Serbs Dangle Autonomy For Kosovo’s Albanians Besieged Residents, U.S., Others Suspect The Offer Is Propaganda

Anxious to stave off further international sanctions, Serb leaders came to Kosovo province Thursday with hints of autonomy for ethnic Albanians. But residents - along with the United States - dismissed the offer as propaganda.

The proposal for talks that ultimately could lead to autonomy is “a farce, worthy only of a criminal and fascist-like regime,” said Adem Demaci, leader of the Albanians’ Parliamentary Party of Kosovo and an activist who has spent decades in Serb jails.

“They came as lords to their servants, to ask if the servants have any complaints,” he added.

In Washington, the State Department called the Serb overture “a propaganda exercise.”

“It seems like the Belgrade authorities are proposing things that are designed to fail,” spokesman James P. Rubin said.

More than 80 people have died in Kosovo since Feb. 28 in two police offensives against Albanian separatists in the restive southern province of Serbia. Serbia is the larger of Yugoslavia’s two remaining republics.

Serb police said they were acting against militants of the Kosovo Liberation Army who are pressing for independence in the province, where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs 9-to-1. But Albanian leaders say the police massacred dozens of civilians, including women and children.

The State Department has accused Serb forces of “ethnic cleansing” of Albanians in Kosovo and insisted that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic could have prevented the slaughter.

Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ratko Markovic arrived in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, with the message that “this is a problem of Serbia, and we are capable of solving it ourselves.”

Despite international sympathy for their plight, the Albanians are in a tough spot diplomatically.

The United States and other world powers have signaled their opposition to Kosovo’s independence from Serbia - they fear a change of borders could start a new Balkan war - and indicated they will not mount any quick military action against the Serbs.

In a sign of the Albanians’ growing frustration, the outspoken Demaci is gaining in influence. Residents are increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of results from the more peaceful tactics of Ibrahim Rugova, the leader of the main ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic League of Kosovo.

But the Democratic League also rejected any negotiations with Serb officials.

The visiting Serbian delegation urged the Albanians to change their minds and begin talks Friday. It was the first time since 1992 that Serbia had extended an open offer of talks on Kosovo.

In Belgrade, the capital of both Yugoslavia and Serbia, Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Lilic was quoted by the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug as saying that he was “convinced that there is readiness for talks on the highest level of autonomy according to international standards.”