(english / italiano)
La epurazione etnica dei rom kosovari, dal 1999 ad oggi
Seconda parte
IN ITALIANO:
Lettera spedita da ERRC alle principali autorita' internazionali sulla
violenza contro le comunita' "zingare" del Kosovo, con particolare
riferimento ai pogrom di marzo 2004 (31 marzo 2004)
IN ENGLISH:
1) European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) Letter of Concern to Kosovo and
European Authorities over Violence against Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians
and Others Regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo, and Long-Term Impunity for
their Persecutors (March 31, 2004)
2) Anti-yugoslav, serbo-phobic "Gesellschaft fuer Bedroehte Voelker":
"Evacuation of Roma, Ashkali is only solution"
3) Roma in Mitrovica and Vucitrn have nowhere to return to
(Beta News Agency, April 19, 2004)
4) Nowicki visits Ashkalis living in KFOR camp
(Beta News Agency, Belgrade - April 22, 2004)
5) Ethnic Cleansing of Roma and Other Minorities Nears
Completion
(by Carol Bloom, Œani Rifati and Sunil Sharma.
The Dissident Voice, April 26, 2004)
=== ALTRI LINK ===
ERRC: Violence against 'Gypsies' in Kosovo Continues, Unabated
http://www.unobserver.com/printen.php?id=1550
Albanians cleanse remaining Roma population in Kosovo
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/decani/message/80890
Information on the situation of Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and others
regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo is available on the Internet at:
http://www.errc.org/publications/indices/kosovo.shtml
Photographic documentation by ERRC researchers in Kosovo in March 2004
is available on the Internet at:
http://www.errc.org/publications/photos/kosovo_2004.shtml
Homes of more than 300 Gypsies and Ashkalia were
burned by Albanian mob
http://www.kosovo.net/node/view/80
=== IN ITALIANO ===
Da: European Roma Rights Center <errc@...>
Nostra documentazione fotografica:
http://www.errc.org/publications/photos/kosovo_2004.shtml
Lettera spedita da ERRC all'attenzione del Segretario Generale delle
Nazioni Unite per il Kossovo/Kosova Harri Holkeri - al Comandante della
KFOR, Generale Holger Kammerhoff - al Primo Ministro del Kosovo
Kossovo/Kosova Bajram Rexhepi - al Presidente della Commissione Europea
Romano Prodi:
All'attenzione delle Vostre eccellenze,
European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) è un'organizzazione di interesse
pubblico che controlla la situazione dei diritti umani dei Rom in
Europa e fornisce assistenza legale, e Vi scrive per esprimere la sua
profonda preoccupazione per le gravi violazioni dei diritti di Rom e
Askali, occorsi dal 17 marzo 2004 e che continuano tuttora.
ERRC ha raccolto le prove che Rom e Askali sono stati soggetti di
gravissime violazioni dei diritti umani, durante veri e propri
"pogroms" nel periodo tra il 17 e il 21 marzo, nei territori abitati
dalla maggioranza albanese. Le nostre indagini e i documenti
recentemente raccolti, mostrano come i Rom e gli Askali siano stati un
bersaglio della pulizia etnica, esattamente come è successo ai Serbi.
Almeno 75 case abitate da Rom e Akali sono state incendiate; in ogni
caso la somma dei
danni e delle violenze è sicuramente superiore a quanto da noi
documentato; i dati da noi riportati si rferiscono esclusivamente alle
zone dove ci è stato possibile accedere e non alla totalità dei
territori dove sono avvenute e continuano le violenze.
Ci rivolgiamo a Voi perché sia data estrema attenzione alla condizione
dei diritti umani di Rom, Askali, Egizi e di tutte quelle persone
indicate come "Zingari" dagli Albanesi del Kossovo/Kosova, quindi a
rischio estremo di persecuzione.
Di seguito, forniamo un resoconto documentato degli avvenimenti degli
ultimi giorni in Kossovo/Kosova:
Le nostre indagini contano circa 70 case di proprietà di Askali che
sono state incendiate e completamente distrutte, in seguito ad attacchi
Albanesi nella città di Vushtri/Vucitrn, circa 10 Km. a sud di
Mitrovica, dove nei giorni precedenti erano stati i Serbi il bersaglio
della violenza.
Secondo i testimoni, il 18 marzo 2004 alle 17.00 circa, una folla di
circa 200/300 persone hanno attaccato la chiesa ortodossa di sant Elia,
che già nel 1999 era stata soggetta ad un assalto degli Albanesi, alla
fine delle operazioni militari NATO. Il contingente marocchino della
KFOR, posto a protezione del sito, si è ritirato senza offrire la
protezione richiesta e necessaria. La folla ha così potuto dar fuoco
alla chiesa e alla strutture adiacenti, distruggendo gli interni,
compreso l'altare, gli affreschi, e distruggendo le pietre tombali del
cimitero lì accanto. Quasi contemporaneamente, un secondo gruppo di
persone attaccava il quartiere degli Askali, raggiunto dalla folla che
aveva bruciato la chiesa.
Secondo quanto testimoniato dagli Askali stessi, gli Albanesi hanno
iniziato ad irrompere nelle loro case, con l'intenzione di bruciarle
assieme agli abitanti. La prima casa incendiata è stata quella di
Xemail Balinca. Gli attaccanti hanno anche tentato di rapire una
ragazza della famiglia Balinca. Poi è toccato alla casa della famiglia
Qizmolli. Secondo la
testimonianza di Hamit Zymeri, Askali, alcuni vicini dei Qizmolli hanno
tentato di intervenire a sua difesa, ma è stato loro impedito della
Polizia del Kossovo (KPS). Secondo varie testimonianze, gli ufficiali
della KPS hanno agito in combutta con gli assalitori. Al termine, hanno
arrestato tre membri della famiglia Qizmolli.
Secondo la testimonianza da noi raccolta da Martin Wenzel, ufficiale
UNMIK, gli attaccanti avevano già deciso l'azione in ogni particolare,
prendendo a pretesto la reazione degli Askali al loro assalto per
attaccare le altre case. Sempre secondo la sua testimonianza, quando
s'è diffusa la voce degli assalti alle case degli Askali, gli ufficiali
della KPS si sono offerti volontariamente per scortarli alla stazione
di polizia. Oltre 200 Askali sono stati assistiti dalla KPS nel
lasciare le proprie case; alle 19.30 gli ultimi abitanti abbandovano la
zona sotto scorta. Di seguito, le loro case sono state date alle
fiamme. Alle 2.00 del mattino successivo, gli Askali sono stati
trasferiti nella base KFOR francese di Plana e due giorni più tardi,
scortati dai francesi, vicino al villaggio di Novo Selo.
I tre arrestati della famigla Qizmolli sono stati inizialmente
trattenuti alla stazione di polizia. Per giustificare la loro
detenzione, la polizia ha detto di aver rinvenuto in casa loro un AK-47
e fucili di caccia. Due giorni dopo, sono stati trasferiti assieme agli
altri Askali al campo profughi. Rimane a loro carico l'accusa di
detenzione di armi da fuoco. Le indagini sulla distruzione di 70 case
sono tuttora aperte, a oggi, 28 marzo, nessuno degli assalitori è stato
accusato o arrestato.
Secondo il primo testimone da noi citato, Hamit Zymeri, con cui abbiamo
potuto parlare nel campo di Novo Selo, il numero totale di Askali
allontanato da Vushtri/Vucitrn sarebbero 257; di cui 87 bambini, 85
donne di cui due incinte, 13 bambini sotto i tre anni di età e 18 sotto
i sei mesi di età. Un assistente medico della comunità, riferisce che
13 di loro hanno il diabete, 20 soffrono di ipertensione, 3 sono sono
epilettici e una donna per un problema all'anca non è in grado di
camminare. Il campo, sempre secondo la sua impressione, è totalmente
inadeguato, le baracche accolgono ognuna 11 persone, sono umide per la
pioggia e non adeguatamente riscaldate.
Alle 17.15 - 17.30 circa del 17 marzo, le comunità Serbe e Rom di
Gjilan/Gnjilane, 35 km a sudovest di Pristina sono state attaccate da
Albanesi, per la maggior parte giovani sotto i vent'anni. Le
testimonianze da noi raccolte, parlano di 23 case serbe bruciate e
hanno poi tentato di incendiare le case dei Rom. Testimoni li hanno
visti arrivare portando con loro taniche di liquido infiammabile. I Rom
sono stati salvati dai loro vicini albanesi, che non hanno permesso che
gli attaccanti appiccassero il fuoco alle case. A questo punto, gli
attaccanti hanno iniziato un lancio di pietre che ha fracassato porte e
finestre, ingiuriandoli col termine di Majup (che significa
zingarella). Alcuni attaccanti sono riusciti ad irrompere in casa di
Sulejman Demiri, mettendola a soqquadro. Alcuni degli assalitori,
racconta Milaim Demiri, gli hanno chiesto perché non si fosse unito
alla protesta. Demiri termina il racconto, dicendo che in un altro
quartiere Rom è stata bruciata la casa di Avdulla Presheva, di
proprietà del signor Ramadan Selimi, ma ha rifiutato di accompagnare
l'incaricato di ERRC sul luogo dell'incendio. Il proprietario è tuttora
scomparso. Da quanto abbiamo appurato, la polizia ha fatto la sua prima
comparsa circa sei ore dopo. La comunità locale attualmente conta 350
Rom, di 5.000 - 6.000 che erano anteriormente al 1999, al tempo della
prima pulizia etnica.
Le nostre testimonianze raccolte a Lipjan/Lipljan il 28 marzo, circa 15
Km a sud di Pristina, parlano di tre case appartenenti a famiglie Rom e
Askali, bruciate e rase al suolo sempre il 17 e il 21 marzo. Abbiamo
parlato con Selvije Kurteshi, donna Askali la cui casa è stata data
alle fiamme il 21 marzo alle 2.00 di notte circa. In quel momento gli
abitanti non erano in casa ed erano ospiti a casa del fratello. La
signora Kurteshi ci ha raccontato che tutti i mobili e gli averi
presenti nella loro casa sono stati distrutti dal fuoco e che la KFOR
si è presentata sulla scena circa un'ora dopo. Le altre due case
incendiate a Lipjan/Lipljan appartenevano ad Askali fuggiti dal
Kossovo/Kosova. Entrambe sono state date alle
fiamme il 17 marzo. Abbiamo chiesto ulteriori chiarimenti alla KPS, che
ci ha detto che le indagini sono tuttora in corso e rifiutando di
fornire ulteriori commenti o informazioni.
Nella città di Obiliq/Obilic, a est di Pristina, siamo riusciti a
parlare con un gruppo di Rom che aveva abbandonato le loro case, alla
comparsa di un folla che stava dirigendosi verso di loro e rifugiandosi
nel vicino campo di Plemetina. Almeno tre famiglie Rom sono state
costrette ad abbandonare il paese, in seguito a minacce di vario tipo.
Tra loro la famiglia Berisha, la cui casa è stata fatta ripetutamente
bersaglio di lancio di pietre contro porte e finestre. La stessa casa
era stata rifugio nel passato di famiglie Serbe e Rom. Secondo la loro
testimonianza, le autorità non si sono mai fatte vive durante i vari
attacchi e nemmeno al campo di Plemetina, dove i rifugiati sopravvivono
senza cibo e nel terrore di tornare a Obiliq/Obilic.
A Obiliq/Obilic abbiamo visitato una comunità di 19 Rom, Askali ed
Egizi, alloggiati in case ricostruite nelle immediate vicinanze.
Secondo la loro testimonianza, non ci sono stati attacchi il 17 marzo,
ma vivono nella paura di essere assaliti e hanno smesso di mandare i
figli a scuola. Un uomo ha detto che non sono liberi di circolare in
città. Sono tutti disoccupati e campano raccogliendo metalli in cambio
di qualche soldo.
----
La situazione di Rom, Askali ed Egizi e quanti siano identificati come
"zingari" è al momento di estremamente precaria. Per tutto il marzo
2004, sono stati il bersaglio di estrema violenza, frutto di una
campagna iniziata nel 1999 da parte dell'etnia albanese, per
l'espellere delle minoranze dalla provincia, impossessarsi delle loro
proprietà e metterli in condizione di serio pericolo fisico e
psicologico. Durante questi cinque anni in cui l'amministrazione
internazionale ha governato in Kossovo/Kosova, non sono mai stati
raggiunti standard duraturi di sicurezza per le minoranze. A numerose
comunità è stata negata l'effettiva libertà di movimento.
