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October 03,
2003
ERP KIM Newsletter
03-10-03
IN EXPECTATION OF
DIALOGUE
CONTENTS:
 KOSOVO
ASSEMBLEY DELAYS VOTE ON PRISTINA-BELGRADE TALKS
Kosovo MPs
on Thursday postponed a vote which was expected to give the parliamentary
go-ahead to the government's historic meeting with Serbian officials later
this month.
CHILDREN
REFUSE TO LEAVE THEIR GRANDMOTHER
The two young Kuzmanovices attend school on
the other side of the Ibar River; they are escorted from the southern,
Albanian-inhabited part of Kosovska Mitrovica to the northern part by
Greek soldiers. Every day, in the morning and in the afternoon. Depending
on Sanja's schedule of classes in the Economic Secondary School and
Sasha's schedule at the Branko Radicevic Primary School.
COPLEY:
EVIDENCE BETWEEEN IZETBEGOVIC AND OSAMA BIN LADEN
Commenting on information that there
are al-Qaida training camps in the north of Albania, Copley emphasized
that those camps were at one time supported by the USA.
"The USA and the Albanian Government worked very closely on this. These
camps still exist. We know that a large group crossed from Albania into
Kosovo a few months ago for terrorist operations. If the Albanian
government says that it doesn't know anything about it, that means that it
doesn't know what is happening on its own territory."
FLASH
NEWS FROM KOSOVO AND METOHIJA, OCT 02
PERPETRATORS OF GORAZDEVAC MASSACRE STILL NOT ARRESTED - DAY 50...
More News Available on our:
KOSOVO DAILY NEWS LIST (KDN)
KDN Archive
This newsletter is available on our
ERP KIM Web-site:
/erpkiminfo.html
AFP -
KOSOVO ASSEMBLEY DELAYS VOTE ON PRISTINA-BELGRADE TALKS
Kosovo
MPs on Thursday postponed a vote which was expected to give the
parliamentary go-ahead to the government's historic meeting with Serbian
officials later this month.
TOP
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/da/Qkosovo-serbia-un-talks.RCKx_DO2.html
Kosovo assembly delays vote on Pristina-Belgrade talks Thursday,
02-Oct-2003 4:10AM
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro, Oct 2 (AFP) - Kosovo MPs on Thursday
postponed a vote which was expected to give the parliamentary go-ahead to
the government's historic meeting with Serbian officials later this month.
The 120-seat multi-ethnic assembly was due to reply to a request by Prime
Minister Bajram Rexhepi to approve the proposed meeting, which would be
the first official contact between the two former foes since the end of
their 1998-99 war.
But the legislators were hesitant, insisting the United Nations
administration (UNMIK) that runs the southern Serbian province must first
transfer more authority to fledgeling local institutions.
The talks will concentrate on issues such as transport, energy, missing
people and the return of those who were displaced by the conflict, when
Serb forces clashed with separatist guerrillas from the province's ethnic
Albanian majority.
Kosovo's lawmakers said they could not negotiate on the last two issues as
they remained within the decision-making realm of UNMIK, headed by former
Finnish prime minister Harri Holkeri.
Holkeri confirmed earlier this week that he would lead the Kosovo
delegation at the October 14 talks in Vienna under the powers granted to
him by Security Council Resolution 1244, which established Kosovo as a UN
protectorate.
But Ramush Haradinaj, leader of Kosovo's third largest ethnic-Albanian
political grouping, told the assembly that Holkeri was "enlarging his
powers" at the expense of local institutions.
"Holkeri should be giving more competencies to the Kosovo institutions and
not enlarging his powers. Since this is not happening, we cannot say yes
to these talks," he said.
Parliament speaker Nexhat Daci postponed the vote to the next session of
the assembly on Oct 9.
"The parliament needs more time in order to preserve its inner unity. I am
not ready to push with the vote now and destroy this functioning unity,"
Daci said.
Kosovo has a president, prime minister and assembly but most
decision-making remains in the hands of the UN mission which was
established after NATO intervention drove Serb forces from the province.
TOP
CHILDREN
REFUSE TO LEAVE THEIR GRANDMOTHER
The two young
Kuzmanovices attend school on the other side of the Ibar River; they are
escorted from the southern, Albanian-inhabited part of Kosovska Mitrovica
to the northern part by Greek soldiers. Every day, in the morning and in
the afternoon. Depending on Sanja's schedule of classes in the Economic
Secondary School and Sasha's schedule at the Branko Radicevic Primary
School.
