Tom Lantos Letter to President Bush

 

The Honorable George Bush
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

 

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing to express my deep concern over the arrest of Zekeria Cana, a human rights advocate in Kosova, Yugoslavia.

Mr. Cana is a 60-year-old history professor from the University of Prishtine who was unjustly jailed by Serbian police on November 15 of this year. No release or trial date has been set.

Mr. Cana began speaking out on human rights issues when Serbian repression of Albanians living in Kosova reached an all-time high. He has spoken forcefully at the funerals of young Albanians who were killed at the hands of security officials in Kosova.

As an articulate and passionate advocate of human rights, Mr. Cana had been a target for harassment by Serbian authorities. He was regularly detained by Serbian police to take part in what they called ?informal chats,? and was warned against speaking out in the future.

Three weeks ago, Mr. Cana spoke at the funeral of Mikel Marku, another victim of police violence. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested and is now held in the prison at Prishtine.

Mr. President, I respectfully and urgently request that you do everything within your power to facilitate the release of Mr. Cana. He is a peaceful and honorable advocate of human rights in war-torn Yugoslavia, and his voice must be heard. I hope you will help insure that Mr. Cana has not made his last speech.

Tom Lantos

Member of Congress