Kosovo:
UN envoy hails reconstruction in Roma neigbourhood
25 April 2006 – The senior United
Nations envoy to Kosovo today hailed a ground-breaking ceremony
marking the start of reconstruction at the Roma Mahala neighbourhood
that will allow displaced people to return to their homes there.
The event is part of the Return
to Roma Mahala Project which will involve building two apartment
blocks each housing two dozen families and 57 houses in the
first phase.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s
Special Representative, Søren Jessen-Petersen, called
the initiative a lasting solution for the Roma to go back to
their homes. “Today we are literally paving the way for
the return in freedom, in safety and in dignity of many Roma
who have been displaced for far too long,” he said.
Stressing that individuals
must exercise their right to return, he voiced conviction that
a decision on the status of Kosovo “will bring the clarity
that every displaced person needs to have.”
In 1999, Roma Mahala
was home to some 8,000 Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, many of
whom are living either as internally displaced persons (IDPs)
in Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, or abroad. The Return to Roma
Mahala Project represents the largest urban return project in
Kosovo.
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Kosovo:
UN envoy calls on Serbia to end boycott policy in province
10 April 2006 – The United Nations administrator of Kosovo
today called on Serbia to reverse its calls to ethnic Serbs
to boycott institutions in the Albanian-majority Serbian province
which the world body has run ever since the North Atlantic Treaty
Alliance (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 after grave
rights abuses.
“I am deeply disturbed
by Belgrade’s continued policy to urge Kosovo Serbs to
boycott and now to leave the institutions in Kosovo,”
Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative
Søren Jessen-Petersen told a two-day workshop on the
new ‘Strategy and Action Plan on Communities and Returns
for Kosovo’ in Pristina, the provincial capital.
“We are here today to
lay the foundation for return. Belgrade’s policies work
in the opposite direction. I appeal to Belgrade to act in the
interest of the people of Kosovo,” he added.
The return of Serbs who fled
Kosovo, where Albanians outnumber other minorities 9-1, and
the establishment of confidence between the communities are
considered essential steps for restoring stability to and deciding
the final status of the province.
It is vital that “the
painful chapter of displacement must be closed for the families,
for the society and for Kosovo,” Mr. Jessen-Petersen said,
calling for a “rights-based approach” that allows
free and informed decisions for all displaced people.
Actions and initiatives must
instil confidence into each and every person, irrespective of
ethnicity, to remain in Kosovo or to return to Kosovo in safety
and dignity, he added.
He stressed the importance
of addressing the key concerns of the displaced in such areas
as their own personal and family security, housing, access to
commercial and agricultural property, jobs, education, healthcare
and access to water and electricity.
He thanked Kosovo Prime Minister
Agim Çeku, who inaugurated the workshop along with him,
for his unequivocal support to solving the plight of displaced
Kosovars, particularly the special needs of minorities who want
to return to a peaceful life.
Final status talks have
already begun with delegations from Kosovo and Serbia meeting
in Vienna under UN auspices to discuss decentralization. Independence
and autonomy are among the options. Serbia rejects independence.
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Kosovo,
Serbian sides hold third round of status talks under UN chairmanship
3 April 2006 – Delegations from Kosovo and Serbia today
ended a third round of direct talks on decentralization in the
Albanian-majority Serbian province, which the United Nations
has administered ever since the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance
(NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid grave rights abuses
in ethnic fighting.
The talks in Vienna were
held under the auspices of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special
Envoy for the future status of Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari. The
parties agreed to meet again in Vienna on 4 May.
Independence and autonomy
are among options that have been mentioned for the province,
where Albanians outnumber Serbs and others by 9 to 1. Serbia
rejects independence and Kosovo's Serbs have been boycotting
the province's provisional institutions.
After the first direct talks
in Vienna in February, Mr. Ahtisaari said he was using “a
bottom-up approach,” starting the process by dealing with
practical and 'status-neutral' issues.
“Apart from decentralization,
we will run parallel discussions on cultural and religious heritage,
minority rights and economy,” he added then.
He has appealed to
Serbian leaders to encourage Kosovo Serb leaders to participate
in the province's institutions. “If you people don't participate,
it will be very difficult for any administration to create conditions
where people can live together,” Mr. Ahtisaari told them
during a visit to the province last month.
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