below is a fragment of a report from a German 'administrative court', one which has done the rounds as proof that there was no 'persecution of ethnic Albanians in Yugoslavia' prior to the entry of NATO into the war.
there are a number of points to be made here, but I won't repeat myself. what I will say is that the left should give absolutely no credibility to reports which come from an IMMIGRATION tribunal conducting itself not only under limited definitions of the validity of refugee claims but also, and more suspectly, under increasing political pressures to deny, where possible, claims for refugee status. that this report is presented as the statement of a truth, that it is further presented as a report from an 'administrative tribunal' and not what it was -- an immigration and refugee application appeals tribunal -- is not something the left should reproduce. why should the German bureaucracy, which is notorious for its maltreatment of refugees, be regarded as a credible source of information on this matter?
I have no basis for arguing that there was, beyond doubt, persecution, but I likewise have not seen any basis for arguing there wasn't. on the balance of probabilities, and given the situation at present, it is more likely than not that there was. until such time as you come up with a more credible source for claims that there was not in fact harassment and persecution directed by Belgrade Govt authorities against ethnic Albanians in kosovo, then I would suggest that the only credible comment you should make on this specific issue is none at all.
Angela --- rcollins at netlink.com.au
Louis wrote:
>Internal documents from Joschka Fischer's Foreign Office in Germany
>contradict these claims. They were obtained by IALANA (International
>Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms) and translated into English by
>Eric Canepa, an activist with the Brecht Forum in New York City. One
>report, dated 1/12/99, and addressed to the Administrative Court of Trier
>states:
>
>"Even in Kosovo an explicit political persecution linked to Albanian
>ethnicity is not verifiable. The East of Kosovo is still not involved in
>armed conflict. Public life in cities like Pristina, Urosevac, Gnjilan,
>etc. has, in the entire conflict period, continued on a relatively normal
>basis. The actions of the security forces (were) not directed against the
>Kosovo-Albanians as an ethnically defined group, but against the military
>opponent and its actual or alleged supporters." (These reports are online
>at the Z Magazine website http://www.lbbs.org)