[A-PAL] A-PAL Newsletter 1/9/01

[Alice Mead]

A-PAL NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 9, 2001
                                 A-PAL STATEMENT

Despite requests from various international leaders to release the 
prisoners during the Christmas season, President Kostunica and the 
FRY Parliament failed to take action on the proposed amnesty law. 
Instead of the amnesty as promised October 5, 2000, rumors circulated 
in Belgrade that the amnesty law would "exclude Albanian terrorists." 
However on January 8, 2001, Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic, while 
in DC, told Rep. Chris Smith, OSCE Chair in the US Congress, that the 
amnesty law would be passed soon, and that all prisoners would be 
released. Where is the reality ?

Meanwhile, European A-PAL, with the help of several Serb NGOs, has 
prepared a new email action campaign addressed to all Serb officials, 
many NGO's, and media in FRY demanding the timely release of the 
prisoners. Already we have received a quick response from Jiri 
Dienstbir (see below). Other statements for release have come from 
Anders Wessman in Sweden, Italian MEP member Olivier Dupuis, and MEP 
Bart Staes. Even the criminal prisoners in Serb jails believe the 
Albanians should be released.

The longer the government of FRY keeps the prisoners now, the less 
credibility they have in their claims of becoming a democracy. At 
this point, the government's actions--or inactions--speak louder than 
their words.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL-ACTION:   RELEASE THE PRISONERS NOW! JOIN US!
TË LIROHEN MENJËHERË TË BURGOSURIT! LASST JETZT DIE GEFANGENEN FREI! 
ODMAH OSLOBODITE ZATVORENIKE!
                    DETAILS AVAILABLE AT:
           **** http://www.kosova-info-line.de/APP/   ********

________________________________________________

I AGREE WITH ALL MY HEART: RELEASE THE ALBANIAN PRISONERS NOW !
Petar Lukovic, independent journalist, Belgrade, Serbia
<http://www.beograd.com/xz/>http://www.beograd.com/xz/
ICQ 26977244
_____________________________________
1/4/01
Dear Alice Mead,

I have been following this case since the beginning, made reports and 
demanded the release of prisoners in contacts both with the previous 
regime and the present government. I cover the issue in the prepared 
report to the UN Commission on Human Rights too. I understand that 
the new authorities have been busy with the establishment and 
consolidation of new democratic power and it continues till now after 
the Serbian elections. I believe that they will pay due attention to 
the issue as soon as possible. If the law on amnesty is not passed 
quickly or if it is not effective enough I will raise the question 
with the Yugoslav and Serbian Government again during my next visit 
to Belgrade this or next month.
Wishing you all the best
Yours
Jiri Dienstbier, UNHCR/FRY
  _______________________________________
FROM OLIVIER DUPUIS, EP MEMBER, ITALY
A un moment oó l'Union europÇenne oublie jusqu'aux centaines de 
Kosovars littÇralement kidnappÇs par les autoritÇs de Belgrade au 
printemps 1999 et toujours dÇtenus en toute illÇgalitÇ en Serbie, ce 
rappel au Droit et Ö la raison fondatrice de ce premier organe de 
justice internationale est particuliärement bienvenu et appelle les 
remerciements les plus sincäres de tous ceux qui ont voulu et su ne 
pas dÇsespÇrer complätement de la justice au cours des annÇes noires 
de l'äre Milosevic. "

  www.radicalparty.org

______________________________________________________________________
http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/index.phtml?Y=2001&M=01&D=08

FreeB92  Last update: Jan 8, 2001 15:59 CET

Amnesty to all FRY political prisoners, Svilanovic tells US

13:40 WASHINGTON, Monday - The Yugoslav Parliament will soon adopt an
Amnesty Act that will free all political prisoners, including over 1,000
Albanians currently in Serbian prisons, Yugoslav Foreign Minister told
high-ranking US officials yesterday.
     As president of the Helsinki Committee, in charge of America's
highest legislative body for cooperation with the OSCE, US Congressman
Christopher Smith stressed American approval for the speedy release of
all political prisoners in Yugoslavia.
     "This is a highly positive measure that would help solve some of the
serious problems the international community is still faced with in
Kosovo," Congressman Christopher Smith said.
     Smith added that he welcomed the Yugoslav Government's readiness to
"establish the demanded co-operation" with the International Tribunal
for war crimes committed in former Yugoslavia.
     During a meeting yesterday, Smith symbolically presented Svilanovic
with copies of Hague indictments of war criminals currently on Yugoslav
soil, adding that their arrests would be the best possible confirmation
of the new Belgrade regime's readiness to meet its obligations under the
Dayton peace agreement and the UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
(SENSE)
________

