Kosova Daily Report #1414, 98-04-29

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

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1414
Prishtina, 29 April 1998

First Edition: 15:30 CET
Second Edition: 17:00 CET
Third Edition: 19:00 hrs

CONTENTS

[01] President Rugova Receives Norwegian Foreign Minister

[02] Rugova and Vollebek to the Press

[03] Serb Police Shoots and Wounds 15-Year-Old Albanian Boy

[04] Fresh Serb Army Troops Heading for Gjakova and De^an Municipalities

[05] U.S. Worried over Possibility of Yugoslav Army Being Involved in Internal Repression in Kosova

[06] EU Condemns the Use of Heavy Serb Military Weaponry against Kosova Population, Cook Says

[07] Medical Group Accuses Belgrade of Blocking Investigation into Kosova Killings

[08] Serb Teenagers Being Supplied with Weapons

[09] Foreign Reporters Find Cars on Flat Tires in Front of Grand Hotel Wednesday Morning

[10] Serbian Army Mobilizes Reservists in Vojvodina

[11] Serb Police Kills Albanian, While Going to Funeral of Three Albanians

[12] Local Sources in De^an Cannot Confirm Reported Killing of 8 Albanians at Gllogjan

[13] Kosovar Albanian Doctor Being Held Incommunicado by Serb Police Since 10 April

[14] Bilall Mazrekaj Was Executed by Serb Police, Human Rights Group Says

[15] Media Center, a Mouthpiece of Serb Military-Police Administration in Kosova

[01] President Rugova Receives Norwegian Foreign Minister

The current developments in Kosova and prospects for a negotiated settlement to the Kosova crisis were discussed at length.

The Norwegian Foreign Minister Vollebek said the situation in Kosova is a source of great concern to the international community.

A resolution to the Kosova issue has to be reached through unconditional dialogue and by peaceful means, he stressed.

President Rugova said the already dangerous situation in Kosova has further deteriorated in the wake of recent Serb armed actions against villages in the municipalities of De^an and Gjakova. He urged for prompt international intervention to halt Serb police and military actions in Kosova.

The President said the people of Kosova are committed to a peaceful and political settlement to the Kosova issue. Kosova, as an independent and neutral country, open both to Serbia and Albania, is an optimal solution to the Kosova issue, Dr. Rugova said.

Initiation of an unconditional dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade under a third party mediation - United States in cooperation with its European allies - at a neutral venue is critical if a peaceful settlement for Kosova issue is to be reached, Dr. Rugova underlined.

The Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebek shared an interest in different aspects of the Kosova issue, as well as the modes for establishing a dialogue between the two parties. He urged all sides for restraint.

President Rugova thanked the Norwegian Foreign Minister for the visit and for the genuine support Norway has been offering to the people of Kosova.

[02] Rugova and Vollebek to the Press

Dr. Rugova said he was delighted to meet with Mr. Vollebek, "the third foreign minister of a country visiting Kosova."

We discussed about the current developments and efforts to find a negotiated solution for Kosova, the President said, adding that he pressed for pressure to bring an immediate end to Serb military and police operations in Kosova.

Dr. Ibrahim Rugova reiterated that the position of the Kosova leadership has been steadfast on the need for third party mediation in negotiations which should be conducted in a third country. The mediator should be in the relation U.S.-EU, he stressed. "The Serbs should know that a foreign mediator is not a taboo, but rather a necessity".

Regarding today's meeting of the six-nation Contact Group in Rome, President Rugova said he hoped the Serbian side, which is refusing to cooperate, should be faced with additional sanctions.

Asked to say whether he was an optimist or pessimist in view of the unfolding escalation of the situation in Kosova and the prospects for a peace dialogue, Rugova said: "I work for, and wish to see, the saving of this people and a concerted action in pursuit of a solution for Kosova down the road of freedom, independence and democracy".

This would calm down the region, he said, reiterating his call for an international civil protectorate pending a negotiated settlement to the Kosova crisis. "The protectorate would bring stability to the region, to the neighbours, Albania and Serbia. It would stabilise an independent Kosova, with guarantees for local Serbs and their economic and cultural interests here".

