Kosova Daily Report #1378, 98-03-21

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

Kosova Information Center

KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1378

Prishtina, 21 March 1998

First Edition: 13:00 hrs

Second Edition: 19:00 hrs

CONTENTS

[01] Kosovar Elections 1998: Facts and Figures

[02] Sporadic Serb Shooting Reported in Llausha and Morina Villages

[03] Belgrade Refuses Visas for U.S. Congressional Mission to Kosova

[04] Serbian Police Confiscates 100.000 Kosovar Ballots

[05] Serb Regime Imprisons Foreign Human Rights Activists in Prishtina

[06] Geeks Students Join Serbs in Anti-Albanian Demonstration in Prishtina

[07] Serb From Serbia Announce a Huge Demonstration in Prishtina Monday

[08] Serb Assault and Threaten Albanian Neighbours

[01] Kosovar Elections 1998: Facts and Figures

The Chairman of Republican Election Commission, Tadej Rodiqi, told press that all the necessary preparations for holding the elections have been made. Pursuant to the Law on Elections, there are 29 elections units in Kosova, i.e. one unit in each municipality.

Electoral units are divided into electoral zones, each of them giving one member to the Parliament, he said.

Tadej Rodiqi said 13 groupings - 10 political parties and three associations - will take part in the elections with their candidates for MPs. Apart from Albanian political parties, a party of Turks and one gathering Slavic Muslims (Bosniacs) will take part, he said.

Following are the names of the parties and associations that will take part in the Sunday elections with their candidates for members of Parliament:

-- Lidhja Demokratike e Kosov&s - LDK (Democratic League of Kosova), -- Partia Shqiptare Demokristiane -PSHDK (Christian Democratic Party of Kosova), -- Partia Liberale e Kosov&s - PLK (Liberal Party of Kosova), -- Partia Socialdemokrate e Kosov&s - PSDK (Social Democratic Party of Kosova), -- Partia Republikane e Kosov&s - PRK (Republican Party of Kosova); -- Partia National-demokrate Shqiptare e Kosov&s PNDSHK (Albanian National-democratic Party of Kosova), -- Partia Popullore Shqiptare e Kosov&s PPSHK (Albanian Popular Party of Kosova), -- Partia Popullore Turke - PPT (Turkish Popular Party) -- Partia p&r Aksion Demokratik - PAD (Party for Democratic Action - a party of Slavic Muslims 'Bosniacs'), -- Lidhja e t& Gjelb&rve & Kosov&s - LGJK (The Kosova Greens) -- Shoqata e Jurist&ve t& Kosov&s - SHJK (Association of Kosova Lawyers), -- Lidhja e Qytetare e Kosov&s - LQK (Citizens League of Kosova) -- The Peasants Party of Kosova (Partia Fshatare e Kosov&s - PFK), which has frozen its activity, did not offer its candidates for MPs but the party members will turn out to vote, its leader told media on Friday.

Because of the ongoing Serb siege in the Drenica region, the Republican Commission has decided that elections be postponed in the three municipalities, Skenderaj, Gllogov and Klina. The voting in these municipalities will be held at a later date.

The Parliament of the Republic of Kosova will have 130 members. 100 members will be elected through direct vote, while the rest, 30, will be allocated to ethnic groups and small parties, those winning at least 3 percent of those casting their votes in Kosova. 12 seats will be vacant for the Serbs and Montenegrins of Kosova.

There is one presidential candidate in the Sunday elections, the incumbent President of the Republic of Kosova, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, who is also chairman of the Democratic League of Kosova.

Dr. Rugova's candidacy has been supported also by the PNDSH, PLK, PSHDK and PRK.

Another candidate, Mrs Luljeta Pula-Beqiri, chairwoman of the one of the fractions of the Social Democratic Party of Kosova, withdrew her candidacy only a few days before the election day.

The polling stations in Kosova, except the municipalities of Gllogovc, Klina and Skenderaj will open Sunday at 7:00 and will be closed at 19:00 hrs.

President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova appointed earlier this month the central Republican Election Commission.

Municipal electoral commissions have been appointed in all the 29 units, while electoral boards for the polling stations all over Kosova.

The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) has candidates in 95 out of the 100 zones. In two zones the LDK will be in coalition with PLK and PAD. PLK has candidates in 80 zones, PSHDK in 70 zones, PSDK in 69 zones, PND in 45 zones, PNDSH in 40 zones, PRK in 26 zones, PPSH in 3 zones, the Kosova Lawyers in 32 zones, and the Kosovar Greens in 18 zones. There will be four independent candidates in Dragash, De^an, Peja, and Fush& Kosova, respectively.

Three political parties, the faction of Luljata Pula-Beqiri of the Social Democratic Party (PSDK), the Parliamentary Party of Kosova (PPK) and the Party of National Unity (UNIKOMB) will not take part in the parliamentary elections.

*** The 22 March 1998 elections are the second multiparty elections to be held in the Republic of Kosova. The first elections were held May 24 1992. Dr. Ibrahim Rugova was then elected President, whereas the LDK won most of the seats in the 130-seat Parliament of the Republic of Kosova.

Kosova has a combined majority-proportional election system.

[02] Sporadic Serb Shooting Reported in Llausha and Morina Villages

In addition, shooting in the direction of Morina village occurred last night and during today by 13:00 o'clock, LDK sources said, noting that it was from a Serb police check-point in Morina that the fire originated.

