[KAN-Info] KAN NEWSLETTER/DEC. 2003

[Alice Mead]

KOSOVA  ACTION NETWORK
DECEMBER, 2003 NEWSLETTER
<http://www.kan-ks.org/>
tel- +377-44-208-001
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        DECEMBER- FOCUS ON THE ISSUE OF MISSING CONTINUES
      (As of 12/03-3,638 citizens of Kosova remain missing)

"Missing persons is one of the most highly politicised and deeply divisive
issues in post-conflict Kosovo."- Denis McShane, UK

"The solidarity of people in signing the petition is an expression of the
improtance of revealing the facts about the fate of the missing."- KAN
Communique, Dec 9, 2003

 Only 197 of over 800 exhumed bodies have been returned from Serbia to
Kosova. (the Denis MacShane comment below states 157 bodies)
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**Petition Update -PHASE 2 OF PETITION DRIVE BEGINS--The KAN petition
demanding action on resolving the issue of missing has 95,000 signatures,
collected from all over Kosova and from the KAN website. By February, 2004,
KAN activists will have gone in teams village to village, collecting
thousands more. Report by Gjeneza Budima.

**KAN and the Arts- KAN highlighted the issue of missing at the annual Human
Rights Film Festival in Prishtina with a press conference and panel
discussion. December 9th.

**KAN and Reconciliation- Dec. 12/13- KAN members participated in the
conference "Truth and Peace" in Prishtina organized by the Coordinating
Council of the Assoc. of Families (KKAF), supported by ICMP. Also present
wre mothers from Bosnia and Croatia and staff from OMPF, UNMIK, ICMP, ICRC.

** International KAN- activists raise the issue in UK Parliament. Statements
on missing from UK¹s  Dennis McShane, a letter in the Irish Times, the
petition given to Chris Patten in Ireland and Wesley Clark in USA.

** NEW YEAR¹S PRIORITIES‹To increase input and to continue pressure needed
to resolve the problem of missing. KAN board members held an  assembly
meeting in December to broaden the opportunity for input and
decision-making, and to discuss a proposed tour around Kosova to gather
ideas and open opportunities for discussion and debate.

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QUOTABLES‹ON MISSING‹

 Amnesty InternationaL, August, 2003- the OMPF's current priorities are "the
exhumation and examination of grave sites, and the return of positively
identified bodies to their families for burial". (IN DECEMBER, 2003, 44
BODIES WERE RETURNED FROM SERBIA.)

UK Minister of Europe, Denis McShane‹ "Š there is also a sense that until
families know the location of the body of a missing person to whom they were
close, and until there is a body to grieve over, they are trapped in the
continual emotional torment of wondering, "What if my son, my father or my
uncle is still alive?" That is the tragic situation faced by many families
from all ethnic groups and communities throughout the Balkans."

Amnesty Intl. report,(Nov 2003)- "Thousands of
perpetrators continue to enjoy impunity for war crimes,crimes against
humanity and genocide committed during the war in Bosnia -Herzegovina."
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 Report by:
Gjeneza Budima

             Phase 2- Mobile Campaign December 10, 2003


>From December the 10th 2003, KAN has initiated the "mobile campaign" for
signing the petition. This will continue until early February, 2004. Each
day KAN activists travel to a city and in cooperation with local offices of
CDHRF, OMPF and youth organizations to collect signatures. The citizens of
each city get informed in advance for our visit by local media.
Here is ssome information regarding the "mobile campaign":