The driving force behind the violence in Kosova is the Serbian regime, President Ibrahim Rugova said, "because Kosova is de facto an occupied country". I call on the frustrated people, who may be manipulated, to show self-restraint, he added.

"Solution for Kosova can only be found by peaceful and political means", the Kosova President concluded.

Mr. Knut Vollebek, the Foreign Minister of Norway, said at the outset that during the meeting today he "referred to Dr. Rugova about some of my conversations yesterday with ['FRY'] President Milosevic and Foreign Minister Jovanovic."

He repeated his "grave concern" about the present situation in Kosova. The situation gives reasons for great worry, Vollebek stressed, "both for the situation in Kosovo itself and also the problems that we might see in the region if there isn't found a solution soon to the present crisis".

"I told both President Milosevic and Foreign Minister Jovanovic that we need to see an unconditional dialogue between representatives of Dr. Rugova and the government in Belgrade with some international presence, and I also called for the return of OSCE missions to Yugoslavia, unconditionally.", Mr. Knut Vollebek told reporters.

He praised and encouraged Dr. Ibrahim Rugova continue his moderate stands. "It is very important at this stage of the conflict to continue to show this moderation, so that we can avoid the escalation of the conflict."

In reference to today's meeting of the Contact Group in Rome, the Norwegian Minister said he hoped yesterday he would be able to rewrite "a little bit" the OSCE report to the Group meeting.

"Unfortunately, that was not possible."

Asked whether he was optimistic after meetings in Belgrade the international community could be used as a tool to try and create a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Kosova, Vollebek replied: "So far I have no indications to that, rather to the contrary. I was told that this was an internal matter. It should be solved internally. President Milosevic also referred to the referendum." he expressed hope that there would be a change of mind in Belgrade.

The Minister said he had told both President Milosevic and Foreign Minister Jovanovic that they could not rule out new sanctions as a result of the meeting today, "if there was no move from Belgrade.

In order to be realistic, that's what they have to foresee."

"It is important if we at all should have any chance of finding a peaceful solution, that the violence doesn't escalate, and that's the reason why I have commended Dr. Rugova for his moderate stand, for his will to find a peaceful solution and I think that it is very important that continues. And it could be difficult in the future, in the days ahead, because of the frustration, because of an escalation.", Foreign Minister Vollebek said.

He spoke also on the need "to avoid the repetition of 1991. We have seen what catastrophe war can lead to in this part of Europe...This is what we have to avoid."

Belgrade will have to be responsible, "and we as the outside world" have to be responsible so that happened in 91 is not repeated, Vollebek stressed. "So, this is the challenge to all of us, both Dr. Rugova and me."

[03] Serb Police Shoots and Wounds 15-Year-Old Albanian Boy

The LDK Information Commission in Gjakova said Serb police opened fire on the Albanian boy at the "Zenel Hajdini" street in the town last evening at around 22:00 hrs. The boy was shot at a time he was crossing the street in front of his house.

Rozafat Kamberaj was taken to the Gjakova hospital and underwent a surgery during the night.

LDK sources in Gjakova could not tell if the wounds the boy sustained were life threatening.

[04] Fresh Serb Army Troops Heading for Gjakova and De^an Municipalities

Sources in De^an said Serb army in tanks and trucks drove through the town of Peja yesterday afternoon. The convoy was heading for De^an municipality. Serb soldiers on board of trucks wearing camouflage uniforms were holding weapons on the ready, sources said.

Over 15 Serb army trucks drove today morning through the small town of De^an. The convoy was reported moving later in the direction of Kosova- Albania border zone.

Huge quantities of armament and ammunition were reported brought to De^an today. The shipment was seen entering the local police station at around nine.

Meanwhile, the LDK Information Commission in Gjakova said heavy Serb army forces have been garrisoned since morning today in the campus of the "Virxhinia" tobacco plant.

Tanks and cannons were positioned in the factory compounds with barrels pointed at the direction of the town.

Reports from several Gjakova villages, areas at the border zone in particular, speak of continuous movement of Serb army in the area.

At Ponashec village the Serb soldiers arrested a local Albanian, Agron Syla (22). The young Albanian was beaten and then taken to the local Serb police station.

