Kosova Daily Report #1574, 98-10-06

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

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1574
Prishtina, 6 October 1998

CONTENTS

[01] President Rugova Receives Ambassador Holbrooke

[02] Clinton Warns Milosevic over Kosova: "NATO Is Prepared to Act"

[03] U^K, a Key Factor, Dema^i Says

[04] Serb Army Arsenal Stationed in Vicinity of Prishtina

[05] Serbs Pound Malisheva and Gllogovc Villages with Machine-Gun Fire

[06] Mutilated Bodies of Five Albanians Found in Pllo^ica

[07] Regrouping Serb Troops Dig in in Woods Near Klina

[08] Serbs Terrorize Albanians, Plunder Their Property, in Klina

[09] Consequences of Serb Offensive in Suhareka Area: 60 Killed, 1,885 Homes Destroyed

[01] President Rugova Receives Ambassador Holbrooke

The most recent developments in Kosova were discussed in the meeting, as well as the possibilities for creating an appropriate climate for pursuit of a negotiated and political settlement.

At the beginning, Rugova thanked Ambassador Holbrooke for the U.S. commitment and his personal efforts on Kosova.

The Kosova President briefed the senior American diplomats on the current state of affairs in Kosova. The Serbian forces have not withdrawn from Kosova, but rather have made some tactical moves and repositioning, he underlined.

President Ibrahim Rugova called for an urgent international intervention so as to halt the Serb forces' offensive and create the conditions for a political resolution of the Kosova issue.

[02] Clinton Warns Milosevic over Kosova: "NATO Is Prepared to Act"

In his remarks on Kosova, broadcast live by the CNN, President Clinton said the "stakes are high, the time is now to end the violence in Kosovo".

Following is an unofficial transcript of Clinton's statement on Kosova today: "We all agree that Kosovo is a powder-keg in the Balkans. If the violence continues, it could spill over and threaten the peace and stability of Bosnia, of Albania, of Macedonia, and other countries in the region. What is already a humanitarian crisis could turn into a catastrophe. Some 250.000 people have been forced to flee their homes. Of that number, approximately 50,000 are actually homeless. As winter sets in, they risk freezing or starving to death. President Milosevic is primarily responsible for this crisis. United Nations has made clear the steps that he must take to end it: declare an immediate ceasefire, withdraw Serb security forces, give humanitarian relief groups full and immediate access to Kosovo, begin real negotiations with the Kosovar Albanians to find a peaceful and permanent solution to their rightful demand for autonomy. As wee meet here, my special envoy Dick Holbrooke is meeting with President Milosevic to reiterate what he must do, and to make clear that NATO is prepared to act if President Milosevic fails to honor the U.N. resolutions. The stakes are high. The time is now to end the violence in Kosovo. I hope all of you will do whatever you can to that end."

[03] U^K, a Key Factor, Dema^i Says

International factors should bear in mind that there cannot be peace in this part of the world without the "destruction or dismnalting the Serbian war machinery". This military complex should be undone so that the Serbian hegemony does no have in it a leverage for "brutal and barbarian actions", the U^K representative told reporters.

If the international community is willing to mediate and undertake steps leading to the implementation of the right of the people of Kosova to self- determination, pursuant to the 1991 national referendum, "then the way will be paved for the U^K to stop fighting", Adem Dema^i said.

Everything has been destroyed here, Kosova remains a tragedy in the heart of Europe, the U^K political representative said.

Dema^i slammed the draft plan for Kosova presented earlier last month by Ambassador Chris Hill, which was published by the press.

"The U^K is one of the key factors, it is continuing its resistance. I hope therefore that the authors of such projects will have this in mind and will not pretend as if the U^K does not exist," Mr. Dema^i said. "We are not against talks, but we are against empty talking, against agreements forced on us, those which bring us before fait accompli situations."

Meanwhile, in a press release, the Dema^i office called on the Russian leaders, President Yeltsin, Prime Minister Primakov and Foreign Minister Ivanov to cease their efforts in the UN Security Council to prevent NATO intervention. "They should be well aware too that genocide and ethnocide are being carried against the Albanian people", the office said, adding that Moscow allowed 16 republics of the former Soviet Union become independent countries without blood, "and the Lebed-Maskhadov agreement envisions that Chechenya exercises in 2001 its right to decide on its political status on the basis of the self-determination principle."

