BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Western diplomats and dissident Yugoslav officials say the forces of President Slobodan Milosevic appear to be turning to politically motivated arrests to counter the rapidly spreading influence of rebels in Kosovo province.

Moreover, the assassination last week of a guerrilla commander, which was initially thought to be a result of a feud within rebel ranks, is now described by diplomats and Yugoslav officials as the first in what they predict will be a series of back-and-forth retaliatory attacks.

Under threats from NATO, Yugoslavia has all but stopped conventional attacks on the ethnic Albanian rebels who now operate freely in widening areas of the Serbian province. But by resorting to traditional methods of repression, the government can strike at the rebels and avoid a NATO reaction, Yugoslav officials say.

"It will trigger a response," a Western diplomat said. "My expectation is the Albanians will do something like set off a bomb in a Serb market or assassinate a Serb official. If that happens, then the lid is off the next phase of the war, and there will be no stopping it."

A Yugoslav security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity added: "The war will move to the cities, and it will be very bloody. This is a dangerous move for everyone."

But now, the Yugoslav government has stepped up one of the most effective measures of a police state: mass arrests and trials where the absence of elementary legal protections nearly insures convictions.

In the last few months, as many as 2,000 ethnic Albanians have been detained or are being sought for allegedly helping the rebels, according to United Nations estimates. As Kosovo's Albanians say has often been the case since Milosevic stripped away their broad autonomy in 1989 and began imposing tight police control on the province, suspects are routinely tortured into signing confessions, which almost guarantee that they will be convicted, international human rights officials say.

Human rights monitors say those detained are so terrified they do not reveal that they have been tortured.

But not always.

Under two bare light bulbs dangling from a stained ceiling, police guards brought Ismet Gashi, a 36-year-old farmer, to stand before a three-judge panel last Friday in the Western city of Pec. He stood in an attitude of submission, shoulders down, his eyes fixed on the dirty orange carpeting.

When they removed the handcuffs, he kept his wrists jammed together, silently assuring his guards that he was still under their control.

A judge read his signed confession. He had admitted joining the rebels and being with them in three villages. In essence, the confession was the same as hundreds of others in which defendants say they fought for the rebels or fed them or in some way were a party to what the government calls terrorism.

But when the chief judge asked Gashi to affirm his confession, the defendant did something that made the police officers present begin to fidget. For one of them, his right leg began twitching.

"They beat me and made me sign that," Gashi said, mumbling at first. As he continued, his voice gained strength. "They beat me so much that I could not walk afterward. I needed 10 minutes just to put my signature on the paper."

Then he indicated why statements like his were so rare. "Just before court, the police told me they would be waiting for me afterward, and if I did not agree with the confession, I would see what happened to me," he said.

"I've never heard anything like it before," said Ariana Zherka, a field worker for the Humanitarian Law Center, who attended the hearing. "He will have big problems now." Ms. Zherka said she thought that the presence of a reporter for an American newspaper in the courtroom had emboldened the defendant.

The authorities in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, and in Belgrade had no comment on the accusations of torture and forced confessions.

Like the looting and burning of ethnic Albanian villages over the summer, the arrests leave ethnic Albanians feeling completely vulnerable to government abuse. The government's actions seem to be radicalizing those here who had thought their differences with the government could be settled peacefully.

After talks with U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke in October, Yugoslavia committed itself to providing amnesty to those arrested on terrorism charges, and to stop further arrests. The aim was to reduce tensions between the ethnic Albanians who dominate Kosovo and the Serbian leaders who govern it. But amnesty has not been granted, and the arrests are increasing.

While most of those arrested seem to be ordinary people, about 10 percent are described by foreign officials as community leaders. They are people whose status would allow them to counsel restraint as ethnic Albanians try to decide whether to follow rebel leaders who advocate war to attain independence, or politicians who favor negotiations.

Dr. Xhevap Avdijaj, the only ethnic Albanian physician in the area around the village of Sinaj, says he favors peace. But, he said, after 48 hours in police custody in September, he signed a false confession that he was setting up a medical system to help the rebels.

"They held me on a table and beat me with sticks. At first there was a regular police night stick, then one about this long," he said, holding his hands about four feet apart. "They could swing that long one really well, and it hit a lot harder."

"I was completely black and blue from the back of my neck to my feet," he said. "But it was nothing compared to others. They carried some out of the interrogation room on stretchers." Avdijaj said he suffered internal bleeding for several days after the beatings.

With many ethnic Albanians favoring the rebels, it is likely that at least some of those arrested have done something to give the rebels support. But foreign diplomats say the Yugoslav justice system is tilted so much in the government's favor that once it snares a citizen, guilt or innocence is seldom a significant factor.

