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February 16, 2004
ERP KiM Newsletter
16-02-04
Serbs from Miroc
village leave their homes in Kosovo
Serbs from the village of Miroc
(pronounced Miroch) in the Kosovo municipality of Vucitrn (Vuchitrn)
left their homes this morning due to the removal of the KFOR security
checkpoint in their village, sources in Kosovo informed Beta news
agency. At the same time the local Kosovo institutions continue with
their discriminatory policy against Kosovo Serbs. Kosovo Parliament,
dominated by ethnic Albanians refused to remove pictures of mono-ethnic
contents despite requests of UNMIK chief Holkeri, Klina Municipality
still obstructs the return of Serbs, while Kosovo PM keeps finding
excuses to avoid continuation of dialogue with Belgrade authorities. As
in previous weeks Kosovo Albanian institutions show that Kosovo
Standards plan is just a dead letter on the paper. In reality Kosovo
institutions work on building of mono-ethnic society tailored for ethnic
Albanians only.
So called "Kosovo Protection
Corps", former UCK remains continuous threat to Kosovo security. This
infamous organization is nevertheless still financed by the Western
Government although almost all members of the KPC leadership since its
"transformation" in 1999 have been either arrested or placed on the
black list of US Government and EU for different kinds of criminal
activities. Despite efforts of some internationals to make this
organization "multiethnic" it remains dominated by the ethnic Albanian
nationalism and has been directly involved in many crimes in the
post-conflict Kosovo, not only against Kosovo Serbs but also against
moderate Albanians and other minorities
| Four
Albanians KPC members suspected of murder arrested in Kosovo
UNMIK police report,
February 16, 2004
Four people have been taken into custody following an early
morning operation by the Police, acting with support from
KFOR.
The arrests were made in Prizren and Pristina regions. Those
detained are suspects in serious criminal offences such as
murder. The victims of these crimes were Kosovo-Albanians.
All of the suspects are members of the Kosovo Protection
Corps and one senior officer is amongst those detained.
The arrests have led to a number of follow-up searches in
KPC facilities and residences limited to those individuals.
The operation was conducted without resistance.
Criminal acts require that the individuals responsible be
held accountable, regardless of their position or their
membership in any organisation. This operation was aimed at
suspect individuals and not at the KPC.
Derek CHAPPELL
Spokesperson, Chief Press Office
UNMIK Police
Pristina
Angela JOSEPH
MHQ Deputy Chief Press
UNMIK Police, Pristina
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CONTENTS:
 Serbs
from village Miroc in Kosovo leave their homes
Serbs from the village of Miroc
(pronounced Miroch) in the Kosovo municipality of Vucitrn (Vuchitrn)
left their homes this morning due to the removal of the KFOR security
checkpoint in their village, sources in Kosovo informed Beta news
agency.
Monks
of Holy Archangels Monastery reject escorts by UNMIK police and KPS
The monks of Holy
Archangels Monastery near Prizren "presently will not accept any
services" by UNMIK police and the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) in
providing security for the brotherhood and the monastery itself because
they are not considered sufficiently ready for this task, Hieromonk
Benedict told Beta news agency.
Kosovo Parliament refuses to remove pictures of
monoethnic contents
UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri
will not attend the opening of the renovated auditorium of the Kosovo
parliament if pictures of "monoethnic content" are not removed from its
walls, said UNMIK spokeswoman Isabella Karlowicz on Friday. Kosovo
parliament official Ramush Tahiri stated today that the controversial
pictures will not be removed from the renovated auditorium of the
parliament as requested by UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri, who had objected
to their monoethnic content.
Kosovo PM rules out talks with Coordination Center
Belgrade's Coordination
Centre for Kosovo cannot take part in the upcoming dialogue between the
authorities in Belgrade and Pristina, Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram
Rexhepi insisted today.
