1. Kosovo, elezioni farsa (27/10/02)
2. Kosovo, voto e strage (29/10/02)
3. Alcuni reportages sulla situazione in Kosovo-Metohija:
- Responding to the UN and UNESCO on the Continuing Destruction of
Churches in Kosovo and Metohija (OEA, September 2002)
- Council of Europe Human Rights Report (October 2002)
- European Agency for Reconstruction, Community Stabilisation
Initiatives, Jennifer Zimmermann's Report (August 2002)
4. Fondato il "Fronte Unito Nazionale Albanese" (Makfax 31/10/02)
5. Dientsbier says terrorism is with international blessing (Makfax
30/10/02)
6. Kosovo Serb refugees afraid they will never see their home again
(AFP 30/10/02)
7. PRISTINE: CENTER OF ETHNIC HATRED - NATO and the UNO, shame on you!
(PRAVDA 26/9/02)
=== 1 ===
http://www.ilmanifesto.it/Quotidiano-archivio/
27-Ottobre-2002/art49.html
il manifesto - 27 Ottobre 2002
Kosovo, elezioni farsa
Dalla contropulizia etnica, le amministrative. I serbi rimasti nel
terrore, non votano
TOMMASO DI FRANCESCO
Si chiamava Svetlana Stankova, la donna serba di 43 anni, madre di due
figli, uccisa il 14 ottobre scorso con una mina piazzata nelle
adiacenze di casa sua da estremisti nazionalisti albanesi nel
villaggio di Klokot (Gjilane), lo stesso dove un mese fa sono state
fatte saltare in aria 4 abitazioni di serbi. Svetlana ieri non è
potuta andare a votare alle elezioni amministrative farsa. Formalmente
a votare sarebbero dovuti andare in un milione e 300mila. Ma con
Svetlana - ultima vittima di una litania di morti che non hanno mai
fatto notizia - non hanno potuto votare i più di mille serbi,
rom, goranci e albanesi moderati, uccisi dai miliziani ex Uck a
partire dall'ingresso delle truppe Nato in Kosovo, dall'estate del
1999. Né hanno potuto votare i 1300 desaparecidos, serbi, rom e
albanesi moderati, rapiti e fatti sparire chissà dove. Così come non
hanno votato i 250.000 serbi e rom fuggiti nel terrore grazie alla
contropulizia etnica avviata sotto gli occhi dei contingenti «di pace»
della Kfor-Nato (35mila uomini).
Questi sono i «risultati» della guerra rivendicata da D'Alema. Hanno
però votato solo i kosovaro-albanesi. Per la terza volta dalla fine
dei bombardamenti «umanitari» della Nato contro la Jugoslavia nel `99.
Era considerato come l'ultimo banco di prova per le future possibilità
di coesistenza pacifica tra le due etnie della regione amministrata
dall'Onu, la maggioranza albanese e la minoranza serba. Ma i serbi
rimasti però ieri non sono andati a votare, determinati a boicottare
il voto, in segno di protesta contro le tragiche condizioni in cui
sono costretti adesso a vivere.
L'Occidente che con le Amministrazioni Onu (Unmik) ha di fatto avviato
l'indipendenza della regione, in aperto dispregio degli accordi di
Kumanovo, a questo punto spinge il piede sull'acceleratore, forte
anche del caos in Jugoslavia. Punta al fatto compiuto per nascondere
la verità: che per la legalità internazionale lo status del Kosovo è
quello di regione autonoma della Serbia e quindi della Federazione
jugoslava (verso la Serbia-Montenegro). Le elezioni amministrative
servono per consolidare la finta pace interna. In questi giorni il
governatore Onu per il Kosovo, Michael Steiner, per convincere i
pochi serbi rimasti a votare - ma dove potevano votare i profughi, non
l'ha detto -, ha proposto la nascita di «municipalità serbe»: una
sorta di bantustan che nemmeno Milosevic ha mai pensato per gli
albanesi.
Intanto tra un voto e l'altro, con candidati in guerra fra di loro per
spartirsi la torta kosovara (v. i cosiddetti aiuti internazionali e i
corridoi strategici), ma sempre d'accordo per l'indipendenza,
crescono depositi di armi, santuari della guerriglia che opera in
Macedonia, uccisioni di serbi e albanesi moderati. Al voto di ieri 68
formazioni. I principali partiti, entrambi albanesi, sono la Lega
Democratica del Kosovo (Ldk) guidata da Ibrahim Rugova, e il Partito
Democratico del Kosovo (Pdk), guidato da Hashim Thaci, ex leader
dell'Uck. Entrambi vogliono l'indipendenza del Kosovo. Ma in questi
tre anni l'ex Uck ha decimato con uccisioni la leadership de Ldk di
Rugova.
Ma davvero vanno così le cose in Kosovo? Peggio. Spesso c'è la farsa:
arriva anche il procuratore Carla Del Ponte a promettere, come ha
fatto il 21 ottobre scorso che «entro la fine dell'anno sarà
incriminato all'Aja il primo albanese del Kosovo». Lo fa da tre anni,
ma non accade mai. Eppure la cronaca di questi giorni dice che ce ne
sarebbero gli estremi. Il 10 ottobre i militari italiani sono dovuti
intervenire a Pec (Peja) contro una manifestazione di mille albanesi
scesi in piazza con sassi e molotov per cacciare un pullman di 50
anziani serbi, fatti rientrare dall'Onu in un villaggio adiacente.