TOP
Vecernje Novosti daily, Belgrade
October 2, 2003
Dragan Damjanovic
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - A house in the town center but they cannot venture
into town without a military escort. That's how it has been for the past
four years. And instead of hope for a better tomorrow, Sanja (17) and
Sasha (8) Kuzmanovic have a new fear: What if the soldiers leave? Their
grandmother Dragica (71) does not want to leave the family home and asks
that, when the time comes, they bury her next to her husband in the nearby
cemetery where she cannot venture. Her grandchildren, Sanja and Sasha,
live in a house surrounded by a high wall, an observation tower and barbed
wire. The two young Kuzmanovices attend school on the other side of the
Ibar River; they are escorted from the southern, Albanian-inhabited part
of Kosovska Mitrovica to the northern part by Greek soldiers. Every day,
in the morning and in the afternoon. Depending on Sanja's schedule of
classes in the Economic Secondary School and Sasha's schedule at the
Branko Radicevic Primary School.
"If I had not built his house with my husband next to St. Sava [Serbian
Orthodox] Church, I would not be here today," said Grandmother Dragica.
"The Greek soldiers came just at the time when the church was first
attacked. That's when the extremists set fire to our roof. I climbed up on
the building to put out the fire but I fell and had a stroke. Since then
the soldiers have protected us, as well as the church and two priests'
families. They set up a guard post in front of our door. The soldiers even
help us by providing food. All things considered, I do not want to leave.
I only pray to God that no harm befalls these two children of mine. And I
ask myself whether the world knows that they are not free; that Sasha
learned basic Greek in just one month, and that he can only see the town
from an armored vehicle and when the soldiers allow him to climb the
observation tower?"
The children came from Kragujevac, where their parents, now divorced live.
The father started another family, as did the mother.
"When I was little, my grandmother raised me," said Sanja. "Now it's time
for me to pay her back. And she doesn't want to leave from here.
Little Sasha supports Grandmother Dragica as she walks in front of the
house on her crutches. He brings her a chair. The yard is as "big" as a
medium-sized room.
"Sometimes the two of them take me by the arms and pull me beyond the wall
to the church. They even carry me. They are my two joys. They don't want
to leave their grandmother. Sometimes I think that it would be better if I
was already dead so that the two of them don't suffer. If only the two of
them could be free..."
The Kuzmanovic house has been attacked by extremists several times. The
last time was three years ago. Since then the Greek soldiers have
reinforced their patrol and now an alert eye of a member of the small unit
keeps watch day and night from the small yard. The Greeks, along with the
priests' families and the three Kuzmanovices, are the only believers who
attend holy liturgy on Sundays. The soldiers do not hide the fact they are
happy to help and happy to be next to the church, which is for them a
great Orthodox shrine.
"God forbid that they should leave us," adds Grandmother Dragica. "I'd
drag myself to the Ibar and throw myself into the river. But I couldn't do
something so stupid, either, because of my children. Better not to think
of the hell that would ensure if the Greeks left."
Georgy Kakuk, the UN mission press secretary, confirmed that the soldiers
would continue to protect the Kuzmanovices and St. Sava Church, as well as
the two priests' families in it. He claims that the soldiers will stay as
long as they are needed. When we transmitted this to the Kuzmanovices, we
heard cries. And saw tears, the kind that come with happiness.
Happiness in the house behind bars.
ASSISTANCE
"We are doing everything possible to help them," UNMIK spokesman Georgy
Kakuk tells "Novosti." "The most important thing is that they are under
guard and that the soldiers are protecting them. When security improves,
it will be better for them, too. Perhaps the young Kuzmanovices will then
decide to remain here. In their grandparents' home."
Sanja and Sasha think much the same.
TOP
EVIDENCE
OF TIES BETWEEN IZETBEGOVIC AND OSAMA BIN LADEN
Commenting on
information that there are al-Qaida training camps in the north of
Albania, Copley emphasized that those camps were at one time supported by
the USA.
"The USA and the Albanian Government worked very closely on this. These
camps still exist. We know that a large group crossed from Albania into
Kosovo a few months ago for terrorist operations. If the Albanian
government says that it doesn't know anything about it, that means that it
doesn't know what is happening on its own territory."
TOP
SRNA
News Agency, Bijeljina
October 2, 2003
Interviewer: Sonja Lakic
BELGRADE - Gregory Copley, the director of the International Strategic
Studies Institute in Washington, claimed in an interview with SRNA that he
has evidence of ties between Alija Izetbegovic and al-Qaida, as well as
that a group of terrorists, trained in camps in the north of Albania, was
transferred to Kosovo and Metohija a few months ago, and that one of the
goals is to make Raska a state within a state.
