Tagesnachrichten 2. Oktober 1998
     von dpa, from ALBANEWS and others
     News of the day - October 2, 1998
     Kosova Information Center : Daily Report No 1570

         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 02.10.1998 20:30  http://seite1.web.de/show/36151BC9.NL1/

Belgien rät vor Reisen nach Jugoslawien ab
Brüssel (dpa) - Angesichts einer möglichen Militärintervention der NATO im Kosovo-Konflikt hat auch Belgien seine Staatsbürger von Reisen in die Bundesrepublik Jugoslawien abgeraten.
     Belgier, die sich bereits in Serbien oder Montenegro aufhielten, sollten Kontakt mit der belgischen Botschaft in Belgrad aufnehmen, hieß es in einer am Freitag abend vom Außenministerium in Brüssel verbreiteten Erklärung. Zuvor hatten schon die USA und Großbritannien Bürger vor Reisen nach Jugoslawien gewarnt.
© dpa

Weltsicherheitsrat rügt Belgrads Widerstand gegen Tribunal
New York (dpa) - Der Weltsicherheitsrat hat den Widerstand der jugoslawischen Behörden gegen ein Auslieferungsgesuch des internationalen Kriegsverbrechertribunals in Den Haag für drei Serben am Freitag deutlich mißbilligt.
     Die drei Serben waren bereits am 7. November 1995 im Zusammenhang mit dem Mord an 260 unbewaffneten Männern nach der Eroberung der bosnischen Stadt im November 1991 angeklagt worden.
     Belgrad sei nach internationalem Recht und den zutreffenden UNO-Resolutionen zu der Auslieferung von drei Angeklagten an das Tribunal verpflichtet, bekräftigte der amtierende Ratspräsident Jeremy Greenstock (Großbritannien) in New York.
     Das höchste UNO-Gremium sprach der Präsidentin des Tribunals, der Richterin Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, sein volles Vertrauen und seine Unterstützung aus. Sie schlossen sich außerdem ihrer Meinung an, daß die Verpflichtung Belgrads, mit dem Kriegsverbrechertribunal zu kooperieren, «nicht in Frage gestellt werden kann».
© dpa

Briten entsenden weitere Kampfflugzeuge
London (dpa) - Großbritannien will am Montag weitere vier Kampfflugzeuge vom Typ Harrier GR7 auf einen NATO-Stützpunkt in Italien verlegen.
     Nach Angaben von Verteidigungsminister George Robertson wird damit die Zahl der in Gioia del Colle stationierten Kampfjäger der britischen Luftwaffe verdoppelt.
     Die Harrier-Flugzeuge werden von Deutschland entsandt. «Dieser Schritt zeigt, daß wir es ernst meinen, wenn die Gewalt nicht aufhört», hieß es in einer Erklärung Robertsons.
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Clinton fordert «starke» Haltung in Kosovo
Washington (dpa) - US-Präsident Bill Clinton hat sich für eine «sehr starke Haltung» in Kosovo eingesetzt. «Wir müssen sehr, sehr stark sein», forderte er am Freitag in Washington.
     «Wir müssen die Gewalt beenden und eine Verhandlungslösung erreichen.« Er hoffe, daß der jugoslawische Präsident Slobodan Milosevic «die Botschaft» der Nato und der Vereinten Nationen verstehe. »Und ich bin recht hoffnungsvoll, daß wir eine positive Lösung finden.«
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Primakow: Keine Gewaltlösung im Kosovo
Moskau (dpa) - Der russische Regierungschef Jewgeni Primakow hat die Ablehnung eines Militäreinsatz in der südjugoslawischen Provinz Kosovo bekräftigt.
     Es gebe keine Gewaltlösung für das Problem, sagte Primakow in einem Telefongespräch mit dem italienischen Ministerpräsidenten Romano Prodi am Freitag, wie die russischen Nachrichtenagenturen meldeten.
     Jegliche zusätzlichen Maßnahmen bedürften einer neuen Entscheidung des UNO-Sicherheitsrats, sagte Primakow. Prodi betonte, daß Belgrad auf die wachsende Besorgnis der Weltgemeinschaft über die Zuspitzung des Konflikts reagieren müsse.
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Briten sollen Serbien und Montenegro verlassen
London (dpa) - Das britische Außenministerium hat am Freitag von Reisen in die Bundesrepublik Jugoslawien (Serbien und Montenegro) abgeraten und zugleich britische Staatsbürger zum Verlassen der Region aufgefodert.
     Briten, die sich in dem Gebiet aufhalten, sollten sich auf eine «kurzfristige» Abreise einstellen und sich bei Botschaft und Konsulaten melden, hieß es.
© dpa

Neue albanische Regierung will öffentliche Ordnung wiederherstellen
Tirana (dpa) - Die neue Regierung in Albanien sieht als ihre wichtigste Aufgabe die Wiederherstellung der öffentlichen Ordnung an. Das sagte der designierte neue Ministerpräsident Pandeli Majko am Freitag in Tirana nach der Bestätigung der Kabinettsliste durch den Staatspräsidenten Rexhep Meidani.
     Damit ist die vor einer Woche durch den Rücktritt des sozialistischen Regierungschefs Fatos Nano ausgelöste Regierungskrise beigelegt.
     Der ebenfalls aus der Sozialistischen Partei stammende Majko hat seine Ministerliste aus den fünf Parteien zusammengesetzt, die auch schon bisher die Regierung gestellt hatten.
     «Wir werden den Menschen den Frieden und die Sicherheit zurückgeben sowie die politischen Spannungen verringern», kündigte Majko vor Journalisten in Tirana an. Vor drei Wochen hatte die Opposition vergeblich einen bewaffneten Umsturzversuch unternommen.
     Der Beginn eines Dialoges mit den Oppositionsparteien soll ein weiterer Schwerpunkt der neuen Regierung sein, berichtete der neue Kabinettchef. Daneben soll die Verfassung ausgearbeitet und angenommen werden. Auch an einer Lösung in der benachbarten südjugoslawischen Unruheprovinz Kosovo wolle er mitwirken.
     Die Sozialisten, die über eine absolute Mehrheit im Parlament verfügen, stellen in der neuen Regierung elf Minister. Acht weitere Ministersessel werden von der Sozialdemokratischen Partei, der Demokratischen Allianz, der Agrarpartei und der Menschenrechtspartei als Vertreterin der griechischen Minderheit im Land besetzt.
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Rußland stellt bei NATO-Militäraktion Beziehungen zum Westen in Frage
Moskau/Brüssel (dpa) - Die Zuspitzung des Kosovo-Konflikts trifft Rußland in einer äußerst schwierigen Lage. Die dramatische Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise bedroht nach Meinung von Politikern möglicherweise die Existenz des Staates.
     Von einem «kranken Giganten» sprechen selbst russische Beobachter. Angesichts der innenpolitischen Schwäche - auch am Freitag waren die Spekulationen über ein Verbot von Devisen in Rußland praktisch einziges Nachrichtenthema - dürfte Moskau außenpolitisch auf jeden Fall Stärke demonstrieren wollen.
     Garant dafür dürfte nicht zuletzt der neue Regierungschef Jewgeni Primakow sein, der die geplante NATO-Erweiterung stets mit aller Schärfe bekämpft hat. Primakow, der in seiner Zeit als Außenminister in der russischen Presse schon mal als «Echo des Kalten Krieges» bezeichnet wurde, steht für eine entschiedene Verteidigung russischer Interessen.
     Seit Tagen bereits machen russische Politiker nun klar, daß eine NATO-Militäraktion ohne Mandat des Weltsicherheitsrats die Beziehungen Rußlands zum Westen grundsätzlich in Frage stellt.
     Die Möglichkeit von Luftangriffen der NATO im Kosovo-Konflikt sei «so real wie nie», schrieb am Freitag die Tageszeitung «Sewodnja». Zwar habe die Empörung über das Massaker von Gornje Obrinje den Westen an die Schwelle einer Militäraktion geführt.
     Aber diese Tragödie sei nicht der eigentliche Grund für mögliche Bombenangriffe der NATO, meinte das Blatt. Viel werde jetzt davon abhängen, ob es Rußland im UNO-Sicherheitsrat gelinge, die aufgeheizten Emotionen in gemäßigtere Bahnen zu lenken.
     Der Widerstand gegen NATO-Militäraktionen in Jugoslawien hat sich am Freitag über alle Parteien hinweg in Moskau formiert. Luftangriffe der NATO würden «eine neue geostrategische Situation in Europa und der Welt schaffen», sagte ein Sprecher des Verteidigungsministeriums.
     «Unter solchen Bedingungen kann von einer Ratifizierung des Start- II-Abrüstungsvertrags durch das russische Parlament keine Rede sein», fügte er hinzu. Die NATO-Rußland-Grundakte über eine enge Zusammenarbeit würde praktisch hinfällig, warnte der Militär.
     Die Drohungen aus Moskau stießen bei der NATO eher auf Gelassenheit. Deutliche und laute Töne gelten in Brüssel im Umgang mit der russischen Führung als nicht ungewöhnlich.
     Diplomaten erinnern an die komplizierten Verhandlungen über die NATO-Rußland-Akte vor dem Erweiterungsgipfel in Madrid. Auch damals habe der Kreml zeitweise mit verbalen Ausbrüchen operiert, um dann letztlich auf das Angebot einer gleichberechtigten Partnerschaft einzugehen.
     Ungeachtet des bisherigen Zögerns des Bündnisses in der Hoffnung auf ein gemeinsames Votum im UNO-Sicherheitsrat, dürfte Moskau bewußt sein, daß die NATO ihre Glaubwürdigkeit aufs Spiel setzt, so sie ihre Drohungen gegen Jugoslawiens Präsident Slobodan Milosevic nicht irgendwann Wirklichkeit werden läßt.
     Um Milosevic jedoch in die Knie zu zwingen, mache nur eine «großangelegte Offensive» Sinn, meinte der russische Militärexperte Pawel Felgenhauer in der Tageszeitung «Moscow Times». Eine solche Attacke aber würde in Rußland als Beweis für grundsätzlich aggressive Absichten der NATO gewertet.
     «Kommunisten und Nationalisten werden rufen, daß Mütterchen Rußland als nächstes an der Reihe ist.» Gerade auch angesichts der zusammengebrochenen Marktreformen westlichen Typs könnten sie auf offene Ohren treffen, schrieb Felgenhauer.
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Militärische Drohungen werden nach Massakern im Kosovo lauter
New York/Brüssel/Belgrad/Moskau (dpa) - Als Reaktion auf die Massaker im Kosovo verschärfen die westlichen Regierungen ihre militärischen Drohungen gegen die Regierung in Belgrad. Die NATO- Verteidigungsminister werden vermutlich in der kommenden Woche in Brüssel erneut über den Kosovo-Konflikt beraten.
     So werde der amerikanische Verteidigungsminister William Cohen zu einer Sitzung der NATO-Botschafter am Mittwoch im Hauptquartier der Allianz erwartet, hieß es am Freitag in Brüssel. Ein Beamter des US- Verteidigungsministeriums in Washington wollte dies weder bestätigen noch dementieren.
     Für mögliche Luftangriffe der NATO fehlt nach US-Angaben inzwischen nur der Einsatzbefehl. Wie am Freitag in Brüssel verlautete, wird die NATO vor einer entsprechenden Entscheidung aber den Bericht von UNO-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan zur Erfüllung der jüngsten Kosovo-Resolution durch Jugoslawien abwarten.
     Der UNO-Sicherheitsrat hat am Donnerstag (Ortszeit) die jüngsten Massaker an Zivilisten im Kosovo «scharf verurteilt». Das russische Verteidigungsministerium drohte für den Fall eines NATO-Einsatzes ohne Zustimmung des Sicherheitsrates mit dem Abbruch der Beziehungen zur Allianz.
     Eine Entscheidung über die Billigung eines Militärschlages gegen serbische Ziele wurde in der Dringlichkeitssitzung des UNO- Sicherheitsrates hinter verschlossenen Türen nicht getroffen. Das höchste UNO-Gremium rief den jugoslawischen Präsidenten Slobodan Milosevic und die Regierung in Belgrad auf, die Vorfälle sofort zu untersuchen und die Verantwortlichen zu bestrafen.
     In einer Erklärung für die Presse wurde vor der täglich größer werdenden Gefahr einer humanitären Katastrophe gewarnt. Annan wurde aufgefordert, seinen vom Sicherheitsrat angeforderten Bericht über die Lage und über die Einhaltung der Auflagen des Sicherheitsrats an Milosevic schon an diesem Montag vorzulegen.
     Der einzige Überlebende eines Massakers mit 13 Toten hat unterdessen serbische Polizisten als Täter genannt. In einem am Freitag veröffentlichten Interview der «New York Times» schilderte der 43jährige Albaner, er sei mit den anderen Männern in der Ortschaft Golubovac bei Gornje Obrinje in den Garten getrieben worden und habe sich hinlegen müssen.
     Dann hätten die Polizisten ihre Opfer getreten, geschlagen und gerufen: «Wer unter euch ist von der Kosovo- Befreiungsarmee? Wenn Ihr es uns sagt, werden wir die anderen freilassen», und schließlich das Feuer eröffnet. Er habe schwerverletzt überlebt, weil er sich tot gestellt habe.
     Die NATO hatte ihre seine Mitgliedsstaaten in Brüssel aufgefordert, dem NATO-Oberkommandierenden in Europa, General Wesley Clark, eine Liste einsatzbereiter Einheiten und Waffen für eine Militäraktion zu übermitteln, wie US-Regierungssprecher in Washington berichteten.
     «Der nächste - und letzte - Schritt wäre die Ausgabe des sogenannten Aktivierungsbefehls», erläuterte der Sprecher des US- Außenministeriums, James Rubin. «Das geschieht, wenn der Nordatlantikrat eine politische Entscheidung über einen militärischen Einsatz trifft.»
     Rußland würde bei einem Militärschlag ohne UNO-Mandat nicht mehr am Partnerschaftsprogramm mit der NATO teilnehmen, sagte ein ranghoher Vertreter des Verteidigungsministeriums der Nachrichtenagentur Interfax.
     Außerdem müßte über die Zweckmäßigkeit der Entsendung eines ständigen russischen Vertreters zur NATO in Brüssel nachgedacht werden. Zudem könnte auch von einer Ratifizierung des Start-II- Vertrages über die Abrüstung strategischer Atomwaffen durch die Duma dann nicht mehr die Rede sein.
     Durch einen nicht gebilligten NATO-Schlag gegen serbische Ziele im Kosovo würde auch das Embargo-Regime gegen Jugoslawien zerstört, sagte der Sprecher. «Unter diesen Bedingungen wird Rußland frei von seinen Verpflichtungen sein.»
     Großbritanniens Premierminister Tony Blair hat die serbischen Greueltaten gegen Kosovo-Albaner als «humanitäre Katastrophe» verurteilt. «Ich glaube, es ist nur zu stoppen, wenn Milosevic deutlich und unmißverständlich gesagt wird, wenn er so weitermacht, riskiert er eine militärische Bestrafung», erläuterte Blair im Gespräch mit dem Sender Channel 4.
     Albanerführer Ibrahim Rugova hat am Freitag eine sofortige Militäraktion des Westens «zum Schutz des albanischen Volks» im Kosovo gefordert.
     Das offizielle Belgrad lud UNO-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan zu einem Informationsbesuch über die Lage in der Unruheprovinz Kosovo ein. Die Staatsagentur Tanjug schrieb: «Der Generalsekretär könnte sich bei diesem Besuch direkt über die tatsächliche Lage im Kosovo informieren.»
     Die Vorbereitungen für einen Militärschlag, wie etwa die zusammenstellung einer Luftstreitmacht, sind weitgehend abgeschlossen. Welche Minister außer Cohen noch an der Sitzung des NATO-Rates teilnehmen werden, war zunächst ungewiß.
     Die NATO hatte angedroht, serbische Stellungen aus der Luft zu beschießen, wenn Belgrad im Kosovo-Konflikt nicht einlenkt.
© dpa

