QUARTERLY REPORT

         JANUARY - MARCH 1998

           ON THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN
           RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL
           FREEDOMS IN KOSOVA

QUARTERLY REPORT JANUARY-MARCH 1998
ON THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
IN KOSOVA

     The Serbian regime's terror exerted on the Albanian population in Kosova has been
continuing with very grave consequences. During the first three months of 1998, 104
Albanians (10 of whom were buried unidentified) were killed by fire weapons or died as an
aftermath of the terror. The number of the wounded is much higher than 44 as registered
by the CDHRF. Compared to the previous periods, the number of those ill-treated has
drastically increased.
3095 persons were subjected to ill-treatment during the first three months of 1998. The
situation continues to be very grave and threatening. On almost every cross-road, police
set up check-points at which passengers have been subjected to physical ill-treatment.
     On 22 January 1998, at about 5.15 a.m., large police and military forces, based in the
yard of Ammunition Plant in Skënderaj, attacked the family of Shaban Murat Jashari (74)
from the village of Prekaz i Poshtëm. Due to this, Ilirjana Rifat Jashari (26) and Selvete
Hamzë Jashari (20) got wounded, whereas Shaban's house was completely destroyed.
The attack lasted until 6.00 a.m. The night before, the Jasharaj quarter had run out of
electricity and phones had been disconnected. In the outskirts of Klina e Poshtme, police
and military forces, while withdrawing, killed Hysen Nezir Manxholli (52) from Mikushnica,
father of 7. Whereas, the next day, in the vicinity of the Ammunition Plant in Skënderaj,
Idriz Idrizi from Prekaz was kidnapped. His whereabouts are still unknown.
     On Thursday, 14 January, at about 8.00 p.m., in downtown Prishtina, in the vicinity of
the Bank of Lubjana, a Serbian custom officer heavily wounded Ali R. Fazliu (44), father of
four. After two days, he died of wounds suffered.
     On 27 January 1998, at about 9.15 p.m., policeman Sasha Markoviq from the village of
Raçan near Kamenica, heavily wounded Avdi Rasim Neziri (13.07.1981) from Kamenica,
who died the next day due to the injuries suffered in the Hospital of Prishtina. Avdi was
selling cigarettes in order to support his family, when the plainclothed policeman put his
revolver on Avdi's ear and shot. Sasha and a colleague of his dragged wounded Avdi
several metres from the spot.
     On 14 February 1998, at about 4.30 p.m., more than 10 policemen interfered at the
local transmission station of GE Kosova in Çikatova village near Gllogoc, took the official
revolver from Nezir Hasan Selmanaj (47) from Kozhica near Skënderaj, a guardian.
Policemen tied, provoked and accused him and Avdullah Behram Nika (1952) from
Gllanasella near Gllogoc, an electrician, that "they were helping KLA". After a short while,
at about 5.20 p.m., a policeman accompanied Avdullah was gun down. The policemen told
Nezir that "his friend had escaped". As Nezir disagreed, policemen started to hit him with
rifle butts until he fainted. Nezir was kept until 10.00 a.m. of the following day, when
policemen put a blanket on his head, forced him into the car and sent him to the bus
station in Prishtina at 2.00 p.m. Meanwhile, on 15 February, at about 10.30 a.m., a
plainclothed policeman ordered Hasan Ahmeti, a guardian, to follow him and help him
carry the body of the late Avdullah to the ambulance car.
     On 20 February, the dead body of Murat Dajaku from Rakinica near Skënderaj was
brought to Health Care Centre. He had been on his way to Skënderaj to buy tractor spare
parts. While waiting for the bus, a lorry stopped and two Serbs took him. The
circumstances under which he was killed are still unknown.
     There was a pre-war situation in Kosova on 28 February. Drenica dawned surrounded
by Serbian armed forces. The attack with heavy weaponry, including armoured cars,
tanks, helicopters and other vehicles lasted for more than 24 hours. About 90 vehicles and
armoured cars took part in the actions in Drenica region. They withdrew towards the village
of Komoran. During the police action, Serbian Ministry of Interior Affairs brought large re-
enforcement by helicopters.
