians -- but anyone who opposes their terroristic program.
     This encouragement may very well lead in short order not only to the elimination of all Kosovo Serbs but the further destabilization of Macedonia and, especially, Albania, which is already on the verge of civil war.
     Third, it may destabilize the already fragile peace in Bosnia.
     Fourth, it may well lead to a long-term presence of American and other foreign forces on Serbian soil, where they may be subjected to the resentment not only of our people, who will see them as a de facto army of occupation, but may at the same time be subject to attack by more radical elements among the Albanians.
     We want to assure you that we are not here today as emissaries or apologists for President Slobodan Milosevic and his autocratic regime. We are here as representatives of Kosovo Serbs who are frightened and who are under a serious threat of being completely "ethnically cleansed" from their homeland.
     We are also here to condemn the blatantly aggressive policy of the Albanian terrorists lead by the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army as well as the repressive policy by the Belgrade regime. Both policies have already caused the unnecessary deaths and dislocation of many, many innocent people in Kosovo and Metohija on both sides. The ethnic Albanian terrorist groups have carried out many terrorist attacks over the past two years, aimed at provoking of international intervention. The internal goal still remains the same as before: terrorizing the Kosovo Serbs so that Kosovo can become an ethnically pure Albanian province. Mr. Milosevic in turn unleashed a police and military offensive which resulted in the deaths of not only terrorists but also of innocent civilians, which may serve as -- and may be designed to serve as -- a pretext for foreign intervention. This cycle of violence must be put to an end immediately.
     Nothing will be achieved by violence except destruction and carnage. Regrettably, we feel that neither President Milosevic nor the ethnic Albanian leadership grasp this simple fact. Both sides have learned absolutely nothing from the Bosnian civil war, which threaten to engulf the entire Balkans with a disastrous armed conflict.
     The Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian people of Kosovo and Metohija stand for a peaceful, democratic solution to the current crisis through dialogue. We also have detailed proposal for the long-term democratic settlement which, to date, has been ignored both by Mr. Milosevic regime and the ethnic Albanian leadership. We have presented these proposals in all our meetings here.
     The Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian people of Kosovo and Metohija condemn all actions, by any party, which have led during last few years to an escalation of violence in Kosovo and Metohija.
     We condemn all terrorist attacks perpetrated by ethnic Albanian extremists against Serbian civilians, Serbian officials, ethnic Albanians loyal to the Serbian state and the religious monuments of Serbian Orthodox Church. We also condemn police repression and all excessive and indiscriminate use of police force especially against the Albanian civilians. Further, we condemn the refusal of the Milosevic regime to institute open and sincere dialogue with the ethnic Albanian community to achieve a peaceful settlement. Likewise, we condemn the refusal of the ethnic Albanian leadership to embrace the path of peaceful dialogue with the Serbian authorities and the Serbian people of Kosovo and Metohija as well as their unwillingness to condemn armed attacks by the Albanian terrorist groups. We support the general condemnation of these terrorist acts by the US Administration and entire international community. Those attacks were calculated to lead to an escalation of violence and in fact have done so. We have detailed documentation of these attacks perpetrated in these last two years by the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army  especially in Drenica region.
     We appeal to all Americans to understand that the conflict in Kosovo is not between the Serbian and Albanian people but between a secessionist extremism on one side, and an oppressive and unrepresentative regime on the other. We appeal to the United States to reject simplistic calls for military intervention in order to hand state power over to the ethnic Albanian leadership. Such an action, in light of the history of Kosovo and Metohija before 1989, would lead to the ethnic cleansing of the Orthodox Serbian people from the ancient heart of our homeland.
     We, on the contrary, strongly believe in a democratic Serbia, with ethnic, religious and cultural tolerance. We believe that on this basis a cohabitation of all ethnic communities can be achieved. We support the idea of civic society in which all its citizens will have equal rights. We insist on full respect of the human and minority rights according to the highest international standards. We call upon the international community, the United States especially, to help democratic forces in Serbia replace the Milosevic regime with a government of law and public confidence. We firmly oppose to any change of international borders because such precedent would cause instability in the neighboring countries and the whole region. Our vision of the future of interethnic relations lies in the full democratization of political systems, rather than in further territorial, political and economic fragmentation. We strongly believe that not every political issue can be used to raise new territorial claims. Therefore, our regional approach is an initial framework for a future political dialogue in order to achieve a long-term stability and cooperation in the Balkans.
     We call upon the United States and the international community to endorse the proposals of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian people of Kosovo and Metohija for a genuine dialogue, without preconditions. Only in that way, a peaceful, democratic settlement of the Kosovo crisis for all people of Serbia regardless of nationality or religion can be achieved. Military intervention will hurt, rather than help the achievement of such a settlement.
     We express our deep sympathy for all innocent victims in Kosovo and Metohija and we pray to God to grant us wisdom and courage to preserve peace and mutual understanding because no one can build his own happiness on misfortune of his neighbor.

