Kosovo and Serbian authorities have solved another 216 cases of people who went missing during the 1998-1999 war in the province, the Red Cross said Thursday.
"We have managed to clarify the fate of 216 persons" whose remains were handed over to their families, said Francois Stamm, representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Stamm told reporters 2,557 people, most of them ethnic Albanians, were still listed as missing from the conflict.
"Out of this number, the fate of 440 people is known to the families but the bodies have not been found," Stamm said.
He was speaking immediately after a working group of Albanian and Serbian officials met under Red Cross auspices as part of an ongoing process of accounting for the missing.
At a meeting in June the two sides successfully identified more than 200 other people who disappeared during the war. Their next such meeting will be held in Pristina on December 7.
The Kosovo war ended in June 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbian forces under then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw from the province.
Top Serbian and Kosovo politicians held their first post-war direct talks in Vienna in October 2003, agreeing to launch an ongoing dialogue on practical matters including energy, communications, missing people and refugees.
Talks on Kosovo's future status are expected to start by the end of the year. Kosovo, which still remains a southern Serbian province, has been under UN and NATO control since 1999.
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18 comments:
this is what happens when you ask for war.
Dead bodies of Kosovars burnt in a factory in Serbia
PRISTINA, Oct. 5, 2005 (KosovaLive) - Naser Rugova, an aide to Kosovo’s Prime Minister Kosumi, said in Pristina yesterday that the Government has information that many dead bodies of Kosovars kidnapped during the war were burnt in Mackatica factory, and that the location has been cordoned off by the Hague Tribunal.
The Advisor Rugova made this announcement after the meeting that the Working Group on Missing had yesterday with the Head of UNMIK Soren Jessen-Petersen in the verge of the meeting with Serbia Working Group on Missing, which is scheduled for Thursday in Belgrade.
“We have information that the dead bodies of Kosovo Albanians were burnt in Mackatica,” he said. He emphasized that the Working Group on Missing Persons has addressed a letter to Serb Government, requesting an official information over this issue.
The Working Group on Missing voiced optimistic that all bodies of Kosovors found in mass graves in Serbia will be repatriated by the end of this year. He said that this will be the main request of Kosovor delegation during Belgrade’s meeting tomorrow.
Kosovor Working Group will be comprised of Naser Rugova, Ragip Zekolli, Arsim Gërxhaliu dhe Tomas Mannaghan, whereas only the representative of missing persons relatives will be absent. Haki Kosumi, the Head of the Coordination Council of the Association of Missing Persons Relatives, said that such meetings will not give the required result without any international pressure on Serbia.
Serb idiot, nobody asks for war. Were you asking for NATO to drop those bombs on you?
The Serbs did not pray for the bombs but they received them as punishment for causing genocide.
i keep hearing ethnic cleansing, but u must remember that all Kosovars (Albanian's or anyother ethnicity) has nothing to do with serbia. Kosovars are not Serbian so its not ethnic cleansing, its called a massacre..SErbia sucks, go back to russia where u belong
Jo Negociata, Vetëvendosje!!!
Rep e Kosoves 2006!!!! :P
Keeping Kosovo together with Serbia would be like asking Israel to be a part of Nazi Germany.
Not quite, The land of isreal never belonged to Germany.
The Jewish population left Germany after WWII and moved to Isreal they didn't carve out a piece of Germany, maybe the albanian population could move to albania. Just food for thought.
It has nothing to do with the land. It has to do with the attrocities the genocide that was done upon the Jewish nation.
Nazis attempted to wipe out the Jews
Serbs attempted to wipe out the Albanians (and Bosniacs, maybe even Croats).
As for whose land it is, the answer is to the people that live there.
First of all its Jewish not Jew. Thats pretty racist of you.
Why didn't the Jewish community in Germany just receive independence and carve out a portion of Germany instead of moving to isreal. By the way there are Jewish residence in Germany today inspite of the Holecost.
Albania only recognizes the existence of the Macedonian minority in a small area of the country. Following are several examples of the restrictions on freedom of expression and the media, and freedom of association and the right of peaceful assembly imposed on the Macedonian minority.
On December 1, 2004, two ethnic Macedonian citizens of Albania, Jani Nesto (40) and Sotir Nestor (40) from the village of Pustec, were heavily wounded while coming under gunfire by an armed Albanian gang, who proceeded to shoot at them and their vehicles with Kalashnikov assault rifles while the two were making their way home from Korca.
According to Edmond Temelko, the president of the “Prespa Society” – the organization which protects the rights of the ethnic Macedonian minority in Albania – this has been the third such incident in the last year.
“We believe that these violent armed attacks are based purely upon political motives, aimed at scaring the Macedonians of Mala Prespa. We contacted the police in Korca and the Helsinki Committee in Albania because of this gross violation of human rights and freedoms of the Macedonians of Albania and we expect the relevant institutions to undertake the necessary steps to protect the freedoms of mobility and property and the lives of the Macedonians of Albania.”