Non sono mai cominciati gli sforzi per mettere sotto l'autorità
internazionale del Kossovo/Kosova i colpevoli dell'orgia di pulizia
etnica. Gli arresti degli Albanesi sospettati di crimini a sfondo
etnico, portano a dimostrazioni e proteste di massa, al grido di
"L'UNMIK smetta di arrestare i liberatori!"
ERRC nota che in almeno due occasioni, governi esterni al
Kossovo/Kosova (specificamente Ungheria e Slovenia) abbiano arrestato
ricercati internazionali appartenenti all'Armata di Liberazione del
Kossovo e successivamente siano stati rilasciati senza processo, anche
se incriminati per aver partecipato o organizzato operazioni di pulizia
etnica.
Si aggiunga che il Procuratore Capo del Tribunale Internazionale per i
Crimini dell'Ex-Jugoslavia, ha affermato nel marzo 2001 che il suo
ufficio ha aperto indagini sulle "attività contro i Serbi e altre
minoranze in Kosovo da parte di non identificati gruppi armati
albanesi, dal giugno 1999 sino ad oggi..." Chiedendo quindi al
Consiglio di Sicurezza dell'ONU di modificare lo statuto del Tribunale
perché possa indagare su questi crimini, il procuratore Capo Del Ponte
si è pronunciato sull'importanza di poter perseguire questi crimini:
dobbiamo fare in maniera che i tribunali internazionali possano portare
la giustizia alle popolazioni dell'ex-Jugoslavia, senza che ciò passi
alla storia come il pronunciamento versoo un popolo a scapito degli
altri.
Inoltre, se si ottenesse questa necessaria e moralmente giustificata
estensione del mandato, il Tribunale potrebbe agire da fattore
deterrente contro la rinascita della campagna di pulizia etnica in
Kossovo/Kosova.
Sinora, il Tribunale Internazionale non ha agito contro nessuno di
etnia albanese in connessione ai violenti attacchi contro Rom, Askali,
Egizi, altri definiti "zingari" o altre minoranze, in merito ai fatti
successi dal 1999 ad oggi.
Il compito di assicurare alla giustizia i colpevoli di questi crimini,
non è mai stato affrontato neanche dai tribunali locali: Nonostante il
carattere internazionale dell'amministrazione in Kossovo/Kosova,
prevale un clima di quasi totale impunità. Ricordiamo come esempio, che
nessuno è stato processato o almeno indagato, per l'uccisione di tre
Askali, avvenuta nemmeno 24 ore dopo il loro ritorno nel villaggio
nativo di Dosevac/Dashevc, nel quadro di un programma di rimpatrio
volontario del novembre 2000.
Alla luce di quanto riportato dalle testimonianze da noi sinora
raccolte, non deve stupire il fatto che questi gruppi abbiano perso
qualsiasi dignità o capacità di sopravvivenza e che tutti desiderino
lasciare il Kossovo/Kosova. Quanto da noi ascoltato e riportato, ha
cambiato il senso stesso originario della nostra missione, che era di
indagare sulla possibilità di un rientro in patria per i profughi che
lo desideravano, per partecipare alla ricostruzione di un
Kossovo/Kosova democratico dopo Milosevic. Se i vostri uffici non
agiranno in maniera adeguata, le conseguenze di questa pulizia etnica
saranno in futuro di tutta la Comunità Europea.
Di fronte alla situazione attuale, vi chiediamo di operare con ogni
mezzo per:
* assicurare senza alcun indugio la sicurezza delle comunità Rom e
Askali e misure appropriate alla situazione specifica di ogni comunità;
* indagini rapide ed imparziali sulle violenze subite dalle minoranze
etniche, che i colpevoli siano assicurati alla giustizia e le famigli
delle vittime ricevano indenizzi adeguati. La giustizia deve poter
operare e rendersi visibile;
* che il Tribunale Internazionale per i Crimini dell'Ex-Jugoslavia
raddoppi i suoi sforzi per assicurare alla giustizia i colpevoli delle
persecuzioni razziali;
* che tutti i governi onorino gli accordi internazionali sulla
prosecuzioni dei colpevoli di crimini contro l'umanità e di pulizia
etnica avvenuti in Kossovo/Kosova;
* tutte le autorità coinvolte nell'amministrazione in Kossovo/Kosova
devono impegnarsi a non discutere il futuro amministrativo e politico
della regione, se prima non ne sia stato salvaguardato il carattere di
società multietnica e multiculturale, in cui tutti abbiano possibilità
di esercitare i diritti umani fondamentali;
* Ogni ritorno forzato di profughi Rom, Askali o Egizi del
Kossovo/Kosova, come pure della Serbia e Montenegro, sia reso
inattuabile sino a quando le autorità kossovare non siano in grado di
dimostrare condizioni durature di sicurezza e libertà in ogni
provincia. In particolare, l'invito è rivolto a Danimarca, Germania e
Regno Unito, che unilateralmente e fuori da ogni accordo internazionale
stipulato, stanno rimpatriando forzatamente i profughi del
Kossovo/Kosova
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
http://www.errc.org
European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
HUNGARY
Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax: +36 1 4132201
=== IN ENGLISH ===
1) ---
Subj: [Roma_Rights] Ethnic Cleansing of "Gypsies" in Kosovo
Date: 3/31/2004 9:59:25 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: "Roma Network"
To: <Ova adresa el. pošte je zaštićena od spambotova. Omogućite JavaScript da biste je videli.>
Cc: "European Roma Rights Center" <errc@...>
ORIGINAL SENDER: European Roma Rights Center <errc@...>
European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) Letter of Concern to Kosovo and
European Authorities over Violence against Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians
and Others Regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo, and Long-Term Impunity for
their Persecutors
March 31, 2004
The ERRC today sent a letter to Special Representative of the Secretary
General of the United Nations for Kosovo Mr. Harri Holkeri, Commander
of Kosovo Force Lieutenant General Holger Kammerhoff, Kosovo Prime
Minister Bajram Rexhepi, and European Commission President Romano Prodi
to express deep concern at the continued acts of ethnic cleansing
perpetrated by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo beginning with renewed force
on March 17. In the letter, the ERRC presented documentation gathered
in the course of an ERRC field mission undertaken since the beginning
of the latest wave of violence in Kosovo. The letter concludes with
recommendations to Mssrs. Holkeri, Kammerhoff, Rexhepi and Prodi.
Information on the situation of Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and others
regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo is available on the Internet at:
http://www.errc.org/publications/indices/kosovo.shtml
Photographic documentation by ERRC researchers in Kosovo in March 2004
is available on the Internet at:
http://www.errc.org/publications/photos/kosovo_2004.shtml
The full text of the March 31 ERRC letter follows:
Your Excellencies,
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public
interest law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in
Europe, is writing to express deep concern at the grave human rights
violations against Roma and Ashkaelia in Kosovo committed on and after
March 17, 2004 and currently
ongoing.
The ERRC has gathered evidence that Roma and Ashkaelia have been
subjected to very serious human rights violations during the wave of
pogroms on minority communities carried out in the period March 17-21,
2004 throughout the province by ethnic Albanians. ERRC field
investigation undertaken in recent days has documented that, in
addition to the pogroms on ethnic Serb communities, several hundred
Roma and Ashkaelia have been also targeted. At least 75 houses
belonging to Romani and Ashkaeli families have been set on
fire. This figure may rise further, since it does not include instances
of violence in localities of which we have been informed but have not
yet undertaken first-hand documentation.
We appeal to you to give full attention to the human rights status of
Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and all other persons regarded by ethnic
Albanians in Kosovo as "Gypsies", and therefore currently under extreme
threat of violence in Kosovo.
A summary of ERRC documentation in some localities in Kosovo in recent
days follows:
Vushtri/Vucitrn
ERRC research established that approximately 70 houses belonging to
Ashkaeli persons were set on fire by Albanian attackers (referred to
locally as "protesters") on March 18, 2004, in the town of
Vushtri/Vucitrn, about 10 kilometres south of Kosovska Mitrovica -- the
place where the pogroms on Kosovo Serbs had begun the day before. The
houses were
completely destroyed in the arson attacks.
According to eyewitnesses, on March 18, 2004, at approximately 17:00, a
crowd of 200-300 persons gathered at the St. Elias Orthodox church in
the town, which in 1999 had also been the target of assaults by ethnic
Albanians in the context of ethnic cleansing of minorities in Kosovo
following the end of the NATO military action in June 1999. At the time
of the March 18, 2004 incident, the Moroccan KFOR unit which had been
positioned to protect the site, failed to provide any protection and
allegedly left. The crowd set fire to the church and the adjacent
structures, destroyed some of the remaining church interior, including
an altar and wall paintings, and knocked down tombstones in the
graveyard located beside the church. At around the same time, a second
crowd began to
gather and subsequently headed toward the Ashkaeli neighbourhood. The
group that had set the church on fire then joined the attackers in the
Ashkaeli area.
According to the testimony of Ashkaeli eyewitnesses, during the pogrom,
a crowd of ethnic Albanians came to the Ashkaeli neighbourhood and
started breaking into the houses. Their intention was, according to
witnesses interviewed by the ERRC, to burn the houses to the ground
while persons were still inside. The first house burnt was the house of
Xemail Balinca. Some of the attackers allegedly tried to rape a girl
from the Balinca family. The next house broken into belonged to the
Qizmolli family. According to Mr Hamit Zymeri, an Ashkaeli eyewitness
to the pogrom, neighbours gathered in the yard of the Qizmolli house in
order to help the family, but officers of the Kosovo Police Service
(KPS) intervened. The representatives of the Ashkaeli group alleged
that some of the KPS officers acted in complicity with the attackers.
Three members of the Qizmolli family were then arrested by KPS officers.
According to the testimony to the ERRC of Station Commander Martin
Wenzel, a senior UNMIK officer, Ashkaeli persons allegedly fired at the
Albanian crowd, in an attempt to defend their homes. According to
Station Commander Wenzel, these shots were not the trigger for the
onslaught and arson that followed; the attackers had allegedly already
decided to evict, burn and destroy the neighbourhood. In his view,
"Everything was orchestrated."
According to Officer Wenzel, when the information that Ashkaeli houses
were being attacked was received, ten KPS police officers volunteered
to evacuate the Ashkaeli families and bring them to the police station.
Over 200 Ashkaeli people were assisted by KPS officers in fleeing their
homes and coming inside the building of the police station. At about
19:30, the last Ashkaeli individuals were extracted from the area under
mob siege. The houses were subsequently burned to the ground. At
approximately 2:00 AM the following morning, the evacuated Ashkaelia
were transferred to the French KFOR base at Plana. Two days later, they
were transported to the French KFOR military compound Marechal de
Lattre de Tassigny, near the village of Novo Selo.
The three members of the Qizmolli Ashkaeli family detained at the time
of the pogrom were held initially at the same police station. An AK-47
and hunting guns were seized during the arrest. The men were released
two days later, reportedly on verbal order of the local prosecutor and
they joined the other Ashkaeli people in the camp. According to the
Officer Wenzel, the three men face charges of illegal possession of
firearms. In addition, an investigation into the destruction by arson
of each of the approximately 70 houses in Vushtri/Vucitrn is currently
reportedly open. As of March 28, 2004, no one associated with the
attacking crowd had been detained in relation to the arsons and the
looting.
According to Mr Hamit Zymeri, an Ashkaeli man with whom the ERRC spoke
at the French KFOR compound in Novo Selo, the total number of persons
burned out of Vushtri/Vucitrn in the attack was 257; there were 87
children, 85 women, two of whom are pregnant, 13 children under 3 years
of age, and 18
babies under 6 months of age. According to a medical expert from the
Ashkaeli community, thirteen people have diabetes, 20 have high blood
pressure, 3 have epilepsy, and one woman has hip condition and is
unable to walk. The conditions in the camp, according to the Ashkaeli
representatives are poor: the barracks, which accommodated eleven
persons each, were damp from heavy rain and were inadequately heated.
