Djuric: We Will Demand Canton If Kosovo Becomes Independent

Belgrade, 29 Mar 06 (Danas) – Participants of the round table “Roma and Kosovo” appealed for the determination of truth of the Roma position and for the international community to determine the precise strategy on return, the position of the Roma in Kosovo and to provide them equal participation in the talks about future status of Kosovo.

Rajko Djuric President of the Roma PEN Center announced that Roma will demand their own canton if Kosovo becomes independent.

“Every option which does not have a multiethnic character, would be catastrophic for Roma and other ethnic minority members in Kosovo and Metohija”, says Djuric.

He added he categorically opposes Kosovo independence and asked what is the goal and on what behalf is it established. Djuric noted this is the concept of Greater Serbia, which was a fiasco. He asked if it is “because of the idea of Greater Serbia, that Greater Albania should be created”.

Djuric concluded that return to Kosovo under the current conditions is just an illusion and nonsense, adding that conditions for sustainable and quality return should be created for development of multiethnic society in Kosovo and Metohija.

Bodies Of Albanian Victims To Be Handed Over By End Of June

Prishtina, 29 Mar 06 (Radio Kosova) – The President of the Commission for Missing Persons in the Serbian government, Gvozden Gagic reported that the UNMIK administration in Kosova will receive all the bodies of Albanian victims found in three mass graves in Serbia by the end of June.

The bodies of 60 civilians found in Batajnica will be handed over on March 31st. 836 bodies of Albanian victims were found in the mass graves of Batajnica, Perucac and Petrovo Selo. A total of 650 bodies have been handed over so far.

Rohan rules out division of Kosovo

The Article

30/03/2006

A UN proposal on Kosovo decentralisation aims to allow municipalities to run their own affairs within the limits of the Kosovo legal system, UN deputy special envoy Albert Rohan said Thursday.

UN deputy special envoy Albert Rohan has ruled out the possibility of partitioning Kosovo and any idea of creating a separate, ethnically based enclave in the mainly Serb-populated part of the province......(continued)........

BiH agency tackled over 500 cases of organised crime, war crimes last year

The Article

27/03/2006

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) -- The BiH State Information and Protection Agency (SIPA) worked on over 500 cases of organised crime and war crimes last year, SIPA deputy chief Sead Lisak said on Sunday (26 March). He noted that almost half of cases were launched at the request of the judiciary.

In all, SIPA tackled 202 cases of suspected money laundering and terrorism financing, 114 of which were resolved by the end of the year and forwarded to prosecutors. Out of the total 382 war crimes cases processed last year, 105 were completed, with seven people arrested. (RTRS, Srna - 26/03/06)

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Attacks Against UN Mission Members In Kosovo and Metohija

Belgrade, 27 Mar 06 (Tanjug) - The Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija announced information about several attacks against UN Mission members during this past weekend.

At the Pristina-Skopje road, near Caglavica, on the 25th of March after midnight, masked gunmen stopped a UN Police vehicle and took a handgun and backpack with personal belongings, then fled towards Pristina. An hour later, unknown person activated a hand grenade in downtown Pristina. There were no causalities in the incident, but one UN vehicle and surrounding buildings were damaged.

“Self-Determination” Asks UNMIK To Leave Kosova

27 Mar 06 (Zeri) – Activists of “Self-Determination” movement have flattened the tires of some UNMIK vehicles, while on the vehicles with UN plates the activists added letters F and D, with which comes out the inscription FUND, meaning the departure of UNMIK from Kosova. This act was realized in front of UNMIK office and the Police Regional Headquarters near the main bridge in the south of Mitrovica town.

Led by the leader of this movement, Albin Kurti, the activists later went in the direction of the market, while they were directed by KPS members, and they (activists) with a megaphone asked for them not to interrupt them . They said that they have in target UN vehicles and not KPS. KPS should be on the side of the people of Kosova.

The leader of this movement, Albin Kurti, on market day in Mitrovica, in front of Mitrovica people asked UNMIK to leave Kosova, and also accused the political leaders of Kosova, as he said, for deceiving the people of Kosova.

