ERRC Kosovo: Press Release on Killing of Returnees

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Subject: ERRC Kosovo: Press Release on Killing of Returnees

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <[email protected]>

ERRC Kosovo: Press Release on Killing of Returnees


ERRC Kosovo: Press Release on Killing of Returnees
November 10, 2000

The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public
interest law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in
Europe and provides legal defence in instances of human rights abuse,
today sent a letter to Dr Bernard Kouchner, Special Representative of
the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), to express alarm at the
killing of four male returnees this week in the village of
Dosevac/Dashevc near Pristina, Kosovo. The returnees - Mr Hajzer
Mehmeti, Mr Istref Bajrami, Mr Isuf Ahmeti, and 15-year-old Agron
Mehmeti - were members of Kosovo's Ashkalija community, regarded as
"Gypsies" by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. They were found slain on
November 9, apparently shot to death.

Roma, Ashkalija and other persons regarded as "Gypsies" fell victim to
a massive wave of violence aimed at their expulsion from Kosovo
following the end of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and the return of
ethnic Albanian refugees to the province in June 1999. During the
course of the ethnic cleansing campaign, ethnic Albanians have killed
Roma and Ashkalija, kidnapped them and subjected them to torture,
raped Romani and Ashkalija women in the presence of family members,
and burned entire settlements to the ground. Numerous persons remain
missing and feared dead, over half of Kosovo's Roma and Ashkalija
population today remains displaced outside of the borders of Kosovo,
and many others  are displaced within the borders of the province.
Further information on Roma in the Kosovo crisis can be found on the
Internet at:
http://errc.org/publications/indices/kosovo.shtml

The text of the ERRC letter concerning the killing of Hajzer Mehmeti,
Istref Bajrami, Isuf Ahmeti, and Agron Mehmeti, sent to Dr Kouchner on
November 10, follows:

Honourable Dr Kouchner,

The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public
interest law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in
Europe and provides legal defence in instances of human rights abuse,
is alarmed at reports of the killing of four persons participating in
a return project in Kosovo. According to information published by
official United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) sources as well as international media, the dead bodies of
four male Ashkalija - Mr Hajzer Mehmeti, Mr Istref Bajrami, Mr Isuf
Ahmeti, and 15-year-old Agron Mehmeti - were found in the village of
Dosevac/Dashevc near Pristina on November 9.

The murders apparently took place sometime during the evening hours of
November 8. French KFOR and UNMIK Police have secured the scene for
further investigations.  According to a UN spokeperson quoted by
Reuters, three of the victims had bullet wounds in the forehead. The
same UN spokesperson stated that the crime was likely ethnically
motivated.

According to information from the UNMIK internet website, the slain
men - three heads of families and a 15-year-old boy - were the advance
party of a group of Ashkali and Kosovo Albanian families who were
ready to return to the village of Dosevac/Dashevc from Kosovo Polje,
where they have been living as displaced people for the past two
years. On Monday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) had helped the men to return to their village of origin, where
they slept in a tent because their houses had been destroyed. They
were set to begin rebuilding their homes with the help of UNHCR and
the Scottish charity Kosovo Appeal. The bodies of the four victims
were brought to a hospital in hospital for post mortem examinations.
Investigation is reportedly ongoing.

A representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe told the ERRC on November 10 that the Ashkali community in
Dosevac/Dashevc had been forced out of the village in July 1999.
Several families in Kosovo Polje had reportedly expressed interest in
returning to Dosevac/Dashevc, and the UNHCR had assisted them in
making the move. Locals had reportedly been informed about the return
and had been supportive.

Honourable Dr Kouchner, the ERRC welcomed your swift condemnation of
the crime, as well as your explicit recognition that the attack was an
effort to destroy all progress made to date in Kosovo. The ERRC
nevertheless notes that numerous international observers have
commented on the alarming speed with which returns have begun, in the
face of clear evidence that Kosovo remains unsafe for Roma and
Ashkalija and indeed all persons regarded by ethnic Albanians as
"Gypsies". The ERRC urges your office to ensure that a thorough
investigation is conducted and all persons responsible brought to
justice. Additionally, all projects involving the assisted return of
Roma, Ashkalija and other persons regarded as "Gypsies" by ethnic
Albanians should be thoroughly evaluated before any further returns
are contemplated; all persons returning to places from which they have
fled or been expelled should be provided with 24-hour personal
protection. We kindly request to be informed of the progress and
results of any investigation undertaken, as well as of additional
measures put in place to improve security for Roma and Ashkalija.

Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director

Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:

Dr Bernard Kouchner
Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United
Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
UNMIK Headquarters
38000 Pristina
Kosovo

Fax: +(381) 38 501 395 extension 4216
Fax: +(1 212) 963 8113

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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://errc.org

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary


Telephone: (36 1) 42 82 351
Fax: (36 1) 42 82 356

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