Gjilan/Gnjilane
At approximately 17:15-17:30 on March 17, Serbian and Romani
communities in the town of Gjilan/Gnjilane, about 35 km southwest of
Pristina were attacked by a mob of ethnic Albanians, reportedly
predominantly young people in their teens. According to Romani
eyewitnesses with whom the ERRC spoke, twenty-three houses belonging to
Serbs were burnt. Also according to Romani eyewitnesses, the attackers
were also intent on burning Romani houses. The attackers arrived at the
Romani streets with canisters of inflammable liquid. Albanian
neighbours, however, reportedly protected the
Roma and did not allow the attackers to set their houses on fire. The
attackers threw stones at Romani houses breaking windows and doors.
They also insulted the Roma, calling them Majup (a pejorative word
meaning, roughly, Gypsies in Albanian). Some of the attackers broke
into the house of Sulejman Demiri, in the process breaking the front
door and window-panes.
The house of Milaim Demiri was also attacked with stones and some
window-panes were broken. According to Mr Milaim Demiri, some of the
attackers asked Roma why they did not join the protest. Also according
to Mr Milaim Demiri, one Romani house in another neighbourhood, Avdulla
Presheva, was burnt. The house belonged to Mr Ramadan Selimi. Roma with
whom the ERRC spoke in Gjilan/Gnjilane were afraid to accompany the
ERRC to see the Romani house. They did not know the whereabouts of Mr
Selimi.
According to ERRC research, the police first appeared approximately six
hours after the attack. Locals told the ERRC that the town has a
community of 350 Roma. The number of Roma used to be between
5,000-6,000 before 1999, but most of these fled during the campaign of
ethnic cleansing of minorities in Kosovo, 1999-present.
Lipjan/Lipljan
According to eyewitnesses with whom the ERRC spoke on March 28 in the
town of Lipjan/Lipljan, about 15 km south of Pristina, three houses
belonging to Ashkaeli and Romani families were burnt to the ground on
March 17 and March 21. The ERRC spoke with Ms Selvije Kurteshi, an
Ashkaeli woman whose house was burnt down on March 21 at around 2:00
AM. Ms Kurteshi and her family were not in their house at the time it
was set on fire; they were temporarily accommodated in the house of Ms
Kurteshis brother, located nearby. Neighbours reportedly told Ms
Kurteshi that her house was burning, but stated that they were not able
to identify the attackers. Mr Kurteshi told the ERRC that all of the
furniture in the house was destroyed in the fire. According to Ms
Kurteshi, KFOR arrived at the scene of the attack approximately one
hour after the fire. The fire was extinguished by the police, who had
reportedly been called by neighbours. The other two houses burnt in
Lipjan/Lipljan belonged to Ashkaeli persons currently refugees outside
Kosovo. Both houses were reportedly set on fire on March 17. The
Investigator of the KPS in Lipjan/Lipljan in charge of the
investigation cases told the ERRC that investigations had been opened
with respect to the arson attacks on the three houses. He declined to
provide the ERRC with information as to whether persons had been
detained or charged in connection with the attacks.
Obiliq/Obilic
In the town of Obiliq/Obilic, east of Pristina, a number of Romani
persons with whom the ERRC spoke told the ERRC that they had fled their
homes on March 17 and sought refuge in the nearby Plemetina refugee
camp when they saw a mob of people approaching their neighbourhood. At
least three Romani families were reportedly forced to flee from their
homes in Obiliq/Obilic in advance of rioters there. The ERRC
subsequently observed that the building in Obiliq/Obilic where the
Berisha family -- one of the families concerned -- lived was looted and
that window panes in the building were broken and other damage to the
exterior was visible. The building had
previously housed ethnic Serbs and Roma. According to Mr Shevki Berisha
and Ms Taibe Berisha, Romani victims of the attacks, no authority came
to help them when the crowd gathered intent on attacking their house.
As of March 28, no authority had been to visit them in the Plemetina
camp. They stated to the ERRC that they did not have means to buy food
and were afraid to go to Obiliq/Obilic.
In Obiliq/Obilic, the ERRC also visited a community of 19 Roma,
Ashkaeli and Egyptian families, who live in recently rebuilt houses on
the outskirts of Obiliq/Obilic. They told the ERRC that none of them
had been attacked on March 17. However, individuals in the community
stated that they feared
attack and had stopped sending their children to school. One Ashkaeli
man told the ERRC, We are not free to go to Obiliq/Obilic. All persons
in the community were reportedly unemployed at the time of the ERRC
visit; they collect scrap metal to earn money for food.
Your Excellencies,
The situation of Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and others regarded as
"Gypsies" in Kosovo is now extremely precarious. In March 2004, Roma,
Ashkaelia and others regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo have again been
targeted for extreme violence as part of a campaign begun in 1999 by
ethnic Albanians to expel minorities from the province, to seize their
property and to do them serious physical harm. In the close to five
years since an international administration was established in Kosovo,
rudimentary security has never been durably established in Kosovo and
minorities have been daily unable to enjoy basic freedom from fear of
physical attack. A
number of communities have lived for close to half a decade without
effective freedom of movement.
Efforts to bring the perpetrators of the orgy of ethnic violence
undertaken in the wake of the establishment of an international
authority in Kosovo have not yet even begun in earnest, much less been
able to show any form of significant impact. Arrests of suspects in
crimes committed by ethnic Albanians against civilians are met with
ethnically inspired protests by Albanians, demonstrating under the
slogan, UNMIK Stop Arresting Liberators!
The ERRC notes that on at least two occasions, governments outside
Kosovo (specifically the governments of Slovenia and Hungary) have
arrested and then subsequently released without charge high-ranking
members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, persons for whom valid
international arrest warrants have been issued in connection with
ethnic cleansing acts in Kosovo.
Further, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) stated on March 21, 2001, that her
office had opened an investigation into "activities against Serbs and
other minorities [emphasis added] in Kosovo by unidentified Albanian
armed groups from June 1999 until the present..." Asking the UN
Security Council to modify the Tribunal statute to cover such crimes,
Chief Prosecutor Del Ponte expressed her offices belief in the
importance of pursuing these allegations:
We must ensure that the Tribunals unique chance to bring justice to the
populations of the former Yugoslavia does not pass into history as
having been flawed and biased in favour of one ethnic group against
another.
Besides, if we obtain this morally justified and necessary extension of
our mandate, the Tribunal might become a deterrent factor against the
ongoing ethnic-cleansing campaign in Kosovo.
As of today, the ICTY has brought no ethnic Albanians to justice in
connection with the violent attacks on Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians, and
other persons regarded as "Gypsies" occurring as part of the campaign
of ethnic cleansing undertaken in Kosovo in the period June
1999-present.
Local courts have not, according to employees of international agencies
involved in the governance of Kosovo, proven effective to date in
bringing ethnic Albanian perpetrators of racially motivated crimes and
acts of ethnic cleansing against Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians, other
persons regarded as "Gypsies", or indeed any other minorities in
Kosovo. As such, despite the international administration of Kosovo, a
climate of near-total impunity for perpetrators of violent attacks on
minorities currently prevails in the province. To name only one example
among nearly countless racially motivated crimes occurring in Kosovo
since 1999, no one has ever been brought to justice in connection with
the shooting deaths of three Ashkaeli men less than 24 hours after they
returned to their native village of Dosevac/Dashevc as part of a
voluntary return program in November 2000.
In light of the foregoing, it is perhaps no wonder that Roma and
Ashkaelia with whom the ERRC has spoken in recent days have despaired
entirely of their ability ever to live with dignity in Kosovo in the
future, and have spoken with near universal voice of their desire to
leave Kosovo. This in itself marks a significant change from previous
ERRC documentary missions in Kosovo and among Romani refugees outside
Kosovo, many of whom expressed the desire to return to their homes in
Kosovo and participate in the reconstruction of a democratic Kosovo
after Milosevic. Unless your offices act adequately in the next period,
the international community will have on its record the oversight and
administration of the ethnic cleansing of minority communities from
Kosovo.
In view of the current situation in Kosovo, the ERRC urges you to act
within the powers available to your offices to ensure that:
· Without delay, the security situation of Romani and Ashkaeli
communities throughout Kosovo is assessed and measures appropriate to
the specific situation of each community, as well as to local community
perceptions of the actual and potential risks in the given community,
are swiftly undertaken;
· Prompt and impartial investigations into all acts of violence
to which Romani, Ashkaeli and Egyptian individuals and other persons
regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo have been subjected are carried out;
all perpetrators of racially-motivated acts of ethnic cleansing are
brought swiftly to justice and victims or families of victims receive
adequate compensation; justice is done and seen to be done;
· The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
redoubles its efforts to bring to justice individuals guilty of the
persecution of Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and other persons regarded as
"Gypsies" in Kosovo;
· All governments honor the international warrants for the arrest
of a number of persons wanted in connection with crimes of ethnic
cleansing occurring in Kosovo;
· Sustained efforts are undertaken by all authorities in Kosovo
and involved in the administration of Kosovo to ensure that no
discussions of Kosovo's final status are embarked upon until such a
time as all stakeholders achieve durable and lasting consensus in
practice that Kosovo is a multi-cultural society in which all
individuals can freely exercise in practice all of their fundamental
human rights;
· Any forced returns of Kosovo Romani, Ashkaeli or Egyptian
individuals to Kosovo, or to the rest of Serbia and Montenegro are
rendered impossible and impermissible until such a time as authorities
in Kosovo are able to demonstrate durable and lasting security and
freedom from racial discrimination for all in all parts of the
province; in particular, the governments of Denmark, Germany and the
United Kingdom should be instructed that forced returns of minority
individuals to Kosovo in the present circumstances constitute
refoulement and are therefore extreme violations of international law.
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:
Mr. Harri Holkeri
Head of Mission
Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations
for Kosovo
Main Headquarters, United Nations Mission in Kosovo
Pristina, Kosovo
Fax: +381-38-504604, ext. (5406)
Mr. Holger Kammerhoff
Lieutenant General
Commander of Kosovo Force
KFOR Main Headquarters
Pristina, Kosovo
Fax: +389 22 682752
Mr. Bajram Rexhepi
Prime Minister of Kosovo
Office of the Prime Minister
Pristina, Kosovo
Fax: +381 38 200 140 05
Fax: +381 38 211 582
Mr. Romano Prodi
European Commission President
European Commission
Rue de Geneva
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium
Fax: +32 2 295 8532
Ambassasdor Pascal Fieschi
Head of Mission
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
OSCE Mission in Kosovo
Belgrade Street
38 000 Pristina
Kosovo
Fax: + 381 38 500 188
The Rt. Hon. Chris Patten
Commission for External Relations
European Commission DG External Relations
Charlemagne 11/97
Brussels, Belgium
Fax: +32 (0)2 295 78 50
Mr Geoffrey Barrett
Head of Delegation of the European Union
Paje Adamova 4
11040 - Belgrade
Serbia and Montenegro
---
The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org
European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
HUNGARY
Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax: +36 1 4132201
2) ---
[ Please note: the "Society for Threatened Peoples" ("Gesellschaft fuer
Bedroehte Voelker") is a German lobbyist organization which advocates
the fragmentation of Europe into a "zoo" of ethnically-defined regions.
It supported and still supports all secessions in the Yugoslav space
from 1991 on.]
http://www.tanjug.co.yu
Tanjug - April 1, 2004
Evacuation of Roma, Ashkali is only solution
19:01 BELGRADE , April 1 (Tanjug) - The Society for
Threatened Peoples has called on the international
community to evacuate all Roma and Ashkali from
Kosovo-Metohija since this is the only way to protect
them from the ethnic Albanian extreme majority, the
Society said in a statement, a copy of which was sent
to Tanjug on Thursday.
Society Secretary-General Tilman Zuelch invited the
international community to evacuate Roma and Ashkali
who had remained in Kosovo-Metohija because they were
exposed to brutal ethnic Albanian attacks.
3) ---
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2004/April_22/48.html
Beta News Agency, Belgrade - April 19, 2004
Roma in Mitrovica and Vucitrn have nowhere to return to
BUDAPEST - The UNMIK spokesman for northern Kosovo
Gyorgy Kakuk in his article published in today's
"Magyar Hirlap" writes that the world has forgotten
about the Kosovo Roma.
