Note: Place names rendered primarily in Serbian spelling
I. DISPLACED PERSONS/ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS/HUMAN RIGHTS
KDOM reported Friday receiving "disturbing reports that IDP [internally
displaced person] movements into some villages has been reversed...the
trend in Orlate [near Komorane] has been the opposite. IDPs who had
returned there in the past ten days have now left. The same phenomenon has
been seen in a few other places. In the case of Orlate, the presence of a
police post near the village is the apparent reason for the residents to
leave."
Independent news agency ARTA (Pristina) reported yesterday that "numerous
Serb military and police forces, installed in 13 points of the region of
Sverke, continuously conduct shooting from tanks, APCs and other weaponry
against the houses and displaced population near the Koznik mountains.
Shooting from APCs, weapons and flares were conducted last night by all the
Serb positions in the Sverke region. Consequently, the population that has
returned into the villages of Dush, Sverke, and Volljake fled again and
spent the night in the neighboring forests.... Serb forces installed in
Carraluke shelled some suburbs of Carraluke, Malishevo, Terpeze, Kijevo and
Lazice late in the evening."
ARTA reported Sunday that "Serb forces installed in Suharek municipal
village of Reshtan conducted shooting with mortars and machine guns on
Saturday evening , informs an LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) source in
Suva Reka. The residents of villages Restan and Pecan fled their homes due
to this shooting...recent concentrations of Serb forces...near the village
of Dush, in...Gllareva and in some other positions has been noticed, claims
the correspondent of [independent Pristina daily] "Koha Ditore" ...This is
preventing the return of the population, while those few returnees are
compelled to withdraw into some safer places, "Koha Ditore" correspondent
informs. Shooting and frequent movements of the Serb forces were conducted
in the regions of Sverke and Glareva."
The Toronto Star Sunday reported from Pristina that "dozens of
humanitarian organizations are starting up or expanding programs in Kosovo,
but they have been unable to keep up with the demand...[maternity clinics]
were overflowing with impoverished patients during the war. Now they find
they can't cope with a burgeoning caseload of women often suffering from
trauma and malnutrition."
The Toronto Star yesterday reported: "One therapist who works with
traumatized victims [says] only international [war crimes tribunal]
investigators can uncover the extent of rape during the Kosovo conflict.
'Rape has been widespread but nobody knows about it,' she said. 'Unless the
victims can sit down privately with the investigators in secure
circumstances, they absolutely will not divulge what has happened to them
because it's the deepest cultural taboo.' Two teenage girls in a mountain
community committed suicide after they were raped during a village attack
last summer, she said."
The Star also noted that the presence of Tribunal investigators would be
instrumental in getting reliable information on casualties: " 'My guess
would be in the range of 5,000 dead,' said a British aid worker who has
spent months in rural villages throughout most of Kosovo."
The New York Times reported Sunday that in the Drenica Valley "backyard
wells have been filled with the carcasses of animals slaughtered by Serbian
soldiers for food; the blackboards and desks in the schoolhouse in Dobre
Vode have been burned and the windows smashed....the...problem of making
damaged homes livable for winter is also difficult. 'We're talking about
20,000 houses that need to be rebuilt,' said Margaret O'Keefe, the [UNHCR]
director in Serbia. 'Even if houses look OK from the outside, you go inside
and find the walls are crumbling.' ...It is a race against the snow to get
the houses patched together, she said....[a returning Albanian who works
for the power utility said] electricity throughout the Drenica region has
been cut, the main switchboards gutted."
KDOM reported Sunday that "snow has been falling in parts of Kosovo and
residents need heavy plastic sheeting to make buildings habitable through
the winter."
However, Associated Press Sunday quoted UNHCR's spokesman in Kosovo,
Fernando del Mundo: "There's no way you could reconstruct the houses...the
best you can hope for is one warm room for the entire family." Independent
Radio 21 (Pristina) reported Saturday that "as a result of hard conditions
and the lack of medical care, yesterday Albanian Qerim Roka died, aged 60,
from Grjecevc village." Radio 21 reported Roka had been sheltered in Vraniq
village of Suva Reka district.
A November 4 UN interagency report stated: "Many of those returning to
their homes are in desperate need of shelter. Estimates from various
sources indicate 20,000 houses have been either slightly, partially or
totally damaged during eight months of fighting in Kosovo. Visual surveys
indicate 40 percent of the houses are either intact or have only minor
damage (bullet holes, broken windows) and are habitable; 30 percent
severely damaged (partly burned/ shelled) but could be habitable if repairs
are made; 30 percent totally destroyed/reduced to rubble and uninhabitable.
UNHCR is distributing 3,000 emergency shelter kits (plastic sheeting,
wooden poles, nails, hammers) together with NGOs during the coming week. A
more systematic distribution of shelter materials will be made on
completion of the interagency survey."
The UN report also said that "as the displaced returned to their villages
this week, several people were killed by anti-personnel mines or
booby-traps laid around houses, buildings and wells. Vehicle mines are also
present on a number of dirt roads in the province. Seven areas have
confirmed minefields and others have been reported by humanitarian
personnel. The current situation will be exacerbated by the onset of winter
when snow will cover traces of landmine locations. Humanitarian agencies
have asked local communities to seek the KLA's [Kosovo Liberation Army]
assistance in removing land mines in areas which they control."
The Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission (KDOM) reported Saturday receiving
"reports of land mines in northern Drenica and [observing] a booby trap in
a school in Bobovac, south of Kijevo. KDOM advised [Serbian police
commander Lukic] of these, he agreed to have them disarmed and removed."