For instance, the judge in the case of Gashi, who told the judge his confession was the result of torture, can decide to accept the confession anyway. Gashi's assertions against the police can be ignored, according to foreign lawyers studying the Yugoslav system.

Defendants can be charged on the basis of statements from witness who do not appear in court, foreign diplomats say. They can be held incommunicado for months, then allowed to speak with an attorney for a few minutes.

"We can talk to our clients about anything, as long as it is not about the charges against them or conditions in prison," said Destan Rukiqi, a defense attorney.

When Rukiqi asked a judge to intervene on behalf of a client he said was being tortured by police, Rukiqi was detained for several days and beaten, he said. His client is one of at least five who have been beaten to death in custody, according to foreign human rights workers.

Foreign diplomats say special police teams have been sent to some jails to carry out torture that guards refused to do. The diplomats say they believe that the police are using electric shock devices.

Occasionally lawyers file formal complaints about the abuses. But Barbara Davis, of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, "We do not see those allegations treated seriously by judges."

Milosevic a Danger to Serbs and Their Future; U.S. Policy Culpable in
Milosevic Tenure, Concludes Helsinki...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/-- The following release was issued today
by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: On the fiftieth
anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the U.S.
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe today heard from witnesses
who testified to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's role in hindering
democracy in Serbia. The witnesses also testified that U.S. policy -- in
the Clinton Administration-- has significantly served to maintain
Milosevic's position and power rather than assisting a peaceful transition
to a democratic government.

"It is entirely appropriate that, on Human Rights Day, we focus on the
Milosevic regime in the Yugoslav federation of Serbia and Montenegro," said
Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) in opening remarks.
"This regime's pervasive grip on Serbian society has logged a long record
of human rights violations. The recent actions against the independent
media are only the latest, and these actions have led Robert Menard of
'Reporters Without Borders' to call Serbia 'the worst in all of Europe'
with regard to media freedoms."

Daniel Serwer, senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace,
testified that the U.S. Government should increase its support for
democracy in Yugoslavia from the current level of $15 million to $35
million this fiscal year focused on open media and indigenous NGOs coupled
with a broad diplomatic initiative aimed at developing alternatives to the
authoritarian regime in Belgrade. "I question, Mr. Chairman, the wisdom of
reaching any agreement on Kosovo unless it is clear that in doing so the
United States is not supporting, even indirectly or unintentionally, the
continuation of an autocratic regime in Belgrade," said Mr. Serwer.
Co-Chairman Smith expressed enthusiasm for directing U.S. assistance to
democratic activists in Serbia.

Witnesses described the process with which Milosevic has suborned the
desires of the Serbian electorate through the intimidation of the political
opposition, as well as Milosevic's ability to manipulate the international
community-- including the United States and her NATO allies-- throughout
the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the current developments in Kosovo.
Ylber Hysa, Director of Kosova Action for Civic Initiative, pointed out
that "[the Holbrooke agreement] clearly proves that Milosevic has realized
that he can play the West and that their bluff has not worked. He knows
when the threat is serious, as he knew in Dayton when at the negotiating
table. On the recent occasion in Prishtina, he has shown that the agreement
reached with Holbrooke licenses him to bloody maneuvers in Kosova...the
Milosevic-Holbrooke agreement is not valid; for it does not solve the
problem of Kosova and it does not democratize Serbia. Quite the contrary,
it gives him a free hand in giving out threats with the worst scenario such
as the division of Kosova... The West's partner and the person that signed
an international agreement, Milosevic-- who believes that with the
acceptance of the agreement he has carried out his part of the deal-- can
now by threats and blackmail try in getting the carrots such as the lifting
of outer wall of sanctions... As a communist that he is, not believing in
God, instead of resting for Christmas as the rest of the world, he can
again act, in Kosova."

Mr. Smith noted, "Many of us on the Helsinki Commission, and in the U.S.
Congress, are disgusted by the fact that the international community, led
by the United States, has worked through Slobodan Milosevic to end the very
conflicts in the Balkans which he actually instigated as a means to
maintain and enhance his power. Milosevic is a man to be stopped, not
coaxed. Dealing with this man is not just an ethical question; we must
question the wisdom of this tack. We need a viable, democratic alternative
to Milosevic, for the sake of long-term Balkan stability as well as the
future of the people of Serbia.

3 Ethnic Albanians Killed in Kosovo

By KATARINA KRATOVAC Associated Press Writer

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - Three ethnic Albanians were killed Friday in Kosovo, Serb sources reported, and signs of strain on the fragile truce in the province were growing.

The Albanians - all known to be loyal to the Serbian regime - were shot while repairing a power station near the central town of Glogovac, said the Serb-run Media Center in the provincial capital of Pristina.

In a separate incident Friday, a group of armed Serb civilians reportedly held six humanitarian workers hostage for three hours, hoping to exchange them for Serb captives, said Palok Berishaj, a representative of the Kosovo-based Mother Teresa humanitarian group.

