Kosova Crisis Center
link to alb-net
- A letter from Prishtina
- Terror and massacre in Gjakova, over 80 people killed; the humanitarian catastrophe has happened.
- Some names of the killed people in the Drenica Zone are confirmed
- Terrible conditions after the exodus from Mitrovica regions
- Already the whole city of Peja is burnt
- 10 - 12 thousands displaced people are captured by serbian forces
- Albanian gathering in support of NATO in front of UN in New York
A letter
from Prishtina
30 mars (Kosovapress)
Bombs from the Sky and Knocks on the Door: Waiting in the Dark in Pristina, By an IWPR
Correspondent in Pristina.
The planes flew really low last night, and for every one, anti-aircraft fire responded
from the ground, shooting into the sky. On the streets, could hear lots of shouting:
cursing at Albanians, NATO, America, Britain, Clinton, Blair, Muslims, Turks-everyone who
doesn't speak Serbian. It was around 10:00 PM when I heard sounds of boots running up the
stairs of the building where I stayed last night. (I haven't slept at home for a week.)
Then I heard hard knocking on a neighbouring door. "That's it," I thought,
"they've arrived." Still, I was amazed how you really calm down when the danger
comes that close. I have always been scared to death whenever I see a policemen or anyone
carrying a gun (though nowadays there's a difference: Serbs only carry big machine guns).
But this night it was completely different. I was cool. I was waiting and thinking:
"The worst thing they can do is kill me, so nothing can surprise me." I made a
decision: "I won't try to hide my identity or my mother tongue," Albanian of
course. This calm thinking at such a moment took me by complete surprise. Luckily, I then
heard the running again, but now heading downstairs, and no one knocked on my door. But I
just had to know what was going on, so I looked outside the door. It was a guy I have
spoken to before. I met him on the street a week ago, and we passed a few words about the
political situation (what else). We were speaking in Serbian, and he seemed very
open-minded, very "normal." And I was glad to think, as I always try, that I
can't condemn a whole nation because of the government's wrong politics. There are decent
people among them. Or so I thought until Wednesday. Now he was wearing a strange
uniform-neither police nor military-carrying weapons and heading out. The knock was his
"friend" coming in a rush, and in the same clothes and gear, to get him. Off
they went, no doubt to try to kill "at least" one Albanian or to burn any house.
And for the next day I have to find another place to sleep, because I wouldn't want to run
into him again now. Until few days ago, I felt very sorry for the Albanian people
suffering in the villages and all they were going through. I don't anymore. Now, I fight
for my own survival. I try to stay alive and as normal as I can, though it's difficult.
This morning, I almost collapsed out of breath while running towards my house to see if my
parents are still OK. There's no phone, so every time I go to spend a night somewhere
else, I kiss my mother and my father, and have the terrible feeling that I won't see them
anymore. Yesterday I passed by my favourite cafe, where I used to meet my friends every
day. For years, we met there, chatted, found each other. We were so close that if you
missed an afternoon, everyone notice, and wondered where you'd gone.
Now it is all destroyed, even the chairs were taken, and it doesn't look like my cafe at
all. Inside five policemen were getting drunk on whisky in the middle of the mess they
probably made. Maybe it seems ridiculous to think about this cafe now, but not for me. Too
many memories, too many friends. God knows when we will gather again, and who will be
absent at that time. How many of us are missing? There is simply no way to find out.
Telephones in Albanian houses are cut off, and the whole town is cut to pieces by police
and armed civilians. No one can communicate, no one can move. For now, only names go
through my mind. I try to remember faces but I cannot. The only faces I can remember now
are the bad faces I see in the streets.
As for the NATO planes, we wanted them so badly. We protested for them last year. I never
dreamed that the sound of them could horrify me so much. Not because they are doing
something wrong, on the contrary, but because I am aware of the consequences on the
ground, and that there will be more killings. Still for the first time last night I felt
happy. The "MUP building (Ministry of the Interior) in the centre of town was
completely destroyed. I saw it getting burned, and proudly stayed at the window watching.
Now only ashes remain where before every day the huge armoured police vehicles would begin
their tours. At least something of "theirs" has been destroyed and people can
finally see it. The big mushroom that lit the dark night looked so beautiful, and when we
saw the huge ugly building burning, we didn't care so much about the consequences.
At last there was something good in all this tragedy that won't end so soon. The windows
in surrounding apartments were broken because of the blast, but no matter. We just hope
that it will go on, and that NATO planes will fly even lower tonight. But how quickly day
goes now! My friends used to call me "Nighthawk", because I adored the night and
I adored waiting for the dawn. Night was my time, but now I hate it. I will have to leave
my home soon, to hide in some other place. To avoid any more knocks. I will take my
blanket, stay awake the whole night, and listen to the sounds of planes, anti-aircraft
guns, machine guns, and shouting. It seems to me that every shot comes from the direction
of my parents' house, and it fills me with a fear that is killing.The electricity shuts
off about 6 PM and it is not so smart to light a candle, because that will just show that
someone is inside. So everyone stays in the dark, waiting. This dispatch is from the
Balkan Crisis Reports of the Institute for War. The author's name is withheld to protect
from reprisals.
Terror and massacre
in Gjakova, over 80 people killed; the humanitarian catastrophe has happened.
