Arta

• Two persons sentenced with 6 years imprisonment
• Two Albanians sentenced with 30 days detention
• Four-month-old baby died in Maxhar
• New police forces in the Llap region
• The recent American draft - major topic of discussion
• Albanians are "for" the draft - same as they were for the government
• NATO aware of the risk of the conflict in Kosova recommencing
• EU cooperates with NATO on plan for solving the Kosova issue

French and Kosovar Presidents Meet in Paris on Wednesday

Chirac and Rugova meet for a second time in 6 months

PRISHTINA, Dec 9 (KIC) - The President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac, received Wednesday afternoon in the Champs Elysses the President of the Republic of Kosova, Ibrahim Rugova.

This was the second meeting of the two leaders in six months.

President Ibrahim Rugova briefed the French President on the current situation in Kosova in the humanitarian, social, economic and political fields, in the wake of the Serbian military aggression of this year. The situation is still grave and dangerous amidst a huge Serbian military and police presence, he said, adding that the deployment of NATO and OSCE verification missions over Kosova should contribute to a greater security for a safe return of the Albanians to their homes and restoration of some normalcy to their shattered homes and lives.

The Kosova leadership has stood all along for a negotiated, political resolution to the Kosova issue on the basis of the democratically expressed will of the people for independence of their country, President Rugova stressed.

President Jacques Chirac said he favoured the most advanced solution possible to the Kosova issue.

President Ibrahim Rugova of Kosova will be delivered Thursday in Paris the Prize of the Defendants of Human Rights, accorded to him on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Meanwhile, President Rugova will meet Thursday morning in Paris with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Rugova's office said.

Kosova, a Critical Test for NATO and Europe's Larger Security Structure, Albright Says

PRISHTINA, Dec 9 (KIC) - The Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council met Tuesday in Brussels to discuss the Alliance's vision for the future in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the founding of NATO.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright dwelt in her speech to the NAC on the present responsibilities of the Alliance, too, singling out Kosova as a test case.

In Kosova, NATO's threat to use force has halted large-scale Serbian repression, she said, adding that a humanitarian crisis has been averted and a growing international presence in verifying compliance with commitments.

"Kosovo is a critical test not only for NATO, but for Europe's larger security structure", Madame Albright stressed.

There is still "an excessive Serbian police presence" in Kosova, the Secretary of State said, adding that the aggressive and threatening posture of Serb police and military units has sometimes provoked UÇK actions in Kosova. "The crisis will not end until Belgrade accepts Kosovo's need for, and right to, substantial autonomy", Albright said, without specifying what 'substantial autonomy' meant.

The Secretary of State told the NAC Ambassador Chris Hill's diplomatic efforts "have made substantial progress and have reached an important stage".

There now exists a draft political settlement that "can serve as a basis for new political arrangements" between Prishtina and Belgrade, she said.

In Prishtina, however, the chief Kosova negotiator Fehmi Agani and the UÇK political representative Adem Demaçi blasted Monday and Tuesday the most recent draft on an interim settlement for Kosova, dated December 2, presented by Ambassador Hill. It was "utterly unacceptable" to the Albanians, Agani and Demaçi said, maintaining that the recent Hill draft accommodated most of the Serbian demands. The draft cannot serve as a basis for future negotiations on a deal on Kosova, the Kosovar negotiators said in a statement on Monday. On Tuesday, Adem Demaçi suggested in a press conference that Ambassador Hill be replaced as the U.S. mediator.

Being an Albanian in Kosova "Is Enough to Merit An Arrest and Torture", Human Rights Watch Says

PRISHTINA, Dec 9 (KIC) - At least 1,000 Albanians are currently believed to be in Serbian prisons and police stations, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In 29-page "Detention and Abuse" report, released Tuesday, the HRW charges that many have been subjected to beatings and torture to extract confessions or to obtain information about the UÇK, and are being tried on charges of "terrorism".

"The Serbian government's military offensive may have slowed down for the winter", said Holly Cartner, Executive Director of the HRW's Europe and Central Asia Division. "But the legal offensive is in full swing, despite the government's promise to grant an amnesty."

Ms Cartner said in a statement December 8 the accusation of 'terrorism' has "cast a wide legal net around many ethnic Albanians, for whom there is no evidence of contact with the UÇK, or of criminal conduct".

"Simply being an Albanian in Kosovo is enough to merit an arrest and torture", Holly Cartner concluded.

Fresh Serbian Troops Arrive in Kosova Wednesday

PRISHTINA, Dec 9 (KIC) - Fresh Serbian forces arrived in Kosova via the northern Kosovar town of Podujeva today (Wednesday), local LDK sources said.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, a Serb military convoy consisting of 8 buses and two armoured vehicles passed through Podujeva.

