The Xinhua General Overseas News Service 

The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These materials may not be republished
without the express written consent of The Xinhua News Agency. 

                                 OCTOBER 26, 1987, MONDAY 

LENGTH: 549 words 

HEADLINE: federal police sent to troubled kosovo, yugoslavia 

DATELINE: belgrade, cotober 26; ITEM NO: 1026058 

BODY:
yugoslavia's state presidency, worrying about a possible fresh flare-up of ethnic disputes in kosovo, has sent a special unit of federal police to the troubled southern province to establish control there. the move, which was announced sunday, is obviously designed to forestall a possible attempt by "albanian nationalists and separatists" to fuel ethnic tensions in kosovo to revenge the sacking of a number of ranking provincial officials for their role in fostering nationslism and separatism in the province. six senior officials of kosovo have been expelled from the ruling communist league and some others sacked from provincial posts, according to press reports here last week. the reports said the case of fadilj hodza, an ethnic albanian and long infuential leader in kosovo, is being handled by the league central committee, in the same action which would likely upset the albanian community. the introduction of "extraordinary measures" by the presidency has been in the wake of mounting ethnic tensions in kosovo, where thousands of serbs and montenegrins have staged demonstrations in recent weeks, protesting against alleged harassment by ethnic "albanian nationalists and separatists" to force them to leave their homes. reports said more than 22,000 serbs and montenegrins have left the albanian-dominated southern province since 1981, when the ethnic dispute flared up. the albanian ethnic majority want the ethnically-torn kosovo to be upgraded to the status of a full republic within the yugoslav federation and become part of neighboring albania. last weekend, thousands of serb and montenegrin women demonstrated in kosovo's pristina city, denouncing a wave of rape crimes and reported remarks by hodza who said prostitution of serbian women could halt allegedly frequent rapes in kosovo. the state presidency, the country's collective leadership, in a statement issued sunday by the official tanjug news agency, said, "danger exists for the further worsening of the situation in kosovo which could seriously endanger the security of yugoslavia." similar measures were introduced in 1981 when ethnic albanians rioted in the streets of kosovo's cities and towns, demanding more autonomy for the province. the ruling yugoslav communist league devoted a special plenum in late june to seeking ways of defusing ethnic tensions in kosovo. the meeting urged "more forceful and effective actions" in the effort. however, tensions there have continued unabated since and are even threatening to trigger a fresh ethnic dispute. yugoslav authorities accused ethnic albanian "nationalists and separatists" of fanning class boycotts and demonstrations, assaulting police, murdering, poisoning, and even preparing for an armed rebellion. the presidency's statement, issued after a one-day meeting saturday which discussed the situation in kosovo, said federal police were called out to the region because of "increased organized hostile activity from the positions of albanian nationalism and separatism and organized activity of serbian and montenegrin nationalists." "the federal ministry of the interior is entrusted to directly organize and exercise certain measures particularly concerning state security on the territory of kosovo province," the statement said.




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