Return-Path: Received: from zimt01.dillingen.baynet.de ([194.95.207.3]) by mailin04.sul.t-online.de with esmtp id 12ZevK-041xSKC; Mon, 27 Mar 2000 21:11:38 +0200 Received: from bndlg.de (buerger44.dillingen.baynet.de [194.95.207.204]) by zimt01.dillingen.baynet.de (8.9.3/8.9.1) with ESMTP id UAA29371; Mon, 27 Mar 2000 20:57:29 +0200 Message-ID: <38DFAEBA.D5A9A9C@bndlg.de> Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 20:55:54 +0200 From: Wolfgang Plarre X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.7 [de] (Win98; I) X-Accept-Language: de MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Recipient list suppressed , Bundesinnenministerium , Dr Edmund Stoiber , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?CDU=2DBundesgesch=E4ftsstelle?=" , SPD Verteidigungsminister Scharping , Deutscher Bundestag , Hans Raidel , USA Department Secretary , "Swedish Primeminister Mr. =?iso-8859-1?Q?G=F6ran?= Persson" , "Swedish Foreign Department, Lady Gun-Britt Andersson" , " =?iso-8859-1?Q?Europ=E4ische?= Union" , Tony Blair Prime Minister Britain , Jacques Chirac President France , NATO , Prime Minister Tony Blair , UN Secretary General Kofi Annan , "Carl Bildt, UN General Secretary Special Envoye in Balkan" , "U.S. Mission to the United Nations" , SPD Parteivorstand , SPD Rau , SPD Scharping , SPD Thierse , SPD Wieczorek-Zeul , "Marieluise.Beck" , "Joschka.Fischer" , "Claudia.Roth" , "Ruth.Paulig" , "BELDER, Bastiaan" , "BONINO, Emma" , "BROK, Elmar 1" , "BROK, Elmar 2" , " CARLSSON, Gunilla 2" , " =?iso-8859-1?Q?D=CDEZ=20GONZ=C1LEZ?=, Rosa M." , "ESTEVE, Pere" , "FRIEDRICH, Ingo" , "GAHLER, Michael 1" , "GAHLER, Michael 2" , "GAHRTON, Per 1" , " GAHRTON, Per 2" , "GOMOLKA, Alfred" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?H=C4NSCH?=, Klaus 1" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?H=C4NSCH?=, Klaus 2" , "MUSCARDINI, Cristiana" , "NEWTON DUNN, William Francis" , "OBIOLS i GERMA, Raimon 1" , "OBIOLS i GERMA, Raimon 2" , "OOSTLANDER, Arie M." , "PACHECO PEREIRA, =?iso-8859-1?Q?Jos=E9?=" , "POETTERING, Hans-Gert" , "SAKELLARIOU, Jannis 1" , "SAKELLARIOU, Jannis 2" , "SCHROEDTER, Elisabeth 1" , "SCHROEDTER, Elisabeth 2" , "SOARES, =?iso-8859-1?Q?M=E1rio?=" , "SOULADAKIS, Ioannis" , "TITLEY, Gary" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?V=C4YRYNEN?=, Paavo 1" , "VAN HECKE, Johan" , "WUORI, Matti" , "ALAVANOS, Alexandros" , "ANDREASEN, Ole" , "AUROI, Danielle" , "CARNERO =?iso-8859-1?Q?GONZ=C1LEZ?=, Carlos" , "CAUDRON, =?iso-8859-1?Q?G=E9rard?=" , "DUPUIS, Olivier" , "ELLES, James E.M." , " FAVA, Giovanni Claudio" , "FRAHM, Pernille 1" , "FRAHM, Pernille 2" , "FRASSONI, Monica" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?G=D6RLACH?=, Willi 1" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?G=D6RLACH?=, Willi 2" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?GRA=C7A?= MOURA, Vasco" , "IMBENI, Renzo 1" , " IMBENI, Renzo 2" , "JARZEMBOWSKI, Georg 1" , "JARZEMBOWSKI, Georg 2" , "KORHOLA, Eija-Riitta Anneli" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?L=DCTTGE?=, =?iso-8859-1?Q?G=FCnter?=" , "McKENNA, Patricia 1" , "McKENNA, Patricia 2" , "MAIJ-WEGGEN, Hanja" , " =?iso-8859-1?Q?MALMSTR=D6M?=, Cecilia 1" , " PAASILINNA, Reino 1" , "PAASILINNA, Reino 2" , "PACK, Doris 1" , "PACK, Doris 2" , "PANNELLA, Marco 1" , "PANNELLA, Marco 2" , " RAYMOND, Michel" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?SACR=C9DEUS?=, Lennart" , "SUMBERG, David" <104074.3112@compuserve.com>, "van VELZEN, W.G. 1" , "van VELZEN, W.G. 2" , "VOLCIC, Demetrio" , "KRARUP, Ole" , "MAYER, Hans-Peter" , "PAPAYANNAKIS, Mihail" , "=?iso-8859-1?Q?R=DCHLE?=, Heide 1" , " =?iso-8859-1?Q?R=DCHLE?=, Heide 2" , "SCHMID, Gerhard" , "THEONAS, Ioannis" , " VAN LANCKER, Anne E.M." , KFOR Press and Information Centre , UNHCR- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , IOM - International Organization for Migration - Prishtina , OSCE Press Office Subject: Ogata: sending back ethnic Albanians would cause instability / Association of Political Prisoners: Anniversary Statement of APP addressed to NATO and internationals Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit # UNHCR fears instability if Albanians return to Kosovo (UPI, 27 March 2000) # Association of Political Prisoners: Anniversary Statement of APP addressed to NATO and internationals (Kosovapress, 27 March 2000) # Serbs held in camps in Kosovo: Helsinki Committee (FREEB92 on Mar 27, 2000) (also reported by German AP http://seite1.web.de/show/38DF9352.AP1) _______________________________________________________________________ http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=74513 Monday, 27 March 2000 8:49 (ET) UNHCR fears instability if Albanians return to Kosovo BELGRADE, Yugoslavia, March 27 (UPI) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, says Western governments would cause instability in the southern Yugoslav province of Kosovo if they sent back ethnic Albanians who had fled to escape police repression before NATO-led international peacekeepers came last June. Ogata, now on a lengthy visit to Yugoslavia, said she was referring to some 100,000 ethnic Albanians living in Germany, Switzerland and other countries in Western Europe. The German government recently said that at least 160,000 ethnic Albanians had overstayed their welcome and that it wanted them to return to Kosovo now that KFOR and the U.N. mission were providing protection and security there. "The number under consideration would represent a great burden," Ogata said at a press conference in Pristina on Sunday. "We are not concerned about the return of people itself, but about the impact this would have on all services operating here," she was quoted by the Beta news agency as saying. She also said she thought international agencies in Kosovo should not be bent on creating new ethnic enclaves in the province. Even though the general security situation may have improved, it has been shown in Mitrovica in recent months that the environment is not conducive to security for the Serbs and Romanies (Gypsies), Ogata said. She praised the idea to set up what is called "a security zone" to cover parts of both the Albanian and Serbian sectors of Mitrovica as "a way toward building up mutual confidence among members of different ethnic communities." Serbs earlier this month protested violently against the creation of the zone where mass gatherings, parked cars and the use of mobile phones and radios would be banned. Two French KFOR soldiers and 15 Serbs were injured in the disturbances. "What we have now in Kosovo is not a multiethnic society and what the international community wants to achieve," Ogata said. She was satisfied with the attitude of ethnic Albanian political leaders she had met in Pristina who she said favored the restoration of inter-ethnic tolerance. Ogata pointed out that there were over 200,000 displaced Serbs and other non-Albanians in Serbia proper and Montenegro but assistance should be extended only to those who wanted to return to Kosovo on a voluntary basis. In the meantime, steps should be taken to restore confidence among the population, improve security for members of ethnic communities still living in Kosovo, draw them into political institutions and ensure their freedom of movement, Ogata said. The Serb leader in Mitrovica Oliver Ivanovic was reported by the Belgrade newspaper Blic Monday as saying that the Serbs in Kosovo might involve themselves in the work of "some sort of democratic institutions" but would take part in any local or general elections that might be organized in the future only after the return of exiled Serbs had begun in earnest. "We cannot be so exclusive as to demand that all Serbs return as this is a question of time and possibilities but there must be a serious and thorough-going drive for their return," Ivanovic said. Copyright 2000 by United Press International. _______________________________________________________________________ http://www.kosovapress.com/english/mars/27_3_2000_1.htm Anniversary Statement of APP addressed to NATO and internationals Pristinė, March 27 (Kosovapress) - Today is an important anniversary and we would like to thank NATO for its intervention here in Kosova. It marked a historic change in the role of preserving human rights as a principle worth defending above and beyond the principle of sovereign boundaries. We thank NATO for its courage in helping start a new millennium with human rights as a guideline. It is perhaps, the first time the world powers have faced up to the saying that "For evil to occur, good people must do nothing." You helped change the course of history with this just war. Nevertheless it has been a hard year here in Kosova, as we adjust to our new life as an international protectorate. For thousands, the war has not yet ended. Many families continue to live in a state of fear and helplessness, filled with anxiety for their loved ones who are still, one year after the war, imprisoned in Serbia. They were taken there on June 10, 1999, following the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement. Terms for their release