Meanwhile, around 13:00 hrs a second convoy, consisting of 15 buses and 2 landrovers, likewise accompanied by 2 armoured vehicles, arrived in Kosova travelling the north-eastern highway linking the Serbian town of Nis and the capital of the Republic of Kosova, Prishtina.

At the time, two Serb police cars stopped passengers at Penuh village of Podujeva, searching and checking their identity.

LDK sources in Podujeva said a number of Serbian forces left Kosova for Serbia on Tuesday.

Serbian police forces have stepped up their movement in the Podujeva area.

The LDK chapter said these forces travelled heavily the Podujeva-Kërpimeh roadway Tuesday. For an hour, police stooped people at a random checkpoint in the village of Kërpimeh on Tuesday.

Some 20 Serb policemen were sent Tuesday to reinforce the Serbian police station in Orllan, LDK sources said.

Meanwhile, LDK sources in Istog reported 20 Serb soldiers and policemen, equipped with an APC and an armoured vehicle, were deployed today near the Baicë village of Istog, in northwestern Kosova.

Serb Police Runs Down Old Albanian Woman in Mitrovica

PRISHTINA, Dec 9 (KIC) - Tuesday afternoon, a Serb police car run down 65-year-old woman Fazile Behrami near the "Mokra Gora" forestry facility in the town of Mitrovica, LDK sources in town said. The Albanian woman was taken to the Mitrovica hospital for treatment.

The Serbian police has been routinely ill-treating Albanians in the town of Mitrovica, arresting them in random checkpoints.

Late Monday afternoon, some 15 Serb policemen stopped two Albanians from Drenica at Shipol neighbourhood in Mitrovica.

Fehmi Sh. Gashi (22), resident of Kopiliq i Ulët, and Sheremet Maliqi (53), resident of Prekazi i Epërm village of Skenderaj, were arrested at 17:00 and taken to the police station, where they were held till 24:00 hrs.

The two Albanians, who gad come to Mitrovica to secure commercials for their shops, were obscurely accused of being attached to the UÇK (Kosova Liberation Army). They were beaten up and threatened with liquidation, the LDK chapter in Mitrovica said, adding that their goods worth DM 2,100 were seized.

The Serb police halted Tuesday evening in Mitrovica Sabit R. Hasani (44), Fadil R. Hasani (40), Hajdin M. Uka (37), Driton S. Hasani (20), Hasan S. Hasani (44) and Jeton S. Hasani (18), all local citizens. They were all physically abused merely because of being ethnic Albanians.

Arta

KOSOVA (trials - Pejë)

Two persons sentenced with 6 years imprisonment

Prishtina, 9 December (ARTA) 1800CET --

The District Court in Pejë sentenced two Albanians, accused of "association for hostile activities", with 6 imprisonment.

Brahim Berisha (1961), from Kryshec village, municipality of Pejë, was sentenced with 4,6 years in prison, Albanian sources inform, giving no other details.

Bahri Beqaj (1961), from the village of Rracaj, was sentenced with 1 year and six months in prison, though his attorney, Adem Gorani said that there is no "proof for such actions".

"Beqaj confessed that he was handed over a gun, by a person who took it back again", he added. "I hoped that he was at least going to be released from detention, since he reported to the police himself and confessed his actions, but the judge did not allow even this", said Gorani.

In the meantime, the same court, where all the judges were brought from Serbia, especially for such cases, postponed the trial of Isuf Zeka, while the hearing of Lulzim Këpuska will continue on Friday, at 1100CET.

On the other hand, Artan Imeraj was released due to the lack of proof. All the accused and sentenced are charged for the crimes of "association for hostile activities" and "terrorism", sanctioned by the article 136 in conjunction with article 125 of the "FRY" Criminal Code.

KOSOVA (trials - Prizren)

Two Albanians sentenced with 30 days detention

Prizren, 8 December (ARTA) 1600CET --

The Serb District Court in Prizren, sentenced Halit Memaj (1963), from the village of Lutogllavë, municipality of Prizren and to Nasuf Behluli (1963), from the village of Mushtishtë, municipality of Suharekë, with 30 days detention.

The Serb police arrested these two persons, two weeks ago. They were accused based on article 133 of the "FRY" Criminal Code, for illegal arms possession.

In the meantime this court postponed the hearing, against the accused, Besim Paçarizi (1963), Ismet Paçarizi (1959) and Ejup Elezi (1949), all from Prizren, for 16 December.

The latter were arrested on 19 December and were held in detention since. They are charged for "association for hostile activities", based on article 125 of the "FRY" Criminal Code. Their attorneys, Sylë Hoxha and Ruzhdi Berisha, requested their immediate release, with the justification that there are no grounds for their charges.

