Comprehensive approach key to success of
peace-building, Annan tells Bundestag
28
February - Peace-building – a multifaceted undertaking increasingly
assigned to the United Nations – requires comprehensive and
long-term efforts in order to succeed, Secretary-General Kofi
Annan told the German Parliament today.
The first UN Secretary-General to address the
Bundestag and only the fourth non-German to do so, Mr. Annan said
the German people could well appreciate the importance of sustainable
peace. “You Germans, who rebuilt your own country so magnificently
after the Second World War, with the help of your friends and
allies, are perhaps better placed than any other people to understand
what I mean.”
Rebuilding a war-shattered country “is
a very complex process, combining many different tasks –
success or failure in each of which has an inescapable impact
on the others,” Mr. Annan told a regular session of the Bundestag
in Berlin. “It is a long and delicate process in which there
are no quick fixes,” he emphasized.
Stressing the importance of staying engaged
for the long haul, Mr. Annan noted that Afghanistan was now at
the center of world attention after “a long and shameful
period of neglect.” He added that peacekeepers should leave
as soon as possible, but should never be withdrawn abruptly or
prematurely, and in that connection expressed hope that the present
International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF)
“can be extended beyond its present mandate.”
Issues related to the Force came up later during
Mr. Annan’s meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder,
after which the Chancellor told reporters that his country would
not assume the leadership role of the ISAF from the United Kingdom,
but added that Germany would not reduce its military presence
there either. The Secretary-General, during a separate press encounter,
said German officials had explained their reasons for the decision
not to lead ISAF, adding “I would have welcomed it if it
were possible.”
According to a UN spokesman, Mr. Annan’s
discussions with the Chancellor also focused on the Balkan issues,
including the breakthrough on Kosovo’s presidency earlier
today, the Middle East and next month’s International Conference
on Financing for Development in Mexico. In addition, they touched
on NATO and expansion of the European Union.
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Kosovo Albanian parties reach accord on
new government; UN welcomes move
28 February - The United Nations Security
Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed an agreement
reached early this morning in Kosovo on the province’s President
and Government, breaking the deadlock that had prevented the formation
of new governing institutions since last November’s general
elections.
Following more than five hours of discussions,
leaders of the three main Albanian parties signed an agreement
at 1:15 a.m. in the presence of Mr. Annan’s Special Representative
for Kosovo, Michael Steiner.
The three parties agreed that Ibrahim Rugova
should be President of Kosovo, and that Bajram Rexhepi should
be Prime Minister. Both posts will require a majority vote by
the 120-seat Kosovo Assembly, which is expected to meet Monday
when the remaining members of the Assembly Presidency will be
elected, and 10 ministers will be named.
“After more than three months of political
stalemate, this is good news for Kosovo,” Mr. Annan said
in a statement released in Berlin, where he is on an official
visit. “I am glad that the political leaders appear to have
put their difficulties behind them. Building a coalition such
as this takes courage. Now, after endorsement by the Kosovo Assembly
the real work will begin.”
The Secretary-General also pledged his support
to Mr. Rugova and Mr. Rexhepi, adding “I know that both are
committed to building a positive future for all of Kosovo.”
In New York, the members of the Security Council
said they were “pleased” by the agreement, which they
called “a very important step forward in the implementation
of resolution 1244 and in the establishment of provisional self-governing
institutions in Kosovo,” according to a press statement by
Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser of Mexico, the current President
of the Council.
He said Council members looked forward
to the elected leaders “working in this positive spirit to
build a better future for all inhabitants of Kosovo.” The
Council also expressed appreciation to the Secretary-General for
his contribution in facilitating the agreement and voiced its
support to the efforts of Mr. Steiner.
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UN police arrest two Kosovo murder suspects
21 February - In a raid on three apartments
in Northern Mitrovica, special teams of the United Nations police
detained two Kosovo Serbs suspected in the grenade-attack murder
of a Kosovo Albanian in February 2000.
The arrests followed an two-year investigation
of a period of brief but intense violence in Northern Mitrovica
in 2000, when several Albanians were killed and more than a dozen
Serbs were seriously injured.
The arrests, which took place early this morning,
were carried out on a warrant issued by an international judge.
Because no charges have yet been filed, the names of those arrested
have not been released.
