From office at kan-ks.org Wed Mar 17 08:27:23 2004 From: office at kan-ks.org (KAN Office) Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 14:27:23 +0100 Subject: [KAN-Info] Communique Message-ID: <000001c40c23$b5c82d00$1971a8c0@b> COMMUNIQU? Around 15 Kosovar citizens have been killed in the violent riots that have occurred throughout Kosova in the past 24 hours. Hundreds of others were injured or wounded. These riots followed the drowning of three Albanian children while trying to escape from local Serbs who were hunting them with a dog in the village of ?ab?r, Zubin Potok, Mitrovica. We, activists of Kosova Action Network (KAN), express our condolences to the families that lost their loved ones. We wish fast recovery to all the wounded. It is not the first time after the war that Albanian citizens, especially in the north of Kosova, but also the citizens of other communities have been the target of criminals. This has been enabled since Kosova is being governed by the undemocratic regime of UNMIK. Tolerating of the parallel structures and the Serbian secret service, that only harm the Serbs too, has become unbearable. The citizen of Kosova has become strangled by the hegemonic power of UNMIK and disappointed with the puppet power of the institutions of Kosova. The Kosovar institutions are built and act according to frameworks that do not protect the interests of the citizens and do not represent their will. Such a political system, while not giving a chance to democratic institutions, becomes repressive and cannot count on the loyalty of the citizens for which it does not show respect. Consequently, those that have the power (UNMIK) and those that pretend to have the power (Kosovar Institutions) are the main responsible for the tragic events and for the difficult situation that we face. Overcoming of this situation and the overall progress in Kosova, before anything, depends on respecting the will of the citizens of Kosova that includes also the independent sovereign state of Kosova. Not understanding or not accepting this will only deepen the crisis. Prishtina, 17th March 2004 Kosova Action Network (KAN) -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From office at kan-ks.org Wed Mar 17 08:27:24 2004 From: office at kan-ks.org (KAN Office) Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 14:27:24 +0100 Subject: [KAN-Info] =?iso-8859-2?q?Komunikat=EB?= Message-ID: <001401c40c24$458952c0$1971a8c0@b> KOMUNIKAT? Sipas informacioneve t? deritanishme s? paku rreth 15 qytetar? t? Kosov?s jan? vrar? n? trazirat e dhunshme q? kan? p?rfshir? vendin n? 24 or?t e fundit. Me qindra t? tjer? jan? t? l?nduar e t? plagosur. K?to trazira pasuan mbytjen n? lumin Ib?r t? tre f?mij?ve shqiptar? nga fshati ?ab?r, t? cil?t u hodh?n n? lum? n? ikje e sip?r t? ndjekur nga serb?t lokal?. Me k?t? rast, ne aktivist?t e Rrjetit t? Aksionit p?r Kosov?n (KAN), t? gjitha familjeve, m? t? dashurit e t? cilave humb?n jet?n, u shprehim keqardhjet dhe ngush?llimet tona t? sinqerta. Urojm? q? t? l?nduarit e t? plagosurit t? sh?rohen sa m? shpejt?. Nuk ?sht? hera e par? pas p?rfundimit t? luft?s, q? qytetar?t shqiptar?, posa??risht n? veriun e Kosov?s, por edhe qytetar? t? tjer? t? Kosov?s, vriten nga kriminel?t. Kjo ?sht? mund?suar p?rderisa Kosova qeveriset nga regjimi jodemokratik i UNMIK-ut. Tolerimi i strukturave paralele dhe i sh?rbimeve sekrete t? Serbis?, t? cilat vet?m sa u b?jn? d?m edhe vet serb?ve t? Kosov?s, ?sht? b?r? i paduruesh?m. Qytetari i Kosov?s ?sht? ngulfatur nga pushteti i tep?rt i UNMIK-ut dhe ?sht? d?shp?ruar nga pushteti kukull i institucioneve t? Kosov?s. Institucionet e Kosov?s jan? nd?rtuar dhe veprojn? n? kuadrin e kornizave q? nuk mbrojn? interesat e qytetar?ve dhe nuk p?rfaq?sojn? vullnetin e tyre. Nj? sistem i k?till? politik, duke mos ofruar shans? dhe zgjidhje institucionale e demokratike, b?het represiv dhe ai nuk mund t? llogarit m? n? lojalitetin e qytetar?ve q? nuk i respekton. Rrjedhimisht, ata q? e kan? pushtetin (UNMIK-u) dhe ata q? shtiren se e kan? pushtetin (institucionet e Kosov?s) jan? p?rgjegj?sit kryesor? p?r ngjarjet tragjike dhe p?r gjendjen e r?nd? n? t? cil?n ndodhemi. Tejkalimi i k?saj situate dhe progresi i Kosov?s n? p?rgjith?si, para s? gjithash, varen nga respektimi i vullnetit t? qytetar?ve t? Kosov?s q? n?nkupton edhe shtetin e pavarur dhe sovran t? Kosov?s. Moskuptimi ose mospranimi i k?saj vet?m sa do ta thelloj? kriz?n. Kosova Action Network (KAN) Prishtin?, 17 mars 2004 -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From amead at maine.rr.com Thu Mar 18 09:37:54 2004 From: amead at maine.rr.com (Alice Mead) Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 09:37:54 -0500 Subject: [KAN-Info] KAN newsletter - January/February, 2004 Message-ID: <20040319032427.C98FB10C8039@alb-net.com> KOSOVA ACTION NETWORK (KAN) January/February, 2004 NEWSLETTER *********************** http://www.kan-ks.org * THE PETITION ON MISSING finally closed with 236,311 SIGNATORIES . "This is the biggest petition ever recorded in Kosova" ? Gjeneza Budima, KAN ------------------------------------------------ ****URGENT ACTION ? To send a letter, you can find a sample text on the