Security Council delegation
appeals to Kosovo leaders to shun violence
APRIL 28 -- The leader of the Security Council delegation visiting
Kosovo, Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, today
made a strong appeal to the leaders of the various communities
to shun violence for the sake of the territory's future.
Speaking during the second day of the delegation's visit to Kosovo
at a special session of the Kosovo Transitional Council, Ambassador
Chowdhury urged the leaders to take a pledge "in our honour
and for yourselves to reject violence, to promote peace and security
in Kosovo," according to a press release issued by the United
Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK). For their part,
the leaders urged the Security Council to support UNMIK and its
activities.
Welcoming the delegation, the head of UNMIK,
Dr. Bernard Kouchner, said that elections, which are to be held
in October, would be the "first step in giving stability
to a society that has a lot of fresh and deep wounds."
Earlier, the delegation visited Prizren where
they met with leaders of the Turkish, Roma and Bosniac communities
and heard their concerns, particularly the issues of the return
of refugees and education in their own languages.
Later, the delegation visited Mitrovica where
they met with the local Kosovo Albanian leader, Bahjram Rexhepi,
and leader of the Serb National Council in Mitrovica, Oliver Ivanovic,
as well as representatives of other national minorities living
in the Mitrovica region. Topics at the meeting included the need
to return members of both Serbian and Albanian communities to
their homes on either side of the Ibar river, the need to unite
the city, and the need for involvement to generate employment.
In a visit to Gracanica, the delegation met
with meet Bishop Artemije of the Serbian Orthodox Church and other
Serb leaders, where they discussed the security problems for the
Serb community.
Encouraging Bishop Artemije to continue his
assistance to Dr. Kouchner and his efforts to navigate an extremely
complicated situation, Ambassador Chowdhury said that while developments
were not perfect he was encouraged to see progress.
The meeting agreed that the return of Kosovo
Serbs must begin, but in an orderly fashion, to ensure their security
and the presence of basic conditions for livelihood.
Yesterday, Ambassador Chowdhury and Ambassador
Duval of Canada, whose country currently holds the Security Council
presidency for April, met with leaders of the demonstrations that
have been taking place this week on missing persons and detainees
held in Serbian jails.
Sweden offers help for
Kosovo war crimes investigation
APRIL 28 -- The United Nations and Sweden today signed an agreement
to provide experts to assist in the investigation of war crimes
in Kosovo.
Sweden will provide four forensic teams to the Office of the Prosecutor
of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY), according to a Tribunal release today. Each team will
spend approximately two weeks in the region gathering evidence
and assisting in the exhumations of mass graves. The first team,
which will consist of three experts, will be sent to the region
within the next few weeks.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Per Anderman,
the Charge d'Affaires of the Swedish Embassy, and by Ms. Dorothee
de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh, Registrar of the International Tribunal,
on behalf of the UN Secretary-General.
On 18 April, Canada signed a similar agreement
to provide forensic experts to the ICTY, which resumed exhumation
of mass gravesites in Kosovo on 17 April. In 1999, 14 States signed
similar agreements and discussions are going on with a number
of others to provide assistance, the Tribunal says.
Security Council delegation
arrives in Kosovo amid continuing protests over missing persons
APRIL 27 -- Protests by Kosovo Albanians over missing Albanians
in Serb prisons entered their second day as the Security Council
delegation to Kosovo arrived today.
Restaurants and businesses were closed in support of the protest
in Pristina last night. Some roads entering Pristina were blocked
but this did not hamper the movement of Council members, according
to a UN spokesman in New York.
Yesterday, the demonstration included the stoning
of a UN bus carrying Kosovo Serbs, but there were no injuries,
the spokesman said.
The eight-member Security Council delegation,
led by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, began
their three-day visit today with meetings at UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) headquarters in Pristina. Tomorrow,
the delegation will participate in a special session of the Kosovo
Transitional Council (KTC).
UN Kosovo envoy says issues of detainees
and missing persons need to be addressed
APRIL 26 -- The situation of detainees and missing persons and
return of displaced persons were serious issues that needed to
be addressed with the Security Council delegates visiting Kosovo
beginning tomorrow, the head of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, said today.
He was briefing the Kosovo Transitional Council, which will hold
a special session on Friday with the Council delegates. Dr. Bernard
Kouchner said that it was his hope that the special session will
result in "a fruitful exchange of views" and will help
the Security Council better understand the reality of Kosovo today.
The issue of missing persons affected today's
attendance at the KTC meeting, with all but one of the Serb observers
absent on the advice of the security forces, following demonstrations
against continuing detainees in Serbia.
