DEMONSTRATION IN KOSOVO - THE LAST S.O.S.

AIM Pristina, March 8, 1998

In the last seven days protests have been organized in Kosovo almost daily because of the situation in the central Kosovo district - Drenica - when, according to the most recent data issued by the MUP of Serbia, 52 persons were killed, among which six members of the Ministry of the Interior, but according to the Albanian sources 66 identified persons. There is no doubt in these circles that the number of killed, mostly civilians, is much greater. Women of the Albanian nationality from the Alliance of the Women of Kosovo have rallied twice in front of the American Cultural Centre in Pristina so as to voice their protest.

Doctors in white uniforms expressed their outrage over the non-implementation of the humanitarian law, i.e. denial of access to the medical teams, local as well international ones currently in Kosovo, to the hotbed of crisis for the purpose of extending aid to the wounded. The police brutally broke up large demonstrations organized by the Coordinating Committee of all the Albanian political parties, Federation of the Independent Trade Unions and the Independent Students' Union. In addition to truncheons it used water-cannon and tear-gas. But, the continuation of the "cleansing operation", especially in the villages of Donje Prekaze and Likosane, in the commune of Srbica (while the number of villages which the operation has spread to is constantly growing), in which, according to the MUP of Serbia, the "core of the Albanian terrorists" are hidden and in which the police destroyed everything before them free-handed, has only aroused even greater dissatisfaction of the Kosovo citizens who do not intend, at least not for the time being, to stop with expressing their outrage in this manner. Large demonstrations have been announced for Monday, and this time not only in Pristina, but in other larger towns of Kosovo as well.

Force and violence which might this time be used against peaceful protesters will certainly not scare them, as they consider their protests peaceful ones and those who resort to violence as "occupiers". It seems that they have decided to fight against their "arms" only with their bodies, even if that cost them their lives since, as they themselves state and the reports of all national and international human rights organizations confirm, there were numerous cases of police brutality, humiliation, insults, simulated executions, decapitations, searches and destruction of their hardly earned property.

Consequently, the atmosphere created in Kosovo is such that anyone in uniform can stop whomever he pleases and ask for identification papers without any reason whatsoever, slap him or kick him. The life of a citizen in Kosovo depends on the mood of people in police uniforms. It seems that the Kosovo Albanians no longer want to be a "punching bag" for anyone who feels like hitting them - even at the cost of their lives.

What is especially worrying is the engagement of the Serbian population and youth in Kosovo who, together with the police, each in their own way, made a contribution to the breaking up of peaceful general protests of citizens of Pristina. With a short haircut, some of them were in black leather jackets and others in jeans, all carrying bars (most probably made of copper). Skinheads? Were these perhaps students refugees who offered their services to the police. The police did not allow it, but also did not prevent them from beating up a young Albanian who was first knocked down by a car which at high speed ran directly into the mob. Did anyone dare help him? No. Many citizens of Serbian nationality waved to the police shouting encouragement from their balconies. Young people so similar in their appearances that they resembled clones, appeared at dusk moving around the deserted town in groups (three to five of them to a group) looking for victims. For its part, the police stopped innocent passers-by and cars asking for identification papers.

There are numerous examples of this kind. Are they Arkan's youth? After a glass or two of whiskey they made some of the Serbian owners of coffee shops play "Chetnik songs". Any refusal meant the "betrayal of Serbdom", and had to be paid for. The owners of shops and restaurants who closed their premises because of the lack of customers or the prevailing atmosphere of fear in towns of Kosovo, also had to pay for "disregarding working hours". Mention should be also made of citizens who competed in their ideas on the ways of fighting "terrorism" which they stated for the "special" opinion polls of the state-controlled Radio-Television Serbia (RTS). "Fight them with all means", "Nip them in the bud", "This should have happened earlier", "Excellent move of our Government", "Uncompromising struggle with the Shqiptar separatists and terrorists", etc. were some of the comments.