TIFTON, Ga. - A south Georgia mayor said Friday he will continue flying a Mexican flag at city hall for the six immigrant farmworkers slain in robberies — despite complaints from residents.
Seven people called WTIF radio station Thursday, saying the gesture was inappropriate and that the Mexican and U.S. flags should not fly together.
Why than are the albanian minority in both Macedonia and Serbia aloud to fly the albanian flag alone?
Smart ass,
Jew is noun, Jewish is pronoun.
And yes Jews got their state - in Palestine in 1948, three years after the Holocaust. It's called Israel.
idiot calling someone a jew is considered derogatory!!
And yes they did get their state but not at the expense of the Germans. Besides Albanians already have a state called Albania.
You got your state, Serbia in the expense of Albanians. Go back to the Urals all that land was ours. Now you want more land in the expense of Albanians.
what's this about it not being ethnic cleansing? the person who wrote this should really look up his/her terms.
Ethnic cleansing is perpetrated against a group of people different from the ethnicity of the perpetrators. As such, the case of Kosovo/a is classified as ethnic cleansing because there was an official government policy to wipe out all that is non-Serb in Kosovo/a: Albanians, Bosnians, Turks.
There are no "Macedonians" in Albania, there are ethnic Bulgarians (Orthodox Christians and Muslims).
In front of Struga and Ohrid in Albania you have a majority of Macedonians. Speak about Bulgarians is a joke. Look at Prespa Society.
This is thrue. No human rights for minorities (45%) in Albania. Look at the situation of poor Macedonians and Serbs in Albania:
United Nations 61th Session of the Commission on Human Rights
14 March – 22 April 2005, Geneva
The Macedonian Minority in Albania
Report by the Macedonian Human Rights Movement of Canada (MHRMC)
Table of Contents
Introduction
Violence Against Ethnic Macedonians
Census
The Use of Macedonian Names
Macedonian Media in Albania
Arrest of Macedonian Activists and Students
Expulsion from Work
Macedonian Party for European Integration
Contact Information for Macedonian Activists in Albania
Introduction
The following interview with Edmond Temelko, president of the Macedonian organization “Prespa” in Albania, outlines the precarious position of the Macedonian minority in Albania. It appeared in the Macedonian weekly, “Makedonsko Sonce”, on June 15, 2001. Unfortunately, the situation of the Macedonian minority in Albania has not improved since.
"The plight of the Macedonians in Albania is already known. Macedonians in Albania are discriminated against and the government continues to unrealistically present their numbers. Albania recognizes that on its territory live only 5,000 Macedonians. But we alone, as Macedonian organizations in Albania number 120,000 Macedonians who are members of our organizations, or if we investigate there are perhaps more then 350,000 Macedonians in Albania."
"According to the Albanian Constitution, the minorities are allowed 60% education in their mother language. But this is not happening. There are Macedonians who live in other parts of Albania who do not have the right to get an education in their own mother language, the Macedonian language. They do not have schools. But even where we have schools, there is very little. For example in the village of Pustets there is elementary education from first to fourth grade in Macedonian and one course in Albanian. What happens between fifth and eight grade? Only three courses are in Macedonian, and the history in taught only in seventh grade and only for one hour. But the worst of all is that although the kids study in Macedonian, the literature is not original. The Macedonian grammar is translated from Albanian grammar. This is one of our complaints. We demand that the children by educated with original Macedonian textbooks."
"The Albanian press has branded us a potential hotspot. After a peaceful protest, they began to treat us as terrorists, although nobody raised a gun to fight in Albania. All we did is sent a call that we are fighting for our rights through the institutions of the system. For example, we publicly proclaim that we do not like the Constitution of Albania. Why? In article 20 it is written that in Albania exist minorities whose cultural identity should be guaranteed and preserved. But which minorities are these? Let it say: Greek, Serbs, Macedonian, Vlach, or Roma minority. The Albanian government is afraid of this because if this is written, i.e. if a real analysis is conducted, Albania is a multiethnic state. If you enter inner Albania, there live 40-45% of the minorities. There are Greeks, Serbs, Vlachs, Macedonians, Roma. This is what the Albanian government is afraid of and this is why it conducted such census. This census was regularly conducted in only one village. It is discrimination and because of it Macedonia will have to develop a clear strategy for the plight of the Macedonians in the neighbouring countries."
Violence Against Ethnic Macedonians
The following is a press release issued by the MHRMC on March 12, 2005:
On December 1, 2004, two ethnic Macedonian citizens of Albania, Jani Nesto (40) and Sotir Nestor (40) from the village of Pustec, were heavily wounded while coming under gunfire by a band of Albanian Cacaks, who proceeded to shoot at them and their vehicles with Kalashnikov assault rifles while the two were making their way home from Korca.
According to Edmond Temelko, the president of the “Prespa Society” – the organization which protects the rights of the ethnic Macedonian minority in Albania – this has been the third such incident in the last year.