A short time after the arrests, the UN
Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) reported protests
staged by the local population. The protesters threw stones at
UNMIK police vehicles and soldiers, and the North Mitrovica police
station was briefly surrounded, but the situation is now calm,
according to the mission.
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Kosovo: UN envoy, European official discuss
upcoming municipal elections
 |
| Michael Steiner, H. E.
Jaime Gama (right) at press conference |
20 February – The United Nations
top envoy for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, today met with a senior
European official to discuss the province’s second round
of municipal elections later this year, to be organized again
by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
“I informed the Foreign Minister about
the ongoing talks in this respect: there is a chance that we can
achieve elections, on the condition that all the leaders do their
job and show the necessary spirit of compromise,” Mr. Steiner
told a press conference in Pristina after his meeting with Portugal’s
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jaime Gama, the OSCE’s current
Chairman-in-Office.
Last night in a televised address to the people
of Kosovo, Mr. Steiner, the chief of the UN Interim Administration
Mission (UNMIK), announced that municipal elections would be held
on 21 September if the political leaders elected last November
to the Assembly acted quickly to form a provisional self-government.
The Assembly has yet to agree on key positions, including a President
and Prime Minister for the province.
Mr. Gama said “because this [process] has
a sequence, as an overall exercise for regaining political expression
for the people of Kosovo, then it makes sense that local elections
take place if there is a result from the previous general elections.”
The OSCE Chairman added that he would take this
view to the local political leaders today and would tell them
that “you are representing the people of Kosovo and should
abide by the spirit of negotiation and compromise which are the
basic rules for modern politics…I’m sure we will get
a result.”
Asked if he had a way out to break the
deadlock in the Assembly, Mr. Steiner said, “It’s up
to those who have been elected to find that solution…If we
have the necessary spirit of compromise, if the leaders cannot
follow their own party interests, but follow the interest of Kosovo,
we will find a solution…I think it is possible to do that
and I will work for that to be the outcome.”
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UN envoy urges Kosovars to work together
towards ‘fair society for all’
19 February - Vowing to lobby international
support for Kosovo, the new head of the United Nations mission
today urged the people of the province to do their part by working
with their neighbours, as well as the rest of Europe, for political
and economic advancement and “a fair society for all.”
“Kosovo is not an island in the ocean,”
said Michael Steiner, the head of the UN Interim Administration
Mission (UNMIK) and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special
Representative for Kosovo, in a televised address. “It can
only prosper if the neighbourhood prospers. It is time to talk
to Skopje and Tirana but particularly to Belgrade.”
Speaking for the first time to the people of
Kosovo since assuming his post last week, Mr. Steiner also noted
that international support and European integration did not come
for free. “There are conditions that must be fulfilled: full
respect for the rule of law, functioning institutions, a democratic
political culture, a free press and sound economic practices,”
he said.
The Special Representative pointed out three
key challenges ahead: laying the foundations for economic success;
beating crime and violence; and creating a fair society and a
safe home for all.
On the economy, Mr. Steiner said the private
sector would be the primary motor for creating jobs and income,
although it needed “fresh ideas, technical expertise and
skilled managers.” He added that despite many legal obstacles,
he would present a plan to the UN in New York on how to tackle
property reform and privatization.
As for controlling crime and violence, Mr. Steiner
urged the people of Kosovo to support the UNMIK police and the
Kosovo Police Service to uphold the standards of justice. And
as the current trial of Slobodan Milosevic showed, no one was
above the law. “Guilt or innocence can only be decided in
a court of law, not on the streets,” he stressed.
The Special Representative also said that he
expected the elected representatives of Kosovo to rise to the
challenge of creating a fair society, emphasizing that the province
would be judged by how it treats the non-Albanian communities,
particularly the Serbs. “A precondition for discussions about
Kosovo’s future status will be a fair and just society, with
dignity for all,” he said.
Mr. Steiner announced the next municipal elections
would be held 21 September, but emphasized that such a ballot
would be only possible if the elected leaders formed a new government
very soon.
Acknowledging the difficulties ahead,
Mr. Steiner said: “But I also know it is possible to solve
the political stalemate. If your leaders have the courage to overcome
narrow party interests. And if they show the political will to
act in the interest of Kosovo. Then I can help.”
