PRISHTINA, 1 OCTOBER 1993

FORM THE PRESS CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENT RUGOVA IN PRISHTINA

"We demand the release of all the prisoners who have been detained over the past few weeks, and call for an end of this campaign of arrests", said President of the Republic of Kosova in a press conference in Prishtina today (Friday). He said that Members of the Republic of Kosova Parliament, Mehdi Bardhi, Bajrush Xhamajli, and Ali Lajci were still being held in prison, each of them sentenced to sixty days in prison. Several LDK activists were also being held in prison, Rugova said. Continuing, President of the Republic of Kosova urged the UN Security Council to consider the question of Kosova as a precondition of lifting sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro. Furthermore, he called on the Geneva Conference and its Commission on Succession to recognize the right to succession to Kosova with all its rights and obligations as one of the former units of former Yugoslavia. Concluding, Dr.Rugova hailed the demand put forward by the German Foreign Minister Kinkel, for the deployment of a UN contingent to Kosova a

s a preemptive step in putting Kosova under international protection. He added that he expected from representatives of other states speaking before the UN General Assembly to raise the question of Kosova, as did the Albanian Foreign Minister during this week. In reply to a question on the second anniversary of the Referendum on the independence of the Republic of Kosova, Dr.Rugova said that since then free elections and establishment of some institutions took place, and that the question of Kosova has been affirmed on an international level. Although the new Parliament has not as yet met, the instituiton of the President of the Republic has been functioning, as well as local organs. Under the existing difficult circumstances a considerable job has been done, he said.

FIVE ALBANIANS SENTENCED TO LONG PRISON TERMS

The Serbian-run Municipal Court of Gjilan sentenced five Albanians to long prison terms, following a framed trial on charges of 'endangering the territorial integrity [of Serbia/Yugoslavia]'. Nexhmedin Hajdini was sentenced to 4 years in prison, Avni Zejnullahu and Hazbi Hyseni to 4 years each, Selami Naziri and Emin Maliqi to 14 months each. As usually, Albanians were sentenced for their political beliefs and not for criminal offenses, for they have no committed such offenses at all.

THE 1993/94 ACADEMIC YEAR STARTS TODAY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PRISHTINA

The new 1993/94 academic year at the University of Prishtina starts today. This is the third year in row that the Prishtina University students are to attend studies outside their faculty premises. As the talks on Albanian-language education in Kosova, conducted within the Geneva Conference on former Yugoslavia, failed so far to find a solution to the issue, the Kosova educational authorities decided that the educational process continue being carried out in private homes. Thus, 20.000 students and 850 university professors will be facing hardship in their determination to challenge Serbian plans for shut-down on university education opportunities to the 2 million-strong Albanian people of Kosova. The Rector of the University of Prishtina said in today's Bujku that 'new students have been enrolled, and there is a readiness to continue work on all levels. Over all there is a readiness to face this historic drama and overcome this discontinuation of access to school premises'. He said that University Council a

pproved a publishing program for some 70 new titles of University text-books. Some 5.600 new students were enrolled this year at the Albanian-medium University of Prishtina. The parallel Serbian-medium University which occupies the premises of the University of Prishtina enrolled reportedly 2.600 new students. The University of Prishtina whose foundation dates back to 1970 was 75 per cent Albanian-medium and 25 per cent Serbian-medium prior to 1991, when the Albanian part was shut down by the Serbian regime.

PASSPORTS SEIZED FOR KOSOVA ALBANIANS WHO VISITED ALBANIA

Serbian border authorities at the Kosova-Macedonia border check-point of Hani i Elezit have over the last couple of months been confiscating passports of the Kosova Albanians who had visited Albania, today's Bujku reports. Over 60 Kosova citizens from Vitia have recently been confiscated their passports for the only reason that they had Albanian border check stamps in their passports. Albanians are this way denied their fundamental right to free circulation as they cannot maintain contacts with the relatives from the other side of the border.