In piazza c'erano leader locali che facevano un comizio per le
elezioni di ieri, e che aizzavano a cacciare i serbi. Sempre a Pec
(Peja) il contingente italiano ha scoperto un deposito di armi e
materiale di contrabbando: in carcere è finito il cugino del generale
Agim Ceku, ex capo militare dell'Uck, e ora capo del Tmk , la polizia
del Kosovo pagata dall'Onu, insieme ad Ekrem Lluka, proprietario della
«Dukagjini», il più grosso gruppo imprenditoriale del Kosovo-ovest.
Giustizia fatta? Poche ore dopo erano tutti in libertà. Per andare a
votare ieri.
L'Osce ha monitorato il voto: è la stessa organizzazione che il 24
marzo 1999, guidata dall'americano William Walker, abbandonò la sua
missione internazionale autorizzando di fatto i bombardamenti Nato.
E' iniziato lo spoglio delle schede. I primi risultati oggi, quelli
definitivi a dicembre.
Va tutto bene.
=== 2 ===
il manifesto - 29 Ottobre 2002
KOSOVO
Voto e strage
T. D. F.
Il giorno dopo le elezioni amministrative in Kosovo, il sindaco della
città di Suva Reka, nel sud, e due delle sue guardie del corpo sono
rimaste uccise in una sparatoria, secondo l'Osce che monitorava le
amministrative. Il sindaco, Uke Bytyci, è deceduto una mezz'ora dopo
la sparatoria nell'ospedale di Prizren. Esponente di spicco della
Lega Democratica del Kosovo (Ldk), di Ibrahim Rugova il maggior
partito della maggioranza kosovaro-albanese, Bytyci sarabbe stato
colpito in uno scontro tra suoi simpatizzanti e un altro gruppo
kosovaro-albanese in un villaggio presso Suva Reka, ha raccontato il
capo degli osservatori della Azione Kosovara d'Iniziativa Civica
(Kaci). Sarebbero - secondo fonti da noi ascoltate direttamente -
sempre uomini dell'ex Uck che in questi due anni dall'ingreso delle
truppe Nato in Kosovo, hanno decimato la leadership di Rugova.
Nonostante la strage, l'Ldk ha avuto la maggioranza assoluta in 11
delle 30 municipalità in cui si è votato (tra cui Pristina), ma in
altre 8 ha la maggioranza relativa. Una calo rispetto al Pdk dell'ex
comandante dell'Uck, Hashim Thaqi, che ha avuto la maggioranza
assoluta in 4 municipalità, ma in altre 3 è in forte crescita.
=== 3 ===
REPORT SULLA CONTINUA DISTRUZIONE DEI MONUMENTI RELIGIOSI IN
KOSOVO-METOHIJA
http://oea.serbian-church.net/info/908.html
Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada Office of External
Affairs - Washington D.C. 202 463 8643
OEA News Briefs: September 2002
Responding to the UN and UNESCO on the Continuing Destruction of
Churches in Kosovo and Metohija
Washington, DC (OEA) September 2002 - In response to recent
desecrations, vandalism, and continuing patterns of violence facing
Serbian inhabitants, and churches, cemeteries and cultural properties
in Kosovo and Metohija, the Office of External Affairs (OEA)
working with the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, has raised the issue to
the Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Kofi
Annan on behalf of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox
Church in USA and Canada; as well as to the Director of the World
Heritage Centre, UNESCO, Mr. Francesco Bandarin.
In two separate letters, the OEA cited these ongoing hostilities with
detailed reports indicating to the leaders of the UN and UNESCO, that
a great number of these treasures date back to the 13th century and
not only provide a historical account of Serbian culture and
spirituality, but are of great significance to world heritage at
large.
The loss of such precious frescoes, mosaics, and many more of the
finest examples of artwork from Byzantine and successive eras
underscores the need for international organizations to implement
effective means of safeguarding and preserving the treasures of Kosovo
and Metohija so as to avert the type of cultural eradication that the
world witnessed with the Taliban's dynamiting of centuries old
Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.
Beta News Agency, Belgrade
October 22, 2002 22:17
---
REPORT DEL CONSIGLIO D'EUROPA SUI DIRITTI UMANI
Subject: [yugoslaviainfo] CoE Human Rights Report Criticizes
UNMIK-NATO For Plight Of Serbs, Others
Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2002 03:16:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@...>
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=33405&LangID=1
For full report see:
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=33399&LangID=1
-Of the 250,000 Serbian, Roma and other minority
internally displaced persons (IDPs) officially
registered in Serbia and Montenegro and the 3,300,
predominantly Roma, refugees in the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, the vast majority of whom fled
after the arrival of KFOR ground troops, only a few
thousand have so far returned.
-The security situation for Serbs, and to a lesser
extent, Roma, Egyptians and Ashkalies remains
difficult. Indeed, except for returning to established
Serb enclaves, returnees effectively require round the
clock KFOR protection and are barely able to travel
without escort.
Seeurope.net
Saturday, October 26, 2002
YUGOSLAVIA: Report On The Human Rights Situation In Kosovo
2002-10-25 14:24:14
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of
Europe, Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles wrote a report, entitled
"Kosovo: the human rights situation and the fate of
persons displaced from their homes".
The report was prepared in response to a request by
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to
examine these issues in the context of the adhesion of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the Council of
Europe.
It contains considerable criticism of the performance
of the international presence in certain areas.
The report highlights a number of special powers
enjoyed by the international community, which pose
serious problems from a human rights perspective.
