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Subject: <nettime> Daily News on Kosovo From: Ljubinko Zivkovic <L.Zivkovic@Inter.NL.net> Date: 12 Mar 1998 07:37:27 +0100 * * * * * Sender: owner-nettime-l@basis.Desk.nl Precedence: bulk C O N T E N T S ================================================================== DAILY NEWS Belgrade calls for negotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 15 Kosovo Albanians reject invitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Gelbard urges cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Serbian police bury victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The Hague moves on Kosovo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Sanctions begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 20 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- DAILY NEWS ------------------------------------------------------------------ BELGRADE CALLS FOR NEGOTATION BELGRADE, SERBIA. The Serbian Government on Tuesday called on 25 Kosovo Albanians to begin an open dialogue with Serb authorities. The statement from the Ministry of Information addressed the call to what it described as ``all responsible ethnic Albanian representatives. The same statement emphasised that Serbian police actions in the southern province had been a response to Albanian 30 terrorism. The statement reiterated Belgrade's position that the crisis in Kosovo has been precipitated by militant Albanian terrorists and that the situation is purely an internal affair of Serbia. The statement calling for dialogue came one day after the Contact 35 Group, meeting in London agreed to reimpose international sanctions on Yugoslavia, because of Belgrade's failure to resolve the situation in Kosovo. Serbian Information Minister Radmila Milentijevic acknowledged in an interview with the BBC yesterday that there had been civilian 40 casualties of last week's police actions in the Drenica area. Milentijevic stressed, however that police had besieged a terrorist stronghold and called on all civilians to leave before opening fire. KOSOVO ALBANIANS REJECT INVITATION 45 PRISTINA, SERBIA. The Democratic League of Kosovo has described Belgrade's call to negotiation as not serious. The League's Fehmet Agani told Radio B92 on Tuesday that the offer was impudent and irresponsible in linking the invitation to negotiate with its approval of what he described as a monstrous crime. Agani added 50 that by not addressing the invitation to negotiate to anyone specific, the Serbian Government appeared to be calling for some kind of open bid, rather than serious political discussion. There has not as yet been any formal response from any Kosovo Albanian group to Belgrade's statement. 55 GELBARD URGES COOPERATION PRISTINA, SERBIA. US Special Envoy Robert Gelbard on Tuesday condemned the violence in Kosovo. He said that the Contact Group had been disappointed and frightened by the death toll in Kosovo. He accused Serb authorities of ignoring the rule of law, and 60 condemned their refusal to allow international humanitarian organisations into the region. Gelbard urged Kosovo Albanian leaders not to put demanding conditions on their participation in dialogue with Serb authorities. SERBIAN POLICE BURY VICTIMS 65 PRISTINA, SERBIA. The Serbian police force on Tuesday night consigned the bodies of 29 victims of last week's conflict to a mass grave. The bodies had been lying in a construction depot near Skenderaj for two days. The families of the dead had refused to claim the bodies until an international medical organisation had 70 performed autopsies. The police moved in the early evening to collect the bodies, before brying them in the village of Prekaz. Only ten mourners were permitted to attend the burial. Officials of the Islamic Union of Kosovo and clergy from the Kosovo Catholic Church were also barred by police from attending. Three Catholic 75 clerics were stopped at a police checkpoint and threatened with beatings if they proceeded, according to local Albanian language daily Koha Ditore. THE HAGUE MOVES ON KOSOVO THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS. The Hague Tribunal has begun an 80 investigation into last week's violence in Kosovo. A statement from the office of Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour on Tuesday said that the Tribunal was examining the Serbian police action. The statement emphasised that the Tribunal's jurisdiction covered any serious human rights violations on the territory of the former 85 Yugoslavia. SANCTIONS BEGIN OTTAWA, CANADA. The Canadian Government has begun the immediate implementation of sanctions against Yugoslavia. US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright visited Ottawa on Tuesday. Her visit was 90 followed by an announcement that all exports, loans and other programs of cooperation with Yugoslavia had been suspended. The Canadian Government also announced that it had stopped negotiations with Yugoslav Airlines for landing rights in Canada. The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday debated an embargo 95 on arms export to Yugoslavia. Its final decision has been postponed for ten days, the period given by the Contact Group for Belgrade to take steps towards a resolution of the Kosovo problem. Translated by: Goran Dimitrijevic Edited by: Steve Agnew --- # distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@desk.nl and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: nettime-owner@desk.nl