NATO will erneut auf Ministerebene über Kosovo beraten
Brüssel/Washington (dpa) - NATO-Verteidigungsminister werden vermutlich in der kommenden Woche in Brüssel erneut über den Kosovo- Konflikt beraten.
     So werde der amerikanische Verteidigungsminister William Cohen zu einer Sitzung der NATO-Botschafter am Mittwoch im Hauptquartier der Allianz erwartet, hieß es am Freitag in Brüssel und Bonn. Ein Beamter des US-Verteidigungsministeriums in Washington wollte dies weder bestätigen noch dementieren.
     Die Minister hatten sich erst in der vergangenen Woche in Vilamoura (Portugal) getroffen. Für einen Luftschlag im Kosovo- Konflikt bedarf es nur noch einer politischen Entscheidung des Bündnisses.
     Die Vorbereitungen, wie etwa die zusammenstellung einer Luftstreitmacht, sind weitgehend abgeschlossen. Welche Minister außer Cohen noch an der Sitzung des NATO-Rates teilnehmen werden, war zunächst ungewiß.
     Die NATO hatte angedroht, serbische Stellungen aus der Luft zu beschießen, wenn Belgrad im Kosovo-Konflikt nicht einlenkt.
© dpa

England sagte Fußball-Länderspiel gegen Jugoslawien ab
London (dpa) - Der englische Fußballverband hat am Freitag das Länderspiel gegen Jugoslawien vom 18. November im Wembley-Stadion aus politischen Gründen abgesagt.
     Weil die UNO militärische Aktionen wegen der Unruhen in der Provinz Kosovo angedeutet hat, sei ein Länderspiel gegen Jugoslawien «im höchsten Masse fehl am Platz», erklärte ein Sprecher der Football Association (FA).
     «Die Situation in Kosovo hat sich verschlechtert, und um sämtliche Unsicherheiten zu vermeiden, war ein sofortige Entscheidung notwendig», erklärte FA-Pressesechef David Davies.
 

Weitere Meldungen  ==>  Teil 2

    Bayern wollte Kosovo-Albaner per Flugzeug via Schweiz abschieben

Bern (dpa) - Nach Inkrafttreten des Landeverbots für die jugoslawische Fluggesellschaft JAT in Deutschland versuchen die Behörden des Bundeslandes Bayern nun, abgewiesene Asylbewerber aus dem Kosovo via Schweiz abzuschieben. Das erklärten Vertreter der Schweizer Flüchtlings-Bewegung am Freitag in Bern.
     Ein erster Abschiebungs-Versuch scheiterte nach den Angaben der Flüchtlingshilfe am 21. September - allerdings nicht an den Schweizer Behörden. Ein jugoslawischer Staatsangehöriger sei von Frankfurt über Zürich mit der JAT nach Belgrad geflogen worden, wo ihn die jugoslawischen Behörden aber zurückwiesen.
     Die Schweiz hatte sich dem vor vier Wochen von der EU beschlossenen Landeverbot für die JAT nicht angeschlossen. Sie fliegt immer noch einmal täglich ab Zürich.
     Zur Begründung hieß es, selbst die EU-Länder wollten sich nicht alle an das Verbot halten. Belgrad akzeptiert keine abgeschobenen Asylbewerber, die auf dem Landweg nach Jugoslawien gebracht werden.
     Das bayerische Innenministerium soll sich in der Schweiz nach Angaben der Flüchtlings-Bewegung eingehend über Möglichkeiten informiert haben, in Zukunft Kosovo-Albaner mit Maschinen der Fluggesellschaft JAT von Zürich nach Belgrad zu bringen.
     Der bayerische Versuch, das JAT-Embargo zu umgehen, zeige, daß der Schweizer Alleingang hochproblematisch sei, erklärte der Zentralsekretär der Schweizerischen Flüchtlingshilfe, Markus Loosli.
     Die Nationalrätin Vreni Müller-Hemmi aus Zürich richtete in der Sache eine Dringliche Einfache Anfrage an den Schweizer Bundesrat. Darin fordert sie die Landesregierung unter anderem zu einer Erklärung darüber auf, warum die Schweiz ein einzelnes deutsches Bundesland dabei unterstütze, einen Entscheid der gesamtdeutschen Regierung zu unterwandern.
     Das Außenministerium nannte dagegen die Schweizer Haltung zum Milosevic-Regime «sehr kritisch». Ministeriums-Sprecher Livio Zanolari verwies auf die Schweizer Sanktionen gegen Belgrad, die von der Regierung am Montag weiter verschärft worden waren. Er ließ erkennen, daß man in Bern erneut über eine Teilnahme an dem EU-JAT- Embargo nachdenken wolle.
© dpa

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

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3. Reports about deportation and persons repatriated to Kosova

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

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

Postkarten schreiben ! -  Write postcards !

Postkarten schreiben ! -  Write postcards !

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1570
Prishtina, 2 October 1998

Summary from President Rugova's Press Conference

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova said today the situation in Kosova has continued to be very grave and dangerous. He condemned in the strongest possible terms the massive massacres at the Obri e Eperme village in Drenica, and at the Vraniq village of Suhareka, committed by Serb police and military forces. This is a proof that ethnic cleansing of Kosova is the Belgrade's goal, Dr. Rugova said.
President Rugova said that as a result of the continued Serb offensive over the past several days, dozens of people have been killed and wounded, mainly children, women and elderly. Several Albanians have been massacred at the Vraniq village of Suhareka as they had been returning to their homes, President Rugova stressed, adding that thousands of displaced Albanians ares still in the mountains. He emphasized that according to a Human Rights Council account, over 1400 Albanians have been killed, hundreds of other are reported missing, and around 2000 have been arrested in Kosova since March this year.
President Rugova denounced the increased Serb violence and repression against political and humanitarian activists throughout Kosova.
Dr. Rugova pressed for an immediate cessation of the Serb offensive. He pointed out that Serb forces, instead of withdrawing, have only changed tactical positions
The Kosova President urged international community, first and foremost USA, UE, UN, and NATO to take Kosova and its people under protection.
An independent Kosova, with all guarantees for local Serbs, and an international protectorate as an interim stage, is the best solution, President Rugova emphasized.
He welcomed the condemnation by the UN Security Council of Serb massacres in Kosova. International intervention to protect a people is a humane intervention, aid of human being to a human being, it is a sublime act and victory of mankind, Dr. Rugova said, and urged the UN Security Council to further its commitment to Kosova.
Asked for his reaction to the UN Security Council Statement, President Rugova said that he calls for a more substantial international intervention in Kosova.
'If finally there is a military intervention - What do expect to achieve?' a reporter asked. President Rugova said 'it is critical at this point to stop the Serbian military machinery and to save the Kosova people. It is a question of humanism. Otherwise, we will see more massacres, and a massive ethnic cleansing of Kosova.'

Several Albanians Wounded in Jezerc as Village Comes Under Serb Fire Friday

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) - At least half a dozen local Albanians were reported wounded at Jezerc village of Ferizaj ('Urosevac') during a Serb forces' attack today (Friday) morning. The village came under heavy artillery fire for a couple of hours this morning, the LDK chapter in Ferizaj  said.
The village of Jezerc was under repeated Serb fire since last Sunday when the Serbs kicked of a large-scale offensive against the communities in the Shtime-Freizaj-Suhareka triangle, south-west of Prishtina. Jezerc was pounded with artillery fire on Thursday morning and overnight too, local sources reported.
The LDK information Commission in Ferizaj said several Albanians were wounded in Jezerc today. At least two of them are in a life- threatening condition and unable to be evacuated as the area has been tightly sealed off by the Serb troops. Around 1500 Albanians have found themselves kept inside a virtual siege for days, sources said.

Serbs Pound Two Villages of Malisheva on Friday
Identity of 9 more victims established in Malisheva municipality

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) - The villages of Maxharë and Dragobil in the municipality of Malisheva were pounded with machine-gun fire today from two Serb positions, local sources reported The LDK Information Commission of Malisheva said Serb forces entered into the village of Dragobil today. The Serbs looted food ad other supplies from the local population.
Sources reported of clashes between the Serb forces and member of the Liberation Army of Kosova (UÇK) later in the day today near Dragobil. Serb forces enforcement was sent to the area from the Kijeva base later.
Meanwhile, the Malisheva LDK Information Commission confirmed the identity of nine more Albanians killed during the latest Serb attacks in the villages of Gollubovc, Ploçicë and Llazicë:
Fazli Hoxhaj (41), Selman Gashi (31), Rrustem Maloku (42), Rasim Maloku (38), Muhamet Maloku (35), Halim Maloku (37), Ahmet Malokun (25) Aziz Maloku (48) e Ilaz Maliq Javori.

Over 50 Serb Artillery Shells Land in Krelan Village of Gjakova

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) - At least 50 Serb artillery missiles landed in the village of Kralan of Gjakova on Thursday, local sources reported today.
The LDK chapter in Gjakova said yesterday the village of Kralan came under heavy Serb artillery fire in the morning hours. The LDK could not confirm if there were human casualties in the village during the yesterday's shelling.
The Krelan village was badly destroyed during an attack last month.
Part of the population which returned to the village has been sheltered in house basements that survived the shelling or in some make-shift huts.

Villagers Find Bodies of Three Albanians After Serbs Leave Area

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) - Local sources in Suhareka said today they have learned the identity of three other Albanians killed during Serb offensives in the area since last weekend.
Several Suhareka villages and in the neighboring municipalities of Shtime and Ferizaj, south-west of Prishtina, were targeted by a huge offensive of the Serb forces since Monday morning.
The LDK chapter in Suhareka named the three victims as: Qazim Kololli (60), resident of Budakovë, and Arif Ndrecaj (80) and his wife Xhyzide Ndrecaj (78) residents of Matiçeva. The bodies of the couple were carbonated. They have not been removed yet from the site they were found.
The bodies of thee three victims were found after the Serb troops left the two villages, the LDK chapter said.

Identity of Three Other Killed Albanians Confirmed in Vushtrri

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) -  The LDK chapter in Vushtrri reported today of three more Albanians killed in a Serb offensive against Albanian communities in the area during the last decade of September.
The LDK chapter said Nazif Aliu, resident of Strofc, died yesterday from the wounds he had sustained during the shelling of his village by the Serbs, whereas the dead body of Ajvaz Hasani (34), was found in his village of Zhilivodë.
Another corpse was found in Zhilivodë but it cold not be identified still as it was badly carbonated. A local resident of the village Skënder Aliu (42) has been missing for long time, sources sauid.
At least 56 Albanians have been killed in the villages of Vushtrri since the conflict break-out in Kosova, according to accounts of the local groups. The LDK Information Commission in Vushtrri said today 25 villages have been shelled in the area since spring, 15 were badly burned, while the local population was forces to flee from 38 villages amidst continued attacks by Serb police, army and paramilitary forces.