---
REPORT SULLE CONDIZIONI DI VITA DEI NON-ALBANESI
SERBIAN ORTHODOX DIOCESE OF RASKA AND PRIZREN
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
Information Service
Newsletter, October 25, 2002
LIFE AT THE MARGINS OF SOCIETY
We would like to present the following report which deals with the
situation in which Kosovo Serbs and other non-majority communities in
Kosovo live today. The report explores ecconomic aspects of the life
of these vulnerable communities in the pervading atmosphere of
insecurity and lack of basic human rights and freedoms. Full
text in PDF is available at our Web-site (
http://www.kosovo.com/jzimm2.pdf ),
Executive summary and conclusions are available in html format on:
http://www.kosovo.com/jzimm2.html
THE UNSUSTAINABLE MINORITY LIVELIHOOD
Justifying the Need for Greater Economic Assistance
The European Agency for Reconstruction
Community Stabilisation Initiatives
Jennifer Zimmermann
August 2002
Full Text in PDF
161 pages in A4 format, 470 KB
http://www.kosovo.com/jzimm2.pdf
Detailed overview of the situation in which non-majority communities
in Kosovo live (figures, tables)
This report was prepared with financial assistance from the European
Commission. The views expressed are those of the consultant and do not
necessarily represent any official view of the Commission.
Previous report by Jennifer Zimmerman, 2001
Why minority rights go unprotected- the international community's
tacit approval of reverse-ethnic cleansing in Kosovo
http://www.kosovo.com/jzimm.html
=== 4 ===
FONDATA NUOVA ORGANIZZAZIONE GRANDE-ALBANESE
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2002/October_31/3.html
Albania: New organization to unite Albanian territories, Makfax,
October 31st 2002
TIRANA, Albania (Makfax) - The United Albanian National Front is the
name of the new organization founded by the Albanian diaspora, mainly
in Europe. This organization aims to unite "all Albanian territories",
said Tirana's daily newspaper Balkan.
The newly founded organization shares the position with the so-called
Albanian National Army (ANA) regarding the unification of "Albanian
lands". This organization is likely to provide a military back-up to
the so-called ANA. This organization will expand its operations in the
Greek northern district of Chameria.
"The stabilization of Kosovo and the Albanian part of Macedonia are
not the only goals of the pan-Albanian movement, it also includes the
Chameria issue," Tirana's daily says.
The same source says the new organization has already made contacts
with the Albanian diaspora in Switzerland, Denmark and Germany. This
organization is headquartered in Tirana and it is fully supported by
the state and the ruling Socialists.
On the other hand, intelligence sources say the Albanian secret
service SHIK is dealing with this organization amid fears that this
organization could affect Albania-Greece relations.
=== 5 ===
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2002/October_30/4.html
Dientsbier says terrorism is with international blessing
Makfax, October 30th 2002
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (Makfax) - Terrorism, including
the latest terrorist act in Moscow, did not break out
last September when the United States was under
attack, it started much earlier in Bosnia, Albania and
Kosovo, said the former Czech Minister of Foreign
Affairs Jiri Dientsbier, who was also the U.N. human
rights special envoy.
In Friday's interview with the Prague newspaper Pravo,
Dientsbier said not only the media but also the
politicians, who divided the terrorists into 'good
ones' and 'bad ones', were doing service to terrorism.
This is the case with the Chechens and the Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA) as well.
"When Osama bin Laden founded his own humanitarian
organizations in Bosnia and Hercegovina and Albania,
and later on he entered into arrangements with
Algerian terrorists in Albania (1994), nobody could
assume the eventual link to terrorism. During the
NATO-led bombardment on Yugoslavia, the Kosovo
Liberation Army was used as a ground force. The KLA
engagement during the NATO-led air strikes on
Yugoslavia enabled this organization to rule in Kosovo
and mastermind and carry out attacks in Macedonia,
southern Serbia and Montenegro", Dientsbier said.
Dientsbier underlines that U.S. President George Bush
had added a number of KLA members under the Executive
Order on Extremism in the Western Balkans, including
the leader of the National Liberation Army (NLA) Ali
Ahmeti, who won some 70 percent of the Albanian vote
in Macedonia's parliamentary elections.
Dientsbier says the Albanian extremists had also
killed thousands of Albanians, adding that ongoing
efforts to arrest those responsible turned
inconsequent.
"The international representatives in Kosovo fear that
the former KLA members could resort to violence
against the U.N. representatives and KFOR soldiers",
Dientsbier said in an interview with the Prague
newspaper Pravo.
=== 6 ===
From: Rick Rozoff
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bv/Qyugo-kosovo-serbs.R-yQ_COU.html
[Pardon the heavy-handed editorializing - standard in
all establishment press wire reports on Kosovo and the
Balkans in general.
For example, the inevitable mantra applied to the
murder and ethnic cleansing of over a third of a
million Serbian and other civilians: 'Revenge
attacks.']
Kosovo Serb refugees afraid they will never see their home again
Jean-Eudes Barbier
MATARUSKA BANJA, Yugoslavia, Oct 30 (AFP) - Not far
from their homeland in Kosovo that they left three
years ago under pressure from ethnic Albanian
guerrillas, thousands of Serbs fear they will never
see their homes again.
In the pretty spa of Mataruska Banja, near the
southern Serbian town of Kraljevo, a former hospital
was transformed into a "collective center," sheltering
dozens of Serb families who fled Kosovo following the
withdrawal of Belgrade troops in 1999.
The building hosts more than 200 men, women and
children who, ever since they fled their homes in the
western Kosovo region of Pec, have known only
idleness, but also feel totally abandoned.
"We are getting some supplies from the international
community. Nothing else. It's worse here than in
prison. There, the inmates have at least three meals
per day!" complained Milan, a man in his thirties.
Full of anger and impatience, Milan vows to find
something to do, to try to make money to survive. But
he said he was happy to find a week-long job at the
construction site, nothing longer.
"I spend my time biting my nails," he said.
Kosovo Serbs, most without work, gathered in a big
park in the spa, enjoying the mild sun in late
October. Two men were playing chess, hidden in the
shadow of a big tree.
