[A-PAL] A-PAL Newsletter, No. 020

[kosova at jps.net]

Welcome to Albanian Prisoner Advocacy List -- Prisoner Pals Newsletter,
No. 020, April 24, 2000

This report highlights the developments on the prisoner issue for the week
of April 16, 2000.

==========================================
A-PAL STATEMENT:
==========================================
	We would like to ask your readers to read the deeply disturbing article
(www.khao.org/report023.htm) from the Manchester Guardian on the rapes of
20,000 Albanian women from 1998-1999. Because of Albanian cultural norms,
these young women are subjected to shame and silence. Now their unwanted
babies are being born, some found abandoned by the roadside, some left in
hospital wards, some killed and buried at home, some taken in by another
family member. Adoption by outsiders is not wanted.
	It is important for our western readers to try to understand the same code
of silence that surrounds the death of Serbs by Albanians immediately
following the war, also surrounds these 20,000 young women. After the rapes,
many having suffered brutal gang rapes and mutilations, the women are seen
as having been shamed and worse yet, they are seen as having shamed the
family's honor.
	The initial reaction of westerners is to go public with these traumatic
events, to jump in with both feet and proclaim loudly how these horrifying
crimes should be handled. Put it on the news! That is not necessarily the
response of the traditional Albanian village family at all. For five hundred
years, these villagers lived virtually untouched by either constitutional
law or civil rights. They lived with cultural and political repression and
survived. What westerners see as a stubborn code of silence is a basic part
of Albanian culture. Law was handled within the family. Politicians are
corrupt. There are no fair trials in Kosova, there never have been. The
media is an instrument of the politicians. It has always been that way.
	I ask you to read this article, to feel the anguish of these women, also
the anguish of Sevdie Ahmeti and other humanitarians and doctors, who offer
what assistance they can. But be thoughtful in how you react. Understand, if
you can, that Albanian culture evolved in this way for a reason. The family
is everything. It is the world. Hard for Americans with their weakened
family bonds to understand. And it's hard to know how to respond.
By:  Alice Mead [amead at maine.rr.com]

==========================================
WEEK OF APRIL 16, 2000 TOPICS:
==========================================
* Agence France-Presse: 144 Kosovo Albanians go on trial for terrorism
* REUTERS LIMITED: Kosovo Albanians Deny Charges in Serb Trial
* RFE/RL NEWSWIRE: SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Monster Trial' Begins In Nis
* REUTERS LIMITED: Kouchner vows drive to free Kosovo Albanian doctor
* REUTERS LIMITED: Kosovo Albanians speak out from Serb jail
* UNITED NATIONS: Commission On Human Rights Adopts Resolutions On The
Situation Of Human Right
* BBC: Kosovo Albanians in mass trial
* KOSOVAPRESS: The APP Tribune: There will be no peace without the release
of the Albanian prisoners from the Serb jails
* AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Mass trial of Kosovar Albanians makes a mockery of
justice
* KFOR PRESS UPDATE - Pristina: by Major Frank Benjaminsen, KFOR
Spokesperson
* KOSOVAPRESS: UNO Commission condemns violation of human rights in FRY
* KOSOVAPRESS: Two prisoners released
* KOSOVAPRESS: Thirty one prisoners released from Serbia jails
* KOSOVAPRESS: The massive protest in Gjakova
* COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS: Letter of Protest
* FREESERBIA: Serbian lawyers appeal for Brovina's release
* KOSOVAPRESS: Rexhep Qosja met with Juan Ortuno
* KOSOVAPRESS: The protest in Gjakova with motto "Release the prisoners"
* REUTERS LIMITED: Expert Testifies About Bones at Serbian Massacre Site
* FREEB92 DAILY NEWS: Court security guard assaults student protester
* FREESERBIA: Beta agency fined, charges against Blic daily dropped

==========================================
QUOTES OF THE WEEK:
==========================================
     Natasa Kandic, head of the HLC, said after meeting the defendants'
families on April 9: "These Albanians are innocent civilians who were not
involved in armed operations, and who were kidnapped in Djakovica 11 months
ago."  The trial was "a political process through which the Belgrade regime
is attempting to cover up a great tragedy it has provoked in Kosovo," she
alleged.
     "All the Albanians here are sentenced to prison as a result of
so-called courts and trials which are based on injustice and on false
things," Kurti added.  "Everything which came out from the anti-human and
fascist regime of Milosevic is false."  Speaking in English, Kurti refused
to answer questions from Serb journalists or by officials from the Serbian
justice ministry.
     "During the first tiral, I kept waiting for justice to be done to me,
but justice being done would have meant that I didn't end up in prison," she
said, in Serb as opposed to her mother tongue Albanian.  "I am a doctor and
a poet. I have committed no terrorist acts. I only care for sick children,"
she added.
	Husnija Bitic, age 60, Albanian human rights lawyer in Belgrade. He and his
wife were found beaten nearly to death in their apartment. The walls were
covered with their blood. Mr. Bitic has fought cases for ten years, for both
Serbs and Albanians, showing just how dangerous working for the human and
civil rights of both ethnic groups can be.  "They beat me really heard. Then
they broke my skull. I could feel the exact moment. I think my attackers
wanted to send a message to all Albanians through what they did to me."
     Gradimir Nalic, one of the lawyers defending the group, said the
prosecution "had no single evidence which could lead to individually
established guilt of any of the defendants."

