Kosova Daily Report #1395, 98-04-08

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From: Kosova Information Center <http://www.kosova.com/>

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1395
Prishtina, 8 April 1998

First Edition: 13:30 CET
Second Edition: 16:00 CET
Third Edition: 19:45 CET

CONTENTS

[01] Serb Forces Open Fire on Llausha Village of Skenderaj, Local Sources Say

[02] Three Drenica Villages Targeted by Serbian Forces - Automatic weapons and machine guns used

[03] 'Give Peace a Chance' Manifestation to Be Staged in Prishtina Thursday

[04] G-15 Wraps Up Work on Initial Platform for Negotiations with Belgrade

[05] Independence for Kosova Should Be Discussed Too, Kuala Lumpur Declaration Says

[06] Serbian Police Harasses and Fines LDK Senior Official and Activist

[07] Scant Knowledge about Identities of Six Albanians Found Dead in Rahovec Monday

[08] Testimony of Eye-witness in Connection with Six Albanian Men Killed Monday

[09] Heavy Presence of Serb Military Forces in Lipjan Municipality

[10] Serbian Police Targets Private Bus Owners and Transporters

[11] Heavy Presence of Serb Forces in Vushtrri

[12] Several Drenica Villages under Serbian Forces's Fire - Reportedly, shooting halted at around 19:00 hrs today

[13] Serbian Army Build Emplacements Near Prishtina

[14] Additional Serbian Army Forces Deployed at Kosova-Albanian Border

[15] Serbian Army Exercise Force in Fshat i Vjet&r of Ferizaj

[01] Serb Forces Open Fire on Llausha Village of Skenderaj, Local Sources Say

Huge Serbian forces have sealed off a large part of the Drenica region for more than a month now.

More than 80 Albanians, including women and children, were slain in their homes by Serb forces earlier last month.

Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) branch sources in Skenderaj said Serb forces had opened fire from automatic weapons, targeting the Spahiu family compound in Llausha. The compound is reported to be close to where Serb forces have been dug in for quite some time, in the wake of last month's attack on Prekaz and other villages.

The most intense firing occurred between 11:30 and 12:00 hrs, the LDK Information Commission said.

Sporadic shooting was going on at 12:35, the Commission said.

Meanwhile, LDK sources in Vushtrri ('Vucitern') speak of heavy Serb police presence in the small town. The municipality of Vushtrri borders on Skenderaj municipality.

[02] Three Drenica Villages Targeted by Serbian Forces - Automatic weapons and machine guns used

Serbian forces, deployed in hills surrounding the village, were shooting from automatic weapons and machine guns since noon, he said.

The source said smoke was spiraling from the Spahiu family compound, but he could not say anything more specific about the damage from Serb attack.

The LDK source in Llausha said the sound of shooting around the Kopiliq and Vojnika villages was heard since 9 o'clock in the morning.

Today's Serb attack is aimed at killing and intimidating the residents who are still inside the village, the sources said.

"We are in our houses, and have nowhere to go!", Haxhi Geci, a local Llausha resident, told KIC by phone, commenting on today's Serb attack.

Local Albanian education authority in Skenderaj said classes in elementary and secondary schools will be discontinued for an unspecified period of time because of security concerns amidst the ongoing siege of the area by Serbian forces.

After almost a month's break, classes resumed last week, in a bid to restore some normality to the life in the region.

[03] 'Give Peace a Chance' Manifestation to Be Staged in Prishtina Thursday

The half-an-hour rally will be held in Kosova's capital, Prishtina, beginning at noon.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the Protest Committee said the intention of the manifestation will be calling on the international community to intervene urgently with the Belgrade regime into bringing to an end the state-sponsored terror against the people of Kosova, and prevent another war from erupting in Kosova.

Protesters will be marching the main street of Prishtina, singing during the first quarter of an hour the refrain of the popular song: ALL WE ARE SAYING IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE. In the second part of the manifestation, the protesters will chant slogans in Albanian and English: "FREEDOM, INDEPENDENCE", the statement said.

The protest Committee said that the Thursday manifestation will be entirely peaceful. In case of a police intention, the crowd will sit down and carry on with the scheduled scenario. The committee called on the people to protest in dignity and with rigorous discipline, by only chanting slogans and performing gestures planed in the program of the protest.

[04] G-15 Wraps Up Work on Initial Platform for Negotiations with Belgrade

The meeting was chaired by President of the Republic of Kosova, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova.

The G-15 wrapped up its work for an initial platform for negotiations with the representatives of the 'Federal Republic of Yugoslavia', Blerim Shala, spokesman of the G-15 said.

This platform will be discussed soon by the competent bodies of the Republic of Kosova, he said. The right to self-determination and the independence bid, confirmed in the 1991 referendum, are the benchmarks of the platform, according to the Group's spokesman.