Body of Albanian Found in Sibovc, North of Prishtina
An Albanian woman from Sibovc, wounded during Serb attack on her village dies in Prishtina

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) - Ajete Kelmendi, wounded earlier this year during a Serb attacks on his Sibovc village in Obiliq, was buried Thursday in the Prishtina cemetery. Family members of the late Ajete Kelmendi told the KIC she was wounded on 23 July, during a Serb onslaught in the village. Several other local residents of Sibovc were wounded that day.
Sources in Vushtrri said that the body of Fejzullah Krasniqi (55) was found today in his village of Sibovc. His body was mutilated, witnesses said.
Local residents said they called today international agencies based in Kosova to visit the village and witness ho badly the body of Fejzullah Krasniqi was mutilated.

Dead Albanian, Abducted Earlier by Serbs, Found Near His Village

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) -  The mutilated body of a 40-year-old Albanian, Daut Abdullah Rexhepi, was found today near his village of Viçë in Shtërpca, the southernmost Kosovar municipality.
The LDK chapter in Ferizaj said the late Daut Rexhepi was abducted by Serb troops while taking his kids to school on Monday.
The body of another Albanian Sami Bakiu (27), was fund on Thursday at the Bitia e Ulët village in the same municipality. Sources said the late Bakiu could not leave his village before a Serb forces attack on Tuesday.
The Bitia village and other communities in Shterpca were attacked on  several occasions by the Serb troops during this past week. On Wednesday after having pounded Bitia with artillery fire the Serb troops entered the village and set ablaze at least 8 farmhouses of local Albanians.
A foreign reporter who spoke on condition of anonymity told the KIC 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.

ANNEX: Names of 183 Albanians Killed in Kosova Since 22 September

PRISHTINA, Oct 2 (KIC) -  Since 22 September 1998, when the Serb forces launched a huge offensive against Albanian villages in the Çiçavica mountain area straddling the municipalities Skënderaj, Gllogovc, Vushtrri, Mitrovica and Obiliq, north-west of Prishtina, the Kosova Information Center (KIC) sources on the ground identified 167 killed Albanians. Many were massacred, executed, shot in the head from short distance, were stabbed to death, burned in their houses or with a acid (at least one case in Gollobovc village) or mutilated in different ways. Amongst the victims there were several-months old babies, children, women, including pregnant ones, old persons, sick and weak people who could not flee their homes before Serb crackdowns on their villages, etc.
Below is the list of the killed Albanian the KIC sources on the ground have reported of during the past ten days:
Sheremet Bajrush Sheremeti (42), Rrahim Mehmeti (60), Hajrullah Gjaka (63), Bislim Kamber Brahimi (32), Nysret Abdurrahim Ferati (60), Adem Tafil Azemi (38), Sali Adem Sejdiu (26), Selim Jashar Sagaqi (65), Faton Syla (15), Bahtie Gashi, Behxhet Islam Karaxha, Skënder Fetah Karaxha, Bashkim Abdullah Krasniqi, Hajzer Hajdari, a Hajzer's son-in-law, Bajram Beqir Krasniqi, Bajram Bajrami (40) his brother Qamil Bajrami (20), Hysni Shabani (23) and his brother Elhami Shabani (15), Naim Musliu (34), Fejzullah Ramadani (23), Naim Salihu (25), Lulzim Gashi, Sadullah Selman Dibrani (47), Jetullah Dibrani (20, Fitore Klinaku (12) Shyqyri Krasniqi, Beqir Morina's son from Gllobar, Murat Muharrem Haliti (33), Fatmir Hajrush Ahmeti (22), Hajrush Qamil Ahmeti (55), Daut Fazli Avdiu (56), Milazim Sinan Behrami (75), Shyqyri Islam Islami (57), his wife Fatime Islami (51), Selvete Avdi Islami (21), Agim Ademi, Mursel Shabani's wife, Mustafë Shuti, Milazim Mani and his mother Kada Mani, Sheremet Bajrushi, Shasivar Isa Ademi (51), Fatmir Shasivar Ademi (17), Burim Ramadan Ademi (17), Gani Fazli Ademi (16), Bajram Bejtullah Sahiti (33), Agim Selim Ademi (28), Hetem Rizah Halili (45), Bujar Hetem Halili (16), Bekim Miftar Halili (22), Nazmi Veli Halili (25) and Nexhat Kadri Halili (17), Sejdi Kabashi (22), Haradin Islam Lahu (43), Enver Kastrati (40), Hasime Shabani (50), Mexhid Hamit Bislimi (33), Xhavit Haradin Bislimi (40), Driton Shaban Brahimi (22), Kadri Miftar Mehmeti (22), Adem Lushtaku, Enver Halit Ferati (42), Muhamet Rrahman Idrizi (53), Feriz Rrustem Shala (43), Murat Muharrem Haliti (33), Hajrush Qamil Ahmeti (55), his son Fatmir Ahmeti (22), Daut Fazli Avdiu (56), Fetije Bislim Bislimi (32), Sylejman Rrustem Kafexholli (70), Kujtim Kerlani (44), Ramadan Islam Muleta (1954), Besim Rexhep Muleta (1975), Bashkim Tahir Muleta (1971), Lutfi Hyseni (65), Selatin Hyseni (28), Halit Hyseni (40), Hamit Hyseni (41), Idriz Mehmeti (83) nga Oshlani, Hysen Murati nga Balinci, Hazir Qerim Avdyli, Rifat Myftar Fejza, Bajram Beqir Krasniqi, Behram Hazir Morina; Rrustem Fetah Karaxha, Shyqri Hajdin Krasniqi, Muhamet Krasniqi, Bashkim Avdullah Krasniqi, Myftar Shaban Kurrumeli, Xhevat Sheqir Berisha, Hafize Jetullah Llugani, Hamit Lladrofci, Fehmi Lladrovci,  his wife Xhevahire Krasniqi-Lladrovci, Brahim Ajet Avdulli, Hajdar Ismaili, Selim Myftari, Hamit Zymberi, Bahtie Gashi, Sefer Tafaleci, Mehmet Azem Saliuku, dr. Lec Bislim Uka, Hajzer Hajdari, Haxhi Ahmet Krasniqi, Sabri Saraçi's mother, Adem Sali Deliu (33), Hava Imer Deliu (65), Jeton Imer Deliu (10), Hamide Sali Deliu (60), Valmir Adem Deliu (1.6), Luljeta Imer Deliu (25), Lumnije Imer Deliu (30), Mihane Imer Deliu (25), Donjeta Hajriz Deliu (4), Gentiana Hajriz Deliu (7), Zahide Hajriz Deliu (27), Fazli Deliu (90), Ali Deli Deliu (63), Pajazit Rrustem Deliu (65), Zeqir Jonuz Deliu (44), Mustafë Fejza, Rifat Fejza, Hazir Avdyli, Hasan Maloku, Sadri Muçolli, a man surnamed Tluna, Ahmet Alush Pantina (19), Hasan Beqë Morina (22), Dervish Cen Maloku (60), Sejdi Bali Gashi (60), Deli Bali Gashi, Zenel Morina (30), Fitim Sadri Elshani (22), Vehbi Ejup Hoxha (48), Faik Aziz Braiqi (16), Fahredin Sejdë Braiqi, Sabit Metë Buzllaku (62), Fejzë Brahim Braiqi (45), Afrim Ramadan Braiqi (30), Zymer Ali Buzhala (55), Murat Kurtish Kokollari (55), Adem Imer Buzhala (58), Bajram Durmish Bytyçi (1969), Mehaz Mjekiqi, Xhemshir Ademaj (35), Habib Deliu, Driton Hysenaj (14), Haki Liman Krasniqi (1967), Shefqet Haki Krasniqi (1965), Skënder Hydë Krasniqi (1970, Ali Metë Krasniqi (1818, Mehdi Sylë Morina (1953), Ilaz Maliq Javori (1953), Bashkim Tahir Muleta (27), Burim Hamdi Elshani, Milaim Bajram Bugari (20) nga Suhareka, Hafir Elshani (35) nga Sllapuzhani, Rasim K. Kolgeci (15), Hazir Bajraktari, Hysen Rifat Pantina, Arsim Isë Ibrahimi (14), Musa Shaban Sheremeti (60), Xhevdet Deriqi (38), Rrustem Hysenaj (80), Mehmet Xhemajlaj (70), Ajvaz Hasani (34), Nazif Aliu, Sami M. Bakiu, Qazim Kololli (60), Arif Ndrecaj (80) and his wife Xhyzide Ndrecaj (78) Fazli Hoxhajn (41), Selman Gashin (31), Rrustem Maloku (42), Rasim Maloku (38), Muhamet Maloku (35), Halim Maloku (37), Ahmet Maloku (25) Aziz Maloku (48), Ilaz Maliq Javori, Fejzullah Krasniqi (55) Daut Abdullah Rexhepi (40).

Kosova Information Center
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KOSOVA (reportage - Obri e Poshtme)
"They killed us and ran away, leaving behind traces of their crime"
Valbona Mehmeti

Obri e Poshtme, 1 October (ARTA) 1500CET --
"Take the flour and everything else that’s left. I don't need anything. I have no one to save it for", told his compatriots Imer Delia (38), from Obri e Poshtme, whom the Serb paramilitary massacred 18 family members on 26 September.
We met Imer sitting on a fallen roof of a house, by the macadam road in the village of Obri e Poshtme. He slowly approaches the vehicle and asks for a newspaper from us.
It was impossible to oppose his insisting to see the photographs of his massacred family, published in "KOHA Ditore"."
I have already seen all the corpses, why shouldn't I see them now", he said as he was turning the pages, filled with pictures that shivered the world, with tears in his eyes.
"I sat here to see if any of them from ICRC is passing by, because I have one of my sons and four children of my brother, Enver, wounded... I don't know what to do with them", says Imer, getting no reply. The words "be strong", vanish in front of this man, as if they were never spoken.
"For three weeks, they have been wandering from one village to another, searching for a more secure place. For some time they were sheltered in Gllobar, then in Qirez, where they merely escaped from the Serb police force siege", says Imer.
On Friday, 25 October, at around 1200CET, the women and children of the Delia family returned to their homes to arise on the morning of Saturday, under the knife of the Serb paramilitary.
"They were killed as they were attempting to find shelter in the neighboring forest. I was not with them. When I returned at the place where the massacre was conducted, I saw my seven weeks old daughter, under the slaughtered body of my wife. My daughter's mouth was filled with blood", Imer was slowly telling.
The four children that survived the massacre suffered minor injuries and their condition is not critical. The one-year-old daughter of Enver Delia, Arlinda, had her wound on the leg wrapped, whereas three others had slight wounds on their heads. Imer assessed they were "wounds from the shelling".
"These four children saved my life", says the old women, Shehide Hysenaj, whom the Serb police killed her husband and two guests, that were staying at her house.
"I didn't know what was going on. Suddenly my house yard was flooded by about 20 policemen, who left these four children on my hands, I didn't even know whose they were", the old woman was telling.
"Take these children and hold them until we come back, cause we'll be back to kill you", the police had told her. She was in the yard, when the police got inside the house and killed her husband Rrustem Hysenaj (73), Ali Kadrulla (62), and Hyra Kadrulla (50), from the village of Gremnik. "I don't know what happened inside, I only heard the shooting", says Shehide adding that "the police went and never came back, and the children were left with me".
One of the girls that was taking care of the children said: "The police came in the forest where we were sheltered, holding the three-year-old baby of the Delia family. ‘ Where is the mother that left a three years old baby and ran away’, the policeman cynically asked". The mother of this innocent creature was left massacred somewhere in the village valleys, as she was attempting to save her children from the claws of those that cannot get fed up with the blood of innocent people.
As the journalists were taking photographs of this little girl, still incapable of understanding what was going on around her, the five-year-old son of Imer, was forcing his head into his father’s chest, who was on the brink of tears.
In his father’s arms, he was trying to find the warm hug of his mother, now massacred and buried meaninglessly... With hugs, they were comforting each other for the death of mom, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter... the victims of a massacre of a savage and ruthless world.

