Kosova Daily Report #1361, 98-03-04

Kosovo Information Center: Kosova Daily Report Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Kosova Information Center <kic_pr@zana-pr.ztn.apc.org>

Kosova Information Center

KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1361

Prishtina, 4 March 1998

CONTENTS

[01] SUMMARY FROM BUJKU DAILY'S ACCOUNT ON MASSACRE IN DRENICA

[02] 24 Albanians, massacred by Serb forces, buried at Qirez

[03] Eye-witness testimonies AHMETI FAMILY

[04] SEJDIU FAMILY

[05] NEBIHU FAMILY

[06] REXHEPI FAMILY

[07] Serb Forces May Mount Attacks in Klina Municipality, Local Sources Warn

[08] EU Calls for 'Full and Constructive Dialogue' on Kosova

[09] Albright Discusses Situation in Kosova with Cook and Primakov

[10] It Is Incumbent upon All Us to Prevent Conflicts in Kosova, Tony Lloyd Says

[11] IHF: Serb Police Terror Must End, US and EU Must Mediate

[12] Western-pampered Dodik Supports Milosevic's Crackdown on Kosovar Albanians

[13] Disguised Gunmen Shoot Dead 71-Year-old Albanian Woman in Istog

[14] Stepped-up Serb Police Movements in Dushkaja of Gjakova

[15] Serbian Police Harass Political Activists in Gjakova

[16] Serbian Police Repression in Kosova

[01] SUMMARY FROM BUJKU DAILY'S ACCOUNT ON MASSACRE IN DRENICA

The Kosova Information Center (KIC) offers herewith a summary of the Bujku article.

[02] 24 Albanians, massacred by Serb forces, buried at Qirez

All of them were killed in their own homes, in their own courtyards, on 28 February and 1 March 1998 during the horrendous Serb expedition.

The following Albanians were buried Tuesday afternoon at Qirez: four brothers Beqir Sejdiu, Nazmi Sejdiu, Bekim Sejdiu, Bedri Sejdiu; Xhemshir Nebiu, Rukie Nebihu, Ilir Nebihu, Rexhep Rexhepi, Beqir Rexhepi, Muhamet Gjela, Naser Gjela, Ahmet Ahmeti (50), Gani Ahmeti (47), Ilmi Ahmeti (43), Ham&z Ahmeti (45), Driton Ahmeti (23), Naim Ahmeti (22), Basri Ahmeti (20), Shemsi Ahmeti (16), Lumni Ahmeti (20), Elhami Ahmeti (20), Behram Fazliu (65) from Gradica village, Ibish Rama from Qirez, and Ismail Behrami from Baks village, the sole male in the descent line in the family.

(The twenty-fifth victim Bekim Beqir Deliu (16) was buried on Monday).

The bodies of the killed Albanian were horrendous to look at. They had been massacred in the most atrocious way. The Serb criminals had pulled the eyes and genitals of their victims. Some of the victims were burned with cigarettes. Besides gunfire wounds, the bodies had signs of wounds caused by stabbing with knives, the Bujku reporters who saw yesterday the bodies of the Albanians said.

[03] Eye-witness testimonies AHMETI FAMILY

Dinore Ahmeti, a 76-year-old woman, related the tragic story of the abduction of her children and the family guests.

"Shooting was heard at the courtyard's gate. I was inside the house. The policemen raided on the house. During the raid, the policemen looted family (gold) valuables. I hid the money in my bosom, so they did not take it too. They (police) kicked me. My sons and nephews did nothing wrong to anybody. While they were collecting the male family members, the children and women were forced by them to lay down on the ground. Nobody dared move", the old lady said. The police ordered all family members out.

Shahe Ahmeti's story: "The women and children were ordered to lay down on the ground. They started beating the men, beginning with the 16-year-old Elhami. For full four hours we (women and children) stayed that way, never daring to raise our heads. Driton was hit so much on the head; he was covered in blood. The beating lasted for hours, till they could not even voice anything. Then they started dragging them, kicking them, and eventually got them out of the courtyard. We, the women and children, were encircled for 28 hours; did not dare eat in anything in our own house; knew nothing about the fate of our men".