The Group is of the opinion that yesterday's decision of the Serbian Parliament to announce the holding of a referendum on whether there should be mediation in Kosova negotiations will only make the beginning of negotiations more difficult, Blerim Shala said, adding that such a move is in contravention to the Contact Group's statements and the UN Security Council resolution on Kosova.

[05] Independence for Kosova Should Be Discussed Too, Kuala Lumpur Declaration Says

It was initiated by the International Movement for a Just World with the cooperation of the Institute for Policy Research.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim officiated at the Consultation was attended by 250 participants, among whom diplomats, administrators, politicians, social activists, academics and students.

Speakers included people from Kosova, Albania, FYROM, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Malaysia.

Professor Alush Gashi, health policy advisor of President Ibrahim Rugova of Kosova, was among the speakers.

Prof. Gashi told KIC his message there was that independence for Kosova is the only option that would offer a lasting solution to the Kosova issue. More diplomatic and humanitarian help is needed to undo apartheid in Kosova, Rugova's aide said.

In his opening address in the Consultation on Kosova, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, said the Serbian leadership's handling of the Kosova issue had been "nothing short of barbaric and has raised the specter of another wave of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans".

The autonomous status of Kosova was abrogated by Belgrade in 1989, "and Serbian troops occupied Kosova", Mr. Ibrahim said, recalling that the people of Kosova opted for independence in a national referendum in 1991.

The world lacked the political will to act in the case of Bosnia, but it should not allow another bloodbath in the Balkans, the Malaysian deputy prime minister said.

The Serbian leadership should enter into negotiations with the Kosova Albanian leadership on the future of Kosova, he said. "The Serbian leadership should be prepared to discuss all relevant issues, including the thorny issue of independence."

If Belgrade refuses to negotiate with the Kosova Albanians through an international mediator, the regime should be isolated, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim said. "After all, Milosevic is a war criminal who should be indicted and interned for his heinous crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia"., he stressed.

After two days of discussion, the Consultation on Kosova adopted a declaration entitled "The Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Kosova".

The sixteen-point Declaration deplores the state-sponsored "terrorism of the Serbian leadership to suppress the peaceful and legitimate political and social activities of the majority community in Kosova".

It further condemns the Serbian massacre of 80 Kosova Albanians in early March.

The Declaration calls for serious negotiations between Belgrade and Prishtina on the future of Kosova. "All issues pertinent to the conflict including the question of independence for Kosova should be discussed. The negotiations should be conducted under the auspices of an international mediator."

In point 9, the Declaration reads calls upon "the Kosova Albanian leaders to continue to guarantee the rights of the Serb minority and other ethnic minorities in Kosova in any negotiations aimed at resolving the Kosova conflict."

The Declaration urges the International Movement for a Just World and the Institute for Policy Research to initiate and organize a Humanitarian Fund for Kosova which will be used to purchase food, medicines and other basic necessities for the people of Kosova.

[06] Serbian Police Harasses and Fines LDK Senior Official and Activist

The two were stopped by Serbian police in Shtimje, while on their way to Prishtina, LDK Information Commission in Prizren reported.

The LDK vice-chairman Eqrem Kryeziu and his co-traveller Islam

Bajrami were stopped by police, for a second time, just outside Prishtina. They were ordered to immediately take their license plates off. The police allowed then that the license plates be not removed in return for 1000 dinars (less than 200 DEM).

Mr. Bajrami paid the fine. Yet, when he asked for a receipt, the Serb policeman kicked and threatened him.

[07] Scant Knowledge about Identities of Six Albanians Found Dead in Rahovec Monday

The bodies of the six men were encountered Monday morning near Rahovec (in Serbian 'Orahovac'). They had been presumably killed earlier and somewhere else, and the bodies dumped there.

Even after three days since the six men were found dead, facts regarding the identities of the six men are meager. Referring to the Serb police sources, the Prishtina-based Bujku carried on Tuesday names of men found dead near Rahovec on Monday. The newspaper named them as Sali Berisha (48), Avdyl Bajrami, Ibrahim Zogaj, Ramdan Ibrahimi, Fadil Ibrahimi and Salih Ibrahimi, all of them citizens of Klina municipality. Sali Berisha was singled out as being owner of a gas station in Kijeva village of Klina, whereas no other detail but names could Bujku provide about the rest.

The Serb police has said that 30 automatic rifle shells were found in the scene where the six dead men were encountered. They were abducted three days before being found dead by unidentified and armed people in Albania's army uniforms, the Serb police said.

There have been conflicting reports in connection with the identities of the six murdered men.

Sources in Malisheva said that the names of the following men could be identified so far: Sali Avdylaj (45) from Stipanica village of Klina, his brother Fadil Avdylaj (over 30), Ramadan Balaj, a game keeper from Gllareva and his son whose name has not been identified yet, as well as two brothers from Rigjeva village of Klina one of them named as Ramadan.

