Kosovo:
UN envoy asks police chief to resign after deadly clash with
demonstrators
14 February 2007 – The top United Nations envoy in Kosovo
today asked for the immediate resignation of the UN police commissioner
there after the deaths of two people when police used rubber
bullets against pro-independence demonstrators in the Albanian-majority
Serbian province that the world organization has run since 1999.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s
Special Representative in Kosovo Joachim Rücker said the
resignation of Commissioner Stephen Curtis does not prejudge
the ongoing investigation into the two deaths. “The fact
that I have asked for his resignation is in the course of principles
and political accountability,” he added in a statement.
Mr. Rücker directed that
a special prosecutor lead the investigation, which he pledged
would be fully transparent and independent. “This loss
of life is tragic regardless of the circumstances,” he
said.
The Deputy Commissioner for
the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Police,
Trygve Kalleberg, told a news conference in the provincial capital,
Pristina, that the police used rubber bullets during last Saturday’s
demonstration by the ethnic Albanian Vetëvendosja (self-determination)
group. “Our investigation focuses in particular on all
aspects related to this issue of investigation of tactical reasons,”
he said.
The demonstration followed
this month’s unveiling of UN proposals for the future
status of the province, where Albanians outnumber Serbs and
others by 9 to 1.
The provisional plan, drawn
up by Mr. Ban’s Special Envoy for the status process Martti
Ahtisaari, calls for the province to have the right to govern
itself and conclude international agreements, including membership
in international bodies, with an international civilian and
military presence supervising the new arrangements.
But it does not specifically
mention independence, which Serbia rejects and which many ethnic
Albanians seek. The UN has run the province ever since North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces drove out Yugoslav
troops in 1999 amid brutal ethnic fighting.
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Kosovo: UN mission says autopsies will be
performed on dead protesters
12 February 2007 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission
in Kosovo announced today that autopsied are being performed
on the bodies of two protesters who died after a violent demonstration
in the province’s capital, Pristina, at the weekend.
UN Police Commissioner Stephen
Curtis voiced sadness over the deaths, which occurred after
pro-independence protesters tore down barricades and threw stones
at UN Police officers as they attempted to enter government
buildings. The Mission, known as UNMIK, said the police responded
with irritant gas.
Mr. Curtis said that while
everyone has a right to peaceful protest, violence was unacceptable.
He also invited Kosovo’s institutions to independently
scrutinize the UN’s investigation into the matter.
Earlier this month, the Secretary-General’s
Special Envoy for the future status process Martti Ahtisaari
presented a provisional plan under which Kosovo would have the
right to govern itself and conclude international agreements,
including membership in international bodies, with an international
civilian and military presence supervising the new arrangements
and helping to ensure peace and stability.
But the plan, which was presented
to Serbia and to the ethnic Albanian Kosovo authorities, does
not specifically mention independence for the province, which
the UN has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops
in 1999 amid brutal ethnic fighting.
Serbia rejects independence,
a goal sought by many of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians, who
outnumber Serbs and others by 9 to 1. Mr. Ahtisaari will now
discuss his plan with the parties before finalizing it and sending
it to the Security Council.
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Kosovo:
UN envoy to present ‘very clear statement’ on future
status by end of March
8 February 2007 – The United
Nations envoy for the future status of Kosovo said today that
any suggestion implying that the provisional plan he presented
last week meant independence for the Albanian-majority Serbian
province, which the UN has run since 1999, came from the parties,
and he hoped to make his own view “very clear” by
the end of March.
Under the plan Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for the status process, Martti
Ahtisaari, presented to Serbian and ethnic Albanian Kosovo authorities
on Friday, the province would have the right to govern itself
and conclude international agreements, including membership
in international bodies, with an international civilian and
military presence supervising the new arrangements and helping
to ensure peace and stability.
At a news conference today
at UN Headquarters in New York, where he was meeting with Mr.
Ban and other senior officials on the status issue, Mr. Ahtisaari
was asked if he would characterize his proposed plan as independence
in all but name.
Serbia rejects independence,
a goal sought by many Albanians who outnumber Serbs and others
by 9 to 1 in the province, which the UN has run ever since North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces drove out Yugoslav
troops amid brutal ethnic fighting.
“Both parties have drawn
the conclusion supposedly on the basis of this package that
if I were to interpret them and not say what my view is, or
either say I approve it or not… it looks like they are
seeing this package as meaning independence which will be supervised
by the international community,” Mr. Ahtisaari replied.
He noted that he was discussing
his plan over the coming weeks with the parties for possible
constructive amendments and, allowing for a week to 10-days
delay that Serbia is reportedly seeking after its recent election,
he hoped to be able to send a final version, elaborating on
the status issue, to the Security Council before the end of
March. “There will be a very clear statement on that,”
he added.
Mr. Ahtisaari, a former Finnish
president with long UN experience in a wide range of areas,
stressed the grave economic state the province is in. “Everyone
in Kosovo agrees that the dire economic situation needs most
urgent attention,” he said, noting that his settlement
plan outlines provisions enabling sustainable economic development.
“The aim of the settlement
is to lay the foundation for a future Kosovo that is viable
and stable, a future Kosovo where members of all communities,
Albanians, Serbs and other communities can live a dignified,
safe and economically more sustainable life,” he declared.
Under the plan presented to
the sides last week, European Union (EU) Special Representative
would act as an International Civilian Representative, with
ultimate supervisory authority over civilian aspects of the
settlement, including the power to annul laws and remove officials
whose actions are determined to be inconsistent with it.
