The Mask of Power: Atrocity Porn, Human Rights, and Empire

ANTIWAR (USA), Balkan Express by Nebojsa Malic, June 30, 2005

Three weeks after it went public, the video of Serb militiamen shooting six Muslims in the mountains of Bosnia has turned into a media monster. The supposedly "irrefutable" evidence of Serbian involvement in the Bosnian war or the "genocide" in Srebrenica is nothing of the sort, but that has not stopped the pushers of atrocity porn from imposing their snuff reality on the people of Serbia, and any other unwary victim they may snag in the process.

Disappointed and enraged by the Serbian parliament's refusal to accept a declaration drafted by a cabal of NGOs, the Empire has continued to push Belgrade to "confess" to the Official Truth and even to "repent" (!). The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Monday stating that what happened in Srebrenica in 1995 was genocide, and that the Serbs were guilty of it. Only one conscientious congressman voted against such a blatant attempt to impose "truth" by legislative fiat.

In its unbridled arrogance of power, the Empire now seldom bothers to hide that it desires to shape reality itself with nothing more than its strength of will and weaponry. Yet it continues to use high-minded but utterly corrupt concepts of "justice" and "human rights" to cover up its abuses.

Atrocity Spokesmodel

Aware that dwelling on the atrocity video in itself could eventually invite unwelcome questions about its content, character and meaning - as it already has, to some extent - the media have now turned to features about the supposedly intrepid heroine whose brave, tireless efforts have helped bring truth to light.

The Washington Post, a stalwart champion of imperial aggression, carried a puff piece Saturday on Natasa Kandic, the "human rights activist" who has spent the last decade peddling stories of Serb atrocities. Claiming that the video "vindicated" her "long pursuit," the post lavished compliments on Kandic as much as it heaped scorn on the Serbs. She is described as a "human rights sleuth. wisp of a woman with a boyish haircut," a former sociologist who decided to devote herself to documenting injustice when the Yugoslav wars began. At one point, amid the ceaseless ranting about the evil and criminal nature of Serbia, Kandic claims she documented atrocities against Serbs. If only the Post bothered to check as to when and where that miracle may have occurred. Or maybe mentioned that one time when she physically assaulted a Serb refugee from Kosovo who challenged her bona fides.

Another paean to Kandic came out Monday, penned by the Associated Press, as if to make sure the Post'smessage got through. Once again, she is a "nightmare for Serb nationalists" and a "leading rights activists" on a "quest for justice," who - as the AP headline says - "rattled Milosevic's war heritage." Ah yes, Milosevic, the Empire's favorite bete noire. Whoever does not believe he single-handedly masterminded and conducted the savage wars that destroyed Yugoslavia (as the AP claims in the story) should expect a slap from Natasa Kandic. Maybe even an indictment from Carla Del Ponte.

Openings and Possibilities

Far from being a noble quest for justice or rights, Kandic and her deeds create an "opening" for U.S. policy in Serbia. So says Roger Cohen of the International Herald Tribune, the one who last fall spoke of "solving the Serbian question." Cohen's piece is essentially a rehash of the Holbrookean/ICG thesis that only America can solve the Balkans problem because it has "credibility" based on force (and assumed moral rectitude), and that this solution would necessarily involve an independent "Kosova" and a centralized Bosnia-Herzegovina. This thesis has recently become the "new" Balkans policy of Bush II, with an old Clinton hand, Nicholas Burns, at the helm.

Meanwhile, Natasa Kandic's fellow sociologist Eric Gordy, who has dedicated considerable effort to create a scientific framework for Serbophobia, gave a speech at a NGO conference in Serbia on Monday on the possibilities offered by the Srebrenica video. His speculative assertions presented as facts merit discussion some other time. But one thing he said about the video stood out: "Whatever limitations the film may have as evidence, however, it has had tremendous value as publicity."

And so it does. For the Empire has concerned itself less with evidence of anything it has bothered to assert over the years, so long as it could create the perception in public that would suggest it was true.

Imperial Synergy

Perhaps the most persuasive argument that the invocations of human rights, truth and justice are nothing but a tool of Imperial conquest is a recent book by John Norris, former communications director of Clinton's Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, and now a special adviser to the International Crisis Group. In his review, Chris Deliso of Balkanalysis.com quotes a passage from Norris' introduction that strips the veil of lies from NATO's supposedly noble enterprise:

"As nations throughout the region strove to reform their economies, mitigate ethnic tensions, and broaden civil society, Belgrade seemed to delight in continually moving in the opposite direction. It is small wonder that NATO and Yugoslavia ended up on a collision course.

"It was Yugoslavia's resistance to the broader trends of political and economic reform - not the plight of Kosovo Albanians - that best explains NATO's war." (pp. xxii-xxiii)

The "conspiracy theorists" roundly dismissed by the Empire and its Serbian sympathizers turn out to have been right after all. Serbia was targeted because it refused to submit, nothing more.

Hounds of Fury

Now that the myth of Empire's good intentions in the Balkans - and elsewhere - can be put to rest, the self-proclaimed paladins of humanitarian light take on a different sheen. Not surprisingly, Natasa Kandic, Sonja Biserko, Vojin Dimitrijevic, and dozens of other "activists" on payrolls of various Western near-governmental foundations all turn out to be motivated by something other than love of humanity and justice.

They all rode high in the ranks of Communists who ruled Yugoslavia for decades, specifically the faction that was deposed in the 1987 "anti-bureaucratic revolution," which brought Slobodan Milosevic to power. Their hatred of Milosevic and his "regime" is therefore highly personal. Their disdain for Serbs is ideological, stemming from an obsessive Communist fear of "greater Serbian bourgeois imperialism." And their love of Empire is a love of power.

They are not antiwar - they loved NATO's intervention in Bosnia and begged it to come earlier; they cheered Kosovo, and begged it to be harder. They aren't for human rights, either - they spend all their energy demonizing the Serbs, while they absolutely do not care for abuses committed against them (whether during the Succession Wars, or by their own government, e.g.,Operation Saber).

In fact, when one looks at today's "democrats, reformers, and human rights activists," one will find the very worst scum of a post-communist society, folks who've never held an honest job in their life and despise everyone who has. They are wedded to power, pledged to the State, and sworn to the Empire, whose money nurtures their hatred of their host countries. These hounds of Empire are not found only in Serbia, but in every country east of the former Iron Curtain. They are most rabid in Serbia only because Serbia resisted (see Norris, above).

Moral Victory

Showing the atrocity video in Serbia was deliberately intended by "human rights" activists to exploit basic human decency, counting on a natural revulsion at images shown on national television. For the Empire, this represents an opening, and an opportunity. To hear Serbian politicians talk, they are readily confessing to everything and anything, on demand. But the people themselves are beginning to shake their heads and realize they are being played. After all, what sane nation would accept the clearly manufactured blame for starting wars that have systematically robbed it of lives, rights, and patrimony? Who in their right mind would accept responsibility for a trumped-up "genocide" that is an insult to the very real genocides they've suffered themselves?

According to its own admission, the Empire's talk of truth, justice, and human rights is just a "trick and a lie," a cover for an agenda all about power. Its powerful media machinery may have managed to persuade the world that the Serbs were demons, but it has yet to persuade the Serbs. The current campaign of atrocity porn and calls for "repentance" are calculated to do precisely that. What could the Serbs - stripped of their rights, dignity, freedom, land, and even history - do to resist the world superpower and its legions of willing helpers? What could anyone?

Well, not accepting the lies as truth would be a good start. Indeed, it would be a moral victory. And really, is there any other kind?

Bentonville Guard ordered to Kosovo

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT GAZETTE (USA), Thursday, June 30, 2005

A Bentonville-based National Guard unit will be deployed to Kosovo for a security mission, the Arkansas National Guard announced Wednesday.

An alert issued June 17 will mobilize about 130 soldiers who comprise Battery A of the 142 nd Field Artillery Brigade, Capt. Kristine Munn said. The brigade specializes in combat with heavy field artillery, but the Kosovo mission will be different.

The "force protection" mission in the Balkans will revolve around providing patrols and security, Munn said. It will last one year and is part of an ongoing NATO initiative, she said.

Battery A of the 142 nd brigade will train at Fort Bliss, Texas, likely within the next 90 days.

Earlier this month, Battery B of the 142 nd brigade was mobilized for a force protection in Iraq. The Springdale-based unit of about 150 soldiers will leave Arkansas in July to train at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Serbian president, prime minister inaugurate multiethnic council in tense area near Kosovo

Associated Press, Jun 29, 2005 8:46 AM

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro-Flanked by Western diplomats, Serbian President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Wednesday inaugurated the first session of a local multiethnic government body in a tense area close to the U.N.-run Kosovo province.

Other government, military and police officials also attended the session aimed at promoting local governance by majority ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs in the municipality of Bujanovac, about 250 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of the capital, Belgrade.

The region is adjacent to Kosovo, where a wider Serb-ethnic Albanian conflict over territory erupted in 1998 and ended with the 1999 NATO bombing of Serb forces, followed by U.N. control of the province.

In the Bujanovac municipality and the surrounding region known as Presevo Valley, local ethnic Albanian militants also took up arms in 2000 and 2001 to try unite that territory with Kosovo.

This insurgency was defused through a Western-backed peace deal in 2001 which granted more autonomy to the ethnic Albanians, allowing amnesty for the rebels and introducing confidence-building measures.

Since then, Belgrade had poured 3.2 billion dinars (€40 million, US$47 million) into various projects promoting multiethnic rule and reconciliation in the impoverished area.