     The police and military operation began on 28 February with the police attack on the
village of Likoshan, the district of Gllogoc. Later on, the attack spread to the villages of
Qirez, Prekaz, Llaushë, Polac, Gllanasella, Çikatovë e Vjetër, Dobrashec, etc. During the
police attack, many Albanian villagers were massacred by Serbian forces. Nobody was
spared, not even women, children or the elderly.
     On 28 February and 1 March 1998, in the district of Skënderaj, the following persons
were massacred: ten members of the Ahmeti family - Ahmet (1948), Gani (1952), Elmi
(1954), Hamëz (1954), Driton (1975), Naim (1976), Lumni (1978), Shemsi (1979), Basri
(1979) and Elhami Ahmeti (1982); Muhamet (70) and Naser (37) Gjeli from Likoshan;
Rexhep (60) and Beqir Brahim Rexhepi; brothers Nazmi, Bekim, Beqir and Bedri Sejdiu;
Ilir Nebihu and his pregnant wife Rukije; Ibish Rama and Xhemshit Nebihu - from Qirez;
Behram Fazliu (50) from Gradica, Ismail Behrami from Baks and Bekim Beqir Deliu (16)
from Abri e Epërme, living in Skënderaj. All these Albanians were killed and massacred in
their houses by special police and paramilitary units. Police broke into the house of Ahmeti
family (36 members) and forced men, women and children to lie down on the ground. All
of them were beaten up regardless of sex and age. Then, the men were divided, taken out
of the yard, beaten-up and massacred in such a way that it was very difficult to identify
their dead bodies.
     According to the information sent by our field associates, the combined attack of large
police and military forces started against the villages of Skënderaj. The very same day,
about 70 military vehicles from Komoran and a long column of military vehicles from
Mitrovica had headed towards Skënderaj. 5 armoured cars, 12 lorries, 6 buses and 9
APCs from Klina headed for Skënderaj. Large police and military forces headed from Peja
for Skënderaj, too. All roads leading to Skënderaj and the other villages of this district were
blocked. On the hills surrounding Skënderaj, snipers were stationed. The very same
happened in many houses of the villages of Polac, Tërnavc, Prekaz, Klina e Poshtme,
Buroja, Kopiliq, Turiqevc, etc. Large heavily armed forces were stationed in Gllogoc, too.
Police had set up barricades. During the attack on the villages of Prekaz, Llausha, Polac,
Marina and Mikushnica, the Serbian forces used different kinds of weapons. Helicopters
flew over the attacked villages shooting on houses and people.
     As an aftermath of this attack, 46 Albanians were killed and massacred. 15 houses
were hit in Prekaz, 19 in Kopiliq, 7 in Turiqevc, 6 in Vojnik and 3 in Buroja, some of which
were destroyed, burnt to the ground or damaged. The Jasharaj and Lushtaku quarters in
the village of Prekaz were the target of a brutal police and military attack. The houses of
Shaban and Hajdar Jasharaj, as well as that of Beqir Lushtaku were burnt to the ground.
     On 8 March, at about 11.30 p.m., police brought the corpses of the 46 killed and
massacred people of Prekaz i Poshtëm and other villages of the Drenica region by several
lorries in front of the Health Care Centre in Skënderaj. Among those killed were 15 children
aged 7-16 and 17 women, as well as elderly.
     CDHRF compiled the list of the 46 identified victims of the massacre in Prekaz i
Poshtëm and Llausha. Yet, the list is incomplete as ten victims remain to be identified.
There is a possibility that many corpses can still be found in the ruins of the destroyed
houses and surrounding fields.
     CDHRF has registered the names of 22 missing persons of different age and sex from
Drenica. They are supposed to be dead.