News
from Kosovo and Metohija, February 13-15, 2004
More News Available on our:
Kosovo Daily News
list (KDN)
KDN Archive
This newsletter is available on our ERP
KIM Web-site:
/erpkiminfo.html
| Kosovo
Albanian led municipality of Klina still prevents return
ERP KIM Info-service
Gracanica, February 16, 2004
Diocese of Raska and Prizren learns from Serb returnees to
Klina who still remain temporarily in the nearby village of
Bicha that local Albanian authorities in Klina Municipality
(LDK) still do not allow them to go back to their homes.
While the Serbs were living in exile the local Municipality
issued to local Albanians false cadastral records of
ownership over the Serbian property which makes the issue of
return to Klina even more difficult.
The Klina case is a clear
example how local Kosovo institutions are working against
implementation of standards and human rights. Although the
mayor of Klina Ramo Manaj is the member of LDK (party of
Ibrahim Rugova) the so called Kosovo President who keeps
travelling around the world speaking about "great standards
of Kosovo democracy" has not done anything to resolve this
problem. Quite on the contrary Rugova still gives political
support to his officials who are deeply involved not only in
human rights violations but also in organized crime and
violence.
Klina case is demonstrating
the present policy of Kosovo Albanian leaders who support
returns and human rights issues by their words while through
their own people on the ground do everything to make Kosovo
a mono-ethnic society. |
Serbs from village of Miroc in Kosovo leave their homes
Serbs from the village of Miroc
(pronounced Miroch) in the Kosovo municipality of Vucitrn (Vuchitrn)
left their homes this morning due to the removal of the KFOR security
checkpoint in their village, sources in Kosovo informed Beta news
agency.
TOP
Beta News Agency, Belgrade
February 15, 2004
VUCITRN - Serbs from the village of Miroc (pronounced Miroch) in the
Kosovo municipality of Vucitrn (Vuchitrn) left their homes this morning
due to the removal of the KFOR security checkpoint in their village,
sources in Kosovo informed Beta news agency.
As a result of the lack of security following the withdrawal of KFOR,
the Serb inhabitants of the village decided it was safest for them to
leave in order to save their lives.
The village of Miroc is located six kilometers from the Kosovska
Mitrovica-Pristina highway and the majority of its population is ethnic
Albanian.
KFOR recently decided to withdraw security checkpoints from Miroc and
the surrounding ethnically mixed villages of Slatina, Banjska and
Gobulja.
Kosovo parliament presidency member Oliver Ivanovic asked Kosovo
Ombudsman Marek Antoni Nowicki on Thursday to request the return of the
security checkpoints to the villages of Banjska, Slatina and Miroc.
Nowicki had previously asked the KFOR commander, German general Holger
Kammerhof to return checkpoints to Velika Hoca (Velika Hocha) near
Orahovac, Banjska and Slatina.
In a letter to the KFOR commander Nowicki expressed his concern because
representatives of these villages had informed him that they do not feel
same without the KFOR checkpoints.
TOP
Monks of
Holy Archangels Monastery reject escorts by UNMIK police and KPS
The monks of Holy Archangels Monastery
near Prizren "presently will not accept any services" by UNMIK police
and the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) in providing security for the
brotherhood and the monastery itself because they are not considered
sufficiently ready for this task, Hieromonk Benedict told Beta news
agency.
BETA News Agency, Belgrade
Prizren, Februrary 15, 2004
TOP
Holy Archangels Monastery: Monks do not
want to be turned over
to UNMIK police and the Kosovo Police Service
PRIZREN - The monks of Holy
Archangels Monastery near Prizren "presently will not accept any
services" by UNMIK police and the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) in
providing security for the brotherhood and the monastery itself because
they are not considered sufficiently ready for this task, Hieromonk
Benedict told Beta news agency.
Commenting on the proposal of the
German KFOR contingent, which is based in Prizren, that UNMIK in
cooperation with the KPS assume responsibility for escorting the monks
in the future, Fr. Benedict said that "UNMIK and the KPS are still not
sufficiently ready to confront the problems of providing security for
the Serb minority".