SIXTY-SEVEN ALBANIANS ACCUSED ON CRIMINAL OFFENSE CHARGES

Reports coming form the Prishtina-based Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) say, according to Prishtina-based "Bujku", that over the last two months the Serbian authorities have launched a wild campaign against Kosova Albanians (political party activists, human rights activists, former army officers, and former political prisoners). The CDHRF possesses information proving that up to date sixty-seven Albanians have been prosecuted for criminal offenses. Lawyers, Bajram Kelmendi, Fazli Balaj, Adem Bajri, Hazer Susuri, Aziz Rexha, Haxhi Kelmendi, Halil Kelmendi, Xhafer Maliqi and Destan Rukiqi authenticate that most of the detainees have suffered physical and psychic tortures while in custody in an attempt to force them admit that they had committed the alleged crimes. The lawyers also confirm that during the investigations and hearings there has been miscarriage of the legal procedures. The Council also informs that this massive prosecution of the Albanians aims at creating uncertainty

among the population and at the same time accomplish a quiet ethnic cleansing and Serbianization of Kosova. The campaign also aims at persuading the Serbian and international community that Albanians pursue warfare instead of peaceful practices and democratic means in their aspirations towards an independent Kosova. The Council has already warned the international community as well as the authorities of the self-proclaimed rump Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) about this unprecedent campaign of arrests and maltreatment of the Albanians in Kosova.

ALBANIAN POLITICAL ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN GJAKOVA

As reported, the Serbian police has been oppressing and arresting political and human rights activists in Gjakova over the last couple of days. Mazllum Kumnova, chairman of the local Albanian Association of Teachers (AAT) branch and member to the Kosova Parliament was arrested at his place last night. The Serbian police also arrested today (Friday) at his home Murteza Nura, a writer and member of the LDK presidency branch in Gjakova. Two days ago Ruzhdi Shehu, a former employee of the Secretariat for the Territorial Defense in Gjakova and Naser Zeka a captain with the former Yugoslav army (JNA) were arrested. LDK sources in Gjakova say that the Serbian police has also been looking for some other political activists in Gjakova in the last days. It has also been reported that Ibrahim Hukehjaxhaj, Mahmet Bojkaj, Ruzhdi Shehu and Naser Zeka, all of them officers of the former Yugoslav army have been arrested over the last two days.

HOTEL BOZHUR HOUSES SERB REFUGEES

Some 150 Serb refugees from Croatia, Bosnia and Croatia, who have for 20 years now been housed at the new Serb run students dormitories in Prishtina, will be lodged at the Hotel Bozhur in the capital of Kosova, Prishtina. Belgrade-based Serbian daily "Politika" reports that Hotelier and Trade Enterprise "Sloga", now under Serbian administration, has decided to offer shelter to the Serb refugees, who had to evacuate the students dormitories at the request of the Serbian-run University of Prishtina. "We have offered to give them shelter at the Hotel Bozhur free of charges, as we know that they (refugees) are people whom this part of Serbia needs desperately", Dragan Vukcevic, manager of the "Sloga", which runs the Bozhur Hotel, told "Politika". The refugees will stay at the hotel till they are granted appartments from what is called "YU programme", aimed at, as the Belgrade regime claims, "changing the ethnic composition of Kosova in favour of Serbs".

ATTEMPTS TO DECEIVE AN AUSTRIAN DELEGATION OVER ALBANIAN PRISONERS

A delegation from the Linz city of Austria visited yesterday Kosova and had a meeting with the Serbian-installed administration in Kosova. Serbian administration is quoted to have reiterated the well-known pieces of propaganda, that "the rights of the Albanians in Kosova are not violated", and that there are no Albanian political prisoners. Belgrade daily "Politika" quotes the secretary for information of the Serbian-installed administration in Kosova, Bosko Drobnjak, as saying that the Austrian delegation can request and get permits to visit "all the prisons and to speak with all those people (i.e. Albanian political prisoners), if there are any". A wide-ranging wave of arrests and imprisonments of Albanian political activists throughout Kosova has occured in the recent weeks. Members of family and relatives of those prisoners have had to face real ordeals before getting permits for visitng them. There were cases when for a whole week relatives could not identify the whereabouts of those prisoners. Lawyers

of Albanian political prisoners have said that their clients have been subjected to brutal practices of oppression and maltreatments while in custody.

KOSOVA INFORMATION CENTER