"It's only when the weather is nice that we can enjoy
playing chess. Inside, there is only one big room
where everyone gathers, it's impossible to
concentrate," one of the players, Radovan, said.
This old man already fears the coming winter.
"It's terrible in winter. We see only each other, each
curled into his own glum thoughts. Not to mention
hygenic standards! Only seven bathrooms for all of us.
It's been like this for three years now," he
complained.
Radovan remembered how he and his neighbours had left
their homes in Klina, east of Pec, leaving their
belongings, land and animals, as quickly as they
could, although Yugoslav troops had still been present
in the area that summer of 1999.
The clashes between ethnic Albanian guerrillas of the
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Belgrade troops ended
in June, in the aftermath of the NATO bombing campaign
on Yugoslavia. But Yugoslav troops had to withdraw
from the Albanian-dominated Kosovo.
"They did not have means to protect us any more. The
soldiers were only thinking of leaving. And the KLA
fighters were everywhere, approaching," Radovan said.
Several families have briefly returned to Klina to
check what happened with their property.
"My farm was ransacked. Nothing was left. My four
hectares of land are now cultivated by Albanian
peasants. Fortunately, I have my property papers, so
one day, I would be able to get compensation for what
I have lost: a lifetime work," said 53-year-old farmer
Miroslav.
This father of three said living conditions for his
family were "deplorable. "
"Thank God my children go to school. I have to hope
there is still hope for them," Miroslav said.
And those who live in this collective center
complained that no state official has visited them so
far.
"It was the same during the times of (former president
Slobodan) Milosevic as it is now with (President
Vojislav) Kostunica! They act as if we do not exist!"
said Branka, a young woman from Klina.
"My family lived there, in Kosovo, for centuries, what
can we do here?" she asked.
For them, the first step for a return to Kosovo would
be a change of the attitude of the UN administration,
which has run the southern Yugoslav province since
1999, towards ethnic Albanians.
"As long as they are supported as they are now, we
Serbs will never be able to return," one of the Kosovo
Serb refugees insisted.
More than 200,000 Serbs fled Kosovo in 1999 for other
parts of Serbia or neighbouring Montenegro, fearing
revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians after Belgrade's
troops pulled out.
The Serbs complain that both the UN and NATO
peacekeepers have failed to protect their communities
from ethnic Albanian reprisals or create the security
conditions necessary for the return of refugees.
=== 7 ===
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/09/26/37324.html
2002.09.26/20:21
PRISTINE: CENTER OF ETHNIC HATRED
NATO and the UNO, shame on you!
Protosyncellus of the Serbian Orthodox Church Sava Janic (the Diocese
of Raska and Prizren) describes the situation in Pristine, the
capital Kosovo, the autonomous Serbian region.
The number of Serbs living in Pristine before NATO started bombing in
1999 made up over 20,000 people. Currently, Serb population of
Pristine, a real Serb ghetto, makes up only 200 people. After the
ethnic cleansing operations held by militants of the allegedly
disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army, in the presence of KFOR and the UN
Civil Mission, hundreds of Pristine Serbs were killed; kidnapped on
the streets, hospitals, schools; and thousands were forced to leave
their homes for central Serbia.
Pristine is Europe's only large city where the freedom and rights of
any particular person depend exclusively upon his ethnic and religious
belonging. The events we currently witness in Pristine are happening
not in war time or under the totalitarian authority of some
nationalist leader.
Everything is going on in presence of well-armed NATO soldiers and
thousands of UN peacemakers. For three years after the armed conflict
in Kosovo, Serbs are still denied free access to schools,
universities, and other institutions everywhere in Kosovo and Metohja
where Albanians dominate.
Sometimes, some brave young Serbs dare to walk Pristine's streets
completely unprotected, with the a disdain for the ethnic hatred and
intolerance that Albanians have for anything of Serbian and Slavic
origin. At the same time, these young Serbs are really very cautious
and speak only English in crowded places. Some of them have forged
passports alleging that they are guests in the Kosovo capital; the
documents are issued by international organizations for the sake of
saving people?s lives amidst the hatred and intolerance.
Foreigners visiting Pristine usually don?t feel the atmosphere of
ethnic hatred in the streets. They don?t understand that the people
who innocently smile in the streets, restaurants, and shops are
Kosovo Albanians, for whom the noisy public life in Pristine means the
success of the mission to establish a multi-ethic community there. At
the same time, only a second, a closer glance reveals that the city
sticks to its own law, radically differing from habitual human laws.
Even deputies of a so-called multi-ethnic Kosovo parliament
"protecting" the interests of the Serb community, leave the Skupstine
building for a cafe or somewhere else only in armored police vehicles.
We won?t reconcile to the fact that the majority of international
representatives get used to this situation and do nothing at all to
change it for the better. Albanian politicians and the "intellectual
elite" are satisfied with the situation.
Under the "totalitarian" regimes of Milosevic and Tudjman in Serbia
and Croatia, many public and political organizations and students
openly protested against the terror in Pristine and in the Kosovo
region on the whole. Unfortunately, currently, there is no power to
openly oppose the discrimination of Serbs and other non-Albanians in
Kosovo.
Against this unfavorable background, the Albanian media in Kosovo
continues to "cleanse" everything of Serbian origin. The OSCE and UN
peacemaking missions call it "freedom of press." In the meantime, life
for the handful of Serbs still living in Pristine is becoming more and
more unbearable.
Compiled by Sergey Stefanov
PRAVDA.Ru
Father Sava Janic is one of Kosovo.com editors
Translated by Maria Gousseva
©1999 "Pravda.RU". When reproducing our materials in whole or in part,
reference to Pravda.RU should be made.