Villages in the Dushkaja region are being kept inside a fierce Serb military/police siege for several says now. Sporadic firearm shooting was reported during the course of yesterday afternoon and last night, sources said.

[05] U.S. Worried over Possibility of Yugoslav Army Being Involved in Internal Repression in Kosova

We see these border problems as a consequence of President Milosevic's inaction towards a viable solution to the Kosovo crisis.", the briefer said, adding that Contact Group was preparing for their meeting in Rome Wednesday.

James Foley pointed out that the view of the United States is that the situation in Kosova is "grave."

The six-nation Contact Group will be discussing a variety of options and measures with the intent of "moving the situation in Kosovo from crisis to negotiations.", he stressed, echoing remarks he had himself made a day earlier.

"The people in Kosovo must be free from the repression they are currently under, and the people of Serbia must find their way back into the community of nations. We think that these two goals - far from being contradictory could become mutually reinforcing if responsible leaders approach this problem responsibly. The proposals that are being discussed in Rome tomorrow will allow this to happen - if and only if President Milosevic chooses to pursue a peaceful end to the crisis.", the State Dept. spokesman said, indicating what the U.S. approach be in today's meeting in Rome.

Mr. Foley recalled that the international community in the form of the Contact Group, when they met in London on March 9th, discussed the need to provide for greater security for some of the bordering nations - including Macedonia and Albania.

He praised the Albanian Government, which he said "is acting very responsibly in this crisis and is not in any way abetting transfers of arms into Kosovo."

Mr. James Foley said that "what we saw as provocative was the sense we got that the Yugoslav army is now being put forward with the possibility of involvement in internal repression in Kosovo itself, and that the claim of a fear of border incursion or weapons smuggling could become a pretext for further repression and perhaps a widening of the conflict."

He further stressed the "fundamental point" the United States wishes to emphasize is "that these problems are symptoms, that the underlying problem is a political one. The underlying problem of a political nature is the failure of the Yugoslav authorities - especially in the person President Milosevic - to come to grips with the legitimate political aspirations of the Kosovar Albanians."

Foley reiterated there shit be an "enhanced the status of the Kosovar Albanians within the FRY". Milosevic should take that fundamental decision to sit down and negotiate "in good faith with the Kosovar Albanian community."

[06] EU Condemns the Use of Heavy Serb Military Weaponry against Kosova Population, Cook Says

For two months now the international community has made clear that the solution to the difficulties in Kosova will not be achieved by military power, Mr. Cook, whose country holds the EU Presidency, said one day after an EU Council of Ministers in which Kosova was also on the agenda. The problems "will only be achieved by political dialogue", condemning the use of excessive force, i"n particular the use of heavy military weaponry, against the population of Kosovo."

He said the EU deeply regrets and deplores the fact that there has been "an escalation in the use of such weaponry, rather than an appropriate police response".

The six-nation Contact Group will meet in Rome Wednesday situation against a "very sombre and very realistic gravity over the situation."

Unless Belgrade is willing to recognise the serious importance that the international community attaches to the Kosova issue, "it is difficult to see how the international community can avoid imposing sanctions that demonstrate its concern."

[07] Medical Group Accuses Belgrade of Blocking Investigation into Kosova Killings

The Boston-based group applied for 12 visas on March 13 to conduct forensic investigations on the bodies of approximately 80 people killed during the Serb police crackdown two months ago in the Drenica region of Kosova, the PHR said in a press release Tuesday.

In addition, the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) requested visas for the PHR team and asked that its staff accompany the team to Kosova, the medical group said.

The Belgrade Government is required by international agreements to comply with requests by ICTY for investigations into alleged war crimes.

"After weeks of stalling on the request, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) Government responded to PHR, via the U.S. State Department, with conditions that would effectively foil a serious, independent, scientific investigation.", the press release stated.

Yugoslav authorities apparently stated that they would permit three U.S. citizens (explicitly not as an independent PHR team) to travel to the region, "but only contingent on the participation of other "experts" designated by the Yugoslav government".

PHR considers that isolated forensic investigators from various countries operating independently from one another is "neither a scientifically nor logistically feasible option."

