Albanian refugee fights educational war
By Bernard Vogelsang
Staff writer
Lana Obradovic knows what the Albanian
refugees from Kosovo are going through.
In June 1993, Obradovic, a senior political
science and international relations major at
UNL, was forced to leave her hometown of
Mostar, in the south of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Obradovic, 22, said it was hard for her to
watch the Albanian refugees on television
because it made her think how she suffered in
refugee camps.
“It is not difficult to put myself in their
shoes,” she said.
After having survived the war in Bosnia,
Obradovic has decided she wants to help change
the culture of hate and killing between Serbs,
Croatians and Muslims that has existed in the
former Yugoslavia since 1991.
Obradovic was invited to participate in a con
ference about the future of Bosnia and the
Balkans with influential American and Bosnian
officers. It was held April 8-10 at the College of
William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
She also was granted permission from her
UNL professors to spend the last four weeks
teaching at William and Mary in a class about the
history of the former Yugoslavia.
Obradovic, just back from Virginia, said
although the conference was organized to discuss
the future of Bosnia, it was overshadowed by the
NATO attack on Serbia.
For example, the scheduled keynote speaker,
U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO Supreme
Commander in Europe, couldn’t come because
he leads the allied attacks.
While drinking tea in the Coffee House,
Obradovic said she doesn’t believe the attacks
will have any effect on Yugoslavian President
Slobodan Milosevic.
Obradovic said the international community
has made a mistake by not supporting the oppo
sition against Milosevic earlier.
Instead, Obradovic said, the United States
legitimized Milosevic as a world leader during
the negotiations that would lead to the Dayton
Peace Agreement in 1995. This accord ended the
war in Bosnia.
Now, the attack will stabilize Milosevic in
power, Obradovic said. Although Serbian citi
zens took part in massive demonstrations against
Milosevic in 1996, she said, they now stand
behind their president.
“The Serbian citizens believe the whole
world is against them,” she said. “They now only
want to survive.”
Obradovic discussed her opinion about
Kosovo with conference participants such as
Lawrence Eagleburger, former U.S. Secretary of
State; Muhamed Sacirbey, Bosnian ambassador
to the United Nations; and Warren Zimmermann,
former U.S. ambassador to Yugoslavia.
She said the conference also gave her the
opportunity to meet people who played an
important role during the war in Bosnia.
Between April 1992 and the fall of 1995,
Bosnian Serbs, Croats and Muslims fought hard
battles for the conquest of Mostar.
During the war, some of Obradovic’s rela
tives were killed, including her father and grand
father.
Although Obradovic said she considered her
self to be a Yugoslavian, people saw her as a
Muslim, even though she said she has never prac
ticed the religion.
Obradovic fled Mostar with her mother and
sister because Bosnian Croat soldiers were
expelling Muslims from the neighborhood the
Obradovic family lived in. Many rapes and
killings ensued because of the attack.
“We left at 6 a.m.,” she said. “Ten hours later,
the Bosnian Croats came for me.”
Obradovic said she had feared for months
that the Bosnian Croats would break into her
house.
“The constant dread was the worst torture I
have ever felt,” she said.
After four weeks in a refugee camp in Croatia
and living for 1 Vi years in Italy, she arrived in
Lincoln with her mother and sister in die spring
of 1995.
Obradovic said Zimmermann, a former
Washington, D.C., correspondent for the Lincoln
Star, told her at the conference that Lincoln was a
good place to start a new life because it is easier
to integrate in a smaller community.
As a result of her stay in Virginia, Obradovic
is going to coordinate an exchange of students
from the College ofWilliam and Mary to Bosnia
this summer.
Together with six other Bosnian students,
Obradovic also wants to organize summer camps
for Serbian, Croatian and Muslim children. She
a
The Serbian citizens
believe the whole world is
against them. They now
only want to survive.”
Lana Obradovic
UNL student
said while doing activities, the children could
learn that living peacefully together is possible.
The seven students already have the financial
support of the Virginia Legislature, Amnesty
International and the American Council for First
Freedom.
Obradovic said her stay in Virginia had given
her many job opportunities, but she would like to
work for an international organization in Bosnia
after graduate school.
Obradovic’s sister Lea, who is a UNL sopho
more film and theater major, said Lana
Obradovic will intellectually fight for a better
future for Bosnia.
“Lana has the strength and intelligence to
help change the political situation in Bosnia so
there won’t be any more war and struggling,” she
said.
Lana Obradovic agreed.
“I have an obligation to help the people of
Bosnia.”
Cinco de Mayo events
to carry into weekend
■ Activities are scheduled
to be held Wednesday and
Saturday in Antelope Park.
By John Hejkal
, Staff writer
The Lincoln community will
have two chances to celebrate Cinco
de Mayo this year, once Wednesday
and again May 8.
On May 8, the Ballet Folklorico
Sabor Mexicano will be presenting
costume displays and dances to cel
ebrate Cinco de Mayo. The events,
at Antelope Park, will start at 11
a.m. and will end around 6 p.m.The
Ballet Folklorico will perform at
Antelope Park from noon to 1 p.m.,
and from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Mariachi Jalisco, a band that
plays traditional Mexican music,
will kick things off at 11 a.m., play
ing until noon.
Other events throughout the
afternoon include a historical fash
ion show, a recognition of Mexican
American military veterans and
pinatas for children. All events will
be in the Band Shell except the vet
eran recognition, which will be in
the Auld Center.
The Cinco de Mayo event cele
brates the victory of the Mexican
army over the French at the Battle of
Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Anyone is welcome to the event,
said Darlene Parra, a volunteer par
ent with the Ballet Folklorico, and
Saturday’s programs are free.