2. Kosovo, voto e strage (29/10/02)
3. Alcuni reportages sulla situazione in Kosovo-Metohija:
- Responding to the UN and UNESCO on the Continuing Destruction of
Churches in Kosovo and Metohija (OEA, September 2002)
- Council of Europe Human Rights Report (October 2002)
- European Agency for Reconstruction, Community Stabilisation
Initiatives, Jennifer Zimmermann's Report (August 2002)
4. Fondato il "Fronte Unito Nazionale Albanese" (Makfax 31/10/02)
5. Dientsbier says terrorism is with international blessing (Makfax
30/10/02)
6. Kosovo Serb refugees afraid they will never see their home again
(AFP 30/10/02)
7. PRISTINE: CENTER OF ETHNIC HATRED - NATO and the UNO, shame on you!
(PRAVDA 26/9/02)
=== 1 ===
http://www.ilmanifesto.it/Quotidiano-archivio/
27-Ottobre-2002/art49.html
il manifesto - 27 Ottobre 2002
Kosovo, elezioni farsa
Dalla contropulizia etnica, le amministrative. I serbi rimasti nel
terrore, non votano
TOMMASO DI FRANCESCO
Si chiamava Svetlana Stankova, la donna serba di 43 anni, madre di due
figli, uccisa il 14 ottobre scorso con una mina piazzata nelle
adiacenze di casa sua da estremisti nazionalisti albanesi nel
villaggio di Klokot (Gjilane), lo stesso dove un mese fa sono state
fatte saltare in aria 4 abitazioni di serbi. Svetlana ieri non è
potuta andare a votare alle elezioni amministrative farsa. Formalmente
a votare sarebbero dovuti andare in un milione e 300mila. Ma con
Svetlana - ultima vittima di una litania di morti che non hanno mai
fatto notizia - non hanno potuto votare i più di mille serbi,
rom, goranci e albanesi moderati, uccisi dai miliziani ex Uck a
partire dall'ingresso delle truppe Nato in Kosovo, dall'estate del
1999. Né hanno potuto votare i 1300 desaparecidos, serbi, rom e
albanesi moderati, rapiti e fatti sparire chissà dove. Così come non
hanno votato i 250.000 serbi e rom fuggiti nel terrore grazie alla
contropulizia etnica avviata sotto gli occhi dei contingenti «di pace»
della Kfor-Nato (35mila uomini).
Questi sono i «risultati» della guerra rivendicata da D'Alema. Hanno
però votato solo i kosovaro-albanesi. Per la terza volta dalla fine
dei bombardamenti «umanitari» della Nato contro la Jugoslavia nel `99.
Era considerato come l'ultimo banco di prova per le future possibilità
di coesistenza pacifica tra le due etnie della regione amministrata
dall'Onu, la maggioranza albanese e la minoranza serba. Ma i serbi
rimasti però ieri non sono andati a votare, determinati a boicottare
il voto, in segno di protesta contro le tragiche condizioni in cui
sono costretti adesso a vivere.
L'Occidente che con le Amministrazioni Onu (Unmik) ha di fatto avviato
l'indipendenza della regione, in aperto dispregio degli accordi di
Kumanovo, a questo punto spinge il piede sull'acceleratore, forte
anche del caos in Jugoslavia. Punta al fatto compiuto per nascondere
la verità: che per la legalità internazionale lo status del Kosovo è
quello di regione autonoma della Serbia e quindi della Federazione
jugoslava (verso la Serbia-Montenegro). Le elezioni amministrative
servono per consolidare la finta pace interna. In questi giorni il
governatore Onu per il Kosovo, Michael Steiner, per convincere i
pochi serbi rimasti a votare - ma dove potevano votare i profughi, non
l'ha detto -, ha proposto la nascita di «municipalità serbe»: una
sorta di bantustan che nemmeno Milosevic ha mai pensato per gli
albanesi.
Intanto tra un voto e l'altro, con candidati in guerra fra di loro per
spartirsi la torta kosovara (v. i cosiddetti aiuti internazionali e i
corridoi strategici), ma sempre d'accordo per l'indipendenza,
crescono depositi di armi, santuari della guerriglia che opera in
Macedonia, uccisioni di serbi e albanesi moderati. Al voto di ieri 68
formazioni. I principali partiti, entrambi albanesi, sono la Lega
Democratica del Kosovo (Ldk) guidata da Ibrahim Rugova, e il Partito
Democratico del Kosovo (Pdk), guidato da Hashim Thaci, ex leader
dell'Uck. Entrambi vogliono l'indipendenza del Kosovo. Ma in questi
tre anni l'ex Uck ha decimato con uccisioni la leadership de Ldk di
Rugova.
Ma davvero vanno così le cose in Kosovo? Peggio. Spesso c'è la farsa:
arriva anche il procuratore Carla Del Ponte a promettere, come ha
fatto il 21 ottobre scorso che «entro la fine dell'anno sarà
incriminato all'Aja il primo albanese del Kosovo». Lo fa da tre anni,
ma non accade mai. Eppure la cronaca di questi giorni dice che ce ne
sarebbero gli estremi. Il 10 ottobre i militari italiani sono dovuti
intervenire a Pec (Peja) contro una manifestazione di mille albanesi
scesi in piazza con sassi e molotov per cacciare un pullman di 50
anziani serbi, fatti rientrare dall'Onu in un villaggio adiacente.
