From: "Chierico Navigante"
courtesy of G. Lucchesini

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*News Release: International Secretariat of Amnesty International*

Kosovo: Six months on, climate of violence and fear flies in the face
of UN mission

23 December 1999

Violence against Serbs, Roma, Muslim Slavs and moderate Albanians in
Kosovo has increased dramatically over the past month pointing to a
failure by the United Nations (UN) mission to protect human rights,
Amnesty International said today.

Murder, abductions, violent attacks, intimidation, and house
burning are being perpetrated on a daily basis at a rate which
is almost as high as it was in June when the international UN
civilian and security presence (KFOR) were initially deployed.

In the first week of December, 24 murders were reported.
Amnesty International is particularly concerned about reports
of abductions of young children and women which have reached
an alarming rate in recent weeks. Two Serb women who were
abducted and reportedly tortured and raped in October escaped
and an investigation is under way.

Serbs and Roma are now almost all living in enclaves protected
by KFOR troops and Serbs in Pristina (Prishtina) and other
mixed communities require a military KFOR escort to leave
their homes and conduct daily tasks such as buying food. On 7
December, an elderly Serb woman and her son were found
murdered in their home in a central area of Pristina. Their
home was not guarded by KFOR troops.

Identity-based human rights abuses are coupled with abuses
which appear to be part of an organised campaign to silence
moderate voices in ethnic Albanian society.

Last month, Kontakt, a multi-ethnic radio station based in
Pristina had its offices ransacked and equipment stolen.
Members of Kosovo's Democratic League of Kosovo party have
also increasingly become the target of attacks and
intimidation.

The UN is responsible for the protection and promotion of
human rights in Kosovo. The mission is required to take
active steps to ensure safety and accountability but it is
currently ill-equipped to do so. The Secretary-General of the
UN stated several months ago that 6,000 international police
officers were required to effectively police Kosovo, however
to date only 1,890 have been deployed. This has led to a law
and order vacuum.

"Violent human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated at an
alarming rate with {impunity}. Unless the remaining
international {police} officers are deployed, this situation
will continue and a system of law and order will not be
established in Kosovo," Amnesty International said.

"The law and order vacuum also results from the fact that the
UN has thus far failed to establish a functioning, independent
and impartial judicial system," Amnesty International said.

Amnesty International is also concerned that the UN mission
and KFOR appear reluctant to take steps to bring to justice
members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the Kosovo
Protection Corps who commit human rights abuses such as
unlawful detentions, beatings or evictions. At present there
is no effective sanction for crimes committed in Kosovo.

"The campaign for human rights in Kosovo is far from over. In
the spring of this year the international community intervened
in Kosovo with the declared aim of preventing a human rights
catastrophe. However, at the closing of the year human rights
abuses continue to be perpetrated on a daily basis,"

"In order to bring about a significant improvement, the
international community should live up to its promises and
redouble its efforts to ensure respect for human rights for
everyone in Kosovo," Amnesty International urged.