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|
Of Kosovo Serbs and Minority
Groups in
Post-war Kosovo
Truth in facts... |
PART
II
Part
I  Part
III
| AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL REPORT
KOSOVO
MINORITIES UNDER THREAT
Poleksija
Kastratovic, with four other elderly Serbwomen
lives in an old parish home in Djakovica under KFOR protection
Read their story: "For whom the bells toll in Djakovica"
full story: http://www.kosovo.net/poleksija_e.html
Djakovica
Grannies finally expelled by Albanians, their church and parish
home set on fire
larger
size photo: http://www.kosovo.net/crkva_djkruins.jpg
March 17, 2004 - Five old Serb women with Poljka Kastratovic
fianlly expelled by Kosovo Albanians who burned their church and
levelled
it to the ground. Several Italians soldiers who fought bravely
to defend them
were wounded. Poljka and four other women have been evacuated.
In Djakovica
there are no more Serbs and no more Orthodox churches!
Monday,
28 April, 2003, 20:08 GMT 21:08 UK
Kosovo minorities 'under threat' - BBC
Serbs
and other ethnic minorities in Kosovo remain at serious risk of
death or injury despite almost four years of peace and the presence
of UN and Nato peacekeepers, a new report by Amnesty International
says.
Tuesday's
report, titled Prisoners in our own homes, says beatings, stabbings,
abductions, drive-by shootings and the use of hand grenades to
intimidate and kill members of these minorities are common in
the province.
As the
vast majority of these crimes remain unsolved, perpetrators are
free to commit further attacks contributing to a climate of fear
and the denial of basic human rights, it adds.
Ethnic
minorities in Kosovo, of which the largest are the Serbs and Roma,
make up about 8% of the predominantly Albanian population.
Lesson
The
report describes the daily lives of children living in mono-ethnic
enclaves who are forced to have a K-for armed escort to school.
It says
that discrimination in healthcare has led to an increase in mortality
rates among minority communities, and up to 90% unemployment among
the Serb and Roma communities.
Ethnic
Albanians living in areas of Kosovo where they are in the minority
suffer the same security concerns and restrictions on their freedom
of movement.
Kate
Allen, the UK Director of Amnesty, said that failures by the international
community in Kosovo should serve as a lesson for other post-conflict
situations.
"It
is clear that the international authorities in Kosovo were unprepared
for the massive abuses of human rights against minorities that
accompanied the rapid return of the Albanian community,"
she said.
"As
the international community discusses the future of Iraq it is
essential that we learn the lessons of the past and ensure that
measures are put in place to protect the human rights of vulnerable
groups. It must be ensured from the outset that there is no impunity
for the perpetrators of human rights abuses."
'Proper'
resources
Amnesty
is concerned that the ongoing persecution of ethnic minorities
makes it unsafe for minority refugees and internally displaced
people to return to their homes.
Of
more than 230,000 Serbs, Roma and other minorities who fled Kosovo
in 1999, only 5,800 have returned.
"While
the viability of return continues to depend on K-for's presence,
Amnesty International urges the international community to ensure
that
no- one from a minority community is forcibly returned to Kosovo,"
Ms Allen said.
Amnesty
is calling for proper resources for the UN civilian police force
(Unmik) and local authorities to ensure the thorough investigation
of ethnically motivated human rights abuses.
To begin
with, Unmik must extend witness protection to the witnesses of
such crimes.
After
the end of the conflict in July 1999 more than half the pre-war
minority population fled to Serbia or Montenegro or took refuge
in mono-ethnic enclaves in Kosovo guarded by K-for and Unmik.
About
a third of the 100,000 Serbs and Roma in Kosovo live in three
predominantly Serbian municipalities in the north of Kosovo.
Others
live in mono-ethnic villages or under K-for protection in majority
Albanian urban areas.
