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Of Kosovo Serbs and Minority
Groups in
Post-war Kosovo
Truth in facts...
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Bearing in mind the postulates of the Universal Declaration
on Human Rights (1948) which determines the basic rights and freedoms
of every human being regardless of ethnic or religious background;
the principles stated in the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (1976), the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights as well as the Security Council Resolution
1244, which requires protection and promotion of human rights of
all ethnic groups in Kosovo, the safe and free return of all refugees
and displaced persons as well as the ensuring of public safety and
order with full protection and freedom of movement of all inhabitants
the Serb National Council of Kosovo
and Metohia is issuing the following
M
E M O R A N D U M
ON THE MASSIVE AND SYSTEMATIC VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
IN POST WAR KOSOVO
After
the end of Kosovo war and return of Albanian refugees the repression
of Milosevic's undemocratic regime was supplanted by the repression
of extremist Kosovo Albanians against Serbs and other non-Albanian communities
despite the presence of international troops and the UN Mission. Freedom
in Kosovo has not come for all equally. Therefore Kosovo remains a troubled
region even after almost one year of international peace.
Kosovo
Serbs and other non-Albanian groups in Kosovo still live in ghettoes,
without security; deprived of basic human rights - the rights of life,
free movement and work. Their private property is still being usurped;
their homes burned and looted even 10 months after the deployment of
KFOR. In Kosovo today there is hardly any multiethnicity at all - in
fact the reverse is true. Ethnic segregation is greater now than almost
at any other time in Kosovo's turbulent history. Not only are Serbs
being under pressure to leave the Province but also the Romas, Slav
Moslems, Croats, Serb speaking Jews and Turks. More than 80 Orthodox
churches have been either completely destroyed or severely damaged since
the end of the war. The ancient churches, many of which had survived
500 years of Ottoman Moslem rule, could not survive several months of
the internationally guaranteed peace. Regretfully, all this happens
in the presence of KFOR and UN. Kosovo more and more becomes ethnically
clean while organized crime and discrimination against the non-Albanians
is epidemic.
Two
thirds of the pre-war Serb population (more than 200.000 people) fled
the Province under Albanian pressure. In addition, around 50.000 Romas,
Slav Moslems, Croat Catholics and others had to leave Kosovo. More than
500 Serbs have been killed and nearly 700 abducted by Albanian extremists
during this same period of peace. During the war around 300 Serb civilians
were abducted by KLA and are still missing. At least 120.000 Serbs have
lost their jobs overnight. All institutions, University, hospitals and
factories were systematically purged by the KLA black robed "military
police". This is a tragic record for any post war peace mission,
especially for this mission in which the Western Governments and NATO
have invested so much of their credibility and authority.
Despite
the sincere regret for all of the suffering of Kosovo Albanians during
the war, retaliation against innocent civilians cannot be justified
in any way. It is becoming more and more a well-orchestrated nationalist
ideology directed towards achieving the complete ethnic cleansing of
the Province. The Albanian extremists are openly using violence and
ethnic terror for their political goals in order to make the independence
of the province a fait accompli.
The
present repression against non-Albanians is carried out with the full
knowledge of the Albanian leaders. Sometimes these leaders formally
condemn repressive actions but in reality have not done anything to
stop the ongoing ethnic violence and discrimination. Even more, some
of them are instigating rage against Serbs developing the idea of collective
Serb guilt and branding all remaining Serb civilians as criminals. There
is much evidence that the KLA/KPC leaders bear direct responsibility
for the most of the post-war crimes and acts of violence committed in
Kosovo.
As
soon as KFOR entered the Province KLA militias took over the power in
majority of cities and towns and immediately organized illegal detention
centers for Serbs, Romas and Albanian "collaborators". They
began killing people listed as alleged criminals and seized a large
amount of property previously owned by Serbs and other non-Albanians.
KLA groups and their leaders are also directly linked with Albanian
mafia clans and have developed a very sophisticated network of organized
crime, drug smuggling, prostitution, white slavery, and weapons trading
which makes Kosovo today a bastion of organized crime in Europe.
The
strategy behind the KLA purge of Serbs was very simple - quarter by
quarter of a city would be cleansed of Serbs and their property would
be either burned or sold for a high price to Albanian refugees (including
Albanians from Albania and Macedonia who flowed into the province through
unprotected borders along with the hundreds of thousands of Kosovo refugees).
The KLA, although officially disbanded is still active and their secret
police are continuing their intimidation and executions. Now more and
more of their victims are disobedient Kosovo Albanians who refuse to
pay their "taxes" and "protection money" to extremists.
The Albanization of Kosovo is proceeding in a way many ordinary Albanians
did not want. The gangsters have stepped into the vacuum left by the
slowness of the West to adequately instill full control over the Province.
Kosovo is becoming more like Albania: corrupt, anarchic, and ruled by
the gun and the gang.
Serbs
and many non-Albanians still do not have access to hospitals, the University
and public services, simply because they cannot even freely walk in
the street. They are unemployed and confined to life in poverty of their
rural enclaves out of which they can move only under the KFOR military
escort. The Serbian language is completely banished from the public
life. All Serb inscriptions, road signs and advertisements have been
systematically removed and the usage of Serbian language in Albanian
dominated areas is reason enough for anyone to be shot right on the
spot. Thousands of Serb books in public libraries have been systematically
burned while all unguarded Serb cultural monuments and statues have
been torn down and destroyed.
