link to alb-net
3:15 AM EST April 9, 1999
- Serbs reportedly planting land mines to create Kosova 'no man's land' (CNN)
- Over 600 Kosovars entered Albania from Hani i Hotit today (ATA)
- Meidani invites Israelis to help people of Mother Teresa (ATA)
- Janina sends blankets to Kosova people (ATA)
- Local Bosnian reacts to the Crisis in Kosova (MSNBC)
- Yugoslav Men Confront Draft Issue (AP)
- Ground-Troop Option Gaining Support (AP)
Serbs reportedly planting land mines to create Kosova 'no man's land'
April 9, 1999
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Kosovars faced a new threat Friday after two separate
reports that Serb authorities were planting land mines along the Yugoslav-Albanian border
in an apparent bid to isolate the war-ravaged province.
News of the development prompted deep concerns from the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees Sadako Ogata, who said the flow of people out of Kosova had suddenly stopped.
"We don't know what has happened to them. I'm very, very worried," she told a
news conference in Albania Thursday.
CNN correspondents who visited the frontier region Thursday said Serb forces could be seen
laying what appeared to be land mines just inside their territory at Morina, the main
border crossing into Albania.
NATO spokesman Jamie Shea reported similar information saying the land mines were part of
an attempt by Serb authorities to make Kosova "a total no-man's land".
"We face a situation that for many months the Serb army was mining the border with
Albania to stop people from going in. Now they seem to be mining to stop people from going
out," Shea said.
For more than two weeks, tens of thousands of ethnic Albanian Kosovars have fled into
Albania claiming they were forced out by Serb security forces.
But British Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short said Serb-led
Yugoslav forces now appeared to be turning the remaining Kosovars around. About 10,000
refugees queuing for days to enter Albania have reportedly disappeared.
"They seem now to have started rounding up refugees queuing to leave Kosova and
returning them by force," Short said.
"We do not know if they have been driven back into their homes or elsewhere within
Kosova," she said.
CNN Correspondent Mike Boettcher said he was told that many vehicles belonging to ethnic
Albanians were found abandoned, some of them burned, along the road leading to the border
post.
According to Serbian media, the Kosovars returned to their homes amid assurances that it
was safe to return.
U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin said Washington had "credible but not
confirmed reports" that war crimes had been committed by Serb forces against ethnic
Albanians in Kosova.
Rubin said the U.S. government would turn over its evidence to the International War
Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Albanian refugees move south
Ogata said she was pleased that Albania had allowed in about 300,000 refugees.
The NATO-run refugee transit centers in northern Albania -- particularly in the main camp
at Kukes -- were moving people south.
Authorities told CNN Correspondent Satinger Bindra in Kukes that they were trying to move
thousands of refugees to Tirana, the capital.
There were about 100,000 refugees at Kukes, and aid officials were trying to improve their
living conditions, particularly sanitation. Several children were sick with measles, and
there were fears that other diseases could erupt.
However, Ogata admitted that there were bottlenecks in the processing of aid supplies
being flown in. Tirana airport was overcrowded because of inadequate off-loading
facilities and congested air space.
Situation improves in Macedonia
Britain said conditions had improved markedly for refugees in Macedonia who were moved
from squalid camps to new NATO tent cities housing about 43,000 refugees.
But London said NATO officials were worried because some of the refugees were being sent
out of the country.
"We remain concerned that refugees in Macedonia are being forced onto planes and
buses. This is unacceptable. We understand Macedonian concerns and will provide support to
Macedonia, provided it complies with international rights and norms in its treatment of
refugees," Short said.
The Macedonian authorities rejected international criticism of the way it was handling the
refugees. And a government statement said there were no refugees unaccounted for.
Correspondents Mike Boettcher and Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.