Police mediated their release in Nerodimlje, 18 miles south of Pristina, said Berishaj. The group reportedly included five ethnic Albanians and one German.

Neither report could be independently confirmed.

In a further sign of strain to the fragile peace in Serbia's southern province, Kosovo's leading ethnic Albanian party accused the Serb government of reneging on international commitments by blocking the first European probe into war atrocities.

On Thursday, Serb police using armored vehicles prevented a team of Finnish forensic experts from reaching the graves of 22 ethnic Albanians allegedly massacred at a site in central Kosovo. Belgrade insists Serbian officials accompany the team. The Albanians say that if Serbs can go they must be allowed as well, a condition the Serbs reject.

The Finnish team, working under a European Union mandate, was to begin exhumations at the site - the first in a series of six Kosovo locations to which Belgrade had previously granted access.

``We are still involved in discussions with Serbian authorities in trying to find a pragmatic solution to all this,'' said Tino Lahelma, a member of the Finnish team.

Hundreds of people were killed and up to 300,000 forced from their homes during fighting this year in Kosovo, a southern province in Serbia dominated by ethnic Albanians.

Yugoslavia is composed of Serbia and Montenegro, and, under threat of NATO airstrikes, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic agreed Oct. 12 to end the crackdown.

Also on Friday, the Albanian side accused Serbs of preparing new offensives, claiming they had brought in new military and police reinforcements in the past week.

Meanwhile, the international Contact Group for the Balkans warned Friday in Paris that ``time was running out,'' and urged direct talks between the two sides. So far, U.S. envoy Christopher Hill has been shuttling between them.

A command center opened Thursday in Macedonia for a NATO ``extraction force'' that will rescue, if necessary, the 2,000 international monitors who will oversee the truce in Kosovo.

Arta

The crimes in Abri e Epërme still covered by the snow

Abri e Epërme, 10 December (ARTA) 1600CET --

KLA soldiers, stood on a hill near the village of Tërstenik, awaiting the
Finnish team of forensic experts, who were supposed to begin the excavation
of the massacred members of the Delijaj family in Abri e Epërme, on
Thursday, at around 0800CET. The information heard through radio-lines made
it clear that the team had turned back to Prishtina, after a long stay on
the Gllogoc-Skënderaj road.

"I will not go without my team and you will not go without us", a source who
was present in Tërstenik, quoted the investigating judge at the Serb
prosecutors office in Prishtina, Danica Marinkovic, as saying.

A police convoy composed of 29 police vehicles, 17 of which were armored
vehicles, joined the convoy of pathologists, which were escorted by western
diplomats, in Fushë Kosovë, the source claimed.

That was the reason why the Finnish team did not begin the exhumation of the
massacred in Abri e Epërme. The police and the Serb judge, Danica
Marinkovic, that escorted the mission, demanded that the team also be
escorted in KLA controlled territory, as "safety measures" for the judge.
The team continued its way to the village of Tërstenik, from where it
returned back to Prishtina, refusing

to be escorted by the Serb police to Abri e Epërme. This Finnish group, led
by Helena Rantta, contacted KLA General Headquarters representatives, a few
days ago, in which case they reached an intern agreement to investigate the
massacre of 21 members of the Delijaj family. As the KLA said that the team
could freely continue with their work, they also stated that they would be
responsible for the teams security, which was also requested by Rantta
herself.

"Helen Rantta was here yesterday and met with the KLA representatives. At
around 1100CET, the head of the OSCE mission in Kosova, William Walker
arrived in Abri. Rantta reported to him, telling him that everything was
going as planned", said the CDHRF chair in Skënderaj, Murat Musliu.

This mission is directly supervised and headed by the European Union. The
Finnish Ambassador to Belgrade, Timo Lahelma, who is also an Ambassador of
human rights, has so far followed the developments in this aspect as well.

The Finnish forensic experts yesterday, monitored the terrain in Abri e
Epërme and completed all the technical details.

The Delijaj family members, on the other hand, waited for the arrival of the
team in vain.

"It would ease our pain if the truth concerning the crimes in our
neighborhood would be discovered", said Dr. Sami Delijaj, whose five family
members were massacred on 26 September.

Even though the #1203 resolution of the UN Security Council called for
cooperation between the "FRY" authorities and The Hague Tribunal, the "FRY"
Government categorically refused to comply. However, granting visas for the
team of the Finnish forensic experts gave hopes that investigations for
determining the way the civilian population was killed during the war in
Kosova, would be carried out.

The team was authorized to conduct investigations in Golluboc, Volljakë,
Rahovec, Abri e Epërme, Gllogjan, and KleÄkë. Earlier this week, the KLA
representative in Prishtina, Adem DemaÄi, stated that he agrees with the
engagement of two Serb persons, one of whom is a pathologist, to observe the
exhumation of the victims in Abri.