KOSOVA (war consequences - Malishevë)

Four-month-old baby died in Maxhar

Malishevë, 9 December (ARTA) 1500CET --

Lirim Shala (4 months), from the village of Zoqishtë, (Rahovec municipal.), died on Tuesday, in the village of Maxharë, municipality of Malishevë, due to the lack of medical care and bad living conditions.

This baby was born in the nearby forest of Malishevë, and was an only son.

KOSOVA (police reinforcements - Podujevë)

New police forces in the Llap region

Podujevë, 9 December (ARTA) 1600CET--

According to the "Koha Ditore" correspondent, added movements of the Serb police forces were noticed though the roads of Podujevë.

Accordingly, the LDK CI in Podujevë has informed about the arrival of new Serb police forces in Kosova.

These sources claim that a convoy of Serb military forces, comprised of 8 buses (followed by 2 APCs), entered Kosova from Serbia.

Albanian sources claim that two vehicles, loaded with Serb policemen were installed in the village of Penuh. The policemen were stopping and checking the passers-by.

Over 20 buses and other vehicles loaded with Serb police officers have driven from Kosova to Serbia on Tuesday.

KOSOVA (draft and mediation - Prishtina)

The recent American draft - major topic of discussion

Prishtina, 9 December (ARTA0 1600CET --

The American mediator in Kosova, Christopher Hill, and the European Union special envoy to Kosova, Wolfgang Petritch, met several Albanian representatives in Kosova today.

The meeting took place at the USIS premises in Prishtina. Members of the negotiating team - the editor-in-chief of Albanian weekly "Zëri", Blerim Shala, and the vice-chairmen of LBD, Mehmet Hajrizi, and Hydajet Hyseni, participated in the meeting. A press conference has been scheduled to take place in the evening hours, as the American mediator will be meeting the KLA political representative, Adem Demaçi, as well.

The Albanian negotiating team and the KLA political representative refused the most recent plan of the US mediator Hill, for the interim settlement of the Kosova problem, considering it unacceptable. They evaluated this proposal, as a step back, announcing that they will make their own version of the proposal for the solution of the Kosova issue. It seems that the West was not surprised that the Albanian rejected the draft.

The head of the negotiating team, Fehmi Agani, stressed that Hill's recent plan marked a step backward, compared to the previous version. This proposal clearly defines that "Kosova should remain within the framework of Serbia and `Yugoslavia'", evaluated Agani. According to him, this proposal does not foresee a government for Kosova. Instead of a President, it foresees a presidency, in which all ethnic communities would be included.

Ambassador Hill is expected to travel to Belgrade, tomorrow. On Thursday, he is expected to attend the Contact Group meeting, in Paris.

KOSOVA (KD analysis - draft)

Albanians are "for" the draft - same as they were for the government

Prishtina, 9 December (ARTA) 1900CET --

After not accepting the recent American plan, the Albanian negotiating group announced it will draft a project of its own, for the solution of the Kosova status, hoping that other representatives of political and military forces of Kosova will participate in this process.

In this regard, the head of the Albanian negotiators, Fehmi Agani, stated that, "initially the Albanian side gave an incomplete project, in which the major demands of Albanians were presented. In ten points, it explained how the issue of Kosova could be solved". However, Agani stressed that even though Albanians drafted the project as means to achieving independence, it became clear that their demands could not be realized without a gradual process.

The new proposal should be drafted by a broader group of representatives of Albanian political and military forces, as it is not complete without at least consulting all major political subjects.

The KLA complies with the stand of the negotiating group in this aspect. In a press conference, the KLA political representative stated that "it is time, that after Serbs, Albanians too, come out with a proposal of their own for solving the problem. Albanians are united in major standpoints and it should not be hard to draft such a document", stated Demaçi adding that the only difficulty would be to protect that project.

According to him, the KLA is also willing to follow go step-by-step toward realizing their goals of the independence of Kosova.

On the other hand, the steering board of the Kosovar leading party, the LDK, also thinks that the joint compilation of an Albanian project would contribute to the completion of the negotiating group.

The LDK leadership evaluated that "disputes regarding the negotiating team would ease with the inclusion of the entire political and military spectrum of Kosova", minding that such a broad spectrum would also justify its determination to defend its stand before the mediator and the other side.