Kakuk reminds that the Roma from Vucitrn in the past
five years lost everything twice and that on March 18
this year "they literally had to run before the
oncoming Albanians to save their lives".
"They ran through the streets of Vucitrn seeking at
least some protection from police or French (KFOR)
patrols while their houses went up in flames," writes
Kakuk, underscoring that 300 Roma from Vucitrn are
presently in the French base in the village of Novo
Selo, where they have received protection.
The UNMIK spokesman for northern Kosovo makes the
observation that news and analyses regarding the
Kosovo violence on March 17 primarily mentioned
conflicts between Serbs and Albanians.
Kakuk says that during the riots in Kosovo the Roma
issue remains "collateral damage" and that it has been
forgotten, assessing that the UN has made a mistake
because five years it set out "with all its strength"
to prove to everyone, especially itself, that
"eventually Kosovo would be a multiethnic haven or
some sort of melting pot of Balkan nations".
The UNMIK spokesman for northern Kosovo observes that
few people know that southern Mitrovica was formerly
one of the largest settlements of Roma in the former
Yugoslavia.
Kakuk states that, according to census data from 1991,
there were 8,516 in southern Mitrovica of different
social classes and that "the Roma quarter was not a
shantytown".
He reminded that when NATO appeared on the scene in
Kosovo as part of its "humanitarian intervention", the
Serbs left and the Albanians entered the Roma quarter
and told the Roma "to disappear if they knew what was
good for them".
The Roma left, leaving everything behind. Their houses
were looted and the entire Roma quarter was burned
down, continues Kakuk. He adds that all this occurred
in the presence of KFOR, whose representatives
explained at the time that "soldiers are not
firefighters".
"In spring 2002 I was at the formal ceremony where the
first newly built Roma houses were transferred to
returnees. UNMIK chief Michael Steiner was also
present, as were the representatives of the local
Albanians,"
said Kakuk. He noted that 16 Roma families returned
from Novi Sad at the time.
"They had had enough of life in sports auditoriums;
they overcame their fear and believed the promises of
the UN and local Albanians, "claims Kakuk, adding that
other Roma subsequently returned as well and that a
few months ago one hundred Roma had returned home from
Germany.
"They did not come of their own free will; they would
have preferred to stay where they were but the German
government told them that Kosovo is a melting pot (of
nations), that everything is fine and that there is no
further reason for them to remain in Germany," writes
Kakuk.
The UN spokesman for northern Kosovo emphasizes that
these Roma, too, are now in the French base and adds
that they only want to go to some third country.
4) ---
Beta News Agency, Belgrade - April 22, 2004
Nowicki visits Ashkalis living in KFOR camp
PRISTINA - Kosovo ombudsman Marek Nowicki visited
displaced Ashkalis* who have been living in the French
KFOR camp in Novo Selo near Vucitrn since their houses
were torched in the March riots, the ombudsman's
office advised.
In conversation with the Ashkalis Nowicki learned that
during the course of the most recent violence in
Kosovo, 250 of their houses were burned and they now
have nowhere to return.
The Ashkalis have asked the international community to
offer them the possibility of temporary emigration
from Kosovo due to the fact that they cannot remain in
a military camp for an extended period as there are
many children and ill people among them.
Nowicki reassured the Ashkalis that he would transmit
their requests to the appropriate domestic and
international institutions, as well as that he would
arrange for them to meet with representatives of the
media.
*Ashkalis are Albanian speaking Roma who do not
consider themself as Roma but as Ashkalis. The third
minority group ethnically close to Roma are Kosovo
Egyptians. Roma, Ashkalis and Egyptians have been
persecuted by Kosovo Albanian extremists in the last
five years and have almost disappeared from Kosovo.
5) ---
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/April2004/VOR0426.htm
The Dissident Voice - April 26, 2004
Aftermath of "Humanitarian" Intervention in Kosovo:
Ethnic Cleansing of Roma and Other Minorities Nears
Completion
by Carol Bloom, Œani Rifati and Sunil Sharma
-If the Albanians succeed in creating an independent
Kosovo, it would seem that, in the end, they are to be
rewarded for their massive ethnic cleansing campaign.
The following article is an update to The Current
Plight of the Kosovo Roma, a survey on the Romani
population based on the field reports of historian
Paul Polansky, edited and co-authored by Bloom,
Rifati, and Sharma, published by Voice of Roma in
2001.
On June 12th 1999, 78 days of US/NATO bombing of
Kosovo ended. Now, five years later, Kosovo is
governed by the United Nations Interim Administration
(UNMIK). In the months following the end of the
bombing, hundreds of International Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs), thousands of peace-keepers
(45,000-50,000 NATO/US soldiers), more than 5,000 UN
police, looked on while a massive ethnic cleansing was
committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and
extremist Albanians. The ethnic minorities living in
Kosovo prior to 1999 included Serbs, Roma, Turks,
Gorani (Muslim Slavs), Bosnian Croats, Jews, and
others. According to UN figures, 230,000 ethnic
minorities were driven out of Kosovo since 1999, and
these numbers are low according to Serbian figures of
250,000 or more.
This was actually the second biggest ethnic cleansing
in the former Yugoslavia. The first one took place in
Krajina, Croatia, where Croatian forces ethnically
cleansed the region of up to 350,000 minorities,
predominantly Serbs. One of the generals who led this
pogrom was Agim Ceku, who was trained in the US and
Europe. Not only was this general in charge of the
ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosovo in the summer of
1999, he is currently one of the leading commanders in
charge of the Kosovo Police Services (KPS-the UN
police force of approximately 5,000 officers)! And
many of these KPS officers were actually KLA soldiers
during the ethnic cleansing campaign in the summer of
1999. It is also significant to note that very few
high level KLA commanders have been indicted or tried
before the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.
Very little has been reported in the media about the
ethnic cleansing that took place in the aftermath of
the NATO intervention in Kosovo. In the intervening
years, what sparse coverage there has been of Kosovo
has mostly heralded it as the model of U.S./NATO
allies bringing “democracy” and “civil society” to
countries previously steeped in ethnic hatreds and run
by evil despots. The fact that Kosovo went from being
a multi-ethnic society within a multi-ethnic and
relatively economically stable country (the former
Yugoslavia) to being a lawless country intolerant of
all but the ruling majority, is not acknowledged by
the press and even seems to be intentionally hidden
from public awareness.
Today, almost five years since the “humanitarian
bombing” and the establishment of a UN protectorate,
Kosovo is one of the most dangerous places in the
world for Roma! Very few Roma, pejoratively referred
to as "gypsies," have remained; estimates range from
22,000-25,000. Before the US/NATO intervention in
Kosovo there were more than 150,000 Roma in the
region.
Over the past 700 years, Roma have settled and have
established themselves as a significant minority
population in Kosovo. But since international
institutions arrived, bringing “democracy, free
society, civil society, ethnic harmony, peace and
tolerance” to Kosovo, Roma are more abused,
persecuted, and ignored than ever. Today, in "free and
liberated” Kosovo, Roma often are unable to even
obtain a birth certificate in the place where they
were born.
Freedom of movement is still one of the biggest
concerns for remaining Roma; most are unable to move
about freely, go to work, shop for their families, or
attend schools. Very few international NGOs want to
hire Roma, either because the Albanian staff members
are typically uninterested in integrating Roma into
“their” society, or because the foreign directors have
fears of being targeted by extremist Albanians. Today,
many Roma are even unable to travel to the hospital
for routine or emergency treatment. For example, the
hospital in Mitrovica is an hour’s drive from the
Serbian enclaves near Pristina, where many displaced
Roma are living. Most of the Roma in Kosovo today live
either in Serbian enclaves, where they are protected
by numbers of minorities, or in Internally Displaced
Person’s (IDP) camps.
Kosovo Roma living in the UN protectorate today find
themselves in a frustrating bureaucratic “log-jam”
when they try to obtain legal records, visas, permits,
etc. due to the absence of clarity concerning the
lines of authority and procedures in a region that is:
a) not governed by the nation to which it officially
belongs (Serbia)
b) run by elected and appointed officials of the
dominant ethnic majority (Albanians) who are
dictating, influencing, and administering policies
designed to eliminate multi-ethnicity in Kosovo
c) held in check by UNMIK and UNHCR, whose mandates
create obstacles and red-tape for Roma and other
minorities trying to normalize/improve their lives,
and whose policies do not really offer them anything
in the way of protection, safety, freedom of movement,
jobs, schooling for their children, etc.
At this point, the vast majority of Kosovo Roma who
took refuge in other countries since June of 1999 have
not received any form of permanent status as refugees
or political asylum seekers from those governments. In
fact, most face forced repatriation (deportation) on
an ongoing (monthly, bimonthly, quarterly) basis, even
though UNHCR/UNMIK repeatedly have stated that Kosovo
is not safe for Roma -- recently even refusing entry
to Romani deportees. It should be noted that these
Western European nations whose governments refuse to
grant permanent status to Kosovo Roma are the same
countries who participated/supported the NATO bombing
campaign of Kosovo, destroying parts of its
infrastructure, violating international law by using
depleted uranium and cluster bombs, and then handing
Kosovo over to the Albanian majority who then
ethnically cleansed the Roma. While the international
civil presence is mandated to maintain civil law and
order, protect and promote human rights and assure the
safe and unimpeded return of all refugees and
displaced persons to their homes, reports by the UN
ombudsperson office, UNHCR, OSCE, Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, and others state
that KFOR and UNMIK have failed to fulfill these
obligations. If the Albanians succeed in creating an
independent Kosovo, it would seem that, in the end,
they are to be rewarded for their massive ethnic
cleansing campaign.
Is this a picture of democracy in action? Is this what
the US and NATO are touting as a “success story”? Is
another Diaspora, with no right to settle and no hope
of return, what the Roma of Kosovo can look forward to
in the 21st Century?
In March of this year, fighting erupted again in
Kosovo, between Albanians and Serbs in the City of
Mitrovica. The press reported that two incidents
triggered the violence - a drive-by shooting of a
Serbian youth on March 15th, followed by the drowning
deaths of three Albanian youths, allegedly chased into
a river by dogs belonging to Serbian boys. The larger
context of the Albanian fight for Kosovo’s secession
from Serbia, a struggle that has motivated the
fighting since long before the US/NATO intervention in
1999, is rarely mentioned in the press. It seems that
the ethnic Albanian rulers of Kosovo, having used
UNMIK and the international presence in Kosovo to
rebuild this region for their dominance, are now ready
to make the final push for independence. The
international press has failed to ask these questions
or fill in the background when reporting this
violence, instead repeating the story of the drowning
boys as the cause of the recent violence, sparking
ethnic clashes that resulted in over 30 deaths and the
burning of more than 300 Serbian, Romani, and other
minority homes at the hands of extremist Albanians.
In sum, the Kosovo Roma are still caught in the middle
of the ethnic fighting between the Albanians and
Serbs, which is now more intense than ever.
* They are denied documents/the safety/ or the means
to travel elsewhere or to stay in Kosovo.
* They are unwelcome and unrecognized as legitimate
citizens in Kosovo/Serbia, or as refugees in
Macedonia, Montenegro, and throughout Western Europe.
* They are threatened with deportation and forced to
repatriate, while UNHCR states that they cannot safely
return to live in Kosovo.
In a report to the U.N. Security Council on April
13th, 2004, U.N. Peacekeeping Operations Director
Jean-Marie Guehenno described Kosovo, five years after
the end of civil war, as a simmering cauldron of
ethnic suspicions. Mr. Guehenno stated: "The onslaught
led by Albanian extremists against Kosovo's Serb, Roma
and Ashkali communities was an organized, widespread
and targeted campaign."
With the world focused on the widening war in Iraq,
and the former Yugoslavia far below media radar
screens, the forgotten Roma of Kosovo are fixed dead
center in the cross-hairs of the emboldened Albanian
majority, poised to consummate their long held dream
of an exclusively Albanian Kosovo. The Roma are in
even more desperate straits than the already grim
situation first reported in this publication.
Carol Bloom and Shani Rifati are respectively CFO and
President of Voice of Roma, an advocacy group based in
Northern California, whose goal is to provide Roma
with a voice in their local communities, as well as
nationally and internationally. Sunil Sharma is the
editor of Dissident Voice, and is on International
Advisory Board of Voice of Roma. VOR can be reached
at: voiceofroma@...