From: Kosova´s Information Office Stockholm <shqiptar.oseku at kosova.pp.se>
Subject: Action in Stockholm on behalf of hostages
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 00:00:19 +0100
X-Priority: 3



PROTEST IN STOCKHOLM FOR THE ALBANIAN HOSTAGES
Stockholm, 5 January - Swedish and Albanian protesters gathered today 
outside Belgrade embassy in Stockholm to demand the release of some 
700 Albanian hostages still kept in Serbian jails. The protesters, 
dressed in prison clothes and chained, asked the new Serbian 
lidership to release the hostages during Orthodox Christmass.

  "-The new lidership [in Belgrade] calles itself democratic, but it 
still holds in it's prisons hundreds of innocent men, arrested and 
sentenced by the Milosevic regime", said Anders Wessman, organiser of 
the protest.
The protest concluded a two-day action by The Swedish - Kosovar 
Friendship Association LMSK, which is headed by Mr. Wessman. 
Yesterday, LMSK had organised a symbolic day-long hunger strike, to 
draw public attention towards the difficult humanitarian conditions 
of the Albanian hostages in Serbia.
  "-Orthodox Christmass was a good oportunity for Belgrad to make a 
human step towards peace and conciliation with Kosova. Hundreds of 
children in Kosova await good news on their inprisoned parents every 
day, and the world shall not forget them", Mr. Wessman said.

  Today's protest of the LMSK in Stockholm didn't surpass without 
incidents. Embassy personel demanded on three occasions that the 
police should interveene against the protestors, although the action 
was conducted in a peacefull fashion.
  The situation with the Albanian hostages is turning into an 
embarrasment for the new lidership in Belgrade, who is trying 
desperatly to rebuild the image of the country in the eyes of the 
international community. The new federal president, Vojislav 
Kostunica, tryed initially hard to by-pass the sensitive question. 
But international pressure forced him finally in November to declare 
that he would "look closer" into the hostage affair.

  Rumours within the NGO communities in Kosova held that an "amnesty" 
of the hostages would pass on the eve of the Orthodox Christmass. But 
the "amnesty" never came and the fate of some 700 hostages still 
awaits a solution.

European Union demanded in late December that Belgrade should find 
"suitable legal paths" for rapid release of the Albanian hostages, 
which EU said had been inprisoned for "political reasons". Similar 
demands have been forwarded to Belgrade by the Swedish and other 
European governments on several occasions. The hostage's release was 
discussed formally even during the first visit in U.S. of the new 
"Yugoslav" minister of foreign affairs, Svilanovic.

  Speech of MEP Bart STAES (European Free Alliance) on the debate on 
the "Political prisoners in Serbia and instability on the borders of 
Kosovo" on the plenary session of the European Parliament on 
Thursday, 14th of December 2000.
Mr. President, Dear Colleagues, Mr. Commisssioner,
Last year on December 25th , on Christmas, three prominent Albanian 
Kosovarians started in Brussels a hungerstrike for three weeks to 
focus attention of the international community on the case of the 
prisoners and especially of the thousands of missing persons. Early 
January 2000 thousands of Kosovarians hold a demonstration in front 
of the building of the E.U.-Council in Brussels and a delegation of 
them was received by a representative of Mr. Solana and by the 
Portuguese presidency. Solana, so they said us, showed he understood 
these demands, but they drew our attention to the fact - I quote - 
that it was hard to have deals with a regime like this of Milosevic.

Dear Colleagues, meanwhile Milosevic has been replaced by Kostunica 
and during my stay in Kosova Kostunica has been received very 
cordially on the summit of Biarritz where he got unconditionally many 
millions ¤ as aid. But what did he prove in the case of the prisoners 
meanwhile? OK, one symbolic prisoner, Mrs. Flora Brovina has been 
released, but much remains to be done, Colleagues! The paragraphs 1, 
2 and 3 of our resolution are clear. We want a prompt release of the 
political prisoners and we demand an impartial investigation of the 
fate of the missing persons.

Mr. Solana, Mr. Patten, I ask both of you to put pressure on the 
regime of Kostunica to accept our demands. To Mr. Kostunica I will 
say: you should gain in credibility if you should embrace the 
opportunity of Christmas to proceed to actions in this case. In every 
way it will be benificial to the stability in the region. 

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