Tagesnachrichten 30. September 1998
     von dpa, from ALBANEWS and others
     News of the day - September 30, 1998
     Kosova Information Center : Daily Report No 1568

         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 30.09.1998 21:13  http://seite1.web.de/show/361282D0.NL1/

US-Außenministerium warnt Serbien: «Die Uhr läuft»
Washington (dpa) - Die NATO könnte nach Überzeugung der USA auch ohne Unterstützung des Weltsicherheitsrates militärisch gegen serbische Ziele in Kosovo vorgehen. Das betonte James Foley, der Sprecher des Außenministeriums, am Mittwoch in Washington.
     Außenministerin Madeleine Albright stimme jedoch mit ihrem britischen Kollegen Robin Cook überein, daß der Sicherheitsrat rasch zusammentrete. «Wir erwarten eine Verurteilung serbischer Handlungen.»
     Foley warnte die Serben, daß eine Entscheidung über eine Militäraktion näherrücke: «Die Uhr läuft.» Den Ausschlag werde geben, «ob (der jugoslawische Präsident Slobodan) Milosevic den Kurs ändert». Es scheine, daß abziehende serbische Einheiten durch andere ersetzt würden und ihre Zahl dadurch konstant bleibe.
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Sondersitzung des UNO-Sicherheitsrats nach Massaker im Kosovo
London/Belgrad (dpa) - Der UNO-Sicherheitsrat wird nach den jüngsten Greueltaten im Kosovo an diesem Donnerstag zu einer Dringlichkeitssitzung über die Situation in der südjugoslawischen Krisenprovinz zusammenkommen.
     Der britische Außenminister Robin Cook teilte am Mittwoch offiziell mit, er habe als neuer Vorsitzender des Rates nach Kontakten mit seinen Kollegen der USA und der Europäischen Union eine Sondersitzung einberufen.
     «Ich bin entsetzt über die Berichte von Massakern an Zivilisten, darunter Frauen und Kinder in Gornje Obrinje und bei Vucitern», hatte Cook zuvor in London gesagt.
     Der Sicherheitsrat, erklärte Cook, werde die jüngsten Greueltaten im Kosovo verurteilten und UNO-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan auffordern, seinen Bericht über die Einhaltung der vorangegangenen UNO-Entschließung durch Belgrad Anfang nächster Woche vorzulegen.
     «Dies war keine Kriegshandlung sondern kaltblütiger Mord», erklärte Cook am Mittwoch am Rande des Labour-Parteitages in Blackpool zu Berichten über mindestens 17 getötete ethnische Albaner. Cook äußerte die Erwartung, daß das UNO-Kriegsverbrechertribunal in Den Haag seine Ermittlungen auch auf diese Vorfälle ausdehne.
     Internationale Beobachter haben nach amtlichen britischen Angaben bei Gornje Obrinje am 28. September die Leichen von 14 Albanern gefunden, überwiegend alte Menschen und Kinder. Einige der Leichen seien verstümmelt gewesen.
     Außerdem hätten internationale Beobachter die Leichen von 17 Albanern in der Nähe von Vucitern entdeckt. Bei 15 von ihnen habe es sich offensichtlich um Zivilisten gehandelt.
     Presse und Fernsehen in Großbritannien berichteten am Mittwoch ausführlich über das Massaker bei Gornje Obrinje. Die Zahl der Opfer schwankte dabei zwischen 16 und 19.
     Die Tageszeitung «The Times» sprach von «einem der schlimmsten Fälle von Abschlachten in einem Jahrzehnt Balkan-Konflikt». Andere Journalisten, die bei dem Dorf die Leichen der Opfer sahen, berichteten von der «schlimmsten Greueltat, der unabhängige Augenzeugen in der sechs Monate langen kriegerischen Auseinandersetzung begegnet sind» («The Guardian»).
     Die Reporter deuteten übereinstimmend an, die Morde, die am vorigen Samstag verübt worden sein sollen, könnten eine serbische Vergeltungstat für Anschläge auf Polizisten gewesen sein. Die serbische Sonderpolizei dementierte am Mittwoch energisch jede Beteiligung in ein Massaker. Der Fall werde weiter untersucht.
     Die NATO rechnet damit, daß rund 200 Kampfmaschinen ihrer Partner für einen Einsatz benötigt werden.
     Die neuen serbischen Greueltaten rechtfertigen nach Ansicht der USA die Pläne der NATO für einen möglichen Militäreinsatz. Berichte über das Massaker «verdeutlichen die Häßlichkeit und die Brutalität der serbischen Präsenz in Kosovo», sagte Michael McCurry, der Sprecher des Weißen Hauses, in Washington. «Es rechtfertigt unsere Bemühungen, sowohl diplomatisch als auch durch die NATO.»
     Die Nato setzt ihre Vorbereitungen für einen Luftschlag gegen serbische Stellungen fort. «Wir haben noch keine Beweise, daß die Kämpfe eingestellt wurden», erklärte am Mittwoch ein hoher NATO-Beamter, der anonym bleiben wollte, nach einer Tagung des NATO-Rates in Brüssel.
     Außerdem bereiten die NATO-Militärs einen «Erfüllungsbericht» (report of compliance) für die Vereinten Nationen vor. Er werde die Erkenntnisse der NATO enthalten, inwieweit Belgrad die jüngsten Forderungen des UNO-Sicherheitsrates erfüllt hat.
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UNO-Generalsekretär «außer sich» über jüngste Kosovo-Berichte
New York (dpa) - UNO-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan ist «außer sich vor Empörung» über Augenzeugenberichte von Greueltaten serbischer Sicherheitskräfte im Kosovo. Das geht aus einer Erklärung von Annans Sprecher Fred Eckhard vom Mittwoch in New York hervor.
     «Die Berichte sind besonders deshalb so schockierend für den Generalsekretär, weil der serbische Außenminister erst gestern (Dienstag) in einem Gespräch mit ihm beteuert hatte, daß solche Taten nicht vorkommen».
     Der UNO-Generalsekretär verurteilt diese Aktionen uneingeschränkt und appelliert an die Regierung in Belgrad, es zu keiner Wiederholung kommen zu lassen.
     Der Weltsicherheitsrat habe zwar kürzlich die territoriale Einheit der jugoslawischen Republik bestätigt. Daraus leite sich ab, daß die Behörden für Ruhe und Ordnung in ihrer südlichen Provinz Kosovo sorgen müssen.
    «Aber diese Aufgabe kann niemals den Terror ... rechtfertigen, der in den vergangenen Tagen aus dem Kosovo berichtet wurde». Stattdessen müßten unverzüglich alle Gewalttaten eingestellt und gerechte Lösungen für den Kosovo gesucht werden.
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Cook fordert Sondersitzung des UNO-Sicherheitsrats zu Kosovo
London (dpa) - Der britische Außenminister Robin Cook hat nach den jüngsten Greueltaten im Kosovo für Donnerstag eine Sondersitzung des UNO-Sicherheitsrates beantragt.
     «Dies war keine Kriegshandlung sondern kaltblütiger Mord», erklärte Cook am Mittwoch am Rande des Labour-Parteitages in Blackpool zu Berichten über mindestens 17 getötete ethnische Albaner.
     Der Minister ermahnte Jugoslawiens Präsident Slobodan Milosevic, rasch der in der UNO-Resolution enthaltenen Aufforderung zum Rückzug aus der südserbischen Provinz nachzukommen, sonst könnten Luftangriffe folgen. «Die NATO ist jetzt bereit zu handeln», fügte Cook hinzu.
     Nach Cooks Vorstellung soll der UNO-Sicherheitsrat von UNO- Generalsekretär Kofi Annan einen dringenden Bericht darüber verlangen, ob Serbien sich der UNO-Entschließung der vergangenen Woche gefügt habe.
     Die NATO könnte nach dem Bericht Anfang nächster Woche mit Luftangriffen reagieren, erläuterte der Minister auf einer Pressekonferenz. Einem Militärschlag müßte aber noch eine politische Entscheidung vorangehen.
     Amnesty International (AI) reagierte auf Berichte über die neuen Greueltaten mit der nachdrücklichen Forderung zur Entsendung von Menschenrechtsbeobachtern.
     In einem in London veröffentlichten Aufruf verlangte die internationale Menschenrechtsorganisation außerdem eine gründliche Untersuchung der Massaker an Zivilisten, die sich bei den Orten Gornje Obrinje und Vucitern abgespielt hätten.
     Ortskundige hätten im Gespräch mit Reportern die serbische Polizei oder die jugoslawische Armee verantwortlich gemacht.
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Solana in Baku: Kein NATO-Eingreifen im Kosovo ohne UNO-Mandat
Baku (dpa) - NATO-Generalsekretär Javier Solana hat am Mittwoch nach Berichten über neue Greueltaten an Zivilisten im Kosovo betont, die NATO werde nur mit einem UNO-Mandat eingreifen. Das meldete die Nachrichtenagentur Itar-Tass aus der aserbaidschanischen Hauptstadt Baku.
     Zuvor waren neue Massaker an ethnischen Albanern in der südserbischen, überwiegend von Albanern bewohnten Provinz bekannt geworden. Solana warnte bei einem Besuch in Baku jedoch, die NATO werde Jugoslawiens Präsidenten Solobodan Milosevic an dessen Handlungen und nicht an dessen Worten messen. Zuvor hatte er sich mit Aserbaidschans Präsidenten Geidar Alijew zu Gesprächen getroffen.
      Solana war auf einer Rundreise durch Länder des Transkaukasus am Mittwoch in Baku am Kaspischen Meer eingetroffen. Am Dienstag hatte er Gespräche in Georgien geführt und wurde an diesem Donnerstag im benachbarten Armenien erwartet. Wie in Georgien erörtete Solana in Aserbaidschan die Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen des NATO-Programms «Partnerschaft für den Frieden».
      Im Konflikt zwischen Aserbaidschan und Armenien um das Gebiet Berg-Karabach rief Solana alle Seiten auf, eine diplomatische Lösung zu finden. Zufrieden äußerte sich der NATO-Generalsekretär über den Waffenstillstand.
     Damit war 1994 ein vorläufiger Schlußpunkt unter den Krieg um das überwiegend von Armeniern bewohnte Gebiet in Aserbaidschan gesetzt worden. Der Konflikt zwischen dem Anspruch Bakus auf territoriale Integrität und dem Recht auf Selbstbestimmung der Bewohner von Berg- Karabach ist jedoch ungelöst.
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UNO-Sicherheitsrat trifft zu Sondersitzung über Kosovo zusammen
London (dpa) - Der UN-Sicherheitsrat wird am Donnerstag zu einer Dringlichkeitssitzung über die Situation in der südserbischen Krisenprovinz Kosovo zusammenkommen.
     Der britische Außenminister Robin Cook teilte am Mittwoch abend offiziell mit, er habe als neuer Vorsitzender des Rates nach Kontakten mit seinen Kollegen der USA und der Europäischen Union eine Sondersitzung einberufen.
     Der Sicherheitsrat werde die jüngsten Greueltaten im Kosovo verurteilten und UNO-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan auffordern, seinen Bericht über die Einhaltung der vorangegangenen UNO-Entschließung durch Belgrad Anfang nächster Woche vorzulegen.
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NATO bereitet Luftschläge weiter vor - Keine Beweise für Rückzug
Brüssel (dpa) - Die NATO setzt ihre Vorbereitungen für einen Luftschlag gegen serbische Stellungen im Kosovo-Konflikt fort. «Wir haben noch keine Beweise, daß die Kämpfe eingestellt wurden», erklärte am Mittwoch ein hoher NATO-Beamter, der anonym bleiben wollte, nach einer Tagung des NATO-Rates in Brüssel.
     Die NATO-Botschafter nahmen auch zur Kenntnis, daß zahlreiche Mitgliedstaaten Flugzeuge für einen Lufteinsatz bereitstellen wollen. Neben den 14 Tornados aus Deutschland haben die Niederlande und Norwegen je acht F-16, Spanien vier Kampfbomber und ein Transportflugzeug sowie Portugal drei F-16 angeboten.
     Den Beschluß, eine Luftstreitmacht zusammenzustellen, hatten die Botschafter am vergangenen Donnerstag in Vilamoura in Portugal gefaßt. Je nach Einsatzplan werden rund 200 Maschinen benötigt. Sie müssen noch dem NATO-Oberbefehl unterstellt werden.
     Bei der NATO wurde am Mittwoch ausdrücklich darauf verwiesen, daß die Zusammenstellung noch nicht bedeute, daß das Bündnis diese Flugzeuge auch einsetzen werde. Wahrscheinlicher sei, daß zunächst Raketen zum Einsatz kommen, wenn die jugoslawische Führung nicht einlenkt.
     Außerdem bereiten die NATO-Militärs einen «Erfüllungsbericht» (report of compliance) für die Vereinten Nationen vor. Er werde die Erkenntnisse der NATO enthalten, inwieweit Belgrad die jüngsten Forderungen des UNO-Sicherheitsrates erfüllt hat, hieß es dazu in Nato-Kreisen weiter.
     UNO-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan werde diesen Bericht der Allianz in seine Erklärung einbauen, die er am 7. oder 8. Oktober zum Kosovo- Konflikt nach der UNO-Resolution vom 23. September abgeben wird.
     Dieser Bericht und das Datum wurden bei der NATO in Brüssel als wichtiger Wendepunkt für eine Entscheidung angesehen, ob das Bündnis militärisch in den Kosovo-Konflikt eingreifen wird.
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Weißes Haus: Massaker in Kosovo rechtfertigen NATO-Pläne
Washington (dpa) - Die Berichte über neue serbische Greueltaten in Kosovo rechtfertigen nach Ansicht der USA die Pläne der NATO für einen möglichen Militäreinsatz.
     Berichte über das Massaker bei Gornje Obrinje «verdeutlichen die Häßlichkeit und die Brutalität der serbischen Präsenz in Kosovo», sagte Michael McCurry, der Sprecher des Weißen Hauses, am Mittwoch in Washington. «Es rechtfertigt unsere Bemühungen, sowohl diplomatisch als auch durch die NATO.»
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London fordert Untersuchung von Berichten über Kosovo-Massaker
London/Belgrad/Genf (dpa) - Der britische Außenminister Robin Cook hat am Mittwoch eine genaue Untersuchung der Berichte über neue Greueltaten im Kosovo gefordert. «Ich bin entsetzt über die Berichte von Massakern an Zivilisten, darunter Frauen und Kinder in Gornje Obrinje und bei Vucitern», erklärte der Minister in London.