More
than half the pre-war Slavic Muslim community of 67,000 fled in
1999. Now about 3% of the population, they are mainly concentrated
in and around Prizren town.
|
 |
|
Kosovo's
non-majority communities - life at the margins of society
THE
UNSUSTAINABLE MINORITY LIVELIHOOD
Justifying
the Need for Greater Economic Assistance
Jennifer Zimmermann
A Study by Jennifer Zimmerman, Colby College, Waterville, ME.
USA, August 2002
161
pages in A4 format KB
Detailed overview of the situation in which non-majority communities
in Kosovo live (figures, tables)
Extracts:
INTRODUCTION
Summary of Executive Findings - Executive Recommendations
|
Three years after
the war Serbs can travel only in escorted convoys
Ethnic map of former Yugoslavia before the
New Balkan wars 1991-1999 (click for the larger version 404KB)
|
Serbs and Roma, 2001
|
ETHNIC
MAPS
OF KOSOVO
Serbs and Roma, 1991
|
Ethnic Composition in 1991
|
The Serb quarter
in Prizren
The
Ottawa Citizen: 'The most dangerous place on Earth'
Secret guerrilla armies. Neighbours stoning schoolbuses. Two peoples
living in terror and hatred: Three years later, war-ravaged Kosovo remains
a powderkeg.
June 22, 2002
Disappearance
of Multiethnic cities in Kosovo and Metohija
Desecrated Serb cemetery near Pec, October 2001
The
War Against the Dead...
Systematic destruction and desecration of Serb Orthodox Cemeteries
Report with photographs
Albanian
terrorists continue killing Serb women and children
in the NATO presence three years after the end of the war....
A
Serb Woman in Kosovo town Riddled With Bullets, Feb. 22, 2002
Antichristian acts
of vandalism continue.....
Vandalized Serb Orthodox cemetery in South Mitrovica, Feb 2002
Church
of St. Sava in South Mitrovica set on fire
 "If
it is absolutely certain and clear that terrorists in Kosovo and
Metohija have thus far razed and burned 108 Orthodox churches and
monasteries, why then would there be any difference with this, the
109th case. Those desiring to cover up terror committed against
the Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija have to put forth stronger
evidence to convince us that it was merely carelessness, forgotten
lit candles, or malfunctioned installations. The clergy ascertain
that on that day there was no service, candles were not lit, and
also that there was no electricity that evening in the entire block
surrounding the church" – reported His Grace Bishop Artemije
of Raska-Prizren to the Information Service of Serbian Orthodox
Church regarding the fire in St. Sava's church in Mitrovica. |
 |
 |
Traveling
only under KFOR escort in Italian military vehicles - After the Kosovo
war 1998-1999 it is impossible for the monks and Serb visitors to the
monastery to travel freely out of the monastery except under a KFOR
military escort (click on the photo for a larger size image)
History is repeating
- a Turkish escort ready to give protection to the
visitors of the Monastery beg. XX c. During the XIXc and in the beginning
of XX c. the terror of the local Albanian clans was such that it was
impossible to travell without armed escort
(Read
the testimony of Edith Mary Durham 1904)
| History
is repeating again!
The
monastery, which lies about 1500 feet above sea-level, appeared
as a white church surrounded by outbuildings at the entrance
of a magnificently wooded valley, through which flows a small
river, the Dechanski Bistritza, the one slope rich with stately
chestnuts and the other fir-clad. Robbed of its broad lands,
which have been swooped on by the Albanians, who at the time
of my visit made further progress up the valley impossible,
it lies precariously on the bloody edge of things, and only
the wonderful white marble church tells of its former glory.
It was being used as a military outpost, and twenty-five Nizams
and an officer were quartered on the monastery, which had also
a guard of its own, a set of Mohammedan Albanians, who were
said to be very loyal. They looked like a wild-beast show, spoke
nothing but Albanian, had the most elegant manners, and I was
never allowed outside the monastery gate without a couple of
them. (Through the Land of the Serb, M.E. Durham 1904, London) |
Holy
Icons Burn Three Years After the War......