The regime-controlled media published only information which were to the regime's liking. There were none on civilians who were killed in these "cleansing operations" - women, children, elderly people and men who had nothing to do with arms. And even if there were, would anything have changed in the deeply-rooted belief that somewhere in Kosovo "Shqiptar separatists are running wild killing the Serbs". Probably very little, or nothing at all.

Intellectual and civil oriented circles of Belgrade, as they call themselves, who very clearly understand what has happened in Kosovo, and which much resembles the strategies applied in eg. Croatia and Bosnia, are still waiting for the authorities to tell them what had really happened, but nevertheless, hold Milosevic responsible for "shaming" Serbia and claim that the sanctions would only consolidate his power. As if those who are waiting for explanations are blameless as they are not able yet to form their "impartial" political opinion.

They demand the establishment of a dialogue and send messages to the Kosovo Albanians in that respect but, as cynics say, not in order to resolve the situation in Kosovo and let the people from these parts lead a normal life, but in order to "save Serbia". If they wanted a way out to be found then demonstrations should have been organized in the streets of the capital of Serbia every single day of the past several years: when the autonomy of Kosovo was unconstitutionally abolished, when ad hoc laws discriminating against the Kosovo Albanians were being adopted, when temporary measures were introduced in kindergartens also, when students were denied access to schools and universities, when people were fired because of their political beliefs, when they were evicted from their flats in the middle of winter and Serbian citizens moved in, when people were being convicted to 20 years in prison without any evidence as corroborated by both local and international legal experts, etc.

These same circles call on the Albanians to turn out for the elections in order to topple Milosevic and hold them mainly responsible for his remaining in power, while a major part of the Serbian opposition itself refuses to take part in such "elections". Are the Albanians expected to save Serbia from Milosevic? But, when the organization "Women in Black" expressed its indignation over the situation in Kosovo in the centre of Belgrade, the regime-controlled RTS called them "frustrated women". Cynical, isn't it?

It is as if no one or very few people want to see photos and films of the world TV stations of the exodus of civilian population from the Drenica region, i.e. consequences of the "anti-terrorist actions" of the Serbian Government. No one in Serbia or Yugoslavia has a chance to read a story of a mother of five minor children who, under stress walked on foot for 24 hours carrying an unconscious child in her arms from the village of Donje Prekaze to Pristina only to find out on her arrival that her husband has been killed. Very few people know that twin brothers were killed, as well as two 12-year old boys, a women in her eight month of pregnancy. Not a single paper wrote about two trucks carrying victims which arrived on Saturday evening to the heavily guarded Pristina Hospital, and that, according to "Koha Ditore", some foreign journalists have seen with their own eyes massacred bodies of the Ahmeti family and stated that publicly before numerous members of the press and an official representative of the police.

Despite the fact that there are evidently armed groups which call themselves the Liberation Army of Kosovo (OVK), local political circles and the public in general still advocate political and peaceful forms of activity for the attainment of proclaimed objectives - at a green negotiating table, together with the Serbian authorities. Ibrahim Rugova, leader of the Kosovo Albanians, called members of the OVK "frustrated men" and condemned their actions in Kosovo, refusing their allegation, which some other Albanian political circles support, that they represent a strong and well organized army. As it turned out, and is now clear to the international community too, these were armed villagers of Drenica who refused to tolerate "state terrorism" any longer. The MUP of Serbia claims that it had destroyed this "terrorist core", led by the "criminal" Adem Jasari, but that there are some "terrorists" left so that the action will be continued.

According to the information of the Pristina Board for the Protection of Human Rights, 25 members of the Jasari family were killed in the operation of March 5, alone. Ljubinko Cvetic, Colonel of the MUP, stated to the numerous representatives of the Yugoslav and foreign press that the police offered all present at the Jasari estate at the time of action, an opportunity to surrender. He claimed that there were 30 of them. Mr.Cvetic stated with "full responsibility" that the Army of Yugoslavia did not take part in this action and that the helicopters were only used for humanitarian purposes in order to pull out the wounded. He also said that the humanitarian organizations were not granted access to the region because, according to MUP's information, there were previous cases when such organizations engaged in supplying arms. After the journalists insisted to be told what organizations he was referred to, he said: "Earlier there were such cases, and for their safety...".

