Welcome at - Willkommen bei - HOMEPAGE of   Wolfgang Plarre
            My Christmas-2001-startpage you find now at  index-christmas2001.htm.
            Former startpage to be found at  index-usual.htm
 
english NEWS from different internet-sources from/about Kosov@
I send since months to ALBANEWS and to alb-information
Please visit  ALBANEWS http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/archives/albanews.html
.alb-information http://www.egroups.com/messages/alb-information
<=  weather in Prishtina  | weather in Belgrade  =>
LINKto the former startpage
deutschsprachige  NACHRICHTEN http://www.kosova-info-line.de

NEWS on 26/25/24/23 March 2002:
             Serbia RELEASED Albanian Prisoners

Don't forget:  Milosevic trial before the United Nations' ICTY in Internet live every day
Informationen zu  BLAUE / Rote Jugoslawische PAESSE - UNMIK-Papiere
                            ergänzt am 13.2.2002
 
The European Information Campaign for People in Need of International Protection is a joint initiative by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the European Commission (EC). Funded by the European Commission , the Campaign aims at raising the awareness of European public opinion toward people in need of international protection (refugees, asylum seekers and people with temporary protection status) and combating racism, discrimination and prejudices directed at this target group with a view to ease their eventual integration in their host societies. The campaign is implemented in 14 European Union member states (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom). 

   source: http://www.iom.int/en/news/main_press_brief_notes.shtml

BELGRADE Assistance for Serbs and Roma from Kosovo  more

Serbia Released Albanian Prisoners
 

THE ALBANIAN PRISONERS ARE RELEASED NOW !

    visit for a firework  http://www.dbein.bndlg.de/APP/

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Boll ma" - "Enough is enough" - "Mjaft është mjaft"
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

O HAPPY DAY !    :-)

The Kosov@-Albanian prisoners of war
are tranfered from Serbia to Kosov@ !

Let's praise our GOD with Psalm 126

    A Song of degrees.

    When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion,
        we were like them that dream.
    Then was our mouth filled with laughter, 
        and our tongue with singing: 
    then said they among the heathen, 

    The LORD hath done great things for them.
    The LORD hath done great things for us; 
        [whereof] we are glad.

    Turn again our captivity , O LORD, 
        as the streams in the south.

    They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

    He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, 
    shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, 
    bringing his sheaves [with him].

THANKS to GOD

And thanks to you all
for your support and struggle for the release of the prisoners, 
especially the friends in Serbia, supporting us so much
in their own struggle for Human Rights there !

If many little people ... 

May this all contribute a lot to reconciliation !

Let's pray

   May the Divine healing power flow freely through us.
   May it cleanse, strengthen and heal us
   - filling us with love, healing warmth and light
   - protecting us and leading us on our path [with God].
   We give thanks - for this is happening

AMEN.

Sincerely yours

     Wolfgang

#  SRSG Michael Steiner Announces Return of Kosovo Albanian Detainees
    (UNMIK/PR/709, 26 March 2002)
#  HOME AT LAST!
    A-PAL STATEMENT March 26, 2002 
#  Ethnic Albanian prisoners transferred to Kosovo prisons
    (Office of Communication, March 26, 2002)
#  B92 NEWS Mar 26, 2002 20:44 CET
    - Prisoner transfer doesn't mean exchange, warns Covic 
    - Albanian prisoners handed over to UNMIK 
#  Free Serbia News March 27, 2002
    - No Serbs will be released from Kosovo prisons
    - Albanian prisoners on their way to Kosovo
#  radio21 KOSOVA 26 March 2002 
    - Steiner: Prisoners' return brings to closure a painful legacy of the war
    - Thousands of people wait the return of 145 Albanian prisoners in Merdare
    - After prisoners' return, Rugova: Most of them are hostages, not ordinary criminals
     - PM Rexhepi: Albanians release was a delayed justice but it was better late than never
#  Serbia transfers Kosovo Albanian prisoners
    (BBC, March 27, 2002)
#  Serbia hands over Kosovo prisoners
    (AFP, March 27, 2002)
#  Authorities transfer 145 Kosovo Albanian inmates from Serbian prisoners to Kosovo 
    (AP, March 26, 2002)
#  Belgrade hands over Kosovo Albanian prisoners
    (Reuters, March 26, 2002)
#  Serbs frees Kosovo war prisoners
    (CNN, March 26, 2002)
#  Belgrade turns over Kosovo prisoners, meeting US condition for aid
    (AFP, March 26, 2002)
#  Yugoslavia Transfers 145 Prisoners 
    (AP, March 26, 2002)
#  Return MPs demand Parliament committee on missing Serbs 
    (B92 NEWS, Mar 25, 2002)
#  Faced with U.S. deadline, more Serbs could be extradited to U.N. tribunal 
    (AP, Mar 26,2002)
#  ELECTRIC SHOCKS AND BEATING AT POLICE STATION
    (humanitarian law center, 26 Mar 2002)
_______________________________________________________________________

» "I am extremely happy that after extremely intensive talks in Belgrade, all Kosovo Albanian prisoners were returned to Kosovo today," SRSG Michael Steiner said. «

http://www.unmikonline.org/press/2002/pressr/pr709.htm

UNMIK/PR/709
Tuesday, 26 March 2002

SRSG Michael Steiner Announces Return of Kosovo Albanian Detainees

SRSG Michael Steiner announced today that all Kosovo Albanians remaining in Serbian prisons who so wished have been returned to Kosovo.
    These were the last known Kosovo Albanians held in Serbia, since Yugoslav forces in June 1999 moved approximately 2,000 prisoners from Kosovo to other facilities in Serbia following the NATO airstrikes. 
    Securing the return of the prisoners has been a top priority for UNMIK since the mission began. Since then, most of the Kosovo Albanian detainees had either been amnestied or released following the expiry of sentences or after charges were dropped.
    With the Common Document of 5 November, 2001, Yugoslavia and Serbia committed to returning all remaining Kosovo Albanian detainees.
    "I am extremely happy that after extremely intensive talks in Belgrade, all Kosovo Albanian prisoners were returned to Kosovo today," SRSG Michael Steiner said.
    Early this month, Belgrade officials gave case files of most of the detainees to the UNMIK Department of Justice, where each case was reviewed by international judges in Kosovo. This review was done to determine whether the prisoners had committed recognized crimes and were convicted in legally sound trials.
    SRSG Michael Steiner explained that tomorrow, he will order the release of all those whom UNMIK justice officials have already determined to have legally invalid convictions. 
    Those prisoners whom the international judges have determined to have committed recognised crimes and whose convictions were legally valid will serve out their sentences in Kosovo.
    The review of the remaining cases has not yet been completed. This process will be carried out by international judges as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with the same standards applied to all the others.
    It has also been agreed that in the future, the principles of the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners will apply.
    Finally SRSG Michael Steiner said that " The return of the detainees to Kosovo brings to closure a painful legacy of the war."
_______________________________________________________________________
Betreff:  [A-PAL] A-PAL NEWSLETTER 3/26/02: KOSOVA PRISONERS TRANSFERRED
Datum: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 14:20:25 -0500
Von: Alice Mead <amead@maine.rr.com>

A-PAL (ALBANIAN PRISONER ADVOCACY) 
March 26, 2002 

A-PAL STATEMENT 

HOME AT LAST! 

At long last, the remaining Albanian prisoners crossed the border into Kosova today, ending nearly three years of intensive international advocacy on their behalf. We can only imagine the relief the remaining families must feel at this moment to finally have contact with their loved ones again. We want to thank all the families for their extraordinary patience during this period. 

*** THANKS TO EVERYONE EVERYWHERE WHO HELPED **** 

The European A-PAL email action campaign--run by Divi Beineke in Germany and her team of translators- sent over 38,000 emails to world leaders on the prisoners' behalf. Wolfgang Plarre compiled daily articles and reports on human rights, missing and detained. In the USA, Naida Dukaj set up the first A-PAL website and ran the mail list for two years. Mentor Cana set up the mail administration. In Washington, Richard Lukaj and Ilir Zherka met with State Department staff and Senate foreign affairs staff. In Ireland, Valerie Hughes was our most resourceful campaigner, calling members of EP and UK and Irish foreign offices and embassies. Brendan Moran of Ireland Foreign Office assisted in raising the issue with other foreign offices. Bernie Sullivan of UK followed the UK foreign office and NATO. 
Suzy Blaustein wrote the first comprehensive report for ICG in 1999. Laura Rozen wrote articles. Bob Hand. Jason Steinbaum, and Kelly Siekman staff members from the House and Senate, were supportive in raising the issue at OSCE and State Dept meetings. Albert Cevallos and Kurt Bassuener helped advance awareness both in DC. Eric Witte and Nina Bang-Jensen led the difficult effort to include the transfer of prisoners in the bill passed by the US Congress to condition future aid to the FRY.  In Serbia, Natasa Kandic and Teki Bokshi of the Humanitarian Law Center visited prisoners, defended the 143 member Gjakova group, and monitored trials. 
Teki Bokshi also managed the arrangments in releasing nearly forty minor children in November, 1999. Fred Abrahams and Bogdan Ivanisevic of HR Watch monitored trials. Paul Miller and Sian Jones of Amnesty helped monitor trials. Jovana Krstic and Jelena Milic of Grupa 484 assisted A-PAL frequently. Patrick Gavigan of UNHCHR helped keep track of prisoner transfers and conditions. Stefano Valenti of Council of Europe helped forward information on trials. 
MP Bart Staes was our most dedicated EP member. MP Emma Bonino and Olivier Dupuis also forwarded resolutions and sent letters. In Sweden, Anders Wessman and Idriz Zogaj provided early support in Brussels, ran four hunger strikes, and filed suit for kidnapping against President Kostunica. Judge Richard Goldstone included the prisoner issue in his report on Kosova. Mary-Teresa Moran in Chris Patten's office followed the situation diligently and persistently. MP's Doris Pack and Elmar Brok passed a resolution on prisoner release in EP Brussels. 

In NY, lawyers Lisa LaPlante and Marko Maglich worked on the Albanian Prisoner Advocacy Guide and wrote the comments of Flora Brovina's trial. Also, Ambassador Ryan of Ireland and the Ambassador of Bangladesh raised the issue in the UN Security Council. In DC, Senators Smith, Leahy, Helms and McConnell repeatedly raised the issue in Congress and coordinated the effort to condition aid if the prisoners were not transfered by March 31, 2002, as did Reps. Engel and Cardin. At the US office in Prishtina, Julie Winn, Karen Levine, Laurie Dundon,and John Menzies offered support along the way. At the UK office, Victoria Whitford coordinated efforts in Belgrade and Prishtina. US A-PAL advocates Jane Stevenson and Trish Porter wrote to prisoners in Sremska Mitrovica and assisted in advocating the release of Bedri Kukalaj. Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell of the US State Dept. supported our efforts at crucial moments. 

In Kosova, we want to thank Rizah Xhakali, Gani Krasniqi, Avni Klinaku, and Nexhmi Kelmendi of the APP office, and Ibrahim Makolli, Payazit Nushi, and Adem Demaci of the CDHRF office, as well as Shukrie Rexha who represented the prisoner issue on KTC. At UNMIK, Elizabeth Presse, John Christian Cady, and Clint Williamson were negotiators. Sarah Bascheti and Mary Elena Andreotti were helpful to families in need and to the Dubrava hunger strikers. Albin Kurti wrote letters to foreign governments and met with foreign office officials. Liburn Aliu helped ill prisoners who had returned home. Enver Dugolli met with UNMIK officials. The Gjakova Families petitioned internationally and did a lot to raise awareness. The Released Dubrava Prisoners insisted on the creation of an UNMIK department of Missing and Detained and the repair of the mass grave at Dubrava. Blerim Shala, Isuf Hajrizi and Halil Matoshi kept the prisoner issue alive and in the news. Over 75,000 Albanians signed the first petition we delivered to NATO. Thousands demonstrated in rain, heat, and snow. Six prisoners died in detention. But the other 2,000 plus have now returned home. 

Best wishes to this last group, 

Your A-PAL Coordinators-

Alice Mead   Mentor Cana   Anders Wessman 
Divi Beineke   Valerie Hughes 
Naida Dukaj   Wolfgang Plarre 

    ***************************************** 

Agence France Presse March 26, 2002 Tuesday 

Belgrade turns over Kosovo prisoners, meeting US condition for aid 

DATELINE: NIS, Yugoslavia, March 26 

Serbian authorities on Tuesday began a transfer of ethnic Albanian prisoners held in Serbian jails to Kosovo, meeting a key US demand for extending aid to Yugoslavia. 

A convoy of four buses, escorted by two UN vehicles and Serbian police cars, was seen leaving a prison in the southern Serbian town of Nis around 2:10 pm (1310 GMT). 

A total of 145 ethnic Albanian prisoners, 104 from Nis prison and 41 from Sremska Mitrovica, were to be transferred to Kosovo, the Beta news agency reported quoting the Serbian justice ministry. Seven ethnic Albanian prisoners wanted to serve their sentence in Serbia and not to be transferred to Kosovo, Bruno Vekaric of the ministry told Beta. 

The US Congress had made the transfer of ethnic Albanian prisoners to Kosovo from other parts of Serbia before March 31 a condition for receving 40 million dollars in aid to Belgrade. 

Washington is also demanding cooperation from Belgrade in arresting and turning over suspects wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. 

The transfer was in accordance with an agreement reached last week by the Serbian government and the UN mission in Kosovo on an exchange of prisoners captured during the Kosovo war. 

Under the agreement ethnic Albanian prisoners held in Serbian prisons will continue to serve out their sentences in Kosovo, while Serb prisoners held in Kosovo will in return be sent to jails elsewhere in Serbia. 

The agreement was signed Friday by Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Kosovo Nebojsa Covic and Yugoslav Prime Minister Dragisa Pesic, and the UN administrator for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, signed the accord on behalf of the province. 

Over 2,100 detainees were sent to central Serbia during the June 1999 pullout of Yugoslav forces from the southern Serbian province of Kosovo. 

Most of the prisoners stand accused of terrorism and murder during the 1998-1999 war in which Yugoslav forces fought ethnic Albanian guerrillas in Kosovo. 

Some prisoners were released due to lack of evidence or after serving some time and others were sentenced to prison for 10 years or more. 
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/news/2002-03/26/323344.html

Ethnic Albanian prisoners transferred to Kosovo prisons

March 26, 2002

Nis - Belgrade, March 26, 2002 - A group of 145 ethnic Albanian prisoners were transferred today in UN busses from the local prison in Nis to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo-Metohija, in line with the Serbian government's decision on prisoner transfer, meeting one of the conditions set by the US in order to continue its financial assistance to Serbia, the Beta news agency reported.
    A convoy of four busses, escorted by police, left Nis in the early afternoon. UNMIK representatives will take over the ethnic Albanian prisoners in Merdare near Kursumlija, along the administrative border between Serbia and Kosovo-Metohija later in the afternoon.
    Serbian Justice Ministry Secretary Bruno Vekaric told Beta earlier on that seven prisoners asked not to be moved to Kosovo, saying they want to serve their time in Serbia.
    The ethnic Albanian prisoners from Kosovo-Metohija have been serving sentences in Nis and Sremska Mitrovica, and were released in line with the Belgrade-UNMIK agreement. 

Copyright © 2002 Office of Communication
Email: ooc@srbija.sr.gov.yu
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.b92.net/archive/e/index.phtml?Y=2002&M=03&D=26

B92 NEWS

Last update: Mar 26, 2002 20:44 CET

Prisoner transfer doesn't mean exchange, warns Covic 

20:44 BELGRADE, Tuesday - The head of Belgrade's Coordination Centre for Kosovo and South Serbia, Nebojsa Covic, today confirmed that 146 Albanian prisoners had been transferred to Kosovo. 
    However cautioned Covic, the transfer was not in exchange for Serbs imprisoned in the southern province. 
    "We have managed to release seventeen Serbs in Kosovo so far," said Covic, adding that there would be a review of the cases of other Serbs convicted by what he described as the biased Albanian judiciary. 
    The prisoners transferred to Kosovo today would continue serving their sentences in prisons in the province, said Covic, adding that some sentences could be reviewed. 

Albanian prisoners handed over to UNMIK 

18:30 MERDARE, Tuesday - Buses carrying 145 Kosovo Albanians from Serbian prisons crossed the administrative border into Kosovo this afternoon to the cheers of thousands of Albanians, waving Albanian and US flags. 
    The deputy secretary-general of the Serbian Government, Goran Jovicic, told media in the town of Merdare that the transfer of the prisoners to Kosovo was in line with international agreements signed by Yugoslavia and UNMIK. 
    He emphasised that the agreement did not include Albanians who had committed crimes in Serbia proper. 
    Jovicic added that Serb prisoners held in Kosovo would be transferred to Serbia as soon as the agreement on transfer was ratified. 
    The buses carrying the prisoners were escorted to the border by heavy police security and several policemen were aboard each bus. 
    The convoy also included UN vehicles. 
    KFOR refused to allow journalists accompanying the convoy to cross the border, claiming the situation was not safe. 
    The president of the Serb National Council for Northern Kosovo, Milan Ivanovic, told B92 that the decision to transfer the Albanian prisoners had not been well received among Kosovo Serbs. 
    "We expected to get something in return," he said. 
_______________________________________________________________________
http://128.121.251.38/bnews/bnews.php?language=english

Free Serbia News

03/26/2002 18:17 GMT+2 -- President of Kosovo Ibrahim Rugova
No Serbs will be released from Kosovo prisons

President of Kosovo Ibrahim Rugova, said today, he was grateful to Belgrade for the transfer of Albanian prisoners from prisons in Serbia proper to Kosovo, but added there would be no exchange, and that no Serbs would be released from prisons in the province.
    Kosovo's Prime Minister Bairam Rexhepi said the Albanian prisoners arriving in Kosovo, would first be sent to the Dubrava prison near Istok, until it is determined who is really guilty and who is not. Those found innocent would be released. 