KOSOVA (IDPs)
Serb forces shell civilian convoy

Vraniq, Ferizaj, 1 October (ARTA) 1900CET --
Serb police forces attacked on Tuesday a convoy of civilian's cars and tractors that were escaping from the shelling in their villages informed today Human Rights Watch activists. An investigator of this organization witnessed the corpses of four Albanian males, who were killed near the village. They also saw another person, who according to them was executed from close range and another whose face was severely disfigured.
Several thousand men were arrested during this police action against the convoy in the village of Vraniq, near Ferizaj, in the southwestern part of Kosova. Further, they were transported to Prizren were they were mistreated while in detention. The larger parts of the village of Vraniq were burned by the police, as the shelling and the burning of the surrounding villages of Ferizaj, continued today as well, claim activists of this organization.
Two of the four killed were found on a hill that has a view on the convoy in Vraniq, and they seem to have been shot from a short distance, most probably from a sniper. Two other corpses were brought to the village mosque for burial.
Milaim Bugari (29) had burning marks on the head, indicating that he was shot from close range. Hafir Elshani’s (35) face was disfigured and his nose was cut off.
In Vraniq, the activists of this American organization for human rights witnessed what had been left from convoy of civilian vehicles, assessed to be three kilometers long.
The cars, tractors, and trucks were filled with civilian's belongings. 34 destroyed vehicles were badly destroyed while 55 others were less damaged. In a valley, these activists saw 145 other vehicles, half of which were badly damaged. The people's belongings were spread around the crime site. Many of the vehicles were burned down.
According to witnesses, the residents of Vraniq decided to evacuate their village, on Sunday morning, of 27 September, after the Governmental forces started shelling the neighboring villages of Bukosh and Budakovë, and after they started approaching the village of Vraniq. Many persons from the region, sought shelter in this area for the past two months. The civilians fled in the nearby forest and spent Sunday night over Vraniq, even though it was pouring rain.
Witnesses told the Human Rights Watch activists that an old man was sent by the police on Monday morning, to pass a message by the police that it is safe to go back home. The convoy started going back to Vraniq, but the police in the center of the village stopped the first vehicles of the convoy. The police then started surrounding the civilians in the convoy.
According to the same sources from the ground, the women and children were held in a school building in Vraniq, whereas the men were divided into two groups. One group was held in a house in Vraniq and the rest were taken to a nearby school in Bukosh. While the civilians were detained, the police started burning the houses in Vraniq and destroying many of the villages of the convoy.
About 250-300 men were transferred from a house in Vraniq to the fire station, close to the police station in Prizren, on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. The police brought the majority to Vraniq at around 0300CET today, while the HRW activists were at the site. These men told the activists that they were brutally beaten by the police. They showed them the injuries, which corresponded with their stories. They said they were not given any food or water since they were arrested. According to them at least fifteen men from the convoy of Vraniq, remain arrested in Prizren.
As they were approaching the town of Vraniq, the HRW activists saw the village of Budakovë burning. According to all of these sources, Budakovë was shelled in the morning of 30 September, before the police entered the town to burn the houses.

KOSOVA (Serb offensive – Ferizaj)
Serb forces besiege some 1.500 Albanians

Ferizaj, 1 October (ARTA) 2145CET --
Sporadic shooting and shelling continued in the village of Jezerc, during Thursday as well, LDK local sources inform.
The Serb forces besiege about 1,500 Albanians of this village.
The corpse of Sami Bakiu (27), from Biti e Epërme, father of three, was found at the same village on Thursday, LDK and CDHRF sources in Ferizaj inform. The same source informs that Bakiu could not leave the village, since the Serb infantry had just entered, after the two day shelling of the villages of Biti e Epërme and Biti e Poshtme.
The Albanian residents of these villages are staying outdoors and several of them are sheltered in the town of Ferizaj.

KOSOVA (clashes – Malishevë)
Intense shootouts in the municipality of Malishevë

Malishevë, 1 October (ARTA) 1730CET --
Yesterday afternoon, the Serb police forces stationed in Malishevë, continued shooting at surrounding civilian targets, Albanian sources claim.
Serb forces used mine launchers, for more then ten times on the road that leads to Dragobil and in some of the suburban neighborhoods of this village.
Late last evening, three APCs shot at the houses of the villages of Dragobil, Magjerë, and Ostrazub.
Similar shootings were also heard today coming from the side of Drenica and Lugu i Baranit. The shooting along the Malishevë-Ostrazub line, intensified, particularly following the death of three policemen and the wounding of several others, by the KLA forces near Malishevë, on the night of 29 September. Albanian sources confirmed this, adding that a Serb military helicopter landed, picking up the wounded Serb policemen.

KOSOVA (victims – Suharekë)
Five more dead in Suharekë – 200 people still besieged by Serb police

Suharekë, 1 October (ARTA) 1820CET --
Five days following the commencement of the third Serb force offensive against the villages of the municipality of Suharekë, LDK information sources in Suharekë, besides the five victims of yesterday, evidenced five other victims today. A 15-year-old boy, Rasim Kolgeci, from the village of Vraniq, is among them.
According to the same sources, four other victims were identified and they are the following: Milaim Bugari (29) from Suharekë, Hafir Elshani (35) from the village of Sllapuzhan, who was found massacred, Burim Elshani (20) executed and Hazir Bajraktari from Budakovë. The source claims that Burim Elshani was separated from other Albanian civilians and was sent to the forest before being executed. There the Serb paramilitary dressed him on a military uniform, to present him as a KLA soldier.
"KOHA Ditore" sources state that presently more than 200 people are in the forest of Budakovë, without food and other basic living items. It is suspected that there are many killed in these villages, since no information reached out.
Albanian sources also inform that a number of Albanian civilians, from the war afflicted areas, held hostage in Lugu i Vraniqit, are released.
A convoy of humanitarian aid arrived today in Suharekë. Different international humanitarian associations organized this assistance. The convoy contained about 80 tons of aid, such as flour, hygienic-sanitarian packages, as well as clothing.

KOSOVA (victims – Gllogoc)
Three unidentified corpses in front of the Municipal Council Building

Gllogoc, 1 October (ARTA) 2100CET --
Five Albanians killed by the Serb forces in Obri e Epërme, during last week’s attack, were buried on Wednesday, CDHRF branch in Skënderaj informs.
Albanian sources inform that the Serb police in front of the Municipal Council are constantly watching three covered corpses. Their identities are unknown.
In the meantime, many Albanian civilians are still being kept under arrest in the Serb police station in Gllogoc. They are also being brutally tortured, witnesses claim.
Wednesday afternoon, Serb police and army units sent in the neighborhood of Dvoran, of the village of Tërstenik, the corpse of a killed Albanian.
CDHRF in Gllogoc claims that on Thursday, the police placed a weapon, near the Albanian corpse and photographed the corpse. Afterwards the corpse was placed inside an abandoned house and after a half an hour, two other vehicles picked it up.

KOSOVA (arrests – Gjilan)
Serb police arrests 5 "Mother Theresa" aid workers

Gjilan, 1 October (ARTA) 1710CET --
CDHRF in Gjilan informs that during Wednesday morning hours (0600CET), the Serb police forces arrested five "Mother Theresa" aid workers, from Gjilan, after they broke into their houses.
The arrested are Ruzhdi Rashiti, chairman, Hetem Arifi and Xhevat Nevzati, vice-chairmen, and Nazmi Rapuca and Riza Kçiku, drivers. According to this source, the above mentioned were sentenced with three days of arrest. The reasons of these arrests were still not confirmed.

KOSOVA (victims – Prizren)
CDHRF: 48 killed in Prizren municipality in September

Prizren, 1 October (ARTA) 1700CET --
According to the CDHRF monthly report, 48 killings, 14 wounding, 350 maltreatment cases, and 4,000 arresting, were registered in the municipality of Prizren, in the month of September alone.
138 Albanians suffered body injuries from the police tortures, whereas 472 houses were burned as a result of the Serb offensive against the villages of Vërrin, mainly in the villages of Lezë, Lybeniq, Jeshkovë, and Leskovec, CDHRF claims.
When other cases and forms of human rights violations are added, CDHRF says that during September in the municipality of Prizren, 4,505 persons were mistreated, while 9,421 cases of human rights violations were registered.
In addition, 20 killings, as a result of the Serb police repression, 36 wounding, 242 arrests and 17 villages of this municipality were registered in the municipality of Rahovec.
The overall number of the violation of human rights of Albanians is 995; 150 mistreated persons were evidenced only in the Human Rights Council in Prizren.
"KOHA Ditore" sources state, that the 23 member family of Sokol Ahmeti, from Matiçevë, municipality of Suharekë and their guest, arrested by the Serb police, have been released and are now staying with their relative.

KOSOVA (destruction – Drenica)
120 houses in the village of Vasilevë burned to the ground

Drenica, 1 October (ARTA) 1730CET --
120 houses – all houses of the village of Vasilevë, municipality of Gllogoc, a village with at least 700 residents, were burned to the ground, during the Serb police\military offensive in this village.
Residents of Vasilevë state that the Serb forces came to this village with some 80 tanks and other fighting vehicles, and burned down their houses.
Even the village elementary school, "Fazli Greiçevci", which was built by volunteer work and contribution of the local residents, was burned. Serb forces leveled it to the ground.

KOSOVA (KLA communique)
Civilian population targeted - Albanian wealth prey of Serb attacks

Prishtina, 1 October (ARTA) 1800CET --
"The liberation war of our people, lead by KLA has entered a new phase, difficult and dramatic, yet ethical. It will end with victory", says communique NR. 57 issued by the KLA General Headquarters.
"The enemy conducted the strongest offensive ever in the first operational zone, from 21 to 30 September. The enemy engaged thousands of tanks, transporters, APCs, and other motorized vehicles during this offensive that included the sub-zone of Drenica, Shalë, Pashtrik, and Nerodime. The KLA replied back to these forces, everywhere, with great determination. It caused them enormous loss in fighters and fighting technique. In the sub-zone of Drenica, which is entirely taken over by war, the harshest clashes took place in Prekaz, Gllanasellë, Rezallë, Likovc, Negroc etc. The enemy suffered a loss of 97 soldiers and paramilitary, with 114 tanks and other fighting vehicles destroyed. The KLA had 11 killed and eight wounded, among its ranks. The enemy, always defeated by the KLA, takes its revenge on civilians, killing, and massacring them. Such was is the case with the Delia family in Obri. In the sub zone of Shalë, as well, the brave boys of Artikoll, caused enormous damage and loss in men power to the enemy.
In the sub-zones of Pashtrik and Nerodime, fierce clashes took place in Budakovë, Greiçevc, and Jezerc. The enemy suffered great loss. In these particular clashes, the enemy had 100 killed and wounded and dozens of burned vehicles. In the Pashtrik sub-zone, the units of the 21 brigade, attacked the enemy forces in Petrovë and Cërnalevë, whereas the units of the 121 brigade attacked the enemy forces in Dragobil and Malishevë. During these actions, the KLA killed 65 Serb bandits and destroyed two tanks and one vehicle.
Clashes of lower intensity took place in other parts of the first operative zone. In all these clashes, the KLA losses are relatively minimal. This is another proof that the enemy can not defeat the KLA. On the contrary, our army is well prepared and it is now getting prepared for the final war. During this three-month offensive, the enemy managed to cause the Albanian people, great spiritual pain and unaccounted material damage, but has not achieved in seriously damaging the fighting capability of the KLA.
The International Community should realize, and there are many facts to proof that the target of the attacks of the criminals and barbarians, is the civilian population, the Albanian wealth and localities.
Thus, we have to convince them that for a nation, that has each doorstep covered in blood, that was confiscated all its wealth, and was burned the village, any solution or agreement, that is less than its independence is unacceptable.
Honorable countrymen, the spilled blood in Kosova, in the burned and looted villages, the arrested young men and the terrorized, are calling us all, to talk and think in Albanian, without any administrative, party or ideological differences; to gather all, and give in everything we have to achieve the freedom and independence of our sacred country.
Let us gather about in our liberation war, which is a guarantee for freedom. The KLA is the only one that guarantees the freedom and independence of Kosova. Following the steps of the boys and girls, who know the reason they live and die, we will win the long expected freedom and independence.

KOSOVA (rape attempt)
Serb students attempt to rape a 12-year-old Albanian girl

Istog, 1 October (ARTA) 2000CET --
A Serb student, assisted by other students, attacked a sixth grade Albanian student, B.B from Kovraga, on Wednesday, in the elementary school "Martin Camaj" in Gurrakoc.
It is reported that they attempted to rape her while she was in the school's rest room.
After managing to escaping, the minor B.B, in a traumatized state reported the school's counselor, Ilir Shatri, who reported the case to the Serb school's steering board.
It is reported that Serb students often appear in classrooms wearing police uniforms and carrying knifes.
Albanian students are everyday maltreated and beaten by the Serb students, in most of the cases in the presence, or urged, by Serb teachers.

MORE REPORTS OF ATROCITIES IN KOSOVA.

Foreign diplomats are investigating reports of a recent massacre of Kosovar males at Golubovac, "The New York Times" wrote on 1 October. "The Guardian" reported that Serbian police and Yugoslav armed forces tricked refugees into returning to Vraniq on 27 September. The Serbs then killed some of the refugees, arrested some 300 males, and looted and destroyed the refugees' vehicles, the London daily wrote. The reports of atrocities emerged one day after eye-witness accounts of the killing of 18 Kosovar civilians at Obrinje (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 September 1998). PM

SERBS DENY KILLINGS TOOK PLACE.

Referring to the reports about Obrinje, a Serbian police spokesman said in Prishtina on 30 September that the massacres "could not have happened." He added that this is because paramilitary police officials send him reports on their activities and he has no record of such killings. In Belgrade, the state-run Tanjug news agency called the Obrinje story a "foreign media farce." PM

BRITAIN 'READY TO ACT' ON KOSOVA.

In Blackpool on 1 October, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the BBC that "Britain is ready to act [militarily].... It's beginning to look like the only language [Yugoslav] President [Slobodan] Milosevic will listen to is the threat of force." The previous day, he said of the Obrinje killings: "this was not an act of war. It was plain cold murder.... NATO is now ready to act. Milosevic would be making a big mistake if he did not recognize the revulsion across Europe at this latest atrocity." PM

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS KOSOVA.

Cook telephoned his U.S. and EU counterparts on 30 September and then announced that the UN Security Council will meet on 1 October to discuss Kosova. That body is unlikely to take any firm steps for at least one week, however, until Secretary-General Kofi Annan issues a report evaluating whether Milosevic has met demands by the international community regarding the Serbian offensive in Kosova. "The New York Times" suggested on 1 October that France as well as Russia may oppose any calls for NATO military intervention. In Moscow, State Duma Speaker Gennadii Seleznev said that any NATO intervention could lead to a "real war" between the alliance and Yugoslavia and to a crisis in NATO-Russian relations. PM

BROAD CONDEMNATION OF OBRINJE KILLINGS.

