From mentor at alb-net.com Tue Feb 9 03:49:20 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 03:49:20 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Kosova "Shuttle diplomacy" within the Chateau Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- KOSOVA (Rambouillet - Day Four) "Shuttle diplomacy" within the Chateau Beq? Cufaj & Augustin Palokaj \ Koha Ditore Rambouillet, 8 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- The second working day in Rambouillet (Saturday was proclaimed day 0), began with the Albanian delegation insisting on immediate armistice in Kosova and for the Contact Group members to serve as a guarantee. The Albanian side demanded this to happen so negotiations could go well. The Serb-Yugoslav delegation (as called by the spokesman of the co-chairmen), on the other hand, requested to see the signatures of the Albanian delegation, saying that they accept the ten basic principles proposed by the Contact Group. This is important for the Serb side since one of the principles guarantees the "FRY" territorial integrity, which could prove them successful. "KD" sources notify that US mediator, Christopher Hill, was engaged in efforts to "convince the Albanian delegation to sign to these principles" today. Western sources told "Koha Ditore" that the issue is about the principles to which "they agreed with the simple act of turning up in Rambouillet." Other sources still, said that Albanians, did not accept anything, at least not so far. They are studying all of the propositions carefully, and giving their objections. According to "KD" sources, the Albanian delegation has shown that it is very united until now. "There is harmony within the delegation and they are working, together, with great seriousness," a diplomatic source told Albanian daily "Koha Ditore". The Albanian side, there are claims, has so far depicted itself as a delegation from Kosova, which is surprisingly compact, and not diverged as expected. Seems like sooner or later they willhave to meet each-other Western diplomats told "Koha Ditore" that it is up to the two delegations to decide when they want to meet each-other. "It could be that they do not meet at all, but we are aiming at achieving an agreement," said the sources. Other sources confirmed that none of the sides has so far shown interest to sit at the same table as the other side. It seems that they have no intention of doing such a thing. Some sources said that the mediators were incapable of even getting the two sides to sit together at breakfast. Hill, Petritsch and Mayorsky, are holding separate meetings and discussions, with both delegations, going from one to the other, and giving them the propositions and annexes and taking their suggestions and objections. This is very similar to the "shuttle diplomacy" lead by Ambassadors Christopher Hill and Wolfgang Petritsch, which was applied the last couple of months in Kosova. The distinction now is that there is no need for shuttling back and forth between Belgrade and Prishtina, since their movements are limited within the Chateau. Time is also very limited and neither of the sides will have enough time to study and doubt. In other words, what can be seen at the Chateau, are very condensed and rapid activities, limited in time and space. The presence of legal advisers and experts, which was not allowed in the beginning of the conference because of the organizers, is still being considered and there is still no indication as to whether or not they will be allowed to attend. Momcilo Trajkovic, and a Serb delegation from Kosova, has arrived in Paris in the meantime. They, Serb sources said, strive to claim the status of observers at the conference, at least. They announced that they will hold press conferences, where they will present their stands, as the "stands of Serbs in Kosova." Serb sources claimed that Trajkovic and Kosova Serbs said that the "agreement as it is, should not be signed, because Kosova would be left short of Serbs otherwise, and Milosevic a traitor". Patriarch Pavle, from the Serb Orthodox Church, is expected to join Trajkovic soon. Serb sources say that the Kosova Serb delegation will demand for a sort of "autonomy within autonomy" to be proposed for them. The hottest issues The conference is now in the phase of harmonizing annexes with a political character. The annexes which have to do with the Constitution of Kosova, elections and the Ombudsman, were handed to the two parties on Sunday. These issues are being discussed today. "KD" sources announced that the issues that deal with the military part of the agreement are deemed as "the hottest issues". The same sources claimed that these issues were bound to be settled last, after the political ones are worked out. One of the reasons why the military part of the agreement is considered especially difficult is the fact that the Albanian side demanded NATO to sign the agreement, and not only serve as a guarantee. And, what is more, the military part of the agreement should also settle KLA's position, as well as the position and number of "Yugoslav" army soldiers in Kosova during the interim period. There are reports that the Contact Group is expected to hold a meeting in Paris, and maybe even Rambouillet. The Contact Group meeting is expected to contemplate the conference results during the one-week period. The level of the meeting has not been determined so far, although there are assumptions that the meeting will be held on the level of Contact Group member Foreign Ministers. According to "KD" sources, British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, is expected to arrive in Rambouillet. He expressed his readiness to travel to Rambouillet whenever there is need for his intervention to accelerate the process. KOSOVA (press briefing - Rambouillet) Parties still apart Beq? Cufaj & Augustin Palokaj \ Koha Ditore Rambouillet, 8 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- The appearance of the four spokesmen of the Contact Group delegation offered no particular help to journalists in finding out something new regarding the negotiations which are taking place in Rambouillet. The spokesmen of the delegations of the USA, France, Great Britain and Russia appeared today in front of journalists and briefings were announced at the end of each day by at least two or three spokesmen. The press conference began with explanations of the French Foreign Ministry spokesman about the lack of working conditions for the journalists. Perhaps some of the journalists have offended the hospitality of the Frenchmen, but their working conditions are terrible. The journalists have to stay all day long in cafes in order to find a place to put plug in their computers to type the texts and afterwards run through the town to find a place from where they can send their reports. All these, according to the French spokesman, are due to the fact that the conference is prepared at very short notice and the first days of the conference were weekend days. No discussions on principles Regarding the events inside the castle, the spokesmen said the two sides had received the plan of the Contact Group which contains ten main (unnegotiable) principles and three Annexes which they are reviewing. The spokesmen confirmed that one of the principles was the territorial integrity of "FRY" but did not say anything about the attitudes of both sides on it. In the morning, conference chairmen Hill, Petritsch and Mayrosky met first with the Albanian side and later with the Serbian side. In fact, "Koha Ditore" sources stated there would be no discussions about the principles today and there would not be any such discussions in the conference at all, because they are considered to be adopted by the consent of both sides to come to Rambouillet. Some journalists tried to present, today, the adoption of these ten principles as a success of the first day of the conference, but in fact they were not discussed at all. This was actually the first day of the conference. Yesterday was declared as day zero by the organizers because the participants were busy with their accommodation and were also tired. "As you see both the delegation are here despite the many articles you have written about this" Philip Reeckers, the spokesman of the American delegation said at the press conference calling it the first success the fact that "both sides were present in the same conference room and applauded at the same time to introductory speeches". Three annexes The Albanian delegation did not meet with the Yugoslav-Serb delegation so far. This was confirmed by the sources of "Koha Ditore" and by the CG spokesmen later. According to the spokesmen, both sides will sit together at the same table once they have taken stands regarding the three Annexes which were handed out to both sides. These are Annexes related to the Constitution, the Elections and the Ombudsman. The Russian spokesman said both sides were examining these Annexes. The spokesmen confirmed that the term Constitution meant the Constitution of Kosova, which is part of the plan for the interim solution of three years. The first day of the conference was considered as "successful and very constructive" by the spokesmen. According to them "both sides are very serious and they are conscious that there must be an immediate end to violence and killings". The spokesmen did not talk in details, saying that they did not present their own governments but only their delegations in the conference. They did not say anything about the Albanian delegation presenting a motion for an immediate cease-fire. According to the Albanian delegation "this would create more positive conditions for the conference". KOSOVA (Conference on Kosova - Rambouillet) Albright to join? Augustin Palokaj & Beq? Cufaj Rambouillet, 8 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- Sources close to the Albanian delegation stressed that the delegation's objections have to do with the way the Conference is led and with the presence of international representatives in the Conference. The Albanian delegation advisors had serious objections to the nature of work and their total isolation from the counsellors. It is natural, they said, that the French President, Jacques Chirac, made the introductory speech at the opening session of the Conference. The French Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine, the British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, Russian representative, Boris Mayorsky, representatives of the US, EU, OSCE and the Contact Group, as well as the Serb and Albanian delegations were present. A great mistake was made because no NATO representative was invited to the Conference, especially since Serbia signed the agreement in October with NATO officials. NATO's air threat was the decisive force that was used to pressure Serbia to sitting at the negotiating table, as the perspective of NATO ground troops encouraged Kosova Albanians to participate in the meeting. The observers pointed out that the absence of NATO representatives, reflects French efforts to leave the alliance aside, and promote European leadership. European counsellors France did not grant an entry permit to two international advisors, despite the official request the Albanian delegation made for the participation of Paul Williams, who served as an international advisor to the Bosniac delegation in Dayton, and Marshall Harris, former Foreign Service official. They accompanied the Kosova Albanian Prime Minister, Bujar Bukoshi, to the talks, but were stopped at the entrance of the Chateau. Bukoshi was allowed in. Ambassador Morton Abramowitz, from the International Crisis Group, an international counsellor that the Albanian delegation invited, arrived in France on Sunday. The American delegation The American delegation is widely represented by not highly ranked bureaucrats, including a colonel as a senior Pentagon representative. There are claims that the American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, will join the Conference next weekend, changing the chairmanship structure, which will have major difficulties in modifying the Conference organization, procedures, strategy and tactic with hers. Kosova Albanians According to various reports, the Kosova Albanian delegation has consolidated in key negotiating objectives: the complete withdrawal of Serb police, military and paramilitary forces from Kosova; the acceptance of a full democratic self-governance and the protection of minority rights; the agreement on the mechanism for the final solution following the three-year interim period, as is the referendum; the deployment of NATO troops in Kosova; effective enforcing measures for the surveillance of the eventual agreement; and considerable international civil involvement under NATO leadership. KOSOVA (casualties - Gjakov?) Three Albanians killed, one wounded, and several arrested Gjakov?, 8 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- Three Albanians were killed and one was badly wounded in the Gjakov? municipality on Sunday night. 