03/26/2002 16:08 GMT+2 -- 
Albanian prisoners on their way to Kosovo

A group of 145 Albanians left Nis prison, today afternoon, in UN buses, on their way to Kosovo where they will be transferred to Unmik. They were serving their sentences in prisons in Nis and Sremska Mitrovica, and they are being transferred according to the agreement between Belgrade authorities and Unmik.
    The four buses with Albanian prisoners left Nis, after 2 p.m. under heavy police escort. The will be met by Unmik representatives in Merdare near Kursumlija at the administrative border of Kosovo and Serbia proper.
    Serbian Justice Ministry secretary Bruno Vekaric told Beta agency that seven Albanian prisoners decided not to be transferred to Kosovo, and serve their sentences in Serbia. 
    03/26/2002 15:59 GMT+2 -- Unmik chief Michael Steiner:
All Albanian prisoners will be transferred to Kosovo today or tomorrow
    Unmik chief Michael Steiner said that all Albanian prisoners serving their sentences in Serbia proper would be transferred to Kosovo today or tomorrow, Beta agency reports.
    Steiner said that all these prisoners would be sent to the Dubrava prison near Istok, and that the prisoner's convoy would not be accompanied by the International Red Cross Committee, as customary, but by international police forces, for security reasons. 
_______________________________________________________________________
radio21
http://www.radio21.net/english/index.htm

KOSOVA 26 March 2002 

Steiner: Prisoners' return brings to closure a painful legacy of the war

Special Representative of Secretary General Michael Steiner announced today that all Kosova Albanians remaining in Serbian prisons who so wished have been returned to Kosova. These were the last known Kosova Albanians held in Serbia, since Yugoslav forces in June 1999 moved approximately 2,000 prisoners from Kosova to other facilities in Serbia following the NATO air strikes. Securing the return of the prisoners has been a top priority for UNMIK since the mission began. Since then, most of the Kosova Albanian detainees had either been amnestied or released following the expiry of sentences or after charges were dropped. With the Common Document of 5 November 2001, Yugoslavia and Serbia committed to returning all remaining Kosova Albanian detainees. "I am extremely happy that after extremely intensive talks in Belgrade, all Kosova Albanian prisoners were returned to Kosova today," SRSG Michael Steiner said. Early this month, Belgrade officials gave case files of most of the detainees to the UNMIK Department of Justice, where international judges in Kosova reviewed each case. This review was done to determine whether the prisoners had committed recognized crimes and were convicted in legally sound trials. SRSG Michael Steiner explained that tomorrow, he will order the release of all those whom UNMIK justice officials have already determined to have legally invalid convictions. Those prisoners whom the international judges have determined to have committed recognised crimes and whose convictions were legally valid will serve out their sentences in Kosova. The review of the remaining cases has not yet been completed. This process will be carried out by international judges as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with the same standards applied to all the others. It has also been agreed that in the future, the principles of the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners will apply. Finally SRSG Michael Steiner said "The return of the detainees to Kosova brings to closure a painful legacy of the war."      (26.03.2002) 

Thousands of people wait the return of 145 Albanian prisoners in Merdare

Thousands of people waited this afternoon the return in Kosova of the 145 last Albanian prisoners who were suffering in Serb prisons. The prisoners, who were released by Belgrade authorities based on the agreement reached with United Nations Mission in Kosova (UNMIK), were handed to UN police at about 17:00, and later they will be sent to Dubrava prison. A part of the prisoners will suffer the rest of their sentence and the ones accused for political issues will be released. The news for a possible release, which circled in the late hours of the morning, made that of crowd of real friends and relatives be directed to the northern city of Podujeva, close to the administrative check point of Merdare between Kosova and Serbia. The police organized post blocks impeding the crowd of 4,000 persons to enter the city, but according to the ocular witnesses, such a number arrived on foot to the border line. The prisoners, who started from Nish prison (North Serbia) and Sremska Mitrovica Prison (north), traveled in 6 white buses with the initials of United Nations. After the identification procedures, the prisoners will be transferred to Dubrava prison, which is located in the western region of Istog, region under Italian KFOR control.      (26.03.2002)

After prisoners' return, Rugova: Most of them are hostages, not ordinary criminals

Immediately after the release of Albanian prisoners, Kosova president, Ibrahim Rugova stated that most of them are war hostages and not ordinary criminals. "The case will be examined again since Belgrade told there are several convicts for ordinary crimes, but the truth is that most of them were war hostages and will gradually be released. We will consider this issue, since here they are in Kosova justice's hands and there will be no re-convictions," added Rugova. 142 Albanian prisoners arrived today in the check point of Merdara in Kosova. UNMIK police declared to send them in Dubrava prison to attend the further procedures.      (26.03.2002) 

PM Rexhepi: Albanians release was a delayed justice but it was better late than never

Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi welcomed on Tuesday the release of the Albanian prisoners form Serb prisons. He said that their release was delayed justice, but it was better late than never. "It is important for all Kosovars to return from there and of course the political prisoners and the kidnapped will be released immediately after one or two days, but if any has committed a criminal offence it is a matter for the courts," Rexhepi said. According to him, officially there was no exchange. "Both UNMIK and Mr. Steiner said that there was no exchange. If somebody is allowed for humanitarian reasons to be closer to their relatives, it is a matter of international law and we will observe that. To enlighten the fate of the missing persons Kosova should co-operate, to be in joint groups with UNMIK and members of the Serb Government. We will do our best to enlighten the fate of the missing persons," PM Rexhepi said.      (26.03.2002) 
_______________________________________________________________________
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1894000/1894768.stm

Tuesday, 26 March, 2002, 17:58 GMT 

Serbia transfers Kosovo Albanian prisoners

The Serbian authorities have begun transferring the last of the ethnic-Albanian prisoners jailed during the Kosovo crisis back to the province. 
    The release - agreed last week between Serbia and the United Nations administration in Kosovo - was one of the key conditions for continued US aid to Belgrade. 
    More than 100 ethnic Albanians remain in Serbian prisons. 
    Many of them were sentenced for what the Yugoslav authorities called terrorist offences, but human rights groups have raised doubts about their trials. 
    The prisoners' cases will now be reviewed in Kosovo, where some may be required to serve out their sentences. 

The agreement also covers the transfer to Serbia of Serb prisoners held in Kosovo. 

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
_______________________________________________________________________
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/020326/1/2n1o5.html

Wednesday March 27, 1:07 AM 

Serbia hands over Kosovo prisoners

Serbia handed over 145 prisoners from the Kosovo war to UN authorities in the province, meeting a key US demand for continuing aid to Yugoslavia.
    In Pristina, the UN administrator of the province, German diplomat Michael Steiner, said that the "return of detainees to Kosovo brings to closure a painful legacy of the war."
    A total of 145 ethnic Albanian prisoners, 104 imprisoned in the southern Serbian city of Nis and 41 jailed in the northern town of Sremska Mitrovica, boarded four buses escorted by Serbian and UN police.
    The convoy later reached Merdare, on the administrative border between Serbia proper and Kosovo, where about 50 UN policemen and NATO-led troops took over as escorts.
    Thousands of relatives of the prisoners gathered in Merdare and along the road to the provincial capital of Pristina to welcome the convoy.
    Some cried and some waved at familiar faces in the buses as they drove slowly, transferring the prisoners to the Dubrava prison in Kosovo, some 80 kilometers (48 miles) west of Pristina.
    Hoping to get a glimpse of her son in one of the buses, Naxhije Asllani, 63 still couldn't rest assured that she would see him soon.
    "I'm so happy, but I still have fears. It's been so long since I've seen my son and all this is too good to be true," she told AFP.
    Most of the prisoners stand accused of terrorism and murder during the 1998-1999 war in which Yugoslav forces fought ethnic Albanian guerrillas in Kosovo.
    Over 2,100 detainees were sent to prisons in central Serbia during the June 1999 pullout of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo, which was then placed under UN administration.
    Some prisoners were released due to lack of evidence or after serving some time and others were sentenced to prison for 10 years or more.
    The US Congress had made the transfer of ethnic Albanian prisoners to Kosovo from other parts of Serbia before March 31 a condition for granting 40 million dollars in aid to Belgrade.
    Washington is also demanding cooperation from the former Yugoslavia in arresting and turning over suspects wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
    The transfer was in accordance with an agreement reached last week by the Serbian government and the UN mission in Kosovo on an exchange of prisoners captured during the Kosovo war.
    Under the agreement ethnic Albanian prisoners held in Serbian prisons will continue to serve out their sentences in Kosovo, while Serb prisoners held in Kosovo will in return be sent to jails elsewhere in Serbia.
    Seven ethnic Albanian prisoners however wanted to serve their sentences in Serbia and not to be transferred to Kosovo, Bruno Vekaric of the Serbian justice ministry told Beta news agency.
    The agreement was signed Friday by Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Kosovo Nebojsa Covic and Yugoslav Prime Minister Dragisa Pesic, and Steiner, signed the accord on behalf of the province.
    Earlier this month, Belgrade officials handed over documents of the cases to the UN's Department of Justice in the province for international judges to review the files.
    Steiner said each case would be examined in order to determine whether the sentences had been legally sound.
    "This is about rule of law. Those who have committed a crime will serve out their sentences, not in Serbia, but here in Kosovo," Steiner said.
    "Those who have not committed crimes wil be released. Most of them tomorrow. The rest within weeks, not months," he insisted.
    Kosovo came under UN and NATO control after 78 days of NATO bombing in 1999 induced the withdrawal of all Serb forces accused of repression against ethnic Albanians in the province, which is formally part of Serbia.

Copyright © 2002 AFP
_______________________________________________________________________
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020326/ap_wo_en_ge/yugoslavia_prisoner_release_17

Authorities transfer 145 Kosovo Albanian inmates from Serbian prisoners to Kosovo 

Tue Mar 26,10:10 AM ET 
By DRAGAN ILIC, Associated Press Writer 

NIS, Yugoslavia - Serbia on Tuesday transported most of the ethnic Albanian prisoners who were held here to the provincial border with Kosovo to hand them over to NATO (news - web sites) troops.
    Under howling police sirens, prison gates at a penitentiary in Nis opened in the early afternoon to let through a convoy of four buses carrying 145 ethnic Albanian prisoners.
    Two U.N. jeeps, a black sedan carrying Belgrade officials, an ambulance, police vans and cars carrying about 50 police officers accompanied the buses as they left Nis and sped toward the Kosovo border.
    The strict security had been ordered to ensure smooth transfer of the prisoners to the border.
    Prisoners' relatives were eagerly awaiting the arrival near the border in Kosovo. Many expect that most of the prisoners, convicted under terrorism charges for fighting in the 1998-99 Kosovo war, will be released once they are in Kosovo. Others, convicted as common criminals, will likely serve out their time in Kosovo prisons.
    The prisoners on the buses included 104 inmates from a prison in Nis, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of capital Belgrade, and 41 from a prison in Sremska Mitrovica in northern Serbia.
    Seven ethnic Albanian prisoners declined the transfer, saying they wanted to stay in Serbian prisons, said Bruno Vekaric, a Justice Ministry official.
    The Belgrade government last week decided to allow all the ethnic Albanian prisoners still in jails in Serbia to be transferred to their native Kosovo province. The government hopes the U.N. will return the favor by handing over Serb inmates held in Kosovo prisons.
    The approval for the transfer confirmed an earlier agreement between the United Nations (news - web sites) and the federal Yugoslav authorities that came after months of international pressure.
    The transfer of Kosovo prisoners is one of the key requirements the United States has demanded fulfilled if it is to continue giving aid and support to Yugoslavia.
    In Kosovo, the prisoners are considered political prisoners who fought a liberation struggle against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites)'s repressive regime.
    The United Nations has run Kosovo since NATO in 1999 forced Milosevic's troops out of the province with a 78-day air war. The alliance launched the war to halt Milosevic's brutal crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanians, thousands of whom were killed and an estimated 800,000 driven from their homes.
    When Milosevic's troops pulled out, they brought with them 2,015 ethnic Albanian prisoners from Kosovo and placed them in Serbian prisons.
    Many were subsequently released and Milosevic's successor, President Vojislav Kostunica (news - web sites), pardoned four of the most prominent ethnic Albanians, including pro-independence student leader Albin Kurti and activist Flora Brovina.
    Kosovo remains officially part of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic.
    Milosevic is now on trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague (news - web sites), Netherlands, for war crimes charges related to atrocities his forces carried out in Kosovo and earlier in Bosnia and Croatia.

(pvs/di/kk/sl)

Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press
_______________________________________________________________________
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/020326/80/cv987.html

Tuesday March 26, 06:49 PM

Belgrade hands over Kosovo Albanian prisoners

By Shaban Buza and Edita Bucinca

MERDARE/PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (Reuters) - Around 150 Kosovo Albanian prisoners have been transferred from Serbia proper to jails in their homeland, fulfilling a key condition for keeping U.S. financial aid flowing to Belgrade.
    Thousands of people cheering and waving red Albanian flags lined the route of seven buses carrying the prisoners after they crossed into Kosovo at the village of Merdare. Police escorted the convoy and a United Nations helicopter flew overhead.
    Kosovo's U.N. governor Michael Steiner said the transfer on Tuesday meant all Kosovo Albanian prisoners in Serbian jails who wanted to return to the province had now done so. Those who did not have legally justifiable convictions would be freed swiftly.
    "This is about the rule of law. Those who have committed a crime will serve out their sentences not in Serbia but here in Kosovo," Steiner told reporters in the Kosovo capital Pristina.
    "Those who have not committed crimes will be released, most of them tomorrow, the rest within weeks, not months," he said. The German diplomat say did not specify how many prisoners were involved but Serbian authorities put the figure at 145.
    Kosovo legally remains part of Serb-dominated Yugoslavia but has been a de facto international protectorate since NATO's 1999 air war to end Serb repression of the province's ethnic Albanian majority, during the rule of Slobodan Milosevic.
    Under U.S. legislation, reformers who ousted Milosevic in 2000 have to pass several key tests including the release of political prisoners by the end of this month or a face a freeze in aid from Washington worth around $40 million.
    Many of those transferred on Tuesday were jailed on terrorism charges during Milosevic's crackdown in Kosovo and are regarded by rights groups as political prisoners. Milosevic is now on trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal.
    At the end of the Kosovo war, rights groups say there were around 2,000 Kosovo Albanians in jails in Serbia proper. Many were detained during the conflict and transported out of the province in its dying days in June 1999.
    According to the U.S. legislation, Belgrade must also show it is cooperating with the war crimes tribunal. Many analysts believe Serbia will hand over at least one indictee to the court before the deadline to try to satisfy this condition.
    Serbian officials have insisted the transfer of the prisoners to jails in Kosovo is a humanitarian gesture unconnected to the U.S. deadline.
    Under a related deal with the U.N., Serbian officials say 38 Serbs jailed in Kosovo will be allowed to serve their sentences in central Serbia if they have relatives there. 

Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited.
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/03/26/serbia.prisoners/index.html

Serbs frees Kosovo war prisoners

March 26, 2002 Posted: 3:01 PM EST (2001 GMT)

NIS, Yugoslavia -- Serbia has begun handing over to NATO some of the 270 ethnic Albanians it is holding prisoner ahead of a U.S. deadline. 
    A convoy of about seven buses carried the first batch of 150 ethnic Albanian prisoners from prison in Nis to the Kosovo border. 
    Two U.N. jeeps and police vans and cars carrying about 50 police officers accompanied the buses as they made their way through lines of flag-waving ethnic Albanians who turned out to greet them. 
    The Serb government had been given until the end of the month to release political prisoners under U.S. legislation if it wanted to get its hands on $40 million of aid from Washington. 
    Kosovo's U.N. governor Michael Steiner said the transfer meant all Kosovo Albanian prisoners in Serbian jails who wanted to return to the province had now done so. 
    He added: "Those who have not committed crimes will be released, most of them tomorrow, the rest within weeks, not months." 
    Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic said that in the coming days 165 prisoners who fall into this category would be released. 
    Serbian officials have insisted the transfer of the prisoners to jails in Kosovo is a humanitarian gesture unconnected to the U.S. deadline. 
    Under a related deal with the United Nations, Serbian officials say 38 Serbs jailed in Kosovo will be allowed to serve their sentences in central Serbia if they have relatives there. 
    Many of those transferred Tuesday were convicted of terrorism during Milosevic's crackdown in Kosovo between 1998-99 and are regarded by rights groups as political prisoners. 
    One father who waited to see his son arrive across the border at Merdare told Reuters: "Now that my son has stepped onto Kosovo land, I can feel that it is really free." 
    Fatmir Qarri,'s son from the western town of Djakovica was arrested as a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army rebel group during the war. 
    Kosovo legally remains part of Serb-dominated Yugoslavia but has been a de facto international protectorate since NATO's 1999 air war to end Serb repression of the province's ethnic Albanian majority, during the rule of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. 
    Milosevic was handed over to the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia last year, again under Belgrade's need for U.S. aid. 
    Many analysts believe Serbia will also hand over at least one indictee to The Hague court before the deadline. 
    Yugoslavia's Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic told Reuters: "I will not be able to say what will happen on March 31, but I am sure there will be more cooperation, no matter whether it will happen the day before or a month after the 31st. 
    "It is a strong commitment of our government." 