Meanwhile, the Serb media said that all the six men were from Gllareva village of Klina: Sali Berisha, Bajram Berisha, and Ramadan Zogaj with his sons.

[08] Testimony of Eye-witness in Connection with Six Albanian Men Killed Monday

Only some 200 meters away from the place where the witness saw the men in uniforms, six Albanian men were found dead the same morning.

"They were dazed to see me so they ran and hid under a bridge nearby. I was frightened, too. I stopped in the middle of the road, startled watching them hide under the bridge. I soon ran off fast towards my village," said the eye-witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Reports said the dead bodies of six Albanian men were dumped there.

Only one mile away from the site, at a valley called Zhdrella, the Serb military had been carrying out military training, says Koha Ditore.

[09] Heavy Presence of Serb Military Forces in Lipjan Municipality

Eye-witnesses told KIC this morning that the military training gave the impression that the Serb forces were planning an attack on their villages, and fear of a possible massacre on the Albanian population in this region. The villages were blocked during the whole day Tuesday.

Magura and other neighboring villages are in the vicinity of the Prishtina airport and the largest Serbian military base in Kosova, Sllatina.

The Serbian police has intensified raiding for alleged hidden weapons on Albanian homes in these villages recently, sources in Lipjan say.

[10] Serbian Police Targets Private Bus Owners and Transporters

Likewise, the Serbian police have been conducting thorough checking of private owned buses in Prishtina today, and in particular those going to Podujeva and back.

Dozens of bus companies from Peja and Istog have ceased to drive to Prishtina and other towns of Kosova as a result of harassment and fines by Serbian police on several check-points along Prishtina- Peja highway.

Sources said latest Serbian police harassment of Albanian-owned bus companies is due to tomorrow's peaceful protests in Prishtina called by the Albanian political parties.

[11] Heavy Presence of Serb Forces in Vushtrri

The Serbian police patrols stopped several buses and forces the passengers off the buses.

[12] Several Drenica Villages under Serbian Forces's Fire - Reportedly, shooting halted at around 19:00 hrs today

The local LDK official said Serb forces had unleashed their assault before noon, adding that shooting from automatic weapons and machine guns was still going on at the time.

Serb military aircraft flew the area today, the local LDK activist said. He was not able to say anything specific about the damage caused to the village in the midst of this fresh assault.

The Llausha LDK leader said since 9 o'clock in the morning today Serbian forces targeted Drenica villages: Turi^evc, Broj&, A^arev&, Kopiliq, Vojnik&, ect. Heavy armament was used in this operation by Serbian forces, he claimed.

The villages have been sealed off by huge Serb police and (para)military forces for a month now.

The LDK sub-branch leader in Llausha told KIC by phone at 19:20 hrs shooting was halted at around 19:00 hrs.

Mr. Geci or indeed other local sources failed to say anything about possible casualties.

The overwhelming majority of the people have fled the area in the wake of last month's attack by Serb forces in Drenica.

Serbian forces have established and maintained a harsh grip on a large area of Drenica since early March. In Serb attacks on 28 February and early March on Likoshan, Qirez, Prekaz i Ul&t, Llausha, and Broja villages, more than 90 Albanians - most of them women, children, and elderly- were killed.

The international community - the six-nation Contact Group, the UN Security Council, the European Union, the OSCE - have been demanding that Belgrade withdraw its special units from Drenica, and initiate a dialogue with the Kosova leadership in search of a peaceful and negotiated settlement to the Kosova issue.

Milosevic's regime has not been heeding these calls. Instead of withdrawing special forces, Belgrade has been putting in fresh police and (para)military troops in Kosova.

Such Serbian troop reinforcements seem to be in preparation of a fresh attack against the local inhabitants who are still in these villages.

Local sources from the Drenica region speak of an alarmingly dangerous situation.

[13] Serbian Army Build Emplacements Near Prishtina

The Serbian army has been stationed on the hills above the Truda village since the beginning of April.

Serb military forces have also been stationed at Lebana village and have been building bunkers, LDK sources said.

[14] Additional Serbian Army Forces Deployed at Kosova-Albanian Border

Meanwhile, the Serbian police arrested Wednesday morning Frrok Mesulaj from Prizren, aid coordinator for Drenica, and Mit&r Berisha, local LDK chairman in Grazhdanik.

The Dragash municipality lies on the border zone between Kosova and Albania.

[15] Serbian Army Exercise Force in Fshat i Vjet&r of Ferizaj

They have been stationed in front of the local primary school, as well as in front of many Albanian homes, sources in Ferizaj reported.

The Serbian soldiers raided the yards of Osman Hyseni and Adem Hyseni.

At the same time heavy Serbian forces in police uniforms were stationed in the woods nearby the village, sources said.

Local residents have been reported harassed and threatened by Serb forces.

Kosova Information Center

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