[ALBSA-Info] UN OKs Yugoslav Election in Kosovo/Albania Urges West to Thwart Serb Election ``Games''/US Says Serbs in Kosovo Should Be Able to Vote/Kosovo's Rugova Calls Yugo Election Move Provocation/Solana Urges Kosovo Albanians to Embrace Democracy

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

1. UN OKs Yugoslav Election in Kosovo
2. Albania Urges West to Thwart Serb Election ``Games''
3. US Says Serbs in Kosovo Should Be Able to Vote
4. Kosovo's Rugova Calls Yugo Election Move Provocation
5. Solana Urges Kosovo Albanians to Embrace Democracy

******

#1.
UN OKs Yugoslav Election in Kosovo

By MERITA DHIMGJOKA
.c The Associated Press

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - In a boost to President Slobodan Milosevic, the 
United Nations on Monday grudgingly agreed to demands by his supporters that 
Kosovo residents be allowed to vote in upcoming Yugoslav elections. 

The decision, by Bernard Kouchner, Kosovo's chief U.N. administrator, should 
result in only a limited number of votes being cast in the Sept. 24 
presidential and parliamentary elections. Serbs remaining in the province 
number only in the tens of thousands. 

Still, with no plans for an independent ballot count in Kosovo or outside 
monitoring of the elections, critics of Milosevic fear that the Yugoslav 
president's camp will pad the results heavily in his favor. 

Milosevic, who is lagging in popularity polls behind his chief challenger for 
the post of president, has been accused of cheating in past Kosovo elections. 

Kosovo formally remains part of Serbia, the largest Yugoslav republic, even 
though it has been run by NATO and the United Nations since NATO bombing last 
year forced Milosevic to pull out his troops and cede day-to-day control of 
the province. 

But with the nearly 2 million Kosovo Albanians considering their province 
independent, they are sure to boycott the elections, permitting the Milosevic 
camp to fraudulently claim their vote, say critics of the president. 

``Milosevic is in danger of losing the elections, and he is going to produce 
a lot of false votes in order to win,'' said Father Sava Janjic, a spokesman 
for Kosovo's moderate Serbs, who oppose Milosevic. 

Milosevic's government said last week that the parliamentary and presidential 
elections would be open to voters in Kosovo. In announcing his decision 
Monday, Kouchner said the international community will not get involved 
beyond trying to provide security for all voters - in effect ruling out U.N. 
or NATO attempts to monitor voting and provide independent vote counts. 

The elections ``do not meet any international standards,'' Kouchner said, 
alluding to Western concerns that Milosevic could cheat to stay in power in 
the presidential vote and help his supporters in the parliamentary elections. 

Beyond the issue of cheating, the decision to include Kosovo in the voting 
raises other complications. 

With Kosovo Albanians violently opposed to any association with Yugoslavia, 
any plan to include the province in the Yugoslav parliamentary and 
presidential elections is a sure recipe for violence against Serbs and voting 
facilities. 

Additionally, the move by Milosevic could be an attempt to gain popularity by 
showing Serbs outside the province that Kosovo remains part of their 
republic. Many Serbs blame the Yugoslav president for losing Kosovo to the 
United Nations and NATO. 

The plan would open about 500 polling stations in the troubled southern 
province for the Sept. 24 elections. The United Nations is preparing to hold 
local elections in Kosovo on Oct. 28. 

Also Monday, Serbian opposition leaders and Montenegrin officials warned of 
likely election fraud by Milosevic's allies, after he reportedly collected 
the signatures of 1.6 million citizens who support his candidacy. 

``Of course, this alleged support is an indication how irregular the vote 
will be,'' Montenegro's deputy prime minister, Dragisa Burzan, told The 
Associated Press. 

``We can, therefore, expect that he gets phantom votes just to be certain of 
victory.'' 

Fears are increasing that Milosevic will tamper with the ballot to stay in 
power. If an opposition candidate wins, he may declare the vote invalid, 
which could trigger riots or clashes between Milosevic's supporters and 
opponents. 