Mladic loses guard

Meanwhile, Gen. Ratko Mladic, the world's number two war crimes fugitive, has been stripped of his military guards, The Associated Press reported. 
    Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, who was instrumental in extraditing Milosevic, said on Monday that more than a dozen war crimes indictees believed to be living in Serbia "will have to be in The Hague" soon. 
    The top war crimes suspects living in Serbia also include the republic's president, Milan Milutinovic; Milosevic's military commander, Dragoljub Ojdanic: Milosevic's security adviser, Nikola Sainovic; and his police chief, Vlajko Stojiljkovic. 
    They have been indicted for war crimes in Kosovo province along with Milosevic. 
    Other top wanted suspects who went into hiding in Serbia include the so-called Vukovar troika: Mile Mrksic, Miroslav Radic and Veselin Sljivancanin. 
    The three retired Yugoslav army officers are wanted by the tribunal for crimes allegedly committed during Croatia's 1991 war for independence. 
    NATO troops attempted to arrest The Hague's number one most wanted man Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic last month without success. 
    Milosevic's successor, President Vojislav Kostunica, pardoned four of the most prominent ethnic Albanians, including pro-independence student leader Albin Kurti and activist Flora Brovina. 
    Milosevic is on trial for alleged genocide and crimes against humainity in Kosovo, Bosnia and Croatia. 

© 2002 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/2002/03/27/FFXFIV5L8ZC.html

The Age

Belgrade turns over Kosovo prisoners, meeting US condition for aid

NIS, Yugoslavia, March 26 AFP|Published: Wednesday March 27, 12:45 AM

Serbian authorities today began a transfer of ethnic Albanian prisoners held in Serbian jails to Kosovo, meeting a key US demand for extending aid to Yugoslavia.
    A convoy of four buses, escorted by two UN vehicles and Serbian police cars, was seen leaving a prison in the southern Serbian town of Nis around 2:10 pm (0010 AEDT).
    A total of 145 ethnic Albanian prisoners, 104 from Nis prison and 41 from Sremska Mitrovica, were to be transferred to Kosovo, the Beta news agency reported quoting the Serbian justice ministry. 
    Seven ethnic Albanian prisoners wanted to serve their sentence in Serbia and not to be transferred to Kosovo, Bruno Vekaric of the ministry told Beta.
    The US Congress had made the transfer of ethnic Albanian prisoners to Kosovo from other parts of Serbia before March 31 a condition for receving $US40 million ($A76.56 million) in aid to Belgrade.
    Washington is also demanding cooperation from Belgrade in arresting and turning over suspects wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
    The transfer was in accordance with an agreement reached last week by the Serbian government and the UN mission in Kosovo on an exchange of prisoners captured during the Kosovo war.
    Under the agreement ethnic Albanian prisoners held in Serbian prisons will continue to serve out their sentences in Kosovo, while Serb prisoners held in Kosovo will in return be sent to jails elsewhere in Serbia.
    The agreement was signed on Friday by Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Kosovo Nebojsa Covic and Yugoslav Prime Minister Dragisa Pesic, and the UN administrator for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, signed the accord on behalf of the province.
    Over 2,100 detainees were sent to central Serbia during the June 1999 pullout of Yugoslav forces from the southern Serbian province of Kosovo.
    Most of the prisoners stand accused of terrorism and murder during the 1998-1999 war in which Yugoslav forces fought ethnic Albanian guerrillas in Kosovo.
    Some prisoners were released due to lack of evidence or after serving some time and others were sentenced to prison for 10 years or more.

Copyright © 2002 John Fairfax Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A19268-2002Mar26?language=printer

washingtonpost.com 

Yugoslavia Transfers 145 Prisoners 

By Dragan Ilic
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, March 26, 2002; 10:37 AM 

NIS, Yugoslavia -- Serbian authorities on Tuesday took most of the remaining ethnic Albanian prisoners from Kosovo to the provincial border to hand them over to NATO troops.
    With police sirens howling, the gates of the penitentiary at Nis swung open and the convoy of buses, jeeps and official black sedans carrying 145 prisoners and 50 police headed for the Kosovo border where international observers will oversee the transfer.
    Near the border inside Kosovo relatives of the prisoners eagerly awaited their arrival. Most of the prisoners were convicted of terrorism charges for fighting in the 1998-99 Kosovo war. It was widely believed most of the prisoners would be freed once inside Kosovo.
    The prisoners include 104 from the prison in Nis, 125 miles south of Belgrade, the capital, and 41 from a prison in Sremska Mitrovica in northern Serbia.
    Seven ethnic Albanian prisoners declined the transfer, saying they wanted to stay in Serbian prisons, said Bruno Vekaric, a Justice Ministry official.
    The move came after a Belgrade government decision last week to allow all the prisoners still in jails in Serbia to be transferred to their native Kosovo province.
    The decision followed an earlier agreement between the United Nations and the federal Yugoslav authorities that came after months of international pressure. The Kosovo prisoner transfer is among key U.S. demands if Yugoslavia is to continue getting aid and support.
    Many of the prisoners were convicted under terrorism charges for fighting in the 1998-99 Kosovo war. Back home, however, they are considered political prisoners who fought a liberation struggle against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's repressive regime.
    Although Belgrade agreed to the release, it hopes the U.N. administration in Kosovo will reciprocate and hand over Serb prisoners there so they can serve out their time in prisons in Serbia.
    The United Nations has run Kosovo since the end of the war, when NATO's 1999 bombing campaign forced Milosevic's troops out of the province. The bombing was launched to halt Milosevic's brutal crackdown on the province's ethnic Albanians, thousands of whom were killed and an estimated 800,000 driven from their homes.
    When Milosevic's troops pulled out, they brought with them 2,015 Kosovo Albanian prisoners and placed them in Serbian jails. Many were subsequently released and Milosevic's successor, President Vojislav Kostunica, pardoned four of the most prominent ethnic Albanians, including pro-independence student leader Albin Kurti and activist Flora Brovina.
    Kosovo remains officially part of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic.
    Milosevic is now on trial by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for atrocities his forces carried out in Kosovo and earlier in Bosnia and Croatia. 

© 2002 The Associated Press 
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.b92.net/archive/e/index.phtml?Y=2002&M=03&D=25

B92 NEWS

Last update: Mar 25, 2002 21:12 CET

Return MPs demand Parliament committee on missing Serbs 

21:12 PRISTINA, Monday - Representatives of the Serbian Return coalition in the Kosovo Parliament have demanded the establishment of a parliamentary committee of enquiry into missing and abducted Serbs in the province. 
    Coalition spokesman Oliver Ivanovic described relations with the speaker of the Parliament as "fair", adding that the initiative had been adopted in principle although, he added this did not mean it would be adopted. 
    Asked whether Return representatives would meet UNMIK head Michael Steiner today, Ivanovic said that the coalition would wait for Steiner to respond to the demand. 
    Today's meeting of the Parliament's presidency was postponed because the major Albanian parties were not ready to nominate representatives to parliamentary bodies and committees. 
    Only the Serb representatives had lists of candidates prepared, said Ivanovic. 
_______________________________________________________________________
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020326/ap_wo_en_ge/yugoslavia_war_crimes_6

Faced with U.S. deadline, more Serbs could be extradited to U.N. tribunal 

Tue Mar 26,10:15 AM ET 
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer 

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia - Gen. Ratko Mladic, the world's No. 2 war crimes fugitive, has been stripped of his military guards and other top suspects are in hiding as Serbian authorities - faced with a deadline to cooperate with the U.N. tribunal - prepare to make more arrests.
    The U.S. Congress says Yugoslavia has until March 31 to cooperate with the court or risk losing dlrs 120 million in financial assistance. Acting on a similar deadline a year ago, Serbian security arrested former President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) last April 1 and later delivered him to the tribunal in The Hague (news - web sites), Netherlands.
    "If we don't cooperate with the tribunal, our country faces international isolation," Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, who was instrumental in extraditing Milosevic, said Monday.
    More than a dozen war crimes indictees believed to be living in Serbia - which include such top suspects as Bosnian Serb wartime commander Mladic - "will have to be in The Hague" soon, he said.
    Djindjic's government - faced with criticism from both Milosevic's supporters and a nationalist faction led by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica (news - web sites), who opposes the tribunal as anti-Serb - desperately needs U.S. and other foreign aid to keep the country from exploding in social unrest.
    "There will be more cooperation," Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic said Tuesday in Geneva after addressing the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (news - web sites). "Whether it's the day before the deadline or a month later is not the question. There will be more."
    But many suspects enjoy widespread support, and fresh graffiti outside the Yugoslav army headquarters - "Djindjic, you are dead" - illustrates how unpopular it is to tartget them.
    The top war crimes suspects living in Serbia also include the republic's president, Milan Milutinovic; Milosevic's military commander, Dragoljub Ojdanic: Milosevic's security adviser, Nikola Sainovic; and his police chief, Vlajko Stojiljkovic. They have been indicted for war crimes in Kosovo along with Milosevic.
    They would also be potential witnesses at the current trial of Milosevic in The Hague on 66 counts of alleged genocide and other war crimes committed in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia. Each count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
    Other top wanted suspects, who went into hiding in Serbia, the dominant Yugoslav republic, include the so-called Vukovar troika: Mile Mrksic, Miroslav Radic and Veselin Sljivancanin. The three retired Yugoslav army officers are wanted by the tribunal for crimes allegedly committed during Croatia's 1991 war for independence.
    Mladic and the tribunal's No. 1 wanted man, Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, are the most prominent of the 32 indicted Yugoslav war crimes suspects still at large in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia. Last month, NATO (news - web sites) troops failed to arrest Karadzic in a raid in southern Bosnia.
    Mladic - a key culprit in the atrocities of the Bosnian war, including the 1995 massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica and a three-year military siege and shelling of Sarajevo - has been living off-and-on in Serbia since 1996. He was often seen in Belgrade restaurants or at soccer games, escorted by dozens of bodyguards.
    But in a sign that his days as a free man are numbered, the Yugoslav army recently withdrew its solders from a 30-member security team protecting Mladic, a Serbian government minister told The Associated Press.
    "Mladic now has a few die-hard loyalists from Bosnia guarding him as he commutes from Serbia to Bosnia and back," the minister said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "That means that the Yugoslav army has given him up and that his arrest is more likely."
    Djindjic recently said that Milutinovic, the Serbian president, won't be extradited for now because he enjoys parliamentary immunity. But the others, he said, are up for grabs.
    Feeling the heat, many of the suspects have gone into hiding or have threatened to resist arrest.
    Sljivancanin, a retired army colonel charged with war crimes in the eastern Croatian city of Vukovar, said in a recent newspaper interview that he always has a hand grenade in his pocket "just in case they try to arrest me."
    Sainovic and Stojiljkovic also have vowed not to surrender voluntarily.
    Kostunica, Djindjic's political archrival, repeatedly has accused the tribunal of bias and has contended that the extradition of Serbs violates the Yugoslav constitution and would "destabilize the country."
    Djindjic, however, argues that the country must cooperate as a member of the United Nations (news - web sites), and says failing to do so risks "returning the country to Milosevic's times ... to the times of isolation."

(ds/bk)

Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press
_______________________________________________________________________
Betreff: HLC - PRESS - ELECTRIC SHOCKS AND BEATING AT POLICE STATION
Datum: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 14:19:42 +0100
Von: humanitarian law center <office@hlc.org.yu>

ELECTRIC SHOCKS AND BEATING AT POLICE STATION

The Humanitarian Law Center has strongly urged the Serbian police authorities to identify and take steps against officers of the Smederevo Police Department who subjected Darjan Adzic (20) and Igor Jocic (19) to torture to force them to confess to stealing cars. 
    Adzic and Jocic were taken into custody in Belgrade on 25 October 2001 and beaten on the spot, allegedly for resisting arrest. They were then driven to the Police Department in the industrial city of Smederevo where they were illegally held for two days - from 25 to 27 October - during which time they were subjected to electric shocks, kicked and beaten all over their bodies. One of the officers who tortured them was nicknamed "Edi." 
    The youths were not allowed to make any phone calls or engage a lawyer, even after they were interrogated by the investigating judge who ordered them remanded to custody pending investigation. Suspecting that their sons had been arrested and not knowing their whereabouts, their parents hired a lawyer, Bojan Sulejic, who eventually located them in Smederevo.  When he first visited them in early November, the prison guards warned the lawyer that Adzic and Jocic "looked unusual." 
    "Two guards literally dragged Adzic into the room because he couldn't stand on one foot. He hardly recognized me even though we knew each other well from before. Jocic walked in limping on one foot. Both had bruises and cuts about the head and face, and Jocic had an egg-sized swelling behind his right ear," the lawyer told the HLC. 
    Sulejic added that the hands and legs of his clients were black with bruises, that they had oval-shaped injuries on their ankles, and that their backs were also heavily bruised and marked with clusters of black spots.  Adzic and Jocic told their lawyer the police had subjected them to electric shocks and severely beaten them. The youths were not taken to a doctor for treatment of their injuries and were only given painkillers and tranquilizers. 
    When they were questioned by the investigating judge of the Smederevo District Court 10 days after their arrest and only at the insistence of their counsel, the judge entered into the record the following: 
    "Two brown-colored injuries are visible beneath the eyes of the accused Igor Jocic, as well as injuries on the back and legs. The injuries on the legs are in the form of wounds covered with brown scabs. The second accused, Darjan Adzic, also has scabs on the legs." 
    Torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment are explicitly prohibited by both national and international law. The Constitution bans and makes punishable any violence against a person who has been taken into custody as well as attempts to extract confessions or other statements by any means. The UN Convention against Torture prohibits the intentional infliction physical or mental pain or suffering and obliges states to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into all allegations that an act of torture has been committed. 

For more details please contact Tanja Pavlovic-Krizanic, HLC Belgrade office, tel./fax: +381 11/444-3944 or 444-1487; e-mail: tanja@hlc.org.yu 
_______________________________________________________________________

THE ALBANIAN PRISONERS ARE RELEASED NOW !

      http://www.dbein.bndlg.de/APP/
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Kosovar prisoners might return from Serbia tomorrow
    (radio21 KOSOVA  25 March 2002)
SERBIA TRANSFERS KOSOVAR ALBANIAN PRISONERS TO UN 
    (RFE/RL NEWSline 25 March 2002 SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE)
#  balkanreport.com 3/25/2002
    - Koha Ditore: Waiting for Nait and other hostages 
    - Zëri: Out of 3,500 missing: 800 bodies found, 3 identified…! 
# „6. Quoting reliable sources, 
    Bota Sot reports that 186 Albanian prisoners kept in Serbian ..."
    (Headlines - 2403.doc)
Tit without tat in Kosovo prisoner transfer 
    (B92 NEWS, Mar 23, 2002)
A small number of incarcerated Serbs will be transferred
    (Free Serbia News 03/23/2002 16:33 GMT+2)
„All dailies carry reports on the expected release 
    of Kosovar Albanian prisoners from Serbian prisons.“
    (Headlines - 2303.doc)
Agreement about transfer of prisoners signed
    (Blic-online, March 23. 2002)
Serbia to Release Albanian Prisoners 
    (VOA News 23 Mar 2002 04:10 UTC)
SERBIAN GOVT APPROVES AGREEMENT ON PRISONER
    TRANSFER TO, FROM KOSOVO
    (Tanjug, March 22, 2002)
Government adopts Agreement on transfer of prisoners
    (Office of Communication, March 22, 2002)
Belgrade adopts deal; 
    Albanian prisoners to be transferred from Serbia to Kosova
    (radio21 KOSOVA 22 March 2002 )
Kosovo premier: Imprisoned Serbs not be transferred to Serbia 
    (BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Mar 22, 2002)
Belgrade agrees to transfer prisoners to Kosovo 
    (Reuters, 22 Mar 2002)
#  Tanjug FLASH NEWS March 22, 2002
    18:15 SERBIA-KOSOVO-PRISONERS 
Serbia adopts deal on returning Kosovo Albanian prisoners 
    (B92 NEWS Mar 22, 2002)
Agreement on transferring prisoners
    (Free Serbia News 03/22/2002)
Yugoslav Government Agrees on Transfer of Prisoners to Kosovo
    (BBC Monitoring Mar 22, 2002)
_______________________________________________________________________
radio21
http://www.radio21.net/english/index.htm

KOSOVA  25 March 2002

Kosovar prisoners might return from Serbia tomorrow

Albanian prisoners, who are in Serb prisons, might definitely return to their country. Unofficial sources reported the news, which highlighted that all Albanian prisoners are gathered in Nis Prison waiting to return home, in Kosova. Afterwards all the prisoners will be sent to Dubrava prison, near Istog, and their files will be examined carefully. The sources report that the political prisoners will be released immediately, whereas the others convicted for ordinary crimes will continue to suffer their sentence.     (25.03.2002) 
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/4-see.asp

RFE/RL NEWSline 25 March 2002 SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

SERBIA TRANSFERS KOSOVAR ALBANIAN PRISONERS TO UN 

The Serbian government agreed on 22 March to transfer 165 ethnic Albanian prisoners to prisons in Kosova administered by the UN, AP reported. The move is considered a key part of Belgrade's cooperation in satisfying the U.S. government if Yugoslavia wants to continue receiving aid from Washington (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 March 2002). Mojca Sivert, who works in Belgrade for the Humanitarian Law Fund, said the transfer "will help [us] all deal with the past." The prisoners are the last of a group of some 2,015 who were taken from Kosova by Yugoslav forces as they retreated from the Serbian province in 1999. Of the prisoners that will be transferred, 82 have been convicted of armed mutiny and treason, while the rest have been found guilty mostly of theft and smuggling. Sivert added that UN officials in Kosova are likely to annul some of the convictions because some of those found guilty "did not have fair trials." The Serbian government said it hopes the UN will transfer several dozen Serbs imprisoned in Kosova to Belgrade. PB 
_______________________________________________________________________
balkanreport.com
http://www.balkanreport.com/strana.asp?id=462

/25/2002
Koha Ditore: Waiting for Nait and other hostages 

By Gazmend Syla  - The family of Nait Hasani in Prizren are waiting for his release from the Serb prison in Nis. The latest news they received from their son was that Serb authorities in Nis prison were gathering Albanian prisoners together to transfer them to Kosovo, just like the agreement UNMIK reached with the Serb authorities this weekend. His father Xhemajl, in a calm voice and with man-like restraint, did not hide his pleasure at news that his son, together with many others from Kosovo, would be released from the Serb jails. His mother, on the other hand, was quicker to criticise: “Very little was done for the Albanian prisoners.. and the Serb regime cannot be trusted. Now, I’m impatient. These days are longer than ever.”
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.balkanreport.com/strana.asp?id=465

3/25/2002
Zëri: Out of 3,500 missing: 800 bodies found, 3 identified…! 