“We believe that these violent armed attacks are based purely upon political motives, aimed at scaring the Macedonians of Mala Prespa. We contacted the police in Korca and the Helsinki Committee in Albania because of this gross violation of human rights and freedoms of the Macedonians of Albania and we expect the relevant institutions to undertake the necessary steps to protect the freedoms of mobility and property and the lives of the Macedonians of Albania.”
The Macedonian Human Rights Movement of Canada condemns these attacks and urges that a full investigation be undertaken in order to bring the perpetrators to justice and to prevent such attacks from occurring again.
The MHRMC also asks the international community to carry out its own investigations in regards to the treatment of the ethnic Macedonian minority in Albania and to demand that the Albanian government grant its minorities the human rights that are guaranteed by all international human rights conventions.
Census
The four Macedonian organizations in Albania, Mir (Peace), Gora, MED (Macedonian Aegean Society) and Prespa, boycotted the 2001 census in Albania because there was no option for Macedonian in the census list. The Albanian government continues to minimize the actual number of Macedonians, and other minorities, in the country and in 2003, the Association of Macedonians in Albania (consisting of the four organizations) conducted their own census of the number of Macedonians in Albania. It is estimated that this number is between 120,000 and 350,000 while the Albanian state only officially recognizes 5,000. Because of irregularities and intense minority complaints, the Council of Europe has also recommended that Albania conduct a new census.
The Use of Macedonian Names
The Albanian state pressures Macedonians to use Albanian names while forbidding the use of traditional Macedonian names. They frequently impose Albanian names on Macedonian children in their continued attempts to assimilate the Macedonian minority.
Macedonian Media in Albania
Access to public media in Albania for ethnic Macedonians is almost non-existent. There has never been a Macedonian language television program in Albania and there is only one five-minute weekly Macedonian language radio program on Albanian radio. In the economically ravaged village of Pustets, Macedonians opened a private radio station in 2002. It operates from 7:00am to 8:00pm daily provided there is electricity in the area. Financial constraints have threatened the existence of the radio station since it opened.
Macedonian human rights organizations have published various Macedonian language newspapers over the past decade only to see them fold due to financial difficulties. The only one still in existence is a quarterly newspaper published by the Prespa organization.
Arrest of Macedonian Activists and Students
Albanian authorities have intimidated, threatened and pressured ethnic Macedonians to stop their activism and promotion of Macedonian human rights. Ethnic Macedonian students from Albania who study in the Republic of Macedonia are sometimes detained and interrogated by the Albanian secret police when returning to Albania. The secret police demand to know the reasons why they studied in the Republic of Macedonia, who “convinced” them to go there and study in the Macedonian language, what connections they have with Macedonian leaders in Albania and in particular the president of MIR, Kimet Fetahu, and whether they have contact with Macedonian secret police. They tried to pressure them to become Albanian informants. Macedonian activists, in particular Kimet Fetahu, Spase Masenkovski and Eftim Mitrevski have been arrested, interrogated, threatened and pressured to stop their activism.
Expulsion from Work
In April 1995, all Macedonians were expelled from the police force and armed forces. Not a single ethnic Macedonian is employed by the police or army to this day. Macedonians have been fired from other jobs simply based on their activism and promotion of human rights for the Macedonian minority in Albania.
Macedonian Party for European Integration
On October 30th 2004, the Macedonian community in Albania, comprised of and represented by its four founding cultural, social and ethnic, societies and organizations, declared that they would be forming the Macedonian Party for European Integration in Albania. The main principle of this party is the protection of the rights and social, political and ethno-cultural interests of all Albanian citizens with Macedonian ethnicity, who identify their mother language as Macedonian, and who have saved and inherited their culture and tradition over centuries.
The party also has as its objectives, a willingness for collaboration among the other minorities living in the territory of the Republic of Albania. It will also fight for the respect of their ethnic rights, language and culture – all things that have been so far denied by the Albanian state – and will also advocate for the use of all democratic means for the integration of Albania in the Euro-Atlantic structures.
The party will fight for the passing of a law that will guarantee the rights and freedoms of the national minorities. Freedoms such as: the right of education in the mother tongue of the minority; guarantees for cultural and religious freedoms and assembly; equality of employment and official recognition of the minority languages.
Bill Nicholov, President
Macedonian Human Rights Movement of Canada
Address: P.O. Box 44532, 2376 Eglinton Ave. East, Toronto, Canada M1K 5K3
Tel: 416-850-7125 Fax: 416-850-7127
e-mail: office@mhrmc.ca website: www.mhrmc.ca
Contact Information for Macedonian Activists in Albania
For more information, please contact the Macedonian Human Rights Movement of Canada or the following organizations of Macedonians in Albania:
MIR
President - Kimet Fetahu
Rr. “Prokor Muzeqari”
P. 31/1/1, Tirana, Albania
tel. ++3554-341265
fax ++3554-249945
email: mirshoq@yahoo.com
Prespa
Edmond Temelko
Pustec (Korca), Albania
++355682360274
++355682054652
Association of Macedonians in Albania (consisting of MIR, Prespa, Bratstvo, MED)
Email: info@macedoniansinalbania.org
Website: www.macedoniansinalbania.org
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