     Cook äußerte die Erwartung, daß das UNO-Kriegsverbrechertribunal in Den Haag seine Ermittlungen auch auf diese Vorfälle ausdehne. Die britische Regierung hat führende Beamte aus den Ländern der Jugoslawien-Kontaktgruppe für diesen Freitag nach London eingeladen. Dabei solle weiter über die Bemühungen um eine politische Lösung der Kosovo-Krise gesprochen werden.
     Ausländische Beobachter hatten nach amtlichen britischen Angaben bei Gornje Obrinje am 28. September die Leichen von 14 Albanern gefunden, überwiegend alte Menschen und Kinder. Einige der Leichen seien verstümmelt gewesen.
     Außerdem hätten ausländische Beobachter die Leichen von 17 Albanern in der Nähe von Vucitern entdeckt. Bei 15 von ihnen habe es sich offenbar um Zivilisten gehandelt. Vor der Entdeckung der Toten sei in der Gegend gekämpft worden.
     Presse und Fernsehen in Großbritannien berichteten am Mittwoch ausführlich über das Massaker bei Gornje Obrinje. Die Zahl der Opfer schwankte dabei zwischen 16 und 19. Die Tageszeitung «The Times» sprach von «einem der schlimmsten Fälle von Abschlachten in einem Jahrzehnt Balkan-Konflikt».
     Andere Journalisten, die bei dem Dorf die Leichen der Opfer sahen, berichteten von der «schlimmsten Greueltat, der unabhängige Augenzeugen in der sechs Monate langen kriegerischen Auseinandersetzung begegnet sind» («The Guardian»).
     Ein sechs Monate altes Baby sei lebend neben der Leiche seiner Mutter gefunden worden, meldete die «Financial Times». Ihr Reporter sagte, er habe in einer Schlucht bei Gornje Obrinje die Leichen von 19 massakrierten Zivilisten gesehen. Die BBC sprach von 18 Toten.
     Der «Guardian»-Korrespondent schilderte den Anblick am Tatort: «Es war klar, daß diese Gruppe - wir zählten fünf Frauen und vier Kinder darunter - nicht 'im Kreuzfeuer umgekommen' oder 'versehentlich von der Artillerie getroffen' worden sein konnten. Das war Mord aus nächster Nähe.»
     Die Reporter deuteten übereinstimmend an, die Morde, die am vergangenen Samstag verübt worden sein sollen, könnten eine serbische Vergeltungstat gewesen sein. Am Vortag seien in dem Gebiet westlich der Kosovo-Hauptstadt Pristina sieben serbische Polizisten getötet worden. Nach Angaben des serbischen Informationszentrums in Pristina sollen zwei von angeblich schwerbewaffneten Albanern getötet worden sein, fünf weitere seien bei einer Minenexplosion umgekommen.
     Seit Ausbruch der blutigen Unruhen in der südjugoslawischen Provinz im Januar seien dort 1 472 Albaner getötet worden, teilte die albanische Menschenrechts-Kommission in Pristina mit. Belgrad hatte die Zahl der Todesopfer auf Seiten der serbischen Polizei und der jugoslawischen Armee mit 126 angegeben.
     Das UNO-Flüchtlingshochkommissariat (UNHCR) will den Vorschlag des deutschen Außenministers Klaus Kinkel für eine Nothilfe-Konferenz zur Lage der Flüchtlinge in Kosovo nicht selbst beginnen. Die Hochkommissarin Sadako Ogata sagte am Mittwoch in Genf, die Initiative für eine solche Konferenz müsse vom UNO-Generalsekretär ausgehen. Das UNHCR sei aber zur Mitarbeit bereit.
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Serbische Polizei dementiert Beteiligung an Massaker im Kosovo
Belgrad/Pristina (dpa) - Die serbische Sonderpolizei hat am Mittwoch jegliche Verwicklung ihrer Angehörigen in ein Massaker an 18 albanischen Zivilisten in der südjugoslawischen Unruheprovinz Kosovo energisch dementiert.
     «Dies ist unmöglich, da unsere Beamten stets unter der direkten Kontrolle ihrer Offiziere stande», sagte Polizeisprecher Bozidar Filic nach Angaben der Agentur Beta (Belgrad) in der Provinzhauptstadt Pristina.
     «Der Fall, von dem wir erst aus den ausländischen Medien erfahren haben, wird von uns weiter untersucht.»
     Die albanischsprachige Zeitung «Koha ditore» in Pristina berichtete am Mittwoch, daß alle 18 Opfer Angehörige der Familie Delijaj waren. Nach Informationen des Blattes ereignete sich die Bluttat in der Nähe der Ortschaft Gornje Obrinje bereits am vergangenen Samstag. Unter den Opfern waren fünf Kinder im Alter zwischen eineinhalb und sieben Jahren sowie sechs Frauen.
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Arzt bei Minenunfall im Kosovo getötet - Rotkreuz-Schwester verletzt
Genf/Belgrad (dpa) - Ein Arzt ist im Kosovo am Mittwoch beim Auffahren eines Rotkreuz-Fahrzeugs auf eine Mine getötet worden. Drei weitere Fahrzeuginsassen wurden verletzt, ein zweiter einheimischer Arzt, ein lokaler Mitarbeiter des Internationalen Komitees vom Roten Kreuz (IKRK) und eine neuseeländische Krankenschwester. Wie das Internationale Komitee vom Roten Kreuz in Genf mitteilte, fuhr der erste von zwei Rotkreuz-Wagen auf die Mine.
     Der Zwischenfall ereignete sich auf einer Straße rund 25 Kilometer von Pristina, der Hauptstadt der südserbischen Provinz, entfernt. Die beiden Fahrzeuge hätten sich auf einer Routine-Mission zwischen den Ortschaften Likovac und Donje Obrinje befunden.
     Ein Sprecher der serbischen Polizeibehörden in Pristina erklärte dazu am Mittag, daß das Fahrzeug offensichtlich auf eine Panzermine gefahren sei. Schon vor knapp zwei Wochen habe in der Nähe des Unglücksortes ein Geländewagen der diplomatischen Beobachtermission eine Panzermine ausgelöst.
     Nach IKRK-Angaben erlag der albanischstämmige Arzt beim Hubschrauber-Transport von der Unfallstelle nach Pristina seinen Verletzungen.
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Schröder kann mit Besuchsdiplomatie nicht bis Kanzlerwahl warten
Bonn (dpa) - Gerhard Schröders Korb mit Glückwünschen wird täglich voller. Am Mittwoch gratulierte auch Irans Staastpräsident Mohammed Chatami. Viele Staatsmänner wollen ihn treffen und schicken dem künftigen deutschen Regierungschef Einladungen.
     Bill Clinton will den Wahlsieger möglichst bald im Weißen Haus sehen, auch mit Helmut Kohls Freund Boris Jelzin ist bald ein Treffen in Moskau verabredet. Den Vorzug bekam am Mittwoch in Paris Jacques Chirac, der sich noch am Wahlabend gemeldet hatte.
     Etwas verschnupft reagierten die Leute um Tony Blair, weil Schröder mit dem frischen Glanz des Wahlsiegers keine Zeit mehr fand, den Labour-Parteitag in Blackpool mit seiner Anwesenheit zu schmücken. Doch die obligatorische Visite in der französischen Hauptstadt hat nun einmal Vorrang, an diese Regel seiner Vorgänger hielt sich auch Schröder, auch wenn noch nicht richtig im Amt ist.
     Derzeit sonnen sich die deutschen Sozialdemokraten in lange vermißter internationaler Anerkennung. Bei den von sozialdemokratischen Regierungschefs dominierten europäischen Spitzentreffen sei seine Partei nun nicht mehr der arme Verwandte, auf den alle etwas mitleidig blickten, weil er es zu Hause zu nichts bringe, schwärmt Parteichef Oskar Lafontaine.
     Bis zu seienr Wahl als Kanzler im Parlament kann Schröder nicht warten, um möglichst viele persönliche Kontakte zu knüpfen oder lockere Bekanntschaften aufzufrischen. Solange die Entscheidung über den künftigen Außenminister noch nicht gefallen ist, kann er auf keinen Emissär mit der notwendigen Autorität für Antrittsbesuche in den europäischen Hauptstädten zurückgreifen.
     Doch nichts zuletzt wegen der außenpolitischen Terminlage drängen die Sozialdemokraten darauf, möglichst rasch mit den Grünen unter die Haube zu kommen. Der Euro, die EU-Erweiterung und vor allem die deutsche EU-Ratspräsidentschaft stehen vor der Tür. Im Blick darauf wollen die Sozialdemokraten (SPD) möglichst wenig der abgewählten Mitte-Rechts-Koalition überlassen.
     Von dort erwartet man bei der SPD wenig Widerstand, auch wenn erste Übergabegespräche mit alten Ressortchefs erst in der kommenden Woche geplant sind. Finanzminister Theo Waigel hat zwar seine Reise zum IWF nach Wahington abgesagt, doch Außenminister Klaus Kinkel will zumindest noch in den kommenden Tagen «Businness as usual» machen.
     Von seinen EU-Kollegen will sich der deutsche Außenminister Anfang kommender Woche verabschieden. Auch ein Kurztrip nach Tirana in Sachen Kosovo ist noch in Planung.
     Wenn der ehrgeizige sozialdemokratische Zeitplan aufgeht, kann Schröder seinen offiziellen Einstand als neuer Kanzler bereits am 24. und 25. Oktober beim EU-Sondergipfel in Pörtschach am Wörther See geben. Wenige Tage vorher will er, so ist es jedenfalls ins Auge gefaßt, im Parlament nach erfolgter Wahl durch die rot-grüne Mehrheit den Amtseid leisten.
     Helmut Kohl wil sich aber auf jeden Fall die Abschiedsvorstellung in Pörtschach ersparen, selbst wenn er dann noch formal amtierender Regierungschef sein sollte. Für den dann unter Alt-Kanzler firmierenden Kohl, so ist zu hören, soll es eine Sonderehrung im Kreis seiner ehemaligen Kollegen auf dem EU-Gipfel im Juni kommenden Jahres in Köln geben.
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Deutsche Tornados für Kosovo-Einsatz - SPD auf Kohls Seite
Bonn (dpa) - Die deutschen Streitkräfte werden sich an einer eventuellen internationalen Militäraktion im Kosovo mit 14 Kampfflugzeugen vom Typ Tornado beteiligen.
     Das beschloß am Mittwoch die noch amtierende Regierung unter der Leitung von Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl. Die Sozialdemokraten, die nach ihrem Wahlsieg vom vergangenen Sonntag in wenigen Wochen die Macht in Bonn übernehmen werden, signalisierten ihre Zustimmung - ebenso wie ihr künftiger Koalitionspartner, die Grünen.
     Die deutsche Regierung kam mit ihrer Entscheidung einer Aufforderung an alle NATO-Mitglieder nach, ihren Anteil an einem möglich Luftschlag gegen Jugoslawien zu benennen.
     Verteidigungsminister Volker Rühe sprach von einem Signal an den jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic. Er hoffe, daß dieser das Vorgehen der NATO ernst nehme und die Kampfhandlungen in der Provinz Kosovo beende.
     Sollte eine Entscheidung zur Intervention in Kosovo auf internationaler Ebene fallen, müßte der Kampfauftrag an die deutsche Luftwaffe vom Parlament genehmigt werden.
     Da das am Sonntag neu gewählte Parlament sich vorausichtlich erst am 20. Oktober konstituieren wird, würde für eine frühere Entscheidung noch einmal das alte Parlament zu einer Sondersitzung einberufen.
     Der sozialdemokratische Außenpolitiker Günter Verheugen, der als Kandidat für das Amt des Verteidigungsministers in der neuen Mitte- Links-Regierung gilt, unterstützte den Beschluß von Kohls Kabinett.
     «Eine sozialdemokratisch geführte Regierung - wenn sie jetzt schon im Amt wäre - würde nicht anders handeln können», sagte Verheugen. Er bezeichnete eine Intervention zwar als unwahrscheinlich. Aber es müsse eine «Droh-Kulisse» gegen Milosevic geben.
     Verheugen vertrat die Auffassung, innerhalb der NATO sei die Bereitschaft zu einem Luftschlag gegen jugoslawische Ziele «außerordentlich gering». Er sagte: «Ich glaube, daß Verteidigungsminister Rühe als einziger in der NATO in den letzten Wochen den Eindruck erweckt hat, als stünde eine solche Aktion unmittelbar bevor.»
     Der sozialdemokratische Politiker bezweifelte, daß Luftschläge gegen Serbien zur Rückkehr der albanischen Flüchtlinge in ihre Dörfer beitragen könnten. Es werde aber eine andere Entwicklung eintreten: «Die albanische Unabhängigkeitsbewegung nämlich wird das Land faktisch für unabhängig erklären.»
     Verheugen betonte, grundsätzlich müsse eine Intervention vom Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen beschlossen werden. Dieser Auffassung sei auch die Mehrheit der NATO-Staaten, sagte er.
     Wie der designierte Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder zeigte sich Verheugen aber auch gesprächsbereit für den Fall, daß ein solches Mandat ausbleibt.
     Wenn Rußland trotz steigender Gewalt im Kosovo ein Veto im Sicherheitsrat gegen eine Intervention einlegen würde, «könnte man von einem Mißbrauch dieses Vetos reden und sagen, die humanitäre Verpflichtung, jetzt ein Morden zu stoppen, ist größer und wichtiger als die formale Beachtung des Völkerrechts», sagte Verheugen.
     Diese Auffassung vertritt in der amtierenden Regierung auch Rühe, während Außenminister Klaus Kinkel stets auf einem Mandat des Sicherheitsrat bestanden hat.
     Die Verteidigungs-Expertin der Grünen, Angelika Beer, unterstützte die Entscheidung zur Bereitstellung der 14 Kampfflugzeuge ebenfalls. Sie wies darauf hin, daß dies noch keine Entscheidung für eine Intervention sei.
     Dafür gebe es keine Zustimmung der Grünen, solange nicht ein klares Mandat der Vereinten Nationen vorliege, betonte Beer im Gegensatz zur SPD-Position.
     Der jugoslawische Botschafter in Bonn, Zoran Jeremic, warf der deutschen Regierung eine anti-serbische Politik vor. Die von der NATO befürchtete humanitäre Katastrophe im Kosovo werde nicht von den jugoslawischen und serbischen Sicherheitskräften hergbeigeführt, sondern von den kosovo-albanischen «Terroristen», sagte Jeremic. Er kündigte an, «daß jede Aggression mit allen Mitteln bekämpft wird».
© dpa
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Weitere Meldungen  ==>  Gehe zu  TEIL 2