By Faik Hoti  - The fate of more than 3,000 missing people remains the greatest unsolved post-war enigma, almost three years after the war in Kosovo. The place names of Batajnica, Petrovo Selo Bajina Bashta…have become synonyms of Serb crimes and politics – where crimes committed in Kosovo were hidden, and thus multiplied. Mass graves found in these places in Serbia, uncovered last summer, brought to the surface the smell of Serb crimes that reached Belgrade – the brain-centre where for years, a monstrous policy was implemented to exterminate Albanians and other populations in the Balkans. The Serb Interior Ministry did not want to give estimations about the number of bodies, or how they were transported there from Kosovo or when the exhumations will be over. But Serb forensic experts gave an approximate deadline – the end of last autumn. What is known today is that the victims, despite the fact that they were sent to Serbia from Kosovo, are still in the hands of those who killed them. This time, they had become the object of research by Serb forensic experts, who until only two years ago, had served the policy that created thousands of victims and crimes. In an even greater irony, forensic experts from Kosovo were not even invited to the process of exhumation and identification of the Albanian bodies buried in Serbia. For nine months, Serb experts managed to identify only three victims. They are the brothers Ylli, Agron and Mehmet Bytyci - US citizens.
_______________________________________________________________________

Headlines - 2403.doc

6. Quoting reliable sources, Bota Sot reports that 186 Albanian prisoners kept in Serbian prisoners will be transferred to Kosovo on Monday. After the news of their return was confirmed, family members of the relatives showed up at the boundary with Serbia to wait for their most loved ones. Renowned Kosovar Albania lawyers Teki Bokshi told Bota Sot, “The Serb regime will not release all Albanian prisoners until Monday. We are prepared to welcome them and transfer them to their homes.”
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.b92.net/archive/e/index.phtml?Y=2002&M=03&D=23

B92 NEWS  Last update: Mar 23, 2002 13:36 CET

Tit without tat in Kosovo prisoner transfer 

13:35 PRISTINA, Saturday – Only a small number of Serbs in prison in Kosovo are to be transferred to Serbia proper, Pristina daily Koha Dittore writes today. 
    The paper quotes UNMIK representative Susan Manuel as saying that yesterday’s agreement for the return of Albanian prisoners to Kosovo was a transfer, not an exchange. 
    Some Serb prisoners would be returned to Serbia for humanitarian reasons, said Manuel, emphasising that this would only be a small number. 
    The Serbian Government yesterday ratified an agreement between Yugoslavia and the UN administration in Kosovo for the transfer of convicted prisoners from central Serbia to Kosovo and vice versa. 
_______________________________________________________________________
http://128.121.251.38/bnews/bnews.php?language=english

Free Serbia News

03/23/2002 16:33 GMT+2 -- Unmik spokeswoman Susan Manuel
A small number of incarcerated Serbs will be transferred

Unmik spokeswoman Susan Manuel said only a small number of Serbs incarcerated in jails in Kosovo would be transferred to Serbia proper, writes Pristina Albanian daily “Koha ditore” today.
    “This is a transfer of prisoners, not an exchange”, Susan Manuel said, following the ratification of the Unmik- FRY agreement on the transfer of prisoners, by the Serbian government yesterday. The government statement says that according to the agreement it would be possible for prisoners in prisons in Kosovo-Metohija to serve their sentence in prisons in Serbia proper, and for prisoners serving their sentence in Serbia proper to be transferred to prisons in the province. Susan Manuel announced that a few Serb prisoners would be transferred to Serbia, but stressed it was for purely humanitarian reasons, so the prisoners could be closer to their families.
_______________________________________________________________________
Headlines - 2303.doc

7. All dailies carry reports on the expected release of Kosovar Albanian prisoners from Serbian prisons. The Serbian Government approved on Friday night an agreement that is expected to enable the return of K-Albanian prisoners from Serbia to Kosovo. Belgrade-based media reported that the Serbian Government had approved the agreement, while UNMIK officials claim they haven’t received official confirmation, reports Koha Ditore

Zëri quotes Serbian media as saying that the Serbian Government has verified the text of the agreement between FRY and UNMIK for the “exchange” of prisoners. No deadline has been determined for the implementation of the agreement, which, Serb officials say, could start early next week. Vladimir Bozovic, member of the Coordination Center for Kosovo, said that the agreement includes Albanians from Kosovo, but not from Presevo Valley. Bozovic said 152 Albanians are still being held in Serbian prisons. Zëri repeats that UNMIK officials already said that there could be no exchange of prisoners.
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http://blic.gates96.com/danas/broj/E-Index.htm

March 23. 2002
Djindjic and Covic signed agreement with Steiner

Agreement about transfer of prisoners signed

Belgrade - Serbian Government accepted yesterday agreement between Yugoslavia and UNMIK about transfer of Albanian prisoners into prisons in Kosovo and Serbian prisoners from prisons in Kosovo into prisons in Serbia.
    Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic and Deputy Premier Nebojsa Covic signed this agreement in the name of Serbian Government, while Michael Steiner, high UN representative in Kosovo signed it in the name of UNMIK.

Blic-online
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http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectid=D62CA19C-8624-4D1A-989AAFC7AF2CD3AD&Title=
Serbia%20to%20Release%20Albanian%20Prisoners&CatOID=45C9C78C-88AD-11D4-A57200A0CC5EE46C

Serbia to Release Albanian Prisoners 

VOA News
23 Mar 2002 04:10 UTC

The Yugoslav republic of Serbia has agreed to transfer about 150 Kosavar-Albanian prisoners to authorities in Kosovo province following U.S. threats to freeze monetary aid to Belgrade. 
    Serbia's government announced Friday it has agreed to transfer to Kosovo those Kosavar-Alabanians they took prisoner as Serb forces retreated from Kosovo in 1999. 
    Under an agreement with Kosovo's United Nations administration, several Kosavar-Albanian prisoners will have their sentences reviewed to allow for extradition to their home province. Some Serb nationals jailed in Kosovo will be permitted to transfer to a Serbian prison. 
    The agreement satisfies some conditions set by the U.S. Congress that Serbia must fulfill by March 31 for Yugoslavia to receive U.S. aid. 
    In a related development, Serbia and Montenegro reached an agreement Friday with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an eight hundred million dollar loan. 
    But the loan could be jeopardized if Belgrade does not fully comply with the U.S. conditions. Other conditions include the extradition of more indicted war criminals and ending budgetary support for the Bosnian Serb army. A Belgrade representative of an international conflict prevention group said Serbia is not close to complying with the conditions. James Lyon, of the International Crisis Group, said Serbia, among other things, is no nearer to institutionalized cooperation with the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague than it was a year ago. 
    The IMF loan rewards economic reforms implemented by Serbia and Montenegro over the last year. The IMF said Belgrade has compiled an excellent record in bringing down inflation, reforming the banking sector, privatizing enterprises and achieving five percent economic growth last year. The IMF loan is to be ratified in May. 
    NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 ended the crisis in Kosovo, where thousands of Kosavar-Albanians came under threat of ethnic cleansing by Serbian troops. Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, who ordered the Kosovo campaign, is currently on trial for war crimes at a U.N. tribunal.
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http://www.tanjug.co.yu/Arhiva/2002/Mar%20-%2000/22-03e03.html

SERBIAN GOVT APPROVES AGREEMENT ON PRISONER TRANSFER TO, FROM KOSOVO

BELGRADE - The Serbian government on Friday approved a Yugoslav-UNMIK agreement on the transfer of prisoners to and from Kosovo. 
   Under the agreement, inmates of prisons in Kosovo-Metohija will upon request be allowed to continue serving their prison sentence in central Serbia and prisoners in central Serbia will be able to do so in Kosovo-Metohija.
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http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/news/2002-03/22/323286.html

Government adopts Agreement on transfer of prisoners

March 22, 2002

Belgrade, March 22, 2002 - The Serbian government adopted an agreement between Yugoslavia and UNMIK on transfer of prisoners at today's session presided over by Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. The agreement will allow prisoners on the territory of Kosovo-Metohija to serve their sentence on the territory of central Serbia and vice versa.
    After the signing of the agreement, transfer of the prisoners will be carried out in accord with Yugoslavia's obligations under the agreement signed and at a pace established by the Serbian Ministry of Justice and Local Self-Government. 
    The government will propose to the Serbian parliament that Preconditions for redefinition of relations between Serbia and Montenegro be included in the agenda of the Serbian parliament's First regular session for debate in emergency procedure.
    The government today established the Bill on prevention of violence and indecent behaviour at sporting events, as well as proposals of amendments to the Law on health insurance. The draft law on physical and technical security was submitted for public debate.
    The government today also brought decisions on the establishment of a Commission for coordination of negotiations for accession to the World Trade Organisation, Council for European integrations, Commission for prevention of addiction among the young and Commission for the fight against AIDS. 

Copyright © 2002 Office of Communication
Email: ooc@srbija.sr.gov.yu
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radio21
http://www.radio21.net/english/index.htm

KOSOVA 22 March 2002 

Belgrade adopts deal; Albanian prisoners to be transferred from Serbia to Kosova

The Serbian government has adopted an agreement on transferring Kosova Albanian prisoners in Serbia to prisons in Kosova. Under the agreement reached between UNMIK and Belgrade, Serb prisoners in Kosova will be transferred to Serbia proper. Congress in the US had listed the return of Kosova Albanian prisoners as one of three conditions for the resumption of aid to Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav authorities are yet to announce the deadline for implementing the agreement. Belgrade's Coordination Centre for Kosova said the deal applies to Albanians from Kosova, not Presheva Valley. Vladimir Bozovic said there are 152 Albanians in Serbian prisons and 37 Serbs imprisoned in Kosova. Belgrade's Humanitarian Law Centre urged that the exchange begin soon. "I hope the process will begin next week and that it will be quick," said Mojca Sivert.   (22.03.2002) 
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part of INTERNATIONAL PRESS CLIPPINGS - 23 MARCH 2002.doc

Kosovo premier: Imprisoned Serbs not be transferred to Serbia 

BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Mar 22, 2002
Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet

Pristina, 22 March: Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi told FoNet today that he was hoping that all [ethnic] Albanian prisoners would be transferred to Kosovo prisons from prisons in Serbia proper by 31 March.
    Rexhepi rejected the possibility that the Serbs now serving sentences in UNMIK [UN Mission in Kosovo] prisons would be transferred to prisons in Serbia proper.
    "If you mean prisoners on the orders of Kfor and UNMIK, it is certain that this will not happen because they have been imprisoned here for some other things, for criminal activities or something else, while the prisoners in Serbia are an altogether different story. Those are the people who were, in some ways, kidnapped during the war," Rexhepi said
    "It is certain that no such agreement exists, at least not via the Kosovo government," Rexhepi said, adding that he was positive that UNMIK's chief Michael Steiner "did not sign anything".
    "His spokeswoman, Susan Manuel, said that nothing would come of it and I believe that this is so," Rexhepi said.
    He said the Albanian political prisoners, who would have been transferred to Kosovo, would be freed, noting that only those responsible for "criminal acts" would remain in prisons.
    "Albanians imprisoned in Serbia on ordinary criminal charges will remain in prisons in Kosovo but those who were, so to speak, political prisoners or kidnapped during the war, they would most probably be released," Rexhepi said, adding that the fate of Albanian prisoners was nevertheless, "in the hands of the judiciary, not of the government".
    "It is not up to us, it is up to the court to make a decision," Rexhepi said.
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http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters03-22-110704.asp?reg=EUROPE

Belgrade agrees to transfer prisoners to Kosovo 

BELGRADE, March 22 — Serbia agreed on Friday to transfer 152 Kosovo Albanian prisoners to jails in the province, after the United States threatened to freeze aid to Belgrade. 
    The government of Yugoslavia's dominant republic followed the lead of federal authorities and promised to return the last of some 2,000 detainees whom Yugoslav forces took with them from Kosovo when they withdrew in June 1999, at the end of NATO's air war. 
    Most detainees have since been released without charge and allowed to return to U.N.-run Kosovo, although many said their families had to pay ransoms for their freedom. 
    About 85 of those still held have been charged with terrorism offences, but are considered by rights groups to be political prisoners whose incarceration hinders attempts to draw a line under the war and repair ethnic relations. The rest are on other criminal charges. 
    Under a deal with Kosovo's U.N. administration their cases will be reviewed and 38 Serbs jailed in Kosovo will be allowed to serve their sentences in central Serbia if they wish. 
    The move came in the shadow of a March 31 deadline set by the White House to decide whether Belgrade has lived up to a set of benchmarks set by Congress. 
    The conditions include cooperating with the U.N. war crimes tribunal and releasing Kosovo Albanians from Serbian jails. At stake is about $40 million in aid plus key support for Yugoslavia in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. 
    ''I think these decisions should have been made earlier to avoid a bitter taste that it is being done under some kind of pressure,'' said Vladimir Bozovic, an official responsible for legal issues in Belgrade's Kosovo coordination body. 
    ''The reasons for the decision were social, humanitarian and not political,'' Bozovic said. 
    The deal still has to be signed by the Yugoslav and Serbian prime ministers, the head of the governments' coordination centre for Kosovo and the head of U.N.'s Kosovo administration. 
    No official start date was announced but transfers were expected to begin early next week, Radio B-92 reported. 

Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited
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http://www.tanjug.co.yu/

FLASH NEWS 

18:15 SERBIA-KOSOVO-PRISONERS 
Serbian govt approves agreement on prisoner transfer to, from Kosovo BELGRADE, March 22 (Tanjug) - The Serbian government on Friday approved a Yugoslav-UNMIK agreement on the transfer of prisoners to and from Kosovo.
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http://www.b92.net/archive/e/index.phtml?Y=2002&M=03&D=22

B92 NEWS Last update: Mar 22, 2002 18:54 CET

Serbia adopts deal on returning Kosovo Albanian prisoners 

18:28 BELGRADE, Friday – The Serbian government has adopted an agreement on transferring Kosovo Albanian prisoners in Serbia to prisons in the UN-administered province. 
    Under the agreement reached between UNMIK and Belgrade, Serb prisoners in Kosovo will be transferred to Serbia proper. 
    Congress in the US had listed the return of Kosovo Albanian prisoners as one of three conditions for the resumption of aid to Yugoslavia. 
    The Yugoslav authorities are yet to announce the deadline for implementing the agreement. 
Belgrade’s Coordination Centre for the province said the deal applies to Albanians from Kosovo, not south Serbia. Vladimir Bozovic said there are 152 Albanians in Serbian prisons and 37 Serbs imprisoned in Kosovo. 
    Belgrade’s Humanitarian Law Centre urged that the exchange begin soon. 
    “I hope the process will begin next week and that it will be quick,” said Mojca Sivert. (B92) 
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http://128.121.251.38/bnews/bnews.php?language=english

Free Serbia News

03/22/2002 18:35 GMT+2 -- Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic announces
Agreement on transferring prisoners

Serbian Justice Minister Batic said that the Serbian government will today ratify the agreement on transferring Albanian prisoners to prisons in Kosovo. The agreement was ratified by the federal government yesterday.
    Batic told Radio-television Serbia that this document, after being ratified by the Serbian government, should be signed by the federal and Serbian prime ministers, Dragisa Pesic and Zoran Djindjic, the Kosovo coordination team head Nebojsa Covic and Unmik chief Michael Steiner.
    He added that, on transfer of the prisoners from Serbian prisons, Unmik will take over the Yugoslav president’s authority to pardon them.
    The transfer of Albanian prisoners from Serbian prisons to those in Kosovo is one of the conditions of the American Congress for further financial aid to Yugoslavia. 
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http://www.europeaninternet.com/yugoslavia/news.php3?id=1624507

Yugoslav Government Agrees on Transfer of Prisoners to Kosovo

Mar 22, 2002 -- (BBC Monitoring) Text of report in English by Yugoslav state news agency Tanjug.