     According to the list completed on 13 March, from 5-7 March in the villages of Prekaz i
Poshtëm and Llausha, district of Skënderaj, the following were killed and massacred:
Shaban Murat Jashari (74), Zahide Jashari (72), Hamëz Shaban Jashari (47), Adem
Shaban Jashari (42), Zarife Bahtir Jashari (49), Feride Jashari (43), Adile Bahtir Jashari
(40), Hidajete Rifat Jashari (18), Igball Rifat Jashari (13), Igballe Rifat Jashari (11), Valdete
Rifat Jashari (14), Selvete Hamëz Jashari (20), Besim Hamëz Jashari (16), Afete Hamëz
Jashari (17), Blerim Hamëz Jashari (12), Fatime Hamëz Jashari (8), Blerina Hamëz
Jashari (7), Lirije Hamëz Jashari (14), Fitim Adem Jashari (17), Kushtrim Adem Jashari
(13), Elheme Jashari, Blerim Zenë Jashari (16), Bujar Zenë Jashari (12), Abdullah Zenë
Jashari, Hajzer Zymer Jashari (20), Halit Imer Jashari (65), Qazim Osman Jashari (47),
Nazmi Zukë Jashari (26), Sinan Ramadan Jashari (66), Ali Ramadan Jashari (68), Feride
Ramadan Jashari (43), Beqir Bajram Jashari (43), Halil Bajram Jashari (35), Sherif Brahim
Jashari (47), Bahtije Muharrem Jashari (45), Murtez Zymber Jashari (22), Faik Tahir
Jashari (30), Qerim Husë Jashari (54), Salë Hajzer Jashari (60), Kajtaz Jashari (44), Hamit
H. Jashari (65), all from Prekaz i Poshtëm; Isak Feriz Halili from Dubovc; Osman Shaban
Geci, Sadik Miran Kaçkini (38), Miftar Rreci (43), Fatime Gashi (46), Gazmend Bajram
Gashi (16), Makfirete Bajram Gashi (13) from Llausha.
     During the very same period, several other cases of deaths and killings were
registered: Hamide Jashari (70) from Prekaz i Poshtëm, Xhafer Miftar Syla (36) from
Tërnavc, Avdi Hoti from Kopiliq i Poshtëm, who died due to the shock suffered; Ali
Rrahman Lutani (58) from Turiqevc, Muhamet Beqir Miftari (45) from Vitak - killed by Serb
snipers. The following newly-born children died: Drenicë Shefqet Shaqiri from Buroja,
Marigonë Jetullah Vojvoda from Llausha, the child of Fatmir Hoxha from Turiqevc and that
of Ramë Sejdiaj from Kopiliq, two babies of the Deliu family from Rrezalla, and one of
Sinan Zabeli from Rrezalla.
     All victims, including those unidentified, were buried by the Serbian police on 10 March.
The autopsy was not conducted and the burial ceremony was obstructed by the police.
The next day, family members of those killed and massacred helped by their fellow-
villagers dug the bodies and reburied them according to the tradition.
     After the massacre perpetrated in the village of Prekaz i Ulët, armoured vehicles
leveled to the ground the ruins of the houses of the Jasharaj and Lushtaku families in
order to hide traces of their crime. These houses had previously been destroyed with
cannons. The very same quarter is still under the siege of Serbian forces, who had set up
five bunkers in the vicinity. The road connecting Skënderaj with the surrounding villages is
still blocked.
     A month after the massacre of the Jasharaj family in the village of Prekaz i Poshtëm,
the whereabouts of six members of Sadik Jashari's family and their two relatives are still
unknown. It is supposed that they are still in the basement of their house, which was
destroyed and burnt due to the shelling from heavy artillery. These houses are still being
surveyed by large police forces. No one, not even the relatives of the victims, was allowed
access to the spot. Associates of CDHRF in Skënderaj made attempts to go to the spot in
order to investigate the case, but were prevented in doing so by the police. The attempts
of International Committee of Red Cross based in Prishtina to find any trace of the victims
were unsuccessful due to the ruins. Police did not allow others to help them. As more than
a month passed since their disappearance, it is believed that police found their bodies and
buried them in another place in order to hide the crime.
     Other grave cases are that of Smajl Asllan Jashari, who was last seen all in blood in the
yard of the Ammunition Plant as an aftermath of police torture, as well as that of Idriz Idrizi,
whose whereabouts are unknown since 23 January. He was last seen in the vicinity of the
very same plant, which has been transformed into a place where Serbian armed forces
are stationed.
     CDHRF is deeply concerned due to the lack of information on the fate of the 30
persons detained by the police. The Council is also concerned about the fact that the
Ammunition Plant in Skënderaj has been transformed into a concentration camp, similar to
the ones in Bosnia, in which Albanians are tortured.
     News on new victims and the terror perpetrated by the Serbian armed forces is
received on a daily basis.
