UN staffer wounded in
Kosovo border incident
FEBRUARY 29 -- A United Nations staff member was today shot in
an ambush on the Serb side of the border with Kosovo, UN spokesman
Fred Eckhard said in New York.
Mr Eckhard said that according to preliminary information, Mr.
Marcel Grogan of Ireland, a staff member of the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, was wounded while on a humanitarian
assessment mission.
He was shot while travelling in a UN marked
vehicle near the town of Bujanovac, on the Serb side of the border
with Kosovo.
Mr. Eckhard said several men stopped the vehicle
and one of them opened fire, wounding Mr. Grogan in the leg.
Mr. Grogan was being treated at a US Army hospital.
Kosovo's Interim Administrative
Council names heads for three more departments
FEBRUARY 29 -- Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council today appointed
two women and a student activist to co-head three departments
with UN officials, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) reported today.
The Council named Ms. Vjosa Dobruna, a political
independent and human rights activist, co-head for the Department
of Democratic Governance; Mrs. Edi Shukriu, co-head of the women's
wing of the Kosovo Democratic League, co-head for the Department
of Culture; and Mr. Driton Lajci, the acting president of the
Pristina University Students Union, co-head for the Department
of Youth.
The Council split the Department of Youth and
Sport into two new entities so that there are now a total of 20
administrative departments in the Joint Interim Administrative
Structure.
The Council asked the United Democratic Movement
(LBD) to propose a candidate to co-head the Department of Sport.
UNMIK has appointed Mr. Jean-Selim Kaanan, a reconstruction official,
to co-head the department.
UNMIK said consultations continue on nominating
co-heads for four departments -- Transport & Infrastructure,
Environment, Agriculture, and Labour & Employment -- all of
whom will come from minority communities.
The Council reviewed draft regulations on setting
up Public Services and Justice, the next two departments to be
officially established. It also discussed regulations on elections
preparations and gave its approval to a pending regulation on
civil registration.
UN police in Kosovo report
increased violence against Serbs
FEBRUARY 28 -- UN police in Kosovo today reported an increase
in violence against Serbs around the territory, as well as explosions
and grenade attacks in Pristina, Gnjilane and Pec.
In Gnjilane today, UN officials attended the
funeral of Dr. Josip Vasic, shot dead on Saturday in the centre
of the town, near the hospital where he worked. He was one of
a handful of Serb physicians who had remained in Kosovo and had
worked closely with UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), a UN spokeswoman
said.
UNMIK police reported an explosion today on
the road to Zvecan, some 400 metres north of Mitrovica town, which
caused damage to a bus but no injuries to passengers. The police
said there was another explosion yesterday evening, most probably
caused by a grenade, at a Serb-owned house in Kosovo Polje. A
grenade was also thrown into an Albanian-owned grocery store in
Orahovac, which caused extensive damage but no casualties.
UN mission in Kosovo
toughens building requirements following major fire
FEBRUARY 28 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) said today that new building in the territory would now
require a permit, and will involve a "rigorous" fire
safety inspection.
The decision comes after a blaze destroyed a
sports complex in central Pristina and threatened to spread to
nearby buildings. Fire fighters and equipment from other parts
of Kosovo and from the international peacekeeping force (KFOR)
were called in to help local firemen battle the fire that began
early Friday evening and was not controlled until midday Saturday.
The cause of the fire at the Boro and Ramiz Sports Centre is still
being investigated.
The head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, who
visited the scene of the fire twice on Saturday, announced an
international appeal for funds to help rebuild the complex, which
was built in the late 1970s.
UNMIK fire chief, Mr. Robert Triozzi, said the
fire department was at the scene five minutes after receiving
the alarm. But the fire spread rapidly due to the design of the
building's interior, which had no barriers that could have blocked
its path. "The building didn't cooperate: There was cheap
wood inside and out. There were no fire wall, no fire doors, no
sprinkler systems," he said Saturday.
Dr. Kouchner said Saturday that he would consider
issuing a regulation on fire safety, but UNMIK's first concern
had been on building a fire service from scratch. UNMIK officials
warned that many other buildings were at risk due to shoddy construction.
Kosovo Interim Administrative
Council sets out civil service recruitment policy
FEBRUARY 25 -- The Kosovo Interim Administrative Council (IAC)
today agreed to create a professional civil service that will
remain when the administration is handed over to Kosovo's people
after international administrators leave.
The IAC guidelines lay out an objective and transparent recruitment
policy aimed at hiring the best experts in the field, the UN Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said in a statement.
It said the staff would be paid out of the Kosovo Consolidated
Budget and the staffing tables were being worked out.
The new Interim Joint Administrative Structure,
launched on 15 December, has 19 departments, four of which became
operation on 22 February.