Belgrade, 21 March: A Yugoslav government session, chaired by federal Prime Minister Dragisa Pesic, on Thursday [21 March] adopted the text of an agreement between Yugoslavia and UNMIK [UN Mission in Kosovo] on the transfer of convicted persons, the government said.
    The federal government decided to request that the IMF extend the deadline for the stand-by agreement for two months, until 31 May 2002. Federal Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus, who is also federal Foreign Trade Minister, and Yugoslav National Bank Governor Mladjan Dinkic were authorized to sign the extension request and send it to the IMF director-general.
    The session adopted the basis for participation at the 5th Summit of the heads of state or government of the Process of Cooperation in Southeastern Europe, scheduled for 28 March in Tirana, Albania. The Yugoslav delegation will be headed by federal Prime Minister Pesic.
    After the Tirana summit, Yugoslavia takes over the one-year chair of this regional initiative which aims to turn the region into a region of stability, political and economic development, security and cooperation in keeping with European integration trends.
    The federal government also adopted a decree on setting up a federal committee for preventing money laundering. The committee will act as an independent federal body of experts to secure the implementation of the Law on Preventing Money Laundering, adopted in 2001.

Source: Tanjug news agency, Belgrade, in English 1533 GMT 21 Mar 02

(C) 2002 BBC Monitoring

   ODMAH OSLOBODITE ALBANSKE ZATVORENIKE!
      RELEASE THE ALBANIAN PRISONERS NOW!
        TË LIROHEN MENJËHERË TË BURGOSURIT!
           LASST JETZT DIE GEFANGENEN FREI!!
            http://www.dbein.bndlg.de/APP/
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>>>>>>>>>>>>> READ  &  DISTRIBUTE FURTHER <<<<<<<<<<<<<

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 I think this text to be
 a good summary of many of nowadays problems in Kosov@.

 Not to forget the economic problems:
 If everyone had a chance to survive and live,
 some more now refugees would (like to) go back to their home-country.

 On the other side:
 home is, where you are accommodated, where you have friends -
 Many's refugees has become home the nations they are living now.

 Those Kosov@rs I learned to be friend in Germany I like very much,
 and some of those being expelled I miss !

Sincerly
          Wolfgang Plarre

AND: Don't forget the problem of imprisoned Albanians in Serbia
     and Missing Persons of ALL ethnicities !

part of IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 314, February 1, 2001

COMMENT: RECONCILING KOSOVO

The international community must realise that any solution to Kosovo which hands absolute victory to one side will not secure stability for the region.

By Rada Trajkovic in Gracanica, Kosovo

The only way out of the present crisis in Kosovo and Metohija, KiM, is to freeze the debate over its final status.  This question preoccupies both the Albanian and Serb communities and is generating even more conflict. Time must pass before some sort of compromise can be reached under the auspices of the international community.
    Discussions about KiM's future should be frozen for at least three elections until a new generation capable of a more rational approach comes of age. Now, for the first time in our history the international community is on the ground in Kosovo - a neutral presence capable of rising above the extremism in both communities and facilitating a fair and mutually acceptable solution.  The internationals are well aware that any solution which hands absolute victory to one side will not secure stability for the region.
    While placing the status of Kosovo on the back-burner, the international community should also work with local leaders to demilitarise society and strengthen civil institutions in the province.  Decisive steps must be taken to revive Kosovo's war-ravaged economy.  Economically, the region cannot survive on its own; the West  is well aware of that and reluctant to bankroll an artificial existence.
    Priority should be given to achieving peace, stability and a safe return for those who fled their homes.  After all, the establishment of peace, human rights and the fostering of democratic institutions has been the international community's political aim ever since its arrival in the aftermath of the NATO bombing of Kosovo.
    The current blockade on communication between Pristina and Belgrade needs to be overcome.  Better contact, not only between politicians but also between victims of the conflict, should be encouraged. Those who suffered during the years of the Kosovo conflict should be given the chance to air their grievances. To achieve reconciliation, Belgrade must acknowledge Albanian suffering.
    At the moment, a gulf divides the two communities.  Advocating anything less than independence for Kosovo is political suicide for an Albanian politician, while for a Serb to endorse the idea would also spell political oblivion.
    The essence of the Kosovo problem lies in the irreconcilable demands of Kosovo's Albanian and Serb communities: Albanians want an independent Kosovo based on the fact that they are the majority; Serbs want Kosovo to remain part of the Yugoslav state because of its historic and cultural links with the territory.
    The Albanian community in the province refuses any official contact with Belgrade, while the Serbian community refuses to consider life there without a link to Serbia.
    Kosovo's history has been marked by the struggle of these opposing visions, with both Albanian and Serbs prevailing at different times. The pattern never changed: whichever community was on top always rode roughshod over the rights of the other.
    Bad experiences under the Serbian authorities have left Kosovar Albanians justifiably suspicious of the Serbian state, while their own recent experience has left the Serbs fearful of their fate in an Albanian-led state.  In fact, no one is innocent, there are victims and executioners on both sides.
    The question of Albanian and Serb relations went unresolved throughout the 20th century.Various solutions were tried: liberal, conservative and economic.  Not one brought peace.
    >From 1961 to1981, when Kosovar Albanians enjoyed the political upper hand, around 92, 000 non-Albanians - Croats and Montenegrins as well as Serbs - felt pressured into leaving the province.  Between 1981 and 1990, a further 50, 000 left their homes.
    With the arrival of Slobodan Milosevic in 1987 and his famous pledge to Kosovar Serbs that  "No one should be allowed to beat you", came a change of policy giving Serbs the upper hand.  Now the pressure was on Albanians. Euphoric over their new status under Milosevic, the Serbs did not recognise the rights of Albanian community.
    Milosevic's policy culminated in huge crimes against Albanians.  The consequences however, were disastrous for the Serbs.  The international community punished Milosevic by bombing Yugoslavia.  After the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops from Kosovo in June 1999, Serbian institutions also disappeared from the territory.
    Now it is the Albanian side which is blind to Serb needs.  The Albanian political leadership does not recognise Serbs or Serbian state institutions as relevant to Kosovo.
    Over the last two and a half years, Milosevic's ethnic cleansing has given way to Albanian expulsion of Kosovar Serbs.  Around two-thirds of KiM territory is now devoid of Serbs. About 1,300 of them have been killed, the same number have been kidnapped, and around 250, 000 forced to flee.
    This process has involved a spiritual devastation:  more than 110 monasteries and churches and tens of thousands of Serb monuments have been destroyed; and more than 30 cities have had their names changed. Albanian symbols now dominate everywhere. Serbs in Kosovo now live in totally segregated enclaves, with no freedom of movement. Democratically-minded Albanians are equally frightened to speak up.
    For the first time, an international presence on the ground gives Kosovo's polarised communities a chance to work together to create a fair and democratic society where the majority will not ride roughshod over the rights of others, where both communities can fulfil their potential.

Rada Trajkovic is the leader of Kosovo Serb coalition Povratak (Return).

 
http://www.thelancet.com/journal/journal.isa

The Lancet
Volume 359, Number 9305     09 February 2002

BELGRADE Assistance for Serbs and Roma from Kosovo 

On Feb 12 Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague, on charges relating to the Kosovan, Bosnian, and Croatian wars. While these crimes have rightly attracted much international attention, other suffering has received less attention. 
    In Kosovo, after the 1999 NATO action, many Serbs and Roma sought safety elsewhere in Serbia. Today they live in harsh conditions with little possibility of return. Their physical and mental health are one of many challenges for a weakened Serbian health and welfare system. 
    During the 1990s Serbs in Kosovo had superior access to jobs, education, and housing, supported by ever-more violent oppression. When Kosovo came under UN administration in June, 1999, Serbs and Roma fled, fearing violence from Albanians. Those remaining in Kosovo today are largely trapped in "enclaves" guarded by troops of the Kosovo Force (KFOR, the NATO intervention force). Many have had their property destroyed or occupied, and have no work. Those who have left have little hope of a safe or dignified return. 
    More than 187 000 people moved from Kosovo, becoming internally displaced people (IDPs) in another part of their home country, Serbia. Some 8% of Serbia's 10·6 million population are IDPs or refugees--the highest proportion of any European state. The Serbian economy and infrastructure has been crippled following the disastrous decade of Milosevic's authoritarian regime, economic sanctions, international debt, and damage from NATO bombing. Unemployment is 30% and the average monthly wage is less than US$75. With social security barely functioning, 13% are dependent on humanitarian assistance for survival. 
    Last summer, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) noted that "there is a chronic shortage of essential drugs, more than 60% of the medical equipment is not working, while the remaining equipment is mostly obsolete. Basic services such as water and heating need to be repaired in many places." 
    Roma were targeted in Kosovo because they were regarded as Belgrade allies: the ICRC estimate that 20 000 fled to Serbia. There they face widespread discrimination. A recent Oxfam survey of Roma in Serbia found 66% unemployed, 45% of children were malnourished, only 1·4% living beyond the age of 60, 90% unable to cover food costs, and 97% without money for health care. There are many unofficial complaints of discrimination in access to health care. 
    Most IDPs from Kosovo live in private accommodation, usually struggling to finance the rent. 6·9% live in "collective centres". Official collective centres are usually disused and run-down hotels, resorts, and barracks. Unemployment is heightened by collective centres being out of town, and by the stigma of being from Kosovo. Scabies and lice infestations are the norm. A collective centres in Salaë is typical in squeezing six people into each room of about 16 m2. Not one person has work. Families receive the same basic food each day, and have not had meat or fruit for months. 
    Unofficial collective centres are sites that IDPs have taken over themselves, such as workers' huts and prefabricated buildings. Hazards include faulty electricity supplies, inadequate sewage facilities, and the risk of being moved on from the site. One centre, Kluz barracks in Grocka, receives a delivery of water just once a week. Some Roma are in shanty towns, such as Mali Leskovac, a settlement of 146 dwellings on the outskirts of Belgrade. Homes are constructed from any available material, such as boarding, sheeting, and card. Water is carried from unreliable sources, and there is no sewage system. Some residents live by searching through garbage for food and recycleable items. 
    A disproportionately high morbidity rate in collective centres was found by Swiss Disaster Relief. The main causes were cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, and tuberculosis. The Institute of Public Health of Serbia found that 95% of IDPs sampled from collective centres, and 67% of IDPs in private accommodation, cannot cover basic health costs. UNHCR receives thousands of assistance requests for medication and basic surgical materials. The ICRC has been distributing essential drugs to 7000 IDPs a month. 
    International humanitarian assistance is reducing as responsibility passes to the Serbian authorities. Short-term relief-based programmes are being replaced by long-term reconstruction and development projects. However, reforms can burden the most vulnerable, who are left without a safety net. The Serbian government is requesting assistance for the transition. 
    IDPs must manage their harsh living conditions. It is understandable that the ICRC, among others, has found that "mental disorders are frequent and on the rise, especially in collective centres". A Serbian organisation, International Aid Network (IAN), found that 24% of IDPs have started taking tranquillisers since leaving Kosovo. 
    One innovative project by IAN is a video link to Strpce (a Serbian community in southern Kosovo). IDPs can see and learn about their homes, and communicate directly with those who remained. Mental health workers assist the group in developing mutual support and in dealing with their distress, grief, frustration, and anger. 
    Other voluntary organisations are also concentrating on community projects that emphasise sustainable mutual support, developing people's skills, and mixing with the local community. This avoids individuals being pathologised, and supports those who would not otherwise come forward. For example the Red Cross is developing income-generating projects for self-sustainability. One IDP in Varajevo commented on a community project, run by the Japanese agency JEN: "when I came here I had depression at having to leave everything behind, this weaving is what really helped. I've been doing it since I was a child. The hardest thing is being alone, and here you meet people, it's the only place we're together." 
    The international community needs to support Serbia's general development, but also assistance to vulnerable groups, such as the Kosovo IDPs, remains vital. While the world's attention may turn to Milosevic's trial, the people he claimed as his own, displaced and destitute in their own country, are among the many paying the price for his ambitions. 

Hannah Roberts 


 
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source: http://www.domovina.net/trib_s.html
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/article/0,,9004-2002067214,00.html

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 10 2002

Milosevic faces survivors of atrocity as justice day dawns

MARIE COLVIN, BELA CRKVA, KOSOVO

A DIFFERENT kind of hero will appear at the Hague when the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic begins this Tuesday. 
    Sabri Popaj would rather talk about how he grows the best peppers in Kosovo than the two teenage sons the Serbs shot dead along with 82 other men, women and children from his village. He had no chance to defend his family, but he preserved evidence that gives him hope for justice. 
    Popaj is not one to glorify his role. Yet when he takes the witness stand at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to describe the night of the massacre, he will also be telling his own story, that of a man who refused to break in the face of unimaginable terror and pain. 
    As Milosevic finally faces justice, it is worth remembering the enormity of the crimes committed during the decade of war he brought to the Balkans as leader of the Serbs. 
    He is charged with crimes against humanity and violation of the laws or customs of war. But the legal language does not begin to describe the suffering inflicted, or the pain that still haunts the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia. The survivors are also his victims. 
    Popaj is a survivor. After the war, the 43-year-old farmer returned childless to Bela Crkva, once a village of terracotta roofs in southern Kosovo where his family has farmed for generations. 
    I first met him in the burnt out ruins of his house in June 1999, days after Nato troops liberated Kosovo. He was emaciated, sitting by a cradle painted with blue flowers that seemed to be the only unscorched object in the village. 
    The Serbs had torched every house. His wife, sunk in grief, had gone to Canada and he did not know if she would return. “There is no life here,” he said. 
    Out of his pocket he pulled a handwritten map of the bodies he had buried. The massacre at Bela Crkva is a crucial part of the case against Milosevic because it is one of the most brutal, and thanks to Popaj, best documented of war crimes. 
    The story of Bela Crkva is a tale from the darkest depths of inhumanity. As Popaj plans to testify, Serbian tanks cut off the village at about 3am on March 25, 1999. Popaj’s wife and two sons fled with other villagers along the River Belaja. 
    He wanted to save some of their cows and sheep, and Kosovar Albanians thought that the women and children would be safer without their men; even Serbs, they said, would not open fire on the defenceless. They were proved wrong. 
    Popaj found the Zhuniqi and Spahiu families struggling to cross the river. He carried two-year-old Dibran Zhuniqi, and handed him to his mother, Lumniya. It was his last contact with his neighbours. 
    Shortly after 9am, Popaj watched from his hiding place as Serbian police machinegunned the families huddled on the riverbank. “I only saw two faces. The two men shooting were facing me as they fired machineguns into the families, and the others, maybe 10, had their backs away from me, as if they were protecting the killers,” Popaj said last week. All were in the blue uniforms of the Serbian police. 
    The Hague investigators showed him photographs; he has identified two as men he saw that night. 
    What Popaj could not see was that Lumniya had thrown herself over Dibran, the little boy he had carried across the river. Dibran was alive. Another villager found him seven hours later, drawn by the cries of “mummy, mummy”. He was clinging to her breast. 
    The Serbs trapped the rest of the villagers at a railway bridge and separated the men from the women and children. Both Popaj’s sons – Shendet, 17, and Agon, 13 — were forced into a field with the men. Agon was torn from his mother; she pleaded that he was a child, but he was big for his age, a farm boy who wanted to be a vet. 
    The women and children were ordered to Zrze, a nearby village. The Serbs forced the men to strip, took their money, jewellery and documents, and ordered them to dress again. The first to die was Nisim Popaj, Sabri’s brother, a 34-year-old doctor. Then all the men were ordered into the river and machinegunned. Sixty-five died; six survived. 
    Two days later, Popaj returned to the killing field. He placed a soda bottle with the name and details in the pocket of each of the 65 dead men and boys. Every corpse was wrapped in a blanket and plastic sheeting and buried. When the Hague investigators arrived after the war, he helped them excavate. 
    “That’s when I had the worst feeling,” Popaj says now. “When I was burying my sons, I was numb. But when the investigators opened the coverings on my sons many months later and took photos, I saw their wounds again. They were both shot in a line of bullets from their heads to their chests.” 
    The Hague trial will be harrowing. To convict Milosevic, the prosecution needs to show that the Serbian police were under the command of a leadership that had a systematic plan to kill Kosovar Albanians and terrorise the rest into fleeing. Murder, deportation, forcible transfer and persecution must be proven. 
    Under the precedent set in the Nuremberg trial of the Nazi leaders after the second world war, the Hague prosecutors do not have to prove that Milosevic gave a direct order to the men in the field of Bela Crkva. But they must demonstrate that the killers were in his chain of command and that he had responsibility or reason to know that his subordinates would commit such acts, or that he took no reasonable measures to stop or punish them. 
    Just a few miles down the road from Bela Crkva, there is ample evidence that the slaughter was no aberration. A day after Popaj’s boys were killed, witnesses say another Serbian police unit murdered 105 men and boys in Mala Krusa, a hamlet that was home to 75 families, some of them Serbs. 
    The Hague judges will hear that the Serbian forces followed the same procedures. According to witnesses, Serbian tanks frightened the villagers from their homes, then looted and burnt them. Serbian police hunted down the villagers and separated the men from the women and children. 
    In Mala Krusa, the Serbs tried to cover up their crime. Mehmet Krasniqi, one of the few survivors, has told investigators how the Serbs herded the men and boys into the ground floor of an unoccupied house, opened fire with machineguns through the windows, and then set fire to the bodies. 
    Again, it was Serbian police in blue uniforms who did the killing, joined by local Serbs. Krasniqi’s testimony is damning. “Two bodies were on top of me. One man had no arm and another was bleeding from the mouth,” he said. 
    “There was screaming, screaming, and the dust from the walls where the bullets hit. I said to the man behind me with no arm, ‘Moharem, I will help you if they don’t come in to cut us up.’ 
    “Then the Serbs threw something over us — it burnt my ear — and the fire started. I breathed through my jacket, it was wet with blood and I could take three breaths.” 
    He climbed out through a window, somehow unseen by the Serbs, and hid in his uncle’s basement nearby. 
    Krasniqi says the Serbs blew up the building after burning the bodies, then bulldozed the remains. None of the dead men of Mala Krusa is likely to be found. Their only memorial is the list of 101 of their names in the Hague indictment. 
    Each village is dealing differently with its wounds. One of the most poignant is Izbica, where the Hague indictment says the Serbs executed 165 men. They were buried by villagers, but when satellite photos of their graves were shown at a Nato news conference Serbian bulldozers dug them up and trucks carted them away. 
    Today, the graves have been recreated and are visited daily, even though they are empty. 
    In Bela Crkva, Popaj donated land for a martyrs’ cemetery. He visits once a week. Dibran, the boy he carried across the river, lives with his aunt and sometimes cries about “so much blood”. 
    Popaj has tried to move on. His wife returned from Canada, and they have had two more children, Shendita, 18 months, and Shendit, four months, named in honour of his dead son. He is rebuilding his house and in the spring will plant his fields with peppers, watermelon and corn. 
    He admits that he would not have had the new children had his two sons survived. Their photographs are on his wall, and he drinks raki, the powerful local liquor, to sleep at night. 
    Fedayia, his wife, is a study in despair. Rocking Shendit’s cradle with her foot, last week she said the pain never goes away. “The new babies are not replacements for the sons I lost,” she said. 
    The people of Kosovo want the lower-level Serbs to go to trial, the “mini-Milosevics,” as one farmer put it. The fate of Milosevic’s foot soldiers, however, will be left to a domestic judicial system that has yet to become firmly established. For now, Kosovars will closely follow the trial of Milosevic. 
    Few feel the life imprisonment he faces if convicted is enough. “I would make sure it took me five years to kill him,” said Popaj. “Even then the wound would not heal.”