==========================================
WEEK’S REQUESTED ACTION:
==========================================
	It is hard to know where to begin to comment on the state of justice in
Serbia. Brutal attacks on innocent people, the near shutdown of the
independent media, round-ups of Serb students, and group trials conducted
without evidence continue to proceed without comment from the international
community. Ultimately it is the UN Security Council who oversees the
implementation of peace and justice in the world. They have remained silent.
No one has singled out the Ministry of Justice as a major force for
implementing repression in Serbia. Amnesty International has initiated no
world-wide protests as these few  valiant human rights activists battle
oppression single-handedly, without protection from anyone.
	Feel-good NGO groups may give people like Natasa Kandic, Sevdie Ahmeti,
Teki Bokshi, Husnija Bitic, and Kosovarja Kelmendi public pats on the back
and pass out awards, and journalists make sure, when making the rounds in
Belgrade and Prishtina, to check in with their activist "friends," but this
is the same type of lazy, self-congratulatory "friendship" that sent
hundreds of thousands of Bosnians to their death, while we all watched on
TV.

HERE ARE THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF THIS BRUTAL AND INHUMANE SYSTEM. GET BRAVE.
SKIP THE EMAILS. PICK UP THE PHONE AND FAX or TALK TO SOME OF THESE FOLKS.
Think of Mr. Bitic's cracked skull, the idiotic charges against Flora
Brovina, the endless hours of torture. The extortion.

Slobodan Milosevic--President of FRY- fax: 011-381-11-636-775
Vlajko Stoijiljkovic--Minister of Int. Affairs --  011-381-11-3617-508
Zoran Sokolovic-- Federal Minister of Internal Affairs-- 011-381-11-361-7730
Zivadin Jovanovic--Fed. Minister of Foreign Affairs--  011-381-11-367-2954

OF SPECIAL INTEREST
	Regarding the formation of a new group in Belgrade, The Association of
Families of Persons Kidnapped in Kosova, this group is comprised solely of
families of the missing, which they have determined by interviews and
photographs. We do not yet have any specific contact information for them
yet, but hope to hear more from them in the future. One concern is that the
numbers they give for missing, 1,200, don't match the numbers other groups
use, but that should not prevent our sharing information and cooperating as
much as possible to restore human rights and civil liberties to all those
who are wrongly detained at this time.
	A grassroots organization regarding the missing could be an important first
step in our efforts to break the code of silence that keeps negotiations to
release prisoners stalemated in Serbia, Kosova, and internationally. There
is a verified list of Serb missing at the Gracanica Monastery outside
Prishtina. Again, contact efforts were difficult--but it is our hope to
rebuild and reconnect families in the region that have  been torn apart by
war and reprisals. If anyone can help with these contacts, please let us
know.

==========================================
FULL REPORTS AND ARTICLES BEGIN HERE:
==========================================

Agence France-Presse
144 Kosovo Albanians go on trial for terrorism

April 18, 2000

NIS, Yugoslavia, April 18 (AFP) - A total of 144 ethnic Albanians from the
southern Kosovo town of Djakovica went on trial for terrorism here Tuesday,
in the biggest trial of its type.
     The Kosovo Albanians are accused of "participating in and organising
terrorist and enemy activities" against Belgrade security forces in the
Serbian province in April 1999.
     If convicted, the defendants could face jail sentences of up to 20
years.
     Gradimir Nalic, one of the lawyers defending the group, said the
prosecution "had no single evidence which could lead to individually
established guilt of any of the defendants."
     Among them was an underage youth, whose case was separated from the
group and joined with a case of another underage boy, also suspected of
"terrorist activities."
     The court on Tuesday did not more than establish the identities of all
defendants. The judge ordered the trial to  resume on Wednesday, when the
first 30 defendants would appear.
     Defence lawyers demanded that three defendants should be immediately
released, noting that one was suffering from serious mental problems, a
second had been weakened by a heart attack while the third was almost blind.
     The prosecution says that two soldiers and a policeman were killed and
five policeman and two soldiers were wounded in two attacks in May.
     The words "terrorist activities" indicate that Belgrade suspects the
men of being former members of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army, which
fought Serbian security forces in the province before being officially
demilitarised when Kosovo came under UN administration.
     Traffic was stopped in the southern Serbian town of Nis as the
defendants, mainly young men wearing civilian clothes, were driven in three
buses under police escort to the court, which was guarded by policemen
carrying automatic weapons.
     The trial had been due to be held in another Serbian town, Leskovac,
but the prosecution decided to move it to Nis which has a bigger court
building.
     More than 20 lawyers, 10 of them members of the Belgrade-based
non-governmental Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), were taking part in the
defense, while representatives of human rights groups and the UN Belgrade
office for human rights were also present at the trial.
     The defendants were arrested in May in Djakovica, during NATO's bombing
campaign of Serbia.
     They were questioned by an investigating magistrate for the first time
last December, the HLC lawyers said, adding that until then the defendants
had not been informed of the reasons for detention.
     Natasa Kandic, head of the HLC, said after meeting the defendants'
families on April 9: "These Albanians are innocent civilians who were not
involved in armed operations, and who were kidnapped in Djakovica 11 months
ago."
     The trial was "a political process through which the Belgrade regime is
attempting to cover up a great tragedy it has provoked in Kosovo," she
alleged.
     The defendants were among an estimated 1,300 Kosovo Albanians still
held in Serbian prisons, most of them accused of terrorism by Belgrade,
according to the HLC.
     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 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/cg/Qyugo-kosovo-trial.R9dC_AAI.html