La epurazione etnica dei rom kosovari, dal 1999 ad oggi
Seconda parte
IN ITALIANO:
Lettera spedita da ERRC alle principali autorita' internazionali sulla
violenza contro le comunita' "zingare" del Kosovo, con particolare
riferimento ai pogrom di marzo 2004 (31 marzo 2004)
IN ENGLISH:
1) European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) Letter of Concern to Kosovo and
European Authorities over Violence against Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians
and Others Regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo, and Long-Term Impunity for
their Persecutors (March 31, 2004)
2) Anti-yugoslav, serbo-phobic "Gesellschaft fuer Bedroehte Voelker":
"Evacuation of Roma, Ashkali is only solution"
3) Roma in Mitrovica and Vucitrn have nowhere to return to
(Beta News Agency, April 19, 2004)
4) Nowicki visits Ashkalis living in KFOR camp
(Beta News Agency, Belgrade - April 22, 2004)
5) Ethnic Cleansing of Roma and Other Minorities Nears
Completion
(by Carol Bloom, Œani Rifati and Sunil Sharma.
The Dissident Voice, April 26, 2004)
=== ALTRI LINK ===
ERRC: Violence against 'Gypsies' in Kosovo Continues, Unabated
http://www.unobserver.com/printen.php?id=1550
Albanians cleanse remaining Roma population in Kosovo
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/decani/message/80890
Information on the situation of Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and others
regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo is available on the Internet at:
http://www.errc.org/publications/indices/kosovo.shtml
Photographic documentation by ERRC researchers in Kosovo in March 2004
is available on the Internet at:
http://www.errc.org/publications/photos/kosovo_2004.shtml
Homes of more than 300 Gypsies and Ashkalia were
burned by Albanian mob
http://www.kosovo.net/node/view/80
=== IN ITALIANO ===
Da: European Roma Rights Center <errc@...>
Nostra documentazione fotografica:
http://www.errc.org/publications/photos/kosovo_2004.shtml
Lettera spedita da ERRC all'attenzione del Segretario Generale delle
Nazioni Unite per il Kossovo/Kosova Harri Holkeri - al Comandante della
KFOR, Generale Holger Kammerhoff - al Primo Ministro del Kosovo
Kossovo/Kosova Bajram Rexhepi - al Presidente della Commissione Europea
Romano Prodi:
All'attenzione delle Vostre eccellenze,
European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) è un'organizzazione di interesse
pubblico che controlla la situazione dei diritti umani dei Rom in
Europa e fornisce assistenza legale, e Vi scrive per esprimere la sua
profonda preoccupazione per le gravi violazioni dei diritti di Rom e
Askali, occorsi dal 17 marzo 2004 e che continuano tuttora.
ERRC ha raccolto le prove che Rom e Askali sono stati soggetti di
gravissime violazioni dei diritti umani, durante veri e propri
"pogroms" nel periodo tra il 17 e il 21 marzo, nei territori abitati
dalla maggioranza albanese. Le nostre indagini e i documenti
recentemente raccolti, mostrano come i Rom e gli Askali siano stati un
bersaglio della pulizia etnica, esattamente come è successo ai Serbi.
Almeno 75 case abitate da Rom e Akali sono state incendiate; in ogni
caso la somma dei
danni e delle violenze è sicuramente superiore a quanto da noi
documentato; i dati da noi riportati si rferiscono esclusivamente alle
zone dove ci è stato possibile accedere e non alla totalità dei
territori dove sono avvenute e continuano le violenze.
Ci rivolgiamo a Voi perché sia data estrema attenzione alla condizione
dei diritti umani di Rom, Askali, Egizi e di tutte quelle persone
indicate come "Zingari" dagli Albanesi del Kossovo/Kosova, quindi a
rischio estremo di persecuzione.
Di seguito, forniamo un resoconto documentato degli avvenimenti degli
ultimi giorni in Kossovo/Kosova:
Le nostre indagini contano circa 70 case di proprietà di Askali che
sono state incendiate e completamente distrutte, in seguito ad attacchi
Albanesi nella città di Vushtri/Vucitrn, circa 10 Km. a sud di
Mitrovica, dove nei giorni precedenti erano stati i Serbi il bersaglio
della violenza.
Secondo i testimoni, il 18 marzo 2004 alle 17.00 circa, una folla di
circa 200/300 persone hanno attaccato la chiesa ortodossa di sant Elia,
che già nel 1999 era stata soggetta ad un assalto degli Albanesi, alla
fine delle operazioni militari NATO. Il contingente marocchino della
KFOR, posto a protezione del sito, si è ritirato senza offrire la
protezione richiesta e necessaria. La folla ha così potuto dar fuoco
alla chiesa e alla strutture adiacenti, distruggendo gli interni,
compreso l'altare, gli affreschi, e distruggendo le pietre tombali del
cimitero lì accanto. Quasi contemporaneamente, un secondo gruppo di
persone attaccava il quartiere degli Askali, raggiunto dalla folla che
aveva bruciato la chiesa.
Secondo quanto testimoniato dagli Askali stessi, gli Albanesi hanno
iniziato ad irrompere nelle loro case, con l'intenzione di bruciarle
assieme agli abitanti. La prima casa incendiata è stata quella di
Xemail Balinca. Gli attaccanti hanno anche tentato di rapire una
ragazza della famiglia Balinca. Poi è toccato alla casa della famiglia
Qizmolli. Secondo la
testimonianza di Hamit Zymeri, Askali, alcuni vicini dei Qizmolli hanno
tentato di intervenire a sua difesa, ma è stato loro impedito della
Polizia del Kossovo (KPS). Secondo varie testimonianze, gli ufficiali
della KPS hanno agito in combutta con gli assalitori. Al termine, hanno
arrestato tre membri della famiglia Qizmolli.
Secondo la testimonianza da noi raccolta da Martin Wenzel, ufficiale
UNMIK, gli attaccanti avevano già deciso l'azione in ogni particolare,
prendendo a pretesto la reazione degli Askali al loro assalto per
attaccare le altre case. Sempre secondo la sua testimonianza, quando
s'è diffusa la voce degli assalti alle case degli Askali, gli ufficiali
della KPS si sono offerti volontariamente per scortarli alla stazione
di polizia. Oltre 200 Askali sono stati assistiti dalla KPS nel
lasciare le proprie case; alle 19.30 gli ultimi abitanti abbandovano la
zona sotto scorta. Di seguito, le loro case sono state date alle
fiamme. Alle 2.00 del mattino successivo, gli Askali sono stati
trasferiti nella base KFOR francese di Plana e due giorni più tardi,
scortati dai francesi, vicino al villaggio di Novo Selo.
I tre arrestati della famigla Qizmolli sono stati inizialmente
trattenuti alla stazione di polizia. Per giustificare la loro
detenzione, la polizia ha detto di aver rinvenuto in casa loro un AK-47
e fucili di caccia. Due giorni dopo, sono stati trasferiti assieme agli
altri Askali al campo profughi. Rimane a loro carico l'accusa di
detenzione di armi da fuoco. Le indagini sulla distruzione di 70 case
sono tuttora aperte, a oggi, 28 marzo, nessuno degli assalitori è stato
accusato o arrestato.
Secondo il primo testimone da noi citato, Hamit Zymeri, con cui abbiamo
potuto parlare nel campo di Novo Selo, il numero totale di Askali
allontanato da Vushtri/Vucitrn sarebbero 257; di cui 87 bambini, 85
donne di cui due incinte, 13 bambini sotto i tre anni di età e 18 sotto
i sei mesi di età. Un assistente medico della comunità, riferisce che
13 di loro hanno il diabete, 20 soffrono di ipertensione, 3 sono sono
epilettici e una donna per un problema all'anca non è in grado di
camminare. Il campo, sempre secondo la sua impressione, è totalmente
inadeguato, le baracche accolgono ognuna 11 persone, sono umide per la
pioggia e non adeguatamente riscaldate.
Alle 17.15 - 17.30 circa del 17 marzo, le comunità Serbe e Rom di
Gjilan/Gnjilane, 35 km a sudovest di Pristina sono state attaccate da
Albanesi, per la maggior parte giovani sotto i vent'anni. Le
testimonianze da noi raccolte, parlano di 23 case serbe bruciate e
hanno poi tentato di incendiare le case dei Rom. Testimoni li hanno
visti arrivare portando con loro taniche di liquido infiammabile. I Rom
sono stati salvati dai loro vicini albanesi, che non hanno permesso che
gli attaccanti appiccassero il fuoco alle case. A questo punto, gli
attaccanti hanno iniziato un lancio di pietre che ha fracassato porte e
finestre, ingiuriandoli col termine di Majup (che significa
zingarella). Alcuni attaccanti sono riusciti ad irrompere in casa di
Sulejman Demiri, mettendola a soqquadro. Alcuni degli assalitori,
racconta Milaim Demiri, gli hanno chiesto perché non si fosse unito
alla protesta. Demiri termina il racconto, dicendo che in un altro
quartiere Rom è stata bruciata la casa di Avdulla Presheva, di
proprietà del signor Ramadan Selimi, ma ha rifiutato di accompagnare
l'incaricato di ERRC sul luogo dell'incendio. Il proprietario è tuttora
scomparso. Da quanto abbiamo appurato, la polizia ha fatto la sua prima
comparsa circa sei ore dopo. La comunità locale attualmente conta 350
Rom, di 5.000 - 6.000 che erano anteriormente al 1999, al tempo della
prima pulizia etnica.
Le nostre testimonianze raccolte a Lipjan/Lipljan il 28 marzo, circa 15
Km a sud di Pristina, parlano di tre case appartenenti a famiglie Rom e
Askali, bruciate e rase al suolo sempre il 17 e il 21 marzo. Abbiamo
parlato con Selvije Kurteshi, donna Askali la cui casa è stata data
alle fiamme il 21 marzo alle 2.00 di notte circa. In quel momento gli
abitanti non erano in casa ed erano ospiti a casa del fratello. La
signora Kurteshi ci ha raccontato che tutti i mobili e gli averi
presenti nella loro casa sono stati distrutti dal fuoco e che la KFOR
si è presentata sulla scena circa un'ora dopo. Le altre due case
incendiate a Lipjan/Lipljan appartenevano ad Askali fuggiti dal
Kossovo/Kosova. Entrambe sono state date alle
fiamme il 17 marzo. Abbiamo chiesto ulteriori chiarimenti alla KPS, che
ci ha detto che le indagini sono tuttora in corso e rifiutando di
fornire ulteriori commenti o informazioni.
Nella città di Obiliq/Obilic, a est di Pristina, siamo riusciti a
parlare con un gruppo di Rom che aveva abbandonato le loro case, alla
comparsa di un folla che stava dirigendosi verso di loro e rifugiandosi
nel vicino campo di Plemetina. Almeno tre famiglie Rom sono state
costrette ad abbandonare il paese, in seguito a minacce di vario tipo.
Tra loro la famiglia Berisha, la cui casa è stata fatta ripetutamente
bersaglio di lancio di pietre contro porte e finestre. La stessa casa
era stata rifugio nel passato di famiglie Serbe e Rom. Secondo la loro
testimonianza, le autorità non si sono mai fatte vive durante i vari
attacchi e nemmeno al campo di Plemetina, dove i rifugiati sopravvivono
senza cibo e nel terrore di tornare a Obiliq/Obilic.
A Obiliq/Obilic abbiamo visitato una comunità di 19 Rom, Askali ed
Egizi, alloggiati in case ricostruite nelle immediate vicinanze.
Secondo la loro testimonianza, non ci sono stati attacchi il 17 marzo,
ma vivono nella paura di essere assaliti e hanno smesso di mandare i
figli a scuola. Un uomo ha detto che non sono liberi di circolare in
città. Sono tutti disoccupati e campano raccogliendo metalli in cambio
di qualche soldo.
----
La situazione di Rom, Askali ed Egizi e quanti siano identificati come
"zingari" è al momento di estremamente precaria. Per tutto il marzo
2004, sono stati il bersaglio di estrema violenza, frutto di una
campagna iniziata nel 1999 da parte dell'etnia albanese, per
l'espellere delle minoranze dalla provincia, impossessarsi delle loro
proprietà e metterli in condizione di serio pericolo fisico e
psicologico. Durante questi cinque anni in cui l'amministrazione
internazionale ha governato in Kossovo/Kosova, non sono mai stati
raggiunti standard duraturi di sicurezza per le minoranze. A numerose
comunità è stata negata l'effettiva libertà di movimento.
