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April 03, 2003 ERP KIM Newsletter 02-04-03 EDITORIAL More News
Available on our: This newsletter is available on our
ERP KIM Web-site: FEW SERBS IF ANY WILL SHED TEARS WHEN STEINER LEAVES KOSOVO AND METOHIJA ERP KIM
Info-Service Chief of the Serbian Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija and the vice-president of the Serbian Government, Dr. Nebojsa Covic strongly attacked Steiner's plans and made it clear in his latest statements in press and TV that Serbian Government after the death of Premier Djindjic will not change its position towards independence of Kosovo and building of new statelets in the Balkans. A few days ago Dr. Covic said that any unilateral step leading to Kosovo's independence would sparkle new conflicts and reiterated the position of the late Premier Djindjic that changing of internationally granted borders of Serbia-Montenegro would open many other issues, including Bosnia and Macedonia, which might plunge the Balkans back in the past. KOSOVO SERB LEADERS UNITED AGAINST STEINER'S PLAN REQUEST HIS RESIGNATION Although members of the Serb POVRATAK Coalition showed more readiness in the beginning to contest the transfer of authorities and other problems through institutions, in which they still participate, there is a prevailing attitude that further participation in the institutions, in case Steiner insists to realize his plans, will not be possible. Some members of the Coalition, such as Dr. Rada Trajkovic, have already frozen their participation in the Parliament with explanation that Serb deputies do not have mandate from their constituency to work on creation of an ethnically clean Albanian state. Rada Trajkovic and Dr. Milan Ivanovic, the leader of the Serb National Council of North Kosovo, announced public protests in Serbian areas and strongly supported urgent organization of Serb municipalities and municipal units in the north and east of the Province as an integral part of Kosovo's decentralization. They claim that this does not mean division of Kosovo simply because entire Kosovo and Metohija has to remain an autonomous part of Serbia. Serb areas deserve more self rule and local autonomy because Albanian dominated institutions have demonstrated that they continue with discrimination of Serbs in all spheres of life. These initiatives enjoy full support of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the vast majority of Kosovo Serbs. At the moment Steiner has no Serbs who are ready to cooperate with him in his plan to "integrate" Serb community in independent Kosovo. Steiner is widely accused by Serbs as overtly pro-Albanian. That is why the leading Kosovo Serbs requested from him to step down. In the Serbian press, but informally within UNMIK circles too, there is a rumor that Steiner has become openly ethnically biased because of his alleged affair with Bukuria Balaj, a Kosovo Albanian, member of the Kosovo Television managing board. No one in UNMIK is ready to comment this rumor at the moment, but if proved correct this might seriously impair Steiner's moral predispositions for the position of UNMIK's chief. Steiner's rating in the Serb community has never been lower and it is very possible that few people, if any, will shed tears when he leaves Kosovo and Metohija. SERBS SEE KPC AS ALBANIAN EQUIVALENT OF MILOSEVIC'S "FRANKIE BOYS" Another battle is fought over the Kosovo Protection Corps, which originates from the disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army. While Premier Rexhepi and the Corps leader Agim Ceku dream of making the Corps a new Kosovo Army based on the traditions of KLA and ethnic Albanian guerilla fighting, Serbs are strongly opposed because the Corps is almost completely monoethnic Albanian organization and its members are considered as directly responsible for many post-war crimes. Many Serbs see the Corps as an equivalent of the infamous Serbian Red-Barrets (Frankie boys), former Milosevic's paramilitaries, which have been disbanded this week by the Belgrade Government after it was proved that its leaders took direct part in assassination of Premier Djindjic and committed many other crimes. Whether Kosovo will be strong enough to purify the ranks of the Corps remains to be seen. At the moment, several leading officers of the Corps are under investigation and are suspected of committing serious war crimes both against Serb and Albanian civilians. Now after the intensive crack down of the Belgrade Government against its own "axis of evil" which consists of former paramilitary groups, organized crime gangs, narco-dealers and former politicians close to Milosevic and Seselj it is not difficult to understand that Kosovo cannot trace its way towards better future without doing the same. In fact, many international and local observers have noticed that the former KLA structures and their leaders are deeply involved in criminal activity and organized crime. They exert a strong pressure on moderate Albanians hiding themselves behind nationalistic agenda and Albanian patriotism. As long as these individuals and groups remain in power and continue controlling Kosovo's institutions, Protection Corps and Kosovo Police any improvement of the security situation and political stabilization of the Province will be impossible. A YEAR OF RETURNS OR A NEW UNMIK'S SMOKE SCREEN At the same time efforts to bring 230.000 Serb refugees back to their homes in Kosovo continue. Despite loud promises that this year (again!!) will be the year of Serb returns remaining Serbs and returnees are very skeptical that in existing security conditions any serious return process might be possible at all. It has been proved so far that Serb returnees can only live relatively normally in Serb dominated areas or under heavy KFOR protection. The recent inflammatory article "Beware of Serb Plans to Colonize Kosova", published by the Western sponsored Kosovo Albanian daily KOHA DITORE, urges Kosovo Albanians to attack returnees and disrupt return process by all possible means. While Kosovo Albanian leaders officially support returns they are not taking any concrete steps to decrease hostility of their compatriots and promote more tolerance probably hoping that Serbs would eventually give up returns. The worst situation is in Albanian dominated cities in which only insignificant Serbian minority remains, mostly living in ghettos. Although one may expect some returns in KFOR protected rural areas, the return of Kosovo Serb urban population will remain a farfetched dream. Fr. Sava
Janjic U.S.
