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Albanian marchers clash with Serbs in Kosovo
Ethnic Albanians attack a Serbian car Russians won't support Yugoslav arms embargo
March 19, 1998
Web posted at: 9:23 p.m. EDT (2123 GMT)PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Clashes erupted Thursday between ethnic Albanians and Serbs in the capital of the Serbian province of Kosovo, as both sides held separate rallies in Pristina to press their views about Kosovo's future.
In the nearby town of Pec, about 30,000 ethnic Albanians turned out for the funeral of Qerim Muriqi, who was shot to death Wednesday as he was getting ready to join a demonstration.
"Freedom! Independence!" the crowd chanted, as mourners tried to comfort Muriqi's tearful 5-year-old son.
Meanwhile, in the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade, President Slobodan Milosevic, under Western pressure to end a police crackdown on Albanian separatists in Kosovo, told the foreign ministers of Germany and France that he would pull special police forces from the province.
CNN's Richard Blystone reports on the emotional funeral of an ethnic Albanian shot Wednesday.
And at U.N. headquarters in New York, Russian diplomats, citing Serb cooperation, said they would not support a U.N. resolution imposing an arms embargo on the Yugoslav federation in response to the crackdown in Kosovo.
"The situation is stabilizing. There are changes on the ground taking place at this very moment," said Moscow's U.N. ambassador, Sergei Lavrov.
Serbs, Albanians throw stones
Clashes in Pristina began at the end of a peaceful rally by ethnic Albanians, who make up about 90 percent of Kosovo's population and no longer want to be subject to Serbian rule. Serbia is one of the two republics that make up the Yugoslav federation, and Kosovo is a province in southern Serbia.
Young Serbs who ran through the Albanian crowd of 30,000 were not harmed, but as marchers were parading away after the rally, Serbian drivers swerved into the crowd. Marchers retaliated by throwing stones at several cars and a bus, and stone-throwing battles broke out between Serbs and Albanians.
At least one man could be seen brandishing a pistol. A group of Serbs beat up a cameraman for Reuters, but he was rescued by police and was not seriously injured.
A short time later, it was the Serbs' turn to march. Between 15,000 and 20,000 turned out for their own rally, where they chanted Serbian nationalist slogans and brandished signs saying that the Serbs will never give up Kosovo, which they consider their historical and cultural heartland.
Thousands mourn Muriqi, a father of five
The funeral procession for Qerim Muriqi In Pec, Muriqi's body was laid in a wooden coffin draped with the Albanian national flag. As the procession made its way to Pec's Muslim cemetery on the back of a white truck, tens of thousands of Albanians lined the route and trailed behind, many holding their index and middle fingers in a "V" salute.
"Qerim Muriqi was a hero. He died for our freedom," a local official told the funeral crowd. "Soon we will not have to cry for Albanian victims because we will have our freedom."
More than 80 Albanians have died since the Serb police crackdown on separatists began in February.
Relatives insist Muriqi, a father of five, was shot by Serb police firing from a building along the route of Wednesday's demonstration. Serb police have denied responsibility, and it may never be known just who shot Muriqi or why.
Germans, French say Milosevic takes step forward
In Belgrade, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine portrayed Milosevic's decision to withdraw special police forces as a step toward breaking the international diplomatic impasse over Kosovo.
But the top U.S. envoy for the Balkans, Robert Gelbard, speaking in neighboring Macedonia, said Milosevic's action "falls quite short of what we feel is necessary" to start a serious dialogue.
Ethnic Albanian leaders also greeted the development cautiously, especially because Milosevic acknowledged that not all special police had been pulled back.
The United States and Britain have been pressing for an arms embargo against the Yugoslav federation, a measure that would have to be approved by the U.N. Security Council.
As one of the five permanent members of that body, Russia could block the embargo. China, another permanent member, is also thought to be reluctant to cut off arms to the Yugoslav federation, though Chinese officials have not said categorically that they would oppose such a move.
Milosevic made his concession at the end of a 10-day period set for Yugoslavia to either withdraw forces from Kosovo's besieged Drenica region or face toughened sanctions.
The United States and the five European countries that issued the ultimatum -- the so-called Contact Group -- were expected to meet Friday in Brussels to debate the imposition of new penalties.
U.N. Security Council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that the 15 council members agreed to delay any decision on sanctions until after the Contact Group meets.
Kosovo talks could begin next week
The wrangling at the United Nations comes amid signs that formal negotiations between ethnic Albanian leaders and Serb officials could start soon.
Previous negotiating sessions have been boycotted by the Albanians. But Fehmi Agani, an aide to ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova, said that could change because of a guarantee by Serbian President Milan Milutinovic that talks could result in a degree of "self-rule" for Kosovo.
Agani said talks could begin next week.
Correspondent Richard Blystone and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- New Kosovo clash as Serbia threatened with sanctions - March 19, 1998
- U.N. considers Yugoslav arms embargo - March 18, 1998
- Ethnic Albanian reported killed by police in Kosovo - March 18, 1998
- Contact Group agrees to Kosovo resolution - March 17, 1998
Related sites:
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- Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (official government site)
- OSCE: Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina - providing information about the OSCE's activities
- Yugoslavia.com - information, news and links
- Serbia Now - non-partisan, non-profit news digest
- Serbia Online - general information on Serbia, its history and institutions
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