Today's demands, for the Finnish team to be escorted to Abri e Epërme, makes
the war crimes

investigations difficult, especially since the issue was not determined in
the Holbrooke-Milosevic agreement.

The Serb police actions, although they cannot be technically be considered
as obstructing the activities of the Finnish team, can however be considered
as a sign that the war crime investigations in Kosova are not desirable for
Belgrade's Government. Diplomatic sources state that this event "will be

ignored, while the forensic experts carry out their duty".

The forensic experts are expected to make another attempt to reach their
destination tomorrow. As for today, the crimes in Abri e Epërme remain
covered by the snow.

A source close to the Finnish team, claimed that during the stay in the
village of Tërstenik, an official Serb person, in civilian clothes and
carrying a walkie-talkie, sneaked in the diplomatic vehicle, where the
Finish Ambassador to Belgrade, Timo Lahelma, was in, and stole a camera.
After an Austrian diplomat insisted, saying that "he had no right to get in
the diplomatic vehicle and that that was a violation of international law",
the camera was given back.

KOSOVA (tension mounts - Gjakovë)

"Yugoslav" army drills disturb locals

Gjakovë, 10 December (ARTA) 2000CET --

Albanian sources from the field claim that VJ units held military exercises
close to the river "Erenik" in Gjakovë today. Shooting from various
automatic guns, which began at 1100CET and went on for several hours, is
said to have disturbed the inhabitants of Gjakovë. Military drills at the
present are considered as a provocation for the locals, especially following
the events that took place in the region during summer.

KOSOVA (escalation of violence - Mitrovicë)

Serb police aims at youth

Mitrovicë, 10 December (ARTA) 2015CET --

Groups of Serb policemen, stationed at the Tuneli i Parë neighborhood and at
the bus station in Mitrovicë, stopped, beat and mistreated young Albanians
today, as they coincidentally passed by. There are also reports that the
Serb police, stationed in Tuneli i Parë, are still preventing Albanians
from returning to their destroyed homes in the village of Shalë e Bajgorës.

On the other hand, sources from Mitrovicë claim that the police arrested an
Albanian from the village of Qitak, Skënderaj municipality, at around
1000CET yesterday. According to these sources, this Albanian man was
arrested close to the bridge that runs over the Mitrovicë river Ibër, and
was taken to the police station where he was kept for several hours.

KOSOVA (KLA communique)

The NATO ministers' statement has the same deficiencies as other factors

Prishtina, 10 December (ARTA) 1700CET --

The KLA General Headquarters hailed the NATO ministers' meeting in a
communiquÊ issued today. "The meeting of the senior ministers itself, shows
the seriousness with which these circles approach the Kosova problem. We
have the impression that they still do not have sufficient knowledge about
the KLA and its efforts for freedom, peace, and democracy", the communiquÊ
states.

"We think that the joint statement of the NATO member states, contains the
same deficiencies that are being repeated over and over again by other
relevant factors of the international community, such as:

1. This statement makes the fascist regime of Belgrade, and the armed units
of Kosova Albanians, as it calls the KLA, equivalent.

This, in a way, shows that it is not ready to name and point out who is most
responsible for the wars in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, to
defend the UN Security Council Resolutions and the decisions of the EU
mechanisms.

2. The KLA is an army organized on all commanding levels, so we are not
referring to armed groups.

3. The future political status of Kosova should not be prejudiced on this
level.

4. There is no proof that the KLA ever exercised violence. It led and will
continue to lead a liberation war.

The KLA has proved that it is cooperative on many occasions. It released the
Serbs it held captive. On the other hand, not only was the other side
uncooperative, but it also prevented institutions or specialized groups of
the international community from investigating the crimes in Kosova.

Hence, any form of comparison, of the KLA with the Serb police and military
forces, is groundless. It is a dangerous rhetoric to suite Milosevic's
fascist regime and this is very transparent.

It would go to the honor of French and European democracy, to reward
sacrifices for freedom and democracy. There is a united political and
military factor in Kosova, outside it, there is a political clan of the Slav
and communist mentality, that has found support in certain western European
circles, most probably with the recommendation of Belgrade's regime.


The KLA General Headquarters seriously examined Hill's previous draft, to
which it made serious objections. As for the last one, we are sure it is not
even worthy of looking into it. The KLA General Headquarters, based on the
general political, military, economic situation, has come to the conclusion
that it is time for the Albanians in the Diaspora to stop with party bias
and form their ethnic community", says the communiquÊ issued by the KLA
General Headquarters.

KOSOVA (KD report on political activities)

The end of Hill's shuttle diplomacy - Rugova to meet the KLA (?)

