ERRC letter to UN Secretary General H.E. Kofi Annan concerning the protection of Romani civilians in Kosovo

05 September 1999

On July 16, 1999, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) sent a letter to UN Secretary General H.E. Kofi Annan to express concern at the lack of protection provided by KFOR troops in Kosovo to the Romani civilian population there. Included with the letter to Secretary General Annan was a statement published by the ERRC on July 9, 1999, concerning the situation of Roma in Kosovo following the entry of NATO forces into the province in mid-June. The text of that statement is available on the ERRC Internet website at: www.errc.org. The letter was copied to Javier Solana, General Secretary of NATO, and the UN Security Council. The text of the ERRC letter to Secretary General Annan follows:

Dear Mr Secretary General,

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 cases of human rights abuse, is alarmed by the continuing persecution of Roma in Kosovo and the apparent failure of the KFOR to extend its protection to them.

The ERRC conducted field research in Kosovo during the period June 30-July 7, 1999. While in Kosovo, the ERRC noted KFOR inactivity in the presence of criminal acts; inadequate response to reports of criminal activity; a lack of response to reports of criminal activity; deliberate endangerment of the civilian population; and racist speech on the part of some KFOR officers. In addition, the ERRC noted that despite a huge KFOR presence in many areas, units assigned to civilian policing appear to be understaffed to the point of ineffectiveness. Finally, KFOR soldiers told the ERRC that they are missing such basic materials crucial to their work in protecting civilians as maps in a script they can understand. Documented instances follow:

On July 6, at around 9:30 am, Lieutenant Grotzow of the German KFOR unit in Prizren told the ERRC that ethnic Albanians had burnt a house in the Dušanova Romani settlement in the city the previous night. He told the ERRC that KFOR officers had extinguished the fire and begun investigating the attack. When the ERRC visited the scene of the attack approximately one hour later however, local Roma told the ERRC that they had extinguished the fire themselves, and that no KFOR officers had come to investigate the crime. While the ERRC was interviewing witnesses at the scene of the fire at approximately 11:00 am, KFOR officers arrived and began what appeared to be a preliminary investigation. In the presence of the ERRC, one KFOR officer impatiently told local Roma, who were visibly upset at the attack, that he "did not want to hear the life stories of all Gypsies". Senior KFOR officials in Prizren told the ERRC that they were unable to provide the Dušanova settlement with effective protection since ethnic Albanians had, on at least one occasion, fired upon KFOR troops from buildings surrounding the settlement. As of July 7, most of the Roma living in the Dušanova settlement had fled to other parts of Kosovo or abroad.

On July 5, the ERRC reported to senior officials of the German KFOR in Prizren that according to 40-year old Mrs M.L., four days previously, KLA officers had kidnapped her son, 22-year-old Mr Fatos Gaši, along with his father and cousin, from his house in the village of Velika Kruša. Mr Fatos Gaši was, according to Mrs M.L., severely injured and unable to move from the village. Mr Fatos Gaši had told her that KLA officers had threatened to kill him if he reported the incident. The ERRC had attempted to report the incident with Mrs M.L. on July 4, but had been turned away from four different KFOR posts in Prizren, each of which instructed the ERRC to report the crime at a different KFOR post. KFOR officers accompanied the ERRC and Mrs M.L. to Velika Kruša on July 5, with the intention of evacuating Mr Fatos Gaši to hospital in Prizren. On the way to Velika Kruša, the team became lost three times and KFOR soldiers told the ERRC that all of the maps they had were in Cyrilic script, which they were unable to read. During the operation, KFOR officers several times threatened to abandon the mission, since they did not want to spend too much time on the problem. The road leading to the Romani settlement was impassable by car and the team was forced to walk up to the settlement; KFOR officers required representatives of the ERRC and Mrs M.L. to walk ahead of them, due to the danger of mines. Upon arrival at the house of Mr Fatos Gaši, one visibly terrified KFOR officer told representatives of the ERRC that if they came under sniper fire, KFOR would leave the victims there since, according to the officer concerned, "I will not risk my life for yours; I'm sure you understand." Mr Fatos Gaši refused to be evacuated unless KFOR officials guaranteed his protection in hospital, where he would be surrounded by ethnic Albanians. KFOR officers present promised Mr Fatos Gaši that they would stay with him in hospital in Prizren, but upon arrival at the hospital promptly abandoned the ERRC, Mr Fatos Gaši and Mrs M.L. there and drove away. It is not known whether KFOR investigated the incident further. ERRC interviews with Mr Fatos Gaši revealed that at the time of his detention by the KLA, Mr Fatos Gaši was brought to a house and severely abused in the presence of one other kidnapped Romani man known by the nickname of "Skelzen"; Skelzen was still missing as of July 7.