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3. Reports about deportation and persons repatriated to Kosova

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

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Kosova Information Center
Prishtina, 30 September 1998, 18:30 CET
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1568

Contents
• Rugova Declares Thursday a Day of National Mourning
• Mine Explodes, Albanian Doctor Dies, Three Other Wounded in Obri e Epërme
• Serb Resume Shelling Obri e Epërme Village in Drenica
• The Bodies of 9 Slain Albanians in Gllogovc Area Identified
• Foreign Reporter on Another Serb Atrocity in Malisheva Villages Last Weekend
• Mutilated Bodies of Five Albanians Found in Suhareka
• Albanian Found Killed in Shipitullë Village of Obiliq
• One Albanian Killed, Two Wounded in Minefield, in Petrovë Village of Shtimje
• Police Stages Shooting Incident to Turn Back Visiting Observers
• Many Civilian Albanians Suspected Killed and Wounded in Jezerc, Ferizaj
• Village of Vasilevë Has Been Levelled to the Ground, Resident Claims
• 'Leave or See Yourselves Burning Together with Your Homes', Police Tells Villagers
• Twenty Suhareka Albanians, Tortured by Serbs, in Prizren Hospital
• Serb Troops Crackdown on Refugee Camping Sites

Rugova Declares Thursday a Day of National Mourning

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova declared Thursday, 1 October 1998, a day of national mourning for the massacre of the Delia family from Obri e Epërme and the Albanians killed in the past months during the Serbian military and police offensive in Kosova.

Mine Explodes, Albanian Doctor Dies, Three Other Wounded in Obri e Epërme

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - Dr. Shpëtim Robaj, an anaesthetist and junior lecturer with the Albanian-run Faculty of Medicine of the University of Prishtina, died today (Wednesday) of wounds he received when the car of the ICRC ran in what seemed to be a land mine between the villages of Obri e Epërme and Likoc, in Drenica region. His colleagues and co-travellers, Dr. Ilir Tolaj, Ms Linda Bunjaku and Meggy Bryson, New Zealand, a member of staff of the Prishtina office of the ICRC, were wounded in the accident, sources said.
The ICRC press representative in Prishtina said the accident occurred at 9:30 hrs when one of the two cars of this organization ran into an explosive device. The first aid was given to the four wounded by personnel travelling with the other car which was not affected by the explosion.
They were in the area to offer assistance to the population in this part of the world, the ICRC spokesman said.
The shocking news on the death of Dr. Robaj, father of two, was confirmed by Ms Beatrice Weber, head of the ICRC, who was with the wounded in the hospital.
Prof. Alush Gashi, a health and humanitarian policies advisor to the President Rugova of Kosova, said he was shocked by the news on the accident "caused by mines laid down by Serb forces after their massacre in Obri village of Drenica".
Prof. Gashi asked for international independent investigations on the accident.
Pregnant women and infants are being killed in Serb massacres in Kosova, but also health personnel, "as a punishment for their assistance to the wounded Albanians", Prof. Alush Gashi, a university medical professor said in a statement today.