26-year-old Luigj Mataj was killed and 23-year-old Sk?nder Leka wounded, at around 2300CET on Sunday, as they were driving in a car through the village of Osek Pash?. Luigj Mataj, from the village of Novosell? e Ep?rme, died immediately, while Sk?nder Leka, from the village of Novosell? e Poshtme, badly wounded, was sent to the Gjakov? hospital, the "Koha Ditore" correspondent reported on Monday. Sebahate Zeka (18) and Xhemajli Sma?i (23), were also killed, under mysterious circumstances, in the Gjakov? suburb called "Te Muri i Sadik Ag?s". Their bodies were sent to the hospital morgue in Gjakov?, the correspondent said. The LDK Information Commission in Gjakov?, informed that the Serb police arrested Halil Gashi (26), from the Drenica village of Arllat, Sokol Syl? Salihu (19), from the Gjakov? municipal village of Shishman, as well as Ram? Dini (60), from the village of Cermjan. These three Albanians, who were sheltered in this town, are still being kept at the police station in Gjakova. On the other hand, "KD" sources informed that the Serb police raided several houses in the village of Dobrigje, under the pretext of searching for weapons. This induced panic among the local population, who fled their homes in fear of a possible attack. KOSOVA (casualties - Ka?anik) Body of a dead man found Ka?anik, 8 February (ARTA) -- A corpse was discovered in a place called Krivareka, around three kilometers from the town of Ka?anik, on Sunday at 1700CET, by occasional passersby. The Serb police and Serb Investigating Judge were seen examining the site, in that place, under a bridge, at 0800CET today, the "KD" correspondent reported on Monday. The identity of the person killed is still unknown. KOSOVA (shelling and repositioning - Podujev?) Military deployments in Llap Podujev?, 8 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- Frequent movements of Serb military forces and fighting technique, from their stationing points in Dumosh and other parts of the Llap region, were noticed throughout the day, CDHRF sources in Podujeva said on Monday. Five tanks reportedly left the military base in Dumosh at 1000CET, going through the villages of Lluzhan, Podujev? and Peran, where they stayed for about 3 hours. They then headed back in the direction of Lluzhan. Serb forces and their fighting gear, including tanks, APCs and armored carriers, are concentrated around the villages of Lluzhan, Penuh, with many forces reported in Lup? i Posht?m, Sallabaj?, Godishnjak, Tabet e Llapashtic?s and Peran, as well. The villages of Sallabaj?, Majanc and Konushevc, were shelled at around 1300CET on Monday, from the Serb military positions close to the village of Godishnjak. Local sources notified that new military forces were seen coming in Kosova, from Serbia, the "Koha Ditore" correspondent reported on Monday. KOSOVA (Walker - Prishtina bomb attack) Facing urban terror Prishtina, 8 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- The bomb which killed three people in Prishtina during the weekend was evidently timed to coincide with the beginning of peace talks in France, the Kosova Verification Mission chief William Walker said on Monday. Walker came back from Rambouillet, yesterday, to find out more about the Saturday explosion in Prishtina. "It was no coincidence," Walker said during a visit to the scene. Arriving there, he introduced his new deputy, Giovanni Kessler, an Italian state prosecutor, to the journalists. He will help him with the investigation on this incident. Three Albanians, a man, a woman and a teenage girl, were ripped apart in a powerful explosion outside a small Albanian grocery store on Saturday evening. "This shop is smaller than I thought it was", Walker said, turning wrongly towards a small shop which was also damaged by the blast near the "Almir" grocery store where the blast occurred, while he learned which was the real scene. "This is obviously urban terror and it's something that would be a great worry to all of us just as the peace talks are getting under way for the war to take a new direction," Walker told reporters. "This was certainly much bigger than a hand-grenade," he said, referring to a spate of recent grenade attacks on both Serb and Albanian cafes and restaurants. Three Albanians have been killed on Saturday. Another one, a student from Baran, around ten days ago. This will aggravate the work of "persons who are trying to negotiate an agreement in Rambouillet," Walker said. "It will make their lives harder." "As for the KVM, I have already someone who knows the police and legal matters", he added, tapping his new deputy on the shoulder. "Judge Kessler is acquainted with judicial and prosecuting matters, but has also been engaged in police matters and he knows better than me what we are looking for. His life will be more complicated if we have more such incidents". The head of OSCE KVM spoke little of his stay at Rambouillet. "I came back from Rambouillet yesterday. I stayed there only 24 hours. KOSOVA (Walker - Re?ak massacre funeral) Walker says it is very sad Prishtina, 8 January (ARTA) 2230CET -- The Head of Kosova Verification Mission, William Walker, expressed his surprise about the obstruction to the burial of Re?ak massacre victims in front of the journalists. "KVM simply does not understand why there was needed so much time to arrange a burial, peacefully and with respect", he said. The dead bodies have been here in Prishtina for three weeks now". He added that an autopsy was performed on the dead bodies and they should have been buried without delay." "We condemn all those who try to use the exchange of dead bodies and burials for political purposes. KVM has made efforts in all sides, with families, official authorities, state officials, the judge to clarify this and make possible a decent burial of these dead bodies but we've had no success so far," OSCE KVM head said. "I have returned from Rambouillet to participate in one of the burials but this has not been solved yet. This is sad, very sad". He maintains that many sides are involved in this problem. "There are more than two sides, the local authorities who decide about the burial, state authorities who decide how will the dead bodies be released and families who undoubtedly have most to say. There are more than two sides," the Head of OSCE Kosova Verification Mission William Walker said. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS From mentor at alb-net.com Thu Feb 11 18:51:26 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 18:51:26 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Serbs Relent and Return Bodies of 40 Slain Albanian Villagers Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- NYTimes: Trickiest Divides Are Among Big Powers at Kosova Talks Pentagon Sees Risk in Going Into Kosova Serbs Relent and Return Bodies of 40 Slain Albanian Villagers Thousands Remember Kosova Victims With Eye on Kosova Talks, NATO Plans Moving Beyond History's Shadows W.Post: For the Record Heavyweights head for talks ---------- NYTimes February 11, 1999 Trickiest Divides Are Among Big Powers at Kosova Talks By JANE PERLEZ RAMBOUILLET, France -- So far, the arguments in the early days of the Kosovo peace conference have not been among the Serbian and ethnic Albanian delegates, who are being kept busy by the negotiators on subjects like a new constitution and elections. The more tricky divisions have been among the hosts -- the United States, four European nations and Russia -- as they have tried to resolve their differences on vital issues like disarming the two sides and deploying a peacekeeping mission in the event of a settlement. One of the most important documents of the conference, a paper known as the military annex, was sent to NATO Wednesday night, officials said, after last-minute debates on how the United Nations should bless it and how quickly the two sides in the conflict should be expected to demobilize. The military aspect is critical because in the end the outcome of the peace effort here is likely to come down to one major factor: Will the Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, accept foreign troops on Serbian soil and allow them to turn Kosovo into a quasi-protectorate? A string of statements from Belgrade in the last two days has indicated that the government is rejecting the idea. To better gauge the temperature of the peace effort, Milosevic, who has remained in Belgrade, is sending the prime minister of Serbia, Milan Milutinovic, to the talks on Thursday. Before the prime minister's arrival, the United States and the Europeans settled their differences on some of the military questions. On Wednesday morning, French officials said the deployment of NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo needed to be backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution, a proposition the Clinton administration opposed. Washington, according to State Department officials, was sticking to its stand that NATO should be able to act independently of the United Nations. The debate played out in Paris, Rambouillet, London and Washington with a compromise worked out Wednesday afternoon by the British. Instead of the United Nations being asked to "authorize" the deployment, the Security Council will be asked to "endorse" it, a British diplomat said. In this way, all sides could claim victory. For the French, the United Nations still got a nod. For the Americans, the "neuralgic word 'authorize"' was avoided, the diplomat said. A senior French official described Wednesday why the U.N. involvement was so important . "When NATO is out of an area, the question is can NATO act on its own?" he said, referring to the fact that NATO would be deploying troops beyond the territory of the 16 member nations in a mission not intended to defend those members. The official said the French position was that a Security Council resolution was needed when NATO deployed troops outside alliance territory. A more practical debate that affects the two sides in the conflict on the ground in Kosovo was over how quickly the Kosovo Liberation Army, the guerrilla group of ethnic Albanians who have been fighting Serbian forces, should be required to demobilize. So far, the guerrillas have not been formally asked whether they will disband. Five of the 16 ethnic Albanian delegates at the conference here are members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. There seemed to be some doubt about whether the insurgents would accept such a deal, but Western officials said they were pressing ahead with plans for the Kosovo Liberation Army to give up its arms. An official familiar with the thinking of the guerrillas said, "They know they have to be reconstituted, the question is how." But a Western diplomat involved in drafting the demobilization plans said the guerrillas would be required to give up their heavy weapons by a certain time and that there would be a prohibition on carrying light weapons. At the request of Washington, the diplomat said, some adjustments were made in the military annex that would allow the Kosovo Liberation Army to demobilize a little more slowly than was originally envisioned. Because the Serbian forces and the Yugoslav army would be allowed to keep a permanent, though minimized, presence in Kosovo, the guerrillas were being offered the concession of slower demobilization, the diplomat said. The Serbian security police, who according to NATO military planners now number 11,000 in Kosovo, would be required to reduce their forces to 2,500 over three to six months, the diplomat said. The Yugoslav army, which now has about 15,000 soldiers in Kosovo, is being called on to reduce its forces to 1,500 for border patrols by the end of the year. The insurgents' overriding concern, according to participants in the talks, has been their security and the security of the ethnic Albanian population, which last summer and fall was attacked in villages with scorched-earth tactics by the Serbs. -------- February 11, 1999 Pentagon Sees Risk in Going Into Kosova By ELIZABETH BECKER WASHINGTON -- Even as NATO contemplates sending peacekeepers to Kosovo, senior Pentagon officials are raising serious concerns about sending American troops into a hostile region of Serbia without clear-cut military goals. Senior Pentagon officials expressed worries about casualties and about what they described as the lack of a strategy for quickly removing peacekeepers from Kosovo, a war-ravaged ethnic Albanian province in southern Serbia. These officials cite continuing confusion at peace talks in France about the exact military objectives in dealing with what amounts to a civil war within Serbia. "There's a strong desire for there to be a focus, with a definite plan in hand, before a decision is made to commit as opposed to going in with a vague idea that it will work out," said a senior military official. Senior Pentagon officials are making such concerns known to the White House. Other officials debate whether the Pentagon has enough forces to support a NATO commitment in Kosovo, given U.S. commitments around the globe, including policing a no-flight zone in Iraq and an armistice in Bosnia. "Are we big enough to do what we are already doing, much less to do more in Kosovo?" another senior Pentagon official asked. Many of the Pentagon's concerns were echoed Wednesday at a House hearing on a U.S. role in a Kosovo settlement. After Clinton administration officials described a plan that could send as many as 4,000 U.S. ground troops to Kosovo to enforce a peace agreement, several members of Congress questioned whether this would be another drawn-out commitment. "Such solutions do not eliminate the underlying problem; they promise to drag on indefinitely, at high cost to our own nation," said Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., chairman of the House International Relations Committee. For now, President Clinton appears to be heeding military warnings, refusing to commit troops, even as U.S. diplomats push for the nation's involvement at peace talks between the Yugoslav government and ethnic Albanians in Rambouillet, France. "We don't yet have an agreement so we don't know with any certainty what is the security environment," said a Pentagon official. "It does no one any good to do an exercise in wishful thinking without a meeting of minds." Walter Slocombe, the undersecretary of defense for policy, argued that solving the Kosovo conflict was in "America's security interests." The Kosovo conflict could widen and engulf the Balkans in more warfare, he said, sparking renewed violence in Bosnia "where we have invested a great deal and made a great deal of progress." Some senior military officials, however, have yet to be convinced that deploying troops to Kosovo would be in the vital national interest. In addition to calling on the United States for troops, NATO is planning for a possible peacekeeping mission includes about 8,000 troops from Britain, 5,000 from France and 2,800 from Germany. "Every time there is a significant troop deployment, we are very concerned about questions like the desired end and what is the command-and-control structure," said Capt. Michael Doubleday, a spokesman at the Pentagon. At the hearing Wednesday, Thomas Pickering, undersecretary of state for political affairs, reiterated that the Clinton administration believed the president could dispatch U.S. troops for a peacekeeping mission without seeking formal congressional approval. "The president has broad authority," he said, "to act in the national interest." But Pickering added that officials were "not seeking to introduce American ground forces into a situation in which they would have to engage in combat" to attain an objective. That is the exactly the sort of promise that Pentagon military planners say causes them to worry. Ivo Daalder, a Balkans specialist formerly at the National Security Council, said that any mission to Kosovo "is going to be a really tough job in which people will get killed." "The backlash will be tremendous if they aren't up front about how serious this is," said Daalder, now with the Brookings Institution. Underlying these military concerns are questions about who is at fault in this war and what that means for an American involvement. In testimony last week, Secretary of Defense William Cohen said that "the notion that somehow only the Serbs have engaged in atrocities is incorrect." He argued that the ethnic Albanian forces in Kosovo were responsible for the majority of recent cease-fire violations. Although small in scale, these violations produced "a reaction by the Serbs, who characteristically then engage in the kind of brutality we've seen," Cohen said. "So it has been on both sides." In testimony Wednesday, Pickering said that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic "raised the stakes one year ago by instituting a crackdown against the civilian population of Kosovo, killing hundreds of people and driving thousands from their homes." Members of private groups working on Kosovo who consult with officials at both the State and Defense departments say they have noted the patterns of violations and responses for the last several months. "The Pentagon approaches the question with a box-checking mentality," said