KAN website demanding the return to Kosova of the approximately 800 exhumed bodies in Belgrade - before 24th March 2004, which is the 5th anniversary of the deadline set for Milosevic by NATO in 1999. ** TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS IN GJAKOVA AND PEJA ? KAN activists with the families of missing organize two public meetings within the third fase of the "We are all missing them" campaign. ** KAN and the ARTS ? KAN in association with Urban FM youth radio station organised a unique Arts event "WE HAVE 12 HOURS" - a journey through the past, present and future of Kosova through art, play, music, performance and video. **INTERNATIONAL KAN English KAN activists finished preparations for a humanitarian convoy to Kosova. KAN in Prishtina gets ready to help. KAN activists in Ireland highlight Missing issue with Minister for European Affairs, Dick Roche. They also raised the issue of the deportation of Kosovar asylum seekers. -------------------------------------------- PETITION ON MISSING PEOPLE: -------------------------------------------- "The number of signatures shows that the campaign for the Missing has been extended from just the being of concern of the families involved but also to reaching out beyond to the citizens of Kosova, one of the aims of the KAN campaign. We must always bear in mind that those missing are not missing because they were members of certain families but because they were citizens of Kosova." ? Ilir Hoxha, KAN. The KAN Petition on Missing people has been completed. Altogether, 236,311 signatures were collected. 11 CD's , containing the photographs of each page of the Petition were sent to all the political figures and institutions to whom the Petition was addressed: Secretary General of the UN, Mr.Kofi Anan; U.S. Secretary of State, Mr.Colin Powell; EU Commissioner for External Relations, Mr.Chris Patten; EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr. Javier Solana; Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Harri Holkeri; The Assembly, The Government and The President of Kosova. Amnesty International in their recent report on Serbia and Montenegro, 3rd March 2004, especially noted "the scandal of Batajnica, where over 700 murdered Kosovo Albanian civilians were buried in secret graves in an interior Ministry compound, and that after over four and half years still no domestic indictments have been served for this crime against humanity." Furthermore, General Djordjevic has not been transferred to Hague. General Djordjevic is "Believed to have been in charge of removing the bodies of Albanians killed in Kosova" (Institute of War and Peace Report, December 2002).Yet he is among four indicted war criminals whom the Serbian authorities refuse to transfer to the Hague. Since 10th December 2003, KAN activists and the Coordinating Council of the Association of the Families of Missing (KKAF) have been travelling throughout Kosova gathering signatures. As one can see on the photos on our KAN web site (www.kan-ks.org), there was a tremendous response from the public in Rahovec, Vushtrri, Malishev?, Peja, Skenderaj, Burim (Istog), Ferizaj, Drenas (Gllogovc), Prizren, Mitrovica, Gjilan, and other municipatities in Kosovo. Many young activists joined along the way to promote the campaign. Motorists stopped their cars to sign the Petition at designated points. Local tv and radio interviewed KAN activists, Albin Kurti, Gjeneza Budima, Milot Kelmendi, Agon Hamza, Ilir Hoxha, Jeta Deva. The activists were joined by famous local basketball players Muhamet Thaqi, Peja, Artan Mehmeti and Besim Braha, Mitrovica. In Prishtina, on December 30, 2003 were collected 24,805 signatures during 8 hours. There were totally 184 activists involved including here many famous public personalities like musicians Memli Krasniqi and Vullnet Sefaja, actors Luan Jaha and Vlora Merovci, the wellknown editor in chief of the magazine "Z?ri" Halil Matoshi, the painter Zake Prelvukaj, model Djell?za Kolgeci etc. KAN would like to thank everyone involved in organizing this petition, for taking time out to collect signatures, and for all the support, hospitality and kindness shown to activists in the various places where the petition was signed. The huge response to this campaign and the expression of solidarity by so many Kosovar citizens with the families of those missing has been heartening. Hopefully the international community will now respect the wishes of the families to return the bodies of their loved ones to Kosova by the KAN deadline of 24th of March 2004. ------------------------------------------------ PUBLIC MEETINGS ------------------------------------------------ Two Public Meetings were held in Gjakova and Peja. KAN activists together with the Families of Missing organized on 17th January 2004 a meeting in Gjakova and on 31th January 2004 in Peja. First, there was a report of KAN and KKAF activists to the families and citizens on the progress of the "We are all missing them" campaign. Afterwards, there was an open debate concerning the particular activities that were undertaken in the campaign and also new ideas for the future actions were discussed. Public meetings as