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Kosova Daily Report #1372, 98-03-15

Kosovo Information Center: Kosova Daily Report Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Kosova Information Center <http://www.kosova.com/>

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1372
Prishtina, 15 March 1998

First Edition:
Second Edition: 16:00 hrs

CONTENTS

  • [01] LDK Presidency Chosen During Meeting of Party Main Board Sunday
  • [02] Serbian Police Step Up Presence along the Mitrovica - Klin& e Ep&rme Road
  • [03] Fresh Serb Forces Reported Deployed in Skenderaj Sunday Morning
  • [04] Huge Serb Forces Deployed in the Compounds of the Game Ammunition Factory in Skenderaj
  • [05] Hundreds of Thousands Stage Silent Protest in Kosova, Paying Homage to Drenica Victims
  • [06] Masked Persons Wound Albanians, Husband and Wife, at Their Home in Gjakova
  • [07] Women March from Prishtina to Drenica Monday
  • [08] ON RECORD: SERBIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER'S ETHNO-RACIST REMARKS

  • [01] LDK Presidency Chosen During Meeting of Party Main Board Sunday

    PRISHTINA, March 15 (KIC) - The Main Board of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK), the executive body, elected today (Sunday) in Prishtina the fifteen-member Presidency of the party, and adopted a statement on the current situation in Kosova.

    The meeting was chaired by Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, president of the Republic of Kosova and LDK leader.

    Proposed by President Rugova, the Main Board elected the following as members of the Presidency of the LDK: Mr. Eqrem Kryeziu, Mr. Alush Gashi, Mr. Niman Alimusaj, Mr. Aqif Shehu, Mr. Faruk Spahia, Ms Nekibe Kelmendi, Ms Sanie Aliu, Mr. Hajzer Krasniqi, Mr. Fatmir Rexhepi, Mr. Fadil Hysaj, Mr. Kol& Berisha, Mr. Ali Gashi, Mr. Agim Krasniqi, Mr. Naim Jerliu and Ms Edi Shukriu.

    LDK vice-chairmen were elected Eqrem Kryeizu, Kol& Berisha and Naim Jerliu, whereas secretary Nekibe Kelmendi.

    The General Board of the LDK adopted the following statement on the current situation in Kosova: Having discussed the situation in Kosova, the LDK Main Board 1. Condemns in the strongest terms the massacre of Serbian forces against the Albanian population in the Drenica region and the Serbian violence in Kosova, and demands the withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosova.

    2. Calls on the United States of America, the European Union and other international factors to urgently intervene in order to bring about an end to the Serbian terror against the unprotected population of Kosova.

    3. Supports the policies of Dr. Ibrahim Rugova in pursuit of independence - which is indeed the political will of the people expressed in the national referendum - and the resolution of the Kosova issue by political and democratic means, through a talks process under the mediation of a third party from the international community.

    4. Demands that the LDK branches and all the people of Kosova assist the people of the Drenica region, who have been subjected to an outrageous Serbian terror, and organize the life in Kosova so as to overcome this dangerous situation.

    5. Demands from the LDK chapters in Western countries to step up efforts to help the people of Kosova in all possible ways, and to work hard to see that the Kosova issue be discussed in political fora in the respective countries.

    6. Calls on all members of the LDK and the people of Kosova to take part in the parliamentary and presidential elections on 22 March, to elect their representatives in the organs of the Republic of Kosova.

    7. Calls on the Albanian political parties to cooperate and concert their activities so as to overcome the grave situation the Albanian people of Kosova has been going through." (end text) The LDK General Board will convene on Tuesday to approve the list of the party for the parliamentary elections of next Sunday.

    The LDK will have candidates in all the 100 electoral zones.

    The LDK Convention late last month chose Dr. Ibrahim Rugova as the party candidate for the presidential election Sunday.

    At the end of today's meeting, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova said the members of the now former LDK Presidency will be his advisers and advisers to the new LDK Presidency.