The charges

Kosovo: Crimes against humanity and mass deportations from 13 sites across Kosovo, including Bela Crkva, between January and June 1999

Croatia: Crimes against humanity, extermination, murder, torture and imprisonment in Western Slavonia and Krajina regions between August 1991 and June 1992 

Bosnia: Genocide and complicity in genocide, extermination, mass killings, deportation and torture between March 1992 and December 1995 

Copyright 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd.


 
24 January:   worldwide  PRAYER FOR PEACE
LORD 
MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF THY PEACE 

Where there is hate I may bring love, 
Where there is offence that I may bring pardon, 
Where there is discord that I may bring union, 
Where there is error that I may bring truth, 
Where there is doubt that I may bring faith, 
Where there is despair that I may bring hope, 
Where there is darkness that I may bring light, 
Where there is sadness that I may bring joy, 
O Master, 
make me not so much to be consoled as to console; 
not so much to be loved as to love; 
not so much to be understood as to understand; 
for it is in giving that one receives; 
it is in self-forgetfulness that one finds; 
it is in pardonning that one is pardoned; 
it is in dying that one finds eternal life. 

                       Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.

                english news follow
http://www.sonntagsblatt-bayern.de/woche/woche1.htm

"Religionstreffen in Assisi" 

Beten für eine friedlichere Welt 

Am 24. Januar versammeln sich 200 hochrangige Vertreter aller Religionen zum Friedensgebet in Assisi. Neben führenden Lutheranern folgen auch Muslime, Juden und Hindus einem Aufruf des Papstes. 
    Es waren die vielen Friedensgebete in den Gemeinden und die gegenseitigen Besuche von Christen und Muslimen, die im vergangenen Jahr nach den Anschlägen vom 11. September dem Vorwurf begegneten, die Religionen der Welt seien schuld am Unfrieden der Welt. 
    Die Schreckensvision eines weltweiten Glaubenskriegs zwischen Islamisten und dem Westen hatte offenbar auch Papst Johannes Paul II. beschäftigt, als er Mitte November, auf dem Höhepunkt des Afghanistan-Krieges, überraschend zu einem Treffen der Weltreligionen nach Assisi einlud - zum zweiten Mal nach 1986. Seither hat der römische Primas keine Gelegenheit ausgelassen, seine Sorge um die bedrohliche Weltlage zu formulieren und zugleich seine Vision einer auf Gerechtigkeit und Versöhnung gegründeten Zukunft zu verbreiten. 
    Seit Wochen schon inszeniert der Pontifex eine Folge immer neuer Friedensappelle. Es fing an mit einem dramatischen Hilferuf für die bedrohte Menschheit vor der Muttergottes-Statue an der spanischen Treppe in Rom am 8. Dezember. Wenige Tage später empfing er Kirchenführer aus dem Heiligen Land, um mit ihnen die Lage im Nahen Osten zu erörtern. An Weihnachten stand wieder der Frieden im Mittelpunkt, ebenso im Neujahrs-Gottesdienst, bei dem sogar für die Bekehrung der Terroristen gebetet wurde. Knapp eine Woche vor dem geistlichen Friedens-Gipfel laufen nun die Vorbereitungen auf Hochtouren. Es werden vor allem die Bilder sein, die der Papst sprechen lassen will. Wenn sich in der Stadt des heiligen Franziskus vor laufenden Kameras Führer der Christen, Juden, Muslime und der ostasiatischen Religionen die Hand reichen, kann dies mehr aussagen als alle Erklärungen und Appelle. 
    Nach Informationen des Sonntagsblattes wird für die Lutheraner Ishmael Noko, Präsident des Lutherischen Weltbundes, teilnehmen. Wenn die geplante Anreise von Patriarch Irenaeus aus Jerusalem nicht noch auf Grund politischer Entwicklungen scheitert, wäre das eine ökumenische Sensation. Erwartet wird auch das Ehrenoberhaupt aller orthodoxen Christen, Patriarch Bartholomäus von Konstantinopel. Dazu kommen Delegationen von Hindus, Buddhisten, Schintoisten, Konfuzianer, und Vertreter afrikanischer und amerikanischer Naturreligionen. Für den Islam wollen Repräsentanten aus Iran, Marokko und Jordanien anreisen. Für das Judentum werden Rabbiner aus Italien und Europa, aber auch aus Israel teilnehmen. 
    Den Vorwurf des Synkretismus hält Kirchenrat Ivo Huber, Ökumene-Referent im bayerischen Landeskirchenamt, für »völlig unbegründet«. Offenbar soll im Ablauf des Programms jeder Verdacht einer Religionsvermischung vermieden werden. So wird es in Assisi wohl kein gemeinsames Gebet der Religionen geben, wohl aber gemeinsame Auftritte zwischen den Gebetszeiten. Die Religionsführer wollen dabei ein Friedenslicht entzünden und einen Friedensappell erlassen. 

fra/KNA

Wo - zum Beispiel - derzeit Unfrieden ist
Where - par example - no peace is
http://www.aimpress.org/dyn/trae/archive/
data/200201/20119-001-trae-sko.htm

SAT, 19 JAN 2002 00:27:44 GMT

Christmas Messages

Along with the usual Christmas messages of the dignitaries of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, there were those that, in the general opinion, had more than ever before a political connotation. 

AIM Skoplje, January 7, 2002 

Despite the crisis, it seems that in the last fifteen days the political life in Macedonia has come to a total standstill: politicians have scattered every which way, and in the absence of their favourite political figures, the media are finding it increasingly hard to somehow fill the information space. True, heavy snow was of some help. However, the Orthodox Christmas improved things significantly. As if by prearrangement, the dailies have divided among themselves the dignitaries the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC) to be interviewed. And, everyone was happy because there are more bishops than newspapers. Among the usual Christmas pastoral letters, the Bishops' messages with political connotation attracted the analysts' attention. 
    Among other things, the epistles of the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, Kir Stefan and the Holy Synod stated: "As if all the sufferings in the past were not enough. Now they want our country, our Macedonian name, our honour and dignity. They are breaking up our Macedonian ethnos. Our fragile state is disintegrating and our Holy Church is being godlessly humiliated. They are claiming our souls and the spirit of our people, offering us mercy and false democracy". The Synod's impersonal way of address leaves enough room for speculations as to who is claiming the highest values of the Macedonian people and offering "false democracy". But, in some of the Bishop's thoughts there is a hint of possible answers. Patience! 
    Christmas epistles of the MPC dignitaries did not miss to mention the problem of the recognition of its autocephaly within the Orthodox world, which has long gone beyond the strictly canon framework. "We have expanded the relations with several churches and our own church has attended several important manifestations", mentioned the Superior of the MPC, Kir Stefan with pride in an interview for the pro-Government "New Macedonia". According to him all arguments in the dialogue with the Serbian Orthodox Church have been used up so that priority should be now given to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. 
    The opposition-controlled "Morning News" entitled its interview with the Metropolitan Bishop of Kumanovo-Polog eloquently: 

Betreff:  [AL-AWDA-News] Urgent Call for Prayer: The Arab Evangelical School, Ramallah
Datum: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 17:28:33 -0500
Von: "Rima Anabtawi" <guava@vgernet.net>

Urgent Call for Prayer: The Arab Evangelical School, Ramallah

January 18, 2002

Early this morning the Israeli military broke through the doors from the playground to the school and forced their way into the Arab Evangelical School in Ramallah, one of the service institutions of the Diocese of Jerusalem. The School building was entered under threat of harm by the soldiers, and each classroom and office searched. Samira Nasser, the School's director arrived and was told by the Israel soldiers to return to her home, and that if she stayed she would be in danger.
    Soldiers are now stationed at the main entrance to the school and have prevented The Rev. George Al Kopti, rector to St. Andrewís Episcopal Church in Ramallah, and Sister Najah Rantisi, of the Evangelical Home, from leaving the premises. At any attempt to leave, they have been threatened by the military, both verbally and with weapons. There are also nineteen children, aged three to seventeen, currently boarding at the Evangelical Home, adjacent to the school.
    The Arab Evangelical School and Home are under the ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, and as such are on church property. It is very serious indeed, when military forces forcibly enter church property.
    The school was founded in 1954 with 20 pupils. It now has 568 students from kindergarten through high school. Seventy percent of the students are Christian, 30 percent are Muslim. A total of 45 teachers are on staff. One of the prime activities of the school is to teach about peace issues. The school is engaged in a bilateral program with Israeli counterparts in education to promote peace through education. To that end staff are trained in conflict resolution skills, negotiation skills and how to design workable peace programs. "We are proud of this program. We managed to show how we can represent our national dreams and aspirations through dialogue and not through violence" (Samira Nasser, director).
    Please keep the School, the staff, the clergy, the students, and those children at the Evangelical Home and all the people of this troubled region in your thoughts and prayers.

Nancy Dinsmore
Development Office
Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem

"Burying the Hatchet of Discord!". As it was to be expected, Bishop Kiril was most concerned with the state in his eparchy that includes the crisis areas - Tetovo and Kumanovo regions. According to him, "young people indoctrinated by Islamic fundamentalism" have set monasteries in the Tetovo villages Lesok and Mala Recica on fire. In the words of the Bishop of Kumanovo-Polog "the war for the destruction of everything Christian is on, and the Islamic-terrorist conquests have but one objective: to carry out the complete Islamisation and Albanisation of these parts". 
    Most of the messages of Petar, the Bishop of Australia-New Zealand and Administrator of Prespa-Bitolj, could be called "political". In his interview for the Christmas issue of the Skoplje "Daily" he said that "the war in Macedonia was staged by the international factor, members of the Protestant sects, as well as Western emissaries with the objective of harming the Orthodoxy in Macedonia and beyond". The Bishop was of the opinion that "the Albanians, who agreed to play this game, were used to this end. Macedonia would have been able to resolve the problem with Albanian terrorists on its own had not the international community forced itself upon Macedonia" underlined the Bishop. The Metropolitan Bishop had his interpretation of the burning down of Orthodox Churches and monasteries: "If there were no Kosovo Mujaheddins and Albanians in Macedonia, then it was done by Islamic fundamentalists from Macedonia, which is even worse and more appalling if we want to establish mutual confidence". 
    It seemed that Bishop Petar was equally worried about something else. In connection with the constitutional amendments and, more specifically, changes of Article 19 whereby the exclusivity of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was relativised by the mention being made of four other religious communities, Kir Petar reiterated that the official stand of the Church was unanimous: "amendments of this Article will create intolerance and religious hatred between the MPC and other religious communities" said the MPC dignitary prophetically. That was not the end of his warning. "In Bitolj and its surroundings, Orthodoxy is not threatened by Islam, nor is Islam in any danger from Orthodoxy". 
    Recently, that same MPC dignitary accused none other than President of the Republic Boris Trajkovski for supporting sects and sent him a message that he should be "the President of all citizens, and not a Methodist preacher(which the chief of state really is) invoking God". On that occasion Metropolitan Bishop Petar also said: "Macedonia is attacked not only by Albanian terrorists, but also by numerous sects which, with the President's blessing, have penetrated schools, mail-boxes and our homes, and even army ranks. If this is not stopped, we, the Macedonians (90 percent of us being Orthodox believers) will very soon be torn between our church and sects and thus forever lose our nation and culture. Islam is not so dangerous because it is fundamentally different. Christian sects are a greater danger to us." On that occasion, the Bishop called Trajkovski to prevent this because, if not, "The Macedonian Orthodox Church will raise its voice". 
    In his address, the Metropolitan Bishop corroborated his claims with material evidence - showing brochures of various sects who have already "penetrated the schools"; some five thousand leaflets were sent to homes of Bitolj denizens and the last week Macedonian Army Center organised lectures on sects. Thus, messages have been sent. It should be assumed that they have reached the ears and hearts of those they were intended for. 

ZELJKO BAJIC 
(AIM)

Copyright: All those wishing to use or publish AIM texts are welcome to do so, provided that they indicate the source and inform the AIM office in Paris which is interested to receive comments and reactions on the information it provides.
AIM, 17 rue Rebeval, 75019 Paris, France, admin@aimpress.org

KosovaLive Weekly review
http://kosovalive.com/en/weekly_review.htm

Ethnically Mixed Police With UCPMB Youths Not Fulfilled, Says Musliu 

PRISHTINA (KosovaLive) - The former Commander of the voluntarily disbanded Army for Liberation of Presevo, Medvedje and Bujanovac (UCPMB) Shefket Musliu accused Serbians of discrimination of guerilla members and threatened a general block of the process if this continued. "From 86 young Albanians applying to the third class of the ethnically mixed police in the three municipalities of Presevo valley, 46 were called for tests, while only 12 have been accepted," Musliu told KosovaLive. 
    According to Musliu, the majority of young candidates who were refused entry by Serbian doctors after failing a medical check were UCPMB members. "This is a well-prepared scenario in the Serbian laboratory to leave them out from an opportunity they deserve," he said.
    "If the same scenario is repeated in the third class, I will insist on blocking this process completely, the only initiated one after the UCPMB disbanded. Application for the third class has not been closed definitely as they have not fulfilled the required number, but let's sees what the outcome is. We are ready for talks, but only for serious and authentic ones," Musliu concluded.
    Musliu and the Presevo Mayor, Riza Halimi refused to meet the Serb Coordinator for the Presevo issue Nebojsa Covic at the end of last year, as he along with his staff manipulated the ethnically mixed process.

Presence of International Community Would Prevent Armed Conflict in Presevo Region, says Halimi

PRESEVO (KosovaLive) - The population of the three municipalities in Presevo Valley is interested in positive developments regarding the political process in the region, and the continued presence of the international community guarantees that no armed conflict will arise in the region, Albanian politicians have stated. Meanwhile, the situation in the region is being intensified by the premature local elections that were planned for April.
    "The elections are unduly being dragged out by Belgrade's governments which are not ready to integrate the Albanians into the political, economic and social life," the Prefect of Presevo, Riza Halimi told KosovaLive Friday.
    Comparing the situation with the one prior to the May 21 agreement, Halimi said that the only essential change in this region was that there was currently no armed conflict. "Except the multiethnic police project, which is currently in progress and regarding which there are still serious problems, we cannot say that there is anything concrete for the Albanians," Halimi concluded.

Betreff: HLC - PRESS - VIOLENCE AGAINST SMALL RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES GOES UNPUNISHED
Datum: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 13:59:07 -0800
Von: humanitarian law center <office@hlc.org.yu>

VIOLENCE AGAINST SMALL RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES GOES UNPUNISHED

The Humanitarian Law Center is concerned by the continuing attacks on small religious communities in the Vojvodina town of Backa Palanka. None of the assailants have been charged so far although a 70-year-old man was seriously injured in one such incident.  The most frequent targets are the clergy, faithful and buildings of the local Adventist, Evangelical and Baptist Churches and the Christian Center. 
    The Adventist church was broken into on the night of 20 January this year and a glass partition wall smashed.  Nothing was stolen. Inspectors Djilas and Zivkovic of the local Police Department told Radivoj Vladisavljevic, chairman of the Northern District of the Adventist Church, that the perpetrators were probably hooligans who had no intention of inciting religious intolerance.  Slogans reading "This is Serbia and belongs to the Serbs" and the like were spraypainted on the facade of the church in July and October last year. 
    The Christian Center organized a conference at the Backa Palanka gymnasium on 24 June 2001.   Scores of people, many of them under the influence of alcohol, first protested outside and then stormed into the gymnasium and set fire to the religious literature and leaflets.  A man who said his name was Kandis told Pastor Jan Demeter that he was in charge of the demonstration.   As the participants in the conference were leaving, rocks were hurled at their buses.  A brick hit Milan Bajac in the head and fractured his skull.  Though the police identified a number of the assailants, none were charged.  That same night, the rolling shutters on the Baptist church and bulletin board of the Evangelical church were smashed. 
    Four young men barged into the home of Pastor Demeter at 3 a.m. on 8 July 2001 and threatened to beat him to death.  One kept pushing and hitting the pastor on the arms, saying he was not afraid of the police. When they finally left, Demeter noticed another four youths waiting outside for them.   A few months later, three young men sprayed the  words "Serbia is Orthodox - We are the people of St. Sava" and the New Testament quotation "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" on the façade of the pastor's home, which also houses the Christian Center.  When the pastor tried to persuade them to stop, they retorted that the house and Vojvodina belonged to the Serbs.   One of the men threatened to kill the pastor, throw a grenade into the house and drive his family out of the Serbia, and aimed at shot of spray at him.  Mrs Demeter called the police who found the men, took them to the police station and released  them half an hour later.  The assailants then returned to Pastor Demeter's house, broke the front door and smashed the windows with bricks.  The family recognized them as the same men who had stoned the buses carrying the participants in the June conference in Backa Palanka. 
    The new Serbian authorities have not been responsive to the problems of small religious communities nor have they attempted to rein in the aggressiveness of the conservative wing of the Serbian Orthodox Church and rightist extremists.  On the contrary, some officials of the new government continue publicly to incite xenophobia and religious hate, and many non-Orthodox communities consider that the state of religious freedoms and the rights of their members are threatened more than ever before. 
    Many serious incidents of extreme religious intolerance have been registered all over Serbia but the police and judicial authorities showed no readiness to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. 