Non sono mai cominciati gli sforzi per mettere sotto l'autorità
internazionale del Kossovo/Kosova i colpevoli dell'orgia di pulizia
etnica. Gli arresti degli Albanesi sospettati di crimini a sfondo
etnico, portano a dimostrazioni e proteste di massa, al grido di
"L'UNMIK smetta di arrestare i liberatori!"
ERRC nota che in almeno due occasioni, governi esterni al
Kossovo/Kosova (specificamente Ungheria e Slovenia) abbiano arrestato
ricercati internazionali appartenenti all'Armata di Liberazione del
Kossovo e successivamente siano stati rilasciati senza processo, anche
se incriminati per aver partecipato o organizzato operazioni di pulizia
etnica.
Si aggiunga che il Procuratore Capo del Tribunale Internazionale per i
Crimini dell'Ex-Jugoslavia, ha affermato nel marzo 2001 che il suo
ufficio ha aperto indagini sulle "attività contro i Serbi e altre
minoranze in Kosovo da parte di non identificati gruppi armati
albanesi, dal giugno 1999 sino ad oggi..." Chiedendo quindi al
Consiglio di Sicurezza dell'ONU di modificare lo statuto del Tribunale
perché possa indagare su questi crimini, il procuratore Capo Del Ponte
si è pronunciato sull'importanza di poter perseguire questi crimini:
dobbiamo fare in maniera che i tribunali internazionali possano portare
la giustizia alle popolazioni dell'ex-Jugoslavia, senza che ciò passi
alla storia come il pronunciamento versoo un popolo a scapito degli
altri.
Inoltre, se si ottenesse questa necessaria e moralmente giustificata
estensione del mandato, il Tribunale potrebbe agire da fattore
deterrente contro la rinascita della campagna di pulizia etnica in
Kossovo/Kosova.
Sinora, il Tribunale Internazionale non ha agito contro nessuno di
etnia albanese in connessione ai violenti attacchi contro Rom, Askali,
Egizi, altri definiti "zingari" o altre minoranze, in merito ai fatti
successi dal 1999 ad oggi.
Il compito di assicurare alla giustizia i colpevoli di questi crimini,
non è mai stato affrontato neanche dai tribunali locali: Nonostante il
carattere internazionale dell'amministrazione in Kossovo/Kosova,
prevale un clima di quasi totale impunità. Ricordiamo come esempio, che
nessuno è stato processato o almeno indagato, per l'uccisione di tre
Askali, avvenuta nemmeno 24 ore dopo il loro ritorno nel villaggio
nativo di Dosevac/Dashevc, nel quadro di un programma di rimpatrio
volontario del novembre 2000.
Alla luce di quanto riportato dalle testimonianze da noi sinora
raccolte, non deve stupire il fatto che questi gruppi abbiano perso
qualsiasi dignità o capacità di sopravvivenza e che tutti desiderino
lasciare il Kossovo/Kosova. Quanto da noi ascoltato e riportato, ha
cambiato il senso stesso originario della nostra missione, che era di
indagare sulla possibilità di un rientro in patria per i profughi che
lo desideravano, per partecipare alla ricostruzione di un
Kossovo/Kosova democratico dopo Milosevic. Se i vostri uffici non
agiranno in maniera adeguata, le conseguenze di questa pulizia etnica
saranno in futuro di tutta la Comunità Europea.
Di fronte alla situazione attuale, vi chiediamo di operare con ogni
mezzo per:
* assicurare senza alcun indugio la sicurezza delle comunità Rom e
Askali e misure appropriate alla situazione specifica di ogni comunità;
* indagini rapide ed imparziali sulle violenze subite dalle minoranze
etniche, che i colpevoli siano assicurati alla giustizia e le famigli
delle vittime ricevano indenizzi adeguati. La giustizia deve poter
operare e rendersi visibile;
* che il Tribunale Internazionale per i Crimini dell'Ex-Jugoslavia
raddoppi i suoi sforzi per assicurare alla giustizia i colpevoli delle
persecuzioni razziali;
* che tutti i governi onorino gli accordi internazionali sulla
prosecuzioni dei colpevoli di crimini contro l'umanità e di pulizia
etnica avvenuti in Kossovo/Kosova;
* tutte le autorità coinvolte nell'amministrazione in Kossovo/Kosova
devono impegnarsi a non discutere il futuro amministrativo e politico
della regione, se prima non ne sia stato salvaguardato il carattere di
società multietnica e multiculturale, in cui tutti abbiano possibilità
di esercitare i diritti umani fondamentali;
* Ogni ritorno forzato di profughi Rom, Askali o Egizi del
Kossovo/Kosova, come pure della Serbia e Montenegro, sia reso
inattuabile sino a quando le autorità kossovare non siano in grado di
dimostrare condizioni durature di sicurezza e libertà in ogni
provincia. In particolare, l'invito è rivolto a Danimarca, Germania e
Regno Unito, che unilateralmente e fuori da ogni accordo internazionale
stipulato, stanno rimpatriando forzatamente i profughi del
Kossovo/Kosova
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
http://www.errc.org
European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
HUNGARY
Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax: +36 1 4132201
=== IN ENGLISH ===
1) ---
Subj: [Roma_Rights] Ethnic Cleansing of "Gypsies" in Kosovo
Date: 3/31/2004 9:59:25 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: "Roma Network"
To: <Ova adresa el. pošte je zaštićena od spambotova. Omogućite JavaScript da biste je videli.>
Cc: "European Roma Rights Center" <errc@...>
ORIGINAL SENDER: European Roma Rights Center <errc@...>
European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) Letter of Concern to Kosovo and
European Authorities over Violence against Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians
and Others Regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo, and Long-Term Impunity for
their Persecutors
March 31, 2004
The ERRC today sent a letter to Special Representative of the Secretary
General of the United Nations for Kosovo Mr. Harri Holkeri, Commander
of Kosovo Force Lieutenant General Holger Kammerhoff, Kosovo Prime
Minister Bajram Rexhepi, and European Commission President Romano Prodi
to express deep concern at the continued acts of ethnic cleansing
perpetrated by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo beginning with renewed force
on March 17. In the letter, the ERRC presented documentation gathered
in the course of an ERRC field mission undertaken since the beginning
of the latest wave of violence in Kosovo. The letter concludes with
recommendations to Mssrs. Holkeri, Kammerhoff, Rexhepi and Prodi.
Information on the situation of Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and others
regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo is available on the Internet at:
http://www.errc.org/publications/indices/kosovo.shtml
Photographic documentation by ERRC researchers in Kosovo in March 2004
is available on the Internet at:
http://www.errc.org/publications/photos/kosovo_2004.shtml
The full text of the March 31 ERRC letter follows:
Your Excellencies,
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public
interest law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in
Europe, is writing to express deep concern at the grave human rights
violations against Roma and Ashkaelia in Kosovo committed on and after
March 17, 2004 and currently
ongoing.
The ERRC has gathered evidence that Roma and Ashkaelia have been
subjected to very serious human rights violations during the wave of
pogroms on minority communities carried out in the period March 17-21,
2004 throughout the province by ethnic Albanians. ERRC field
investigation undertaken in recent days has documented that, in
addition to the pogroms on ethnic Serb communities, several hundred
Roma and Ashkaelia have been also targeted. At least 75 houses
belonging to Romani and Ashkaeli families have been set on
fire. This figure may rise further, since it does not include instances
of violence in localities of which we have been informed but have not
yet undertaken first-hand documentation.
We appeal to you to give full attention to the human rights status of
Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and all other persons regarded by ethnic
Albanians in Kosovo as "Gypsies", and therefore currently under extreme
threat of violence in Kosovo.
A summary of ERRC documentation in some localities in Kosovo in recent
days follows:
Vushtri/Vucitrn
ERRC research established that approximately 70 houses belonging to
Ashkaeli persons were set on fire by Albanian attackers (referred to
locally as "protesters") on March 18, 2004, in the town of
Vushtri/Vucitrn, about 10 kilometres south of Kosovska Mitrovica -- the
place where the pogroms on Kosovo Serbs had begun the day before. The
houses were
completely destroyed in the arson attacks.
According to eyewitnesses, on March 18, 2004, at approximately 17:00, a
crowd of 200-300 persons gathered at the St. Elias Orthodox church in
the town, which in 1999 had also been the target of assaults by ethnic
Albanians in the context of ethnic cleansing of minorities in Kosovo
following the end of the NATO military action in June 1999. At the time
of the March 18, 2004 incident, the Moroccan KFOR unit which had been
positioned to protect the site, failed to provide any protection and
allegedly left. The crowd set fire to the church and the adjacent
structures, destroyed some of the remaining church interior, including
an altar and wall paintings, and knocked down tombstones in the
graveyard located beside the church. At around the same time, a second
crowd began to
gather and subsequently headed toward the Ashkaeli neighbourhood. The
group that had set the church on fire then joined the attackers in the
Ashkaeli area.
According to the testimony of Ashkaeli eyewitnesses, during the pogrom,
a crowd of ethnic Albanians came to the Ashkaeli neighbourhood and
started breaking into the houses. Their intention was, according to
witnesses interviewed by the ERRC, to burn the houses to the ground
while persons were still inside. The first house burnt was the house of
Xemail Balinca. Some of the attackers allegedly tried to rape a girl
from the Balinca family. The next house broken into belonged to the
Qizmolli family. According to Mr Hamit Zymeri, an Ashkaeli eyewitness
to the pogrom, neighbours gathered in the yard of the Qizmolli house in
order to help the family, but officers of the Kosovo Police Service
(KPS) intervened. The representatives of the Ashkaeli group alleged
that some of the KPS officers acted in complicity with the attackers.
Three members of the Qizmolli family were then arrested by KPS officers.
According to the testimony to the ERRC of Station Commander Martin
Wenzel, a senior UNMIK officer, Ashkaeli persons allegedly fired at the
Albanian crowd, in an attempt to defend their homes. According to
Station Commander Wenzel, these shots were not the trigger for the
onslaught and arson that followed; the attackers had allegedly already
decided to evict, burn and destroy the neighbourhood. In his view,
"Everything was orchestrated."
According to Officer Wenzel, when the information that Ashkaeli houses
were being attacked was received, ten KPS police officers volunteered
to evacuate the Ashkaeli families and bring them to the police station.
Over 200 Ashkaeli people were assisted by KPS officers in fleeing their
homes and coming inside the building of the police station. At about
19:30, the last Ashkaeli individuals were extracted from the area under
mob siege. The houses were subsequently burned to the ground. At
approximately 2:00 AM the following morning, the evacuated Ashkaelia
were transferred to the French KFOR base at Plana. Two days later, they
were transported to the French KFOR military compound Marechal de
Lattre de Tassigny, near the village of Novo Selo.
The three members of the Qizmolli Ashkaeli family detained at the time
of the pogrom were held initially at the same police station. An AK-47
and hunting guns were seized during the arrest. The men were released
two days later, reportedly on verbal order of the local prosecutor and
they joined the other Ashkaeli people in the camp. According to the
Officer Wenzel, the three men face charges of illegal possession of
firearms. In addition, an investigation into the destruction by arson
of each of the approximately 70 houses in Vushtri/Vucitrn is currently
reportedly open. As of March 28, 2004, no one associated with the
attacking crowd had been detained in relation to the arsons and the
looting.
According to Mr Hamit Zymeri, an Ashkaeli man with whom the ERRC spoke
at the French KFOR compound in Novo Selo, the total number of persons
burned out of Vushtri/Vucitrn in the attack was 257; there were 87
children, 85 women, two of whom are pregnant, 13 children under 3 years
of age, and 18
babies under 6 months of age. According to a medical expert from the
Ashkaeli community, thirteen people have diabetes, 20 have high blood
pressure, 3 have epilepsy, and one woman has hip condition and is
unable to walk. The conditions in the camp, according to the Ashkaeli
representatives are poor: the barracks, which accommodated eleven
persons each, were damp from heavy rain and were inadequately heated.
