Human Rights Violations against Non-albanian Kosovars

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Exodus of Serbs Undermines Ideal of a Democratic Kosovo
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights - received 20 July 1999

 
Exodus of Serbs Undermines Ideal of a Democratic Kosovo

Belgrade, Podgorica, Prishtine, Vienna, 20 July 1999. The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Helsinki Committees in Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia are deeply concerned that the slow establishment of an international police force (IPTF) and manipulation by the Serbian government are contributing to an exodus of Kosovo Serbs. While the Provisional Government of Kosovo has called for an end to individual acts of violence that intimidate ethnic communities, the persistence of acts of revenge undermines the ideals for which many Kosovars and the international community have sacrificed.
 
“At least 10,000 Kosovars were murdered because they were Albanian,” the three Helsinki Committees and the IHF stated.  “Any violence and discrimination against persons based on their ethnicity is an insult to their memory and an attack on the future of Kosovo.”
“Now the people of Kosovo must re-dedicate themselves to the principles for which they have stood and for which the international community intervened: freedom, equality, and nondiscrimination.”
The Helsinki Committees have received numerous reports of kidnappings of Serbs in Kosovo. Seventeen were reportedly kidnapped on 11 July. Three Serbs from Kosovo--Djordje Toskovic, Petrija Pilevic and Milos Jevric--have been reported missing to the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia.  According to some reports, as many as 132 Serbs are missing. Approximately 100,000 persons have left Kosovo since the Peace Agreement was signed. While many ethnic Serbs have left for fear of retribution, others were identified with repression in Kosovo and left along with the military forces. Many ethnic Albanians have taken over or plundered their dwellings.
Serbian media have reported that Serb workers have been dismissed from their jobs in several major Kosovo cities. The IHF and the Helsinki Committees call on authorities and institutions to respect and protect the rights of such workers in the context of programs to re-employ dismissed Albanians. Efforts need to be made to reinstate all workers unfairly dismissed.
The Serbs who have left Kosovo face harsh discrimination from government authorities. They are not allowed to claim pensions outside of Kosovo and children are denied the right to register for the next school year.
Several thousand Roma have tried to leave Kosovo, some of whom have reportedly been forced to return either by refugee camp officials or Serbian authorities. The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) has documented killings, abductions, torture, rape and other abuses; more must be done by KFOR to protect them from acts of retribution. In recent days, ethnic Albanians have also suffered violence that is possible under anarchical conditions before the international community has established full and efficient control. The IHF deplores the delay in the establishment of the International Police Task Force.
We call upon the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the international forces (KFOR) to prevent the maltreatment and exodus of Serbs and other non-Albanians, and to create conditions under which those who have fled may return safely to their homes. The United Nations mission must do more to gather information on missing persons and the confiscation of property, in order to support eventual court proceedings.

For more information:

Aaron Rhodes, Executive Director, IHF, +43-1-408 8822; +43- 676-339 0506
Sonja Biserko, Chair, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, +43-1-408-8822
Slobodan Franovic, Chair, Chair, Montenegrin Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, +381-86-53 191
Gazmend Pula, Chair, Kosovo Helsinki Committee, +43-676-498 1289
__________________________________________________
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
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1090 VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Tel. +43-1-402 73 87 or +43-1-408 88 22
Fax +43-1-408 74 44 E-mail: office@ihf-hr.org
Internet: http://www.ihf-hr.org

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