Top officials of the U.S. State Department and its counterparts in Canada, Austria, France, and Italy have condemned the murders. A State Department spokesman on 30 September said that the Obrinje reports indicate the "brutality" that the Serbian authorities are capable of using against their own citizens, while Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy noted that the "Serbian police...are decimating the civilian population." Austria, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said in a Foreign Ministry statement that in view of the "bestial situation of this massacre, certainly the killing of women and children, a delegation of international experts must conduct an investigation." The French Foreign Ministry noted in a statement that Paris "again stresses the seriousness of the situation and confirms that all options, including military ones, remain open." An Italian Foreign Ministry statement said that "there can be no justification" for the murders. PM

NATO STILL 'MAKING PREPARATIONS.'

In Bonn, the outgoing cabinet on 30 September agreed that Germany will supply 14 aircraft and 500 military personnel for any NATO intervention in Kosova. In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said the "the clock is ticking" for possible NATO strikes against Serbian military targets. But other unnamed Pentagon officials told AP that military intervention is not imminent. One source argued that, after NATO aircraft attack Serbian anti-aircraft batteries, "you can go after the tanks, but then the Serb forces can hide in the mountains." The official also warned that NATO intervention could endanger the lives of displaced persons in Kosova. In Brussels, an unnamed NATO official told Reuters that any decision to intervene will first require a "good, objective assessment of the situation on the ground." PM

BERISHA BLASTS MAJKO.

In Tirana, Prime Minister-designate Pandeli Majko said on 30 September that he hopes to have his cabinet list drawn up by the end of the following day. Opposition leader and former President Sali Berisha told 2,000 supporters that Majko is only a "puppet" of former Prime Minister Fatos Nano and that the new cabinet will be a "terrorist government." Berisha added that the Democrats want President Rexhep Meidani to appoint a caretaker government in order to organize new elections. In Washington, a State Department spokesman called on Albanian leaders to "address the political polarization that has characterized [political life in Albania] over the past year." In Brussels, OSCE officials announced that 23 countries and eight international organizations have set up a "forum" called "Friends of Albania" to provide political and economic assistance aimed at promoting reform in that country. PM

Human Rights Watch Interviews Sole Survivor of Golubovac Execution of Thirteen,
Expresses Concern for His Safety

(New York Thursday, October 1, 1998) Human Rights Watch today interviewed the sole survivor of a September 26 summaryexecution of thirteen men by Serbian police.  The witness gave a coherent and credible account of the summary execution which was corroborated by the evidence found at the execution site and the testimony of another witness interviewed by Human Rights Watch on September 29.

Human Rights Watch expressed serious concern today about the safety of the survivor in light of the Serbian police presence in the region, and called upon the international community to take the necessary steps to relocate this important witness to a safe location.  Furthermore, the man has a severe and infected gunshot wound on his upper left leg, as well as gunshot wounds on his left arm, and is in need of immediate medical attention.  "The survivor is a credible witness to a summary execution, and the ability to bring the perpetrators of this serious war crime to justice hinges on his safety," said Holly Cartner.  "The international community must take immediate steps to insure that he is safe and his testimony is preserved."

During an interview today, he told Human Rights Watch that the inhabitants of his village Golubovac in the Drenica region of Kosovo had fled into the nearby forest on Friday morning after Yugoslav forces began shelling around the neighboring village of Cerovik.  The villagers spent the night in the forest.

According to the survivor, Serb police sent several elderly ethnic Albanian villagers who had remained in Golubovac to the forest on Saturday morning to tell the civilians taking shelter there that it was safe for them to return home.  When they attempted to return, they were then gathered in a field by a group of about thirty or forty police officers, and the men were separated from the women and children.  The police initially chose about twenty-five men from the larger group of men, but then narrowed this group down to fourteen men who, according to the survivor,  would later be lined up and shot.

The survivor told Human Rights Watch that the fourteen were beaten with fists and rifles and kicked with boots while being questioned by Serb police about ties to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).  The process of separating the men and their subsequent interrogation lasted for about two hours. The men were then taken to the road next to the execution site, where they were forced to crouch with their hands behind their backs for an extended period of time.

The survivor told Human Rights Watch that the men were then led into a garden and ordered to lie flat on the ground, face down with their hands behind their backs.  They were told that if they identified KLA members in their midst everyone else would be freed.  During this time, the survivor reported being beaten on his back with sticks and kicked all over his body.  He showed Human Rights Watch deep bruises on his back and buttocks that were consistent with this account.  He also described in detail how the men were executed, relating how a single police officer first executed the man lying next to the survivor and then two other men nearby.  The police officer then moved up and down the column  firing a burst of automatic gunshots at each victim.  Several of the men were kicked afterwards and one man was shot again when he displayed signs of life.  The witness apparently survived because he was able to feign death when being kicked.  The police left the site almost immediately after the execution and the survivor was helped from the scene by local villagers.

The testimony of the survivor was coherent and credible, and matched the testimony of an earlier witness previously interviewed by Human Rights Watch, as well as the evidence inspected at the execution site on Tuesday.  Along a fence within a family compound, Human Rights Watch inspected many pools of fresh blood on Tuesday and found over eighty bullet shells at the spot where the witnesses claimed the policeman fired.  The site was also visited by diplomatic observers on Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch is greatly concerned about the health and safety of the sole survivor, who remains in the Drenica region, which is under heavy Serbian police control.  Human Rights Watch calls upon the international community to assist the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in bringing the  survivor to a safe location, and demands that the Yugoslav authorities and police and military forces refrain from any actions that would jeopardize the safety of this important witness.

The violations of humanitarian law being committed in Kosovo fall under the jurisdiction of the ICTY.   By taking immediate steps to collect and preserve evidence and witnesses' testimony, the Tribunal will not only increase the chances of ultimately bringing the perpetrators to justice, but also of deterring future abuses.  However, time is of the essence if the tribunal is to fulfill its enormous deterrence potential.  Much more intense and timely attention to ongoing atrocities are required.

In order for the ICTY to meet this challenge, it must have sufficient capacity and equipment on site to conduct an immediate investigation when allegations of atrocities emerge.  Further, ist  investigators, including forensic experts, must have unimpeded  access to the sites of recent abuses.  To date, the Yugoslav government has denied entry visas to forensic teams, investigators of the ICTY, and other respected and impartial  international organizations in a blatant attempt to prevent international and independent scrutiny of the abuses committed by its forces. Human Rights Watch calls upon the international community to assist the ICTY in developing such  urgently needed capacities, and on the Yugoslav government to provide immediate access for the ICTY and its independent forensic experts to carry out investigations into allegations of mass graves and other atrocities in the region.

For more information, contact:
Holly Cartner 1 (212) 216-1277 in New York
Jean-Paul Marthoz (322) 736-7838 in Brussels

Taken without permission, for fair use only.

• TIMES:Kosovo women tell of systematic rape by 'crazed' Serb forces
• TIMES:Nato to target radar defences
• NYT:Survivor of Kosovo Massacre Describes the Killing Garden
• NYT:NATO May Act Against Serbs in Two Weeks
• New Kosovo Killings Alleged as Diplomats Urge Massacre

 
• Yugoslavia Grateful for RUSSIA'S Stance Minister.
• Greece Says No to NATO Military Intervention in Kosovo
• Italy Urges Milosevic to Stop Deterioration of Kosovo Crisis

 
• TIMES:Evacuation call to Britons in Yugoslavia -Bombing could start in five days
• U.S. Warns Americans to Leave, Belgrade to Act
• U.S., Alarmed by Kosovo, Warns of Strikes ''Soon''
• Nato Getting down to Preparations for Action in Kosovo.
• U.N. demands Yugoslavs punish those behind Kosovo massacres
• Western Pressure to Worsen Kosovo Instability -Yugoslav Minister.
• Yugoslav Minister Does Not Rule out Kosovo Autonomy.
• Guns Fall Silent in much of Kosovo

==========================================

October 2 1998 EUROPE<
Tom Walker in Vranic hears the latest claims by victims of Belgrade's atrocities
Kosovo women tell of systematic rape by 'crazed' Serb forces

FRESH details emerged yesterday about the latest atrocity committed by Serb forces in Kosovo, where for the first time allegations emerged of systematic rape of ethnic Albanian women.
     As an eerie calm descended on the scorched villages southeast of the Kosovan capital, Pristina, in the mountainous terrain near the Macedonian border, distraught survivors recounted a fresh catalogue of horrors committed by the Serbs.
     Journalists and diplomatic observers surprisingly were allowed access to the villages which the Liberal Democrat leader, Paddy Ashdown, witnessed being shelled, looted and burnt during his tour of the province last weekend.
     Crowds of homeless Albanian men who had just survived a two-day ordeal of beatings and interrogation in the police station in the southern town of Prizren were returning to Vranic, the main target of the army and police siege. They walked us through their wrecked village, previously a picturesque stone-walled mountain settlement next to a tumbling river, now a vision of apocalyptic hell.
     A 200-vehicle convoy in which they and their families had fled into a U-shaped valley lay burnt and devastated along the rocky track bisecting the ancient homesteads. In the grounds of the village mosque the bodies of three men shot and mutilated by Serb special forces were being prepared for burial, while another body was being retrieved from a precipitous ledge in the yellowing acacia forests, which soon will be dusted by the winter snows.
     The bodies of the dead men bore the familiar hallmarks of massacres in Kosovo: one victim was missing his nose and ears, while another had been stabbed in the chest and side. As the body of a fourth man was placed on a stretcher in the forest, the Albanians said they feared more villagers might be lying further up the slopes. They said they had reports of similar killings in the village of Budakavo, over the next mountain ridge.
     The men fiercely denied that those killed had been members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. "They were simple people," said 22-year-old Astrat, whose father was still missing. "They asked me where was my gun? If I didn't hand it over within ten days they would destroy the village."
     One 17-year-old youth who had returned from Prizren had angry scars on his mouth and head, wounds he said were inflicted by a pistol-whipping. "They beat us and beat us, asking where were our weapons?" he added. His friends said they feared around 30 villagers had been hospitalised through their injuries.
     One of the women attacked by a drunken paramilitary said she had wrenched herself from his clutches. Since her ordeal she has been sleeping in the garden of her gutted house. "It is very difficult for our women to talk about these things," said her brother. "If a woman has been raped in our society, she can never be married."
     Dazed families with neither food nor future related a tale of abject terror at the hands of security forces supposedly protecting them as citizens of Serbia, if the Belgrade propaganda is to be believed. While Mr Ashdown had spied Vranic's plight through binoculars, the population and that of several nearby hamlets had loaded all their possessions on to their cars and tractors, and driven up the track to summer pastures beside the Topluga river 500ft higher.
     A police commander then passed a message to two village elders that the community could return in safety. No sooner had the leading vehicles turned round and descended than they were stopped, and Vranic's menfolk were systematically separated from their women and children. While the women were locked into the local school, the men were taken back up to the river, where many were stripped and submerged in the freezing rapids. At least four are said to have been dragged away into the forests and killed.
     Two young girls described how drunken or drugged Serb fighters discovered them in a valley after nightfall. "We were forced to dance around the fires with them and drink raki," said 25-year-old Minira, her head held in shame. Some women had been dragged into the forest and raped. "It was one or two girls for every Serb."
     The women had knives put to their throats as information was demanded about their menfolk. Those who remained silent had their children and babies held above the fires. "They were crazed people," said Minira. Other women said their dowry gold and jewellery had been stolen.
_____________

October 2 1998 EUROPE
Nato to target radar defences
BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR

NATO military planners have outlined a three-phase air campaign against Serbian military targets in Kosovo and elsewhere in Yugoslavia, it emerged yesterday as alliance ambassadors held another North Atlantic Council meeting to prepare for possible action next week.
     The military has drawn up a comprehensive list of targets which are expected to include air defence facilities, bases from which the Serbs have launched attack helicopter raids on villages in Kosovo, logistics depots, ammunition dumps and Yugoslav Army barracks.
     Although one concern has been to limit the risk of civilian casualties, the third phase of the proposed air campaign would involve widespread attacks throughout Yugoslavia. Nato officials emphasised yesterday that all alliance members hoped that a phased air campaign would be unnecesssary and that President Milosevic, the Yugoslav leader, would order his troops to withdraw from Kosovo.
     However, the target list prepared by the military indicates that Nato is ready to carry out the same type of raids that were approved by the alliance in 1995 against Serb military sites in Bosnia. That year the military drew up a similar three-phase air campaign to try to end the conflict and force the Serbs to the negotiating table. Nato succeeded but only after carrying out the first two stages of the campaign, which lasted two weeks and included the firing of 13 Tomahawk cruise missiles at anti-aircraft missile sites outside Banja Luka.
     The third stage, which would have seen the target areas extended to Serbia, was not required because the Bosnian Serbs withdrew their heavy artillery from around Sarajevo and agreed to begin the peace talks that led to the Dayton peace accord.
     Nato sources said that each phase of the proposed new air campaign would require separate authorisation by the North Atlantic Council. The first phase plan would be aimed at radar sites - to be attacked with Harm and Alarm anti-radar missiles to ensure that Nato bombers get a free run over Yugoslavia if the next stages have to be implemented. The largest array of surface-to-air missile sites are in the hills around Belgrade. It is likely that these would be among the first to be hit. Two expected target areas would be military sites in Pristina, the Kosovo capital, and in Nis.
     At Pristina, the Serbians have a key airbase and a large barracks, although the latter is in an urban area and, even with precision bombing, there would be a risk of "collateral" damage to civilian property.
     The Serbian forces have been using Mi7 and Mi18 attack helicopters to launch rockets and cannon fire at villages in central Kosovo, and it is likely that the airport at Pristina would be targeted to try to damage or to destroy as many of these aircraft as possible. Nis also has a key airbase and a garrison. To carry out the raids, Nato currently has 82 aircraft in Italy for operations in support of the Nato-led Stabilisation Force in Bosnia
_____________