The Council also heard a briefing by the head
of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, on his meeting yesterday with
Serb community leaders in the first of a series of encounters
aimed at working out a strategy for improving security in the
ethnically divided city of Mitrovica. Dr. Kouchner, who was accompanied
by the commander of the international peacekeeping force (KFOR),
General Klaus Reinhardt, met with the delegation led by the president
of the Serb National Council for Kosovska Mitrovica (SNC), Mr.
Oliver Ivanovic.
The meeting, which lasted for over one hour,
was described by UNMIK as tough but positive, with both Dr. Kouchner
and Mr. Ivanovic qualifying it as beginning of negotiations towards
restoring normality in Mitrovica.
In his remarks to the media following the meeting
on Thursday, Dr. Kouchner said it was "the first millimetre
on the way to co-existence and a very important starting point,"
adding that another meeting was planned for next week.
Kosovo Transitional Council
calls for urgent action on missing and detained persons
FEBRUARY 23 -- The Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) today urged
the international community, and the UN Security Council in particular,
to put maximum pressure on Belgrade authorities to release all
detainees from Kosovo held unlawfully in Yugoslav prisons.
The KTC said in a statement issued following
its regular meeting that Belgrade should also be pressured to
cooperate with international authorities in clarifying the destiny
of a large number of missing persons. According to the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), some 3,000 other people, mostly
Kosovo Albanians, remain unaccounted for.
The head of the UN Interim Administration in
Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner promised to deliver the statement
and raise the issue when he briefs the Security Council on Kosovo
in early March.
The KTC called on the Security Council to demand
the Belgrade government immediately grant the ICRC unconditional
access to all detention facilities in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia to verify the number of detainees from Kosovo, estimated
at some 1,600.
The KTC also urged the Security Council to demand
that Belgrade stop all ongoing trials against detainees from Kosovo
and hand over all those detainees to UNMIK, acting on behalf of
the Joint Interim Administration, for their release or trial,
as appropriate. So-called political prisoners should be released
immediately without preconditions, the KTC said.
The KTC also called on political leaders from
Kosovo to assist in the clarification of the whereabouts of missing
persons from the non-Albanian communities, including 346 Serbs,
most of whom disappeared after 10 June 1999, according to the
ICRC.
The KTC also called for the creation of a 'United
City' of Mitrovica and underlined the crucial need to find a political
solution to the situation in the ethnically divided city.
The KTC demanded that expulsions be prevented,
that freedom of movement be facilitated and that all those who
fled their homes, including Albanians and Serbs, be enabled to
return safely.
The KTC urged representatives of the Kosovo
Serb community to join the Joint Interim Administrative Structure
as soon as possible, as a political solution could be achieved
only through a "joint effort of the representatives of the
international community in Kosovo and of political forces from
Kosovo."
Kosovo gets a new mobile
telephone network
FEBRUARY 23 -- A new mobile telephone network begun operations
in Pristina today and will be extended to cover the rest of the
province by September, the UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK) announced.
The network, launched by the local telecommunications
company, PTK, and Alcatel-Monaco Telecom, has significantly more
channels available than the existing system, which, however, will
continue to operate for the time being.
Mr. Gerard Fischer, director of the Department
of Economic Affairs and Natural Resources in UNMIK's civil administration
pillar, said another significant advantage of the new system was
that all the income will stay inside Kosovo. The cost of a local
call will be 0.40 deutsche marks (about 20 US cents) per unit
during the first phase.
The service is available not only in Pristina
but also at the airport and is expected to cover Gracanica, Mr.
Fischer said. The service will be extended to seven major cities
"not later than six or seven weeks from now," he added.
Coverage should extend to all of Kosovo by September.
Mr. Fischer also announced that third-party
liability car insurance would now be available following the approval
of a licence for the Insurance Institute of Albania.
Kosovo's Administrative
Council pledges to work for a united Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 22 -- Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council (IAC) has
pledged to work to unite the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica.
In a statement issued after its regular meeting
today, the IAC said it was committed to transforming Mitrovica
into "a 'United City' without any dividing lines", prevent
any further expulsions from the city and protect the property
of those displaced. "A political solution to the situation
in Mitrovica is of utmost importance," the statement said.
The IAC will facilitate freedom of movement
in the city and enable the safe return of all those who have fled
their homes, including Serbs from the southern sector, according
to the statement read by the head of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner.
The IAC said it wanted to enable the Serb population
in Mitrovica to stay and lead a normal and peaceful life. "A
united city can only be achieved through a gradual process in
which the rights and the security of all national communities
have to be respected," the Council said.
Addressing tens of thousands of demonstrators
in Mitrovica yesterday, Dr. Kouchner, along with the commander
of the international peacekeeping force, KFOR, General Klaus Reinhardt,
promised to work hard for a united city.
After today's Council meeting, Dr. Kouchner
said UNMIK plans to establish a joint administration in Mitrovica
under a special administrator, as one of the first steps in restoring
co-existence. Serb and Albanian leaders in Mitrovica had agreed
in principle but not yet on the numbers of representatives from
each community, he said, acknowledging that the process would
take "a long time."
