Annan concerned at situation
at Kosovo/FYR of Macedonia border
28 FEBRUARY – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today expressed
his grave concern at the recent occurrence of violence in the
border area of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
A spokesman for the Secretary-General said in a statement that
Mr. Annan was particularly alarmed "that the recent deterioration
has resulted in the displacement of civilians in the area."
At the same time, Mr. Annan was encouraged,
"by the fact that a NATO political and military mission is
visiting Skopje today to assess the situation on the ground, and
that KFOR has stepped up patrols and enhanced monitoring the border
between Kosovo and the FYROM," the statement said.
The Secretary-General called on all the parties
to exercise restraint and reiterated his conviction that the situation
must be resolved by political means.
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) reported today that the number of ethnic Albanians fleeing
to Kosovo from a mountain village in neighbouring Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia had risen to over 500 -- an increase of
200 since Monday.
UNHCR spokeswoman Astrid van Genderen Stort
told reporters in Pristina that the latest group of arrivals had
fled following an intensive firefight on Tuesday around the mountain
village of Tanushevci. The refugees cited the increased tension
and build-up of forces in the area as another reason for their
flight.
UN mission in Kosovo welcomes
Yugoslav amnesty for jailed Kosovars
27 FEBRUARY – The United Nations Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today welcomed the Amnesty Law approved
by the Yugoslav Parliament that paved the way for the release
of more than 100 Kosovo Albanians detained in Serbian prisons.
"Finally we can welcome back many of those who were held
for too long in prison," said Gary Matthews, UNMIK Principal
Deputy Special Representative. "With their return, a significant
step will be taken towards healing some of the wounds of war."
However, Mr. Matthews noted that the head of
UNMIK, Hans Haekkerup, currently attending meetings in Brussels,
had demanded the return of all prisoners held in the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia to Kosovo, where they would undergo judicial review
by UNMIK.
UNMIK, Mr. Matthews said, took note of reports
of statements made by Yugoslav Justice Minister Momcilo Grubac
to Parliament, in which the Minister reportedly indicated that
the 143 Djakovica residents held on terrorism charges could be
released soon.
Mr. Matthews called on Yugoslav President Vojslav
Kostunica to free the Djakovica group, and to return all others
who are detained as soon as possible.
In a related development, the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged the European Union (EU) to deploy
"an adequately staffed observer mission" in southern
Serbia's predominantly Albanian-populated Presevo area, to help
contain mounting tension between ethnic Albanians and Serbs.
A UNHCR spokesman said today that the agency
head, Ruud Lubbers, had addressed letters to Swedish Foreign Minister
Anna Lindh (whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency)
and Javier Solana (the EU's High Representative for the Common
Foreign and Security Policy). The letters, which were forwarded
to the EU leaders last Friday, drew attention to the plight of
civilians uprooted by a conflict between Yugoslav security forces
and armed Albanian militants.
"If the violence continues to escalate,
UNHCR's efforts to create conditions for people to return home
in southern Serbia and in Kosovo will be impeded and further displacement
will undoubtedly result," Mr. Lubbers warned, adding that
the conflict might spread and engulf other areas.
Refugees flee to Kosovo
from former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: UNHCR
26 FEBRUARY – More than 300 people have fled to Kosovo amid
reports of rising tensions on the border between Kosovo and the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the UN refugee agency reported
today.
The last arrivals were yesterday, mainly in the village of the
Debelde and Vitina area, Astrid van Genderen Stort, a spokeswoman
for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters
in Pristina. Of the 309 new arrivals since last week, more than
100 arrived yesterday.
The refugees told UNHCR that they had fled following
the killing of a young man in mid-February. But they also reported
rising tensions in the border area, with an increase of forces
of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as well as some shootings
near the village of Tanufhevci. There was no independent confirmation
of these reports, according to a UN spokesman.
In this connection, the international force
(KFOR) has increased its ground patrolling and its surveillance
of the border, a KFOR spokesman told reporters in Pristina.
Top UN official in Kosovo
undertakes first international mission
23 FEBRUARY – Starting his first round of international
meetings, the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK) today attended the Balkans Economic Cooperation
Summit in Skopje, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
a UNMIK spokeswoman announced in Pristina.