A European Security and Defence
Policy Mission will monitor all areas related to the rule of
law, helping to develop efficient, fair and representative police,
judicial, customs and penal institutions, and having the authority
to assume other responsibilities to ensure the maintenance and
promotion of the rule of law, public order and security.
An International Military
Presence led by NATO will provide a safe and secure environment
and support of Kosovo’s institutions until such time as
those institutions are capable of assuming the full-range of
security responsibilities.
Other provisions call for
a constitution enshrining the needed principles to protect cultural,
language, religious and education rights, and wide-ranging decentralization
focusing in particular on the specific needs of the Serb community.
All refugees and internally
displaced persons will have the right to return and reclaim
their property and possessions, with Kosovo and Serbia cooperating
fully with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
to resolve the fate of missing persons.
In 1999, hundreds of
thousands of ethnic Albanians fled, returning only after NATO’s
intervention, when an estimated 250,000 Serbs and others left
after the withdrawal of Serbian forces. Only some 16,000 of
these have so far returned.
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Kosovo to have right to govern itself, join
international bodies under UN plan
2 February 2007 – The Albanian-majority
Serbian province of Kosovo will have the right to govern itself
and conclude international agreements, including membership
in international bodies, with an international civilian and
military presence supervising the new arrangements and helping
to ensure peace and stability, under United Nations plans released
today.
But the executive summary
of the plan, presented today to the Serbian and ethnic Albanian
Kosovo authorities by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s
Special Envoy for the future status process, Martti Ahtisaari,
does not specifically mention independence for the province,
which the UN has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav
troops in 1999 amid brutal ethnic fighting.
Serbia rejects independence,
a goal sought by many Albanians in Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians
outnumber Serbs and others by 9 to 1. Mr. Ahtisaari will now
discuss his plan with the parties before finalizing it and sending
it to the Security Council.
“The settlement package
that I have presented to both parties today represents a compromise
proposal,” he told news conferences in Belgrade and Pristina,
the Serbian and Kosovo capitals. “I am willing to consider
constructive amendments and I’m willing to integrate compromise
solutions that the parties might reach.”
Under Mr. Ahtisaari’s
proposals, a European Union (EU) Special Representative would
act as an International Civilian Representative, with ultimate
supervisory authority over civilian aspects of the settlement,
including the power to annul laws and remove officials whose
actions are determined to be inconsistent with it.
A European Security and Defence
Policy Mission will monitor all areas related to the rule of
law, helping to develop efficient, fair and representative police,
judicial, customs and penal institutions, and having the authority
to assume other responsibilities to ensure the maintenance and
promotion of the rule of law, public order and security.
An International Military
Presence, led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
which drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999, will provide a safe
and secure environment and support of Kosovo’s institutions
until such time as those institutions are capable of assuming
the full-range of security responsibilities.
Other provisions address the
demands of a multi-ethnic society, with a constitution enshrining
the needed principles, to protect the rights of all communities,
including culture, language, education, and symbols, as well
granting specific representation for non-Albanians in key public
institutions and requiring that that certain laws may only be
enacted if a majority of the Kosovo non-Albanian legislative
members agree.
The plan calls for wide-ranging
decentralization, focusing in particular on the specific needs
and concerns of the Serb community, which will have a high degree
of control over its own affairs such as secondary health care,
higher education and financial matters, including accepting
transparent funding from Serbia. Six new or significantly expanded
Kosovo Serb majority municipalities will be set up.
Kosovo’s justice system
is to be integrated, independent, professional and impartial,
ensuring access to all, with the judiciary and prosecution service
reflecting its multiethnic character.
Provisions on religious and
cultural heritage will ensure the unfettered and undisturbed
operation of the Serbian Orthodox Church and more than 40 key
religious and cultural sites will be surrounded by Protective
Zones to prevent any disruptive commercial and industrial development
or construction. The Church will be granted inviolability of
its property, freedom from taxation and customs duty privileges.
All refugees and internally
displaced persons will have the right to return and reclaim
their property and possessions, with Kosovo and Serbia cooperating
fully with the International Commission of the Red Cross to
resolve the fate of missing persons.
In 1999, hundreds of thousands
of ethnic Albanians fled, returning only after NATO’s
intervention, when an estimated 250,000 Serbs and others left
after the withdrawal of Serbian forces. Only some 16,000 of
these have so far returned.
The plan provides for a multi-ethnic
democratic security sector with significant local ownership
while retaining a level of international oversight necessary
for ultimate success in this sensitive area. The Kosovo Police
Force will have a unified chain of command, with local police
officers reflecting the ethnic composition of the municipality
in which they serve.
A new multi-ethnic Kosovo
Security Force will be set up within a year with a maximum of
2,500 active members and 800 reserve members.
Once the settlement enters
into force, there will be a 120 day transition period during
which the mandate of the UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK) will stay unchanged. During this period, the
Kosovo Assembly, in consultation with the International Civilian
Representative, will be responsible for approving a Constitution
and the legislation necessary for the implementation of the
plan.
At the end of the period,
UNMIK’s mandate will expire and all legislative and executive
authority vested in it will be transferred to the Kosovo authorities.
Within nine months general and local elections will be held.
The International Representative’s mandate will continue
until the International Steering Group of key international
stakeholders who appoint him or her determines that Kosovo has
implemented the terms of the settlement.
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