Dr. Kouchner said the scheme implied abolishing
the 'parallel structures' set up by Serbs in northern Mitrovica,
and said UNMIK was working on a "Mitrovica appeal" to
donors to fund recovery efforts in the region. "We have to
work on building their [ethnic Serb] confidence," he said.
"This means not only protection, but the start of resettlement,
and also business, work, jobs."
UN envoy tries to calm
demonstrators in Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 21 -- In what was reported to be a "very tense and
very volatile" situation, the head of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, today addressed
a crowd of several thousand demonstrators in the ethnically divided
Kosovo city of Mitrovica.
Joining Dr. Kouchner in his attempt to calm
the demonstrators were the commander of the international peacekeeping
force (KFOR), General Klaus Reinhardt, and the leader of the Kosovo
Protection Corps, Mr. Agim Ceku, a UN spokesman said in New York.
The crowd, which had gathered at the bridge
over the Ibar River, which divides the south of the city from
the largely Serb-populated north, later dispersed, UNMIK said.
The incident followed a march of some 20,000 Kosovar Albanian
men, women and children from Pristina to Mitrovica.
Earlier, KFOR troops supported by UNMIK police
conducted a second day of searches for illegal weapons in several
neighbourhoods in Mitrovica. Eleven people were arrested during
yesterday's searches and a quantity of arms was confiscated.
KFOR spokesman Lieutenant Commander Philip Anido
said that the operation will continue until General Reinhardt
is satisfied that illegal activities have been stopped, and dangerous
weapons banned from Mitrovica. Approximately 2,500 KFOR soldiers
from 12 nations are taking part in the operation.
Before travelling to Mitrovica, Dr. Kouchner
discussed the security measures being taken in the city with the
Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, General Wesley Clark, who
was on a visit to Kosovo.
Kosovo's Administrative
Council bans demonstrations in Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 18 -- The Interim Administrative Council has said that
while it recognized the democratic right to hold demonstrations,
public demonstrations are currently banned from parts of the city
of Mitrovica "for security reasons".
In a statement issued at the close of its regular meeting today
in Pristina, the Council said access to the city of Mitrovica
will be denied to demonstrators who have planned to march from
Pristina to Mitrovica on Monday.
The Council said, however, that a delegation
of the demonstrators will be received at the Mitrovica headquarters
of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
The Council urged political parties to "show
responsibility and to contribute to stabilizing the security situation
in Mitrovica".
Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees estimates that nearly 1,500 people, mainly ethnic
Albanians but also Kosovo Bosniacs and ethnic Turks, have fled
the predominantly Serb northern sector of Kosovo's divided city
of Mitrovica since ethnic violence erupted there on 4 February.
Occupied apartments in the city have been attacked
by grenades and other explosives and UNHCR staff on the ground
have reported that property vacated by fleeing Albanians is often
looted and sometimes occupied by ethnic Serbs.
UNHCR spokesman Ron Mr. Redmond said UNHCR and
its partner agency CARE are working on a project to reinforce
the doors of minority residents in Mitrovica to give them better
protection against attacks. Fresh food is also being taken to
the homes of minority families who are too terrified to venture
out.
The Belgian chapter of Médecins sans
Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is organizing home
medical visits.
First international prosecutor
sworn in by UN to serve in Kosovo's troubled Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 17 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) today appointed the first international prosecutor to
serve in the northern city of Mitrovica.
Mr. Jan Reint Johannes van Wijland of the Netherlands
was sworn in by the head of UNMIK, Dr Bernard Kouchner, under
a new regulation aimed at implementing emergency measures to restore
security in Mitrovica, which erupted in ethnic violence two weeks
ago.
The appointment follows that of Mr. Christer
Karphammar from Sweden who was appointed the first international
judge for Mitrovica on Tuesday. Appointments of some 25 additional
local judges and prosecutors are pending.
UNMIK said the judicial appointments are aimed
at easing pressure on the fledgling local judiciary in order to
prosecute quickly those suspected of inflaming violence in Mitrovica.
The jurists will work "in tandem" with the local judges
and prosecutor.
In taking their oaths of office, both international
jurists vowed to work independently and impartially, UNMIK said.
They will use the applicable law of Kosovo "while upholding
the highest internationally recognized standards of human rights".
Security Council holds
private meeting on Kosovo
FEBRUARY 16 -- The United Nations Interim Administration in Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) continued to be preoccupied by the harassment,
eviction and murder of minorities, a senior UN peacekeeping official
told the Security Council today.
Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations Hédi Annabi was briefing the Council on the
latest developments in Kosovo in a private meeting -- an informal
session that is closed to the press and the public. Council non-members
may be invited to attend such meetings without the right to speak.