During their visit the Security Council members
will meet with local leaders, including the two community leaders
in Mitrovica, Dr. Bajram Rexhepi, President of the local branch
of Kosovo Democratic Progress Party (PPDK) and Mr. Oliver Ivanovic,
President of the Executive Board of the Serb National Council.
They will also meet with Bishop Artemije in Gracinica, and will
meet with families of missing persons during a visit to Gjakova.
Kosovo has one of the
highest rates of infant mortality in Europe, says new survey
APRIL 26 -- Kosovo has one of the highest rates of infant mortality
in Europe, with 25 deaths per 1,000 live births, a new survey
disclosed today.
According to the survey, carried out by the Office of Statistics
of Kosovo, the International Organization for Migration and the
UN Population Fund (UNFPA), 15 per cent of pregnant women do not
see a health-care worker. It also found that 20 per cent of deliveries
take place at home without professional help.
The survey, undertaken from November 1999 to
February 2000, estimates that around 9,000 of the deaths occurring
during the 12 months prior were due to the war, and that nearly
90 per cent of them occurred between March and May 1999. This
resulted in a 50 per cent decrease in natural population growth,
according to a release issued today.
The survey also found that half of the population
is less than 25 years of age, and a quarter of those aged 20-40
reside outside the territory.
The survey, the biggest population survey undertaken
in Kosovo since the entry of the international peacekeeping troops
(KFOR), also found that Kosovo has half of the population unemployed.
It said 35 per cent of the men reported that they were financially
supported by a private person.
Kosovo Councils to hold
special joint session with Security Council delegation
APRIL 24 -- The Security Council delegation visiting Kosovo later
this week will participate in a special joint session of the Interim
Administrative Council (IAC) and Kosovo Transitional Council on
Friday.
The head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),
Dr. Bernard Kouchner, briefed the IAC today on the preparations
for the Security Council visit. Eight members of the Security
Council are visiting Kosovo on 28-29 April to observe the operations
of UNMIK and to convey a message to Kosovars on the need for peace.
Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh will lead the
delegation.
At today's meeting, the IAC discussed a regulation
on the Status, Privileges and Immunities of the international
peacekeeping force (KFOR) and UNMIK, as well as an amendment to
the Hotel, Food and Beverage Tax regulation. The discussions on
these two regulations will continue at its next meeting on 2 May.
The IAC also decided to take up at its next
meeting on 2 May the issue of the appointment of the Kosovar and
international co-heads of the Department of Education and the
resignation of the Kosovar co-head of the department, Mr. Agim
Vinca. The term of the international co-head, Ms Steffie Schnoor,
ends at the end of this month.
UN operation in Kosovo
at "critical stage," Security Council told
APRIL 24 -- The Security Council was today briefed by the head
of UN peacekeeping operations, on the latest developments in Kosovo,
in advance of the Council's visit to the territory later this
week.
Under-Secretary-General of Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet,
told the Council that the UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK) was at a "critical stage" in the consolidation
of the Joint Interim Administrative Structure -- which has established
local participation in the administration of the territory --
and the lead-up to municipal elections, according to a UN spokesman
in New York.
Mr. Myet said that civil registration of the
local population in preparation for the municipal elections later
this year will begin on 26 April. A pilot project at five registration
sites has already begun in Gnjilane.
Mr. Miyet also noted that the security situation
in Mitrovica had improved recently, although the general situation
in Kosovo had shown no significant change over the past two months,
the spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said.
Mr. Eckhard also said that France, originally
scheduled to go on the Kosovo mission, would instead participate
in another Council mission, to the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. The mission to Kosovo now comprises eight members, led
by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh.
International experts
arrive in Kosovo to help combat an outbreak of tularemia
APRIL 24 -- Members of an international team of disease control
experts have started arriving in Kosovo to help combat an outbreak
of tularemia.
More than 500 people are suspected to have been affected by the
rare infectious disease, which is carried by animals, particularly
rats and rabbits. The form that is currently existent in Kosovo
has manifested itself through high fever, body aches and swollen
glands.
A UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) spokeswoman, Nadia Younes, said on Friday that the experts,
from disease control centres in Denmark, Germany, Italy and the
United States, would recommend and facilitate necessary control
measures and provide guidance on the clinical management of patients.
Ms. Younes said that a task force has been set
up to deal with the disease, which is easily transmitted to people
via contaminated food and water. Three working groups have been
established to deal with health issues, waste and sanitation,
as well as with information requirements. Laboratory equipment
to run tests on all the current 534 suspected cases has already
arrived and is being assembled.