were at the last minute removed from the agreement, which should have been stated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. Instead, these several thousand citizens are subjected to appalling abuse and torture and many are on the verge of starvation. Their friends and families, who have no access to them, fear for their lives. They are deprived of all basic human rights for which you fought this just war. And this is a disgrace that reflects poorly on all countries who are co-signers of these Conventions. Nowhere does it say that the Geneva Conventions are optional. We have been fighting for eight months with a world-wide campaign to bring justice to bear on this on-going war crime. Also at this time, we would like to acknowledge that many, many Serbs, especially elderly ones, are missing in Kosova since the end of the war. We acknowledge the grief and frustration of their family members and hope each case will be thoroughly, respectfully and impartially investigated and that criminal acts will be punished. But we do not support the position that the return of the Albanian prisoners must be determined by the sudden re-appearance of missing Serbs. These are two separate legal issues with entirely different circumstances in each. They require separate investigations and should in no way be linked or dependent on each other. To all international leaders involved in Kosova, please don't tell us that you have no power to help us. No war can truly end until the prisoners come home. You brought us a just war. Now, one year later, we ask you to help bring us a just peace. Make the return of the prisoners a priority and do everything possible to determine what happened to the missing, both Albanian and Serb. ACTIONS NEEDED TO FREE THE PRISONERS Together with the UN Security Council, Kofi Annan, UNHCHR, and Special UN Emissary for Persons Deprived of Liberty in Kosova, we ask all of you whose countries are co-signers to formally ask the Serb Ministry for "the broadest possible amnesty," as stated in the Geneva Conventions of 1949. These international laws were in effect in Former Yugoslavia during the war. Their application and enforcement is not optional, neither for your country or FYR. We have opened an investigation in The Hague with ICTY, regarding the arrests and detention of all those arrested between March 24, 1999 and June 9, 1999. We need help and trained professionals to conduct this investigation properly. Initial interviews indicate that these citizens were severely tortured and mistreated. International law enforcement standards were not followed at all. Lipjan Prison and Dubrava Prison were used as death camps, not law enforcement facilities. Police, inspectors, wardens, and guards as well as their superiors with the Serb Ministry of Justice were all involved in these round-ups of Albanians during the NATO bombing campaign. Initial investigations show that roundups coincide with the intensity of bombing raids by NATO, especially in Gjakova and Peje. The prisoners were used as collective punishment for NATO bombing in Serbia. Punish all Serb judges who failed to enforce the Constitutional law and International law in force in the State of Yugoslavia and who did not investigate allegations of abuse and torture by the prisoners and international human rights groups, as they are required to do under ICCPR. Make sure all returning prisoners are monitored by a neutral country and ICRC during their return. Prevent them from being tortured, executed, or maltreated on their return from Serbia. NO MORE "DISAPPEARRANCES." Make sure they receive medical care for diseases, malnutrition, wounds, and amputations sustained during their detention, and provide some income support for destitute families. _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Betreff: NED annual Democracy Award Datum: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 12:40:29 -0800 Von: Humanitarian Law Center NATASA KANDIC AND VETON SURROI TO RECEIVE 2000 DEMOCRACY AWARD WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) announced today that it will present its annual Democracy Award to Veton Surroi, the editor and publisher of Koha Ditore, the most widely read Albanian language daily in Kosovo, and Natasa Kandic, head of the Belgrade-based human rights organization, the Humanitarian Law Center, which has been documenting human rights violations in Yugoslavia since 1992. The Award will be presented on May 3 at a Capitol Hill ceremony. "These two individuals represent the best hope for democratic progress in Serbia