According to a UN spokeswoman, Mr. Annabi told
the Council that even though the security situation in Kosovo
had deteriorated in early February, UNMIK had made gradual progress
in restoring the rule of law, including the first round of appointments
of judges and prosecutors. By 11 February, there were 2,052 UN
police in Kosovo.
The spokeswoman added that Mr. Annabi also drew
attention to the humanitarian effort, saying that a humanitarian
crisis in Kosovo has been avoided this winter. However, he said
that more funding was needed, since the cash available for Kosovo's
consolidated budget in 2000 would be exhausted by early March.
In a related development, the Special Envoy
of the Secretary-General for the Balkans, Mr. Carl Bildt said
in a statement released in Sarajevo today that for the international
community, Kosovo remained a test of political will and financial
resolve in the region.
He said the insecurity that plagued Kosovo would
require not only creative solutions but also strong commitments
in terms of financial and human resources. "To this day,
UNMIK, has been provided by Member States with only about 2,000
out of the total pledged level of 4,000 international policemen.
It is urgently necessary that this gap be met as soon as possible,"
he said.
First international judge
appointed to serve in Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 16 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) yesterday appointed the first international judge to serve
in the northern city of Mitrovica, UNMIK said today.
Mr. Christer Karphammar from Sweden was appointed
following a new regulation signed yesterday authorizing the appointment
of international judges and prosecutors, as part of the implementation
of emergency measures for re-establishing security in Mitrovica.
Mr. Karphammar, who will work alongside his
Kosovar counterpart in Mitrovica, will be fully independent "and
not subject to instructions from anyone", UNMIK spokeswoman
Nadia Younes said.
Mr. Karphammar, who left today for Mitrovica,
has been the deputy head of the Prosecution Services and Court
Administration Section of UNMIK's Department of Judicial Affairs.
The head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, has
also appointed a new police Regional Commandner for Mitrovica,
Mr. Sven Erik Larsen of Denmark. His offices will be located within
the headquarters of the international peacekeeping force (KFOR)
Commander in Mitrovica, General Saqui de Sannes, to ensure total
coordination of the operations of UNMIK and KFOR.
Kosovo Serbs endorse
UN mission's security measures in Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 15 -- The head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) today received the endorsement by the Serb National Council
of the mission's measures for restoring security in the ethnically
divided town of Mitrovica.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General,
Mr. Bernard Kouchner, presented the plan to Bishop Artemije, the
highest-ranking Orthodox cleric in the territory, before the bishop
left for the United States to seek additional support for Serbs
in Kosovo.
The plan, which was presented to the territory's
Interim Administrative Council (IAC) last night, includes the
re-deployment to northern Mitrovica of 300 UNMIK international
police from other parts of Kosovo and the appointment of international
judges to strengthen the judicial system and help bring to justice
the suspects charged in the recent spate of violence in the divided
town.
The package of measures also aims to protect
the property and freedom to return of all displaced persons -
both Albanians recently forced from their homes in the Serb-dominated
northern part of the city, and Serbs expelled earlier this year
from their residences south of the Iber River.
Mr. Kouchner said that once security had improved
in Mitrovica, the UN mission would work on more long-term measures
to restore the confidence of the population, including repatriating
Albanians and Serbs to their homes and boosting employment by
re-opening three factories and parts of the Trepce mining complex.
"We don't expect people to live together
for the moment," Mr. Kouchner said. "But if they can
work together, it will be a real step forward."
In other news from Kosovo, the IAC has begun
discussing the pending regulations that will lead to elections
in the territory later this year.
According to a statement issued today in Pristina,
the regulations will stipulate the conditions for voter registration,
the compilation of voters' lists and the organization of political
parties. The regulations will be taken up tomorrow by the Kosovo
Transitional Council (KTC), the major Kosovo advisory body to
UNMIK and the Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS).
The Council will also discuss the final arrangements
for the establishment of the first four departments to become
operational within the JIAS. They include the departments of Health
and Social Welfare, Education and Science, Local Administration,
and the Central Fiscal Authority, which will deal with budget
and finance issues.
UN, KFOR take steps to
ensure security in Mitrovica
FEBRUARY 14 -- Bernard Kouchner, the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General in Kosovo, Monday called a special meeting
of the Interim Administrative Council to present a package of
measures to re-establish security in the ethnically divided city
of Mitrovica.
Full details of the new measures are expected
to be announced at a press conference in Pristina Tuesday, a spokeswoman
for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said.
On Sunday, Dr. Kouchner and the commander of
the KFOR security force, General Klaus Reinhardt, issued a joint
statement saying that the violence in Mitrovica would not be tolerated,
adding that those found guilty of participating in it would suffer
"the full force of the law."
The UN and KFOR urged all sides not to let extremists
"succeed in ruining this, your one chance for peace and a
prosperous future."
During Sunday's disturbances described by a
KFOR spokesman as a day of "unprecedented violence, injury
and unrest in Mitrovica," two French peacekeeping soldiers
were shot and wounded, at least one local person was killed and
many others injured.