Gjilan/Gnjilane
At approximately 17:15-17:30 on March 17, Serbian and Romani
communities in the town of Gjilan/Gnjilane, about 35 km southwest of
Pristina were attacked by a mob of ethnic Albanians, reportedly
predominantly young people in their teens. According to Romani
eyewitnesses with whom the ERRC spoke, twenty-three houses belonging to
Serbs were burnt. Also according to Romani eyewitnesses, the attackers
were also intent on burning Romani houses. The attackers arrived at the
Romani streets with canisters of inflammable liquid. Albanian
neighbours, however, reportedly protected the
Roma and did not allow the attackers to set their houses on fire. The
attackers threw stones at Romani houses breaking windows and doors.
They also insulted the Roma, calling them Majup (a pejorative word
meaning, roughly, Gypsies in Albanian). Some of the attackers broke
into the house of Sulejman Demiri, in the process breaking the front
door and window-panes.
The house of Milaim Demiri was also attacked with stones and some
window-panes were broken. According to Mr Milaim Demiri, some of the
attackers asked Roma why they did not join the protest. Also according
to Mr Milaim Demiri, one Romani house in another neighbourhood, Avdulla
Presheva, was burnt. The house belonged to Mr Ramadan Selimi. Roma with
whom the ERRC spoke in Gjilan/Gnjilane were afraid to accompany the
ERRC to see the Romani house. They did not know the whereabouts of Mr
Selimi.
According to ERRC research, the police first appeared approximately six
hours after the attack. Locals told the ERRC that the town has a
community of 350 Roma. The number of Roma used to be between
5,000-6,000 before 1999, but most of these fled during the campaign of
ethnic cleansing of minorities in Kosovo, 1999-present.
Lipjan/Lipljan
According to eyewitnesses with whom the ERRC spoke on March 28 in the
town of Lipjan/Lipljan, about 15 km south of Pristina, three houses
belonging to Ashkaeli and Romani families were burnt to the ground on
March 17 and March 21. The ERRC spoke with Ms Selvije Kurteshi, an
Ashkaeli woman whose house was burnt down on March 21 at around 2:00
AM. Ms Kurteshi and her family were not in their house at the time it
was set on fire; they were temporarily accommodated in the house of Ms
Kurteshis brother, located nearby. Neighbours reportedly told Ms
Kurteshi that her house was burning, but stated that they were not able
to identify the attackers. Mr Kurteshi told the ERRC that all of the
furniture in the house was destroyed in the fire. According to Ms
Kurteshi, KFOR arrived at the scene of the attack approximately one
hour after the fire. The fire was extinguished by the police, who had
reportedly been called by neighbours. The other two houses burnt in
Lipjan/Lipljan belonged to Ashkaeli persons currently refugees outside
Kosovo. Both houses were reportedly set on fire on March 17. The
Investigator of the KPS in Lipjan/Lipljan in charge of the
investigation cases told the ERRC that investigations had been opened
with respect to the arson attacks on the three houses. He declined to
provide the ERRC with information as to whether persons had been
detained or charged in connection with the attacks.
Obiliq/Obilic
In the town of Obiliq/Obilic, east of Pristina, a number of Romani
persons with whom the ERRC spoke told the ERRC that they had fled their
homes on March 17 and sought refuge in the nearby Plemetina refugee
camp when they saw a mob of people approaching their neighbourhood. At
least three Romani families were reportedly forced to flee from their
homes in Obiliq/Obilic in advance of rioters there. The ERRC
subsequently observed that the building in Obiliq/Obilic where the
Berisha family -- one of the families concerned -- lived was looted and
that window panes in the building were broken and other damage to the
exterior was visible. The building had
previously housed ethnic Serbs and Roma. According to Mr Shevki Berisha
and Ms Taibe Berisha, Romani victims of the attacks, no authority came
to help them when the crowd gathered intent on attacking their house.
As of March 28, no authority had been to visit them in the Plemetina
camp. They stated to the ERRC that they did not have means to buy food
and were afraid to go to Obiliq/Obilic.
In Obiliq/Obilic, the ERRC also visited a community of 19 Roma,
Ashkaeli and Egyptian families, who live in recently rebuilt houses on
the outskirts of Obiliq/Obilic. They told the ERRC that none of them
had been attacked on March 17. However, individuals in the community
stated that they feared
attack and had stopped sending their children to school. One Ashkaeli
man told the ERRC, We are not free to go to Obiliq/Obilic. All persons
in the community were reportedly unemployed at the time of the ERRC
visit; they collect scrap metal to earn money for food.
Your Excellencies,
The situation of Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and others regarded as
"Gypsies" in Kosovo is now extremely precarious. In March 2004, Roma,
Ashkaelia and others regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo have again been
targeted for extreme violence as part of a campaign begun in 1999 by
ethnic Albanians to expel minorities from the province, to seize their
property and to do them serious physical harm. In the close to five
years since an international administration was established in Kosovo,
rudimentary security has never been durably established in Kosovo and
minorities have been daily unable to enjoy basic freedom from fear of
physical attack. A
number of communities have lived for close to half a decade without
effective freedom of movement.
Efforts to bring the perpetrators of the orgy of ethnic violence
undertaken in the wake of the establishment of an international
authority in Kosovo have not yet even begun in earnest, much less been
able to show any form of significant impact. Arrests of suspects in
crimes committed by ethnic Albanians against civilians are met with
ethnically inspired protests by Albanians, demonstrating under the
slogan, UNMIK Stop Arresting Liberators!
The ERRC notes that on at least two occasions, governments outside
Kosovo (specifically the governments of Slovenia and Hungary) have
arrested and then subsequently released without charge high-ranking
members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, persons for whom valid
international arrest warrants have been issued in connection with
ethnic cleansing acts in Kosovo.
Further, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) stated on March 21, 2001, that her
office had opened an investigation into "activities against Serbs and
other minorities [emphasis added] in Kosovo by unidentified Albanian
armed groups from June 1999 until the present..." Asking the UN
Security Council to modify the Tribunal statute to cover such crimes,
Chief Prosecutor Del Ponte expressed her offices belief in the
importance of pursuing these allegations:
We must ensure that the Tribunals unique chance to bring justice to the
populations of the former Yugoslavia does not pass into history as
having been flawed and biased in favour of one ethnic group against
another.
Besides, if we obtain this morally justified and necessary extension of
our mandate, the Tribunal might become a deterrent factor against the
ongoing ethnic-cleansing campaign in Kosovo.
As of today, the ICTY has brought no ethnic Albanians to justice in
connection with the violent attacks on Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians, and
other persons regarded as "Gypsies" occurring as part of the campaign
of ethnic cleansing undertaken in Kosovo in the period June
1999-present.
Local courts have not, according to employees of international agencies
involved in the governance of Kosovo, proven effective to date in
bringing ethnic Albanian perpetrators of racially motivated crimes and
acts of ethnic cleansing against Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians, other
persons regarded as "Gypsies", or indeed any other minorities in
Kosovo. As such, despite the international administration of Kosovo, a
climate of near-total impunity for perpetrators of violent attacks on
minorities currently prevails in the province. To name only one example
among nearly countless racially motivated crimes occurring in Kosovo
since 1999, no one has ever been brought to justice in connection with
the shooting deaths of three Ashkaeli men less than 24 hours after they
returned to their native village of Dosevac/Dashevc as part of a
voluntary return program in November 2000.
In light of the foregoing, it is perhaps no wonder that Roma and
Ashkaelia with whom the ERRC has spoken in recent days have despaired
entirely of their ability ever to live with dignity in Kosovo in the
future, and have spoken with near universal voice of their desire to
leave Kosovo. This in itself marks a significant change from previous
ERRC documentary missions in Kosovo and among Romani refugees outside
Kosovo, many of whom expressed the desire to return to their homes in
Kosovo and participate in the reconstruction of a democratic Kosovo
after Milosevic. Unless your offices act adequately in the next period,
the international community will have on its record the oversight and
administration of the ethnic cleansing of minority communities from
Kosovo.
In view of the current situation in Kosovo, the ERRC urges you to act
within the powers available to your offices to ensure that:
· Without delay, the security situation of Romani and Ashkaeli
communities throughout Kosovo is assessed and measures appropriate to
the specific situation of each community, as well as to local community
perceptions of the actual and potential risks in the given community,
are swiftly undertaken;
· Prompt and impartial investigations into all acts of violence
to which Romani, Ashkaeli and Egyptian individuals and other persons
regarded as "Gypsies" in Kosovo have been subjected are carried out;
all perpetrators of racially-motivated acts of ethnic cleansing are
brought swiftly to justice and victims or families of victims receive
adequate compensation; justice is done and seen to be done;
· The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
redoubles its efforts to bring to justice individuals guilty of the
persecution of Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians and other persons regarded as
"Gypsies" in Kosovo;
· All governments honor the international warrants for the arrest
of a number of persons wanted in connection with crimes of ethnic
cleansing occurring in Kosovo;
· Sustained efforts are undertaken by all authorities in Kosovo
and involved in the administration of Kosovo to ensure that no
discussions of Kosovo's final status are embarked upon until such a
time as all stakeholders achieve durable and lasting consensus in
practice that Kosovo is a multi-cultural society in which all
individuals can freely exercise in practice all of their fundamental
human rights;
· Any forced returns of Kosovo Romani, Ashkaeli or Egyptian
individuals to Kosovo, or to the rest of Serbia and Montenegro are
rendered impossible and impermissible until such a time as authorities
in Kosovo are able to demonstrate durable and lasting security and
freedom from racial discrimination for all in all parts of the
province; in particular, the governments of Denmark, Germany and the
United Kingdom should be instructed that forced returns of minority
individuals to Kosovo in the present circumstances constitute
refoulement and are therefore extreme violations of international law.
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:
Mr. Harri Holkeri
Head of Mission
Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations
for Kosovo
Main Headquarters, United Nations Mission in Kosovo
Pristina, Kosovo
Fax: +381-38-504604, ext. (5406)
Mr. Holger Kammerhoff
Lieutenant General
Commander of Kosovo Force
KFOR Main Headquarters
Pristina, Kosovo
Fax: +389 22 682752
Mr. Bajram Rexhepi
Prime Minister of Kosovo
Office of the Prime Minister
Pristina, Kosovo
Fax: +381 38 200 140 05
Fax: +381 38 211 582
Mr. Romano Prodi
European Commission President
European Commission
Rue de Geneva
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium
Fax: +32 2 295 8532
Ambassasdor Pascal Fieschi
Head of Mission
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
OSCE Mission in Kosovo
Belgrade Street
38 000 Pristina
Kosovo
Fax: + 381 38 500 188
The Rt. Hon. Chris Patten
Commission for External Relations
European Commission DG External Relations
Charlemagne 11/97
Brussels, Belgium
Fax: +32 (0)2 295 78 50
Mr Geoffrey Barrett
Head of Delegation of the European Union
Paje Adamova 4
11040 - Belgrade
Serbia and Montenegro
---
The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org
European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
HUNGARY
Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax: +36 1 4132201
2) ---
[ Please note: the "Society for Threatened Peoples" ("Gesellschaft fuer
Bedroehte Voelker") is a German lobbyist organization which advocates
the fragmentation of Europe into a "zoo" of ethnically-defined regions.
It supported and still supports all secessions in the Yugoslav space
from 1991 on.]
http://www.tanjug.co.yu
Tanjug - April 1, 2004
Evacuation of Roma, Ashkali is only solution
19:01 BELGRADE , April 1 (Tanjug) - The Society for
Threatened Peoples has called on the international
community to evacuate all Roma and Ashkali from
Kosovo-Metohija since this is the only way to protect
them from the ethnic Albanian extreme majority, the
Society said in a statement, a copy of which was sent
to Tanjug on Thursday.
Society Secretary-General Tilman Zuelch invited the
international community to evacuate Roma and Ashkali
who had remained in Kosovo-Metohija because they were
exposed to brutal ethnic Albanian attacks.
3) ---
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2004/April_22/48.html
Beta News Agency, Belgrade - April 19, 2004
Roma in Mitrovica and Vucitrn have nowhere to return to
BUDAPEST - The UNMIK spokesman for northern Kosovo
Gyorgy Kakuk in his article published in today's
"Magyar Hirlap" writes that the world has forgotten
about the Kosovo Roma.