The deputy of the UNMIK police, Larry R. Miller, declared that there was no one arrested and also there has not been any incident during the acts done by the Self-Determination movement in Mitrovica.

Suspect For Killing Two Police Officers Arrested

24 March 06 (Koha Ditore) - Koha Ditore reports on the front page that after one and a half years of a public warrant, the police serious crime unit arrested Bedri Krasniqi in Pristina on Friday as suspect for killing police officers Sebahate Tolaj and Jusuf Haklaj. According to a paper’s source, he was arrested while walking in Pristina.

We Have Pledged To Make TMK A Protection Force

Prishtina, 27 Mar 06 (Radio Kosova) – “We have pledged to make TMK a protection force of Kosova,” stated Kosova Prime Minister Agim Çeku after meeting the Chief of the British Army Headquarters, General Mike Jackson. Çeku said that the name of General Jackson is directly connected to the newest history of Kosova, since he was the first Commander of KFOR forces in Kosova.

Çeku said that together with General Jackson they took the responsibility to raise TMK to a higher level – establishing a protection force of Kosova as part of the political process for the determination of Kosova status. “We also talked about the current political situation in Kosova, possible developments and the future security architecture in Kosova after the solution of the status,” Çeku said.

General Jackson said that this year is very important for Kosova because talks for its final status have started.

“There is much to be done in every sense, politically, economically and security. I wish good luck to the Prime Minster and all Kosovars in the future,” General Jackson said.

Bombs Thrown At Returnee Apartment In Klina

Pec, Klina, 27 Mar 06 (RTS) – Head of the Pec district Milisav Petrovic stated to Tanjug that two bombs were thrown at the apartment of Milan Djorovic who is a returnee to Klina.

According to Petrovic, one bomb was thrown at Djorovic’s apartment on Saturday and the second one on Sunday evening.

The explosions caused only material damage – windows were broken, said Petrovic.

Head of the Pec district explained that because of the bad telephone lines, it is hard to collect detailed information on this incident, and it is still unknown whether anyone was present at the apartment at the time of the incident.

Raskovic-Ivic: UNMIK Chief Promotes Albanian Separatists

Belgrade, 27 Mar 06 (BETA) - Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, leader of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija, said in her letter to UNMIK chief Søren Jessen-Petersen that he became "one of the most influential promoters of the Albanian separatist goals" in Kosovo.

Commenting on his appeal to the West to ignore Serbia's warrant for the arrest of Agim Ceku and Hashim Thaci, the Coordinating Center chief said that the UNMIK chief's actions, statements and decisions exceeded by far the U.N. mandate granted to him.

"Instead of easing up the tensions and encouraging equality between Serbs and Albanians, you are making the moves that clearly exceed your competence and powers, trying deliberately to humiliate the State of Serbia and its leadership," Raskovic-Ivic warned in her letter, recalling that Serbia had issued the arrest warrants based on a comprehensive investigation and ample evidence.

Macedonian police find illegal arms depot in Tetovo region

27/03/2006

TETOVO, Macedonia -- Police have uncovered an illegal arms depot in the Tetovo region, between the villages of Brodec and Vesala, the interior ministry announced on Sunday (26 March). According to the statement, the cache of arms and ammunition was discovered after a tip. Police say the depot most likely dates back to the 2001 interethnic conflict. (Makfax, A1 TV, Telma TV - 26/03/06) incrementCount('setimes/newsbriefs/2006/03/27/nb-06','setimes','en_GB');

Serbia: U.N. supports Kosovo Albanians

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, March 24 (UPI) -- A Serbian government official has accused the U.N. civilian mission in Kosovo of supporting ethnic Albanian separatists in the southern Serbian province.

Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, president of the Serbian government coordinating committee for Kosovo, in a letter to Soren Jessen-Petersen, the chief of the U.N. mission in Kosovo, charged that Jessen-Petersen was one of the "most influential promoters of the goals of Albanian separatists."

