[A-PAL] A-PAL Newsletter, No. 019

[kosova at jps.net]

Welcome to Albanian Prisoner Advocacy List -- Prisoner Pals Newsletter,
No. 019, April 17, 2000

This report highlights the developments on the prisoner issue for the week
of April 09, 2000.

==========================================
A-PAL STATEMENT:
==========================================
A summary of the Serb Ministry of Justice, April, 2000
	Corruption: Recently the Humanitarian Law Center has documented how 11
Albanian families from Orahovec had relatives released from Serb prisons
after they paid $75,000. Human Rights lawyer, Kosvarja Kelmendi, traveled to
the border to witness the exchange of money between a distraught family
member and a Serb lawyer, but most Albanian family members keep such
transactions private, sadly promoting this cycle of corruption because they
fear for the survival of their imprisoned loved one.
	Torture:  Two ethnic Albanian brothers whose trial regarding charges of
terrorism claim that the evidence against them is fabricated, that their
confessions were extracted under torture. Resistance groups within Serbia
are now suffering the same type of treatment previously reserved for
Albanian prisoners---kidnapping off the streets, beatings, disappearances,
mock trials.
	Kidnapping:  Serb officials continue to allege that thousands of Serbs are
missing, presumed kidnapped during the NATO war. The International Red Cross
figure is somewhere around 400 missing.
Allegations: KFOR counters charges of Albanian-run internment camps, saying
there are no such camps in Kosova. Allegations such as this should be
investigated thoroughly, but should in no way prevent or effect the release
of the Albanian prisoners in Serbia.

==========================================
WEEK OF APRIL 09, 2000 TOPICS:
==========================================
* HR HEARING IN WASHINGTON, DC: Testimony by Susan Blaustein
* KOSOVAPRESS: The APP Tribune: There will be no peace without the release
of the Albanian prisoners from the Serb jails
* NEW YORK TIMES: PEN Is to Honor Two Poets Imprisoned in Kosovo and China
* INTERRELIGIOUS COUNCIL OF KOSOVO: Press Statement, Prishtina
* AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE: Trial of Kosovo Albanians accused in Serb massacre
adjourned
* GRUPA 484: Studio B - No Surrender!

==========================================
QUOTES OF THE WEEK:
==========================================

	Susan Blaustein, Senior Consultant, International Crisis Group, “I strongly
believe, Mr. Chairman, that were the international community to have ordered
its priorities differently, that is, if human rights lay closer to the
center of policy determinations, that many of Kosovo’s and Serbia’s --
problems would long since have been resolved.”
	Mr. Baftiu stated that " Serbia has no more jurisdiction over Kosova. The
Serb Ministry of Justice, by keeping of thousands of Albanians as hostages
are violating their codes of their low in power too. Prof. Dr. Hajrullah
Gorani, president of the Trade Union of Kosova stated that the Albanian
political parties must do more to make more pressure to the International
Community, because as he said this is the most essential thing that is
related to the public peace and order in Kosova. He pointed out that all the
professors of schools, high schools and University, before starting their
lectures, must speak about their relatives, friends, brothers and sisters
who are still kept in the Serb jails. They are those people who fought for
our freedom in which we are living now.
	Veran Matic, director of B92 and the Independent Media Organization in
Serbia, "The media crisis is deepening...independent journalism is under
threat of extinction."
	Serb Bar Association president Branislav Tapuskovic-- "Our association can
initiate proceedings against lawyers suspected of illegal acts, but
allegations must first be investigated by the police. Corruption probably
exists, but it has to be proven case by case."

==========================================
WEEK’S REQUESTED ACTION:
==========================================

	Action from the UN Security Council taken on March 6, 2000 to appoint a
special investigator into the problem of people deprived of liberty seems to
have stalled. Despite an announcement of this position by Bernard Kouchner
some time ago, no word of this person has been heard of.
	Furthermore, the Security Council did not yet pass a resolution calling for
the cessation of these trials and the release of all prisoners in accordance
with the Geneva Conventions.

EMAIL BLITZ--  Canada is still president of the Security Council this month.
Please email their office at: canada at un.int and insist that they move ahead
with the naming of a special investigator, send a copy of this email to your
foreign affairs ministry. In the US, send copies to Representative Engel's
office (Chairman of the Albanian Caucus at jason.steinbaum at mail.house.gov)
and to the National Albanian American Council (naacdc at aol.com).


JUNE 10, 2000 IS THE ANNIVERSARY DATE OF WHEN THE PRISONERS WERE TAKEN INTO
SERBIA. IT IS A DAY THAT ALL RELEASED PRISONERS DESCRIBE AS THE WORST DAY IN
THEIR LIVES. IF YOUR LOCAL ORGANIZATION CAN SOMEHOW PARTICIPATE OBSERVE THIS
DAY,  PLEASE LET US KNOW.