However, the LBD general secretary, Mehmet Hajrizi, stressed that the negotiating team, as it is, "cannot speak in the name of Kosova. The first mistake was made by forming such a team without consulting with the political and national subjects, and without including them in the team. A great mistake was particularly made by not including the KLA and other relevant factors of the national movement". The second mistake, according to the LBD is the fact that this team drafted a project, according to which Kosova would temporarily remain a third unit within the "Yugoslav" federation. "Same as the team itself, this was a project drafted by close circles, without consulting, the approval or the participation of the relevant factors of the Albanian political and national movement", said Hajrizi. The third mistake, according to him "was made when Fehmi Agani said that the negotiating group will consult the political subjects and draft a new plan to hand over to the mediating side, without changing the team's structure". LBD thinks, "the team should include representatives of relevant subjects of the national movement (LDK, LBD, KLA and students' movement). Therefore, the group should have the structure of the Government of Kosova, which with good will, could be formed in three hours. And only as such, could it form an Albanian project-proposal", said at the end Mehmet Hajrizi.

Nevertheless, political analysts see the proposal for drafting a joint project-proposal as a chance to get engaged together, at least to complete the negotiating team. Such a possibility was also noted in the recent speculations among political circles, for their readiness to form a unified Government of Kosova. This Government was planned to come out with a broader group of negotiators, which would have the blessing of all the political and military forces in Kosova. However, even after a series of inter-party consultations, the structure of the future government remains a disputable issue, just like the present structure of the negotiating team. Both sides call for the establishment of the government and the completion of the negotiating team, but neither is ready to give up their aspirations, whichever they may be. Analysts believe that the drafting of a joint plan, which is esteemed only as a counter reply to the Serb and American one, if nothing else, could urge the process of talks among Albanians.

BELGIUM (NATO - Kosova)

NATO aware of the risk of the conflict in Kosova recommencing

Brussels, 9 December (ARTA) 1700CET --

During the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting, the NATO Secretary General, Javier Solana and the US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, threatened Belgrade once again with possible NATO attacks, saying that NATO will act, if necessary. Solana and Albright reiterated that the "Activation Order" is still in power. These statements were made after Serbia issued a statement, which led to believe that the "Yugoslav" forces could undertake a new operation in Kosova. NATO repeated its stand that there cannot be a military solution to the problem of Kosova. "Without a political solution of the Kosova issue, there is a danger of the conflict in Kosova recommencing, and that will only bring about new difficulties for the innocent people", stated the Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright. She claimed that Serbs, but Albanians as well, made some public statements, that make finding a political solution even more complicated. She noted that without a serious threat there couldn’t be any advancement in solving a crisis, such as the Kosova one.

During the NATO session, also attended by the foreign ministers of the Partnership for Peace program, the Albanian Foreign Minister, Paskal Milo, in his speech stressed that despite the few changes, the situation in Kosova is far from being solved. Milo highlighted the necessity to continue mounting pressure on Belgrade, repeating that Albania will support any political settlement that is acceptable for Kosova Albanians. The ministers of the NATO partner countries, who are engaged in the Partnership for Peace program, also supported the NATO stands.

EU cooperates with NATO on plan for solving the Kosova issue

For the first time during the NATO foreign ministers' meeting, a special meeting took place between the EU head, Schuessel and the NATO Secretary General, Javier Solana. Schuessel and Solana, in this case, exchanged views concerning the Kosova issue and the cooperation between NATO and EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Austrian Foreign Minister evaluated this cooperation as highly important, adding that in the past it was quite limited. Schuessel also talked about the efforts the EU made towards the solution of the Kosova issue, expressed before in the joint statement of the EU Foreign Ministers. The EU chair stated that the contacts between NATO and the EU should become more frequent and claim a formal character. During this meeting in Brussels, many bilateral meetings took place and according to the statements given to the media, in the majority of them, the situation in Kosova was the major topic of discussion.

Poisoned Wells Plague Towns All Over Kosovo

Aid Organizations Blame Yugoslav Security Forces

By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, December 9, 1998; Page A30

OVCAREVO, Yugoslavia-Shaban Tahiri and his family know from the powerful stench that they no longer can draw drinking water from one of their two wells. They barely have to look in to know that a dead dog or cow is floating on the surface.

The Tahiri family is one of thousands in Kosovo that are trying to cope with what appears to have been a deliberate effort by Yugoslav government troops to poison some residential water wells this fall by heaving animals or hazardous materials into them. The motive may have been to promote illness among Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority or to discourage people from returning to homes they had abandoned during this year's government offensive against Albanian guerrillas who have been fighting for independence for Kosovo, a province of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia.

Aid workers describe the poisonings as an unprecedented violation of the Geneva Convention regulating the conduct of warfare. Most of the poisonings appear to have occurred shortly before Yugoslavia withdrew many of its forces under threat of NATO airstrikes in October, allowing thousands of refugees to return home.

Since then, residents in at least 58 villages throughout Kosovo have informed foreign aid organizations that their wells contain dead dogs, chickens, horses, garbage, fuel oil, flour, detergent, paint and other contaminants. Although many of these reports have not been confirmed, a few aid groups that have begun testing and cleaning residential wells in villages say they have found evidence to confirm the allegations.

