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July 19,
2003
ERP KIM Newsletter
19-07-03
Waiting for better future
Serb returnees to Novake village near Prizren, July 2003
CONTENTS:
 A
SERB BEATEN UP IN HIS FIELD BY A GROUP OF ALBANIANS
POSSIBLE
RETURN OF SERBS TO TWO VILLAGES NEAR UROSEVAC
"QUINT"
REPRESENTATIVES DEMAND IMPLEMENTATION OF BENCHMARKS
ALBANIA
BUYING KOSOVO AND METOHIJA COMPANIES
FOUR
KOSOVO ALBANIANS CONVICTED OF WAR CRIMES
GRENADE
BLAST NEAR KOSOVO POLICE STATION - NO CASUALTIES
MACEDONIA:
ANOTHER ARMED ATTACK FROM KOSOVO
MORE
THAN 1.000 CHILDREN IN ALBANIA LIVE IN HIDING TO AVOID VENDETTA
More News Available on
our:
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NEWS LIST (KDN)
KDN Archive
This newsletter is available on our
ERP KIM Web-site:
/erpkiminfo.html
A
SERB BEATEN UP IN HIS FIELD
BY A GROUP OF ALBANIANS
At one point Tomasevic
managed to free himself and run away. He sought medical assistance in
Zubin Potok and was immediately transferred to Kosovska Mitrovica
hospital.
TOP
Beta
News Agency, Belgrade
July 17, 2003
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - Mihajlo Tomasevic (58) was brutally beaten up today
by a group of Albanians while he was working in his field in the village
of Suvo Grlo, Srbica municipality.
Tomasevic said that two Albanians beat him while about ten others watched.
At one point Tomasevic managed to free himself and run away. He sought
medical assistance in Zubin Potok and was immediately transferred to
Kosovska Mitrovica hospital.
Dr. Vladimir Adzic, who examined Tomasevic, said that he sustained an
injury to the left side of the chest, most probably from being hit by a
stone. He is recovering and out of life-threatening danger.
This is the second physical attack on Tomasevic, who also lost two sons in
the past four years. One was killed in Kosari during the NATO bombing,
while a second was killed when he drove over a landmine on the Zubin
Potok-Suvo Grlo road.
TOP
Many remaining Serbs in urban centers live amidst barbed wire and fear
An elderly Serb couple in Prizren with Vice Premier Covic, July 2003
POSSIBLE
RETURN OF SERBS TO TWO VILLAGES NEAR UROSEVAC
"It was
agreed to begin the return of Serb families to the villages of Babljak and
Grlica, while the insistence of the Serb delegation to also initiate Serb
returns to the villages of Gornje Nerodimlje, Donje Nerodimlje, Stojkovice
and Zaskok was opposed by local Albanians," said Staletovic.
TOP
Danas
daily, Belgrade
July 18, 2003
Petition to return
Strpce - The local Albanian community has agreed that displaced Serbs
return to the villages of Babljak and Grlica in Urosevac municipality.
However, returning to the town of Urosevac is out of the question, Slavisa
Staletovic, a member of the joint task group for returns and deputy mayor
of Strpce municipality, told Tanjug news agency.
Representatives of the association of displaced Serbs and local Albanians
met for the first time since June 1999 last week in Urosevac, in the
presence of Hashim Thaci, Ibrahim Rugova and U.S. head of mission in
Pristina Reno Harnish.
"It was agreed to begin the return of Serb families to the villages of
Babljak and Grlica, while the insistence of the Serb delegation to also
initiate Serb returns to the villages of Gornje Nerodimlje, Donje
Nerodimlje, Stojkovice and Zaskok was opposed by local Albanians," said
Staletovic.
He said that the displaced Serbs wanted to visit their apartments and
houses in Urosevac from which the international community had evicted
illegal Albanian residents less than a month ago; however, they were not
permitted to do so.
"We assume that the reason is that those apartments and houses were burned
down a few days after they were vacated by unknown perpetrators and it was
not desirable for either us or Harnish to see the condition they were in,"
explained Staletovic.