PHR therefore concludes, that it is the attempt of the FRY Government to stymie any serious investigation into the Kosova killings.

Meanwhile, killings continue unabated in the Kosova with impunity and without independent investigation.

"The current situation in Kosovo is eerily similar to events that occurred in Vukovar, Croatia in 1991. Punishment for these latest crimes must take place now - more - or else we may witness further mass killing in the Balkans. It is high time that major international powers take strong action to prevent large-scale violence when they have the chance," said PHR Executive Director, Leonard Rubenstein, speaking from PHR's Bosnia office in Tuzla.

In 1996 PHR conducted forensic investigations of a mass grave site in Ovcara, near Vukovar, and documented the execution of 200 patients from Vukovar Hospital by Bosnian Serb paramilitary forces.

The PHR forensic team, whose passports remain at the Yugoslav Consulate in Washington DC, is comprised of 12 individuals from three countries (Canada, United States, and Switzerland) and includes forensic pathologists and autopsy technicians as well as an archaeologist and radiographer, the press release said.

Since its founding in 1986, PHR has conducted forensic investigations throughout the world - including the former Yugoslavia, where PHR sent nearly 100 forensic experts from 18 countries.

[08] Serb Teenagers Being Supplied with Weapons

Serb have reportedly been delivered weapons in police stations and buildings of the community. Serb civilians have bee seen being supplied with weapons and uniforms in several Kosova towns and villages, including Peja, Gjilan, Lipjan, Istog.

Sources in Peja said that there were even Serb teenagers and student being supplied with arms in the town.

[09] Foreign Reporters Find Cars on Flat Tires in Front of Grand Hotel Wednesday Morning

Still unidentified person(s) had deflated tires on most of the reporters' vehicles during the last night, sources said.

The Grand hotel is locate on the very downtown of Prishtina, in a ares strictly safeguarded by Serb police around the clock.

Some foreign reporters have been complaining of having been subjected to Serb police harassment and threats. Some have claimed they had their credential papers torn off by police in De^an.

[10] Serbian Army Mobilizes Reservists in Vojvodina

He said he would at least try to protect the employees of one of the largest public company "Spens", where he is a managing director.

Mr. Canak told reporters some of the company employees had been delivered mobilization call-ups for "military exercises", and that similar summons had been distributed to reservists in other companies.

Commenting on the army conscript, the Vojvodina party leaders said "this is how it all started in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia." He also expressed fear that under the pretext of developments in Kosova, the Serbian regime will begin exercising terror in Vojvodina as well. "The regime stripped Vojvodina of its autonomy because of Kosova, and for the same reason they may begin terrorizing Vojvodina," said Canak.

[11] Serb Police Kills Albanian, While Going to Funeral of Three Albanians

The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) branch in De^an said the police opened fire on the Albanians at the cross-roads of Drenoc village at 13:30 hrs. The crowd of Albanians was on their way to Prejlep village.

It is presumed that there are other people who received gunshot wounds, but the LDK sources have failed to obtain further information regarding their number or names.

Thousands of Albanians turned out for the funeral procession of the three Albanians at Prejlep village today.

Haxh& Mustaf& Tolaj (1960), Sadri A. Latifaj (1963) and Edmond Hysni Dabi^aj (1976), natives of Prejlepi village of De^an were killed early Monday morning.

The villages of Hulaj and St&rguni i Vokshit of De^an came under fierce Serb/Yugoslav army artillery during the whole course of Sunday night and Monday morning hours.

[12] Local Sources in De^an Cannot Confirm Reported Killing of 8 Albanians at Gllogjan

The Serb police was reported to have claimed it had undertaken a large action at Gllogjan, where "the operative headquarters of the illegal Ushtria e ^lirimatare e Kosov&s (U^K)" was.

The Belgrade-based Nasa Borba carried a news report of the Serb Beta news agency saying that the "senior Serb officer in De^an said during the three- hour-long operation eight Albanian terrorists were killed, and the strong terrorist base [at Gllogjan] was decapitated".

The Beta report said "the police used armored vehicles and automatic weapons" in the action.