October 2, 1998
Survivor of Kosovo Massacre Describes the Killing Garden
By JANE PERLEZ

GOLUBOVAC, Yugoslavia -- A 42-year-old man who says he is the lone survivor of a massacre in which 13 ethnic Albanians were summarily shot and killed in this village in Kosovo recalled Thursday how he was herded into a garden with other men and told to lie flat on the ground.
     Heads to the fence, feet toward the house! Serbian policemen barked, he recounted.
     Then, the severely wounded man said as he recounted the tale from his mattress on the floor of his home Thursday, police kicked the prone men with their boots and beat them with the wooden handles of shovels.
     "They kept yelling, 'Who among you is Kosovo Liberation Army? If you tell us, we will release everyone else,"' the man recalled of the events of last Saturday.
     Then, he said, the shooting started. First, the man to his right was shot, then two men farther down the row. And then the whole row from left to right, then down the row again, from right to left.
     "After the two shots for each man, they kicked one, and he was alive." he said. "They shot him again. When they kicked me, I didn't move."
     The survivor, the father of eight children, was advised by Western diplomats who interviewed him on Tuesday and by a researcher for Human Rights Watch who saw him Thursday not to give his name to a reporter for fear of jeopardizing his safety.
     The diplomats and the researcher for the New York-based rights organization said the man could suffer reprisals from Serbian policemen who are at checkpoints on the roads and in the hills around the village if he revealed his identity.
     But they said that because of the clarity and first-hand nature of the man's evidence, they consider him a key potential witness for a proceeding at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
     The killing of the men and the massacre of 18 members of an Albanian family on the same day in villages about four miles apart in the Drenica region of Kosovo, a province where guerrillas are fighting for independence from Serbia, prompted calls from Western leaders for war-crimes investigations by The Hague tribunal.
     Washington called on the government of the Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, to allow impartial forensic experts to visit the sites to determine what happened. The Milosevic government has denounced the war crimes tribunal and consistently denied access to forensic experts, asserting that there was no need for them because no war crimes had occurred.
     Two investigators from the war crimes tribunal who have been in Kosovo for a week were expected to see the survivor Thursday. But the investigators who got into Kosovo, after long negotiations with the Yugoslavia government for their visas, left for Belgrade, the capital, Thursday without interviewing the survivor or inspecting the site where the Deliaj family was massacred.
     A spokesman at The Hague, Jim Landale, said he had no information on why the investigators left before pursuing the two cases. "We are confirming that we are investigating these incidents," he said.
     The researcher for Human Rights Watch, Peter Bouckaert, who has experience in interviewing survivors of atrocities in Africa, said after listening to the man's account that the coherence of his story and his lack of exaggeration made him an important witness for the tribunal. Significantly, he said, details of the story tallied with evidence in the garden of spent bullets from an automatic weapon and pools of blood along the fence.
     The executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, said in New York Thursday that it was troubling that the tribunal had not seized the opportunity to listen to the survivor or inspect the two killing sites. "This is not a historical inquiry," Roth said of the tribunal.
     The survivor, who has a shock of black hair and full black mustache, has essentially been a captive in his house since he hobbled the half-mile back home Saturday afternoon. He is too frightened to go to the hospital even though his leg wound reaches to the bone and gangrene is starting to develop. His left arm is also wounded from the second bullet.
     The International Committee for the Red Cross visited him on Tuesday with some bandages and medicines but has not been back since, he said.
     The man described the events leading up to the shootings as the climax of a Serbian attack on the village that began last Friday morning with shelling from across the hills. Men, women and children fled to the forest and spent the night under the trees.
     On Saturday morning, he said, everyone was ordered by Serbian forces to come out of the forest and gather in a field. The women and children were separated from the men, and then the men were whittled down into a smaller group.
     There were about "30 to 40 police" doing the sorting of the men, he said. They wore the blue camouflage uniforms of the Serbian security police, and some had yellow insignia on their shoulders signifying rank, he said. Some wore black bandannas around their foreheads.
     Asked if there was one person in charge, he said: "I don't know. They were all speaking." Toward the end of the selection, one policeman was making the choices, he said.
     The final group of men were ordered to walk about half a mile from the field to a dirt road at a spot just outside the garden of the house where the killings occurred. They were told to kneel with their heads down to the ground, he said. They were kept there about two hours, he said.
     They were then forced to walk through the wide wooden gate of the garden and lie on their stomachs with their hands held behind their necks.
     When the beating with the shovels started, the victims began to scream, he said. Those who turned their faces to the policemen were beaten much more, he said. "I was screaming and shouting, but I didn't turn my face, only once."
     The man said that after a while, "somebody new came to the garden."
     He presumed, he said, that it was the "new" policeman who did the firing. A diplomat who interviewed him on Tuesday said he understood from the man's account that one or more policemen did the shooting.
     "We were executed one by one," he said. "Some were begging to be released. Nobody tried to get up." The clatter was that of an automatic weapon, he said.
     Suddenly silence fell, he said. He could hear the policemen leave the garden and then depart the village with a burst of machine-gun fire.
     A builder by trade, the man said his brother was one of the 13 who was shot to death. His brother's body was brought home along the same route he had used to escape.
     The survivor's face crumpled slightly when he was asked if he would testify at The Hague. He was most afraid, he said, for the safety of his wife and children, who would most likely become targets of Serbian revenge.
______________________

October 2, 1998
NATO May Act Against Serbs in Two Weeks
By STEVEN ERLANGER

 WASHINGTON -- NATO will have both the political authorization from its members and the military forces in place to act against President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia in two weeks, senior U.S. officials said Thursday, if he does not stop the violence against ethnic Albanian civilians.
     He must agree to remove his special police forces from the province of Kosovo, to allow relief to 300,000 refugees and to begin serious negotiations toward a political solution, the Americans said.
     The officials said they have not delivered a formal ultimatum to Milosevic, but they have warned him that they are serious this time about military action and will take it if he does not comply.
     Acknowledging that they are under new congressional and public pressure because of widely publicized atrocities traced to Serbian forces, the officials said that they expect Milosevic to comply with these international demands before force is used. But the only way he will do so, the officials said, is if he thinks NATO's warnings, this time, are credible.
     And U.S. officials like National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, insisted on Thursday that these new warnings are credible. "If Milosevic does not comply, NATO must be prepared to act militarily and it will," Berger said.
     America would not act alone, he said, but within NATO. "And the events and atrocities of the last week or so have quickened the pace of our European allies."
     On Thursday, the Security Council condemned the atrocities and demanded that the Yugoslav government punish those responsible.
     But some U.S. officials acknowledged that the threats of reprisals have come very late, after Milosevic has already accomplished most of his aims -- beating back the insurgent Kosovo Liberation Army and destroying the livelihoods of many of its civilian supporters.
     "You can call this policy by embarrassment, or policy by shame," said another senior administration official who requested anonymity. "But we are at last serious, and our European allies are at last serious. This is not an empty exercise, and we do not have our fingers crossed behind our backs. Our goal is a diplomatic solution. But if there is no legitimate change on the ground, I am confident that we and NATO will follow through on these threats."
     To underscore the atmosphere of threat, the State Department issued a travel advisory warning Americans not to travel to Yugoslavia and asking those Americans already there to consider leaving.
     And the administration's top national security officials, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Defense Secretary William Cohen; Berger, the national security adviser, and Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went to Capitol Hill to provide senators with a confidential briefing about Kosovo and NATO military preparations.
     "They laid out the stakes in Kosovo and the importance of being prepared to use force and had a serious consultation with senators about what decisions may follow in the next few days," an official said.
     Afterward, Albright told reporters: "The combined threat of the use of force and diplomacy is the best way of proceeding."
     The briefing was well-attended, senators said, and the officials laid out a strategy that focuses on help for the refugees and diplomatic action, but backed up by the use of force if Milosevic does not heed international demands.
     Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., said that the recent media coverage of the latest killings of ethnic Albanians "have pushed many of us over the atrocity line."
     He said he told the officials: "With all due respect, it's time to shoot or shut up." He said he was disappointed that the U.S. position still seemed insufficiently aggressive.
     Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said he favored the use of air power in Kosovo and would support a congressional resolution to that effect.
     And Senate Democratic Leader Thomas Daschle of South Dakota said that military action "may be required" to enforce diplomatic efforts. "I do believe that some of these people only seem to understand diplomacy and its merit once they've seen the alternatives."
     But Morton Abramowitz, a former State Department official and an expert on the Kosovo problem, said he did not expect military action.
     "I'm not holding my breath," he said. "I think every opportunity is being given to Mr. Milosevic to pull back. We are trying to get the ethnic Albanians and the Serbs to some sort of agreement, but what that agreement is remains very unclear, and I'm skeptical that all this is the way to any durable settlement."
     U.S. officials said the decision to press ahead and "cock the trigger" resulted from a Cabinet-level meeting of national security officials two weeks ago and a series of conversations with key allied officials, in particular the British, French and Germans. The result was a Security Council resolution Thursday that fell just short of specifically authorizing force. The Germans and Italians remain more concerned about taking NATO action without going back to the Council, officials say, while the Russians oppose it.
     But given the new revulsion at the recent massacres of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo -- producing wrenching television film and photographs -- European countries are now more willing to use force without going back to the United Nations, U.S. officials insisted Thursday.
     Recent atrocities have also prompted former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole to urge military action in Kosovo, a call recently echoed by other key Republican Senators like John McCain of Arizona, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Smith of Oregon.
     On Thursday, NATO asked member nations to provide specific military forces for an operation against Serbian or Yugoslav targets. The next step, possibly as early as a week from now, would be an activation order giving political authorization by NATO members to the NATO commander to take military action at any time.
     But a senior U.S. official said that even this activation order would have a waiting period built in to it, "to allow Milosevic to see the hand writing on the wall."
     Yugoslav claims that attacks on ethnic Albanians had ended are "blatantly untrue" said a State Department spokesman, James Rubin, while his Pentagon counterpart, Kenneth Bacon, said that while Belgrade "says they are withdrawing back to the barracks, they are continuing to fight at the same time."
     One possible plan would involve an initial wave of air strikes followed by a pause and a warning of crippling strikes to follow, a U.S. official said.
     "What NATO has planned is a graduated series of possible air strikes which could, at the high end, involve a very considerable number of airplanes," Bacon said. "The goal of the options is to reduce or degrade the Serbian military's ability to continue striking the Kosovar Albanians."
     Berger and other officials emphasized the urgency of Milosevic's compliance before winter sets in and starts freezing refugees to death in the mountains.
__________________________________________________

New Kosovo Killings Alleged as Diplomats Urge Massacre
AP  02-OCT-98

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Seeking to head off threatened NATO attacks, Yugoslavia's Serb leadership invited foreign experts Thursday to investigate massacres in Kosovo. A survivor supplied chilling new details of alleged atrocities against ethnic Albanian civilians.
     The survivor, saying he was left for dead, described to human rights officials how he and a group of other civilian men were beaten, interrogated and then shot, one by one, by Serbian police.
     The Serbs, eager to appear responsive to Western calls for an end to their campaign against ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, announced the withdrawal of combat forces from battlefields in the southern Serbian province. But ethnic Albanian sources claimed fighting continued along the border with Albania, where separatist guerrillas take sanctuary.
     Yugoslavia's foreign minister, Zivadin Jovanovic, invited the International Red Cross and the U.N. refugee agency to send experts to Kosovo to investigate the killings.
     The Foreign Ministry also accepted a demand by the European Union for an impartial investigation of the massacres. The ministry said it has invited a team of forensic experts from Finland to take part in the investigation.
     The Serbs have denied involvement in the killings. Yugoslavia's ambassador to Britain, Miroslav Pajic, said Thursday his country was being subjected to a "smear campaign" aimed at finding "an excuse for air strikes."
     The foreign minister's invitation came before the U.N. Security Council condemned the slaughter and as the United States prepared for possible NATO air strikes against Serb military positions.
     In a statement, the council did not single out Serb forces for blame, criticizing only "those responsible" for the atrocities. It called on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to investigate and punish those responsible for the killings.
     International efforts to end the seven-month conflict gained momentum this week with reports that Serb police massacred dozens of ethnic Albanian civilians southwest of the provincial capital, Pristina. Kosovo is a province of Serbia, the main republic of Yugoslavia.
     In the latest allegation, Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch said a wounded ethnic Albanian man gave a graphically detailed account of how Serbian police beat and shot him and 13 others.
     The man, whom Bouckaert did not name for security reasons, said he was the only survivor.
     He said the survivor's story was corroborated by other witnesses from Golubovac, a village three miles from Donje Obrinje, site of another massacre.
     Relating the man's account, Bouckaert said Serb police last Saturday sent old men into nearby woods to tell refugees it was safe to come out of their hiding place.
     Police selected about 20-25 of the men; the older ones were eventually let go. The rest were forced to lie on their stomachs with their hands behind their heads. All were beaten and kicked and told if they would say who in the group belonged to the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army, the rest could go free.
     Finally, "one policeman executed them all with short bursts of automatic fire," Bouckaert said the survivor told him. After two trips up and down the line, the policemen kicked each victim.
     The survivor said he didn't move when he was kicked. He said he waited about 10 or 15 minutes, then fled home, where his mother and wife waited.
     Bouckaert said the man in his early 40s was in extreme danger, both from severe gunshot wounds in the leg and upper arm and from police forces in the area.
     "We do not believe his safety can be guaranteed in his present location," Bouckaert said. "One wound is very large and infected and there is no adequate medical care in the area he is located in."
     In a separate incident, Human Rights Watch said Serb police attacked a convoy of civilian vehicles Tuesday in Vranic in southwestern Kosovo. The New York organization said a researcher saw the bodies of four ethnic Albanian men, including one whose face had been mutilated.
     Meanwhile, the Serb Media Center said that, while government troops had been withdrawn from Kosovo, a few police units were left behind in the province "to preserve public security and order and guard communications."
     But the ethnic Albanian-run Kosovo Information Center claimed government troops shelled a village Thursday near Djakovica (JA-kaw-vee-tsah) along the Albanian border.
     Ethnic Albanians form 90 percent of the population of Kosovo. Most of them support independence, although many Western nations do not, fearing that could further destabilize the Balkans.
     However, the international community has repeatedly urged Milosevic to stop his offensive in the province.
     President Clinton dispatched his national security team to Capitol Hill on Thursday to brief lawmakers on possible NATO strikes, and the State Department prepared a travel advisory urging Americans not to travel in Yugoslavia.
     After briefing senators, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said diplomacy will be given a final chance but NATO "is now prepared to act" militarily against Serbian positions.
     Britain also offered words of warning.
     "We don't want to use force," British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told his governing Labor Party on Thursday. "But today I warn President Slobodan Milosevic that if it will take force, Britain is ready to back force."
     Robert Gelbard, the U.S. envoy to the Balkans, said the massacres have left the Yugoslav government with "no credibility at all."
     "We have seen atrocities piled on atrocities," he told the British Broadcasting Corporation. "Our people in Kosovo ... have verified that these atrocities have occurred, that these latest atrocities that occurred piled on top of previous ones."