UNMIK head Hans Haekkerup will then meet with the European Union
General Affairs Council in Brussels on 26 February, with the North
Atlantic Council in Brussels on 28 February and with the Permanent
Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) in Vienna on 1 March, UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel also
said.
In Brussels and Vienna, Mr. Haekkerup will brief
members on his first six weeks in Kosovo. Discussions will focus
on the way ahead and the work programme of UNMIK, with emphasis
on the establishment of a legal framework for elections. Mr. Haekkerup
is expected to ask for OSCE support in specific areas, such as
election preparation.
In preparing for these meetings, Mr. Haekkerup
elicited the views of the local Kosovo leadership, Ms. Manuel
said.
Second phase of identity
card distribution begins in Kosovo
22 FEBRUARY – The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) today started the second phase of identity card distribution,
UNMIK announced in Pristina.
In this second, much larger phase, 400,000 ID cards are being
produced and distributed until May for those who registered last
summer. Some 35,000 cards have been made available in the first
phase, which began in mid-December.
About 21,000 ID cards are now available from
post offices in 12 municipalities, and 10,000 are printed every
day. The information gathered from the ID card will form the basis
of the civil registry, which will manage items ranging from travel
documents to a comprehensive voter list. The UNMIK travel document
has so far been recognized by 16 European countries and the United
States.
In the final phase, starting in May, the remaining
600,000 ID cards will be issued, to those registering in the exercise
that started last November.
Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council
condemns attack on Kosovo Serbs
20 FEBRUARY – Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council (IAC)
today condemned "in the strongest terms" the 16 February
attack on a convoy of buses carrying Kosovo Serb civilians.
"This is a terrible tragedy, not only for the victims but
for all the people of Kosovo," the IAC said in a statement
issued in Pristina. "The international community has judged
this tragedy and other attacks in recent days very harshly."
Terming the attack "terrorist" and
"cowardly", the IAC called for "an immediate end
to extremist acts that jeopardize the future of Kosovo."
Ten people were killed and dozens more were
seriously injured in Merdare when the first of a convoy of buses
crossed a culvert packed with explosives, which were detonated
by a command wire.
Security Council members condemn attack
against Kosovo Serbs
16 FEBRUARY – Members of the United Nations Security Council
today strongly condemned what they called a "terrorist attack"
on a convoy of buses carrying Kosovo Serb civilians, which left
at least seven people killed, ten seriously wounded and dozens
more injured.
According to a report from the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), the first bus in the convoy at Merdare crossed
a culvert packed with explosives, which was detonated by a command
wire. The attack occurred just after the buses entered Kosovo
from Serbia.
In a statement to the press, Council members
expressed their shock and called for an immediate investigation
to bring the perpetrators to justice. "This latest tragedy
follows a recent upsurge in violence in Kosovo which is totally
unacceptable and must be reversed," the Council said, calling
on all inhabitants of Kosovo to stand against the violence of
extremists working against peace and stability, and on Kosovo
political leaders to contribute to the stability of the situation.
The Council statement was delivered to the press
by Council President Saïd Ben Mustapha of Tunisia, which
holds the UN body's rotating presidency this month.
The attack was equally condemned, "in the
strongest terms possible," by UNMIK chief Hans Haekkerup.
"It is a terrible tragedy, not only for the victims and their
families, but for all the people of Kosovo," he said in a
statement issued in Pristina. "Those who believe that such
a contemptible act might in some way advance the political aspirations
of small, extremist and marginalized sectors of Kosovo's society
are seriously mistaken."
In a separate development, the Secretary-General
today appointed Gary L. Matthews of the United States as Principal
Deputy Special Representative in Kosovo, replacing Jock Covey,
also of the United States.
Announcing the appointment, a UN spokesman said
Mr. Matthews was most recently Deputy High Representative in Bosnia
and Herzegovina and Supervisor for Brcko. Before that, he was
Regional Director in the Bosnian town of Mostar for the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Mr. Matthews is
a retired ambassador who served in the US Foreign Service for
30 years.