The November 4 UN interagency report noted a "recent FAO [Food and
Agriculture Organization] assessment mission to FRY concluded that the
conflict in Kosovo was affecting the agricultural sector in four different
ways:
1. Uncertain access to land (although displaced were returning to their
homes it was unlikely that they would be able to access land to establish a
family garden until spring);
2. Collapse of local cereal production (local cereal production has
collapsed due to the destruction of wheat fields and the inability of many
farmers to harvest in July 1998 for security reasons. Many people have also
missed the autumn planting season which will reduce seed availability in
1999. The humanitarian impact of the decline in local production is
difficult to quantify as Kosovo has traditionally imported large quantities
of wheat from other parts of former Yugoslavia);
3. Shortage of farming equipment (much farming equipment has reportedly
been destroyed or looted. For example, it was reported to FAO that 4,600
tractors had been damaged);
4. Decline in livestock (local authorities indicated that 200,000 heads of
livestock -- including cows, horses, pigs and hens -- had been killed or
stolen. The high level of free-roaming livestock could lead to the outbreak
of animal disease. FAO believes that this could result in the death of a
further 50,000 to 70,000 heads of livestock)."
Associated Press reported Sunday that "Serb police continue to operate
checkpoints that limit movement in the countryside, particularly for young
Albanian men who say they are accused of being guerrilla fighters of the
Kosovo Liberation Army. That can mean immediate arrest, with a conviction
likely after a lengthy detention that can include torture, Albanian lawyers
say. In some areas, the police presence, with patrols and the checkpoints,
keeps people from attending to basic needs like taking a sick child to the
doctor."
The Financial Times reported Saturday that "many villages remain virtually
deserted because there are still police nearby...Serbian police play a
cat-and-mouse game with observers by deploying mobile armored units to stop
and harass Albanian civilians on main roads."
ARTA reported yesterday that "Serb police patrols continuously abduct
people (mainly youth), while the UNHCR teams are trying to help the
pregnant mothers and sick people who are still living in plastic tents....
The Serb army forces seized the Has regional villages of Dedaj and Lugishte
on Monday.... They do not allow any resident to get through this area. The
correspondent of Koha Ditore from Prizren... informs that Serb forces have
set a siege around the village of Lubizde, and they provoke and maltreat
the residents of the border area. The witnesses state that all the roads
leading in and out of Lubizde were blocked, while the bus, which comes from
Prizren, was canceled. The reports claim that the residents of Dedaj
village are locked in the building of the local school, and it is
conducting a repressive action over the local Albanians in search for
weapons."
ARTA Saturday reported "in the Shipol suburb five Serb policemen stopped
and mistreated dozens of Albanian civilians who were returning from
Mitrovica into their villages, on Friday, informs the...LDK branch in
Mitrovica. Dozens of Albanian IDPs, who were returning into their homes,
were maltreated as well in the police checkpoints in T rnafc and Klina
(Srbica municipality)..."
The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (Pristina) said
Saturday that during the month of October, "172 Albanians were killed of
whom 11 children, 16 women and 42 over the age of 55; 55 Albanians were
extrajudicially executed of whom 5 children, 6 women and 14 over the age of
55; ...12 were killed by land mines, including one child and one
humanitarian worker; ...31 Albanians died due to the cold, lack of food and
medical assistance; ...394 Albanians were arrested, including 10 political,
4 humanitarian and 3 educational activists; ...659 houses were looted and
burned; ...533 are in pre-trial detention, under investigation or charged
for "terrorism"; 1242 are being penally prosecuted (according to Serb
media); ...34 Albanians were sentenced on penal charges; 343 Albanians are
reported missing, kidnapped or are being kept as war prisoners."
II. FIGHTING/FORCE WITHDRAWALS/DEPLOYMENTS
Reuters reported today that "a shaky truce in Kosovo was rocked Monday
when Serbian police said they would step up patrols in the restive province
within 48 hours unless international observers guaranteed safety on its
roads." Reuters also quoted official news agency Tanjug (Belgrade):
"[Serbian police spokesman in Kosovo Bozidar] Filic warned that unless
international representatives ensure safe traffic by Wednesday, police
patrols would be reinforced to enable free passage."
The Serbian Media Center (Pristina) reported yesterday: "Bodies of the
policemen Ilija Vujosevic and Dejan Djatlov, that were kidnapped on Friday
on the road between Malisevo and Orlate, were found this morning not far
from Malisevo. According to the first results of the investigation, the two
kidnapped policemen were killed by firearms from a close distance. The
investigation of the crime is underway. Ilija Vujosevic, policeman from
Pristina and Dejan Djatlov, police conscript, were transporting the
supplies for the police by truck. The police patrol found their bodies this
morning." Reuters reported today that "the bodies showed signs of torture
as well as gunshot wounds."
Reuters Friday noted that "the Serbian-controlled Media Center said five
Albanian guerrillas were killed in an attack on a Serb police patrol near
the village of Opterusa. The Albanian Kosovo Information Center said
shooting was heard in the area and witnesses said there had been
casualties. The Serbian report said police returned fire and killed five of
the attackers 'dressed in camouflage fatigues with the markings of the
separatist KLA, armed with automatic rifles and hand-held grenade
launchers.' " Reuters yesterday cited a member of the Kosovo Liberation
Army calling the killings "a violation of the cease- fire established last
month...[KLA doctor Sebajdin Cena] said police ambushed the two cars that
the rebels were driving and that the KLA victims never fired a shot."
Associated Press reported Saturday that "in a fresh spate of violence,
seven ethnic Albanians, all believed to be guerilla fighters, have been
killed since Thursday. The Serb Media Center, a mouthpiece for Serb
officials, said the deaths resulted from guerilla attacks on police, who
escaped injury."
The Washington Post reported Saturday that "diplomatic observers in Kosovo
said government forces and the rebels are in breach of UN resolutions
calling for an end to hostilities and a complex deal negotiated in Belgrade
by US General Wesley Clark, NATO's supreme commander, that allows the Serbs
to maintain 25,000 troops and police in Kosovo in specific locations."
[As reported in Kosovo Briefing #32, the New York Times reported October
26: "A senior NATO official said that about 25,000 soldiers and policemen
are still in Kosovo, 10,000 fewer than at the height of the offensive, but
9,000 more than Milosevic agreed to. 'A lot of these are the same people
responsible for the attacks on civilians and the looting,' the NATO
official said. 'People are quite rightly afraid to go home with these men
still in the field.' " The Financial Times (London) Saturday quoted a NATO
official: "We estimate this gives him [Milosevic] a ratio of 50:1 over the
Kosovo Liberation Army...they don't need that to deal with a few KLA
[Kosovo Liberation Army] snipers."]