Over 600 Kosovars enter Albania from Hani i Hotit
KOPLIK, April 8 (ATA) - By M. Malja: About 600 Kosova
people, mainly from Peja and Gjakova, entered Albania via Hani Hotit, Malesia e Madhe
district, some 15 km from the Koplik city. A spokesman of local police station said to ATA
that in the last two days the number of the Kosovars was increased with 1.200 people
arriving in the last two days via this border crossing. The new arrivals were accompanied
by the order forces to Shkodra city and had been settled in the collection center at the
sports palace, which numbered some 1.800 people entering Albania from Hani i Hotit and
Kukes. In the last eight days, about 4.600 Kosovars, most of them distributed to different
cities, while the rest were settled in the city of Shkodra, arrived in Shkodra city via
Hani i Hotit border point. /lh/ak/
Meidani invites Israelis to help people of Mother Teresa
TIRANA, April 8 (ATA) - President of Albania Rexhep Meidani held separate talks with the ambassador of Israel to Albania Jehuda Millo and deputy chairman of the Agency of World Jews Chaim Cesler, according to press office at the presidency. Ambassador Millo voiced his country support for problems facing Albania. "Albania enjoys the sympathy of Israel in these days. We cannot forget what we have experienced during the World War Two," he said. Cesler briefed Albania president on Israelis contribution to Albania and the Kosova displaced people. "Not only the Israeli government but also all citizens in Israel and the world are contributing," Cesler said. He added that some 50 thousand people would gather in Rabbin square on Thursday, the largest number ever, for a solidarity concert with Kosova. Cesler asked president Meidani to record a message in Albanian language which was going to be transmitted to the rally. Meidani gave the following message to Israeli TV cameramen: "I invite you to help the people of Mother Teresa. Albanians should help Albanians. All free people should help save human lives, return displaced people to their houses, reconstruct their life in peace, democracy win against barbarity." Three Israeli airplanes with aid for Kosova people in Albania would be followed by five others. "Albanians have helped Jews during the Second World War. Your help contributes to the reestablishment of human relations, which are very important," Meidani said. /lh/ak/
Janina sends blankets to Kosova people
GJIROKASTER, April 8 (ATA) - By H. aani: About three thousand blankets were brought on Thursday in Gjirokaster from Ioannina, a contribution of the population of the Greek city for the Kosova people in this prefecture. District secretary Belul Hila said that the mattresses would be used by Kosova people settled in Permet, Tepelene and Gjirokaster and are part of the aid, which would continue. Sources of the Gjirokaster town hall said that 1.569 Kosovars had been housed in the district. Some 947 people were settled in the city, 250 others in Libohova town hall, 168 in Lazarat commune, 39 in Cepo commune, 87 in Lunxheri commune while 78 in commune of Antigonese and Picari. /lh/ak/
Local Bosnian reacts to the Crisis in Kosova
Even though the war is thousands of miles away, the battle in Kosova is stirring up heated debate right here in Southwest Florida. We found two students from the region who are on opposite sides of the bombing. Senida and Urosh are from neighboring countries in Eastern Europe and they now share a Fort Myers School, but have very different views on Wednesday’s action. 16 year-old Senida Kuljuh is a freshman at Canterbury School. She should be a junior but she lost months of schooling back in her birthplace of Bosnia. Senida was forced into a very different kind of education - much like when the Serbs invaded her homeland in 1992. “I have friends that got wounded in the neck. I was wounded in the leg. People would get killed and they were laying on the floor and you couldn’t help them,” she says. Senida says the war with the Serbs was vicious. “They did just like Hitler did to the Jewish. They built gas cabins and concentration camps. She can’t help but wonder if she would have survived without the help of the United States and other NATO allies. So Senida fully supports U.S. airstrikes in Kosova. But fellow Canterbury freshman Urosh Tomovich doesn’t see it that way. He says, “They shouldn’t misinterpret Serb people or nation as a place that kills innocent people...they simply don’t want to give up their land.” Urosh was born in Yugoslavia. In fact, he still has family there. He believes giving up Kosova would be devastating to the Serbs. “Kosova has a lot of historical significance in the history of Yugoslavia and it’s been our land ever since the middle ages,” he says.
Yugoslav Men Confront Draft Issue
By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- They're young, bright and scared -- less by the NATO
airstrikes pounding their city than by the fear of being mobilized by an increasingly edgy
Yugoslav army.
Their fear grows as the NATO air campaign lengthens, with no sign of an end. With all
Yugoslav men up to age 65 subject to being called up in times of emergency, only those
exempt for medical reasons -- or protection by higher-ups -- can be sure of avoiding
service.
There are no official figures on how many reservists have been called up since the NATO
air campaign began March 24. But young men who have managed to avoid the draft say up to
two-thirds of their friends and relatives have been served papers.
Some have taken to going into hiding to avoid military police. Others are more fatalistic,
going about their normal lives.
But those who consented to interviews Thursday agreed on one thing: Though opposed to
service as long as NATO launches attacks from the air, they will fight if the campaign
becomes a ground war.
``I am not a coward, I am just trying to survive,'' said Gagi, who, like the others agreed
to speak only if identified solely by first names or nicknames. ``But if ... NATO is
coming with ground troops, I'll have to go. I'll have to defend my family.''
Djordje agrees. Like Gagi, he opposed President Slobodan Milosevic before the NATO attacks
began and considers him and his Kosova policies partially responsible for those attacks.
Like Gagi, he deeply resents the airstrikes as unjustified attacks on civilians.
But Djordje, too, says he is willing to don a uniform if NATO ground forces invade.
``In that case, it has nothing to do with politics,'' said the 33-year-old, a lawyer by
training. ``In that case, it's my house, my backyard, my cat, my grandma.''
Gagi, 35, is particularly worried about the specter of mobilization -- with reason.
The unemployed computer engineer has a wife and two small girls, aged 3 and 5. Leaving
them at a time of crisis to serve somewhere would be too hard to bear, he says.