ERRC researchers in the town of Djakovica documented the kidnapping of a Romani man named Mr Bekim Ljalja. According to family members, 27-year-old Mr Ljalja was seen by friends of his being detained by KLA members off the street in Djakovica on June 27, 1999. He was reportedly seen by another Romani man detained by the KLA two days later, unharmed, in detention in a KLA headquarters in the "Junik" building in the centre of the town. On July 2, 1999, another Romani man detained by KLA and taken to the "Junik" building in Djakovica reportedly saw Mr Ljalja, again unharmed. The family told the ERRC that they had reported the case to the Italian KFOR unit in Djakovica. These had allegedly taken no action in the case. Some Roma in Djakovica told the the ERRC that Italian KFOR in the town had made no effort at outreach to Roma, who cannot speak to Italian KFOR officers without the assistance of ethnic Albanian translators. They stated that they were therefore entirely cut off from protection by KFOR. Some Roma characterised the co-operation between local KLA and KFOR as so close that it amounted to "collaboration".

In Orahovac, a town seventy kilometers south-west of Priština, the ERRC documented reports of the abduction of five Romani men by the local KLA. According to relatives and neighbours, all were arrested in their homes in the Serbian/Romani quarter of Orahovac by uniformed members of KLA. When, risking their own safety, family members inquired about the fate of the abducted persons, the KLA reportedly told them that they did not know anything of their whereabouts. The KFOR has ignored the case. The families believe that these men might still be alive and appeal to the international community to help save their lives. The families are sure that the abducted persons are not guilty of any crime whatsoever. The names of the abducted follow:

• Mr Adrian Agim Isaku (19); abducted on 27 June, 1999
• Mr Tasim Halimi (26), abducted on 21 June, 1999
• Mr Skelzen Hamza (34), abducted on 21 June, 1999
• Mr Jusuf Hamza (38), abducted on 21 June, 1999
• Mr Mazlun Mursemi (48), abducted on 21 June, 1999

ERRC researchers in the Priština area, within the administrative area of British KFOR, repeatedly witnessed KFOR officers failing to react to the looting and burning of Romani houses occurring in their proximity. The ERRC knows of no pronouncement by any KFOR official that looting is prohibited.

The ERRC presented lists of neighbourhoods and streets in Prizren and Djakovica inhabited by significant numbers of Roma and therefore in need of special protection, to a senior officer of the KFOR military police in Prizren, Lieutenant Grotzow. Lieutenant Grotzow stated that he was aware of the situation of Roma. He told the ERRC that the military police had, as of July 5, 28 soldiers at its disposal and that this number was insufficient for providing basic security in Prizren, let alone in the German sector as a whole. Officer Grotzow expected to have 68 officers at his disposal by July 9, 1999, a number he still considered too low. KFOR presence in the city is evidently much larger than 28 at present - five or six tanks and armored vehicles at a time can be seen driving up and down the street and the ERRC saw infantry divisions of up to one hundred drilling. It is unclear why these troops are not being used to provide for civilian security.

Other KFOR officers told the ERRC unofficially that there had been over 250 killings in the German sector alone since the entry of KFOR into Kosovo. They additionally stated that on any given day, 30-150 persons were detained in the military police prison for the crimes of murder, homicide and rape. There is reportedly a "mobile court" established to try persons detained and charged by the KFOR military police, but no KFOR official with whom the ERRC spoke was willing to comment on what sentences, if any, had been handed down by the court.

Dear Mr Secretary General, the ERRC has documented a wave of abuses by ethnic Albanians against Roma and Egyptians in Kosovo, all taking place since the entry of KFOR troops in mid-June 1999. The ERRC notes that at present, a vital anti-Gypsy sentiment is animating ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. The ERRC herewith respectfully submits documentation on the current situation of Roma in Kosovo. In the present situation, the ERRC urges that KFOR troops in Kosovo be effectively empowered to protect the civilian population. The ERRC additionally urges that particular attention be paid to the Romani population in Kosovo, as they are particularly vulnerable at present.