In piazza c'erano leader locali che facevano un comizio per le
elezioni di ieri, e che aizzavano a cacciare i serbi. Sempre a Pec
(Peja) il contingente italiano ha scoperto un deposito di armi e
materiale di contrabbando: in carcere è finito il cugino del generale
Agim Ceku, ex capo militare dell'Uck, e ora capo del Tmk , la polizia
del Kosovo pagata dall'Onu, insieme ad Ekrem Lluka, proprietario della
«Dukagjini», il più grosso gruppo imprenditoriale del Kosovo-ovest.
Giustizia fatta? Poche ore dopo erano tutti in libertà. Per andare a
votare ieri.
L'Osce ha monitorato il voto: è la stessa organizzazione che il 24
marzo 1999, guidata dall'americano William Walker, abbandonò la sua
missione internazionale autorizzando di fatto i bombardamenti Nato.
E' iniziato lo spoglio delle schede. I primi risultati oggi, quelli
definitivi a dicembre.
Va tutto bene.
=== 2 ===
il manifesto - 29 Ottobre 2002
KOSOVO
Voto e strage
T. D. F.
Il giorno dopo le elezioni amministrative in Kosovo, il sindaco della
città di Suva Reka, nel sud, e due delle sue guardie del corpo sono
rimaste uccise in una sparatoria, secondo l'Osce che monitorava le
amministrative. Il sindaco, Uke Bytyci, è deceduto una mezz'ora dopo
la sparatoria nell'ospedale di Prizren. Esponente di spicco della
Lega Democratica del Kosovo (Ldk), di Ibrahim Rugova il maggior
partito della maggioranza kosovaro-albanese, Bytyci sarabbe stato
colpito in uno scontro tra suoi simpatizzanti e un altro gruppo
kosovaro-albanese in un villaggio presso Suva Reka, ha raccontato il
capo degli osservatori della Azione Kosovara d'Iniziativa Civica
(Kaci). Sarebbero - secondo fonti da noi ascoltate direttamente -
sempre uomini dell'ex Uck che in questi due anni dall'ingreso delle
truppe Nato in Kosovo, hanno decimato la leadership di Rugova.
Nonostante la strage, l'Ldk ha avuto la maggioranza assoluta in 11
delle 30 municipalità in cui si è votato (tra cui Pristina), ma in
altre 8 ha la maggioranza relativa. Una calo rispetto al Pdk dell'ex
comandante dell'Uck, Hashim Thaqi, che ha avuto la maggioranza
assoluta in 4 municipalità, ma in altre 3 è in forte crescita.
=== 3 ===
REPORT SULLA CONTINUA DISTRUZIONE DEI MONUMENTI RELIGIOSI IN
KOSOVO-METOHIJA
http://oea.serbian-church.net/info/908.html
Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada Office of External
Affairs - Washington D.C. 202 463 8643
OEA News Briefs: September 2002
Responding to the UN and UNESCO on the Continuing Destruction of
Churches in Kosovo and Metohija
Washington, DC (OEA) September 2002 - In response to recent
desecrations, vandalism, and continuing patterns of violence facing
Serbian inhabitants, and churches, cemeteries and cultural properties
in Kosovo and Metohija, the Office of External Affairs (OEA)
working with the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, has raised the issue to
the Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Kofi
Annan on behalf of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox
Church in USA and Canada; as well as to the Director of the World
Heritage Centre, UNESCO, Mr. Francesco Bandarin.
In two separate letters, the OEA cited these ongoing hostilities with
detailed reports indicating to the leaders of the UN and UNESCO, that
a great number of these treasures date back to the 13th century and
not only provide a historical account of Serbian culture and
spirituality, but are of great significance to world heritage at
large.
The loss of such precious frescoes, mosaics, and many more of the
finest examples of artwork from Byzantine and successive eras
underscores the need for international organizations to implement
effective means of safeguarding and preserving the treasures of Kosovo
and Metohija so as to avert the type of cultural eradication that the
world witnessed with the Taliban's dynamiting of centuries old
Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.
Beta News Agency, Belgrade
October 22, 2002 22:17
---
REPORT DEL CONSIGLIO D'EUROPA SUI DIRITTI UMANI
Subject: [yugoslaviainfo] CoE Human Rights Report Criticizes
UNMIK-NATO For Plight Of Serbs, Others
Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2002 03:16:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@...>
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=33405&LangID=1
For full report see:
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=33399&LangID=1
-Of the 250,000 Serbian, Roma and other minority
internally displaced persons (IDPs) officially
registered in Serbia and Montenegro and the 3,300,
predominantly Roma, refugees in the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, the vast majority of whom fled
after the arrival of KFOR ground troops, only a few
thousand have so far returned.
-The security situation for Serbs, and to a lesser
extent, Roma, Egyptians and Ashkalies remains
difficult. Indeed, except for returning to established
Serb enclaves, returnees effectively require round the
clock KFOR protection and are barely able to travel
without escort.
Seeurope.net
Saturday, October 26, 2002
YUGOSLAVIA: Report On The Human Rights Situation In Kosovo
2002-10-25 14:24:14
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of
Europe, Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles wrote a report, entitled
"Kosovo: the human rights situation and the fate of
persons displaced from their homes".
The report was prepared in response to a request by
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to
examine these issues in the context of the adhesion of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the Council of
Europe.
It contains considerable criticism of the performance
of the international presence in certain areas.
The report highlights a number of special powers
enjoyed by the international community, which pose
serious problems from a human rights perspective.
