HRW on Kosovo

abrahaf@hrw.org
Fri, 06 Mar 98 18:12:25 -0500

Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Ave. 34th floor
NY, NY. 10118
Telephone: 212-290-4700
Facsimile: 212-736-1300
E-mail: hrwnyc@hrw.org


FOR RELEASE: March 7, 1998


For further information contact:
Kenneth Roth, (212) 216-1201
Holly Cartner, (212) 216-1277



Human Rights Watch Calls on Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal
to Investigate Possible War Crimes in Kosovo


(New York - March 7, 1998) Human Rights Watch today called on the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to
launch an immediate investigation into possible war crimes being
committed by Serbian security forces in Kosovo. In a letter sent
today to Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor of the Tribunal, HRW
Executive Director Kenneth Roth urged the Tribunal to investigate
arbitrary and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and the
possible summary execution of detainees. "By opening an immediate
investigation into the apparent war crimes being committed in
Kosovo, your office would signal that the Tribunal's jurisdiction
extends to these atrocities and, we hope, help to curtail them,"
said the letter.
Full text of the letter follows.


Open Letter to Judge Louise Arbour
Chief Prosecutor,
International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia


Judge Louise Arbour
Chief Prosecutor
ICC
Church illplein 1
PO Box 13888
2501 EW Den Haag
The Netherlands

March 7, 1998

Dear Judge Arbour,

Human Rights Watch is writing to express its grave concern
about recent Serbian military actions in the region of Kosovo.
Evidence strongly suggests that war crimes are being committed,
including arbitrary and indiscriminate attacks against civilians
and the summary execution of detainees. We call on you to launch
an immediate investigation of theses apparent atrocities and to
announce your office's intention to prosecute those responsible
before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia. Prompt action by your office can help deter further
atrocities and save lives.

On February 28, 1998, Serbian police, paramilitaries, and
possibly army units began a massive assault on a triangle of
villages in Kosovo's Drenica region, believed to be a base for
the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA). Tanks and attack helicopters
have been used in what the Yugoslav government describes as "a
sweep for terrorists." Human Rights Watch has received highly
credible reports that Serbian forces have indiscriminately
attacked civilians and other non-combatants, especially in the
villages of Cirez, Likosane, Prekaz, and Lausha. The press has
also reported that helicopters and armored vehicles sprayed
village rooftops with gunfire before security forces entered the
village on foot and fired indiscriminately into private homes.
In some cases, the Serbian security forces reportedly came under
fire from unidentified individuals, possibly from the private
homes, and it appears now that a battle between the KLA and
Serbian forces has begun. Foreign journalists have seen the
bodies of six victims, including a pregnant woman, Rukia Nebihi,
who had been shot in the face, and four brothers from the Sejdiu
family, two of whom had been shot in the back. Thus far,
twenty-four ethnic Albanians are confirmed killed, although the
precise number is unknown since humanitarian aid organizations
and journalists have been denied access to the region.

According to the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of
Human Rights and Freedoms, ten members of the Ahmeti family and
two of their guests, Behram Fazliu and Shaban Muja, were killed
by Serbian security forces after having been detained, although
this has not been independently confirmed. According to the
Serbian government, the police confiscated a large amount of
weapons and arrested a number of people, although their
whereabouts and the charges against them are currently unknown.
Four Serbian policemen were also killed during the action.

Human Rights Watch recognizes that the authorities may have to
use force when confronted with an armed attack, but attacks
against civilians and the summary execution of anyone in
detention is a war crime, a severe violation of international
humanitarian law. Given the level of armed conflict that has now
broken out in Kosovo, common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions,
which governs internal armed conflicts, clearly applies. It
requires that civilians and other protected persons be treated
humanely, with specific prohibitions of murder, torture, and
cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment.

The violations of humanitarian law apparently being committed
in Kosovo fall under the purview of the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Article 1 of the Tribunal's
statute states that the Tribunal has the power to prosecute
individuals who have committed violations of international
humanitarian law on the "territory of the former Yugoslavia since
1991." Article 8 further specifies that the Tribunal's temporal
jurisdiction "shall extend to a period beginning on 1 January
1991." There is no end point to this temporal jurisdiction. By
opening an immediate investigation into the apparent war crimes
being committed in Kosovo, and signaling that the Tribunal's
jurisdiction extends to these atrocities, your office can help to
curtail them.


Sincerely,



Kenneth Roth
Executive Director, Human Rights Watch