New UN Regional Administrator
for Mitrovica meets with local Kosovo leaders
APRIL 24 -- The new Regional Administrator in Kosovo's troubled
city of Mitrovica yesterday held "straightforward, friendly
and comprehensive" discussions with two leading local political
figures.
Mr. William Nash held his first official meeting with Dr. Bajram
Rexhepi, an Albanian leader and President of the local branch
of the Kosovo Democratic Progress Party (PPDK) and Mr. Oliver
Ivanovic, President of the Executive Board of the Serb National
Council, The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
said in a press release today.
UNMIK said the talks covered a wide range of
subjects including the importance of stability in the region,
the safe return of displaced persons to their homes, the creation
of job opportunities and development of the economy in all areas.
All participants pledged their commitment to
a peaceful resolution of the issues confronting the region, the
statement said.
"I am pleased with the start we have made
in establishing the agenda and atmosphere for our future endeavours,"
Mr. Nash said. "There is no doubt, however, that much patience,
persistence and hard work lie ahead for all concerned."
Over 200 Kosovo Police
Service cadets graduate
APRIL 24 -- Over 200 Kosovo Police Service cadets have graduated
after completing a nine-week course at the police school in Vucitrn,
which is run by the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE).
The 230 cadets, the third class to graduate, will now go on patrol
with UN police officers for 19 weeks before being given executive
authority. The class, 56 of which were women, included 15 Serbs,
four Moslems, two Bosniacs, one Macedonian and one Turk.
The Police Service School is now running two
classes at a time. The fourth class, with 219 students, is now
half way through its training at the school, while a fifth class
starts today. The new intake will be the largest entry so far,
with 347 students expected. They will include 23 Serbs and five
other minority students as well as 42 women.
The staffing at the police school has also increased
to match the new numbers; there are now 172 international police
trainers from 20 countries.
Nine-member Security Council
mission to visit Kosovo at end of April
APRIL 19 -- A nine-member mission of the Security Council will
visit Kosovo later this month to send a strong message on the
need to reject violence and to see first-hand the work of the
United Nations mission in the troubled province, according to
a letter released today at UN Headquarters in New York.
The visit, on 28 and 29 April, comes in response to an invitation
by Dr. Bernard Kouchner, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special
Representative who heads the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK).
In his letter informing the Secretary-General
of the upcoming visit, the current President of the Security Council,
Ambassador Robert Fowler of Canada, said the delegation wanted
to observe UNMIK operation on the ground in order to "comprehend
better the difficult challenges faced by UNMIK."
The delegation will also seek ways to enhance
support for the implementation of the Council 1999 resolution
on Kosovo and to emphasize to all concerned the necessity to ensure
public safety and order, promote security and fully cooperate
with UNMIK, Ambassador Fowler said.
In addition, the mission will review the implementation
of the Council's 1998 resolution imposing an arms embargo on Yugoslavia
in an effort to foster peace and stability in Kosovo. The embargo
prevents the sale or supply to Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, of
arms and related material of all types and arming and training
for terrorist activities there.
The Council delegation, to be led by Ambassador
Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, will also include representatives
of Argentina, Canada, China, France, Jamaica, Malaysia, Russian
Federation and Ukraine.
In Pristina, UNMIK spokeswoman Nadia Younes
told the press that during its visit the Council delegation was
expected to make "quite a lot of field trips."
UN and EU officials join
local Kosovo leaders in a statement against violence
APRIL 19 -- Senior officials of the United Nations and the European
Union as well as members of Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council
and the Kosovo Transitional Council today issued a joint statement
against violence in the province.
The leaders said that they were "deeply concerned" about
the acts of violence that had occurred in recent days. "We
join together to condemn this violence in the strongest terms",
they said in a statement issued in Pristina.
Stressing that violence has no place in Kosovo
or in democratic politics, they called upon all peoples and communities
of Kosovo "to renounce violence once and for all and to work
together for a better future for all the communities in Kosovo."
The leaders emphasized that the creation of
a climate of tolerance in Kosovo society and in the Kosovo media
was of the utmost importance for the registration of the population
of Kosovo as well as for free and fair elections.
Among those who signed the statement were Dr.
Bernard Kouchner, the head by the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK); Javier Solana, the European High Representative
for Common Foreign and Security Policy; Christopher Patten, the
European Commissioner for External Affairs; and the leaders of
the major Kosovo political parties as well as the Serb members
of the Interim Administrative Council and the Kosovo Transitional
Council.