Burned holy icons
in the Serb church in Mitrovica
Christmas
- Jan 7 2002
| This year's
Christmas in Kosovo and Metohija was celebrated by Orthodox Serbs
with spritual joy despite the restricted freedom and security threats.
Those Serbs who managed to reach their churches attended the services
under the KFOR military protection. Many believers had to travel
in armoured vehicles to their parish churches, especially in Pristina
(photo 2). Just before the Christmas day Dragoljub Markovic, a Serb
from Kosovska Kamenica, was killed in a bomb attack. Two more bomb
attacks occured in other parts of the province in which, thank God,
no one was injured. These "Christmas gifts" from Albanian
extremists reminded the Serb population that they are the only Christians
in Europe who spend the Christmas holidays under the threat of terrorist
attacks in which children, elderly and Christian churches are targeted
in a Moslem dominated Kosovo province. (7. Jan 2002) |
Kostunica
condemns “violence and barbarity” in Kosovo (B92)
7. Jan 2002 20:06 BELGRADE, Tuesday – Yugoslav President Vojislav
Kostunica said today that Christmas in Kosovo had been marred by
“violence and barbarity by Albanian extremists.”
Kostunica
said that recent outbreaks of violence were a warning that the
situation in the province had not improved since the November
elections when Belgrade agreed to urge Serbs to vote in return
for guarantees from the UN mission.
"Kosovo
Albanians must decide if they envisage a serious change of policy
towards peace and stabilisation... or whether they intend to continue
living within a context of violence," said the president.
|
ETHNIC
INTOLERANCE AND CRIMES IN POST-WAR KOSOVO
(click to enlarge each photo; photos from the CIVPOL archive)
Kosovo Albanians
beating non-Albanian male in the streets of Pristina after the war
Why
Kosovo - The Anatomy of the Needles War Prof. Bob Allen
Why
minority rights go unprotected- the international community's tacit
approval of reverse-ethnic cleansing in Kosovo A
Study by Jennifer Zimmerman, Colby College, Waterville,
ME. USA, Dec 3, 2001
Full
Text Report: The
Latest OSCE Report on Position of Ethnic Minorities in Kosovo
Kosovo society still based on ethnic and religious discrimination
Christian monuments still exposed to everyday desecration
All
previous OSCE minority reports in post war Kosovo
More
than 10.000 Serb and other non-Albanian houses set on fire in Kosovo
in the very presence of NATO troops
An OSCE team in a Roma camp
The role of OSCE and UNMIK in protection of minorities has been
reduced more or less
to registering the crimes and issuing reports while Kosovo is still
ruled by criminal gangs,
terrorists and narco-mafia in the presence of 40.000 NATO led peacekeeping
troops
| Fear,
hatred and distrust - those are the three impressions which
strike you initially and which you take away from Kosovo-Metohija.
Despite efforts made by the international community, the situation
in the province evokes that which we have been witnessing in
the Middle East for years. No end can be seen to it, and those
who are not absorbed by hate towards others and their differences
remain captives of the passive and obedient majority, seeing
an opportunity to build their own prosperity on the misfortune
of others. The isolation and threat to the Serb community is
enormous; by all apparent evidence, it faces further uncertainty
of its survival in the province. The following lines represent
only a modest effort to present in an informative and documented
way, the people I met and impressions from Pristina, Lipljane,
Laplje Selo, Decani, Kosovska Mitrovica, Gracanica, and Vucitrn…
|
|
Washington
Post, RULE OF LAW IS ELUSIVE IN KOSOVO, July 29 2001 Kosovo
is still far away from rule of law and order. This report by Washington
Post is a bitter testimony of many serious problems which burden
the war torn southern province of Yugoslavia.