Prishtina, 10 December (ARTA) 1800CET --

The "shuttle diplomacy" seems to have come to its end, western diplomats,
close to international mediators for Kosova, announced on Thursday.

"Generally speaking, everyone is disappointed with the results that the
'shuttle diplomacy' has shown so far. Thus, we can now go ahead with direct
negotiations", declared on Thursday a diplomat that wanted to remain
anonymous.

On Wednesday, the French President, Jacques Chirac, expressed his concern
with the fact that an agreement for, as he said, the autonomy of Kosova, had
not yet been reached.

He stressed this again when he met with his Kosovar homologue, Ibrahim
Rugova.

In the meantime, the American mediator, Christopher Hill, who on Wednesday
met with Kosova Albanian political representatives, some of whom request his
dismissal, seems to have given up the "shuttle diplomacy".

Hill came to Prishtina from Brussels, where he had stayed with US Secretary
of State, Madeleine Albright. He had brought the new project-proposal for
solving the problem of Kosova to Prishtina some time ago. This
project-proposal, however, was "strongly" rejected by the Albanian side, as
well as the Serb one, despite substantial changes.

On Wednesday, Hill held a three hour-long meeting with Albanian negotiators,
chaired by Agani, and it has been claimed that there were "harsh" debates
concerning the continuation of the "shuttle diplomacy" and drafting new
projects.

"Direct negotiations, with international presence, can be organized now",
said a foreign diplomat, stopping short of specifying whether presence in
this case meant mediation.

According to this diplomat, "negotiations would be focused on the last two
versions of the project-agreements, backed by the Contact Group and brought
by Hill, and not Milutinovic's plan or what was announced to be drafted by
the Albanian side".

On the other hand, President Rugova, who expressed his "fear of ethnic
cleansing" in Kosova this coming March when he met with French President,
Chirac and the American Secretary of State, is expected to travel to Austria
this coming week.

"Rugova was invited by the Austrian Foreign Minister and EU
chairman-in-turn, Wolfgang Schuessel", claim foreign diplomats in Prishtina.

But that is not all, stress the same sources, "he might also meet with KLA
representatives, a meeting which was first the initiative of Austrian
diplomats, but which is now backed by other Contact Group members".

"The idea is to assemble all Kosova Albanian representatives", claim the
diplomats.

Kosova Albanian representatives seem to have gotten closer to each other
now, more than ever, with the help the Albanian plan, which was announced to
be drafted.

Key Albanian negotiator, Agani, stated on Wednesday that the "plan requested
consultation with more persons", while the KLA stressed that "Albanians are
united in major points", not seeing any difficulty for drafting a joint
plan.

Last but not least, the meeting scheduled for next week in Austria might just put an end to the "political hassles" among Kosova Albanians.

KOSOVA (aggravated situation - Mitrovicë)

Police operations in town center

Mitrovicë, 11 December (ARTA) 2000CET --

About 20 armed policemen undertook an "operation" in the very town center on
Friday, at around 1200CET, with the pretext that "Albanian dealers" affected
the exchange rate of the Deutsche Mark in the black market, the "KD"
correspondent reports.

Many passers-by were beaten and mistreated on this occasion. There are
claims that Nexhat Grepi, a student in the Economic Faculty, was also
arrested. This police "operation" lasted half an hour.

KOSOVA (Serb movements - Prizren)

Serb military movements along the border belt

Prizren, 11 December (ARTA) 2015CET --

Despite the large presence of OSCE monitors in the territory of the
municipality of Prizren, there were also added movements of Serb police and
military forces, the "KD" correspondent notifies.

According to his report, these forces were most concentrated along the
border belt, in the region of Has, where they mistreated many local
inhabitants. There are also claims that Serb police forces are stationed
near the village of Landovicë, Krushë e Vogël, in Celinë, as well as the
Prizren neighborhood of Tusus.

KOSOVA (police harassment  Vushtrri)

A mentally retarded person tortured in Vushtrri and Rashkë

Prishtina, 11 December (ARTA) 1500CET --

A resident of Prishtina, brought Xhevdet Haradinaj (1974), from Stanovc i
Epër, a mentally retarded person to the "KOHA Ditore" editorial staff. He had found the person with his face covered in blood, close to the open market.

Yesterday at around 1530CET, the Serb police picked Xhevdet up from the
street in Vushtrri and sent him to the police station, where they beat him,
until he bled. He was then taken to Rashkë, by car, where the tortures
against this mentally retarded person continued. At the Rashkë police station, the
police swore and offended him. They put a cigarette, which was lit, close to
his eyes, and put a peace of rubber in his mouth, as his body was all
covered with bruises. Afterwards, they placed him on a train, to send him
back to Vushtrri. However, during the way back, he was also beaten and
kicked by the Serb conductors. He was even robbed 30 DM, with which he
planned to buy the tranquilizers, that the doctor in Vushtrri subscribed for
him.