The MUP Colonel said that this action was not organized but provoked by a "perfidious attack the "Albanian terrorists" launched from ambush with automatic weapons against a police patrol which was on its regular duty and on which occasion two of its members were killed.

According to this source in the period from 1991 till March this year, 200 armed attacks were carried out in Kosovo in which 10 members of the police and 24 civilians lost their lives. This information does not include casualties from the last two actions, said Cvetic. "When the conditions permit it, both journalists and diplomats, as well as humanitarian organizations, will be able to visit this region" was the message of the organizers of the Press Conference of the Secretariat for Information. The following day bus transportation was organized for diplomats and only those journalists who passed a "strict selection of Belgrade". They went to Donje Prekaze and Likosane to see for themselves that life "was back to normal" and that only those houses in which the "terrorists" were hiding were shot at, as well as that the local people "who had nothing to do with the terrorists" were returning to their homes...

Upon the return of the journalists and diplomats fresh news came from the Drenica district. Regrouped police forces, which were thought to be withdrawing, only changed positions and, according to the Albanian sources, resumed attacks on other villages in this district. Sporadic information from these parts, as all communications links have been cut off, mention that the police has surrounded other villages and that the firing can be heard. Tragic consequences, as in the previous two cases, will most probably be known in few days...The reason for this action is unknown. Was it again an attack made on the police patrol? Was another "terrorist nest" discovered? Was this an answer of the Serbian authorities to the disobedient or perhaps an attempt to prove its superiority to the Kosovo Albanians, Serbian public, international community, the Albanians from Kosovo protesting all over Europe or to the USA which will not use military force and which should be made aware that no sanctions can hurt it as it enjoys the support of the people, its people? Are not the polls best proof of this? And it seems that it doesn't care whether it will have electricity in the winter, because the citizens of Kosovo (as they proved during the period of hyper - inflation) have learned to live in the dark, nor how will the pensioners, workers, teachers and others survive. At that time the authorities used an excuse that they were waging a "defensive war" and the citizens used the same excuse trying to justify it. And perhaps even better excuse is used now that this is a war for the "sacred Serbian land

• Kosovo"

Precisely on March 5, at the time of a major police offensive aimed at "suppressing terrorism in Kosovo", Monsignor Pallia from the Catholic organization "Sant Egedio Community" (who is, according to some Albanian intellectual circles close friend of Mr.Milosevic) arrived to the Kosovo capital to talk about the implementation of the Education Agreement. The Albanian threesome headed by Fehmi Agani, the until recent Vice-President of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, refused to talk to him being of the opinion that it would be "hypocritical" to conduct talks in such a war-like atmosphere in the capital of Kosovo while no one knew what was going to happen next at Drenica.

Neither the Albanian students wanted to talk "until the shooting at Drenica stopped". Therefore, according to some sources, under the pressure of certain international circles Professor Agani went to Belgrade together with Abdyl Rama, member of the DSK Presidency, and met with the British Foreign Minister Robin Cook. Upon his return, in informal talks with the journalists, Agani said that as it is customary in diplomatic circles, Minister Cook only repeated the stances of the international community on the need for a dialogue on Kosovo remaining within the Yugoslav borders deploring the "activities of the Serbian police in Kosovo and those of the terrorist groups". After exchanging the usual empty phrases the delegation of the Kosovo Albanians returned to Pristina without any concrete "promises" that the "state violence in Kosovo" would stop.

The question is whether Kiro Gligorov, President of Macedonia, harshly attacked by many, especially the Kosovo circles, was right when several months ago he mentioned the need of creating a corridor for Kosovo refugees? What if similar conflicts start spreading towards larger Kosovo urban centers?

Unless the international community, the Contact Group and the USA soon undertake urgent and concrete actions, i.e. if they remain symbolic in the form of communications with Milosevic, the "Gligorov's corridors" packed with hopeless people will, according to the local analysts, become yet another tragic reality in the territory of former Yugoslavia. The demonstrations announced for Monday might be the last S.O.S. from the "sinking ship".

AIM Pristina

Arben KRASNIQI