Syndicate: [Fwd: Letter from Natasa - Humanitarian Law Fund]

[Zarana Papic <zpapic@f.bg.ac.yu>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Re: Boris Buden ]
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 01:59:10 +0100
From: natasa kandic <hlc_nk@EUnet.yu>
To: Zarana Papic <zpapic@f.bg.ac.yu>
References: <372F75E0.5EDF0F78@dekart.f.bg.ac.yu>

May 23, 1999
Belgrade


Letter from Natasa,

I am now in Belgrade and I plan to remain here a few days before leaving
for
Kosovo and Montenegro.

I received a letter from Prizren dated 4 May 1999, but it did not reach
me until
the 20th. It bears a Serbian PTT postal stamp and it was probably mailed
by
someone who left Prizren. The letter itself is printed in capital
letters and
unsigned, but it came from a very good friend of mine.

B. says that large refugee columns are moving towards the Vrbnice border
crossing every day. There are three check-points before the Albanian
border. He
learned that many refugees had their identification papers torn up and
that
license plates from their cars were taken away. The remaining Albanians
do not
dare leave their homes. After mass expulsions of Albanians from the
surrounding
villages, the targets have now shifted to doctors, professors, lawyers,
political activists and Albanians who worked for the OSCE or rented
their houses
to OSCE personnel. They are questioned by police and then expelled to
Albania by
force. B. says that some of the expelled sent signals that they were
safe by
contacting the Albanian media, but that others disappeared leaving no
trace
behind. About 650 Albanian families do not know what happened to their
sons who
were forcibly mobilized in the Yugoslav Army. Local authorities told
them that
they are digging trenches somewhere on the border with Albania.
Everybody fears
paramilitary groups, unmarked cars, police questioning, possible
expulsion and,
as of late, hunger. Sick people do not dare go to the doctor and resort
to
traditional cures instead. People in bread queues say that remaining
Albanians
will have to pledge loyalty to the state or leave Kosovo. B. says that
these
rumors are killing them. They do not know what to do. If they go, this
will mean
leaving behind their homes, property and the town they love. If they
stay, all
they can expect is humiliation. If only there were some international
organization in the area, they say, they would feel more secure and this
would
give them strength to persevere and stay there. Fear has taken such
proportions
that they do not dare tell anyone when they decide to leave.

There are not only bad news but also some good news today. In the case
of
Kosovo, good news is when I hear that ?police came, but all went fine,
nobody
was killed?. On 21 May 1999, police searched about 200 Albanian flats in
the
Suncani breg section of Pristina. The tenants were asked to produce
their
identification papers and to report weapons and refugees, if any. My
friends
told me ?they were not beaten or harassed?. A group of about 60 young
people,
including girls, were searched separately. Except for a few secondary
school
students, they were all university students. After a thorough search,
most of
them were released, but 18 were taken to the local police station, where
they
underwent questioning for several hours. Fourteen were then released,
but two
boys and two girls remained in custody. The four were taken away from a
flat in
which police found a uniform of the former Yugoslav People?s Army.
People in
Suncani breg say that one of their Serb neighbors will try to find out
what has
happened to them.

Intensive diplomatic efforts for resolving the Kosovo crisis prompted me
to send
a few stories about Kosovo to the Belgrade daily Danas. The editor told
me that
the texts were fantastic and revealing, but that he did not dare publish
them.

On my way to work today I passed by some of the facilities destroyed by
NATO.
When I asked military authorities to grant us access to civilian
facilities
destroyed in the attacks and civilian witnesses of these attacks, my
request was
rudely turned down. We are therefore left only with newspaper reports.
When I
travel through Serbia,  now more and more by side roads, I talk to
people in
villages and I see that they have no problem understanding what is going
on.
They are fully aware that the most vital issue for Serbia at present is
to call
to account those who are responsible for everything that has happened.
The
general feeling, however, is that this is not possible at the moment.

More than 50,000 people have left Belgrade since 24 March 1999. It is
not easy
to describe life here. My friends abroad find it very hard to believe
when I
tell them that there are people in the streets just like before, that 
local
cafes are busy even when the sirens go off, that taxies circle the city
at night
when the streets are completely dark and that I don?t know anyone who
goes to
air raid shelters. Electricity and water supply cuts mean that beside
queuing
for bread people now have to find ways to fetch drinking water too.
Common sense
has it that candles should be bought in the church because they are much
cheaper
there and because they last much longer than the decorative candles sold
in
household supply stores.