He added that at the meeting the delegation of displaced Serbs handed
Urosevac mayor Adem Salihaj and Harnish a petition bearing the signatures
of 300 Serb families asking to return. A new meeting of the joint task
group for returns to Urosevac has been scheduled for next week. (Tanjug)
TOP
"QUINT"
REPRESENTATIVES DEMAND IMPLEMENTATION OF BENCHMARKS AND THE BEGINNING OF
THE DIALOGUE
TOP
VIP Belgrade,
July 18
PRISHTINA - At a press conference held at the American diplomatic mission
in Kosovo on Thursday, the chiefs of the missions of the United States,
Great Britain, France and Germany in Prishtina (the Quint Group) invited
the representatives of the interim institutions and UNMIK to fully
implement the “Standard before status” policy which, according to them,
means taking concrete measures towards reaching the benchmarks set by the
international community.
The chief of the US mission in Kosovo Reno Harnish said one of the issues
the representatives of the international community are preoccupied with is
the beginning of the dialogue between the interim institutions of Kosovo
and the officials of Serbia and Montenegro. These countries support the
beginning of the dialogue and I personally hope that we will see the
determination of the Kosovo leaders to begin preparing for the discussions
before the end of the summer, said Reno Harnish.
The chiefs of offices of the Quint group jointly affirmed that progress
has been achieved in the implementation of the “Standard before status”
policy and that a precise timetable is now needed for UNMIK and the local
institutions to reach those standards. According to Harnish, this is not
just about UNMIK’s request and that at issue is a wider demand by the
international community in the interest of the people of Kosovo.
Pasquale Salzano, the chief of the Italian diplomatic mission in
Prishtina, said the Balkans are at the top of the agenda of the European
Union and that the dialogue between Belgrade and Priahtina is a priority.
We are convinced that the dialogue on technical issues will follow shortly
and we will encourage the process, said Salzano.
Emphasizing the results achieved in implementing the benchmarks, the chief
of the British mission Marc Dickinson said another progress has been made
with the latest initiative of local institutions and their invitations to
refugees to return to Kosovo. According to him, this progress should be
continued and broadened so that the residents of Kosovo can see concrete
results to that effect.
Peter Rondolf, the chief of the German mission in Prishtina underlined
that the Kosovo institutions will not remain alone in their bid to reach
the set standards and that the countries members of the Quint will help
them achieve that.
He said the Bible on the road to Europe is the fulfilling of these
criteria and that besides democracy and the market economy, one of the
main standards to be reached is remove all the obstacles in the relations
with the neighbors and minorities. According to Rondolf, in the case of
Kosovo, this means there should be no conflicts with Serbia. Daniel
Ratier, acting chief of the French office said his country joins the
requirements of all the countries members of the Quint related to the
reaching of the benchmarks. He thanked the chief of the American
diplomatic mission Reno Harnish for his efforts. Harnish is due to depart
for a posting in Azerbaijan in the near future.
TOP
ALBANIA BUYING KOSOVO AND METOHIJA COMPANIES
Despite the
objections of the Serbian government the privatization of socially-owned
and state-owned property has begun in Kosovo and Metohija.
TOP
Vecernje Novosti daily, Belgrade
July 18, 2003
PRISTINA - Despite the objections of the Serbian government the
privatization of socially-owned and state-owned property has begun in
Kosovo and Metohija.
No official information is available; however, from sources close to
Albanian business men we have learned that the brick factory in Srbica,
which has been renamed by the Albanians as Skenderaj, has already been
sold. The buyer is from Albania and has also purportedly expressed
interest in a similar factory in Pec. An Austrian venture has expressed
interest in "Termovent" in Orahovac, built by the Belgrade company of the
same name. "Energoinvest" and "Energomontini", built by the former
Sarajevo conglomerate, have only drawn the interest of businessmen from
Albania, who are waiting for a better purchase price to buy.
The rock quarry in Klina has already been purchased by local Albanians. A
tender is expected to be issued at the end of the month for about ten
companies but no official information by the provisional Kosovo
institutions for privatization has yet been released.
TOP
FOUR
KOSOVO ALBANIANS CONVICTED OF WAR CRIMES
The three judges sentenced Rrustem Mustafa and three of his associates to
prison terms ranging from five to 17 years for ordering the killings,
illegal arrests and torture of fellow ethnic Albanians
TOP
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wed Jul 16, 2:23 PM ET
By GARENTINA KRAJA, Associated Press Writer
(photo: Kosovo Albanians,
supporters of KLA demonstrate in Kosovo - click to enlarge)
 PRISTINA,
Serbia-Montenegro - A court convicted four senior ethnic Albanian rebels
and sentenced them to prison Wednesday for atrocities committed during
their 1998-1999 war against Yugoslav forces in the province of Kosovo.