"I cannot conceive of clashes erupting here again," Tadic said. "This region is the best example of what can be achieved in multiethnic societies."

Kostunica called the session "historic."

Increased police security was visible on Bujanovac streets during the session.

NATO troops conduct synchronized patrols with Serbia-Montenegro forces on Kosovo border

Associated Press, Jun 30, 2005 10:31 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo were conducting synchronized patrol's with Serbia and Montenegro forces along Kosovo borders on Thursday, NATO said in a statement.

The patrols were meant to thwart illegal activities along the border, according to the statement released after a meeting between the top NATO commander in Kosovo, Lt. Gen. Yves de Kermabon, and Serbia-Montenegro Defense Minister Prvoslav Davinic.

The officials also agreed to conduct a joint helicopter medical evacuation exercise inside Serbia and Montenegro in the next weeks, NATO said.

Joint patrols are a sign of improving relations between the NATO peacekeepers and forces of Serbia and Montenegro, six years after the alliance bomb Serb forces to stop their crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.

Kosovo, which officially remains a province within Serbia and Montenegro, has been administered by the United Nations and patrolled by NATO peacekeepers since 1999. The status of the province remains disputed, with its ethnic Albanian majority wanting independence and Serbia insisting it remain within Serbia and Montenegro, the successor to the former Yugoslavia.

Talks to resolve Kosovo's status were expected later this year, provided the province makes progress on internationally set standards on the rule of law, rights minorities and democratization.

Kosovo's prime minister rules out talks with Serbia about future

Associated Press, Jun 29, 2005 11:47 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-Kosovo's prime minister has ruled out direct talks with Serbia about the province's future status, a government statement said Wednesday.

Bajram Kosumi said his government was ready to talk to authorities in Serbia about all other outstanding issues between the former foes.

But, "no one, Belgrade included, will determine how we will live in Kosovo after 10 years," Kosumi, an ethnic Albanian, told a parliamentary committee, a government statement said.

Kosovo, which officially remains a province of Serbia-Montenegro, has been administered by the United Nations since 1999 following NATO's air war aimed at stopping the crackdown of Serb troops on separatist ethnic Albanians.

Since then, the province remains disputed between the ethnic Albanians who want it to be independent and Serbia, which opposes the province's independence.

Talks to determine the province's future are expected later this year, if Kosovo reaches internationally set standards on rule of law, democratization and the rights of minorities.

If the result of the review is positive, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to appoint a senior European representative as an envoy for those talks.

Direct contact between authorities in Kosovo and Serbia resumed this year on issues such as missing persons as a result of war, return of displaced persons, telecommunications and energy.

Bosnia protests Serbian FM's comments on Kosovo

People's Daily Online (CHINA), June 29, 2005

Bosnia on Tuesday summoned the ambassador of Serbia-Montenegro to protest comments by Belgrade's foreign minister linking the future of Kosovo with Bosnia's Serb Republic.

Serbia-Montenegrin Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic told a Belgrade newspaper on Monday that independence of Kosovo would automatically mean independence of Bosnia's Serb Republic.

Kosovo is a UN-administered Serbian province where ethnic Albanians are seeking independence. In Bosnia, the Serb Republic and a Muslim-Croat federation have a fragile power-sharing scheme since the 1992-95 war.

Bosnian Foreign Ministry officials said Draskovic's words were not helpful for neighborly relations among the former Yugoslav republics, and were detrimental to regional cooperation and development.

Bosnia has asked Belgrade for an official explanation of Draskovic's words.

The top international administrator of Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, criticized Draskovic's comments.

"These borders are not a matter for negotiation," Ashdown was quoted as saying on Monday by Sarajevo-based news agency FENA.

Ashdown's office said in a statement that Draskovic's comments were detrimental to regional stability, and were totally unacceptable.

The future of Kosovo has nothing to do with Bosnia, the statement said.

Source: Xinhua

Madeline Albright to address Kosovo Assembly on 5 July

UNMIK Media Monitoring, June 28, 2005

From Zëri- Albanian language daily published in Pristina

Zëri reports on the front page that former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will visit Kosovo on July 5th when she will give a speech at the Kosovo Assembly. The news was confirmed by the Media Office of the Assembly. The paper notes that Albright will visit Kosovo in the capacity of director of the National Democratic Institute.

Zëri also reports that the Kosovo Government and Prime Minister Kosumi will host a dinner for Albright in honour of her constant contribution. Albright is also expected to meet senior Kosovan leaders.

Under U.N. guard, Serbs mark epic Kosovo battle

Reuters, Tue Jun 28, 2005 11:02 AM ET By Matthew Robinson

GAZIMESTAN, Serbia and Montenegro (Reuters) - Guarded by heavily-armed U.N. police, a few hundred Serbs gathered in central Kosovo on Tuesday to commemorate the 616-year-old battle at the heart of their claim to the mountain-ringed province.

The turnout was a far cry from that of 1989, when Slobodan Milosevic delivered a speech full of nationalist rhetoric to a crowd of 500,000, packed on to the sloping heath where the Serbs fell to the Turks in 1389.

The defeat on "The Field of the Blackbirds" opened the doors to centuries of Ottoman Turk rule. It remains the pivotal event in Serb history and central to the Serb claim to Kosovo as their Jerusalem.

"We have come to keep the tradition alive," said Ljubinka, a Serb pensioner who made the 350-km (218- mile) trip from Belgrade to see Patriarch Pavle, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, hold the traditional St Vitus Day service for fallen Serbs.

This year, the sun-baked fields below the towering Gazimestan monument were almost empty.

Long grass bent in the breeze and a few ethnic Albanians watched from a distance as Polish and American police officers from the U.N. force escorted buses and cars carrying Serbs to the site, now ringed with razor-wire and guarded by NATO.

Kosovo's 90-percent ethnic Albanian majority hopes St Vitus Day 2005 will be the last in a Kosovo still formally part of Serbia but run by the United Nations since 1999.

In 1989, Milosevic exploited the mythic status of the 14th Century battle to launch his bid for control over Yugoslavia.

In words that would be read back to him as evidence at his war crimes trial, the former communist apparatchik warned Serbs they once again faced a fight. "There are not battles with arms, but such battles cannot be excluded," he said.

War engulfed Yugoslavia two years later and, by 1999, Serbia had lost control over Kosovo after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign to drive out Milosevic's forces, accused of killing 10,000 ethnic Albanian civilians and expelling 800,000.

An estimated 180,000 Serbs fled, fearing revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians bitter at years of repression. About 100,000 remain, many in enclaves watched closely by NATO peacekeepers.

Kosovo has been a de facto U.N. protectorate ever since.

In 2001, Serb reformers in Belgrade chose St Vitus Day to extradite Milosevic to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, where he is now standing trial.

The West plans to open negotiations later this year which the 90-percent Albanian majority hopes will bring formal independence. Serbia says independence is impossible.

Albania's self-proclaimed King Zog to visit Kosovo

Associated Press, Jun 28, 2005 6:34 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-Albania's self-proclaimed King Leka Zog I is expected to meet with Kosovo's prime minister Tuesday, a statement said.

Zog's visit to Kosovo comes days ahead of Sunday's general elections in Albania where he is to take part. He will hold talks with Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi and other officials, a government statement said.

Zog has been a vocal backer of the demand from Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for independence from Serbia-Montenegro, a union that replaced Yugoslavia.

The disputed province has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, following a NATO war aimed at stopping Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.

Zog, 66, is the son of King Ahmet Zog, a Muslim chieftain who declared himself king in 1928 and ruled until the Italian army invaded the country in 1939.

Bosnia's top international offical says Kosovo's status not linked to Bosnia

Associated Press, Jun 28, 2005 6:20 AM

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina-Bosnia's top international official on Tuesday called a suggestion by Serbia-Montenegro's foreign minister to link the settling of Kosovo's status with Bosnia "damaging, destabilizing and completely unacceptable."

"The Kosovo question is a matter solely for the international community and the Government of Serbia and Montenegro, and has no connection with Bosnia and Herzegovina," British diplomat Paddy Ashdown said in a statement.

Ashdown added that "Bosnia-Herzegovina is a sovereign state, a member of the United Nations whose borders are internationally recognized, and guaranteed by treaty and by law. These borders are not a matter for negotiation and Serbia has an obligation to uphold them."

The peace agreement that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war left the country divided into a Bosnian Serb mini-state, called Republika Srpska and a Bosniak-Croat Federation. Each have their own government, police and army and are linked only by joint state institutions.

Politicians from Serbia-Montenegro have in the past frequently linked the solution for the Kosovo province, which seeks independence from Serbia, with the Bosnian Serb ministate and its status within Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Serbian Foreign Minister, Vuk Draskovic, over the weekend repeated that the two should be linked, but Ashdown said "the days when Belgrade brings into question Bosnia and Herzegovina's borders are long gone and will never be allowed return."

He also said "these kinds of comments damage Serbia and Montenegro's ability to be regarded as a stable influence in the region and a country on its way to Europe."

First group of Chinese peacekeepers in Kosovo returns home

XINHUA (CHINA), 2005-06-27 21:44:53

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, June 27 (Xinhuanet) --The first group of 12 Chinese peacekeepers completed their 14-month mission in Kosovo and returned home on Monday, said reports from Pristina,capital of Kosovo.

Before their departure, senior officials of the UN Mission in Kosovo held talks with Li Minghai, head of the Chinese peacekeepers, and expressed appreciation for their dedication to "safeguarding world peace."

China sent a total of 19 peacekeepers to Kosovo last year. On Feb. 2, the United Nations awarded them medals for their excellentperformance in the mission.

