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Editorial
Note: If anyone had any doubt that we are in for another
round of action in the Balkans, then the release of the following
document by the Albanian secessionists who have invaded Serbia's
Presevo Valley should put all such illusions to rest. This "platform"
is not just a list of grievances, or even demands – it is
a declaration of war. These terrorists – unleashed by NATO
– have their eyes not only on the Presevo Valley, but also
on neighboring Macedonia. Fighting is breaking out on both fronts,
simultaneously – with US troops stuck in the middle. Meanwhile,
George W. Bush is going back on his campaign promise to get us
out of this quagmire, at precisely the moment when the whole region
is about to go up in flames. This is the legacy of the Kosovo
war: militant Albanians on the rampage. Read their "platform"
– and weep.
Presevo
(Beta) – The Chairman of the Party of Democratic Action (PDD)
of southern Serbian Albanians, Riza Halimi, presented here yesterday
the platform of military and political representatives of the
Albanian in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac counties, intended
to resolve the crisis in the area. This is the integral text of
the "Platform for stopping the armed conflict and resolution
of the crisis in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac region":
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All
disputes can and must be resolved politically and through
negotiations.
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Negotiations
should commence as soon as possible, and unconditionally.
The Albanian negotiating team shall include representatives
of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja
(UCPBM) as the leaders of the group, and the representatives
of political structures.
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Negotiations
should be held in another country, with the mediation of international
institutions (United States or the UN).
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All
military actions from both sides should cease on the day negotiations
begin.
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Implementation
of the agreement should be guaranteed by an internationally
credible organization – NATO or the UN.
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The
solution cannot be sought within the concept of status
quo ante. The political solution and the constitutional
position of Albanians in the Presevo Valley cannot be reached
within the existing constitutional and institutional framework
of Serbia.
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Negotiations
should proceed on the basis of non-exclusion of any proposed
solution, and on the basis of well-known international principles.
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The
purpose of negotiations is to protect the individual and collective
rights of citizens, preserve their ethnic territory, and reach
a political solution that would solve the crisis in a just
and permanent way.
PREAMBLE
The
current crisis and tension in the region of Presevo, Medvedja
and Bujanovac counties, are a consequence of political segregation,
repression and violence that the Serbian authorities have imposed
on the Albanian population for decades:
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The
long-term institutional discrimination and centralization
of power in Serbia, military and police repression, murders
and massacres of Albanian civilians, torching of settlements
and destruction of private homes in wartime, which all influenced
the exodus of Albanians from the Karadak of Presevo;
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Distancing
of Albanians from work places in state and educational institutions;
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Conversion
of schools and enterprises into military barracks and police
stations;
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Neglect
of Albanian participation in local government and exclusion
of cultural, historical and ethnic values of from educational
curricula and schoolbooks;
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Systematic
and premeditated neglect of economic development of the region.
Complete media blackout.
These
are just some of the elements that have directly influenced the
position of Albanians in Presevo Valley.
Having
in mind the evident tendencies of Serbia to ethnically cleanse
this region, the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac
(UCPMB) was formed from Albanian citizens from this region, as
a response to military and police repression and for the purpose
of self-defense and preservation of biological and physical existence
of Albanians in this region, protected by no one.
Our
starting point is that individual and collective human rights
have a higher priority than state sovereignty. Our goal, in order
to resolve the Albanian Question in this region through political
means, is to prevent open armed conflict between Albanians organized
in self-defense (UCPMB) and Serbian army and police, which could
have unpredictable consequences.
We
are convinced that only the political solution would produce acceptable
and desired results on all sides, having as their basic interest
the prevention of an armed conflict and the creation of prerequisites
for a just and acceptable political solution for both sides.
Basic
freedoms, individual and collective rights of Albanians, shall
be secured and guaranteed on the basis of the following relevant
international documents:
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The
United Nations Charter
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Universal
Declaration on Human Rights
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International
treaty on economic, social and cultural rights
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International
treaty on civil and political rights.