It was the first time that the United Nations (news - web
sites)-administered court had convicted anyone of war crimes from the
rebel side in the Kosovo conflict.
The three judges sentenced Rrustem Mustafa and three of his associates to
prison terms ranging from five to 17 years for ordering the killings,
illegal arrests and torture of fellow ethnic Albanians suspected of
collaborating with the Serb regime of Slobodan Milosevic (news - web
sites).
"In the case of each accused, these acts are qualified as the offense of
war crimes," said presiding judge Timothy Clayson of Britain. "No man is
above the law."
An attorney for the men said they would appeal.
Kosovo is a part of Serbia-Montenegro, the successor to Yugoslavia, but
has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO (news -
web sites) air bombing forced an end to a Serb crackdown on separatist
ethnic Albanians.
The four senior rebels, using headphones to hear a translation of the
judge's words, listened in silence, but their families sobbed upon hearing
the verdicts.
Mustafa, one of the most senior commanders of the now-defunct Kosovo
Liberation Army, received a 17-year sentence for ordering the killings of
five Albanians, failing to prevent illegal detention and failing to punish
rebel soldiers responsible for abuses.
Mustafa commanded the rebels in northern part of Kosovo, a region known as
Llap. The three associates served under his command in that zone.
Nazif Mehmeti, the head of the rebels' police unit, was sentenced to 13
years for conveying orders to kill civilians and making unlawful arrests.
The rebels' intelligence chief, Latif Gashi, was sentenced to 10 years for
illegal detention and torture. Naim Kadriu, who headed the rebels'
detention center, received a five-year sentence.
Relatives of the men sobbed as the sentences were announced. Mustafa tried
to calm them as he was being escorted out of the temporary court room by
heavily armed guards.
"We fought for ourselves, not for them," he said, referring to the U.N.
mission now in charge of administering the province.
He waved with handcuffed hands as he was driven away in an armored car
Gashi's sister, Nafije, clutching a handkerchief, said the trial was
unfair.
"They fought for their own people, for their own country and we will
always be proud of what they did," she said.
TOP
GRENADE BLAST NEAR KOSOVO POLICE STATION- NO CASUALTIES
Unknown assailants on Thursday detonated a hand grenade near a police
station in a northern Kosovo town, the day after four ethnic Albanians
from the town were sentenced for war crimes, UN officials in the province
said.
TOP
AGENCE FRANCE
PRESSE
hursday, 17-Jul-2003 4:12AM
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro, July 17 (AFP) - Unknown assailants on
Thursday detonated a hand grenade near a police station in a northern
Kosovo town, the day after four ethnic Albanians from the town were
sentenced for war crimes, UN officials in the province said. There were no
casualties or damage.
Two other grenades were found unexploded outside the police station, in
the town of Podujevo said Derek Chappell, a spokesman for the UN police in
the province.
He said the incident, which appeared to be an attempt to intimidate the
police rather than attack them, was being investigated.
On Wednesday several hundred ethnic Albanian in Podujevo protested a
landmark ruling before a Kosovo court, which sentenced four former rebels
to between five and 17 years in prison for war crimes.
"If they wanted to attack the police they could have done so. I wouldn't
say it was a deliberate attack, but an attempt to intimidate or warn the
police," Chappell said.
Rustem Mustafa, once a senior officer in the now disbanded Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA), and three of his associates were convicted of
crimes including murder, illegal detention, inhumane treatment and
torture.
Mustafa, known as Remi, was sentenced to 17 years for ordering the murder
of five Kosovo Albanians and "failing to prevent illegal detention" in his
zone of command during the 1998-1999 conflict.
The crimes were committed in what was then Mustafa's zone of command in
the region of Podujevo, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Pristina,
the capital of the southern Serbian province.
The police station in Podujevo houses both UN policemen and members of the
local police force, the Kosovo Police Service.
NATO-led peacekeepers, KFOR, were deployed to dispose of the remaining
hand grenades, Chappell said.
Kosovo, a southern Serbian province, has been under UN administration
since NATO bombed Yugoslavia to force the withdrawal of Serb troops in
1999.