He explained that the magazine "Defense & Foreign Affairs" and the Global
Information System, under the auspices of the International Strategic
Studies Institute, are just in the process of publishing documentation
pointing out the ties between radical Islamists in key positions in the
Bosnia-Herzegovina government with known or suspected Islamists with
terrorist connections.
"There is evidence of the involvement of Izetbegovic and connections with
the Islamic network al-Qaida. Izetbegovic personally met with Osama bin
Laden several times, and personally intervened to ensure that bin Laden
and all those who followed him receive Bosnia-Herzegovina passports,"
claims Copley, adding:
"According to evidence, some of them directly or indirectly participated
in the tragedy of September 11, 2001. It is completely clear that people
who hold positions such as Izetbegovic are attempting to cover up all
traces connecting them to something like this. We are surprised ourselves
that we were able to get documents directly supporting it but we also have
video tapes as well as other proof from the time of the civil war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina."
Copley confirmed that he also has a copy of instructions from the former
war-time president Alija Izetbegovic to Muslim ambassadors in
Bosnia-Herzegovina that they are issuing passports to everyone who
supports him.
When asked whether the administration of then-US president Bill Clinton
was aware of this, he emphasizes that this is "a big question but there is
very strong evidence that the cooperation, and even friendship, at that
time between Clinton and Izetbegovic resulted in the recent visit of
Clinton to Srebrenica and Bosnia-Herzegovina."
"We know that Clinton also visited Izetbegovic, who is claimed to be ill
and on his deathbed. And we also know that Izetbegovic's political party
paid 250,000 US dollars for his arrival in Bosnia and participation in the
uncovering of the monument in Srebrenica. The question needs to be asked
to what extent that monument was in fact built out of political motivation
instead of as a memorial to the victims of the civil war in Srebrenica,"
said Copley.
When reminded that he at one time published the testimony of a "Der
Spiegel" journalist, who claims she met Osama bin Laden in Izetbegovic's
presidential office in Sarajevo during the time of war operations, Copley
answered that "most of the world's population, including the population of
the USA, focused its knowledge of the situation on the Balkans through
daily news coverage which confused it."
Explaining why the public ignores claims of ties between Izetbegovic and
bin Laden, Copley said that this population "is happy that that conflict
is now in the past."
"These events are increasingly being seen in a new light, although the
process is slow. For the majority of Americans, Muslims were no longer the
only victims and Serbs the only and exclusive guilty ones. Increasingly
all three participants in the civil war are being blamed and sympathized,"
he said.
"The general opinion of people in the West was that all Muslims are naive
and all Serbs are guilty but this changes after September 11 and people
automatically understood that there are good guys and bad guys on all
sides. The citizens of Serbia and Republika Srpska were unable to
effectively protect themselves during war operations, first and foremost,
in the sphere of public opinion."
"The Islamist side, Izetbegovic and the Croatian side under Tudjman
together spent hundreds of millions of dollars for media and political
support. I would be very surprised to learn that the Serbs spend even a
million. In that sense the Serbs failed to understand that wars are not
won only on the battlefield but also through other, political means," he
said.
Copley confirmed that he has "complete evidence" that diplomat Safet
Djatovic, who he claims organized "a summer jihad camp in Pennsylvania"
one month before the terrorist attack on September 11, played a key role
in logistical support for Muslim military operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina
in Winter 94-95.
"Catovic participated as the spokesman of certain, now we can say
so-called humanitarian organizations, which were directly involved in the
al-Qaida network. We know that he got his Bosnian passport in the Bosnian
Embassy in Vienna under suspicious circumstances. At this point we suspect
that his real name is Safet Djatovic because he received his passport in
Vienna at the same time that many other Islamic fundamentalists received
Bosnian passports," explained Copley.
When asked about Mrs. Emina Keco, who served as the ambassador in Vienna
throughout the war, at a time when many passports were issued, Copley
answered that "at this point I would not comment on the participation of
Mrs. Koce, especially in connection with her position and what was
happening."
"At this moment my organization as well as other organizations are
carefully following the situation," he said.
Commenting on information that there are al-Qaida training camps in the
north of Albania, Copley emphasized that those camps were at one time
supported by the USA.
"The USA and the Albanian Government worked very closely on this. These
camps still exist. We know that a large group crossed from Albania into
Kosovo a few months ago for terrorist operations. If the Albanian
government says that it doesn't know anything about it, that means that it
doesn't know what is happening on its own territory."
"The American government under Clinton knew of the existence of these
camps but there is still no information that the camps have been
dismantled but instead that people from Islamic countries are serving as
instructors there and that they are training Kosovo Albanians for
terrorist activities. Some of them are hiding behind the Kosovo Protection
Corps," warned Copley.
He said that "connections with these people, as well as with the drug
cartel, is more than apparent."