OSCE testimonies
on the post-war retaliations against Serbs and non-Albanians in Kosovo
and Metohija
EXCLUSIVE
REPORT ON LAST SIX SERB WOMEN IN DJAKOVICA
FOR WHOM THE BELLS
TOLL IN DJAKOVICA
The story of Poleksija Kastratovic - Djakovica
August 2001
The Albanians can destroy our church but they
can never expel the Lord from our hearts
Serbian
version - Za Kim zvone djakovicka zvona
Kosovo:
Peace Now - by Tim Judah (New York Review of Books) - "If
the next few weeks and months are unpredictable, then so, by definition,
are the next few decades. While the Serbs stream out of Kosovo,
just as they did from Croatia and western Bosnia in 1995, some may
be tempted to think that a victory for ethnic cleansing, however
brutal it may be in the short term, will at least secure peace in
the long term. Others are not sure". - August 12, 1999.
Kosovo
Forum - B92 - A collection of different articles by international,
Serb and Albanian authors on the post-war situation in Kosovo and
Metohija
estroyed
churches and monasteries
Desecrated
Icons and Frescoes
Destroyed
Monuments
HOME
FOR ALL
Prizren
Orthodox Seminary Sheltering Serbs, Romas, Turks and Albanians
Story of a Serb Orthodox Seminary which sheltered people of all
ethnicities
The Independent,
Serbs murdered by the hundred since 'liberation'. Nov 24, 99
Serbs Leaving Ancient
Village of Velika Hoca, March 2000
The
Independent UK, After 1,000 Years Terror Forces Serbs Out of Kosovo,
March 26
A Serb priest amidst the ruins of desecrated
Zociste monastery, 14th century, photo July 2002
 Kosovo Crucified - Film in Real Video
POST-WAR
DESTRUCTION OF SERB PROPERTY - VILLAGES TURNED TO RUINS IN THE PRESENCE
OF INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPERS
IMAGES FROM
A DESTROYED VILLAGE - Belo Polje A Serb village near Pec
which was totally destroyed by Kosovo Albanian extremists.
Thousands of
destroyed houses after the war photos
of Serb houses burning in the very presence of KFOR troops which
in 90% did nothing to prevent the arsonists in their terror.
Isolated Enclaves for Serbs and non-Albanians
Reporter,
Conc. Camps in Kosovo - KLA Archipelago, April 5-00
Reporter,
Conc Camps in Kosovo 2 , Apr 12-00
IWPR, Serbs
Languish in Kosovo Jails, Apr 14-00
Truth
in Facts
HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSES AGAINST MINORITIES IN KOSOVO
Since
June 1999
Thousands
of Serb and Roma homes were set on fire and destroyed by ethnic
Albanians in the post-war period. All these arson attacks were committed
in the very presence of KFOR
P H O T
O S
PHOTO
STORY OF KOSOVO SERBS
Part 1 Part
2 Exodus
Serb woman with
her child leaving Prizren in fear - Gracko massacre funeral
Thousands
of Serb and Roma houses which were destroyed after the war
deteriorate every day. Albanians take the building material
away leaving only the concrete construction which wil collapse
at the end. Although international community gives a lots of
funds for repair of houses only around 80 Serb houses have been
repaired so far which is almost insignificant compared to thousand
of Albanians homes which have been completely reconstructed
afte the war. |
Scenes
from a Dead Village - Belo Polje near Pec
March 2002
Deserted villages
desapear under the garbage, Belo Polje near Pec, 2002
Kosovo Albanian Extremists are resolute to prevent
under any expense
the return of the Serb refugees back to their homes, Belo Polje,
March 2002
|
Anarchy
& Madness
Timothy Garton Ash,
New
Yourk Review of Books, Feb, 2000
Reflective text on the difficult situation in Post-war Kosovo.
Garton Ash makes a thorough analysis why there is no true
peace in Kosovo.
"West
won the war. I fear we are losing the peace." |
Photos
from the Decani Web Site on Google
Easy searchable thumbnail gallery
NEXT
PAGE - Part III
Part
I Part
II Part
III
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