KIDNAPPING BECAUSE OF RUGOVA

Summary: Whenever negotiations concerning Kosovo are mentioned, just as it happened recently, a spectacular police intervention "happens" in this space. For a few days already, there are massive arrests of activists of political parties which gather Albanians, especially the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo (DSK), like for instance in Orahovac where eight of them were arrested in a single day, and investigation started against them under suspicion that "they have united for the purpose of hostile activities - threatening territorial integrity of Yugoslavia". The Presidency of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, at its extraordinary press conference for the domestic and the foreign public about the arrests of the Albanians - former members of the Kosovo Secretariat of Internal Affairs (SUP), presented the fact that there were ten of them, and that there are some persons among them whose destiny was completely in the dark. "If the police is looking for a certain person and does not find him at home, it takes a member of his family to custody, as a gurantee that the one they were looking for would appear in the police", it was said at the mentioned press conference. Since the "Reljic Case" - when this journalist of the Belgrade independent weekly VREME was kidnapped by still unidentified persons, there were no such spectacular events until recently. The destiny of Biljal Idrizi, a member of the Independent Trade Union of former workers of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs of Kosovo was almost identical. Having endured torture, he was forced to emigrate. The difference between the case of Reljic and that of Idrizi lies in the fact that the latter recognized his kidnappers. Besides the usual questioning accompanied with beating, Idrizi was forced to sign a written statement - "that he was preparing the assasination of the leader of Kosovo Albanians, Ibrahim Rugova, by order of Anton Koljaj", former vice-president of the Domocratic Alliance of Kosovo and now the first man in the "embassy of Kosovo" in Thirane. Why Idrizi and what is the background of this action? In a conversation with prominent people from the DSK, one learns that this is a kind of a warning or an alibi for the State Security Service

• "Should an assasination at Rugova occur, they want everyone to know that they are not involved, but allegedly Rugova's rivals. This is an action prepared by the authorities, but we know what they are up to", the people from the party claim... The case of Idrizi, the people from the Independent Trade Union of the Workers of the Secretariat of the Internal Affairs believe is not the first one, but it has a long background. They think it is possible that political trials may be instuted again. The charges are known in advance: "association for the purpose of secession from Serbia and Yugoslavia and annexation to Albania"...

Kidnapping and maltreatment of a member of the Independent Trade Union of the Workers of the Former Secretariat of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Biljal Idrizi, would have been just another routine case in the chronicle of violence in Kosovo, if inexplicable circumstances had not been linked to it.

B. Idrizi (1962), the President of the Executive Board of one of the organization units of the Trade Union in Prishtina, was summoned for a so-called information conversation to the police station "Centre" where he used to work. After several hours of waiting, the Assistant Commander, Borislav Kajzer, told Idrizi to report to the police station the next day, explaining that the worker of the police who had summoned him for the information conversation, a certain Pavlovic, was not at work. When he started home, Idrizi noticed that a white "Golf" with Prishtina licence plates was following him, and just a few moments later, he found himself on the back seat of the car. One of the three kidnappers covered his face with a jacket. That is how the odyssey of B. Idrizi started.

After the threat that he would be "deprived of his life, if he did not behave", the vehicle moved for about an hour in an unknown direction, and then Idrizi was brought into an unidentified building, it seemed, specialized for such activities (former policemen mention a series of such "specialized" places, such as Brezovica, Lipovica, Prolom banja, Rudare). Idrizi was oredred to take off his clothes there, and then a ten-hour maltreatment began. Four officers of the State Security Service beat up the kidnapped Idrizi incessantly (one of them joined them on the spot), and later used the electric baton, even on his genitals. During breaks which did not last more than a few minutes, he was forced to lean on the wall with three fingers only. The kidnappers wanted to know about Idrizi's activities in the Trade Union, his connections and functions, and he was questioned also about various activities of the Trade Union and political parties, especially the DSK, as well as about Anton Kolja, Hajzer Hajzeri who was accused of being the "minister of defence of the republic of Kosovo" and other prisoners. It is strange that at the beginning of the interrogation, Idrizi was asked if he knew who he was dealing with, and he answered that they were the workers of the State Security Service. Accompanied with curses, Idrizi got the "real" answer: "They over there just take a part of the salaries, because they are in fact "paramilitary' who are working on their own"!

The Police against the Police

After many complications, by force and threats that he would be liquidated, Idrizi was ordered to sign a statement. Idrizi says that he signed his full name and surname in order to prove that he was forced to do it: "I, Biljal Idrizi, by order of Anton Kolja, have participated in preparations of the assassination of the President of the Republic, Ibrahim Rugova, and have agreed to send and supply information to the information service of Albania". After new blows, Idrizi was shoved into the car again and between 4 and 5 a.m. driven to the vicinity of the village Zaglavica close to Prishtina, where he was told that he would be "liquadated, because he did not take the opportunity he was given"! With his head covered, Idrizi heard the counting: ten, nine, eight...