The
Serbs who remain in major cities are in the worst situation of all.
Out of 40.000 pre-war Serb population in Pristina today there remain
only 300 elderly people who live in a kind of house arrest. They cannot
go into the street without military protection and only thanks to KFOR
soldiers and humanitarian organizations do they receive food and medicines,
which they are not allowed to buy in Albanian shops. Almost all Serb
shops are now in Albanian hands. In other areas Albanians are greatly
pressuring Serbs to sell their property under threats and extortion.
Those who refuse usually have their houses torched or are killed as
an example to other Serbs. Grenade attacks on Serb houses; on few remaining
Serb shops and restaurants force more and more Serbs to leave Kosovo.
If this repression and persecution is continued unabated it is likely
that soon most of the remaining Serbs will also be forced to flee Kosovo.
Kosovo
Serb community led by the Serb National Council has strongly condemned
the violence committed by the Milosevic regime during the war but has
also many times protested to the UNMIK and KFOR authorities because
of terror and discrimination carried out by extremist Kosovo Albanian
groups and their leaders. Nevertheless moderate Serb leadership has
agreed to participate in the interim UN led administration but only
as observers and under concrete conditions. The participation of the
Serb representatives will be continued only if the situation for the
Kosovo Serb population is improved.
We
are obliged to conclude that so far the Security Council Resolution
1244 has not only been implemented but all most important human rights
charters and conventions have been blatantly violated under the very
protectorate of the United Nations Mission. This seriously compromises
the World's Organization as well as the NATO led military forces, which
have essentially failed to prevent the counter repression and revenge
attacks by Kosovo Albanians after the war. One year after the war Kosovo
is still ruled by apartheid.
In
order to improve the security situation in Kosovo and the position of
the Serb and non-Albanian population we demand the following:
1.
UN Security Council should make a thorough reassessment of the results
of the Kosovo Peace Mission and insist that immediate concrete measures
are taken by UNMIK and KFOR to ensure peace, stability and full respect
of human rights for all inhabitants as required by UNSC Resolution
1244. Serbs and other discriminated ethnic groups must be granted
full freedom of life, work and movement, the right to have regular
medical protection as well as the right of elementary, middle and
high education in their own language.
2.
Immediate measures must be also undertaken to locate and free all
Serb and non-Albanians who have been abducted by Albanian extremists
since spring 1998 until now. As much as we support the freeing of
the Albanian political prisoners from the prisons in Serbia proper
we insist that the issue of the missing Serbs must be urgently resolved
too. Kosovo Albanian political and military leaders must give concrete
contribution to this process.
3.
UN Security Council should request from the UNMIK, KFOR and the Albanian
political leaders to remove all obstacles, which prevent return of
displaced Serbs, Romas and Slav Moslems. The Serb owned property must
be restituted according to the principle of inviolability of the private
property. The return of the displaced persons to Kosovo is one of
the imperatives of the UNSCR 1244 and it cannot be observed only in
respect to the Albanian refugees. Without the process of repatriation,
the Serb community in Kosovo will not be able to participate in the
political process of the Province.
4.
Beside investigation of the crimes committed by Milosevic's regime
the ICTY should immediately launch an investigation of crimes committed
by the members of the KLA and other armed Albanian gangs during the
war and in the post-war period.
5.
With absence of conditions for the return of over 300.000 non Albanian
expellees and a presence of a couple of hundred thousand illegal Albanian
citizens in Kosovo it is evident that there are not even the basic
conditions for civil registration and municipal elections. Therefore
the participating in the registration and elections in the situation
with two thirds of Serb population out of the province is regrettably
impossible for our community at the moment. Without the freedom of
life there cannot be free elections.
6.
In order to ensure the long term survival of the Serb and non-Albanian
population in the conditions of severe ethnic discrimination and organized
intimidation it is essential to create a political framework for the
functional self-rule for the Serbs and other non-Albanian groups in
Kosovo. The Agenda for Coexistence, which has already been agreed
with the UNMIK authorities, may serve as a basis for such a process.
SNC remains strongly opposed to division of Kosovo as well as to the
changing of internationally recognized borders.
7.
In the situation of absence of viable democratic institutions in Kosovo
and the continuation of the repressive and totalitarian rule of Belgrade
regime in Serbia proper it is not possible to resolve the final status
of Kosovo for the time being. Nevertheless this situation must not
be used to cut all links between the Province of Kosovo, Republic
of Serbia and FRY and thus create the basis for unilateral proclamation
of independence. According to the international law, Resolution 1244
and the Helsinki Final Act the sovereignty of FRY cannot be changed
without the consent of the legal FRY authorities and the Security
Council, especially in the situation when all non-Albanian population
is in danger to collectively leave the province before the rule of
apartheid and the terror of Albanian extremists. One year after the
war it is evident that the Albanian leaders have failed to demonstrate
sincere commitment to the principles of a democratic civil society
and the respect of basic human rights of non-Albanian population.
8.
Security Council should make a strong appeal to UNESCO, which has
failed to pay any attention to the deliberate and systematic destruction
of the Serb cultural and religious heritage in the post war period.
All medieval religious monuments must be immediately proclaimed the
world heritage and thus be protected by the authority of the United
Nations.
In
Gracanica, April 28, 2000
Bishop
Artemije Radosavljevic
Dr. Rada Trajkovic
Momcilo Trajkovic
Fr. Sava Janjic
Randjel Nojkic
Dragan Velic
Dusan Ristic
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