Serb Resume Shelling Obri e Epërme Village in Drenica
Two more slain Albanians found

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - At 9:30 in the morning today (Wednesday), Serb forces positioned in Likoc village resumed a heavy shelling the village of Obri e Epërme, Murat Musliu, a local human rights activist in Skenderaj ('Srbica') told the KIC.
There has been no immediate word on casualties.
Seventeen more Serb armored vehicles arrived in Likoca last night, local sources said.
Meanwhile, the local Human Rights Council said another Albanian massacred by Serb forces was found in Obri e Epërme today. Habib Deliu, was found in the fields not far from his house.
The Council said Serb police has murdered Driton Hysenaj (14) in Likoc.

The Bodies of 9 Slain Albanians in Gllogovc Area Identified

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - The bodies of 9 Albanians massacred by Serb military, paramilitary and police forces in the Gllogovc area have been identified today, the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) reported.
The CDHRF said the mutilated bodies of Liman Haki Krasniqi (1967), Shefqet Haki Krasniqi (1965), Skënder Hydë Krasniqi (1970) and Ali Metë Krasniqi (1818), who was found burned in his house at Negroc village of Gllogovc.
The bodies of Mehdi Sylë Morina (1953), resident of Gjergjica of Malisheva, Ilaz Maliq Javori (1953), resident of Llazica of Malisheva, and Ramadan Muleta (1954), Bashkim Tahir Muleta (27) and Besnik Rexhep Muleta (24), all three from Korrotica village of Gllogovc, have been identified too. The three Muletas were reportedly killed on Sunday near a limestone mine in Korrotica. The family told KIC they could not collect the bodies because of the Serb police presence in the area.
The CDHRF said Serb forces have killed three Albanians from Gllarevë village of Klinës, as well as another at Vuçak village. Their names have not been made known.
Serb forces have wounded Xhevat Shaban Thaçi, resident of Llapushnik village of Gllogovc.
Local CDHRF activists have been working hard on the ground to learn about the location of other Albanians suspected massacred by Serb forces.

Foreign Reporter on Another Serb Atrocity in Malisheva Villages Last Weekend

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - Serb troops have executed over a dozen Albanians in Gollubovc village of Malisheva and have massacred others in the neighboring village of Plloçica, in the municipality of Malisheva, a witness told the KIC today.
A foreign reporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he toured the area and the village of Plloçica and Gollubovc today (Wednesday) where he saw some of the victims of Serb atrocities and a site where 12-13 Albanians were executed last Saturday.
2In the hills above Plloçica, there are around 2,000 displaced persons, many of them from surrounding hamlets, as the village has a smaller population than that, he said. According to accounts of IDP's last Friday the police shot dead a 74-old-man, Hazir Maloku. The late elderly man, alongside with several other men, tried to get down to the village an fetch some food for his family camping out in the hills. Serb troops opened fire on the men. Others could run away and return to the hills, whereas Hazir Maloku was killed.
On Monday, Serb troops entered into Plloçica, burned all the houses down, and killed the livestock.
The reporter quoted accounts of local residents of another village, Gollubovc, where the Serbs executed a dozen men last weekend and burned at least one.
Last Saturday, at around 10 a.m., Serb forces surrounded a group of around 500 IDP's in a field near Gollubovc. The Serbs then picked 12-13 men, aged between 17 and 50, who were forced to stand against a wooden fence and were executed, the reporter quoted local residents as saying. He said he saw at that site many casings of large-caliber guns and automatic rifles. He showed a casing which seemed to be of a 21 mm machine-gun.
The reporter said he saw 8 fresh graves there. The local residents said they were ready to open one or more and show him the bodies, but he refused because, as he said, he had to return back.
"In the same village I saw the corpse of a man, whom the residents said were going to bury this afternoon", the reporter said. The man was apparently burned with an unknown acid, poured over his body from the knees and upwards. The villagers named him as Ramadan Hoxha, 37, the reporter said, who confirmed that he had seen burned land near the forest where he was killed.
"I saw the body of another man with his throat slit", the reporter said. Villagers identified him as Kajtaz Maloku, but they could not say how and when he was killed noting only they had found his dead body near the village. He was also to be buried today afternoon, the reporter said.
The reporter spoke of another wounded Albanian whom he saw being taken somewhere for treatment in a horse-drawn cart. The man had wounds caused by large-caliber bullets at his lower part of stomach. In addition, his hands were black, apparently after having had made fingers prints in a police station, the reporter concluded. The wounded man was later picked by a team of the Doctors of the World, said the reporter who insisted not to have his name mentioned.
Sources in Malisheva reported during the past weekend about a dozen Albanians killed in the villages in the area and around Plloçica village.

Mutilated Bodies of Five Albanians Found in Suhareka

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - Local residents and activists in the in the villages of Suhareka found today bodies of five Albanians killed during the latest Serb offensive launched on Sunday. The LDK chapter in Suharek said the bodies of the victims were mutilated.
The bodies of Ali Buzhala (55), Murat Kokollari (55), and Adem Buzhala (58), were found in their village of residence in Budakova today morning. The dead body of another still unidentified man was found in the village.
At another village, at Mushitisht, the local residents found today the dead body of 29-year-old Albanian Bajram Bytyçi. Another man Bedri Halitjaha (1982), resident of the same village was found wounded and in a life-threatening condition.
Over a dozen villages in south-west Kosova straddling a triangle between Shtime, Ferizaj and Suhareka came under Serb fire on Sunday morning. Local sources have so far reported about at least half a dozen killed Albanians in the area. They fear that the casualty figures may be much higher but it is impossible to confirm still as the ares is kept inside sealed off by the Serb troops and the population who fled the villages in the midst the crack down has not returned to their home, most of them torched or destroyed.

Albanian Found Killed in Shipitullë Village of Obiliq

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - Yesterday, Mehaz Mjekiqi (60) was found killed in Shipitullë village of the municipality of Obiliq. He was buried in his native Grabovc i Epërm village.
LDK sources in Obiliq said during their attack in Shipitullë, Serb forces burned and looted many houses. They have killed livestock and burned all the cattle food.
Serb forces are still stationed at a location called "Kërshi i Grabocit" (the Grabovc rock).

One Albanian Killed, Two Wounded in Minefield, in Petrovë Village of Shtimje

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - Yesterday, Xhemshir Ademaj (35) was killed and two other local Albanians wounded in a minefield in their native Petrova village of Shtime. One of the wounded was said to be in a serious condition.

Police Stages Shooting Incident to Turn Back Visiting Observers

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - Just before 10 a.m today, when the arrival of a delegation of American observers was expected in Shtime, Serb police forces started shooting along the road, staging 2a response to an attack or fighting, local sources said.
The delegation of observers was thus prevented from visiting the attacked and burned villages during the Serb attacks of the past three days.

Many Civilian Albanians Suspected Killed and Wounded in Jezerc, Ferizaj

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - At around 18:00 hrs on Tuesday, Serb forces stopped shelling the village of Jezerc, and some 90 tanks of the Serb military withdrew from the village of Nerodime e Epërme, LDK sources in Ferizaj ('Urosevac') said.
While withdrawing, Serb military and polcie troops raided many Albanian houses, smashed many of them, and ill-treated many Albanian residents.
Serb forces have been burning today Albanian houses in two villages, Nerodime e Epërme and Nerodime e Poshtme, local sources said.
They said a number of civilian Albanians are suspected killed and wounded by Serb forces at Jezerc village. It has been impossible to know something more about this, because the village has been sealed off by Serb forces.
In the past two days, many Albanians, mostly women and children, have arrived in the town of Ferizaj, seeking shelter.

Village of Vasilevë Has Been Levelled to the Ground, Resident Claims

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - On 25 and 26 September, Serb military and police forces looted and then levelled to the ground the village of Vasilevë, municipality of Gllogovc, a resident of Vasilevë told the KIC.
He said that during those two days, Serb forces killed seven civilian Albanians between the villages of Vasilevë and Poklek i Vjetër, among whom Sadri Muçolli and Naim Kluna from Pokleku i Vjetër.
Besides burning the farmhouses, Serb forces have killed hundreds of heads of livestock.
Half of the Albanian houses have been looted and burned in the village of Poklek i Vjetër. The wheat mill alone, which was burned by Serb forces, amounts to one million DM, the source said.

'Leave or See Yourselves Burning Together with Your Homes', Police Tells Villagers

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - At around 18:00 hrs on Tuesday, Serb troops launched a heavy artillery attack against the Bitia e Ulët village in the municipality of Shtërpca, south-east of Kosova.
A local resident of Bitia, Muhabi Ademi, told the KIC today morning the Serb troops who had cracked down on the village earlier in the day on Tuesday, set ablaze at least 8 farmhouses of local Albanians. The entire population, except a 90-year-old woman, fled the village yesterday afternoon after repeated threats by Serb troops.
A foreign reporter who spoke on condition of anonymity told the KIC today morning he witnessed himself Serb forces' operations in Bitia village on Tuesday.
Serb police ordered the local Albanians to leave the village at once or else they would see themselves burning together with their homes, the reporter said.
The LDK chapter in Shtërpca reported Tuesday morning about a Serb crackdown on the residents of Bitia and Viqa. The LDK named the following Albanians rounded up by Serb police after they had their homes raided: 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.

Twenty Suhareka Albanians, Tortured by Serbs, in Prizren Hospital

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - At least 20 Albanians from villages in Suhareka municipality who were subjected to Serb forced beating have been hospitalized in the clinics of the town hospital in Prizren.
The LDK chapter in Prizren said many of the Albanians treated from wounds sustained in the hands of the Serb police are in grave health condition.

Serb Troops Crackdown on Refugee Camping Sites

PRISHTINA, Sept 30 (KIC) - Thousands of uprooted Albanians who fled their homes in the wake of Serb attack against communities in the Suhareka last Sunday have been scattered in the are, unable to return to their gutted house or packed with Serb troop.
Sources in Suhareka said the Serb troops have cracked down on several camping sites of the IDPs dispersing them forcefully or compelling them to return to their homes. Many of them have been seen heading for the town of Prizren today.
Local organizations in Prizren said that the town of Prizren has been swelled by over 45 thousand refugees from war-torn area in the border area as well as from the neighboring municipalities of Suhareke, Rahovec and Malisheva.
Witnesses told KIC that three newborn babies have died shortly after being born in two camping sites near Suhareka villages.