Copyright 1998& The Associated Press. All rights reserved
__________________________________________________

Yugoslavia Grateful for RUSSIA'S Stance Minister.
Itar-Tass  01-OCT-98

WASHINGTON, October 2 (ITar-Tass) - Yugoslavia's Foreign Minister Jivadin Jovanovic said the Western pressure and threats of using force againts the Serbs can aggravate instability in the region and cause a new surge of separatism.
     Jovanovic, who is on an unofficial visit in the American capital, said in an interview Itar-Tass on Thursday that "we expect (from NATO member states) common sense and wisdom, and not air strikes".
     "If they still follow, this would be a direct violation of the U.N. Charter,' he said,
     Jovanovic said he would meet during his brief visit with congressmen to lay out Yugoslavia's stance of the Kosovo crisis.
     He said his meetings with U.S. administration officials were not planned.
     Jovanovic called for active diplomatic efforts for the crisis settelment with reliance on the U.N. Charter's principles.
     The prospect of a peaceful settlement is real as never before, he said.
     The settlement process " is beginning to get a positive outline in Kosovo", Jovanovic said.
     He said the situation in the Kosovo province is much different from media reports that Serbs are using heavy weapons against Kosovo civilians.
     Jovanovic confirmed that Yugoslavia's troops and security forces had been returning to barracks, because their anti-terrorist operations are over.
     He added that "security forces will remain alert for the occasion that new terrorists infiltrate Kosovo from territories of neighbouring countires".
     Jovanovic said Yugoslavia is grateful to Russia for its constructive stance on Kosovo.
     He said he had recently had a meeting with his " colleague and friend", Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and, was once more assured that "Russia is committed to a peaceful solution to the problem, stands against the use of military force and that its position remains clear and unchanged".
     "We are especilly grateful to the Russian government for its approcch, which sees the Kosovo problem as just an internal affair whichcan and must be resolved by negotiations," Jovanovic said.
     He stressed Russia's role in the settlement efforts. "We are continuing dialogue with representatives of the Russian government. (Prime Minister) Yevgeny Primakov, when he was foreign minister, more than once visited Belgrade," he went on to say.
     "His deputies were also actively involved in this process. At the present time, we are continuing the dialogue with new Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov," Jovanovic said,
     He added that "it is utmost necessary that the Russian government continues to firmly uphold its position, speaking against the use of miliatry force in any circumstances, in support of conducting dialogue and political solution" of the problem.
     As for Yugoslavia's relations with Russia, Jovanovic said "Russia is an old, traditional friend of Yugoslavia".
     "We maintain very good friendly relations and close cooperation in quite a variety of fields," he said.
     "The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia sees Russia's policy toward southeastern Europe, including its approach to the implementation of the Dayton peace accords, as principled and constructive," Jovanovic said.

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__________________________________________________

The Times  10/02/98
Evacuation call to Britons in Yugoslavia
BY MICHAEL BINYON AND
JAMES BONE IN NEW YORK

BRITAIN and America last night ordered their citizens to leave Yugoslavia as war over Kosovo loomed closer.
     Within five days British, American and other Nato jets could be pounding air defences, ammunition dumps and strategic targets across Kosovo and the rest of Yugoslavia.
     Four RAF Harrier jets based in southern Italy are on full alert and another four in Britain are on 24-hour standby.
     Yesterday Nato agreed an activation request - the penultimate step before warplanes are authorised to strike Serb forces. Officials also gave clear hints that meetings in London and New York over the next three days will conclude that President Milosevic has failed to comply with any of the United Nations' demands.
     After a denunciation by Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, of the murder of Kosovo Albanians in at least four massacres, Britain is pushing for swift military action.
     The determination was reinforced yesterday by reports from Kosovo that the Serbs had systematically raped ethnic Albanian women. Girls fleeing in a refugee convoy told of women being dragged into the forest by drunken or drugged Serb fighters and raped, with one or two girls for every Serb. The women had knives put to their throats as information was demanded about their menfolk, and babies were held above fires to force responses.
     Britain, which assumed the presidency of the Security Council this month, called a meeting yesterday to condemn Serb actions and insist that Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, should deliver his report on Yugoslav compliance on Monday instead of Wednesday.
     Today the six-nation Contact Group meets in London to co-ordinate Russia's reaction with the policies of America and its four main European allies. The Security Council meets again on Monday night. Hours later Nato will decide whether to adopt an activation order unleashing the full force of its pre-positioned forces on Yugoslavia.
     Officials said yesterday that airstrikes could begin within hours of such an order - and certainly within a week. The British Embassy in Belgrade was yesterday contacting Britons in Yugoslavia telling them to have their bags packed. The Foreign Office said 117 British nationals were registered with the Embassy, with a further 34 who hold dual nationality.
     Nato's decision is the most serious threat of military intervention since airstrikes against the Bosnian Serbs three years ago.
     The key decision will come at the Security Council meeting on Monday, which is likely to find Yugoslavia in default. In Resolution 1199, adopted last week, the UN ordered President Milosevic to comply with four demands: an immediate ceasefire in Kosovo; the withdrawal of Serb military and police forces; full Yugoslav co-operation with humanitarian agencies; and the opening of genuine political negotiations on autonomy.
     A Foreign Office spokesman said yesterday that he had not complied with any of them.
     Humanitarian agencies were constantly harassed. Serb forces were returning to barracks in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, but not withdrawing, and Belgrade had not begun any real negotiations.
     Because of its reference to the enforcement provisions of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, last week's resolution could be interpreted as allowing enforcement by military means. America insists that no further UN resolution is needed.
     But Russia has denounced any use of force without an explicit Security Council resolution. Britain also says that Nato has full international authority to act, but will decide on Monday whether a new resolution is needed.
     Other European Nato members would probably insist on a fresh political mandate. France is hedging. The new German Government has yet to be formed, but both Gerhard Schröder, the Chancellor-elect, and Joschka Fischer, a likely Foreign Minister in any coalition with the Greens, have called for a tough stance. If German warplanes go into action, it will be the first time the Luftwaffe has flown combat operations since 1945.
____________

U.S. Warns Americans to Leave, Belgrade to Act
Xinhua  01-OCT-98
 
WASHINGTON, October 1 (Xinhua) - The United States warned Americans on Thursday to leave Yugoslavia because of the looming air strike against Serbia by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
     State Department spokesman James Rubin said the travel warning was being issued because "we think the combination of President (Slobodan) Milosevic's failure to respond and the possibility of NATO action makes Serbia-Montenegro a more dangerous place."
     Meanwhile, White House spokesman Mike McCurry said Thursday Yugoslavia must quickly withdraw forces from Kosovo to avert a looming military strike by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
     McCurry had been asked if it was possible for Milosevic to avert air strikes being planned by NATO to end hostilities in Kosovo, a Serbian province in the Yugoslav federation.
     McCurry said diplomatic possibilities for resolving the issue had not been exhausted, and it would not be out of character for Milosevic to yield to United Nations demands that he end hostilities in Kosovo.
     "When faced with diplomacy backed by force, he has in the past backed down," he said.
     He spoke as top U.S. national security officials prepared to brief the U.S. Senate on the Kosovo situation and preparations for military action.
     Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Defense Secretary William Cohen and Air Force General Joseph Ralston, vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, were to deliver a classified briefing scheduled in the afternoon, McCurry said.
     "They will brief on our understanding of whether or not President Milosevic has met the commitments that he's publicly said that he would make," McCurry said.
     He added that any "expression of support" by Congress for the U.S. position would be welcomed.
__________________________________________________

Greece Says No to NATO Military Intervention in Kosovo
Xinhua  01-OCT-98

ATHENS (Oct. 1) XINHUA - Greece Thursday said "No" to a NATO military intervention in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, believing that there was still room for a peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis.
     Speaking at a press briefing, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stressed that there could be not positive results with military action if all the margins for dialogue for a political solution had not first been exhausted.
     Any intervention from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) must have the proper legal basis, he said, adding that this had been put up as a condition for taking action.
__________________________________________________

Italy Urges Milosevic to Stop Deterioration of Kosovo Crisis
Xinhua  01-OCT-98

ROME (Oct. 1) XINHUA - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on Thursday urged Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to take all steps necessary to stop the Kosovo crisis, Prodi's office said in a communique.
     In a telephone conversation, Prodi called on Milosevic to take "all necessary steps to restore an atmosphere of trust that would avoid a further aggravation of the situation in Kosovo," where ethnic Albanian separatists are fighting for independence from Serbia -- one of the two republics making up Yugoslavia.
     He urged Milosevic to ask United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to send a mission "to find out the real situation" in the province with an ethnic Albanian majority.
     Prodi also called on the Yugoslav leader to publicly invite all parties concerned in the Kosovo crisis to the negotiating table and affirmed Italy's support for such negotiations, the communique said.
     At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini said Italy would join in a military intervention in Kosovo by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with UN authorization.
     He said the international community should act actively to decide on a collective strategy to prevent further deterioration of the Kosovo crisis.
__________________________________________________

U.S., Alarmed by Kosovo, Warns of Strikes ''Soon''
Reuters  01-OCT-98

WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The United States warned on Thursday that NATO would strike "soon" unless Serb attacks in Kosovo against ethnic Albanians stopped and the U.N. Security Council told Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic it was his responsibility to protect civilians.
     In a statement read to the press late on Thursday in New York condemning recent atrocities against villagers, the Security Council said Belgrade was responsible for punishing the culprits and expressed alarm at reports that fighting was continuing.
     Britain called the council together to condemn the slaughter, reported on Saturday, of at least 16 civilians, including 10 women and children, in the village of Gornje Obrinje and another 18 people the same day in the Drenica region.
     Western nations hope to lay the political and legal groundwork in the Security Council next week, after a report from Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Kosovo, for a possible NATO attack, despite sharp disagreements from Russia.
     U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright made clear that Western powers still hoped Milosevic would agree to negotiations and accept the conditions outlined by both the United Nations and NATO.
     "The combined threat of the use of force and diplomacy is the best way of proceeding," Albright said after key national security officials briefed most of the U.S. Senate on the situation in Kosovo.
     But U.S. Secretary of Defence William Cohen, asked when NATO military strikes could begin, said bluntly: "Soon." And British Prime Minister Tony Blair said his country was ready to join such an action.
     "It is clear that the diplomatic solution alone will not work. We have to send the strongest possible message to Milosevic that we will not tolerate any more of these atrocities," Blair said.
     Albright said the three-track response to Milosevic in Kosovo involved resolving the humanitarian problems, pushing for a diplomatic resolution and preparing for a NATO strike. "NATO is now ready to act," she said.
     The U.S. officials outlined the conditions Milosevic must meet to remove the threat of NATO attack-- a pullback of military forces and police in Kosovo, allowing displaced persons to return to their homes, and allowing aid groups to enter Kosovo and begin negotiations-- essentially the same conditions set by the Security Council.
     Kosovo, populated largely by ethnic Albanians, is a province of Serbia, which together with Montenegro makes up the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas have been waging a separatist campaign for months.
     In retaliation, Serb security forces have driven hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians from their homes.
     But if NATO attacks, Serbian hardliners are warning of a quagmire tantamount to war. Serbian deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj, a powerful ultra-nationalist, has called on Russia and China to prevent military intervention.
     Accusing the West of waging an "orchestrated campaign" against Serbs to justify air strikes, he warned of retaliation against NATO forces "wherever possible."
     "Maybe we are incapable of hitting each one of their planes, but the West should be aware that their soldiers will be our targets no matter where they are, if reachable to us."
     There were "some territories where it will be easy to do so," Seselj added, in a possible reference to the 32,000-strong NATO-led peacekeeping force in neighbouring Bosnia.
     State Department spokesman James Rubin issued a travel warning to American citizens in Yugoslavia, saying "we think the combination of President Milosevic's failure to respond (to U.N. Security Council demands) and the possibility of NATO action makes Serbia-Montenegro a more dangerous place."
     In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi called Milosevic by telephone and urged him to do his utmost to prevent the Kosovo crisis from deteriorating further or else risk "international repercussions."
     "Prodi underlined the deep concern of the government and Italian public opinion about the developments of the situation in Kosovo," a statement issued by his office said.
     "(Prodi) also made a pressing appeal to Milosevic to take all necessary steps to restore an atmosphere of trust that would avoid a further aggravation of the situation on the ground and any possible international repercussions," it added.
     A senior NATO diplomat said that while military planning was moving ahead toward "the highest state of readiness" for air strikes, the allies were still debating the political aims, legal basis and ultimate consequences of using force.
     Some analysts questioned how a barrage of cruise missiles or even a sustained aerial bombardment would get negotiations started on a political settlement or return a quarter of a million displaced people to their homes.
     At NATO headquarters in Brussels, the U.S.-led alliance stepped up preparations for military action which Britain said could be triggered by a United Nations report early next week.
     But Russia, a long-time friend of fellow-Slav and Orthodox Christian Serbia, has objected to the use of military force and would probably veto a Security Council resolution that authorises it.
     "Russia believes that there is no military solution to the Kosovo problem," Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told a news briefing.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved.
__________________________________________________

