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CONTENTS: HAS THE WAR IN MACEDONIA ENDED? HAS THE WAR IN MACEDONIA ENDED? In a secret meeting in Kosovo late Tuesday night an agreement was signed that would end the fighting in Macedonia reported Koha Ditore on page one. Head of the OSCE Mission in Macedonia, Ambassador Robert Frowick, possibly achieved his goal to end the fighting in Macedonia. Meeting far away from members of the media, Ambassador Frowick managed to receive consent to end the fighting in Macedonia. Arbën Xhaferi, Imer Imeri and possibly Ali Ahmeti will be the last ones to sign the agreement that will end the bloodshed in Macedonia. According to an international source the meeting was held late last night in a Kosovo town. The source did not precisely describe where the meeting was held, however it is assumed to be the one of the towns on the Kosovo-Macedonia border. Last week's meeting in Tirana, between Ambassador Frowick and Albanian Prime Minster Meta, preceded the meeting. It is expected that the NLA Political Leader will sign the agreement and it will also receive the blessing of all political leaders that are in the Macedonian coalition government in closing the last chapter of this conflict. Frowick admitted last Friday that he met with Meta and consulted with Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, Hashim Thaçi, Ramush Haradinaj and Agim Çeku. He demanded an end to the fighting in Macedonia, the approval of an amnesty law for all Albanian fighters, their full rehabilitation and the involvement of the leaders in the political life in Macedonia. The intentional source informs that in the process of defining the peace agreement on Macedonia, one influential non-party member helped to bring about the agreement. The first proposal was once the fighting ended, the NLA soldiers would enter Kosovo and demilitarize there. The Albanian side, and especially the NLA disagreed, because the NLA soldiers have no need to give up their weapons in Kosovo because they are not Kosovars; they all come from Macedonia, informed the international source. The head of the OSCE in Macedonia emphasized that the Albanians were focused on one objective, to convince NLA to stop the fighting, hand in their weapons and withdraw to Kosovo. The international source specified that the international community would guarantee the implementation of the agreement and promised that political changes would come in Macedonia. This is believed to be the reason why the Albanians would be convinced to end the armed conflict. "Political dialogue could open the door for progress and, in the end, for legitimacy," said OSCE Ambassador Robert Frowick last week. He added that an agreement could be achieved for an amnesty and rehabilitation and include the fighters into the political circles, if they give up violence. The Macedonia government refused until last week to talk with Albanian fighters, however it looks like they have changed their mind. Nevertheless, it remains unclear for the opinion the content of the agreement. KOSTUNICA'S ATTEMPT TO PREVENT ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO Elections in Kosovo cannot be held if essential Serb demands are not fulfilled, said Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica to the Czech paper the Pravo, reported Zëri on page eleven. "First of all, we have to deal with the security of the Serb refugees that want to return to their homes in Kosovo," said Kostunica. He evaluated, "essential changes have to be made in the judicial status for the Serbs and the other non-Albanians". Without these changes elections cannot be held," emphasized Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica. Speaking about the chances for reconciliation between the Balkan nations Kostunica said, "The battle for finding the truth cannot be lead only in one state because that state is not an island, it is a part of the region". Asked if is it disturbing that the Serbs are blaming everyone else for what happened over the last ten years, Kostunica answered that the search for the truth is very hard. He also said public opinion can be influenced by many factors among them are the media. "Many of the media that are far from this country are acting in a intolerant and biased way. Their main concerns are the money and other circumstances," said Kostunica. The Yugoslav President expressed his conviction that after all the bloody conflicts in the former Yugoslavia there is still a chance for reconciliation between the nations. "First, it is necessary and important to determine the truth as to what happened in the Balkans and to get an objective view of the events that happened over the past ten years". He evaluated, "All this is not enough if it does not bring reconciliation among the people of former Yugoslavia". He concluded, "Only reconciliation will remove violence, hatred and war from the existing institutions, such as the Commission for the Truth and Reconciliation are". SHALA: THE FIRST PROBLEM OF KOSOVO'S DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT Zëri on page one carried a column by its editor-in-chief Blerim Shala commenting on Kosovo's electricity problem. Shala wrote: "Regardless of the general elections' results and the first democratic government that will be elected, we already know the number one problem the government will have to deal with. The first problem will be the lack of electricity. Kosovo's government will not have enough time to catch its breath if no miracle takes place. In this case, Hawaii's climate in Kosovo would be a miracle. Considering the number of times we have written about KEK, mentioned the great amount of money spent in repairing Kosovo's production capacities and the electricity restrictions we have faced so often that I really do not believe there is anyone with an idea of what Kosovo should do in order to change things for the better. Conditions for establishing a 'True Commission' for KEK and Kosovo's electricity potential were created long ago. If the relations among the main political parties would be the way they say they are, we could now establish an independent experts' body, which would prepare an objective elaborate for this great problem. Regardless of who wins in the elections, such a plan would be a great help to Kosovo's government. After all, the electricity restrictions concern everyone, the LDK, PDK, AAK and all their voters." THE LOGIC IS OFTEN MOCKED IN KOSOVO Koha Ditore on page four carried a report on the Dubrava massacre that took place two years ago. Two years have passed since the Albanian prisoners in the prison of Dubrava experienced the greatest terror possible. For most of them, this was their last terror. It brought an end to their lives. Around 150 Albanians were killed with their hands tied behinds their back. It all started on 17 May when NATO bombed the prison and killed three prisoners. According to the survivors, the Serb personnel was furious after the bombing. What happened in the next 36 hours was one of the greatest crimes in the second half of the twentieth century. NATO airplanes returned once more on the 21st and during the entire day bombed the prison. The wardens and the prisoners remained inside. Around 20 prisoners died that day. The wardens returned at eight o'clock the next morning and ordered the prisoners to stand in rows of four, with the pretext that they would be transferred to another prison. Suddenly, they shot and threw bombs at the prisoners. According to the eyewitnesses, approximately 70 prisoners were killed. Around 900 Albanians were imprisoned at that time in the FRY. Due to the impossibility of fleeing, many of them were forced to hide in the prison's basements. The "disguised" policemen continued murdering the unprotected prisoners after having looked for them in every corner of the basement. The victims probably tried to defend themselves, but all they had were sticks, which did not help a lot. Trying to cross over the walls surrounding the prison killed several of them. Four prisoners lost their sanity because there was nothing they could do about the situation. The shooting and bombing continued. Exhausted, the wardens told the prisoners that they had five minutes to give up. Considering the fact that they had nothing more to lose and that either way they would join their friends lying lifeless on the floor and covered with blood, they gave up. The survivors were transferred to the prison of Lipjan. The policemen did not manage to find another 154 prisoners. Several months later, the Hague Tribunal found a mass grave in the nearby village of Rakos. This grave included 97 Albanian corpses. Thirteen Albanians, who were in the prison of Dubrava, are still in Serb prisons. One of the brightest Kosovar figures, Ukshin Hoti, has been missing since 16 May when he was supposed to be released from prison. Regardless of the many requests, pleas, demands and protests for Hoti, nothing has been learned about his fate. Two years ago a massacre took place in the prison of Dubrava. People
who are called wardens committed the massacre. The word warden means
protector. How can someone who is supposed to protect, murder? Well,
such questions were not made during the war. The logic is often mocked in
Kosovo. |