         SLAUGHTER IN DRENICA

                    WARNING
You may find the following pictures disturbing

          Vraniq - attack on IDP convoy
 
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KOSOVA (land mine – ICRC)
ICRC vehicle runs into land mine - one doctor killed, three aid workers wounded

Prishtina, 30 September (ARTA) 1740CET --
One Albanian doctor was killed and three other ICRC aid workers, two Albanians from Prishtina and one from New Zealand, were wounded when their vehicle ran into a land mine, between the village of Likovc and Obri e Epërme, ICRC in Prishtina informs.
"Dr. Shpëtim Robaj, who was voluntarily working at the ICRC, and three of his colleagues, were in the first vehicle of the team composed of two vehicles, when they ran into, as it seems, land mine, on the Likovc-Obri e Epërme road", it is stated in an ICRC report.
"The other medical team that was in the second vehicle, gave the first aid immediately, but due to the severe wounds, dr. Robaj died shortly after", states ICRC.
A Kosova Diplomatic Observers Mission (KDOM) team, was nearby and offered help.
The wounded were taken to the Hospital of Prishtina, in a "Yugoslav" Army helicopter.
According to the ICRC communique, the team was in a medical mission in this region. Robaj was working voluntarily for the last two months helping the wounded victims of the conflict.
Dr. Ilir Tolaj, from Prishtina, Linda Bunjaku, from Prishtina and Maggie Bryson, from New Zealand are injured.

KOSOVA (clashes – Malishevë)
Continuous shootouts in Malishevë, Dragobil, Ostrazub...

Malishevë, 30 September (ARTA) 1610CET --
The municipality of Malishevë was, throughout last night continuously attacked from all sides. These attacks were more intense in the villages of Dragobil, Ostrazub, and Llozicë.
Several villagers of Llozicë, said that it was impossible for them to stay home, since their houses and house yards were the target of the Serb force APCs during the whole time.
The Serb police in Kijevë burned several Albanian owned houses of this village. This village is comprised of a mixed population, and has for a long time been under Serb police control.
Albanian sources claim to have witnessed fierce fire exchange between the Serb forces and the KLA units, at the southern exit of Malishevë, last night and this morning. The same sources state that these clashes resulted with the death of three policemen who were riding in a civilian vehicle.
Presently, the Serb forces are conducting a harsh control in this area, shooting at everything that moves.

KOSOVA (victims – Gllogoc)
Bodies of 7 massacred Albanians found in Krajkovë

Gllogoc, 30 September (ARTA) 1945CET --
The bodies of 7 killed and massacred Albanians, by the Serb forces, were found on Tuesday in the village of Krajkovë, municipality of Gllogoc, LDK and CDHRF local sources from Gllogoc inform.
CDHRF sources in Gllogoc inform that people of different ages, were killed in this village, while local sources from Krajkovë inform about the killing of another Albanian.
According to the same sources, four other Albanians were wounded in this village; one of them was arrested by the Serb police and is still being held under arrest.
There are reports that the Serb police took hostage 28 Albanian civilians. However, no further information is available on this issue.

KOSOVA (victims – Suharekë)
Four killed and many wounded – 500 Albanians arrested

Suharekë, 30 September (ARTA) 1700CET --
Following the current Serb offensive against several villages of Suharekë municipality, the regions afflicted by the war are still blocked by numerous Serb police\military forces.
Four more killed and many other wounded, without receiving any medical treatment are reported today in Suharekë.
According to the CDHRF, Zymer Buzhala (50), Murat Kokollari (55), Adem Buzhala (50), from the village of Budakovë, and Bajram Bytyqi (29), from the village of Mushtishtë, were killed.
"KOHA Ditore" sources inform that a large number of escapees from the war afflicted zones, came to Suharekë. Circa 500 Albanians are under arrest, sources add.
A source from the village of Buzhalë states that the four killed persons remain unburied in the fighting zones, since the numerous Serb forces are still surrounding them. 200 hundred people that are trapped in the forest of this village make an appeal to different international associations, particularly to the ICRC, to force the police out.

KOSOVA (victims – Mitrovicë)
The corpse of a 13-year-old found covered in blood

Mitrovicë, 30 September (ARTA) 2030CET --
Arsim Ibrahimi (13), from the village of Oshlan, of whom nothing was known since the Serb military\police offensive in this village, was found on Tuesday night. The child's corpse was found in a village valley. His body was slaughtered.
Despite Serb claims on the withdrawal of the Serb forces, on Wednesday, at around 1130CET, two buses full of policemen, came from Serbia, and settled in the military barrack in Mitrovicë.
At circa 1215CET, 6 fighting vehicles came out from this military barrack and headed to the direction of Skënderaj. These vehicles were loaded with Serb police, armed civilians, and paramilitary.
There are also reports that 6 APCs and military tanks settled in the village of Pirç.
According to witnesses, a few days ago, two Gypsies, under the surveillance of the police dug up a grave in the cemetery of Mitrovicë and buried a corpse. It is suspected that several victims of the current Serb force offensive against the villages of Shalë e Bajgorës and Artakoll were buried in this grave.

KOSOVA (Serb forces retreat - Lipjan)
Hundreds of Serb tanks parade through Lipjan - convoys headed to Prishtina

Lipjan, 30 September (ARTA) 1600CET --
Three convoys of Serb military vehicles passed through Lipjan on Friday.
The longest convoy of the Serb forces was comprised by 70 motorized military vehicles (most of them tanks), trucks loaded with soldiers, APCs with double barreled heavy machine guns, and other military vehicles.
Most of the vehicles were covered with mud, which makes one suspect that they were coming from operation zones in the territory of Kosova. It is supposed that this convoy withdrew from the positions, wherefrom Shtime and Ferizaj municipal villages were shelled during the last months.
Various vehicles of Serb military forces, including trucks with license plates from Serbian cities, paraded through the town in the aftermath.
It is believed that those trucks were loaded with wares looted from Albanian houses in the war stricken areas.
The convoy continued towards Prishtina.

KOSOVA (arrests – Gllogoc)
Serb police separates men from women, takes men to Police station in Prishtina

Gllogoc, 30 September (ARTA) 2000CET –
A police bus, loaded with young people from Drenica, with their hands tied behind their heads, escorted by an APC, went from Gllogoc in the direction of Prishtina, yesterday afternoon.
Witnesses claim that, after being "tested" at the police station in Gllogoc, these youngsters were taken at the police station in Prishtina, for further interrogation.
According to a boy from Dobroshec, the Serb police separated the men from women and their families in this village. The police then filled trucks with young men from Drenica, and sent them to an unknown direction. Witnesses claim they were beaten and maltreated.

KOSOVA (arrests – Istog)
Serb officials deport prisoners to prisons in Serbia proper

Istog, 30 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
Serb officials are deporting Albanian prisoners to prisons in Serbia proper. Two buses full of prisoners, departed on Wednesday from the Municipal Prison in Pejë, witnesses state. They claim that the prisoners had many bruises. One of the drivers said that their destination was Smrekovnicë. It is suspected that their final destination might be the notorious prisons of Leskovc, Nis, Mitrovicë, and Srem.
The Serb officials blocked dozens of Albanian owned buses, at the bus station in Pejw, Tuesday. The keys were given back after a while.

KOSOVA (arrests – Prizren)
23 members of one family arrested

Prizren, 30 September (ARTA) 1950CET --
23 members of Sokol Ahmeti's family and a guest of them and the 4 member family of Jakup Krasniqi, all form Maqitevë, were arrested on Wednesday, in the village of Maqitevë, CDHRF in Prizren confirmed.
According to the Albanian sources from the ground, it is confirmed that the Serb police and paramilitary forces have been currently provoking the residents of the "Jaglenicë" neighborhood, as they were cruising down the Prizren-Suharekë road.
During last night and today, convoys of motorized vehicles of the Serb police, cruised down the streets of the town proper, provoking the residents.
There are reports that over 20 tortured Albanians that were arrested in the villages of Suharekë were sent to the Hospital of Prizren in a critical health condition. Sources from Prizren inform that the town's hospital, is being supervised by the Serb police for several days now.
The Prizren-Suharekë-Prishtina road was open for traffic on Tuesday, during the late afternoon hours. Nevertheless, the passengers prefer to take the road through Brezovicë. Using the road through Brezovicë, passengers have to go through 6 police checkpoints.

KOSOVA (Rugova press conference)
President Rugova announces Thursday a mourning day in Kosova

Prishtina, 30 September (ARTA) 2100CET --
After the massacre conducted on the Deliu family, from Obri e Epërme and the killings of the current months in Kosova, by the Serb military and police force offensive, Ibrahim Rugova, President of the Republic of Kosova, announced Thursday, 1 October 1998, a mourning day in Kosova.

KOSOVA (destruction – Shtërpcë)
Over 50 houses burned in the village of Bitijë

Shtërpcë, 30 September (ARTA) 1800CET --
CDHRF sources from Shtërpcë report that Serb forces shelled the village of Bitijë e Ulët, municipality of Shtërpcë, yesterday at around 1800CET. According to the same source, besides the 15 Albanian residents that managed to escape, nothing is known of the Albanian population that remained besieged by the Serb forces.
Western journalists that managed to enter this village - the only Albanian village in this municipality - claim to have seen burning houses and people leaving them. An Albanian family, interviewed by Western journalists, said that the police had dared them to leave the village or else they would "kill them all". More than 50 Albanian owned houses are burned in the village of Bitijë add journalists.
In the meantime, sources from Shtime claim that thousands of people from the attacked villages of the municipalities of Shtime, Shtërpcë, Ferizaj, and Suharekë, remain without a shelter in the forest of Devetak, in Jezerc. Due to lack of food and medicine and from the bad weather, they are threatened by a humanitarian catastrophe.