UN in Kosovo takes emergency
steps to combat outbreak of tularemia
APRIL 19 -- The United Nations Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) has taken emergency measures to combat an outbreak
of tularemia, a rare infectious disease that people get from animals.
UNMIK spokeswoman Nadia Younes said today in Pristina that about
480 cases have been identified and UNMIK was taking the outbreak
"very seriously." She said a planeload of antibiotics
was being brought in urgently into Kosovo.
"The first steps have already been undertaken
and more are to follow in spreading concise information about
the disease to the public," Ms. Younes said, adding that
UNMIK's Department of Health and the World Health Organization
have devised a strategy to deal with this disease.
An emergency taskforce has also been created,
chaired by UNMIK and the international peacekeeping force (KFOR).
"They will come up with quick impact projects, particularly
garbage collection here in Pristina and in the large cities, as
well as longer-term solutions," she said.
Ms Younes said the disease, which is carried
by animals and transmitted to people via contaminated food and
water, can be easily treated with antibiotics and can be avoided
when people follow simple rules.
EU leaders condemn rocket
attack in Kosovo
APRIL 18 -- The European Union High Representative for Common
Foreign and Security Policy, Mr. Javier Solana, today condemned
a rocket attack in the vicinity of the a house of a Serbian representative
to the Kosovo Transitional Council, Ms. Sonjaz Nikolic.
Yesterday attackers fired a least one rocket-propelled grenade
at an apartment building in downtown Pristina, injuring two people.
Mr. Solana said this kind of violence could
not be tolerated and appealed to political leaders of Kosovo to
make all efforts to stop the violence. He hailed the decision
of the Serbian leaders in Kosovo to participate in the international
administration of the province and appealed to everyone to make
sure that this process did not slide back.
The European Commissioner for External Affairs,
Mr. Christopher Patten, also condemned the attack. Addressing
a joint press conference with the head of the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, he said there was too
much violence in Kosovo.
"This is something that cannot be tolerated
or accepted," he said, adding that Ms. Nikoli had been "working
very hard" to create a Kosovo in which everybody can live.
Paying a personal tribute to Ms. Nikolic, he said she is a person
with "tremendous guts."
Responding to a question, Dr. Kouchner said
that allegations of involvement in criminal activities against
members of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) have always been
investigated and no member of the KPC has been found to be involved
in these activities.
In other news, Dr. Kouchner today attended the
ceremony marking the change of command of the international peacekeeping
force (KFOR) from General Klaus Reinhardt of Germany, who has
commanded operations in Kosovo for the past six months, to Lieutenant-General
Juan Ortuno of Spain.
Canadian experts to assist
in investigation of war crimes in Kosovo
APRIL 18 -- The United Nations and Canada today signed an agreement
for the provision of qualified personnel to assist in the investigation
of war crimes in Kosovo by the Office of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
A statement issued by the ICTY in The Hague said Canada would
provide a total of 24 experts, in six teams, from the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police for approximately one month's work, with the first
team leaving for Kosovo on 1 May.
Last week the ICTY announced that it would resume
exhumation of mass grave sites in Kosovo with the assistance of
international forensic teams. So far only about one third of the
known 529 gravesites have been examined and 2,108 bodies exhumed.
Between 3,000 and 6,000 Kosovars, mostly Albanians are still missing
or presumed dead, according to some estimates.
The agreement with Canada comes about three
months after UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan notified the President
of the General Assembly of his intention to accept gratis personnel
for the ICTY. Following that announcement, the Registrar of the
ICTY invited UN Member States to provide qualified personnel.
According to the Tribunal, discussions are going on with a number
of other States prepared to assist the operations of the Office
of the Prosecutor in Kosovo.
Voter registration of
Kosovars living abroad to begin next week
APRIL 18 -- Voter registration of Kosovars living abroad begins
next week in preparation for elections scheduled towards the end
of the year.
The ten-week operation, which ends on 15 July, is being conducted
by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), following
a memorandum of understanding between IOM and the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) making IOM responsible for the registration
of Kosovars residing outside Kosovo for the forthcoming elections.
In a statement issued in Geneva today, IOM said
that out-of-Kosovo registration for those in Albania and former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will be in person and will be co-ordinated
by IOM offices. The Joint Registration Taskforce, composed of
UNMIK and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
in Pristina, has also set up offices to undertake the registration
of Kosovars residing in Montenegro.