     Tens of villages in the Drenica region continue to be surrounded and under the threat
of attack. Shots are fired in the direction of houses, in which only those unable to flee,
elderly, women and children remained.
     20.000 people already fled the region. They were sheltered in near-by places. They live
in very grave conditions and burden the families in which they were sheltered. The
deserted houses were looted by the police. Serb forces left many messages like "This is
Serbia", "Death to the Albanians", etc.
     Yet not withdrawn from the Drenica region, large Serbian forces opened a new front in
the villages of Gllogjan, Baballoç, Suka, Gramaçel, Shaptej, Firaja and Dubrava, district of
Deçan. Three were reported killed and many wounded. No information on the wounded
Albanians are released. On 26 March, police ordered the Mehmetaj family to take the
corpses of Gazmend Hysen Mehmetaj (19) and Agron Nimon Mehmetaj (20) of Gllogjan,
from the city morgue in Gjakova. Three days later, the body of Himë Rasim Haradinaj (17)
from Gllogjan was found between the village of Shaptej and Radoniqi Lake.
     Due to the police shelling, 71 houses were destroyed in the Drenica region and
Gllogjan during the month of March. Many private shops were shelled, demolished and
destroyed. In Skënderaj and other villages of Drenica region (Tërnavc, Klina e Epërme,
Runik, Llausha, Prekaz, Kopiliq, Buroja and Marina), large police forces remained fortified.
In Marina, police is opening new trenches and shooting from different weapons can be
heard. Snipers continue to survey all movement. In the district of Deçan, the situation
continues to be very grave. In the outskirts of the town, many armed policemen are
stationed and check and ill-treat citizens. Despite the demand of the international
community for the withdrawal of special police units, large re-enforcement were brought in
Mitrovica, Vushtrri, Prizren, Gjakova, Deçan, Junik, Klina, Suhareka, Kamenica, Gjilan,
Kaçanik, Zhur, Fushë-Kosova, Podujeva, Çabra, Leposaviq, Dragash, Istog and places
bordering with Albania. The grave situation can be illustrated with the case of Mevlyde
Vojvoda (27) from Llausha. She stated that on 5 March, she and her four children took
shelter in the Tushila forest without any food provision or proper clothing. As an aftermath,
her children fell ill, especially her 14-month-old daughter Marigona. Due to the police
blockade, it was impossible to send the child to hospital. Later on, a team of American
journalists took Marigona and her mother to the Mitrovica hospital. Unfortunately, it was
too late for her. Marigona passed away on 31 March. Due to the police blockade, the
family was not able to bury Marigona in the village of Llausha. She had to be buried in the
village of Polac. There are five other similar cases, when people could not be buried in
their villages.
     Nevertheless, as many families tried to flee to the forests, two newly-born children,
Fatmir Hoxha's daughter and that of Ramë Sejdiaj from Turiqevc, died of cold.
     In the village of Buroja, 110 women, elderly and children had been kept hostage until
the 11 March. They were terrorized by the police.
     The whole Kosova Albanian population is very much worried due to the current
prevailing situation in the region. Since 2 March, the Albanians have manifested their
dissatisfaction with the present situation through protests, which were obstructed violently
by the regime. In Peja, a protestor was shot and five were wounded.
     Yet, these data are not complete. During the very same period, CDHRF has registered:

     - 3095 Albanians were ill-treated;
     - 104 were killed and massacred or died as an aftermath of torture,
              10 could not be identified;
     - 44 were wounded;
     - 30 murder attempts;
     - 52 underwent routine checking;
     - 341 were arbitrarily arrested;
     - 27 were charged penally and for petty-offences;
     - 157 were summoned for informative talks;
     - 1231 were physically tortured;
     - 690 suffered body injuries;
     - 100 families were raided;
     - 136 people were taken hostage;
     - 28 people missing;
     - 107 people summoned to the police;
     - 69 were sought by the police;
     - 249 women were ill-treated;
     - 33 elderly were ill-treated;
     - 42 children were ill-treated;
     - 121 political activists, 44 educational activists, 25 humanitarian activists
              and 7 religious activists were ill-treated;
     - 82 houses were hit from different weapons;
     - 14 cases of usurpation;
     - 143 persons were ill-treated for weapons;
     - 24 journalists were ill-treated.

Prishtina, 17 April 1998                     Information Service