    [02] Serbian Police Step Up Presence along the Mitrovica - Klin& e Ep&rme Road

    PRISHTINA, March 15 (KIC) - Groups of Serb policemen have been reported deployed along the 17 kilometer-long road from Mitrovica to Klina e Ep&rme (in Skenderaj) road.

    The LDK Information Commission in Mitrovica could not say what the pretext for such a ubiquitous presence of police was.

    [03] Fresh Serb Forces Reported Deployed in Skenderaj Sunday Morning

    PRISHTINA, March 15 (KIC) - Increased deployment and movements of Serb police/military forces has been reported in Skenderaj since morning hours today.

    The LDK Information Commission in Mitrovica said Serb police forces in a couple of armored vehicles and lorries, and several vans with policemen on board left the town at around 9:00 heading for Skenderaj.

    Only about half an hour later, five white-coloured jeeps without license plates were seen moving in the direction Prishtina- Mitrovica-Skenderaj.

    [04] Huge Serb Forces Deployed in the Compounds of the Game Ammunition Factory in Skenderaj

    PRISHTINA, March (KIC) - Huge Serb forces have left Mitrovica for Skenderaj ('Srbica') today from 9 o'clock to early afternoon, the Information Commission of the LDK branch in Mitrovica reported.

    Reportedly, 13 buses, one armored car, 6 trucks (two of which military lorries), 21 personnel carriers, one van, 5 jeeps and 3 police cars, full of Serb police forces headed for Skenderaj.

    A bit later, 4 additional buses, 9 personnel carriers and 4 police vehicles, which came from Leposavic (a municipality in northern Kosova, bordering on Serbia), were reported going to Skenderaj.

    LDK sources said at 10 a.m., Serb forces were holding the Mitrovica- Skenderaj road under strict control, doubling the forces on both sides of the road at noon.

    Movement of Serb forces towards Skenderaj was reported at around 13:00 hrs. Heading for the area was a lorry with police license plates, full of weapons, which could be seen from a distance. The lorry was escorted by a landrover car with Belgrade license plates.

    While parading through the town of Mitrovica, Serb policemen threatened the local citizens by pointing their guns at them.

    An LDK branch activist in Skenderaj said the buses and vehicles and cars of Serb forces ended up in the Game Ammunition Factory there.

    The same vehicles left the compounds of the factory empty, going back to Mitrovica, the activist said.

    LDK sources in Skenderaj reported that last night shooting from heavy guns were heard from the direction of Morina village of Skenderaj, where an agricultural airport is and the Serb police has been stationed.

    It is feared that fire had been opened on a nearby village, although this could not be confirmed for the time being because the Serb police has sealed off the area.

    In the Drenica region anger, fear and anxiety prevail. There is fear of Serb forces launching fresh attacks.

    More than 80 Albanians, including women, children and elderly, were slain by Serb forces in Drenica since 28 February.

    [05] Hundreds of Thousands Stage Silent Protest in Kosova, Paying Homage to Drenica Victims

    Serb police ill-treated peaceful protesters in De^an, forcing some of them eat candles PRISHTINA, March 15 (KIC) - Hundreds of thousands of people rallied all over Kosova Sunday morning, including the capital Prishtina, to protest peacefully and in silence the Serb violence and pay homage to Albanian men, women and children slain by Serb forces in the past two weeks in the Drenica region.

    The peaceful manifestations were called by the Kosova Diocese, the President of the Republic of Kosova, the political parties and the student organization. In all the Catholic churches all over the country requiem masses were held for the victims of Drenica massacres.

    In Prishtina, where the central protest manifestation took place, tens of thousands of people marched for one hour in the "Mother Teresa" square and the surrounding streets. People walked in silence saluting with two-fingers ("V") sign, holding burning candles, portraits of Mother Teresa and posters with anti-war slogans such "Stop the Violence" "Serb Police Out of Kosova" , "Drenica, We Stand By You".

    Dr. Don Shan Zefi, chancellor of the Kosova Diocese who conducted the requiem mass in the Prishtina Catholic church, prayed for the people of Kosova and the innocent victims of Drenica. He urged the Kosovars for solidarity, love, restraint and peaceful struggle in achieving freedom.