For Kosovars living outside Kosovo, Macedonia,
Albania and Montenegro registration will be by mail. Five IOM
information liaison offices will facilitate mail-in registration
in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the USA.
IOM said these offices will promote mail-in
registration in 32 countries and disseminate information on eligibility
requirements, application forms and registration procedures. The
offices will be equipped with hotlines with Albanian and Serbian
speakers to assist and advise those wishing to register.
Information on the Kosovo Civil and Voter Registration
is available on the Internet at: www.osce.org/kosovo/elections/registration/
Kosovo names election
supervisors
APRIL 14 -- Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council (IAC) today
appointed eight members of the Central Election Commission which
will oversee the running of municipal elections later this year.
A ninth place was held open for a Serb, who has yet to be named.
The eight Commissioners include two other minority community members
(a Bosniac and a Turk), representatives from three political parties,
the academia and non-governmental organizations, and an independent.
A press release issued by the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) after the IAC meeting also said that
there will be nine alternates who can fill in when members are
absent.
In other business, the IAC endorsed a draft
regulation introducing excise taxes on heating oil, which was
exempt from import duties during the winter.
The IAC was briefed on the current situation
and plans for housing reconstruction by the co-heads of the Department
of Reconstruction. It was also briefed on UNMIK's plans for the
Trepca mine complex, which over the next 18 months will be prepared
for the resumption of mining activities.
The IAC agreed to create a Trepca supervisory
board chaired by Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General,
Mr. Joly Dixon, which would include the co-heads of the Reconstruction
department, representatives of the international peacekeeping
force (KFOR) and experts nominated by the Kosovo members of the
IAC.
Following the meeting, the head of UNMIK, Dr.
Bernard Kouchner, said that the most immediate concern at Trepca
was the potential for flooding. The European Union was being approached
to discuss funding for a flood control project, he said.
UN envoy appeals for orderly and voluntary
return of Kosovo refugees
APRIL 13 -- The head of the UN mission in Kosovo, Dr. Bernard
Kouchner, today appealed for an orderly and voluntary return of
the tens of thousands of Kosovo refugees around the world.
In an open letter, he said the host countries should allow them
to return at a pace that would allow refugee and humanitarian
agencies to provide the necessary support.
Dr. Kouchner appealed to host governments to
"abide by the spirit as well as the letter" of the understanding
they had entered into with the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK) last year, which called for an orderly return
of refugees once the winter was over.
"We already have problems with too many
arriving simultaneously and with lack of regard for the dangers
to ethnic minorities," he said. Dr. Kouchner also urged host
authorities to "minimize" forced returns, especially
of those who are socially or ethnically vulnerable and those with
a history of violence.
Dr. Kouchner said an influx of refugees will
put at risk the fragile institutions set up to provide social
welfare and would "tarnish" the efforts to restore stability
and law and order in Kosovo. He warned that it was crucial to
put things right quickly, "otherwise the tens of thousands
of returnees expected this year will swamp the capacity to absorb
them," he said.
Communities have already been greatly stretched
by the large influx of people without homes and jobs who came
back voluntarily from the camps last summer. Nearly 90 per cent
of the more than 850,000 Kosovo refugees who fled the province
after fighting started in March returned by August last year,
according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
International Criminal
Tribunal to resume exhumations in Kosovo next week
APRIL 12 -- The International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) will resume exhumation of mass grave sites in
Kosovo on Monday, a spokesman for the Office of the Prosecutor
announced today in The Hague.
He told a press briefing that an ICTY forensic team of 15-20 people
would begin work next week at "possibly three sites."
International forensic teams would join it in early May. Some
300 sites are to be examined in four months, "a very ambitious
schedule," the spokesman, Paul Risley, said.
Mr. Risley told journalists that no new numbers
of exhumed bodies could be expected until autumn when the identification
of bodies would be carried out by the Victims Recovery and Identification
Commission of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK).
He said a new morgue near Orahovac, constructed
with labour donated by the Dutch military detachment in Kosovo,
would also be dedicated on Monday.
In her 10 November report to the UN Security
Council, the ICTY 's chief prosecutor, Ms. Carla del Ponte said
2,108 bodies had been exhumed in Kosovo. That figure related to
about one third of the 529 gravesites notified to the ICTY.
More than 11,000 deaths have been reported to
the ICTY but only a fifth of these have been confirmed. Between
3,000 and 6,000 Kosovars, mostly Albanians are still missing or
presumed dead, according to some estimates.
Kosovo Transitional Council
welcomes return of Serbs
APRIL 12 -- The Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) welcomed the
return of Serb representatives as three Serbs joined the advisory
body as observers today.