[04] Serb Army Arsenal Stationed in Vicinity of Prishtina

Serb troops have been excavating the ground, probably aiming at masking tanks and armored cars in the earth.

Gunfire is reported overnight, a source of panic to the Albanian population there.

Meanwhile, local sources said Serb anti-aircraft missiles have been deployed for days now in the village of Suhadoll, municipality of Lipjan. Heavy artillery guns have been deployed in the village of Lepin&.

These two are Serb-inhabited villages in the municipality of Lipjan.

Meanwhile, reports from the northern town of Podujeva said eight lorryloads of Serb soldiers arrived in Kosova from Serbia just after 20:00 hrs yesterday.

Serb forces have been reinforcing in the Tabet e Llapashtic&s area near Podujeva.

[05] Serbs Pound Malisheva and Gllogovc Villages with Machine-Gun Fire

The LDK Information Commission in Malisheva said the villages of Burim, Gurbardh, Dragobil and Maxhar& were pounded with machine-gun fire. The attack was kicked just after three o'clock from a Serb base at Ostrozub village.

The Commission could not confirm if there were casualties in these villages. Part of the local population has recently returned to the few houses that survived the fierce shelling in late summer.

The chapter of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHF) in Gllogovc said today that the village of Obria was pounded with artillery fire for two hours on Monday evening, from 19:00 through 21:00 hrs.

A local unit of the Liberation Army of Kosova (U^K) prevented the Serb forces from advancing into the village, the CDHRF said.

[06] Mutilated Bodies of Five Albanians Found in Pllo^ica

PRISHTINA, Oct 6 (KIC) - The dead bodies of six Albanians were found on Monday in and around Pllo^ica village of Malisheva, apparently killed during a Serb attack in end of September.

Local sources said that the mutilated bodies of Ahmet Maloku, Hazir Maloku and Kajtaz Maloku were found in the woods near not far from Pllo^ica village. The fourth victim could not be identified, as half of his body was missing.

The corpse of Rizah Maloku, also local resident of Pllo^ica was covered with straw on a farm in the village.

Local residents of Pllo^ica they suspected that other dead bodies may be scattered in the hills and forests in the area around the village and the neighboring Obria (adjacent Gllogovc municipality), both sites of outrageous massacres of civilians committed by Serb troops about ten days ago .

[07] Regrouping Serb Troops Dig in in Woods Near Klina

Source in the area said heavy Serb troops have been garrisoned inn the forrest near the village of Sverk&, around the Vuljaka bauxite mines and near the Mirusha waterfalls.

Witnesses told the LDK chapter in Klina that Serb troops have been hiding in the forests on both side of the Klina-Gjakova roadway, between the Mirusha falls and Mrasor village.

[08] Serbs Terrorize Albanians, Plunder Their Property, in Klina

Dozens of Albanians have been beaten and intimidated on a daily basis in the town of Klina and villages in the area. One of them, Halil Tov&rlani, a retired old man from Klinavc village told the LDK chapter in Klina he was terrorized for hours near a Serb base in Cerovik. He was held for over 20 hours in an abandoned house and was subjected to outrageous maltreatment and torture. He was subsequently taken to the Serb police station in Klina where he was subjected to additional torture. Mr. Toverlani said while in custody in Klina he saw many other Albanians being terrorized there.

Local Albanians in Klina villages said they can seen their looted cattle looted by the Serbs being sold in the markets. The Serb have continued breaking into the house of Albanians, taking away commodities and destroying the things they do not take away.

[09] Consequences of Serb Offensive in Suhareka Area: 60 Killed, 1,885 Homes Destroyed

The consequences have not yet been fully determined, as many villages are still inaccessible to the Albanians, sources said.

The remains of yet another Albanian slaughtered and burned have ben found. Mursel Buqaj (60) from Budakova village was burned in a hay of stack, LDK sources said.

Around 80 Albanians are reported arrested, the names of 65 of whom have been made known.

In an area outside the villages of Qadrak, Budakov& and V&rshec, as well as in the valleys of Toplica and Llanisht, people are living rough in the open, local sources said.

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