Washington, D.C. September 17, 1998.
-END-
--
Decani Monastery               tel +381 390 61543
38322 Decani, Serbia           fax +381 390 61567
http://www.decani.yunet.com    e-mail: decani@EUnet.yu

*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.
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Ohio Plain Dealer
TAG: 9809270524, LENGTH:   65 lines

EDITION: FINAL / ALL, SECTION: NATIONAL, PAGE: 8A
BYLINE: By ELIZABETH SULLIVAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

KOSOVO SERBS CONSIDER CULTURAL ROOTS JEOPARDIZED

   Serbs in Kosovo see their centuries-old foothold in a region with deep religious meaning for them threatened by the relentless war. They argue the war is being waged despite them and without any effort to involve them in a solution.
   "We don't want Kosovo only for Serbs," argued Bishop Artemije Radosavljevic during a meeting last week with reporters and editors at the Washington Times newspaper. "But we don't want Kosovo without Serbs. Kosovo is the cradle of our civilization."
   Bishop Artemije, the highest-ranking Serb prelate in Kosovo, has been an outspoken critic of Serbian police violence against ethnic Albanians for several years.
   His delegation of moderate, anti-war Serbs left Washington last week after a frustrating 10-day trip promoting the notion that toppling Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is the way to end the war.
  It was the bishop's third trip to Washington in seven months. U.S. officials have instead dealt directly with Milosevic on the Serb side and with moderate Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova and Albanian rebels on the other. Only informal contacts are maintained with opposition Serbs, including Bishop Artemije's group.
   Yet Serbs who still live in Kosovo - once the heartland of a great medieval Serb empire - say they're the ones with the incentive to make co-existence work, because otherwise they'll lose their homes.
   Before hostilities broke out, there were an estimated 180,000 Serbs in Kosovo, or 9 percent of the mostly Albanian population of 2 million.
   Tens of thousands of Serbs have already fled the fighting, and Serb leaders say it is only a matter of time before other Serbs are uprooted.
   Bishop Artemije brought with him to the United States a long list of missing Serbs.
   According to Amnesty International, the Red Cross has been investigating the cases of 138 Serbs and Montenegrins abducted by the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army, and more than 400 Albanians detained by Serb security forces. There were rumors the KLA had put the Serbs in camps.
   But in recent weeks, dozens of bodies of Serb civilians, some of them showing signs of torture or execution, have been uncovered in areas vacated by KLA forces.
   Milosevic and Rugova, meanwhile, are believed close to agreement on a peace plan drafted by U.S. envoy Chris Hill that provides for a three-year cooling-off period during which the Kosovars would get self-governance on their territory, including control of police, but Kosovo's status - whether as part of Serbia, Yugoslavia or independent - would remain open.
   Serbs in Kosovo fear such an arrangement would spell the end for them. Instead, they want a democratic Serbia without Milosevic in which everyone would live together happily - a situation most diplomats feel is now impossible.
   To some, it's just another echo of Bosnia.
   "Bosnia had a government created without a majority of the people," said Anthony Cordesman, a former U.S. defense analyst and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "And because of the suffering Serbs imposed on the Muslims and Croats," the views of their people were ignored, he said.
   "Nobody asked the Serbs why they didn't want to be part of [Bosnia] or about their fears and concerns," he said. Those fears - expressed most recently in election of a hard-line president - remain a major source of instability in Bosnia.
   In Kosovo, the situation is reversed, Cordesman noted: "Most of the Albanians don't want to be part of the government."