An extremely tense situation is reported at Broja and Kopiliq villages. A local LDK activist spoke of Serb reinforcement around these villages. Tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy guns are reported garrisoned there.

This activist said 22 Albanians out of 110, who have been held as hostages by Serb forces since the beginning of Serb attacks, have been released.

The Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) confirmed this report.

Meanwhile, the CDHRF said there is continued movement of Serb forces in the Skenderaj region, so it is hard to say whether they are re-enforcing or only demonstrating their presence.

A Serb cannon was garrisoned yesterday on the hillside separating Skenderaj from Llausha.

Serb snipers have been reported to be very active, targeting at will those who dare come out and move. Some Albanian households in the town itself have been reported targeted, but no casualties reported.

[03] Belgrade Refuses Visas for U.S. Congressional Mission to Kosova

The U.S. delegation led by Representatives Sue Kelly (R-NY), Jim Moran (D- VA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) was diverted Thursday to Shkup ('Skopje'), FYROM, from its original destination of Belgrade, because of a delay in issuing visas by the Serbs.

The delegation, sponsored by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), includes in addition to the Members of Congress, senior congressional staff, representatives of the National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Institute of Peace, and retired U.S. Ambassador to Albania William Ryerson.

They said Friday they would try one last time to secure visas at the Macedonia-Kosova border, but they were denied entry to Kosova again today (Saturday).

In a press release issued today in Shkup/Skopje, Representatives Kelly, Moran and Engel said the Belgrade action was "a blatant attempt to subvert international efforts to investigate the recent reign of terror inflicted on the people of Kosova by the Milosevic regime" that already has resulted in the massacre of more than 80 Albanians.

The delegation leaders said Belgrade was "afraid of what we would find" in Drenica and other villages attacked by Serb artillery, helicopter gunships, and overwhelming military and police forces during the past month.

They said the latest actions by Milosevic should send a strong signal to the Contact Group as it meets next Wednesday that much stronger international condemnation and action were critical to stop the bloodshed and end the repression in Kosvoa.

The Members of Congress called for the immediate deployment of an international conflict prevention force to Kosova.

"The international community should be outraged by Belgrade's, continuing, barbaric behaviour that runs contrary to the norms of civilized society", the delegation leaders said.

Milosevic should be indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal for his role in directing the Kosova crackdown and the resulting crimes against humanity. "While his role in fomenting ethnic hatred in Croatia and Bosnia is well known, the recent massacres in Kosvoa prove beyond doubt his personal responsibility for these egregious war crimes", the Members of the Congress said.

"We will not be deterred from showing the world the compelling need to prevent the Belgrade regime from engineering another massacre on the scale of Bosnia-Herzegovina", they said.

The US delegation said they will observe the Kosovar elections from Shkup.

[04] Serbian Police Confiscates 100.000 Kosovar Ballots

Foreign media said the police confiscated the ballots, which were being transported from Prishtina to Prizren.

[05] Serb Regime Imprisons Foreign Human Rights Activists in Prishtina

The Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said David Hartsough, Executive Director of a U.S. organization "Peace Workers", as well as human rights activists Daniel Perez, Teresa Crawford, Bruce Warren and Albarto Cavalos were sent today morning before the Serb-run Magistrate Court in Prishtina.

Meanwhile, the CDHRF said late afternoon today they were actually sentenced to prison terms.

The Human Rights Council said that the Serbian police detained Friday evening a foreign reporter. The Council has named the reporter as Peter Lipman, but failed to specify his country of origin.

[06] Geeks Students Join Serbs in Anti-Albanian Demonstration in Prishtina

The Belgrade-based daily Politika said the 300 Greeks were "in the forefront" of the crowd, holding Greek banners and chanting slogans in support of "Serb and Greek friendship" the newspaper said.

Over 15000 Serb marched Thursday in the streets of the Kosova capital in an anti-Albanian demonstration. Slogans like 'We will kill all Albanians' were chanted by furious Serb protesters.

[07] Serb From Serbia Announce a Huge Demonstration in Prishtina Monday

The protest of the Serbs has been announced for 14:00 hrs.

Students of the University of Nis protested Friday in the streets of the city in southern Serbia. Sources said many Serb students from the Prishtina University were protesting together with their colleagues from Nis and other parts of Serbia.

Foreign media have said that Vojislav Seselj, leader of the Serb ultra- nationalist party, the Radical Party of Serbia, will also take part in the demonstration in Prishtina on Monday.

[08] Serb Assault and Threaten Albanian Neighbours

A throng of over 20 Serbs attacked and provoked Thursday evening passers-by in the streets of Zhegra village. For over one hour they tossed stones at the houses of local Albanians Mustaf& Rexhepi, Ali Haliti, Isak, Nasuf Tahiri, Shukri Tahiri, Isa Hyseni and Xhelil Kadriu.

The Serbs roamed the streets of the village singing "Chetnik" (pro- Greater Serbia) songs and chanting anti-Albanian slogans such as 'This Is Serbia - Albanians Out', etc.

Local people in Gjilan have identified some of the Serbs and reported the case to the police, which did nothing in the way of proceedings against them.

Similar provocations of Serbs in the same village were reported Friday evening and the night too.

Provocations by Serb civilians have reported in other parts of Kosova over the past days.

Two days ago, armed Serb harassed during the whole night residents in a block of apartments in Dardania neighbourhood in Prishtina.

The Serbs kicked the doors of Albanians, smashed windows and offended the residents. They fired in the air from their arms, calling on Albanians to go out and as they put it "do what we did to people in Drenica'.

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