... In a complete shock, Idrizi reached the Prishtina hospital with great difficulties, where he obtained a finding of the physician about bodily injuries. After he had brought criminal charges against the officer of State security Service, Slavisa Filic, whom he had recognized immediately, and his colleagues, also officers of the Service, the Head of the Prishtina Department of the Service, Milan Lakovic, and his assistant, Momir Jevtic, Biljal Idrizi was forced to emigrate for "health and safety reasons".

The Deaf Serbian Court

Kidnapping is not a new practice in cases of violence in Kosovo. It even happened to the prime minister of the Kosovo government in exile, Bujar Bukoshi, while he stayed in Kosovo. And as concerning former policemen in the Independent Trade Union, this is the third such case, as they say, but the "Idrizi case", can be fitted into the practice used so far neither from this point of view, nor by other criteria.

This time the Serbian police had gone too far trying to present this case as the "attempt on the life" of Ibrahim Rugova, allegedly initiated by Anton Kolja, former vice-president of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo and a participant in the scandal concerning the "Kosovo embassy" in Thirane. The analyses of the members of the Trade Union of the former Kosovo police, stress that the main aspect of this case was "making the impression that there is some kind of a parallel Albanian ministry of internal affairs and degradation of the pacifist movement of Kosovo Albanians and their political parties". An opinion also prevails among the members of the Trade Union that this action, besides hushing up, was aimed at initiating a split within the political forces of the Albanians, especially between the DSK and the "Kosovo government".

Statistical data clearly indicate that the workers belonging to this Trade Union are exposed to all kinds of maltreatment and deprivation of fundamental human rights. Until now, there have been more than 700 registered cases of the use of violence and various forms of maltreatment of members of the Independent Trade Union of the workers of former police of Kosovo, from physical maltreatment and killing to eviction. For over 20 times, the premises of the Trade Union were "inspected", although they are under the same roof as other independent trade unions of Kosovo. On these occasions, doors and furniture were demolished, and documents, typewriters and computers taken away. Several days ago, another member of this Trade Union, Isak Ejupi, was taken into the police station, while another activist of the Trade Union, Bib Biblekaj, had two of his ribs broken. It seems that this tendency in Kosovo will last, although the maltreated members of the Trade Union have filed complaints on the basis of the existing penal laws of Serbia. So far, no case was ever considered by the Court. And concerning the "Idrizi case", those who have suspended the former Secretariat of Internal Affairs in Kosovo should be tempted by it to prove that some kind of court operates, at least in drastic cases such as kidnapping in broad daylight!

A Link in the Chain of President's Family

His colleagues are trying to find an answer to the question why Idrizi was chosen. First, he is a brother-in-law of the Rugova family, and this could be a motive for the Serbian Security Service to try to penetrate into the "family circle" of the president of Kosovo! B. Idrizi, however, is said to have been hardly twice even in the vicinity of the Society of Writers of Kosovo where the seat of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo is located, and that he had no special links with Dr. Rugova. But it seems that it was presumed that he could have been a loose link in the chain leading to the very top. Idrizi was also interrogated about Anton Kolja, although he was in no contact with him, and has never been to Albania. But, according to the calculations of the Security Service, Biljal Idizi fulfilled another "criterion" for the "assasination". Namely, he took a course in "anti-subversive activities" at the Institute for Security in Belgrade in 1983, which was mentioned during interrogation. On the other hand, the whole event took place while Dr. Rugova was abroad.

The Principle - Paper Can Take Anything

What has served as a "cue" to the analysts of events in Kosovo who are fond of "mystifications" was also an article published in a daily in Albanian language, the "Bujku", which is close to the DSK, only five days after the "Idrizi case", in which it was stated for the first time that there was a plan on the possibility of Rugova's assasination by the former minister of internal affairs of Albania, the socialist Gramoz Ruchi, on the occasion of Rugova's visit to Thirane in 1991. It is unrewarding to claim that there is a paralellism between this and the "Idrizi case", in the sense of an "alibi" - not wishing to be involved in the things which could have happened then and for which it would not be recommendable to be responsible (and which the Serbian State Security Service could possibly be blaimed for)! In fact, it is amazing that the officers of the Security Service, having forced B. Idrizi to sign the statement, said laughing that they were not crazy and that they knew the principle "paper can take anything", implying the fact that the forcibly extracted statement could not be used! Then why the "Idrizi case" in the first place?

As it is, in the lack of evidence, the whole affair is a true "terra manifica" for mystifications, and seeking any logic in the parallelism of the events can only feed these very mystifications. Nevertheless, for those who have created the "Idrizi case", parallelisms, family relations and closeness, political quarrels and factions, the absence of leaders at a certain moment - are all just calculations and motives for working as they do. Such a political pressing, analysed from the aspect of ethics would be called a "dirty game", while for those who are still trying to find a logical explanation, this is just the top of the iceberg in the dirty game of the authorities famous by the name of "Kosovo"!

Ylber HYSA AIM Pristina