[The New York Times reported October 27 "NATO has insisted that Yugoslavia
withdraw 4,000 to 5,000 army troops and 3,000 to 4,000 paramilitary troops
involved in the crackdown...Under last week's agreement, Yugoslavia would
still be able to keep 12,500 soldiers and 6,000 police officers in the
province." Newsday noted October 28 that "questions arose...over whether
Milosevic had fulfilled NATO's demands or whether NATO had reduced those
demands."]
The Washington Post yesterday reported that one result of orders for US
monitors to stay indoors at night "is unfamiliarity with Yugoslav security
forces' heightened activity at night, in areas of Kosovo where their forces
officially withdrew two weeks ago. Last week, for example, several police
vehicles were backed up after dark to the edge of the main highway between
Pristina and Pec, the second largest city in Kosovo, either dropping off or
picking up materials or personnel in remote areas. But no one from the
observer mission ever saw them. Likewise, the mission was unable to observe
a nighttime checkpoint established by army soldiers and a large contingent
of ministry troops in the southwestern city of Decani, from which more than
15,000 ethnic Albanians fled in May and June. None of the civilians had
returned, said an elderly Serb walking along the street, because of this
police presence."
KDOM reported yesterday that "KDOM encountered heavy police presence in
Glogovac today and were unable to meet with the commander on the ground.
Local residents said the police were there to intimidate the local
population. Serbian residents of the village denied there was a police
presence and claimed there were no problems in the village... KDOM observed
a VJ [Yugoslav Army] APC on a hill outside the village of Prcevo (6 km.
southeast of Klina) and residents of the village claimed four "tanks" had
passed through over the past 2 days. They also claim there is shooting
during the night. KDOM can confirm none of these claims."
ARTA reported Saturday that in Suva Reka, "Serb forces continue to keep
their positions they have installed before the agreement
Holbrooke-Milosevic was achieved."
Associated Press reported yesterday that "publicly, Western diplomats and
relief officials point out major changes. The fighting has stopped.
Refugees are down from the hills. People generally have free
movement....Privately, they are less optimistic. US officials speaking on
condition of anonymity say sporadic violence by both Serb forces and ethnic
Albanians is increasing."
The New York Times yesterday cited UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner
on Refugees] reports that "the Serbian police were using an earthmover to
dig what appeared to be a new post at Orlate, near Mailsevo. The agency
said the arrival of truckloads of policemen...near Djakovica had caused
newly returned refugees to flee again....Two days ago, on the border with
Montenegro...11 ethnic Albanians returning to their homes in Kosovo were
taken off a bus and are still being held by the Serbian police in
Pec...Agency officials said the incident was not an isolated one."
ARTA reported yesterday that the return of Serbian forces to some villages
in the district of Klina "is preventing the return of the population, while
those few returnees are compelled to withdraw into some safer areas."
III. OSCE VERIFICATION MISSION/NATO RAPID REACTION FORCE
Reuters noted Saturday "a senior British official said London was unhappy
at the pace of the deployment and was unilaterally sending 50 men and 20
armored all-terrain vehicles to join the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission
that pre- dates the OSCE monitoring agreement. 'There are monumental
logistical problems,' the official told reporters. 'How do you get 2,000
people into an area like that and where do you put them? Part of the
problem is that the Americans have taken all the hotel rooms in Kosovo."
The Washington Post yesterday reported that "officials in Washington have
promulgated highly restrictive operating rules for Americans in the KDOM.
The rules are more restrictive than those followed by a smaller European
Union team operating under British direction... Although the work of the US
observer mission is ostensibly public and its primary weapon is publicity
that will bring embarrassment to anyone violating the agreement, US
inspectors' contacts with media are more restricted than those involving
the European inspectors. The Europeans are relatively open to questions in
the field, while American inspectors sometimes use notebooks to hide their
faces when they drive past reporters with their car windows rolled up."
The Post story continued: "Moreover, most U.S. inspectors have treated
their mandate as strictly to "observe and report," despite an explicit
provision in the deal between Milosevic and U.S. special envoy Richard C.
Holbrooke stating that "to the extent possible" they are also to assist in
providing humanitarian relief.... Recently, for example, superiors advised
several inspectors not to use their car to shield an ethnic Albanian family
from sniper fire coming from an area held by government security troops;
the family was trying to bury a son who had been killed by a sniper the day
before. Other U.S. inspectors declined a request by another family last
week to help retrieve the body of an elderly man from a well in Mlecan,
where it apparently was deposited by government forces. Both requests fell
within the work allowed in the deal, according to a senior U.S. official,
who said that the provision was inserted to avoid the same circumstances
that repeatedly arose during the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. There, the
reputation of the United Nations was undermined by television pictures
showing its troops refusing civilians' requests for help. Several U.S.
officials, who spoke on condition they not be named, said they hope the
administration will loosen the rules so the inspectors can perform their
mission more aggressively. But diplomats from other countries said the
group's activities are symbolic of Washington's recent habit of taking the
lead role in resolving crises, and then deploying American participants far
more cautiously than other countries -- out of an apparent overriding fear
of experiencing even a single casualty."
A joint NGO statement on the OSCE verification mission issued by Human
Rights Watch, Amnesty International, International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights, Norwegian Helsinki Commission, Minority Rights Group, and
Conference of European Churches said: "The success or failure of the OSCE
Kosovo Verification Mission will tell us much about the viability of this
institution not just as a security organization - but as an effective
protector and promoter of fundamental human rights in the region...making
human rights an imperative and integral part of the mission's operational
activities should be made clear in the brief of the Chief-of-Mission."
The statement noted: "The mission should also cooperate fully with the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) by
identifying possible witnesses and evidence of violations of international
humanitarian law...The OSCE must ensure that there are no silent witnesses
in the mission and that all staff understand they are to report human
rights violations by government forces and abuses by armed political groups
immediately to the head of the mission and share information with relevant
governmental organizations, notably the UN office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights....The mission should be guaranteed access to places where
people detained in Kosovo are held, as well as to other parts of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to which such detainees are or where
internally displaced persons from Kosovo live."