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Kosovo: new UN envoy to focus on improving
governance, reviving economy
 |
| Michael Steiner speaking
to the press |
15 February – Michael Steiner, the new
head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK), said in Pristina today that he was starting out in a
“listening mode” to get feedback from all key players,
but stressed that good governance, the rule of law and revitalizing
the province’s economy would be priority areas for his administration.
Mr. Steiner, who arrived in Kosovo yesterday, told his first official
press conference that he would meet tomorrow with the main political
leaders to listen to their views and understand how they evaluate
the situation in the province.
“I must stress that I am at the moment
more into a listening mode,” Mr. Steiner said. “I think
that is only fair that I don't come in with ready made concepts
but just to listen to the elected leaders and foremost to listen
to what the people here, the Kosovars, have to say and what their
expectations are.”
He added that he intended in the first few days
to go around, not only in Pristina but also to the rest of Kosovo
and talk to people and find out what their aspirations were and
how they evaluated the situation.
On the issue of good governance, Mr. Steiner
noted that time has elapsed between last November’s elections
for a legislative assembly and the nomination of the government,
which was still outstanding.
“This happens also in other places in Europe
but I think it is now becoming high time for the parties to get
their act together, also in respect of those who have been called
to vote for them, to participate in the elections,” Mr. Steiner
said. “The leaders must know it is their responsibility.”
As for the concept of law and order, the Special
Representative said the UN wanted to build a civil society after
the model seen everywhere in the rest of Europe. “If one
wants to join the club of European democracies one has to accept
the fundamental rules,” he said. “And the part of the
fundamental rules is the rule of law.”
Mr. Steiner also noted that on the economic
front, one of the immediate challenges would be to get the privatization
going because that was the precondition for getting investments.
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Kosovo: Michael Steiner takes over as new
head of UN mission
 |
| Michael
Steiner (right) greeted at Pristina Airport |
14 February – The new United Nations
envoy to Kosovo, Michael Steiner, arrived in Pristina today, saying
that as head of the UN mission he would focus on three priorities:
the rule of law and government building, the economy and jobs,
and security in and around the province.
“It is in everybody’s interest to feel safe in Kosovo,”
Mr. Steiner, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative
for the province, told reporters at the headquarters of the UN
Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK) in Pristina.
Declaring that Kosovo was in a “new phase,”
Mr. Steiner said his work would differ from that of predecessors
Kouchner and Haekkerup.
“Under Kouchner, Kosovo was in an emergency
phase,” he noted. “Under Haekkerup, it was in an administrative
and design phase. Today Kosovo is in a transfer phase. We will
have to concentrate on the transfer of authority to the newly
elected government. I am looking forward to a good cooperation
with the people and the leaders in this regard.”
Mr. Steiner takes over at a crucial time as
Kosovo’s political leaders, elected in November, have so
far failed to put together a governing coalition for the province.
Other challenges ahead include the return of some of Kosovo’s
displaced Serb population, and organized crime and security issues.
The Special Representative said that Kosovars
had to begin looking beyond Kosovo and instead, at their surrounding
neighbourhood. “It matters what happens in Belgrade, [the
former Yugoslavia Republic of ] Macedonia and The Hague,”
Mr. Steiner said. “So we have to take a broader look at things.
Because in the end we must set Kosovo on the European track.”
Mr. Steiner was former foreign policy
chief to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and previously served
as head of the Liaison Office for German Humanitarian Aid in Zagreb
and was Germany’s key negotiator during the break-up of the
former Yugoslavia.
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Security Council urges Kosovo assembly
to resolve impasse over presidential election
13
February - Noting progress in implementing its 1999 resolution
on Kosovo, the United Nations Security Council today called on
the province’s elected representatives to resolve the current
deadlock over the election of a president for the provisional
self-governing institutions.
In a statement read out at an open meeting of
the 15-member body by its current President, Ambassador Adolfo
Aguilar Zinser of Mexico, the Council also called for Kosovo’s
representatives to allow those institutions to function in accordance
with the Constitutional Framework and the outcome of the 17 November
elections in which the province’s voters expressed their
will.
Condemning any attempt to undermine the fundamental
importance of the rule of law in Kosovo’s political development,
the Council said it supported all efforts of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the international security force (KFOR)
and the Kosovo Police Service to fight all kinds of crime, violence
and extremism.
“[The Council] supports the measures taken
to bring persons responsible for criminal acts to justice, regardless
of ethnic or political background,” Ambassador Aguilar Zinser
said, adding that it called on the province’s elected leaders
to cooperate fully with UNMIK and KFOR “in promoting the
rule of law and multi-ethnicity, security and freedom of movement
for all.”