On 10 December , Ilir Hoxha, Gjeneza Budima, Liburn Aliu (all KAN activists)
and Donat Zejnullahu (Youth Network) were in Rahovec. 849 signatures were
collected in five hours. The citizens responded very positively. People were
stopping the car to sign the petition in certain signing  point.
On 11 December, Jeta Deva, Liburn  Aliu and Tomorr Hoxha visited Vushtri and
during five hours campaign 2,100 signatures were collected. A lot of youth
activist joined to help and make the campaign successful.
On 12 December, Siobhan Cleary and Ilir Hoxha were in Malisheve. 900
signatures were collected. The bad weather lowed the chnces for bigger
number. Ilir gave interview for local radio saying that this campaign is
success of all citiens of Kosovo and not only organizers of the campaign.
On 13 December, the "mobile campaign" was in Peje. Milot Kelmendi, Gjeneza
Budima, Hysen Durmishi, Dardan Velija, Agon Hamza (KAN) and Donat Zejnullahu
(YN) with the support of local activists collected 2,650 signatures. Muhamet
Thaqi, the best basket player of Peja team "Dukagjini" joined the activists
for some time.
On 15 December, Shkurta Ali, Tomorr Hoxha and Shpetim Dula (KAN) were in
Skenderaj. 2,030 signatures were collected. Ilir gave interview for RTK.
Citizens were very kind. In a café activists were invited for cup of tea to
worm up, since the weather was pretty cold.
On 16 December, Albin Kurti and Shpetim Dula (KAN) were in Burim (Istog) and
during five hours campaign 1,000 signatures were collected. Albin was
walking around and talking with the citizens about their thoughts and
feelings. 
On 17 December Ilir Hoxha, Vlora Bajcinca, Albin Kurti (KAN) and Sabit Azizi
were in Ferizaj, collecting 2,400 signatures. Local TV Festina interviewed
Albin. Also Albin and Ilir were guests in live show of local radio in
Ferizaj. Albin said that the lack of results as far as the missing people
issue, speaks for lack of activity of responsible people in Kosovar
Institutions, and concerning petition follow up he said that the results
will be the one to stop our activities in the future. Ilir said that the
number of signatures shows that the issue of missing people in Kosova was
brought form the level of the families to level of Kosova citizens, and that
was one of the aims of campaign because they aren¹t missing because they
were members of certain family but because they were citizens of Kosova.
On 18 December, the "mobile campaign" was in Drenas (Gllogovc). Shpetim Dula
and Gjeneza Budima (KAN) were there from KAN. 1,750 signatures were
collected during that day. Local radio station Drenica interviewed Gjeneza
and some citizens, about the flow of petition signing.
On 19 December, Milot Kelmendi, Kushtrim Krasniqi and Vlora Bajcinca (KAN)
were in Prizren, collecting 2,000 signatures. This visit was covered by KTV,
while Milot was interviewed.
On 20 December, Milot Kelmendi, Vlora Bajcinca, Kushtrim Krasniqi and
Gjeneza Budima (KAN) the campaign was in Mitrovica. Apart from local
activists of CDHRF, OMPF, and Youth Centre, the campaign was supported also
by Artan Mehmeti and Besim Braha, the best basket players of Mitrovica team
"Trepca". 3,030 signatures were collected.
During the 10 days of the campaign mentioned above 18,709 signatures were
collected.
During the next week we will visit Gjilan, Lipjan, Kamenice, Decan, Kacanike
and on 27 December KAN is planning to have around 100 volunteers collecting
signatures in streets of Prishtina.
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 HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL/ MISSING

December 9, 2003 was the last day of the Documentary Film Festival on Human
Rights organized by Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms
(CDHRF) which was held at the "ABC" cinema in Prishtina. This closing day of
the festival, in which also the winners were announced, was dedicated to the
missing persons. Before showing the films, a press conference was held and
afterwards an open debate with the audience was organized. The entire
program of this day is as shown below.

15:00   Press Conference with representatives of Coordinating Council of the
Association of the Families (KKAF), Nesrete Kumnova dhe Sheremet Ademi, and
with Gjeneza Budima dhe Ilir Hoxha, activists of Kosova Action Network
(KAN).

20:35    Open pannel discussion: How do we find the truth?
Participants: filmmakers Mohammad Ahmadi and Orhan Kerkezi, activists of
KKAF Sheremet Ademi and Nesrete Kumnova, activists of KAN Linda Gusia dhe
Gjeneza Budima, and Gramoz Berish the boy who survived the massacre in
Theranda and out of whose story Orhan Kerkezi made the film "Three Steps of
Salvation". Moderator: Albin Kurti.
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Part of a Disccusion of Missing with Dennis McShane--From KAN activist,
Bernie Sullivan and his UK Member of Parliament, Hon. Sandra Gidley

Sandra Gidley (Romsey) (LD): I am delighted to have the opportunity to raise
the subject of missing persons in Kosovo.

The main problem appears to be that the pace with
which bodies are returned is extremely slow. Obviously, people want to know
what has happened to their loved ones and without proof of their fate many
people cannot properly move on in their lives.

According to a statement published by Amnesty International in August, the
OMPF's current priorities are "the exhumation and examination of grave
sites, and the return of positively identified bodies to their families for
burial".
As most of the work on the former has been more or less completed, unless
more sites are found, clearly the emphasis should be on identification.

On 8 May, the first group of remains that were identified using DNA analysis
were handed over. The bodies are handed over to UNMIK at the administrative
border between Serbia and Kosovo. The bodies had been identified, but were
then handed over to the OMPF for further forensic examination, and even then
the families had to wait until 1 August before they were able to bury
friends and relatives. At that time, the families had been waiting for the
first release of bodies for four years after the war had ended, and only 37
were released at that stage. Recently‹early in December‹there was a further
handover of bodies, when another 44 were released.
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The Minister for Europe (Mr. Denis MacShane) : This is an important debate
on a fundamental issue, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Romsey
(Sandra Gidley) for initiating it. She has visited Kosovo, and she has
responded to
a constituent much involved in that field of work who has come to see her.
The hon. Lady raised many valid points about the continued suffering of the
many families in Kosovo who lost relatives during the 1999 conflict. No one
can fail to be moved by the humanitarian catastrophe and the blood shed
across the Balkans and in the rest of Europe and our own country in the
1990s, and there can be no hon. Member who has not, in his or her
constituency advice surgery, met asylum seekers and others displaced as a
result of that violence, which was without parallel in Europe after the
second world war. 

A dialogue was launched between Belgrade and
Pristina on 14 October 2003, and that was a key step in beginning the
normalisation of the difficult relationship between Kosovan Albanians and
the Serbs who live in Kosovo, as well as the Serbian nation and its capital
city of Belgrade. 