    Reverend Don Shan Zefi appealed on the decision-making centers of the world to facilitate a just and peaceful solution for Kosova.

    While the mass was being held today morning in the Sh&n Ndou" (Saint Anthony) Church in Ulpiana neighborhood of Prishtina, Serb provoked and offended the churchgoers. From a balcony opposite to the church, Serbs holding a poster of Slobodan Milosevic cried anti-Albanian slogans during the whole time.

    Silent and peaceful rallies were staged Sunday morning in all the municipal centers of Kosova, including Gjakova, Podujeva, Prizren, Mitrovica, Suhareka, De^an, Ferizaj, Ka^anik, Vushtrri, etc.

    The Sh&n Pali (Saint Paul) church in Gjakova was over-crowded this morning. At around 11 hrs at least twenty thousand people with candles in their hands marched silently in the main streets of the town.

    The Serbian police intervened against several peaceful protesters in De^an. Sources said that when the silent protest of the Albanian was about to end, the police cracked down against a number of them.

    Serb civilians who were staying with the police provoked during the whole time Albanians walking silently.

    Several Albanians were reported beaten up or/and detained. Shaban Zukaj and Florim Zukaj from Beleg village are amongst those beaten up brutally. Shaban Zukaj is reported in Serb police custody.

    The Serbian police, at a checkpoint outside the town on the De^an- Peja road, ill-treated a large number of Albanians while on their way to or back from the rally. The police has reportedly forced some of them to eat candles.

    Over 20 thousand people gathered today morning in front of the "Engj&lli i Roj&s" (Guardian Angel) church in Ferizaj. They marched peacefully later to the town center with burning candles in their hands. Although there was an increased presence of Serb police forces in the town, the manifestation ended without incidents.

    Thousands of people began gathering in front of the Kosova Diocese in Prizren since morning hours. The people marched silently for over one hour in the streets of the town later.

    Republican Electoral Commission Says Elections to Take Place as Planned

    PRISHTINA, March 15 (KIC) - Tadej Rodiqi, chairman of the Republican Electoral Commission, said the parliamentary and presidential elections in Kosova will be held on 22 March, as planned.

    During a press conference today, Mr. Rodiqi said the elections will be held in 100 electoral zones, but did not rule out the possibility of leaving Drenica out temporarily, because of the latest tragic developments in the region.

    The Drenica residents would be voting at a later date, he said.

    According the Republican Electoral Commission the electoral body amounts to 1.150.000 voters registered, including Bosniak, Turkish and Roma ethnic groups.

    100 members of the Kosova Parliament and the Kosova President will be chosen by direct vote. The number of voters compared to 1992 is 25 to 30 percent higher, Mr. Rodiqi said.

    The Kosova Parliament will have 130 deputies. Thirty seats in the parliament will be distributed according to a proportional system, to the parties that receive at least 3 percent of the votes, and the ethnic groups that will participate in the elections.

    Mr. Tadej Rodiqi said the Commission has received two candidacies for the Kosova Presidency. The Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) has submitted the candidacy of Dr. Ibrahim Rugova for the Presidency of the Republic of Kosova, whereas the Social Democratic Party of Kosova (PSDK) proposed Ms. Luljeta Pula-Beqiri as its candidate in the upcoming presidential race, he added.

    Tadej Rodiqi said 12 parties have announced so far they will participated in the elections.

    The deadline for the submission of candidacies is 17 March, at

    [06] Masked Persons Wound Albanians, Husband and Wife, at Their Home in Gjakova

    PRISHTINA, March 15 (KIC) - Two masked persons broke into the house of Marjan Nikolla at Pet&rshtan village of Gjakova and wounded him and his wife Age Nikolla with firearms, the LDK sources in Gjakova reported.

    The two masked persons were armed and spoke Serbian, the Nikolla family told LDK sources. They shot at us because we opposed them.

    Both husband and wife were taken to the Gjakova town hospital for treatment.

    Their lives are not in danger, said medical staff of the hospital.

    24:00 hrs.