The Council also voiced its backing for
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s new Special Representative
in Kosovo, Michael Steiner, who tomorrow will assume the position
as head of UNMIK, replacing Hans Haekkerup.
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Milosevic’s trial opens as UN prosecutor
describes crimes of ‘medieval savagery’
12 February – The prosecutor for a
United Nations tribunal today accused Slobodan Milosevic of “medieval
savagery” as the trial of the former Yugoslav President –
the first head of State to be tried for war crimes committed while
in office – got under way Tuesday in The Hague.
Mr. Milosevic is accused by the UN International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of committing genocide
and other crimes against humanity during the 1990s conflicts in
Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
“Today, as never before, we see international
justice in action, ” Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte declared
in her opening statement, urging the court and those in attendance
to recall the daily scenes of grief and suffering “that came
to define armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia.”
“The events themselves were notorious,
and a new term, ‘ethnic cleansing,’ came into common
use in our language,” Ms. Del Ponte said. “Some of the
incidents revealed an almost medieval savagery and a calculated
cruelty that went far beyond the bounds of legitimate warfare.”
The Prosecutor said the establishment of the
Tribunal was one of the measures taken by the UN Security Council,
acting for all Member States of the United Nations, to restore
and maintain international peace and security. “That is our
purpose, and our unique contribution is to bring to justice the
persons responsible for the worst crimes known to mankind,”
Ms. Del Ponte said.
Following her opening statement, Ms. De Ponte’s
senior trial attorney, Geoffrey Nice, outlined the case against
Mr. Milosevic during the daylong session. The former Yugoslav
leader had been charged in three separate indictments with multiple
counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, violating the laws
or customs of war and violations of the Geneva Convention.
Earlier this month, the Tribunal’s Appeals
Chamber granted a prosecution motion to combine all three indictments
into one trial, with evidence relating to the Kosovo charges to
be presented at the outset of the current proceedings.
The prosecution’s opening statement
is expected to continue tomorrow. Once the prosecution finishes,
Mr. Milosevic is expected to make his opening statement.
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Kosovo: UN and Yugoslavia sign key accords
on identifying missing persons
11 February - The United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia today signed three key protocols aimed at improving
procedures for identification of missing persons.
One of the documents signed at a ceremony in
Pristina – a protocol on Cross-Boundary Repatriation of Identified
Remains – sets out a means to return bodies that have been
identified to their families with minimal administrative fuss.
Another accord, the Protocol on the Exchange
of Forensic Experts and Expertise, encourages exchanges of forensic
information between Kosovo and the rest of Yugoslavia to help
identify human remains.
The third protocol on Joint Verification Teams
on Hidden Prisons establishes joint investigations into allegations
about such prisons, and ensures the results of such probes are
reported to dispel rumours and allay fears.
Jean-Christian Cady, deputy head of UNMIK
responsible for police and justice issues, signed on behalf of
the UN, while Major-General Svetislav Djurdjevic, of the Coordination
Centre for Kosovo and Metohija, acted for the Governments of Serbia
and Yugoslavia.
Milosevic war crimes trial to start Tuesday
at UN tribunal in The Hague
11
February – The trial of Slobodan Milosevic for alleged war
crimes committed during the 1990s in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo
is set to begin tomorrow in The Hague at the United Nations International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
The trial will start with the Prosecutor presenting
evidence relevant only to the charges relating to Kosovo, the
ICTY said, while the case against the former Yugoslav President
for crimes in Croatia and in Bosnia will be introduced later.
Earlier this month, the Tribunal’s Appeals
Chamber granted a Prosecution motion to merge all three indictments
against Mr. Milosevic, who faces charges of genocide and other
crimes against humanity, into a single case.
The move reversed a previous ruling by
the trial court, which ordered two separate proceedings to try
Mr. Milosevic, one for Kosovo and another combining the Croatia
and Bosnia charges.
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Gradual transfer of power to Kosovo authorities
key goal, new UN mission chief says
8 February - The coming era in Kosovo could
be characterized as one of a "step by step" transfer
of authority from the United Nations to the elected interim government,
the new head of the UN Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK)
said today.
