Human Rights Violations against Non-albanian Kosovars

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In Kosova, a Temporary Sanctuary

In Kosova, a Temporary Sanctuary

 BY:  THE GUARDIAN
 EDITION: ALL EDITIONS
 SECTION: News
 DATE:  07-27-1999

     THE GUARDIAN   Prizren, Kosova - To meet "Father N," you must negotiate German soldiers and coils of razor wire ringing the Serbian Orthodox church of Saint George in this western town.
     With the massacre of 14 Serb farmers in Grackë Friday night, and with autopsies being performed yesterday after the worst violence since the NATO-led peacekeeping force arrived last month, the middle-aged priest, who asked that his real name not be used for safety's sake, is taking no chances.
     UN peacekeepers from Germany have parked an armoured vehicle next to the church, the target of several arsons by vengeful ethnic Albanians. The Germans are even billeted in the priests' house next door.
     "It isn't a matter of politics here. It's the law of the jungle," Father N said. "If something doesn't change, there is no future for us here." Nearby, in the Serbian Orthodox seminary of Kyril and Methodius, are 220 Serbs, Gypsies and ethnic Albanians who fear that to walk outside would be to invite death.
     The priest asked the German troops to drive him to the seminary. "I tried to walk down the street the other day, but at least 15 people shouted at me and spat and asked me when I was leaving for Belgrade," he said.
     The streets of the once-tolerant multi-ethnic town are a riot of Albanian flags and patriotic songs favoured by the Kosova Liberation Army, which is dealing out a rough justice to Serbs and others suspected of "collaborating" with Belgrade.
     Inside the seminary sat Serbs, ethnic Albanians and Gypsies, brought together in fear.
     "People are beaten up, killed, kidnaped, expelled from their homes," Father N said. "The people who are guilty, they were the first to leave. The second and largest part, I don't think they were guilty, but from fear of revenge they felt they had to leave. This is the third group. They are the ones who are not guilty, and they suffer the most." Most are Serbs and Gypsies. Father N has requested a German escort to accompany the Serbs to Serbia, where many have houses or relatives but has received no answer. For the UN force to start escorting Serbs out of Kosova would be an admission of defeat in its stated aim to maintain Kosova as a multi-ethnic territory.

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