    [07] Women March from Prishtina to Drenica Monday

    PRISHTINA, March 15 (KIC) - The Women's Network and the LDK Women's Forum said they will organize a march of women to Drenica tomorrow (Monday).

    The march will beging at 9:00 and be kicked off from the Dragodan neighbourhood of Prishtina, where the American Center (USIS) is situated.

    The organizers said the marching women will be carrying loaves of bread.

    The march is in protest at the Serb masscare against the people of the Drenica region, and a sign of solidarity with the population which is suffering because the area is still sealed off by huge Serb forces.

    [08] ON RECORD: SERBIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER'S ETHNO-RACIST REMARKS

    Ratko Markovic's Terminological Refinement: In Kosova - 90% Albanians a 'Qualitative Minority', less than 10% Serb Community a 'Qualitative Majority' PRISHTINA, March 15 (KIC) - This past week saw Belgrade engage in a publicity stunt in an effort to manipulate the international community and the public at large about its alleged willingness to initiate a dialogue with the Kosova Albanians.

    This came after the March 9 Contact Group meeting in London, in which Belgrade authorities were pressed upon to start an unconditional dialogue with Kosova Albanians about the status of Kosova within ten days.

    Belgrade sent down to Prishtina for two days in a row (Thursday and Friday) a 'ministerial delegation', led by Ratko Markovic, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, "to talk to Albanians who wish to talk about all problems", which could be addressed and solved within the constitutional order of Serbia!

    This constitutional order of Serbia was established in the spring of 1989, when Serbia adopted the new constitution purporting to include Kosova within Serbia, namely enforced the so-called 'constitution of tanks' as a fait accompli thing to institutionalize Serbian coercive rule over Kosova, namely the suspension of the latter's status as a federal unit in the then Yugoslavia. Scores of Albanians who opposed this constitutional crackdown were killed by Serb police and military troops then.

    According to the 1974 constitution of the then Federal Yugoslavia, Kosova was constitutionally on a par with Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, etc. at the federal level.

    It was Ratko Markovic - a law professor in the Belgrade University, later a teacher of law in the Academy of Police - who was reputed as one of the key authors of the Serbian constitution.

    Prof. Ratko Markovic, a close Milosevic aide, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, made early in 1995 notorious ethno-racists remarks when he stated in the Serb media, but also in the Serbian Parliament itself, what could be summed up as the 'principle of ethnic quality'.

    Dr. Markovic distinguished between a 'quantitative' and 'qualitative' minority/majority in Kosova.

    Serbia should design mechanisms to prevent 'majorization' [majority rule] in Kosova, namely the numerically majority population over the numerically minority population, he said. "The Albanian national minority cannot be a qualitative majority in the sense that it can have its own will, which would be stronger vis-a-vis the will of the Serbian people", Markovic said.

    To put it in a nutshell, translating it in terms of ordinary language, Kosova Albanians, even if they accepted the Serb diktat, as a second-rate people, would in no way be qualified to have and express their own will.

    For, the 90 percent Albanian community in Kosova is a 'quantitative majority' but a 'qualitative minority', and the Serb/Montenegrin community of less than 10 percent a 'quantitative minority' but a 'qualitative majority'.

    The Parliament of Serbia refused to distance itself from such ethno-racist remarks the Deputy Prime Minister Markovic had made.

    Last but not least, the Serbian Parliament, the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the main opposition party, the Serb Renewal Party (SPO) have designed and been supportive of the idea of a 'bicameral assembly' in Kosova which would prevent 90 percent of the people of Kosova have and exercise their own will.

    The people of Kosova have in fact expressed their will. In July 1990, the Parliament of Kosova adopted the Independence Declaration. In September 1990, the Constitution of the Republic of Kosova was promulgated. On May 24, 1992 the first parliamentary and presidential elections in the Republic of Kosova were held. (14 seats were reserved for Serbs/Montenegrins in that legislature).

    This coming Sunday, on 22 March, the people of Kosova will re- exercise their will by going to the polls to elect a new Parliament and the President of the Republic of Kosova.

    Kosova Information Center


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