At around 3 o'clock in the morning they (Serb policemen) took our sports shoes and started playing football in the courtyard. They took all the food supplies available in our house. They went about looting in the house, first in the first floor, then in the second, taking all valuables. Our men were so close, yet we could do nothing about them when they tortured our husbands and children", Shahe Ahmeti said.

"The blood of my brother-in-law, when he was knocked down to the ground, spilled and reached me. I could do nothing, as the children were going mad of terror. I could see they were not beating our men so that they survive. They were so young!" The old woman, Dinore, said they had now word about the fate of her ten descendants. "A neighbor of ours, who had gone to the Prishtina hospital morgue, to pick up the bodies of his two relatives, said he had seen the killed bodies of our sons and grandsons", she said.

Terribly broken-hearted, she said: "24 children in our house have become orphans", most of whom girls.

Of all the men, it is only Xhevdet who is alive. (He happened to be in Prishtina that critical day).

GJELA FAMILY Rexhep Gjela told the Bujku newspaper his cousin, Muhamet Gjelaj, together with his son, Naser Gjelaj, was massacred by Serb forces in the presence of Naser's wife (Ganimete) and child.

Haxhi Gjela, an eye-witness, said that when the police had broken forcefully into his house, he hid in the house garret, staying there for 27 hours!

"I could see through openings 29 armored vehicles, many APCs, and hundreds of armed policeman," Haxhi said. Heavy shooting was heard before the policemen actually broke in, he added.

"No piece of weapon was found in may house. Arms were not found in the area where the police intervened. The weapons the Serb TV has been showing belonged to the police itself", Mr. Gjela said.

He said he had stayed hidden in the garret together with Ilir Gjela and Mevludin Neziri.

"The policemen stayed for a long time in my house, and consumed our family food supplies", he said. "While we were hiding, a Serb policeman ascended to the garret, but luckily for our lives, did not catch sight of us", Haxhi told Bujku reporters.

"We stayed in the garret from midday on Saturday till Sunday at 15:30 hrs. When we were convinced the police had left, we got out of there. We learned the police had killed our neighbors. We heard many cries and lots of shooting during our hiding", Haxhi Gjela said.

[04] SEJDIU FAMILY

Mehmet Berisha, Sheremet's son-in-law, said the late Beqir was married and had two children: Besnik (2 and half years) and a two- mont-old infant.

A police tank drove into the courtyard of Sheremet's house. The walls were rapped with shots.

The mother of the four killed Albanians was at home. In her presence, the police killed Nazmi and Bekim. In the near vicinity, just outside the courtyard, the police killed the other two, Bedri and Beqir. In the courtyard, their neighbor, Beqir B. Ajeti, was killed too.

Sheremet Sejdiu has a son left, Sheremet. He is in Germany, an asylum- seeker, Bujku said.

[05] NEBIHU FAMILY

Zenel Ramadani told Bujku reporters Serb forces had penetrated into the courtyard of the Nebihu house with an armored vehicle.

The husband of Rukie, Ilir, was initially thought to have disappeared. Yet, on the afternoon of 28 February it was established that he had in fact been killed. His body was brought back to Qirez yesterday, together with more than a dozen bodies from the Prishtina morgue.

Mr. Ramadani said Rukie was killed in the presence of her children, Valon (4) and the one-year-old Valentina (f). Rukie was pregnant.

[06] REXHEPI FAMILY

Their bodies showed wounds inflicted upon them by three kinds of weapons.

Zeqir Rexhepi said the police had opened fire on his house.

It was a miracle there were no more victims in this family. The two victims died on the street, however.

"While the police was firing at our house, we, the family members assembled in one room, with the exception of the five-year-old boy, Fikret, who was in another room. He had crept under the stove and kept a stick in his hand. After eight hours, when the criminal expedition was over, the boy had all but lost consciousness. He has been suffering from the terrifying experience".

[07] Serb Forces May Mount Attacks in Klina Municipality, Local Sources Warn

In the factory compound is also a barracks of the former territorial defense units.

Eye-witnesses said Serb forces have started reaching Klina in the wake of the protest manifestation in Prishtina on Monday (2 March).

