Refugees from Kosovo and Metohija

Kosovska Mitrovica, July 26 - The U.N. civilian and military missions in Kosovo-Metohija have not made any progress in Serbia's southern province during the 13,5 months since their arrival there, the president of the Yugoslav Commission for cooperation with the U.N. mission, Ambassador Stanimir Vukicevic, has said today.

Speaking before the participants of the International Camp of Friendship, Vukicevic set out that the international presence in Kosovo-Metohija has not stopped the daily terror, violence, murders and the shelling of villages and parts of cities inhabited by Serbs, Montenegrins and other non-Albanians.

More than 13 months is enough period, according to Vukicevic, to calm down the situation and solve problems. The black chronicle of the one year presence of the international troops in Kosovo-Metohija is 1,100 killed and 960 kidnapped Serbs, over 10,000 torched houses, tens of thousands of seized apartments and about 90 destroyed or damaged churches and monasteries, Vukicevic stated.

"Resolution 1244 is violated, there is no freedom of movement, no personal or property safety, and Serbs and Montenegrins are prevented from realizing their basic rights in their own environments."

Vukicevic noticed that that 50,000-armed U.N. troops are unable to stop the perpetrators of those barbarian crimes.

At the same time, Vukicevic added that 360,000 non-Albanians (80,000 are Serbs and Montenegrins) have fled the province. Process of return to their homes is very slow, and U.N.mission do not have enough understanding to speed up that process, said Vukicevic, adding that fairest solution would be to enable return of anyone who wants to return to its ancestral home.

Pointing out that situation in the economy is not getting better, Vukicevic stressed that all bigger factories do not work, and that UNMIK is getting ready to make them private, forgetting that someone else is their owner and that they did not get mandate for their usurpation.

More than 70% of people are unemployed which deepens social crisis and increases criminal rate.

And situation in media is, according to Vukicevic, criminal. There are no daily newspapers in Serbian language, and Radio and TV are present only in the rural regions and narrower region of towns.

"We demand to organize return of Serbs, Montenegrins and other non-Albanian population in Kosovo and Metohija and that UNMIK and KFOR respect Resolution 1244", concluded Vukicevic.

Chief of the Kosovska Mitrovica district Zdravko Trajkovic informed foreign journalists with usurpation of 550 Serbian flats in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica and that there are no Serbs from July last year except, two priests.

All Serbs and 3,000 Romanies are expelled from Vucitrn and all Serbs and Montenegrins from 33 villages of that municipality also, reminded Trajkovic.

He pointed out the fact that 40 Serbs are in Kosovska Mitrovica prison for months, and without any evidences trials are being held exclusively in front of the ethnic Albanian prosecutors and judges.

Vice president of the Serb National Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija Ljubisa Maravic reminded that 110,000 citizens lived in Kosovska Mitrovica last year, and now 150,000 ethnic Albanians (from 20,000 to 30,000 came from Albania) live only in the southern part.

"Northern part of the Kosovska Mitrovica is one multiethnic city in which Serbs, ethnic Albanians, Romanies and Muslims live", stressed Maravic.

Special interest of the participants of the Camp provoked presence of president of Albanian Democratic Reformist Party of Sokolj Cuse and Cherim Ismail, secretary general of Kosovo Democratic Initiative.

Chuse said that not only Serbs but ethnic Albanians also who do not support policy of separatism and terrorism are the target in Kosovo and Metohija.

"From June last year ethnic Albanian extremists killed 219 ethnic Albanians, kidnapped 93, raped 24 girls from 16 to 19 years, while 43 ethnic Albanian families were expelled because their members were employed in state bodies of Serbia", stressed Chuse.