		    ONE YEAR IS ENOUGH!
   YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO BE DEAD TO HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS.

==========================================
FULL REPORTS AND ARTICLES BEGIN HERE:
==========================================
HR HEARING IN WASHINGTON, DC
Testimony by Susan Blaustein

Apr 13, 2000

Testimony before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, 12 April 2000 by
Susan Blaustein, Senior Consultant, International Crisis Group

Mr. Chairman and Honored Members of the Caucus:

	I am honored to have been invited here today to speak about human rights in
Kosovo and, in particular, about the situation more than 1000 missing and
detained Albanians who remain in Serbian custody, in clear violation of
international humanitarian law.
	I am particularly honored, Mr. Chairman, to appear before you, who have
done so much to further the cause of human rights both in the Balkans and
throughout the world.
	The unfinished business of the Kosovo war rankles deeply within Kosovar
society, Mr. Chairman.  The prisoners’ continued detention, the risks taken
and bribes paid simply to visit them, and the exorbitant ransoms paid to
Serb lawyers for their release, all have put a tremendous emotional and
financial strain on one in 100 Albanian families. Moreover, the weak
response thus far on the part of the international community has fostered a
profound cynicism among Kosovars regarding the prospects for realizing other
Western promises such as self-governance or real peace.
	And with good reason: so far, with respect to the prisoner issue, as with
respect to many other problems plaguing today’s Kosovo, from security in
Mitrovica to Kosovars¹ freedom to travel abroad, the international community
has put Serbian sovereignty  that is, the sovereignty of a state run by an
indicted war criminal  above the protection of the human rights of Serbian
citizens, Kosovar Albanians included.
	I strongly believe, Mr. Chairman, that were the international community to
have ordered its priorities differently, that is, if human rights lay closer
to the center of policy determinations, that many of Kosovo’s and Serbia’
 -- problems would long since have been resolved.
	Instead, the Western allies have stood by as Milosevic continues to torment
his own people and to make preparations for some sort of destabilizing
action against Montenegro. With admittedly little leverage over Belgrade,
the international community has remained all but mute as he has treated the
Albanian prisoners as hostages or bargaining chips in his ongoing attempts
to manipulate the international community into doing him the honor of
meeting and negotiating with him once again.
	Worse, the Belgrade regime is not letting up. On the contrary: show trials
are proceeding at an alarming clip, complete with constant, flagrant
violations of Serbian law; until recently, lawyers who dare to defend
Albanians had only been harassed and threatened; in recent months those
defending Albanian clients have been abducted, ransomed, and beaten nearly
to death.
	Moreover, Belgrade¹s crackdown is not only against the Kosovar Albanians,
but against Serbs, as well. Independent journalists, student protesters,
artists, and opposition politicians have been explicitly targeted, fined,
robbed, detained, and bludgeoned, in repeated attempts to silence them.
	The international community appears to have been overwhelmed by a serious
case of "Milosevic fatigue" and a lack of consensus as to how it ought to
see through what it began, when it intervened over a year ago to stop
state-sponsored, gross violations of human rights in Kosovo.  This crippling
apathy shared by most NATO allies has only been aggravated by the reverse
cleansing perpetrated by returning Albanians, which quickly depleted any
remaining appetite for more activism on their behalf.
	But the international community¹s failure to follow through, Mr. Chairman,
to ensure that Milosevic's henchmen are in fact out of Kosovo, out of
Mitrovica, out of the border areas, has created a security vacuum in which
Kosovar Albanians, keenly aware that they are not free of Belgrade, have
felt compelled to protect themselves and have, inexcusably, continued to
engage in the provocative use of violent force. Such actions, in turn, give
the regime the pretext it needs to continue to cause trouble in Kosovo
however it can and to maneuver toward  returning its security forces to the
province by hook or crook.
	In such a climate, no one feels safe, regardless of his or her ethnicity.
This current, volatile situation, Mr. Chairman, is the shameful, and, I
hope, not final, result of the international community's not doing what it
takes to win the peace as it won the war.
	The predicament of the Albanian prisoners still in Serbian detention is a
prime example.

Who are these prisoners, and how many are there?