The well poisonings and fear of contamination have caused residents to stop using accessible water for cooking, drinking and cleaning in rural areas, and promoted the spread of diseases because of poor hygiene, the groups say. Some people say they now walk more than a mile to collect water in buckets from uncontaminated wells, while others are drinking from wells tested by village leaders who acted as guinea pigs for the entire community by drinking the water for one week.

"I think the contamination is widespread" in areas where heavy conflict occurred or Yugoslav military headquarters were located, said Glenn Hanna, 37, a Canadian who is the chief water engineer for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kosovo. "When the police pulled out, they tried to do as much destruction as possible, and the water was an obvious target."

Hanna estimates that the number of poisoned wells may be in the thousands. Such poisonings have been confirmed in six villages so far by Oxfam, a relief group that specializes in water problems here. In the town of Banja, located southwest of Pristina, the provincial capital, for example, the group's engineers cleaned seven wells and found dead chickens in one and an open can of paint in another -- a form of toxic chemical contamination that would be particularly harmful to small children.

The ability of the villages to handle the problem is minimal. Each residence typically has its own well, making the task of cleaning all the wells or certifying that they are safe extremely laborious. But the issue is almost irrelevant, since no villages have access to water-testing equipment and many water pumps -- which could have been used to empty the wells so they could be cleaned -- were stolen when the troops withdrew, residents say.

Here in Ovcarevo, a village with 160 homes and a population that supported the Kosovo Liberation Army, the ethnic Albanian separatist group, elementary school teacher Nazer Rrustemi says as many as 70 percent of the wells may be contaminated in the aftermath of the town's occupation by Yugoslav security forces. Since virtually all of the homes lack roofs or windows, the suspected poisoning has added enormously to the burden of living here this winter.

On Oct. 27-28, "when the police moved and the civilians started coming back, they found stuff in their wells. There were dead animals and flour. . . . They ate half a cow and threw the rest in. It's very hard to remove a cow or a horse from a well. We don't have any equipment here," Rrustemi said. "There are two aims: to destroy the animals and the wealth of this place, and to make the people who came back suffer the consequences of drinking the water."

Rrustemi was one of those entrusted to drink the water from a centrally located well in his neighborhood as an experiment, to see whether he got sick. He did not, but he said that some of the 30 other men selected to drink from other wells got diarrhea or started vomiting. In one case, he said, "they got sick, so they let nature clean the well by not drinking from it for 10 days [before resuming]. . . . The problem is, we have to drink water . . . even though it is still risky." Some of the villagers now boil it, he added.

Ahmet Vraniqi, another resident of the village, said he hitched an hour-long ride on a tractor into the nearby city of Srbica to ask two doctors there if they could help determine if his water was safe. But they could not offer any help and advised him to get a pump and drain the well so he could examine and clean it. Digging a new well is out of the question, he said: "I have no money."

Despite the proliferating reports of well-poisonings, the aid community has not made the problem a top priority. Hundreds of thousands of residents lack electricity, certain diseases are beginning to spread, and a shortage of clean water in Kosovo is a long-standing issue due to heavy pollution by farm runoff. Hanna said that he is just now "gearing up" to begin to deal with the contamination, by buying a truck, a pump and a hoist -- to lift out large dead animals. He can clean about two wells a day.

A French aid group has proposed to clean and disinfect 150 wells over the next five months, and a Swiss group has offered to buy portable water-testing kits and set up a laboratory in Kosovo. But neither effort has been funded.

By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, December 8, 1998; Page A33

ULCINJ, Yugoslavia-When Hagrie Cacaq and her family fled to this seaside village from Kosovo last spring, the Spartan housing was tolerable because the weather was warm. But now a bitterly cold wind and slashing rain are gusting through a window frame covered by a flapping blanket, and her half-dozen children are having trouble sleeping in their winter coats on bare cement floors covered only with cardboard.

"It's too cold," Cacaq said, and the only food they get -- from the Red Cross -- falls well short of what they need. But she and several thousand other ethnic Albanians who came to Ulcinj have no money to pay for food and electricity, so they have no choice but to go without heat, even as nighttime temperatures hover just above freezing.

Cacaq and 23 others living in the unfinished beach house are among tens of thousands of refugees from the strife-torn province of Kosovo who are stranded here in the neighboring Yugoslav republic of Montenegro. By all accounts, Europe and the United States have been extremely slow to assist them.

Since violent conflict between ethnic Albanian separatists and Yugoslav forces erupted in Kosovo last February, most of the world's attention and humanitarian assistance has gone to the more than 200,000 ethnic Albanians displaced by fighting within Kosovo and tens of thousands of others who fled to Albania or Macedonia.