Randel Nojkic, Dragan Velic and Rada Trajkovic broke a six-month
Serb boycott to join the KTC. This follows a decision earlier
this month by the Serb National Council of Gracanica to participate
in the Joint Interim Administrative Structure, which enables Kosovars
to participate in the provisional administration of the territory.
The head of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, told the media after
the meeting that "everybody welcomed the return of the Serbs."
"We are now hoping the Romas will be the
next to join. Then the KTC would represent all communities of
Kosovo," he said.
The KTC was briefed on the security situation
by UNMIK police commissioner, Sven Frederickson, and the deputy
commander of the international peacekeeping force (KFOR), General
Lemiere. They told the Council that Mitrovica was calm with 180
Kosovo Albanians having returned to the north part of the city
and 12 Kosovo Serbs to the south side.
The officials said the second phase of the strategy
for co-existence was being implemented, and the confidence zone
was being expanded on both sides of the Ibar River to eventually
encompass the entire city centre, creating an area where people
can move, live and work safely.
The KTC also discussed the issue of missing
persons, and condemned the practice of demanding payment for the
release of prisoners from Serbian jails.
Hundreds of UN volunteers
to help in the administration of Kosovo
APRIL 12 -- Some 700 UN volunteers from 87 countries will be assisting
in the administration of Kosovo by June, the Bonn-based United
Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV) said today.
Some 450 of the volunteers will work with the Joint Registration
Task Force of UNMIK and the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) to register the population, UNV said in a press
release. The remaining 250 will work with UNMIK's civil administrative
arm to get the territory's public services back on track. More
than 250 volunteers are already in Kosovo.
"UN Volunteers are helping a population
stripped of its identity find itself again," said Sharon
Capeling-Alakija, the Executive Coordinator of UNV. "It's
real detective work."
She said identification papers and registries
have been destroyed throughout Kosovo and "50-year-olds have
to produce signed receipts and anything else they can get their
hands on just to prove who they are -- that they exist."
In addition to their assistance to the people
of Kosovo through UNMIK and OSCE, the UN volunteers will work
with several agencies in the field of humanitarian assistance
and reconstruction.
Ms. Capeling-Alakija will on Thursday begin
a six-day tour of Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
where a large group of UN volunteers is currently taking part
in final preparations for electoral registration of the Kosovar
population.
Kosovo's Interim Administrative
Council welcomes first Serb member
APRIL 11 -- Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council (IAC) today
welcomed its Serb member who participated for the first time in
the consultative body of the Joint Interim Administrative Structure
(JIAS), which involves the people of Kosovo directly in the administration
of the province.
The Serb member, Dr. Rada Trajkovic, was nominated earlier this
month by the Serb National Council of Gracanica to participate
in the Council as an observer for three months. Serbs have boycotted
the JIAS for the last six months, mainly in protest against insecurity
for their communities.
Dr. Trajkovic told the IAC that she would like
Serbs to participate fully in JIAS, provided the security situation
improves and measures are taken to ensure the return of displaced
people.
The head of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, said that some of the
conditions sought by the Serbs have been achieved under his "Agenda
for Co-existence" but more work needed to be done.
He said today's meeting was the beginning of
democracy and a sign to the outside world that "we in Kosovo
are working on building a tolerant, democratic and inclusive society".
Earlier, Dr. Kouchner had told the AIC that
the participation of the Serbs "will mobilize the support
of the international community for the many projects we want to
implement in Kosovo, especially for creating acceptable living
conditions for the people of Kosovo."
In today's meeting, the AIC also appointed a
Serb, Mr. Dragan Nikolic, as the Kosovo co-head for the Department
of Agriculture.
UN mission in Kosovo reports
a surge in violence against minorities
APRIL 10 -- There has been a surge in violence in Kosovo over
the past several days aimed mainly at minority communities, the
UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) reported today.
UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel told journalists in Pristina that
there were 10 murders in the past week, compared to three the
previous week, with the victims predominantly from minority communities
including. Four of the victims were Serbs and four Roma.
In addition there were incidents of attempted
murders, rape, arson and beatings. In one incident in Pec on Saturday,
a 70-year-old Bosniak woman was severely beaten by a crowd of
young Kosovo Albanians because she spoke Serbo-Croatian, according
to the UN military liaison officer who rescued her.
Ms. Manuel said that during the past week UNMIK
police made 18 arrests for major crimes, including four for murder,
two for kidnapping, two for rape and six for arson.