-END-
--
Reposted by:
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38322 Decani, Serbia           fax +381 390 61567
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Join our Lists      http://www.decani.yunet.com/maillists.html
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Kosovo Crisis News Links (Serbian Official Sources):
Radio B92 News - http://b92eng.opennet.org/
Serbia Info News - http://www.serbia-info.com/news/kosovo/index.html
Media Center - http://www.mediacentar.org/vesti_centra_e.htm
Radio Yugoslavia News - http://www.beograd.com/radioyu/
Foreign Ministry Daily Survey - http://www.mfa.gov.yu/Bilteni/index_e.stm
Yugoslav Daily Survey - http://www.yugoslavia.com/News/default.htm
More links (including Albanian Sources): http://www.decani.yunet.com/kip.html

                    ===========================
                    READ AND DISTRIBUTE FURTHER
                    ===========================

               International Albanian Refugee Appeal
                        Muslim Aid Australia

          http://www.muslim-aid.org.au/html/alb_msg.htm

Dear fellow Albanians, Peace be upon you.

Established in 1989, Muslim Aid Australia (MAA) is a non-sectarian, non-political, humanitarian  relief aid organization. It was involved in the planning and the implementation of humanitarian aid for the Bosnian people for more than six and a half years, which should be valuable for the Albanians. The support of the Australian Muslims and caring people was above all expectation. During these years MAA has accumulated a huge experience particularly in providing support and assistance to refugees.

MAA is very unique and non typical humanitarian organization. The life members and the executive members have very different ethnic background (Lebanon, Mauritius, Bosnia, India, Iran, Turkey, South Korea, Indonesia, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia, Iraq, South Africa) and most of them are recognized persons in their professional and community lives. We see and we build MAA as a global humanitarian aid service. We wish to bridge people who care with the needy people. Please bear in mind that 90 % of the world's 20 million refugees are Muslims.

It is our duty to share our experience to Albanian brothers and sisters: Kosova-Albanians are passing through the same hardships that the Bosnians previously went through in almost seven years. We witness the same atrocities, mass murders and ethnic cleansing in Kosova, just as we also witness the same painful silence and ignorance of the world, including many so-called Islamic countries.

Unfortunately the Serbs and their likes have done and are doing what we allowed them to do. Our primary advice to you is to prepare yourself mentally for the long run. This misery will follow Kosova-Albanians for many years to come. It should force you to adjust your campaign to the long run. There is no better way for Albanian unification than campaigning for humanitarian aid. This will strengthen you regardless of political or religious affiliation. This will save you a lot of frustrations and discontents.

Politics will not feed the Kosova-Albanians nor provide them a shelter. MAA wants to implement the mercy and support. We see the Kosova-Albanians as the constant of our activities in next several years. On the short term we are providing significant driving force for the next six to seven months. First of all we want to see the Albanian brothers and sisters as the promoters and/or supporters of the following campaigns of the MAA in USA, Canada and Europe.

1. Albanian Refugee Appeal (ongoing)
2. Ramadan Appeal (upcoming)
3. Qurban Appeal (upcoming)

Following Albanian Refugee Appeal, MAA intends to smoothly enter into International Ramadan and Qurban campaigns and to transfer a significant part of the accumulated donations to Kosova-Albanians refugees. The main reasons for you to join us and propagate these campaigns are as follows.

· A lot of people will, insh-Allah, give their Sadaqa ul-fitr and money for their Qurbans to MAA to transfer it to Kosova-Albanians, as a part of their Islamic duties, and being aware of the situation of Albanians and because Australian food, (especially halal meat, Qurbans, sugar, flour and oil) is the cheapest in the world. Please keep in mind that the Qurban in USA is 3 to 5 times more expensive than the Qurban delivered from Australia.