#2.
Albania Urges West to Thwart Serb Election ``Games''

TIRANA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Albanian President Rexhep Meidani on Sunday urged 
the international community to give a clear and severe answer to Yugoslav 
President Slobodan Milosevic's intention to hold federal polls in Kosovo. 

``The Milosevic regime has now started to undermine openly the work of the 
international mission and the Albanian parties in Kosovo,'' Meidani said in a 
statement after meeting Daan Everts, head of the Organisation for Security 
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Kosovo. 

``The international community should give a clear and severe answer in order 
not to allow any games or speculation by a (indicted) war criminal like 
Milosevic,'' Meidani said. 

Meidani said Kosovo's local polls on October 28 would be endangered by the 
``growing provocation Belgrade has started and which it wants to stage on the 
September 24 (Yugoslav federal) election.'' 

Officials from Milosevic's Socialist Party held a surprise rally in the 
Kosovo town of Gracanica on Wednesday and announced that Yugoslav presidential
 and parliamentary polls on September 24 would be held in the province. 

The move has left the international community in a dilemma over whether to 
ban elections in a province where they fought to establish democracy or risk 
sanctioning a poll which could be seriously flawed and spark violence. 

Kosovo remains part of Serb-dominated Yugoslavia but has been under de facto 
international rule since June last year when Serb forces withdrew after 78 
days of NATO bombing. 

Electioneering by Serbian politicians in Kosovo and voting in Yugoslav 
elections is likely to enrage members of the ethnic Albanian majority, who 
suffered years of state-backed repression and believe the territory should be 
independent. 


#3.
US Says Serbs in Kosovo Should Be Able to Vote

TIRANA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. envoy said there needed to be a way to 
allow Serbs in Kosovo to vote in this month's Yugoslav election without 
undermining the U.N.'s authority in the de facto international protectorate. 

Robert Frowick, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's representative 
for elections in the Balkans, said the West had to balance two major 
considerations when looking at plans by Yugoslav authorities to hold federal 
polls in Kosovo. 

``On the one hand there needs to be some way -- to respect because of the 
democratic tradition -- some way of enabling all eligible citizens to vote in 
the elections in Serbia,'' Frowick told reporters in the Albanian capital 
Tirana late on Friday. 

``But Kosovo is a very special case now because of the conflict last year and 
the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 which gives the international 
community, UNMIK (the U.N. mission in Kosovo), so much authority during this 
transition period.'' 

Kosovo legally remains part of Serb-dominated Yugoslavia but has been under 
de facto international rule since June of last year when Serb forces withdrew 
after 78 days of NATO bombing. 

Officials from Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialists held a 
surprise rally in the Kosovo town of Gracanica on Wednesday and announced 
that the presidential and parliamentary polls on September 24 would be held 
in the province. 

The move has left international officials in a dilemma over whether to ban 
elections in a province where they fought to establish democracy or risk 
sanctioning a poll which could be seriously flawed and spark violence. 

Frowick did not say how Washington favoured allowing the Serbs to vote -- by 
letting Yugoslav authorities to set up polling stations inside Kosovo or by 
helping Serbs inside Kosovo to travel to polling stations in Serbia proper. 

He stressed any electioneering would have to take place with ``the clear 
understanding that UNMIK is in control within Kosovo...and will be absolutely 
determined to respect democratic norms in any electoral activities there.'' 

The U.N. mission in Kosovo, headed by Frenchman Bernard Kouchner, has so far 
not given a public response to the announcement by Yugoslav officials. 

Electioneering by Serbian politicians in Kosovo and voting in Yugoslav 
elections is likely to enrage members of the ethnic Albanian majority, who 
suffered years of state-backed repression and believe the territory should be 
completely independent. 

Frowick also said preparations for Kosovo's own municipal elections on 
October 28 looked promising but the U.S. was concerned about the potential 
for politically motivated violence. 


#4.
Kosovo's Rugova Calls Yugo Election Move Provocation

By Andrew Gray
  
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim 
Rugova on Friday branded plans by Yugoslav authorities to hold federal 
elections in Kosovo a provocation. 

Rugova, leader of the largest political party representing Kosovo's Albanian 
majority, said only the province's United Nations-led administration had the 
right to organise elections. 