The scale of the issue is immense. In June 1999, the UN estimated that 6,000
people of all ethnicities were missing as a result of the conflict in
Kosovo. The latest version of the consolidated list of missing persons,
issued by the OMPF on 9 December, states that 3,638 are still reported
missing. 

Missing persons is one of the most highly politicised and deeply divisive
issues in post-conflict Kosovo. Obtaining accurate information about the
location of mass graves is a problem.

It is possible that those who have information are afraid or unwilling to
pass it on to the authorities. We therefore need to assist UNMIK and what is
called its pillar I, which is responsible for law and order: any witnesses
who come forward must be supported. That becomes logistically difficult if
entire families have to be moved outside Kosovo. There is also the issue of
the identification and return of remains to
Kosovo. Progress has been made, but UNMIK and Belgrade have more to do on
that. In 2000, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe reported the
existence of 4,392 bodies from the conflict in Kosovo. Since then, another
150 bodies have been found. So far, 4,019 bodies have been exhumed and 2,212
have been identified. In addition, approximately 800 bodies have been
exhumed from the mass graves at Batajnica and Petrovo Selo in Serbia, the
majority of which are unidentified, but 157 of those that have been
identified have been returned to Kosovo.

The hon. Lady asked why the bodies exhumed in Serbia cannot be returned to
Kosovo more quickly. In fact, bodies need to be identified and returned not
only in Belgrade, but in Kosovo. There have been long delays in returning
the remains of loved ones who have been identified, which cause huge
distress for the families. I confirm that as a priority I am asking our
embassy in Belgrade and our mission in Pristina to call upon the ICMP and
the OMPF to raise that. I have not yet received responses, but I assure the
hon. Lady that I shall maintain pressure and write to her when I hear of
developments. 

A key obstacle to the process is the fact that the Serbian police did not
begin to discover or exhume the mass graves in Serbia until March 2001, with
the arrival of a reforming Government in Belgrade after the ousting of
Milosevic. Further delays have arisen over the best way to identify the
remains. Should one use traditional forensic techniques or DNA testing? That
has now been resolved, and the ICMP and UNMIK signed a memorandum of
understanding on 26 November 2003. I hope that we now move forward, and, in
passing, I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Kensington and Chelsea
(Mr. Portillo), who has been heavily involved with other organisations
working in the field of forensics and in identifying victims of the conflict
in the former Yugoslavia.

Is there a problem with the fact that the identification process has to be
carried out twice‹once in Serbia, and once when the remains are returned to
Kosovo? The difficulty is that the OMPF would not be complying with its
formal obligations to co-operate with war crimes prosecutors if it did not
carry out a forensic examination to determine the true cause of death.
However, we must look again to see whether we can have one examination
rather than two. 

The next question is: why are not all the exhumed remains returned en masse
from Serbia to Kosovo? I am told that one reason is that if the bodies were
returned to Kosovo en masse before identification, there would be greater
delays in their return to their families because the local capacity for
identifying remains would be further overloaded. Indeed, those of us who
visit Kosovo from time to time see that the state administration is limited
in what it can do. 


The UK Government have so far provided £750,000 to organisations working to
locate and identify persons missing as a result of the armed conflicts in
the Balkans. We will continue to play close attention to the matter, and I
invite the hon. Lady to stay in contact with me on this issue on behalf of
her constituents. I congratulate her again on placing this matter in the
record of the House of Commons. It will be of great interest and perhaps
some comfort that she is a champion of the families in Kosovo and Serbia who
are seeking to come to terms with the great losses that they have suffered.
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RE IRISH EU PRESIDENCY
ARTICLE FROM IRISH TIMES, SUBMITTED BY VALERIE HUGHES
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It is a tragic fact of international affairs that political violence usually
attracts the attention of governments and that its cessation - however
superficial and temporary - leads to the neglect of the very problems that
brought about violence in the first place.

Speaking recently at the London School of Ecomonics, Paddy Ashdown,current
representative of the EU in Bosnia, confessed that the failure to implement
the rule of law in the first six years after Dayton, had brought very
destructive consequences.Now that the Hague Tribunal for war crimes is being
phased out,an Amnesty report,(Nov 2003) warns that "Thousands of
perpetrators continue to enjoy impunity for war crimes,crimes against
humanity and genocide committed during the war in Bosnia -Herzegovina."

One of the most distressing, current issues in the region is that of missing
people. Albin Kurti , a leading human rights activist in Kosova Action
Network has excoriated the international community for allowing 800 bodies
of Kosovar Albanians to lie unidentified in a "special police" centre in
Belgrade - four years after they were killed!

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   HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM EVERYONE AT KAN-
Albin, Ilir, Siobhan, Gjeneza, Alice, Valerie, Bernie, Dardan, Milot,
Besnik, Mentor, Bella, Fatban, Kushtrim

WITH THANKS TO‹SAFETE, ZANA, RAND, NYSRETE, SUSIE, XHELAL, ARDI, AGON, ISA,
VJOLLCA, LAURA, DAFFY, LINDA, FILIP
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