"The international community must say that there will be no division of Macedonia," Kucan said in an interview to Reuters.
"There will be no independence for Kosovo, or annexation of the south of Serbia by Kosovo. There will be no division of Bosnia-Hercegovina. In my opinion, these principles must be absolutely clear to everyone," said the president of Slovenia. Kucan also advocated the strengthening of the mandate of the international forces in Kosovo so that they could assist in prevention of attacks of Albanian guerrillas on the government forces in Macedonia. Asked whether he feared that the situation in Macedonia could get out of control, he responded: "Unfortunately, I believe that the conflict could easily escalate".
Kucan warned that "the world should be careful with the Greater Albanian nationalism," and that "the West should play an active role in the region and insist that problems be resolved based on civilized and democratic principles rather than by force". "We cannot leave this only to the Balkan peoples. Had they been able to deal with this they would have sorted it out by now. The peacekeepers in Kosovo must stop the violence of Albanians against the Serb minority," he said. Kucan reminded that Slovenia, two years ago, "as many other countries, supported the NATO intervention in Kosovo, as a way to stop the terror of Serbs against Albanians."
"The intervention stopped that violence and terror. However, later we got violence of Albanians against Serbs. And no one is trying to stop that. If that is not stopped, then it would turn out that the NATO intervention simply delivered Kosovo to Albanians," Kucan concluded.
He said that Slobodan Milosevic should be tried in the Hague and assessed the fall of Milosevic as "the first step in the deconstruction of the 'Greater Serbian' concept that had brought a lot of violence to the region". Kucan expressed hope that Montenegro would opt to remain within Yugoslavia but added that if Montenegrins opt for independence then their will must be respected and in that case "Belgrade must recognize a new state".
In a statement for FoNet news agency, Jaksic said that representatives of UNMIK and KFOR "frequently threaten the Serbs" but that the Political Committee is determined to continue to seek solutions to the crisis through democratic means. "As we have done in the past, we will use democratic means to express our opposition to UNMIK's intention of establishing its own customs system. We cannot talk about customs with KFOR," said Jaksic, claiming that "real negotiations" between the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and representatives of UNMIK "have yet to take place".
According to Beta news agency, Jaksic announced on Jagodina's Palma Plus Television that the cantonization of Kosovo and Metohija is "a realistic idea" and "the only chance for the Serbs to survive in this area because only within a canton can they realize their rights - from prevention of violence to respect for the political, civil and democratic aspects of civilized society. This also represents the only way that Serbs and Albanians can live next to each other. We will start from the principle that the Serbs in Kosovo should have as much independence with respect to the Albanians as the Albanians have with respect to Serbia. Since UNMIK and KFOR cannot guarantee our political, security and other rights, we will be forced to form parallel institutions. Regional Serb assemblies are one of the ways for Serbs to politically protect themselves and to enable the return of Serbs to Kosovo and Metohija," emphasized Jaksic.
Jaksic expressed readiness to initiate talks between the government in Belgrade and representatives of the Kosovo Albanians regarding this proposal.
In this town in Kosovo, Trajkovic spoke with Marlis Bo (sp?), the administrator for Vitina, who is also responsible for the Serb community, and Samet Damiti (sp?), the mayor. According to Trajkovic, about 80 Serb families including 20 children remain in Vitina living under "conditions of horrendous fear and stress. All the Serbs in Vitina want to sell their property and leave. The Albanians, who are placing special pressure on the residents of "the yellow house" where they want to house the members of their own Kosovo Protection Corps at any price, are offering them humiliatingly low prices for their apartments and houses. When they finally reach an agreement, they give them half of the agreed price on the first day; during the night they then damage the purchased property and refuse to pay the balance. For this reason Serbs are now advising KFOR of property sales so they can protect and illuminate the sold houses until they are paid for, explains Rada Trajkovic, citing a local administrator in Vitina.
She says that security has been increased in Vitina due to the nearness of the Macedonian border and frequent attacks against Serbs. Additional Greek and Ukranian KFOR reinforcements have arrived and it is almost impossible to enter the town which is constantly overflown by helicopters because a search of Vitina is being prepared. "Even though the Serbs agreed to participate in the local government and a Serb deputy mayor and four other political representatives were elected, the international community cannot guarantee their safety so that they cannot attend meetings of the local administration. A talk with the mayor of the municipality where Rugova's Democratic Council of Kosovo is in power left me with the impression that there is not enough strength among the Albanians to confront the extremists in their own ranks. Damiti told me that Albanians as well as Serbs were being killed in Vitina and he himself seemed frightened, said Trajkovic.
"They explained to us that they could not guarantee our safety even though we had a very strong escort. In my opinion there was another reason," stated Momcilo Trajkovic for Danas, adding that he would "find a way of getting there". He invited UNMIK head Hans Haekkerup and KFOR commander Thorsten Skiaker to visit Vitina with him. On Saturday morning Trajkovic visited Strpce and the village of Klokot while on Sunday he met in Kosovska Mitrovica with representatives of the Political Committee for Northern Kosovo to discuss the security and political situation, as well as further activities aimed at discontinuation of customs points established by UNMIK on the administrative border of Kosovo and Serbia proper.