The remaining seven peacekeepers will return to China by the end of July, Li said.

Kosovo is legally a province of Serbia. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1244, it has been a mandated region of the UN and NATO since June 1999, when the 1998-99 war ended. Enditem

Protesters in Kosovo hurl eggs at Serbia-Montenegro's foreign minister

Associated Press, Jun 27, 2005 12:00 PM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-Protesters in Kosovo hurled eggs at a convoy carrying Serbia-Montenegro's foreign minister on his first visit to the disputed province since the end of the war six years ago.

Around 100 protesters massed outside the U.N. headquarters as the foreign minister, Vuk Draskovic, met with the deputy head of the U.N. mission in Kosovo, Larry Rossin.

Some of the demonstrators threw eggs from the balconies of nearby buildings as Draskovic's convoy arrived. Police arrested about a dozen protesters. Two local reporters were also detained during a melee that followed the arrests.

"His visit is unacceptable, because ... Serbia is unacceptable," said a statement from the Kosovo Action Network, a group that organized the protests. "The state union that (Draskovic) represents was an accomplice in crimes here," it said.

Kosovo has been administered by the U.N. since mid-1999 when a NATO air war halted Serb forces' crackdown on ethnic Albanians seeking independence.

An estimated 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed. After the end of the war, tens of thousands of Serbs fled the province in the face of attacks and threats from ethnic Albanian extremists.

Those Serbs remaining live mainly in isolated enclaves scattered around the province, and the two communities remain divided.

Talks to resolve Kosovo's status are expected later this year if Kosovo, legally a province of the Serbia-Montenegro union that replaced Yugoslavia, meets U.N.-set standards on democracy, human rights and rights of minorities.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority demands independence, while Serbs want the province to remain within their borders.

Draskovic's visit follows one by Serbia's prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, who attended a Serb Orthodox Mass in western Kosovo in January. Serbian President Boris Tadic toured Serb communities in Kosovo in February.

Draskovic later traveled to the Serb enclave of Gracanica to observe Vidovdan, or St. Vitus Day, a Serb holiday marking the 616th anniversary of an epic battle against Ottoman Turks.

Harassment, Funding Shortfall, Hamper Return of Displaced in Kosovo - UN Envoy

SCOOP (NEW ZEALAND), Monday, 27 June 2005, 9:48 am

Press Release: United Nations

New York, Jun 24 2005 6:00PM

Low-level harassment, curtailed freedom of movement, lack of employment opportunities and a dearth of funding were cited as obstacles to the successful return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kosovo, in a statement issued today by the representative of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the rights of such persons.

"Particularly deplorable is the fact that considerable numbers of IDPs are forced to continue their dismal lives in camps and elsewhere because there is no donor money available to implement their return," said Dr. Walter Kalin, the Representative on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons said.

He also expressed his concern that there is no clear responsibility for IDPs assigned to the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) or the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government there, saying that the focus of attention has been on the return of refugees who had crossed borders.

He said the lack of attention was particularly applicable for the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian IDPs who, together with the other non-Serb minorities, feel caught between the two main ethnic communities in Kosovo.

Dr. Kalin also appealed to the international community to provide resources to immediately evacuate the Roma population affected by lead poisoning in camps in Northern Mitrovica. "A failure to act now would amount to a violation of the right of the affected children to have their health and physical integrity protected," he said.

CoE Resolution 1453 - Current situation in Kosovo

RELIEF WEB (SWITZERLAND)

Source: Council of Europe (COE)

Date: 21 Jun 5

Current situation in Kosovo: Resolution 1453 (2005)

1. For the last six years, Kosovo, a province which is part of the Republic of Serbia and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro has been subjected to an interim United Nations administration, in compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, pending a final settlement. The Parliamentary Assembly believes that the undecided status of Kosovo casts uncertainty over the further political stabilisation of the entire region, including its perspective of European integration, affects its economic recovery and prevents a number of displaced persons and refugees from Kosovo from reaching a decision whether to return to their homes.

2. Recalling its Resolutions 1375 (2004) on the situation in Kosovo and 1417 (2005) on the protection of human rights in Kosovo, the Assembly reiterates its aspiration for Kosovo to be, irrespective of its status, an area which is safe for all those who live in it, where Council of Europe standards of democracy, rule of law, protection of human rights and rights of national minorities and good governance are fully enforced, where recourse to the European Convention on Human Rights is available to everyone and where the values of democracy, tolerance and multiculturalism are shared by its people and institutions.

3. The progress achieved so far in the implementation of the Standards for Kosovo, as indicated by the Technical Assessment presented by the Secretary General's Special Representative (SRSG) to the UN Security Council on 27 May 2005, shows that important steps are being made in the right direction. The establishment of a climate of trust between people belonging to different ethnic groups, however, is a long-term objective which will require further attention by those having authority over Kosovo as well as by the international community, in particular the Council of Europe. This process of consolidation is likely to last for years, even after the determination of a future status for Kosovo.

4. Similarly, the Assembly believes that an international civilian presence in Kosovo will continue to be necessary despite the progressive transfer of powers and responsibilities to the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) and the subsequent phasing out of UNMIK. In this context, it welcomes the Conclusions of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council of 13 June 2005, in particular as regards the future presence and role of the European Union in Kosovo.

5. The Assembly is conscious that on the status issue, the positions of the Government of Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo Serbs on the one hand, and of the PISG and Kosovo Albanians on the other, are polarised and regrettably no indication of a compromise is in sight. The preparedness of these actors to engage in a political dialogue is essential to reach a peaceful and mutually acceptable determination of the future status if Kosovo. It should, therefore, be encouraged and rewarded.

6. Dialogue is also necessary for the implementation of fundamental reforms. In this respect, the Assembly considers as a positive development the recent decision of Kosovo Serbs' political representatives to participate in the working groups on decentralisation. Similarly, the newly-established Political Forum should be seen as an important contribution to preparing the ground for the momentous political discussions, by including opposition parties in the political process, provided that the role of such a Forum is only consultative and that representatives of ethnic minorities are invited to participate.

7. The recent indictment of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) raised fears for renewed violence in Kosovo. Even if reality proved different, the Assembly warns against underestimating the volatility of the security situation in Kosovo: ethnically-motivated incidents are continuous, especially in some parts of Kosovo, which contributes to nurturing a feeling of insecurity among these minorities.

8. This climate of tension cannot but be exacerbated by politically-motivated attacks as well as by accusations of corruption and involvement in organised crime against members of the PISG. Besides, a disastrous economic situation with unemployment affecting more than half of the population, widespread poverty and lack of basic social welfare has obvious potentially destabilising effects.

9. In consideration of the fragile socio-economic environment of Kosovo, the volatility of the security situation and the risk of tension flare-ups as status talks approach, the Assembly is concerned at the intention manifested by some Council of Europe member states to increase the number of forced returns of failed asylum seekers and other people from Kosovo in the months to come. By putting additional strain on the limited resources of the Kosovo administration, this policy could concur in having destabilising effects and appears in contradiction with the considerable financial and military commitment by a number of such countries aiming at restoring sustainable living conditions and security in Kosovo.

10. In light of the foregoing, the Assembly:

i. as regards the determination of Kosovo's future status, asks the Government of Serbia and Montenegro, the political forces of Kosovo Serbs and other minorities, the PISG and Kosovo Albanian political parties to engage in a genuine dialogue with a view to reaching a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution which requires concessions from both sides;

ii. as regards the creation of an inclusive political environment in Kosovo, calls on:

a. all legal political parties in Kosovo, including those from the opposition, and non-Albanian parties, to participate in the newly-established Political Forum with a constructive attitude;

b. Kosovo Serbs' political representatives to fully participate in the PISG and in the political process in general;

iii. as regards the return of failed asylum seekers and other persons from Kosovo, calls on Council of Europe member states which are host countries to:

a. comply with the positions of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the continued international protection needs of individuals from Kosovo;

b. give attentive consideration to humanitarian concerns of potential returnees on a case-by-case basis, including their level of integration in the host country and their access to dignified and humane housing and social conditions upon return, particularly with regard to access to education and to health services;

c. endeavour to increase the capacity of Kosovo to absorb returns by financing housing, reception structures and other basic services needed by returnees and byensuring support to long-term integration in terms of accommodation and infrastructure, including adequate facilities for medical care;

d. implement programmes for voluntary assisted return to Kosovo, if appropriate in co-operation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM);

iv. as regards the full implementation of Council of Europe instruments in the territory of Kosovo, calls on UNMIK and KFOR to remove all remaining obstacles to the full implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, including the effective functioning of their monitoring mechanisms;

v. as regards mechanisms to ensure respect for human rights by the international authorities, calls on UNMIK to maintain the Ombudsperson Institution's jurisdiction over international authorities for as long as they remain in Kosovo and to ensure that any supplementary bodies offer real improvements in terms of independence and effectiveness, including by giving them a role in scrutinising normative acts as well as by undertaking to abide by their decisions or to justify properly any exceptional refusal to do so;

vi. as regards the role of the Council of Europe in contributing to the solution of the status issue and ensuring that Kosovo attains Council of Europe standards, asks the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to:

a. offer the UN Secretary-General the expertise of the Council of Europe in assisting the Special Envoy who has been appointed for conducting the Comprehensive Assessment of the implementation of the Standards for Kosovo, in the fields relating to the mandate and expertise of the Council of Europe;

b. establish contacts with UNMIK, the PISG and the Government of Serbia and Montenegro to explore the possibility of the Council of Europe acting as a facilitator of dialogue between the parties concerned in preparation of status talks, at formal or informal level;

c. propose to the UN Secretary-General to rely on the technical advice of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) during the stage of status talks, with a view to identifying viable legal/constitutional arrangements for the future status of Kosovo;

d. continue to provide the international civil administration in Kosovo and the PISG with Council of Europe expertise in the field of decentralisation and reform of local self-government and offer to extend it to the following fields:

A. protection of national minorities;

B. use of minority languages;

C. inter-cultural dialogue;

D. fight against corruption, organised crime, money-laundering and trafficking in human beings;

E. democratisation and financing of political parties;

F. independence and efficiency of the judiciary;

vii. similarly, in consideration of the readiness of the European Union to assume increased responsibility in Kosovo, asks:

a. the European Union to associate more closely the Council of Europe to its activities on Kosovo, as suggested during the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council of 13 June 2005;

b. the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to promptly initiate discussions with the appropriate EU instances on how to increase mutual cooperation on Kosovo;

viii. finally, in consideration of the developments which can be expected to take place during the next months, asks its Political Affairs Committee to continue to be concerned with the situation in Kosovo and report to the Assembly when necessary.