IV. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL
The New York Times reported today that "David Scheffer, the State
Department's ambassador-at-large for war crimes, said after talking to a
witness of the execution of 13 ethnic Albanian men by Serb forces that it
was essential for the court's investigators to start working on the case
before evidence disappeared. 'You never know the veracity until you get a
proper investigation under way,' Scheffer said. He spoke Monday to a man
who said that he had seen 13 men beaten with heavy sticks and then killed
by hatchets and gunfire in the village of Golubovac. One man, Selman
Morina, who said he survived the execution, was evacuated by foreign
diplomats to Skopje, Macedonia, shortly after the slayings in late
September. According to diplomats here, he was interviewed in Macedonia by
officials of the international tribunal...Serbian authorities have recently
granted visas to two investigators from the international court, but
Serbian authorities still contend the court has no jurisdiction in the
province. Scheffer met Monday night with the chief Serbian official in
Kosovo, Zoran Andelkovic, but Scheffer reported afterward that no progress
had been made on the jurisdiction issue. 'I mentioned the mass execution
and the massive destruction in Kosovo and said I saw no example of his
authorities' investigating any alleged Serb crimes,' Scheffer said. 'He had
no real answer to that.' "
Agence France Presse reported Thursday that "on-site negotiations
into...war crimes committed in...Kosovo were called off Thursday after
Yugoslavia refused to issue visas for the investigative team, the UN war
crimes tribunal said...the Tribune's Chief Prosecutor had intended to lead
the team herself, the first time she has ever done so, in a bid to assert
the tribunal's jurisdiction over crimes committed in the conflict-wracked
province...Belgrade only issued Arbour...with [a] single-entry seven day
visa to attend...meetings in Belgrade....[Arbour said] 'I have decided to
decline the unacceptably limited visa that was offered to me.'
[The Tribunal's chief Justice Gabrielle Kirk] McDonald backed up Arbour
and said she would call on the UN Security Council, which set up the
Tribunal and has repeatedly called on the body to investigate crimes in
Kosovo, to force Yugoslavia into relenting. McDonald said] 'This situation
is totally unacceptable... essentially...Yugoslavia has become a rogue
state, one that holds the international rule of law in contempt.' "
The Chicago Tribune today said that "Western diplomats expect the UN
Security Council to condemn Yugoslavia's non-compliance, but they admitted
there is not much that could be done in practical terms to persuade
Belgrade to change its position. 'The war crimes issue strikes at the heart
of the regime,' said one diplomat. '...The killings in Kosovo could be
attributed to a chain of command that goes straight to the top.'"
A statement released by Yugoslavia's Ministry of Justice said Sunday that
"developments in Kosovo have to do with legitimate rights and actions of a
state suppressing terrorism and not with a war conduct."
Reuters reported Friday that "Holbrooke said Milosevic clearly agreed to
grant access to the investigators under a cease-fire deal last month...
'President Milosevic said he would allow access to them and allow them to
increase their staff presence,' Holbrooke told reporters in Berlin...NATO
Secretary-General Solana issued a statement saying he strongly supported
Arbour's request to visit" Kosovo.
The Toronto Star yesterday cited Kosovo Albanian physician and human
rights activist Flora Brovina: "Several groups have been waiting daily to
meet Madame Arbour...We are terribly depressed that she is being kept away
from gathering vital evidence."
Reuters also noted Friday that "David Scheffer, US ambassador-at-large for
war crimes issues, said...'I will leave it to the Security Council, where
we have some important discussions to hold, as to a determination on what
further steps may be taken... Unquestionably, further steps could be taken.
The question is what the will of the Security Council will be in this
regard. And I do not want to prejudge that discussion.' "
Radio B-92 reported Wednesday Serbia's "Minister for Justice, Dragoljub
Jankovic, Thursday accused The Hague Tribunal of being biased against Serbs
and favoring Albanians. Jankovic, who is also an official of the Yugoslav
United Left, told media that Hague personnel were permitted to conduct
investigations in Kosovo only in the company of the state's investigative
bodies and were obliged to report their findings to those bodies first."
Radio B-92 reported Tuesday that Yugoslavia's "Foreign Minister Jovanovic,
asked about cooperation with The Hague Tribunal, told the diplomats that
Kosovo was not the subject of the tribunal's investigations because there
had been no war in Kosovo. He added that the situation had been one of
separatism and terrorism and that every country had a legitimate right to
defend its own territory and sovereignty."
However, a statement released Wednesday by Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor
for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY),
said that "it is my position that an internal armed conflict has existed in
Kosovo during 1998 and that the ICTY has jurisdiction over persons
committing serious violations of international humanitarian law during that
conflict. My position is supported by several security council
resolutions...[including SCR 1203 of October 24, which] calls for...full
co-operation with the Tribunal, including compliance with its orders,
requests for information and investigations. The Tribunal has jurisdiction
over a wide range of offences which may have occurred in Kosovo. These
include crimes against humanity such as murder, torture, rape and
persecutions.... There have been numerous allegations, specific and
credible enough to require further investigations, concerning wilful
killings (including a number of summary executions), wanton destruction
(including the use of disproportionate force in attacking an area and
devastation not justified by military necessity after the attack has been
successful), attacks against civilians (including reprisals) and plunder."
Associated Press said "Natasa Kandic, chairwoman of the Humanitarian Law
Center (Belgrade)...said Belgrade's latest move would have serious legal
consequences. 'With it, the Yugoslav government acted directly contrary to
the UN Security Council Resolution demanding free access to international
investigators to Kosovo.' " United Nations Security Council Resolution
1203, passed October 24, called for "prompt and complete investigation,
including international supervision and participation, of all atrocities
committed against civilians and full cooperation with the International
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, including compliance with its orders,
requests for information and investigations."
