Kosova Daily Report #1578, 98-10-10

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

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1578
Prishtina, 10 October 1998

CONTENTS

[01] President Rugova Receives Ambassador Holbrooke

[02] Holbrooke and Donnelly to the Press

[03] U^K Reaffirms Ceasefire, Assures NGO's Based in Kosova, Says Serb Forces Not Complying

[04] At Least 492 Albanians Killed in Kosova in September, CDHRF Says

[05] Serb Military Kills 15-Year-Old Albanian in Gjakova

[01] President Rugova Receives Ambassador Holbrooke

The most recent developments and the possibilities for a negotiated settlement to the Kosova issue were discussed in the meeting.

President Ibrahim Rugova reiterated his demand for an urgent international intervention to protect the people of Kosova and create the conditions for a political resolution of the Kosova issue.

After the meeting, Clinton's special envoy Holbrooke and the British ambassador Donnelly spoke to the press in front of Rugova's residence.

[02] Holbrooke and Donnelly to the Press

PRISHTINA, Oct 10 (KIC) - After the conclusion of their meeting with President Ibrahim Rugova of Kosova, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Ambassador Brian Donnelly spoke to the press in Prishtina today (Saturday).

Holbrooke said Donnelly, the Ambassador of Great Britain, Ambassador Hill and himself had just met with Dr. Rugova. They had met earlier today with members of the Kosova Albanian negotiating team, he said.

Ambassador Donnelly and Holbrooke would be returning to Belgrade, whereas Ambassador Hill would be staying behind to continue talks in Prishtina, the Clinton special envoy told reporters. Then he made the rhetorical question:"So, where are we?", to which he replied: "Well, we are where we were earlier today, where we were yesterday: extremely serious situation. No change there."

Planning has continued to move forward at NATO, Holbrooke said.

"I'll let NATO speak for itself; we are not here on behalf of NATO.

We are here to find a way to do the best we can in a very difficult situation. We are very grateful to Dr. Rugova, for the time he took to see us today. He continues to represent important moderate leadership in a situation where all sides increasingly resorted to violence, and we greatly admire and appreciate that. We will return to Belgrade and I will have an immediate meeting with President Milosevic, and we will see where we go from there", Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said in his remarks to the press in Prishtina.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Brian Donnelly recalled that the British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Robin Cook, chaired the Contact Group meeting on Friday and afterwards announced the six points, "which we think are essential for compliance with UNSC Resolution 1199."

Ambassador Holbrooke invited me to come here today to illustrate the clear unity in purpose of support of those demands", Donnelly added. He endorsed Holbrooke's remarks about the importance of the situation and the significance for "both sides to negotiate hard and seriously" on Kosova.

Ambassador Hill will be continuing "his extraordinary and intense efforts which have been going on all summer long" on a political process, Ambassador Holbrooke said, declining to say whether there was any progress after the meetings with Milosevic.

Holbrooke said he himself and ambassadors Hill and Donnelly are diplomats, who by nature "always believe that it is better to keep talking".

Nobody wants to have to resort to the bombing, or military action.

"The UN Resolution is very clear, and Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and Secretary of State Albright and others, have made clear the Yugoslav government is not in compliance with that Resolution", Holbrooke said.

"On the base of that fact, in another part of Europe, other people are planning another way to deal with the problem", the Clinton envoy said, alluding to NATO. "And that is not what we are here for. We are here to find a totally viable, credible, verifiable, irreversible compliance with the UN Resolution."

[03] U^K Reaffirms Ceasefire, Assures NGO's Based in Kosova, Says Serb Forces Not Complying

"We have not fought back, not out of fear to confront the Serb occupier's troops, but rather to demonstrate our courage and determination", the U^K statement said, adding that the U^K made only tactical movements to avert the need to fire back.

The U^K called on the international community to pressurize the "terrorist regime in Belgrade" to accept soon the UN Resolution's demands.

The General Staff of the U^K assured international humanitarian organizations operating in Kosova to assist those affected by the "Serbian barbarity" the moral and physical integrity of members of such organizations would in no circumstances "be violated by U^K fighters".

[04] At Least 492 Albanians Killed in Kosova in September, CDHRF Says

In a report circulated today, the Council said hundreds of Albanians were wounded. Its activists on the ground could, however, register only 159. 73 persons were buried as unidentified, the CDHRF noted, because some were carbonated, bodies of others were mutilated, whereas in several cases there was none to identify the victims found in abandoned villages attacked earlier by Serb forces.

The human rights group said it had registered 206 persons gone missing during the last month alone. Many others were rounded up and held in Serb police stations, whereas others were abducted and their whereabouts could not be learned.

One of the abducted Albanians was Xhavit Haziri, a desk officer of the human rights Council. Eye-witnesses have claimed that Mr Haziri was abducted on 17 September while on his way to the CDHRF offices by members of the Serb state security. Yet, Serb authorities denied he had been detained by Serb officers. The number of missing persons in Kosova was already 1,300 by the end September, it said.

The Council received reports of 45 cases of missing persons of Serb nationality.

The CDHRF said on many occasions during the last month, Serb forces cracked down on refugee sites or on clusters of people laving their villages. Serb forces separated menfolks from their families, and men were subsequently subjected to brutal maltreatment, intimidation or even killing. The Council has registered similar practices during the first decade of this month too, the CDHRF concluded.

[05] Serb Military Kills 15-Year-Old Albanian in Gjakova

PRISHTINA, Oct 10 (KIC) - Serb soldiers killed last Thursday a 15- year-old boy, Blerim Haxhi Berisha, sources in Gjakova said.

The LDK chapter in Gjakova said the late Blerim Berisha was killed in woods near Prush village, in the Hasi region. The boy was cutting timber there together with his father when shot dead by Serb soldiers, the source said.

The body of Blerim Berisha was taken by Serb soldiers to the town morgue in Gjakova yesterday (Friday).

The LDK Information Commission of Gjakova said the body of a 13- year-old boy, Neshet Byty^i, resident of Rogova village, was found on Friday not far from his village. The boy's head was slit and his body was badly mutilated, local villagers said. He had gone missing a month ago.

The Commission said that the resident of the village of Prush, Zylfaj and Goden, in Hasi region have been ordered by the Serb army strictly stay inside their houses from 17:00 on today until 9 a.m tomorrow (Sunday). The villagers have been ordered to also keep the livestock inside during the whole time and keep all the lights off during the night.

Serb soldiers have not explained the reasons for the imposition of such a regime in the village.

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