Dr. Kouchner went to Mitrovica on Friday and
announced some immediate special measures in conjunction with
KFOR, including expanding the safety zone on either side of the
Ibar River and the redeployment of 300 additional UN police to
the area. About 100 police officers are expected to arrive in
Mitrovica by the end of this week.
A new regulation outlawing 'hate speech' will
also be used to help Kosovo administrators prosecute public provocations,
according to UNMIK officials.
UNHCR reports widening
ethnic divide in Mitrovica in wake of violence
FEBRUARY 11 -- The recent ethnic violence in Kosovo's divided
city of Mitrovica has led to an exodus of ethnic Albanians from
the city's Serb-populated northern half, deepening the division
of the city along ethnic lines, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) said today.
UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told a press briefing in Geneva that
if the exodus continued, northern Mitrovica could soon be emptied
of its ethnic Albanian population, which numbered only 4,500 before
the outbreak of violence last week.
Since then, some 630 Albanians have registered
with UNHCR, but the agency believes the actual number of those
who have fled is much higher, as most people leave quietly to
join friends and family in other parts of Kosovo, without bothering
to register with the UN, Mr Redmond said.
The agency estimates that half of the ethnic
Albanian population of central Mitrovica has already left. UNHCR
staff on the ground report that property vacated by fleeing Albanians
is often looted and sometimes occupied by ethnic Serbs.
The violent incidents in Mitrovica last week
were sparked by a rocket-propelled grenade attack 2 February on
a UNHCR bus carrying Kosovo Serbs. Two Serbs died in the attack
and three others were injured. At least seven Albanians were killed
in subsequent violent retaliatory attacks in the Serb-dominated
north of Mitrovica.
UN agency releases report
critical of its response to Kosovo refugee emergency
FEBRUARY 11 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) today released an evaluation report critical of its preparedness
and response to the 1999 Kosovo refugee emergency.
UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told journalists
in Geneva that the agency was already taking measures in response
to the criticism, many of which reflected its own internal assessment.
The evaluation, commissioned by UNHCR and carried
out by an independent team of experts, concludes that in general
UNHCR responded to the Kosovo refugee crisis as if it were a "normal"
emergency. It followed standard routines for a smaller or slower
emergency and the response was "often too little, or too
late."
Mr. Redmond said the goal of the agency now
"is to find out why and to ensure that we do better next
time." He said UNHCR acknowledges it has to strengthen its
strategic planning and leadership capacity and speed up its response
in emergencies.
The evaluation, titled "The Kosovo refugee
crisis: an independent evaluation of UNHCR's emergency preparedness
and response", examines the period from late March until
mid-June when over 850,000 Kosovars fled their homes.
Many factors affecting UNHCR's performance "were
not under our control", Mr. Redmond said. "But many
things were, and we've already started taking steps to strengthen
our emergency response."
UNHCR has been developing practical means of
enhancing its capacity to respond promptly and effectively in
emergency situations. This process has focussed particularly on
the organizational arrangements required for effective preparedness
and response.
New report on ethnic
minorities in Kosovo finds unabated insecurity and climate of
impunity.
FEBRUARY 11 -- Minorities in Kosovo continue to suffer violence
and insecurity in a climate of impunity, according to the latest
assessment report of the situation of ethnic minorities in Kosovo
released today.
The report is the fourth assessment carried
out jointly by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE).
'The insecurity for the minority populations
in Kosovo across the province continues unabated," the head
of the UNHCR office in Kosovo, Mr. Dennis McNamara, told a press
briefing in Pristina. Presenting the report jointly with OSCE
head in Kosovo, Ambassador Dan Everts, Mr. McNamara said the insecurity
includes Alabanians in the north of Mitrovica as well as Serbs
and Roma elsewhere in Kosovo.
Mr. McNamara said that although there has been
an improvement in recent months with overall crime, there is a
general cycle of violence and impunity.
"The cycle of violence, impunity and further
population displacement is going to continue unless there is a
change in the culture in the attitude of this society," he
said.
Mr. Everts said the impunity that prevails is
related to the lack of law enforcement and judicial capacity.
He said the strength of the international police in the province
was inadequate and the quality of the judiciary "very marginal".
Mr. Everts also blamed the local media for irresponsible
reporting and incitement.
He said, however, there were efforts on the
way that hold promise, including the drawing of many representatives
of minorities to the police training school.
Mr. Everts appealed to Belgrade authorities
to take their responsibility in the violence which is also linked
to the question of Albanian detainees in Serbia.
He also appealed to donor governments to be
more visible and vocal with the leadership of Kosovo on the insecurity.
"We do need the representatives of the western group who
have funded this operation to make it clear that they cannot accept
the present state of affairs," he said.
Security Council expresses
concern over the deterioration of security in Kosovo.