Nato Getting down to Preparations for Action in Kosovo.
Itar-Tass  01-OCT-98

WASHINGTON, October 2 (ITar-Tass) - NATO defense ministers have ordered their ministries to submit lists of units and hardware to be used in the Serbian province Kosovo should necessity arise, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said at a briefing in Thursday.
     He said the decision of the Western alliance's defense ministers, made on Thursday, made NATO's action in Kosovo more likley, but no air strikes were ordered so far.
     Bacon said this decision should be preceded by more steps which he described as a carefilly considered, weighed process.
     He stressed that the U.S. is still seeking a diplomatic solution to the Kosovo situation.
__________________________________________________

U.N. demands Yugoslavs punish those behind Kosovo massacres
Albright: NATO 'prepared to act' militarily

In this story:
•U.N. demands 'full and immediate compliance'
•Annan: Violence 'must stop immediately'
•NATO attack would start with cruise missiles
•Security Council divided over military action
•Related stories and sites

October 1, 1998
Web posted at: 10:25 p.m. EDT (0225 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council condemned recent massacres of civilians in the Serbian province of Kosovo, and demanded Thursday that Yugoslav authorities find and punish those responsible.
     Meanwhile, NATO forces, led by the United States, were continuing preparations for possible air strikes against the Yugoslav federation in retaliation for its seven-month crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo.
     "NATO is now prepared to act," said U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, emerging from a secret briefing with U.S. senators on NATO's plans. However, she made it clear that officials would keep trying to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis.
     "We believe that the best solution continues to be a diplomatic solution," Albright said.
In a sign that military action may be edging closer, the United States warned its nationals Thursday to avoid traveling to Yugoslavia, and advised those in the region to consider leaving.
     Inside Kosovo, heavy fighting was reported in a village near the Albanian border, despite assurances from Yugoslav officials that their troops were being pulled back from violence-torn areas.
     A U.N. spokesperson in Belgrade said there did appear to be a gradual withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo, a province with an overwhelming Albanian majority inside Serbia, the largest of the two republics in the Yugoslav federation.

U.N. demands 'full and immediate compliance'

Britain, which just assumed the rotating presidency of the Security Council, asked for Thursday's emergency meeting to hear reports about the situation in Kosovo and to consider possible actions against the Yugoslavs.
     In a statement after the meeting, Jeremy Greenstock, Britain's U.N. ambassador, said the council demanded "full and immediate compliance" with U.N. resolutions calling for the withdrawal of troops from the province. He did not indicate that the council had approved any military action.
     "Council members expressed considerable alarm that fighting was continuing despite the demand ... for a cease-fire," Greenstock said.
     He said it also appears that the fighting has created more refugees in the countryside, worsening what international officials fear may become a humanitarian disaster when winter sets in.
     U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will deliver a report to the Security Council on Monday on the Yugoslav federation's compliance with U.N. demands.

Annan: Violence 'must stop immediately'

Evidence of atrocities against civilians, allegedly at the hands of Serbian soldiers, surfaced earlier this week in at least two areas of Kosovo.
     On Wednesday, residents of Golubovac said Serb forces surrounded a pocket of refugees on Saturday and killed at least 13 men. Five miles to the north, in Gornje Obrinje, diplomats, journalists and human rights workers said they had seen as many as 18 mutilated bodies, including those of women and children.
     The Yugoslav government has denied that its forces played a role in the massacres. In its statement Thursday, the Security Council didn't single out Serbs directly for the atrocities, condemning "those responsible" without assigning blame. But in an interview with CNN, Annan came closer to pointing a finger at the Serbs.
     "I utterly condemn these wanton killings and the excesses by the Serb security forces. And I think violence by all sides must stop immediately," Annan said. "If it doesn't stop and we don't have access to the displaced refugees in need, there will be a humanitarian disaster."

NATO attack would start with cruise missiles

Sources told CNN that NATO has been making plans for a series of graduated air strikes against military targets in Yugoslavia, including command and control facilities for its troops. The first wave would consist of cruise missiles launched from U.S. ships and warplanes, sources say.
While any attack would technically be a NATO effort, about 80 percent of the operation would be conducted by U.S. forces, sources say. The United States has an aircraft carrier, the USS Eisenhower, in Greece and also has planes in Germany, Italy, Turkey and Britain that could be used in a military operation.
     However, there is no indication at this point that U.S. military assets are being deployed for an imminent attack. Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon emphasized Thursday that "no decision to use force has been made by NATO."
     U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who briefed senators Thursday alongside Albright, said that in order to avoid military action, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic must pull back troops and police, allow humanitarian relief agencies to operate in Kosovo, let refugees return to their homes and begin negotiations with ethnic Albanians on the political future of the province.
     "The purpose of having a credible military threat is to indicate that in the absence of meeting those demands, [Milosevic] faces such a threat," Cohen said.

Security Council divided over military action

But at the United Nations, both Russia and China have flatly rejected any use of force to try to solve the Kosovo crisis.
     Russia has religious and cultural ties to the Serbs. China is traditionally opposed to any military intervention into what it considers an internal matter.
     As permanent members of the Security Council, the two nations could veto any U.N. resolution authorizing military action.
     France, another permanent member, has said it believes such a resolution is necessary before any NATO air strikes can be launched. But the United States has repeatedly said it believes prior U.N. resolutions already authorize military action.
     While Britain has not stated a position, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook indicated Thursday that his government may be leaning toward the American point of view.
     "Britain is ready to act," he told BBC Radio. "It's beginning to look like the only language President Milosevic will listen to is the threat of force."
     Yugoslav forces began their crackdown in Kosovo in February, trying to stamp out a budding independence movement by ethnic Albanians in the province. The fighting has left about 800 people dead and driven another 300,000 from their homes.

Correspondents Jamie McIntyre, David Ensor, Tom Mintier and Reuters contributed to this report.
-------------

Western Pressure to Worsen Kosovo Instability Minister.
Itar-Tass  01-OCT-98

WASHINGTON, October 2 (ITar-Tass) - Yugoslavia's Foreign Minister Jivadin Jovanovic said the Western pressure and threats of using force againts the Serbs can aggravate instability in the region and cause a new surge of separatism.
     Jovanovic, who is on an unofficial visit in the American capital, told Itar-Tass on Thursday that "we expect (from NATO member states common sense and wisdom, and not air strikes".
     "If they still follow, this would be a direct violation of the U.N. Charter,' he said,
     Jovanovic said he would meet during his brief visit with congressmen to lay out Yugoslavia's stance of the Kosovo crisis.
     He said his meetings with U.S. administration officials were not planned.
     Jovanovic called for active diplomatic efforts for the crisis settelment with reliance on the U.N. Charter's principles.
     The prospect of a peaceful settlement is real as never before, he said.
     The settlement process " is beginning to get a positive outline in Kosovo", Jovanovic said.
     He said the situation in the Kosovo province is much different from media reports that Serbs are using heavy weapons against Kosovo civilians.
     Jovanovic confirmed that Yugoslavia's troops and security forces had been returning to barracks, because their anti-terrorist operations are over.
     He added that "security forces will remain alert for the occasion that new terrorists infiltrate Kosovo from territories of neighbouring countires".

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-----------

Minister Does Not Rule out Kosovo Autonomy.
Itar-Tass  01-OCT-98

WASHINGTON, October 2 (Itar-Tass) - Yigoslavia's Foreign Minister Jivadin Jovanivic told reporters in Washington on Thursday he did not rule out an autunomy of the Kosovo province, in which interests and rights of Kosovbo Albanians and other nations would be heeded.
     He is on a brief unoffical visit to the United States. "There are no other means, no ways for resolutio of political issues realted to ensuring the equality and human rights in Kosovo," he said.
     "These frames certainly should include forms of autonony and of a local independent government," Jovanovic said.
     "However, the autonomy and the independent gogvernment should heed interets and rights of not a signle nation or community, but of all nations," he said.
     As for negotiations with Kosovo's Albanians, Jovanovic said Yugoslavia stands for "immediate dialogue".
     He said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova had their first meeting and a subsequent round of talks were held, but Albanians recalled their delegates and put off talks with different pretexts since.
     Jovanovic said these delays were used by terrorists for staging provocations.
     Asked for a comment on Western reports that security forces massacred Albanians in the high-mountain village of Gorni-Obrinje, Jovanovic dismissed them as groundless.
     He said "nobody of government troops was involved in that incident". He said a probe was under way and international observers were invaited to look at the situation in the village.
     Jovanovic said questions remained. He said approaches to the village were mined by terrorists.
     A U.N. humanitarian convoy crossed a road to the village and hit mines three days ago. Three of its members were hospitalised with serious wounds.
     A Red Cross Committee car set off mines two days ago. One person was seriously injured.
     Jovanovic said the question was how reporters who released the news of mass murders could get into the region which nobody had been able to reach, even the U.N. personnel. Who led them through mine-strewn areas, Jovanovic inquired.

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--------------

Guns Fall Silent in much of Kosovo
Reuters  01-OCT-98

PRISTINA, Serbia, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Serbia said on Thursday heavily-armed police units had withdrawn to their bases in Kosovo, as signs grew that its three-month offensive in the province could be drawing to a close.
     Reuters journalists in southern Kosovo-- the scene of ferocious bombardment of mountain villages by tanks and artillery on Sunday and Monday-- saw no sign of military action on Thursday.
     The tell-tale thud of shelling and palls of smoke from burning homes seen in the south and in the central Drenica region at the weekend were absent. Only one tank could be seen stationed on the main road through the southern mountains and armed police at one base on the road were packing belongings into a bus to leave.
     Ethnic Albanian sources, however, reported heavy shelling had resumed on Thursday of a village in the far west and that Serb forces were massing near some others in the south. The reports from the Kosovo Information Centre could not be independently confirmed.
     The state-run Yugoslav news agency Tanjug quoted police sources as saying "anti-terrorist" police units had returned to their bases on Wednesday and Thursday.
     "Only police units needed for maintaining public law and order and securing certain communications (roads) have remained on the ground," the agency said.
     Tanjug however reported five soldiers had been killed in guerrilla mortar attacks on soldiers posted on Kosovo's border with Albania on Wednesday.
     One policeman was posted at a still-functioning checkpoint in southern Kosovo on Wednesday, but witnesses said other sandbagged checkpoints nearby were deserted.
     Reuters journalists on Tuesday saw a long convoy of tanks and other military vehicles move into Kosovo's capital Pristina from the countryside, where almost all the violence of the Kosovo conflict has taken place.
     Belgrade has used a combination of regular army troops and special police equipped with armoured vehicles and artillery in its campaign to recapture control of rural areas taken over by separatist ethnic Albanian guerrillas early in the year.
     Large numbers of troops from other parts of Serbia have been deployed in Kosovo, 90 percent of whose population is ethnic Albanian.
     Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic announced on Monday that the Serbian offensive to crush the uprising had been completed, although journalists witnessed Serb artillery continuing to pound mountain villages in southern Kosovo as he spoke.
     Many ethnic Albanians dismiss the significance of troop movements, calling them mere rotations designed to appease demands by the United Nations that Belgrade withdraw forces and so deflect the threat of NATO air strikes.
     The offensive has driven hundreds of thousands of refugees from their homes, aid agencies say, and tens of thousands are sleeping in the open, their houses often roofless and gutted in the wake of Serb attacks.
     The Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms, a group staffed by ethnic Albanians, said on Wednesday its record of verified ethnic Albanian deaths in the conflict had increased to 1,503. The council-- which bases its figures only on cases reported to it by individuals-- also said 45 Serbs had been reported to it as missing.
     It said the death toll included 162 women, 144 children and 303 people over 55 years old. Aid agencies say they believe the true death toll to be much higher.

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved.
 

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