[13] Kosovar Albanian Doctor Being Held Incommunicado by Serb Police Since 10 April

The Prishtina-based Koha ditore newspaper said today that the family of Hafir Shala has even asked the United Sates Information Service (USIS) in Prishtina to make additional inquires with the Serb authorities and find out where he is being held and if he is alive at all.

Dr. Hafir Shala was arrested by the Serbian police in Sllatina village on Friday morning, 10 April 1998. His lawyer, Destan Rukiqi, said authorities at the Serb police station in Prishtina, where his client was seen last, have refused to say if he was being held in their custody.

The lawyer has appealed to the Serbian Public Prosecutor Office in Belgrade, urging intervention with the Serb police and court authorities in Prishtina so as to either release his client or initiate legal proceedings if he is suspected of having committed an offence.

Dr. Shala's father has made repeated inquires with the Serb police in Prishtina. He, too, has failed to learn whether his son is alive or not. The press said earlier this month that a senior Serb police officer in Prishtina, surnamed Bajraktarovic, told Isuf Shala that his son [Hafir] was "killed by terrorists in Drenica".

In a letter sent to the Serb Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Dr Shala's lawyer noted that his client was arrested in the presence of witnesses, namely Hetem Sinani and Shaban Neziri he was travelling with in the same car. His two companions were released after six hours in custody, whereas Dr. Shala has been held incommunicado ever since.

The lawyer further clarified that when arrested Dr. Hafir Shala was halted by the Serb police in uniforms but was handed over to persons in plain clothes who drove him to Prishtina in a black jeep with Prishtina (PR 689- 16) license plates. The jeep Dr. Hafir Shala was in was seen entering the Serb police headquarters in Prishtina, but the doctor has not been seen ever since.

Koha Ditore said that the Belgrade-based organization Humanitarian Law Fund has made inquiries with the federal authorities in Belgrade in connection with the fate of Dr. Hafir Shala. "The doctor is not being held in our custody", was the answer of federal authorities.

[14] Bilall Mazrekaj Was Executed by Serb Police, Human Rights Group Says

The women were ordered to walk away, Bilall was singled out and executed", the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) said in a press release late afternoon today (Wednesday).

The Serb police ill-treated many Albanians who were returning from the funeral of three Albanians, the Council added.

The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) branch in De^an said earlier today Serb police opened fire on the Albanians at the cross-roads of Drenoc village at around 13:30 hrs.

The LDK sources failed to offer specifics about how Bilall Mazrekaj was killed.

Haxh& Mustaf& Tolaj (1960), Sadri A. Latifaj (1963) and Edmond Hysni Dabi^aj (1976), natives of Prejlepi village of De^an, were killed by the Serb army early Monday morning.

[15] Media Center, a Mouthpiece of Serb Military-Police Administration in Kosova

Quoting Serb military and police sources, it has become a mouthpiece of the Serbian occupation authorities, namely the military and police administration that rules with a heavy hand the overwhelming Albanian- inhabited Kosova. It is this administration which is responsible for atrocities and ethnic cleansing practices in Kosova, besides the daily- based repression of the Albanian people in the past eight years.

The collusion of the military and police forces, let alone the use of heavy weaponry against the civilian population, is universally condemned. What we have here in Kosova is singular enough: a triangle of concerted Serb military-police-press action against Albanians.

The formal umbrella of the Media Center in Prishtina is the Serbian Association of Journalists. This Association, in tandem with the Serbian Writers Association, has been notorious for its propaganda warfare launched against Kosova and the Albanians since the rise of Milosevic to power in late 1980s. Leading members of the Serbian Association of Journalists have been prominent in war-mongering when Serbia waged wars of aggression in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Indicative is the fact that the seat of the Serb regime-run Media Center is the Grand Hotel Prishtina, from where Albanian staff was kicked out in 1990. This hotel was for quite some time the seat of Zeljko Raznjatovic- Arkan, who led paramilitary gangs in the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, and has vowed repeatedly of reassembling his thugs to defend "Kosovo and Metohija, the sacred Serb land" from Albanians.

The Media Center circulates a "Daily Information Review Concerning Kosovo and Metohija from the World Media". Its No. 1 issue (April 24) featured highly Reuters news agency reports on and from Kosova.

Kosova Information Center

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