FEBRUARY 10 -- The Security Council today expressed concern over
the deterioration of security in Kosovo and called upon all parties
to exercise the utmost restraint and tolerance, Council President
Ambassador Arnoldo Manuel Listre of Argentina said in a statement.
The Council members, who were briefed on the
situation in Kosovo by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations Hédi Annabi, condemned all acts of violence
and demanded their immediate cessation.
Noting the measures already taken by UN Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and KFOR, the international
peacekeeping force, "in good cooperation" to ensure
adequate security for all Kosovars, Council members expressed
their support for the "ongoing intensified efforts to this
end." They also called upon UN Member States to provide UNMIK
with the personnel and financial resources it still requires.
The Council will continue to follow the situation
in Kosovo closely, the Council President said, pointing out that
the issue is again on the Council's agenda for next Wednesday.
UN Mission in Kosovo
enacts regulation prohibiting "hate speech."
FEBRUARY 10 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) has enacted a regulation prohibiting "hate speech."
The regulation prescribes punishment by fine or imprisonment for
whoever publicly incites or spreads hatred, discord or intolerance
between national, racial, religious, ethnic or other such groups
living in Kosovo.
For "hate speech" to be punishable,
it has to be likely to disturb public order and must be incitement
of hatred between groups, not individuals.
The spokesman for the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe arm of UNMIK, Roland Bless, told a press
briefing in Pristina yesterday that the regulation applies to
everybody but places a special responsibility on people who by
their position, office or function have a capability of reaching
wide audiences.
The regulation, which came into effect on 1
February, states that those found guilty of "hate speech"
by the Courts shall be punished by a fine or by imprisonment not
exceeding five years or both. However, punishment may be increased
for eight to ten years if the public incitement of hatred has
been committed under particular circumstances, such as the public
incitement of hatred committed by taking advantage of one's position
or authority, Mr. Bless said.
"This is a key element for a democratic
Kosovo since a democratic society must have civil discussions
and political debates that can take place in a non-violent manner,"
he said.
Newly expanded Kosovo
consultative body discusses Mitrovica security strategy.
FEBRUARY 9 -- The newly expanded Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC)
met for the first time today after its membership was more than
doubled to better represent the political, ethnic and religious
communities of Kosovo and all strata of the society.
The KTC has been expanded from 12 to 34 members,
comprising nine representatives of political parties, two political
independents, three representatives of religious communities,
nine representatives of civil society and seven representatives
of national communities including Serbs, Bosniacs, Turks and Roma.
It also includes the four Kosovar members of the Interim Administrative
Council (IAC), the highest-level administrative body in the province,
although the Serb community has still to take up its seat.
The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) said today that the new KTC would function more or less
as a "mini parliament" until democratic elections were
held.
Head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, said he
envisioned the KTC "as a sort of control mechanism vis-a-vis
the IAC." While retaining its advisory role, the KTC is expected
to become more proactive in raising issues from the various communities
in Kosovo with the IAC.
Dr. Kouchner said all IAC members were automatically
members of the KTC and each week would brief the KTC on their
work. "If the KTC disagrees with a decision of the Interim
Administrative Council, the KTC can propose a different course
of action to the [Head of UNMIK]," Dr Kouchner said.
At its first meeting, the KTC discussed a six-point
strategy to reinforce and enhance security in the city of Mitrovica,
hit over the past week by ethnic violence during which at least
eight ethnic Albanians were killed.
A statement, issued by UNMIK after the meeting,
said the measures included expelling troublemakers, increased
screening of individuals in order to prevent "external elements"
from entering Mitrovica and continuing the curfew already imposed
for as long as it was necessary.
Other measures include reinforcing patrols in
the northern sector of the city, and enlarging the security zone
around the Mitrovica bridge on River Ibar, which separates the
two ethnically divided sectors of the city.
UNMIK Police Commissioner Sven Frederiksen stressed
the need for a more robust approach in addressing the violence
in Mitrovica. He told the KTC that UNMIK police were investigating
the murders and attempted murders.
Kosovo's highest-level
administrative body discusses Mitrovica violence.
FEBRUARY 8 -- The Interim Administrative Council, the highest
administrative body in Kosovo, today held its first meeting after
the ethnic violence that left eight ethnic Albanians dead in the
northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica.
Speaking after the meeting, the head of the
UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard
Kouchner, said the Council took "a common position"
on the crisis. This was "first on the re-establishment of
law and order, to quiet down the situation" and then to start
"a real discussion next week" on a strategy for Mitrovica,
he said.
Dr. Kouchner emphasized that while the strategy
included security aspects, the establishment of peaceful co-existence
in Mitrovica also depended upon the provision of jobs and the
restarting of industries.
"First we have to secure the people, materially
and psychologically, and then to establish common places where
they should be able to work together," he said.
