Adem Demaci returns to politics
Attempt to initiate "new way of thinking about Kosovo" in Belgrade
Danas, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, December 11, 2000
Pristina - The former political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army and political prisoner Adem Demaci assessed that a political solution should be sought in the Presevo valley, adding that the world would not tolerate new Serb-Albanian conflicts. "However, eventual exchange of territory is out of the question," Demaci told the Pristina Albanian language daily "Zeri", alluding to speculation that the Presevo valley might be exchanged for the north of Kosovo, where the majority of the population is Serb. Demaci, called "the Kosovo Mandela" by some due to 27 years spent in jail as a political prisoner, announced that he was "very seriously preparing to return to political life" but emphasized that this would depend on the wishes of the citizens of Kosovo.
Demaci withdrew from politics at the beginning of last year due to a disagreement with KLA leadership regarding participation in negotiations in Rambouillet. "I withdrew from political life because the Albanian people will never again be in danger of being erased by someone from the face of the earth," Demaci told "Zeri".
Commenting on his recent visit to Belgrade, the long-time president of the Kosovo board for the protection of human rights and freedoms assessed that this was a "very courageous move" with the goal of attempting "to initiate a new way of thinking" about Kosovo among the Serbs. "For me there is no more Yugoslavia because a state which consists of a greater Serbia with a de facto seceded Montenegro is essentially pointless," concluded Demaci in an interview published in the Saturday issue of the Pristina daily "Zeri".(Beta)
Kostunica belongs to cunning school
Asked to answer a question on the eventual meeting of Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica and the leader of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, Demaci said that "Rugova, now free of fear and with the Serbian state security service not any more on his back, will do everything to secure freedom for Kosovo".
"Kostunica belongs to the cunning school of Serbian politics. However, he cannot achieve any type of agreement with Rugova prior to general elections in Kosovo and comprehensive debate among Albanians beforehand," said Demaci, commenting on the recent invitation for dialog sent by the Yugoslav president to the leader of the Kosovo Albanians.
REACTIONS TO REPLACEMENT OF UNMIK HEAD
Danas, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, December 11, 2000
IVANOVIC: Expectations for new UNMIK head
Kosovska Mitrovica - On Saturday the president of the executive board of the Serb National Council of northern Kosovo, Oliver Ivanovic, expressed his expectation that the new head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo Hans Haekkerup will undertake all the necessary measures to stabilize the situation in the province.
"We expect that the new administrator will secure freedom of movement for all citizens of Kosovo and enable the return of displaced Serbs without any preconditions," stated Ivanovic for SRNA. According to Ivanovic, the Serbs in the province are not satisfied by the work to date of previous UNMIK head Bernard Kouchner because "he was not successful in providing a safe environment for all citizens and ethnic communities in Kosovo, and enabling the return of displaced persons". Haekkerup is considered to be well-informed considering the situation in the Balkans, and he is to assume the position of the head of UNMIK on January 15. Haekkerup visited Kosovo on October 23 and on that occasion he visited Kosovska Mitrovica. (FoNet)
UCPMB wants NATO intervention
Bujanovac - The political wing of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac (UCPMB) has asked that NATO intervene in the Presevo valley in order to "protect the local Albanian population". According to Albanian sources in Kosovo cited last night by Radio B92, the political council has assessed that armed actions by the UCPMB are "essential in order to protect the Albanians in the Presevo valley". The UCPMB denied claims by the media that it is "provoking conflicts in order to cause NATO intervention in the buffer zone at the administrative border with Serbia" and expressed willingness to negotiate in order to calm down the situation in the south of Serbia.(FoNet)
Moscow: Hope for objective policies
Moscow - Moscow hopes that the new head of the UN civilian mission in Kosovo, Dane Hans Haekkerup, will lead "balanced and unbiased" policies, a senior Russian official stated on Saturday. Interfax Agency quoted the words of a Russian foreign ministry official that Russia hopes that Haekkerup will continue leading "balanced, unbiased and objective policies" in Kosovo. The Russian official also expressed the hope that Haekkerup "unlike his predecessor" will uphold the implementation, not the obstruction, of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and that he will "prevent every move which would be detrimental to the integrity of Yugoslav territory". (Beta-AFP)
TRAJKOVIC: Kouchner leaving ruins behind him
Gracanica - The president of the Serbian Resistance Movement, Momcilo Trajkovic, expressed the hope that the arrival of the new head of the UN civilian mission in Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, will signify a change in the international policy in the province with respect to a more just implementation of UN Resolution 1244. Trajkovic assessed that previous UNMIK head Bernard Kouchner created a catastrophe because "he is leaving the ruins of a multiethnic Kosovo behind him".
Trajkovic stated that Koucher used UN Resolution 1244 to create "an Albanian society, instead of creating a multiethnic society in Kosovo". Trajkovic assessed that Haekkerup must, in a democratic manner and with consistent implementation of Resolution 1244, provide opportunity for the Serbs to reintegrate themselves into the new society in Kosovo, which will have firm guarantees that it will be a part of a new, democratic Serbia and Yugoslavia. "Haekkerup should be supported as a new representative without prejudices and bias, such as those of Kouchner, because this represents an opportunity for all of us - Serbs, Albanians and the international community - to become a bridge by which we can realize joint cooperation in resolving the Kosovo crisis and creating conditions for stability in the Balkans," said Trajkovic. (FoNet)
Zoran Pajevic: Europe will help us in Kosovo
Belgrade - The national coordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe, Zoran Pajevic, said at a press conference held in the Media center that the goal of the pact is the integration of countries in the region so that eventually the entire region can become a part of the European Union. When asked if FRY membership in the Stability Pact may have negative consequences for resolving problems in Kosovo and Metohija, Pajevic said that cooperation with Europe "can only contribute to the beginning of the resolution of the Kosovo dilemma".
"The former regime allowed NATO to support those against whom every normal person would have fought," emphasized Pajevic. (FoNet)
New incidents on administrative border between Serbia and Kosovo
Displaced Serbs protest at Merdare border crossing
Danas, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, December 11, 2000
Kursumlija - Several hundred displaced Serbs from Kosovo held a protest rally yesterday at the Merdare border crossing on the administrative border between Serbia proper and Kosovo, demanding to return to Kosovo. Participants of the protest, which was organized by the St. Vitus Day Association of Displaced Persons from Kursumlija, entered a few meters into Kosovo territory shouting "We want to go to Kosovo", "Kosovo is ours" and "Kouchner is a murderer" but they were prevented from advancing further by a strong cordon of KFOR troops.
A short protest rally was then held at the administrative border between Serbia proper and Kosovo after which the demonstrators gave a list of demands to KFOR representatives. The demands include "freeing of kidnapped Serbs in Kosovo" and "expulsion of Albanians from the south of Serbia". Participants in the protest announced that if their demands are not met, they will set up blockades on all roadways leading from Serbia proper to Kosovo. British lieutenant colonel Kilpatrick told Beta at Merdare that participants would be allowed to visit their homes in Kosovo if they so desired but emphasized that KFOR could not guarantee their safety.(Beta)
Translated by S. Lazovic (December 11, 2000)