	The overwhelming majority of prisoners remaining in Serbian detention are
men of fighting age -- that is, wage-earners who have much to contribute to
the rebuilding and future governance of Kosovo.  There are a number of
women, as well (including the respected pediatrician and poet, Dr. Flora
Brovina).
	Hundreds of these men, women and children were arrested by Yugoslav and
Serbian forces and civilians in the course of last year¹s NATO air campaign.
Some 2,200 prisoners were arrested prior to the internationalization of the
conflict, including an estimated 200 who had already been convicted of these
crimes in Kosovo¹s Serbian-run courts and were serving sentences inside
Kosovo.
	All prisoners detained in Kosovo under Serbian custody were hastily trucked
or bused out of Kosovo and into Serbia proper as soon as the so-called
military-technical agreement was signed last June 10 and the withdrawal of
Serb forces began.
	Approximately 950 of these have trial dates pending, roughly 630 have been
released thus far, with the families of the overwhelming majority of these
having paid large sums, you might call them "bribes," or "ransoms," to
secure their family member's release. More than 100 have been convicted,
with sentences ranging from a handful of months to 15 or 20 years. The
strongest prosecutorial evidence submitted at trial is nearly always a
confession obtained in the course of interrogations which have often
involved the use of torture.

How was this allowed to happen?

	It was U.S. officials in Washington who allowed the issue of the Albanian
prisoners to be dropped from the negotiating table. According to senior NATO
and US government officials, a provision demanding the prisoners’ release
had been included in early drafts of the agreement, but the Yugoslav
commanders negotiating the agreement objected.  NATO commanders consulted
with Washington, where the Clinton administration¹s inter-agency team was
eager to end the air campaign.  This inter-agency team -- which, I should
point out, included no government representative holding an explicit human
rights portfolio  -- readily acceded to Serb demands to remove this and
other issues from the table and to limit negotiations to the immediate task
of replacing one military force by another: getting the Serbs out and NATO
in.
	This is a perfect example, Mr. Chairman, of what I was alluding to before:
had key US government officials been aware of all the human rights
ramifications involved in negotiating the peace, it could have taken
practical steps to resolve this issue when NATO leverage was at its maximum.
Had events transpired that way, these prisoners would not now be passing
their tenth month in deplorable, inhumane circumstances, guarded by the very
people from whom the US and its allies intervened to liberate them.
	Nevertheless, Mr. Chairman, it is the view of many experts in international
humanitarian law that the pragmatic omission of the prisoner issue from the
military-technical agreement does not in any way relieve the parties to that
conflict of the obligation to release, immediately upon the cessation of
hostilities, all prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians detained in the
course of armed conflict.  This obligation is incumbent upon all signatories
to the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the accompanying
Protocol II of 1978, all of which were drafted expressly with an eye toward
protecting combatant and civilian detainees in situations such as this one:
where, for political or other reasons, the armistice or peace agreement
drawn up between warring parties does not explicitly provide for the
prisoners’ release or general amnesty.
	It follows, Mr. Chairman, that a full 10 months after the Kosovo conflict
was brought to a close, the Yugoslav government continues to hold those
prisoners detained in the course of the international armed conflict in
flagrant violation of well-established tenets of international humanitarian
law.

The consequences of expediency:

	It is not surprising, Mr. Chairman, that a government which would forcibly
expel close to a million of its own citizens by systematically burning their
villages and killing thousands of civilians would show as little regard for
individual human rights in the manner in which it has apprehended, detained,
maltreated, tried, and sentenced hundreds more.  The conditions of detention
are reprehensible. The released prisoners and  prisoners¹ families I have
interviewed all reported that they or their family member had been
repeatedly tortured, beaten, starved, denied proper medical attention, and
kept in unheated cells without winter clothing.  Summary trials are being
held as we speak, resulting in speedy convictions won often on the basis of
forced confessions and fabricated evidence.  Defendants are regularly
assigned counsel who, in case after case, have not met with their clients or
even reviewed their files prior to trial, have been observed holding ex
parte hearings with judges, and, upon conviction, have quickly waived their
clients¹ rights to appeal.
	However, the alacrity with which, since October, the Serbian authorities
appear to have begun ratcheting up the wheels of Serbian-style justice by
finally charging, trying, and sentencing prisoners suggests the state¹s
sensitivity, at least, to the argument that its prolonged detention of
people who have yet to be charged is a violation of Serbia¹s own criminal
code, which permits authorities to detain someone for up to six months
without charging them with any crime.  The recently accelerated sentencing
rate also suggests that the Serbian justice ministry is well aware that the
Geneva Conventions permit states to retain custody over convicted prisoners
for the duration of their sentences.  By imposing sentences of as long as 15
and 20 years, the regime in Belgrade can hope to destabilize Kosovo for some
time to come.