For more information please contact Olivera Franjicevic, HLC Novi Sad office, tel./fax: +381 21 28755 e- mail:hlcolja@Eunet.yu 

Betreff:  [balkanhr] 
IFEX Auto List - Israel/Palestine (WPFC condemns IDF action against PBC)
Datum: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 21:54:33 +0100
Von: "IFEX Action Alert Network" <office@greekhelsinki.gr> (by way of Greek Helsinki Monitor <office@greekhelsinki.gr>)
Rückantwort: balkanhr-owner@yahoogroups.com

**We apologise for any cross-posting**

To: IFEX Auto List (other news of interest)
From: World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), mgreene@wpfc.org

22 January 2002

Fax Letter to: (9722) 513-950
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Jerusalem, Israel

Fax Letter to: (9722) 670-1909
Avi Pazner
Spokesman of the Government of Israel
Jerusalem, Israel

Your Excellency,

The World Press Freedom Committee, which includes 44 journalistic organizations around the globe, joins in condemning the action of the Israeli Defense Forces on Saturday, Jan. 19, in destroying the main offices of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corp. in Ramallah.

That attempt to silence a broadcasting facility is an unacceptable act of censorship in contradiction with Israel's commitment to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

The action also violates the Government of Israel's obligations to uphold freedom of speech and of the press under other international human rights instruments and to refrain from interfering with legally established broadcasting facilities under the World Administrative Radio Conference agreements.

As a practical matter, the IDF's action undermines the Israeli government's own demands that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat should appeal to the Palestinian population to refrain from violence against Israelis. If he is deprived of the means of communicating with the Palestinian public, he cannot issue such appeals in an effective way.

Any claims that PBC television or the Voice of Palestine radio have engaged in incitement to violence with the likelihood of this having effect should be publicly documented by the Israeli authorities. If there have been such instances, the normal remedy would be documented official protests, followed by legal steps if such protests were unheeded.

Further, we call your attention to and request your serious consideration of a resolution adopted May 6, 2001  by member groups of the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations against the targeting of broadcasting stations in conflicts.  Noting that such attacks violate Article 52 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention adopted in 1949, the Resolution of the Coordinating Committee adds: "The broadcast of 'propaganda' does not constitute a military function. This is a highly subjective term that should never be used to justify a military attack." We append the full text of that Resolution.

The proper moral and legal response to any broadcasts that the Government of Israel may disagree with or find offensive would be public statements of its own to establish contested facts and to meet arguments with arguments. The violent silencing of adversaries has the effect of suggesting a lack of convincing replies to their messages.

We also protest the failure by your administration to renew accreditations of Palestinian journalists. This seems to be part of an attempt to delegitimize Palestinian news outlets and to prevent them from doing their journalistic work.

Such a refusal to accredit journalists smacks of the licensing of journalists, a practice that has been consistently rejected by international human rights courts as a violation of freedom of expression and of press freedom.

The Government of Israel rightly points with pride to the freedom enjoyed by the Israeli press. But for that freedom to be credible to outsiders, the Government of Israel must also show that it respects the freedom of speech and of the press of others subject to its reach and authority.

In future, the Government of Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces should refrain from targeting journalists or journalistic facilities and should, on the contrary, aid them in their difficult job of reporting on a tense conflict situation.

We look forward to your reply on this very important matter.

 Respectfully yours,
 

James H. Ottaway, Jr.
Chairman
World Press Freedom Committee

Ronald Koven
European Representative
World Press Freedom Committee
 

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
INTER AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTING
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE PERIODICAL PRESS
INTERNATIONAL PRESS INSTITUTE
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM COMMITTEE

Resolution on Targeting of Broadcast Stations in Conflicts

Members of the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations, meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, on May 6, 2001, resolve that governments should not target broadcast facilities during war and conflict.

Broadcast facilities are presumed to be civilian objects because they do not meet the customary definition of a military objective under international humanitarian law.

Article 52 of Protocol (1) Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 states, "Military objectives are limited to those objects which by their nature, location, or use make an effective contribution to military action nd whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in ircumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage."

This rule is part of customary international law and is binding on states hat have not ratified the Protocol.

Broadcast facilities can only lose this civilian immunity if they are used for significant military purposes, such as military communication. The broadcast of "propaganda" does not constitute a military function. This is a highly subjective term that should never be used to justify a military attack.

In the last several years, military attacks have been launched against broadcast facilities in Serbia, Dagestan, and the West Bank. Such attacks violate international humanitarian law and place all journalists covering conflicts at risk.
_ _ _ _ _ _

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Kosovo: UNMIK, Manuel: MP Hajdaraj murder, maybe a political act 
19-Jan-2002 3:10 PM
PRISTINA (January 19) - "We can not state at 100% that this was a political act, but the results will surely bring about such a conclusion", said yesterday UNMIK mission spokeswoman Susan Manuel, referring to the investigations dealing with Hajdaraj murder, citied KIC. She added "We do not have any fact that Hajdaraj was involved in any criminal activity and added that police is shedding light on this event". She was concerned if this case would escalate the relations between the political parties and appeals for tranquility and dialogue. Meantime in a statement of UNMIK police in Pec, police is examining the place of the event and it is supposed that there have been several persons in this murder". xhe/an (BalkanWeb) 

Kosovo: EC Secretary, Shvimer: Violence returns when Parliament increased hopes to kosovians 
19-Jan-2002 2:50 PM
PRISTINA (January 19) - "It is very painful that violence returns when Parliament has increased hopes for a new beginning in Kosovo", declared European Council Secretary General Valter Shvimer. He appealed to kosovo people to overpass peacefully the problems. Shvimer added: "I invite Kosovo citizens to engage in the progress advancement achieved in the last months and to contest political or criminal violence and to work to construct a real multiethnic society", was stated in the declaration of European Council Secretary General Valter Shvimer. xhe/an (BalkanWeb)
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.balkanweb.com/new/news5.htm

Kosovo, Hajdaraj's murder: MPs commemorate their colleague 
19-Jan-2002 1:40 PM
PRISTINA (January 19) - Kosovo MPs gathered today in the chamber of Kosovo parliament to honor their colleague Smajl Hajdaraj, murdered two days ago near Pec. During the commemorating meeting held in one of the chambers of this parliament except the deputies were also present Hajdaraj family, representatives of UNMIK and diplomatic offices in Pristina. Parliament speaker Daci said: “I want you to be open-hearted, as Albanian people really are, to have painful tranquility, decrease of the tension around us and to give your help for Justice institutions, since this is the right and the only way to avoid the repetition darkness of January for albanians. xhe/an (BalkanWeb)
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.balkanweb.com/new/news3.htm

Kosovo, UNMIK police to citizens: Help us to shed light on Hajdaraj murder 
19-Jan-2002 12:00 PM
PRISTINA (January 19) - UNMIK police demands cooperation with citizens to shed light on the murder of LDK deputy Smajl Hajdaraj. Police spokesman requested to citizens for help to discover the murderers of the politician. He stressed that it is certain that someone knows about the murderer. "ten minutes after the murder of Smajl Hajdari, MP of Kosovo parliament, police has found only the body in the place of the event", declared international police spokesman, Dereck Chapel, adding that the authors of the murder went in an unknown direction. According to him "Smajl Hajdaraj was attacked by several persons few moments before entering his house". According to the data collected up to now Chapel said that: " We can state if this murder has a political understatement up to now but we can say that the persons who are doing such acts are attacking directly the democratic institutions. The murder of those elected by the people is a grave act", said UNMIK police spokesman. xhe/an (BalkanWeb)
_______________________________________________________________________
KosovaLive Weekly review
http://kosovalive.com/en/weekly_review.htm

January 17 , 2002

Trajkovic Unsure Whether Povratak Representatives Will Vote 

PRISHTINA (KosovaLive) - The Head of the Serb Povratak Coalition Rada Trajkovic told KosovaLive that at a meeting she attended at the United States Office in Prishtina on Thursday with Ambassador Menzies, issues on forming Kosova's institutions and the role of Povratak were discussed. Trajkovic said that it was not yet certain whether Povratak representatives would vote for the President of Kosova, adding that nobody had said that they would not vote, but this issue would be examined further, as "This coalition never closes the door on anything."
    When asked whether the readiness of Povratak representatives to vote in the election for the President of Kosova meant having to sacrifice their rejection of independence for Kosova, Trajkovic answered that it was the same as asking the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK), or the Democratic Party of Kosova (PDK) to give up their request for Kosova not to remain under Serbia rule.
    Trajkovic expressed that her previous meetings with the representatives of the three largest Albanian parties in Kosova, which were held in the presence of the Chancellor of the British Liaison Office, "We had excellent meetings. We have talked about where they [the Albanian leaders] see the coalition of Povratak and their cooperation with it. Those were very short meetings but we all expressed our wish to cooperate with each other," she said.
    She described the statement of Adem Demaci as charming, that she might be an adequate candidate to be President of Kosova. "It has impressed me that that came from Demaci, because he is an important person, and I was impressed most of all that he described that I was the most intelligent person to become president." Trajkovic viewed this as proof that Albanians and Serbs could live together and form a government. This, according to her, meant that in the future the Albanians could express their wish to have more Serb leaders, even from Belgrade. 

23 January 2002

I got news from Valerie Hughes, Ireland, Besim Zymberi will be released tonight.
So far I received no confirmation by ICRC.

This mail forwarded Divi Beineke to me:

> A letter  taken from Kosovapresss(Jan. 17,2002)

> By Besim Zyberi - Jan. 10 2002 - Sremska Mitrovica

> In spite of  the fact that I addressed some of my
> letters to the  international  decision maker's
> institutions , to Albanian politician  leaders ,
> former UN Administrators in Kosova , to Mr. Kouchner
> and Haekerup as well as to the all information media,
> asking them to influence on the Serbian authorities
> for the release of Albanian innocent  hostages , who
> are held  still  in Serbian  prisons  unjustly or by
> other words they keep living their prison life  in
> concentration  camps  of  Serbia.
>
> I  asked the Albanian political factors especially
> that  their engagement for the release of  hostages to
> be with  collective insistences of   the people, with
> different protest in order to make a pressure to the
> International Community that they  might raise the
> issue for the release of the Albanian hostages through
> legal and ordinary international proceedings!
>
> I   called up to remind the Albanian politicians ,
> that during the Air Strikes Campaign , one of the five
> conditions for the suspension of air strikes against
> Serbia was exactly the release of innocent  hostages.
>
> The Albanian politician factor shouldn't give in  for
> this kind of condition  and they should  imprint this
> condition in their mind and point them out during
> their diplomatic talks with NATO  diplomats,
> International  community and UNO!
>
> I  called up with the voice of war hostages, with the
> voice of a person  sentenced with 14 years
> imprisonment  in order to excite  the  peoples
> insistence and  the insistence of all Albanian
> political  factor, because they have their lawful
> ethical right , national right and international right
> , in order to avoid  legitimating  by  plans of
> foreigners and by Serbian  appetites; that  our people
> , Albanian political factor ,  do not allow that we
> being hostages  remain or  be used as a compromise for
> agreements and bargaining of  foreigner's  plans and
> of the Serbs as well  to be reached , in order hide
> the tragedy and the crime which were committed in the
> Dubrava Prison against Albanian prisoners!
>
> Recently , I found out that, that  the engagements
> about the fate of our release are performed in an
> individual way and this is for me an unacceptable
> form, irritated and inappropriate!
>
>  In spite of the fact that some individuals who for
> the good  purpose  try to or have tried to apply  such
> forms in order to find an adequate solution for the
> release of the Albanian hostages, this seems to me
> inferior way!
>
> Exactly due to lack of  above mentioned  political
> insistence, the possible individual  way is being
> applied  and it seems that  its not present and its
> not  applied the collective form in order to raise in
> the serious way the issue of  hostages!
>
> I called up proudly  in order to tell  to  World and
> Albanian opinion  who are the hostages in the Serbian
> prisons!
>
> Therefore when our sense of  shame  is full of
> injuries from savage  tortures many Albanians became
> crippled, many of them got  lethal disease. I wont
> understand the form of  exchange  of  the   release or
>  buying of  freedom for the Albanian hostages  in a an
> endless game  instead  that  all  international and
> local institutions to file a suit  against Serbian
> state for genocide  and State's terrorism  applied
> against  Albanian hostages!!!
>
> Besim Zymeri
> Sremska Mitrovica(Serbia)

Borba: UNMIK’s Deputy Head Tom Koenings visited Saric in the Gnjilane jail

Deputy Head of UNMIK Tom Koenings visited Serb author Petar Saric in the Gnjilane jail on Monday, Borba reported. Saric was sentenced to one month in custody because of an alleged attack on UNMIK police. According to unnamed sources in the Court administration in Gnjilane, Koenings' visit was linked to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's demand for Saric's release. Kostunica offered his personal guarantees that Saric would appear at a trial. Saric, a prominent Kosovo author who was beaten in an incident in front of his house in Brezovica on January 5, has been in custody for the past week.
 


"Religionstreffen in Assisi" 

Beten für eine friedlichere Welt 

Since a long time also I want to have translations
to Hebrew and Palestine language
of the prayer following
 

 in English:

May the Divine healing power flow freely through us.
May it cleanse, strengthen and heal us
- filling us with love, healing warmth and light
- protecting us and leading us on our path.
We give thanks - for this is happening

     in German:

    Möge die göttliche heilende Kraft durch uns fließen,
       uns reinigen, stärken und heilen,
       erfüllen mit Liebe, heilender Wärme und Licht,
       uns schützen und führen auf unserem Weg.
       Wir danken - da das geschieht !

in Albanian: 

    Me shpresë që fuqia hyjnore
       Te hyjë lirshëm mes nesh,
       Me shpresë që ajo te na pastrojë
       forcojë dhe sherojë ne.

       Të na mbushi me dashuri, 
       të na sherojë me ngrohtësi dhe dritë
       Të na mbrojë dhe të na udhëheqi
       Në rrugën tonë.

       Ne ju falemderojmë për këtë që 
       po ndodhë.

in Serbo-Kroatian:
       Nek bozanska moc isceljenja slobodno tece kroz nas.
       Neka nas ocisti, osnazi i isceli
       ispunjavajuci nas ljubavlju, isceliteljskom toplinom i svetloscu
       stiteci nas i vodeci na nasem putu.
       Pruzamo zahvalnost - jer to se zbiva
 
in Hebrew ?

in Palestine ? 

I know, for God the language of prayer is not the question.
He will hear any prayer by heart.