John Hooper, executive director of Balkans Watch. "The majority of violations were from the Kosovo Albanians. But they were not the ones to displace 600,000 people from their homes, did not destroy over 19,000 homes and about 490 villages. All of that has been done by the Serbs." ------ February 11, 1999 Serbs Relent and Return Bodies of 40 Slain Albanian Villagers By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS RACAK, Serbia -- Serbs relented and returned the bodies of 40 Kosovo Albanian villagers to their families Wednesday, nearly a month after a round of killings helped initiate the peace talks now under way outside Paris. Their return clears the way for a mass funeral as early as Thursday near the hillside where the mutilated bodies were found on Jan. 16 after what has been called a massacre by international investigators. Women and girls collapsed in each other's arms, wailing, as men carried 40 coffins one by one through the blue courtyard gate of the mosque in Racak, 25 miles south of Kosovo's provincial capital, Pristina. Serbian authorities had held the bodies for two weeks after autopsies were completed, saying that Kosovo Albanians wanted to make a "spectacle" of their funeral during the internationally sponsored peace talks at Rambouillet, France. After days of mediation by international monitors, Serbian authorities abruptly gave way, telling the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that the families could pick up the corpses, said an O.S.C.E. spokesman, Walter Ebenberger. Serbian officials claim the villagers were killed in a battle between Serbian troops and the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army, which has been fighting for the independence for Kosovo, a province of Yugoslavia's main republic of Serbia. More than 2,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands left homeless in a year of conflict. International investigators said that the Racak killings were a massacre, apparently in retaliation for rebel attacks on police. Villagers were skeptical and bitter when word of the return of the bodies finally came. "They are playing jokes on us," protested Hysni Azemi, waiting outside the Pristina morgue to be taken in to identify his brother. Kosovo Albanians lined the last few miles of the route to Racak, waiting for four trucks carrying the coffins. A Serbian police armored personnel carrier moved through the crowd, the gunner in the turret staring silently at the villagers staring silently back at him. Blue stick-on notes on the coffins identified the bodies inside. Villagers crowded into the mosque to search through the names for their loved ones' remains, breaking into tears when they found them. ----- February 11, 1999 Thousands Remember Kosova Victims Filed at 6:55 a.m. EST By The Associated Press RACAK, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Thousands of ethnic Albanians streamed into the Kosovo village of Racak today to bid farewell to 40 villagers whose slayings last month generated international pressure to end the year-old war. Men, women and children walked down a snow-covered dirt road to the now virtually uninhabited village, where coffins bearing the victims' bodies lay inside a small mosque. Wooden planks were laid on a muddy hillside where a funeral was planned for later, not far from where their bodies were found Jan. 16 by international peace monitors who accused Serb forces of a massacre. Men of all ages, wearing skullcaps, lined up in front of the mosque to pay their final respects. Marshals wearing red armbands stood along the road, while the victims' relatives shared their grief. The dead were to be buried on a hillside plot to be named ``Graveyard of Heroes.'' As the villagers gathered for the funeral, Serb and ethnic Albanian delegations entered a sixth day of talks in Rambouillet, France, that were organized swiftly after the Racak killings. The mourners, however, found it hard to talk of peace, and remained bitter at the long delay in retrieving the bodies. Serbian authorities took the bodies from the mosque shortly after the slayings, insisting on autopsies to further their claim that the victims died in battle with the Kosovo Liberation Army. They refused to give them up until Wednesday, saying Kosovo Albanians wanted to make a ``spectacle'' of their funeral while negotiations on the future of the separatist Serbian province were under way in France. Villagers grimly recounted the events of Jan. 15, the day of the killings during a Serb police offensive in the area around the village 25 miles southwest of Pristina. Ihrije Jakupi, 52, lost her husband and 16-year-old son in the attack. ``The Serbs locked the women in the cellar. They took the men up the hill behind the houses where Mr. Walker found them,'' she said, referring to William Walker, the American diplomat who heads the international monitoring mission. They threatened to kill the women too, she said, if they didn't hand over any weapons they were keeping. ``The children were screaming,'' she said. ``They took my husband and my son and I never saw them again.'' Shefki Nur Hyseni, 89, lost his only son, Haqif, who also left behind a wife and nine children. The family had been living in Racak since the grocery store they owned in nearby Stimlje was burned last July. ``I want my family to be strong and bear this grief,'' said the elderly Hyseni, who was away from the village on Jan. 15. With 11 family members to take care of, he said, he has no idea how they can get by. ``I cannot provide for the basics,'' he said. ``There is no roof over our head.'' There were no fresh reports of clashes today in the province, where more than 2,000 people have been killed since last February and some 300,000 driven from their homes. Negotiations were under way for the release of two Serb policemen kidnapped near Mitrovica, 25 miles northwest of Pristina. The two, dressed in civilian clothes, were taken from their unmarked car Wednesday. The body of a man was found near the western town of Pec, shot in the head, the official Tanjug news agency reported. There was no word whether he was Serb or ethnic Albanian. ----- With Eye on Kosova Talks, NATO Plans By William Drozdiak and Dana Priest Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, February 11, 1999; Page A31 As skepticism mounted in Congress about sending U.S. troops to Kosovo, NATO forged ahead yesterday with plans to deploy an advance rapid-reaction force in the region within days of any peace settlement between Serbian authorities and ethnic Albanian separatist leaders. NATO and diplomatic sources said the advance force of up to 10,000 troops would move swiftly into Kosovo to begin disarming combatants if there is a peace accord. Serbian officials and Kosovo's secessionist leaders, who are negotiating under international supervision outside Paris, are facing a deadline of Feb. 19 to accept a Western peace agreement that would restore considerable autonomy to Kosovo, a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic. NATO ambassadors in Brussels yesterday approved an accelerated deployment timetable for the international peacekeeping force, which eventually could swell to as many as 30,000 troops. Senior NATO diplomats said planning for the vanguard "enabling force" ? which will be commanded by a British general ? should be completed by Monday. The Pentagon has begun detailed discussions with the White House about the size and responsibilities of the U.S. component of the peacekeeping force and is trying to limit both. It wants to restrict the U.S. contribution to 4,000 troops and, as with the three-year-old peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, is insisting that any force sent into Kosovo not have primary responsibility for nonmilitary activities, such as resettling refugees, building homes and setting up the new Kosovo government. While mindful of the stakes ? including the possibility that the war in Kosovo could spread to other parts of the Balkans ? top Pentagon officials remain opposed to deploying U.S. ground troops in Kosovo. This, in large part, is because they believe the troops will have to remain there beyond the three years now envisioned and that even a small force of up to 4,000 will be a drain on military morale and resources. However, Pentagon officials are convinced that the White House is headed toward ordering deployment anyway. One senior military official described the feeling at the Pentagon this way: "If it's inevitable that we're going to get committed to Kosovo, the attitude is, let's manage our descent into hell, not plunge." A growing number of members of Congress also are expressing doubts about deploying U.S. forces in Kosovo. At a House International Relations Committee hearing yesterday, members pummeled officials from the state and defense departments who came to explain the administration's Kosovo policy. Undersecretary of State Thomas R. Pickering acknowledged the panel's concerns but told the committee that "NATO's credibility as the guarantor of peace in Europe is at stake." Committee Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman (R-N.Y.) said a negotiated settlement and a follow-on peacekeeping mission "are nothing more than holding actions" that will not eliminate the fundamental hostilities between the ethnic Albanian rebels and Belgrade government. "I have enormous difficulties with the proposal to send troops to Kosovo," said Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-Neb.). "I'm concerned about the constitutional process and whether it's a vital national interest to devote such a large portion of our military capabilities to keep the peace at two places in the Balkans." Several committee members referred to administration promises of 1995 to bring U.S. troops home from Bosnia within a year; about 6,700 Americans are still deployed there. "I feel that the same thing could be true of Kosovo and that we are indeed going into a second Bosnia," said Rep. Pat Danner (D-Mo.). Britain and France, along with Germany, Italy and Spain, are planning to contribute the majority of troops to the NATO-led force, alliance sources said. But NATO officials said there is unanimous consent in allied capitals that an American presence ? even a small one ? would be a vital ingredient for success. "We cannot have the Americans out and only the Europeans present," a senior European diplomat said. "That is a recipe for the kind of policy disaster that took place in Bosnia." At their meeting today, NATO ambassadors also agreed there would be no question of divided authority and that the commander of a Kosovo peacekeeping force would report directly to alliance headquarters. France had suggested that the six-nation Balkan "contact group" ? the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy ? should be consulted, but the idea was rejected. NATO military officials said the first troops to arrive in Kosovo would come from an allied rapid-reaction force based in Rheindahlen, Germany, and commanded by British Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson. Those troops would join up with 1,700 members of a French-led force based across the border in Macedonia. They were deployed there to protect civilian monitors sent to Kosovo to verify terms of a truce reached last October that has all but fallen apart. NATO military officials said the key consideration for them was for peacekeeping troops to be deployed as fast as possible to keep any peace deal from unraveling. In the case of enforcing the Bosnia peace agreement, NATO forces were able to mobilize during a three-week hiatus between the conclusion of the accords reached in Dayton, Ohio, and the signing of a peace agreement in Paris. But in Kosovo, NATO forces will not have any extra time to prepare for their mission if a deal is worked out by the fixed deadline. Drozdiak reported from Berlin, Priest from Washington. ? Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company --- Moving Beyond History's Shadows Kosova Talks Present New European Focus By Charles Trueheart Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, February 10, 1999; Page A17 RAMBOUILLET, France, Feb. 9?The snow-draped forest surrounding the turreted chateau lends an ethereal, storybook air to the place where the Kosovo negotiations, now in their third day, grind forward. Reports from within, however, suggest a routine closer to diplomatic boot camp, as international mediators leading the talks with Yugoslav-Serbian representatives and Kosovo's ethnic Albanians cast themselves in the role of disciplinarians. History, past and future, casts long shadows on their effort to forge an agreement that will satisfy, or at least defer, the ethnic Albanian impulse for an independent Kosovo without violating what Yugoslavia regards as its sovereign territory. More than 1,500 people have been killed in fighting over that question in the past year. The two sides are facing an international deadline of Feb. 19 to accept an interim three-year settlement that would grant considerable autonomy, though not independence, to Kosovo -- a province of Serbia where 90 percent of the population is ethnic Albanian. "This is not easy," U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill declared today. "Frankly, it's not a lot of fun." Hill and his two mediator colleagues, Wolfgang Petritsch of Austria and Boris Maiorsky of Russia, said they were making progress in part by trying to keep the two sides focused on the future settlement of differences rather than on the murky, bloody past -- what Petritsch referred to as "19th-century issues" -- they persist in bringing up. And when the opposing parties attempt to stray from the peacemaking agenda with "extra ideas" -- an ethnic Albanian proposal for an immediate cease-fire, for example -- they have to be politely refocused. "It's always good to encourage ideas," Hill said, "but sometimes the supply exceeds the demand." Rambouillet, like the Palestinian-Israeli peace conference on Maryland's Eastern Shore last fall and the Bosnian peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, in 1995, is not so much an alternative to shuttle diplomacy as shuttle diplomacy in miniature. Staircases and hallways replace jets and motorcades. The castle's ornate, paneled public salons have been converted into "holding rooms" and "control rooms" with telecommunications and computer equipment. Elsewhere are conference rooms and armchair clusters where unofficial conversations can take place. The 13-member Serbian delegation is led by Deputy Prime Minister Ratko Markovic, a close associate of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and author of the 1989 constitution that abolished Kosovo's autonomy. The 16 Kosovo negotiators encompass the full spectrum of ethnic Albanian politics in the province, ranging from Kosovo's pacifist elected leader, Ibrahim Rugova, to five members of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army, which has been battling Serbian forces. The two sides have not yet faced each other in negotiations, but they must maneuver uncomfortably around each other in the buffet-style lunchrooms. One