STARTING
POINTS
The
starting points for considering the position of Albanians in the
region of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac, relevant to the negotiations,
are:
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The
Presevo Valley region is a natural part of the Albanian ethnic,
linguistic, cultural and territorial continuum, the division
of which was imposed against the will of the people;
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Albanians
in the Presevo Valley live in their own ethnic territory,
and make up a majority population;
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The
administrative division of this region from Kosovo through
the Serbian constitutions of 1947, 1963 and 1974 ahs caused
a tendency of assimilating the Albanian population;
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The
systematic repression of Serbian state against Albanians in
the Presevo Valley has significantly increased after the dissolution
of Yugoslav federation by Serbia in 1990, and especially through
the 1992 Constitution of FR Yugoslavia, and systematic laws
based on it, which have institutionalized discrimination and
pressure against Albanians to the point where their political,
social, economic, cultural, educational, media and other rights
were denied.;
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The
position of Albanians in the Presevo Valley region has deteriorated
to its ultimate extent with the repression during the 1998-99
Kosovo war. After the withdrawal of Serbian troops from Kosovo,
which included individuals and units that have been indicted
by the Hague Tribunal for massacres of civilians in Kosovo,
most of those units were deployed in the Presevo Valley region,
producing pressure and [population] movements which clearly
manifested the tendency to ethnically cleanse this territory.
Experiences of repeated actions by Serbian authorities against
the Albanian population in this region throughout the 20th
century, and above all the genocidal behavior of these forces
towards the Presevo Valley Albanians have caused the natural
response of self-organization and self-defense;
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The
political changes in FRY and Serbia after October 5, 200,
have not improved the situation in this region.
FRAMEWORK
In
order for any solution to be acceptable, and a permanent peace
established in these three counties, the Albanian negotiating
team proposes the following framework:
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The
region shall be placed under international control, encompassing
the entire territory of all three counties (Presevo, Medvedja
and Bujanovac) and treating them as a territorial and political
entity;
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The
region of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac shall be demilitarized
by withdrawing the Serb forces and putting UCPMB under international
control;
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The
International factor shall undertake the establishment of
order and security for all citizens, regardless of their ethnicity;
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The
international factor shall establish a legal order and institutions
of state in this region, including the police, government
and judiciary;
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The
international administration shall continue until the definite
solution is reached;
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The
issue of definite status of the region shall only be reached
after the establishment of democratic society, enabling the
population of the region to decide its own fate.
The
Albanian delegation considers the following measures as prerequisites
for reaching the long-term, stable and acceptable solution for
both sides:
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Creation
of local law enforcement forces, based on ethnic composition
of the population, which would be internationally aided and
monitored and trained by international police;
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Demilitarization
of the region, to be implemented and supervised by an international
armed force;
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The
return of refugees and exiled citizens to their homes, with
full security and without time constraints, under the supervision
of international humanitarian organizations and the payment
of reparations for the destruction of their private property
by the state;
ADDITIONAL
RIGHTS
In
addition to universal rights, Albanians shall enjoy the following
legitimate rights. These legitimate rights are part of international
law, and cannot be changed even by a majority vote in the Parliament:
Education
and Culture rights
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to
be educated in native language, in schools with profiles and
degree levels determined by Albanians;
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to
create curricula and school books, and the right for them
to include content related to [Albanian] national history,
language, culture and heritage;
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to
cooperate with the mother country in regard to culture and
education; in that regard, there shall be a right to establish
cultural and educational institutions and appropriate associations,
and a right to recognize degrees obtained from various universities;
Language
rights
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to
have official and equal usage of Albanian language and script
in public and official communication in the region, at all
levels of government, in judicial proceedings, official documents,
in names of geographic locations, and institutions;
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all
official documents shall be written in Albanian;
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Albanian
names shall be written according to Albanian language spelling
and grammar rules ;
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to
have the right to be informed in Albanian through public media;
Administration
and Judiciary rights
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the
regional administration shall have a proportionally higher
percentage of Albanians than the percentage of actual population;
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the
law enforcement and security agencies shall have a proportionally
higher percentage of Albanians than the percentage of actual
population;
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the
judiciary system shall have a proportionally higher percentage
of Albanians than the percentage of actual population;
Mother-country
rights
Religious
rights
Financial
rights
Rights
to Economic and Trade Development and Free Trade
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to
declare the region of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac a free
trade and customs zone;
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to
use natural resources of the region;
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to
organize an international donor conference for economic revitalization
of the region;
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