Dr. Kouchner said the Council also established
the payment regime for the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), the
civilian emergency response agency whose top leaders were installed
last month. "Already we have spent a lot of money to rebuilt
barracks and buildings. We have the money in cash to pay the people
for the year," he said.
More Albanians flee insecurity
and intimidation in Kosovo city: UNHCR.
FEBRUARY 8 -- More than 500 ethnic Albanians have fled insecurity
and intimidation in the northern part of Mitrovica since last
Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said today.
UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond said in a press
briefing in Geneva that 157 Albanians left the predominantly Serb
northern sector of Mitrovica yesterday for safety in the southern
sector. Most of them were taken south in KFOR armoured vehicles.
This brings to 550 the number of Albanians who have fled from
the ethnic violence, which erupted in the city last week.
He said reports of attacks on occupied apartments
by grenades and other explosives seem to have declined following
the declaration of a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. However, UNHCR
staff report continued pillaging of unoccupied Albanian apartments
in north Mitrovica.
UN envoy says new security
strategies for Kosovo city are being implemented.
FEBRUARY 7 -- The head of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) Bernard Kouchner said today that new strategies
for security are being implemented in the city of Mitrovica, where
ethnic violence erupted last week.
In a press briefing in Pristina, he said one
Danish battalion of the international peacekeeping force, KFOR,
has been deployed in the northern part of the city and one French
battalion in the southern part. Two German platoons and one Military
Special Unit riot platoon have also been deployed in the divided
city.
The violence flared last week in the northern
Kosovo city after a UN bus carrying 49 passengers, on Wednesday,
was hit by an anti-tank missile, killing two Serbs. After grenades
were thrown into a café in the northern, mainly Serbian,
part of the city the following day, a crowd went on a rampage
breaking into Albanian homes and leaving eight people dead. After
further disturbances, the situation in Mitrovica was reported
quiet Sunday night, but an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew remains in
effect.
Dr. Kouchner said "extremists on both sides"
were trying to stop progress made by UNMIK, but he declared: "We
are not abandoning, not for one minute, our strategy and goals
for a united Mitrovica and a united Kosovo."
He said the bus service will be restarted "in
a more secure environment" over the next few days. "Our
goal is to restore freedom of movement for all communities,"
he said.
Dr Kouchner, who cut short a trip to Japan,
visited Mitrovica yesterday and met with local Serb and Albanian
leaders, as well as with UNMIK and KFOR officials.
Ethnic violence erupts
in Kosovo, leaving at least four dead.
FEBRUARY 4 -- Ethnic violence that erupted yesterday in Kosovo's
northern city of Mitrovica has left at least four dead and 20
injured, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
reported today.
Among those killed in the clashes were at least two Albanians
and two Turks. According to preliminary information, it appears
that grenades were thrown into a Serb café, injuring several
people inside. A large crowd gathered, attacking an Albanian man
and his wife, beating them severely. A crowd then went on a rampage
breaking into Albanian homes in northern Mitrovica. Seven UNMIK
police cars were burned as well as some vehicles belonging to
the UN High Commissioiner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The spate of violence comes less than two days
after the rocket attack on a UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) bus to Mitrovica, which killed two Serbs. Mitrovica remains
tense and KFOR has imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., acting
UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel said.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General
Bernard Kouchner, on a trip to Japan, has decided to cut short
his visit and return to Kosovo. Meanwhile, Principal Deputy Special
Representative of the Secretary-General Jock Covey and senior
officers of UNMIK have gone to Mitrovica.
Condemning the violence, UNMIK said such hatred
threatens to derail the progress the people of Kosovo have made.
The Interim Administrative Council also denounced the violence
and called on inhabitants of Kosovo to refrain from further violence
and any retaliatory actions, and to cooperate with UNMIK Police
and KFOR in the investigation of the incidents and on finding
ways to prevent further outbreaks of violence.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata
also condemned the violence, which has resulted in new expulsions
of ethnic Albanians in the divided city. "The violence against
Serbs and Albanians must be brought to a halt and the humanitarian
mission of UNHCR and its partners must be respected on the ground
in Kosovo."
The violence has forced UNHCR to suspend operations
in northern Mitrovica and relocate staff to the southern side
of the city. There are 4,000 to 4,500 Albanians still living in
northern Mitrovica but many have fled to the south side, UNHCR
said.
Four administrative departments
formally established in Kosovo.
FEBRUARY 4 -- Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council continued
the build-up of the Joint Administrative Structure (JIAS) by formally
establishing today the first four administrative departments of
JIAS, under which Kosovars share the administration of the province
with the UN.
A statement issued by the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said the four structures set up the
province's highest-level administrative body were the departments
of Education and Science, Health & Social Welfare, Budget
& Finance and Local Administration.
The statement said the Council also agreed on
the competencies of the different administrative departments and
named the co-heads for 10 of the 29 proposed departments.