``It's a provocation for Kosovo,'' Rugova told reporters after a regular 
meeting between local leaders and Bernard Kouchner, head of the U.N. Mission 
in Kosovo (UNMIK). 

``UNMIK has all the rights to make decisions for Kosovo, according to all 
national and international documents,'' added Rugova, president of the 
Democratic League of Kosovo party. 

Kouchner has so far given no public response to this week's announcement by 
Yugoslav officials that federal presidential and parliamentary polls on 
September 24 will also be held in Kosovo. 

The province legally remains part of Yugoslavia but has been under de facto 
international rule since June of last year, when Serb forces withdrew after 
78 days of NATO bombing. 

The move leaves the West in a dilemma -- try to ban elections in a territory 
where it fought to establish democracy or sanction a poll which could be 
flawed, spark violence and keep Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 
power. 

U.N. officials said Kouchner did not want to play into Belgrade's hands by 
responding immediately to the announcement, which they see as a ploy by 
Milosevic to raise tension, when Yugoslav authorities have not even notified 
UNMIK of the plans. 

But Kouchner has made clear several times that he does not see how free, fair 
and safe Yugoslav elections could be organised within such a short timeframe 
in the volatile and sometimes chaotic environment of post-war Kosovo. 

UNMIK officials acknowledged that the mission would have to come up with a 
position within the next few days and suggested a statement might come after 
European Union foreign ministers had discussed the issue at a weekend meeting 
in Evian, France. 

But even if, as seems likely, UNMIK decides not to sanction the elections, 
international officials admit they could still face a major security problem 
as they will not be able to physically stop the polls taking place in Serb 
enclaves. 

Any electioneering by Serbian politicians and voting in Yugoslav elections is 
likely to enrage ethnic Albanians, who suffered years of repression inside 
Serb-dominated Yugoslavia and believe the territory should be completely 
independent. 

An indication of that anger came on Friday when ethnic Albanian politicians 
voiced outrage that officials from Milosevic's Socialist Party were able to 
come to the Kosovo town of Gracanica on Wednesday and announce the election 
plan. 

``They are leaders of a party which organised four wars in former Yugoslavia 
and has committed criminal acts and we expressed our surprise that they could 
come to Gracanica,'' said Rexhep Qosja, head of Kosovo's United Democratic 
Movement. 


#5.
Solana Urges Kosovo Albanians to Embrace Democracy

UROSEVAC, Yugoslavia, Aug 30 (Reuters) - European foreign policy chief Javier 
Solana on Wednesday urged Kosovo Albanians to turn their backs on the 
province's violent history and embrace democracy in forthcoming elections. 

Solana, who was NATO Secretary-General last year when the alliance bombed 
Yugoslavia to drive Serb forces out of Kosovo, told a public meeting in the 
southeastern town of Urosevac the elections were a chance to set a course for 
a peaceful future. 

``My dear friends, a society cannot be constructed with hatred,'' Solana told 
the crowd, which gave him a hero's welcome of cheers and applause at a sports 
hall on the outskirts of the town. ``A society has to be constructed with 
love.'' 

Since NATO and the United Nations took over responsibility for the Yugoslav 
province in June last year, it has been plagued by violence against Serbs and 
other minorities committed by ethnic Albanians embittered by years of Serb 
repression. 

As the October 28 municipal elections draw closer, police and peacekeepers 
have also reported several attacks within the ethnic Albanian majority with a 
possible political background. 

Solana, now the European Union's high representative for foreign and security 
policy, urged ethnic Albanians to vote for candidates who would guarantee 
them a peaceful future. 

``Please, do away with hatred, do away with violence,'' said the former 
Spanish foreign minister, who appeared visibly moved by his reception at the 
meeting. ``The past is over. The future is ours, is yours.'' 

The meeting was one in a series being held around Kosovo by Bernard Kouchner, 
the head of the territory's U.N.-led administration, to encourage a dialogue 
with local people. 

``We have to transform the image of Kosovo in offering a democratic election 
-- fair and without violence,'' Kouchner told the crowd. ``I ask you, going 
into elections, to stop the vicious cycle of revenge.''