The international community¹s response to date:

	This issue, Mr. Chairman, as the UN's Special Representative to the
Secretary-General, Dr. Bernard Kouchner has put it, has become "an open
wound" for Kosovo, a wound with enormous repercussions for the success or
failure of the international mission there.  In recent months Albanians have
grown increasingly frustrated by the absence of productive advocacy on or
involvement in this issue by international actors:
	… First, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) has
consistently refused to advocate for the prisoners¹ release because its
legal advisors maintain that for such advocacy to fall within the
organization¹s mandate, the issue ought to have been included in the peace
agreement;
	… UNMIK head Bernard Kouchner, keenly aware of the destabilizing potential
of this explosive issue, moved last July to appoint a sub-commission chaired
by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Special Envoy to the Balkans,
Barbara Davis.  But with no resources, no professional staff, no legal team,
and no forensic experts, the UNMIK sub-commission¹s well-intentioned but
inadequate efforts have finally led Kosovars to conclude that the
international community has little interest  in resolving this issue and
that they should take matters into their own hands.
	In recent months prisoners’ families and their advocates have staged a
series of hunger strikes and peaceful demonstrations calling upon the
international community to mount a systematic campaign to achieve the
prisoners' release.  Indeed, a panel discussion is planned for Friday in
Prishtine, forebodingly entitled, "There will be no peace for Kosova without
the release of the Albanian prisonersŠ."  So far, such actions have yielded
only promises.

What the U.S. Congress and the Human Rights Caucus in particular can do:

	There are a few things that Western nations should not do, and that the
West, and the United States Congress in particular, can do to redress this
egregious, outstanding humanitarian crisis left over from the Kosovo war.
	First, members of this Caucus should do everything they can to urge their
colleagues in the US Congress to wholeheartedly and  swiftly endorse the
international mission in Kosovo by advising against the spending cap
proposed in HR 4050 and by supporting the requested appropriation of US
dollars, the continued deployment and robust rules of engagement of US
military personnel, and the deployment of significant numbers of trained
police.  Without sufficient funding, without GIs operating under robust
rules of engagement, without police properly trained in human rights
protection and enforcement, investigations, and riot control, the
international community is only asking for the vacuum to be filled with more
trouble from both sides.  Milosevic will read of the lack of American
stomach for this mission, and he will calculate that he can wait us out;
Albanian extremists, seeing the effects on the ground, will only harden
their resolve to take matters into their own hands.
	Second, this Caucus might address an open letter to the president,
recommending that he:

… urge those among his European counterparts who maintain ties with
Belgrade, as well as the UN, the ICRC, and other appropriate international
agencies, to press the Belgrade authorities for the prisoners¹ release, and,
pending release, for access to medical treatment, family visits, defense
counsel of their own choosing, and for international monitoring of their
trials;

… direct the Pentagon to press commanders in the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR)
first,

… to exploit their regular military-to-military contacts with Yugoslav
commanders to obtain information as to the identity and whereabouts of those
prisoners detained in military facilities and for access to those prisoners;
and second,

… to assist in the releasees¹ timely return to Kosovo by preparing
facilities in which the alleged criminals among them can be properly
detained while their cases are reviewed by KFOR¹s legal advisors to
ascertain whether or not prosecutions are warranted.

… exert his influence to insure that any emissary sent to bring about a
satisfactory resolution of the prisoner issue take care not to meet or
negotiate with indictees;

… include in the executive branch¹s inter-agency process a high-ranking
government official with an explicit human rights portfolio;

… state clearly that the outer wall of sanctions against Serbia and the
prohibition on reconstruction assistance will not be lifted until such time
as the Albanian prisoners detained during the Kosovo conflict are freed and
returned home.

	Finally, neither this Congress nor any other Western government should
allow this issue to drop from public view. It is important that U.S.
citizens realize that, tragically, the egregious human rights violations
which American troops went to Kosovo to stop over a year ago, do continue,
even to this day, silently, inside Serbian prisons, while the world chooses
to look the other way.

	Once again, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you and your esteemed
colleagues for this opportunity to speak today and to submit my testimony
and supporting materials for the record.  I would be happy to answer any
questions you may have.

==========================================

KOSOVAPRESS
The APP Tribune: There will be no peace without the release of the Albanian
prisoners from the Serb jails