Kosovo: UN agency confirms
plutonium found in depleted uranium ammunition
16 FEBRUARY – Traces of plutonium have been detected in
the depleted uranium ammunition found at sites in Kosovo that
were investigated last November by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), the agency announced today, saying the findings
were not cause for immediate alarm.
In a statement released in Geneva, UNEP said the existence of
plutonium was confirmed by the two laboratories that analyzed
the ammunition tips -- called penetrators -- the Swiss AC-Laboratory
Spiez and the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute (SSI). Together
with three other European laboratories, these labs have been analysing
a total of 340 soil, water and other samples taken during the
November field mission, which included experts from the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The traces of isotopes Pu-239/240 were found
in four different penetrators. The amount of plutonium in the
penetrators varied from 0.8 to 12.87 "becquerels" --
a measure of radioactivity -- per kg. In January, UNEP confirmed
that some labs had also found the uranium isotope U-236 in the
penetrators.
The presence of these elements in the depleted
uranium indicates that at least some of the material has been
in nuclear reactors. However, the amount of plutonium found in
the penetrators is very low and does not have any significant
impact on their overall radioactivity, UNEP said.
"According to an assessment by the Swiss
AC-Laboratory Spiez, these newest findings about the composition
of the depleted uranium only lead to a minor change in the overall
radiological situation and should therefore not cause any immediate
alarm," said UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer.
UNEP's recommendations on what steps should
be taken next will be based on the full set of laboratory analyses,
which are still ongoing, and will be presented in early March
in the report on the environmental effects of depleted uranium
in Kosovo, Mr. Toepfer noted.
A byproduct of nuclear power, depleted uranium
is used for heavy tank armour, anti-tank munitions, missiles and
projectiles.
Kosovo Transitional Council
condemns spate of violence against Kosovo Serbs
14 FEBRUARY – The Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) today
condemned the violent incidents that occurred yesterday in the
province, which claimed the life of one Kosovo Serb and injured
several others.
"We demand extremists to cease these attacks as they only
serve to damage the prospect for stability and democracy,"
the KTC said in a statement. "We deplore any form of interethnic
hostility which has caused a renewal of violent incidents."
Speaking to reporters today in Pristina, a spokesperson
for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said
one Kosovar Serb man was killed and two others injured when their
convoy was ambushed by a sniper outside Strpce, according to the
latest information available to the UN mission. The convoy was
returning from Serbia, accompanied by Polish and Ukrainian elements
of the international force (KFOR), spokesperson Susan Manuel said.
In addition, four young Kosovar Serbs from the
same family were injured when their tractor hit a land mine near
Zubin Potok yesterday, Ms. Manuel said. In Klokot, a Kosovo Serb
farmer was shot in the leg while tending cattle.
"The suspicion is that there could be some
sort of organization, due to the number of incidents all on one
day and the fact that we had a period of relative absence of violence,"
Ms. Manuel said.
For the KTC, these and other attacks carried
out on Kosovo Serbs and their property are "indications that
an unacceptable level of violence continues to plague Kosovo."
The Council reaffirmed its commitment to the freedom of movement
of all residents.
Security Council briefed
on latest developments in Kosovo
13 FEBRUARY – For the elections in Kosovo to take place
this year, decisions on the key elements of the institutional
framework must be completed by April, the Security Council was
told today.
Briefing the Council on the next phase of the UN Interim Administration
in Kosovo (UNMIK), Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations,
Jean-Marie Guéhenno said that while there had been progress
in the establishment of the Municipal Assemblies following last
October's municipal elections, it would take eight months to prepare
for province-wide elections.
Elections were among the main priorities for
future work of UNMIK, he said, which included a legal framework
for provisional self-government; an effective law enforcement
and judicial system; regular dialogue with the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia; and resolution of legal property issues. Currently,
UNMIK was elaborating the key principles, which would serve as
the foundation for future discussions on the legal framework for
elections and provisional self-government.
That "complex exercise" should not
be rushed, Mr. Guéhenno said, as "hasty decisions
may set the mission on a course from which it is difficult to
deviate."
The democratic changes in the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia provided an opportunity for a more constructive
and meaningful relationship with Belgrade, Mr. Guéhenno
said, adding that the establishment of an UNMIK Belgrade Office
had been agreed in principle, and that negotiations continued
on detainees and missing persons from Kosovo.