KOSOVA ("FRY" Ambassador in Germany)
Jeremic: "If need be, and where there are still terrorist strongholds, the Serb State will continue working on their destruction".
Beqë Cufaj/Bonn

Bonn, 30 September (ARTA) 1830CET --
"The ones with the greatest responsibility for the conflict and the terror in Kosova are precisely Albanians and the so-called KLA", said the "Yugoslav" Ambassador in Germany, at a press conference in Bonn. All the responsibility falls upon the Albanian secessionist movement, which is urging that Albanian people to self-destruction and catastrophe said he. With emphasis on the "end of the Serb offensive", Jeremic stated that the Serb Government has once more offered dialogue to the Albanians and claimed that it is ready to take care of the refugees, in order for them to "return home as soon as possible".
For at least ten times, Jeremic, compared Kosova with Vojvodina, repeating that the Albanian "minority" in Kosova, does not want to use its rights, using on the other hand terrorism and terrorist actions.
Concerning the decision reached by the German Government to put in disposition 14 German "Tornado" aircrafts, in case of an attack against the Serb points, the "Yugoslav" Ambassador stated that he "did not officially get this information yet. If this is to be true, this tells nothing but the well-known fact that Germany as the main country within EU and NATO, is playing a negative role concerning the conflict in Kosova".
"I am a journalist from Kosova, respectively from Deçan. You and the colleagues present know that presently this territory virtually does not exist, due to the Serb terror and destruction. I cannot understand how you attempt to persuade the public opinion that the Serb offensive has ended, where we have right here so many newspapers and photographs of the massacred, that are none others but, children, women and elderly".
At the moment when the author of these lines attempted to show the Serb Ambassador the photographs of the Serb terrors in Obri e Epër, Jeremic became confused and tried to stop the question of the "KD" journalist, at any price.
"How do you explain the fact that two days ago, more than 200 tanks and other armored vehicles entered Kosova from Serbia through Podujevë? And how do you comment the fact that since the Serb official ending of the offensive, more than 68 Albanians, mainly civilians, were killed and massacred", was the "KD" question.
"You as an Albanian journalist, most probably belong to the separatist and secessionist units of Kosova", was Jeremic’s first comment, who at the moment was disrupted by the press conference supervisor, and was politely asked to be more careful and not offend the present journalist who were asking the questions... He acknowledged this and continued answering the question saying "If need be, and where there are still terrorist strongholds, the Serb State will continue working on their destruction".
In the meantime, the photographers and cameramen were recording the terrifying copy of today's issue of "KOHA Ditore" newspaper, which showed an 18 month old baby, massacred by Jeremic's and Milosevic's boys!

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
 

........
 
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.

*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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               Betreff:   SN3420:WPost on Dole, Kosovo
               Datum:   Fri, 25 Sep 1998 21:27:52 -0700 (PDT)
                   Von:   Daniel Tomasevich <danilo@primenet.com>

An excellent OpEd.
Danilo
=============

 
            The Washington Post
            September 25, 1998, Friday, Final Edition
 
SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A25
HEADLINE: Kosovo Option: Conditional Surrender
BYLINE: Alan J. Kuperman
BODY:

While Bob Dole is justifiably outraged and saddened by the plight of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo ["We Must Stop the Kosovo Terror," op-ed, Sept. 14], he neglects to examine the immediate causes of today's conflict and, as a result, offers a prescription that would make the situation only worse.
     The fact is that Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic eschewed ethnic cleansing in Kosovo for nearly a decade before Kosovar rebels began killing Serbian police early this year. To combat this perceived terrorism, he launched a disproportionate -- but initially circumscribed -- response that was regrettable but understandable. Indeed, the United States itself embraced such a policy in 1986, when it launched a sizable bombing raid on Libya in response to a terrorist attack that killed one American serviceman in Germany.
     Belgrade's initial crackdown, however, only enflamed Kosovar emotions, increasing rebel support at home and from expatriate donors. Such new resources -- combined with hope inspired by NATO threats of intervention -- emboldened the rebels to seize large swaths of territory. Milosevic, confronted by this rapidly growing rebel threat to his authority, then switched to the present scorched-earth, counterinsurgency policy.
     While Milosevic's tactics are appalling, the uncomfortable truth is that today's refugees are thus a direct consequence of the initial rebel attacks.
     Ironically, Dole decries efforts "to impose a moral equivalence between Serbian forces and the small band of Albanians who have taken up arms against them." I agree, but for opposite reasons. Serbian forces responded to an acute provocation from "terrorists" -- as U.S. officials labeled them at the time -- and have succeeded in defending fellow Serbs. By contrast, the Kosovo rebels started a war they could not win and thereby caused the displacement of tens of thousands of their brethren. While their frustration at Belgrade's rule is understandable, what could be more morally reprehensible than initiating actions that bring needless suffering on one's own people? Dole's prescription -- for the United States and NATO to pressure Milosevic to withdraw unilaterally from Kosovo as a prelude to negotiations -- is a recipe for disaster. First, it is a non-starter for Milosevic, who knows such a withdrawal would prompt Kosovo's secession. Even worse, Dole's proposed hard line toward Milosevic would only encourage the rebels to stick to their guns, rather than compromise, in the continued hope of foreign intervention. The longer they fight, the more Milosevic punishes the villages in which they hide, making Kosovar civilians the real losers.
     Others propose that NATO dispatch an occupation force to keep peace in Kosovo. While it might succeed, there are several reasons to avoid this option for now. First, it might only postpone the resumption of violence until Western forces tire and withdraw. In Bosnia, the jury is still out on this question. Second, we would be intervening in a civil war prior to the signing of any peace treaty, making it more like Somalia -- where U.S. troops became targets of combatants -- than Bosnia. Third, and perhaps most important, such intervention would reward the Kosovo rebels for their terrorist tactics, as their strategy all along has been to provoke a sufficiently large Serbian crackdown to draw in the West. By falling for it, we would encourage similar extremism by secessionists around the world.
     There is a better solution. The United States immediately should call on the Kosovo rebels to surrender -- on the condition that Milosevic will, in return, cease his military crackdown and continue negotiating autonomy. Dole rejects such talks as asking victims "to negotiate  with those who are attacking them." But it was the extremist rebels  who initiated the current tragedy, making it their responsibility  to resolve it. If the rebels refuse, they do not deserve Western intervention and should be left to suffer the consequences.  If Kosovo's public disagrees with the rebels, it could reduce its  own suffering by ceasing to provide them haven.
     I hope, however, the rebels would take up the offer. Then, if Milosevic rejected it or accepted it in bad faith by renewing his campaign of ethnic cleansing, he would reveal himself an unprovoked aggressor in Kosovo. At that point, NATO intervention would be justified.
     More likely, however, Milosevic would accept the deal, as it would return Kosovo essentially to the status quo ante. Dole rightly criticizes such an outcome as not "just, permanent or democratic."  On the other hand, this strategy could end the violence, avert an impending humanitarian disaster, and hold open the possibility of  real autonomy when and if progressive leaders arise in Belgrade.
     As Dole used to say on Capitol Hill, we should not make the perfect the enemy of the good.

The writer is a research fellow at the Brookings Institution.
_____________________________________________

++ END/KRAJ

*NEWS REPORT*
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SERBIAN POLICE FIND ANOTHER FIVE BODIES OF SEPARATISTS' VICTIMS

Tanjug, 1998-09-25
Serbian police have found another five bodies of civilians killed by ethnic Albanian extremists in the region of Glodjani, Djakovica municipal authorities told Tanjug on Friday. The bodies were found in a channel supplying the Radonjicko Jezero lake with water from the Decanska Bistrica River. The number of people killed at Glodjani has thus raised to 39. Search teams are still looking for other bodies in the channel and one can only speculate about the number of bodies at the bottom of the lake. The bodies will be identified in Djakovica.

-END-
--
Reposted by:
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Here is an article on Kosovo from 1982 by NYT. It clearly shows that the Kosovo problem was a burning issue in those days as it is now. Unforutnately many people now tend to  look only a few years in the past but the Kosovo problem is an old and very complicated conflict. It is also ujust that today the suffering Serbian people in Kosovo is usually associated or identified with the totalitarian regime of Mr. Milosevic and their suffering in the time of the Albanian autonomy in Kosovo is totally disregarded or minimized. I think that this article may help us all to understand that this issue cannot be approached in a simplistic way - Milosevic abolished the Albanian autonomy and then all problems begun. Even in the time of Albanian autonomy in Kosovo there were many extremist elements who sought secession and made enormous pressure on the Kosovo Serbs to leave the province. In short, I think that KLA insurrection is not so much a consequence of the Milosevic repressive policy as much as a continuation of the secessionist ideas from the past. Of course, no one can deny that Milosevic gave a perfect pretext for this insurrection to be presented in the media as a fight for freedom.  Therefore pressing only one side (the Serbian) in this case would definitely not resolve the problem and bring us to the lasting settlement. It could only lead to extermination of the Kosovo Serbs. The extremist and nationalistic groups on both sides should be equally pressed to renounce violence and force as a means of their political fight and they should begin meaningful negotiations. In order to achieve that we must all understand that there is a responsability on both sides for this tragedy and we all have to make compromises in order to achieve the lasting peace.

Fr. Sava

      Betreff:        [decani] Archives: NYT on Kosovo, 1982
      Datum:        Mon, 28 Sep 1998 18:02:43 -0400 (EDT)
          Von:        Stephanie Niketic <sutra@ultranet.com>

Dear All,

Old but interesting.

The New York Times, Monday, July 12, 1982
By MARVINE HOWE, Special to the New York Times

DATELINE: PRISTINA, Yugoslavia

Danilo Krstic and his family are hardworking wheat and tobacco farmers, Serbs who get along with their Albanian neighbors.
     "You have to love the place where you live to stay on the land here," Marko Krstic, the oldest son, told visitors to the farm at Bec, a few miles from the Albanian border. There have been no serious troubles between Serbians and Albanians in Bec, but Serbs in some of the neighboring villages have reportedly been harassed by Albanians and have packed up and left the region.
     The exodus of Serbs is admittedly one of the main problems that the authorities have to contend with in Kosovo, an autonomous province of Yugoslavia inhabited largely by Albanians.

                  Rioting Brought Awareness

Last year's riots, in which nine people were killed, shocked not only the troubled province of Kosovo but also the entire country into an awareness of the problems of this most backward part of Yugoslavia, which is made up of many ethnic groups.
     In June a 43-year-old Serb, Miodrag Saric, was shot and killed by an Albanian neighbor, Ded Krasnici, in a village near Djakovica, 40 miles southwest of Pristina, according to the official Yugoslav press agency Tanyug. It was the second murder of a Serb by an Albanian in Kosovo this year. The dispute reportedly started with a quarrel over damage done to a field belonging to the Saric family.
     The local political and security bodies condemned the murder as "a grave criminal act" that could have serious repercussions, according to the press agency. Five members of the Krasnici family have been arrested and investigations are continuing.
     The authorities have responded at various levels to the violence in Kosovo, clearly trying to avoid antagonizing the Albanian majority. Besides firm security measures, action has been taken to speed political, educational and economic changes.