More than six weeks after the heavy fighting ended, however, between 25,000 and 35,000 ethnic Albanians, including at least 6,000 children younger than 7, are said by the International Red Cross and the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to remain in Montenegro -- down from a summertime peak of 45,000 to 50,000 but still more than anywhere else outside Kosovo.

Montenegro is the smaller of the two republics that compose the federation of Yugoslavia, with just 5 percent of the territory of Serbia, the dominant republic. Kosovo is a province of Serbia. Montenegro also is poorer, with an average wage of $125 per month, more than 70,000 people unemployed, and another 80,000 waiting for late pension payments from the federal government. Some of its key industries depended on trade with Kosovo, which has dried up.

On top of that, an estimated 31,600 refugees from the conflicts in Bosnia and Croatia have lived in temporary shelters in Ulcinj and other Montenegrin towns for at least three years, still waiting for conditions to settle in those former Yugoslav republics. With this burden, Montenegro's government has been able to provide little assistance to the newcomers.

Many of those who fled to Montenegro reported having to pay bribes or endure beatings from Serbian border guards. Some of those still here said they have heard from friends who went back that they were beaten again by Serbian police on their return. Many also were frightened by the brief kidnapping earlier this month of 11 returning ethnic Albanians by Serbian civilians across the border. The captors were angry about the kidnapping of a Serb by the Kosovo Liberation Army, an ethnic Albanian insurgent group.

The grim conditions here have caused thousands to leave via an underground refugee highway for elsewhere in Europe, traveling through Albania and Italy to Germany and Switzerland after paying a hefty fee to brokers. As many as 10,000 to 15,000 people may have returned to their villages in southwestern Kosovo since fighting cooled in early October, but many more say they cannot because their homes are destroyed and they are afraid of the police.

"I have nowhere to go," said a 38-year-old man from the destroyed Kosovo town of Decani, who lives with his wife, five children, and seven others in two rooms of a stranger's house in Tuzi, a village 10 miles southeast of Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital. "My own house is broken, but I would live there in a tent . . . if I was sure that nothing would happen to me and my family."

Like many Kosovo residents who fled along with family members who belonged to the Kosovo Liberation Army, the man said he will not go back until the Yugoslav government honors its month-old pledge of amnesty for politically motivated activities. He said one of his brothers went to look at the house last week, and called to say "the police are everywhere on the roads. They are driving around in private cars."

The man, who asked that his name not be published for fear of retaliation by Serbian police, said that "the Red Cross provides help twice a month, but we can live for only five days on what they give us. . . . We would not be alive" without help from local residents. He said his children sit at home all day because the Montenegrin government -- fearful of encouraging the ethnic Albanian families to stay -- has barred them from attending a local school.

The food aid being provided to the ethnic Albanians is going only to those younger than 14 and older than 65, because of its scarcity, said Stojan Sjekloca, deputy commissioner of Montenegro's eight-member refugee relief panel. "The rest of them are excluded from help." Each of the recipients gets 2 pints of cooking oil, less than 20 pounds of flour, 2 pounds of beans and 2 pounds of sugar -- all supposed to last for a month. "Some get milk powder, but only rarely," he said.

Philipp Reber, the head of the Red Cross office in Podgorica, said nearly 40 percent of the refugees may still be living in unheated shepherds' huts in mountainous areas near the Kosovo border, now covered with snow. "The international community abandoned this area," said Pierfrancesco Maria Natta, head of the local UNHCR office.

Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic is defensive about his government's response to the refugee crisis, which he contends was orchestrated by the Yugoslav and Serbian governments to provoke tensions in the republic and topple its reform-minded leadership. "The international help amounted to crumbs compared to what we did," Djukanovic said.

After visiting Montenegro for the first time a few weeks ago, Julia V. Taft, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for population, refugees, and migration, confirmed that the aid "pipeline was not as well organized" as it is in Kosovo. In a telephone interview from Washington, she noted that the first food funded by the United States did not arrive until early October and that goods such as shoes and rice have been available only sporadically and in smaller quantities than needed.

"They really need to get focused on this," Taft said about the aid agencies and local officials charged with easing the humanitarian crisis in Montenegro.

Here in Ulcinj, unpaid water and electricity bills for 12,000 to 14,000 refugees amount to more than $50,000 so far, said Tahir Perezic, the local commissioner for refugees. Several wealthy Albanians from New York and Europe who have homes in Ulcinj donated substantial funds during the summer, but their contributions were exhausted two months ago.

Perezic said, "We have about 30 business cards from different aid organizations," but only a few have actually provided any meaningful aid. A promise from Taft that Washington would help has not yet shown any results, he added. "The greatest problem is that people are freezing and the children don't have enough to eat," Perezic said.