Assembly debate on 21 June 2005 (19th Sitting) (see Doc. 10572, report of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Mrs Tritz). Text adopted by the Assembly on 21 June 2005 (19th Sitting).

Serbia-Montenegro's foreign minister to visit Kosovo

Associated Press, Jun 27, 2005 4:07 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-Serbia-Montenegro's foreign minister will arrive in Kosovo Monday, the first visit by the union's foreign minister to the disputed province since the end of the war six years ago.

In a private visit, Vuk Draskovic is scheduled to travel to the Serb enclave of Gracanica to observe Vidovdan, or St. Vitus Day, a Serb holiday marking the 616th anniversary of an epic battle against Ottoman Turks.

During his stay in Kosovo, Draskovic will meet Larry Rossin, the deputy head of the U.N. mission which has been administering the province since mid-1999 when a NATO air war halted Serb forces crackdown on ethnic Albanians seeking independence.

Draskovic's visit follows that of Serbia's prime minister Vojislav Kostunica, who attended a Serb Orthodox mass in western Kosovo in January and the Serbia's president Boris Tadic tour in areas where Serbs live in February.

An estimated 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed during Serb forces' crackdown in 1998-1999. After the end of the war, tens of thousands of Serbs fled the province in the face of attacks and threats from ethnic Albanian extremists.

Those Serbs remaining live mainly in isolated enclaves scattered around the province and the two communities remain divided.

Talks to resolve Kosovo's status are expected later this year, if Kosovo, legally a province of the Serbia-Montenegro union that replaced Yugoslavia, meets U.N.-set standards on democracy, human rights and rights of minorities.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority demands independence, while Serbs want the province to remain within their borders.

UN SG's representative urges flexible solutions to internal displacement in Serbia and Montenegro

RELIEF WEB (SWITZERLAND)

Source: United Nations (UN)

Date: 24 Jun 2005

UN SG's representative urges flexible solutions to internal displacement in Serbia and Montenegro

HR/4861

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 24 June (UN Information Service) -- The Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Dr. Walter Kälin, issued the following statement today:

"Integration and return are not mutually exclusive but complementary, and there is an urgent need to find durable solutions for the most vulnerable among the displaced persons". This is the key message of the Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Prof. Dr. Walter Kälin, who just concluded an official visit to Serbia and Montenegro, including Kosovo, from 16 to 24 June 2005 at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

In Belgrade, the Representative met with the Minister for Human and Minority Rights of Serbia and Montenegro, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the President of the Coordination Centre of Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia for Kosovo and Metohija, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, the Commissioner for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia, the Deputy Mayor of Belgrade, as well as international agencies, the representatives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and non-governmental organizations. He also met with persons displaced from Kosovo at collective centres and informal settlements in the vicinities of Belgrade and Kraljevo.

Meetings and visits in Kosovo included talks with the President and Prime Minister, senior officials of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), United Nations agencies and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kosovar and municipal authorities, displaced persons in camps in northern Mitrovica, Zitkovac and Obilic and returnees in rebuilt houses in Svinjare, as well as with international and national non-governmental organizations. Finally, a short visit to Montenegro allowed him to meet with the Minister for Labour and Social Welfare of Montenegro, the Commissioner for Displaced Persons, the Ombudsperson and other governmental officials, as well as international agencies, representatives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, representatives of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and persons displaced in camps in Konik. Wherever he went, the Representative showed appreciation for the huge efforts of the population and the authorities to welcome and host the more than 200,000 persons displaced form Kosovo.

Concerning the Republic of Serbia, the Representative pointed out that the overall situation of the IDPs is increasingly hard. He especially highlighted the difficult conditions for the 6,800 IDPs still living in collective centres. "No more money has been invested in their maintenance for the past three years", he said. Many buildings are ramshackle and no longer offer acceptable living conditions. Unrecognized settlements have sprung up where displaced Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians are living in abject misery.

On the work of the Commissioner for Refugees, he praised his initiative to better assist the displaced persons. "The lack of clear mandate of the Commissioner for these people has left several gaps when it comes to protecting their human rights", he nevertheless noted. Of particular worry was the difficulty for many displaced persons to regularize their situation either due to a lack of proof of origin or of legal address. The Representative, although aware that the documentation and administrative requirements are complicated and burdensome for all citizens of Serbia, stressed that for people who were already at a disadvantage due to their displacement, these obstacles could become insurmountable and further prejudice their access to health care and other State services they had been receiving and are still entitled to. He encouraged the authorities to speed up their efforts to simplify their administrative processes and to do it in a way that would respond to the particular difficulties of non-documented persons, among them, many Roma and members of other marginalized communities.

Concerning Kosovo, the Representative felt that the situation seems to have improved insofar as the number of violent inter-ethnic incidents has reportedly dropped over the last months. Nevertheless, many displaced persons within Kosovo, as well as returnees, told him of their fears due to a persistent low-level harassment, which is targeted at them, and further fed their fear for their safety. Additional major obstacles for them were their curtailed freedom of movement and the lack of employment opportunities. The Representative underlined that the overall number of returns by members of minorities remained very low. He encouraged the Kosovar and international authorities to address these obstacles vigorously.

"Particularly deplorable is the fact that considerable numbers of IDPs are forced to continue their dismal lives in camps and elsewhere because there is no donor money available to implement their return", the Representative said, addressing the situation of those displaced persons who were willing to return. Meetings with various UN agencies and with the authorities in Mitrovica and in Obilic showed this disquieting situation very clearly.

He also expressed his concern that there is no clear responsibility assigned to UNMIK or the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo for those who remain in displacement inside Kosovo, and many are largely neglected. He underlined that the focus of the relevant authorities has exclusively been on return, thus, disregarding those who are still displaced within Kosovo. This is especially true for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian IDPs who, together with the other non-Serb minorities, feel caught between the two main ethnic communities in Kosovo.

As regards the Roma population affected by lead poisoning in camps in northern Mitrovica, the Representative appealed to the international community to immediately evacuate them to non-contaminated areas and to provide the necessary resources for this without delay. "This situation is an emergency. A failure to act now would amount to a violation of the right of the affected children to have their health and physical integrity protected", he said.

Concerning the Republic of Montenegro, the Representative was impressed with the work undertaken by the Montenegrin authorities to manage the refugee and IDP influx they had had. Nevertheless, he was worried by the fact that as non-citizens of Montenegro, internally displaced persons were disadvantaged if not by law so in fact in areas such as work or access to property and business licenses. He welcomed the new Refugee and IDP Strategy which foresees the return of the displaced persons, their integration in Montenegro or resettlement to third countries as the three options for durable solutions. He stressed that according to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, internally displaced persons have the right to choose freely between these options. "If they opt for return, it must be voluntary, in safety and sustainable", he said.

Problems common to all parts of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro include the fact that the closure of collective centres, in practice, means that besides members of marginalized communities the persons remaining there are the most vulnerable of all: elderly, ill, disabled, severely traumatized individuals, female-headed households and families of missing persons, although it may seem the only humane option. "The time has come to find a dignified solution for these extremely vulnerable populations who will neither return nor be able to live on their own, by setting up appropriate institutions. The authorities must be supported by the international community in this endeavour".

"To allow internally displaced persons to live and lead a normal life and return are not mutually exclusive options, but actually reinforce each other", he said. "Well integrated people are more likely to lead productive lives, which, in turn, will give them the strength and the impetus to return to their places of origin, once the time is right." The Representative reminded all concerned that experience from other contexts has shown that the quicker displaced persons are integrated back into productive lives, the more likely they are able to exercise a free choice which can mean return, even if it means facing new challenges.

"It is difficult to predict at this time what the future of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro is. Changes in status of Kosovo and independence for Montenegro, however, would cause new problems for the displaced, in particular regarding their citizenship rights", the Representative warned. Together with issues such as property or pension rights they must be addressed carefully and comprehensively to ensure that no displaced person looses his or her present rights.

Finally, the Representative took note of the concerns expressed to him by many interlocutors that the massive return of former refugees or rejected asylum-seekers from certain Western European countries would add to the burden caused by internal displacement in the different parts of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro, particularly if they were not able to return to their homes. He appealed to the governments concerned to implement such returns cautiously. He further urged them to refrain from returning members of threatened communities and particularly vulnerable persons to situations where they would risk becoming internally displaced persons without the necessary assistance and protection of their rights.