                  Past Errors Acknowledged

Privately, some officials acknowledge that the rise of Albanian nationalism in a society that is based on the principle of the equality of nationalities is the result of past errors - at first neglect and discrimination, and more recently failure to act against divisive forces or even recognize them.
     "The [Albanian] nationalists have a two-point platform," according to Becir Hoti, an executive secretary of the Communist Party of Kosovo, "first to establish what they call an ethnically clean Albanian republic and then the merger with Albania to form a greater Albania. "
     Mr. Hoti, an Albanian, expressed concern over political pressures that were forcing Serbs to leave Kosovo. "What is important now," he said, "is to establish a climate of security and create confidence."
     The migration of Serbs is no ordinary problem becuase Kosovo is the heartland of Serbian history, culture and religion. Serbs have been in this region since the seventh century, long before they founded their own independent dynasty here in 1168.

           57,000 Serbs Have Left Region

Some 57,000 Serbs have left Kosovo in the last decade, and the number increased considerably after the riots of March and April last year, according to Vukasin Jokanovic, another executive secretary of the Kosovo party.
     Mr. Jokanovic, former president of the Commission on Migration set up after last year's disturbances, said the cause of Serbian migration was "essentially of a political nature."
     The commission has given four basic reasons for the departures: social-economic, normal migration from this underdeveloped area, an increasingly adverse social-political climate and direct and indirect pressures.
     Mr. Jokanovic, a Serb, called the pressures disturbing and said they included personal insults, damage to Serbian graves and the burning of hay, cutting down wood and other attacks on property to force Serbs to leave.
     The 1981 census showed Kosovo with a population of 1,584,558, of whom 77.5 percent were ethnic Albanians, 13.2 percent Serbs and 1.7 percent Montenegrins.
     The population in 1971 of 1,243,693 was 73.8 percent Albanian, 18.4 percent Serbian and 2.5 percent Montenegrin.

               Ex-Defense Minister Concerned

In a recent visit to Kosovo, Nikola Ljubcic, head of the Serbian Presidency and a former Minister of Defense, expressed particular concern about the continuing exodus of Serbs.
     "An ethnically clean Kosovo will always be cause for instability," Mr. Ljubicic said, adding that Yugoslavia "will never give up one foot of her land."
     Conversations with Serbs and Albanians in different parts of the province showed that that they were generally troubled about the Serbian migration but did not know what to do about it. Some people described it as "psychological warfare" but were at a loss to explain who was at fault.
     In Pristina, the provincial capital, with its skyscrapers and bustling streets, people said they felt relatively secure because the authorities maintained "a close watch." Although the army remains at a distance and has not had to intervene, there is a strong militia presence.
     Things appear relaxed on the Corso, Pristina's main street. As in other Yugoslav cities, every night from about 6 to 10 the main thoroughfare is closed to traffic and practically everyone turns out for a stroll, encounters and discussions.

                  Different Sides of Street

What is special about Pristina is that it has always been Serbs on one side of the street and Albanians on the other. Residents say Albanians have been encroaching on Serbian "territory" since the disturbances.
     After the crackdown on Albanian nationalists - about 300 have been sentenced - they are said to have changed tactics, moving to the villages, where there is less security control.
     In some mixed communities, there were reports of [Serbian] farmers being pressured to sell their land cheap and of Albanian shopkeepers refusing to sell goods to Serbs.
     "We don't want to go because we have a large farm," a Serbian farmer's wife said in a village near Pristina. "Our property hasn't been touched, but there are the insults and the intimidation, so we feel uncomfortable." Several neighbors have left, she said, and her own sons who were planning to build a new house have stopped "to see how things will turn out."
     There have been many changes since the riots, but most people in Pristina agree with Mr. Ljubicic that more could be done. The main thrust of the changes is economic. "We're going to change the economic structures with more emphasis on agriculture, the processing industry, small business and handicrafts," Aziz Abrashi, the Economics Minister, said in an interview.
     "Ninety-nine percent of the Albanians have no wish to live in Albania," Mr. Abrashi, an Albanian, said, "but they view the rest of Yugoslavia and are aware of the higher living standards. Our young people want the same good life, the nice houses and cars, and they can't get them if they can't get jobs."

STATEMENT ON THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN KOSOVA
AND ORGANIZED STATE VIOLENCE

 The orchestrated and organized state, paramilitary, police and military terror triggered a very grave situation in Kosova with a tendency of further deterioration. The right to life, which is the dearest of all rights has been blatantly violated. In such a dirty and imposed war, this violence was demonstrated through the mass killings and atrocities perpetrated on the civilian population, extrajudiciary executions, shelling and burning of the villages, lootings of wealth, kidnappings, hostage takings, arrests, rigid political trials, involuntarily displacements of the population, etc. These triggers resulted with the humanitarian crisis and the ethnic cleansing with the only aim of "taming" the Albanians and imposing an unfavorable solution,ie. a colonial status.
 Since 14 January when the situation escalated, at least 1472 fatalities were reported, among whom:
 -162 female,
 -143 children (85 male, 36 female, 22 children's gender is unknown)
 -297 over the age of 55 (243 male, 54 female)
 -373 are unidentified

 The others are of the age 18-55, who died due to shelling, were executed, their corpses were burned or were mutilated in different ways.
 The number of the wounded is very high, but the CDHRF does not issue any list of their names due to their security.
 At least 1300 citizens, among whom 45 Serbs, were reported missing, were taken hostage or kidnapped.
 At least 1700 Albanians were arrested or are under investigation proceedings.
 Some warehouses, plants, mines, schools and monasteries were transformed into "investigative prisons" and concentration camps, where the Albanians are subjected to inhuman torture and degrading torture.
 A number of human rights, humanitarian, educational and political activists were killed or died as an aftermath of police torture in the custody.
 450.000 Albanians were forced to flee their homes.
 At least 150.000 are in the open with no basic necessities.  The number of externally displaced Albanians from Kosova is as follows: 90.000 in Montenegro, 25-30.000 in Albania, 25.000 in Macedonia, 15.000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereas the number of those that fled to European countries is unknown.
 At least 45.000 houses, settlements and villages were partly destroyed or flatten to the ground.
 Prior to burning, Serbian paramilitary, police and military forces looted every house, flat or settlement.
 All looted valuables were taken to Serbia.
 A large sum of foreign currency and jewellery was looted from the Albanian citizens.
 Many cars, tractors, lorries and agricultural tools were looted.
 Cattle was also looted, slaughtered or killed.
 Crops and large areas of woods were burned.
 Serbian punitive expeditions have perpetrated mass extrajudiciary executions in Prekaz, Likoshan, Qirez, Poklek i Ri, Deçan, Lybeniq, Rahovec, Dobratin, the villages of Shala e Bajgorës and the villages of Qyqavica. They killed mainly elderly, women and children. CDHRF has claimed that mass graves exist and has appealed to the international organizations to investigate these cases and form teams of forensic experts. This forensic examination by the impartial side would prove the existence of mass graves and prevent the Serbian regime from manipulating with the corpses of the victims, who we assume are the missing Albanians. It has also addressed the International Tribunal for the Crimes in Former Yugoslavia in the Hague and closely cooperates with it in clarifying the atrocities and wanton killings perpetrated in Prekaz, Likoshan and Qirez. Unfortunately, we are aware that the above mentioned figures are far from being real. Therefore, we are ready to cooperate with any foreign non-governmental organizations in the terrains and confirm the on the current prevailing situation. We are sure that every data issued by the CDHRF cannot be denied and are true to our best knowledge and belief. We would be very happy if that would not be the case.

Prishtina, 29 September 1998      Pajazit Nushi, Ph.D.
                                                            chairman

International community must use every means to serve stability in the entire region

      TIRANE, Sept.29 (ata) - By Enkelejda Koraqi:
Albania cannot overcome the grave situation alone, especially in the conditions of the economic, social and political difficulties the country is in, said Albania's President Rexhep Meidani to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata in the meeting Mr Meidani had with her, President's press office told ATA today.
    "The crisis and killing of innocent people in Kosove are continuing while the senior Belgrade officials have, for more than two months, declared that violence must be halted," stressed Mr Meidani. He added that the political pressure on Belgrade has not stopped bloodshed and asked the international community to use every means to serve the stability of the whole region. Ms Ogata described "abnormal and not humanitarian" the situation in Kosove, adding that "Milosevic knows well what his police are doing in Kosove."
      Ogata supported stand of President Meidani for the greatest possible international presence in all the territory of Kosove and briefed him of her efforts for a more flexible stand by the Montenegrin authorities, of the question of the refugees from Kosove. /pas/xh/

Albanian Parliament to treat Kosova refugees, Gjinushi

      TIRANA, Sept 29 (ATA) - By P. Shuteriqi:
      The treatment for the Kosova refugees, who are forced to flee due to the Serbian war machine of Milosevic, has been and will be one of the main engagements of the Albanian Parliament, Speaker Skender Gjinushi stressed on Tuesday during the meeting with the UN refugees chief, Sadako Ogata.
      The Parliament has examined and approved a special program of the Government for the treatment of refugees and has voted a special parliamentary commission to closely observe the realization of the government program, said Gjinushi.
      Gjinushi also pointed out the importance of stopping the war machine of Milosevic to reach a fair and durable solution.
      The UN refugee chief confirmed the will of the international community to help the Kosova refugees. /pas/mt/

Some 300 Albanian civilians taken to Prizereni prison

      PRISHTINE, Sept 29, ATA - Some 300 Albanian civilians, arrested by Serbian police forces on Monday in the location called "Gradine", in the village Maticeve of Suhareke, were moved to Prizereni prison.
      Kosova Information Center, which referred to the sources of Democratic League of Kosova in Prizeren, told that the arrested Albanians, most of whom are minors, were transported, bound hand and foot, by a van. Meanwhile some of the arrested people, inhabitants from the villages of Suhareke Commune, were set free.
    Three days ago Serbian police forces had arrested 300 Albanians from different villages of Drenice, who are being blocked in the environments of the school "Fazlli Grojcevci", in Krajkove village of Gllokoci./P.Ta/lola/

