Kosovo: Killing of Returnees
10 November 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.
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