witness said the opposing camps seldom exchange more than grunts and glances, though sitting only a few feet away. All the participants are living on the premises, and many must share hallway bathrooms -- though not, apparently, with members of opposing delegations. The close quarters and unstated lockup reflect the circumstances of these negotiations -- a peace settlement its organizers imply they are prepared to impose by military force whether the negotiators decide to sign it or not. The recent historical precedent for the negotiations is the Bosnian peace talks, which were held in the no-nonsense surroundings of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. The contrast is not just about lodging or food, with Dayton losing effortlessly to 17th-century French elegance and meals catered by Paris's acclaimed Le Notre restaurant. Nor is it just about personalities. Richard C. Holbrooke, the hard-charging, high-profile U.S. diplomat who negotiated the Dayton accords, is not here. In his place as U.S. negotiator is Hill, who served as Holbrooke's deputy at Dayton and has been the primary American negotiator in Kosovo for the past six months. The contrast with Dayton is about substance, too -- about how the Bosnia peace accord has worked, and whether it is a model for the Kosovo antagonists and peacemakers, or a cautionary symbol of what to avoid. Pessimists inside and outside the chateau look at Dayton and remember that the warring sides came to the table exhausted from three years of war. Each, for its own reason, was eager to sue for peace. In Kosovo, the combatants have only begun to fight. Western diplomats estimate each side feels it has time on its side, and neither has much incentive to compromise -- beyond their apprehension of threatened NATO airstrikes or an internationally imposed settlement. Even as they negotiate an end to their fighting in Rambouillet, the combatants are girding for the return of hostilities in the springtime should peace talks fail. Then there's whether Dayton has worked. "People make fun of Dayton, but for three years no one has been killed in anger," a Western diplomat said. "I think the absence of funerals is a good thing." The Dayton accords were a U.S. production. Rambouillet, European leaders hope, will be remembered as the place where Europe assumed leadership to settle its own battles of ethnicity and nationhood -- assumed at least some of the leadership, that is, from the United States. French President Jacques Chirac, who was determined to hold this conference here, cast his opening charge to the negotiators Saturday in just those terms. France, he said, "has known the face of barbarism. But it knew to stanch wounds believed to be eternal. It knew to abolish hatred thought to be ancestral. . . . The message has a meaning here, in this place, where General [Charles] de Gaulle and [German] Chancellor [Konrad] Adenauer built the future." He was referring to a meeting at Rambouillet between the French and German leaders a half-century ago that sealed the beginnings of what is known the European Union. Today at Rambouillet the European Union is taking a lead role alongside negotiators from the United States and Russia, and under the joint chairmanship of France and Britain, to conduct the Kosovo negotiations. More important to the legacy of Rambouillet, and to the architecture of the continent's defense and security, Europe is preparing to flex an independent muscle by taking command of the prospective Kosovo peacekeeping force. A British general, Sir Michael Jackson, is set to lead the multinational force of 30,000 or more troops to which Britain and France alone will contribute half the personnel. A French general already is commanding a European-led "extraction force" poised to protect civilian monitors in Kosovo. The deployment of U.S. troops -- perhaps 5,000 at most -- technically under European command is a vexing political problem that the Clinton administration is hoping to finesse by pointing out that all NATO forces are under the supreme command of U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark. But it answers a complaint heard in Washington for most of the decade -- that Europe has neither the collective unity nor the individual will to assume its responsibilities, forcing the United States to shoulder the burden. The foundation of that new European responsibility for its own military action, independent of United States participation or NATO consensus, was laid at an Anglo-French summit in St. Malo, France, in early December. "The European Union must have capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so in order to respond to international crises," read the joint declaration. Eight weeks later, those intentions are on the verge of being tested. ? Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company ------ For the Record Wednesday, February 10, 1999; Page A22 >From a Pentagon news briefing yesterday by Navy Capt. Michael Doubleday: Q: The foreign minister of Yugoslavia has said . . . that under no conditions would Yugoslavia be willing to have foreign peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. . . . Capt. Doubleday: . . . NATO has already taken a very firm stance on this. . . . If the Serbs are responsible for the failure of these talks . . . there will be very swift and severe consequences. . . . Q: . . . Would it be acceptable to the United States for American forces to serve under a foreign ground commander in Kosovo? A: . . . I would only point out that the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe is an American. The chain of command in Europe in the Southern Region runs through another American four-star officer . . . Adm. John Ellis. . . . There are many examples . . . of U.S. forces operating with allies in a variety of circumstances where a U.S. commander is not in operational control. We make a distinction. Operational control has to do with the ability of a commander to organize and to employ forces in a way that fulfills the mission. . . . This, however, does not extend to logistics, to administrative, to disciplinary control, which is maintained by individual nations. . . . In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia . . . where the United States has been providing a unit . . . we have always been under the operational control of the U.N. commander there, who is normally from one of the Scandinavian countries. ? Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company ------- Thursday, February 11, 1999 Published at 07:16 GMT Heavyweights head for talks BBC British Foreign Minister Robin Cook and French counterpart Hubert Vedrine are returning to the Kosovo peace conference near Paris for their second visit this week to try to accelerate the talks. A spokeswoman for the French Foreign minister,Hubert Vedrine, said they wanted to keep up the pressure on both the Serb and ethnic Albanian delegations. The talks, taking place at Rambouillet near Paris, have stalled over the failure of both sides to sign up to an initial peace agreement. The Albanian delegation is demanding an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of international peacekeeping troops in Kosovo; the Serb delegation wants guarantees that Kosovo will not become an independent state. Serbian President, Milan Milutinovic, is also expected to go to Rambouillet for a meeting with the Serbian delegation and the two foreign ministers, the co-chairmen of the peace talks. BBC Defence Correspondent Mark Laity says there is growing concern at the slow pace of talks. On Tuesday Mr Cook and Mr Vedrine urged the Serbian and ethnic Albanian delegations to concentrate on the draft interim accord and not to be distracted by what they called "secondary issues". The talks have also seen a variety of leaks and counter-proposals by the two parties as the International Contact Group on Yugoslavia tries to focus on their own proposal. Nato has threatened military action unless a deal is agreed by a week on Saturday. Nato accelerates Meanwhile, Nato has accelerated planning for sending up to 30,000 troops in a UK-led implementation force if there is a settlement. The BBC correspondent says Nato's problem is that it is vital to move in quickly if there is a deal but that the heavy armour that is needed will take weeks to arrive. The UK Government is considering whether to order the loading of armoured vehicles as soon as Sunday or Monday to start the 10-day trip from Germany to the region. Bodies returned In Kosovo the bodies of 40 ethnic Albanians killed last month have been returned to their village of Racak to await burial. International monitors - who have accused Serb forces of carrying out a massacre - accompanied the convoy. A large crowd followed the coffins as they were carried one by one though the gates of the village mosque. Serb officials released the bodies after international monitors resolved a long-running dispute between the authorities - who were insisting that the bodies should be released in batches - and the families, who said that as they had died together they should be buried together. A spokesman for the monitors said he hoped the burials would take place on Thursday. The BBC correspondent in Pristina, Jacky Rowland says international officials have accused the Serbs and the ethnic Albanian rebels of using the dispute for political ends. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Feb 17 15:51:09 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 15:51:09 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Kosova: Fierce clashes - Walker visits the KLA Llap Operative Zone Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 February 1999 FRANCE (Rambouillet - day twelve) Calm before the storm Beq? Cufaj & Augustin Palokaj \ KOHA Ditore Rambouillet, 16 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- Day 10 of the negotiations was extraordinarily calm and according to sources from inside the chateau, there was no particular activity. Two side are now studying the security annexes, while the "Yugoslav"-Serb side has submitted its remarks and comments regarding economic and humanitarian annexes. The Albanian side hasn't received yet the military annexes in written form and it seems that they are not so happy over this. According to some information, the issues of security and military are interpreted orally and its expected to be delivered soon in written form. From the moment that some parts of the annex are presented orally from the troika Hill, Petritsch and Mayorsky, three days have elapsed. Deliberately not being submitted It's speculated that these annexes deliberately aren't being submitted immediately so that the sides wouldn't have too much time to debate. For the military issues the sides have got just three days left to accept, and all are conscious that this annex is the biggest challenge for the Conference. This is in line with the statement of mrs. Albright, quoted by some sources of saying to both delegations: "I have come here, not to debate with you, rather to deliver you a clear message what is awaiting you if you accept and what if you don't". There are reports that the Albanian side has some remarks regarding the economic and humanitarian issues. Our sources inform that these issues concern possession, privatization and fiscal policy. Some remarks and comments have arrived to the Albanian delegation from experts of these fields from Kosova. Yesterday's Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's, announcement that during this week direct negotiations are going to take place between the Kosova delegation and the "Yugoslav"-Serb delegation haven't been realized yet, say "KD" sources. There was no information today of a meeting, thus the only direct meeting of the two delegations remains the one, on Sunday, held after the insisting of the US State Secretary, Madeleine Albright. FRANCE (Rambouillet - day twelve) Security annex unnegotiable? Rambouillet, 16 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- No essential change seems to have been made in the twelfth day at Rambouillet. Serbs continue not to cooperate with international mediators, not handing in any objections to the drafts proposed so far. The Albanian side shows readiness to cooperate, passing by several of the drafts and annexes proposed. Annex 4 and annex 4A, which have to do with economy and reconstruction, as well as humanitarian assistance, were discussed on Tuesday. According to some claims from the Chateau, the most problematic issue remains the draft on security issues. "Koha Ditore" sources say that this annex is unnegotiable. There are even claims that this annex will be issued just before the conference in Rambouillet ends, namely on Saturday noon. In other words, this annex will not be given to the negotiating parties, despite requests by the Albanian side, which is determined to know the fate of the KLA. The pat position, which the Serb side imposed by not cooperating with the mediators, resulted with Ambassadors Hill, Petritsch and Mayorsky, travelling to Belgrade to meet Milosevic. Sources say that this is an effort to evade the negotiation stalemate. NATO, on the other hand, is now finalizing operation plans. KOSOVA (fighting resumes - Podujev?) Fierce clashes - Walker visits the KLA Llap Operative Zone Podujev?, 16 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- Shooting and shelling was witnessed today, as of 1000CET, from the Serb military positions in Tabet e Llapashtic?s, aimed against KLA positions and the villages of Llapashtic? e Ep?rme, Katunisht? and Gllamnik. The exchange of fire continued through the greater part of the day, the "KD" correspondent informed. Fierce attacks began at around 1300CET, from the Serb police and military force positions in Lup? i Posht?m, Lluzhan, Sallabaj?, taking over the villages of Majac, Lup? i Posht?m, Godishnjak and Buric?. There are reports that Serb police\military forces used heavy weaponry starting from praga (anti-air vehicles), mine launchers to cannons. There are no reports on eventual damages, however the people travelling to Prishtina through Lluzhan said that: "thick smoke could be seen in the village of Godishnjak, most probably coming from burning houses". The KLA maintained great resistance, keeping its positions, CDHRF sources in Podujev? inform. The police was present in a large number, today also, exercising strict control. They arrested Beqir and Arsim Mustafa, from Gllamnik, owners of the bus "Mentori-tours", near the "Besiana" Motel, at around 1000CET. They were arrested in their working place. They were sent to the police station where they were subjected to maltreatment. "They were held at the police station in Podujev? for about 2 hours, during which time they underwent maltreatment. They were not even told the reason of the arrest", tells their brother. With the mediation of the OSCE mission in Podujev?, the residents of the village of Lup? made an attempt to go back to their homes, but the Serb forces did not allow them, even though they had previously given them permission. New military and police forces continued to arrive from Serbia to Kosova, during