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

REUTERS LIMITED
Kosovo Albanians Deny Charges in Serb Trial

April 19, 2000

NIS, Yugoslavia (Reuters) - Kosovo Albanians accused of taking part in
attacks against Serb forces during last year's NATO air strikes denied the
charges on Wednesday when their trial resumed for a second day.
     In the biggest such trial ever held in Yugoslavia, ten out of a total
of 143 accused men had been heard by midday.
     The defendants, described as "Myhedin Zeka and the others," were
charged with forming a unit of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
in the western Kosovo town of Djakovica last April.
     All ten heard in the morning session rejected the accusations, giving
similar accounts to the court in the southern Serbian town of Nis.
     The men, who had earlier refused to give statements to police, said
they had been taken away from their homes for identity checks and then
detained.
     "I hadn't been out of my house throughout the war until we were taken
away," said Ljuta Iljir, one of the defendants.
     "I heard gunfire in Djakovica, but I don't know who fired the shots or
where from," he told the court.
     The prosecutor's 19-page charge sheet said the men were involved in
three attacks against Serb forces, on April 10, May 7 and May 9, in which a
policeman and an army officer were killed and one soldier fatally wounded.
It said six police were seriously wounded.
     Some of the charges carry a penalty of up to 15 years in jail.

ACCUSED DENY INVOLVEMENT

Most of the defendants had refused to give statements to police but the 29
who had done so denied any involvement.
     "They denied they had any contact with weapons or had shot at police
and army, which is unacceptable for us as it is contradicted by our
evidence," the charge sheet said.
     It went on to say that all the defendants showed signs in a paraffin
glove test of having handled weapons.
     Human rights lawyers say such tests are notoriously unreliable and that
the defendants were picked up arbitrarily during a sweep of Djakovica by
Serb forces that began a day after fighting with the KLA had ended and the
guerrillas had taken to the hills.
     Iljir said he would have fled for neighboring Macedonia during the
bombing had he not been innocent. "We had faith in the police and army,
although rumors had it that houses were being torched and occupants
executed," he said.
     "Albert Delija, a Yugoslav Army officer, visited us frequently and told
us the VJ (Yugoslav army) was there to protect us. They were next to my
house and we had sound relations with them. I never had any contact with any
weapons," he added.
     Albanians in Djakovica say 20 people were killed in the town and
surrounding area during the fighting in early May, of whom five were KLA
guerrillas and the rest civilians. They maintain there was no attack on
April 10.
     In all, they say 545 Albanians have been identified as being killed
there by Serb forces during the 78 days of NATO bombing of Yugoslav targets
and 1,200 are either missing or in prison.

© 2000 Reuters Limited
http://news.excite.com/news/r/000419/08/international-yugoslavia-kosovo

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

RFE/RL NEWSWIRE: SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
Monster Trial' Begins In Nis

April 18, 2000

Some 146 Kosova Albanians are on trial in Nis for "terrorism" and "hostile
activities," "Die Presse" reported on 18 April. The Vienna-based daily cites
Natasa Kandic, Serbia's best-known human rights activist, as calling the
event a "monster trial" and the biggest such event in the history of the
Yugoslav court system. Lawyers from her Center for Human Rights are
defending the Kosovars. She noted that all the defendants are civilians whom
Serbian forces took from their homes or from refugee convoys in 1999 and
sent to Serbia. She added that an additional 200 Kosovars continue to be
held in Serbian jails without charges, even though Serbian law specifies a
maximum detention of three days without charges. Kandic suggested that the
authorities could put the matter behind them by freeing the inmates in an
amnesty to mark the 26 April state holiday. PM

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/4-see.html

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

REUTERS LIMITED
Kouchner vows drive to free Kosovo Albanian doctor

April 20, 2000

By Mark Heinrich PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, April 20 (Reuters) - Kosovo's U.N.
administrator on Thursday told hundreds of ethnic Albanian women protesting
Serbia's jailing of a humanitarian doctor that she would eventually be freed
under international pressure.
     The protesters, including doctors in white uniform, gathered silently
on the steps of Pristina's national theatre holding up placards saying,
"Release Mother Flora, "Release Our Paediatrician and "Flora Plus 7,000".
     Flora Brovina, an eminent Kosovo Albanian doctor, humanitarian activist
and poet, was sentenced in December to 12 years in prison by a Serbian court
for "terrorism" during NATO's 1999 air war against Yugoslavia.
     She is one of about 2,000 Kosovo Albanians who were registered as
prisoners by the International Committee of the Red Cross after their
removal from the province by departing Serbian forces. About six hundred
have been freed since then.
     Kosovo Albanians say up to 7,000 of their compatriots are missing and
possibly in Serbian detention, and the issue remains one of their most
burning grievances against Belgrade.
     Brovina gained distinction as a leader of women's groups that
distributed relief aid and organised protests against Serbian police rule in
majority-ethnic Albanian Kosovo during the 1990s.
     Bernard Kouchner, head of the U.N. transitional administration that
took charge in Kosovo after NATO bombings ousted Serbian security forces,
promised the protesters to take up the cause for Brovina's release.
     "I want to say that all the international community knows that Flora
Brovina is absolutely innocent of any crime," he told the crowd in an
impromptu speech.
     "The only crime of Flora Brovina was to love and help the people and to
fight for human rights," said Kouchner, a former French health minister and
himself a doctor.