Serbs' grip on Kosovo slips as rebels press on with war

FROM TOM WALKER IN PODUJEVO

GUERRILLA gunfire rattled over the snowclad landscape of northern Kosovo yesterday, another reminder to Belgrade that under the prying eyes of Nato and international monitors, Serbia's grip on its cherished province is slipping.

"It is an early Christmas party, it is December after all," a well-equipped and relaxed Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) officer said. He guarded a sandbagged guerrilla position on the mountain slopes above Podujevo, a ramshackle market town on the vital and now very vulnerable northern artery linking the province with Serbia's second city, Nis, and the motorway to Belgrade.

It is the increasing isolation of Serb civilians and police officers alike in communities such as Podujevo that is tempting hardliners within the Government to order another offensive against the KLA.

On Monday Tomislav Nikolic, the Deputy Prime Minister, complained that the "verifiers" working for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe were failing to check the advance of the KLA through the countryside.

"If Albanian terrorists are allowed to murder and kidnap, then we shall have to conduct the same action again as this summer," he said. "But this time we shall go to the end, regardless of what others think."

His outburst met with a swift riposte from Javier Solana, the Nato Secretary-General, who reminded Mr Nikolic from Brussels that Serbia still faced airstrikes if any such action were taken. But as Belgrade dithers over a land it seems doomed to lose, the KLA is making the most of what most diplomats concede is only the customary Balkan winter lull in fighting.

"I don't care what they say in Belgrade," the KLA officer said. "This is where I was born, this is my land." In the dismal streets of Podujevo, a town where any civic pride collapsed decades ago, a drunken police officer said: ""This is where I was born, too, but after dark I can't go anywhere."

Demonising Milosevic won't solve Kosovo - Greece

11:01 a.m. Dec 09, 1998 Eastern

BRUSSELS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. efforts to paint Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic as the root cause of conflict in the Balkans will not help resolve the Kosovo issue, Greece's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Theodoros Pangalos said he had noticed a trend by U.S. diplomats in recent weeks to depict the Serbian nationalist strongman and his autocratic rule as the central obstacle to democratisation of the region.

In a speech to NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright referred to Milosevic as being ``at the core'' of the Kosovo problem. She urged allies to ``support the democratic aspirations of the Serbian people.''

Other U.S. officials have accused Milosevic of meddling in Bosnia and threatening Montenegro, in addition to piling on repression at home.

Pangalos said he had reminded the NATO ministers during a discussion on Kosovo that ``in politics everything is relative.''

In elections, voters did not often get the chance to choose what they wanted but rather what is less bad for them, he said.

``So if we want to weaken the position of President Milosevic we should have an alternative solution. And from our point of view -- and we know them very well -- there is not such a solution for the moment,'' Pangalos told Reuters.

Greece, like Serbia, is an Orthdox Christian country which has sympathised with Serbian concerns.

The Greek minister said outside attacks on Milosevic, who is seen by many supporters at home as the defender of Serbdom, would only strengthen his position at home.

``We must consider that on the Kosovo issue, the positions of all the other (Serbian) political forces are either identical to those of Mr Milosevic, in the best case, or in most cases they're worse.''

``We're not happy also in Athens with Mr Milosevic. But he's there. He has been elected, and he has cooperated to some extent. And we have to make him cooperate to a larger extent. That's the aim, so let's not divert our efforts.''

U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke, whose one-to-one shuttle diplomacy with Milosevic brokered the Dayton agreement to end the Bosnia war, negotiated with the Yugoslav leader in October at the height of the Kosovo crisis, securing a troop withdrawal that averted punitive air strikes by NATO.

But the truce is extremely fragile and the Yugoslav troop presence in the province remains excessive, NATO says. Mediation efforts to secure a political settlement are stalled.

The Clinton administration's tougher rhetoric on Milosevic followed a purge in Belgrade last month in which the armed forces chief of staff and the most senior intelligence official were sacked, following a severe crackdown on independent media.

Mediators say time is short for Kosovo peace

07:29 p.m Dec 09, 1998 Eastern
By Julijana Mojsilovic

PRISTINA, Serbia, Dec 9 (Reuters) - International mediators said on Wednesday there was an urgent need for an early peace agreement for Kosovo, where both sides have threatened to shatter a truce.

``We must not lose the momentum now. There is a sense of urgency,'' said Wolfgang Petritsch, European Union envoy to Kosovo, after the latest U.S.-drafted peace plan came under fire both from the Serbian government and Kosovo's ethnic Albanians.

``In the next couple of weeks something should be achieved.''

Petritsch was accompanying U.S. mediator Christopher Hill on a visit to Kosovo to try to persuade the separatist leaders of the ethnic Albanian majority, who have accused Hill of bowing to Serb demands, to give their peace mission a chance.