Among the reasons why the monks do believe
that UNMIK and the KPS are ready to provide them with security, Fr.
Benedict pointed out the unresolved instances of destroyed churches and
monasteries, murders and abductions of Serbian Orthodox clergy and other
crimes perpetrated against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija since 1999.
Fr. Benedict also cited as one of the reasons "the frequent murders of
members of the KPS" which, according to him, "only demonstrates that
either they themselves are unaware who they are dealing with or the
members of the KPS are themselves involved in dubious activities,
resulting in the loss of their lives".
He added that the KPS
"includes a good number of former fighters of the Kosovo Liberation
Army".
Fr. Benedict appealed to the members of German KFOR "to
stop punishing the monks" of Holy Archangels Monastery" for what he
described as "revealing the truth regarding the incident that occurred
on January 21 in Djakovica, and to do everything within their power" so
that the monks can carry out their religious duties without obstruction.
"If the command of the German KFOR contingent disregards our appeals and
does not provide us with professional escorted protection, we will
request that members of the Serbia-Montenegro Army be permitted to come
here, knowing that they will perform their job enthusiastically and
professionally," said Fr. Benedict.
"If this possibility is also rejected in
disregard of Resolution 1244, then we will be forced to leave our
monastery and there will be no more talk of Serb returns, not only to
the Prizren area but anywhere in Kosovo and Metohija," he concluded.
TOP
Holkeri
concerned by monoethnic picture in Kosovo Parliament - Kosovo Parliament
refuses to remove pictures bothering Holkeri
UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri will not
attend the opening of the renovated auditorium of the Kosovo parliament
if pictures of "monoethnic content" are not removed from its walls, said
UNMIK spokeswoman Isabella Karlowicz on Friday. Kosovo parliament
official Ramush Tahiri stated today that the controversial pictures will
not be removed from the renovated auditorium of the parliament as
requested by UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri, who had objected to their
monoethnic content.
TOP
Beta News Agency, Belgrade
February 13-14, 2004
PRISTINA - Kosovo parliament official Ramush Tahiri stated today that
the controversial pictures will not be removed from the renovated
auditorium of the parliament as requested by UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri,
who had objected to their monoethnic content.
Tahiri, political advisor to parliamentary speaker Nexhat Daci, told
Kosovo Television on Saturday that this part of history does not present
a problem to anyone, adding that it is the right of every parliament to
decide how its facilities will look.
"The pictures will stay where they are and later it will assessed
whether they have artistic value but we do not accept forcible or
imposed changes on the pretext that the pictures are monoethnic," said
Tahiri.
He rejected Holkeri's objections that the pictures are monoethnic
"because history cannot be projected based on the present".
Holkeri advised yesterday that he will not attend the opening of the
renovated auditorium of the Kosovo parliament unless the pictures of "monoethnic
content" were removed from its walls.
In a letter addressed to Daci, Holkeri expressed his concern about the
pictures with themes from Albanian history as the Kosovo parliament is a
multiethnic institution representing a multiethnic Kosovo.
The pictures depict the arrival of "Skenderbeg in Kruja, the assembly of
princes in Lezha, which was also attended by a Montenegrin prince, and
the League of Prizren," reported Kosovo Television.
The formal opening of the Kosovo parliamentary auditorium on Monday,
February 16, will also take place in the absence of the Serbs from the
Return Coalition (Povratak) in the Kosovo parliament - not because of
the displayed pictures but because of the celebration of Serbian
Republic Day, said Kosovo Television, adding that the Return Coalition
deputies had informed the Kosovo parliament of this in writing.
Representatives of UNMIK, Kosovo institutions, offices of Western
countries and other international institutions in Kosovo have all been
invited to the formal opening of the renovated auditorium of the
parliament.
