Kosova Daily Report #1711, 99-03-05
Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1711
Prishtina, 5 March 1999
CONTENTS
[01] President Rugova, Kosovar Delegation Meets Bob Dole in Shkup, FYROM
[02] President Rugova's Press Conference
[03] Nine Kosova Parliament's Commissions Support Rambouillet Agreement
[04] LDK General Council Supports Rambouillet Agreement on Kosova
[05] Military Confrontations Reported in Blinaj& ('Lipovica'), Central
Kosova
[06] Drenica Village of Gjergjica Attacked by Serbian Forces Today
[07] Three Mitrovica Villages Shelled Last Evening
[01] President Rugova, Kosovar Delegation Meets Bob Dole in Shkup, FYROM
PRISHTINA, March 5 (KIC) - The President of the Republic of Kosova Ibrahim
Rugova travelled to Shkup/Skopje, FYROM, to meet today with President
Clinton's special envoy for Kosova, former Republican leader and
presidential candidate Robert Dole.
Other members of the Kosova delegation to the Rambouillet peace conference,
including Rexhep Qosja and Fehmi Agani, are also attending the meeting.
Mr. Dole was to arrive in the Kosova capital Prishtina today, but he could
not make the trip because Belgrade authorities refused to grant him an entry
visa.
The chief U.S. mediator, Ambassador Chris Hill, is also taking part in the
discussions Senator Dole is having with the Kosova delegation.
"It has been a frank, a very good meeting", a source from the Kosova
delegation told the KIC by phone at 17:00 CET, adding that discussions
would continue.
In a press availability in the Aleksandar Palace Hotel in Shkup early
afternoon today, Senator Dole said people in the United States Congress
"don't understand why the [Rambouillet] agreement was not signed in
France".
Dole said he felt very strongly that the Albanian leadership should sign
the agreement. "I would hope that I can convince my friends [the Kosovars]
that this should be done at the earliest possible time".
At the close of his remarks to the press in Shkup, President Clinton's
special envoy - who stressed he was a private citizen now, out of politics
- said it was his view "the agreement should have been signed then [in
Rambouillet, in February], and it should not be delayed one additional
day."
[02] President Rugova's Press Conference
PRISHTINA, March 5 (KIC) - The situation in Kosova is dangerous, while
Serbian military and police forces continue their offensive operations, the
President of the Republic of Kosova Ibrahim Rugova said at the outset of
his press conference in Prishtina today (Friday).
A new zone of conflict has been opened in southeastern Kosova, in the
Ka^anik Gorge, which has created thousands of new refugees who headed
towards Macedonia in search of safety, he said. "The Serbian attacks there
have been aimed at closing the road to Shkup/Skopje and provoking the NATO
troops which await deployment in Kosova", the President told reporters.
Against this background, Ibrahim Rugova reiterated his call for an "urgent
international intervention, and a strong response to Belgrade".
The Kosova leader stressed that, despite difficulties on the ground,
wide-ranging consultations have been going on with political forces, the
Kosova institutions and the citizens on the Rambouillet interim settlement
on Kosova.
This agreement has been receiving overwhelming support by the people of
Kosova, who see it as a concrete step towards attainment of security and
stability for all in Kosova, a deal that opens up prospects for the future
of Kosova, President Ibrahim Rugova told reporters.
The Kosova President hailed the unfailing engagement of the United States
of America on Kosova, especially President Bill Clinton's and Secretary of
State Albright's commitment. He also availed himself of the opportunity to
express appreciation for the engagement of the European Union (EU),
singling out the role of President Jacques Chirac of France and British
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.
Ibrahim Rugova highly valued the work, "under very hard and exacting times",
of the OSCE Kosova Verification Mission (KVM).
Asked by a questioner whether the Kosovar Albanian side could sign the
Rambouillet Agreement before the resumption of negotiations in mid-March,
the President said this depended on what the proceedings would be in
agreement with the negotiators. The Kosova delegation has accepted the
interim agreement, and this [the actual signing] will also be dependent "on
other steps", Ibrahim Rugova concluded, failing to enter into specifics.
[03] Nine Kosova Parliament's Commissions Support Rambouillet Agreement
PRISHTINA, March 5 (KIC) - The Presidency of the Parliament of the Republic
of Kosova, leaders of the parliamentarian groups as well as nine of the
Parliament's commissions discussed Thursday afternoon in a joint session
the Rambouillet agreement on an interim settlement for Kosova.
Participating in the meeting - chaired by Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu,
Secretary-General of the Parliament and chairman of the key Commission on
Constitutional Issues - were also Idriz Ajeti, Fehmi Agani, Edita Tahiri,
members of the Kosova delegation to the Rambouillet conference and MPs, and
Naip Zeka, coordinator of the team of experts, also a member of Parliament,
who briefed the Kosovar MPs on the proceedings of the Conference and the
contents of the Interim Settlement.
The members of the nine commissions of the Parliament of Kosova hailed the
unified position of the Kosova delegation during the Rambouillet
negotiations, as well as their commitment to the independence bid, the will
of the people of Kosova, a statement issued from the meeting said.
The Kosovar MPs, elected a year ago, insisted that the interim solution,
for a three-year-period, is acceptable on the understanding that the people
of Kosova be able to determine their future and permanent status, freedom
and independence, at the close of the period, while democratic relations
and a civic society had been established in the meantime.
The implementation of the Rambouillet accords by the international
community, the deployment of NATO troops, is a must, for only in that way
can bloodshed end and the agreement be put to life, the Kosovar
parliamentarians underlined.