April 17, 2000

Prishtinë April 17 ( Kosovapress)- On Saturday, the APP organized a tribune
by the motto: " There is no peace in Kosova without the release of the
Albanians from the Serb jails. At the beginning, Mr. Berat Luzha, the head
of the Association held a speech about the Albanian prisoners who suffered
the long sentences in the Serb jails through the decades starting from the
end of the second world war.
	Mrs. Shukrie Rexha, member of the chairmanship of the Association held a
speech about the prisoners and other abducted people who were kidnapped from
the streets and who, after while were transferred in the Serb jails
throughout Serbia.
	She stated that while the International conflict between NATO and Yugoslav
military forces has ended, according to Geneva Conventions they should have
been released immediately. UNMIK must face the responsibility, now, 10
months after the end of the conflict, to bring the prisoners issue to the
Security Council and to approve another Resolution that will oblige their
immediate release.  We know that until now, all the international
resolutions have been violated brutally so we
urge the UNMIK administrators to do that before it will be to late.
	The prisoners issue and the 1244 Resolutions including the Ramboulliet and
Kumanova agreement was also discussed by the University Low professor Ismet
Salihu and the lower Fehmi Baftiu. They proposed to make another resolution
and to appeal to UN Special Administrator, Mr. Kouchner, to present this
resolution to the UN Security Council and to demand the approval because as
they said the peace can not even imagined without the arrival of thousands
of Albanians who are kept as hostages in the Serb jails.
	Mr. Baftiu stated that " Serbia has no more jurisdiction over Kosova. The
Serb Ministry of Justice, by keeping of thousands of Albanians as hostages
are violating their codes of their low in power too. Prof. Dr. Hajrullah
Gorani, president of the Trade Union of Kosova stated that the Albanian
political parties must do more to make more pressure to the International
Community, because as he said this is the most essential thing that is
related to the public peace and order in Kosova. He pointed out that all the
professors of schools, high schools and University, before starting their
lectures, must speak about their relatives, friends, brothers and sisters
who are still kept in the Serb jails. They are those people who fought for
our freedom in which we are living now.
	Speeches were also held by Luljeta Pula, Selatin Novosella etc. In the end
of the tribune they approved a statement which was addressed to all the
local and International leaders and to all other associations who work for
humanism. They urged to do the outmost for the release of Albanians from the
Serb jails.

==========================================

NEW YORK TIMES
PEN Is to Honor Two Poets Imprisoned in Kosovo and China

By DINITIA SMITH
April 10, 2000

	At the PEN American Center's annual literary gala this evening at Lincoln
Center, there will be a pause as two imprisoned poets, Dr. Flora Brovina, an
ethnic Albanian in Kosovo, and Xue Deyun, who s Chinese, are honored in
absentia. Dr. Brovina and Mr. Xue will receive PEN/Barbara Goldsmith
Freedom-to-Write Awards. Each award carries a stipend of $3,000, but the
honor's primary purpose is to call attention to writers who are imprisoned
or in danger.
     "These awards put a human face on the high price that writers continue
to pay for expressing themselves freely," Michael Roberts, the executive
director of the PEN American Center, said in an interview.
     "Since the awards were established in 1987, 14 of the 20 writers in
prison at the time of the award have been released within a short time. In
some cases it has been immediately, and in other cases it has been weeks or
months."
     PEN, an organization of authors, editors and translators founded in
1921 to promote free expression, sends out appeals by prominent members,
coordinates missions to countries where writers are in jeopardy and promotes
awareness of the dangers of censorship. The Freedom-to-Write Awards are
underwritten by the author Barbara Goldsmith.
     One of tonight's honorees, Dr. Brovina, 53, is not only a poet but a
pediatrician and founder and president of the League of Albanian Women in
Kosovo. After war broke out in Kosovo, she remained in Pristina, running a
shelter for women and children. On April 22, 1999, eight masked Serbian
paramilitaries abducted her from an apartment and held her incommunicado for
two weeks. Eventually she was accused of "terrorist acts," and in December a
Serbian court sentenced her to 12 years in prison.
     Dr. Brovina's supporters say that she was forced to sign a confession
that said she had participated in the Kosovo Liberation Army. In January her
lawyer filed an appeal with the Serbian Supreme Court asserting that her
rights to due process had been violated.
     In prison Dr. Brovina has only been able to shout to visitors from a
distance, and in front of guards. Her 18-year-old son, Ylli Begu, an
exchange student at Richland College in Dallas, is scheduled to attend the
ceremony tonight.
     In an interview from Texas, Mr. Begu said that his father, Agri Begu,
an economist and banker, had visited his mother three weeks ago. Dr. Brovina
has angina and needs to be hospitalized, her son said, adding, "She's being
held in prison without medicine and proper doctors." Mr. Begu also said that
Dr. Brovina's Albanian lawyer had been beaten by Serbian police officers,
and had been hospitalized. Agri Begu, in Pristina, could not be reached.
     In China, Mr. Xue was at the center of a cultural revival in the
southwestern province of Guizhou. Mr. Xue, 40, was arrested on Jan. 26,
1998, with three other poets, Ma Quiang, Wu Ruohai and Xiong Jinren (also
known as Xiong Xiang), in the provincial capital of Guiyang. They were about
to publish a new literary journal, China Cultural Renaissance, which
advocates freedom of literary expression. Chinese dissidents say that the
men's homes were raided without a warrant and their writings and address
books were confiscated.
     Three of the poets were released, but Mr. Xue, who writes under the
name Ma Zhe, was charged and convicted in the Guiyang Municipal Peoples
Court of "engaging in subversive activities" and attempting to overthrow
"the socialist system by rumor-mongering (or) slander." He was sentenced to
seven years in prison. Mr. Xue had been imprisoned from 1987 to 1990 because
of his involvement in the Beijing student protests of December 1986.
     In an interview from Boston, the exiled Chinese writer Meng Lang, a
close friend of Mr. Xue's, said that Chinese dissidents in the United States
did not know which prison has Mr. Xue.
     "At this moment there is no way to communicate with anybody who has
seen Mr. Xue," said Mr. Meng, who is the executive editor of The Tendency, a
Chinese-language literary journal in Boston. "Though the Chinese
Constitution has stated that Chinese people have the freedom to organize, to
publish, to speak, they have never carried it out."

Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/041000pen-awards.html

Another report by Reuters can be found here:
http://news.excite.com/news/r/000409/13/politics-arts-pen

==========================================

INTERRELIGIOUS COUNCIL OF KOSOVO
Press Statement, Prishtina

April 13, 2000

	We, as the responsible religious leaders in Kosovo, express our deepest
gratitude for the visit of our brother religious leaders from
Bosnia-Herzegovina to Kosovo on 11-13 April 2000, which followed our visit
to Sarajevo from 7-9. February. Appreciating their experiences we have made
decision in Pristina today on 13th of April, to establish The Interreligious
Council of Kosovo.
	During three days of visit of the Interreligious Council of BiH, we have
together visited important sites for each of our communities in Peja/Pec,
Decani, Prizren, Gracanica and Pristina. This tour has allowed our guests to
see the reality of Kosovo both the good and the bad.
	We have used the occasion of their visit to build on the very positive
steps we took in Sarajevo when we signed our "Statement of Shared Moral
Commitment." Our discussions today have focused on how we as the religious
leaders in Kosovo can take concrete steps together to work for a better
future for all people of Kosovo. To this end, we express our common
agreement on the following points:
	1. With one united voice we once again strongly condemn all acts of
violence and all violations of basic human rights. The acts that have
happened and that continue to happen against innocent persons are evil and
cannot be condoned in any way by any of our respective religious traditions.
	2. We commit ourselves today to pursue more active cooperation as religious
leaders and among our communities. We will work to develop our own
structures and means for cooperation through the Interreligious council of
Kosovo. In addition we are encouraged by the fact that we will all be
participating in the Kosovo Transitional Council and look forward to using
that venue to further our work together.
	3. Together we support the building of strong local democratic institutions
that will continue to ensure security, peace, and wellbeing for all
inhabitants of Kosovo. We look to the international community to provide the
necessary support for the inhabitants of Kosovo to achieve this goal.
	4. We commit ourselves to work together to rebuild the many destroyed and
damaged religious buildings in Kosovo, and we appeal to our friends and
partners in various international agencies to assist us with the necessary
resources to accomplish this essential task.
	5. Finally, we appeal to the international community to work harder on
finding and resolving the situation of all the prisoners, missing and
abducted persons whose unknown fate remains as one of the deepest wounds of
our recent tragic conflicts.
	Once again, we thank our distinguished guests from Bosnia-Herzegovina for
their visit and their encouragement, as well as to the World Conference on
Religion and Peace (WCRP) for its support and its continued commitment to
assist us in this process. We look forward to continuing with our close,
brotherly relations and with God's help we will be able to work together to
build a stronger future for all people in our blessed land.

Islamic Community
Mufti Dr Rexhep Boja

Serbian Orthodox Church
Bishop Dr. Artemije Radosavljevic

Roman Cahtolic Church
Bishop Marko Sopi

==========================================

KËSHILLI PËR MBROJTJEN E TË DREJTAVE E TË LIRIVE TË NJERIUT
COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
Open letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights - Mr. Jirzhi
Dienstbier, New York