Until 24 March 1999, there were about 100 Albanian students in Belgrade.
Now
only a few have remained. On 13 May 1999 police raided and searched a
flat at
No. 5, Klara Cetkin Street in New Belgrade. Four students (Edon
Hajrullaga,
Bekim Blakj, Safet Blakj and Luigj Ndue) were taken away. Luigj, who has
been
living on the same address for the past six years, was just about to
defend a
master?s thesis at the Faculty of Special Education in Belgrade. When
the
bombing started, he invited the other three students who lived in the
Students?
Hostel to come to his flat. One neighbor said she saw   police taking
the boys
away, but added that a girl with short hair was also taken with them. A
check in
Belgrade court registers shows that there is nothing on them and, for
the time
being, police refuse to give any information.

People in Serbia by and large support the G-8 proposal for ending the
war. This
is evident from statements by high-ranking officials of the ruling party
and
other government officials. More and more reports speak about Albanian
refugees
who were forced to leave their homes because of NATO air raids. One can
hear
this not only from politicians but also from law experts. When the
Belgrade Law
School was asked by JURIST: The Law Professor?s Network from Pittsburgh
University whether Yugoslav armed forces had responded to NATO attacks
?by
deportation and forcible transfer of Albanian population?, the reply was
that
Albanians were fleeing Kosovo because of NATO bombs. The same school
said that
that trains reaching  Belgrade everyday bring Albanians, Serbs, Turks
and others
who have fled Kosovo. For the sake of facts, I would like to quote here
what
one  Albanian from Pec said about expulsions of Albanians from that town
(I have
interviewed 98 Albanians expelled from Pec and they have all
corroborated his
story):

?Friday, 26 March. We were sitting at the table when a group of about 20
people
in uniforms and red berets accompanied by three civilians raided our
home. None
of them wore masks. Their uniforms looked like army uniforms. I
recognized some
of them as people from the Brzhenik I section of the town. They shouted
at us
?You have one minute to leave?. My daughter in law put her baby in the
cradle
and then one of the uniformed men kicked it so hard that the baby fell
out of
the cradle and started to scream. We all started to leave the house
except my
old father who cannot walk. One of them ordered my son Blerim to stay
behind. My
son remained  silent but my wife and I started to cry and plead with
them to let
us stay too. My son then cried that he would stay behind and that we
should go.
My wife and I would not budge, but they started shoving us and pushing
us out by
our shoulders. When I saw a rifle pointed at Blerim?s temple, I tried to
go back
and help him, but then I heard a shot and saw Blerim taken up in the air
before
he crumpled down in a heap at my father?s feet. They got hold of me too,
but
then my wife rushed and took me out of the room. When we left the room
we heard
three more shots. I heard them shouting that we should go to Clinton.
Blerim?s
body was left behind. We tried to go to our cousins? house but streets
were
crammed with people and police ordered us to join one of the columns.
They also
told us that the road to Montenegro is safe.?

Best regards,

Natasa Kandic







Zarana Papic wrote:

> Draga Natasa.
> prosledjujem ti svoju prepisku sa borisom budenom....moli te da mu
> prosledis svoje komplet izvestaje (ako ti nije tesko, prosledi i meni
> usput, za moju arhivu, jer imam samo na francuskom...?)...
> makar kao dokumentaciju...a AKO imas snage pisi i tekst, molim te....
> puno pozdrava,
> Zarana
>
> >da napise...rekla jeda moze da ti prosledi komplet svojih izvestaj
>
> - naravno, to je dobro, svakako bih to htio imati, imam nesto al mozda
> ne
> sve. ako moze, nek posalje.
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: prijedlog suradnje
> Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 01:05:18 +0200
> From: Zarana Papic <zpapic@dekart.f.bg.ac.yu>
> Organization: Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
> To: boris buden <buden@EUnet.at>
> References: <v01510109b35227257894@[193.80.106.28]>
>
> dragi boris,
> danas sam slucajno srela natasu kandic...i, kao i mnogi ovde, kaze da
> nema
> snage da pise nesto "ozbiljno", bolje receno, stalno misli o tome, ali
> nikako
> da napise...rekla jeda moze da ti prosledi komplet svojih izvestaja (sto
> ti
> verovatno imas, ali to mozda ne bi bilo lose...).
>
> boris buden wrote:
>
> >  draga zarana,
> > evo sta nas za pocetak zanima:
> > ima li u srbiji kakav dobar tekst na engleskom o ovom ratu koji bi imao
> > neki refleksivni nivo i ne bi bio ni golo kukumavcenje, ni jednostavni
> > politicki statement? Znas li sto?
> > 2. Da li znas natasu kondic - ona je pisala dobre izvjestaje s terena. Ima
> > li toga jos kod nje, bi li mogla to pripremit, dopisat - ona je bila u
> > pristini i na kosovu.
> > Molim te ako mozes malo pripomoci
> > hvala
> >
> > boris buden
> > engerthstrasse 51/10/16
> > a-1200 wien
> > tel.(+43 1)3336174
> > http://www.arkzin.com/bb


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