Hill said the negotiations had not broken down despite the condemnation of his latest draft proposal, which would grant Kosovo autonomy for an interim period.

But he said time was running short.

``We are getting to the point where we have to speed up this process,'' said Hill, who has been shuttling between Belgrade and the Kosovo capital Pristina for months trying to broker a political settlement acceptable to both sides.

``We believe that our negotiations are still on track,'' he told a news conference after the latest meetings.

``We don't want to be pinned down to a specific deadline. They have to be interested in a settlement more than we.''

The negotiating team representing Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority this week rejected the latest draft proposal as too pro-Serb and the political voice of its guerrilla army called for Hill to be replaced.

Belgrade has also criticised the latest draft, drawn up after it condemned the previous version as totally pro-Albanian. Ethnic Albanians had cautiously welcomed that draft as a first step towards an agreement.

Hill is anxious to complete his mission before warmer weather encourages more fighting, which could see some 2,000 unarmed international ``verifiers'' now being sent to the region, caught in the middle.

NATO continued pouring troops and equipment into neighbouring Macedonia on Wednesday, part of a 1,700-strong force meant to rescue the verifiers if they get into trouble.

Belgrade has said that if the troops, who will be fully deployed over the next two weeks, enter Kosovo it will treat them as a hostile force.

At least 1,500 people were killed this year in fighting between the ethnic Albanian guerrillas and Serbian security forces, who conducted a widespread crackdown on the population, driving a quarter of a million people from their homes.

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic withdrew many forces from the region in October under a threat of NATO air strikes.

But Belgrade this week threatened a new offensive if the West did not rein in the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), whose aim is to split Kosovo from Serbia.

KLA guerrillas moved into many of the areas vacated by the police and army, making remaining Serb forces feel vulnerable.

Last week a KLA commander warned U.S. observers in the province he could not guarantee their safety if they continued to escort Serb police near Malisevo, a former KLA stronghold where police have a controversial base.

On Wednesday, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic held a meeting with representatives of political parties from Kosovo loyal to Belgrade at which the participants said the draft was unacceptable but that there was still room for compromise.

``The participants agreed that enough room has been left for continuing fundamental and unconditional dialogue on a platform for concrete solutions,'' the official Tanjug news agency said.

Associated Press

U.S. Urges Compromise in Kosovo

Wednesday December 9 10:18 AM ET

By ISMET HAJDARI Associated Press Writer

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - The United States and its allies are urging both sides in Kosovo to compromise, after Serbs and ethnic Albanians rejected Washington's latest formula for bringing peace to the troubled province.

U.S. envoy Christopher Hill arrived today for a series of talks with representatives of pro-independence Kosovo Albanians, including an expected meeting with the political representative for the ethnic Albanian guerrillas.

He came after Secretary of State Madeleine Albright criticized the two sides, warning the Serbs to stop threats of new offensives and telling the ethnic Albanians to abandon their ``rhetoric of independence.''

Last week, Hill offered a revised U.S. formula for greater self-rule for Kosovo, a province of Yugoslavia's Serb republic but with a majority ethnic Albanian population.

But both sides rejected the formula. A Serbian negotiator, Ratko Markovic, said Tuesday the U.S. draft would require ``reconstructing the whole of Yugoslavia'' and would pave the way for independence for the majority ethnic Albanian province.

The chief ethnic Albanian negotiator, Fehmi Agani, said it favored the Serbs. And Adem Demaci, chief spokesman for the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army, suggested that Hill should be replaced.

``Mr. Hill either doesn't understand the Albanian problems, or he is leaning toward the Serbs,'' Demaci said. ``The State Department should reconsider the results of his work ... (and) send us more qualified people.''

Although the KLA rebels are not a party to the deliberations, their support is considered critical to ensuring that any future plan actually brings peace to the province, where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs 9-to-1.

Hundreds of people were killed and almost 300,000 ethnic Albanians forced from their homes in a seven-month crackdown on separatists by Serbian forces. An October peace accord halted most of the fighting.

The accord, reached under threat of NATO airstrikes, was seen as a way to buy time to find a diplomatic solution. But with little sign of progress, fears are mounting that full-scale fighting could erupt with warmer weather in the spring.

In Brussels, Belgium, NATO foreign ministers endorsed U.S. diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and called on Serbs and ethnic Albanians to ``move rapidly in a spirit of compromise and accommodation.''

The ministers on Tuesday endorsed a plan that would give Kosovo ``a substantially greater degree of autonomy and meaningful self-administration'' but said any settlement must respect the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia.

The Americans and Europeans fear independence would lead to similar demands by other ethnic Albanian communities elsewhere in the southern Balkans.