the evening hours and throughout the night last night. According to CDHRF sources in Podujev?, "a large military convoy, composed of 20 tanks, tens of transporters and many other military vehicles and fighting machinery, arrived from the direction of Serbia last night at around 2100CET. Serb military forces also arrived from Serbia late last night, going in the direction of Prishtina". Large military\police presence was witnessed on Tuesday in the road axis M?rdar-Podujeva-Prishtina, particularly in certain localities, such as Shtedim, near the "Besiana" Motel, Lluzhan etc. In the meantime, increased Serb police forces continue to control the roads of Podujev? proper. Military planes started flying at around 1500CET today. They flew at a very low altitude, and mainly in the direction of the war afflicted villages. Meanwhile, the head of Kosova Verification Mission, William Walker visited Podujev? on Tuesday. After staying at the mission's office in Podujev?, he along with his staff and escorted by journalists, went to the village of Llapashtic?, at the Llap Operative Zone, where he met KLA commander for Llap operative zone, Commandant Remi. Concerning the visit, Walker told journalists that it was a regular one. KOSOVA (tension mounts - Mitrovic?) Albanians ill-treated, abducted Mitrovic?, 16 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- Many Albanians were stopped and ill-treated by some 30 Serb policemen near the open market in Mitrovic? from 1900CET through to 2200CET on Monday, local LDK sources said. Also on Monday, many policemen mounted a checkpoint in the "Ibri" neighborhood, where many Albanian passersby were ill-treated. Four Serb policemen abducted two young Albanians near the bus station in Mitrovic? today morning, LDK sources reported on Tuesday. Their names have not been issued yet. The policemen who kidnapped the Albanians were with a car with license plates KM: 618-530, the LDK chapter said. A convoy of Serbian police forces left Mitrovic? for Sk?nderaj today morning, local sources said. Four APCs were deployed yesterday morning, between the villages of Zhabar i Ep?rm and Koshtov? e Bobit. Serb police forces have been routinely fining Albanian motorists in Mitrovic?. KOSOVA (tension mounts - Gjakov?) Serb soldiers in Albanian house yards Constant movements of the Serb army have been witnessed, during the past three nights in the Albanian owned house yards of the village of Dev?, particularly in the houses near the border belt, CDHRF in Gjakov? notifies. There are also reports that the soldiers ordered the residents of the village to turn the lights off during the night. Large Serb army forces have been stationed in this border village, times ago. KOSOVA (mysterious killings - Pej?) The "Black Hand" in Pej?, Istog and Klin? Pej?, 16 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- Small civilian Serb organized groups have recently kidnapped and killed several Albanians in the municipalities of Pej?, Istog and Klin?, KLA sources inform. This phenomenon becomes alarming, when people recall the previous actions of the terrorist "Black Hand". The KLA command of the brigade 133 "Ardian Krasniqi", that operates in this region, calls the population to undertake protective measures and remain vigilant towards these criminal activities. The OSCE Verification Mission in Pej? and Klin? was also informed on these activities. KOSOVA (trials - Suharek?) Albanian sentenced with two years imprisonment Suharek?, 16 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- Two Albanians, from the municipality of Suharek?, were tried today in the Serb installed Court in Prizren. Xhavit Mala (39), from Mushtisht, a teacher at the elementary school "Edit Durham", was sentenced with 2 years mprisonment. KOSOVA (trials - Gjilan) The trial of eight political activists postponed Gjilan, 16 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- The trial scheduled for today, against the political activists of the municipality of Gjilan: Avdullah Tahiri (1956), Ahmet Demiri (1964), Lutfi Haziri (1969), Nexhat Bunjaku (1971), Ismet Hashani (1962), Ibrahim Oru?i (1968), Ekrem Qerimi (1962) and Tajar Berisha (1954), was postponed for another week, respectively for 23 February, LDK sources reported on Tuesday. The beginning of this hearing was postponed following the request of the defense attorneys of the accused, who have not been given a chance to consult with their clients regarding their accusations. KOSOVA (KD column - Iso Rusi) Rufi Osmani released from prison, and (temporarily) out of politics Prishtina, 16 February (ARTA) 2230CET -- After president Gligorov refused to decree the Amnesty Law, and the Macedonian parliament adopted it for the second time, it became clear that it was a matter of hours when the former mayors and chairmen of municipality councils Rufi Osmani, Alajdin Demiri, Refik Dauti and Vebi Bexheti would be released from prison. This eventually happened. The day the law was adopted, they left the "Idrizovo" prison and the Tetova municipality prison. The new coalition in power thus fulfilled one of the promises it had given that it would solve the case of political prisoners n spite of objections from a part of opposition and a part of media. It was seen from the debates in the Parliament, during the readoption of the law, that the whole thing of keeping the national flags on the masts at the municipality buildings and the police intervention was a classical political action. The Minister of Justice Vlado Kambovski literally silenced the former Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski asking him to show the court decision or the decision of the government where the police had the duty to remove the flags the way they did. He read the decision of the Constitutional Court which said that decisions of Tetova and Gostivar municipalities about putting the national flags at the municipality buildings were revoked and that was all. It became clear that the then Prime Minister, and the Minister of Internal Affairs Tomislav Cokrevski interpreted this based on the removal of the legal basis for putting the flags and on the fact that by not removing the flags by the municipality officials this meant that the decision of Constitutional Court is not respected. Without any decision from a court or the government they ordered the police intervention in Tetova and Gostivar July 7, 1997. There were three human casualties in Gostivar and many others were beaten up and maltreated. Farcical trials of local municipality leaders were organized after these events which are examples of political trials. The actions in Macedonia were undertaken to devaluate the denar After such an outcome of the case, a question is raised: was there, according to present Justice Minister, no valid court or a Government decision for the police intervention in Tetova and Gostivar, or is this at least a surpass of authorities of Prime Minister and the Justice Minister, instead of obeying state duties as the then government explained the action? Naturally, it was clear that the government decided to make the move to divert the attention of the public from the decision to devaluate the denar the same today. Now, when the government coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance (SDSM) is not in power, it is clear from this time distance that one of the most efficient levies in the internal and external plan was to hold the tension between nationalities at an explosive level. The whole story regarding the flags was worse with the casualties and the people who were beaten up and maltreated in their houses and ended up in prison. The Amnesty Law brought freedom to the political prisoners but it did not clarify things as they were supposed to. The least the Parliament can do is to form a new investigating commission which would investigate into the Gostivar case and give a full satisfaction to the population who were maltreated, and normally to locate the responsibility of those ordering the ntervention and those taking part in it. It is absurd that the brutality of the action, which is not hidden - the local TV channels showed the scenes of people being beaten up - not to initiate at least a disciplinary procedure against some policemen. The only satisfactorily option for the four local officials is a revision of the case. In case this is not approved, ustice must be sought at the European court in Strasbourg. Gostivar was elimination of political opponents This must be the case, first of all, with Rufi Osmani because everything that happened after the events of Gostivar is clearly an elimination of a political opponent. Although there was no Constitutional Court decision, he was charged with calling on the people to physically resist the removal of the flag. It is also a fact that he was kept at gunpoint at his office by special police forces during the time of the incident in the Gostivar streets. Ironically, during the days of the readoption of the law, Macedonian president, with tears in his face, called on the population of Macedonia to make their influence "one or the other way" on the Macedonian government to revoke decision for establishing diplomatic relations with People's Republic of China (Taiwan). His calling is of equal intensity with the words of Rufi Osmani which brought him 13 years and 8 months in prison. After their release from prison, Rufi Osmani said Arben Xhaferi and Albanian Democratic Party (PDSH) are "a part of my painful political past", and he would dedicate his time to his family, his health and science. He confirmed thus his definitive parting with his party, first of all with its present leadership. There was much talk about their disagreements and the climax of all was the refusal of Rufi Osmani to meet the leader of Albanian Democratic Party (PDSH) at the prison of Idrizova. It's a different thing whether Osmani is definitely leaving politics. This counts not only for the speculations that he would form a new party which could easily gain the empty space which results from a silent disappearance of Democratic Prosperity Party (PPD) and the entering of Albanian Democratic Party (PDSH) in the government, whereby a space is opened for someone from aside, who has nothing to do with compromises which are necessary when you take part in the government, to take a more radical stand regarding the collective rights of Albanians. Whatever Osmani does he does it good Rufi Osmani is undoubtedly a charismatic personality and is still very popular and he could seriously challenge the present Albanian parties by his political activity. Osmani chose the family, health and something which was good at before he entering into politics which is a wise decision after everything bad that happened to him in personal and family plan. On the other hand, it would be nice if this would be an interphase of "charging the batteries". Anyway, the people he cooperated with in the business plan, among them the present finance minister, remember him as an able economist. Some of the most angered opponents from VMRO-DPMNE an idea was initiated to give Rufi Osmani the post of deputy minister of finance in the new government because at the time when he was a member of the parliament, Osmani was one of the few Albanians who lucidly questioned certain parts of proposed acts in the sphere of economy. Rufi Osmani was of one of the rare people who at a time of the worst national tensions had their supporters among the Macedonian population. An example of this are the stories of the weekly "Puls" which used to attack him in the past, and now regarding his announcement that he was going to quit politics says: "We could say this is a damage for such a political talent. Whatever Rufi Osmani chooses to do, one thing is sure, he will be successful in it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS From mentor at alb-net.com Fri Feb 19 11:43:54 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 11:43:54 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Kosova: Serb Force Resume Shelling LLapashtica Village Wednesday Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Information Center KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1695 Prishtina, 17 February 1999 Bodies of Two Unidentified Civilians Found in Rahovec PRISHTINA, Feb 17 (KIC) - The Serb police brought today (Wednesday) the bodies of two unidentified persons in the town morgue of Prizren, local sources said. Witnesses told the chapter of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms in Rahovec [Orahovac] that the two bodies were found at a location called "Te Rrasat", outside the town of Rahovec. Their identity has not been learned yet. They were both males and in civilian cloths, sources said, adding that they were killed with firearms. Serb Court in Peja Sentences 7 Albanians to 22 Years in Prison PRISHTINA, Feb 17 (KIC) - The Serb-run District Court in Peja sentenced today 7 Albanians to a combined 22 years in prison on alleged terrorism-related charged. The local chapter of the human rights council in Peja said the defendants were mainly from Peja and Klina regions. Ismet A.Gashi (1950, Sferka of Klina) was sentenced to 4 3 1/2 years, Rexh& B. Jakupi (1955, Kosuriq, Peja) to 4 years, Isat H. Morina (1968, Sferka, Klina) to 4 years, Ramadan B. Gashi (1955, Sferka, Klina) to 3 1/2 year, Bajram J. Berisha (1962, Volljak, Klina) to 2 1/2, Zaim H. Gashi (1962, Sferka, Klina) 7 months, Jahir S. Agushi (1948,Drenoc, Klina) to 3 1/2 years in prison, the Council said. Serb Police Opens Fire Towards Civilian's Car in Prizren PRISHTINA, Feb 17 (KIC) - At around 21:00 on Tuesday evening the Serb police opened fire in the direction of a car with civilians on board, in the "Mazllum K&puska" neighborhood in Prizren. The local LDK chapter in Prizren said the police sealed off shortly the whole are. Heavy Serb police forces were seen roaming the area until today (Wednesday) morning. The OSCE spokesman for the KVM regional center in Prizren, Simon Gerry, said the police arrested last evening three persons who apparanty were in the car shot at by the police. They are being still held in custody, he was quoted as saying, failing to tell anything about his identity or the reason they are being held. Serb Force Resume Shelling LLapashtica Village Wednesday PRISHTINA, 17 Feb (KIC) - At around 10:00 in the morning today (Wednesday), Serb forces started pounding with mortar fire the village of Llapshtica, the local LDK chapter in Podujeva said. Sounds of heavy detonation could be heard in the town of Podujeva, the source said. The village was fired onto by the Serb forces on two occasions on Tuesday. Ambassador William Walker, head of the OSCE Kosova Verification Mission paid a visit to the area on Tuesday where he met with the KLA commander of the LLapi operative zone. During the course of afternoon and evening hours on Tuesday, heavy skirmishes were fought between the Serb forces and KLA fighters near the village of Godishnjak. Several Albanians were arrested by the Serbian police in Podujeva, sources said. Gani Selmani, resident of Repa village and Sahit Tahiri (20), Gazmend Tahiri (22) Avni Tahiri (23), all residents of Zhiti village were released yesterday after having been held for two days in Serb police custody. They were reportedly tortured severely. Firearm Shooting, Stepped Up Police Movement in Vushtrri PRISHTINA, Feb 17 (KIC) - Stepped up movement of Serb forces were reported in Vushtrri ('Vucitern') during the whole course of afternoon and evening on Tuesday. Sources in Vushtrri said the police harassed several passerssby on the streets as well as secondary school students returning from school. After 10 p.m., heavy shooting was heard in several places in the town. There has been no word about possible shoot-out incidents or occurrences of the sort. Serb Police Arrest School Teacher in Peja PRISHTINA, Feb 17 (KIC) - Sk&nder Hoxha(55), a teacher with the secondary school of economics in Peja, has been reported in Serb police custody since early in the morning today (Wednesday). Mr. Hoxha, a local LDK activist was arrested at his home in the town. There has been no word about the reason he is being held in custody. Kosova Information Center --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS From mentor at alb-net.com Sun Feb 21 01:29:10 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 01:29:10 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Kosova: Studencan and Reshtan attacked at noon by the Serb forces Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 February 1999 KOSOVA (Rambouillet - day fourteen) Waiting for news on the agreement Beq? Cufaj & Augustin Palokaj Rambouillet, 20 February (ARTA) 2130CET -- Until 1200CET Rambouillet was surrounded by large police forces today. All this seemed logical to many since the city's prefect banned all previously announced demonstrations of Serbs, Albanians and Kurds. Large satellite dishes, dozens of cameramen and photographers, as well as numerous journalists were moving up and down the streets of Rambouillet to find out more about what is happening inside the Chateau. Who is meeting whom; will the agreement be signed; which of the Contact Group ministers will travel to Belgrade or Brussels, and so forth. There was a fog of uncertainty in Rambouillet, as to whether the project-agreement presented by the Contact Group will be signed or not. The negotiating parties were given the Contact Group project-agreement, earlier, as global media was concentrated on whether it would be accepted. Until 1600CET The press conference is off the agenda. It was postponed for an indefinite time-period. The State Department spokesman told reporters gathered by the entrance of the Chateau, that negotiations were still under way. Large worldly agency reporters notified that Russians called for an urgent assembly of the UN Security Council, saying it should decide on sending international troops to Kosova. "We are working with both sides, we have formed working groups, small, medium, and large. They are working with and without food, with pencils and papers and we are doing our best to reach the goal", said James Rubin. "We know what time it is, but the conference is still going on", a diplomat told reporters. There are speculations that "both sides agreed with the deployment of NATO troops in Kosova, that Russia asked the international community 'to restrain', that the French Foreign Minister, Vedrine headed to Belgrade and that the Serb side asked for another 24 hours for the conference". "Koha Ditore" sources said that NATO Permanent Council met at its premises at 1430CET and "contemplated options for an adequate reply, based on the results from Rambouillet". There is still no confirmed information. Head of the Kosova delegation, Hashim Tha?i, however, made a brief statement in front of the Chateau. Tha?i is quoted to have said that the "Albanian side is ready to accept a peaceful solution, but the Serb side is not willing to do the same". There are also claims that the leader of the Kosova delegation said that, members of the "Yugoslav"-Serb delegation threatened to kill him. "Such a behavior does not suit this conference, and nobody can force us to sign, using such threats", Hashim Tha?i said. KOSOVA (Serb offensive - Podujev?) Strong clashes on Saturday morning Podujev?, 20 February (ARTA) 2130CET -- Fighting broke out in the villages of Peran and Tabet e Llapashtic?s at around 0600CET on Saturday, and lasted about three hours. The fighting took place after the shooting and detonations, which were witnessed the previous night, in Podujev?, Lup? i Posht?m, Lluzhan and Godishnjak. The clashes on Saturday were estimated the fiercest in the last couple of days. Serb forces aimed their weaponry mainly against KLA positions in the villages of Llapashtic? e Ep?rme, Llapashtic? e Poshtme, Katunisht?, Obran?? and Peran. KLA units replied to the attack and according to sources on the field, there were no changes in fighting positions. New Serb forces continue to arrive in from Serbia. A Serb military convoy, consisting of some dozen jeeps, trucks, carriers and terrain vehicles, was said to have arrived from Serbia at around 0800CET, heading in the direction of Lluzhan. Police reinforcements, on the other hand, have added up to the Serb forces stationed near the local "Besiana" motel and place locals refer to as "Qershit? e Llapashtic?s". There are claims that the situation is very tense in the town of Podujev? as well. Although today was market day in Podujev?, local sources assert that the people closed themselves in, thus very restricted movements could be noticed. OSCE verifiers continue to keep watch over developments in Peran, as the Mission's patrol was also noticed in Merdar, at the Kosova-Serbian border, as well as at the Merdar-Podujev?-Lluzhan road axis. KOSOVA (Serb offensive - Suharek?) Studen?an and Reshtan attacked at noon Suharek?, 20 February (ARTA) 2130CET-- Serb military\police forces undertook a larger-scale attack against the village of Sllapuzhan, from their positions in "Guri i Ujkut" at 0500CET on Saturday, local sources in Suharek? say. There are claims that shooting was also heard in the village of Reshtan. The residents' movements in the Suharek? proper were restricted during morning hours, as the only vehicles circulating were those of the OSCE. At around noon, the Serb forces stationed in the vineyard, between the villages of Studen?an, and Reshtan, launched another attack against these villages, using heavy artillery. "KD" sources claim that the KLA is doing its best to resist the attacks. The people of Studen?an abandoned the village entirely, fleeing in the direction of less endangered regions. There are no reports on eventual causalities. Clashes continued throughout the day, as there are reports that the intensity of fighting began to drop at some point. OSCE verifiers were following the situation from up-close. The bodies of two Serbs, brothers Radovan and Zoran Mihajlovic, who were apparently shot dead, were found this morning, in the Suharek? municipal village of Mushtisht?. KOSOVA (reinforcements - Gjakov?) ?abrat - Serb stationing point Gjakov?, 20 February (ARTA) 2130CET-- Albanian sources of information and witnesses report on added movements of Serb police\military forces. Serb forces, in all their stationing points, including bordering points along the border with Albania, were reinforced with heavy artillery, including anti-air artillery and missiles. Serb forces have established a new underground military base, of four floors, in the ?abrat hill, where they hid missiles rocket and anti-air systems. A large number of Serb forces, were also witnessed going in the direction of this hill, and stationing there, during the night of Friday and early Saturday hours. These forces were composed of tanks, trucks, armored vehicles, men, as well as fighting technique. Reinforcements were also seen coming in the town of Gjakov?. KOSOVA (violence escalation - Rahovec) Serb police station shelled Rahovec, 20 February (ARTA) 2130CET -- A loud explosion was heard in the southeastern part of Rahovec at around 0530CET, on Saturday. Unidentified persons shelled the Serb police station, from a hilltop close to town called Mella, LDK and CDHRF sources from Rahovec notify. According to the same sources, the police station's roof was hit in the shelling. There are no reports on victims or eventual material damages. In addition, large Serb police forces surrounded the police building, the houses around it and the Mella hill, near the cemetery, from where they suspect the shelling was carried out. The same morning, unknown persons broke the windows of the kiosk "Rilindja", a grocery store, and of another Albanian owned store. On the other hand, long intervals of shooting were heard, on Friday evening from 1930CET, until around 2300CET, as added movements of Serb police were evidenced in the town proper. KOSOVA (situation deteriorates - Lipjan) Weapons distributed to Serb civilians Lipjan, 20 February (ARTA) 2130CET -- The weapon distribution to Serb civilians continued in the town of Lipjan on Saturday. Automatic guns were handed to the Serbs that did not receive any weapons during the last mobilizing campaign. As a result of the present confusing situation and the requests of the Serb civilians, the Serb local police doubled the weapon potential, locals said. The situation has deteriorated even more following the complete mobilization of the local Serbs, "KD" sources confirm. Albanian residents are doing their best to reduce their movements. KOSOVA (tension mounts - Mitrovic?) Maltreatment in town Mitrovic?, 20 February (ARTA) 2130CET-- An extremely tense situation prevailed in the town of Mitrovic? and its outskirts, on Saturday. Groups of policemen were posted at the entrance\exit points of town. They stopped, evidenced, beat, and arrested Albanians, local sources informed. The police arrested Ali Vall?i (50) and Selim Vlla?i (38), from the village of Vaganic?, near the bust station. On the other hand, "VJ" carriers departed from the military barracks in the villages Frash?r i Madh and Frash?r i Vog?l and went in the direction of the factory block of the "Trep?a" enterprise in Mitrovic?. According to witnesses, they were transporting weapons from the military barracks and hiding them in the block. Meanwhile, new Serb forces, in fighting machinery and men, have reportedly arrived late Friday, settling in the region's military barracks. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS From mentor at alb-net.com Mon Feb 22 19:07:21 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 19:07:21 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Kosova Task Force: Ethnic Cleansing begins again. (fwd) Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Task Force, USA Action Alert February 22, 1999 KTF: Ethnic Cleansing begins again. Serb forces are separating women and children from the men in Vucitrn region of Kosova as heavy fighting erupted over the weekend. Whenever Serb forces have done this in the past, it has always meant one thing; killing of men and the rape of women. Milosovic has the International community on the edge of yet another game of "brinkmanship" in which Milosovic will wait until the last minute and then negotiate a deal that allows him more time to continue his ethnic cleansing of Albanians in Kosova, creating more homeless people and more refugees who are 65% women and children. The Kosova Task Force, USA is urging all concerned people to call for the Independence of the suffering Albanians in Kosova. We are also requesting everyone to support H. Con. Res. 9 and H. Con. Res. 13 . by calling your Congressperson, (202) 225-3121, NOW! Seize the time! Fax, write, email or call the following Political leaders and demand immediate air strikes against the brutal Serbian armed forces and support Independence for Kosova. President Bill Clinton, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20500 Phone: (202)-456-1111; Fax: 202-456-2461; email: president at whitehouse.gov Secretary of State, Madeleine K. Albright 2201 "C" Street NW, Washington, DC, 20520 Phone: (202) 647-6575; Fax: (202) 647-7120; email: secretary at state.gov Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jesse Helms, Chairman 450 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-3301 Phone: (202) 224-6342; Fax: (202) 224-0836; email: jesse_helms at helms.senate.gov House Committee on International Relations Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman, Chairman 2170 Rayburn House Office, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5021; Fax: (202) 225-2035; email: ben at mail.house.gov ************************************ How to Use 5 Minute for Kosova Today ************************************ Please take five minutes of your time to: 1. Forward this email to 20 of your friends. 2. Call your Congressperson and president every day and ask for a response. ==================================== Kosova Task Force, USA 730 W. Lake St., Suite 156 Chicago, IL 60661, USA Phone: 312-829-0087 Fax: 312-829-0089 Email: Kosova at justiceforall.org Internet: http://www.justiceforall.org ==================================== The following organizations constitute the Kosova Task Force, USA: Albanian Islamic Cultural Center, American Muslim Council, Balkan Muslim Association, Council of Islamic Organizations of Chicago, Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Council of New England, Islamic Medical Association, Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, Islamic Society of Greater Houston, Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Majlis Shura New York, The Ministry of Imam W.D. Muhammad, Muslim Students Association of US and Canada, The National Community. =================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Feb 24 01:21:16 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 01:21:16 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Rambouillet Peace Talks: Should We or Should We Not Sign the Peace Treaty? (fwd) Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- RAMBOUILLET PEACE TALKS: SHOULD WE OR SHOULD WE NOT SIGN THE PEACE TREATY? Reply to: kosova at jps.net Tuesday, February 23, 1999 Should we or should we not sign the peace treaty so benevolently created for the Illyrian people by our great white fathers of the north who, of course, have as their most high priority our childrens' safety and future? Of course we all know France is totally neutral in their decision making process. A few examples come to mind of this neutrality. In Bosnia while the French were operating under the blue UN beret, one of their missions was to escort high Bosnian officials inside their armored personnel carriers through Serbian lines to the outside world so they could conduct state business. To refresh your memories, one of these armored personnel carriers with a Bosnian official was stopped at a Serbian checkpoint, and as we know, the armored personnel carrier door was opened from the inside and the Serb butcher merely pointed his weapon and destroyed the Bosnian official. Also, I'm sure if you investigate Croatian official records, you will find that the Croatians were protesting the French transporting Serbs inside their armored personnel carriers through