Kosova Daily Report #1374, 98-03-17

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

From: Kosova Information Center <http://www.kosova.com/>

Kosova Information Center

KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1374

Prishtina, 17 March 1998

CONTENTS

[01] Serb Artillery Garrisoning Around the Llausha Village of Skenderaj

[02] President Rugova Receives Turkish MP

[03] Belgrade Has Not Offered Anything Meaningful for Dialogue on Kosova, US State Dept Spokesman Says

[01] Serb Artillery Garrisoning Around the Llausha Village of Skenderaj

A member of the presidency of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) branch in Skenderaj, Mr. Fadil Geci, told the Kosova Information Center (KIC) early in the afternoon the re-enforced siege of the Llausha village could amount to preparations for an imminent attack.

The village has been sealed off for days by Serb forces, namely the huge number of snipers around. (This is in addition to Serb police maintaining roadblocks and checkpoints around the Drenica region).

Tanks and heavy guns have been garrisoned in positions from which the Gecaj family compound in the village can be targeted, this LDK official said, speaking by phone from the inside of the village.

Shooting was heard in the village today. It is assumed Serb forces fired on random passengers, which is what they have been in the habit of doing in the past days.

The inhabitants of this huge village and other villages in Drenica, which have been sealed off by Serb forces since 5 March, are in desperate need for food and medical supplies, Fadil Gecaj warned.

He said a crew of the Doctors without Borders visited the village.

What they did was only get informed about the situation, but did not bring any kind of aid, Gecaj said.

The Presidency of the LDK in Skenderaj appealed, for a second time in a couple of days, for the international community to intervene urgently so as to protect the suffering population in this municipality and the Drenica region.

Over 80 Albanians - men, women and children - were slain by Serb forces in Drenica villages since 28 February, mostly in their homes and yards. Ten male members of an extended family (Ahmeti) were rounded up and executed or tortured to death by Serb police and (para)military troops.

At least a dozen thousand Albanians are reported to have abandoned their homes in Drenica, fearing further Serb assaults on Albanian villages.

There is a ubiquitous presence of Serb forces in Drenica. There has been no indication Milosevic, the 'FRY' President, is heeding calls by the Contact Group to withdraw special units from Drenica.

Access to the area is not allowed not only to the Kosovar Albanians wishing to help, but to the outside agencies either.

[02] President Rugova Receives Turkish MP

The current situation and the prospects for a peaceful and negotiated settlement to the Kosova issue were discussed.

Mr. Ahmet Pristina conveyed the condolences of the DSP Chairman, Bulent Ecevit, on the victims of the Serbian police terror in Kosova. He expressed support for the legitimate rights of the people of Kosova.

Regarding the Kosova issue, President Rugova said the people of Kosova are committed to political and peaceful means in their struggle for freedom, independence and democracy for Kosova. He reasserted that an independent Kosova is the optimal and viable solution for Kosova.

President Rugova of Kosova said he appreciated the Turkish efforts on Kosova.

[03] Belgrade Has Not Offered Anything Meaningful for Dialogue on Kosova, US State Dept Spokesman Says

Rubin confirmed that Ambassador Robert Gelbard, President Clinton's envoy for the Balkans will be traveling to Kosovo this week, saying he did not know other details of Gelbard's itinerary in the Balkans still.

Referring to the offer of the Belgrade regime for starting negotiations with the Kosovar leadership Rubin said "Belgrade has not offered anything that we regard as meaningful. The half measures and empty gestures Milosevic's government has put forward in the wake of recent bloodshed are woefully inadequate". Belgrade deliberately couched its offer in terms obviously unacceptable to the Kosovar Albanians, which is not a serious negotiating offer, he said.

James Rubin said Belgrade has been urged to make a wholehearted effort to address the concerns of the Kosovar Albanians. "We have said in the past that we support an enhanced status for Kosovo in the context of the Former Yugoslavia, but this must be achieved through peaceful means. The Kosovar Albanians need the additional self-administration and way to pursue their legitimate political rights that has been the cause of this tension and violence"he said.

The State Department spokesman said the issue related to the status of Kosova need to be decide through negotiations. "That's why it's so troubling to us that rather than proposing well prepared, unconditional negotiations, the government in Belgrade is putting forward ideas and propaganda releases designed to undermine that goal" he said .

Asked whether there were signs indicating that the Belgrade regime was planning to comply with the 10-day deadline set by the Contact Group last Monday, Rubin said: "We have made clear that we do not believe that the government in Serbia -- that Slobodan Milosevic's government is doing what it needs to do in order to show that it wants to resolve this peacefully and meet the legitimate concerns of the international community... as of now, there's no sign that he's reversing course. On the contrary, he's putting forward proposals that appear designed to fail and that are woefully inadequate. And so if he doesn't get with the program and reverse course, the Contact Group will be talking about how to stiffen these measures".

Rubin said he was not in a position to describe such measures, noting though that "all options are on the table".

Asked whether Milosevic has stared withdrawing the special police form Drenica as requested in the London Communique, James Rubin said he could not confirm anything yet. "As far as we can tell, there were some activities over the weekend, but with regard to the three points the contract group spelled out, we have not seen the kind of movement that we would - that would indicate that he is reversing course", he said.

James Rubin said he hoped all the foreign ministers of the Contact Group countries, including Russian minister Primakov, will attend the 25 March meeting in Bonn. But one cannot rule out "last-minute scheduling changes or other reasons why ministers can't end up actually attending", he noted.

The US State Department spokesman said Secretary Albright spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Primakov Monday morning in advance to his trip to Belgrade and meeting with Milosevic. "She went through with him the reasons why she believes it is so important to deliver the toughest possible message to President Milosevic; that he can't think that there are differences between the countries on the basic point, which is that the blame for this crisis and this violence, rests squarely on the shoulders of the leadership in Belgrade and that if they don't change course, that the result will be even further alienation from the international community, less integration into the international economy, less integration into the European economy", Rubin said.

Kosova Information Center

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