He started hiding two days before the first NATO missile struck -- after a midnight knock
on the door by military policemen. His first safe haven was a neighbor's flat. He then
moved to relatives. Now, after the MPs showed up at the neighborhood air-raid shelter to
look for him, he stays at an unrevealed ``secure location.''
He spends his days with his two children at a city park, always keeping an eye out for
white-belted military police. Long, monotonous nights are spent ``reading a lot, watching
videos -- trying to keep from wandering around outside.''
Gagi's friends say the last two weeks have taken their toll. He looks haggard, about 10
pounds thinner and nervous, they say.
In a clandestine interview at the main Belgrade square, he looks around nervously as he
justifies his draft-dodging, saying that, up to now, this has been more or less
Milosevic's war.
``I am not a traitor,'' he says. ``I am only scared for my children. And somehow, I
wouldn't like to see my wife as a widow because of (Milosevic's) politics.''
Djordje has decided to stop hiding. Though a Belgrade resident for the past 14 years, the
33-year old is formally still registered with his parents in Kraljevo, 100 miles southwest
of Belgrade, so that's where authorities came knocking a day or two after the attack.
Although well known in the city, he moves freely around Belgrade most days, less worried
about being caught and more about the friends and relatives already pressed into service.
``I feel responsible because I'm not with them,'' he says. ``As for me, if they come and
handcuff me, what can I do?
``Things are bad enough. I refuse to get paranoid.''
Ground-Troop Option Gaining
Support
By TOM RAUM Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly all the lawmakers who accompanied Defense Secretary William
Cohen to Europe for consultations on NATO airstrikes and to visit U.S. troops say the
United States should not rule out a possible ground offensive in Kosova.
``We should start the preparations tomorrow,'' said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a GOP
presidential hopeful and a senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. ``Not
that we're going to go in -- but we should be ready.''
``Whatever it takes. We've got to win this thing,'' said Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri,
top-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Cohen, whose delegation returned late Thursday after visits with NATO officials in Belgium
and with American troops in Italy and Germany, said he would take that message to
President Clinton.
He reiterated the administration's position that ground troops would not be necessary to
win the conflict against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's forces.
But either way, he conceded, ``whatever you do, you need the support of Congress.''
Congress reconvenes Monday after a two-week spring recess, and those in the 11-member
delegation that accompanied Cohen -- all from key congressional committees with
jurisdiction over national security issues -- said the conflict had taken front center as
an issue.
McCain said he planned to confer with Senate leaders about the possibility of bringing up
a ``straightforward resolution'' in the Senate that would authorize the president to use
``whatever force is necessary'' to resolve the conflict.
``It ought to be debated and voted on,'' said McCain. He cited ``shifting American public
opinion and the realities of the situation.''
Lawmakers on the trip said Milosevic's refusal to buckle despite 16 days of airstrikes,
reports of atrocities in Kosova and the flood of refugees had changed the dynamics.
``We have to keep the option of NATO ground forces on the table here,'' said Sen. Joseph
Lieberman, D-Conn.
But Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., another advocate of keeping a ground option, said, ``The
longer this goes on, the harder it becomes for some of our European allies to hold on.
Time is not on our side.''
After meeting with NATO officials in Belgium, Cohen and the congressional delegation on
Thursday greeted U.S. pilots and support crews at Aviano Air Base in Italy, then met with
forces at Ramstein Air Base in Germany engaged in humanitarian airlifts.
``If there's any controversy, it's political,'' said Lieberman. ``These people are doing
their job well.''
The drama over the possible release of three U.S. Army prisoners being held in Belgrade
hung over the Cohen mission throughout the day.
Cohen expressed both optimism -- and caution.
``We're not going to allow Mr. Milosevic to manipulate us on that,'' he told reporters.
``You have to be wary of whatever he's doing.''
He said the plane used by Spyros Kyprianou, speaker of the Cypriot parliament, to go to
Belgrade to possibly take custody of the three captured Americans would be given safe
passage, but that NATO airstrikes would continue.
Later, when it turned out that the Greek plane had left Belgrade on Thursday without the
prisoners, but that another one would be sent today, members of Cohen's party expressed
frustration.
``This is the knothole,'' said a senior military official, briefing reporters on the
condition of anonymity. Still, he said, ``the fact that they plan to bring another plane
in tomorrow is positive.''
Those on the trip opposed to ruling out a ground option also included Sen. Carl Levin,
D-Mich.; and Reps. Jim Turner, D-Texas; Steve Buyer, R-Ind.; John Spratt, D-S.C.; and
Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., voiced general support for the Clinton administration policy, but
said the administration needed to do a better job in expressing a what-comes-next
strategy.
Rep. Sam Gejdenson, D-Conn., said he supported the notion of trying to do the job with
airstrikes alone.
``You're better off with an air campaign you can sustain than with a ground campaign you
can't initiate,'' he said.