recommendations .presceva..

Recommendation

The disparity between the rights guaranteed to Serbs living in northern Kosova (which include their links to institutions in Serbia) and the denial of human and civil rights to Albanians in the Presheva Valley (including access to institutions in Kosova and Albania) is grossly unfair, violates international standards, and is now completely unsustainable. The international community should take a public position in support of Albanian rights in the Presheva Valley and insist that Belgrade end its abuses if it wants admission to the European Union.
There has been insufficient international response to the illegal arrest of the ten Albanians in Presheva and the torture of these men. The United States was more or less sidelined during the transition between the Bush and Obama administrations. The transition is officially over, and because of the threat posed by the situation in the Presheva Valley to regional stability, action should be taken to investigate the basis of the arrests, publicly condemn the torture of the Albanian prisoners, and call for their release. The Council of Europe should also introduce a resolution on behalf of the prisoners, and the international human rights organizations in the region and around the world should add their voices.
Because the Albanian prisoners can be held under Serbian law in pre-trial detention for up to six months (their initial 30-day detention has just been extended for another two months) and for eighteen months to two years during the trial proceedings, immediate diplomatic efforts should be made to prevent this outcome. Serbia should be asked to produce evidence of criminal activity or otherwise drop the charges.
The amnesty that was granted to the former members of the UCPMB in the Koncul Agreement, along with other provisions of the agreement, should be respected.
The Albanian political parties and Council for Human Rights in the Presheva Valley, citing the ongoing politicization of the Serbian judiciary, have called for an international monitoring mission to follow the status of the ten arrestees. In addition to fulfilling this request, a special rapporteur for minority rights should be assigned to investigate the arrests and the status of Albanians in the Presheva Valley, including Serbian efforts to prevent the return of the thousands forced to flee during the Kosova war and the 2001 conflict as part of a campaign to "silently cleanse" Presheva, Medvegje, and Bujanovc of Albanians.
The Albanian political parties in the Presheva Valley should call for a meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadic and the ambassadors of the Quint nations (the European Union, the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada to resolve the conflict.
The Presheva Valley leadership should refuse to carry out their duties at the municipal government level until a serious mediation process, involving Albanian, Serbian, and international officials, begins.
January 28, 2009Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi is Balkan Affairs Adviser to the Albanian American Civic League. This article was first published in the Albanian-American newspaper Illyria.