KOSOVA (situation deteriorates - Gjakovë)

"No humanitarian assistance since October"

Gjakovë, 11 December (ARTA) 1900CET --

Over 2,000 destroyed houses, in more than 35 localities in the municipality
of Gjakovë, from which

over 60 thousand people fled, was the result of the Serb offensive against
the region, Albanian sources claim. All this makes it impossible for the
local salespersons to provide the population.

Even the humanitarian assistance offered by international organizations is
about to end and do not fulfill the needs of the inhabitants of the region,
claim humanitarian activists.

"Not only has no contingent of humanitarian assistance arrived in Gjakovë
since October, but there is a shortage of flour, oil and other nutrition
products", claims Mark Malota, the vice-chairman of the LDK branch in
Gjakovë.

There are reports that the situation has deteriorated in the region of
Dushkajë, especially in the villages of Cërmjan, Ratishtë, Jabllanicë, and
other villages in the municipality of Gjakovë, where no humanitarian
assistance, food, or medicaments arrived.

KOSOVA (IDP issues  Suharekë)

"We want to return to our homes, even though they are burnt"

Suharekë, 11 December (ARTA) 1700CET--

More than 30 representatives of the village GreiÄec, went to the LDK offices
in Suharekë. They could not return to their homes these past two months
because of the large presence of Serb police forces in the Luboc suburb.

In this meeting, they scrutinized the possibilities of returning home. The
representatives of the international verification mission came to the meeting afterwards. The villagers requested help in returning home.

"We are fed up with wandering around, homeless. We want to return to our
houses, although they are burnt", claimed Qazim Luboci from this village.

Idriz Bungu initially informed the participants of the meeting about the
consequences of the war in this village, where more than 70% of the houses
were burned and destroyed. Among others, he also claimed that, "the Serb
police checkpoint in the Lubovc suburb and the positions of the Serb
military in Qafa e Duhlës prevent us from returning to the village. All the
villagers have fled their houses and there is no chance for them to return".


The members of the verifying mission promised to solve the problem of the
villagers of GreiÄec as they said "in the best way possible", and it was
decided for the villagers to visit this village escorted by members of the
mission.

KOSOVA (LDK press conference)

Mustafa: "Serb regime aimed at hiding crimes when it obstructed forensic
investigations"

Prishtina, 11 December (ARTA) 1600CET--

"The Serb regime has deployed new police and military forces in Kosova these
past few weeks. This is a clear fact that the regime in Belgrade is not
complying with the requests of the international community concerning the
withdrawal of Serb special forces from Kosova. It even proves that it is
preparing for new large-scale operations and offensives in Kosova", stated
Xhemajl Mustafa, the adviser of Ibrahim Rugova, during the LDK briefing held
in Prishtina today.

According to him, the Serb regime is trying to hide its operations and the
consequences of its military offensives against Albanian civilians. The best
argument for that is the preventing of Finnish pathologists from conducting
investigations on crimes carried over the Albanians population of the
Gllogoc municipal village of Abri.

"Armed conflicts in this part of the Balkans could be avoided only if NATO
troops are deployed in Kosova. The pre-conditions for a political solution
of Kosova problem could be created this way as well", he claimed.

The Albanian side has agreed for a solution to the Kosova problem through a
period of three years, during which time state democratic institutions would
be established in Serbia, which might give greater chances of the Kosova
problem being solved according to the 1991 Referendum. The Albanian side is
working on this together with the American Ambassador Hill and the EU
special envoy to Kosova, Ambassador Petritch.

The attempts of some international circles to make a digression between the
Kosova Albanian side and the Serb side are unacceptable and they will be
considered by the Serb regime as a "green signal" for a new punitive
offensive and for ethnically cleansing Kosova, claimed Mustafa.

Speaking about the obstructions that the Serb side created for the Finnish
forensic teams, he claimed that, "the reason for impeding the Finnish
forensics seems unreasonable and it increases the suspicion that the world
has that the Serb side conducted the massacre of the Delijaj family. We have
always been transparent on the issues of crime investigations, not only in
Kosova, but also in the territory of "Yugoslavia". We think that the Hague
tribunal, should be able to carry out its activities in this context",
claimed Mustafa.

He claimed that, if the Serb side will insist to have one of its experts
within the Finnish team, then the Albanians side should have one as well.

BELGIUM (NATO and Albanian Foreign Minister - Kosova)

Milo: Albania supports any solution acceptable for Kosova Albanians

Brussels, 11 December (ARTA) 1800CET --

"Since our last meeting in this very same structure, six months ago, the
situation in Kosova has changed dramatically, and the crisis there is very
far from being solved", said Albanian Foreign Minister Milo, during the
meeting of NATO and Partnership for Peace member countries held in Brussels.