Meanwhile, troops of the international peacekeeping
force (KFOR) yesterday averted a potential clash between Serbs
and Albanians in Mitrovica when a crowd of Serbs crossed into
the "confidence area" near the northern end of the Western
Bridge across the Ibsar River which divides the city. KFOR spokesman
Lieutenant Colonel Henning Philipp said the Serbs were reacting
to the unexpected presence of three Albanians who were taking
photographs. The troops fired two smoke grenades to keep the crowd
back.
Also in Mitrovica, the first Special Police
Unit was deployed today. The 115-member unit from Pakistan will
take up a number of security tasks in the city where the total
number of international police now number 654.
UN warns Kosovo faces
shortfall in commitments to regular police
APRIL 7 -- Kosovo could have a shortfall of up to 350 regular
police -- more than 10 per cent of the authorized strength of
the force -- unless further contributions are forthcoming from
countries, a UN spokesperson said today in New York.
At a meeting yesterday at UN headquarters of countries contributing
civilian police to the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK), it was ascertained that there could be a shortfall of
between 270-350 regular police. The total authorized strength
of the regular force is 3,229.
The spokesperson said the UN is seeking other
sources to bring the contributions up to full strength. There
are currently 2,886 police in Kosovo, and this is expected to
rise to some 3,180 over the next four weeks. The total authorized
strength, including border and special police units, as well as
regular police, is 4,718.
On Monday, the first complete Special Police
Unit will become operational in Mitrovica, the spokesperson said.
The 114-strong unit from Pakistan is the first of 10 units of
special police scheduled to be deployed, including a contingent
from India which will be deployed in mid-April and one from Jordan
which will be deployed later in the month.
UN in Kosovo signs agreement
with Swiss government for return of refugees
APRIL 7 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
yesterday signed an agreement with the Swiss government to allow
for the return of Kosovo refugees in Switzerland, beginning next
week.
Describing the agreement as "a positive framework" for
the return of Kosovars from Switzerland, UNMIK spokeswoman Susan
Manuel said the repatriation will be staggered in such a way so
as not to trigger mass returns.
"We are working with the Swiss to ensure
that returns will be voluntary, orderly and that they take into
account the accommodation situation in Kosovo," she said,
adding that the Swiss have been "extremely generous"
with funds for housing.
Ms Manuel said UNMIK also discussed with the
Swiss government the question of the return of minorities, which
is "very sensitive" due to the security situation in
Kosovo and will be carefully monitored.
She said UNMIK also expected to receive advance
notice on the arrival and detailed profiles of Kosovars with criminal
convictions.
Security Council confirms
end of April visit to Kosovo
APRIL 5 -- The Security Council yesterday confirmed that it will
visit Kosovo on 28 and 29 April to observe the operations of the
UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and convey
a message to all concerned on the need to reject violence.
Yesterday's meeting agreed on the terms of reference for the mission
to be headed by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh.
Further details on the composition of the mission were still being
discussed, a UN spokesman said in New York today.
The Council agreed last week to visit Kosovo
following an appeal by the head of UNMIK, Dr. Bernard Kouchner,
who briefed a private meeting of the Council on 6 March.
Kosovo Serbs demonstrate
against decision to participate in local administration
APRIL 5 -- Kosovo Serbs in Gracanica, near Pristina, today demonstrated
against the recent decision by the local Serb National Council
to participate in the interim administration of Kosovo, a UN spokesman
said in New York.
The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said the
decision by the Serbs to participate in the Interim Administrative
Council and the Kosovo Transitional Council has led to some tensions
among the Serb community in Kosovo, according to the UN spokesman.
The Serb National Council of Mitrovica has continued its boycott
of the Joint Administrative Structure.
Today's demonstration comes a day after 220
troops of the international peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR)
clashed with angry crowds of 300 Serbs in the village of Sevce,
in southern Kosovo.
KFOR reported today that the confrontation erupted
when KFOR troops arrested a Serb for illegal possession of two
hand grenades. For several hours the defiant crowds erected barricades
to block the US-led KFOR troops and attacked them with stones
and sticks. Seventeen people were injured, including 12 KFOR soldiers,
four Serbs and one civilian interpreter.
In another development, UNMIK reported that
Serbian authorities early this morning detained three UNMIK police
officers after they crossed the boundary near Gnjilane by mistake.
UNMIK spokeswoman Nadia Younes said UNMIK was in touch with Serbian
authorities to expedite the release of the police, who include
two Jordanians and a German.