· MAA has the full support and cooperation of all Albanian organizations and high profile individuals in Australia. · MAA is internationally recognized and has an experience in that sort of the humanitarian aid for more than seven years, primarily in Bosnia, Lebanon, Gaza (Israel), Sudan, and Bangladesh.

You can influence others in USA, Canada and Europe by joining us in these campaigns.

The representative from MAA, Dr Dzemal Hadzismajlovic will visit USA in Nov or Dec 98 to present the International Ramadan and/or Qurban Appeal to you and the others.

Any idea with collection of clothes, food and medical supplies etc is good one. Our experience with such collections was unfortunately not the best-some people simply want to get rid of their unusable things. That anything donated to someone else should be in a good condition is a fundamental Islamic charity principle. Moreover, with the collections from people of clothes, food and medical supplies, there are other key issues of appropriate storage, classification and packing of goods that you would need to address. You ought to be extremely careful with the expiry date of the medicament. Bosnia had a very bad experience in that respect. It should be packed in pellets prepared in containers for shipment to Albanian port Durres. Also the list of the items in the container must be prepared. Do not hesitate to contact us at any time on: Phone: (+61 2) 9740 4088 MUSLIM AID (office hours) fax: (+61 2) 9740 4143

We cannot stress enough the important and significance of your contribution and participation in this appeal.

Peace be upon all of you

Jamal (Dr Dzemal Hadzismajlovic)
dzemal@muslim-aid.org.au
Project Manager 25
September 1998

Serbs make concession on Kosovo, threaten sympathizers if attacked

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

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (September 28, 1998 7:49 p.m. EDT
http://www.nandotimes.com) -- Hoping to avert a NATO attack, the Serbian premier on Monday promised to withdraw special police units from the troubled region of Kosovo, declaring that separatists in the province had been defeated.
     Premier Mirko Marjanovic said the Serb crackdown would resume, however, if ethnic Albanian separatists stage new attacks. And Vice Premier Vojislav Seselj said if NATO carries out threatened strikes, Serbia would take hostage pro-Western Serbs who work for independent media, peace and rights groups.
     NATO recently has stepped up plans for airstrikes against Serb forces after repeated warnings that it would attack unless violence ends in the restive province.
     Kosovo is located in the south of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic. Most ethnic Albanians -- who make up 90 percent of the 2 million inhabitants -- favor independence.
     The Kosovo Liberation Army, which is fighting for Kosovo's independence, issued a statement pledging to continue what it called "the holy war" against Serbia and demanding NATO action.
     Despite word of the special forces' imminent pullout, more fighting was reported in Kosovo on Monday.
     The Kosovo Information Center, which is close to the ethnic Albanian leadership, reported Serbian shelling in the region of Suva Reka and Urosevac, south of Kosovo's capital, Pristina.
     Reporters saw thick columns of smoke blurring the horizon of Suva Reka, and flames consumed at least four nearby villages. Police and the Yugoslav army, backed by tanks and heavy artillery, had surrounded several villages in the area and denied entry to journalists and foreign diplomatic observers.
     The state Tanjug news agency later reported that all KLA strongholds were destroyed, dozens of rebels killed and hundreds arrested in the past several days.
     The Kosovo Information Center also claimed that 15 members of two ethnic Albanian families were massacred by Serb troops in the central Drenica region on Sunday. The report could not be independently confirmed.
     Hundreds of people have been killed and about 275,000 have fled their homes since February, when the forces of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic began cracking down.
     Marjanovic, who made his remarks during a parliamentary session, said the government would grant amnesty to Kosovo Albanians who have not committed "war crimes," provided they surrender their weapons within 10 days.
     A NATO spokesman in Brussels, Belgium, who spoke on condition of anonymity, repeated the alliance's position that Milosevic must fulfill the conditions laid down in a U.N. resolution Wednesday that called for a cease-fire in Kosovo.
"Words are nifty, but we want to see action," he said.
     There was no visible withdrawal of the police units Monday. Marjanovic said Serb and Yugoslav forces would remain in their barracks for an unspecified eriod to guard against any resumption of attacks by the KLA, which has been largely routed.
     The U.N. Security Council has insisted since March that Serbs withdraw special police units and other forces from Kosovo and begin talks with ethnic Albanians on the province's future.
     On Wednesday, the council threatened additional action if Milosevic did not stop the offensive against Kosovo's separatists and allow for the safe return of refugees.