KOUCHNER CALLS BROVINA A MODEL FOR KOSOVO

"So I strongly believe that with international pressure she will be released
as soon as possible. We are very confident, because the example of Flora
Brovina's fight is absolutely essential for Kosovo," Kouchner said.
     He was alluding to so-far futile international efforts to persuade
local Albanians to co-exist peacefully with Kosovo's leftover minority
Serbs, who live in scattered ghettos watched over by NATO peacekeeping
troops.
     Brovina's son, Uranik Begu, accused Kosovo's own ethnic Albanian
leadership of ignoring her case and called for a U.N. Security Council
resolution demanding the unconditional release of all Kosovo Albanian
prisoners in Serbia.
     Yugoslav Serb authorities say their prisoners were involved in
terrorism during the 1998-99 conflict between Kosovo Albanian separatist
guerrillas and the security forces.
     Brovina denied the allegations against her, saying her work was purely
humanitarian and had nothing to do with the ethnic Albanian Kosovo
Liberation Army, since disbanded.
     Human rights lawyers say many of the charges against Kosovo Albanian
detainees are not substantiated.
     Serbia is now conducting a mass trial of 143 ethnic Albanians accused
of attacks on Serbian forces during the NATO air war.

© Copyright Reuters Limited.
http://www.excite.co.uk/news/news_story/health/reuters_health_20000420140017
_3.txt

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

REUTERS LIMITED
Kosovo Albanians speak out from Serb jail

April 22, 2000

POZAREVAC, Yugoslavia, April 22 (Reuters) - Two famous Kosovo Albanian
prisoners spoke out from jail on Saturday, telling Serbia's justice minister
that they were being held illegally. Humanitarian doctor Flora Brovina and
Albin Kurti, a radical student leader, both among around 960 Kosovo
Albanians held in Serbia for alleged "terrorism", said their trials had been
unjust.
     "All the Albanian political prisoners here are being held from the very
beginning in an unjust way. Just because they are Albanians," said Kurti,
surrounded by officials and prison guards. "And this is the main reason why
I don't like to talk about facilities or conditions here.
     "All the Albanians are here sentenced in prison as a result of
so-called courts and trials which are based on injustice and on false
things.
     "Everything which came out of the regime, of this anti-human and
fascist regime of (Yugoslav President Slobodan) Milosevic is false."
     Serbian Justice Minister Dragoljub Jankovic spoke to Kurti and Brovina
during a visit to Pozarevac, bringing journalists with him in what he said
was a bid to show that the Serbian justice system was fair and had nothing
to hide.
     Unlike Kurti, who denounced Serbian state institutions at his trial,
Brovina has lodged an appeal that will come up on May 16.
     "I believe in justice but I did not expect such a high sentence, 12
years, since I am a doctor, paediatrician, and a poet and I did not do
anything to be treated as a terrorist."
     Brovina is serving a 12-year jail term and Kurti was sentenced to 15
years' imprisonment for "activities linked with terrorism".
     International human rights groups have called for the release of Kurti
and Brovina and other Kosovo Albanian prisoners held in Serbian jails.
     Many were picked up during last year's NATO air strikes against
Yugoslavia, accused of links with the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA). Many have yet to be tried.
     The KLA fought Serb security forces for a year in the run-up to the air
strikes.
     Asked by officials about violence against Serbs that has followed the
bombing, both prisoners said any violence against civilians should be
condemned.
     "That's my message. People must drop revenge and reconcile with one
another and everyone should go back to their homes, to their land," said
Brovina.
     Kurti said war criminals should be tried whether they are Serbs or
Albanians.
     "All those who were war criminals should go to an international court,"
he said.
     Jankovic said 979 prisoners had been taken from Kosovo to other parts
of Serbia when Serb forces withdrew after the air strikes to be replaced by
NATO-led peacekeepers.
     All but 15 or 20 of them were Kosovo Albanians, he said.

© Copyright Reuters Limited
http://www.excite.co.uk/news/news_story/world/reuters_world_news_20000422181
515_6.txt

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

UNITED NATIONS : Press Release
Commission On Human Rights Adopts Resolutions On The Situation Of Human
Rights In Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Cuba, The Former Yugoslavia, Sudan And Iran

April 18, 2000

(...)