[04] LDK General Council Supports Rambouillet Agreement on Kosova
Hails the outstanding work of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
PRISHTINA, March 5 (KIC) - The General Council of the Democratic League of
Kosova (LDK) supported today (Friday) the Rambouillet agreement.
In a meeting chaired by Mr. Kol& Berisha, vice-chairman of the LDK,
Mr. Naip Zeka, coordinator of the Kosovar team of experts in the
Rambouillet conference in France, said the conference should be viewed as a
stage in the process of the international engagement on Kosova. This moment
will open up the prospects for peace in Kosova, because the interim
settlement paves the way for the realization of the goals of the people of
Kosova, Mr. Zeka said.
Naip Zeka singled out three essential things regarding the international
conference on Kosova. Firstly, the Kosova issue is not closed off with this
conference; secondly, the Agreement is guaranteed by the international
factor; thirdly, its implementation will be done with the presence of NATO
troops on the ground, the coordinator of Kosovar team of experts said.
Members of the LDK General Council, Mustaf& Blakaj, Ali Laj^i, Fatmir
Rexhepi, Shaban Manaj, Faruk Spahiu, Rexhep Osmani, and Melihate T&rmkolli
spoke in support of the Kosovar delegation signing the Rambouillet Accords.
The LDK party executive adopted a political declaration in support of the
Accords.
The General Council "strongly supports the negotiating process on Kosova,
and the unified Kosovar delegation's stand" making the case for Kosova
independence, the will of the people expressed in [the 1991] referendum.
The General Council understands that the interim settlement is aimed at
ending the bloodshed in Kosova, securing the functioning of institutions
and life in the three-year interim period, while leaving the road open for
the people of Kosova to determine their future at the end.
The General Council of the LDK said "the Kosova Agreement can be accepted
only in its entirety, with international political and military guarantees
for its implementation, which should be carriedo ut by NATO".
The LDK party executive supported "the immediate signing [by the Kosovar
delegation) of the agreement".
The LDK supports the President of the Republic of Kosova Ibrahim Rugova in
his efforts towards a political solution to the Kosova issue, but also the
engagement of the international community, first and foremost of the United
States of America. In this context, the LDK executive hailed the
outstanding work of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
The General Council of the LDK "calls on all the state, political and
military structures to achieve as high a level of coordination as possible,
in the interest of the people of Kosova, while preserving the unity
achieved in the Rambouillet Conference", the political declaration of the
LDK adopted today said.
[05] Military Confrontations Reported in Blinaj& ('Lipovica'), Central
Kosova
Between four and eleven Serbian paramilitary policemen reported wounded
PRISHTINA, March 5 (KIC) - At around 9:30 in the morning today (Friday),
the Serbian military engaged the U^K units in Blinaj& ('Lipovica'),
municipality of Lipjan, the U^K's Kosova press newsagency reported.
The Serbian army launched its attack from their base in the Blinaj&
mountainous resort.
Six Serb armoured vehicles, several APCs, and other combat equipment was
employed in the attack, which was responded to by the U^K. Four Serb
soldiers were shot and wounded, according to Kosova press.
Meanwhile, other sources put the number of Serbian paramilitary policemen
wounded today at 11, half a dozen of them seriously.
Local LDK sources said three wounded Serb policemen had been seen being
transported from Magura in the direction of Prishtina.
Heavy Serbian paramilitary police forces had been moving earlier in the
morning today towards the Drenica villages.
At 9:45 CET today, heavy Serbian military forces, including 19 tanks, left
from their base at Krivov& towards Komaran, west of Prishtina, on the
Prishtina-Peja highway. Serbian police forces also joined the army convoy,
local LDK sources said.
[06] Drenica Village of Gjergjica Attacked by Serbian Forces Today
PRISHTINA, March 5 (KIC) - The U^K (Kosova Liberation Army) and Serbian
forces resumed clashes today 10:30 CET, when Serbs attacked the Grei^eci
family compound of Gjergjica village, the U^K's Kosova press news agency
reported.
At least 13 Serbian tanks arrived in the village from Prishtina, passing
through the Llapushniku gorge, Kosovapress said, adding that the village
was being shelled while the Serb infantry was trying to advance into the
village of Gjergjica.
U^K and Serbian forces clashed in Gjergjica yesterday, too.
The Albanian population has been displaced, seeking refuge up in the
mountains, Kosova press concluded.
[07] Three Mitrovica Villages Shelled Last Evening
PRISHTINA, March 5 (KIC) - For three and a half hours on Thursday evening,
Serbian forces launched artillery and machine-gun fire against U^K
positions in the villages of Vaganic&, Verrnic& and Pir^, local LDK sources
said.
Automatic weapons fire was reported on Thursday evening in three
neighborhoods of the town of Mitrovica, less than 40 km northwest of
capital Prishtina.
Serbian soldiers broke into and vandalized the house of Fetah Mehmeti (70)
in the Bair neighborhood early in the evening on Thursday.
Many Albanian citizens who happened to be inside the post office in the
town were arrested by police on Thursday, local LDK sources said, naming
one of them as Muharrem Riza Smakolli (65), a pensioner from Rashan village
of Mitrovica. Two Albanian refugees were arrested in the house of Xhyl&
Imeri (75) in Ibri neighborhood. Ram& Deli Rugova (44) was arrested in his
home and released later.
Police arrested today (Friday) Esat Rifat Xhafa (20) near the market-place
in Mitrovica. Police beat up and arrested an unspecified number of
Albanians today, according to local LDK sources.
Kosova Information Center
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