---
REPORT SULLE CONDIZIONI DI VITA DEI NON-ALBANESI
SERBIAN ORTHODOX DIOCESE OF RASKA AND PRIZREN
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
Information Service
Newsletter, October 25, 2002
LIFE AT THE MARGINS OF SOCIETY
We would like to present the following report which deals with the
situation in which Kosovo Serbs and other non-majority communities in
Kosovo live today. The report explores ecconomic aspects of the life
of these vulnerable communities in the pervading atmosphere of
insecurity and lack of basic human rights and freedoms. Full
text in PDF is available at our Web-site (
http://www.kosovo.com/jzimm2.pdf ),
Executive summary and conclusions are available in html format on:
http://www.kosovo.com/jzimm2.html
THE UNSUSTAINABLE MINORITY LIVELIHOOD
Justifying the Need for Greater Economic Assistance
The European Agency for Reconstruction
Community Stabilisation Initiatives
Jennifer Zimmermann
August 2002
Full Text in PDF
161 pages in A4 format, 470 KB
http://www.kosovo.com/jzimm2.pdf
Detailed overview of the situation in which non-majority communities
in Kosovo live (figures, tables)
This report was prepared with financial assistance from the European
Commission. The views expressed are those of the consultant and do not
necessarily represent any official view of the Commission.
Previous report by Jennifer Zimmerman, 2001
Why minority rights go unprotected- the international community's
tacit approval of reverse-ethnic cleansing in Kosovo
http://www.kosovo.com/jzimm.html
=== 4 ===
FONDATA NUOVA ORGANIZZAZIONE GRANDE-ALBANESE
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2002/October_31/3.html
Albania: New organization to unite Albanian territories, Makfax,
October 31st 2002
TIRANA, Albania (Makfax) - The United Albanian National Front is the
name of the new organization founded by the Albanian diaspora, mainly
in Europe. This organization aims to unite "all Albanian territories",
said Tirana's daily newspaper Balkan.
The newly founded organization shares the position with the so-called
Albanian National Army (ANA) regarding the unification of "Albanian
lands". This organization is likely to provide a military back-up to
the so-called ANA. This organization will expand its operations in the
Greek northern district of Chameria.
"The stabilization of Kosovo and the Albanian part of Macedonia are
not the only goals of the pan-Albanian movement, it also includes the
Chameria issue," Tirana's daily says.
The same source says the new organization has already made contacts
with the Albanian diaspora in Switzerland, Denmark and Germany. This
organization is headquartered in Tirana and it is fully supported by
the state and the ruling Socialists.
On the other hand, intelligence sources say the Albanian secret
service SHIK is dealing with this organization amid fears that this
organization could affect Albania-Greece relations.
=== 5 ===
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2002/October_30/4.html
Dientsbier says terrorism is with international blessing
Makfax, October 30th 2002
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (Makfax) - Terrorism, including
the latest terrorist act in Moscow, did not break out
last September when the United States was under
attack, it started much earlier in Bosnia, Albania and
Kosovo, said the former Czech Minister of Foreign
Affairs Jiri Dientsbier, who was also the U.N. human
rights special envoy.
In Friday's interview with the Prague newspaper Pravo,
Dientsbier said not only the media but also the
politicians, who divided the terrorists into 'good
ones' and 'bad ones', were doing service to terrorism.
This is the case with the Chechens and the Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA) as well.
"When Osama bin Laden founded his own humanitarian
organizations in Bosnia and Hercegovina and Albania,
and later on he entered into arrangements with
Algerian terrorists in Albania (1994), nobody could
assume the eventual link to terrorism. During the
NATO-led bombardment on Yugoslavia, the Kosovo
Liberation Army was used as a ground force. The KLA
engagement during the NATO-led air strikes on
Yugoslavia enabled this organization to rule in Kosovo
and mastermind and carry out attacks in Macedonia,
southern Serbia and Montenegro", Dientsbier said.
Dientsbier underlines that U.S. President George Bush
had added a number of KLA members under the Executive
Order on Extremism in the Western Balkans, including
the leader of the National Liberation Army (NLA) Ali
Ahmeti, who won some 70 percent of the Albanian vote
in Macedonia's parliamentary elections.
Dientsbier says the Albanian extremists had also
killed thousands of Albanians, adding that ongoing
efforts to arrest those responsible turned
inconsequent.
"The international representatives in Kosovo fear that
the former KLA members could resort to violence
against the U.N. representatives and KFOR soldiers",
Dientsbier said in an interview with the Prague
newspaper Pravo.
=== 6 ===
From: Rick Rozoff
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bv/Qyugo-kosovo-serbs.R-yQ_COU.html
[Pardon the heavy-handed editorializing - standard in
all establishment press wire reports on Kosovo and the
Balkans in general.
For example, the inevitable mantra applied to the
murder and ethnic cleansing of over a third of a
million Serbian and other civilians: 'Revenge
attacks.']
Kosovo Serb refugees afraid they will never see their home again
Jean-Eudes Barbier
MATARUSKA BANJA, Yugoslavia, Oct 30 (AFP) - Not far
from their homeland in Kosovo that they left three
years ago under pressure from ethnic Albanian
guerrillas, thousands of Serbs fear they will never
see their homes again.
In the pretty spa of Mataruska Banja, near the
southern Serbian town of Kraljevo, a former hospital
was transformed into a "collective center," sheltering
dozens of Serb families who fled Kosovo following the
withdrawal of Belgrade troops in 1999.
The building hosts more than 200 men, women and
children who, ever since they fled their homes in the
western Kosovo region of Pec, have known only
idleness, but also feel totally abandoned.
"We are getting some supplies from the international
community. Nothing else. It's worse here than in
prison. There, the inmates have at least three meals
per day!" complained Milan, a man in his thirties.
Full of anger and impatience, Milan vows to find
something to do, to try to make money to survive. But
he said he was happy to find a week-long job at the
construction site, nothing longer.
"I spend my time biting my nails," he said.
Kosovo Serbs, most without work, gathered in a big
park in the spa, enjoying the mild sun in late
October. Two men were playing chess, hidden in the
shadow of a big tree.