	In a resolution on the situation of human rights in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and
Herzegovia (E/CN.4/2000/L.36/Rev.1), approved by roll-call vote of 44 in
favour to 1 against and 8 abstentions, the Commission expressed grave
concern at the ongoing serious violations of human rights and the
deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) caused by the repressive
policies and measures of the authorities of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and of Serbia; condemned the continued repression of the
independent media, political opposition and non-governmental organizations,
the seizing and destruction of the assets of independent media, the use of
police intimidation, the use of technical means against independent media,
among other things; and it also condemned the arbitrary administration of
justice and application of the law, as evidenced by the detention, trial and
sentencing of Dr. Flora Brovina and actions taken against other human rights
activists.
     It expressed grave concern that discrimination and violence against
ethnic minorities had worsened during the year; and regretted that the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had not complied with the recommendations of
the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe regarding fostering democracy and the rule of law.
     The Commission condemned all acts of ethnic violence and intimidation
by all parties in Kosovo; urged all political leaders in Kosovo to cooperate
fully with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and
the International Security Force in Kosovo in their efforts to strengthen
law and security, to firmly reject violence, to reject those who advocated
violence measures, to take action at the community level to prevent
violence, in particular ethnic violence, and to engage in and support only
peaceful and democratic civil or political activity.
     It welcomed the democratic election of a reform-oriented new Government
in Croatia; and called upon the new Government to sustain that progress and
the concrete measures under way to ensure full compliance with international
norms and standards of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular
the rights of persons belonging to all minority groups ensuring, among other
things, the non-discriminatory application of the general amnesty law.
     The Commission condemned in the strongest possible terms the
intimidation of and perpetuation of violence against minority refugees and
internally displaced persons returning to their homes in Bosnia and
Herzegovina; condemned all forms of discrimination against refugees and
displaced persons concerning their labour rights and requested the
International Labour Organization, the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
as well as the Special Rapporteur, to pay attention to the implementation of
international standards and recommendations in that area.
     With regard to International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia, the Commission called upon all parties to the Peace Agreement,
especially the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to meet
their obligations to cooperate fully with the
Tribunal.

The result of the vote was as follows:

In favour: Argentina, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Canada,
Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany,
Guatemala, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mauritius,
Mexico, Morocco, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland,
Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Spain, Sri
Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and
Venezuela.

Against: Russian Federation.

Abstentions: China, Congo, Cuba, India, Madagascar, Nepal, Nigeria and
Zambia.

SPOMENKA CEK (Croatia) reiterated its dissatisfaction at being included in
draft resolution L36, adding that the mandate of the Special Rapporteur
should be terminated for Croatia as soon as possible. Croatia welcomed the
fact that the draft resolution recognized the many positive developments
that had taken place in the country, which were based on the clear
commitments and obligations undertaken by the Government. Among other
things, the Government had initiated a campaign to abolish a number of
discriminatory provisions in laws dealing with property, minority rights and
the media. The Government had also initiated a revision of the Law on
Reconstruction, the Law on the Status of Displaced Persons and Refugees, as
well as other regulations and rules dealing with the return and
reconstruction process. Croatia had also fulfilled the requests of the
International Criminal Tribunal.

GRIGORY LUKIYANTSEV (the Russian Federation) said his delegation would vote
against the draft resolution because it was unbalanced and one-sided and did
not reflect the human rights situation in the country. This drawback
affected all without exception. On the section on Kosovo, the report put the
blame on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and kept quiet about the Kosovo
militias. Furthermore, Kosovo did not have the status of a sovereign State.
The Russian Federation called for a roll-call vote.

ALEJANDRO SALINAS (Chile) said that his country had voted in favour of the
resolution L36. However, Chile wished to positively single out the situation
in Croatia where democracy was being consolidated, and respect for human
rights and good governance were being promoted and
strengthened.

LI BAODONG (China) said his country had carefully studied the draft
resolution, however it had found that it did not reflect the reality and was
unbalanced. It had also failed to recognize that Kosovo was an inseparable
part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and hence undermined its
sovereignty.

JORGE VOTO-BERNALES (Peru) said that his delegation had voted in favour of
L36. Peru shared the concern of the international community concerning the
situation of human rights in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the
Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

NORMA NASCIMBENE DE DUMONT (Argentina) said that some aspects of the draft
resolution were technically inappropriate as they gave Kosovo the status of
a sovereign State. Argentina was maintaining its principles as demonstrated
in 1999 in resolution 1244 on the principle on sovereignty and the
territorial integrity of States.

VICTOR RODRIGUEZ CEDENO (Venezuela) said his country would vote in favour of
the text, but did not consider any part thereof as affecting the territorial
integrity of States. Venezuela was concerned about anything that would imply
that the status of Kosovo was similar to that of Bosnia Herzegovina or
Croatia.

ANTONIO DE ICAZA (Mexico) said his country was in favour of L36. However, it
expressed several reservations concerning specific paragraphs such as their
excessiveness.

SAVITRI KUNADI (India) said her country had been concerned about the
violation of human rights of all people in the Kosovo region; India called
for the full protection of all human rights of all people there. However,
the consideration of the Kosovo region separately, in section 3 of the
resolution, tended to give the impressions that Kosovo was not part of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In view of that and other inconsistencies,
India had abstained on the resolution.