Kakuk reminds that the Roma from Vucitrn in the past
five years lost everything twice and that on March 18
this year "they literally had to run before the
oncoming Albanians to save their lives".
"They ran through the streets of Vucitrn seeking at
least some protection from police or French (KFOR)
patrols while their houses went up in flames," writes
Kakuk, underscoring that 300 Roma from Vucitrn are
presently in the French base in the village of Novo
Selo, where they have received protection.
The UNMIK spokesman for northern Kosovo makes the
observation that news and analyses regarding the
Kosovo violence on March 17 primarily mentioned
conflicts between Serbs and Albanians.
Kakuk says that during the riots in Kosovo the Roma
issue remains "collateral damage" and that it has been
forgotten, assessing that the UN has made a mistake
because five years it set out "with all its strength"
to prove to everyone, especially itself, that
"eventually Kosovo would be a multiethnic haven or
some sort of melting pot of Balkan nations".
The UNMIK spokesman for northern Kosovo observes that
few people know that southern Mitrovica was formerly
one of the largest settlements of Roma in the former
Yugoslavia.
Kakuk states that, according to census data from 1991,
there were 8,516 in southern Mitrovica of different
social classes and that "the Roma quarter was not a
shantytown".
He reminded that when NATO appeared on the scene in
Kosovo as part of its "humanitarian intervention", the
Serbs left and the Albanians entered the Roma quarter
and told the Roma "to disappear if they knew what was
good for them".
The Roma left, leaving everything behind. Their houses
were looted and the entire Roma quarter was burned
down, continues Kakuk. He adds that all this occurred
in the presence of KFOR, whose representatives
explained at the time that "soldiers are not
firefighters".
"In spring 2002 I was at the formal ceremony where the
first newly built Roma houses were transferred to
returnees. UNMIK chief Michael Steiner was also
present, as were the representatives of the local
Albanians,"
said Kakuk. He noted that 16 Roma families returned
from Novi Sad at the time.
"They had had enough of life in sports auditoriums;
they overcame their fear and believed the promises of
the UN and local Albanians, "claims Kakuk, adding that
other Roma subsequently returned as well and that a
few months ago one hundred Roma had returned home from
Germany.
"They did not come of their own free will; they would
have preferred to stay where they were but the German
government told them that Kosovo is a melting pot (of
nations), that everything is fine and that there is no
further reason for them to remain in Germany," writes
Kakuk.
The UN spokesman for northern Kosovo emphasizes that
these Roma, too, are now in the French base and adds
that they only want to go to some third country.
4) ---
Beta News Agency, Belgrade - April 22, 2004
Nowicki visits Ashkalis living in KFOR camp
PRISTINA - Kosovo ombudsman Marek Nowicki visited
displaced Ashkalis* who have been living in the French
KFOR camp in Novo Selo near Vucitrn since their houses
were torched in the March riots, the ombudsman's
office advised.
In conversation with the Ashkalis Nowicki learned that
during the course of the most recent violence in
Kosovo, 250 of their houses were burned and they now
have nowhere to return.
The Ashkalis have asked the international community to
offer them the possibility of temporary emigration
from Kosovo due to the fact that they cannot remain in
a military camp for an extended period as there are
many children and ill people among them.
Nowicki reassured the Ashkalis that he would transmit
their requests to the appropriate domestic and
international institutions, as well as that he would
arrange for them to meet with representatives of the
media.
*Ashkalis are Albanian speaking Roma who do not
consider themself as Roma but as Ashkalis. The third
minority group ethnically close to Roma are Kosovo
Egyptians. Roma, Ashkalis and Egyptians have been
persecuted by Kosovo Albanian extremists in the last
five years and have almost disappeared from Kosovo.
5) ---
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/April2004/VOR0426.htm
The Dissident Voice - April 26, 2004
Aftermath of "Humanitarian" Intervention in Kosovo:
Ethnic Cleansing of Roma and Other Minorities Nears
Completion
by Carol Bloom, Œani Rifati and Sunil Sharma
-If the Albanians succeed in creating an independent
Kosovo, it would seem that, in the end, they are to be
rewarded for their massive ethnic cleansing campaign.
The following article is an update to The Current
Plight of the Kosovo Roma, a survey on the Romani
population based on the field reports of historian
Paul Polansky, edited and co-authored by Bloom,
Rifati, and Sharma, published by Voice of Roma in
2001.
On June 12th 1999, 78 days of US/NATO bombing of
Kosovo ended. Now, five years later, Kosovo is
governed by the United Nations Interim Administration
(UNMIK). In the months following the end of the
bombing, hundreds of International Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs), thousands of peace-keepers
(45,000-50,000 NATO/US soldiers), more than 5,000 UN
police, looked on while a massive ethnic cleansing was
committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and
extremist Albanians. The ethnic minorities living in
Kosovo prior to 1999 included Serbs, Roma, Turks,
Gorani (Muslim Slavs), Bosnian Croats, Jews, and
others. According to UN figures, 230,000 ethnic
minorities were driven out of Kosovo since 1999, and
these numbers are low according to Serbian figures of
250,000 or more.
This was actually the second biggest ethnic cleansing
in the former Yugoslavia. The first one took place in
Krajina, Croatia, where Croatian forces ethnically
cleansed the region of up to 350,000 minorities,
predominantly Serbs. One of the generals who led this
pogrom was Agim Ceku, who was trained in the US and
Europe. Not only was this general in charge of the
ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosovo in the summer of
1999, he is currently one of the leading commanders in
charge of the Kosovo Police Services (KPS-the UN
police force of approximately 5,000 officers)! And
many of these KPS officers were actually KLA soldiers
during the ethnic cleansing campaign in the summer of
1999. It is also significant to note that very few
high level KLA commanders have been indicted or tried
before the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.
Very little has been reported in the media about the
ethnic cleansing that took place in the aftermath of
the NATO intervention in Kosovo. In the intervening
years, what sparse coverage there has been of Kosovo
has mostly heralded it as the model of U.S./NATO
allies bringing “democracy” and “civil society” to
countries previously steeped in ethnic hatreds and run
by evil despots. The fact that Kosovo went from being
a multi-ethnic society within a multi-ethnic and
relatively economically stable country (the former
Yugoslavia) to being a lawless country intolerant of
all but the ruling majority, is not acknowledged by
the press and even seems to be intentionally hidden
from public awareness.
Today, almost five years since the “humanitarian
bombing” and the establishment of a UN protectorate,
Kosovo is one of the most dangerous places in the
world for Roma! Very few Roma, pejoratively referred
to as "gypsies," have remained; estimates range from
22,000-25,000. Before the US/NATO intervention in
Kosovo there were more than 150,000 Roma in the
region.
Over the past 700 years, Roma have settled and have
established themselves as a significant minority
population in Kosovo. But since international
institutions arrived, bringing “democracy, free
society, civil society, ethnic harmony, peace and
tolerance” to Kosovo, Roma are more abused,
persecuted, and ignored than ever. Today, in "free and
liberated” Kosovo, Roma often are unable to even
obtain a birth certificate in the place where they
were born.
Freedom of movement is still one of the biggest
concerns for remaining Roma; most are unable to move
about freely, go to work, shop for their families, or
attend schools. Very few international NGOs want to
hire Roma, either because the Albanian staff members
are typically uninterested in integrating Roma into
“their” society, or because the foreign directors have
fears of being targeted by extremist Albanians. Today,
many Roma are even unable to travel to the hospital
for routine or emergency treatment. For example, the
hospital in Mitrovica is an hour’s drive from the
Serbian enclaves near Pristina, where many displaced
Roma are living. Most of the Roma in Kosovo today live
either in Serbian enclaves, where they are protected
by numbers of minorities, or in Internally Displaced
Person’s (IDP) camps.
Kosovo Roma living in the UN protectorate today find
themselves in a frustrating bureaucratic “log-jam”
when they try to obtain legal records, visas, permits,
etc. due to the absence of clarity concerning the
lines of authority and procedures in a region that is:
a) not governed by the nation to which it officially
belongs (Serbia)
b) run by elected and appointed officials of the
dominant ethnic majority (Albanians) who are
dictating, influencing, and administering policies
designed to eliminate multi-ethnicity in Kosovo
c) held in check by UNMIK and UNHCR, whose mandates
create obstacles and red-tape for Roma and other
minorities trying to normalize/improve their lives,
and whose policies do not really offer them anything
in the way of protection, safety, freedom of movement,
jobs, schooling for their children, etc.
At this point, the vast majority of Kosovo Roma who
took refuge in other countries since June of 1999 have
not received any form of permanent status as refugees
or political asylum seekers from those governments. In
fact, most face forced repatriation (deportation) on
an ongoing (monthly, bimonthly, quarterly) basis, even
though UNHCR/UNMIK repeatedly have stated that Kosovo
is not safe for Roma -- recently even refusing entry
to Romani deportees. It should be noted that these
Western European nations whose governments refuse to
grant permanent status to Kosovo Roma are the same
countries who participated/supported the NATO bombing
campaign of Kosovo, destroying parts of its
infrastructure, violating international law by using
depleted uranium and cluster bombs, and then handing
Kosovo over to the Albanian majority who then
ethnically cleansed the Roma. While the international
civil presence is mandated to maintain civil law and
order, protect and promote human rights and assure the
safe and unimpeded return of all refugees and
displaced persons to their homes, reports by the UN
ombudsperson office, UNHCR, OSCE, Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, and others state
that KFOR and UNMIK have failed to fulfill these
obligations. If the Albanians succeed in creating an
independent Kosovo, it would seem that, in the end,
they are to be rewarded for their massive ethnic
cleansing campaign.
Is this a picture of democracy in action? Is this what
the US and NATO are touting as a “success story”? Is
another Diaspora, with no right to settle and no hope
of return, what the Roma of Kosovo can look forward to
in the 21st Century?
In March of this year, fighting erupted again in
Kosovo, between Albanians and Serbs in the City of
Mitrovica. The press reported that two incidents
triggered the violence - a drive-by shooting of a
Serbian youth on March 15th, followed by the drowning
deaths of three Albanian youths, allegedly chased into
a river by dogs belonging to Serbian boys. The larger
context of the Albanian fight for Kosovo’s secession
from Serbia, a struggle that has motivated the
fighting since long before the US/NATO intervention in
1999, is rarely mentioned in the press. It seems that
the ethnic Albanian rulers of Kosovo, having used
UNMIK and the international presence in Kosovo to
rebuild this region for their dominance, are now ready
to make the final push for independence. The
international press has failed to ask these questions
or fill in the background when reporting this
violence, instead repeating the story of the drowning
boys as the cause of the recent violence, sparking
ethnic clashes that resulted in over 30 deaths and the
burning of more than 300 Serbian, Romani, and other
minority homes at the hands of extremist Albanians.
In sum, the Kosovo Roma are still caught in the middle
of the ethnic fighting between the Albanians and
Serbs, which is now more intense than ever.
* They are denied documents/the safety/ or the means
to travel elsewhere or to stay in Kosovo.
* They are unwelcome and unrecognized as legitimate
citizens in Kosovo/Serbia, or as refugees in
Macedonia, Montenegro, and throughout Western Europe.
* They are threatened with deportation and forced to
repatriate, while UNHCR states that they cannot safely
return to live in Kosovo.
In a report to the U.N. Security Council on April
13th, 2004, U.N. Peacekeeping Operations Director
Jean-Marie Guehenno described Kosovo, five years after
the end of civil war, as a simmering cauldron of
ethnic suspicions. Mr. Guehenno stated: "The onslaught
led by Albanian extremists against Kosovo's Serb, Roma
and Ashkali communities was an organized, widespread
and targeted campaign."
With the world focused on the widening war in Iraq,
and the former Yugoslavia far below media radar
screens, the forgotten Roma of Kosovo are fixed dead
center in the cross-hairs of the emboldened Albanian
majority, poised to consummate their long held dream
of an exclusively Albanian Kosovo. The Roma are in
even more desperate straits than the already grim
situation first reported in this publication.
Carol Bloom and Shani Rifati are respectively CFO and
President of Voice of Roma, an advocacy group based in
Northern California, whose goal is to provide Roma
with a voice in their local communities, as well as
nationally and internationally. Sunil Sharma is the
editor of Dissident Voice, and is on International
Advisory Board of Voice of Roma. VOR can be reached
at: voiceofroma@...