Fresh Serb forces were reported arriving there in police vehicles, buses and even by train.

Local sources were quoted as saying the number of Serb policemen deployed in the Jashanica and neighboring villages exceeds one thousand Serb policemen.

Some local Albanians, referring to accounts by local Serb neighbors, said a massive attack on several villages there was being prepared.

They said that the attack could occur by next Monday.

The Serb police has ill-treated scores of Albanians in Klina, especially in the area where the Serb troops have been concentrating.

The movement of local Albanian population there has been made virtually impossible. This is why it is hard for information to reach out.

Reinforcement troops are arriving continually from Serbia, reports said.

[08] EU Calls for 'Full and Constructive Dialogue' on Kosova

[09] Albright Discusses Situation in Kosova with Cook and Primakov

The USIS Office in Prishtina has quoted in today's Wireless File newsletter James Rubin as saying that the U.S. is seized to the subject [Kosova]. "We have grave concerns in the area and we are continuing to act" he said.

Asked whether Secretary Albright and her counterparts [Cook and Primakov] discussed the need for a 'foreign ministers' meeting of the Contact Group to address Kosova, the State Department Spokesman said he could not rule it out. "I do not know the full extend of the conversation, but I know that the main topic was Kosova", he said.

Asked by a questioner if the U.S. stood for sending troops, like SFOR or NATO, in Kosova, James Rubin said he was not familiar with any proposal to send any military force on the ground to Kosova.

Rubin recalled that the U.S. Sate Department issued on Monday a statement on Kosova which said that the US was "appalled" by the violent events in Kosovo during the last weekend, and called for restraint from all the parties. "We continue to call on all the sides to enter into an unconditional dialogue and for the authorities in Belgrade to implement immediately the education agreement on an effective basis. This would be a way to reduce tensions", the State Department spokesman James Rubin said.

[10] It Is Incumbent upon All Us to Prevent Conflicts in Kosova, Tony Lloyd Says

Asked whether we are looking potentially at another Bosnia, the senior British diplomat said: "I don't think anybody wants to talk it up at that level. What we do know is that ethnic tension in the region is of the kind that causes us real concern about its capacity to deteriorate into a very serious situation. I think it is incumbent upon us all to bring pressure to bear to prevent that happening."

The pressure "to bear on both the government in Belgrade and on the Albanians from Kosovo", he added.

Asked by BBC about the possibility of sanctions being imposed on Belgrade, Tony Lloyd said: "Initially I am planning to represent the President of the European Union by making a visit to Belgrade and to Pristina. I will be calling on all parties to attempt to defuse the tension, to abjure violence and to look for a negotiated settlement: that is the practical role that we ought to be trying to play this week."

Mr. Lloyd mentioned Wednesday as the "likely" day of his visit.

"We want to act in a way that brings pressure on all parties to look for a peaceful resolution."

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, current president of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers, will travel to Belgrade for talks with 'Yugoslav' officials on the Kosova crisis, diplomats said.

[11] IHF: Serb Police Terror Must End, US and EU Must Mediate

Following is the text of the IHF statement KIC obtained from KHC: "Kosovo Albanians in the Drenica region are reported to have been shot indiscriminately in punishment for acts of violent resistance and self- protection against Serb repression.

The use of force by Serb forces is excessive and violates international standards governing the conduct of law enforcement officers. Serb police forces have shot at civilians from helicopters, have destroyed civilian homes with grenade launchers, and have killed civilians for no justifiable reason. The dead range in age from 16-78 years.

In a demonstration in Pristina today, over 100,000 persons took to the streets in peaceful protest against Serbian state terror against Albanians in the Drenica region. Serbian riot police intervened by force, using tear gas, water cannons and truncheons, breaking up the protest by force. Over 100 Albanians are thus far reported to have asked for medical help due to police violence. In addition there were reports of Serbian civilians attacking peaceful protesters. Four persons were seriously injured when an unmarked automobile rammed the crowd. Other injuries were reported when a police water cannon truck rammed other peaceful protesters. One person was reported shot in the head by a Serbian civilian.

