Kosovo - Kosova Crisis |
March 10, 1998; Tuesday 10:26 Eastern Time
War Crimes: Court says it is investigating Kosovo violence
MIKE CORDER, THE HAGUE, Netherlands
The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal said Tuesday it is investigating the recent violence in Kosovo which has left dozens of ethnic Albanians dead.
In a brief statement, tribunal Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour said she is ''currently gathering information and evidence in relation to the Kosovo incidents and will continue to monitor any subsequent developments.''
The U.N. tribunal's jurisdiction covers all serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991.
It can mete out punishments of up to life imprisonment for those convicted of infringing humanitarian law.
Arbour, a Canadian judge, said she also ''expects the full cooperation of the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in respect of investigations into the Kosovo situation.''
The statement gave no details of how the court is collecting evidence or whether it is planning any indictments. An investigation does not automatically lead to an indictment.
Last week's Serb crackdown against Kosovo's ethnic Albanians left 46 ethnic Albanians and six Serb police officers dead, according to official sources.
Ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs 9-1 in the southern province of Kosovo and many want to secede from Serbia, the dominant republic in the Yugoslav federation.
Albanians say at least 77 of their kin died in two police sweeps last week. Serbs claim they were cracking down on the Kosovo Liberation Army, which claimed to have killed 50 people in the past 19 months.
Last week's Serb police sweep left houses in ruins and forced thousands to flee. More than 4,000 ethnic Albanians have fled to neighboring Montenegro, according to U.N. refugee monitors.
The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal has indicted more than 75 suspects, mainly for atrocities allegedly committed during Bosnia's 3 1/2-year conflict. So far 24 suspects are in custody.
