UN urges Serbia's leaders to encourage Kosovo
Serbs to join in political process
28 March 2005 – The United Nations administrator of Kosovo
met with top Serbian leaders in Belgrade today and urged them
to encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in the political process
in the province where Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities
9 to 1.
"Dialogue is not only the right platform
for resolving all practical issues but also a good way to build
mutual confidence and trust as Pristina (the Kosovo capital) and
Belgrade (the Serbian capital) are moving closer to the issue
of status," Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special Representative
Søren Jessen-Petersen said.
It is hoped that talks will start later this
year on the final status of the Serbian province, which the UN
has run since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove
out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid grave human rights abuses in
fighting between Serbs and Albanians.
Terming his talks with Serbian President Boris
Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica as "encouraging
and constructive," Mr. Jessen-Petersen said: "I told
the leaders that I personally will not comment on the final status
– it is not within my mandate to do so; but I made it clear
to them once again that partition of Kosovo is not an option as
we move forward."
He welcomed the fact that several European
Union (EU) Foreign Ministers agreed with this position, and also
welcomed their statement that there should be no return to the
situation before 1999. The administrator has repeatedly called
for a free, democratic, multi-ethnic, stable and prosperous Kosovo.
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UN hails agreement on reconstructing Serbian
religious sites in Kosovo
25 March 2005 – The senior United
Nations envoy to Kosovo today welcomed a new memorandum paving
the way for the reconstruction of Serbian religious sites damaged
during violence there last year.
“This is important not just for the Kosovo
Serb population, but for all who believe in a stable, multi-ethnic,
and tolerant Kosovo, and respect for all religious sites,”
Søren Jessen-Petersen said in a statement released in Pristina.
The new memorandum of understanding launched
the €4.2 million (euro) reconstruction effort. It was signed
by Patriarch Pavle on behalf of the Serbian Orthodox Church and
Astrit Haraqija on behalf of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
in Kosovo.
In March 2004, in the worst violence since
the UN took over, an onslaught by Albanians to drive out Serb,
Roma and Ashkali communities led to 19 people being killed and
nearly 1,000 injured, as well as hundreds of homes and centuries-old
Serbian cultural sites razed or burned.
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UN envoy welcomes election of new government
in Kosovo
23 March 2005 – The United Nations administrator of Kosovo
today welcomed the Kosovo Assembly's election of a new government,
following the previous prime minister's resignation and surrender
on war crimes charges earlier this month, as reflecting the province's
democratic process and the proper functioning of institutions
which have shown political maturity within the constitutional
framework.
"I also welcome Prime Minister (Bajram)
Kosumi's expressed intention to reach out to the opposition, pledging
to involve them fully in the important issues facing Kosovan society,"
Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Søren
Jessen-Petersen said.
The UN has run Kosovo since the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid
grave human rights abuses in the fighting between Serbs and Albanians.
Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo outnumber other ethnic groups, mainly
Serbs, by about 9 to 1.
On 14 March ethnic Albanian Prime Minister Ramush
Haradinaj entered a not guilty plea at the UN war crimes tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, the Netherlands, after
having been indicted on 17 counts of crimes against humanity and
20 counts of war crimes for his role as a guerrilla commander
in the 1998-99 fighting.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen noted that in a few months
the next technical assessment had to be produced on the progress
of the so-called Standards, eight targets to build trust between
Albanians and Serbs, such as democratic institutions, minority
rights and an impartial legal system, that have to be met before
talks start on the final status of the province later this year.
"We have less than three months before
the next assessment of Standards implementation and it is critical
that the new government build upon the hard work of the past few
months and maintain both the momentum and focus on the priority
Standards," he said.
"We need to make even greater and faster
progress in those Standards that have to do with improving the
living conditions of the minorities, especially the Kosovo Serbs,"
he added.
Those issues would involve the return
of displaced persons and direct dialogue between officials in
Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital, and in Serbia's capital,
Belgrade, the administrator said.
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Kosovo: UN administrator welcomes moves towards
forming new government
18 March 2005 – The United Nations
administrator for Kosovo today welcomed progress made towards
forming a new government after last week’s resignation of
the prime minister as an important stage towards determining the
final status of the ethnically-divided Serbian province which
the world body has run since 1999.
“For a Kosovo that is getting ready for
status discussions and status, it is extremely important that
we see the democratic institutions functioning as we expect in
a democracy, in full accordance with the Constitutional principles,”
Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special Representative Søren
Jessen-Petersen said after meeting with the province’s ethnic
Albanian president, Ibrahim Rugova.
“I believe that is what we are seeing.
Two political parties have decided to form a government. They
have a majority and, if the Assembly agrees when the Assembly
meets, then we will have a government that knows exactly what
they have to do within a very short timeframe,” he added
of the province where Albanians outnumber other communities, mainly
Serbs, by about 9 to 1.
The UN has run Kosovo since the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid
grave human rights abuses in the fighting between Serbs and Albanians.
Ethnic Albanian Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj
resigned last week and surrendered to the UN war crimes tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague in the Netherlands after
being indicted on 17 counts of crimes against humanity, including
murder and rape, and 20 counts of war crimes for his role as a
guerrilla commander in the 1998-99 fighting. He has pleaded not
guilty to all charges.
Stressing the tight political timeframe, Mr.
Jessen-Petersen noted that within a month the next technical assessment
had to be produced on the progress of the so-called standards,
eight targets to build trust between Albanians and Serbs, such
as democratic institutions, minority rights and an impartial legal
system, that have to be met before talks start on the final status
later this year.