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer

Albanian premier resigns along with interior minister

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

TIRANA, Albania (September 28, 1998 7:19 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) --
Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano resigned Monday, two weeks after rioting that brought his impoverished nation to the brink of anarchy.
     Nano's resignation was announced after a meeting of the Socialist Party leadership in the Albanian capital.
     A statement said that Pandeli Majko, the 31-year-old general-secretary of the Socialist Party, will be the party's candidate for prime minister.
     Interior Minister Perikli Teta, a member of the small Democratic Alliance party, also quit under mounting pressure for his apparent failure to improve public security.
     Gunfire erupted in several parts of the capital when word of Nano's resignation spread. It was not clear whether it was just celebratory shooting by supporters of Nano's rival, former President Sali Berisha.
     Later a loud explosion could be heard, but there was no immediate official word on the nature of the blast.
     Police increased patrols after nightfall in a show of regained authority after the recent chaos. At least three convoys of police cars drove through Tirana's streets.
     Nano stepped down Monday after telling President Rexhep Meidani that he had been unable to put together the Cabinet he wanted because of disagreement among the parties that make up the coalition government, sources said.
     Nano's government was stymied by the worsening enmity between his Socialists and Berisha's Democrats, who kept calling for his resignation and repeatedly boycotted parliament.
     Political tensions have soared in recent weeks with the assassination of Azem Hajdari, a close Berisha associate, by unidentified gunmen on Sept. 12.
     Rioting began a day later with angry protesters burning the first floor of the government building housing Nano's office as well as seven government cars parked outside.
     On Sept. 14, the day of Hajdari's funeral, rioters rampaged through Tirana, taking control of state television and ravaging Nano's office and other government buildings. Several people were killed in pitched battled with police.
     On Saturday, Berisha promised thousands of supporters that street protests would continue until the government stepped down.
     Majko's nomination on Monday to head a new government was seen as a significant move to part with officials associated with the former Communist party that ruled Albania for 46 years.
     Majko, a trained engineer respected for his moderate stance, took part in student demonstrations in 1990 that helped topple the Communists from power.
     Nano was prime minister in the first post-communist government in 1991 headed by Berisha and his Democratic Party. Berisha pulled out of the coalition a year later, forcing elections he won to gain full power.
     Nano was sentenced in 1993 to 12 years in prison on charges of falsifying documents and misappropriating funds. International groups condemned the charges as being politically motivated.
     When pyramid investment schemes collapsed last year, wiping out the life savings of many Albanians, nationwide rioting forced Berisha to resign. A mob freed Nano from prison, and his Socialists won the ensuing election with Berisha leading the opposition.
     The potential for unrest remains high in this country where an estimated 1 million weapons were stolen from armories, police stations and other places during last year's unrest.

By MERITA DHIMGJOKA, Associated Press Writer

SEPTEMBER 28, 16:19 EDT
Embattled Albanian Premier Resigns

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian Socialist Premier Fatos Nano resigned Monday, some two weeks after rioting in the wake of a politician's assassination pushed the impoverished nation to the brink of anarchy.
     Nano's resignation was announced after a meeting of the Socialist Party leadership in the Albanian capital.
     A statement said that Pandeli Majko, the 31-year-old general-secretary of the Socialist Party, would be the party's candidate for prime minister.
     The resignation came two days after former Albanian President Sali Berisha promised thousands of supporters that street protests would continue until the government steps down.
     Speaking in the capital before a crowd of about 3,000 people, Berisha called Nano a "killer," and blamed him for the current political turmoil.
     The unrest in Europe's poorest country erupted after a popular opposition leader was killed outside Berisha's Democratic Party headquarters on September 12. Berisha blamed his political rival Nano for the killing and demanded his resignation.

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