Croation lines. In one instance when the Serbs were dropped behind Croatian lines, a shootout occurred with casualties on both Croatian and Serb sides. I think we all know the vast amount of financial dealings between Serbia and France, which I doubt very much they want disrupted in any way . And when you throw in the factor of the Russian/French political alliance, I hardly think these French could be considered a neutral factor in this so-called Contact Group. Before we go on there is one more French/Serb operation that you probably have not heard of. I think you will be surprised to know that the French actively recruited Serbs from Bosnia and other areas, shipped them to the Congo along with freshly bought weapons and munitions and two or three Serbian helicopters to defend the bloodthirsty dictator who ruthlessly looted his country for thirty years and which undoubtedly enriched the French treasuries. Let's go on to our second neutral country who has the Albanian people's best interest at heart. This of course is that mighty defender of democracy Great Britain who used to brag that the sun never set on the British empire. We all know this bastion of democracy was all through eastern Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East, through democratic elections of course. Incidentally, the Americans will be quick to tell you that the reason Britain interferes in the Balkans from their little rock out in the Atlantic is because once you pass through Belgium and France and Germany and Switzerland , Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro, you will come into their area of influence. To this day I have no idea on this state of mind towards British foreign policy. But as we all know this totally neutral country of Britain that participates in the Contact Group to save the lives of Albanians, is the country that actually established these pseudo-borders which dissected the country of Albania. Borders which guarantee endless oppression, looting of natural resources, slave labor, multitudes of rapes, beatings and political imprisonment of the Albanian peoples. If you doubt this, pick a history book, any history book, and it will verify the skullduggery . Let us review some of the recent history of this British entity in the Balkans. While their high officers were strutting around with the UN beret like pompous peacocks and holder of all knowledge amidst the Bosnian massacre, they were telling the world they could not get food convoys to the Bosnians. They didn't know in 1992-3, nor could they verify at that time, the massacres, the rapes, the concentration camps and the atrocities committed against the Bosnian people by Serbian butchers. But of course they were there to do everything in their power to alleviate the pain. Like establishing guaranteed safe areas in Bosnia and trying to convince the Bosnians in those e safe areas to turn in their weapons and allow the Contact Group (or if you wish the UN, or if you wish NA TO because basically it's the same players, just different color hats) to protect them. As we know, whichever so-called safe areas turned in their weapons were basically the areas that were massacred later by the Serbs. And we all know about Bihac heroically standing against the Yugoslav Army offensive. Make no mistake because no matter what our great white fathers of the north tried to manipulate through the press, it was the Yugoslav Army, period. Mercifully, after each Serb attack, the Serbs would cease fire, and the UN would try to persuade Bihac to surrender. When Bihac stated that they would never surrender, the UN pulled back and the Serbs continued their attack. And as we know, to this day Bihac survives for having had the courage to defend their homes. There is another action our neutral British friends participated in in about 1992-3. As they were telling the world that they couldn't possibly make it to certain parts of Bosnia because of hostilities, there were elements of their Red Devil Brigade on the ground in Bosnia giving away Bosnian military positions. It is also the British, along with their apprentice the US, that would constantly feed stories to the press about suspected Mujahadin fighters in Bosnia. On the surface this seems spectacular and of course disturbing to the European and American populations. But lets stop here and discuss these historical press releases. Number one, Bosnia is completely landlocked, bordered by Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro on full war status. I hardly think that any Arabic, Iranian or African Mujahadin fighters could slip through any of these three countries . The only Mujahadin allowed to pass through these countries would be for the purpose of the psychological warfare campaign against Bosnia. Basically they were led in for photo ops. And while these Contact Group giants were spreading rumors about these armies of mujadihn participating in the Bosnian war, they were allowing thousands of orthodox Romanians, Bulgarians and Russians to directly participate in the font lines against the sovereign country of Bosnia. At the same time, of course, thousands of volunteers from all over Europe, Austria and the US were allowed to participate in the Croatian armed struggle. We all know that the UN under the British command and with the American technology, had all the skies of Bosnia electronically sealed. However, this did not stop Serbia from transporting troops and munitions by air. This did not stop, in 1992, Serbian MIGs dropping poison gas. But it did stop any practical use of aircraft by Bosnians. And don't forget that in broad daylight the Serbians were running armored ammunition trains across international borders, past UN checkpoints. Checkpoints, again, under the British who are of course the Contact Group. Now we come to our poor American friends who are trying so hard to be a world power. You have to feel sorry for these guys. The Americans are trying to participate in an area with thousands of years of history while in reality having only eighty or ninety years of foreign policy under their belt. But one thing our American friends can do is make gadgets work. They have often bragged that they can read newspapers over your shoulder from satellites and high flying spy aircraft. They also have electronic eavesdropping equipment offshore. In other words, the Serbs cannot move a truck, and in some cases not even individuals, without being observed or heard. We all remember when the Soviet MIGs shot down the Korean airliner, the Americans not only heard the pilots speaking to their command, but they were able to unscramble the Soviet encrypting system like it didn't exist. So I ask you, members of the contact Group, how is it you could not see 200,000 people massacred in Bosnia and then put into the ground in hundreds of mass graves, rivers filled with thousands of bodies and could not hear the primitive Serbian communication systems while all this was going on? We are told in Kosova to lay down our arms and we will be protected. Followed by promise after promise after promise. The Bosnians were promised that they all could return home and to this day, I see no one returning to Srebrenica, Banja Luka, etc. The Bosnians were told that their country would never be divided yet no matter what elements of the Contact Group state, Serbska is a country ready to be annexed by Serbia. The Bosnians were forced under a threat of violence to share the remaining 50 percent with a 14 percent minority population. In reality, the Bosnia Federation is occupied. If you notice, most of the foreign troops are stationed in the Bosnian Federation. If any foreign troops are placed with the Serbs, it will be troops from countries such as France. We have another illustrious member of this Contact Group that is also guaranteeing the safety of the Albanian people. This of course is the Russians. While the Russians were under the UN flag in Bosnia, it is common knowledge that they were aiding and abetting the Serbs on all levels. In fact, one Russian officer was so open and blatant that he had to be dismissed and the last we heard of him, he had a thriving business on the Serbian/Croatian border to the north. It is also known fact that many of these Russians have married Serb women and are living in stolen Bosnian homes in Serb occupied Bosnia. I could continue to go into detail on many other horrific situations concerning these honest brokers in the Contact Group. Illyrians keep in mind that while this prepared document is shoved at you as if you were a three year old child, if you stand back and look at the recent history in the Balkans you will see that the Serbs are allowed to be butchers with freedom of movement. When the world wakes up to the horrible, horrible butchery and land grabbing by the Serb killing machine, the great white fathers of the Contact Group swoop down on their white horse and immediately threaten the Serbs with economic and military destruction if they don't cease their evil action. Once the Serbs, being the cowards they are, are facing a real army and not women and children, they reluctantly pull back . Then for our own protection, the Contact Group replaces the Serb army with their army. This means that what Britain and France could not accomplish with hundreds of years of war and treachery, has now been laid out before them with our lands and people to do with as they please. It is amazing that the Serbs have not caught on to the charade because in reality the Serb people have had their blood squandered, their treasure squandered and their honor devastated. Another thing Mister Illyrian negotiator, you would not be sitting in France if there was no UCK because the only thing the Contact Group respects is might. That is why they bend over backwards to accommodate Russia, China, North Korea etc. If you go to them on your knees, you will stay on your knees and your children will be on their knees. No time limit can be morally set on a people that are being raped and massacred. You take you time and bring up points like demanding the release of all Albanian prisoners in Serbian jails. You want the immediate detention of the military police unit that massacred the 45 civilians 3-4 weeks ago. You want to know how the Serbs can receive Russian combat helicopters and Russian volunteers . If this Contact Group is so powerful, then they should be able to provide for you the name of the company in Romania contracting with the Serbs to lay mine fields inside Kosova which are killing and maiming civilians. Also keep in mind that the American government and the President are not receiving sterile and accurate intelligence to make the right moral decisions. For example, the British control the intelligence network in Bosnia and if you read your histories, you will see where the British have lied to the Americans on many occasions including falsifying documents to bring the US over to their side. You have to remember that some of the closest advisers to President Clinton, especially during the Bosnian war, have ethnic ties to your neighboring countries. Recently President Clinton made a somewhat disturbing statement for backing the British and French. He stated that they helped us in Iraq and we owe them one. But as you remember the reason the US was in Iraq was to save Kuwait and to save the Arab oil which was the lifeblood of Europe. The US only gets approximately 15 percent of the oil out of the Middle East. Remember, what you are facing at these negotiations are many, many high paid pseudo-state department , minister of foreign affairs bureaucrats who have to be successful in this charade or they will become useless to the great white fathers who make their lives very comfortable and secure. I suggest to you these elements are working on a major bluff. They will only take what you give. Also remember this point which is so important. They treat you and they perceive you and calculate you on how you deal with each other. No country will ever arm you to a point that they could not crush you in five minutes. No country will ever train you to the point of becoming dangerous to them. The best you can expect is to become a colonial police force with very little freedom of movement. And when these powers eventually decline, like all powers do, you'll be sitting completely naked once again in front of the Serbian genocide machine. -- From a former civilian military advisor with extensive experience in the Bosnian scene and deeply involved in the liberation of Illyria. Please send your replies to kosova at jps.net --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS From mentor at alb-net.com Fri Feb 26 12:27:42 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 12:27:42 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Serbian Forces Shell Villages in Vushtrri and Drenica Area Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Information Center KOSOVA DAILY REPORT # 1704 Prishtina, 26 February 1999 "An Important Event in the Modern History of Kosova", President Rugova Says of Rambouillet Conference PRISHTINA, Feb 26 (KIC) - The Rambouillet peace conference is of great importance for Kosova and all its citizens, the President of the Republic of Kosova Dr. Ibrahim Rugova said at the outset of his press conference in Prishtina today (Friday). The interim settlement for Kosova is aimed at stopping the bloodshed, putting in place functioning instituions in Kosova and opening up prospects for all the Kosova citizens, President Rugova said. The agreement will be politically and militarily guaranteed, he said, recalling that NATO will implement it. President Ibrahim Rugova availed himself of the opportunity to thank the co-chairmen of the Rambouillet conference, French and British foreign ministers, Hubert Vedrine and Robin Cook, as well as the negotiators headed by Ambassador Chris Hill, and Ambassadors Petritsch and Mayorski. The Kosova leader thanked the United States of America and the EU countries for their engagement on the conference, singling out Presidents Bill Clinton's and Jacques Chirac's unfailing efforts, and Secretary of State Albright's "committed and energetic" work and her participation in the conference's deliberations. Rugova said the Serbian military offensive in Kosova is continuing, and pressed for an unimpeded work of the OSCE Kosova Verification Mission, as well as an international intervention in Kosova. Asked whether a stepped up Serbian military crackdown can destroy the peace accords of Rambouillet before they have actually been signed, President Rugova acknowledged such a danger exists. The agreement would be destroyed and a new catastrophe and tragedy created in such a case, he said. "The international community should watch this closely", he pointed out. Asked to speak about the benefits of the interim settlement for Kosova, Ibrahim Rugova said it would in the first place create peace and security here, as well as pave the way for the establishment of functioning institutions at the Kosova and local levels. "It is an important event in the modern history of Kosova", because it has been mediated and will be implemented by the international