Ogata says refugees' situation very difficult, dangerous

      TIRANA, Sept 29 (ATA) - By Ilir Pazo: United Nations refugee chief Sadako Ogata said on Tuesday in Tirana that "she is working hard to gain guarantee by Belgrade authorities for a quick and safe return of Kosova refugees to their houses."
      She said that "the situation of refugees is difficult and very dangerous with the approach of winter."
      Ogata said that when she visited refugees both in Albania and Montenegro they were terrorised and afraid of being maltreated when they returned to their houses.
      "President Milosevic said to me in a meeting that he would do whatever he could to return refugees to their houses and resolve the crisis," Ogata told journalists in a press conference in Tirana ending up her two-day visit to Albania.
      She said that it represented an engagement by Milosevic which should be carried out otherwise he would be blamed for the situation.
      The high commissioner for refugees, who had visited Belgrade, Kosova and Montenegro to see the situation of refugees there, said that part of them were turning back.
      "A considerable number of them are turning back to Rahovec," she said.
      However, Ogata was afraid of another offensive by the Serbian forces in Kosova, what could bring about a new wave of refugees.
      She said that she would address the international community to help refugees and that this aid had been delivered but refused to elaborate.
      Ogata would draw up a report on the situation of refugees from Kosova and present it to a meeting of the UNHCR executive committee scheduled for October 5 in Geneva.  /s.s/ak/

WIRE:Sept. 29, 1:38 p.m. ET
Women, children, old, massacred in Kosovo

GORNJE OBRINJE, Serbia, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Throats cut or shot through the head, the bodies of Kosovo villagers were on Tuesday still strewn in the wooded gully where Albanian neighbours said they were massacred by Serb troops on Saturday.
At least 10 of 16 corpses seen by this reporter in or near the gully near the central Kosovo village of Gornji Obrinje were those of children, women or old people. All 16 wore civilian clothes and most appeared to have been killed at close range with deliberation.
The discovery of the site, among the most damning evidence yet of the methods used in the conflict by Serbian forces, came as Western ambassadors met in Kosovo on Tuesday for talks intended to show Belgrade the threat of NATO air strikes is real.
Weeping relatives and neighbours, digging graves for the dead on Tuesday, said most of the victims -- nine of them members of the same extended family, the Delija clan -- had taken refuge in the gully after Serbian police and troops surrounded the small village of Gornje Obrinje.
Like thousands of ethnic Albanians in the southern Serbian province terrified by a Serbian military offensive, they had built a crude shack a few hundred metres (yards) from their home, as a refuge whenever troops were in the area.
Neighbours and members of the Delija family who escaped the attack said they believed Serb troops had caught an old man of the clan, Ali Delija, still at his home on Saturday morning and forced him to lead them to his kinsfolk's hiding place.
"I heard screaming and shooting," said Sadri Delija, a middle-aged man of the clan. "When the troops left we found them dead." He said the killers wore the uniforms of both police and Yugoslav army. Ethnic Albanian reports said they belonged to special forces.
Frozen in agonised positions suggesting struggle or flight, nine of the dead lay close to each other in a glade among forest flowers, warm autumn sunlight playing across their faces.
A dead baby of one to two years old, with facial wounds, had apparently tumbled from its mother's arms after she was shot through the head. A boy of less than 10 had his throat slit. A pregnant woman was shot through the head.
Further down the gully, an old couple still lay in their crude temporary shack. Neighbours said they believed they had not even had the time or strength to try to run.
The woman's mouth was open wide in an expression of terror or pain. Her foot had been neatly severed, as if by knife, and lay next to her. The man's brain appeared to have been removed after he was shot in the head, and deliberately placed a few feet away.
A few metres further on through the trees, grizzled Ali Delija lay with his throat cut. A knife which relatives said was from his own home had been placed on his chest.
Closer to the village itself, the charred bones of an adult lay in the smouldering ruins of a house. Several hundred metres away in pine trees, two middle aged men said by villagers to be brothers lay on deep tracks made by tank tracks. Both had been shot in the head.
Ethnic Albanian reporters said a baby had been found alive after the massacre, but the accounts could not be independently confirmed.
This reporter saw the corpse of another middle-aged man in the area, with gunshot wounds in his side. Another western reporter said he saw the bodies of three elderly people killed by gunfire at other spots in the village.
None of the clothing or personal effects of any of the dead showed any sign that they were involved in the bitter military conflict in Kosovo, in which Serbian forces have all but crushed the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas which briefly took control of many rural areas earlier this year.
Western visitors said they had seen armed ethnic Albanians in the Gornji Obrinje area on Tuesday, among the remnants of the KLA which Serbian forces say they have been mopping up in recent days with ferocious artillery assaults on mountain villages.
"None of our family had any connection with the KLA. They were Albanian, they were here and so they were killed," said another relative, Hamid Delija, a middle-aged man who spoke evenly as if in deep shock.
A Western military official visiting Kosovo told Reuters on Sunday the Serbian military tactics, of bombarding villages indiscriminately, could only be described as "collective punishment" for the separatist rebellion.
Bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard not far from the massacre site on Tuesday and smoke rose from a village less than three kilometres away.
Hamid and other villagers began lowering the bodies into unmarked graves in the corner of a neaby meadow.

^REUTERS@
Copyright 1998 Reuters News Service.

Women, Children, Old, Massacred in Kosovo
By Andrew Roche

GORNJE OBRINJE, Serbia (Reuters) - Throats cut or shot through the head, the bodies of Kosovo villagers were Tuesday still strewn in the wooded gully where they were massacred by Serb troops Saturday.
     At least 10 of 16 corpses seen by this reporter in or near the gully near the central Kosovo village of Gornji Obrinje were those of children, women or old people. All 16 wore civilian clothes and most appeared to have been killed at close range with deliberation.
     The discovery of the site, among the most damning evidence yet of the methods used in the conflict by Serbian forces, came as Western ambassadors met in Kosovo Tuesday for talks intended to show Belgrade the threat of NATO air strikes is real.
     Weeping relatives and neighbors, digging graves for the dead Tuesday, said most of the victims -- nine of them members of the same extended family, the Delija clan -- had taken refuge in the gully after Serbian police and troops surrounded the small village of Gornje Obrinje.
     Like thousands of ethnic Albanians in the southern Serbian province terrified by a Serbian military offensive, they had built a crude shack a few hundred meters (yards) from their home, as a refuge whenever troops were in the area.
     Neighbors and members of the Delija family who escaped the attack said they believed Serb troops had caught an old man of the clan, Ali Delija, still at his home Saturday morning and forced him to lead them to his kinsfolk's hiding place.
     "I heard screaming and shooting," said Sadri Delija, a middle-aged man of the clan. "When the troops left we found them dead."
     He said the killers wore the uniforms of both police and Yugoslav army. Ethnic Albanian reports said they belonged to special forces.
     Frozen in agonized positions suggesting struggle or flight, nine of the dead lay close to each other in a glade among forest flowers, warm autumn sunlight playing across their faces.
     A dead baby of one to two years old, with facial wounds, had apparently tumbled from its mother's arms after she was shot through the head. A boy of less than 10 had his throat slit. A pregnant woman was shot through the head.
     Further down the gully, an old couple still lay in their crude temporary shack. Neighbors said they believed they had not even had the time or strength to try to run.
     The woman's mouth was open wide in an expression of terror or pain. Her foot had been neatly severed, as if by knife, and lay next to her. The man's brain appeared to have been removed after he was shot in the head, and deliberately placed a few feet away.
     A few meters further on through the trees, grizzled Ali Delija lay with his throat cut. A knife which relatives said was from his own home had been placed on his chest.
     Closer to the village itself, the charred bones of an adult lay in the smoldering ruins of a house. Several hundred meters away in pine trees, two middle aged men said by villagers to be brothers lay on deep tracks made by tank tracks. Both had been shot in the head.
     Ethnic Albanian reporters said a baby had been found alive after the massacre, but the accounts could not be independently confirmed.
     This reporter saw the corpse of another middle-aged man in the area, with gunshot wounds in his side. Another western reporter said he saw the bodies of three elderly people killed by gunfire at other spots in the village.
     None of the clothing or personal effects of any of the dead showed any sign that they were involved in the bitter military conflict in Kosovo, in which Serbian forces have all but crushed the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas which briefly took control of many rural areas earlier this year.
     Western visitors said they had seen armed ethnic Albanians in the Gornji Obrinje area Tuesday, among the remnants of the KLA which Serbian forces say they have been mopping up in recent days with ferocious artillery assaults on mountain villages.
     "None of our family had any connection with the KLA. They were Albanian, they were here and so they were killed," said another relative, Hamid Delija, a middle-aged man who spoke evenly as if in deep shock.
     A Western military official visiting Kosovo told Reuters Sunday the Serbian military tactics, of bombarding villages indiscriminately, could only be described as "collective punishment" for the separatist rebellion.
     Bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard not far from the massacre site Tuesday and smoke rose from a village less than three kilometers away.
     Hamid and other villagers began lowering the bodies into unmarked graves in the corner of a nearby meadow.

Albanians Say Serbs Attack Anew
By Adam Brown
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, September 29, 1998; 10:29 a.m. EDT

OBRINJE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- A day after the Serbian premier promised to withdraw special police units from Kosovo as demanded by NATO, Serb forces launched new attacks today south of the provincial capital, ethnic Albanian sources said.
     Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic said Monday that government forces had crushed the secessionist Kosovo Liberation Army and that special police units would be returned to their barracks. It was unclear if any police had done so today.
     The Kosovo Liberation Army is fighting for Kosovo's independence. Kosovo is located in southern Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic. Most ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million inhabitants, favor independence.
     Marjanovic warned that troops could be sent back to the field if rebels resumed attacks on Serb police.
     NATO recently stepped up plans for airstrikes against Serb forces after repeated warnings that it would attack unless violence ends in the province.
     The Albanian-run Kosovo Information Center reported heavy Serb attacks today around the towns of Stimlje and Urosevac, about 18 miles south of Pristina, Kosovo's capital.
     The Information Center said smoke billowed from several villages and that 700 civilians were trapped in at least one village near Stimlje.
     There was no statement from Serb sources. The Information Center reports could not be independently confirmed.
     The attacks were reported as diplomats from the United States and other countries visited some of the estimated 275,000 refugees driven from their homes in the seven-month Serbian crackdown. At this Kosovo village, the diplomats saw evidence of the carnage: the bodies of 15 ethnic Albanians, all shot in the back of the head at a makeshift camp in the woods where they had sought shelter.
     The bodies of the six women, four children and five men lay unburied on the ground today, two days after Albanians said they were massacred by the Serbs.
     In addition to the gunshots, two of the bodies had been decapitated. One woman was missing her foot. An elderly man's throat had been cut.
     Residents of a nearby village said masked Serb police forced one villager to show them where the refugees were hiding, then shot the villager and the others.
     Both sides have blamed the other for massacres. Serbs have said that at least 39 Serbs were tortured, mutilated and killed earlier this month near Glodjane in western Kosovo after they were "kidnapped by the terrorists."

 © Copyright 1998 The Associated Press

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