5 April 2000

Dear Sir,

	We were compelled to send you an open letter on reading your report on the
situation of the human rights in Kosova. This is the second time that the
Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms expresses its public
disagreement with your views regarding the situation of human rights and
freedoms in Kosova, especially with your recommendations on the measures,
which are to be undertaken to change this situation.
	With regard to your statements on the violation of human rights and
freedoms in Kosova, in this letter the CDHRF will focus only on the basic
remarks. The other remarks on your report dated March 20, 2000, will be
delivered to the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.
	It is not true that the situation in the field of human rights and freedoms
in Kosova is worse than the one prior to the NATO air strikes. As you may
well know, prior to the NATO air strikes 5-6 persons were killed on average
each day. The killings were institutionalized, deliberate, organized and
systematic. The violence aimed the ethnic cleansing of Kosova from the
Albanians and its colonization with non-Albanians, primarily with Serbs.
	This objective of the Serbian regime became evident especially during the
war in Kosova, in which more than 10.000 Albanian civilians were killed and
massacred in the most brutal ways and more than 900.000 Albanians were
displaced, expelled by force and deported. More than 200.000 houses, flats,
business premises, schools, libraries, cultural and religious objects were
looted, burned and destroyed. An area of 400 km2 was mined in order to make
the return of the Albanians to their homes impossible.
	It is true that with the end of the military operations and the arrival of
KFOR troops in Kosova, a number of Serbian families and other non-Albanians
fled with the Serbian police and military forces. Yet, we remind you Mr.
Dienstbier that many members of these families participated in these crimes
or supported and concealed some of the gravest crimes in the history of this
region. There are also many Serbs who fled due to the feeling of insecurity
and that of collective responsibility for the crimes perpetrated by their
regime. Yet, we remind you Mr. Dienstbier that after the arrival of KFOR
troops in Kosova there are no institutionalized crimes and that individual
crimes were condemned not only by the CDHRF and other humanitarian
organizations, but also by the political parties and other personalities who
participate in the public life in Kosova. In order to effectively protect
the minorities, whose rights are undoubtedly violated, the Albanians,
especially the local police, should be given higher authorizations, as it is
a well known fact that only UNMIK police and KFOR have such authorizations.
	Do not forget Mr. Dienstbier that there is still a number of unidentified
mass gravesites, in which the Serbian forces buried the victims of their
crimes. Out of 550 mass gravesites, only 195 were examined. The exact number
of the victims of the Serbian crimes in Kosova is still unknown. The CDHRF
has documented 171 cases in which whole families were killed and massacred
by the Serbian police, military and paramilitary forces. 13% of the killed
were children, whereas 33% were elderly (not to mention the other monstrous
crimes which were planned by the Serbian regime and which aimed the ethnic
cleansing of Kosova). We are convinced that you, Mr. Dienstbier, are well
informed on all this, likewise the rest of the world. Please, tell those who
are going to read your report whether there are any signs in Kosova of mass
persecution of Serbs, Roma and other non-Albanians, which are planned and
organized by the Albanians?! Tell those who are going to read your report,
which areas the Albanians did mine in order to prevent the Serbs and other
non-Albanians from returning to their homes and property! Individual cases
of usurpation, burning and destruction were condemned not only by the CDHRF
but also by the other political and humanitarian subjects in Kosova.
	You state that for members of minority communities in Kosova "freedom of
movement is practically non-existent"! (item 33 of the Report). You also
suggest the possibility that there might be no minorities in Kosova in the
future. Up to now, no one has made such a claim in Kosova, no political
parties and no institutions, as there are no facts to support it. Since the
end of the war, there were many cases when members of minorities, especially
Serbs and Roma, fled Kosova. Yet, this was not caused by any political or
administrative institutions, least of all by humanitarian organizations. The
flight of the minorities from Kosova does not have an institutionalized
character. Many of those who fled have committed, supported or concealed the
genocidal crimes of the Serbian forces throughout Kosova. Up to now, none of
them has been brought to justice to answer for their crimes. No one in
Serbia has asked for forgiveness for what was done in Kosova, at least
towards the children and the elderly. On the contrary, hundreds of Albanians
are being brought before the courts in Serbia and sentenced to many years of
imprisonment in rigged trials. The evidence and statements are extracted
through the most brutal methods and torture. Thousands of Albanian prisoners
were taken hostage and are being kept in the Serbian prisons. Even nowadays,
mass rallies are organized throughout Serbia instigating the Serbs for new
atrocities against the Albanians.

Why do not you state this, Mr. Dienstbier?

	Mr. Dienstbier, Kosova is a UN protectorate in which institutional life is
being rebuilt in accordance to international standards. The Civil Mission of
the United Nations administers with Kosova and its people. KFOR and the KPC
are making efforts to establish security, law and order for all the citizens
of Kosova. The KLA was officially transformed and demilitarized and does not
exist as such anymore. Why do you accuse an organization, which does not
exist anymore?
	In the course of 1999, the CDHRF documented 436 killings of non-Albanians
(including not only civilians, but policemen, soldiers and paramilitaries as
well). CDHRF has appealed to the Serbian population and the other minorities
not to flee from their homes and their property-unless they have committed
any crimes. CDHRF condemns violence and defends the human rights of all
regardless of their ethnic background, religion and sex. We do this at
present and we will continue to do so forever. CDHRF has also appealed to
the Albanians to restrain from any kind of individual revenge and to let the
International Hague Tribunal deal with those who committed war crimes and
crimes against humanity.