FOREIGN SECRETARY COLIN POWELL IN BELGRADE Reports by
all Serbian media The U.S. State
Secretary underscored strong commitments of the U.S. Administration to
Serbia and Montenegro's fight against the nexus of organized crime, war
criminals and political extremism; its efforts to overcome obstacles to
integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions; and the region's long-term
stability and economic growth. COVIC:
SERBIA CANNOT RENOUNCE KOSOVO AND METOHIJA Radio
Yugoslavia
MOMCILO TRAJKOVIC PROPOSES REFERENDUM AGAINST IDEPENDENCE OF KOSOVO BORBA
(Belgrade daily) SERBS
MIGHT WITHDRAW FROM KOSOVO INSTITUTIONS
Tanjug (Belgrade) UNMIK SPOKESMAN SAYS THAT STEINER WILL CONTINUE WITH TRANSFER OF AUTHORITIES WHILE SERB ANNOUNCE FURTHER PROTESTS Radio
Yugoslavia UNMIK
spokesman Gjorgji Kakuk said that UNMIK head Michael Steiner would
continue with the transference of authorities onto provisional Kosmet
institutions despite the announcement of Serb protests. Kakuk remarked
that the UN Security Council had established new competences of the Kosovo
government. Political representatives of Serbs in Kosmet announced the
first protest rally in northern Kosovska Mitrovica for Thursday. Rada
Trajkovic, deputy of the Serb Coalition POVRATAK in the Kosovo Assembly,
said that the protests were aimed at creating two entities within the
Province and not at dividing Kosmet. An advisor in Steiner’s cabinet,
Nenad Radosavljevic, assessed that the protests represented a democratic
right of Serbs to voice their discontent with UNMIK policy. ARMS CACHE
FOUND NEAR KOSOVO, SAYS SERBIA Agence
France Presse (AFP) KPS
TAKING AWAY SERB DRIVING LICENCES AND REGISTRATION PLATES KIM RADIO The
liceces are taken away if drivers do not have written confirmation that
they have already applied for the UNMIK driving licences. Owners of
vehicles with old Gnjilane, Urosevac and Pristina registration plates will
be sued to the court. KPS policemen have also punished some drivers of
such vehicles on the spot and they had to pay a fine up to 80 EUR. This
latest decision of the KPS authorities has created panic and fear in the
Serb areas because in that way their contacts with central Serbia will be
additionally restricted. LIPLJAN:
FOUR HOURS OF FREE MOVEMENT FOR SERBS KIM RADIO Certain
number of Serbs did not leave their homes because they feared incidents.
Members of the international authorities will make a public report soon
and give exact figures how many Lipljan Serbs appeared in the streets.
They will aslo make a general assessment of this action that will show
whether this new arrangement of free movement four hours a day is
justifiable or not", said Smilic. THE
STATE HAS FARGOTTEN US Blic Daily,
Belgrade NEW
KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY ARREST BETA ERP KIM
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These
days we could witness growing number of Serbian protests against Steiner's
decision to transfer some vital administrative authorities to Kosovo and
Metohija temporary institutions, dominated by K/Albanians. Serbs think
that by this action Steiner is de facto giving attributes of statehood to
Kosovo which will seriously prejudice the final status settlement. At the
end there will be nothing to discuss with Belgrade, Serbs think. Belgrade
Government is aware of this and has already made steps to prevent this
process through the UN Security Council. The joint Serbian position is
that UN SC Resolution 1244 gives mandate to UNMIK to build substantial
autonomy of Kosovo Province within FRY i.e. Serbia-Montenegro, nothing
more and nothing less. Serb political leaders on the other hand think that
Steiner is pushing forward the concept of so called conditional
independence of Kosovo, which is contrary to his mandate. Among Kosovo
Serbs there is a full consensus that independence of Kosovo and Metohija
would not only make their life here impossible but that it would seriously
destabilize the entire region. Four years after the war there is not a
single Kosovo Serb (and an objective international) who can believe that
independent Kosovo can be anything else but an ethnically clean Albanian
state in which hardly any other ethnic group would be able to survive and
preserve its identity.
Momcilo
Trajkovic, the president of Kosovo and Metohija Committee in Serbian
Parliament, proposed referendum for all Serb and non-Serb residents in
Kosovo, against the independence of this southern Serbian province.
PRISTINA
-- Wednesday – Another former member of the outlawed Kosovo Liberation
Army has been arrested by KFOR troops and UNMIK police in Djakovica.