Serbs: MD's Death May Spur Exodus
Sunday, 27 February 2000
G N J I L A N E , Y U G O S L A V I A (AP)
A SERB doctor who was a moderate political representative for his
dwindling community in this multiethnic, eastern Kosovo town was buried
Sunday, and locals said his killing would prompt Serbs and other minorities
to flee.
Josif Vasic, 38, a gynecologist, was one of only five Serb doctors
remaining in the U.S.-controlled Gnjilane region. He was also Gnjilane's
representative in the Serb National Council, which represents the
province's Serbs.
He was shot and killed early Saturday by unknown assailants as he walked
to work through a Serb part of town, said a friend who would give his
name only as Dragan K for fear of reprisal attacks.
Serbs in Gnjilane avoid using main roads in town for fear of attacks,
sticking to smaller alleys and paths within the Serb areas, said a medical
student who would give only his initials, M.P.
"We considered it a safe route," he said. "We definitely don't any more."
But mourners, many of whom arrived at the funeral by bus under the
armed protection of American peacekeepers, said Vasic was a moderate
who believed in a multiethnic Kosovo and treated both Serb and Albanian
patients.
"He was shot because he believed the Serbs could stay in Kosovo and
could live together with the Albanians here," said Dragan K. "His belief
cost him his head."
The Serb National Council said Vasic's killing was part of "the latest wave
of violence and ethnic cleansing by Kosovo Albanian extremists," and
criticized international peacekeepers for failing to protect the province's
dwindling Serb community.
NATO forces entered Kosovo in June following a 78-day bombing
campaign to halt a crackdown on ethnic Albanians, who are in the
majority. Since then, more than 100,000 Serbs have fled the province as
revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians continue.
There were other violent incidents over the weekend that appeared to be
ethnically motivated.
On Saturday, a Serb policeman and an ethnic Albanian were killed and
three Serb police officers were wounded during an attack on a police
patrol in southern Serbia.
In a statement carried by Serbia's official state-run new agency, Tanjug,
the police said Sunday that "a group of Albanian terrorists" attacked the
Serb police patrol late Saturday near the village of Konculj, 175 miles
southeast of Belgrade.
Police said the Albanian killed was a member of the Kosovo Protection
Force, which is made up of members of the officially disbanded Kosovo
Liberation Army. The KLA was created by pro-independence fighters in
the Kosovo province and was disbanded after NATO deployed in
Kosovo last year.
Riza Halimi, an ethnic Albanian who heads Serbia's Presevo district, said
attacks on Serbian police "have deteriorated the situation" and that local
ethnic Albanians were beginning to form guerrilla units similar to the KLA. |