Raskovic-Ivic's letter was in reaction to Jessen-Petersen's call that Western countries ignore Serbia's arrest warrant on Agim Ceku, Kosovo's prime minister, for alleged war crimes in Kosovo in 1999.

In March 1999, the U.S. led-NATO forces bombarded Serbia and Montenegro, at the time ruled by the Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, to prevent what it described as a humanitarian catastrophe of ethnic Albanians fleeing Kosovo because of abuses by Serbian military and police forces......(continued)....

Leader of Albanian crime gang arrested in Turkey

The Article

Released : Mar 26, 2006 9:04 AM

ANKARA, Turkey-Turkish police have arrested the founder and leader of one of Albania's most notorious crime gangs in a raid in Ankara, officials in Albania said Sunday.
Alfred Shkurti, leader of the Banda Aldo Bare crime gang, was detained early Saturday carrying a false Macedonian passport, Albanian Interior Ministry spokesman Altin Ndroqi said.
Turkish news reports said he was detained at a house in Ankara's residential Batikent district following a tip.

Shkurti's gang operated out of Albania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania, trafficking drugs to Western Europe, according to Albanian Interior Minister Sokol Olldashi.....(continued).......

Turkish army conducts large-scale operation against Kurdish terrorists

ANKARA, Turkey -- The Turkish Army has been carrying out a major operation against Kurdish terrorists in the country's southeast, according to army sources quoted by the regional media at the weekend. Some 15 Kurdish rebels were killed in the largest military action conducted against the Kurdistan Workers' Party in Turkey since the start of this year, the sources said. (Focus - 26/03/06; Reuters - 25/03/06)

Bulgaria, US agree on final text of bilateral accords on military bases

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Bulgaria and the United States have agreed on the final text of the bilateral agreement on locating US military bases in the Balkan country, US Ambassador John Beyrle and Bulgarian Ambassador to NATO Lyubomir Ivanov said Friday (24 March). They said talks on the accords were completed the previous day, and only minor technical details remain to be settled.

The deal will be valid for ten years, and could be unilaterally halted by any of the parties with a one-year warning period. According to Beyrle, US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is expected to seal the accords during an April visit to Sofia for an informal NATO meeting. The Bulgarian legislature will likely approve it soon afterwards. Beyrle said the first US troops could be deployed in Bulgaria in 2007 and 2008, while the overall number of deployed soldiers could reach up to 5,000. (Sega - 25/03/06; Mediapool - 24/03/06)

Rashkovic – Ivic: Petersen, Promoter Of The Albanian Separatist

25 Mar 06 (Epoka e Re) – The head of the Serbian Coordinative Office for Kosova, Sanda Rashkovic – Ivic, accused on Friday the UNMIK chief, Søren Jessen – Petersen, that he has became “one of the promoters of the Albanian separatists in Kosova”.

In the letter addressed to Jessen – Petersen, Rashkovic-Ivic said that because of his appeal to the western countries to ignore the arrest warrant released by Serbia against Agim Çeku and Hashim Thaçi, his current behaviors, of his declarations and decisions he is exceeding the competences of which were given to him by the UN.

Rice: You Will Have The Support Of The American People

Belgrade, 25 Mar 06 (Danas) – Unknown people threatened to kill Fatos Bitici, who for some years now has been seeking justice for the killings of his brothers which were murdered in Petrovo Selo in 1999.

Bitici told “Danas” that unidentified people send phone threats saying they will kill him if he comes to Serbia.

“They said “we will kill you if you come to Serbia. We know you have intentions to such a thing”. I informed the Prizren police, the US embassy in Belgrade, the foundation for humanitarian rights, and the people in the Special war crimes court, about this, said Bitici.

He is unaware of how these people obtained his phone number, but presumes that this was not hard considering that ex high officials of the Serbian state security and interior ministry were aware of the killings of his three brothers. According to Bitici, the case on the killings of his brothers was proclaimed a state secret. Some of the people involved in this crime still hold high positions in the Serbian interior ministry. Fatos Bitici says he will come to Belgrade in spite of the threats.