TOP
MACEDONIA:
ANOTHER ARMED ATTACK FROM KOSOVO AS NATO PROLONGS "PEACEKEEPING"
TOP
REALITY
MACEDONIA
Web posted July 17, 2003
1.. Armed Group Attacks From Kosovo, Fires On Ethnically Mixed Macedonian
Border Patrol
2.. Armed Assailant Wounded In Attempted Intrusion From NATO-Occupied
Kosovo
3.. NATO To Continue Support For Macedonia Mission - From Kosovo
Occupation Base
-----
Macedonian Information Agency
July 16, 2003
ARMED INCIDENT NEAR BLACE
Skopje, July 15 (MIA) - Group of ethnic Albanians opened fire late Monday
on the ethnically mixed ARM patrol in an attempt to enter Macedonia at
Bardi Maalo locality.
One of the trespassers was wounded, while three other persons were
detained by the border patrol.
-----
Associated Press
July 16, 2003
Man wounded in border incident in Macedonia
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - A man was injured when Macedonian soldiers opened
fire on two men trying to illegally enter the country from Kosovo, the
army headquarters said Tuesday. An army patrol late Monday spotted an
unlit car crossing the border on a side road near the regular border
crossing of Blace, about 18 miles north of the capital Skopje, an army
statement said.
The patrol tried to stop the car, and a man inside opened fire. The
soldiers retuned fire, hitting one of the two men in the car. No soldiers
were injured.
The men managed to escape to a nearby village. One of them, identified as
Ismet Kurtishi Tadzedin, later asked for medical care and was arrested by
Macedonian police, the army said.
It was not immediately clear why the two tried to enter Macedonia. The
neighboring Serbian province of Kosovo has been run by the United Nations
and NATO since 1999.
-----
NATO agrees to back extended EU Macedonia mission
-[T]he alliance still provides the 15-nation bloc with a special force to
pull its troops out in case of emergencies and shares with it a
headquarters which is used by NATO backup forces for the crisis management
mission in neighbouring Kosovo.
BRUSSELS, July 16 (Reuters) - NATO agreed on Wednesday to continue its
support for the European Union's peacekeeping mission in Macedonia, which
the bloc is set to extend for a further 11 weeks until mid-December.
"It was completely uncontroversial," an official said after a meeting of
NATO ambassadors. "They agreed to continue the support until December
15...if the EU decides to go on until then."
The EU's first military venture, the Macedonia peacekeeping operation, was
run by NATO until a handover at the end of March.
But the alliance still provides the 15-nation bloc with a special force to
pull its troops out in case of emergencies and shares with it a
headquarters which is used by NATO backup forces for the crisis management
mission in neighbouring Kosovo.
The main tasks of the EU operation, which is made up of 300 lightly armed
troops, are to monitor the situation and show a visible international
presence in Macedonia, where government forces fought Albanian rebels in
2001.
Diplomats said EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels next week were
expected to approve a call from Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski for
the mission's mandate to be extended.
TOP
MORE
THAN 1.000 CHILDREN IN ALBANIA LIVE IN HIDING TO AVOID VENDETTA
More than 1,000
children in Albania are living in hiding to avoid some kind of revenge, or
vendetta, the Albanian ministry for social affairs said in statement
published here on Thursday.
TOP
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
Thursday, 17-Jul-2003 3:00PM
TIRANA, July 17 (AFP) - More than 1,000 children in Albania are living in
hiding to avoid some kind of revenge, or vendetta, the Albanian ministry
for social affairs said in statement published here on Thursday.
Some 1,024 children between three and 15 years cannot leave their homes as
they hope to avoid a tradition dating back to the 14th century, that
"blood can only be revenged with blood," said the spokesman of the
ministry, Naim Zoto.
According to the vendetta tradition, all males from a family, including
children, can be victims of a revenge for a death of a murdered rival
family member.
The deadly rule is still being respected in the poor mountainous regions
in the north of the country, but also in some villages and towns in other
parts of Albania.
In the northern town of Shkoder and its surroundings alone, at least 2,000
families and their 900 children still live in fear of being killed.
"They cannot even go to school because of their isolation and most of the
children are illiterate and lack any possibility of communication," Zoto
said.
The Albanian government has been working on an action plan to help these
children and all families fearing vendetta, Zoto said.
"One of the actions would be to stop such severe traditions and introduce
laws that can protect the lives of those faced with such savage and
archaic tribal traditions," Zoto said.
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.
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