community, he said. The agreement will be put to the people and the political organizations for consultations and approval, President Ibrahim Rugova said. The majority of the people of Kosova and all the political forces here are in favour of a three-year-long interim settlement, which leaves the door open for the people of Kosova to determine their future, he said in reply to a question. We are keen to have the agreement as soon as possible in place, so that NATO troops are deployed in Kosova and create security for all the people in Kosova and wider in the region, President Ibrahim Rugova concluded. Serbian Forces Shell Villages in Vushtrri and Drenica Area PRISHTINA, Feb 26 (KIC) - At 14:45 CET today (Saturday), Serbian forces positioned at Bukosh village started shelling the village of Oshlan as well as in the direction of neighboring villages in the Drenica region, the LDK chapter in Vushtrri ('Vucitrn') reported. The sound of heavy detonations was being heard in the town of Vushtrri, they said. On Thursday evening, at 18:30 CET, Serbian forces shelled the villages of Bukosh and Oshlan. Serbian Forces Shell Mitrovica Villages Saturday Afternoon PRISHTINA, Feb 26 (KIC) - Today (Saturday) afternoon, at around 16:00 CET, Serbian forces launched artillery and machine-gun fire against the villages of Pir^, Oshlan, Pantin&, Vernic& and Vaganic&, LDK sources in Mitrovica said. The Serbs are shelling from their positions in Frash&r i Vog&l village, where more than 30 Serbian vehicles, including 7 army tanks, have been deployed. Most of the Albanian people living in the area have fled their homes. Those who have not been evacuated have found shelter in the cellars of their family homes. Serb Authorities Detain Eight KVM Vehicles and Staff in Kosova- Macedonia Border PRISHTINA, Feb 26 (KIC) - The Serbian border authorities stopped four KVM vehicles and their staff on Thursday evening at the Kosova-Macedonia border crossing in Hani i Elezit, and a further four vehicles today (Friday) morning in what amounts to a diplomatic incident in breach of Geneva conventions governing diplomatic immunity. Two armoured vehicles coming from Shkup/Skopje (Macedonia) passed through the Macedonian side and the Serb-controlled police border procedures before being stopped by the Serbian customs authorities at 18:30 CET on Thursday, OSCE KVM spokespersons said. A British verifier protested the Serb authorities' move to open the car trunks, because it was in breach of the diplomatic immunity the verifiers and their cars enjoy, Beatrice Lacoste, a spokeswoman for the KVM told the KIC by phone today. Twenty minutes later, a KVM Pajero car, with one Italian and two local staff members based in Brezovica, also coming from Shkup to Kosova were stopped at the customs area of the border crossing from the Kosovar side. Five persons, two internationals and three locals were thus stuck in there, Ms Lacoste said. The KVM headquarters were informed, and then sent a Pajero car with two customs experts, a Russian man and a Swedish woman, and a local interpreter, the KVM spokeswoman said. Four vehicles with eight staff members were thus stuck in the border, with Serbian authorities holding them up there all night. A KVM liaison officer informed the Serbian police authorities and the 'FRY' Foreign Ministry, pressing for the detainees to be released. A telegram was sent late Thursday to the 'FRY' Foreign Ministry in an attempt to resolve the situation. The KVM staff, detained by the Serb border police, spent the night of Thursday in the two armoured vehicles stuck there in the border crossing area, Beatrice Lacoste said. The Serbian police, carrying weapons, seemed to be under "alcoholic influence, very aggressive verbally and with their body language", Lacoste told the KIC. One of the KVM customs officers, who was walking around, was pushed physically into the KVM car, the OSCE spokeswoman said. At around 10:30 CET today (Saturday), four more KVM vehicles travelling from Kosova to Macedonia were stopped by the Serb authorities at the border. Negotiations were going on at different levels to resolve the situation. "We have informed Vienna (the headquarters of the OSCE), Norway (the country holding the OSCE presidency), and NATO" about all this, Beatrice Lacoste told the KIC just past noon today. Serbian Troops and Weaponry Building Up in Different Parts of Kosova Serb troops and armaments massed in Mitrovica, Vushtrri, Suhareka, Hani i Elezit, Malisheva, Istog, Skenderaj PRISHTINA, Feb 26 (KIC) - Early in the morning today (Saturday), heavy Serbian military and police forces were stationed in several settlements in the municipality of Suhareka, local LDK sources said. The Serbian forces have taken up the very same positions they had during the last year's offensive against the Albanian population in the area. Just past noon, Serbian forces were heading towards Prizren, in what seems to amount to preparations for a fresh Serbian offensive in the area, sources said. Serbian forces have been reportedly redeploying in the Mitrovica area, in Frash&r i Vog&l ('Svinjare') village and the outlying area towards Vaganic& e Poshtme, Vaganic& e Ep&rme, Pir^, and Oshlan villages. In Frash&r i Vog&l, the Serbian military has entered Albanian family house courtyards, whereas police was housed last night in the house of Gani R. Ahmeti (45). The Albanian population of the villages of Frash&r i Vog&l, Pir^, Vaganic& e Ep&rme, Vaganic& e Poshtme, as well as part of the population of Verrnic& village, have fled their homes. Part of them spent the last night rough in the open in the "Ura e Gjakut" neighborhood of Mitrovica. A number of Serbian tanks and lorries have been deployed near the village of Zhabar i Ep&rm of Mitrovica, with their barrels aimed at the villages of Lusht&, Vaganic&, Verrnic& and Pir^ between Vushtrri and Mitrovica. Serbian police has been reported arbitrarily stopping and ill- treating Albanians in mounting checkpoints in the town of Mitrovica. Seven Serbian army lorries with soldiers on board as well as a number of APCs and jeeps left Mitrovica for Skenderaj ('Srbica') today morning. Fresh Serbian police and military forces, backed up by armoured vehicles and APCs, arrived in the town of Rahovec today morning. Later on, some of them headed towards Ho^& e Madhe, the rest in the direction of Suhareka, local LDK sources said. Serbian paramilitary forces backed up by an armoured car and four other vehicles headed towards the village of Trubuhovc, municipality of Istog, in northwestern Kosova, in mid-morning today, local LDK sources said. Serbs have redeploying and digging in in the Malisheva area, in central Kosova, sources told the KIC. Serbian Forces Encircle Rezhanc& Village of Hani i Elezit PRISHTINA, Feb 26 (KIC) - At 8:00 a.m. today (Saturday), shooting was heard in the villages of Pustenik and Rezhanc&, municipality of Hani i Elezit ('General Jankovic'), local LDK sources in Ka^anik reported Serbian troops and armaments have been concentrated recently in the south-eastern border area of Kosova with Macedonia. A column of Serbian forces consisting of a dozen motorized vehicles arrived from Ferizaj in Hani i Elezit just before noon today. At noon, Serbian forces besieged the village of Rezhanc&. The local Albanian residents started fleeing their homes. Kosova Information Center --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS From mentor at alb-net.com Sun Feb 28 09:08:32 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 09:08:32 -0500 (EST) Subject: [kcc-news] Kosova Liberation Army delegation expected to visit Washington Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Kosova Crisis Center (KCC): http://www.alb-net.com ARTA News Service: http://www.kohaditore.com/ARTA Kosova Information Center(KIC): http://www.kosova.com Radio21 (English/Albanian): http://www.radio21.net/english.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- taken from http://www.kosovapress.com/english/shkurt/27_2_99_2.htm on February 28, 1999 at 9:05 hrs Negotiators Hill and Petrisch will arrive in Prishtin? Prishtin?, February 27 (Kosovapress) Cristopher Hill and Wolfgang Petrisch, mediators in Albanian-Serb negotiations, will arrive on Monday in Prishtina and meet with Kosovan Albanian representatives. Later on the week, they will try to meet with members of the Serbian Government Delegation. Hill and Petrisch are not planing to sit and wait for the15-th of March to arrive, they will continue to work with determination, diplomatic sources have said. Parts of the village Dubovc of Drenica is being shelled Vushtrri, February 27 (Kosovapress) serbian forces positioned near the village of Bukosh, Vushttri, are shelling the quarter Zu?ka of Dubovc village, in Drenic?. This quarter was shelled yesterday afternoon also. Some of the shells have fallen in the village of Galic?, the move that has created panic amongst the villagers. Serbian reinforcements have arrived near by the village Prekazi i Ep?rm along the Mitrovic?-Skenderaj road. Shelling continues against the villages on the foothill of Qyqavica and in the Shala of Bajgora Vushtrri, February 27 (Kosovapress) Today, for the third day in a row, Serbian Military forces are continuing to shell, using heavy artillery and rocket launchers, the villages of Okrashtic?, Pantin?, Licej, Oshlan, Taraxh?, Galic? and Lubavec. Heavy fighting continued all night, last night. There are not known human casualties as yet. Humanitarian situation is very difficult. Thousands of villagers have fled, the villages under attack, and a good number of them is forced to spend the night out under the open sky. Two killed in Vaganic? Mitrovic?, February 27 (Kosovapress) On the eve of yesterday, Serbian Army, positioned in the village of Frash?r i Vog?l, shelled and opened machine-gun fire against the villages Pantin? and Oshlan of Vushtrri and Vaganic? e Poshtme, Vganic? e Ep?rme, Vernic? and Pirq of Mitrovic?. Serb civilians armed with snipers have killed two annd wounded one Albanian from the village Vagani? e Poshtme. It is thought that the dead bodies were taken by Serbian police. The dead body of an unidentified person was found near the Batllava Lake Llap, February 27 (Kosovapress) Today, in the OZ of Llap it was highly tensed atmosphere. Since the early hours of today, Serbian forces stationed in the Airport of Dumosh, have started moving towards Lluzhan and later on along the Podujev?-Prishtin? road. Similar movements were detected form their positions in the Tabet e Llapashtic?s towards Godishnjak and Majac. At around 08.45, from Tabet e Llapashtic?s, Serbs started to attack Llapashtica. Our units replied to these attacks, forcing the enemy into a retreat. In the vicinity of the Batllava Lake, the dead body of an, still, unidentified person was found. OSCE Verifiers went on that spot and so did large forces of Serbian military and police. Walker in the OZ of Pashtrik Malishev?, February 27 (Kosovapress) Tonight Mr William Walker, Chief of Verifying Mission in Kosova, will visit the Command of Pashtrik's Operative Zone of the KLA. He will discuss the idea of demilitarisation, of Malishev? and surroundings, with Commandant Drini. "Z?ri i Kombit" KLA's supporter in USA New York, February 27 (Kosovapress) One of the KLA's sources of support in the New York is radio "Z?ri i Kombit" ("Voice of the Nation"), which is positively influencing large number of listeners. Program broadcasted by this radio is characterised by a wide choice of themes and an objective and an up-to-date information. It's Informative role is in the function of KLA and Nation's interests. There are broadcatsted latest news from the war in Kosova, about KLA's success, interviews with Albanian and foreign personalities and other information. People, using the waves of this radio, are able to appreciate the difficult situation that our people are in, and the best and the most effective way to help, in order to overcome this situation. Of course, radio "Z?ri i Kombit" using objective evaluations when informing, gives hope and opens up new ways of solution to our national problem. The radio's advice is, to pin our hopes, efforts and sacrifices on the beautiful uniform of KLA. It is worth saying that contributions and merits for the realisation of this program lie with its financiers and management: Xhevat Kukaj, Xhavit Kabashi, Gjek? Gjonlekaj (former "VOA" journalist) and Halit Mehmetaj. http://www.kosovapress.com/english/shkurt/27_2_99_1.htm Kosova Liberation Army delegation expected to visit Washington Prishtin?, 27th of February 99 (Kosovapress) According to our unconfirmed information, from the beginning of March, by the invitation of US secretary of state Mad. Madeleine Albright, Kosova Liberation Army delegation is expected to visit Washington. Eventual signing of The Agreement for Kosova is to be discussed on this visit, for which as it is known, Kosovar Delegation in Rambouillet has given approval in Principe, about serious situation in Kosova caused by war and other issues. One Albanian from Goranca has been arrested. Hani I Elezit, 27th of February 99, (kosovapress) As we informed, today, Serb military and police forces attacked Kosova Liberation Army positions in the village of Pustenik and other surrounding villages. During this attack there were killed and wounded amongst enemy lines. On the KLA side there was only one lightly wounded. After this lost battle, Serb forces, as they were withdrawing, hased after some local youngsters who were helping their families from the villages to move to more secure areas. As we were informed, Mr Miqail Berisha from Goranca was arrested as he was trying to evacuate with his family in front of Serb hordes. Condition has worsened in Hani i Elezit, especially after killing of Mr Gafurr Loku and his son, both from village of Paldenica. It all happened when few civilian persons knocked on his door and as he and his son were coming out, they were fired upon ad killed. Mr G.Loku was ex-political prisoner and claimed high respect and authority in the region and wider. Investigation carried out by KLA organs tells that killers are directly linked with Serb regime authorities. Clinton: NATO is ready to act if Serbia continues its pressure in Kosova 27th of February 99 (Kosovapress) President Clinton, in San Francisco, California, in speech held in front of group of artists and foreign affair officials, according to "Voice of America", said: " Continuity of conflicts such as in Bosnia and Kosova would have serious consequences." Later on he stated that NATO and US are ready to help in fulfilling of the peace agreement between Serbs and Albanians. He called upon both parties to sign a peace agreement, when the talks commence on the 15th of March. Until then, Mr Millosheviq should understand and use this opportunity for restraint and not repression. If he continues pressure in Kosova, NATO is ready to act. Whilst President Clinton was commenting on these issues, Serb forces were preparing to launch attack against Albanians. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list send a message to majordomo at alb-net.com In the body of the message include: UNSUBSCRIBE KCC-NEWS