In the ensuing debate, most speakers agreed
that it was essential to define the mandate and composition of
a Kosovo-wide Assembly prior to the election and to ensure participation
of all ethnic groups. Speakers also expressed concern about recent
violence in Mitrovica, condemning attacks on international personnel
there. Another area of concern was the Presevo Valley in southern
Serbia, the theatre of activities of ethnic Albanian fighters,
which was important for the overall security of the region.
In a first, a woman will
head Kosovo's postal service
7 FEBRUARY – For the first time in Kosovo's history, a woman
was appointed to lead the province's Post and Telecommunications
Enterprise (PTK), the United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) announced today.
The UN Mission said that Leme Xhema was selected out of five candidates
who had applied for the post. The selection process was conducted
by an international management consulting firm, with the assistance
of observers from PTK and UNMIK.
The candidates participated in an "assessment
centre" during which their reactions, strengths and weaknesses
under stress were tested. During the interviews, special attention
was paid to the candidates' leadership, social competence and
stress management skills.
According to an UNMIK statement, Mrs. Xhema
listed as her major goals "the creation of a working atmosphere
within PTK that will help the employees heal the deep wounds of
war and restore a non-discriminatory approach to PTK customers,"
as well as increasing services, efficiency and profitability.
She had previously served for 17 years as a finance manager in
a large corporation.
In another development, the Kosovo Transitional
Council discussed the situation in Mitrovica and Presevo Valley,
with many members expressing support for the Joint Declaration
signed on 1 February by UNMIK, the KFOR international security
force and Kosovo Albanian leaders. The Declaration, aimed at restoring
peace in the divided city of Mitrovica, was issued following days
of violence between the Albanian and Serb communities.
Hans Haekkerup, who heads the UN Mission, told
the press after the meeting that UNMIK and KFOR were determined
to protect communities on both sides of Mitrovica, but it was
"very important that the Kosovo Serbs or relevant representatives
of the Kosovo Serbs are behind what we are doing." Additional
UNMIK Police, KFOR and local police officers had been deployed,
he said, and discussions with representatives of the Kosovo Serb
community were aiming at a political solution of the tensions
in Mitrovica.
Kosovo: UN mission reports
first conviction against trafficking of women
5 FEBRUARY – The first guilty verdict for trafficking in
women has been issued in Kosovo, a United Nations spokesman reported
today in Pristina.
A three-and-a-half-year sentence was imposed on a Kosovo Albanian
male -- the first defendant in a trial under way in Pec in which
three men were charged with trafficking in women and controlling
them for the purpose of prostitution, said Derek Chappell, a spokesman
for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
"This verdict sends a strong message to
those who would buy and sell human beings for profit: that the
courts will support the police with strong sanctions," he
said, adding that the trial saw the first use of new regulations
signed into law shortly before the departure of the former head
of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner.
Under the regulations, any property used for
trafficking purposes -- such as vehicles -- can be seized by the
police and then sold to support a fund to repatriate the victims.
Meanwhile, in north Mitrovica, the Kosovo police
entered an apartment and rescued three young Moldovan women who
were being held against their will, the spokesman said. The women,
smuggled from Serbia, expressed a desire to return to their home
country.
The spokesman also reported a growing drug use
in Kosovo. The latest incident occurred yesterday in Prize, where
UNMIK police entered a house and found three people under the
influence of narcotics. A Kosovo Albanian male was arrested after
a search in the house discovered 10 grams of heroin, packaging
supplies and an undisclosed amount of cash.
The incident came shortly after the seizure
of 65 bags of heroin near Pristina two weeks ago and continuing
seizure of drugs in the Gnjilane area, the spokesman said. The
heightened profile of domestic drug abuse, he said, was a reflection
of the UN police being able to focus on local problems, coupled
with a greater willingness by local people to report crimes to
the UNMIK and Kosovo police.
After days of violence,
UN reports quiet in Kosovo's divided city of Mitrovica
2 FEBRUARY – After a recent spate of violence, the situation
in Mitrovica was quiet today, according to a spokesperson for
the United Nations Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK).