V. POLITICAL STATUS NEGOTIATIONS
The Washington Post reported today that under the most recent draft of the
US-proposed interim accord for Kosovo, "Kosovo authorities would be
autonomous and allows residents of the Connecticut-size region to elect
their own president, enact their own laws, collect their own taxes, form
their own police force and establish their own civil and criminal
courts...[but] it...has met resistance from some ethnic Albanians --
including commanders of the armed separatist group known as the Kosovo
Liberation Army -- who argue that it does not go far enough to sever the
province's 85-year-old connection to Serbia. Many ethnic Albanians say they
want written assurance that the province's legal status can be changed,
which the draft does not provide. It also does not guarantee that Kosovo
would have its own constitution and does not grant Kosovo the status of a
republic within Yugoslavia -- something that U.S. officials judged neither
Serbia nor the Serb-led Yugoslav government would accept...Belgrade would
also retain the right to prosecute certain crimes -- to be defined later --
so long as the process meets international standards."
The Post continued: "Moreover, under a provision of an earlier U.S. draft
that was temporarily set aside but which officials say has not been
modified, the Yugoslav government could establish a special police unit in
Kosovo to probe 'serious violations of civil rights' and such crimes as
espionage and 'attacks on Republic or Federal personnel.' The provision has
been assailed by the ethnic Albanian side as leaving the door open to a
continued heavy federal police presence in the province. 'This is the most
complicated of all the issues,' Hill said. 'But we have only a conception,
not a concrete proposal as yet,' he added.
The Post also noted Hill's strategy in recent weeks has been to set aside
the most contentious issues until the final stage of negotiations, in hopes
of getting each side to agree on the framework of a deal before getting
bogged down in details. That means that a series of annexes -- setting
forth how police forces will operate, how economic matters are decided and
how elections are to be conducted -- have not yet been drafted. Nowhere
does the agreement stipulate what action would be taken to compel
compliance with its provisions -- a "bombing clause," as one U.S. diplomat
called it. But it does establish the post of ombudsman, to be filled by a
foreigner with a mandate to go anywhere, see anything and, supposedly, to
speak to anyone in an effort to evaluate implementation of the agreement."
Independent Radio B-92 (Belgrade) yesterday reported "Bardul Mahmutti, the
spokesman of the Kosovo Liberation Army in Switzerland, said today that he
was considering the US's proposal for Kosovo which had been presented to
UCK representatives during secret talks in Geneva. He said that Lawrence
Rosin, a high-ranking State Department official, and three other US
diplomats met with him on Thursday in Switzerland. On Friday, US Ambassador
Christopher Hill presented the same Kosovo solution to Kosovo Albanians in
Kosovo. Mahmutti went on to say that his organisation's contacts with the
US were broadening."
Independent news service BETA (Belgrade) reported Tuesday that U.S.
special envoy Christopher Hill and Serbian President Milan Milutinovic met
Nov. 2: "A press release issued by Milutinovic's office said Hill and
Milutinovic concluded that the Kosovo problem 'can be resolved only by
political means and dialogue, with proper respect for the equality of all
citizens and ethnic groups living in Kosovo and Metohija, and in accordance
with universally accepted international standards, and Serbian and Yugoslav
law.' The release added that they said that 'the Milosevic-Holbrooke
agreements and 11 principles for a political settlement adopted by the
Serbian cabinet on Oct. 13, 1998,' were a framework for resolving the
Kosovo crisis. Hill's talks with Milutinovic are simply a continuation of
his "shuttle diplomacy" mission, U.S. embassy in Skopje press attache
Philip Reeker said on Nov. 2, stressing that Milutinovic 'is the man with
whom the status of Kosovo is being negotiated.' "
The Post also noted "the proposed agreement has been greeted coolly by the
Yugoslav government of President Slobodan Milosevic.... When Hill presented
[the agreement] to Serbian President Milan Milutinovic last week,
Milutinovic immediately described it as problematic. But Hill said he would
not receive detailed government comments until he returns to Belgrade this
week. Asked why the Serbs might go along with it, he said they should want
to 'normalize Kosovo to reduce the tremendous cost of their security
services in a belly-up economy . . . and to remove a burr in their sides.'
The word 'Serbia' hardly appears in the 31-page document, which explicitly
grants the federal government responsibility for safeguarding "territorial
integrity," maintaining a common trading market and setting monetary,
defense and foreign policy. Belgrade would also retain the right to
prosecute certain crimes -- to be defined later -- so long as the process
meets international standards."
The Financial Times Saturday cited lead Kosovo Albanian negotiator Fehmi
Agani saying the fifth draft was "more acceptable to the Albanian side but
does not fulfill all our requests...some things are not defined - are we or
are we not in Serbia."
BETA reported Friday "the U.S. envoy for Kosovo, Ambassador Christopher
Hill, on Nov. 4 handed the new version of the draft of the Serb-Albanian
agreement to settle the Kosovo problem to the Kosovo Albanian
representatives, BETA learned in well-informed sources. The same sources
say Hill is supposed to present the draft to the Yugoslav president,
Slobodan Milosevic, on Nov. 5 in Belgrade. Well-informed sources in
Pristina say that the latest changes have widened the Kosovo bodies'
prerogatives, but did not wish to disclose details... [US Embassy spokesman
Phillip Reeker] emphasized that U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill would
continue his 'shuttle diplomacy,' adding that the U.S. delegation would
come to Belgrade on Nov. 5 to discuss the new draft of the document with
the Serbian President Milan Milutinovic."
However, Radio B-92 reported Thursday that "US Envoy Christopher Hill
failed to produce a new draft of the proposed Serb-Albanian agreement which
had been expected today...Hill's spokesman...told Radio B92 this afternoon
that Hill had had to return to Skopje immediately after the launch because
of an unexpected new commitment." Reuters noted "sources close to the talks
said only that 'the time has not worked out.' " In Thursday remarks in
Belgrade at a promotion for US envoy Richard Holbrooke's book "To End a
War," Hill said the negotiations had made "serious progress."