"It's actually the way that some terrorist organizations are financed.
Terrorism has a strong infrastructure and regardless of the fact that
Kosovo and Raska are a part of the territory of Serbia, terrorists can
absolutely do whatever they want. The Serbian government and police are
afraid to react because of the global black-and-white picture on human
rights violations created earlier."
"Rights violations is not the issue at all but the fact that in this part
of the region there has been a line for some time between politicians,
drug dealers and weapons traders," he explained.
On the basis of gathered evidence, Copley believes that the terrorists
"want to create a state within a state in Raska.".
"When you draw a line between Kosovo - Raska - the Gorazde corridor Serbia
is completely cut off from Montenegro. Regardless of the intent of
Montenegro to secede from Serbia this will be catastrophic for it because
it will be completely isolated. The long-term goals of Izetbegovic's
Democratic Action Party (SDA) is for all these territories to be joined
all the way to Albania, including Kosovo," claims Copley.
He emphasizes that there is a lot of material that could assist the chief
prosecutor in The Hague Carla del Ponte to issue indictments against
Albanian terrorists.
"The question is whether del Ponte wants to proceed on this. What is
tragic is that she did not issue and look at the indictments against
Franjo Tudjman and Alija Izetbegovic. The Hague tribunal received evidence
regarding the crimes of Izetbegovic and Tudjman a long time ago but there
is still a blockade."
"And thus Tudjman is supposed to get a place in history just because he
died," said Copley at the end of his interview with "SRNA," asking the
question whether "the story of Izetbegovic's illness and being on his
deathbed is just a way of avoiding trial."
In conclusion Mr. Copley explained that similar research is being
conducted with the help of GIA and other institutions in all parts of the
world, including the Middle East and Africa.
"Sometimes our studies appeal to some but not to others but we strive to
be as objective as possible. We have bee faced with death threats but we
hope that by spreading the truth we are contributing to the benefit of all
humanity," concluded Copley.
TOP
INET- NEWS
FROM KOSOVO AND METOHIJA, OCT 02
TOP
www.inet.co.yu
I*Net News, Belgrade
Thursday 02 October 2003
23:40 NATO secretary general George Robertson said today in Skopje that he
and senior European Union official Javier Solana will attend the opening
of the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade on October 14 in Vienna "to
confirm the support of the international community."
22:00 Vranje police advised today that there is justified suspicion that
the seven people arrested in Veliki Trnovac organized and executed Serbian
security intelligence agent Selver Fazliu [an ethnic Albanian].
21:20 Today in Bujanovac representatives of three ethnic Albanian
political parties in southern Serbia condemned the police operation in
Veliki Trnovac resulting in the arrest of several persons.
21:00 Serbia-Montenegro parliament speaker Dragoljub Micunovic and Czech
diplomat Jerzy Diensbier agreed today that upcoming talks between Belgrade
and Pristina should be about standards and that the issue of the status of
Kosovo should be left for later.
15:00 The Kosovo parliament has postponed debate on the beginning of
dialogue with Belgrade. On the basis of a majority vote the parliament
decided today to delay for a week the debate on supporting for the Kosovo
government with regard to the beginning of dialogue. The MPs were
addressed by Kosovo premier Bajram Rexhepi, who emphasized that his
cabinet is not prepared to participate in talks without a Kosovo
parliament decision and a political consensus among leading Kosovo
Albanian political parties.
13:40 The EU high representative for foreign policy and security Javier
Solana addressed a letter to Kosovo parliament speaker Nexhat Daci stating
that dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade is the only solution for the
final status of the province.
13:00 The free trade agreement between Kosovo and Albania went into effect
yesterday. Kosovo trade and industry minister Ali Jakupi said that it
represented "an excellent opportunity for the economic development of
Kosovo" and that for the next six years, the majority of products exported
from Kosovo to Albania or vice versa will be free of customs duties.
11:00 After a three hour meeting in Kosovska Mitrovica yesterday, the
Return Coalition (Povratak) failed to reach agreement on an eventual Serb
representative in the delegation of Kosovo provisional institutions for
dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade on October 14 in Vienna. According
to head of the Return Coalition Dragisa Krstovic, the final decision will
be made next week.
TOP
ERP KIM
Info-Service is the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox
Diocese of Raska and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace
Bishop Artemije.
Our Information Service is distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The
main focus of the Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church
and the Serbian community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM
Info Service works in cooperation with
www.serbian-translation.com as well as the
Kosovo
Daily News (KDN) News List
Disclaimer:
The views expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts
which are not official communiqués or news reports by the Diocese are
their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian
Orthodox Church
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