He stressed the problems that the people, who are returning back to their
burned houses and destroyed villages, are facing. "A worse degree of the
humanitarian tragedy was avoided, at least momentarily", he claimed.

"Closely cooperating with our friends from the international community and
due to the difficulties that this process involves, we will continue to back
our Albanian countrymen in Kosova, to form a common front and to continue
using peaceful means of reaching a peaceful solution. My country will
support any kind of an agreement that would be acceptable for the Albanian
people in Kosova", said Milo in his speech.

"The Albanian Government strongly denies the Serb accusations about its
involvement in the conflict through preparing armed conflicts or through
arms trafficking to Kosova", said the head of the Albanian diplomacy. Having
in mind the work of the international community and in order for them to
have success in achieving their goals, the Albanian Foreign Minister,
suggested to take under consideration the following elements:

It is the same as in Bosnia, if those who are responsible for the massacres
and crimes do not face justice, there cannot be any guarantee for any
agreement to be reached.

The Serb violence against the Albanian people in Kosova should immediately
be stopped, the Serb units should be obliged to withdraw from Kosova, as
called for by the Milosevic-Holbrooke agreement. Further in his statement,
Milo drew the attention to Belgrade's last threats, which according to him
"show how serious Belgrade is in its policy".

"I want to highlight, in this case, that we have disturbing information that
Serbs are increasing their forces at the border with my country. This way
they are continuing with the process of planting mines at the border, which
represents an act that is in total opposition with the international norms
and a threat for the return of refugees, from Albanian to their homes in
Kosova", said Milo. Milo emphasized that all Milosevic is capable of
understanding are the threats and a serious USA and a Contact Group
engagement, supported by NATO and that "this is the most serious lesson for
the future, if such problems appear", he said.

AUSTRIA (EU discussions on Kosova)

Some European states alarmed with the failure of the American mediator,
Christopher Hill

Vienna, 11 December (ARTA) 1820CET --

The leaders of the EU member states began discussions, on Friday, on paving
the way for intrinsic reforms, which would lead to the formation of internal
relations of this union.

The first day began with a festive ceremony, respectively with the
announcement of the former German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, an honorable
citizen of the EU. Kohl was said to be the only living figure that enjoys
this honor. For 16 years, he contributed in enforcing the EU and removing
any doubts from the European partners that Germany will ever return to what
it was during the Second World War.

On the other hand, diplomatic sources state that certain European states are
alarmed by the failure of the American mediator, Christopher Hill, in
finding a peaceful solution to the problem of Kosova and the future status
of Kosova. In the meantime, it was informed that Hill, announced a
standstill of the so-called "shuttle diplomacy".

An anonymous western diplomat told "KOHA Ditore", that Great Britain is
considering calling for an international conference on Kosova, which could
be held in London, on February or March next year. According to the same
source, this possibility can be discussed by the EU Foreign Ministers during
the Vienna summit.

The summit of Vienna is carefully followed by the media, while on Friday
morning, different groups held protests in front of Hoffburg, calling for
the creation of a Europe without any walls.

Only Deployment of NATO Ground Troops in Kosova Averts Further Armed Conflicts, Rugova's Aide Says

PRISHTINA, Dec 11 (KIC) - In the absence President Rugova, who is on a European trip, Xhemail Mustafa, Rugova's press advisor, held a press conference in Prishtina today (Friday).

Mr. Mustafa said the meetings the President of the Republic of Kosova had this week with the French President Jacques Chirac and the U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were very important, highlighting the significance of France's engagement on Kosova and the close relationship of the Kosova leadership with the American Administration, "which has been permanently engaged in efforts to secure a negotiated solution to the Kosova issue".

The situation in Kosova is grave and has "tendencies of further deterioration" in the midst of a continued Serb campaign of violence as well as a huge Serb military and police presence, Mustafa said.

Serbia is bringing in fresh military and police troops, Rugova's aide said, adding that Belgrade is thus in breach of international demands for troop withdrawals from Kosova. The "irresponsible authorities" in Belgrade prevented yesterday the Finnish pathologists from carrying out investigations in Drenica, where Serb forces committed crimes against Albanians, Mustafa said.

The Serbian regime has been for a decade now engaged in a systematic violation of the basic human rights in Kosova, "including the right to life", President Rugova's adviser said, adding that "ethnic cleansing and massive killings" have been committed by Serb forces this year in Kosova.

"Only the deployment of NATO ground troops in Kosova can avert further armed conflicts here, and create the conditions for a political solution to the Kosova issue", Mustafa said.

The Kosova leadership has stood all along for a negotiated and political resolution, he said. The Kosova Albanian side has "agreed to the idea on an interim solution to the Kosova issue, which would enable the establishment of democratic institutions in Kosova, outside of Serbia", Xhemail Mustafa said, adding that in three years' time the final status would be concluded on the basis of the 1991 independence referendum.