   Wer meint:
          Beten löst die Probleme nicht,
                   dem gebe ich recht,
                          aber: Beten gibt Hören und Kraft
                                   bei der Lösung der Probleme mithelfen zu können
                                                           :-)
   Who has the opinion
           Prayer solves no problems,
                      I will say him (her) to be right,
                               but: Prayer will give To Hear and Power
                                      to be coworker to help solving the problems

Man little people at many little places doing many little steps will change this world


 
201 Albanian prisoners remaining: 

Betreff:  [ALBANEWS] News: Albin Kurti Open letter to the MEPs: press release (fwd)
Datum: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 10:19:02 -0500
Von: Mentor Cana <mentor@ALB-NET.COM>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 05:39:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Olivier Dupuis <ol_dupuis@yahoo.com>
To: odupuis@agora.it
Subject: Albin Kurti Open letter to the MEPs: press release

Albin Kurti Open letter to the MEPs: press release

KOSOVAN HOSTAGES STILL HELD IN DETENTION IN SERBIA:
OPEN LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
FROM ALBIN KURTI, THE KOSOVAN STUDENT LEADER WHO WAS HELD HOSTAGE FOR OVER TWO AND HALF YEARS BY THE SERBIAN AUTHORITIES

Brussels, 8 January 2002. In the face of the silence that continues to surround the issue of the 201 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo still held in prison by the Serbian authorities, Albin Kurti, Kosovan student leader and a leading figure in the Kosovan resistance to the Communist regime of Slobodan Milosevic, has sent an open letter to the members of the European Parliament in which he denounces the “institutionalised injustice” suffered by the Kosovan hostages, as well as the responsibility of the international community in general and the European Union in particular.

www.radicalparty.org

Albin Kurti (*) Open Letter to the Members of the European Parliament

Prishtina, Kosova, January 5, 2002

Dear Member of the European Parliament,

I want to remind you that, at this time, throughout "Serbia," there are 201 Albanians still being held as hostages, in continuation of the policy of brutal subjugation of Albanians begun under Milosevic and continued even now.
Some weeks ago, I was suddenly released from Nish Prison after being forcibly deprived of liberty for more than two years and seven months. I had been abducted from Prishtina during the NATO war. On March 13, 2000, a self-pro-claimed Prishtina District Court located in Nish sentenced me, according to them, to 15 years imprisonment.
    Even though I never recognized so-called Serbia and Yugoslavia and their organs and institutions, even though I never asked for an appeal or requested amnesty, things that I wouldn't do for any price, they nevertheless released me. They kidnapped me when they arrested me, and they kidnapped me when they released me. Their politics do remain to be above the law.
    They didn't do this for the sake of humanity or justice. It cannot be said, as some are saying, that justice has been done in my situation. With my release they bought some time and they caused a reduction of international pressure (although it has been always weak in this matter of the Albanian hostages). At the same time, they hoped to improve their image in front of the world. I was released for political leverage. The others are kept for future political leverage. Albanians, who are still being unjustly kept in "Serbia", are not prisoners but hostages. They were kidnapped and severely tortured, not arrested. For instance, Lipjan prison was run like as brutally as an internment camp in Bosnia, and that the judge supervising this torture in this district was moved to Nish in the so-called Prishtina District Court of Nish. They are still being kept and treated as hostages in places of detention that are more similar to concentration camps than prisons. There are no conditions for hygiene or medical care; there are no conditions for life. Psychological torture, insults, threats, and provocations have replaced--even surpassed-- the brutality and physical torture of before.
    Let me explain these detention conditions more precisely. In April 1999, from all over "Yugoslavia", Albanian hostages were brought to Dubrava Prison in Kosova, because Serb authorities knew that this prison would be bombed by NATO forces as an army site. They assembled about 1,100 people there, in order to use this as an opportunity for killing and massacring Albanians. NATO bombed Dubrava on May 19-21,1999 and several Western journalists witnessed these events. The massacre by guards and inmates began on May 22, 1999.
Many Dubrava survivors are still imprisoned today in "Serbia." At the same time, the same people involved in perpetrating this massacre are working as guards throughout "Serbia," still "guarding" Albanian hostages. The majority of those who survived the Dubrava massacre have serious wounds--open wounds, paralysis, shattered bones, amputations, and pieces of metal from grenades and rockets that are still today in their bodies. Others have informed you of this before me, and still nothing has happened.
    Further examples of institutionalized injustice against Albanians were in the investigative procedures that preceded the "trials." Besides the fact that all investigations were characterized by brutal and inhuman torture, Serbian investigators always took as an established fact that Albanians were all collectively guilty simply because they were Albanian. Later on, in all "trials" against Albanians, the Serb Courts (called Prishtina District Court, for example) acted like it was not their duty to prove the guilt of Albanians, but that Albanian hostages were those who needed to prove their innocence.
    The essence of trials was prejudice, irregularity, and a show of dominance. From this point of view, those "trials" are not contested not only because they didn't have facts but above all because those facts never existed in the first place. They created false facts for Albanians - which still would be insufficient for a just trail - and the other main method was having Albanians testify against themselves. Their own confessions, extracted under torture, were used to convict them. It is universally irregular and illegal to use a forced confession against someone on trial. These forced confessions were the only evidence. Furthermore, very often Albanians were not allowed to speak their own language in court.
    If this seems absurd and like something that could not be going on in this century, consider the unusual document that Haekkerup - Covic signed on November 5, 200l. Again, it seems that Serbian Courts were being recognized (acknowledged) to have the right to review the "cases" of Kosovar Albanians, who are citizens of Kosovo under UNMIK's jurisdiction, not Serbia's! The original goal of this document was to publicly state the jurisdiction of UNMIK in these cases. But, what happened? Furthermore, how it is possible to allow this to continue to happen when those the same illegal and non-legitimate "courts" produced both the evidence (confessions) and the sentences against these hostages?
    The international community in general and European Union in particular have done very little in this aspect. Especially, as far as the Council and the Commission were concerned the pressures were rare and only in the form of simply raising the problem at private meetings with Serb officials. There was no public pressure--ever--nor any consequences for not releasing these people and restoring their liberty.
    In the best light, the silence of the Commission and the Council of the European Union and the ineffectiveness of European Union in general are absurd. All this has and will continue to have tragic consequences for not only the hostages but also for their families throughout Kosova. This doesn’t mean anything else than support and help to "Yugoslavia" and "Serbia" while they were continuing to have and to keep hostages. Even now, the European Union is supporting, helping, and favoring the hostage-keepers. All this makes the European Union responsible too for keeping Albanians as hostages. In addition, the member states of the European Union are all responsible as co-signers of the Geneva Conventions, which states that all detainees shall be released immediately following the cessation of hostilities. And that the families have the right not to be subjected to the disappearance of their loved ones. If the European Union don't enforce and vocally promote these rights, who will?
    The hostages should be released immediately and unconditionally. Regarding any aid or support that the European Union is giving to "Yugoslavia" and "Serbia" or that considers giving in the future, if it conditions (like US Senate efforts to restrict funding, because furthermore these crimes are ongoing in Europe, not in the USA) it with the issue of release of Albanian hostages - in which case those accused for ordinary crimes (deeds) would be transferred in the prisons of Kosova - then you would find this problem immediately resolved.
    I am aware of the initiatives undertaken and resolutions adopted by European Parliament for the issue of Albanian hostages and I thank You very much for everything, but the real fact that 201 Albanians are still hostages in “Serbia” makes everyone conscious for the insufficiency of results and therefore of endeavours, too.
    The matter of Albanians hostages is also a matter of your conscience just as much as being a matter of Rule of Law and international legacy. You cannot behave as if this is not happening or that it is not happening in Europe.
    With hope that you will increase urgently your own efforts and the pressure on the Council and the Commission of the European Union in order to finally solve this very sad issue of the Albanian hostages, I take this opportunity to wish you and your family all the best for 2002.

Albin Kurti

(*) I was released last November.
 

Albin Kurti has been released from Serbian prison on 7 December 2001,
but 201 Kosova-Albanian prisoners remain, 
detained in Serbia since June 1999.
   "The worst thing has happened," Kurti told reporters on his release.
   "I've been freed alone. My friends are still in prison in Serbia,"
     he added after arriving by Red Cross jeep in the town of Merdare
    on the Kosovo border.
more ...
**

Sieger Köder: Ihr habt mir zu essen gegeben
ye gave me meat
*
*
aktuell: Nürnberg:

Familie Zeneli abgeschoben
am 23. November 2001

Neujahrsgruß des OB im Wortlaut

18.12.2001 - Nürnberger Zeitung, 18.12.2001:

Die Fakten zur Abschiebung
(Leserbrief des
Bayerischen Staatsministeriums des Innern)
  Sie sollten ebenfalls schreiben:
an die NZ und an das Ministerium !
  • F a k t e n
  • DOKUMENTE

  • (Rechtslage - Situation Kosov@)

    ==>  Resolution, Presseerklärung, Berichte

    vor der Abschiebung:
  • Wie fand Familie Zeneli so viele Fürsprecher?

  •    (Nürnberger Nachrichten, 6.6.2001)

    Stadt der Menschenrechte ?

    Neujahrsgruß des OB im Wortlaut


    Nürnberger Nachrichten, 06. Juni 2001
    *
     
    *
    DEC 10, UN and basic human rights in Kosovo

       EVERYONE IS ENTITLED...

    Declaration and practice of Human Rights
    by Bob Petrovich 
    more ...
    *
    05.05.2001
    ABDUCTIONS
    -1-010417.htm
    HLC - Humanitarian Law Center
    Abductions and Disappearances of non-Albanians in Kosovo
    download report in Word 97 doc format.
    http://www.hlc.org.yu/english/reports/Abductions.doc
    or read as HTM-Files   http://www.bndlg.de/~wplarre/ABDUCTIONS-1-010417.htm
    *
     
    Zuwanderungsgesetzentwurf
    *
    *

    Sieger Köder: Ihr habt mir zu essen gegeben
    ye gave me meat
    *
    part of RFE/RL BALKAN REPORT Vol. 6, No. 2, 8 January 2002

    A THANKLESS -- AND NECESSARY – JOB

    The new UN chief administrator in Kosova will have to break some unpleasant truths to many people. The task will not be easy, but it must be done sooner rather than later if Kosova is to have a stable and prosperous future.
        The recent departure of Hans Haekkerup as head of the UN's civilian administrator in Kosova (UNMIK) came as a surprise to many - - but was not unwelcome to Albanian leaders and to many of the international staff (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 January 2002). The leading candidate to replace him is reportedly Germany's knowledgeable but abrasive Michael Steiner (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 January 2002).
        It is possible that Steiner could alienate local leaders just as Haekkerup did. After all, the history of the international community's involvement in the former Yugoslavia in the past decade or so is filled with the names of self-confident Western politicians and technocrats who never seemed to understand the political culture of the Balkans. Even Haekkerup realized early on that the Balkan attitude toward compromise is quite different from that of his native Scandinavia, but that insight did not help him much in developing a working relationship with leaders of the 90 percent Albanian majority.
        But perhaps just the right touch of steeliness is what is required. This is because the new head of UNMIK faces at least three daunting tasks that involve telling many people things that they may not want to hear. He will have the same formidable powers as Haekkerup but will need to use them more effectively than did the former Danish defense minister.
        The first task is to make it crystal clear to the Albanians that they stand no chance of achieving their goal of independence unless they show that they can manage their own affairs. The main reason for the foreign presence in the Balkans to begin with is that most of the local groups and their leaders proved unable to rise to the task of dealing with the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, a process set off by the policies of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. The foreigners are unlikely to approve any new status for Kosova that seems likely to lead to fresh trouble.
        The Albanians will first have to show that they are capable of forming and maintaining a stable government backed by a working majority in the parliament. As it stands, Ibrahim Rugova, whose Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) has the largest single block of seats, has failed to persuade either of the two next-largest Albanian parties to join him. These are Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosova (PDK) and Ramush Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosova (AAK). Unless these three leaders can show more talent for practical politics, they will find few people abroad who will take their demand for independence seriously even if it is based on the principles of self-determination and majority rule.
        One strong argument for Kosovar independence is that there will not be stability in the region until the status of the province is clarified (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 16 November 2001). But there will not be stability, in any event, unless the Albanians show that they can control the crime and corruption in their midst. By cleaning up their own community's affairs, the Albanians can demonstrate that they are serious candidates for more than just home rule. If they fail to weed out their own mafia-like structures, they will give credence to those who argue that Kosova can only be ruled with a firm Serbian hand.
        Besides setting up a stable government and combating crime, the Albanians will also need to show that they are capable of treating Kosova's minorities according to European standards. This means first and foremost the Serbs, but also the Turks, Roma, Bosnian Muslims, and others as well. The Albanians' record to date has been far from encouraging, but they will need to improve if they want to convince the world that they are ready for independence.
        The second task for the new head of UNMIK will be to point out to the local Serbs that their future is most likely that of a minority and not as masters (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 6 November 2001). The quicker the Serbs recognize that Serbian forces are unlikely to return to Kosova at any time in the conceivable future, the sooner they will be able to adjust to new realities. The fact that they voted in large numbers in the November election and sent 22 deputies to the parliament suggests that many already realize that their future will be determined in Prishtina and not in Belgrade.
        The new head of UNMIK will also have to remind some of the leaders in the Serbian capital of a few unpleasant truths. Perhaps Haekkerup's greatest disservice to the stability of the region was to enter into a pact with the Belgrade authorities to give them a voice in the affairs of the province. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 on Kosova specifies that the province remains part of Yugoslavia, but it is equally clear that this link is a paper one without any real authority.
        By giving Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic a pre-election document to justify a role for Belgrade in post-1999 Kosova, Haekkerup seemed to ignore what to the Albanians is the basic political fact of life in Kosova: that the repression and war of 1998-99 cost Serbia and Yugoslavia any claim on the Albanians' allegiances or loyalties. The new head of UNMIK -- and perhaps others in the international community -- may seek early on to suggest to Belgrade that its energies are better spent on ending the poverty and corruption that plague Serbia than on trying to recover lost territories (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 20 November 2001).
        The third task facing the new head of UNMIK is to bring home to the leaders of the international community that they should not forget about Kosova's affairs or lose sight of what they intend to accomplish in the province. Without constant assessment and review, the international community could find itself with yet another expensive and messy international protectorate, with no end to that status in sight (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 21 December 2001). (Patrick Moore)
     

    *

    Fremde - in der Leitkultur der Bibel

    Eigene Erfahrungen prägten das Volk Gottes im Umgang mit Flüchtlingen

    Der Exodus Israels aus Ägypten gilt als grundlegende Erfahrung des Volkes Gottes. Weil diese Fluchterfahrung immer wieder in Erinnerung gerufen wird, genießen Fremde im Alten Testament Schutz und sind der einheimischen Bevölkerung weitgehend gleichgestellt. Auch im Neuen Testament spielt die Zuwendung zu Fremden eine wichtige Rolle.

    Die Bibel erzählt viel von Menschen, die einmal die Flucht ergriffen. Schon das 1. Buch Mose schildert mehrere Wanderungs- und Fluchtgeschichten. Viele biblische Gestalten sind vor Krieg und Unterdrückung geflohen oder haben ihre Heimat aus wirtschaftlichen und religiösen Gründen verlassen. Vor allem die Flucht der Israeliten aus Ägypten unter Führung von Mose hat maßgebliche Bedeutung für den jüdischen Glauben.
        Die Themen »Fremdsein« und »Umgang mit Fremden« spielen deshalb in der gesamten hebräischen Bibel eine wichtige Rolle. Dabei wird sorgfältig unterschieden zwischen Ausländern, die nur vorübergehend im Land sind als Reisende, Händler oder politische Delegationen - und Fremdlingen, die sich für längere Zeit niedergelassen haben.
        Besonders die fünf Bücher Mose regeln den Umgang mit diesen auch als »Beisasse« bezeichneten Menschen genau. Sie haben demnach einen besonderen Status, verfügen aber nicht über alle Rechte der Einheimischen.
        Ein Fremdling durfte beispielsweise kein Land besitzen. Erst in der Vision des Propheten Hesekiel vom künftigen Gottesstaat sollten Einheimische und Fremde auch in dieser Hinsicht gleichberechtigt sein (47,22f). Doch vorerst gilt, dass der Fremdling meist im Dienst eines Israeliten steht, der sein Herr und Beschützer ist.
        Weil ein zugezogener Ausländer in der Regel arm ist, wird er im Sozialsystem des alten Israel zu den wirtschaftlich Schwachen wie Witwen und Waisen gerechnet und hat wie sie Anspruch auf Hilfe. Selbstverständlich gelten für Fremdlinge und Einheimische auch dieselben staatlichen und religiösen Gesetze (3. Mose 20,22). Darüber hinaus wird mehrfach betont, dass die Ausländer unter göttlichem Schutz stehen (5. Mose 10,17f, Psalm 146,9).
        Theologisch besonders bedeutsam ist das Liebesgebot für die Einheimischen: Sie sollen die Beisassen lieben »wie sich selbst« (3. Mose 19,34). Diese Forderung wird unterstrichen durch den ausdrücklichen Hinweis an die einheimische Bevölkerung, dass ihre Vorfahren selbst »Fremdlinge gewesen sind in Ägypten«. Eindringlich beschwört auch das »Sch'ma Jisrael« (das jüdische Glaubensbekenntnis in 5. Mose 6, das jeder Jude täglich beten soll) die Erfahrung der Fremdheit Israels in »Städten, die du nicht gebaut hast« mit »Weinbergen, die du nicht gepflanzt hast«.
        Doch nicht nur die hebräische Bibel kennt Erfahrungen von Fremdheit und Flucht, auch dem Neuen Testament sind solche Lebensumstände nicht fremd. Nach dem Lukasevangelium entzog Josef schon bald nach der Geburt das Jesuskind und seine Mutter Maria der Nachstellung durch König Herodes.
        Der Apostel Paulus entwich mehrmals seinen Verfolgern. Als römischer Bürger hatte er dabei freilich das Privileg, sich überall im riesigen Römischen Reich ungehindert niederlassen zu dürfen. Früh entstand die Vorstellung, dass Christen auf dieser Welt generell als Fremde leben - ganz so, wie es die ersten Christen in überwiegend nicht-christlicher Umgebung tagtäglich erlebten.
        Herausragende Bedeutung für einen christlichen Umgang mit Fremden im Land hat Jesu so genannte »Rede vom Weltgericht« (Matthäus 25): Darin misst er seine Zuhörerschaft an ihrer Zuwendung zu Bedürftigen aller Art. Eindeutig belegen das seine Worte: »Was ihr getan habt einem von diesen meinen geringsten Brüdern (und Schwestern), das habt ihr mir getan« (Vers 40).

    Sabine Ost 
    Sonntagsblatt 24./31. Dezember 2000 Nr.52/53

    ==> christmas2000.htm
    ==> christmas-epiphanias-2000
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    Bible says:
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
    Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe [be] to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
    Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: [but] ye feed not the flock.
    The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up [that which was] broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
    And they were scattered, because [there is] no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
    My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek [after them].
    Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
    [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because [there was] no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
    Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
    Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
    For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, [even] I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
    As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep [that are] scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
    And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
    I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and [in] a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
    I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
    I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up [that which was] broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
    And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, [are] men, [and] I [am] your God, saith the Lord GOD.
    Hes 34, 1-31
    Authorized Version 1769 (KJV)

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