Reuters reported that "Hill held rare talks Friday (November 6) with
senior members of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) amid mounting
pressure for a settlement.... On Friday, KLA spokesman Jakub Krasniqi
emerged with three senior KLA members from a house in Dragobilje [25 miles
west of Pristina]. Hill left shortly after them. Krasniqi said the talks,
which were not officially confirmed by the US side...[were a] 'working
meeting about the document, a long and very fruitful discussion...The
American side, which is a factor of great influence not only for Kosovo,
recognized the KLA as a factor. Talks will go on.' An editor of the leading
Pristina daily said before the meeting: 'Hill will probably speak harsh
words now and we expect him to be pretty explicit in explaining his
position to the KLA- that is, they have not only to obey the cease-fire but
reconsider with extreme seriousness the draft itself and try to see
themselves in it.' "
Reuters reported Friday that "Serb and ethnic Albanian negotiators are
poring over a new, US-authored draft political agreement. [US envoy] Hill
is anxious to keep the new draft under wraps to try to prevent the closed-
door talks being wrecked by concerns on the part of the two sides not be
seen as 'selling out.' 'It's better,' was all he would say when asked how
the draft differed from previous versions roundly condemned by leading
Albanians for keeping them in the ultimate grip of Belgrade...Baton
Haixhiu, an editor at the influential newspaper [independent daily Koha
Ditore]...said he had seen the new draft and that it did not go far
enough...other Western diplomats are frustrated by objections to the
negotiation process from Albanians who feel Rugova and the four-man
negotiating team are not tough enough. 'They are going to come to some
decision as to how we're going to do this,' said one diplomat, who declined
to be named."
The report continued: "Last week...Special Envoy Holbrooke said Serbia's
position on autonomy was 'far short of what we think is desirable and
necessary.' But most diplomats agree the main hurdle is to get the Kosovo
Albanians to reach a common understanding among themselves...To get the
rebels on board, US diplomats are holding talks with local commanders in
Kosovo and political representatives based in Geneva."
Voice of America reported that Rugova aide and Pristina negotiator Fehmi
Agani Wednesday "said the draft is not yet acceptable as a negotiating
document. He says he wants concrete guarantees that ethnic Albanians will
have proportional representation in village and city police forces. He
says such representation would eliminate much of the support given to the
rebel Kosovo Liberation Army...which is demanding independence for Kosovo:
'...If we are going to form our own police forces, there is no need for
KLA.' Mr. Agani has been meeting with KLA political representative Adem
Demaci. The rebel group has no formal role in the Kosovo peace process, but
western diplomats have strengthened their ties with the separatist
organization in recent weeks."
ARTA reported Thursday that "an idea was launched recently, according to
which, the KLA would function in the future as police or a sort of local
security force. This alternative has...been refused by the KLA."
Asked at an October 28 Pristina press conference why he did not support
independence for Kosovo, US envoy Hill said "we are working on an agreement
which will require the agreement of both sides, and we do not see that the
Serbs are going to support Kosovo's independence, and therefore it is a
rather difficult proposition at this point to negotiate."
Radio B-92 said Thursday that "a senior European diplomat has told Radio
B-92 correspondent Danijel Bukumirovic in Pristina that the new draft has
addressed a number of Albanian objections to earlier versions. For this
reason, he said, international mediators feared that Belgrade would be
reluctant to accept the draft. The document includes a proposal for Kosovo
to be part of Yugoslavia, with ties to Serbia."
A statement from Kosovo's government-in-exile said Tuesday that "this
proposal cannot furnish a basis for discussion." The statement called for
"the creation of a neutral Implementation Commission, composed of two
representatives nominated by the Government of the Republic of Kosova, two
nominated by the FRY, and three individuals from outside of the
region...the members of the Commission will evaluate the extent to which
the parties have complied with the mandatory demands of the Security
Council...Once it has been established that the parties have achieved
substantive compliance, negotiations about an interim agreement shall
commence," to be held in Geneva, and with international involvement by
three guarantor states and representatives of implementing organizations.
The statement also noted that "the Government of the Republic of Kosova
will seek an agreement on the basis of the following principles: ...An
interim agreement need not expressly confirm the status of Kosova as an
independent state, but it must not prejudice it; the interim agreement must
recognize the inalienable right to self-determination; the Republic of
Kosova's territorial definition shall be the same as under the 1974 SFRY
constitution...; the exercise by FRY or other non- indigenous public organs
of any remaining authority in the territory of the Republic of Kosova or in
relation to it will be progressively reduced and removed...; the transfer
of all aspects of state activity to the organs of Kosova will be conducted
in a way to ensure that public authority is exercised at a national and
local level in a way which is representative of the population; ...the
organs of the Republic of Kosova will give full effect to and vigorously
enforce human rights and minority rights provisions on the basis of full
equally. All parties will collaborate with the relevant international
organs in the pursuit of war criminals who have committed offences against
the civilian population and others; ...at the conclusion of the interim
period, the future status of Kosova will be determined or confirmed in
accordance with the principle of self-determination of the people of the
Republic of Kosova. A referendum will be conducted with international
involvement."
Reuters reported US Envoy Hill "said Sunday...the two sides were still far
apart on a political settlement. 'We have made a proposal and we continue
to talk to all sides about it...Nevertheless the proposal seems not to suit
all aides...I think that Kosovo should work to develop and build democratic
institutions... Our draft proposals take into account and deal with
building these institutions and do not close the door on any solution in
the future,' he said" in an interview with the weekly Rilindja (Tirana).
Agence France Presse reported Thursday that "the October 13 accord reached
between Milosevic and US special envoy Holbrooke calls for, by November 2,
'an accord comprising the basic elements for a political solution in
Kosovo, based on an October 2 proposal from the six-nation Contact Group,'
the state news agency Tanjug reported at the time."
Radio B-92 reported Friday that "the Serbian minister for local
self-management, Gordana Pop-Lazarevic, said today that no new legislation
was needed for local elections in Kosovo. She emphasised however that it
would first be necessary to take a census of the population. After that
elections would be held on all levels so that Kosovo Albanians could be
represented in the government." The Washington Post noted today that
"ethnic Albanians say such a tally could be grossly distorted by the flight
of residents out of the province this year to escape the government
offensive."