-----
Holkeri
concerned by monoethnic picture in Kosovo parliament
PRISTINA - UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri will not attend the opening of the
renovated auditorium of the Kosovo parliament if pictures of "monoethnic
content" are not removed from its walls, said UNMIK spokeswoman Isabella
Karlowicz on Friday.
According to Karlowicz, Holkeri sent a letter to Kosovo parliamentary
speaker Nexhat Daci expressing his concern about the pictures with
themes from Albanian history as the Kosovo parliament is a multiethnic
institution representing a multiethnic Kosovo.
"The UNMIK chief is grateful for the invitation but will not attend the
ceremony unless the pictures on the walls are changed," Karlowicz told
KosovaLive news agency.
The opening of the renovated auditorium of the Kosovo parliament after
eight months of renovation work is scheduled for Monday, February 16.
TOP
Kosovo PM rules out talks with Coordination Center
Belgrade's Coordination Centre for
Kosovo cannot take part in the upcoming dialogue between the authorities
in Belgrade and Pristina, Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi insisted
today.
TOP
Beta News Agency,
Belgrade
February 14, 2004
PRISTINA -- Saturday - Belgrade's Coordination Centre for Kosovo cannot
take part in the upcoming dialogue between the authorities in Belgrade
and Pristina, Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi insisted today.
Belgrade should be represented by the Serbian government, "and in no way
by the Coordination Centre," Rexhepi told Radio Free Europe.
The Coordination Centre is led by Nebojsa Covic, whose party failed to
enter parliament after elections in December.
Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is expected to resume later this month.
Rexhepi said he had proposed the two sides meet in Vienna or Skopje.
TOP
News
from Kosovo and Metohija, 13-15 February 2004
INET News
TOP
Sunday 15 February 2004
20:20 Serbs from the village of Miroc near Vucitrn in Kosovo left their
homes on Sunday morning after the removal of a KFOR security checkpoint
in the village, reported sources from Kosovo.
20:00 Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija head Nebojsa Covic
will meet with UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri in Pristina on Monday to
discuss the continuation of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina
officials.
19:40 It appears that dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade will resume
on February 18 and two working groups - one concerned with missing
persons and one with energy - have already completed the necessary
preparations, announced the prime minister of the Kosovo provisional
government Bajram Rexhepi.
Saturday 14 February 2004
19:40 Prime minister in the Kosovo provisional government Bajram Rexhepi
announced that he is working on creating preconditions for the
independence of Kosovo.
Friday 13 February 2004
20:00 Dragisa Krstovic, the Return Coalition (Povratak) whip in the
Kosovo parliament, said that after a meeting with UNMIK chief Harri
Holkeri it is "clearer" that the working groups for implementation of
standards in Kosovo will be multiethnic.
19:40 Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija head Nebojsa Covic met
with the assistant to the U.S. secretary of state for southeastern
European issues Kathleen Stevens and discussed the situation in the
southern Serbian province and the upcoming dialogue between Belgrade and
Pristina.
12:40 KFOR commander German general Holger Kammerhof announced that the
International Organization for Migration will continue its program for
the resocialization of fighters of the former Kosovo Liberation Army and
the professional training and organization of the Kosovo Protection
Corps.
12:20 Kosovo premier Bajram Rexhepi announced that his government plans
to open offices for international economic cooperation in Washington,
New York and Brussels, wrote the Pristina Albanian language daily Koha
Ditore.
12:00 UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri and Kosovo premier Bajram Rexhepi met
today to discuss the location of the beginning of dialogue between
Belgrade and Pristina, stated UNMIK public relations chief Hua Jiang.
Holkeri and Rexhepi are scheduled to meet again tomorrow to discuss
current issues and the upcoming dialogue. Rexhepi proposed that the
dialogue take place in Skopje.
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
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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:
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expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts which are
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do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian Orthodox
Church
Additional information on
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Copyright 2004, ERP KIM Info-Service
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