Gjakovė, March 29th (Kosovapress) Unseen terror and massacre in the city of Gjakova has
happened few days ago and is going to happen again. More than 80 people are reported to be
killed in Teqe te Gjakoves. In the new part of the city there are 6 persons killed, in Ura
e Kariēit one person whose name is Selami Grezda is found dead. Qarshia e vjeter, is
totally burnt up to Ura e Begut. All the quarters of the green market and of clothes
market are burnt. There are daily shots from the sharpshooters positioned in the hill of
Ēabrati and in the upper floors of the buildings. All the shops and stores of the
albanians have been looted and burnt from the serb terrorists. There are many houses burnt
in the quarters near hospitals. The humanitarian catastrophe has actually happened in
Gjakova. People have nothing to eat.
Some names of the killed people in
the Drenica Zone are confirmed
Drenicė, March 29th (Kosovapress) The clashes and the sebian offensive, is going on in
the Drenica Zone. In the places where serbian forces have reached to enter, everything is
set on fire. Uo to now, we have informations about 30 killed people in this region.But we
could learn the names of the dead people only for some of them; Muezzin-Mulla Hajdini from
Rezalla is killed in Skėnderaj, Qamil Behrami from Klinė,is killed in Klinė together
with Sali Ademin from Klina e Ulėt Between the two villages of Klinės and Klinės sė
Ulėt,there are two unidentified massacred cadavers.It is known that these are cadavers of
a 45 old woman and the other is young man. In the village of Polac,inside in their houses
are killed; Mahmut Veliqi, Hajzer Veliqi, Avdullah Veliqi, Isuf Veliqi, Sherif Muqolli is
killed in his house in Baks.Inė Beqiq,there are seven people killed but we don`t know
about their names yet. In the village of Prelloc, Ali Dibrani, is killed. In Gllogoc,
Vesel Dervishi,from Pokleku, is killed. While in Dobroshec, Islam Spahiu, Emin Mustafa,
Ilir Ademi,from the village of Qirez.
Terrible conditions after the exodus from Mitrovica
regions
Drenicė, March 29th (Kosovapress) The condition is very dramatic particulary in the
village Tushilė where are placed over than 30 thousands civilians, in the mountains of
Deviqit,where hundreds of people are supposed to be killed and massacred, because the
population has attempt to cross through this mountains.Today a new wave of the fled people
of Mitrovicės, has come in the Drenica regions. In flames of the fire ,today are villages
of Rezallė, Likoc, Aēarevė, Abri, Gllanasellė, Domanek and other villages. The
humanitarian condition is catastrophice.Witnesses who have come from the regions of
Mitrovica, speak about terror made in those regions.In Gllanasellė, there is an old man
being massacred,but it is impossibile to get his body because serbian forces are still
theree.Some informations from Gllogoc and Skėnderaj, tells for many people being killed
and captured in these two cities of Drenica. In Gllogoc, Muhamet Bajraktari is said to be
killed.
Already the whole city of Peja is
burnt
Pejė, March 29th (Kosovapress) Serbian terrorist barbary has destroyed already everything
in the city of Peja. Terrorists have burnt completely these quarters:Kapishnicė,
Karagaē, Zatra, the quarter nearby bus station, then the quarter nearby economic
school.Serbian barbars have burnt partly the quarter of Dardania, Katundin e
ri,Troboviēin, Asllan Ēeshme, and the quarter of Buhovci. Over than 90 percent of Peja
population has been forced by serbian military-police to leave the city. Some of them are
sent to Monte Negro, some in Albania, while some others have reached to go in the areas
under KLA contro. The conditions of the displaced population is catastrophice.
10 - 12 thousands displaced people
are captured by serbian forces
Gllogoc, March 29th (Kosovapress) Today, about 14.oo o`clock has intervent in the valley
which lies between villages of Tėdevc and Vuēk in the commune of Gllogoc, in the place,
where were gathered peoples of the villages of Negroci, Vuēaku, Tėrdeci, Baica, Obria,
Golluboci, Ceroviku,etc. During this action, the sebian police has set to fire all
tractors and other carts, but what is more important is that they set fire to all prime
necessities articles, food and clothes. After this, they gathered all of them and they put
it in front of tanks and they direct them to Terdec. It is esstimated that, there might be
over than 10-12 thousands people fled, which now are in the hands of serbian
military-police. There are suspections that, in the factory of Feronikel, a gig part of
fled people are being kept as hostages. It is possible, that the whole quarter of Qorraj,
burnt yesterday, is placed in this fatal factory. While, today Korrotica e Poshtme is set
on fire too.
Albanian gathering in support of NATO in New York
Today, more than 4000 Albanians gathered in front of the United Nations in New York in support of NATO mission in Yugoslavia. Afterwards the marched towards the Serbian Mission to the UN on 5th Avenue. The whole demonstration lasted for five hours. Few of the slogans that could be seen were: "Support NATO," "Clinton is our Schindler," "Milosevic, One Way Ticket to Hague," "Albright, Ambassador of Peace," "Milosevic, Taste Your Own Medicine," "NATO, Happy 50th," "Cold War is Over, Russia Stay Away," "Remember Vukowar, Remember Srebrenica, Remember Drenica," "God Bless American Pilots," "Serbia, Smile, You're on Candid Camera," "1991-Slovenia, 1991-Croatia, 1992-Bosnia, 1998-Kosova - Serbia, What's Next?"