Continued persecution of Roma, Ashkalis, Egyptians and others perceived as "Gypsies" in Kosovo

RELIEF WEB (SWITZERLAND)

Source: European Roma Rights Center (ERRC)

Date: 27 Jun 2005

In the aftermath of ethnic cleansing: Continued persecution of Roma, Ashkalis, Egyptians and others perceived as "Gypsies" in Kosovo

Memorandum of the European Roma Rights Centre

Introduction

Six years ago, after the end of the NATO bombing of former Yugoslavia, Roma Ashkalis, Egyptians and others regarded as "Gypsies" ("RAE") were violently cleansed from their homes in Kosovo by means of arson, mass destruction of houses, killings and rape. Today, persecution of the members of these communities continues, manifested in their systematic exclusion from access to fundamental human rights. Racial discrimination against RAE communities in Kosovo is pervasive, depriving tens of thousands from even a bare minimum of dignity. Anti-Gypsy sentiment among the majority is widespread, ranging from assaults on RAE individuals to verbal abuse and dissemination of defamatory images, including images stigmatising RAE as perpetrators of crimes against Albanians, in the media.

Living in an atmosphere of persistent threats to their security, unprotected against massive exclusion from jobs and denial of access to income sources, exposed to extremely substandard and hazardous living conditions; marginalised in the public sphere, the RAE communities today experience levels of oppression which render the necessity of providing them with international protection unquestionable. Oppression of RAE is further aggravated by failure of the United Nations administration to bring to justice the perpetrators of even the most egregious crimes committed against RAE since June 1999.

A brief summary of some particularly extreme issues facing Roma, Ashkalis, Egyptians and others considered as "Gypsies" in Kosovo follows:

Failure to Provide Just Remedy for Gross Violations of Fundamental Human Rights: RAE are denied the right to compensation for the violent crimes committed against them immediately after the end of the NATO bombing in June 1999 and the following years. In the course of the ethnic cleansing campaign, ethnic Albanians kidnapped and severely physically abused and in some cases killed Roma, Ashkalis and Egyptians; raped women in the presence of family members; and seized, looted or destroyed property en masse. Whole Romani settlements were burned to the ground by ethnic Albanians, in many cases while NATO troops looked on. In the following years numerous RAE returnees were targeted for violent assaults such as the brutal killing of four Ashkali returnees in Dashevc/Dosevac in November 2000, the numerous explosions causing deaths and destruction of newly rebuilt houses for returnees. The perpetrators of these crimes have not been brought to justice to date. The ethnic cleansing of the RAE remains totally unremedied.

Continuing Violence, Intimidation, and Harassment: After several years during which UN officials and others assured the public that the worst violence in Kosovo was over; after Germany, Italy, Sweden and other states, considering Kosovo to be safe, terminated the international protection of many RAE and started their forceful repatriation to Kosovo, the renewal of mass violence against minorities in Kosovo in March 2004, demonstrated that forces in Kosovo intent on expelling non-Albanian minorities continue to control the course of events. Several hundreds of Roma and Ashkalis were targeted for violent attacks; at least 75 houses belonging to Romani and Ashkali families were set on fire. In Vushtrri/Vucitrn alone, some 70 houses belonging to Ashkalis were burned and destroyed.

Roma, Ashkalis, Egyptians and others considered as "Gypsies" in Kosovo today live in a state of pervasive fear, nourished by routine intimidation and verbal harassment, as well as by occasional racist assaults by Kosovo Albanians. Most of these incidents remain unreported to the authorities due to lack of trust and fear of retaliation, reinforced and affirmed by the awareness among RAE that there has been no justice delivered in connection with the massive wave of violent crimes committed against them, and indeed that the persons primarily responsible for these crimes are the new powers in Kosovo.

Full report (pdf* format - 206 KB)

South Serbia Albanian leader says best solution for area is to join Kosovo

BBCM, Jun 26, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Excerpt from interview with former UCPMB (Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac) commander and Movement for Democratic Progress chairman Orhan Rexhepi by Skender Latifi entitled "Presheve valley issue has not yet been resolved" published by the Macedonian Albanian-language newspaper Fakti on 22 June - subheadings as published

Orhan Rexhepi is one of the former commanders of the UCPMB [Liberation Army for Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac] who joined the Albanian political scene in the Presheve [Presevo] valley. Now he heads the Movement for Democratic Progress [LPD], which is based in Presheve. This party was formed in summer 2002 by former Albanian fighters in this region.

Not only among political circles here, but also more widely, Rexhepi is regarded as a politician at the "extreme end" of the political spectrum. [Passage omitted]

[Latifi] What is the situation in the Presheve valley?

[Rexhepi] At first glance, everything looks normal, but the reality is completely different, given the statement by [Serbia-Montenegro] Defence Minister Prvoslav Davinic saying that there is a possibility for an uprising in the Presheve valley, and [head of the Coordination Body for southern Serbia] Nebojsa Covic's calls for speeding up the work on the construction of the military base in Cepotin, an area between Bujanoc [Bujanovac] and Presheve. There are also daily provocations by the Serbian army and gendarmerie, especially against the mountainous village of Ranatoc [Ranatovce]. All this shows that the situation is fragile. [Passage omitted]

Time for talks has come

[Latifi] Talks between Prishtina [Pristina] and Belgrade are drawing closer. What is the position of the Presheve valley Albanians in this context?

[Rexhepi] For the time being, our position ahead of these talks is very weak and this has happened as a result of the failure to coordinate actions among the Albanian political spectrum. Since some of the political parties, such as Riza Halimi's PVD [Party for Democratic Action], Skender Destani's BDL [Democratic Union of the Valley], and one part of the LPD branch in Bujanoc, headed by Jonuz Musliu, have joined the Coordinating Body totally blindly and without preconditions, they have weakened the negotiating position of the Albanian side in the Presheve valley before the beginning of these talks. [Passage omitted]

[Latifi] How is the problem of the Presheve valley Albanians connected with the problems that the Albanians face, for example, in Macedonia or Kosova [Kosovo], or with the problems of other peoples living in this part of former Yugoslavia?

[Rexhepi] The views of the international community that have been expressed lately leave little room for any attempt to interconnect these problems. The problem of the Presheve valley is different because it is connected with the Serbian actions in Kosova. Be that as it may, the issue of the Albanians here should be resolved as part of the Albanian problem in the Balkans, not as a separate issue.

[Latifi] There have been reports that the LPD in Presheve is the most vociferous in its demands for special status for Albanians in this region.

[Rexhepi] If the international community insists on the inviolability of the existing borders and if we want to respect the referendum of 1992, as well as the platform of the Albanian Consensual Council with regard to the preparations for a new Serbian constitution, a special status with international guarantees for the Presheve valley would be entirely acceptable for the time being. [Passage omitted]

Situation sensitive

[Latifi] The situation is sensitive and it could escalate very quickly. Do you think that the danger of a new conflict in the Presheve valley is over?

[Rexhepi] If the Serbian government still has people that foster Milosevic's mentality and if they see Albanians with the same prejudices and, finally, if there is no willingness to resolve the Presheve valley problems, this means that all roads for political action are closed. Then it is clear that they want to destabilize the situation. But the difference between now and then is that, now, certain Albanian leaders will not be able to evade responsibility.

[Latifi] According to you, what would be the best solution for Presheve valley Albanians?

[Rexhepi] The best solution would be for this region to join Kosova, but if the circumstances impose a different solution, then we will have to face that. However, I hope that circumstances will change.

Source: Fakti, Skopje, in Albanian 22 Jun 05 p 12

Kosovo independence would set Europe on fire - Serbia-Montenegro minister

BBCM, Jun 26, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Excerpt from report by Montenegrin Mina news agency

Belgrade, 26 June: The independence of Kosovo would automatically lead to the independence of the [Bosnian] Serb Republic because the same principles would apply, Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic has said.

"In my contacts with world leaders, I insist on the principle of identical standards and I always tell them that the situation in Bosnia-Hercegovina would become more stable if the Kosovo problem was resolved within the Serbian framework. Let the Serbs of the Serb Republic get everything that will be granted to the Kosovo Albanians," Draskovic told Blic [Belgrade-based daily].

According to Draskovic, the world understands that the future status of Kosovo must be a result of a compromise and an unconventional solution.

"The worst thing would be to impose a declaration of Kosovo's independence. I tell everyone that no Serbian politician will sign a document granting independence to Kosovo. Without Serbia's approval, such a declaration would immediately cause upheaval in Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Albania," Draskovic said.

This fire could destabilize Europe and Kosovo's independence would provoke demands for the same status to be granted to the Serb Republic, the Turkish part of Cyprus, Basque country, Northern Ireland, Corsica and South Ossetia. [Passage omitted]

Source: Mina news agency, Podgorica, in Serbian 1907 gmt 26 Jun 05

Kosovo Assembly fails to reach conclusion on government's decentralization plan

BBCM, Jun 25, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive

Prishtina [Pristina], 24 June: Yesterday, the Kosova [Kosovo] Assembly ended its debate on decentralization without adopting a declaration to support the government with its work in this area. More than half of the MPs participated in the debate.

The parliament will continue today with the discussion of some drafts and amendments of some bills.

The Democratic Party of Kosova [PDK] called yesterday for adopting of a resolution that would guarantee that the standards fulfilment are also fulfilment of conditions for independence. But Kosova Assembly Speaker Nexhat Daci has refused this request.

Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 24 Jun 05

Kosovo premier says slow return of displaced affecting standards fulfilment

BBCM, Jun 25, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Excerpt from report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive

Prishtina [Pristina], 24 June: UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] chief Soeren Jessen-Petersen and Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi said today that the return of displaced persons, especially Serbs, must be set as a priority on Kosova's [Kosovo] political agenda.

"The number of returnees is very small," Jessen-Petersen said. He said that the government and various international institutions have taken positive steps towards the possibility of a safe return and the creation of better living conditions. [Passage omitted]

Kosumi acknowledged that the slow pace of returns is affecting progress in the implementation of standards.

"The return of displaced persons is one of the most difficult standards to be accomplished. But we will do everything in our power to create the conditions for return to their homes," Kosumi said.

The government has promised to make additional efforts for a faster rate of return during this very important time for the future of Kosova. [Passage omitted]

Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 24 Jun 05

Serbia stresses need to protect energy resources, property in Kosovo

BBCM, Jun 25, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Excerpt from report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet

Belgrade, 23 June: The Republic of Serbia government adopted at today's session information on the need to safeguard the Republic of Serbia's energy resources and property in Kosovo-Metohija, about which it will inform the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Kosovo-Metohija Soeren Jessen-Petersen. [Passage omitted]

The government adopted the solution of using funds from current budgetary reserves, amounting to 77m dinars, to fund the activities of the Serbia-Montenegro Coordination Centre in connection with the return of expelled persons from Kosovo-Metohija. [Passage omitted]

Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1431 gmt 23 Jun 05

Kosovo journalist dies of wounds sustained in attack

Associated Press, Jun 25, 2005 1:09 PM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-A Kosovo journalist died Saturday from wounds sustained in a shooting earlier this month, his newspaper said.

Bardhyl Ajeti, 28, died at a hospital in Milan, Italy, where he was being treated after being shot in the head June 3, the Kosovo daily Bota Sot said.

Gunmen opened fire on his car as he drove through a village in eastern part of Kosovo, the paper said.

One person was briefly detained for questioning. Police did not give a motive for the attack.

Ajeti had been critical of former ethnic Albanian rebel leaders who he accused repeatedly of postwar killings and organized crime in Kosovo. His newspaper is close to Kosovo's President Ibrahim Rugova and Rugova's party, the Democratic League of Kosovo.

Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since June 1999 following a NATO air war aimed at stopping a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians seeking independence for Kosovo.

Kosovo journalist dies from wounds of early June attack

DPA, Jun 26, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Pristina - Kosovo journalist Bardhyl Ajeti died Saturday in an Italian hospital from wounds sustained during an early June assassination attempt in eastern Kosovo, Pristina media reported.

Bardil Ajeti of the pro-government newspaper Bota Sot was shot in the head at close range on June 3 near the eastern town of Gnjilane. Police arrested one of three suspected attackers.

Journalists of Bota Sot, a Pristina daily close to the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) led by provincial President Ibrahim Rugova, have been often targeted in the last several years.

Some 20 LDK activists have been murdered, including Bota Sot editor Bekim Kastrati, and dozens wounded in some 60 politically motivated attacks since the U.N. administration took control over Kosovo in 1999. Local media attributed the attacks to the struggle for power between LDK and former ethnic Albanian guerrillas-turned- politicians from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

International media watchdogs, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), described Kosovo as a highly insecure environment for journalist work, mainly due to the numerous threats and attacks from various criminal and quasi- political groups.

1,000 UK troops on Kosovo standby

THE INDEPENDENT (UK), 26 June 2005 By Robert Fox in Pristina

Britain is drawing up contingency plans to send up to 1,000 extra British troops and advisers to Kosovo as a crisis looms over the Balkan province's future.

Officially Kosovo remains a part of Serbia, although it has been under international control since 1999, when Nato troops took over in the wake of a bombing campaign against ex-president Slobodan Milosevic. But the province's restive Albanian majority, backed by the US, is demanding independence from "final status" talks later this year.

Serbs inside Kosovo, of whom about 125,000 remain, and the Serbian government still oppose Kosovo breaking away. Recently, however, Belgrade has shifted its position by declaring Kosovo should be granted something "more than autonomy, but less than independence". Either way, the interim Kosovo government of President Ibrahim Rugova and Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi believes there is a threat of serious violence once the talks get under way.

In March last year riots across the province killed 19 people, including one UN policeman, and seriously injured more than 200. A report into the riots by Kai Eide, a Norwegian diplomat, castigated Unmik, the UN mission to Kosovo, and K-For, the international military force, for incompetence, inertia and corruption. As the violence erupted, German UN troops were accused of hiding in their barracks. The 1st Battalion, the Royal Gloucester Wiltshire and Berkshire Regiment, then Nato's spearhead battalion, had to be flown in. As tensions rose this spring, the 1st Green Jackets had to be brought in for a similar mission.

As the "final status" talks begin, trouble is feared from Serb militants in Mitrovica and north-east Kosovo, with intelligence suggesting they could be supported by nationalists across the border in Serbia. More worrying, say intelligence analysts, is the possibility of another spontaneous nationalis tuprising by militant Kosovo Albanians if independence is put off yet again. "We could face something like the KLA uprising in 1998, only this time we don't know who the new leaders will be," said one.

Britain has 200 troops and support personnel in Kosovo, and some 1,000 troops in Bosnia, where the international administration is run by Lord Ashdown. But his mission ends in October, and Britain hands over command of the EU force in Bosnia at the same time. The Ministry of Defence says officially there are no immediate plans to send troops to Kosovo, but "contingencies are under constant review". According to military sources, the timing means the British battalion in Bosnia could be switched to Kosovo, just when it might be needed.

Roma main victims of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo - journalists

BBCM, Jun 24, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet

Belgrade, 23 June: The Roma from Kosovo-Metohija are the main victims of ethnic cleansing which occurred in the area. This is the assessment of participants at a journalist's conference - entitled "Ethnic Cleansing and the Suffering of Kosovo Roma" - held in Tanjug's International Press Centre.

Rajko Djuric, Tanjug news agency deputy editor in chief, said that according to estimates about 150,000 Roma lived in Kosovo-Metohija up to June 1999. This number is undoubtedly higher, bearing in mind the phenomenon of "ethnic mimicry", so it can be said that about 250,000 Roma lived in Kosovo, Djuric said.

He said that Roma lived in 21 of the 22 municipalities in Kosovo-Metohija, while according to the [Kosovo] government's own current information there are 18,727 in total.

Based just on this, it can be said that genocide was carried out against the Roma, Djuric said. He said that until June 1999, 24,000 Roma lived in Pristina, while now there are 2,750; in Pec there were 20,000, now 2,500; and Gnjilane had 7,000, their number now reduced to 850.

Djuric said that in Serbia there are about 60,000 Roma refugees and displaced from Kosovo-Metohija; 12,000 in Montenegro; a few thousand in Macedonia; and that many fled to other countries. In Germany alone, according to one of it ministerial departments, there are about 50,000 Roma from Kosovo-Metohija.

He concluded that based on these facts, Roma were the main victims of ethnic cleansing by [ethnic] Albanians and extremists.

A documentary film entitled "Without a Home, Without a Grave" by Pristina journalist Azir Jasari who after Kosovo Liberation Army [KLA, UCK in Albanian] members and Albanian extremists ran amok had his house demolished, following the arrival of international armed forces in Kosovo-Metohija was shown at the conference.

In the documentary filmed in 1999, Jasari shows shocking scenes of ethnic cleansing and killings of Roma, as well as homes and whole Roma settlements in Pristina and other places being destroyed and torched.

The journalist's conference was organized by Tanjug.

Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1926 gmt 23 Jun 05

German officials presenting plans to repatriate refugees to Afghanistan, Kosovo

Associated Press, Jun 24, 2005 5:53 AM

STUTTGART, Germany-German security officials were to address immigration issues Friday, including returning Afghan and Kosovo refugees and the delicate question of Jewish immigration.

Interior Minister Otto Schily, the nation's top security official, was meeting with his counterparts from Germany's 16 states to discuss new immigration laws that came into effect at the beginning of this year.

Key elements of the laws include planning the return of refugees from the wars in Afghanistan and Kosovo to their homelands, now that relative stability has returned to the countries.

In addition, the ministers will be discussing changes to the laws governing Jewish refugees from eastern Europe.

Germany's Jewish Community is seeking changes to the law that would grandfather the 270,000 pending applications by Jews in the former Soviet countries so that they are handled according to the old law.

Kosovo party leader sees 'three-speed' approach to status

BBCM, Jun 24, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Text of commentary by The Hour political party leader Veton Surroi entitled "Three speeds" published by the Kosovo Albanian newspaper Koha Ditore on 23 June

1. In order to understand the Kosova [Kosovo] issue, which is entering a new phase, it seems one needs to have a lot of knowledge about physics. For three consecutive years, we have seen a doctrinaire debate about the Standards that Kosova is supposed to meet so that the process of defining its status can start. First, there was the formula called "Standards before status" and for almost two years we had debates on this, which became almost theological debates, similar to the debate about the existence of God. Then we had the phase called "Standards and status", which suggested that Kosova had to meet the Standards and simultaneously prepare itself for the status.

Since a few weeks ago, however, Kosova has in fact entered the phase of "Standards after status", meaning that any delay in implementing the Standards should not obstruct the opening of the process to define Kosova's status. Such a position can be noticed in the statements by the highest US official dealing with Kosova, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns. Though not explained in detail, such a position derives from the accumulated knowledge (which is privately explained) that Kosova does not have decisionmaking capacities to implement more Standards if it does not reach a more favourable status. A simple analysis of the law of physics shows the Standards and the status have their own speeds - both of them moving in the same direction, but at a different pace. Furthermore the speed of the Standards is adapted to the speed of the status, and not the other way around.