Michael Steiner, who on 14 February will assume
his post in Kosovo as the Special Representative of Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, told a UN press briefing in New York that in order
to achieve that mission, one had to participate in the production
of a decent living perspective for the Kosovars and participate
in the production of stability and security in the region.
In the end, the region and Kosovo needed a perspective
for integration with Europe, Mr. Steiner said, and the price for
that was establishing the rule of law, functioning institutions,
a democratic political culture, a free press and a sound economic
basis.
Among some of the immediate tasks to be attacked
was the establishment of provisional institutions of self-government,
which was a job for the Kosovars themselves, with help of UNMIK,
Mr. Steiner stressed. Out of respect for processes the UN had
designed and for democratic processes, the Special Representative
said he saw it as his job to first listen to the leaders on the
ground before thinking about a solution for the current deadlock
in creating a government.
A second task was the transfer of authority
to the Kosovars, Mr Steiner said, warning that the local authorities
would inevitably make mistakes and that was a risk that had to
be accepted. In the meantime, it might take some time for UNMIK
to downsize as it changed from administrative structures to an
advisory arrangement. It was also necessary to get the representatives
of the provisional institution of self-government involved in
the dialogue with Belgrade.
The question of Kosovo's final status should
not be addressed at this time, Mr. Steiner said, noting that Security
Council resolution 1244 stipulated in that the outcome was open.
The sooner Kosovars showed responsibilities in the areas of rule
of law and institution building, the sooner that question could
be addressed. In order to avoid a re-emergence of problems already
tackled, sustainability was the catchword. Continued support of
the international community and the Security Council was crucial
to achieve the intended goals.
While the task ahead would be difficult,
Mr. Steiner said, there was one big asset: the United Nations
Mission in Kosovo. "With such a team, even sometimes impossible
tasks might be done in a reasonable way," he said.
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Kosovo: UN efforts to maintain law and
order get strong backing
6 February - Saying that they will not
tolerate a “culture of impunity,” representatives of
a large group of countries in Kosovo today voiced their full support
for the efforts by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in the province (UNMIK) and the international security force (KFOR)
in maintaining law and order.
A statement released in Pristina on behalf of
the international community in Kosovo stressed that the rule of
law was one of the top priorities in the province and the cornerstone
on which the foundation of a democratic Kosovo had to be built.
“If Kosovo is to establish itself as a
society grounded in democratic ideals and respect for the rule
of law, Kosovars must be ready to condemn criminality – regardless
of the perpetrator or the victim,” said the statement released
by the liaison offices of the United States, the European Union,
Germany, France, Italy, Demark and the United Kingdom.
Referring to a recent arrest of three men charged
with committing crimes against their fellow Albanian Kosovars,
the statement underscored that those individuals would have the
opportunity to defend themselves against the charges in a court
of law.
“We as friends of Kosovo wish to convey
in the strongest of terms that these arrests were not directed
against any organization,” the statement said, adding that
UNMIK had been very clear that those arrests were not directed
at the organizations with which the arrested individual were affiliated
at that time, or with which they were currently employed.
“We urge anyone possessing information
concerning these cases or any other crimes to share the information
with law-enforcement authorities,” the statement said. “It
is not acceptable for any groups or individuals to prevent the
application of the rule of law in Kosovo through intimidation
of witnesses or others.”
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UN reports progress on return of all Kosovo
Albanian detainees from Serbia
5 February - A senior official of the United
Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today expressed hope that all
Kosovo Albanian detainees held in Serbian prisons could soon be
transferred back to the province.
Jean-Christian Cady, deputy head of UNMIK, told
the Kosovo Interim Administrative Council (IAC) that the returns
could take place as early as March. There are presently 162 Kosovo
Albanian detainees in the Serbian prisons.
Mr. Cady, who heads a branch of UNMIK dealing
with police and justice issues, known as Pillar 1, said that the
Belgrade authorities had already handed over to the Mission a
large number of the detainees’ files. After studying these
files, he would determine which detainees were political prisoners
and could be released on their transfer to UN control, and which
should continue to serve out their sentence in Kosovo prisons.
According to Mr. Cady, the Serb approach in
discussions about these transfers was very positive.
Briefing the IAC on the situation regarding
voluntary returns of the displaced and refugees to Kosovo, UNMIK
officials explained that the return programme was entirely voluntary
and that economic prospects for the returnees were an important
aspect of UN efforts.
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