“I think we are moving through what
may have been one of the most difficult periods for Kosovo, which
is still a difficult [period], but the way it has been managed
by everybody gives me confidence that we are on track, we are
moving ahead and, once again, I count on the President and on
all political parties to play their respective roles,” he
said.
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Kosovo's ex-premier faces charges of murder,
rape and other war crimes at UN tribunal
10 March 2005 – Kosovo's former Prime
Minister Ramush Haradinaj has been charged with murder, rape,
the forced deportation of Serb civilians and other war crimes
and crimes against humanity over his role in the deadly ethnic
fighting in 1998-99 that led the United Nations to take over the
administration of the province.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which sits in The Hague, today released
the details
of the indictment against Mr. Haradinaj, who voluntarily surrendered
to the ICTY earlier this week after resigning as Prime Minister.
In a statement the ICTY said Mr. Haradinaj,
36, faces 17 counts of crimes against humanity and 20 counts of
war crimes, all connected to his role as a commander of the Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA) in the Dukagjin area. The charges, which
cover the period between March and September 1998, include murder,
rape, the deportation of civilians, unlawful detention, harassment
and the destruction of property.
Mr. Haradinaj, an ethnic Albanian, has been
indicted alongside two of his subordinates, Idriz Balaj and Lahi
Brahimaj. Those two men each face 16 counts of crimes against
humanity and 19 counts of war crimes.
The indictment alleges that the three men formed
a "joint criminal enterprise" in early 1998 to consolidate
the KLA's total control over the Dukagjin area by attacking, persecuting
and forcibly removing Serb civilians and by violently suppressing
"any real or perceived form of collaboration with the Serbs
by Albanian or Roma civilians."
While they may not have physically committed
every crime for which they are charged, the indictment states,
they are still considered criminally responsible for planning,
instigating, ordering or aiding and abetting their commission.
Mr. Haradinaj "established a system whereby
individuals were targeted for abduction, mistreatment and murder,
and whereby a systematic attack on vulnerable sections of the
civilian population was carried out." He "personally
ordered, controlled and participated in beatings of persons"
and gave tacit approval "on at least one occasion" for
detained persons to be executed.
The UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UMIK) has been in place in Kosovo since June 1999 when
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove Yugoslav troops
out of the province amid grave human rights abuses in fighting
between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs.
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UN administrator urges calm in Kosovo after premier
is indicted for war crimes
8 March 2005 – The United Nations administrator for Kosovo
today appealed for calm following the resignation of the ethnic
Albanian Prime Minister after he was indicted by the UN war crimes
tribunal for his role as a guerrilla commander in the 1998-99
fighting that led to the world body running the Serbian province.
“I understand the sense of shock and anger
over this development,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s
Special Representative Søren Jessen-Petersen said of Ramush
Haradinaj’s resignation after his indictment by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
“I appeal, however, to the people of Kosovo
to express your feelings through peaceful means. A violent response
will not help Kosovo. It will only serve the interests of those
determined to block Kosovo’s way forward. It will be a major
setback to everything Kosovo has achieved recently and it will
defeat all the recent achievements, notably those reached during
Mr. Haradinaj’s leadership,” he added.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen said he would work with
Kosovo’s political leaders to make sure that there is a
government in place as soon as possible to lead to final status
talks later this year on the ethnically divided province, which
the UN has run since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
drove out Yugoslav troops amid grave human rights abuses in fighting
between Albanians and Serbs in 1999.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen had strong words of praise
for Mr. Haradinaj. “Thanks to Ramush Haradinaj’s dynamic
leadership, strong commitment and vision, Kosovo is today closer
than ever before to achieving its aspirations in settling its
future status. Personally, I am saddened to no longer be working
with a close partner and friend,” he said.
“I appeal to all political leaders to
show responsibility by joining together in common pursuit of the
Kosovo’s higher interests at this crucial moment. Together,
we can overcome the present difficulties, and continue forward
on Kosovo’s European path towards a free, democratic, multi-ethnic,
stable and prosperous Kosovo.”
In his most recent report on the province,
Mr. Annan said that while noteworthy concrete steps have been
taken in some areas, none of eight necessary standards had yet
been fulfilled, such as democratic institutions, minority rights
and an impartial legal system to build trust between majority
Albanians and minority Serbs. Albanians outnumber other communities,
mainly Serbs, by about 9 to 1.
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Fréchette heading to Kosovo to continue
emphasis against sex abuse by UN peacekeepers
7 March 2005 – Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette
will head to Kosovo later this week to continue her tour of United
Nations peacekeeping operations around the world to emphasize
the world body's zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation
and abuse.
Ms. Fréchette travelled today to Germany
after ending a four-day visit to Côte d'Ivoire, the last
of three West African countries where the United Nations has peacekeeping
missions. Her trip comes in the wake of allegations of widespread
exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC). Some accusations include trading two eggs
or making small payments for sex.
Yesterday she met with Ivorian Prime Minister
Seydou Diarra to inform him about her mission on the zero-tolerance
policy, and also to review with him the current political situation
in the country.
They discussed South Africa's mediation to bring
peace to Côte d'Ivoire, during which the Deputy Secretary-General
reiterated UN support for South African President Thabo Mbeki's
efforts. She also said that the United Nations was ready to assist
the Ivorian authorities in organizing transparent, free and democratic
elections.
Ms. Fréchette had met with President
Laurent Gbagbo on Friday and reviewed the current situation in
the country as well as the UN contribution to the peace process.
On Saturday, following a meeting with
the senior management of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
(UNOCI), the Deputy Secretary-General held a press conference
to explain her efforts to sensitize UN staff about sexual exploitation
and abuse and the policy the UN has adopted to deal with that
problem.
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