well visits of KAN activists to the homes of the families of missing persons represent constant ongoing KAN activity. ------------------------------------------------ KAN AND THE ARTS ------------------------------------------------ A highly successful and unique arts event "WE HAVE 12 HOURS", organized by KAN in association with Urban FM youth radio station, took place in Prishtina on 8th February 2004. "Where have we come from? Where are we now? Where are we going?" - Artists were invited to interpret, interrogate and play with these three central questions. The day of art works, play, music, performance and video was a journey through the past, present and future of Kosova. This was also an "experiential" journey for the audience. Due to the many interactive artworks and the entire concept, visitors became participants. "WE HAVE 12 HOURS" was a product of the ideas of Kosovar artists at the "Art in the Social Context" debate, held last October, which examined questions such as art as a medium for social change in Kosova today. (This project was supported by the British Council.) One of the social issues raised by some of the artists , as well as KAN Kollectivo Design, the artistic section of KAN, was the current issue of Missing Persons. 100 artists participated: students from the Fine Arts Department, some established Kosovar artists and artists from minority communities. Young artists from the University, were coordinated by Professor Zake Prelvukaj. Their work included photography, graphic design, paintings and sculpture. Specific artists were invited to participate in the event, such as Orhan Kerkesi, documentary film-maker and KAN activist who screened two documentaries on the issue of missing persons and Atdhe Mulla photographer and designer. The event was organized by KAN activists Albin Kurti, Siobhan Cleary, and "Dusi", Director of Urban FM Radio Station. "We have 12 hours" was broadcast live on KTV and many of the young artists were interviewed by the TV and press about their work and aspirations for the future. ------------------------------- KAN INTERNATIONAL: ------------------------------- England: Bernard Sullivan, Susie Baker, and other aid workers from Hope and Aid Direct are making final preparations with KAN Prishtina to come to Kosova over Easter with aid for many families from all ethnic communities. This aid will be a humanitarian convoy that would aim to help sick people regardless of their religious or ethnic identity. Bernie and Susie have been actively campaigning within KAN on behalf of the Missing with Mr. Dennis McShane, British Minister for Europe and their local MP, Sandra Gidley who has been very supportive. Ireland: KAN activist Adem Bernica has had a meeting with Irish Minister for Europe, Dick Roche, regarding the issue of Missing Persons. Adem lives in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow which is part of the electoral constituency of Minster Roche. The Taoiseach, (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern, Minister for Foregin Affairs, Brian Cowen and Irish Ambassador to the OSCE Brendan Moran, have also been been contacted by KAN and asked for their support particularly during the Irish EU Presidency. In the recent letter to politicians in Ireland compiled by Valerie Hughes and several other activists of KAN in Ireland the following was also included: "The neglect of this deeply distressing issue by the international community is symbolic of the way that the overall problems of the region have been marginalized. In fact, the people lying in Batajnice ARE NOT MISSING! WE ALL KNOW WHERE THEY ARE! Yet five years after their deaths,they still have not been identified or returned to their families in Kosova." A comment about the Missing Serb and non-Albanian minorities was included and the failure to address this issue also. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The scandal of the thousands of Kosovar asylum seekers who are being deported from the EU. In view of the very small numbers involved, surely it is a matter of basic justice for the EU to eliminate visa obligations for Kosovars and Bosnians (as victims of horrific wars and ethnic cleansing). At a KAN workshop last July in Prizren, representatives of all ethnic groups were wholly in agreement that this would be the most effective solution to their current problems and the best antidote to interethnic violence and extremist activities. We call on EU leaders to urgently promote the extension of visas allowing Kosovars to work in the EU (Rights already enjoyed for a number of years by the Croats and Bosnians who have Croatian passports - though Croatia is not a memebr of the EU) - as the most effective means of offering A MINIMAL ECONOMIC LIFELINE in present cirumstances. Without final status, even the most basic economic conditons cannot be met. How are you all supposed to survive in the meantime? (This was part of letter sent last week to Taoiseach, Dick Roche, within the international campaign of KAN activists concerning the visa regime issue.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally all our love and best wishes to dearest Alice for a speedy recovery!!