Kosovo Transitional Council
discusses judiciary, local administration issues
APRIL 5 -- The Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC) today discussed
wide-ranging issues related to the judiciary, security and local
administration, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) reported.
In response to some KTC members concerns over the slowness in
setting up legal and judicial institutions in the province, the
Principal Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General,
Mr. Jock Covey, outlined some of the logistical problems encountered
and some of the solutions proposed.
He also told the KTC that the decision by the
Serb National Council of Gracanica to participate in local administration
showed that moderate Serbs saw their future in Kosovo and were
switching from confrontation to cooperation.
The co-heads of the Department of Local Administration
also briefed the KTC on the situation in the municipalities.
The KTC also discussed a report on human rights
by the special UN human rights rapporteur for former Yugoslavia,
Mr. Jiri Dienstbier, which many members criticized. They agreed
to address the issue at a working group meeting later today, which
will draft a KTC response to the report.
Secretary-General welcomes
decision by Serbs to participate in administration of Kosovo
APRIL 4 -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the
decision by the Serb National Council of Gracanica to participate
as observers in the Interim Administrative Council as well as
in the Kosovo Transitional Council.
"This is an important and courageous step which underlines
the commitment of the Kosovo Serb representatives to take their
rightful place in a multi-ethnic and democratic Kosovo,"
the Secretary-General's spokesman said in New York.
Serbs have been boycotting the Joint Interim
Administrative Structure (JIAS) in which Kosovars participate
in the administration of Kosovo alongside the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in protest against insecurity for the
Serb communities. Mr. Annan said he hoped that the Mitrovica chapter
of the Serb National Council, which has continued its boycott,
will soon join the JIAS.
The spokesman said the UN is determined to take
every measure to ensure that the Serb community is able to live
with dignity and in safety in Kosovo, and said that the Secretary-General
hopes that the Serb community will soon feel confident to fully
participate in the JIAS.
The Interim Administrative Council also today
welcomed the decision. "The IAC is dedicated to work for
a Kosovo which is home to all its communities and this decision
by the Serb representatives is essential to building a new Kosovo,"
it said in a statement issued after its meeting today.
UN envoy welcomes decision
by Serbs to join local administration
APRIL 3 --The head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, yesterday welcomed a decision
by the Serb National Council of Gracanica to participate in the
joint interim administrative bodies of the province as observers
for three months.
"This was not an easy decision, and it will not be an easy
period for those Serb leaders who voted to join us. But this courageous
move will open the way to a future Kosovo can be proud of, a future
of democracy and real peace, with a place and a role for all its
communities," said Dr. Kouchner.
Serbs have been boycotting the Joint Interim
Administrative Structure (JIAS), including the Interim Administrative
Council and Kosovo Transitional Council, mainly in protest against
insecurity for the Serb communities. The Serb National Council
said they would decide after three months on whether to participate
fully, depending on improved security for the Serb communities.
The Council nominated Dr. Rada Trajkovic as
observer to the Interim Administrative Council; Father Sava Janjic,
Mr. Randel Nojkic and Mr. Dragan Velic as Serb observers to the
Kosovo Transitional Council; and Mr. Dragan Nikolic as the co-head
of the Department of Agriculture. The co-head of the Department
of Labour is also reserved for the Serbs but has not been named.
Dr. Kouchner said the decision would also enable
the return of those Serbs who fled over the past nine months.
"We will now begin the common work aimed at achieving co-existence
and eventually reconciliation," he said.
The Mitrovica branch of the Serb National Council
is to continue its boycott of the JIAS. UNMIK spokeswoman Susan
Manuel told journalists in Pristina today that the Serb National
Council of Gracanica has left a seat open on the Kosovo Transitional
Council for a representative of the Mitrovica Serbs.
UN mission in Kosovo rebuilds
more than 2,700 houses
APRIL 3 -- The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
has rebuilt 2,767 houses at a cost of $ 9 million in Kosovo since
August last year.
Announcing this today, a UNMIK spokesperson said the house-rebuilding
programme benefited more than 29,1000 people in three regions,
Mitrovica, Peje and Pristina.
The government of Japan donated $5.8 million
and France 20 million French francs ($2.92 million) for the reconstruction
programme, which utilized materials procured internationally by
the UN Office for Project Services and locally through local vendors.
Provision of cash directly to the beneficiaries was another mechanism
adopted to implement the programme.
The implementing partners of the programme included
the Japanese non-governmental organization, ADRA, and the Cellule'Urgence
of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Regional Administrators
also relied on a number of UN volunteers.
Top
of page