"The Kosovar side has been intensively working with the international mediators, Hill and Petritsch, in pursuit of a solution, but the Serb side is undermining such efforts", Mustafa said.

Meanwhile, in reply to a question regarding the Serb regime's refusal to allow Finnish pathologists examine the sites where Serb forces committed crimes against Albanians in Drenica, Professor Alush Gashi, also an advisor to President Rugova and LDK Foreign Relations Secretary, said the Kosova leadership has been all along calling for an "impartial investigation of the atrocities, the crimes against humanity" committed in Kosova. An impartial investigation means just that "impartial", he said, adding that in case Serbs are involved in the process, then we "will request strongly that Albanians are there too, that Albanian forensic experts and investigative judges, and other specialists, join the team".

Asked by a reported to say what President Rugova's position on the Hill draft on an interim solution for Kosova was, Xhemail Mustafa said the President of the Republic of Kosova had named the Kosova negotiating team, with which lies "the competence to offer its opinion, position and ideas" on the drafts.


Kosova Parliament's Commissions Discuss Draft Plan for Interim Solution in Kosova

LDK Presidency discussed the matter with local LDK leaders Friday

PRISHTINA, Dec 11 (KIC) - The Commission for Constitutional Issues and the Foreign Relations Commission of the Parliament of the Republic of Kosova met Thursday afternoon in a joint session in Prishtina to discuss the Kosova negotiating process, namely Ambassador Hill's draft on an interim solution to the Kosova issue. Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu and Ms Edita Tahiri, chairpersons of the respective commissions, chaired the meeting.

Dr. Fehmi Agani, head of the Kosova negotiating team, said the most recent U.S. draft plan was "a return to the old and unacceptable proposals".

The December draft includes Serbia's demands that Kosova remain not only within Yugoslavia, "but also within Serbia", Agani said. The draft does not envision that the Parliament of Kosova have legislative powers, he went on to say, noting that the Parliament would not be able to adopt laws but only acts, which are inferior by nature. The formation of the Kosova government is not provided by the draft; in addition Kosova would not have a President, but only a Presidency, and this latter consisted of representatives of national communities, Dr. Agani told the members of the two Kosova Parliament's commissions.

The chief Kosova negotiator pointed out that the previous draft, the November one, likewise presented by Ambassador Hill, had been more "promising", and was much more defined than the last one, as an temporary arrangement for Kosova, which had been opposed by Serbia.

The members of the Parliament of Kosova's constitutional and foreign relations commissions discussed the matter at length. All the speakers lent their support to the Kosova negotiating team, and appreciated its presentation and comments on the current draft plan for Kosova.

The Kosova MPs were united in their position that no kind of political solution within Serbia could be accepted, adding that all efforts should lead towards the implementation of the will of the people of Kosova for independence, in line with the 1991 national referendum for Kosovar independence and sovereignty.

The Parliament of the Republic of Kosova can in no way be sidelined, the two commissions' members said, emphasizing that the consent of the Parliament should be sought and obtained for any solution to the Kosova issue.

The Commission for Constitutional Issues and the Foreign Relations Commission of the Parliament of the Republic of Kosova adopted a number of conclusions at the end of their joint meeting on Thursday.

They supported the Negotiating team's work so far, urging it to work in line with its mandate, upholding the independence bid for Kosova.

Both the interim settlement and permanent solution should based on the "principle of the right to self-determination of the people of Kosova", as well as the possibility of establishing an international protectorate in Kosova", the commissions said.

The commissions said they pressed for the Parliament of the Republic of Kosova "and all its mechanisms" to be in permanent cooperation with the Negotiating team and assisting the negotiating process in all its stages.

The commissions called on the President of the Republic of Kosova Ibrahim Rugova to enlarge the Negotiating team, to add new members to it, so that it be more representative in its political and professional specters, a statement issued from Thursday's meeting said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Fehmi Agani, head of the Kosova negotiating team, addressed today a joint meeting of the Presidency of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) and local LDK leaders.

He said the latest draft plan on Kosova was a huge setback, and therefore "we rejected it", adding that this position was presented in the meeting of the Kosova group on Wednesday with the mediators, Chris Hill and Wolfgang Petritsch.

The formation of a new Government of the Republic of Kosova would be a boost to the Negotiating team, for such a government would have its representatives in the team, Agani said.

Agim Krasniqi, member of the LDK presidency, informed the LDK chapter leaders about the deliberations on Thursday of the two Parliament's commissions.

The Negotiating team has been supported in its bid to come up with a draft plan of its own, Krasniqi said.

The local LDK leaders also took part in discussions about the negotiating process, a statement from the LDK said.