The IHF and constituent Helsinki Committees are deeply concerned that Serb police manhunts continue, resulting in shoot-outs and other violence in which innocent civilians are the victims. Such violence can spiral out of control and further endanger security in Kosovo and in region.

We call for immediate and efficient international pressure to convince the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to withdraw its forces and create conditions in which an internationally mediated settlement can take place, and to restore the human rights of all inhabitants in Kosovo.", the IHF statement concludes.

[12] Western-pampered Dodik Supports Milosevic's Crackdown on Kosovar Albanians

The Western-pampered Dodik, was quoted at the same time as congratulating the Serbian regime on its crackdown on Albanians.

The Bosnian feed of the Voice of America (VOA) said Tuesday evening Dodik sent a message to Serbia's Prime Minister Marjanovic, in which he offered full backing for the Serb actions against "Albanian separatists" in Kosova.

Heavily armed Serbian forces massacred and liquidated at least 25 Kosovar Albanian civilians over the week-end in Drenica, most of them in their own houses.

"I believe the competent bodies of Serbia, with resolute actions, will do their utmost to bring an end to all kinds of terrorism in Kosova, for which it (Serbia) has the support of the people and government of the Republika Srpska", Prime Minister Dodika was quoted by VOA as saying in his message to Marjanovic.

The Janus-faced Dodik has been doing well with the international community, being pledged scores of millions od U.S. dollars in aid for his Republika Srpska, namely his own 'moderate' policies.

[13] Disguised Gunmen Shoot Dead 71-Year-old Albanian Woman in Istog

Sources in Istog said that three disguised and armed men broke last night at around midnight the house of Binak Dekaj at Istog i Posht&m.

Speaking in Serbian they asked the family members to give to them all the money they had in the house. Only a few minutes later, without warning, one of them opened fire at the old lady, killing her on the spot.

The burglars then beat up brutally Azem Dekaj, the victims husband.

The old man was inflicted serious body injuries, sources said.

[14] Stepped-up Serb Police Movements in Dushkaja of Gjakova

There is sporadic shootings from fire arms.

LDK sources said additional Serbian force have been deployed in the bordering regions with Albania.

[15] Serbian Police Harass Political Activists in Gjakova

Meanwhile, sources in Gjakova said the Serbian police arrested Monday local chairman of the LDK Youth Forum, Astrit Haraqia, Kujtim Pet&rshtani, LDK activist, and Bujar Domniku, local leader of the PPK. They were held and interrogated at the police station for one hour.

[16] Serbian Police Repression in Kosova

The police demolished home furniture and seized a video-camera, a pair of binoculars and some video tapes.

Sources said there is an increased presence of Serb police forces in this neighborhood.

Similar sources say the Serbian riot police beat severely the seventy-year- old Faik Elshani from Prizren in Prishtina Monday.

Whereas, yesterday the Serbian police at the Komaran check-point harassed and threatened members of the Prizren LDK presidency, Syl& Hoxha, Qamil Buzhala and Islam Bajrami.

Gllogovc: Yesterday (Monday) the Serbian police sealed off all the roads leading in an out of the Drenica region, in an attempt to prevent people from participation in yesterday's funeral of 24 Albanians killed Saturday.

At Janova neighborhood, the Serbian police shot from their car in the direction a group of local residents who were travelling to Qirez, LDK sources said.

It was also reported that the life in the small town of Gllogovc has been paralyzed completely. Most shops have closed and there has been no press in the shops since Saturday.

Meanwhile, LDK sources from different parts of Kosova have been reporting of scores of people beaten up at the Serbian police check-points, such as the ones in Komaran and Kijeva. Among the ill-treated persons over the last two days sources have named Hysen Janova, Hakif A. Xhylani, Mefail Tha^i from Komaran, Hasan Kukleci from Lluga of Istogut, Avni Kelmendi from Rakovina of Gjakova, Sami Gashi, Feim Gashi, Hyzer Gashi, Brahim Gashi, Ajet and Misim Gashi from Petreshtica of Shtime, Bekim Gashi from Ferizaj, Jonuz Bajrami from Nekoci.

Kosova Information Center

Kosovo Information Center: Kosova Daily Report Directory - Previous Article - Next Article