Susan Manual told reporters in Pristina that riots had continued
yesterday in southern Mitrovica, where two Kosovo police officers
were slightly injured by stun grenades.
She expressed hope that a declaration signed
yesterday by Kosovo Albanian leaders would work to restore calm
in the city. The text, also endorsed by UNMIK chief Hans Haekkerup
and KFOR Commander General Carlo Cabigiosu, warned that "unless
the security situation in Mitrovica stabilizes, it will be impossible
to address longer-term issues involving the future viability and
integration of the city."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) today expressed concern about the "extremely
worrying situation" facing minorities in both the northern
(largely Serb) and southern (largely Albanian) parts of the city,
and urged both parties to exercise restraint.
"The fact that the anger of the crowds has over the past
days been directed against UN peacekeepers can only be seen as
a deterioration of the situation and a very worrying development,"
said Astrid van Genderen Stort.
She said the agency, which pulled its staff
out of southern Mitrovica following this week's violence, would
reassess the security situation over the weekend to determine
when they could return.
Kosovo Albanian leaders
condemn violence in Mitrovica
1 FEBRUARY – Kosovo Albanian leaders today condemned recent
violence in the divided city of Mitrovica through a declaration
aimed at restoring calm to the troubled area.
The Kosovo Albanian leaders issued their declaration following
a two-hour meeting in Mitrovica with the head of the UN Interim
Administration Mission (UNMIK), Hans Haekkerup, and the KFOR Commander,
General Carlo Cabigiosu. Recognizing that the situation in Mitrovica
posed a significant threat to a safe and secure environment, they
called on all citizens to remain calm and to refrain from further
acts of violence.
The declaration also deplored violence directed
at KFOR, which resulted in numerous injuries to soldiers "who
are here to provide for a secure environment." It also expressed
concern about potential attacks against international civilian
representatives.
The assembled leaders called for additional
security forces to be deployed in Mitrovica, including KFOR troops,
UN police and local police. They also urged greater freedom of
movement for all residents, the return of displaced families to
their homes, and the establishment of functioning political structures.
According to the declaration, the violence
started as a result of the killing of a 15-year-old Kosovo Albanian
boy, and led to other serious injuries, including to KFOR soldiers.
A UN spokesman described the situation in Mitrovica as tense but
calm, with KFOR troops patrolling and keeping crowds of Albanians
from crossing the bridges across the Ibar River, which separates
the Albanian and Serb communities.
On Wednesday, a total of 21 KFOR peacekeepers
were injured, one of them seriously, in three separate incidents
involving stones and grenades.
No firm link between depleted
uranium and medical cases in Kosovo: WHO team
1 FEBRUARY – Following an extensive review, experts from
the World Health Organization (WHO) have found no firm evidence
linking individual medical cases in Kosovo to the use of depleted
uranium munitions during the 1999 Balkans conflict.
According to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), which requested the review, the WHO team concluded
that scientific and medical studies have not proven a link between
exposure to depleted uranium and the onset of cancers, congenital
abnormalities or serious toxic chemical effects on organs.
At the same time, the WHO experts noted that
caution had been expressed by scientists who would like to see
a larger body of non-military, independent studies to confirm
this viewpoint.
Soldiers were most likely to have inhaled uranium
metal and oxides in dusts and smoke, according to the WHO team,
while the general population, except possibly in isolated incidents,
would probably not have been exposed in this manner.
Pointing out that civilians could most likely
come into contact with the substance by picking up objects on
the ground, the WHO team concluded that routine measures to remove
depleted uranium objects from the ground surface would be beneficial.
But the experts did not recommend the creation of an immediate,
separate cleanup programme at depleted uranium sites.
According to UNMIK, the team emphasized that
"depleted uranium issues are small in comparison" to
the deaths and injuries caused by the presence of high levels
of lead in people in Mitrovica as well as the "alarmingly
high" rate of traffic deaths.
The four-member WHO expert team reached its
conclusions following meetings with concerned officials and visits
to sites hit by depleted uranium-tipped shells. WHO's findings,
which will be published next week, were presented to UNMIK in
draft form on Tuesday.
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