The Ballet Folklorico, which has
been in operation since 1995, con
sists of 27 children ages 4 to 15. The
group has been rehearsing for Cinco
de Mayo since December, Parra
said.
“Our mission is to bring diversi
ty to the community,” she said. “Not
only do we teach dance, but we
teach through dance about the
Mexican culture.”
After Cinco de Mayo, the Ballet
Folklorico will have open enroll
ment for new dancers, Parra said.
“We’re open to anyone that has
an interest in the dance. Young, old -
it doesn’t matter,” she said
The ballet is one of the sponsors
of the event, along with the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
KZUM-FM (89.3), the Mexican
American Students Association, the
Wagon Train Project and the
Nebraska Humanities Council.
Parra said he expects a large
turnout for the festivities.
“We’re going to have at least 500
people,” he said.
“I’m going to be disappointed if
it’s less.”:
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Police investigate man who
may have been teens’ supplier
LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) - Investigators are interview
ing a man who may have supplied the semiautomatic pistol
used by the Columbine High School gunmen, but authori
ties said Thursday no arrests are imminent
Although Jefferson County District Attorney David
Thomas said early in the day that the gun seller would be
arrested “in a day or two” after negotiating the terms of his
surrender, other investigators later backed away from that
statement
Crime laboratory technicians are conducting ballistics
tests to determine which guns fired the ammunition that
killed each of the 13 victims. If it turns out that bullets fired
by the paramilitary-style TEC DC-9 did not hit anyone, the
gun seller may only face charges of illegal gun peddling
rather than being implicated in die murders.
“We hope that we’ll have some news soon,” prosecutor
Mark Paulter said. “As far as arrests, as far as charges, we’re
still up in the air with that.”
Paulter said other people are being interviewed as well,
but he described them as witnesses, not suspects. He
declined to elaborate.
“It is not a good idea to let people know ahead of time
that we are going to arrest them,” he said. “They have a ten
dency to disappear.” __ . ■... .
On Tuesday, agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms visited the Blackjack Pizza shop,
where gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold worked. The
agents were investigating whether a pizza deliveryman
acted as a middleman in the weapon transaction.
The ATF and the pizza shop managers declined to dis
cuss the inquiry.
On April 20, Harris, 18, and Kleboldj 17, killed 12 stu
dents and a teacher before committing suicide in one of the
worst school shootings in U.S. history.
Another 23 were wounded.
A diary found at the home of one of the gunmen indi
cated the plot had been devised for a year and they planned
to kill hundreds with an arsenal of guns and bombs.
Investigators have found more than 50 propane and pipe
bombs at the school and the teens’ homes.
The final Columbine victim to be buried, Isaiah Shoels,
18, was remembered Thursday at a spirited funeral in
Denver that drew more than 5,000 mourners, including Gov.
Bill Owens and other officials.
Earlier this week, investigators said Klebold’s prom
date, Robyn Anderson, 18, bought three of the four weapons
- two rifles and a shotgun - used in the massacre. Under
Colorado law, an 18-year-old without a felony record can
legally furnish minors with rifles and shotguns, which are
classified as long guns. Anderson has made no public com
ment
A spokeswoman for Klebold’s family said Thursday
they had been the target of threats, which have been report
ed to authorities. “They are cooperating fully with the inves
tigation,” said Lisa Simon, the Klebolds’ spokeswoman.
Tributes to the victims continue.
On Sunday, the Jefferson County school district is hold
ing an afternoon get-together at scenic Red Rocks
Amphitheater for students and their families, teachers and
’ public safety workers. Classes resume Monday.
Scott Poland of the National Association of School
Psychologists said children affected by the shootings may
feel afraid and hopeless, and experience night terrors, for an
extended period.
“This is the time for parents to talk less and listen more,”
he said.
NATO missile hits Bulgarian house
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -
Russia pushed a peace plan for
Yugoslavia on Thursday as a cha
grined NATO sought to explain how
another of its missiles went astray,
damaging a house near the capital of
Western ally Bulgaria.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson arrived in
Belgrade on a mission to win freedom
for three U.S. POWs held by
Yugoslavia. He was expected to meet
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin
Jovanovic and the head of the Serbian
Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, on
Friday.
NATO, meanwhile, continued its
air assault on Yugoslavia, targeting
communication and transportation
links,. Yugoslavia’s official Tanjug
news agency said five missiles struck
before dawn Friday near the airport in
Pristina, Kosovo’s capital.
Heavy explosions and intense anti
aircraft fire were reported Thursday
afternoon near an oil refinery north
west of Belgrade.
Serbian television went off the air
Thursday night moments after a strong
explosion.
The government asked private sta
tions to rebroadcast the state TV news
programs after attacks on the state
broadcast headquarters limited its
transmission range.
Bridges, highways and communi
cations towers also were targeted,
including transportation links into
Kosovo.
As the bombings persisted for the
37th day, former Russian Prime
Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
launched his latest peace initiative,
promoting what Moscow said was a
new plan for ending the Kosovo crisis.
Bulgarian officials said a NATO
AGM-88 HARM missile slammed
late Wednesday into a house in a sub
urb of the capital, Sofia. Konstantin
Varbenov was shaving on the top floor
of his two-story home when the mis
sile blew away his roof. His wife, child
and grandmother, also in the house,
were shaken but therewere no injuries.
In Brussels, NATO spokesman
Jamie Shea said an alliance jet fired
the missile “in self-defense” at Serb
anti-aircraft batteries but it “strayed
from its target and unintentionally
landed in Bulgaria,” 30 miles from
Yugoslavia’s southeastern border.