VI. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS: BELGRADE
Radio B-92 reported yesterday: "The owners of Dnevni Telegraf were fined
again last night for violating Serbia's new information act. DT editor
Dragan Novakovic and the Montenegrin-based firm Dnevni Telegraf are obliged
to pay roughly $120,000. Although the defendants have a right to lodge a
complaint within eight days, the carrying out of the sentence must be done
without delay. However, B-92 has spoken with Anka Zudic, the president of
the Montenegrin chapter of the same organisation, who said that she had not
been informed of the decision. She added that the charges brought against
DT by Morina without the participation of her organisation was both
illegitimate and illegal."
BETA reported yesterday that "Novakovic left the court after three hours
on Nov. 7, because, in the words of his lawyers, the judge had refused to
replace chief magistrate Dobrivoje Glavonjic, and because she refused to
allow the defense to speak a number of times. Judge Trgolic also rejected
to provide the defense with documents related to the founding of the
Alliance of Women of Yugoslavia, which the defense believes to be a
fictitious organization."
BETA reported Friday that Radio Indeks (banned by the Serbian authorities)
and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) "will soon
broadcast from Montenegro and will be heard in southern parts of Serbia,
including Kosovo, as well as in one-third of the territory of Montenegro,
BETA was told by Indeks radio today."
Reuters reported Wednesday: "Serbia, enforcing a clampdown on independent
media, on Wednesday held up the delivery of [independent daily Danas,
published in Montenegro after being shut down in Serbia]...after the
publisher began printing it in nearby Montenegro....The truck was later let
through and the daily's Wednesday edition was expected to go on sale in
Belgrade at 7 PM - but too late for many readers."
Radio B-92 said "the banned Belgrade daily Dnevni Telegraf is set to
reappear on newsstands throughout Yugoslavia this Friday as a company
registered in Montenegro. DT Editor-in-Chief Slavko Curuvija told Radio B92
this afternoon that he had signed a new contract with DT's old printing
house Borba and that DT is scheduled to be printed on Thursday night."
The Financial Times today quoted Momcilo Trajkovic saying that "Milosevic
has tricked the Serbian people. Ordinary people see his policies as a
betrayal."
B-92 reported Thursday that "four students arrested by police on Tuesday
night were today sentenced to ten days imprisonment for creating a public
disturbance and writing anti-government slogans. The one male and three
female students were arrested while painting a clenched fist, the symbol of
the Student Resistance Movement, on a wall in central Belgrade."
During a press conference Thursday in Moscow, Serbia's Deputy Prime
Minister Vojislav Seselj -- head of the Serbian Radical Party and the
leader of Serbia's parliamentary delegation in Moscow to officially observe
a Russia-Belarus summit meeting -- said "our party would want Yugoslavia
to become a full-fledged member of the [Russia-Belarus] Union. This idea is
supported by lots of people both in Yugoslavia and Russia. This is also
supported by outstanding political personalities. There is no resistance to
this from any serious politician. There are elements both in my country and
in Russia that are pro-NATO. But they have no influence whatsoever on the
Serb people or the Russian people. For instance, these are such newspapers
as Nasa Borba, Danas, Vreme, Nin. In Russia these are Kommersant-Daily,
Izvestia, Novye Izvestia. Who reads such newspapers? These newspapers
exist only to serve as mouthpieces of the Western press. I have not met a
single Russian patriot who regards these as serious newspapers. The things
that these newspapers print in recent days are ludicrous to both Russians
and Serbs. In fact, this does not even merit our attention....
Seselj continued: "Tell me, is there any difference between NATO and
Hitler? There is only one difference now -- in the number of casualties. As
to the methods, they are very similar -- lies, slander, hatred for
humanity. If NATO is not stopped in time, who can guarantee us that in
several years they will not build concentration camps and will not engage
in genocide of a European people. Like in the Hitler case, the world has
been thinking of ways to behave for too long. NATO is guided by
totalitarian ideology. Naturally, it is better developed than fascism. For
several years they had managed to conceal their real intentions. But all
masks have now been removed."
At the same press conference, Russia State Duma Vice Chairman Sergei
Baburin said "as a member of the anti-NATO group and chairman of the
anti-NATO commission, I would like to say that we have accepted the
invitation of our colleagues from the Yugoslav parliament for members of
the anti-NATO commission to visit the region and get acquainted with the
consequences of the activities of NATO in Yugoslavia and with ways
international observers intend to work there."
The European (London) reported Monday that Russia's "lower house of
parliament, the Duma, resounded with heady rhetoric on 6 November as
Sergei Barburin, a rabid nationalist, pledged Slavic brotherhood with the
visiting Serbian deputy prime minister, Vojislav Seselj. Seselj is
pressing for Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, to enter into a
union with Russia and Belarus. He was flanked by other Serb deputies and
provoked anti-western cheers in the Russian audience, which included a
number of uniformed paramilitaries. Western allies would do well to heed
the anti-NATO rhetoric which dominated the occasion as a measure of the
problems that can be expected from Russia in trying to reach a consensus
should military measures against Serb activities prove necessary. Selselj
compared the move towards pan-Slavic unity to other anti-western pan
-Arabic movements and extended his all to "brotherly" nations such as
Armenia, Greece and Cyprus to forge an anti-western alliance. Seselj
thanked his Russian hosts for their support in opposing armed NATO
intervention in Kosovo and pressed for Russia to take a leading role in the
international observer mission that will monitor Yugoslav and "rebel
compliance" with United Nations Security Council resolutions aimed at
restoring peace in the war-torn province. The ultra-nationalist spirit of
the gathering was encapsulated by the concluding speaker, a bearded
Cossack veteran in dark blue military uniform, his chest festooned with
medals, who made an emotional pledge to defend Serbia against its western
enemies."