"It's only when the weather is nice that we can enjoy
playing chess. Inside, there is only one big room
where everyone gathers, it's impossible to
concentrate," one of the players, Radovan, said.
This old man already fears the coming winter.
"It's terrible in winter. We see only each other, each
curled into his own glum thoughts. Not to mention
hygenic standards! Only seven bathrooms for all of us.
It's been like this for three years now," he
complained.
Radovan remembered how he and his neighbours had left
their homes in Klina, east of Pec, leaving their
belongings, land and animals, as quickly as they
could, although Yugoslav troops had still been present
in the area that summer of 1999.
The clashes between ethnic Albanian guerrillas of the
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Belgrade troops ended
in June, in the aftermath of the NATO bombing campaign
on Yugoslavia. But Yugoslav troops had to withdraw
from the Albanian-dominated Kosovo.
"They did not have means to protect us any more. The
soldiers were only thinking of leaving. And the KLA
fighters were everywhere, approaching," Radovan said.
Several families have briefly returned to Klina to
check what happened with their property.
"My farm was ransacked. Nothing was left. My four
hectares of land are now cultivated by Albanian
peasants. Fortunately, I have my property papers, so
one day, I would be able to get compensation for what
I have lost: a lifetime work," said 53-year-old farmer
Miroslav.
This father of three said living conditions for his
family were "deplorable. "
"Thank God my children go to school. I have to hope
there is still hope for them," Miroslav said.
And those who live in this collective center
complained that no state official has visited them so
far.
"It was the same during the times of (former president
Slobodan) Milosevic as it is now with (President
Vojislav) Kostunica! They act as if we do not exist!"
said Branka, a young woman from Klina.
"My family lived there, in Kosovo, for centuries, what
can we do here?" she asked.
For them, the first step for a return to Kosovo would
be a change of the attitude of the UN administration,
which has run the southern Yugoslav province since
1999, towards ethnic Albanians.
"As long as they are supported as they are now, we
Serbs will never be able to return," one of the Kosovo
Serb refugees insisted.
More than 200,000 Serbs fled Kosovo in 1999 for other
parts of Serbia or neighbouring Montenegro, fearing
revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians after Belgrade's
troops pulled out.
The Serbs complain that both the UN and NATO
peacekeepers have failed to protect their communities
from ethnic Albanian reprisals or create the security
conditions necessary for the return of refugees.
=== 7 ===
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/09/26/37324.html
2002.09.26/20:21
PRISTINE: CENTER OF ETHNIC HATRED
NATO and the UNO, shame on you!
Protosyncellus of the Serbian Orthodox Church Sava Janic (the Diocese
of Raska and Prizren) describes the situation in Pristine, the
capital Kosovo, the autonomous Serbian region.
The number of Serbs living in Pristine before NATO started bombing in
1999 made up over 20,000 people. Currently, Serb population of
Pristine, a real Serb ghetto, makes up only 200 people. After the
ethnic cleansing operations held by militants of the allegedly
disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army, in the presence of KFOR and the UN
Civil Mission, hundreds of Pristine Serbs were killed; kidnapped on
the streets, hospitals, schools; and thousands were forced to leave
their homes for central Serbia.
Pristine is Europe's only large city where the freedom and rights of
any particular person depend exclusively upon his ethnic and religious
belonging. The events we currently witness in Pristine are happening
not in war time or under the totalitarian authority of some
nationalist leader.
Everything is going on in presence of well-armed NATO soldiers and
thousands of UN peacemakers. For three years after the armed conflict
in Kosovo, Serbs are still denied free access to schools,
universities, and other institutions everywhere in Kosovo and Metohja
where Albanians dominate.
Sometimes, some brave young Serbs dare to walk Pristine's streets
completely unprotected, with the a disdain for the ethnic hatred and
intolerance that Albanians have for anything of Serbian and Slavic
origin. At the same time, these young Serbs are really very cautious
and speak only English in crowded places. Some of them have forged
passports alleging that they are guests in the Kosovo capital; the
documents are issued by international organizations for the sake of
saving people?s lives amidst the hatred and intolerance.
Foreigners visiting Pristine usually don?t feel the atmosphere of
ethnic hatred in the streets. They don?t understand that the people
who innocently smile in the streets, restaurants, and shops are
Kosovo Albanians, for whom the noisy public life in Pristine means the
success of the mission to establish a multi-ethic community there. At
the same time, only a second, a closer glance reveals that the city
sticks to its own law, radically differing from habitual human laws.
Even deputies of a so-called multi-ethnic Kosovo parliament
"protecting" the interests of the Serb community, leave the Skupstine
building for a cafe or somewhere else only in armored police vehicles.
We won?t reconcile to the fact that the majority of international
representatives get used to this situation and do nothing at all to
change it for the better. Albanian politicians and the "intellectual
elite" are satisfied with the situation.
Under the "totalitarian" regimes of Milosevic and Tudjman in Serbia
and Croatia, many public and political organizations and students
openly protested against the terror in Pristine and in the Kosovo
region on the whole. Unfortunately, currently, there is no power to
openly oppose the discrimination of Serbs and other non-Albanians in
Kosovo.
Against this unfavorable background, the Albanian media in Kosovo
continues to "cleanse" everything of Serbian origin. The OSCE and UN
peacemaking missions call it "freedom of press." In the meantime, life
for the handful of Serbs still living in Pristine is becoming more and
more unbearable.
Compiled by Sergey Stefanov
PRAVDA.Ru
Father Sava Janic is one of Kosovo.com editors
Translated by Maria Gousseva
©1999 "Pravda.RU". When reproducing our materials in whole or in part,
reference to Pravda.RU should be made.