UN Commission on Human Rights

Fifty-fourth session

Agenda item 10

Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world, with particular reference to colonial and other dependent countries and territories.

Oral statement submitted by the Transnational Radical Party, NGO in general consultative status.

Delivered by Afrim Djonbalic

Geneva, 14 April 1998

Mr. Chairman,

in the context of positive evaluation of the international efforts for the reaching of comprehensive peaceful agreement in Balkan area and the results obtained so far, the Transnational Radical Party encourages that careful consideration also be given to the actual situation in Kosova. After the break-up of former Yugoslavia, the only issue left behind for so many years by the international community was reaching the final status for Kosova.

The very difficult situation in Kosova as the result of systematic military and police repression from the Belgrade regime last months has shown that the situation in all the region is in danger. The result of the political vaccum of the last years also from the side of international community are the latest incidents in Drenica, with paramilitary and police intervention from the Belgrade side, in which hard artillery, tanks and other military equipment were used in the pretext of hunting the terrorists, but in which more than 8O civilians - mainly children, women and old people - found their death. The officials in Belgrade continue to claim in front of the international community, that no excessive force has been used in Drenica; but here arise logical questions: how all these victims, civilians, found their death and why thousands and thousands of civilians are pushed to flee the region. So far, some humanitarian organizations could hardly reach Drenica region to help the refugies to meet their very basic

needs to survive, especially medical and food supply.

What has to be worried is the fact that under the pretext of fight against terrorism, the Belgrade regime continues to terrorize the civilian people. The international community responded to the attacks in Drenica with two meetings of the contact group in London and Bonn to find an immediate solution for the Kosova crisis and to prevent the spill over of the conflict into the neighbour countries. This seems to be the first step, but to establish the arms embargo against Yugoslavia, which already has enough arms for some next years, is somehow contraversial. The international community has to react in more adequate way to solve the Kosova issue, it has to take more decissive steps: to investigate immediatelly the last massacres in Drenica region and to put all the officials involved in the latest events under investigation for crimes against humanity. The European Comunity already decided not to provide some police officials with the visa for Member States; the Bosnian experience has shown that this is not en

ough. Moreover, the same persons responsible for ethnic cleansing in Bosnia are involved also in Kosova incidents enjoying continuous support of the Belgrade regime.

The Transnational Radical Party wishes to emphasize that, as one of the first steps, persons involved in the latest massacres in Kosova must be judged according to the international law for crimes against humanity. The long term experience and the last above mentioned incidents including the latest students protest in Prishtina with excessive use of the Serbian police force shows the way that the Belgrade regime is ready to undertake to solve the Kosova issue. We have to take also into account the report of the Special Rapporteur for former Yugoslavia, Ms. Elizabeth Rehn, on the persistent human rights violations in Kosova. The arbitrary judgements, without any rights of defence, show how much and how far the Belgrade regime is able to go to put pressure on Albanians in Kosova.

The Transnational Radical Party requests the Commission on Human Rights to use all measures to urge the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to release all its political prisoners, starting with Mr. Ukshin Hoti who has been, according to the latest reports, tortured in the prison of Nis.

The international community and the United Nations have to play a stronger role in order to solve the Kosova issue. The latest demands from Albanian side that the negotiations have to include the federal authorities of Yugoslavia and the international mediator is a reasonable effort and the only effective way to reach a final agreement on the problem in Kosova. In this respect is very important that international community and the United Nations insist that the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia finally withdraw all the special police force from Kosova. The demilitarization of Kosova without preconditions is a fundamental need for reaching a peaceful solution in the whole region.

Another problem we would like to focus your attention on, is the political inequality in Tunisia which is evident in the day to day basis. Various NGOs report that in Tunisia the prisons are filled with political opponents, that Tunisian goverment is employing systematic torture and serious repressions to discredit the political activists and the human rights observers. Media are under strict state control, there is no free expression of political opinions, no free social life. For the sake of the "state stability", the government use all the means of repression towards its citizens by police forces and without any justifications. Mr. Khemais Ksila, the vice-president of the Tunisian League of Human Rights was arrested last year because he decided to be on a hunger strike for his professional reasons and for obtaining his new travel document from the Tunisian authorities. This was the only reason for the government to imprison him and to judge him with a very long sentence.

The agreement of the European Union on a free trade with Tunisia signed in 1995, could be a step towards the international dialogue on the situation in this country. However, it appears not to bring desired results so far. The international community cannot neglect the human rights just because the priority questions of the government are trade. The political dialog in Tunisia is unfortunatelly still absent and it leads to the instability that could be very dangerous for the future of this country. The Transnational Radical Party therefore requests this Commission to exercise the pressure on the Tunisian government to release all political prisoners, including Mr. Khemais Ksila, and to let their political opponents fully participate in the Tunisian political life.

The last issue we would like to point out in this session is the severe discriminatory economic and political treatment carried out by Chinese authorities in their annexed territories, particularly in Tibet, Eastern Turkistan and Inner Mongolia. China's policy in these regions appears to be designed to eradicate the culture of those peoples; it includes arbitrary arrests and executions, population transfers and control, severe repression of freedom of religion, opinion and other fundamental rights.

The case of Mr. Hada, founder of the Southern Mongolian Democracy Alliance, who was arrested last year on a charge of separatism and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and deprived of political rights for a period of 4 years, shows clearly the destiny of numerous political opponents who are recently serving their long sentences in Chinese prisons.

Given that the increasing instability in this region could potentially lead to larger consequences, it is a high time for the international community and the United Nations to urge strongly the authorities of People's Republic of China to ensure that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is guaranteed both on Chinese and in the annexed territories.

The Transnational Radical Party therefore requests this Commission to take a strong decision in this sence.