In addition, the Council agreed on the enlarged
Kosovo Transitional Council -- the highest level consultative
body -- and began discussions on how to assure compliance with
the agreement reached on 15 December that all parallel structures
will cease to exist when JIAS becomes operational.
"There still remains a lot of work to do
until the entire JIAS will be fully functional. Kosovo and UNMIK
experts are continuing their work on the rapid setting-up of the
remaining joint Administrative Departments and joint local administrative
structures, " the statement said.
Secretary-General condemns
attack on United Nations bus in Kosovo.
FEBRUARY 3 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all
the people of Kosovo to join him in denouncing the "heinous"
attack on a United Nations bus, in which two people were killed
yesterday.
A statement issued by his spokesman in New York
said the Secretary-General was "deeply saddened" by
the incident in which two elderly persons were killed and five
persons injured when an anti-tank rocket struck a UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) bus carrying 49 passengers between Mitrovica
and Banja.
"It is the Secretary-General's deep conviction
that, for as long as any single community of Kosovo lives in fear
because of their ethnic or religious background, none can resume
their normal life for which they have waited for so long,"
the statement said.
The Secretary-General also renewed his appeal
to Member States to "urgently contribute direly needed resources
and police" to the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK).
He said UNMIK was "working day and night
to give the people of Kosovo the opportunity to build a tolerant
society, in which the dignity and safety of human life is preserved
for all communities."
Meanwhile, UNHCR Special Envoy Dennis McNamara
said in Pristina that UNHCR was suspending all its bus lines operating
in Kosovo while the attack was being investigated.
"I am horrified by this incident,"
he said. This was a vicious attack on a clearly-marked UNHCR bus
carrying civilians."
United Nations bus in
Kosovo hit by rocket fire.
FEBRUARY 2 -- A United Nations bus in Kosovo today came under
a grenade attack that killed two passengers and injured three,
according to preliminary reports from Pristina.
The bus, clearly marked as belonging to the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was on a routine run
between the town of Banja and Mitrovica and escorted by armoured
personnel vehicles of the international peacekeeping force (KFOR).
Most of the 49 passengers were believed to be Kosovar Serbs.
Describing the incident as "grave",
UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler said this was the first time that
the bus service had come under such an attack.
The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) deplored the "senseless attack" on innocent
Kosovar residents. Jack Covey, Principal Deputy Special Representative
of the Secretary-General, said in a statement that UNMIK and KFOR
"will spare no effort in investigating this incident in order
to bring those responsible to justice."
The bus was operated by the Danish Refugee Council
as part of eight so-called "freedom of movement" bus
lines established by UNHCR to ensure safe passage in ethnically
divided communities.
UN police chief in Kosovo
says more resources are needed to fight serious crime.
FEBRUARY 2 --Murders have dropped dramatically in Kosovo but more
resources were needed to fight serious crimes, including attempted
murder and hate crimes, the chief of the United Nations police
told a press briefing in at UN Headquarters in New York today.
"We are understaffed. We need international
police and we need them desperately," Police Commissioner
Sven Fredriksen said. He noted that while the authorized strengthen
of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) police
was 4,780, there were only 1,970 international police deployed
in Kosovo today.
He said UNMIK's priority in Kosovo was twofold
-- "to be visible" so as to assure the population that
"we are there and doing the best to protect them, especially
in the minority areas," and to allocate resources to investigate
serious crime.
He said not enough people were coming forward
to assist the police with information when crime was committed.
In the beginning, he said, "everybody welcomed UNMIK police
but the honeymoon is over."
Mr. Fredriksen said UNMIK also needed resources
to train local police, up to a strength of 3,000 to 4,000. Today
there are only 176 local police cadets.
Setting up of Kosovo
joint interim administration "on track", UN official
says.
FEBRUARY 1 -- The setting up of the new joint interim administration
in Kosovo continues, despite a delay in dissolving a parallel
body, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
said in a statement today.
The Principal Deputy Special Representative
of the Secretary-General, Mr. Jock Covey, said despite the setback
a great deal had been achieved in the last six weeks and progress
towards the building up of the Joint Interim Administrative Structure
(JIAS) "remains on track."
Yesterday the "parliament" of the
Kosovo Democratic League (LDK) scheduled another meeting instead
of dissolving itself as forseen by the agreement that launched
the JIAS on 15 December. LDK was one of the three political parties
that are signatories of the agreement, under which Kosovars share
the administration of the province with UNMIK.
Mr. Covey adjourned today's meeting of the Council,
which had been expected to launch the first four operational departments
of the JIAS. "Yesterday's events were distinctly unhelpful
and have disrupted the excellent progress" made by the Interim
Administrative Council (IAC), he said.
However, he pointed out that each of the signatories
to the agreement on the JIAS has reconfirmed that "as of
this moment, all parallel structures are dissolved."
"I join with each of my fellow members
of the Interim Administrative Council in demanding clear and credible
respect for the agreement we have made together," Mr. Covey
said after the meeting.
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