These responsibilities are expected to be carried out by a task group to be comprised of potential members immediately following the completion of the initial delicate phase - the securing of their general acquiescence, where the acquiescence or position of Vojislav Kostunica is especially unclear. This initiative was discussed during the recent visit of Zoran Djindjic to Western Europe as well as in talks which Kostunica held in Germany.
It is not known how and where the idea originated - whether it came from the European capitals or whether it arrived [in the capitals] from Belgrade through diplomatic channels; however, it corresponds to increasingly apparent signs of clashes in the DOS and with the assessment that this coalition has already fulfilled its primary purpose - the replacement of Milosevic and his regime - and that the question of its political identity will be asked more and more frequently.
According to Trajkovic, Hashim Thaci, the president of the Democratic Party of Albanians, expressed his dissatisfaction with the adopted constitutional framework for the provisional government in Kosovo; nevertheless, he accepted the holding of elections and the beginning of creation of institutions in the Province. "One of the reasons for the dissatisfaction of the Albanian side is that the document does not include an amendment on a referendum, which the Kosovo Albanians would schedule immediately and declare their independence. Thaci criticized Hans Haekkerup, the head of the UN civilian mission, for seeking the approval of official Belgrade for the adoption of the constitutional framework," said Trajkovic.
She pointed out that during the last few days false information is circulating among Serbs regarding possible attacks by the Albanians on Serb enclaves which are "creating a psychosis and preparations for a mass exodus". Rada Trajkovic called on the Kosovo Serbs to remain calm, not to leave and announced that she would ask UNMIK to finally issue a decree banning sales of real estate. "I also expect that state officials will do everything possible to prevent the sale of Serb property as well as that a meeting will finally be organized where a common position regarding participation in the upcoming general elections and a joint strategy for further action after the adoption of the constitutional framework will be determined, emphasized Trajkovic.
Saitovic, a taxi driver along the route Medvedja-Pristina, was lightly injured. He received first aid at the KFOR base in Kacikol. Upon leaving the hospital, he explains that while driving down the same road he has been using for the past two years, he encountered a parked car in front of which some civilians dressed in black jackets were standing.
"I only heard gunshots and then I felt the bullet. I speeded up and began to flee in the direction of Kacikol, toward the KFOR base. They gave me first aid there and then escorted me to the border. I was hit in the head. I don't know who the attackers were nor what their motives may have been. I had two passengers in the car who, fortunately, were not injured. I owe no one nothing and I will continue to do this kind of work. As soon as I recover, I will head for Pristina," says Saitovic.
Things have been quiet during the last few days along the administrative border in Medvedja, Kosovska Mitrovica and Podujevo municipalities.
Radovan Spasic from the village of Medragovac which is located near the border on the Podujevo side says that in addition to his own house, there are 11 other Serb houses left in the village with two or three inhabitants each. The other villages are empty. Medragovac sill exists thanks to the speed of the Czech soldiers who are a part of KFOR.
"So far so good. The Czech army is with us, patrolling day and night. And the assemblyman from Medragovac, an Albanian, came twice. He told us not to run, that nothing bad will happen to us. But how can I believe him when I have seen him only twice in one year?" asks Spasic.
He explains that he does not dare to go anywhere except as far as Medvedja. Certainly not to neighboring Orlan. It is known to be dangerous and the Czechs have forbidden it. Although he admits he has not seen the Albanian army.
In the end, Spasic says he wishes things could be like they were before in the time when there was trade with the Albanians and unwritten rules for interaction were respected by both sides.
Earlier Spasic frequently exchanged visits with Momcilo Djurasinovic from the hamlet of Miskice near Stuble, three miles from the border, since their villages are barely 20 kilometers apart. Now this is impossible. They see each other a few times a year in Medvedja and Medvedja is several hours away. Djurasinovic's greatest wish is to see reason prevail among both Albanians and Serbs.
"There are barely five of us left in the hamlet. Everyone is gone from Miskice but not so much because of the Albanians as because of the poor living standard. We don't even have a road. If there was a road, maybe someone would come back," says Djurasinovic.
She assessed that conditions under which gradual reduction of the zone and entrance of the Yugoslav Army into the buffer zone exist and that "they represent an indicator of how things should be done in the field because our army becomes a NATO partner in resolving problems".
According to Rada Trajkovic, the last session of the IAC held on Tuesday in Pristina was also attended by Ramush Haradinaj, the president of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and a former KLA commander, the third-placed representative of the Kosovo Albanians on the basis of the results of local elections. Rada Trajkovic emphasized that "as a member of the SNC of Kosovo and Metohija she accepted cooperation with representatives of the UN but believes that Haradinaj is a candidate for The Hague, not for democratic institutions of UNMIK". She said that evidence exists of crimes committed against Serbs in the area of Decani for which Haradinaj is responsible.
"Also unacceptable to the Serb side is the report on health submitted two days ago by Pleurat Sejdi, the Albanian representative in the department of health issues, because it foresees health protection for Kosovo Serbs only in the enclaves, within the framework of KFOR military bases and by NGO's," assessed Rada Trajkovic. She also indicated that Ibrahim Rugova, the president of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo (DSK), "asked for an end to violence against the Kosovo Serbs" at the IAC meeting two days ago.