Agence France Presse November 3 reported "Yugoslav Defense Minister Pavle
Bulatovic backs the idea of Yugoslavia joining the Russia-Belarus Union,
the state news agency Tanjug reported Sunday. In an interview with BK-TV,
Bulatovic said such a move would make it possible for Yugoslavia to seek
'help from a friendly country when (state) security is threatened.' "
VII. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS: PRISTINA
The Financial Times noted Saturday that "although [Kosovo "President"
Ibrahim Rugova] still commands widespread support among ordinary people, he
is virtually marooned in Pristina, the capital, and has little if any
control over the fighters in the field."
ARTA reported yesterday that "despite...announcements of the sources close
to the LDK [Democratic League of Kosovo] presidency that the Government of
the Republic [of Kosova] could be established by this weekend, it seems
there is no news on this. The stagnation might have been induced" by the
postponement of the recent meeting between Rugova, Demaci and LBD [United
Democratic Front -- a recently formed coalition of opposition parties and
an argument over who was to blame for the meeting's delay. Radio 21
Saturday quoted LDK Vice-President Naim Jerilu saying that "the leadership
of Kosova Assembly is having meetings with representatives of all political
parties, including KLA General Political representative Adem Demaci. These
discussions went towards the consolidation of order with the executive
office and the Kosova Assembly, which would include all political and
non-political subjects of Kosova, not excluding the KLA."
ARTA reported Friday that a proposed three-way meeting between
representatives of the KLA, the LBD, and the LDK (and allied parties) "was
postponed because of...technical reasons. This is what LBD claims. However,
diplomatic sources inform that this postponement was a result of today's
visit [by US envoy Hill] to meet with the KLA."
ARTA noted "the political and military subjects in Kosova are constantly
having consultations about the forming of an executive body in Kosova, as
no particular changes have been marked [in their positions]... The LBD
chairman, Rexhep Qsoja, and his collaborators have called for the creation
of a joint body, which would include all the relevant political and
military bodies of Kosova. According to them, 'the government would be
composed of three major factors of the political scene of Kosova, of KLA,
LDK and LBD, as they would completely exclude the Parliament of
Kosova'...However, the party that is currently in power, LDK, and the other
parliamentarian parties, say 'this is denying the legitimacy of the
institutions of the republic.' "
Radio 21 cited a press conference held Wednesday by KLA political
representative Adem Demaci in which Demaci called for the formation of a
Kosovo assembly, including "all political forces and population
levels...this government would be of a wide spectrum, which within itself
would include competent people."
Radio 21 also reported meetings Saturday between Demaci and the leadership
of Kosovo's current assembly and between Demaci and negotiating group
leader and top Rugova aide Fehmi Agani. Radio 21 cited Demaci's office
saying that "it is time to coordinate [in the negotiations] at these final
historical moments for our population, agreed both sides."
Reuters noted yesterday that Momcilo Trajkovic, leader of the Kosovo
Resistance Movement (composed of Kosovo Serbs opposed to Milosevic), "said
that if the local Albanian majority won autonomy status, his movement would
insist on a Serbian autonomy within Kosovo as well. 'If the international
community is going to use the ethnic principle for the Albanians, we also
want the same criterion used for us within an Albanian-ruled Kosovo as
well...if [Kosovo Albanians] say they don't want to live under Serb rule,
we say we don't want to live under their rule.' " Radio B-92 quoted
Trajkovic: "We don't recognize the steps taken by Milosevic because they
are unconstitutional and illegal."
Reuters reported yesterday that "western fears that the KLA could be an
increasingly destabilizing factor were fueled at the weekend when KLA
fighters supporting the idea of a "Greater Albania" held a ceremony in the
western Drenica region. Albania's national anthem was played at the
ceremony and the Albanian flag fluttered over about 1,500 KLA guerrillas
from five separate units who gathered to form a single battalion named
after a commander killed in September."
IX. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Citing Albania's Interior Ministry spokesman Artan Bizhga, Reuters
Thursday reported that "Yugoslav border guards fired mortar bombs into
Albania on Tuesday...[the spokesman said] the guards fired for 25 minutes
and that two mortar bombs landed 200 yards inside Albanian territory...
'there was absolutely no provocation from the Albanian side and our
soldiers did not return fire,' Bizhga said."
Agence France Presse cited a Sunday report by the daily Dnevni Avaz
(Sarajevo) saying that Sarajevo authorities have ordered almost 1,000
Kosovo Albanian refugees taking shelter in an old Coca-Cola bottling plant
to leave by November 10. The report also said refugee "camp managers told
AFP they still had not been informed of other housing possibilities for
after November 10."
Reuters noted Friday that "Kosovo refugees in Bosnia said on Friday they
were still reluctant to return to their homes.... Indeed, refugees
interviewed by Reuters said they still feared the security forces left in
Kosovo, and that they hoped to make a living in a third country and return
later with money to rebuild their houses."
Radio Free Europe/Newsline reported Tuesday that Macedonia's electoral
commission on November 3 "released the final returns of the second stage of
the parliamentary elections, which took place two days earlier. The
coalition of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
(VMRO-DPMNE) and the Democratic Alternative (DA) came first with 58 out of
120 seats. The Social Democrats, who led the outgoing government, took 29
seats. The two main ethnic Albanian parties, which fielded joint candidates
to ensure that Albanians were elected in mainly Albanian areas, have 24
seats. The Liberal Democrats won four, the Socialists two, and the Alliance
of Roma one. The election will be repeated in two districts in which
irregularities took place." The Financial Times reported Tuesday that "the
VMRO-DA coalition is negotiating with the Democratic Party of Albanians, a
radical group which used to promote separatism and won 11 parliamentary
seats on Sunday. Without support from the Albanians, VMRO-DA would find it
hard to govern."
X. INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY
The Economist Intelligence Unit reported yesterday that Yugoslavia's
national airline (JAT) "seems to have found a way around the EU flight ban,
which was imposed in September... The airline announced it would serve
seven European destinations via Skopje, in neighboring Macedonia. The
European Commission is already investigating reports in the German press
which allege that Lufthansa (Germany) and other EU airlines have agreed to
accommodate JAT passengers on their flight."