2. However, this generalized context is not comprehensible to all. When dealing with the Standards, the three parties of the triangle that in one way or another will determine Kosova's status - the international community, the Kosovars and Belgrade - have three different speeds. So today we have three speeds regarding the approach towards the status.

First, the international community has reached the phase of Standards after status, that is to say, it sees the opening of the negotiations at the beginning of the autumn.

In this context, the mandate that has been given to special envoy Kai Eide is intentionally broad, and it does not have to do only with the fulfilment of Standards, but also with a wider political context. This is so because Eide will identify that there is a willingness in Kosovar society to fulfil the Standards (which is very true), but there are also two key obstacles to the future: the lack of institutional capacity for a functional state and the real problems in the Kosovar political establishment that impede the building of a democratic state (which is also true).

Kosova will enter the negotiating process with this state of affairs, but the defects identified in Eide's report will seriously impact on the status formula. And this is due to a simple reason: the status frames have already been set. If one looks at the position of the Contact Group, one sees that Kosova is moving towards its full legal independence from Belgrade, but not towards full sovereignty in the international context. In fact, the negotiating process will be greatly oriented towards the competencies that the international community should keep in Kosova. As far as the NATO presence is concerned, there is full consensus in Kosova about this. Also, this process will be oriented towards the level of Serbs' self-administration in Kosova.

3. The power in Kosova is moving at a slower speed than the international community. Caught amid "Standards and status", the government has been almost fully focused on the half-cosmetic and half-genuine fulfilment of the priority Standards. Being focused on this formula, moving with an unusual institutional clumsiness, and being involved in non-democratic activities (autocracy in the Assembly, corruption, the mismanagement of public money, the lack of economic policies and the existence of parallel security structures), official Kosova will make bulky the part of Eide's report about the necessity for the intervention of the international community in Kosova after the solution of the status. The correlation here is very simple: the more inefficient and non-democratic this government is, the thicker will be the file of obligations of the international community in Kosova and the more crippled Kosova's sovereignty will be.

The nature of relations between the government and the international community may be clearly seen by looking at a simple issue: it promises every day that it will implement the pilot [municipality] projects by demonstrating a spirit of cooperation with the internationals and by buying an alibi for the negative activities that have been following this government this year, from the mismanagement of public money to corruption. If things continue like this, Kosova will enter the status phase with a poor negotiating position, and this risks leading to a complex status in the future that would cause even more damage to functionality.

4. The Serbs, both in Kosova and Belgrade, which has given only instructions so far, are moving even more slowly than the Kosovar government. They are still in the phase of "Standards before status", hoping in vain that there will be a kind of assessment that will prevent the opening of the negotiating process. In fact, the Kosova Serbs have been the biggest losers in this because they have not succeeded in creating a legitimate platform regarding their needs, by being content only with Belgrade's basic ambition to be a negotiating party when the time for status comes.

The time for status is getting close, and Belgrade will be consulted about this, but the requests of the Kosova Serbs have not been legitimized yet. The coming months should be a turning point for the Kosova Serbs when they will have to move from Belgrade's concept about "territorial sovereignty over Kosova" and the "more than autonomy, but less than independence" offer to a context of their real needs in Kosova and functional proposals as to how they can be satisfied in a half-sovereign state of Kosova, which will be after the negotiations.

5. Can these three speeds be accommodated? In physics, there is no theoretical problem with regard to why they cannot be adjusted. In the economy, the approach is usually reaching an average. But if the lesson will be the experience learned from the past, then one should know two things. First, the international community is a machine that is not easily set in motion when dealing with trivial issues, as is Kosova, but when it starts moving, it is difficult to stop. Second, when this machine is set in motion, those moving slowly should speed up and catch it, and not the other way around.

Source: Koha Ditore, Pristina, in Albanian 23 Jun 05 pp 10, 11

U.N. in western Kosovo transfers control of police responsibilities to local force

Associated Press, Jun 24, 2005 5:59 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-United Nations authorities in Kosovo handed over the command of policing in the west of the province to a local force, a statement said.

The transition is part of the process of handing over security responsibilities as the time nears to try to resolve the disputed status of the U.N.-administered province.

So far two of five regional police headquarters have been transferred from the U.N. to the Kosovo Police Service.

Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations and patrolled by NATO-led peacekeepers since a 1999 NATO air war halted the Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

Kosovo premier presents positive report on Standards to assembly

BBCM, Jun 24, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive

Prishtina [Pristina], 23 June: Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi introduced to the Kosova [Kosovo] Assembly today his report on implementation of the Standards.

Kosumi voiced confidence that there will be a positive outcome during the political evaluation of Standards implementation. But for this process to be carried out successfully it is required the assistance of all law-makers and all other institutions, including the political parties, he added.

He said that the former prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, deserves the most credit for the achievements made so far in this process. "Haradinaj managed to turn the Kosova Standards implementation into the government working plan.

He also announced that after December, the Standards for Kosova will turn into the Standards towards Europe. "In this way the process of implementation of Standards will continue within a new ambitious project, which is not important only for the citizens of Kosova, but also for all citizens."

The prime minister has elaborated the Standards one by one and expressed content with the achievements made so far. However he said that still more needs to be done.

Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in English 23 Jun 05

Romania wants Kosovo to remain part of Serbia

Associated Press, Jun 23, 2005 2:08 PM

BUCHAREST, Romania-Romania wants the disputed Kosovo province to remain within the borders of Serbia, Romanian Foreign Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu said Thursday.

Ungureanu pledged to help find a solution for Kosovo after meeting with Serbia's president, Boris Tadic, who is on a two-day visit to the neighboring country.

Tadic also met with Romania's president, Traian Basescu, with whom he discussed bilateral ties. During the meeting, Tadic reaffirmed his plans to participate in the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the massacre of about 8,000 boys and men by Serb forces in the Bosnian province of Srebrenica.

"This crime has its regional importance because there were also many crimes against my people, too," he said, adding that he hoped the Balkans would end "this vicious circle" and become a truly European region.

Romania's President Traian Basescu hailed Tadic's decision to go to Srebrenica as "extraordinary."

The Srebrenica massacre is considered to be Europe's single worst war crime since World War II. The U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, has indicted former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic as well as several wartime Bosnian Serb political leaders and army commanders in connection with the massacre.

The commemoration is scheduled for July 11.

Tadic also met with Senate Chairman Nicolae Vacaroiu, who called for more rights for the Romanian minority in Serbia.

He will travel Friday to the western city of Timisoara where he will attend a business forum. Many Serbs live in the region, which is close to the border with Serbia.

Belgrade slams decision of Kosovo Serb MPs to join local parliament

ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL (ITALY) 23-Jun-05 15:45

Kosovo, 23 June (AKI) - Designated Serb deputies were sharply criticised today over their intended return to the Kosovo parliament, which they have boycotted since last October's parliamentary elections. A Kosovo Serb leader, Oliver Ivanovic, said on Wednesday that ten designated deputies were now ready to take their posts in a 120-seat parliament, if the Serbian government approved the move. However leading political figures in Belgrade on Thursday criticised this move, saying the reasons for the boycott had not been resolved and that joining the parliament now would be harmful for Kosovo Serbs.

Even though they largely boycotted last October's parliamentary elections, the Kosovo Serbs have ten seats earmarked for them as an ethnic minority, and until now have refused to take up their places in parliament.

Prime minister Vojislav Kostunica urged the boycott because the international community has ignored his plan for municipal decentralisation, which would grant minority Serbs local self-rule, their own police and administration.

In addition, Kostunica has said that little has been done for the return of Serbs who have fled the province since 1999, and in guaranteeing safety of those who remained. Only 0.8 per cent of Kosovo Serbs went to the polls, voting for Ivanovic's Serbian List for Kosovo.

"Why should Belgrade give credibility to Oliver Ivanovic?" said Dusan Prorokovic, a senior official of Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia and the head of the Serbian parliament committee for Kosovo.

"If Belgrade wants Serbs to join Kosovo institutions, why not support someone else", he asked, alluding to the low election turnout. "It is clear that the 'Serbian list' has neither legitimacy nor credibility with 0.8 per cent of the votes," he said.

The head of the parliamentary group of president Boris Tadic's Democratic Party, Dusan Petrovic, said that it was important for Serbs to join Kosovo institutions to protect their rights, but added at least some of their original demands had to be fulfilled beforehand.

Other Serbian party leaders have agreed that there was nothing to justify Ivanovic's intentions to join Kosovo's parliament and that Serbian politicians should take a unified stand on the issue.

Slavisa Petkovic, who serves as the only Serb minister in Kosovo in prime minister Bajram Kosumi's government, said that Ivanovic was a "political dilettante" for not joining the parliament earlier.

Ethnic Albanians, who form a 1.7 million majority in Kosovo, demand independence, which Belgrade opposes, though it has no authority there since it withdrew in 1999 and the UN took over the administration of the province. (Vpr/Aki)

Serbian leaders to tackle Serb participation in Kosovo institutions

BBCM, Jun 23, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Text of report by Serbian radio on 25 June

The state leadership will decide next week about a potential entry of Serbs into the interim institutions of Kosovo and Metohija. This is what Coordination Centre chief Nebojsa Covic said today. Mirjana Naerlovic reports from a news conference he held today:

[Naerlovic] Speculation about Serbs joining the interim institutions of Kosovo and Metohija are causing the greatest harm to representatives of the Serb community, Coordination Centre chief Covic believes:

[Covic] In view of specific circumstances that surrounded provincial elections, I believe it is very important that the decision is made in cooperation with Belgrade. This decision should consider Serb representatives' participation and non-participation in Kosovo and Metohija. As I have said, in the course of this or early next week a meeting should be called and a new assessment made. This should not give rise to any disagreements, I believe.