ADHEMAR BAHADIAN (Brazil) said that international multilateral pressure must
be brought to bear upon those who showed disrespect for diversity of
opinion, cultural background or religious belief in a region where these
ills had assumed some of the most brutal manifestations since World War II.
This is why Brazil decided to vote in favour of resolutions L36.

http://www.unhchr.ch/Huricane/Huricane.nsf/b4aec4dec540ceb680256601005b87bd/
350c2e909c456686802568c600328a15?OpenDocument

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

BBC
Kosovo Albanians in mass trial

April 18, 2000

This is the biggest trial of its kind Almost 150 Kosovo Albanians have gone
on trial in Yugoslavia accused of terrorism.
     The men are charged with carrying out attacks against Serbian security
forces stationed in Kosovo last year, including the killing of three Serb
policemen and the wounding of at least seven.
     The trial, which is taking place in the Serbian town of Nis, is the
biggest of its kind.
     If convicted, the 144 defendants could face jail sentences of up to 15
years.
     The men, all from the southern Kosovo town of Djakovica, were arrested
during Nato's air strikes last year.

'Political trial'

They were driven to the heavily-guarded courtroom on Tuesday, where the
court established their identity before adjourning.
     The trial will resume on 19 April, when the first 30 men will appear in
court.
     Verdicts and sentencing are expected later in the week.
     The trial has drawn criticism from human rights groups, which say the
men were arrested at random.
     "These Albanians are innocent civilians who were not involved in armed
actions and were kidnapped on the streets of Djakovica," the head of the
Belgrade Fund for Humanitarian Law, Natasa Kandic, said.
     "This is a political trial," she said
     The BBC's Jacky Rowland in the capital Belgrade says the words
"terrorist activity" on the charge-sheet indicate that the authorities
suspect the men of being former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
     When Nato-led peacekeepers took control of Kosovo last year, Serbian
security forces withdrew, taking hundreds of Kosovo Albanian prisoners with
them.
     A number of prominent figures have already been convicted of terrorism,
while hundreds more prisoners remain in Serbian jails.

http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_718000/718316.stm

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

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.

http://www.kosovapress.com/english/prill/17_4_2000_.htm

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

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Mass trial of Kosovar Albanians makes a mockery of justice

April 19, 2000

The unprecedented mass trial of 143 ethnic Albanian men in the court of Nis,
southern Serbia, can hardly escape being unfair, Amnesty International said
today.
     "The decision on the part of the authorities to try the men in a group
of such a size not only risks infringing their right to a fair trial as
individuals but also to the presumption of innocence," the organization
said.
     The men were arrested in May 1999 in the town of Djakovica (Gjakovë),
Kosovo, during the period of NATO's airstrikes. They are charged with
"association for the purpose of hostile activity in connection with
terrorism", and accused of membership in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
They are also accused of involvement in a series of attacks on Yugoslav Army
and Serbian police units in which two soldiers and one police officer were
killed and others wounded. The majority of those accused are reported to
have refused to make statements; those that have done so have asserted their
innocence.
     "What is clear is that the evidence against them appears to be weak --
consisting of the results of paraffin glove tests intended to show that they
had recently fired or handled weapons," Amnesty International maintained.
"The results of such tests are widely considered to be unreliable."
     On Wednesday, 30 defendants were due to appear. Ten of these, who
denied the charges, were heard in the period before midday. The cursory
nature of the proceedings raises concerns about the fairness of the
procedure.
     Of around 2,000 ethnic Albanians detained in Kosovo who were
transferred to Serbian prisons in June 1998 a number have been released,
some have already been sentenced in unfair trials after allegedly having
statements extracted from them under torture and more than 1,200 remain
awaiting trial.

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

KFOR PRESS UPDATE - Pristina
by Major Frank Benjaminsen, KFOR Spokesperson

April 22, 2000

No Detention Facilities Found
	Last night following a request from the Serbian authorities passed to KFOR
that claimed that Kosovo Serbs were being illegally detained in a house in
the Slivovo area, an extensive and thorough search was conducted by KFOR
Swedish and British soldiers.
	In spite of the search there was no evidence of any illegal detention. The
search has been extended from the immediate area reported with no reports of
any suspicious findings.
	Various agencies have reported in the past that Kosovo Serbs are being
illegally detained within Kosovo. KFOR takes these reports seriously,
however all investigations have proven them to be without foundation.

http://www.kforonline.com/news/updates/nu_22apr00.htm

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

KOSOVAPRESS
UNO Commission condemns violation of human rights in FRY

April 22, 2000

Prishtinë, April 22 (Kosovapress) - UNO commission for Human Rights in
Geneva compiled two days ago a Resolution, in which it is harshly condemned
the violation of human rights especially in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(Serbia and Montenegro) and any other country.
	"We condemn arbitrary judgements and distortion of the law, evident in the
detention, judgement and punishment of Dr. Flora Brovina and similar actions
undertaken by human rights activists in FRY".
	While the American representative of the above mentioned Commission, who is
a sponsor of this Resolution as well, expressed himself that "The case of
Dr. Brovina, sentenced to 12 years in jail, has been considered as a special
one. Belgrade's regime continues to keep in prisons a group of people
estimated at 2000 up to 7000 persons, who have been taken from Kosova by
using force, after the past year crisis there. Serbia should bear the
responsibility for each of them and offer all the human and legal rights",
it is stressed at the pronouncement of the American representative, the same
source reported.