and Kosovo today. Their refusal to compromise their commitment to human rights, free speech, and ethnic tolerance in the most desperate of circumstances serves as a beacon for all those in Serbia and Kosovo who still dare to strive for a peaceful, democratic, and multi-ethnic future," said NED President Carl Gershman. "Their willingness to place their own lives at risk to protect the principles of democracy and the lives of others should inspire all people around the world who are also struggling for freedom and human rights, as well as those of us who are privileged to live in democracies," said Gershman. When most other NGO leaders in Serbia had been silenced by intimidation from the Milosevic regime, Natasa Kandic bravely continued her work and spoke out against the Serbian attacks in Kosovo. During the war in Kosovo, she, at great personal risk, shuttled back and forth between Kosovo and Belgrade, first to save her own terrorized Albanian staff members, and then to collect information on human rights abuses to disseminate to the outside world, including the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague. Veton Surroi was a member of the Albanian delegation to the Kosovo peace talks in Ramboulliet, France, and remained in Kosovo during the war, despite being targeted by Milosevic. Surroi hid underground during the eleven weeks of the siege, emerging only to change hiding places four times. Commenting on his decision to remain in Pristina, Surroi told the New York Times, that as a signer at Rambouillet, "I had taken some responsibility and could not go out. I thought, 'I am going to suffer the consequences." He emerged as a hero to his fellow Kosovars, to whom he has continued to preach the importance of mutual tolerance in the post-war period. Recently, Surroi has been using the pages of Koha Ditore to speak out forcefully against taking revenge on the Serbs who remain in Kosovo. In a recent column, Surroi commented that violence against the Serbs "brings shame on all Kosovo Albanians, not just the perpetrators of the violence...It will dishonour us and our own recent suffering." The Democracy Award is given annually by NED's Board of Directors to recognize the courageous and creative work of individuals and organizations that has advanced the cause of human rights and democracy around the world. Past recipients include Violeta Chamorro (Nicaragua), Vaclav Havel (Czech Republic), Vesna Pesic (Serbia), Elena Bonner (Russia), Martin Lee (Hong Kong), Wei Jingsheng and Wang Dan (China), and most recently the Transition Monitoring Group (Nigeria) who received the Award in 1999. NED is a private, nonprofit, grant-making organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world. It is active in more than 90 countries, supporting grassroots democratic initiatives. _______________________________________________________________________ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< *** Albanian Prisoner Advocacy List -- Prisoner Pals *** *** Archives: http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/a-pal/ *** _______________________________________________________________________ http://www.freeb92.net/archive/e/ FREEB92 DAILY NEWS FROM THE B2-92 NEWSROOM - BELGRADE Mar 27, 2000 18:41 CET Serbs held in camps in Kosovo: Helsinki Committee NOVI PAZAR, Monday - The Helsinki Committee in Novi Pazar today announced that it had discovered six camps in which Albanians were holding Serb citizens. Committee President Sefko Alomerovic accused Besim Ceku, the brother of Kosovo Protection Corps Commander Agim Ceku, of being the head of what he described as the Kosovo Liberation Army's secret police, adding that there was evidence of him being responsible for the murder of Serbs in Kosovo. (also reported by German AP http://seite1.web.de/show/38DF9352.AP1) ******************************************************************** Wiederaufbau Kosov@ - Reconstruction Kosov@ - Rindėrtimi i Kosov@s http://www.osnabrueck.netsurf.de:8080/~dbein/wiederaufbau.htm ******************************************************************** +---------------------------------------------------+ | Wolfgang Plarre | | Dillinger Str. 41, D-86637 Wertingen, Germany | | E-mail: wplarre@bndlg.de w.plarre@kosova.nu | | Tel: +49-8272-98974 Fax: +49-8272-98975 | | Internet: http://www.bndlg.de/~wplarre | +---------------------------------------------------+ _________________________________________________________ Ein Zeichen setzen: @ ! KosovO + KosovA = Kosov@ ! _________________________________________________________