KOSOVA DAILY

REPORT # 1634

Contents

Only Deployment of NATO Ground Troops in

Kosova Averts Further Armed Conflicts,

Rugova's Aide Says

Kosova Parliament's Commissions Discuss

Draft Plan for Interim Solution in Kosova

Only Deployment of NATO Ground

Troops in Kosova Averts Further

Armed Conflicts, Rugova's Aide

Says

PRISHTINA, Dec 11 (KIC) - In the absence President

Rugova, who is on a European trip, Xhemail Mustafa,

Rugova's press advisor, held a press conference in

Prishtina today (Friday).

Mr. Mustafa said the meetings the President of the

Republic of Kosova had this week with the French

President Jacques Chirac and the U.S. Secretary of

State Madeleine Albright were very important,

highlighting the significance of France's engagement

on Kosova and the close relationship of the Kosova

leadership with the American Administration, "which

has been permanently engaged in efforts to secure a

negotiated solution to the Kosova issue".

The situation in Kosova is grave and has "tendencies

of further deterioration" in the midst of a continued

Serb campaign of violence as well as a huge Serb

military and police presence, Mustafa said.

Serbia is bringing in fresh military and police troops,

Rugova's aide said, adding that Belgrade is thus in

breach of international demands for troop

withdrawals from Kosova. The "irresponsible

authorities" in Belgrade prevented yesterday the

Finnish pathologists from carrying out investigations

in Drenica, where Serb forces committed crimes

against Albanians, Mustafa said.

The Serbian regime has been for a decade now

engaged in a systematic violation of the basic human

rights in Kosova, "including the right to life", President

Rugova's adviser said, adding that "ethnic cleansing

and massive killings" have been committed by Serb

forces this year in Kosova.

"Only the deployment of NATO ground troops in

Kosova can avert further armed conflicts here, and

create the conditions for a political solution to the

Kosova issue", Mustafa said.

The Kosova leadership has stood all along for a

negotiated and political resolution, he said. The

Kosova Albanian side has "agreed to the idea on an

interim solution to the Kosova issue, which would

enable the establishment of democratic institutions in

Kosova, outside of Serbia", Xhemail Mustafa said,

adding that in three years' time the final status would

be concluded on the basis of the 1991 independence

referendum.

"The Kosovar side has been intensively working with

the international mediators, Hill and Petritsch, in

pursuit of a solution, but the Serb side is undermining

such efforts", Mustafa said.

Meanwhile, in reply to a question regarding the Serb

regime's refusal to allow Finnish pathologists

examine the sites where Serb forces committed

crimes against Albanians in Drenica, Professor Alush

Gashi, also an advisor to President Rugova and LDK

Foreign Relations Secretary, said the Kosova

leadership has been all along calling for an "impartial

investigation of the atrocities, the crimes against

humanity" committed in Kosova. An impartial

investigation means just that "impartial", he said,

adding that in case Serbs are involved in the

process, then we "will request strongly that Albanians

are there too, that Albanian forensic experts and

investigative judges, and other specialists, join the

team".

Asked by a reported to say what President Rugova's

position on the Hill draft on an interim solution for

Kosova was, Xhemail Mustafa said the President of

the Republic of Kosova had named the Kosova

negotiating team, with which lies "the competence to

offer its opinion, position and ideas" on the drafts.

Kosova Parliament's

Commissions Discuss Draft Plan

for Interim Solution in Kosova

LDK Presidency discussed the matter with local LDK

leaders Friday

PRISHTINA, Dec 11 (KIC) - The Commission for

Constitutional Issues and the Foreign Relations

Commission of the Parliament of the Republic of

Kosova met Thursday afternoon in a joint session in

Prishtina to discuss the Kosova negotiating process,

namely Ambassador Hill's draft on an interim solution

to the Kosova issue. Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu and Ms Edita

Tahiri, chairpersons of the respective commissions,

chaired the meeting.

Dr. Fehmi Agani, head of the Kosova negotiating

team, said the most recent U.S. draft plan was "a

return to the old and unacceptable proposals".

The December draft includes Serbia's demands that

Kosova remain not only within Yugoslavia, "but also

within Serbia", Agani said. The draft does not

envision that the Parliament of Kosova have

legislative powers, he went on to say, noting that the

Parliament would not be able to adopt laws but only

acts, which are inferior by nature. The formation of

the Kosova government is not provided by the draft;

in addition Kosova would not have a President, but

only a Presidency, and this latter consisted of

representatives of national communities, Dr. Agani

told the members of the two Kosova Parliament's

commissions.

The chief Kosova negotiator pointed out that the

previous draft, the November one, likewise presented

by Ambassador Hill, had been more "promising", and

was much more defined than the last one, as an

temporary arrangement for Kosova, which had been

opposed by Serbia.

The members of the Parliament of Kosova's

constitutional and foreign relations commissions

discussed the matter at length. All the speakers lent

their support to the Kosova negotiating team, and

appreciated its presentation and comments on the

current draft plan for Kosova.

The Kosova MPs were united in their position that no

kind of political solution within Serbia could be

accepted, adding that all efforts should lead towards

the implementation of the will of the people of Kosova

for independence, in line with the 1991 national

referendum for Kosovar independence and

sovereignty.

The Parliament of the Republic of Kosova can in no

way be sidelined, the two commissions' members

said, emphasizing that the consent of the Parliament

should be sought and obtained for any solution to the

Kosova issue.

The Commission for Constitutional Issues and the

Foreign Relations Commission of the Parliament of

the Republic of Kosova adopted a number of

conclusions at the end of their joint meeting on

Thursday.

They supported the Negotiating team's work so far,

urging it to work in line with its mandate, upholding

the independence bid for Kosova.

Both the interim settlement and permanent solution

should based on the "principle of the right to

self-determination of the people of Kosova", as well

as the possibility of establishing an international

protectorate in Kosova", the commissions said.

The commissions said they pressed for the

Parliament of the Republic of Kosova "and all its

mechanisms" to be in permanent cooperation with

the Negotiating team and assisting the negotiating

process in all its stages.

The commissions called on the President of the

Republic of Kosova Ibrahim Rugova to enlarge the

Negotiating team, to add new members to it, so that it

be more representative in its political and

professional specters, a statement issued from

Thursday's meeting said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Fehmi Agani, head of the Kosova

negotiating team, addressed today a joint meeting of

the Presidency of the Democratic League of Kosova

(LDK) and local LDK leaders.

He said the latest draft plan on Kosova was a huge

setback, and therefore "we rejected it", adding that

this position was presented in the meeting of the

Kosova group on Wednesday with the mediators,

Chris Hill and Wolfgang Petritsch.

The formation of a new Government of the Republic

of Kosova would be a boost to the Negotiating team,

for such a government would have its

representatives in the team, Agani said.

Agim Krasniqi, member of the LDK presidency,

informed the LDK chapter leaders about the

deliberations on Thursday of the two Parliament's

commissions.

The Negotiating team has been supported in its bid to

come up with a draft plan of its own, Krasniqi said.

The local LDK leaders also took part in discussions

about the negotiating process, a statement from the

LDK said.