[Naerlovic] Covic believes there are no arguments against Serbs joining Kosovo institutions before September as some individuals from Kosovo and Metohija have been announcing. Commenting on who will be the true representative of Serbs, he says:

[Covic] It is relatively easy to identify true representatives of the Serb community. This should be agreed by political subjects responsible for what constitutes the policy of the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija.

[Naerlovic] Knowing that a new round of talks on Kosovo and Metohija will start in the autumn it is important that by September a dialogue at the highest level also begins between Belgrade and Pristina, Nebojsa Covic concluded.

Source: Radio Belgrade in Serbian 1300 gmt 25 Jun 05

Kosovo premier says Kosovo Protection Corps to become Kosovo 'army' after status settled

BBCM, Jun 22, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Text of report in English by independent internet news agency KosovaLive

Prishtina [Pristina], 22 June: The Kosova [Kosovo] Protection Corps [TMK] will become the army of Kosova when Kosova's final status is settled, Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi said today during a visit to the TMK Headquarters and the TMK Training and Doctrine Command Centre [TDC].

Kosumi was the first to be saluted by the TMK Ceremonial Guard, which was officially inaugurated one month ago.

After his visit to the TDC, Kosumi said that talks on Kosova's final status will begin in September. By June 2006, he said, Kosova will have a different status from its current one.

When asked by KosovaLive whether the TMK will become an army before or after the settlement of Kosova's status, Kosumi said that, "of course," the transformation should happen after the settlement. This final status, he said, will be independence.

Kosumi urged leaders at the TMK Headquarters to work on the professional development of its members, officers, and noncommissioned officers. The professional level of Kosova's army should be based on international standards, he said.

Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 22 Jun 05

Kosovo gets ceremonial guard, dreams of future army

Reuters By Shaban Buza 6:40 a.m. June 22, 2005

PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro - Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi Wednesday took the first salute from a new "ceremonial guard" of ex-guerrillas from the force he says will soon make up the army of an independent Kosovo.

Dressed in black with yellow braid and belts, the 80-strong guard saluted stiffly at the headquarters of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), the civil emergency force formed in 1999 from the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

"We see the KPC as the nucleus of the army of the state of Kosovo," Kosumi told reporters after meeting Corps commander Agim Ceku, who twice fought against Serb forces during the 1991-95 Croatian war and later in Kosovo in 1998-99.

"Kosovo in the future needs an army, small in number but well-equipped and founded on European standards," he said.

The ceremonial guard will honor foreign dignitaries visiting Kosovo as diplomacy accelerates toward a decision in the next 12 months on the Albanians' drive for independence from Serbia.

Serb leaders were likely to see it as yet another Albanian attempt to pre-empt talks by setting up as many trappings of statehood as possible before negotiations start.

The 3,000-strong KPC was created in 1999 from the ranks of the guerrilla army that waged a two-year war against Serb forces, eventually aided by NATO which bombed Serbia for 11 weeks to force Belgrade to withdraw its troops.

The United Nations took control of Serbia's southern province and the KLA was transformed into an unarmed disaster response force. But its officers and Kosovo's political leaders have never hidden their intention to make it Kosovo's army.

Serbia says independence is out of the question and has dismissed the KPC as a band of "terrorists."

Kosovo Serbs will join local institutions if Belgrade agrees

ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL (ITALY) 22-Jun-05 14:58

Pristina, 22 June (AKI) - Kosovo minority Serbs might be ready to join local, ethnic Albanian-dominated institutions, which they have boycotted since parliamentary elections last October, a Kosovo Serb leader Oliver Ivanovic said on Wednesday. On the suggestions of Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Serbs boycotted elections for the Kosovo parliament.

Despite this they still have ten seats reserved for them as a minority but have unitl now refused to take them up. Ivanovic, a leader of ten assigned Serb deputies, told Belgrade daily "Vecernje novosti" that they had unanimously decided to take parliamentary seats by July 6.He added, however, that the deputies would like Belgrade's blessing for their decision and would call on Kostunica and President Boris Tadic to convene an urgent meeting on the matter. President Tadic had opposed the decision by Kostunica and the Serbian parliament to urge a boycott last October.

"People in Kosovo are aware that Serbian authorities can't do much for them and they have no one to turn to, because outside the institutions we are reduced almost to an informal group", Ivanovic said.

Kostunica has demanded a decentralization of Kosovo municipalities, which would grant local self-rule for the remaining 100,000 Serbs, but the international community has turned a deaf ear to the proposal.

Kosovo, whose majority ethnic Albanians demand independence, has been under United Nations control since 1999, and Belgrade no longer has any authority there.

The talks on the final status of Kosovo are expected to begin after September, and Ivanovic said that the Serbs had a better chance to fight for their interests from within the institutions. Over 200,000 have fled Kosovo since 1999 and Belgrade insists on their return before talks on the final status, but only about 12,000 non-Albanians have returned in recent years and live mostly in isolated enclaves, surrounded by 1.7 million Albanians.

Belgrade and most Kosovo Serbs, who boycotted elections, claim that their presence in parliament would serve no useful purpose, except for being a "multi-ethnic decor" in the 120-seat parliament. But Ivanovic said that Kosovo Serbs had been urged to join the parliament and other institutions by the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the Council of Europe, and the leading world powers.

"Who else has to tell us that, before we realize that it is not a part of conspiracy,"Ivanovic concluded. (Vpr/Aki)

Kοsovo: Turkey’s edgy Balkan link

KATHIMERINI (GREECE), Tuesday June 21, 2005

Deceptively quiet Prizren is home to 30,000 ethnic Turks and a sizable Turkish military presence

By Burak Bekdil - Kathimerini English Edition

Prizren/Ankara - “Ankara, 1298 km” reads a signpost in the barracks housing a battalion of Turkish peacekeepers in this quiet but fragile town in southwestern Kosovo. Prizren is not just another war-weary (former) Yugoslav town, but the scene of silent battles on many invisible fronts. The future of this small autonomous territory will probably reshuffle power politics in the entire Balkan zone.

Kosovo looks deceptively peaceful. In reality, it is like a time bomb with a slow-burning fuse. Its future will shape a chain of restructuring for every foreign state that views this tiny, mountainous land from a strategic standpoint.

Kosovo was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for 624 years until 1912 when the ethnic Albanians rose against the Istanbul government for independence, and, at the same time, triggered the First Balkan War. This explains its historical/cultural ties to present-day Turkey, and probably why Turkish troops are stationed in Prizren, where 30,000 ethnic Turks also live.

The defeat of the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War left Kosovo under Serbian rule, with the exception of brief Austrian and Bulgarian occupations during World War I.

Under Tito’s regime, 246,000 ethnic Turks migrated to Turkey in 1945-66. In 1963, Kosovo won autonomy from the Belgrade government. The collapse of the former Yugoslav federation sparked a wave of separatist violence in Kosovo in the 1990s.

Violent ethnic clashes in late 1990s ended after the federal Yugoslav government agreed to withdraw from Kosovo in June 1999 — following a wave of NATO-led air strikes against Serbia-Montenegro. Today, Kosovo is run by a United Nations interim administration, and a NATO-led military force, KFOR, is in charge of security.

Despite relative (and ostensible) calm, there are numerous problems making Kosovo a trouble spot in the heart of Balkans: its complex ethnic structure, lack of law and order, households possessing small arsenals of weaponry, the situation of displaced Serbs and smuggling. Worse, in a year’s time, even today’s relative calm could turn into politically violent turmoil.

The de jure Serbian province boasts Albanian flags on almost every corner — a visible sign of a common desire to unite with Albania, a desire that does not seem feasible in the present-day Balkan geopolitics. But the predominantly Albanian Kosovo will be an acid test for stability in the Balkans.

Most Kosovars say a return to Serbian rule is out of question after six years of international governance. Serbian rule again, says a mayor, will only mean catastrophe and violence.

The reality is that, in either case, Kosovo will mean trouble for the Balkans. Restoring Serbian rule will mean clashes, while independence will inevitably have serious political repercussions in the Balkan periphery, including Greece and Turkey.

For example, ethnic Turks fear an independent Kosovo, ruled by the Albanian elite, will only mean assimilation or de facto deportation for them. They fear rising Albanian nationalism may turn violent against the Turks of Kosovo. Ironically, most ethnic Turks empathize with ethnic Serbs vis-a-vis the Albanians, disregarding their religious unity with the predominant ethnicity.

Ankara is aware of all that. In 1999, Turkey sent a battalion to Kosovo under a United Nations Security Council resolution. The Turkish mission force, based in Prizren, has two other units in Dragash, south of Prizren, and Mamusha, a Turkish village north of Prizren.

The Turkish troops not only perform security missions, but humanitarian missions as well, including building schools and roads, restoring historical buildings, healthcare and social work. The Turkish presence in Kosovo is very “visible.”

Kosovo not only draws the interest of Turkey. It is a hot spot for every nation that has an interest in Balkan stability, even the superpower across the Atlantic, or common refugee destinations like Switzerland.

The problem to interested outsiders is that none of the potential options for Kosovo’s future look politically viable. In every sense, Kosovo is a tiny territory but a big puzzle for the international and regional powers to resolve. For many reasons, Kosovo is a serious challenge for stability in the Balkans.