Mr. Dienstbier,

	We believe that the process of monitoring the situation of human rights and
freedoms demands more efforts as well as other procedures and professional
monitoring techniques, which can be offered by the CDHRF. Yet, this will be
sufficient only for the gathering of facts and data, whereas the comments
and assessments on them require deeper and more objective approach by you
yourself and your staff. Inviting you or your representative to participate
in the meeting of the CDHRF, in which your
report will be analyzed, we thank you for your understanding and
cooperation.

Prishtina, 5 April 2000

Chairman,
Prof. Dr. Pajazit Nushi

==========================================

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Trial of Kosovo Albanians accused in Serb massacre adjourned

April 12, 2000

NIS, Yugoslavia, April 12 (AFP) - A trial of two Kosovo Albanians accused of
taking part in the July 1998 massacre of Serbs in the Yugoslav province of
Kosovo was on Wednesday adjourned until April 20.
	Brothers Ljuan and Bekim Mazreku are accused of kidnapping a dozen Serbs
from the central Kosovar town of Orahovac in July 1998, who were later
tortured and massacred in the nearby village of Klecka.
     The trial is to continue on April 20 with evidence from the Serb
pathologist who performed autopsies of the corpses found at the Klecka site.
     The Mazreku brothers are also accused of being members of the
separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), ethnic Albanian guerillas who
fought against the Belgrade security forces during the Kosovo conflict.
     Both defendants have denied the charges put by the Serb prosecutor at
the southern Serbian town Nis. They said they had never belonged to the KLA.
     Ljuan Mazreku is also accused of raping a Serb girl and cutting off an
ear of a nine-year old Serb boy. His brother Bekim is indicted for several
cases of rape.
     Both the accused have said the charges had been invented by the Serbian
state security agents and complained of having been mistreated while in
detention.
     An estimated 1,300 Kosovo Albanians are still being held in Serbian
prisons, most of them accused of terrorism by Belgrade, according to the
Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Center, a non-governmental group.
     Last June, the Yugoslav authorities transferred more than 2,000
prisoners, mainly Kosovo Albanians, to Serbia, as its troops pulled out of
the province with the deployment of NATO-led peacekeepers and the UN
administration there.
     Some 500 of them have been released so far, but more than 250 have
received heavy prison sentences, in trials criticized by international human
rights groups.

Story from AFP   Copyright 2000 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
http://www.clari.net/hot/wed/bl/Qyugo-kosovo-trial.RqbS_AAC.html

==========================================

GRUPA 484
Studio B - No Surrender!

April 04, 2000

Belgrade, 4 April 2000 - The Nation Movement OTPOR! - 'Resistance' condemns
the last in the raw of vile attacks at the sole independent TV station in
Belgrade. Studio B is the symbol and part of the Belgrade tradition, now
suffering the same ill fortune that it shares with all Belgraders who are
offered by this regime only lies beamed by the official
government-controlled RT of Serbia. The activists of the National OTPOR!
Movement will not allow the dark to befall Belgrade and the last spark to be
extinguished! By its repression over students and media the regime attempts
to make the dictatorship official, by introducing the state of emergency in
Serbia.

THUS THE MESSAGE TO SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC, MIRA MARKOVIC AND VOJISLAV SESELJ IS
STOP REPRESSION, YOU MUST NOT MAKE FUN OF US OR STUDIO B! THE MESSAGE TO
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC IN PERSON IS: INSTEAD OF POSSE AFTER STUDENTS AND
INDEPENDENT MEDIA, FOR YOUR OWN AND OUR GOOD, IMMEDIATELY ISSUE AN ORDER ON
FREE AND DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS AT ALL LEVELS!

==========================================

Additional updates of the Kosovar political prisoners, including those
sentenced, missing and released, may be found at:
http://www.khao.org/appkosova/appkosova-database.htm
http://www.khao.org/appkosova/appkosova-report0037.htm
http://www.khao.org/appkosova/appkosova-report0038.htm
http://www.khao.org/appkosova/appkosova-report0041.htm

Very useful statistics and update from ICRC on missing persons from Kosova
can be found at:
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c8ad5/60c532db
df49f6878525688f006f80d4?OpenDocument

Archives of the A-PAL Newsletters may be found at:
http://www.khao.org/appkosova.htm

Albanian Prisoner Advocacy List -- Prisoner Pals Newsletter, No. 019