http://www.kosovapress.com/english/prill/22_4_2000_.htm

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

KOSOVAPRESS
Two prisoners released

April 18, 2000

Prizren, April 18 (Kosovapress) - Yesterday, from the prison of Nishi town
and Mitrovica e Sremit were released two prisoners.
	They are Enver Berish who was sentenced on two and a half year, and Ferit
Tafallani he was sentenced on two year prison.

http://www.kosovapress.com/english/prill/18_4_2000_1.htm

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

KOSOVAPRESS
Thirty one prisoners released from Serbia jails

April 21, 2000

Prishtinë, April 21 (Kosovapress) - Today ICRC accompanies more prisoners
form Serbian jails. They were released prison by the authorities in Serbia.
Two were released from Zajeçar, two from Mitrovica e Sremit, two from
Kraleva and twenty-five persons from Pozharevac prison. One is from Vushtri,
one from Prishtina, two are from Peja, two from Mitrovica, four from
Skënderaj, three from Gjakova and eighteen from Gllogoci region. For any
further information you can contact to Mr. Nic Sommer, ICRC Mission, (038)
590 074 - 501 517/9

http://www.kosovapress.com/english/prill/21_4_2000_2.htm

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

KOSOVAPRESS
The massive protest in Gjakova

April 18, 2000

Gjakovë, April 18 (Kosovapress) - By the office organization for the
prisoners and missing persons, today in Gjakova it was held a massive
protest by the citizens. About one hour they stood on silence aside the
pavements with improvised grilles, and the pictures on the hands of the
prisoners and missing persons of their relatives, and many other placards
written in Albanian, English and Italian with motto "Release".
	At this protest were seen many school students, hospital workers, and many
workers from other different institutions, they kept calmly to symbolize the
trial who started today against the 146 prisoners from the municipal of
Gjakova. Mr. Arben Hoxha the responsible for media office, said that these
people were taken last year from 1 - 5 May on their homes, streets and
everywhere they were found. From this number 155 persons, 8 of them are dead
during their charge at prison. While Gent Nushi is released last year from
the prison Mitrovica e Sremit.

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

KËSHILLI PËR MBROJTJEN E TË DREJTAVE E TË LIRIVE TË NJERIUT
COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
Letter of Protest

April 21, 2000

Dear Sir(s),

Today, on 21.04.2000, a year is completed since the Serbian paramilitary and
police forces took hostage 15 members of the Mirena family and their
relative Sokol Rama. Ever since the family or the people were not given any
information on their whereabouts.
	Safet Mirena, who is a witness, was arrested with them. He was released
later on for unknown reasons.
	Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Mirena family
consider that very less was done by the UN Administration regarding this
case and many other cases. Therefore, we ask you to more seriously handle
this and similar cases. We hope that your engagement will help all citizens
of Fushë Kosova to get information on the whereabouts of their relatives,
who are unaccounted for.

 1. Ismet Mirena        1945
 2. Ilmi Mirena         1950
 3. Idriz Mirena        1952
 4. Hakif Mirena        1955
 5. Fehmi Mirena        1955
 6. Hamdi Mirena        1958
 7. Nazif Mirena        1961
 8. Nezir Mirena        1964
 9. Bedri Mirena        1964
10. Zeqir Mirena        1966
11. Sami Mirena         1970
12. Mentor Mirena       1973
13. Veton Mirena        1974
14. Avni Mirena         1975
15. Arben Mirena        1976
16. Sokol Rama          1948

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

FREESERBIA
Serbian lawyers appeal for Brovina's release

April 21, 2000

	Serb lawyers have appealed for the release of a Kosovo Albanian
humanitarian doctor, poet and activist jailed for terrorism, saying there
was no evidence to justify her 12 year sentence. At a protest meeting held
in a studio theatre in Belgrade on the anniversary of her arrest during last
year's NATO air strikes, four lawyers called on their colleagues in the
Supreme Court to free Flora Brovina when they hear her appeal on May 16. She
was accused of associating with and helping the separatist Kosovo Albanian
guerrillas who stepped up their fight against Serb security forces during
the bombing. Brovina denied the charges, saying her work was purely
humanitarian.
	"She's a victim of a stereotype, which is unfortunately widespread in
Serbia, that the Albanians are a lesser race and all guilty for anything
that happens," said Biljana Kovacevic-Vuco, head of the Yugoslav Lawyers
Committee. Vojin Dimitrijevic, director of the Belgrade Centre for Human
Rights, said the detention of a peace activist like Brovina was bad for
Kosovo's Serbs, who have suffered revenge attacks since NATO replaced Serb
forces last June. "She said that if she was free she would go to Kosovo and
appeal to all Albanian intellectuals to raise their voices against violence.
I believe she would do that," he said.

http://anon.free.anonymizer.com/http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeserb/news/e-petak2
1april.html

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

KOSOVAPRESS
Rexhep Qosja met with Juan Ortuno

April 21, 2000

Prishtinë, April 21 (Kosovapress) - The leader of Democratic Party, Rexhep
Qosja met with the commandant KFOR, General Juan Ortuno. In this meeting
they talk about the actual situation in Kosova, especially for the security,
about the prisoners matter, about the refugees return form some European
countries, about the registration and about prepares for
new elections.

http://www.kosovapress.com/english/prill/21_4_2000_1.htm

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

KOSOVAPRESS
The protest in Gjakova with motto "Release the prisoners"

April 16, 2000

Gjakovë, April 16 (Kosovapress) - On 18 April, in Gjakova town there will be
held a protest with motto "Release the prisoners". This protest is organized
at the time when it starts the trial for 146 prisoners at the court in Nishi
town. We invite all the citizens to take part in this massive protest which
will start at 9a.m.till 10a.m.Also in this protest will take part and
schools, workers of hospital and other organizations, and this protest will
keep in a very calm state and not moving from the place.

http://www.kosovapress.com/english/prill/16_4_2000_.htm

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

REUTERS LIMITED
Expert Testifies About Bones at Serbian Massacre Site

By Dragan Stankovic
April 20, 2000


NIS, Yugoslavia (Reuters) - A Yugoslav forensic expert told a Serb court
Thursday that he found child and adult remains in a Kosovo village where
ethnic Albanians are alleged to have massacred Serbs.
     Slavisa Dobricanin was giving evidence in the three-week-old trial of
Kosovo Albanians Luan and Bekim Mazreku. The case against the men is based
on charges which Belgrade says justified its military crackdown in Kosovo.
     Prosecutors say the defendants, born in 1978, were among 20 people who
kidnapped, tortured and killed Serbs in the village of Klecka, southwest of
Pristina, in 1998.
     After capturing Klecka from Kosovo Albanian rebels, Serbian police
showed reporters a brick-made furnace, where they said the killers disposed
of the corpses. The Serb victims had been executed by firing squad, they
said.
     Dobricanin said that the partially or completely burnt bones found in
Klecka indicated two child skeletons, one aged five and one between 10 and
15 years, and bones of at least five adults.
     "The fact the bones were scattered around and not all totally calcined
showed someone was in a big hurry," said Dobricanin, a prosecution witness.
     At earlier hearings, the defendants denied the charges and said that
confessions given during the investigation were made under duress.

BODIES IN KLA UNIFORMS

Dobricanin also said that when investigating another grave site in nearby
Malisevo, where Luan Mazreku had testified to burying four civilians, he had
instead found four bodies in black uniforms with Kosovo Liberation Army
insignia.
     Luan Mazreku is additionally accused of raping and torturing a Serb
girl and of cutting off the ear of an eight-year-old Serb boy. The two men
are also charged with kidnapping and murdering ethnic Albanians in a
separate incident.
     The court rejected a request by the defense to admit as evidence the
findings of a Finnish forensic team, which investigated the Klecka case. The
Finnish experts went to Klecka at the invitation of a Kosovo humanitarian
group that said the accusations were unfounded.
     Its findings have not been made public.
     The prosecution's request to view two video tapes -- one showing the
defendants' filmed interrogation and one of a Serb television documentary --
was approved.
     "We will see (on these tapes) if Luan's ear was slashed, as he claimed,
if Bekim's nose was smashed or if they have any other injuries," said deputy
public prosecutor Miodrag Surla.
     If found guilty the two defendants face up to 20 years in jail. The
trial resumes on May 9.

© 2000 Reuters Limited.
http://news.excite.com/news/r/000420/14/news-yugoslavia-kosovo

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

FREEB92 DAILY NEWS
Court security guard assaults student protester

Apr 18, 2000

BELGRADE, Tuesday - A security guard at the Belgrade Business Court today
assaulted a member of the student organisation Otpor in the street outside
the court building. Several Otpor activists had earlier displayed a banner
reading "Goran Matic, who killed Slavko Curuvija?" in front of the court.
Security guards asked the protesters to leave. After they complied, one
guard ran from the building and struck the student in the street.
	The court was hearing charges brought by Information Minister Goran Matic
against Beta news agency and Belgrade daily Blic. Matic alleges that a story
carried by Beta and published by Blic about an Otpor protest had damaged his
reputation and honour.
	Otpor activists were also under fire in Novi Sad, the capital of Serbia's
northern province of Vojvodina today. Four members of the organisation spent
almost eight hours in the Srbobran police station before being released this
afternoon. A statement from Otpor's Novi Sad office alleged that police beat
one of the activists, Ivan Mudrinski, while apprehending him. Police had
earlier searched the apartments of the four students and confiscated a large
amount of printed material.

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

FREESERBIA
Beta agency fined, charges against Blic daily dropped

April 18, 2000

	Belgrade-based independent news agency Beta, was fined a total of 310.000
dinars under the Law on Public Information. Charges against Beta and the
independent daily Blic, were laid by the Federal minister of information
Goran Matic. Charges against Blic were dropped, because the daily proved
that it completely republished information which Beta published the day
earlier.
	During the hearing, members of the student's movement Otpor, tried to
display a banner reading "Goran Matic, who killed Slavko Curuvija?", in
front of the court room. The security guards asked students to leave the
court building. They complied, and went out, but displayed the banner on the
street in front of the building.
	A guard then ran out from the building, struck the student who carried the
banner and took the banner away. The whole event was recorded by a
handy-cam, and was broadcast on the Studio B TV. Later on, Otpor activists
wrote the graffiti on the place where the incident happened, reading "Goran
Matic, who killed Slavko Curuvija?"

http://anon.free.anonymizer.com/http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeserb/news/e-utorak
18april.html

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

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. 020